This chapter is a bit longer than the others because it's the first day of school and the Cullens are introduced. Also, I remember there being some confusion concerning Addison's abilities or powers, and I'd be happy to explain if it's still confusing. A lot of the pros and cons will be revealed as the story goes on, but if you really just don't get what's going on with her, then I'll explain as soon as I can.

The next morning, I was being shaken awake by a still-tired Bella. She didn't look like she had gotten any sleep last night, and I had a feeling it was because of the rain. "What is it?" I grumbled, shaking off sleep faster than I usually did. I never had been a morning person.

"We start school today, remember?" Any ounce of tiredness I had was washed away with those words. I groaned loudly while throwing my legs across the side of the bed.

"I forgot about that." As I stood, she moved to my door to go back to her room.

"I already had my shower, and I think Dad did too. It's all yours." And with that, she was closing my door and headed to her room to finish getting ready. I quickly found a pair of jeans and a sweater before going into the bathroom and washing away any dirt and grime that had accumulated from the previous day. Once I was done, I pulled my hair into a bun at the top of my head and applied minimal makeup: mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss.

Thankfully, Charlie had already gotten us backpacks with the essentials, because I'd completely forgotten mine back in Phoenix. After slipping on my shoes and grabbing a coat, I was ready. Breakfast with Charlie and Bella was a quiet affair. He wished us luck with our first day and gave us the address of the diner where he wanted us to meet after school before grabbing his belt from beside the door and heading off. Now that it was just Bella and I, I pushed away my empty bowl of cereal and looked at her and asked, "So, are you ready to be gawked at by the entire student body?"

She groaned and pushed her bowl away too. "Don't remind me. I've been trying not to think about it since last night."

"Well, look at it this way, at least you're not joining the school halfway through your senior year. At least, being a Junior, you have a year and a half to get friends and have decent relationships with them." She cringed and shook her head as if she was trying to get rid of a horrifying thought.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't envy you at all." I hummed in reply as I stood to take both our bowls to the sink and wash them.

We stayed lounging around for a bit longer before Bella decided that we should get going. Knowing that she'd feel even more awkward if we were to arrive separately, I slipped on my huge jacket and followed her outside, locking the door behind me. We parted ways to get to our respective cars, and I sighed happily once I was behind the wheel again. The serenity I felt was all but shattered when Bella's truck turned on. The engine had to have woken up the entire neighborhood with how loud it was. I had even more respect for Jacob fixing the behemoth up himself.

I let Bella pull out before me and followed behind her. As I thought, her truck was slow, and I hadn't wanted to leave her behind. The school was hard to miss, and I took a quick look around as we both pulled into the parking lot. It didn't look much like any school I'd ever seen, more like a collection of similar houses, but the sign declared it as Forks High. To my displeasure, Bella's truck clued everyone in on our entrance and many pairs of eyes were now staring at us before we'd even had the chance to get out. Once we found two parking spots next to each other, we both parked and got out. Our eyes met, and I tried to send Bella all the luck I could muster, but it didn't seem to do much to lift the foreboding expression off her face.

Together, we walked to the main office and got our schedules and a map from a nice lady named Mrs. Cope. She seemed to be expecting us, and I wasn't surprised. Things must travel quickly in a small town like this. We compared schedules, and I was bummed to find out we only shared two classes: lunch and gym. It made sense, with me being a senior and all, but it didn't mean I liked it.

We parted ways with short goodbyes, and I was left alone in a sea of students. My first class was AP Statistics, and it took me a while to locate the correct building, even with the highlighted map. Thankfully, I managed to find my way there just before the tardy bell rang. The teacher, Mrs. King, was very kind and didn't call for me to introduce myself to the class. She simply signed my slip, gave me a book and a syllabus with some of the things I may need, and then pointed out a seat that was, thankfully, in the back. One would think that being in the back of the class would make it harder for others to stare at me, but nope; they still found a way. I ignored them for the most part and focused on what Mrs. King was saying.

The class passed by relatively quickly and I got to my next class as fast as I could with nearly everyone stopping me to introduce themselves. Once again, I was nearly late to my class except, this time, it wasn't my fault. Thankfully, my next teacher, Mr. Moor, didn't make me introduce myself either. Much like Mrs. King, he just gave me a list of books I needed and a syllabus before sending me to sit next to a boy named Emmett. As soon as I saw him, a rush a fear went through my veins, and my breath hitched. Danger. Something about him was firing off every warning signal I had, and it wasn't just because he was built like a linebacker. There was something else about him, something familiar yet not.

I only hesitated for a couple of seconds at most before snapping out of it and hesitantly making my way to the seat beside him. As soon as I sat down, I glanced at him and saw that he was giving me a cheeky smile that showed off dimples. His eyes were a honey gold, I noticed. Weird. "I'm Emmett Cullen," he introduced himself. His smile paired with his easy-going tone made me relax slightly, but not by much.

"Addison Swan. Nice to meet you." We didn't speak more than that. He turned back to the front, and I followed suit trying to ignore the urge to run far away from him. Once the bell rang, I was one of the first out of the classroom, trying to avoid my curious peers along with getting away from Emmett. Something wasn't right about him, I knew it.

My next two classes passed uneventfully, and I was grateful when the bell rang for lunch. I'd get to sit with Bella and we could rant to each other about how annoying being the center of attention was. I mean, I liked attention as much as any teenager my age, but being at the center of it was uncomfortable, to say the least.

Walking into the cafeteria, I quickly went through the line, only picking up an apple juice for my dry throat, before looking around for Bella. When I spotted her, I could honestly say I was shocked. She was sitting with a group of people, probably juniors, and didn't look completely miserable being there. She noticed me as well and waved me over with more eagerness than I was anticipating. Maybe she was miserable, just hiding it well.

Sitting in the seat beside her, she introduced me to the group. "Guys, this is my sister, Addison." She looked like she wanted to introduce the people at the table, but one look at her and I knew she'd forgotten their names. It didn't matter though because they were quick to introduce themselves. They all seemed pretty chill, but the guys at the table seemed a bit flustered.

"Hey, I'm Mike. Uh… Bella didn't mention you were… you had this lunch period," he stumbled, looking at me with a bit more intensity than I was comfortable with.

"It never really came up," she shrugged, looking from him to me. I was sure she was confused about the boy's reaction, but I had a good idea.

I decided to take over so Bella didn't have to feel as awkward. "Yeah, we have lunch and gym together; that's it."

"Are you a junior or…"

"No, I'm a senior." Jeesh, answering these same questions were getting old. One would think they'd have some new ones to ask, but nope. They all continued to ask us the same questions everyone else had, and I took over answering most of them unless they were directed at her specifically. The conversation was a bit awkward, but I expected nothing less. We were strangers joining the herd.

I was just trying to figure out whether or not to answer Mike's question about being single when Bella interrupted. "Who are they?" I followed where she was looking and stiffened in my seat. Danger. She was looking at a table full of beautiful teens that looked like they belonged on a runway. They were all super pale and looked nearly identical. Emmett was with them, and his arm was looked around a gorgeous blonde who seemed to be scowling at anything that got too close. The others at the table were two boys and a girl. The other girl had a pixie cut and small features and was sitting with her legs intertwined with one of the other boy's. He had blond hair and he sat stiffer than the others as if being there pained him.

The last boy had bronze hair and was leaner than the other two. I took the time to observe him longer. He looked the most boyish out of the three, younger. Emmett and the other boy looked like they could be college students, but he seemed to fit in amongst the other students, aside from his inhuman looks. His eyes had dark shadows underneath them as if he was suffering from a sleepless night. A quick look at the others showed that they had similar shadows beneath their eyes. They all seemed to share the same honey gold eyes, as well. His face was… there was no other word for it besides perfect. Even the almost unnoticeable curvature of his nose only enhanced his charm. He was easily the most good looking out of the bunch. His mouth was moving as he picked at a bagel, and I had the feeling he was talking to the others at the table despite none of them looking at each other.

His eyes flickered from Jessica, then to Bella before settling on me. I wanted to look away, to duck my head and pretend like I hadn't been staring at him, but his eyes were hypnotic. I noticed his brows furrow as he looked at me, then furrow even further as he looked back at Bella. It seemed like he was struggling with a puzzle and couldn't solve it.

Jessica speaking snapped my attention away from the handsome boy and back to her. "That's Edward, Emmett, and Alice Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. They all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife," she said under her breath as if they would hear her if she spoke any louder. I had a nagging suspicion they would, so I didn't blame her.

"Yeah, I have English with him, Emmett I mean. He seems nice enough," I commented. They didn't need to know about the way he set my fight or flight instincts on fire.

"You talked to him?" She seemed shocked as if talking to a Cullen was worth a Nobel prize.

I shrugged. "We introduced ourselves, and that was it. I sit next to him in class."

She didn't question it further and went back to gossiping. "They're all together though, like… together together. Emmett is with Rosalie, and Jasper is with Alice. The weirdest part is that they all live together." I could tell from her tone that she was criticizing them, and it made me feel a bit bad for them. Jessica definitely wasn't the only one who thought that way. If I was being honest with myself, it was a bit of an odd set-up, but so long as they weren't related, I didn't see how it was a problem or any of my business.

"Which ones are the Cullen's?" Bella asked. "They don't look related…"

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins-the blondes-and they're foster children." I looked at them critically. While they were both blondes and had the same eye color, there was nothing else that gave away they were twins. They didn't even really look the same age if you looked close enough. The only way I could see then being twins was if it was fraternal, but even that was a stretch.

As I was about to look away, my gaze locked with the bronze-haired boy, whom I guessed to be Edward, and I was once again stuck staring into his honey-colored eyes. That frustrated expression was still on his face, and I wondered what could cause him to look like that. It was a bit weird. As if he could read my thoughts, his face immediately fell into a neutral expression as he continued to stare. That couldn't have been a coincidence.

A bit freaked out, I looked away from him and continued to half-heartedly listen to Bella and Jessica speak about the Cullens. Only when they all got up to leave did I sneak another glance at them. This time, both Edward and Alice were looking at me, only Alice had a bright smile on her face and waved when we met eyes. I gave a small smile back but didn't return her wave.

Lunch was over pretty soon afterward, and I said goodbye to Bella and the group of teens before making my way to my next class. To my surprise, Emmett was there with Rosalie at his side. I glanced at them for only a split second before moving to hand my teacher the slip of paper. Unlike the others, she made me stand in front and introduce myself. I could feel my cheeks heat up as I kept my eyes placed firmly on the ground. If there was one thing I hated, it was introducing myself.

"Hello. My name is Addison Swan, and it's nice to meet you all." I was content to end it there, but the teacher urged me to continue. I had a feeling I was going to hate being in her class. "I'm sure you all pretty much know the basics about me. I moved here from Phoenix with my sister, Bella, and my dad is the chief of police. That's about all I have," I sent a pointed look at the teacher when I finished. If she tried to get me to say any interests or goals for the future, I was going to snap her neck. It was beneficial to both of us when she just nodded and sent me to an empty seat in front of Rosalie and Emmett.

Having them directly at my back made me tense up involuntarily. I didn't like the feeling. It was like turning my back to a pack of hungry wolves, to predators. No matter how much I tried to calm down or tell myself that everything was fine, I stayed that way for the entirety of the class. The worst part was that I could feel their eyes on me the entire period.

Once again, I was one of the first people out of the class. As soon as I was out of their sight, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I could breathe again. Being away from them made me realize just how tense my muscles had been, and I rolled my shoulders to release some of the stress.

Making my way to the gym, I immediately knew something was up with Bella when I met her on the bleachers. Her face was scrunched up and her eyes were glassy as if she wanted to cry. Something had happened between lunch and now, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it. "What happened?" I asked, plopping down right next to her and leaning down so I could keep an eye on her face.

She glanced at me and forced out a laugh that sounded painful. "Am I that easy to read?" she questioned.

"You're my sister, so yes. Now, cough it up. What's got you so upset, Bell?"

She took a deep breath, and I could hear how it shuttered. "It's really stupid."

"Not if it has you like this; even if it is, I'll still listen." So, she proceeded to tell me how much of a douche-nozzle Edward Cullen had been to her in their biology class. I'd normally be angry with someone making Bella feel bad, but a different kind of anger was flooding my system at that moment. I felt like I could kill someone, which was not a good feeling to have at all.

"Well, fuck him. Who gives a shit what he thinks? If he bothers you again, let me know, and I'll deal with him," I hissed, clenching my fists to try and keep myself steady.

Bella, sensing my anger, put a hand on my shoulder to calm me. "Woah, calm down. It's not like we're in elementary and he's some bully that needs to be dealt with. I can handle myself," she soothed. I took deep breaths and nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I just don't like that he was looking at you like that for no reason. The hell is his problem?"

"Maybe he was just having a bad day?" she suggested.

I rolled my eyes and focused on the different volleyball games going on. Bad day my ass.

The bell finally rang, and Bella and I slowly made our way towards the main office, still recapping our days. Other than the whole Edward situation, she'd had a semi-decent day that was much like my own. As we stepped through the doors, I could feel my face morph into a frown.

Edward Cullen was standing at the desk and arguing with Mrs. Cope about changing his schedule-about changing out of biology, to be more precise. My anger steadily built the longer I listened to him talk. When the door opened again, and a girl came in to quickly drop off a paper, he stopped talking and slowly glanced over his shoulder to look at Bella. His eyes were black and filled with hatred as he looked at her. I didn't need the voice in my head to know that he was dangerous at this moment. Rather than have the urge to run away, my body tensed in preparation of a fight. I wasn't sure if I'd win, but he wouldn't get to Bella without getting through me.

As I took a step forward, his eyes flickered to me, and I could see the conflict hidden behind his gaze. The hatred was gone, but he looked like he was having an internal battle with himself. I couldn't even begin to guess what about.

Looking back to Mrs. Cope, he sent her a strained smile. "Never mind, then," he said hastily, "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And with that, he was grabbing his jacket and rushing out of the room like his ass was on fire. My eyes followed him all the way out until I couldn't see him anymore. Only then did Bella and I step up to the desk he'd just left.

She asked us about our day, and I was sure we both lied. Once we walked out of the building, I couldn't contain my anger any longer. "I swear, if he ever looks at you like that again I'm going to rip his head off and set his ass on fire then set his ashes on fire," I growled, glaring in the direction he'd walked in. I could see his family walking towards a silver Volvo and assumed that was where he was. I glared daggers into the driver's seat, hoping he saw me.

"Jeesh, Addie, calm down! You don't have to be so upset," Bella attempted to soothe, but I was too riled up.

"No, I do have to be upset, Bella! He looked at you like you were the scum of the earth, and I'm not just gonna sit here and let that slide. You didn't do jack shit to him, and you didn't deserve what happened in biology or what happened in that office. I could just about kill him right now." And I meant it. I was just that angry right now. The urge to punch or hit something was so strong that it began to consume my thoughts.

My gaze was fixed on the Volvo, and I could just about make out Edward's black eyes from inside. Suddenly, a wave of unnatural calm washed over me, and I sucked in a much-needed breath. Bella was looking at me with wide shocked eyes, and I could tell she was worried about me. Shaking my head, I tried not to focus on all the negative thoughts hovering around the outskirts of my mind.

"Sorry, Bell. I don't know what came over me. I just got so mad and it was all I could focus on. I guess today got to me more than I thought," I apologized, forcing a small smile.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'd bet. Maybe you should go for a drive before meeting me and Dad at the diner?"

I let out a breath in a sigh. She always knew things that would cheer me up. "Yeah, that sounds nice. I'll meet you there in about half an hour. If you need to order something for me, a salad is fine. I'm not that hungry anyway." She nodded and we both got into our own cars. I was out of the parking lot before her and driving down a random road. The sound of the engine and the light rain were all I heard as I let myself get lost in them, my anger nearly forgotten.