Accidental Occurrences

Summary: Bella Swan hated high school. It was nothing special for her, just another monotony of her life. Until she met one person – someone who could change all of that. E/B One shot

Bella's Point of View

It was just another day in the purgatory called high school. Inane chatter buzzed all around me, and I just threaded my way through the crowd without thought.

Lunchtime was my favorite time of the day. The only time where I could escape to the music room and play to my heart's content.

This school did not have a music program. Not enough money in the budget, they said. But there was enough money to have a fashion show each year, that everyone hated.

Of course.

I made my way slowly to my favorite place in the entire school, the crowd thinning out as the second bell rang.

Using a hairpin, I picked the lock on the old door that had become my safe haven. My movements were robotic; I'd been doing this since my freshman year here.

The door clicked open, and the sound brought a rush of joy to my heart. I raced eagerly to the back of the room, where my salvation lay.

Under the old sheet cover, the precious violin lay. I picked it up reverently, let the feeling of holding it again wash through me, and began to play.

Soft music filled the little room, making it feel alive. I was sure that long ago, someone had brought joy to people with the music from this violin.

Now it was just me; playing for myself and listening to the magic around me. The bow danced over the strings, bringing long-lost melodies back to life.

They rejoiced as they hit the air, the sound vibrating through the room and filling me with happiness.

Satisfied, I set the violin down to give my fingers a little rest. As I looked out the only window in the room, I saw the rain pour down.

It was rain exactly like this that killed my family. I couldn't help but hold a grudge against this part of the weather – but in Forks, Washington, it couldn't be avoided.

Filled with sadness from the memory, I picked up the violin again and let my emotions transfer to the instrument.

The despair began permeating the room, and I had to stop the song when I couldn't see from the tears filling my eyes.

The sound of sniffling reached my ears. I thought it was my own, but it came from too far away to be my own.

"Who's there?" I called out tentatively. The sniffing stopped. "Who's there?" I repeated.

I looked all around me, looking for a sign of someone. Who dared to listen to the deepest part of me that I always kept hidden? I felt so exposed; someone had seen this part of me that no one else was supposed to.

I could see a person behind the music stands in the back – if this had been a regular occurrence, it was the perfect hiding place.

I caught a flash of bronze, a shade of hair that only one person in this school had.

I darted around the stands to find Edward Cullen trying to make a sneaky escape and desperately failing.

"Edward Cullen?" I gasped. He was the one who was listening to me play all this time? He was the school's most popular boy, despite being a junior. Star of the football team, aced all his classes, all the teachers' favorites – he had it made.

He froze on the spot, facing me. I could see tear tracks on his face, and his eyes were still swimming with tears. But, as I watched, his face transformed into what I usually saw at school – what I now knew was a mask.

I needed to get out of here.

I rushed for the door, not even bothering to put the violin away, which was a first for me.

"No, wait!" Edward exclaimed – the first two words I'd ever heard him say to me.

I was yanked backwards, restrained from reaching the door.

"Don't run, don't run," he pleaded, his hands caging me in against the wall.

"Why?" I whispered. "Why were you listening?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I…I couldn't help it. The music you make…it's so beautiful."

Tears filled my eyes once more. Did he know that most of the music came from my parents' death? Did he know that such a tragic accident caused everything?

"Don't cry," he said, looking upset. "What's wrong?"

"It was mine," I said. "My music. Not for anyone else." I didn't tell him my thoughts.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again. He wiped away the tears that fell, his fingers just ghosting my skin. "You're hurt. I can tell. No one can make music that beautiful without there being something behind it."

I closed my eyes. He knew. The entire town knew when my parents died – the Chief of Police was very well known around here. I didn't want his sympathy.

"You were so strong," he said, resting his forehead against mine. "I envied you. Then, I saw you coming in here once during lunch, so I followed you. I couldn't stop coming back once I heard you the first time.

"You're amazing, you know? None of us could go through that and still only use music as an outlet. You're untouchable."

The distance between us was now nonexistent. What started as just his hands trapping me ended with his entire body pinning mine.

Slowly, he leaned down and touched his lips to mine.

Edward Cullen was kissing me.

I couldn't tell if I was dreaming or being punk'd. Probably both.

With his face pressed against mine, our tears were mingling, keeping each other company in their misery.

His hand was in my hair, anchoring my head in place. Almost without my knowledge, I was kissing him back.

He was so gentle, so caring…I needed this. No one had cared for me since…that.

He broke the kiss softly, still running his hand through my hair.

"Let me in, Bella," he whispered against my lips. I didn't even know he knew my name. "I want to know you."

Maybe it was time to be cared for, after all.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I've based this off something that happened to one of the people in my life, so this story means a lot to me.