A/N: Thanks to the few people who reviewed/added this to their favorites/alerts. I really appreciate it!

2. First Sight

In the morning, it was a moment before I recognized where I was. My eyes, still blurry with sleep took in the unfamiliar room, doused in the unfamiliar dull light. However, realization quickly washed over me. I groaned, and laid my head back and closed my eyes for just one more second. Gathering all my will power, I took a deep breath, then unwillingly climbed out of the bed, heading for the shower.

Just ten minutes later I was down in the kitchen, where I grudgingly grabbed a bowl of cereal. It wasn't my top pick for breakfast food, but whatever- I had to eat, and it wasn't like Charlie kept much else around in the nearly empty cabinets and fridge. The rest of the kitchen was equally bare- the cabinets were all painted white, and the appliances were all in the same color. There was no dishwasher, and the table was surrounded by mismatched chairs. There was little sign that the room was ever used.

Realizing I couldn't put off the inevitable, I rinsed my bowl, left it in the sink, and headed out the door in jeans, a t-shirt, and the new rain jacket I had acquired, book bag in tow. As I climbed in the truck cab, it occurred to me that I didn't know where the school was. In all the events of yesterday, and my anxiousness to just be alone, I had forgotten to ask. I went ahead and cranked the truck anyway, momentarily deafened by its roar. Charlie had already left, so I decided to just drive and try to find it on my own. It wasn't like Forks was a sprawling metropolis or anything- it couldn't be that hard.

I drove down the highway, quickly finding my way into the main part of Forks, and noticed a sign that pointed out the turn for the road that lead to Forks High. I followed it, and quickly came upon a brick sign that indicated the school. There were no chain link fences or gates, just a drive that led to several small brick buildings that looked nothing like the schools of Chicago.. I saw one building was labeled as the office, so I pulled up front, figuring I should go ahead and check in, even though I doubted I could park there.

I climbed out of the truck, putting on a completely composed face, despite the feelings of dread and reluctance that ran through me. I was wishing I could be anywhere else at the moment, but I knew I could, and would have to, bear it. I walked in the door, noticing that there were no metal detectors, and headed straight for the counter that split the space in two. It was covered with various bins, all filled with different papers, all in different pastel colors. Behind the counter sat a middle-aged woman, glasses held on a gold chain around her neck, over a short sleeved sweater. She smiled at me as I came in, and I noticed that she had entirely too much makeup on, as most women of her age tend to.

"Hello," I said in the politest tone I could muster, "I'm Edward Masen, and this is my first day here." I saw recognition flash in her eyes, and could virtually see the gears in her head turn as she took note of my last name, recognition shifting to pity. Her next words fit exactly with the reaction I expected from the thought processes I had just seen flash across her face- people were so easy to read.

"Oh yes dear, we've been expecting you. I'm Mrs. Cope." She said those simple words in a way that betrayed her knowledge of why I was here. Figures- in a small town everyone was bound to know all about me by now. Not only was I probably the first new kid to move to Forks in ages, I had come here under tragic circumstances. I was practically made for small-town gossip.

Mrs. Cope proceeded to hand me several papers, a few for Charlie to sign, a schedule, a map, and a slip of paper to have each of my teachers sign. She even went through the trouble of highlighting the best routes on the map for me. When she was finished, I thanked her and walked back out to my truck. Noticing that students had begun to arrive, I cranked the truck, and followed the snake of traffic around the parking lot. I had hoped to escape notice, at least for a few minutes before school, but the volume of the truck's engine shot down that wish. I really would have to see if there was anything I could do about that- I mean, I was grateful to Charlie, but I dreamed of the low purr of a nice sports car. As I got out of the cab, I noticed that quite a few people were looking at me, not even trying to hide their fascination. I sighed, put in my ipod's head phones in an attempt at avoiding people for just a bit longer, and set out in a direction that I hoped would lead me to my first class.

Before I had made it very far, I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around and was confronted with a short, dark curly haired girl. I pulled out my headphones, and the girl immediately introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Jessica Stanley- you must be Edward Masen, right?" She looked at me expectantly, with a wide smile on her face.

"Umm, yeah." I said, wondering if there was any way that my answer might be enough. As if there was the slightest possibility of that- Jessica looked like the persistent sort.

"Nice to meet you- what class do you have first?"

No luck. She wasn't going anywhere. Not that I really minded too much, I just wished I could have had more time before I was forced to play social games. I pulled out my schedule, giving it a quick glance.

"English."

"Great! I have the same class! I'll walk with you and show you the way."

I let Jessica guide me toward the building, though I had been on the right path and could have easily gotten there on my own. I liked to think of myself as a nice guy, and there was no need to hurt Jessica's feelings.

She babbled on for a bit, asking me about how I was liking Forks, the rain, and other trivial issues. Though I knew she must have known about my parents, surprisingly, she didn't bring it up. I could tell she wanted to though- the conversation was just awkward enough to reveal that much.

I was thankful when we arrived at building three, and she quickly left my side to grab a seat after hanging up our rain jackets. I headed toward the front of the room, handing the teacher the slip I was supposed to get signed. He signed it quickly, handed me a syllabus and several books, and then pointed me toward a seat. Thankfully, it was toward the back of the room. Of course, that didn't stop the students from gawking at me. I did my best to ignore them, coolly walking to my seat and then focusing on the teacher's back-from-break speech. I wasn't flustered by all of the attention- I just didn't understand it, and was slightly amused. Back in Chicago, I had been one of thousands. And while not exactly a loner, I hadn't been at the height of popularity either. I fell somewhere in the middle there, and had been comfortable with that. It probably had to do with my preference of solitude and music to chattering on about meaningless dribble, which, unfortunately, wasn't recognized as a virtue in the usual high school circles. Still, I had managed a decent social life, one that didn't include an entire school making me the center of the gossip. That, however, was exactly what was happening here.

I sat through the rest of first period, and began gathering my things, ready to make it to my next class. I looked up when from my bag when a girl with long golden blond hair came up to me.

"Hi- Edward, right? I'm Lauren." she said.

"Yeah, hey, nice to meet you Lauren." I answered, unsure of what else to say- shouldn't she be changing classes rather than socializing?

"Where you headed after this?" What was it with the girls in this place wanting to know about my class schedule? I knew I should probably be flattered, but I really just wanted to be left alone.

"Uhmm…government."

"Oh, well, I'm headed the other way, but that's just down the walkway over in building six. I could walk with you." she offered, a tinge of hope in her voice.

"I guess that would be ok." I said, while secretly thinking it was a bit ridiculous. She had said herself she was going the other way. Yet again, I felt compelled to be nice in spite of myself.

Second period was mostly a repeat of the first. I was dropped off by an overeager girl, I had my slip signed, got my textbook and syllabus, only to have the class sneak glances my way for the entire fifty minutes. The rest of the day continued on in the same manner, until lunch eventually came. A guy with carefully ordered and gelled hair spikes who had been in both my Trig and Spanish class- I think he had said his name was Mike- offered a place at his table for lunch. I took him up on it, and before I knew it, I was being introduced to several people. The only names I could remember were Jessica's and Lauren's, who happened to be at the table. Other than that, the small dark haired girl beside Jessica and the two guys sitting at the end of the table remained nameless inside my head.

After introductions were made, I sat and listened to the conversation going on around me. Quickly, I was pulled into my own thoughts and observations, and my mind began to wander. Slowly, my eyes also began to take in the small cafeteria. Nothing caught my interest, and I didn't really recognize anyone else from that day. As I turned my gaze toward the windows, I saw them for the first time.

They all sat at a table farther away from where the largest number of people was concentrated. But that wasn't why I noticed them. Nor was it the fact that they didn't really seem to be eating or drinking anything, despite the full trays of food sitting in front of each of them. It also wasn't their lack of attention to each other or anyone else in the cafeteria, or the way they stared at various different points in the cafeteria; the wall, the ceiling, the floor.

What caught my attention was the way they all looked so similar, while being completely different. The way they all held the same level of attractiveness, while maintaining individuality. There, at the table off in the corner sat five extremely pale people, each looking like they could be some sort of model, except for the dark shadows under their eyes, indicating that they could all use a good night's rest. First, there was one huge guy with curly dark hair. He looked like he could easily destroy me. Despite that, he still seemed like he was probably a fun-loving sort of guy, though he was probably an athlete. Next to him was a girl with perfectly blonde hair- really everything about her was perfect. No one would argue that she was drop-dead gorgeous- though, personally, blonds weren't really my thing and there was no way a girl that beautiful wouldn't have some sort of attitude problem. There was another tall blond guy, who vaguely looked like he belonged in Hollywood, except for the pained expression on his face. He definitely did not want to be here. Beside him was a dark-haired girl, whose hair spiked out in every direction. Everything about her was small, from her frame to her tiny angular features. I imagined her personality matched her appearance- childlike and enthusiastic. Finally, by herself at the end of the table was a girl with long chestnut brown cascading gently to the middle of her back. She looked the youngest of them all- the others could have easily passed as college students. She also gripped my attention in a way that none of the others did, despite how similar they all appeared. She had a certain air of mysteriousness about her, keeping me from making any attempts at pegging what sort of person she was- something I was usually able to do easily. For whatever reason, I felt like there was no way I could sum that girl up in a glance- beyond the obvious fact that she was lovely.

"Edward…Edward, what are you looking at?" I snapped back to my surroundings at once when I heard Mike's questioning tone. I thought quickly, deciding to answer his question with a question.

"Who are they?" I asked, nodding my head toward the table in the corner.

"Oh, them. They're the Cullens. Kids of Dr. Cullen and his wife." I thought about that for a moment.

"Really? They don't look much alike- except maybe the two blond ones."

"You're right- they're not. The tall blond one, he's Jasper Hale. His twin sister is the blond girl, Rosalie Hale. The Cullens adopted them several years ago. The other three are Mrs. Cullen's nieces and nephew- Emmett, Alice, and Bella- she's had them since they were little and their parents died. The weirdest part is that they're all together, like couples." I nodded as I glanced over again- that last bit made sense as I considered their seating arrangement in the light of new information.

"C'mon, Mike, you know they're not really related." chimed in one of the guys, the shortest of the three.

"It's still strange Ben- they do live together. Although- that probably makes things easier…" The short one, Ben, rolled his eyes. And I began to tune them out again.

While I had to admit I could understand the scandal, I didn't want to hear a whole discussion about the pros and cons of the situation. I was still intrigued by the girl with the long brown hair, and I realized I still didn't know what her name was- just that she was Mrs. Cullen's niece. I was still looking at her when her eyes shot up, looking straight my way. I quickly looked away- I didn't want to get caught staring at her.

"What's the name of the one with the long brown hair?" I asked Mike again, not really noticing that I was interrupting some sort of comment about the ease and convenience of slipping from room to room at night if you lived in the same house.

The other guy sitting at the table smirked, answering for Mike.

"That one's Bella- I wouldn't really think about it if I were you. She doesn't seem to care about any of the guys around here- she turned Mike down under a month ago."

"Shut up Tyler- it isn't like you haven't been turned down by her too." Mike answered hotly.

I thought about protesting the implication they were making, then thought better of it. They were already distracted again with insulting each other's pride, and wouldn't be giving me a second thought. Not that I wouldn't mind getting a chance to know the girl- but I really had only asked out of curiosity. Not that a name helped me read her any better. I listened to them taunt each other for a moment, entertained, before looking back over at the table. By the time I looked, they little one had risen, gliding away with her tray. A moment later, the other four followed suit, but not before Bella had met my eyes again, with what looked like humor on her face. I quickly returned back to my table's conversation, slightly embarrassed, dropping comments here and there, while my mind pondered the enigma of Bella Cullen.

A/N: How'd I do? Edward too girly? Does it drag? What do you think- review people, and let me know- flame me if you wish- I don't care, just review! And remember- you're comments matter- I'm still insecure and uncertain about whether this story will work, so I need you're suggestions/criticism/encouragment if you want it to continue. But I won't be one of those people who demand a certain amount of reviews to update- I just truly need the help :).