A/N: So this is chapter two. I guess I'm still 'stage-setting' as far as plot/action goes. This is Edward's POV again. Let me know if you think it's believable or not.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is the Twilight wondergirl. I don't have any superpowers really. I just kind of rock at everything…

I woke early. Again. Restful sleep had evaded me since the first night of my sickness, so many months ago. Pushing my thoughts away I rolled from my bed and left my room. I resisted looking in at my father before dressing and going downstairs. I could sense that he was still asleep. Taking advantage of his personal days, no doubt. Days he claimed to need to 'move on.' Moping was more like it. I snorted, and then checked myself. It was unfair to judge him too harshly; he had had to endure much more than I had faced.

Of course, it wasn't my face he had to look at in the mirror every morning. He had no idea how much the reflection tormented me. The singular messy bronze hair. The striking emerald eyes. The full lips and pale complexion. The face of my mother. Nothing could be worse than that. Shaking my head, I grabbed my bookbag and left, pausing to lock the door behind me.

After I backed my car out of the driveway and started the drive to Forks High School, I began to relax. Sitting behind the wheel of my silver Volvo always served to calm me unlike most things I did.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I drove around slowly. Most of the other cars in the parking lot were dented and rusty with peeling paint. I settled on a parking space near a sleek black Aston Martin Vanquish. My curiosity was piqued as I examined it, wondering who would live in such a dreary place if they could afford such a car.

As I got out, I paused, trying to capture the tenor of the school. Relatively mundane, I decided. As I concluded this assessment, three of the four doors of the Vanquish opened and two girls and a boy got out. My gaze was drawn toward them because, unrelated as they all seemed, they were also possessed by an innate grace and beauty that made them exactly alike and separated them from everybody else. The girls were both small and slender, though the black-haired one was petite to the extreme, where the brunette was softer and more delicate in appearance. The blond boy towered over them and was well-muscled.

As I watched, their impassive expressions became smirks as the boy walked over to the fourth door and rapped lightly on the window. The black-haired girl held up five fingers and began putting them down one at a time. As she lowered her last finger, the boy yanked the door open and an enormous black-haired boy and beautiful blond girl tumbled out, landing on the cement. In a flash, the girl was up, facing away from me toward the other three. I didn't have to see her face to know she was livid.

"Thanks, Alice," she said acerbically. "I was really looking forward to changing one more time this morning. Don't you care that I want to look good?" And without another glance, she grabbed her backpack and stalked toward the school.

The second boy began following her but turned back long enough to send a wink and a smirk in the general direction of the other three. After smiling conspiratorially amongst themselves, the smallest girl and the boy began to walk away.

"Come on, Bella," she called over her shoulder.

"I'll catch up," the brunette responded. "I need to get my stuff." With that, she turned back to the car.

That was when her eyes locked on mine. I was suddenly aware of her devastating beauty, and even though we were separated by four parking spaces, I could feel myself falling through space and time as my heart picked up speed. I gave her a nice smile- not too curious, not too knowing- just friendly. Her eyes tightened just barely before she broke her gaze and walked away.

I let out a long breath. If that was the way everyone was going to receive me, maybe I would do better to just drive home. But compared to what waited for me there, being a school outcast was definitely the lesser of the two evils. I forced my feet forward; one after the other, bracing myself for what would surely be the worst day of my life.

A/N: Review? Please? I feel silly for begging, but if the story is terrible, just tell me. I can handle it. Or if it just needs to be reworked.

Love,

GreenFish