***Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I wish I did.***

The sun poured into Edward's bedroom, bouncing off every reflective surface like they were pools of water. Laying in his large four poster bed, Edward groaned and rubbed his eyes. He loved his south facing room except for the bright, early wakeup call that arrived every morning without fail. Edward slowly rolled over and climbed out of bed, making his way downstairs where the sound of animated voices could be heard from the kitchen.

"Yes dear, it was absolutely perfect. You did a wonderful job." Esme said, flipping bacon in a frying pan while Alice sat at the counter.

"And did you see the look on Jasper's face? It was SO worth it!" Alice squealed.

Esme smiled at her niece. "Maybe you should consider party planning as a career."

"Oh no Esme, that was just fun. I want to be a fashion designer. You know, I have some great ideas already sketched out if you'd like to see them…" Alice trailed off as she spotted her groggy brother enter the room. "Edward! You look tired. Want to drive into the city with me today and go shopping?" Alice asked hopefully.

Edward chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry Pixie, I have a lot of homework to do. You know, my being a senior and all." He grinned as his sister pouted.

As usual when food was being prepared, Emmett stalked into the room. Alice wasted no time on him. "Emmett! Do you mind if I call Rose to go shopping? My grumpy brother won't humour me today." Alice stuck out her tongue at Edward as everyone laughed at her childish behaviour.

"Sure thing Pix, Rose said something about shoes and peecots, whatever that means."

"It's pea COATS you dolt. You should pay more attention to your girlfriend." Alice chided.

"I pay attention just fine, thanks. But that doesn't always mean my mind is on her words, if you get my drift." Emmett winked at his horrified cousin. Edward nearly spat out his orange juice across the table trying not to laugh. Esme clicked her tongue and pretended not to hear.

After a lively breakfast, Alice went off to call Rosalie for their outing while Edward and Emmett were left to clean up the dishes. Emmett wasted no time in questioning his cousin.

"So I hear you and the Swan girl had a private moment in the backyard last night." The suggestive grin on Emmett's face was evident.

Edward shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem nonchalant. "Yes, we chatted a bit. She's nice."

Emmett saw right through his pretenses and grinned even wider. "Oh, that she is, little cousin. But be warned there's some competition to be had. She's been dating some guy on the reserve for a while. Jason, or Jeremy I think."

Quickly Edward replied, "Jacob."

"Yeah that's right, Jacob. Did she go all mushy about him last night during your romantic moment?" Emmett teased.

Edward curtly replied, "It wasn't a romantic moment. And no, she doesn't seem to talk very much. We chatted about this and that." When Emmett seemed disappointed, Edward added, "But I did talk about Mom and Dad. It was so easy to open up to her. I felt like I could say anything and she wouldn't judge me…" Edward trailed off, lost in the feelings that Bella's presence aroused in him.

Emmett's face grew serious. "Ya know you can talk to any of us about things. I know it's been hard. Hell, it took me a lot of therapy to come to accept what happened all those summers ago. Rose said it's helped me be more open with her. I dunno about that, but I'm here if ya need me." Emmett shrugged his shoulders, trying to indicate he wouldn't push.

Edward was incredibly grateful to his cousin. At six foot three, Emmett Cullen was a large and imposing man with very well built muscles which got plenty of exercise as quarterback of Forks High's football team. He had dark brown hair which hung just below his ears, dimpled cheeks, and striking blue eyes he inherited from his father. Emmett was a good looking man and all the ladies swooned over him. But his attention had always been on Rosalie Hale, his girlfriend of four years and the love of his life.

Rosalie was tall, blonde, and could easily work as a Victoria's Secret model. Her waist length hair framed a beautifully heart shaped face and flawless complexion. She had the same striking blue eyes that Emmett had and a body that made every girl at Forks high green with envy. Her parents were rich, she was spoiled rotten, and had found her soul mate in Emmett. Where Rosalie had a difficult temperament with strangers, Emmett was the epitome of joviality. Somehow their outward facades complemented each other, while their hearts were exactly the same. No two people were more perfect together.

Edward smiled at the memory of Emmett calling him late one night in the eighth grade to tell him he'd found his future wife. Emmett couldn't stop talking about Rosalie. By the time Edward and Alice came for their annual summer visit to Forks, Edward felt like he already knew her personally.

Having finished cleaning the kitchen, Emmett and Edward went up to their respective rooms for some study time. Edward sat at his desk, opened his calculus textbook, and stared off into space lost in his thoughts. He recalled the first time he had seen Bella Swan…

It was another dreary day in Forks. Alice had spent most of the morning fretting over hers and Edward's outfits, trying to make a good impression to all their 'prospective friends', as she called the population of Forks High. Edward couldn't care less but was resigned to his sister's fussing over him. It was a typical Alice thing to do.

When they pulled into the parking lot, they were instantly accosted by a large group of teenagers who were gawking at Edward's Volvo. Alice squirmed with excitement; she loved to be the centre of attention. Edward took a deep breath and exited the car, only to come face to face with an audience full of gaping mouthed teenagers. Edward sighed as he realized that most of these people would be more interested in playing the popularity game than bothering to care who he was as a person.

Two pushy girls made their way through the crowd, making a beeline directly for him.

"Hi there! I'm Jessica Stanley, and this is Lauren Mallory. Just consider us the Forks High welcoming committee." She giggled at her own joke.

Politely Edward replied, "Nice to meet the both of you. My name is Edward Masen, and this is my sister Alice." Edward glanced over at Alice, whose gaze was fixed on a curly haired blonde boy sitting with their cousin Emmett at a picnic table by the main office building. Edward lightly nudged his sister in the ribs, which brought her back to earth.

"Hi! I'm Alice." Edward frowned slightly. He had never known his energetic little sister to be at such a loss for words.

Unperturbed, Jessica vied for Edward's attention once again. "It's so awesome to have new students around here. We don't get this excitement very often. Do you have your class schedule? I can take you for a tour and show where you need to be."

Not wanting to be rude, Edward acquiesced. He tugged on Alice's shirt sleeve and she followed along like a robot. Her eyes only left the curly haired boy once he was out of sight.

Edward's schedule was heavy, owing to his dream of one day going to medical school. His uncle Carlisle was a doctor at the local hospital and had helped him choose his courses carefully. Edward's day began with calculus, algebra and chemistry. They were the most challenging courses for this semester. By the time lunch break came around, Edward already had a mild headache both from classes and from the many female well-wishers trying to grab his attention.

Once in the crowded cafeteria, Edward opened his home made lunch to find Esme had spared no expense on his lunch. There was wild herb risotto with butter chicken and Esme's famous homemade biscotti. Edward pondered how long it had taken to prepare this meal for him and Alice. But before he could take his first bite, he had the wind knocked out of him.

Across the room his gaze fell onto the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her long, wavy hair was a rich shade of mahogany which framed a face that housed the biggest and brightest chocolate brown eyes he had ever encountered. Her pale complexion was enhanced by the fitted blue t-shirt she wore. She had full, pouty lips and a small upturned nose. Everything about her screamed perfection, save for the beautiful eyes which betrayed a deep sadness. Edward was physically unable to tear his eyes away from this beauty, even when her face turned toward him and she caught him staring. His whole world turned upside down in that moment, gazing at his personal Athena. He vowed at that moment to know more about her, and to explore the unspoken connection they seemed to share.

Edward was delighted to find out that they shared Creative Writing together right after lunch. Although not his strong suit, Carlisle had insisted that Edward receive a balanced education by taking at least one liberal arts course. Edward silently thanked his lucky stars that he had chosen that class. He spent most of the class staring at the back of her head, willing himself to find the right words so he could speak to her. Unfortunately she was up and out of her seat before he had the chance to pounce.

Berating himself for his cowardice, Edward barely noticed that he was late for his next class. He burst into the biology room and, apologizing to the teacher, was told to sit next to none other than his Athena. Edward's stomach churned, his heart did a flip flop in his chest, and goose bumps riddled his arms. He took his seat and spent the next hour trying to decide how to approach her without sounding like a jerk. Edward settled on introducing himself. He was pleased at the success of his simple words and accompanied her to her locker after class ended.

To his great surprise, he learned that not only was the curly haired blonde boy her brother – he filed away that information to report to Alice when they got home – but that Bella had a boyfriend. When he saw the smiling photograph of the happy couple and the simple way they cuddled in the snow, he chastised himself for ever thinking he had a chance with her. He tried to walk away, but his body betrayed his heart when he looked back to find her staring open mouth at his retreating form. Something told him not to give up on her just yet. He walked to his final class with a big grin on his face, not caring what the nosy high school populace thought of their encounter.