Hey guys! I managed to get another chapter in as you can tell. I also want to give my thanks to those who took their time to read my story, I really appreciate. This being my first time and all means a lot.

Well then, enough of that sappy crap, on with the show!

Disclaimer:All characters, personalities, settings, etc. included within the story belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do not own nor will I ever own the Twilight series.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When it comes to a small town, it can be pretty easy to predict what would happen every day.

Michelle would sit next to me in English then walk with me to my next class, Erica glaring at her for trying to flirt with me, which I found flattering. I got used to sitting with a big group at lunch that included Michelle, Erica, Jessie, and a couple other people who I've gotten to remember their faces and names. Then again, today wasn't all smiles and sunshine. Not that I see much of either anyways.

I was tired because of the damn wind that kept rattling the house all night. Plus it got worse when Mrs. Varner called me out on a question that I had no idea what the answer was, embarrassing me in the process. And to top it off, I hit someone in the head with a volleyball when I tried to serve it. And the worst of all, Ella Cullen wasn't in school at all.

I really felt that I needed to confront her. Most of the night I just layed in bed wondering what I should say to her. But then again, I was never one to strike up a conversation out of the blue. I'm a bit of a coward when it comes to that.

Later in the day, I walked into the lunchroom with Jessie. I tried looking around to see if she was in here and maybe just skipped Biology. I saw that his adopted siblings were all sitting together, but no Ella.

Michelle saw us and brought us to the table, and everyone else joined us. I didn't really hear what they were saying. I was nervously waiting for the moment that Ella would arrive sometime during the day. She never showed up.

Michelle kept following me for the rest of school, like a faithful pet, throughout the day. She was starting to annoy me because of her constant presence. I definitely needed to do something about that, although that might be close to impossible to do in a small town.

When school was finally over, and that volleyball incident still fresh in my mind, I rushed to my truck swiftly, and a bit clumsily if I must admit. Nearly slammed into a light pole.

When I got into my truck, I pulled out a list of groceries that I had to buy for Charlie and me. Turns out she wasn't exactly the best of chefs.

After another half hour of heading to the store off the highway, I headed for home. When I got there, I put all of the groceries into whatever open space was available. I was just hoping that Charlie didn't mind steak and potatoes for dinner.

After doing all that, I headed upstairs for a much needed shower. After drying off, I threw on a grey tee shirt and some shorts and decided to check my e-mail for the first time in a while.

Most of what I got was from Dad wondering how I was doing, if I was settled in and if I liked it here. He started to type back frantically wondering why I didn't type back. I wanted to assure him of me being okay so I began to type.

Dad,

Everythings been pretty good, managed to settle in and got into school. School is a bit better than I thought it would, even made a few friends already. Charlie bought me a nice old truck as a homecoming gift. Its pretty sturdy, which is good news for someone like me. I miss you and love you. I'll write back to you whenever I can

Ben

At the moment I clicked send, I heard the front door close. I hurried downstairs to put the rest of dinner together, me being distracted with the emails and whatnot.

She was hanging up her gun belt when I got down the stairs. I honestly don't think she ever fired that while she was on the job, at least that I know of. He always took out the bullets out when I was a kid. I guess she thinks I'm old enough now not to go off and shoot anyone.

After finishing up dinner, I called Charlie into the kitchen to eat. we sat down in silence for a couple of minutes. She threw in a bit of small talk, asking how my day was and how school was going, if I was making any friends. I replied honestly, saying that everything was going good. There was one thing that I was too curious not to ask.

"Mom, have you heard of the Cullen family?" I asked timidly

"Sure have, Dr. Cullens family. She's a good surgeon."

"Well, his kids...they don't exactly fit in at school. They're pretty much outcasts."

The way she answered surprised me.

"Don't listen to the things you hear about them," she responded angrily. "They're a good group of kids that haven't done nothing to give them a bad name. I mean yeah, I had my doubts when they first moved in, thought that they might cause problems, but they haven't caused any problems. They're real quiet, but that's just about it."

I think that was the longest I've ever heard her speak. I guess she felt strongly what people say about each other.

"I know they're not bad people," I responded quickly. "I just noticed that they tend to keep to themselves."

"Well good," she said "Their dad works hard for this town. She's a brilliant surgeon who is an important asset to the town."

Well fell into silence at that note. After we finished eating, Charlie went back into the living room to watch TV while I cleaned the dishes. After that, I went upstairs, finished my homework and went to bed.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, but there was just one problem, at least to me.

Ella Cullen did not show up to school at all.

Every day, I would wait anxiously watching the door to the lunchroom when the Cullens entered the cafeteria without her. Then I was able to relax and chat with everyone at the table. Mike kept on talking about a trip to La Push Ocean Park that he was putting together in two weeks. I was asked to go and accepted, mostly to be polite, if anything.

My first weekend since arriving in Forks went by pretty fast. It was a bit boring though. Charlie worked most of the time, I tried to pass my time at the library, but they had so few books. I sent Dad a few e-mails saying that everything was going fine.

There wasn't a lot of rain over the weekend, so I was able to sleep pretty well.

When I got back to school on Monday morning, people greeted me when I pulled into the parking lot, even though I didn't know most of their names. Still, that gave me a boost in self-confidence for the day.

After English class with Michelle, we walked outside to the sky being filled with little bits of whiteness.

"It's snowing!" Michelle exclaims in wonder.

Well, that put a damper on my day…

"I really hate the snow," I complained.

Michelle laughed at that. And then she got pelted in the back of the head by a big snowball that I had no doubt was thrown by Erica. Probably because she was trying to hold back a laugh.

Michelle bent over and started to make a snowball. "I'll see you at lunch. I got a score to settle." I gave her a nod and headed inside.

When I entered the cafeteria, I glanced to the corner on the other side of the room out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. Ella Cullen was back.

Michelle and the others walked into the cafeteria covered in snow, laughing. They noticed that I was standing in the middle of the lunchroom.

"Is Ben okay?" Jessie asked Michele.

"I'm fine," I told them and headed towards the lunch line.

After that, I went and sat down instead of waiting for the others. I sat there wondering if it would be a good idea to skip Biology. This is ridiculous, I thought, I need to face this problem head on.

I sat there for the rest of the hour, dedicating myself to my self-assigned bargain. I didn't really feel like walking with Michelle to class. But whenever I tried to avoid her, she would pop out of nowhere and start chatting my ears off.

When I got to the classroom, the table was empty, much to my relief. Mrs. Banner walked around the classroom giving each table a set of slides. The bell didn't ring yet, so I occupied myself by looking over my notes.

I heard the chair move next to me, but didn't take my eyes from my notebook out of the fear of her glare.

"Excuse me," said a smooth, angelic voice.

I looked up at her, shocked that she was actually speaking to me. Her hair was soaking wet, almost as if she just went swimming. A light smile was on her soft, pink lips. I was a bit surprised to notice that she sat relatively close to me, her chair pointing in my direction.

"I never had the chance to introduce myself," she continued. "My name is Ella Cullen. You must be Ben Swan."

Now I was really confused. Just the other week, she was staring holes into my very soul, and now she was completely polite? I had to say something back.

"Uh, y-yeah thats me," I stuttered. Smooth…

She giggled a soft, silky laugh.

"Do you stumble over you words often?"

"No," I replied slowly "I'm just surprised that you know my name."

She giggled again. "I'm pretty sure everyone here knows your name. You're the talk of the town"

Of course I was. I guess that I'm the most interesting thing to happen in this town for a while.

"Well, is that a good or bad thing?" I asked nervously.

"Depends on how others see it," she replies, amusement evident in her eyes

I was about to reply when Mrs. Banner cut into our conversation, telling us to get to work. This was going to be easy. I've already done this lab so I knew what I was doing.

"Would you like to start?" Ella asked me. I looked up to see her smiling at me, her teeth exposed. If her smile could kill, I'd be a pile of ash.

"Or I could start, if you'd like." Her smile fading; she was probably wondering if I was insulted or mentally incompetent.

"No, that's ok. I'll start," I said quickly.

I snapped the first slide into place and studied the slide for a brief moment. "Prophase," I told her confidently.

"Could I have a look?" she asked as i started to remove the slide. She wrapped her hand around mine to stop me, while she asked. Her hand was as cold as ice, more so, even. I could tell that she had a strong grip, probably because she wouldn't let go when I tried to pull away.

"Forgive me," she muttered, as she slowly pulled her hand back to her, along with the microscope. I sat there shocked, as she observed the slide.

"Prophase," she agreed while writing the answer on the worksheet

I kept my voice steady. "May I?"

She smiled and pushed the microscope towards me.

I looked through the eyepiece only to be greeted with the same answer.

"Slide three?" I asked with my hand outstretched.

"Here," she said handing it to me. Her hand brushed against mine, almost as if she wanted to touch me.

"Interphase," I announced after a brief glance into the microscope. She took a quick peek and then wrote it down. I was willing to write it down while she studied the slide, but I didn't want my ugly handwriting to ruin her elegant font.

We finished before anyone else. In the meantime, I did my best not to look at her...only to end up doing that exact thing. I looked up to be greeted with the same look of curiosity that I saw so many weeks ago. It was then that I noticed something different.

"Are you wearing contacts?" I asked.

"No," she responded, puzzled by the randomness of my question.

"Huh, I could've swore that there was something different about them."

"They've always been the same color," she answered with a shrug, then looked away.

I swear that they were black the last time I saw them. Now they're a golden honey color that almost seemed to glow in the light. Maybe I was just seeing things then. I was pretty stressed.

Mrs. Banner came by, wondering if I actually participated in the lab. But Ella told her that I actually did the work. I explained to her that I already did a similar lab like this back in Phoenix. Ella talked about the snow and how it was a shame that it melt away. I expressed my distaste for snow and she looked at me, fascinated.

"Why did you move here then?" she asked

"Well," I started slowly, "My dad got remarried last September."

"Do you not like her?" she asked.

"No, Phillis is fine. I just think that she's a bit young for him. She travels a lot for softball; she plays for a living."

"Have I heard of her?" she asked, smiling in response.

"I doubt it. She's not exactly in the big leagues. She tends to move around alot."

"So he sent you here so he can travel with her," she surmised.

I raised my chin. "I came here on my free will. I could've went with her."

"But then why did you move here?" she asked. I honestly don't know why I was explaining this to her, she seemed unnecessarily frustrated with my responses.

"I wanted him to be happy with her, so I decided to fly out here to live with my mom."

"But now you're the one who's unhappy," she pointed out.

"So?" I asked.

"That isn't very fair if you ask me," she admitted.

I laughed humorously. "Life isn't exactly fair."

She stared at me oddly. "You put on a good show. But I bet that you're suffering more that you care to show others."

I resisted pouting like a kid, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of being right.

"Am I wrong?"

I didn't respond, trying to ignore her.

"Thats what I thought." I can literally hear the smirk on her face.

"Why does it matter to you?" I blurted, irritated by her nosy questions.

"That's a very good question," she muttered quietly, almost as if she was talking to herself. She didn't talk for a few seconds, so I turned my attention to the whiteboard.

"I hope I'm not annoying you," she asked. She sounded concerned, which once again confused me.

I glanced back at her. "No," I admitted. "I'm just annoy with myself. I've always been an open book."

"If so, I find you very difficult to read." She sounded sincere when she said that. Or maybe my mind's playing tricks on me.

"Must be a pretty good reader then," I replied.

"Most of the time," she replied with a wide smile, showing all of her white teeth.

I turned my attention to Mrs. Banner when she started talking. I can't believe that I explained my depressing life to this strange, beautiful girl. I can't tell if she likes me or hates me with a passion.

When the bell rang Ella strided gracefully out of the room like she did the other week. I stared after her in amazement.

On my way towards P.E. Michelle followed me once again and started babbling endlessly...again.

It was raining lightly when I headed for the truck. I turned on the heater immediately, not even caring about the loud monster that is the engine. I looked around me to make sure that I wasn't going to hit anyone. That's when I noticed Ella Cullen sitting on the hood of her silver Volvo, once again staring at me with her constant curiosity. I was so distracted that I almost hit the car behind me. I threw the shift into Drive and sped off passed the Volvo. And when I looked back in the rearview mirror, I would swear that I saw her giggling.

Yeah, I'm definitely seeing things today.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, there ya have it! For this story I decided to make Ella(Edward) less distant to others and have a bit of a warmer personality when it comes to Ben(Bella), as you can tell with the physical contact.

She'll want more contact with Ben, like she craves his warmth. Also she'll still be cautious of her control, but she won't be overly so like in the book. Just lemme know what you think.

Until next time!