Author's Note: Enjoy, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Chapter 4
Bella's Point of View
I struggled through the door with the grocery bags and my backpack. It had taken me an hour at the grocery store, just to get all our necessities.
"Great," I muttered as I organized the food into the refrigerator. "When am I going to do homework?"
Junior year sucked. And even more when you were being pressured.
I was distracted the whole time I was making dinner. Thinking about the things I had to do for tonight's homework. Worrying about the Calculus test tomorrow.
So distracted that I didn't hear Charlie arrive.
"Hey, Bells!" His voice was too loud. I jumped at the abrupt sound.
He looked at me curiously. "Did something happen? Why are you so jumpy?"
I shook my head. "I just have a lot of things to do tonight. That's all."
Charlie looked sympathetic. "Junior year always bites."
I nodded once before beginning to set the table.
After dinner and a quick shower, I finally sat down at my desk for homework. Thankfully, I worked steadily and concentrated so hard that I finished before midnight. I needed all the sleep I could get.
Wearily, I plopped down on my bed and was instantly asleep.
Edward's Point of View
"Welcome home," Esme greeted me at the door. "How was school?"
"Bor… Okay," I replied.
She studied me with a slight smile upon her face. "How did 'boring' turn to okay all of a sudden? Did something happen?"
I immediately thought of the girl, but I shook my head. "Senior year's always boring, Mom."
"Are you having any luck?" Esme asked worriedly.
Although my parents had known that I wouldn't succeed in finding someone within a year, they were still hoping that I did find someone. They'd only been pressured into making the deal by the board of directors. They were giving me a lot of stress, but it wasn't intentional.
I shrugged. "I've given up."
Her eyes widened. "Why?"
"Don't tell the board that," I said, smiling. "I still have six months. I think I'll enjoy my freedom before the board partners me up with some random girl."
"But why, Edward?" she asked.
"Yes, why, Edward?" a familiar, high trilling voice asked.
Alice came skipping down the stairs, her eyebrows furrowed. She was always worried about me these days, like the elder sister should.
"Aren't you supposed to be at NYU?" I asked dryly. "When do you have time to study if you keep dropping in like this? You have a dorm at the campus."
She pouted. "I only drop in to see you, Edward. Do you want to come live with me? I miss you so much every day."
I rolled my eyes as I leaned on the wall casually. "Tell that to Jasper, why don't you? Your boyfriend."
She grinned. "Of course I tell him. But you're more lovable in my eyes. My baby brother." She threw her arms around my waist.
It was hard to believe that she was older than I was. I was six feet two and was still growing. She was barely five feet.
"So what happened?" Alice asked.
"You asked me that last Friday," I said.
She pulled away, grimacing. "A lot can happen in five days."
"Speaking of which, why are you back home? It's only Wednesday. Are you slacking off, pixie?"
Esme smiled as she left us to go into the kitchen. She loved it when we had these sibling conversations.
"We were curious about you," Alice answered.
My eyes narrowed. "We?"
"'Sup, bro?"
I sighed as my elder brother came bouncing down the stairs, cheerful as always. I grunted when he ruffled my hair affectionately.
"Is that all the welcome I get?" Emmett asked, pretending to be hurt.
"Why are you doing this to me?" I groaned as I started upstairs. Of course they followed. "In the last month, it was Alice. And now, you too, Em?"
"We're just really curious," Emmett said innocently. "Any luck?"
"No. Go away. Go back to Columbia."
"Wow, he really is agitated about this," Emmett told Alice. "I'm so glad I'm not the heir."
I scowled even more at that. "Shut up. Go away. Go back to school, both of you. I was loving the quiet house without you guys."
Alice laughed. "Exactly why we came. We thought it might be getting a bit too quiet. And who better than us to fill it up with noise?"
"I agree with you one hundred percent," Emmett guffawed. "Didn't you miss us at all?"
I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of telling them that I had. I really needed my elder siblings for support and encouragement. They always listened to me and understood. Though I groaned and pretended to be annoyed, I always missed them. The house was too quiet. But I wasn't going to admit that. They already had big heads.
"Aw, he's too shy to admit it," Emmett said, laughing as they followed me into my bedroom.
Rolling my eyes but smiling slightly, I sat down on an armchair. I didn't need to admit it anyway. They already knew.
They sat on the couch opposite from me and leaned forward expectantly.
I looked at them. "What are you waiting for?"
"Tell us what happened," Alice urged. "It's totally written on your face. Something happened."
"I…" I stopped myself. "It's nothing."
"So there is something," Emmett noted. "Tell us. We can keep a secret."
"No, you can't," I mumbled. "You'll go blabbing to Carlisle and Esme."
"We won't if you don't want us to tell them," Alice promised. She held up her hand and grinned. "Scout's honor."
"It's really nothing," I sighed. "Really. I'll probably never see her again."
"Her?" Alice nearly shrieked. "You said her! Who is this girl?"
"Take it down a notch, Alice," Emmett chided. "He just said that he'll probably never see her again."
"Yeah, but if she's worth mentioning to us, even the slightest bit…" Alice turned to me. "What, what? What happened?"
"I just bumped into her in the hallway, that's all," I said.
"And?"
"What makes you think there's an and?"
"Just your tone."
I thought about the girl. "She was pretty."
Emmett and Alice glanced at each other, their eyes wide and excited.
"Stop it," I protested. "Jeez, you two."
They turned back to me. Alice had a hopeful smile on her face, and Emmett was laughing silently.
"Have you ever seen her before?" he asked.
"Once. In the parking lot."
"Have you ever talked to her?"
"No."
"Then what do you know about her?" he pointed out, though still looking amused. "What draws you in? You barely know her."
I cocked my head. "You're right. I don't know her."
Alice wasn't giving up. "Who is this girl?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
"Her name?"
"I don't know."
"Grade?"
I hesitated. "I think she might be a junior. But she seemed fairly advanced for her age. She was carrying a Calculus book."
"Pretty?"
I nodded slowly. "Beautiful." I gave Emmett an annoyed look. He was still laughing. "Prettier than Rosalie."
That shut him up. "Hey. Watch it. Rose is the prettiest."
I stuck out my tongue. "You're just lucky you can date and marry whomever you want."
He gave me a small, apologetic smile. "I know."
I knew it wasn't his fault. He shouldn't be apologizing to me.
Though Alice and I were biologically Cullens, Emmett had been adopted. Way before Alice and I'd been born, Carlisle and Esme had found him wandering alone the streets, looking lost. They'd taken him in and ever since then, he'd been part of our family. It was like he was never adopted. He was ours.
But just the mere fact that he'd been adopted meant that he couldn't be the heir. He wasn't a true Cullen. I was. That meant that I had to be the heir. And though it wasn't his fault, Emmett had always felt guilty that his little brother had to be the one to be suffering through this.
"You should've found out her name at least," Alice mumbled, looking disappointed.
I sighed. "What's the possibility of me meeting her again? Probably less than zero. This is South View High we're talking about. It's huge. Four thousand people, not including faculty.
"You really fell for her, didn't you?" Emmett asked incredulously. "That's weird."
Alice clapped her hands excitedly. "Maybe it was love at first sight!"
Emmett and I snorted simultaneously. "Yeah, right."
"It's possible!"
"Look, I don't think she was attracted to me at all," I said, laughing. "She looked at me like I was some crazy person from an institution."
Alice looked smug. "You will meet her again. I just know it. I can feel it."
"Whatever, Alice."
Her eyes narrowed. "How much do you want to bet?"
"A hundred bucks," Emmett said immediately. He and Alice's boyfriend, Jasper Whitlock, loved to gamble.
"You're on."
"Stop it," I groaned. "Seriously. Go back to school."
"Are you quarterback again?" Emmett asked, changing the subject.
"No. I'm not playing football this year."
They exchanged He's-finally-lost-it looks.
I sighed. "I guess I don't need football right now."
They looked at me, looking worried. Finally, Alice said, "Maybe you're right."
I glanced back and forth between the two of them, and couldn't help feeling sorry about how much of a burden I was being to the both of them.
AN: So, what'd you think? Leave your thoughts in a review!
