A/N: Hello! I hope you are enjoying. I'm so excited to keep posting and get this story going! Jake and Bella will be progressing before school starts, I promise! I see some alerts and favorites but I would love some reviews or PMs with thoughts! Enjoy the chapter

Chapter 3

The New Girl

I was waiting in the chair of the front office at Forks High. I got out my phone to check my messages. I had one from Renee, which didn't surprise me one bit. We had been texting on and off since I got here. She was glad I got here safely of course, and she is constantly saying she misses me. I think that is mainly because she needs to do more by herself, but so be it. We texted back and forth for about five minutes before Ms. Benson came back with my folder.

Renee: Hey sweetie! How is your day?

Me: Good. I'm at Forks HS turning in paper work right now.

Renee: Ooooh how exciting! Are you ready for Monday?

Me: As ready as I'm gonna be. One day at a time.

Renee: I know, you're right, don't rush anything. How's Charlie?

Me: He's Charlie, nothing new. Everything is going well though.

Renee: Ok ok, keep in touch, love you!

Me: Love you too.

Renee meant well and I was very glad I could stay in touch with her since I've lived with her my whole life. I'm just glad to be in a more organized and put together place, mentally and physically. After I get my paper work back I go back to my truck and call Jake. He doesn't have a cell phone yet since no one on the rez really needs one since everyone is so close to each other as it is.

I waited a few more minutes before Ms. Benson came back with my folder of paper work.

"Okay Bella, it looks like everything is taken care of. Your Dad was very specific in getting all of the information you needed to get and it shows with how prepared you are coming from out of state. So our Guidance Counselor isn't here today but she will be back tomorrow. Do you want to make an appointment to come in or make a phone appointment to adjust your schedule?"

"I'll stop by, let me know what time works. I don't want to switch a lot," I responded. I just wanted to keep myself occupied and not bored out of my mind senior year.

"Ok then 10:30 tomorrow morning if that works. We'll get you all taken care of and maybe some your teachers will be around," Ms. Benson said excitedly. I wasn't one to go out of my way to talk to my teachers. I knew I would meet them on the first day of school no matter when I met with the Guidance Counselor, so I'd like to keep that meeting as smooth as possible.

"Thanks Ms. Benson, see you tomorrow."

The rest of the week and the weekend flew by. I switched my regular English honors to AP, and stuck with Pre-Calculus instead of going above and beyond with Statistics or Trigonometry or some other crazy torture time they had in mind. There was a state requirement that didn't transfer over so that would be a waste of time but I'd just get it over with so I could graduate. I was fairly excited for a couple classes, so that we kept my brain awake throughout the year. I took a literature history elective too. It wouldn't hurt to get graded to read some classics.

Finally, it was Sunday. Just like eating your favorite dessert, the last few bites were as delicious as ever, and that's how the last day of summer vacation felt. We just never wanted it to end. Jake and Billy came over for dinner with me and Charlie and it was very relaxing night. Jake was only a junior this year even though it looked like he was a year or two older than me. We talked about what would happen during the school year, some people I might meet, what classes we were taking, and anything else that came up. Being with these guys, they got sidetracked a lot so we literally talked about anything and everything.

After Charlie and Jake cleaned and finished the dishes, only because the game hadn't started yet, Charlie and Billy grabbed a couple beers from the fridge and made themselves scarce wherever there wasn't a television. Jake and I went out front and sat on the porch.

"Bella, are you doing anything after school most days? Are we going to see each other?" Jake asked hesitantly. This wasn't the prankster, sarcastic, relaxed Jake that I usually chilled with.

"Not that I know of now, but I could do homework and study for hours, unfortunately. Jake just because school starts doesn't mean we can't see each other every now and then. You know it just won't be every day. Did you find that part for the Rabbit?" I asked. If he could drive over we could probably see each other an extra day each week during the school year. I rested my head on his shoulder. I'd only been here one single week and I already felt at home with a comfort zone having to shift dramatically.

"It's coming in next week supposedly. I need to do some more odd jobs around the rez to pick up some cash, and only a few more pieces to go," Jake said excitedly. He put his arm around my shoulders in a comforting way.

"I can't wait to take a ride," I said smirking. It took him a second to realize my innuendo, but he laughed after a moment. It was like he was zoned out for a minute in deep thought. Like I said, school was starting but the world wasn't ending.

"Bella I'm really glad you moved back here. I know it's only been a week but it feels like we haven't missed a beat," he looked at me a bit more seriously than before. I leaned my head onto his shoulder.

"Yeah you're right. I'm actually glad I moved back, too," I thought out loud. At first I was just one big ball of nerves since everything would be essentially new to me, but now it really is like I never left. It's more like I just had a long term memory problem, and am just starting to remember a lot of things. As we continued to enjoy to silence, I noticed how muscular his shoulders and chest were. My arms were on my legs in front of my and he boldly grabbed one of my hands with the one around me. That right there just reminded me of how much bigger he was than me and how fast he was growing.

I could tell Jake was gauging my reaction after he put his arm around me and grabbed my hand. Both gestures were incredibly comforting. Originally Jake was the brother/best friend figure. It is very obvious after this week that there was something there, and I don't think either of us were ready to face it head on; Yet.

Before I knew it, it was dark outside and we were talking by the light of the porch. We had shifted positions a few times, but always kept some sort of physical contact. Charlie and Billy opened the door and made their way out thankfully during a casual conversation topic.

"Come on kids, you've got a busy day tomorrow. Time to pack it up," Charlie started, wheeling Billy to the top of the stairs. Jake picked up his dad to take him to the truck while Charlie took the wheel chair down to the cruiser. Since Jake had a few more days before his car was finished, Charlie or I was Billy's main source of transportation, which we were both perfectly happy about. Once Billy was in the car, Charlie got in and started it up. Jake walked back over to me.

"Well, see you eventually," he said. We were finally eye level since I was standing on a porch step and he was on the ground.

"Yeah, let me know if you have anything going on after school. Call my cell."

"Okay. By the way, I've been trying to talk Billy into letting me get a phone. He doesn't seem crazy about another expense, but I know he won't be opposed if I get a job and pay for it or find some steady odd jobs," Jake said excitedly.

"And why the sudden need for a cell phone now, Mr. Black?" I asked, jokingly. I really was curious though.

"Why, to talk to my amazing best friend of course. If I'm with the guys, you don't need all of their home numbers and we would just play phone tag until the weekend comes around. We don't want that happening," he said with his signature smirk.

"Yeah that would make life easier, but don't stress yourself out over it. We'll talk, I'm not worried," I said, more trying to comfort myself. A week without Jake sounds like a year without chocolate: just plain terrible.

"Okay, well keep in touch. Miss you, and have a great first day! I want to hear all about it," he said as he wrapped his arms around me. I wonder if he was as aware as I was that our dads were around the corner of the house watching from a distance. Being in his arms felt right. I rested my head on his chest and he kissed my hair. It was very comforting, and I just relaxed and let all of my stress go right then and there. "I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?" Jake said, looking down at me.

"Sounds good, have a good first day," I smiled up at him. I watched as he walked to the cruiser and was actually sad he was leaving. I couldn't wait for the next time we could hang out. I also couldn't remember the last time I let my guard down that much. I was so relaxed and all the stress in the world just evaporated from me when I was in Jake's arms. That's really saying something.

The next morning I wasn't exactly dreading school, but I wasn't exactly excited either. I woke up, put on my most comfortable pair of jeans and one of my favorite t-shirts, and my Chuck's. I had a small breakfast like always, and Charlie was already leaving for work.

"Well Bells, have a great day. Try not to be to introverted. At least say hi to people," he smirked at me. He knew just as well as me that I didn't want to go out of my way to talk to people.

"I'll be personable, don't worry. I just hope you don't hear from anyone's parents that I wasn't polite or nice or anything," I laughed back at him.

"You'll be fine. I love you, call me if you need anything," he said as he kissed my hair and walked out the door.

"Thanks Dad, love you too." I drove to school in my truck with my backpack that had some notebooks, a copy of my schedule, and pencils and pens. I parked in the first space I found, not close to the front and not in the very back. Groups of kids were already standing around catching up after the summer and ready to see each other every day again. For me, this was my last first day of school. I knew I'd go to college but that's different. I was ready to finish this up.

I walked up to the building and went to the office to get my locker. I was in a hallway towards the middle of the building. I entered the combination and it opened on the first try. I didn't put anything in it since I didn't know what notebooks I would need for each class and such, but I'm sure I would be using it eventually.

I went to find my first period class which was AP English. There was about ten minutes before class started, so I just got out a notebook and started doodling for a bit. After a few minutes a girl sat down next to me.

"Hey, you must be Isabella?" the girl looked at me hesitantly. She was very pretty, and didn't seem snotty or stuck up. She appeared to have good intentions.

"Um, just Bella, but yeah, that's me."

"Hey! I'm Angela. We've all heard you were coming. I know you don't know anyone but that will change. There are plenty of 'groups'," she made air quotes with her fingers, "but overall everyone is bearable," Angela said. It sounded a bit like a warning but at the same time a welcome.

"Sounds good. I figured I would just end up meeting people slowly but surely. It'll happen throughout the whole year. I didn't know everyone would already know who I was though," I said honestly. At that moment a bunch of students walked in. Two of them were pale, but the most gorgeous people I've ever laid eyes on. One had dirty blond hair just past his ears, and the other had short, light brown hair, styled nicely. He stared right at me as he came in the room. It made me a bit uncomfortable but I guess that's what happened when everyone knew you but you knew no one. "Who are they?" I asked Angela.

"Who?" She looked up from the notebook she just got out of her backpack. "Oh that's Jasper and Edward Cullen. I'm not surprised they are in this class, they are super smart," she said like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Oh, ok," I really didn't know what else to say.

"They may look different, but they are nice, and generally keep to themselves," Angela said like nothing was out of the ordinary.

As I looked around the classroom to see if I recognized anyone from the parking lot, near my locker, or the hallways, that Edward kid was looking straight at me and Jasper whispered something to him. I couldn't bring myself to look away. This could end up being an interesting year.