Wow, thank you all so much for your reviews!

makayla. : I'm glad you're not okay! Just kidding, thanks so much!

FriendlyNeighborhoodHufflepuff: I KNOW! Our girl has self esteem problems.

Gilyflower: :D

jingerr: Thank you! And a happy late Valentines to you too!

Guest: Wow, thanks for coming back. First, I guess their relationship is never going to please you that's okay. I acknowledge that in real life, mind reading would count as emotional abuse, but this isn't real life. It's fiction, aka, a place for me to explore these things in a safe space. I stated in the first chapter that this is for fun, so I don't care too much about the real world implications. If it's too much for you, cool, I however am fine with mind reading as a concept considering there's no malicious intent behind it.

Also, I made Alia's journal entry eloquent on purpose. Sorry if that was a miss. That's just the way I journal, with a lot of thought behind crafting sentences, so that's how I made hers. The idea is that Alia's thoughts flow much better on the page than in her head. I didn't think it'd be too unbelievable for Alia to be a good writer. :)

overlordred: baby, you could never be pushy! I love hearing that you want more!

Littlecosma001: Thank you so much. I'm sorry I made you sad, but also I'm glad cause that's what I was going for, aha.

TheLadyO: And you've just gotten more, babe, and it's longer!

writhing: Thank you! I'm really touched by your comment. That is exactly how I feel about OC fiction, where all the OCs are always the whitest, which was really alienating. It's bad enough fiction is like that, but you'd think fanfiction would have more variety. Also, the Quileute stuff makes me so uncomfortable that I want to almost pretend it doesn't exist!

So enjoy this. The next one will be out soon, I hope!

...

Alia adored their new twelfth grade English teacher.

Ms. MacLean wasn't new by any means. She had been teaching at Forks High for six years now, after moving back to her hometown following a messy divorce to take care of her ailing mother. She was new to Alia, however, who had been stuck with Duval for the past four years in a row.

And what a difference a competent teacher made. At first, when doing grammar and essay writing for the first two weeks of the class, things were normal. If anything, Alia was annoyed by the meticulousness in which Ms. MacLean displayed in checking the technical parts of their writing. She normally just went with what felt right when she wrote and thinking about rules was just plain frustrating.

She changed her tune when the novel study began, and Ms. MacLean introduced Wuthering Heights to the classroom. The class had groaned at first, Alia and Edward included. They'd already done Wuthering Heights in Duval's class, and weren't interested in a month of repetition. Edward complained that he'd read the damn book at least a dozen times, and Alia swore that if she had to listen to how sad poor Heathcliff's life was one more time, she'd tear her hair out.

But, Ms. MacLean wasn't interested in the characters as if they were real people. No, she emphasised the context, Bronte's life, the feeling of the supernatural Gothic, the themes. It was all quite revolutionary for Alia.

When they spoke of the Earnshaws and Lintons, she explained class relations and the declining English nobility. When they mentioned Catherine's decision to marry Edgar, she brought up the ways in which marriage worked for women in the 19th century, bringing some validity to what people normally saw as a rash and cruel action.

The best part for Alia was that Ms. MacLean encouraged her to speak. She encouraged everyone really, but Alia was the most eager to jump at the chance to show her passion. Never before had a teacher encouraged her to think in critical, different ways.

Ms. MacLean also ended up sparking another literary argument between Alia and Edward.

In their class, their teacher hosted debates whenever a contentious topic came up, giving them a day to prepare (and for those who wanted to skip ample warning to do so). The debate of that day was regarding the idea of nature versus nurture in the text and what Bronte was advocating for. Sides were assigned and Edward and Alia were on opposite sides.

It just so happened that Alia got the side she agreed with, something she could feel Edward glowering at her over.

"The very existence of Heathcliff's character is proof that Bronte has biased views of individuals from certain backgrounds." Edward said coolly. To an outsider, he may have looked bored, but Alia could see the smirk playing at his lips. "No matter what he did or how he was raised, he was doomed to fall into the role nature created for him."

Angela Weber spoke up before Alia could. "But then, how do you explain Hareton, and how Heathcliff tried to ruin his life?"

"Simple." Edward continued. "The key word there is 'tried'. Heathcliff couldn't suppress Hareton's true nature, which was one of goodness, no matter how he tried to nurture it otherwise."

Angela opened her mouth, then closed it, looking down at the desk with flushed cheeks.

"I refuse to believe that Bronte isn't holding Heathcliff accountable for his actions." Alia said hotly. "If she really blamed nature for the way he turned out, then she wouldn't have him be so conflicted—"

"And purely make Heathcliff an antagonist, yes." Edward said dismissively. "But you're speculating."

"Ooh, Edward, you shouldn't interrupt." Alice spoke up, seated beside Alia. This was her first contribution to the debate.

"Yeah!" Alia said passionately as Edward glared at his sister. "Also, how d'you explain Catherine? Is she inherently good or bad? It seems a lot more like she acts based on the way she was raised."

"Right." Angela nodded eagerly. "Catherine changes after she stays with the Lintons and is nurtured by them."

"But Catherine's inherit nature is the same as Heathcliff's no matter where she goes." Edward and Alia both turned, surprised to see Bella Swan speak up from beside Edward. She blushed at the attention, but continued. "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same" she quoted. "That's what Catherine says, at least."

Edward nodded, but seemed taken aback by that idea. Alia didn't let it go to waste. "Is Catherine's voice Bronte's? What if Catherine and Heathcliff were nurtured to be so dependent on each other!? With Hindley being a total as—" Alia cut herself off with a cough, eyeing an attentive Ms. MacLean, "I mean a bad role model and abuser, what other choice did they have except to latch on to each other? They're similar because of the way they were nurtured!"

The debate raged on for another fifteen minutes, with Edward and Alia doing the brunt of the arguing and growing more and more heated. It was only when Ms. MacLean stepped in, that they were forced to stop. "There's no right answer to this question." she said with a smile as they moved the desks back to their normal positions. "Can anyone tell me why I made you debate it anyway?

"To show that the issue is nuanced." Edward said automatically, rolling his eyes. Alia stuck her middle finger up at him under the table where their teacher couldn't see.

"Right you are." Ms. MacLean said, moving a strand of graying hair behind an ear. "Now, your assignment will be to synthesise the two sides…" she detailed the work, which they all wrote down, before the bell rang.

Alice waved at them before gracefully skipping out of the class ahead of everyone else. Alia still had all her books strewn out across her, so she began to clean up.

"I'm sure if you nurture a murderer well enough, they'll change their ways." Edward muttered as he began to put his stuff into his bag.

"Some people are bad, sure. But that has to do with how they were raised." Alia argued back, getting up.

Edward was grinning down at her as they spoke, with one hand on the desk. Alia also didn't back off and squared her shoulders against him. "Trust me, Alia." he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "There are some who are damned by nature, no matter what choices they make."

"Joke's on you." Alia said back, trying not to notice how close he was. "I'm an atheist."

He smirked at that and shook his head. A strand of hair fell over his forehead, and Alia wanted nothing more than to move it back into place. She breathed a sigh of relief when he did it himself. "Well, are we going?" she asked lightly, indicating to the rest of the class clearing out. "Or do you wanna debate some more?"

Edward rolled his eyes again and moved for the door, with Alia following behind. "I think I'm done for today. I do agree that Bronte's on the fence about the issue."

"I knew it." she narrowed her eyes. "You were just arguing for the sake of arguing, you prick."

He only blinked innocently and put a hand to his chest. "Did you want me to get a bad mark on the debate? I'm wounded."

I'll wound you, you competitive ass. They passed by Bella and Angela, with Alia giving a small wave. It was nice that the new girl had settled into a comfortable place with her group of friends. Her and Angela seemed particularly close.

The next week, they handed their essays in, and the semester continued. Alia was surprised when Ms. MacLean asked her to stay behind one class. This was normal. She had been meeting with all her students and checking in on them and discussing their progress. Still, Alia found herself fidgeting with nerves. She relaxed when the older woman smiled. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, good." Alia smiled back, feeling instantly better. "Thanks for asking. How are you?"

They made small talk for a little bit, talking about the sudden snow, and the calm since the bear attacks had stopped, before Ms. MacLean directed them to business.

"I wanted to discuss your essay." Before Alia could fear, Ms. MacLean handed her the essay with an A+ on the front page. "I'm really impressed with your work. I hope you keep it up."

"Wow." Alia took the essay, flipping through it and hardly believing the mark. There were several marks in red for grammatical errors she had made, but somehow the content had warranted her that mark. She had never gotten such a high grade before.

"I was wondering, Alia… what were you planning to do after high school?"

There was the question that all their teachers had begun to hint at. Alia looked down at her lap. "I don't really know. I think I want to go to college."

Ms. MacLean smiled at her again. "You seem really passionate about literature. Were you thinking of majoring in it if you do decide on college?"

Alia couldn't help her enthusiastic nod. "Yeah, I can't imagine doing anything else. It sounds like a dream to read books all day and talk about them." she deflated slightly, remembering reality. "But there are no jobs in it, so..."

"Nonsense." Ms. MacLean waved her hand. "I have a job, and my major was literature. The reality is that a lot of people in the field go towards teaching, but there are other options: editing, publishing, technical writing, I could go on." Alia couldn't help but note that she couldn't think of anything else besides what her teacher had just listed. "And if you choose to pursue teaching, you can go anywhere in the world. There's always a demand for English teachers. I've taught all over Asia." she said proudly.

"I think teaching could be fun, actually." Alia admitted, entertaining the thought for the first time. Sure, talking in front of a group of kids sounded terrifying for her anxiety, but the summers off would give her time to read and write. And the idea of travelling was also amazing.

"You don't have to decide yet." Ms. MacLean said. "But if you're interested, I'm an alumni at the University of Oregon, and would be happy to write you a letter of recommendation if you apply there. Their literature program is amazing, and the professors in my time made me who I am."

The discussion of colleges and literature programs lasted for most of the lunch hour before Alia remembered she needed to eat. She walked away from that meeting with an A+, a handful of pamphlets, and a head full of possibilities.

The future was creeping up faster than she would like. The twelfth grade was well under way and Alia had felt it most strongly in that Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett weren't in school anymore, having graduated last June. During that ceremony, which she attended with Edward, she had been struck with the realisation that she only had a year left.

She had tentatively begun to look at college programs and draft together applications. But after talking to Ms. MacLean, she felt a sense of clarity that she hadn't before. Yes, she did want to continue studying literature, to try her hand at the challenges of college to the best of her ability.

And maybe... it didn't have to be so scary.