A/N: Hi, all! So a bit of a warning, if you can't tell by the summary, this story will have character death. If that's not for you, that's fine, but please consider yourself warned and don't yell at me later saying I didn't tell you. I'm telling you now.

Chapter 1

"Edward Cullen is staring at you again."

I set down my burger and turn slightly to my right, peeking through the few strands of hair that escaped from my braid.

"No, he's not, Ang." I sigh and keep eating. But he is. Edward Cullen is staring at me.

"You'd think the shiny new penny feeling would have worn off by now." Angela sips on her chocolate milk, which is nearly empty and making an annoying scratchy sound as she tries to suck the last bit out. "You've been here a good six months."

"When you live in Forks, and you've gone to the same school with the same people for your entire life, a new girl is like a fucking needle in a haystack," Jessica pipes in, looking up over her Algebra notes.

"Thanks?"

"But you're a very hot, sexy needle," she adds, laughing.

"Yeah, okay." I smile and turn all of my attention back to my burger, which is almost gone, just like our lunch hour. Not like Edward would have much to do with me anyway. I'm not his type. At least as far as I know.

I pack up moments before the bell rings and wish Jess good luck on her math test before I head to my locker.

"Hey." A smooth, soft voice calls from behind my locker door. I slowly close it and find myself face to face with Edward Cullen.

"Hi?" It comes out as a question, and I don't mean it to.

"You uh, dropped your pen walking out of the lunch room." He holds up my favorite pen between his fingers and hands it to me.

"Oh. Right. Thank you." I smile and toss it into my locker, expecting the conversation to end there.

"Are you almost done with that English paper?" He asks.

I turn toward him, half confused and half intrigued.

"Almost."

"What's your topic?" He smirks and leans against the lockers, like all of the guys do when they're talking to other girls. Other ones. Not me.

"The representation of women in classic literature."

"Like the whole damsel in distress character?"

"Yeah," I say. "And how it's bullshit."

He smiles so wide, I could have sworn it was just stuck that way, and pushes off from the locker. "That's why I like you, Swan. See you in History."

"Yeah." I nod, hold my books against my chest, and head to French class.

Monsieur Raymond's voice has the charisma of two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together. Even though I'm normally a good student, I find my mind wandering less than ten minutes in.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and against my better judgment (and the threat of detention if I'm spotted), I pull it out and read my text under my desk.

Angela: Are you going to the party tonight?

Me: When have I ever answered that question with a yes?

Angela: Never. Come on.

Me: I'm good, thx.

I turn the phone off so she won't keep texting me and slide it into my bag before turning back to French articles. Le. La. Les. Doodles on the corner of my paper. Edward Cullen. The rain outside. Wait, what?

I rewind my brain. Edward. Freaking. Cullen. What are you doing in my head?

It's not that it was the first time this boy was occupying space in my mind. It wasn't the fiftieth. But each time I push it away because I don't understand it and I don't want to. We don't run in the same crowd, there's a million other girls that would be better for him than I would be. But despite all the bullshit that seems to go along with being the popular kid in school, he seems different. Like when he looks at you, he actually sees you. Sometimes with the others it's like their eyes glaze over and you're talking to a wall. I appreciate him, that's all.

The bell finally rings and we're free for the next five minutes. I skillfully weave my way through the crowded halls to History, wishing this school day was over already. I have a perfectly crazy Friday night planned for myself after my shift at the diner. A cup of tea, a blanket, and the literary adventures of Elizabeth Bennett.

I slide into my seat, the first one into the room, and pull out the worksheet we got for homework last period. I make quick work of it, labeling all of the foods with the right article, and slip it back into my bag. One less thing to do this weekend.

"So, you going to the party tonight at Emmett's place?"

I jump in my seat, startled that someone else slid into class undetected. And not just anyone. Him.

"No." I chance a glance at Edward, who is now sitting in the seat beside me.

"Why not?"

"Not really my thing."

"What's your thing?" He leans a little closer. What is this guy's deal? "What?"

"What are you doing?" I ask, leaning back in my chair. Another few students filter in and take their seats.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been here for six months and you haven't said a word to me until today."

His eyes soften, flitting down to my lips and back to my eyes in an instant. "Who knows, maybe I feel brave."

The bell rings just then and the students rush into the door before Ms. Hanson can close them out. I don't get a chance to respond to Edward's bizarre comment because she immediately announces that we're watching a video on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.

She positions the TV screen in the middle of the classroom and shuts off the lights. Maybe it's the darkness or the fact that everyone else is looking at the screen, but I can literally feel the energy radiating from his body like a magnetic field. It makes the hair on my arm stand straight up. And I'm annoyed with myself.

I sigh. Audibly. And tap my fingertips against the desk.

"Honest Abe not keeping your interest?" Edward whispers.

"Not well enough," I admit.

The rest of the class passes by without incident. Mostly because I force myself to pay attention to the TV screen and away from Edward.

After school, I grab some books from my locker and head to my job at the local diner. I picked up this shift for Alice so she could go to the party at Emmett's that everyone was going to except me. Not that I'm complaining, I don't mind the extra money.

"Hi, Bella." Alice jumps over the counter effortlessly as I tie my apron around my waist. I feel around in the pocket for my scratch pad and pen. "Thanks so much for helping me out tonight. I owe you one."

"No problem." I tie my hair back and survey the diner. Not many people, but it is Forks. Not many is normal.

"You should stop by after the shift is over. It's going to be fun!"

"Maybe."

"Maybe means no in Bella speak." She glares at me. "Live a little."

"The party of the century is calling your name Alice. You better get going before that boyfriend of yours wonders where you are." I start toward my first table and glance back at her. "Thank you," I mouth. She means well and she's about as sweet as can be. It's just not for me.

"Hey folks, what can I get you to drink tonight?"

The shift passes by relatively slow, and just before we close for the night, my dad pulls up and steps inside.

"Hey, Bells." He pulls off his hat and sits at the counter. "Can I get a cup of coffee before you close up?"

"Sure." I whip around and grab him the last bit of coffee before I return to wiping down the tables.

"Not going to the party at that McCarty kid's place tonight?"

"You know about that?" I ask.

"I'm the Chief of Police, I know about everything."

"And you aren't going to break it up?"

He smiles. "I was young once too. I'll give them some fun before I scare the shit out of them."

"Evil man," I tease. "I'll see you when you get home."

"Drive safe." He finishes the cup, slides it to me, and leaves. I lock the door behind him and finish cleaning up.

Just as I'm about to leave, something beeps from beside the coffee machine. A few moments pass, and it beeps again.

I feel around in the darkness and find a cellphone. Alice's cell phone. She's probably freaking out without it.

If I was a good person, I would take this to her. If I was an awful person, I would go home and curl up under my blanket with a good book and forget about it. I hate being a good person sometimes.

A/N: Everything seems pretty normal...for now, right?

I do have a good chunk of this pre-written, but at this point I can't commit to a posting schedule because that usually curses me in some way with getting sick, or getting busy and not being able to stick to it. And I don't like not sticking to what I say I'm going to do. So instead, until I get to the point where the story is complete, I will not have a "posting schedule."

Thanks for joining on this next adventure, don't get too attached to anyone (*wink, wink*). I got the inspiration for this story after binge watching Containment on Netflix and wanted to play around with a "deadly virus" kind of storyline. It's different, it's got some humor in it, it's got some blood and gore in it, it's got some romance, it's got some OC throwbacks. Hope you'll give it a shot.

Until next time!