My first fanfic. Woot-woot! I have been super excited to get this out here and now that it finally is, I am really nervous.

Please give this a chance! It really is an amazing story.

Chapter 1- Break Down

Tap, tap, tap… tap, tap, tap. My eyes wandered down to my pencil for a moment, a small smile creeping onto my lips as I realized I was the source of the tapping. I didn't really care. It was almost the end of another school day and everyone was talking loudly. No one ever paid much attention to me, but that's just perfect for me. Like my mother always says, "It's just peachy."

I was brought out of my reverie of thoughts by the tip of something sharp connecting with my flesh.

"OW!" I yelped a little too loudly. I shamefully noticed a few eyes glance in my direction, annoyed expressions accompanying them. My bangs flew out of my eyes as I whipped my head to the right to see what had caused this embarrassing moment. Of course, I should have guessed it instantly. Mandy.

A mischievous grin spread across my best friend's face as I'm sure she noticed my pink cheeks. Stupid blush…

"There are quieter ways to get a person's attention, Mandy, than stabbing them like they're a marshmallow," I practically hissed at her. Mandy shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, my scolding only making her smile widen.

"How was I supposed to know you would react so loudly?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, eyes wide, like an innocent child.

I narrowed my eyes at her and crossed my arms over my chest. Sometimes I wondered why I was still friends with Mandy. She was the complete opposite of me. She talked to any random person, was never afraid to speak her mind, and knew how to talk to guys. As for me…I'm pretty sure Mandy was my only friend, I never spoke up, and I couldn't even look a boy in the eye without blushing, so I dare not imagine what would happen if I spoke to one. I guess that was why I have never had a full conversation with any guy except for my dad and brothers.

"Hello? Hannah? Are you still here? Please don't ignore me. I'm sorry," Mandy pleaded with me, shaking my shoulder a little. Yup, this is why I loved Mandy. She kept me tied down to Earth. She was basically my anchor to the world. I could never thank my mother enough for forcing Mandy and I to play together every summer growing up when my family and I visited my moms parents, who had died a few years back, here. Even though we lived far apart, we became best friends faster than our mothers had expected. Thanks to my dad's new job though, we could see each other everyday now since we moved from sunny California to rainy La Push a few weeks ago, just in time for the start of senior year. We were inseparable. I was still getting used to the Quileute kids, but as long as I had a certain Quileute girl beside me, I think I could survive my last year of high school.

"Sorry Mandy. Its fine, I just wasn't paying attention to you."

Mandy scoffed playfully. "Well, that sure boosts my self-esteem."

I rolled my eyes at her and waved my hand quickly up and down. "Oh yeah Mandy, like you need it. Not only do you have personality, but the looks too. Its girls like you that make girls like me look like an ugly caterpillar being compared to a beautiful butterfly." As the words came out of my mouth, I couldn't help but realize just how true they were. When Mandy and I walked together, all eyes were on her. Every pair of eyes lingered on her tall, bronze and curvy, yet slender figure. Everyone noticed when she made a small flip of her long, black hair or a movement of her hand from her side to her hip. No one saw the awkward giant (me) beside her.

"Do you own a mirror Hannah?" Mandy's question broke into my thoughts.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Have you ever used it before? You know, to actually look at yourself?"

"Yes." Unfortunately…

"Then why the hell did you just compare yourself to a creature with more than two legs?" Mandy asked me incredulously.

I grimaced when I saw the look in her eyes. I had seen that look before. It was never a good sign for me. That determined, yet frustrated look. Oh how I wish she wasn't so stubborn.

"Well…," I tried to think of someway to say this without making her even more determined, "I'm not exactly what most would call the 'cream of the crop.'"

Mandy threw her hands up dramatically then grabbed me by the shoulders, rattling my tall frame. "You are so exasperating! I don't get you at all. Your not fat, you have amazing hair, and killer legs. And don't even get me started on your outrageously smooth stomach. I mean, come on Hannah, you need to really look at yourself. Just because you don't look like everyone else here doesn't mean you're not beautiful. So what if you're lighter than the rest of us? You have the perfect skin tone in my opinion. It's not even that much of a difference; you're just really tan," she paused to take a breath and tuck a loose strand of my hair behind my ear, then held it gently in her hand. "You could pull off so many amazing looks with this hair! How many girls are blessed with glossy, auburn, hair that looks good wavy? Do you know how jealous I am of your hair? You are just-."

Triing, triing, tring.

The loud ringing sent a shock through my body that made me jump out of my seat, causing Mandy to pull back her hand and let it hang loosely at her side as she watched me jam all my books and supplies into my book bag and throw it over my shoulder. "Sorry, Mandy gotta run. I have to go take a test. See you tomorrow!" I called behind me, attempting to give her at least a semi-apologetic look. She saw right through my fake sincerity, but stayed back to pack up her books with a frustrated glare aimed at my retreating back framing her tanned face. I darted through the hallways, making my way to World History.

Only one more hour. I repeated the mantra to myself. One more hour, one more hour...

--

"I'm going to my room!" I yelled down the stairs as I took them two at a time.

The History test had actually passed by quicker than I had expected, the end of school bell reminding me I was free from this prison for the rest of the day. After that, I only had to wait for five minutes before my mom's rusty red truck appeared in the school parking lot. Now I could finally forget about school and focus on my books and my music; the two things that I could never live without.

I plopped myself down on my bed, snatching up my battered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and my blue IPod from my nightstand. I tore my once new raincoat off of my body and flung it across the room onto my dresser top. What can I say? I'm a true slob.

I had just pressed the play button when a knocking sound came from my door. "Come in," I sighed while laying my book down on the bed and pulling the headphones from my ears.

My mom's wide smile and bright green eyes peeked into my room. In a blur of movement, she swung the door wide open, revealing her slim, tiny form. "Hi honey. I was just hoping we could go to the store together?" She turned the statement into a hopeful question, probably part of her 'make-Hannah-feel-guilty' plan.

"I can go on my own if you'd like, Mom. I don't mind." Ever since I had received my Driver's License last year, my parents always had me driving around doing a few errands. I never complained, though, since it gave me a bit of alone time.

My mom chewed on her full bottom lip, a habit I had picked up from her. "Well, I don't know…" I could practically hear the clicking in my head as the gears in my brain fell into place. I knew what this was about. It had started on my last day of school as a junior back in California. She thought she was losing me. I had told my parents I planned on staying in a dorm during college earlier that year, like my older brother. I hadn't really had much of a reaction from them until they realized I only had one more year of high school and then I was off to live on my own. For the past five months, which included my entire summer break, my parents have been trying to spend 'quality time' with me. I would have to think of something fast or I'd be stuck in the small store with my gossiping mother. Alone. I successfully repressed the shudder that was about to rip through my body.

"Don't worry Mom. We can all go to that new Italian restaurant in Port Angeles this Saturday only two days away. So what do you need from the store?" I reassured her with a hopefully not to eager smile plastered on my face. She smiled back at me hesitantly, but left my room to write her shopping list.

I thrust myself up from my bed and scurried into the bathroom down the hall, sneaking a swift glance at myself in the mirror while I waited for my mom to finish the list. A slightly baggy, green t-shirt hung from my shoulders while a pair of faded blue jeans enclosed my tan legs. I winced as I saw my untidy auburn hair hanging an inch off my shoulders. My hand reached up and tired to pat it down, but failed miserably. I pulled one of the numerous hair ties that I carried around with me at all times from my jeans and tied the ginger colored rats' nest consisting of my hair into a half-decent excuse of a ponytail. With a loud, resigned sigh I dragged myself out of the bathroom, slowly making my way down the staircase.

A few minutes later I was driving the truck down the long empty road to our small convenience store a few miles away. I took it easy on the red beast; it was a senior citizen after all. A lively, upbeat song came on the radio, making my hand instinctively reach for the volume control and turn it up a few notches louder. I hummed along and tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, bobbing my head to the beat.

The car suddenly began shuddering; increasing with each foot I drove. Crap. I was still a mile away from the store. What the heck am I supposed to do now? A thought popped into my head and calmed my building panic attack. If I remembered correctly, there was an auto shop near here, just around the clump of trees ahead of me. I silently prayed the truck would make it until we reached the shop as it continued its spastic quivering down the road. Yes! There it was. I exhaled the breath I hadn't even noticed I was holding as a sign with the title, The Auto Hounds, came into view and the old brick building rapidly approached.

I steered the truck into the small parking lot, grabbing the keys from the ignition as soon as the parking brake was up. The violent trembling stopped instantly, but now a wisp of black smoke was escaping from under the hood, along with the strong scent of something being burnt. I scrambled out of the truck, slamming the door behind me and practically running away from my psychotic vehicle.

"Hi there, can I help you?" a deep rumble spoke up from behind me.

I know, I know, I hate cliffhangers too, but I couldn't help it.

Review, review, review! I'd like to get some opinions on my writing.

--Mary