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Chapter 2

He had his fingers on my hair. This brown mop was in his hands.

The mirror was showing nothing special. Ordinary features framed by ordinary brown was staring back at me. Edward Cullen needed a pencil and he did his effortless flirting magic. What happened wasn't some kind of love connection. It wasn't like I hadn't seen him do it before.

If you obsess over someone as much as I do Edward, you catch the little things. He had a tendency to twirl Tanya Denali's strawberry blonde curls around his middle finger as his group smoked behind the cafeteria. I caught him stroking Victoria's fire engine ponytail as they passed around a joint under the bleachers on my way to watch Tyler's football practice with Jess. Edward liked touching hair. It was as simple at that.

Those girls that Edward hung out with were beautiful and strong. The type of girls who just didn't care about the politics of high school. They existed on a higher plane than us mere teenagers. They were a part of Edward's tribe. It was a place I knew I would never be good enough for.

"I'm such an idiot," I said to my reflection as if I was clueing it in on a huge secret.

I, Bella Swan, was skipping class to have a pity party in the bathroom. I don't miss class. My future was going to be ruined, because I decided to have a panic attack over a boy.

There was sound of a toilet flushing behind me and I jumped at the sound. I hadn't been alone when I was having an emotional breakdown at the sink.

Alice Brandon danced out of the bathroom stall with her crazy rainbow skirt flying out around her like a parachute that little children play with in gym class. The tank top she wore was tied-dyed and her wrists were covered in the type of plastic bracelets that little girls wear making her look like a small gypsy. Her hair was a knotted mess of black dreads that were decorated with small colored beads. There was nothing like her at Forks High. The girl was an original.

"Isabella! Isabella! My sweet Isabella! Cry not in places that people pee," she sang to me as she washed her hands in the sink next to me. Her eyes never left our reflections and she was observing me with a critical eye. "You and Cullen, huh?"

I felt a wave of panic. This crazy girl was watching me. "What? I don't know what you're talking about."

She grabbed a paper towel from the metal dispenser hanging on the wall and gazed at her teeth in her obscured reflection. "No leafy greens in there. You like Cullen."

Closing my eyes and willing her to go away, all I could see was that mouth of his chewing on his finger in class. I couldn't help but wonder if he was nibbling on the eraser of my pencil.

"I'm still here, You wouldn't be the first person to hope that I disappeared," Alice pointed out. I opened a single eye and saw her perched on the sink counter and eating candy off of the necklace she wore. She held out her necklace. "You want some?"

"No thanks."

"Your loss, girl, because this is some yummy shit." She took another bite and regarded me with a smile. "I like you. Cullen is an ass. I should warn you, because you seem like a good kid."

She was blunt to a fault. Edward Cullen was a waking dream for me. I was lucky that he occasionally glanced in my direction. I knew there was never going to be much more than that. Why did this strange girl need to make me see what I already knew? It wasn't like she was my friend trying to talk some sense to me. This was the first time she ever talked to me. Why was I worth the effort now?

I wanted to yell at her, but the idea of starting a fight made me feel sick. Instead, I just weakly said, "Oh."

"You might be good for him. Maybe. You aren't like that Jessica chick. I like you." She was staring at me again with a little smile. "He's still a dick though."

The only thing I could do is stare at her in disbelief. She didn't know anything. There was a pretty good chance she was as clueless as my parents.

"Al! You would not believe the day I had! No one in this school understands my brilliance!" A boy busted into the bathroom with his hand placed on his forehead like a silent movie actress.

The fact that I even thought about silent movies showed what a dork I was. My mother made me watch those movies with her late at night with bowls of popcorn and glasses of orange juice. She found it to be a great mother and daughter bonding experience. I just found myself wishing to sneak out the back door and search for where all the cool kids were hiding. You knew they weren't stuck with their mom on a Saturday night cuddling on a couch.

"Jakey, my love, this is Isabella Swan. Isabella, this Jacob Black of the tribe of beautiful ones." Alice motioned to me with a big grin, as Jacob snorted. "Be nice, Jakey."

The boy was not impressed when he looked me up and down. With a little wave to me, he went over to Alice and pulled the candy necklace from her neck and ate one. "Sugary goodness! You bring any more, Al?"

She dug through the giant, old leather purse she carried and pulled out a plastic bag full of necklaces. "Voila! Your wish is my command!"

I had seen the boy around school before. We had different classes and friends, but you couldn't miss him. Today, his eyes were outlined with thick, ebony eyeliner and his long, dark hair was pulled up in a bun with chopsticks. The jeans and tee-shirt he wore were normal, but the band name on the shirt was one I didn't know. I had heard around school that he wore a dress one day at the beginning of the school year and was told that he would be expelled if he did it again. Who knew the truth? It was high school. The truth was never important. The excitement was in who could tell the best stories about someone. Sad, but true.

"You friends with Tyler, Isabella?" Jacob asked leaning against Alice's knees. He cocked his head to the side, as she wrapped her thin arms around his neck.

The answer to that question wasn't something that I actually knew the answer to. The only reason I hung around the guy was because of Jess. The guy was a jerk. I still couldn't see what the appeal of Tyler was.

"No, he isn't dating Jessica anymore. No one would want to hang out with Tyler if they have half a brain," I explained. "I guess Jess is the exception."

"I think that girl has a bit of a brain shortage," Alice stated.

A part of me wanted to defend my friend, but a larger part wanted to agree. I was a terrible person.

Jacob looked at my face and it softened a bit. He must have seen my distress. "Girls like those handsome boys no matter what asses they can be. She's not stupid, just confused. I saw your girl kissing him near the woods by the parking lot. You try talking some sense into her."

"I did, but she ignored me. Jess is delusional lately. I have no clue how to deal with all that," I admitted. It felt good to let the truth out, even if it was in a front of strangers.

It was probably safer that way. If I said my feelings in front of anyone we hung out with, it would just get back to Jess. Secrets were never kept between us.

Jacob took out a necklace from the plastic baggie and placed it around my neck. "Join our tribe, Isabella. You seem like a good kid."

"You can call me Bella."

Alice hopped off the sink. "Isabella is better. More regal and shit. Own your power, girl."

Jacob took a piece of my hair. It didn't hold the same excitement that it did when Edward did the same thing. "You would look good as a redhead."

"I was thinking that too," Alice agreed. "Cullen likes that."

"I forgot that Edward likes to match his girls." Jacob wiggled his eyebrows at me. "You like yourself a hot weirdo, Isabella. So very, very hot!"

Jacob started fanning himself with his notebook.

"How did you know that?" This was so embarrassing!

"The way your face gets all red like it is now, honey. Everybody at school knows you have it bad for Ed." He threw an arm around my shoulder. "I don't blame you one bit."

The bell rang telling us of freedom from high school.

"Oh no! I'm going to get in so much trouble for missing history!" I pictured my mother's angry face in my mind. I would be imprisoned in my room forever.

Alice went into that large bag again to pull out a pad of paper. She quickly jotted something down and pulled it off with a flourish. Handing it to me, she said, "You had a migraine and were lying down in the dark."

"This is a note from the nurse's office!" I exclaimed looking down at the paper which Alice had written down my imaginary illness to give to my history teacher.

"Yup, I stole it." She tapped my nose. "I'm a good friend to have, Isabella."

We exited the bathroom in a group. I was startled to see Edward Cullen across from us leaning against the lockers.

He was always leaning against things. So relaxed and cool.

One weekend, my parents were watching a movie with James Dean and I peeked in the doorway to see what all he fuss was about. I wasn't going to actually go in there to watch it with them and admit I was interested in what they were doing. It would put ideas in their heads. Parents given ideas were dangerous people.

Instead, I hovered and was in awe by this actor who seemed so relaxed that he just oozed confidence as he leaned on his car. That was exactly how Edward seemed to me.

My sparkly pencil was stuck behind his ear.

"Alice, you going to Em's on Saturday?" He asked in a bored way.

"Perhaps. What's up?" Alice placed both hands on her hips and then gave me a quick look. The expression of uncontrolled love for the guy she found there made her giggle.

Edward didn't even look in my direction.

"He wants you to make those brownies," Edward explained. He chewed on his nail. I wished I was his nail.

"You can tell Emmett to call me his own damn self, Cullen. I'm not his on demand baker," she huffed. "That fat ass is so damn lazy."

Jacob said in high pitched voice, "Hi Edward!"

I guess I wasn't the only one with a crush.

"Oh hey," Edward barely glanced him. Then he finally looked at me. "What's up?"

"Nothing," I squeaked.

Edward probably thought I was a moron.

"Cool." He moved away from the lockers. "What should I tell Emmett?"

"God, you deaf?" Alice poked him in the chest. "Tell him to call me."

Edward looked at her in annoyance. "Whatever, Alice."

We watched as he stomped away. Alice just stood there laughing at his back.

She turned to me and said, "Seriously, Isabella, Manic Panic Strawberry Daiquiri. You won't regret it."

Jacob sighed watching Edward. "So hot."

I couldn't have agreed more.