Disclaimer: I do not own Edward. Sadly. If I did, he'd be here next to me right now, along with Jasper and Garrett...

A/N: This is a chapter that I think will be hard to write, and I don't know why.

For the start of junior year, the weather decided to be extremely weird. It was very hot for an August in Forks, and it wasn't raining the morning for the first day of school; it was just very foggy and muggy. I could barely breathe while walking from my house to my Volvo. I got in and started it up and drove to school without incident. I pulled in and something canary yellow caught my eye. Alice. She had gotten a Porsche over the summer. Yeah, I (along with about half the guys at school) was jealous, but she knew that. It wasn't like her to flaunt the fact that our family had money, but she LOVED this car.

I had memorized my schedule before school, so there was no need for me to walk around with a piece of paper glued to my nose telling me where to go. As I walked in the door, I was bombarded with claps on the back from my friends. Every girl I could see was sneaking a look at me. But there was only one girl I wanted to look at me...

"Hey, Edward," Mike said as I approached him. I was headed for my first class and there was no way Mike was in it. I was still in all advanced classes, but I never had any classes with Bella. She was always in the other set of advanced classes.

"Hey, Mike," I said back.

"What's your first class?" he asked.

"English." His brow furrowed. "How come we never have any classes together?" he asked, sincerely puzzled.

What an idiot. The guy was my friend, but how stupid can you get?

"Because I'm in advanced classes," I said politely.

"Oh, yeah. How can you do that stuff? Why are you so smart?" he asked me.

"I have no idea," I said, smiling as I walked off.

All through the morning, I was given book after book, lecture after lecture. All the classes seemed easy for me. I don't know why I didn't decide to skip a grade, because I could have easily. It was boring for me to sit through the listing of rules and different curriculum. By lunchtime, I was about to fall asleep. I stood in line with my eyes shut, and all of the sudden, I got a feeling. It was telling me I should turn around. I did what my instincts told me by opening my eyes and turning - and when I did, warm brown eyes were staring up into my green ones.

"Hey, Bella, how are you?" I managed to say calmly. Looking at her, I had missed her more than I realized.

"Fine. How's cross country going?" she asked. I knew by the way she said "cross country" she was still mad at me. She was trying to hide it, but she was a terrible liar.

"It's good. Just a little hot, you know?" I said. Every time I went out to practice, I felt like collapsing. "I mean, Forks always has been hot to me, since I lived in Alaska, but it's burning up!"

"I've noticed," she said, smiling.

"What class do you have next?" Maybe my luck would finally kick in and we would have just one class together... Please, God...

"Advanced bio, I think," she responded.

"With Banner?" I asked, a bit wary.

"I think so."

"Me too," I said, completely relieved and elated. I hid that quickly. I was at the end of the line and I paid for my food. "Guess I'll see you then."

"Yeah, sure," I heard her say as I walked to my table. Luckily, I didn't have lunch with Mike. Over the past couple of years, he had begun to wear on my nerves. I sat next to Ben Cheney. He was a swimmer, and the friend I could identify with the most. He was always a good guy and wasn't like the other jocks at our table.

"Edward, how are your classes?" he asked me.

"Oh, they're easy," I answered honestly.

"Really? And you're in advanced, right?"

"Yeah."

"I might have to have you tutor me sometime. It's the first day and I'm already lost," he admitted sheepishly.

"Sure, no problem. I'd be glad to help sometime. It's hard to find a time to do anything with anyone. I've got meets and practice all the time, and school, and you know what a perfectionist I am. When I finish with cross-country, it's time for track training. I don't get any breaks!" I said, laughing about the last part.

"Yeah, it's tough, man," he said. I didn't say anything through the rest of lunch.

After I was done with my food, I just sat there and looked over at Bella conspicuously. She was reading something. I'd recognize that book anywhere: Anne of Green Gables. The first book she let me borrow. I continued studying her until the bell rang, and then I rushed into class and was the first there.

"Ah, Mr. Masen," Mr. Banner greeted pleasantly as I walked in, "how's the team looking?"

"Great, Mr. Banner."

"That's good," he replied, going back to his computer to work - or whatever it was he was doing. I sat down in the first seat I saw and waited for class to start.

Mr. Banner greeted the class and said he had assigned seats for us with our lab partners. They would be our lab partners for the rest of the year. I wanted to have Bella for my partner so badly. Mr. Banner called out names, starting at the left side of the room, by the door, and went threw the first two rows of lab tables. He was on the third and final row, with only six people left. He called out who was at the first table, right in front of his desk. Next, he called out my name. I went over to sit down. The next thing I heard was Bella's name being called. I smiled. Lab partners for the entire year.

YES! I screamed in my head, completely euphoric.

"Hey, partner," I said as she came to sit beside me.

"Hey," she replied shyly. That was when Mr. Banner decided to start class.

"Now, right now, you and your partner have a microscope and slides on your desk. This is just to see how much you guys know. I want you to label the stages of mitosis each of these slides are in." I heard several groans and complaints as we started arranging slides and adjusting microscopes.

Bella grabbed the first slide and popped it in, adjusting the eyepiece. "Anaphase," she said, quickly. She then pushed the microscope to me, to let me verify. I looked to her and nodded before beginning to fill out the worksheet we had been given. We took turns looking in, exchanging only the necessary words to work. We were the first partners done, so I turned to her.

"Since when did you get so good at science?" I asked, grinning. She was always horrid at science.

"Since always."

"That's not the way I remember it," I laughed. "I used to always have to help you with this stuff."

"I got the hang of it eventually, though," she said, defending herself. We both laughed. "You were the one who wanted to be the doctor, though. How's that working out?" She remembered. Of course she did. She always remembered everything.

"I still want to be a doctor like my dad. I have no idea why, though. Most people think it's just because it's what my father does, but it really isn't. I guess I just like the idea of helping someone. Making a difference in their lives." It was the truth. I'd never told anyone that before, but Bella was different, as I'd noticed on the first day I saw her. I could open up to her and tell her anything. I was so mad at myself that I'd let her friendship get away. At that moment, Mr. Banner started class again and I pretended to throw myself into listening, when really, all I was thinking about was Bella.

A/N: I loved this! It took me a while to write, but I really really liked the way it turned out. Tell me what you think, please! Thank you so much!!!!