BPOV

The bell for class the next day rang at its usual time. I grimaced as the sound assaulted my sensitive ears. I went to my first class and the first thing I noticed was Mike Newton leaning against my desk. I could almost smell the lust pouring off him.

"H-hello Bella," he said in a shaky voice. I mentally rolled my eyes. This has been going on every day since eighth grade.

"Mike," I said formally trying to go around him to get to my seat. His pulse picked up when I said his name.

"Will you go to semi formal with me," he said, his voice turned squeaky on the last word. He cleared his throat and tried to pretend it didn't happen.

"I can't Mike, I have plans," I said. "I'm going to Seattle that night," I blurted quickly. He sighed and his eyes dropped.

"Oh," he said, his voice was quivering slightly.

Oh, please don't cry. Human tears stink. Think…

"Why don't you ask Jessica, Mike? She would love to go with you," I said, hoping silently to myself he would go away. His scent was starting to get to me a little bit. I smiled and said, "Okay".

He walked away saying something along the lines of; ladies just can't resisit the M-Man. I rolled my eyes at the thought. Ann Marie would get a good laugh at this over dinner tonight. Dinner, I shudder at the thought but there's no way out of it. I didn't want them monitoring me for potential eating disorders.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Last period, I went to biology. Edward Cullen was sitting at our table already.

I sighed mentally to myself and sat down next to him.

"Hi, I'm Edward, you must be Bella," he said extending his hand out for me to shake. I took his hand and shook it firmly. He smiled a crooked smile that made my heart skip a little.

"Yes, that's me, how do you like Forks so far?" I asked, smiling slightly despite myself, his smile was catching.

"It's nice here, quiet and the people are friendly," he said his tone was cheerful but I could hear a slight edge of guard in his tone.

"Where did you live before?" I asked, trying to be careful not to pry.

"Alaska, but my family and I found there was more places to camp here," he said, his voice was now carefully calm.

I smiled, getting his unintentional message.

"What about you?" he asked suddenly. "How long have you lived here in Forks?" he asked, his tone was genuinely curious.

"I have been here since I was eight, when my mom died," I said, trying to keep the quiver out of my voice as the horrible flashbacks threatened to return.

"I'm sorry," he said his voice sincere. "Do you stay with family?" he asked, his tone now more curious then guarded.

"Um, no, I don't have any other family, so I actually live at the local group home. There are ten of us and Ann Marie and Meagan are in charge," I said, quietly. His eyes went considerably wide when I said that.

"And it's safe there?" he asked suddenly and I could tell by his eyes that he himself wished he hadn't said it at all.

"Um…" I started but he cut me off.

"What are you doing tomorrow morning before class?" he asked, his tone had an edge of emotion that I couldn't recognize.

"I'll be in the library," I said quietly. He nodded, "I will meet you there".

EPOV

I got home from school at the usual time. My siblings had gone off to do their own things. Alice had forced Jasper to the mall and Rosalie and Emmett were… I shudder at the thought.

Carlisle and Esme were sitting in the dining room, doing a jig-saw puzzle at human speed. They looked up at me and could tell I wanted to talk to them.

"Sit down, how was school?" Esme said in her motherly tone.

"It was interesting. Do you remember that Bella girl I told you about, the one who appears to be a vampire?" I started, know Carlisle remembered. He nodded carefully.

"Well, it turns out she lives in an orphanage. I am going to try to find out more information tomorrow".