AN: This version has not been BETA'ED, hopefully I will be able to replace it on a later date with one that is. I'm updating my story with this version, because of lack of time and special requests.

Please forgive me for the flaws in grammar and spelling, and please try to remember English is not my main/first.

Everything Twilight-related belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 4. – Not what I thought.

BPOV

I felt really anxious, when I woke up Monday morning. I was one gigantic jumpy mess that even Charlie stopped reading the sport-section and began to stare at me with a worried expression.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked with a concern voice, as he watch me drop a cup on the floor, luckily, it didn't break. It just landed with a loud clatter.

"Yes, just nervous about the test I guess." I answered, even though it couldn't have been further from the truth. I wasn't nervous about the lab test about the different stages of mitosis we had to group in pairs to do, even though I might have to do it all alone, if Edward continued to be a no show, but there wasn't much hope for that, because he would be there today, that I was certain of.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine." Charlie assured me with a soft smile, before he picked up his paper again and returns his attention the news world of sports.

However I couldn't help notice how he would shot a glance at my direction ever so often, as I continued to fumble with my breakfast. What was wrong with me? I asked myself, why did Edward have this effect on me? Why should I care that he shot those hateful glares at me? Urgh! I throw my half eaten pop tart back on the plate. I had lost my appetite, no wait! I didn't have one in the first place. I looked down at the now repulsing plate containing the half eaten pop tart, I knew that if I ever were to get my appetite back and become able to function like an ordinary human, then I would have to face him, whether I wanted to or not, and with that in mind I might just as well get going, and hopefully the day would be over sooner than expected.

I was a total fool to think there were chances that being at school would make the day go by more smoothly and faster. Yes everything was a blur and I couldn't remember a thing right up until the moment, when it was time for lunch. I was standing in line with Jessica and Mike, who kept on talking about the little snow that had just fallen. They were already planning a huge snowball fight in the school parking lot after school, or I should say Mike, since he was the one planning the whole thing, while Jessica just went along with everything he suggested with battering eyes and hopeful smile. Mike was completely ignorant of Jessica's attempts to flirt with him; instead he kept all his annoying attention on me.

"Don't you just love the snow?" Mike asked me with a broad smile on his excited face.

I shook my head. "No, it is too cold and wet." I answered shuddering at the thought of being outside all cold, wet and sweaty with all the running around and throwing snowballs at each other.

Mike looked crestfallen at this and also somewhat lost for words, when he suddenly got a smile back on his face, all though it was what I would call a slightly timid version of a smile.

"How about beaches, do you like those?" He asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. I couldn't help smiling at this too much dismay for Jessica, but like I said, I couldn't help it, because when he said beach. I couldn't help think of the pristine beach back home, where the palm trees would gently sway in the soft warm breeze as the sun warmed you inside out with its glow, while you watch the tiny waves on the surface of the ocean sparkle and almost dance in the beams of the sun.

"Beaches I love." I answered truthfully to a now beaming Mike.

"Then we should make a group trip to the beach." Jessica quickly piped in, before Mike could say anything, and I was honestly grateful for that. It wasn't like I didn't like Mike, it was just that he reminded me of a golden retriever in his eagerness to please me and follow me around like a lovesick puppy. It was frankly very irritating. So I was all for Jessica's plan of making an group excursion to the beach, which is why I quickly nodded in agreement earning a little more friendly attitude from Jessica. Mike however, his smile had faltered and looked less enthusiastic about the whole idea, but I had no time to think the reasons about that, because I had just noticed Edward Cullen sitting together with his siblings in a far corner in the cafeteria laughing and ruffling up his hair with his right hand in his attempts to get snow out of it and dry it up a little. The whole scene looked like it was taken right out of a Norman Rockwell painting, it was so surreal to watch them in their cheerful banter and playfulness, as Emmett was shaking his head like a dog would shake its fur free from the snow that was attached the strains of hair. Rosalie and Alice were both leaning back in their chairs with their hands in front of them in a hopeless attempt to shield themselves from the droplets of the newly melted snow. I haven't realized how occupied I have become with the scene until I felt Jessica yank the sleeve of my shirt and heard her annoyance over my lack of interest of what she was saying.

"Bella, did you hear me?" She asked with a disgruntled tone.

"What?" I asked as I was pulled out of my distracted mind, although my eyes were still glued at the Cullens.

"What's with you today?" Jessica asked as her eyes followed the direction of my gaze. "Oh."

It was then Edward turned his head and looked at me. My breath hitched and I quickly dropped my eyes to the floor, as I tried to shield my blushing face with my hair. I could hear Jessica giggle, as we reached the counter to pick out our food. I had too many butterflies fluttering around in my stomach to eat, so I settled with a soda.

"OMG! He is still staring at you." Jessica exclaimed excited earning a frown from Mike, who standing just behind us in the line.

"Who?" I asked, like I didn't know.

"Edward." Jessica answered with an incredulous edge in her voice. I groaned internally at this, it could only mean that he still despised me.

"He's properly wondering how to get rid of me or something." I replied, as walked towards our usual table.

"Why? Did you do something?" Jessica asked eagerly for a little gossip.

"No. I just don't think he likes me." I answered truthfully.

"Edward doesn't like anybody other than his own family. I haven't even heard him going out on a date with someone. Apparently no girl is good enough." Jessica huffed with disappointment. I wasn't sure, if it was because the lack of potential juicy gossip or the fact that… let us just say that I had suddenly got a hunch that Jessica had once tried to ask Edward out but was turned down. I had to bit my lower lip at this to stifle my giggle, because if she just knew, what Edward really was, then she would be running screaming for the hills.

"Bella, aren't you going to eat anything?" Mike asked with concern when he noticed the lack of food in front of me.

I shook my head and decided to give him the same excuse I gave Charlie this morning. "I'm not really hungry. I'm a bit nervous about the lab we have to do today."

"Damn I forgot about that!" Mike exclaimed and hit his forehead with the heel of his right hand completely forgetting that his hand was smeared with ketchup, oil and salt from the fries he was eating. Needless to say that he now looked rather funny with the food residue on his head, and none of us could help laughing at him, which made him look at us with evident confusion in his expression. "What?"

I pointed to his head as I clamped a hand to my mouth. "You have ketchup on your head." The words came out all muffled and slightly chopped up since my hand and laughter was sort of in the way.

Mike looked down at his hand and his eyes widen with embarrassment, when he noticed the smudge on his hand and realized that he must have something similar on his head. Mike quickly reached for a napkin and started furiously to wipe the residue off, while he shot daggers at us.

"It's not funny!" Mike grumbled.

"Oh, Mike! Don't be mad. I'm sorry for laughing but it was just so funny." I smiled sweetly, when I managed to get hold on myself and still my laughter.

"I guess it was kind of funny." Mike relented and grinned back, and with that the whole atmosphere at the table was a lot lighter and relaxed. I at least felt more relaxed and carefree. Well I did, until it was time to go to class.

I didn't know if I should feel relieved or worried, when I noticed that Edward hasn't arrived yet. The table was still empty as other students entered the room to take their seats, while Mr. Banner walked up and down the aisle to place boxes with slides next to the microscopes.

I walked over to my seat and scooted the chair as close to the edge of the table, so in case that he who hates me didn't have to sit too close to me. I pulled out my notebook and began to doodle a little while I waited for class to begin. Not long after I heard the chair next to me scrape against the floor, which surprised me, because Vampires knew how to move silently and gracefully, they seldom made that much noise, when they pulled out chairs. Then it hit me; that he was just doing it make his presences known.

"Hi! I'm Edward Cullen. You're Bella?" I heard a velvety voice say. What the…? My head snapped up and I stared at him, as I tried to adjust and put my rambling thoughts in order. I don't think I have been more confused as I was in that very moment.

Edward looked expectedly at me with a gentle smile, but as the clocked ticked on his smile ever so slightly began to fade away and his expression began to mirror my own confusion. It took a while for me to realize that he was waiting for me to respond, and I was just sitting there goggling like a mindless fool and a very rude one.

"Uhm… Sorry, what?" I managed to blurt out as I shook my head to clear it.

Edward furrowed his brow and sat up a little straighter in his seat. "You're Bella Swan?" He asked with hesitation in his voice, it was like he no longer knew how to proceed.

"Uhm… yes." It came out sounding like question, but I couldn't help it, I was just so confused. Last week Edward was staring me down with murderous cold eyes and now he was ... acting friendly. The corners of Edward's lips twitched slightly.

"I'm Edward Cullen; we didn't get the chance to talk last week." He said softly as he looked me in the eyes with his buttery golden eyes that were so intense in their stare, I had to cast my eyes down on the table in front of me.

"I know and then you left to Alaska." I said before thinking.

"How did you know?" He immediately asked with surprise written all over his face. I groaned internally, because I have slipped out to much information, but then I thought of something… Alice.

"I bumped in to Alice last week, and we talked." I smiled, because it provided the perfect reason to why I would know. I would just have to hope, that Alice would keep the part me blurting out that he was in Alaska to herself, oh, and Jasper as well. My spirit plummets at the thought of Jasper. I truly hoped he wouldn't say anything, and Alice would make sure he didn't, but I could only hope.

"So you met my sister?" Edward asked somewhat taken aback at this.

"Yes and your brother Jasper. What they didn't they tell you?" Now it was my turn to be surprise, surely they must have mentioned something to him when he came home.

"No, they didn't." Edward answered icily turning in his seat and looked towards the blackboard with an annoyed and irritated expression.

I debated with myself, if I should say something, but I wasn't sure what. Luckily Mr. Banner decided that we all should get started on our lab test. I know it properly sounds funny that we should do a test in pairs, but Mr. Banner wanted to see, if we were capable to work together in a team and share the load equally.

"Ladies first?" Edward asked softly.

"Uhm… sure." I answered feeling slightly startled over his sudden mood change. I shot him a pondering glance, as I pulled the microscope towards me, so I could slip the first slide in. I knew what I should look for, because my uncle often wanted to discuss biology with him. I know it sounds like a boring topic, but my uncle always found ways to make it fun and interesting.

"Prophase!" I stated without a doubt in my mind.

"May I?" Edward smiled with another twitch in the corner of his lips; it was like he found my confident statement amusing. What he didn't believe me? Edward pulled the microscope towards him and studied the slide.

"Prophase." Edward nodded in agreement, as he wrote it down looking a little shocked that I was correct in my assessment of the slide.

While we worked with the slides and took turn to look in the microscope he began to look at me with an expression of undiluted awe, which made me really confused and uncomfortable, until Mr. Banner reached our table to find out, why we had stopped working. Apparently this lab test was an assignment taking from the more advanced course. I groaned internally again, because I realized it would have been more normal, if I had been struggling with this just like the other students, who were discussing animatedly with each other, I even so a glimpse of an open book under the table. I was lucky that Mr. Banner came up with a logical explanation which I quickly agreed on, as I crossed my fingers under the table. Now I was just hoping that either someone back home would have foreseen this and made sure that my forged school papers included information about attending an advanced program or Mr. Banner wasn't going to check up on it.

I sighed over my own stupidity, why did I keep on making those slip ups and not act like a normal teen? Which reminded me that the Cullens weren't acting that much like a normal teen would do, but then again people just took them to be nothing more than freaks and out of the norm. What I have learned these few days was that despite acting different no one suspected them to be inhuman, so maybe I still had a chance to redeem myself and uphold the illusion. I was staring blankly at the blackboard trapped in my own thoughts when Edward interrupted them and pulled me to the present.

"Too bad about the snow." Edward said.

"What?" I asked absentminded, since I haven't really been paying him any attention while I was lost in my train of thoughts, trying to find out how to proceed, so all my awkwardness and strange behavior would only look like it was a result of being shy and anxious over the common knowledge of being the new kid.

"The snow, it's a shame it has all melted, don't you think?" Edward said slowly and very clearly almost annunciating each syllable.

"No, not really, and are you asking me about the weather now?" I asked incredulous, because I couldn't help feeling confused with his constant mood swings, they were kind of giving me a whiplash.

"Uhm… yes, you don't like to talk about the weather?" Edward asked with a deep furrow between his eyebrows.

"I don't mind to talk about the weather; it is just strange that you would want to hear my opinion about the snow, since…" I stopped myself, because I was just about to say; 'hate me,' but that would have been a huge mistake, so I decided to go in a different direction. "Since you don't seem like the kind of person who is generally interested in peoples opinion concerning the weather."

"Well I don't, I was just trying to make small talk." Edward said sounding a little hurt. Why would he feel hurt?

"Small talk?" I asked with surprise evident in my voice.

"Yes small talk, isn't something normal people do?" Edward challenged me. Wait… normal people… does that mean he suspected something abnormal about me other the fact I seemed to know more than most teens and where he happened to be last week?

"Uhm… I guess… well I prefer warm weather and the sun, the snow is so cold and wet, furthermore it tends to make your boot and shoes become squeaky and soggy." I answered hoping it was enough to lead him away from the sensitive subjects in case he was headed that way, however my fears was unnecessary, since he seemed to find my response funny, I have no idea why.

"Squeaky and soggy?" Edward chuckled, as his eyes became soft with humor.

"Yes, squeaky, because the rubber soles squeak when they are wet, and soggy because when the snow gets inside or melt through the leather or textile then they become soggy in a very cold and annoying way." I explained to a very amused Edward.

"I guess you are right." Edward answered as his shoulders shook from the laughter he tried to hold within, so he didn't disturb the other students, who were more or less finished with their labs.

Me? I was just staring at him like an idiot, because I really couldn't see what was so funny in what I have said. I was just about to ask him, what it was that was so funny, when the bell rang and he was out of his seat so fast and so much grace I was left sitting dumbstruck with my jaw down on the floor in a total daze.

I was so gone, I didn't notice Mike had walked over to me and asked me something, until I felt him tug my pony tail like it was the string to an old doorbell or something demanding attention to his presence.

"Bella, are you alright?" Mike asked concerned.

"Huh… what? Oh… yes, I'm alright, I was just musing over the last hour or so." I answered, as I picked up my things, so we could walk to the gym.

"Don't remind me, that lab test was a nightmare." Mike groaned and looked up to the ceiling like he was asking some higher power, why he had to go through that last hour of hell? I had to bite my lip to prevent myself from smiling.

"It wasn't that bad, but then again I had done the lab before although that what was with Whitefish blastula and not with onion root like just now." I answered with a shrug and opened the door, so we could step outside. I shuddered from the shift of temperature, and it seemed that Mike thought, I too was having bad memories with the lab, because he nodded as a response to my answer, but I guess that was only a good thing, because then I at least seemed like an ordinary human to one person. I almost sighed in relief at the thought, when Mike decided to change the subject away from the so called 'nightmare'.

"So… Edward seemed very talkative today." Mike said, as he hunched over and kicked a pebble on the ground, while we were walking down the path to the gym.

"Yeah, I don't know why." I answered pretending I really didn't care about that.

"Huh," was Mike's intelligent response, I tried not to roll my eyes, because it wouldn't be a good thing to start offending people, when I was still the new kid in school.

I had a feeling that Mike might have a crush on me, but I wasn't completely sure and I didn't want to hurt his feelings and loose his friendship by stepping all over him by acting superior, I needed to tread carefully. However it didn't stop me from tuning him out, as he continued to chatter all the way to the gym, that I was actually feeling sort of relieved to step inside the girls changing room.

I almost wanted to do a little happy dance, when P.E. ended with no accidents from my part, but my uplifted spirit only lasted until the moment I was about to back out with my truck and almost hit a rusty Toyota Corolla in the process. I groaned with embarrassment, when I noticed Edward laughing in my rearview mirror, as he stood leaning up against his car looking at my direction.

Stupid shiny Volvo owner! I mumbled under my breath on my way home.