Guys, if you have me on alert, I'm about to spam your boxes. Thought it would be fun to combine these two into one, with both POVs. I won't be offended if you've already read and decide to take me off alert until I'm done posting. If you haven't already read Sticky Sweet and Sugar…enjoy.

Stares followed me down the hall to my battered red locker, but no one approached. I'd heard people from the south were friendly but had yet to see some proof. Instead of smiles, there were mildly curious expressions and downright nasty frowns. Overalls, T-shirts, and denim shorts seemed to the fashion in the mountain town of Cedar Ridge, so I didn't fit in with my designer handbag.

"Hey, New Girl."

The voice startled me, and I dropped my books into a pile at my feet.

"Those generally go inside the locker."

There was a drawl to the words and a friendliness I wasn't expecting. I shut the door slowly and revealed a tall, blond boy on the other side. He was leaning against the metal with a smirk on his handsome face. Lanky, lean, and utterly relaxed, he nodded, and his smirk spread into a smile.

"I'm Jasper."

"No way. Has everyone stopped the 'staring at the new girl' portion of the day and started the 'mess with the new girl' part?"

His blue eyes widened comically as he stuttered. "Wh-what? I'm not messin' with you."

I rolled my eyes and shouldered my bag. "You can't be serious. Jasper?"

"It's a family name," he muttered.

He looked so hurt that my heart kind of twisted with remorse. The one person who'd finally been nice to me, I'd managed to alienate immediately. Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed his arm to stop his retreat.

"I'm sorry. It's…it's just an unusual name. I think I like it, though."

The boy burst into laughter and wrapped his arm around my neck, pulling me in for a quick hug. "You're all right, New Girl. You don't have to back down so quick next time. I can take it."

Confused, I stumbled out of his playful embrace and straightened my top. He let me go easily and nodded to someone behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, but the pressing issue was still in front of me.

"So is your name Jasper or not?" I demanded.

"Yeah, I'm Jasper, and I get shit for it all the time. You're not the first, and you won't be the last. That's my girlfriend, Alice, behind you. She's been dyin' to say hi all day."

I turned to see a short girl with dark, shoulder-length hair looking me up and down. A bemused grin crossed her face, and it grew into a genuine smile when she met my gaze.

"See," she started, "we have to be friends, if for no other reason than for me to raid your closet every morning."

Several emotions flooded me at once—relief that my clothes weren't going to get me run out of town, irritation that the girl thought she could borrow my clothes before even learning my name, and amusement at that very same gall.

"Well, I imagine you're too small for most of my things, but I've got some stuff left from seventh grade, I think."

Jasper snorted a laugh as indignation crossed the smaller girl's face.

"Think she'll do?" he asked, wrapping one arm around his girl and the other around me.

Alice fixed me with a teasing glare from across the expanse of Jasper's chest. "I'll have to see her shoe collection, but we can probably come to an agreement."

I let them both lead me toward the cafeteria, finally secure in the possibility of new friends. The wary expressions from earlier had transformed into grudging admiration, though a few girls still eyed my clothes with disdain.

My new friends invited me to sit with them at lunch, which was a relief. I'd had nightmares about eating at my own table or even hiding away in the library to avoid the stares. I still got a lot of stares, but they were easier to handle with Jasper and Alice as a buffer. It wasn't long before we were joined by a boy even taller than Jasper and a quiet, pretty blonde. They introduced themselves as Emmett and Rosalie before jumping into comfortable conversation.

An empty seat sat across from me, and I wondered why they would leave it in the middle of the group rather than sitting closer together, but the question was answered before I could ask when another beautiful boy dropped into the chair with an impish grin.

"Principal Letner again?" Alice asked in a bored tone.

"Yep. He loves me. He wants to have my babies."

I wanted to laugh, but my vocal cords were frozen. He was truly the best looking guy I'd ever seen up close, and he beat a lot of the guys on television, too. My gaze wandered over him, taking in his riotous red-gold hair, twinkling green eyes, devilish smirk, well-formed shoulders, and dirty T-shirt stretched across a broad chest.

His eyes widened when he finally noticed me seated on one side of Jasper, and he glanced over at Alice with even more mischief.

"Jasper, are you hoggin' all the girls again? If you're claiming the new girl, can I finally have Alice?"

Emmett and Rosalie both cracked up, letting out loud guffaws of laughter, but Alice reached across the table to smack the top of the beautiful boy's head.

"Gross, Edward! You're my cousin."

My stomach twisted in revulsion as the boy waggled his eyebrows first at Alice and then at me.

"What? The closer kin, the deeper in, right, New Girl? Too bad she's not my sister."

I just stared. I had no words to give.

He turned his attention back to Jasper. "Well, if you're going to be selfish, I'll go look elsewhere. New Girl, if you get tired of sharing his attention, look me up."

Without another word, he was gone, leaving me staring after him with my jaw unhinged.

"And that's Edward," Jasper informed me.

"He flirts with anything that breathes, but don't take it to heart. He doesn't have a serious bone in his body." These were the first words Rosalie spoke directly to me.

"Even his cousin?" I breathed, watching Edward's gorgeous backside as he shoved through the cafeteria doors.

"Especially his cousin," Emmett assured me. "Welcome to Cedar Ridge, where you're the only person who doesn't share genes with the rest of the school."

"Not true!" Alice shouted indignantly when I eyed Jasper's arm around her shoulder. "We've had a few new people before you. Jasper and Rose moved here two years ago."

"We called dibs," Emmett whispered.

"Jeez, guys. You're gonna scare the hell out of her." Jasper turned to me with a reassuring smile. "You're not in the middle of Deliverance, I promise. He's just nuts, showing off for the new girl, trying to make everyone laugh."

"You'll see." Alice nodded sagely. "He's a crazy bastard, but we love him."