Chapter One

BPOV

I lugged my huge suitcases down the hallway, in search of my dorm room. 301…301…where the hell is 301?!

My father, Charlie, was kind enough to help me carry the monstrosities I needed for college. We didn't really talk, as in small talk and chat a lot, but we had bonded after I moved in with him. Even though he lives in Generic Small Town, USA , I didn't mind sending myself there after my mom, Renee, got married to Phil. It's not that I had a problem with my mom getting remarried, but spending time with her and her new husband is not quite my idea of a good senior year, if you get my drift.

In Forks, (the name of Generic Small Town that would be found on the map) I had some friends, but since the kids there had known each other since birth, practically, I wasn't really "welcome". Angela was very nice, however. And her boyfriend, Ben, was a real sweetie. They were not going here with me, and I was on my own. Which is a scary thought.

We finally found my dorm, after about 10 wrong turns, and three flights of stairs. A girl was already in there, and from the limited part of her that I could see (mainly, the back of her head) she came off as a little intimidating.

She turned when she heard us bumbling around in the hole they called a dorm, and my mouth fell open. Which is rather unattractive. But this girl…was beyond movie-star beautiful. And I kid you not. I mean, I don't find myself unattractive, or anything, but I am aware that I am rather plain. Boring brown hair and common brown eyes, not too tall, but not too short: in a nutshell, I am average.

She, however, was decidedly un-average. Her long blond hair must have taken years to grow, and I was almost positive that the color was natural. It wasn't platinum, but it was still very gorgeous. She had curves in all the right places, and from what I could see of her actual body, she appeared to have a well used gym membership. Her impossibly long legs were accentuated by her shorts, and her top hugged her curves in a way that would make any man start drooling. I could tell that this year was going to be a blast.

"Hi. You must be Isabella. I'm Rosalie Hale, you're roommate," the girl said, turning around. Her face was as gorgeous as the rest of her body. My self esteem dropped a little. She just had that effect on people.

"Please, call me Bella. Isabella is just…not me. This is my dad, Charlie. He's helping me move in."

"Hello Miss Hale," my gentleman of a father said, peering around the giant stack of boxes he was holding.

Giggling, Rosalie replied, and they began talking about life in general, I guess. I was busy trying to figure out what pieces of furniture she had claimed, and what was still left for me.

Of the two mini closets on the room, one had clothes spilling out of it. I assumed that this was Rosalie's closet, and moved to the other one. It was empty, so I dumped my bag there with the intent of unpacking things later.

"Come on, Dad, let's bring the rest of my stuff up here," I called, dragging him away from Rosalie.

We walked down to the truck, and continued lugging piles of stuff into the dorm. I didn't think I was bringing very much, until we had to get it all out of the car.

Rosalie and Charlie chatted for a while longer while I unpacked, then it was time for him to leave. He was the chief of the Forks police force, and the abundance of criminals in the area (major threats in the past 25 years? One shoplifting incident and three traffic violations) would just take too much advantage of the men left behind, so he had a very good reason to go back.

"So…Bella." Rosalie said, after Charlie left.

"So…Rosalie," I said back, mocking her. She smirked, and I knew that she had gotten it. Thank god she wasn't your typical dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks blond. Otherwise, I might have to put in for a dorm change. And I'm not even kidding.

"Oh, please, if you're just Bella, then I'm just Rose," Rose quipped, causing me to smile.

"Fine then, Just Rose, what were you going to say?"

"Nothing, Just Bella. Your dad's really…something," she said, meaning it in a nice way, not the 'Wow, your dad's really something out there, like near Pluto!" way that other people might have said that. But I digress.

"Yeah. He lives in a small town, where small talk is basically the only form of communication the people have. Not even kidding. Years of practice have helped to develop his expertise in the area."

Just Rose laughed, and I could tell that she got my sense of humor. We might just make this arrangement work!

We talked about superficial things and told some basic life stories. But no overnight female bonding. As in, I don't see us painting each other's toes and doing makeovers any time soon.

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Rose POV

When my roomie walked through the door, I was a little surprised. I mean, I wasn't expecting someone like her. She had that "small town" air about her. I can't really describe it, but she did. I could just tell. She also came off as a little shy, since she didn't say more than three words to me the entire time that her dad was there.

Her dad was a nice guy, though. He looked a little like her, his eyes were the same shape and they had similar noses. He talked to me, and reinforced the small town theory I had earlier. He talked to me like he had years of practice making small talk. He told me all about his job in charge of the police force, and I didn't have to say very much to keep the conversation flowing. Charlie was a great talker, and I would have enjoyed spending more time with him. After he left, I took a good look at his daughter.

I know that I am rather pretty, the way that men's eyes follow me around the room, and the multiple slack-jawed looks I have received since my thirteenth birthday have been good signs as to the truth in this statement.

But Isabella – or, Bella, as she prefers – was very pretty. She was softer than I am, her long brown hair was naturally straight, something I would have killed for. It had a pretty kind of shine to it, and I wondered what she used on it. She wasn't as curvy as I was, but the clothes she wore did a good job of disguising any curves that she might have. Her skin, though pale, contrasted her hair nicely, and I could see all kinds of cosmetic opportunities that were being wasted.

When she finally looked at me for more than a few seconds, I could see her deep chocolate brown eyes. They were sharp and I could just see that they didn't miss a thing. This girl was pretty, definitley with potential, and I could see that with some help, she could pass for beautiful.

We talked, but I didn't think that we were going to be best friends any time soon. We were friendly enough, and the rooming arrangement wouldn't hurt, since we both seemed pretty low key. But none of the typical best friends slumber parties with confessions and general craziness was going to happen in the next few weeks.

Before I crawled into my bed, which was too small compared to what I was used to, I thought considered calling my cousin, Jasper. He went to school here as well, but he was a year older than I was. He was involved in one of the fraternities located on campus. This year he was going to be on the other side of the pledge system, since he was going to be in charge of a group of Lambda Phi pledges. I hoped that the pledges knew what they were getting themselves into! Jasper was no sissy, and he was going to make it hard for the incoming pledges.

But since I hadn't really seen him since he started high school, I was a little bit nervous about seeing him around campus. He told me to call him when I got here, but I had decided to wait until tomorrow. Bella turned the lights out, and we both curled up in our beds (which were thankfully NOT bunk beds. That would have been awful!) and fell asleep.