Hiiii!!!! See?? I'm getting better at the whole updating thing arent I??? I got inspired and then we had a double snow day because of the great blizzard over here soo I've been writing the whole timee....or at least most of todayy. lol :D i got a lot of story alerts and fav authors and stories from the last chapter soo thankkk you for thosee. it's nice to know people are reading my storyy. however, i got 4 reviews on the last chapter which is a bit disappointing. i can't say i don't deserve it because i didnt update for like 3 months but now i'm updating 4 days after my last updatee soo can we pick it up a little? can the people who story alert and author fav and story fav review at the same time too?? it doesnt take that longg.
OHHH!!! and i noticed from some of the reviews that i have a couple UCLA readers. you guys, if you could help me out and tell me about the greek system there or the school in general that would help a whole hell of a lot. Edward, Emmett, and Jasper and football players soo theres definitely gonna be some stuff about the rivalry going down between UCLA and USC soo i'd need info on that. Andd i really wanna do a chapter on the Undie Run and Spring Sing soo I need to know about that too. AND DORM LIFE!!! Freshman aren't allowed to live in the sorority/frat houses until their sophomore year soo the gang definitely needs to have some really funny dorm stories. also, what do UCLA students do outside UCLA? what does LA have to offer. Remember, Alice, Edward, Rosalie, and Jasper are rich kids so what do the rich kids do in LA?? finally, pleeeeaaaasseee tell me how the parties are over theree. you'll find in this chapter that i am excrutiatingly bad a writing party sceness.
alrighttt, i'm ramblingg. pleaaasee read and enjoyy!!!! and REVIEW!!!!
Rush
"Bella, get your ass out of bed! Today's the day!" Alice screamed into my ear. I lifted my head just enough to look at the clock next to me. It was five o'clock. In the morning.
"Yeah right, Alice. I get up when the sun gets up." I pulled my blanket over my head only to have it ripped off again.
"Yeah, well you're not in New Jersey anymore. Here in LA, the sun is up and running at five o'clock in the morning." Alice walked over to the curtain and threw it open. I was greeted with a blinding California sunshine.
"Damn, Alice. Doesn't California believe in daylights savings time?" I asked, shielding my eyes. I couldn't even pull my blanket back over my head. Alice was holding it hostage.
"There's a reason we're called the Golden State. Now c'mon! We have A-Phi rush today!" I slowly got out of bed and started to grab my clothes.
"Thought it was called the Golden State 'cause of the Golden Gate Bridge. Crazy pixie," I grumbled to myself.
"What was that?" Alice called cheerfully.
"Nothing. Hey, why aren't you harassing Ms. Snow Queen over there?" I asked, pointing at Rosalie. After Edward and I got back from our orientation and Alice, Rosalie, and I went back to our dorm, we started to set up Rosalie's part of the room. Since my side was a blue-green theme and Alice's was a pink theme, I was excited to see what Rosalie had in mind to complete our dorm. Turns out that everything Rosalie owned for decoration was an immaculate white. White bedding, white pillows, giant, puffy white downy blanket, a whiteboard hanging right above her desk, and everything on her desk was also white, from her super white and shiny MacBook to the white metal netted pencil holder. It hurt my eyes just to look at it and sometimes it looked as if nothing was there at all. The only thing that popped was the wood color of the desk and bed frame.
"Because she told me last night that she had plans for this morning and that she would meet us at the sorority house." Bullshit. I knew better. She definitely used that as an excuse to escape the vortex that is Alice. Damn, that was smart. I really need to pay more attention to her mind.
"Anyway," Alice continued, "I'm going down to the bathroom to check my hair one more time. I'll see you down there." She skipped out of the room. I turned towards Rosalie's bed where she slept so peacefully. So it seemed.
"I know you're listening. And I know you have no one to meet. You will burn in hell because of what you just did to me. " I said. I glared at her sleeping form until I heard a snicker. The snicker slowly turned into a laugh and she got up from her snow pile.
"I'm sorry, Bella," she said in between laughs, "The one thing you should always know about me is that if I don't get enough sleep, I become a bitch times two. Why do you think my earliest class starts at eleven AM?" Rosalie's major here was home design. She wanted to be an interior decorator, which confused me considering how she designed her room.
"Do you even know why she's waking me up this early? Rush doesn't start until noon anyway."
"She said something about pre-rush preparation. I guess she wants to perfect herself," Rosalie said, laughing.
"But she's a legacy! She already has a bid!" I yelled.
"Well, maybe Alice is neurotic," Rosalie said as she snuggled back into bed. Alice bounded back into the room.
"Bella! You were supposed to meet me in the bathroom!" I looked back at Rosalie before rolling my eyes and trudging out the door.
"Don't forget to use the strawberry shampoo! And then meet me back here!" she called after me. I attempted to take my sweet time in the shower but leave it to Alice to pull me out of the shower stark naked after I'd been in there too long.
It was a long and torturous process, full of flat irons and curling irons, Alice not sure how to do my hair, and then me standing in just a towel outside my closet as Alice tried to decide what to make me wear. The final result was me dressed in a cute one shoulder coral pink dress with a belt around the waist that hit right above my knees and a pair of wedge heels. My hair was done in beachy waves and my makeup was simply done. I love Alice for making me look like how I did.
"Alice, you're a genius!" I exclaimed giving her a hug. She hugged me back enthusiastically.
"Are you kidding Bella? I just emphasized how pretty you already are." I blushed at her comment. Rosalie walked in looking hot as ever in a strapless white dress that hit mid thigh. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves and the white of her dress made her hair literally glow. She didn't even have makeup on. I now knew why she didn't have to get up early to get ready. She was already the definition of perfection.
"Bella, you look great! Alice, why aren't you ready yet? We need to head over to the house in 15 minutes and it's a 20 minute walk over."
"Chill, I'm going." She left and came back 10 minutes later dressed in a casual grey and black shirt dress. It was such a plain dress but somehow Alice could make it work. She quickly put one some eyeliner and mascara before looking at her phone.
"Oh my God, we're late! It's already 12:30! It starts at 1! And it takes 20 minutes to walk there. And we're in heels!" Alice looked so close to crying. Instead of trying to console her, I grabbed her hand and ran out the door with Rosalie right behind us.
We must've looked like maniacs, running around in short dresses and heels. We would be sweaty by the time we got there but Alice had foundation powder to cover the shiny spots and perfume for the smell. We saw a group of girls decked out in dresses going towards Sorority Row so we ran faster to catch up with them. However, me being the one-track minded person that I am, I spent too much time noticing the group of girls ahead that I didn't pay attention to the people around and ran smack dab into someone. I landed on the ground and felt my elbow scrape the pavement. Damn. I didn't need blood right now. I looked up and saw Edward staring back at me.
"Bella, I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you." He grabbed my hand a pulled me up. I could feel sweat starting to bead on my forehead and blood starting to drip down my arm. Great. My first impression on the Alpha Phis and I would be sweaty and bloody. Those girls aren't even gonna wanna come near me; much less give me a bid.
"Thanks Edward. You going to rush?" I asked. He looked great in his button down shirt and khaki pants. I took great care not to put my arm near him in fear that I would get blood on his shirt.
"Yup. ZBT rush. It starts at 1:30 so we decided to get a head start. You look great, by the way. That color looks nice on you." I blushed at his comment.
"Yeah, well you're better than us. A-Phi rush starts at 1 and we still have a 10 minute walk and its," I looked at my phone, "oh my God, it's 12:53. Sorry Edward but we need to go." Edward reached over to brush some dirt off my arm and I cringed away.
"Bella, what's wrong with your arm?" he asked, trying to look at the other side where the blood was.
"It's nothing," I said trying to leave. He grabbed my arm and turned it over and saw that large gash that was on my arm.
"Bella, you're bleeding!" he exclaimed.
"Edward, it's nothing. I can handle blood. I'm studying to be a doctor." I tried to go again but Edward hold stayed strong.
"Bella, that needs to be cleaned at looked at. I'm sure they won't mind if you come a bit late. I'll even go with you to the infirmary."
"Edward, I'm not gonna be late for my first rush," I said stubbornly. Just then Emmett and Jasper came walking up. Emmett whistled.
"Damn, Bells. Looks like California took the Jersey right out of you. You are no longer Ms. Plain-Jane Swan." His eyes zeroed in my Edward's grasp on my arm and then on the cut. He gasped. "Bella, what'd you do to yourself?" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, Emmett. I did this to myself," I said, rolling my eyes.
"She just fell," Edward clarified. Emmett laughed.
"Looks like Cali didn't get all the Jersey out of you," He chuckled. Edward looked down at his shirt and ripped off a strip from the bottom.
"Edward! What're you doing?" I asked, confused. He ripped a smaller piece off and started to wipe the blood away. Then he took the first piece and tied it around my cut.
"That should keep it until the end of rush. And if they give you a bid, I'm sure they can supply you with a bandage," he said with a smile.
"Edward, that's your shirt!" I exclaimed. He laughed.
"Bella, it's just a shirt. I can buy a new one you know."
"B-but what about the brothers? Won't they get all offended by you coming to their rush looking like a homeless person?" I asked. A very hot homeless person, I thought.
"I'm sure they'll be flattered that I helped a poor damsel in distress." I laughed at the way he said that. He looked at his watch.
"Well, it's already 1 so you might want to—"
"SHIT!" Alice, Rosalie, and I exclaimed. We started running again without letting Edward finish. I'm sure he'll forgive me.
By the time we got to the house, the last few girls were getting in. We sprinted until we finally made it to the stairs. The girl holding the door open gave us a look of disgust. We walked inside the grand house and made our way to the formal room where all the girls were socializing with the sisters. A girl came up to us a smiled. I remember her being Libby Creller, UCLA Panhellenic president.
"Hey, girls. Welcome to Alpha Phi. You guys look like you had quite the time coming here," she said with a small giggle.
"Yeah, it was interesting, all right. Could we use the bathroom?" Alice asked.
"Of course. Down the hall, to the left."
"Thanks," Alice said as she took mine and Rosalie's hands and led us there. After making ourselves look more presentable and adjusting my makeshift bandage, we made our way back to the formal room.
The rest of the afternoon was spent mingling with the sisters and other rushers. I met Jane again and she took it upon herself to introduce me to every sister in the house. It turned out that she was a well-respected sister here. I also saw Briana again who was thrilled that someone from her tour group decided to rush her house. The more I talked to all the sisters, the more I fell in love with the sorority. I could seriously see myself being a part of all of this. I prayed every moment that I would get a bid.
It was getting closer to five o'clock, which was when rush was ending. The sisters had probably already made their decisions about who they wanted in their pledge class. I was starting to get anxious. I really started to get anxious when Alice and Rosalie came up to me and told me that they both received a bid. It was finally 4:45 when I started to lose hope. What was I thinking? How could I ever think a group of girls like this would want a girl like me to join their elite family? Well, I could at least hear about all the fun from Alice and Rosalie. I was just about to walk out the door when someone tapped on my shoulder.
"Bella Swan?" she asked.
"Yeah?"
"Here you go." She handed me a burgundy envelope. I slowly ripped it open and read the content inside.
We, the sisters of Alpha Phi would cordially like to invite Bella Swan to join the
Alpha Phi Pledge Class of 2012.
I got a bid. I got a bid! I'm an Alpha Phi pledge! I ran back inside to find Alice and Rosalie. I saw them both standing near the food table looking worried. When Alice saw me she let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, Bella! We were so worried! We didn't know where you were. We were hoping you didn't leave yet. It's ok, sweetie. We don't need this sorority. Rose and I decided that if all of us aren't gonna pledge then none of us are." I looked at Alice, almost moved to tears.
"You would do that for me?" I asked. Alice gave me a big hug.
"Of course. We would never leave you hanging like that. I intend to stick with my roommates for the next four years." Rosalie came and joined the hug. I pulled back and smiled at them.
"Well, we shouldn't get too comfortable in the dorms because we're moving to the Alpha house!" I screamed showing them my envelope. Alice and Rose took one look at it before starting to scream themselves.
"Oh yay! Oh my God, we were so worried. We thought you didn't get it because rush is starting to end and we didn't hear anything from you. Oh, I'm so happy!" We all started to jump at scream and the nearby sisters smiled at us knowingly. They probably reacted the same way during their freshman year.
The clock finally hit five and all the girls who didn't get bids left the house, some of them tearfully. The pledges were required to assemble back in the formal room. It was now cleaned and there was a podium in the front. Leanna Shafer, Alpha Phi president, walked up to the podium.
"First, I'd like to start by congratulating you. You are now our 2012 pledge class!" There was a loud cheer from all the pledges and the sisters. Leanna cleared her throat.
"Now pledges. I'd like you to look around. These are your pledge sisters. They are your family until you become initiated. Then we all become your family. So support each other. Trust me, you'll need it." There was a knock on the door. Leanna smiled.
"I think you girls will like this." A whole crowd of guys came in and assembled around the entrance of the formal room. I saw Edward, Emmett, and Jasper towards the side of the group with the biggest smiles on their faces. My face broke into the biggest smile. I knew they would get a bid. Edward caught my eye and winked. A group of guys came forward and started to sing.
We are the brothers of ZBT
The hottest and baddest that frat boys can be
We'd like to invite you for a night of cheer
To celebrate the pledges with lots of beer
One lucky A-Phi is chosen by we
To sing with a pledge of ZBT
We don't care if you can sing or not
You have to because we do this a lot
We've finally chosen who will do the deed
But first we must tell you the pledge indeed
The ZBT pledge is Edward Cullen
So who will be his lucky mullen?
"Mullen?" asked Leanna asked, rolling her eyes. One guy stepped forward.
"Sorry, babe. Nothing else rhymed with Cullen," she said with a shrug. Leanna smiled.
"Pledges, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Drake Connors, president of Zeta Beta Tau." Drake gave a silly bow before standing up straight and clearing his throat, looking serious again.
"So who is our lucky A-Phi pledge?" he said dramatically. He pulled out an envelope and looked at the name inside. "Will Bella Swan step forward, please?" My heart stopped cold. Did I hear right? I must've. People were starting to look at me. I stole a quick glance at Emmett. He was smiling like the proudest person in the planet. Edward was just smiling. I'm sure he was glad that he didn't have to sing with a stranger. But why me? I officially swore off singing in front of crowds after my sophomore year in high school where I tripped while singing and knocked my head on the microphone causing me to hurt my head a cause a loud static noise. I was never able to live that down. Alice gave me a sharp nudge in the ribs. I slowly got up and walked towards Drake. He smiled.
"Well, Edward, looks like you got a pretty one. The only thing that would make this better is if she could actually sing. Three years!" he yelled, now addressing the whole room, "Three years and no one has been able to sing a good duet. Not since Leanna and myself." He winked at Leanna who blushed. "Ah, well. Let's see what you two can come up with. Leanna, you wanna explain the rules to her before I haul her away?"
"Of course. The rules are you have two hours to prep with your partner before you go on stage. You must enter the stage looking exactly as you do right now. No changing clothes, no fixing hair, and no adjusting makeup. You're not even allowed to that bandage off your arm." I looked down and saw that the blood was starting to seep through.
"That all?" Drake asked.
"That's it."
"Great.' He suddenly picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I screamed to everyone's enjoyment. He beckoned Edward to follow him. We were now walking down Sorority Row. The sun was starting to set, casting a warm glow through the trees.
"So, Bella," Drake started, "what's you're major?"
"Pre-med," I replied, huffing a little considering my stomach was pressed into his shoulder.
"No way! That's Edward's major too!"
"I know. We're friends. His sister is my roommate."
"Aw man. I'm not throwing two strangers together and making them sing in front of two houses?" From his voice, I could tell he was a bit disappointed.
"Well, not necessarily," I said, trying to console him. "I mean, we might as well be strangers. I've only known him for two days."
"Well, I guess that's better," Drake said, sounding satisfied. It was quiet for a moment before I started talking again.
"So why do you do this? I mean like why do you do this tradition?" I asked. Drake laughed.
"Well, it originally started with our founders having sing circles. They would make a bonfire at the nearby beach and just sing. They loved it. In fact, A-Phi and ZBT were famous for it back then. Now, it's trickled down to a pledge prank where we just except the pledges to make fools out of themselves because most of them can't sing anyway. I mean, c'mon. How often are you randomly gonna pick two people who can actually sing?" Drake laughed again. We were now in front on a large modernized building that stood at the fork that separated Sorority Row from Fraternity Row. Drake set me down on my feet.
"Here we are. This is the Greek Life Center. It's a recreation hall that's exclusively used for members of the Greek system. Go through the doors and go to the room on the left. You'll find a CD player. Here's the CD and the lyrics." I took both and looked at the name of the song.
"Endless Love?" I asked incredulously.
"Yeah. It happens to be a favorite of mine," Drake said defensively.
"I was kinda expecting something a bit more comedic," Edward said, confused.
"Don't diss Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross. Plus, it's kind of a hard song to sing so it'll probably be very comedic to see how you sing it. Have you ever heard the song?"
"I heard it when they did the cover on Glee," I said slowly. Drake smiled.
"Good. Then you won't have any problems. Have fun." Drake left and all Edward and I could do is stare at each other. Shit.
* * *
"Ok, you two. You're on in five," Drake said, giving Edward a playful punch on the arm. Edward gave him a shaky smile before looking back at me.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Well, all I can do is pray that I don't hit my head on the microphone again," I said cringing. I told Edward the story while we were rehearsing. He laughed.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine." We suddenly heard Drake's voice.
"Welcome brothers, sisters, and pledges to our very first mixer of 2012!" There were shouts, screams, cheering, and a lot of applauding. Drake called for attention again. "As you know, we start every beginning of the year mixer with an impromptu duet by two randomly selected pledges from each of our houses. This year's theme is in correspondence to our philanthropy, American Heart Health, which means our theme is love, love, love. So give it up for this year's selected pledges, Bella Swan from A-Phi and Edward Cullen from ZBT!" There were again loud shouts and catcalls from the audience. I could hear Jessica, who was unfortunately now a pledge due to her legacy status, screaming Edward's name like a crazed teenage fan. The music started and Edward gave me one last wink before singing. (A.N. So since this is a duet I've kind of got it organized so you know who's singing. The best advice I can give you to really feel this scene is to listen to "Endless Love" from Glee and pretend Lea Michele's voice is Bella's and Matthew Morrison's voice is Edward's. But if you don't, here's how you understand. The italicized is Edward singing. The non-italicized is Bella singing. The bold italicized is both of them singing together)
My love,
There's only you in my life
The only thing that's right
I took a deep breath and started.My first love,
You're every breath that I take
You're every step I make(I-I-I-I-I)
I want to share
All my love with you
No one else will do...And your eyes
Your eyes, your eyes
They tell me how much you care
Ooh yes, you will always be
My endless love
And I
This was so easy. I missed singing on stage. It was one of things I love to do. And I didn't fall on the microphone yet so that was a good sign. I looked out into the audience. Everyone was watching us with rapt attention. I smiled and started again. Two hearts,
Two hearts that beat as one
Our lives have just begunForever
(Ohhhhhh)
I'll hold you close in my arms
I can't resist your charmsAnd love
Oh, love
I'll be a fool
For you,
I'm sure
You know I don't mind
Oh, you know I don't mind'Cause you,
You mean the world to me
Oh
I know
I know
I've foundin you
My endless loveBum, bum
Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum
Bum, bum, bum, bum, bumOooh, and love
Oh, love
I'll be that fool
For you,
I'm sure
You know I don't mind
Oh you know
I don't mindAnd, YES
You'll be the only one
'Cause NO one can deny
This love I have inside
And I'll give it all to you
My love
My love, my love
My endless love
The music stopped and we were left in a deafening silence. Suddenly, everyone got up and started to applaud. I guess it was good then. I smiled and did a little bow before walking off the stage, Edward right behind me. When I finally hopped off, I gave him a big hug.
"Oh my God, Edward! That was probably the most intense moment in my entire life! Ugh, wow! You were great, by the way. I had no idea you could sing."
"Me? Did you listen to yourself out there? You were on fire. That was amazing!" Drake jumped on stage and grabbed the microphone.
"Let's give it up for our pledges! That was fantastic! Wow, first time in three years. Finally, some talent!" Everyone applauded again. I blushed and gave a little wave.
The party finally started and I swear, it was like the college parties on TV. Beer pong, keg stands, a beer bong, and Jell-O shots. Edward and I looked around for Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett. We found them near the beer bong, casually talking. When they saw us they came running over.
"Bella, I had no idea you could sing!" Alice exclaimed. Rosalie pulled me in for a hug.
"Emmett told me about the whole microphone fiasco. I'm glad that didn't happen now. You were great."
"That's my sis," Emmett said proudly.
"Don't forget Edward," I said. "He was fantastic!" Alice rolled her eyes.
"The guy plays guitar and piano and listens to music like it's religion. You've got to assume he has some kind of vocal talent in there." Edward just shrugged.
The rest of the party was spent college style. Alice, being the tiny person she is, got trashed easily and started to table dance only to be pulled down by Edward. She was pissed but was soon happily content sleeping against Jasper's shoulder. Emmett and Rosalie took turns on the beer bong and when they were wasted enough, Emmett actually did a body shot off of her, which is something I could've spent my whole life not seeing. As for Edward and I, we spent most of our time talking in a corner. I really wasn't in the party mood and he didn't seem to mind. I learned about his childhood, his music, his attempted band, and living a rich kid life. In return, I told him all about being invisible in a high school in town so monotonous that it takes certain skill to be invisible. I told him about the unwanted tension with my mother and how close me and Emmett were and through it all, he listened attentively like he was genuinely interested in what I was saying.
To end, it was a great day. My college career was off to a good start. But I couldn't help wondering a little. This whole pledging this was a bit too easy. I mean, I though pledging was supposed to be hell. But here I am, at my very first mixer, acting like I'm already a sister. There had to be more right? I mean, it can't be this good, right?
Awwwwww did you like the songg?? seriouslyy, listen to the songg. Lea Michele is like the best singer of all time and Matthew Morrison is just fantastic!! if you don't watch Glee, you are seriously deprivedd. lol :D.
btw, if you are from the Mid-Atlantic i hope you enjoyed your snow day (and if you were lucky like i was then you had 2!!!)
alsoo, a random notee: since i had nothing to do todayy, i attempted to watch Jersey Shore. I honestly can't even imagine why people enjoy the showw. it's complete craap. Pauly D's all like "i can't go to the jersey shore without my hair gel" and The Situation is all "i'm soo hot that if i saw myself walk into the room i'd get my girlfriend the fuck out of the way" and that pinched-face midget, Snooki, is all "if you're not a guido get the fuck out of my face" wtf is a guido????? and seriously, NONE of the them are that hott. especially that Snooki girl. she annoyed the HELL out mee. she freaking got into a hot tub with a bunch of guys in just a bra and a thong!! and you could see her back fat bulging out through her bra. and what the hell is wrong with her face??? and she always whinesssssssssss. im like "bitch, shut the fuck up!!!!" i couldnt even get through the first episodee.
okkk, enough rantingg. pleeeaaasseee REVIEWWW!!! even if it's to defend Jersey Shore. and remember to always Love California (cuz those shores are sooo much better than Jersey's lol)
