Chapter 1: First Day Dramas

"Okay, Ann. Just breath. You can do this. It's not like you've never had to do new things before," I said to myself. Although I've never had to switch schools before. I glanced up at the red brick buildings of Forks High School, eyeing the building almost warily. Well, at least it was just about the same size as my old one had been.

I caught my eyes in the rear view mirror as I gave myself a once over. I looked pale, paler than I usually did. I pinched my cheeks, trying to bring some color back to my face. It only left my cheeks glaringly red. My light brown hair framed my face on either side, a curtain that fell to the bottom of my rib-cage. My eyes, a misty gray, were slightly too wide in that moment, anxiety showing clear in them.

I pursed my lips as I considered my reflection, trying to get control of my emotions. I looked like mom.

I immediately shied away from that thought. I wouldn't let myself think about that, not now.

Okay, one more deep breath and then lets go. I could feel my hands shaking as I climbed out of my navy blue car. It was a second hand one that my dad had bought me when we moved here. At least I would have some way of getting around now that I actually had my license.

I kept my head low as I headed towards one of the small brick buildings that had the word office labeled on the outside of it.

Stepping through the door, I sighed at the warmth that greeted me. It was a small bit of heaven from the cool rain outside. There was a receptionist sitting behind the desk wearing a pink suit with a skirt. She was brave, a skirt in this chill. I almost felt at home.

Her blue eyes flashed up to mine when I walked in and she smiled. "You must be our new student."

I could feel my stomach start to relax at the friendliness she exuded. "I'm Annabell Evans," I told her, taking a step closer.

"Isn't that wonderful. I have your schedule right here." She handed me a piece of paper that had a list of classes and another that had a map. The next five minutes she spent highlighting each building I had classes in and then she even drew the best route to each. Although I wasn't horrible at directions and I was sure I could have found it on my own, I was happy to listen. Now I would at least have some clue about where I was going. The last thing she gave me was a slip that all the teachers were supposed to sign.

I turned, pausing before the door. I really didn't want to go back out in the drizzle that had started. I willed the heat around me to stay before pushing the door open. Let's see, first class is English. Well, that should at least be fun. I had been in the AP class back at my old high school so this class should be relatively easy.

As I walked into the classroom I saw that it was decent sized. There were twenty or so desks that were in a circle, about half of them full. I ignored the stares that greeted me as I walked up to the teacher, Mr. Mason. I held out the sheet for him to sign and without really even looking he did so before waving at one of the seats that were still open.

I sat back, watching as the teacher lectured about Shakespeare's Hamlet for an hour. It was a play that I had already read and found dull. I didn't mind most of his sonnets but all the characters in his plays seemed a bit too dramatic for my taste.

I sighed as the bell finally rang, signaling the next class. Before I could even stand up from my seat a boy a few desk down was in front of me. He had dark hair and an open smile. "You're Anna Evans, aren't you?"

"Annabell," I corrected, slinging my bag onto my back. I was already starting to walk towards the door.

"What's your next class?" He asked.

"History." I read it off and groaned. Out of all the classes, that had to be the worst.

"I can show you the way. I'm Eric by the way," he said, extending his hand.

I shook it, smiling for real now. "That would be wonderful."

He led the way as we stepped back out into the drizzle. I glared at the sky, sure that it was only raining to annoy me.

"So where did you move from?" He asked.

"Maine."

His eyes widened slightly. "Wow. That must be really different from here." He said.

I shrugged. "Well, it snows nine months of the year and hails the other three." I almost wanted to laugh as I quoted How to Train your Dragon.

"Really?" Eric asked, his mouth agape.

I couldn't help chuckling at his expression, wondering if he actually believed me.

He looked down, his cheeks tinting pink as he stopped outside a classroom. "Well this is it. Maybe I'll see you around today."

I gave him one last smile before heading inside. I had another signature to get.

Throughout that class ,the drone of the history teacher almost put me to sleep but I somehow managed to stay awake. After that it was Trigonometry and then Art. Thank the heavens for that small sanctuary. As I walked in I could feel myself relaxing already as the smell of glazes and paint took over my senses.

I walked up to the teacher, Mrs. Thomas. She smiled as she informed me that they had just started working on portraits. I took a seat at one of the round tables that littered the room and set my bag down as she started giving instructions. We were going to be working in partners for the next few weeks, working on drawing each other. First we would do pencils before we went to ink and then paint.

"Okay, pair up."

Almost instantly everyone seemed to be in pairs of friends, I looked around, but there didn't seem to be any stragglers. Mrs. Thomas must have seen me struggling. "Don't worry. I'll find someone to partner with you."

I smiled back, thankful for the help. I really hated being the new kid. I turned to start setting up my station. Pencil, eraser, paper and over-sized clipboard. It was then I heard someone plop down in the seat across from me.

I glanced over and and I was just able to keep my mouth from falling open as I looked at her. She was cute, no, that wasn't right it made her sound too little. Adorable, gorgeous, all of the above. She was super tiny and had short pixie-cut hair. She was as pale as could be, even more pale than I had been this morning in my nervous state. Her eyes were black but that only seemed to heighten her elfin beauty.

"Hi, I'm Alice. Mrs. Thomas asked if I would partner up with you." She smiled, her teeth blindingly white.

"Um, hi." Okay, come on. You can say something better than that. "I'm Annabell."

"It's nice to meet you," she quipped as she started to set up her materials as well.

"So, would you like to go first or should I?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders, not really seeming to care.

"Well, why don't you go first then."

She gave me instruction on which wave to move until I was in a position that she deemed good enough to draw. She had me look a little higher then her head and at a wall, my body turned slightly to the side. I felt like I was posing for a school picture.

We were about five minutes in when Alice spoke up. "So you're from Maine, right?"

"Yup," I replied, before trying to come up with something else to say. "What about you? Have you lived here your whole life?"

She smiled and shook her head. "My family and I just moved down here a few years ago. We lived in Alaska before that."

I felt my eyes widen. "And I thought where I lived was cold."

She snorted, if you could call it that, as her smile widened.

I watched from the corner of my eye as her arm moved across the paper in graceful arcs, her pencil never pausing. Her black eyes would flicker to me and away before continuing. She made it look too easy.

When she didn't say anything else, I focused on the quite chatter that filled the room instead, enjoying the symphony of voices. The sounds of pencil scratching was relaxing even though I could hear the drag of an eraser every now and then. I could almost imagine myself back home. Any minute now I would hear the voice of Mr. B as he instructed us on our next task but as soon as I thought that, I couldn't help but flinch. We would never be moving back home, not after what happened.

It was a few minutes later that Mrs. Thomas had us switch. Now it was my turn to draw Alice but as I looked at her, I wasn't sure where to start. I knew I wouldn't be able to do her justice.

After a bit of contemplation I started on her eyes, drawing the dark holes.

A half hour later, I had a rough sketch of her but the eyes were the only things that I was proud of. I had made her nose a little too small and her chin a little too wide. It would take some work.

"Can I see?" She asked, almost bouncing in her seat.

I bit my lip, not sure how she would react. "Okay, but don't be mad at me."

I showed her and her face immediately scrunched in distaste. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "Hey, it's at least better than a stick figure."

She chuckled in agreement.

Before anything more could be said, the bell rang.

Finally, lunch.

I gathered my stuff and made my way outside. Thankfully the cafeteria was pretty easy to locate, even if I the large groups of kids moving in that directions didn't give it away. As I pushed open the door, the noise died down a notch as eyes turned to me. I instantly bit my lip and ducked my head, avoiding them all.

The line for food moved quickly and thankfully I was able to fill my tray but now was the real problem. Where to sit? Before I could stand there awkwardly for too long a girl detached herself from a table and approached. Jessica, a girl I had Trig with. She was tiny, especially compared to my 5'8'' frame but her head of curly hair seemed to make up at least three of the inches that she lacked. I could already tell that she was the center of the schools rumor-mill but right now I didn't care.

"You're welcome to come sit with my friends and I," she said, smiling wide.

I nodded, too thankful to speak right now.

Jessica led the way to her table but I could still feel all the eyes on me.

Thankfully, as we sat with her group friends, the attention shifted slightly, the noise returning to its usual volume. I turned my attention to Jessica as she started to name off the kids at the table. There was a blonde kid named Mike and another guy named Tyler. There were also two girls, one named Lauren and the other Angela. The first rolled her eyes as Jessica introduced me while the second girl smiled shyly. I took the empty seat next to her as Jessica kept rattling off names and facts.

I have to say that her chatter was nice in the fact that it kept everyone occupied. She hadn't started asking me questions yet, only filled me in on who people were and the gossip that surrounded them. I listened halfheartedly, as I nibbled on my lunch. When Jessica finally paused, turning to someone else, I took the chance to glance over to Angela. She had an air of innocence around her, a sereneness in her gaze that made me a little bit more comfortable asking her a few questions. She caught my eyes as I opened my mouth and that was when I noticed them.

Of the five the only one I recognized was Alice. She sat next to guy with blonde hair that was just a tad longer than the standard cut. Still, he seemed to pull it off even with the frown he was wearing. When Alice saw me she smiled and nodded her head before turning back to the blonde boy. Next to them was another couple. The boy looked way too big to be student. His arms bulged with muscles that I hadn't even seen on football players. The girl next to him looked like a model straight off the runway, her golden hair falling in waves to the middle of her back. The last one, a boy with reddish-brown hair seemed almost overshadowed by the ones surrounding him.

Alice had seemed friendly and kind when I had been with her in art, but seeing all of them together like this, it was almost an imposing sight.

The must be her siblings. There was no other explanation for the same paleness and beauty they all possessed. I couldn't imagine five strangers in one small town like this all looking that similar. Still, it was kind of odd seeing all the different shades of not only hair color but body builds as well.

After a moment, I tore my eyes from the figures, glancing back to my lunch. It was only after a second I realized the table around me was silent. I glanced up, to see Jessica staring at me with wide eyes. "You know the Cullens?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I had Alice in a class this morning." I explained. "Who are the rest?"

Jessica smirked, a gleam in her eyes. "The one with Alice is Jasper. The other couple is Rosalie and Emmett. They are all together though, like together together and they live together."

"But are they siblings?" I asked, incredulously. I guess maybe I had been wrong but then why did they all look so similar?

"No, they were all adopted. Jasper and Rosalie are siblings, twins I think, Mrs. Cullen is there aunt or something like that. She adopted them when they were young. I think it's weird though. I mean Mr. and Mrs. Cullen are still really young and they already have five kids from foster care," she explained.

Well, I guess the fact that they were dating each other was a bit weird, but I'd heard of worse. Back in Maine, the town over from where I lived always joked about being so close that people dated there cousin.

Before I could say anything, her eyes developed a sudden gleam. "Edward Cullen is looking at you."

I raised an eyebrow before twisting to see what she meant. The last guy of the group, the one she hadn't named off, was staring at me as she had said, his black eyes boring into mine. I felt my breath catch in my throat before turning back towards the table. That was odd. He had black eyes just like Alice did.

I risked another glance at him but he was turned back to his own table. Emmett across from him seemed to be smiling at something he said.

I shrugged it away, turning back to my lunch feeling only slightly uncomfortable.

I spent the next few minute finishing my food before the bell rand. Angela ended up walking me to my next class, one that we apparently shared. The quiet that enveloped us was relaxing after the nose of the cafeteria. With us being relatively alone as well it meant that I could ask her a couple questions of my own. "Do you know if Forks has a cheering team?"

She seemed to take the sudden question in stride, answering quickly. "We do, though it's smaller than most of the surrounding schools. It's not really that popular of a sport here. They do perform at pep-rallies every now and then, though. If you want to know more you'll have to ask Lauren though, she's on the team."

I nodded, tucking that piece of information away. At least now I knew who to ask.

As we walked into biology I sighed, already stressing over this. Science was by far my worst class. Where as social studies just put me to sleep, science I didn't understand.

Angela waved goodbye as she went to sit next to her lab partner. As I scanned the class I noticed that there was only one open seat towards the back and I could recognize Edward Cullen sitting on the other side. Well, Alice seemed friendly enough so maybe this wouldn't be too bad.

I walked up the aisle to get the teacher to sign the slip. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him stiffen and glance over at me but I was already too far past to see the expression on his face. Mr. Banner signed the slip and then handed me a book as I went to sit next to Edward.

I smiled as I sat. "Hello."

I watched as he nodded and then turned towards the wall, glaring. Okay, maybe this class would was going to be that bad. I pulled out my notebook, preparing myself to mentally.

The lesson started as Edward remained stiff beside me. Thankfully, Mr. Banner was talking about something that we had just finished in my old school which meant I was a little ahead. The next few weeks shouldn't be too bad then, especially if it would all just be review. I was happy about that. It would give me time to adjust and settle in before I had to seriously start worrying about my science grade.

As Mr. Banner kept lecturing, Edward seemed frozen beside me. I tried to keep writing my notes but I couldn't help but glance over to him every now and then. It was like he had become a statue made out of marble. Towards the end of the class I caught his head turning in my direction and I forced myself to look at the board. I wouldn't meet his stare, I wouldn't be bothered by the glare I could almost feel being drilled into my head.

I did my best to ignore it, though I was sure sweat was probably beading on my forehead by how hard I was concentrating. The fact that my heart was pounding in my ear didn't seem to help either.

The bell rang, jumping me from my musing. Edward stood, shoving his chair back and he raced towards the door. I stared after him, in complete shock at how he had acted. Jesus Christ, he must be dysfunctional or something.

Asshole! I couldn't help the thought as it crossed my mind. He paused at the door, tilting his head to the side as if I had said it out loud before he raced out.

I stood stiffly, trying to hold the anger in as I thought about mentioning something to Alice tomorrow in art. She had been friendly enough so why was her brother so standoffish?

Mike jogged to my side, smiling happily as he grabbed my bag from my hand. I was in a bad enough mood that I almost ripped it back out of his but instead I took a breath and smiled. I wouldn't let that jerks attitude ruin my day, especially when it hadn't been going that bad.

"You have gym next, right?" he asked, a gleam in his eye.

I nodded, knowing that he had overheard me talking with Angela about it.

"Great, we can walk there together. I have it too."

I smiled again. At least some people still have manners. As Mike led the way he started talking about how he had moved from California when he was young so he knew how it felt to be the new kid. I listened to his words, just enjoying the chatter even if I wasn't taking part in it.

"So what was up with Cullen? It looked like you stabbed him with a pencil or something," Mike said.

Great so that wasn't his usual behavior. I guess that meant he wasn't dysfunctional but then why had he been so rude? "I don't know. I didn't even say a word to the guy," I commented, shrugging. Actually never mind, I had said hello but it's not like that would elicit an angry response.

"Wow, I mean if I had gotten lucky enough to be your lab partner I would of at least talked to you," he said, winking.

I giggled at his response. Not because I found it charming but more because it seemed like a practiced line. It made me wonder if he had spent all of Biology trying to come up with it or better yet, if he had practiced it standing in front of a mirror.

I walked into the changing room, getting into the gym clothes that I had brought. I could tell from the set up that volleyball was going on.

As the teacher started putting everyone in teams, I ended up with both Jessica and Mike. I was just glad that I knew some people. The games started up and it went pretty smoothly. When it was my turn to serve I used all my strength and hit it to the back edge of their court. No one moved, thinking it would go out of bounds but there was a cheer from my team as it hit directly inside and then bounced out. Oh, how I loved sports.

Gym passed quickly and by the end of it my mood was drastically better. My annoyance with Cullen had disappeared. I changed up, heading towards the office with my slip that had all the teachers signatures. I was ready to jump in my car and head away from campus.

As I opened the door to the office, I paused seeing Edward talking with Ms. Cope. As I listened I realized that he was trying to get out of our shared biology class. The anger flared back up as I glared at his back, my hands folding over my chest. What the hell!

Just then someone walked in, leaving a slip in a basket besides Edward as he stiffened. He glanced back at me, meeting my glare, before seeming to give up at his endeavor. "I can see that it isn't possible," he said, his voice silky even with the hard edge to it.

I didn't take my eyes off him as he passed, resisting the urge to stick my foot out and trip him. It probably wouldn't work anyways. When he was gone, I stepped up to the desk, holding the slip out.

"How was you first day dear?" She asked, seeming breathless.

I forced a smile. "Perfect."

I left after that.

It had taken me a good half hour to calm down after what had occurred. As I sat in my car, outside the elementary school, I mumbled to myself, annoyed with his attitude. I was usually a nice person but when someone was an ass for no reason, it was only understandable for my temper to flare.

After sighing I grabbed out my trig book, deciding I would do some of my homework while I waited. After another half hour I looked up, hearing a bell ringing. It seemed like they were finally letting the kids out of school.

I got out of my car, waiting for the familiar mop of brown hair. Alisha was my little sister, all of seven years old. She had the same color hair as me but that was where our resemblance stopped. Where I looked more like our mom, she took after our dad. Her hair had small waves in it, causing the bottom to gently curl. Her blue eyes were the epitome of innocence, her lips always upturned in a smile.

I watched as she walked out the front door of the school, holding hands with another girl. When she saw me she waved before turning to her friends and saying goodbye. She made her way to me, a bounce in her step. She definitely was the cutest little sister.

"Anny!" She yelled, grabbing my leg.

I laughed, reaching down and giving her a hug. "How was school?"

Her small teeth showed through her smile. "My teacher is really nice. She asked me to read something to her and said that I did really good. Emily asked if I could come over and play sometime. She's really nice and she has a book-bag just like mine. We had pizza for lunch and it was really good but there was this boy who dropped his on the floor and he just picked it up and ate it anyways."

I laughed as her face scrunched up in disgust. Oh the ramblings of a second-grader. She continued to tell me about her day as we climbed in the car and drove home.

Our new house was a relatively small, two story building. It was painted white with light blue shutters. The first floor featured a kitchen, living room and bathroom. The second floor consisted of three bedrooms and a bathroom off my dad's room. Alisha and my own rooms were right next to each other which helped whenever she had nightmares.

As I walked through the front door, I had to bite my tongue from calling out the standard greeting. It was bad, that even now, six months later I was still felt the urge to say it, when I knew that no one would answer.

I set my bag in the living room as I moved to the kitchen, preparing a bowl of crackers and peanut butter as an afternoon snack.

When I brought it out to Alisha, she already had the tv going, watching one of her favorite shows. I set the snack next to her as I started working on my homework again. An hour later I was almost done with my homework. As Alisha's show finished up she pulled out her own simple worksheets and we sat together in silence, the scratching of our pencils the only sound. I looked over and couldn't help but smile. She was leaning over her paper, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she focused on making neat letters.

I reached forward and ruffled her hair as she pouted. "So what do you want for dinner tonight? We should make something for when dad gets home."

The pout vanished as she perked up. "Can we have pizza? Or macaroni and cheese? What about ice cream?"

I laughed as she started the long list of her favorite foods. Now the hard part was just getting her to pick one of them.