I don't own anything! Not even my computer :( POV will change in this story, so look out for the italicized, underlined, bolded words.
Chapter 1: New Beginnings
BPOV:
I sighed heavily as I walked through the breezy tunnel connecting the plane I had just spent several hours on to solid Washington soil. I could see my father waving energetically at me from the greeting area and I forced myself to put on a smile for him. I thought I had escaped this place five years ago when I graduated from Forks High and vowed never to return, but of course, I had been proven wrong. After I left college, I had jumped from job to job, but could never find a steady teaching job anywhere, until Charlie had excitedly told me about an opening at Forks High. I resisted as long as I could, but the prospect of steady money and a stable post was too alluring. I kept reminding myself that maybe Forks itself wasn't that bad, maybe it had just been the horror that was high school.
"Bells!" My dad exclaimed, hugging my tightly. "I thought I'd never see you in Forks again, after all that happened in-" He cut himself off, realizing rightly that I didn't want to talk about what had happened over six years ago now. "I'm so glad you're here!"
"I'm happy to see you, too," I smiled wanly. Travel had never been a passion of mine for the sole reason that it exhausted me. Charlie took my little wheelie carry-on suitcase that held clothes for about a week until the rest of my stuff arrived in a few days, leaving me to hold on to my handbag. I shivered as we exited the airport; although it was late August, the wind was still brisk. I tightened my comfy fleece jacket around myself.
"So how was your flight?" Charlie asked politely. I shrugged.
"As nice as they ever are," Despite Charlie's obvious happiness to have me back in town, the prodigal daughter returned, we soon lapsed into familiar uncomfortable silence. We made most of the drive from Port Angeles to Forks before one of us spoke again.
"Do you want me to drop you off at your apartment to get settled and then eat or vice versa?" Charlie asked, waiting on my instruction to make the turn that would take us to my new, as-yet unseen apartment. He had gotten it for me so I didn't have to make an extra trip out, and I trusted that it was fine. I thought for a moment before answering.
"I think apartment first. I kind of want to take a shower, you know, get all the travel grime off me." I said, somewhat apologetic. I didn't know if this would hurt his feelings, but him being gruff Charlie, he just nodded and turned. "Maybe we can meet for dinner in a couple hours?" He nodded again, and started talking about all the good restaurants in town. Soon enough, we were in front of a large brick building just off the main street in Forks. It had pretty ivy growing up the walls and a homey air, and I knew right away that I loved it. "It's gorgeous, Dad! Thank you!" Impulsively, I leaned over and hugged him. He started blushing, a tendency that I had inherited.
"No problem, sweetie. I already got the deposit and stuff taken care of, and most of your furniture got here yesterday, so that's up there, but I didn't arrange it. Here's the key," he said, and handed me a shiny new key. "It's 2A, remember. I'll see you in two hours, honey," he said, and I hopped out of the car with my wheelie suitcase, excited for the first time about my new life back in Forks.
--
Entering the apartment, I was almost speechless. "Thank you, Charlie!" I exclaimed, and dropped my bags to run from room to room. I can't believe this is mine, I thought. The apartment was not large, but it was beautiful. There was a small foyer with a tiny table, and a kitchen with shiny oak cabinets. The living room, the largest room in the apartment, had several big windows, and felt airy and free. The bedroom and the connecting bathroom were painted a sunny light yellow, and I quickly decided that they were my favorite rooms. As Charlie had said, most of my furniture was clustered in the living room, and as soon as I tried pushing my familiar bed into the bedroom, I knew it wouldn't work. Oh well, I thought. Maybe I'll make some strong friends. As I thought it, I knew what my best friend in Phoenix would have said. I could almost hear Angela laughing as she advised, Maybe that's not all they'll be helping you with... I felt tears rush into my eyes as I thought about her. We had been friends since freshman year of college, and moved in together after we graduated. However, she had found a steady job immediately, and was even engaged to be married in a few months to her college boyfriend, Ben. Whereas I had to move across the country to find a job and hadn't even had a date in a year. I had to smile through my tears at the sheer self-pity I could hear in my mind. Angela would never let me wallow, even when I felt I had perfectly good reason, and so I plugged in my iPod stereo and started playing music loudly while I arranged the smaller furniture.
--
A few hours later, the apartment was sparse, but it was done. The kitchen was stocked with most of my utensils and dishes, the bedroom was organized neatly (I knew it wouldn't stay that way for long), and the living room was full of all the things too large to move, like my bed. I perched on the edge of the kitchen counter and sipped a glass of water, surveying my work. I still hadn't showered, but I didn't want to until I was satisfied for the time being. Finally, I nodded and hopped off, heading to the bathroom to wash off. I turned the music up so I could still hear it while I showered and rummaged through my hastily-organized closet, finding my soft dark blue flannel robe and shrugging into it. I grabbed my bag of toiletries from my wheelie suitcase and set them in a careful line along the edge of the tub, deciding to take a really quick shower after glancing at the clock. Charlie would be calling soon.
Ten minutes later, I was toweling off when I realized I had forgotten my hairbrush in my living room. I pulled on my robe, running my fingers through my long hair to detangle it before it became a lost cause. I nearly had a heart attack when I walked out into the living room to see a tall, lanky guy around my own age leaning on the same counter I had been sitting on ten minutes before.
"Don't worry, Charlie sent me," he said before I could fully process that there was a total stranger in my apartment. I grasped the front of my robe closer, realizing how unclothed I was.
"Um..." I searched for how best to phrase this. "Who are you?" He laughed.
"I'm Edward Cullen, I live in the building. I actually met your dad when he came in looking for an apartment for you. He wanted me to help you get set up, but it looks like you did okay, except for, you know, the bed. Unless this is your bedroom?" He said, giving a little superior laugh.
"No, but I'm fine," I said stiffly. "I'll just take it apart and move it in there."
"You don't look like the kind of girl who's handy with tools," he observed dryly. I don't like you, I thought.
"You don't look like the kind of guy who's handy with tools," I retorted. He didn't, actually. He was tall, but pretty skinny, with dark auburn hair and green eyes. He looked like the kind of guy who ran for student government in high school- not totally geeky, but definitely not popular clique material.
"Ah, but appearances are deceiving," he said, and pulled out a toolbox from behind him. "I'm entirely at your disposal." I blushed at the faint double entendre. Clearly, he understood, and had in fact meant to make me uncomfortable.
"Maybe you could come back when I'm fully clothed," I said with forced politeness. How can he just come in here and take over? I seethed internally. One of the things I detested most was people trying to help me simply because I was small and female. I was no great feminist, but I did feel like I was perfectly capable.
"Sure," he said easily, grabbing the toolbox and heading toward the door. "By the way," he stopped and turned to face me. "I'm having dinner with you and Charlie tonight, so I'll see you later," he gave me a crooked grin clearly meant to endear himself to me, and left, carefully shutting the door behind himself.
"Bye," I singsonged quietly, grabbing my hairbrush and running it angrily through my hair. Unfortunately, the tangles had started to set in, and the tugging made me angrier. My hair was long, about to the middle of my back, but I was seriously considering cutting it all off at this point. I chose dark jeans and a comfortable gray sweater for dinner, not wanting this arrogant Edward to think I dressed up for him. He clearly thinks all the women of the world fall at his feet, I thought scathingly. I stuck my feet into my beat-up old Converse and grabbed my bag off the small table in the foyer before heading out. It looked safe in the hallway, but as I reached the stairway, I saw a messy-haired auburn head bobbing down the stairs, and I sighed. Unfortunately, there was no other way out of the building, and I reluctantly opened the door and headed out myself. I internally grimaced as I saw the head turn around in surprise.
"Bella!" Edward called. "Fancy meeting you here," he said. I tried to smile.
"Yes, fancy it," I muttered. We reached the bottom of the stairs and I saw Charlie's cruiser parked outside. "Shotgun," I called quickly.
"A bit juvenile, isn't it?" Edward remarked, affecting a sophisticated accent.
"What?" I asked, though I knew. I am not the juvenile one here.
"Calling shotgun," he replied. I scoffed.
"Whatever," I said, reaching the car and opening the door. "You just wish you'd thought of it." I was feeling less and less obligation to be kind to this arrogant man. "Hi Dad," I said as Edward slid into the backseat. I felt a surge of pleasure at seeing him behind bars in the back of the cruiser.
"Hi, Chief Swan," Edward said respectfully.
"Hi, kids," Charlie said cheerfully, pulling into the meager traffic on the main street. "Where do you want to have dinner?"
"How about that Chinese place on 3rd?" I asked. That had been a major hangout of mine in high school, and I had fond memories of learning scraps of Chinese from the cook. How that family had chosen to immigrate to Forks of all places, I had no idea, but I was grateful.
"Fine with me. Edward?"
"Whatever Bella wants," Edward replied courteously. Charlie beamed, and I scowled. I could tell where this was going. Charlie had tried to set me up two times before, both with sons of men on the police force in town, and both times it was unbearably awkward. What really irritated me, though, was that Edward was playing right along. He had to know what my dad was planning! We pulled into the parking lot at the restaurant after about ten minutes of horribly awkward conversation; or at least, horribly awkward for me.
"Hi, welcome to- Bella Swan! It's been years!" The hostess, who was also the wife of the cook, had been, sadly, a friend to me while I was in high school. "You're so beautiful! Not that you weren't always, but wow!" She gave me a tight hug. "And such a handsome boyfriend," she said, looking at Edward appreciatively.
"He is not my boyfriend," I said firmly. I saw Edward actually look a little hurt out of the corner of my eye and I felt instantly bad. "We just met today," I amended.
"He's helping her set up her new apartment; she just moved back," Charlie chimed in. The woman smiled widely and gestured us to a large booth near the fishtank.
"Here you go, everybody. Bella's favorite table, if I recall correctly," she winked, and handed out menus. My dad had taken one side of the booth, and Edward had sat right down in the other, so I had to sit next to one of them. Charlie saw my hesitation and suggested, "Why don't you sit with Edward, honey?" I groaned inwardly, but complied. The seats were big enough that I wouldn't have to touch him. This was going to be an interesting night.
--
EPOV:
As I unlocked the door to my apartment, I sighed deeply. I could tell Bella didn't even remember me. We'd gone to high school together for four years, and my name didn't even ring a bell. This didn't bother me as much, however, as the fact that I could tell she didn't like me. This was a problem. I had thought, when I met Charlie by chance a couple weeks before while he was touring the building, that this was my shot. I knew it was creepy, and pathetic, and weird to still harbor a crush on a girl you knew in high school five years after high school was over, but I couldn't help myself. When we were in high school, I couldn't muster up the courage to even talk to her. She had seemed so untouchable, laughing with her best friend every day at lunch, and flirting with that awful Mike Newton. I'd come up with a plan junior year to become more like Mike so maybe I'd have a shot, but it failed miserably, and I'd retreated back into my shell even further. Sure, during college I'd dated a few girls, and it would seem to be going fine for a few weeks, until I could no longer stop myself from comparing them to Bella, this girl I barely knew anything about. So when Charlie came along, I couldn't help but keep asking about her, and pretty soon he picked it up. I resolved to try to be more outgoing, but clearly this was backfiring, if the annoyance that flashed across her face whenever I spoke that night was any indication. Honestly, that was fine with me; I wasn't naturally a very outgoing person. I flopped down on the couch and pulled my phone out of my pocket to dial Jasper, one of my best friends.
"Hey, Jasper," I said, sounding self-pitying even to myself.
"It didn't go so well, did it?" Jasper asked sympathetically. He also had attended high school with me and Bella, and had been with me since the beginning.
"No! I tried to be all witty and stuff, but I think I was just obnoxious," I sighed, and got up to grab a drink from the fridge.
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Jasper said, skeptical. "You had girls all over you in college, and you could have even in high school if you had tried a little harder." I scoffed.
"Sure, whatever. Anyway, I was hoping we could hang out tomorrow. Her dad asked me to help her set up her apartment, but I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm just a huge creep, so there will need to be witnesses."
"Sounds fine. I'll see you around ten?"
"All right. Bye," I flipped the phone closed and sat back for a moment, trying to think of any way this could possibly work. I felt my heart sink as I realized there was no possible way it could work. I need to get over her, I thought bitterly. She must have some flaw. I guess I can find out tomorrow.
What did you guys think? Edward is a little bit pathetic, but isn't he always? :) I think of him as having self-esteem issues. He doesn't get how awesome he is! Review please!
