The Transfer

A/N: Why can't Edward play nicely with others? We'll get there.

Chapter 3: Shaking Things Up

EPOV

I finally got to the dining hall after showering, apologizing to Bella and thanking her for taking it upon herself to get my car unlocked. I was wondering if Emmett and Rosalie were already finished eating, but they were still in our usual place near the wall. As I walked across the room I spotted the small, brown haired girl sitting at a table with Jessica Stanley. Of course Jessica was watching my every move as I crossed the floor. What else is new? She probably would fill Bella's head with lots of inane information about me, Emmett, Rose and anybody and everybody else she could think of. Her mind wasn't very original, but she was certainly willing to share her every gossipy thought. I thought she was an airhead. Maybe Bella was too if she was going to be hanging out with her much.

I grabbed two slices of pizza and a Coke. The dining hall pizza would be hard to choke down, but at least it would be fast. If someone dared me to eat dirt I could eat that too. I just wanted to eat and get out of there when Emmett and Rose left. I refused to stay behind unattended. There were always problems no matter how aloof I tried to appear. Some girls just didn't get the message. Jessica had been a prime example. Three times. You couldn't say she wasn't persistent. Or maybe she just couldn't take the hint.

As I sat down, I glanced over at the table where the two girls sat. Bella was looking at me. She blushed and she looked away, probably because I had caught her looking. It was a normal human reaction. It had seemed like she was just looking at me curiously; she wasn't staring with any real interest.

Good. Keep it that way.

Emmett noticed me watching her and he started in immediately. Fucker.

"Rosie, take a look at the girl sitting with Stanley over there. I think she just might be Edward's destiny. He spent some quality time with her today, and quantity time, I might add."

Thanks, Em.

Rose peered across the room and then smirked as her eyes slid back over to me, all the while chewing a French fry. "And here I thought Edward's destiny would be a romantic involvement with an inflatable doll. I'm impressed, Edward, she's human; flesh and blood."

I rolled my eyes at the both of them. "Why do I bring this on myself by eating with you two?"

"You're the one that can't play nicely with others," Emmett replied sternly, though I knew he was only joking. "You should cut yourself some slack, Edward. Have some fun for a change."

I was just starting to think about excusing myself so I didn't have to hear it one more time. But then his face lit up as he looked toward the door. "Here comes Fratman and Robin."

I glanced toward the door and sure enough, in walked the Dynamic Duo. Tyler Crowley wasn't so bad, but Mike Newton was another story. They both lived in my suite and Mike let me know on numerous occasions that he could set me up with some sorority girls that he knew, and when he said "knew," he meant "knew. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge." No, really. Those were his exact words. Verbatim. Including the 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge.'

I shit you not.

The guy is a total douche. And for some reason, he thinks I'm his pet project.

Newton and Crowley walked over to the table where Jessica sat with Bella and I could see that Jessica was introducing everyone. Then the Dynamic Duo left to go get some food, but it appeared they were going to return and sit together with Jessica and Bella.

That was when Emmett leaned forward with a gleam in his eye and said to me, "I'll let you change your ringtone back tonight if you say something to Bella on our way out. I'd be kind of entertaining to see the expressions on the others' faces."

I smirked at the thought.

I could be rid of that ridiculous ringtone tonight?

It actually had the potential to be rather funny, too.

"Deal," I told him. I didn't have to think about it for more than a nanosecond. I could say a simple "hi," or some such thing, and be done with that asinine ringtone. No one could read anything into a simple greeting or goodbye. Except for those morons probably. That's okay, it would be kind of fun to screw with their little minds.

As Mike and Tyler sat down at the girls' table with their dinner trays, we got up and walked out. But as we walked by their table I managed to speak up.

"Take it easy, Bella."

I even gave her a little wave as I looked back over my shoulder at her as I passed. They all looked up and their mouths dropped open in surprise. Except for Bella, she just looked up and smiled briefly in reply. She didn't know I'd done anything out of the ordinary. Jessica's expression, however, was priceless. I felt a twinge of guilt, though, as I sauntered out, chuckling to myself, because I knew Jessica would now bombard Bella with questions. I wasn't so sure Bella deserved that, but I couldn't help it now.

BPOV

"So, you must know Edward?" Jessica asked, sounding a little irritated.

"Well, I met him earlier today, when I was moving in." I confessed, feeling a bit uncomfortable, since I hadn't mentioned anything earlier when she was passing along the dorm gossip, and now she seemed peeved or slightly betrayed or jealous?

"You met him here in the dorm?"

"No, on the hill near the parking lot."

"He just walked up and introduced himself to you?"

Why was she so interested? "Um, no, he introduced himself much later in the day; when he came upstairs to my room."

"What! He came to your room just to introduce himself to you? I can't really follow you, Bella." She stared at me, confusion and …definitely jealousy... written on her face. I wondered why. Tyler and Mike were staring too. They all looked really confused... and surprised...and way too interested.

What the heck is this? Why all the curiosity?

I took a deep breath. "Well, I had some difficulties with the cart I was using and he helped me, and then he wanted the cart I had, and then we mixed up each other's phones, and I locked his keys in his car and then I got a tow truck to come and get his keys out, then he thanked me and apologized and now we have a truce."

Jessica, Mike and Tyler all sat there with their mouths agape, staring at me. They appeared to be completely baffled. After a few moments, they turned to look at one another, exchanging shocked looks and then stared back at me again.

"Wait, go through that again, but this time, don't give us the Cliff's Notes version," Jessica said, as the guys nodded in agreement. "We need more details."

Yeah, she definitely loved her some gossip.

I sighed. Really, this wasn't that interesting.

"When I moved in today, I took a cart that I think Edward had planned on using. As I moved the cart up the hill from the lot, it got away from me and rolled back down the hill. Fast. It almost hit Edward, but he stopped it. Everything fell out as the cart tipped over and dragged him down with it. He got kind of banged up in the process, too. Then he helped me pick it all up.

"He was angry because I had the cart he was planning on using, only I hadn't realized that. Afterwards, he picked my phone up by mistake and I took his, thinking it was mine. So I called him to meet me and exchange phones. Then later, while I was getting stuff from my truck, I backed up into his car door, which had been opened, and his door shut. It was locked and his keys and wallet were both inside.

"He was really angry at that point, so he took off with his stuff and went for a run. He was really upset. I felt bad because I'd taken his cart, nearly run him over with it, injured him in the process, and despite all that and how angry he was, he helped pick up all my things when the cart tipped over.

"So I went to find a local tow truck that could come unlock his door, but they wouldn't release his key to me. I had to find him. When I finally did, he ran off without a word. So later on, right before dinner, he came up to my room to thank me and apologize. That's about it."

They all looked at each other and then burst out laughing simultaneously.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh my God," Jessica giggled. "He must have been so pissed off. I mean, that's an awful lot of aggravating circumstances for anybody to have to suffer through in one day…"

"Yeah, but then for it to have been Edward, makes it that much more unbelievable and irritating," Tyler finished her thought, as she nodded, giggling.

"His panties must have really been in a bunch," Mike laughed.

"Well, of course he was upset." I failed to see what they were getting at and why this was so interesting.

"It's just that Edward is pretty cold and aloof, especially with girls, like he's too good for everybody" Jessica explained. "Like I told you before, he really sort of keeps to himself. It doesn't seem like he has much of a sense of humor, although sometimes you'll see him loosen up around his brother, Emmett, and Emmett's girlfriend, Rosalie or with Alice and Jasper."

"Who are Alice and Jasper?"

"Alice is his twin sister and Jasper is her boyfriend."

"Do they go to school here too?"

"Yep, they live in our dorm, too. Alice lives upstairs in our suite and Jasper is Edward's roommate."

"And Jasper is Rosalie's brother," Mike added, "and Rosalie is Emmett's girlfriend, and Emmett is Edward's brother."

"Oh. That's a pretty tangled web."

"Yeah, kind of weird, huh?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah," I agreed. "So Rosalie and Jasper don't have another sibling for Edward to date, I guess?"

Tyler laughed, looking at Mike. "Maybe that's his problem?"

Mike raised his eyebrows, nodding slowly, like he was contemplating the idea. "Never thought of it that way. Something to ponder."

"I don't get it," I confessed.

Tyler explained, "We think Edward must be asexual. He doesn't seem to be interested in girls or guys. And it's not that girls haven't tried," he said, glancing at Jessica, who looked away, crossing her arms over her chest and blushing a little.

"Yeah," Mike continued the thread of conversation, "girls are always throwing themselves at him. No offense, Jessica," he quickly said as she blushed furiously. "I mean, take one look at the guy, he's perfect: tall and lean, good-looking with chiseled features, you can't tell with his shirt on, but he's really well-built with chiseled abs. The guy's a freakin' Adonis. But the thing is, the girls throw themselves at him constantly, but he refuses to play catch. We've never seen him with a girlfriend. He doesn't date anyone. He won't even do one night stands when the opportunity presents itself and it presents itself often." He glanced again at Jessica. "In fact, you rarely see him at parties or dances; he sort of avoids that general atmosphere and I think it's to avoid the ladies."

"Maybe he has never met the right girl," I said, shrugging.

Why were they so concerned with Edward's personal life? Hellooo…that's why it's called your personal life.

Mike leaned in, continuing. "If he always keeps to himself, he never will meet the right girl. I keep trying to set him up with some of the sorority girls I know, but he's not interested. At this point, it's kind of become a challenge for us."

"Maybe he'd rather just concentrate on school."

"Yeah, but it's not normal. He's not normal. You should live a little," Tyler said. "Actually, it sounds like Edward lived through quite a lot today with the hell you put him through, Bella."

They all laughed.

I just shook my head, somewhat baffled by the three of them.

It was time to go, the dining hall was closing and I still had a phone call to make. I was tired and so ready to just lie in bed reading. It had been a long day and I didn't really feel like talking, I was ready to wind down. But I'd promised Jake I'd call today.

We all stood up and headed back to the dorm.

I decided to take a shower first, just to relax a little. The hot water was soothing after a crazy first day. As I washed off the day, I thought about what they had told me about Edward. I was curious about him. If he was aloof and reticent to have anything to do with a girl, or other people in general, it had probably been a far worse day for him than I had originally thought.

But he wasn't incapable of interaction. He had seemed perfectly normal when he'd spoken to me this evening, after he'd gotten over the small atrocities of the day. He'd been a little fidgety, maybe, but nothing seemed really unusual. Oh well, it was over now.

I thought about the things I'd been told about him. Maybe the guy was just a loner and preferred solitude. I mean, I was a little on the quiet side; were people talking about me behind my back? Who were they to judge him? Didn't they have better things to do?

Why was I even spending my time thinking about it? I didn't even know him. But he didn't seem strange or anything.

I rinsed my hair and stood there under the spray just a little longer. Finally done, I toweled off, pulled on some raggedy old sweats, and wrapped my towel around my hair.

Time to call Jake.

EPOV

Yes, the look on their faces had been priceless.

"Did you see that?" Emmett asked.

I laughed. "All three of them had the identical shocked expression on their faces."

"No, not quite," Rose disagreed. "Jessica's expression of shock had a little more jealousy mixed in with the shock. Definitely entertaining, Edward."

"Yeah, good times, Edward," Emmett observed.

"The best part is, this ringtone goes away," I said as I pulled my phone out and changed it as we walked.

"I'm hurt that you didn't appreciate it more, Edward. I was just trying to be a helpful older brother, looking after my younger baby brother. I thought that ringtone might call out to the right girl."

"Yeah, if there was a girl out there that was looking for an idiot who wanted to announce that he was having wild, fiery sex on a regular basis."

"But I'm not looking anymore, I've already got Emmett," Rose snickered and smiled at him. "And I don't mind if he announces." She squeezed his cheeks and kissed him.

"Oh, Rosie, is that any way to be?" Emmett complained, but then his face slowly brightened. "You think we should change my ringtone, Rose?

"Oh be quiet, I'm just joking." She smacked his shoulder and then snuggled into his arm as he wrapped it around her.

"Okay, this is my cue," I said before they could get too carried away. "I'll see you both tomorrow. I've still got to put some stuff away. Everything is still in a big pile. Goodnight." I took off for my hallway as Emmett and Rose headed in the direction of her dorm right next door.

"Nighty night, Baby Bro."

I got to my room and after rearranging the furniture a little, began putting things away. Clothes, shoes, caps and beanies in the closet and drawers, desk crap in and on top of the desk, books on the bookshelf. I set up my TV and my sound system. Good electronics were important to me. I was, after all, a guy. I put the rest of my toiletries in the bathroom and picked up my dirty running clothes from earlier and threw them in the hamper. I finally made my bed and stowed duffel bags and boxes underneath it.

My room looked pretty neat. It would stay that way until Jasper got here. I was the neat freak; him, not so much.

After my room was organized for another fine year at UDub, I decided to unwind and play the guitar a little. My guitar was the first thing I had brought into the dorm today, when I'd come up and first picked up my key from Emmett. It was an extension of me. Music would always be important to me. It was a way to deal with the world and the sometimes awful situations life hurled at you. For now I wanted to play calm, quiet stuff just to unwind after a long and trying day.

BPOV

I dialed Jake's number and waited for him to pick up.

"Hey, Bella. I was beginning to wonder if you'd forgotten about me already."

I winced. He said it with a laugh, but I knew it was close to the truth. He hadn't wanted me to leave Forks for Seattle, and he wasn't going to let me forget it anytime soon. I knew that our forced separation would be much harder on him than it was on me. I was ready to spread my wings and fly, he wanted to keep me in a gilded cage. And since we were talking about extremely rainy Forks, it would have been an extremely weather beaten and rusted gilded cage.

"Hi, Jake," I said with a smile in my voice. I really didn't want to get into an argument right now. "Of course I haven't forgotten about you, silly. I just saw you last night. We were together almost every day this past week."

"I know, but I've been waiting for you to call. Didn't you get there earlier today? Why didn't you call sooner?"

"Oh, I had a lot of stuff to move in and organize. It took me several trips from the parking lot and it's kind of a far trek up a hill to get to where my dorm is. It's been a long day and I just finally had dinner and felt settled in."

"So have you met anyone there yet?" he asked.

"Yeah, there's a girl named Jessica whose room is right near mine. She's pretty nice, a little gossipy, maybe, but I went to dinner with her and she introduced me to a few other people."

"Were these other people girls or guys?"

Oh for goodness sake!

"Jake, I've been here for one day. I promise I'm not seriously involved with anyone else. I sat and had dinner with Jessica, and two guys that she knows from our dorm came and joined us at our table so she introduced me to them. She's lived here the past two years, so she'd been kind of helpful."

And gossipy.

"So it was like a double date?" he asked playfully.

"Jacob, I hope you're joking."

He laughed it off, but then his voice turned serious. "I just don't know why you had to go away to school. You could have gotten a decent job and just started working around Forks. We could be happy together here."

"Jake, I don't want to stay in Forks. We've been over this before. I mean, maybe I'll wind up there in the end, but I want to get my English degree. I want to get a teaching credential. I can't do that from Forks."

"I know, I just feel like you're pulling away from me."

"Jake, you're kind of pushing me away at the moment, being so needy."

"You're just so important to me."

"But Jake, it seems like I'm the only important thing to you. You're only nineteen. You need to have other interests and goals and, and… well, I just want to get an education and get a good job and have things in life that I don't think Forks will give me. I've at least got to find that out for myself."

"When do you think you'll come back home for a visit?"

"I'm not sure yet. This kind of is my home for now, you know? I'm sure I'll be busy with homework and studying and I want to do the whole college thing, now that I'm at a four-year school."

"That's what worries me, Bella. The college thing: the parties, the dorm life, the wild nights with wild people."

"Jacob, you know I'm not much of a partier. I'm here to continue my education I'm not here for a two-year long beer buzz or to star in a College Transfers Gone Wild video."

He chuckled at that.

"I'd be forced to buy up every copy if you did."

"Thanks," I giggled.

"Well, Bells, maybe I can come visit you soon. You know, get a look around, see where you live so I can imagine things better."

"That would be nice, but not just yet, let me get started and settled in. I just got here, you know; I need to figure things out here and learn my way around."

"It just feels like you're so far away, physically and emotionally."

Please don't make me feel guilty. I'm too tired for this conversation right now.

"Well, I'm a phone call or a text or an email away. I know it seems like I'm far away, but it's really just a couple of hours."

"Three and a half or four hours away, depending upon traffic," he clarified.

I rolled my eyes.

"Jake, I'm really tired, I've got to get some sleep. It's been a really long day." I yawned involuntarily as I said that last bit.

He was quiet for a moment then he sighed. "Okay, Bells. Well, take it easy. Take care of yourself. I'll talk to you soon. Miss you, baby."

"Mmm...Me too. Okay, Jake. Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams, Bella."

It was pretty much the conversation I had thought it would be. It seemed lately that he kept trying to get to me. We'd always been such good friends, but once I'd started community college two years ago, he'd gotten a little insecure. I didn't understand it. He was a year younger than me, and it had never been a problem, but recently I felt the difference. I don't know if he was acting immature or if I'd suddenly gotten more mature. He could go to school if he wanted. He could grow up and do something more with his life.

Now I was all wound up and feeling a little grumpy.

I needed a diversion.

I picked up Wuthering Heights from my bookshelf. One of my favorites. Before I laid myself down I went to close the window. But just as I was about to slide it shut I heard faint music. It was a guitar. Someone was playing classical guitar. It was soothing, quiet, and a little bit melancholy. Whoever was playing really played beautifully. I left the window open and pulled myself up to sit on top of my desk, so I could hear it better, right next to the window. It was still and quiet outside, except for the clear, bittersweet melody that drifted into my window.

I set down my book. I decided not to think about my current dilemma with Jacob.

I just closed my eyes and let myself feel that guitar music.

EPOV

I sat on the edge of my bed, curled around my guitar with the window wide open. As I picked out melodies and played, my thoughts drifted back to the beginning of my senior year of high school. I'd been eighteen at the time. It'd been a happier time of my life, at least at the outset of the school year, well, starting halfway through my junior year. I'd felt kind of complete. I'd been in love. And then that all fell apart and suddenly disappeared one month later. And I'd taken on the burden of blaming myself for being unable to save someone else from their own darkness. And I'd blamed myself ever since.

I took a deep breath and forced my mind to leave that train of thought. I didn't want to go there. Suddenly I found myself thinking of my arrival here today and the series of events that had involved a small, brown-haired, dark-chocolate-brown-eyed girl. We'd had several yelling matches during the day, but for as small as she was, she'd never backed down. She gave as good as she got. In the end she'd won the battle and I'd capitulated, apologizing, because she'd done something unexpectedly kind. It had been a smooth move on her part. And I'd realized later what an absolute dick I'd been to her. I suddenly felt a small smile playing on my lips and I found myself feeling surprised by it.

BPOV

The music stopped and I slid the window shut. It had gotten cold in the room and I gladly climbed under my blankets after turning off the lights. I snuggled down trying to warm the space as quickly as possible. My mind drifted as I lay there. I thought about the phone call with Jake, the few people I'd met today, moving in and my hectic arrival. The last thing that came to mind, as I was drifting off, was a pair of green-blue eyes, Edward's eyes, the exact color of which I don't recall ever having seen before. They were mesmerizing eyes.

A/N: Tell me your thoughts on Mystery Man Cullen. Or whatever your little heart desires.