Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I merely play in the sandbox. I lay claim to my original characters.

AN Updated: Thanks Adam's Gurl for Beta'ing this chapter. ~Hannah

Chapter Six – Stereotyping

"Alright class, we've got a big project today. I'm putting you in groups of three and before you get excited, I'm picking the groups," Groans could be heard from everyone in the room. "I'll be giving you an A1 piece of paper, I want you to fill it with whatever you like but it must be bright in colour and use as many mediums as you can."

"What about our landscape project?"

"It won't take away from that, but since there is only one more week to the landscape project this one will hopefully take us through the next three weeks. Think of it as a challenge."

Our art teacher was crazier than a basket of cats.

I listened and waited patiently as she called out the names of the groups.

"Alice, Ella and Jasper."

Besides me, Alice squealed with delight and even Jasper managed a small smile. Inside myself I was jumping with joy, I'd been worried that I would have been paired with people I didn't know. It would have been awful trying to work through that awkwardness.

"This is so exciting! I can't wait to be – oh, you must come to our house, we have lots of space to work in."

When Alice was excited she talked a mile a minute, making it hard to understand her - but it was funny to watch. It would be interesting to see the Cullen house. It was the source of much speculation and gossip within the school. No one had ever seen it before, as it was away from the small-town centre and hidden within the forest. No doubt the rumour mill would start running overtime when it found out I'd been invited.

"That sounds like fun, what do you think we should create?"

Alice pondered my words with her hand resting on her chin and her brow furrowed in concentration. Jasper had an easy smile on his face, he didn't participate in the conversation but was relaxed in our presence.

"What would you like to do?" she asked.

I was surprised, I knew she was a force to be reckoned with and had been fully prepared to go along with whatever idea she had. Sometimes I could be a complete pushover, but I was working on that.

"I thought maybe a mosaic would be good. One that looks good from a distance but when you get a closer look you see pictures within pictures. I was hoping we could use a variety of different mediums to make it really stand out."

I hoped they liked the idea…I could see the picture in my head and my imagination made it look good.

"That could work, aren't you clever Ella! Oh, I'm so excited now, why don't you come around tomorrow after school? I don't want to disrespect our parents by bringing someone to our house without asking." Said Alice.

"Of course," I replied. I could understand her reasoning; heaven forbid Dad ever found me in the house with a boy! Invitation or not, he'd be pissed. I'm a daddy's girl through and through.

The bell rang before we'd even realised it but Alice had a firm grip on my arm to stop me from leaving. I gazed confusedly at her.

"Oh no, you aren't leaving. You're having lunch with us today! I already cleared it with your sister, so you have no excuse not to join us."

I rolled my eyes at her dramatic nature. I'd eat with her if she wanted, besides Bella was perfectly content with the friend's she had. I didn't have to worry that she'd be all alone.

It was amusing to me that the sound in the cafeteria dimmed to a quiet murmur as I walked towards the Cullen table with Alice and Jasper in tow. Clearly, people had nothing better to do than gossip. Maybe if I stabbed pins in their eyes they'd finally stop…

"Ella's sitting with us today, I finally convinced her."

Alice beamed at her siblings and forcibly sat me in a chair between Rose and Edward. I could feel the stares and the whispers all around me and I really, really wanted to punch something.

Instead, I got out my homemade lettuce, salmon, and hummus wraps. I'd noticed before that the Cullen's didn't eat at school. The food they bought was usually chucked away at the end of the lunch period. I didn't blame them, firstly the food here sucked – that's why I brought my own – and secondly, I'd find it hard to eat when people kept staring at me.

"Ella's going to come over tomorrow after school. Jasper, Ella and I have an art project to work on."

The others at the table seemed pleased by this news but also a little wary. Again, I could understand why and didn't let their behaviour bother me. They'd probably never had a person round their house that wasn't after something.

"How are you liking Forks so far?" asked Edward.

I turned, beaming at him.

"I love Forks - I always have. It's so green and the forests are so magical and mysterious. I get to live with my Dad - I love him with all my heart and I can be myself here. I never had that chance before. Plus, Bella is happy; happier than she thought she'd be and that makes me happy."

"You weren't happy with your Mum?"

"I wasn't in an environment that let me." I shrugged, I didn't really want to talk about Renee. It always led me down a road I disliked.

"You ever get bored of the stares?" I asked.

"All the time, they never stop," said Rose.

"I like to imagine different ways I could torture them in my head…"

All eyes turned to me and I felt myself blushing, had I really said that out loud?
"Don't tell me you haven't done it? It's nothing bad really, it just makes you feel better about things."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side!"

I glared at Emmett. 'As if I could hurt someone that size.' I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying it out loud.

Happily munching on my lunch I looked across the cafeteria and spotted Bella looked at me with a concerned expression on her face.

I thought Alice had said she was alright with me sitting with the Cullen's today, so why is she looking at me like that? I tried to converse with her using my eyes, but she was either ignoring me or couldn't see me.

"You invited that to your table!"
Oh. I understood now.

Turning back to what was around me, I noticed that Jessica and Lauren were standing before the Cullen's table with Mike hovering behind. The cafeteria had gone deadly quiet.

"You could have gone for anyone, but you chose the stereotypical new girl. Purlease! She ain't got nothing on us, we'd be much better friends than her." Said Jessica.

I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it; they were just so hilarious. My laugh was loud as well, getting louder as I dissolved into a full-blown fit of giggles. The three cronies were glaring at me while everyone else looked at me like I'd lost the plot.

"I'm sorry, but really? How long did it take you to think of that? All morning I suppose. I didn't know you knew such a big word…stereotypical…can you even spell that? It's funny that you accuse me of that when before me I see the 'Stereotypical Bitch', the 'Stereotypical Liar' and the 'Stereotypical Wannabe'. Did you come over here to scare me? Or were you trying to impress the Cullen's? because frankly, you failed at both!"

"That's rich coming from the girl whose Mother didn't want her," said Jessica. "Yeah that's right, we know all about you. Were you trying to keep your past a secret? It doesn't work like that in small towns. We like to expose the liars here. That's what you are, isn't it… a liar."

I clenched and unclenched my fists. I wasn't a violent person by nature, but I'd gladly make an exception for this filth. Anger was boiling inside me and I could feel it rolling off me in waves. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, and I wanted to destroy something. I could see various expressions on the faces of those around me, I didn't want them to be involved, it unnerved me how much I found myself caring for the friendships I had.

"You know nothing of my life and it's really pathetic that you've tried to beat me down this way because all you've succeeded in doing is making an enemy of me. I don't go around making assumptions about your life; if I did you wouldn't like it, but I guess it's fair game now. Lauren, you're a classy bitch, you put your words into other people's heads because ultimately you want to be able to save yourself. You see yourself as a beautiful model, the woman of every man's dream but really, you're a scared little child crying out for help and attention. Jessica, you're a bully with a smile. You use words to cut down the people around you and to make yourself look good. You're happiest when you're gossiping but you really don't care whether the gossip is true or not as long as you're the centre of attention. Your parents have spoiled you, leading you to believe that you deserve to get everything you want. That's why you never recovered when Edward turned you down and why you've set out to make the Cullen's social piranhas. If you don't change your ways soon, you're going to find out you've peeked at High School. Lastly, there's you Mike, the third in this trio of crazy cats. You're a stereotypical jock who thinks the world of himself. School life has been handed down on a platter to you and as such you think the rest of life should be handed to you in the same manner. You're angry that neither Bella nor I fell for your advances and you hoped that these two would cut me down enough that I'd come cry on your shoulder. Obviously, the plan the three of you concocted has failed, and I'm done being the centre of attention, I'm just trying to eat my lunch here, so please go away."

I felt emotionally spent. With a glare and a sneer, the three cronies left the Cullen table and stormed back to their own. I caught my sister's eye across the room. 'Are you alright?' she mouthed. I simply held up my hand. It was shaking. She knew immediately. I watched her say goodbye to our friends and walk over to the Cullen table.

"Hey, guys. Sorry, but I need to borrow my sister," she said happily.

They let me go without complaint and I was grateful. I think they knew what was happening, and I thanked the stars that they didn't comment on it.

We walked out of the cafeteria with our heads held high. Bella was chatting with me, laughing and we both pretended that nothing was wrong. To the school population, I was fine; I'd torn down my bullies and risen victorious.

Once we were beyond the doors of the cafeteria it was a different story. I felt the first tear roll down my cheek and I knew the attack had already started. Bella led me outside and stayed with me while it happened. She was excellent at helping me, always making me laugh and distracting me from what was happening. I'd always suffered from panic attacks and I really hated them. I knew that they weren't a weakness though, they were just something I had to deal with.
I'd survive. I was strong. Tomorrow I'd come back fighting.