Bella's POV

I walked through the halls of Forks High School. It had been about a week since I went to La Push to talk to Jake and ended up getting into it with Jared instead. Surprisingly, I managed to hold onto the anger I felt for him and keep the pain at bay, for the most part anyway. I couldn't say there was no pain, but anger was the dominant emotion right now. Actually, it even took away some of the mind numbing pain that I'd felt since Edward left.

I made my way to my locker to put my things away. I unlocked it, grabbed the books I'd need for the next few periods, and put my bag away. Just as I was closing my locker, I felt a presence next to me. I turned to see Angela, the only real friend I had at school. "Hey, Angela."

"Hey. How'd you do with that English paper?" Angela asked.

"Alright, I guess. Hopefully it gets me at least a 'B', but I'm not banking on it," I said. I was not the best student by a long shot and I'd been very distracted lately.

Suddenly, Jess came towards us. "Hey, have you guys seen the new guy?"

"There's a new guy?" I asked. This was the first I'd heard about a new student.

"Hello? He's only all anyone's talking about. Although, I guess I shouldn't expect you to know. You've been in your own world for a while now. Anyway, I didn't see him, but Lauren did and she said he is beyond hot. He's apparently the definition of tall, dark, and handsome," Jess said with a huge smile on her face. She almost looked like she was ready to eat this new kid.

"What's his name?" Angela asked.

"Who cares? He's hot, or so I've heard. I can't wait to meet him. Maybe I'll have class with him," Jess said as she started to walk away. She was muttering about this new guy the whole time.

"A new guy. He has my sympathies," Angela said.

I nodded in agreement. I knew what it was like to be the new student in this school. They would fawn over this guy just like they did me. I hoped he liked attention because he was gonna get a lot of it.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The new guy was the topic of conversation and it had only been about an hour. No one I'd heard from had actually met this guy yet, but they were all gossiping about him. I wasn't really surprised by it. They'd been the same way when I started.

Right now, I was in my English class. I was staring down at the paper I was not all that happy with when the teacher started speaking.

"Everyone, as I'm sure you've all heard by now, we have a new student with us today."

I didn't look up. I knew what it was like to be the new kid. Being introduced in front of the class could be really embarrassing. I figured I could at least be one person that wasn't staring at him like he was a new toy.

"This is Jared Cameron."

My head shot up like flowers in the spring. For a second I thought I must have heard wrong or imagined it, but when I looked up, I saw Jared standing up front with my English teacher. I was shocked, more than shocked actually. I was so surprised to see him here that I didn't think there was even a name for it. What was he doing here? He lived on La Push. He went to school there too; at least I thought he did. What the hell was he doing here now?

"Mr. Cameron, go ahead and take a seat next to Ms. Swan," the teacher said.

"My pleasure," Jared said as he smiled at me. He made his way over and sat at the desk just a few inches away from mine. "Hey, Bella. Can you believe we're desk buddies again?"

I glared daggers at him. The shock wore off and now I was pissed again. He'd done this on purpose. He'd gotten transferred to Forks High to get to me. I could see it all over his face. He didn't even try to hide it.

"Bella? Bella!" Jess whispered from behind me. She waited until I'd turned to speak. "You know the new guy?"

Thankfully, our teacher saved me from having to answer by speaking. "Alright, Class. Your papers were due today. Please pass them forward."

I passed my paper forward and willed this class to end as soon as possible. Because when it did, I was going to murder Jared Cameron.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Finally after what seemed like a lifetime, class got out. Jared got up and left when the bell rang and I was hot on his trail. I was going to find out what the hell he thought he was doing and make him stop. "Jared!"

Jared turned to me with that stupid smile on his face. "Yeah, Bella."

I grabbed him by the arm noting silently how hot it was to touch and pulling him down the hall. I pulled him into a classroom I knew was deserted this period and closed the door behind me. I then turned and glared at him furiously. "What the hell are you up to? Why are you here?!"

"Same reason you are. To get an education. That's why schools exist, right?" Jared asked.

"Cut the crap, Jared. You go to school on the reservation!" I said angrily.

"Not anymore. I transferred," Jared said.

"Yeah, I got that! You transferred so you could hassle me! Do you not understand English? I told you that I didn't want anything to do with you!" I yelled at him.

"And I told you that I was going to do everything in my power to get you to forgive me," Jared retorted.

"And you think stalking me will help with that?" I asked.

He actually had the nerve to laugh at me. "If I was stalking you, I'd be outside your house all day and night. All I'm doing is finishing up my senior year with the girl I love."

"A girl who doesn't love you," I shot back at him.

"I don't believe that. You wouldn't be so pissed at me if you didn't love me." Jared said.

"You're crazy. I stopped loving you a long time ago. I moved on from you," I told him. I mentioned that last part on purpose to get to him. I wanted him to think about me moving on with Edward. I hoped it hurt him to know it. He walked out on me and it hurt me worse than anything I'd ever felt before. I thought it was only fair that he hurt too.

I was rewarded when a trace of pain hit Jared's face, making me feel slightly guilty for a minute, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "You know, sometimes people move on. They break up and they meet new people. But sometimes they find their way back to each other later. That's how it'll be for us. We'll be together again and this time I won't screw it up. I promise you that," he said before leaving the room.