There are days like this when you should have stayed in bed. The Monday of third week was one of those days. I should have figured that out when I woke up at 5AM. It wasn't very surprising since I had gone to bed at 8:30PM but turning again and again in my bed without managing to go back to sleep, I had way too much time to think. And thinking isn't really a good idea when you are a plain girl way too fascinated by the most gorgeous and mysterious boy in high school: It's never pleasant to dwell upon the fact that you will never interest such a boy and to fell at the same time, that even when reason tells you to forget about it, you can't.

Frustrated, I got up and grabbed the book that was lying on the other end of my bedroom. I found my mark and started to read before remembering that the reason why I had thrown the book away some nights before was because one of the characters of Sense and Sensibility was named Edward. I don't usually mistreat books, rather the opposite actually, according to my mum that always refer to my love of books as "mystic reverence", but today was an exception. I slammed the book and sent it flying across the room right where it had been 5 minutes before. There was really nothing that didn't bring my thoughts back to this boy!

I looked into my bag for the book Angela had lent me the day before. We exchanged a lot of books. I tried to make her like the classical novels of the 19th century and she tried to initiate me to the many mystery books she read. Actually, she pretty much only read stories about spies and thieves and I was becoming rather found of Sherlock Holmes myself.

When my alarm clock showed 6:30 AM, I considered it was late enough to begin preparing myself for school. My mood hadn't improved with my reading. I had thought I would be safe with the Hound of the Baskerville but I still managed to find Sherlock Homes' ways of appearing silently when you least expect him and his cryptic behavior very familiar.

I arrived at school very early but it was always better than pacing back and forth in Charlie's kitchen. And it meant that I could take the best spot of the parking, just behind the hedge. With the heater on, the sound of the rain falling on my truck and the radio playing some quiet classical music, I felt my mood getting better and better while waiting for my classmates to arrive. But by 8AM, even if the parking lot was packed with cars, there was still no trace from the silver Volvo; the only car I was really waiting for. And my mood got back quickly to its former state.

I waited till last minute to go to Algebra and when I took my seat next to Rosalie, I was sure the Cullens weren't at School. But the thing I wasn't sure about was to know if I would manage to go through the entire day without seeing Edward. Ok, maybe I was overreacting a little, but it was still really hurtful to realize that my waiting and expectations were for nothing. And the worst part was that I had no way to know when I would next see the Cullen. If I ever saw them again a little voice in the back of my head was telling me. But I hushed it.

As much as I despised myself for having such disproportionate emotions and reactions, I was almost desperate at this point and I really needed to talk to someone about the Cullen. And I guess Rosalie wasn't such a bad choice of interlocutor. After all, she seemed to know some things about boys.

"Err, Rose?" I tried shyly.

Rosalie and I had gotten along very well these past weeks. She was really nice once you past her cool facade.

"What is it Bella?"

"I was wondering; I heard your family and the Cullen' used to be close. Is it true?" I asked.

"Yes, before they left our families knew each other" she answered quickly.

And for some reason, I felt she didn't want to talk about it.

But I was too eager to know more about Edward. Besides, Rosalie's reticence got me curious. So I pressed on anyway.

"So your parents must know Carlisle?" I asked, "I think the Cullen only left when he was in his 20th".

"Yeah, they used to know him, they went to school together. My parents, Kate and Garrett's parents: my aunt and uncle, the Malory: Lauren's parents... It's a very small town and they all married with each other to keep the businesses running."

She made a face that clearly said what she thought about small towns and arranged marriages.

"And you know Emmett and Edward?" I continued.

"They weren't born when Carlisle and his parents left. They didn't grow up here." She answered.

And I noticed that she hadn't said no.

"Yes but your parents are still friends aren't they? So you could have met"

"Well we didn't" She said shortly. And this time, I knew the discussion was over.

I had learnt to know Rosalie by then. I could recognize when she was amused even if her face wasn't smiling and when she was really annoyed (Not when she sighed loudly to reinforce her cold queen status but when she raised one eyebrow). But today, she was not amused, nor annoyed, nor anything that could have made sense. She just looked very interested in the class all of a sudden and spent the rest of the hour, carefully listening to the lecture and taking notes. It shouldn't have been so odd. Except that it was the first time since the beginning of the year that she was actually paying attention to our teacher. So the message was clear and I dropped the subject.

The sudden stop of the discussion gave me one more Edward-related thing to think about. And Rosalie's return to cold indifference, a new reason to mope. But surprisingly, my day got better after Algebra. Between classes, I glanced by reflex toward the parking lot and was very glad to see that the Cullen's shinny Volvo was parked at the far end of the parking.

Relieved to know that I would see Edward in Geology after all, I was cheerful for the rest of the morning and during lunch. And even if I was still in a no-talking basis with Edward, I more than welcomed my hour of geology. I spent it observing him the more inconspicuous I could manage and was still marveling at his perfection when I made my way to gym.

But it was too good to last. In gym, the bad day I had foresaw caught back with me. I don't really know how it happened but I know it involved a volley ball, a shoe lace and my usual clumsiness and I finished the class in the nurse office with ice on my forehead and Ms. Cope, the redheaded front office receptionist, rambling and pacing in the room, obviously glad to have distractions.

When I finally managed to make the grandmotherly nurse and Mrs. Cope trust that I was really fine, it was already late. The school was empty and I went quickly to retrieve my books and clothes in the gym. And since no teachers were there to tell me to go all the way around, I got out by the back door that gives directly into the back of the parking lot.

And then, I froze. Because 50 feet before me, around a shinny Volvo, were gathered 2 boys I had learn to recognize and one blond boy who was laughing with them. You could defy spotting the strangeness of this scene. But Jasper Hale, Rosalie's shy twin, was never hanging out with other boys, nor joking with some and even less with boys that he could only have known for 3 weeks. Or so I guessed. Because right when I thought it couldn't get any weirder, I noticed the 2 impossibly long legs that protruded underneath the car.

Thanks for reading, thanks to review. And special thanks to you EmoE, if you're still following.