AN: I really hope you like the story. I've written...fourteen chapters so far, but I'll put them up one at a time, right after I get some reviews :) I originally just wrote this as a regular story, but eventually modified it a little to fit the world of Twilight, sans vampires, and with a storyline of my own.

(Since I originally used different names for the characters, I went back and changed them to Edward and Bella and such, so I'm really sorry if I missed any) I also don't have names for the chapters yet, but I might name some of them if some good names come to mind. There are quotes at the beginning of each chapter. They don't have any significance in the story, but it sorta sets you up to read the chapter.

Leave reviews please! Hope you enjoy! :D

Chapter 1

You don't know what you mean to me,

You don't even have a clue,

You can't tell by looking at me what I feel for you.

I sighed and laid my head down on my arm, just thinking. Does he even know that I exist? For months, ever since I realized that I liked Edward, I'd realized just how much people don't notice me. I've worked my entire life so far trying to become invisible, and now that I'd achieved my goal, I wanted the exact opposite! Even though we'd sat together in Math, and had 4 other classes together for the whole semester, Edward hadn't said more than 10 words to me the entire year.

Before I moved to Forks, I really had no reason to try to draw attention to myself. In fact, it was better if I stayed in the shadows, after what had happened during elementary school. Being in the background became a way to protect myself from the other kids. And for the most part, it worked. But now that I wanted some attention, I had no clue how to go about doing it.

When have I ever felt this strongly about a guy? I asked myself. But I knew the answer to that: never. There had never been a time when I saw a guy and my heart skipped a beat. There has never been a time when a guy happened to graze my arm and I felt like I was on fire. But now there has. And now that I've experienced that, I don't think it could ever change. Edward had changed my life, even if he didn't know it. I finally understood all of the old clichés that talk about falling in love, like it's some sort of pit. Now I know that it is a pit. A pit filled with quicksand. If you lose your balance just once and fall in, you can never get out, not until someone forcibly removes you, which almost always will end in a broken heart.

First things first, I need to act more confident. I got up and walked over to the full length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. Like I had read in a book, I rolled my shoulders back, straightened my lower back, and lifted my chin. When I looked back at the mirror, it looked like a cartoon had replaced me. I sighed, and collapsed back onto my bed. This is not going to be easy.

The next morning I got up late, due to the fact that I had tossed and turned till 2am, and then finally got to sleep. When I went into the kitchen I found a note on the counter reading:

Bella,

When you wake up text me, and I'll let you know when

I'll be home. Went to work.

-Mom

I texted my mom and found out that she wasn't going to be home for another 4 hours. Inside sighing with relief, I reassured her that it wasn't a problem. I liked being alone better than with nosy parents. It was easier to get stuff done, like research. So I grabbed a breakfast bar, a cup of coffee, and my laptop, then went and sat on the couch while looking for an article online about confidence. I found numerous articles and websites about how to look and act for confident. One was titled 'Look More Approachable'. I read it, and it seemed exactly what I needed. Now I just had to start trying it out. Basically, I had to look up and around more, not cover my mouth with things, like my hands, and sit up a little straighter, and not look like a dog with its tail between its legs.

What am I doing? I suddenly realized. This is the stupidest and lowest thing I have ever done. No more scheming, I need to just be myself...just a little more outgoing. I pushed the computer away, and decided that the next day in school, I would find a way to say something to Edward. Anything, as long as I could get up the courage to initiate a conversation.

The next morning I got up and went to the kitchen to grab a bowl of cereal before getting ready for school. Surprisingly, my mom was in there making pancakes. An unusual occurrence, but I wasn't about to complain. Mom noticed me, and said, "Hey Bells! I decided that you've been working so hard and doing so well in school that you needed a treat. I know how much you love chocolate chip pancakes." She smiled, and I grinned right back. What a perfect start to the hardest day of my life, I thought. I got the maple syrup out of the fridge and went to sit down at the table. Mom gave me two pancakes, and started eyeing them hungrily. "There's some more if you want them", she said, laughing at my expression.

I laughed, "No, I should be good."

As I started tearing into the pancakes, she looked at me across the table and said, "Anything special happening at school today?" My mind said, Um, hell yeah! I'm about to try to get the guy of my dreams to notice me! That's pretty dang special to me! But I didn't say that. If I said that, my mom would go crazy.

So instead I said, "Nah. Nothing special."

"Okay, then," she replied, "I'm off to work. See you when I get home."

"Alrighty. Bye!" I called after her.

I voraciously finished my pancakes and put my dishes in the sink. I'll do them when I get home, I decided. Going to my room to ponder over what to wear, I tripped over a dog bone, as I did a lot. My dog, Diva, never bothered to be nice and put them away. Grimacing at my toe, which was now throbbing, I hobbled over to my bed, hoping it would stop before I had to leave. While sitting there, I stared at my closet, thinking about what to wear today. I needed to feel at least a little more confident than usually today, so I picked one of my favorite outfits: flats, my tighter, but stretchy pair of jeans, a purple peasant shirt, and a black cardigan over it. With the pain in my toe slightly abated, I got dressed and looked in the mirror.

The girl who stared back at me didn't look like the inhibited introvert I see every morning, but neither did it look like a self-assured bitch. I liked it. It was exactly what I needed to see this morning. This, and every other morning. As I put on my slight touches of makeup that I do nearly every morning, I decided that I looked as good as I was gonna get this morning. Mentally preparing myself for the day ahead, I looked one final time in the mirror, then walked out the door, heading for where the bus stopped every morning. Waiting for the bus, alone, I thought about the day ahead. I suddenly started shaking. I don't think I can do this. But then, I pictured Edward's face, then other kid's faces, watching their eyes as they slid right past me to the person beside me. My doubt vanished, and I stepped onto the bus after its squealing brakes had done their job, ready to face whatever came.