To Bella's relief, Gym class and the humiliating memories it held on to ended pretty quickly. She had observed four volleyball matches with a shudder; she knew that she wouldn’t manage to survive through a single volleyball match without battle scars. These everyday troubles distanced themselves as a more serious question loomed overhead; what would her next move be? The delicacy of her situation became clearer and clearer to her now; she has complete control of her fate again.

Her “first” encounter with Edward had made it very apparent that monsters and magic never existed in the first place. Her hand on the door of the Chevy froze in surprise as this thought sunk in. It meant that all of the vampire and werewolf myths she had accepted what seemed like ages ago had been a figment of her subconscious. Her mind went numb with shock, and before she knew it, her Chevy was riding down a very familiar, woodsy road.

An unconscious stream of tears slid down her cheek, when she finally realized where she was going. The two walls of trees and plants that surrounded her faded away into an elaborate drive way. Through her squinty eyes, she recognized a bright white mansion – the Cullens’ house. Before she could even think about turning around, Alice Cullen appeared next to her speckled window. She hesitated before cranking the window handle down – what possible excuse could she give Alice to explain why she was at her house?

“Hello Bella,” Alice peered through the window with a furrowed brow.

“Hi Alice,” Bella murmured shyly, not meeting her curious gaze.

"What are you doing here?" Alice's tone implied, "How you know where I live?"

“I-I…” Bella stuttered, wracking through her brain for a good excuse. “I heard that you guys are having a party, and I wanted to know when it was. I don’t know your number, so…” She silently prayed that Alice wouldn’t see through her half-lie. At lunch, Jessica had gushed over the details of her boyfriend’s party that would occur in his house. Although she desperately wanted to build a real relationship with the Cullens, her opinions on parties hadn’t wavered at all.

“Oh yeah, that party! It’s tomorrow at 6:00, after school. Everybody’s invited, so you can come if you want to. It’s just a get-together thing since it’s the beginning of the year, and all.” Alice’s suspicious expression immediately faded.