Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight; it is the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are mine. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to my lovely Beta Biddy429 !!!

Chapter 5

High School

The week passed slowly but I enjoyed the time I spent with Charlie and tried to not get worked up that I would be going to high school in a few days. I made almost every dinner for Charlie and I though it took a bit of work at first to think of things that I could make that we would both want to eat. I also concentrated on trying to get my body back into the cycle of waking early, being active throughout the day and hopefully being tired enough to fall asleep the minute my head hit the pillow. It was quite hard to do but I tried to persevere.

The Sunday before was the hardest, I was antsy and Charlie noticed but did not say anything but diplomatically tried to avert my attention to things that would calm me down. Unfortunately, none of it worked too well but we decided that we would get together after school at the diner and have a talk. Its nice to talk with Charlie, we seem to be on the same wavelength, it was as if we were really father and daughter, obviously that was not the case but we were blood related.

That night I sat staring out my window, and as I look into the darkness of the night I plead with my mind not to let me dream of the all the things that hurt me, all the horrible things and surprisingly the beautiful things too. I knew it would make no difference but I still hoped as I have every night for years. Tomorrow was my first day of school and this was my chance to feel normal again, one of the crowd, not that I ever was, but this was my chance and I was not going to blow it now! Let me only dream of sticking out there or not making any friends instead of the past.

"Ready for bed Bells?" Charlie asked standing in my doorway.

I looked up at him and said "Oh Hi Charlie", moving away from the window to hug him good night. My pyjama pants were too long and I nearly slipped into him when I stepped off the rug. He grabbed my arms stabilizing me chuckling and I blushed deeply and straightened out. "Yes I am." I answered once he finished laughing which only made me blush worse 'ah embarrassment my old friend.'

He smiled shaking his head and turned to leave the room. He closed the door after wishing me a good night. He didn't say sweet dreams anymore as I have woken him up too many times in the middle of the night for him to think it was possible for me to sleep soundly anymore. As I got into bed I heard Charlie shut the door to his bedroom across the hall from me. I smile at the thought of knowing he is so close by and making me feel safe for a change.

As I lay in my bed, willing sleep to claim me, my mind went around in circles wondering how the people of Forks, more accurately how the students of Forks High would react to me. It isn't common for people to start in the middle of the semester so I wonder if they are going to think I'm a freak. I tried to imagine the worse reaction they could have and ended up giggling as I thought of them calling me a witch, twit, nerd or something equally stupid. Some people are strange but I have no problem with lies they don't hurt as much as an honest opinion that you suck or aren't worth their time.

I don't know what time I eventually fell into a restless sleep, but I dreamed of an angel with the

sweetest laugh, her smile made my heart glow but soon I was alone and the ache in my heart overwhelmed me. I shot up in my bed, drenched in my own tears trying desperately to make some sense of the dream. All I could feel was the pain of loss and the joy of life, so strange, so emotional, and so lost. I looked at the clock and realised that I had another two hours before I needed to get up! I was so not going to get anymore sleep tonight so I got up and headed to the shower. The water flowing over my body seem to ease some of the confusion and the dream slowly dissipated from my mind. I dressed and lay on top of my bed with a book until it was time to go downstairs for breakfast.

I was sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal in front of me when Charlie came downstairs. I had hardly touched it; I looked up and smiled my greeting to him. He looked at me and I could see that he knew how I was feeling but he said nothing. He fixed his own breakfast and sat down across the table from me and judging by the way he looked this morning, he had as little sleep as I had. I hated when I kept him awake, it was just not fair. I thought that maybe if I finish my breakfast then that would give him at least one thing less to worry about.

Charlie cleared his throat and spoke gruffly "Bells, are you sure you are up to going to school today, it looks like you have not slept much at all!"

I had walked to the sink to clear my dishes by this time and was in the midst of returning to my seat. "Charlie, you worry too much, I will be fine so please stop worrying about me, I am a big girl you know, anyway it's not like I wouldn't be nervous whatever day I start a new school"

"Well then, I should get going, first I need to go to the office and get my schedule and everything" I said and after a few moments silence, Charlie nodded his agreement. We both reached for our jackets and moved towards the front door. We stepped outside and when I looked at the California and Charlie's cruiser both in the driveway I could not believe how out of place my new car looked in Charlie's driveway! Oh well, you can't have everything can you?

"Try to have a good day kiddo" He called as he got into the cruiser and drove off to work. I waved and nodded at him. Quickly settling myself into my car and setting off for school.

Thankfully the rain was not too heavy this morning so driving was not much of an issue today. I was a little nervous as I had not driven much in the rain at all, but my worries were groundless. I reached the school and as I turned into the parking lot I wondered where to park so I opted for not too close to the front building and closer to the main body of the interconnected buildings that made up the school. Darting up to the main office I walked into a room filled with plants, can they not get enough green in this town I thought!

I approached the woman behind the desk whose head shot up as if she had completely missed the sound of my entrance. She did not speak but looked at me questionably, "Um... Hi I'm Bella, I'm the new student?"

"Hello dear, I'm Mrs Cope. I have your papers for you here somewhere" She said and I waited as she looked through stacks of papers. I would go nuts if I had to work in such a mess but that's just me. "Oh, here you go dear, you need to get each of your teachers' to sign this one and then bring it to me here after school alright?" she asked and I nodded noting which one was to be the autographed one, taking the papers and leaving the office. My locker was close to my first class and I quickly dropped my bag in and went to find the class room and wait for the other students and the teacher to arrive.

"Hi" A voice called from behind me and I turned to look at its source. A dark haired lanky and vaguely nerdy boy looked at me sheepishly and I smiled at him. It was kind of funny that he looked more uncomfortable then I did.

"Hi there, I'm Bella" I said extending my hand out to him. After a moment he took it and shook it vigorously.

"Hi I'm Erik I think we have first period together" he said replied finally letting my hand drop.

"Sweet, nice to meet you too Erik would you like to sit with me or does... umm... Mr Kelsing have a seating plan?" I asked nearly forgetting the teacher's name, Erik smiled again.

"No, no seating plan and I would love to sit with you" he said. I relaxed a bit when no one made anything other than a casual glance in my direction. As the class progressed I remembered the slip I needed to get signed and got up to go and do so when Erik frowned and I looked at him confused. "Where you going?" he asked trying to hide his hurt.

I explained quickly trying to erase his hurt expression, "I've got to get my slip signed I'll be right back" I said showing him the paper and he relaxed again. The kid thought I had changed my mind and was going to sit elsewhere! I thought I had problems! Mr. Kelsing warned me that he tolerated no fraternization during his lecture and I mock saluted him and he frowned. This could be interesting if a simple joke gets that reaction from him.

"So what other classes do you and I share?" I whisper pulling out my schedule and he compared his to mine and sighed.

"We have first and last period together" He said and I giggled.

"Well we could have lunch together so we might actually get to talk to each other" I said and he seemed more confident. The kid could use an ego boost and I would happily help him with that if he continues to be nice and not creepy or overly attentive. Class has started and other than eye rolls and soft giggles Erik and I didn't converse the entire period.

Kelsing glared at me a couple of times but I did my best to make him not notice me. My eyes were glued to the board and him while he spoke, thankfully I could multitask and write without really looking at the page. Useful for writing notes and passing notes!

We parted ways for the next class which was Algebra II, I handed the teacher my slip before looking for a seat. The only open seat was next to a small black haired girl that smiled at me but made no move to talk to me. She looked like she was concentrating on something so I let her be.

I noticed that the girl had great bone structure and in the back of my head I mapped her face thinking of a painting that I could create with a pixy faced girl. I blushed and tried to pay more attention to the class. I couldn't nail down a story line that fitted with her so I settled for having mapping her face. Even though I was sitting near the back, most of the class managed to stare at me at some point during the class. No one made any comments however so I just shrugged it off as being the new kid.

The class passed quickly enough and I tried to concentrate on the lecture and taking notes. Having studied on my own from the text books for so long I was going to have some issues with lectures. After this class finished I walked slowly to my history class wondering what this lecture would be like. Having read so many books and articles on different eras in the past I wondered what the focus of this class would be. I was so engrossed in my own thoughts that I completely missed my classroom and ended up late.

"Sorry" I said walking in and handing my slip to the teacher. Her sour expression was enough to tell me that I wasn't going to enjoy this class. I looked around and found the only empty seat yet again which was beside a blonde haired boy. I walked over and took my place. A couple of the other people in the class looked like they would have talked to me but I seem to get put next to the kids that really don't want to be bothered. Pushing the thoughts away I looked over at him and dang, the boy had a great face.

If everyone I sat next to were all going to ignore me then thank the heavens that at least they had interesting facial dynamics. That was far more nerdy and artsy than I intended, oh well embrace the dorkiness I thought shrugging to myself! As I thought more about this I realised that the pixy and the blonde guy's faces would work well together, as a couple I mean. Again I couldn't think of a story line but knowing I could put them together was nice.

Realising that I hadn't been paying any attention to the lecture I turned my focus back to the teacher as she talked on and on about... nothing. I quickly glanced around me and found most of the students were trying to stay awake. Lovely, my first history class and I get the teacher that can talk about nothing for an indefinite amount of time. I glanced at the boy next to me and made a sad and horrified face and he chuckled and nodded. Well that's something, maybe I just have to break them out of their shells.

As the bell rang I extended my hand to the boy next to me and smiled. He stopped staring at my hand and then at my face and I looked up at him and waited for him to brush passed me or to take my hand. He is really tall I feel absolutely tiny next to him; finally he took my hand and shook it gently.

"I'm Bella what's your name?" I asked as he let go of my hand.

"Jasper" he said and smiled slightly at me and I grinned at him. He looked confused and a little startled by me but that's nothing new.

"Nice to meet you Jasper hope to see you next class" I said walking towards the door and out into the corridor. I was proud that I at least had his name now and that he seemed to not mind me too much. As I walked to my locker I thought about how his face had seemed pained the entire class and especially as I spoke to him. Maybe he's really shy and is uncomfortable around people. It's a good thing then that I only spoke to him for a minute or so. He seemed nice just a bit standoffish.

"Hey Bella!" Erik called as he walked towards me and. I smiled and waved at him and the students in the hall looked between the two of us as though it didn't make sense.

"Hey Erik, so are we having lunch together then?" I asked and he beamed at my words and even more so when I took his arm in mine and walked towards the cafeteria needing to buy my lunch.

"Well I thought in the cafe since its raining" He said still completely happy and I nodded smiling.

Walking into the cafeteria was like suddenly being an exhibit in a zoo, unnerving and not much fun. One girl looked at me like I had killed her pet hamster or something but I ignored it as a boy with blond hair and a slight acne problem came running towards me. Erik's face fell but I tried to ignore it for now. I got the feeling that there was a lot of puppy love in the air and I was the puppy! I really hoped that Erik and this new guy were not close!

"Hi Erik!" He called and then his gaze shifted to me and I felt the beginnings of anger as I realised he looked like starved man and I was his first meal. Not that it wasn't flattering but having never met him before that look was way too forward, almost like a leech. "Who's your friend Erik?" he asked never looking away from me. I definitely didn't like him. Why do I have the feeling I was going to have a problem with him if he got the wrong idea? Best to just stay away from him I really hope he and Erik aren't close.

"Mike." Erik sighed and then he seemed to be suppressing his disappointment before continuing, but I cut him off. Yes they weren't friends!

"My name is Bella. Mike and I was on my way to get my lunch with Erik if you don't mind" I said politely but sternly indicating that he was not welcome at all. Mike didn't hear it so I rolled my eyes and took Erik's arm and pulled him forward in the line. Apparently 'leave me alone' means 'follow me' to Mike as he tagged after us and I did my best to ignore his staring at me. Oh yeah this boy was on his way to Creeperville.

Erik was beaming as we made our way through the line, pleased no doubt that I chose him over Mike. Not a hard choice but it seems as though girls usually choose Mike. Erik led me to a table where another girl and boy were sitting at and I smiled at them. I wasn't surprised when they smiled and waved back as we approached. Now I just felt silly for thinking they would treat me as a leper.

I found out quickly that the girls name was Angela and the boy, her boyfriend was called Ben. I introduced myself and felt completely at ease with them. School was going to be better than I had originally thought. Angela and I had third, fourth and fifth periods together and Ben and I only had lunch or fourth period together. I was disappointed when Angela mentioned that the only available seat wasn't next to her and that Mr. Varner wasn't going to change his seating plan.

"So who am I sitting with in Bio II?" I asked and she looked behind me and pointed subtly to a table that held five astoundingly beautiful people. Wow and I thought I would stick out here. I noticed the pixy girl and Jasper were at the table. Now that I thought about it they were extremely beautiful and I had just been caught up in their faces to notice the whole package. They were sitting together and I really hoped they were together as they really suited one another.

"They are the Cullens, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster children. You'll be sitting next to Edward, the coppery haired one" She said and my eyes locked on Edward as he turned and stared straight back at me. I blushed and quickly looked away embarrassed at being caught staring.

"It's weird though other than Edward they are all dating each other. Rosalie and Jasper are twins, the blond ones. And Rosalie is dating Emmett and Jasper is dating Alice. It's nice that they found love and all that but it must be weird kinda being siblings you know?" she said wistfully. Angela was not being mean or nasty about it she was genuinely concerned at what other people seemed to think of them and treat them. I however was really happy that I was right about Alice and Jasper!

At that moment I knew Angela and I could easily be close friends. If I let her in that is, I'm not sure but if anyone is going to be a close friend I would like it to be her. I smiled at her and nodded my thanks for the information. She smiled back and got up gesturing that we should head to class or we might be late. We walked in a comfortable silence and I was thankful to Erik for being friends with such a nice girl and introducing us, though I am sure we would have met eventually. It's nice to meet someone so quickly – it will make everything a lot less painful.