A/N: For better or worse This is gonna be entirely different from the original. Expect the characters to act pretty much nothing like their canon counterparts. The vampires aren't going to have their 'talents.' Mostly because I don't like them. Also, Alice and Jasper aren't going to be a couple in this fic. That's because I don't like all of the Cullens just being couples. (Sorry Jalice folks if any of you still exist) I'm also changing the ages of the Cullens. (Basically everyone but Carlisle) This is also to switch around the dynamics of the characters. On top of that the date the story takes place is 2010. If any of that turns ya off, feel free not to read. I have a few things planned out but aside from that I'm just excited to see how this turns out. :)
Bella never thought about the idea of her death. Not until this moment. She was in the driver's seat of a Mustang. One of her hands was gripping the wheel so tightly it was starting to turn white. Her other hand was on Julie's arm.
The world outside was a blur of streaks and lights. Bella had lost control of the car. She didn't have time to panic, yet she had so much time to think.
One of her nails was chipped. How had that happened? Was it during the scuffle? It didn't hurt so it probably wasn't that bad. Her hair was whipping every which way in the wind.
The radio had gone silent. It had been playing static ever since they'd driven out of the county.
Julie, the idiot who had gotten herself caught up in Bella's mess wasn't wearing her seatbelt. She was cradling her arm as if it were a baby. Blood stained her pant leg and the hem of her blouse.
You're running from the police.
Ah yes. Bella recalled now.
What happened?
You screwed everything up.
Bella cursed her pessimistic mind. But she understood its point. There were several cop cars probably right on their ass, watching them spin out of control.
Bella started to piece together the situation in her head. But just as everything snapped into place, Julie screamed.
"No!"
A police SUV appeared from the darkness in front of them.
Bella never saw what happened next. But she knew. She could imagine the deafening crunch of the two vehicles colliding. Pieces of metal and glass flying in every which way.
Julie ripped from her seat and soaring through the air.
Bella hated thinking about that. But she couldn't get the image out of her head.
As the cops ripped Bella from the driver's seat and threw her down. She saw. She saw something she should have never seen.
A body lying just up the road. It was illuminated by one of the Mustang's intact headlights. A spotlight. As if the universe itself wanted Bella to have that image ingrained in her head.
Julie would lay there, unmoving, in a pool of her own blood.
Bella would stare. At some point, the cops would fade away, and everything else would fade away. But she wouldn't look away. She would just stare.
Then, she'd fall. Fall through an eternal nothingness. Somehow, she'd feel the ground coming, even though she couldn't see anything. She would hit it and she would die.
But Bella never did. The nightmare would end, and she'd wake up. Always disappointed.
This time was particularly bad. Bella was sweating and cold. She had a blanket, but it seemed to trap all the coldness in her. She took deep breaths and tried to roll over. Except she couldn't roll.
It took Bella a few awkward attempts to roll over before she realized she was sitting up. She was on an airplane.
Bella shifted in her seat for a few more minutes before surrendering to discomfort. She wiped her face with her collar and sighed.
What a day.
Bella glanced out the window and tried not to let her mind wander. Once her mind started it was impossible to stop.
She didn't want to think about her dream and what it meant. She knew exactly what it meant. She didn't need to be reminded of Julie.
That night was two years ago. Bella had ended two lives that night. Julie's and a police officer named Oliver Penn.
Bella's stomach lurched at the memory.
Her mother, Renee begged Bella to get out of the car. She'd wanted Bella to calm down and think. So kind and considerate. She was always that way. She always had Bella's best interests in mind.
Bella returned that kindness by trying to run the poor woman over. She didn't, though. She actually took out the mailbox.
Nonetheless, Renee hired the most expensive lawyer she could find to talk Bella's sentencing down to two years. The smart lawyer guy argued that the cops pursued the girls aggressively and that's what ultimately caused the wreck.
Two murders.
Two years.
It wasn't enough.
Now that Bella was free again. Renee wanted nothing to do with her. Bella couldn't blame her. She stole the woman's car and tried to hit her with it.
Bella was going to spend the rest of her foreseeable future with her father, Charlie. He was a police chief in a small town called Forks.
Bella grew up in Forks. She'd spent most of her developmental years there. Somehow, she didn't remember a single thing about the place.
She vaguely remembered learning to hunt with Charlie and a friend of his. She sort of remembered what Charlie's house looked like.
It didn't really matter, though. Bella's life was over. As far as she was concerned, she died in that car, alongside her best friend. It's what she deserved after all.
~E~
Edward woke slowly. He smelled sweet wafts of cinnamon. He was in a small candlelit bedroom. There was a pit in his stomach. A deep hunger.
He licked his dry lips and raised a hand to his face.
"Oh!" A girl's voice piped up.
Edward groaned, forcing his heavy eyelids open. The world slowly came into view around him.
A young woman with short spiky brown hair was sitting in a chair by his bed. She was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt and black slacks. Her skin was a warm orange in the candlelight.
"You're alive?" The woman asked. "Um."
Edward sat up with a groan. He saw himself. He was wearing some loose white pants. His upper body was exposed. His skin, like the woman's, seemed to have an orange hue.
"What?" Edward shifted his legs over the edge of the bed.
The woman dropped a book she was holding and stood up.
"Wait!"
"What?" Edward looked up at the woman.
"Just calm down," The woman said. She patted Edward on the shoulder. "Um…" She looked around. "Crap. What do I do?"
"Who are you?" Edward asked. His head was swimming. The smell of cinnamon seemed to be emanating from the candles. Edward wasn't sure how he could tell that.
"Just hold on," The woman backed away to the nearby door. "Jasper!" She yelled. "He's alive!" She yelled it a few times.
"Who are you?" Edward stood up. He felt a strange strength growing within him, the hunger grew along with it. "I asked you a question."
"Sit down," The woman said, returning her attention to Edward. There was a sudden sternness in her voice.
Edward placed a hand on his stomach. He flexed his fingers and watched her curiously.
"We have blood packs," The woman said. "Just sit down and I'll get some."
"I…" Edward started. His mouth hung open. His mind was empty. His body was acting on its own.
"Listen to me," The woman said, stepping closer to Edward.
"What?" Someone called from outside the room.
The woman turned away from Edward.
Edward lunged at the woman with a yell.
The woman vanished. She moved like a blur, slamming her shoulder into Edward.
Edward was sent sprawling through the air. He hit the wall and went through it. He landed on the ground, pieces of wood raining down on him.
Edward stared at the stormy sky above. Light rain tickled his skin.
The woman appeared above Edward; she was holding chains.
"You!" Edward grabbed at her.
The woman knocked Edward to the ground and started wrapping chains around his arms.
Edward hissed, struggling with the chains. One of the links snapped and Edward ripped his hands free. He grabbed the woman's arm and pulled hard, throwing her to the ground.
The woman rolled across the ground and got to her feet.
Edward got up slowly, tossing the chains aside. He started for the woman again. Something appeared in the corner of his eye.
Another man was charging at Edward A tall man with chin-length blonde hair.
The blonde man grabbed Edward and easily lifted him into the air.
Edward had a moment to yell before the man slammed him repeatedly against the ground by his leg.
"Stop!" The woman shouted. "You're being too rough!"
The blonde let go of Edward, leaving him sprawled out in a small crater in the ground.
Edward coughed a few times. His mind was a mess of anger and pain. He clutched his head, yelling mindlessly. Then, he jumped to his feet and lunged at the blonde man.
The blonde didn't react fast enough. Edward was on him and beating his head with both fists. Each swing of his fists seemed to shake the ground beneath them.
Edward paused for a moment, catching a glimpse of the blonde man's bloody face. His eyes were wide. Edward grabbed his head and shoved it aside. He lowered his head to the man's neck, mouth gaping.
"Wait, Wait!" The blonde yelled.
Then, Edward was hit hard. He skidded across the ground, hitting the base of a tree.
The world was blurry. He could hardly make out the woman approaching him.
"What happened to being too rough?" The blonde man asked.
"He was gonna kill you," The woman said. She knelt in front of Edward. "Look what I got," She held up a red bag.
Edward stared at the bag, unsure what to make of it.
"You're hungry," The woman said. "Drink."
"Does he know?" The blonde man asked.
"Of course, he knows," The woman said. "Right?" She looked at Edward with a small smile, her gold eyes shimmering.
"What?" Edward asked, struggling to speak clearly.
"You're a vampire," The blonde man said. "You know that?"
~B~
Bella found Charlie easily enough. His cruiser stood out like a sore thumb.
Charlie Swan was standing in front of the cruiser with his big arms crossed. He was a tall surly man with dark curly hair.
The hair color was the only similarity between them. His skin was tanned, hers was pale. Their eyes seemed to be the same color but on closer inspection, Charlie's eyes were a bright lovely brown. Bella's were dark enough to seem black.
Bella trudged through the rain, dragging her suitcase along. She'd come to terms with the fact that she'd never see the sun again.
Charlie met Bella halfway and took the suitcase. Well, he tried to. For a few moments, Bella held onto the handle.
"Sorry," Bella said after what felt like an eternity. She surrendered the suitcase, avoiding Charlie's eyes.
Charlie pulled Bella into a one-armed hug.
"It's okay," he said. "Come on."
Bella knew what Charlie was thinking as she followed him to the cruiser.
What's this girl's problem?
She's probably on drugs.
I should sanitize my whole body after that hug.
She couldn't imagine how angry he was with her. How long had it been since she'd seen him? She didn't even say hello.
Charlie threw Bella's suitcase in the back seat while Bella got in.
"There's a few things I have to catch you up on," Charlie said as he got in.
"Like what?" Bella asked. Her voice came out raspy. She tried to clear her throat.
Charlie either didn't notice or didn't care about Bella's voice.
"We've got guests in our house," Charlie said. "Try to be polite."
The way he called it their house tugged at Bella. She hadn't lived there in nigh a decade.
"Who?" Bella asked, pushing her guilty thoughts down.
"You remember Billy Black?" Charlie asked. "We used to go hunting with him back in the day."
"I guess." She didn't.
"He and his son have been staying in," Charlie explained. "Their house in La Push was burned down about a month ago."
"Wow," Bella said.
"Billy doesn't feel safe," Charlie said. "He feels like he can't trust anyone." He tapped the steering wheel, watching Bella from the corner of his eye.
Bella realized after a moment that she was supposed to respond. "Why not?" She asked.
"He's been in a wheelchair for about a year now," Charlie said. "I think he's having trouble adjusting to his life now." He nodded as he spoke.
Bella nodded as he did. Her eyelids were heavy. She tried to stay attentive as Charlie went into a story about him and Charlie's son.
It was an hour-long drive to Forks. If Bella was lucky she would die before they made it.
The ride did end eventually. The familiar two-story white house came into view. It was still raining, of course.
Bella recalled countless memories as Charlie parked by a red pickup.
"We're here," Charlie said.
Bella got out of the cruiser and stared at the house for a moment.
Charlie opened the back door and picked up Bella's suitcase.
Bella shut her door and ran a hand through her hair. She followed Charlie up the front steps and lingered behind him as he unlocked the door.
When the door opened, yelling immediately came from inside.
"Who's there!" A shrill voice screeched. "I have a gun!"
"It's me!" Charlie yelled back, stepping through the threshold. "Calm down!" He turned to Bella. "He doesn't have a gun," he assured her.
Bella followed Charlie into the house, feeling like an intruder. Everything felt alien to her. The old yellow walls and creaking floor. She recognized everything yet felt out of place among it. This place belonged to memories.
Especially out of place was the man sitting in a wheelchair. He was parked in the middle of the living room to Bella's right.
He was an elderly Native American man. His black hair rested gently on his shoulders. He wore a black cowboy hat and red flannel. He waved a thick piece of wood threateningly at Bella and Charlie.
"He got the stick again," Charlie said with a sigh.
"Who is that?" Billy demanded. "Answer me or I'll shoot both of you dead!"
"This is my daughter," Charlie explained loudly. He set Bella's suitcase by the stairs and strode into the living room. "You remember Bella, right?"
"No!" Billy snapped.
Bella took a few steps from the welcome mat she'd been standing on and tried to smile.
Bella grabbed her suitcase and headed upstairs. She could hear Charlie trying to talk Billy out of shooting Bella with his imaginary rifle.
Bella tossed her suitcase down by her bedroom door and paused.
The bathroom door was closed.
She had been about to head straight in and use the bathroom when the realization dawned on her.
Charlie was adamant about the door being open if the bathroom wasn't in use. She recalled he was terrified of the idea of walking in on someone and couldn't bear to open the door even if he'd knocked several times.
Bella lingered, hand on the knob. Billy's yells still audible from downstairs. Then, she heard a flush.
Several things clicked in Bella's mind at once. All of which equaled panic. Bella ran from the bathroom door, snatched up her suitcase, all but shoved her bedroom door open, darted inside, threw the door shut, and slammed herself against it for good measure.
She remained there for a solid three minutes. Her chest heaving and her lungs burning. She tossed her suitcase onto the bed and tried to calm down.
She barely heard the bathroom door open. An almost silent squeak as it did.
Bella listened for footsteps. She heard a few steps accompanied by creaks of the floor.
She was starting to question why she was hiding to begin with when a voice came through the door.
"I know you're in there." It was a guy. It wasn't some demonic evil here to rip her face off. She didn't know why she expected that.
Bella cleared her throat and shot back: "Good for you."
"What are you doing?" The guy asked. His voice was a bit closer to the door. "Who are you?"
"Who are you?" Bella demanded. "I live here!"
"Oh, yeah," The guy said. "You're mister Charlie's daughter aren't you." He made a satisfied sound. "I forgot you were coming today."
"That's great," Bella said.
"I'm Jacob," The guy said. "I guess it's nice to meet you." Then the footsteps started again, they receded, slowly leaving the hallway silent.
Bella wiped her brow and decided she didn't feel like using the bathroom anyway. She unpacked clothes and assorted items into her dresser. It was about an hour before Charlie appeared, knocking at her door.
"You okay, Bella?" Charlie called through the door.
"I'm fine," Bella said. "Just lying down." That was a lie, of course. She was taking notes.
"We're making dinner," Charlie said. "I'll let you know when it's ready."
"Thanks," Bella said. She returned her attention to her notebook as Charlie walked away.
This was a habit Bella developed over her two years in a cell. She'd spend time noting obvious facts.
The floor was carpeted. It wasn't carpeted before. Bella clearly remembered the floor being wood.
The bed creaked at the slightest motion. Bella hoped she didn't move much in her sleep.
The clock on her dresser was a few minutes ahead of Bella's phone. She tried to set it but couldn't figure it out.
There was a window opposite Bella's bed. The curtains were closed.
Bella was trying to figure out whether the curtains were more of a light purple or a dark pink when someone knocked on the door. She hadn't realized how much time had passed.
"Dinner time," Charlie said through the door.
Bella considered telling him she wasn't hungry. She closed her notebook and got off the bed, silently crossing the bedroom.
"Bella?" Charlie started.
Bella opened the door and forced herself to smile at Charlie.
"I'm ready," Bella said.
Bella got her first look at Billy's son, Jacob. He was a tall boy with long black hair like his dad. He gave Bella a smirk as she joined them.
Billy complained constantly. He hated the mashed potatoes. He hated the pork chops. He hated the juice.
Jacob seemed to enjoy Billy's crankiness. He made jokes back and forth with Charlie.
Bella watched the three of them, laughing and carrying on. She just sat there, nibbling on small pieces of pork.
"Right, Bella?" Jacob asked out of the blue.
Bella blinked. Her mouth was full of pork. She glanced between Jacob and Charlie.
"MWhat?" Bella asked as she chewed.
"MWhat?" Jacob copied Bella through a chuckle. "I asked you a question!"
Bella's cheeks heated. She chewed faster, trying to swallow the pork.
"Leave Bella alone," Charlie said. But he was smiling. He thought she looked like an idiot.
Bella swallowed hard and tried to cough. Her eyes watered. She couldn't breathe. She was choking.
Jacob laughed louder, slapping the table. "You look like a fish!"
"Fish!" Billy was laughing now. He stuck a finger at Bella, cackling wildly.
Bella's head was spinning. Why couldn't she swallow the pork? She kept trying but her gullet wasn't having it.
Charlie was raising his voice now, trying to speak over Billy. Was he making fun of her too?
Bella spat a bone out onto her plate and coughed violently. Everyone fell silent, staring at her as she coughed what felt like her soul out. It was actually mushed-up pork. She stared silently at her trembling hands, embarrassment rising in her chest.
"Are you—" Charlie started.
Bella pushed away from the table and stood up; anger flaring up inside her. She snatched up what was left of her pork chop and threw it at Jacob. It hit his chest and fell to the floor. Then she stormed away from the table, ignoring Charlie's concerned calls.
~E~
Edward was a vampire. He wasn't sure how to feel about that fact. He turned it around in his head, looking at it from all sides.
Had he died?
Was he ever human?
He tried to remember what happened before he'd woken up in that candlelit room. He recalled a train station.
He couldn't make sense of his situation.
After his scrap with the two he now knew as Alice and Jasper, the three of them were sitting together in their living room.
He was sharing a large soft couch with Jasper.
Alice was sitting on a recliner.
Jasper had given Edward a white shirt. It was a bit big on Edward.
There was also a large, yet thin device attached to the wall somehow. Edward stared at it, trying to comprehend what it was.
"Carlisle and Esme are in Germany," Alice said. "We've been keeping an eye on you."
"How long was I unconscious?" Edward asked.
"Um…" Alice tapped her chin. "Carlisle never said. At least twenty-four years," She guessed. "That's how long I've been here, and you've always been here."
"I wouldn't know either," Jasper said. "I was only turned ten years ago."
"Emmett or Rosalie might know," Alice said. "I think Rosalie was turned around the sixties."
"No," Jasper cut in. "It was the forties."
Edward listened absentmindedly as the two of them went back and forth.
"Who's Carlisle," Edward asked.
"He's like our dad," Alice said. "He turned all of us."
"Including me?" Edward asked.
Alice nodded. "I assume so."
"We don't know your story," Jasper said. "But we'll do our best to help you adjust."
"Yeah," Alice said.
"What year is it?" Edward asked.
"2010," Alice said. "Finish your blood." She got up and wandered off to the nearby kitchen.
Edward had forgotten about the half-finished bag of blood he was holding. It was his third one in the last hour. He frowned at it.
"Don't worry, man," Jasper said. "It's not real."
"What do you mean?" Edward asked.
"It's blood substitute," Jasper said. "But it works almost as well as the real deal."
Edward nodded and held the bag to his mouth, drinking the remnants.
"You can still eat regular food, too," Jasper added. "Just won't fill you."
"Great," Edward said. "So, what else should I know?"
Jasper thought for a few moments.
"Try to avoid direct sunlight," he said.
"Why?"
"You'll shine," Jasper said with a smirk.
"Shine?" Edward wasn't sure what to make of that.
"You'll see," Jasper said. He leaned back in his seat.
Edward watched the man closely for a moment. His blue shirt was stained with blood.
Edward remembered trying to beat the man's head in not even an hour before.
"I'm sorry," Edward said. "I shouldn't have acted so violently earlier."
"It's fine," Jasper said. "You were starved and the first thing you saw was her." He stuck a thumb at Alice in the kitchen. She was stirring something in a big bowl. "Don't blame you for going apeshit."
"Apeshit?" Edward didn't understand the word.
Jasper cocked his head.
"Yeah," he said, uncertain. "Besides, she should've talked to you instead of throwing you out of the house. Emmett's gonna have a cow when he sees that hole."
"I attacked her," Edward recalled shamefully.
"You guys want some pudding?" Alice called from the kitchen. "It's finally ready!"
"I'd love some," Jasper said. "What about you?"
"What is that?" Edward asked.
Jasper gave Edward a strange look.
"What do you know?" Jasper asked. "Like, anything you can think of."
Edward wasn't sure what to say. He thought for a few minutes.
Alice appeared, balancing three small bowls. She gave one to Jasper and offered one to Edward.
Edward took the bowl and investigated its contents. It was filled with pink cream. He poked at the cream with a spoon.
"Trains," Edward said, putting the spoon in the bowl. "I remember trains."
"Oh yeah?" Alice asked. She had the spoon in her mouth.
"And I worked in a factory," Edward continued. "Me and other kids."
"What year was it?" Jasper asked.
Edward wasn't listening. He wasn't there anymore. Not really.
He was walking with a group of kids toward a mill. He heard a horn of a train blowing nearby.
"A steel mill," Edward said.
He was inside the mill now, sharing a joke with another boy his age. An older man was complaining about the recent strike.
"What year was it?" Jasper asked again, pulling Edward back to the present.
Edward drew a blank. He sighed and leaned back on the couch.
"I don't know."
Jasper shrugged and picked up a black rectangle. "Don't worry too much about it," he said. He pressed a button on the rectangle and the large box on the wall lit up, showing several images.
"What is that?" Edward asked.
"Netflix," Jasper said.
"You ever seen a tv before?" Alice asked. "Hey, Jasper, what year were tvs made?"
"I dunno," Jasper said, eating more of his pudding.
Edward stared at the tv.
"Hey, Ed," Alice said. "Eat your pudding, would you?"
"Don't call him Ed," Jasper piped up. "His names Edward."
"It's a nickname," Alice shot back. "Do you mind if I call you Ed?"
Edward shrugged. "I don't mind."
"Here." Jasper handed Edward the black rectangle. It had several rubber buttons on it, some with little symbols on them and some had numbers. Jasper explained how a few of the buttons worked.
Edward caught on rather quickly. He could navigate through the selection of things on the screen with ease.
"That's a new movie," Jasper said. "They added that one last week."
Edward selected a movie called Sherlock.
"No," Alice said. "We promised not to watch that without Rosalie, remember?"
"She doesn't have to know!" Jasper complained.
Edward read the description of the movie while the two of them went back and forth. He set the rectangle down and took a spoonful of his pudding.
It tasted sweet. It was probably the sweetest thing he'd ever eaten.
Maybe this new life wouldn't be so bad.
~B~
Bella didn't want to sleep. She sat on her bed watching her bedroom curtains.
The room was even darker now that it was nighttime.
Charlie had come by an hour or so ago. He apologized for Jacob's bad manners. He assured her that Jacob would apologize the next time he saw her.
Bella wasn't interested in any of that. She wanted to be left alone.
She simmered in that thought for a while.
What did she really want?
Bella considered that for a few minutes. She'd have to start going to school again tomorrow.
She hadn't been to school in two years.
She was nowhere near ready for that. She wasn't ready for all the looks. The inevitable questions.
They'd know. Everyone would know.
What's it like in juvie?
Didn't you kill a cop? Wow, that's insane.
Why did you do it?
Bella cried herself to sleep that night.
The next morning, she was awake early. Charlie was at her door, knocking.
"Bella, get up," Charlie said. "You have to get ready for school."
"I'm up," Bella groaned. She rolled out of bed and meandered to the dresser. She found a beige jacket and pants.
Ten minutes had passed by the time Bella brushed her teeth and washed up.
Charlie and Jacob were waiting when she came downstairs with her bag. The two of them watched her.
"What?" Bella asked.
"Listen," Jacob said. "Sorry I was a jerk yesterday." He shrugged his shoulders awkwardly.
"And?" Charlie urged.
"And..." Jacob dragged on. "I'll make it up to you." He held up his keys. "You can ride with me to your school."
Bella frowned. That sounded like a punishment. She'd rather walk to school with her ankles tied together.
"Fine," Bella said.
Charlie seemed concerned but content.
Bella followed Jacob to the red truck parked by Charlie's cruiser
Bella stood in the light rain as Jacob unlocked the truck. He got in and reached across to unlock Bella's door.
She opened it and climbed inside.
"How old are you?" Jacob asked.
"Seventeen," Bella said, buckling herself in.
"Wow." Jacob tried to start the truck. The engine turned and sputtered. "You're old."
"Thanks," Bella remarked.
They didn't talk much after that. It wasn't until they were stopped at a red light that Jacob spoke up again.
"I heard about what happened, you know."
Bella tensed immediately at that. She stared at Jacob from the corner of her eye.
He tapped the steering wheel, watching the light.
"It's uh," Jacob continued, unsure what to say. "It sucks."
"Wow," Bella said. "You have a way with words."
Jacob laughed.
"Thanks," he said.
The light turned green.
After a while, Bella saw a sign that read: 'Forks high.'
"Here we are," Jacob said, pulling into the parking lot. He parked the truck in front of an office building.
The school was a collection of brick buildings. It seemed on the verge of being swallowed by a forest. Much like the town itself.
"You should probably go to the office," Jacob said.
Bella ignored him, getting out of the truck.
"Have a great day," Jacob said with a smile.
"Bye," Bella said. She shut the door and followed a stone path lined with dark hedges. She lingered in front of the door for a few moments.
Voices came from behind the door.
Bella listened for a few moments before opening the door and stepping inside.
Three people were standing in front of a long counter.
A woman with short brown hair, a tall blonde man, and a bronze-haired boy. All three of them turned to Bella.
"Oh!" The woman at the counter perked up. A redheaded woman. "Are you Isabella Swan?"
"It's just Bella," Bella said. She stepped into the office, letting the door shut behind her.
The three people parted around Bella as she approached the counter.
"I have your papers right here," The woman said.
Bella tried to ignore the others staring at her while the receptionist explained her schedule.
"Okay," Bella said, trying to focus on what the receptionist was saying.
"Make sure to have each of your teachers sign this slip," the receptionist said. "And here you go." She handed Bella a pile of papers. A schedule, a map, a slip for signing, etc.
"Thanks," Bella said. She turned to the trio that was watching her.
"Excuse me," Bella said. She felt them staring at her as she stepped out. Bella took a glance over her shoulder as she did. She got a glimpse of the bronze-haired boy watching her before the door shut.
She trudged along the walkway, protecting her papers from the rain. Her first class was in building 3. She vaguely heard the office door shut behind her.
Bella stopped in her tracks, hearing several footsteps approaching.
"Hey!" A girl's voice called. "Isabella Swan, right?"
Bella swallowed a groan and turned around.
The trio from the office was standing a few steps behind Bella. The girl and the blonde guy were in front of the bronze-haired boy.
"It's just Bella," Bella said.
"I haven't seen you around here before," The girl said. "Are you new?"
"Yeah," Bella said. She waved her pile of papers to emphasize her point. "You want something?"
The girl folded her arms. "Nothing, really," she said. "I'm Alice." She slapped the blonde on the chest. "This is Jasper." She stuck a thumb out to the bronze-haired boy. "This is Edward."
Bella frowned, glancing between the three of them. "Um, okay." Bella turned to walk away. She rounded a corner, cutting the strange trio out of her thoughts.
Bella's first few classes were relatively easy to find. There was a boy named Eric who had two classes with her.
He sat next to Bella in both classes, chatting her ear clean off. At least he wasn't gawking and whispering about her like most of the other kids seemed to be doing. He was just being nice so he could get with her.
Bella could see them pointing at her and making shocked faces. They could at least try to hide it.
The teachers were especially annoying. Her first-period teacher felt the need to single her out as 'someone who would need all the help she could get.' This earned a laugh from the class.
Bella felt like walking out on the spot.
Another teacher asked her about her father and how her time in Arizona was. Before Bella could answer, he started talking about how good a cop Charlie was and how he was certainly disappointed in Bella.
Bella wanted to walk out on the spot.
The next teacher had Bella stand in front of the class and asked her several questions about her life in Arizona. She finally asked Bella point blank why she went driving while she was intoxicated.
Bella did walk out on the spot.
She found herself sitting in the girl's bathroom, fuming.
What was that woman's problem? Bella wanted to hit her with a textbook.
Bella was thinking about which of her textbooks would be the best to throw at the teacher when the bathroom door opened.
"Are you in here?" A girl stepped into the bathroom, looking around. She spotted Bella sitting by a sink and smiled. "Hey!"
"Hey," Bella said.
It was a short girl with dark curly hair. She was wearing a long green skirt and a white blouse.
"That floor is pretty gross, you know," The girl said. She walked further into the bathroom, smiling at Bella.
Bella shrugged.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Perez is such a jerk," The girl said, kneeling beside Bella.
"Eh," Bella shrugged the girl off. "It's not a big deal."
The two of them were silent for a few moments.
"Did you want something?" Bella asked.
"Oh," The girl fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "I just wanted to see if you were okay, you know?"
Bella forced a smile.
"Of course, I'm fine," She said. "I'm just starting to think school isn't worth it."
The girl's expression softened.
"There's a lot of stuff you can do with school," the girl said. "We have clubs, and sports, and—"
"I hate sports," Bella said flatly.
"Oh."
"Well, I should probably get back to class." Bella got to her feet. She offered the girl a hand and pulled her up.
The girl lingered by the door while Bella washed her hands. It only then occurred to Bella that the girl had come to bring her back to the classroom.
Had the teacher told her to?
Bella dried her hands and turned to the girl.
"I'm ready," she said.
"I'm Jessica," The girl said. "It's nice to meet you 'ready!'"
"What?"
"Nothing." Jessica opened the bathroom door and led Bella outside.
Returning to the classroom was about as horrifying as Bella expected. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her.
"Welcome back, Isabella," The teacher said. "Thank you for bringing her back, Jessica." And that was it. She didn't say another word to Bella. She didn't even sign her slip.
When that class finally ended, it was time for lunch.
Jessica was waiting for Bella in the hallway. The two of them walked to lunch together.
It wasn't long before Bella was sitting at a table with Jessica and all of her friends.
They were talking and laughing.
Bella was poking absentmindedly at her food. She was already impossibly tired of this. She was ready to go home. Where was home? Bella thought about Charlie's house. Would that place ever be a home to her?
"Hey, Bella!" A boy spoke up, slapping the table by Bella's tray. "I heard you were in Juvie, what was that like?"
"Leave Bella alone!" Jessica swatted the boy's hand.
Was she Bella's bodyguard now? Bella wasn't too bothered by that. In fact, she sort of liked it.
Bella had almost finished poking her fries into a pile of mush when she noticed the trio from the office. She struggled to remember their names.
The three of them were sitting together on the other side of the cafeteria.
Alice was waving around a carton of milk and laughing. Jasper was trying to take the milk from her. Edward's head was lowered.
"Jessica," Bella spoke up. "Who are they?" For a moment she wasn't sure if Jessica heard her. It turned out, everyone heard her.
All the kids at the table were following Bella's line of sight.
"Those are the Cullens," A dark-haired girl said. "That Edward guy is the newest one."
"Oh yeah," The nosy boy said. "Their dads a doctor, he's adopted a lot of kids."
"Their brother is a teacher here," Another boy said. "He's the basketball coach."
"Huh," Bella said.
"They're pretty weird," Jessica said. Her face was strangely focused. Her blue eyes narrowed.
"I saw them earlier," Bella said. "They really creeped me out."
"Yeah?" Jessica turned to Bella.
Bella felt everyone at the table watching her as well. She nodded.
Bella watched the Cullens for a while longer.
Soon, lunch was over and Bella was heading to her next class. The dark-haired girl, Angela, came with her. The two of them had the same biology class.
Luckily, Angela didn't try to force any conversation with Bella. They walked in blissful silence.
It had also stopped raining which was a first for Bella since she'd arrived. It felt odd to be walking without feeling the rain on her head.
Mr. Banner, the biology teacher, had to be Bella's favorite so far. He just asked for her slip and sent her off to sit.
The classroom was filled with black-topped tables, each had two people. Bella found an empty table and sat by herself.
She'd found an oasis in the school. A nice space all to herself. She took out a notebook and labeled it 'Biology.'
The bell rang then.
Bella looked up just in time to see Edward stepping into the classroom. He paused at the entrance, looking around.
"Are you lost?" Mr. Banner asked, walking to the front of the class.
"Oh, um," Edward stammered. He gave Mr. Banner his slip. "I'm new."
Mr. Banner signed the slip and pointed at Bella. "Go on and sit down."
Bella immediately tensed as Edward approached her table. She had a feeling that her short-lived oasis was doomed to crumble.