Disclaimer: I do not own anything having to do with the Twilight series. It's all Stephanie Meyer's.

WARNING: It's rated M for a reason people!

Amy Watson stood next to her beat up 1966 Mustang and stared at Forks High School. It was mid-September and there was a chill to the air. She clutched her books closer to her chest and shivered. Back home in east Tennessee, the sun would be shining and the temperature more than likely in the 80s. Here it was rainy, gloomy, damp and . . . cold. She sighed and thought of the home she'd left behind, but especially her granny. She missed her something terrible, but there was nothing she could do about that. Granny Watson had passed into the afterlife back in the spring. Went to be with Amy's daddy who had passed three years ago. Amy's mother couldn't stand the pain of being around such familiar places and decided to pack both of them up and move, to all places, Washington State. Amy thought if they got any farther away, they would've ended up on the other side of the world. She guessed her mom didn't want to totally leave the continent, but they might as well have. Today was her first day of school and the knot in her stomach wasn't easing. She brushed her long bangs out of her green eyes and put one foot forward pushing her body into motion across the pavement and up the steps, unaware of all the eyes that watched the "new girl".

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen pulled in the parking lot just in time to see the "new girl" glide across the pavement and up the steps. Bella watched her and thought, Now there's someone who has what I don't have . . . grace. The girl was no taller than Bella who stood around 5'5, but she held herself with a quality that Bella couldn't quite put her finger on. It wasn't snobby or aloof. Edward broke the silence with, "Her mother works with Carlisle at the hospital." Bella started and looked at him thinking he had finally read her mind. "Oh, is she a doctor?" she asked. Edward nodded, "One of the best in Tennessee – she can almost match Carlisle in knowledge."

"Wow," Bella commented and looked back towards the school entrance but the girl had already disappeared inside. Edward was already out of the car and opening her door before she had time to blink. She still wasn't quite used to how fast he moved. She struggled out of the car, juggling her books and bag, and Edward chuckled, deftly taking her by the arm and helping her. She gave him a lopsided grin and said, "Thanks."

She still couldn't get over the fact that they were engaged. Officially. She had protested loudly when Edward presented the engagement ring. It was far too large in carats, and she felt that a simple solitaire would have sufficed, but it was Edward after all. Only the best and most expensive for his Bella. So, the two carat emerald cut diamond weighed heavily on her ring finger of her left hand. Telling her father that she was getting married after graduation wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Right off the bat, he thought the worst – she was pregnant. But she assured him that she wasn't. She almost could feel the huge sigh of relief expand out of his lungs as his body deflated into his recliner. But after initial shock had worn off, he was back to the stance of a banty rooster.

"Are you crazy?" he shouted. "You're both only 18!" Bella hid a grin behind her palm, thinking if only Charlie knew how old Edward really was.

"I know Dad, but you know how much I love Edward, and you know he can take care of me," she argued. Charlie couldn't deny those facts. He did respect Carlisle Cullen and knew the family was very well off. He slumped and sighed again, rubbing his hands across his eyes. She waited silently and when he said, "I still think you're crazy," she knew this was his way of giving in. She bounded in his lap like she was still six years old and hugged him around the neck. "Thank you Daddy," she said, kissing him on the cheek. He patted her awkwardly on the back and mumbled, "Love you too, Bells."

He'd threatened Edward with absolute death if he did anything to hurt his Bella, and Edward agreed wholeheartedly he would do whatever it took to keep Bella safe. Never mind the fact that she was marrying into a family of vampires, but Charlie didn't have to know that. Just yet. Bella had not mentioned her transformation since that night Jacob had said good-bye. And neither had Edward. It lay unspoken between them that after they were married he would make her everything he was. So, neither one thought it any use in rehashing the rehash. Secretly though, Edward was hoping Bella would change her mind and be content in staying human, but he knew he was wishing on stars with that one.

So, now they stood in front of Forks High School as "the engaged couple". Edward touched Bella's elbow and said, "Shall we?" She nodded and they made their way inside before the first bell rang.

* * *

Amy went through the lunch line and stared at the unsavory food. The cafeteria lady barked at her, and she jumped slightly and pointed at the macaroni and cheese, temporarily forgetting she had a voice. The plate slide across the stainless steel counter, and she put it on her tray. She picked up chocolate milk, paid for her lunch, and then turned and surveyed the cafeteria. This was the part she hated. Where to sit. Everyone was quarantined off into their selective groups. She didn't have a group of course. Her eyes came to rest on a table of teens that made her heart beat faster. She could feel something was different about them. Except one. The brown-haired girl that was eating. None of the others touched their food. They silently sat at the table. Her heart began to race faster and all these thoughts and pictures started swimming through her mind. A deer. A fast moving shadow. People screaming. Suddenly, the eyes of the bronzed-hair male met hers and she snapped out of her reverie. The look on his face told her he had heard her thoughts. No doubt about it. Granny Watson was right. There were other people out there. People like him.

Edward looked at the new girl and knew that she saw something. He was confused. She wasn't one of them, but yet, there was something about her. Bella saw him staring at the girl, and she punched him in the ribs. He turned swiftly back to her and said, "Hey, what was that for?" Alice and Jasper chuckled, while Bella gave him the bug eyes and said, "Hello? Why are you staring at her?" He looked back to where the girl had been standing but she had sat down at a table not far from theirs. She concentrated intently on the food on her plate, and he knew she was trying not to make eye contact with them.

"I don't know," he said. Bella frowned. He had never been interested in anyone else at school except for her. She felt a twinge of jealousy. Edward turned to look at her and suddenly understood. He grinned and said, "I can't believe you're jealous."

"I'm NOT jealous," she retorted, taking a bite from her apple. Alice and Jasper sat silently enjoying the show. "Could've fooled me," Edward teased. Bella tossed her hair, something that she was not prone to do, and said, "Fine. Just to show you I'm not jealous, I'm going to invite her to join us."

"What?" the three vampires said in unison. But Bella was already on her feet and walking over to the girl. Once Bella was standing by the girl, she suddenly felt really stupid. The girl felt her presence and looked up at her with a questioning look on her face. She had cheese smeared on her bottom lip. Bella pointed and said, "Uh, you have cheese on your lip." The girl hastily grabbed a napkin and wiped at her mouth.

"Look, I know how it feels to be the 'new girl'," Bella started off, "I was about two years ago. So, if you want you can sit with me and my friends." She motioned to the table where the Cullen siblings were sitting and the girl peered around her to look. Alice, Jasper and Edward sat there staring intently, wondering what she was going to do.

"OK," Amy said. She got up and retrieved her things and juggled her tray with one hand and followed Bella over to the Cullens. Edward jumped up and grabbed her tray, "Here, let me help you with that."

"Thank you," Amy said. "Oh, I'm Amy. Amy Watson," she added.

"I'm Bella, and this is my . . . fiancé, Edward and his brother and sister, Jasper and Alice," Bella said. The word "fiancé" sounded foreign on her lips, but she couldn't very well still call him her boyfriend with the big honkin' ring on her finger. Alice smiled, Jasper nodded, and Edward quietly said, "Hello."

Amy sat down next to Bella. Her heart started beating rapidly again and she knew. She watched as the Cullens' nostrils flared. Especially Jasper's. Suddenly he was on his feet, "It was nice meeting you, but I just remembered I need to go by the library before my next class." And then he was gone before Amy even had time to say good-bye. Alice remained seated though and smiled at her. "So, where are you from?"

"Tennessee," Amy replied. Her voice had the lilt of a southern accent that Bella hadn't noticed when she first talked to her. It wasn't overwhelming, but it was there. "I miss it. But Mama wanted to get as far away as she could from the ghosts," Amy continued. She took a bite of her mac n cheese and chewed thoughtfully.

"Ghosts?" Alice asked. Edward sat silently, and Bella knew he was trying to read Amy's thoughts. Sometimes, she was glad he couldn't read hers as she thought it was a gross invasion of privacy. Amy slowly turned her head and looked at Edward and he ducked his eyes as if he'd been caught. Amy then looked at Alice and said, "Yes. My daddy and my granny's. They're dead. I miss them something fierce."

"Oh, I'm sorry," both Alice and Bella said together. Amy nodded and continued, "My mama took it really hard when Daddy died, but then when Granny died, she just couldn't handle it anymore. So she decided to take the job at the hospital here and start a new life for us."

The more Amy talked, the more her accent came out. She talked of her home in the Appalachian mountains (Appah-LA-chin – NOT AppaLAYshen –and she visibly shuddered as she made the point of how outsiders mispronounced the name) and how she missed the sunshine, something Bella could relate to when she first moved to Forks. Now, she had come to love the gray skies, the gloominess because it reminded her of Edward.

The dismissal bell rang and Bella realized she had become mesmerized by Amy's talking. Amy stopped though and said, "Thanks so much for asking me to sit with you all. I hate sitting by myself." She stood up, smiled, and said, "Hope to see you all around." She walked away.

"She is darling!" Alice declared breaking the sudden silence. Bella had to agree. She was a sweet girl. Someone she could see herself becoming friends with. Edward was silent and she turned to him and said, "What's your opinion."

"She's different," he said, and left it at that.

"Poor Jasper," Alice said, "I'm going to go find him, and tell him everything is OK. He's doing much better in controlling himself, don't you think?"

Edward raised an eyebrow at his sister, "Yeah. He only came THIS close to ripping the poor girl's head off," making an inch sign with his index finger and thumb. Alice slapped his bicep and rolled her eyes. Bella laughed. How she loved this crazy family.

To be continued . . .