Claimer: Freya Svenningsen is my original character.


Chapter Three

Spinning the Fate Strings

"Nice to see you here, Edward."

Edward felt tempted to roll his eyes at his sister, who stood under the shade of a random tree near the lunchroom. The young woman was smiling like she knew all the secrets of the world, although knowing her, that was probably very, very close to the truth. "You told me to go."

"You could have ditched me," she countered. "It means you're really interested, yes?"

He shook his head. "Not really, but I'm interested to see who made it to your Classified List of Girlfriend Possibilities. May I?" he asked, holding out a hand for the cursed piece of paper whose content made him lose precious sleep the other night. It was ridiculous, of course, but it still made him curious.

"Nope," Alice said, pulling the list close to her chest. "There's a reason it's called 'classified', brother; you're not allowed to see it unless you agree to follow as I say – which means you'll get a girlfriend, and she has to be one of the girls in this list."

"You're crazy," he muttered, just as the two of them started walking to the building where the bigger cafeteria was. "Why are you doing this again?"

"Partly because I'm concerned for you," she told him, walking a couple of paces ahead, "but more because I love my Porsche. C'mon, Edward; have you forgotten? They're actually threatening my car because of you."

He shook his head, quite certain he should be insulted that his own sister compared her to a car. Sure it was a luxury car, but still. Sometimes he wondered how Alice could be so smart and so childish at the same time. "All right, if you're not giving me the list, then at least tell me how you came up with that stupid thing."

"If it's so stupid then why are you so bothered by it?" his sister teased, and it was all he could do to keep himself from literally smacking some sense into her head. He'd have to ask their parents where she got this dangerous cunning, really, because obviously he got cheated on the gene pool. Why couldn't he have gotten as annoying as she was? If that were the case, maybe this little game of theirs wouldn't be as one-sided as this.

"Just tell me, okay?" he muttered, earning a giggle from Alice.

"Fine. I picked the girls who are not interested in you."

The look he had given her must have looked so incredulous that she laughed, loud enough to garner the attention of almost everyone within earshot. "Shh!" he shushed, a mixture of confusion and irritation in his voice. What the hell was so funny, anyway?

"You should have seen the look on your face," she told him. "Why, Edward Cullen? Did you think no one was immune to your effortless charms?"

He elaborately frowned at this. "Of course not," he said, huffing when Alice giggled again. "I mean, there's still Demetrius and his hordes of fan girls and – "

"Oh, did you know that your fan girls are not mutually exclusive?" she interrupted with a nod of her head. "I made a little survey, and apparently most girls can switch sides any day, depending on the context of the situation. Sometimes they prefer you to Demetrius, but sometimes they prefer Demetrius to you."

"Oh really," he said dryly. Like he actually needed to know that. He wasn't the type to dwell on things as superficial as popularity contest. And gracious, what else did Alice do during her spare time, exactly?

"Really," Alice said, apparently missing his uninterested tone. "It was pretty difficult, but I found a number of girls who aren't interested in you – or at least relative to the degree of your fangirl's obsession. I've narrowed down the list, and I'm sure it won't be hard for you to take a pick as to who you'd like to be your girlfriend for the next few months or so."

"You sound so, so sure of this," he said. "You really think I'd agree to this… preposterous idea of yours?"

"Brother, I don't think you'll agree to this brilliant idea of mine," Alice remarked, just as the two of them stepped into the lunchroom. "I know."

As if in agreement with Alice, it was then that an intimidating horde of fan girls stepped forward and blocked his way, screaming the name he was getting quite sick of. "EDWARD!"

Alice smiled, raising a commanding hand to pacify the girls and keep them from mobbing him; and for the life of him, Edward couldn't begin to fathom how she could pull that off. "I don't know about you, Edward," she said through her smile, "but if I were you, I'd think fast. 'Seems to me like you're the last piece of meat in a pack of hungry wolves, and it's not looking very pretty."

Damn, but Alice knew him so well.

x~x~x

Demetrius Cavendish stared at the commotion near the lunchroom entrance with a shake of his head. "How trivial," he remarked, before turning back to his food.

Seated opposite him, muttering something unintelligible, were the popular students. He hadn't realized that they had managed to take a seat beside him before it was too late, and although he didn't really like them, he figured it would be a pain to find another decent place where he was not too conspicuous (a difficult feat, admittedly, and he hated wasted effort). "He's really basking in the glory, isn't he?" they said, all too obvious in their attempts to suck up to him. Not that he minded; he was rather used to them.

"Quite," he said, pretending calm. Damn, but the whole thing bothered him more than he could possibly say, that this Edward nobody-turning-somebody was gaining reputation at a rate that was fast rivaling his own. "But not at all unexpected."

"Not going to do anything about him?"

He chewed on his food slowly, his eyes falling on a nearby table beside his own, occupied by a number of students from his Calculus class. Oddly enough, he felt a little calmer when he saw all of them still buried in the problem set that they had been assigned with; not one even looked up to give a mere glance in Cullen's direction.

"Nope," he said, taking in the mixture of confusion, irritation and frustration in Edward's face when he looked at him again. "He's already digging his own grave by standing stupidly where he is."

He had too much sense to bother with someone like Edward Cullen.

x~x~x

"Well?" Alice demanded, glaring at him while she kept her smile intact for his fan girls. She had outstretched one arm, impressively holding off the girls with a mere signal. "Hurry up, Edward-o; it's hard to smile when you don't mean it!"

He shifted his gaze from her and to the rest of the female population standing so very close to him, in some distracted part of his mind wondering how exactly his sister could do so much without trying. "I can't do it!" he said, almost tempted to punch something right then and there. Why was his life so complicated, anyway?

"Of course you can!" Alice interjected. "All you have to say is yes, and I'll tell them that you have a girlfriend." She shook her head confidingly. "Don't worry; I won't give them a name. I'll just tell them you have a girlfriend, so they'll leave us alone. That's fair, you think?"

He only stared at her, wondering how his sister defined fair to begin with. "That's crazy," he said, only to flinch back when the girls shrieked his name, much louder this time. "Ow."

"Edward! Did you receive the love letter I sent you?" girls screamed from all around the room, making him shiver despite himself. Goodness, but now that he thought about it, Alice's offer was starting to become more and more appealing.

"No name, Edward!" Alice said impatiently. "Just give me your yes and I'll tell a little white lie for you! Hurry up!"

Edward ran a hand over his face, frustration welling up in his chest. "All right," he said, swearing in his mind as he said the words. He just knew he would regret all of this later. "Tell them about my nameless girlfriend."

Alice cocked her head to one side, her arm dramatically falling to her side as a sly smile fell over her lips. "Good," she said, and suddenly, as if commanded by her, all the lunchroom was quiet and intently listening to what she had to say. "I knew you'd see it my way, brother dear."

Edward could only hope for the best as Alice turned to his fan girls, smiling an innocent smile that hid all her cunning from the world.

"Everyone!" she called out cheerfully. "I'm most glad to inform you that my brother has finally found himself a girlfriend!"

x~x~x

Bella could have sworn that the world stopped for a moment right there. The whole lunchroom was suddenly silent, like everyone had lost their ability to speak in that crucial, split second of their lives.

"Edward has a girlfriend?" Angela breathed, her voice sounding loud amidst the eerie silence that had fallen over the room. She looked unshaken, embarrassing Bella with her calm. Damn, but she looked more amused than anything else, and, well, she was definitely not as stunned as Bella was sincerely willing to admit herself to be.

"I… guess," Bella muttered, looking down to her lunch as she did. She was starting to feel stupid; what the hell did she care if Edward had a girlfriend? It wasn't her business to begin with. That, and this was definitely worrying: Could this mean that the fangirl environment was rubbing off on her?

The thought was waaay too scary for her to even acknowledge.

"Not surprising," she added, shrugging casually. Nah, she was probably just scaring herself. She was too smart to actually fall into the trap of being a mindless zombie following a popular guy with the most intense pair of eyes –

Scary thoughts, Bella. Shut up.

"You're right," Angela agreed, going back to her food with a nod. "After all, he is popular, and quite good-looking."

"Pretty kind, too," Bella added, lifting her head when she received a curious glance from Angela. "Oh, I've spoken to him once, on the first day of school. I was lost, and he walked me to the Administration Building."

Angela parted her lips to speak, only to be cut off by the sudden eruption of questions from the students all over the place.

"Who is she?"

"Why don't we know about this?"

Despite herself, Bella craned her neck to see the spectacle. She was pretty curious about this girlfriend, because frankly she already knew what hell awaited the girl once her name was disclosed. Edward's fan girls were terrifying – in the truest sense of the word – and unless the girlfriend was a very shrewd girl who knew how to get out of trouble really well, then Bella could only wish her the best of luck.

Alice only smiled, calming the crowd with a wave of her hand. Bella nodded as if on instinct, realizing that Edward's girlfriend would have to be just like the cunning Alice to handle all of the young man's fan girls without effort. "It's only been a few days since my brother's girlfriend answered his wooing," she said, earning gasps from her audience. "I myself have only known about this today."

"You mean Edward actually courted her?" the girls snapped, sounding dangerously more jealous with every passing second.

Oh, but Bella just knew that Alice was making things much worse for this girlfriend. Inwardly, she wondered at the constipated look on Edward's face, but he probably already realized this, too.

Alice nodded innocently. "Uh-huh. It's only been days since they considered themselves official, and let's just say Edward didn't know how to break this to you." A smile that was almost a smirk twisted the corners of her lips. "I convinced him to tell you about it, at least, so you can step back and give him a little breather from all this... admiration. After all, she might get jealous of you and all…"

"So she's from this school?"

"Uh-huh."

"Who is she?" one of the girls demanded. Bella knew her from History class – Freya Svenningsen, the most popular swimmer in their high school. The pretty Freya was a die-hard fan of Edward and Demetrius, although rumors all around the school said she and Demetrius were already going out.

Who said I'm not aware of what's happening? Bella thought to herself with a smirk. Sometimes it really paid to be alone; she knew so much more than what others gave her credit for, when it came to gossip.

"Excuse me?" Alice said, her smile evidently faltering.

"Who's Edward's girlfriend? You said she's from this school," Freya said, the curls of her long brown hair framing her face perfectly. She smiled, her green eyes lighting up with mischief. "I'm sure everyone of us would like to meet her."

Everyone hollered their agreement.

"Oh, this is bad," Angela said, making Bella turn to her. "With fan girls like that, it's not surprising that Edward didn't want to let anyone know about his girlfriend. Those girls are pretty… scary."

Bella gave a laugh. "That's the grossest understatement I've ever heard so far in my life," she said with a shake of her head.

"It's a wonder, though," Angela continued. "Doesn't it make you think who among the girls in this school has enough self-control to keep Edward's wooing to herself?"

That made Bella pause. Hell, this conversation was turning out to be more interesting than she first thought it would be. "Maybe she's… not like them?" she said, looking pointedly at the horde of girls who looked about ready to lunge at Edward. Poor bastard.

Angela nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Edward doesn't want to tell anyone about her to protect her, sort of." She glanced in Edward's direction. "But now he's just told everyone about her."

"He still hasn't given us a name," Bella said. That still kept Edward's girlfriend safe, at least for the time being. Fan girls had this uncanny ability to know everything about the object of their obsession – err, fascination, and even Bella had to give them credit for it.

"Not for long," Angela disagreed, a small frown on her lips.

"I don't think that's necessary," Alice countered, staring frankly at Freya as she cocked her head to one side. "My brother has a girlfriend, and that's all you need to know."

"I think it's only fair to Edward's girlfriend that he introduces her to us," Freya was saying, smiling prettily despite the dangerous tone of her voice. "It'll be easier for them both, so they can already go out in public without worry."

Freya paused. "Or is there something about her that makes you hesitate to introduce her to us?"

Bella saw Alice smirk at this remark, obviously getting irritated by Freya. The brunette's doubt about this supposed girlfriend was all too evident in her speech. Distracted, Bella looked over to Edward, the play of emotions in his face making her feel sorry for him. He probably realized, too, what he had just brought upon himself and his girlfriend, and he was already regretting it – immensely.

She watched him whisper to Alice, looking impatient and frustrated and worried, but Alice only smiled at him as the spoke. After about a minute of a quiet argument with her brother, Alice turned back to the rest of the lunchroom with a grace that was only hers.

"All right," she said, narrowing her eyes smugly. "We'll humor you."

Bella watched as Edward stepped forward from behind his sister, and offered a kind, exhausted smile at the spectators before himself. "I'll introduce my girlfriend to you tomorrow."

"I told you so," Angela said, and Bella shook her head.

She was going to pray for Edward's girlfriend – fervently.

x~x~x

"Thanks for the lift," Bella said, clumsily grabbing her books and backpack as soon as the car engine stopped. She glanced up at Charlie's house, noticing that the lights were still off, and decided that her father was still not home. "Much appreciated."

Angela smiled from behind the wheels. "Sure thing, Bella. Thanks for helping me out with the project, too."

"No problem," she said, and threw her bag over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow!" she called out, hopping out of the car. She watched as her friend drove off, turning to the house as soon as the car was out of her sight.

She started to walk, feeling her pockets for her keys –

"Hello, Isabella Swan."

There was a loud thud! when the books hit the cold asphalt, together with the clinking of the keys that she dropped. "What the – ?" she started, swearing her heart must have literally jumped out of her chest in surprise.

"Sorry," the person said quietly. "Did I scare you?"

"Not really, but you made me drop by stuff," Bella snapped, worried for her books first and foremost. These things were most precious to her, and it would be so irritating if they got ruined only because she dropped them stupidly. She reached out for her books, only to pause when she recognized the voice, and looked up from her crouch.

"Hi," Alice Cullen greeted, the smile on her lips illuminated by the faint light of the lamppost nearby. "I'm Alice Cullen and we're classmates in Advance Lit," she said. "Please, call me Alice."

"I – I know you," Bella said, and silently scolded herself for stammering. She picked up her books hastily, and got to her feet so that she was standing taller – although far less graceful – than the pretty brunette. "Call me Bella," she said, wondering what Alice was doing in her house at such an hour. They weren't entirely strangers thanks to Advance Lit, but still. "Uhm, is there anything I can do for you?" she asked, and regretted the words as soon as they escaped her lips.

"Yes, actually there is," Alice said, giving a slow nod. "I have a favor to ask of you, Bella."

to be continued.


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