Chapter 2. Newcomer

EPOV.

The month that followed our moving to Forks was uneasy and incredibly long. To my dismay, the locals of Forks did not believe my parents' story that we were simply tired of living in noisy Chicago, and we decided to try living somewhere in a quieter place. So now instead of the Cullens, they got our family as a new source of inspiration for gossip. Just brilliant. Plus, in addition to this situation, there was the fact that there was absolutely no entertainment in this rainy little town. I was either dying of boredom sitting at home alone, or going out for a run. There were no words to describe how much I missed my former rhythm of life, to which I managed to get used to over the seventeen years.

At school, I found myself the center of attention for the rest of that month. Around me were always either overly friendly girls or my other classmates who just wanted to know as much information as possible about my past. The only people with whom I really communicated well were Ben and Angela, but they often spent time only together, and I didn't want to become the third wheel.

The only good thing that happened in our family was that my parents were able to find more or less suitable jobs. Both of them didn't want to return to their old duties, so mom now taught music to children, and dad got a job as a law professor at the University of Washington. My mom, Elizabeth, was just in awe of teaching young children, she said that it all reminds her of how she taught me to play the piano when I was their age. Well, at least someone enjoyed our new life.

One day, when I pulled into the parking lot, I was shocked by the number of people who discussed something. In the center of the largest company, without a fraction of surprise, I noticed Jessica, who was telling something animatedly to people around her. Then she motioned her hand to something beside me to Tyler, who also arrived recently. I followed the direction of her finger and was surprised to see a new two-door white Mercedes parked next to the Cullens' BMW. Was it possible for a car to caused so many discussions around students? And most importantly, to whom did it belong? Probably only the Cullens could have enough money to buy such an expensive thing.

Speaking of the Cullens and Hales, during my month of observing them, I could say with absolute certainty that they were an unusual family. They intrigued me with their uniqueness. This was probably my only personal entertainment at school. Fortunately, they weren't at all interested in me, so they simply didn't notice my attentive glances. Their communication dynamics also weren't normal, other people usually avoided them, so they talked only among themselves. It was also impossible to ignore the fact that they always sat with trays full of food, but never ate anything. Perhaps they really had some kind of common illness, but why did they buy all this food then, if they knew in advance that they would not eat. Perhaps they expected no one to notice their strange behavior. I wondered to myself why no one else noticed all of this? With annoyance, I realized that no one watched them so attentive as I did. I never shared my observations or thoughts about them with my classmates, there were already enough gossips without me. To be honest, over time I began to lose interest in the Cullens, there were too many mysteries around them.

Without greeting anyone, I went towards the school. Ben was already sitting at the desk, as he was afraid to be late for Mr. Warner's class.

"Hey, man."

"Hey, someday you will be late for class. What's the fun of coming to school five minutes before the call?"

"Probably sleeping? Not everyone is afraid when teachers raise their voices slightly at them. Even if I'm late, nothing bad will happen." I rolled my eyes and sat down next to him. " What is everyone talking about and whose Mercedes is next to the Cullens' car?"

"Well, if someone came on time, you would already be aware of the latest events."

"How many times have we discussed this with you? I come on time! But you arrive unreasonably early. Will you tell me already or not?"

"Fine, I can't believe Jessica hasn't gotten ahead of me. Do you remember that another Cullen was supposed to come? So, this is her car."

And then I remembered about my future lab partner in biology. This, of course, explained the excitement around that car. I didn't envy this new girl, because I was in her place a month ago. And knowing the local population, I could assume that she will be the center of everyone's attention for a long period of time.

Meanwhile Ben continued, "All guys who saw her are going crazy. They say she's simply a wish come true. But according to Jessica, she is too thin and with crooked legs. I don't even know who to believe." At this phrase, he rolled his eyes. Obviously, it was sarcasm, no one believes Jessica.

I decided to skip the comments about her appearance, but I couldn't help but make fun of Ben.

"When did you manage to become such a gossip? Does Angela know how interested you are in the new Cullen?"

"Shut up, Mason. I was the victim of all this gossip this morning, now it's your time to suffer." I just shook my head at what he said, and then the bell rang.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. Nothing interesting happened, everything was as usual. The only difference was that the attention of my classmates shifted from me to the new Cullen, who, by the way, I yet hadn't met. I was ashamed to admit it, but I entered the cafeteria with a little more eagerness than usual. All these rumors piqued my interest, and I was a little curious to see her. I walked over to my usual table, where a few more people were now sitting than on the first day. Disappointment flooded through me as my eyes unerring focused on Cullen's and Hale's table. The familiar four faces were there, but she was absent. Maybe she didn't come on purpose? Not many people liked the feeling of being on the other side of the zoo enclosure.

I looked sadly at the people at my table. Mike, Lauren, Tyler, and Jessica were already sitting in their usual places and, of course, their conversation was about a new girl. As it turned out, her name was Isabella, or Bella, as she corrected everyone.

"Hey, Edward. Have you seen Bella yet? You alone don't say anything." Mike asked with his usual little cockiness in his voice.

"Nope." I tried to sound without a grain of interest so that they would not bother me with questions.

But my answer spawned a completely different reaction. Everyone just exploded with delight, and they began to describe Isabella vying with each other. To the hum of their voices, I tried to continue my lunch. At one point, I felt Mike kick me hard under the table.

"Newton, are you nuts? What do you need?"

Mike silently nodded his head at something off to the side. As soon as I looked away, I froze in place. The most beautiful girl I had ever seen was walking with a tray of food. She had pale skin, long brown hair that reached almost to her waist. She was dressed in jeans that accentuated her hips, which contrasted effectively with her thin waist. Her long legs were just crazy, and, of course, weren't crooked, as Jessica said. In her low-key outfit, she still attracted the eyes of everyone in this room. Mike's loud voice brought me out of the trance that Isabella Cullen had brought me into.

"Look at this, even Mason is gawping on the new girl. All of you, don't even think about it. I'll be the first one to call her out on a date."

I laughed openly at this phrase. Newton's confidence was not fake, he truly believed that he had a chance. I was sure that no one from this gray town could get Bella's attention. Did I have a chance? Probably not either, because my love story was terribly short. My ex-girlfriend dated me for a couple of months, and we reached second base at the most. And then there was a move, during which I had absolutely no time for a relationship. But Bella looked like she could win the heart of any guy. But on the other hand, when did difficulties stop me? And to be honest, I was not particularly modest. I knew that many girls found me attractive. What prevented me from trying to get to know Bella? Certainly not Newton and his empty threats.

I turned back to the Cullens' table once more and was pleasantly surprised that all the Cullens and Hales were smiling and actively discussing something with Bella. This meant that another rumor was not true. It was unlikely that she had left for England to stay away from the Cullens.

Through the lunch, my eyes flickered again and again to their table and I watched them silently as usual. They ate nothing again, leaving the trays full of food untouched. To my surprise, I also noticed that Bella looked remarkably similar to her siblings. My observations were interrupted from time to time by envious comments from Jessica and Lauren, who sensed competition. The only people who seemed uninterested in the Cullens were Ben and Angela. But this wasn't surprising. After a few minutes, the five of them left the table together. Bella was graceful as well as her other relatives. It was unsetting to watch.

I walked to Biology with more confidence than usual. I was mentally determined to charm Isabella. Once inside the classroom, I saw that my table wasn't empty anymore, cause Bella was already seated there. I sat down, expecting her to turn toward me, but she showed no sign that she was interested in her new lab partner. Ouch. This shook my confidence a little.

"Hello," I said trying to sound as friendly as possible.

She looked at me, and I was instantly amazed by her look. Two of the most beautiful eyes, the color of molten gold, looked at me. They were definitely not lenses, since no lenses could convey such depth, but her eyes still looked like a product of some kind of computer graphics. Bella looked as if she was amazed by my appearance too, but she was the first to move away from the shock. Or she may have been surprised that I spoke to her.

"Hi." Her voice sounded quiet but musical.

"My name is Edward Masen" I continued. "I guess we are lab partners now. You must be Bella Cullen."

"How do you know my name?" She sounded a little bit surprised. Was she for real? Who didn't know that?

"Forks is a small town. Everyone knows your name."

"I meant, why did you use Bella instead of Isabella?"

"Hm, do you prefer Isabella?" Was Newton lying that she preferred the short version of her name? I was ready to rip his head off if it wasn't true because he put me in an awkward position.

"No, I like Bella more. It's just that almost everyone before called me by my full name. It's nice that someone is worried about my preferences."

I smiled slightly with my best smile when I heard her explanation. A start had been made, now the main thing was to maintain small talk. Hm, and Newton could stay alive a little longer.

"Isabella is a very pretty name, but Bella suits you." In fact, this was Isabella herself, who was pretty, not just her name, but it was better to leave this comment to myself for now. I decided to change the subject. "Did you really move from England to Forks? Or is it all rumors, like all other information about the Cullens?" The irritation in my voice was very poorly hidden.

"Why do you think these are all rumors?" Apparently, her family has already warned about all the conjectures of the local population concerning her loved ones.

"I honestly don't think any of your family would share such information. And this means that they just made it up, oh, and they do it very well. I learned that the hard way. My family moved to Forks a month ago."

"Oh really? Where did you move here from?"

"Chicago," my dreamy intonation was not covered by anything.

"You don't like it here." It wasn't a question. Attentive golden eyes scanned my face as if they were trying to find even more confirmation of her statement.

"You have no idea," I muttered.

She looked fascinated by what I said. Maybe she doesn't like it here either. Then she suddenly laughed, looking with understanding in my direction. Apparently, I was right.

"I'm sorry they say nasty things about your family. I'm sure your family had a good reason to move." Her sincere words made me feel warm in my soul. For the first time, someone tried to see my situation from a different angle, and not just rushed into the wrong judgments.

"Thank you." I smiled at her with a small smile and again changed the subject. "So, will you tell me where you come from? If it's not a secret, of course."

"Yeah, I went to school in England. But some events made me think that I'm better with my noisy family." She shrugged and looked away.

Unfortunately, Mr. Banner started the class at that moment, and I tried to concentrate on his lesson. No matter how interesting Bella was, good grades were more important to me. I had to prepare well for the final exams.

Still, I was unable to concentrate on biology entirely. Sometimes I glanced towards Bella, she looked forward, but it was hard to tell if she was listening to the teacher. Maybe she didn't like biology.

I tried too hard not to be aware of her for the rest of the lesson, but it was almost impossible. When the bell rang, I turned to her. She sent me a weak smile and rushed from the classroom. At that moment, I caught myself thinking that perhaps this was the first and the last full-fledged conversation with Isabella Cullen.

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