Waking up, I knew that today would be a good day. I was finally ready to try and live a normal life. A part of me was still feeling guilty but I wouldn't let it rule my life anymore. It wasn't wrong for me to enjoy life to the fullest. That though alone made me smile.

By the time I got ready and came downstairs, Charlie had gone to work. I dialed his work number and let him know that I will be going to the grocery store after school. He thanked me for calling and wished me good luck in school. Yea, I would need it today.

By the time I've made it to school, parking lot was pretty filled up. I saw that the silver Volvo was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was running late today. I decided to hang around my truck for a little bit. Maybe I would catch him before class and talk about yesterday. A few minutes later, a Jeep pulled up and the four of them exited the car. Huh, maybe he's running very late. I'm sure I'll see him later today, no need to be late to class. The rest of the morning passed by uneventful. Don't get me wrong, there were whispers of what happened yesterday but I chose to ignore it. Lunchtime was when it all went down.

I got in line for food again and saw that the people I was sitting with yesterday were sitting at the same table. Angela motioned for me to come sit with them. I also noticed Cullens sitting at their table, only Edward was missing. This was my chance to thank Alice. Without a second thought, I made my way to their table. Surprise was written all over their faces.

"Hi Alice." I figured I should start the conversation

"Hi Bella. How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks. " I was contemplating the right way of saying thank you when Alice spoke up again.

"I'm sorry, Bella, I'm being rude. Let me introduce you to everyone. This is Jasper," she said pointing to the blond guy sitting next to her. "That's Emmett and Rosalie. Everyone, this is Bella."

I smiled at the three of them. Jasper gave me a small smile, while Emmett had this huge grin on his face. Rosalie, on the other hand, just looked at me and went back to doing whatever it was she was doing. I guess that's all I would get out of her.

"Listen, Alice, I wanted to thank you for helping me yesterday. It really means a lot to me."

"Not a problem. I'm glad I was able to help. You kind of scared me, though. I wasn't sure what was happening to you at first."

"Yea, it wasn't the best way of making the first impression. Believe me, I'm not always like that." I tried to lighten up the mood.

"Well, at least it was memorable." She joked.

"Anyways, thank you again. And I'll see you around. It was nice meeting all of you." And with that I left them alone. I figured I shouldn't bug them too much.

Heading back to the table where Angela was sitting, I noticed everyone having a heated conversation. Mike noticed my approach first and greeted me. Lauren was next to speak up.

"Bella, since you're new and all, I forgive you."

"Forgive me? For what exactly?" I asked confused.

"You were talking to Cullens. You see, I didn't get to finish my story yesterday. Like I said, you see how they are sitting in couples? Well, yea, they are dating. Alice and Jasper are together and so are Emmett and Rose. Now, if you ask me that is so wrong. I mean, what are their parents thinking?" She was talking a bit louder now. I'm sure she wanted Cullens to hear her.

"Lauren, it's not like they are related." Angela tried defending them.

"Still, they live under one roof. Seriously, they are freaks! So my point is, Bella, if you want to be a part of our group, you will not talk, smile, or even look at Cullens. Got it?" Lauren said, looking straight at me.

By the end of her little tirade, my blood began to boil. How dare she?

"Lauren, sweetie," I started out in a sweet voice " Alice has been extremely nice to me, which is more than I can say for you. No one asked you for your opinion. Who do you think you are, judging others? I'm sorry to break it you but there's a place where no one cares if you're popular or not: it's called the real world. Maybe you've heard of it? No? Well, you're in for a big treat. So you know what, you can take your stupid popularity and stick it up your ass!" I smugly smiled at her and then looked at Angela "Angela, I'm sorry. You've been nothing but nice to me. My comments don't apply to you. I hope we can still be friends."

And with that, I walked away from them. Only then did I notice that the cafeteria was dead silent. Everyone looked shocked. So I just kept walking towards the exit. I passed by Cullens and saw Rosalie actually smiling at me. Huh, interesting. And then the whole cafeteria broke out into laughter. I turned around to see everyone pointing and laughing at Lauren and her group. I guess I was the first one to put her in her place. I also noticed that Angela was no longer at their table. Maybe I did more good than I thought. She was too good for that group anyways. As I was walking out of the cafeteria, I heard my name called out in a shrill voice. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was so I kept walking. I would've flipped Lauren off but there were teachers present.

As usual I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and the next thing I knew, I hit a wall. At least I thought it was a wall. Once my behind landed safely on the floor, I looked up. Standing in front of me was Emmett. Of course, he was laughing his butt off. I just groveled and got up from the floor.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but this is the funniest thing I've seen. I'll stop laughing, I promise."

And yet he was still laughing. I mean I get it, it's funny when people fall but it hurt.

"I'm glad my pain makes you laugh, Emmett. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to the library."

"Aw, Bella, don't be like that. It's just people tend to avoid me at all costs. It's kind of refreshing to have some human contact outside of my family. See, I'm not laughing anymore. But in all seriousness, are you ok? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Now he was all concerned. I could pretend I had an injury but he was too adorable.

"No, Emmett, you didn't hurt me. This happens quiet often, seeing how I'm a klutz. So, no hard feelings. "

"Great! I'll see you around then." With that, he ruffled my hair and headed towards the cafeteria.

I quickly smoothed my hair out and headed in the direction of the library. I had a free period after lunch and figured I'd do my homework so I would have my evening free. Still had to go to the grocery store and make that dinner.

Gym was torture. I tried getting out of playing volleyball, but the Coach wouldn't listen. So yea, I was hit with some balls. And then I hit some people. Not on purpose, of course. That's what I was trying to explain to the teacher. I was worried about other people's safety. And he still made me play. Hey, at least I warned him.

The trip to the grocery store went by without any incidents. I think I've filled my quota of excitement for one day. I decided on making lasagna for Charlie. I just popped it into the over to keep it warm when I heard his car pull up. He has impeccable timing. I already tossed a salad and it was waiting on the table.

To say that Charlie was excited about dinner would be an understatement. He ate the first serving of lasagna and asked for more. I was more than happy to oblige. As long as Charlie was happy, I was happy. It looked like we would be ok. After dinner, he told me that Billy invited us over to dinner on Friday night. I was definitely looking forward to that. I'd get to see Jake! Apparently, Seth and Leah were also coming. That was a reunion I was extremely excited about.

The rest of the week went without any problems. Of course, every day I was hoping to see Edward to I could talk to him about Biology. And every day I would be disappointed. I was starting to get a bit worried towards the end of the week. Was he ok? Did he get sick? I mean, why else would he miss so many days of school. On the brighter note, I found a new table to sit at. At first, I thought that no one was sitting there, but after a few minutes I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up to see shy looking boy standing in front of me. I apologized for taking his seat but he said it was fine. We exchanged introductions-his name was Ben. The next day, Angela joined us. I could tell right away that she had a thing for Ben. I introduced them to each other and they informed me that they already knew each other. They went off into their own little world, leaving me to myself. I really didn't mind. I caught up on my reading during lunch.

It was finally Friday! I was almost running to my car when Alice called my name.

"Hey, Bella! I know you're in a hurry so I'll make this short. I'm going to Port Angeles tomorrow to do some shopping. I was wondering if you would like to come along."

She had that hopeful gleam in her eyes and I couldn't say no to her. Plus, I've noticed that Alice always wore the cutest outfits. Maybe she could help me out. So I agreed. She let out a high pitched squeal and I could've sworn she started bouncing a little bit. I was informed to be ready by 9.

On my drive home, I got overly giddy. Not only would I see my old gang tonight but I was also becoming friends with Alice. She was such a ball of energy that I knew I would have fun with her. Pulling into the driveway, I saw that Charlie was already home. I ran upstairs to freshen up and once I got downstairs, we left the house. I had a huge grin on my face all the way La Push. Charlie just laughed at my excitement. The moment the car stopped, I yanked the door open and saw Jacob standing by the garage. I squealed like an immature girl that I was and launched myself at him. I jumped into his arm with full force earning a big huff out of him. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck and gave him a big squeeze. I heard Billy and Charlie laughing somewhere but all I cared about was Jacob.

"Hey Bells. I see you've missed me." Jacob chuckled.

"Where did you get that idea? I always greet everyone like this. Now be a dear and put me down."

"You know, Jacob, if I didn't know any better, I would feel jealous," I turned my head to see Leah standing by the cruiser. "Then again, I know better."

I squealed again, which caused Jacob to drop me on the ground. Good thing I landed on my feet. The moment I felt solid ground, I ran towards Leah. I hugged her with all of my might and together we started jumping and screaming.

"Wow, you girls should've warned me. I forgot my earplugs."

I looked towards the direction of the new voice and saw Seth. At least I thought it was Seth.

"Seth, is that you?"

"Who else would it be? Or did you forget all about me, Bella? That hurts, you know." He said, feigning hurt.

I greeted him the same way I did Jacob. I figured he could take it. And in the middle of our greetings, Billy came out and told us to come inside.

"Hey Billy! What have you been feeding these boys? They grew so much. I mean, they are freakishly tall. It's a bit unsettling." I joked. He just chuckled at me.

"It's not our fault you are a midget, Bells." Jacob said.

"Hey! I resent that. If you must know, I'm an average height. There is nothing wrong with that. Now you on the other hand, are a different story." Take that, Jacob Black!

"I would be offended, Bells, but since you're such a short little thing, I forgive you."

And so the night continued with us taking stabs at one another. I think our dads enjoyed it too much. Around midnight, Charlie decided to call it a night. I said my goodbyes and promised to visit more often. I was now very glad to be back in Forks. Once we made it home, I decided to talk to Charlie for a little bit.

"Thank you so much for taking me tonight, Dad. I haven't laughed this hard in a while." I told him. I knew he'd be happy to hear that.

"That's great honey. It's good to see you laugh. You have no idea how good. The old Bella is finally coming back."

"Yea, it feels good, too. I was actually surprised that Jacob and Leah are dating. Didn't see that one coming."

"Well, after Harry died, Leah kind of shut down. It hit her really hard. You know how close she was to her father. Jacob took it upon himself to take care of her. And it was history after that."

"That's Jacob for you. Always taking care of everyone. I'm really happy for them though. Now that I think about it, they belong together," I glanced over to the clock on the wall. "Oh wow, I really should go to bed. I'm not sure if I told you this but I'm going to Port Angeles with Alice Cullen tomorrow. I hope that's ok."

"Sure. Alice is a great kid. All of the Cullens are. We're lucky to have Carlisle at our hospital. I only wish that some of the folks wouldn't be hostile towards them. Alright, sweet dreams, Bells."

I never liked shopping before but shopping with Alice would be fun. I couldn't wait.