"'Was this a customary incident in the life of a solicitor's clerk sent out to explain the purchase of a London estate to a foreigner?'" My young English teacher recited the line from memory, the quote that could only belong to Bram Stroker's 'Dracula'. I stared I in awe as she continued to recite the chapter, whishing I could do so as well.

Two weeks had gone by in Forks, and surprisingly my mother and I were getting used to it. Days at school were pretty long and boring; besides the fact that Marlena and her friends were beginning to welcome me to their group. Occasionally in the afternoons of the week, my mom and I would go to a small diner down the road and talk endlessly for hours, about things that didn't truly matter at all.

Evenings and weekends were long and often involved me sitting at home and painting with my mother and cooking up exotic Indian food that neither of us would end up eating. When she was out on business, I would curl up on the couch with a heart-pounding book or agonizing British drama. Of course I had to watch dramas alone, considering the fact that my mother would only laugh at me, her sensitivity lost with my father's death.

The Cullens kept their distance and I admired them from afar. They would disappear sometimes, for a day or two, and I couldn't understand why. Marlena had explained Doctor Cullen liked to pull them out of school so they could enjoy the outdoors on gorgeous days. Not fair, in my book, but of course I was just jealous.

Emmett had given me a high-five or two in the hallways, but other than that, he was pretty quiet and never took much notice of me. It stung me to watch their perfect selves, knowing I was just a pitiful thing that they were waiting to get rid of. A week or two had satisfied them and then I was just dust on their pants.

And then it was the beginning of a new week. I was sitting in my new classroom, watching Miss Rodman, my English teacher, narrate the horrifying love story aloud to us. It absorbed me and moved me. In fact, it made me forget everything around me.

"Hey!" I heard a tiny voice whisper beside me followed by a chair scraping back. I didn't turn to look at whose face the voice belonged to; I was still entranced in Miss Rodman's words. "Can I sit here?"

Finally turning my head around, I looked to see Alice Cullen. Her sudden appearance surprised me and I gaped in shock. "Yeah," I choked out quietly. "No one sits there."

"Great!" She sighed, dropping her bag to the ground and grinning over at me. "You're Eden right? I heard you met Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper." She giggled like my introduction was foolish. "I guess we've all got to watch where we're going, don't we?"

Her positive attitude kept me staring blankly at her pixie face. Her hair flipped out and I looked at it questioningly. "Yeah, I guess we do," I managed to spit out a fake laugh. Thankfully she hadn't noticed and focused her eyes on Miss Rodman as well.

I decided to do the same. I was confused by her forwardness and I didn't really want to talk to her. That was partially because I could hear Miss Rodman gaining on my favorite part in the book. "It's so beautiful," Alice whispered. "I mean the story of Dracula."

Beautiful? How could she think such a sickly man was beautiful? "I think it's complex," I stated. "Beautiful, maybe, but overall I think he's lonely. I think all vampires are lonely in myths. Yet, it's hard not to wish you were one."

"Oh I know," She gasped, playfully twiddling her pen in her finger. "Vampires and blood. It all sounds so alluring."

Now I understood how Marlena found her weird. Yet, I didn't. I thought she was very charming, very open and blithe. I found myself jealous of her, yet again. I wanted to ask why the Cullens were gone so much last week. I wanted to ask why Rosalie hated me so much and why Jasper had fierce mood swings. I held my tongue until the end of the class though. Maybe she'll be back tomorrow. Maybe I'll ask her then. The bell rang loudly in my thoughts.

"Sit by me again tomorrow?" She perked, picking her bag up. I looked around behind me, assuming she wasn't speaking directly towards me. When no one answered, I looked at her uncomprehendingly.

"You're talking to me?"

"Of course I'm talking to you! Who else would I be talking to?"

"I suppose that makes more sense."

She gave a small laugh. "You and I will be magnificent friends, Eden. I can tell." With that note, she left me in a flurry, waving her small hand and skipping out the door. I longed for her optimism. Would we be great friends? I didn't even know Alice. I knew her family, but I was nothing to them. Or was I? What had even encouraged her to sit by me?

I hadn't noticed it earlier, but there were many empty seats in the classroom besides the one next to me. She must have come to talk to me specifically. I found myself happy again... I was getting noticed by a Cullen. I felt foolish by my concern for their attention, but what could I do? If Alice Cullen had known who I was, it meant that the Cullens had talked about me.

Whether it was good, or if it were bad... the Cullens had talked about me.