Moving to Forks wasn't the best thing that I had done. Sure, I loved Charlie, and I had almost no problem living with him. I missed my mother, though. It was kind of good that I left, that I got some freedom. I needed that. I missed Arizona too; I never really had friends, but it was nice all the same.
Things at school had been pretty good so far.
I have never had a boyfriend. I have never really fit in any group. I guess I would be considered a loner-a very, very quiet loner.
Lots of people notice me, and my mother has always told me that I was very pretty, beautiful even. I have never really been able to notice it though-I'm too modest.
Standing in my room now, looking in my mirror, I could see some changes in myself.
In Arizona, I was happy for the most part. But all my life, I had felt empty, hollow in some way. My eyes used to be brighter; they had seemed to dull over time. I never styled my hair any more. My clothes were tasteful, but I didn't put a lot of effort into my looks. I never wore makeup. As long as I looked presentable I was fine.
I ran my hand through my hair once, sighing. Time for school again, and it was Monday nonetheless. Things hadn't really changed since I moved here. I was still clumsy and P.E. was still my least favorite class.
I had spent too much time in my room, thinking, and so I didn't have enough time for breakfast. I rushed out to my truck, which had been good to me so far, and drove off towards the school. On my way there, I vaguely noticed that even though it was foggy, it didn't seem like it was going to rain today.
I smiled. This, at least, made things a little better.
When I got to the school, I was agitated to know that I was running even shorter on time than I had previously thought. My class was on the other side of the building, and I had less than five minutes to get there. I mentally lectured myself, upset that I was running behind.
I was going to have to make sure I didn't get so preoccupied in the future.
I ran to class, only tripping twice. I sat down right before the bell rang. The teacher still shot me a warning look, which caused me to blush. I smiled apologetically and looked away. I sighed. It was going to be a long day.
----
I was wrong when I said that the day would be long. Not only was it long, it was torturous. All of my classes seemed to linger on forever and I had two surprise quizzes. It was lunch now, and I was sitting alone as usual.
I'd always expected someone to come up one day and wonder aloud if they could sit with me, or if I wanted to go sit with them, but it had only happened once or twice. The school was small, yes, but you would like to think more people cared.
I had a slice of pizza and a bottle of water for lunch.
I sighed after I finished, but never broke my concentration from tracing the lines on the table. Today wasn't the best day I had had. In fact, it was going quite terrible.
Bored, I looked over at the clock to see if I could leave yet. With a jolt of joy, I noticed that I could. I got up and shuffled over to the parking lot, trying not to look too eager to get out of there.
But on my way to my truck, I collided with someone. Hard. My books went flying and I crashed to the ground.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm so sorry."
I looked up to see whom I had bumped into and immediately gasped. He seemed annoyed that I had ran into him at first, but then he seemed stunned, for lack of a better word. He walked off, quickly and wordlessly.
Staring after him, I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous he was. Not only that, but he was so graceful, lithe, poised. I sat there for a moment in shock and then gathered my books. I shook my head and began walking to my truck, wondering why I was putting so much thought into it. I'd ran into plenty of people in my lifetime. So what if none of them were as gorgeous as him?
Maybe he hated me. No one had ever hated me. Ever. In fact, I was a very likable person. But then again, no one had walked away from me like I was some kind of plague before either. I felt a strong surge of bitterness go through me.
His eyes were so piercing; they frightened me. I had never seen him before, though, so I assumed he must be new. I glanced at the clock and noticed the time. Class was starting in five minutes, so I got my books and decided to show up early.
"Ah, Miss Swan," Mr. Banner said. "Nice to see you here so early."
I nodded and mumbled a hello to him. I sat down in my seat quickly and stared down at nothing, waiting for class to begin.
I got a strange feeling and looked up instinctively. Standing in the front of the classroom was none other than the stranger that I had crashed into earlier.
I took a deep breath and held it, making eye contact with him. His eyes were still appraising me in that same manner, and I looked away abruptly.
"Edward," Mr. Banner says, "Why don't you take the empty seat next to Bella?"
I let out my breath jaggedly, and Edward and I exchange glances of absolute horror.
----
"Mr. Cullen, please take the seat that I assigned to you," Mr. Banner said.
Edward had stared at Mr. Banner for a few seconds, speaking in hushed tones with him. He was probably trying to get Mr. Banner to change his mind. Too bad it didn't work.
Edward gained his composure and came to sit next to me. He sat as far away as possible.
As Mr. Banner prattled on, I contemplated the reasons that Edward might have for fearing and/or hating me.
Maybe he was just shy. Maybe he was mad at me for crashing into him earlier.
I tired speaking to him once, but quickly gave up on that.
"Hello, Edward," I had said. "My name is Bella. It's nice to meet you, and um, sorry about earlier. You know, the collision and all."
He had nodded quickly, but never made eye contact with me or even looked my way. I decided that he was just really mean; he hadn't even given me a chance.
"What a jerk," I mumbled under my breath, so low that it would be impossible for anyone but me to hear it.
But surprise, surprise. He had.
So here we both were, sitting there staring at each other. We both had the same expression plastered about our faces, though I'm positive for different reasons.
My expression matched my mood. I was bitter. But he looked…scared. Scared and a bit angry. He had no reason to be. I mean really, what was scary about a 5'4 girl who couldn't walk over a flat surface without tripping? I guess he had a right to be angry, though, since he heard me call him a jerk. It'd be ridiculous if he decided to hold on to that too.
He did.
Needless to say, this was going to be a long, tense class.
----
The bell rang, jolting me from my thoughts, and when I looked up I saw Edward sweeping gracefully from the room. Neither I, nor any of the other students were even out of their chairs yet. I sighed and headed off to P.E.
In P.E., we played basketball. I twisted my ankle, which was good if you considered that I got to sit out for more than half of the class. Plus, it meant that I wouldn't be causing myself further injury, or hurting any of my classmates. Basketball had never really been my thing, anyway. Neither had any other sport, for that matter.
----
I saw Edward again in the parking lot.
I was limping towards my truck when I spotted him with his siblings. They, too, were beautiful beyond belief. They were all laughing-a positively beautiful sound to hear-and he actually watched me as I walked past. His eyes weren't as harsh as they had been before.
He gave me this half smile that made my heart stop, and then got in the car with his siblings and sped away. Only after they were gone did I notice that I had stopped walking to watch them. I blushed, realizing how nosy I had been, and got into my truck to begin my drive home.
----
Once in the safety of my room, I had some time to think. I realized that I wanted to know more about them. There was definitely something odd about them. No one was that beautiful. Right before settling into a good book, I decided on an option for what I could do. I would just have to avoid them at all costs.
----
After arriving to school the next morning, I gathered my books and turned to walk away to my first class. Someone showed up out of nowhere, blocking my way. She was perfect. She had long blond hair and was tall and beautiful. She was also one of Edward's sisters.
"Bella," she said. "I'm Rosalie Hale."
I waited for her to say more, but she never did. She just sat there staring at me, waiting for my reply.
"Um, hi," I said.
She flipped her hair back over her shoulder.
"So, do you like Edward?"
Her question caught me off guard. He was attractive, to say the least, but he didn't make a very good first impression.
"I don't really know him," I said hesitantly.
"Oh," she said with a smile. This seemed to please her.
"They switched the schedule around because the freshmen are doing some charity event or something through our school. What class do you have 5th period," she asked me.
Her voice flowed beautifully, and I suddenly wondered what Edward's sounded like.
It took a minute for me to respond, because I was looking into her eyes. They were a butterscotch color, amazing. Edward's eyes had been the same color.
"Uh, English," I told her.
"Cool," she said. "Come on, we have a class together today."
And with that, Rosalie and I stalked off to English with each other. We arrived a little early, so I took the opportunity to make conversation with her. By now, I had already decided that my previous plan to avoid them wasn't going to work.
I only wanted to know why Rosalie seemed to have some sudden interest in me.
"So," I began. "How do you like Forks so far?"
She looked at me oddly for a moment, and then answered with a simple, "It's okay."
I nodded and let it go; she had sounded a little annoyed when I asked that. She probably hated it here.
The teacher started talking and I turned my attention over to him.
The hour went by quickly, and when the bell rang, Rosalie smiled at me for a moment, then swept out of the room just as her brother had the day before. I didn't know if we could be considered acquaintances now or not, but I actually liked Rosalie. She seemed like a nice person, and I wondered if the rest of her family was like her. Edward certainly didn't seem to be. Shame.
----
I was absolutely horrified when I found out that P.E. was my next class. Having it once a day was already bad enough, but to have it sooner than usual just made things a thousand times worse. I couldn't use the bad ankle excuse anymore, because my teacher had seen me walking around earlier in the day. I couldn't play sick either, because I am not really convincing with those things. Knowing I was out of options, I sighed, and walked off towards the locker room.
I changed my clothes and walked out to the gym. The teacher was talking to someone so we had to wait for class to begin. I noticed with a stab a fear, that there was another class that was going to be participating along with ours. This was just great, now even more people were going to be able to see me in all of my glory. The teacher got up and instructed us on what to do and I sighed. All of the rules went in one ear and out the other.
Soccer.
This was going to be bad.
----
I was sitting at home on the couch watching television. Actually, I was staring at the television, not really watching it. Not only because nothing good was on, but also because I was thinking. I had had a hard time concentrating in P.E., and had been pulled violently out of my thoughts by contact with the soccer ball, from which I had a few bruises. Right now, though, I actually had some time to think.
And what was I thinking about? I wasn't thinking about a what, though. No, I was thinking about a who.
I was thinking about Edward and what Rosalie had said regarding him. She had wanted to know if I liked him, and I told her no. I should be content with that. But I wasn't. Maybe I did like him after all. But I didn't know him. I sighed in frustration, wrinkling my brow and turning off the TV.
There is something different about Rosalie. I can tell. Not only her inhuman beauty and grace, but there is something else. I guess it would be classified as a feeling, a vibe that I got when I was around her. I had had that same feeling about Edward, though it was dulled out a bit by the fact that he seemed to hate me so. But that smile. He had smiled at me.
But Rosalie seemed like someone I could trust. She seemed like a genuine friend. She'd be a little tough to crack, but I could see loyalty somewhere along the line.
Look at me. Here I was ranting on about these people that I hardly even knew. Maybe Rosalie was just curious because her brother had mentioned me or something. But if he had mentioned me that had to mean something. He had to feel something for me then. This was frustrating.
I grabbed my coat, deciding to go for a walk. I opened the door and slid outside. It is cold and raining-big surprise there.
I feel a stab of nostalgia and quickly push it away. I don't have time to mope. I need to think.
I stepped onto the sidewalk and began my journey into nowhere.
Just as I was beginning to compose my thoughts, I was splashed by a ridiculous amount of water.
I growled under my breath, and stood there with my eyes closed, telling myself that that didn't really just happen. I know that I am wrong, though. I can still hear the car.
I opened my eyes. The car that had sped by me was backing up. It is none other than the Volvo-the Volvo that belongs to Edward Cullen. He got out of the car and approached me. I attempted to look angry, but I am sure I looked more surprised.
"I'm very sorry, Bella," Edward told me. "I was driving much to fast. I didn't notice you there."
Gee, thanks.
Despite his words, I noticed that the corners of his mouth were twitching, as if he wanted to smile. I probably did look comical. Regardless, it wasn't a funny situation. I glowered at him and peeled off my thoroughly drenched coat. My clothes were soaked too, and I needed to get home and change into something warm before I caught pneumonia.
"Bella," he prodded when I said nothing.
"I'm fine," I told him coldly.
"Get in the car," he commanded. "I'll drive you home."
I looked at him as if he had suddenly grown a third arm.
"No thanks," I replied coolly, "It's not that far."
He frowned.
I smile to myself, and turn to walk towards my house.
After taking a few steps I am aware of the fact that he is trailing me in his car. I figured that was getting really cold anyway, so I sighed and walked over to the passenger side of the car. Opening the door, I hesitated, noticing that the seats are leather.
"I'll ruin your seats," I informed him.
"No you won't."
His voice was confident, so I eased myself into the seat. I looked over at him and he started laughing. My expression changed to a glare.
"What is funny about this situation?" I demanded.
"You look hilarious," he admits.
I blushed and looked away.
"Sorry," he said again.
"It's fine, Edward."
I looked out the window for a moment, before turning to face him again.
"Why aren't we moving?"
"What," he asks.
"You are supposed to be driving me home. We aren't moving." My voice was soft, but that was probably only because I was looking into his eyes.
Wow, I thought. They're gorgeous.
"I'll get you there," he said quickly, pulling me back into focus. "I heard you talked to Rosalie."
"Yes. She seemed nice."
He gave me an odd look as if to say otherwise, but instead said, "She can be."
I was about to ask him something, but then he smiled and my thoughts all ran together. I took a deep breath, and looked down into my lap.
He begins driving again.
We reached my house quickly. I loved speeding, even if it was weird, my dad being Chief of Police and all. Apparently Edward does too.
I couldn't think of anything to say. I was still trying to straighten out my thoughts, for I could smell him, and believe me when I say that he smelled great. I opened the door and stepped out.
"Thanks," I said, leaning in the window.
"No problem," he responds.
I back away, and start walking towards my front door. I hear him drive away, and then something dawns on me. Edward Cullen is a very different person too. Their whole family is different.
----
The phone rang early the next morning, bringing me out of my sleep. The alarm clock next to my bed told me it wasn't quite so early as I thought it was, but it was still 30 minutes before I'd normally get up for school
"Hello?"
"Bella." The voice recognized.
"Who is this?" I hated mornings.
"This is Edward."
I didn't say anything for a few minutes, thinking I was having some bizarre dream.
"Bella?"
"Yes, sorry."
"I was wondering if maybe-"
I cut him off. I didn't want him to finish what he was saying. "I'm sorry Edward, but this really isn't a good time. I've got to go."
And I hung up.
Was I afraid of dedication? Hell, yes.
Besides, if it was meant to be, then there would be other opportunities.
And the guy woke me up. I had every right to be annoyed.
----
I didn't see him at school, to my great pleasure. I could only imagine what I may have said to him, whether it be positive or not. Of course a part of me wanted to see him, but only a part.
I didn't like him, I realized. He was a bit of an annoyance. He reminded me of a dog, one that follows you around everywhere.
But it certainly did seem like he liked me.