A/N: Disclaimer: All things Twilight are owned by Stephenie. I only take her characters and play. =)

Thank you to my Beta Tiffany! Without her Kick-assness, none of this would be possible. Please check out her stories also! They are awesome. Her penname is readingmama.
I've also added a new beta, Tanya. She is crossing my I's and dotting my t's hehe~because I obviously need it!

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I had the opportunity to visit where the story takes place this holiday. We stayed in an awesome hotel with a Jacuzzi tub. MMM You better believe a lemon will be wrote in the future from this lol.

Chapter 4 – Ice Cold Brick Wall

I was officially having the time of my life.

It had only been a week, and we had been to three different parties. Alice had quickly become a great friend, and I had been calling Dimples for a good time, a lot. I was reminiscing about my week while lying in bed. It was Monday morning, and my first class was a couple of hours away.

Usually I would be nervous, but I was feeling a lot more confident then I had been in Forks. I was starting a new life, and I was ecstatic!

I stretched and then wrapped myself around my body pillow. It really had been a great week. My feelings had done a complete 360, and I was beginning to think that Dimples could be a potential boyfriend. I came to college to party, but every time alcohol came into play, we were both drunk dialing each other. If we were at separate parties, we'd meet in the middle and hook up.

It was a blast.

What was even more interesting was the fact that we could talk after sex. I never had that with Jacob. Maybe I had thrown the idea of relationships out the window too quickly. After our last hook up, we discussed meeting together for a real date. He agreed that there was some sort of chemistry between us, and that we should definitely look into it. I smiled and rolled out of bed.

Alice had prepared our wardrobes for the first day of class two nights ago. In the beginning, her taste in fashion scared me to death. It was either flashy or showed too much skin for my liking. After complaining the first few times, she got the hint and covered me up a little, even though she whined about it the entire time. The new style she chose was more conservative and definitely surprised me.

I had always felt so bland, yet Alice's fashion made me feel one step above that. I couldn't hold a flame compared to the head girls at the Zeta house, but I could at least hold Dimples' attention. With that, I smiled and put on my navy blue skirt and white top. Alice and I were matched, her in red and me in navy blue. She said that it made my pale skin pop and made sure that I was wearing something in that color to every occasion, even if it was just my underwear. Yes, she was even picking out my underwear.

Her parents were loaded, and since they never spent any time with her, they gave her free rein of the credit cards. She had managed to completely restock my wardrobe without me even noticing.

"You look fabulous, Bella." Alice came pouncing in and landed on my bed.

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself. Although, I don't think I like showing this much leg, Alice."

"I have you covered." She reached into my dresser and pulled out a pair of blue leggings that went perfectly with the skirt. They ran up my thigh, leaving a small patch of bare skin between the two.

"This is perfect! Thanks." I pulled Alice in for a close hug and once again we heard whistles from the Zeta house. Jasper and their friend Emmett were hanging out the window, yelling something about the two of us kissing.

Ugh, men!

"We have got to get blinds, Alice."

*.ooO-*-Ooo.*

Unfortunately, Alice and I only had one course together, and it fell on Thursday. As soon as she showed me her schedule, my confidence went right out the window. I would have to endure the first day alone. I hoped everyone in my classes were as nice as the kids that were at the last party.

There was something about alcohol that let down all my guards and allowed people to talk freely. Needless to say, I was a little hesitant about walking into the lecture hall by myself. I paced outside until the last possible second.

I'm not sure what I was thinking, because by the time I opened the doors, thirty sets of eyes, including the professor's, were on me.

Great, an audience.

I stood in the doorway and blinked. The professor must have cleared his throat twice before I got the hint that I needed to take my seat. The confidence had been there this morning in my bed, but it sure has hell wasn't there during this situation. I took one step forward, when an ice cold wind blew in from the doors and what felt like a train plowed into me from behind. My books and I flew across the room and came skidding to a stop two feet away from the professor and his desk. I looked up at the annoyed professor and turned my eyes to see the jerk that was obviously blind.

EPOV

Holy shit, I was running late!

After I kicked Jasper and Emmett out of my room that morning, I had fallen back asleep. I had hoped that I had set my alarm clock the night before, but the way my luck had been going lately, it followed suit and the damn thing didn't make a peep. I threw my clothes on without a glance in the mirror and bounded out the door into the cold.

Gunnison, Colorado is ball-shrinking freezing, and during my morning frenzy, I forgot to grab a coat. I ran as quickly as my legs would allow to my first class of the semester, hoping that I could make it before the professor started, but as I said, my luck was running at an all time low.

I pushed the door open and was beginning to slow my pace, when, out of nowhere, a small obstacle stood in my way. I tried to stop, but the tile floors were no match for my slick sneakers and I rammed right into someone and sent her flying.

Oh shit…It nearly knocked the wind out of me, but I kept upright. As I caught my breath, I glanced down at the floor only to see those deep brown eyes glaring at me…Bella.

I quickly picked up her things and held my hand out for her. She ignored it and stood up on her own and pulled her things from my cold clenching arms.

"Bella I'm so sorry. I was running…"

"Well, so glad that you could put on a performance for us. Too bad for you this is not a graded assignment. Please see yourselves to the two unoccupied seats so that I can continue with the introduction for the course," Dr. Banner said without a hitch. I had him as a professor for two semesters since entering Western State, and he hadn't liked me one bit. This surely wasn't going to help my situation.

"Yes, Sir." I gave Bella an apologetic look and started my way into the classroom. The only two seats left were in the very back of the room at a small wooden table. I sat down and pulled the chair out for Bella. Without looking at me, she sat down and scooted to the very edge, as far away as she could.

I knew it was going to be difficult to win this girl over due to her beauty, but I was already digging myself a hole here. I had ditched her at the party to comfort Tanya, who genuinely seemed upset. I should have known better though when dealing with the Devil herself. As soon as I walked ten feet away from the party, she was all over me.

She had saw how close Bella and I were to each other and said that she just couldn't bear it any longer. So now we are here, and I have embarrassed Bella by pushing her to the floor. I took in one, deep breath and dared to gaze her way again. She was absolutely stunning and was wearing some sort of school girl outfit in the lovely blue that I saw her in the night of the party. Her legs were crossed and a patch of skin showed between her skirt and stocking things. I couldn't keep my eyes off her pale skin that seemed to glow.

The professor interrupted my trance.

"Ummm…." Was all I could manage to get out, and the class let out a laugh.

"Mr. Cullen, I understand that your mental attendance may be in question,but physically, are you here and prepared for our biology course?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. Banner. Sorry." I slumped down in my chair and looked over in Bella's direction again. She was looking at me with a lovely smile. She rolled her eyes and then turned her attention back to Mr. Banner.

What a lucky bastard.

"In addition to the required reading, labs, and exams, you will be required to attend two outings with the class. The first will take place during class on Wednesday. We will be hiking up to the famous 'W' Mountain that I'm sure you all saw when coming into town. We will be hiking 2.8 miles up to the 'W' emblem that was placed there in 1932. We will take wildlife photos and plant life notes along the way. Please make sure that you dress warmly. The second field trip will be an overnight camping trip. We will discuss that in detail closer to the required date. Please remember that the person sitting next to you will be your lab partner for the remainder of the course. You will be doing all assignments and encounter the field trips together. Take the rest of the class period to discuss with each other your background and look over the list of items you'll need to bring."

Maybe my luck has turned around. I smiled and turned my chair to face Bella. She sighed and frowned in my direction.

Wow, did I really hit her that hard? She didn't seem like the same happy-go-lucky girl that I met at the party.

BPOV

In any other setting, I would be ecstatic that Edward Cullen was my lab partner. It wasn't his fault that he was running late. I just hated being embarrassed on my first day in front of the class. Who knows how high my skirt went up when I flew across the tiled floor? True that half of the frat guys from Alpha Beta had already seen my bare ass, but Edward was the only one here from that frat.

Also, I really liked Dimples.

Edward was hot, but had a lot of baggage with Tanya. I wasn't sure that I wanted to even attempt to go there.

Edward cleared his throat and pulled the list from my hand, "Okay, I'm pretty sure I have most of the items for Wednesday. The only thing you should need to bring is a bag for yourself with some extra clothes and plenty of water." He paused and waited for me to respond, but there wasn't much I could say, so I nodded. I enjoyed hiking even though I was clumsy; however, I didn't like the cold. "Right, well the next thing is we need to get to know each other. Ladies first."

It was surprisingly easy to tell Edward my life's story. He asked a million questions, and I had no clue why I answered them all truthfully. I also didn't understand why he was so curious. My life was boring. Well, my old life was boring. College, on the other hand, had led me into a whole different realm. We didn't get through much of his story when the professor cut us off to end class.

"Well, I guess we can finish the Q & A for you on Wednesday."

"Okay, even though it isn't as interesting as yours, Miss Swan." He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it before we walked out of the classroom. I giggled and tried to hide the blush. No one ever called me that, nor was anyone ever a gentleman around me. This was definitely new, but something that I could get used to. "Until we meet again, here at eight a.m. on Wednesday?"

I nodded and headed off to my next class.

*.ooO-*-Ooo.*

The rest of the day flew by. My two other classes were extremely calm, and I managed to stray from any other embarrassing moments. Before I knew it, I was back in my bedroom and Alice was dressing me. I was in a daze when Tanya strolled into the room. I might have envied her beauty, but her claim on Edward seemed to make my hatred grow. He was a sweet guy that didn't deserve a stalker that kept him on a chain.

I was glaring an evil scowl at her when she spoke, "Bella, can you explain to me why Jackson is standing in the living quarters asking for you? Please explain why the Jackson Murdock who is President of the Kappa Psi frat house says that you are dating?"

A crimson red spread over my whole body. Dating? I couldn't believe that he was so open about it! I was thrilled!

"Oh, Tanya, we've been seeing each other off and on this past week. Is there a problem?"

"Yes. He is such a player. You better watch yourself. I'll tell him you'll be down in a minute." Tanya turned and left as quickly as she came. She almost seemed ... jealous.

"Don't listen to her Bella. Tanya went after him as soon as he became Prez of the frat house down the street. He turned her down all too quickly, and she has been out for him ever since."

"But I thought she was head over heels for Edward?"

"Well, I don't think it matters who the guy is. She stakes her claim on all gorgeous men. Then she also is jealous of any girl who is in a relationship and tries to ruin it for them. As beautiful as she is, you'd be surprised how much self loathing she has for herself. Anyway, I think that is the final touch. You're beautiful, Bella! Don't worry about Tanya. She has nothing on you."

I thanked her and walked downstairs to Dimples. He was handsome, wearing a black colored shirt with dark jeans. I felt overdressed in a dark lavender dress that Alice had bought for me. He greeted me with a kiss on the cheek, and the entire Zeta house squealed. I turned around and saw girls hanging from the stairwell, squatting not far away from us by the couch and the blonde brigade hanging out of the kitchen door. They were acting like preying wolves searching for a mate. Almost as if they had never seen a male before.

How embarrassing.

I grabbed his hand and whisked him out the door before any of them could attack.

We ate at a fancy steakhouse on the outskirts of town. The conversation didn't flow as it had in the bedroom. Maybe it was the alcohol that helped us out before. I gulped down the glass of the wine sitting before me and motioned the waitress for another. We laughed at a few things here and there…but it looked likeDimples, err…I should say Jackson, wasn't going to be my dream boyfriend after all. I was feeling really tipsy when he walked me back to the sorority house,

"Jackson, why didn't you tell me that you were the Prez for Kappa Psi?"

"Jackson? Since when did we become so formal, sweet cheeks?"

"Sorry…but seriously."

"I didn't think it was a big deal. Most girls seem to throw themselves at all of the frat house presidents around here. It's like a badge for some of the girls."

"Well, then why did you take me to have a good time that first night, or any of the nights we hooked up for that matter? Why not one of them?"

"Bella, let's get you upstairs. I want to explain something to you, but not in front of everyone." I looked up in horror to find all of the wolves back out on the prowl. I swear those girls never left the house. They hooted and hollered as we climbed the stairs of the Zeta house into my bedroom. Alice was staying with Jasper again, so I didn't have to worry about disturbing her. I pulled him in the bedroom and wrapped my arms around him and gave him a kiss. He hesitated at first and then fell into it. He pushed me down to the bed, but stayed standing.

"Sweet cheeks, as much as I enjoy that…I think maybe we need to talk."

"Okay, shoot."

He knelt down by my bed but kept his hands to himself.

"The night of the party when we first met, I choose you because you stood out in the crowd. You weren't like any of the other girls. You weren't throwing yourself all over the guys; you were letting them come to you. You just had this . . . I don't know how to explain it. I was attracted to you immediately. Please Bella, do not take this the wrong way, but I think the attraction that I had to you stayed there. You are a beautiful woman, and I knew immediately we could be great friends. But I pushed past the friendship feeling because of your beauty. Does that make sense swee…Bella? I kept coming back to you, because I was sexually attracted to you. Tonight kind of answered any question I had towards the feelings though. I think maybe we should just be friends."

"Oh thank God! I was starting to wonder if it was just me! The conversation during dinner, or lack thereof, freaked me out. I fell into a relationship with my ex-boyfriend the same way. We were sexually attracted, but there just wasn't anything else there. I'd love to stay friends with you though."

I couldn't believe how happy I was to be turned down.

He laughed, "Bella I'm so happy. I was so afraid that I was going to hurt you. I really want to be friends. I'm not just saying that to get out of this situation. I don't have any other friends who are girls, and there is something about you. Maybe it is because I grew up with five sisters and none of them are here. I just feel that I need you. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

"I may be a little tipsy, but yes…I think I do."

He laughed again and stood up. He walked over to the window and sighed, "Bella, you should get some blinds. I just saw some creep over at the Alpha Beta house staring out their window. I'm sure they can see right in here."