Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Twilight universe. I'm just messing with it :D
Chapter 1: Bella
I checked through my bag for the third time this morning, to make sure I didn't forget anything for my first day at Forks High School.
I ran through my mental checklist of things I absolutely had to remember.
Four spiral-bound, college ruled notebooks? Check.
Pencils? Check.
Red pen? Check.
Black Pen? Check.
Eraser? Check.
I have everything, I thought, as I forced open the decrepit and rusty door of my piece of junk car (as much as I loved it, I couldn't deny, what it was). Yet, I couldn't help but feel that I was forgetting something important. I went through the checklist again two more times, before giving up and slamming the door shut.
What would have made this so much easier would be if I weren't so nervous. My stomach churned and twisted. I think I'm going to be sick, I thought with a little too much enthusiasm. Maybe I'd throw up and have to go home. Maybe I was contracting some super contagious virus.
My problem here was that I didn't throw up, or anything as I shuffled my way to the front office to pick up my schedule. The office was much warmer than the chilly and surly whether that's as natural for Forks as the brilliant sun is for Phoenix. I felt a vague pang at the thought of my previous home. It wasn't like I forgot my purpose for coming here. It was just I didn't exactly move to my most hated place on earth because I really wanted to. I did it for my mom, really. She needed to have a life with Phil, her husband of only one year. I felt like I was just getting in the way, what with her feeling obligated to stay with me while Phil traveled, for his minor league baseball team. She acted like she didn't miss Phil as much as she did. I saw right through her though, and wondered why she even bothered trying to cover it up at all; it was just so obvious.
There was a long, faux wood-grain topped desk that ran the length of the little office. Wire baskets held brightly colored leaflets and flyers, one of them warning students to get their yearbooks while they were still cheap (That's right, only 50.00!), and another was a permission slip for a field trip to the Seattle Art Museum (Extra credit for all art students!). A heavy-set woman with a lavender blouse, curly red hair, and a pair of cat-eye glasses perched on top of her hair looked up at me as I entered, and smiled, warmly.
"Hello, there. Can I help you, dear?" she asked, leaning forward slightly in her seat.
"Um, yes, actually," I said, as I approached the desk, with trepidation. "I'm new."
She froze for a moment before realization dawned on her face. "Oh! You must be Isabella swan, then," she concluded.
"Bella," I corrected, automatically.
"Welcome to Forks," she greeted. "How do you like it so far?"
"Um, it's –it's great," I lied, unconvincingly, I might add.
Her smile broadened, creating more creases around her slightly sagging cheeks. "That's wonderful. Now, you need your schedule?" she asked, moving on rather abruptly.
"Yeah, uh, that's what I need," I said, eloquent, as always.
"Wonderful," she repeated, though I wasn't really sure what was 'wonderful' about needing a schedule. "You'll just have to wait one moment."
I nodded and went to sit in one of the hard folding chairs, with stiff cushions on the back, and seat. They were located right underneath a large, tinted window. I twisted in my seat to peer broodingly up at the angry looking storm clouds. I noticed a large anvil shaped mass surging forward at a sluggish, and ominous pace. I remembered learning in science how the anvil shaped clouds, always carried a storm. I wrinkled my nose in distaste and turned my attention to the now arriving students. The parking lot had been pretty much empty when I got in, but cars were now steadily trickling in.
My jalopy, to my delighted surprise didn't stand out as much as I thought it would; most of the cars were older and about as crusty looking as mine, if not more. The shiniest and newest looking car in the whole parking lot was a silver Volvo, and it really stood out.
"Isabella?" the receptionist called.
I was about to correct her again, but then thought better of it. I got up and went to the desk again. She handed me my schedule, with another one of those smiles and pointed to a metal wire basket that contained maps of the school. I snagged one quickly before thanking her and exiting the office. I held my schedule up close to my face and squinted at the clear and precise type. I had English first. Well, that should be easy, I thought. Call me a dork, but English always has been my favorite subject.
I began to make my way over to the building and was closely inspecting the map when I bumped into someone. "Oops. Crap. Sorry," I said in a rush as I disentangled myself from the person.
"No worries," said a husky male voice. I looked up to see a tall gawky looking guy, with hair that was as black and seemed to have the same consistency as an oil slick. Blotchy pockmarks covered his face. "My fault. I wasn't paying attention."
I was about to point out that I hadn't really been paying any mind to my surroundings either when he cut me off. "Hey, are you lost?"
"Er, well, no. I'm just looking for the English building." I said it like a question, like I didn't even know where I was going. All I really wanted to do was make my way to the building on my own with out any random, overly eager, helper, whom I would probably have to introduce myself to, consequently –and surely- at some point making myself look less than competent.
"I'm on my way over to the English building myself," the pimply boy said with a smile. "I'll help you find it. Once you know where it is, it's not hard to find."
No, really? I thought to myself. "Hmm," was how I replied, instead. I wondered if there was a diplomatic way to tell some one to buzz off.
"So, are you new here? I don't recognize you," the boy said, striking up conversation.
"Yeah, I'm new, I guess," I answered.
"Where'd you move from?" was his brilliant follow up question.
"I used to live in Arizona," I supplied.
He raised his eyebrows. "Arizona? Wow. This must be quite a shock to your system." He looked up pointedly at the encroaching storm clouds.
I shrugged. "Yeah."
He looked down at me again. "You're really from Arizona?" he asked then, his voice slightly suspicious.
I frowned, bemused. "Yeah. Why?"
"Huh." He said. "Well, it's just I thought you'd be real tan from all that sun, you know?"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm half albino," I joked flatly.
He looked down at me again, speculating my pale complexion, as if putting it together in his mind. "Really."
I rolled my eyes again. "No."
"Oh," he said, embarrassed. He didn't talk for the rest of the walk to the room. I felt kind of bad, but when we stopped outside of a door he said, "I'm Eric, by the way. Eric Yorkie." He stuck out his hand for me to shake.
I awkwardly shifted my schedule and map to my other and hiked my bag higher up my shoulder before shaking his hand. He pumped my hand once, before letting it drop. "I'm Bella Swan," I said.
"Oh! You're the Chief's daughter, right?" he asked.
"Yeah."
An awkward silence passed between us then he said, "Well, I guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah," I said. "Later."
I was disappointed to see that most of the books on the required reading list I'd read. It was just the usual bit, of Earnest Hemmingway, Nathanial Hawthorne, Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens. Well, at least I was well prepared, I thought somewhat dismally as I watched flecks of rain tick against the window.
Government was as boring as I expected it would be. I zoned out during the period and thought about groceries and ironing and the clothes I still had to unpack.
Trigonometry was surprisingly an improvement, though the teacher, Mr. Varner didn't strike me as a particularly pleasant person, and even went as far as to subject me to introducing myself in front of the class. I went to sit in the back but he quickly halted me, pointing to an empty seat next to a short girl with wildly curly, dark hair. She grinned when I sat down next to her. I returned the smile, stiffly.
She passed me a note, when the teacher began his lecture that read:
So, you're Chief Swan's daughter, right? Isabella?
I read the note quickly before jotting down my response underneath her question:
I prefer 'Bella - but yes, I'm Chief Swan's daughter.
I passed my note to her and she scanned it quickly before writing back:
Do you have friends here?
I scribbled a simple "no" and she made a sympathetic sound before passing me another note that said:
Why don't you have lunch with my friends and me? It would be totally cool if you did. I'm sure everyone wants to meet you. I mean, we don't get new kids all that often around here.
I considered refusing, for a moment, before I wrote:
Of course, I'd love to.
She smiled emphatically, before scrawling a last note to me, and turning her attention to the teacher's lecture on proofs.
I'm Jessica Stanley, by the way. Feel free to ask me any questions. I pretty much know everything about this place. I've only had to live here, like, my whole life.
With the end of the period brought Spanish, which I'd never been particularly good with, but I still kind of liked it. I took my seat in the only desk behind a cute, boyish looking kid. His hair was spiked in neat little, frosty spikes, and his eyes were wide spaced and pale. He twisted around in his seat to face me. "Hey," he said.
"Um, hi," I said.
"You're –"
I cut him off quickly finishing what he was about to say in a monotone: "Chief Swan's daughter, right?"
His smile turned sympathetic. "Heard that question enough for one day, huh?"
I smiled too, glad to see the empathy in his face. "Like you wouldn't believe."
He nodded in understanding.
A woman entered the room and began chatting away in Spanish, and went to the white board to draw up a chart. Her roaming eyes suddenly landed on me and she came over to my desk. "Hola, señorita," she announced in a grand voice. "Cual es su nombre?"
"Er, um, me –me nombre es Bella." I stumbled over the words clumsily, but the teacher took no notice of this.
"Como estás?"
"Uh, bien, gracias."
She nodded and said, "Bienvenidos a mi clase."
I nodded in return, and she moved on to the lesson.
In short, the rest of the class passed much like my other classes, at a slow and tedious rate. When class was over, Mike invited me to sit with him and his friends if I had nowhere else to sit.
"Sorry, I already promised this girl I'd sit with her." I felt embarrassed when I couldn't even remember the girl's name.
He shrugged. "It's cool. I'll just walk with you to the cafeteria."
As we made our way to the lunchroom, Mike talked casually. He told me he was from southern California so he could understand my loathing of the depressing weather here in Forks. He smiled when I showed him my schedule and said we had the next two classes together.
When we entered the cafeteria I felt a surge of nervousness and claustrophobia. The room wasn't quite as full as the cafeteria used to be back at home, but the thought that I hardly knew a single person here, while everyone else seemed to know each other got to me. I was the only person here who didn't know everyone. It was a weird feeling. Not that I had many friends at my old high school. Now the feeling was just kicked up a notch.
"Do you see who you're sitting with?" Mike asked, breaking me from my thoughts.
"Uh," I stalled for a moment searching for the curly haired girl. I didn't have to look for long; she was sitting at one of the tables closer to the door. She had seen me first and I first saw her with her hand in mid-wave. "Yeah, I see her."
I started walking over to the table with out a second glance at him, only for Mike to follow me. We both noticed this and stopped in our tracks and looked at each other. "Was that Jessica who waved to you?" he asked.
Oh, right. That was her name. "Yeah. Do you sit with her too?" I asked.
"I do, as a matter of fact," he said with a smile. "Well, it appears we'll be eating together after all."
I smiled back. "It does look that way."
It wasn't until I got to the long lunch table that I realized just how packed the table was. Jessica had her backpack on the seat next to her, reserving it for me, and removed it as I approached. "Hey," she greeted me. She looked over to Mike, who stood behind me, and she bit her lip. "Oh, Mike, I'm so sorry I didn't save you a seat," she said sincerely.
Mike shrugged. "No worries," he said. "It's cool." And it was. He went to go sit at the other end of the table with the first boy I'd bumped into today, and that was that.
I turned back to face Jessica, but she was still staring at Mike. I debated snapping my fingers in front of her face, or something to shake her out of it. She suddenly turned to face me and smiled. "Sorry. I was spacing out for a minute there." She rolled her eyes at herself. Then sighed. "So, I should probably point out who everyone is here, right? I mean, you don't really know anyone, right?"
I nodded my head.
"Have you met anyone besides Mike?" she asked. "Just so I don't point out someone you know."
I glanced down to Mike's side of the table. Eric was already staring at me, so he caught me glance at him, and raised his hand to wave, but by then I'd already looked away. "Yeah. I met that guy, Eric."
Jessica sighed, sympathetically. "You poor thing."
I shrugged.
"All right, then," Jessica said thoughtfully. She glanced up and down the table choosing whom to start with. "Well, this right here is Angela Webber." She gestured to a tall thin girl with mousey brown hair. The girl turned and gave me a little wave. I waved back.
She pointed to another girl, sitting across from Angela Weber, with long, pin-straight, white-blonde hair. She was shorter than Angela and more angular looking, though not necessarily thinner. "This is Lauren Mallory." Lauren hardly acknowledged me. She gave me one, very brief, icy glance before turning to a sturdily built, brown haired boy. Jessica pointed him out next.
"That's Tyler Crowley," Jessica indicated when she noticed I glanced at him.
A girl suddenly sat down across from Jessica, squeezing between Lauren and a tall boy, with almost shaggy blonde hair. I didn't see his face, because he was leaning over a very thick volume. The girl was extremely slight and fairy-like in almost every sense of the word. Her jetty hair was cut short and styled into spikes that surrounded her elfish face like a halo. The corners of her thin lips were already quirked up into a grin. Her eyes landed on me and her smile grew if it were possible. "Hi, Bella!"
I froze for a moment. "What?"
"I'm sorry," she apologized, suddenly. "I forgot for a moment we haven't met yet. There's just been so much excitement about you, so, I'm sorry to say, you're what everyone has been talking about today."
It was so odd the way she talked to me; it was so relaxed, like she was talking to an old friend. People at my school in Phoenix weren't even this friendly to me. "I guess-" I began to say, but she cut me off quickly
"I'm sorry, I should introduce myself. I'm Alice." She extended a slender hand across the table for me to shake. I quickly obliged. She turned to Jessica. "Who has she met?"
Jessica gave her a quick list of the people she'd just previously introduced me to. "Why?" Jessica asked, with a trace of annoyance marring her seemingly constant peppy nature.
Alice acted as if she hadn't noticed this. "Well, I was just wondering if she'd met Jasper yet. Or anyone else, really." She shrugged, daintily.
"Why, though? Do you want to introduce her, or something?" Jessica pressed, her face now showed obvious signs of irritation.
Alice shrugged again. "Sure." Alice continued to pretend to not notice Jessica's annoyed expression and tone. She remained impassive, but friendly.
Jessica rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I don't care." She turned away from me to face Angela.
I blinked. That was abrupt, I thought.
Alice however was totally unfazed. "All right-y, then." She turned to the boy sitting next to her, and nudged him with a pointy elbow. "Hey, Jazz."
'Jazz's' head snapped up, startled. "What?" It was the first time I saw his face and I was almost surprised by how handsome he was. He was also much taller than I expected him to be, once he sat up all the way.
Alice smiled sweetly to him. "This-" she gestured to me, here-"is Bella. She's new."
The blond, and suddenly good looking boy smiled a little, embarrassed. "Oh, right. Bella. You're the new chick."
"Where's the new chick?" A deeper voice suddenly interjected with unbridled curiosity. I looked over to the origin of the voice. It was his sheer size that I noticed first. To be perfectly frank, the guy looked intimidating in size, to say the least. And he was sitting down. I think that really says something about a person. It wasn't even just his height. I could see his impressive biceps and pectorals straining against his white cotton t-shirt. He leaned over the two boys sitting between Jasper and him, his elbow on the table. He shook one of the many dark curls on his head out of his eyes and his dark eyes roamed up and down the table, not waiting for the blond boy's answer. Then his eyes rested on me, and he grinned widely. "Oh. 'Sup, new chick?"
"Um-" was as far as I got before Alice cut in again.
"Hey, hey, hey!" she said, glaring at him. "I'm trying to do this in an organized way, here. I'd appreciate it if you just waited your turn. But now I just might as well introduce you," she grumbled.
The intimidating boy laughed, raucously. "So-rry."
"Yeah, right," Alice muttered. "Okay, well this is Emmett," she sighed, exasperated, as she said his name. "And, Emmett, this is Bella."
Emmett laughed again at Alice. "I love your enthusiasm when it comes to me." Alice ignored this. He smirked when she ignored him and turned to me. "You a junior?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah," I answered somewhat uneasily, waiting to be interrupted.
The boy next to him pulled a red hair pick out of his Afro and laughed at Emmett. "Does she look like a senior to you?"
Emmett shrugged. "She could be." He paused for a moment then said, "Hey, what about Edward, Alice?"
Alice exhaled impatiently. "Well, I was going to introduce him to her next, but then you butt in and messed it up." She narrowed her eyes at Emmett.
"Oh. Well, carry on. I'd like to see this." Emmett and the boy next to him with the Afro watched Alice and I with eager amusement.
Alice rolled her eyes. She leaned over Jasper to the boy sitting next to him. I'd hardly noticed him when I sat down. He had his hood pulled up and was slightly hunched over; leaning over something I couldn't see. He was almost in the same position Jasper had been in before, as in I couldn't really see his face, just his untidy auburn hair sticking out from under his hood.
Alice cleared her throat dramatically and then said, softly, "Edward?"
The boy with the Afro snorted.
Emmett shook his head, still grinning.
Alice glanced at afro-boy. "Shut up, Chris."
"Edward," she said more loudly. He still didn't move.
Emmett and Chris were snickering, silently.
Alice got a determined look on her face, and strained herself even more around Jasper. "Edward!" she snapped. Edward, again, remained as still as ever.
She cussed under her breath, and sat back in her seat before getting up and walking right behind Edward. She suddenly jerked back his hood, revealing clunky, disc jockey style headphones, pressing down on untidy, red hair that reminded me of the hue of bronze. Edward looked up, confused. I felt my eyes almost pop out of my head at his very face. Emmett and Jasper were lookers, but they really had nothing on this Edward. Even now, as he swiveled in his seat to seek the perpetrator, with his brow pushed together, he was gorgeous. You never expect looks like that in real life. I felt almost blindsided by it. Who knew such stunning people lived in little ol' Forks?
"What was that for?" Edward demanded a little too loudly.
"Headphones, Edward," Alice said, teasingly, with a mocking smile.
Edward frowned. "What? I can't hear you." Again, he spoke much too loud. Emmett Jasper, and Chris were all laughing, silently as possible. I noticed Jessica, Angela and Lauren all turn to see what was going on.
Alice sighed and pulled the headphones off Edward's head and said, much too loudly, though very much on purpose, "You headphones." She smiled sweetly to him and snapped them back on his head.
Edward grimaced, while Jasper, Emmett, and Chris allowed themselves to burst out into laughter. Some of the girls who had been watching giggled, before turning back to their conversations. "Yeah, yeah," Edward said after they didn't stop laughing for a couple of minutes. "I get it." Their laughter died down and Edward narrowed his eyes at them, waiting for them to start laughing again. They stared back, expectant. "Har, Har," he said sarcastically and Jasper snorted.
"You have to admit," Emmett said, "that was pretty fuckin' hilarious."
Alice cleared her throat loudly. "Excuse me? I'm trying to help Bella out, here, and you guys keep messing this up." She glared at Chris and Emmett and then turned to Jasper. "And you."
Jasper frowned. "What did I do?"
"You, my dear, aren't helping by laughing with them."
"I can't help-" He cut himself short at the look Alice was giving him and said, "Sorry."
It was only then I could put together in my mind that Jasper and Alice were a couple, in the moment before she leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I know you are, Jazz."
"Christ, you guys," Emmett, said, with a touch of disgust and laughter in his tone. "Get a room."
Alice gasped, mockingly offended. "Excuse me? Are you talking about Jasper and I? Are you serious? Do you even know what you and Rose look like when you guys are together?"
Emmett opened his mouth, ready to retort when Alice cut him off. "Enough! Seriously, Bella will never get to meet everyone if you keep getting me sidetracked. I can't even remember now who I was going to introduce her to next." She scowled, and then comprehension dawned on her face. She looked both ways down the long table before asking Emmett, "Where's Rosalie?"
"Right here," I heard a smooth voice drawl, from behind me. I twisted in my seat to see who spoke, but she was already walking toward and empty seat next to a short, voluptuous girl, with silk black hair and almond shaped eyes. Her full lips pulled back around her teeth in a smile, by way of greeting to Rosalie.
I couldn't quite peel my eyes away from the girl. She was tall, statuesque and blond. Her features had the dark and cold beauty of high fashion models- the high porcelain cheekbones, and the wide, somehow hauntingly beautiful eyes. She flipped her long, golden-blond hair over her shoulder, in a highly annoyed way before turning to Alice. "I am so done with French," was the only other thing she said, before turning back to the pretty Asian girl beside her.
"Excuse me, Rosalie?" Alice said, loudly, with surprising authority for someone so small. "There's someone here you have to meet."
Rosalie turned slowly and gave Alice a look that very plainly said "Excuse me?" right back. "Who?" she asked, despite her supremely unenthusiastic expression.
Most of the time, I don't think myself very intimidated by other people –save for Emmett, previously known as the intimidating boy- but more not willing to socialize with them, for whatever reason. Or sometimes I just don't have much to say to a person. I, however, suddenly felt the edge of intimidation dig into my gut. She hadn't even looked at me, and I felt strangely uncomfortable because of it. It wasn't like she just by coincidence hadn't looked at me –it was like she didn't want to see me there.
"This," Alice said, with a melodramatic flourish of her hand, "is the new girl, Bella."
Rosalie's eyes finally landed on me and they were rather cold, and harsh in their pale blueness. "Welcome to Forks, Hell on Earth."
I froze. How do you respond to something like that? I scrambled franticly –albeit internally- for a moment for a reply, but she'd already turned back to her friend.
I suddenly noticed Alice was talking and jerked my head back to look at her, but she wasn't talking to me. "What did you do?" Alice demanded Emmett.
"I didn't do anything! What are you blaming me for? You heard Rose," Emmett said defensively. "She's having trouble with French. Not me. Sheesh, Alice. Way to be a loyal friend."
I know I would have naturally followed the rally of the conversation, back and forth, back and forth, but as my eyes made their way back to Alice, for her retort, they stopped on Edward's face. It's one of those things, where you effortlessly look to where you feel yourself being watched. You can feel a stare like that. Edward was in fact looking at me. He was staring at me openly and unashamedly. His expression was both open and curious. I smiled a very small, shy, tightlipped, smile before dropping my gaze to the artificial grains of wood in the lunch table.
I wished in that moment I could just become part of the table, and just meld into it. I wanted to just blend in like I did at home. Here I was a spectacle and an oddity. Neither of which I could say I appreciated in the least. No matter how much purpose I knew I had in being here, I still missed home, a lot. I am such a baby, I thought to myself, thoroughly disgusted. I'd been away from home for only one day, so far. How was I supposed to make it until the end of high school? Ugh. I wanted to bang my head against the tabletop and force everything out of my head. I wanted to bang my head against the tabletop until I knocked myself out.
The lunch bell suddenly rang, shrilly, and I jumped, startled. Everyone at the table seemed to groan simultaneously, before shoving out of their seats and slowly dispersing. I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder.
I let out a groan of my own, though no one joined me, and it was very quiet. I wondered if no one noticed me this very moment, would they notice if I made a dash for the exit. However two things hindered this plan from the get-go: A) Of course people would notice; I was the new piece of gossip, and from what I could tell, most people had their eyes glued to me, like a freak show. B) The whole situation was purely hypothetical in my head. I could never follow through on something so obviously against the rules. Besides, I had a reputation to uphold, what with being the chief's daughter.
So, with out much further thought, I trudged my way to Biology II.
Thankfully my biology class wasn't too far from the cafeteria. Mike caught up to me anyway and chattered at me until we got to the door. The biology teacher –a Mr. Banner, according to my schedule- smiled at me, and waved me over to his desk.
"Isabella Swan?" he asked.
"Bella," I corrected for the umpteenth time.
"I'm Mr. Banner," He introduced himself, unnecessarily. "There's an open seat, there, next to Mr. Masen." He gestured vaguely toward the back of the classroom. "Welcome to Forks High," he seemed to add, as an after thought.
I flashed a quick smile, before turning back to the rest of the class. I was thankful that no one seemed to be paying any attention to me. Even Mike was talking to another girl, that Jessica had introduced me to –though I couldn't think of her name, for the life of me.
And Edward was staring at me. Quite, blatantly, I might add.
I stared back, only for a moment, before my cheeks flushed and I ducked my head. It wasn't hard to guess that Mr. Banner had meant that my seat assignment was to be next to Edward –he was the only one in the classroom sitting alone.
I took a deep steadying breath, before making my way down the center aisle of desks. He looked up at me, when I took a seat in the chair next to him. I set my bag on the floor, trying to pretend I couldn't feel his curious gaze on my back. I finally turned to him, to ask him what he was looking at, but he spoke first.
"I'm Edward," he said then added, "Masen."
"I know." I smiled very slightly at him.
He grimaced, and his ears and neck flushed with color. "Yeah … " He trailed off awkwardly and fidgeted with the cord hanging from his clunky headphones, that rested around his neck.
I felt a stab of guilt at seeing his embarrassment. I couldn't think of a way to save the conversation however, with out making the situation worse, and so turned to my notebook.
Mr. Banner called the class to attention then, turning on the overhead projector. Though we'd already done a unit on cell anatomy in my biology class back home, I didn't have anything better to do, other than to take notes.
"If there was any other was any other way for me to be introduced to you –with out my being humiliated- I would have really prefered that, " he murmured so low, I thought for a moment he hadn't meant me to hear what he said.
I turned to look at him, but he was looking at the bullet-points outlined on the overhead. Feeling my stare, he chanced a glance in my direction.
"Really," I whispered. "I'm the one who should feel humiliated."
"And why's that?" His attention was now squarely on my face, his head cocked to the side. "You weren't the one publicly embarrassed in the cafeteria."
I think it's fairly natural to shy away from an intense gaze –like, say, Edward's. And it feels unnatural to stare back, right in their eyes, and see their depth, their vulnerability. His eyes were a deep green. Like the color of the ocean when a storm is on the horizon, surging forward at its slow and ominous pace, while the sun still blithely shines. Somewhere, deep in them, I caught a hint of humor. It was dark, and diluted, but it was there.
I felt my face get hot with my blush and quickly looked away, though he showed no signs that he even noticed. "In case if you weren't aware," I finally managed to say, "that's pretty much what I've been going through the whole day. I am the new chick, after all."
One side of his lovely mouth tugged upward in a lopsided smile. I wondered idly how many hearts he'd broken with that smile. "That doesn't count as public humiliation. No one is trying to humiliate you, anyway."
"I wouldn't be so sure."
"Mr. Masen and Miss Swan? Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class, or may I continue my lesson?" Mr. Banner barked from the front of the class.
I blushed deeply.
"Carry on," Edward said nonchalantly.
"Careful, Masen," Mr. Banner warned. "Don't get smart with me."
Edward nodded once, though humor still lifted his expression.
Much to my chagrin, Edward didn't speak to me for the rest of the class. He flashed that same perfect, crooked grin at me, before he left the classroom, at the end of the period. I trudged to the gym, which was also used as the lunchroom, alone, thankfully.
Coach Clapp informed me that I didn't have to dress today, for PE, but I would have to starting the next day. Joy.
Though I didn't have to participate in PE today, I was relieved when the bell finally rang. I practically ran to my car, which caused me to stumble, and fall, as I should have expected.
I sighed at myself, exasperated, and knelt to pick up the books I'd dropped.
"Need help with that?" A familiar voice inquired.
I looked up, my cheeks already pink, to see Edward standing above me. He stooped beside me, sinuously, and began picking up a notebook I'd dropped.
"I'm fine, really," I told him, hurriedly. "I can get it."
He ignored me though, picking up another notebook, before handing both to me. "That's everything," he said cheerfully. He stood, and I awkwardly, brought myself to my feet as well. He was tall. Maybe not as tall as Jasper or Emmett, but he had about a foot on me. "See you tomorrow," he added, before turning, and walking to the parking lot.
I sighed again, at myself, before making my own way to the parking lot.
On the way home, I tried to concentrate on unpacking, preparing dinner, and homework –normal things like that. However, I found myself continually coming back to Edward's penetrating stare. And it wasn't just his stare that I couldn't rid my mind of –it was also his face, his hands, his eyes, his entire being that I couldn't keep myself from thinking of.
What was so special about Edward Masen? Aside from his ridiculous good looks. Aside from the peculiar way he'd started our introductory conversation. Aside from his constantly prying green eyes, which held a bewildering depth to them.
Aside from all that, what was I left with? He had a certain wit to him. A lot of people had senses of humor. This at least made him not quite so singular. And he clearly liked music –the headphones said that much. I guessed from the behavior of his peers that they were a common accessory for him. Lots of people liked music. And he was friendly, though his friendliness had seemed born out of curiosity, more than anything else.
I was simply going in circles. He was unique, and I wasn't doing myself favors by denying it. He wasn't like the other students, in such a way, I couldn't place my finger on. He just struck me as different. Intriguing, in his quiet manner.
I shook my head to clear it of my ridiculous ponderings, as I pulled into Charlie's driveway. He wasn't home yet, so I still had some time to myself, before I had to start dinner.
I went up to my room, dropping my bag on the floor, by my desk, and went to turn on my feeble, obsolete, computer. It took about ten or fifteen minutes to turn on all the way –in which time I spent tidying up my room, a bit, and started rereading Wuthering Heights- and by the time it did, the screen was covered in a smattering of pop-up adds, which I had to close. That took me another ten minutes. I very nearly gave up, after that, but knew my mother would be very displeased if I didn't check my email inbox, thus resulting in a furious phone call. Not exactly what I was aiming for, I had to say.
And so, with a martyred sigh, I clicked on the little Internet Explorer icon on my desktop and waited for it to load.
My mom had left me three emails. One email asked how I was liking Forks, if it was raining, how Charlie was, and that kind of thing. The next email had a panicked tenor to it, asking why I hadn't emailed her yet. The last one simply said that if I did not reply to her email by five-thirty in the PM, today, she would call Charlie.
I still had a while, but I thought it would be best to email her ASAP –she was known for jumping the gun.
"Mom" I started my email…
Relax. I just got in yesterday, and I've been at school all day today. Of course, it's raining. This is Forks, after all. Everyone here seems pretty nice. I feel like I'm adjusting pretty well, for a place I dislike so much.
Charlie's good. He told me to pass along that he says "Hi".
Breath. Relax. I love you.
I signed my name at the bottom and clicked "send" with the cursor.
I decided I might as well get started on my homework, seeing as Charlie wouldn't be home until six, so there was no rush to start dinner. Though, my teachers had all assured me I didn't have to complete the assignments until next week, I didn't see the point in procrastinating, anyway.
I'd just finished writing my chapter analysis of Wuthering Heights –a personal favorite of mine- when I heard Charlie's cruiser pull in.
I glanced at the alarm clock, on my nightstand, irked to see that I'd have to get dinner started late. Way to make an impression, I thought to myself dryly.
"Hey, Ch-Dad," I greeted, as I came down the stairs. "Sorry, dinner's not ready yet."
"Oh, hey, Bells. That's fine," he said, as he hung his gun, in its holster on a coat hook, by the door. "I wanted to catch the game anyway."
I went to the kitchen then, realizing, much to my disappointment, that Charlie's kitchen wasn't very well stocked –something I hadn't had time to make notice of last night, since Charlie had ordered take-out. I resolved to go grocery shopping to amend the tragic situation the next day.
I was lucky that Charlie's hobby of choice was fishing; consequently the freezer was thoroughly stocked with fish. I sautéed the fish, which I had ready fairly quickly. I rooted through the fridge for some lettuce or some kind of salad mix, but, alas, there was none. Which was quite shame, because it would have been a nice balance, I thought. I should have figured as much though, judging from the sparse state of the rest of his supply of food.
Charlie, however, was very satisfied by the fish, alone. He wasn't a man of many words, but smiled broadly when he came into the kitchen, and eyed the fish I was scooping onto two plates –one for him, and one for myself- and said "Smells good, Bella."
Charlie didn't speak much during dinner. He asked a few questions about school and how I was liking it here, before he finished, and retreated to the TV room. I hand washed and dried the dishes, since Charlie didn't have a dishwasher.
I stood at the sink for a long moment staring out the window, into the dark. All I saw though was my face staring back at me, a familiar crease formed between my eyes. I pressed a finger down on it, smoothing the furrow on my brow.
I knew why I looked so bothered. I shook my head, again, ridding myself of my thoughts. It didn't make any sense, this budding infatuation. How quick I was to make life in Forks –impossibly- more unbearable!
I went back up stairs, to busy myself with homework, to keep my mind from going down the absurd path it was taking.
Finally, after reading several more chapters of Wuthering Heights –however unnecessary- I was finally tired enough to go to bed.
That night I dreamed I was in a room –no, not in, but trapped in a room filled with beautiful and exotic people. They were all talking to each other, and I was trying to find the exit, through the throng of lovely people. They all glared and sneered at me, laughing as I went, at my incompetence and deficient looks. When I finally did find a door, a sign over it blared the words "THIS IS NOT AN EXIT."
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