LOL. Enjoy this one, it's gunna be fun. Hey Jen and Eimear!!! Lol x x x

Pink Fluffy Pencil Case

Chapter One: The Pencil Case Incident

To say I was nervous was the understatement of the century.

I was shaking. How pathetic. It was so stupid that I should be so terrified of something as simple and ordinary as starting a new school, but I was. I was going to be in the centre of attention today, which was the last thing I wanted. Staring eyes, whispering voices, gossip, scrutiny, judgements. I didn't want any of it. I just wanted to become invisible, like I had been at my last school. I had been so invisible there, I don't even think my teachers knew I was there half the time.

But it was Forks, and trying to be invisible in Forks was impossible. Everyone knew everyone, everyone knew who everyone was related to, where they worked, who they were going out with, everything. The people of Forks always reminded me of an old lady with her nose stuck out of her Venetian blinds, spying on the neighbours.

They all knew I was the chief of police's daughter, they all knew I started school today, and I would have bet my left arm they had a vague idea of what I looked like, from hearing other people describe me.

Not that I looked like much. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, reasonably slim. I was just ordinary, nothing much special about me. They would all be disappointed when they saw me in the flesh.

Gah, no. I was freaking myself out. It was bad enough trying to summon up the courage to get out of the truck and go into reception, without also trying to imagine what everyone already thought of me. Maybe they would take one look and look away again, unimpressed, and I could fade into the wallpaper. I felt a curious mix of relief and sadness at that thought.

I took a deep breath. I couldn't sit here all day. Someone would wonder what I was up to. I gritted my teeth and jumped out of the truck, grabbing my bag. Just get through it, Bella. Just hold your head high like you don't care what they are saying or thinking, and in a few hours you can go home and forget for a few hours.

And then do it all again the next day, I thought sombrely.

I went into reception, my heart beating way too fast, trying to look like I knew where I was going and what I was doing. I was given my timetable and a map, and I took a few deep breaths. You can do this, I told myself. It's just school. You will more than likely never see the majority of these people again after this. That thought comforted me somewhat.

I had my nose stuck in the map, trying to work out where I was going and quickly, when I crashed into someone. Clumsy Bella, strikes again.

"Oh, God, sorry," I exclaimed, looking up to see which unfortunate soul I had almost knocked over.

"Oh, that's OK," a short girl with spiky black hair and a friendly expression grinned at me. "I wasn't looking where I was going either."

I smiled at her, and was about to walk on when she stopped me.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, my heart sinking a little. "Call me Bella, though."

"I'm Alice," she said, and her enthusiasm and genuine interest was making me smile. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad if all people were like her.

"Nice to meet you," I said shyly.

"Same here," she beamed. "How are you getting on so far?"

"Well, I'm lost… and a little terrified," I admitted, and Alice laughed.

"It gets better," she told me. "I only moved here last year myself."

"When does it get better?" I asked hopefully.

"Soon," she grinned. "Do you want to sit with me at lunch?" she asked suddenly, her eyes lighting up. "You can meet my friends - you'll fit right in, I promise! Oh, please…?"

"OK," I said gratefully, laughing at her eager expression. I was in no position to pass up the chance of making some friends, and I really liked Alice. "Thanks."

"No probs. Now, do you know where you're going?"

"I have no idea."

Alice shook her head, but pointed me in the right direction.

"You'll be fine," she said. "I'll see you later!"

I smiled as she bounded away, and headed for English, feeling a lot more confident than earlier.

I was subjected to a lot of stares, as I expected, but thankfully the people were pretty friendly. I did have to answer the same questions over and over again, but it didn't get too wearing. I was surviving through the day.

That was, until Biology.

I walked into the lab, and received the stares I had already gotten used to. I introduced myself to the teacher, who thankfully didn't make a fuss of me for too long, and pointed me to the only empty seat.

I glanced at the guy I would be sitting next to, and I nearly fell over my own feet.

Talk about sexy.

His hair was bronze and hanging in his face, almost hiding his eyes. He was wearing a black Bullet For My Valentine hoodie, and as I sat down next to him, I noted skinny black jeans and black Converse trainers. Emo guys weren't usually my type, but this one was just gorgeous. He glanced at me briefly, and I caught a glimpse of jade green eyes, before he looked away again.

He ignored me, mostly. I tried to pay attention in the class, but my mind kept wandering. I wondered if he had a girlfriend. Maybe he only dated other emo girls, but what the hell do I know? I could just be stereotyping. I found myself wishing I hadn't put on my purple hoodie this morning. Maybe it was crazy… but this was the only guy I had seen so far that I would actually put time and effort into drooling over.

I was snapped out of my daydreams by a collective flurry throughout the classroom - people were writing stuff down. I reached into my bag to pull out paper, and my pencil case. It was stupid and embarrassing and pink and fluffy and had the word PRINCESS emblazoned on the side of it, but it had been a present from my mother, and I hadn't had time to buy another one before I started school. I was just going to have to put up with it for a while.

I put it on the table, and the guy next to me snorted quietly. I looked at him curiously. He was staring at the pencil case sceptically, and then he glared at me. My heart jumped when our eyes locked, but he just threw me a derisive look, and turned away.

I glanced down at the table, feeling a bit hurt. He didn't even know me. If he thought I was some Barbie, some spoilt princess who actually liked pink and fluffy things, then he was dead wrong, and shouldn't make assumptions.

But then again, I couldn't talk. I had already made assumptions about him.

Still, it got to me. I spent the rest of the lesson feeling humiliated. I couldn't have been more delighted when the bell rang. I headed to the cafeteria, telling myself that I could go home soon and put this ordeal behind me for a few hours. I walked through the double doors, looking around at the tables uncertainly. People were still staring.

"Bella! Over here!" I turned to see Alice waving at me, and I smiled, relieved. I slowly approached the table, slightly intimidated by the two guys and the girl she was sitting with. I sat in the empty seat next to her. "How's your day been so far?" she grinned, bouncing up and down excitedly in her seat.

"Super," I said dryly, and she laughed.

"It does get better, I promise," she said. "Anyway, introductions! Bella, this is my boyfriend Jasper…" a gorgeous blond guy waved at me from the other side of Alice.

"Hi," I said, my face burning.

"That's Rosalie, his twin sister…"

I received a disinterested stare from an equally gorgeous blonde girl opposite Jasper, and I just nodded back.

"And I'm Emmett," the other guy boomed, before Alice could get a chance to say anything.

"Hey," I greeted, guessing by the way his gigantic arm was draped around the back of Rosalie's chair that they were going out.

Oh, please do not tell me that I just sat at the Couples-R-Us table.

"Yeah, that's Emmett, Rosalie's boyfriend," Alice said, explaining to me what I already knew. "Don't worry about Rosalie," she added in a low voice. "She'll warm up to you eventually, she's always like this with new people."

"Oh," I said, not reassured at all.

I was distracted suddenly by the guy from my biology class shuffling into the cafeteria, in his lovely tight skinny black jeans. It stuck me again how gorgeous he was.

But then his eyes locked onto mine suddenly, and he took one look at me sitting with Alice, and wheeled around and walked straight back out again.

Tears stung my eyes. What the hell had I done?

"God, he's so moody," Alice muttered.

"Who is?" I asked, trying to shake off the ridiculous hurt I was feeling.

"Edward."

"Who's Edward?"

"The guy with the emo haircut, the one who came in and just walked back out. I'm sure he's in your Biology class," Alice said, scrunching up her nose thoughtfully.

"I sit next to him," I said weakly. "You know him?"

"He's my brother."

"You're kidding," I said, after a shocked pause. "How can you two be related? No offence," I added hastily, but Alice just smiled.

"None taken. Believe me, I have no idea how I ended up related to that freakazoid. But just ignore him. He's always sulking and glaring - Mom thinks he's going through a phase." Alice rolled her eyes. "Oh, and don't be surprised if you're randomly lectured by him one day - he's really opinionated when he gets going."

"OK," I choked out, and I sounded as freaked as I felt.

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