I ran up the clock tower, pushing myself harder than I ever had before, and nearly tripped down a flight of stairs in the process. I had to get to Peter. I had to. Panting, I stood on top of the clock tower, and it was like everything had gone into slow motion. The face of the boy I loved had turned into that of a monster. Gwen Stacy hung over the clock tower.

I then heard the ticking of a bomb, and then-

My eyes flew open to the sound of my alarm clock going off. I switched it off, heart racing. I sauntered over to my dresser and picked out my favorite t-shirt with the coconut and the swallow on it, a pair of jeans, a flannel button-down shirt, and a headband that MJ from New York sent me.

It was a quick shower, a comb through my frizzy dark brown hair, slipped my laptop into my backpack, and then down to breakfast. I found a box of pizza in the fridge and grabbed two slices. I then brewed some coffee, and sat at the breakfast table. Naturally, it was raining.

The Good Chief Swan said nothing as he grabbed a slice of pizza for himself, a mug of black coffee, and headed out the door without a word. I wondered if I should've said something- but decided against it. I filled up my own mug, mixing it with the milk in the fridge. I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

I'd be a good forty-five minutes early, but that gave me more time to get my bearings. So I started up my old Chevy, and I was pleased. It was the sort of truck that would get in a crash and come out completely unscathed. Perfect.

I was used to driving my motorcycle to school as of my sixteenth birthday, but Charlie clearly wasn't letting that happen.

Forks High was a nice, small little place. I knew it would make me happy- it had no fence around it and was made of a bunch of small cottages connected by walkways- more like a village than a school. I pulled my hood up, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and braced myself. Then I stepped out into the rainy morning.

The lady in the front office was nice. She gave me my schedule, locker number and combination, and a slip I needed all of my teachers to assign. I checked my schedule, and was pleased. I was in all honors classes, some APs (including Spanish) and the Drama class I really wanted.

I shuffled over to the cafeteria and set my laptop up. A girl with dirty-blond hair and a cute dress came over to me and sat down.

"Hey, I'm Jessica," she said, extending her bangle-filled hand. "Jessica Stanley. I've heard you're Chief Swan's daughter. Isabella, right?"

"I prefer Bella," I said, my cheeks blotching red. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's no problem," Jessica said with a casual wave of the hand. She peered onto my computer screen. "You got Spider-Man pics? No way!"

"I was in New York over the summer," I said casually.

"No way!" Jessica repeated. "Did you meet him?"

"Briefly."

"What's he like?" she asked.

"Well, you know, heroic and witty and very brave," I said, trying not to say too much. "A bit full of himself."

"Really?" Jessica seemed really into it. "That's so cool! My baby sister, she's got a huge Spider-Man crush. She even had a collage pasted to the door of her closet. Could you print me a copy for her? Pretty please?"

"You got it," I said, my face breaking into a smile. "What classes do you take?"

"Well, I'm in Journalism, and AP Spanish," she started. "I also take AP Bio, AP English, and AP Geo, and AP US History."

"I have a few of those classes," I admitted. "Not nearly as impressive as you."

She laughed good-naturedly. "I'm only tenth in our class. Angela's the real smart one, wait till you meet her- she's number one."

"Can't wait," I said.

"Can I see your schedule?" Jessica asked. I handed it over, and briefly checked my email. Mom had gotten my "I made it safely" email. A warm feeling swelled in my heart upon seeing her name in my inbox. I missed her so much.

"Hey," Jessica said gently to get my attention. "Mind if I show you around to your classes? I'll even get you a place to sit at lunch!"

"Cool!" I said enthusiastically. "I'd like that."

It was an alright first day. Most of my classes dragged on, but I wasn't behind. In fact, Phoenix was a bit ahead. But that was alright- a nice bit of review for me! Jessica and her friends, Mike, Eric, Angela, and Lauren were so nice! I found myself right at home with them, able to laugh and joke. It made me forget the five past months for once.

But then they showed up. Five pale, incredibly beautiful teenagers. All were wearing designer clothes, had straight noses, angular hair, dark eyes, and deep purple bruises under their eyes. All moved with a strange, predatory grace. Three boys and two girls. The oldest-looking was bear of a man, broad shoulders and bulging muscles. The other two were muscular, but a more lithe type. Another had blond hair and carried himself like the JROTC kids back at Phoenix, and the final boy had metallic reddish bronze hair. The most beautiful girl was a blonde who had curves like Marilyn Monroe and short curls out of the roaring twenties, and she dressed like it too. The second girl was a pixie, practically drowning in fabric.

"They're the Cullens," Jessica whispered when she caught me staring. "The big one's Emmett. Linebacker on the football team. He's dating the blonde chick, Rosalie, and she's practically already won prom queen. Jasper's the uptight guy, he's in JRTOC and loves the Civil War like it's his grandma. He's dating the pixie, Alice. Then there's Edward. No girl's good enough for him."

"Wait, you said they're dating," I said. "Please tell me they're not siblings-"

"They're not," Jessica assured me. "The blondes are the Hales- the others are the Cullens. But they're all adopted by Dr. and Ms. Cullen."

"Thank god," I said.

"Hey, Edward's looking at you," Angela said, a conspiratorial smirk on her face. I looked, and my eyes met the pitch black ones of the bronze-haired boy. I couldn't read his expression, so I just turned around and ignored him.

"He's okay, I guess," I said. "But I technically have a boyfriend."

"Really?" Jessica and Angela cooed, exchanging a look. "Who's the guy?"

"Um, I met him in New York. You wouldn't know him. He got sent off somewhere, so it's barely a relationship, but I promised I'd wait," I said, absently tugging on my sleeves. I wanted to be honest, but also no girl wants to be known as the girlfriend of a guy in prison. Even if you still feel everything you once did for him.

So when Edward Cullen, upon sitting next to me in Bio pinched his nose and glared at me, I just tried my best to ignore him. I didn't like making people uncomfortable, and I smelled fine- maybe too much strawberry scent- yet he just glared at me like I killed his puppy. I was relieved when he left. Mike came over and talked to me, and soon I forgot that Edward even existed.

So all in all, a good day.