Forks, Washington is the new Upper East Side, according to every hot magazine around. It is the homes to the rich and the elite, where nobody is a nobody. Everyone gets what they want - period. But the one downside to Forks is your business is the whole town's business.

So when there is fresh meat arriving in Forks everyone is in competition to grab the latest gossip about the new kid. Because if you're in the know, you have the correct ammunition...and you can be ready to fire at a moments notice.

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Bella Swan arrived at the airport at nine o clock in the morning, tired and groggy. She had refused to fly first class, what with despising her wealth, and had decided to 'slum it' with the economy class, as her cousin, Alice, had so delicately put it. Bella considered her father's money to be a pain, a nuisance. She felt it gave people the wrong impression about her, and whenever anybody tried to befriend her, she was never sure if it was for her personality or her money. So she'd thought it best to remain anonymous at her old school, alone and secluded so nobody wanted to befriend her. In her head it had always made sense - she didn't get hurt since she didn't care enough about anyone. But in her heart she knew she could use at least one girlfriend, that certain someone to confide in when her Diary just didn't make the cut.

So when her father, a litigator, got moved across the globe to rainy old Forks, Washington, she thought it might work out for the best. Everyone was already rich (albeit snobby and conceited) so nobody would try to be nice for Bella's money, and so her luck at finding friends was hanging completely on her personality. Alice had lived in the small town of Forks for three years prior to Bella's move and from what Bella had heard, Alice was incredibly popular with too many friends to count. The pair had always gotten along rather well, and Bella felt comforted in the fact that she knew at least one person in her new school.

After collecting her luggage from the collection point, Bella traipsed through the throngs of people arriving at SeaTac to find her way to the exit where a car, sent by her father, was supposedly waiting. Sure enough, once she set foot into the drizzly weather, she spotted a sleek black car with a man in a uniform standing by the front door, holding a small whiteboard with 'Swan' written on it. Bella approached the man with a small smile.

"I'm Bella Swan," she said quietly, resisting the urge to yawn. It had been a long night after flying in from England.

The man put on a tight smile that looked a little forced and made to open the door for her. She jumped off the curb and put her hand on the handle.

"It's okay, I've got it." She smiled at him, wondering if he'd protest. Instead, he shrugged and went to climb into his door. Bella smiled in triumph at herself, even though she was always one to speak her mind and protest to anything people wouldn't do unless she was rich. She thought, however, she would need to be cutthroat in her new school, since the kids at the school would not take kindly to new people, least of all Isabella Swan, a practical nobody who was only rich because her father worked his ass off in college to become the top lawyer in the country.

Bella was pretty much an angel child, apart from her sharp tongue. She never went out to drink, she never partied, she never smoked, or did drugs, she always got straight A's, and she never once missed a curfew the few times she had gone out with a few people which was usually her best friend, Tyler. Tyler was also wealthy, only he was rich in his own right, following his dream of becoming an actor. He had done incredibly well for himself, what with him only being Bella's young age of seventeen. Bella always loved Tyler as a friend, although they had once tried to be more. When the constant stream of paparazzi got too much for her to handle, they decided to call things off, and the almost-infamous Isabella Swan went back to being plain, old Bella from Kensington, London.

The car pulled up outside Bella's new home about an hour after she left the airport. After extracting her bags from the boot, she thanked the driver graciously, even giving him a hefty tip, and dragged her luggage to the front door. For some reason, she felt like she should knock, even though it was her house, and it was only her father inside, maybe a housekeeper also. She sighed, and twisted the handle, which revealed a beautifully decorated hallway, complete with a white staircase that wound ever so slightly to the left with a long rouge carpet streaming down it. The floor was white tiled, and looked surprisingly un-tacky. Bella felt dirty and boring compared to this house's beauty. It looked classic and chic. Bella looked grubby and untamed. She glanced down at her favourite pair of Converse, taking in her black hoodie and black skinny jeans at the same time. She stuck out like a sore thumb in here.

As predicted, a stout woman, whose name Bella discovered to be Zaffrina, came tottering in with the classical maid's uniform on. She took one long look at Bella and began trying to usher her out the door she just came in. Bella was too shocked to say anything for the first few seconds, before what Zaffrina was doing sunk in.

"Oh! No, I live here! I'm Bella! I'm Charlie's daughter!"

Zaffrina ceased nudging Bella towards the door to take another look at her, this time scrutinizing her face.

"Yes. You have his eyes," she declared, like Bella had never been told that before. But, feeling like this was progress, she smiled in agreement and thanks, before picking her bags up again.

"Do you know which one is my room?" Bella asked.

Zaffrina nodded, lifting up the remaining two bags and stalking off up the stairs to Bella's new room. When they entered, Bella felt even more awkward. It was a clean cut room, with perfectly pressed sheets, plumped pillows, a four poster bed with a chaise in the corner. The walls were an off-white colour, with one wall being a dusty pink, and the cushions matched that. Bella swallowed hard.

"Thank you," she managed to croak out, and Zaffrina left to attend to whatever she needed to. Bella walked over to the bed and flopped down backwards onto it, sighing as she did so. She sat up once more, running a free hand through her hair with worry as to what tomorrow would be like. A new school. And she was sure that everyone would be talking about her. Because, unfortunately, that's what happened in this town. It revolved around sex, money and gossip, where the only thing you needed was your reputation. And if you lost that, you were completely and utterly fucked.

As Bella was wondering what she would wear tomorrow, a young girl burst into the room, who could only be a few years older than Bella. She had long brown hair and she wore too much make up - she looked like a total skank, if Bella was honest with herself.

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed, looking wildly around the room, out the door again, then returning to look Bella up and down. Her face curled into a grimace when she noticed Bella's wet converse against the pristine floor, but when the skank's eyes reached Bella's eyes, comprehension dawned upon her.

"Charlie! Charlie, Bella's here! Charlie, come quick!" She yelled, looking unbelievably giddy about the situation. Bella's face contorted with confusion as to how the skank knew her name. Had she met her before but just not remembered her? No, that seemed unlikely - there was no way Bella could forget the way her boobs just never moved. Bella was about to ask what was going on, but she was silenced when her father walked into the room. His eyes lit up at the sight of his daughter standing in the room.

"Bella! Dear, how are you?" He had acquired a half American accent already since being here. He had moved a few months ago whilst Bella finished her year off back home in England, living with Tyler for the time being.

"Fine, Dad," she told him, her eyes darting between him and the skank.

"Oh! This is Tanya, Bella. She's…well, she's going to be your new stepmother."

Bella's eyes widened. Well, her father had certainly learnt to be blunt in the few months he'd been away. Talking of a few months, there was no way he could have fallen so much in love with this woman he felt the need to marry her. It just didn't work like that. Especially after Bella's mum…

"What?" she asked dumbly, because she had heard him perfectly the first time.

"I know it's soon, Bella," Tanya answered for Charlie, "but we have fallen in love with each other, and we don't think we're going to be with anyone else, so we figured, what the hell. Right, babe?"

Eugh. Charlie was much too old to be called 'babe'. Without thinking, Bella muttered the words she would regret in five seconds time.

"More like fallen in love with his money…"

Their faces fell, before Tanya twisted into one of smugness.

"Bella--" Charlie started, but Tanya cut him off.

"No, it's fine, Charlie. She's bound to be apprehensive at first. I should know, I can remember being a teenage girl…"

Of course you can, it was only last year, Bella thought, bitterly.

Charlie sighed.

"You're right, Tan. But Bella, you better treat Tanya with respect in this household. Do you understand?"

Bella couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Yes," she sighed reluctantly.

They both nodded before leaving the room, but not before Charlie turned and told Bella how happy he was to see her again. Bella returned his smile, but once they'd gone it took everything in her not to burst out screaming.

So after unpacking, which was a tedious job, she picked up her phone and scrolled down to call Alice.

"Hello?" Her tiny, high-pitched voice hadn't changed at all.

"Hey, Alice? It's Bella."

"Bella! Hey! How are you? When did your flight get in? Wait, are you at home?"

Bella had to laugh at Alice's enthusiasm.

"I'm…surviving. My flight got in about an hour ago, so yes, I'm home. I was wondering if I could come round for a while? I need to talk to someone, and you're…here. Do you mind?"

"No, of course not. I live where I always have. See you in five," Alice said, before hanging up.

Bella walked back down the stairs, telling Zaffrina that she would be gone for a few hours and to pass on the message to her father if he asked. She stumbled her way across the small town to Alice's road that made her feel nostalgic. She had been here a few times to visit Alice and her Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle, but she'd not been here for years.

Bella strolled up to Alice's door, knocking three short knocks. The door swung open and a small creature erupted from the door, flinging themselves at an unsuspecting Bella.

"Bella! Oh, I've missed you so much!" Alice squealed. Bella laughed and hugged her cousin back.

"I missed you too, Al."

"Come in! Come in!" Alice ushered her into the hall that resembled her own and they headed into her room, which was smaller than Bella's so it could accommodate Alice's gigantic wardrobe. Bella had always liked to call it 'The Circus of Horrors', but whatever floated Alice's boat.

After a few minutes of small talk, Alice cut the chase. "So…What did you want to talk about?"

"Well…First of all, will you please save me from the Tank of Sharks tomorrow at school?" Bella basically pleased.

Alice snickered.

"Well, that was a given. You're like my sister. And there has been a hell of a lot of hype involving you. Nobody seems to be able to dish anything up on you, but don't worry - I've kept my mouth shut. It's made them extremely excited…"

Bella groaned, because that was exactly what she had been fearing.

"I'm going to be a huge disappointment then, aren't I?"

Alice examined Bella carefully.

"Not if you let me help. Honestly, Bells, all you need is a few highlights, your eyebrows need doing and you need some kick ass clothes. All the ballet lessons you took as a kid have paid off because your ass is perfect!" Alice exclaimed, to which Bella blushed furiously.

"I kind of want to be a disappointment, Al. I don't want to be liked here, because - and this does not include you at all - the people here are all conceited snobs who need a reality check. They live in their own private worlds where everything is perfect and their problems can all be solved if they throw money at people. The real world doesn't work like that."

Alice nodded in understanding.

"Okay, I can see your point. What else did you want to talk about?"

Bella grimaced and relapsed the story of Tanya to Alice. She gasped in all the right places, and by the end of it she looked utterly sympathetic for Bella.

"Don't worry, Bella, your dad isn't stupid. He wouldn't be marrying this woman unless he loved her."

"I'm sure he does love her, I'm just not sure she loves him back."

"Give it time. Maybe she'll start to grow on you." I doubt that - and I think I'd prefer cancer, Bella thought, bitterness covering her inner mind's workings.

She nodded slowly, trying to make herself think solely on being nice to Tanya, because it would make her dad happy. And Tanya seemed to have made her father a lot more cheerful...maybe she should give the woman a chance.

"Okay…I can do that."

Alice smiled proudly.

"I know you can, Bells. Now, come on, you need to go back, sort yourself out for tomorrow, take a nice relaxing bath and have an early night. Okay?"

This was what Bella loved about Alice. She was always so comforting, concerned, and helpful. She would, Bella thought, make a great mother one day.

When Bella arrived home, she thought she should do something to make up for her rude behaviour this morning, not that she was sorry for her actions. She still disliked Tanya, but for now, she had no proof that she was, in fact, a gold-digging-whore. So, Bella did what any woman would do: she cooked.

An hour later, Bella called her father and Tanya down the stairs. They both reached the bottom step looking oddly at Bella, sniffing the air.

"Come on, I have a surprise," Bella said, trying to sound enthusiastic. She led them into the dining room Zaffrina had set out, that was now filled with so much food nobody would know what to try first. Both Charlie and Tanya gasped, ad Bella walked over to her table setting, sitting down as gracefully as possible, placing her napkin on her knee. Her father and The Sk-- Tanya followed suit, before tucking into Bella's homemade food. The room was silent bar the odd, "Mmm.." or "Try the potatoes," but that satisfied Bella. She did not need the small talk.

When they could not eat any more, Charlie let out a low whistle.

"I must say, I think Alec outdid himself. That was superb, Zaffrina. Make sure you let him know."

Zaffrina smirked at him and glanced over to Bella who was fiddling with her jacket sleeved uncomfortably.

"Um…I cooked it, Dad."

Both his and Tanya eyes widened.

"All of it?" Charlie asked. Bella nodded mutely.

"Wow…" Tanya said quietly, to which Charlie nodded his head vigorously at.

"Well, Bella, you're full of surprises. I didn't know you could cook!"

"Yeah…I learnt with, um, Mum…in June, I think. It was just before you left when work sent you here. You were too busy to hear about what we were doing..."

Charlie's face twisted with guilt, but before he could say anything, Bella spoke again, because that wasn't what she meant.

"No, Dad, I didn't mean it like that sounded. I just meant I don't expect you to know everything about me. Especially the recent stuff. It's fine…"

Charlie nodded with a conserved smile on his lips. Bella stood up, telling Charlie, Tanya and Zaffrina goodnight. Both Charlie and Tanya thanked Bella for the meal and remained in the dining room to talk. Bella followed Alice's advice and had a relaxing bath, before snuggling into her plush bed, because she had a feeling that tomorrow would be hell.

Who is rich? He who is content. Who is that? Nobody.

~Benjamin Franklin.

Did anyone spot the True Blood quote? It made me laugh my socks off when she said it, so I stole it. Credit goes to the writers about the 'I'd prefer cancer' remark.

Review please. :)