AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I do not own The Twilight Saga, or any character's created by Stephenie Meyer. This work of fiction, set in the Twilight universe, is purely for fun.

same white shirt, couple more tattoos, but, it's not you, and it's not me

Bella Swan sighed as she sat at the desk in her biotechnology class, book open, tapping her pen against her notebook. It was only the first day of classes, and she wasn't interested in hearing the life stories of the bubbly, upbeat girls around her. The girl rattling on right now, Jessica Something-Or-Other, had been introducing herself for ten minutes, when she was supposed to be giving a one sentence statement.

At least, Bella thought, if she keeps it up any longer I won't have to talk. She knew the rest of her classes were going to go something like this, and that was a relief to her. She didn't want to have to think so much right after summer break. She and her boyfriend, Jake, had just gotten back from a trip home, and she was still in a little bit of a food coma. If a brain could be completely filled with gravy and fish, then hers was, thanks to her dad's new girlfriend and her amazing cooking.

Finally, the girl stopped talking, and flashed a smile toward the room, like she knew she'd just made everything about her, but didn't care, and class continued onward, introducing themselves. A brunette named Angela introduced herself quickly, saying she was interested in literature, but wanted to save the world more. Bella made a mental note to talk to her after their next class, when she didn't have her Woman's Studies lecture to rush off to.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Professor Cope let them know class was over, and she hadn't had to introduce herself. Hopefully she'd get lucky in her next class, too. Probably not, but one could always hope. Her next class was across campus, in just fifteen minutes, and she had to hustle if she wanted to get there in time.

She had always hated being late — ever since she was a little girl — so when she glanced at her watch, and saw she only had four minutes to get to class, she picked up her feet, and darted into a run. She was nearly sweating when she got to the west side of campus, and she hurried to find the room her class was in, but it was still occupied by the last class. Unless, of course, Old Professor Ratliff had turned into a twenty-something male since last semester, she probably hadn't had to hurry quite as fast as she had to get there. Rolling her eyes at herself, she slumped down to the ground, and pulled out her phone, flipping through her text messages, and opening the thread that went back and forth with Jake.

Typing out a quick text to make sure they were still on for dinner tonight, she shoved her phone back in her pocket, and closed her eyes, praying to every god in every religion that she hadn't tripped and fallen on the run over to the building. Graceful had never been a word that could be applied to Bella, and she knew it. She felt a breeze blow past and when she looked up, she saw that the class was letting out now, and students were starting to filter in — some of which she recognized from last semester's class.

Standing up, she grabbed her bag from the floor, and made her way into the class. It was her last for the day, and then she'd have to go home to the apartment that she shared with Jake. She'd be happy about that if the place felt like a home, but it hadn't for a while. Their trip home had reminded her of that fact. When they got back to Seattle from Forks, she felt even more empty than she had in a while. He was safe. He was familiar. It was comfortable now, being with him. He reminded her of home. Sure, that was nice, but when was the last time she'd felt a spark?

She took a seat toward the back of the class, next to a tiny girl with short, black hair, and gave her a smile, just as her cell phone pinged, alerting her to a new text message from Jake.

JAKE:

Yeah, still there. Meet you there at 6?

BELLA:

I'll be there.

Returning her phone back to her pocket, she turned her attention to her Professor, and read along as they went over the syllabus. It was the same basic structure as every other class, plus a project that was due at the end of the semester — she would need to find a partner to pair up with between now and next week. Of course she would. She didn't know anyone in the class, and she wasn't the most outgoing person in the world, so that would be fun.

The rest of the class passed in a blur of introductions, of which she had to participate, and writing down notes on the coming semester — that she didn't mind so much — she was excited to get the ball rolling, and then she was finally free for the afternoon. She could go home and relax before she had to meet Jake for dinner. As she was walking out of the classroom, she felt a hand grabbed her arm, and she turned around, eyes landing on the short-haired girl that she'd been sitting next to, who she'd learned was named Alice.

"Hi," She exclaimed, voice of an angel coming through, before she continued to speak. "I was just wondering if you wanted to be partners for this project. I don't really know anyone here, and you seemed pretty cool."

It took her a second to respond, eyes on the girl. She was a fast talker, but it was adorable in the way it came through. "Yeah, that sounds good. How about I look you up on Facebook tonight, and we'll talk about the assignment?"

Agreeing to link up on Facebook and discuss the project, and maybe get drinks over the weekend, Bella hurried out to her truck, and started toward home.

She drove to her apartment in silence, nerves starting to build up in her stomach. She needed a shower, needed to feel the hot water rinse away the tension that was building in her shoulders, and didn't want to have to rush to get ready. She had a little over two hours to get to the restaurant, and she was taking her time as she stood under the stream of near-scalding hot water. She had been thinking about where this conversation was going to go for weeks, and she still didn't know what she was going to say. She only hoped that being in public would help them to not turn it into a screaming match. She loved him, sure, but she wasn't in love with him. Not anymore.

She wasn't sure when she had fallen out of love with him, but somewhere along the way, things had changed. Reaching behind her, she turned the water out, and stepped out into the bathroom, wrapping a fluffy towel around her, and drying off. She'd already planned what she was going to wear, and the yellow sundress was laid out on the bed, matching flats on the floor in front of it. She had spent too much time in the shower, and had to get dressed quickly if she wanted to make it to the restaurant on time.

Dressing in the yellow sundress and matching shoes, and applying a quick dusting of mascara to her eyelashes, she decided that was as good as it was going to get. She'd never put much more into her into her appearance, anyway. Her chocolate brown hair was naturally straight, so she didn't need to do much to it, and at 5:35pm, she was ready to go. The drive to the restaurant was as quick as could be expected, but her nerves were still sitting bundled in the pit of her stomach, and the rush-hour traffic didn't make it easier on her, even as her favorite song played on the radio, as if to tell her that it would be okay.

Jake was already sitting at 'their' table in the back, just barely hidden behind a houseplant. They used to like it so they could make out, but that had been when they first moved to Seattle, over a year ago, and since then, they had been drifting apart. Now? She barely knew him. She slid into the booth, dropping her purse onto the seat next to her, and crossed one leg over the other, smiling at him. She'd be lying if she said she didn't love him. It just wasn't the same anymore. She couldn't see a future with him anymore.

"I already ordered your tea." Jake said, and she wondered how long he'd been sitting here. She knew his work hours were pretty flexible, but the place was busy, and their drinks were sitting on the table in front of them, with no waitress in sight.

"Thanks," she said, picking it up and taking a drink, hoping to calm her nerves a little before she launched into the speech she had prepared. She had been thinking about it in class, and on the drive over, and if she didn't start soon, she'd lose her nerve. "I think we need to talk."

"Okay, shoot." He said, small smile on his face.

"This isn't working out. Us. Or, whatever we've become."

He furrowed his brow, watching her intently, his shaggy black hair falling in his face. The way he was staring made her shift uncomfortably in her seat. She thought he'd felt it, too, but the way he was watching her, not saying anything, made her think otherwise.

"I… Bells, come on. That's not true. We're just busy. You've got college, and I've been working at the shop too much." He said, a sigh leaving his lips. Sure, they'd been busy, but did that mean he had to stop kissing her when he came home from work? She couldn't remember the last time they went to bed at the same time, or that she'd actually cuddled up next to him, and felt like she belonged there.

"That's not it. Even this summer, going home, it wasn't the same. We might live in the same apartment, but I've never felt so disconnected from you. Like we're not even a couple anymore. It's just not working out." She said. She had started out strong, but somewhere along the way, her voice got lower, until she was barely speaking above a whisper.

"So you don't love me anymore?" He asked, voice the same volume as hers. Neither of them were looking at the other, instead choosing to look at the rolled silverware that had been placed on the table. The sadness in his voice pulled at her heartstrings and she reached across the table, her hand meeting his.

"I do. I really do. I just… I'm not in love with you anymore, and we shouldn't keep fooling ourselves." Removing her hand from his, she stood up from the table, and cleared her throat. "I'll, uh. I'll be at home, okay?" She said, turning and walking out of the restaurant. As she opened the door and walked out, she brushed past someone, and looked up, brown eyes meeting the most intense greens she had ever seen before.

When she was back to her apartment, she opened Facebook, and with a heavy heart, she got into her relationship settings, and changed her relationship status. It hadn't been changed in over three years, but there were still eleven months left on the lease, and she knew she'd have to own up to her decisions as soon as she hit enter. There was no going back now.

BELLA SWAN is single.