Bridge Over Troubled Water

Disclaimer: Twilight is the brainchild of Stephanie Meyer and not me. This story, however, is mine and Stephanie Meyer may not use or profit from my ideas in any way.

Thanks to everyone that read, alerted, and reviewed the last chapter. I must admit that I do understand why authors ask for reviews. It feels good to know that people are enjoying your story and are looking forward to reading the next chapter. Also, I do apologize for the long delay. The past week was pretty busy and I wasn't able to spend as much time writing as I wanted to. Rest assured there won't be this much time between postings in the future.

Chapter 2

The weekend following my little excursion into the woods passed relatively quickly and quietly. I mostly studied and tried to keep busy so that I wouldn't get too excited about seeing Alice again. Although I was excited, I was also a little scared. What if she doesn't want to speak to me at school? What if I go to speak to her and she looks at me as if I'm no one to her. That was the last thing I wanted to happen. Based on how sweet she was to me, I don't think she would do that, but then again I don't really know her. I guess I will just have to wait and see, but I will prepare myself for rejection from her so that it won't bother me as bad.

As usual, Monday morning arrived way too soon and unfortunately it brought more cold temperatures and rain. I woke and showered and made sure to layer my clothing so that I wouldn't get too cold while outside and hurriedly went downstairs to get breakfast so that I can start my day.

My morning classes were boring, but fortunately the first half of the day went by reasonably fast. I was surprised that it went by as quickly as it did. I thought that my excitement over seeing Alice and how she would react to me today would show it down considerably. Although she hadn't given me any indication that she would behave this way, I still retained that small fear that I would be ignored and tried to keep my expectations down, just in case.

Soon it was finally time for lunch and I walked slowly to the cafeteria and through the line with my tray before I sat at my normal table. I've been sitting with the same group since I got here and although they were nice to hang with sometimes I really couldn't consider them friends yet. I didn't really open up enough to anyone for them to become real friends, although they seemed genuinely interested in becoming friends. Correction: Angela and Eric were. Mike was mostly interested in dating me, while Jessica was interested in dating Mike, which caused a few complications. At that point, Angela was the closest thing to a friend that I had here at Forks High School. We even talked after school and made plans to do something one weekend, but she didn't try to pressure me into hanging out or anything, which I appreciated. They were all pretty nice and they kept me from being bored in the classes that I shared with them. Mike would be okay if he weren't always trying to take me out all the time.

"So, Bella!" Mike called although I was sitting right next to him. "Are you busy this weekend? Maybe we can get together and do something…"

Just as I was about to reply, I heard a loud scrape across the cafeteria and my attention was drawn over to the Cullen table. Alice had grabbed her chair and dragged it loudly across the floor grabbing the attention of most that were in the cafeteria having lunch. The large one named Emmett had laughed loudly at this action and at the glances it had caused. Alice merely sat casually down in her chair and looked up directly at me smiling slyly and sending a small wave in my direction.

Alice didn't know this but she had just saved me from having to let poor Mike down…again. I shot a smile over to her and waved back, grateful for the interruption and just happy to see her. Alice sat and looked at me for a moment before I broke eye contact, unable to contain my blush any longer.

"Bella?" I heard Jessica speak my name from beside me. When I looked over at her I noticed a curious look on her face and I knew she was going to ask how I knew Alice. The Cullens weren't known for being outgoing with anyone but themselves, so Alice speaking to me was a rare occurrence and was noticed by quite a few students who were now looking at me no doubt wondering why one of the Cullens was paying attention to someone outside their circle.

"So, how do you know Alice?" Jessica asked.

"We met over the weekend." I replied, not eager at all to speak about the circumstances surrounding our unexpected meeting.

"Where?" Unfortunately, Jessica wanted more information and from looking around the table I noted that Mike and Eric were also looking at me. Angela was able to be more subtle with her curiosity, but I could tell that she was interested in knowing, as well.

"We just bumped into each other on Saturday," I explained, hoping that would be enough for them for now. No one pressed me for anymore information and I took that as an opportunity to make a quick escape. "Look, guys I have to stop by my truck before my next class. I'll see you soon" and I hurriedly prepared to leave before anyone could ask anymore questions or offer to go with me. I glanced back at Alice's table again as I gathered my things and noticed that she wasn't there, but I didn't allow myself any time to think about this for long.

After I had discarded my tray I made my way out into the parking lot looking forward to a little bit of time to myself and away from everyone else. I still had about 10 minutes left before I needed to get to my next class. As I exited to the parking lot I looked towards my truck to see Alice leaning against it waiting for me. Wow, she even makes waiting look cool. Today she had her hair in her signature style and fortunately there was no rain today that would mess it up the way it was the day we met. She was also wearing a pair of designer jeans with a crisp white button-down shirt with a pair of black boots. Just looking at her outfit I felt so inadequate with my jeans, t-shirt and sneakers on. Sometimes I wanted to try other things, but I had no idea how to fix my wardrobe and I also had absolutely no patience with shopping.

When I finally was within reaching distance of Alice she gently grabbed my arm and pulled me into a soft and quick hug. I was surprised, but returned her hug and enjoyed the brief sensation of her body against mine. What was wrong with me? First off, I don't normally get so smitten with someone after knowing them for such a short time. Secondly, I was never comfortable with displaying affection, but I hug and enjoy Alice as if we had known each other for much longer. There is definitely something about her, but I don't know what it is. I was brought out of my musing when Alice spoke.

"Hi, Bella! How was your weekend?" she asked with her usual enthusiasm. What is she always so excited about, I wondered.

"Hey Alice. My weekend was pretty quiet. How was yours?"

Alice smiled at me before replying. "It was okay. A little boring, but what can you expect in Forks?" she replied, chuckling to herself. "I hope you don't mind me coming out here to talk during your break. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing okay. Much better, actually. Thank you again for that" I told her. "You didn't have to sit out there in the rain with me, so I really appreciate it, so thanks…" I trailed off when I realize I had begun rambling. As if that wasn't enough I had begun to blush and I looked away automatically. Way to look silly, Bella I thought to myself.

I waited for my blush to clear before I looked back up and when I did I noticed that Alice had closed her eyes and she wore an expression that I had never seen before and unfortunately I couldn't read it. It was an expression that was somewhere between pleasure and pain, but it was gone so quickly that I began to doubt I had seen it at all. She opened her eyes and soon an amused expression spread across her face as she spoke to me. "It was no trouble at all, so stop thanking me. Okay?" I nodded before she continued. "So, Bella. Do you like movies? Would you like to go with me to see one this weekend?"

Where did that come from? That had to have been the most random question I've ever heard and it came from the most unexpected person ever. Alice Cullen wanted to hang out with me. I was stuck speechless and just looked at her for a moment with wide eyes. Alice cleared her throat and I realized that she was still waiting on an answer from me.

"Um, sure Alice. That would be great," I managed to reply without stuttering or stumbling on my words while I recovered from the surprise of her question.

"Great!" Alice beamed. "Pick out what you want to see and we can figure out the time later this week. I'm okay with whatever you want to see."

"Okay, sounds good," I responded, returning her smile. Just then the bell sounded letting us know that lunch period was almost over. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then." I said awkwardly, not knowing how to continue the conversation from this point.

"Bye, Bella," was all she replied as she began to head to her next class. I watched her retreating back for a moment before I continued grabbing my things for the rest of the school day. As I was closing the driver side door I noticed a slip of folded paper that was stuck in the window of the door. I grabbed the paper and unfolded it to find Alice's number written on it in what had to be the neatest handwriting that I have ever seen. Wow. Even her writing is perfect. I thought as I folded it and stuffed it into my pocked before hurrying off to class.

The remainder of my day went by in a blur. Half of my attention had been on what my teachers were saying, but the other half was on my parking lot encounter with Alice Cullen. What does she want with me? She practically came out of nowhere and is now speaking to me and asking me out on the weekend and leaving me a note with her telephone number on it. Not that I was complaining, but it was all so sudden. The thought of spending time with her was very appealing. I still haven't been able to pinpoint what it is about her that I like, or even how I like her. True, I haven't had much experience in the dating department but the tingles I felt when we hugged the first time were definitely not friendly tingles. The way I felt around her was another thing. She made me feel both at ease and nervous at the same time. When I first met her she was comforting, but today I was beyond awkward but not so much that I didn't want to be around her. I still couldn't wait for the week to be over so that I could spend more time with her and finally have a full conversation with her. It would be nice to get to know her finally. I decided to save her number into my cell phone before I did something very Bella-like and lost the paper.

The day ended quickly and without incident and I walked back to my truck. Unfortunately, I didn't see Alice for the remainder of the day, but I did see a few of her siblings. Whereas Alice was mostly easy to be around her siblings were not necessarily so. The tall one, Emmett, seemed like a giant kid. He was goofy and was usually seen smiling or laughing at some joke he most likely just told. I didn't really have an opinion about Edward. I shared Biology with him and he seemed nice enough. Quiet of course, but he mostly kept to himself and was always polite when interacting with other students. The two blondes, though, I was not too sure about. Jasper usually seemed like he was always experiencing something unpleasant. The only time I have had to deal with him was when I accidently ran into him while leaving the lunchroom one day. He apologized to me even though I was the one to run into him, so he at least was a gentleman. Rosalie, on the other hand, I absolutely avoided at all costs…as did all of the other students at Forks High. She was beautiful and she knew it. She wasn't rude to anyone, but she always seemed to be looking down at everyone. I didn't know what her problem was and I was determined not to ever have to find out. Rosalie simply intimidated the hell out of me.

At this point, all the pondering about the Cullens made the reality of my situation jump back to the front of my mind. Alice asked me to go out with her to a movie this weekend. Wait a minute; Alice asked me out this weekend. Is this a date? I am going on a date with Alice Cullen.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I do feel as though it is a little rushed, but I wanted to get something out to you guys before life took over again. And once more, I'm terribly sorry for the long break in between updates. Please keep reading and let me know what you think so far. Thank you!