A/N: So, so, so sorry about the long wait. I've been really busy with school, scholarship stuff, more scholarship stuff, college stuff, homework, friend drama, stupid guy drama, etc. Plus, I've been in a really shitty mood lately. I couldn't write anything for the life of me. I'm so sorry. I will try to update sooner next time, I promise.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to S.M. Except for the Transformers notebook I write in before typing the story. :]

As I woke up the next morning to a heavy rainfall, I was extremely groggy. I struggled to open my eyes, closing them and stretching my body in my bed. My legs were tangled in the comforter covering my body that was keeping me warm and cozy. I didn't want to leave the comfortable confines of my bed, even though I knew I needed to. I rolled out of bed, wincing slightly when my bare feet hit the cold floor. I grabbed a sweatshirt bearing my college's name out of my laundry basket, slipped it on, and grabbed my laptop on my way to the kitchen. I desperately craved waffles for breakfast, but since I didn't have mix – as well as not knowing where my waffle iron was, exactly – I settled for a bagel with cream cheese. The laptop booted up while I spread the cream cheese. Once it was done, I carried both the laptop and the bagel to my table, then going back to my fridge and poured myself a glass of apple juice.

I was so thankful I got Wi-Fi so quickly at my apartment. Living without Internet is too hard. I checked my e-mail and saw that I had an e-mail from Renee. It was just a general question e-mail – How's Forks? Did your move go okay? How's Charlie? – so I answered her with as much detail as possible. She was worried about me living on my own, I knew this. I reassured her that I was fine, and then gave her a description of my apartment and the town. She was either in Florida with her husband and my step-father, Phil, or she was on the road with him. He was a minor league baseball player, and this was his last year playing. He still had such a passion for the game, but he was getting too old and too "worn down," according to him. He really was good for Renee. Where she was free-spirited and flighty, Phil was like the calm of her storm. After responding to her, I did a search of things to do on the first day of school. Although I had studied teaching thoroughly in college, I was still nervous – especially about teaching students that were so close to my own age. I was worried that they wouldn't take me seriously.

After turning my laptop off and cleaning my kitchen after breakfast, I went to take a shower. As I walked out of the kitchen, I got a shiver of excitement. It had finally hit me. This was my kitchen, my living, my apartment. I was finally on my own. I had never imagined this day actually happening. Of course, like every other teenager and college student, I thought about it, but I never actually pictured it happening – me being an independent adult.

I stood in the shower until the water turned cold. It was what I did unless I was in an absolute rush. Once again, I thought about the fact that I really was on my own now. I was brought out of my musings by looking at the time on the clock. I gasped at how late it was. My plans for the day had been to go to my classroom at the school so I could set up the room as I pleased, as well as organizing my desk. I dried my hair, got dressed in skinny jeans, a long sleeve white t-shirt, and a pair of black converse, then drove to school with my handy box of school supplies. The parking lot was nearly empty when I arrived, allowing me to park in the first row. I walked into the school, and then the front office, where I went to get my room information and key. The woman in the room looked up at me with a confused look on her face. I walked to her desk while smiling.

"Hello," I greeted while looking at her name tag. "Mrs. Cope. I'm Bella Swan. The new Physics teacher? I'm here to pick up my key and room information."

"Oh! Of course, Ms. Swan. I should've realized who you were. You're the only new teacher this year, of course. We're happy to have you here with us this year. The Chief has said so many good things about you. He's so happy that you're here in Forks."

"Thank you," I said while smiling. "I'm excited to be here."

"Here's your key and information. You should be getting your class lists in the mail either today or tomorrow. You have two classes, and our other science teacher, Mr. Banner, has one, along with a Biology class and a Chemistry class. To even it out, you have been assigned a study hall that you need to oversee every day. We're very happy to have you with us here and Forks High, Ms. Swan."

"Please, Mrs. Cope, we're co-workers. Call me Bella," I smiled. She laughed in response.

"Alright, but only if you call me by my first name."

"And what is that?"

"Beatrice."

"Really?" I asked, my nose automatically scrunching up at the old styled name.

"No," she laughed, "it's Jill."

"Alright," I said, smiling again. "I'll see you later!" I shouted as I walked out of the door. The halls were completely empty, decorations welcoming students to a new year not yet hung on the walls. The generic lockers and water fountains gave me a comforting feel. The box I was carrying grew heavy and dug into my hip as I reached my classroom. A shiver ran through me once more that day. My apartment, my classroom. My future was becoming so real that I still couldn't believe it.

I spent the next two hours making the room the way I pictured it, with the desks now arranged in rows of two desks pushed together, side by side. I made the seating chart using numbers for the kids, deciding that I would randomly number the student's names when I got the list. There was nothing I could do about the study hall. I figured the kids would be allowed to come and go with passes, so they could sit wherever they wanted for the first day, but if it turned out to be too much after a few days, I would seat them how I saw fit or alphabetically. I looked around the room once more and made sure everything was how I liked it. Satisfied, I backed out of the door, closing it and locking it. As I turned to leave, I ran into a figure. The person dropped the boxes they were carrying. Both of us fell to the floor, a result of losing our balances.

"Oh my God! I'm so, so sorry! Are you okay?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Not hurt or anything," a male voice responded. A blonde haired man stood up and offered his hand to help me up. I couldn't grab it, though. I pushed myself off the floor. "Are you the new teacher? I haven't seen you here before."

"Yeah. I'm the new Physics teacher. Bella Swan," I said as I stuck out my hand. I could deal with that.

"Mike Newton. Nice to meet you. Are you all done here?"

"Yeah. I didn't really have much to do, honestly. Need some help carrying those boxes to your room?"

"Can you lift them? They probably weigh more than you," he teased.

"Hey, it's all in the legs. Didn't you ever hear not to lift with your arms and back? It's bad for you," I laughed as I lifted a box off the ground.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Thanks, though," he replied while lifting the other two boxes. We made small talk until we reached his room. I learned that he was a history teacher and had grown up in Forks. His parents were the owners of the sporting goods store I had passed on my way into town. He was supposed to have taken over it, but he decided to be a teacher instead. "So, do you like Forks so far?"

"Well, I've only lived here for a few days, but it's been good so far. It's very different from the big cities I'm used to living in, but I like it so far. Everyone knows everyone else, though, and I feel like I'm a little bit of an outsider. I'm sure I'll get over that soon enough, though. Everybody I've met has been so nice. I can't imagine meeting someone who'll be rude or anything to me."

"Well, then, you've been very lucky. There are some people who are a bit… cold towards new people. But I'm sure they'll warm up to you soon enough," Mike paused, looking like he was trying to word what he wanted to say right. "I know that you just met me, but would you like to go to dinner with me tonight? I can show you where we all hang out in Port Angeles if you want me to do that for you. That was you have somewhere to go instead of just being at home all the time by yourself, you know?"

"Oh. Uh… thank you, but I'm supposed to go to dinner with my dad. I haven't seen him since I moved here three days ago, and I promised him I would. Maybe some other time before the school year starts, though?" He got a hopeful gleam in his eye, and I realized I'd have to be sure that he knew I wasn't looking for anybody specific to occupy my time. "It'll be nice to have a friend around here to back me up when I get to be the new teacher the students take advantage of." His face fell a little at my words, but then he went back to his happier face.

"Don't worry. You'll have them sorted out in no time. You just have to be sure you show confidence, that you're not scared of them. You'll do fine, I promise."

"Thanks, Mike. Listen, I've got to get going. I have to do some shopping before I go out with Charlie."

"Oh, do you want to give me your number so we can meet up?"

"Sure." I repeated my new number that I had given Alice the day before. "I'll see you later," I said as I walked away. As I walked out of the main door, I said goodbye to Mrs. Cope as well. She waved to me in reply, as she was busy talking on the phone.

My trip to the grocery store was short. I grabbed the basic essentials and some meat and cheese from the deli section. My stomach rumbled as I stood there, so I grabbed a sandwich as well. I got home and put everything away. As I stood in my kitchen, I realized I had absolutely nothing more to do. I had emptied all my boxes, cleaned the house, and gotten everything ready for the first day of school. I decided to call up Alice.

"Bella?" Alice answered after the third ring in a confused voice.

"Hey, Alice. Yeah, it's Bella. Listen, I'm… I don't have anything to do for the rest of the week besides dinner tonight with my dad. Well, I'm supposed to meet up with another teacher from school, Mike Something, and he wants to show me around Port Angeles."

"Mike Newton? Blonde, looks like a happy puppy?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Bella, Bella, Bella, you silly girl! You can do so much better than him! We're going to Port Angeles tomorrow. Me, Rose, and Emmett. My brother and Jasper are going camping, seeing as how it's the last weekend they can. You should come with us. It'll be fun. We're just going to a bar."

"I'll go if I can have dibs on designated driver."

"You don't want to drink?" Alice asked in a very shocked tone.

"No, I'd rather stay sober, to be perfectly honest with you."

"Well, alright then. Emmett's not going to complain. I'll make sure he doesn't bring his massive Jeep. You won't be able to touch the gas pedal," she laughed.

"Thanks, Alice. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself for the next few days. I suppose get lesson plans together, but that can only keep me occupied for so long."

"Well, school starts Tuesday, right?"

"Yeah. The day after Labor Day."

"We're going to a spa on Saturday. Hair, nails, waxes… you should come with us."

"Waxes? I don't need a wax, Alice."

"You can just get your eyebrows done, then. It's no big deal. Consider it my 'Welcome to Forks' gift to you. And before you say that I don't need to do it, relax. I want to do it. I have enough money that I can spoil my friends. Oh God, that sounds bitchy. I'm not, though, I swear."

"I know Alice," I laughed. "But…"

"No 'buts', Bella. You're coming with us," she said with conviction in her voice.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. We talked about little things until I looked at the clock and realized I had 15 minutes until I was supposed to meet Charlie at the diner. "Shit! Alice, I'll talk to you later. I gotta go meet Charlie." I hung up after hearing her say goodbye to me. I rushed to my car, starting it as I pulled my seatbelt on. I raced to the diner quickly as I glanced at the clock every few seconds. I pulled into the diner, seeing Charlie's cruiser in a parking spot already. I ran into the diner, colliding with a man on my way in.

"I'm sor – Charlie! Dad, I mean!" I said as I gave him a hug. I pulled back to look at him. His dark brown hair was starting to get gray flecks scattered in it, as well as his mustache that I had never seen him without. We had the same brown eyes, and they sparkled with happiness as he stared down at me, his 'baby girl', for the first time in… ages.

"Hey, Bells. You didn't speed here, did you? You whipped into the parking lot pretty quickly."

"No, I would never speed, you know that," I said as I mentally crossed my fingers behind my back. "I guess I was just so excited to get here that I didn't slow down enough for the parking lot. Don't worry, Dad, it's fine." We walked into the diner and got seated almost immediately. Charlie had a steak burger, which the waitress wrote down before he even said what he wanted. I guess he was a regular here. She waited for me to choose what I wanted.

"Can I have a chocolate milkshake and a stack of buttermilk pancakes?" I asked hopefully. She nodded her head, wrote down the order, and went to put it in.

"Pancakes? You do know this is dinner, right?" Charlie laughed at me in his gruff voice.

"Yes, I do. I just… I've been craving them, okay? They sound delicious." Charlie and I made small talk for the rest of the time we were in the diner. When we finished, he insisted on paying the bill and wouldn't let me hear of anything else. He hugged me goodbye as we left, and I hopped into my car and drove home. For the second night in a row, bored, I popped in a movie. When it was over, I once again dragged myself to my bed and fell asleep quickly.

I know. Shitty ending, easy escape route ending, shorter than wanted, etc. I just feel uber guilty for making you all wait this long, and it's 11:34 as I'm typing this. I have school tomorrow, and I'm exhausted as it is. Please, please forgive me. I swear I'll update sooner and better next time.