AN: thanks for the amazing reviews and thanks to bluebaby for betaing this chapter.
AN2: in this chapter you'll meet Edward, the only difference from the original story will be that Bella isn't his singer, he can't still read her mind and that's what motivates him to befriend her. As someone was confused about Paul, I want to say it again, he hasn't phased yet but he is very close to it, you can be sure that when he'll phase you'll know.
Chapter 3
That night Bella was finding it hard to fall asleep because every time she closed her eyes she would see Paul's smirk and his intense eyes.
She sighed and turned again in her bad. The guy was a menace to her mind; she couldn't really believe that he had kissed her and that she had even agreed to dance with him.
Commitment; it was funny how many girls her age would dream of nothing but finding a guy serious enough to have a relationship with.
She snorted. Why was she always the different one? The divorce of her parents and the pain of the separation from her father had brought to her the strong conviction that nothing lasted forever and that love wasn't really enough. Since she was very young she was sure she didn't want to be tied down, not even by someone like Paul.
She turned again, but then she thought, seeing Jacob and Maria together had given her some hope that there could be real love out there. But they were still so young. Who knew if one year from now they would still be dating?
Finally she settled into a comfortable position and slowly she felt herself slipping into sleep.
…
A knock at her bedroom's door made her jump up.
"Bells? Can I come in?" Jacob's voice reached her.
Bella looked at herself; her PJs covered everything there was to cover. "Yes."
Jacob entered with a package. "I thought I'd bring breakfast to the best, loveliest and nicest girl – friend I've." He exclaimed and then winked mouthing the words 'United States'. That was their code word for Paul.
So Paul was listening in on their conversation again. She grinned. "I feel so lucky to have a boy - friend like you." She said with her voice higher than usual, Paul needed to hear her.
Jacob grinned and sat on her bed. He whispered. "He is giving me the evil eye. I just came to check on you, you seemed upset last night. Did he say something stupid?"
She blushed a bit and whispered back. "He didn't'... he was his usual cocky self...but..." She sighed and closed her eyes. "I found out that I'm attracted to him and it wasn't pleasant."
Jacob put his hand on hers and squeezed. "Bells...it's natural to like him. I mean even Maria thinks he is handsome...the important thing is that you know he doesn't mean half the words he says."
Her heart missed a beat. She didn't want commitment either, so why did it hurt to hear it out loud? "I know..." then she looked into the warm eyes of Jacob and felt so much affection for him. Like a brother he was looking after her. She put her other hand over his and held it. "Thanks Jake... for being you."
He blushed a bit. "Aww you're going to embarrass me Bells!" Then he pulled her into his arms and hugged her. "Let me give you a brotherly hug."
Bella smiled and hugged him back.
From the door they heard a snarl. "There isn't anything brotherly about that hug Black! Now before I kick you out of here, you should leave. I'm sure the Chief wouldn't like to know how at ease you are in his daughter's room."
Jacob winked at Bella and then turned his glare at him. "And that would be your business because...?"
Bella noticed that Paul was shaking slightly. What was he so angry and upset about? And why? She didn't mean anything to him. She disentangled herself from Jacob and walked towards Paul, her eyes never leaving his. When she reached him she put a hand on his chest and he took a step back.
She was shocked; Paul was watching her with a wild look. "Paul, I..."
He didn't let her finish, he turned around and quickly descended the stairs. She heard the front door shut close with a bang.
"Well, that was interesting." Said Jacob. "Paul has never reacted so strongly about a girl before... at least not that I know... you might have really caught his fancy."
Bella's heart skipped a beat. "But why did he leave so abruptly?"
Jacob shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? Maybe he didn't want to show how jealous he really was... the guy is weird and he's got a strange relationship with Sam and his goon."
"Who is Sam?" She asked curiously. She really wanted to know more about the enigmatic Paul.
Jacob hands clenched. "Sam is a guy from the Res. Six months ago he disappeared and when he came back he was a changed guy. The Elders almost worship the ground where he walks. He's the owner of the construction company where Paul works. Basically, Sam got his hair cut short and has a tribal tattoo on his arm and goes around like he owns the place. Jared, another good guy, joined him four months ago. Same short hair, tattoos and they seems to forget their shirts home more than once. Sam looks at Paul and at me like we're going to be next near his side...he can keep dreaming that I would ever follow him around like a lost puppy."
Bella had listened to Jacob's rant and was a bit worried. "So this Sam is after Paul?"
"Paul and me. Sometimes he watches Quil and Embry too. But we try to steer clear." He answered.
The mystery was intensifying. What did Sam want with Paul? Why was he held in such high consideration? Was Jacob in danger?
"Enough with these gloomy thoughts. This is your last day of holiday and Maria has ordered me to bring you to her house. We're going to have a barbeque and chat a bit more. You made an impression on her, she is usually shy, but she says that you make her feel at ease. I would love for my two favorite girls to get along." Said Jacob.
"I would like that too. Let me get changed and I'll go with you." She replied.
…
The day had been good; Bella and Maria had talked and gotten along well. As usual Jacob had been the soul of the party and Bella had finally managed to relax. Though the thought of how Paul had left abruptly that morning was still bothering her.
…
First day of school was never her favorite; Bella hated to go to school and be the centre of attention. A sigh escaped her while having breakfast with her dad.
Charlie picked up on her unhappy mood. "Don't worry Bells; the novelty of your arrival will wear down soon. You just have to resist the first few days."
She smiled at her father. "Let's hope you're right. Dad, is Paul coming today?"
He father shook his head. "He won't be coming back until Wednesday, so you're free from him for three days."
Bella put her hand on her heart. "However shall I survive without seeing God's gift to women?" She said half-jokingly, but deep down she knew she'd miss him.
Charlie laughed and after bidding her good day he left for work.
Bella arrived at school a bit earlier to get all the information and then started her first day with many people staring at her. She blushed, put down her head and proceeded to go to class.
By lunchtime she had made two friends, Angela and Jessica who invited her to join them for lunch at their table. There she was formally introduced to Mike Newton, who didn't even try to mask his evident interest in her, Ben and Tayler.
When they were eating an almost unnatural silence descended onto the cafeteria. Bella looked around and saw five absurdly beautiful people entering and walking towards an empty table. She turned to speak with Jessica. "Who are they?"
Jessica looked at her and whispered. "They are the Cullen's, the adoptive children of Doctor Cullen and his wife. Don't bother with them; they never really talk with anyone but themselves. The only single one is the guy with the blond-reddish hair, his name is Edward and he is very reserved."
Bella turned to look at the Cullen's again and she noticed that they were all looking at her. Her eyes then met the ones of Edward and she almost gasped. His eyes were the color of honey and they seemed to call to her. She shook her head and turned back to her lunch.
She was glad that they didn't bother with people at school, she didn't need any more trouble than the one she had with Paul. At the sudden recall of his name, butterflies flew into her stomach. Today was Monday and she would see him on Wednesday. She wondered if he was thinking about her as much as she was thinking about him.
A snort came out of her, fat chance in hell. Wishful thinking wasn't really her favorite past-time, but with Paul in the picture she had to reevaluate a lot of ideas she had of herself.
"Hey Bella, I was wondering... are you free next Saturday?" Mike asked. Bella knew she needed to let him down quickly.
"Sorry Mike but I'll be in La Push; my friend Jacob and I will spend the day together." She said hoping that he would catch her meaning.
"Ah, never mind. Maybe next week then?" He said eagerly.
She bit her lip. "We'll see." She said noncommittally. Mike was either oblivious to her message or he decided that she was worth the fight. Both ways didn't bid for a good beginning of the year.
Last lesson of the day was Biology and when she entered she noticed that the only empty place was near Edward Cullen. Great, at least she didn't need to engage in useless talk. A mute lab partner was exactly her wish come true.
When she sat she nodded politely in his direction and then took out the books.
She was startled when he said, "Hi, I'm Edward Cullen and you're Bella right?"
His voice was melodious and soft like velvet, nothing like the rough but sexy growl that was Paul's.
"Yes, I'm Bella. Nice to meet you." She replied and hoped he didn't want to break his clean record of avoidance of every human being with her.
"Where are you from?" He went on.
She turned to look at him, his beautiful eyes studying her. Her newfound 'spunk' roared its ugly head. She didn't have time to bother with this guy as well. "Listen Edward... not to be rude but I got the idea that you don't mix with people at school... now I might imagine that you're being polite here... but there's no need... you can ignore me and I'm going to be happy about it."
He eyed her seriously and then cracked a smile. "You really are something different..."
His crooked grin was appealing but after knowing someone like Paul, there was no contest. She really had fallen fast and hard for that ass.
"Bella... you're right we usually don't mingle, but I thought that with being lab partners we could chat a bit if that would be fine with you..." He said charmingly; unfortunately for him she wasn't affected at all.
"I'm from Phoenix." She answered. Maybe if she talked with him long enough she might fall out of love with Paul and like him instead. Edward was polite, handsome and charming.
"Very sunny place. How do you handle this constant rainy weather?" he asked.
Bella smiled at him, he really was trying to chat with her. "It's cold and humid here... not the best place but I guess I'll be here until graduation; then I'll leave for University and that will be a forever kind of goodbye to Forks."
The professor chose that moment to enter and the lesson started. Bella and Edward worked in companionable silence for the lesson.
When the bell rang Bella stood up but was stopped by Edward. "May I walk you to your car?"
Bella blinked once, and then again. She should just deny his request and send him the message that she wasn't available. But hold on, she was available, last time she checked she wasn't seeing anyone. A face formed in her mind and she kicked it away. "Okay thanks."
She was shocked to realize that she had agreed. He took her bag from her hands and put it on his shoulder. They walked out of the classroom and out of the school with almost every eye on them.
"Can you really get used to all the stares?" Bella asked. She was beet red, but he seemed totally unaffected by it.
"I guess many of them they got nothing better to do with their time. Don't worry Bella, they'll stop eventually." He tried to reassure her. "But if you hang out with me they'll probably keep staring."
Bella managed a small smile. "Then I shouldn't hang out with you."
They reached her truck and he was serious when he gave back her bag. "Maybe that would be a great idea... I'm not a good guy Bella..."
"I beg to differ... your eyes show that you are good." She blurted out.
He smiled at her. "Maybe you need to check your eyesight... Have a good evening." And before she could say anything else he had walked to where his siblings were waiting for him. She noticed that all were glaring either at her or at him.
Had he broken one of their rules by talking to her? She shrugged her shoulders, it wasn't her business anyway. She went back home a bit saddened not to see Paul.
But Wednesday was right around the corner.
