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Adjusting to my life in Washington taught me a bit about myself. For one, I realized that I am not a fan of winter and I would be content without ever seeing another one. The cold, grey clouds that cover up the beautiful blue sky just depress me. I have no idea when the last time I saw sunshine was. As soon as the clouds leave, I'm going to the beach. Everyone says that you can go to the beach when it's not sunny out, but what's the fun in that? Freezing, windy, and wet, as always, with the addition of sand and seaweed. Regardless, I've had some trouble fitting in, but not everything has been so bad. Charlie is through the roof with happiness about having me back with him, and he even gave me money to buy a bunch of new clothes when I got here. Of course, they were winter clothes because I was anything but prepared for the weather, but he's never been so interested in me since I was really little. I like it; it's enjoyable to see him happy again.

There was someone else who was just as excited to see me back in Washington as my father was: Jacob Black. I almost didn't recognize him when he greeted me on my first full day home, what with his rapunzel hair and deep tan. He had grown not inches but feet, and he looked big enough to smother me with just his biceps. But as he drove his garbage can of a truck to the sidewalk in front of the high school, I saw the warm Jacob that I had known in my childhood - the one I made mud pies with on the riverbank.

"Hey Jake," I said, tossing my backpack in the trunk next to his and climbing into the passenger's seat. The rusty truck groaned under my weight and protested even more when Jacob accelerated out of the parking lot.

"What's up, Bella?" he asked me, one hand on the wheel and the other on the clutch.

I shivered as a rush of icy air blew through my hair, and I rolled up my window. "Trying not to freeze," I told him with a smile, teeth chattering.

Jacob glanced at me and grimaced, then put his window up too. "Sorry, I swear I'm always sweating," he laughed, pressing some buttons on the dashboard. "Uhh..." he muttered, putting his hand back on the clutch. "Yeah, the heat doesn't work. I don't know why I tried, it never has worked. But there's this neat thing you can do -" he put his hands together and blew into them, "- that really helps.

Eyes wide, I watched as he steered the monstrous truck with his knees, blowing into my own hands. When we came to a red light he returned his hands to the wheel, and I asked him, "Could you teach me how to do that?"

"Hey, I can't be teaching you anything dangerous. Your dad's a cop - you know how dead I'd be if you ever got hurt with me?"

"Pretty dead. Like, really definitely dead."

We cruised along the highway, which had been recently salted and was safe enough to drive on again. I was still freezing, so I pulled my knees in close to my chest and tried to warm up. Icy cold rain started to fall from the clouded sky in short bouts. The landscape was beautiful, I had to admit, and as the snowy evergreens whizzed past my window, I could feel the state growing on me. The amount of green that survived in the winter was more than Arizona had throughout the entire year, and it brought a wave of calm over me - a protective sort of aura.

I must have lost myself in the beauty, because Jacob had to repeat my name twice to get my attention. I tore my attention from the window to look at him.

"Oh sorry, I just thought I'd ask how this week went. Did you have anyone to sit with at lunch? My lunch period isn't the same as yours, sorry about that! If you had been here last year, we would have though, since sophomores and juniors eat together... Oh well, you know." Apologizing was his dirty habit.

"Don't worry about it," I assured him. "A few of the girls from my psychology class sat with me. Do you know Angela and Jessica?"

He sucked in a breath through his teeth, "... Can't say I do, Bella."

"How about Mike? Mike Newton?"

I noticed him light up at that name, "I do know him! I think he was in track for a year or two with me."

"You ran for the track team?" Jacob seemed to me like the kind of person who would pump iron all day, not run.

"Well, I didn't say I was any good at it," he scoffed. "I did it for two years because I thought I might get better at it, but that never happened. So I quit that this season, and instead I took a few weightlifting classes."

I eyed his arms; veins bulged from his muscles as he steered his truck. "You can't think I'm going to believe you got completely ripped from a couple of classes."

"So it was more than a few! Maybe five times a week."

"Five times a week!" I gaped at him. I was hard to imagine the twelve year old Jacob I remembered from my childhood taking up such an obsession with his body.

The boy rolled his eyes, still smiling. "It's fun."

"Jake, roller coasters are fun."

"Sorry!" he laughed as he parallel parked. I hadn't realized that we arrived - the town was smaller than I thought. As I hopped out of the trunk, I grabbed my umbrella. Even though it had stopped raining, I couldn't be sure that it wouldn't start up again. Jacob led me to the front of the studio, slipping into his flannel - I couldn't fathom how he survived in this cold.

"Here we are," he said, opening the door for me. I stepped inside and he followed, then we both stood near the doorway for a minute to gather our senses. There was a small reception area to the right, where a woman spoke on the phone, but most of the building was consumed by towering mirrors. Soft orchestral music reverberated off the walls. A group of six girls stood in a line wearing nude coloured leotards with their hair tied up in buns. They spun across the smooth dance floor one by one and each performed a grand jete. I watched in envy until Jacob pulled me towards reception, where the woman had put down her phone and was eying us with confusion.

"How may I help you two?" she asked, pen in hand.

I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear, clearing my throat, "Hi, I just moved here from Arizona and I wanted to see if I could use this space for practice?"

The receptionist raised an eyebrow at me and Jacob shifted. I didn't look at him as she said, "Unless you have proof of previous excellence, we require all of our dancers to take lessons from our professionals."

“I understand.” Holding up a finger to her, I reached into my pocket and unfolded a certificate. “I started taking ballet lessons when I was six and I’ve been dancing ever since. Here’s the proof of training my last studio gave me when I completed their advanced course last year,” I handed her the paper.

She smoothed it out and read it over once, then again. “Well, we can’t argue with this. We have free practice on sunday mornings and evenings, and every day after the high school gets out for two hours. Come by during one of those times and we can set up a regular schedule with you, okay?” Her demeanor had shifted and her voice sounded more relaxed when she realized that I had some background in the art.

“That would be fantastic. Thank you!” Grinning, I made to leave, but she said something more before I turned around.

“Will this young man be joining us?”

Jacob gave the receptionist his most innocent smile, “No m’am, I’m sorry, I’m just not graceful enough to be a dancer like my friend.”

“You never know until you try. We have dozens of male dancers here - come in with her and you can have a lesson for free.”

“A-alright, will do,” he grinned, then grabbed my arm and we exited the studio in a rush. Jacob and I stood outside as he gathered himself, and I could see his cheeks flushing a bright pink under his olive skin. He continued to hold my arm in an iron grip and I had to pry him off of me.

“Jake, you’re gonna give me a bruise,” I said in a quiet voice, looking up at him. He stared straight ahead at his truck. “What’s wrong?”

“Never take me to that studio again,” he said with a long exhale.

I shook my head and gave his shoulder a light punch, “She just thought you were cute! It’s a compliment.” The boy was still flustered and my smile faded, “Sorry, nevermind her. Why don’t we grab some coffee?”

Jacob nodded and we walked a block until we found a tiny coffeeshop - Aberdeen Brews. We holed ourselves up in the very corner and I ordered drinks for the both of us. I hadn't warmed up much since leaving the school, and a steaming coffee was just what I needed to get my blood circulating again. As I stood by the counter and waited, I stared out the shop's window and noticed rain beginning to strike the glass. It was pouring by the time our drinks were done.

"One black coffee for a man of the same name," I said, setting Jacob's cup on the table when I came back over. He snickered and wrapped his hands around the ceramic mug, holding his nose over the coffee. Steam rose up onto his cheeks. I tasted my latte and let him take a few sips of his drink before I asked him, "Hey, how's your dad doing?"

He rubbed his eyes and I put down my drink. Before I could apologize, he started: "Not great. It's been really hard since both of my sisters have left. He's always in pain and it's really tough to make sure he takes all of his medicine on time and everything, with school. It's sad, to see him like this. The numbness keeps going up his legs and he says that he's starting to lose feeling in his fingers too. You know he's in a wheelchair, right?"

"Yeah, I think I saw him in it last time I came out here," I said, almost whispering.

"Well, it's getting worse. We can't afford to hire someone to stay at home with him, so Rachel is coming back for a few weeks, or... Longer. We haven't decided yet."

"Isn't he Charlie's best friend? I'm sure he could get you guys some help."

Jacob hesitated before he said, "He has, and we're grateful. He's spoken to the head doctor at the ER and got our debts cleared. Dr. Cullen doesn't charge us anymore when we come in. He's a good guy..." he trailed off, staring into his cup.

"Dr. Cullen? Does he have a son?" My face contorted in confusion. The student that had shown me around on my first day had the last name of Cullen - it couldn't possibly be that common.

"I think he has a few."

"Does Edward ring a bell?"

Jacob nodded.

"Oh. He's in a few of my classes. Never said anything about having a doctor for a father - must be loaded. All of them, I guess." It made little sense to me, however, because I had noticed Edward using old, beaten up books and school supplies - not to mention his clothing style was a bit outdated. Maybe he had hand-me-downs from all of his brothers, but I thought the son of a doctor would have only the best. "Doesn't he drive a volvo?"

Snorting on his coffee, Jacob laughed and said, "You're completely right. We had the same lunch last year and I think he gave me a ride a few times. His sister can be... Really something. But Edward is fun."

I nodded, "He seemed extremely smart but he didn't talk that much, especially after my first day. I didn't think he really liked me."

"Yeah, school isn't his favourite. Sometimes he gets in these moods and he can be really grumpy for a while. It's probably just family stuff, they're really close. He'll warm up to you, though." Jacob was very interested in this topic, and it both comforted and intrigued me. I was glad to be on a happier note, and I had never thought that he would be friends with Edward - let alone know him.

"He wasn't at school today," I mentioned.

Shrugging, Jacob said, "Again, family stuff. Maybe not even something bad - they go out camping a lot. Though, they usually do it when it's nearer to summer. They're crazy about nature."

"Are you good friends with him or something?"

"Uh," he looked away. "I knew him pretty well last year. His family had just moved here - from Alaska, I think. They're really private so I only ever saw him at school and I never learned that much about him. I must have been his only friend other than his siblings. But they don't even act like siblings, they're all adopted."

"They are? I thought maybe he and his sister were twins, and that's why they're the same age." Edward's sister Rosalie was in my psychology class, and I'd had a very brief conversation with her when I asked her how to get to the bathroom. She was cold and dismissive, and claimed she didn't even know where a bathroom was. Who didn't go to the bathroom?

"No, Dr. Cullen adopts all these impoverished kids and they live somewhere out in the forest. No one's even seen their house. A few people tried to follow them home one day last year, but they must have known they were being watched because Edward just led them way out into the middle of nowhere and they ditched their car. No clue how they were able to get home after that, but they did. Anyway, I've only ever seen Edward and Rosalie, but I've heard there's a younger freshman and no one's seen the rest of their adopted kids."

Finishing my latte, I turned this information over in my head. Rich kids, that's what they were. That's why they were acting so cold and uncaring. They could have anything they wanted, so they didn't bother with other people. They were probably all just waiting to move into their Californian beach house and were staying in Washington while it was under construction. I was fascinated by how mysterious Jacob was making their family sound, and the assumptions I was conjuring up became more and more outrageous. I continued the conversation, "Why aren't you guys friends anymore?"

"We just, I dunno, we grew apart over the summer. I never saw him because I didn't know where he lived - actually, he never even gave me his phone number so I couldn't contact him. His dad is always at the hospital, though, so I knew they were around. But I never asked, since talking to the doctor about my dad was always more important than that. They seem like they don’t want to be bothered anyway."

I nodded and stared at the coffee grounds at the bottom of my cup. No phone number, no evidence of their house, no sign of the rest of their family. They were hiding something. A huge fortune? Dying mother? Drug cartel? What could they be keeping from the world?

Jacob checked the time. "Oh Bella, I gotta get home." Snapping out of my trance, I looked up and slipped my jacket back on. He downed the rest of his coffee and wiped off his upper lip. "I'm sorry, I just need to get home to my dad."

Excusing Jacob’s apology, we left and ran to his car but still were drenched by the downpour. Jacob gave me a blanket but I shivered the whole way home.

When we pulled up to my house, the rain was lighter. I was about to jump out when Jacob said:

"Hey, I'm going to a play with my sister next Saturday to welcome her back, and I thought you’d like to come. We have two extra tickets, so you can bring someone. Sorry, I know you’ve only been here for a couple weeks, so you can just take Charlie if that’s all you can find on short notice.” He handed me the tickets that he retrieved from his glovebox.

I looked them over, “Sweeney Todd?”

“You bet your ass it is,” he said, grinning.

“Thanks Jake, I’ll definitely be there.”

He pounded his fist on his steering wheel, “Great! You give me a call if you need a ride, okay?”

“Got it.”

“See you next week!”

As he drove away, I stowed the tickets in my pocket and pulled out my keys. I knew exactly who I would be taking to that play.