Hello, friends! Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but as I said, I was finishing up a semester of school. So much studying and freaking out and blah blah blah. But that's over for the summer! Now I'm aiming to commit to an update schedule to the best of my ability - Thursday/Friday. (Yes, I choose two days to give myself a little breathing room. Ha.)

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has been reviewing this story. Honestly, y'all are the best. Thank you also to everyone who's been favoriting and following. And to everyone that is reading this story. Thank you, thank you.

Now, I shall leave you with the update. I hope you like it! :)

Chapter Three

Anna

The day hadn't even started yet and I could already tell that attending Forks High School was going to be just as brutal as I imagined. Alex and I walked over to the office from the parking lot and eyes were on us the entire way. It felt like every single student in the school had nothing better to do than ogle us. Ducking into the office was actually a reprieve—until we were faced with a bright and smiley Ms. Cope.

"Hello, ma'am," Alex greeted her, striding ahead of me with a grin. "We're here to pick up our schedules, just like we planned."

"Good morning!" Ms. Cope exclaimed, rooting through papers on her desk. How the space was already so disorderly this early in the morning was a mystery. "I have your schedules somewhere around here…aha! Here they are. One for Alex Judge, and one for Anna Judge." She handed us each our schedules in turn. "And here's a form for you both to have your teachers sign when you attend each class. Just to make sure you're on the rosters and such—make sure to swing by again at the end of the day and drop them off. Do you think you need a map?"

I would have appreciated a map, since the idea of asking another student for help finding where I needed to go practically gave me hives. But Alex said, "No thank you, we're good. See you later today!" and there was no way I was going to ask for a map myself. I refrained from slapping my brother as we left the office, but as soon as we were outside I spun on him with a glare.

"You should have accepted the map!" I hissed, trying to keep my voice down.

He huffed. "You should have warned me. Or asked for one yourself. Ms. Cope is a nice lady, she would have given it to you."

My lips pursed. "Really, Alex?"

His eyes widened. "I know, I know, you were uncomfortable but you can't blame me for not being able to read your mind and know you wanted a map!"

I sighed. He had a point. I was officially stressing the fuck out, but I couldn't blame that on him. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he accepted my apology easily. "Want me to go back in and get you one? It'd only take a second."

"No." I shook my head. "It's fine. It's such a small school, it can't be that tough, right?" Plus, he'd probably explain that I was the one who sent him back in there for a map and I'd be so embarrassed—not that he'd have tried to embarrass me, he was just so chatty he'd undoubtedly bring it up.

He lifted his schedule to glance over it and I did the same. "Where do you need to be?" he asked. "I start the day with pre-calc. Ugh. Building 3."

"I have Spanish in Building 5. Think that means we're heading in the right direction?"

Alex looked around, studying the building the office was in, the parking lot, and the next building over. "Well, it looks like this is Building 1. So I'm guessing we're both going to head that way," he pointed to the next building over, "and the buildings will go up from there?"

Sounded logical. "Okay. Let's go."

We both headed toward the next building which was, in fact, Building 2. And the next was Building 3. Which meant this was where we parted ways. Alex turned to me, dropping a hand on my shoulder and squeezing. "You'll be fine. Just keep going that way and I'm sure you'll find your building, and then I'll see you at lunch. We can sit together if you want."

I didn't respond to the lunch offer because while it could have been comforting to know I wouldn't have to sit alone, it was also very likely that he'd make friends between now and then. Which meant he'd get invited to sit somewhere, then mention that he had a sister who needed somewhere to sit too. I'd end up with both a pity seat and a lunch full of awkward social interaction. "See you later," I said. "Make good choices."

Alex smiled. "I'll try." He turned and entered the building.

Now alone, I took a deep breath. The air was much more stifling that it had been the day before after leaving the office. I suspected this had less to do with the actual air and more to do with the fact that I was borderline freaking out. But I had no choice—I had to fake it till I made it. Not an ounce of confidence was within me, but I proceeded past Building 3 as if I knew exactly where I was going. As if I'd walked this campus for the past year.

That facade of confidence shattered within me when I got the to next building and saw that Building 4 was the last one down the line Alex and I had been walking. How was that possible? They couldn't put classes in Building 6 but only go up to Building 4.

"Hey! You're new, right?" a girl asked, stopping a few feet away from me. Her eyes were keen on me, sizing me up.

I was on the verge of an internal melt down so the last thing I wanted to do was chat it up with a stranger, but it wasn't like I could duck away. I didn't even know where I was going. "Yes," I said, my voice low, almost sounding kind of strangled.

"I'm Jessica. Where are you headed?" She smiled, but it seemed…fake. Plastic. Pasted on to look nice while everyone was watching us—because of course our peers were still keeping track of my every move.

"Um…" I fumbled with my schedule, checking it again as if I didn't already know where I was going. "Spanish. In Building 6?" I asked, like maybe the paper in front of me was lying and my Spanish class didn't really exist.

She nodded. "Oh! Well, you're going in the right direction. If you go around Building 4 you'll find Building 5, and then 6 is right there. The gym and cafeteria are over that way too." She gestured to a path that did indeed cut around Building 4. Maybe if I had taken a moment to calm myself down I would have found it myself.

"Thank you," I said sincerely, moving to walk down the path.

"Wait!" she called. I turned and looked at her. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

Biting my lip, I retraced my steps to stand back near her. "I'm Anna."

Jessica smiled, her gaze on me eager. "Let me see your schedule. Maybe we'll have some classes together. We can be friends."

Her hand was held out for me to give her the paper, but honestly…I didn't want to. She gave me such an insincere vibe. And the way her eyes flickered around, tallying all the others that watched us made me uncomfortable.

"I actually need to get to class, but maybe I'll see you later?" I said hurriedly, walking down the path again. "But really," I called behind me as I went, "thank you so much for your help!" I ignored her protests at my departure and made my way to Building 6. Good thing too because I made it just in time for the bell to ring. I introduced myself to the teacher as quietly as I could, knowing the entire class was paying close attention. Luckily, the teacher signed my slip quickly then directed me to a seat toward the back of the room, handing me a textbook as she started her lecture. Eyes were on me the entire class period, but it became easier to ignore as I focused on what the teacher was saying.

When the bell rang, I gathered my things quickly and rushed out of the room before any of my peers could attempt to start conversation with me. The interaction with Jessica was enough for now.

I made it through my next couple of classes without speaking to anyone but the teachers. It was in my class right before lunch that broke my streak—gym class. While I stood against the wall waiting for Coach to begin class, a boy walked up to me. He got close before leaning his shoulder next to my body, a smile that I figured he thought was smooth but was actually sleazy on his face. "Hey, there."

Blinking at him, I said, "Hi."

"You're new."

There was really no way to respond to that, so I just continued to stare at him.

"I'm Tyler."

Did I want to talk to him? Tell him my name? No. But would he find out anyway? In this small school, definitely. But I wasn't eager to encourage him, and he seemed like the type to take any response as encouraging.

So I remained silent.

"Can you hear me?" he asked, beginning to sound impatient as he leaned close to my face. I couldn't avoid looking at him now but I refused to meet his eyes. "Are you fucking deaf or something?"

"Anna!" an over-enthusiastic voice called. A hand came into view between my face and Tyler's; he was so surprised he allowed himself to get pushed backward by Felicity edging in between us. "I've been on the lookout for you all day. I'm so glad we have a class together!"

She seemed to be ignoring Tyler in his entirety, so I did the same. "It's nice to see you." It was the most honest thing I'd said all day.

"Come on," she said, grabbing my hand and tugging me toward the bleachers. "Let's go sit and you can tell me about your day so far."

Just like I'd refused to look at him when he was in my face, I would not glance back to see Tyler's expression as we walked away. Instead, I just breathed deep in relief. "Thank you," I whispered to her as we took seats.

Her eyes met mine and her fingers squeezed mine. "He's an ass."

She was not wrong. I nodded.

"So," she said, her tone back to light, "tell me about your first few classes."

I was so glad that she'd helped me, and she was being so darn nice, that I did what she asked. Throughout the gym period as we jogged and kicked a soccerball back and forth, I told her how my day had been going. She input her own commentary along the way. And when I was done, I told her what classes I had next—it turned out we had art together later in the day. As we left the gym to head to lunch, she asked if I wanted to sit with her.

Biting my lip, I was tempted to say no. I'd been mostly okay during this past class period—though I'd had awkward pauses and silences and word choices, but she either ignored them or didn't notice them in the first place. Carrying this over into a full lunch would give more opportunity to mess up. Then she'd realize I was freaking weird and terrible at socially interacting and likely never talk to me again. Perhaps playing it safe and sitting with Alex would be better.

But for some reason, I didn't turn her down. I nodded. Though I did speak the caveat, "I might need to go sit with my brother if he hasn't found anyone yet, though." Unlikely, but it was a way out if I needed it.

Felicity smiled. "He can sit with us if he wants to. I don't really have any friends here so it's just me anyway."

My jaw nearly dropped. I definitely stopped walking. "Seriously?"

It took her a second to realize I wasn't next to her anymore. From a few steps ahead, she turned to face me. "What?"

"How do you not have any friends? You're nice. And…" I searched for another fitting adjective. "Bubbly."

She laughed. "I have friends. But they live in La Push. My friends in Forks…well." She sighed. "They aren't exactly what I'd call friends anymore. It's a long story that I'm sure I'll get to telling soon. But for now, please come sit with me at lunch?"

"Yes," I said with certainty this time. It was practically a crime that she usually sat alone. I was an odd girl out by nature, but Felicity? She deserved better.

We walked to lunch, finding Alex standing outside the cafeteria. His eyes latched onto me when we entered the hall, and his brows arched as he saw I was not alone. A smile took over his face when we got close. "You having a good day, sis?" he asked, sounding pleased.

I held back an eye roll. He was trying to be supportive. I couldn't fault him for that. "No. But it's not the worst day either."

His grin stretched wider, apparently thinking I was full of shit. Which I kind of was, but I also wasn't—the first few periods of the day hadn't been anything to write home about, and I knew he'd blow a gasket when he heard about what happened with Tyler in gym. I was mildly surprised he hadn't heard about that already, actually. I chalked it up to him being so new he hadn't weeded his way in with the most informed kids at the school yet. "Nice to see you again, Felicity," he said.

She smiled. "You too. Felicity said she'd sit with me in there, and we were wondering if you wanted to join us?"

Alex's gaze cut to me, measuring up whether or not I truly wished to sit with her. Sometimes I got roped into stuff, and he wanted to make sure this wasn't one of them. My annoyance at his smug tone before evaporated; he was such a good brother. I gave him a small smile.

He shook his head at Felicity. "Nah, I'm good. I've met some people in a couple of my classes that I'm going to sit with. Just wanted to check in with Anna Banana here before going in. All good, Annie? See you later?"

I nodded. "Yeah. See you later."

He reached out and pushed my shoulder gently, then turned and entered the cafeteria. Felicity and I followed him. Inside, though, he veered left and we went right, claiming an empty table not too far from the door.

"Did you bring food or are you buying from the lunch line?" Felicity asked when we were situated.

I dug through my bag, pulling out my small bag of chips I brought from home and my half-empty water bottle I'd been sipping from all morning. "I've got this. Not really up for anything else."

She sized it up uncertainly. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, not particularly wishing to explain my finicky appetite. "So you have friends in La Push. Tell me about them."

Her eyes lit up, and she launched into a literal lunch period full of talk about her La Push friends. It was honestly perfect—she was so into the topic that I barely had to input into the conversation, aside from basic questions and bare minimum commentary. She told me about her boyfriend, Jacob. And their friends Sam and Emily. And her stepbrother Kai, and how they had a rocky past but were working on rebuilding their relationship. And multiple other people whom I forgot the names of but all sounded kind and fun. She also briefly mentioned her ex, Elijah, and his new girlfriend. She didn't go into detail, however, claiming that she didn't want to bring down the conversation. I didn't argue.

In all her stories and descriptions, I was most interested in her friend and roommate. Paul. For some reason I clung to his name and everything she said about him with a sort of…relevance. The sensation was strange. It was not out of the ordinary for me to get into people I never had a hope of being friends with—even though I was anxious and introverted, I greatly desired to have strong connections with other people. I didn't have the ability or opportunity to pursue that, so I simply imagined.

But normally this started after I saw or met someone. Not only after hearing someone talk about them.

If I was already so hung up on Paul now, I wondered how interested in him I'd be once we finally met—which was inevitable, seeing as he lived in my building and we now shared the mutual friend of Felicity.

My thoughts halted for a moment. Friend. Felicity was my friend? It occurred to me suddenly that she was. I'd made a friend. There was still time for her to decide she wanted nothing to do with me, there was always time for that, but for now it was my first day at a new school and I had a friend. That was more than I could say for myself when I was back in Colorado.

Wow. Maybe life in Forks would turn out even better than I'd anticipated. I hoped I could be so lucky.

And that's it for this chapter! I apologize for the lack of Paul - Anna's portion of the chapter got so long I decided there was no way to put anything meaningful for Paul in this one. He'll definitely be in the next chapter, though, don't you worry! And in the meantime until y'all get your Paul fix, maybe you could leave me a review letting me know your thoughts? Do you like Anna? I'm loving writing her. And what do you think of the sibling dynamic between Anna and Alex? Please, please, let me know! I hope you all have a great week! :)