Chapter 2

Alana groggily awoke to the obnoxious sound of her blaring alarm. With a dissatisfied groan, she clumsily tapped her hand across the side table until she managed to turn the damned thing off. Rolling onto her back, her eyes slowly peeled open, squinting against the morning sunlight that streamed through the open curtains. She cursed herself, recalling that she forgot to close them the night before. A sigh escaped her lips and she glanced at the time. 7:03, the glaring scarlet digits read.

With a grunt, she heaved herself upright, yawning tiredly as she pushed her undoubtedly messy hair away from her face. Deciding that she should probably prepare herself for the first day of school, Alana pushed herself from the warm bed covers and made her way over to the long mirror that hung in the corner of the room. She stared at her reflection for a while, taking note of the dark circles under her brown eyes. That would need to be fixed, she thought with a mental sigh. And she was right about her hair… it was a mess. Light blonde strands flicked up in all directions. Looking back at her clock, which now read 7:06, she'd resolved to make herself look presentable. First impressions and all that.

After washing her face, the hair was the first thing she tackled - the sight of it had agitated Alana the most. She'd managed to brush it into submission, until the short, wavy locks rested neatly against her collarbone. She tied the top section of hair behind her head and tugged a few front strands out so that it artistically framed her face. Admiring her work for a few seconds, she nodded in satisfaction and moved on.

Next she decided to use a bit of make-up to try and make herself look a little more alive. Concealer was definitely used underneath her eyes, she popped a little mascara on, some lip gloss and a cute rosy shade of blush. She figured that she looked pretty damn good, if she did say so herself.

The outfit she'd chosen to wear was a knitted cream sweater with her favourite jeans and a pair of thick boots she'd bought specifically for the move to Forks. She accessorised with a few of her go-to necklaces. Chucking on a maroon cord jacket, she took one last look in the mirror, grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs for some breakfast.

Aiden was already downstairs in the kitchen, stuffing his face with what looked to be a bacon sandwich. He jammed the last morsel of the sandwich into his mouth when he saw her approach, waving at her and he tried to call her name through his mouthful. He pointed towards her, and then to a plate that rested on the kitchen counter, on it laying a freshly cooked bacon sandwich like his own.

She gave him a wide grin and hug as she passed. "Aw, thanks!" She exclaimed before taking a large bite into her breakfast, humming gratefully at the taste. "Where's mum and dad?" She asked once she'd finished her bite.

Aiden held up a finger as he chewed, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly and making a show of swallowing. "Mum's gone to work... Said something lame about wanting to start the new job early. Dad went outside to have a jog."

A surprised laugh escaped her mouth. "A jog?" She repeated in bemusement.

"That was my reaction, too!" He agreed, a smirk playing across his lips. "Yeah, apparently this move has 'turned over a new leaf' so he's going through a health-nut phase, I dunno," he trailed off, shrugging in confusion.

"Huh," she wondered aloud. "I hope he'll be back in time to drop us off at school… at least until one of us can get a car." The clock read 7:39 and she had wanted to get to the school relatively early to get her bearings on the place.

Aiden snorted, putting his plate in the sink. "Give him ten minutes and I'm sure he'll be crawling back in regret."

The siblings laughed and settled down on the sofa as they waited for their father to return.

Sure enough, he was back within ten minutes - seven minutes to be exact - huffing and puffing as he pushed past the front door. He startled when he noticed them staring at him and gave them a half-hearted wave. "Oh," he breathed. "Hey guys." It looked like he might say more, but he cut himself off, bracing his hands on his knees as he fought for breath.

"Hey, Dad," the two called out in synchronisation, gathering their backpacks and making their way towards their struggling father. "Let's go!" Alana chirped, patting Nicholas on the back as she breezed past him and outside into the crisp air.

She heard as Aiden laughed and followed her out, the two walking towards the car as their father tiredly trailed behind them.

As it turned out, Forks High school was only a short drive from their house, so the siblings made it with time to spare to sufficiently have a look around the building before classes. There were already some students in the car park and many of them had turned their heads to see who had arrived. And so began the staring. Since Forks was such a small town, it was clear that the students hadn't recognised their dad's car, and so had figured out that there were new students coming into the school. Oh, joy.

The car slowed to a halt just outside of the reception area and Nicholas gave both teens a blinding smile. "Well, here we are, kids! I hope you guys have a great first day," he enthused happily. Both Alana and Aiden gave him a fond smile and thanked him as they got out of the car. When he drove away, they heard him yell: "And don't forget to make friends!" out of the open window, causing them to turn away in embarrassment.

More and more students began to fill the parking lot. Alana noticed how many of them stopped their conversations to look and point at the siblings, turning to whisper to their friends as they surveyed the new students. Many of the girls were giving her brother appraising looks, smiling and giggling in their groups, while the boys looked Alana up and down with immature, leering features. She just smiled saccharinely and grabbed her brother by the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him towards what looked like the main office.

Alana sighed gratefully as they entered the building, breathing easier now that the weight of the staring was gone. Aiden strolled up to the front desk, Alana trailing behind him slightly, and they were greeted by a portly woman who immediately knew who they were. Somehow, this didn't surprise the siblings, who were already starting to gather the scope of the small-town gossip ring. Thinking back to the behaviour of the students outside, it didn't seem that Forks High school got many new students very often.

They waited at the office for a few minutes while the receptionist gathered their relevant paperwork. They received a form which detailed basic information about the school, such as their policies, expectations, and other miscellaneous facts about the education system. They were then given a map of the school detailing which classes were located in which block, a class schedule, their locker numbers with the accompanying codes, and a note explaining who they were. The lady at the desk informed them that they would need to get each of their teachers to sign the note and then return it at the end of the school day. The reasoning behind this wasn't explained, but the siblings didn't argue it. From there, they were sent on their way with well wishes.

As they made their way outside the office, Alana took a moment to check her schedule, mentally praying that it wasn't too different from the classes she'd had back in England. She had English first, which she was relieved about. It was her favourite class so she was immensely happy that she would be able to start her day with something that she liked. After English came History, and then Math - or Calculus as it was named over on this side of the world. She winced; Math did not come easy to her, and the prospect of it filled her with dread. Next came Biology, and then their allocated lunch break, which was followed by Spanish and lastly, Gym.

She glanced over at her brother's class schedule, her shoulders relaxing when she noticed that he shared a few later classes with her. At least she wouldn't be on her own all day. The siblings took a second to look at the other, both of them none-too-thrilled to go to classes.

"Well, sis… Time to go," Aiden sighed, reaching down to ruffle her short hair and laughing as she squawked in indignation.

Alana glared at him, smoothing her hair back down. He smiled a sickly sweet smile and backed away with a wave, hurrying into the main building and disappearing from sight. The blonde puffed out a breath and began navigating the school with her trusty map in hand. Luckily, the school was considerably smaller than she thought it would be and it didn't take long at all for Alana to find her first class. She stopped just outside the door, inhaled deeply, quelled her nerves and stepped inside the classroom. The bell had yet to ring, so she was relieved to see that the classroom wasn't completely full, just a handful of students and the teacher occupied the room. Still, the few eyes that were in the room flew to Alana like a hawk, their gazes stuck on her form as she made her way towards the teacher's desk.

She cleared her throat softly to gain the teacher's attention, who then looked at her with curiosity. Alana quickly pulled out her note and handed it to the teacher with a small smile. "I'm Alana Graves," she introduced as the man quickly read the note. "I've just started today. The office asked me to hand that to you to sign," she gestured towards the piece of paper in his hand.

He nodded, reaching over his desk to grab a pen. "Oh, yes," he pondered, quickly scribbling his signature on the note, and handing it back to her. "Welcome to Forks, Miss Graves," he greeted with a friendly smile, before grabbing a book from his desk. "Here's the textbook that we'll be working through," the teacher explained as she took the book from him. "And if you'd like to take a seat… Any seat will do, since you arrived so punctually."

Alana thanked him as she hurried to a seat on the far side of the classroom, ignoring the piercing stares that followed her every move. She gathered her notebook from her bag and prepared herself for the lesson. The classroom began to fill up quickly as time crept on and, by the time the school bell rang, the room was packed. It felt like Alana was wearing a neon pink sign that read 'OUTSIDER' - every single student that walked in immediately pinned their gaze on her, so much so that it was beginning to get a bit ridiculous. Surely they had seen new students come into the school before. It made her wonder whether Aiden was having the same experience.

A few of the students did actually make an effort to introduce themselves to her and spark up a conversation before the lesson began, however, and she was thankful for them not treating her like an alien. Soon enough, the lesson was in full swing and the weight of the students' stares eased up. Alana finally felt like she was able to breathe now that she wasn't being scrutinised, and she happily focused her full attention onto her favourite class.

The lesson ended on a high note and she was feeling pretty good about the rest of her day. She hung around inside the classroom for a few minutes, happily chatting with a pretty girl called Ellie, who she'd met in the lesson.

Ellie had shoulder-length strawberry-blonde hair, a pair of bright, blue eyes and a blinding smile showing off pearly teeth. She'd been eager to strike up a conversation and Alana had responded equally as keen. She learnt that Ellie had lived in Forks her whole life, she had a large dog named Morris and that she loved to play the flute.

"So, how are you finding Forks so far?" The girl had asked.

"It's not so bad," Alana responded with a smile. "Just trying to get used to everything… and the staring." She trailed off with a grimace.

Ellie cringed as well, a look of guilt on her face. "Yeah… Sorry about that. It's not very often new students move to Forks," she explained, confirming what Alana had already figured about the school.

"Yeah, I guessed," she laughed, alleviating the nervous expression on Ellie's face. "When was the last time a new student arrived?"

A look of contemplation flooded the redhead's features. "Well," she mused aloud. "There was a new girl, like, last month. But before that, I'd say like a year or so."

Alana asked the first thing that came to her mind. "Do they still get stared at?" The look on Ellie's face told her that she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Well, kinda... Bella, not so much anymore, she's the girl that came a month ago," Ellie explained quickly, "but the Cullens… Yeah, they still get stared at." Her voice quietened at the mention of these 'Cullens', as if she were afraid that someone would overhear them.

Now that surprised Alana; those poor students were still being ogled at after a year of being at the school? She prayed that the same spectacle wouldn't be made of herself and her brother.

Alana must have made a face, because Ellie hurried to ease her thoughts. "But I wouldn't worry about that though… The Cullens are a…", she seemed to struggle to find words, "special case," she finally settled on.

Left with food for thought, Alana said goodbye to, who she hoped would be, her new friend, and quickly packed up her things to try and find her next class: History. She shook off her thoughts of the apparently elusive 'Cullens' and figured she would probably find out more later on. She weaved her way through the corridors, looking closely at her map, and was pleasantly surprised to find that she'd only gotten lost twice. She managed to find the classroom with time to spare, and didn't hesitate to enter the room this time.

The classroom was almost full, but she was prepared for the whispers that buzzed at her entrance and wondered absentmindedly how long it would be until the novelty of her presence wore off - she hoped it wouldn't be a year. She danced the same routine with the History teacher; handing over the note, introducing herself, grabbing a textbook and then being ushered towards a seat. Unlike English, however, the seats were almost full, so she was forced to take the only empty one in the room.

As Alana walked towards her new seat, her eyes glanced over the classmates who would be next to her and she froze. Like jerked-to-a-full-halt froze. Her breath caught in her throat and she had to physically remind herself to exhale. The boy - no… man - who occupied the seat to her right was breath-taking; quite literally. Hair the shade of spun gold fell in short waves to frame a handsome face that was chiselled by the gods. He had a jaw-line that most guys would kill for, high cheekbones and a cute dimple on his chin. His skin was smooth - impossibly smooth - like he had never even heard of the word 'acne'. He was, without a doubt, the most attractive individual she had ever set her eyes on - and would ever set eyes on, for surely no-one could be more attractive than him.

He had yet to notice her; his head hung over the notebook on his desk. Someone in the classroom cleared their throat and she awkwardly rushed to sit down, rolling her eyes at the giggles that littered the room. Well done, Alana. That's really going to get them to stop staring.

After a brief pause, the teacher started to talk - about what, Alana couldn't tell; she was far too busy trying to keep her eyes from straying to the boy at her right. She opened her notebook with a sigh and began to write down the title of the history lesson: The Failure of Reconstruction. It was at that moment that she felt a prickling sensation burn into the side of her face, so much more intense than the stares of the students earlier on. She risked a glance over and found a pair of pitch-black eyes meet her own. Surely not pitch-black, it must be the light. It was the insanely gorgeous boy, and he was staring at her so intently that she lost her train of thought; her mouth felt dry and she struggled to form words in his presence.

And as suddenly as he'd watched her, he turned away; and she could breathe again. What the hell was that? She didn't want the whole lesson to be dictated by this boy who she didn't even know. Maybe if she tried to strike up a conversation with him, the allure would lessen. After all, she did say to herself the night before to try and make some friends. The majority of the people that she had met so far appeared welcoming and approachable, she would even go so far as to say that she had already met some potential friends. Despite the off-putting demeanor the stunning boy emitted, she also believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt.

She glanced through the strands of her hair to the male at her side, noticing that he had written three-quarters of a page of notes, despite the lesson only beginning not five minutes ago, and even then the teacher had only informed them about an upcoming dance.

Clearing her throat, she pushed her hair behind her ear. "I'm guessing you really like history then?"

The boy froze and slowly turned his head to face her, eyebrows drawn together in a manner she couldn't decipher. His eyes held the same intensity as the first time but, beyond that, he was impossible to read. There was no interest or curiosity behind his dark eyes; but there was a glint of something that put her on edge; something calculating. It took everything in her not to shiver under his glare. Desperate to dissolve the tension, she gestured towards his too-extensive notes with raised eyebrows. His handwriting was impeccable. It was nothing fancy or cursive, but it was precise and efficient.

"Yes," was the quiet answer she received from the mysterious boy who, once again, turned away from her.

Taking confidence from the fact that he didn't outright dismiss her, she smiled brightly and shoved her hand in his periphery. "I'm Alana." He did not shake her hand, merely glancing down at it in disdain before returning his focus towards his class notes.

"Jasper," she heard him murmur in reply.

Her blinding smile faltered a fraction, hastily pulling her hand back. She examined the way his fist clenched around the pen as he wrote, and swore she could hear the plastic creaking under the pressure.

"Soooo… What's your favourite moment in history?" She asked in a hushed voice. The lesson was now in full swing, with the erratic teacher gesturing towards the whiteboard enthusiastically.

He sighed deeply. Instead of answering her question, he shot her one of his own. "You're not from around here, are you?" The query was not unkind, nor was the tone of his voice. He seemed merely confused.

"Born and raised in England," she responded, not missing a beat.

Whilst this fact usually spurred multitudes of questions about her life, Jasper nodded once and continued working, seeming for all-the-world to forget about Alana's presence as he faced the teacher with an expression of intense concentration.

Okay then, she thought, glumly, and turned to focus on her own work, trying - and failing - to get all thoughts of the boy out of her head.

The remainder of the lesson crept by at a snail's pace. While she enjoyed History as a subject, she found that she couldn't keep focused with the intense boy sitting next to her; she kept thinking back to the look he had given her with his unfathomable, black - no, not black - eyes. It didn't help that he kept sending glances her way throughout the lesson - she could practically feel it. What did he want?

When the school bell finally rang to signal the end of the class, the boy - Jasper - practically pounced out of his seat and all but ran out of the room. Alana couldn't help but feel something akin to disappointment, though she wasn't completely sure why. Sure, he'd been a bit off-putting - to put it lightly - but she had still wanted to try and talk to him. Maybe figure out what his problem was. For all she knew, he just had a hard time making friends. Though underneath all of that, the moment he'd left the room it felt like a weight had lifted from her chest and she could breathe freely again.

She'd had the dreaded Calculus after her bizarre experience in History, and she hoped that Jasper both was and wasn't in her next class in equal measure. She found the class pretty easily; it wasn't too far away from her History classroom, and Alana handed the Calculus teacher her note. The teacher examined the note, looked at her and swiftly signed it with a cursory greeting. He handed her a textbook and muttered something about a spare seat in the back of the room.

She thanked the teacher and made her way to the vacant seat, giving small smiles to the few people she recognised in passing - pleased to see that Ellie was in the class too, sitting across the other side of the room. Alana couldn't help but notice that Jasper wasn't in the class.

As the lesson began and she prepared herself to be thoroughly bored and confused, movement to her right caught her eye. There was a girl sitting next to her; she had long, brown hair and sat with her head in her hands. She was shaking her head slowly, muttering something under her breath. Alana frowned deeply and nibbled on her lip in deliberation. She didn't know the girl and wasn't sure if she would appreciate Alana bothering her. But, in the end, Alana was a human who always tried to make sure someone was alright, and reached over to gently touch the girl's shoulder, startling her out of her state.

"Are you okay?" Alana questioned softly, mindful of the watchful teacher who was pacing about the front of the class. When the girl just continued to stare at her in shock, Alana repeated the question thinking that perhaps she hadn't heard her.

"Uh- um, sorry, yeah I'm fine, thanks," the girl muttered, her face flushing a bright scarlet.

Alana shot her a skeptical look, taking note of the way the girl was anxiously biting her nails. "Are you sure?"

The brunette simply just nodded her head softly and turned away, resting her cheek in the palm of her hand with a barely-noticeable sigh.

"My name's Alana," she whispered, leaning over towards the girl slightly with a smile. "Today's my first day."

The brunette glanced back towards her, chocolate-brown eyes lighting in interest. "I know," she mumbled, and then flushed scarlet again. Alana figured that she must blush often and seemed quite socially-awkward. "I mean- you and your brother are the talk of the school," she added, to Alana's dismay. "I'm Bella."

The blonde smiled brightly, offering her hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you, Bella." She was pleased when Bella took her hand in greeting. Her skin was soft and her grip was light and clumsy, as if she weren't sure how to shake Alana's hand. The blonde didn't mind, she was sure that she could make a good friend out of Bella once they had broken the ice. "I heard that you're quite new here as well?" She recalled that Ellie had mentioned a 'Bella' being new and thought - hoped - that it might be her. She figured it would be nice to know someone who understood how it felt to be an outsider to the small community.

Bella huffed out a laugh, biting her lip nervously. "I guess old news still travels fast," she muttered in disbelief. "I moved here three weeks ago," she added to answer Alana's question.

"Where did you move from?" The blonde asked quietly, realising that she had not paid attention to one minute of the lesson and feeling minutely bad for that.

"Phoenix," Bella responded in a hushed voice, keeping an eye on the teacher. "What about you?"

"Cornwall," Alana answered, wistfully remembering the rolling hills and cliffs of her home, the gusts of the salty sea air, the vibrant moorlands that she used to run in as a child. At Bella's confused expression, she elaborated. "Uh, the south of England."

The brunette's eyes widened with curiosity and awe. "Oh… Wow. And I thought that I had moved far away."

"Miss Swan, Miss Graves," the teacher - Mr Varner, Alana recalled - called out. "If you wouldn't mind holding your important conversation until after the class has finished." He gave them both a pointed glare and, after a moment, continued on with the lesson. Alana and Bella grew red with embarrassment and tried to ignore the smirks from some of the surrounding students.

The girls glanced at each other with small smiles and a silent promise to continue their conversation after class. Maybe Alana had made a friend out of the shy Bella.

The rest of the lesson whizzed by and, as the students were packing away their things and preparing for their next class, Alana was pleasantly surprised to find that Bella was lingering by the desk, appearing to wait for her. The blonde hurriedly packed away her things and stood up next to the brunette, giving her a smile of thanks. As the two left the classroom, Alana asked Bella what class she had next and was happy to hear that they had Biology together.

And so the two girls made their way to their next class. Luckily, Bella already knew her way around the school, so Alana didn't have to try and figure it out on the map. The two made idle conversation as they walked, chatting about their previous homes and how they were both finding Forks. So far, they both agreed that it was a big change in scenery, and also admitted a lack of belonging. Alana was glad that she had met Bella, and sincerely hoped that they could continue to get to know each other.

"I miss my mom," Bella was saying mournfully, her eyes downcast as she spoke of her mother. "But it'll be a good chance to spend time with Charlie- uh, my dad," she corrected herself hurriedly, shaking her head. Alana couldn't imagine how it must feel, having her parents separated and feeling estranged to one of them. It can't have been easy on her, and the blonde felt a sudden appreciation for her new friend.

They arrived at their Biology class a few minutes early. Bella went to her seat while Alana stayed at the front of the class to talk to the teacher. Just as she was receiving her note back, someone rushed up behind her and ruffled her hair. She immediately knew who it was and spun around enthusiastically, grinning happily at the sight of her brother.

"'Sup sis!" He laughed, uncaring to the way his voice carried across the classroom and to the teacher looking on in mild annoyance. He handed over his own note to the man, smiling innocently as the teacher frowned at his boisterous behaviour.

The teacher looked as though he did not want to give them a table together, but appeared to have no choice as all other desks were occupied, and begrudgingly gestured for them to take a desk in the middle of the room. Alana glanced over at Bella as she passed, but found that the brunette was locked in some heated conversation with a boy who had copper-coloured hair. She could not see his face clearly, and grew concerned with how tense Bella seemed. Aiden nudged her with a questioning look, but she shook her head with a dismissive wave, deciding that she would try and check on Bella after class.

Time flew by pretty swiftly; the class itself had been interesting and Alana had had her brother with her, which made the lesson so much more bearable. The siblings helped one another out when they came across a task that was particularly challenging, in equal measure having a laugh when they'd finished an exercise - much to the teacher's dismay. She'd glanced over at Bella's table several times during the class and at each time Bella looked increasingly more distressed. Alana caught a side-profile of the copper-haired male next to the brunette; he had a perfectly-straight nose, sharp cheekbones and seemingly flawless skin. She hadn't caught sight of his eyes yet, but there was clearly a deep frown marring his face. How weird. She wondered where their animosity towards each other came from.

The school bell rang to signal the end of lessons, and a collective sigh of relief rushed through the room. A blur swept by her desk at an alarming speed followed by a sharp gust of breeze. Alana frowned and looked towards Bella, frown deepening at the expression of astonishment on her pretty features. The copper-haired boy was no longer sitting near her; in fact, he appeared to have just disappeared. The bell had only just rang. Surely the blur that she'd noticed hadn't been him, had it? If it had been, she had to admit that she was impressed.

Alana and her brother shoved their belongings into their bags, following the other students out of the classroom and into the corridor. She lingered by the door, waiting for Bella to leave with the thought that they could maybe have lunch together. When Aiden shot her a questioning glance, she explained that she was waiting for her potential new friend.

"Gosh Lana, don't you move fast!" He grinned widely, wagging his thick eyebrows suggestively.

The blonde rolled her eyes skyward, lightly whacking her brother's arm. "Not that kind of friend, idiot. Her name is Bella," she explained, bouncing out of the way as an over-enthusiastic group of boys barrelled past them. Raising an eyebrow at him, she added with a smirk; "And anyway, don't pretend that you don't already have a group of admirers lined up."

Aiden winked, leaning closer to whisper theatrically, "That's for me to know…". He trailed off, leaving her to fill in the blanks with another roll of her brown eyes. His features straightened out and the smile he gave her was a genuine one as Bella finally left the classroom. She was startled when she saw that Alana had been waiting for her, giving her a shy smile of gratitude.

"Hey Bella!" She greeted happily; Alana was pleased to note that the brunette seemed a little more content than she had been in the class. She stuck her thumb out towards her brother and introduced him to Bella.

Aiden, ever-the-gentleman, smiled widely at Bella and offered his hand to her. The brunette hesitantly placed her hand on his and blushed a fierce scarlet when the male bent down to place a kiss on her knuckles. "Pleasure to meet you," he drawled, a titillating sparkle in his eyes.

Bella choked on her words, awkwardly struggling to form an appropriate response. Alana moved between the two, saving the brunette from having to respond to her brother. Aiden shot her a betrayed look, which she blatantly disregarded with grace. "Ignore him," she told Bella. "That's what I do."

The brunette looked frantically between the two siblings, as if debating whether or not to take her advice and ignore him. Aiden put Bella out of her misery and put his hands up in defeat, giving a look of mock-hurt to Alana.

"You wound me, sis," he exclaimed, moving his hand upon his chest; right over where his heart was. "Fine, I know when I'm not wanted. Farewell Bella." He flashed the brunette a quick wink, although his grin was filled with amusement rather than flirtation, and he sped off to catch up with another group of boys.

Alana rolled her eyes at her brother's antics and turned back to Bella. Her skin had mostly settled back to its fair and pale complexion; the only hint of lingering embarrassment residing across her small nose.

"Shall we?" Bella asked with a smile, gesturing in a direction where Alana supposed the lunch hall must've been.

"Definitely. I'm absolutely starving," she replied enthusiastically, her stomach growling loudly at the prospect of food. She hadn't noticed her hunger before - probably from all the excitement of the day - but now it was making itself known with a vengeance.

The two made their way into the big lunch hall, squeezing through the tight gaps between the multitudes of students that had already gathered for food. It was, Alana noticed, like any other cafeteria she'd been in. Light grey linoleum flooring covered the entirety of the hall, working well with the off-white painted walls to make the cafeteria look as dull as dull could be. Though, she supposed, there was little use in making it look nice when the current student body seemed to be determinedly messy with their food.

Alana followed Bella as she made her way towards a quickly-building queue where, she assumed, the food was being served. To Alana's surprise, they didn't have to wait long before they picked their lunch and prepared to find somewhere to sit.

She watched as Bella seemed to scan the area before her eyes lit up in recognition. The brunette motioned for Alana to follow her and two walked until they came up to a table which was nearly full with students she hadn't seen before. Bella turned to face her with a hopeful expression.

"Would you like to sit here with my friends?" She asked tentatively with an awkward smile.

Alana shrugged her shoulders easily. "Yeah sure," she replied happily, moving next to Bella to face the group before her.

There were five students sitting around a long table, all engaged in animated conversations, laughing boisterously at whatever they were talking about. Alana surveyed the group, admiring them each in their own right.

There were two girls in the group; one had blonde, voluminous hair. She was pretty loud, Alana noticed, and was very clearly heard chatting over the rest of the group. She was in the middle of a conversation with a pretty Asian girl. The other girl had dark, pin-straight hair and wore thick, black glasses; she was smiling serenely at the chatty blonde, nodding along as she listened to her gossip.

The three boys were also quite a contradiction. One was caucasian with a mess of dark blonde hair; he kept shooting furtive glances to Bella when he thought she wasn't looking and Alana tilted her head down to hide her smile. An Asian boy sat opposite, with long obsidian hair that partially covered his eyes. He also - Alana noticed - had his eyes pinned on Bella while he was talking. It seemed as though the brunette had quite the following, whether she wanted it or not. The last student at the table was a black boy with tight, dark curls; he had a wide, playful grin as he turned to face her and Bella.

Bella delicately cleared her throat to get the group's attention - even though the three boys already had their gazes fixed on her - and smiled as the rest of her friends faced them curiously.

"Guys," she began nervously, gesturing to the blonde at her side. "This is Alana; it's her first day today." Although, by the looks on their faces, Alana could tell that they already knew that. "Alana; this is Jessica and Angela," the two girls waved at her happily, "and Mike, Eric and Tyler." The silent question of whether or not Alana could sit with them was answered instantly by the bubbly blonde.

"Hi! It's so nice to meet you! You should definitely sit with us, don't you guys think?" She threw the question out to the rest of the group, but didn't really have the intention of actually waiting for their answer. "Here, sit down." She pointed to the two empty seats in front of her; one for herself and the other for Bella.

And so Alana went through the motions of the 'first day questions'; where did she move from, how was she finding Forks, and the like. She found that she quite liked the strange dynamic of the group. Jessica was very much the typical gossip; asking Alana whether she was interested in any of the students yet and informing her of all of the 'in' couples at the moment. She thought that - excluding Bella - Angela was the most polite of the group. She was reserved and quiet, but more than happy to share her opinions on different topics when asked. She was the listener of the group; and a good listener she was too.

The boys of the group were very much just that… Boys. Although Alana considered that that was a pretty closed-thinking approach, she couldn't help but notice that they were all very stereotypically boys. They all joked around with each other a lot, and broke out into mini 'fights' several times throughout the lunch period. And each time a 'fight' broke out; the boys would all end up hopefully glancing towards the girls to see if they had their attention. She noticed that, at all times, Jessica certainly did have her attention on them… Specifically Mike.

Despite their distinct differences, she could see that they seemed pretty genuine, and that the whole group did seem to want to be her friend. And that was heart-warming.

As lunch ticked by with Alana enjoying her lunch, Jessica suddenly gasped. The boys took little notice, but the rest of the girls looked towards the blonde questioningly. Jessica looked excited as she gazed at something behind Alana and Bella, and quickly ducked her head down closer towards them.

"Alana," the blonde addressed her directly, a keen glint in her blue eyes. "Have you seen the Cullens yet?" She whisper-yelled towards her.

The name was familiar to her; Ellie had mentioned it briefly when she spoke of previous new students. She too had also whispered it almost reverently, and it put Alana on edge as to how much hero-worship these 'Cullens' seem to have accumulated.

She could feel Bella's gaze burn into the side of her head, and Angela looked amused but also interested in her answer too.

"I've heard of the name in passing," she supplied, and winced as Jessica's eyes lit up.

"Well - don't look now - but they've just come in. They're all adopted but are absolutely stunning," she informed her, as if explaining that the earth rotates around the sun. "Quick– look, that large, bulky one is Emmett," she murmured, not-so-subtly pointing behind Alana.

Alana just frowned at Jessica, purely confused. She understood the allure that one student might have, but for a whole family to be put on this sort of pedestal for all to see was a bit too 'outsider-y' for her. Maybe it was just how things were in American schools; the gossip circles and not-so-whispery whispering. It didn't mean that Alana would have to like it.

When Jessica just continued to point more vigorously, Alana gave in and quickly turned around to get it over with. She hated the feeling of unironically staring at someone else.

Her gaze met the Cullen - Emmett - who Jessica was talking about. It was pretty hard to miss him, to be fair. He was built like a brick-shithouse; with biceps that were probably the size of her head, and his back and abdomen rippled as he moved. He had a handsome but innocent-looking face, with prominent dimples on his smiling cheeks and a dark mess of short, curly hair. His eyes blazed a fiery amber and flickered with mischief. He was sitting at a circular table with four other students; a tense expression on the faces that she could see.

"- with Rosalie," Jessica was saying, gesturing towards a gorgeous, blonde woman who looked like she had been painted by the gods themselves. She was sat next to Emmett, whilst sort of dangling herself from him comfortably. Her golden hair fell in soft waves to the middle of her back, and Alana desperately wanted to know her hair-care routine.

Jessica and Angela were discussing the pair, debating back and forth as to the legitimacy of Emmett and Rosalie's relationship, and it made Alana dislike Forks' gossip even more.

Her eyes moved to a small, fairy-like girl at the table, who was already looking at Alana. The girl was incredibly pretty with cute, small features and a short, dark pixie cut. The blonde would have averted her eyes in embarrassment; except the girl smiled brightly and waved, as if they were long-lost friends. Alana was startled, but found herself smiling and waving back.

"That's Alice," Jessica informed her over her shoulder. "She's really weird." Alana clenched her teeth together at the dismissing way Jessica spoke about the girl.

"I don't care," she bit back as politely as she could without turning around. "She seems nice."

An awkward silence filled the air at the table and Alana moved her gaze over to the next student at the table. He was pretty handsome too - and Alana figured that this fact was the reason for the idolisation of the family. He had copper-coloured hair which was styled in a way that was artistically askew. His features were very angular; high cheekbones, a strong jawline and a perfectly straight nose. She heard Bella's breath hitch in her throat, and quickly checked on the brunette. Her eyes were pinpointed on the boy she had just been looking at, the expression behind them making Alana frown. It looked like both fear and longing.

Jessica giggled quietly - but not quietly enough to truly hide it - and sighed dreamily. "That's Edward," she began, the longing in her voice matching the one in Bella's eyes. "Completely gorgeous, of course… but apparently, nobody here is good enough for him." Alana winced at the sour note in Jessica's voice - one that was entirely too emotional and definitely personal.

"And the last one?" Alana asked without turning back to face the family, hoping to move the subject along before Jessica got too down-in-the-dumps about Edward.

The bubbly blonde cleared her throat and forcefully regained her enthusiasm. "That's Jasper Hale," she continued. "He's also really strange and always looks like he's in pain."

Now that caught Alana's attention. It now made sense for the Jasper she'd met earlier to belong to the elusive Cullen family. He was certainly gorgeous enough for it, and it explained his overall aloofness. The poor family were probably used to being pointed and gawked at, it was no wonder that he was pretty closed-off.

"Hale?" She asked, puzzled by the difference.

Jessica nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, him and Rosalie are twins; Hale is their surname."

Alana hummed, thinking that it made sense that Jasper and Rosalie were biologically related; they both had the same shade of wavy, honey-blonde hair and similar striking features.

She glanced back towards the table, startled to find that Jasper was already looking at her. Well, more like glaring at her; for what, she wasn't particularly sure. She swiftly turned back to face her group and tried to forget about the unfathomable, black eyes that were boring into the back of her head.

The rest of the school day crept by, and Alana felt relief when the last bell rang to signal the end of the day.

Jasper Hale had been in her Spanish class after lunch, but he seemed content to ignore her presence from the moment she stepped into the room. A part of her had felt grateful for that.

All in all, it had been a pretty eventful day; she had met new people who she would consider to be friends, fell into her new schedule relatively easily, and had somehow antagonised a gorgeous boy into hating her guts for some unknown reason.

She met up with her brother outside of the main office to return their teacher's note. The lady behind the receptionist's desk had beamed at the two of them and they'd had a quick chat with her about how their days had been.

The siblings strolled back outside into the cool, crisp air and spotted their father's car towards the front of the car park. They winced as he honked the car's horn enthusiastically, waving to them from behind the driver's window. The two wasted no time in hurrying to the vehicle, if only to stop their erratic father from embarrassing them further.

As they drove out of the school gates, Alana noticed Bella climbing into a monstrous, red pickup truck and waved goodbye as the brunette met her gaze with a smile. Settling back into her seat, she thought about her new life in Forks. She supposed that her first day had been pretty successful and hadn't been as miserable as she thought that it might have been. Glancing over at the wide smile on her brother's face, she figured that he'd certainly enjoyed his first day at the school. And that made it pretty worthwhile to Alana.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read, favourite/follow and review the first chapter; it means the world to me! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and would love to know what you guys think about it. I'm sorry for the gap in between updates; I'm still figuring out how to balance life stuff lol. See ya next time!

Reviews:

chellekathrynnn: Thank you so much for your lovely words :) I can't wait to see what you think about this chapter and hope you thoroughly enjoyed it!