The sound of sizzling bacon filled the kitchen as the iPod dock played "Start All Over" by Miley Cyrus. Standing at the stove, I moved my body to the beat of the song as I cooked some scrambled eggs. As soon as they were fluffy enough to my liking, I took the frying pan off the stove and divided the eggs between two plates. Setting the plates on the island, I checked the bacon, pulling the pan off the burner and placing three strips on each plate. Lost in the music, I didn't see Mom walk into the kitchen, an amused look on her face. Turning to the fridge to grab orange juice, I jumped at the sudden appearance of her.

"Good morning," she laughed. I grinned back at her.

"Morning, Mom."

"What's up with you?" She eyed me suspiciously.

"Nothing, I just wanted to make breakfast for you for a change." I set a mug in front of her. "I woke up in a good mood, and I'm not questioning it."

"I'm glad you're feeling happy." Mom took a sip of coffee. "This summer was pretty rough on you."

"It was." I admitted, thinking back to the summer.

Bella had spent most of her time with Edward, blowing off Jessica, Angela, and me for a good portion of break. On top of that, I did my best to avoid Jacob, which proved to be difficult on the days where we went to the beach. Between losing my best friend and my crush, I divided my time between hanging out with Jessica and Angela, and helping Mom out in the bakery. When school had resumed, Bella made a little bit more effort to hang out with us, but she still spent most of her time with Edward, who had charmed the secretary into changing his schedule so he had almost every class with Bella. At lunchtime, she sat with him at a table away from us and Edward's siblings.

"Have you heard from Bella lately? Or Jacob?" Mom asked as we ate breakfast together.

"I see Bella at school, but that's about it. As for Jacob, I haven't heard from him in... two weeks? The last time I went to the beach with Angela and he was there with his friends."

"Maybe you should talk to him first."

"Yeah, okay." I snorted. "I'm not going to chase after someone who clearly doesn't want me, Mom. I can't go through that again. So, I'm just going to focus on school and hanging out with the girls until graduation. Is that okay with you?"

"That sounds reasonable." Mom glanced at the clock on the wall. "You should get moving. You don't want to be late for school."

"It's a good thing I picked out my clothes last night, isn't it?" I teased lightly, causing Mom to smile. "I'll be ready in fifteen minutes."

I kissed her cheek before heading upstairs to change into my outfit for the day. Pulling on my favorite ruby red leggings, I slipped on a long sleeve white shirt and wrapped a red plaid scarf around my neck, flipping my hair out from underneath the flannel material.

After sliding my feet into the new brown knee-high boots Mom had bought me for school, I grabbed my backpack and purse. Bouncing down the stairs, I met Mom in the foyer, keys in her hand. She stopped me as I reached the bottom step.

"Autumn, I can't thank you enough for your help in the bakery over the summer. I don't know what I would've done without you. With that in mind, I'm trusting you to be responsible. Okay?"

"Sure?" I said, confused. Mom smiled before she threw open the front door.

"Surprise!"

I gasped, my eyes widening as I realized what was outside. Parked at the curb was a 1969 yellow Volkswagen Beetle. Mom dangled the keys in front of my shocked face.

"You stand there any longer, you're really going to be late for school." She laughed. I threw my arms around her neck.

"Thank you, Mom! It's perfect!" I took the keys and ran out of the house, excited to drive my own car.

Making sure the seatbelt was buckled in, I started the car and waved to Mom before slowly pulling away from the curb. When I reached the school, I noticed an empty spot next to Angela's car and grinned. Everyone was hanging out near Tyler's van two spaces down and they turned as I shut the car off, climbing out of the driver's side with a grin on my face.

"Your girl has her own car!" I squealed happily as my friends made their way over to check out the Beetle. Mike and Tyler whistled in appreciation as they circled around the car.

"No way!" Angela said, her eyes growing wide. "When did this happen?"

"Just before I left the house this morning. I had no idea my mom had bought this."

"Our little girl is growing up!" Jessica pretended to wipe a tear from her eyes.

"Ha ha, very funny." I playfully rolled my eyes at her. "Working in the bakery over the summer really paid off."

"I'd say." Mike looked at me. "You better be good to this car, Watson."

"Already planned on it, Newton."

"Bella's here." Eric nodded to the familiar orange truck pulling into the parking lot. We waited for her to find a spot and headed over as she slid out of the driver seat, her eyes distractedly scanning for Edward.

"Wherefore art thou, Bella?" Mike said dramatically, causing Bella to turn toward us. "You finish the Shakespeare assignment?"

"What he really means is, will you finish his assignment for him?" Jessica teased.

"No, I don't." Mike said flustered before grinning sheepishly when Jessica swatted his arm. "Okay, maybe I do."

"I'll help you," Bella said as she reached into her bag. "But first. I need a picture. My mom is expecting me to put together a scrapbook of memories."

"Sounds great." I flashed her a smile as she steadied her camera.

"Uh, I take pictures. I'm not in them." Angela said, holding up her camera.

"Not today, sweetheart." Eric pulled her into the group, shifting her between Mike and I.

"You'll Photoshop my nose if it looks big, right?" Jessica asked as she stood next to Mike.

"Don't worry, I'm in the picture; no one will be looking at you guys." Eric said confidently, tilting his chin up as he struck a Superman pose.

Bella rolled her eyes as Jessica scoffed at Eric's comment. Angela pointed her camera at Bella while the rest of us struck a pose, smiling until we heard the click of Bella's camera. As she lowered the camera from her face, tension slowly charged the air when we noticed Edward getting out of his car behind Bella.

"Oh, good. Cullen's here." Mike said dryly.

"Yay." Jessica's tone matched Mike's, and we all shared a look as Bella started to walk toward Edward.

"Come on, guys. We have to get to class." Angela said, linking her arm through mine.

Before walking into the school, I glanced over my shoulder to where Bella was standing in the parking lot and my heart stopped. Jacob was with her, his smile obvious even from across the parking lot. He handed a small object to Bella before Edward walked back toward them, ending whatever Jacob said to Bella.

As they turned away from him, Jacob's eyes wandered upward, resting on me. Even with the distance, I could feel the warmth of his body near mine as memories of our first date flitted through my mind. Jacob tilted his head, as if he could tell what I was thinking. Suddenly, the bell rang and I shook my head, breaking the trance and following Angela inside, who gave me a concerned look.

"Are you okay, Leaf?"

"Honestly, I don't know." I sighed, heading for my locker. "But it's going to be a good day."

"We'll make sure it is." She agreed as she waved, taking off for the office.

By the time lunch rolled around, my mood had stayed positive, and everyone around me had been affected. Happy chatter and laughter filled the cafeteria as I went through the line with Angela and Jessica, grabbing a chef's salad and some fruit.

"Romeo and Juliet is a great love story!" Jessica stared at Mike in disbelief once we were all seated at the table.

"It's not a great love story." He countered back, waving his hand through the air. "They barely knew each other three days before they off themselves!"

"It was love at first sight!"

"Whatever you say, Jess."

Mike threw his hands up in retreat and we laughed at their squabble. Shaking my head with a smile, I glanced over to where Bella and Edward sat. My smile began to dissolve as I realized I missed having my best friend around. Sighing, I returned my attention back to my other friends.

"What are you doing after school tomorrow, Leaf?" Mile asked, taking a bite of his burger.

"I have to work and then I'm probably going to study for Chem."

"We were going to get together at my house to study tomorrow," Angela turned toward me. "Why don't you come over and study with us? We could help each other with Chemistry."

"Sure. Sounds good to me."

"Sweet. See you around 7?"

"I'll be there."

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I saw a text message from Jacob.

Meet me after school?

Before I could reply, a second text came through.

Please, Autumn.

Angela raised an eyebrow and I subtly showed her the text messages, making sure Jessica didn't see us. Angela nodded and gave me a smile, her eyes telling me I should see him. Sighing, I sent Jacob a text back.

Okay.

A few seconds later, his reply appeared.

I'll see you at the bakery.

Sliding my phone into my pocket, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to steady my beating heart. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and I turned to my friends.

"See you guys later. I'm taking a half-day to help Mom prepare for the Fall Festival."

"Save a doughnut for me!" Mike called after me.

"We'll see!"

Checking out of the office, I waved goodbye to the secretary and made my way to the parking lot where my car was parked, grinning as I saw it.

Mom was getting out of her car when I pulled up in front of the bakery ten minutes later. She looked exhausted but managed a smile when I walked over.

"So, what did your friends think?" She asked as she unlocked the bakery doors.

"They love it." I beamed, following Mom inside. "Whoa. Looks like you've been busy this morning."

Boxes of doughnuts and other treats were piled high alongside the back counter space. Mom shrugged sheepishly as she walked around the counter, grabbing a plate of different creations.

"I found some new recipes that sounded promising. Here, try one." Mom set the plate down in front of me.

I took a light brown doughnut and bit into it, tasting the cinnamon sugar and apple filling.

"That's an apple pie doughnut."

"It tastes amazing. I think this is going to be a hit on the seasonal menu." I smiled as I took another bite.

"I thought so too... and maybe we'll keep it on the specialities menu if people like it enough." Mom said as she noticed the time. "We should get back to work if we want to be ready for the festival tonight."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Pick out a recipe you want to make. We already have the apple pie doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, red velvet cupcakes, lemon bars, cookie and cream cupcakes, fudge, blueberry muffins, banana bread muffins, and S'mores pops." Mom trailed off as she looked over the boxes.

"Plus all the regular stuff we make. You really were busy this morning."

"It's a busy event. Besides, some of these boxes are special orders." Mom pointed to one of the boxes that she had written a customer's name on.

"Well, let's get some baking done." I grabbed my apron and tied it around my waist as I skimmed over the recipe books on the shelves.

Picking a random dessert recipe book from the small bookshelf on the wall, I flipped through the pages before one of my favorites caught my eye. I showed it to Mom, who scanned the ingredients list.

"Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies?"

"Well, it is the Fall Festival. And everyone loved them when we lived in Michigan."

"That's true." Mom studied my face. "Well, let's whip them up!"

Mom gathered the ingredients as I placed the recipe book on the stand and washed my hands. Double checking that I had everything, I began to follow the recipe, asking Mom to help when needed. Soon, the smell of pumpkin and chocolate wafted through the air, filling the bakery.

As Mom placed the last two sheets in the oven, the bell above the door jingled and I excused myself to check on the newcomer. My eyes made an instant connection with the customer as I pushed through the doors, the air in the storefront shifting into a more intense atmosphere.

"Hello, Autumn."

"Hey, Jacob."