Thanks for the amazing response! As such, onward we go...

"Rise and shine, Pickle Pea! There's a beautiful day out there just waiting to be discovered!"

Morning people suck.

You know what else sucks? Not letting embarrassing nicknames from one's childhood die. Yes, it was cute to call me 'Pickle Pea' when I was seven because my favorite bedtime snacks were frozen peas and pickle juice. Ten years later, it was not as amusing.

I groaned at Renee's chipper voice and burrowed under the covers.

"I'm heading out to the barn in ten minutes. If you don't come out and feed Rose, I'll bring her right here so you can personally explain why she watched her friends eat breakfast without her."

I crawled out of bed at the threat. Renee wasn't joking around; she really would allow a horse in her house just to get a laugh or prove a point. Sometimes, I couldn't believe we were related.

Groggily pulling on a sweatshirt and a pair of dirty jeans, I yawned and tried to get my bearings. I had been living with my mom for only a month, and sometimes it took me a few minutes to remember where I was.

I still hadn't gotten used to getting up at the butt-crack of dawn every morning.

The aromatic scent of hay and horse helped me wake up as I stumbled into the modest five-stall barn. Renee had just finished feeding her three horses and handed me the measuring scoop.

"Better hurry up before Rosie takes the door off."

"Hmgph blrder grr," I muttered back. Words were not necessary to convey my feelings at the moment.

Rose was working herself into a frenzy. On top of her incessant whuffles, she pawed at the stall door and rattled her feed bucket with her dainty nose. A snow white mane whipped against her golden coat as she tossed her head in impatience.

When she spied me coming with her grain, she whinnied loudly and demonstrated a perfect spin on her hind leg like the champion Quarter Horse she was. Too bad she only showed off her skills at feeding time or when she was dumping me out of the saddle.

I walked into the stall, and for a moment, I thought I saw her liquid brown eye soften toward me - the human bringer of goodness. But as soon as I poured her food into the bucket, she swung her big 'ol little head into my chest and knocked me out of the way.

"Ow!" My rear made contact with the stall floor.

"Are you on the ground again?" laughed Renee from inside the tack room.

"She knocked me over!"

Renee came into the stall and flicked her hand toward Rose's shoulder. Immediately, the mare stepped away from her food and waited for further direction.

"She doesn't respect you, Bella. Horses have a very clear hierarchy in the herd, and this girl owns you. You've got to be clear, consistent, and – most importantly – confident."

"How can I be confident around this nympho-witch? Yesterday's fiasco isn't helping the situation, either."

"One way or another, you need to overcome your fears and believe in yourself. Learning how to handle Rose is the best trial by fire I can think of. After all, that's why you're here." She swept sawdust off the seat of my jeans as she exited.

Frustrated, I stabbed at a pile of manure and then dropped it in the cart. My life had become some kind of sick nightmare in past few months. Charlie Swan, my father, had become concerned that I didn't seem to have any friends and spent all my time reading in my room during summer vacation. He feared that my introverted personality was a reflection of his hands-off approach to parenting and lack of a mother figure during my apparently turbulent teenage years.

That's why, without any regard to my feelings on the matter, he sent me away from Forks, Washington, to spend my senior year of high school living with Renee in western Maryland. His decision definitely wasn't based on exposing me to a more urban culture. The town of Smithsburg had even fewer residents than Forks, and its size barely measured over one square mile. Renee lived outside of town proper in an even more rural setting.

However, Smithsburg did have the advantage of being only 15 minutes outside of Hagerstown, which ranked as the sixth largest city in Maryland. That wasn't saying much, really, but at least it had an Outback Steakhouse and Target. Better, however, was that Washington, D.C. and Baltimore could be reached with just over an hour of driving.

Not that I had a car, of course.

At present, my only personal mode of transportation was the lovely palomino mare, Rose – the horse who was supposed to bring me out of my shell.

Ha.

Although…she did have one advantage. Rose needed exercising on a regular basis, so I donned my helmet and climbed into the heavy western saddle almost every day. Usually, I rode in the morning because I knew the chance of spotting my favorite wildlife on the trail was much higher at that time of day. And by wildlife, I meant one smoking hot fellow senior named Edward Cullen.

He and his parents lived on several acres abutting the back of Renee's ten. Their stately brick house was a large contrast to the two-bedroom rancher in which I now lived. When I first saw Dr. and Mrs. Cullen, they both were pulling out of the garage on what I assumed was their way to work. Dr. Cullen wore a collared shirt and tie, while Mrs. Cullen had on something that looked like a women's suit jacket.

Their proper attire and luxury cars (Mercedes S63 AMG and Audi S6) made it all the more surprising when I later realized the tall boy in ripped jeans and a holey white T-shirt who dripped sweat while repairing a fence board was their teenage son. His lean muscles flexed beneath the worn material as he hammered nails through the plank and into the post.

I hadn't paid much attention to the boys in Forks. I grew up with most of them, and while there were a few attractive or intelligent or nice individuals, none of them were the complete package. I had been asked out a handful of times, but I declined every invitation. It just didn't seem worth the effort to get to know someone only to find out he didn't live up to my impossible standards. Let's face it, Princess Buttercup's Westley set the bar pretty damned high.

But at the mere sight of Edward Cullen with his toned form, messy reddish-brownish-colored hair, and masculine brow furrowed adorably in concentration, I felt a flutter in my abdomen. Now, I wasn't so sexually naïve that I didn't know exactly what had happened. I got the same feeling when I'd drool over my Westley or Fitzwilliam Darcy or Jason Bourne or even Dr. Gregory House.

What? Hugh Laurie has the most gorgeous blue eyes, and I'm a sucker for British guys with perfect American accents.

The point is that I recognized the tightening feeling down low as my ovaries caught on fire and my girly parts screamed that they weren't there just to be pretty window dressing.

At first, I fought the lustful thoughts. I didn't know anything about who this impossibly beautiful person really was. He could be a rich jerk or a delinquent. Maybe he liked pulling wings off flies. Hell, he might even be gay. School hadn't started yet, so he could have been a West Coast college student home for vacation. Or married.

Throughout the rest of the day, my mind added to the list of reasons why I should stop thinking about this vision of hotness that I had stumbled upon. By the next morning, I was thoroughly convinced he was a devil-worshipping ex-con who kicked puppies and hated 5'4" brown-eyed brunette females, specifically. I knew not to waste my time on a law-breaker with whom I didn't stand a chance.

That is why I did NOT saddle up Rose and return to my new secret ogling spot right off the trail.

Except that I did.

And thus began my early morning excursions past the Cullen property just so I could salivate over Edward as he mucked out the tiny two-stall barn, exercised his gorgeous liver chestnut gelding, or groomed an adorable black pony. I had never seen anyone ride the pony, but then again, I tried not to make it too obvious that I was spying on him and his family.

Sadly, my clandestine surveillance had to come to an end. After the humiliating stunt my in-heat mare had pulled during the horse show, I would not be going out for a hack on the trails that passed his house any time soon. It was bad enough that I had to sit beside Edward in Calculus during school. There was no way I dared tempt the Fates by coming any closer to him than necessary. I knew those three evil harpies were ready and waiting for their chance to strike again.

Turned out their opportunity arose much more quickly than I expected.

After returning from the barn and taking a shower, I threw on a pair of shorts and an oversized T-shirt. A few quick strokes with the hairbrush, and I was ready for school.

"Pickle Pea, if you don't come shopping with me then I'll buy clothes without out your input. Are you sure you want that?" Renee set a plate of pancakes in front of me.

"Mom! Can you please stop calling me that? I hate it!"

"Fine, PP," she laughed. "Shopping. Clothes. This weekend."

"Ugh! Okay, but only if you promise never to use 'PP' as a nickname again. That's even worse than the other one."

I could see the smug smile on her face, even though her back was turned.

"I know, dear."

When I finished sulking through breakfast, I brushed my teeth and grabbed my backpack. Just as I was about to step through the front door, Renee slipped her arms around my waist and cinched on a belt made of medium-sized silver chain links.

"At least you don't look like a complete slob now," she commented approvingly.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes and dashed toward the bus that was pulling up in front of the driveway.

I hated riding the bus with the underclassmen, but until I saved up more money, I had no other way to get to school. Charlie and Renee said they would contribute toward a car purchase if I made the honor roll for the first marking period, but I had to come up with half of the amount on my own. It was part of that 'learning responsibility' lesson they were trying to teach, but I thought they were just being cheap.

The ride to school seemed longer each day, but my iPhone helped make the time somewhat endurable. I could only listen to music because I would get carsick if I read or played games. My song choices covered a wide variety of genres, but other than a few of the more pop-style songs, I stayed far away from country – which, of course, is what blared over the bus's speakers for the entire 45-minute trip. No offense intended to any fans; I just don't relate to a lot of the subject matter.

When we made the final turn toward Smithsburg High School, I stared wistfully at the senior parking lot directly in front of the school's entrance. If my hours stayed consistent at the small diner where I worked, I should have enough for my own car by Christmas. Only a few months away…

My thoughts drifted off when I saw Edward pulling his metallic grey Volvo V60 T6 into an empty spot. I scoffed to myself. I'd be thrilled to have a first car that cost 1/10 of what his did. Bet he didn't have to wait tables for it, either.

Staring hungrily, I watched as he stepped out of the vehicle and gathered his belongings. Edward wore one of his typical school outfits: khaki shorts, a golf shirt, and boat shoes. He looked as if he was about to enter a country club; all he needed was the sweater tied around his neck.

I almost didn't recognize him on the first day of school. I had been so used to seeing him in ragged jeans and old tees with hay stuck in his unruly hair. At home in his backyard, he moved with the casual grace of someone completely comfortable in his own body. But on school grounds, every action was restrained, calculated, and oh-so-proper. In the class we shared, he focused the entire period on the subject matter, and his gaze never strayed from the front of the class or his work. Edward wasn't a teacher's pet, though. He didn't volunteer answers or join in class discussion, and when called upon, he spoke hesitantly in a quiet voice. His answers were always correct, though.

And yesterday, I discovered a whole new side of Edward. I'm not sure why his presence at the horse show surprised me so much. Maybe it was because I was wrapped up in my own drama. I didn't feel ready to enter a show after only a handful of weeks of riding under my belt, but arguing with Renee was a lost cause. She signed me up for three classes, two of which were for novice riders. Rose and I only had to walk and jog in both directions, so we survived, even though we got fourth place each time – out of four riders.

The last class was an open walk/jog class, meaning horses and riders of any age and experience could enter. When I saw the high number of entries, I refused to go into the arena. Renee paid me no heed, slapped Rose on the rear end, and then followed us in on one of her own horses.

That's when I realized Edward was not only present on the show grounds, but he also had signed up for this particular class. I didn't even recognize him at first; it was the sight of his horse (who I previously had heard called Emmett) that clued me in. Wearing a black Stetson, Wranglers, a black show shirt with white piping, and a sexy smirk, Edward looked like he just walked off the set of Bonanza…or a cowboy porno.

I exhaled a dreamy sigh as I remembered how good he looked. Hell, he was just as hot now in his Ralph Lauren Polo ensemble. I dallied in exiting the bus so I could watch his cute little buns as they ascended the stairs to the school entrance.

Our lockers were in the same hall, and I followed at a distance like the creepy stalker I was. With students clogging the corridors, I lost sight of him quite a few times. Then an opening appeared, and I hurried through the horde to catch up to the object of my desire.

I had just spied him ahead when a tall body to my immediate left stopped suddenly to talk to someone. Slamming my shoulder into the boy's back, I tripped and threw my arms around him to steady myself.

"Sorry!" I muttered as I prepared to bolt away from the scene of the crime. I took a hasty step away only to be pulled back into him.

"What the hell?" a deep voice boomed.

A boy I recognized as Tyler Crowley swung around to see what had crashed into him. As he turned, I was flung along behind as if somehow attached.

Looking down to my waist, I was horrified to discover that I was attached to him. One of the links from my belt had gotten caught in his mesh sports jersey, and my front was now plastered to his back. For several mortifying seconds, Tyler spun in a circle, and I was forced to run around him lest I get pulled off my feet.

"Stop! I'm stuck on you! Stop moving!"

Our frenetic dance, coupled with my shouting, drew the attention of everyone within a twenty-foot radius. By the time I could disentangle myself from his shirt, a large crowd had gathered to laugh at my misfortune.

Damn those Fates bitches.

"Girl, if you wanted to feel me up, all you had to do was ask," Tyler leered while straightening out his clothes.

"S-sorry…I'm sorry!" I managed as I rushed away from the blur of smirking faces behind me. Completely red from embarrassment, I headed for the nearest staircase, and out of the corner my eye, I saw Edward watching me. I couldn't tell what sort of expression he wore – whether he was laughing with everyone else or not – but it didn't matter. As soon I got home, I intended to buy a one way ticket to Siberia or the Gobi Desert or some other place where I could live the rest of life in blissful solitude.

Anywhere but here.

I'm an alumna of Smithsburg High, and while all characters and situations are fictional, I drew on some of my experiences there. Thankfully, none were as embarrassing as poor Bella's!

My super-cool hubby made the banner for this fic. Ah, the things the poor man puts up with! You can check out this story's new banner from the link on my profile page. I've also put a close approximation of Emmett and Rose.