A/N

Thanks for reading this. Reviews and commets are loved.

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Chapter 2: Vanilla guitars.

Edward

After three classes I remembered why I hated school. Why do you have to remain silent when you think something's wrong or when you want to put your opinion out there? I knew everyone would think I was crazy for being so straight forward on my first day here, but I knew what I stood for. I wasn't going to make that 'two months 'til teachers can hate me again' deadline. It would more likely be 'two classes until teachers can hate me again.' I was absolutely positive they would.

The bell rang and we had our first break. I was pretty annoyed already and I thought the day couldn't get any worse than this. Emmett was not sitting with me on our first break in a new town, with all these new people. He found 'his people.' Tall, muscular nobodies. I guess they call them jocks? Typical Emmett. I bet they're all sleeping with the sluts at the table next to the food tray. I observated every group. This was your typical high school scene. The jocks, including Emmett (I really hated him now by the way) in the corner of the cafeteria. The sluts, also known as girlfriends of the jocks, at the table next to them on the right side of the food tray. The nerds on the other side of the cafeteria, with their Nintendos. The loners, that weren't really lonely, because if you're a loner you're alone, you know? The word says it. They weren't alone. They were a group. I was a loner. Anyways. I scanned the room to judge people further, until my eyes caught her.

On the left side of the cafeteria were three girls. The beautiful girl that I'd seen in my dream and in the pouring rain. I smiled. There were two girls with her. A tiny girl, with a tiny figure and spiky black hair. I thought the third girl could belong to the sluts, judging by the way she looked. Long blond hair, she was chewing gum, high heels on, red lipstick and her boobs were falling out. Normally I'd like that, but there was something nasty about her. Like she was this evil bitch or something. I don't know what it was.

Since my eyes found the mystery girl, all I could do was look at her every minute. I noticed little things. When she ate, her mouth seemed to be pouting, how she covered her face when she was about to laugh while her mouth was stuffed with food, she had dimples, she had hair that was dark brown but still had tints of light brown in it, her eyes were really deep and her skin was pale. After I summed all this up for myself, I realized I could get an award for 'Creepiest things to find out about a girl you've never talked to.' And I also found out she wasn't the typical girl I liked. She didn't even have big boobs. She had nice, little ones. I smiled. And that's when she looked back at me. I felt like such a loser for smiling at her, before she'd even seen me. She looked a little confused at first and I was about to kick myself, but then she smiled back. The loveliest smile I'd ever seen. I was getting used to being so God damn cheesy when she was involved.

The bell rang. Fuck. What was my next class again? Biology? Math? Shit. I went through my bag and found the note where I wrote all my classes on. Math it is. When I put everything back in my bag, I smelled her. I just knew it was her. I looked behind me, and she walked by with blondie and the tiny person. She smiled again. I dropped my bag. What the fuck was wrong with me?! I knew my face was turning red so I dropped my head and put everything back in my bag that had fallen out. The blonde one giggled. Yes, now I was certainly sure I wasn't going to like that bitch. Buy a bra, you slut.

Almost everyone had left the cafeteria once I was ready to go. And then the bell rang again. I was late. Because it was my first day, I hoped the teacher wasn't giving me too much shit for it. So I just decided to walk in and apologize. Luckily the teacher was a woman. I could use my crooked smile for that. And it worked. I got to take a seat in the back, a desk all by myself. As long as I'm not late for this class again this semester, I should be good with this teacher. Maybe the 'two month thing' could work in this class. I opened my book and then the door flew wide open.

Bella

Why did I think I was having gym?! For God's sake, I always had math as my third class on Mondays! Running as hard as I could, without tripping, I reached the door of my math class. I didn't have a solid excuse why I was late. Mrs Lanette didn't like me anyway. Maybe I should just ditch. No. That wasn't like me. I didn't even have the nerve to ditch. I took a deep breath and walked into class. Without seeing who I was talking to, I rambled: "I'm so sorry I'm late, I don't know what I thought. Yeah, well, I thought I was having gym so that's why I'm late. But I'm so sorry and it won't happen again, I mean I know I always have math on Monday, and gym on Thursday. Besides, math and gym aren't even similar, so if I could please just…" "Enough miss Swan, Edward was late too and I can't make one exception so you can take your seat." Thank God for this new guy that was late too. "Thank you, mrs Lanette."

I hurried to my usual seat in the back and noticed this new person sitting there. I whispered. "You're Edward?" He didn't speak to me. He smiled at me in the cafeteria, right? Why didn't he talk? "Hello? You're Edward?" He looked at me in a weird way. Finally he started talking. "Sorry, hi, yeah I'm Edward." "Thanks for being late, I owe you," I replied and gave him a smile. "You're welcome," he said. He seemed like a shy guy. This was going to be a relaxing class for the rest of the year. If I was good at math, that is.

A half hour into math and not having shared another word with my new neighbour, he asked me something. I thought it was going to be about math so I was scared I wouldn't be able to answer it, but it wasn't. "What's your name?" I felt relieved. "Bella. Well, actually Isabella but that's just blah. I prefer Bella." One corner of his mouth curled up into half a smile. "I'll remember that, Bella Swan." "Wait, how do you know my last name?" I asked confused. "Mrs Lanette called you miss Swan, so I assumed that was your last name. And you just told me your first name. So that makes Bella Swan," he replied. I suddenly felt like he knew so much about me. Not in a weird or creepy way though. Just like he knew. Something. "Do you know the answer to the last question of page 78?" I asked him. I might as well get to know him too. If he was good at math for instance. "A, B and C?" He replied. I felt like I was asking too much at once. "Yeah, but, nevermind. I'll figure it out myself." Suddenly his voice grew stronger. "No, no, that's okay. A is x=5, B is y=8 and x=3 and C is x=10." He was desperate to give me the answers, as though it seemed. "Do you wanna figure it out yourself, how I got those answers or do you want me to help you?" He asked afterwards. "Thanks," I replied, "I'll try to figure it out by myself." "Let me know if you need me." "I will."

At the end of the class, I came to the conclusion that I could like him. He was nice to me. While I was stuffing my books in my bag he asked: "So, did you figure it out?" I looked at him and noticed his eyes for the first time. They were… Blue, green and they even had a shade of brown in them. I blinked my eyes a couple of times, so I wouldn't blurt out crazy stuff. "Ehm, yeah, I think I did. I'm going to need your help though, next time." "Do you have every math class with me then?" He asked. He seemed… Hopeful. I don't know if I was mistaken or if that was even the right word. "Yeah this whole class has math with one another for a whole year, three times a week." I explained to him. "Right. I knew that, don't know why I forgot." He shook his head, laughing at himself. I laughed along with him. "That's okay. Math isn't such a great thing to remember." "It is now." I looked at him, my eyes saying 'what do you mean?' He looked uncomfortable. "It's just that… Ehm… I like to teach people stuff." Was that really the case? Well, he was really helpful. "Ah right. You can teach me a lot then," I said. "Lots of fun having math." I added sarcastically. "You'll get through the year, I'll help." He smiled again. He had nice teeth. Why was I noticing this? "Thanks. I have to go to Biology now, I don't want to be late again." "Oh yeah, I should get going too." He put his bag around his shoulder. "See you!" I yelled before I heard the bell ring and ran out the door.

Edward

The smell of vanilla lingered around me the rest of the school day. I fucking talked to her. Fuck that, I even helped her. She seemed to like me. I don't know how I could fuck up though during our conversation. "It is now." I repeated what I'd said to her in my head. I could've just stuck a post-it on my head with 'stalker' on it. Ugh. She seemed to buy my goodness about wanting to learn people stuff, though. I don't want to learn people stuff, I only want to learn her stuff. But that's just something I kept to myself. For some reason, I felt like I was drawn to her. Like she needed me or something. Maybe I should go see a psychiatrist.

The bell of freedom rang and I stepped into my Volvo. Fuck Emmett, I was not going to take him home. Not after today. I'm sure he could get a ride with the jocks though. I got out of the parking lot and was on my way home. That's when I saw Carlisle's car parked at a house I didn't recognize. Did he? I planned to ask him when he got home.

"Honey, how was school?" Esme asked when I walked in. She stretched her arms out to hug me, but I wasn't feeling it today. I walked past her and said: "It was okay." Esme remained silent. "Are you going tomorrow too, to you know… Hang out with the kids?" I rolled my eyes, but she couldn't see. "I don't know yet. Next week is our first official schoolweek, right?" "Yes baby, but it's good for you and Emmett to get to know people here. This is our new home." "I know, Emmett gets along with a lot of people. I think he's with them right now." She seemed happy about that. Maybe she'd get off my back now. She did.

Once I opened the door to my bedroom, I felt drained. I laid down on my bed with my iPod. It could've been one, two, maybe even three hours. That's when I heard Carlisle come home and that reminded me of his car I saw parked earlier today. Carlisle coming home was also a sign that we were having dinner. Perfect timing to ask.

When I sat down at the table, I saw Emmett. So, apparently he got home safely. All wide-grinned and muscular. I really couldn't stand the guy right now. He didn't even ask why I didn't wait for him when school was out. He just gushed about everything. "There are these really cool guys that I hung out with today. Jasper was a cool dude. He gave me a ride home. They also know the coolest chicks, I don't know their names yet but I will. I love it here!" Esme got all hyped up over everything Emmett said and Carlisle just nodded and smiled. "Edward, how was your day?" Esme tried again, after her attempt when I got out of school. "Fine." I mocked and shoved food in my mouth so I couldn't speak again. "Hey, Ed, can I borrow your Volvo tomorrow? I assume you're not going to school tomorrow?" Emmett. He knew how protective I was over my Volvo. "No."
"Honey, Emmett wants to go to school, your dad is going to be at his new job so he needs the car. The only car left is yours," Esme said. "He's not getting into my car. He can save money for his own car. Besides the school is only like 30 fucking seconds away." "No cursing in this house, Edward." That's Carlisle, always the wise and strict one. If he wanted me not to curse, Emmett should shut his motherfucking mouth. It was my Volvo. "He can use your Volvo, we pay the gas so we have some saying over that car too," Carlisle added. No fucking way. "No." "Yes, Edward." "Fine! I'll go with him." I got up and went up the stairs, off to my bedroom. I was not going to show my face today anymore.

I looked at my alarm. It was only half past six and I was bored as hell. And I also needed to clear my head. Stupid vanilla. I didn't have anything to do besides listening to my iPod, so that's what I did. I really wanted to learn how to play the guitar. And if I wasn't going to make any friends around here, I might as well put some effort in it, right? Suddenly, all hyped up about the idea, I went downstairs. Not looking anyone in the eye, so I kind of kept my promise of not to show myself anymore. I got the keys to the Volvo and drove downtown. Do they have a music store here? Forks was really fucking small so I guess not. Still, I wanted to look. Nope, no music store. I decided to drive to Port Angeles. Wait, what time was it? Seven o'clock. Shops would be open 'til eight. I'd have to hurry.

After some racing to Port Angeles I drove around looking for a music store. The Violin Shop. Guess there won't be any guitars there. I drove a little further and came across Thumpers. I decided I could give it a shot.

Bella

I didn't feel like working today. I knew I was going anyway and that time went by fast when I got there, but I just felt like I had to drag myself over there. I was grateful for Mike and his parents to give me the job, so I might as well do my best. Besides, I loved music. This was the perfect job for me. All this stuff I'd been telling myself on my way to work. Driving from Forks to Port Angeles seemed to go faster everyday. Even for such a slow driver like I was.

"Hey mr. Newton, how are you today?" I asked while grabbing a shirt that said Thumpers. "Hey Bells, doing good, doing good. You're working three hours today, right?" "Yes, one hour in the shop and two hours in the storage room, making sure everything's been delivered. Is Mike working today?" "I don't think so, just you today." "Alright, better get going then, see you!" I walked into the store and went to the guitar section. Ah yes, the purple Fender. My only love. No one knew I was into music this much, I was kind of embarassed? I know that's a stupid thing to say, because it's music. But I wasn't into the kind of music every girl my age was into. I didn't listen to rap, hiphop and other slutty tunes. I wanted real music.

The ringing noise made me realize there was a costumer in the store. What time was it? Fifteen minutes past seven. Only fortyfive minutes to go and I could go stock things. I walked to the counter and saw a familiar face. "Edward! Hi!" I yelled at him. I scared him, he even jumped a little. I giggled. "Eh, eh… Hi, Bella." He still looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "I'm sorry I scared you," I said apologetically. He became his cool self again. "No, yeah, uhm, I just didn't expect to see you here." I smiled. I didn't expect him here either. He didn't look like a musician. Well... Maybe a tortured one. "So, do you play something?" I asked. "No, actually I don't. I was thinking about buying a guitar though. I'm sure I suck at it, but always wanted to try. And I have some money left from work in Miami. Coming here was kind of… impulsive." He really loved learning, didn't he? Helping me out with math, learning to play the guitar, what was next? "I can show you some really cool guitars?" I decided. "Show me," was his simple answer.

We were looking at several guitars, acoustic and electric guitars. "I think you should start with an acoustic guitar. You can learn from there and maybe when you don't suck anymore, you can buy an electric guitar. Oh and the acoustic ones aren't nearly as expensive as the electric guitars." He just nodded. "Here," I walked to a Gibson, "I think this one suits you." It was a black guitar. He was dressed in black: shirt, pants, shoes and even its laces. And besides, the Gibson wasn't expensive and it had a beautiful sound. I handed the guitar to him. "You can sit on that stool over there." He didn't talk much anymore. He just sat down and his fingers slid over the strings. I couldn't help but smile, the sound of guitars did that to me. He smiled back. Not at me, but at the guitar. He tried to work his fingers on the neck of the guitar. "Do you know any chords?" I asked. He shook his head. Alright, I could teach him something, in return for helping me with math this afternoon. I started to explain an A and a D chord. He had slim and flexible fingers, so I was thinking he wasn't going to suck as bad as he thought he would.

After fifteen minutes he could play them perfectly. He had a little smirk on his face. Still didn't talk much, or maybe I just talked a lot. "You're good at it, actually. You don't suck. I think you have potential." "Thanks." I glanced at the clock. Five past eight. "Oh God, sorry, it's already five past eight and I need to close the store. I'm sorry. Have you decided yet or do you want to come back tomorrow to see more guitars?" He looked at me. "I'll take this one." I smiled. "I can't believe I actually sold something today. I'm not very good at tricking people into buying things. I'm too honest to do that. I always feel bad afterwards and want to hunt them down and tell them what's wrong with it." He looked at me a little worried. "Oh no, don't worry! Nothing's wrong with this one." "Good," he said.

"Alright, that will be $300." He paid with his card. He was about to leave the store when I remembered he would need a guitar case. "Edward! You're going to need a guitar case for protection. Because you bought the guitar here you'll get a fifty percent discount. Should I just get the simplest one, or do you not want it?" "Oh, eh, yeah, it would be smart to buy a case." "I'll be right back!" I went to the storage room and got a guitar case that was $30 and with the discount it would be $15. "I'm sorry, I just remembered when you walked out the door." "That's okay, I'm not in a hurry." I'm glad he was being nice about it. "Alright, this one here is $30, so that will be $15." He paid with his card again. "Thanks, Bella." "You're welcome. Practice on your guitar skills!" "Thanks for teaching me the chords too, and for the case. Well, just everything." He was nice. "Still welcome. I'll see you tomorrow." He turned around. "Tomorrow?" he asked, a little startled. "We have math tomorrow." "Oh. I didn't know. I just looked at my schedule for today. Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then. Good luck with work." And the door shut.

I locked the door and went to the storage room. It was half past eight. I had fun teaching him those chords and he seemed to have fun too. Eventhough he was very quiet. But that's normal, he's new here and I'm the only one he ever really talked to, today. I thought he could be a good guitar player if he actually practiced. He was very into it when I taught him the chords.

After I piled up the boxes with plectrums I glanced at the clock, it was ten past ten, I went home. I had school tomorrow at half past nine, so I went straight to bed. I would shower in the morning. I decided I was going to be nice to Edward, he seemed like a nice guy, he was into music. He moved here with his brother and parents right? I thought so, but didn't know if I was right. I was going to ask him during math tomorrow.

I put my earbuds in and fell asleep to the relaxing tunes of Valentine's Day by Linkin Park.

***

"Goodmorning America! Today is going to be a lovely day, the sun's out in most parts of the country." I turned my clock radio off and thought to myself: Extacly. Almost the entire country. Not in this cloudy village. It was half past seven and I was tired. I was about to get into my clothes, but then I remembered I needed to shower. I got a towel and went into the bathroom. I washed my hair and shaved my legs, just in case the weather would be nice for a change. I brushed my teeth when I got out of the shower and decided to put my red vest on, with a black shirt underneath.

When I walked downstairs it was eight o'clock and I still had to fix my breakfast. I wanted pancakes but there wasn't enough time for that. So I just went with the good old cereal. Never gets old. It was a little before half past eight, I yelled 'bye mom!' and jumped on my bike and cycled to school.

Edward

When I woke up, the first thing I did was look at the right corner of my room. Where this beautiful black guitar hung. So yesterday really did happen, huh. She'd touched my fingers when she taught me the chords. She impressed me with her knowledge about music and guitars. Which made me like her even more and that scared me. I didn't talk much last night. Gah, I didn't need this shit. I got out of bed and took a shower, trying not to think of her. I would see her today. Maybe it would just be strictly about math, no getting to know each other. Secretly, I was a little glad Emmett wanted to go to school with my Volvo today, so I needed to go too. Which reminded me, because of that shit I didn't get to ask Carlisle what the hell his car was doing at that unfamiliar house. I would ask him tonight.

After driving to school with Emmett, we parted ways again. He went to this guy I assumed was Jasper. A tall blond haired guy. I just went to the cafetaria and sat alone, thinking. After four classes I was grumpy as hell and didn't know why I'd agreed to go to school. Even math didn't cheer me up right now. The guy from science kept staring at me, like I was some kind of freak. The girls behind me during history class kept fucking giggling and made me feel like a freak too. Maybe I am a freak.

I strolled to my math class and saw Bella already sitting at our table. "Hey Edward," she whispered. "Hi Bella," I told her. And that's where it stopped. Maybe it was me and my grumpy behaviour, but all the easiness from last night was gone. Or maybe it just was because we were in class. Mrs Lanette told us she had a meeting so she would leave ten minutes early. Which meant, we got to leave 10 minutes early. When mrs Lanette got her stuff, Bella and I still hadn't talked more than just our greetings. Mrs Lanette left the room and everybody started to pack their bags. Except for Bella. I decided to break the silence, since I was the one that talked the least I guess. "You're not going home?" I asked her. She looked at me. She just started asking questions, out of fucking nowhere.

"Are you here with your parents?" I wasn't prepared for that.
"Yeah…"
"Okay, and you have a brother right? He goes to school as well?"
"Yeah…"
"What's his name?"
"Emmett. But he's a jerk."
She smiled. "Most brothers and sisters are."
"So you have a brother or a sister too?"
"Oh no, I don't. I just hear a lot from Rosalie and Alice. They're sisters."
"Who are they?"
"The blonde one that I sit with at lunch is Rosalie and Alice is the person with the short black hair."
They were sisters? I couldn't get my head around that.
"Anyway," she continued, "do you like it here, did you talk to any of the guys? My nephew is one of the so called jocks. I could introduce you to him. "
"No… I guess I'm more of a loner. I don't talk to people that easily."
"You talk to me."
"Because you ask me questions."
"True. Do you mind me asking questions?" I shrugged. "I'll take that as a no. So you moved here from Miami, right?"
"Yeah. Much more sunnier than it is here."
"You don't like the rain?"
"No, actually I do like the rain. But I like the warmth too. And rain doesn't come with warmth."
She nodded, as if she needed to think about that again. The bell rang. I guess the ten minutes were up. We both got up, as if we both knew that was all for today. "Are you going to school tomorrow?" she asked. "I don't know yet, maybe." She looked at me. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow then." Then she rushed off.

Okay. I liked her ever since I saw her in the pouring rain, I'd had a dream about her, I recognized her scent out of a million, I loved that she was into music and I'd answered her questions about me. She was interested in me. I was screwed.