Oh, to be Bella Swan.

Duquesne University freshman Carly Schlegel has the petite build, the chestnut hair and the alabaster skin.

She's just lacking the supernatural hunks dueling for her undying love.

"It's like, what I want," said the 18-year-old of the "Twilight" plotline. "The love you won't ever lose -- it will always be there."

Ms. Schlegel and her friend Demi Phillipy arrived at the AMC-Loews theater at the Waterfront around 4 p.m. yesterday -- a mere eight hours early for the midnight premiere of "New Moon," the second movie to be made from author Stephenie Meyer's wildly popular quartet of "Twilight" vampire-romance novels.

The movie is expected to exceed the $69.6 million opening weekend of "Twilight," as interest in the series has only grown since the first movie's debut the same weekend last year.

According to Fandango and movietickets.com, "New Moon" is the biggest advance ticket-seller ever.

And much of the audience looks somewhat like Ms. Schlegel: young, female, and wearing Twilight apparel -- in her case, a black shirt reading, "When you can live forever, what do you live for?"

"New Moon" was shown at midnight on 20 of the 22 screens at the AMC-Loews theater, with a 9 p.m showing of "Twilight" for those fans interested in a double feature.

All of the midnight showings sold out.

Because Ms. Schlegel and Ms. Phillipy have already seen the first movie about 25 times, they were content to mill about the theater's lobby until midnight, checking out the scene around them.

"Oh, she has the dress," said Ms. Phillipy of a woman passing by wearing something lacy and black.

"That's from the birthday scene," said Ms. Schlegel. "I saw it at Hot Topic."

It is the birthday scene that kicks off "New Moon" -- the one in which the ever-clumsy Bella cuts herself, only to find that the scent of a few drops of her blood have her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen's family sharpening their teeth.

For Bella's protection, Edward disappears from her life, sending her into a deep depression and into the arms of old friend -- and budding werewolf -- Jacob Black.

Bella must choose between Edward and Jacob -- and so must Twilight fans.

Team Edward and Team Jacob shirts were plentiful before last night's show, with fans debating the virtues of both the characters and the actors who increasingly stare back at supermarket shoppers from magazine covers.

For Kelsey Lenard, a 21-year-old Pitt student wearing a Jacob T-shirt, the case is fairly clear. "He's hot," she said of actor Taylor Lautner.

"Dude, he's 16," countered one of her friends. "He's 17 -- he'll be 18," chimed in another."

"Whatever," she said. "I'm only 21."

But for Jeanne Sullivan, another Pitt student, the debate is about much more than just looks. "Jacob is Bella's soulmate, but Edward is more than a soulmate," said the 19-year-old, who has read "Twilight" 10 times. "It's supernatural -- it's unreal. After reading the books, it's the only team I can be on."

A trio of hairdressers arrived at the theater last night with another Twilight character in mind. Stefany Speakman, Chrissy Nething and Megan Ross had made iron-on shirts reading "I'm Betting on Alice" with dice decals ordered from England.

Ms. Speakman and Ms. Nething -- both 30-something mothers -- represent a generation of "Twi-hards" that is older but no less devoted.

"I am a mother of two. I haven't read a book since high school," said Ms. Nething, 31, of Evans City, who styled her hair like Edward's sister Alice for the premiere. "I read all four books in five days."

Studious and fairly chaste, Bella can be admired as a good role model, said Ms. Speakman, 32, of New Castle. She now plays the soundtrack for her 2-year-old daughter, who does a little "soul clap" along with it.

For Ms. Nething, a little life experience has only added to her appreciation of Twilight. "Edward is the epitome of a man," she said. "It's my escape."

• Barbara Vancheri reviews "New Moon." Page E-1

ON THE WEB To see fans react to the second movie from the "Twilight" series, visit post-gazette.com

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.