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RORY ADEN HAD NEVER been the type of person to obsess over what others thought of her. Usually, it as the other way around. With her wicked grin and gleaming eyes, she exuded confidence. She was attractive and intelligent. She wasn't afraid of people, but something about Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale unnerved her. Especially Jasper Hale.
Maybe it was the freakishly pale skin and weirdly colored eyes or the way Jasper Hale went between blatantly ignoring her to glaring a hole at the side of her head when she looked elsewhere. Rory didn't know if he hated her and for some unfathomable reason, it irked her immensely. Like she wanted his approval. Deep down, she knew she didn't really care but something about Jasper Hale pulled her in while something about her pushed him away.
It was...unusual.
It turned out that Rory and Jasper had the next class together—AP chemistry. Then AP Biology. Except thankfully, in both of those classes, Eric and Jessica were in respectively so she didn't have to awkwardly follow Jasper around or sit with him. She was positive they were both glad for it even if they both tended to feel each other's eyes on them at random intervals.
Halfway through the day, Rory's anxiety finally subdued as she grew more comfortable around the school. Aside from one particular person, everyone else she had met made her feel beyond welcome.
"Yeah, so you should totally join the volleyball team, Rory," Jessica was saying to her as they walked to the cafeteria. "I can't believe you were captain and had to move in the middle of the season."
Rory shrugged lightly, her eyes guarded once more. "Captainship doesn't matter to me. Besides, I was just glad—"
"Hey, hey, hey," the discernible voice of Mike Newton said as he slipped his arms over the shoulders of Jessica and Rory. "There's my two favorite girls."
"We just met," Rory rolled her eyes while Jessica glared at Mike.
Jessica's face soured. "What about Bella, Mike? She was your favorite girl just yesterday and now that you have a shiny, new toy—"
"Woah, chill." Rory frowned at the two, shrugging Mike's arm off. "I don't know Bella yet, but I didn't move here to become someone's toy and I highly doubt she did either."
"Yeah, my bad. I was just joking, really," Mike apologized sheepishly as they entered the loud cavernous room filled with starving high school students.
Rory sighed, "It's fine."
A couple of jock-looking guys called out for Mike which he eagerly responded to, leaving the girls to join the lunch line with a wave.
