A/N: I know I should be working on my other stories, but this needed to be done. After watching the brilliant movie, A Walk to Remember, 4 times in the past week, a story was brewing in my head. It's all EPOV, just so you know. And yes, it will be somewhat (mostly) based on the movie. Imagine Edward as the delicious Shane West and Bella as the beautiful Mandy Moore. (And if you have no clue who those two are, I'll post links on my profile)
Notice: I do not own Twilight, A Walk to Remember, a Jeep Wrangler (I want one), Corvette (Want one too), or an 1968 Oldsmobile 442 (Really want that one).
I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket repeatedly and finally I gave in and pulled it out. There were several messages from my friends, Emmett and Jasper.
"Where the hell are you?" Emmett had texted me that one numerous times.
"When someone says ten, they usually mean be there at ten." I pulled into the abandoned parking lot, my headlights illuminating a group of people huddled around a giant, mud-covered Jeep Wrangler and a classic, refurbished Corvette.
"About damn time you showed your ugly-ass face around here! You bring the goods, Edward?" Emmett said as bounded over to me. I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. As of late, my mother had been keeping a sharp eye on me and all but placing me under house arrest. I had faked an excuse about hanging with Jasper to get out of my room.
"Mom's been watching me like a hawk. Thought you guys had taken care of that back at school." A big dance was scheduled tonight at the high school and as usual, my group of misfit friends skipped, refusing to conform to the social norms of our school.
"Yea, but it was only a twelve-pack. Hey, everyone, Newbie showed up!" Emmett went to meet Jacob, the soon-to-be newest member of our pack. He parked his gray sedan right behind mine and I cringed. Not that I didn't mind that he had brought his mother's vehicle, it was the main principle that he put it so damn close to my pride and joy, my restored 1968 Oldsmobile 442. I loved that damn car. I slaved over it for months, spending every penny I had rebuilding it from nearly scratch.
"We'll make a rule, no parking nasty cars by the classic ones." Jasper said as he came up behind me. I grinned and bumped fists with him, wiggled our fingers and chest bumped each other. To an outsider, the motions seemed odd, but it had been our ritual since the moment we became friends.
"Good to see you, bro. Never thought she'd let you out tonight. You gonna jump?" He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. My eyes followed in the general direction and spotted the ominously large metal structure, about thirty feet up, with a three-foot ledge, overhanging a man-made lake. The water was dark and murky, a faint outline of a pipe that drained into the lake from a nearby industrial plant was just off-center from the drop from the ledge.
"Was planning on it." I yanked my shirt off, tugged my shoes and pants off. I handed them to Jasper and strutted past Emmett and Jasper's latest flings, Alice and Rosalie and waited over at the bottom of the metal structure for Jacob to grow a pair. With much convincing on both parts of Emmett and Jasper, Jacob stripped and nervously jogged towards me.
"Have you done this before?" He panted as we climbed up and up. I nodded, trying to keep my mind off of how high we were. Couldn't we have picked a different spot for this? My irrational fear of heights was about to move from a sloshing stomach to a full-blown panic attack.
"All the time. Why, you scared?" I hauled myself up onto the platform and stayed on my stomach for a moment. I squeezed my eyes shut as I shakily got to my feet.
"N-n-no." He heaved himself up, knocking into me. I hissed, grabbing onto the sorry excuse for guard rails.
"Well, here it is. After you." I pointed to the ledge and saw the color drain from Jacob's face.
"Aren't you jumping with me?" His eyes were wide and glassy. Pussy.
"Want me to hold your hand, too? Fuck no. You gotta do this shit solo." I was glad that he got to his feet and turned away from me at the exact moment my legs began to tremble. Hurry the fuck up. The quicker you jump, the faster I can get to solid ground. I motioned for Jasper and we both heard the small group begin the countdown. They hit one and Jacob had yet to move.
"Jesus, you a chicken-shit or what? Just…GO!" I yelled, and must've startled him because he let out a gargled scream. The next thing I knew, I heard a loud splash and Emmett's whoops of amusement.
"Thank God," I breathed and began my descent down. Halfway to my destination, I heard Alice's high-pitched screeches.
"OH MY GOD! IS HE DEAD?!" Jasper covered her mouth with his hand and muttered in her ear. I glanced over to the water, where I could see Jacob's body floating on the surface. Shit, he hit the pipe.
"Fuck!" I growled and slid down the rest of the way, dashing over to my friends.
"Someone has to go in there and get him. We can't leave him in there," Jasper was saying quickly. Emmett scanned the group and his eyes landed on me.
"You. Go in and get him."
"Me? Why not you? This is all your idea." Jasper said my name and I snarled.
"You all owe me so much." I dived into the frigid water and swam over to Jacob. I turned him over and checked for a pulse.
"He's okay!" I dragged him behind me as I swam back to shore. Suddenly, a beam of light hit Emmett's face.
"Shit! Security saw us. Get the fuck out of there!" Jasper called to me, reaching down to help Jacob out of the water. I was submerged while pushing Jacob's lifeless body onto the dock and when I came up, Emmett's Jeep had roared to life and Jasper was yanking on my arm, trying to pull me out.
"Leave. I got this." I gasped as I grabbed a hold of the side of the dock.
"Edward, if you get caught-"
"Leave." The tone of my voice made it final. Jasper nodded and sprinted to his car. I laid dripping on the dock, next to Jacob. I got up on my hands and knees and tapped his face.
"Jacob, wake up." His eyes fluttered open and he tried sitting up.
"Don't do that." I held him down, but noticed the sounds of oncoming police vehicles.
"Help…me…" He rasped, gripping my wrist. I saw the flashing lights and broke his grasp.
"I'm sorry." I jumped up and raced to my car, barely peeling out of there before the cops saw me. One lone squad car chased me and I sharply turned off the road, dirt and rocks kicking up from my tires. My wet hands slipped on the wheel and I went careening through an open field, finally crashing into a large bail of hay. My windshield cracked and shattered, splinters of glass cut my bare skin. My left leg was pinned under the steering wheel and part of the engine. The front end of my car was a complete loss. To my own surprise and terror, I felt actual tears welling up. A bright light shone in my eyes and I squinted to get a good look at the police officer. Could this night get any better?
"Evening, Chief Swan." He shook his head disapprovingly and I felt like I was five again.
"Son, put your hands on the wheel." Groaning, I did what he asked.
* * *
Needless to say, my mother was not at all pleased with me when she came to pick me up from the hospital.
"Of all the crazy ideas…running from the cops…could've been killed…" She grumbled under her breath as she unlocked the car.
"But I'm not. That's a good thing, right?" I pulled myself into the car, pushing the wheelchair away from me. I had torqued my knee and had a brace on. My mother put my crutches in the backseat.
"Not at the moment." I shut my mouth right then. I knew better than to mess with Esme Cullen when she was furious or about to lecture.
"To top it all off, Chief Swan was the one who chased you! Honestly, Edward! I thought I raised you better! You can kiss your social life goodbye. You're home right after school and nothing else." I nodded and absentmindedly rubbed my forehead. I hissed in pain as I squeezed my stitches. A self-satisfying smirk formed on my mother's face.
"Hope that hurt."
* * *
Monday, back at school, I was a legend. Somewhat. Jasper was waiting next to his Corvette as I pulled up in my mom's Jeep Cherokee. He whistled at my appearance when I hopped out with my crutches.
"Shit, what did you do?" Emmett showed up minutes later, clapping me hard on the back. I winced and swore silently.
"You have huge balls, man. What's the verdict?" Remembering the long list of offenses Chief Swan had read for me, I gave them the abbreviated version.
"I made up some story about being there and hearing Jake Black in the water. I jumped into save him and got spooked when the cops showed up. I booked it so it didn't look suspicious. The car chase was unscripted. Mr. Banner is dishing out the punishment later today." I saw Emmett's jaw drop slightly. He and Mr. Banner, the principal, weren't on best of terms with each other. Emmett spent a majority of his high school years in that office.
"That's harsh. Banner's an asshole." His eyes caught something behind me and I followed, pivoting awkwardly with the crutches.
"Someone's looking particularly stunning today," Alice said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. A grin formed as I watched Bella Swan make her way across the school parking lot. Clad in an oversized sweater, high-waisted jeans and blinding white shoes, Bella Swan was years behind in fashion and was the favorite prey of Alice and Rosalie.
"Bella, be careful! If your pants go any higher, your hair will get stuck in the zipper!" Rosalie called out, a snarl of a smile on her face. She looked up from the large paperback book she was reading and glanced down at herself.
"Thank you!" She called back, waving happily and stuck her nose back in her book.
"Something is seriously wrong with that one." Rosalie grumbled and Emmett kissed her soundly.
"That's for sure. Come on, babe. You feel like skipping?" Rose's face lit up and they climbed back into Emmett's giant Jeep.
"Text me later, tell me what went down with Banner, okay?" I could barely hear him over the rumble of his engine. I nodded and headed up the stairs into school.
* * *
Banner caught me in the hall as I was heading to my first class.
"In my office. Now." I rolled my eyes as Jasper walked past. He made the sign of the cross at me and opened the classroom door of his class. My smile died instantly as I spotted the row of empty beer bottles on his desk.
"Shut the door behind you. Care to explain these?" He gestured to the bottles and raised an eyebrow. I hobbled over to a chair and glared at him.
"Those aren't mine."
"Prove it. I heard from a student that they saw you drinking on school property the other night. Which, right now, is the least of my worries. You're lucky Jacob Black isn't talking to the authorities. What were you thinking?" I bristled at his near-paternal tone; it brought back memories I tried for years to repress.
"You going to expel me or something?"
"Not yet. But you will be joining the janitorial staff for the rest of the school year, along with tutoring every Saturday. Oh, and you'll be a part of the Drama Club's end-of-the-year production."
"The spring play? Banner, seriously. Anything but that."
"Does detention before and after school sound any better?" I shrunk in my seat and Banner sighed.
"Didn't think so. Meet me here after the final bell and I'll get you hooked up with Carlos. Hope you've been paying attention in Spanish," He said jokingly.
Fuck. My. Life.
Thoughts? I plan on continuing this story, because I have been threatened by my best friend, who reads all of my stories. And she said if I don't do this story justice, she'll get seriously pissed because she LOVES AWTR. As do I, almost as much as I love getting reviews.