Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I do not claim to own Twilight or any of the characters. The wonderful saga belongs solely to the amazingly creative author, Stephenie Meyer.
AN: Okay, just to let everyone know, this IS my first fanfic ever. So please, please give me a chance and try not to hate on it too much. Honestly, if all you have are negative comments, I'd rather you not review at all. Sorry, but I'd rather not just read a bunch of hate. Constructive criticism I will definitely welcome. And of course, I would absolute LOVE to have some reviews with a bunch of love for the story! Who wouldn't?! Anyway, like I said, please give this story a chance, and I'll absolutely try to get new chapters updated one after the other as soon as I can. But what with school crap and the dreaded writers' block and such . . . that doesn't work out so well sometimes. But I WILL try! All right, so enough with the chitchat and off we go!
~.~
Who the hell ever legalized moving?
Yes, I do know that moving was never illegal, but I'm only trying to prove a point. Moving is crap. Not that my life was perfect or amazing in my old town and school. Truthfully, it was far from it. Making friends had never come easy for me, so you can imagine how much of a miracle it seemed to me that I even have the two friends I have. Or had. The friends I had. They couldn't actually be my friends now that I was moving to the other side of the country. They probably wouldn't even bother to email me.
I didn't even begin to wonder how horrible my life was going to be. I couldn't even think of how much of an outcast I was going to be. This was going to suck.
Crap.
The first night in my new house was almost unbearable. Sleep seemed to be avoiding me like the plague. I tossed and turned, completely uncomfortable, for eight hours, sometimes drifting into a very, very light sleep. All in all, I think I only slept two hours, off and on, the whole night. At least, that's what I felt like when I woke up in the morning.
My mom woke me up just when I started to feel like I could slip into unconsciousness. The lights flicked on and my immediate response was a long groan. I rolled onto my other side so I faced the wall, away from my mother, who I knew was standing in the doorway.
"Bella! Get up!" she urged as I closed my eyes tighter. "You don't want to be late for your first day at a new school, do you?"
Her enthusiasm disgusted me. Don't get me wrong, I loved my mother, but sometimes her optimism was just too much for me, let alone anyone, to handle. So, my response to her question would be obvious.
Hell yes I do! I shouted in my head. I just wanted to turn the lights back off, hide under my covers and sleep, if I could, for the whole day.
Of course, my mom would not stand for that. Unexpectedly, the covers were ripped off of me. I squinted over my shoulder to see my mom carrying my blankets out of my room and down the stairs. With a huff of annoyance, I rolled onto my back stared at my ceiling, away from the light.
Here goes the worst day of my life, I thought gloomily.
I finally forced myself to get up and out of bed. I took my time choosing my outfit, although I really didn't want to. I hated admitting to myself that I actually cared what I looked like to other people. I was always drilling it into peoples' minds: I don't care what others think of me. But I knew that was a lie. I cared, no matter how much I didn't want to.
Finally deciding on a brown, long-sleeved v-neck and jeans, I threw them on and attempted to brush through the tangles in my knotted hair. It wasn't much of a success, but I ended up with something that resembled my dark brown, pin-straight head of hair.
I grabbed my rarely used makeup bag out of my still-packed duffel. I peered into it, hesitant as to what I should apply onto my pale face. I hardly every bothered to use makeup, mainly for the said reason that I didn't care what others thought of me. I didn't know why I felt differently today, but I ended up pulling out a very light shade of blush and mascara. I applied both lightly, hoping to make it seem as if it was natural. Before I walked out of my room, I glanced in my mirror and was surprised. I smiled to myself, approving the way I looked.
Once I was in the kitchen, the nerves started to set in. I sat down at the small round table, suddenly feeling jumpy. When my mom asked me what I wanted for breakfast, I muttered a barely audible 'Nothing'. I had completely lost my appetite. I had to reassure her that I really didn't want anything about five times before she finally nodded with a concerned expression and left the room.
I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall in front of me. I had twenty minutes until I had to endure what I knew would be torture.
I trudged up the stairs to brush my teeth and grab my book bag. When I finally checked the time again, I realized that taking my time had really made time fly by. I had ten minutes to get to school, and I didn't know how long it even took to get there. Although I was dreading it, I didn't want to be late. It was pointless to get off on the wrong foot with the whole faculty before you even met them.
I flew down the stairs, shoving my feet into my shoes and grabbing my coat. Outside, I groaned in disbelief, silently cursing the rain that was pouring down in large drops. I was soaked before I even got the chance to pull up my hood.
I slopped through the mud and wet grass to the old, beat up truck my mom was able to buy for me. I was so thankful that she did so. I wasn't to keen on being driven everywhere by my mom.
I jerked the door open and scooted into the dry drivers' seat. Quickly I shoved the key into the ignition and turned. The engine started automatically, and loudly, but then it started to sputter. Nervously, I turned the key again, shutting off the engine. I sat there and counted to fifteen, hoping that would give the engine an unneeded rest. Cautiously, I turned the key once again. The engine roared to life, sounding promising. But moments later, it spluttered again and went silent.
Angry, I slammed my fist on the steering wheel. "Dammit," I said aloud. I glanced at the dashboard, looking over all the dials and meters. My eyes stuck on the gas meter. The little orange pointer was positioned directly over the word empty.
"Dammit," I muttered again.
Three loud taps sounded on my window. I gasped and jumped, my head whipping up to look out the water-streaked glass. I stared at the outline of a person for about 30 seconds before I realized that whoever it was had probably tapped on my window for reason. I rolled the window down, using a surprising amount of effort the turn the crank around and around.
With the window no longer blocking my view of the person, I almost let myself gasp in amazement. The guy standing in front of me was beautiful. His bronze hair was darkened from the rain that had soaked him, and his eyes were the most captivating color of emerald green. His features were almost flawless—almost too unreal to be real. If I would've stared at him any longer, I wouldn't have been surprised to find myself drooling. But fortunately, he spoke, and his velvety voice broke through my daze.
"Did you need any help?" he asked. His tone sounded mildly cocky, but I didn't bother to examine that anymore. I had to make myself speak, or end up looking like an idiot for gawking at him.
"Uh . . ." I began. "I have no gas." I wanted to slap myself. Smooth Bella, I scolded myself. You couldn't think of anything more sophisticated to say to this unbelievably beautiful guy than 'I have to gas'?!
He smirked at me. I automatically took that as a bad sign. But he didn't respond in a mocking or sarcastic manner. Instead, he was just as polite as he had been before.
"Well, I could give you a ride if you're planning on going to school," he offered. I blinked in shock. He was offering to drive me?!
"Oh, you really don't need to do that," I said, the words rushing out of my mouth. For the second time, I wanted to slap myself. Why didn't I just say yes?
"Why not?" he asked. "I'm assuming you're going to Forks High?" He paused as I nodded, letting him know I was. "And I'm going to Forks High. Your truck is out of gas. You obviously have no other way to get there. And I would seem like a complete ass if I just let you walk in the rain, even if it has lightened up."
I ripped my eyes away from his face and looked past him, out towards the road. He was right, the rain had let up. It had gone from a fierce downpour to a very light drizzle.
"We can't forget that carpooling is always a good idea," he said. I looked back at him. He was smirking as he continued speaking. "We could be a part of saving the planet here."
I smiled, thankful he was trying to lighten me up. I wasn't thankful, though, that he had noticed my nervousness. I finally nodded and agreed to let him give me a ride. He stepped away as I started rolling up my window. I was stupidly smiling to myself as I gathered up my bag and grabbed my key out of the ignition.
He was offering to drive me to school. He was driving me to school. Was it even possible that this gorgeous guy had any interest in me? I almost laughed at the absurdity of the thought. He was only being polite. People could be polite without having feelings for the person.
Sighing, I turned to the drivers' door to find it already open. The guy had opened it for me and was waiting patiently for me to get out, smirking the whole time.
As I slid out of my seat and onto the slippery grass, he started to speak.
"Oh, I never introduced myself," he pointed out. "I'm Edward Cullen. I live next door."
Edward held out his hand. I looked at it for a moment, then, hesitantly, took it as I introduced my own self.
"I'm Bella Swan," I mumbled, looking anywhere but at his beautiful face. I was blushing furiously and I wasn't set on giving him a direct view of my embarrassment.
"Well Bella," Edward said. "I think it's best that we get going. I don't think we should make ourselves any later than we already are."
Reluctantly, I released his hand and nodded. I stepped away from my truck as he shut the door and then followed him into the yard next to mine. He walked toward a sleek, silver Volvo, which looked brand new. I thought about my truck and suddenly felt self-conscious about how old and beaten down it looked.
But it's sturdy, I thought firmly to myself. And it runs. It's a good truck and there's no need to feel bad about it.
Once again, Edward opened the door for me. I mumbled a quiet 'thank you' as I climbed in. He shut the door and walked around to the drivers' side. I was awe struck by the beauty of the car. The leather seats were smooth and I saw no rips or anything of the sort in them. As he turned on the engine, I almost thought it hadn't started. The sound was so quiet.
Edward pulled out of the driveway and onto the rain soaked road. He drove with smooth, sure movements, and I didn't feel nervous to be in the same car with him at all. I stared straight ahead, through the windshield, focusing on the swishing of the windshield wipers as they scraped away the water. I just didn't want to end up staring at Edward's perfect features. How much more could one person humiliate themselves?
"So, you must be the daughter of Chief Swan?" Edward suddenly asked me. It sounded more like a statement, like he already knew the answer, but he was just striking up a casual conversation.
I glanced over at him and half smiled. "Guilty."
He smiled a little. "I thought so. Chief Swan's a good man. He really cares for the town, you know?"
I really smiled at that, agreeing with the compliment. "He is. He's a great father too, despite how awkward his actions are when he tries to show emotion." I laughed at the memories.
Edward chuckled a little. "I'm not surprised."
"So, who're your parents, if you don't mind me asking?" I wondered. His smirk faltered and I knew that he did mind me asking. I regretted even letting the thought come to mind.
"My parents . . . died when I was young," he said. I watched his hands grip the steering wheel tightly. I was such an idiot.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to . . ."
"No, it's okay," Edward assured me. He smiled this time, but I had a feeling it wasn't a true smile. "It happened a long time ago. Don't worry about it."
He glanced briefly at me and I could see some sadness lingering in his captivating emerald eyes. I wished I could take back my words, but I realized I had to fix it from here.
"I am sorry," I mumbled, looking away from him, out the windshield.
"Don't worry about it," he said firmly. He was quiet for a moment, but then he spoke once more. "I'm actually adopted now. My parents are Carlisle and Esme Cullen. I have two adopted siblings also. Alice and Emmett. You'll meet them today."
"I look forward to it," I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. Truthfully, I wasn't really set on meeting too many people today. My mind was really wrapped around the idea of avoiding people, if possible. But I wouldn't say that to Edward. Especially after I so stupidly made him bring up his dead parents, a topic he obviously wasn't comfortable talking about.
"I think you'll like Alice," Edward suddenly said. "I could see the two of you becoming friends easily."
I looked at him. He was smiling widely now, staring at the road. "I can't wait to meet her." When I said that, I said it with a little more truth. I was in no position to pass up friends, especially when making friends was a pretty big feat for me.
Sooner than I thought, and would've liked, Edward pulled into the Forks High parking lot. Many cars filled the parking spaces and I didn't see anybody, so I figured we were pretty late. I hadn't bothered to notice the time. My mind had been filled with one thought for most of the ride here.
Maybe today won't be so bad after all.
AN: Thank you so much for reading! Please, please, PLEASE review! You don't even have to write an actual review if you don't want to. Just say if you liked it or not! I'd really love to have at least 5-10 reviews before I actually start working on the second chapter, so you all know what you have to do! Thanks!