Thanks for your kind reviews, everyone! This chapter's kind of a transitiony one, as it marks the beginning of the next school year. A lot of plot stuff will happen soon, which you'll have to look forward to.

Also, to jingerr, thanks for asking about casting. It honestly wasn't something I'd considered, so I delved into an hour of research and staring at various actors, even considering the casting of the other Cullens! Here's what I had in mind:

Edward: I actually like Robert Pattinson: I think he's a good Edward as it is. Maybe because I recently watched 'The King' and couldn't stop giggling when he was on screen.

Alia: Aparna Brielle: but a little chubbier. I was tempted to go with Bollywood actresses, but opted for someone who acts in Western media instead.

Jasper: Gaspard Ulliel: but blonde, obviously

Alice: Zhou Dongyu: fits my image of Alice almost perfectly!

Rosalie: Doutzen Kroes, is literally a Victoria Secret model, and gorgeous, so there you go.

Emmett: Stephan James: who I like as Emmett, considering he has this sweet, childishness to his features.

Carlisle: Aaron Taylor-Johnson: this is probably the weirdest choice I made, but I'm obsessed with him in Anna Karenina, and thought, hey, he's super pretty blond, why not make him Carlisle?

Esme: Jane Levy: She's so pretty and looks so sweet, that I see her as Esme.

The thing about fancasting that always weirds me out is the matter of heights, because you could find someone perfect, then oops, they're too short or they're the wrong age. Obviously, with my choices, adjust for height, ages, and hair colors.

Also, these are just my opinions. I firmly believe that the author is dead and you can imagine characters as whoever you like.

Enjoy!

...

Alia could hardly believe that she only had two more years left in high school.

The eleventh grade started off strong. Alia was delighted when she and Edward compared schedules, to see that they had most of the same classes together. "Why aren't you in AP Physics?" she'd asked, confused. "You're good at it and it's the only AP course in school."

"I don't need it," he'd shrugged. "I'm not planning on becoming a physicist."

"But you'd get extra college credits."

"It's not worth the extra homework. Besides, you need someone to copy off of in Biology."

He got a shove for that and a passionate speech about the evils of plagiarism. Alia wasn't going to complain further. She didn't suspect, of course, that Edward had purposely chosen all the same classes as her. When they first met, the tenth grade classes had already been selected, so they only had English, History, and Chemistry together last year. Now, they had everything save for P.E, which he got exempt from because of his delicate health, like the rest of his siblings. After all, it wouldn't do to accidentally kill a classmate during a friendly game of soccer.

Alice, being the only one of his siblings in his year, had also signed up for many of their classes, to Alia's delight, and Edward's frustration. He had tried to keep his schedule a secret, but couldn't do much against a psychic, now could he? She sat a few rows behind them in most classes (with Alia now confident enough to choose the front row seats), usually with a terrified junior. Edward appreciated that even though she was snooping in on their conversations, she wasn't being too annoying.

With the new year, Alia had decided to chop off most of her hair, as well, something that surprised him when he came to pick her up. (That was new as well. Now that he was able to drive according to the law, he insisted on driving her to school in his car and back instead of the walking she used to do). "It looks good." he said honestly, surprised by the way the chin length cut suited her round face, especially with her natural waves.

"Thanks." she beamed at him, running a hand through it. "This is just step one. I'm going to shave half of it next time." At his horrified look, she laughed heartily.

She was only kidding, but the image made him shudder. She really was listening to too much punk music. He was half afraid she'd move to pick up an electric guitar next. "Well, I'll support you whatever you decide." he shook his head. "Still, maybe sleep on it?"

"Good plan."

Maybe it was the new hair, but Edward was hyper aware that Alia was changing physically as well. She had been a late bloomer, but was coming into her own. It looked like she had stopped growing with the few inches she'd gained last year, stopping a few inches above five feet. Her skin cleared and she lost some of the baby fat in her face.

She also switched to contact lenses, which she wore most days now instead of the thick glasses that she hated. Edward prefered the glasses, finding them cute, but couldn't deny that it was nice to see her without the glasses to hide behind and the extra confidence.

And… well, he was privy to the other changes she was going through, something he felt extremely guilty and awkward about. She had developed healthy curves. Edward was rendered a flustered mess whenever Alia herself pondered these changes, something he was grateful he had the ability to hide.

What he found more difficult to hide, however, was his fury at the other boys around them who had also begun to notice Alia's changing figure. Teenage hormones, at this age ran rampant, as he well knew from having lived through high school several times. He wasn't new to perverted thoughts, with two sisters who were frequently the objects of admiration from many a lonely teenage boy, not to mention, by living with three couples. This, however, grated on his nerves in a way that few things did.

Luckily, all he had to do was shoot a murderous look and most ceased their thoughts, moving on to subjecting other poor girls to their fantasies as if turning a page in a book. Alia, too was none the wiser, oblivious to the opposite sex, still thinking of herself as the same mousy child she was a few years ago. He knew that she (and frankly, everyone in his family) would roll their eyes at him for thinking this way, but he thought of himself as her protector. He felt no guilt in protecting her from those whose intentions he knew to be indecent.

Despite those complications, the year felt promising, yet rife with anticipation of things to come.