AN- this is a (Edward and Bella) romance, angst, and fantasy story. AU, and AH. There will be a mention of cutting in this chapter, though it's not detailed. Don't read this chapter if such content bothers you. Song for this chapter- Welcome to my life, by simple plan.
Disclaimer- Twilight doesn't belong to me, though I wish Robert Pattinson did.
Bella POV
CHAPTER 1
I made my way down the hallway, clutching my books to my chest, trying to avoid the harsh stares of my fellow students.
My only hope was that I wouldn't see him. Not today. I just couldn't handle it today. But then again, on what day would I be able to handle it?
But I realized for the thousandth time in my life that hoping is a futile exercise. There he was, surrounded by people as usual, people who worshipped him. I tried to avoid his eyes, but their mocking gaze drew me in and paralyzed me, as usual. The best looking man I had ever seen in real life, James Thomas Dunfield.
For a second that felt like an eternity, his cold blue eyes held my gaze. In that second, I relived our entire history- I went back to the first day he had noticed me and the elation I had felt, to the day I ran out of his life, barely sane. It was a history that changed my whole life- the history that turned me from a barely known girl to the most popular girl and then the most hated girl in school in a mere week. A history that turned me into a shadow of my previous self.
After I managed to walk away without collapsing from his sight, I resumed my lonely walk down the hallway, out of the school and towards my home.
I had never had many friends, but I had used to have someone or other to talk with during the day, someone to walk with. No BFFs, but I convinced myself that I didn't need someone like that. But after the incident with James, I didn't even have the friends I used to have. Don't get me wrong- not everyone in school worshipped James, though he was liked by everyone except me. But there were people who would have talked with me, despite the fact that I was generally hated. I just couldn't find any energy within myself to try and make friends again- just couldn't face the idea of putting myself out there and risk being rejected.
When I got home, I stood for a while on the doorstep, staring at the familiar door, knowing the loneliness that awaited me inside. Not that there was any difference outside, but our new house was so big it felt like one of those haunted houses in a scary movie, sometimes. I sighed, turned the key in the lock, and went inside.
We hadn't moved a long way. This house was just three blocks away from our old one, where me and my Dad had lived for as long as I could remember. This house had been uninhabited for as long as I could remember, too. It's owner lived abroad, and she hadn't wanted to sell it for all this time. But she had suddenly stumbled into a financial difficulty, and we ended up buying it at a much cheaper price than it's real value.
We had moved in three weeks ago, but it still felt new to me. In all this time, the only room I had gone into was my one, and it was downstairs. After the James incident, I preferred staying in bed all day, staring at the ceiling. I was staying that way, when I heard the sound which normally made my blood turn into ice- someone was knocking at the door. I listened to the persistent knock in numb terror. I would recognize that knock anywhere, he was the only guy I knew who could make a simple knock sound mocking and terrifying. Knock, knock, knock. It was James.
I didn't open the door, but I could feel the beginnings of a panic attack. My breath came in nervous pants. I had been stupid enough to give him a key to my old house when we were a couple, but he didn't have any keys to this house. But I felt bile rising in my throat, thinking about the doors, windows and thousands of other ways inside this unfamiliar house- ways I didn't even know about.
Knock, knock, knock. The window in my room wasn't curtained, and if he walked to this part of the house, he would see me. I felt tears spill over my cheeks, as I stood up as quietly as I could, and ran upstairs, the ancient floor boards creaking as I went.
Knock, knock, knock. I felt like screaming as I ran further up- I didn't care where, I just wanted to stop hearing the knocks. For a long while, I didn't realize that I had stopped hearing the knocks long ago, simply because they were still reverberating in my head. Then I looked around me, trying to figure out where I was.
I was inside the attic of the old house, I realized as I switched on the light. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, but I sat down on the floor, finally feeling safe. Then I dug my pen knife out of my pocket, and slit my left wrist. The cut wasn't too deep- just deep enough for me to ride the strange high that came with the dizzying pain. The fresh wound helped seal the one that was bleeding in my heart.
I lay on the floor for a long while, I don't know how long, and then I looked around me again. There were many objects, but I couldn't tell what they were, as they were all covered with cloths. But from my position on the ground, I could see two gold feet of something- maybe a mirror- that the cloth failed to cover. I summoned all my strength and stood up, willing the nausea to pass away.
I walked up to the first object that had managed to awaken my curiosity in two months, and pulled away the dusty cloth, covering my face. I still had to cough in the cloud of dust that rose up. I had been right, it was a mirror. But it was a mirror which didn't belong here- it belonged in some antique shop, with other valuable antique objects. It certainly wasn't fit to be hidden in a attic in some house, even a house as ancient as this one.
It was taller than me- a graceful oval, with engravings on it's golden sides. It looked regal, and I stared at my reflection, which looked oddly out of place in it. A thin, wild- eyed girl, holding her wounded arm. I looked at my eyes, shocked at the emptiness in them. But something even more shocking was about to occur. I screamed at the reflection of the man that suddenly appeared behind me.
AN- This is my first fan fiction, so please don't be too harsh! But please review. I will only post a new chapter if people like this, and the only way for me to find that out is if you review.