A/N: Happy 2010! I hope you all had a great time celebrating.

This chapter is going to be a little different because it's BPOV only. Don't worry though; Edward still has plenty to say. Reviews are love! Enjoy!

Bella

My room was eerily quiet despite the soft patter of the rain on the roof. I shut my eyes, taking in the events of the day. I wasn't expecting to get so much attention on my first day of school. I even chose an outfit that wouldn't stand out– a brown plaid jacket, denim jeans, and black Vans. It wasn't noteworthy in the least.

I was approached by a girl named Jessica in my first period Literature class. She had dark, curly hair and wore a tight pink shirt that purposefully showed off her cleavage. It almost seemed like she snorted a bunch of coke before class by the way she was acting, but I quickly caught on that she was naturally strung out on life. I'd never seen anything like it.

"Oh my god, you're the new girl!" she said loud enough for the entire class to hear.

I felt my cheeks grow hot. "Um, yeah," I said softly, hoping she would catch on to the volume of my voice and match it with hers. "I'm Bella."

"My name is Jessica!" she said, still loud. I wondered if everyone in Forks would be so annoying. "It's so awesome that we have a class together. Can I see your schedule?"

I handed her my class schedule I was given by the overweight woman in the front office–Miss Cope, I believe– and was relieved to find that the only other period I had with Jessica was lunch.

"I can't wait for you to meet my friends!" Jessica said, undeterred about having just one class together. Neither can I, I thought grimly.

She was interrupted by our teacher. "Is there something you would like to add, Miss Stanley?" he asked. He was balding, and had an awful comb over in a futile attempt to hide it.

"No, Mr. Mason," Jessica said, looking irritated. I was positive that it wasn't the first time she talked so loud in his class.

Lunch was after third period, which was earlier than I was accustomed to. Jessica flocked to me immediately with a huge smile on her face.

"Bella! Come meet my friends!" she said.

I followed her to a large table by the cafeteria window. There were several girls and guys already sitting there, and all of them were staring at me.

I met each of them, but I only remembered a couple. I decided I really liked Angela out of the group. She was soft-spoken, kind, and understanding. Her family had moved around a lot when she was younger, so she knew what it was like to be the new girl. Her smile was genuine, which was a relief in comparison to Jessica's cracked-out, bizarre smile.

Jessica wasn't half bad compared to Lauren, though. Lauren didn't say much of anything, and whatever did come out of her mouth was bitchy. She had long, blonde hair and lugged around an imitation Coach purse like it was a miniature child. I thought that maybe she was used to being the center of attention, and, to her, I had taken away her spotlight. Little did she know getting attention was the last thing on my priority list.

The last person I remembered was Mike. He was noticeably staring at me all through lunch, which made it incredibly awkward. He was blonde, had blue eyes, and his face seemed exceptionally childlike. It was as if his head didn't match his teenage body.

What the hell was someone as sweet as Angela doing with these people? I thought idly.

I was late to my fourth period biology class because I couldn't find the damn classroom. It was embarrassing. I wished my mortification wasn't completely evident with my fucking red cheeks, but blushing was my curse. My teacher informed me I would be sitting next to someone named Edward, so I looked up to see where my new seat was.

I couldn't even breathe when I saw Edward. I didn't know his last name, but that wasn't a big deal to me. His beauty was indescribable, like he was from another world intended for people too stunning for Earth. I would certainly not deserve to live in such a world. It should have been a sin to be that fucking handsome. His hand was in the air as he gave me the most perfect smile I'd seen in my entire existence. I tripped over my own feet while I walked down the aisle, cursing my clumsiness. What a sexy first impression you're making for him, I thought sarcastically.

To redeem myself, I took a seat next to Edward with as much grace as I could gather. Immediately after I sat down, he politely introduced himself. Like an idiot, I told him I noticed he was Edward. He let out a musical chuckle. Even his laugh was irresistible. I seriously considered somehow not knowing I died and being in heaven, but reconsidered when I thought of where I'd really go if I were dead. It certainly wouldn't be around Edward.

As I glanced at his eyes, my heart skipped a beat. They were the most breathtaking shade of green surrounded by a subtle ring of gold, and they held indescribable depth. It was as if he had lived a century and was trapped in a teenager's body. I never thought someone could look so wise just by gazing in their eyes, but I never thought I'd meet someone so faultless either.

I wasn't certain about much in my short life, but I was absolutely certain that Edward was going to change it.

I slowly faded back to reality as I opened my eyes. I grabbed my cigarettes and some body spray, and I headed to the back porch for a smoke. Charlie didn't know I smoked, and I intended to keep it that way. I did not want to cause any conflict between us. It wouldn't be fair after all he'd done or me.

Charlie was picking up pizza for dinner, so I knew I had enough time for a cig. He didn't cook and insisted that I shouldn't have to cook every night. We either had takeout or went to his favorite restaurant every other night. I tried to tell him I enjoyed cooking, that I even planned to go to college to culinary arts; but he didn't accept it. I imagined that he might warm up to me with time, and wouldn't mind having me cook every night. Only time would tell.

I smoked my cigarette while I watched the rain make tiny splashes in our pool. It was nice to be dry on the porch while still getting to enjoy the rain. Even though it was probably going to get extremely old, the rain was a refreshing change to the scorching sun ninety nine percent of the time. I wondered if it were possible to get seasonal affective disorder (ironically abbreviated SAD) due to too much sunshine. I knew it probably sounded stupid, but the rain was actually therapeutic after sun every damn day. Maybe Forks was my "sunshine." Maybe everything would look up for me after so many years of agony. I really hoped so. I was certainly ready for a change in luck.