Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters. If only Stephenie were so nice.
.1.
Isabella Swan stood in front of her bedroom mirror, gazing at her sour expression.
Why weren't any of these working? She picked up her heavy mane of chocolate colored tresses and held it in the style of a high ponytail. That's the way she usually carried it, but of all days, her first day at a new school in a new city, it just was not working.
She released the hold and let it tumble down around her shoulders, framing her face. She'd always been told it looked best this way, but she didn't see anything attractive about it this morning.
Sighing in defeat, she snatched her bag from atop her bedroom desk and ambled down the stairs with an easy grace.
Sitting down at the island in her kitchen, she picked an apple from the glass fruit bowl and took a hearty bite. As she waited for her father to emerge from his room and drive her to school, her mind wandered.
A couple months ago, she was living in Arizona with her mother and stepfather, living a wonderful, albeit boring, life. She attended Winsted High School, received nothing short of an A minus, had the greatest friends ever, and all her teachers assured her she was a shoo-in at Yale, her dream college.
Her father and mother had gotten divorced when she and her twin sister were barely a year old. He was having affairs, and was terrified of his own children. He claimed it was because he was a young and foolish kid, and didn't know any better at the time, but Bella knew better. It was because he hadn't wanted any children. She knew he saw them as a complication if he and her mother were ever to get a divorce.
Bella smiled bitterly at the ironic thought. He'd divorced her mother because of her and her fraternal twin sister, and now he was responsible for both of them. He wanted Bella out of the blue one day, and her mother didn't deny him the right to his daughter. She hadn't known him for 17 years, and maybe the fact that she'd be heading off to college in mere months had reminded of the fact that he had another daughter.
Bella hated thinking about it. She felt her father never loved her. He'd chosen her sister, Victoria, over her. How else was she supposed to feel?
The object of her thoughts suddenly appeared in the kitchen, and Bella bowed her head in embarrassment. He was her father. And she didn't know him at all.
"Good morning…Mister…er, father," Bella croaked, thankful for her untied hair, as she bowed her head even further down to let it fall around her face and hide her burning cheeks.
"Morning, Bella. How are you?" Her father, Charles Swan was a tall, intimidating man. His dark hair was short and trimmed. His eyes were a deep, deep brown, bordering black. The lines on his face were evidence of a difficult life, and his voice was a deep rumble. His posture was stiff and rigid. Bella was good at reading people. She could see he used his body as a way to keep people out. His hard attitude was a defense mechanism, and Bella didn't blame him at all. The world was a cruel, cruel place.
"Fine. I'm ready to go now, if you want," Bella said as she got up and went to the trash bin to dispose of her eaten apple.
"Isn't that skirt a little bit too short?" Another voice rang to Bella's ears. She turned around and stared at her sister, Victoria, who was dressed in a uniform identical to Bella's.
She was beautiful, Bella thought for the first time. She'd seen pictures of her, and had a vague idea of what she looked like, but she'd never seen her in life. When their father had picked Bella up from the airport, Victoria was nowhere to be seen. Apparently she was doing community service, and Bella hadn't minded. However, when she was home, it seemed Victoria planned her schedule so that she'd be out of the house when Bella woke up, and back when she was sleeping. Bella wasn't stupid. Victoria was avoiding her, but she hadn't the slightest clue why.
Bella looked her sister over. Victoria's hair was a vibrant shade of red, to start with. It was pin-straight and skimmed the tops of her shoulders. Her eyes were a lively color of green, and her face was blemish free. So was Bella's, so she guessed they shared that one trait. Although Victoria was very good-looking, she could feel the malicious vibes emitting from her presence.
Automatically, Bella felt her self-defenses kicking in.
"It's not my fault. I only had yesterday to find the school uniform, and I checked about every store in the mall, but none had skirts in my size. Either they were too big or too small. This," she explained, pointing to skirt, "was the closest thing to my size I could find. I know it's a bit short but I'll –"
"Don't care." Victoria waved her hand back, dismissing the topic. Bella's eyes widened at the blunt unkindness of her twin sister. She turned to look at her father. She wanted to know what he had to say about this. He was standing in front of the sink, washing out a coffee mug as if nothing had happened. Bella let out a small sigh. She knew she wasn't getting any help from that department. She told him she'd be waiting in the car, and breezed past the two.
She'd seen Victoria's smirk and felt anger slither into her body. What had she done to deserve her sister's cruelty? She hoped that, whatever it was, she'd get over it and at least attempt to act civil.
After starting the car, Bella slipped into the passenger seat and closed her eyes. She'd have a talk with Victoria after school today, and maybe they could go out from ice cream afterwards. It was still seasonably hot out, and a cold dish of the stuff could temporarily solve all of Bella's problems.
Her sister opened the door to passenger seat Bella was sitting in, and looked startled at her presence. She quickly recovered, and twisted her features back into that malicious scowl.
"Get. Out." Victoria's hissed, her tone cutting.
"Victoria, is this really necessary? I'm sorry if you think this is your seat, but it's comfortable up here, and I'm not moving. Maybe next time you'll have more sense to get to the car first." Bella stated calmly.
Her enraged eyes stared into Bella's for a moment before her face twisted into something to resemble happiness.
Was this girl off her rocker?
"Daddy, could you please tell Bella that I always sit up here? She doesn't want to move, even though I've asked her politely." Victoria's smile briefly reminded Bella of one of those Cheshire cat things.
Oh, so that's why. If Victoria wanted him to play favorites, always knowing he'd pick her over Bella, then fine. She'd never stoop down to such a ridiculous level anyway.
"Bella, she's right. You wouldn't mind moving to the back, right?" Charlie suggested, but she knew when she was being ordered. She silently picked up her bag and quietly seated herself in the chair behind her sister.
"Thanks, Dad. And thanks Bella." Victoria shot her a smile that looked more murderous than grateful.
Bella made a noise of response and took her iPod out of her blazer pocket. She didn't realize how much of a God-send it would be until Victoria started chatting about trivial and nonsensical things while their father just nodded in response.
She set the music player at full volume and closed her eyes, effectively shutting them both out of sight and mind.
Bella waved goodbye to her father before he sent a curt nod in her direction and sped away. She watched his car as it decreased in size. When it was completely out of sight, she turned to her sister, who was watching Bella with a hateful glare.
Bella replicated her immature sister's actions with a goofy grin, and rolled her eyes when Victoria stormed off haughtily, just as she predicted.
Bella walked to the front of the building where students were just starting to pile in. Most of them gave her curious stares, while others were appreciative, obviously coming from the boys. She discreetly tugged down on the hem of her skirt, knowing that length of it, or lack thereof, was the reason she was getting the unwanted gazes up and down her small body.
Stopping in front of what she thought was the main office, she checked the length of her skirt again, and pulled her knee high socks up higher when the skirt just wouldn't budge.
She looked the office over, admiring the sheer elegance of it. The walls were painted a rich gold, paintings of schools and houses and other buildings adorned the walls, and beautifully made posters describing upcoming events also graced the space around her.
Bella swatted the lock of hair that ended up in her face before approaching the secretary.
"Excuse me?" Bella said sweetly, waiting patiently for a response.
When the lady turned her head at her, she took that as an invitation to continue.
"Yes, my name is Isabella Swan. I transferred here a couple months ago, before summer started. I'm a senior, but more confused than a freshman." Bella laughed nervously at her pathetic attempt at a joke. The secretary hadn't even cracked a smile. In fact, her fingers were hovering over the keyboard, giving Bella the hint that the secretary could care less about Bella, and just wanted to get back to her job.
Bella swallowed. "I was wondering if I could have my schedule, and if you had a map of the school, that would be freakin' awesome." Bella groaned inwardly. She really should stop trying to be funny.
The secretary's mouth twitched, as if she was trying to hold back a smile. "Of course, hon." Just great, Bella thought sarcastically. At least she's enjoying my discomfort.
"You're going to love Pennington Academy." The secretary explained, while typing the information to retrieve Bella's file from the school system. "There are a lot of electives to choose from, the classes are invigorating, and the food isn't half bad."
Bella smiled politely, but she was secretly pleased. At least she wasn't the only one who cracked hideous jokes.
The lady printed out three sheets of paper and a plastic card. She handed all of those, along with a key chain, to Bella and smiled.
"I've given you your schedule, a map of the school – " She took in Bella's surprised expression and chuckled. "Yes, we really do have one of those. Anyway, it's your schedule, map, and a pass so security won't bother you. That card is your ID. You'll need it to gain entry to the building, and the cafeteria. If our food doesn't particularly suit you, you're able to leave campus. You just have to swipe your ID before you leave the building. If you don't swipe it in the following one hour, the system will deduce that you are skipping class, and you will be given one day's suspension. Is all this clear?"
Bella nodded.
"Any other questions, dear?" The secretary glanced at her watch. "I'm sorry, but Period 1 is starting in about one minute so you'll have to get going. If you're late, I can't help with that; that pass is only good for missing homeroom." She smiled apologetically. "If you need any help at all, ask for Mrs. Denton. My door is always open."
Bella's smile was now genuine as she waved goodbye to her first friend at this school. She cringed. Her first friend in New York was a middle-aged female secretary? Bella smiled again when she thought about the oddity of it.
The bell rang, and the empty hallway was flooded within seconds. Students coming from both directions bumped and shoved, eager to get to their next class. Bella was shoved particularly hard by one girl with huge glasses and a bowl haircut. She looked harmless and probably didn't mean it. But that didn't stop her things from falling everywhere. She bent down carefully and picked up her books. After realizing the size of the school, she knew she wouldn't be able to maneuver her way around herself. Looking at her schedule, Bella gently tapped the arm of the first boy she saw, and without waiting for him to turn around, she asked him where room 121 was. When she didn't hear a response, she looked up.
Well, damn.
He was very tall, that was one. Although everyone seemed tall to Bella's height of 5 feet and 4 inches. The first thing that struck her was the wild locks of bronze hair on his head. His body was long and lean. Even through the material of the navy blue uniform, she knew for a fact that his chest and abdomen were hard and muscled. His legs looked firm, and she almost gasped when she took in his face. His nose was straight and slightly pointed. His cheekbones were sharp, and his jaw was clenched. His eyes were a startling color of green. They were forest green, and had such a depth in them; she knew a countless number of girls got lost in them. He was…rough. Dark and hard. His entire demeanor screamed "Clichéd bad boy!" She knew to stay clear of those, but he was different. For some reason, she couldn't read him at all. Bella was very talented in deciphering people's actions and words; however, she couldn't see anything with him. It was like she was staring at a brick wall.
She asked him again, embarrassed for staring so hard, but he hadn't said anything, so she decided to ignore it, too.
"Hello? I'm sorry, but I don't wanna be late. Could you tell me where room 121 is?"
He just continued to stare coldly at her, and when she thought he would finally respond, he just stalked past her.
Bella whirled around in amazement. Why would he do such a thing? What the hell had she done to upset everyone today? Why had he just been staring at her? Was he mute? Was he –?
Bella watched in awe as the crowd subtly parted for him. The difference wasn't too large, but it was palpable. Kids running wildly only a few moments earlier slowed down to brisk walk when they saw him, or stopped altogether. She gaped at him for a few moments longer, and the shrill sound of the bell snapped her out of her daze.
"Shit!" Bella exclaimed, running down the halls, hopefully in the direction of the dreaded room 121.
--
Bella eventually did find room 121 and the other classes she had before lunch. Not with the help of anyone else, she thought bitterly.
Lunch came around, and the cafeteria was, by far, the easiest place to find. All she had to was follow the humongous crowd and the smell of delicious food being cooked. Who knew Mrs. Denton had been telling the truth?
Bella absently placed a hand on her flat stomach and groaned. Why was the line taking so long? After an agonizing 5 minutes, Bella reached the front of the line, paid for her pizza, and went out into the main cafeteria to find somewhere to sit.
She knew that'd be a problem.
Bella was sure she wasn't imagining the countless pairs of eyes watching curiously as she strode purposely to an empty table in the back. She pulled out a chair, sat down, and pretended to be oblivious to the uncomfortable amount of attention she was receiving. She lifted the pizza to her mouth and took a healthy bite. She heard a gasp and rolled her eyes. Hadn't they ever seen a girl eat pizza before?
She learned the real reason as a small crowd approached her table.
The three boys in the crowd looked at her questioningly, and so did the girls. One of them, a blonde, opened her lipstick-covered lips and asked, "You're new to this school, right?"
Bella momentarily forgot table manners and neglected to swallow her food before responding. She answered with a muffled, "Yeah, why?"
The blonde girl smiled condescendingly at Bella, and Bella felt her irritation rising. What, now?
"Um, hon, I'm sorry, but this is our table. We," she gestured at the six of them, "sit here," pointing to the table. "You," she started, pointing at a currently livid Bella, "sit there," and she jerked her thumb at a table where about five boys sat laughing stupidly at a magazine. The thing that irked Bella the most was that they all looked like the stereotypical nerds you see in stupid teenage movies.
Plus, déjà vu gave her headaches. Hadn't she already been through this seat crap this morning? Was there was some special seating chart that Bella had yet to know about?
"I'm sorry, I like it here. I'm not moving. However, you're free to join me. Some company'd be nice." Bella smiled, stating the truth. From her exact seat, she could see the garden of the school at a wonderful angle.
"Cause obviously you never get any," another of the girls murmured under her breath, but obviously not low enough, since another heard, and slapped her playfully on the arm.
"Listen, hon, there are plenty of other tables to sit at. Me and my friends sit here, like, every freakin' day," the blonde girl was beginning to get pissed, "so would you please do us all a favor and get your ass out of my seat and leave?!"
Bella snickered, which amused the boys, but only served to anger the blonde girl some more. The other girls behind her tried to look annoyed, but the amusement was evident in their faces.
"Listen, hon," deliberately mocking her choice of words, "I really like this seat, so would you do me a favor and either join me or leave, because, hon, there's really nothing you can do to make me move."
The girl stuttered, looking for a witty retort, but when none came, Bella went for the kill.
"And you could you close your mouth? Bella asked, moving her tray away from the blonde clone. "You're getting your spittle all over my pizza."
The boys laughed heartedly and Bella felt the undeniable triumph of victory when they pulled back their chairs and sat down. The others looked like they wanted to sit down, too, but Bella guessed if the blonde didn't approve, they didn't either.
"Come on, let her stay. I think she's cute." One of the boys claimed. His eyes were hazel, and hair black. "I'm Emmett. Who are you?"
"Isabella Swan. Pleasure to meet you, Emmett." She gave him her best smile and returned to her pizza.
"And she talks like a fucking aristocrat! We gotta let her stay, man." Emmett smiled back at her, but was speaking to the boy next to him.
The boy he was talking to introduced himself next. "I'm Jasper. How long you been in New York?"
Bella was about to answer his question when the blonde bitch Bella had already come to loathe spoke up. "You guys are hilarious. You're talking to her like she's actually important. Like she's worth something. Aren't they hilarious?" She turned to her cronies and waited for their answer.
They nodded vigorously and then simultaneously turned to scowl at her. Bella laughed from the utter idiocy of it all.
"Come on, Rosalie. Stop being such a bitch and just sit down." Emmett commanded. "And be nice," he added as an afterthought.
Jasper grinned at his friend, and Bella suddenly remembered there was a third one. Where did he go?
As if on cue, he strode back to the table, drinks in hand. He was very cute, she thought. She felt her cheeks start to warm, and turned her attention away from Jasper and Emmett, who were currently playing, who fucked the most girls?
Disgusted, Bella took another tasty bite of her pizza and ignored the stares boring into her head.
"Hi, I'm Jacob. I see you've met the gang?" The boy who she'd thought was cute was now sitting less than one foot away from her. He'd turned the chair backwards, so he was now straddling it, and fiddling with the lid on his soda bottle.
"I'm Isabella Swan, but please call me Bella." Bella blushed, despite all her attempts not to, and felt extremely foolish for letting a boy she barely knew affect her in such a way.
"Nice. So, what brings you to New York?" He asked conversationally. Bella bit her lip. She hated small talk. She felt it was so boring and should be reserved to offices and things of that nature.
"Messy divorce," she replied simply. It wasn't exactly the truth, but she didn't know him well enough to give him all the details.
"Ah, I see. It's cool though, right? Twice the stuff?" He smiled boyishly, and it made Bella blush again. She smiled at his way of looking at things.
"I guess. Never really got that advantage, though. Damn." It was true. She'd never received anything from her father; not even a postcard.
"Sucks. So how's…" Jacob's voice faded away when she saw him. It was the same boy she'd encountered in the hallway. The one that ignored her so blatantly that she wanted to slap him. So why was he walking straight towards her?
He stopped behind Rosalie's chair and stared at the three boys.
"Why is she here?" He asked, his voice low and silky, and Bella's stomach tingled slightly. It was an odd feeling. She blamed it on the pizza, and pushed it away from her without a second thought.
"Ooh, you're not gonna eat that? Thanks, babe." Emmett grinned at Bella as she slid her plate to him. He downed it in ten seconds.
"Hey, no fair! I wanted that!" Jasper joked, and thumped Emmett on his back, telling him to spit it out. Emmett smirked at Jasper and asked, "Since when have you taken a liking to regurgitated pizza?"
Jasper responded by thumping Emmett's head and a mini-war involving used napkins and forks ensued.
The boy still hadn't gotten an answer and his eyes were deadly. He slammed a palm on the table, startling everyone at the table, except for Bella. She'd been staring at him, so she saw when he raised his arm and anticipated it.
"Why is she here?"
Emmett pushed Jasper off him and scratched his head with the fork that somehow lodged itself into his hair.
"I don't know, cause she's cool? Why do you care, man? S'not like you talk to any of us anyway." Emmett removed the fork from his hair and threw it at Jasper.
"Yeah Edward, chill." Jasper caught the flying fork and tossed it on the table. "Can't you save your moodiness for some other time? Just, relax. Hang. Fart. Be a dude," Jasper laughed and relaxed in his chair. Edward obliged, taking a seat next to Rosalie, who she immediately turned her attention to.
So that was his name, Bella mused. She let her gaze travel down his form again, shyly admiring his obvious beauty. She desperately wished he would look at her. Just to let her know he acknowledged her presence. She didn't know why, but he was so...interesting. She wanted to know everything about him .Why he was so unfriendly, the reason behind the scar on his eyebrow, why he was gazing at her so intently…
He was? Bella blinked, and sure enough, he was staring dead at her.
"Yes?" Bella asked boldly.
She wanted him to respond. Talk to her. Direct that attractive voice towards her.
She blanched. There was nothing attractive about Edward. He was cold and callous, she reminded herself.
He continued looking at her, then scowled and turned his head to look out the window. He watched the garden and Bella saw his hard face soften slightly. So he was a tree hugger, too? She smiled at that.
"How do you like New York so far?" Jacob asked. Bella hated the incoming questions but dealt with them anyway. She knew she was extremely lucky to have made, in her opinion, such popular friends on her first day.
"It's good. Too many…people, though. I'm more of a country girl." Bella explained. She was uncomfortable with New York. The lights and constant noise kept her awake at night and all the people made her jittery. She'd rather live miles away from her next-door neighbor than have them practically on top of her.
"I see. Well, you'll get used to it." Jacob said.
Bella simply nodded. She felt the hairs on her neck prickle, something that only happened when someone was watching her. She looked up, and sure enough, Edward was looking at her with that same hard expression again. His eyes were chillingly dark, and his face was twisted with suppressed anger.
What was his problem?
I know that was a stupid way to end a chapter but I was tired of writing. I answer any and all questions (except ones revealing the plot) so ask away. In case anyone is confused, I'm gonna explain everything here.
Bella was living in Arizona with Renee and Phil (duh), and Charlie decided he should spend some time with his daughter before she went off to college. So he asked for her, and Renee gave her to him (wow I make her sound like a thing. Anyways…). Victoria is Bella's FRATERNAL twin sister. I know their enemies in the book but I just wanted Bella to have a sister. :-). What else…? Okay, the lunch group consists of Jasper, Emmett, Jacob, and Edward for the guys, and Rosalie, Leah, and Lauren for the girls. So in total, its 7 kids. Yes, I know Bella moved to Washington in the book and movie, but I like NY better, so that's where she is now. Deal with it. I don't know what else you might be confused about, so don't hesitate to ask!
I seriously would love it if you guys reviewed this because this story has been in my mind for a while, and putting it down on (virtual) paper is really satisfying. It's been nagging me for a while, so…yeah. =)