Sorry about the bit of a delay on updating! I was trying to update last weekend, but this website kept crashing :( Well, hopefully it works this time. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I got asked if Michael was from Washington, or just Gemma. To be honest, I hadn't really decided until that review, but it spurred me to decide that Michael is from Forks.

Again, sorry about the delay, but here's a chapter for you as an apology!

After class, I returned to the front office to give Mrs. Cope my schedule.

"You survived your first day!" she said enthusiastically when she saw me. "How was it?"

Terrible. "It was great," I said instead, "Can't wait until tomorrow!"

I handed her my signed schedule, and as I did, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Michael, telling me he was outside.

"Ms. Ramos?"

I glanced up from my phone to see a depressed-looking middle-aged man. He was wearing a grey button-down shirt and slacks.

"That's me," I responded hesitantly.

"My name is Mr. Greene, I'm the principal here at Forks High. Can I talk to you in my office for a moment?"

What had I done? "Uh, yeah." I said, "Sure."

I followed him into his tiny office, and took a seat in an overstuffed red armchair. I gripped my backpack tightly. He sat behind his desk, which creaked when he leaned forwards on it.

"Now, Ms. Ramos, I've gotten reports from multiple students today that you were bullying another student."

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded. Maybe a bit too rudely. I toned it back. "Who did I bully today?"

He cleared his throat. "I was informed that you threw your coffee in Mila Jackson's face this morning. I have several eyewitnesses who claim that."

I stuttered for a second, before regaining my composure. "Mr. Greene, that's just not true. I turned around a blind corner and ran into her, and my coffee spilled. It absolutely wasn't on purpose."

"That's not what the eyewitnesses say," He said with a shrug. "Now, I don't understand why you'd want to bully Ms. Jackson like this. She's a lovely young woman, who frankly, is bullied far too much for my liking. She's never lied to me before, and I don't think she would start now. I just want to understand why you would attack her on your first day."

"Mr. Greene," I begged, "I didn't bully her, I swear. I'm not that kind of person."

He ran his hands through his thinning hair, and for half a second, I felt bad for him. "I heard that you were hanging out with Zoe Graham and Natalie Spencer. They're not exactly role models. Did they put you up to this?"

"No!"

"So you did it on your own accord?"

"Yes! I mean, no, I didn't even do it!"

"So now you're saying you never spilled coffee on her?"

I sighed angrily. "I spilled coffee on her, but it wasn't on purpose!"

"Ms. Ramos, I'm taking this very seriously, I just hope you realize that. I won't tolerate this kind of behavior at Forks High. I'll be letting you off easy with a detention, tomorrow after school."

Anger flowed through me, "Mr. Greene, that's the same time as softball tryouts! Can we please have it at another time?"

He shook his head like it was absurd I had even asked. "No. You have to learn your lesson. To be frank, you should be lucky that you're only getting a detention."

I took a deep breath. In… Out...

I wanted to cry and scream, but instead, I hissed through my teeth. "Fine. Detention after school, then."

"Detention will be in Mr. Varner's class. Have a good rest of your day, Ms. Ramos."

I snatched my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, storming out of the front office. I was seething. I suddenly hated Mila Jackson with a burning passion. She'd gotten me a detention on my first day, lied to the principal, and was going to make me miss my first softball practice/tryouts.

I got into Michael's car and slammed the door behind me.

"Bad first day?" he asked.

I sighed heavily. "Yeah, that's one way of putting it."

"Want to talk about it?"

I quickly explained what had happened with Mila, and how Mr. Green was unfairly punishing me, making me miss softball practice.

Michael scratched the back of his head. "That really sucks, Diana. Do you want me to say something to him?"

I sighed. "No. I don't want to be that girl."

Michael turned on the car and started driving out of the parking lot. "Well, um, did anything good happen today?"

"Yeah," I said cautiously. "I think I made some friends. Zoe Graham and Natalie Spencer."

"Great kids!" he said enthusiastically, "Zoe's mom is an absolute doll. I guess that's how you know about tryouts tomorrow, then."

I nodded. "They invited me to hang out on Friday. Can I go?"

"I don't see why not," he said.

I leaned over and turned up the radio. I didn't recognize where we were anymore. "Where are we?"

He answered my question as we pulled into the parking lot of a store. "Newton's Olympic Outfitters. You need softball gear, right?"

I stared at the storefront. "I dunno. Do you think they'll give me a second opportunity to try out?"

"Of course!" he said, "They'd be stupid not to. Do you have your wallet on you, or do you want me to pay?"

I must have turned bright pink because that was enough of an answer for him.

"I'll wait in the car," he said. "Let me know if you need any help with anything."

I grabbed my wallet from my backpack and ducked into the store. Who was behind the counter?

Mike. Fucking. Newton. Who else?

"Hey Diana!" he said brightly. "Crazy seeing you here!"

"Crazy," I responded dryly. I should have known. Newton's Olympic Outfitters. I must be incredibly thick.

He walked out from behind the counter. I suddenly became very interested in whatever was on the wall, as I tried to think of a way out of this. This was probably the only sporting goods store for miles.

"Do you need any help finding anything? I'd be more than happy to give you a hand!"

"Nope," I lied, now considering ways to fake my own death. Was a heart attack or a stroke easier to fake? "Already found it."

He made a bit of a confused noise. "You were, uh, looking for jockstraps?"

My eyes flew open. I had unintentionally been browsing the jockstrap section. Fuck. Come on, Diana. Think of a lie. Say you thought they were something else.

"Yup," I agreed instead. It was too late to turn back now. I had to own it.. "They're, uh, nice for, uh… A soap dish. In the shower. It keeps the soap… dry?"

He hesitated. "Interesting. I've, um, never heard of that before."

I grabbed the cheapest one off the shelf. "Well, there's a little life hack for you. You're welcome? Uh, where's your softball stuff?"

"Back left corner," he answered. "Is this jockstrap thing common in Mexico?"

"Belize," I corrected him automatically and then winced. Why was I antagonizing this conversation? "And, um, yeah, it definitely is."

No, it was not.

I started heading towards the back left corner of the store, but he decided to follow me.

"So, how did you like your first day of school?" he asked.

It was terrible.

"So great!" I said enthusiastically, "I can't wait for tomorrow!"

"Really?" he said, surprised. "I heard you threw coffee on Mila Jackson's face and gave her second-degree burns, then called her a bitch."

I guess small towns really don't have a lot to do.

"That is wildly incorrect," I said, somewhat angrily, clenching the jockstrap harder, and then quickly releasing when I realized how gross that was. "What on earth is wrong with Forks High?"

He shrugged. "I'll tell Eric not to write about it in the school newspaper then. That was the first interesting news we've had since Bella fell down the stairs a while ago."

"Oh my god," I muttered, feeling like I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Are you alright, Diana? You look really pale. You're almost a true Forks resident!"

I snatched a pair of sliding shorts from the wall, muttered something about trying them on, and ducked into the bathroom.

I slammed my hands on the sink and looked in the mirror. It was a bit streaky, and probably hadn't been cleaned in a while. I was noticeably paler than I usually was.

"Jesus Christ, Diana," I muttered, "Pull yourself together."

I focused on my breathing for a minute. In… Out… In… Out…

My hazel eyes were surprisingly animalistic.

"You can do this," I said slowly. "Mike Newton's opinion doesn't matter. Nobody at Forks High matters. Who cares what kind of rumors there are about you? They're all stupid, and anyone with a pulse can tell they're not true."

In… Out… In… Out...

I released my hands from their death grip around the sink. My knuckles were a stark white.

Once I felt like I'd gotten my shit together, I tried on the sliding shorts and found that they fit fairly well. When I went back out into the store, Mike was busy talking with a man about backpacks. I did the rest of my shopping in peace.

I ended up dropping almost $500 on softball gear. I was starting over from scratch, and needed a lot - a couple of softballs, a bat, glove, glove oil, batting gloves, cleats, batting helmet, catcher's gear, and a large bag to hold it all. A man who I assumed was Mike's father rang me up.

Up at the register, a coffee tumbler caught my eye. Heavy Duty! was printed on the side in bold letters. I added it to my purchase sheepishly.

"See you tomorrow!" called Mike as I left the store. I walked away faster.

As I got back into the car, Michael, the better of the two Mikes, asked, "So are you going to go to tryouts tomorrow?"

"Are you encouraging me to skip detention?" I asked. "Scandalous!"

"I'm not telling you to skip detention. That would make me a bad legal guardian. I'm just asking your thoughts on the matter."

I shrugged, and replied honestly, "I don't know."

We drove in silence for a while, until I pulled out my phone, a decision in mind.

See you tomorrow for tryouts! I texted Zoe with a faint grin on my face.

"Is Alice still mad at Jasper?" Bella asked Edward quietly. They were sitting at the dining table in the Cullen's house. Alice was reading a book across the room. The other Cullen siblings were somewhere upstairs.

"Yes," answered Alice, not breaking her eye contact with her book.

Jasper appeared at the foot of the stairs in a flash. "You shouldn't have taken it out on me at lunch," he said in his calming voice. "A lot of students were very curious about what was going on with us."

"Then you should have gone to PE," said Alice angrily, still staring at the pages in front of her.

"I'm not going to be going to PE for a while," he admitted, taking a seat on the windowsill seat next to her.

Alice got to her feet, slamming her book shut. She walked across the room at human speed, to dramatize her actions. She took a seat next to Bella and reopened her book. Bella glanced at the book. It was written in a language she didn't even recognize.

"Jasper, why did you skip PE?" Bella wondered out loud.

He shrugged. "I don't think I'm ready to meet Diana. I wouldn't have even gone to Spanish, but Alice threatened to make a scene."

Alice huffed angrily.

"Alice, darling, do you want to share with the class?" Jasper asked, clearly irritated with his sister.

He was starting to project his emotions, causing Alice to snap. "You can't postpone fate!" she said furiously. "You were supposed to meet in PE, and now you've gone and messed it all up!"

"I'm not going to PE with her!" Jasper snapped back, now visually losing his calm. His Southern accent was growing stronger.

"Why not?" Alice half-begged, slamming her book down on the table. "Jasper, this is the one thing that we've known was going to happen for the past sixty-plus years! Why are you trying to change what's been written in the stars? She's been your soulmate since before her mom and dad were born!"

Jasper was across the room in a flash. "How do you even know she's my soulmate?" he asked angrily. "All we know is that she's my singer. Since when are the two mutually exclusive?"

"I've seen your future together!" said Alice indignantly.

"I can't even stand to be in the same room as her! Do you know why I skipped PE today? Because the thought of her heart pumping made me want to rip her throat out." He snarled at Alice, his eyes darker than they'd been in a long time. "If I have to be in the same school as her, I'm going to have to go hunting every damn day. If I'd been even a fraction bit thirstier today, I would have snapped. Tell me how the hell that'll lead to a healthy relationship."

Alice was quiet for a moment. Bella and Edward exchanged a glance. "Things will change, Jasper. You need to make an effort to get to know her."

"She seems nice," said Jasper, trying to calm himself down. "She's pretty. But I don't think she's my soulmate."

Alice disappeared in a flash.

Jasper ran a hand through his long blonde hair.

"I can help you," Edward broke the silence. "Or I can try, at least. I felt the same way you do right now. I know it isn't easy right now, but it gets better with time."

"I don't have the self-control that you do," said Jasper, his voice much smoother now. His accent was almost gone again.

Edward nodded. "I can teach you the coping mechanisms that I use. After a while, they become second nature, and you barely even notice the thirst anymore."

"Why did she have to come now? Why couldn't she have shown up a century from now?" he lamented.

Bella was emitting feelings of surprise. This was the most she'd ever heard Jasper talk before. "Diana's in my history class. I can try to get to know her. Be, umm, your spy on the inside."

Edward shook his head, placing a cold hand on Bella's. "We shouldn't approach her for a while. We don't want to scare her off. You should have heard her thoughts earlier today - she's already so overwhelmed."

"Yeah, I could tell," admitted Jasper. "She wouldn't stop talking during Spanish. It was painful. She was oozing nerves."

"We'll take this one day at a time, Jasper." said Edward calmly. "Before you know it, her scent won't even bother you."

Jasper nodded glumly, but the doubt that ran through him was incredibly strong. How the hell was this going to work?

So, there was your apology chapter for you! I hope you guys enjoyed, and please let me know what you think with a review! If you have any questions or comments, I'd be happy to hear them.

Much love,

ElleLupin