Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, of any of the characters!
Ch 2
Bella
I had a paper to write but somehow Ange had coaxed me into coming to the JV basketball game. "Just to get out of the house". I took my books with me and settled into the outdated plastic bleachers that were in the Forks Middle School gymnasium. Basketball didn't draw much attention, and normally we wouldn't have been caught dead there, but Angela had a crush on Ben Cheney who played. He had asked her to come to his game, so I would have felt bad if she missed it. The sound of male grunts and high fives interrupted my train of thought and I looked up to see Ben slapping hands with a kid I didn't recognize. He was just taking a hoodie off to reveal a basketball jersey; number 23. Considering our school had just over one hundred students, it was rare for me to not recognize someone. His skin was a beautiful bronze, and his hair hung in a long silky black ponytail. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I tried to go back to writing my essay for English but gave up all hope. Every couple of minutes I looked up to see what the mystery boy was doing. Once while I was staring, we locked eyes. I had never seen someone so fiercely original. All of the boys I had gone to school with looked very similar, so much so, that they were becoming monotonous.
"Helloooo? Beeellllaaaaa?" Angie called to me from the gym floor where the boys were standing. I turned beet red and tried to pretend like I was engrossed in my school work. Please not have noticed me staring, please not have noticed me staring…
"Bella, Come here!"
"I'm…. Uh….. I'm in the middle of writing a sentence," Please, I couldn't even convince myself.
"Bella, you don't even have a pen. Just come wish the guys good luck!" the Guys?? Oh God, he noticed me. As I began my descent down the treacherously steep bleachers, I begged myself not to trip. I must have over thought it because four steps in I fell the rest of the way down landing awkwardly on my butt. After years of making a fool of myself, I was a pro at shaking it off. I stood up, brushed off my pants and walked the rest of the way to the group with a small limp.
"Oh…My…God, Bella, are you okay?" Angela came running over to me. I don't know why she was surprised; perhaps she was just trying to make Ben think she was compassionate
"Yeah, I'm good, fine, great. How are you?" the words came out in a slur as I tried my hardest to gain composure on my heart that was thumping painfully against my ribs.
"Bella, what is wrong with you?" She said through clenched teeth, grabbing me by the elbow pulling me out of male earshot.
"I just fell down really hard plastic bleachers and broke my ass. I'm front of someone I have never met. Who is really cute. Other than that, I'm doing just fine."
"Ben? You think Ben is cute? Because I like Ben, and we can't like the same guy…"
I laughed. "No. I mean, Ben's cute, but I wasn't talking about Ben. I was talking about the boy standing next to Ben." I corrected. Angela held back a snort.
"Jacob Black?" she spit the words out like venom, tossing her hair in the effort. "No, no. We don't like Jacob. We don't think Jacob is cute." She put air quotes around cute with her perfectly manicured fingernails, and I had never wanted to punch my best friend more.
"We don't have to think anything. I said I thought he was cute. I could care less if you do." How could she be such a snob to me?
Angela didn't respond, instead she just turned and started walking back to the group of now four players. I followed her, wanting to get a better look at the elusive Jacob Black.
Jacob was tall and lanky. His russet skin stood out with the white jersey the players wore. When he turned his head to look at me, his hair swept to the left side of his neck and landed over his shoulder. I was mesmerized. I wanted to touch it and feel if it was as silky as it looked.
"Jacob, right?" I said flirting, slightly twirling a piece of hair on a finger.
"Bella." Hmm…. It wasn't as much a question as it was a statement. And not a very interested one at that. I could feel my cheeks growing hotter by the second. Rejection was not something I was used to.
"Good luck, then. During the game, I mean. Yeah. So I guess I'll see you later?" He made me so nervous, and I certainly wasn't practiced at hiding it. Jacob turned around with a wicked smirk on his face.
"Yeah I'll see you in gym… and speech. Because we've only had those classes together since the beginning of the year." Ouch. Did he look familiar? I had gym with Angela and Jessica, so I paid little attention to anyone else. And speech… that was a nightmare in itself. I survived speech, there was never any socialization going on there. I gave Jake one last fleeting smile then went to sit back down. I felt sick. What had just happened? Had I really just never noticed him? He couldn't have always looked like that…
Reading my mind, Angela walked over to me. "He just got his braces off and it looks like mommy decided he was old enough for contacts. Seriously Bella… "just say no'" She laughed as she glided away. Then I remembered: I actually say in front of him in Speech. I couldn't face him after that. I was humiliated by myself, and I vowed to change.
I spent the remainder of seventh grade trying to better myself. I hung out with a completely different crowd, introduced myself to everyone around me, and stopped caring about what everyone else thought. I didn't try to talk to Jake again, mostly because the first time had been such a failure. I tried to acknowledge him in class every now and then, but that was the extent of our communication.
That summer, i went through a lot of changes. In three short months, m boobs had grown a cup size and I actually had a reason to wear a bra. I let my hair grow long, and in return, it stopped being frizzy and calmed to a dull but manageable stick straight.
Angela and I became friends again like we knew we would. Her parents had just gotten a divorce and her mom moved to a house across town. We spent most of our time helping her strip tacky wall paper and paint bathrooms to match Tiffany boxes. I remember one day in particular…perhaps it should have meant more at the time.
Ding Dong
"Ange, will you get that?" Her mom called from the basement that she had been defunking. We both ran to the door, paintbrushes in hand. Standing on the other side of the threshold was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen… and she was carrying brownies.
"Hello. I'm Esme Cullen! I live next door and I noticed you were all moving in. I though I'd come by and welcome you to the neighborhood." Her voice was smooth and even. Angie opened the door and Esme stepped inside. She was much taller than Angela and had dark brown hair. Her eyes were a beautiful emerald green that shined with sincerity. She was wearing cropped blue jeans and a T shirt for the local high school football team. Angie stood in place, staring.
"Hi, I'm Angela, and this is Bella. Come in" she finally said "Just let me go grab my mom so you can meet her."
Angie made her descent to the basement in search for her mom, leaving Esme and I alone.
"Are you two sisters?" She asked with a smile, showing perfect white teeth.
"Us?" I said confused. "No. No, we're just best friends. I guess we're practically sisters though."
"That's sweet. I had a friend like that growing up as well. How old are you two?"
"Going into eighth grade. We're 14. Well, almost." She giggled.
"I have a few boys about your age. If you have a spare day…." She was cut off by Mrs. Weber coming up the stairs brushing off the excess dust from her clothes. Her hair was pulled up with a handkerchief, and I realized how much she had aged through the last year. It must have been a rough one with Mr. Weber.
"Hello, Mrs. Cullen. I'm Lori Weber. Thank you so much for the brownies."
"Please call me Esme. You have a beautiful daughter. And surrogate daughter." She said, flashing her dazzling smile again. Lori and Esme continued to talk, but Angela and I went back to stripping ugly brown and green designs off the wall, sneaking brownies every now an then.
Chapter Two!! I should have three up soon. Tell me what you think and if I should continue! I'm always open for suggestions.