Chapter 1
"Um…Thanks for helping me…with my truck…Rosalie." Bella said awkwardly, scratching at the back of her neck. She refused to make eye contact with the blond, mainly because she instilled great fear within her. Bella's ancient Chevy had broken down in the Cullen's driveway only two days ago, and for some unknown reason Rosalie eagerly volunteered to repair the thing. Bella assumed that it was because Rosalie, being the automobile enthusiast that she was, was eager to take a look inside the old truck, but she didn't know for sure. Jacob would have been her first choice, but since Bella had gotten Edward back only three weeks ago, she thought she would just play it safe for the time being.
"This thing is worse than I imagined." Rosalie said. She was currently holding up the hood of the car with both hands, as high as her arms could reach. She stared down at the rusted innards of the much-abused Chevy with her perfectly sculpted eyebrows knitted together in concentration. Bella took this as an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the ever-elusive Rosalie Hale in her prime. She started at her feet and worked her way up, taking in every inch of Rosalie's body.
Bella couldn't help but stare. It was no secret that Rosalie was gorgeous, and Bella had always been easily distracted by pretty girls. But who wasn't? Oddly enough, she'd never really gotten a good look at Rosalie before. She wasn't one for making eye contact, and her clear disapproval was so intimidating, she could never look at the vampire girl for more than a few seconds, hardly long enough to take it all in. Plus, this was probably the only time she would be this close to Rosalie without her mere presence starting an argument, though, the day was still young and she'd only just got there.
Rosalie was wearing a pair of outdated, yet strangely pristine converse. She was also wearing grease stained overalls that were starting to shred around the waist, as if she had repeatedly wiped her hands in the same spot. The shirt underneath was a fairly revealing gray v-neck that was quite possibly Emmett's considering how ill-fitting it was. Not that she looked bad in it. It was just rather large. Lastly, her hair was tied back into a perfectly unruly bun, a red paisleys bandana around her head to secure any fly-aways. On Bella, this look would have been completely unflattering, but on Rosalie, this could very easily have been mistaken for something seen on a Parisian runway. Rosalie put the hood of the truck back down and looked at Bella with a loud sigh.
"Bella, what did you do to this poor truck, pour cola down its carburetor?" Rosalie asked with a laugh. Bella tried to recollect another time when she had seen Rosalie smile, or heard her laugh, but this was the first one. Her laugh was so melodious it could have been confused for singing.
"Uh-what?" Bella asked, momentarily stunned at the sound of the vampire's laughter. Rosalie's smile abruptly vanished, a frustrated frown taking its place. Bella's cheeks grew hot. She was suddenly embarrassed. Rosalie was never one to make jokes with Bella, hell, she was never one to tolerate the girl, and yet here she was, trying to be friendly. And here Bella was, drooling over her like an idiot. She was reminded of what Edward had once explained to her; everything about vampires was meant to entice you, catch you off guard, distract you long enough for them to kill you. She refused to listen him when he had warned her all those months ago, but now, standing in front of Rosalie, it was easy to picture it. Now, after having the chance to really appreciate Rosalie's beauty, Bella was unsure if she would even be able to look away.
"Sorry." Bella mumbled. "I just..." Her gaze fell to Rosalie's hands. Bella watched as she wiped the thick black grease from her perfect, dainty white hands with an old rag.
She took exactly six loping steps -Bella counted- towards the human, the expression on her face not faltering for even a fraction of a second. Rosalie made it a point to herd Bella into the corner of the garage. She paused for a moment, and then there was a loud bang. Bella flinched at the sound, confused, only to realize Rosalie had just thrown her hands against the walls on either side of her, making escape impossible. She glared down at Bella, even though she was a mere two inches shorter than herself, and leaned in closer until the two girls' noses were touching. From afar, if one hadn't realized that Rosalie was in fact glaring at the poor girl, they may have assumed that she was leaning down to kiss her. Rosalie exhaled silently through clenched teeth, and Bella took note that it smelled like cinnamon and peppermint.
"Why are you here?" She demanded.
"I don't know." Was all that poor Bella could manage to say at the moment. In spite of herself, Rosalie stepped away from Bella and made her way back to the truck. After Bella had managed to calm herself, she was unsure if she should stay and watch, or re-enter the Cullen mansion and endure one of Alice's makeovers. After a moment of debating against her better judgement, she decided that she might as well stay and watch. She tried to coolly lean against the passenger door of Alice's Porsche, but the car alarm went off, causing Bella to spring forwards as if there was a loud, honking monster behind her. Of course Alice had to have seen that coming, Bella thought, annoyed at her soon to be sister in law. Bella turned towards the back door that lead into the house, assuming to catch a glimpse of the elusive pixie when the car alarm mysteriously switched off. Instead she saw nothing, and turned back to her truck, shaking her head back and forth at the strange little girl.
