Author's note: So, something else I came up with while watching Star Trek tapes. Actually, they play a big role in this story. You'll see. Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any characters from it.

Chapter One: Solitary

Edward's POV

The rain drizzled down soaking through my shoes and making my T-shirt cling to my chest as I trudged up the long, twisty driveway. I was almost to the door when the sky opened up and buckets of water landed on my head. I stepped into the front hall and tried to move my hair out of my eyes, but it was firmly plastered to my forehead. I dropped my backpack off my shoulder and used both of my hands to push my hair off my face. It stuck straight up, refusing to bend back any further. When I turn sixteen, I'm getting a car. There is no way I'm going to continue walking home in the dreadful weather presented by Forks.

Hi. My name is Edward Cullen. I'm fifteen and a sophomore at Forks High School. I have two loving parents, one of whom is a doctor. I'm really confident and outgoing. I'm the most popular guy in the school; I have so many friends. Girls fawn over me unashamedly. I can tell you anything having to do with sports. People want to be me. I'm also a phenomenal liar.

Hi. I'm Edward Cullen. My father disappeared when I was seven. When my mother realized he wasn't coming back, she quit pretending to like me. I'm shy, reserved, and considered a freak. People avoid me like spending too much time in my presence will cause them to catch some kind of disease. Geek isn't a disease nor is it contagious. I've never been kissed, much less had a girlfriend. I read. I play the piano. That makes me such a weirdo. I have one friend. I really don't mind being unpopular, but two friends would be nice. But I really am a phenomenal liar. You bought the first story, didn't you?

I wandered farther into the house. My plan was to slip past "Mom" before she figured out I was here. I walked into the living room and discovered it empty. The kitchen and her bedroom came up with similar results. The house had been drained of all signs of inhabitance except my room. My clothes were in a pile where my bed had previously been. There were two boxes on the floor. One of them held my substantial CD collection with a Post-it note on it saying, "You have bad taste in music." The other contained VHS tapes with another Post-it proclaiming, "I can't believe your father watched this show."

I sank to the floor in shock and disbelief. I knew she didn't like me, but to just leave while I'm at school. I couldn't wrap my head around it. I needed to talk to my best friend. I needed to see Bella. I made it back downstairs without conscious prompting from my brain. My path took me back through the kitchen where I found yet another sticky note that had eluded my initial cursory examination. This one read, "You have three days to leave before the new people move in." I would be homeless in three days.

I really needed to see Bella now. I ran up to my room and grabbed clothes to stuff in my backpack. I swung it over my shoulder as I returned to the downpour. The encroaching darkness told me it would be late by the time I reached Bella's. I had secretly spent the night in her room before, and I knew she wouldn't mind if I just showed up at her window. We had to do it that way because, despite being her best friend and nothing more for the past ten years, Chief Swan didn't trust any boys to spend the night with his daughter.

I smiled as I remembered when I had met Isabella. We were in kindergarten. She had stood there trying to convince herself to go ask to play with some of the other kids. Unfortunately, she had asked Lauren Mallory and Mike Newton. He rose to sneer at her that she wasn't cool enough to play with them. Then he hit her. I couldn't stomach watching him hurt her. So I took matters into my own hands and rearranged his face. He had a sizable black eye and a bloody nose before the teacher pulled me off him. To this day I am the only kindergartener to have gotten suspended from Forks Elementary. I became her protector, and she became my best friend.

Other than the scuffle with Newton and one later with Tyler Crowley, I didn't understand why she was friends with me. She was well liked and could easily be popular if she ditched me. She was pretty, smart, perfect. Even Mike had been shamelessly flirting with her since middle school. Still, she unfailingly defended me whenever something was said against me.

Bella's house came into view. I picked up my pace. Her bedroom window faced the front lawn and had a conveniently placed tree right in front of it. Over the years, I had perfected climbing said tree and could probably make it up in thirty seconds. Not to brag or anything. I grabbed onto the lowest branch and swung my legs up to wrap them around it. I righted myself and reached for the next branch above me. I repeated the process with the next two. Bella's window was opened a crack, as always. I reached out to push it open before I lunged into her room.

Bella didn't notice me landing next to her bed. She was sitting on the other side with her back to me, drying her hair off with a towel. I set my bag down silently, crawled up behind her, and whispered, "Hi," in her ear. She jumped nearly a foot off the bed. "How do you always manage to sneak up on me?" she inquired.

"Years of practice," I grinned at her. Despite everything, being near her always made me happy. I probably looked like a real idiot whenever I was in her presence, due to the cheesy smile that always made an appearance. My best friend's eyes were shining with a similar grin. "Great, now get off my bed; you're getting it wet."

Oh right. Rain, wet. I scrambled back onto the floor. She knew I'd bring dry clothes, so she turned away to let me change. I pulled the clothing out of my bag and changed quickly, leaving my old clothes on the floor to dry. Slightly less damp and donning shorts and an old T-shirt, I returned to my spot on her bed. "So, what brought on this sleepover?" she questioned me while lying down.

"Mom being stupid. You know, the usual," I dodged. "What are we going to do?"

"We could like totally do each others' hair and talk about boys," she squealed in a fake preppy voice. She waved her arms in rapid gesticulations to enhance her mockery.

"Geez Bella, we did that last time," I shot back.

"Okay, we can do each others' nails and spill all our deep inner secrets."

"You have no secrets from me."

She bit her lip. I was shocked. She did have a secret from me. "You've been keeping something from me," I accused.

She turned on her side and bit down on her lip harder. "You've been keeping something from me too! You've looked off since you got here."

"A compromise," I suggested, "I'll tell my secret if you tell yours."

"Don't get mad. He's been asking me out for so long, and I figured if I went on one date, he'd leave me alone-"

"Who?" I groaned. I was pretty sure I knew who it was. Only one person would make her that nervous to tell me.

"Mike Newton. He's taking me to a movie in Port Angeles Friday."

"He's going to try to kiss you."

"I've considered that possibility and come up with a solution. Remember that pepper spray my dad gave me…"

We both shook with silent laughter at the thought of Mike being on the receiving end of pepper spray. "What's your secret?"

I knew I couldn't keep this particular piece of information confidential for very long. It's just surreal to admit out loud. "My mom left me."

A/N: I know I should be working on my other stories, but I'm stuck on them and this came to me. It's actually the one I have the best planned out. I like this Edward, possibly more than my angel Edward. (Don't tell him that though.) Reviews are like roller skating in a buffalo herd, impossible not to love.