Chapter 2: The Cullens Are Back
Hi everyone, I'm so so sorry for taking such a long time to get this one out. My personal life got in the way and I was going through a lot and just had a lot on my plate to focus on writing, nevertheless I'm extremely sorry for being so late and I want to assure all my readers that I'm not going to abandon this story and will finish it no matter how long it takes and I will try my best to not make you wait long between chapters.
So let's get on with the story and I want to mention beforehand that unlike the previous one, this chapter is in first person pov (Bella's). Enjoy
Disclaimer- I don't own the Twilight series.
The sound of the raindrops splattering against the windows woke me up. Groggily, I checked the time. Gosh, it was only 6 am. I could sleep for another hour or so if I wanted to but I didn't feel like it anymore so I just sat up on the bed, leaning back against the headrest and continued to watch the rain. Of course, living in Forks, this wasn't anything new but that didn't mean I had grown to like it. I missed the warmth and the sunshine, and the rain always made me feel a little gloomy.
Another Monday, I always hated them. Because come on, who doesn't? The start to another exhausting week. Five more days before I could have some peace. Was it just me or did everybody count down the days to Friday starting from Monday every week? I just knew that today wasn't going to be my day. I could feel it in my gut that something or the other was going to go wrong. Maybe I could stay home just once? I had taken AP classes back in Phoenix so there wasn't really much that the teachers were going to teach me that I hadn't already studied. Dad would never let me skip school without a valid reason though. I could have faked a headache or said that I was having female problems, he wouldn't refuse then but I didn't want to put up with my friends' constant nagging as to why I didn't go so I dropped the idea.
With a huff, I dragged myself out of my bed and to the bathroom where I leisurely brushed my teeth and took a longer bath than usual as I had a lot of time. I blow dried my dripping hair and brushed them nicely once they were dry so they were sleek and shiny as they framed my face. I had recently got them cut in long layers and gotten some highlights. They were still long but looked much nicer and I loved my new look! It was very different from what I was used to and sexier if I did say so myself. It's amazing how a haircut can make you feel so much better about yourself.
I decided to wear my favorite pair of blue jeans along with a tank top and a black cold shoulder sweater. I did my makeup, put on my black heeled boots, grabbed my bag and coat, and headed downstairs. There was a note from my dad saying he had to leave early as something had come up but he had made me some toast. Nice!
I left for school after a good, unhurried breakfast while watching TV. The gut feeling still hadn't left but there wasn't much I could do about it so I tried not to dwell on it. I wished I could talk to someone about it but my dad had already left for work and I didn't feel like discussing it with my friends so I just distracted myself by listening to some music. It was a short drive from home to school and as soon as I pulled into the parking lot and got out of my truck I was greeted by the sight of most of the students staring at me and murmuring to each other. That's weird, what happened now? Am I expelled? Fuck no, I'm a good student, very well behaved too.
"Morning Bella", Jessica walked over to me followed by my other friends and gave me a side hug. All of them smiled at me like usual but I could sense something was off. "Hey you all, what's up? Why is everyone staring?" I asked hoping they would have some clue as to what was going on.
They all looked at each other and after a brief pause Lauren answered, "Yeah about that, promise you won't freak out please. It's alright." "Okay but what's going on?" I implored looking at her hesitant and worried expression. She softly grabbed my arm and turned me to look across from where we were standing and I knew my gut feeling was right and I wished I had just stayed home and slept in. There, leaning against the very familiar shiny Volvo was none other than Edward fucking Cullen. And he was looking straight at me longingly (what?) and his eyes were pleading, no begging to be understood. He looked very different from the day he left in terms of his facial expression. That day it was cold and detached but otherwise he looked the same which didn't really surprise me since his kind never change. What did surprise me was his presence, he had promised he would never come back and yet there he was. Anyway he had ceased to matter to me a long time ago and I didn't give a damn about why he returned. As long as he stayed out of my way and left me alone, we wouldn't have any problems. Oh and standing next to him was his annoying psychic of a sister, bouncing excitedly on her feet like a fucking three year old. I had always found that habit of hers extremely irritating but I had never voiced my opinion. Well great, my day and possibly the remaining semester were ruined already and I had just arrived! Noo there's no way I would let them do that! They didn't mean a thing to me so why should I let them affect my life?
Rolling my eyes, I removed my gaze from them and turned to my friends. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Alice stop her bouncing and look confused while Edward just stared down guiltily. Did she expect me to be happy upon seeing them and run to her? I scowled as I realized that's exactly what the old Bella whom they were familiar with would have done. She would have run into Alice's arms and cried her heart out and begged not to be left again. Dumb weak bitch.
"You okay, Bell?" Angela asked me sweetly gently touching my arm. I smiled at her reassuringly and told her I'm good and that we should get to class. All of them seemed relieved, I guessed they were expecting me to be angry which I was to some extent but they had ceased to matter to me a long time ago so I would simply just ignore them. I was, however, curious as to why they were back. Did it mean that the rest of the Cullens were back too?
"Bella!" I heard someone call my name from behind. It was Alice rushing towards me excitedly followed by her brother. Noo please no, it's too early in the morning, I don't want to deal with this. Sighing I decided to be calm instead of lashing out, and just kill them with kindness. "Yes Alice, what do you need?" I asked in a clipped but polite way, folding my arms across my chest. She looked a bit hurt but covered it up quickly with a smile and reached out to hug me but I took a step back, shaking my head, letting her know it wasn't okay. Jessica, Lauren and Mike smirked at that making me smile which I quickly hid. Alice looked shocked, hurt and confusion pooled in her bright golden eyes but I paid no mind to it. "I would appreciate it if you didn't touch me, Alice. Now, it's getting late and class is about to start. If you have nothing to say then we are leaving. Have a good day." With that I turned around gracefully and was about to leave when Edward spoke up. "Bella? Can we please talk alone?" he asked softly, his voice gentle and imploring but not forceful. I sighed, "There's nothing for us to talk about, Edward. I think everything that needed to be said was said long ago and I'm seriously not in the mood to exchange pleasantries or play catch up with you people so please leave me alone, I have a class to get to." "Please Bella, just for a few minutes?" "She said no, Cullen. Respect her wishes, man, you have already done enough" Mike came to my defense and told Edward firmly but not unkindly.
Mike had changed a lot as a person, while earlier he used to hit on me and flirt a lot, he had changed his ways and matured, he had become one of my closest friends. I guess you could say he had grown up, something the Cullens were incapable of doing. Edward's eyes grew wide, he must have been surprised at how mature he sounded. I was proud of Mike. Nevertheless he responded back "This has got nothing to do with you, Newton. I really need to talk to Bella, it's important that she hears me out." "Bella and I are best friends so of course it has got a lot to do with me. Me, Jessica, Lauren, Angela, and Ben have been there for her way longer than you have so don't go around telling me it has got nothing to do with me", he fired back at him. Anger crossed Edward's face and as he was getting ready to respond, I cut him off as I wanted to avoid all the drama and I was a little curious, I must admit so I let it get the better of me and said, "He is right, Edward. However I will agree to a talk, but like you said, just for a few minutes, after that I will go my way and you go yours. But after school as it's late now and there will be a lot of prying eyes during lunch." He still looked upset but relieved too and nodded at me, smiling gently, the way he used to when we were together and it almost melted my heart. Almost.
"It's good to see you, Bella. I can't tell you how happy we all are to be back, even though I can see that you're not. You look gorgeous, by the way, like always. But there's something different about you now, and I mean it in a good way. I'm glad to see that" Alice told me with a smile, before walking towards her class, taking Edward along. I couldn't help but smile at her words. She was right, everything was different about me now. I had fallen in love with myself and was fully confident about myself which were the main changes in me. That's why looking at her and Edward, I hadn't felt even an ounce of envy at their obvious supernatural beauty and didn't feel intimidated at all. I could walk into a room full of beautiful people like the Cullens and still keep my head high and chin up and feel totally confident. I had also realized that I didn't need Edward or any other guy to feel complete or happy. It would be nice to have a boyfriend but I was the one who completed myself and made myself happy. I wasn't broken anymore, I never was even though I might have felt like that at times. I was whole and full of love in my heart, for myself and for everyone else who mattered to me.
Author's note: So that's it for this chapter and I'm really sorry I really wanted to give you guys an extra long chapter to make up for making you wait for almost a year and a half but I didn't want to half ass it, I want to give you quality content which I'm fully satisfied with and let me assure you, next chapter will be up soon. I'm working on it and this time I'm not going to make you all wait very long for chapters because I know how frustrating it is when an author leaves the story hanging. Thank you for sticking with me. And please leave reviews telling me how you liked it, what you didn't like and what you would like to see happen in the story or just your opinion on something. I love reading reviews and reply to all of them, they motivate me to work harder. And yes I know that line " I complete myself" and stuff is from the movie 'Isn't it romantic', it's not exactly same as the one in the story but still, that's where I got the idea and I'm borrowing it because it seems very fitting for Bella :) Also I would like to clarify that since Bella didn't go into depression, she never went looking for the meadow and so never encountered Lauren. Also Jacob is like a little brother to her, not a romantic interest. Sorry for the long ass author's note, just wanted to make some things clear. Thank you so much for reading!