Here's Chapter 2! I was so excited to get back to writing and had so much inspiration that I ended up starting the second chapter literally as soon as I finished the first one.

DISCLAIMER: Twilight and all of its many wonderful characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

I hope you enjoy!

They walked —no, glided— in with the ethereal grace that should only belong to an angel. Their visage resembled that of Greek gods and goddesses. Looking away was almost impossible. As they entered the room they moved as one unit and it was as if they were walking in slow motion. It was the kind of entrance you saw in the movies; the kind that was only reserved for the most important characters.

"Hello? Earth to Bella?" Jessica's voice broke her out of her reverie, the brunette barely tearing her eyes away from the mysterious group of students to address her classmate.

"Sorry, I was just... Who are they?" she asked casually. Bella tried her absolute best to keep her interest in check. The apparent models on the other side of the cafeteria had somehow managed to intrigue her in a way that none of the others could. She couldn't quite explain why.

"Oh yeah, those are the Cullens. They were adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife, but it's kind of weird actually. They're all together. Like together together. The big guy, that's Emmett and he and Rosalie are like a thing. So are Edward and Alice." It didn't take much to realize just who Edward and Alice were. The smaller girl made it very obvious just how smitten she was with the other boy. Then again, from the way he looked at her, it was as if she hung the moon or something.

"And him?"

The remaining Cullen was one blond boy, his hair a stark difference to his eyes which were black as night. It was almost as if he could hear her muttered words even from the other side of the large space. His eyes flickered up in her direction.

"That's Jasper. He's not with anyone, but trust me, it's not for a lack of trying. Apparently nobody around here is good enough for him." The bitter tone in Jessica's voice hadn't escaped her and Bella wondered just how badly that particular rejection had gone.

Bella tried her best to be inconspicuous as she tried to get a good look at Jasper without getting caught. Though his eyes were cast down, she thought she spotted a hint of smile on his lips. A chill ran down her spine for some unknown reason. She couldn't shake the feeling that he knew that they were talking about him.

He wasn't as tall as his brother Emmett nor did he have the classic romantic looks that Edward had been blessed with. No, there was something else about him that caught Bella's attention. His pursed lips and blonde waves were the first to catch her eye. His chiseled features and fierce stare intensified everything about him. He sat there so still, his eyes fixed to that one spot on the lunch table that she was sure his relentless gaze would burn a hole right through the surface. Being the odd man out of the bunch was something she understood all too well. Perhaps it was the reason she felt such a connection to the other student. Perhaps it was the other reason she couldn't seem to look away, his explicit attractiveness being the first.

Her gaze on Jasper broke once more, but not because of someone at her own table. No, she was experiencing that familiar feeling. The one she had felt all day. Her eyes switched focus only to see Edward staring at her with a curious expression. His own dark eyes shot back and forth from her to Jasper before attempting to hide an amused upwards quirk of his perfectly pouty lips. His lips pressed gently against Alice's ear, murmuring something. Bella turned back to her practically untouched lunch, unable to see Alice also glance up at her. Regardless, she still felt the eyes, hoping to whatever higher power was out there that she could pretend that moment hadn't happened.

The bell rang eventually, though not soon enough and Bella made sure to bolt out of there before she had any other uncomfortable social interactions.

English was her last class for the day and she hoped that the hour would go by quickly. Books had always been a source of enjoyment for Bella. For one, they didn't require anyone else's company. Reading in solitude allowed her to have all the adventures a person could possibly want without having to leave the comfort of her bed or couch. The brunette did her best to find the class on time, but the second bell rang before she could. As she stumbled into the full classroom all eyes were on her.

"Sorry... I 'm still figuring my way out around here."

The teacher waved her hand at Bella's words, obviously giving her a pass on her first day. As Bella scanned the room, she looked for any empty desks, but by the time her eyes landed on the one and only available seat, the teacher spoke again.

"Isabella, you may take the seat next to Jasper. Jasper raise your hand please."

The action was completely unnecessary considering it was the only desk that wasn't occupied in the entire classroom, but Bella waited as Jasper reluctantly raised his hand. She made her way over to the seat, slipping into it without much fuss. She snuck a glance over at Jasper. Everything about his posture was forced; his jaw and fists clenched as if he was holding back the urge to scream or hurl. His movements were small, but quick as he pulled out a pencil to take notes. Class went on and Bella tried her very best to not upset him by making any sudden movements or speaking out of turn. Bella felt as though she was the reason for his sour mood, but she couldn't quite figure out what she had done to deserve such indignation from someone who was virtually a stranger to her.

One by one, their English teacher picked out students to come up to the whiteboard and write their answers from their last homework assignment. When Jasper's name was called, he seemed almost relieved. Bella discreetly took a sniff of her shirt, only getting the faint scent of detergent and fabric softener on the clothing. As Jasper stood at the whiteboard, he seemed relaxed. There wasn't a terribly notable difference, but Bella could tell that somehow he was grateful for the classroom's distance between them. She stared ahead at the board as he finished writing and moved back to his desk next to her. His writing was so beautiful you would think he'd been practicing his penmanship for decades. Everything about his response from the handwriting to the vocabulary to the grammar was impeccable.

Bella snuck another look at him, but the blond student had returned to his former strained look as he sat beside her. Once again, the bell couldn't have rung fast enough and yet at the same time Bella wished for more time. More time to perhaps pluck up the courage and ask him if he was okay. The shrill bell rang throughout the classroom and Jasper was the first one up and out of his seat.

Bella couldn't help, but feel slightly offended at his behavior. That entire last hour he didn't even introduce himself. Granted, that was exactly what she had been hoping for from everyone else all day, but with the impression he had made on her at lunch, a small part of her hoped he would at least tell her his name in person. As she made her way out to the parking lot and her truck, she could see the Cullens getting into a sleek new Volvo, Jasper already in the driver's seat. He locked eyes with her for a split second before reversing out of the parking space and racing out of the lot. Her eyes followed the car as it continued to zoom down the street and out of sight.

She shook her head slightly to herself as she stood there before making her way over to her truck and revving up the engine to make her way home.

Bella took it upon herself to make dinner that evening. It provided her with a much needed distraction from the day's events and figured Charlie was probably still hopeless when it came to cooking.

"Something smells great," his voice sounded at the front door, keys jingling as he set them down. "You didn't have to cook Bells."

"Oh I know. I wanted to. Plus, you can't live off of takeout forever." Charlie laughed halfheartedly at her words and she knew that, that was probably how he had been getting by all this time.

"I'm gonna head up and take a quick shower. What's for dinner?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs. It'll be ready by the time you get back down," she replied, testing the sauce before adding a dash more salt.

Bella and her dad spent most of their dinner in comfortable silence, but she knew he would ask her about her day at some point. "How was your first day?"

And there it was.

"Great," she lied, "Everyone was actually pretty nice. I think I made a couple of friends already." That second part wasn't a total lie. He nodded, merely mumbling "good" in response to her words.

"Hey dad?" Charlie perked up at the address. "Do you know the Cullens? I saw them at school today, but they didn't really say anything." Everything about him changed in that moment. Bella wondered if the Cullens were bad company or maybe Charlie just had beef with them. "The Cullens are a good bunch. Dr. Cullen could probably work at any hospital in the world and make whatever amount of money he asked for, but he's here in Forks out of the goodness of his heart. Those kids of his have never given me trouble either. We're just lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. If anyone at school says anything untoward about the Cullens, you just let it in one ear and out the other. "

He seemed enthusiastically in favor of the Cullens regardless of how cold and distant the bunch seemed. She had seen it with her own two eyes. They kept to themselves and the mere thought of interaction outside their family seemed to disgust them. Well... At least one of them.

"Thanks for dinner. It was delicious," Charlie sighed, picking up his dirty plate and heading over to the sink to wash up. He made quick work of cleaning up the plate before letting it sit in the dish rack to dry off. "I'll be in the living room if you need me."

Bella nodded in response, getting up to wash off her own plate. She lingered at the sink though, lost in thought about what the next day at school would bring. Perhaps this time she might even gather the courage to open her mouth in front of Jasper.

There we go! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2 and look forward to hearing your thoughts. Special shoutout to cathy29jes for their kind review on Chapter 1. I'm glad you are liking it so far.

I'm so excited for Jasper and Bella to actually talk and get to know one another and fall in love and I know all of this exposition is kind of "been there, read that" but I need to set this up properly because that's what Bella and Jasper deserve. I promise it'll pick up. :D Thank you for bearing with me and stay tuned for more exciting moments up ahead.