Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Summary: After rebelling at school, Edward is forced to participate in the school play as the male lead along side the shy, somewhat nerdy Bella Swan. When their worlds collide, he struggles with where he fits and who to stand by. ExB

Chapter 2: Repairs & Rehearsal

Bella

"Stupid, Stupid Truck!" I growled and kicked my old red chevy.

I grabbed my cell and dialed Charlie's work number but it rang out every time. I let my head rest on the window, trying to think of someone to call. The truth was, I didn't have a lot of friends. Angela was probably my closest friend, but she had Ben so she didn't entirely need me. Then there was Jacob but things were a little weird between us ever since he told me he had feelings for me.

He was meant to be with Leah but when intoxicated, he had a habit of phoning me and making these declarations. Which meant I couldn't be entirely sure of how serious he was. I usually just pretended they didn't happen and Jake and I would dance around one another, in an attempt to avoid eachother. That was part of the reason why I didn't want him to play the lead in the play. He was more suiting for the male lead's opposition. The third part of the triangle.

Edward Cullen, on the other hand – he was completely right for it. Except for the fact that he so obviously did not want anything to do with the production all together. But I couldn't deny how perfect he'd be. Even when he wasn't trying, the appeal just dripped from him to the extent it was almost tangible. He was dark like the character and people either tended to flock towards him or avoid him – very rarely was there a middle ground. Not that i'd seen anyway.

Of course he was gorgeous. That much was undeniable – but it wasn't in the typical sense. Everyone knew he was good-looking but he wasn't like anyone else I could think of. Smooth, pale skin....strange coppery-colored hair and those piercing green eyes. The girls in my grade seemingly went nuts over him and he went through them like kleenex.

Tanya Denali was his latest fling but i'm assuming it was purely physical. I don't know how anyone, even Edward Cullen, could stand to listen to her shrill voice. She was completely lacking in regards to intellect as well. She once asked me how to spell graph. This year. And we're Seniors.

Thinking of Edward Cullen was time-consuming and therefore time wasted so I decided to lift my head from the truck and stop wallowing in my self pity when who, none other than the Edward Cullen should pull over behind me. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. We shared our longest conversation today, of a few minutes and now here he was, pulling over to help me.

"You alright?" He questioned and the rest is a blur.

Before I knew it, I was in his car. I'm sure I tried to argue against him but he didn't seem to want to deal with that. I directed him towards my house, suddenly ashamed because I knew that his house was completely majestic. I'd once seen it in an architectural magazine Charlie had bought when he was feeling inspired to do something with our house. It was completely gorgeous and would've easily reduced the Cullen trust fund by one or two-million dollars.

When he pulled over at my house, he had the most beautiful smile plastered on his face. I kinda forgot where, or who, I was momentarily but the smile was gone as quick as it had appeared. He sped off in his shiny silver Volvo and I tredged across the lawn towards my humble home.

I dialed Charlie again once I was inside and this time, he answered. He said he'd call a tow truck for my car and I started on dinner for him. Chicken and Potato mash. This was the excitement that was my life.

I studied. I showered. I changed into my pyjamas. Then I went to bed, just to wake up the following morning and start the routine all over again with breakfast. Bacon and Eggs. My car was going in for repairs for the day, but luckily Angela was able to give me a lift to school.

"Ms Reaser will definitely give you the lead," she'd stated confidently on the way over to school. "Is she going to give Jake the other lead, do you think?"

"I think she wants Edward to do it," I replied. I didn't mention that I thought I wanted him to do it too. I told myself I wasn't attracted to him, which I knew I wasn't, but he certainly had something. That much i'd ascertained from our contact yesterday which had far exceeded our other times of contact in length all over.

"Well he would be good, but I don't think he could be relied upon." She made a good point there.

The day moved slowly up until lunch. Angela, Ben and myself headed towards the drama room eagerly awaiting the class.

Edward turned up five minutes late and sat as far away from everyone else as possible. Not that I expected anything different. He'd never made any effort to speak to me unless neccesary and I didn't expect today to be any different. In all fairness however, I never went out of my way to speak to him either. He was just too intimidating and exactly the wrong kind of boy; drinks, smokes, swears, probably takes drugs and only wants one things from girls. So wrong, but I could still understand the draw to him.

I knew we had completely different social standings. He was best friends with Jasper Hale and Emmett McCarty, both of whom were very much lusted over as well. Then there was Rosalie Hale, who was girlfriend to Emmett and sister to Jasper and was easily the most beautiful woman i'd ever seen. Legs for miles and long, silky blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Head cheerleader too. Completely fierce and scary.

Alice Cullen – Edward's sister, was beautiful too. She reminded me of a delicate fairy and it was obvious to even me that she loved Jasper as he loved her. They were just either too gutless or oblivious to admit their feelings to one another. Alice was the one I always percieved as the 'nice' one. She never laughed at me and she'd even helped me picked up my books when someone had carelessly knocked me down.

The lives of their group fed towards regular gossip that girls like Jessica and Lauren spread. You couldn't help but know everything about them. They were infamous at Forks High School.

"Bella?" Ms Reaser called me out of my trance. "You and Edward are up."

Edward, I noticed, was already standing. He looked just as annoyed and eager to get it over with as he did yesterday.

I moved towards the table and chair that had been set up and the teacher gestured for us to sit down on opposite sides to one another. Thats when I knew what scene we would be performing – the restaurant/dinner scene.

"Bella, start from 'Tell me more'," Ms Reaser commanded. "And Edward, if I want you to have this part then you will. So please take this seriously."

Edward growled incoherently in response but sat down facing me nonetheless. He gazed at me expectantly, a scowl still present on his face, tainting his perfectly crafted features.

"Tell me more," I said, injecting desperation into my voice just as I imagined my character would.

Edward looked down at his script. "What more do you want to know?" I noticed that his voice was soft, like velvet, yet still very masculine. He could do radio commercials, except he definitely didn't have a face for radio. He had the kind of face designed for billboards overlooking congested highways.

"Tell me why you hunt animals instead of people," I continued. I didn't even need the script. Edward looked up as soon as I finished speaking.

"I don't want to be a monster." His voice was low and he looked at me with what I could only call a sincere expression, as if what he was saying was what he truly felt.

We continued the rest of the scene with Edward relying on the script less and less. I couldn't help but wonder if he'd actually tried to memorize some of it.

"Does anyone have any questions before I announce who will be playing who?" The teacher asked.

"Yeah," Edward said. We were still seated up the front of the room so I heard his voice loud and clear. His minty breathed fanned in the air and I inhaled it without thinking.

"What is it?"

"It's the ending," he continued. He'd actually read that far?

"What specifically about it?" Ms Reaser asked.

"Well I don't think i'd want it to end that way," he admitted. "With her turning into a vampire. It seems selfish to me."

"What do you mean?" I interrupted. "I wrote the ending."

"That's the problem. You're writing from the chicks perspective and she is all in love irrevocably and shit." I ignored his curse. "So she's not thinking rationally. I don't think the guy would just want to take away her life. That's selfish. Even i'm not that much of a dick."

"They couldn't be together otherwise," I pointed out.

"She'll get old, so what."

"People would think he was her grandchild," I retorted.

"What does it matter what other people think?"

That had me stumped. I'd never imagined the story where Lily wouldn't be with Blake eternally. That's no fairy tale.

"Um....we can discuss the script at a later date," Ms Reaser intercepted.

"Okay now for the parts!" She clapped her hands together excitedly and myself and the other twenty people in the room suddenly seemed tense.

"Starting with the mean girls...Lauren and Jessica!" She announced. They feigned flattery, but I could tell they were annoyed. I personally thought those roles were perfect for them. "Seth, you'll be playing Blake's brother. Angela you are going to be playing Blake's sister. Jacob for Jarod." I looked over at Jacob who looked thoroughly pissed.

"And for the leads, Bella and Edward." I smiled to myself and looked across the table at Edward but I couldn't read his expression. "We will be performing a week before graduation so we have just under three months to perfect it. We'll be meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays but you'll need to get together to run through your lines with eachother."

I grabbed my bookbag and exited the classroom without another look towards Edward. He would just have to get over the fact that he was in the play and would actually have to act and pretend he was in love with someone so completely below his social standing.

"Bella, wait!" I was surprised to hear Edward call after me. I turned around and saw him hurrying towards me. "I have to do this play, i've accepted that. I just don't want to fuck it up, you know? My friends'll probably come see it just to piss me off so I don't want to make a fool of myself."

"And this is my problem why.....?" I prompted.

"Can you help me?" He asked, a hint of desperation evident in his tone. "I mean, please?" he added.

"Okay," I answered, which seemed to shock him.

"Yeah, cool. Great. I'm just not into this shit."

"Just don't swear too much," I joked. The corner of his lips raised in a smile, but he seemed unsure and quickly cleared the expression off his face. "I have to go."

"Yeah, sorry. Ah so when do you want to do this sh- uh stuff?"

"I can't do Monday nights but apart from that I should be fine," I answered.

"I've got detention Mondays anyway. Wednesday's work for me."

"It's Wednesday today," I reminded him when I heard someeone calling his name.

Jasper Hale appeared in the hallway and proceeded to walk towards us, his eyes on Edward and not taking any notice of me.

"Cullen!" He grinned. "I've been looking for your sorry ass everywhere. You been at your punishment?" He laughed and Edward turned his back on me, probably wishing i'd disappear off the face of the earth. I knew talking to me was definitely considered embaressing in his books.

"Yeah, this play shit."

"That blows, ay. You know that i'mma be there front row centre to watch you fail. Who you talking to?" He pushed Edward away and stared at me.

I wished i'd walked away but unfortunately, I hadn't. "Isabella Swan? That's a new one." He laughed at me then looked back at Edward and shook his head. Edward chuckled and they both turned away from me. I could've punched the two of them but instead, I walked away.

If Edward Cullen wants to be a jerk, then Edward Cullen can teach himself to act.

I was still fuming when I walked into Biology and for once Edward had beaten me there. He didn't acknowledge me, he acted indifferent towards me as usual. That made me even angrier. He'd asked for my help and then outright laughed at me with his friend and now he was acting like it didn't happen. I hated him right then.

I pulled down my hair and let it fall over my shoulder in an attempt to create a curtain between us. I edged as far away from him as possible without sitting in the aisle. Then he had the nerve to pass a note my way. I was tempted to scrunch it up, but curiosity got the better of me and I picked it up and opened it up.

Tonight. Yours or mine?

I scoffed then snatched my pen up and wrote my reply.

Both. I'll go to my place, you go to yours. You can rehearse with your mirror.

He chuckled beside me.

The thing with Jasper was a joke.

Yeah at my expense. I didn't find it very funny btw.

Whatever, Swan. You can't very well star in this play by yourself. Remember that.

Fine. Your place then. Five thirty.

He jotted down his address and I angrily grabbed the paper up and shoved it in my bag.

Charlie had sent me a message to say my truck was repaired and back at the house, so at least I wouldn't have to go to Edward's chauffered in the Police cruiser.

When I got home, I quickly made something for Charlie to heat up for dinner and had a quick shower before driving over to Edward's. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I knew I was nervous. I knew I wasn't into him in anyway whatsoever, I just didn't feel comfortable around him. We were from completely different worlds and would never talk in normal cirumstances.

I knew what his friends did when I'd walk past them. They'd snicker, make comments about my glasses or clothes as if it was something important to them. Mostly, it was easy to ignore, but then there were times where it really got the better of me. My own pupils thought of me as a freak. Even with those who were kind to me, I wouldn't call them my close friends.

I didn't have my clique, my niche or whatever you want to call it. I was kidding myself if I thought I didn't care. I had adapted to being alone but I didn't like it.

I had to pull out my street directory to locate Edward's house and when I found it, it was more beautiful in the flesh – er wood, plaster or whatever it was made of, than I ever could've believed. I'd seen the pictures, but it didn't take away from the wow factor. I suddenly felt very awkward driving down his driveway in my old truck. It definitely didn't fit in with the scenery.

I parked behind his car and remained in my seat for almost ten minutes before I finally got the courage to approach his front door. I lightly knocked three times and a beautiful caramel-haired woman answered. She was shorter than me and while i'd assumed she'd have to be her late thirties at the least – she looked very young. She must be Edward's mum, I thought.

She dusted her hands off on her apron and asked, "Can I help you? Sorry, I mean are you one of Alice's friends?" Edward obviously hadn't told his family that i'd be coming over.

"Um, no. I'm Bella. I'm here to read lines with Edward," I told her. A look of pleasant surprise passed across her face momentarily before she composed herself.

"He's doing the play?" She whispered. I nodded my head and she giggled and clapped her hands together. "That's marvelous! Oh how rude of me, come in sweetie"

I walked through the door and into the foyer. "Third floor, door at the end of the corridor." She gestured towards the staircase before apologizing and hurry back to her cooking. Whatever it was, it certainly smelt amazing. I was suddenly envious of Edward. I bet he didn't even appreciate his mother's cooking or his beautiful home.

I slowly took the stairs, one at a time. When I cleared the first landing, I could hear electro music coming from down the hall. I was about to continue up the stairs when I heard a high-pitched squeal behind me. "Isabella Swan?" Alice Cullen.

I turned around to face her, but was surprised to see she'd evened the gap between us and was standing mere inches from me. She smelt like expensive perfume.

"Hello, Alice," I said, unsure.

"You're in my house..."

"I...um....." I trailed off.

"She's helping me study." I heard Edward's voice call behind us and I breathed a sigh of relief. "Now run along, Alice," he continued. "I'm sure Biology is of absolutely no interest to you."

Edward turned back up the stairs while Alice walked back to her room. I gazed after her for a moment, then ran to catch up to Edward just in time to see him slip into what I assumed was the door to his bedroom, which was slightly ajar. I gingerly pushed it open and found Edward settling onto his bed, the script lying in front of him.

"Let's not fuck around," he growled as I entered the room. "The sooner we begin, the sooner this shit will be over." He obviously wasn't planning on following through with my request that he keep his cursing to the minimum.

"Ah okay," I murmered. I chanced a look around his room and found that it was suprisingly clean. It was clattered but there seemed to be some kind of order. He had several shelves of music which dominated the entire west wall and the room was quite well lit. He gestured towards the black leather sofa by the french doors and I slowly and quietly walked over at sat down, entirely afraid of disturbing him.

"Where should we start?" He asked.

"I don't know," I replied vaguely. "How much have you read?"

"I've read all of it. " His voice was bored, disinterested so I thought it best if I picked a scene. I thought of all the pivotal scenes, the kissing scene which was very much G-rated but something I was consdering re-writing purely because of Edward. Then there was the transformation scene, which Edward had already announced a disagreeance with.

"I really don't know," I admitted, feeling more and more idiotic by the minute. "Maybe you should pick something that you think you will find difficult so we tackle the hard stuff early on."

"To be honest," he started. "All the lovey shit."

"Well I get that you find me completely repulsive, but that's why it's called acting," I growled.

"I'm not talking about the lovey shit with you. You aren't ah, repulsive," he mumbled but i'm sure he was just saying it to make me feel better. "I just don't do well with emotions and expressing them and fuck, you know?" he trailed off and I couldn't doubt his statement. In fact, it seemed highly probable that he would be somewhat of an emotional void.

"Maybe you should think that it's not you, it's your character. Generally if you make a good transistion between the two it'll be a lot easier. If you're worried what people will think then I don't think you should be." I shrugged in nonchalance.

"Why shouldn't I care? Edward Cullen does not do stage acting."

"Edward Cullen apparently talks about himself in the third person," I muttered to myself. "I think that because it's you doing it, it will be deemed acceptable. You're quite influential."

"Whatever you say."

"Look, if you really don't want to do it i'll talk to Ms Reaser. I'm sure Jake or someone can do it."

I thought his features softened for a moment, but I couldn't be sure. "It's alright," he sighed. "Let's just rehearse. We'll do the scene at the hospital after he saves her. That's pretty neutral."

I was surprised that he'd actually taken some initiative but I was even more (pleasantly) surprised at his acting. He applied the appropriate amount of angst and was utterly believeable as the character and I wondered if it was intentional. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he spoke; his eyes, his lips – he truly was a masterpiece, nothing short of amazing. I knew it was wrong for me to be thinking those things – we were from completely different worlds, afterall – but I couldn't help it.

"Yeah," Edward mumbled and I wondered if he'd been speaking for a while. "So I guess we're done for tonight? You're kinda out of it."

"Sorry, yeah," I said. "Um I guess i'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh-huh," he hummed. "I'll – ah – show you out."

He lead me downstairs and with an awkward goodnight, I was back in my truck and heading home.