DISCLAIMER: I only own a new dog, and she doesn't get the concept of 'No biting me'.


Isabella Swan was a nerd. There was no getting around that.

You couldn't skip about four grades and slip effortlessly into the last year of high school without being a nerd. And she danced flamenco in her free time. And she was fluent in Spanish. And she had a straight A record since, well, forever.

Except in Gym. Which was why she'd done everything she could to not take it.

Namely, skip four grades and dive right into the one where it was optional.

That may or may not have been a prime motivator.

So yes, Bella was a nerd. A proud one, at that. Which was why when two girls (Nameless Girl A and Boobless Girl B) cornered her during he second week of her senior year of high school, Bella kind of became a legend.

The thing was, they cornered her after class, before she was due to go help out at the homeless shelter. Sure, she did it for her curriculum, but also because she'd learnt helping others gave her true pleasure. Anyway, this meant that she was seriously too busy to indulge bullshit, so she didn't.

Bella was still thirteen at this point, a few days away from fourteen.

She was… shy, you could say. She was very young and surrounded by much older teenagers, not to mention the fact that she was naturally in the spotlight over her father's impending success and her intellect. So, instead of becoming a people person, Bella became a 'not totally socially inept' person. Socialization still wasn't her strong suit, but she thought she could pull off a friend or two, if Alice Cullen was any indication.

Speaking of.

"You're hanging out with the wrong crowd," Nameless Girl A babbled, crossing bird thin arms over her chest. It was average sized, Bella calculated, but the push up bra she wore seriously helped. If she'd been a nicer girl, she'd have asked where she got it.

"The wrong crowd?"

"Like, above your stature," Boobless Girl B helped, popping her gum and laying her hands on her hips. Truly, Bella thought it was kind of tragic; at least she was a B cup (and would be for the rest of her life) at thirteen, but at eighteen this girl would be an A cup (not to say she didn't have to wear a bra at all) for probably the rest of her adulthood… if she didn't get fake boobs.

She would.

Bella would never know, but if she had, she'd have applauded the choice.

"Why?"

The two girls looked at each other, dumbfounded. You simply didn't question social hierarchies, and certainly not if you were like…

They looked at the skinny little girl in front of them, her braces and the mountain of books in her arms.

This.

"Because Alice Cullen and Jasper Whitlock are the creme de la creme. You're not."

Hey, Bella thought. That's so true and so hurtful.

But she would never have admitted this out loud.

"And I should listen to you because…?" Bella let the sentence hang, just blinking. She looked from one girl to the other, counting down the minutes till the next bus that would take her out of this school.

"You'd be bringing down Alice's rep. I mean, hanging out with a pre-teen nerd is kinda like…" Girl A did a waving away motion with her hand, probably looking for a word.

"Uncool?" Bella helped.

"Exactly," Girl B nodded. "We knew you'd get it."

"Totally," Bella said, nodding along. "I mean, why hang out with me when she could be hanging out with you?"

The two girls nodded dumbly.

Bella couldn't believe they didn't get sarcasm.

So she finally gave up on being politically correct and snapped.

"Fuck no. If Alice wants to hang out with me she will, otherwise you can kiss my ass, O Wrinkled Ones," Bella barked at them, even her voice dropping; if they held her up much longer she'd lose the bus, which meant she'd have to wait for the next one in the pouring rain and she was not letting her copy of Pride and Prejudice get wet again. The contrast was too much —Bella, barely five foot one and gangly and awkward as only a thirteen year old could be, talking down to the two most annoying seniors somehow on every party's invite list.

Luckily, someone caught it all on camera and forwarded it to everyone who was anyone.

By the next day, everyone was calling her Ballsy Bella.

The legend lived too long over too simple an answer, but truth be told, Bella would prefer to be remembered as a boss-ass bitch than a lame-ass pussy.

As some uncultured people would put it.

Not her.

She'd just say she was the shit instead.

\0/.\0/

"Oh my God Edward, listen to what happened today!" Alice Cullen squealed in delight, plopping down on her living room's couch, cordless phone tightly gripped in her hands.

"What?" Her older brother, currently starting the first year of his masters in MIT, mumbled. She knew he didn't mean to blow her off by doing homework while they spoke, but Edward was far less multitask than he gave himself credit for. He really couldn't listen, talk and read at the same time.

"I fucked Jasper today," Alice said casually, and the resounding thud that welcomed her on the other end assured her she now had his full attention.

"Alice!"

"I mean, I did, but that's not what I wanted to talk about," she huffed in an easygoing manner. "Although we can talk about my sex life of you prefer."

Edward whimpered so pitifully Alice gave up on teasing him.

He might be cool, but he could also be terribly awkward.

"Remember Bella, the girl that skipped like a bunch of grades I told you about?" Alice began, not even pausing to let him refresh his mind. "Well, some girls in Mike Newton's little posse tried to get her to drop like a fly, right? You know, in that nasty way they have."

Edward nodded to himself.

He remembered that too well; how when he'd been about to make a new, genuine friends, the popularity-hungry vultures would sweep in and kill any chance of that happening.

"And?"

"And Bella told them off!" Alice laughed, her tinkling voice giving it a nice lilt. "She even called them O Wrinkled Ones? Can you believe it? She looks like she'll disintegrate if you bump into her, but she wouldn't take any shit from them! Contradiction much?"

The thing about Bella was that her confidence was mostly internal during her high school year. She was still young, awkward and low on the food chain —as far as she was concerned. However, nobody else really saw it like this. She was too sure of herself, too consistent with who she was, and so no one ever thought her any less. She never doubted herself, after all, so why should anyone else? Once the whole school had been in on this fact, Bella Swan became a legend —she was the first person ever, in the history of their private high school, to say she didn't give a fuck and mean it.


The first time Edward met Bella, he thought he'd be better off being shot then thrown overboard off of a ferry.

Embarrassment didn't even begin to cover it, and attempt to cover it he did.

The worst part?

How cool Bella was about it all.

It all started because of Alice and her dumb tours of the house.

It was three days before Christmas. Alice had invited Bella to the annual Cullen dinner, and Edward had been home for all one day back from university. The semester had been tough, given that he was working part time in a coffee shop as well as doing his masters. Not that he needed the money, but he needed to do something that required human interaction; his mother had suggested taking up a manual job that had nothing to do with his studies, otherwise he'd never get away from it all. Edward might've argued he didn't want to get away from it all, but the truth of the matter was he did need to interact with people. Computers didn't express themselves, and they certainly couldn't shock you with anything they said.

So, yeah. He'd been learning how to smile when pissed and pull through when stressed, so altogether he would've said he'd been getting a bit less awkward and much more smooth.

His sister's forceful makeover of his hair had helped, too.

She'd claimed the long hair was out, and that it would never make a comeback for him.

She'd been right.

Then, however?

That moment?

That was all her fault. Mary Alice Cullen was completely at fault for the way he met the future mother of his son, and he'd never forgive her for it.

"You should go up to my room," Alice had apparently said to Bella as soon as she'd arrived at the empty household. Preparations were underway for the party/dinner, but at the last moment Esme had decided she needed three more candles and Carlisle just had to go with her. Emmett wouldn't arrive until Christmas Eve, much to their frustration, so it had been just Alice and Edward then. "Wait for me while I go look for some documents in my dad's office. It's the second one on the right going up the stairs."

Alice had always, forever, lived in the first room to the left.

So Bella Swan, in all her innocence, had gone up to the second bedroom on the right, absentmindedly taking in the wonderful decorating Esme Cullen had done. Her eyes had been sweeping every inch of every wall and room, and this one had been no exception.

Apart from the twenty-four year old jerking off in the middle of the day.

For a moment, they'd just stared at each other.

Brown eyes locked on green.

Edward was mortified. He couldn't believe the one time in five months he'd finally found enough energy and motivation to masturbate someone walked in. And not just anyone, either, but his little sister's even younger best friend. She was standing in the middle of the doorway, the bedroom door wide open and her fingers still on the knob. She was a tiny little thing, skinny and with brown hair piled up onto her head, a few lose strands framing her face. She wore a jean skirt with red and green stockings, converse and a red hoodie. Obviously, this was a girl ready to sing her heart out to Jingle Bells.

Young, innocent, and completely taken aback by the sight in front of her.

She'd known Alice's brother was handsome, and much older than her. She'd looked him up in the school yearbook, curious about him really being a geeky, male version of Alice. Instead, she'd found a beautiful face with green eyes and bronze hair staring back at her.

What she saw now was the same face, about five or six year after that picture, in front of her. His hair had changed from the terrible early 2000s style to a freshly fucked one. He now had some stubble, and he wasn't wearing the glasses from the picture. Bella wondered if he'd taken to wearing contacts; if he was into computer software, as Alice had said, she seriously doubted he'd ever stop needing the extra help to fix his sight on screens.

Mike Newton was definitely a moron if he thought the only reason anyone ever got close to him was because he was their future employer.

Edward's breathing stopped completely.

He still had one hand clinging to his dick and the other one a magazine with a brunette in the cover.

For once in his life, his mind went blank as he watched the teenager's surprised eyes meet his.

"Oh, sorry. I guess this isn't Alice's room, then."

Then she shut the door.

"I'm Bella, by the way!" She called from behind the door. "Nice to meet you, Edward!"

-.-

What Edward hadn't known was that while he had dealt with the worst embarrassment of his life not so short life, Bella had gone to the guest's bathroom to freshen up.

As in, to let herself flush as red as her body wished.

She was too shocked to feel aroused, although when she remembered what she'd seen later in the day, she would so be. She was mortified, obviously, over having intruded on such a private moment, and she wondered if she'd done the right thing by not overreacting. She hadn't thought he'd appreciate her laughing (which was her first instinct) and it had been too late to just back the fuck up. Hopefully, he wouldn't hold it against her that she'd stolen a quick look before settling her eyes on his.

(He hadn't noticed)

When Bella finally found the right room (which happened to be the first one she looked into, having knocked to check first), she waited for Alice a few minutes before the girl danced up the stairs. She seemed to be in a great mood, smiling very widely as she showed Bella this and that in her room.

"You ok? You look a bit distracted," Alice noted, cocking her head innocently.

Too innocently.

Bella narrowed her eyes.

"You gave me the wrong instructions on purpose!" Bella accused, standing up sharply from the bed and pointing at her friend an accusatory finger.

Alice feigned shock badly.

"I did no such thing! I clearly told you where my room was!"

"You little monster," said a voice from the hallway, and then Edward appeared, leaning on the doorway. "I can't believe so much evil runs through your veins."

Alice, offended, stood from her vanity with her hands on her hips.

"Evil? I'm not the one that caused every single Tamagotchi I had to commit suicide!" Alice snapped back, obviously quite hurt over it. "Not just mine, either, but yours too!"

"They were annoying!"

"They were children!"

"Uh… are you two ok?" Bella asked hesitantly. They were kind of hilarious, but Bella didn't feel comfortable outright laughing at them. Or looking Edward in the eye without wanting to blush.

"Fine," Edward smiled tightly, eyes telling Alice they weren't done. "Mom's on the phone. She needs your opinion for a napkin set."

Huffing, Alice went downstairs to get the call.

"So…" Edward scratched the back of his neck, awkward. Knowing he had probably caused the girl great embarrassment, he faltered with his next words. He didn't know how to continue.

Fortunately, Bella did.

"I'm sorry, I should've knocked," she said, giving him an apologetic smile. "I thought it was only Alice in the house, and I misunderstood her instructions, I guess."

She'd give her friend the benefit of the doubt.

Deserving, she was not.

"It's fine," Edward said after a pause, still a bit disbelieving of how cool about it Bella was being. Wasn't she just as embarrassed? "You couldn't have known."

Bella laughed.

"Or could I?" He gave her a look at this. "I'm kidding, Edward. I wasn't prepared for seeing that just as you weren't prepared to be seen." Bella gave him the most sympathetic look she could. "I mean, if it makes you feel any better, I once caught my parents doing it. This was definitely not as traumatic as that."

"Oh yeah, Alice mentioned something about your parents," Edward said, drastically changing the subject. "Your dad's Charlie Swan, right? He's the guy into electric cars shouting eureka?"

Edward suddenly wanted to punch himself. Seriously? The comment could be taken either way, with Bella taking it as a compliment or as an insult to her dad. He did, after all, just allude to a guy who'd gone off stark naked shouting victory.

Instead, Bella burst out laughing.

"Oh God, that's the best description anyone's ever given of Charlie," Bella laughed, and Edward thought the laughter was a bit disproportionate to the size of her body. Her eyes crinkled a little in the corner, and she had a deep dimple on her right cheek; he thought, briefly, she was a cute girl.

But just that.

A cute, funny girl who happened to be his sister's friend.

"But yeah," Bella finally answered. "That's my dad. The guy trying to flip the world around."

"Not everyone sees it that way," Edward remarked, noticing that Bella had yet to sit back down and that he was just leaning against the doorway, observing her. She was a curious little thing, in everything from her outfit to her way of being.

"No," Bella agreed, finally sitting on the edge of the bed when Edward took a seat on the desk chair. "Not everyone does. I don't think he minds, though."

Edward saw the way she cast her eyes downward briefly.

"And do you?"

She squared her shoulders as if she resented being questioned on her stance.

"I think my dad's trying to innovate a stagnant industry with a mega trend that'll take us into the future. He's bringing technology and ecology, design and computer software together. Any person with half a brain would see just how wonderful the future he has in mind is," Bella ranted, then blushed furiously. She couldn't believe she'd suddenly ranted this way, almost unprompted. "Sorry. I might've come on too strong."

"Not at all," Edward brushed it off, quite impressed with her. "Alice had said you're smart, but I guess you have to see some things to believe them. Anyway," he said, fiddling with a scrap of paper on the desk. "I agree. Your dad's ideas are gonna be a hit once he gets the right kind of assistance. He came to MIT once to give a talk, and my friends were very impressed. I couldn't make it to the conference."

Bella nodded, pleased.

"Thank you." She bit her lip, furrowing her brow. She looked worried now, which, again, confused Edward even more. He didn't know if it was something he had caused, and a part of him wished to relieve her.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, it's just…" Bella sighed, shrugging as if there was nothing she could do. There really wasn't anything to do other than to just say it.

"It's just?"

"Your fly's open."


Phew, so... this chapter was longer than the other ones. Also, as you might've noticed, there's no mystery POV this time. Again, I have no idea how long it's been since the last update. If it's been more than a week, I apologize. Thank you for all of your kind reviews; I try replying to all but sometimes I can't and then forget to. Don't forget to favorite, follow and review! :))

Leah.