Chapter 1

I gathered up all the tissues and threw them in the garbage. This was stupid. I was seventeen; I shouldn't have been crying. Even the fact that I had just started at Seaside Boarding School wasn't an excuse. I looked longingly at the girls who were standing in the hall, laughing. Some fresh tears welled up. I tried to hide them as Lauren, the first girl I had met at this school, walked in.

"Bella, you look terrible. Why don't you stop that crying and go put on some make up like a normal girl?" she sneered at me. Her friends laughed while they left the room. Probably on their way to torment more people.

As soon as she was gone, I realized how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten breakfast because I was so nervous, and it was already past lunchtime. I grabbed my room key and walked outside, heading to the cafeteria.

That's when I saw him. The most gorgeous human I had ever seen. The first thing I noticed about him was his beautiful emerald eyes, which were accented with dark circles.

"Ow!" I was so busy looking at him, I had walked right into the metal garbage can. The sound of the incident caught his attention, and he walked over. He picked my room key up from the cement.

"Excuse me? Is this yours?" He voice was like velvet.

"Yeah. Thanks." He handed me the key. I loved the feeling of his hand on mine.

"My name is Edward Cullen. What's yours?"

"I'm Bella Swan."

"Nice to meet you, Bella. Are you new? You don't seem familiar."

"Yeah. This is my first day here."

"Well, I hope to see you again." He smiled and walked away, leaving me breathless.

I stood there for a few seconds, probably looking like an idiot to other students. I then remembered where I was going, and hurried to the cafeteria. I bought a chicken salad and went to sit down. I ate slowly, thinking about what had just happened.

* * *

I had just come back from the school bookstore when a girl burst in to my room. She was small and pixie-like, and she had a huge grin on her face.

"Hi! You must be Bella. I'm Alice, you're roommate." She jumped forward to hug me. Though I had never met this girl, this action pleased me. It was comforting to know there were some nice people at this school.

"My brother, Edward, who you met earlier, wanted to stop by, but he had basketball practice.

"It's nice to meet you, Alice." Her smile grew.

"It's nice to meet you, too."

I stood there, feeling awkward. I wasn't sure what Alice expected me to do.

"So do you want to go to Edward's practice? It's so much fun watching him! Grab your key and we'll go." Clearly, she wasn't going to wait for an answer. I went to pick up my key and she pulled me out the door.

We walked into the gym five minutes before the practice was supposed to start. When Edward saw Alice and me, he grinned and jogged over.

"Bella! You came!" For some unknown reason, he looked happy to see me. His sparkling eyes caught my attention.

"Um… yeah." I smiled meekly. I wanted to kick myself.

"If you want to stay for the whole practice, we can go get something to eat after I take a quick shower," he said.

"Cool!" Alice seemed to be enthusiastic about everything. The coach blew his whistle, so Edward jogged back over to the team.

"Come on, Bella. Let's sit down. Practice usually takes about an hour." She pulled me over to the bleachers.

My jaw was dropped the entire practice. Edward was AMAZING. He sunk all his 3-pointers, executed all of his lay-ups perfectly, and was able to get past anyone who was guarding him. No wonder he was the captain of the team.

I worked hard to keep calm and collected as he walked over to us after practice was over. I didn't succeed.

"Hey, guys. I hope you aren't bored." I snorted at the thought of being bored while watching Edward fly across the court.

"What?" He grinned. He looked like he found something amusing.

"Um… nothing. That wasn't boring. It was um… cool watching you guys play. You're… really good."

Nice, Bella. You really impressed him with that one. He smiled at me.

"So, I'm just going to take a shower, and then we can go get something to eat. Is that okay?"

"That's great!" Alice exclaimed. He looked at me, but I wasn't sure why. I just stood there, confused, looking totally stupid.

"Bella? Is that alright with you?"

"Oh!" I said, finally understanding why he was looking at me. "Yeah, that's cool."

"Okay. I'll be out in ten minutes." As soon as he had left, I rolled my eyes at my lame conversational skills.

"Isn't he great?" Alice asked.

"He's amazing! How'd he learn to play like that?"

"Our dad is a basketball coach. He and Edward use to play together all the time."

"Wow. Do you play any basketball?"

"Nah. Shopping's more my thing. Oh my gosh, we should totally go to the mall together! I SO need an outfit for my date with Jasper. He's taking me out to dinner for our one year anniversary." Excitement was in her eyes.

"Um… I don't particularly like shopping. Maybe you should go with another friend?"

"Don't be ridiculous! You'll have lots of fun! I'll ask Rosalie if she wants to come, too."

"Who's Rosalie?" I asked.

"She lives in the dorm next door. She's really nice. You'll love her."

"Um… I guess we could go shopping."

"Great! We'll go this weekend."

"Hey, Guys. Are you ready to go?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. Where do you want to go?"

"Bella? What type of food do you prefer?"

"I'm good with anything. Is there a sushi restaurant on campus?" I was finally starting to use my words when talking with Edward.

"Yeah," Alice responded. "It's just a five minute walk from here."

"Great. Let's go."

"So, Bella, what would you like?" Edward asked.

"Um…" I was still flipping through the menu. "I think I'll have the assorted sushi. It looks good."

"It is. I've had it a million times, and I still love it," he said. "Alice?"
"I'll take four California rolls and four salmon rolls."

"Cool. I'll go get the food."

"I'll come," I volunteered. He smiled.

We walked up to the counter and placed the order.

"So, Bella, where did you go to school before you came here?" Edward asked while we were waiting for our food.

"A small school in L.A. It was pretty decent."

"Why did you switch?"

"My parents got a divorce, and my mom wanted me to live with her. But she just finished a book, so she had to go on a book tour for a couple of months. She decided a boarding school was the most logical option for me."

"I'm sorry you're parents got divorced. That must have been hard," he whispered the last part of his sentence.

"It wasn't so bad. I was kinda waiting for it. I knew it was going to happen soon."

"Do you wish you were still at your old school?" He seemed like he really wanted to get to know me. This was the first time anyone's been particularly interested in me. It felt kind of nice.

"Kind of. I started there in grade 7. It's hard to switch to another school after being there for five years. But I didn't have many friends, so it wasn't as hard as it could have been." I winced as soon as those words came out of my mouth. Now that he knows I didn't have any friends, he probably thinks there's something wrong with me.

"I can't imagine why you wouldn't have any friends." He smiled at me. My face went bright red.

"I guess I just wasn't very social. I was always at home, studying."

"Food's ready!" We took our order and walked over to the table.

"I'm so sorry, Guys, but Rosalie really needs me. She just had a huge fight with Emmett, and she's really upset. Do you mind if I leave?"

"Of course not, Alice. Tell Rosalie I'm sorry."

"Sure thing. See you later!" She ran out the door.

"Edward? Who's Emmett?" I asked.

"Emmett is my brother, and Rosalie's boyfriend. They've been going out for almost 11 months. But I'm sure this'll blow over. Emmett's always doing goofy things that annoy Rosalie, but she's never mad at him for more than a couple hours. It's hilarious to watch." He laughed, probably thinking about a previous argument.

"Oh. Cool." We sat down and ate our lunch. The whole time, I was wondering if Edward had a girlfriend. I was trying to think of a subtle way to find out, but I wasn't having much luck.

Edward and I didn't stop talking the whole walk back to my room. We were both asking questions about each other's hobbies, favourite classes, and least favourite classes. I found myself becoming really interested in him. I loved spending time with him, and I hoped he felt the same way.

"Did you have fun today?" He asked, when we had reached my room."

"Yeah, totally."

"Would you like to catch a movie on campus tomorrow night? There are some really good ones out right now." I beamed at him. I couldn't believe Edward Cullen was asking me out on a date!

"I'd love that."

"Great. I'll come by at 7."

"Cool. See you tomorrow." I went in my room and started jumping up and down. Maybe this year would be better than I had originally planned.