Thank you everyone for the kind reviews and the favorites and follows...etc. :) Today was my first day back to college, so updates may be shorter/a little less frequent, but here's one :) I hope you enjoy.

You know when you meet someone, and you just instantly know that you're always going to hate them? Well that was how I felt when I met Rosalie Hale.

Well, meet is probably the wrong word. The Cullens didn't socialize with others…at least not when they moved here. Here in Forks, people get excited when new people move here…like, legitimately excited. Once, my block threw a welcome party for some Hispanic couple that moved in down the road, which I totally don't get because why would any sane person want to move here? Forks sucks. Like, really sucks. It's cold and wet and unless you like antique shopping, there is nothing to do. Even driving to the city gets boring. Once, my family went on vacation to LA. I cried when we came back.

Anyway, my dad heard some gossip at work when I was about to start my second year of High School that we were getting a new doctor here in town, which is apparently a big deal because he was some big shot surgeon, whose wife liked living in the country or something like that. Then my mom mentioned that she heard from a woman at the pharmacy whose daughter is interning at the hospital that he and his wife had a bunch of foster kids so I was thinking a bunch of screaming toddlers or maybe a few drug dealing ten year olds…but then the woman's daughter's boss said that no, they were all around my age.

Then on the first day of my sophomore year, there they were. Of course, everyone was staring but it's like they didn't ever see anyone. They were all nice looking…if you got past the really freaky pale skin, and they all stuck close together, walking into the building like they owned it, ignoring everyone else completely. Rosalie was in my first class, and I couldn't resist the temptation to sit beside her. She and the big one, Emmett, who I later learned was her incestuous boyfriend or something, were the only newcomers, and both turned to glance at me as I pointedly took the seat beside her. "Hey, I'm Lauren." I'd given her a cool smile, just friendly enough to let her know that I could be nice, but also b*tchy enough to let her know not to mess with me. I mean, I may have only been a sophomore but even then I knew how to screw with the people that screwed with me…my friends and I were pretty well known for it. "Welcome to Forks." I of course then rolled my eyes to let her know what I thought of this piece of crap town.

She's seemed incredulous for the most part, her eyebrow lifting in irritation, and she glanced at the guy beside her who was smirking at his desk. "Rosalie." She informed me, then turned her back…yes, turned her back to me, and began talking to the guy beside her in a voice I could barely hear.

"B*tch." I mumbled the word, staring at her back incredulously. Then she stiffened in her seat, turning to glare at me.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing." And with a sickeningly sweet smile, I'd turned around in my own desk, starting a conversation with a girlfriend, and ignoring her really large brother's chuckle.

It hadn't gotten any better after that. As soon as he'd seen me, her other brother, the brown haired one named Edward, had laughed and started whispering to his family. I'm sure they were talking about me...about how she'd snubbed me or something. Instantly I'd hated him…all of them, the snobby blonde and her meat head boyfriend, her equally snobby blonde twin and his freaky little girlfriend, and the brown haired outsider who was too good to speak to anyone. I know for a fact that Jessica asked him out once…I'm sure he was laughing at her behind her back later with his freaky family…like they had any room to make fun of anyone. They were obviously all dating each other…probably all at the same time. Of course, I didn't waste any time telling all of my friends, especially after Jessica was completely humiliated by them.

So then Isabella Swan moved to town. And of course everyone had to drop everything and stare at her and half the boys fell in love with her, like she was anything special. Really, she was just some quiet, stuck up girl who could barely walk a straight line. And then she nearly got herself killed when Tyler crashed his car. And then Tyler was asking her to prom when everyone knew that I liked him and he was about to ask me….

But if all of that wasn't bad enough, she goes away one day with Jessica and Angela and suddenly Edward Cullen is dating her…and not just dating her, he's obviously head over heels in love with her. Like, what did she do? How did she manage that? What kind of freaky sex crap did she let him do? Because there is no way someone that plain…and that's being nice about it, could get a guy like that. And then it was like his entire family fell in love with this one stupid, uninteresting girl! The little black haired freak was her best friend and those brothers of his started protecting her…so obviously she was giving it up to them to. And it wasn't a stretch to assume that the slut was doing it with Edward's daddy doctor. Why else would they want her to move in? And trust me, I lost no time telling everyone I knew. It was practically my duty. I mean, how sick is that? That man should lose his job…well she's over eighteen, but still…in his own house, with his wife there? But judging from the fact that she was teaching at our school now, she was either in on it, or she was somehow unaware. I was guessing she was in on it, which was even more disgusting.

I had no idea why Jessica was defending her now. We'd been friends since Middle School and suddenly this two-bit whore was coming between us? I'm not sure what she said to Jessica, but it had to have been a lie. There's no way I would just make this stuff up…obviously it was true. Anyone could see that. At least my friends on the football team agreed with me. I wanted her out of this school, and judging by the way she was acting, it wouldn't take much. They had a couple of ideas that would push her over the edge and out of our school…and if we were lucky, out of our town, forever. Then everything would go back to normal.

"Hello, Mrs. Cullen. How can I help you?" The beautiful woman smiled a little, and Principal Greene took a second to regret that they were both married.

"I need to speak with you about Bella." She informed him, her musical, lilting voice filling the office.

"Of course." He swept his arm out grandly, gesturing for her to go before him into his office, then sat behind his desk across from her. "I saw that she was assigned detention with you yesterday for inappropriate language in class? Is this becoming a problem with her?"

"No…as I'm sure you can understand, she's been having a hard time…especially since the shooting. She was friends with the boy…"

"Jackson? Really? I was under the impression that he was a bit of a loner…rather unstable as well."

"I believe the bullying contributed to that greatly." She spoke mildly, but her eyes were upset.

"You know we don't allow bullying at this school, Mrs. Cullen." He waited for her to insist he call her Esme, as he'd been doing so in his mind since meeting her, but she only stared at him a little incredulously. "We have a zero tolerance policy for that kind of behavior. All a student would have to do is inform a teacher. No…we believe that Jackson had some mental health issues. You know, in my opinion, his parents probably let him play too many violent video games…I'm sure you've seen the studies…this generation is just becoming so desensitized to violence." He sighed, waiting for her agreement, but she only continued to stare at him.

"Mr. Greene, I'm here to talk about Bella." She repeated, as though she hadn't heard a word he'd said. "As you know, she's been staying with my husband and myself, and we've come to see her as one of our own. We're very worried about her, Mr. Greene. She experienced several panic attacks after she was injured, and you must have heard the rumors that have been spreading around the school, orchestrated, I'm sure, by Lauren Mallory."

"Mrs. Cullen, you and your husband are fairly new in town, so I'm sure you don't know, but Lauren Mallory is one of our finest students. She's on the honor roll, and her mother is on the PTA board…and her father is one of our top alumni. I'm sure you're mistaken. Now, children can be mean sometimes…we all know that. But I believe that Bella would come forward and speak with someone…other than a woman she seems to view as her guardian…if she were being bullied. Maybe she's exaggerating. Or maybe she has something against Miss Mallory? The girl's don't seem close…could Bella be saying this to…" Suddenly the beautiful woman stood, slamming her hand on the desk.

"My daughter would not lie about this." Her face, so beautiful a second ago, was livid. "How dare you insinuate that I would accuse a teenage girl of tormenting another student if I wasn't sure?"

"Mrs. Cullen…" He continued in his placating tone he'd found worked the best with the female teachers. She stared at him for a moment, her body as still as a statue, and then she gritted her teeth. Turning on her heels, she slammed the door behind her, and he thought he saw a fine crack appear in the wooden frame.

Carlisle glanced up when his wife stormed through the door, his eyebrows lifting as he caught her muttering. "Had the nerve…as though I would…how dare that...rip the bloody man apart myself…patronizing moron….my little girl…"

"Esme?" He spoke hesitantly, reaching out and catching her hand. "How did the meeting with the principal go?" She glared at his attempted light tone, baring her teeth and pointing a finger at him.

"You do something about that man, Carlisle. Or I will." With that she moved at their speed up the stairs, and he winced when he heard the library door slam shut, shaking the chandelier above his head. With a sigh, he pulled his silver phone out of his pocket.

Jasper lay on his bed, one arm around Alice who curled against him, her head resting on his shoulder, her soft lips finding his neck every once in a while, making his lips curl in a smile as he rubbed her back and side. He couldn't think of anything he ever done….any pleasure he'd ever had, that could even compare to just being with Alice. Of course, being with any of his family was enough to make him happy…something he hadn't been for so long that he cherished it now. His brothers, carefree Emmett and serious Edward…who was a little less serious now that he had his own mate, were the most fun, especially considering before them, he'd not had any kind of fun since losing his humanity. And of course Rosalie was his sister…they may not exactly be close, but he loved her, and she was fond enough of him. The thought made him smile a little. She really did seem like an older sister in that respect, which amused him. And then there were Carlisle and Esme, who'd so quickly accepted them into their home…into their family.

Unlike the clan he'd been a part of…no, the army he'd been a part of, these people were the head of a family…the parents, and as he'd begun to spend more time with Carlisle and Esme, he'd begun to feel as though they were his parents, and could feel the same emotions coming from them. They loved him almost instantly, something that shocked him so much that he hadn't known how to react at first.

And now he had another little sister…Bella…the fragile, clumsy, stubborn little human girl who'd all but adopted Emmett and himself as her big brothers before they even realized how much they loved her. He knew that he would be closer to Bella than to Rosalie…no matter how long he knew his brother's blonde mate, she put herself too much on the fringe to allow anyone…save Emmett…to really get close to her, while Bella was as open and ready to love and be loved as Rosalie could be cold. But that was changing…Bella had gotten to Rosalie too, Jasper observed with some amusement. But he couldn't see himself ever leaving his little sister...any more than he could leave his new parents or Alice.

Beside him, Alice stiffened suddenly, her breath catching, and he felt the split second of alarm he always felt when her visions came on her like this. Immediately calming, realizing that there was no danger, he tightened his arm around her and waited. She sighed irritably and relaxed again, her nose against his throat. "I wish people would make up their mind." She grumbled.

"Bella again?"

"Lauren." She growled, and he joined her. "Esme spoke to the principal today, who called Lauren's mother, and now…well, it didn't do Bella any good." Jasper groaned, dropping his head back on the pillow. With things seeming to come from all sides, protecting his baby sister was getting harder and harder...as though the fates were conspiring against them. "She's planning something…with some of the football players I think; nothing definite yet…just don't leave her alone in gym."

"I won't." He promised grimly.

"I'm glad you love her too." She said softly, placing a hand on his chest, and he turned to kiss her, meeting her eyes…letting himself get lost in them.

I stretched, letting my arms reach for the ceiling and arching my back. Sitting at this desk was getting old. Giving up for the moment on the history reading, I grabbed my English text, Frankenstein, which was absolutely horrible, and headed for the living room where I found Edward and Emmett staring at the TV screen while some movie played. I sat on the sofa beside Edward, who turned to smile at me, and cupped my cheek, pressing his lips to mine, making me forget all about Frankenstein and his monster, the book falling from my hand while I wrapped my arms around his neck. We must have stayed like that for longer than Emmett could put up with, because our large brother cleared his throat irritably.

"Hello? I am still in the room." Edward broke away from me just enough to threaten (and swear at) Emmett quietly before finding my lips again. I couldn't help but agree…it had been too long since we'd just sat together…especially since his family was always around, and I was typically so tired at night that I just fell asleep wherever I was. Apparently it had been too long for Edward as well, because he pulled me onto his lap, making me forget that Emmett was in the room. "Oh come on." Our brother grumbled, standing and storming out, and Edward chuckled against my lips, moving down to my throat for a second, then pulled me sideways, cradling me against him as we lay on the couch.

"Did you finish your homework?"

"No." I mumbled against his neck where my face was pressed, inhaling his scent. He chuckled softly, the vibrations shaking me.

"Do you want me to do it for you?"
"It's Frankenstein." I grumbled and he laughed again, kissing my forehead.

"I can just give you a synopsis." He offered with a grin, but I shook my head.

"I'd better read it…I haven't done any of the reading so far and I'm behind. Besides…" I brought my lips up to his ear and he shuddered a little. "I'm pretty sure the whole family can hear us." He sighed then, rolling his eyes, muttering something about how he wished they'd all get out for a while, and I couldn't help the blush that rose to my face. I knew that he wanted to marry me…but he'd said before that….well that wouldn't be possible with us…did he change his mind? The stray thought made my cheeks grow darker, and he stroked my face absently with a cool hand.

"You smell so good." He mumbled, and I would have been afraid had I not trusted him implicitly.

"You smell pretty good too." He chuckled, kissing my cheek, then let his face linger there, his nose against my cheek.

When it was like this…when I was sitting on the couch with Edward or playing with my brothers or being dragged around the mall by Alice, I was okay. I could forget about school and Lauren and the people that whispered about me and the guys that were starting to look at me in ways that made me nervous. I could forget about mean teachers and caring teachers and indifferent teachers…I could just focus on my family and how happy I was to have them. But buried under everything…just under the surface of my happiness, I was still afraid…and I wondered if, when I had to go back to that school, I always would be.

Thank you all for reading. :)