A/N: So...I'm not dead. I have NOT abandoned either Pitch Black nor Give and Take - G&T is actually just about finished. I'm thinking about 5 more chapters to go and it will be done. For this to happen, I need to actually sit down and write it and I hope to do that during the month of December. I expect to start posting regular updates (hopefully) starting in January. Let's just say I've been lost in procrastination and stalking Google news for New Moon news (say that 3 times fast!) I do have this to offer to you, hopefully you'll enjoy it.


The prologue took place in October 2009 (if you haven't read that or you read it when I originally posted it, take a step back and re-read it before reading this). This back story & the chapters to follow are all leading up to that night in the desert. Also, I've put dates in this chapter to map out his first week. You'll see once you've read Edward right now is a little uptight and nothing like the guy we met in the prologue. As Edward loosens up, the rigid dates marking events will loosen up as well.


Here we go!


Monday August 24th

It was the first of his senior year and Edward felt sick to his stomach. He got out of his car and ran a hand through his hair, muttering to himself.

"It'll be fine. You're new, but you'll make friends quickly." he said before scoffing and rolling his eyes at himself. His mom had given him the standard new kid pep talk but his situation was different. He wasn't new to Forks, just new to this school. Until now he'd gone to a private catholic school but his mother had decided that he needed to 'broaden his horizons' by attending public school. Edward wondered to himself just how drunk Esme had been when she made this decision. He sighed and pulled his book bag higher on his shoulder and he walked towards the building marked office.

Once getting his schedule he made his way to his first class. By lunch time he was convinced that he needed a stiff drink of his own. Not only were his peers incredibly rude but the classes he was slated to take were covering material that he'd had the previous year at the academy. He sighed as he walked cafeteria and he settled down at a table in the back. He pulled out what was supposed to be his lunch and after a stare-down with the brown paper sack he tentatively opened it and peeked inside. He cringed and just pushed the bag away when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. He jumped and looked up to see a giant.

"Hey man!" the giant boomed, slapping him on the shoulder again. Edward lurched forward with the force of the giant's slap and gritted his teeth while straightening up.

"Sorry 'bout that!" the giant said, laughing. He pulled out the chair next to Edward and grabbed the discarded lunch and pulled out the contents before grabbing the sandwich and digging in. Edward watched the giant practically inhale the sandwich with a mixture of amusement and disgust. He chuckled when the giant looked up at him, his mouth stuffed full causing puffy cheeks.

"Dude - you weren't going to eat this were you?" he mumbled around the mouthful of food, looking sheepish.

Edward laughed nervously, not quite believing that he wasn't having an out of body experience and shook his head.

"No, it's fine." he said, with a wave of his hand.

The giant nodded and continued to eat.

"Name is Emmett, by the way." he said, while reaching for and taking a huge bite of the apple that had also been packed in the bag. He reached over with his free hand in a fist, and held it out to Edward who just eyed it curiously.

Emmett waited a moment and then raised an eyebrow and grabbed Edward's hand, motioning for him to make a fist and when a bewildered Edward did as he asked, he then bumped their fists together.

"Nice to meet you."

Tuesday August 25th

Edward sat in biology wondering idly if he could get away with sleeping through this course. He'd aced this class at the academy and the syllabus that had been handed out the day before seemed to follow the curriculum he'd had the year before.

He was staring out the window when she walked in. With a quick glance around the room he noted that the only seat available was next to him. He moved all his things to one side and waited for her to sit.

She came over and sat down, giving him a shy smile before turning forward to listen to the teacher.

Trying to be subtle, he spent the next hour studying his lab partner out of the corner of his eye. She had a heart shaped face, her hair was dark brown and fell down her back in soft waves. She was currently using her hair as a curtain between them but he'd gotten a good enough look at her that he wasn't deterred. He noticed that she scribbled doodles in her notebook and wondered why she didn't bother to take notes. He paid careful attention when she sighed and straightened in her seat, propping her head up with her left hand under her chin.

The bell rang signaling the end of class and his studies and he felt annoyed that he'd been interrupted.

They silently gathered their things and she seemed as if she had turned to leave but when he looked up she was standing at the edge of the table looking at him and picking at the edge of her book bag strap.

She smiled and gave a little wave.

"I'm Bella." she said and before he got a chance to introduce himself she turned to go and stumbled slightly before righting herself. He could see her face turn pink with embarrassment as she darted out of the room.

He took a deep breath and smiled slightly as he slowly walked from the room.

She smelled like strawberries.

Later that night as Edward got ready for bed his thoughts were drawn to Bella. He was so curious about this girl. He changed into boxers and a t-shirt and he wondered why she'd waited until the end of class to introduce herself and why she hadn't given him a chance to respond. She seemed shy, but then she might've just not wanted to talk to the 'new' kid.

Was she clumsy? She'd tripped over nothing as far as he could tell, and then she'd blushed as she left the room. It lit up her face and he thought she'd looked beautiful. As he brushed his teeth he wondered again why she didn't take notes. Did she just not care about biology? These and a million other questions rattled through his brain as he turned out the light.

He laid in bed with his hands tucked underneath his head. He'd never gave much thought to girls as he'd never gone to a co-ed school before. From the time he'd started at the academy, the importance of getting an education had been drilled into him as the only important thing. His hobbies included reading books and listening to music but this was solitary time. He'd never been in a environment where there were dances or things like that to be distracted with. He didn't know how to talk to her, didn't even know how to strike up a conversation. He scrubbed his hand over his face before turning over and punching the pillow. Laying his head down he sighed and closed his eyes.

He thought that leaving the academy had been a mistake but now he wasn't so sure. Maybe Esme had been onto something, maybe he did need to get out there and act like a normal teenager for once.

He felt like a weight had dropped off his shoulders. He knew that public school was inferior to private school in terms of education but as he thought about the other aspects of his life he got excited at the uncertainty of his future. He had options now. He could play sports if he wanted. He had made a friend in Emmett and felt that he was genuine. At the academy it was all about competing to be the best and friendship was not something he'd ever thought he'd be interested in. Now that he had a moment of that comradeship, he wanted it fiercely. He looked forward to making more friends.

His thoughts strayed back to her. Bella. Was it short for something? He decided that he would introduce himself as soon as she sat down the next day, he very much wanted to get the answers to all his questions and didn't want to miss a minute of opportunity. Excited and nervous about his decision, he fell into a deep sleep.

Wednesday August 26th

At lunch Emmett took Edward to his regular table and introduced him to his friends. He introduced the twins first Rosalie and Jasper Hale. Rosalie could've been compared to the pinup girls from the 1940's with her blond hair curling at the ends just below her shoulders and her red lips. She was beautiful by definition but the cool disinterest on her face caused Edward to dismiss her quickly.

Jasper had the same blond hair as his sister, but his hair was curlier and waved around his ears - he looked kind of scruffy and Edward decided that if he stood he'd probably match his height or be slightly taller. Jasper smiled at him warmly and welcomed him to the table putting Edward immediately at ease. He gave Jasper a smile back and turned to the last person at the table, waiting expectantly for Emmett to introduce him to the slight girl next to Jasper.

Emmett introduced Mary Brandon and she bounced up out of her seat and ran across the table to smack Emmett on the arm.

"My name is Alice!" she chirped and then reached out to hug Edward. Taken aback by her sudden display of affection, Edward patted her lightly on her shoulder and pulled away as she continued talking.

"Well really it's Mary Alice Brandon, but I HATE being called Mary so please call me Alice and ignore Emmett!"

Emmett chuckled and took a seat, motioning for Edward to do the same.

Halfway through their lunches Edward looked up to see Bella walk by with a tall dark haired girl with glasses, seeming deep in discussion. As her friend sat down she must've said something funny causing Bella to stop at the chair and bend over at the waist laughing. This caused her hair to slid off her shoulders and cover her face. Edward couldn't take his eyes off her and was momentarily annoyed with her hair for blocking his view. She straightened after a moment and pushed her hair out of her face before taking a seat next to her friend.

Edward felt a tap on his shoulder and he reluctantly turned his head to see Emmett smirking at him.

"You've got a little something.." he said and trailed off as he rubbed the corner of his mouth with a finger. Edward brought his hand up to his mouth and found nothing there. He narrowed his eyes as Emmett started chuckling and scowled.

Edward glanced around the table and was relieved to see the others had not noticed him gawking.

"That's the chief's daughter man, I'd be real careful if I were you." said Emmett, clapping Edward on the back.

Edward digested this information for a moment and found his attention and gaze had wandered back over to her table but was disappointed to see she was gone.

Biology couldn't come soon enough. He practically ran to the classroom after lunch and found her already sitting at their table.

He couldn't help but smile at her at she raised her head and waved. She smiled back and he recognized the same fluttery feeling in his stomach that he'd had every time she'd looked at him - he'd never felt it before her and he felt like he might do just about anything to feel it again.

Edward moved to the table and sat down beside her. He immediately turned to her and was slightly startled to see that she was looking straight at him. After a moment of silence he decided he was being stupid and after a deep breath he smiled again.

"Hello, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself yesterday. I'm Edward Cullen."

"I know." she said with a smile.

She opened her mouth to speak again but the teacher announced he was ready to start class and she smiled and pointed to the front of the room before ducking her head and they were again separated by her curtain of hair.

Edward bit his lip in frustration and pulled a piece of paper from his notebook and began to write.

He'd barely had time to think of what he wanted to write before he heard her rip a page out of her own notebook and scribble something before sliding it across the table. He was suddenly nervous, his palms were sweaty and before he touched her note to him he wiped his hands on his pants before reaching up and flipping the paper over.

Hi.

That's what all that was written - it couldn't be much more simple than hi but it still made his pulse jump. Reaching for his pen, he wrote his response and held is breath when she scooted just a bit closer and leaned towards him to read it.

Bella's hair brushed his arm and he startled slightly at the shivery sensation it produced. He rubbed the space lightly and noticed that he'd broken out in goosebumps. He thought this was a strange reaction but it had been a pleasurable one and he wanted to explore the feelings that her nearness was causing.

She reached over to grab the pen from his hand and he drew sharp breath when her fingers brushed his. It was almost as if he'd been shocked, his hand tingled from her touch.

Sorry we haven't gotten a chance to talk. Did you just move here?

He smiled nervously as she put the pen down and nudged it towards him her eyes to the front of the room, appearing to pay attention to the teacher.

He told her that he'd lived in Forks his whole life but had gone to Catholic school until this year. He left the part about his drunk mother out, and pretended for his own benefit that the choice had been his.

The bell rang signaling the end of yet another biology period where he'd gotten no closer to this girl he found so interesting.

They gathered their things and he smiled when he looked up from his bag to see she was standing and waiting for him.

They walked out of class together and were at the doorway when Bella stopped him dead in his tracks by putting a hand on his arm. He looked down at her soft little hand, pale against his dark blue shirt and noticed her nails were clean but bitten and he found himself thinking it was cute. He snorted internally to himself and met her gaze. She was grinning at him but removed her hand and immediately he felt a sense of loss.

"I really am sorry - we seem to keep getting interrupted." she said softly. She paused and took a deep breath before speaking again.

"You can come have lunch with me in the library tomorrow, if you want?"

Edward couldn't contain the grin that spread across his face and he nodded.

"Great!" said Bella. She turned to walk away and he stared after her in shock. She turned around slightly to look at him as she walked away and he put up a hand to say bye. With a blush and a small wave back she disappeared into the crowded hallway.

He turned to go the opposite direction and couldn't stop his mind from racing. A whole hour of her undivided attention. He could hardly wait and thought to himself as he walked to his next class that tomorrow was going to be a great day.