Chapter 7: Texting and Cafeteria Showdowns

"Bella!" an angel's voice sang, I pivoted on my feet to come face-to-face with the most beautiful creature on the entire planet. The meadow's beauty dimmed in comparison to the God standing in front of me.

"Edward," I whispered reaching up with my hand to stroke his angular face. My fingers trailed from his smooth forehead, where his hair hung over it, and skimmed down to his straight nose. They lingered on his angular jaw, I marveled in this flawlessness. He was truly perfect, he had a body which male models would kill for and his gentlemanly ways made girls swoon.

"Bella..." he hesitated.

"What is it?" I softly encouraged him.

"I love you, Bella Swan." I stood motionless until I was coherent enough to speak.

"I-I love you too." With that, a breathtaking smile appeared on his face and he leaned down to press his lustrous lips to mine.

"It's not fair and it's really not okay!" I was awoken by my alarm singing Not Fair, which completely matched my mood. Crushing grief tore through me as I realized all of it was a dream, and a dream is all it would ever be.

"UURRRGGHH!" I groaned in frustration. Not only had I woken up from such a good dream, I had school to face and I hadn't got much sleep either! I rolled out of bed and headed to my bathroom for a shower, toppling dizzily into my dresser on the way. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, stretching my arms above my head. I didn't realize I was standing in the door, so I ended up hitting the top of the doorframe with my hand. I shook my hand, cursing and trying to get rid of the pain that was shooting through it. When I was jumping around trying to liberate myself of the agony, I managed to hit my shin against something, and ended up worsening the pain instead of reducing it. I fell on the floor not caring about the fact that now my back was throbbing. I sat up a little, examining my injuries. I had a bruised shin and my knuckles were bruised as well from when I hit them against the top of the doorframe. I stood up dazed and maneuvered my way to my mirror, lifting my tank top up to reveal a huge contusion. I sighed and navigated my way to back to my bathroom. I stripped down and stepped into the shower, the jets of hot water coming from all directions, relaxing my tense muscles. I thought about Edward. I organized my jumbled, confused thoughts that were buzzing around my brain. Okay so Edward and I were friends now, we had established that. Well when we're on our own he does stuff like hold my hand or wrap his arms around me, which, if someone walks in, is immediately taken away. Friends don't do things together that they wouldn't want other people to walk in on, did they? That was exactly the situation between Edward and I and I confused me all the way to hell. I pushed my feelings away, instead of sorting them out, as I felt the familiar feelings of rejection and realization pulse through me.

I absentmindedly stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my wet body, shivering slightly from the loss of the heat of the warm water on my skin. I sauntered into my huge closet filled with new clothes, courtesy of Alice , and tried to find articles of clothing to adorn. I stared at the round rotating platform of various shoes in the middle of the room wondering why the hell had I caved into Alice and let her redesign my closet. I sifted through the mound of clothes with designer labels on, growing more and more impatient, trying to find a pair of jeans. Suddenly my phone beeped from my room. I ran to check who it was that had sent me a text. Alice. She had sent me a picture of the outfit she wanted me to wear and told me where to find it. She added this message to the end:

Wear the clothes, or you'll get it! It's for your own good! You will LOVE me for it! See you at school!

Ali xxxx

P.S. You will get a surprise this morning!

P.P.S. Curl your hair!

P.P.P.S. PLEASE DO NOT BURN YOURSELF!

Trust Alice to threaten me! I rolled my eyes and looked at the end of the message. What surprise? Ugh! She knows I hate surprises, yet the pixie has always ignored me and planned them on numerous occasions. I was a bit offended at the last remark; I can curl my hair without burning myself! I trudged back to the closet to pull on the horrific nightmares that Alice had conspired for me.

I followed Alice 's directions and found the pair of jeans she wanted me to wear. I had to admit that they were pretty rocking! They were bleach stone, acid washed skinny jeans which had strips of denim crossing on the outside of each leg and showing my skin in the open space between the crosses. I pulled them on and they fitted me perfectly, showing off my every curve. I then hunted for the top. It was a short-sleeved red top which had a waterfall front with a bow at the top and a gap showing a bit of cleavage. I felt a bit self-conscious as I looked in the mirror; a little bit of cleavage could be seen but the rest was left to imagination. I found the shoes on the top shelf of the rotation shoe rack. They were red open-toed high heels with straps at the ankle; I swear Alice wants to kill me. I stumbled a bit when I stood up, but after I had practiced walking in them for 15 minutes, I finally got the hang of it. I could walk without tripping, for now anyway. That would probably change when I saw Edward. I grabbed the jacket on the way out which was a black boyfriend blazer and I left it unbuttoned. I dried my hair while I left my curling irons to heat up. I'll show that little evil sprite that I can curl my hair without burning myself! Once they had heated up, I carefully curled my hair into loose spirals which cascaded down my back. I put the front of my hair into a side-parting a straightened my side-fringe. I rubbed on my foundation to smooth out my skin tone. Thank god I never get breakouts of spots on my face. I remember when Alice had one spot on her face and she brought the whole house down. I lined my eyes with black liquid eyeliner and covered my eyelids with soft pink eye shadow. I put mascara on my eyelashes to give them a full volume look. I put pink lip gloss on my full lips to complete the look. I added a thick red hair band to my hair matching the top and the shoes. I was about to leave my room when something caught my eye; red nail-polish. I painted my nails, pleased with myself for having the idea.

I gripped the banister of the stairs tightly as I climbed down them to stop myself from falling. Halfway down the stairs, I found that it wasn't too difficult. If I tried to think about nothing but walking straight and not falling, I could last throughout the day without embarrassing myself. I made myself some scrambled egg and toast. I sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen eating my breakfast, when I spotted a piece of paper near the fruit bowl. I opened it and read the message from Charlie:

Hey Bells. I'll be home late tonight. Don't bother cooking dinner for me. I'll eat before I come home.

I wonder where he's going to eat. I tossed the note into the bin and washed up my plate. I grabbed my Louis Vuitton hand bag that Alice had gotten for Christmas and dumped my school things in it. I dithered as I walked out into the cold morning. I turned around a locked the door, dropping the key under the eave. As I turned around, I came across a sight that I had always dreamed of, but never thought I'd actually see. There, instead of the empty space where Charlie's cruiser should be, a Volvo was parked. Leaning on the Volvo, was the love of my life, smirking beautifully. I was ecstatic to see Edward but I was also very aware of the gaping hole in my chest which ached for him. Seeing Edward involved the opening and shutting of my senses. It was like a wound that was half-dried, half-healed and then it is ripped open by the thing that caused it in the first place. I shook away the gruesome thoughts and walked over to him, a smile also appearing on my face. I raised my eyebrow skeptically at him

"Hello Mr. Cullen," I said jokingly. "What, may I ask, are you doing here?"

"Well, Miss Swan," he began mirroring my tone. "If you don't mind, I would like to have the honor of taking you to school."

"Really?" I said taken aback.

"Yep, do you mind?" he said looking nervous. Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait; Edward Cullen, nervous? That's a rare sight to see; in fact it's almost an extinct sight to see.

"Sure," I smiled brightly at him but I knew I could never dazzle him like he dazzles me. A smile lit up his worried expression and he opened the door for me. I slid into the passenger while he jogged over to the driver's side. As he started the car I looked at what he was wearing. He had some dark blue jeans on and a striped shirt which boasted about his muscles and abs. Over that he wore a black leather jacket which made him look so sexy.

"By the way Bella," he said as he started up his baby. "You look absolutely gorgeous."

"Thanks," I mumbled, a heavy blush coloring my cheeks.

We drove to school in a comfortable silence; I stared out of the window apprehensively waiting what school would hold for me today. I thought back to Friday, a lot has happened since then. Edward and I had become friends again, but would he show that at school? Or would he ignore me like he did two days ago? I was getting more agitated by each second that ticked by and I nearly burst with anxiousness as we pulled into the parking lot of Forks High. I mentally thanked Edward's Volvo for its tinted windows that shielded me from everyone's eyes and kept the gossip away for a little longer.

"Ready?" Edward whispered and squeezed my hand. I nodded meekly. I could hear the whispering start as Edward stepped out of the car and headed towards my passenger door. I could tell what everyone was thinking: Who does Edward Cullen have with him? I held my breath as Edward opened the door, preparing myself for what was going to be a long day. Everyone audibly gasped when they saw me step out of the car; I tried my best to ignore the stares that were boring into my back. Edward put a hand lightly on the small of my back, guiding me to where Alice , Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper stood. Alice squealed when she saw me and hugged me tightly. Once she pulled back I greeted the others and Rose gave me a knowing smile. She winked and mouthed:

"You look fabulous!"

"Thanks!" I mouthed back.

"Bella, I see you chose to wear the outfit," Alice asked innocently.

"Well sadly Alice , I had no choice!" I said and Edward chuckled lightly from beside me. Alice suddenly grabbed Rose and I and dragged us out of earshot of the boys.

"So did you like your surprise?" Alice chirped.

"That was you?" I said and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, Edward was sitting in the house looking really bored so Alice and I booted him out told him to go to yours" Rosalie explained.

"You guys are the best friends ever!" I pulled them both into a hug and a smile stretched across my face. They were truly the best anyone could ask for. The bell rang signaling the start of homeroom. Edward ran over to me and Rose and Alice had magically disappeared.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Edward gave me a quick hug and left for his own homeroom. I felt light and easy after that because I knew that Edward wouldn't hide our friendship. That comforted me in some weird unknown way. Jessica and Lauren were glaring at me as I entered homeroom and took my seat next to Alice .

"Wow," Alice whispered. "Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum are not happy"

I laughed at our nickname for them. I turned around and they were still glaring at me. Alice and I both got our phones out under the desk and went on FaceBook. We chatted on FaceBook as we couldn't talk in homeroom without being told off. Alice had the new Blackberry Curve 8900, whereas Edward had the Blackberry Bold 9700. All the Cullens had a Blackberry, it was the Cullen tradition. Alice and I texted each other throughout the morning in our lessons; I was about to reply to a text that Alice had sent me when I got a notification that Edward Cullen had signed on in FaceBook. I smirk lit up my face.

Hey, Edward said on Face-book chat.

Hey wuu2?

Not much, I'm stuck in Spanish with Emmett sitting next to me. Joy. U?

Haha lol Gotta love Emmett lol. Not much, I'm falling asleep while listening to Ms Stephens go on about how much women have developed from the WWI. Fun.

Hahaha well that is interesting isn't it? Lol

"Ms Swan!" Ms Stephens exclaimed. "What were the women who protested for the right to vote called?" Luckily I knew this or I'd be dead.

"The Suffragettes, Ms Stephens," I said.

"G-Good. Pay attention next time," she said taken aback that I knew the answer.

Gtg Edward. The old hag nearly caught me. C u at lunch x

I was unsure of what Edward would make of the "x" at the end. How would he take it?

Kk c ya l8r x

I was extremely elated that he put an "x" at the end. Even though he just probably meant it as friends and only put it there because I had. I was nearly bouncing with joy as I skipped into the cafeteria. Before I could go any further into the cafeteria, Lauren and Jessica materialized in front of me. Oh Boy.

"Hey Bella; so you and Cullen friends now, huh?" Lauren sneered. They didn't even give me a chance to respond.

"Well either way, you don't deserve to be even around him. He is way too good for you. Besides I'm sure that he would rather be with someone pretty, like us." Jessica added. I know that I shouldn't let them get to me but that really hurt. It didn't help the fact that the whole cafeteria had heard and were now eagerly anticipating what would happen next.

"You must be really retarded if you think you look anywhere near pretty," a voice said from behind me. I turned my head to look at my savior and my eyes met a pair of emerald green ones. Edward walked closer to us and Jessica and Lauren's mouths dropped and hit the ground.

"You two actually think that you're better than Bella?" Edward asked disbelievingly. "Well you've got another thing coming. Bella is way smarter, more caring and more beautiful than you. And every guy here is lucky to even be able to look at her. If you've got a problem with her, you've got a problem with me. Got it?" Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me away from Lauren and Jessica, who were now gob smacked.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"No problem. And Bella?" he looked directly into my eyes. "I meant every word I said." Alice was almost bursting with joy as we sat down.

"That was so sweet!" She mouthed to me.

"I know!" I mouthed back. We all chatted as we ate lunch and the guys started a mini food fight. Rosalie, Alice and I rolled our eyes. Once they had gotten over their childishness, Jasper, Emmett, Rose and Alice headed to English. Edward stood up and offered me his arm.

"Shall we, Miss Swan?" he said.

"We shall," I chuckled taking his arm. We were both laughing as we walked to Biology, just enjoying each other's presence. Biology went by in a flash with Edward and I was sad to have to go to Gym.

"Don't worry. I'll rescue you from Gym half-way through," Edward said before heading off to his Math lesson. I walked into the changing room to find Alice there already changed. I quickly dressed myself in a fitted shirt, blue short shorts and trainers. I pulled my hair into a ponytail; leaving my fringe out. We were playing Badminton, oh joy. After an excruciating half-hour in which I had managed to hit Mike twice, Edward was at the door. I sighed with relief and was in bliss to see him. Edward talked to the Coach and I was excused from gym. Edward waited outside the changing rooms while I changed back into what I was wearing.

"Ready?" He asked. I nodded. We spent the next half-hour in his car talking and listening to music.

"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked when students started filing out. I nodded but I was internally screaming 'NO' because I didn't want to leave him. I sighed internally as Edward pulled up in front of my house.

"Bella?" Edward called when I was at my front door. "I'll pick you up tomorrow?" I smiled.

"Okay! See you tomorrow Edward!" I waved to him.

"Bye Bella!" he waved at me a final time before driving off into the distance. I'll miss you Edward. I mentally sighed as I retrieved the key from under the eave and made my way inside.