My first class after lunch was Advanced Biology, so I went ahead and claimed a seat in Mr. Medina's room, burrowing into my book on Greek and Roman mythology while I waited for class to begin. Mr. Medina, accustomed to my antics, barely glanced up from his paperwork. We sat in companionable silence until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and the sound of hundreds of feet echoed in the close halls. All too soon, the door opened and my classmates filed in.

"Hey, Bailey," Annabelle greeted me, taking the seat in front of me. "Did the new students seem nice?"

I shrugged, eyes still on my book. "Sure, I guess. Not exactly socialites, though."

"What do you mean?" Matt wanted to know, sliding into the seat next to Annabelle—there was still an open seat next to me, but they both know that I prefer to work alone.

"Only that they're not going out of their way to make friends," I replied. "Then again, with such a large family, I suppose they don't feel the need to socialize with outsiders." I frowned at this observation; it rang truer than I had anticipated.

Matt, already turned back around, didn't seem to notice my uneasiness. "Hey, check it out," he told Annabelle and me, his face lighting up.

Edward Masen and Isabella Cullen stood side-by-side at Mr. Medina's desk, each brandishing a new-student slip. Mr. Medina stared for a split second, just as disconcerted as the rest of us, before signing the papers and returning them to the surreal couple. Isabella and Edward thanked him politely, turned, and claimed the only two seats left: the two-person, blacktopped desk directly behind me.

"Okay class, settle down," Mr. Medina called, rising from his desk. "Obviously you're all aware we have two new students with us today, Isabella Cullen and Edward Masen—but let me remind you that socializing can wait until you leave my classroom. The only person that should be talking to them is Bailey, because she will be helping them catch up." I nodded when he looked to me, happy to have another reason to talk to Edward and Isabella. "We'll take it easy today—as long as you keep the volume down to a dull roar, you guys can study for the lab tomorrow."

A sigh of relief wafted out of all of us at this announcement—why do today what you can put off for tomorrow?—as Mr. Medina returned to his seat and I turned to Edward and Isabella.

"Not a very ambitious man, is he?" Edward asked, watching Mr. Medina.

I shrugged. "This isn't exactly a private school in Concord. You guys haven't missed much, anyway—we've only gone over anatomical terms and basic chemistry. The lab tomorrow's just on mitosis, and then we go into the skeletal system on Monday. What?" I asked because Edward had just flashed the most brilliant smile known to man at his girlfriend, who returned his look with an expression so purely happy that I had to blink and avert my eyes, feeling as though I'd trespassed on a private moment.

"The first time I really got to know Bella was over a mitosis lab at our old school," Edward murmured tenderly, skimming his fingers over her pale cheek. "Biology is a very nostalgic subject for us."

Isabella—or Bella, as Edward had called her—laughed softly, her voice tinkling like wind chimes. "And that's putting it mildly," she added, her eyes glued to his.

I turned back around slowly, mentally telling myself, Well, okay then. Don't want to intrude on their moment. If I'd taken the time to do a bit of good, old-fashioned soul-searching, I would've realized how touched I was that that level of devotion could actually exist between people…however, I merely returned to my book.

The rest of my day was depressingly Cullen-free, but as I was walking out to the parking lot to meet Annabelle (broken arms and motorcycles do not mix, or so I've been told), another piece of their puzzle fell into place: a shin silver Volvo was parked among the dingy pick-up trucks and hand-me-down mini-vans, and (to my delight) a vintage black Harley Davidson claimed the spot next to it. I surged toward the bike, forgetting who it might belong to, admiring the first-class restoration. Whoever had patched this bike up definitely knew what they were doing.

"Uh, Bailey, right?" I whipped around, startled, to face Jacob Wolfe and Vanessa Masen. The rest of their crowd grouped around the Volvo, looking on with polite interest and suppressed amusement.

I turned to Jacob. "It's yours? Did you buy her like this? Did you do the restoration yourself? How does she run? What's her mileage? Do you have any idea how hard this model is to come by?!" I paused to take a breath, waiting impatiently for his answer.

Jacob smirked; Vanessa grinned. "Yes, yes, perfectly, you don't want to know, and again, yes," Jacob answered my interrogation. "I take it you're an enthusiast?"

"Just a little," I replied, glancing wistfully back at his bike. "I like knowing how things work." Things and people, I amended to myself. The dullest person in the world can be more unpredictable than the church bus coming back from Memphis.

I thought I heard Edward chuckle, but when my eyes flickered over to him, his face was perfectly composed, and none of his family reacted at all.

Vanessa took Jacob's hand. "Nevertheless," he said, indicating his Harley, "may we…?"

"Oh, sure. Sorry," I said, jumping back as Jacob caught the two helmets Jasper Hale had retrieved from the Volvo's backseat.

"Bailey!" Annabelle called from the end of the row. She waved for me to come on.

"See you guys tomorrow!" I told the Cullens, Hales, Masens, and Jacob, sprinting down the sidewalk to Annabelle's car. I almost tripped once, but hoped no one noticed; my clumsiness was infamous.

-X-

"What do you make of her, Edward?"

"…it's hard to explain, Rose. She's filled with curiosity, but it's completely without malice; she thirsts for new knowledge as much as Carlisle does. She's free-spirited, but there's a maturity there I wouldn't expect in someone her age."

"Does she pose a threat to us?"

"Alice?"

"…"

"Not immediately, as far as I can see. If things continue as they do now, she's perfectly harmless. Curious, but harmless. She plans to ask about our backgrounds tomorrow in Biology."

"Jasper? Anything you noticed?"

"Yes, actually. It's strange—while her immediate emotions were entirely sincere, there's an undercurrent to all of it that puzzles me. I've never experienced this kind of suppressed, constant emotion."

*sighs* "Well, if this girl is the most of our problems, I'd say we're getting along pretty well. You know, compared to our last high school experience. Hey!"

"You deserved it and you know it. Just because you're older than me doesn't mean I have to put up with you teasing my parents, Uncle Emmett."

*chuckles* "We raised our daughter well, love."

"I'd say we did, too."

-X-

The next day, I decided to make it my mission in life to find out how it was that kids with four different surnames came to live in the same house. I sat through my morning classes impatiently, though I knew I was too chicken to approach them all together at their lunch table. Motorcycles are one thing—social aptitude was another matter completely. So I waited until Bio; I even made sure both my work and theirs was all done before I talked to them, so Mr. Medina couldn't yell at us.

I turned in my seat to face them, resolving to be direct about things. "Do you mind if I ask some socially tabooed questions?"

Edward's face twisted into a crooked smile. "How tabooed?"

"Four different surnames all living in the same house."

"Ah." Though he made a comprehending sound, neither Edward nor Bella really seemed surprised. "What would you like to know?"

"Your—all of your family's relationship to Dr. Cullen. If you don't mind."

"Not at all," Bella replied, shooting her boyfriend a look that made it clear she thought he wasn't being very genteel. "Emmett, Alice, and I are adopted by Carlisle and Esme, his wife. Edward and Vanessa are Esme's nephew and niece. Jasper and Rosalie are foster kids. And Jacob and Leah are just staying with us until their parents finish their research in Asia—they're both professors studying ancient Homosapiens."

"What happened to your parents, Edward?" I asked, hoping I wasn't treading on a sore spot. I was just so curious.

"They died a long time ago," he replied, his expression carefully blank.

I winced. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Carlisle and Esme have been as good as parents to me."

"And, um, Bella? Do you and Emmett, Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie know what happened to your parents?"

"Well, my mother got pregnant at a very young age…you can figure out the rest. As for the others, all their parents are dead as well."

I made a face, deflated. "Well, that's depressing."

"Please don't be sad for us," Bella said, her unearthly beautiful face kind. "We couldn't be happier with our situation."

Edward looked at Bella when she said that, his pale skin glowing with tenderness. "No doubt about that," he murmured. Bella smiled a smile that put the luminosity of the sun to shame, lacing her fingers with his.

I looked down, uncomfortable with their obvious devotion. "Right, well, thanks," I mumbled, turning back around. Why do people have to get so mushy in school? I thought disgruntledly. It's obscene!

Over the next weeks, it became clear that the Cullens (for everyone dropped the Masens, Hales, and Jacob Wolfe quickly, and the whole group fell under the doctor's name) were strictly keep-to-themselves about most things. They came to school together, they ate lunch together, they sat together in their classes, they left together, they spent their weekends together. And after I saw that most of my conversations with Bella and Edward usually ended up with them basking in their—all right, I'll say it—love for each other, I stopped talking to them for the most part. They never initiated conversation with me.

However, never only lasted for about two months.

AN: Teehee…mini-cliffie! I will not rectify this precipitous edge until I get…let's see, I'll set my sights low…ten reviews! You who review, enjoy a cookie in the shape of Jacob's motorcycle—you who do not, be forewarned…I know people in Italian positions. You just think about that for a minute. REVIEW!