The clock in my room ticked down the time until I had to wake up and face the world. Some people would think school would offer an escape to the home I lived in, but my skin was littered with scars and bruises that no one understood. I had become an outcast in my own life. My hometown of Forks, Washington is a very small town where gossip is the main source of entertainment, so I was forced to live in the shadows as to not alert anyone to my home life. I didn't need their pity, I'd rather them of thought I was just the weird Swan girl.

I quietly got ready for school as my mum had passed out in the hallway and I'd learned the hard way too many times that she should not be woken. It was so quiet, it was almost peaceful. That would all change.

The air at school was nearly humming with electricity. Everyone was in little huddles whispering excitedly to each other. I didn't stop to find out what had happened, in a school like that I was bound to find out by first period, whether I tried to or not. I slouched in my first class of the day, turned away from everyone until I heard her walk in. She walked in with an air of mystery, yet charisma. Looking back out the window I felt her sit next to me, the only empty seat in the class. No one ever wanted to sit near me. Her eyes burnt a hole in the back of my head, but years of experience made me not look her way.

"Class, this is Alice Cullen. Her family just moved here from Alaska. Make sure you welcome her," Mrs. Rohner said. "I see you've found your seat already," a smile sounded in her voice. She then began the lesson on Existentialism as found in our current play No Exit.

"Hi! I'm Alice. We're going to be best friends," she whispered to me in absolutely no uncertain terms.

"Uh- hi. I'm Bella."

"Bella? That's a beautiful name... no pun intended," she giggled. "So is it always so rainy here?"

"Erm- thank you. And yes it does. You get used to it though." Small talk was never my forte, well any form of conversation wasn't my forte, but it seemed Alice wouldn't leave me be.

"You've lived here long then? "

"Alice, I know you're new but could we save the chatter until after class please?" Mrs. Rohner gently chided.

"Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am. I just got excited," Alice giggled. Her voice alone was memorizing, but her laugh was unlike anything I've ever heard before. It pulled me in and once there it seemed like I would never have another coherent thought again.

I continued to stare at the board as the teacher droned on. Even an interesting topic could be made mundane with the right person teaching it apparently. I kept feeling Alice looking at me. For some reason it made me want to blush and yell at her at the same time. I knew it was only a matter of time until she heard the rumors and started avoiding me as well.

The bell rang and I bolted out of the class as usual. However, I turned around to see Alice bee lining it for me.

"Hey!" I began to wonder if she was always so damn chipper.

"Hello."

"So're ya gonna answer my question or what?" she smiled. Her entire face lit up.

"Oh, right. Yes I've lived here my whole life. Why do you want to know anyway?" It's not like you're going to stick around anyway. I added to myself.

"I told you. We're going to be best friends. Now what kind of best friend would I be if I didn't know how long you lived here?" Mock hurt rang through her voice, but her smile gave her away.

"You don't even know me, how could you know we'll be best friends? Or that we'll even like each other?" I didn't mean for my words to come out that harsh, but to be honest I was starting to get annoyed that she was promising me friendship that she would never hold up to.

"I just know these things. Can I sit with you at lunch? Pu-leeeease?"How was I to resist that?

"Well I don't really sit with anyone so I don't know how much fun it'd be…"

"Awesome! Well that works out anyway because then my brothers and sister could sit with us too!"

"Uh…"

"Great see you then!" With that she spun on her toes and quite literally danced down the hallway to her next class.

The next few classes seemed to speed by. I couldn't get the overly exuberant little pipsqueak out of my head. Ok that was a tad mean… she was an absolutely adorable pipsqueak, but I supposed I was trying to talk her down in my head for the inevitable hurt that would follow her decision to not talk to me anymore. It's not that I couldn't hold my own. I was actually quite strong willed and intelligent, which is why I chose to pick my battles and pull away from pain before it hit me. The hypothetical and clichéd wall I've built is quite strong. People simply do not even try anymore, and I'm ok with that.

It was still raining by the time lunch rolled around. I put my hood on and trudged through to the cafeteria building. I really wanted to meet the sadist who decided to design a multi-building high school in one of the rainiest towns in the US. I sat down at my usual table off to the side of the cafeteria. I never really expected Alice to sit with me so when I looked up and saw her coming I was quite surprised. Even more surprised when three more of the most beautiful people I've ever seen were flanking her.

"Bella!" Alice called out to me. I see the other three look my way. I feel instantly uncomfortable as I see their eyes scrutinizing me. I hold my head up and look in each of their eyes to challenge them to say something.

"Alice. And you must be her siblings she spoke of."

"Yep. This is Jasper."

"Pleasure," Jasper responded with a bow of the head. His voice held a bit of a southern twang that I would generally mentally mock, but it really seemed to suit him. He stood quite tall and lean with sandy blonde hair and dark golden eyes.

"And this is Emmett," Alice continued.

"Hey there," Emmett smiled. Emmett was, to put it bluntly, large. He had the build of a weight lifter, however his dimples made him look like he was constantly smiling and his eyes held an air of curiosity and mischief. He put his arm protectively around Alice's sister's waist as he looked back towards Alice expectantly.

"And last but not least, Rosalie," Alice finished.

"Charmed, I'm sure." Rosalie seemed to have an attitude that could kill. She was a bit taller than me with long blonde hair and perfect curves with light gold eyes.

If I were a nosy person, I'd ask what's going on. However, as curious as I was I was not impolite. So for the next hour we sat down and exchanged pleasantries as I picked up on how very different the group of people in front of me was. They told me about how they were adopted throughout the years. Which made sense as none of them really strikingly resembled another; however they all had many things in common. Out of all of them, they all got trays of food but then never ate. They all had striking gold eyes that seemed to change. They all seemed to calculate every single movement they made, down to every last breath. They all were strikingly pale with what looked like bruises under their eyes. They almost looked as if they were all extremely unhealthy, however many would not see it, as you had to look past their beauty. True some of this could have been chalked up to living together and all the other string of excuses that rolled off their tongues, but not everything was explained. I decided to drop it and just enjoy the company.

Next period I had American history. The funny thing about American history throughout my entire schooling is that we always start around 1492 with Christopher Columbus and the teacher always promised that by the end of the year we would be at present time, yet no matter what, I have never in 11 years made it past 1970. Do they figure we can just fill in the past couple decades ourselves? I don't understand why they have never amended their syllabi to include these years. Regardless, it's not as if I pay much attention in the class either way. That was until Jasper walked in. Out of everyone in the Cullen's makeshift family, he seemed the most introverted of the bunch. His presence alone seemed calming, so I did not have a second thought when he sat next to me, bowed his head at me, and let me be the rest of class. Of course his mysterious southern nature crept out again as he "bid me farewell" at the end of class.

The rest of the day had progressed without much uproar. It seemed it did not go unnoticed by my classmates that the new students that everyone was dying to be friends with had taken a liking to me. Jessica Stanley graciously took a moment out of her day to point this out to me. I abhorred the people of that town.

As surprised as I was, it seemed over the next few weeks that Alice was really going to stay true to her word. We became much closer as every day progressed. I even started to get to know Jasper and Emmett pretty well. Rosalie seemed to have a tough exterior that, honestly, I didn't feel like working to crack. I figured she'd come around eventually. It seemed the general progression of things that lead to Alice inviting me to spend the weekend at her house.

"C'mon, pleeeease? I'm positive my parents will be ok with it. And if you need them to they'll talk to your parents too. I really want you to come over," Alice begged. She gave me the cutest puppy dog face that she knew always melted my heart. However, this was too much.

"I'm sorry Alice; I really don't think I can. How about I just come over for a bit tonight or tomorrow?" I would not back down. She seemed to daze out for a moment, as if lost deep in thought. I gave her a moment to collect herself, but as we were in the middle of the hallway I had to interrupt her. "Alice? Hello?"

"Oh, wow, sorry about that," she giggled, "got lost on a thought. Fine, I give. How about you come over tonight? I can follow you to your house so you can talk to your parents then follow me home, k?" With that she flashed me a huge smile that sent my senses flying, winked at me, and walked away.

"Uh… yeah, sure that's fine," I muttered to her retreating figure. I hadn't really told Alice anything of my home life; I didn't know how much she had heard from the other kids. Whenever she spoke of her parents it seemed like she had such a good life that she wouldn't be able to understand mine. I didn't take well to pity and as I'd learned before, that'd be all that be gained by telling. One thing is certain, Alice Cullen had just backed down in an argument, extremely quickly I may add. I didn't know what she's up to, but I didn't like it.

By the time history rolled around I was a bit anxious still about the evening. I didn't like meeting parents and on top of that I was still trying to figure out what in the world Alice was planning. When Jasper sat next to me he tensed up as if he was feeling my anxiety.

"How are you today, Bella?" He asked as polite as ever.

"I don't know," I sighed. "Ever get the feeling that Alice is up to something? It's as if she knows things that we don't."

"Very well since the day I met her," he chuckled. Hearing Jasper laugh was quite a rare thing. Most of the kids in school had actually learned to steer clear of him more than the burley Emmett. Though afraid or not they were still pining for the Cullens' attention.

"Well, what do you do about it?"

"Y'know me, I just let Alice do her thing and take it as it comes. Seeing ten steps ahead of your enemy is fine and dandy, but Alice is in no way my enemy, nor yours. So, I let her have her fun. She gets quite put out when she doesn't have her way," he chuckled again, his eyes lost in a distant memory.

"I guess you're right. Thanks Jas." He really always seemed to put me in a great mood.

By the end of the day I had almost worked myself up again since Jasper had calmed me down. I changed from gym and walked to my hoopty of a truck. It was a huge, red Chevy truck that my dad left me years ago. It was one of those gifts where I had to remember it was the thought that counted. The engine was so loud I generally couldn't hear myself think, but over that past year since I had had my license I'd come to love it more than anything else I owned. It had personality. As I got closer I saw Alice sitting up on the side of the bed.

"Hey Bella," she smiled. I started blushing which only increased her smile.

"Alice," I greeted. It was an odd site to see her sitting so nonchalantly on my truck. She was so short it almost made me wonder how she had gotten up there.

"So Jazz said he'd drive my car home so I can just come with you. I hope you don't mind." Her voice held a questioning tone, but her face showed that there was no arguing with her. I shrugged and threw my bag in the bed. She started to get down so upon instinct I held my hand out to help her off the back. I blushed again as she grabbed it and smiled at me. Her hand was strikingly cold, but that's not what caught my attention. The second our hands met it was almost as if an electrical current flowed between us. Once she was on her own two feet, I looked down in her eyes and we held eye contact. "Hi there," she said with a grin. "Thank you."

She pulled me out of my trance. I jumped slightly and dropped her hand. "Er- sure," I mumbled with a shy smile. The drive to my house was filled with Alice chatting away about how happy her parents were to meet me and how I was going to love them. I was slightly preoccupied, I regret to say, and even her angelic voice was not enough to distract me from the scene ahead. I finally pulled up to my house as Alice made a move to get out.

"I'll be right back, you'll be cool in here right?" I asked quickly as I saw my mum's car in the drive way.

"Sure. Not a problem."

With that I grabbed my bag and hurried inside. I could smell it before I saw her. My mum had been drinking again. It shouldn't seem a surprise, she always drank, but today she apparently decided to mix things up by drinking earlier. I tried to sneak upstairs with no success. Damn that loud truck.

"Oh Isabella!" Her singsong voice called from the living room. I knew ignoring her would only prolong the inevitable. Sighing, I walked her way.

"Yeah mum?"

"Where's my dinner?"

"I just got home from school mum. I have to go to my science partner's house to do a project. I won't be late." It's funny how the lies rolled off my tongue so easily after I had done it repetitively for so many years.

"Oh no, no, no. That will just not do. Why the fuck do you need to study anyway? It's not as if you'll ever make anything of yourself. You're fucking stupid; get it through that thick skull of yours. You're going to end up a fucking loser." Her rant continued belligerently so I started backing away. I got to my room to see it had been kicked in. Again. I surveyed my stuff to see my TV and stereo were stolen. Guess I'm going to have to go to the pawn shop again tomorrow to buy them back. I thought to myself. After grabbing some of my things I throw them in my bag.

"Hey loser, I'm talking to you. I fucking want my dinner on the table in fifteen minutes!" She screeched while following me around the house. I kept tripping on the clutter all over the floor. Just as I was about to leave she called out my name. I paused and looked back at her only to have a book thrown at me. I didn't even think she knew what a book was. I joked to myself. The book hit my chest but I just brushed it off and left. I'm going to have to get home early to make dinner now. Ugh how am I going to explain this to Alice?

I walked up to my truck, threw my bag back in the bed, and hopped in. I look over at Alice who was playing on her iphone. I knew she knew I was back in the truck but she continued to focus on her game. Her eyebrows were scrunched up really tight and her lips were pursed in concentration. A stray hair had fallen down hiding her full face from me. I reached over to put it behind her ear and effectively caught her full attention. Her eyes almost looked sad for some reason, but I couldn't figure out why. I flashed her a quick smile and turned on my truck.

"So, where to?" I asked. She studied me for a moment longer before responding.

"Oh, head up towards the bank and take a left, we're out of town a few minutes off that road."

"Sounds good. What do you have planned? I only have a few hours," I hoped she wouldn't fight me on this. I stole a sideways glance at her to see her watching me deep in thought.

"Well, we can figure it out when we get there, k?"

"Ok. You sure your parents are going to like me? I really don't like meeting parents. They usually think I'm a bad influence," I laughed.

"Well, are you?" Her suggestive tone of voice made me look over at her. Her mischievous smile said it all.

"Guess you're just going to have to wait to find out, young lady." I left her speechless for a moment or two until I started busting up laughing at the cute look of surprise on her face. Obviously she thought I wouldn't have anything to say back to her. She stuck her tongue out at me and looked out the window feigning anger towards me.

"Oh, we're almost here. Ok it's on the left, four houses up… one… two… three… this one. Ok you can park wherever you want. I don't think anyone will have to leave before you." I pulled in and spent another minute or two getting through her driveway.

Then I saw it. Her house was absolutely amazing. The multiple cars aside, from the house alone I could tell they were loaded. A blush of embarrassment found its way on my cheeks. I knew they drove nice cars, but I don't know anything about cars. Seeing this house is completely different. It appeared to be a four story house made almost exclusively from glass and a nice wood. The garden started out front and wrapped around the back, there was a magnificent set of stairs up to the front door. The inside entryway was two stories high and so exquisitely decorated I knew the rest of the house would follow suit. In my awe I almost forgot where I was. I looked up and saw Emmett, Jas, Rosalie, and who I assume to be Alice's parents standing around me smiling. It was like a picture you found in a picture frame when you buy it.

"Hello, you must be Bella. Welcome to our house. My name is Esme and this is Dr. Cullen," Alice's mum started once I picked my jaw off the ground. She was a beautiful lady with a heart-shaped warm face.

"Please, I insist, call me Carlisle." Carlisle was around the same age as Esme with blonde hair and one of those faces that you would assume would be selling you something. Not in a mean way, but his confidence and knowledge were written all over his strong jaw line and defined eye brows.

"Esme, Carlisle. Thank you for inviting me into your home. It is quite beautiful." Seriously, money, looks, personality… what are they doing talking to me? Is there really anything they don't have?

"Oh aren't you a dear," Esme smiled. I usually would have taken a comment like that a bit condescendingly, however it seemed to fit coming from Esme's mouth.

"Soooo, yeah. We're going to go find something to do. See ya." And with that Alice grabbed my hand and flitted off with me in tow. "Well that's the entry way, here's the formal dining room, the kitchen, regular dining room, sitting room, living room. Let's go upstairs. There's Rose's and Emmett's room and there's Esme's and Carlisle's room. This is basically their level. Then up these stairs… Ok here's Jazz's room and finally, my room," she let out a light giggle as she opened her door. I walked in and saw exactly what I expected from her room. It was a pale blue with clothes and accessories everywhere, a full vanity, a couch, a huge TV… everything except…

"Where's your bed?" I asked.

"Oh. I- I don't sleep on a bed I sleep on my couch. It's… better for my back I think. Plus it gives me more room," she smiles broadly at me. My focus started to wean as if she knew exactly what she was doing. Anyone else I could have seen not sleeping on a bed, but not Alice. She was not someone who parks it on the couch. I haven't slept on a bed since I was little, then again look at Alice, and look at me. But yet again, my manors prevented me from pushing anything.

"Gotchya," I respond. I start to look over at a quite extensive DVD collection. "You like movies much?" A smile hinted at my lips as I saw her watching my every move.

"Yep, I love collecting them. Movies are like a way to socialize. Whenever I have someone over or even if it's just family I love throwing on a good movie to set the tone, even if it's just background music. It prevents any awkward silences."

"I didn't think you even knew what silence was," I mocked.

"Hey now! That is just rude and uncalled for," she emphasized her sarcasm with her one leg extended, foot tapping, and her arms crossed with her finger tapping, and a glare to finish it off. I gave her a once over and decided that she must have picked the stance up from Rosalie. If Rosalie was standing before me like that, I'd probably be intimidated. As it was, tiny Alice in that stance reminded me of Simba from the Lion King trying to imitate his father's roar. It was just too cute. I fell back into her couch and laughed, holding my sides.

"Oh- Alice. I'm – I'm posit-ively shakin' in my – boots," I got out between laughs. Alice tried to intensify her glare to no avail. Finally she stalked down and pounced on me and literally growled. To be honest, she scared me. I screamed like a baby. I don't know how she did it but at that exact second she looked absolutely terrifying. That was until she started laughing at me.

"You should ha-ave seen your face!" she said after catching her breath. We both finally had calmed down. We were laying next to each other on the couch just lost in our thoughts.

"Alice?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, Bella?"

"Thanks for sticking around and being my friend." She turned her head towards me, our noses no more than two inches apart.

"Thank you for keeping me around, Bella." Her cool breath wisped across my face as she talked and once again the world went fuzzy. My thoughts blurred and at that exact moment in time all I could think about was Alice.

And cue the knock that broke the moment. I jumped off the couch and looked at the door as it opened.

"There're my two favorite girls," Jasper said with a smile. If he weren't such a gentleman, I swear he'd of had a pillow thrown at him. As it was, there was no use in glaring.

"Hey Jas. What's happening?" I asked him.

"We're all starting a movie downstairs. Would the two of you like to join us?"

And that's how I found myself laying in Alice's lap a half an hour later.

And that's how I found myself four hours later when I woke up. A storm was making its presence known outside. But all I could think was I think it's past dinner time.