Disclaimer: I sadly do not own anything related to Twilight (except the set of books that I purchased with my own money, thank you very much!).
A/N: This is just the first chapter, and I have a pretty good idea of where Im going with this, so please review, review, review!! The more reviews I get, the more inspired I'll be to write the next chapter! I have rated this story Mature for lemons in later chapters and mature themes (such as kidnapping... thats all I'm saying). That being said, please read on and enjoy!
I opened the door to room 427, Mercer Hall- if you could really call it a room. I surveyed the place I would call 'home' for the next year at the University of Washington. I let my face contort in panic for a moment, better get it out of my system now so Charlie wouldn't have to see it when he finally arrived. He was still down by my truck unloading the first of my things with my grizzly bear of a brother.
The room was tiny, I could swear that it was no larger than the cramped kitchen of our home back in Forks. The walls were a dirty looking, bland shade of beige and I suddenly missed the light blue walls I had taken for granted back at home. Two bare twin beds were pushed up against the opposite walls; I internally groaned at the thought of a 'used' bed. Who knew who had used it over semesters past? Between the beds were two beat up wooden desks standing side by side. The one of the left appeared to have a sticker of a Marijuana leaf on it. Great. Welcome to college. I quickly made a mental note to cover it with a picture as soon as humanly possible.
It was obvious my roommate hadn't arrived yet. To be honest, I wasn't really worried about liking or getting along with my new roomie. I had met her briefly over the summer.
Alice Cullen.
She was a friend of my big brother, Emmett. She was dating my brothers' childhood friend, Jasper, who I knew well. If she was friends' with Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie, she couldn't be that bad, right?
Plus, Emmett had mentioned that she spent most of her time at Jasper and Emmett's place, so really it would be like not having a roommate at all.
I surveyed the room one final time before I heard the loud thuds, bangs, and occasional muttered swear word that I could only assume would be Charlie and Emmett carrying the first load of my stuff to be moved in. I attempted to smooth the panic from the expression on my face, hoping it would resemble something like excitement. I knew I was doomed, I was a notoriously terrible liar, but I had to try.
'Shit!' Emmett cursed loudly form down the hall. I laughed under my breath.
'Watch your mouth.' Charlie reprimanded unenthusiastically. I would wager this wasn't the first slip Emmett had let loose on the way to my dorm.
'Sorry Dad.' He mumbled from behind a stack of boxes.
'Not too much farther you guys,' I called out to them. 'I'm right here!' I pointed dejectedly at the empty doorway, willing my voice to sound enthusiastic.
'Thank the fu…' Emmett began before shooting a quick look at Charlie. 'Thanks Bells. If I had to navigate one more long, cramped hallway, I was going to call it quits.' He grumbled as he followed our father through the doorway of my room and quickly dropping his load by the foot of the bed on the left.
Charlie let out a low, long whistle as he took in the room.
'Wow Squirt, your room sucks.' Emmett translated Charlie's whistle, just in case I had been too dense to decipher it myself.
'It's not that bad, really.' I didn't know why I was defending it. It really was terrible.
'Quit lying through your teeth Bells, it is that bad. Now. But it wont be for long. Alice has a certain… flare. She'll have this dump looking like a suite in a five star hotel in no time. I can guarantee it.' I cracked a smile and sincerely hoped that he was right.
I turned my attention to my stack of boxes at the foot of the bed. I didn't have much, it looked like they had managed to get all six of my boxes upstairs, which would leave just a mini-fridge, a large suit case, and my bed linens still in my ancient truck, waiting to be brought to their new home.
After a few minutes of rest for the guys, I followed Charlie and Emmett down to the truck to retrieve the last of my belongings and haul them up three flights of stairs to my room. The halls of Mercer were alive with students and parents moving in, yelling directions back and fourth, saying goodbyes and complaining loudly about the size of the rooms. I laughed loudly as Emmett swore at the top of his lungs bumping into a taller girl with long blonde-ish hair, nearly knocking her over with the mini-fridge he held precariously in his arms.
When we arrived back at my room, I had to double check that we were in the same room as before.
Yep. 427.
Emmett chuckled. 'Alice is here.'
The room had been rearranged into a more efficient floor plan that made the room instantly appear larger and I spotted my six boxes pushed into the far corner, near the beds, which had been stacked into bunk beds. The floor near the closet on the right side was covered in a sea of expensive looking designer suitcases of all shapes and sizes, and a small couch, cushioned chair, table and footstool had all been placed unceremoniously around the room, awaiting their proper placement.
Where had all this come from?
'I had really hoped to surprise you and have this all set up you got back, but I had a feeling you wouldn't be gone long enough,' came Alice's melodic voice, a voice that would make a soprano green with envy. She instantly materialized in the doorway that led to the bathroom. Alice was a short girl, no taller than five feet, but what she lacked in height she clearly made up for in energy. Her short black hair was styled into perfect outward flares, and she somehow managed to make her University of Washington hoodie and jeans look like a Calvin Klein ad. She pranced over to me, weaving expertly between her luggage, and hugged me gingerly as if we'd know each other our whole lives.
I looked around the room again, speechless. It already looked fantastic.
'Please, don't judge it yet,' she pleaded. 'Jazz and Carlisle are bringing up the rest now. We should be all moved in within a matter of hours. I promise.' And the smile that followed would have made ice melt. I could instantly tell that we were going to be the best of friends.
And then it hit me. 'The rest of it?' I questioned wondering what else could possibly be added to this room that she had not already provided.
Alice merely smiled back knowingly, and almost as if they had been cued to enter, two blonde men walked in laden with the last of Alice's things. I instantly recognized the taller of the two, who was holding what was unmistakably a very nice flat screen TV, as Jasper Hale. Emmett and I had gone to high school back in Forks with Jasper and his twin sister, Rosalie (who Emmett was now dating). I had watched Jasper and Emmett grow up along side me since they had played sports together since they were old enough to beat each other unconscious with infant sized baseball bats.
The other man I quickly assumed was Carlisle, Alice's father, though he hardly looked a day over twenty-three. There was absolutely no way this guy was old enough to have a PHD and be a well-practiced doctor. No way. He set down a stack of framed artwork and held his hand out for me to shake.
'I'm Alice's father, Dr. Carlisle Cullen,' he introduced himself, confirming my assumption.
'Bella,' I replied lamely. He was too beautiful.
'Sorry about all this,' he stated as he waved his hand around, obviously gesturing to all the furniture. 'Alice doesn't do anything half way.'
I shook my head feverently and assured him that I didn't mind in the slightest. How could you object to getting your nightmare dorm made over by your new pixie-like roommate and her beautiful father?
You cant.
Within hours our once horrifying room had been transformed into a luxury hideaway. Emmett had not been exaggerating when he said Alice possessed her fair share of flare. She had hung blue and silver curtains at the window and covered the modern style black sofa with soft pillows. The walls were adorned with three framed pieces of art that were obviously expensive, but beautiful; The TV had been mounted on the wall almost effortlessly by Jasper and Emmett and the only thing our room seemed to be missing was a fridge full of food.
As I was putting away the last of my favorite, tattered books on a shelf of my nightstand Charlie cleared his throat, a nervous habit he had picked up from the working at the Police Station. I looked up to see him beaming at me, tears hidden behind his dark brown eyes.
'I should be getting out of her soon Bella,' he managed to choke out without his voice breaking and hearing the strain in his voice instantly made my throat constrict. His emotional state was going to get me going. I stood up and walked with him down to his police cruiser parked outside near my ancient red truck. He draped his arm around my narrow shoulders and squeezed me to him tightly as we walked in silence. We stopped walking just a few feet from the cruiser and Charlie held me at arms length, studying my appearance one last time.
'Don't worry about me, Dad,' I consoled him. 'I'll be home before you know it. And I've talked to Sue Clearwater, she's going to make sure that you eat right since I cant cook for you anymore.' I attempted to smile, knowing that I was going to miss him just as much as he was going to miss me.
'I can't believe my little girl is all grown and going to college,' he stated as his face crinkled into my favorite warm smile. 'You take care of yourself.'
'I will. I promise. Plus Emmett will be here to make sure I don't cause chaos.' As soon as I finished he pulled me into a tight hug. Charlie wasn't one to show his emotions much, but I knew I wouldn't trade that hug for anything in the world.
'I love you Bella.'
"Love you too Dad. I'll miss you.'
And then he was gone all too soon. I stood in the parking lot watching his cruiser drive out of view through blurry eyes as I wiped a few stray tears from my cheeks.
When I got back to my room, I looked around and saw Alice standing in front of my closet, shaking her head in disappointment.
'What's wrong Alice?' I asked uncertainly.
'Your wardrobe is… tragic.' She replied bluntly. It was true; I hadn't ever been one for fashion. I had always gone with the simple jeans and a t-shirt combination, I wasn't really trying to impress anyone. But hearing my clothes be so brutally abused caught me by surprise. 'This is unacceptable Isabella Swan.'
'Yea, I've never really cared much about fashion.' I shrugged.
Alice looked as though I had just slapped her in the face. 'We'll just have to change that, now won't we?' She replied as her face broke out into a rather devious smile.
What had I just gotten myself into?
Alice walked over and gracefully sat on the couch, turning on the TV to some fashion channel. I went to my bed and curled up with my battered copy of Pride and Prejudice, opening it randomly and reading the first words that popped out from the page. A short period of time passed in this fashion until Alice danced over to the edge of my bed and sat, just looking at me until I lifted my gaze from my book.
'What's up Alice?' I asked, not sure what to expect
'I can tell we're going to be like sisters,' she replied, catching me off guard once again. Whatever I had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. A warm smile played across her face and felt instantly at ease. 'I have a sixth sense about these things. I knew as soon as Emmett had the idea.'
Her smile was contagious and I felt my face grin. 'I'm glad.' We talked for a while. Conversing with Alice was easier than talking to anyone else, except perhaps Emmett (since he didn't bring up my 'tragic wardrobe' every chance he got). She had an affinity for instantly putting anyone at ease.
In the middle of our conversation, three knocks could be heard on the door. I assumed it was Jasper or Emmett, I didn't think anyone else knew where our room was. 'I've replaced you Edward, go away.' Alice called to the knocker on the other side of the door.
Edward. In that moment I knew nothing about him. I merely knew that he was on the other side of my door. As the door slid opened and he came into view, I knew something else. I knew my life was now complete, though I had never been aware it was incomplete. For reasons I couldn't explain to myself, or anyone else, I knew this man, this green eyed Greek God that had just walked into my room was special. He was tall, with a lean build. Not skinny, but not built like my brother. His striking green eyes weren't the only one aspect of his face that was perfect. His features were chiseled and his hair was an untidy, and a curious bronze color that I didn't think I had ever seen before. My cheeks burned scarlet at the sight of him.
'Alice, your room is terrible.' The angel spoke.
'Its not that bad. You should have seen it when I first got here. Awful.' She grimaced at the memory as she danced to Edwards side and gave him a hug. 'How's your room look?'
'Not bad. Just finished unpacking. I got a single though. No roommate for me!'
Who was he? Was he Alice's other boyfriend? Surely not, she loved Jasper. But I couldn't come to another conclusion. My heart suddenly plummeted to my toes.
The angel glanced at me, making my blush deepen as he caught me staring at him, then back at Alice quizzically.
'Oh, right, Edward, this is Bella, my roommate.' Alice introduced me. 'Bella this is my baby brother Edward, he's a freshman too.'
Brother. My heart shot pack up faster than a roller coaster, settling somewhere in my throat. 'Nice to meet you,' I smiled back at him, releasing a breathe I hadn't realized I was holding. I forced myself to take deep, even breathes before I started to hyperventilate.
Alice's face broke out into a wide, knowing smile and I made a mental note to ask her why as soon as we were alone.
His green eyes locked on mine for a moment, and the hair on my arm stood up as some weird electricity filled the room. Could he feel it too or was I just going nuts?
I couldn't will myself to say much, I was still dumbfounded by this mans presence and the pulsing electricity that was radiating between us. Edward didn't stay long, but he promised to meet us for dinner soon.
I internally sighed as I watched him leave the room. My body suddenly ached, like a chunk in the middle had left with him. I turned to Alice quickly.
'Why the goofy grin Alice?' I asked as soon as Edward had closed the door.
'You and my brother are going to be amazing together.' She stated.
'How do you know?' I was beyond confused.
She raised her pointer finger and tapped her temple with it. 'Remember my sixth sense? Its going crazy right now.'
A/N: Tune in next time for Emmett and Jaspers 'welcome back' Party. I'm thinking Truth or Dare? Any questions you guys would like to have answered by our main characters? Review, Review, Review!
Until Next time!
Absolution713