Disclaimer: Twilight and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

A/N: And here we have Bella's POV and we get to see what is going through her head the first time she sees Edward. Enjoy.


Chapter Three

Bella's POV

I stood by my beloved old truck and watched as the familiar yellow Porsche pulled into the school parking lot. The car swung into a spot and I watched as my friends climbed out. I watched as Emmett unfolded his huge frame out of the small sports car. He held the door and appeared to be waiting for something. My gaze went to my very best friend as she bounced out of the car and skipped to the other side. I shook my head as I watched her. She had way too much energy.

As she went to stand next to Emmett, I saw another boy exiting the car. This was the teenager Alice had been talking about. Edward, the kid from Chicago. I caught a glimpse of reddish hair and pale skin as he walked quickly towards the office. I watched for a second, mesmerized by his graceful walk.

"Bella!" Alice yelled out when she spied me. I smiled and walked over to her and Emmett. "Did you see?" she asked excitedly.

I nodded. "Briefly," I said, my voice sounding so dull after her musical tone.

The three of us headed towards the school building and I listened as Alice filled me in. Emmett saw Rosalie and went off to greet her. "He's from Chicago," she said. I nodded, she had already told me that. "I really think you will like him Bella," she added.

Now I rolled my eyes. "Please Alice, please don't try to set us up." I couldn't imagine how awkward it would be if she tried and things didn't work out. I mean, he was living with the Cullens now. I was there practically every day.

Alice squealed when Jasper wrapped his arms around her. She turned and kissed him right on the lips. I smiled at their closeness. She turned back to me. "I'll introduce you at lunch."

I groaned. I had hoped that she had let it go. But this was Alice we were talking about. "Okay," I said. "But after that, you can't interfere."

"Sure," she said with a knowing smile. Jasper laughed and dragged her away, towards her first period class.

I shook my head and started towards English. When I sat down at my seat, I heard the whispers. Apparently the Forks High gossip mill was already operating at full force.

"Did you see the new kid?" I heard Lauren Mallory whisper to Jessica Stanley. "He is absolutely gorgeous."

"I know, right?" Jessica replied, giggling.

"I mean, he's got that whole mysterious vibe about him. Makes me want to jump on him," Lauren continued.

"That's exactly what I thought!" Jessica exclaimed inanely.

I sighed and opened my notebook. Poor guy, I thought. He had no idea what was coming.

The rest of the morning continued pretty much the same way. Everyone was talking about the new kid. I had yet to see him, but from what I had heard he was amazingly hot, mysterious and apparently a brainiac.

"He's just a showoff. I mean really, who actually runs more then is required."

I looked up from my place in line and saw Tyler talking to Mike. One guess who they were talking about.

Mike snorted. "What a jerk. I wonder what he's trying to prove. He runs fast, so what? It's not like that means anything."

I chuckled softly to myself. I raised a hand to hide my smile. The jealousy in Mike's voice was so incredibly obvious. Mike considered himself the All-American jock. He ran a hand through his blond spikes and then ran a hand over the Forks High letter man jacket he wore.

"Don't worry Mikey, I'm sure it won't happen again. You'll beat him next time," Tyler said, putting a sympathetic hand on Mike's shoulder.

"For sure," Mike answered.

I shook my head and reached for a salad. I placed it on my tray and headed for my normal table. Alice and Jasper were already there. I saw Emmett and Rosalie still in line. "Hey," I said as I sat down at the table. "How are you guys?"

"Great," Alice said as she glanced towards the doors. "I wonder where Edward is."

"If I were him, I'd be hiding," I said softly. "I mean, the whole school is talking about him."

"Where's Edward," Emmett asked as he sat down.

"We were just talking about that, Em," I said.

"Should I be worried?" he asked. I could see his protective side coming out and I smiled. Emmett really was just a huge teddy bear.

"I'm sure he's fine," Alice said, frowning a bit despite her words. She looked meaningfully at Emmett and I saw him nod. "Oh, they are announcing the results of the auditions today!"

Sometimes, Alice could give me whiplash with her mood changes. "When?" I asked as I pierced a cucumber with my fork.

"After school," she said bouncing slightly in her chair. "I really, really, really hope I got the lead."

Jasper put his arms around Alice and kissed her cheek. "I'm sure you did, darlin'," he said.

"You worked so hard," I added, thinking back to the hours of classes Alice had gone to over the summer. Her goal was to be the lead in the play. Quite a feat for a Junior.

"I guess if I'm not Tinkerbell, I could settle for Wendy," she said with a sigh.

Personally, I couldn't imagine a better Tinkerbell. I mean, Alice is pretty much Tinkerbell personified. There was no way she wasn't getting that part.

When the bell rang, I stood up and threw away my garbage. I said good bye to my friends and then headed to the biology lab. I sat down at my table and unloaded my biology text and my notebook. I was writing the date at the top of the page when I heard a quiet commotion around me. I turned my head and saw Edward walking towards Mr. Banner's desk. I could only see his back, but I realized his hair wasn't really red. It was had more brown it, you could say it was bronze. A rather unique color, actually. Honestly, it was beautiful. It looked soft and thick, silky and for just a second my fingers itched to run through it. Then he turned and what I saw took my breath away.

All day long I had heard about how hot he was. Nearly every girl at school, from the lowliest freshman to the top runner for homecoming queen had been gushing about the hot new boy. But he wasn't hot. He was beautiful and although that word had a feminine connotation, it was the only word I could think of to describe him.

The word may be feminine, but he certainly was not. . He may not have had the biggest muscles, in fact he was on the skinny side, but there was a quiet strength about him. He came to stand next to my table and for a second I found myself drowning in his emerald green eyes. Beautiful. Haunted. Pain. Fear. Overwhelming sadness. An electric charge raced through me and I could feel my heart pounding. "Hello," I heard my self say. My voice sounded far away. "My name is Bella Swan."

He nodded, but then turned to arrange his books in front of him. I frowned when Mr. Banner launched into his lecture on planarian.

I tried to concentrate as my teacher explained the fascinating world of planarian but I couldn't. In my mind I could only see the beautiful boy sitting next to me. I glanced at him and saw him sitting stiffly, only his hand moved as he took copious notes. I looked down at my blank page and his green eyes danced in front of me. So much pain lurked in their depths and I felt something deep in my heart shift.

And despite his silence, which I'm sure most people would consider rude, I felt myself drawn to him. I could practically feel the sadness radiating off him and I wanted to ease it. I wanted to see him smile, hear him laugh. I wanted to see the shadows erased from his eyes, replaced by the sparkle of happiness.

The bell rang, making me jump. Before I even moved, Edward had gathered his things and raced from the room. At a much slower pace, I closed my still blank notebook and put it in my bag. I walked out of the biology lab, extremely perplexed by his behavior. Why had he run away so fast? I understood how overwhelming it was to be the new kid, I had been in his place when I moved here in the eighth grade. Like it had happened yesterday, I could remember the way the stares had bored holes in my back as I walked through the halls and the whispers as I passed. But still, it didn't really explain why he shot out of biology. If he had done that in any of his other classes, surely the behavior would have made its way through the gossip mill.

Gym passed slowly, as usual. Today we had to run the mile. Great. I did find out what had spurred Mike's jealousy and I found myself smiling when I learned that Edward had run three miles, all under five minutes. I felt pride bloom in my heart and wondered what was wrong with me. I ran slowly and tried to focus on the ground beneath my feet to keep from tripping. Thirteen minutes later, I crossed the finish line. Edward would have run two and a half miles in that time. But, I didn't fall once. That was an accomplishment.

After school, I went to my locker and saw Alice standing next to hers. I could see the excitement threatening to explode from her. "Did you get it?" I asked as I came up next to her.

"Yes!" she squealed and the excitement bubbled out. She leapt towards me and I opened my arms for the hug. Her tiny arms squeezed me. "I get to be Tinkerbell! Me! The lead! As a junior! Can you believe it?"

I laughed with her. "Yes I can, Alice. Completely and totally. You are perfect for the role." I opened my locker and began grabbing the books I needed in order to complete my homework.

"I heard Edward is in your biology class," Alice said, smiling knowingly at me.

I groaned. "How in the world did you hear that?"

"Angela told me. So what did you think?"

"I don't know Alice, I really don't think he liked me," my voice sounded sad to my own ears. I tried to smile, but failed. I wanted Edward to like me.

"Bella, come on! Who doesn't like you? Besides, it's not like you did anything to him," Alice's answered.

Her words were true, but still he hadn't even looked at me after that first stare. "You weren't there," I continued. "He wouldn't talk to me, didn't even answer when I said hi, and then he ran out like the building was on fire."

"He's overwhelmed, I'm sure he didn't mean to be as rude as it seemed," Alice said, trying to be reassuring. I wanted to believe her. Maybe, just maybe he had felt that electricity too and that's why he reacted that way. Wishful thinking, I know. She closed her locker. "I wouldn't be worry too much. So what did you think though?"

I sighed. Alice was not going to let this go. "He's beautiful." Very, very heartbreakingly beautiful. With haunted green eyes that I could not get out of my head no matter how hard I tried.

Alice giggled, "Told you you'd like him."

"It's not just that though. There's something about him. He looked so lost and sad. And I felt--" I stopped, realizing what I nearly said. The last thing I needed was for Alice to realize the feelings that he had stirred up within me.

"What did you feel?"

Of course Alice wouldn't let it go. I felt my face burn, but she is my best friend after all. "I don't know how to describe it. But when he looked at me, I felt a shock."

"A shock?" Alice asked.

I closed my locker and we began walking towards the parking lot. "I don't know," I said honestly. "I truly can't explain it. I just know I want to get to know him better." I hesitated, then added. "I want to help him, he seems so sad."

"Bella," Alice said, her voice suddenly serious. "Be careful with him, he --,"

"Don't," I said, interrupting her. "I don't want to know anything about him."

"Why?" she asked. I know it didn't make sense. I'm not quite sure where the words came from. But if I found out what was causing the pain in his eyes, I wanted it to be because he told me. I felt like it was betraying his trust if I let someone else tell me.

I am completely losing it. Edward won't even talk to me, why would he tell me his inner pain? "I guess, I just want…I want him to tell me, if he wants me to know," I admitted softly.

Alice nodded and amazingly I saw understanding in her eyes. "Don't worry, Bella, everything will work out," she said cryptically.

My eyes narrowed. "How do you know?" We arrived at my truck and I opened the door and tossed my bag in.

She smiled. "Just trust me. Have I ever led you astray?"

I shook my head. I had learned a long time ago not to bet against her. She never seemed to be wrong. "I'll see you tomorrow," I said.

Alice waved and then skipped over to her yellow car.

Tomorrow. As much as I tried to deny it, I couldn't wait for tomorrow.

***

Alice's POV

I watched Bella's red truck leave the parking lot and smiled to myself.

"What are you smiling about?" Emmett asked as he came up to the car.

"Nothing," I said, still smiling. This was perfect. I always felt bad that Bella was alone and often got stuck as the fifth wheel. She never complained, but still, it had to be hard for to her to be around all of us couples all the time. But that was going to change. I knew it. I turned and saw Edward coming towards us. Poor guy, he looked so overwhelmed. His shoulders were hunched over, as if he was trying to hide. I thought about all the talk I had heard throughout the day. Everyone had been talking about him. It was harmless talk, but still irritating.

He climbed into the backseat and I watched him in the review mirror. Bella was going to be so good for him. He needed someone to lean on. Desperately.

"How was your day?" I asked as the car roared to life.

"It was fine," he answered, staring out the window.

I pressed on the gas and felt my lips tip up as I felt the powerful car speed up. I love to drive fast. It's so exhilarating. "Did you meet anyone interesting?" I continued.

"Um, sure," he said.

"Really?" I asked, excitement building. Hopefully meeting Bella had impacted him as much as it had Bella. "Who?"

But stupid Emmett decided at that moment to poke his big head into the conversation. "He met Mike Newton. Apparently Edward showed him up in PE today."

"You did?" I glanced at the rearview mirror and saw lifted a black eyebrow at him. Even though I wanted to hear about Bella, this was an interesting development.

"Not on purpose," he mumbled.

Emmett let out a roar of laughter. "No worries! Newton deserves it. He thinks he is all that, but he's really not. It's nice hear someone finally put him in his place."

"What did you do?" I asked. I completely agreed with Emmett. Mike was a prick with a Texas sized ego and he needed to be knocked down a few notches.

I saw Edward look at Emmett, but my big brother stayed quiet. Obviously he wanted to hear Edwards side of the story. "It was no big deal. I like to run. I ran and finished first," he said sounding enormously embarrassed.

"He ran the mile in four thirty two!" Emmett burst out. "And then he continued to run two more miles all under five minutes!"

I smiled. "Nice, Edward. Mike Newton really does have an ego problem. I have no idea why all the girls like him."

I pulled up to the house and got out of the car. I was a little annoyed that I hadn't been able to get Edward's reaction to Bella, but I would change that soon. My dad kept saying we shouldn't push him, so I would give him some space. For now, I let him go.

***

Esme's POV

I used the mouse to drag the virtual couch to a different part of the room. Frowning, I looked at the room that was laid out on my computer. Something was not right. I went to the paint color and changed the accent wall from a smoky gray to a deep cobalt blue. There we go, I smiled. I clicked print and watched as the room came to life on the white page. I picked it up and added it to my portfolio.

Tomorrow, I was meeting with the Hardens, long time clients of mine. They wanted to redecorate their family room. I was satisfied that they would love what I had to show them.

I exited the interior design page, then waited for the internet to load. When it did, I went to the picture of my vase. French porcelain from the 19th century. Gold inlay. It was beautiful. I lifted a finger and traced over the intricate detail. I wanted this vase and I was determined to find it.

Then I heard a sound I had never heard in this house before. Piano music drifted up to the room and I stood, almost in a trance. I left my office and followed the sound as if it were calling to me. No one in my family played the piano. I vaguely recognized the melody. But it didn't matter, this music was exquisite. I entered the living room and stopped short. What I saw made my heart ache and swell at the same time.

Edward, that precious boy, sat at the piano. His fingers moved across the keys effortlessly. His eyes were closed, but I could see the remnants of tears glistening on his cheeks. He was so absorbed in the music that he didn't hear me as I walked closer. The music seemed to come straight from him, pouring through the room. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. Eventually, he let the song drift to an end. I watched his eyes open and he sighed softly. He reached out to cover the keys, but stopped midway. He stiffened and I knew he had finally realized my presence.

"That was beautiful," I said softly, not wanting to startle him. Unfortunately, he didn't work and I saw him jump as he turned to me. Each time that poor boy jumped, it felt like a shot to my heart. I hated it, I hated to think why he jumped. How could anyone hurt him? It went to so far beyond my level of comprehension.

He swiped at his cheeks and embarrassment filled his face. "I'm sorry, I was just walking through the house and it's such a beautiful piano—," he rambled.

I shook her head. "It's fine. I'm happy to see someone using the piano. None of my children ever took an interest. How long have you played?"

He shrugged. "Um, my mom and dad played. Mom taught me a little."

He was capable of that beautiful music with no lessons? So much potential. It would not be wasted, not if it was the last thing I did.

"Um, I just play what I hear, or what goes through my head." I saw his face turning red and I wanted to ease his embarrassment.

I sat down next to him on the piano bench. "Edward, it's okay. You can play the piano anytime I truly don't mind. You are very talented." That was an understatement. He was way beyond talented.

"Thank you." He looked down at his hands. I watched him trace the black keys of the piano. I looked back up at his face and tried to decide if I should speak the words that were on the tip of my tongue.

He glanced up at me and seemed to sense that I wanted to say something. He nodded slightly.

I took a small breath and said the words. "I just wanted to say that your mother must have been very proud of you." I watched his reaction carefully. Pain ripped through his eyes. I didn't understand it, but once again I felt my heart break for him.

"What was she like?" I asked quietly. Gently, so it was more like a breeze then a touch, I touched his hand. I didn't want to push him, but oh, how I wanted to comfort this poor soul.

He was quiet for a long time. I watched various emotions play over his face. Pain first, sadness and then for a brief, very brief second, a flitting happiness. "She was beautiful," he finally whispered. "Gentle. She loved my father more than anything. They would play the piano together, I loved to watch. Sometimes she would have me sit on her lap and she would show me how to play. When she smiled, the whole world lit up." I found it interesting that he mentioned her love for his father, but not himself.

"You must miss her."

He nodded and I felt the sadness from him again.

"I don't want to assume anything," I continued, treading carefully. "But I do want you to know that I am here, if you need anything. Absolutely anything." Please open to me, I begged inside my head. Let me help you, sweet boy. Please.

He nodded again. But this time he tore his gaze off his hand and looked into my eyes. "Thank you," he whispered again.

That had to be enough. I couldn't push him and force him to open up to me. I knew doing that would only damage him worse than he already was. So I smiled and let him go. Before he left, I did let him know dinner would be at seven and I wondered if he would show up.

***

Alice's POV

He joined us for dinner. I had seen the delight in Esme's eyes and the joy light up Carlisle's face when he had crept into the kitchen. He silently sat down and listened to our conservation. I announced to my parents that I was going to be the lead in the play. The pride on their faces made all the hard work worth it. More than anything, I loved making my parents proud. Then Emmett had taken over and announced his unbelievable news. More pride had bloomed on our parents faces. But I focused on Edward. He squirmed awkwardly and set his fork down. I know exactly the thoughts that were racing through his mind. I watched silently as he got up and crept out of the room. I looked down at my plate and felt tears prick at my eyes. He and I needed to talk. Tomorrow, somehow. He needed to know he belonged.

A/N Hello my faithful readers. I just wanted to let you know I am starting to have stirrings of ideas for a sequel. As I write more in other POVs, more ideas are coming to me. I hope you enjoyed this, personally I love Bella's reaction to Edward. Thank you Cuteyangel, SarahElizabethEmilyWoods, Twilighted4ever, FRK921, and Viper003 for the reviews. :o)