JESSIE'S GIRL

THE NEXT DAY WAS better... and worse.

It was better because there wasn't any fog, so it was safer to drive. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Adam waited for me by the stairs with a group of his friends, introducing them to me. It was obvious by the way they kept nudging each other and snickering that Adam's crush was common knowledge, and it made my stomach flutter a little. I'd have to cut the chord with Johnny soon, I knew what I was like when I had a crush, and just one call with mopey lovelorn Johnny after meeting Adam was enough to turn me off. People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Jessica, Chess Club Eric, a boy named Mike who seemed to be fond of Bella - and of course Adam, and two of his buddies, a shorter boy with frosted tips and tan skin named Ed and a shaggy brunette with acne and a pierced ear named Toby. Unsurprisingly, the boys were in a band together. I really had a type.

It was worse because I was tired; I couldn't sleep well, the Cullens kept flashing through my dreams. It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer. It was miserable because I had to play volleyball again, and I got socked in the back of the head by a stray and it hurt my neck. And it was worse because the Cullens weren't in school at all. All morning I was dreading my classes with them, dreading lunch, fearing the bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront them and demand to know what their problem was. While I was lying sleepless in bed, I had even imagined what I would say. I'd never had a problem with confrontation before, and it frustrated me that something about them intimidated me to the point of shutting up and bowing my head with my tail between my legs. I didn't want to roll over. Why was I?

Adam made his move after school, seeming to notice I was upset. He offered a drive around town, a 'welcome to Forks' grand tour. As if I hadn't spent fourteen summers here and seen it all. Still, I perked up at the idea, not just because it was the chance to be alone with him but because I'd noticed that morning that he drove a rusty Z28. Bella could see what I wanted, shaking her head with a little smile at my pleading eyes. "Go. I'll be fine, I can handle groceries on my own. I'll tell Ch—Dad you'll be home late."

"Back before dinner." I nod firmly, turning to Adam who smirks.

It wasn't long before we were making out in the woods.

"What about your boyfriend?" He managed while I moved to straddle him in the driver's seat, awkwardly trying to squeeze in between him and the steering wheel while my lips found his again and he helped me shove off Johnny's jacket.

"What boyfriend?" I breathe, moaning as his lips moved down my neck and his fingers dug into my ass through my jeans. We went on a little longer, getting to the point of taking my sweater and his jacket off, grinding against the hard on in his jeans, when the music abruptly cut off and he pulled back with a groan. I hadn't noticed that the whole car had died with the music.

"Sorry." He apologized, but I was already climbing off of him and pushing the driver side door open to stumble out. "This happens, it's a shitty scrapyard save that I paid way too much cash for and it dies all the fucking time, I keep replacing the battery but—"

"Pop the hood." I tell him, rolling the sleeves up on my henley while he stares at me in surprise, chest still rising and falling in deep with the pulse he was trying to bring down. I raise an eyebrow back at him, already trudging through the mud toward the front of the car. "Just pop it."

I'm not impressed with what I find under it. The scrapyard he'd bought it from probably sold the original engine, so it wasn't a surprise his car was underperforming. It was kind of a shame. The potential was clear on the outside, just a sanding job, some putty mold and fiber glass, a fresh paint job. I'd thought about the exterior work when I'd seen it this morning. I didn't think the inside would be such a travesty. As I surveyed the damage, he made his way out and around, watching me lean on his open hood. "To start with, your distributor cap's a little loose...of course you're shorting your batteries, the wiring's a mess, Jesus. You'll fry less when you replace these guys, it's a pretty cheap fix but it'll take a while to figure it all out. I think the rattling means you need to clean out your engine block soon, there's probably sediment build-up. The head doesn't look so great either. Have you replaced your cylinder valves since you bought this thing? No? What about your oil seals? Well, then that might be it, they've probably worn down and you've got all that shaking around in there like a cocktail."

"You just got ten times hotter." Adam tells me honestly, and I snort, smiling. "How do you know so much about cars?"

"I worked part time at an autoshop, kept the books...my boyfriend taught me how to pull cars apart and put 'em back together just to spend time with me before we started dating. I was underage." I confess with a wince, and his smile falls a little. "I'll break up with him tonight, don't worry."

"Really?" he grinned.

"Not because of you." I roll my eyes at his cockiness, giving him a little shove to the chest. "It's overdue. I can't do long distance, clearly."

"No, definitely not." He was swaggering closer now, his grin turning sleazy as his hands slipped onto my waist and tugged me against him. He was still hard. "You shouldn't be doing long distance at all. In fact, I think you should look very, very close by."

"Oh yeah?" I smirk, letting him kiss me again. "Mmm, okay, no, we can continue this when we have heating again."

"I have a toolkit in the back." He offered, and I smile.

Breaking up with Johnny was difficult. There was shock, which was fine, I could handle shock. There was arguing...no one could argue better than I could. The crying though, the crying I could've done without. I made sure to call his best friend Miles' house after, and I felt good about it, like I'd done the right thing. It wasn't like I hadn't tried to end things before I left. I didn't think it was that deep anyway, he was my first semi-longterm boyfriend. It wasn't like I was going to marry him.

I didn't check my emails until after Bella told me mom had sent her three. The only computer in the house resided in her bedroom, so my sister stayed sprawled on her bed doing her homework while I did the same at her desk, my hair twisted in a towel fresh from my shower, working on Trigonometry while I waited for the dial-up to finally connect. I had a lot more than three emails, which was to be expected, but I didn't really see the point in replying to my friends. I doubted I'd ever see them again, and I seemed to be in the mood to cut ties to Arizona tonight. I sent them all to my junk file before getting to mom's.

Gracie

Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you both already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida. Phil says hi, and he wants to know where you put your glove.

Mom.

Gracie,

Your sister hasn't e-mailed me yet, I'm worried. Can you check on her?

Mom.

Grace,

If I haven't heard from either you or your sister by 5:30 p.m today I'm calling Charlie.

Hi Gracie,

Bella finally replied. I want to know everything about this new boy. Is he cute? How old is he? What's he like? How'd you meet? Tell me everything. You better be home before Charlie gets there. Don't start with him, please. He might have a coronary if he knew what you were up to last year. I'm guessing this whole Johnny chapter is finally over. Good. This new boy better be an upgrade.

Love Mom.

I rolled my eyes at the last one. "You rat on me to mom?"

Bella looked sheepish at my unimpressed expression. "If I told her you couldn't reply because you were out she'd want to know why you were out so late."

"I could've been out with friends." I grumble. "Now mom's gonna think I'm a whore."

"You did cheat on your boyfriend." Bella mumbled back.

"He's not my boyfriend." I throw my head back in exasperation. "I told the girls that to get them off my back, duh."

"Well he thought he was still your boyfriend." Bella pointed out. "He was gonna drive to California to see you."

"I would've ended it way before then." I waved off. "Blame the distance."

Bella shook her head as if she'd never understand my dating life, and to be fair to her, I didn't think she would. It all made perfect sense to me. I'd never been in love, but I didn't have to be a nun. I was just a teenager.

Hey Mom,

Of course it's raining, it's Forks. Sorry, I forgot about the computer, it's up in Bella's room. Did she tell you I have my own room now? Charlie converted the garage, it's perfect. School's been fun so far, made a few friends. Glove's in the storage unit, top box in the left corner by the roller door. It says SPORTS. It should be next to the trophy boxes.

I broke up with Johnny. You were right, he's clingy. New guy's called Adam, very hot. He's a senior, so you'll be happy he's close to my age at least. We have AP Physics and AP Spanish together, so he must be smart. I know, Charlie hasn't been too happy about the long calls with Johnny. At least his phone bill's not gonna go up anymore.

I miss you and Phil too. Why can't you just call the house like a normal person? You know I'm too impatient for dial-up. I'll try to email once a week, so if you don't get a daily update please don't assume I'm dead.

Did Bella tell you about the truck? I'm probably gonna spend all our car savings on trying to make it run quieter, but so far it's been great. Just loud as hell. I'm thinking reworking the engine can be my Spring Break project, now that California's out.

I don't really know what else to update you on. Charlie's Charlie and Bella is apparently Charlie 2.0, it's weird. I don't know how to function in a house this quiet and boring. Don't tell Bella I said that. How's Phil doing? Did his trial go well? Do you still have your head attached to your body?

I love you,

Gracie.

Charlie came home just as I logged out, leaving Bella to hurry downstairs while I waited for the computer to shut down first. By the time I got down with my trig homework, he was stepping out of his boots, his gun belt already up on the hook. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready. When we were kids, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I was wary whenever I passed that gun, not for myself but for my deeply accident-prone sister who would have to cross pass it every time she went to the kitchen. I didn't put it past Bella to find a way to shoot herself in the foot. "Hi Dad."

"Hey kiddo." He was lingering in the doorway to the kitchen, where Bella was bustling around. It was a familiar scene. "Your sister made dinner."

"I'll take tomorrow." I say to Bella more than him, and she smiles appreciatively at me. Our mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. Bella and I had learned young how to feed ourselves and how to manage a tight kitchen budget while we were at it. We usually tag teamed in the kitchen, but Charlie's was a little tight for two.

I took a sniff. "Steak and potatoes?"

"Yeah." she smiled.

"Cool, you can compare next week." I joke to Dad, patting his shoulder while I pass him in the kitchen. "Bella and I argue all the time on how a proper steak's done."

"And burgers. And chicken." Bella tacks on.

"You can't be afraid of smoke, Bells." I sigh, "Everything tastes better grilled. Oven steak just isn't the same, it takes the magic away."

"Well your magic sets off the smoke alarm every time." Bella snarked back.

Charlie chuckled, but left to the living room to watch TV while we worked. I set the table while Bella made a salad, the two of us bickering gently the whole way. It was how we functioned. We called him when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.

"Smells good, Bell."

"Thanks."

We at in silence for a few minutes. It made me uncomfortable. Bella and Charlie were too alike for their own good.

"So, how did you girls like school? Have you made any friends?" He asked as he was taking seconds.

"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. We sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." Bella offered, excluding the few very outstanding exceptions.

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."

"He's got a crush on Bells." I tease my sister, and she flames on cue.

"How about you, Gracie?" Charlie steers the question away quickly, cheeks more pink than Bella's. "Made any friends?"

"Mmhmm. Same group as Bella, they're really nice, and a few seniors from my AP classes." I explain. "I was actually out with one of them today, after school. Adam Wexler?"

Charlie's face fell. "Oh."

"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow, sharing a look with Bella.

"He's a bit of a handful." Charlie grimaces, "Caught him in that Camaro of his with quite a few girls, you know. Doing stuff. Wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Please, Gracie would eat him alive." Bella muttered, and Charlie went a funny purple color.

I clear my throat. "He seems nice so far, I dunno. We'll see."

"Right." His voice was tight. "What about that boy on the phone?"

"He won't be calling anymore." I answer delicately, cutting into my last bit of steak without meeting anyone's eyes. The silence rang for a little, awkward again.

"Do you know the Cullen family?" Bella asked hesitantly, and my eyes snapped to her at once.

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

"They...the kids...are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."

Charlie surprised me by looking angry.

"People in this town." He muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here." He continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature — I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations, Adam Wexler included. And they stick together the way a family should — camping trips every other weekend... Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."

It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.

Bella backpedaled. "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive." She added, trying to be more complimentary.

I stared at her like she'd grown a second head. I didn't know where Charlie had gotten the 'well behaved and polite' from, but I'd definitely never seen that side to the Cullens.

"You should see the doctor." Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."

"I know the feeling." I grumble.

We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while Bella started on the dishes, and I got back to my trigonometry homework at the table. Charlie went back to the TV, and Bella went upstairs to her room when she was done while I dried the dishes and put them away. I could feel a tradition in the making.

That night was the quietest it had been thus far, and I didn't like it. It was easier to sleep to the sound of rain. I still managed to knock out, exhausted. The rest of the week was uneventful. There was a brief hubbub at the start, when Adam greeted me with a long, passionate kiss openly in the morning in front of the whole parking lot, like he was marking his territory. It had definitely been a good wake up call.

Apparently the Adam Wexler had never been openly romantic with a girl before, as Jessica would gush to me during trigonometry. He'd walk me to every class just as an excuse to hold my hand and steal a kiss when he was sure there weren't any teachers around. He still got on my nerves, much to my relief. I hated when guys got soppy on me, I got bored easy that way. But aside from making out with Adam, the rest of the week was dull. I got used to the routine of my classes, and I got closer to my friends. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school. But the Cullens didn't come back to school.

Every day, I watched their empty table anxiously, waiting for them to arrive. I noticed my sister did the same, though she still wouldn't talk to me about what had happened between her and Edward Cullen, as if she refused to accept that it was real. I'd tried to bring it up a few times, after it became clear they weren't going to be there all week.

Most of the lunchtime conversation was centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. Bella and I were invited, and we had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire. Beaches should be hot and dry, on that I agreed with my sister. But Adam would be there, and so of course I was going.

By Friday I was perfectly comfortable attending my AP classes, no longer worried about bumping into any Cullens. For all I knew, they'd moved. I tried not to think about them, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that my sister and I were somehow responsible for their continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed.

My first weekend in Forks marked my first trip to Adam's house. He lived with his dad, Christopher, who I only saw in passing as he left for a hunting trip and said 'you kids have fun', and a brother named Sam who wasn't home when we got there. Adam didn't look like either of them, from the picture frames I passed as we made it to the garage. Ed and Toby were waiting there with another boy they introduced as Paul Lahote, a very buff teenager from the Quileute reservation in La Push who played the drums for their band. Paul was kinda hot and equally as cocky as Adam, which was always fun. They seemed to butt heads often.

I worked on Adam's car while the band practiced. They weren't as good as Johnny's band, but I wasn't going to tell Adam that. I was amused that they didn't actually have anything to practice for, the idea of finding an open mic night in Seattle seeming to be a lightbulb suggestion for them. It was kind of cute how dumb teenage boys could be.

On Saturday, Adam and I had sex for the first time. It wasn't great, but we could work our way up to that. First times were never great. I did spend some time at the house on Sunday, mostly out of guilt of leaving Bella alone all of Saturday. She'd gotten bored enough to clean the whole house, so I insisted on doing all the laundry and cooking to make up for it. She nagged me to write another forcefully lengthy email to mom, and I caught up on my homework last minute before going out before dinner again with Adam. This time he lasted a little longer, so I grew hopeful. At least he was good with his fingers to make up for it. I liked boys who played guitar for a reason.

People greeted us in the parking lot Monday morning. I knew Bella didn't know all their names either, but we waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but not raining. Bella and I got sprung with a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights in English, her favorite book — my least favorite book. Still, hate was strong enough of a sentiment I remembered all the answers.

All in all, I felt pretty settled into my new life in Forks. I was surprised to feel that I was enjoying it more than my time in Phoenix. Life was simpler here, and I had way more freedom than I should ever be afforded. I wondered how long that would last with Charlie before he realized what his little girl was up to.

When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose, but it didn't deter me from my abundant joy.

"Wow." I said with clear awe in my tone. "It's snowing."

"Ew." Bella had to kill the moment.

Mike, who often walked with us, looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Bella grimaced. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes — you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips — Gracie!"

My sister had turned my way to catch me with my tongue out flat and my head tilted up, the corners of my lips upward in a goofy grin while I waited to catch the bits of white on my tongue. They melted on contact, of course, but I was effectively a child again in the presence of this mystical white fluffy stuff. And so I ignored her, sticking my tongue out even more.

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" Miked asked Bella incredulously.

"Sure I have." Bella paused. "On TV."

Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked me in the back of my head, hard enough I bit my tongue and let out a 'mmmph!' at the sharp pain. We all turned to see where it came from. I spotted Adam and glared at his retreating back, eyes turning into slits. He was walking in the wrong direction for his next class. I bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush, stupidly surprised by the freezing cold that bit into my hands and immediately numbed my fingers.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Bella kept walking as she talked to us. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

I just nodded, my eyes focused on the douchebag's retreating figure. No sooner was Bella gone that I began an all-out war. Everyone got involved, and Mike and I bonded for the first time ever by becoming an unspoken team. He taught me how to mush my snowballs more compact so I could fling them further without them breaking apart mid-air. It wasn't rocket science, but it might as well have been. We were both apparently very competitive.

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. The fight continued between classes, and the teachers seemed to let us off for being late. I was pretty soaked through by lunch, finding my sister and Jessica with Mike at my side, my new best friend. Bella had a binder in her hands like a shield, which made me cackle with laughter. It took everything I had in me not to surprise her with a snowball. I had a feeling Bella would disown me if I did.

Adam found me in the lunch line, tugging me into his front with his arms wrapped around me, waving a metaphorical white flag as he pecked my lips and smiled and mumbled 'sorry'. I grinned, knowing full well I was going to lob another snowball at him as soon as we got out of the cafeteria. I'd completely forgotten about the empty table in the corner, at least until Bella froze where she stood and Adam and I got caught in the traffic, bumping into Mike and Jess.

Jess pulled on my sister's arm. "Hello? Bella? What do you want?"

She looked down quickly, her ears flaming red. I frowned, following where she had been looking and freezing myself while my boyfriend pressed a kiss against my damp shoulder. There were five people at the table. I looked away quickly, snapping out of it, cheeks aflame.

"What's with your sister?" Mike asked me.

"Nothing." Bella answered for herself. "I'll just get a soda today." She caught up to the end of the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" I frown at her with concern.

"Actually, I feel a little sick." She said, her eyes still on the floor. She waited while we all got our food, and then dragged her feet as we made our way to a table. I watched her, on alert now that I knew they were here. Bella just sipped her soda slowly, as if even this took her unnecessary effort. Twice, Mike asked her how she was feeling. Twice, she dismissed it.

I knew Bella wasn't going to risk it, so I sighed, taking one for the team. I looked up, properly this time instead of at their feet. None of them were looking our way, so I watched openly.

They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow, and I wondered how I had ever missed them if they were involved in the parking lot war. Were they in gym this morning? No way. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else — only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.

But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Rosalie the most carefully. Her skin was less pale, I decided. The circles under her eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.

"Babe, what'cha staring at?" Adam intruded, his eyes following my stare.

At that precise moment, Rosalie Hale's eyes flashed over to meet mine, and I looked away toward Adam so fast my neck cracked. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that she didn't look harsh or unfriendly as she had the last time I'd seen her. She looked entirely indifferent, in fact.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you." Jessica giggled in Bella's ear.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" Bella paled.

"No." She said, sounding confused by her question. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me." Bella confides in her. She put her head down on her arm, looking suddenly very tired. I worried again about how little she'd eaten, hyper aware she'd only had a protein bar for breakfast.

"The Cullens don't like anybody... well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him." Bella hissed.

She snickered, but she looked away. The conversation should've ended there, but Adam piped up, his arm still on the back of my chair. "Actually, the Cullens kinda hate your sister's guts."

"What?" Jessica snapped her head towards us, Bella looking up. I flush.

Adam shrugged. "First day of school. Should'a seen the looks Miss Ice Queen over there threw Gracie, and she didn't even say a word to her. Her boyfriend gave her the same cold shoulder after class, and Edward Cullen after school. Wonder what she's been telling her family about Gracie."

"Maybe she's jealous." Jessica offers, as if this were the most logical explanation.

"Exactly what I said." Adam was pleased. "Bet she didn't think a total smokeshow was gonna show up at school and give her a run for her money."

"You guys are idiots." I roll my eyes, not seeing the point in arguing over how no one could ever compare to Rosalie Hale.

Mike interrupted us then — he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I looked at Adam, raising both eyebrows before waggling them suggestively. He grinned like Christmas had come early.

Unfortunately, Christmas got ruined as soon as we got to the door, and we all groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. Only Bella looked pleased, pulling her hood up. I hoped it would snow again tomorrow.

Adam and I walked to Physics together, but I didn't notice my frozen nose was running until we walked into the blast of the heaters in class. It was embarrassing, and I quickly flung my backpack around to pull out the pack of tissues I probably shouldn't keep in the same pocket as my lighter. Adam teased me, saying my tiny pale nose was as red as Rudolph. I glared at him as he booped it with his finger on the way to our desks.

Mine was thankfully empty as I sat down. I focused on my boyfriend, who usually sat facing my direction on his stool until Mr. Molina told him to turn around and pay attention. Adam wasn't stupid, despite how little effort he put into school and how much he tested the patience of the staff. I figured the problem was that he was too sharp for class, so he got bored easily as a result. He was also recklessly impulsive. Unfortunately, so was I.

I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, and I saw the way Adam's head turned just enough I could see him looking at her from the corner of his eye. The timing was terrible. He'd literally just turned around, effectively taking away my line of defense with him. I squared my shoulders. I knew I needed to woman up.

"Hi."

Rosalie Hale looked up, seemingly startled that I was speaking to her. She was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but her chair wasn't angled away like last time. Her dazzling face was open, though I wouldn't call it friendly. Her eyes were cautious.

"I'm Grace Swan." I continue. "I never got the chance to introduce myself last week. If we're gonna be lab partners, we've gotta talk, right?" There, you survived. She can't be mad at you if you're nice to her. Kill the bitch with kindness.

And then she smiled at me, and I forgot everything."Rosalie Hale. It's...nice to meet you, Gracie."

I didn't fail to notice the way her quiet, musical voice lingered on nice, as if she hadn't been sure if it was very nice at all. But I was more focused on the way she said my name, and even more focused on ignoring the shiver of thrill it sent down my spine. God her voice was pretty.

"Gracie?"

She furrowed her perfect brows at me, clearly wondering why I was saying my own name like a question. I flushed. "My friends call me Gracie, I didn't know other people were calling me that too."

Her expression relaxed. "I overheard some boys talking about you in the hallway."

Something scratched at Adam's table, catching both our attention's then. His shoulders were tense. We didn't exchange another word then, focusing on Mr. Molina instead. There was a stack of papers slowly making their way around the class, and he expected us to finish it in pairs as review over the topic we had just wrapped up without the aid of any textbooks. So a pop quiz, but with lab partners. Great. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had the most questions right.

"Get started." He commanded.

"Oldest first?" I offer, tone light, and this time Rosalie snorts softly, accepting the paper from me. I passed the stack Adam had given me to the boys who sat across the aisle from us.

By the time I turned back around, Rosalie was already on the second question. "Whoa hey, save some for me."

She looked up again, eyebrows barely pinched together, seeming almost reluctant to hand the paper over. I rolled my eyes, reaching out for it. "I'm not a dumb blonde."

"Bad stereotype." She says, but there's something half-hearted in her tone, as if she was just filling the gaps in conversation without any care. I didn't mind. At least she wasn't being hostile.

I didn't miss the way she watched me write down my answer in my untidy chicken scrawl beneath her perfect, loped letters. It made me bristle. Physics was easily my favorite subject and I wanted to pursue engineering in college, I didn't need her to look down on me and just assume I'd ruin her grade or something. I felt the need to show off, making my answer as in-depth as possible before handing her back the paper. This, unfortunately, started a competition. She seemed faintly amused by the time we got to the other side of the page. It was in glaring lightly at her when I thought she was too busy writing to notice that it finally clicked what was so different about her.

"Did you get contacts?"

She froze. "I was wearing them on the first day."

Ah. I couldn't understand why she would choose that terrible flat black color over the pretty golden hue. It was darker than butterscotch, but the same shade as her glossy hair. I looked down. Her hands were clenched into hard fists again. I looked away quickly. Mr. Molina came to our table then, to see why we'd stopped working. I hadn't noticed that no one else was even close to done. Adam and his partner had their book open under the table, and a few tables over, a group were arguing and crossing something out angrily. Mr. Molina didn't seem too notice, too busy reading through our answers with the sheet held close to his face.

"So, Rosalie, didn't you think Grace should get a chance to answer?" Mister Molina asked.

"Actually, she answered more than half." Rosalie didn't sound happy about it, but her lips twitched. "Her handwriting could use a little work."

I scowled. Mr. Molina looked at me now; his expression was skeptical. To be fair to him, I was the only junior in this class.

"Have you covered advanced thermodynamics before?" He asked.

"Yeah."

Mister Molina nodded. "Are you planning on majoring in the engineering field after school?"

"That's the plan."

"Well." He said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. I turned to glare at Rosalie.

"My handwriting's fine." I tell her, pluckily.

"Your handwriting would match a five year old." She smiled, her stupidly pretty voice drawling. And then her eyes flick down. "And your nose is as red as one. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to stay wet in cold weather?"

"Shut up." My cheeks flame. She turns away, smile triumphant at the lame comeback, and I hate how dazzling it is more than anything.

For a moment, I think it's over. And then she speaks, voice softer. "Why did you move to Forks?"

I blinked at the question. No one had asked me that, not even Adam. Not the way she did. It sounded like she'd just asked me why I killed her dog.

"It's...complicated."

She didn't like that. "I'm sure I can keep up."

There was that blinding arrogance again, as if nothing I could say would ever impress her. "My mother got remarried."

She was bored by that. "That's not complicated. When?"

"Last September."

"And you don't like him." She decides, her tone still bored.

"No, Phil's great. A little young, maybe, but we'd train together." My mouth ran without my intent, and she raised a brow. "I used to be captain of the girls' soccer team back home."

This didn't surprise her, and I wondered why. So far everyone had been impressed by my athletic ability in gym. I'd been pretty smug about it. "So why didn't you stay with them?"

"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." I half-smiled.

This time, her eyes spark. "Have I heard of him?"

"Probably not." I chuckle. "He's not great. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."

"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." She decides, and I consider it. Mom probably would have threatened to send me to Forks if things got more serious with Johnny...if Forks had been more of a punishment to me, at least.

"Not really. Mom would never kick us out. Bella decided it was time to make the move, and I was all for it. I like the rain." I like Dad. I love Mom, but I didn't miss the fighting. And Dad let me get away with everything.

"So how's it complicated?" She frowns.

"This is kind of my sister's personal hell." I feel my lips quirk up. "So why did I move to Forks? Because my mom loves us enough to stay with us, even if she misses Phil and it makes her miserable. And my sister loves my mom enough to move to the last place she'd ever want to be on this planet and it makes her miserable."

"And you love your sister enough to leave your boyfriend behind in Phoenix." Rosalie finishes, eyes darting to Adam's back where he was very obviously eavesdropping. "Ex-boyfriend."

I shrug. Boys were kind of inconsequential. "And now you're miserable?"

"No." I snort. "It's not that deep. We'll be gone in a couple years."

She nodded at that. For some reason, I wanted the conversation to continue. I wanted to hear her voice again. "This must be a little different from Alaska."

"It's the closest I've ever been to Arizonian weather." Her lips quirk, and I laugh. "What's it like back home?"

"Hot." I shrug. "I kinda like the weather up here more."

"Because you like the rain." She repeats.

"And the cold." I hum. "Even when it gives me a cold."

"You should take some medicine when you get home." Rosalie sighed. "Your immune system's probably down. Take some vitamins. Stay warm."

"Yes doctor." I mock with a smile. Her lips twitch again. "You know, you're not as bad as I thought you were."

Her eyebrow rises at this. "I kinda thought you were a raging bitch for a while."

Adam snorts in front of me. Rosalie gives him a sharp little glare. "I'm sorry. I wasn't feeling very well that day."

"That why all of you were gone all week?" I raise a brow at her.

She shook her head. "We had a family emergency in Alaska. We needed to go see our relatives there."

Oh. A perfectly good explanation. For some reason I couldn't shake the idea it had to do with me and my sister, and that bothered me. "I hope everything's okay."

"I hope so too." She says lowly and vaguely. Mr. Molina called the class to order then, and I turned to listen.

I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Molina illustrated, using transparencies on the overhead projector, exactly how we should have answered the worksheet. But my thoughts were unmanageable. When the bell finally rang, Rosalie rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as she had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after her in amazement.

Adam swiveled around on his stool towards me, shoving his books into his backpack. "Okay, what the hell was that?"

"I don't know either." I put my hands up in mock surrender, packing up as quickly as I could. "At least she's not mad anymore."

"Yeah, I guess." He didn't seem thrilled.

"You cheated." I squint at him as we leave class together.

He rolled his eyes. "I hate thermodynamics. It's the most boring shit ever. I just wanna skip to the color lights and the magnets, theory sucks ass."

"You're not gonna graduate if you fail your sciences." I remind him.

"Well maybe I have incentive to stay back a year, see your pretty face more." He flirts, clearly not in the mood to get nagged. I roll my eyes, leaning up just enough to steal a kiss that he smiles against.

Emmett and Edward Cullen don't glare at me when we pass them in Spanish, which I take as the closest I'd get to a green light from them. Somewhere towards the start of class, though, Edward starts to look unwell, and storms out of the room with Mrs. Goff calling after him. She asks Emmett to go check on his brother, but after a long while, he returns alone and murmurs something to her. I wondered if whatever bug Rosalie had had was still running through the family. They didn't look sick. If anything, they looked better than the last time I'd seen them.

The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, waiting for Bella while twitching through the radio stations again. There was always more static when it rained, and unfortunately, it was always raining in Forks. I needed to invest in installing a proper sound system with a CD slot.

Bella rushed for the truck so much I worried she was going to slip and crack her skull open. She wouldn't stop shivering, unzipping her jacket and pulling the hood down, fluffing her damp hair out like I had so the heater could dry it on the way home. I'd have a better chance than her with my shorter hair. Bella had grown hers out to her waist up until last summer, cutting it to her chest just before the wedding. I hadn't noticed that it was healthier out here until that moment. It had more life to it. "What?"

"Nothing, your hair's nice."

Bella flushes, rubbing her hands together for warmth. That was when she saw something beyond the windshield. I followed her gaze to Edward Cullen, leaning agains the front door of his Volvo, three cars down from us, staring straight back at Bella. He didn't look sick now. Bella looked away, throwing the truck into reverse and almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in her haste. Lucky for the Toyota, she stomped on the brake in time. Unlucky for me, I slammed hard against my seatbelt, and it knocked the wind out of me. "JESUS!"

"Sorry." Bella blushed, taking a deep breath, still looking out the other side of the truck, cautiously pulling out again with greater success. I turned to Edward Cullen, and through the mist of rain I swore I saw him shaking with laughter.