Disclaimer- all characters sadly belongs to the one and only Stephanie Meyer!

Hi everyone! I know that I am no where near finished with my first story Just a Boy and that I have been relatively poor with updating, however, this story has been buzzing around my mind for a while and I have a desperate need to get it out there. I will be alternating updates between this story and Just a Boy, but I promise to keep on top of it all- it is my New Year's resolution! The next update for Just a Boy will be tomorrow.

My story is named after Demi Lovato's song 'Confident'. Not only does this apply to Edward and his confidence in his skills both on and off the field (and I'm not talking about football) but this is also about to Bella. I have written down a number of conversations between Edward and Bella, and in this story, Bella is a strong, independent woman, who will not be easily swayed by Edward. Please review and tell me what you think! Hope you enjoy…

Chapter 1

Edward Cullen drummed his fingers against the driving wheel of his precious silver Volvo impatiently. The sooner he got to school, the sooner he could leave- and that was all that mattered.

He knew it was extremely cliché to complain about High School, but he couldn't seem to give a fuck. Forks High was a hellhole, filled with small town hicks with very narrow outlooks on life. 1 out of 5 people would leave Forks after graduation but usually only go to U of W. The remaining percentage either find a dead end job in the local diner or Newton's Olympic Outfitters and/or get knocked up by their High School Sweetheart and get married.

Edward did not, under any circumstances want to end up like any of these people. He wanted to make something of his life, preferably away from this Shitsville. That's why he applied to colleges far, faraway, his top being the prestigious Dartmouth.

Edward had been working his ass off for a scholarship there for as long as he could remember. He had been playing the piano since he was seven years old and the guitar for half as long. He was also the captain and star quarterback of the schools football team, and co-captain of the baseball team alongside his best friend Jasper Whitlock.

Thinking about Jasper made him beep the horn for a third time. He gritted his teeth wishing that he had never agreed to pick Jazz up for school for the next several weeks. Jazz's beloved motorcycle was at the garage at the moment... something about the breaks being faulty.

He and Jazz had been best friends since the start of middle school when Jasper had first moved from Texas. Edward had beat up Tyler Crowley after hearing him torment the new kid over his 'stupid accent'. From that moment they had been inseparable.

Edward Cullen and Japer Whitlock were incredibly popular amongst the students of Forks High. They were admired by the girls for their good looks and envied by the boys for their status in terms of sporting achievement.

Edward knew he was good looking; he with his bronze hair and emerald green eyes that he had inherited from his mother, and sharp jaw line and tall stature from his father. He wasn't dim.

He often used his looks to his advantage: he was a seventeen-year-old boy after all. He wasn't as bad as Jasper though. His shaggy blonde haired friend had been with three girls this week alone. Right now he was currently "dating" the new foreign exchange student Maria. God knows how long that was going to last.

Finally Jazz jumped into the Volvo, his blue eyes narrowed as he saw the irritated look on his friend's face.

"Oh for God's sake Edward, it's not like you love school" Jasper rolled his eyes, throwing his backpack in the back seat.

"Fuck off, it's like waiting for a goddamn girl to get ready."

Jasper flipped him off, turning the stereo up.

"Seriously?" he huffed as Clair de Lune filtered through the speakers.

"Better than fucking Taylor Swift" Edward muttered, prompting Jasper to turn a violent red.

"That was one time, and she's fucking hot!" Jasper argued.

"I prefer brunettes"

"You weren't saying that when Kate was sucking you off under the bleachers last week."

Edward didn't have anything to say to that, so he just shrugged.

"You taking Maria out tonight?"

Jasper smirked at his friend's quick change of subject but didn't comment "Yep. We're going to Bella Italia."

Edward quirked a brow "You like this one then?" If Jasper took his dates to the Diner that usually meant that he was hoping for a quickie in the car. A visit to Port Angeles meant that Maria would be another one of his two-week girlfriends.

"What can I say? I love an accent" Jasper waggled his eyebrows, leading the two to laugh in hysterics.

Edward pulled into Forks car park, driving past the rusty old vehicles of his classmates. His shining Volvo was the most impressive one here, rivaled only by…

"Here they come" Jasper stated, eyes on a cherry red BMW M3.

The Swan-Hale sisters parked directly in front on the Volvo. Jasper and Edward stayed in the car wanting to covertly watch the girls get out, hidden behind the tinted glass.

Rosalie got out first. Rose resembled that of a Victoria Secret model with her long golden hair falling like a waterfall down her back, framing her doll-like face. She was tall, with an athletic body that brought all the boys to their knees. Her mile long legs were encased in light blue jeans. Tall brown high heeled boots matching her tan leather jacket.

Her boyfriend Emmett McCarty who played alongside Edward in the football team quickly joined her. Emmett was massive, with a broad muscular frame and bulging arms. His face contradicted his body however, as it seemed almost childlike with his baby blue eyes and dimples. He was a nice guy but a bit of a prankster. Everyone was really surprised when they found out the class clown had pulled the Ice Queen at the end of last year.

It wasn't Rosalie who held Edward's attention however. It was her older sister… the car door flung open and a black converse popped out. Edward released a long sigh watching the brunette beauty stand. Yes, Rosalie was beautiful but Isabella was stunning.

Isabella's looks were reminiscent of a classic movie star era. She had huge dark eyes, framed with incredibly long lashes. Her chocolate hair was shiny and lush, set in large curls to the mid of her back and cupid bow lips which Edward wanted to kiss, lick and suck. Isabella Swan was an absolute heartbreaker.

Although she was wearing a simple ensemble consisting of a pair of ripped black jeans, fitted white v-neck t-shirt and chucks– she carried it off like a fucking supermodel.

The trio walked towards the school, not paying attention to any of the idiots who had stopped to stare.

"Dude you're drooling" Jasper chuckled, causing Edward to break his gaze away from Isabella's magnificent ass.

She's fucking spectacular.

"I just don't get why you haven't tapped that yet," Jasper said, getting out of the car.

Edward shook his head, grabbing his bag before following Jasper. It wasn't for lack of trying. Edward had been obsessed with Isabella since she moved to Forks at the start of last year. But every time he tried talking to her he would just lose his wording. He, Edward Cullen, notorious player and smooth talker became an absolute idiot in her presence.

"She's not my type," he said, hoping if he kept telling himself that, it would somehow come true.

Jasper nearly pissed himself "Get over yourself Eddie, you've been gone over this girl since the moment you saw her."

"Fine! She scares the ever-living shit out of me! Plus she is way too fucking cool for anyone around here."

It was true.

Isabella Swan was the definition of the word. She was really smart too - probably his only competition for Valedictorian later this year. The girl was definitely going places. She was in all his advanced classes, including music. She could play the guitar, which was a real fucking turn on. She didn't play all the shitty stuff from the charts either. She was more into the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

She didn't hang round with the 'popular crowd' like Mike Newton and Lauren Mallory either, despite being asked to when she first arrived. She either kept to herself reading classic books like The Great Gatsby and The Count of Monte Cristo, or she would talk to Rosalie and Emmett who were in the year below.

When the girls first came, there had been a lot of gossip about them. Apparently, Rosalie was the daughter of Phil Dwyer (Isabella's stepfather) from his first marriage. The last name 'Hale' was her mother's maiden name who had died of cancer when Rosalie was very young. She changed her name as soon as she was allowed to.

Renee, Isabella's mom and Phil were killed in a car accident the summer before junior year leaving Rosalie an orphan and Bella motherless. Chief Swan became a hero to the people of Forks, as he not only took his daughter in but also his ex-wife's stepdaughter.

People learnt when Isabella and Rosalie came to Forks not to show their sympathy openly as it didn't bode well with either of them. They did not welcome pity. Everyone soon kept away from the elusive sisters and they were labeled the Ice Queens of Forks High.

"You are such a pussy," Jasper snorted.

"Fuck off"

"Just go for it!"

"No. I do not need Isabella Swan" Edward said snootily.

"You're afraid of rejection," Jasper taunted.

"Am not" I so fucking am.

"Fine, proving it wont be an issue then. I bet you couldn't get into Isabella's pants by the end of the month."

"And what do I get out of this?" Edward grumbled.

"The pleasure of having sex with Isabella and saying I told you so."

Edward's eyes narrowed "I get to drive the motorcycle when it's fixed."

Jasper wavered a little "O-okay. But if I win you got to pay for the repairs."

That would be all of Edward's savings, but the challenge in Jasper's eyes and further encouragement to pursue the beautiful Swan girl spurred him on.

"It's a bet."

…

Edward was both delighted and nervous when he walked to into AP Biology and found himself placed next to Isabella Swan.

"Alright class," Dr Banner called out "these are your lab partners for the rest of the year. I'm going to give you each a worksheet reviewing what we did last year. Please work independently."

Edward rubbed his sweaty palms against his jeans, and discreetly sniffed his shirt hoping he smelt okay.

Smelling the expensive clone pushed his confidence and he turned to his gorgeous lab partner.

Wow. She was even more exquisite up close.

There wasn't a blemish on her porcelain skin, and she had a faint dusting of freckles across her arms. His mom Esme used to call them kisses from angels when he was young.

"H-hey" Edward said, internally cursing his stutter.

Isabella turned to face him, and his breath got stuck in his throat when he looked into her chocolate eyes that were flecked with gold.

"Hi" she said, smiling slightly.

She smiled at me.

You my friend are an absolute goner.

"I'm Edward Cullen," he stated, flashing a crooked smile.

"Oh I know who you are Edward Cullen" she said his name almost mockingly.

"Oh?"

"Yes, your reputation precedes you" she snickered, turning back to the worksheet.

"So maybe it would be a bad time to…"

"Yes"

"Yes?"

"Yes it is a bad time to ask me out and no I will not go out with you."

Edward stared at her slack jawed, shocked that she had actually full out rejected him. Yes, he expected it, but receiving it was a totally different story.

Coughing, he regained his composure, before pulling up a calm and collected façade.

"Who said I was going to ask you out?"

Isabella didn't bother looking up, instead choosing to continue her worksheet. Edward found himself silently impressed at the easy and rapid way she answered the questions that remained blank on his own sheet.

"Well number one, you sniffed your shirt before you talked to me, suggesting that you want to impress me,"

"How…" Edward was sure he had done it subtly and she was not looking.

"Number two," she continued ignoring his question "you smiled the 'grin' that you flash to all the girls as if their panties are going to fall off,"

Was it bad that he got hard when she said the word 'panties'?

"And lastly your voice was trembling when you were about to ask me something, implying you were nervous leading me to the definite conclusion that you were about to ask me out. The answer being no."

She pushed away her worksheet away with a flourish, all questions answered, and an expectant look on her face.

Remember when he said she was smart? He takes it back. She's a fucking genius.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Isabella asked, boredom taking over her features.

"Give me three reasons why won't you go out with me."

"I could give you twenty," she countered.

"I'm sure three will suffice." He said through gritted teeth.

"Well okay… You're cruel for one."

"I'm not cruel!" Edward cried, offended.

"Don't give me that. I see how you treat poor people like Ben Cheney and Eric Yorkie in the hallway."

Edward snorted; they were hardly worth his time. They were a bunch of pathetic geeks who didn't have the balls to stand up to him.

At this, almost as she could read his mind, a fierce look took over Isabella's angelic features, prompting Edward to curl within himself.

"Don't laugh at me Edward Cullen. They are real people with real feelings. If you were a decent person you would offer the same amount of respect that you yourself believe you should be given."

Besides being scared, Edward found himself even more attracted to her than he did prior to this conversation. God, she is sexy when she is mad.

"Anything else?" Edward questioned, wanting to see the fire burn even brighter in her doe eyes.

"You dumped your latest squeeze last week."

"Keeping check on me Swan?" he flirted.

"You seem to be a hot commodity in the slut brigade Mr. Cullen. Not that I really understand that. You drop girls as though they are dirty tissues. You totally disregard their feelings."

Edward brushed this off. He knew that he treated girls badly but he wasn't that bad… was he?

"You think the world revolves around you. You think you are better than everyone here. You maybe the captain of the football team and baseball team, and you may have the admiration of the school and yes, you may be absurdly good looking, but in the real world Edward Cullen, no one is going to give a shit if you are popular."

This hit Edward hard in the chest. He knew she was right. But he desperately wanted to show her how she was wrong. This beautiful fiery girl had just seen right through him just by watching him, and that rubbed him up the wrong way.

"Everything okay here?" Dr Banner questioned, breaking up the tense atmosphere abruptly.

"Fine sir" Isabella replied, her distantly polite tone returning. Edward already missed the passion that was in her voice. Even though it was negatively pointed at him.

"Mr. Cullen, you better get to work. We have five minutes left and you haven't even started."

"Yes sir" Edward said agitated.

The partners sat in silence as Edward completed his work. How the hell was he going to win this bet when the girl absolutely hated him?

When the buzzer finally went, signaling the end of the lesson Isabella stood, picking up her books quickly. When she went to leave however, Edward put his hand around her wrist in an attempt to stop her.

Neither missed the sudden bolt of electricity that ran from their touch, warming them to their toes. They froze, eyes locked.

"Let me prove you wrong" Edward whispered, holding her gaze.

Isabella shook her head "See you around Edward."

She pulled her wrist from his hand and walked through the door.

He hated watching her leave. But how he loved to watch her go.