A/N: So yeah. I can't manage to update my stories on time, but I can write one-shots. I know that I suck, but that's not my fault. I have too many ideas, a beta/very good friend who supports those ideas and just a little too much time for thos stupid ideas. And this is one of those stupid ideas... I stumbled over this one thing on Facebook (advertisement^^) and found it so cute, that I wnated to make a little FF out of it. Normally I wouldn't have done that, because 1) I'm not a big fan of one-shots; 2) I aleways make up big and impossible plots that don't fit in one chapter. But since Lish the fish had moved my heart with ehr cute little one-shot, I thought I should try it as well...
Okay, I will shut up now and you people can read it. Have fun :D
Disclaimer: This is the part where I tell you something you didn't know: I'm not Stephenie Meyer and therfore I do not own Twilight. SHocked? Me too.
"Bella," someone called over the school's parking lot. I didn't need to turn to know that it was one of my best friends of all time, Emmett. He was a giant goof, got on everybody's nerves, and was the most perfect older brother anyone could wish for. Unfortunately, he was not my brother — at least not by blood.
"What's up, Emmett?" I asked casually when the monster with dark curls and cute dimples had reached me.
"Bad news," he said, his usual big grin turned upside down.
I looked at him with raised eyebrows when he didn't continue.
"The game against Wilson High has been cancelled," he told me in a grave voice.
"What?" I shrieked at a volume that could rival even Emmett himself.
"What's wrong?" another voice from behind us asked. I knew that voice as well. It was the most angelic voice that ever sounded in my ears.
I turned around to look at the boy to whom the voice belonged. Tousled bronze hair that I longed to touch just once, a strong jaw, muscular body, and not to forget his wonderful piercing emerald green eyes. Edward Cullen. If you didn't know that name, you were definitely living behind the moon. There was no man on Earth more perfect than him and no man that invaded my dreams more often than he did. He didn't know that, though. I sighed inwardly at the thought of what I had done already just to be close to him. I had suffered for quite a while already only for him to walk up casually one day and ask what's wrong. Which reminded me...I still had to answer that.
"The game against Wilson has been cancelled," I informed him gloomily.
"What? Why?" a third voice asked. I hadn't noticed Jasper standing behind Edward, since I had been to occupied with gawking at him.
I shrugged.
"The coach didn't do it to punish us, did he?" Edward asked worriedly.
"I don't know," Emmett replied. "Mike came up to me and told me that the match was cancelled. He didn't know why, either."
Jasper, Edward, and I let out groans of frustration. What's the use of training with a bunch of guys if I didn't even get to play?
"We could go and look for the coach and ask him about it," I proposed.
"Great idea, Swan. But I think we need to get to class now," Jasper replied.
I looked at my watch and saw that he was right. "Sure. I'll catch you guys later at lunch."
I waltzed into the school building and after a few seconds, I was aware of someone following.
The scent told me that it was Edward. Yeah, I know it's weird to identify someone by their scent, but I couldn't help it and it was hardly my fault that Edward was the only guy on Earth who managed to smell just as good as he looked.
"It's really a shame that your first game might not take place," he said.
"You can say that again," I groaned in response, thinking back to the day before. I had actually been ecstatic to finally be on the real field.
I went to my locker, which was exactly on the opposite side of Edward's. That was hardly a coincidence, but that was not something he needed to know.
It's not even like it had been my idea. Miss Mary-Alice Brandon had been so kind and moved Heaven and Earth for me to get a locker from where I could watch Edward from a safe distance. My locker was also oh so conveniently next to hers.
Normally she was always where I was, especially since I started hanging out with the guys more often. She wouldn't admit it, but she had a major crush on Jasper.
"Alright, Bella, I'll see you at lunch," Edward said to me when he shut his locker and left to get to his first class.
"Um, yeah, cool," I replied awkwardly.
He sent me his famous crooked grin and then he was out of my sight.
I let out a sigh. It shouldn't be that difficult to talk to the most gorgeous male being on Earth, who every girl in school was after, right?
I gathered my books and closed my locker before I quickly made my way to English.
The pixie who had been missing earlier was sitting in her usual seat right beside mine.
"Where have you been this morning?" I asked her.
"Good morning to you too, Beckham," she replied with a glowing smile.
I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous nickname. Ever since she had practically forced me into joining the school's soccer team, she had been giving me names of famous soccer players. I reckoned that she googled them, because there was no way that the little fashionista would know anything about soccer. She barely knew what the ball looked like.
"I thought you might need the time to calm your nerves. It's your first game today and you're totally going to rock, I just know it. You will be the one who makes the winning goal and then Edward will pick you up and kiss you fiercely in front of the whole team and the whole school and then all those nasty, skimpy, slutty, dirty, che—"
"Alice, there is not going to be a game," I interrupted her.
She looked up in surprise. "What? Why not?"
"I don't know."
"Ah, dammit, I wanted to see the boys sweat," she mumbled.
"First of all, it's only Jasper that you want to see sweating," I said, resulting in Alice scowling at me. "And secondly, thanks for the great support."
"Aw Bellsie, you know I got your back," Alice cooed immediately.
I only huffed in response.
"Oh, come on, I'm the one who scares away these sluts when they decide to be nasty to you," Alice exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah. I know," I grumbled.
As if on cue, Lauren Mallory passed our desk and sneered, "Break a leg tonight. Or maybe two."
"Shut up or she'll break your nose," Alice snapped back at her.
"Don't you know that guys aren't supposed to hit girls?" Lauren countered sweetly. "And I suppose that Bello is a gentleman."
I ground my teeth together and barely restrained myself from really breaking her nose.
"Oh, please, Lauren. I bet that underneath all that makeup, you look like a man, so Bella wouldn't have to feel bad about beating you up," Alice said to her just as sweetly.
Lauren opened her mouth to reply something else, but our English teacher chose that moment to make an appearance and Lauren quickly shuffled to her seat.
"See? I'm always there for you," Alice said pointedly.
"I know, I never said you weren't," I replied with a sigh.
"Do you even know why the game is cancelled?" she asked me. I only shook my head in response. "It better be a good reason. I can't have you miss out on this great opportunity for nothing," she mumbled.
"Opportunity?" I asked a little confused.
"The kiss," Alice answered as if it was obvious.
"What kiss?"
"Were you even listening to me earlier?"
"Um...no."
Alice glared at me. "You will score for the team and as a thank you, Edward will kiss you," she said in a clipped tone.
I snorted at that. "Yeah, right."
"I've seen it, Bella," Alice said. Alice was always claiming to have psychic abilities. As far as I could remember, none of her precognitions have come true yet.
"The chances that Edward Cullen will kiss me are pretty low. It might be more possible that he kisses Lauren," I told her.
"Bella," Alice said sternly. "I got you a locker close to Edward, I made sure you joined the boys soccer team so you could spend time with him, I got him and Jasper to sit with us at lunch, and I made your hair look less like a haystack. Do you honestly think I did all of that for nothing?"
"We—"
"Ms. Swan, is there something you want to share with us?" Mrs. Hayden, the English teacher, asked.
"No, ma'am."
"Then I would suggest you to shut up."
A few people in the class laughed and I sunk back into my chair. It was nothing new that they were laughing at me. To the girls in this school, I was just one of the guys, and to the boys in school, I was one of the guys. But since I was changing in the girls locker room, the girls had decided that I was a freak. Simple as that.
That's what you get for playing soccer with guys all your life and not caring if you got yourself dirty.
Well, at least I got to spend three days a week with Edward and they didn't. But then again it wasn't like he was paying that much attention to me. It was enough to say that we were something like friends.
I sighed and lost myself in daydreams that consisted of me being the stunning cheerleader that Edward fell for. Not exactly what I would want to be in real life, but it would work for my little fantasies.
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"Hey, Smella, I wish you good luck for today," Jessica Stanley called through the corridor when I was making my way to the cafeteria.
"Don't be so mean, Jess," Lauren's voice called from the other side. "Dogs are people too."
I rolled my eyes at their immaturity when the two of them giggled and came closer to me. Now I had the two of them on each side. "Can't you guys go and play somewhere else?" I asked in annoyance and resumed walking while doing my best to ignore them.
"Oh, what was that? Did you say something, Smella?" Jessica asked and leaned closer to me, only to flinch away. "Ugh, you smell worse than a dog. Don't you know what a shower is?"
"Are guys picking on Bellham again?" a high pitched voice asked. It belonged to Jane, another of the mindless bitchy girls that walked around in this school. "You know what, Smella?" Jane asked, not even waiting for an answer. "I always wondered if it was difficult for you to hang out with a bunch of good-looking guys."
Lauren snickered. "Probably not. She's got the hots for her little friend Alice."
Finally there was the cafeteria and I rushed forward to get to my table. I really didn't need those three around me. I quickly got in line to get something to eat. Like always, the food looked nowhere near edible.
"Ugh, this stuff looks almost as bad as Smella," I heard Lauren complain behind me.
I sighed. So apparently I hadn't gotten rid of them.
The three of them passed me with grimaces and before I could move out of their way, Jane had pushed me forward.
Great. My day was officially screwed. The game was off, I was still not married to Edward Cullen, I had to breathe the same air as the three girls that enjoyed making my life hell, and I was about to fall face first into this weird mass on my tray.
Thankfully the last never happened.
A strong arm wound itself around my waist and pulled me upright.
I turned to see Edward looking down on me, looking like a god.
He balanced his tray on his free hand and had an amused expression on his face. "I hope you weren't planning to fall into that," he said, letting go of me and gesturing toward my tray.
"I wasn't planning to fall in general," I told him. "Thanks, by the way."
"No problem," he said casually.
"Okay, enough of that. We're going to go see the coach. You can flirt later on," Alice barged into our conversation with Emmett and Jasper behind her.
"Excuse me?" I said, a little dumbfounded.
"The coach is sitting right there and we're going to confront him," Alice said, pointing at a table at the far corner where the teachers sat. One of them was Coach Clapp.
"What about lunch?" I asked.
"You can eat later, if you actually planned on eating that," Alice said and then took mine and Edwards trays to dispose them.
Suddenly the rest of the team was surrounding us.
"Captain, I think we should talk to the Coach," Dylan Summers, one of my teammates, said to Edward. Yes, Edward was the team captain. As if he wasn't already great enough.
"Yeah, yeah," Edward said and motioned for us to follow him.
Alice was by my side again, and between this horde of guys, I felt just as tiny as she was.
When we approached the table, a few teachers started to look nervous. Of course if a group of muscular and athletic boys was walking up to you with angry expressions on their faces, it was probably the right reaction.
Only the coach looked perfectly relaxed.
"Hello, boys," he greeted us casually. Yes, it was kind of bitter that he was referring to me as a boy as well.
"Why is the game cancelled?" Edward asked bluntly.
The coach carefully shoved a spoonful of this weird mass in his mouth. "Tastes like chicken," he said thoughtfully after a while.
The boys groaned. Meanwhile Alice managed to manoeuvred us to the front, right beside Edward.
"The game," he started slowly, "might take place. Coach Miles is currently talking his boys into it and he will inform me as soon as he gets a result."
"But why would they cancel it in the first place?" one of the boys asked.
"Maybe they are too scared," Emmett commented and earned a round of laughter.
"No, it's not that," the coach cut in. "They don't want to play against a girl." His gaze settled on me.
"What the fuck? They had that Anderson girl last year, who won the freaking title for them," Dylan protested.
"It was a completely different team and they didn't let her on the team, she just tricked her way in," the coach replied.
"So what? It's not like Bella is a girl anyway," another boy, Tyler, said. "She's one of the guys."
And with these words he ruffled my hair. Some of the others let out sounds of agreement and punched my shoulder lightly or ruffled through my hair as well.
I peeked up at Edward, who was grinning at our fellow teammates. Figures. He thought like that as well.
The one guy who was supposed to see me as a girl of course didn't. I blew a strand of my hair out of my face and scowled.
Now I was officially in a bad mood. I didn't join this stupid team to become more of a guy. A few of those who still hadn't come around to the fact that I was capable of playing soccer and had two balls in my top rather than my pants, were grumbling something about me 'ruining everything'.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about that," he coach said unapologetically.
"Nicely done, Smella," Mike Newton spat at me.
"Hey, don't call her that," Alice immediately hissed at him.
"Why not? She your girlfriend?"
"Shut up, Newton!" Emmett said to him in a low voice.
"Don't tell me what to do. You could just once be on the team's side instead of defending the little dyke," Mike hissed at him.
"Okay, I've had it!" someone suddenly screamed. It took me a moment to realize that it had been me.
Everyone else seemed to be just as shocked as I was. It was a general rule that I did not scream at people.
But since I was already at it, I might as well continue. Only now I noticed that my heart was racing and I was pretty sure that my face was flushed.
"You are an asshole," I hissed at Mike and then did something that was even more uncharacteristic for me.
I punched him. Right on his nose.
He groaned and held his nose before he glared at me. "You little—"
He never got to finish his next insult, because without thinking much about it, I did what I do best. I kicked balls. I watched Mike as he sunk down to the floor in pain and the red haze faded. Oh God. I had just beaten up a guy. Not good. This was so not my day.
Everyone was still looking at Mike, who was crying like a little girl on the floor, in shock. I used that moment to my advantage and spun around and went to the bathroom as fast as I could.
I locked myself in one of the stalls and sat down on the toilet lid, pulling my legs up to my chest.
So I had just beaten up a guy. Not just any guy, he was the boyfriend of one of my tormentors. When Jessica hears of this, I'm definitely going to get it.
But for some reason I couldn't bring myself to care, because no matter what Jessica and her friends would do to me, there was no way that my life could get any crappier and beating up Mike had been the only great moment in it.
I replayed it several times in my mind and eventually I couldn't help but giggle at Mike's face when I had kicked him.
"Bella?" Alice voice suddenly called. "I know you're in here," she added when I didn't answer.
I rolled my eyes and opened the door.
Alice was already standing in front of it. "You didn't cry," she observed.
"No."
"Then what did you lock yourself in the toilet for?"
I only shrugged as an answer.
"Alright, do you want to talk about what happened?"
I shook my head.
"Well, then I will." Alice took a deep breath before she continued. "It was about time that you stood up for yourself. I knew that this would come sooner or later, but I never imagined that you would kick Newton in the balls. I still wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen him cry like a baby on the floor. I swear you might have saved the world."
"How so?"
"Mike might not be able to reproduce," Alice answered with a giggle.
I laughed with her and the two of us left the bathroom.
"By the way, you shouldn't have run off like that," Alice scolded. "Edward was worried about you. I had to reassure him that you are okay millions of times."
"Edward was worried?" I asked slowly, processing this bit of news.
"Yes," Alice sang with a bright grin on her face.
"You are kidding right? Why should he be worried?"
"Except for the fact that some asshole decided to insult you in front of your teammates and teachers and that he is madly in love with you?"
"Oh God, I totally forgot that there were tea—" I stopped short and turned my head slowly to look at her. "Crazy pixie, what did you just say?"
"Edward and Bella sitting on a tree..." Alice started singing.
I quickly clamped my hand over her mouth, but didn't stop myself from giggling like a little girl. It might have had something to do with the fluttering in my tummy. I felt something wet in my hand and immediately pulled it away from Alice.
"Ew, Al. That's gross," I complained and cleaned my hand on her shirt.
She glared at me for doing that but I could care less. Her saliva, not mine. "Now I'm not gonna tell you what Edward said," she hissed.
"What?" I protested immediately. "Oh, come on, Alice, it was your saliva."
"So?"
"So, it's landing on your shirt."
"With this kind of attitude you will never get to hear what Edward said."
"Tell me, Alice, please. I'll do anything you want," I begged, already desperate.
"Anything?" Alice asked with a devilish grin.
I opened my mouth to reply.
"Ms. Swan," a male voice spoke. I turned around to see Mr. Banner, my Biology teacher.
"Yes?"
"The headmaster wants to talk to you."
Of course that just had to happen. After good news always came the bad news. I waved Alice goodbye and reluctantly trotted to the headmaster's office.
I knocked twice before a voice ordered me to enter.
"Ms. Swan, please take a seat," Mr. Hudson, our headmaster, said.
I did as he said and sat down.
"Let's get straight to the point. You beat up Mr. Newton."
I opened my mouth to say something, but Mr. Hudson just continued.
"No point in denying it. Half of the student body saw you and most of the teachers."
I tried to speak again.
"Violence is not tolerated in our school, Ms. Swan. I thought that you knew that."
"Sir—"
"There are no excuses for such behaviour, Ms. Swan."
"But—"
"I never thought that you were a trouble maker. You never got yourself into trouble before, so why now?"
"He was insulting me," I told him.
"Ah yes, I heard about that too and I am very upset with Mr. Newton as well, but you must know that we sort our problems out with words and not with fists."
I looked down at my hands. "Yes, sir."
"Alright, since this was the first time you broke the rules, you will only get detention for tomorrow afternoon. You may leave now." Mr. Hudson gestured with his hands toward the door and I quickly left the office.
Outside I let out a deep sigh. Why couldn't this day just be good and stay like that?
I walked through the empty corridors to go to my next class.
After a few steps I heard voices. Very familiar voices. I kept walking and around the corner I saw Edward and Lauren. Before I could even blink, her lips were on his.
A whole fantasy world that I had built over the last few years shattered in front of my eyes.
Goodbye, Bella Cullen. Goodbye, bronze-haired children. Goodbye, Edward.
Who was I even kidding? It wasn't like I was ever going to get any of those things anyway, no matter what Alice said.
I didn't realize that I was crying until a sob escaped my lips, making the two of them look up.
"Bella?" Edward asked in surprise.
I quickly wiped my eyes and smiled weakly at them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to...I...I-I'm gonna go," I said hastily and turned on my heel to jog out of the school building. It didn't take me long to get to the parking lot, since I was actually sprinting outside. I got into my truck and turned the engine on.
I thought I heard my name being called, but I couldn't be sure and I also didn't care right now.
I stepped on the pedal and sped away.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I was kicking the ball against the tree for the millionth time already. I always used to come out here to this meadow and do that when I was little.
I didn't know how long I had been out here already, but it had started to rain and the sky was getting darker. I guessed it had been a few hours. I was already passed the point of crying like the girl that I actually was and was now just kicking the ball with everything I had. Of course I had slipped a few times already and I might have hurt myself somewhere, but I didn't care. I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to see anyone right now. I would kick this ball all night and no one could stop me from doing so.
For the first time in the past hours, I missed the tree and the ball flew straight into the woods.
I stared into the darkness of the trees for a minute before I slumped down on to the ground.
I could also just sit here all night. It didn't matter to me.
Suddenly the ball rolled in front of my feet. I looked up with a frown, only to look straight into a pair of emerald green eyes.
It scared me and I flinched back a little.
"Sorry if I startled you," Edward said apologetically. He was soaked, just like I probably was, but he seemed to care about as much as I did right now.
"What are you doing here?" I croaked. My voice sounded like I'd been crying for hours. Which was what I had been doing if I were to be honest.
"I came to find you," he answered. Before I could ask the next question, he added, "Alice told me that you would probably be here."
I nodded slowly, but didn't say anything. What was I supposed to say anyway? He came to find me.
"I wanted to talk to you," he began slowly.
"About what?"
"The game—"
"If I missed it, I can't say that I'm sorry," I told him and sniffed.
"—was rescheduled," he resumed calmly.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
After that, silence followed.
"Was that all you wanted to tell me?"
"Well," he scratched his head awkwardly. "You know this thing with Lauren, when you saw us kissing?"
"I think I remember," I said in a bitter voice.
"Yeah, um...we aren't an item or anything."
I got up from the ground. "I really don't care," I told him and I felt the frustration of the last months coming to the surface. "I could care less about what you do and who you do it with. I also don't care whether or not you're an item," I yelled at him and started to cry again. "I have spent so many years wanting nothing more than to be the girl by your side."
Edward's expression changed to one of surprise, but I couldn't waste my time on that.
"Ever since you came to this town, I have been in love with you and you've never even cared. Hell, you didn't even notice!"
Edward opened his mouth, but then closed it again.
"I let Alice dress me up so that I could impress you, but you ignored me. I got a locker close to you, but you still didn't notice me. You were my freaking lab partner, but up until a few weeks ago, all you said to me was 'prophase' and 'anaphase'. So I actually let Alice talk me into joining the soccer team, hoping that when we had something in common, you might talk to me. And then I get my wish, but of course you only see me as one of the guys. I am tired and frustrated and I really don't want to know if you and Lauren are an item. Just leave me alone." I yelled all that in his face and then continued sobbing. Stupid emotions. Life was easier without puberty.
Edward grabbed my shoulders gently. "Bella, I don't think of you as one of the guys," he said to me in his silly smooth voice that I adored so much.
"Oh really?" I said, somewhat sarcastically.
"Really," he answered with a serious face.
"Do you think I'm pretty?" I asked him desperately. I didn't even know why I asked him that.
"No," he answered immediately in a stern voice.
I felt a small ache in my heart. My fantasies were nothing more than just that, fantasies. Silly dreams of a silly girl.
I rubbed my eyes and sniffed. There would not be a happily ever after for me. At least not with Edward.
"You don't want to be with me forever," I stated it as a fact and it wasn't even meant for his ears.
"No."
Again I felt a pang in my chest. I needed to get away. Since I already asked stupid questions, I might as well break my heart all the way.
"Would you cry if I walked away?" I asked with a sob.
Edward stared at me and something in his expression changed. It seemed like his eyes were softening and he looked like he was in pain. He shouldn't be in pain. He was breaking my heart, not his.
After a few moments of silence he answered, "No."
My heart crumpled into millions of pieces and I nodded numbly at him.
I turned around to walk away, because I now knew for sure that he wouldn't cry.
I barely even made it a step before his hand caught my wrist and he spun me around so fast, I landed in his arms.
"Bella, you are not pretty, you are beautiful. I don't want to be with you forever, I need to be with you forever. And I wouldn't cry if you walked away, I would die if you did. I love you, Isabella Swan," he said in that melodic voice of his.
Do you know the feeling when your life is all sad and gloomy one minute, and then then next, everything's suddenly happy and colorful? No? Well, then you will not know what this felt like.
I had never been so happy in my life and my heart had never beaten faster. Not even when I first laid eyes on Edward.
"I love you too, Edward," I replied shyly and that was all it took him to press his lips to mine.
It seemed like the heavens were happy about this too, because the rain suddenly stopped. But I didn't really care about that. I just revelled in the feel of his lips on mine and the realization that I had finally gotten what I wanted.
Edward broke the kiss, breathing heavily. He leaned his forehead against mine. "Stay with me," he whispered to me. "Please?"
"I will," I whispered back and then we kissed again.
It was just one of the many kisses that were yet to come.
A/N: What do you think? Love? Like? Hate? Confused? Whaever it is you should tell me in a review. So I got nothing more to say...except maybe thank lish the fish for putting up with me and yeah... I'm gonna go and wait for those reviews
