The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. Nothing dangerous. I was still sure that something else was here.
I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name-not an encouraging response-and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. I'd already read everything. Than was boring…and distressing. I needed stuff to distract me from the reason I was here. Math would only fill up so much time. Still, I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays. And if Aaron would consider it cheating. I went through different arguments with both of them in my head as the teacher droned on.
When the bell rang, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.
"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful chess club type.
"Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.
How in the world was I going to lay-low if everyone knew who I was?
"Where's you next class?" He asked.
"Um, Government with Jefferson, in building six."
Everywhere I looked I meet curious eyes.
"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…" Definitely over-helpful. Which made it harder to stay low.
"I'm Eric."
I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."
We picked up our jackets and headed into the rain. I tried not to pay attention, not to use the wind to scan my surroundings, but I still knew that quite I few people were close enough to eavesdrop.
"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.
"Very."
"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"
"Three or four times a year."
"Wow, what must that be like?" He wondered.
Stressful "Sunny." I said out loud.
"You don't look very tan."
I got used to cold weather because of my vampire best friend. "My mom is part albino."
He studied my face apprehensively and I sighed. This was going to be a long two or four years. Depends how long I can disappear from Tasha's radar.
Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.
"Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle.
"Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.
I sincerely hope not. But I was too nice to say that so I simply smiled at him vaguely and went inside.
The rest of the morning passed the same way. My Trig teacher, Mr. Varner, was the only one who made me introduced myself in front of the class. I stammered, blushed, and made myself trip over my own boots on the way to my seat.
After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others-which irked me to no end-who would introduced themselves and ask me how I was liking Forks. I lied a lot; I just wanted to be a normal new student and they were making it difficult.
There was one girl that sat next to me in both trig and Spanish and she walked to me to the Cafeteria for lunch.
I took a couple steps in and froze. I felt what my instincts had told me the moment I had seen the Volvo. Something besides human was here. I could feel it in the air. I then I felt a certain gracefulness in one student's walk. My head snapped in that direction and fear froze my muscles in place. For across the lunchroom a man- that was supposed to be dead-was just sitting down with his new family.
Emmett, Aaron's twin brother. And sitting on his right, was an Angel I had seen so many pictures of that I knew who she was instantly.
Rosalie Hale; attacked and killed by her fiancée Royce King.
As I was starring, the blonde boy on Rosalie's far right, turned to look at me with questioning eyes. The rest followed suit. I looked away quickly and turned my attention back to the girl.
She was wondering what was wrong. I lied and said I wasn't used to a cafeteria this small. She believed my lie and continued to prattle on about something. I wasn't paying attention to. I had all my senses honed on the vampire family across the cafeteria. I felt every shift, breath, movement, etc. I honed in more so I could feel the air and understand what they were saying. I wanted to look at them, to get a look at the rest of the family, but they were still looking at me.
"What is it Jazz?" That was one of the girls. This Jazz just shook his head.
"What is she thinking, Edward?" I think that was the blonde boy that spoke to this Edward.
Crap. A mind reader. Just my luck.
"I don't know. I can't hear her. Maybe I just don't recognize her voice…"
I smiled slightly in relief. If his power were anything close to Aro's, he wouldn't pick up a thing.
"She looked terrified." I knew that voice. It was too close to Aaron's. Emmett.
"Do you think she's had contact with our kind before?" A different girl, so I assumed it was Rose.
"It's possible. The fear just about paralyzed her. It's how humans feel when…I slip." Blonde boy said.
How wonderful. A mind reader, an empath, and a bear. Anything else I was missing?
"How odd. I didn't see her reacting like that." The first girl said.
Of course, how could we forget the psychic?
The girl I sat next to-Jessica I finally remembered-was introducing me to her friends as we sat down. I spoke out loud for the mind-readers benefit. So he could attempt to 'find' me.
"It's nice to meet you."
My lunch table kept talking but the vampire table was quiet and they had looked away, so I allowed myself to look at them more fully.
They-obviously-didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big-muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. This was obviously Emmett. Another was taller, learner, but still muscular and honey blonde. The empathy. The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college. I assumed this was the mind reader.
The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. This was Rosalie. The sister-in-law I didn't know I had.
The short girl was pixie like, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction. This was the psychic.
It was hard to decide which was more beautiful- Rosalie or the bronze-haired boy. They were all looking at the bronze-haired boy. He was probably trying to find me in the maze of thoughts.
"Who are they?" I asked Jessica.
"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The short one is Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath, though I'm sure the Cullens had heard every word. I peaked at them from the corner of my eye; they all wore identical expressions of confusion at my question.
"They are…very nice-looking." I struggled to give them the wrong impression. I wanted to slap myself. I had been worried about ERIC exposing me here. No, it would be these vampires that would drive me out of Forks.
"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though-Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together."
"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked, although I already knew. "They don't look related…"
"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, I his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister; twins-"I mentally cringed as my heart squeezed at the world. "-The blondes-and they're foster children."
My mind was still stuck on the fact that the leader was a DOCTOR. I was sooo screwed.
"Have they always live in Forks?" Obviously not. But still I Surely I would have at least felt them in town during on of my summers.
"No, they just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska." So it was when I was going to Aaron and my twins.
As I re-examined them, Edward looked up and met my gaze with evident curiosity in his expression.
I felt the horror as I looked into not his golden eyes, though it was slightly there, but in Emmett's eyes. Ever since the drugging, McCarthy men held something that screamed danger to me. They were family; I couldn't just kill them. My eyes showed no fear, though that didn't really matter with an empath in the family.
"Edward, Emmett," Jasper hissed. "Look away!"
I quickly turned back to Jessica, my heart beating out of my chest.
"What was it Jazz?" Alice asked.
"I think she knows you Emmett. He terror jumped to staggering heights when she met your eyes."
"Impossible. I would have remembered someone like that."
I turned back to Jessica; I had to get my act straight.
"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked, peaking at him. I tried to control my voice though it still came out slightly breathless. He was frustrated with his inability to read my thoughts. I could tell cause he wore the same expression Aro always had.
"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." I wondered when he'd turned her down, while I mentally corrected Jessica.
No, I would be using my time to stay away from Edward Cullen, not get closer to him.
After one last look at me, the Cullens left the table together.
When I was about ready to head to class I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned.
"Angela!" I cried happily, pulling her into a hug. "I can't believe you're here!"
She laughed. "I told you we'd meet again, silly!" She hooked arms with me and dragged me away from Jessica.
"How are things?" She asked.
I tried to keep my expression neutral but she saw through it and stopped at the door.
"Bella?" She asked concerned.
"I'll tell you later, okay? But yeah, it's pretty bad."
I knew exactly where her mind went. Crazies. See, I couldn't tell her about vampire and stuff but she was already partially involved in the supernatural world, so I told her vampires were crazy people who have been genetically advanced. It kept her safe but sorta in the loop. Which had saved my life more than a couple times.
When we entered the classroom my heart nearly stopped again. When we entered, Angela went to sit at a blacktopped lab table-that had a partner. But what had me scared was that Edward Cullen was sitting next to the single empty seat. As I passed to get my slip signed, his body went rigid in his seat. As I went to go and sit down by him, I met his gaze. His eyes no longer held any gold, not there was much anyways, I realized belatedly. Actually, none of them had very much gold in their eyes at the moment.
But I recognized the look in his eyes.
Thirsty.
It was just my luck that I would be his singer.
I would be watching him throughout class. But, I still had my pretense to keep up.
So I silently smelled my hair and then let fall it over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us.
I kept my wind sense honed on him the entire time. Near the end I peeked up at him. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. He hated me for tempting him. I couldn't blame him.
When the bell rang, he was out of his seat and out the door before anyone else had risen from their own seat.
I was suddenly filled with hatred for the boy. How dare he? He didn't know anything about hard times. If he slipped in his diet, he moved. If I slipped in my cover, I was on the run for the next 5-10 months. Sometimes a full year. I began gathering up my things slowly; trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts.
"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male-voice asked.
Now that I knew there were vampires in town, my human boy admires weren't such a problem anymore.
I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy; his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way.
"Bella, "I corrected him with a smile.
"I'm mike."
"Hi, Mike."
"Do you need any help finding you next class?"
"I'm headed to gym. I think I can find it."
"That's my next class too!"
I didn't like gym. I had forgotten to be clumsy in biology because I was worried about Edward getting up and attacking people but now I had a role to play. I had to pretend to trip every few steps in gym. And every several steps outside of gym.
How I did that was simple in theory. You know how when you're walking you foot will catch on something, like a carpet or rock? That's basically what I had to do, just with air so it looked natural and not faked.
As we entered the gym, Mike asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."
No, I didn't stab him. I just have very sweet smelling blood.
I played dumb.
"Is that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked easily.
"Yes," he said. "He looked like his in pain or something."
He probably was. "I don't know. I never spoke to him."
"He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."
I smiled awkwardly at him before going into the girl's locker room and out to find the coach.
The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return the paperwork. I had a feeling I should wait for a little bit before I went in.
When I walked into the warm office, I wished I had listened to my intuition.
Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. He hadn't noticed me yet, thankfully.
He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour biology to another time-any other time.
Shocker.
But it would help me too. I could play my roll better if didn't have to constantly talk to one of them.
The door had to open again, and the cold wind gusted through the room, swirling my scent towards Edward Cullen.
His back stiffened and he turned slowly to glare at me. I held his gaze; breaking his thirst-filled haze just enough, and his eyes became slightly confused. I wondered if he could sense my warning though unspoken. I would not allow him to Kill Ms. Cope because of me. He would die first. It might cause me trouble, but no innocent normal human would die in my presence.
"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel and disappeared out the door.
I handed the receptionist the slip, while keeping a sense on Edward Cullen. When he was speeding off in his car, I allowed myself to relax.
"How did your first day go dear?" she asked maternally.
Just peachy. "Fine," I lied.
When I got the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to the house, fighting tears of my imminent failure the whole way there.
Thanks to:
Hlwareham: I'm glad I've got you on your toes! Thanks for reviewing!
Ruskie Roo: Yes, the twins were the ones from her Coma and the random voices she heard afterwards. I'm glad you like it!
NotSoSlightlyCrazy: Hopefully the AN cleared up any confusion on how she has kids and such. If not, send me a review/PM. I'm glad you like it besides that though.
RenesmeeCarlieCullen18: Thanks! Updates will be every weekend!
Motherduckatschool: Glad to know that you are mostly back! I've missed you! Good to know you are still enjoying it! And thanks for reviewing and beta-ing!
Wingless Angel: Hopefully the AN cleared up any confusion but if you have anymore question send me a PM and I'll answer as best as I can.
Anonymous reviewer: Updates will be every weekend. I'm glad you like it!