Bella tried to keep her hands from shaking as she stepped into the packed auditorium. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered as she looked around, searching for a familiar face. She was instantly relieved when she spotted Jasper Whitlock waving from across the sea of people. Bella pushed through groups of chattering friends until she was by his side.
"Hey! I'm glad I found you." Bella said as she crushed him into a hug. Jasper laughed, "Me too, I thought I'd get trampled in here, never to be seen again!" Bella giggled and rolled her eyes.
Jasper had been her best friend since he moved to Forks in third grade. With his messy blond hair and dark, laughing blue eyes, he had the attention of a lot of girls, but he never went farther than harmless flirting.
Jasper was well known throughout the school for being a baseball prodigy, but wasn't exactly popular. He was invited to parties and everyone liked him, but he wasn't part of the "in" crowd. Bella sometimes wondered if it was because of her. She was still shocked he hadn't ditched her to hang out with more interesting people, but for some reason unknown to her, Jasper stuck around and was always there for her, and Bella was eternally grateful.
Bella's eyes grazed the crowd, first spotting Alice Brandon, writing furiously in a small red leather book. Bella noticed that she had gotten her lip pierced over the summer, a small diamond glittered. She was dressed in her usual black super skinny jeans paired with a deep purple top and grey high top converse.
With her jet black hair, pale skin and wide, ice blue eyes, she was one of the most stunning girls Bella had ever seen. Bella bet a lot more guys would be interested in her if she wasn't such a freak. She spent her time in class writing poetry and drawing pictures of who knows what in her sketch book that she never let out of her sight.
A high-pitched giggle interrupted Bella's thoughts. She knew that unmistakable laugh and looked for the source. Rosalie Hale tossed back her long golden curls as she smiled with her dazzlingly white, straight teeth.
She looked perfect in her short, swingy pink dress and strappy silver sandals. Rosalie was the girl that all the other girls in their grade, and even older ones, wanted to be. With her perfectly toned body and shining, silky blond hair, all the boys wanted her. She was the girl to impress if you wanted to be part of the "in" crowd.
Rosalie had been laughing at something a boy near her had said. The boy was Edward Cullen, the son of a wealthy doctor and ex-supermodel-turned-interior-designer. He was also the boy Bella had loved for nearly three years. He had the most beautiful wavy, bronze-colored hair and piercing green eyes, that Bella had ever seen. Of course, he never noticed her.
But this was the year for change, and Bella swore it would be different.