A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! It makes my day. Huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for her awesome beta'ing skills.
I spent New Year's with Mom and Phil, watching the countdown in Time Square and drinking soda to ring in the New Year. Of course, I didn't have anybody to kiss when the ball dropped, but I did send a text to Edward with a few party emojis.
My phone rang a few seconds later, and I excused myself, making my way up to my room which was looking quite sparse since a majority of my stuff was packed away.
"Happy New Year!" I blurted out as I answered the phone, and he let out a laugh.
"I've still got three hours to go, silly girl," he teased, and it was my turn to let out a laugh.
"Yeah, I forgot about that. Well, happy New Year anyway."
We talked for several hours, and I told Edward that I was all packed and so ready to get back to Washington. He told me that he was ready for me to come back as well, and I couldn't help but smile at his words.
"I'm a bit nervous about starting school in such a small town," I confessed a few minutes later. 'In Jacksonville, I was just one of hundreds who pretty much went unnoticed. I have a feeling that won't be the case in Forks."
"Yeah, you'll definitely be noticed, sweet girl, and not just because you're the new girl either."
A blush crept up my cheeks, and I was so glad that Edward couldn't see me.
"I highly doubt that," I muttered.
"You're beautiful, Bella, but you don't even realize it, do you?"
"Oh, please tell me you're not going to break out into that One Direction song," I begged which caused Edward to let out a loud laugh.
"I wouldn't do that to you," he said, and I let out a sigh.
A little after three in the morning, Edward and I said goodnight, and I was surprised at how wide awake I was. Tiptoeing down to the kitchen, I peaked into the living room, glad to see it was empty. I would have hated to interrupt Mom and Phil while they were snuggling, kissing, or doing anything else intimate-like. I'd already done that once before, and it had been embarrassing for all of us.
Opening up the fridge, I stared at the contents before grabbing a yogurt and a bottle of water. I grabbed a spoon out of the drawer, and snagged two chocolate chip cookies out of the cookie jar, and made my way back to my room.
I sat on my bed, eating my snacks and watching videos on YouTube, for an hour until sleep finally kicked in.
Mom woke me up around eleven the next morning although I could have probably slept for a week. She told me that we needed to ship my stuff so that it would arrive shortly after I did.
With Phil's help, we loaded all of my boxes into the back of his SUV and drove them to the local FedEx. Within an hour, all the boxes were labeled and ready to be shipped. I hoped like hell that none of my stuff got lost or broken along the way.
"You're coming out for spring break, right?" Mom asked as we waited for my flight to be called a couple of days later.
"Yep. I'll get the dates to you as soon as I know them," I promised, and she sniffled a bit. Saying goodbye to my mom was harder than I thought it would be, and I had to blink back tears.
"Please don't cry," I begged because if she began to cry, I'd lose it.
"I'm not. I promise," she said, giving me a hug after she'd parked at the curbside.
I clung to her for a few extra seconds before pulling away and telling her I loved her. Then, taking a deep breath, I waved goodbye and made my way into the airport and through security.
Eight hours later, I was landing in Seattle, and I couldn't wait to get off the freaking plane. The flight had been full of turbulence, and I was so beyond tired of being cramped for eight hours, sitting next to a guy who smelled like beer.
I'd flown more times in the past month than I had in the last year, and I was sick of it. I would be glad not to have to fly anywhere for a while.
Dad was waiting for me when I finally got off the plane, and I grinned when I saw that he'd brought me a surprise in the form of Edward.
I rushed toward them, hugging my dad first and then Edward and clinging to him a little longer than I probably should have.
"Ready to go home, Bells?" Dad asked, and I nodded, a huge smile on my face.
The trip home, which was going to take some getting used to saying, went by surprisingly quick, and I think it was because I had Edward to talk to. Not that Dad and I didn't talk as well. I caught them both up on my New Year's and how packing all my stuff had been a pain.
"Oh, it should be arriving in the next few days," I told Dad who promised to be on the lookout for the FedEx guy.
"School starts on Monday," he then told me, and I made a face. While I was looking forward to living in Forks and with Dad, I wasn't looking forward to starting a new school.
"I've already registered you, so all you have to do on Monday morning is pick up your schedule at the front office."
"Thanks, Dad."
"Yep. It's quite a ways from the house, but I figured you could drive the Jeep since I'll be using the cruiser."
"Sweet! Thanks so much!" I exclaimed, a grin on my face.
I hadn't given my transportation to school much thought because in Jacksonville, I'd always gotten a ride with one of my friends. Friends who were upset at the situation but had promised to keep in touch. We'd see how long that lasted. Not one of them had come by to see me off or even sent me a text wishing me luck.
"Just promise me that you'll be safe. No talking or texting on your phone while driving, and once winter hits, you'll need to be extra cautious since you've never driven in snow or on ice."
"I promise."
The whole way to Dad's house—my house—I had a stupid little grin on my face. Not only because I had Edward by my side and I would be seeing him way more often than I thought I ever would but I now had wheels.
Once we got home, Edward stayed for a little while but soon had to leave to get back home. I thanked him for being at the airport, and a cute little blush showed on his cheeks.
"I wanted to be there when you came home," he said sweetly, and I found myself reaching out and giving his arm a squeeze.
"Well, thank you."
Come Monday morning, I was a nervous wreck as I checked out my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I'd spent more than a few minutes, fiddling with my hair and tugging at my clothes before deciding that I looked good enough. It's not like I was trying to win any beauty or fashion contests. I needed to just be me.
With one last glance in the mirror, I made my way out of the bathroom and downstairs where my shoes and backpack were waiting. I slipped my feet into my well-worn purple Chuck Taylors, put my coat on, and grabbed the gray backpack that held a few notebooks and some pens and pencils.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Dad asked as I quickly peeled the banana that was serving as my breakfast.
"I'll be fine, Dad."
"Okay. Well, I won't be home until around six or so. Do you want me to pick up some burgers from the diner?"
"Yeah, that sounds good," I told him, glad that I wouldn't have to cook. I had a feeling that I was going to be exhausted after my first day.
Waving goodbye to Dad, I made my way out to the Jeep, tossing my bag in the passenger seat before getting behind the wheel.
I made the ten minute drive to Forks High School and pulled into a spot in the middle of the lot. Students were gathering around cars, getting out of cars, or walking toward the building, and I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.
"Here goes nothing," I muttered to myself as I grabbed my backpack and opened the car door.
I kept my head down as I hurried toward the front doors of the school, and once I was inside, I took a quick look around in search of a sign for the main office. Thankfully, I found a sign pointing me in the right direction, and I quickly made my way toward the office.
Once inside, I was greeted by a woman in her fifties with crazy bright red hair who introduced herself as Mrs. Cope.
I told her that I was new, and she handed me a schedule that she printed off as well as a piece of paper with my locker number and combination.
"And here's a map of the school," she said, handing me yet another piece of paper.
I thanked her and was about to leave when she called me back and handed me a smaller slip of paper. She informed me that my teachers needed to sign it, and I was to return it to her at the end of the day.
With papers in hand, I walked out the door and into the bustling hallway, pushing my way past students, in an attempt to find my first class of the day.
With minutes to spare before the bell rang, I finally found the classroom I was looking for and walked through the doorway. Immediately, heads turned my way, and I felt my face turning red.
Doing my best to ignore the stares, I made my way toward the teacher's desk and handed him the slip of paper Mrs. Cope had given me. He signed it, handed it back, and then gave me the giant literature book. Mr. Masen then directed me toward a seat in the back for which I was grateful.
With the book clutched tightly in my hands, I made my way toward the empty desk and took a seat.
Moments later, the guy who was sitting in front of me turned around and introduced himself as Mike Newton.
"Bella Swan," I replied, pulling a notebook out of my bag and setting it on my desk along with a pen.
"Where you from?"
"Florida."
"Wait. Are you related to the new chief of police?" he asked, and I nodded.
"Man, you must be a wild child, right? I bet you're a total rebel."
"You'd lose that bet," I told him, wishing he'd leave me alone, and I was incredibly grateful when Mr. Masen told Mike to turn around and stop talking.
My English class was enjoyable, with the exception of Mike, and when class was over, I put my stuff in my bag and made my way out the door with the rest of my classmates.
"Where you going next?" Mike asked me, and I held back an annoyed sigh.
"Uh, Calculus," I told him after I looked at my schedule.
Mike decided that he'd show me where the classroom was, and along the way, he introduced me to everyone he saw. I usually gave a polite nod, a small smile, or a quick wave, but I knew I wouldn't remember any of their names.
Once in my math class, my teacher made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. My face was bright red, and I spoke as quickly as possible.
"Hi, I'm Jessica," a girl with a bad perm said from beside me, and her voice was full of venom. I couldn't even begin to imagine what I'd done to piss her off, seeing as how I'd never even met her.
"Bella."
"Well, Bella, I'm only going to tell you this once. Mike is mine. If I see you flirting with him again, there will be hell to pay."
I couldn't hold back the snort that left me because there was no doubt in my mind that I could take her down if I needed to. Plus, I wouldn't flirt with Mike if he was the last male on earth.
"Yeah, no worries about that. He's all yours," I replied, turning away from her and focusing on writing the date in my notebook.
"She's all bark and no bite," a quiet voice said from behind me, and I turned around to see a girl with glasses and long black hair.
"I'm Angela Weber. Welcome to Forks," she said, and I thanked her.
We spoke quietly for a few minutes until class started, and I found that I really liked Angela. She was the sort of person with which I could definitely be friends.
By the time lunch rolled around, I'd been stared at and whispered about, but at least I'd made a friend in Angela. Turned out that we had a few classes together, and she invited me to sit at lunch with her, her friends, and her boyfriend.
I followed the crowd of students into the cafeteria and got in line where I grabbed a pizza slice, an apple, and a lemonade. After paying for my lunch, I looked around the cafeteria until I spotted Angela and her friends, sitting around a round table near the back.
I made my way toward them, dodging people left and right, and Angela waved when she spotted me and pointed to the empty seat next to her.
"Everyone, this is Bella," she said before introducing me to her boyfriend, Ben, as well as the other kids around the table which were mainly guys.
"Here comes drama," this guy named Eric said, and I turned my head to see about whom he was talking.
"That's Lauren Mallory," he told me in a whisper. "She thinks she's the queen of the school, but really she's just a bitch with a nasty reputation and a horrible temper."
"Good to know," I murmured.
"Jessica is best friends with her, and as you already know, Jessica is dating Mike. It's an on again off again relationship, mainly because Mike tends to have wandering eyes and hands," Angela said.
"So, why did you move here?" Ben asked, and I explained to them that my dad had taken a job here as the Chief of Police and that my mom was moving to West Virginia, so I decided to come out here.
"It's hard starting over in a new place where you don't know anyone," Eric said, and I nodded my head in agreement.
"Very true, but thankfully, I have friends in Port Angeles," I told them, and as if he had heard me, my phone buzzed with a text from Edward.
How's your first day going so far? he asked, and I grinned as I replied.
Pretty good. I've made a friend with whom I'm sitting at lunch with.
Excellent.
"Someone special?" Angela asked with a little smirk.
"Not yet. Just a friend for now, but I'm hoping that will change now that I've moved out here," I told her quietly hoping like hell that things would really change.
"What's his name?" she asked.
"Edward Cullen," I told her, and I watched as everyone's jaw dropped open. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"You know Edward?" Ben asked a few moments later, and after a silence that left me feeling a bit unnerved, I nodded, telling them all how I'd met him over the summer camping.
"That is so awesome!" Angela said with a huge grin. "He's been one of our good friends for years. We went to kindergarten together."
I grinned upon hearing that, glad to know that I'd made a good choice in becoming friends with Angela.
a/n: Yay! She's officially moved in. Let me know what you thought. I'll see you all next week.