Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight.

Thank you to Simaril for helping me go back and give this story a good polish.


Chapter 12 – New Students

Bella

I had almost made it through the summer without a visit to the ER. Almost, but my inner klutz had to make an appearance...

Two days before school started, I went over to Angela's for a sleepover. We did this often during the summer, and this time it was supposed to be the unofficial "back-to-school," party, with Angela, Jessica and me. We spread our sleeping bags in Angela's room and watched some movies while eating popcorn and listening to Jessica's stories of her vacation in Florida during the summer. It was nice to have some 'girl time'.

I woke up early the next morning and went to brush my teeth and wash my face. I was on my way back to Angela's room when I heard someone calling my name. It was so sudden that I nearly jumped, but as I was turning around to see who called me, I tripped over something and ended up on the floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Bella. Are you all right?" Mr. Webber asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone was up yet."

He gave me his hand to help me up, but as soon as I tried to pull myself up, a sharp jolt of pain shot through my left wrist. "Ouch."

"What's wrong?"

"My hand, I think I might have landed on it at a bad angle," I explained. "It's nothing, really."

"Are you sure?" he asked, his brows furrowing in concern.

"Yeah, I'm all right. I fall down all the time, it's nothing new."

He let me go after that, but as the day progressed my wrist swelled to twice its size and Mrs. Webber insisted on driving me to the ER. I tried to protest but she wouldn't have it, and frankly, I was a bit worried when I saw that my left wrist was almost completely purple. That is how I made it to the hospital at ten am on a Sunday morning one day before my senior year started.

I was sent to do an x-ray to make sure that I hadn't broken my hand and then was told to wait for the doctor in the exam room. I was surprised to see a very refreshed-looking Dr. Cullen come into the room with a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Bella."

"Good morning, Dr. Cullen."

"I looked at your x-rays and the good news is that you did not break your wrist, but you do have a sprain, one that will take a while to heal."

"I've been worse," I said, thinking of the two other times I'd met him.

"Yes, I believe you have." He chuckled, his golden eyes smiling at me. "I'll get a bandage to wrap your wrist and then you can go home." He turned to the medicine cabinet, "Are you here with your father?" he asked while his back was turned to me.

"No, my friend Angela and her mom brought me here, they will take me home." While Dr. Cullen was with his back to me, I suddenly remembered my day of research. It's worth a shot.

I pulled out my cell phone with my good hand and quickly snapped a photo. I looked at the screen, and sure enough, he was there. So much for that brilliant idea, I thought with a frown. I put the phone back in my pocket before he turned around.

"This will feel a bit cold at first, but it will help your wrist heal faster," he said when he applied some kind of ointment on my wrist. The coolness of the ointment and the cold touch of his fingers actually felt good. I could have sworn that he was hiding a smile, though, while he worked on wrapping my wrist with a tight bandage.

Did he notice me taking his picture? Maybe he thinks I have a crush on him! I blushed furiously at the thought. Okay, so he was a very handsome man, but he was way too old for me.

I knew that he'd noticed me blush, but thankfully he didn't comment on it. I nearly bolted out of the room when he said I could go, and I thought I heard him chuckling behind me.

Stupid! Stupid, Bella! What on Earth were you thinking?

I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and bury myself under a rock, preferably on a different continent, where I would never have to look him in the eye again. So embarrassing...

w.W.w

On the first day of the new semester school was buzzing, not that it was unexpected; after all, this was our final year in Forks High. As soon as I stepped out of my truck, I put on my iPod. I was still not over the embarrassment of my incident with Dr. Cullen just the day before, and I wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

I was pulled over by a very excited Jessica before I could get into my first period class.

"Did you see them?" she asked excitedly.

"See who?"

"The new kids!"

"What new kids?"

"Dr. Cullen's foster kids."

"Huh?" Since when did Dr. Cullen have foster kids?

"I heard it from Lauren, who was in the office when they came in. Apparently, Dr. Cullen had a brother. He and his wife died in a car accident this summer, so Dr. Cullen brought his nephew to live with him. He also took in his brother's foster kids so they wouldn't be forced to separate and go to different homes. Three guys and a girl, the girl is also his nephew's girlfriend or something. Lauren said that they were all gorgeous!" Jessica was talking so fast I wondered how it was possible that she wasn't out of breath yet.

"Jess, breathe!" I smiled.

She took a large gulp of air and a wistful expression came over her face. "I hope they have classes with me."

I suspected that she was probably already planning on asking one of the new guys out.

"I have to get to class, Jess," I said. "You should go, too, or you'll be late."

"Fine, see you at lunch." She waved at me and turned to run to her class.

"Okay, see you." I shook my head and went inside the classroom. I couldn't help but smile at her behavior. Jessica was easily excited, but I was confident that she would forget about these new kids in a few days and return to chasing Mike. I just wondered when he would wake up and see her. I just hope it won't be too late; they are quite good for each other.

I took a seat in the back of the class. English was my favorite subject, but Mr. Berty was a little over-enthusiastic about it and tended to spray anyone who was sitting front row. The class slowly filled up, and I saw that both Eric and Tyler were taking the class with me, but thankfully I would not have to stand Lauren this year. I hadn't seen her much over the summer, so I didn't know whether or not she still felt the same way about me, but I wasn't too keen on finding out. Besides, she will probably sit with us during lunch, so I should enjoy my Lauren-free time while it lasts.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I scarcely noticed when someone approached the table I was sitting next to and asked in a soft velvet voice, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

"No," I answered automatically before I even looked up to see who was talking. The voice was unfamiliar to me, but the moment my eyes locked with his, I forgot everything. I was no longer aware that I was in a classroom or that there were people around me; all I saw was him. His eyes were absolutely pitch-black, but somehow I knew them to be golden as well. I didn't speak and neither did he. We just stared at each other as he sat on the chair next to mine. His jaw was clenched, and it looked as though he wasn't even breathing.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that the bell had rung and that the teacher—whose name I couldn't for the life of me recall at the moment—was already in class and talking about the importance of paying attention, but it was all just background noise to me. All I could see was him, his tousled bronze hair that fell over his forehead and into his eyes, his clenched but very manly jaw that was clean-shaven, the straight line of his nose, the thick dark eyelashes that shielded his eyes in what was the reason why the expression 'bedroom eyes' was invented to begin with. All I could smell was him...and he smelled like lilac and sunshine and something else that I could not name. All I could hear was the soft murmur of his velvet voice echoing over and over in my head as I repeated the only words I'd heard him speak—Excuse me, is this seat taken?...

Everything about him was drawing me in. My soul recognized him as the piece that I didn't even know I'd been missing. The spark in the onyx of his eyes did wonders to my heartbeat, sending it into a frenzy. I couldn't name the emotions that he invoked within me simply because I didn't recognized half of them. There was attraction, of course, with his looks I'd have to be without a pulse to not find him appealing, but there were also fear, sadness, pain, and...longing?

Finally, after what must have been several minutes, he turned his gaze to the front of the class and my trance broke. I saw the corner of his mouth curve into a grin before I looked away.

I couldn't remember anything that happened in class after that. The next thing I knew was that the bell rang and he was out of the classroom in a flash. I felt as though I should check and see if I smelled. I made my way to second period—Calculus, my worst nightmare—barely aware of my surroundings. Not a very good idea, given my vast hospital records, but I must have gotten the help of several guardian angels today, because I made it to class without falling. I did bump into several people, but I managed to stay up on my feet.

I surveyed the room for an empty seat when my eyes locked with those same amazing eyes that captivated me on first period.

What's wrong with me?

They were golden at first, but when another student rushed past me and stirred the air, they turned onyx once again. I stood frozen like a deer caught in the headlights. He stared right back at me with the most seductive half-grin on his face and nodded slightly to the side. It took me several seconds to realize that he was gesturing at the empty seat next to him, silently inviting me to sit next to him.

"Please take your seat, Ms. Swan," I heard the teacher tell me.

It was so unexpected that I almost jumped. I must have missed him coming in.

This is not good. I need to focus if I want to pass Calculus.

I nodded at the teacher, feeling my cheeks burning as I made my way to the only empty seat left—next to my trance-inducing god-like creature.

w.W.w

Two hours later, at lunch, I sat down with Jessica and the gang, feeling overwhelmed. He was in each and every one of my classes. Worse, somehow, he had managed to sit next to me in both my Spanish and History classes. He didn't make any attempts to speak to me, for which I was grateful. I wasn't sure I would have been able to answer him if he did.

Things were just plain weird. I had the same odd feeling that I had had after my accident last year, a hunch that something wasn't quite right, but I couldn't pinpoint it.

"Bella, you've been awfully quiet," Mike said, giving me a small nudge with his elbow.

"She's always quiet, Mike," Eric answered him. "That's kind of Bella's thing, you know." He threw a chip from his tray at him.

"Hey!" Mike yelped as said chip hit him right in the face before he could duck.

I saw Mike looking down at his tray, and I knew that they were headed for a food fight and that I might be caught in the middle. Eric wasn't known for his aim—that shot at Mike was a lucky one.

"Mike, don't even think about it!" Jessica threatened. She sat on his other side and apparently reached the same conclusion as I did.

"Fine," Mike said with a grimace. I heard him mumble, "party pooper," under his breath after that, which earned him a smack on the head from her and made him yelp again.

You go girl! I encouraged her in my mind. Maybe there was still hope for her and Mike.

"So, anyway, what's on your mind, Bella?" Eric asked me.

"I thought you said being quiet was my thing," I teased.

"Yeah, but you're usually 'I'm-thinking' quiet; today you're 'I'm-not-here' quiet. So, spill."

I rolled my eyes. "There's nothing to spill," I lied and blushed.

"Bella, you couldn't lie even if your life depended on it," Eric teased me right back.

"It's nothing, really."

"Well, it looks like a very interesting 'nothing', Bella," Jessica said. "You're as red as a tomato..."

God, I hate my easy blushes.

"...and there's a certain someone who's been staring at you for the entire lunch time," Jessica continued.

I looked at her with surprise, but Mike beat me to the punch. "Who's staring at her?"

Jessica's face fell. She didn't like when he went all protective about me, and honestly, neither did I.

"None of your business, Mike," I told him, even though I was already searching the cafeteria hall, trying to see who might be staring at me.

"Enough about Bella," Lauren interfered, sneering my name. "I want to talk about the new kids. Have you seen them? They are gorgeous!"

I had to roll my eyes at her. Well, question answered; she still hates my guts. I tuned her and Jessica out as they talked about two of the new boys in school, Jasper and Emmett. Apparently each of them shared a class with Lauren and she was on cloud nine because of that. I was about to give up and attribute Jessica's remark to her overactive imagination when my eyes interlocked with him.

He was sitting at a table with three other people, whom I assumed to be his foster siblings since I didn't recognize either of the two boys or the girl and knew everyone who went to my high school if not by name than surely by face.

His eyes appeared to be golden now. I didn't know how I could have known that— the distance between where I sat and his table was way too distant to see the color of his eyes—but somehow I just knew.

Dr. Cullen has golden eyes as well.

That thought put an immediate end to my staring at him. I dropped my eyes to my tray and felt the heat rising up my face. Thoughts about my last encounter with Dr. Cullen were the last thing I wanted his eyes to remind me of.

w.W.w

"You are an idiot!" I groaned, looking into the rear view mirror.

I was sitting inside the cabin of my truck in the completely empty parking lot of the school. I stalled purposefully after gym in the girls' locker room until I was sure everyone had left. I was already chastising myself inwardly throughout the day for ogling him like a bloody groupie. It didn't make me feel any better or ogle him any less, so I thought I might try doing that out loud.

"You are a complete and utter fool!" I said, staring at my own reflection.

Nope, that didn't work either.

I leaned my head on the steering wheel, trying my best not to succumb to the urge of banging it. It would only result in giving me a headache, and seeing as I already had one, there wasn't really any use in making it worse.

My mind kept creeping back to the conversation—if you can even call it that—I had had with him during biology.

The teacher was already in class when he walked in. He gave the teacher, Mr. Banner, a slip of paper and Mr. Banner handed him a book. It was only then that I realized that the only empty seat in the room was next to me. I almost groaned. This can't be happening, I thought while trying my best to keep my eyes averted from him.

He sat down, and Mr. Banner began his lesson.

"Hello," he said in a quiet melodic voice after a few minutes of silence.

I turned to look at him without even thinking about it.

"My name is Edward Cullen." He smiled. It was the same crooked smile he gave me earlier that day, and I felt myself melt in my place. It was even worse than his eyes. The full power of his smile dazzled me beyond the ability of speech.

"I didn't get a chance to introduce myself earlier. I'm new in town." He continued to speak when I didn't say anything.

I blushed fiercely and turned my head away from him, allowing my hair fall over my shoulder. I was hoping that he might not notice the telltale redness on my cheeks. Besides, if I wanted to be able to form any coherent reply I needed to keep myself away from his gaze.

"I'm Bella Swan," I mumbled, barely loud enough for him to hear. "Welcome to Forks," I said, trying to be polite. Great going, Swan, very smooth. I felt like kicking myself. I was sure I've heard him chuckle.

Neither of us spoke after that awkward introduction, but that didn't mean that my eyes weren't drawn to him of their own accord. It was like he was a magnet and my eyes were made of iron. I knew he noticed my glances because each time I saw the corner of his mouth tilt upwards.

There was no way I could survive another day with him in my every class, let alone the entire year. Worse, not only was he in my every class, but he also sat next to me in each and every one of them.

I groaned, and this time I did bang my head against the steering wheel.

Ouch. I rubbed my forehead and suddenly remembered a joke Charlie loved to use whenever anyone complains about a headache; "What is the best way to get rid of a headache? A ten pound hammer on your foot. You are guaranteed to forget all about the pain in your head."

Yeah, I didn't think it was funny either, but Jake thought it was hilarious.

Speaking of Jake...I haven't talked to him in ages.

I thought about it for a few moments, trying to remember when was the last time I talked to him. It must have been at least a month ago if not longer.

I turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life.

Good thing I hurt my left wrist and not my right, or Charlie would never have let me drive, I thought as I turned to leave the parking lot. Nothing stops traffic like a police car.

w.W.w

"Bella? What are you doing here?"

That was the first thing that came out of Jacob's mouth when I parked my truck on the muddy driveway next to his house. It was a reasonable question to ask, but the tone he used caught me off guard. It was as if he was...afraid?

"Hi Jake, nice to see you too," I said, stepping out of the truck. "I'm fine, thank you for asking. How are you? Had a nice summer?"

He shifted his weight from one foor to the other, and that was when I noticed the way he was dressed. He was barefoot, wearing only a pair of cutoff jeans and no shirt. I know we're still officially in the summer, but it's not THAT warm.

"I've had...an eventful summer," he said, frowning.

"What's with the frown, Jake?" I asked. "You're not still sick are you?" I knew mono was no fun, being sick never was, but he looked fine, more than fine, actually; he looked great.

"I'm not sick," he answered.

I noticed that he didn't say he was well, despite his appearance. He's changed so much since the last time I had seen him, I noted to myself. It looked like he got even taller, as if he had hit his growth spurt and just shot up and gained a hell of a lot of muscles.

"Congratulations on the hair cut, by the way," I said conversationally.

"Thanks." He seemed to be talking through gritted teeth. "But you still didn't answer my question." He folded his arms over his naked chest, and I saw his muscles contract as if he was trying to hold himself together. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I know I should have called first, but it was a spur of the moment decision." I was getting worried and began biting my lip, a nervous habit. I couldn't understand why he was so hostile towards me.

"Yeah, you should have called," he said curtly.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, looking away from him.

I suddenly got the feeling that he was hiding something from me, and at that same moment I noticed Paul—one of Jake's friends that I met during the summer—coming out from behind Jake's house. It appeared as though he was inside Jake's garage. Just like Jake, he was also barefoot and bare-chested.

"Hi Bella, what are you doing here?" he asked, and it was the same unfriendly tone that Jake had used earlier. He stood on Jake's left-hand side, a little behind him, and folded his arms over his chest, imitating Jake's posture perfectly, right up to the facial expression.

They both appeared...concerned? Worried?

How odd.

"Hi Paul," I answered him, my eyes darting between the two teenagers who looked much beyond their sixteen years of age physically. "I just thought I'd drop by and say hi, I haven't seen you in a while." Not since Billy said Jake had mono and I thought...

I froze as soon as I remembered my thoughts that day. No way, it was just a silly thought...

Wasn't it?

"We've been busy," Jake answered me.

"Busy," I repeated, trying to sort my thoughts. I looked at the two carefully.

Is it just me or do they look a little...disheveled?

"Yes, busy," Paul chanted. "And we're still busy, so why don't you go back home, little girl?"

"Back off, Paul!" Jake barked at the same time as I shrieked, "Excuse me?"

"Sorry, Jake," Paul mumbled and looked down. There was something about the gesture that reminded me of a puppy being scolded by its owner. Or maybe of a wife being scolded by her beating husband...Hmm...

"Apologize," Jake commanded, and for a moment I thought he was speaking to me; however, once I looked up, I saw that he was facing Paul and not me.

"I'm sorry, Bella," said Paul, sounding resentful rather than apologetic and then he glanced at Jake as if saying 'happy now?'

There was something about their behavior that told me there was more to their relationship than just friends. I wonder, how much more than 'just friends' they are?

"Apology accepted." I was never one to hold grudges. "So I see you got rid of that mono." Very subtle...

Paul looked at Jake, surprise written all over his face and took a step back as if being close to Jake would get him infected.

"Hmm...yeah, I did." Jake's frown deepened. "I heard from Billy that you were also sick."

"I was. Stomach flu, nothing serious." I shrugged. I wanted to go right ahead and ask him, but I didn't feel comfortable with Paul around. He might be Jake's...but he was making me tense. I stared at Paul for a few seconds, hoping that he would get the message, but he didn't move. He just resumed his position next to Jake. "So I can't talk to you in private anymore?" I asked bluntly, still annoyed with Paul.

"Anything you want to say to Jake you can say in front of me," Paul said. "It's not like he won't tell me once you're gone."

I got a very nasty mental image at that point, one that included Jake and Paul in a bedroom in more detail than I would have liked to have, all thanks to their half-naked appearance in front of me.

"Paul, give us a few minutes," Jake said.

They looked at each other for several moments, as though communicating with their eyes, but eventually Paul muttered, "Fine. I'll see you later," and then turned away and left us alone.

"Nice friend you got there, Jake," I said, trying not to put too much emphasis on the word 'friend'.

"We're cool." He shrugged.

"Oh." So THAT is what they call it nowadays?

"Well, we're alone now. What did you want to talk about?" And there again there was this sad note to his tone, as if he was hiding something, something that he was ashamed of. Maybe he's just afraid of my reaction?

I decided that I should let him know that it doesn't bother me, even if his choice of a partner was a very rude Paul, he was still my friend.

"Look, I can see you're trying to hide it from me," I began, and I saw him look at me with confusion, "and I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay with it." I saw his eyes widen in what could either be terror or shock, or maybe both, "I'm not going to tell anyone, I promise."

"You better not!" He said through gritted teeth, his whole body began to shake.

"I won't." I was quick to assure him, "But I'm still your friend and I'm here if you need to talk. I know you have Paul—"

"You know about Paul?" He cut me off with eyes as wide as saucers.

"Well, it was quite obvious," I defended myself.

"OBVIOUS?" he screeched.

"Well, yeah. I'm sorry," I said honestly. "You two weren't too discrete. I guess that Billy doesn't know?"

"What do you mean we weren't discrete?" He spat the words out as if they were poison.

"Of course Billy doesn't know," I muttered to myself. "Otherwise, I would have heard it from Charlie." I saw that he was shaking so heard that his image was almost a blur. "Jake, calm down. I won't tell Billy. Your secret is safe with me. But I would suggest that you do tell him; it will be easier for you that way. It's better when you have the support of your family through this."

"Jacob Black calm down!" The order came from behind Jake and I saw a man walking towards us. He was a little taller than Jake and almost as wide and it took me a moment to remember his name—Sam. He was the one who told us the legends of the tribe that night around the bonfire. Sam was also barefoot and shirtless. What's wrong with the men on this reservation, don't they own shoes at all?

"Sam, she knows," Jake said.

"You told her?" Sam asked with fury in his eyes.

"He didn't have to tell me anything!" I shouted. "I figured it out myself."

"How?" Sam barked, but this time he was looking at me, so the question was obviously not directed at Jake.

"It wasn't that hard." Do they really think that I'm THAT blind? Come on, give me some credit! "The mono got me suspicious, but once I saw him with Paul it didn't take long to put two and two together."

"Jake, calm down, NOW!" Sam's voice had a commanding note to it, much like Jake's voice earlier when he spoke to Paul.

Speak of the devil...Paul appeared from behind Jake's house again. He put his hand on Jake's shoulder once he was close enough to stand next to him.

Jake took a few deep breaths and slowly his shaking lessened.

Sam put his hand on Jake's chest and looked him in the eyes. "Calm down, Jake," he said in a much softer tone. Not him too?

I took a step towards Jake—it was done without thought—I just wanted to give him the comfort of a friendly touch. He looked terrible, shaking like a leaf as he was.

Sam stopped me. "Stay away, Bella, I don't want you to get hurt."

"You can't stop me from being his friend!" I yelled at him. "And take your hands of off him."

"It's too dangerous—"

"Bullshit!" I cut him off.

"Bella, if he phases with you nearby—" Paul began but was quickly cut off by Sam shouting, "Paul, shut up!"

"Phases?" I asked. What the hell did that mean?

"That's what we call—" Paul tried again, but again Sam cut him off. "Paul, shut the hell up!"

"Will you let him speak? He's not your bloody puppy!" I yelled at Sam.

Their reaction was anything but expected. Paul began to laugh. Jake stopped shaking and had an amused expression on his face. Sam just stared at me, blinking a few times as if trying to understand something.

"What?" I asked.

This time Jake joined the laugh and Sam was the one with the amused expression.

"What's so funny?"

"Well, technically...he is," Jake said, still snickering.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jake threw the question back at me.

"Do they know?" I asked. I didn't want to 'out' him to his friends.

"We are the same as Jake," Paul blurted out at the same time as Sam shouted, "Paul!" with warning in his tone.

"What?" I asked again.

"Werewol—" Paul was cut off with a smack on his head from Jake and a shout from Sam, "For heaven's sake, Paul, shut the fuck up!"

"Werewolf?" I whispered. I knew that this time it were my eyes that were wide as saucers.

"So you didn't know!" Paul said with a triumph in his voice, earning him another smack on the head from Jake. "Hold on," Paul turned to me. "If you didn't know, what did you think?"

My face changed colors from white to scarlet red, and Jake's eyes widened in realization before he began to laugh. Sam and Paul stared at him as if he had lost his mind completely.

I turned to face my truck, leaning my head on the closed door. God, please kill me now. I had no doubt that Jake understood what I was thinking.

Why does this keep happening to me?


Poor Bella, she was off by miles...

Thank you for reading,

Alley Cat.