Chapter Five: Reputation

It was hopeful thinking that Bella's nightmares would stay away for two days in a row.

A muffled scream sounded throughout the house. I felt my heart drop at the sudden noise before jumping out of bed. I relaxed slightly in my panic, realizing that it was Bella. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I looked at the clock next to my bed; 2:43 a.m. If I woke up to these screams, Dad must be up, too. I grabbed my cardigan and slipped it on my shoulders before making my way upstairs. The screaming had stopped, meaning that either Dad woke Bella up, or the dream stopped. I'm more willing to put money on the former.

I peaked into Bella's room once I made it upstairs to see Bella's face shoved into her pillow, her body was shaking like she couldn't control it. I sighed as I slipped into her room, leaving her door open a crack. If I wanted to get any sleep for school tomorrow, I needed to help Bella. I shook her shoulder lightly, trying to wake her up as softly as I could.

I felt her body jolt underneath my hand before Bella looked up at me from her pillow. She didn't question why I was in her room, waking her up, she already knew the answer. She pushed over in her small full sized bed, giving me space to slip in. I climbed underneath her blanket softly before turning to face her. "You okay?" I asked quietly, blinking the darkness away from my tired eyes.
She nodded her head.

I reached out and grabbed her cold hand between mine and squeezed lightly, effectively letting her know that I was there. "Get some sleep, Bells," She nodded her head, again, before shutting her eyes and falling back asleep instantly. I turned onto my back and tried getting comfortable in the small bed.

To say that I didn't have the best night's sleep would be the understatement of the century. I kept waking up every hour with Bella's quiet whimpers in my ear. I didn't blame Bella; I didn't blame the small bed, that had me clinging to the edge so I didn't fall off the side. I did, however, blame the person that did this to her- Edward. I'm not completely sure what happened between the two of them, I don't know how close they actually were. I just knew the aftermath of whatever he did. I wish I could give him a piece of my mind.

After slipping some concealer on, to hide my obvious dark shadows under my eyes, I walked out of my room to get some breakfast. I could feel the first-day-of-school jitters running through my body, leading me to ignore the pot with warm coffee on the counter. I don't think caffeine would really do my shaking fingers any good.

"Good morning, Jules." I looked over my shoulder to see Dad coming around the corner from the stairs; uniform for work already on.

"Morning." I tried to hold back my yawn, but it made its way out of my mouth anyways. "Regular coffee?"

"Yes, please." He sat down in his chair at the table as I got his coffee ready for him. He cleared his throat lightly in the silence before speaking up, "Thank you for, uh, staying with Bella last night." I placed his coffee in front of him as he continued, "I got up right as you were making your way into her bed."

"It's no problem." I shrugged my shoulders as I leaned against the kitchen counter. "We used to do that when we were little and the other had a nightmare. It's just something that we are used to." He nodded his head but didn't say anything more about it; he was a man of few words.

It was quiet during breakfast, but it was especially quiet when Bella had made her way down to the kitchen to eat her usual cereal. Dad kept watching, waiting for Bella to crack. I tried not to kept an eye on her, I knew how she felt about people staring; about people worrying about her. I couldn't help the few glances that I stole when I was sure Bella wasn't paying attention. She didn't look as awake as she had been over the weekend, but she didn't look like a total ghost either. It was somewhere in between.

"You ready for school?" Dad asked looking over at me.

I bit my lip as my nerves came back- I was so focused on Bella that I totally forgot about my anxiety about school. "Yeah." I nodded my head slowly. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"You'll be okay." He patted my head lightly, trying to give me some form of comfort. I accepted his attempt with a smile that I was sure looked more like a grimace. "I'm heading out, I'm working a little late tonight. Don't worry too much about dinner."

"Okay," Bella and I answered at the same time, reminding dad that we were, indeed, twins. He shook his head at our antics before turning and leaving for work.

"Ready to go?" I placed my dish in the sink as I asked the question. I turned my head in time to see Bella nodding. I grabbed my bag from the counter and my jacket from the back of the chair before following Bella out the door.

Again, I could feel my fingers start to shake in anxiety, but I tried to hold it back. It was just another school. I went to a school that was, at least, 3 times the size of Forks High. I didn't have any reason to be so nervous.

We pulled into the school parking lot faster than I would have liked us to. I looked around at the half-full lot; everyone was either standing outside their cars in groups, or they were starting to head into the school to miss the light drizzle falling from the trees from last night's rain. I was right about Jacksonville's high school being 3 times the size. The school itself was small, and I hardly doubted that we had more than 400 students in the whole building. That made my anxiety drop just a smidgen, though my hands were still clammy.

Bella pulled up to a separate building with bold white lettering over the top of the door that said, 'Main Office.'

"I'll wait out here," Bella announced as I grabbed my bag from the floor of the truck.

I gave her a nervous nod as I made my way to the door. The, almost too-warm, air hit my face as I opened the door to the office. A woman with deep, red hair sat behind the tall desk in the middle of the room. The name on the plate informed me that this was Mrs. Cope. She turned her hazel eyes up as I walked closer to the desk. "Can I help you?" I almost cringed at her tone of voice, as my stress went back up a level.

"Yeah, um... I'm new here. My name is Julianne Swan, I'm supposed to be getting my schedule today." Hopefully, dad called like he was supposed to.

The recognition in her eyes told me that he did. "Of course," She gave me a welcoming smile before looking through some folders on her desk. "Alright," She handed me some papers with my name printed at the top, "This is your schedule, it has a map of the school printed on the back in case you get lost. This purple paper is for the teachers to sign. You just return the paper back to me at the end of the day." She quickly explained the rest of the papers in the manila folder before handing it to me. "Welcome to Forks High, I hope you have a good day."

I gave her a quick smile as I turned to leave the stuffy room. The cool air was refreshing while I walked back to Bella's truck. I jumped into the passenger seat with a sigh.

"What classes do you have?" Bella asked quietly. I silently gave her my times-table, letting her look it over. "We have Biology, Spanish, and Gym together." She handed me my schedule back with the faintest of smiles. I was just glad I wasn't completely alone all day.

The rest of the morning with Bella was pretty silent. We both allowed the other to be absorbed into their thoughts. I couldn't tell you what I spent the last ten minutes thinking about. I just kept on staring at people passing, wondering how my day was about to go. By the time that Bella and I were starting to head into the school, it started raining lightly outside. I slipped my hood over my head to try and kept the frizz out of my hair. I knew that the attempt was pointless but it was the thought that counted, right?

Bella and I split up after I promised to see her in class. I had no trouble at all finding my locker, but I did have trouble trying to open it correctly. The top kept on getting stuck, metal against metal. I was able to wedge my hand far enough in the locker that the rest opened without any other complications. I tried straightening the metal at the top as much as I could before shoving the books that I didn't need into the empty locker. I glanced down at my schedule to see that I had Calculus with Mr. Varner in room B34. I glanced at the closest room to see I was next to B50. Hopefully, these classrooms go in numeric order.

I slipped my schedule into my back pocket before going in the direction that I thought was B34.

I tried to ignore the stares that people were giving me, but the back of my neck tingled with each stare from behind me. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. They weren't glaring, like some part of my subconscious thought they were going to. They all seemed curious, no doubt the last new student was my sister. I doubted that most of them knew that there were two Swan daughters, instead of just one.

I made my way to Mr. Varner's classroom without any trouble. I walked in after a group of girls, giggling at something unheard. The classroom was about half-full with students talking to one another. I looked at the desk in the front of the room to see a middle-aged man, writing on his notepad in front of him. Mr. Varner had slight greying hair with a round face; wrinkles decorating his eyes and forehead.

I cleared my throat lightly to try and get his attention. He looked up at me just as the bell for class rang. I barely took notice to the rest of the students filling up the seats behind me.

"You must be Julianne Swan," he said, standing up from his seat.

"Julie," I corrected.

He nodded his head, before taking the purple slip from my outstretched hand. "Of course." He handed my slip back before waving his hand to the class. "Please, introduce yourself."

I knew that I should have expected this from at least some of my teachers, but deep inside I was hoping it wouldn't be my first class. I turned to look at the rest of the class, whose eyes were already on me like hawks. I felt a jolt of anxiety as I couldn't help but think of myself as prey to them.

"My name is Julianne Swan, but I prefer Jules, or Julie," I started. "I am twin sisters with Bella Swan. I just recently moved down here from Jacksonville, Florida," I paused because I wasn't sure what else to say.

"Thank you, Jules. You may take your seat," Mr. Varner said pointing to the only empty seat in the room.

I nodded my head gratefully before taking the empty seat. It was right next to a blond teenage boy, who had bluer eyes than Florida's waters. He was staring at me with a bright smile; I tried matching his enthusiasm but I was sure that I looked like I was in pain.

As soon as I sat down in my seat, Mr. Varner started class, not giving the boy next to me the chance to introduce himself. Which I was surprisingly okay with.

I effortlessly took notes, listening Mr. Varner go over the same lecture that I had back in Jacksonville. I was sure that most of the classes were going to be as easy as this, since I knew Jacksonville's system was faster than most.

The bell to end class rang faster than I originally thought it would. I stuffed my books into my bag before standing up. The blond teen was waiting for me to notice him with a smile. "Jules, right?" he asked, even though I just introduced myself not even an hour ago.

I nodded my head, "yeah."

"My name is Mike Newton, I'm friends with your sister," he said, holding out his hand for me to shake. I did silently. "What class do you have next?"

I silently looked down at my schedule that I was gripping tightly in my hand before answering, "Spanish with Mr. Tanner."

"My classroom is right next door," he smiled brightly. "Would you like me to walk you down?"

I contemplated in telling him 'no', but I wasn't really looking forward to getting lost looking for my next class. "Sure," I nodded. With that simple answer, Mike practically radiated with joy.

Mike asked pretty standard questions. Where did you move from? What do you think of Forks? How was the school back in Florida? I didn't expect anything less since I knew that people were going to be curious with the new girl; the Swan twin that they weren't aware of.

"This is your Spanish class," Mike said, stopping the interrogation. "You should sit with me and my friends at lunch. Bella used to sit with us before..." The sentence cut off but I knew where he was going with it.

"I should really sit with Bella," I bit my lip.

"Of course," he nodded, a smile once again on his face. "No problem. I'll see you around."

He left to go to his classroom, and I didn't waste another moment before I escaped into mine. He was nice, but he was overbearing. I looked around the classroom and sighed with relief once I saw Bella sitting in the far corner. She met eye contact with me, trying to lift up her mouth in a smile. I appreciated the effort, so I smiled back.

"You must be Julianne," Mr. Tanner said, making me look back towards the front of the room. "I'm Mr. Tanner, I'll be your Spanish teacher for the remainder of the year." He grabbed a spear book from the corner of his desk. "This is your book. You may take a seat anywhere. I hope you can keep up."

I smiled my thanks before taking the book from his hands. I handed him my purple slip, which he signed quickly, before making my way to the corner that Bella was sitting in. There were empty desks surrounding her, which made me think that no one wanted to sit next to her, because of her lack of emotions. I stole the seat on her right and tried to get comfortable, or as comfortable as I could get with all the staring from the class. I could tell that even Bella was starting to get uncomfortable with the stares. She leaned over towards my desk, "I was just starting to get used to no one staring, too," she whispered, hoping that no one would hear her.

I stifled my laughter in my hand as Mr. Tanner started teaching the class.

No one bothered us in Spanish for the whole hour. Maybe because they didn't want to have to talk to Bella also, or maybe because they were too worried that I would be just like her. Either way, it made me want to have Bella on my side for the remainder of the school day. I wouldn't have to worry about anyone trying to talk to me.

But alas, the silence had to come to an end. After Bella and I split up, Mike joined me in walking to my class, much like he did with Spanish; except this time another boy named Tyler Crowley joined him. They both bombarded me with questions during passing period. It took a lot of resistance to not ask them to leave me alone, but I didn't want to seem rude so I kept my mouth shut, and answered their curious questions.

I suffered through the first couple of periods before lunch came around. I followed Mike into lunch, him still chatting excitedly about going surfing down in La Push. I agreed halfheartedly, trying to get excited with him, but my focus was on finding Bella. Imagine Mike and I's surprise when Bella was sitting at the table Mike said was his friends. He smiled brightly, thinking that Bella was finally coming out of her shell. "She's been sitting at the old Cullen's table ever since they left," he explained before we were in ear shot of the table.

I bit my lip as I sat down next to Bella, silently asking if she was okay. She nodded her head back at me before looking at a girl with glasses resting on her nose. I recognized her as a girl that was in my English class, but I couldn't put a name to her face.

"We drove up north, almost to the hot springs- there's a good spot just about a mile up the trail. But, when we were halfway there... we saw something," she explained. I was totally lost in the conversation, but I did get interested in her story.

"Saw something?" A girl with a pixie cut asked. "What?"

"I don't know," the girl from my class said. "We think it was a bear. It was black, anyway, but it seemed...too big."

The girl with a pixie cut snorted. "Oh, not you, too!" Her green eyes turned mocking. "Tyler tried to sell me that one last week."

"You're not going to see any bears that close to the resort," a girl that I recognized at Jessica Stanley said, rolling her eyes.

"Really," the girl protested, "we did see it."

"No, she's right." I looked curiously at Bella, surprised that she decided to speak up. "We had a hiker in just yesterday who saw the bear, too, Angela." That's what the girl with glasses' name was. "He said it was huge and black and just outside of town, didn't he, Mike?"

Mike looked just as surprised that Bella was speaking to them as I was. Of course, I didn't see how Bella acted for the first four months, but I've heard stories of how bad she was. Everyone was in shock, and no body moved. It was like a zombie has risen from the dead.

"Mike?" Bella's cheeks were turning a pinkish color, a color that I haven't seen since she lived with me, mom, and Phil. "Remember the guy with the bear story?"

"S-sure," Mike stuttered, trying to contain his composure. "Yeah, there was a guy who said he saw a huge black bear right at the trailhead- bigger than a grizzly."

The girl with a pixie cut huffed, and turned to start talking to Jessica. I saw Angela and Mike smile at Bella, which she was fast to return, even though only one side of her mouth turned up in a smile.

"So, what did you do this weekend, Bella, Jules?" Mike asked.

Everyone, again, stopped their own conversation to look at Bella and I.

"Friday night, Jessica and I went to a movie in Port Angeles. And then me and Jules spent Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday down at La Push," Bella answered.

Everybody's eyes flickered towards Jessica and then back towards Bella. Jessica looked almost irritated, but I wasn't completely sure why.

"So, you have been in La Push," Mike pointed out, looking at me jokingly.

"So, I have," I joked back.

"What movie did you see?" Mike asked, looking back at Bella, with a beginning of a smile.

"Dead End- the one with the zombies." Bella grinned back at Mike.

"I heard that was scary. Did you think so?"

"Bella had to leave at the end, she was so freaked," Jessica said with a sly grin.

"It was pretty scary," Bella admitted with a nod of her head.

Bella and Mike continued their conversation til the end of lunch, while I started chatting up with Angela. She was really sweet, and wasn't too overbearing with the questions that she was asking. I could tell that me and her were going to get along well.

At the end of lunch, Mike, Bella, Angela, and I walked together towards our next class. Bella and Angela were having a soft conversation as Mike raved about going to see Dead End. Apparently, Bella and Jessica seeing the movie got him more excited to see it.

I looked back at Bella when I heard her hum in thought. "What's today's date?"

"It's January nineteenth," I answered, while Mike ran up to join Jessica, and the girl with the pixie hair, whose name was Lauren, Angela informed me.

"What is it?" Angela asked as Bella hummed again.

"It was a year ago yesterday that I had my first day here," Bella mused.

"Nothing's changed much," Angela muttered, looking up at Lauren and Jessica.

"I know," Bella agreed. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Ironic that my first day is so close to yours," I joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

It worked as Angela laughed, and Bella offered me a smile at my lame joke. I would gladly take that over her silence.

Thank you to all the people that favorited and followed this story, plus the people that left reviews! They always make my day. Sorry for the long delay on this chapter, and that not a lot of things happened but it's just the beginning of the story, everything will start heating up, I promise.

Let me know how you like this chapter, I always love hearing from all of you! With love, Cheyenne.