I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.

April and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and Fran, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.

Ch. 2

By the time lunch period arrived, I was glad for the break. So far, my classes were standard, if not boring. I hadn't seen Edward yet, or any of the others, either. After making my way through the lunch line, I paused to look around for a seat in a sea of round tables.

I spotted Rose, surrounded by a bunch of girls—all wearing preppy clothes. Instead of eating the salads in front of them, they were checking their hair and makeup in compacts and chattering. They seemed very cliquish, so I didn't waste my time heading over there.

Emmett was at a table full of jocks in the far corner. Each of their trays was piled high with food that they were scarfing down. How they could eat all that in one sitting made me nauseous. I had gotten an apple and lemonade after vowing to bring a bag lunch from here on out.

I glanced around, hoping to see anyone that might look like a more grown up version of Edward. I spotted Jessica pretty much sitting in Mike's lap rather than her chair. They seemed to be on the verge of making out, so I looked away quickly.

What if Edward has a girlfriend?

I didn't even think of that possibility before. In my mind, he was still my best friend; wearing the same glasses that were forever slipping down his nose, splattered with freckles in the summer. He was cute as a kid so he could easily have a girlfriend. I just hoped she would be nice and could possibly be another friend.

My search came up empty.

I hadn't spotted Alice or even Jasper. I felt guilty that I hadn't thought of him as much as the others. He always seemed a bit more aloof. For all I knew, I passed him in the halls and didn't even know it.

Since it had stopped raining, I decided to go outside and sit on one of the benches. The air smelled fresh, and there was still a dampness, explaining why most the student stayed inside. I found a seat that was relatively dry from the roof awning. I munched on the apple as I started reading Othello for class.

I was three pages in when the bitter scent of cigarette smoke wafted under my nose, ruining my appetite. I glanced up and spotted the same rude guy from earlier, leaning against the wall, not far from me, smoking.

"Do you mind? If you want to pollute your own lungs can you go somewhere else?" I narrowed my eyes.

"It's a free country," he growled not looking up.

"It may be a free country, but it's also against the law on school grounds," I argued.

"You going to go tell your daddy on me, Swan?" He glared at me with blue eyes—there was something familiar about them that I couldn't put my finger on. Then his hood fell back exposing his blue hair.

"I don't need to, smoking in a smoke-free place is like sending up a flare gun," I said pointedly.

He stared at me for a moment, and just as I thought I should've kept my mouth shut, he smirked and let out a chuckle and dropped the cigarette on the ground.

"Happy, Swan." He extended his arms to his side before shoving them into his jacket pockets.

"Ecstatic," I replied dryly—it was then it clicked.

"Jasper?" I asked incredulously.

"Bella," he mocked back. "It's been real." He pulled his hood back up and started to walk away.

"Wait, I want to talk to you." I hurried to pack up my things.

When I stood up, he was gone. I sighed, and my shoulders dropped.

"Nice talking to you, too." I slung my pack over my shoulder.

The cigarette was still smoking so I quickly ground it out with my shoe.

Seeing Jasper was a shock. His change was drastic from when we were young. I wasn't too surprised that Emmett was a jock. Rose, although unlike the girl I once knew, it wasn't as extreme as her brother. Alice… sigh…Alice still had me worried.

Seeing them so different, made me all the more curious…concerned, to see Edward. If perky Alice could become a mute and Jasper, a clean-cut all-American kid could become a bully, what should I expect from Edward?

RR

I headed to my next class, Physics, which technically was my last one for the day. My last period was a study hall. I found the room fairly easily, and so far there was only one student and the teacher inside.

I walked up to Mr. Banner and gave him my slip as I introduced myself. He signed quickly and then handed me a textbook and a stack of papers.

"You'll be partnered with Edward Cullen. Why don't you go get acquainted since you're both apparently early birds." He pointed to the table towards the back.

I hugged my books to my chest as I turned around. I silently watched Edward for a moment before approaching. His hair was darker than I remembered, and even sitting he looked like he was tall. He still wore thick framed glasses that slipped down his nose. He had books and notebooks spread all over the table as he wrote diligently.

Maybe he hadn't changed that much after all.

I stood next to my seat and waited for him to notice me. I cleared my throat and still received no response. After a few moments, I loudly pulled back the chair and sat down. He paused briefly before continuing to write.

"Hi, Edward, I guess we're going to be partners," I said softly.

"I don't work with partners. They only slow me down; sit somewhere else," he answered gruffly.

"I…" I blinked dumbfounded.

He was so cold.

Not my sweet friend.

"You don't have that option in my classroom, Edward. You will work with a partner just like everyone else. Don't worry, from what I have seen from Miss Swan's records, she should be able to keep up with you without a problem," Mr. Banner spoke up from the front.

Edward looked at me briefly before turning to the teacher. "And if I refuse?"

"Then you will fail every assignment that includes a partner." Mr. Banner shrugged.

"You can't do that. What if I don't trust her to pull equal weight?" Edward argued.

The bell rang, and a few students started to file into the classroom. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from responding; his insinuation hurt.

"Mr. Cullen, I'm not going to argue with you. My classroom, my rules," Mr. Banner snapped. "And I strongly advise that if you're going to be a doctor, you get used to working with others. Doctors work with teams to help their patients, and if they're arrogant enough to think otherwise, they certainly will fail. Now make space for Miss Swan, or I'll see you in detention."

Edward roughly stacked his things and slid them over. He closed the notebook he was working in and pulled out another. I silently got out my own and turned towards him.

"Thank you. And you don't have to worry, I'll pull my own weight," I told him.

"You mean until you up and leave without any warning or goodbyes, and I'm left to do it myself anyway," he said curtly.

"I'm not leaving." I narrowed my eyes, as years of old irritation flared up. "Maybe if you had stuck around to listen to me back then I could've said good-bye, I told you it was important."

He glanced at me and shoved his glasses back up his nose. "People don't just leave like that without warning."

"I didn't have much warning myself if you had…"

"If I could have everyone's attention please, I'll like to go over your first group project." Mr. Banner started handing out sheets to the front row to pass back.

"As most of you probably know or have heard, each year you are to construct bridges made out of balsa wood with your partner. You'll bring them into class, and we'll test them together to see which one can hold the most weight. This is considered a lab, so you'll write up the project as an individual report, which will be handed in. The specs for the bridge are on the sheet, and you have two weeks to bring in the bridge, and the report is due the following Monday. Any questions?" Mr. Banner leaned on his table.

"Yes, Tyler."

"Do we build two bridges, one per person or one as a group?" the guy that was with Emmett this morning asked.

"One bridge, you must compromise on a design." Mr. Banner's eyes briefly shot to Edward.

"Does it matter what type of glue?" a girl with frizzy hair and braces asked, staring at her sheet.

"No, that is up to you. If nothing further, open your notebooks, and we'll go over last night's homework. Bella, you can look on with Edward, you'll be excused from this assignment." He turned and started writing on the dry erase board.

Edward grunted, but slid his notebook over so that I could see. Class remained busy for the rest of the period, so I didn't get a chance to talk to him. When the bell rang, he closed his notebook with a slap and bolted out of the room, without a word to me.

I sighed and gathered my own things more slowly and was the last to leave the room. As I reached the door, Mr. Banner held me back.

"Let me know if he gives you any trouble working together. Mr. Cullen tends to get too focused on his studies and is used to no one being able to keep up with him. But I meant what I said earlier, I think the two of you will be fine once he gets over it."

"Yes, sir." I nodded.

RR

The end of the day finally came, and I waited outside for Charlie. I had tried to find Edward after the last bell but didn't know where to start looking. While I was waiting, I glanced around at the dispersing crowd for him and Alice until Charlie set off his siren in one short blast, making kids around me jump then snicker.

Please tell me I just imagined that. I closed my eyes and groaned.

The siren went off once more.

"Hey, Swan, your daddy's calling." Jasper snickered as he passed behind me.

"I guess you would recognize that sound," I yelled at his retreating back.

He turned around and glared at me as everyone within earshot started to laugh. He glanced at the cruiser out of the corner of his eye, before spinning back around and storming off.

Before Dad could set off the siren again, I hurried to the car and got inside. My dad was watching Jasper's retreat.

"What was that about? Was he giving you a hard time?" he asked.

"He was just making fun of you calling me by the siren. Thanks, by the way, I would've missed the cruiser if you didn't do that," I said sarcastically.

His mustache twitched, and his eyes sparkled with amusement. "Next time, I'll add the lights."

"No…please don't," I begged.

"Then don't be so smart with your old man." He smirked as he pulled out into traffic. "But seriously, stay away from Jasper Hale, he's no good."

"Since when?" I asked.

"A few years back, starting blowing up mailboxes with cherry bombs and then it went downhill from there. Arrested him awhile back for being high while driving. I don't want you around him," Dad insisted.

"Fine. We need to stop at the supermarket." I spotted it in the distance. "What happened to Alice while I was gone?"

"Alice…" Dad seemed confused.

"Alice Brandon. She used to be my closest friend next to Edward. Used to have long black hair and bounced everywhere on a pogo ball when were in first grade."

"Now I remember. What about her?" He nodded in acknowledgment.

"Why doesn't she speak anymore? Did she have an accident or has she been sick?" I asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know." Dad shrugged as he found a parking spot.

I sighed and closed my eyes to think for a moment.

"Are you feeling okay?" Dad asked concerned.

"Yeah, just a long day. Hopefully, this is the last time I'm the new kid anywhere." I opened my eyes and forced a smile.

"We can order pizza tonight if you're tired." Dad started to turn the keys.

"I'm good enough to shop. I want to get some things to make lunches." I pushed open the door before he could argue.

He got out with me and insisted on pushing the cart around the store. The trip took longer than expected because I forget everyone knew everyone in such a small town. Charlie couldn't resist showing me off a bit. By the time we got home, we did end up ordering a pizza for dinner.

A/N: A couple of you guessed that the druggie was Jasper, good job. I bet the rest are releaved that Edward isn't. Although our boy does seem to be holding on to some resentment and hard feelings. Yes, they will talk it out eventually, so don't blame anyone to hear both stories and get all the facts.

More to come soon. Thank you everyone for the love and reviews you have given my story.

Side notes Polls are open for the Mobward contest until April 12th. You can vote right on Fanfiction on the contest page.(We Love Mobward Contest).