A/N: The second chapter! –insert applause-

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Maximum Ride. I think that I've said this before, but whoever-you-are-with-the-bad-memory, there you go, I've said it again.

Chapter Two--BPOV

I have to go to school. I have to go to school. I have to go to school.

The thought kept repeating in my head.

School. What had I been thinking?

***

I pulled onto the road that lead straight to Forks High, following the traffic. Forks High looked like a clump of buildings all made out of the same maroon-colored bricks. One word could describe it: normal.

No, there were no terrifying weapons.

No, there were no white coats.

No, there were no dog crates.

Then why did I feel like this was the worst day of my life?

Oh right, I was going to school.

I parked my car—one that I actually bought, not hotwired—and scanned the area. You know there's something wrong with you when you say you're scanning the area instead of just glancing around.

Then, spotting complete normalness, I walked somewhat shakily toward a small building marked FRONT OFFICE. Inside it was warmer but cramped. The carpet was an unappealing orange color and plastic chairs lined the walls. Leaflets were scattered around.

I noticed a red-haired woman manning a desk in front of me.

"Hello?" I asked, fusing false cheerfulness into my voice.

"May I help you?" she questioned in return. Inside I bristled at her tone but I managed to keep my emotions out of my voice.

"I'm the new student, Bella."

"Of course. What's your last name, Isabella? I need to put it on my forms," she answered, brushing away the fact that my name was Bella not Isabella.

"Uhh, last name?" Dang! What do I say? I don't have a last name because I'm pretty sure I've been living with mad scientists for half of my life?

In the mean time I shifted my wings uncomfortably under my sweater.

"Oh, my last name's Swan," I lied, making something up on the spot.

Then I realized what I had said. I have wings on my back. And supposedly my last name was Swan. Oh, the irony.

After a couple of exchanged sentences and a few fake smiles on my part I was out the door.

I glanced around, looking at my map to find the way to my first class, English.

I got there and looked around. Every teenager in the room was staring at me.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I mumbled to myself, too low for any of them to hear.

The teacher, a balding man named Mr. Mason, directed me to a seat in the back of the class and I obediently followed.

I sighed, thinking that I could avoid all of the curious stares by sitting in the back. It turns out that regular humans can twist their heads around to stare at me even when they should be facing frontward without getting detention.

I know, they really should've gotten detention.

I glanced down at the reading list, glad that I was smart (more survival-wise than book-wise though) and none of these books would be a problem even though I had barely read any of the ones on the list. When you're on the run you don't exactly get the time to return the books to the library.

The bell rang and I stood up, hoping vainly to escape before anyone came over.

It was too late. A gangly boy with skin problems had already pushed past everyone and was now standing in front of me.

"Isabella Swan?" he asked nervously.

"Bella." Now can you please go away?

"So, Bella," he smiled. "What class do you have next?"

"Umm… Spanish." I kept my replies to purely one-word answers so maybe he would get the clue and go away.

"Oh." His face fell. "Do you want me to show you the way there?"

"No thanks," I smiled politely but couldn't keep the grimace of my face when I turned my back on him and hurried off.

Soon I began to recognize a few faces in each class and a girl who sat next to me in both Spanish and Trigonometry invited me to sit with her at lunch.

That was how I came to be with a girl chattering insistently into my ear as I walked into the crowed cafeteria. Jessica—I was pretty sure that was her name —was content to let me by with only a few "hmmm"s in her conversation. She was shorter than me but had dark curly hair that probably made up the few inches she didn't have.

She motioned me to sit down at a table full of people and began introductions. There was Mike—someone I was probably going to avoid due to his unhealthy interest in me, Tyler, Eric (the gangly boy in English), Angela—probably the nicest person I would meet all day, and Lauren. Needless to say Lauren glared at me like she could actually see the wings.

Jessica was still talking a mile a minute—if I could fly a mile for every sentence I would be in Hawaii, I swear—and every once in a while people would come up and introduce themselves to me. Apparently word got around fast and I was Isabella Swan to them. And each time someone would say, "Swan" I would try to muffle the laughs just threatening to come out.

Eventually Jessica stopped talking long enough to ask me why I was laughing. That stopped my chuckles.

"I was laughing?" I answered, trying to blow it off as nothing.

She just shrugged and turned away.

I was getting nervous again. The lunchroom made me feel slightly claustrophobic, with tons of students covering ever exit way. If Erasers attacked… I shuddered and glanced around the room to look at something that would take my mind off that topic.

My gaze landed on a table in the corner, isolated from the rest of the school population. It held 5 students.

They looked nothing alike except for their beautiful, angular features and golden eyes. Of they boys, one was lanky and lean, with honey blond hair. Another was built like a weightlifter with curly, dark hair. The last was the most boy-ish with messy bronze hair—perhaps the most beautiful of all of them too.

Of the girls, one was tall and statuesque, with blond hair that tumbled down her back in waves. She looked truly angelic except for the expression on her face—or lack thereof. The other was petite; she reminded me of a pixie. Her short black hair pointed in every direction, yet it suited her. She had an aura around her—one of excitement maybe.

And then it happened.

Well, I should explain. You see, while I was at the school they had wanted to increase my brainpower. The experiment hadn't worked the way the white coats had wanted it too. Instead I had flashes. I spaced out and saw things. Sometimes they were pictures; sometimes they were words. But it was always information I got.

No, there was no voice in my head or anything and no, I didn't see the future. These flashes gave me information. Like, maybe I would get the name of the place I was flying over or a picture of the new 6.5 Eraser version that they'd created.

This time, I got one word.

Cullen.

Immediately I snapped out of my haze and wondered, Cullen? What's that? A name? A thing? Is it good or bad?

I was so worried I didn't even realize that Jessica had noticed in which direction I had been staring. In my direct line of gaze were the 5 beautiful teens.

"Oh, you noticed them," she said to me.

"Them?" I asked, my voice just as confused as the expression on my face.

"Those are the Cullens," she informed and all the breath went out of me. The walls twisted sickeningly.

The Cullens? As in 'Cullen'? From the information flash I had just gotten?

I felt out of breath and stunned.

Cullen. What was that supposed to mean? Why did I need that information? Were they planning to kill me? Oh god…

"Jessica, I'm going to the bathroom," I told her and I stumbled out of there. I didn't even make it to the bathroom. As soon as I got into the empty hallway I sank to the ground and leaned on the cold tile wall facing the doors to cafeteria.

I breathed shallowly in and out, trying to calm down. It didn't work. Maybe to outsiders I looked fine. But inside… inside I felt like a tornado had swept across me.

I tried to distract myself, thinking of memories that held the Flock. Of course I had to settle on the worst one.

Blood. It was everywhere. I heard the shrieks of Erasers and all I thought was, Good. You deserve it. But I could also see the cuts and bruises that we were gathering.

I kicked an Eraser in the stomach and kneed another one that had been trying to sneak up on me.

Then I heard it.

"Ahhhhh!"

It was a shriek of pure terror. And it came from Angel.

I searched desperately and finally I saw the head of blond curls matted with dirt and blood. An Eraser was holding her tightly; she couldn't escape.

No one could help. Iggy was battling two Erasers at once and at the same time trying to pinpoint where Angel was.

Max was fighting, taking out every Eraser in her path trying to get to Angel but they blocked her and she couldn't get through all of them fast enough to make sure the Eraser that held Angel wouldn't fly away. "Angel, baby, hold on!" she screamed.

Fang was fighting back-to-back with her, trying to kill the Erasers closing in on them.

Gazzy was half dead already, dropping a bomb he and Iggy made on some unsuspecting Eraser's head with all the vigor he could.

Nudge was fighting as hard as she could but there was a long gash on her leg dripping blood. She was getting lethargic.

Where were all these Erasers coming from?

I was the only one that had a chance of getting to Angel. And I took it. I beat my wings, wincing at the cuts that littered my body.

Carefully, trying not to make a sound, I came up from behind and smashed my right fist into the Eraser's head, just enough to make him stumble away, releasing Angel.

"Go, Angel!" I screamed. "Go!"

She flew fast, but then looked back at me. Her eyes widened in terror. She opened her mouth to say something but then—

An arm pressed into my neck, cutting off my air supply. A low voice chuckled into my ear, "Saving your little sister? How nice. Seems like you'll be the one to come back to your old home then."

I couldn't even reply.

"Bella!" screamed Angel again, alerting all of the Flock.

Iggy was panic stricken, shouting, "Where is she?"

Fang tried to wrestle his way through bloodthirsty Erasers to me but I could see the despair in his eyes that were usually void of any feeling.

Gazzy flew as fast as he could to me but an Eraser twice his size appeared and blocked his path.

Nudge looked wildly around, trying to see where I was. Once she did she started to struggle furiously to get to me.

It was all in vain.

As I started to black out I heard one last yell.

"Bella!" Max screamed, panic in her eyes. Her mouth was wide open in an 'O' shape, like she couldn't believe that one of us was being captured. "We'll come for you! We'll—"

And everything went black.

I shuddered and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. Slowly I stood up, leaning on the wall for support. I had to find them. But there in the back of my mind was a little, traitorous thought. What if they don't care? And that's why they didn't come save you when you were in the School?

I brushed it and my emotions away and straightened up. Taking one last breath I walked in and sat down again at the table with Jessica and her friends.

She continued on with our conversation about the Cullens as if I had never left.

I learned their names and who was together and all the things that she thought were weird about them but I didn't learn anything of value.

As I got up to go to Biology I took one last glance at their table. Edward Cullen was staring at me with an unfathomable look in his eyes.

I practically raced to Biology.

***

When I got to Biology Mr. Banner directed me to the only empty seat in the classroom.

Right next to Edward Cullen.

Internally wondering what he was going to do the minute he realized that some puny little mortal below his class was going be sitting next to him, I walked over and dropped my bag to the floor.

He immediately shifted over to the edge of the desk as if he could be contaminated with who the h-e-double-toothpicks knows what. Discreetly I sniffed my hair. It smelled of the strawberry shampoo I last used.

What was with him?!

I only grew angrier throughout the period when he continued to act that way. I gathered up the courage to verbally smash him to bits but the words died in my throat as soon as I saw his face.

His beauty overpowered me, but that wasn't what was so frightening.

It was his black eyes, which stood out so strikingly against his pale skin. They were filled with hate, but most of all: repulsion.

I flinched and in a second the bell rang. Edward Cullen was out of his seat before I even got a chance to pack up my bags and stare dumbly after him.

I tried to convince myself that it was nothing, that I had done nothing wrong. But I had a lingering feeling… that it was all about me.

Gym passed in a blur and soon I was driving my truck to a spot concealed by trees. I slept in the truck—hey, at least it isn't a tree. I slept fitfully though, haunted by Edward Cullen's black eyes filled with a feeling that shook me to my core.

By the next day I was furious that Edward Cullen had treated me that way. I had done nothing!

Ever heard the phrase 'innocent till proven guilty', Edward Cullen?

I don't think you have.

A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry for the late update! I don't feel that great and I have school (die, homework, die) so… yeah.

Thanks to all the people that helped me with Bella's powers! I can't list all of you, sorry, but THANK YOU! A million of cookies go out to each of you!

And here are Bella's powers that I'm completely sure about:

-Mental shield

-Information flashes

-She can find people (only works on humans.) It's sorta like she feels their presence and where it is.

-She can control sound waves, like she can make a sound seem like it's coming from somewhere else. (It's not Gazzy's power.)

So, uhhhh, review?