Chapter 1

Play list–

LDN – Lily Allen

London Town – Laura Marling

Anarchy in the U.K. – Sex pistols

My mother, Renee, drove me to London. I was unsure on the weather in Brighton, the weather forecasters are never accurate in England, but it was blistering in heat. It was a beautiful day and only the speculation of a few clouds could be seen. I was wearing a favourite of mine, a top with the words 'Frankie says Relax' and the rest complete with jeans and pair of Jesus sandals.

London was rainy. It wasn't the dreariest in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland but it didn't even have a beach, not like we did back in Brighton. The further south you go here, the hotter it gets and Brighton is most definitely a very southern county. I used to live in gloomy London but when I was just months old my mother packed and left and during the summer holidays I would go stay with Charlie for the two out of the six we had off.

I detested London. I loved Brighton. London was filled with city and havoc whilst Brighton was carefree.

The car stopped and the train station loomed in front of me. Kings Cross and St Pancras. We didn't have underground services in Brighton.

My mum once more tried to convince me that I didn't have to go.

'I want to go.' I persisted.

'Alright, well, love you Bella, and tell Charlie hi.'

'I will, love you too mum.'

She got out the car with me and hugged me tightly for a good minute. Then I was alone in the busiest train station in the world. One wrong turn and I could end up in Belgium, Phil had joked. I muttered to myself that I would have to catch the Victoria Line and then Piccadilly. I didn't mind the journey. It was the car ride that worried me. I'd have to ride with Charlie for an awkward five minutes.

Charlie had allowed me to come live with him. He'd already gotten me a place at Sixth Form and he was going to help me get a driving licence.

When I got off at my station, Charlie was in his police car. Charlie's chief of metropolitan police. I strolled over and he smiled, overjoyed and gave me an awkward hug.

'It's good to see you, Bells. My word you haven't changed much. How's your mum?' he said whilst holding the door open for me to get in.

'Mum's brilliant I guess, she's travelling with Phil, and you know he's got into Barnet football team.' I said.

'Yeah, I've always thought that Barnet should be promoted. It's Arsenal all the way though.'

'Yeah dad, I know, you've been telling me that since the day I was born. Gooners are the best and Yiddo's are scum.' I said in a bored tone.

'You sure are right; I see I've taught my kid well. Billy Black used to have some links to Spurs in his youth. You remember, Billy don't you?'

'No.' I replied truthfully.

'We used to go play golf with him in the summers.'

I'd tried to block out those painful golf tournaments.

We didn't speak until we passed a large school on the main motorway road; it looked more like a Church with a tower bell at the very top.

'That's your school here, Bells.'

I looked anxiously at it. 'How am I getting to school, dad? I'm no good with directions.'

'No worries. I've already applied for an Oyster Card for you, it's a simple bus route from there.' He paused when I gave him questioning look. 'Oh, right well you wouldn't have an Oyster Card in Brighton. It's just a card that allows you to get on London transport. It's free for people at school on the bus and it's like a pound for the tube. Come to think of it should be coming through the post soon.'

'That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it.' I said.

We arrived at the house that would now be home. It was a terrace house with two bedrooms in it. The one facing the front garden was mine. It would be sustainable. It still looked exactly as I had left it from the age of five, Spice Girls posters plastered to the wall, Teletubbies garments had been ushered to the side and dismal stars stuck to the celing the glowed in the dark. Then I looked at the motif of Gareth Gates at the desk that Charlie had installed just the five years before and flushed thinking of my little girl ways.

London City Secondary School (A/N – this school doesn't exist I made it up) was filled with students. A lot more than we had back in Brighton, I was sure of this. The school itself only had two different sites. A lower one with years 7 – 9 attending it and the one I would be going to, the upper site, with years 10 – 14. This in itself spoke to itself, a school with two different branches. It had to be huge. I was in Year 12 now. A sixth former. I would have to start my AS subjects all over again. English Literature, Mathematics, Spanish and Biology. I had not chosen Biology at my own will, it was only subject remaining. I couldn't stand dissecting but I was adamant to complete 4 A levels.

It was raining that night. It was to be expected. Something in the weather made me emotional and I cried myself to sleep that night. And when I awoke the weather worsened into thick fog. Charlie wished me good luck as I ambled for the bus stop. He was right about the bus journey. A bus came every three minutes and it was four stops down until I saw the great building. I saw the younger kids in their navy uniform, blazers, kilt skirts and ties. Sixth formers weren't obliged to wear it, although it didn't seem all that bad. I had worn my usual. A pair of jeans, a plain black jumper and a pair of white lace-up plimsolls. Although I instantly regretted wearing them as specks of wet dirt appeared.

I had an appointment with the head of sixth form. She was going to show me around the school. She was a short woman, her name was Mrs Hutchinson and she kindly pointed to where all my classes were and took me to the common room, telling me the password and showing me where to find the toilets.

She escorted me to my first lesson, which was English. I stepped in to find a class of about 15, this was quite a big class for A Level, nobody seemed to turn in my direction, they just carried on in conversation. This made it easy for me to make myself almost invisible at the back of the classroom. A few turned around and gave me a friendly smile which I quickly returned and the teacher, Mr Mason, gave me the booklist I'd need to purchase.

When the bell rang, I got up and a guy with acne approached me.

'Hi, I'm Eric. What's your name?' he asked.

'Bella.' I said.

'Where's your next lesson?' he asked helpfully.

'Uhm, Maths block.' I replied.

He nodded. 'I've got Product Design near there, I'll show you where it is.'

'Thanks.' I smiled gratefully.

'You're not from around here are you?' he questioned.

'No, I'm not, that obvious is it? I'm from Brighton.' I told him.

'Wow you've got the sun there haven't you? Too bad it rains all the time here.' He laughed. 'Still we've got Southend beach which is about an hour away with no traffic. We had some bloke from Stoke come last week, he sounded a bit like a cross between Steven Gerrard and James Courdon, is Stoke near Brighton?'

No, Stoke was definitely not near Brighton, I didn't want to sound like a smart ass so I told him I didn't know. He walked me to my class and wished me luck, he sounded hopeful that we should meet again.

I met a girl named Jessica in my Maths class. She was very eager to talk to me which I found strange, I guessed she was something of a gossiper. Lunchtime arrived and she led me out of the school gates with a group of her friends. We crossed the road and there were a few shops for students to buy lunch. All the sixth formers seemed to hang outside and I spotted Eric from afar waving at me with a lit cigarette in his mouth.

It was there, leaning against the lamppost when I first saw them.

They were crossing at the lights, all five of them. None of them were speaking and when finally got to the other side of the road, none of them seemed to be hungry as they stood still without hesitation. I stared at their face, they were devastatingly beautiful, each an every one of them were inhumanly beautiful, and the two girls had interlinked their arms with two of the boys and the one remaining stood alone facing them. I named them boy and girl but they were more fit for adults. I noticed the boy that remained without a partner the most, he had peculiar reddish brown hair shot out jaggedly at different angles, his jaw was evidently structured and he was the shortest out of the three guys yet still muscularly built.

The taller boy looked like a body builder and the tendons of his arms revealed, the girl besides him was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Her hair was a rippling blonde trailing at her midriff, her lips coral red and her face delicately evolved. The smaller girl was tiny but yet upheld the same prettiness, she looked like a little dark haired pixie kitted out in Christian Louboutin shoes. The blond standing next to her was the tallest. I noticed he had pointed at Greggs. He and the dark haired girl entered and returned back with a steak bake and he a Tottenham cake and coffee. Despite their items of food they did not eat, they simply flicked and picked at it. The other couple opted for to go into the chippie and got a portion of crisps and a battered Mars Bar. They too, returned without the slightest contact with the food.

They were all so different but their likeliness struck me, their faces were all pale and perfect, they had no flaws in them whatsoever apart from the bags under their eyes that still did not underestimate their faultlessness.

I watched as the stunning blonde opened her can of Dr Pepper and began to aimlessly spill it onto the pavement. The boy had an unbitten Cadbury's bar in his hand and from the prim outline of his lips; I noted that he radiated the most extravagant beauty.

'Who are they?' I asked Jessica.

She turned her head to look in the direction that I was looking, significantly the reddish haired boy looked at up at her as if she had called his name and then he flickered to my own eyes with his own dark ones and quickly looked away.

'Edward, Emmett and Alice Cullen are the ones with the darker hair and Rosalie and Jasper Hale are the blondes, their twins.' She explained.

'Their very nice looking.' I understated.

'Yeah.' She giggled. 'Their altogether though, they live in the same house with their adoptive parents and Emmett, the bulky one, is with Rosalie, and then Alice and Jasper are going out too.'

They continued not to eat. Just looking blankly at random objects, the one named Edward was looking at an old crisp packet lying on the ground.

'They only moved down here from Cornwall like two years ago.' Jessica continued. 'That Edward guy is a bit stuck up.' She said irritably. 'It's like no one is to his fancy around here.'

I couldn't help but feel Edward had rejected her at one time and I had to withhold a laugh. So they were newcomers at this school too. Through the haze of smoker's puffs I could see Edward Cullen looking at me with such intensity that curiosity was proposed across his facial expression.

The crowd of sixth formers thinned as we made our way back to school, Edward Cullen's fierce gaze did not reach mine again and I found myself walking to my most dreaded lesson, Biology, with a girl named Angela.

I introduced myself to Mr Banner the teacher and he pointed to an empty chair for me to sit in. The last remaining space was a seat next to Edward Cullen and his posture went rigid as I walked past, his eyes fixated at me with a mixture of fury and hostility. I stumbled getting into my chair and he pushed his chair as far away as possible, his eyes remaining focused at me with coal black eyes.

I tried not to look at him but allowed glimpses. I noticed the stop in breathing pattern and the strained look on his face as he attempted not to inhale. I smelt my hair only to smell my Herbal Essences shampoo. His hand clenched tightly around his knee. He did not slouch his posture throughout the entire period and my discomfort accelerated when I caught the emotion of hatred in his eyes.

The bell rang and he had already got out of his seat and dashed for the door. I didn't have any lessons left so I went out the door knowing fully well I'd take the bus home to Charlie's.

Instead I was stopped by a baby faced boy with light blondish hair, he looked like he could gain a slot in a boy band, maybe Westlife in their younger days I thought.

'Hi, I'm Mike, you're Isabella right? He said.

'Bella.' I corrected smiling.

'Going home?' he questioned.

'Yeah, just the 231 back.'

'I'll walk you to the bus stop. What'd you do to Cullen? It looked like you stabbed his with a compass or something. His strange that Cullen kid.' He said.

I hadn't realised anyone else had noticed my mortification, I turned red when he had said it and quickly avoided the question and rushed off before he could volunteer to escort me again.

I was entering the office; my exit pass at the ready and then I froze at the door, finding myself being placed once more in the same room as Edward Cullen. I listened in and figured he was trying to change Biology for another subject. Surely, I thought he couldn't feel so hateful towards me?

I quickly passed into the cold gusted room and hurried my way home, trying to hold back tears. The bus being barged with school kids and old ladies made me feel claustrophobic and hardened my will to keep in all my angst.

Review. I'm unsure whether to go on, tell me what you think.