Hey guys! So I thought I'd already posted this…my bad.

I'm seriously considering writing a "Van Helsing" story. I LOVED the movie!

I thought about my last school dance- my eighth grade formal. That sure had sucked. Sure, Mike was my "date" for that dance, but I was unable to stop reminiscing about how Kramer and I had made plans for that the year before.

I'd been miserable the entire dance. I had sat in a corner, texting my brother when I wasn't walking around looking for food. I remember before the dance, everyone had gathered at my house in our little development. Outside, I had watched Kramer and his family drive out of the development to his follower's house. I remember that I had hated my dress- how the silvery fabric hung on my shapeless body. The scars on my arms were visible in the pictures. How I hated it. I hated that night, I hated it all.

Joe suspected that I had made no friends at the school, which was not completely true. I'd sort of connected with a kid in my art class- a boy one year older than me, who scribbled almost violently at his projects, but produced interesting work. He'd first spoken to me when Mr. Dundee had been away on a drama-club field trip and left the class with a substitute. The kid had been extremely annoying to her, always asking her questions about things that were completely random. After about fifteen minutes, she made him move to the table in the back of the room- my table. He started off by sheepishly explaining to me that every time they had that substitute, the trick was to annoy her to the point where she left as long as they didn't tell. I was impressed by his work, because after another student had picked up where he had left off, she grabbed her coat and left. Before she did, I learned that the boy's name was Adrian Ross, and he had lived in Forks his entire life. Our conversation had almost been like an IM conversation, or a scene from a movie. Me being the antisocial kid and Adrian being the mouth.

ADRIAN : So you're new here?

MAGGIE: I am.

ADRIAN : Think I know anyone in your family?

MAGGIE: Doubtful.

ADRIAN : Can I try?

MAGGIE: Joe Radwany.

ADRIAN : Oh yeah, he fixed my dad's car. Works at Billy Black's shop down in La Push?

MAGGIE: Yep.

ADRIAN : Ah. Is he a relative?

MAGGIE: Brother.

ADRIAN : Really? Man, he's like twenty six.

MAGGIE: Twenty four.

ADRIAN : Oh. Like the town so far?

MAGGIE: It's bearable.

ADRIAN : I don't like it much. There's no way I'm going to get discovered. This town is damn boring. But at least I get to play my music every Friday.

(Adrian glances up, hoping for a reaction when mentioning that he plays music. Maggie, uninterested, continues on her oil pastel project)

ADRIAN : You know The Goo Goo Dolls?

MAGGIE: Yeah.

ADRIAN : I love 'em. You?

MAGGIE: Not really.

ADRIAN : Well, what kind of music you listen to?

MAGGIE: I lean toward the smashes.

ADRIAN : The what?

MAGGIE: Loud shit.

ADRIAN : Oh.

It was right after that when the sub left. Adrian leapt to his feet and told me to stay put. As if I was going anywhere. He left the art room and returned five minutes later with a guitar. He got on a table and started playing a song I'd never heard before, but the rest of the room had. They were all singing the words. I would later find out that this was an original song by Adrian . It wasn't the smashes, or the music that I preferred. Music that had so much going on, that if you turned it up loud enough, you couldn't think about anything but the pain-filled lyrics. The screaming was like sweet birds chirping. I loved it.

All this had happened on October second, two days before the dance. I had only spoken to him for a little while in art class. When Mr. Dundee wasn't paying attention, he'd walk around to other tables, talking to people until our good-natured teacher chuckled and told him to return to his seat.

It was after that when I decided that I liked this school. Despite the shitty education I received.

Adrian was really the only one who talked to me since I'd started school. Mr. Dundee always tried to engage me in conversation when I walked past his desk for supplies or to turn in a project. Probably the coolest adult I'd met here. And he was probably about sixty. Coolness.

Yes, all of this happened right before homecoming. I talked to Adrian the next day as well. It was weird, talking to somebody besides Joe for an hour. I learned much about Adrian during that one hour of art class. Of course, the day before he'd made his love for music obvious. I used to love music. Now I just drown myself in it rather than play.

I learned that he had a mother and father, an older brother that he never saw since he was married and lived in Maryland , and a younger sister who was sick. How badly sick, I didn't have the heart to ask. I convinced myself that she had diabetes or asthma, rather than cancer or something like that. Or Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, I thought as I sadly thought of Mike. He could be referring to the common cold- perhaps he had to run home to make sure she hadn't coughed up a lung.

I learned that he loved to read, his ideal day out is an all-day rock concert, the only reason he loved school was to see his friends- he'd rather be at home with his sister and playing guitar or video games. He turned out to be older than I thought. He was turning sixteen at the end of the month, but he still hasn't gotten his learner's permit. "It wasn't really an issue at the moment," he had said. "We didn't feel like paying for it. Mom was unemployed at the time, so she could take me places. Plus, I didn't really know the material…but I'm getting it soon, I hope. I'd like to drive myself to school next year."

Turns out he's not a troublemaker. And he was funny, though I couldn't help but wonder why he randomly decided to talk to me. I found the corners of my mouth tugging upwards a bit when he talked. This ended when he asked me about myself.

I told him that I didn't really have much of a reason for moving here, only that I didn't want to live in Texas anymore. I could have lied, and egged on the story about the relative who died, but I couldn't think of a relative other than my parents, both of whom were still alive and healthy, unfortunately.

I told him about my interest in poetry, elaborated about my liking for the "smashes" and how my general day was- lying in bed listening to the smashes and reading poetry. When he asked me what my favorite poem was, I thought about it for a few minutes before answering.

"Invictus?" He repeated. I nodded. "You seem more like an Edgar Allen Poe person."

"Are you saying that because-"

"Of the way you dress? Not necessarily. Mostly your personality."

"So I'm emo?"

He started. "That's not what I said."

"You thought it."

His eyebrow raised. "Why all the hostility?"

"It's been pent-up."

"I see."

Silence.

"I don't label, Maggie."

I didn't answer.

Then that stupid bell rang. Dammit. Gym.

We both stood up and picked up our projects. "All right…what class do you have next?"

"Gym."

"Sucks…I have it right before lunch. Good luck."

"I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul." I had stood before the mirror in my dress and recited the poem, just staring at my reflection. I'm really glad that this is practically a blind date. Did Joseph have no respect for me or something?

It's strange, the way my mind works. Somehow, something inside of my head told me to not straighten my naturally curly hair. I was so used to having paper-thin hair that my shoulders were getting tickled when the curls brushed against my bare skin. I couldn't believe that my hair still looked thick. I had figured that my hair would be damaged from all the straightening…guess not. My face had thinned out. Apparently I'd lost weight on every inch of my body. I hadn't realized that my head was that big.

I figured that it was about time that I went downstairs. I remembered watching all those movies where the girl goes to her prom, and she begins her evening by "descending the staircase" and snorted. Yeah. Right.

So I held up my dress and carried my shoes in my hand as a tiptoed down the stairs. I happened to glance at the cheap clock on the wall of the apartment. Gosh. "Three o'clock? Really?" I said in irritation.

"So guess who has good news?" Joe said when he walked through the door. He seemed surprised that I was sitting on the couch. "What are you doing down here?"

"Got ready too early." I had killed the past two and a half hours by watching reruns of Everybody Hates Chris.

"Oh. Well…we're moving."

"Eh?"

"You know that realtor that my buddy Carlton was dating?" Joe kept talking as he walked into the kitchen.

"Who?" I was too preoccupied with watching Rochelle be a bitch in court.

"Never mind…well, I bought a house."

I raised my eyebrows. "A house?"

"Yeah. I hate this apartment. I thought a house would be nice." He said as he walked back out and sat on the Lazy Boy.

My shoulders sagged. "Joe, you didn't have to buy a house just because I came…"

"There's two of us. This is a one- bedroom apartment. And Billy Black said he'd chip in."

I suppose that was his thanks for me taking his son out.

"Where is this house?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the TV.

"Near where Chief Swan lives."

Oh no.

"You could become good friends with his daughter."

"Oh yeah, Miss Comatose?" I said.

"Things haven't been easy for her since she and the Cullen kid broke up."

I knew that. She had missed an assload of school when the Cullens had left, and when she came back (at the beginning of this week) she looked even more like a zombie. Poor thing. On the upside, maybe she'll feel prettier without the Cullens next to her. Maybe her self-esteem will eventually go up.

"When is what's-his-face getting here." I said shortly.

"You could be less apathetic. Jacob is a really nice kid."

"A little too nice," I muttered.

"What?"

I turned to him. "He's just…"

"Friendly. There are still good people in the world, Maggie. I know that you don't really trust people who are nice as a first impression, but hey, you might make a new friend."

"I did make a friend."

"Who?"

"Adrian Ross, he's some kind of punk-rocker."

"I know his family." Who does Joe NOT know? "I like him. His parents are nice, too. His poor sister, though…not easy at all, having a family member with cancer."

Crap. She did have cancer. Thank God I hadn't said anything stupid to Adrian .

"Well look. Hopefully you won't drop this friend like a fly-"

"I don't want to talk about Kramer." When I said this, I pulled away from the TV and looked at Joe dead-on.

"O-kay, easy, Tiger. I'm just saying…it's okay to have friends. There are nice people in this town. Give 'em a chance, I promise you won't be disappointed."

Out of the corner of my eye, on the TV, I saw Chris getting thrown out the window. I smirked.

It was about another hour and a half after that, when Joe was finishing up dinner we heard a knock on the door. Joe went to answer it while I stayed on the couch. Hey, I wasn't trying to impress anyone.

Cheerful greetings were exchanged when the Blacks walked into the apartment. I stood up reluctantly and faced my date.

I wasn't sure if Jacob's smile was just etched on his face all the time or what. Surely no human being can be this happy. I was a little disturbed. He could clean up, though. He had on a suit that was just barely too big for him, and his hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. When he crossed the threshold, he gave me that award-winning smile, showing off his white teeth again, and pulled his jacket off. Okay, so just the jacket was too big. Everything else fit. Wow…that was inappropriate.

"Hey, Maggie!" Billy wheeled around his son to grasp my hand. I gave a half-hearted attempt at a smile.

I just nodded at Jacob Black as he wheeled his father into my brother's apartment. I was starting to feel bad. For what, I was not sure. My behavior, or my brother's twisted mind bent on destroying every ounce of sanity I had left- and ruining Jacob Black's night. I'm sure he regrets loosing this one night of adolescence. By the end of the night, he will wish it had never happened. That's what they mean by "Just say no."

Oh well. His loss. He agreed to it.

Joe was looking painfully cheerful while he dished out one of his concoctions. Chief Swan stopped by and Joe insisted on him staying for dinner. Somewhere along the line, he was asked how Bella was. He hid the look of fleeting sadness in his eyes, but I saw it.

"She hasn't been well lately. I think her breakup hit her pretty hard…I was really worried about her for awhile…" his voice trailed off. Jacob was hanging onto his every word, frowning. I fiddled with my napkin, not sure of what to say.

Dinner ended soon after that. Charlie drove Billy home and Jacob and I reluctantly piled into the truck and left for what would be the worst night of both our lives.