Author's Note:
Okay, so here's the deal. After posting the first chapter I got a beta, the amazing SassyGeminiMom, and revised the chapter. The plot is the same. The only differences are the verb tenses and the ending. I've been writing Chapter 2 and realized while writing it that Jessica was too young to drive. So, I've made the necessary changes in both chapters and have scolded myself for being so silly.
Thanks again to SassyGeminiMom. You are a lifesaver! Thanks you SO much! 3
… and thanks to Sophia, of course. You know I could never forget you. You're always there when I need to brainstorm. Thanks
I'm sure some people must have gotten excited thinking Chapter 2 was here. Sorry. I'll post it as soon as I can. I'm almost done! But… if you read my new and improved Chapter 1 I promise to divulge some interesting information.
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer.
No copyright infringement is intended.
(btw: as for the embarrassing misspelling of Stephenie Meyer in the last A/N. I have since learned that my computer autocorrects Stephenie to Stephanie. Thanks for pointing it out or I might never have noticed.)
Chapter 1 – The New Kids in Town
I've lived in Forks my entire life. It's all I've known. No matter how much I complain at times I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Forks has been my kingdom. In this little, green, wet town I reigned. Or at least I tried to. Not to sound all self-centered and narcissistic or anything, but it was true. I was a natural leader. My peers looked to me for guidance. Since I was a popular, athletic, and – dare I say- pretty damn hot freshman it was rather expected. Not to mention that I was friends with people from my year all the way up to the senior class.
I don't want to sound like I was some arch nemesis that wanted to take over the world or something ('I am a leader! Obey me!'). What I mean is that people at my school trusted my judgment. It was always a huge deal when someone new moved to town and an even bigger deal when one of the new people was enrolled at our school. My opinion on where they should sit in the cafeteria and overall social status within the school was crucial. I've never been wrong.
When Eric moved to Forks I remember people being shocked that I invited him to sit with us. Everyone in the group had been friends since elementary school so it was only natural that we were really tight. It was rare that we let anyone else in, especially if they were new. At first I thought Eric would be a fun gay friend. Turned out he was straight. However, I wasn't about to lose faith. My instincts had never been wrong before; time would tell when it came to what team Eric played for. He became an avid member of the yearbook committee and, trust me, you wanted friends on the yearbook committee. Those kids could be ruthless.
Today, my social skills would be put to the test yet again. This rich family had just moved here from Alaska. That's right, Alaska! I didn't understand why people would actually live there by choice. I mean, yeah, you would probably have some pretty sweet snowboarding sites. But geez, that was not enough to make me want to move there. Not to mention that, with my luck, it would probably be some kind of Eskimo family and not even know what snowboarding was. I know I've said I loved Forks but it had a seriously tiny selection of datable guys.
The only guy I would seriously have considered going out with was Mike Newton. He was way gorgeous, sweet, athletic, smiled really nice and… I should probably stop now. He'd been showing some interest in me, but Lauren had been really friendly with him recently (even though she was supposed to be getting together with Alex Simmons) and Mike had noticed. Lauren had been my friend and had sat at our table since the second grade, but she'd turned into this boy-crazy sleaze. I felt kind of sorry for her because no one was going to take her seriously like that.
"Jessica, sweetie…" God, my mom can make herself sound so patronizing sometimes. "…I thought I asked you to wash the dishes last night?" Crap.
"Um… I don't think so mom. I would've remembered."
"Really? Because I thought I said you could borrow my new red shirt if you walked the dog and washed the dishes."
Ah! I had totally forgotten. This was just perfect! I couldn't walk down there and play dumb when I was wearing the stupid shirt and I couldn't take the shirt off because –- even if it was a family of Eskimos coming to my school-- first impressions were priceless. I wish it hadn't looked so good on me.
"Sweetie…" I swear to God if I ever put on a voice like that please shoot me on the spot. "…wash the dishes before school and you can wear the shirt."
"But it's already twenty to eight. You don't want me to be late, do you?"
"Sorry, I thought you wanted to wear my red shirt."
It was always like this. I wanted to get my ears pierced and suddenly the front hall needed to be painted. When I wanted to go on a field trip with my geography class to La Push, I had to wash and wax my dad's car. It was ridiculous.
"Okay, I'll be right down"
I managed to eat breakfast, wash the dishes, made it seem as though I had finished my math homework and arrived at school with five minutes to spare. I walked into math and Lauren was already there waiting by my desk. She was so absorbed in her conversation with these two other girls in our class she didn't even notice Mike who was desperately trying to get her attention from his seat two rows behind her. It must have been some really big gossip. I couldn't remember the last time Lauren even said hi to those girls. Mr. Deacon had just said the words 'pop quiz' and Lauren hadn't so much as flinched. It must have been really huge, ground breaking, exciting news!
The last time Lauren had gotten that excited about anything was The Pregnancy Pandemonium two years before. Stacy, the center of all the chaos, had graduated since then but no one would ever forget her. It hadn't taken more than an hour or so for the entire school to find out about her suspected pregnancy. It was the biggest scandal Forks had seen in years especially since Stacy was the reverend's daughter. She got called to meet with the guidance counselor and then the nurse. Even her dad received calls from other concerned parents about the example she was setting. It was absolute chaos! But, it didn't last long. It turned out she'd just had food poisoning from the Sloppy Joes in the cafeteria. Ew!
Mr. Deacon was about to start his lesson so I sat and started unpacking my textbook and binder as nonchalantly as I could. My efforts to seem uninterested were wasted as Lauren threw herself down into her seat as spun around to face me.
"Oh. My. God. Have you seen them!"
"Who?"
The one thing Mr. Deacon had always said he hated most was people talking during his lessons. For that reason, Lauren and I were the students he hated most. "Ladies, I'm going to start. So, if you would like to gossip I suggest you take it down to the principal's office." Lauren's guilty smile told him that a talk with the principle wouldn't be necessary and Mr. Deacon turned to face the board. This threat was made almost every day and Lauren and I always kept talking. There were so many more important things to talk about than y=mx+b.
"The new kids", she whispered, "Have you seen them?"
"The Eskimos?"
"I was going to call them "gorgeous" or "godly" or something like that. But, if that's what you call them…"
"Wait, so you're saying there is an actual hot guy at Forks High?"
"I'm saying there are three unbelievably hot guys at Forks High."
"Oh my God!" I lowered my voice as Mr. Deacon's chalk screeched in irritation on the black board. "How old are they?"
"Well-- Jasper, Emmet, and Rosalie are in the tenth grade. Alice is in grade nine-"
"What are the sisters like?"
"Hollywood worthy." Crap. Well, at least we don't have to worry about them as competition with the other Eskimos since they're all siblings. "And then there's Edward Cullen. By far the most gorgeous guy I have ever seen and in grade nine, like us."
I could feel the muscles in my cheeks straining from the size of my smile. This was so much better than Stacy's false pregnancy! I needed to see the Cullens with my own eyes! I needed to see Edward.
As I walked to English with Mike (something I usually looked forward to all day), I couldn't stop thinking about the Cullens. Everyone was talking about these new kids in town that looked like something out of GQ. I felt as though I was the only person in all of Forks who hadn't seen them, but I would. All I had to do was get through English class and I would finally be able to hurry into the cafeteria and get my first look at these mesmerizing Eskimos.
I was so preoccupied that I almost didn't say goodbye as Mike turned towards his science class. It seemed as though today he wasn't getting any of the attention he usually expected from ladies. Then again, maybe he was just as busy thinking about Alice or Rosalie. From what I had heard they were unlike any girl Forks had ever seen. Supposedly, they dressed only in designer clothes and drove to school in a silver Volvo that made a really lousy attempt at blending in. I didn't really have a choice but to invite them to sit at my table.
I wondered if Lauren was planning on making a move on this Edward guy. Not that I would have held it against her if he really was as good looking as she said. At least it would have kept her away from Mike and given me a shot at him. I mean, what did Edward have that Mike didn't? There was no way he could be as perfect as everyone says he was. I was still comparing Mike and the Eskimo Edward when I walked into class and came to an abrupt stop.
There he was. Edward Cullen was sitting patiently in my English class, waiting for the bell to ring and the lesson to start. Lauren was not exaggerating. In fact, she hadn't even come close to describing how beautiful he really was. There was no way he was fourteen. His copper hair and pale, flawless skin made me want to reach out and touch him just to prove to myself that he was real. I thought I was going to melt! There was no way this statuesque, Grecian God was- Oh my god he was looking at me! Had I just said that out loud! No, of course not. He looked away almost immediately and focused on the mountain of papers Miss Ridley had piled on his desk. There was no way I had said that out loud, others would have noticed. He must have heard the door open and looked up in curiosity. Why was I so stupid? Edward Cullen looked at me and I just stood there like a deer in headlights.
I went to take my seat and tried to make it seem as though my legs had not fallen asleep while trying to walk along a balance beam. It had been going pretty well when I realized my seat had been taken. Edward Cullen was in my seat! This was too perfect. I was about to say something, I hadn't quite decided on what, when he suddenly turned around.
"Sorry, is this your seat?" Oh, he talks as velvety as he looks.
"Um… uh-huh." Smooth Jess, real smooth.
"Well, let me get out of your way then," he said as he picked up his things and moved towards another empty seat in the back of the class. Why couldn't I have said no! Why couldn't I have said something moderately intelligent and flirtatious? Why hadn't I said anything at all! Maybe I would have to give up on Edward Cullen and go crawling back to Mike who, let's face it, was more into Lauren than he was into me.
The second bell rang and Miss Ridley quickly took her place in the front of the class. In big, bubbly capital letters across the board she had written: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Miss Ridley was always quoting books we had never heard of and started lessons with what were probably the most random and useless passages she could think of. Today it was something about truth and marriage. Or, wait, that wasn't right. Did it say rich single guys were always looking for girlfriends? I thought it did. I wondered if Edward was on the market. So, I tried to look back at him innocently as I pretended to flip my hair. One glance couldn't hurt. I hadn't dared to hope but I was sure he was looking directly at me; his face was in an unmistakable expression of awe. If there wasn't such hard evidence I wouldn't have believed it myself. Edward Cullen had a thing for me! He suddenly looked down embarrassed at his desk. I dazzled him!
It turned out the quote on the board had been from Pride and Prejudice. I had thought it sounded vaguely familiar. Angela made me watch a six hour mini-series version when I went over to her place for a sleep over once. I swear she was almost as bad as Miss Ridley. I didn't remember much from the movie except for a bathtub and wet t-shirt scene on the behalf on Colin Firth. That alone had almost made it worthwhile. I didn't remember hating it or anything, only wishing we had gone to Lauren's instead. Angela was sweet and all but she was my go to friend when I needed someone serious and understanding to talk to or if I was failing math and needed a tutor. Lauren on the other hand was all about having fun. If we had been at her place we would've done makeovers, talked about boys, and made each other do really stupid dares. Instead, I watched a bunch of 'vexed' people go around saying how they exceedingly 'admired' one another. I don't know what I would have done if we were to live like they did. In the entire six hours I don't think anyone ever made it to first base!
Finally Miss Ridley started to wrap up her lecture on etiquette and courting in 19th century England. I could have saved the whales in the time it took this woman to get a single thought across. There was only a few minutes left in the period before lunch so I started packing up to go. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss Edward after class so that I could invite him and his family to sit with us. Now that I thought of it, we needed a bigger table. All of a sudden the bell rang. I jumped up and headed towards Edward.
"Hey-" What was I going to say after that? Oh, crap! He is too distracting! I walk all the way over here and have nothing to say. I must seem really stupid right about now.
"Hi, I'm Edward."
"I know." I shouldn't have said that. Now I sound like a stalker. "Some class, eh?" Well that comment didn't help me out any. Why can't I do anything right today?
"Austen is classic."
"What?" Austen? Like, shaggadelic Austen?
"Jane Austen." He was looking at me as though I had just said Elvis was alive. "She's the author of Pride and Prejudice." Of course, it's only what Miss Ridley was talking about all class.
"Oh, yeah. Totally. I love her." Okay, six words. Not bad. Now maybe I can change the subject before I get in way over my head.
"Really? What's your favorite?" It's like he knows exactly what I don't want him to say and then says it.
"Definitely Pride and Prejudice." I am loving Angela for making me watch that stupid mini-series.
"Really?" He was flashing me a cheeky grin, I loved it. "That's my favorite too."
"Oh my god, we have so much in common!" Crap. I sounded way too excited. He's going to think I'm such a freak. Quick Jessica, change the subject. What did you come over here? "You know, you should totally sit with me and my friends at lunch. Your brothers and sisters can come too, if you want."
"Thanks, but my siblings and I usually sit together and I wouldn't want to make your other friends feel awkward. We would make a big addition to your group."
What!? No one had ever turned down sitting at my table before. I didn't care how gorgeous this guy was, it wasn't right. Didn't he realize what it meant to be invited to sit with us on his first day? People had been trying to get into our group since grade school and I was giving him a free pass. He couldn't even give me a good excuse: 'My siblings and I usually sit together' blah blah blah. Lame!
"Oh, well maybe another time." What? I can't let him know what I'm really thinking.
"Sorry to disappoint-"
"I'm not disappointed." Before I could barely get words out of my mouth, now I ccouldn't shut up. "Come on, at least let me walk you to the cafeteria. I'm not going to let you roam around with no idea where to go like some loser." I smiled as sweetly as I could and walked out of the room gesturing for him to follow me.
As we walked down the hall I couldn't help but notice all the people staring at Edward, at me with Edward. This was so great. I just walked by Lauren and her mouth was hanging open so wide it looked as though someone had disconnected her jaw. Not only that, she had been talking to Mike Newton who looked just as shocked. I never thought making Mike jealous would be so easy. It looked like he and Edward might not get along so well in the future. I led Edward towards the cafeteria and he held the door open for me. That was it, he was totally into me.
While I was trying to decide what to have for lunch I noticed Edward was just tossing things onto his tray. I didn't even think he was really paying attention to what it is he was grabbing. I was hoping to get a few more minutes of Edward time (and maybe even convince him to eat with me) so I grabbed my blue slushy and tried to catch up. Just as I came up behind him I saw Lauren heading towards our table. She was no longer paying attention to Mike and instead was staring in the direction of the doors to the cafeteria. Behind her I saw that just about everyone else in the cafeteria was looking towards the same place just behind me. I kept walking but turned my head to see what all the fuss was about. Then, I saw them: The Other Cullens. They were all so… perfect. The blonde girl , who I couldn't really call a girl, was probably the most beautiful young woman I had ever seen, ever. She was walking alongside a big guy with short brown hair and meticulously defined muscles. It was hard to believe anyone could look like that without being on roids but, for some reason, I didn't think he was. Next in line was tall, blonde, and beautiful. He had this serious expression that was really quite sexy, although it probably wouldn't have looked like that on anyone else. The last Cullen I saw (I probably noticed her last because she's so short) looked almost like a pixie if you were to take away the wings. They all had the same fair, flawless skin and moved more gracefully than I'd ever seen before. I have to say, I still found Edward the most attractive but damn. Their parents passed along some serious beauty genes.
I was so caught up in staring at the Cullens, who just walked in, that I didn't notice that Edward had stopped walking. It felt as though I had walked into a concrete wall as I rammed into him. My slushy spilled all down the front of me as I bounced off of him and fell back into Eric's lunch tray. This couldn't have possibly gotten any worse! No, it could. Eric had chili for lunch and now I had it all over my back and my hair. I didn't know what to do seeing as my front felt like it had just been cryogenically frozen by my slushy while my back was being scalded by Eric's chili. I ended up moaning something along the lines of "Cold. Coldcoldcold! Hothothothothot! Hot! Cold".
That didn't even come close to making my situation any less embarrassing. I began to get up and the first thing I saw was Mike Newton laughing at me. As I looked around I saw that everyone had joined in laughing at me in my pathetic state sprawled across the floor. I even saw a couple camera phones. I was never going to live this down.
I couldn't stay there any longer. Edward was reaching out to help me up but there was no way I was letting anyone near me right now. God! It was mortifying! I needed to get out of there! I darted towards the cafeteria doors and out of the building.
I ran over to the line of bikes locked up in front of the school. Usually I would walk or get a ride with one of my older friends to get to school but I was running late this morning and my mom refused to drive me. I didn't mind so much this morning but the thought of biking home with my chili covered hair flapping in the wind wasn't quite so appealing. My only other option was to call my mom to come pick me up but there was no way I was going back into that school to call her. My decision was made and straddled the bike with every intention of pedaling out of that parking lot as fast as I possibly could. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind and I looked down at my mom's new red shirt. It was purple. I was so dead.
End Note:
I told you I would divulge some Chapter 2 info if you read the new Chapter 1!
Unless of course you only scrolled down, in which case I am a disappointed but can't really do anything about it.
Either way, here it is: The title of Girls, Boys, and Edward Cullen Chapter 2 is……
*drum roll*
'Meet the Parents'