Oh, boy... I'm not even sure where to start. I guess I'll start off with an apology. I'm extremely sorry for the *cringes* months it took me to continue. It's been as if this story was in a coma, and the whole thing was on and off. I didn't want to delete it since I really wanted to write it out, but at the same time, I'd lost my inspiration for Twilight after writing only the first chapter. But I've finally come to the conclusion that completing this story is something that I truly want to do. :) I'm not going to get into the details, but over the past year, I've been putting up with my inferiority complex, meaning that my self-confidence levels are drastically low. Now, I realize that if I want to feel better about being me, I have to put myself out there and hope for the best... So, I guess the only thing to say is that I'm sorry for the delay. I hope all of my lovely readers can forgive me. :B

Disclaimer: Oh, yeah... I just remembered that I told you all how I wouldn't write disclaimers anymore in the previous chapter... Well, I'll write them anyway! Nothing but the plot line belongs to me. Everything else is Stephenie's work.

Chapter 1: It's Really Him

Thunder crashed and lightning illuminated the dimly lit cafeteria. Girls shrieked loudly, making Edward's advanced hearing turn into a nuisance. He cringed softly, his immaculate fingernails digging into the thin skin of the apple in his hands. He blocked out the barrage of thoughts and watched the juice from the fruit drip down his long fingers with intense golden eyes.

Besides himself, the table was deserted. The rest of his family had gone off to hunt while he stayed behind for a test in Biology. If it was any other subject, he would have just went along with them. Mr. Brown, though, was a real headache when it came to retests. It was better to just wait a few days and go hunt on the weekend, taking the exam as it was scheduled. A sigh tumbled lightly out of his lips as he tore his eyes away from the apple. It was much more pleasant to sit through lunch with his family beside him.

Quickly finding that he could no longer stand the stares he always got from his peers, he picked up his tray in one hand and glided over to the garbage. His shoulders relaxed when everyone turned away and, anticipating the bell to ring soon, stacked his tray with the others and took off to his locker. After collecting his books, he decided to take a detour through the music department before going to Bio. He had time to kill before class so he soon found himself walking leisurely down the long halls with music resounding through the corridors.

He turned around the corner and ran into a girl walking beside Mr. Stephens, the junior's music teacher. Mr. Stephens didn't even notice the collision and continued on in his usual scatter brained manner. Edward quickly shot his hands forward to steady her, balancing his books precariously in the crook of his arm. His cold fingers firmly grasped her shoulder, her long sleeved clothing shielding her from the full effect of his frigid skin.

"Sorry," she murmured once she regained her balance. She kept her face down, hair swinging over her shoulder to curtain her features, and side-stepped him quickly. She bolted off down the hallway after Mr. Stephens, leaving Edward's own apology to die on his tongue. He closed his mouth uselessly and arched a perfect eyebrow. She turned around the corner, stumbling slightly on her rain boots as she tried to match her strides to Mr. Stephens'. Edward stared after her for a moment more with a frown before continuing on his way to class.


Biology was a complete and utter bore. Mr. Brown strutted into the room as usual, but he had more swagger in his step due to the fact that he was carrying exams still warm and fresh from the printer. Test day was always his favorite kind of school day and Edward cursed him relentlessly for it. The exam was, as expected, a breeze to complete. Edward felt at peace once he'd gotten it out of the way. Nobody wanted to make up Mr. Brown's tests.

Now he was walking towards his sixth period class, Astronomy. Taking two science courses in one school year, each at six periods a week may have seemed like a difficult feat to anyone but Edward. Having studied both of them excessively, he already knew everything that they would supposedly "teach" him. Still, it was a way to make the centuries of his immortality pass by, even if it was the equivalent of purgatory, perhaps even hell on the worst of days.

Mr. Mental stood behind his large teacher's desk, rubbing his left ear. It was a sort of nervous reaction for him, a way to release any excess stress he bore. The action caused Edward to gain a mild interest in whatever was on his mind. So, as he sat down at his own table, just like the table in Bio, he turned one ear to Mr. Mental's erratic head.

'New student,' Mr. Mental mused as he gathered up his supplies and turned on his laptop, 'I hope she's bright. There are enough dimwits in this period to give me a heart attack.' Edward smirked discreetly, getting his Astronomy notebook and textbook ready. 'Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait; I have to think positively of my students or I'll get no positive results… But they're all so stupid.' Mr. Mental gave a sharp sigh.

"My sanity's slipping," Mr. Mental whispered under his breath. Edward snickered softly as the bell rang for class.

Mr. Mental strolled up to the front of the room, turning on the overhead projector for the note slideshow. He took a deep breath and scanned the room with a frown. Edward discreetly glanced around and noticed that there was no new student.

'All that anxiety for nothing,' Edward thought smugly, studying Mr. Mental's nervous, perspired brow.

"Um, class," Mr. Mental announced, silencing the room full of juniors. "We were supposed to have a new student today, but she appears to be-."

The door suddenly swung open and a girl stumbled into the room, gasping for breath. Her brown hair hung loosely around her face and Edward recognized her as the girl he'd ran into earlier. She lifted up her head and he felt a pang of familiarity. Her heart shaped face and wide eyes seemed to be tugging at a distant memory of his, a human memory. But that was impossible. Anyone from his human life would be long dead by now.

Her face blazed bright red when she saw everyone's attention turned towards her. Her mouth turned down at the corners as she quickly made her way up to Mr. Mental, a white teacher's pass dangling from her fingers. The way she walked was quite interesting to watch. Her arm movements alternated between her unconsciously moving them in their own strange rhythm, not matching up with her legs, and her trying too hard to make them look natural once she realized how out of synch they were. Some people like Edward might consider it a unique way of moving while others would probably laugh quietly behind her back for her obvious self-consciousness. In a way, some snickering was inevitable.

"Ah, there you are," Mr. Mental said, his shoulders visibly relaxing. "I was getting quite worried."

"Sorry," she said quietly. "Mr. Stephens wanted to discuss something with me."

"Not to worry, young lady," Mr. Mental said briskly, eager to get to his lesson. He pointed a short round finger at Edward. "Take a seat over there at Edward's table."

The girl walked up to him, tripping twice on the way. She gave Edward a small smile as she slid into the chair next to him. Cool air coming from the vent blew her scent in his direction, and he instinctively stiffened. When no wave of bloodlust consumed him, he openly frowned and gazed at her with fascination and intense interest. His throat didn't even react to her, no slightest tingle making him yearn for her life blood. Instead, Edward was overcome by the sweet scent of freesia, with subtle traces of dirt and moonlight. Perhaps she had been traveling before coming here. The freesia was her natural scent while the soil and moonlight told of her recent environment.

She was in a similar state of shock, though Edward hadn't the slightest idea why. She studied him with her expressive brown eyes, which were glazed with awe. Those warm chocolate orbs… They flipped a switch in his brain. He recognized these eyes, but he hadn't the slightest idea why or from where he'd seen them.

This girl must have known where they'd met, though, because he caught her whispering under her breath so low that he had to strain to hear it, "It's really him."

This captured his attention entirely. His frown deepened, his mind so enraptured that the rest of the world and its thoughts were mere background noises. Her mind remained blocked; he couldn't catch a trace of her stream of thought. This seemed to be yet another mystery to add to the steadily growing pile.

A voice was talking to them from a distance, growing louder and louder. Edward finally broke his stare with the girl as Mr. Mental appeared in front of the desk. He was gazing at both of them in consternation, an Astronomy textbook grasped in his hands.

"Are you two feeling alright?"

This earned a few giggles from their classmates, causing another blush to erupt on the new girl's pale face. Edward remained unfazed, at least on the outside, and gave Mr. Mental a polite smile.

"We're fine, sir."

The girl gave a shaky nod, still rattled by the whole strange incident. Edward saw her eyes sneak one more glance at him before accepting the textbook in Mr. Mental's waiting hands.

"Very well, then," Mr. Mental stated, immediately turning businesslike to cover up the awkwardness. He strolled to the front of the room, the overhead projector all warmed up to begin the lesson.

"Firstly," he began, "I'd like to introduce our new student." A murmur of excitement came from the class. Apparently none of them had any classes with her yet, explaining why Edward hadn't heard her name earlier in their heads. The girl slumped deeper into her chair as Mr. Mental talked further.

Edward heard her name in his teacher's thoughts before it was spoken.

"This is Isabella Swan. I hope you'll enjoy your time in Forks, Isabella."

She forced a weak smile on her face which was burning a bright red. "Thank you," she choked out.

"I'm Mr. Mental," he continued. "We're just beginning our unit on stars." She nodded, looking as if she desperately wanted him to change the subject. Edward gave her a small smile. "Now, turn to page 156 in your textbooks and get those pencils ready."

He leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Write really fast, Isabella. Mr. Mental talks very quickly." She turned to give him a thankful smile, her eyes lingering a little longer than necessary and having their usual flash of astonishment once she focused on him. "And I'm sorry about earlier in the hallway. I should've watched where I was going."

"No, it's fine," she said softly, smiling. "I'm just a little uncoordinated." Her cheeks turned a dusty shade of rose at her declaration and she hurriedly turned back to Mr. Mental's lecture.

Edward kept one ear turned towards Mr. Mental while he studied Isabella out of the corner of his eye.

'Her heart's beating,' he mused thoughtfully, 'and yet I don't yearn for her blood. There's not even the slightest temptation.' But he soon found that there was indeed a certain temptation, just not the one he was expecting. Her smell was heavenly and he inhaled deeply, even then craving for more. This too was quite dangerous for the both of them, perhaps only slightly less than the bloodlust. He was feeling more wonderment, even some admiration, fill his empty heart as she intrigued him further. There was a dull exasperation in the back of his mind as it searched for her thoughts, but that silence also brought a kind of relief. He could have a quiet haven with her, a refuge from the constant buzz of noise from everyone else.

Edward gave his head a slight shake. He'd hardly even talked to her yet. But she didn't seem to threaten him or his life in Forks since he didn't thirst for her at all. So, perhaps it was alright to talk to her… if only for a little while.


"Isabella, what did you think of the lesson?" Mr. Mental inquired, walking up to her once the bell rang. "Could you follow along?"

She gave him a timid smile. "Well enough. I've learned this already at one of my previous schools."

"That's good," he smiled. "Edward, would you mind escorting Isabella to her next class?"

"Not at all, Mr. Mental," Edward replied, lingering in the doorway. He'd wanted to talk with her anyway. She gave him a thankful smile as she approached, her brown eyes glowing.

"So, what's your next class?" he asked casually as they stepped out of the room. She paused and reached into her extremely worn brown messenger bag, made of a faded false leather, for her schedule.

"Um, Gym," she replied, brushing a few strands of her long brown hair out of her face. Edward reached forward and caught a few that she'd missed, giving her a warm grin. With a fresh blush heating her face, she returned the smile and followed him down the long halls.

"So, Isabella, what did Mr. Stephens want?"

"Call me Bella."

"Bella." Edward tasted the word on his tongue. It sent electric shocks down his spine to which he harshly berated himself. It was better to nip those feelings in the bud before anything came of them… But she was so amusing to talk to.

"Alright then, Bella, so why did Mr. Stephens want to talk to you?"

She averted her eyes. "He wanted me to join the orchestra."

"Oh, really?" Edward questioned, his interest rapidly growing. "What do you play?"

"Violin." She glanced over to him. "Do you?"

"I mostly play the piano. I do know a little violin too, though." He smiled. "There aren't many musicians in Forks; Mr. Stephens is probably desperate."

"He was," she answered with a small laugh. "But I refused."

Edward's brow knitted slightly. "Why is that?"

She was silent for a few moments, her arms tightening around her books as she clutched them to her chest. Edward found his feet drifting in her direction as they continued on and he grew more enchanted by her modest character. It was so refreshingly different from the majority of girls in the school, who only cared about whether something would muss up their salon styled hair. Bella seemed to care enough to comb her own pin straight brunette locks, adding the occasional clip to keep it where she wanted. In fact, her entire appearance gave off a cheery, blithe aura once someone looked past her self-consciousness.

Her conversation enthralled him, seeing as it created an opportunity to see her inner mind. He actually found himself trying hard to decipher her emotions. With his attention captivated in her small soft hands, he mentally urged her to keep talking. They'd only been walking for two minutes and he was already dreading reaching the gym.

"I'm not sure how long I'll be staying here," she replied cautiously, making Edward's still, quiet heart drop slightly. "I wouldn't want to let Mr. Stephens down if I had to suddenly take off."

"Ah, I see," Edward muttered softly. They walked in subdued silence until Bella decided to break the ice this time.

"What kinds of music do you like?" she asked jovially, tilting her head in his direction.

"That's a hard one," he mused. "There's really too much to name." He turned and flashed his most stunning smile. "But I don't like country too much."

She appeared dazed for a couple seconds. Edward gave a few whispery chuckles under his breath. Her expression was adorable.

"Neither do I," she finally responded, looking a little lightheaded. Once again they fell into silence, this time with the gym's double doors in full view. They stopped before them and gazed at each other. Bella gave her head a little shake and reached forward to grab the doorknob.

"Thanks for your help," she told him, taking a step away.

"Wait," he said, placing a hand on her arm through her long sleeved shirt. "How about after gym I'll take you out to my car. We can look at some of my CDs."

For the first time he could remember, Edward felt genuinely nervous. He feared her rejection, and wished frantically for her to say yes. In those few seconds, he felt like the seventeen year old he physically was, not the all-knowing century old vampire he'd always seen himself as.

Bella raised her eyebrows in surprise, her grip on the door handle and her books tightening with the sudden onslaught of nerves before flashing him a radiant smile.

"I'd love to."

Sweeter words had never been spoken.

Meh, I could've made it longer I guess... But I like how this closed up. So, yeah; Bella and Edward meet again. WOOT! And I made Edward open up to Bella easily for a reason: the affection he had for her as a human is shining through and he's just kinda going with it. Plus, he doesn't want to suck her dry so it's easier for him (I'll explain that later :D). Besides, they're soulmates; they naturally love each other. :D

So, a big thank you to all of my reviewers/favoriters/alerters/readers (O.o) of the previous chapter! I love you all! I just hope you can forgive me for the wait... There's much more Bella and Edward love in the next chapter ;) I might write it more from Bella's perspective, like how this chapter was from Edward's. You all know she's a fallen star so it's alright, right? Anyway, please write me a review and tell me what you think, no matter what your opinion is! :3