Chapter One: First Sight.
It was here, in this cafeteria, that I first saw them. Unlike the rest of the students, they didn't stare at me. There were five of them and they were so different yet so similar at the same time. They all had different hair color and texture with different body builds.
They were all the same because they were all extremely pale; paler than me, the part albino. They all looked like they belonged in the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine instead of the cafeteria at Forks High. All of them were devastatingly beautiful but in need of a good night's sleep.
There were two girls. One was a small, pixyish girl with a halo of disorderly black hair and a blond. The blond was breathtakingly gorgeous, the kind of girl that had other girls taking hits on their egos just being in the same room with her. Both girls sat in between the boys. There was a tall, lean boy with blond hair sitting to the left of the black haired girl. In between the girls sat a very boyish looking boy with a tangle of reddish-brown hair. On the right of the blond girl was a very handsome, very muscular boy. He had thick bands of iron muscle on his entire body that suggested that the boy lifted weights. His hair was dark and curly. It handsomely framed his beautiful face. Dimples were visible in his breathtaking features.
As I stared, the black haired girl rose and took her tray to the trash. Nothing had been touched on it; they all had trays of food but none of them ate. I watched the girl as she gracefully walked out of the cafeteria. She moved with grace that would break a ballerina's heart.
"Who are they?" I whispered, mystified. Jessica followed my gaze and snickered.
"That is Edward and Emmett Cullen and Jasper and Rosalie Hale. The girl who just left is Alice Cullen." Jessica said, pointing them out.
"They don't look related." I commented, still staring at the remaining four.
"Oh, they aren't. Dr. Cullen and his wife adopted them all. The blondes, Jasper and Rosalie are twins, though. They're foster children."
"They look too old to be foster children." I tried at nonchalance to mask my surprise. They looked like college students.
"They are now. Eighteen now, I think. Mrs. Cullen is their aunt or something. She's had them since they were six. They all moved down here like two years ago from somewhere in Alaska." Jessica's voice implied that this should be obvious, even to an outsider like me. They were outsiders too and that made me feel a little bit better that I wasn't the only one.
"That's nice of them to care for that many kids." I said, still in awe.
"I guess so. I don't think Mrs. Cullen can have children of her own though." Jessica said, as if it reduced the generosity.
"They are all really attractive." I said to change the subject.
"Yes and they are all together! Edward and Rosalie and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held the indignation of the entire town. I had to admit, that would have caused a scandal even in Phoenix. I needed another subject change.
"Which is the boy with the dark, curly hair?" I asked. I don't know why but he intrigued me.
"That is Emmett. He's gorgeous of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently, none of the girls here are pretty enough for him. He's kind of intimidating, too." She scoffed. Jessica's voice was full of resentment and a twinge of anxiety. I wondered when she had worked up the courage just to have Emmett turn her down. I noticed that while she was talking, the one named Edward looked up at me and nudged Emmett. He said something and Emmett looked up at me. His expression was curious and I looked down quickly before I met his eye.
"Emmett Cullen is staring at you." Jessica trilled.
"Stop looking at him!" I hissed at her and she snickered. I looked up to make sure she dropped her gaze. I caught Emmett's eye and there was a glimmer of a smile on his beautiful face. The bell rang and I watched the four of them get up, throw their full trays in the trash, and leave. They were all very graceful, even Emmett with all his bulky muscles.
A girl named Angela was in my next class so she walked with me. It was biology one of my favorite subjects. I walked in and took my slip to the teacher. Angela already had a partner at her lab table so I scanned to see where an empty seat was. The only empty seat I saw was next to someone who made my heart stop. Emmett Cullen was sitting next to the only free seat in the entire classroom.
The teacher, Mr. Banner, signed my slip, handed me a book, and sent me to the empty seat. I tripped over a book and nearly fell on the way. I managed to catch myself on a desk before I was completely on the ground. When I looked on, the girl at the desk was laughing. Emmett was looking at me sideways, his lips firmly pressed together, stifling a laugh. With my cheeks flaming red, I took my seat next to him. His arms were folded across his chest, muscles flexed and stiff. Emmett was so beautiful that it was hard not to stare. His chair was as far away from me as the desk would allow. His posture was ridged but a slight smile played on his lips.
I was embarrassed so I used my hair to hide my face. Emmett stiffened next to me so I peeked at him through the curtain of my hair. He had his hands balled into fists around his chair. His white skin was even whiter on his knuckles.
Emmett wasn't looking at me right now so it was ok for me to stare. I studied his handsome features but quickly looked away as he turned his head to meet my gaze. There was a perplexed look on his face. His dark eyes pierced me with intensity. Emmett looked like he was having some kind of internal struggle. I wondered if he knew that I was looking at him out of the corner of my eye. He smirked and rolled his eyes; yes, he did know and I was insignificant to him. Figures, I was so plain that there was no hope someone like Emmett Cullen would see me as more than an inconvenience.
The bell rang a few minutes later and Emmett Cullen was out of his seat. His size was even more apparent this close. He had some serious muscles on him and I kind of liked it. Unfortunately, he didn't even look at me as he gracefully hurried out of the classroom.
I stared after him, frozen in my seat. I tried to shake off his reaction to me but I couldn't. I couldn't understand why I cared about what he thought of me. It shouldn't matter. So why do I feel like crying?
"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy with his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I was insignificant.
"Bella," I corrected him with a smile. He was in my next class, gym, so I let him walk with me. His name was Mike and he was the nicest person I had met today. He kept up an easy stream of chatter as we walked.
I was about to go to the changing room when mike asked, "So what did you do to Emmett Cullen? I've never seen him act like that." Obviously Emmett didn't act like that with people. I cringed and played dumb.
"Was that the boy I sat next to in biology?"
"Yes," he said. "He looked like he was torn between being in pain and being amused. Like you kind of irritate him and he finds it funny."
"I don't know why," I responded. "I never spoke to him."
"He's a weird guy and kind of scary." Mike lingered. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."
I smiled before going to the locker room. I sat during class, not being forced to participate. Tomorrow would be bad though.
After class, I went back to the office to turn in my paperwork. When I got there, Emmett Cullen was at the desk. He was giving something to Ms. Cope and telling her a joke. I couldn't help but join in when I heard the sound of his beautiful laugh. He turned and scrutinized me. Emmett mumbled something about having to meet his family and walked past me. His hands were clenched into fists as he stalked past me and out the door.
I gave my things to Ms. Cope and went to my truck. I fought the tears as I drove back to Charlie's house. I didn't understand Emmett Cullen's aversion to me and it made me want to cry.