2

Blaize POV:

I pull up behind Bella as we reach school. We park in adjacent spaces before hopping out of the car.

Unfortunately, Bella's car groans, emitting a pop sound as she turns off the engine. I hear a gang of kids burst out laughing. 'Nice ride,' a guy calls as Bella gets out of the truck.

'Shut it, asshole,' I snap.

'Ayyy,' the boys cry, high fiving each other. As we walk past them, me clutching Bella protectively, I punch one of the guys on the shoulder. Hard. I grin at the groan that escapes his lips. I can feel their stares boring into my back as we make our way to the entrance.

Suddenly, a guy with dark hair and brown almond eyes approaches us, a beaming smile on his face. 'You must be Blaize and Isabella Swan. Welcome to Forks High School. I'm Eric, the eyes and ears of this place.' He sticks his hand out for us to shake. I take his hand, while Bella mumbles a 'hi' back. Eric starts to ramble. I catch snippets of 'tour guide, 'school newspaper' and 'available date' from his babbling. Bella nudges my shoulder, and points to the schedule in her hand. 'Um, Eric, catch you later, okay?' I say as we pull away from him. Bella continues to frantically point at the piece of paper in her hand. Gym is our first class.

*

Back in Arizona, I was on the volleyball team. I also went to the gym, started kickboxing, and played basically every sport available. On the other hand, Bella spent her life being totally uncoordinated, and learnt to cook instead.

In gym, the ball hurtles about. It comes towards me, and I whack a fist into it, sending it back over the net. Meanwhile, Bella cringes away from the ball, careering into a guy. 'Sorry!' Bella squeaks.

'No, no, it's fine,' he starts to say. 'Wait - aren't you the new girls, Blaize and Isabella?'

'It's Bella,' we both reply at the same time. The guy's eyes widen.

'Hey!' A new voice joins us. 'I'm Jessica, and this is Mike. Newton. You're the Arizona guys, right? You don't really look that tan,' she comments.

I grin. 'Ruuude!' I say, sticking my tongue out.

*

Bella POV:

Gym was a disaster. I'm inwardly cringing all the way till lunch, and then, to my greater disappointment, Blaize starts tugging me towards the table where Mike is waving us over. 'Ah, I see you've met my girls, Mike,' Eric says.

'Your girls?' Mike asks, incredulous.

'My girls,' says the guy that Blaize punched from earlier. He walks up to us and places a hand on Blaize's shoulder, grinning. She pretends to bite his hand, and his hand darts off her.

As I look up, I see a group of five people sitting in the far corner of the room. Blaize catches interest, too. They look very different from one another, yet they're all the same. There are three boys, one with an extremely muscular build, the other two slightly leaner, one with ruffled bronze hair, the other with honey blond curls. The two girls seem to be extreme opposites; one with a lean, graceful figure, and the shorter girl has pixie-like cropped hair. Lilac shadows rest under their eyes, not bags, but almost bruise-like, they're all unnaturally pale, but most exquisite of all, their eyes. Ranging from an onyx to gold, their stares are piercing, especially when the redhead rakes his gaze over our table.

He turns back to his companions, lips faintly moving and shaping inaudible words, yet I feel as if he's talking to them. They're all beautiful, inhuman, and godlike. There seems to be an aura of power shimmering around the strangers - no one is even looking at them, but there's also something off, something which I can't put my finger on. 'Who are they?' Blaize asks, just as I open her mouth.

'They - are the Cullens,' interjects the girl seated to me left. 'I'm Angela, by the way.' She jerks her head toward the Cullens again. 'There's Emmett and Rosalie, Jasper and Alice, and Edward,' she lists. 'Edward's the youngest.' I decided that Edward was the best looking. Glancing at him from across the room, I could see him playing with the stalk of an apple, twirling it around repeatedly with a long, slender finger.

Jessica nudges me. 'Edward is gorgeous, but don't try to flirt with him,' she says, almost wistfully. 'Apparently none of us here are good enough for him.'

Blaize ignores her, pushing her chair out from under the table. As she walks past, she hauls me to my feet, and we make our way to their table. 'Hey,' she says, breaking the silence with a small wave. 'We're new here, me and Bella, so I decided to come and say hello. Yano, making new friends?'

Edward's eyes instantly snap to mine, and stares intently at me. His brows are furrowed slightly in... confusion... and that makes me want to reach over and smooth the crease over with my finger. I mentally slap myself for having those thoughts. I can't help noticing the striking golden-brown colour they are as they hold my gaze, unwavering.

A young girl jumps up and daintily skips towards us. She reminds me of a pixie. Short, cropped hair and feline figure, with the grace of a fairy. 'Hiii, I'm Alice,' she says enthusiastically. She wraps us both into a quick embrace. I squeeze back for a second before pulling away. Blaize walks up to the bulky figure of who must be Emmett. 'Hello, muscle man,' she grins.

Emmett laughs. 'I like her already,' he chuckles.

She continues to greet the others; Rose followed by Jasper. And then she reaches Edward.

All this time, his eyes were fixed on mine. But as Blaize nears him, his eyes flicker away momentarily to meet her gaze before they wander back to me. And although the smile remains on his face, his eyes are wary, cautious. 'And you must be Edward,' Blaize says.

'Correct,' he says through his teeth. Despite his cold manner, I can't help but take an instant liking to him. From the way Blaize's manner changes, I think she does, too. His voice is honey smooth, and irresistible. 'Cya soon,' Blaize says breezily. And then she has an idea. 'Alice, before I go, could we exchange numbers?'

Alice beams. 'Sure.'

As I return to my table, I'm positive I hear a hiss from Edward. Someone growls back. Huh.

When I reach my lunch table, Blaize drapes an arm around my shoulder. Everyone stares at us with open mouths. 'And that,' Blaize announces, 'is how to make friends.'