"We will be landing shortly. Thank you for flying London Airways, and enjoy your stay in London," the recorded message played over the speakers of the plane and I sighed. I was certainly happy to have been accepted into Oxford, but I would miss Forks, no matter how rainy it was.

I got up from my window seat, waiting for the person next to me - Mike something, I think - who had been flirting shamelessly with me for the entire flight. As I stood, my head bumped on the ceiling.

"Ow," I muttered. This was normal. I had always been uncoordinated, clumsy, and a complete klutz altogether.

Mike moved from his seat, glancing back at me wistfully. He had been accepted into Cambridge, but I bet he was wishing he was going to Oxford now. Honestly, I couldn't see why, but it was sweet. In a creepy, stalker-ish way.

Okay, maybe it wasn't so sweet after all....

I went into the aisle to grab my luggage from the overhead compartment. I saw that my small, beaten up, white-patched up suitcase was at the back. My bad luck had struck again. I looked to my right to see a relatively tall stewardess

helping someone.

"Excuse me," I said. She turned with a warm smile. "I can't reach my suitcase. Could you help me please?" I asked, blushing one of my easily-triggered blushes.

"Of course, dear," she said with a kind British accent. Reaching on her tip-toes, she grabbed my bag and stood it up on the floor.

"Thanks so much," I said gratefully.

"It's no trouble," she said, smiling at me again and turning back to the other passenger she had been helping before.

Pulling up the handle, I towed my suitcase behind me, hitching up my carry-on messenger bag higher on my shoulder. I hadn't brought much with me, even though I would be going to college here. I didn't have many clothes, and my Macintosh computer was the only thing I could afford to buy for college. And it was refurbished.

Charlie Swan, my dad, was the police chief of Forks. Not much criminal activity happened in Forks, so I was raised without much money. It was fine by me. Renee Dwyer, my mother back in Phoenix, was a kindergarten teacher, so it

wasn't like I could go ask her for something. I had worked in an outdoor sports store, one of the few after-school jobs. I had been lucky to score it.

I shook my head, clearing it of my memories. Stepping out of the plane, I smiled a little. I was really here. In London. Attending Oxford. Maybe I'd actually make something of myself here. Unlike in my high school, where barely anyone talked to me, except the boys who, quite frankly, should have been in a retirement home. All the boys were in polos, khaki shorts, and sometimes loafers. I mean, what sane kid wears loafers to school? Even if I didn't care about fashion, I could tell that was way out of fashion. Maybe not for 50-year-olds, but a 17 year old junior? I don't think so...

I was jostled a bit on my way out of the airport, but nothing major. Stepping out of the glass sliding doors, I beamed. This was it. London. Oxford. Everything I had always wanted to become a writer, and it was happening. I was so happy. For once, I didn't care about the mounds of homework I was sure to receive, or the dorm hall I was sharing with 5 other students, or that I would probably not make a lot of friends. This was London, and I was going to Oxford.

This would be great.

The taxi that had been driving me to Oxford stopped suddenly at the gates, and I let go of my death-grip on the seat. I had kept thinking we would crash because, in my American mind, we were still going the wrong way.

" 'Ere ya go, love," the taxi driver said in a raspy, southern Britain accent. "That'll be sixty pounds."

Which would be one hundred twenty dollars... I think I just felt my wallet lighten I thought. I gave him the money wistfully. It would be hard living in a place that doubled American dollars. I'd be out of cash soon; I'd have to find a job nearby.

"Thanks," I said shakily, still afraid of the road. That'd take a while to get used to.

I shut the cab door and got my luggage from the trunk. As soon as I shut the back, the taxi sped away, indicating that it was free.

I sighed and turned around on the sidewalk, facing the ominous buildings in front of me. They didn't look dark or gloomy in any way, just the air around them gave me an odd sense of premonition. I shrugged and pulled my luggage toward the building marked "Administration". I still needed my key and the map of the college. No way was I going to try navigating this place by myself...

I entered the administration office and placed my luggage by the door. Walking the short distance to the front desk, I saw two blond young women.

They were both 50% plastic if you ask me...

"Can I help you?" the one with a boy's cut hair asked lazily in a nasally voice. Her nameplate said Lauren...

"Um, hi," I said, blushing. "I'm the new student with the scholarship. My name's Bella Swan, and I need my key. I'm staying in hall 103."

They both gaped openly at me. Lovely.

"You're the new student?" Jessica asked disbelievingly.

"Um...yeah?" It came out more as a question.

The two receptionists shared a conspiratorial look.

"Sure, sweetie," Lauren said, suddenly sickeningly-sweet. "I'll be right back with your key. You'll be rooming with the Cullens and Hales. Jessica will show you which hall it is and how to get there." Lauren left to get the key.

Odd... but I didn't have time to think; Jessica was already coming toward me with the map and a highlighter. It was like my first day at Forks High all over again, only Ms. Cope was nicer....

"Here you go," Jessica said, giving me the map. "Now from here you'll take a left and..." I tuned her out. She was already highlighting the route and her voice was like listening to nasally helium. It was about to give me a migraine.

"All set?" Lauren asked, coming out of the back room.

"Yeah! Just showed her the route and gave her the map," Jessica said, her lips twitching.

What was up...?

"Well, here's your key," Lauren said, giving me my dorm key, hall key, and a little leather inscription of an O on a brown leather charm on a keychain across the desk. "Enjoy your time here, work hard, and come here if you need any assistance navigating around here."

"Thanks," I mumbled, heading for the door. Something wasn't right, but I couldn't tell what...

I was barely outside when I heard the two receptionists giggling uncontrollably.

"Cullens and Hales my-" the door closed then. Good.

I followed the directions highlighted on my map. At about halfway, I noticed the sky getting darker, and I sighed. It would rain soon.

I tried to block off that unpleasant thought and plugged in my iPod, putting on Coldplay's newest album, Viva la Vida, on shuffle.

Life in Technicolor came on when I finally found my hall. I sighed with relief, it hadn't started raining yet, but the sky told me it would soon. I took my time looking around. There were some trees-wait, scratch that. There was practically a forest here. I looked again to see half were rotting... well. Great. I saw a few potted plants...also dying. I sighed and walked up the 5 steps and a little path up to the door, taking time to look at the busy street down below.

Yay. I could wake up to horns honking. I sighed again. Suddenly, I felt something on my cheek. It was drizzling, and it would become rain soon. I could tell because the drizzle wasn't one of those things you could barely see. It was the kind where it was almost rain but it wasn't.

The old building was dark, as in no lights were on. Maybe the Cullens and Hales weren't home... there weren't any cars in the drive.

Walking up to the door, I put my hall key in the key slot.

Or should I say, tried to put my key in. It wasn't a match. Lovely. I either had the wrong key or the wrong hall. I looked up: 156.

What the hell? Shouldn't that receptionist know what she's doing?

I looked at my key. Maybe Lauren had screwed it up, too.

Sure enough, my hall key was 143 and my dorm room-I was supposed to be in room 5- was for room 2.

Ugh. You'd think Oxford would hire better people. Maybe they were interns...

I groaned. It was raining already and no one was home. And I couldn't very well go and ask someone for directions when everyone was at home and I had no idea where the hell everything was...

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Maybe the rain would go away. As soon as I though this I opened my eyes just in time to see lighting.

Well this was just fantastic.

I unplugged my iPod and put it in my worn messenger bag, not wanting to get struck by lighting. With my already bad luck, I was possibly in one of the worst places ever. Surrounded by trees and carrying two metal items. Could this

get any worse?

My question was answered for me by nature herself. Thunder clapped loudly and the rain became an absolute downpour.

Yes. Yes it could.

I shook my head. I was already soaked, I might as well sit it out. I sat down on my suitcase and clutched my bag to me, hoping my essential and expensive items-like my computer and wallet-wouldn't get wet.

Around twenty minutes later I was soaked to my skin and on the verge of either a complete emotional breakdown or blind rage. I took another deep breath and let it out, closing my eyes and willing the storm to go away. Sometime during this exercise, thunder clapped loudly again and I jumped.

Ugh.

Ten minutes later and I was on the verge of hypothermia. I was freezing and I had nothing but a jacket, long-sleeve-tee, and jeans. I shoved my hands in my pockets. Nothing.

I huddled into a ball as well as I could while still sitting down.

About three minutes later I looked up and saw nobody. Still.

Another two minutes. No one. Sigh. No one was coming to look for me, because the two people who knew I was here had probably done this as a joke, and the Cullens and Hales... well. I wouldn't judge them now. I hadn't met them.

I sighed, letting a few tears escape. Some way to begin my freshman year of college. Anyone with better luck that me wouldn't have to have endured this.

Two minutes later and I was on the verge of just walking randomly around campus. I couldn't get much wetter than this, could I?

And then I saw him.

He came from behind the hall, holding a large umbrella, towing a medium-sized dark brown suitcase behind him. He was wearing a beaten up pair of un-tucked brown converse and dark jeans that weren't skinny but weren't

completely baggy either. His button-up shirt was long-sleeved and forest-green. He was wearing a form-fitting running jacket and was carrying a sleek grey messenger bag.

But his obviously-designer clothes were not why I was staring at this stranger.

His face was strong, yet soft at the same time. He had a strong jaw line, strong cheekbones, and and angled nose, but did not look like he would have a snobbish attitude. His bright emerald eyes looked soft, and his lips weren't overwhelming, but weren't thin, either. He had long legs and a long torso-he was at leas 6 feet tall. His hair was the most unusual shade of brownish-red, almost with a metallic tint.

He was so beautiful I couldn't breathe.

"Um... what are you doing?" A melodic voice-surprisingly un-accented-snapped me out of my thoughts. The gorgeous stranger was now standing in front of me, looking down at me curiously.

And now I looked like a complete psycho, sitting randomly in the downpour. Wonderful first impression, Bella.

"Uh... I was supposed to be rooming with the Cullens and Hales, but the receptionists gave me the wrong route and room key. Do you know if they're home?" I asked, blushing and stuttering stupidly.

He looked at me amusedly for some reason, but as soon as the emotion passed on his face, it was gone. "Yeah, I'll show you where they live," he said, having the decency not to look at me like I was a mental patient. I stood up, soaked. Ugh.

"Do you need any help with your bag?" He asked kindly. Not waiting for an answer, he reached down and stood my bag upright, wheeling it next to his.

Gorgeous and a gentleman. Sigh. He probably has a girlfriend already...

"Thanks," I said, blushing. Again.

"How long have you been out here?" he asked, eyeing me concernedly as we started walking.

I didn't want to tell him. He'd think I was an idiot.

"Um...." I stalled. Then, I made the mistake of looking up into his beautiful emerald eyes. I was dazzled into saying the truth. "About thirty minutes."

"Are you serious?" he asked, completely disbelieving. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. I stopped, too, and looked at him questioningly.

"Did you say the receptionists gave you the wrong information?" he seethed through his teeth. The anger in his voice sounded out of place; even though I knew nothing about him, he didn't seem like he was sad very often.

"Um...yes?" I said, making it sound like a question.

He sighed, closed his eyes and took deep breaths. We stood there for a moment, underneath the safe haven of the umbrella.

"I am so sorry," he said after a few minutes. "I can't believe they went this far."

"Umm...Okay? What are you sorry for? You don't work there with them," I was so confused.

He sighed again. "I'd tell you now, but you're about to freeze to death. I'll show you to your dorm hall. C'mon," he said, surprising me by taking my hand and leading me.

As soon as he touched me, however, a spark flew up my arm and I had to stifle a gasp. I wondered if he felt it, too.

My question was soon answered for me, when he dropped my hand quickly. "Sorry," he mumbled, turning away.

I blushed and looked down, focusing on his feet.

After a few minutes he stopped and I looked up.

We were in front of a gorgeous brick building, just above a main road-which I assumed led to a main street of some sort. I looked up to see six floors-one per window-and I stared for a minute while the gorgeous Greek god fished around for something in his pocket.

"Come inside," he said, ushering me in. "You must need a hot shower."

I nodded gratefully and then something occurred to me belatedly. I looked up quickly to see that this was indeed hall 103.

"How did you have a key?" I asked, stepping inside either way. The living Adonis closed the door. Through the window that took up most of the door, I saw the downpour clearly. How had I been out there all this time?

I turned back to the gorgeous man, who was smirking. "I'm your new roomie. My name's Edward Cullen," he said, offering me his hand. I shook it weakly, in shock. Make that three things. Gorgeous, a gentleman, and my new

roommate.

Two things passed through my mind at that moment.

One: I would be living with this beautiful man for a whole year. How was I expected to do that?

Two: How was I this lucky?

AN: Soooo... I have been mulling over this story for awhile in my head. I literally have half of this thing planned out. I was randomly sitting in my room, staring out my window when I was really bored one day, and I was listening to Coldplay (what a surprise :] ) and then one of the main parts of the story hits me lightning-fast. Of course I listen to that song whenever I want inspiration for this story now :)

Tell me what you thought!

Review plz! :)

-cullenite21