A/N: The first official chapter is finally here! Excited? It hasn't been officially beta'ed, but I was just too impatient to wait; I had share it with you guys. Bad, I know. :/

The prologues that are posted here on ff'n aren't the final drafts. To see them, visit my blog at http:/melikestoread(dot)blogspot(dot)com/ I'll also post this chapter on there once it's been properly beta'ed/edited.

I've had a couple people that have taken interest in beta'ing Strength, so the future chapters of the story will be written better. :)

Thanks to those who have reviewed and added my story to their faves and story alerts. That means a lot, and it motivates me to continue writing this story!

On ANOTHER note (sorry, lots of announcements, I know), I apologize for the teaser(s) I sent to my reviewers. They were more like rough cuts. You guys will be getting better quality ones though, promise!

Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight related. The rest is mine. No copying and/or redistributing without my consent.

Beeeeeep beeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeeep beeeeeeep beeeeeeep.

"Ughhhh." I reached over to shut off my alarm clock.

Different day, same shit, I thought to myself as I slowly dragged out of bed, towards the old, wooden dresser that stood by my bedroom window. Just like any other morning, it was that time of day to take my medication, lamotrigine- the drug that stabilized my mood and enabled me to live a "normal" life.

Yeah right. Me? Normal? I felt far from normal. I wasn't normal. I was manic-depressive. Emotionally and chemically unstable. I was weak. And I hated myself for having to rely on medication.

"Take 3 tablets by mouth every morning," the pill bottle read.

"Stupid meds," I muttered.

I opened the bottle of lamotrigine to pour the pills onto my hand. I swallowed them all at once, chasing them down with a glass of water.

"Blehhhh." I stuck out my tongue and shook my head from side to side. Drinking water at eight thirty am was disgusting. The liquid was too thin for my liking this early in the morning, especially when I had just woken up.

I went downstairs to make myself a bowl of cereal. Just as I was about to sit down at the kitchen room table to eat my breakfast in silence, I decided to eat in the living room instead so I could catch up with the latest news on the flat screen television. I've been completely out of touch with the outside world and current events ever since I returned to school a few months ago.

When I finished my cereal a few minutes later, I turned off the television and went back to the kitchen to wash the dishes before taking a shower and getting myself ready for the day. I had a ten o'clock appointment with my therapist, Dr. Eleazar Mills.

"Good morning, Bella. How are you?" Dr. Mills greeted me as he opened the door to his office. Ever since I've been released from the West Seattle Psychiatric Hospital back in March, I've been seeing Eleazar on a weekly basis.

I entered the room and sat down on the comfy blue couch that was across from his matching chair. He picked up a notebook and pen from his desk before taking his seat.

"I'm doing fine. Just trying to make it through school and work," I replied.

"Good. And how's that going? You're not feeling too overwhelmed or stressed out?"

"No, everything's fine. The quarter's almost over so my schedule is going to be different pretty soon."

"Good. I bet you're looking forward to winter break, yes?"

"Sure am. I'm ready." I laughed.

"I don't blame you. You've been working so hard this quarter. I'm proud of you. You've come a long way the last several months." He smiled as he took down some notes.

"Thanks, Eleazar," I smiled back.

Eleazar felt more like a second father to me than a therapist. He insisted that I call him by his first name and made me feel comfortable enough to speak my mind, without holding anything back. It took a few months to get to that point, but ever since I did, I was able to talk to him about anything and everything. I admitted that I drank alcohol every once in awhile, even though he knew I wasn't supposed to, due to my medication. I also felt comfortable enough to tell him about how far I've gone with guys physically. I didn't feel like a patient when I talked to him- he never judged me or insisted I do something I was uncomfortable with- he simply supported me and taught me various ways to handle and improve my moods and well-being.

"Carmen said you're still taking the same dosage of lamotrigine. How has that been working for you?" Carmen was my psychiatrist, and Eleazar's wife. Although their practices differed in terms of treatment, they shared many of the same patients, such as myself. Eleazar treated me with a more interpersonal approach, whereas Carmen monitored and prescribed my medication.

"It's been working fine. I don't feel numb anymore." When I started taking medication, I told Eleazar that I felt like I lost all of my emotions, as if I had no personality. My feelings were basically like a dial tone- nothing changing, same pitch. No high changes in pitch, no low changes in pitch. That might have been somewhat of a good thing, since I didn't feel the hurt that I felt when Mike left me. As much as I hated to admit it, I would have rather felt the pain than feel nothing at all. As long as I was able to go through every day life and survive, I wanted to feel. To experience my emotions and express myself. What would be the point of living if you weren't able to do those things?

"Okay, that's good to hear. It looks like we're headed toward the right direction then." He smiled. "So is there anything else that has been going on besides school and work? Do you have any plans for the holidays?"

"Not really. I think Charlie and I are just going to have a home-cooked dinner for Christmas. We haven't really talked about it." I shrugged.

"That sounds nice. Sometimes it's better to celebrate the holidays that way than how it's been commercialized and portrayed in the media. And I bet it will be nice to spend some quality time with your father, since he's always busy protecting the streets of Redmond," he said half jokingly. Charlie, my father, was the chief of police in Redmond, a suburb of Seattle. I didn't get to spend much time with him since his job was extremely demanding.

"Yeah, it will be nice to spend some time with him."

He changed the topic. "Have you been getting enough sleep the past week?"

"I've been getting sleep, but not as much as I'd like since I have so much going on."

"On average, how many hours of sleep would you say you've had per night?" He had his pen ready to jot down more notes.

"Ummm...probably around five." I looked towards the window that was behind his chair. He wasn't going to be happy with my answer. Before he could say anything, I defended myself. "I had a presentation to work on for my Communications class."

He set his notebook down on his lap, scrunched his eyebrows, and looked directly into my eyes. "Bella, you know I usually don't try to push or force you to do something you don't want to, but I'm telling you, you need to get more sleep than that. Your body needs it, especially since you're adjusting to your medication. Sleeping and resting is just as important as doing your daily activities and keeping yourself busy. Are you only getting this much sleep because of time constraints, or because you're not able to fall asleep easily?"

I knew Eleazar was being serious, but I couldn't help but find him amusing. Who knew the topic of sleep could get someone so riled up? I tried to hide my smile by biting the inside of my cheeks as I answered. "Time constraints...occasionally restlessness." I was almost tempted to tease him for acting overprotective, but I knew this was a serious matter and essential for my well-being. If I wanted to be healthy mentally and physically, I did need to get more sleep. It was just that seeing him act this way reminded me of Charlie. Whenever Charlie found out I did something that went against any of my doctors' orders, he acted very similar to how Eleazar was acting right now.

"I'll make more of an effort," I promised Eleazar. I reeled myself back into serious mode, thank goodness.

"Thanks, Bella. I know sleep doesn't seem like it's that big of a deal, but it really is. Your mind would be able to function much better."

"I know. It's just hard to keep up with everything, you know? There aren't enough hours in a day."

"You're telling me," he chuckled. "So, have you been going out lately with your friends?" The serious expression he held on his face intensified slightly. He knew I enjoyed the Seattle night life more than I should, and he wasn't particularly fond of that fact.

"I've just been hanging out with Alice at school or at one of our homes. Other than that, I haven't really done anything else. I'm actually supposed to meet up with her after our appointment." I smiled. Spending time with her was one of the few things that actually made me genuinely happy. We met during junior year of high school, and have been inseparable ever since.

Eleazar's look softened. "Nice. Are you guys going out for brunch or something?"

"Well, today we're going to meet up at my place then eat lunch somewhere near campus before we head to our English quiz section."

"I see. Are you guys getting prepared for finals?"

"We actually don't have a final exam in that class, just a final essay that we have to turn in on the last day of class. We're basically going to have a workshop day today."

"Ohh." Eleazar nodded in understanding.

The rest of our session mostly consisted of small talk and how I could manage my time and stress levels during finals. The only thing that irritated me was that Eleazar continued to stress the fact that I needed to get more sleep, no matter how much work I had going on, repeatedly. By the time our fifty minutes was up, I was more than ready to leave. I told him I'll see him next Tuesday and repeated my promise that I will try to get more sleep.

When I arrived back home ten minutes later, I saw Alice's yellow Porsche parked on my driveway. She was sitting at the driver's seat, singing to herself and drumming her hands on the steering wheel.

As I stepped out of my old, orange Chevy truck, she finally noticed me and opened her car door, running over to me with a huge smile on her face, flashing her perfectly straight, white teeth. Her short, spiky black hair bounced in coordination to the pressure of her feet touching the ground.

"Hey, Bella!" Alice said enthusiastically in her soprano voice.

"Hey, Alice. Were you having fun giving your car a private concert?" I teased.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, so much fun," she said sarcastically. "Actually, I just got to sleep in for once, so I feel great."

"Well, aren't you lucky," I said playfully.

"Yes, I am." She giggled. "How was your appointment with Eleazar?"

I opened the front door of the house and stepped off to the side of the entryway, allowing Alice to enter. "It was good. Coincidentally, he gave me a pretty intense lecture on how important it is for me to get enough sleep."

"That's pretty funny," she said as she rested her cream-colored trench coat on the living room couch.

"Ehhh, not so much. It was at first, but by the end I just got tired of it. From now on, I'll definitely be sure to get eight hours of sleep every night."

"Wow, he really did his job then," she smiled.

"Sure did. So anyway, I'm just gonna use the restroom then I'll be ready to go. We're still having pho on the Ave., right?"The "Ave." was a block away from campus, where a strip of shops, cafes and restaurants were located. Students often went around there to study or do group work while eating and socializing. It was one of the most popular places to be at during the school year.

"Actually, I'm not that hungry. We can still go if you want to though." She had a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine. Are you sure you don't wanna go to the Ave. though? It's no biggie."

"Nah, it's okay. I can eat here. I'll be back in a sec." I left Alice briefly to use the restroom and tie my hair up with an elastic band. Then I rejoined her in the kitchen and searched through the freezer until I came across a box of frozen pizza. I set the pizza onto a bake pan and placed it into the oven to cook.

"So how are things with you and Jasper?" I asked Alice as I shut the oven door with a loud thud. Alice met Jasper in her drama class back in late September.

Alice jumped from the sound of the oven door closing before she answered me. "Weeellll," her voice raised a few octaves as a huge grin spread across her face. She was back to her normal, happy self. "So far so good. He's such a gentleman, but I'm about ready to take things up a notch, if you know what I mean." She winked. "We'll see how that goes."

I laughed. "Wow, Shorty taking control! I like it," I teased.

"Yeah, well one of us needs to get some action," she said sarcastically. "When's it gonna be your turn?" She arched her right eyebrow, expecting me to answer.

My pulse began to quicken. I hated it when she put me on the spot like that. "I don't know. I don't think I'm ready. It's just that...he really screwed me over and I'm scared to go through that again."

"I know, but still. You shouldn't let what you went through with him keep you from moving forward. He wasn't even worth all the crap he put you through. And besides, it's his loss, not yours."

She knew better than to say the name Mike in front of me. Every time I heard it, I felt a stabbing pain in my stomach and chest. I couldn't even bring myself to say it. It always left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"I know, Alice. It's just that he was my first everything, you know? He was my first kiss...I had my first date with him. And he was such a good guy...he was a gentleman to me. All of it was so new and fresh to me- I couldn't help it." I picked up a red apple from a fruit basket that was sitting by the kitchen window and began to nibble on it, in attempt to distract myself. That was all I ever did these days- distract myself, so I wouldn't have to think about him.

"Yeah, he was sure the gentleman when he couldn't even break it off with you in person." I flinched at her words. That fact was still painful to me.

Alice caught on to my reaction and apologized. "I'm sorry, Bella. But it's true. He was a pussy. He may have been a good guy and treated you well for awhile, but he was not your first everything. He didn't deflower you, right?" She couldn't help but giggle.

"Yeah, he didn't," I admitted. "Thank God."

"Yeah. He doesn't deserve that gift," she smiled, half teasing me. I couldn't help but blush; I knew she really meant it.

"I know what you mean though, Bella. That was your first serious relationship, even though you guys weren't technically 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'. You guys went through a lot together in a short amount of time, and you managed things well then...until you went to the hospital."

Each muscle in my body immediately tensed. I hated thinking about my stay at the hospital. I didn't remember a majority of my time there, but the things I did remember weren't pleasant.

She noticed my reaction and gave me a second to digest what she said before she continued. "But there was only so much you could have done. You were twenty-one years old, never had a boyfriend, never even been kissed, and were dealing with a guy that was older and much more experienced than you. So, of course that would make things overwhelming and unbalanced."

"Yeah, I know. I just couldn't help it, you know? I thought he was the one for awhile. He even said he thought so himself, right before all the shit happened."

"I know. But sometimes things just aren't meant to be. If you two are actually meant to be together, who knows? Maybe things will work out for you guys in the future."

"Ugh, yeah right." I rolled my eyes. Alice caught my reaction and laughed. As much as I would have liked for him and I to be reunited, I knew it wouldn't happen. We were done. We went through too much too fast.

My eyes began to get glassy at that thought. I checked the time on my cell phone to prevent my unshed tears from falling. There were still several minutes left until the pizza would be ready.

I turned my attention back to the apple I was neglecting. The parts I bit into were already beginning to turn brown. After I took a few bites, Alice walked over and pulled me into her small, firm arms to give me a hug.

"What's that for, Shorty?"

"Just want to remind you that I love you," Alice replied. She hugged me once more and squeezed me tight. She must have noticed how our conversation affected my mood.

That did it for me. After a few seconds, I released the waterworks. She continued to hold me in her arms and chanted "It's okay, it's okay," until I calmed down and stopped crying.

"Damn it, I have issues," I said as I wiped the tears off of my face and eyes.

"You're fine. No one's perfect," Alice said in a soothing, yet convincing, tone.

"Yeah, but I'm beyond fucked up. I'm tired of it all."

"There are people out there who are worse off than you, Bella. At least you have a support system- people who care for you, like your family and friends. Your doctors are also there for you too, monitoring your stability. You're doing great. It takes time to heal and recover from what you've been through. It hasn't even been a year yet."

"Yeah. I'll be okay. Sorry I got all 'emo' on you." I smiled faintly.

"It's okay, no biggie. I was just teasing about the whole guy thing, too. Sorry about that. Kind of." She winked. I knew deep down she did want me to find someone. She told me before that if I were to meet a new guy, it would help me get over him.

The frozen pizza was finally cooked and ready to eat. I ate two slices, and Alice gave in and had one for herself.

We finished eating just in time. When I checked the digital clock that was on the oven, it said that it was almost one o'clock. Our quiz section was scheduled to start at one thirty.

"Wow, we need to head out, Alice. Quiz section's gonna start in a half hour!"

"Crap! I hope there's no traffic!"

Alice and I quickly gathered our belongings and hopped into her car. She revved up the engine and sped along the neighborhood to enter the highway 520. Luckily, traffic was fairly light since it wasn't rush hour.

On average, it usually took the typical, traffic law-obeying driver approximately twenty minutes to commute to the University of Washington from Redmond, but with Alice and her manic driving, we made it to school in just under fifteen minutes.

"Damn woman, I didn't know you were that anxious to get to school," I said as I stepped out of her car, combing through my wild, wind-blown hair with my fingers. The rush of adrenaline I felt during the drive lightened my earlier mood drastically.

"Oh yeah, you know it! I'm sooo excited to critique our classmates' papers." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you know you enjoy it. It's been the highlight of your quarter!" I teased.

"Ummm, no. More like you, Missy! You're the one that's using English as a backup major. Me, on the other hand, am going to major in Dance, thank you very much."

"Okay, okay. You got me there. Let's get going before we end up being late after all."

We left one of the parking lots that were on campus and walked over to Balmer Hall, where our quiz section was located at. We entered the classroom and claimed our seats near the front of the room, where I liked to sit. Alice usually preferred sitting towards the back, but she knew I focused best while sitting at the front, so she dealt with it.

Alice grabbed her notebook and pen out of her flashy, purple book bag and placed them on the table. "Ugh, I am so ready for winter break," Alice said as she let out a sigh.

"Me too. Only two and a half weeks left! I bet you're already prepared for your extended family's visit, huh?" I asked. Alice mentioned to me a few weeks ago that she was going to have some relatives visit for a couple weeks during the holidays.

"Yeah, pretty much," she confessed. "It just sucks that I'll have to give up my spare room to Edward. I'll get over it though."

"You'll be fine," I reassured her. Alice used one of the extra over sized rooms in the house as a place to practice her dance routines. "Who's Edward?" I've been to her place so often that I was pretty well acquainted with most of her relatives, even the ones that visited from out of town.

"He's my cousin. I've mentioned him to you before- he actually started school here this quarter after transferring from a community college near Forks. You just haven't met him because he's always busy. You'll probably meet him over break though." She looked down at her notebook, trying to hide a mischievous smirk that was beginning to form on her face.

I knew that look. "Don't even think about it Alice."

"Don't even think about what?" she asked innocently, as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't try to act like I don't know what you're thinking."

"Don't try to act like I'm thinking about what?"

"Ugh. Never mind." If that's how she was going to act, so be it. I knew damn good and well what she was thinking. She was going to try to play cupid. Well, it wasn't going to work.

I took a sip off of the water bottle I brought from home and placed it into one of the side pockets of my backpack. Once it was secure in its place, I pulled out the latest draft of my paper, as well as my blue-inked pen and notebook. Quiz section was about to begin.

"Good afternoon everyone," our TA, Mr. White said as he greeted the class. "Today is another workshop day. You know the routine. Refer to the overhead to see who your group members are for the day, and assemble yourselves accordingly. As usual, I'll be visiting each group periodically to make sure everything's running smoothly. Are there any questions or concerns?" He looked around the room for a few moments, acknowledging the fact that there were no matters to attend to. "Alright then, you guys may get into your groups now."

The quiz section went by surprisingly fast. I knew that the current draft of my paper needed some major revisions, so my group members' input and notes were extremely helpful. Earlier in the period, I glanced at Alice, and even she looked engrossed in her work with her group members, which was fairly rare for her. She usually worked in a carefree, upbeat manner since she always digested information easily.

At the end of class, we met at the doorway and made our way towards the HUB, where the main food court on campus was located at. It was one of the buildings where students liked to socialize and relax.

"So, you looked like you were working pretty hard today, Shorty," I said to her as we walked out into the cool, crisp air.

"Sure was. Why does this damn paper have to be due in less than a week?" she whined.

"Well, at least it's our last paper; then winter break will be here before you know it. You'll do great."

"I hope so. Hey, you have anything going on tonight besides your class later? Maybe we can work on our papers at your place after I'm done with dance rehearsal."

"I probably shouldn't. If we work on our papers tonight we'll probably end up working 'til pretty late, you know? Wouldn't want to disappoint Eleazar already, right after his lecture and all." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes for effect.

Alice giggled. "Silly girl. Well, how about tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that would be better. We could study at my place and order pizza for dinner. Does that sound okay?"

"That's perfect! It'll be fun," she smiled.

When we reached the HUB, we went to the commuter services lobby to check our school e-mails and look through our English papers once more. After a few minutes, she told me that she had a quick group meeting to attend before heading over to her three thirty dance rehearsal, so we went our separate ways. She headed towards the Hutchingson Hall, while I walked over to the Gallagher Law Library.

The next couple hours were surprisingly productive. I found myself absorbed in my schoolwork and had a good portion of online sources gathered for my research paper. I also ended up having some extra time to review some of the material for my Communications class- I figured it would be a good idea to get a head start on preparing for the upcoming final.

I was so engrossed in my work that I didn't even check the time until it was nearly time for me to leave for my Sociology class. It was still a little early, but if I resumed my schoolwork I probably would lose track of time again. I decided to play it safe, so I packed my things together and walked over to Savery Hall.

None of my classmates were in the classroom when I showed up, so I turned on the lights and sat down at one of the seats near the podium. I needed to keep myself distracted so I wouldn't have enough free time to think about him. I prepared for class by retrieving my laptop and flashdrive from my backpack.

After opening up a new word document for taking notes, I browsed the Internet. I checked my school and personal e-mails, as well as news sites such as CNN and Wall Street Journal. I even went on a couple celebrity gossip sites- pop culture had always been a guilty pleasure of mine. After a few minutes, I couldn't find anything else to look at. I could have logged on to facebook to check my account, but I knew for a fact that if I did that right now, I would be tempted to view his page and look at his pictures since he didn't set all of his albums on private. There were times when I could manage avoiding it, but I knew I didn't have that much will-power at the moment.

Before I could allow myself to give in and actually log on, I set my laptop down on the seat next to mine and took out my class textbook and highlighter. I then began to search for key points of the chapter that Professor Varner was going to lecture on tonight, to prepare for writing my weekly journal.

Come on, Bella. Concentrate. It's taken you months to get this far. You're finally back in school. You're doing well. Your friends and family think so. Your doctors think so. Get back with it. Move on. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in...

I recovered just in time, right before one of my classmates entered the room. "Hi Bella, how are you?" a blonde girl named Jessica Stanley asked in a superficial, friendly voice.

"I'm good, Jessica. What about you?" I picked up my laptop and placed it back on the table.

"I'm great," she smiled. She flipped her blonde hair over her right shoulder and took the seat that my laptop occupied a moment ago. Just as she was about to say more, her iPhone went off. She received a text from Tyler Crowley, one of our classmates, asking her to join him and a few of his friends at their seats.

"I'm gonna go sit with Tyler, Bella. Wanna join us?" Her eyes did not meet the smile she was wearing.

"No, I'm good here. Have fun."

"You too. Catcha later." Without a second glance, she darted over to Tyler and his friends.

A few minutes later, Professor Varner came in and placed his things on the podium. He knew me pretty well- this was the third course I've taken with him. We had an argument via e-mail about one of the in-class quizzes he gave last quarter, and it was memorable, to say the least. We replied to each other at least three times a day over a three day period. At one point, he had me so upset that I dramatically bolded, italicized, and increased the size of my font when I gave him the correct answer. Ironically, we're now on good terms and he's told me that my reflective journal entries have been "outstanding."

The classroom was nearly full when lecture finally began.

"Hello, everyone," Professor Varner greeted the class. "Tonight we're going to cover the second to last chapter of your textbook." Everyone pulled out their textbook study guides and note-taking items.

When Professor Varner tried to find his textbook, he realized that he left it in his office. "Bella? May I use your textbook for tonight?"

"Sure, Professor Varner." I handed him my textbook as he walked toward my table. He opened it up to the chapter and noticed that there were several sections already marked by my yellow highlighter. "Bella, did you do all this?" He asked loudly, in front of each of the students in the classroom. He held up my textbook, exposing my neon yellow piece of art.

"Yes," I replied embarrassingly. The temperature of my cheeks began to rise.

"Working ahead of time?" he asked, smiling, with a twinkle in his eye. Was he teasing me?

"Ummm, I guess so." I didn't need to look at a mirror to know that my cheeks were beet red. I felt the flush and heat spreading throughout my entire body. All of a sudden, the room began to feel extremely hot and my heart was beating rapidly. I could feel my classmates' stares on me as I sank down lower into my seat, wishing it would make me disappear.

When the last half hour of the class period finally approached, Professor Varner returned my textbook and introduced the final project. "Now, as you know, you are all going to be forming groups this evening. I've decided that since this will be your final project, I will allow you to make your own groups of four to five people. I expect you all to make your decisions wisely. Make sure that you all will be cooperative and productive, because you only have two weeks to complete it.

"With that being said, I won't use up anymore class time tonight. You may now commune among yourselves and create your groups, and spend the remainder of the class time as you wish. I'll be here if you need to speak with me."

A few people immediately came to mind. I turned my head back to look a few rows behind me, in attempt to spot Angela Weber. I worked with her in my Geology class from freshman year; she was a good person to work with. When I spotted her, we made eye contact and smiled, walking towards each other.

"Hi, Bella, want to work together?" she said in a soft spoken tone.

I returned her smile. "Hey, Angela, I'd love to work with you! I was just about to ask you the same thing. Is there anyone else we should ask to join our group? I was thinking of Jacob Black and Ben Cheney." Jacob Black was the son of Charlie's best friend, Billy Black. I knew Ben Cheney from high school.

"Yeah, that sounds good. You know, Ben and I are actually going to go on a date this Friday," she said, smiling shyly.

"Awww, Angela. That's awesome! You guys would look so cute together! Hurry up before he joins another group!"

Unsurprisingly, Ben was already making his way toward us before Angela even spotted him. This was running smoother than I thought.

I tried to find Jacob, but had no such luck. Usually, it was extremely easy to spot him in a crowd- he had silky, spiky black hair and a muscular build. It was his muscles that always made him so noticeable- I always teased him about being on steroids.

I was standing on the tip of my toes, lifting my chin while searching for him, when I all of a sudden lost my balance and began to fall forward. Before my entire body landed onto the floor, a pair of firm, white hands with long fingers caught hold of the side of my arms. I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my veins from their unusual warmth.

"Wow, sorry about that," I said as I stood back up, aggressively biting my lower lip. I looked down at my shirt as I straightened and smoothed it out. "I'm such a klutz." My cheeks began to flush for the second time this evening. Great.

I could feel my rescuer's eyes on me, but avoided his gaze as I unnecessarily continued "fixing" my shirt. All I saw out of the corner of my eye was an unfocused picture of a tall guy with wild, bronze hair, with lean arms that matched the shade of his hands, and a gray tee-shirt.

"Oh no, it's okay. Are you alright? I was just going to ask if you guys still need a group member..."

Before I could begin to comprehend what he was saying, I turned my head from left to right and resumed my search for Jacob. I was already embarrassed enough from earlier and didn't want anymore attention.

I turned back to the bronze haired boy once his words finally sank in. Before I got the chance to say anything, he was already turning around.

"It's okay. I'll go find another group." He began to walk away.

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