Once I sat down, I got my first good look at Bella. She was very similar to Charlie, very pale in complexion almost as pale as the Cullens, with long, straight dark brown hair, a widow's peak, and a heart shaped face. She was thin, not to the extreme like me, but she was still pretty small. Unlike the other girls who looked like they had some more muscle tone than either of us.

What really stood out though was her clothing, it wasn't much different than the other girls, but the large winter coat stuck out like a sore thumb.

Despite being surrounded by eight people, Bella's eyes were focused on one table. The one table where six students sat, in the corner of the cafeteria as far away from where everyone else sat as they could get.

The Cullens.

They moved down a few years ago, just the start of Freshman year and it was big news. But they did not want anything to do with anyone other than their family. It rubbed the student body wrong and left a lasting impression.

They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at Bella, unlike most of the other students. But I was assuming this was not what kept Bella's attention.

They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big — muscled like a serious weightlifter, with dark, curly hair, Emmett. Another, Jasper, was taller, leaner, but still muscular, with honey blond hair, he always looked like he was in pain, which was a little disconcerting. The last, Edward, was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students.

The girls were opposites. The tall one was... the one that haunted my dreams, Rosalie, she was statuesque, with a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back.

Everything about her was perfect.

The bane of my existence and the one thing that made me question everything. Well question and answer it. I had pretty much accepted that I was not like the other girls here. I couldn't tell anyone because we lived in a small town, it wasn't 'normal'. So, the only ones who really knew were me. And my aunt Eve, it was hard to keep things from her. Especially when she was more like a best friend rather than an aunt.

Alice was the shortest of the Cullen's and pixielike, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction. Kind of like Tinkerbell.

The final girl, Lucia, was in only slightly taller than Alice. She had chocolate brown hair that barely grazed her shoulders, her skin tone wasn't pale like the others but had a hint of Spanish ancestry, sometimes I thought she looked sick because she had this pallid tone to her face, but she was healthy as a horse. She too was beautiful, not nearly as beautiful as Rosalie but still more so than any other girl here.

And yet, they were all exactly alike. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes — purplish, bruise like shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular.

Like statues of Greek Gods and Goddesses.

They were all looking away — away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, Alice rose with her tray — unopened soda, unbitten apple — and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. Another thing; they all had, grace, like they had taken ballet their whole lives. Which I suppose was possible seeing as no one knows anything about their past.

"Who are they?" Bella asked Jessica and for a fraction of a second Edward looked at them, almost like they called his name. He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, Rosalie and Jasper Hale and Lucia Torres. The one who left was Alice Cullen. They all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." Jessica said under her breath.

"They are... very nice-looking." Bella said though she looked embarrassed to admit.

"that's an understatement" I mumbled glancing at Rosalie, but turned quickly when I caught myself staring. A little voice in my head called me stupid for looking. On the bright side? I could pretend it was Edward.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though — Emmett and Lucia, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, but if we're being honest, it was a little odd. Maybe because they were teenagers, if they were adults, it wouldn't be so weird.

If they didn't introduce themselves as siblings, then it wouldn't be strange at all but because of the title it sounds too taboo, wrong.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" Bella asked. "They don't look related..."

"they're not related" I responded prodding at my food. "they're adopted, well almost all of them. Rosalie and Jasper, the blondes, are twins and foster kids"

"They look a little old for foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that." Jessica added.

"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that." Bella said. I nodded in agreement. Dr. Cullen worked with my mother at the hospital and as far as I could tell he was a good man. Great Doctor.

But all those legends, they really do make me wonder. It must've been important enough to stop the entire tribe from coming to the hospital. Or Forks in general really.

"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness. But I knew she, like everyone else, had tried to make friends with them and was turned down. I only spoke to Edward a few times, mostly because we had classes together. Though I wondered if maybe Jess tried to be more than 'friends' with him.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" Bella asked.

I wondered if Bella hated Forks so much that she blocked out everything about it here. I heard the stories about how she used to visit, then pitched enough of a fit that Charlie had to travel to see her, then the visits stopped all together. I shook my head not thinking about it, if I were Bella I'd want to visit my dad all the time. Or as often as I could.

"No," Jessica said in a voice that implied it should be obvious. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

"Anchorage" I added, but paused when I realized it sounded like I was some creep. I wasn't, but I came from Alaska, so it was easy to discern the cities. And I know for a fact they weren't in Fairbanks. "or one of the little towns surrounding it"

Their abrupt move from Alaska was a big deal for the town. Perhaps that was why they were so pale, being stuck in a frozen wasteland would definitely limit your amount of sun. Unless you at the right foods you'd be pale as Casper too.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish-brown hair?" Bella asked. I looked at Edward and he was staring at Bella, but not gawking— he had a slightly frustrated expression. Like he was hoping for something, like he was trying to make her spontaneously combust or read her mind, who knew.

I frowned before looking back at Bella.

"That's Edward." I replied.

"He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently, none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." Jessica sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I hid my smirk. Sure, she was one of the more attractive girls here but if Edward wasn't dating Rosalie or even interested in Rosalie, then he was looking for more than looks, and unfortunately for Jess she didn't have that great of a personality.

She was fun, sure, but she traded allegiances and was a gossip. You don't tell her secrets or make her mad. That girl would ignore you just as easily as she talked to you. Bella would find out soon enough. The only reason we are friends is probably because I'm not really competing for male attention.

After a few more minutes, the five of them left the table together. I snuck a glance at Rosalie again, but turned away when I saw her look back. It was bad enough I had dreams about her, and some not all that PG (blame my teenage hormones), I didn't need everyone to find out about my not so small crush.