I am so glad that you guys liked the first chapter! I really try and do original/unique storylines…but that's sometimes insanely hard to accomplish when there are like over 100,000 Twilight stories on FanFiction. So again, thanks oh so much. And please, keep up with the awesome reviews. I can't thank all of you enough to express how much it really means!

If you're new to me (you know, as a writer) then you should probably known that I'm insanely pregnant right now, and I'm due on May 26 with a girl, who my husband and I have nicknamed Baby Bee. I'm incredibly random sometimes, but you'll get used to it…eventually.

The man-child brigade came over tonight and accosted me until I got this chapter out, even though it's a little shorter than I would have preferred. Some of you know about the wondrous members of the man child brigade, and they all say hi.

……

"Hi. Are you Bella Swan?" I glanced up from my seat in the library, my eyes heavy with lack of sleep. A short girl with choppy brown hair stood before me, wearing trendy low rise jeans and a shirt that looked like it would have expensive, designer tags. Unlike the cheap jeans and tee shirt ensemble that I wore daily, her outfit looked perfectly put together and planned out.

"Yeah." I said shortly, and then went back to flipping through my biology notes, hoping she would take the hint.

But the girl didn't leave. "Cool. I'm Alice Brandon. I wasn't at school yesterday, but everyone told me we had a new student." She said lightly. "And you may think I'm annoying now, but I can tell that you and I will be great friends." I glanced up at her through my eyelashes, raising my eyebrows skeptically. Alice laughed and shook her head, sitting down next to me. "Sorry. I know I'm a lot to take in at first. But hey, my parents know your dad. They'll probably show up at your house tonight bearing a welcome basket."

I nodded absentmindedly, not wanting to tell this random girl that I didn't live with my father. "I think everyone in Forks knows the Chief." I said dryly. "Look, Alice, can we continue this later? I…I didn't get much sleep last night and I really need to do well on this test." I explained, and Alice quickly stood up.

"That's fine! Hey, why don't you sit with me and my friends at lunch?" Alice suggested brightly, and before I could say anything she patted me on the shoulder. "Great. We sit at the table by the big windows in the corner." She said, and then hurried out of the library.

I sat still for a moment, and then smiled slightly. Alice really wasn't too bad. Sure, she was a lot more enthusiastic than I was, but she seemed nice enough. And I really didn't want to have to endure another lunch with Mike Newton and Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley.

......

I was late to my first period class. Mike Newton furrowed his eyebrows, mouthing, "Where were you?"

Holding back the urge to roll my eyes, I just smiled and mouthed back, "Library."

It was then that I noticed that Alice Brandon was also in my first hour class. Another kid was there, one that hadn't been here yesterday either. He was sitting next to Alice, and he had curly blonde hair and a tall, gangly figure. As I took my seat and apologized to the teacher, Alice winked at me and elbowed the boy in the stomach, pointing over in my direction. I saw them talking quietly, glancing at me, but I just focused my attention on the teacher.

When the teacher gave us time to work in class and said we could work in groups, Alice was immediately at my side, the tall blonde guy lagging behind her. "Hi, Bella. Do you want to work together?" She asked eagerly, and I just thought for a moment before agreeing. "This is Jasper." Alice said, pointing to the boy as he dragged over two desks, one for her as well as one for himself. "He's my BFF." She added, and I saw Jasper wince slightly at the term.

"I'm Bella." I offered.

"He knows." Alice interrupted, sitting down in her seat and propping her elbows up.

"I can talk for myself, Al." Jasper chuckled, and then winked at me as he sat down in his own desk. "Hi, Bella. Like Alice said…I'm just her BFF." I noticed the subtle just that Jasper included in his phrasing, and I wondered what was really going on there.

But before I could say anything in response, someone tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, can I work with you guys?" It was Mike. Jasper and Alice and I agreed after a moment's hesitation, moving our desks over so that Mike could fit in. It didn't take long for Mike to figure out that we really weren't planning to work on our assignment, that we were just talking. "Mike, are you dating Jessica?" Alice asked bluntly, cutting into the conversation and staring right at Mike with a questioning look on her face. Mike looked startled for a moment, and cast a glance over at me.

"Um, no? I mean, I really don't think so…I mean, we went to a movie last week but Lauren Mallory and Tyler Crowley were with us so I didn't think that counted. It's not a date if you're with a group, I think. Or do you think that Jessica-"

"Okay." Alice said with a smile, cutting him off. "I was just wondering." And then she changed the subject…she was practically bipolar. "Bella, are you dating anyone?" She asked, and I stiffened slightly as I thought of Edward. "Ooh…you're blushing! Who's the guy?"

I shook my head, ducking my head slightly. "Not really." I said, trying not to reveal anything. "He's just…a guy." I said shortly. "From back in Seattle."

"A long distance relationship?" Alice asked sympathetically, and I just shrugged my shoulders. "That must be hard. I get it, one time I dated a guy that lived in Port Angeles. But I got bored of it after like a week."

"Some people are different, Alice." Jasper said softly, putting his hand on Alice's shoulder. "And you change your mind constantly, no one was surprised when you and that guy broke up. Not even Rosalie, and she's your best friend." Jasper pointed out.

Alice's face brightened for a moment, ignoring Jasper, and glanced over at me. "Rosalie is my other best friend. And Emmet, he's her boyfriend. The four of us skipped school yesterday to spend the day in Port Angeles. But shh, don't tell!" Alice said happily, and I looked towards Jasper, silently agreeing with him about the whole 'Alice changes her mind constantly' thing.

Maybe these people, Jasper and Alice and the other two they spoke of, could be the only friends I would need until I finally got the hell out of this high school

......

I hope you enjoyed that one as well! We'll be seeing more Avery/Edward/Bella time in the next chapter, don't worry. And we'll be meeting Charlie as well. I'm pretty busy this weekend, my brother is graduating high school, but I should be able to update on Monday.

Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie