God, I'm so sorry. I owe you guys a big apology. You don't even want to know what's going on with me. I have major trials starting tomorrow and I wanted to get this out before I'm away for another 2 months (although hopefully i won't be). It's been written for ages, and i know its short, Its really only the beginning of Chapter 10, but its something.

Last time:

The bell rang and we headed off to class. I said my goodbyes and made my way towards the classroom not completely aware of my surroundings until I slammed into something hard. Fortunately I didn't lose my balance.

"I'm so sorry." I said, looking up to see who I had bumped into. I immediately felt my eyes widen. The guy I had run into was hot. Scratch that, he was gorgeous. He was tall, towering over me although that wasn't a very hard thing to do. He had sparkling blue eyes and perfect, angular features with a 5 o' clock shadow. His blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and he was sporting a very cool black leather jacket. He was definitely buff, evident from the white shirt under the leather jacket which accentuated his toned abs. He was sporting tight faded blue jeans and wearing black converses. All together a very pretty package and it was obvious he was a rebel, he had the bad boy look down pat.

"And who might you be?" He inquired, a hint of a southern accent noticeable in his voice.

"Bella S-Swan." I stuttered, cursing my lack of composure.

He stuck his hand out and smiled a mega-watt smile, flashing his perfectly straight white teeth.

"I'm James, James Sutherland."

I spent the rest of the hours leading up to lunch in a daze. James had opened the door for me like a perfect gentleman and by the end of the hour he had all the girls in the class wrapped around his little finger. Instead of repelling the attention though, he seemed to soak it up like a well adjusted sponge, as if he had been the new guy many times before.

As much as I liked him, there was something off about him, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. When I entered the cafeteria, clambering over the threshold with my hands full of books, he diligently took them from me and led me to my table, placing the books down next to Emmett and giving me a wink as he strutted over to where Mike and Jacob were seated.

I could just hear the entire female population eliciting a silent moan of frustration that he hadn't picked them out from the crowd, it was quite sickening really. I sat down, aware that a million pairs of eyes were trained on my every movement, my thoughts only recognizing those of my two best friends.

"So?" Alice leaned towards me expectantly.

I gave her a blank look, unaware of what she was asking.

"What's he like?" She whispered, casting furtive glances around the room.

I shrugged nonchalantly.

"C'mon, give us something!" Rose hissed, unaware that her boyfriend was scowling silently next to me.

"Um... he wears nice clothes?" I replied hesitantly.

"No shit!" Alice scowled, "You're absolutely no help, I'll just have to squeeze it out of him." A wicked gleam suddenly appearing across her pixie like features.

To be continued....