A/N: So this might get confusing so lets explain before we start, okay? Part One of Chapter Three is going to have a different title than Part Two. Why? Because we just couldn't decide on a name that would fit accordingly to both parts. We could've just made it a separate chapter, yeah, but...we just don't want to, so we apologize for any confusion this might cause. We're just weird.

Thank you to Lexiebby for your reviews! You asked why Emmett and Jasper never went looking for Edward, and it's simple: You know guys and their video games. All is lost on them. :)

Also, there will be a playlist for this story. It's possible that there will be more than one. So, keep checking back, and enjoy!

We don't own the twilight characters

Chapter 3

Part 1. All in your mind

"Well it's all in your mind
And I wanted to be
I wanted to be
Wanted to be your good friend"

- Beck

I was driving down the road, on my way to pick up Jazz for school. Somehow, it was decided that I would be driving him from now on. On the way there, my mind couldn't stop going right back to Bella and how she reacted with that fuckhead Newton. I concluded that I would definitely have to ask Alice if I wanted to get any answers. I mean they're close, right?

I honked when I got to Jazz's house and waited. Next thing I knew, Jasper was hauling ass to the car, jumping in like he was being chased by a damn Spanish fighting bull.

"Go, dude! GO!" he said, breathing heavily.

I sped off wondering what the fuck he had gotten into so early in the morning. When his house was out of sight, I got my answer. He started laughing so hard I thought he'd piss himself. Between breaths, he explained how he had used Rosalie's favorite shirt to clean up bacon grease. I couldn't help but join him in laughing. Rose looked like a hardcore bitch and I'm sure I'd see that bitch side come out in full force today.

As I walked through the halls with Jasper following closely, I noticed almost every girl we passed had smiled or winked at me. Is that surprising or new to me? Fuck no, but it was a huge difference from the way they acted yesterday. Almost as if they were more...turned on?

I finally decided that I didn't mind either way, I was used to it, when I saw Fuckhead Newton.

I nudged Jazz. "Damn. Look at Newton." I said smugly. I fucked him up! And with only one punch, too. His left eye was black and blue and twice it's normal size, along with his nose which looked even worse. I doubted he could even breathe out of it.

I can't deny it. I was proud. It was pure fucking pleasure to see his face all bruised and swollen, although, I could have done way worse. I have done way worse.

Three years earlier..

"At least my parent's aren't dead." the prick said, clearly trying to piss me off.

"At least mine wanted me!" I didn't know why I was letting him get to me.

He pulled a picture out from his pocket and shoved it in my face, causing it to split in half. "At least I'm not a Momma's Boy." He laughed.

I looked down to see that the picture he had just ripped was mine: a picture of my mother.

The only one I had, and it was ruined.

At that moment, something in me changed. Something dark and volatile took over.

I. Fucking. Snapped.

I tried to clear the memory from my mind as I headed to the bathroom. Jasper went on to his class.

When I got to the bathroom, it was empty. I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself. The dark bags under my eyes, the only evidence of the little sleep I had gotten last night. That only reminded me of Bella and her room, and that ugly stuffed alien dog. I looked up again to see my face, and I was...smiling.

I quickly splashed some cold water on my face, washed my hands, then started towards my first class of the day.

Before I even made it to the classroom, I had slammed into something...A wall?

"What the fuck, Ed? Walk much?" Emmett asked with a hint of humor in his voice.

I awkwardly laughed. "What's up?"

"I.." he started while rubbing the back of his neck and looking at me oddly. I just quirked an eyebrow. What the hell? Is he nervous?

"I just wanted to come by and say thanks for looking out for my cousin when I wasn't there yesterday." he finished, smiling as if proud of himself for getting the sentence out.

A little caught off guard, I just smiled back and nodded. "Sure, man. No biggie."

He nodded, turned around, and went on his merry way.

BPOV

I was in the shower, standing under the spray. The water was dripping down my face as I rinsed the apple scented shampoo from my hair. I thought back to last night for the millionth time since I had woken up this morning. I still couldn't believe Edward had pretty much saved me. At the very least: he saved me from the trauma of having Mike Newton touching me any longer than he did. I felt as if my skin was crawling at the thought.

When Alice had driven me home yesterday, she had stayed with me until Emmett got there. She told him what happened with Newton and how Edward came to my rescue. He told me he would never leave school early again, after apologizing profusely. I had assured him I was fine, and to stop being silly.

I rubbed my lotion on every inch of my body. It smelled like vanilla and I loved how smooth it made my skin feel. After, I threw on a semi-tight light blue v-neck, a pair of tattered skinny jeans, and my converse sneakers.

I walked back to my room, gathering up the courage to wake an adorable sleeping Edward. What I expected to see was not, in fact, an adorable sleeping Edward.

Just an empty bed.

I sighed in realization. Of course he didn't stay. Why would he?

When I was fully dressed, I walked downstairs to the living room to wait for Alice. She was driving me today and then we were going to go to her house after school to get ready for Rose's party.

I sighed. I had almost forgotten. Tonight, I'm Bella Barbie.

I figured Alice was already outside so I grabbed my iPod and my bag, and went out to Alice and her shiny yellow Porsche.

Fucking yellow.

Alice was leaned up against the passenger door. She smiled brightly when she saw me. I looked at her, and giggled. She was wearing an outfit that only Alice could pull off: a tight pink tee that said something about shoes and Ken, a pink tutu that was shades lighter than the shirt, and pink peep-toe pumps with bows. So Alice.

I was relieved when first period was over. That relief was short lived though, when I remembered that Newton was in my second period. I made my way there, preparing myself for anything. I'll admit it...I was a bit nervous.

I walked in, surveying the classroom. He was already seated, looking down at his lap. Wow. Edward really must have packed some punch. He looked up as I walked to my seat, only to quickly look away. Seeing Newton act like this replaced my nerves with pure anger. How dare he have the nerve to look apologetic?

Well guess what, Mike fucking Newton? Fuck. You.

I let out a deep calming breath and sat down in my chair. Newton didn't look at me for the rest of the period. For that, I was happy.

When the bell rang I went straight to my locker, put my books away, and grabbed my iPod. When I walked into the lunch room, Rose and Em were already at our table. I got my lunch, sat down, and began eating my turkey sandwich after I put my ear buds in. A song started and I was instantly sucked in by the opening guitar chords of "Everybody Loves A Loser" by Morcheeba. I had to fight the impulse to start singing along. So many people were around. I just had to settle for mouthing the lyrics.

Alice and Jazz joined us and five minutes later, Edward arrived as well. I'd never admit to being happy that he was finally there, but I really was. I hadn't seen him since I left him in my bed this morning.

Oh god.

That's when I remembered that he had disappeared when I was in the shower. My mood plummeted. My breathing felt forced and my heart felt heavy.

He regretted ever being there, didn't he? He couldn't even face me.

At that last thought, I got mad.

No, not mad. Fucking pissed. I didn't make my anger apparent, I just visualized confronting him about it, calling him every name in the book.

I took out one of my ear buds so I could hear the conversations going on around me, then decided to take a risk and look up, across the table, where Edward sat. He was looking towards the door so I glanced in that direction only to see...Ugh.

Three girls were walking in and heading straight to our table. Lauren Mallory was on the right, dressed in her usual skanky attire, white top and mini skirt. Stuck-up Stanley was only moderately skanky today in literally skin tight jeans, and a purple top that I'm sure was to enhance the cleavage she was showing off. Victoria Sinclair was front and center. She was donning black leather pants, killer pumps, and a blood red halter top that stated "FANGS ARE FANTASTIC." I had to admit though, she was gorgeous. She was almost prettier than Rose, which is no small feat. On a positive note, it's nice to see that the Sluts' Dress Code of Conduct wasn't deterred by Forks weather.

I took the other headphone out so I could fully hear. When they finally reached the table, Victoria flipped her hair behind her shoulder and smiled at Edward. It only fueled my anger, and something else I couldn't quite place, when he smiled back.

"Ladies." he said with a crooked grin that could make any girl melt.

"You're Eddy, right?" She asked. Eddy?

Bitch.

"I'm Victoria. This is Lauren, and this is Jessica." she said, pointing them out. Personally, I think Skank 1 and Skank 2 would've sufficed.

Edward quirked an eyebrow then curiously asked "And what can I do for you?"

Victoria sat on the edge of the table with her back to me, facing Edward. Alice, Rose, and I all gave each other the same look and rolled our eyes.

"We were just wondering..." she paused.

"...if the rumors were true. You know, about you saving Emo Girl over there from big bad Mike." she waved in my direction, then in Newton's.

That slut had the nerve to talk about me when I was sitting right here, at my table?

Rose and Alice both gave me the same look. The "You better say something or I will" one. I didn't respond so of course Rose decided to take it upon herself and set Victoria straight.

"Her name is Bella." Rose snarled. The hyenas laughed and Victoria turned to face her.

"I don't give a shit what her name is, Blondie." she replied in a vicious tone. I could practically see smoke coming out of Rosalie's ears.

Enough was enough. I did something that no one has ever seen me nor thought I could do.

I stood up, walked around the table to where I was standing in between Rose and Victoria. I told Rose I've got this with a look. She sat down, her hands balled into tight fists, just waiting for an opportunity to strike the bitch.

Victoria stepped closer to me and the whole cafeteria quieted. It's like teenagers had some sixth sense: They just know when they're about to see some drama unfold right before them. They sat in dead silence, waiting hungrily for something gossip-worthy to happen.

"Do you have something to say, Emo Girl?" Victoria taunted with a snarl. No doubt, the whole room was hanging on every single word.

I put a finger up. "First? My name is Bella, not Emo Girl, not bitch. Bel-la." I lifted a second finger.

"Second? Blondie over there could kick your ass with her eyes closed so if I were you, I'd shut the fuck up."

"And, third! All the guys at this table have higher standards and don't care for STDs. You can stop wasting your breath." I smiled. "So why don't you and your minions save yourselves from any more humiliation, turn the fuck around, and walk away."

I heard some of the students gasp and a couple of the others snicker. I sat back down in my seat and crossed my arms across my chest. Victoria stood there for another minute in shock before glaring at me as the cafeteria slowly began to recover from the impromptu verbal bitch slap.

"You just made a huge mistake." She stated before turning around and walking away.

EPOV

Everyone was already at the lunch table when I took my seat. Rose and Alice were going on about some party Rose was having tonight, Jazz and Emmett were nodding when they heard "party", and Bella was listening to her iPod, sipping on a bottle of Vanilla Coke. She was biting that damn lip again.

I glanced up towards the door and noticed three fucking sexy girls walking towards our table, staring right at me. I guessed that these were the "IT girls". I continued to stare at them as they made their way to the table, wondering what they wanted. The redhead in the middle smiled at me seductively while flipping her hair back. I smiled back. What can I say? I'm a guy with a weakness for hot girls. "Ladies." The crooked smirk got them every single time.

"You're Eddy, right?" she practically purred my name. The whole Eddy thing kind of rubbed me the wrong way, but she could call me Dickhead and I'd probably still answer.

"I'm Victoria. This is Lauren, and this is Jessica." I quirked an eyebrow, still wondering what they wanted from me. It wasn't hard to guess by the way the blonde—Lauren was pretty much eye-fucking me, and the way the brunette—Jessica was sticking her chest out as if to offer them up on a silver platter.

"And what can I do for you?" or to you? Whatever the case may be.

The redhead, Victoria, sat facing me on the edge of the table. I glanced at Bella briefly. She looked straight pissed.

"We were just wondering..." she trailed off.

"...if the rumors were true. You know, about you saving Emo Girl over there from big bad Mike." She smirked.

I guess Rose wasn't the only one who had a problem with Bella. I could tell by Bella's reaction that the feeling was entirely mutual. Must be a girl thing.

As I was about to reply, Rose stood and leaned against the table slowly. There was the bitch side I was waiting for. I could tell she was using every bit of strength not to leap over the table and rip Victoria's head off.

Geez, what ever happened to sisterhood and all that? These girls are downright hostile with one another.

"Her name is Bella." Well I guess the whole "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" saying has some truth to it.

Victoria snorted as if she was amused that Rose, of all people, was defending Bella. Lauren and Jessica laughed as well.

"I could give a shit what her name is, Blondie." Rose was fucking fuming. I looked over at Bella, she had this look on her face. Determination? She stood and walked around to where Rose and Victoria were glaring at each other. Rose finally sat down, growling, after receiving a pointed look from Bella.

Bella then turned to Victoria, who in turn, stepped closer. If I wasn't just as eager to hear what Bella had to say, I would've snorted at how everyone else in the room completely hushed.

"Do you have something to say, Emo Girl?" the redhead inquired.

Bella held a finger up in front of Victoria's face. "First? My name is Bella, not Emo Girl, not bitch. Bel-la."

She held up another. "Second? Blondie over there could kick your ass with her eyes closed so if I were you, I'd shut the fuck up."

Why did I find this hot?

"And, third? All the guys at this table have higher standards and don't care for STDs. You can stop wasting your breath." she grinned. "So why don't you and your minions save yourselves from any more humiliation, turn the fuck around, and walk away."

Really fucking hot. I didn't know she had it in her. Fiery Bella was definitely a turn on.

Apparently everyone else was just as shocked. I could hear gasps from all over the room, and some snickers too, myself included.

Bella sat back down and crossed her arms with a satisfied smirk on her face. The three girls just stood there before Victoria recovered and glared at Bella. "You just made a huge mistake." she said as they turned around to leave.

Well...glad that's over.

The bell rang and we left to our own classes. Bella was back to being my mute lab partner who blushed every time she caught me staring. It was so fucking cute, but I wasn't fooled. What happened in the lunch room was evidence that she wasn't all docile and shy. This kitten had some sharp claws.

I also noticed that she looked severely irritated throughout class, but I just chalked it up to the whole Victoria situation at lunch.

In the parking lot after school, I had found Alice leaning against my Volvo. "Edward." she said simply.

"Hey, why aren't you with Bella? Don't you drive her home?" I questioned.

"You have something to ask me, don't you?"

I opened my mouth to tell her that I already had but she cut me off before I could answer. "No, Edward, not about that." She rolled her eyes.

I just looked at her, confused as all hell. Then something clicked. I was planning on talking to Alice about Bella and why she freaked out. I was quiet for a moment and she waited patiently. The smile she wore never left her face.

"Alice?"

"Yes, Edward?" she replied in a sing-song voice.

"What happened to Bella?" I asked in a serious tone, and Alice picked up on it right away. She knew exactly what I meant.

"All I know is what Emmett told us all. Bella went through a...traumatic experience. No one knows the details, not even Emmett."

I couldn't stop the memory that flooded my brain.

Ten years earlier..

I was scared.

I was still seeing stars from the first punch, and that was half an hour ago.

He walked into my room and I hid under the covers, knowing it wouldn't protect me, but doing it anyway.

"Hey Boy, look what I've got for you." he said in a normal tone, as if nothing had happened.

I slowly peeked out from under my blanket. He had a giant bowl of rocky road ice cream: my favorite.

That must have meant he was sorry. That it was a one time thing.

It wasn't.

Next up: the party!
This story is only just beginning.