*A/N: Hi! I'm The BlakRoz. I know a lot of you still like the story the way it is, but I will be changing a few things. But the vast majority of the story will remain the same. Enjoy!
Phone Calls
Biology was fine.
Gym, on the other hand would have been brutal if not for Edward being right beside me the whole time to catch me when I tripped and deflect any stray volleyballs. Once, he even managed to do both at once. I was extremely relieved when the class was over, though, hurrying to get changed so I could get to my bike before it was too late. Edward and Alice caught up to me just outside the change rooms, though, and walked with me to their car and my motorcycle. I was braiding my hair as I walked, only half-listening to Alice chatter on about Saturday. I wonder if I could get out of it…
I jumped as my phone rang, and pulled it out of my jeans pocket to answer.
"Hello?"
"Bella! Girl, why haven't you called?" Seth screeched in my ear, making me hold my phone away and wince. "How are you? Did you get to Forks alright? And why haven't you emailed me yet?"
"Seth, calm down!" I ordered, rolling my eyes a little. "I'm fine, I'm in Forks, and I haven't emailed yet because I need to get a decent internet connection. And I was going to call you tonight," I added as I reached my motorcycle. I heard Paul laughing and smiled. "Seth Clearwater, do you have me on speaker?"
"Uh…n-no?" I laughed as Seth stuttered, trying to answer without sounding suspicious.
"Yes he does!" Leah called, and I laughed again.
"Hey Leah! Paul, is there anyone else there?" I asked, to be greeted by a whole crowd of laughter and protests from Seth. "I'll take that as a yes."
"Embry, Jared, stop making out and come and say hi to Bella!" Seth yelled, sounding a bit muffled, and I grinned widely, practically forgetting that Edward and Alice were there, along with the other three.
"That's alright, I'll let them go back to it. Get a room though, guys," I added, and then heard more laughter. "So apart from them, who else is there? Or do you want me to make it a video call?" I jested. I laughed again as I was answered with a whole lot of yeses, and pulled my phone away from my ear to change the call to video call, smiling as the whole lot of my friends appeared on the screen.
Apart from Embry, Jared, Paul, Seth and Leah, there were Sam, Brady, Quil, Collin and Claire, all waving at me happily.
"Hey guys! How are you all?" I asked excitedly, so happy to see them. They all chorused 'fine' and then started bombarding me with questions. "Whoa, whoa! Slow down, slow down!" They all shut up, and I grinned at Seth's rumpled appearance. "Now, one at a time, one at a time. And no personal questions," I added, stressing that I was in a public place by slightly accentuating the word 'personal'.
"How was your first day in Gloomsville?" Leah asked, making me smile.
"It's not so gloomy just because it's rainy, Leah. And my first day was on Saturday. It was fine," I promised when she scowled at me. She smiled instead, then all their mouths went slack as they stared past me. "Uh, guys…?" I tried, but Leah and Claire randomly ran around slapping all the boys to get them to close their mouths and I burst out laughing. Then Leah's face was filling the screen.
"Call us back later, chickie-babe. You've got a lot of questions to answer," she threatened, and hung up on me. I stared at my phone, then laughed and shook my head.
"Weirdos."
I turned back around, realising someone was behind me, and flushed when I saw that all my new friends were hovering behind me.
"So that's why the boys were acting so strange," I muttered, shaking my head. "I'm doomed. They're never going to let it rest."
"What do you mean?" Emmett asked, making me laugh.
"All my friends are either gay or bisexual, and I have to say that the lot of you all standing behind me were probably a bit much for their hormones to take," I teased lightly. "That's why the boys looked so gobsmacked." Jasper and Edward started to laugh quietly, and Alice giggled. Rosalie looked amused as she shook her head, and Emmett just gaped.
"Oh, hell no," he muttered, and I laughed too.
"Don't worry, they're all paired up anyway, at the moment. Seth and Paul, Jared and Embry, Quil and Claire, Sam and Leah, Collin and Brady. Leah and Claire dated for a while, like Quil and Brady, but they've worked it all out now." I glanced at my phone for the time, and realised it was getting close to five. "I have to go – my mom's most likely going to call at about five, and it might not be pleasant. See you tomorrow," I smiled, stowing my bag in my seat and pulling my helmet onto my head as I sat astride my bike.
"Bye," Rosalie and Alice said together, smiling at me. Emmett and Jasper just smiled, while Edward leant down to my level.
"Goodbye, Bella," he breathed, and I blinked in surprise at the sweet scent of the breath that wafted into my face.
"Bye," I managed, before pulling down my visor to hide my blush as I started the bike and tore out of the school parking lot.
I got home and went straight upstairs, thinking hard about what I could do while waiting for Renée to call – if she called. A line ran through my head, and I grabbed my notebook to start writing.
Half an hour later I was done, and went to my keyboard to start composing. I had a melody in my head – all I had to do was play it and figure out the other chords.
"Why do I have to hide
Away my real face
Why do I tell the lies
Hide away in this place
I can't be the real me
I can't show the truth
No one believes I'm really me
What do I need for proof?
So I'm forgetting all about her
That girl, she is not me
I'm the real one, the real daughter
And I'll say it loud and free
I'm not who you thought I was
I am not just Grace Fuller
You won't believe the real me coz
It's just plain Isabella
I'm not who you thought I was
I am so much more so see
That I'm not just a celebrity coz
I'm slowly, surely, becoming me
'Why now?' I hear you ask
'Why suddenly the changes?
Why not stay the same as past?'
I'll tell you what the reason is
It's all thanks to one person
That I'm finally happy
I just want to thank that one
For helping set me free
I'm forgetting all about her
That girl, she is not me
I'm the real one, the real daughter
Now that I'm set free
I'm not who you thought I was
I am not just Grace Fuller
You won't believe the real me coz
I'm just plain Isabella
I'm not who you thought I was
I'm not that but much more so see
That I'm just a normal girl coz
I'm slowly,
Surely,
Becoming me…"
I smiled as I finished off the song, happy with what I'd done. Now I only had to write one more song for my new album. I quickly wrote out the music and put the symbol at the bottom that marked it as complete and mine.
It was past 8pm before Renée called, just after I finished rewriting, editing and playing the song I had done for Jacob, 'Lost and Alone'. I glared at the phone before I opened it, my fury with her not even close to being extinguished.
"What?" I snapped as soon as I answered.
"Grace, sweetheart, come home," Renée pleaded. I felt like hitting something. She didn't even realise my real name!
"It's Bella!" I screeched, tears forming due to my anger.
"Grace…"
"No, Renée," I said coldly. "I am not Grace Fuller. I am Isabella Marie Swan…you know, your daughter?" I asked bitterly. "Grace isn't real, Renée."
"Grace, why are you doing this? You know who you really are, why pretend differently?" my mother almost sobbed.
"Stop calling me that!" I screamed at her, my tears flowing freely. "I hate you!" I yelled, throwing my phone across the room so hard it broke against the opposite wall. Then I threw myself down on the bed and sobbed. I was still crying when I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and gently pull me to a stone-cold chest. His voice was low and gentle in my ear.
"It's alright, Bella," Edward murmured, rubbing my back gently. "It'll be alright in the end." I sniffed and wiped my eyes, blinking up at him. How did he get in…? Oh, right. Window.
"Why is it that whenever I cry, you're the one here comforting me?" I asked with a shaky laugh.
"Did you want me to go?" Edward asked, cautious. I shook my head.
"Please stay," I whispered, holding onto his shirt in one fist with my other hand on his chest. He nodded and drew me closer, tucking my head under his chin. I was content to just sit there as my tears slowed and stopped, and wiped my eyes on my shirt sleeve before I looked up at Edward. He had his eyes closed and was leaning back against the wall, almost as if he was asleep. But his hand was still rubbing my back, and when I moved slightly he opened his eyes to smile crookedly down at me.
"You have a bit of a temper, don't you?" he asked, nodding towards my broken phone on the floor. I blushed deeply.
"You saw that?" I asked quietly.
"Heard it, more like. I was jogging past when I heard you yelling. I was wondering what it was about, so I climbed up the side of the house to see what was happening, and I saw you throw the phone across the room and start crying." I flushed, then hugged him tightly.
"Thank you for being here, Edward," I whispered. "I'm glad it was you." He hugged me back, and I thought I felt him kiss my hair again.
"You're welcome, Bella. If you ever need anything, just call me." I nodded, and then jumped slightly when my other cell-phone began to ring.
"What I've done
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done…"
"You have two cell phones? Alice will like that."
"I think it's on my desk…" I muttered, then blinked when Edward reached over and swiped it from my desk to put in my hand. "Thanks." He just smiled and nodded, and I took a deep breath before opening my phone.
"BELLA!" Seth's excited voice screamed at me.
"Hey Seth," I said calmly. "What's up?"
"I have two questions for you – one, how is the song-writing going, and two…who the hell were those hot bods you were with?" I burst into laughter, knowing Edward would have been able to hear due to the screaming.
"Seth, settle. I've only got one more song to write, and those 'hot bods', as you put it, are Edward, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper. They're my friends here," I explained, all the while thinking that perhaps Edward might like me more than a friend.
"Which one was the hot blonde?" Seth asked, sounding a lot more cheerful. I laughed again.
"Seth, he's straight and taken. Besides, you have Paul, remember?" I reminded him. Seth laughed.
"I know, I know. But you have to admit, the blonde is hot!"
"His name is Jasper, Seth. Look, I had another argument with Renée…can you cut her out of my contract? And put Charlie in her place?" I asked anxiously. "I really think she's gone insane, in the literal sense of the word."
"Of course, Bells. See you in three weeks on Thursday in Seattle for the shoot for your next album," he added.
"Okay. Thanks Seth…oh! Do you mind if I bring a friend? Edward already knows about the Grace Fuller thing," I explained.
"Yeah sure. I gotta go, Bells, okay? Love ya chickie!" he exclaimed, and I laughed.
"Love you too, Seth. Bye." I closed my phone – this one was a flip-phone – and put it beside me on the bed. I sighed, rubbing at my shoulder slightly. I must have strained it during gym… I sighed again as Edward began to gently massage my shoulder, working out the kinks.
"Better?" he asked sometime later, and I nodded.
"Thanks." I was expecting him to let go of me, to move to my stool or leave, but he just put his arms around my waist again and pulled me onto his lap.
"Do you mind?" he asked belatedly, and I shook my head, leaning back into him. This boy was too perfect…he would make some lucky girl an excellent Romeo one day. Except Edward was a lot better than Romeo.
Suddenly some strange flash of inspiration hit me, and I looked around wildly to see my notebook on my bedside table, right within reach.
"Yes!" I exclaimed happily, reaching out and swiping it up, opening to a blank page and removing my pen from the binder. Edward chuckled.
"What's got you so excited?" he asked quietly as I began to scribble down some lyrics.
"I just got a good idea for a song…hmm…this is going to sound like one of Taylor's songs when I put the music to it," I mumbled. He laughed again, and I scowled at him before returning to the scribble on my page.
Ten minutes later, I was done, and looking down at the pages in awe.
"Whoa," I muttered. "I didn't think I could write a song that fast." Edward chuckled behind me, and I tilted my head so I could see him. "Shut up, you. I normally take at least an hour." He grinned down at me, that gorgeous crooked smile of his making my heart accelerate slightly. I slid off his lap and made my way to my guitar, tuning it quickly before starting to fiddle around. When I was satisfied, I smiled and started to sing.
"We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes
And the flashback starts
I'm standing there
On a balcony in summer air
See the lights
See the party, the ball gowns
I see you make your way through the crowd
And say hello, little did I know
That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you please don't go, and I said
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes
So I sneak out to the garden to see you
We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew
So close your eyes
Escape this town for a little while
'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
But you were everything to me
I was begging you please don't go and I said
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes
Romeo save me, they try to tell me how to feel
This love is difficult, but it's real
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess
It's a love story baby just say yes
Oh oh
I got tired of waiting
Wondering if you were ever coming around
My faith in you was fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town, and I said
Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you but you never come
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring
And said, marry me Juliet
You'll never have to be alone
I love you and that's all I really know
I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress
It's a love story baby just say yes
Oh, oh, oh, oh
'Cause we were both young when I first saw you…"
I smiled as I finished, and then glanced up at Edward to find him writing quickly on a piece of paper.
"I think I got it all," he frowned, flicking through three pages or so. "Do you want to check?" he asked, and I took it from him to take a look. I gaped.
"You got the whole thing! Wow you're good!" Edward chuckled.
"Thank you. I should go…I'll see you at school tomorrow," he added, standing and taking a step towards me to hug me gently and kiss my forehead. "Sleep well, Bella," he whispered, and I smiled up at him.
"Bye," I murmured, and watched as he climbed out my window and dropped to the ground. I waved when he turned back to look at me, then closed my curtains and changed for bed. Hopefully I would get less stares tomorrow at school.