Synopsis: Edward has always wanted to talk to Bella, but she never seemed interested. Now that he is on the verge of graduation, he decides it's now or never. A short story of how their conversation goes. This is all sweet, simple syrup. No lemons whatsoever.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
INTRO
EPOV
Bella came to Forks High as a sophomore when I was a junior. I thought she was really pretty and wanted to ask her out. I tried to turn on the charm, but she didn't seem to notice me. I wasn't used to that reaction. I was pretty popular with the girls. Usually all I had to do was flash a smile and they were asking what I was doing on Saturday night. But Bella was different. It wasn't as though she hated me. She just didn't seem to care one way or the other. I took her disinterest as just that. I ended up not even talking to her that year.
But now I'm a senior and it's getting close to summertime. Bella has never been unfriendly. This year she was in most of my classes. I thought it was weird at first until after the first few weeks had past. It was obvious why she was in classes a grade ahead. She was really smart.
But even after being at this school for two years already, I noticed that she still didn't have any friends. None that she hung out with on a regular basis anyway. I still wanted to talk to her and I finally worked up the courage. I didn't know why I was so nervous other than I've never been rejected before. And I knew that she was different. She was more important that any of the other girls.
CHAPTER 1
3rdPPOV
Bella was sitting at one of the lunch tables with a stack of books open in front of her. She was writing notes with a ferocity that a normal student shouldn't have this close to summer. Edward knew he'd be interrupting her, but judging by the way she always had her nose in a book, he figured he'd be interrupting her no matter when he chose to speak to her.
He walked up to her table and stood across from her. "Hi," he said in a hopeful tone.
She didn't look up, but just kept writing. "What do you need, Edward?" She answered in a tone that neither suggested interest or annoyance.
"So you do know my name," he responded in a lighthearted, teasing manner.
"Our entire school only houses 400 students at most. Of course I know your name." She stated matter-of-factly, again without looking up.
"Well you've never acknowledged me before." He didn't phrase is as a question, but what he really wanted to know was why she ignored him. Even though she hadn't singled him out - she ignored pretty much everyone, but something about it bothered him.
"I didn't see a point to." She was beginning to sound annoyed now, still keeping focused on her work.
This was not the way Edward had wanted this conversation to go. He was only trying to get to know her better. Maybe it wasn't him, he thought. Maybe it was something else that was bothering her. "Are you mad about something?"
Bella looked up at him then with a slightly confused expression on her face. "Not at all." She sighed and set her pen down. "I apologize if I came across that way. I'm just very busy."
"That's okay." He was thankful he hadn't pissed her off. "School's almost over, you know?" he said with a smile gesturing towards her books. He thought maybe she was stressed over finals.
She didn't return his smile, but she never broke eye contact. "For you maybe, but I'm taking extra classes to graduate early."
He wasn't sure why, but the idea of her graduating along with him was appealing. "Are you going to be graduating with my class then?"
"No," she answered with a slight shake of her head. "I won't be done until after this summer."
Edward thought that seemed like an odd time to graduate. "Are you going to be in next year's ceremony?"
"No. No ceremony. Just my diploma." Bella finally smiled, albeit light and brief.
"That kind of sucks, doesn't it?" he questioned, hooking this thumbs under the straps of his backpack. He was suddenly aware that he'd been standing this whole time and took a seat across from her.
She followed him with her eyes, but her posture and demeanor never changed. "Not really. The ceremony is really something to celebrate with family and friends. I only have my dad, so it just makes more sense to me to do it this way."
She looked a little sad as she answered him, and he couldn't stop the next words that came out of his mouth. "Why don't you have any friends, Bella? You've been here two years already." He was still worried she didn't like him and would see his questions as rude and invasive.
She gave no indication as such as she answered. "I just thought it would be easier this way. I enrolled my sophomore year and decided shortly after that I wanted to graduate early. So I took summer classes to get more credits, and now I'm in most of the senior classes. I'm sure you've noticed. I've only got a few more to finish, which I'll do this summer, and then I can apply for college."
Everything she said made sense, but at the same time it didn't. It made sense for an adult, but not for a high school student. He didn't want to push her, but he wanted to understand. "Do you ever feel you are missing out on all the normal high school things, though?"
Bella really looked at him then. Her eyes squinted the tiniest bit, and she pursed her lips while tilting her head to the side. Edward could tell she was trying to figure him out. She let out a breath. "Again, not trying to be rude, but I'm curious. Why do you care, Edward?"
She had called him out, but he didn't mind at all. He rather liked that she was straight to the point. "I don't know," he answered honestly. He didn't know why he cared so much about her. But he knew that he did, more than any other girl. "I see you around all the time. But you're never smiling or anything. I don't see you hanging out with anyone." He looked around to punctuate his point. "It just seems... a little sad. I mean, you should be having fun."
"I suppose," she seemed to be reflecting on his assessment. "But, I don't exactly get along with my peers. I'm just different," she explained, gesturing to herself as if the difference were obvious and able to be seen by looking at her. "The idea of dating and dances and all that stuff seems trivial to me when compared to starting life, you know?" She looked at him and he knew that she was sincere in her explanation.
"I suppose," he echoed her previous response. "I guess I just don't get it. You're a nice girl. You're pretty. No one has asked you out?" He thought she was more than just pretty, and he had wanted to ask her out from the moment he first saw her.
At that question she looked at him like he was just a little bit crazy. "Hello! Police Chief's daughter over here!" She said with a chuckle, pointing her index fingers inwardly at her chest.
He laughed with her, reveling in the moment fearing that her good mood would be gone too quickly. "Yeah, I guess that might scare off some guys." His smile lingered on his face as he watched her shake her head and look off to the side.
"Well, I did actually go out with Mike once shortly after I started here," she confessed with a sigh and a slight smile.
"Newton? Really?" Edward always thought Mike was a tool. He hoped that those weren't the kinds of guys Bella was interested in; tight jeans and pink polo shirts with popped collars.
"Yeah," she said with a roll of her eyes, that beautiful smile was sill across her face. "It was a waste of time. He picked me up. And of course my dad just so happened to be cleaning all his guns that night." She was starting to gesticulate with her hands. Edward had never seen her so animated. He began to think that maybe she wasn't as down as she always appeared. Maybe she just seemed that way while she was focused. But now that he had her wrapped up in conversation, he saw that she was funny and had a lighthearted personality. Bella didn't notice Edward observing her so closely and continued right on with her story. "We were supposed to go to a movie and then dinner. Mike ended up taking me straight to the diner and back home. He walked me to the door and before I could even turn to thank him, he was half way down the driveway!" She finished with a hearty laugh that made her eyes crinkle at the sides and shine through her lashes.
Edward laughed too. "What a puss!" He loved this side of her and made a silent vow to try and bring it out as often as possible.
"I know," she said as she caught her breath. "Ah well, I wasn't really interested in him anyway. I was just trying to be sociable," she explained with a wave of her hand.
Edward felt the conversation going dry, so he decided to start up a new topic. "So where are you going to go for college?"
She looked at him curiously again, but answered without hesitation. "I'm applying to a few places, but I'm hoping to get into Stanford in California." Edward couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He broke out into a huge smile which prompted Bella to ask, "What?"
"That's where I'm going," he answered proudly, sitting up a little bit straighter.
Edward felt a small wave of relief wash over him as she smiled at his revelation. "Really? What's your major?" she asked with a hint of excitement in her voice. It didn't go unnoticed by Edward.
"Medicine," he answered automatically. "I'm going to be a pediatrician." Edward was very proud of his chosen career path. He loved children and had lots of experience with them because his mother often took in foster children.
His statement made her take pause. "That's... impressive."
Edward's reply was short. "I'm not an idiot, Bella." He hated the assumption that just because he played sports he was an imbecile.
Bella's eyes widened in surprise as she answered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way." She reached out to touch his arm to convey her sincerity in the apology. "Like you said, we have pretty much all the same classes. I know you aren't stupid, Edward."
Edward looked down, embarrassed that he had snapped at her. "Sorry. Dumb jock stigma, you know?" he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
Bella nodded. She new all too well about assumptions. "I meant that knowing what you want to do..." She removed her hand from his arm as she contemplated her words. Edward missed her touch instantly. "The surety in your voice and the conviction with which you spoke, that's what was impressive."
Edward didn't know what to say. He was so used to people not taking him seriously. He really liked that she looked past all that and actually listened to him, but he still wanted to know more about her. "Well, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know yet," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders.
He had to laugh at her answer. Here was this beautiful girl, who seemed to have every thing so planned out, but she didn't even know in what direction she was headed. "Then what's the rush?"
She smiled back at him and rolled her eyes at herself. Even she knew that sometimes she was ridiculous. "I don't know. I just... I feel like I want to get started, you know?" She was so passionate when she spoke that Edward would find it very difficult if was forced to look away. "I mean, there's definitely things I'm interested in, but I haven't decided for certain." Because of the way she tilted her head, Edward knew she was thinking about something. He knew that she had more to say, so he remained quiet to let her finish her thought. "And I figure if I screw up and want to change my major, well, then it won't set me back," she finished with a chuckle and a smile.
Edward took a bit long to respond because he just got so lost in her. She was so much more than he had originally seen. He knew there was something about her, but this, her whole effervescent personality had caught him off guard. He finally responded as he cleared his throat hoping in vain that it too would clear his foggy brain. "That makes sense."
If Bella noticed his delay, she didn't let on. "Yeah. My dad says I'm too pragmatic for my own good." She broke eye contact with him then and looked down. Just when he thought he'd been wrong, he saw some of that sadness he'd seen before. "I just don't want him to have to worry about me... more than he does anyhow," she finished with a sigh and began twirling a strand of hair between her fingers.
Edward lowered himself slightly so that he could catch her gaze. And with nothing but compassion he spoke, "Bella, he's your dad. He's always going to worry about you."
She dropped the strand of hair from her fingers. "Oh I know. But I just moved in with him a couple of years ago. He's been used to living alone all this time. I just don't want to burden him." When he didn't respond, she mistook it as a sign that he didn't want to be having this conversation with her. "Sorry, I'm getting too personal. I tend to lack a filter."
Edward didn't want her to worry about sharing things with him. In fact he wanted her to share everything. He wanted to share in her joys and be there to comfort her when needed. He wanted to be the one to whom she turned. This time it was Edward who reached out and made contact, placing his hand over hers. "It's okay. You can talk to me, Bella. I won't tell anyone about your private life."
She smiled and sighed in relief. She had never shared this much with anyone here in Forks. And she wasn't naive enough to believe that secrets were kept in such small towns. But the way Edward looked at her, she trusted him. "Thanks, Edward."
He nodded and with a slight squeeze released his hand from hers. As much as he wanted to keep touching her, he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. The silence stretched between them as Edward tried to think of another topic, but he couldn't stop wondering about this part of her life. He eventually stood feeling their conversation had run it's course.
"Edward?" she spoke his name as she tilted her head again while looking up at him.
"Yeah?" He wasn't sure what she was thinking. He hoped she wasn't going to tell him to leave her alone from now on. He wasn't sure if he could.
"Why did you really come over here and talk to me?" she asked with only innocent curiosity in her voice.
"Because I wanted to." He wanted to be nothing but honest with Bella, so he answered truthfully. "I wanted to talk to you on your first day here. But I guess I was just... unsure of what you thought of me. I didn't think you liked me."
She couldn't understand why he wouldn't talk to her regardless of what she thought. "Edward. You are nothing if not self confident. All the girls here practically hang off of your every move."
He sighed. He wasn't sure how to explain this without sounding like an ass. "Well that's kind of just it. I'm not trying to be conceited, but they just come on to me. You never showed any interest in me, so I didn't know how to approach you," he explained, no accusation in his tone. "But with this being my last year, I just decided to try and at least become your friend." And hope that you wanted more, he thought to himself.
She surprised him again by smiling. "That's sweet, Edward."
This was one of the things he really liked about Bella. She didn't feel the need to talk in circles. And she took compliments without putting herself down in the process. He hadn't planned on asking her out so soon, but he didn't want to waste any more time. "Well, if you ever decide to take a break from studying for a night, maybe I could take you out."
She gave an emphatic nod. "I'd like that."
Edward released the breath that he'd been holding and he smiled wide. "Great. Here's my number." He took the pen she had set down at the beginning of there conversation and wrote his number on her notebook. He knew that she was focused on her studies, and wanted to prove to her that he respected her goals. So he left the decision up to her. "Call me when ever you have some free time." He handed the pen back to her, grazing her fingers as he did so.
Bella only nodded because she didn't trust her voice just yet. Edward thought that he had no affect on her. What he didn't know was that she too had been interested in him from her first day at Forks High. But she had always seen him with his flock of 'seagirls', as she like to call them. She figured that she didn't have a chance.
As she stared at his number she began to realize what Edward had been talking about. It was great that she was doing well in school and graduating early, but she didn't need to devote one hundred percent of her time to school. And honestly, she didn't. She just never did anything else. She was only going to be in Forks for a few years and didn't want to tie herself down here. But maybe she was missing out on something.
Bella circled Edwards number in her notebook before packing up her belongings. Lunch was over and she didn't want to be late. She walked to her next class with a broad smile on her face. She had a feeling that the coming weekend was going to be the most fun she's had in a long time.
A/N: Just something sweet and cute to pass the time. Thank for reading!
Fun fact - I really did go out on a date with a guy in high school where when we reached the door and I looked up, he was walking down the drive way. My dad isn't police, but he's a big guy and can be a little scary when he wants to be. :)