Disclaimer: Anything you recognise belongs to Stephenie Meyer, I just play around with the characters she created.

Chapter Three

I woke up slowly, disorientated, and for a moment I had no clue where I was.

And then it hit me. I was in a weirdly shaped bed, in student accommodation, in Oxford, in England, on the other side of the world from my home, and all alone.

Light was streaming unapologetically into my room, and I realised with some annoyance I had forgotten to shut the curtains the night before. I scrambled around a bit to find my phone to see it was almost 11 o'clock in the morning- body time 4 am. I could easily have slammed the curtains shut and fallen straight back asleep, but I knew the rest of my housemates would be arriving very soon, and being unconscious wouldn't make the best first impression. So, with a groan, I dragged myself into the shower and went through the routine required to make myself presentable.

There were only two rooms on the very top floor of the house, my bedroom, and a bathroom. There were 3 other bathrooms spread out across the house, and I supposed I was very lucky to have a bathroom, effectively, to myself. That said, I didn't want anyone to think I was greedy, so I planned to make it blatantly obvious that the bathroom was open to one and all, although the thought of having my own personal space was so delicious that the intentions were half assed at best even as I formulated them in my mind.

An hour later, I was showered, my hair clean and dried and cascading down my back in mahogany waves. I had carefully applied enough make-up to alleviate the eye bags jet lag had so generously gifted me, and was wearing a pair of navy skinny jeans and a pale pink blouse. I also had a thick woolly cardigan wrapped around me, as it was still absolutely freezing and I was unable to figure out how the hell the heating worked. I had made a lot more effort than I would have normally, keen for my new housemates not to think of me as a scruff.

I was sat on a counter in the kitchen, a strong cup of coffee clutched tightly in my hands. The kitchen was by far the largest room in the house, and doubled up as a dining room with a large and beautiful wooden table at the far end of the room. The table was by far the most decorative and interesting part of the whole house so far- the only thing that showed any real character.

The numerous cabinets in the kitchen were empty apart from the small amount of food Jacob and I had purchased the day before. Whilst in the supermarket, I'd decided to suck up to my new housemates by buying a pretty substantial amount of alcohol.

"Is this all for you?" Jacob had asked as I ordered him to lift a crate of wine into the shopping cart.

"Yeah, I reckon it'll last me the night, don't you?" I joked.

"Hmm, an alcoholic like you? No way." He teased back. One of the things that had excited Jake the most about me moving to England was, a little pathetically, that I would be legal to drink. He was absolutely fascinated with the idea of Fresher's week- I think he was pretty tempted to tag along with me for the week, maybe even attempt to enrol at university.

We had drank from time to time in Forks of course- a couple of glasses of wine to celebrate something, a few shots before a party, Jacob often had a beer when he watched a game with our Dads, but I'd never drunk to the extent I'd read about taking place during Fresher's week.

I wondered when people would start arriving. I wasn't even nervous about meeting people anymore, just bored. I didn't even care if the next person to walk in through that door was an evil bitch; I just needed some human company in any form. And, even though it was lighter and warmer in the house now, I was still a bit creeped out about being in a four storey, old house all by myself.

I wandered out of the kitchen to stand in the doorway and peered through the window. I almost had a heart attack when a human face popped into my eye line, a mere few metres from the door.

Excitement overtaken any lingering nerves, I threw open the door to greet the first arrival. I took in a girl who was very tall and slim- she basically had the figure of a very slim boy, as she was so slender and shapeless, and subtly muscled. Her skin was tanned in a very natural way, and her shoulder length black hair was unkempt but still managed to frame her face perfectly. She had very intense brown eyes and a slightly pinched facial expression, like she was in pain. She had a massive rucksack on her back, and to my surprise, had no family members with her to help her settle in.

"Hey!" I greeted her, a little over enthusiastically. She smiled at me- I wasn't sure if she was smirking or smiling politely. As she stepped into the doorway, I asked, "Do you need any help with that bag?" She looked at me, her eyebrows raised. Her face expressed what her mouth did not need to say- there was no way I could help her, as strong as she looked, and as small and weak as I was. I laughed, awkwardly.

"I'm Bella," I introduced myself, shaking her hand.

"Leah," she replied, curtly. "So, where am I sleeping anyway?"

Refusing to be put out by her less than friendly reaction to me, I led her over to the sheet of paper on the dining room table that gave us our assigned rooms. Leah glanced at the paper, then threw her backpack on the floor unceremoniously and sank down in to a chair around the table.

"How long have you been here anyway?" she asked.

"Uh, I got here yesterday. International students arrive 24 hours before everyone else, I think."

"Where are you from?" she seemed to have mellowed out a little bit, the original scepticism and confrontation fading from her.

"Forks, in Washington?" She nodded, showing she knew where I meant.

"Wow, that's a long way to come. What have you come to this shit hole for?" she barked out a laugh.

"What, Oxford?" I enquired, taken aback. I hadn't been here very long, but I already loved the place and found it both fascinating and beautiful. I felt almost defensive of it.

She shrugged her slender shoulders. "You know, England in general." She coughed out another laugh.

"Oh, well, y'know. New beginnings, fresh start and all those clichés." Now it was my turn to shrug. "Plus, I think it's pretty beautiful here."

"Yeah, I guess if you're going to leave America for England, Oxford is a pretty decent place to come," she replied.

"Where are you from, anyway?" I asked.

"London," she replied quietly. London fascinated me as well- big cities would be of massive interest to anyone who had spent the last few years of their lives in a town as quiet as Forks.

I spoke to Leah for awhile, and found out that she was studying Law. She made it clear to me that this was not as a copout option, which she informed me was the reason most people ended up taking Law, because they felt they should. She spoke so passionately about it; it made me a little uneasy. I liked Leah, she was interesting, but she was quite cold and distant, but when she talked about studying Law, she became a whole new person, animated, excited. I wished I had the same passion for psychology.

Our conversation ended abruptly when we heard a high pitched girl's voice shrieking from outside the house.

"That would be my cue to leave," Leah muttered, jumping from her chair to retrieve her backpack. "Enjoy the welcome party." She sloped out of the room quickly, leaving me alone to greet the screaming girl.

I felt my jaw literally fall open when I saw the girl making all the noise. She was tall and slim like Leah, but her body was extremely womanly. She had curves that made my own boyish body feel incredibly envious, and long, straight strawberry blonde hair that was reflecting the light to perfection. Her skin was tanned and she had a scattering of freckles across her nose, and bright cornflower blue eyes. She was absolutely beautiful.

She was arm in arm with a man who I assumed was her father, older but still attractive, a proud smile on his face. Her arms were empty, but she was stood next to two strapping boys who were both laid down with bright pink luggage. She rushed forward to greet me, embracing me in a tight hug.

"Hi! I'm Tanya; it's so nice to meet you." This greeting was so very different to the one I had from Leah that I was momentarily speechless. This girl was the literal opposite of everything Leah was- she was completely unreserved, flamboyant, clearly spoilt, but she was full of life and fun whereas Leah seemed almost listless and resigned. It was almost as if Leah had sensed this girl was not someone she was going to get on with before making her escape.

"I'm Bella," I said, when I had found my voice. "It's great to meet you too!"

"Your accent is incredible," she said, eyes wide in admiration. "What part of America are you from?"

"Washington," I replied. She seemed to lose a little bit of interest, probably wishing I was from somewhere cooler or better known, like Los Angeles or New York. "But I was brought up in Phoenix," I offered, as an olive branch.

"God, you're so lucky," she laughed. "Why on earth have you come to a place where the sun never shines?" The sun was shining precisely at that moment, but I didn't point this out, just smiled softly as an answer.

"Where am I putting all of your shit, Tanya?" asked one of the boys, laden down with two massive suitcases. How much stuff had this girl brought?

"There's a piece of paper on the table that tells you where your room is," I suggested. Tanya danced over to the table, seized the paper.

"Third room across on the second floor if you don't mind boys," she winked. I knew that was the room next to Leah- I could already picture her delight. The two boys and the man I presumed was Tanya's father sloped off up the stairs.

Tanya was flitting around the kitchen, peering in all the cupboards. "God there's not much food here... ooh!" she shrieked, when she discovered the cupboard full of alcohol. "Did you buy all this?"

I nodded bashfully.

Tanya shrieked and hugged me again. Clearly this was a girl who found no issues in massively invading stranger's personal space, but I was so keyed up that I didn't really mind. "You're a star, Bella, honestly, bless you." Tanya's entourage appeared in the kitchen. "Right, no offence boys, but you can clear off now, I don't want you cramping my style when everyone else gets here." She embraced the two boys, and kissed the older man on his forehead.

"Good luck baby," murmured the old man. "Make sure you ring me and let me know how everything's going." Tanya waved a dismissive hand in his general direction.

"Be good," warned the taller of the two boys. Tanya just laughed.

When they had left, I whispered, "Who were they?"

"Oh, the older man's my husband, and the younger two are my step-sons." Tanya took in the look of horror on my face and burst out laughing. "Oh my God, I'm kidding Bella. They were my Dad and my brothers."

I laughed, a little unsurely. To be honest, it wouldn't have surprised me that much if the old man was Tanya's husband. She seemed the type. I supposed that was a little unfair. "Do you need any help unpacking?" I offered.

"Nah. I'll do it later, I can't be arsed. Are we the only ones here?"

"No, there's another girl, Leah, upstairs," I offered.

"What's she like?" enquired Tanya, still dancing around the kitchen hyperactively. She seemed incapable of staying still.

"Nice. A bit quiet," was all I said, not wanting to slag Leah off.

"Boring!" Tanya rolled her eyes. I found it hard to believe that Tanya was actually going to be a student at one of the most prestigious universities in the world- she seemed so carefree and over the top, completely flippant. "So, Bella, tell me all about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" I shrugged, a little uncomfortable.

"Well, what are you studying?" she asked.

"Psychology. You?"

"Maths." I felt my eyebrows rise sceptically in spite of myself. Instead of being offended, Tanya burst into laughter again. "I know, I know, I come across as an idiotic ditzy blonde, but I promise you, I'm quite smart really."

"You must be," I said.

"I hope everyone's not a bore here," Tanya said. "All my friends said I was mad to come here, that everyone would be working all the time and never want to go out. You're not going to be like that, are you?"

"Maybe a bit," I admitted, thinking of how hard a slog university was inevitably going to be at times. "But I plan to enjoy myself as well."

"Good to hear it," Tanya snorted. "Do you think it's a bit too early to start drinking?"

People arrived at almost perfect twenty minute intervals from then. Not many of them made much of an impression on me yet, as I briefly introduced myself before the majority of them disappeared upstairs with their families to unpack and settle in. There was Eric, a smartly dressed Asian boy who was so skinny it was almost painful to look at him, who told me he was studying Physics, which instantly made me respect him, as I thought Physics was the hardest thing in the whole world. Then there was Victoria, a pretty red head studying Theology, Jessica, who was studying archaeology, Sam, who reminded me of Jacob due to his enormous stature, Lauren, who made almost no impression on me, James, who had such an intense gaze that it scared me shitless, and Jasper, a very attractive blonde boy who was doing Psychology, like me.

Tanya seemed to have taken a shine to me. I got the impression that she didn't find it hard making friends, and as she was so beautiful and flamboyant, I felt almost grateful that she had taken any interest in me. While everyone else unpacked, we spent most of the afternoon in my bedroom, getting to know each other.

Everything got a bit more exciting around half past three, when the remaining three housemates arrived practically on top of each other.

"Good God, I hope they want to do something other than unpack," Tanya muttered to me as we rushed downstairs to greet them.

The first boy was tall and attractive in a very obvious and self-confident way. He was a little bit baby-faced, with very carefully arranged blonde hair, and he was dressed head to foot in designer clothes. He was muscled up, but not like Jacob, whose muscles were a result of hours of work in a garage, but in a vain way, as if he had worked very hard to get them purely to make himself look more attractive.

"Hey girls," the boy greeted. He was smiling a little too broadly at Tanya, and I couldn't say I blamed him- she was nothing short of stunning, it was hard to take your eyes off of her. "I'm Mike."

Almost as if she couldn't help it, Tanya swept him into an embrace. "Tanya," she introduced herself. "And that's Bella."

"Hey," I waved. Mike went off to find his bedroom, his mother and father, groomed within an inch of their life and clearly very wealthy, in tow, and as soon as they left, another girl arrived. The girl was so small that at first I thought she must be someone's little sister. She was absolutely tiny, she had to be under 5 foot, and so petite she was almost breakable. She had rich dark brown hair cut in a pixie crop and her clothes were beautiful, not in an overly expensive or try-hard way, they just suited her perfectly. She was very pretty.

She was excitable, but not quite as exuberant as Tanya. "I'm Alice," she chirped, embracing me in a hug as we went through the usual introductions. Tanya seemed to warm to Alice instantly.

"I sincerely hope you're not going to spend all evening unpacking," Tanya complained.

"No way!" Alice laughed. "I'm expecting big things from my first night."

"Oh thank God," said Tanya. They continued their conversation, but I stopped listening. I thought I might have been going into shock. I was literally frozen in place, could hear nothing, and could see nothing apart from the boy who was walking towards me.

Oh my God, he was so pretty.

There was no other word for it; he was the prettiest boy I had ever seen. Very tall and slim with bronze hair that was a little messy, like he'd just rolled out of bed, and warm green eyes so beautiful I felt like I was melting. I realised with some embarrassment that my mouth was hanging open a little bit, and I quickly slammed it shut. Come on Bella, get a grip, I thought.

"Wow," I heard Tanya whisper next to me, her eyes locked on the boy as well. I felt a wave of jealousy so acute I was tempted to growl at her, but I bit it back, realising I didn't even know this boy.

He was carrying one medium sized bag of luggage, and had a shorter, older woman next to her who was very pretty. She must be his Mom, I chanted in my head, stay calm.

Somehow or other, I managed to tear my eyes away from him as he walked in the door. Tanya, who wasn't quite as keen as me to be discreet, had already wrapped her pretty little arms around him.

"Hi, I'm Tanya," she purred in his ear.

"Edward," he replied, his facial expression so taken aback that I couldn't help but snort. He made eye contact with me, and raised his eyebrows, a slight smile forming on his beautiful face. I thought I had melted into a puddle on the spot, but apparently I was still a solid being, and was even capable of adjusting my face into an "I know, right" expression.

Tanya reluctantly let go of Edward to introduce herself to the woman I was desperately hoping was his mother.

"I'm Esme, Edward's mum," came the pretty woman's response, and I was so grateful I could have burst into song.

"It's okay, Mum, you don't have to help me unpack," Edward said to his mother. "You should probably be getting back." He didn't speak to her in a dismissive way, in fact his voice swelled with respect and kindness towards her. Gorgeous and respectful to women? This boy was perfect...

The two said their goodbyes, and I made a conscious effort not to goggle Edward anymore. I drifted into the kitchen with Alice, dithering slightly. I could hear Tanya's silky voice as she chatted to Edward, no doubt flirting with him. I didn't know Tanya all that well, but I already had the feeling that what Tanya wanted, she got with the minimum of effort. This wouldn't have bothered me normally, but I couldn't help feeling resentful of the fact she may well be sinking her claws into Edward already. You don't even know him; my annoying mental voice reminded me.

"Oh, poor you Bella, all alone on the top floor!" Alice exclaimed, consulting the house plan.

"Oh, it's okay. I don't mind. A bit of privacy, you know?"

"Yes, I can imagine you might need some of that in here." Alice dropped her voice a little. "Tanya's very... highly strung isn't she?"

I laughed. "That's putting it mildly. She's a nice girl though."

Alice nodded. "I'm going to go get settled, then. I won't be long."

"Need any help?" I offered. Everyone had refused my help so far, and I was beginning to feel a bit useless.

She shook her head. "I'm not going to do a full unpack yet, too much effort, just find the essentials for tonight." She winked at me and danced lithely out of the room. She was so graceful- it was enchanting.

Edward and Tanya came into the kitchen, Tanya talking a mile to the dozen. Edward smiled at me again, lazily.

"Hi, I'm Edward." He held out his hand for me like a good English gentleman. His voice was very posh; he had a very distinct British accent. It just added to his sex appeal as far as I was concerned.

"Bella," I replied, managing to shake his hand back instead of screeching like I wanted to. He read his room arrangement, and I read over his shoulder. I couldn't help myself from blurting out, "Oh! You're in my favourite room." As soon as the words rushed out, I blushed violently.

He raised an eyebrow at me enquiringly. "Umm, I was here alone last night, so I kind of checked out all the rooms. Yours has a nice... aura." I finished lamely. He grinned. "It's the smallest one in the house, though," I continued, willing myself to shut up.

"That doesn't really bother me," he said. "Especially if it's the nicest bedroom in the house, I can probably see past that." He was teasing me. Go on, say something witty back Bella. No? I couldn't manage it. I just grinned foolishly at him instead.

"Do you need any help unpacking?" I asked, again wondering why I didn't just shut up and act slightly cooler than I was at the moment. I expected him to shut me down immediately, this strange, American girl who said his room had a nice aura and grinned at him like a love sick puppy.

"That would be great," he said, surprising me massively.

"Cool, we'll both help you," Tanya smiled, linking his arm and pulling him out of the room. I followed after them like a lame shadow.

England just got a whole lot more exciting.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I promise this is going to get much more exciting, just a lot of scene-setting needed first. Please press the review button and let me know your opinion!