AN: Welcome to another newly improved chapter, courtesy of the fabulous Adam's Gurl, who agreed to be my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, I merely play in the sandbox. I do however lay claim to my original characters and the inclusion of the fey world ~ Hannah

Chapter Three – Think Before You Speak

Bella looked completely out of her depth and I felt the twin protective streak kick in. She wasn't one for affection in public, but I lay my head on her shoulder and hoped it would soothe her rather than irritate her.

"You two are rather close for twins aren't you."

It was a girl who had spoken, in an annoyingly cheerful voice that was borderline fake. She was wearing too much makeup and seemed the kind of person to overuse the word 'like'.

"As opposed to what? Are you one of those people who judges a book by its cover?"

She looked vaguely offended – good.

"Ella, this is Jessica, Lauren, Mike, Ben, Tyler and Eric." Said Bella.

Oh great, my twin decided to sit with the loons.

I'd have to find better friends. Angela I liked, and Ben seemed to be quiet like her. Jessica, Lauren, Mike and Tyler, on the other hand, were definitely NOT my cup of tea. They represented exactly the stereotypical high school teenager. I wouldn't be able to survive their company even for a week before I got annoyed and hit one of them! Oh, almost missed out Eric – he seems alright but he could do with losing the puppy dog eyes.

Looking over at the other tables, the occupants all seemed boring to me. High school seemed to suck the life from anyone not willing to fight for it. The worst part was that most people didn't even notice. If I didn't have art and music, I'd probably become one of the mindless zombies as well. *Gasp!* That's a horrible thought.

It was as I was looking around that I caught sight of Bella staring determinedly at one table in particular. Following her line of sight, I saw Alice and Jasper sitting at a table with what I presumed were the rest of her family. I caught her eye and waved. She waved enthusiastically back and I then rolled my eyes and tilted my head back to the table I was sitting at. She laughed, catching the attention of the others at the table. They all turned to look at me. Not one to be intimidated, I winked before turning back to my table.

"Those are the Cullen's, it's weird because they're all adopted by Doctor Cullen and his wife but they're all like together or something. I mean how gross is that? Surely that crosses some kind of line."

"What line would that be? The invisible line in your head? Or are you just jealous that none of them sought out your attention?"

I was being cruel; I knew it but I didn't like people who judged without reason.

"Whatever, they're all dating anyway so I wouldn't get your hopes up. The only single one is Edward, he's gorgeous of course but he doesn't date," She said bitterly. "He definitely wouldn't go for someone as plain as you. Ever heard of makeup?"

I laughed, I knew I was supposed to be insulted by her words but really? That was the best she had? I could feel Bella's eyes boring into me in a concerned fashion as well as the eyes boring in from behind – I assumed they belonged to the Cullen's - Jessica was talking loudly after all.

"I've never met this Edward before so I can't say I have any hopes of anything. Clearly, you've heard of makeup, you have so much caked on your face I shudder to think what the real you looks like. Do me a favour and start using your brain. Obviously, everyone at this table has a problem with the Cullen's. I'm going to go ahead and says it's a combination of jealousy and bitterness. Jealousy because you see their outward appearances, their beauty, and wonder why you don't look the same. Then you're all bitter because I'm sure at one point in time, each one of you has tried their luck and got rejected by one of the Cullen's and so now you've all alienated them to cover your own hurt and embarrassment. Which quite frankly is pathetic. I met Alice and Jasper earlier, they were perfectly lovely people and since they already know what manners are, I'll be sure to hang out with them in future."

I had thought that Bella would be horrified by my statement, not so much that I'd stood up for someone but that I'd be abandoning her to this rabble in future but I was pleasantly surprised by the smile on her face and the proud look in her eyes.

"Yeah, well we don't want you here anyway. Bella is a much better companion. What's the deal with twins anyway? Do you have to follow wherever she goes?"

"Jessica, you're a horrible person. I hope you know that. 'I'm a better companion'? To who? Certainly not you! I see an empty table over there, anyone who wants to get away from this jealousy and bitterness is welcome to follow me."

Daymn my twin has claws – meow!

Immediately I got up to follow her and to my surprise, we were joined by Angela, Ben and Tyler. To be honest, Tyler surprised me the most, he screamed arrogant jock but perhaps I'd been terribly wrong.

We giggled as we took in each other.

"I've been waiting for someone to take on Jessica for years!" said Tyler.

I raised my eyebrow at him, challenging him to explain.

"I know, I know, I look like a typical jock and the rumours about me probably state how much of a ladies' man I am and how I shouldn't be trusted. It's just a front and one I've kept up for way too long. I can't wait to show the real me."

I had wanted to ask him why he'd kept up a front but decided against it. It seemed that Tyler was a more complex character than I'd originally thought and it was clear that he had many issues of his own to work through before he had someone else jumping down his throat about things.

"He's right you know. We've been friends for years. I'm not even sure how we ended up sitting with that group, I suppose they were as close we could get to people who were like us." Said Angela.

"Well, I guess you've found better people now," I said.

I was hopeful – hopeful I'd have some firm friends by the end of the day. Something my life had been sorely lacking till now.

Remembering I wanted to give Alice something before lunch was over, I scrambled to my feet and began making my way to their table. It seemed that the longer I walked the quieter the hall became. Some people really don't know the art of subtlety.

"Ella!" She squealed, "You're having quite the first day aren't you."

I blushed, suddenly nervous about having five sets of eyes on me. Five sets of eyes belonging to such gorgeous people.

"Ijustwantedtogiveyoumynumber." What? That made no sense! Just great, they probably think I'm a loon now.

I winced. "Sorry, I talk fast when I'm nervous." What the hell? Does my mouth have a mind of its own? Why did I tell them I was nervous? OK, deep breaths.

"I don't have any friends here yet and I was hoping we could be friends. I wanted to give you my number so I'd have at least one person on my phone that wasn't family."

Who knew it was going to be so hard to get that sentence out.

Alice was smiling at me and so I chanced a look at the other people at the table. They all had various looks of amusement on their faces, even the one Jessica said didn't date looked mildly amused.

"Here, give me your phone." She said calmly, holding her hand out for me.

I passed my phone over to her and half expected her to snap it in half. It was a silly thing to think of but I was beyond nervous at my sudden confidence. I watched as she punched digits in with a concentrated look on her face. I expected her to then give the phone back to me but instead, she passed the phone around the table and I saw each of the others put their name and numbers in also. To say I was shocked was beyond what I was feeling. Rare acts of kindness always sent me into a stuttering mess, this was no excuse. I didn't want to open my mouth lest I embarrass myself.

"Let me introduce you to everyone," said Alice. "You already know Jasper and this is Emmett, Rose and Edward."

She had pointed to the muscular man first, the beautiful blonde second and the captivating copper-haired man last. In response, I nodded my head, smiled and waved. It was as good as they were going to get right now. Words were not an option.

"Thank you for defending us back there… it's been unusually difficult to fit in here." Said Rose.

With my brows furrowed, my response was instant. "It's no trouble. I suppose I made quite the impact on my first day here but I don't like the assumptions people make. It just makes me sad and grumpy at the same time. Like how I imagine a pencil scribble feels. I'm surprised my sister stood up as well, she's not really one for confrontation."

My cheeks were burning: I rambled - I know I did. Oh well, things couldn't get worse than my pathetic attempt at asking to be friends with phone numbers.

"You're different aren't you." Said Edward.

My smile faltered a bit. I tried to turn it up to a hundred watts before anyone noticed the slip. I didn't want to be known for being different, or weird, or crazy. I wanted to be known for me. I'm not stupid, my self-esteem was low and I knew it. I hid behind my sarcasm and my positive attitude but I knew that in reality, one simple word could make me crumble. I think that's what Bella and Dad were afraid of, they knew I bottled my emotions up and we all knew that wasn't good for me.

"Different, yeah. I got to go."

Though I walked at a steady pace, I really wanted to run back to my sister. I could hear them talking as I left. I could hear Alice the most, it seemed like she was reprimanding her brother. I felt bad that I'd caused a disagreement, irritated that I'd appeared weak and delighted that Alice had stood up for me.

"How'd it go? You gave Alice your number, right?" asked Bella.

I nodded, I didn't even need to ask how she knew that's what I was doing. I just needed the comforting hand she placed on my arm.

"OK, I think. You don't mind do you?"

I was worried she'd think I was abandoning her.

"Not at all. I think it's good that you've made friends so quickly. We don't always have to be together all the time and I'm glad you're broadening your horizons. That's what I wanted when we moved here, for you to become your own person."

I loved Bella's speeches, they always made me feel so warm and bubbly like I could take on the world with nothing more than my voice.

"Thanks, Bella."

/-|-\\\\\

"How was your first day at school?"

"Ella made quite the impression."

I glared at Bella then turned to Dad.

He had that raised eyebrow 'tell me what I want to hear or I'll tickle it out of you', face on.

I sighed.

"The people we sat with at the beginning of lunch were talking rudely about the Cullen kids. You know I hate it when people are mean for no reason, so I sort of gave them a telling off."

"Honestly, I thought the aggressiveness towards the Cullen's had stopped. Those are good kids and Carlisle's a great doctor; we're lucky to have them in our community. Good for you, Ella, for sticking up for what is right."

"So you aren't mad at me?" I asked.

"Did you get told off?"

"Nope."

"Then I'm not mad."

I smiled. "Thanks, Daddy."

I pulled my phone from my pocket and quickly sent an email to Alice. My phone vibrated not two seconds later. She'd said yes and I was grinning like a loon.

"Ella. Ella!"

"Ow!"

Bella had kicked me under the table, it hurt. I glared at her but she just motioned towards Dad with her eyes.

I turned to look at him. "Sorry."

He shook his head, "What has you smiling like that?"

"I asked Alice if she wanted to go shopping this weekend and she said yes."

"Good for you, kid, making friends already."

I beamed up at him, happy he was happy for me but that doesn't mean I missed the gleeful look shared between him and Bella.