Dread was slowly growing in Evelyn's stomach as she walked alone to her next class. None of the people she had spent the day with were taking AP Government this semester, so she had to endure sixty minutes of awkwardness without anyone familiar to help pass the time. It wasn't that she was afraid of making friends; before the fire and the death of her parents, Evelyn had been extremely social. Losing everything has a way of changing someone completely; she wasn't sure yet if she would ever go back to the way she was before. She also wasn't sure if she even wanted that. At this moment, the very thought was just too painful.

As she shuffled into what she hoped was the correct classroom, she was met with the familiar hum of conversation as the students chattered loudly with their friends. No one had noticed her arrival. She let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding as she hung up her jacket on one of the hooks by the door. A soft hand on her shoulder made Evelyn jump. She whirled around to face its owner.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Mrs. Davis, you are Evelyn Masen, correct?"

Evelyn's voice was coarse as she gathered herself. "That's me." God, I sound like an idiot.

Mrs. Davis smiled kindly at the new girl, perfectly aware of the awkwardness and anxiety she must be feeling. "I've seen your transcripts, and it appears you're familiar with this class. I wouldn't worry too much, I think you're going to be just fine."

It's not the class I'm worried about. Evelyn offered her teacher a smile in return as she was given a textbook and her office slip was signed. Mrs.Davis nodded towards the back of the room.

"You can sit next to Alice, she's fairly advanced and I think you two would be good partners. Alice!" She called, but it seemed that Alice Cullen was already standing and waving her over before Mrs. Davis had even finished her sentence.

Weird. Evelyn's gaze shifted to the wiry girl standing next to an empty desk at the back fo the classroom. She was smiling, her strange topaz eyes glittering with excitement. The girl felt another pair of eyes on her amidst the conversation around her, and her gaze once again met that of Jasper Hale, who just so happened to be sitting at the desk directly in front of what was to be her own. She noticed he had that same curious look gracing his impossibly perfect face that she had noticed at lunch. Her palms started to sweat, her stomach fluttering with a bundle of nerves that was rearing its ugly head once again.

She carefully made her way down the aisle to her desk, dodging backpacks and her fellow students. She kept her eyes on Alice, who despite her unusual look, was offering her an encouraging smile. As she passed by Jasper, she immediately sensed a change in the atmosphere. Against her better judgement, she looked at him.

His entire body had gone rigid, each individual muscle clearly contracting and visible through his navy knit sweater. His head snapped towards her, an angry glare making her heart speed up. No, angry was an understatement. He looked murderous, his upper lip curling up over his teeth like a feral animal. The most terrifying part was the fact that his eyes were no longer the pools of endless gold she had gotten lost in just twenty minutes prior. Pitch black irises poured into her and she suddenly felt like a defenseless deer staring into the eyes of a hunter.

Heart pounding, she quickly stepped past him and slid into her seat. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins; the boy's stare had initiated what she could only assume to be her body's fight or flight response. As she pulled her notebook out of her bag, she noticed her whole arm was trembling. She glanced around at the other students, and nobody else seemed to notice his unnerving behavior. What the hell just happened?

Alice Cullen cleared her throat, the normally mundane sound like music to Evelyn's ears. "Hi, I'm Alice. It's so nice to finally meet you."

Evelyn shook herself out of her trance and smiled at the unusual girl, whose voice was akin to the sound of tinkling bells. "Oh! Hey, Alice. It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Evelyn, by the way."

Alice's eyes flashed. "I know."

Mrs. Davis called the class to order then, and Evelyn was grateful to have an excuse not to continue talking to her neighbor. She focused her eyes at the front of the room and pretended to listen as the teacher spoke, her mind swirling with dozens of questions. Why had Jasper become so menacing all of a sudden? Why had she been so interested in the first place? Why did the Cullen family seem so out of place here? What was going on?

Alice Cullen trained her eyes on the front of the room, her actual attention on the blond in front of her rather than on the lesson she had already learned dozens of times before."Jasper, you need to calm down." Her voice was quiter than a whisper, the movement of her lips imperceptible to the human eye. And yet, she knew that he would hear.

"I can't...her scent..." Jasper's voice was gruff, hoarse with the restraint that he wasn't sure he could hold much longer. He closed his eyes, desperately trying to ignore the burning in his throat. The sound of her thudding heartbeat, along with the flow of the blood in her veins was almost too much to resist. He imagined sinking his teeth into her flesh, tasting her blood, and he became impossibly more tense in an attempt to resist the delicious temptation that was Evelyn Masen.

He had been perfectly fine when she walked in. He couldn't smell her amidst the other students, which he had become accustomed to over the past two years. Until now, he had believed he was getting better at controlling his thirst. He was tired of feeling like a burden on his family, tired of the guilt of being the one most likely to snap. Jasper Hale had believed that he was finally just as good at his siblings at blending in with the human world.

That was before he smelled her.

All it took was a whiff of her intoxicating aroma as she passsed him to set his body on fire. Immediately, he stopped breathing, using all of his strength to fight off the natural instincts threatening to shatter his self-control. He sensed the fear she felt when he had looked at her, only making the predatory part of himself desire her blood even more. It was a miracle he hadn't ripped her throat out right there in the middle of the classroom.

Alice rolled her eyes. "You're being dramatic."

"Alice," Jasper warned, his fists clenching in front of him.

"Jazz, it's her. It's her. You would never do anything to put her in danger."

"You said you hadn't seen anything."

The corner of Alice's mouth twitched upwards."I lied. Oops."

Jasper's throat tightened. His whole body was burning, aching to turn around and give in. "I want to kill her," he admitted, hating himself as each word left his lips.

"You won't. I promise." Alice kept her voice soft and soothing, hoping to relax him.

"Alice, I swear–"

"Hush! We're missing a very important lesson, you know." Alice grinned when she heard the unmistakable growl that rumbled in his throat. It was loud enough for the boy sitting next to Jasper to hear, and he not-so-subtly scooted his chair further away.

The pair's conversation had not lasted even twenty seconds, and Evelyn, along with everyone else in the classroom, had been completely oblivious.

***

The bell rang, and before Evelyn could even blink Jasper Hale had gathered his things and flew out the door without a word. He had not relaxed during the entire class, adding to her growing pile of questions that she had no answer to. She frowned as she gathered her own things, unaware that her partner was watching her closely. As she rose to leave, a cold hand on her arm made her jump.

"Sorry about him, he's just been having a rough day. He is usually very sweet."

Evelyn studied Alice for a moment before she answered. "It really isn't any of my business. Tell him I'm sorry that I bother him so much."

"Evelyn, wait, it's not like that–"

"I have to get to gym. I'll see you later, Alice. It was really great to meet you." Evelyn turned and walked as fast as she could out of the room, trying and failing to suppress the annoyance building inside of her. She didn't know why she was even angry; she didn't know anything about the Cullens. Why should she care if they don't like her? Why should she care if he doesn't like her?

***

Luckily, Evelyn was able to get out all of her pent-up aggression in gym class. They played volleyball today, and since she had played both volleyball and basketball at her old school it was easy to lose herself in the game. She fell back into a rhythm quickly, helping Mike and the rest of her team protect Bella from herself and from hurting others. Even Coach Clapp was impressed, and that was saying a lot.

Once the final bell had rang and the girls were changed back out, Evelyn walked with Bella to her truck in much higher spirits than she had been in before gym.

"I just can't believe you were actually that bad! Seriously, Bella, there's bad and then there's you. You're on another level."

Bella shoved Evelyn's shoulder, but she was smiling. "Okay, well not everyone can be 5'10 and athletic, Evelyn. You should try being clumsy and uncoordinated for once and see how you do."

"I'm actually 5'8, for your information." Evelyn had a genuine smile on her face for the first time in a long time. It was nice to laugh and joke like she did with her old friends in Chicago.

"My mistake," Bella said, rolling her eyes. They had reached the truck now, both girls throwing their bags in the truck bed before climbing in. Evelyn turned to Bella to respond, but instead she caught the girl eyeing a shiny red convertible across the parking lot.

"Bella, will you be offended if I ask you a question?"

The brunette didn't move as she responded. "Nope. Go ahead, shoot."

Evelyn focused on Bella's face to gauge her reaction. "Who were you looking for this morning?"

Bella pursed her lips, putting the truck in reverse and backing out. "It's embarrassing."

Evelyn smiled encouragingly as they waited in the line to get out of the parking lot. "I won't judge you. Look, if you really don't want to tell me, it's totally fine. I was just curious."

"No, no, it's okay. I... well I was looking for a guy named Edward. Edward Cullen. You saw his family today at lunch."

"Why?"

It took Bella until they had left the school parking lot to answer. "He's my biology partner, and he was super weird and angry yesterday. As soon as I sat down he got all tense and scary, and he wouldn't stop glaring at me. I wanted to confront him today but he never showed up."

Evelyn felt her eyebrows raise in surprise. It was eerily similar to the way Jasper had acted, earlier. "Huh, weird. Jasper did the same thing today in Government. I wonder what's with them."

"Really? That's so strange. He seemed nice enough yesterday, he just looks like he's in pain all the time."

"Maybe they just really hate new girls," Evelyn said, giggling.

Bella laughed, too. "Maybe. Hey, do you want me to drop you off at your house or Marie's diner?"

"The diner is fine, I don't have much homework so I'll see if she needs any help."

"Sounds good. So what did you think of everyone else?"

Evelyn and Bella chatted the rest of the way to the diner, the conversation flowing easier and their moods lightening the farther away they got from Forks High School. Still, Evelyn's thoughts couldn't help but drift back to the Cullen family. She still couldn't understand why Jasper had acted the way he did, and after finding out that a guy from the same family had the same reaction to Bella there was cause for suspicion.

Why? That was the question that rose above all the others in her head. She had no clue what the answer could be, so she would just have to wait and see to find out.