Just a few authors' notes:

I'm not going to do too much character development because I think that SM already did a wonderful job of that. The ONLY difference between SM's Bella and Edward and MY Bella and Edward is that they are switched, as far as who is the human and who is the vampire. Bella was changed by an unknown vampire in Florence in the year 1409. She was 17, and like Alice, she does not have any memories about her human life, except that she remembers her mother's face, and the eyes of the vampire that changed her. I am going to go a little deeper into Bella's history as a vampire, mostly because of her involvement with the Volturi, but not too much, only when it is necessary to fill in parts of the story that are needed in order to make sense. Edward grew up in Chicago, much like SM's Edward, and he did not come down with a bad case of the flu, he simply moved to Forks!

However, as far as personalities are concerned, you can expect the same quirky, whiny Bella and the same brooding, cheesy Edward.

A slightly more cleaned up version of this story is on , the chapters validate more slowly there so I get additional editing time.

-stef

Chapter four

Edward POV

"A while." She answered, avoiding my eyes.

"So…when were you born?" I had a feeling that there were some questions she would not be able to answer, but this one seemed easy enough.

"I don't remember." She replied quietly. Her eyes were sparkling and it looked like she wanted to cry, but couldn't.

"You don't remember your birthday?" I asked, surprised.

"It was a very long time ago." She said, finally meeting my gaze. I saw the sadness in her eyes and decided it was time to change the subject.

"So you were adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife?"

"Yes." Her one word answer frustrated me. I was hoping for a little more information.

"What about your brothers and sisters?" I probed.

"Them too." She seemed very reluctant to talk about her family.

"Ok. Can you explain why you all seem to know the answers to every question ever asked?"

"Well, this isn't my first time going through high school…" she trailed off.

It was at just that moment that my mother decided to walk in. I glanced at the microwave and saw that it was 5:52.

Time flies when you're having fun…

"Hey, sweetie. How was your day?" my mom asked as she kissed me on the cheek.

"Fine. Mom, this is Bella. She is my lab partner and we have a project together…" my mom immediately launched into a highly embarrassing rant about Bella and I spending time together without an adult present, and I could see that Bella looked extremely uncomfortable.

Suddenly Bella's head snapped up and she turned in the direction of the front hallway. "I think my sister is going to be here to pick me up soon." And she hopped off the stool and walked into the living room. She grabbed her bag and glanced at the piano, a smile turning up her lips.

"Do you play?" She asked gesturing with her hand towards the piano and seeming genuinely interested.

"I'll have to show you sometime." I answered, winking at her.

I looked through the window and gasped as a banana yellow Porsche, with tinted windows, pulled up in front of my house.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Bella said, walking towards my front door, and then she called a little louder, "bye Mrs. Masen, it was nice meeting you," before she walked out the door.

"See you tomorrow." I called out to her as she climbed into her sister's car. I went back into the kitchen and saw my mom sitting in the stool that Bella had been sitting in, peeling an orange. She was looking at me in an odd way, and then her eyes widened.

"What happened to your forehead?" she asked, pointing towards my head and then she gasped, "And where is your car?"

"Well…you see…I was in a car accident today. No one was hurt, except for me with this bruise on my forehead. The other driver's insurance is going to pay for the damage to the car so you shouldn't worry. It wasn't that serious." Suddenly my cell phone started ringing in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the screen, but I didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" I answered, wondering who it could possibly be.

"Hey, Edward, It's Bella. I realized you might need a ride to and from school until your car is fixed."I wondered for a moment how she had gotten my number, but let it go realizing she probably knew a lot of things about me, like where we kept our spare house key.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess we can also work on the project too after school," I replied.

"I was also thinking that myself. I'll pick you up at 7:30,"she said.

"That sounds ok. I guess I'll see you then," I answered, trying to hide the excitement in my voice.

"Yeah, I'll see you," then she hung up.

I snapped my phone shut as my mom asked, "Who was that?"

"Bella…she offered to give me a ride to and from school until my car is fixed." My mom gave me a knowing look as she smiled, "Well, that's very nice of her."

"Yeah it is," I replied, "I'm going to go do my homework now," and I ran from the kitchen to escape the rest of my mom's questions.

At dinner I was grilled by my father about the accident. He said he had gotten a call at work from Chief Swan, and that he had almost had a heart attack before the Chief told him that no one was hurt. I was grounded for the rest of the week for not calling and telling him myself, which I was totally fine with, until I realized that Bella was going to be picking me up for school every day, and that we would need to be able to work on our project. Luckily, my mom has a good memory.

"Oh, dear," she said, clearly trying to butter up my dad a little, "Bella, Edward's Lab partner, is going to be picking up Edward for school every day until his car is fixed. I guess she figured it would be more convenient since they have to work on their project after school." she finished, winking at me while my dad shut his eyes for a moment, thinking.

"Well I guess that's ok. But you won't be doing anything else for the rest of this week. Is that understood?" He said as he opened his eyes, trying to look stern, but I knew that everything would be ok.

"Yes Sir." I replied, and I raised my hand in mock salute, in an attempt to lighten the mood a little. It worked. My dad let out a weak chuckle before he asked, "So are you going to honor us by playing that new composition you've been working on lately?"

"Sure." I answered, and before either of them could say anything else I went over to the piano in the living room, and began to play.

Later that evening I sat at my computer, looking up legends about vampires. I had never in my wildest dreams thought that creatures like vampires could be real, but I could not think of any other reason why she would be fast, strong, pale, have cold skin, and not remember when she was born... I had read Bram Stoker and Anne Rice, but I always acknowledged that they were novels, not to be taken seriously.

Now I had to rethink some of those assumptions. I shut off my computer and decided to go for a quick walk. I grabbed a flashlight, and my new hunting knife just in case. My dad picked it up for me in Port Angeles when I told him I had been exploring the woods behind our house.

I didn't venture out far, instead deciding to sit on a log just off the path.

I thought about the different legends that I had found on the internet. There was even a local legend the Quileute's had about what they called "The Cold Ones," but they all seemed pretty farfetched. And I thought about what they all said about a vampire's diet.

They all said that Vampires hunted humans and drank their blood.

If Bella wanted to drink my blood, then why did she save my life?

Why would she explain all that to me, and sit in my living room and kitchen and not attempted to take my life then?

What in the world was going on?

Then I thought about how I felt about her. I knew that I was starting to have feelings for her, feelings I had never felt about any other girl. She had become my reason for getting up in the morning, why I continued to sit at my piano day after day, composing music that had been inspired by her unearthly beauty.

Did it really matter that she was a vampire? Clearly she didn't want to kill me; she could have just let the truck crush me earlier today.

Did it really matter that she might want to drink my blood? I didn't think she wanted that either, she had ample opportunities this afternoon, while we were in my car, when we sat in my living room, and then in my kitchen too.

No, I decided, it doesn't matter what she is. I knew that I was hers the moment she pulled me out of the driver's seat of my car.

The next morning I woke up and realized that I was going to see Bella before school. She was going to pick me up! I immediately scrambled out of bed and ran towards the bathroom, grabbing some clean clothes from my dresser on the way.

I dressed quickly after I showered, and I looked over my appearance before heading down to breakfast.

When I got downstairs I found my father sitting at the table with his coffee and the newspaper. He glanced around it at me as I looked in the cabinet for some cereal. I prepared my breakfast and sat down next to him. I noticed him eyeing me for a few minutes as I ate and it wasn't long before I snapped.

"What is it?" I growled, then thought better of it and said, "Sorry. What's on your mind, dad?" I asked, being a bit more polite.

"I was thinking about your punishment. I realized that maybe there was a valid reason for you not calling me immediately."

"Yeah, like the fact that I had hit my head?"

"Yeah, anyway, I decided you are not grounded." He said, disappearing behind his paper.

"Really? I'm off the hook?"I asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes, you're off the hook," He replied gruffly.

"Thanks dad." I said as I got up to rinse out my bowl.

I ran up the stairs and into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Every couple of minutes I glanced out the window. Bella said she would be here at 7:30, and it was now 7:29. I ran back downstairs and grabbed my stuff. I looked out the window one more time and watched an old Chevy pickup pull up in front, with a smiling Bella sitting in the driver's seat. It was cherry red and it suited Bella perfectly.

"Bye," I yelled back into the house at my parents before I shut the door and headed down the steps.

I pulled the passenger door open and climbed in. I buckled my seatbelt and said a breathless "hi" before I looked at her close up.

She was stunning. Her hair was pulled back into a loose braid, with a few strands loose and framing her face. She wasn't wearing any makeup, but she did not need it because she naturally had beautiful, clear skin. She was wearing a form fitting navy blue sweater under her black wool pea coat, some artistically distressed jeans, and a pair of black chucks. The girl positively drove me wild.

"Hi," she said as she sped off in a way that I felt for sure her truck should not be able to handle, almost like it was a sports car.

"So did you sleep well last night?" I asked, trying to make polite conversation.

"Um…yes," she stammered, and it looked like she wanted to say more but she kept quiet.

I looked out the window as she drove, and wondered what I should say next when she repeated my question back at me.

"Yes I slept very well actually. I woke up in the middle of the night freezing, but other than that it was alright. It's actually kind of strange though…" I trailed off thinking.

"What's strange?" she asked politely, but her knuckles were turning white against the steering wheel.

"When I first moved here, the heat wasn't working in my room for about a week. Then it worked just fine for a few weeks, but last night it seemed like it stopped working again. I guess I'll have to talk to my mom about it when she gets home today." I explained. Bella had a smile on her face as she nodded.

Before I realized it, we were at the school. I was sad that I would have to part ways with her already.

"I guess I'll see you later then, and thanks for the ride," I said as I climbed out of her truck.

"Sure, don't mention it," she replied, and then she winked at me, and walked off towards Alice, who had just gracefully stepped out of Emmett's jeep.

I admired the sway of Bella's hips as she walked away from me.

This girl is going to be the death of me.