Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank-yous to my beta VampyMusiK. You're the greatest. :)

Chapter 3

She was barely awake when her brother parked the car in the school's parking lot. Everyone stared at them and she wondered how the fuck those people knew what had happened in this big city. This surely wasn't like Forks but the gossip had spread as fast if not sooner.

Ever the gentleman Anthony opened the door for his sister and helped her out. She wasn't grumbling as usual at his gentlemanly ways. Actually, she was feeling numb – she didn't have any energy to be angry at the world. Her relationship with her brother was still the same if not worse because now she didn't bother to tell him a word which hurt Anthony's feelings a lot more.

A skinny girl who looked like she belonged with Middle Schoolers practically skipped to Anthony's side and wrapped her arms around his waist, reaching for the kiss. She had dirty blonde hair and dressed very modestly but in reality she just looked like a little girl trying to act like an adult. Her name was Mia and she had been Anthony's girlfriend since they were fifteen.

Renesmee scoffed at them and turned away to go to her first period but she bumped into a hard body. She hadn't even heard someone approaching. The person's hands grabbed her shoulders so she wouldn't fall.

"Whoa!" He laughed, steadying her. "Are you alright?"

She raised an eyebrow, glaring at him. "Do I look fucking alright to you?"

He, however, looked more than alright. He was downright handsome. Very tall, with a snow-white smile, long hair, tied back into ponytail and warm brown eyes. In many ways she could say that he looked like Jacob but their features were absolutely different. Jacob looked like Native American whereas this guy was from south Brazil, maybe even Spain.

"Hey, Niguel!" Anthony greeted the guy who still had his arms on her shoulders. Renesmee's brother gently pried her off of him and pulled her to his side. "This is my baby sister Renesmee." He introduced the two, giving a warning glance to the new kid. Anthony saw the way he was staring at his sister and the last thing she needed was another guy pursuing her.

Niguel understood that this girl, no matter how beautiful she was, was off limits so he smiled at her friendly, offering his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm an exchange student from Brazil."

"He's a junior just like me and Tony." Mia gushed, holding Anthony's hand tightly. She was pressed against his arm like a leech and Renesmee only sneered at her in answer.

"Yeah…" She rolled her eyes and quickly walked away but Niguel followed her, making the annoyance inside of her grow. She ignored his presence as long as possible until a very excited Monica miraculously appeared in front of her.

"Rennie!" She exclaimed, hugging her friend. "We've missed you, hon!" Her blonde hair pressed uncomfortably against Renesmee's cheek so she pushed her away as gently as possible so as not to hurt her feelings.

"I've missed you, too." She replied and even though she looked sad and miserable Monica could tell that she was being sincere. Renesmee truly missed her friends and smiled when she saw Shelley and her boyfriend Ron coming towards them.

Shelley and Monica were like two peas in a pot but the difference between them was that Monica was a rather smart girl while Shelley was a real airhead. It was weird, considering that Monica's parents were Mike and Jessica Newtons who were the densest people Renesmee had ever known. Shelley's parents however were Angela and Ben Cheney – a very smart and very successful pair. Angela was one of Renesmee's mother's co-workers.

"How do you feel, sweetie?" Shelley asked looking worried which was unlikely for her. "You could use a day at the spa."

Renesmee couldn't help but laugh because the statement was just soShelley. They hugged tightly and even Ron offered her a hug even though they weren't close. As long as she remembered Ron had been around. At first as Shelley's friend, then as her boyfriend, later as her ex but now they were together again.

"Well…" Monica trailed, looking expectantly at her friend. "Introduce us to your companion." Her eyes were slightly darker from lust and Renesmee had to frown. For some reason she felt protective of this guy and she didn't like that Monica was looking at him like he was a piece of meat.

"This is Niguel and I've just met him." She said in a monotonous voice. "I have to go to class." She said dryly, leaving the four of them alone. For the first time she wanted to get to the class on time. She wasn't skipping any lessons from now on. She couldn't afford to fall behind. At least it was what she had said to herself.

Renesmee was relieved that she hadn't met Edith yet. She was still pissed at her friend but the worst thing was that she hated that Edith was right. She should have listened to her friend before this happened. Renesmee wasn't going to admit her fault and she certainly wasn't going to tell Edith what had happened.

That was the reason why she had decided to go to the library instead of cafeteria when lunch break started. What she didn't expect to find there was Niguel, reading intently in the corner. His eyebrows were scrunched and she had to admit that he looked cute while he was doing that.

She silently sat next to him and watched him reading the book. She was a bit startled when he spoke. "You do realize that it's creepy to stare at people like that?"

She didn't smile but she felt the amusement in the pit of her belly. "I'm sorry. What are you reading?"

Instead of answering he lifted the book and showed her the cover. She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Gossip Girl? Seriously?"

Niguel shrugged. "I was curious." He was silent for a few moments before he added. "Monica suggested this. Hey! Don't roll your eyes at me! Have you even read it?"

She snorted. "No. But Monica forced me to watch the whole season of series based on that book. There's probably nothing worse than that. Talk about drama, you know?"

"Fine." He said, closing the book and pushing it away. "What do you suggest?"

She's never been self-conscious when it came to her personality but now she was embarrassed by her lack of enthusiasm when it came to reading. Her mother had tried to plant the love for literature but her efforts were in vain as Renesmee had never read the books she wasn't forced to read.

"I don't read." She confessed, looking away.

He was surprised. "Well, why are you here of all places?" When she didn't answer he chuckled. "Oh, I know. You're hiding from someone. Hm… Who is it? Your boyfriend?"

The word boyfriend made her flinch. She stood up abruptly, turned on her heel and left the library without a word, heading straight to girls' bathroom. Unfortunately, Edith was also there.

She smiled widely and came to hug Renesmee. "Hey there! I've started to think you were avoiding me!" She giggled. "So, where have you been? I've tried to talk with Tony but he said it was your story to tell."

"I've broke up with Jake." Renesmee said in a dead voice but Edith seemed not to notice. Her smile widened even more and she squealed in excitement, hugging Renesmee even tighter.

"About damn time! Is this why you were absent? You were celebrating?" She asked, practically bouncing. Renesmee stared at her friend blankly and wondered if she was acting or if she really was that stupid not to notice how much pain it caused for Renesmee.

As if reading her mind, Edith's expression softened. "Aw, darling, you know it was for the best. He wasn't good for you. You deserve so much better and now that you're Jacob-free we're going to celebrate properly!"

Without giving any warning, Edith grabbed Renesmee's hand and dragged her out of the bathroom where was standing a worried Niguel. "Are you alright?" He asked wide-eyed. The last thing he wanted was to insult her unintentionally.

"Is she alright?" Edith grinned. "She's fan-fucking-tastic! She finally broke up with her jackass boyfriend! And whoever you are, you're invited to celebrate with us after school!" She practically sang it to him. "Let's go! We have to tell Shelley and Monica!"

Renesmee pulled her hand away from Edith's grasp and glared at her. "No! I don't want to celebrate, okay? There's nothing to celebrate! I love him, okay? It's not easy to deal with and you don't even know the whole fucking story! Yes, you're fucking happy that he's gone but that means that you're ecstatic that I'm miserable! What a good fucking friend you are, aren't you?"

Edith's mouth popped open in surprise. Then her eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips. "So it was him who broke up with you? Look, it's really for the best and no, I'm not ecstatic that you're miserable. He's an asshole and like I said you deserve better. Why do you need a cheating bastard, anyways?"

"He wasn't cheating on me!" Renesmee screamed. "You've heard some fucking rumor and you've believed it! Why couldn't you trust myjudgment? It's your fucking fault that this happened!"

"My fault?" Edith's voice rose up. "You can't blame me about your fucked up relationship. It's certainly not my fault that you can't make your relationship work!"

"How can I make it work if you always stick your fucking nose in my fucking business?" Renesmee felt a little lightheaded but she needed to get it out. She knew that after this argument she'd probably lose her best friend but she wasn't going to be blamed for something that wasn't her fault. "You were so jealous that I had a boyfriend that you did everything to ruin it! Well, guess what? You've succeeded!"

"Fucking fine with me!" Edith yelled. "I don't understand what the fuck is wrong with you! One day you're awesome and funny and the next day you're dating that prick, brooding all the time and refusing to spend time with me or any of your friends! What's happened to my best friend because this monster in front of me isn't her!"

"I don't know!" Renesmee screamed, feeling the tears rolling down her cheeks. She seemed to be doing a whole lot of crying as of lately. "Why can't you be my friend no matter what? Why can't you love me as I am? Why you want to change me?"

"Oh, fuck you!" Edith shouted. "You know damn well that I'm not trying to change you. It's you who did the changing. I don't need such a bitch of a friend!"

Edith turned around to leave but Renesmee couldn't leave this argument without having the last word so she added the last painful whip. "Just so you know, Anthony will never look at you that way. He doesn't even see you as a female."

Edith felt her bottom lip quivering but she refused to cry in front of her ex-best-friend. Instead she continued walking, squeezing her hands into fists by her sides. On her way she walked past very worried Anthony who stopped her by grabbing her wrist. At that moment she wanted to throw herself at him but she noticed his girlfriend besides him and controlled herself.

"Yes?" She asked acidly. Anthony looked a bit taken aback by her tone but he quickly composed himself.

"Where's Nessie?" He asked urgently. He noticed that she wasn't in cafeteria at lunch and got worried. He had no idea what she might have done while she wasn't under supervision.

Edith's eyes hardened and she gestured behind her, resuming her walking. Anthony was a little confused by her cold demeanor but quickly brushed it off and focused on finding his sister.

Renesmee hadn't realized that she was shaking until Niguel pulled her into his embrace and rubbed her soothingly, whispering in her ear to calm down. She didn't want to calm down. She wanted to hunt Edith down and make her listen to everything she had to say.

Suddenly she was ripped from Niguel's embrace and into her brother's arms who was hollering at everyone to explain what's happened. While Niguel silently told the story she sobbed into her brother's chest, fisting his shirt.

"I'll drive you home." He stated after he heard the story. He was still confused why Edith and Renesmee who were thick as thieves would get into such an argument. Maybe their friendship wasn't as strong as it seemed but maybe – and he thought about it very carefully – Edith was right. Renesmee hadchanged and no one understood why.

His parents thought it was adolescence and everyone believed them but now her problems seemed more serious than teenage hormones. He drove his weeping sister to hospital where he knew his father was going to be without a dought. He was surprised that she hadn't put up a fight but when he looked closer at Renesmee he realized that maybe she didn't have any energy to fight and it scared him a lot.

Fortunately, when they got there Carmen – one of the pediatricians and a good friend of Dad's, was at reception. Her eyes widened when she took in Renesmee's shaking form and she was instantly by her side, calming her down.

"Page Dr. Cullen." She barked an order to one of the nurses nearby. Moments later their father showed up and he instantly had Renesmee in his arms. She was now a lot calmer.

"What's happened?" He asked Anthony and his son told the story he's heard from Niguel. By the time he'd finished Renesmee was absolutely fine except for several hiccups that appeared after crying so much.

"Take the rest of the day off, okay sweetie?" Dad told her, kissing her forehead softly and rocking her in his arms, humming a familiar tune in her ear until she fell asleep.

Renesmee noticed that the fight affected other people, too. Shelley and Monica were torn between the two of them. The two of them were really close and it was hard for them when they decided that they were going to stay with Edith. Not because they thought that Edith was right when the fight transpired but because Edith was more popular than Renesmee who now was considered a nutcase.

However instead of being friendless, Renesmee gained new friends – Niguel and surprisingly Mia who appeared to be friendlier when she saw how much Anthony cared about his sister. Renesmee still wasn't very fond of her brother's girlfriend but now she was tolerable.

Niguel though proved to be a very trustworthy person. Every day he was at her side, questioning her about her life and opinions. He made her laugh when she was sad and comforted her when she was crying. He didn't know the whole story about Jacob but every time he wrapped his arms around her in comfort she felt as if deep in his heart he knew. And it was good enough, for now.

After several weeks of their friendship she found herself in higher spirits. She hadn't felt so light in a long time and she relished the feeling. Every day her parents tried to convince her to see therapist and every time it ended with her throwing another thing at the wall and crying herself to exhaustion.

She wasn't sleeping and she barely ate but every morning she woke up with an excited feeling in her stomach. She knew that she was looking forward to seeing Niguel who had become the ray of sunshine in her world of darkness.

"Rennie! Someone's here to see you!" Her mother's voice reached her from downstairs. She was confused because she didn't expect anyone. She still was in her pajamas and lay in her bed, pretending to sleep. Even her parents hadn't believed her act.

She walked downstairs and was dumbfounded when she saw Niguel in the hallway, joking with her father. She even rubbed her eyes with her fists to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "What are you doing here?"

The two of them turned to look at her with huge smiles. Niguel walked closer to hug her in greeting. "Go get ready! We're going out!"

He seemed so enthusiastic that she couldn't help but smile sadly at his efforts to cheer her up. She couldn't disappoint him however so she dashed upstairs and got ready in record time. It wasn't like she wanted to impress him so she dressed up like she would if she was going out with Anthony. Not that it ever happened.

She walked downstairs and saw that Anthony had joined them. As soon as she reached the surface, Niguel grabbed her arm and dragged her outside. She was surprised that she hadn't heard her father telling them to be safe but on the other hand he probably had already threatened Niguel to keep her safe.

"Where are we going?" She asked curiously. Niguel was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement, beaming happily at her.

"It's a surprise." He said mysteriously. "And I promise you'll like it."

"Okay." Renesmee agreed tentatively. She knew that her mother hated surprises and that her Dad liked surprising her but she didn't mind it. She could be patient if needed and they weren't rushing anywhere.

When they parked into the lot she couldn't help but laugh. "A mall? Are you sure you aren't gay?"

He didn't even act offended instead laughing at her joke. "Yes, I'm very sure. We're here because one, you're going to get a haircut and two, we're going to make sure you have visited a bookstore at least once."

She frowned. "Ha, ha. I've been to bookstore before. And why do I need a haircut? Haven't I told you that I love my hair?" She said, fingering one of her bronze locks.

His eyes were fixated on her fingers as he smiled fondly. "I love you hair, too but from what I understand you've gone through a painful breakup and the best remedy is to get a new haircut! New perspective and all."

She snorted. "You do realize that you've sounded absolutely gay right now?"

"Stop ruining my fun!" He complained. "Let's go!"

They visited the hairdresser's first where Renesmee cut her hair off short. When Niguel told the hairdresser to do it she wanted to stand up and claw his eyes out but the hairstylist assured her that it was going to look awesome so she relaxed and let him do his job.

After he was done Renesmee was shocked. For the first time in her life she actually felt pretty when she looked at her reflection. Yes, she still looked exhausted with dark circles around her eyes but instead of drowning and hiding under her hair now she was shining through.

When the tears formed in her eyes the hairdresser frowned worriedly. "You don't like it?"

Renesmee shook her head and choked. "It's perfect."