Bella
Two weeks passed. Two painfully slow weeks passed and every day was hell. My family thought that I must have had a mental breakdown because I spent the last week of summer locked in my room. I didn't have to face the world and could cry all I wanted. Except that today was the first day of school. Today, was the first day and I couldn't leave my room. How could I leave my house when I couldn't even leave my room?
The bruises had started to fade so I wore a light blue sleeved shirt and jeans. My hair limply hung in my face and I hugged my backpack tight. It was 7:00 and I had to be at school by 7:30. It only took five minutes to drive but Emmett was my ride and if he left without me than I was walking.
I did not want to walk the first day.
"Bella," my brother opened the door without knocking. "What the hell are you doing? Are you ready to go?"
He had a pissed off look on his face and stomped down the stairs, not waiting for an answer. With a sigh, I headed downstairs. I grabbed a pop tart and hopped into his humongous Jeep. Emmett was already in the car waiting for me, and took off as soon as I closed the door. He turned the radio to his punk rock music that he loved so much and we rode to the school in silence.
My heart pounded against my chest as we came closer and closer. All I could think of were all of the possible things that could go wrong today. Despite my brother's popularity, I was the exact opposite. Nobody noticed me and that's how I wanted to keep it. I didn't need or want attention but it always seemed to find me.
"Bella." Emmett sighed.
"What?"
"I've got football practice after school so I can't drive you home."
I suddenly turned to glare at him. "Why the hell are you just telling me this now?!"
Did he expect me to walk home because I sure as hell wasn't doing that.
He rolled his eyes. "Jesus, calm down. I talked to Alice and she said that she and Rose could give you a ride home."
My eyes widened. I did not want to be stuck in a car with Alice Cullen and Rosalie Hale.
Alice was Edward's sister and Rosalie was my brothers' girlfriend as well as Jasper's twin. They were the definition of popular and beautiful. They were both juniors and were the ones either going too or throwing the wildest parties. All the girls wanted to be them and all the boys wanted to date them. There wasn't a single person in Forks that didn't envy them, myself included.
As much as they were over at my house, Alice and Rosalie terrified me. They intimidated me. I would never be as pretty or cool as them. They would always view me as Emmett's little sister.
"Thanks for telling me sooner!" I snorted
"Well, maybe if you hadn't locked yourself in your bedroom I could have told you!"
"Well, maybe if you ever stopped hanging out with Edward and Jasper, I would talk to you more! Did you ever think about that?!" My face was bright red and tears swam in my eyes.
"Where the fuck is this coming from? You're obsessed with Edward and now you don't want him around?"
I gasped. "I- I don't know what you are talking about."
All he did was scoff. "You didn't think that we know about your little crush? It's been obvious for years."
"I'm done with this conversation. Maybe if you ever thought of your sister then you would actually notice me." a snarl escaped my lips. We pulled up to the school and I didn't even wait for him to park. I hopped out in the line of traffic and slammed the door shut.
"Bella!" Angela exclaimed from the back of the room. Her hand is frantically waving in the air as I collected the papers at the front desk and made my way towards her.
Students were still trickling into homeroom as many of us were trying to find our way around this new school. My schedule was stuffed in my pocket, as I had memorized all my classes and room numbers. I didn't want to be that pathetic person standing in the middle of the hallway lost.
A huge smile spread across her face as I sat down. Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and was wearing a cute summer dress.
"Hey," I mumbled.
Angela Webber and I had been best friends since we were three. After moving in down the street, we were inseparable. We were both quiet and shy and hated attention. It also helped that we were both book obsessed. There wasn't any chance that I would have made it through middle school or band without her. We were the misfits on the island of misfit toys and were content with staying that way. It worked for us and that's all that mattered.
"I'm so happy that we have homeroom together! It feels like I haven't seen you in forever," she sighed. "I feel really bad because Jake and I have been hanging out the past few weeks and I tried texting you but you never responded."
"Yeah, sorry about that," I mutter. "I was busy."
"With what?"
"I was just busy with homework and stuff," I lied.
"Oh," was all she can say. "Well, do you notice anything different about me?"
I looked at her smiling face and brown eyes. I racked my mind trying to think but came up empty.
"I got contacts!" She exclaimed.
I raised my eyebrows, noticing now that her glasses were gone. She looked different. She looked more mature like a… like a teenager.
"You look good!" I attempted to smile.
She blushed and pulled out her pencil pouch and twirling around a pen. "It feels so different but like in a good way. I figured it was time for a change since we are in high school now."
"Yeah," I muttered, sinking down in my seat.
She continued to ramble on about summer as I watched more people walk into the room. Guys in letterman jackets come in laughing and joking about something. I unconsciously straightened my back and watched them warily. They could be like Jacob. The three boys sat towards the front of the room. I focused my eyes on them, making sure that they stayed where they were sitting.
"...and then I went to the lake house with my parents."
I focused back in on the conversation, having missed almost all of it. Everything seemed like it's happening in slow motion and her voice was just an echo at the back of my brain.
I nodded my head, showing her that I've heard her and doodled in my notebook. I think that she got the picture that I didn't want to talk because she didn't say another word the rest of the class.
The time passed by slowly and all we learned were the rules and the expectations of being in high school. This was really the time for us to work our hardest because how well we did in the next four years would determine our future. It was hard not to worry.
"What class do you have next?" Angela asked as the bell rang.
"History."
"Dang it," she grumbled. "I've got gym. Maybe we've got lunch together?"
"I've got fourth period."
She shook her head and pouted. "I've got third period."
I stuffed everything in my bag and we walked out the door together. We stuck next to each other as we made our way through the crowd before separating at the stairs.
"I'll see you later hopefully!" She shouted. I smiled before turning away and headed in the opposite direction.
History passed by painfully slow as I sat at the back of the classroom by myself. We were learning about the Cold War and my teacher, Mr. Smith's voice was as boring as his personality. He was too deaf to hear the side conversations going on and kept his back turned, writing on the board the entire time. I stared out the window, taking no notes, and waited for the bell to ring but it seemed as if it never would.
"Can anyone tell me when the Cold War started?" He turned back around. Everyone looked at each other hoping their friends had the right answer so they didn't get called on.
"I don't know like the 1800's?" A pimply faced boy laughed. The rest of the class giggled which earned a disapproved glare from the teacher.
"Very funny young man. Now if anyone has a real answer I'd like to hear it before I give you all a three-page essay to write on the reasons the war started!"
"That's so not fair! It's the first day of school! You can't already make us do work!" A blonde girl complained.
Mr. Smith raised his eyebrows, contradicting her statement. "I can do whatever I want and you are in no place to tell me any different. I've been teaching for fifty years and have given out worse punishments than a silly essay."
He stared at the girl, daring her to something else. She mumbled out an apology before focusing back on her desk.
"You girl, in the back!" he called out. Everyone turned around and looked right at me.
I froze in my seat.
Shit.
This couldn't be happening.
"Tell us when the start of the Cold War was."
I vigorously sucked on my lip trying to think of the answer. I couldn't screw this up. It would be my fault if we all got punished and then everyone would hate me and I couldn't start high school with everyone hating me.
"Nineteen forty-seven?" I whispered.
A look of surprise crosses his face. "Y-yes, very good. The start of the Cold War was in nineteen forty-seven."
He wrote the date on the board and everyone copied it down. The sound of the pencils on paper and erasers filled the quiet classroom.
"Tell me. What is your name?"
"Bella Swan," my cheeks turn red and I sunk down in my seat.
Why couldn't he leave me alone?
"Emmett Swan is your brother, correct?"
I nodded my head. What has he done now?
Mr. Smith laughed before muttering, "At least someone in your family has some brains."
The rest of the class snickered.
I just wanted to disappear.
I was out of the room as soon as the bell rang, trying to get away from the other students. I walking so quickly that it felt as if I was gliding down the hallway and I couldn't feel my legs. My face burned in embarrassment.
The rest of the morning didn't go any better. Physics and Geometry were torture because word had spread around that I was Emmett Swan's sister and now suddenly I was the center of attention with everyone wanting to be my friend. My plans of going unnoticed failed miserably.
People knew that if we're friends then they would get to see Emmett, and he's not only the linebacker on the football team, but everyone is obsessed with him. That's the only reason anyone wanted to talk to me.
Now, I was standing in the middle of the cafeteria with nowhere to sit. Everyone had their group and their friends and knew where they belonged. I thought that I knew who I was. I thought that I had my two best friends, and that the start of the school year would be so much fun, and we would make so many memories, but nothing was turning out how it was supposed to. I made my way through the throng of people, outside to the tables. My racing heart slowed as I was out of the chaos and noise. The only table that had not been taken was by the trash cans.
I reluctantly make my way there.
"Wait, Bella!" A voice yelled.
I whipped my head around to see Jasper running towards me. He was sitting at the corner of the courtyard with all of the jocks, cheerleaders and anyone who was popular. It was a known rule that you could only be invited to sit there and freshman were basically excluded except for a select few. That is where my brother belonged. Not me.
"What are you doing? Come sit with us!"
"I was going to, uhh, I was going to sit over there," I point to the trash cans. Jasper shook his head and grabbed my arm before I could protest.
I gasped in shock at the sudden movement. My heart pounded against my chest and I could feel the blood rushing through my ears. Let go. Let go. Let go.
Jasper didn't let go. He walked with confidence and stride, oblivious to the looks we were getting. I could feel eyes burning into our backs as we made our way to the table. People whispered all around and pointed. I was about to puke.
Bella Swan, a nerdy little freshman, is hanging out with Jasper Hale and sitting at the popular table. I could only imagine that's what everyone was tweeting.
He let go of my arm when we finally sat down. Edward was to my left with a blonde girl at his side and Jasper on my right. The girl with Edward and two others across the table, were glaring daggers at me. Their faces were covered in so much makeup and were wearing the tightest shirts known to man. I felt my stomach do a flip when I noticed a group of guys at the other end of the table, looking me up and down. I quickly looked away, wanting to be invisible. This was too much attention; way too much attention. Rosalie and Alice sat across from me, looking at their phones.
My chest rose and fell and I dug my nails into my arms. I wanted to leave. I wasn't meant to be here. I wasn't meant to be anywhere. Why couldn't I just be invisible?
"Hey Bella," Edward smiled. I couldn't smile back at him. It felt like I was about to hurl all over the place.
"Hi," I whispered as I picked at my food.
"How's your first day?"
I shrugged. It had gone worse than I imagined. I thought that I had already experienced the worst thing in the world, being attacked by your best friend, but high school may just kill me.
"You know, I hated high school at first. It's hard for everyone. I got lost probably about a hundred times the first day."
That had to be a lie. He was perfect; too perfect. Someone like him didn't have to worry about finding a seat in the lunchroom or having no one to sit with. Everyone liked him.
"It's true! He came home the first day a blubbering mess. You should have seen him!" Alice let out a giggle.
Her brown hair was cut short and she only wore designer clothing. Her green eyes were identical to Edward's and while he was big and had a masculine build- Alice was tiny and slim. She was the girl to go to if you needed fashion advice or anything related.
Alice had a friendly and bubbly personality which made her approachable. She was as hyper as a child who'd had too much sugar yet somehow she and Jasper seemed to fit perfectly together. Jasper was calm, quiet and could calm a room with just his presence. I don't understand how they did it.
Edward groaned, making everyone chuckle.
Rosalie smirked at him, obviously enjoying his embarrassment. She and Jasper were both equally as beautiful. Their platinum blonde hair and ice blue eyes were all you needed to see to know that they were related. Rosalie Hale was possibly the most beautiful girl in the world. She had a fierce and blunt attitude. Everyone was terrified yet wanted to be her. She could command anyone's attention with just a look and trust me when I say… you didn't want to get on the wrong side of her.
"Edward, babe…" the blonde girl drawled. "Who is this girl…?" She said with obvious distaste.
My cheeks turned bright red when I realized everyone was looking at me. Alice and Rosalie glared at the girl while Jasper rolled his eyes.
"This is Bella," Edward patted her hand. "Emmett's younger sister."
She quirked her eyebrow up and stared at me up and down. Her lip curled up in disgust but Edward grabbed her hand, giving her a silent warning.
"This is Tanya Denali-"
"His girlfriend." She cut in. I gave a tight-lipped smile and mumbled, hello. It was obvious that I would never be with him. Edward was perfect in every way and dated girls like Tanya, even if she did look like a first-class whore, that's what guys liked.
"Speaking of Emmett," Alice tried to calm the tension. "Where is he?"
Jasper and Edward looked at each other before bursting into laughter. What did he do now?
"He started a game of football in Calc and nearly took the teacher's head off!" Jasper burst out laughing.
Oh, Jesus Christ.
Edward chuckled, "he's got lunch detention today and tomorrow."
"Of course he does," I muttered. Edward smirked and playfully hit my bruised shoulder.
Shit. That hurt. I tried not to wince but of course, Edward noticed. He noticed everything. "Are you okay?" He whispered softly so only I could hear.
"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" I shrugged my shoulders, trying to appear casual.
"Well… I was just worried. You didn't look so great a few weeks ago and you kind of ran out of the house all of a sudden. We searched for you but your parents said that you'd come home eventually. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright."
"Well, I'm fine," I attempted to make light of it. "Guess, I was just kinda nervous for school and everything."
Edward didn't look convinced. Why was he always so observant? "Are you sure everything's alright? You can talk to me you know." My stomach did a flip and my need to leave became even more urgent.
"Actually, I've got to go. I promised my friend that I'd meet up with her." I said in a rush.
"Wait-!" Edward shouted. I was already out of my seat, walking toward the doors. I could feel the stare of a hundred eyes on my back. I needed to get out of here. I needed to breathe.