High school wasn't a jungle. It had never been one. It was more like treading water so dark you can't see an inch deep. Now that's scary. And Forks High School was no exception. I had yet to meet this supposed other new girl, so I was on my own as the star of this tragic show. I felt the anxiety bubbling up and decided today it wouldn't get to me. I stayed up all night from nerves until all I could do was dance around my room and laugh from the mania. And that's how it would stay. No time for nerves, not on the first day.

"Hey, you!"

I groaned. Maybe I spoke too soon. I turned around to see who had called for me. A tall blond, very unlike Jasper Cullen, was waving me over a van full of teenagers. I hiked up my backpack and decided it was worth it to head over, I couldn't stay friendless forever at least.

I smiled pleasantly when I reached them and took notice of the way they seemed to laugh at the slightest motion. They seemed happy, which I was jealous of. "What's up, guys? I'm Dani."

I waved slightly and that was all it took for the questions to start.

The boy who'd waved me over spoke first. "I'm Mike, it's good to meet you," he said with a boyish grin. His cheeks seemed flush and I decided I'd chalk it up to the cold.

"I'm Tyler!" I jumped at the sudden approach of someone behind me putting their arm on my shoulder. "And man, you are fine! Look at her!"

I extricated myself from his embrace. "Thanks, but how about no?"

A chorus of 'oh's' and laughter resounded. "Ignore him, he's a clown." A pretty brunette spoke up. " I'm Jessica."

"And I'm Angela, honestly, ignore them, they're messes," said another brunette with glasses.

I smiled at them again, thankful some of them weren't asses. They motioned me over to sit with them in the van and I followed, ignoring the excited cheers from the two people earlier.

"So you're Dani, but like, what's your story? I mean, nobody just moves to Forks you know?" Jessica said.

Angela nodded. "Yeah, the whole school wants to know. We were even thinking of writing a headliner for you and the chief's daughter."

"We still haven't seen her yet, though, but apparently she used to come here all the time for the summer when she was younger, so like, it makes sense she came back.

I made a noncommittal noise. Mom had dropped me off with the hopes I'd make friends, and so far, I was ready to disappoint if this was how all the conversations would go. "Well, you know, cheating dad, sad mom, daughter moves across the country from sunny beaches to gloomy forest. Not very interesting," I joked.

That seemed to get their attention. "Oh my god, like, no way. Your dad cheated?"

"Holy shit." I heard Tyler say from the side, chucking the football he had in his hands back at Mike, who caught it with a grunt.

I sighed, not wanting this reaction. "Yeah, he did."

They must have taken that for sadness because suddenly I had them swarming me with well wishes and hugs about how it would be okay and that Forks was great and how they'd be great friends. The last one got a laugh out of me, if only because they seemed decent and eager, which was fine by me at this rate.

"So, wait, you said sunny beaches, did you mean like California?" Angela asked.

"Oh, no, I meant all the way across the country from Miami, Florida."

"Holy shit!" Mike exclaimed. "That's so far, what the hell?"

I nodded in agreement. "The plane ride was a hassle, but hey it's over!"

I saw Jessica deep in thought and prompted her. "Oh, nothing, I was just wondering if that's why you're so tan. Apparently the other girl is from Arizona, so maybe she's tan too?" She said the latter more to herself than to me, but it did crack me up. Maybe the nerves were fading away. Or maybe it was the mania kicking in.

"Yeah, we gotta start teaching y'all how to tan, you guys are way too pale up here. I met Jasper and Alice Cullen and my first words were 'wow, you're white.' I made a fool of myself!" I laughed as I covered my face from embarrassment, but quickly noticed nobody else was laughing with me. Embarrassing. "Was it something I said?"

I glanced around and everyone was staring off at the side. There was the Volvo… so that meant… The Cullens stepped out of the two cars, a Jeep was parked next to it, and the whole world seemed to stop. I felt my breath hitch the same way it did yesterday. I saw him first. The wild hair in the wind and the sharp eyes planted on me. I felt a shiver go up my spine. He was beautiful in the way sunsets were, the light faded into dark, the clouds started turning colors, and ending in a midnight sky. I felt the danger. And I was so intrigued. The whole family was beautiful - white, but beautiful in a way that just didn't make sense.

Crossing my arms, I looked away before looking at them again. "I stand by what I said: they're really white."

A chorus of laughter enveloped me and I felt the tension leave my shoulders. I saw Jasper smile with most of the Cullens save for the copper haired one and the other blonde. Something about that just, I don't know. I just caught it. And it set me on edge. They seemed to be speaking to each other at least. But it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Checking the time, I decided I had wasted enough without going to the main office. I still needed my passes and schedule before starting the day, so I said my goodbyes and made my way over to the school building, passing the Cullens on the way. I spared a glance behind me, long enough to see the one with copper hair staring at me resolutely. Creepy. His lips quirked up. I furrowed my brows and walked faster - I didn't need paranoia to mix in with the mania today.

Classes passed as well as they could have. I had English first where we discussed The Crucible as part of our summer reading - boring. History, Chemistry, PE, but God, math was the worst; Calculus didn't make sense in English, Spanish, anything. I was hopeless in that class and started trying to spot people I could ask for help. Best ways to make more friends, I figured. I already knew I had Alice in English, along with the new girl.

Bella Swan. From what I noticed, everyone was fawning over her, and I relished in the fact I wouldn't be hounded as much now that there were two of us. I saw Angela and Jessica approach her, along with Mike and Tyler and somebody else at lunch. I sighed as I came to a stop in the lunch line. The food in any high school cafeteria was bad, but I knew the anxiety was getting to me, so lunch was a no go. I turned right back around and headed to the table my new acquaintances had settled on.

That is, I would've, if I hadn't bumped into someone and fallen. At least, I almost fell. Cold hands anchored me and I glanced up to see it was Alice.

"Oh." She smiled at me as I righted myself. "Thanks. Uh, how are you?"

"You saw me in English."

"Oh, yeah. I, uh, didn't speak to you then, though."

"Well, I'm good. How's your day been?"

I answered her even more awkwardly. This was like pulling teeth, and not even on Alice, just on me. I was hyperfixating on the cold hand that had grasped me. It was freezing. I know it was cold up here, but there was no reason to be that cold inside. And Esme, she was cold too.

"Dani?"

"Oh! Sorry, you lost me there." I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck and looked to the side.

She laughed and it was like tinkling bells. The softest breath of laughter escaped her lips and I was mesmerized. I found myself staring at her deeply, in that moment wondering where this mysterious family came from. Before I could ask anything further, the copper-haired brother was striding towards us. He whispered something to Alice and dragged her away, with a pensive wave in my direction. I was left more confused than I already was, but shrugged it off. I had time to get used to it all. I guess.

Spanish was right after lunch. And it was here I saw him again after a whole day. He retained this calm air that had me wondering where the hell he learned it. Most high school kids weren't like that. The ones who were have gone through shit. So.

Standing at the front of the class waiting for the teacher to assign me to a seat - something I just didn't get, it was the first day of school and everyone already knew where to sit?! - I also just couldn't stop thinking about how cold Alice's hand had been. I know logically there had to be a reason for it. Like how anemic people are always cold. And who knows, maybe that's why Dr. Cullen adopted them, they all had anemia and he felt bad. What the fuck do I know?

"Miss Rivera? Kindly sit down."

I felt my face flush as I was brought back to the present as everyone snickered. Sagging my shoulders, I crossed the room to where Mr. Davis pointed to. It was next to Jasper, go figure. I tucked my head down and quickly slid into the seat beside him. I did notice the minute shift of him lifting his elbow off the table and sliding farther to the left from me. I tried not to take it to heart, but I felt even more self-conscious. The one class I should feel comfortable in suddenly felt like the dark water I was meant to be treading. I hate the ocean.

"Okay, we'll partner up now, do some exercises from last year to catch up and then we should run 'til the bell."

Everyone turned to their desk partner and started idling speaking in Spanish, apparently knowing exactly what was going on or making it up and talking shit in Spanish. What I'd give for better hearing, or less sensory overload for when everyone started talking at the same time. Maybe the discomfort was evident on my face because Jasper spoke up next to me with what could have been intrigue or concern.

"Estas bien? Te ves un poco pálida." You okay? You look a little pale.

I was in shock over the smooth twang of his Spanish. It was nothing like the Spanish I heard back in Miami. "Ah, si, si, estoy bien. Estoy un poco desorientada por la bulla." I was just disoriented from the noise.

"Bulla?"

"Ruido, sabes?" Like the noise, you know?

I let a smile make its way onto my face as I took note of Jasper trying to ease me into this class. Maybe it's because they all knew what it was like to be the new kids. "Pasará, estoy bien. Ahora, que deberíamos hacer?" I'm good. Now, what should we do?

And just like that, Spanish became my comfort zone again. Jasper complimented my Spanish, which I found to be ridiculous, I had to be good at Spanish growing up, so I found his excellent Spanish surprising. What white boy from Texas did I ever know who had such great comprehension of it? It definitely threw me for a loop, but I went with it. All too soon the first day of classes was over. I felt a deep sadness well up in me at the thought of having to go home. I couldn't quite pinpoint why. It came from nowhere and all of a sudden. I picked up my bag and headed over to the door when it was open in front of me. I blinked, before looking at the hand grasping the door handle. That white hand was stark against the dark grey of the door. I couldn't help but laugh, I guess the southern hospitality was hard to get rid of.

"Thank you, Mr. Cullen."

I didn't expect the deep, soothing laugh that escaped him. "Actually, My last name is Hale. It's Jasper and Rosalie Hale, she's my twin."

"Oh," I said, rather stupidly. That's what you get for making assumptions. "I'm sorry, I just thought -"

"Everyone makes that mistake."

I didn't really have anything else to say, so I scattered. Maybe he expected me to keep talking, but I just dipped. I didn't have the capacity to continue that conversation after making a fool of myself.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot." I kept muttering all the way over to the front of the school where I saw Mami's car parked. I rushed in and settled as quickly as I could while just repeating "go." My mom didn't question it until she was out of the parking lot and on the road, glancing at me from her periphery.

"So?"

"Please don't."

"Oh, come on, no podia ser tan malo."

"Oh, yes it could. I called Jasper 'Mr. Cullen!' His name is Jasper Hale!" I started on my rant. "I'm an idiot, Mom, who even says stuff like that here? Do you know how many times I noted people saying white shit? Like, really, really white shit? It was wild. I don't talk like them, Mami. It's so weird. Like I tried making friends and they called me over in the morning to their car, which is sketchy - I don't care how cold it is, I'm always weirded out by vans and will never sit in one like that again!"

"Mija, relax, you're freaking out," my mom said lightly.

"Mami, yo se! Of course, I'm freaking out! I just up and moved schools and thought it would be easy! It's so not." I sighed deeply, letting the tension dissipate from my shoulders. "I'm just glad there's another new girl. They forgot all about me by lunch, thankfully. No amount of fronting would have prepared me for another round of interrogations." I sighed again, this time leaning my head against the window, taking each bump in the road to my head. It worked well enough to ground myself.

"Well, would you like to hear about my day?"

I smiled to myself, hearing the excited tone in my mom's voice. "Go ahead, ma'am, I guess someone had a good day."

She launched into a whole monologue of how she went over to Esme's office with a few new pieces for someone's house in Seattle, and how Esme adored the sea glass shards in the painting. Said something about it being "new" and "fresh."

"And then! She said she'd love to contract me for a mural for the hospital! Can you believe it? I haven't done a mural in so long, I'm so nervous."

I couldn't help the pride I felt for my mom. I loved her art and I was glad she was getting the praise she deserved. "You know you're gonna do great, Mami. We all know it. And then all those little kids are gonna be, like, 'Oh, I wanna be an artist, too!'" We both laughed loudly as we rounded the corner to the house, only to find a motorcycle and Jasper waiting for us. I didn't stop the groan as I slammed my head back against the seat. "What does he want? Didn't I embarrass myself enough?"

I reluctantly got out of the car with my mom following. She greeted Jasper enthusiastically - traitor - and tried to lead him inside the house for coffee.

"Thank you, ma'am, but I just came to drop off Daniela's notebook, she left it when she left in a hurry," he explained, waving the spiral notebook a little to demonstrate.

I flushed at the blunt statement. "It wasn't a hurry," I muttered. He seemed to hear it and smirked. "I was just rushing because my mother was waiting for me."

"To be fair, you didn't know I was outside yet, it was just by chance," my mom said, for no reason if I may add!

I grumbled and walked over to him. "Thank you, Jasper, I appreciate it." The easy smile that passed his lips made me want to jump his bones. I mean, I didn't say that. Who said that?

I felt my own smile tug on my lips, something I hated vehemently because I wanted to mope more. It was like a wave of calm washing over me. It was gradual, but full. It reminded me of when I said high school was like an ocean. I'm deathly afraid of the ocean, but some instances, like when the tide rolls in over your toes, I can't help but think it's beautiful. That's how I saw Jasper: beautiful, but scary. There was an edge to him I still couldn't pinpoint. I thought of him and I thought contradictions. He was just so full of them. How could someone be so calm and charming? I also tried really hard to ignore how he shifted away from me in class. I just couldn't wrap my head around him; it made my head spin.

"Alright, so, who wants coffee?"

"Mom, he already said no. Leave the poor boy alone," I said, exasperated.

"Boy, huh?"

I jumped at the response. My mom had moved into the house already, so it was just us two outside now. Not even the windows were open for my mom to snoop. "Uh, yeah, you're, like, seventeen, c'mon."

He made a sound between a hum and a laugh, and I had the same reaction to his as Alice's: it sounded like bells. I shook my head in disbelief. It was impossible, there were too many similarities for them to all be adopted like that.

"Yes?" He was looking down at me from his towering height. I stood at five foot five and he was still so much taller.

"Yes?" I repeated.

"You look like you wanted to ask something. You kind of furrowed your brows, like this." He scrunched his eyebrows together and it was then you could tell Jasper had been through stuff. He had these deep set lines when he did that, like tried and true formations on his face. Suddenly, I didn't feel like asking questions. I thought it fair that we all have our secrets. I was reminded of this morning when I told all those other people why I moved here and was annoyed. They didn't need to know. I should've just shut up. I bet everyone now was going to look at me with pity. I wouldn't be able to stomach that from anyone, much less Jasper. I felt the urge to lie and give him another reason my mom and I moved, but I doubted he'd believe it.

"It's nothing," I decided on saying. "You should probably go home, I heard it gets dark here early."

"Actually," he started, grinning. "It doesn't get dark here until much later." I went to interrupt him and he casually put up a hand. "But I can see when I'm not wanted. Here you go." He handed me the notebook and glided away to the motorcycle that was leaning against the trunk of the big tree in front of our house. I didn't know much about bikes, but I sure as hell felt the manic energy want to ride on a motorcycle someday. Probably, though, not with Jasper Hale on it too.

He waved goodbye one last time before placing the helmet on his head, kicking the stand, and in the blink of an eye, he was racing down the street.

It wasn't fair for complicated people to be beautiful. It just wasn't - easy to understand people should be the most attractive ones, and yet, you don't see me falling for a one-track mind like Mike Newton. Gracias a Dios.

Scowling at that thought, I turned and headed inside, locking the door behind me. I was not even going to entertain that thought. I went upstairs to dump my backpack in the corner closest to the door, tossed the notebook onto the bed, and relished in the quietness. The school was noisy in the way school always would be. The buzz of having new students, the start of a new year, it all drew everyone in like moths to a flame. Taking a deep breath, I cleared my head of all the chaos, the anxiety, especially. It was over and I'd only need one more first day of school before I could go off and live in the woods somewhere.

I spent the rest of the day talking to my mom about little nothings, it was my favorite part to come home to. Dad was never much for little things, he always wanted big and bold, always forgetting about subtlety. Dinner was ground beef and white rice, my favorite. I have no doubt Mom thought of it ahead of time to try and cheer me up after classes. It was only when I came back upstairs that I was filled with dread again. My backpack wasn't next to the door. It was on the windowsill. My clothes were thrown around on the floor from my suitcase. This was not what I had left up here. I felt the panic rise up into a gurgled cry as I dropped to the floor. I tried so hard to not think about the worst situation. But the window was open too.

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