So today was officially the first day of school for me. I've never been a nervous person before, so this feeling was new to me. I knew I would stand out; the school was full of natives with tanner skin and darker hair then me. Hell, I wasn't even part Quileute so my mum would have had to pull some strings to get us enrolled. My sister, I knew, would make friends easy. In some ways, she was my best friend. I tell her everything, and vice-versa. She seemed to have liked school from what I heard last night; the kids were nice and welcoming. But high school teenagers are different, meaner. Although I can be tough and transform into something that's not exactly human, I can't just make a scene. I have to act like a normal teenage girl, with normal teenage girl problems.

I walked to the school with Carly since it was only a five minute walk.

"You'll have so much fun, and the teachers are great. Mr. Jenson loves me. Oh! And they have the best sports program. I think I'm going to play basketball. Netball is so boring these days, I mean everyone does it-"

"Carly," I tried interrupting her through her ramble.

"This is going to be so great, and there are really cute boys here too, I met this guy called Daniel-"

"Carly!"

"And I think he likes me, tap on wood hey. I don't want to jinx it or anything."

I grabbed onto her shoulders with both of my hands.

"Carly." I said firmly

"Yeah?"

"Shut. Up."

"Sorry..." She said sheepishly.

"Tell me about it tonight kay." I let go of her and guided her towards the school gates.

"You're really nervous hey?" She said looking up at me. I nodded slowly keeping my eyes straight forward.

"Yeah. But hey, they'll love me soon enough- I mean, I'm irresistible." I said batting my eyelashes teasingly. She laughed and shoved me with her elbow.

"You're a doofus." I grinned hugely and pushed her to the side with my hip.

"Just for you."

"Look, look, look!" Carly said putting her hands out, stopping me from walking forward. I was about to go panic mode, and nobody wants to see my panic mode. No body.

"What?" I said following the direction of her gaze. A boy around her age was walking towards the school office. I sighed in relief and annoyance. It was just a guy.

"That's Daniel." She squealed. I smiled, rolling my eyes and shaking my head at her.

"Hi Daniel!" I said rather loudly, getting attention from half the schools population. I looked down quickly as if I hadn't said a word. Carly sucked in a breath and slapped me on the shoulder when Daniel turned around. He smiled and waved at Carly before jogging into the building.

"Nicki!" She whined. I laughed at her and messed up her hair.

"Sorry dude. And hey, have fun today." I said walking to the left where the front office was. She playfully glared at me before turning her direction.

"Paybacks a bitch!" She yelled. I smiled to myself... she can try. Oh boy, she could try.

I reached the door that was conveniently labelled 'office' and opened the wooden doors.

The warm air hit me when I walked in. It smelt like old people. I walked to the desk and waited patiently for someone to answer. An old woman around fifty or so came out and smiled warmly at me. I found the source of the smell! I thought to myself. I tried not to laugh at my bad joke. But come on, we all know I'm hilarious.

"Yes dear?" She asked in a motherly voice. I couldn't help but not smile at her.

"Hi, I'm Nicole Summers." I said confidently. I'm not really sure what I had to say. But in movies the new person always goes to the office first and collects papers of some sort.

The old woman looked at me expectantly. I just smiled awkwardly at her, waiting for her to give me something, or say something.

"I'm new?" I said but it sounded more like a question. She nodded her head, "Welcome to La Push Tribal school." she finally said.

"Thanks," I responded. She just looked at me and smiled again.

...

OK, so not awkward right now. I decided to break the silence.

"Um... am I meant to get a map, or locker number or something from here?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Yes." She said with a nod of her head.

I waited for her to do something; it looked like she wasn't going to so I subtly looked around the wooden office. Everything was brown wood, and kind of boring looking, no offence. She coughed impatiently, probably wondering what the hell I'm doing here, I could actually ask myself the same thing.

"Now?" I said with a sigh. She's a great help.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry honey I'm just used to just standing around here. Every one seems to not want my help these days." She said sadly.

Yeah, wonder why I thought. She turned around to some cabinets pulling out folders and rummaging through paper. I started tapping my fingers impatiently. Man, can this woman be any slower.

She finally, and let me tell you, FINALLY found what she was looking for and placed them on the desk in front of me. I smiled, trying not to make it strained and forced before leaving with a quick goodbye.

I only stopped to look at the papers when I left the smelly office. I had a map of the school, my locker number and my schedule for the semester.

I started wandering up the crowded halls trying to act confident and not notice all the staring. I looked straight ahead and at the lockers looking for number 158.

"1.5.8, 1.5.8" I kept muttering under my breath looking for this damn locker. I probably had a few minutes left until the bell for homeroom would start so I had to hurry up.

"Need help?" a kind voice asked me from my left. I looked up... and up at a rather tall boy. Or should I say man. Maybe a teacher? I don't want to sound like a teacher's pet or anything but damn, he was good looking. He was definitely Quileute with the tan skin and dark hair but the massive muscles on his stomach was barely contained with that tight black tee-shirt. I almost touched his chest but thought better of it. I realized then, that I was staring at this teacher-man person. Perv much?

"Ah... yeah. Do you know where I could find locker number-?"

"1.5.8?" He supplied. I nodded sheepishly. I didn't know he could hear me.

"It's back here." he said leading me to a bunch of grey lockers. I turned around to thank him but instead my eyes connected with the front of his t-shirt where I could see his well-formed muscles underneath his t-shirt again. Good view. I quickly looked up to his face and saw him smiling down at me.

"You're short." He said bluntly.

"Not really, you're tall." I stated just as blunt.

"And you're new." He smirked.

"You can tell?" I said sarcastically.

He beamed at me and then held out his hand.

"Quil Ateara." he said with a quick head nod.

I awkwardly shook his hand. I didn't fail to notice his hands were amazingly warm. It was unnatural, but to be honest I didn't really care.

"Nicky Summers." I said before turning around and opening my locker. I could feel his presence still behind me. I dumped all my stuff in my locker, not caring how untidy it was and looked at my schedule. Double Science after homeroom. Fun! Not.

I turned around and Mr. Ateara was still standing there.

"What homeroom are you in?" He asked leaning over my shoulder the look at my time-table. I then caught a whiff of his scent. It smelt... fresh and woodsy. Wow... I noticed how creepy I was being. I should just stop now and walk away. Right now... come on Nicky move those feet. Instead I was just standing there watching Mr. Ateara skim through my schedule.

"You're with me." He grinned. "I'll walk you to class?" He offered out his hand for me to take. I looked at him and he seemed to be waiting. I cautiously put my hand in his and he smiled at me and turned to walk in the direction of homeroom.

If I was being stared at before wait til you see now. About every student was gawking at me being pulled down the hall by a teacher. Talk about great first impressions.

The bell rang during out journey down the hall and soon enough we made it to the end of the corridor to where I'm guessing our homeroom is. The class was empty of posters and artwork since it was the start of the school year, making the room very dull and boring. Gee, everything here seems to be boring. Is everyone allergic to color or what? The windows showed the school yard outside and I noticed it was about to rain. Oh how much I hate rain. I hate getting wet, so this is going to be my new mission for today- stay out of the rain.

Quil lead me to the middle of the desks in the class and pulled out a chair for me. The class was almost full and all eyes were on me. I sat down hesitantly because; well... teachers aren't meant to be like this.

He smiled at me and took the next seat beside me. I stared at him confused. I was about to ask why he was sitting there until a middle-aged man walked in with a pot belly and a bald head. He pulled out papers from the desk and started sorting them out. Clearing his throat every now and then.

"Alright class settle down." He said. I looked over at Quil and saw him trying to balance his pencil on his desk by the tip of the lead. I leaned over towards him.

"You're not a teacher are you?" I whispered. He looked at me for a split second before bursting out laughing. A very, very loud belly laugh that is. I was still leaned over my desk staring at him.

"Mr. Ateara? Mr. Ateara? MR. ATEARA!" the teacher kept repeating.

"Sorry... Sorry." He said before laughing to himself. He started randomly breathing out laughs. He finally calmed down enough and the whole class was just staring at me bewildered. His body stopped quivering and he wiped the smile of his face and looked down at his pencil again.

"I take that as a no?" I questioned. He turned to look at me and laughed again. Not as loudly this time but it still caught a few peoples attention. He shook his head and mouthed the word 'no.'

He sat back in his seat and would try to stifle his laugh, but every time he would look at me he couldn't help it. He finds me funny... I like this kid.

The teacher's name was Mr. Lyther and he was pretty strict. He called out the roll and spoke to us about the guidelines for his class this year and the general behavior. Blah, blah, blah.

"Oh, and there's a new student from California. Nicole Summers." Mr Lyther read from a sheet of paper. He looked up from his glasses and spotted me easily from the students.

"Welcome." He said simply. I smiled politely at him and at any other students that would look my way. Most people would smile back and some of the girls gave me faces. I ignored them; it must be someone's time of the month.

The bell rang for the next class and Quil waited for me to stand up. I smiled at him, thankful he waited for me. I didn't know anyone else.

"You're funny." he said once we were out of the classroom. I beamed at him- I really like this kid.

"Oh I know." I joked.

"What do you have now?" I asked hoping he was in science with me.

"Science, you?" He asked. Score!

"Me too!" I said happily. He smirked to himself before leading me down the hall.

"Someone sounds happy they're in a class with me," he said smugly.

"Hey, I don't know anyone else. I would be happy to be in a class with..." I looked around at the students and saw a guy with glasses picking his nose, "Him." I said pointing him out.

"My friends would love you," he said smiling.

I looked around, searching for his so called friends.

I leaned in closer to him, "What friends?" I whispered. He stopped and stared at me, I was thinking he didn't like my humor and would think I was serious but instead he patted my shoulder and mumbled something so quietly only I could hear, "Girl version of Paul."

"Who's Paul?" I blurted out, not meaning to.

"You heard that?" he looked down at me confused. Oh crap Nicky, great job!

"Yeah, who is he?" I said nonchalantly, trying to change the subject.

"A big Meany that likes to tease me," he said pouting and crossing his arms.

"Aw, I'm sorry. I'll be your friend." I said patting his cheek. He stopped pouting and grinned back at me. I smiled to myself, who said making friends was hard. High school is easy.

We walked to science and I realized we were a little early, I decided to get to know Quil a little better. He seems really nice.

"So what's a guy like you talking to someone like me?" I said tilting my head. He obviously is popular, and very well-liked with the girls. He doesn't seem like he's interested in me romantically so it's not like he wants to hook up with the new girl or something. It's like he generally wants to be my friend. And to me, that's not normal.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Why did you come and help me this morning?"

He looked at me confused.

"You seemed lost?" he said like it was a question. I didn't know what I expected his answer to be but maybe he was a genuine good guy.

"Thank you." I tried to use my sincerest voice. With out him I would probably still be trying to find that damn locker.

"You don't need to thank me. I'm normally just a generous person." He said putting a hand over his heart dramatically

"And modest," I mumbled. He smiled at me and in return I smiled back. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship... But the more I thought about this, the more distant I felt i should be with Quil, or anyone else that is. This just means I can't get too close. Friends tell each other everything, and I am making a promise to myself that this time it would be different then the California incident. I don't want to move away again.

After a draining double science lesson Quil walked me to the lockers, there were two other guys who were very tall, Muscley and very good looking standing near his locker waiting for him. They smiled at our arrival.

"Hey Quil. Who's this?" one of the guys said wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah Quily, what happened to Claire?" The other one said. I should have known, Quil had a girlfriend. Not that I cared or anything.

"Ignore them," he whispered to me. "Guys, this is Nicky, she just moved here from..." He looked at me guiltily, he never asked. "California," I filled in for him.

"California. She's my new best friend and has replaced you." he said proudly, putting his arm around my shoulder. I beamed up at them.

"Whatever," guy two said pretending to be ...offended? Guy one kept wiggling his eyebrows at me. Creepy.

"Nick, this is Embry," he said pointing at guy one. I gave him a head nod and a smile, "And this is Jake." He pulled me into a hug unexpectantly. He was really warm and I could feel his muscles in his shirt- not that I was complaining. He smelt like Quil, but in his own way. If that makes sense. He held me a little to tight but I didn't say anything, he couldn't hurt me.

He let go of me and smiled down at me.

"So nick-ster sit with us at lunch?" Embry said using a nickname some of my friends called me back in California. I nodded a yes, "Lead the way," I said gesturing down the hall.

Soon enough I was sitting at the table with Embry, Jacob and Quil. They introduced me to Leah, Seth, Collin, Brady, Jared and Kim. We were all in different year levels but somehow, even though I barely know these people, I felt like we all belonged together in a group.

I got along well with Seth. He was like a little brother I never had. He is fun and outgoing and even happier than Quil, it's hard to believe he's only fourteen but he looked way older. Of course Quil tried- but failed- to tell the story about how I thought he was a teacher, but he kept laughing while telling it so no one could understand.

Leah kept to herself most of the time, and in a way I wanted to really get to know her. Kim was really sweet and the way Jared looked at her was like she was a goddess. Jared was too focused on Kim to really greet me but I didn't mind, they were a really cute couple. The table were all funny and had heaps of laughs.

"So who's this Claire?" I asked after her name came up again. I started looking around the cafeteria seeing if any of the girls would fit the name Claire.

"She's this little girl Quil stalks," Leah said finally. Quil glared at her but then turned to me. His expression lit up when he spoke about her.

"I babysit her, she's two years old, and the other day she said my name. You couldn't really understand her but she said it. I know she said it. And she loves the color pink." He said randomly like a proud mum.

"Me too." I said. I smiled to myself, pink was my favorite color. It was the same color as my teddy bear Tinkles at home.

"It's Quil's as well," Jacob joked punching Quil in the shoulder playfully. The table hollered in laughter and I couldn't help but laugh too.

"Where's Paul?" Embry said to himself looking around.

"Where do you think?" Jared said keeping his eyes on Kim.

I didn't want to be a sticky nose and ask who he was but apparently he's the guy version of me, so I kind of want to know who he is.

"He's making out with some skank in the courtyard." Leah said stabbing her salad. Ok, maybe he's not like me because I certainly don't make out with people in the courtyard.

"Leah," Kim said warningly, "That's your friend you're talking about," Leah scoffed, "Kim, Alison is a skank, and you know it." Kim gave her a disapproving look.

"Do you like Paul?" I said glumly, why else would she hate her friend Alison so much. People don't just call their friends a skank.

The whole table slowly turned their head to me and started roaring out in laughter. I don't get it, what's so funny.

"I... told you... she, was... a pisser." Quil said between laughs. He patted me on the back and I was still wondering if Leah likes this Paul dude. It was a simply yes or no question.

"Not if my life depended on it." Leah said, once she finally calmed down.

"Oh, I thought you were jealous of your friend when you called her a skank." I said shrugging my shoulders. Leah just looked at my disbelievingly.

"Trust me, you see her. You will understand." she said before eating a huge bite of her burger.

I noticed then how much everyone was eating other then Kim and I.

"Hungry much?" I said gesturing to Seth's massive tray piled with food.

"Starving!" he said taking another bite.

Kim gave me a knowing smile.

"So tell us about why you moved." Seth asked trying to start a conversation.

"Um... Well. Mum, just wanted to move. A new start you know." Ok, that was kind of true, our family desperately needed a new start.

"But why here out of all places?" Embry said, "It's like the total opposite of California." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

I looked out the window to the rain; I groaned and hit my head on the table.

"What?" Embry said his voice full of concern.

"How often does it rain here?" I whined

"Like, every day." Kim said as if it was obvious.

"I shouldn't have moved her," I mumbled to myself, so quietly my lips barely moved.

"Why not?" Seth asked bending his head down to see my face. I must have said that louder then I thought. I lifted my face up to look at everyone. They were all leaning in as if I was going to tell them some massive secret- they wish!

"I hate rain." I complained pouting. The boys all rolled their eyes.