A/N: Wow, more reviews!! Lol, thanks for all of them, .cullen, Hannahcopter and you go girl. And to Olivia, Bella and Edward will so be together. It's all here *taps head* in my head. :D As for her secret coming out, I'll make you boil over that... I know, I'm evil, right? I'm already planning, though, for Bella and Edward to get together after some drama with Yasmin and her showbiz, maybe a scandal of sorts...I dunno. But that'll come in the later chapters...maybe.
Anywho, here's chapter 4!! My exams are now done, since it started on the 15th and it's now the 17th...whooo! The moment I got home, I reached for my laptop and typed this. Hope y'all like...
Disclaimer: Right, catchy disclaimer...catchy disclaimer... Oh, I know! If I owned Twilight (or Hannah Montana) I wouldn't have been holed up in my room studying my brains out. Ohh, but I did learn some things... like did you know that Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, established the Yuan Dynasty? Well, I didn't until now. Lol.
Bella Montana – Chapter Four
"Hey Edward, fancy meeting you here," I smiled as I passed through the door. He was already seated at his usual seat by the window. I gladly placed my heavy bag on the floor and sat down next to him. He smiled back at me as I looked around for Mr. Banner to tell us what to do. According to my basic concept of detention, the teacher is supposed to supervise the students as they do boring work, like lines.
I took a quick look at the board. It read: Swan and Cullen, discuss your science project. Make sure you leave promptly at five o'clock, not a minute less. 'Peculiar style of detention, Mr. Banner has,' I thought, channeling Master Yoda.
I think Edward saw me reading the board, since he said, "Mr. Banner's detentions are not the normal kind. He just leaves you in a classroom with instructions on the board."
"How does he know that the students are behaving themselves?" I asked, totally confused.
"I'm not really sure because this is my first time in detention." I raised my eyebrows in shock.
"This is your first time to have detention? Wow, you must be a goody two shoes," I teased, pulling out a bar of chocolate from my bag. "Well, this is my first time too." I offered Edward a piece of the chocolate but he refused. This shocked me, to say the least, who refuses a free piece of chocolate? Nobody normal I would think…
"Who's a goody two shoes now? This is your first time too."
"Yeah, but I was homeschooled. So, there," I fought the urge to stick my tongue out. That would just be too childish to do. Instead, I settled on lifting my chin and acting conceited, which made Edward laugh. Oh, his laugh. His soft, melodious laughter...
When he recovered he said, "You were homeschooled? I didn't know that."
"Well, now you do."
"Why were you homeschooled?"
"I didn't want to go to school full of children," this was a partly true. If I went to school in Hollywood, I will have to go as Yasmin Stone, and that means goodbye normal schooling and hello drinking and partying. Right, as if my dad will ever tolerate me partying. Heck, I don't even tolerate me partying.
Silence met my comment, but this time, it wasn't an awkward one. This was more…companionable, more comfortable. After a few minutes, I started fidgeting. I really need to tell him now or I'll regret it. I took a deep breath, here goes nothing…
"Hey Edward," he looked at me, his butterscotch eyes aglow with curiosity, "Remember what I told you during Biology?" At his confused look, I elaborated, "Y'know…the rumors…"
"Oh, that. What about it?"
"I'm really uncomfortable with it and I need them to stop soon. I wanted to stop it as soon as possible but since you're involved too, I'm asking you for ideas on how to stop them. I know I shouldn't really pay attention to these but, I can't stand the staring."
"Well, I don't know how to fix the rumors, I'm sorry," he began, his voice soothing me of my worries, "but I've got a way for the people to stop staring."
"What is it?" I jumped up on my seat, eager to know the solution.
"Give them something else to talk about, preferably nothing that can relate to either of us, more importantly, you."
I nodded along as he explained. His idea is so cool, so simple… so…ingenious. "That is a brilliant plan! Divert their attention…clever. Now, all I gotta do it ask someone to…to…" I faltered. I've got no idea on what to do. Man, the plan is good but I have got no ideas to execute it!
"I've got an idea…"
"You do?" He nodded, looking out the window, seemingly watching the clouds go by but the sun did not show.
"Just leave it to me, but make sure that you go to school late on Monday. If you're not in the scene, you won't be involved." My face broke into a smile. A smile so huge in fact, that I'm afraid that my cheeks will rip if it goes any larger.
"So, now that we've answered your problem. Let's answer mine."
"What's your problem?"
"What are we going to do for our project? It's due on Tuesday, next week, after the test on Monday."
"Oh," I looked down and studied the marble patterns on the table. I honestly do not know what we're supposed to do for our project. "To tell you the truth, I don't really know what we're supposed to do…" I blushed in embarrassment. Now he knows that I wasn't paying attention in class.
"We need to somehow present the evolution of the human skeleton."
"Umm, how about making a model? Or would that be too tedious? Yeah, it will. Maybe we could just…oh I don't know, a power point presentation?"
"I like the power point idea. It's simple, precise, and not that hard to do."
"Great, now that we've answered your problem –" I teased, quoting Edward from before.
"You know it's your problem too." I rolled my eyes and waved my hand as if dismissing him.
"Details…details." My phone rang amidst our laughter. The catchy tune of 'Who Said' echoed around the empty room. I glanced at the caller ID. Ooh, it's my dad calling.
"Hey Dad," I greeted. I haven't seen him this morning and I miss him.
"Hello princess," I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that my dad won't see. That's why I did it in the first place.
"What's the reason for the call?"
"I got a plane ticket for you and me to go to DC on Saturday night. We go back on Sunday night, you got much homework?"
"No, just a Biology test on Monday and a power point presentation for Tuesday, why? What're the plane tickets for?" my voice practically shivered with barely contained excitement. A plane ticket only means that I'm going somewhere, and me going somewhere usually means a performance. And since I don't remember a concert coming up…well, to say that I'm excited is an understatement.
"It's a surprise, princess."
"Fine Dad, I'll wait 'till I get home."
"Speaking of which, you're one hour late. Where are you?" Oh man, what shall I say…he's clearly worried, his tone tells me that much. So in the smallest voice possible I told him that I'm in detention. I had to give a wide berth between the phone and I for his response.
"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN! Why are you in detention? What did you do?"
"I'll tell you when I get home," I told him, eyeing Edward using my peripheral vision. He was watching me with an amused smirk. I glared at him because that's all I could do with an iPhone on my ear. "Goodbye Dad." I hang up. I just hope that he won't ground me and prevent me from going to DC.
I returned my phone back in my bag and straightened up. I fixed my clothes and looked at Edward. I said in my most professional voice, "I'm sorry for that disturbance Mr. Cullen, but I noticed that it's already five past five, I must retire home. Good afternoon and goodbye."
Edward laughed at my behavior, making me laugh too. Why do I always have to follow him when he laughs? Is his laughter that contagious? If that's the case, I'd better not make him laugh anymore or I won't be able to do anything around him.
"I mean it though, I gotta go home." I picked up my back and slung it over my shoulder. He did the same with his bag pack and together, we made our way to the parking lot. I saw the silver car still there. "You've got a nice car."
"Thanks, it's my pride and joy."
I rolled my eyes; I seem to be doing that a lot lately, "Boys and their toys…" I muttered.
"Don't let Rosalie hear you say that. She loves cars as much as the next car obsessed mechanic."
Rosalie Hale? As in the totally beautiful blonde Rosalie…loving cars? That was unexpected. I unlocked my bike and cycled to Edward's car where he was just getting in.
"It's hard to image Rosalie covered in oil and grease," I stated. I cycled off before he could say anything else, "Call me for the time to work on the power point. Alice has got my number! Bye!" And after I said goodbye, I was already yards away from Edward.
When I arrived home, I was greeted by my dad, Charlie, on the sofa, an expectant look on his face. I cringed as I hung my coat and bag. This might get ugly. Okay so I might be a tad bit overdramatic…
"Isabella Marie Swan!"
…or not.
"Why did you hang up on me? I have had half the mind cancelling our plane tickets to Sophie's birthday party, but seeing as she's the president's daughter…!" His hands were flailing everywhere. I tried not to think of it as funny, if this was a different situation where I'm not in trouble, I might've burst out laughing.
Bust sadly, it isn't.
I sighed, "Dad, I'm sorry for hanging up. The teacher just entered and we weren't allowed devices in detention." Lying sure is getting easier now.
"And how did you get this detention?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
"I did nothing, I swear the teacher's out to get me!"
"Act your age, Bella. You're seventeen years old. You're supposed to be old enough to take responsibilities for your actions. I'm sure that your teacher isn't out to get you. Next time, try to pay attention in class and stop whatever you're doing. You need to get a higher score to maintain your B plus average."
I let out a deep breath and collapsed on the sofa, my legs dangling out on the end. "But Dad, the vocabulary is hard to memorize. What is a tibia? And I don't think the metal-tar-cars belong in our body!"
"It's metatarsals, Bells."
"Whatever, it's not like this is some new Yasmin song and dance routine."
"You sure are quick to catch up on those…" I nodded absently, my brain working extra slowly. Suddenly…
"I thought of it first!" My dad and I said together.
"No you didn't! I did!" I shouted as a huge smile formed on my face. I hugged my dad in thanks, not caring anymore whose idea it was, I'm just too happy. I ran up the stairs and into my room, grabbing a pencil and some paper. I'm going to pass the test next week and I will maintain my B plus average.
The rest of the week, Edward and I talked to each other, just being plain acquantances. We were actually civil to each other during the Biology classes. Today's the day I will be going to DC wth my dad and it's a good thing though that the plane was leaving tonight and not in the morning, otherwise I would be freaking out right now. I slept late last night, celebrating the end of the week and I'm currently lying in my bed deciding what I should bring with me to DC. I would be performing for Sophie, the President's daughter's birthday party.
Knowing that I can't decide while I'm in my bed, wearing my pajamas, feeling sleepy, I jumped up and headed for my bathroom. Yes, I have a bathroom in my bedroom. It's a big bathroom, complete with a bath tub and a shower. There's a big mirror too, small flashlights surrounding it.
I walked carefully on the blue checkered tile floor, minding my step just in case I fall over. I still am sleepy, and when I'm sleepy, I'm more prone to tripping. As I took my shower, I was careful to wash my hair thoroughly, it will be under a wig tonight and I don't want it to get damaged. I then began singing. Singing in the shower is a usual occurrence to me these days. Ever since I started talking in a low voice all the time to keep my cover, I've been missing my normal voice, as odd as that might sound.
Stepping out of the shower half an hour later, my hair nice and clean and my body red from my rigorous rubbing, I headed to my main room and turned on the music. I like listening to music while I'm getting ready.
The sound of me as Yasmin singing 'I Got Nerve' filled the room. I like my room. It had soft dark blue carpeting to protect me from the cold weather, thick navy curtains, again to keep the cold out, and my bed's got blue sheets too. It's pretty obvious to an outsider that blue is my favorite color. My walls are cream and my furniture – the dresser, my desk, bedside table, wardrobe, coffee table and chairs, the old rocking chair that belonged to Grandma, shelves and the bed itself – are made from oak. The room's very spacious, spacious enough to allow me to have a king sized bed in the middle.
"We haven't met, and that's okay
'Cause you will be asking for me one day
"Don't want to wait in line
The moment is mine believe me"
I danced around the room, making sure to avoid the furniture as to not injure myself. I opened my wardrob for my normal clothes and took out a pair of jeans and a black silk blouse. I searched for my black pumps and put them on. Then I sat on my vanity and proceeded to put some light make up on.
"Don't close your eyes
Cause it's a chance worth taking
And I think that I can show you
"I know where I standI know who I am
I would never run away when life gets bad
Everything I seeEvery part of me
Gonna get what I deserve
I got nerve!"
After putting on my make up, keeping in mind Alice's tips, I put on my glasses, knowing that it looks good with my outfit. I then proceeded on straightening my shoulder length hair. I'm feeling like I should do something different today.
"Electrified, I'm on a wire
Gettin' together and we're on fire
What I said, you heard
Now I've got you spinning
"Don't close your mind
The words I use are open
And I think that I can show you
"I know where I stand
I know who I am
I would never run away when life gets bad
Everything I see
Every part of me
I know I can change the world, yeah, yeah, yeah!
I know what you like,
I know what you think,
Not afraid to stare you down until you blink, its
It's everything I see,
Every part of me
Gonna get what I deserve
I got nerve"
Checking my full body in the mirror in the bath room, I decided that now, I should start packing. Great, packing...I don't like packing. I know that I should be used to it by now, being Yasmin and travelling around on performances and such, but... I still hate packing.
I walked over to the wooden door labeled "Old Toys and Clothes". Obviously, it's not really where I keep my old toys and clothes. My old toys when I was younger are stored in the attic upstairs and my old 'Bella' clothes I've given to charity. My old 'Yasmin' clothes however, I keep, except for a few pieces in which my publicist I sold on eBay. Anyway, the door leads to my other closet – Yasmin's closet.
I yanked open the door and I stepped in, leaving the door open so I could still hear the music. I turned on the lights. Looking around, I took in quickly all of my clothes. There were clothes on various racks, various mirrored cabinets, and some hanging from the wall. This made choosing an outfit much easier.
"Okay, what to choose for the party..." I murmured, scanning the mirror cabinets. My eyes spotted a nice green sleeveless shirt and it had a sequin flower design in the middle. I cocked my head on the side, deciding if this should be the shirt I would wear. "Yes, this will be the shirt...but something's missing." I thought out loud. I looked around some more until I saw a white plain t-shirt than reached my lower hips. It was pretty thin so if I put it under the green one... I'll have a fabulous shirt to wear to the party!
I quickly grabbed a random pair of jeans and a darker shade of green belt to go with my shirt. Now, all I needed is a pair of shoes to go with it. I went to my shoe cabinet and chose some dark green wedges, similar to the color of my belt.
"Okay, now I gotta choose what I'll be wearing at the airport and back," I said. I'll probably travel as Bella, but going to the White House, I needed to be Yasmin. 'Maybe we'll be stopping by a hotel,' I thought, 'I need to ask Dad about that later…' I grabbed two random clothes sets from the rack and placed them in my suitcase. "Now that's sorted, I need to choose what to wear for the airport…" I walked out of my closet carrying my suitcases, making sure to turn off the lights and close the door, and opened my wardrobe.
"You, you need to discover
You make me feel free
And I, I need to uncover
The part of you that's reaching out for me"
I'll probably wearing the same clothes as I'm wearing now so I'll only need a pair of jeans and a shirt, plus shoes and accessories. I randomly took out the first thing I saw and, needing a seconds look to see if they go together, placed them in my suitcase. I then took out my make up bag from my school bag and snatched my accessory case from my vanity before placing them both in my suitcase too.
"I know where I stand
I know who I am
I would never run away when life gets bad"
"It's everything I see
Every part of me
I know I can change the world
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah"
"I know what ya like
I know what ya think
Not afraid to stare you down until you blink
It's"
Taking in a deep breath, I jumped on my bed and sighed. I'm done packing. I don't have to think about it anymore. I smiled and tapped my foot along with the beat. Now, I can relax and enjoy my Saturday…
I heard a quiet tune playing somewhere, over my loud music. I listened in closely before recognizing it as my ringtone and dashing for my school bag hanging behind the door.
"Everything you see
Every part of me"
I zipped open the pocket which help my iPhone and checked the caller ID before answering it. Huh, it's unidentified. Who could be calling me?
"Gonna get what I deserve
I got..."
I pressed the answer button on the screen and held the phone to my ear just as the last words of my song played, "I got nerve!"
"Hello?" I asked, "Who's calling me?"
"Whoa Bella, you sure have nerve!" the voice said. I blushed and tried to hide it, not even realizing that the person cannot see me.
"Who is this?" I asked, quite annoyed but amused at the same time.
"It's Edward," my heart skipped a beat, how did he get my number? "I got your number from Alice. You told me to get it off Alice, remember." He just answered my unasked question!
"Whoa, is he a mind reader or something? How did you know I was thinking that?"
"Oh," he sounded flustered, "umm, just a lucky guess…I guess."
"Ohh…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say. I have found myself speechless talking to a guy on the phone, how cliché is that?
"You're probably wondering why I'm calling you, aren't you?"
"Yep," I told him, popping the 'p'.
"It's for our biology project. Since you're going out of town tonight and not coming back until Sunday night, and knowing that you've failed the biology test and need to study for the quiz on Monday, you won't have time to work on the presentation with me. I'm calling you to ask you if we can work on it today."
I stared out in front of me, dumbfounded. Wow, Edward can sure talk fast if he wanted to. And how does he know about me going out of town? And being gone for most of the weekend? That's another weird thing about him…
"Hello? Bella… are you still there?" I heard him ask. His voice sounded distant suddenly.
"Oh hi, I'm sorry I kinda zoned out there. How did you know that I was going out for the weekend?" He did not answer my question immediately and the idea of him being a stalker crept in my brain. I have been stalked before; crazed men varying in ages trying to get together with Yasmin, but I've never been stalked as Bella before. I shook my head at the absurd thought. Nah, he couldn't be. Edward's too beautiful to be a stalker.
"I, er, you said plane tickets, in the phone call yesterday, so, erm…yeah…"
"Edward Cullen," I smirked, a joking tone in my voice, "Are you stalking me?" I heard laughter in the background over at his end, has he got me on speaker or something? The loud boisterous laugh reminded me of my first day in Forks High, how I keep hearing Emmet's laughter at odd times. "Have you got me on speaker? Why is someone laughing in the background? Are you trying to embarrass me, Edward?" My voice lost its joking tone as it got replaced with a slightly indignant one. The laughter abruptly stopped. How odd.
"No! My uh, brother, Emmet's watching the, uh, Simpson's rerun on TV."
"Okay…whatever," I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that he can't see it. "So back to the project, where should we do it? Your house or mine?" I heard laughter again in his end, but it's louder this time. Understanding the double meaning of what I just said, I blushed and my eyes grew wide.
"Erm, I was thinking your house…" he sighed, "Sorry about Emmet, it seems that this particular episode is very funny."
"Which episode is it?" I mumbled, trying not to think of what I just said.
"Err, the one with…Homer…and the pig… Actually, I think it's the movie."
"Oh," I managed to act normal again, "About my house…I can't have you over." The thought of a totally hot guy spending time in my room without my dad's supervision might be interpreted differently. My dad's not allowed in my room, it's a general rule that I made up when I was in my 'troubled teen' stage.
"Why not?" he asked, his melodious voice dripping with worry, why should he be worried? Am I not allowed in their house? I shook the feeling of not feeling wanted and answered him.
"I'm not allowed to have visitors, I'm grounded for having detention yesterday," I said. Okay so I'm lying to him, I can't exactly tell him that the real reason he's not allowed to come over is because I'm afraid it me be interpreted as improper by my dad. "And anyway, you don't know where I live."
"Yeah, but you don't know where I live either."
"So come pick me up, I'll tell my dad that I'm coming over to a friend's house. If he asks who I'm visiting, I'll tell him I'm visiting Alice." He thought over my reasons for a moment before finally agreeing. Yes! I'm going to his house! Wait, why am I excited?
A/N: Yeah! She's going to the Cullens' house!! I wonder what she'll see... So, Edward and Bella are getting pretty close, at least, as close as you can be with all the secrets. Mysterious, huh? Anyway, please review, I like reading them, they make me feel warm and happy on the inside and my heart swells. It might sound weird and all, but it's true.
=]
Update: Note how Edward becomes inarticulate when he's stumped by what Bella just said. Also, note how he babbles for quite soem time, like he's nervous or something.