A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Here's a little present for anyone who might be following this. Feedback is always very appreciated ;P Please let me know what you think of the Jenny/Edward pairing so far!

Infrared

Chapter Two

"Lodge Party"

*.+.*.+.*

So, I'm standing in the bathroom applying the finishing touches of my make-up and Mike is yapping non-stop in my ear. It's the last weekend before school starts and a little get together was planned at the Kalaloch Lodge restaurant. He's been going on and on about this girl named Lauren, and how she's the hottest, most popular girl in school. Apparently, they broke it off before the break, and he's wondering if he should try and fix things.

I honestly couldn't care less about his troubles, as if they could even compare to mine. But he seems pretty nervous, so I suppose I'll at least respond. He stands there looking at me expectantly and I take my time sealing the cap on my lipstick. Then I look up at him, shifting my bangs out of my eyes with a little cant of my head, and try not to glare.

"Look, I'll meet this girl and we'll just go from there. Can't exactly offer any advice if I have absolutely no idea who she is."

Now, hopefully, he'll leave me alone.

"Really?" He grins. "That's awesome! Thanks a lot, cuz."

"Hey," I do glare now. "What'd I tell you about calling me that?"

"Right," he clears his throat. "Uhm, Jenny. Thanks."

I smile victoriously, always finding pleasure from a battle won. At least I still have some areas of dominance in my life. "Great, now get out. I'll be down in ten."

He nods and steps back as I close the door behind him. I breathe out loudly and then look to the mirror, lifting a hand to sift through the layers of my hair. It's time to show up these small town girls. Show them what high society really looks like.

I've gotta admit…this is pretty fun. Yeah, being an outsider sucks, but the perk is that you stand out and no one can challenge you. I'm going to get that spotlight and there won't be a Blair Waldorf to steal it from me.

Adjusting my Milly fox fur-trim duffle coat, I switch off the light, grab my purse and head downstairs. Rob and Karen both look to me and I meet their stares from beneath a set of heavily mascaraed lashes. We all head out, the rain still falling but feeling more like sleet. Horrible weather. Just horrible.

It's like 30 miles to the lodge, and I roll my eyes after the first 15. Everything is so seriously spread apart here. You have to drive across the country just to get anywhere. For instance, I heard from Aunt K that you have to go all the way back to Port Angeles for a decent shopping mall. Talk about super lame.

"Hey, does it ever snow here?" I ask Mike, tone kinda bored. Have to cope with the time somehow.

Mike just shakes head, "yeah, but it doesn't stick. Too wet here."

"Great," I just say in response before falling silent again. No white Christmas' for awhile. Well, unless everything works out as I've planned. I really don't want to be here for an entire year.

We arrive and I frown a little at the limited number of vehicles. Even with all of the High School students here, there isn't enough to fill the parking lot. It's just ridiculous. I look up to the actual lodge as I step out of the car and figure it isn't too bad, even though it can hardly be counted as a refined establishment. Mike says Forks proudly hosts everything here, from wedding receptions to little gatherings like this. It's the only place they really have like this.

We walk as a group to the front steps and I try not to slip, watching my heels and taking it nice and slow. Damn all this ice. I shudder and wrap my jacket tighter around myself.

"Hey, Tyler!"

Mike brushes past me –much to my irritation—and embraces a boy who was chatting by the door with some blonde.

Aunt K and Uncle Rob tell me they'll see us inside, before walking ahead. I just stand there with a hand on my hip then, waiting for my moronic cousin to remember to introduce me to his friend.

He doesn't, but the Tyler guy gestures a hand towards me. "This the cousin?"

Right. He told me that he'd given all his friends a heads up. I guess I don't really mind being the subject of their conversations.

Mike's eyes widen and he turns to me, smiling apologetically. "Oh, yes! This is Jenny." He then motions to his friend, "and this is Tyler Crowley."

"Nice to meet you, Jenny," Tyler says with a nice little smile. These boys and their manners. So small town.

"Uhuh," I just say before looking to the girl beside him. I notice then that she's just been silently observing me with a critical little tilt of her eyebrow. I also notice that Mike's been purposefully avoiding eye contact with her. Aha! I see what this is about.

"And you must be Lauren," I boldly say with a smirk and a tilt of my own brow.

I immediately take in her outfit, style of her hair, and facial features. Hm…for the hottest, most popular girl, she isn't much as far as competition goes. This is going to be so easy for me. We stare one another down for a moment, me the invading queen and she the one who's domain is about to be surrendered. She can just say goodbye to her little crown.

She doesn't respond, only glares and Mike finally clears his throat. "Well, uhm, better get inside. C'mon, Jen," he says as he gently lifts a hand to my arm.

I slowly shift my gaze to him, and he removes his hand, before I look to Lauren a final time with a widening smirk. "Right. Be seeing you around then."

Her glare narrows further and I turn with a little chuckle and follow Mike inside the lodge. It's nice and warm, but the design work is a little tacky. Nothing but strings of lights and a poorly dressed tree in the corner. There's a buffet table with food and a circular arrangement of others, where sparse groups of people are sitting. There's some Christmas music playing on an old radio too, and only a faint murmur of voices. It's just…sad.

The perk, though, is that as soon as we enter, all eyes look to us, and I feel a little thrill at the attention. I must be making one hell of an impression on them. They seem to notice my outfit, and I feel tempted to do a little twirl. Oh, the envy is just the greatest.

I see them start to talk amongst themselves then, and I happily take note of the fact that they're probably discussing me. I might as well be the actual queen of England or something. I can't even describe how satisfying this is.

Mike, though, is as unobservant as always and leans in to whisper to me. "So, what'd you think of Lauren?"

I glance to him and stride forward with my head held high, him following like a loyal retriever. I go to stand beside my aunt and uncle, deliberately waiting before responding.

"I don't think you should get back together," I finally say, looking to Mike and seeing the question in his eyes.

"Why not? You don't like her?"

"She's not right for you," I reply. And it's so true. As unfortunate a family member as Mike is, he's still related in blood and I don't want that wannabe having any ties to me. I'm in control of this. "You can seriously do so much better."

"Better?" he asks. "I don't think that's possible. I told you, she's-"

"I know what you told me," I respond firmly. "But you need to get out more. She's like a 6 on the hot scale. And, as far as her being most popular, well…" I glance around the room and at all the eyes that are still watching me. "We'll just see about that."

He looks like he might say more, but then two other girls approach us. Now, these two are a little better looking than Lauren, but not by much. The one with glasses reminds me a little of Nelly Yuki, while the others is more like Penelope. But, like everyone else, they don't have any air of class about them. Just small-town girls looking to the latest gossip and with a certain friendliness to their critiquing.

They recognize an opportunity to befriend the newest center of attention, and I welcome that. Like every queen before more, I need my set of followers. These two will suit me just fine.

"Hey," the Penelope one says, a toothy grin taking her face. My, her voice is a little nasally too. "Mike's told us all about you." She looks over my clothes. "Love that coat, by the way."

Ha! To her, I might as well have bought this at a JCPenny's outlet. She wouldn't know the designer's name to save her life.

"Thanks," I say, mockingly smiling. I look to what she's wearing, purposefully keeping my eyes in place before lifting them and remaining silent. Just can't say the same, you know?

She blinks a little and then indicates herself and the girl beside her. "I'm Jessica and this is Angela. Welcome to Forks!"

"Right," I say, rolling my eyes a little.

There's an awkward pause then and I notice Mike offer a little smile to the pair. I'm sure he's feeling pretty stupid right about now. Gushing about me to all of them only to have them find out what bitch I am.

"So…" Jessica continues, "you're from New York? I've like, always wanted to go there!"

She likes to talk, doesn't she? That could get annoying. Angela's nice and quiet. Seems polite too. She'll fall perfectly into my hands.

"Yeah?" I say only, before looking away purposefully. I've had enough of them.

"Well…" Jessica again says before laughing awkwardly and then, I assume, dodging her eyes about. Seems I've made her speechless.

"Yo!" A loud voice says then and I immediately shift my attention back to see this little, Asian, nerd guy. Great. He's one of those. I can tell already.

He flashes me a toothy grin and has the nerve to sling an arm around my shoulders. "You must be Jenny." He lifts a hand to his chest, "I'm Eric. You can consider me the informer on everyone in the school."

"Hey!" Jessica says then, "I think that'd be me."

"Guys-" Mike tries, but he's cut off by their continued banter. I can hear the nervousness in his voice. He knows I'm not enjoying this at all.

But, that's when I reach my limit, and I swiftly glare up at this Eric guy. Boundaries, dude. Seriously. "Move your arm," I seethe.

His smile falters a little, but he does step back with both hands raised in a show of surrender. Much better. He awkwardly chuckles too, "Oooh, icy."

I just raise my brow. That's right. As annoying as these people are, I do notice that they're crowding around me, all eager for my attention. I don't mind that. At all. They just have to know their place.

But, then, all of a sudden, their attention is redirected to the door almost instantly. This confuses me a moment, and so I turn my head to see what the fuss is all about. And that's when I see a group of seven people, the very air seeming to still at their emergence.

Despite myself, I react immediately with widening eyes and a parting of my mouth. Damn. These people are gorgeous! Fashionable, flawless, and dignified. What on earth are people like them doing in a place like this? They spellbind me a moment, and I become just as transfixed as everyone else in the room. Something about them just…draws me in. It's like I can't look away. They hardly even seem real.

But then, slowly, I start to recover. First I blink, and then I frown. This is just terrific. Seems I'm not the only one vying for the spotlight here. I might as well be invisible with the way everyone's suddenly become so focused on these ridiculously perfect people. It's just my luck though, isn't it? I knew it was going way too easily for me.

"Who're they?" I ask Mike with a little tilt of my head.

He doesn't look away from them, but whispers back to me anyway. "The Cullens." His voice sounds so sickeningly awed. "I didn't think they'd show. They're usually kinda…reclusive that way."

"Hm," I say, continuing to observe them. They must think they're a cut above the rest of these people. I can definitely understand that.

They just stand at the door, gazing about the room in that elegant way, before I see a few of the adults go over and greet the oldest-looking one among them. I take the time to inspect each member of this 'family' in turn. I want to know what I'm dealing with here. They're bound to have a weakness or two. Maybe one of them is enough of a pushover for me to try and attack them from within.

There's a muscular, dark-haired, model-type with a very appealing set of dimples. His confidence seems to rival even that of the illustrious Chuck Bass. My eyes shift and to the blonde beside him. Okay, she is, quite literally, the most beautiful freakin' girl I've ever seen. How can Mike possibly say that Lauren is the most beautiful, most popular girl in school? Next to this bombshell, she's the ugly duckling. Serena too, for that matter. It's just breathtaking. Great. Hard to outdo that one.

Next is a blonde guy, similar in appearance to the beauty. He looks so rigid and uncomfortable though. Is he the weak one of the flock? Hm…it doesn't look like shyness though. It's like he's…in pain or something. Weird. He kinda creeps me out, actually. I look to the little girl staring up at him. Wow. She looks just like a little pixie, straight out of a fairytale. And her sense of style…it's heavenly. And unique. Where did she find that outfit? Some designer I haven't heard of before? I love it!

But, then I remember myself and shift my attention. I have to resist being drawn to them. We're going to be competing for the crown, after all. And so, my eyes land on the next individual. He's kind of standing apart from the rest, eyes scanning the room somewhat absently. The shade of his hair reminds me a little of Nate, but this guy far outshines him in the looks department. Like the rest of them, he's absolutely immaculate. Boyish features and unruly hair, he kinda takes your breath away too.

I breathe in and blink, dispelling this charming effect. But, then, he looks to me, eyes instantly finding mine. Damn it. That look. There's something so appealingly mysterious about it. And…dark. It's captivating. I fall a little further in that gaze. I mean, seriously, it's like he can see right through me! Like he's looking into my soul or something. I've never felt so exposed! But, then I start to resist a little. He shouldn't be having this effect on me. No. I'm determined to come out of this on top. I'm here to conquer the place, after all.

but, then he glares. Out of nowhere! I've never seen such a resentful look, and so deeply rooted too. Not even from Blair Waldorf! What the hell?! I'm confused, but I glare right back. As unnerved as I am, I challenge him to look away, because I refuse to back down! What's his problem anyway?

Then a sudden thought comes into my head. Maybe he feels threatened too. It's possible. He seems the easiest to rile up too. Maybe I can use that somehow. His glare deepens and so does mine.

"Wow, stare down," Mike says from beside me. "Why's he looking at you like that?"

"Right?" I hear Jessica say. "I mean, Edward always just ignores everyone."

I smirk a little. So, I have caught his attention. Hm…glaring or no, seems I've succeeded in giving him a reason to stare.

Then, as if on cue, he looks away, and I feel an immense wave of victory. I won! He suddenly looks irritated and I have to resist laughing. It's weird, but…it's almost like he's reacting to everything I'm thinking.

And his expression shifts into one more controlled.

…weird.

I place a hand on my hip and take my observance to the final two members of this 'Cullen' family. The older man is so classy, but has a very kind face. He has this little smile and a certain politeness. A first rate upbringing. He just looks so trustworthy too. Not something I encounter every day. The woman standing directly beside him also looks kind. Overly so. She has a big grin and I would assume she was just faking, if not for how genuinely pleased she looks.

These people…who the hell are they?