The next morning, I woke from a good night's sleep as the alarm clock began to play. Yawning, I sat up and stretched before pushing the comforter off me and starting the routine of getting ready. The smell of bacon wafted into my room through the vent as I contemplated what to wear, causing my stomach to growl loudly.

Choosing an old pair of ripped jeans, a red and grey sports tee, and my favorite jean jacket, I quickly got dressed and grabbed my backpack from my desk. Taking the steps two at a time, I hurried toward the kitchen just as Mom set a plate down at the island, a smile on her face.

"Good morning, Leaf. Did you sleep okay?"

"Better than okay," I returned a smile as I reached for a slice of bacon.

"How are you feeling this morning?" She asked as she watched my face carefully.

"A little nervous, but excited." I admitted. "I'll be okay, Mom. I know one person, and I'll make more friends by lunch."

That seemed to reassure Mom because her body visibly relaxed and she shook her head, chuckling.

"I'm just worried about you," she said while I ate the rest of my breakfast. "You're my only child, and you've been through so much over the last few months."

"Well, I was raised by a strong woman, so I know I can survive anything."

My phone chimed in my pocket just then, interrupting our talk. I pulled it out and saw Bella's text flash across the screen. Sliding it open, I read it out loud to Mom.

"'Leaving the house in five minutes. Charlie is worrying, double checking I have everything.' Sounds like you," I said teasingly to Mom.

"Well, you better make sure you have everything before she gets here," Mom joked back, taking my empty plate to the sink.

"Have you seen my -?"

Mom held out my favorite white winter hat with blue anchors and a pompom on it, and I grinned sheepishly as I took it from her. Tucking my wavy hair behind my ears, I adjusted the hat to sit on my head properly. Shaking her head in amusement, Mom turned to the fridge and pulled out the elephant patterned lunch bag she bought me last Christmas, setting it on the counter in front of me.

"There's some lunch money in the front pocket, in case you wanted something else to eat."

"Thanks, Mom." I kissed her cheek and gathered my things as a horn beeped outside. "That's probably Bella. I'll see you after school."

"Have a good day!" Mom called after me as I walked out the front door. She waved to Bella as I climbed into the truck, and we backed out of the driveway.

"Your mom seems really cool," Bella commented as we headed down the street toward the high school. "We talked a little bit after you went home last night."

"Yeah, she is. But don't tell her I said that," I jokingly said and Bella laughed.

"My lips are sealed," she promised. "I can't believe she got the idea of having her own bakery just from visiting Italy while she was in college!"

"Trust me, I know." I grinned. "It's basically a family tradition, according to my grandma. Mom is the first woman to open an actual bakery, not just running one from her kitchen."

"That definitely makes your mom cool." Bella shook her head in awe fascination.

A few moments later, we pulled into the parking lot near the administrative building and Bella shut the truck off. "Well, time to face the music, I guess."

"We got this," I smiled at her, easing any nerves we both were feeling internally.

"You're right. Let's go get our schedules."

The secretary smiled brightly when we walked into the office. She immediately came over when she noticed the confusion on our faces. The ID pinned to her shirt said Ms. Cope, School Secretary.

"Isabella Swan and Autumn Watson, I presume?"

"Bella," Bella corrected her. "Just Bella, please."

"Welcome back home, dear," Ms. Cope said before turning to me, "and welcome to Forks. Give me a moment, I'll find your schedules."

As Ms. Cope sorted through folders, I glanced outside as a shiny silver Volvo pulled into a parking spot, followed by a monster Jeep. Before I could see the drivers, Ms. Cope came back with two envelopes, handing one to Bella and the other to me.

"There is a map of the school included in your packets," she explained, "along with some forms that your parents need to sign for your files. If you have any questions, please feel free to stop in and see me."

"What do you have first?" Bella asked, looking at her schedule as we left the office.

"English. You?"

"Me too."

We compared schedules as we walked down the hall, both of us relieved that we had at least most of our classes together. As we tried to find the classroom, a dark-haired guy with a camera dangling around his neck appeared out of nowhere. He seemed nice, a bit overly helpful as he introduced himself.

"Hi there. I'm Eric, the eyes and ears of Fork High School as chief editor of the school's newspaper. You must be Bella and Autumn."

"Nice to meet you, Eric." Bella nodded at him.

"I know it's late in the school year, but are there any positions available on the newspaper staff?" I asked curiously.

"We could always use more photographers," Eric said, looking hopeful. "But if you want to write articles, I'm sure we could squeeze you onto the team."

"That would be cool. Just a thought, anyway." I shrugged. "I was on the school newspaper at my old school. As a writer and photographer when needed."

"Awesome, yeah send me some of your work. I'd be happy to take a look at it." Eric said, looking slightly impressed before continuing. "Anyways. If you need anything, at any time - a tour guide, homework help, a shoulder to cry on - I'm your guy."

"Um, thanks. But I think we're okay on the crying part." I said, looking to Bella.

"Yeah. I'm more the suffer in silence type."

"Ah, my kind of girls." Eric joked as he shifted in between us, throwing his arms around our shoulders. "So, where are you heading?"

"English, with Mr. Mason." I double-checked my schedule as Eric directed us down another hallway.

"Cool, so am I! And here we are." Eric beamed as he stopped in front of a door. "I'll catch you after class."

With a small wave, he strolled into the classroom, leaving us alone. I looked at Bella and raised my eyebrows at the same time she did, causing us to giggle as we shared the same thought: what the heck just happened?

Mr. Mason was writing on the chalkboard when we approached him, smiling warmly as we introduced ourselves. He took our transfer slips and initialed where he needed to, before handing them back and telling us to sit anywhere. As we took our seats next to each other, Mr. Mason began class by starting a discussion about the next book on the reading list, The Phantom of the Opera. Since I had already read the book a hundred times, I spent some time going over the class syllabus. Most of the material was books I had on my bookshelf just for fun, so I wasn't going to have a hard time keeping up with discussions.

By the time class was over, I had written down a list of questions to bring up in the next discussion and was feeling quite proud of myself when Bella sighed loudly beside me as the bell rang. I glanced over at her as I gathered my binder, and she mouthed P.E., causing a smile to form on my face. Remembering Charlie's comment about Bella's disdain for wet weather due to being clumsy, it hadn't taken long for me to figure out P.E. was her worst nightmare come true. I had promised her this morning that I would make sure she didn't end up hurting herself or anyone else.

Coach Clapp handed us both a gym uniform provided by the school before separating the girls to one side of the gym for volleyball and the boys to the other side for basketball. I made sure to be put on the same team as Bella, which the other girls learned quickly to appreciate because Bella wasn't coordinated for sports and accidentally nailed a blonde-haired girl on the other side in the face.

Staying close to Bella, I dove for the ball every time it came her way, smoothly sending it back across the net. At one point, the blonde aimed the ball right at Bella when I was too far away from her, and Bella shrieked as she swatted at the ball.

"Look out!" I hollered, but it was too late.

The ball flew across the gym where it hit a guy in the back of the head. The girls on the other team snickered as Bella, flustered from embarrassment, went over to the guy to apologize. I ran over to get the ball back as the two introduced themselves before Bella beckoned me over. Slightly out of breath, I jogged over after throwing the ball to another girl on our team.

"This is Autumn," Bella said once I stopped beside her. "Autumn, Mike."

"Hi, Mike," I smiled warmly. "Sorry about that. I couldn't make it to her in time to get the ball."

"You're not a fan of sports." Mike directed at Bella.

"No way. I'm pretty clumsy."

"Which is why I'm her bodyguard." I teased, nudging my shoulder against Bella's. Mike joined in on the laughter as the blonde made her way over to us.

"She has a killer spike, doesn't she?" The girl grinned at Mike, before turning to us. "I'm Jessica, by the way."

She seemed to recognize Bella because her face lit up.

"You're from Arizona, right? Aren't people from Arizona supposed to be like really tan?"

"Yeah. Maybe that's why they kicked me out."

Bella's subtle sarcastic remark made Mike and I both laugh, earning Bella a dirty look from Jessica before she faked a laugh. She glanced over to Mike as if she was making sure he noticed her laughing at the joke too. Mentally rolling my eyes at her desperately obvious behavior, I turned to Bella.

"We probably should get back to our team. Bye Mike." I waved to him before jogging away. Bella followed my lead and slowly made her way back to the spot in the back row. As I watched Jessica, she gave Mike a flirty smile, which he was oblivious to as he returned to his own team.

Jessica huffed in disappointment before plastering a fake, bright smile on her face and rejoining her teammates. Coach Clapp blew his whistle, signaling the end of class and we hurried into the locker rooms to change before lunch.

Even though I had brought the packed lunch to school, I stood in line with Bella as she got her lunch. Mike was a few spots in front of her, laughing with a few of his friends. He grinned when he noticed us.

"Hey, Arizona, Leaf!" He called out our new nicknames. "Come sit with me!"

"Sure," Bella looked to me and I shrugged.

"Why not?"

We followed Mike to a table where Jessica and Eric were already sitting. Jessica's face lit up when Mike took the seat next to her, placing Bella between him and Eric and me on the other side of Eric.

"Hey Mike, I see you met my homegirls Bella and Autumn," Eric said defensively, slinging an arm around Bella.

"Oh, your homegirls? Is that right?" Mike glared at Eric as they started to bicker. Neither of them saw another guy coming up from behind Bella until it was too late.

"Nah, they're my girls," the unknown guy said as he kissed Bella's cheek and winked at me before stealing Mike's chair from underneath him, causing him to fall to the floor. As Mike jumped up from the floor and took off after the guy, Jessica shook her head.

"Wow, Tyler." She mumbled before looking at us. "It's like we're in kindergarten all over again and you two are the shiny new toys everyone wants to play with."

"Don't be so cruel, Jessica." Eric scolded.

Before Jessica could say anything, a girl with black curly hair and big glasses slid into the seat next to her and snapped a picture of Bella with her camera.

"Sorry," she apologized as Bella froze, confusion on her face. "I needed a candid shot for the newspaper."

"We're not doing the feature anymore, Angela!" Eric said angrily. "Don't bring it up again."

He shoved his chair away from the table and stormed off. Bella looked at Angela apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I just don't feel comfortable being the center of attention."

"That's okay," Angela reassured her. "I guess I can run an editorial on something else."

"What about eating disorders?" Bella suggested.

"Or even teen depression. You could take the angle of how it's linked to the growing social media craze," I added.

"Those are really good ideas. Thanks." Angela beamed at us before getting out her notebook to scribble down her thoughts.

"Who are they?" Bella asked curiously.

The tone of her voice caused us to look up, Angela and Jessica grinning at each other once they realized who Bella was referring to.

"Those are the Cullens." Angela dropped her voice to a whisper.

"They're Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster children. They moved down here from Alaska a few years ago or something." Jessica explained, playing with her salad.

"They mostly keep to themselves." Angela added.

"Yeah, because they're all together," Jessica scoffed. "Like, together, together. Um, so the blonde is Rosalie and the big, dark-haired guy, Emmett. They're like a thing, which I'm pretty sure is illegal."

As Jessica pointed them out, the couple interlocked their hands as soon as they walked through the door. Emmett stared at Rosalie like she was the only one in the room, and Rosalie seemed to enjoy the gaze of her boyfriend on her because she smiled back at him. I smiled sadly to myself as I thought back to a time when I was looked at the same way. I squashed the thought as soon as Angela spoke up.

"They're not actually related," Angela interrupted, casting a dirty look at Jessica.

"Yeah, but they live together. It's weird." Jessica bantered back before continuing. "The little dark-haired girl is Alice. She's like really weird, and she's with Jasper, the blonde one who looks like he's constantly in pain."

Alice and Jasper walked past us next, Alice twirling from one side of Jasper to the other before she smiled reassuringly at Jasper. Jessica's comment about being in pain seemed to be correct about Jasper because his posture was as stiff as a wooden board. Once they were past our table, Jessica continued to talk.

"Um, Dr. Cullen is like this foster dad slash matchmaker."

"Maybe he'll adopt me." Angela said dreamily.

"Who's he?" Bella nodded toward the door.

The last guy to enter the cafeteria had bronze hair and dark, piercing eyes. He moved in a way that made people automatically get out of his way, then watch with amazement. Something about him seemed troubled, almost lonely and I couldn't help but feel a little sad for him.

"That's Edward Cullen. Totally gorgeous, obviously. But nobody here is apparently good enough for him. Like I care." Jessica scolded, the disdain clear in her voice. I noticed a small smirk form across Edward's face and knew he had heard her. "So, yeah. Seriously, don't waste your time."

"Noted," I said, carefully watching the newcomers.

Bella's gaze never wavered from Edward, until he looked up and met her gaze. Cheeks flushed from the embarrassment of getting caught, Bella met my gaze and I recognized the look in her eyes. I gave her a knowing smile and mentally made a promise to keep her secret from Jessica. Bella must've had understood because she nodded and mouthed thank you.

I shifted my attention back to Angela and Jessica, who were talking about prom, fully aware of Bella looking back over her shoulder toward the Cullens. After lunch ended, I waved to Bella who was heading in the opposite direction toward her Biology class before walking with Angela to Spanish.

"You and Bella seem to be getting along really well," Angela said as she sat next to me.

"It helps that I met her last night," I admitted. "My mom and I just moved in three houses down from Bella and her dad. Plus, I met the Black family, but Jacob doesn't go to school here."

"Where does he go to school?"

"On the reservation in La Push."

"Oh, I think I know him! A bunch of us go down to the beach after school and on the weekends, and we run into the kids there. Maybe next time, you and Bella could go with us?"

"I can't speak for Bella, but I think that would be fun," I grinned. Angela wasn't a bad person to be friends with, I thought to myself as class began. Mom would be happy to hear that I made another friend.

When school ended, I made my way to the administrative building where Bella was waiting for me with a strange look on her face. Together, we went to the office when Bella froze in the doorway. Before I could ask her what was wrong, I noticed Edward Cullen speaking to Ms. Cope at the front desk. His tone of voice was harsh like he was upset about something.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cullen, but the only available Biology class for that period is the one you're currently in." Ms. Cope said softly before addressing us. "I'll be right with you girls."

Edward's body went rigid with tension and he snatched his schedule off the desk.

"I guess I'll have to deal with it." He snarled under his breath before brushing past Bella, anger written all over his face.

I glanced at my best friend and noticed her eyes swelling with tears. She thrusted her transfer slip into my hands and bolted from the office. Puzzled at what just happened, I handed the papers to Ms. Cope and left in search of Bella. She was sitting in her truck, tears silently running down her face as she stared at the school. Without a word, I handed her a pack of tissues and waited until she was calm enough to wipe her nose.

Taking a deep breath, she threw the truck into reverse and backed out of her spot, shifting smoothly into drive and following the flow of traffic. As we passed the silver Volvo from this morning, I locked eyes with Edward and glared at him because I knew he was the reason Bella was upset. Subtly, I flipped him off when Bella wasn't paying attention and felt a twinge of satisfaction from the look of surprise on his face as we left the parking lot.