Chapter 1 – 6th Grade

Perfectly Handsome Boy

"OH MY GOD! What have they done to you?" she shouted as she leaned against my locker.

I threw my books in the locker with a sigh. I was worried about what she would think of them. She had always said I looked "perfectly handsome" to her. Now I looked hideous. I tossed and turned all night thinking this would be what would finally drive her away. I never understood why she hung out with me in the first place.

Bella reached over and grabbed my lips pulling them apart to look at the offending metal my parents had installed yesterday.

"Ouch, Bella! That hurts!" I yelled at her while I slapped her hands away.

She just stood there gaping at me, making me even more self-conscious of my new braces -if that was even possible. She had a look of disgust on her face. I closed my locker door and turned towards her. I took a big gulp and began speaking.

"I'll understand if you don't want to hang out any more." I told her.

She burst out laughing.

"Are you nuts, Cullen? It's gonna take a lot more than your face looking like the grill of a big ol' Chrysler to get rid of me." She said with a roll of her eyes.

She grabbed my arm and started dragging me towards the south exit.

"My class is the other way," I told her.

"Not today. Today, class has been moved to the woods behind the school." she said as she continued to drag me dawn the hall and through the door.

We looked around the corner of the building and made sure the coast was clear.

"Are you ready?" she whispered to me.

I nodded.

We broke out in a full sprint towards the woods behind the school. We didn't stop until we were fully hidden in the lush green ferns and furs of the Pacific Northwest. I chanced a peek back at the school through a narrow opening in the thick undergrowth.

"Do you think anyone saw?" I asked her.

When she didn't answer right away I turned to find her standing by a tree. She was removing her sweater and tying it around her waist. It was 84 degrees outside. Much too warm for the long sleeved sweater she had donned that morning.

I knew what the sweater meant, its purpose being to conceal. She may be able to hide them from teachers but she could never hide them from me. I began scanning her bare arms for the bruises I knew I would find there.

She turned to me and said "So you coming or what, metal-mouth?"

She started up the familiar path and I followed her.

That's the way it was. I was always following Bella. I didn't have any other friends. I don't think she did either although she would never admit it. We were the outsiders.

As we made our way up the steep hill, the trees and bushes started to thin. We made our way up the path for another 10 minutes and finally reached our destination. We stepped out into our meadow together.

This was our hideout, our sanctuary. I knew bringing me here was her way of trying to cheer me up about the braces. But I knew it was also her escape from her own problems. Problems that were much more serious than a crooked tooth.

It was a simple, circular clearing deep in the woods. The surrounding trees providing a barrier from outside world. This time of year it was covered with blue, yellow, and white wildflowers. Those flowers would soon disappear when summer started in two weeks. Then it would become a lush carpet of green grasses.

This is where we spent countless hours, telling each other our hopes and dreams, planning our next practical joke, or just simply laying on the ground trying to forget our shitty lives.

We plopped down in the middle of the field. We both laid back on the ground with our hands behind our heads and stared up at the sky.

We stayed like that for a while, not talking. Enjoying the silence. Of course, it was Bella who finally broke that silence.

"I mean, I just don't get it. Why'd they go and put braces on you? You were my perfectly handsome boy. There wasn't a goddamned thing wrong with your teeth." She complained, sounding completely perplexed by the idea that I was anything less than perfect in the eyes of others.

My parents were always trying to make me into something I wasn't. I always felt like a disappointment to them. They complained about everything from my thick, unruly hair, to my single crooked tooth. I was never good enough in their eyes. There were never praises given in my house. I could bring home an A- in math and my dad would give me an hour lecture on why it should be an A+.

My father's biggest complaint was my friendship with Bella. In fact, I shouldn't technically be with her right now. After last week's practical joke where we caused Old Lady Baxter to nearly have a coronary after we strung a rubber snake above her front door, he had forbidden me to ever see Bella again.

I hated him. I hated my mother for always taking his side. Maybe I should feel lucky though. Other kids had it worse than I did.

I looked over at Bella and finally caught sight the fresh bruises showing from beneath her t-shirt sleeve as her arms were stretched upwards.

"Did it hurt," I asked her quietly.

Bella just laid there for a minute staring up at the sky. She appeared to be in deep thought, seemingly ignoring my question.

I watched her, mesmerized as the sun shone down on her beautiful face causing her pale skin to seemingly glow. I wanted so much to reach out with my hand and stroke her cheek.

Over the last month, my feelings for Bella had shifted somehow. It was difficult to describe. I always saw her as my best friend and loved her more than life itself. But it had become different, my feelings for her becoming more physical in nature. When I looked at her, touched her, listened to her voice, I would become short of breath, my chest constricted, sweat beaded on my skin. It was strange, something I had never experienced before. When I was with her, I found myself needing to touch her, to feel her skin, even if just simply holding her hand.

I reached out and pulled her hand from behind her head and brought it to my chest, locking her fingers in mine. She turned towards me smiling. Excitement dancing in her eyes.

"Edward, let's run away. Let's pack a bag and hitchhike to California." She blurted out.

My eyes grew wide as I realized she was serious.

"Are you crazy!" I exclaimed. "We can't, Bella."

Her smile faded at my words, clearly disappointed with my response. That was the way we worked. I kept her grounded and she kept me sane.

She turned her head back to the sky and closed her eyes. I sighed and turned my head to do the same. After a few minutes, her voice broke through the silence once again only this time it was barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, it hurt." She said quietly.

I looked over at her to see she still had her eyes closed, silent tears escaping from the corners. My heart broke in that moment. I wished more than anything that I could run away with her, make sure no one ever hurt her again, shield her from her father's abuse.

But I was just a kid.

We laid there for the rest of the afternoon. Neither of us speaking, just holding hands.