Don't Call Me Bella
Author's Note: Okay, so this is my new story... It's a little different (at least I think, I'm not really sure if anyone has anything similar up right now.) In a slightly more detailed summary - Bailey Caruthers is a seventeen year old girl in her senior year of high school living a completely normal life with her dysfunctional family, and a school screaming fan girls that she can't relate to. All she wants is to graduate and get out of her sleepy town and into college - every spare minute of her life is spent either praying that she'll be able to pull off a scholarship and cover her college tutition, or working to try and make it into a reality. But when a strange and irritatingly familiar boy shows up in her life insisting that she's a character in 'the apple book' that her friends are always trying to convince her to read, how can she get back to reality and get him to stop calling her 'Bella'? - Overkill? Shrug. Tell me what you think:
"You know what you have to do to save them." the kind voice said sweetly. "The law claims them, and this time, no one else can come to the rescue."
I felt the blood draining from my face as I watched the love of my life laughing from afar and my best friend rolling around on the grass with a beautiful little girl giggling atop his chest. MY little girl. The one I could never have fathomed existing. The one that never would. The pain snuck through the awe that clouded my mind.
It seemed to sense the direction of my thoughts, adding hurriedly, "Of course, your young one will be safe. Your shifters have made no infringement on our laws, and it is clear that she belongs with them…" he drifted off hesitantly as if concerned by that fact.
"Okay." I replied shakily, my voice barely audible.
"I'm sorry?" it asked politely thought it had heard perfectly clear.
"I'll do it… for them … for Edward and Jacob … for her…" I wasn't sure if the last word was heard, or if I had simply mouthed it but it seemed to be accepted.
"If you are sure." It mused. I could almost hear the smile in the voice, but I didn't care. How could I possibly care with my future crashing down on me before I had a chance to get to it?
"Well, pleasant dreams, dear Isabella." it whispered.
And then the gray sky and the trees melted in with the grass, russet skin fading into the background with two bronze streaks blending into the mixture before the world went black. And I lost the battle I hadn't even been aware I was fighting.
And for once there was no chance of a happy ending.
* * *
"Bailey." an impatient voice said, trying to get my attention. I had been ignoring it for about five minutes. Another few wouldn't hurt.
"I know that you can hear me, Bailey."
Really. Now can you tell that I'm ignoring you? I thought, pressing my pencil against the Biology packet our science teacher had assigned the night before.
"Come on, Bailey, you can do your homework during lunch." She whined.
No, I'm sure that you'll come up with something else that you 'absolutely MUST' talk to me about by then.
"BAILEY!"
"Shhh!" I looked up to see the librarian scolding my best friend Olivia as she pouted apologetically while ducking her head down to glare at me.
"Yes, Olivia?"
"Sheesh, I've been trying to get your attention for like twenty minutes!"
"We've only been here for five -." I started to correct her before she cut me off with another glare.
"Okay," I replied dropping my pencil to raise my hands in surrender. "You have my complete, and undivided attention."
"Thank you." Olivia sighed shaking her head. "Two things."
"Two?"
"You have an hour!" she protested.
"Not with you talking." I muttered.
"Hush up, Bailey. Thing one; have you considered reading that book that Rebecca, Jenny and I recommended?"
"No. No vampires." I rolled my eyes at her. She and my other two friends, Rebecca Stan and Jenny Web brought up 'the apple book' whenever they had a spare moment. The three of them - and the rest of the female population at our school were completely infatuated with it, always imagining spending the rest of their lives living in 'Forks' with Edmund and Jacob, and whoever else was in it.
"Oh come on, you read Anne Rice, and Dracula - what did you think that those were, tulips?"
"Assignments that counted for twenty percent of my grade?" I questioned.
"But you'd LOVE it. It's the best thing that I've ever read, and I HATE reading!"
"So what does that really say about your opinion?" I teased, ducking as she swung a fist in the direction of my shoulder.
"Fine," she huffed. "But Jenny and Becky read all the time, and they love it too - Jenny went to see the movie with me - three times!"
"Becky?"
"… Becky didn't like the movie… but Becky's crazy anyway, it was awesome - PLEASE read it so that we can share this wonderful experience with you?!" she begged.
"Olivia, why do you need me to read it? You go on fan sites for hours to chat with other people about it, it's all that the three of you have been talking about for the last year - besides, I don't have time to read it."
"Like that stopped you from destroying two copies of Wuthering Heights."
"The difference being a classic piece of literature and no vampires." I replied sarcastically, pretending to be shocked. The truth was I didn't really have a problem with reading whatever book she was going crazy over, as much as I didn't understand the fascination with it all - I just had a few other more pressing things on my mind. Like college, and that evil little word, 'tuition', that insisted on going with it.
"You are completely narrow-minded." she accused with frown.
"No. I probably would read it if I didn't have to help my mom out so much by working two jobs while trying to keep my grades up for college."
"Please, you can get into any college you want at this point. Possibly the result of your not having a life. Besides, nothing from senior year counts."
"I have a life," I frowned, ignoring the second part of her statement.
"Having pizza with your best friends once a week, avoiding your dad and step mom, and hardly seeing your own mom does notcount as a life." Olivia chasted.
"Thanks for the rehashing."
"It's true. Which brings to subject two…"
"Should I sit down for this?" I asked picking up my pencil again. If a book topped her 'absolutely MUST' list, then whatever else it was couldn't be that important. I loved her dearly, but my best friend was a bit of a nut.
"Two words," Olivia grinned either not realizing that I was ignoring her, or simply not caring. "Michael. Norton. Likes. You."
I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks as I thought of the adorable blond boy who refused to leave me alone during math class. Also known as one of the most popular guys in school - I level of the hierarchy, that I didn't not reach.
"That's four words. And no he doesn't."
"Jenny heard from Larissa -." Olivia started.
"Who heard from Carol, who heard from Tiffany who heard from Michael's best friend after he told everyone." I finished shaking my head.
Great, I am now the subject of another rumor that's going to make people I didn't know give me funny looks over something completely untrue that I can't control. Dandy.
"Karen, not Tiffany." Olivia corrected. "I think... But hey, I know what you're thinking, so knock it off."
"Do you?"
"Yeah. You think that people are going to give you a hard time over something you think is silly, and you just don't want to deal with them."
"Get out of my head." I faked a smile, not looking up at her. I hated it when people thought that they knew everything I was thinking. Especially when they were right.
"Well I've only got one thing to say to you, peaches."
"Peaches?"
"You're the one being silly," Olivia continued ignoring my question. "Because you don't make time for people who want to be with you. Maybe Michael is the one." She lowered her voice slightly at the end, which I assumed was for dramatic effect because there was no possible way for her to see the librarian glowering at her from across the room.
"Olivia, you seriously believe in that stuff? Besides, it's not just that I don't have time to date. I'm not interested."
"Tell that to him." Olivia shrugged leaning back in her chair so that only two legs remained on the floor.
"I don't have to. It's not true." I muttered while wondering why I suddenly couldn't remember the laws of thermodynamics. I shouldn't have gone to bed so early and spent a few minutes finishing that chapter.
"Wanna bet?" She grinned waving over my shoulder.
I turned just in time to see that little blond puppy-dog I'd been avoiding since the first day I'd moved to Seattle. So of course, my instant reaction was to grin like an idiot and say, "Hi, Mike," through my teeth, earning a glare from Olivia.
"Hey, Bailey," he smiled back sitting in the chair between Olivia and me. "What's up?"
Okay, so he didn't sound upset. Maybe Olivia was just trying to trick me into saying something with the whole rumor-thing. Very un-Olivia-like behavior. Which meant that he might actually like me. Crap.
"Nothing much." I shrugged glancing back at my Biology packet. Olivia could care less if I did my homework when she was talking, but I wasn't sure whether or not Michael would be offended. Not that I should care if I didn't like him or really want much of anything to do with a lot of people he hung out with. But Olivia cared. And Jenny and Rebecca just plain obsessed. Diplomacy is a curse. Either way it wasn't going to get done now.
Olivia was still glaring, but Michael didn't seem to notice my temporary lapse in attention, going off about his basketball game last Friday and how the school team had quote on quote, "poned" their opponents. He went into a little more detail than that, but I wasn't really following all of the sports terms. I wasn't sure what it was about a ball flying at my head, but it had made me nervous since I was a little - almost like I was absolutely sure that I was going to hurt myself, if not someone else. I didn't tend to have a high participation score in Phys. Ed. because of it.
I smiled and tried to nod in the places were he sounded excited. Thankfully, Olivia understood most of what he was talking about and diverted the attention by asking questions about 'assists' and 'some idiot's floor violation' until the librarian got looked over at the three of and pointed fixtatedly at the clock, informing us that it was time to stop bothering her by making noise and to get out.
Mike and I had Math first though, unfortunately, and Olivia had French. So there was no one to distract puppy boy for the time being. It wasn't that I entirely disliked Mike, but after a while? The whole persitancy thing got old. And annoying.
And it was incredibly hard to be diplomatic so early in the morning when heading off to your least favorite class with other things like 'when am I going to finish my Biology homework' and 'I wonder if mom remembered to pay the electric bill this month' on your mind.
I gave Mike a quick smile, and tried to take long enough strides so that he didn't think I was running away from him (which, in a way, I guess I was doing), but moving quickly enough so that he got the message that I really didn't feel like talking right now.
He managed to keep up and supply enough conversation for both of us between my one word answers and his own babbling. When we got to the door I hurried over to my seat, dropping my dark green messenger bag to the ground, and then giving it a quick kick so that it slid under the desk and over people could get by. Mike walked over to his seat after giving me a satisfactory look, and started yapping off Ashley Monroe's ear. The school's queen bee seem elated by the attention that drove me insane. Good for her.
I slumped down in my seat, staring at the messy board waiting for class to start so that it could end, along with the rest of the day. I just hoped that I could managed the rest of my daylight hours without incident.
I always have a bit of trouble trying to sound like Bella. So, yeah... Tell me what you think.