Chapter 2

Everyone's known someone that they just can't help but want.

As I got ready to get off the bus, I noticed all of the other students arriving in their cars. One more month, and then I'll have my license. Just one more month. Then I won't have to ride this stupid bus again. I stood up, and shuffled into line behind the people in front of me, who were, as usual, pushing to get off the bus. As I calmly waited for the other people to file off the bus, I caught sight of Edward out of the window, getting out of his black truck with one of his friends. He swung the door shut and started walking towards the entrance to the school, laughing with his friend over some joke.

"Um, excuse me, but could you please move?" I heard someone ask irritably behind me. Embarrassed, I mumbled something that sounded a little like a 'sorry' and started walking forward. As I got off the bus, I spotted my friend Jessica walking a little bit behind Edward and started walking faster to catch up with her. Just as I had come up beside her, I felt myself trip over something, which made me lose my balance. I tried to catch myself as I felt myself hurtling towards the ground, but that ended up just making me land on my shoulder.

"Oh crap, that hurt," I muttered. I got up and then looked back the way I came to see what had tripped me. As I glowered at the offending tree root, I heard someone laugh behind me. I whipped around to see Jessica giggling at my reaction. Glaring at her now, I did a quick inventory to see what was hurting. My shoulder was pretty well bruised, somehow my toe had started throbbing again, and I had a few scratches on my hands, but other than that I was pretty good.

When Jessica and I started walking again, I looked ahead of us to see Edward looking at us, seeming like he had wanted to come over and help me. Or maybe it was just another fabrication of my wild imagination. Yeah, a figment of you and your currently inflated ego's, whispered a voice in my head. I shook my head, trying to shut that voice up, and continued walking-this time careful watching the ground ahead of me. I was extremely embarrassed, and I knew that my cheeks were probably crimson red right then, but at that moment, all I could think of is that Edward had noticed me, even if it was because I'd tripped in front of the whole school.

Jessica and I went to the cafeteria to kill some time before the bell rang. As we walked inside, my other friends waved us over to their table. We walked over, sat down, and before me or Jessica had a chance to say anything Mike said, "Okay. Trivia question."

Everyone at the table groaned. "Another one?" Angela asked. Mike just ignored her and continued speaking.

"True or false? The tune to the Star Spangled Banner was once a famous drinking song in England." I smiled, because I could hear several people at the table now humming the Star Spangled Banner. I thought through it, and the style of drinking songs back then, and decided that it could've been.

"Ooh, that's a hard one," Eric mused. I kicked Mike, as that was the agreed-upon method to signal that we had an answer. I smirked as I saw him wince.

The rule, which was obviously not invented by Mike, was suggested by Angela, who said that Mike should 'feel some of the torture he puts us through with his constant trivia questions.'

"Ouch!" he shouted, "You don't need to do it that hard!" I just smiled at him. "Alright alright," he muttered, "What's your answer?" I was pretty sure about it.

"It's true."

"Right once again, Bella," he replied grudgingly, "What's your score now?"

I thought about it for a minute. Then I answered confidently. "16."

The reason we kept score was so that whoever had the most points at the end of the year would get a reward from Mike. No one knew what that prize was, but we all liked competition, so we all played. Every morning Mike would bring us a question. I answered them the most, but not by much. Eric was pretty close behind me. I believe he had 14 points.

We all talked about our weekends thereafter until the bell rang. After it stopped its incessant clanging, our group of friends parted ways to go to their respective hallways. We were all on different teams for the most part. Jessica and I were on the same team, but Mike, Angela, and Eric were all on separate teams, so we only saw each other before school and during lunch.

I headed to my first period, which was gym, and dressed out into my sweats and my choir t-shirt. Today was our free day, so me and Melody just grabbed a volleyball and started peppering to pass the time. I played volleyball during the first semester, but when that ended I just switched to gym first period, since I like to exercise in the morning. After gym ended, I walked to my second period, Algebra II, with Melody, since we both had that class.

It was my first fun class of the day-mostly because it was usually the first time I saw Edward every day. I am so pathetic, I thought to myself. Walking in the door, me and Melody split, she to her seat, and me to mine. Fortunately, my seat was right beside Edward's, a fact that only made me love that class more.

Edward walked in the door, and I immediately started reading like I normally did, trying not to look at him. Saying hi to a few friends along the way, he made his way towards his seat, right next to mine. Normal routine. Same thing every day. But today, he did something that surprised me. When he sat down, he turned towards me. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, and tensed, wondering what he was doing.

"Did you get any battle scars from your fight with the ground this morning?" he asked, looking at me. I turned with an incredulous expression on my face. Sensing it, I hurriedly replaced it with a smile.

"A few bruises, nothing impressive."

He smiled. "Then these scratches are just collateral damage?" he asked, while tracing one of them on my hand. I wasn't prepared for the wave of emotion that flowed through me because of that simple touch.

"Just the souvenirs from my stupidity," I answered, trying to control my breathing.

"So you're okay, then?" He actually seemed to care.

"Well, I'm alive and breathing still, so yeah. I'm fine," I answered. He smiled.

"Good."

I went back to my reading, trying to calm down. Did that just happen? Yes. I believe it did. And then I grinned like an imbecile the rest of the class.