Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Ahoy there, maties! Bings here, with a whole new story of my own creation.
I hope there's never been a story like this on fanfiction, I like thinking of this story as an original. :D
I apologize in advance if this first chapter sucks. I guarantee the next chapter will keep you on your toes. Give it a chance.
A teensy warning: there will be course language. There will also be sadness in the chapters to come, trust me. So there. I warned you. :D
Enjoy this first chapter of I Want To Hold Your Hand. :)
BELLA POV
"You would know, Ali, that I'm not always uptight! I can live a little." I said, crossing my arms over my chest and looking at her defiantly.
I was currently hanging out with my best friend, Alice Cullen, in her ginormous mansion. We had originally planned a fun day at the beach, considering it was summer. However, due to the incessant pouring rain, we were trapped inside her lovely estate with nothing do to but watch rom-coms. I wasn't surprised. It was constant gloom and doom in the small town of Forks, Washington.
The rom-coms were actually kind of a routine thing. There were definitely more things we could do, but settling down on one of the comfy couches in Alice's theatre room drinking ice-cold Coca Cola from a glass bottle, holding a bowl of popcorn in my lap and watching a romantic comedy wasn't all that bad. Usually I claimed that romantic movies were garbage and never true, but I was secretly a sucker for that 'happy ending' thing.
A little more about me: I'm Isabella Marie Swan, but I prefer going by Bella. I'm 5'4" with long, straight brown hair, pale skin and brown eyes. I've never been into sports, but I have a petite figure (although I'm more on the soft side than the toned one).
I've been cursed with being exceptionally clumsy. I read old English Literature for fun, I've never had a boyfriend and I have a bit of a temper. At school, I'm not regarded as a nerd, but I'm not exactly popular either. I love Italian food and hate the sight, smell and thought of blood. Overall, I'm a pretty simple, normal girl, right?
Alice, on the other hand, could not be more different. She's loud, playful and obsessed with clothes. She has short, jet-black hair and bright blue eyes. She's 5'2" and even more petite than I am, but she manages to pull it off. She has the grace and poise of a ballerina.
She shops for fun, she has a lot more dating experience than I do and she could not be more carefree and outgoing. She's naturally hyper and energetic, and bounces off the walls from time to time. She's stylish and rich, and would very much fit in with the popular crowd, but she prefers me, oddly enough. I love her like a sister.
My statement earlier (about not being uptight and being able to live a little) was in retaliation to Alice telling me that I in fact, was a little uptight and did not know how to 'live it up'. We were debating whether or not we should go to Mike Newton's party next week. I was all for not going.
"Did I just hear Bella Swan saying that she could 'live a little'?"
A male voice sounded from behind us, and I turned to glare at the source of the words.
"Fuck off, Edward. Don't you have a blonde bimbo to screw the brains out of?" I retorted, huffing and turning around to stare at the colossal flat-screen television where Easy A was playing.
Did I mention Alice has an arrogant, self-centered, pig-headed, overconfident, womanizing, and altogether sexy-as-hell brother named Edward?
"Her name is Tanya, and I just did." He replied. Alice wrinkled her nose in disgust at the same time I did. We were equally as revolted when it came to Edward's sexual escapades. How he managed to string along the three most popular girls in our school at the same time was a mystery. A repulsing mystery that we did not want to solve.
"I was escorting Tanya out of my house, when I heard your unpleasant guffaw coming from the basement." He explained casually.
I whipped my head back around to glare at him again. "My guffaw is not as unpleasant as the STDs you have crawling around in your pants." I responded, giving him a fake smile.
Alice put her hand over her mouth as she giggled.
"Actually, I don't have STDs. You're just jealous because you want to get into my pants, but I would never stoop as low as to sleep with you." He said matter-of-factly.
I gaped at him. "Wait a minute. What makes you think that I would stoop as low as to even think about sleeping with you?" I demanded. "You're a disgusting, pig-headed, egotistical jerk. You'd sleep with anything, as long as it had tits, a vagina and no brain."
"Wrong, Bella. I wouldn't sleep with you. Not that you actually have tits. The vagina is also questionable. The no-brain part you got right about yourself." He walked over and grabbed a handful of popcorn out of the bowl in my lap.
I didn't reply. If he heard my voice wavering, he would know how much his words actually hurt.
Alice however, did know. She got up and poked him hard in the shoulder. "Wow, Edward. You really are a jerk. Please get the hell out of the basement and leave us alone." She snapped, glaring daggers at him. Edward followed her orders obediently, and she slammed the door behind his back.
Something I knew about Edward, he hated offending Alice. If she asked him to do something, he would do it. Of all the people walking on the earth, Alice and their parents, Carlisle and Esme Cullen, meant the world to him. And despite his love for them, he was never good at making them happy.
Alice sighed and looked after him in disappointment before looking at me sadly. Her one wish was for her fraternal twin brother and myself to get along with each other. I smiled at her softly. It wasn't her fault that Edward and I just couldn't be in the same vicinity without trying to tear one another's throat out.
"Don't worry Bella." Alice said. "He didn't mean it. You do have boobs. We all saw them at mine and Edward's thirteenth birthday party, remember?" She reminisced, smiling.
I looked at her incredulously and picked up one of the couch cushions to hide my mortified, cherry-red face.
"You had to remind me?" I asked her, my voice muffled from the cushion.
"Well, no, but it was funny!"
"I'm glad that you find one of the most humiliating times of my life hilarious. And wasn't that your brother's idea of a joke?" I asked, removing the cushion from my face.
"Yeah. Untying your bikini top while the photos were being taken. The boy was a monster."
"Is a monster." I corrected her.
We had one of those nice, sharing sisterly smiles moments before the door opened and Edward re-entered the room, coming to stand in front of us.
"I thought I told you to leave us alone." Alice said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. An eyebrow was raised and her glare was challenging. I shrunk back into the couch; angry-Alice was a scary Alice.
Edward raised his arms in defense. "I came back to apologize." He replied, shuffling his feet and looking guilty.
He looked at me. "Sorry for what I said about you having no tits. You clearly do, and I know it because-"
"Because of yours and Alice's thirteenth birthday party. Yeah yeah." I said, rolling my eyes.
"And I'm sorry for questioning your vagina. I know you have one-"
"Because you pantsed me at my 7th birthday party, accidentally taking down my underwear too." I finished for him again.
"And you're the smartest girl in our grade, if not the whole school. I know this because-"
"I stayed up with you on the phone all night one time to help you finish the biggest English essay we had in grade 9." I finished. Edward smiled at me brightly.
Alice raised her eyebrows curiously. She didn't know about that one time because I never told her. If I did, she would ask me why I helped him and I would have to admit to her that I had a teensy crush on him in grade 9. That was before he turned into being both an asshole and a womanizer.
"So can I join you guys now that I've apologized?" Edward asked Alice, smiling softly.
Alice scrutinized him a little more before nodding curtly. "But say another mean thing to Bella and you and your penis are going to be in a lot of pain." She told him, narrowing her eyebrows.
Edward nodded. "I won't." He replied, sitting on the loveseat close to me.
And so the three of us sat in silence, watching Emma Stone or Olive, sing the song "Knock on Wood". Edward was a little wide-eyed, and I could tell he found her little outfit and dance totally hot. Well Emma Stone is awesome. I couldn't blame him.
When we neared the part where she was finishing the v-log, Edward was just as outraged as the boys in the movie that she didn't do any sexual acts in front of the camera. Alice and I looked at each other in amusement and shook our heads.
Then came the part when Woodchuck Todd arrived outside of Olive's house on his neighbour's lawnmower, blasting the oldies song "Don't You Forget About Me".
If I was looking at the screen longingly, I didn't know it. I just wished a guy would do something as romantic as that for me. I was totally into that John Hughes-style 80s romance as well.
"Oh come on, don't tell me you actually like that shit?" Edward asked, studying my expression and grinning.
I blushed. "I don't. It's a load of horse crap. Especially since guys like you exist in the world." I replied, feeling sorry for humanity.
Edward looked at me incredulously. "Guys like me?"
"Guys who don't believe in romance. Guys who believe in having sex without involving feelings, rather than doing it with someone they actually care about. Guys who-"
"I get it." Edward interrupted me, rolling his eyes. "Guys who have actual brains and don't fall for that mushy crap."
"No. Guys whose brains are in their dicks and while yes, they don't fall for that mushy stuff, it's because they're too afraid of putting their hearts out there and getting hurt. If you ask me, guys like that are dickhead wimps who will never get anywhere in life." I replied, staring straight into his beautiful green eyes.
Beautiful? Not beautiful. I meant nasty, mushy, dirty garbage-looking eyes.
Edward shook his head. "I feel sorry for you, Bella. You think you know guys like me? You don't. You never will. You just run around making ridiculous assumptions, ridiculous excuses as to why guys will never fall in love with you. You're pathetic." He told me, getting up from his seat and leaving the basement.
Alice didn't say anything, or even look at me for that matter. She busied herself in studying the thread count of the cushion in her lap.
I got up. "I'm just going to go now." I said, leaving the basement and running out of the house and to my rusty red pickup truck. I hopped in and slammed the door, breathing heavily. My 'assumptions' were not ridiculous; they were accurate. And no one was 'in love' with me because I never gave them the chance to get to know me.
I looked up to see Edward smirking on his front porch.
I climbed out of my truck again and strode up to him angrily. "You're an asshole." I told him, wanting to smack the stupid smirk off of his perfect face.
"Oh, I'm mortally wounded by your harsh words Bella." He said sarcastically. "Tell me something I haven't heard before."
"To think I actually thought you were cool when we were small." I exclaimed incredulously.
Edward raised an eyebrow at me. "I was. I still am, it's just you who's uncool."
"Oh please." I responded, narrowing my eyebrows at his complacent face.
"What happened to you, Bella? You used to be so careless, so free, so fun." He said, studying my face carefully. "You're different now."
No shit, Sherlock. "People change, Edward. I was five. We're older now, and I just happened to mature a little. Unlike you." I replied, sitting down on one of the front steps of the house.
He sat down beside me and knocked my knee softly with his own. "You're mature enough for all three of us. We're still teenagers, we deserve to have fun while we can. I'm just taking advantage of my life while its possible. You should too."
"Just because I'm not screwing around with people doesn't mean I'm not taking advantage of my life." I retorted, stretching my legs out. I blushed a little when I noticed Edward checking them out.
"You're not taking advantage of your life, Bella. You're sitting around reading books and hiding away from the world." He said, leaning in close. I felt my heart skip a beat. "You need to screw around with people once in a while." He leaned in closer until our lips were almost touching.
My breath was coming out in short gasps and my heart was beating erratically. Was Edward Cullen about to kiss me? "What if I don't want to just 'screw around'?" I whispered, staring into his sparkly emerald eyes.
"Screwing around is the best part, Bella dear." He whispered back, his lips almost brushing mine. I closed my eyes, wrong answer.
"Well then, you should screw off." I replied, scooting away from him. I shouldn't have expected anything more. "Seriously, Edward? I'm not stupid. I'm not going to be another one of your little playthings, and I'm most definitely not going to 'screw around' with you." I looked at him in disgust before getting up and walking away.
"One day, Bella. You wait, you can't resist my charms forever!" Edward called after my retreating back. I could almost picture the contemptuous look on his face.
"Get over yourself." I muttered, clambering into my truck and driving off.
~.x.~
EDWARD POV
I watched Bella's truck drive away, a small grin on my face.
Alice and I grew up with her since we were all 4 years old. That was the year her mother left her and her father, Charlie, here in Forks. I still remember sitting outside of Alice's bedroom door listening to a four year old Bella wail about how her mother hated her and Charlie, and was never coming back.
I stood up and turned around to see Alice standing behind me.
"You almost kissed her." She hissed furiously, her arms crossed and her face livid.
"Relax, Alice. Do you really think I would actually kiss Bella?" I asked her, incredulous. Good thing I was such a good actor because this was actually kind of embarrassing.
"Yes, I do. I mean why wouldn't you? She's beautiful, smart, witty. All the things you secretly like in a girl." She replied, looking at me pointedly.
I shrugged. "I already have three of them. And even if they aren't as smart, beautiful and witty, they have a whole lot more going for them."
Alice laughed sarcastically. "Like what? Surgically enhanced tits and round asses? Puh-lease. I know you may be satisfied down there, but secretly you're craving more on a different level." She said knowingly.
I shook my head in amazement. "You really think you know what I want." I replied. It was more of a statement than it was a question.
"I don't think, Edward, I know. I'm your twin, remember? I know it sounds like a load of bull crap, but we have this freaky bond. I think it's called twin-telepathacity, or something."
"Telepathy, Alice." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose, a habit that only surfaced when I was frustrated or agitated.
"Well yeah, we have that. So I know things." Alice said, narrowing her eyes at me.
"Whatever. Are you done your rant?" I asked her tiredly.
"Not quite." She answered, standing firmly in her place. "Bella is an amazing, genuine, sweet, intelligent, innocent girl. You should know that, since the three of us grew up together since we were four." She reminded me. "If you want her for more than just sex, I won't stop you. If you really like her, first you need to drop the three muskawhores."
I shook my head and pushed past Alice into our house.
"Second, you need to get to know her, and she needs to get to know you." Alice continued.
"She already knows me, Alice." I replied, walking up the white marble staircase to my room. Alice followed me up.
"I know she knows you. I meant, get her to really know you. What you like, how you play the piano, what you don't like, stuff like that. Get her to know you the way I do. The sensitive, talented, sweet guy, who's hiding behind an ugly mask because he's secretly afraid of the world. We still have our last year of high school, Edward; you can change a lot in a year."
I sighed and turned to face my younger twin. "Alice, sorry if I'm letting you down, but I don't want Bella. Not on a sexual level, not on the friendship level, not on any level. We both know that she hates my guts, and I hate hers, and that's working just fine. Now I appreciate you helping me, but I don't need it." I told her, going into my bedroom and shutting the door before she could get a word in.
"You're right, Edward." Alice said angrily from outside my door. "She deserves better than you. You'll always be that horrible, immature guy who's too afraid to put his heart out there. You know, I really thought that you could be a good guy for a change. That you could make our parents happy for once. But I guess not."
I heard the tears in Alice's voice, so I opened my door to talk to her, but she was gone.
I sighed and sat on my bed, holding my head in my hands. I couldn't figure out what Alice wanted, what our parents wanted.
Or what I wanted.
If you're enjoying this so far, I ask you to please leave a review! Reviews motivate me to write (and update chapters sooner). ;)
If you're into trying out new things, like I am, try out my story A Teacher of Sorts. You don't know if you'll like it until you try.
Yours, as always,
x-Bings.