#2

"It's so boring here" Lexis groaned. She was lazily flipping through an old issue of Teen Vogue, her flip-flop-clad feet dangling from an arm of the couch in the living room. "I should've bought the new issue before coming here."

It was already the second day. It surprised me I even survived the long hours. But there was an upside: I managed to get some sleep. But the funny part was that I slept as early as eight o'clock.

I didn't see the Cullen siblings after my little walk-out. I locked myself in the house with Lexis while our parents mingled with the neighbors (a.k.a the Cullens). We refused to come out and just see nothing but sand.

I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything. I was busy trying to make the signal appear. And I was doing that by glaring at the screen of my cell.

Come on, baby, give me a signal…

Suddenly, I felt someone smack the back of my head. I put a hand on the area then growled, "Hey!"

"Stop looking at your cell and go outside" Mom said as she passed by the living room. "The Cullen kids are out. You should make friends with them"

"I am not making friends with them" I said, almost the same time Lexis did.

"Mom, is there really no signal here?" Lexis asked, sitting up. "I need to text Cameron ASAP" Cameron is my sister's boyfriend. I didn't care one bit how she snagged one before I did—the older of the two of us—because I had more important things to do… like survive a two-week vacation.

"Afraid not" Mom called out from the kitchen. Lexis groaned then she let herself fall on the couch once again.

=0=0=

ALICE POV

Edward and I were at the beach. For me, it was for the hopes of getting a killer tan. And Edward, it was for getting killer waves. He loved surfing since was a kid. The fact that he can only do so during summer because we live and study in New York annoyed him to no end.

A few minutes later, I found myself looking at the Swans' beach house. There was no sign of Bella or the other Swan kid—I was told there were two.

"What are you looking at?" my brother asked as he took a seat on the beach chair beside mine. He followed my gaze then groaned. "Stop fussing yourself over the Swans. They're not interested. The Swan girl from yesterday made it clear."

I pulled up my shades then glared at him full-frontally. It annoyed me more when he returned it with a poker-face. "First of all, her name's Bella. Second of all, they've only been here for a day and a half. Their attitudes towards this place can change."

Edward turned away, leaned back on his chair, and said, "Sure" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You are such a pessimistic person, Edward" I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "I bet you'll be getting together with the Swan g—I mean, Bella, by the end of two weeks."

He rolled his eyes. "I doubt" he said. And then he looked at me. "But why only Bella..? I thought there were two female Swan kids"

"I heard the younger one has a boyfriend back in their hometown" I said confidently. "So Bella it is"

"You are not playing matchmaker" he said sternly. "I'll kill you"

"You wouldn't dare" I scoffed. But when I saw his eyes—so predatorily mocking—I started to run back to our house, him chasing me.

=0=0=

Set after lunch, a few hours later from Alice's POV

BELLA POV

I was sitting on the front porch, eyeing boringly the sandy horizon. Since it was pretty hot during mid-day, I had changed into a lime-green racer-back tank top and pink board shorts. After having enough of the scenery, I looked down at my Havaianas-clad feet, my navy-painted nails glimmering dully.

I flipped my phone open and glared when there was no improvement. How the hell do the Cullens survive this? "You're wasting your time" a velvety voice said, sounding annoyed.

I looked up and saw a tall, lean guy with messy bronze hair and deep-set green eyes. He was wearing a tight surf suit so it was obvious he was well-built. And he was carrying a surfboard that blocked the sunlight from my face—which I doubted he intentionally did when he sounded angry at me.

And when I didn't say anything—I just narrowed my eyes at him—he continued. "The only place you'll get signal is from there" he pointed at a cliff. I was completely aghast by the info but I didn't let him know that. I remained poker-faced and looked simply indifferent. I had to go up there just to send text messages? No way was that worth it.

"Why do you care anyway?" I retorted.

He rolled his eyes. "As if I do" he said, and he sounded like he meant it. Then he started to walk away, but not without saying, "I just don't want someone to look stupid in our property. And I've seen a lot."

I stood up, annoyed. "So I look stupid?!" I asked.

He looked over his shoulder then smirked. I ignored the fact that he actually looked beyond-cute when he did that. But I was a girl—and girls instantly hate guys, even if they're major-hot, because of their bad attitude. We were not shallow. We had tastes. "Do you want me to take a picture?" he offered mockingly.

I narrowed my eyes then crossed my arms over my chest. "So that's the 'tude in NYC, huh?" I knew they were from New York because my parents said so. "Listen, buddy, you're in California so you're on my turf"

He grinned. "But this part of California is technically mine" he said back, defeating me. Then he turned away and caught him some waves.

I glared at the sight of him, wishing he'd fall from his surfboard. And he would return to shore covered in seaweed… seaweed that formed the word Jerk all over his chest.

=END of chapter=