The characters are Stephenie Meyers, I'm just messing with them.
Oh love Oh love
All the many colors that you re made of
You heal You bleed
You're the simple truth and you re the biggest mystery
Oh love Oh love
I was laying on my bed next to my best friend Rosalie Hale. She was glancing at a Vogue magazine. I was reading Romeo and Juliet for the upteenth time. Rosalie's long manicured nails tapped against the magazine impatiently. I turned my head towards her, her cool blue eyes met my brown ones. She flicked a strand of her blond hair out of her face, tossing the magazine to the floor.
"Let's go," I sighed, nodding in defeat. Rosalie sat up, her tall frame arching back as she stretched. She stood and waited for me to get up. I tossed my book aside, sitting up.
"What the hell am I going to wear? All my stuff is packed for tomorrow," I indicated the three bags next to my door. Not like Rosalie didn't know, we were going to college together, sharing a dorm room and several classes.
She pulled a barely there dress from the back of my closet. It had been a halloween costume last year. We went as sluts for lack of a better idea. I groaned at the idea of trying to shimmy into that again, but seeing as all my other decent things were packed away, I had no choice.
The black dress clung to me like a second skin. I opted to go barefoot downstairs to her car, lest I trip and break my arm before college. My father Charlie was still out at work so I didn't have to pass his clothing inspection.
Rosalie's older brother Peter always threw the best parties on the beach. Huge bonfires, a keg or two and always a slew of older boys to choose from. We pulled into the parking lot fashionably late. The boys all stopped to stare at Rosalie, they gave me a quick glance since I was in her company. I paled in comparison to Rosalie, her long blonde hair, perfect nails and body. She belonged in Paris on a runway.
I, Bella Swan was a plain jane, long wavy brown hair, brown eyes. Soft, short body. Not much in the way of womanly curves. I had a few admirers over the years, I was content to just be Rosalie's wing woman. By doing that though, I was seriously lacking the experience area, minus kissing. I was a great kisser.
Rosalie Hale taught me how to kiss.
It all came about when we were fourteen. We snuck downstairs to one of Peter's high school parties. We had the usual group of older boys leering at us, Rosalie wasn't always a bombshell, she was just as awkward and gangly as I was at that age. Braces and glasses hid her beautiful face.
We were fresh meat to them, and regardless of how we looked they still noticed us. When the guys started getting too close for comfort Rosalie turned to me and kissed me long and hard in front of all the party goers. It was a bit shocking, but it kept most of the guys at bay.
After much tweaking we finally got comfortable, doing a repeat performance whenever the time called for it. Peter would always roll his eyes at us, but her understood. He would rather his baby sister made out with her best friend hten some random guy at his party.
This was Peter's last party, he was getting married in two months to his college sweetheart Charlotte. Rosalie and I both loved her as soon as we met her. She was energetic and could control Peter with a snappy comeback.
My three inch heels were narrow, and not good beach shoes, I almost wished I hadn't packed away my flip flops already. A few of the rowdy drunk guys headed out way. Most of them were our old classmates, a few were college friends of Peters.
I easily recognized Jacob's shaggy black hair and goofy grin towering a foot over all the other guys heads. I slowly made my way to him, throwing my arms around his waist. He held me close, kissing the top of my head.
"Must you go to school in New York?" I whispered, just loud enough to be heard. "There is still time for you to change your mind," Jacob Black was my other best friend. I had grown up along side him as we built mud cakes and sand castles.
"Why don't you switch schools Bells?" He asked of me. Knowing Rosalie would kill him if she heard him suggest that. I smiled up him. Tears clouding my eyes momentarily. I blinked them back, snagging the beer out of his hand and finishing it. "Hey now, get your own," he took his empty cup back, pulling me towards the keg. He refilled his glass and got me mine own.
I took a quick drink. "Thanks Jake," he wrapped his massive arm around me, pulling me towards the bonfire. We stood in front of the giant flames, letting them warm our bodies. I finished my beer quickly so it didnt get warm on me.
I set the cup down on the sand by my feet. I turned and looked at Jake. "Promise me you will come home for holidays so we can see each other often, don't forget to call me, and text me.
Stay in touch," I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he held me tight. I had cried already over missing my friends, but knowing today would be the last time I see Jacob for a while,
I couldn't help the tears that came.
"I will Bella, I'll be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas break. I'll talk to you every chance I get, I love you," he whispered the last bit out quietly. I loved Jacob too, but only as a friend and brother. We were too close to ever consider dating each other.
"Love you too, thank you," I glanced up at him, seeing a look in his eyes I had never seen. He pulled one hand up, using his large thumb to rub soft circles on my cheek. I knew what was coming, but didn't want to hurt his feelings. He leaned down, pressing his lips softly against mine. I pulled back after a few seconds, confused.
Jacob had never showed any interest in me that way. "Sorry," he mumbled, stepping back from me. He turned his attention to the fire, sadness creeping into his eyes. I felt like a jerk. I sighed, grabbing his hand trying to get his attention back on me.
He glanced down at me. "I didn't know," I told him. He shrugged.
"I never exactly made it known. I didn't want things to be weird," of course by him kissing me before we went to school on opposite coasts didn't help. I walked a little ways away from the group of drunken idiots. He followed me. I sat down on the sand, looking out at the dark water, the moonlight reflecting across the waves.
"Jake, you are going to be about three thousand miles away," I started to let him down easily.
He held his hand up stopping me. "Bella, I would never ask you to attempt a long distance relationship. I shouldn't have kissed you, you should be able to go off to college without this hanging over your head."
"I was serious when I said I loved you Jake, but you are my best friend, I love Rosalie just as much," I refused to look at him, afraid of what I would see on his face. He chuckled darkly.
"I need to get going, my flight leaves at seven in the morning," he got up from the sand, holding his hand out for me. I took it, and stood up. I hugged him one last time, he didn't hold me as tight this time. He let go of me, heading down the beach towards his house, he glanced back at me once. "Be happy," I half waved at him, before turning back to the party. It felt as if my best friend just broke up with me.
"Isabella Swan, I am ready to go," Charlie's voice rang up from the living room. I too was ready to go, but I was having a moment of realization. This was now the room of my childhood.
I got up, and grabbed my last bag. I shut the door on the bare room. I stopped at the bottom step, tying up my tennis shoes. Charlie was waiting impatiently by the front door. The truck was idling by the curb. I headed out towards it as Charlie locked up the house. I looked into my purse to make sure I had everything I needed. My ticket, my class information and my room information. We were meeting Rosalie's family at the airport.
The long car ride to Seattle was silent. I would open my mouth several times to say something, closing it back up again. Charlie pulled into the short term parking lot. We gathered my bags, heading inside to get me checked in, and meet with the Hales. Rosalie stood out in the crowd. Even for a three hour flight she looked amazing. Hair and make up in perfect place.
I checked my bags, keeping one along with my purse as a carry on. I walked over to Rosalie and her family. Her mom and dad hugged me, wishing me luck at college. I thanked them then moved onto hugging Peter and Charlotte. Once we all said our good byes, we headed through security, taking our shoes off. Once we were cleared we had to sit and wait for our flight to be called.
We barely sat down before Rosalie turned and looked me. "What the hell happened last night?" I groaned, hoping she hadn't seen or heard anything about last night. She was staring me down.
I buried my face in my hands, embarassed. "Jake kissed me," I mumbled out. She pulled my hands away from my face, her eyes wide.
"Why?" She knew him as well as me, we were like the three amigos at times.
"From what I understood is, he likes me," I shrugged. I hated that I so unexperienced at all of this.
"Did you kiss him back?" I shook my head to answer her. "Well, he's probably a bit upset you rejected him. He'll find some chick back east, and get over it. You guys will go back to being what you were before this," I sighed, I hoped she was right. Our flight number was called and we walked down the hallway into our plane. We put our bags in the overhead compartment,
and settled in for our flight.
The flight went smoothly, landing us in San Diego hours later. We got our things together, and went out to find our bags. We waited for them to show up on the conveyer belt. Once we got them, we headed out into the warm California air, sheding our sweaters we flagged down a taxi. Heading into the heart of the town the driver pulled up outside the dorms of San Diego State University.
We unloaded our luggage, carting it up, looking for our building. Our room was on the second floor. Thankfully there was an elevator. We opened the door to a living room and a mini kitchen. Just beyond that was a hallway. There was three doors. One was open and I could see two girls unpacking and decorating their room. The next door required a key card. I slid the one I had recieved in the mail a few weeks back into it. It clicked open and we walked into our new room.
On both sides of the room were bunk beds. The beds up high, with a desk and storage underneath. A closet at the foot of the bed. Across the hall from us was the bathroom. I peeked inside to examine it quickly.
Rosalie claimed the left bed, throwing her bags under her bed, and climbing up onto the bare mattress, collapsing against her pillow. "At least its comfy," she smirked at me, laying there.
"We need to get sheets sometime today," I started unpacking my clothes. Rosalie's extra pillow came flying at my head. I was able to dodge it barely.
"Killjoy," I snorted at her. I was able to get most of my clothes into my closet, and some into the dresser provided. The rest was stuff I wouldn't need often, so it could stay in the bags. I put the finishing touches on my side by adding photos of my friends and family to the dresser and desk. I unpacked my laptop, and just left it on the desk.
"Come on Rosalie, let's go, we can get some food while we are out," she huffed as she got off her bed.
"Only because I love you," she threw her arm around my shoulder squeezing it. We grabbed our purses and shut the door behind us. Our new suite mates were in the living room chatting quietly. They both looked up when we came around the corner. One girl was small, she looked almost like a child. She had short spiky black hair, and big grin on her face. Her green eyes sparkled. The other girl had long brown hair, she was very pretty. Her almond shaped eyes were a light brown.
"Hi, Im Rosalie Hale," she introduced herself as she stepped forward with her hand extended.
"I'm Alice Cullen," the small girl jumped up, shaking her hand enthusiatically. She held out her hand to me. I shook it.
"I'm Bella Swan," the other girl seemed timid. She stood and shook our hands softly.
"Angela Weber, nice to meet you," she smiled at us.
"We were just getting ready to go shopping and get some food," I informed them. Alice's face lit up.
"Would you be against company?" I glanced at Rosalie and she shook her head no. The girls went into their room to get thier purses, joining us back in the living room. On our way out to Alice's car, she was lucky enough to get have one. If we looked into a house or something next year Rosalie or I would need to invest in a vehicle of some kind. We climbed into her prius. She only had it because it was better to drive a few states over then her yellow porsche. Rosalie and I climbed into the back.
I pulled my phone out of my purse. I hadn't heard from Jake all day, so I had no clue if he had arrived safely in New York or not. I frowned and turned to look at Rosalie. "Should I text him?"
She contemplated it for a second, shaking her head no. "Let him suffer," I sighed putting my phone back into my purse. The girls in the front were silent, so I decided to break the ice.
"Where are you guys from?" Angela turned in her seat and looked at us.
"Colorado, I decided to come here once my boyfriend got accepted. Alice came with her twin brother and boyfriend, they joined her older brother, you guys will have to meet them this evening. So much fun," she smiled at us.
"What you about you?" Alice glanced at us through the rearview mirror.
"Washington. We both got accepted to Washington State along with others, but we decided we wanted nicer weather. We are both only kids, so that's why we choose to come here together. We tried to talk our other best friend into coming here with us, but he wanted to go to New York," Rosalie just left that statement hanging. We didn't really want to discuss Jake more, we were ticked off at him.
"Just wait until you meet everyone. The guys are hilarious, Emmett and Edward play football. Those are my brothers. Ben, Angela's boyfriend is like super smart and Jasper," she smiled and got lost in her thoughts for a moment. "Well, Jasper is the best thing ever," Rosalie and I smiled at each other, she seemed completely in love. As I looked out the window at the traffic, I felt the twang of jealously.
I hoped that one day I would be as much in love as Alice was with her Jasper. Alice pulled into a nearby shopping center. We climbed out of her car, heading inside the one stop buy all. We spent most of our time in the bedding and bathroom section, swinging through the grocery area for a few staples in dorm life.
"Do you want to meet up with the guys and we can get some pizza near campus?" Alice asked us as we took our arm loads of purchases out to her car. I shrugged at Rosalie, letting her know it was up to her.
"Sounds good, since I'm sure we will be seeing them lots anyway," Alice whipped out her fancy high tech phone, dialing someone. I helped put away the bags, making sure they all fit.
Once we were ready we all got back into the car, heading towards the resturant to meet the guys.
The resturant was fairly empty, except one table in the back with four loud rowdy guys. I was a little nervous as Alice and Angela led us towards them. They sat down in chairs next to two of the four guys. Alice was next to a taller guy with longer blonde hair, he had sparkling blue eyes. Angela's boyfriend Ben was was simple looking, black hair, glasses. She kissed his cheek.
Across the way the two extra guys stood up, offering us their chairs that were together. One was tall and big, he was the epitome of a football player. His dark hair was close to his head,
and curly, his blue eyes were a deeper shade then Jasper's. He smiled at us, exposing perfect teeth, and two adorable dimples. I turned my attention to the last of the boys, he had unruly broze hair, his green eyes were deep, and he had a gorgeous half smile. He was tall as well, but built athletically. He probably played a small position, like quaterback or kicker.
He was handsome, and set my heart racing. "I'm Edward," he offered his hand to me. I took it, feeling the tingle spread up my arm.
"Hi," I kinda mumbled out, embarrassed by my lost of words. I pulled my hand back, and settled down at the table. He sat next to me, waiting. I then realized he had no idea who I was.
"I'm sorry, I'm Bella," gah, I was sounding. really smart right now. I took a deep breath, glancing at Rosalie. She was deep in conversation with whom I figured was Emmett. They looked cute together.
I saw Alice watching them, a curious look on her face. Almost as if she was trying to think of a way to get them together. I pulled my paper napkin into my lap shredding it a little. I felt out of place.
"What is your major?" Edward asked me. I turned my attention him. His green eyes took me in.
"Undecided," I shrugged, it sounds worst now that I'm actually at college.
"Me too, the only thing that is certain is football," I smiled at him. He gave me the heartbreaking half grin again. They brought out the pizza, setting one large in front of us, the other large in front of the other table. I made sure I had two slices, because I doubt the pizza would last long. Of course I was right, within minutes of being set down, both pizzas were gone.
No one spoke once we had food. So we sat in comfortable silence, eating. Every now and again Rosalie would bump her knee against mine. I would look at her, and she would raise her eyebrows at me. I would hold back the laughter, instead focusing on the meal.
After dinner we thanked the guys for buying. Heading back to Alice's car the boys followed us, making sure we got there safely. They the climbed into a tahoe right next to us. Should have figured Alice would park next to her brothers. We headed towards campus, Alice, Rosalie and Angela carried on a conversation. I would inject comments when I felt the need. I felt my purse vibrate against my leg. I pulled my phone out, and looked the waiting message.
In New York, sorry. See you at Thanksgiving.
I showed it to Rosalie. She shook her head. "Don't even consider replying," I sighed, slipping it back into my purse.
As we slid into our freshly made beds that night, having parted ways with the girls, and learning that the guys dorm rooms were only five doors down, I was relieved to just be with Rosalie.
"You seemed to be getting along with Emmett well," I told her across the dark room.
"Hm, I suppose," I could see her outline as she sat up and fixed her pillows. "He's sweet, but I would need more one on one time to figure out if I want something more," I nodded even though she couldn't see me at all. "What about Edward, he couldn't stop staring at you," I snorted at that.
"Whatever," I rolled onto my side, trying to ignore her.
"Just get to know him," she whispered out and she turned in her bed. I sighed, closing my eyes.
The first night away in another state I didn't dream of my family or friends, instead I dreamed of Edward.
