Previously…

She smiled. "For one so cynical, the Gods have taken a great liking to you. Good luck Mr Cullen."

"Whatever," I muttered as I left the tent.

"There you are Edward," Alice sighed, grabbing my polo shirt. "Come on, we're going home."

I followed Alice to the exit and only when we were getting back into my Volvo did I realise that I had never told the fortune teller my surname…

The Hard Way To Learn A Lesson

Chapter 5- Snap Chemistry

Bella POV

On the way home I sat in the back next to a grinning-like-crazy Alice. I rolled my eyes and looked out of the window, remembering the conversation we had had just minutes earlier.

Flashback

"What, Alice?" I asked when she had dragged me out of Edward's sight.

"Ohmigod!" Alice said really quickly. "I like him, Bella!"

I was confused. "Who? Edward?"

"No! Jasper." Her expression went all dreamy and her eyes wistful when she said his name.

"Right," I said slowly, thinking how strange it was that Alice and I already acted as though we had been best friends forever, rather than just a few days. I mean, she was already confiding in me who she fancied!

"He's not at all like Edward's other friends," Alice explained. "He's so… lovely. He's never dated a girl because he hasn't found the right one yet. He's not gay at all!"

I gaped at her. "You mean you asked him?!"

"No," she said as though it were obvious. "Honestly, Bella. That would be so rude. No, I just kind of… hinted at it."

"What did you say?" I asked in a dangerous voice.

"I just said something like 'I've heard a lot of rumours that you're gay'."

"Alice!" I cried.

"Not in those exact words," she defended.

"But similar?"

"Yes." She rolled her eyes and then changed the subject before I could berate her. "And he told me where he works!"

"Where?"

"That little coffee shop just down the road from our house." Alice was beaming.

"Great," I sighed. "You're bad enough when you don't have caffeine."

She scowled. "Have you never heard of de-caf?"

I laughed. "Sure, Ali. Come on, Edward will be wondering where we are."

I turned away and started to head back the way we had come when Alice grabbed my arm. "Speaking of Edward, would you care to explain why you two came back from the same direction at the same time with mussed hair?" She glared at me.

"Oh." I realised what it must have looked like and then squealed. "Ew! Alice! No. We went on a rollercoaster. Well… I went on a rollercoaster and he followed me. I still hate him."

Alice stared at me for a few moments and then must have decided that I was telling the truth because she dragged me back to where Edward had been stood.

End Flashback

By the time we got back to the house, it was pretty late. It felt strange not having a curfew, but I was a Cullen now… ugh, I can't believe how easy it was to say that. I am not a freaking Cullen! It's a stupid school project. Besides, I expect every other seventeen-year-old in the world doesn't have a curfew; it's just my tough luck having a police chief for a father.

We went straight upstairs and I dithered in the corridor, unsure of where to go.

"Bella?" Edward stopped in the doorway to his room, cocking an eyebrow at me, questioningly. A alight smile played about his lips cheekily. "Are you coming or what?"

I looked at Alice and she shrugged.

I sighed and turned back to Edward. "Sure. See you tomorrow Alice."

"If he says anything, anything at all, just tell me. I don't mind being woken up… much." Alice laughed and then retreated into her own room. I suddenly felt uneasy at the thought of being alone with Edward.

"Come on then, Swan. Let's get this over with," he sighed, holding the door open for me. I bit my lip and went into his bedroom. I watched as he closed the door behind me and instantly felt more like a prisoner than I had ever imagined I would.

Edward turned back to face me and then looked around his room. I did as well. His bedroom was huge; a double bed sat in the middle of the room, a sofa was pushed up against one wall and a desk against another. Other than the clothes that had apparently been dumped unceremoniously on the leather sofa, the room was spotless.

Edward heaved a sigh and went to the sofa. He didn't say anything as he started to pull the clothes off and dump them on the floor instead. I watched him awkwardly.

"Did you bring anything to sleep on?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Only a pillow."

"Wait here." He went out of the room again and was back within the minute, a sheet, a gold cover and a big pillow in his arms.

"I've already got…" I started.

He cut me off. "I know. I got you another one."

He thrust the pillow and thick cover at me and lay the sheet on the sofa.

"There you go," he muttered, then he left me alone, presumably to go to the bathroom.

I was changed and perched on the edge of the huge leather sofa in a matter of minutes. I was just wondering what to do until Edward came back when my phone buzzed. I searched through my bag for a while until I came across my phone. I pulled it out and flipped it open to be met by a message telling me that I had received a text from Alice.

Good luck it read. I chuckled and replied.

Thanks. I think I'll need it…

Then the door opened and he came back in. "Bathrooms free," he muttered unwillingly.

"Thanks," I muttered back. I had been brought up to be polite, even to evil players like him.

By the time I got back from the bathroom, the lights were out and he was either asleep or pretending to be.

"Charmed," I murmured. I shut the door behind me and stood there for a few moments, letting my eyes grow accustomed to the darkness of the room and then I padded over to my makeshift bed and curled up under the thick cover.

I lay awake for what felt like hours, wondering how many of our class were actually staying at their 'other half's' house. I thought about Mason and Heidi and whether they had gone along with it. I felt a bit sorry for Heidi. They had been really good together and I didn't understand why Mason had broken up with her in the first place. She was really pretty with her long mahogany hair and slender, but still curved, figure and she had a wicked sense of humour. Maybe he felt he had been with one person too long. He'd lose his 'brilliant' reputation as Edward Cullen's best friend if he stayed with one person for more than four consecutive weeks. Actually, that was a little unfair on him. I didn't know Heidi that well – outcast, remember? – so, for all I knew, she could be a right bitch.

I sighed and turned over so that I was lying on my back, staring at the dark ceiling. For a moment, I wished that it would open up and swallow me into the blackness of the dark, un-starry sky. There were never any stars in Forks- it was too cloudy.

My thoughts drifted back to this evening and to Alice and Jasper's obvious 'snap chemistry' as I liked to call it. It was like someone had snapped their fingers and they had been drawn to each other. I could see it in their eyes. I could see these things. It was one of my very few talents. There were only a few things I could do well and they were getting good grades, doing as I am told and… well, no one knows it, but I can sing okay-ish.

Back when I lived in Phoenix, I was told that I'd be able to make it big with my singing, so of course Renee not-so-gently prodded me into singing lessons. My teacher was delighted when I eventually came out of my shy little shell and sang for her (Mum had guilt-tripped me into doing it with how much money she had paid) and she told Renee that I had great potential. She had nothing but praise insisting that I had a strong, soulful voice for one so young and that I would surely hit the big time with a voice like that. She even gave me a solo at the performance. I was amazed; only the big kids got to do solos. But on the night of the performance, I got nervous. My throat closed up and I couldn't sing a single note. I ran off the stage crying, absolutely mortified.

That was when we realised that I'd never get anywhere with anything that involved performing, especially not singing. When she realised that my nerves had effectively ruined all of my chances of a career in singing, my teacher dropped me like a hot potato. I was sad, but not surprised.

Exhaustion taking over, my eyelids fluttered closed and I slipped into a light sleep, plagued by dreams of my childhood and a strange green colour that my subconscious must have brought up.

***

I was woken the next morning by a loud guffaw coming from beneath the floor. For a split second, I panicked, forgetting where I was and what the noise was. But then I remembered and realised that the strange laughing sound must have come from downstairs.

I sat up and glanced at Edward's bed. It was empty. I frowned and looked at the clock to see that it was ten o'clock.

My eyes widened and I jumped off of the sofa, stumbling a little as my head span. I held on to the wall until the room righted itself again and then changed hurriedly before making my 'bed' as best I could.

Then, I hesitantly crept along the landing and down the stairs. I heard a loud, unfamiliar voice booming down the corridor from the kitchen. The door was ajar so I went and stood by it, wondering whether I should knock.

"I want to meet this girl that you speak so highly of, Edward," the deep voice said and then the deep guffaw sounded again, this time with a tinkling bell-like laugh.

"Oh, leave her alone!" Alice huffed and I quickly gathered that they were talking about me. "She's lovely. Edward just doesn't get lovely. He only goes for girls that'll let him get some."

I dithered as the man laughed again. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to hear what they had to say about me or not.

"Oh, shut up," Edward mumbled and the door was suddenly wrenched open.

I jumped back in shock and flushed beet red. He stared at me for a second, surprised, and then he pushed past me and went out the front door. I stared after him, realising where the strange shade of green that I had dreamt about had come from…

"Bella!" Alice cried, smiling at me.

"Um… hi," I replied, reluctantly going into the kitchen.

In the kitchen were two other people I recognized instantly. The girl was Jasper Hale's glamorous sister, Rosalie, and she was more beautiful than ever, her golden hair flowing down her back like a golden waterfall and her blue eyes shining with laughter, her slender body relaxed against the kitchen worktop. I tore my eyes away from her to look at the stocky man sat at the dining table in the middle of the room. He was huge and muscular, his thin t-shirt sleeves stretching over his massive biceps. He was quite good-looking too, with really short black hair – Alice's black – and a huge mocking smile plastered on his cheeky-looking face. It was the smile that I remembered from the photo I had seen the day before. He must have been the third child.

"Bella, this is my older brother, Emmett, and his girlfriend Rosalie," Alice introduced. "Guys, this is Bella."

"Hi," Rosalie said from where she stood. She had the slightest hint of a Texan accent.

"So this is Bella!" Emmett exclaimed, jumping to his feet and coming over to me. He was so tall that I took an automatic step backwards. He laughed again and held out his hand. "Howdy, Bella."

I took his hand and he shook it with a tight grasp, my small hand getting lost inside of his grip. "Er… howdy."

Alice came over and slapped Emmett's shoulder. "Let the poor girl breathe!"

"But she's my sister-in-law now!" he protested.

Alice gave him a stern look and he sighed and went to sit back at the table, retreating like a dog with its tail between its legs. I giggled; how could Mr Muscles be scared of tiny Alice?

"How did you sleep Bella?" Alice asked, dropping some bread in the toaster.

"Not too bad," I said honestly.

"Sit down," Alice commanded.

I sat across from Emmett, probably also looking like a dog with its tail between its legs.

"Bella," Emmett started, sounding serious. "I need you to answer a question that has been plaguing me my whole life long."

"Um… okay?"

"Did you, or did you not, notice Edward snoring last night?" Emmett questioned, still deathly serious.

I frowned and thought back to the night before. "Um… well, if he did, I didn't notice," I said carefully, suddenly wondering whether Edward put him up to this.

"Damn!" Emmett exclaimed. "I knew that was how he got the girls, I knew it!"

"I don't mind your snoring," the stunning blonde input, grinning. "It's actually kinda cute."

He grinned at her. "Thanks babe."

They had it too; that undeniable 'snap chemistry'. I sighed and looked away. Why couldn't I find someone I clicked with like that? Someone who I flirted outrageously with without even realising it? Someone who accepted me for who I was? Someone who didn't put me down and ignore me just because it was the cool thing to do?

"Bella, what do you want on your toast?" Alice asked.

"It's okay," I said. "I'm not that hungry."

"Nonsense!" Alice said. "You must eat some toast. I can't have my best friend die of starvation! What kind of host would I look like then?"

I stared at her. Best friend? I had met the girl less than a week ago and we were already best friends? She grinned at me and her smile made me smile. Yeah. Maybe we were best friends.

"Peanut butter," I answered her original question.

Alice nodded and got the peanut butter jar out of the cupboard. I went over and helped her.

"Oh, by the way, Bella, me, you and Rose are going shopping today. You really need a new wardrobe and we need some girly bonding time," she told me so fast that I couldn't be sure of what I heard.

"What?"

"Me. You. Rose. Shopping. Capiche?"

"Um… okay." I shrugged.

Emmett laughed. "My dear sister-in-law," he said and I gathered that he was addressing me, "you have no idea what you are letting yourself in for. I wish you all of the luck in the world."

I looked at Alice uneasily to see her glaring at her older brother. Then she turned to me.

"Don't worry. It'll be fun."

I finished off smearing peanut butter onto the perfectly done toast and took a bite. I had a sneaky feeling that Alice's 'fun' would be completely different from my own…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So Emmett and Rosalie are here! And before you guys start asking questions like 'but doesn't Alice not know Rosalie?' because in the first chapter Bella had to explain that Jasper was Rosalie's brother, that will be answered in the next chapter.

Sorry that I took a while to update, but I wanted to finish AMMM before I updated this… which I have done :'( So (at the moment) this is the only fanfic I'm really working on so I should be able to update more often now. AND I've BROKEN UP FROM SCHOOL!!!! :D Happifulness!!!

And I'm going to see the sixth HP movie on Tuesday and apparently there's an extended version of the NM trailer before it so I am really, really looking forward to that!!!! :D The trailer more so than the actual film tbh XD

A lot of people have asked where I got the inspiration to write this and the honest answer is that I actually cannot remember. But, no, we don't do anything like this at my school. I go to an all-girls school and I'm not in the sixth form so I've never done psychology so the inspiration totally did not come from experience and I haven't heard of anywhere that does this. But this is fiction so whatever happens… happens, right?

Anyways…

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Thanks

Steph