If It Kills Me
Bella and Emmett are forced to live together by their mothers after their friends back out on them at the last minute. Will their close quarters bring them closer or make them hate each other even more?
I sighed, throwing a big box onto the floor of my room. "That's the last of it."
"Oh, I can't believe they're growing up so fast," Esme gushed.
"I know. Seems like just yesterday we were changing their diapers," my mom returned, while Charlie and Carlisle rolled their eyes.
The whole time we were moving into this apartment in Los Angeles, I was shaking with rage and annoyance. Despite our mothers being happy, I did not want to move in with Emmett fucking McCarty, and the only reason I had to share this two-bedroom with him was because Jessica backed out on me, Edward backed out on him, and our mothers just thought it was the perfect solution. We both disagreed, but after they pointed out it was the only way to go through with our college careers at USC, we decided to go with the apartment Jess and I chose because it was bigger. Although it was only by a little, we'd definitely need any amount of extra space we could get.
"Hey, we're sophomores in college. I think we can handle it," Emmett told Esme, and I reluctantly agreed.
"He's right. I mean, dorm life is a lot different than this, but we'll be fine."
"Totally."
After a few minutes of our parents chatting with us, they decided it'd be best if they left, seeing as they wanted to make it back to Forks and get some rest before they all went back to work on Monday. Emmett and I both knew they just didn't want to help finish unpacking. We said our goodbyes, and as soon as they left, I headed to my room to start tearing apart boxes. The only things I had set up in there were my bed, nightstand, and dresser, and I sighed at the long weekend I had ahead of me.
By the end of the day, I had all my pictures set up, my laptop unboxed and charging on my nightstand, and all my clothes hung up in the closet and folded in the drawers. After deciding to finish it up tomorrow, I headed out to the living room, the only thing separating my bedroom from Emmett's. I rolled my eyes as I saw him unpacking his things. I didn't know why I had to live with him. I'd much rather have just found some random stranger and taken my chances with whoever it may be because Emmett was that bad. He was the quarterback for the Trojans, a womanizer at the mere age of nineteen, and a smart ass. Okay, well, I was a smart ass, too, but he was also a total jerk to me. At least I tried to be civil sometimes. Even though Esme and Renee had been friends since they met at daycare when we were two, Emmett and I hadn't been friends since we were ten. We were just too different, especially in high school and especially now. I was an English major who'd only dated two guys and rarely partied. No matter what, we'd always be complete opposites.
After going through the kitchen and realizing we had no food, I walked up to his doorway. I watched for a minute as he pulled out a few books (who knew he actually could read?) then made my presence known.
"Hey, do you wanna split a pizza?" I asked him, trying to be nice.
"Are you paying?" His blue eyes shot up to meet mine in a way that told me I shouldn't be anywhere near his room.
"I said split for a reason."
"Yeah, whatever." He threw a ten at me, and I grabbed it, heading back to my room to call the pizzeria.
An hour later, I was starving. I forgot how long it took to get any type of delivery in LA, and I was on the verge of regret when a knock came to our door.
"I've got a delivery for Swan," a guy's voice called through the door, and I opened it, taking the pizza and handing him the cash before closing the door right back.
I put the box on the kitchen counter and yelled to Emmett that the food was here. He was already strutting out of his room, an annoyed look on his face.
"This apartment is so small, remember? I could hear the knock on the door," he snapped.
"Just trying to be a good roommate." I threw a paper plate at him.
"Do you mean cellmate? Having to live with you seems more like a prison sentence."
"You didn't have to agree to this," I pointed out, my temper flaring within me.
"Dorm life sucked, and yeah, this is only a little step up, but at least I can bring back girls here after midnight and drink beer in my own room."
I let out a scoff of disgust. "You're a pig."
He just laughed before biting into the pizza and going to his room. Why me?
The next day, I finished unpacking the rest of my boxes in record time then headed into the kitchen to unload the dishes and silverware we'd brought. When that was done, I unpacked a few photos our parents had given us for the living room and placed them on the top shelf of the entertainment center right below the wall-mounted flat screen. Hours later, the entire house, apart from Emmett's room, was boxless and organized, giving the small apartment a cozy feel. I sighed contentedly, flipping on the TV, and as I was searching for a channel to watch, a tall, blonde guy came walking through our door without any warning.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" I asked, a little freaked out as Emmett walked out of his bedroom.
"Jasper," he said in a southern accent, and I felt like falling into his gorgeous green eyes.
"He's a teammate," Emmett elaborated to me in a monotone, then turned to Jasper and gave him a man-hug. "How've ya been, bro?"
I rolled my eyes, flipped off the TV, grabbed my phone, and headed out to our balcony, calling up my best friend, who was sadly three time zones away at fucking NYU for fashion design.
"Hey, Alice, it's Bella. I so wish you were here. I know it's like two in the morning over there, and you're probably asleep, so just call me when you get a chance. Love you!"
I hung up the phone, staring out at the Los Angeles skyline as I wallowed in hate and willed time to go back, find Jessica, and bring her here in exchange for the beast in my living room. Tapping my phone against the palm of my hand, I decided to go inside and double check to see if I had everything for the start of my classes next week. As I walked into my room, I heard Emmett mumble to Jasper something along the lines of, "If I didn't hate her so much, I probably would thank the heavens I was living with a girl."
Jasper's drawl carried easily through the walls as he replied, "At least she's hot."
Emmett snorted loudly. "Bella Swan is not hot."
Ouch. I couldn't deny the fact I'd probably say the same thing, though. I plugged my earphones in and turned my iPod on to drown out the sounds of their voices as they bounced around the small apartment. After writing down all the two books and a few supplies I'd need for school, I tried to go to sleep, missing my bedroom back in Forks more than ever now that two obnoxious boys were playing video games in my living room.
A/N: I hope you guys will enjoy this story! I know this is a short chapter, but it's only the first! Review, maybe? Pretty please and thank you for reading!