Perhaps, Sarah thought as she passed by the same house for the fourth time, she should have asked Charlie for directions. Of course she hadn't expected to need them in a town as small as Forks, but it seemed her sense of direction was not as reliable as she thought. It was lucky she'd decided to leave early. Too early, some might say, but Sarah was desperate to make a good first impression. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that others' opinions of her didn't matter, Sarah knew she was terrified of being an outcast again. It had always been easy for people not to like her, she didn't need be late on day one and give her classmates all the more reason to look down on her.

In the end, Sarah pulled into a gas station, figuring someone there could give her directions. She parked at a pump and waited, but no attendant appeared. The gas station wasn't busy enough for a wait, she noted. There was only one other car and she didn't see an attendant there either. Did they expect her to pump her own gas? Casually looking around at the driver of the other car—a sleek, black Mercedes—and seeing a young, well-dressed man leaning over the fuel pump, Sarah realized quickly, yes, that was exactly what they expected. Hopping down from her truck, Sarah looked at the pump helplessly. People pumped their own gas all the time, she reminded herself—just not people from New Jersey. The longer she looked at the pump, the less likely it seemed that it would just open up and spill its secrets to her. Instead she'd have to make a bother of herself.

"Excuse me," she called out carefully, poking her head around the pump towards the Mercedes. "I'm sorry, but do you have a minute?" By now Sarah expected to be turned down or to have her requests met with reluctance. The last two years had been a big hit on her self-confidence.

"Do you need some help?" asked a voice, much friendlier than Sarah had been anticipating. People generally picked up vibes to stay away from her immediately, but he seemed more than willing to talk. The thought made her relax.

"Uh… yeah," she said slowly, shooting a dubious look back at the gas pump. His smile grew gentler as he stepped forward and took the nozzle from her. Slowly he explained the process and watched as she attempted to fill her tank. With only a few minor mishaps, she did.

"You're new here," the man said. It was not a question. Sarah supposed that much would be obvious though, considering her embarrassing lack of know-how. "Are you from Oregon? Not many people stop in Forks."

"Actually, I just moved here. From Phoenix." Recognition lighted in his eyes quickly, almost too quickly for Sarah's comfort. She knew that Charlie had passed around the tale of his daughter's return, but she hadn't counted on just how big that gossip might be in a town this small. Now, more than ever, she was happy she could save him the embarrassment of having to admit his own daughter turned him down.

"You must be Chief Swan's daughter. Isabella?" Nodding slightly, Sarah smiled at him. Time to put all her acting skills to work. That's really all this was: just another acting role; one that had disastrous consequences if she ever broke character.

"Just Bella." She stuck her hand out for him to shake, hoping the nickname would help add credibility to her claim.

"Carlisle Cullen," he responded as he grasped her hand. Nothing about the interaction was the least bit suspicious or concerning, but Sarah found herself yanking her hand back the moment his skin touched hers. Carlisle looked taken aback.

"Sorry," he said, a tad sheepish as he held his hands close to his body, "I have poor circulation."

"No, no, I'm sorry. It just surprised me." With a smile, Sarah extended her hand out again, this time shaking his properly. Carlisle smiled at her and she smiled back at him, but there was something tight about both of those smiles. Poor circulation wasn't a good enough excuse, not for Sarah. His hands weren't just cold, they felt to Sarah like they might as well have belonged to a corpse. Yet, that wasn't why she'd pulled away. No, Sarah wasn't worried about the cold. The moment their hands had touched, she'd felt a small shock—almost like static electricity but much more alive—that radiated through her hand and sunk down into her stomach. It wasn't a terrible feeling; it was familiar. Carlisle's hand had the spark of magic. Maybe it wasn't as strong as what she'd become accustomed to with Jareth, but it was unmistakable. Sarah eyed Carlisle carefully, but quickly decided she had to be mistaken. There was nothing unnatural about him that she could see and he had been friendly when she was in need. Now was not the time to be paranoid. She was safe in Forks; she'd left everything dangerous long behind.

Finishing filling the tank and putting the nozzle back, Sarah looked up at Carlisle with a grateful smile. "Thank you," she said earnestly. He smiled back at her.

"I take it you haven't done that before," he said. Sarah nodded a bit self-consciously. After a moment, Carlisle's face began to express confusion. "I thought Arizona was a self-service state as well." Sarah blanched. It hadn't occurred to her last night that she would actually be expected to know some things—or anything—about Arizona. She'd always acted with a script in hand, only ever having to think about the emotions of the character. Research hadn't ever been part of that.

"I didn't drive a lot," she lied, hoping it would satisfy. When Carlisle glanced down at his watch, Sarah assumed that it did.

"It was nice to meet you, Bella," Carlisle said with a smile. Sarah was happy to smile back at him.

"You too." With a quick and friendly nod to her, he began to walk away. It was no small relief to watch him return to his car though Sarah found it a little regretful how happy she was to see the back of him after he'd helped her. But Sarah couldn't help that she still felt paranoid. It was with a start that she remembered why she'd stopped in the first place. "Wait," she called just before he could get into his car, "how do I get to Forks High School?"

Thanks to Carlisle's directions, Sarah made it to school in good time. She was thankful that she had stopped to ask after all, because the school didn't look much like a school to her but rather a random clump of brick buildings. She already knew it would be a lot smaller than her old high school. Whether that would be better for her or worse remained to be seen. Still, with a deep breath outside the door to the main office, Sarah forced a smile onto her face. If there was one thing Sarah Williams refused to do, it was give up.

All the time Sarah had spent psyching herself up with pep-talks about positivity came to nothing. The secretary in the office had taken just one look at her and immediately had Sarah's schedule and a school map in hand. She was even smiling. At her old school it had taken Sarah at least twenty minutes to get someone to start her transfer paperwork, the attention and enthusiasm left her blinking. There were no suspicious looks or impatient glances, just a friendly welcome and a barrage of helpful advice of which Sarah heard nothing. By the time she could extract herself, she was already five minutes late to first period… but she was smiling.

After a sincere introduction by the teacher and curious but not unwelcoming gazes from her classmates, Sarah made her way silently to the back of the classroom, her head spinning. Since beating the Labyrinth, Sarah had always held the sneaking suspicion that she'd been cursed. The few friends she'd had before had drifted away and even her father felt more distant than ever. Maybe it was just how high school worked, or maybe there was something actually wrong with her, Sarah had never known for certain. All she knew was that—unfair though it was—she'd grown used to a lack of attention and affection from the people around her. Maybe it had been Jareth's influence after all. But, if being in Forks meant that she could have friends and live a normal life, Sarah told herself that she'd never—ever—wish for anything more.

But, if she could wish, Sarah would have liked to have a theater class. The English syllabus was a let down, only comprised of novels and most of which she'd already read. Apparently there was no theater program in Forks, not even in the community. The irony of it all wasn't lost on her. For the first time in years she was noticed enough to be cast in plays, but there were no plays for her to act in. As class continued, Sarah found herself doodling the names of her favorite plays in the margins, lost in imaginings.

The Importance of Being Earnest. The Tempest. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. The Labyrinth.

Sarah stopped. Her eyes remained fixed on the last title she had written with something like disbelief on her face. Biting her lip, she slowly ran her eraser over it. Moving the eraser faster and faster, she became frantic to remove any trace of that work from her life. She wasn't satisfied until there was nothing more than a faint, illegible shadow where the title had been, and even then it seemed like it was looking up at her mockingly. Forgetting would be a long process. As she tried to shake the strange feeling away, the bell rang. It took her a moment to come to her senses. She was still sitting at her seat when a boy with dark hair and a poor complexion strolled over to her desk.

"You're Isabella Swan, right?" he began, causing Sarah to look up at last, sliding the syllabus off her desk and into her bag quickly. She didn't know why she had the sudden impulse to hide it, the words were long turned illegible and would have been meaningless to anyone else anyway. Even so, the guilty feeling remained as though she was caught doing something wrong.

"Bella," she replied, sticking her hand out to shake his. Cool and confident, she reminded herself. Sarah had never been shy, but recent events had made her desperate to please others. He looked at the proffered hand with slight bemusement before taking it.

"Eric," he told her. Smiling faintly at him, Sarah turned to pack up the rest of her things. Eric hovered about the edge of her desk in awkward silence. He seemed interested in talking to her though, Sarah wasn't about to tell him off. Her own wants for companionship aside, she had to keep a good reputation for Charlie. She would be pleasant.

"Where's your next class?" he asked once she had finished packing her things. Sarah answered first without checking.

"Building six?" But then she was overcome with a need to double check herself. "Yeah, government."

"I'm going to building four, why don't I walk you?" Sarah shrugged and accepted his offer. If it meant she could have a friend, she would have accepted nearly anything. Eric and Sarah made small talk as he walked her to the door of her classroom—even going beyond his own to make sure she didn't get lost. He'd done most of the talking, sparing Sarah from having to stumble her way through Arizona facts she didn't know. How long had it been since she'd last made small talk like this? Two years? Two and a half? She was definitely out of practice, but if Eric noticed, he didn't seem to care.

"Well, good luck," Eric said. Sarah was surprised to see they'd already made it to her classroom, only then realizing she hadn't been paying much attention; not to the walk or to Eric's conversation. "Maybe we'll have more classes together." He sounded earnestly hopeful which made Sarah smile warmly at him.

"I hope so," she said, and meant it. There was no saying what the rest of school would hold, so having one person she knew genuinely didn't mind her company was a relief.

The rest of the morning, however, went by just as first period had. It was strange; this town was strange. Every time she stepped into a class, Sarah prepared herself for total indifference at best and glares at worst. But Eric was not an outlier; there was an Eric in every class: someone who talked to her like they were really interested. Perhaps it was because she was such an oddity in this small town, but Sarah herself had always felt like an oddity. It was a nice feeling to be somewhere that oddities were points of interest, rather than scorn.

Lunch with friends was another one of the things often taken for granted that Sarah had missed out on. She basked in the feeling, a peculiar little smile on her face, though hardly listening to what was being said. There were already too many names for her to remember without adding in the gossip of classmates and teachers she hadn't even met yet. Glancing up from the conversation, she'd accidentally caught Eric's eye from across the room. He waved at her. She waved back. This was all too good to be true, wasn't it?

Sarah returned her focus back to the table. The girl she was sitting next to—Jessica, Sarah thought her name was—was enthusiastic when it came to gossip and had taken it upon herself to pry into Sarah's life. Sarah doubted Jessica had much real interest in her as a person, but she was the type who always felt the need to know everything. Glancing around the table, Sarah wondered if it was possible to scoot away from her without Jessica realizing.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?"

"Bella."

"You're Chief Swan's daughter, right?"

"Yeah"

"You're from Phoenix?"

"You're well informed," Sarah said, trying her best to sound impressed. Anything to keep Jessica from asking any more questions.

"Of course," Jessica said, flipping her hair. "I know everyone."

"So if I wanted to know about someone…."

"Just ask me." Sarah fought a smile. It was clear that Jessica had been completely distracted from her line of questioning by Sarah giving her the chance to show off. Quickly Sarah racked her brain for a name to ask about. That's when it suddenly hit her.

"I met a guy this morning. Carlisle Cullen? Is he from around here?" Sarah didn't have to try to fake the curiosity in her tone this time, even going so far as to shift closer to Jessica in anticipation. Much as she wanted to believe Carlisle was every bit as nice and normal as he'd seemed, Sarah couldn't shake the idea there was more to him than that. The way Jessica eyed her after the question only added to Sarah's curiosity.

"Dr. Cullen?" Jessica asked. "Where did you meet Dr. Cullen?" In the depth of Jessica's eyes, Sarah thought she noticed a sort of bubbling excitement as though Jessica thought she'd stumbled on something very juicy. Sarah shook her head quickly.

"We bumped into each other at the gas station. He was very nice." The excitement died away again.

"Of course he was," Jessica said, dismissively, "Dr. Cullen is very well respected around town…." As Sarah watched, it seemed like Jessica's eyes flickered as though there was still something she was holding back. Sarah jumped on it immediately.

"But…?" That was enough prodding for Jessica. She gently nudged Sarah's side and nodded her head across the cafeteria. Sarah followed the gesture. That was when she first saw them.

They were sitting at a table in the corner, a table that they appeared to share with no one else. As a one-time loner herself, Sarah could tell they were separated from the rest by choice. Sarah didn't try to guess why. They all seemed to be a matching set, so it was possible they simply weren't good at talking to outsiders to their clique or that they were too snobbish to try. They did have the striking good looks and uninterested faces that often came bundled with aloofness, Sarah noted with only passing interest. Though it was lunch time, they weren't talking or eating or indulging in any kind of entertainment at all. In fact the table in front of them was completely bare and the air between them seemed almost unnaturally still, as though they weren't even breathing. What was the point of sitting together if they weren't going to talk? Lone wolf solidarity? Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah noticed Jessica watching her observation with a smug and knowing smirk.

"What about them?" whispered Sarah.

"Those are Dr. Cullen's kids." Immediately Sarah looked back at the table, eyes widening. "Adoptive, of course," added Jessica. "Only Jasper and Rosalie are actually related. Twins." She paused. "But, do you want to know what's really weird about them?" Jessica was whispering even softer now, but Sarah leaned in close because, yes she definitely did want to know. "They're all together. Jasper and Alice. Rosalie and Emmett. And they live together."

"Scandalous," Sarah agreed, suppressing a little bit of a laugh. "What about the other one?" Sarah was back to observing the Cullens again when one of them—the one with copper-colored hair—suddenly turned and their gazes caught. Sarah was used to being observed and to being ignored, so his indifferent gaze didn't faze her. She smiled at him; he looked away.

"That's Edward Cullen," Jessica said, leaning in to whisper right in Sarah's ear. The exchange between Sarah and Edward had left her giggling and Sarah immediately knew she'd discovered Jessica's favorite subject of gossip.

"Have they lived here long?" Sarah asked, feeling the pressure of Jessica's exuberance next to her. By now Sarah felt much of her attention waning from the Cullens. Carlisle still interested her in his own way, but she had no reason to believe there would be anything really strange about his kids. Regardless, she'd come to Forks for a normal life, chasing after mysterious feelings she couldn't explain felt antithetical to that.

"No. They just moved here two years ago from Alaska, I think." Sarah nodded and was about to ask another question when the boy with copper hair looked over at her again. She'd happened to catch his eye, but this time his expression showed genuine curiosity, mirroring her own.

"Who is he again?" Sarah broke her eye contact with the boy to turn back to Jessica. She looked almost affronted by the idea that Sarah had forgotten his name.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, but don't waste your time, he doesn't date." There was a bitterness to Jessica's tone that clearly implied a rejection in the past. Sarah's lips lifted into a devious smirk, fairly reminiscent of the teasing expression of a certain Goblin King.

"Why not, I wonder," she said. "If he put in some effort, I'm sure he could get some girls interested. Ah, but maybe he likes being a fifth wheel all the time." It was not the most pleasant thing she could have said, but Sarah had already received so much attention that it had started to make her cocky. Suddenly it no longer seemed vital to make every single person like her. Jessica definitely didn't find the comments funny, but Sarah allowed herself a quiet little smirk as she shot one more glance over towards the Cullen table. Clearly she had missed something as one of the Cullens—Emmett, she believed—had his shoulders shaking with laughter while Edward was leveling a glare at him.

Sarah examined Edward—or what she could see of him from far away as she was—and thought about Jessica's comment. Gorgeous, was he? There was no denying he was attractive on a purely objective level, but Jessica made him sound like an incomparable beauty. He looked good, of course, but not as good as a certain glittery, tights-wearing Goblin King. That really was the sticking point for Sarah. She'd met Jareth too early in life and now would be forever let down by men who couldn't fill his very large and very magical shoes.

Edward turned back to look at her again; this time his eyes were guarded, almost as if he'd heard her comment. Sarah openly stared back at him. After a minute, his brow furrowed in intense frustration and he turned away. At some unseen cue, the three Cullens and the Hale twins all stood and gracefully walked out of the room together.

Sarah ultimately latched onto a sweet but quiet girl—who helpfully reminded Sarah that her name was Angela—for the walk to their next class. They were still chatting as they walked into the room and it wasn't until Sarah turned back to find her seat that she noticed Edward. Her lips quirked up slightly as she placed her things down, though she tried to school her expression to keep it from looking too mocking.

Sitting down, Sarah was quick to turn a polite smile his way, arm starting to reach out to offer him her usual handshake, when she noticed his posture. Edward's body had gone rigid, muscles tensed so violently that his entire body seemed to be vibrating uncontrollably. While Sarah was used to being disliked on sight for no reason, for the life of her she could never remember anyone having such a strong reaction. Not even her stepmother had ever looked at her with this much disgust, even in the midst of their occasional shouting matches. Sarah had grown very hopeful about life in Forks considering the kindness she had been shown, but she should have known that her luck never held out for long.

Turning back to the front and determined to ignore him, Sarah let the boy be. She had nothing to gain from trying to force him to like her if he wasn't going to. Enough opportunities for friendships had presented themselves that Sarah could easily let someone like Edward go. She wondered idly how a nice man like Carlisle could raise a son like Edward, but just as quickly put him out of her mind completely.

Though she'd done this biology lesson before at her old school, Sarah gave it her rapt attention. That was the easiest way to prevent her mind from wandering where it shouldn't—such as her tablemate—and it was useful review. Science had never been her strong suit. Her teacher had once commented that she was too fanciful for it and always looking into hypotheses and ideas that had no basis in science. For her part, Sarah would have liked to argue that the existence of magic made most of what they learned in science pointless, but she knew that would never get her anywhere. Besides, she did want to graduate eventually which meant she needed science credits, pointless or not.

Once the bell rang, Edward leapt from his seat and was out of the room before Sarah had much chance to even blink. She glanced curiously at the door. The list of oddities surrounding Edward (and the rest of the Cullens) was growing ever longer. Long enough to start wondering.

"Isabella Swan?" Sarah looked up at the fair-haired boy with a round face and winning smile. She wanted to sigh as she realized he was another perfectly attractive boy ruined by her association with Jareth. Not that she was particularly interested in dating, but Sarah was feeling progressively more aware that escaping her past would be harder than just a few thousand miles and a new name.

"Bella," she said in confirmation. Sarah stuck out her hand in greeting as she'd done to everyone she'd met, students and teachers alike. The news of her habit must have spread, he took her hand eagerly.

"I'm Mike," he said, shaking her hand for a bit too long.

"Hey," she said as she gathered her things. "Nice to meet you"

"Can I help you find your next class?" Everyone here was remarkably helpful, Sarah noticed. Perhaps a bit too helpful at times, but it was better than the alternative.

"I've got gym. Should be able to find that." Mike's answering grin was wide.

"Me too! Let's go together." Mike's enthusiasm was hard to reject. At least his overzealous nature kept him talking without needing too much input from Sarah, allowing her mind the freedom to wander. She preferred his stories of California to having to field questions about Arizona or a life she hadn't lived. The thought crossed Sarah's mind that she ought to do some research about her supposed home state tonight. She doubted that she would.

"What did you do to Edward Cullen? I've never seen him act like that before," Mike asked her. Sarah's mood darkened a bit. What had she done to him? She'd existed. That, it seemed, was enough to be offensive.

"It was the first time I'd talked to him…. Or, well, not talk. Interact." Sarah shrugged, just as confused as he was. She didn't make any effort to explain that this sometimes happened; she just smiled. "Can't win them all, I guess. He was different than normal?" Unable to help herself, Sarah tossed in that last question, wanting to know just how much his attitude had changed in response to her.

"Yeah. The Cullens seem aloof and keep to themselves, but they've never been outwardly hostile." Sarah pondered this a moment. She didn't have to wonder why someone could take an intense dislike to her so quickly. After the Labyrinth that was all anyone had ever done. At least, until she came to Forks. Everyone here seemed to think she was normal and treated her well. Everyone, except for Edward.

"I don't know," Sarah said.

"He's a weird guy," Mike remarked, clearly trying to boost her mood. "If I was lucky enough to sit next to you, I would have talked to you." Once again, Sarah just smiled at him, not sure what to say. They'd reached the gym by then and she was happy to go their different ways. Sarah ended up sitting out on the sidelines for the period wondering why she hadn't just skipped class. She liked gym, though. Considering the kinds of dangerous situations she'd been in, Sarah imagined it had probably helped save her life.

When the bell rang, Sarah made her way to the office to drop off her paperwork. As she pushed the door open and stepped into the warm office, she immediately recognized the head of copper hair that was bent over the front desk. He was arguing with the secretary. Had it been anyone else, Sarah would have felt bad for eavesdropping, but she merely leaned against the wall and waited for him to be done. One thing Sarah was very good at was holding grudges.

"Surely there must be something," Edward insisted. The secretary shook her head.

"I'm afraid that is the only science class during that period," she said. Science class? The jerk was trying to switch out of her class? To be so desperate about switching this late in the year could only mean that he wanted out because Sarah was in his class. She glared at the back of his head.

The door opened as another student walked in to drop a paper on the desk and walk out again. Edward turned and his black eyes burned at Sarah, and suddenly Sarah didn't feel quite so smug. She wanted to shrink back into the wall and disappear, but Sarah held her ground. Though her legs trembled, Sarah Williams had defeated the King of Goblins, she could not be intimidated by a teenage boy.

"Nevermind," Edward said hastily, turning to leave even as he spoke. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." He strode past Sarah with as quick of a walk as he could manage. Sarah didn't step out of his way, making eye contact with him as he left, watching as he shifted his entire body to be as far away from her as possible.

"Figures," she muttered as he walked out the door. It would be better if he did swap out of her class if he was going to react like that. Sarah didn't need that in her life anymore. As she stepped up to the secretary and handed over her paperwork, Sarah smiled but for the first time that day, the expression was strained.