It was such a nice day outside. Maybe I could wait her out. I glanced up at towards our apartment and saw her staring at me. I couldn't make out her features. Just a small pale face surrounded by dark spiky hair.
"Shit." She was waiting for me. I figured that by the time I got back from running my errands which included grocery shopping, picking some books up from the library and dropping some packages off at the post office, she'd be gone already. Imagine my surprise when I saw her little yellow car still parked at our complex.
Running my fingers through my new short locks I took a deep breath and headed up to face her talking aloud to myself. "Stand firm Bella. Don't let her coerce you into doing anything you don't want to do".
As soon as I walked through the door, there she was, hand her hip staring me down. "Thought you could run and hide did you?" She was already dressed for the day in a short denim mini skirt and long sleeved pink shirt.
"Shorty, what are you talking about?" I played stupid and walked right past her into the kitchen to put the groceries away. She followed me in plopping herself onto the countertop.
"You are coming with me tonight."
I finished putting the food away before answering. "No. No I'm not. You have a good time though." I kissed her right cheek and strode into my bedroom feeling very proud of myself.
When I heard the door open right back up, I rolled my eyes and sighed. She didn't give up easily did she?
She flipped on the radio and started bopping her head to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" before turning to my closet.
"Bella, come on. I refuse to let you stay holed up in this apartment again this year. You need to get out and meet people," Alice proclaimed while rummaging through my closet looking for the "perfect outfit".
I flopped down on my bed and tried to think of a way to get out of going. Since it was the beginning of the school year, our sophomore year, I really couldn't use studying as an excuse yet. It's not that I didn't like hanging out with Alice, it's just that some of the situations she put me in made me completely uncomfortable.
She managed to drag me to a few parties freshmen year. It was awkward every single time. I don't drink and when you're surrounded by a bunch of drunken college students who tended to dry hump anything in sight, it's not the best situation. Funny but still kind of uncomfortable.
I'll never forget the last party we went to accompanied by Angela Webber and Rosalie Hale.
The night didn't start off bad at all. The 4 of us were hanging around one of the beer pong tables setup in the dining room at one of the many frat houses around campus. Angela and Rosalie were both nursing Screwdrivers while Alice and I sipped on Coke. I got through 3 of them before I felt the effects.
I ended up having to pee but had no idea where the bathroom was. I started wondering around looking for an available toilet. I got smacked in the ass hard 3 times by unidentified frat boys and was fuming. It was too dark to find out who the perpetrators were so I tried to protect my ass with my hands as I quickly made my way through the crowd.
I wasn't sure if my night could get any worse. I was about to pee my pants and would probably have bruises on my ass from being hit. I thought I saw what looked like a bathroom and made my way towards it. I wished I had just pissed my pants. It would have been so much better than what really happened. Which was coming across Lauren Mallory blowing Tyler Crowley in dark corner outside the living room.
Alice and I had both gone to high school with them and it was not the first time, I caught them screwing around. I shuddered at the memory of catching Tyler going down on Lauren in the Sci-Fi section in our school library. What the hell is it with those two and public sex?!
I gasped and they both stopped what they were doing to look at me.
"Hey Bella," Tyler slurred.
Lauren leered at me for a half second longer before going back to Tyler's crotch. At least the bitch was dedicated.
His head fell back against the wall and his hands gripped Lauren's head as he pumped into her mouth.
Forgetting I had to pee, I ran out of the house shoving and pushing people out of my way. I'm not prude but fuck, give me a break. Going down on a guy in the middle of a party is just foul. Especially when you know the dumbasses.
I heard Alice call out to me from the beer pong table. "Bella where are you going?" She ran over to me. In my stupefied state, the only thing that came to mind was "IjustsawLaurenblowingTylerEWWIhavetogonow." I walked 9 blocks home trying to get the image out of my head.
That was the last time I agreed to go to any parties with Alice. She had tried just about every technique to get me to give in, whether it be blackmail, bribery or good old fashioned begging.
While she continued to go through the closet debating with herself on what I should wear, I buried my nose in Pride and Prejudice making no move whatsoever to change out of my sweats and tank top. I hoped she got the point and left me alone.
Unfortunately for me this was not the case. She emerged from my closet and in her arms was a set of clothing consisting of distressed denim jeans and a blue short sleeved shirt from Abercrombie and Fitch, no doubt purchased by her and snuck into my closet.
"For you." She tossed them onto my bed.
"For what?"
"You're coming with me tonight Bella. There is a boy I want you meet. He's in my art class and he's soo cute and soo your type I just know it. He said he was coming tonight and he's bringing his brother and his friend. And you need to get out of this apartment. Your turning into a hermit and the year has barely started. I cannot allow another year of this. I just can't. I'm putting you check."
It all came out in a rush.
I should've known she would give up until she got her way. I closed my book. It was a valiant effort but deep down I knew she'd win. "Fine. I'll go. Now leave."
She smiled and started walking out. "I've got the shoes for your outfit in my room".
Grudgingly, I got off the bed and got dressed. 20 minutes later my hair was straightened and we were out the door.
When we arrived at the apartment complex, it wasn't just one of the units throwing a party, it was the whole floor. People flowed in and out of one unit and into another.
Being the social butterfly that she is, she introduced me to a slew of people. He was one of these people. I first saw him from across the room in apartment 1C. I'll never forget the way my heart sped up when I first set eyes on him. Beautiful.
From what I could tell he was about a foot taller than me and lanky with a head full of wild bronze hair. That was all I could make out because then he saw me staring at him and I quickly looked away blushing at having been caught.
I tried to by sly and sneak another look while taking a sip of my Coke. When I looked, he was heading straight towards me. My breathing hitched as he approached. What was he coming over here for? Probably to tell me to stop staring at him. Oh my God, I'm soo embarrassed.
He was about 5 feet away from me when I heard Alice by my side. "Edward! I'm so glad you came." He grinned at her showing a row of perfectly white teeth. Geez, even his teeth are sexy."Hey Alice. Good to see you." He was speaking to her but still eyeing me.
My face felt extremely hot and I was unable to speak. Alice eyed me warily. "This is my friend Bella. She's shy. Your shy. You guys should totally talk." With that little setup, she was off.
I stood their staring anywhere but at him a complete mute. "So Bella, it's nice to finally meet you. Alice talks about you all the time." I nodded. Why couldn't I speak? This is ridiculous. I gathered the saliva in my mouth and tried again meeting his eyes. His glorious green eyes. "So, Edward, are you an Art major?" He smiled at me and I could smell his peppermint scented breath. Very nice.
"No, I'm actually pre-med. The art class is required for my program."
"Hey Edward!" A loud voice called out from across the room. We both snapped our heads towards the voice. There was a mammoth of a man with curly black hair by the keg waving Edward over.
Edward grinned. "That's my brother Emmett. He's probably a little drunk right now. I should go see what he wants. Stay right here?"
I bit my lip and nodded at him shyly. I was standing there for about 2 minutes when I noticed a girl approach Edward and wrap her arms around him. I didn't stay to see what happened next. With my luck, I'd have to witness a full make out session or worse. I knew it was ridiculous but I felt a tear slide down my left cheek. I felt stupid. I barely even knew him. Inhaling and exhaling quickly, I turned away determined not to let it ruin my night.
Iwiped the solitary tear away and left the apartment. I scanned the crown for Alice but she was nowhere to be found. I decided to try my luck at one of the other units. I ended up in Apartment 1J. The music seemed to be even louder here. Lil' Wayne's "Go DJ" was being blasted from speakers surrounding the living room floor. I checked time on my cell. It was only 10pm. Not seeing any familiar faces, I made my way to the makeshift bar looking for something non-alcoholic. Digging through the cooler, I pulled out a water and sipped on it while looking for somewhere to sit.
Not paying attention, I bumped into someone effectively spilling my water on the carpet. "Oops, I'm sorry. I'm such a klutz". I reached down to grab the now empty bottle. When I came back up to face whoever I bumped into, a guy with short blond hair stood before me. "Sorry again." I tried walking away but he grabbed my wrist. "Hey, wait a minute. What's your name?"
"Um, Bella."
"I'm James. Are you knew around here? I didn't see you at any of the parties last year?"
I giggled nervously. "No, I'm a sophomore. I just don't get out to often."
His expression changed from amused to somthing I couldn't quite decipher. It put me on edge but I shook it off.
"Let me get you another drink. Whaddya want?"
I didn't like the way he was looking at me but again I shook it off. 'Bella stop being so paranoid. This is exactly why you need to get out more.'
" Do you know if they have any soda around?"
He nodded and walked off quickly. I noticed a table full of nachos next to me and reached down for one. It took a second but my mouth started burning. It was then that he returned with a red cup full of the cool liquid. I quickly took it from him and chugged it down, my throat instantly soothed. He watched me the whole time with an odd expression in his eyes.
"Thanks. I really needed that. I didn't realize there were soo many jalepenos under the cheese.
"Not a problem Bella. It was then that I was bumped into and almost knocked over by a group of rowdy guys. James caught me before I fell." You wanna sit down or somthing?"
"Yea, I probably should before I trip and spill this too."
He led me to a ratty brown couch against the wall. He sat beside me not saying much as I continued sipping my drink. It may have been the loud music or smoke from the cigarettes in the room but I started feeling really naseous and dizzy.
I groaned and he looked over at me. "You ok?"
"Mmm...no. I think I need to leave. I think the smoke is making me sick." I stood up feeling very wobbly but managed to stay upright. I tried calling her on my cell phone but it went straight to voicemail. "I need to find Alice."
I started walking towards the door of the apartment when I felt his arm around my shoulder leading me. I looked at him uncomfortably. I didn't want his arm around me. "Don't want you fall Bella. I'll help you find Alice." He led us back out into the hallway still crowded with people. My vision was fuzzy but not so fuzzy that I didn't see him leading me out of the apartment building.
I tried to protest slowing my steps but he tightend his grip on me. "James, Alice is still in the building somewhere. I don't need to go outside." I tried removing his arm from my shoulder but he held me close to him in a painful embrace. He whispered in my ear. "I think you need to just the fuck up." I felt the fear creep up practically immobilize me as he continued leading us to the exit.
