I was forced into awareness by the loud shill of my alarm clock. First, I opened one topaz eye, peeking out from the flop of bronze hair in my face. I sighed loudly as I realized what day it was. Goodbye, freedom, I though to myself. Groaning, I dragged myself out of my pointless bed. Like all vampires, I didn't sleep. I couldn't though I dearly wished that I could. It is what I missed most from human life, along being able to talk to girls without the desire to drink their blood. Even though I couldn't sleep, I still liked to pretend. At night, I would turn on music and bury myself under the silky covers of my soft bed. I found comfort in the heat against my cold, hard skin. My family tried to tell me that it just wasn't the same, but I didn't care.
My feet made a soft shuffling sound as I padded through the thick, golden carpet towards my closet curtsey of my "dear" sister, Alice. It was at that moment she decided to make her grand entrance.
"Edward!" I had been unaware of her presence until she had spoken and jumped halfway up the wall, turning into a crouch as I faced the pixie-like creature before me. "Alice," I growled softly. When would she learn to knock? I asked myself, mentally making plans to install that lock I had bought weeks ago.
"Guess what?" Alice nearly yelled. I put my hands over my ears. I knew it was far too early to be talking to tiny, energetic Alice. She would be the death of me- or her, I though – I could always toss her little pixie butt out the window.
"What Alice?" I sounded less than enthusiastic, letting the annoyed tone in my voice slip through. She hardly noticed, and a bright smile lit-up her whole face.
"You are going to take me shopping tonight after school! Isn't that great?"
"I'm not taking you shopping," I said dryly, remembering the last time I had taken her shopping… it wasn't something I wasn't going through for the next 100 years, which was for sure. There was no "buts" or "ifs" about it, in my mind.
"Oh, yes, yes you are! You haven't taken me in ages!" she whined, putting her hand on her hip, which meant she was just getting started. I wondered if she would land her feet if I threw her through my window for a moment.
"So? Can't Rosalie go with you? Or Jasper? He's your husband!" If Jasper were smart, he would be hiding at that moment at a place Alice couldn't find him. Which, of course, was limited to a very few places with Alice being able to see the future. Shoot me now, I thought sarcastically. As if that would do any good.
"Rosalie and Emmett are going out, and Jasper doesn't want to go." I don't blame him.
"So Jasper doesn't have to, but I have to? He's your husband, for crying out loud! Can't you just go by yourself?" I rolled my eyes, knowing I had already lost.
"Nope. I need someone to carry the bags. So you're coming, and that is that." She said in a stern, motherly voice. She only used her voice if she wanted something real bad- she knew I couldn't argue with that, and I sighed.
"Bye" she said, before rushing out of the room, obviously taking that as agreement.
"Why me?" I wondered out loud, knowing perfectly well she could still hear me.
"Because you're my favorite brother!" Alice called. I sighed as I got together an outfit to wear for the first day back.
BPOV
My alarm beeped annoyingly in my ear, buzzing like a swarm of bees. I squeezed my eyes tightly together, trying to pretend that it wasn't time to go back to school, and hit around for my alarm. I struck it hard and my eyes flew open with surprise as I missed the snooze button once again, striking my hand on the hard part.
"Ouch!" I muttered darkly, rubbing my injured hand with the other. "Why does this always happen to me? Stupid clock" I mumbled to myself. I picked it up, making my mind up at that instant what to do with the stupid thing. "Serves you right." I got up off my warm bed, hitting the window with a loud crash as it pushed up easily. Smirking, I threw the clock out of it, watching as it shattered into tiny pieces on impact. That was good. The last one had taken three drops to break.
Charlie, who was making his way out the door at that moment, wasn't in the least surprised. He simply glanced up, and I waved through the window. "Morning, Bells! Have a good day!" I grinned. "You too, dad," I called back, closing the window and started getting ready for the first day back.
I had a quick shower, letting the hot water absorb into my skin. I dried my waist length hair and pulled it into a low ponytail. I brushed my teeth and went back to my room in search of something to wear. I ended up choosing a pair of old, blue jeans and a navy blue shirt with a light blue jacket over that. It was my everyday normal routine, one that I could do blindfolded.
I was very conservative and, of course, with that came the title of school nerd. It didn't help the fact that I loved reading, and always turned in every piece of school on time, and usually perfect grades, too. I ran out the front door, not wanting to be late on my first day back from vacation.
I climbed into my old red truck, my pride and love. She took a moment to start up, sputtering and coughing as she came to life. Giving it a minute to heat up, I leaned over, flicking up the switch to turn on the radio. The best of the 70's came on, with Jim Morrison's voice coming through the speakers. I hummed along as I made my way to Fork's High School.
EPOV
We pulled up at our normal time. Classes started in fifteen minutes, leaving me time to sieve through people's thoughts. As my siblings and I got out of the car, lustful images came from all directions. I winced at some of the inappropriate things people imagined. I just took a deep breath and walked through the crowd, trying to tune out as many voices as possible.
"Edward! Jasper!" We both turned automatically to see Mike. He said something to Jessica in which she replied with a girly giggle. He then ran over to us.
"Hey, what's up?" ever since we had been on the basketball team with him earlier that year, he had this deluded idea that they were his friends, and good ones, at that.
"Nothing, Mike. We just got here," Jasper sighed.
"Oh, yeah. What did you do over the summer?"
"Went camping, stayed home. That's about it," I said, answering this time.
"Oh." He seemed disappointed at our lack of conversational skills. "Um, I've gotta go. See you guys later."
"Bye."
Well that was weird. He still thinks of us as friends, Jasper thought loudly.I nodded once. So, you got stuck taking Alice shopping tonight, hey? I gave him a death glare. Hey, she didn't even ask me. It's not my fault. I looked at him, puzzled. Alice had said he wouldn't go. I located her thoughts and found her reciting dictionary definitions going A through to Z. I growled.
What is it?
"Nothing. She's hiding her thoughts," I said out loud, hoping she heard me. Her giggle revealed that she had in fact just heard it loud and clear.
"Oh." Was all he said before leaving for his first period class and I made my way to English.
BPOV
I got to school twenty minutes early, so I went to my English class to find a seat. No one was there yet, thank god. I took a seat in the back row furthest to the left. I pulled out my book and read quietly as people began to fill the room, trying not to be noticed.
After ten minutes, I heard the chair next to me scrap across the floor. I looked up in shock at the person who now sat down next to me.
"Hi!" said a girl I recognized as one of the Cullen kids, also known as the most popular and good-looking. She had a pixie like face with short black hair that was gelled into spikes. She was grinning at me with over-the-top happiness.
"Um, hi" I mumbled quietly, sinking lower into my cool seat, wishing I could disappear. Surely she was here just to make fun of me.
"Bella, right? I'm Alice. Alice Cullen."
"Yeah, Bella." Those were the only words I could get out through my utter shock. Everyone knew her name. No one ever talked to me. I was a nerd.
"Do you want to go shopping with me tonight?" I looked up, my eyes as wide as saucers. Was she serious?
"Excuse me?"
"I need someone to go shopping with, and I don't know you, so I thought it might be fun to talk to someone new." She smiled brightly, and beautifully. It almost hurt to look at her, looking that bright.
"Um…alright I suppose…" I stuttered out.
"Great! I'll pick you up at 4pm, as long as that's okay with you?" Yet I knew there was no question in her voice about it.
"Yeah, but how do you know where I live?"
"I may not know you, but I do know that you're Chief Swan's daughter."
"Oh, right." Alice looked like she was about to say something else when the teacher walked in. She sighed loudly.
"Good morning class. Welcome back." Alice looked disappointed as she sunk into her seat and turned her attention to the teacher, taking out sheets of paper for notes.
EPOV
When I walked into English, I saw Alice leaning down next to…Bella? Why would she talk to her? She was in the popular crowd, and they would slaughter her for this. Bella was the nerd of the school. It was funny, really. She was very pretty, but she always finds a way to stop it from being shown. Like tying her hair back in a very low ponytail, the clothes she wore were very un-noticeable, and how she reads instead of talking; they all stop her from being accepted. What fascinated me most, though was how almost every guy in the school had a crush on her, yet couldn't say anything about it, just because she wasn't "cool". She really was quite attractive. Alice was talking to her was just quite shocking, really. I was just about to listen in when the teacher came through the door and their conversations abruptly stopped. Alice leaped into a near-by desk.
"Good morning class. Welcome back." He looked half asleep, like everyone else felt. After taking the roll, he almost immediately shot into a lecture on the works of William Shakespeare. I had heard this one ten times before so I settled back and tried, unsuccessfully, to probe Alice's thoughts. She was now up to 'L'. Again unaware of what was going on around me, I was surprised by the door suddenly bursting open.
"Oh-my-god! I'm so sorry that I'm late! I know it's the first day of school but…" Lauren, who looked she was about to start rambling, was interrupted by Mr. Thompson.
"Lauren, can you please take the seat next to Edward? You have distracted the class enough already." I looked up when I heard my name, and saw Lauren grinning evilly as she sauntered over to the seat next to me.
"Yes, Mr. Thompson" she replied as she strutted up to the desk, taking in all the looks of awe coming from almost all the girls in the room. Except Bella, that is.
"Hello, Edward." She purred.
"Lauren." I said, without looking at her. From the corner of my eye, I saw her face fall a bit at my lack of interest in her, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Are you doing anything tonight?" She was trying very hard to sound sexy. It took all I had to stop myself from laughing.
"Yes. I'm taking Alice shopping."
"Oh." She seemed to think for a moment. "Can I come?" still trying to sound alluring.
"No. It's a brother, sister thing."
"Okay then. Maybe some other time." She really didn't get it.
BPOV
After my weird English experience, the day actually pasted really fast, I thought with a dry chuckle. Lunch came quickly, and I went straight up to the library to read. At the moment I was reading Pride and Prejudice, one of my favorites. Someone cleared his or her throat beside me and I looked up to see Alice.
"Bella!" She was grinning down at me.
"Yes?" I asked, wanting to get back to my book.
"I was wondering if you wanted to come and sit with me and my family."
"Um…no I'm fine. I like reading." She looked disappointed.
"Are you sure? There's room."
"No, I'm sure. I'll see you tonight" Her face lit back up at that.
"Yeah. See you later!"
How bazaar this day was turning out.
After lunch I had Biology. I got there early so I could get a seat up the back. I was the first one there so I picked the desk that was at center of the back row.
As the classroom began to fill, I read through the chapter we would most likely be learning today. I looked down at my watch and saw that class should have begun by now. I stole a quick glance at the classroom and its occupants. My biology class for this year, I thought, wanting to scream. Everyone had taken his or her seats and I was thankful that there was one spare seat and it was next to me. That would mean I would be able to work by myself, without any unwanted disturbances.
Just then, Mr. Banner walked in, followed by none other then Edward Cullen.
"Sorry I'm late. Now can everyone please take his or her seats? Mr. Cullen, you can sit over there, next to Ms. Swan." I felt all color leave my face. Having to sit next to Edward Cullen was worse than any of the others. Edward was so…handsome. He would be a distraction, not a disturbance. What was I meant to do? Say? Think? Oh god, this could not be happening. I was brought out of my panic when he sat down.
"Hi." He said simply but it made me want to melt. He had a voice like velvet. He watched me, waiting for my reply.
"Um…hi." Was all I could mumble out, staring the empty desk with a deep blush. He gave me a breathtaking smile but it did not reach his liquid topaz eyes. His eyes showed…frustration? He turned his head and listened to what Mr. Banner was saying. I felt my cheeks grow hot. The Edward Cullen just talked to me! I couldn't believe it. And he was to be my lab partner for the whole year. The class went on like that. I would sneak sideward glances at him and see him just staring at me. Frustration was now evident on his perfect features.
When the bell went, I was actually glad that I had P.E. I could get out of it easily. All it took was a complaint of faint-headedness or the fake twisted ankle, and what do you know? You get out of P.E! I decided today's excuse would be just the general feeling ill. They could never catch you out for that one.
"Coach. I really don't feel well. Do you mind if I sit today out?" my voice slightly changed to sound pained.
"Um, sure Bella." He said. "It's probably safer on everyone anyway." He muttered under his breath, but I still heard. I went over to the side of the court and sat down, safely out of everyone's way. After just ten minutes I started to drift off to sleep.
The loud bell signaling the end of the day awaked me. For a moment, I had forgotten where I was but I quickly remembered and rushed off to get my belongings. I walked at fast pace to my truck and when I was inside, I let out a loud sigh. Only the first day back and I was already dreading the thought of coming back again. I was about to start the car when someone tapped on the window, causing me to almost jump out of my skin.
"Oh! Alice, you scared me." I breathed. She just giggled.
"I just came to remind you that I'll be over in around an hour."
"Huh? Oh! Right! I remember now. Okay. See you then."
"See you!" She said before I drove off.
EPOV
Alice had been acting suspiciously all day. She had been talking to that Bella girl, a lot, too. Like now for instance, she was over there at her truck. Again, I could not reach her thoughts. I knew something was up.
She came bounding over all cheery and happy.
"You excited about our trip tonight?" she said it all so quickly that even I had to repeat it a few times in my head before it made sense.
"No, Alice. Of course not."
"You will love it I promise. Oh, and before I forget…" She said smiling innocently.
"Yes," I pushed, wanting to know what my sister had plotted.
"I invited Isabella Swan to come, too!"
"You what?" That was taking things a little far, even for Alice.
"Edward, she has no friends, and I could use a girl's opinion when I go shopping."
"Why didn't you ask one of your friends?" I asked, annoyed by the announcement.
"Edward, relax! I thought she could use some company."
"Does she know that I'm going to be there?" I questioned.
"That detail may have skipped my mind." She said, smiling evilly.
"Alice!"
"Don't worry! It will be fun!" I cussed under my breath before getting in the car and driving home.
A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for reading the first chapter. I'm going to be taking over this story, for the time being, so it's not in anyway my idea. For her old readers, review and tell me if I'm doing a good job or not! For any new readers… well, tell me if I'm doing a good job or not, too! Do I need to change anything? Or work on my writing? You speak up!