Disclaimer: There is not one second of my life that I ever wanted to own Twilight.
A/N: New stories we all love 'em. This story takes place in 2007 (I know it was forever ago) and in Ohio. Like it or leave it. I'm still working on 'Welcome Home', it's just that this plot kept bugging me and made it difficult to write my first one. I will post links and such to my profile just like I do with 'Welcome Home'
I woke up to the sound of rain pounding my window, an unpleasant sound that I will soon be leaving behind. I, Isabella Marie Swan, have graduated from Forks High School and got a full scholarship to Wright State University. I will be driving cross country to the Eastern Time Zone in my 16th birthday present from mom and Phil. I will be taking part in a social experiment pairing very different people up together in an old frat house. I will be living with people I have never met before, I don't even know their name, I do know that three of them are siblings and there's a set of twins.
I went downstairs to find dad sitting at the scrubbed kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the paper. Although what news Forks actual has is beyond me. "Mornin' Bells." Dad greeted barely lifting his eyes.
"Hey dad." I sad opening the fridge and taking out the orange juice. "You're not at work yet?" I asked sitting down next to him.
"Nope wanted to see you off first, changed your oil, checked your tire pressure; you have over two thousand miles to drive Bells, just want to make sure you're safe." Dad explained turning a bit red. I loved him so much; he was the best dad anyone could ask for, even if he had trouble with emotion which I inherited from him.
I finished breakfast and changed into jeans, a hooded striped shirt, my lucky rainbow socks, and chucks. Comfort is my style. I picked up my suit cases and my laptop bag containing the laptop that I had used part of my savings from working at Newton's Outfitters for the past two years to buy.
I was not the type of person that liked to shop and spend, I was a homebody that was happy filling her savings account. I carried my bags down the stairs and dropped them by the door. "Hey Bells. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Dad asked walking up to me, I nodded and he went on. "You got a full scholarship and because of this program that you're participating in you get your room and board free." I nodded wondering where this was going. "I had been putting money away your whole life in to a college fund for you. It ended up being a pretty large sum. I know I don't make much, but my expenses aren't huge, even when I was paying child support my expenses were about half my paycheck." He took a deep breath and continued explaining. "For eighteen years I split my left over paycheck between your college fund and my retirement fund. I have a check here for you, it's a pretty hefty sum, but I trust you with it Bells."
My dad reached out his hand and placed a check for over one hundred thousand dollars in my hand. I knew my mouth dropped open. "Dad? How?" Was all I could manage to say. "It's like I said Bells, almost no expenses. I drive the cruiser; so I don't have a car payment, the county pays for the insurance on it; my food bill isn't high, I catch most of what I eat; I live alone, so the utilities are never high; and it's a small town, so I don't have to buy much gas. I've saved nearly everything." My dad shrugged leaving me at a loss for words, so I did the only thing I could, I moved forward and wrapped my arms around him.
"Thanks dad. I love you." I said fighting back tears. He has always thought about me, always. Not only had he been paying child support on a daughter he rarely saw, but he put half his life savings into a savings account for me. There were no words to explain how much this gesture meant.
Dad walked me to my car 2005 blue Cobalt, it's small and reliable. To say I was shocked to look outside my bedroom window on my 16th birthday and see this car with a bow on top is an understatement. My mom was never one to hold down a job and she certainly never went to college. We never had much money when I was growing up, but then she married Phil. He was a major league baseball player on the Diamondbacks roster. She now lived in a large house, in a nice neighborhood, on the upper side of Phoenix. Most of all though she doesn't have a daughter to care for. OK. That's not fair, she loves me, she just wasn't meant to be a mother.
I moved to Forks when I was 14 and I haven't totally regretted it. Dad made sure his bills were paid, not me, he had a stable job, and reliable routines. Living with dad allowed me to be a teenager the way living with mom hadn't.
"Well Bells…I'll see you. Don't forget to call at rest stops to let me know you're alright." My dad said his mustache bristling a little. He leaned in and hugged me once again this time hanging on just a bit longer. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and clung to him tighter. "I'm going to miss you daddy." I said letting in all out on his shoulder. "I know Bells. I love you baby girl." He replied his voice wavering a little.
All too soon the alarm on my phone went off telling me it was time for me to head out. We pulled away; he kissed my forehead and opened my door for me. I got in, buckled my seatbelt and pulled out. I drove to Seattle where I deposited the check from dad into my account and stopped at a diner for lunch. It had a 50's theme and a friendly atmosphere. The waitresses wore poodle skirts and rolled around on skates.
I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich, fries and a coke and while I waited for my food to get here I called my dad to let him know where I was. He told me the usual cop thing "wear your seatbelt and drive the speed limit", and then the dad thing "I love you, be safe". When I hung up I went to the jukebox and picked my favorite song by 'The Turtles'. My food arrived and I finished eating a half hour later and after a fifteen minute fill-up at the gas station, I was on the road with two bottles of coke, candy and chips.
Four hours, one toll booth, and a ferry ride later and I had reached Spokane and pulled through a McDonalds drive through for dinner. I parked in a space outside the building ate my Big Mac and called dad once again to let him know that I'm safe and I'll be sleeping over night in a hotel in Montana. That was one of their concessions, no motels. It was the only thing dad, Renee could both agree on, the only thing they have ever agreed on. They didn't trust the weirdo's that hung around those joints, most especially the one's carrying joints. My dad is still a cop.
He gave me the same lecture that he had before and I was off once more. I pulled up to the Marriot in Missoula Montana just after 10 pm. I was exhausted. I went to the front desk handed over my debit card, went up to my room and crashed on my bed.
I woke up to my alarm going off at 5 the next morning, showered, changed, grabbed a bagel and coffee from downstairs, checked out, and I was on the road again by 6:30 am. I would've been gone sooner, but when I called to check in with both parents mom insisted on talking for twenty minutes.
I got back on I-90 and drove until noon, stopped for lunch and a fill-up at a gas station in Billings Montana. I grabbed a bag of chips, hot dog, and water, called dad and I was back on I-90. I found a wreck in Broadus that slowed traffic down, so I took the time to exchange my Linkin Park cd for a 90's hits cd. Eventually I made it to Rapid City; I called to check in, and ate dinner. I got to Sioux Falls by midnight, called dad and called it a night.
I looked at a map the next morning and realized I was more than halfway done with my journey. 8pm that night I was in Richmond and would have little driving to do tomorrow.
I had made it to Fairborn and Wright State by 8 am the next morning. Someone from the University met me in the parking lot; she said her name was Chelsea. She gave me a letter from the Dean of Students, Aro Volturi, expressing his 'deep regret that he could not be here to meet me in person', I wonder how many students got these; then showed me where I'd be living.
It was a former frat house just on the outskirts of campus. I was the first one there and my nerves went through the roof. The house only had the bare minimum at the moment, when I confirmed my staying here they told me one of the moms was an interior decorator and would like to decorate the house herself. I, of course, agreed.
At 10 am a set of blonde headed twins walked in the door, one boy and one girl. I stood up and held out my hand. "I'm Isabella Swan, but I go by Bella. The blonde boy took it and kissed my knuckles and spoke with a southern accent. "Jasper Hale, pleased to meet you. This is my twin Rosalie." She nodded, took my hand, and gave me an unsure kind of smile. They were a very attractive pair, I felt insignificant in comparison.
We talked for around an hour waiting for the other three. They were 19, from Texas and went to Texas Tech last year. Rosalie is majoring in mechanical engineering, while Jasper is majoring in history.
At 11:30 the last of the roommates arrived, a tall burly boy, a short pixie-like girl, and a gorgeous bronze haired boy. The pixie, who was about an inch shorter than me, ran up to and hugged me around the waist. I wasn't sure what to do, so I hugged her back. "We are going to be best friends! I just know it!" She ran to Rosalie and did the same thing, only she's about 5 inches shorter than Rosalie, and said "Us too! Best friends!". Rosalie wasn't paying attention though; she was far too busy looking at the dark haired boy, who was staring right back at her.
The bronze haired boy stepped forward and introduced everyone. "I'm Edward Cullen; this is my sister Alice, and my brother Emmett." We talked until the resident advisor for our end of the campus, Riley, came to tell us where we were sleeping, which was about 5 minutes. He walked us through the living room and up the staircase, standing next to a couch.
"Now there's a catch to all of this. You all might have noticed by now that there 3 girls and 3 boys." We all gave him an 'uh duh' kind of look. "Right…well you will be partnered up boy and girl, Alice with Jasper, Isabella with Emmett, and Rosalie with Edward. So if there are no ques-" Rosalie cut him off.
"Actually I would rather be paired with Emmet if that's quiet all right." Rosalie said batting her eyelashes successfully stunning him. "Yeah…no…um that's fine. Sure thing, like I was saying Alice with Jasper, Rosalie with Emmett, and Isabella with Edward." I didn't have any complaints, I got bronze haired boy.
He showed us all our rooms and we started unpacking when I heard this ungodly screech behind me. "Oh Edward! Baby I missed you so much! Did you miss me?"
He turned around and looked stunned "Oh hey Tanya. This is my roommate Bella." She shot me the worst glared I had ever seen. "Roommate huh?" She asked her voice dripping with venom. I realized very quickly that this year is going to suck so bad.