Author's note: This is the chapter where I desperately need feedback. I'm pretty sure I have everything right but if you see anything wrong… please don't hesitate to talk to me… I respond to any questions or comments. I would also like to thank everyone reading my story… I'm surprised I've gotten so many positive reviews! Please keep reading and recommending to friends… I can't thank you enough for the support!! =]

Love,

Mel

4. The Swan-Masons

I whipped my head back around quickly and I could feel a startled expression on my face. Why were they looking at me in such a way? Was I talking too loud? Was my hair starting to frizz? Was my laugh too much like a cackle? I started pulling my fingers through my hair, only to find it was wavy and glossy as it was this morning. I looked down at my blouse, only to find it with out a blotch or stain on it. Thankfully, my table didn't notice the frantic paranoia over coming my system as I brushed off every inch of my body and took out my compact mirror to check if there was something on my face. But I came to find that I looked okay.

Confused, I figured that I must have been hallucinating, that maybe they weren't giving me grim looks but they were just so overwhelmingly flawless that it intimidated me into thinking so.

When I turned around again, I realized I had been entirely lucid. They were still glaring at me, looking away simultaneously when I looked over. When they did, they huddled together, glancing over at me every few seconds.

There were eight of them at the round table, each perfect in everyway. I found the one Madison was talking about quickly. He was dark haired and looked like a body builder. Not one the sweaty, greasy kind per say, but like it was natural on him, like he was born that way. Though he looked like he could break me in half like a tooth pick, his butterscotch eyes weren't the least bit intimidating compared to the smoldering pair that belonged to the blonde next to him.

Her facial features and body would put any super model or movie star to shame. Her longer than shoulder length blonde hair framed her flawless face perfectly, and even though her mouth was shaped into a scowl and her eyes were burning with hatred, she was still the most beautiful person I had ever witnessed.

The couple next to them were holding hands under the table and talking closely with each other. The girl in the group was small and looked very delicate, her cheek bones almost seemed as if made out of glass as they sat under her pale-white skin. Her black hair was cropped short and flipped out at her jaw. The look was very retro-chic, but she pulled it off tremendously. Her look was not nearly as terrifying as the girl next to hers. They were more expecting as she glanced over at me, almost worried.

The boy next to her was less burly than the dark haired boy, but seemed wiser. He had blonde hair and his butterscotch eyes studied me sympathetically when he looked over, and when we locked eyes for the briefest second, I instantly felt calmer.

The two people next to them were so deep in conversation, it was as if I didn't exist, which was a relief. The girl was flawless and remotely familiar for a reason I couldn't figure out. Mesmerizing bronze colored hair fell in ringlets almost waist length around her round face, some clipped up one of the sides. She had warm chocolate colored eyes that looked deeply into the darker man's next to her.

He was strangely different. His hair was about shoulder length and pulled back into a pony tail. He had russet skin, contrasting dramatically with the pink-cheeked girl whispering closely with him. I could almost feel love radiating between them; they were made for each other. But their love was nothing compared to the intensity of the love the couple next to them shared.

The girl had dark mahogany hair that was almost waist length, and her face had the same structure as the bronze haired girl. They looked so much alike, they could be sisters. Her butterscotch eyes matched the ones at her table, and the man I could tell by just a glance was the one she was in love with.

He had the same bronze colored hair as the other girl but his face was more angular and chiseled. The crooked smile he was giving his love would break just about any teen girl's heart. But the thing that threatened to bring tears into my eyes was the magnetic field forcing them together, so strong, so inevitable, that there was no way in hell one could live without the other. They were apart of each other, a unit, that like an atom, would cause major destruction if torn apart.

I turned around quickly as the mahogany haired girl noticed my lingering glance, and I began trying to be invisible while silently eating my sandwich.

Suddenly, someone was at my side, and I jumped when I saw the dream boy from this morning at my side, giving me a half smile. Ronan.

I melted instantly at the sight of his warm eyes, and he grinned.

"Hey, Ava. Is your first day going well?" He asked with sympathetic eyes. I could tell he already knew the answer.

I sighed. "I guess it's alright, it's kind of hard adjusting. It's just so different here. Very dull."

His face brightened up. "Finally, someone who feels the same way I do about this ugly place. It's rainy, cold, cloudy, wet, rainy." He repeated, showing off his glorious grin again. "I belong in the warm sun on the beach. Where I used to live."

I giggled. "Yeah. Why live anywhere without that is my question. Where did you live before you moved to the mud-pit of Washington?"

He took a deep breath and looked down. "Florida. Fort Lauderdale, to be exact. It was so beautiful there. My favorite thing was at night, after a short thunderstorm and pouring rain, I'd walk onto my porch, and the air would be so thick and warm. I'd just sit on a chair and watch the heat lightning in the distance, and as it brilliantly lit up the sky over and over, I would just feel so…"

"Infinite." I finished for him, looking into his now sad eyes. "I loved that back in Honolulu, and the wind would blow and you would smell the cleansed earth, it was just an amazing feeling. It must have been a hard move for you. From one corner of the country to another."

He looked down again. "Let's just say when I moved here I thought this place was going to be the death of me."

I sighed. "Yeah, I felt the same way. But there was no room for complaints figuring my mom slaved over this hundreds of years-old house for months; it's the hardest she's ever worked in her life. The house is beautiful though."

There was a grim smile on his face as he looked toward the table with the glaring eyes. "It sure is."

I was puzzled by his remark. "Have you seen it before? I thought you just moved here."

He was unaffected. "Oh, well, you know… everybody in town has seen the house. We got the news paper the day we got here. The house is just a majesty. Your mother's hard work really paid off."

I smiled. "Yeah she really did do an amazing job."

He was still smirking at the table that was burning holes into my back with their stares. "Ronan, do you know those people?"

He continued to smirk at the bronze-colored haired boy as if having an internal conversation with him. "Yes. They are my brothers and sisters."

I was appalled. "Seriously? You're all so close in age…"

"I know. We're all adopted. My only blood related siblings is the one with long brown hair and the one with long mop of curls. Bella and Vanessa."

I looked them over. They both had flawless round faces like Ronan. The one named Bella looked over and gave me a small smile as the boy next to her whispered into her ear. I returned a half smile, and said, "They look so much like you."

"Yeah, even though we're triplets they have extremely different opinions about this place than me. They love it here along with the rest of my adopted family." He shot a look at the bronze haired boy, who started quietly laughing on cue.

"Who's the boy next to Bella?"

He smirked. "Oh, that's my adopted brother, Edward Mason. He's driving me up the wall about this place. He's doing anything he can to make me love it. Showing me the forests, taking me up to the mountains. It's torturous I tell you."

I laughed. "I feel your pain. The only time I go out into this sickening weather is to go to school. I try to avoid the outdoors as much as possible."

He nodded, his smile turning into a smoldering glare at one of his siblings. I turned around to see the blonde's eyes shooting daggers into me. I cringed and turned around, when I heard a deep snarling sound coming from next to me.

"Ronan, are you okay?"

He snapped out of his dark gaze with the blonde and turned to me, that thoughtful smile back in his eyes when he looked into mine. "I'm fine, Ava. That was just my stomach. I should probably get back to my table and eat something. I'll see you around. It was a pleasure to talk to you."

I was officially melted by his words. "It was nice talking to you too, Ronan. I hope to see you soon."

He then swiftly got up from his seat, lingered behind mine for a few seconds, and was back at the table next to the dark haired girl and blonde in a flash.

His eyes were angry as he spoke to the blonde almost silently. Her eyes were filled with rage, almost betrayal, as she quickly got up to throw out her untouched tray of food. The blonde boy, dainty girl and the muscular boy shook their heads at Ronan and swiftly left the table to throw out their trays along with the blonde girl, but their eyes weren't hateful. They were fearful.

Bella and Vanessa were then having a fevered conversation with Ronan who at this point seemed to be trembling with anger.

The russet skinned boy moved to the chair next to Edward, and was shaking his head in disbelief while having a secluded conversation with him. But Edward's expression was different. It was understanding; his eyes were smiling as if he was deep in a memory. When he locked his smiling eyes with mine, I abruptly spun around, and I dizzily started picking at my sandwich.

It wasn't until I went to pick up my drink that I noticed everyone at the table was also staring at me, stunned.

I was startled. "What?" I asked.

The mocha-skinned girl smiled and started nodding. "Dayyumm," she stretched out the word dramatically. "Who was that?"

I couldn't help but smile and blush. "Ronan. Ronan Swan."

The bell rang at once, and Cindy rushed to my side. "Sorry about Katrina. She's a little hyper. But I do have to agree with her comment. He is definitely worth saying 'dayum' about." She giggled.

I blushed again, and Katrina came to our sides. "Okay two questions. How do you know him and can he hook me up with the man candy with the muscles at his lunch table?"

"I'm sorry, Katrina. I just met him this morning after embarrassingly running into him in search of a class. I'm surprised he even acknowledged me again. And I don't even know the burly one's name."

She still had a peppy smile on her face. "Oh, no need to worry about that," Her smile turned seductive. "He'll know my name soon enough." Cindy laughed along with Katrina while I laughed nervously.

Not as long as that blonde doesn't eat her first. I thought.

"Where are you going next, Ava?" Katrina asked.

I dug my schedule out of my backpack. "Chem. With Deluka."

"No way! The exact place I'm headed to! Let's be lab partners!"

I smiled. "Of course. See you in U.S History, Lisa."

"Bye guys, I'll tell you if I see the 'man candy'." Cindy replied, winking.

The rest of the day was uncontrollably boring. Mr. Deluka was giving an interesting demonstration in Chem, but I could barely concentrate with Katrina babbling into my ear the entire time.

In Phys. Ed., which is of course mandatory in this minuscule school, the dictator of a teacher, Miss. Washburn, had the class do a fitness test so she could make fair sports teams for the year. With my non-existing athletic ability, I barely managed five push-ups and ten sit ups, and she laughed as a machine whipped balls at me to test agility, and the rest of my peers joined her when one hit me square in the face, causing me to fall on my butt. I knew I was going to hate this class.

The day continued to trudge on, and I breathed a sigh of relief when 8th period rolled around, which was U.S History. When I found the room, thankfully at ease, I sat in the seat Cindy was saving for me, Max sitting beside her.

"How did the rest of your day go, Ava?" Max asked while the room buzzed with excited voices that the first day of school was almost over.

"It was fine." I lied, coming to attention when the teacher, Mr. Shore, clapped to begin class.

"Hello, students." His voice boomed, "Let's get straight to business. This is a packed course, and I only have one year with you. I have a project already made up, and you're each going to get a state to do a quick introduction project on. I've already made your groups, so listen carefully and pull your desks together when I'm finished announcing all the groups."

I saw Max groan and Cindy looked at me longingly, hoping we'd be in the same group. I hoped the same thing; my brain couldn't handle meeting anymore new people.

Mr. Shore named off the groups, and I groaned when Cindy and Max were a group, and I grimly waited to find out who my partner was, predicting I would be doing all the work on the project.

Finally, Mr. Shore announced my group. "Okay, the last group is a group of three due to the uneven amount of students in the class. Ava Jameson, Isabella Swan, and Edward Mason, your state is New York."

I turned around and instantly froze, seeing the flawless, deeply in love couple strutting toward me gracefully.