Not My Type

AllzStar

- Bella -

I stood on my toes, trying to catch a glimpse of her through the throngs of people in the over-crowded airport. Naturally, I almost toppled over; Jasper caught me before my horrible balance could throw me to the floor. I murmured my thanks and turned my face away to hide my blush.

I was glad that Jasper had opted to come with me instead of Edward—his calming effects worked wonders on my silly nerves at seeing my old best friend—but I didn't know him very well and I didn't want to look like an idiot in the earliest stages of our relationship.

Though, as much as I was embarrassing myself, I wanted to leave the best for last. Emma wouldn't meet Edward until tonight—we would head over to the Cullen's after dinner to get my old friend acquainted with my boyfriend and his family.

Of course, Edward had freaked out when I'd suggested bringing yet another unsuspecting human into the Cullen household. But I had somehow managed to convince him to welcome Emma for at least a couple of hours. But I wasn't going to let her in on the whole vampire—or werewolf, for that matter—thing going on in the small, rainy town of Forks. Edward had made me swear on Charlie's life. Funny how he hadn't put my own life on the line. I didn't know how long she was staying, but I knew it wasn't permanent; surely she would head back to Phoenix when summer kicked around. She'd want to get back to the sun for volleyball, of course.

"Is that her?" Jasper asked me, pointing through the crowd.

I followed his gesture and gasped excitedly. There, standing awkwardly and out in the crowd by the luggage carousel, was Emma Harper, the girl who had been my best friend in Arizona since kindergarten. I barely recognized her at first, but then I saw her customized Beatles purse and knew it had to be her.

I pushed my way through the crowd, Jasper at my heels. Emma saw me coming and waved frantically. I finally reached her and barely had time to say hello before she had her arms around me, pulling me into a tight, almost uncomfortable hug.

"Bella!" she cried, bouncing up and down with me in her arms.

I just laughed, joining her in jumping.

We finally separated long enough to look at each-other. "Wow," I said, looking up at her. "You're tall!"

Emma had always been taller than me, but she must have grown a lot over the year and a half we'd been apart. She had to be at least five nine now. She was willowy, too—one of those girls whose body mass lay in their height rather than weight. She had bulked up, too. She'd always been sporty; her speciality was volleyball and she was the best on the court in all of Phoenix. Her skin was tanned to a perfect, café-au-lait colour and her sun-bleached hair was cropped to her shoulders and fanned out at the tips.

She looked very, very different. She was almost a completely different girl from the Emma I had left back in Phoenix. What I remembered was a thin, meek girl with long, sandy blonde hair and sad eyes. Now her eyes were alive with excitement and enthusiasm and her body was so athletic and strong that I felt very weak next to her.

But once look deep into her bright blue eyes was enough to know that she was still the Emma I remembered—she just looked different and seemed…happier. Which was great. She had never been the same after her mom died.

Emma was beaming down at me. "Five ten-and-a-half," she confirmed, talking of her height. She laughed when my eyes opened wide. "And look what else is new!" She smiled, showing straight, white teeth.

"No braces!" I cried.

She giggled. "I got 'em off last week. I keep running my tongue over them." As if to confirm the habit was true, she passed her tongue over her pearly whites. "And I've grown four inches since you last saw me," she added, lifting her chin so I could take in her full height. That was when she saw Jasper for the first time. Her eyes widened, but she remained polite. "Who's this Bella?" She gave me a look that clearly suggested she thought this was the boy I had been talking about all year.

Instinctively, I placed a hand on Jasper's upper back, as if to tell him it was okay. I had no idea why.

"This is Jasper," I introduced. "He's Edward's brother. Jasper, this is Emma."

"Oh, I've heard lots about Edward and family, believe me," Emma teased, rolling her eyes. "Nice to meet you, Jasper."

They shook hands, and Jasper looked a little taken aback that Emma was so friendly to him right off the bat—or maybe it was because he was barely taller than her.

I noticed what she was wearing then: a pair of jean walking-shorts and a t-shirt. "You're gonna freeze," I pointed out, gesturing to her outfit. "It's barely two degrees out there, and it's raining."

"I brought my rain jacket," she explained. "It's in my suitcase. I just need to wait for it."

She was also wearing flip-flops. Where did she think she'd landed? Mexico?

Emma's heart-shaped face fell a little, but soon she was all smiles again. "You look good, Bella. I like what you've…done with your hair."

"I haven't done anything with my hair," I said. "But thank you." I groaned inwardly. Awkward moments already. I knew it wouldn't be the same with Emma. One of us—or both of us—had changed so drastically we didn't fit anymore. Oh, well. It was still nice to see her.

Just then a familiar blue suitcase was thrown onto the carousel. Jasper bent to pick it up.

"How did you know that was mine?" Emma wondered as Jasper set it at her feet.

Jasper looked at her, startled. "It is yours, isn't it?"

"Yes, but how did you know that?"

"The tag has your name on it…." Jasper pointed to the tag strapped around the handle of her bag. He name was printed on it in tiny letters.

Emma whistled. "Wow. You must have, like, twenty-twenty vision or something."

I bit back a giggle. More like…I dunno, eighty-eighty vision?

It was a relief to get out of the stuffy Seattle airport and into the cool Washington air—it had finally stopped raining. Just as I had expected, Emma started shivering.

"Well, welcome to Washington," I told her sarcastically as she dug through her suitcase. We had arrived at the car (I had insisted on riding in the Volvo rather than Alice's Porsche) and Emma had it open in the trunk.

Emma grinned and emerged with a navy blue hoodie and her rain jacket. "I'm sure going to miss the sun."

I still didn't know why Emma was here. She had phoned me up two days ago asking if she could crash at my place for a while. I also didn't know how long she would be staying for.

It was a very long drive back—longer than it had taken to get to the airport, anyway. Jasper, like the rest of the Cullens, liked to drive very fast, and we had gotten to Seattle in two hours. It would take twice that time to get back, for obvious reasons. We couldn't drive fast with someone who wasn't expecting the incredible acceleration in the car.

It was a very long ride. Jasper was at the wheel, with me riding shotgun. Emma chattered happily in the backseat, telling us of Phoenix and volleyball and other things I really didn't care about. I endured her, though—mostly because I knew something bad had happened to her. Why else would she suddenly want to escape to rainy old Forks, and to stay with me, a friend she hadn't seen in over a year? But after an hour or so of nonstop talk I switched on a CD and that seemed to shut her up.

When we got to Forks, though, she started talking over the music. Mostly just comments about the green-ness, the rain, and how much she was looking forward to spending time with me. I hoped that was true. I really didn't want to be someone's escape plan.

We finally arrived at Charlie's house; I thanked Jasper as sincerely as I could manage and helped him unload all of Emma's things from the trunk. He offered to help lug it inside, but I said we could manage, not wanting him to go any more out of his way. He got back in the car and waved as he drove off. I waited until the taillights rounded the corner before letting out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

It was dark, now. I checked my watch. Seven. I'd promised Edward we would be over at eight.

I unlocked the door to the house and led Emma to the family room. "This is your room," I said sheepishly, gesturing to the lumpy couch. "Sorry we don't have a proper room for you."

"This is fine," she replied, still merry. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "I think I might catch some Z's now, actually."

"Um," I said, biting my lip. "I actually promised Edward we'd be over at eight for appies and stuff…."

Emma suddenly didn't look tired at all. "Oh, really?" she asked, her blue eyes sparkly with excitement. "I get to meet Edward so soon?"

"I didn't think you'd want to wait," I murmured.

"I have to get changed!" she cried, lunging for her suitcase.

"The bathroom is at the top of the stairs," I called over my shoulder. I was already halfway up the staircase myself, on the way to my room. "Call if you need anything."

Safely locked in my room, I stripped out of my tatty hoodie and sweatpants and pulled on my nicest pair of jeans and a purple blouse. I brushed out my hair and arranged it in a twist at the base of my neck, pinning my too-long bangs back out of my face. I even put on a little make-up. I felt like trying to look nice tonight.

When I went downstairs, Emma was in the kitchen, looking out the window over the sink. She had changed into jeans and a tight, pine-green sweater that showed off her athletic body. I almost grimaced, but she turned to look at me.

"It's really pretty here," she commented airily, as if she was talking more to herself. She shook her head and appraised me. "You look nice. That colour looks great on you."

"Thanks," was all I could say.

"Well…." Emma tapped her thighs nervously, her eyes darting around the room.

An awkward pause. Then, "Why are you here?" I blurted out.

Emma's eyes widened slightly at my bluntness. "What?"

"I mean…why did you come so suddenly? What made you want to come to rainy old Forks?"

"I wanted to visit you," she said quietly.

"Come on, Emma," I snapped. "I know you better than that. What happened in Phoenix?"

Emma went to sit at the kitchen table. She rested her chin in her palm and looked everywhere but at me. "My dad got remarried, Bella."

Instantly my face, posture and tone got softer. "Oh." I went to sit across from her and took her hand in mine. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Well, I'm also sorry for freaking out like that. I shouldn't have."

"It's okay, Bella. I realize how much of a hassle I'm being right now. I hope not to stay here too long. I just needed to get away, you know? And I thought I might use the opportunity to see you. I've missed you, Bells. Phoenix isn't the same without you, you know."

This was followed by another pause, but this time it wasn't awkward. I broke the silence by saying, "Do you want to head over now?"

"Won't we be early?" she asked, perking up a little.

"I'm sure Edward won't mind," I said, knowing all too well that Alice had had everything ready hours ago. "Let's go."

We stepped out into the night. Crickets sang, and the air smelled like rain, although it wasn't. I turned on the heater in the truck and soon the cab was toasty warm. Emma was very enthusiastic about my truck, and I was glad to hear it. I had honestly be worried that she would find my new life lowly.

The trip was mostly silent, with just short questions and monosyllable answers. Neither of us had much to say, and neither of us minded. We were together again, and that was all that mattered.

A/N: Hey guys. Sorry if this chapter was a little boring. I promise it will get more interesting!! Please R&R and keep checking back!