More Jessica! Sorry this is such a short chapter – I didn't have much to say, but it had to be in a different person's head! (The next chapter is longer, and we get to go back to Alice. Yay!)

I've tried to Americanise my writing as much as possible – hopefully it isn't too clunky!! I apologise for the use of the word 'crisps' in this chapter – I can manage 'Mom', 'closet', 'sidewalk' and 'parking lot', but I just can't bring myself to call them 'chips'! :D

Thanks to my amazing beta, Amanda, for her encouragement! And for not minding being bombarded with new chapters and new re-writes!

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer – I'm just playing with them!

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I shivered with delight as the bronze-haired boy swept past me towards a waiting car. He was so tall and muscled and… yummy! Though I was quite sure I had seen Lauren eyeing him up. She could be competition.

'Jess!' someone behind me sang my name. I spun around quickly, my hair fanning out around me. Lauren was approaching me, accompanied by Angela, Claire and Danielle. I smiled.

'Hey guys!'

Lauren didn't beat around the bush. 'Okay, so my house is empty until, like, eight this evening, so I was thinking we could all go back to mine and chat and stuff.'

'Sure, no problem. My mom is picking me up; she could give us a lift to yours,' I offered graciously. I didn't really want to spend too much time with Lauren; I never knew where I stood with her, but it seemed that everyone was going. It would have been rude to refuse.

'Great!'

***

Settled on Lauren's sofa, I kicked off my shoes and tucked my legs under my body. Lauren came from the kitchen with some glasses, a bottle of Coke and a couple of bags of crisps.

'So, what did we think of Forks High School?' she asked cheerfully. Everyone smiled. I think we all knew that Lauren wasn't really asking about the school.

'You mean, what did we think about the guys?' asked Danielle, giving us the unnecessary translation of Lauren's question.

She grinned. 'Yup!'

Angela ducked her head shyly and I rolled my eyes. She was always so modest; she never volunteered gossip. It was maddening!

'Did anyone find anything out about that new family?' I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

Claire nodded. 'I had Biology with the girl. She sat next to me. Her name is Alice Cullen and she's moved here with her two brothers and the twins. She said the twins were related to her mom, but that her and her brothers are, like, adopted or something.'

'Oh, that makes sense,' I replied, pleased to know a bit about the mysterious newcomers. My mom was going to love hearing all this later; I wanted to get as much info as I could.

'Alice was in my Spanish class,' said Angela. I looked at her with surprise. 'She talked to me a bit on the way to lunch. She said that her brothers' names are Edward and Emmett and the twins are Jasper and Rosalie Hale.'

I stared, gobsmacked at Angela. 'How do you know that?'

Angela shrugged her shoulders. 'She was new so I was being friendly. I asked about her family, and that's what she told me.'

'I think Edward is the really hot one,' said Lauren.

Trust Lauren to break the mood of sharing information with a stupid comment about how attractive someone was; not that she was wrong, of course! We just hadn't got onto that yet!

'I know.' Danielle sighed with pleasure. 'He is so gorgeous. I just stared at him all the way through that stupid talk the principal did.'

Claire pouted. 'I didn't have a class with him. But did you see the rest of his family at lunch? Don't you think they're, like, mega creepy?'

I totally got what she meant, but I didn't really want to admit to it in front of my main rival. There was nothing that would ruin my chance with Edward in Lauren's eyes more than my fear.

'Alice was really nice, but sort of intimidating,' said Angela quietly. 'I don't think she means to be.'

'They look like they should be in college,' said Lauren happily. 'Edward is so hot.' Apparently, older guys were Lauren's new fixation.

'I bet they should be,' giggled Danielle. 'Maybe they've all been held back!'

Angela shook her head emphatically. 'No, that doesn't make sense. Alice is really smart; she knew everything in Spanish. I think she's better than Mrs Goff!'

I sighed. 'Edward looks like the youngest though. He looks about seventeen, I think. The others all look about twenty.'

No one said anything, but Lauren and I looked at each other and I knew what she was thinking - I guess she probably knew what I was thinking too. Edward was the youngest; we had the best chance with him. The fact that he was also the most attractive was an added bonus. The race was on.