I wasn't exactly sure what I expected when school started. Being a Senior was one thing, but being a sixteen year old Senior was something else. Since my birthday was in September, I'd been allowed in early. La Push was small enough to have only two schools, one for kindergarten through eighth graders and another for high schoolers. The days leading up to August 18th had been a blur. They seemed to bleed together, starting when I woke in the morning and ending with long nights in the garage with Paul and Adam.

Paul. I let the thought of his name roll around my mind as I stood in Yaya's warm shower, steam coming off of my skin. I didn't know how I felt about him. It was difficult, trying to remember someone you never knew. He was different. As much as I'd hated him, as much as I wanted to banish him from my mind and soul, I couldn't. I could feel him. I could feel the way he moved about a room, feel the way his hands worked under the silver Mustang in the shop. And keeping my eyes off of him was no easy task either. He was beautiful. So beautiful it almost made me sick.

I hated his dark, smooth hair. I hated his black eyes, the way he stared into me like I was made of glass. I hated his hands. They were so big and warm, calloused with hours of hard work, smeared with grease and the smell of Honey. I hated the way you could see the muscles move underneath his shirt when he shifted, and the way his smile seemed to light up the darkest corners of the garage when he laughed. I hate him, I had to remind myself continuously. He tried to kill me.

I shut off the hot water and threw myself out of the shower in irritation, yanking the towel off of the rack and drying my brown skin. Stupid Paul, I thought, yanking a brush through my wild curls. Stupid smile, I seethed, yanking on a pair of dark blue jeans and a white T-Shirt. Kim would be disappointed in my fashion choices. I will not think about Paul Lahote. I sighed. I would forget about him. I would forget about him and it'd be like he never existed.

"Haley! Your ride is here!" Adam called. I swore quietly, grabbing my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. After weeks of bribing, Kim had finally agreed to wake up extra early so she could drive me to school everyday.

I padded down the steps, my curls bouncing along my shoulders as I went.

"You ready?"

I stopped short, my jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"You say that a lot," Paul smirked, pulling his keys out of his back pocket. I crossed my arms and he laughed. "You also do that a lot."

"What happened to Kim?" I demanded, raising my eyebrows.

"She, ah, had a previous engagement!" Yaya called from the kitchen, her voice suspiciously cheerful. I rolled my eyes, knowing for a fact that she and Kim had set this up, but why did Adam look so excited too?

"Come on Princess, I promised no touching, remember?" Paul coaxed, smiling lightly at me. I fought a smile as it lifted the corners of my mouth lightly, heat rushing to my face.

"Fine," I caved, brushing past him. "But I get to drive."

Paul's truck was huge. A big, black, GMC. As if he wasn't already a big enough douchebag.

"Is there a reason you're driving this God forsaken tank?" I asked acidly, scooching the seat up as far as I possibly could. Paul laughed, sliding into the passenger seat.

"It was a gift. I'm not a complete tool, if that's what you're thinking." He defended. I flickered my eyes at him. It was odd, the way he'd been able to nearly read my mind. I shook my head and put the truck in reverse, the sun glinting off of a small crack in the windshield.

"What happened there?" I asked, pulling out of the driveway. Paul's cheeks turned red as I looked at him.

"I got into an accident," he murmured quietly. "Had to get half the truck replaced, never got around to fixing the windshield though." He turned his gaze away from me, opting to stare out the window instead as the trees flew past us. I could feel my brow furrow at the idea of an accident, and Paul's truck being crushed. Why did it feel so familiar to me, as if I'd been in this car before? I took a deep breath to settle my nerves, knowing that if I pressed the subject on myself too much, I'd come up empty handed. It's what happened every time I tried to grasp at a memory to harshly. I'd drill myself over and over until there was absolutely nothing left to cling to, and I'd be blank-minded once more.

"Watch it, watch it!" he called as I clipped the curb turning into the parking lot. My face turned scarlet as the window of a shiny black Mercedes began to roll down, a pale, curly-haired boy sticking his face out of the window. I slammed on the brakes at the sight of his beautiful face as he furrowed his dark brows at me, his brown eyes set on mine. Paul growled next to me, the sound so gutteral and inhuman that I nearly tore my gaze away from the pale boy to gawk at him.

"Are you alright?" The boy called, his voice ringing through the light drizzling rain. The sun peaked out from behind the clouds, glinting off of his shiny vehicle.

"Yeah," I breathed, my face flaming. "I'm good." The words had barely gotten out of my mouth. Was I being shy? When was I ever shy? Had I been shy before I hit my head? Paul growled again and I shot him a look as the shiny Mercedes pulled into it's space, the boy emerging from his car. I focused my eyes on the parking lot in front of me, praying to God I wouldn't ruin anything else.

"Haley," Paul breathed desperately, pausing with his hand on the passenger door. I slid out of my seat, watching him. "You shouldn't talk to him alright? That guy." There was such pleading in his voice that it stirred something deep within my chest. The feeling faded quickly.

Who the Hell was Paul Lahote to try and tell me who I couldn't speak to? Who was he to act concerned? This was the same kid who'd tried to push me off of a cliff and DROWN me, and now he wanted to act wary of my well-being? I narrowed my eyes at him, fury boiling in my veins as a few of the girls from the party came to greet him.

"Not right now-" he said hurriedly to one of them, brushing them off. The girl looked completely unphased by his rejection, continuing to tug at his jacket. "No, not righ-"

"Don't worry about it Paul," I interrupted snappishly. His eyes looked pained. "And don't worry about me." I slammed the door, throwing the keys over the hood and not looking back to see if he'd caught them.

"Your brother should be more worried about you than his truck, don't you think?" A voice rang out. I turned my head sharply, the boy in the Mercedes grinning broadly as he strode over to me.

"He's not my brother," I said irritably, not slowing down. "And I'm sorry if I scared you."

"You scare me?" he laughed, rubbing his perfectly chiseled jaw. I rolled my eyes.

"You looked terrified for your poor Mercedes."

"How do you know I wasn't terrified for you?"

I shot him a skeptical look as we bled into the rest of the shouting, excited teenagers heading through the front doors. Cold air washed over my face and I shivered, although it hadn't seemed to bother the boy next to me.

"Chilly?" He asked, smirking.

"Did you need something or are you being annoying on purpose?" I asked quietly, my cheeks flaming. I wasn't sure what to say next, so being mean only seemed to be like the only option.

"Let me see your schedule," he murmured, pulling the slip of paper from my hands. I was too shy to object. "Math...Anatomy...English...Photography...Hi-"

"Are you gonna read the whole thing out loud to me?" I smirked. He rolled his eyes and handed me the paper.

"We have Anatomy together," he said happily. "So I'll be seeing you there, at least I'll have a friend."

I smiled at him politely, butterflies flitting around in my stomach as I began to turn down the Mathematics hallway.

"Wait!" he called. I turned to look at him, still walking. "What's your name?"

"Haley!" I smiled. "Nice to meet you!"

I sat through my entire Math period tapping my foot, my eyes flickering to the clock every few seconds. I could feel Paul's eyes burning holes into my spine, but not once did I pay him any attention. I was too focused. Not on Math, though. On the Mercedes boy. The one with the pretty, glittering black eyes and curly thick hair.

"What's gotten into you?"

I turned my head to the girl sitting next to me, her red messy hair falling out of the sloppy bun she'd applied to the top of her head. Anna Liffman. She'd been one of Kim's best friends last year, and had dazzling green eyes the color of the trees in Spring.

"A boy." Embry chided behind me. Paul kicked his chair and I shot both of them a look.

"Oh really now?" Anna smirked. "Do tell."

"There's nothing to tell," I insisted, my cheeks heating up. "He's just some kid I almost ran over in the parking lot."

"Well that's a fabulous first impression to make." A slinky voice cooed in my left ear. I turned to my other side, a blonde smirking in my direction. I stiffened at the sight of her. Not only was she beautiful, she was so...pale. She was almost too good to look at with her small, slightly pointed nose and soft, high cheeks. Thick eyelashes brushed her skin when she batted her eyes, her small but full lips curving into a sinister grin over perfect, stark-white teeth. A low rumble came from behind me, and I turned for a moment to see that it wasn't Paul, but Embry who was growling this time.

"And who are you?" Anna asked sharply, narrowing her eyes, a classical bitchy expression crossing her features.

"Annette," the girl said simply, sighing and facing the board again as if we were boring her to death. "And he isn't just someone. Watch where you're driving next time, Sweetie."

Anna raised her eyebrows, shifting in her seat as if she were about to pounce, but I opened my mouth before she could come up with some stinging retort.

"I'm sorry, are you his girlfriend or something?"

"Exactly that," Annette said pointedly, staring at me. "And I suggest you learn to respect that."

"Yeah, because trying to hit someone with a car just screams 'I Love You'." Embry muttered behind me. I smiled, still watching Annette as her face twisted into a grimace.

"I could smell you the second you walked in here, Dog. Take it easy before we have to make a scene."

Dog?

"That's absolutely NO way to talk to someone, let alone someone I care about," Anna fired. Embry's eyes flickered to her for a moment. "Now why don't you go back to your schoolwork and back the fuck up before you get smacked the fuck u-"

"Is there a problem back there?" Mr. Troy asked, raising his eyebrows as the rest of the class turned to look at us.

"No Sir," Annette smiled cheerfully as everyone turned their attention back to the teacher, his lecture continuing. And then, more quietly, in a dangerously sweet voice: "Not yet."

The second the bell rang, I was out the door, Paul and Embry close behind me, with Anna at my side.

"What a bitch," Anna spat, loud enough so Annette could hear as she brushed past us. "I can't believe she had the nerve to call you that."

"I can't believe you stuck up for me," Embry smiled at her. "It was cute." I looked back at the two of them, Anna blushing and Embry staring at her.

"Embry," Paul muttered, shooting him a look. Embry, looking embarassed, quickly turned on his heels, leaving Anna and her bright red cheeks alone. Anna shot him a look.

"Thanks a lot." she hissed, storming away.

"What the Hell was that for?" I demanded, anger rising in me. "They really liked each other."

"It's complicated," Paul sighed. "Dating isn't exactly a good idea for guys like Embry and I. I wouldn't expect you to remember."

"Remember, remember," I mocked him, throwing my hands into the air. "Well guess what? I don't remember. I don't remember anything. It's time to forget about the past, Paul," I called over my shoulder, making my way to my next class. "Time to forget about it and move on."

I edged my way into Anatomy, eagerly searching for the one familiar face I'd wanted to see all morning.

"Bonjour, Princess." the boy murmured into my ear, brushing past me and taking a seat. Princess. It wasn't like the way Paul had said it. It had a different edge, a new meaning. And I liked it. I slid into the seat next to him and grinned, raising my eyebrows at him.

"You know your girlfriend is a real brat," I said boldly, pulling my books out. "She looked like she wanted to eat me alive."

"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?"

"Blonde, skinny, as pale as you are."

"Ahh, Annette. She's an odd one."

"You're both odd, no wonder you're dating. You're like the only white kids here."

"That's not true," the boy objected. "We're the only pale kids here. You'd be surprised at how many of your friends use self-tanner." he proclaimed. I laughed. "Besides," he continued. "She's not my girlfriend."

"She doesn't seem to be aware of that."

"She better learn quickly then," he smirked at me, his eyes glinting. An excited shiver ran down my spine. "Anyways, it's the same with your friend. What's his name, Paul? I remember him alright."

"Remember him? From where?" I asked curiously.

"I've had my fair share of run-ins with him and his crew." The boy said idly, twirling his pencil.

"They haven't hurt you have they?" I asked a little too quickly. The boy looked amused.

"Why, would you come to my rescue if they did?" I met his gaze with an unwavering one of my own.

"I'm just asking."

"It doesn't matter now. Let the past be the past, right? You and I are friends." He murmured, another icy feeling trickling through my veins.

"Yeah, let the past be the past." I said warily. "But how can we be friends if I don't even know your name?"

"Right!" the boy cried, looking at me incredulously. "How could I be so rude?" He held out his hand for me, and tentatively, I took it, feeling his cool marble skin beneath my fingers as he smiled.

"I'm Jackson."