Title: Somewhere In Between
Author: Courtney
Email: courtneystovall@yahoo.com
Rating: R
Category: Bella POV; Alt-Universe
Summary: Bella wakes up one morning to find everything she knows in life has changed
overnight. Now, caught in some sort of strange reality, can she ever find her way back to the way
things used to be . . . and does she really want to go back?
Disclaimer: I own them all and they'll be appearing this fall on *my* network, ok?
Author's Notes: I wanted to write an alternate universe fic for Young Americans where everything
was just a little different than it had been on the show and in trying to come up with something, I
ended up with this. It's not exactly what I had in mind but we'll see how it turns out I guess.
--------------------------------------------
Part 4
"Hey, Paige!" Bella called down the hall to the dark-haired girl. Paige turned around, a look of
surprise on her face to hear her name, then she caught Bella's eye and smiled. She started back
towards the blonde.
"Hi," Paige said as she approached.
"How's your day been so far?" she asked.
Paige shrugged. "Okay, I guess. How about you?"
"Typical first day, surprisingly enough," Bella replied.
"Why do you say that?" Paige asked.
"No reason. Anyway, where are you headed now?"
Paige looked at her schedule, then replied, "English." She grimaced and added, "Co-ed."
"Co-ed can have its benefits," Bella said with a wink.
"For you, maybe."
"For the both of us. I'm heading that way myself. Come on, let's go. Don't want to be late on the
first day now, do we?" She smiled and looped her arm through Paige's and they made their way
down the hall together.
* * * * *
"Do you recognize anyone here?" Bella asked as she and Paige sat beside one another on the
Rawley lawn. About a dozen other students sat around them, but none of them had said so much
as a hello to Paige.
"Most of them," she admitted. "But I don't really know any of them."
"Well, that makes two of us," Bella replied as she casually surveyed the faces of the other
students. She was actually relieved to find that none of the people in the class were familiar to
her. Well, except for Paige, but she was already starting to think of this Paige as a totally different
person. Aside from her physical disparity to the "real" Paige, this girl was so quiet and had such a
lack of confidence in herself that it would be hard to mistake one girl for the other even if they
were standing side by side.
"Alright, is everyone here?" a tall, dark-haired gentleman asked as he stood before the small
class. There was no response, but he continued anyway. "Good. My name is Finn. No mister, just
Finn. And we'll have the pleasure of each other's company this year in English Literature. This is,
of course, a co-ed class. I expect you all to behave in a manner that will not offend any of your
classmates. Mr. Perkins, that means you as well," he said as he eyed a red-haired boy in the
back who had been taunting one of the other girls before class started.
"Now," Finn continued, "you will all no doubt realize very soon that I hold William Shakespeare as
one of the greatest authors in English literature. However, I also welcome all other opinions. So,
while you will be made to read many of Shakespeare's works, you may feel free to comment on
them as you wish. As long as your comments are insightful and well thought out I will most
certainly not have a problem with them."
Bella continued to listen as Finn spoke about Shakespeare and what else they would be covering
that school year. She couldn't believe that she was in Finn's class. She'd heard Will talk at length
about this man who had become a kind of mentor to him at Rawley. And Jake and Hamilton had
been terrified that he would reveal Jake's secret at the end of last summer. And now here she
was, sitting on the Rawley lawn as a member of his class. It seemed very surreal.
What was even stranger, perhaps, was that Finn seemed to be the same person in this realm of
existence that he had been in the other. Everyone here was different, Hamilton, Jake, Ryder,
Paige . . . even Bella herself. And yet Finn was still the Shakespeare-worshipping Rawley
English-teacher-slash-crew-coach that he had been before. She had to wonder why he would be
the only mainstay through all of this. It seemed odd, to say the least.
By the time class was over, Bella was starving. English was their last class of the day so she and
Paige had decided to head into town as soon as it was over. So, when Finn released them for the
day, they immediately got up and headed back to the dorms to drop off their things.
They dropped off Paige's things first, then headed up to the next floor to Bella's dorm room. She
entered the room to find Jackie primping in front of the mirror. "Hello Jackie," she said as she
placed her bookbag in her desk chair and grabbed her purse.
"Uh, hey," the dark-haired girl replied, sounding completely uninterested that her roommate had
returned once again.
"We're going into town for lunch," Bella said. "I don't suppose you'd like to join us?" she asked,
trying to be nice to this girl who seemed determined to hate her.
Jackie turned around to look at Bella and Paige, who was almost cowering behind her friend. She
snorted and replied, "Hardly."
"Okay, well let's go Paige," Bella said as she turned back towards the door.
"Don't have too much fun, kiddies," they heard Jackie call out after them and then the door
closed.
"She's . . . uh . . ." Paige started as she tried to find something to say about the girl she'd just met.
"A bitch, yes, I know," Bella replied. "I really do try to be nice, but she really doesn't want to like
me for some reason."
"That's Jackie Pratt, right?" Paige asked as they walked back out of the dorms together.
"Yeah, you know her?"
"Not really, but I've heard of her. My roommate last year had a run in with her. She's . . . well, let's
just say that she's not known for being very nice."
Bella chuckled. "Yeah, I got that already, thanks."
"Some people just feel like they need to put other people down to bring themselves up," Paige
said. "It's their problem, really. You have to look at it that way and try not to take it personally."
"Like you do?" Bella questioned.
"Well, like I should, anyway," she clarified.
"Like we both should . . . and will from now on," Bella vowed as she linked her arm through
Paige's again. "Now let's get a move on. I'm starving and there's a burger at Friendly's with my
name on it!"
* * * * *
"So where are you from originally?" Bella asked as she took another bite of her double
cheeseburger. She and Paige were getting to know one another better over their late lunch at
Friendly's.
"California, I suppose," Paige answered.
"You suppose?"
"Well, I was born there and my father still lives there, but I haven't spent much of my life that I
remember there," she explained. "I'd probably get impossibly lost in downtown Los Angeles within
fifteen minutes."
"What do they do? Your parents, I mean," Bella asked.
"My dad is an investment banker. He travels a lot, though. I usually only see him a few times a
year. And my mom . . . well, she's a model. She lives in New York, in Manhattan. She doesn't
stay at home much either, though. That's why I go to boarding school, I suppose."
"Have they been divorced for a long time?" Bella asked.
"Oh, they were never married," Paige said in reply. "They lived together for a little while, maybe a
few months, while my mom was pregnant. She met him in Japan while she was there doing some
modeling work. But, she can't ever stay with anyone too long. She gets bored. I think that's why
I'm sort of glad in a way that I don't get to see her much. I get scared that she might become
bored with me one of these days," Paige admitted.
Bella shook her head and said, "I don't think that could happen."
Paige seemed unconvinced, but just shrugged. "So, what about you? Where are you from?" she
asked.
"Maine, I guess," Bella replied. She had found some papers in her desk drawer the night before
that included a birth certificate that claimed she'd been born in Augusta, Maine and all of the
things she'd found indicating her current address had Maine listed as well. She assumed that her
family must live there.
"Are your parents still married?"
"Well . . ." Bella hesitated. "Uh . . . yeah, they are. My mom . . . well, she does, uh, something.
You know how that is. She's . . . here and there. And my dad . . . he works in Washington." She
wasn't trying to evade her new friend's questions; it was just that the more she thought about it
the more she realized that she didn't know the answers to a lot of these things.
"Oh, of course," Paige said with a nod. Bella gave her a questioning look. "Well, you're
Congressman Banks' daughter, right? I didn't even make the connection before. I mean, I heard
someone mention that his daughter was starting to school here this year but I guess it never
occurred to me that you--"
"Congressman Banks?" Bella repeated.
"Yeah, Speaker of the House, member of the appropriations committee who has been on CNN
non-stop for the last three weeks," Paige clarified. "Charles Banks . . . that's your dad, right?"
"Uh . . . yeah," Bella finally said with a nod. "That's my dad alright."
"Must be weird," Paige said. "I mean, every now and then I open a magazine and see my mom in
a Revlon ad or something and I think it's pretty bizarre, but I've kinda gotten used to it. But if she
were constantly in the news and stuff like your dad . . . I mean, he's a really important
government official. It seems like it would get hard after a while to have a normal life."
"Well, normal doesn't quite cover it these days," Bella agreed. "But we manage okay for the most
part."
"So, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Paige asked then.
"I have a younger sister, Grace. She's fifteen," Bella told her.
"I've always wished I had a sister," Paige confided. "It gets pretty lonely being the only child.
Growing up my best friend was my seventy-year-old grandma," she smirked.
"Sisters aren't as fun as they sound most of the time," she said as she thought back on just half of
the crazy stuff that Grace had pulled over the years. "I spend so much time getting her out of
trouble." Then again, maybe that wasn't true here, she thought. She hadn't seen Grace yet.
Perhaps her sister was the opposite of herself here as well. Maybe Grace was actually a *good*
kid for once. Bella smiled to herself, thinking that even this place wasn't *that* weird.
"Um, Bella, I think that guy that just walked in is staring at you," Paige said as she looked over
Bella's shoulder towards the door. Bella turned around to see who had walked in and smiled back
at the face she saw.
"That's Ryder," she told her friend. Waving him over, she said to Paige, "We met yesterday. His
dad owns the grocery on Seventh. He's a really sweet guy."
"Well, fancy meeting you here again, Ms. Banks," Ryder said as he approached the table.
"Yeah, we got out of school a little while ago and decided to come here for some lunch," she
explained. "Oh, this is my friend, Paige," Bella said as she indicated the girl across from her. "She
goes to Rawley, too."
Ryder extended his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Paige."
She returned the smile and shook his hand. "You too."
"So sit down and join us," Bella offered as she moved over in the booth to make room for him.
"Oh no, I don't want to intrude on your lunch," Ryder said as he waved off the offer.
"You aren't intruding," Bella replied, but she looked cautiously at Paige just to make sure that her
friend wouldn't be uncomfortable with Ryder being there.
To her surprise, the shy girl smiled at Ryder and said, "We'd love it if you joined us, really." He
nodded thankfully to Paige and finally sat down next to Bella.
"So, you ladies had school today already?" They both nodded. "Rubbish, absolute rubbish," he
replied. "Private school starts back far too early. It's not even after Labor Day yet."
"Well, they do like to thoroughly educate us I suppose," Paige replied with a shy grin. Then she
shrugged and added, "Plus we get three weeks instead of two for Christmas break."
"See, now that's just not fair," Ryder responded with a grin.
"What have you been doing with your last week of freedom anyway?" Bella asked.
"Oh, mostly just working," he told her. "I suppose I might as well be entrenched in class, eh? Oh
well, I spent all summer helping my dad out at the store anyway. For lack of anything better to do
I suppose."
"We'll just have to find some better things to do this fall to make up for that then won't we?" Bella
replied with a grin. Was she flirting with him? Was she actually *flirting* with Ryder Forrest? It
certainly seemed that way, but all Ryder did was grin rather shyly and nod at her comment. Paige
smirked knowingly and took a sip of her soda.
"I was thinking of borrowing my dad's truck this weekend and heading into Carson. They're
having a horror movie marathon at the multiplex. I don't suppose you ladies would care to join me
for a fun-filled evening of blood and guts and schlocky American horror flicks, eh?" Ryder asked.
"Oh, that sounds like fun," Paige replied quickly, "but I don't think I can make it. I have, uh, plans."
"You do?" Bella asked suspiciously and she could tell by the look on Paige's face that the excuse
was totally fabricated, but she just nodded.
"You should go though, Bella," Paige hurriedly put in. "I mean, it sounds like fun. And it is nice to
get out of this town every once in a while."
Bella felt very put on the spot all of the sudden, but she also really wanted to go. The truth was it
did sound like fun; she'd always liked cheesy horror movies. And spending a night out of New
Rawley on a semi-first date with Ryder didn't sound half bad either. Plus she couldn't seem to
think of a single excuse to say no, so she replied, "Yeah, sure. I'd love to go."
Ryder grinned brightly and nodded. "Great," he said. "It starts at eight o'clock so why don't we
meet up here around six-thirty to get going into Carson?" he suggested.
"Sure, sounds fine," she said.
"And if you change your mind or something comes up with those plans you have then feel free to
join," Ryder said to Paige. "The invitation still stands."
She smiled and replied, "Thanks, that's very nice of you."
"Well, I think my order is up," he said as he glanced back towards the counter. "I came to get
some burgers for me and dad so he'll be looking for me if I'm not back pretty soon. It was really
nice meeting you, Paige. Hopefully I'll see you again soon. And Bella, if I don't see you before the
weekend I suppose I'll see you on Saturday, then?"
"Yep, see you then, Ryder," she smiled back.
"Okay, good day, ladies," he said to the girls, then turned back to get his to go order and soon left
the diner.
"He's got a huge crush on you," Paige said as soon as the glass door closed behind Ryder. "And
I'm pretty sure it's mutual."
"What?" Bella replied. "Oh, that's ridiculous," she said as she waved her hand to dismiss the
comment. "We're friends. That's it. I mean, I barely even know him . . ."
"Okay, we'll see," Paige replied with a grin.
"Yes, we will," Bella said. And with that they went back to their burgers.
* * * * *
Bella sat on her bed in the half-dark room as the sounds of a Beth Nielsen Chapman cd that
obviously belonged to her wafted through the empty room. Her first week at Rawley had come
and gone quickly. There had been no more run-ins with her "friends" since the first part of the
week. She didn't have classes with any of them except Scout and he seemed bound and
determined to stay away from the "stuck-up rich girl" that he assumed her to be. Jake had
managed to make herself as scarce as possible, probably spending the majority of her week
making out in some dark corner of campus with her annoying jock boyfriend. Will must have been
on a keen lookout for her since their first encounter, because that had been the only time Bella
had even seen him. And, of course, there had been no time in between classes and studying and
catching a few hours of sleep to even think about making it into town so she hadn't seen Hamilton
either. Or Ryder . . .
Damn, why did his name always pop into her mind? Will, Scout, Jake and Hamilton were her
*friends*. Ryder was just . . . well, Ryder. None of this was real as far as she was concerned. She
couldn't let herself get attached to any of the people that she met here because they weren't who
they appeared to be . . . they just couldn't be.
Just as she was trying to drill that into her head for the thousandth time, there was a knock on her
door. She set aside the book she'd been holding but not reading for the last half hour and went to
see who her visitor was.
"Oh, hi Paige," she said with a small smile to the raven-haired girl. She stepped aside, saying,"
Come on in." Then, she smirked and added, "Don't worry, it's a Jake-free environment this
evening."
"Good to know," Paige replied with a lopsided grin. "So, what's up?" she asked. Seeing the
history book lying face down on the bed, she said to her friend, "Don't tell me you're spending the
first Friday night since classes started sitting in your dorm room studying? Geez, even I'm not that
pathetic, Bella."
"You are *not* pathetic," Bella quickly replied. "And I'm not really studying. I've just been sitting
here holding the book and staring out the window."
"Something wrong?" Paige asked.
"I don't know," she shrugged, "I just can't seem to concentrate."
"This wouldn't have something to do with you being nervous about a certain date tomorrow
evening with a certain young Brit we both know, now would it?" Paige asked with a knowing grin.
"Of course not," Bella responded, but Paige just nodded. "What? I told you, it's not a date. We're
just going to the movies . . . as *friends*! He invited you to go along," she reminded her.
"Oh, I recall," she said as she pushed her glasses higher up on her nose. "I never said he wasn't
polite. But I wasn't about to accept an invitation to come along with the two of you on your first
date. I draw the line at chaperoning."
"It's not a date," Bella said again, trying to sound annoyed but not really succeeding. Paige had
been teasing her about Ryder all week so she was already used to the remarks. Actually, she
found it a little strange that they were already so comfortable with one another that they could
tease the other without worrying about stepping on any toes. But Bella figured that could only be
a good thing. After all, Paige was the only friend she seemed to have here, unless she counted
Ryder, and Bella was bound and determined *not* to count Ryder.
"If he kisses you goodnight can we consider it a date then?" Paige asked with a smirk.
"Can we talk about something else please?"
"Okay, okay, I'll leave you alone. I'm only teasing. But I really do think you're underestimating him,
Bella. I mean, he seemed really nice the other day. And with the crop of guys to choose from
around here . . . well, you could do a lot worse, believe me," she said as she rolled her eyes.
"Anyone in particular cause this sudden anti-Rawley guys attitude?" Bella inquired.
"Eh, just some jerk in my bio class who thinks he knows everything about *everything*!" she
ranted. "He gets on my nerves. And he's here on scholarship so naturally he thinks that every
other person on campus is some stuck-up trust fund baby who couldn't possibly understand the
problems of real life. I mean, like money solves all of life's problems, ya know? Geez, I wish . . ."
"Wait, what's this guy's name?" Bella asked, curious.
"Scout something or other," Paige replied.
"Calhoun."
"Yeah, that's it. You know him?"
"Let's just say we've run across each other a time or two," she replied.
"My sympathies."
"He hasn't always been so bad," Bella said in defense of the boy she still remembered falling in
love with what now seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Just how well do you know this guy?" Paige asked her skeptically.
"Oh . . . he's in my trig class. And we talked in town earlier in the week. He's friends with that guy
Hamilton that works at the gas station. Remember, he waved to us when we left Friendly's
Monday night?"
"Oh yeah," Paige nodded. "So, this Scout guy . . . he doesn't act all defensive in the class you
have with him?"
"Well, actually, yes, he does," Bella admitted.
"But I thought you said he wasn't always like that?"
"I just . . . I get the feeling he's not," she said quickly. "Maybe it's just that he's, ya know, nervous
or whatever. I mean, he's in a new school. You know what that can be like. And he feels like kind
of an outsider in this place. It must be pretty rough."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Paige said. "Well, maybe I'll try to talk to him on Monday. He might
not be so bad."
"You're going to talk to him?" she asked, more than a little surprised. Paige had opened up a lot
around her this week, but she still came off as a painfully shy wallflower when they were in mixed
company.
"Maybe . . ." She grew quiet for a few minutes and they both just listened to the music, which had
now changed to an old Jewel cd. Then, just as the music picked up about people being meant for
each other, Paige broke the lull in the conversation. "He's kind of cute . . . don't you think?"
"Huh?" Bella asked, having been halfway lost in thought about the week she'd just had and
school and Ryder and what would happen the next day. It took her a moment to realize what
Paige had even asked. "Oh, Scout Calhoun? Uh, yeah, he's . . . kinda cute," she replied. How
weird was that? It seemed that even here Paige Bennett was destined to be attracted to Scout
Calhoun.
"I'll think about it," Paige said finally.
"About what?" Bella asked.
"Talking to him on Monday," she replied.
"Oh . . . yeah, well good luck. You should . . . well, you should do what feels right."
"So should you," Paige nodded sincerely. "Whatever happens tomorrow, you should just go with
what your heart tells you is right."
Bella smiled slightly at that. "Thanks, I think you're probably right."
"Well, I should get going," Paige said as she got up from her seat at Bella's desk. "I have a quiz in
Spanish on Monday morning."
"I thought you said even you weren't going to be studying on your first Friday night since school
started?" she reminded her friend.
Paige shrugged. "What else do I have to do? Besides, there's always next weekend, I guess."
"Yeah," Bella said with a nod. "Next weekend."
"Well . . . good night. If I don't see you tomorrow then, uh, have a good time."
"Thanks. And, um, maybe you should think about what you were talking about . . . about following
your heart. It might help you out. You know, on Monday," Bella told her.
She grinned and nodded her understand, then waved as she turned and pulled the door closed
behind her. Bella watched her friend leave, thinking how strange it was that things seemed to be
falling into kind of a parallel pattern to what she remembered. Maybe tomorrow really would tell
her something about where she was meant to be . . .
* * * * *
Author: Courtney
Email: courtneystovall@yahoo.com
Rating: R
Category: Bella POV; Alt-Universe
Summary: Bella wakes up one morning to find everything she knows in life has changed
overnight. Now, caught in some sort of strange reality, can she ever find her way back to the way
things used to be . . . and does she really want to go back?
Disclaimer: I own them all and they'll be appearing this fall on *my* network, ok?
Author's Notes: I wanted to write an alternate universe fic for Young Americans where everything
was just a little different than it had been on the show and in trying to come up with something, I
ended up with this. It's not exactly what I had in mind but we'll see how it turns out I guess.
--------------------------------------------
Part 4
"Hey, Paige!" Bella called down the hall to the dark-haired girl. Paige turned around, a look of
surprise on her face to hear her name, then she caught Bella's eye and smiled. She started back
towards the blonde.
"Hi," Paige said as she approached.
"How's your day been so far?" she asked.
Paige shrugged. "Okay, I guess. How about you?"
"Typical first day, surprisingly enough," Bella replied.
"Why do you say that?" Paige asked.
"No reason. Anyway, where are you headed now?"
Paige looked at her schedule, then replied, "English." She grimaced and added, "Co-ed."
"Co-ed can have its benefits," Bella said with a wink.
"For you, maybe."
"For the both of us. I'm heading that way myself. Come on, let's go. Don't want to be late on the
first day now, do we?" She smiled and looped her arm through Paige's and they made their way
down the hall together.
* * * * *
"Do you recognize anyone here?" Bella asked as she and Paige sat beside one another on the
Rawley lawn. About a dozen other students sat around them, but none of them had said so much
as a hello to Paige.
"Most of them," she admitted. "But I don't really know any of them."
"Well, that makes two of us," Bella replied as she casually surveyed the faces of the other
students. She was actually relieved to find that none of the people in the class were familiar to
her. Well, except for Paige, but she was already starting to think of this Paige as a totally different
person. Aside from her physical disparity to the "real" Paige, this girl was so quiet and had such a
lack of confidence in herself that it would be hard to mistake one girl for the other even if they
were standing side by side.
"Alright, is everyone here?" a tall, dark-haired gentleman asked as he stood before the small
class. There was no response, but he continued anyway. "Good. My name is Finn. No mister, just
Finn. And we'll have the pleasure of each other's company this year in English Literature. This is,
of course, a co-ed class. I expect you all to behave in a manner that will not offend any of your
classmates. Mr. Perkins, that means you as well," he said as he eyed a red-haired boy in the
back who had been taunting one of the other girls before class started.
"Now," Finn continued, "you will all no doubt realize very soon that I hold William Shakespeare as
one of the greatest authors in English literature. However, I also welcome all other opinions. So,
while you will be made to read many of Shakespeare's works, you may feel free to comment on
them as you wish. As long as your comments are insightful and well thought out I will most
certainly not have a problem with them."
Bella continued to listen as Finn spoke about Shakespeare and what else they would be covering
that school year. She couldn't believe that she was in Finn's class. She'd heard Will talk at length
about this man who had become a kind of mentor to him at Rawley. And Jake and Hamilton had
been terrified that he would reveal Jake's secret at the end of last summer. And now here she
was, sitting on the Rawley lawn as a member of his class. It seemed very surreal.
What was even stranger, perhaps, was that Finn seemed to be the same person in this realm of
existence that he had been in the other. Everyone here was different, Hamilton, Jake, Ryder,
Paige . . . even Bella herself. And yet Finn was still the Shakespeare-worshipping Rawley
English-teacher-slash-crew-coach that he had been before. She had to wonder why he would be
the only mainstay through all of this. It seemed odd, to say the least.
By the time class was over, Bella was starving. English was their last class of the day so she and
Paige had decided to head into town as soon as it was over. So, when Finn released them for the
day, they immediately got up and headed back to the dorms to drop off their things.
They dropped off Paige's things first, then headed up to the next floor to Bella's dorm room. She
entered the room to find Jackie primping in front of the mirror. "Hello Jackie," she said as she
placed her bookbag in her desk chair and grabbed her purse.
"Uh, hey," the dark-haired girl replied, sounding completely uninterested that her roommate had
returned once again.
"We're going into town for lunch," Bella said. "I don't suppose you'd like to join us?" she asked,
trying to be nice to this girl who seemed determined to hate her.
Jackie turned around to look at Bella and Paige, who was almost cowering behind her friend. She
snorted and replied, "Hardly."
"Okay, well let's go Paige," Bella said as she turned back towards the door.
"Don't have too much fun, kiddies," they heard Jackie call out after them and then the door
closed.
"She's . . . uh . . ." Paige started as she tried to find something to say about the girl she'd just met.
"A bitch, yes, I know," Bella replied. "I really do try to be nice, but she really doesn't want to like
me for some reason."
"That's Jackie Pratt, right?" Paige asked as they walked back out of the dorms together.
"Yeah, you know her?"
"Not really, but I've heard of her. My roommate last year had a run in with her. She's . . . well, let's
just say that she's not known for being very nice."
Bella chuckled. "Yeah, I got that already, thanks."
"Some people just feel like they need to put other people down to bring themselves up," Paige
said. "It's their problem, really. You have to look at it that way and try not to take it personally."
"Like you do?" Bella questioned.
"Well, like I should, anyway," she clarified.
"Like we both should . . . and will from now on," Bella vowed as she linked her arm through
Paige's again. "Now let's get a move on. I'm starving and there's a burger at Friendly's with my
name on it!"
* * * * *
"So where are you from originally?" Bella asked as she took another bite of her double
cheeseburger. She and Paige were getting to know one another better over their late lunch at
Friendly's.
"California, I suppose," Paige answered.
"You suppose?"
"Well, I was born there and my father still lives there, but I haven't spent much of my life that I
remember there," she explained. "I'd probably get impossibly lost in downtown Los Angeles within
fifteen minutes."
"What do they do? Your parents, I mean," Bella asked.
"My dad is an investment banker. He travels a lot, though. I usually only see him a few times a
year. And my mom . . . well, she's a model. She lives in New York, in Manhattan. She doesn't
stay at home much either, though. That's why I go to boarding school, I suppose."
"Have they been divorced for a long time?" Bella asked.
"Oh, they were never married," Paige said in reply. "They lived together for a little while, maybe a
few months, while my mom was pregnant. She met him in Japan while she was there doing some
modeling work. But, she can't ever stay with anyone too long. She gets bored. I think that's why
I'm sort of glad in a way that I don't get to see her much. I get scared that she might become
bored with me one of these days," Paige admitted.
Bella shook her head and said, "I don't think that could happen."
Paige seemed unconvinced, but just shrugged. "So, what about you? Where are you from?" she
asked.
"Maine, I guess," Bella replied. She had found some papers in her desk drawer the night before
that included a birth certificate that claimed she'd been born in Augusta, Maine and all of the
things she'd found indicating her current address had Maine listed as well. She assumed that her
family must live there.
"Are your parents still married?"
"Well . . ." Bella hesitated. "Uh . . . yeah, they are. My mom . . . well, she does, uh, something.
You know how that is. She's . . . here and there. And my dad . . . he works in Washington." She
wasn't trying to evade her new friend's questions; it was just that the more she thought about it
the more she realized that she didn't know the answers to a lot of these things.
"Oh, of course," Paige said with a nod. Bella gave her a questioning look. "Well, you're
Congressman Banks' daughter, right? I didn't even make the connection before. I mean, I heard
someone mention that his daughter was starting to school here this year but I guess it never
occurred to me that you--"
"Congressman Banks?" Bella repeated.
"Yeah, Speaker of the House, member of the appropriations committee who has been on CNN
non-stop for the last three weeks," Paige clarified. "Charles Banks . . . that's your dad, right?"
"Uh . . . yeah," Bella finally said with a nod. "That's my dad alright."
"Must be weird," Paige said. "I mean, every now and then I open a magazine and see my mom in
a Revlon ad or something and I think it's pretty bizarre, but I've kinda gotten used to it. But if she
were constantly in the news and stuff like your dad . . . I mean, he's a really important
government official. It seems like it would get hard after a while to have a normal life."
"Well, normal doesn't quite cover it these days," Bella agreed. "But we manage okay for the most
part."
"So, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Paige asked then.
"I have a younger sister, Grace. She's fifteen," Bella told her.
"I've always wished I had a sister," Paige confided. "It gets pretty lonely being the only child.
Growing up my best friend was my seventy-year-old grandma," she smirked.
"Sisters aren't as fun as they sound most of the time," she said as she thought back on just half of
the crazy stuff that Grace had pulled over the years. "I spend so much time getting her out of
trouble." Then again, maybe that wasn't true here, she thought. She hadn't seen Grace yet.
Perhaps her sister was the opposite of herself here as well. Maybe Grace was actually a *good*
kid for once. Bella smiled to herself, thinking that even this place wasn't *that* weird.
"Um, Bella, I think that guy that just walked in is staring at you," Paige said as she looked over
Bella's shoulder towards the door. Bella turned around to see who had walked in and smiled back
at the face she saw.
"That's Ryder," she told her friend. Waving him over, she said to Paige, "We met yesterday. His
dad owns the grocery on Seventh. He's a really sweet guy."
"Well, fancy meeting you here again, Ms. Banks," Ryder said as he approached the table.
"Yeah, we got out of school a little while ago and decided to come here for some lunch," she
explained. "Oh, this is my friend, Paige," Bella said as she indicated the girl across from her. "She
goes to Rawley, too."
Ryder extended his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Paige."
She returned the smile and shook his hand. "You too."
"So sit down and join us," Bella offered as she moved over in the booth to make room for him.
"Oh no, I don't want to intrude on your lunch," Ryder said as he waved off the offer.
"You aren't intruding," Bella replied, but she looked cautiously at Paige just to make sure that her
friend wouldn't be uncomfortable with Ryder being there.
To her surprise, the shy girl smiled at Ryder and said, "We'd love it if you joined us, really." He
nodded thankfully to Paige and finally sat down next to Bella.
"So, you ladies had school today already?" They both nodded. "Rubbish, absolute rubbish," he
replied. "Private school starts back far too early. It's not even after Labor Day yet."
"Well, they do like to thoroughly educate us I suppose," Paige replied with a shy grin. Then she
shrugged and added, "Plus we get three weeks instead of two for Christmas break."
"See, now that's just not fair," Ryder responded with a grin.
"What have you been doing with your last week of freedom anyway?" Bella asked.
"Oh, mostly just working," he told her. "I suppose I might as well be entrenched in class, eh? Oh
well, I spent all summer helping my dad out at the store anyway. For lack of anything better to do
I suppose."
"We'll just have to find some better things to do this fall to make up for that then won't we?" Bella
replied with a grin. Was she flirting with him? Was she actually *flirting* with Ryder Forrest? It
certainly seemed that way, but all Ryder did was grin rather shyly and nod at her comment. Paige
smirked knowingly and took a sip of her soda.
"I was thinking of borrowing my dad's truck this weekend and heading into Carson. They're
having a horror movie marathon at the multiplex. I don't suppose you ladies would care to join me
for a fun-filled evening of blood and guts and schlocky American horror flicks, eh?" Ryder asked.
"Oh, that sounds like fun," Paige replied quickly, "but I don't think I can make it. I have, uh, plans."
"You do?" Bella asked suspiciously and she could tell by the look on Paige's face that the excuse
was totally fabricated, but she just nodded.
"You should go though, Bella," Paige hurriedly put in. "I mean, it sounds like fun. And it is nice to
get out of this town every once in a while."
Bella felt very put on the spot all of the sudden, but she also really wanted to go. The truth was it
did sound like fun; she'd always liked cheesy horror movies. And spending a night out of New
Rawley on a semi-first date with Ryder didn't sound half bad either. Plus she couldn't seem to
think of a single excuse to say no, so she replied, "Yeah, sure. I'd love to go."
Ryder grinned brightly and nodded. "Great," he said. "It starts at eight o'clock so why don't we
meet up here around six-thirty to get going into Carson?" he suggested.
"Sure, sounds fine," she said.
"And if you change your mind or something comes up with those plans you have then feel free to
join," Ryder said to Paige. "The invitation still stands."
She smiled and replied, "Thanks, that's very nice of you."
"Well, I think my order is up," he said as he glanced back towards the counter. "I came to get
some burgers for me and dad so he'll be looking for me if I'm not back pretty soon. It was really
nice meeting you, Paige. Hopefully I'll see you again soon. And Bella, if I don't see you before the
weekend I suppose I'll see you on Saturday, then?"
"Yep, see you then, Ryder," she smiled back.
"Okay, good day, ladies," he said to the girls, then turned back to get his to go order and soon left
the diner.
"He's got a huge crush on you," Paige said as soon as the glass door closed behind Ryder. "And
I'm pretty sure it's mutual."
"What?" Bella replied. "Oh, that's ridiculous," she said as she waved her hand to dismiss the
comment. "We're friends. That's it. I mean, I barely even know him . . ."
"Okay, we'll see," Paige replied with a grin.
"Yes, we will," Bella said. And with that they went back to their burgers.
* * * * *
Bella sat on her bed in the half-dark room as the sounds of a Beth Nielsen Chapman cd that
obviously belonged to her wafted through the empty room. Her first week at Rawley had come
and gone quickly. There had been no more run-ins with her "friends" since the first part of the
week. She didn't have classes with any of them except Scout and he seemed bound and
determined to stay away from the "stuck-up rich girl" that he assumed her to be. Jake had
managed to make herself as scarce as possible, probably spending the majority of her week
making out in some dark corner of campus with her annoying jock boyfriend. Will must have been
on a keen lookout for her since their first encounter, because that had been the only time Bella
had even seen him. And, of course, there had been no time in between classes and studying and
catching a few hours of sleep to even think about making it into town so she hadn't seen Hamilton
either. Or Ryder . . .
Damn, why did his name always pop into her mind? Will, Scout, Jake and Hamilton were her
*friends*. Ryder was just . . . well, Ryder. None of this was real as far as she was concerned. She
couldn't let herself get attached to any of the people that she met here because they weren't who
they appeared to be . . . they just couldn't be.
Just as she was trying to drill that into her head for the thousandth time, there was a knock on her
door. She set aside the book she'd been holding but not reading for the last half hour and went to
see who her visitor was.
"Oh, hi Paige," she said with a small smile to the raven-haired girl. She stepped aside, saying,"
Come on in." Then, she smirked and added, "Don't worry, it's a Jake-free environment this
evening."
"Good to know," Paige replied with a lopsided grin. "So, what's up?" she asked. Seeing the
history book lying face down on the bed, she said to her friend, "Don't tell me you're spending the
first Friday night since classes started sitting in your dorm room studying? Geez, even I'm not that
pathetic, Bella."
"You are *not* pathetic," Bella quickly replied. "And I'm not really studying. I've just been sitting
here holding the book and staring out the window."
"Something wrong?" Paige asked.
"I don't know," she shrugged, "I just can't seem to concentrate."
"This wouldn't have something to do with you being nervous about a certain date tomorrow
evening with a certain young Brit we both know, now would it?" Paige asked with a knowing grin.
"Of course not," Bella responded, but Paige just nodded. "What? I told you, it's not a date. We're
just going to the movies . . . as *friends*! He invited you to go along," she reminded her.
"Oh, I recall," she said as she pushed her glasses higher up on her nose. "I never said he wasn't
polite. But I wasn't about to accept an invitation to come along with the two of you on your first
date. I draw the line at chaperoning."
"It's not a date," Bella said again, trying to sound annoyed but not really succeeding. Paige had
been teasing her about Ryder all week so she was already used to the remarks. Actually, she
found it a little strange that they were already so comfortable with one another that they could
tease the other without worrying about stepping on any toes. But Bella figured that could only be
a good thing. After all, Paige was the only friend she seemed to have here, unless she counted
Ryder, and Bella was bound and determined *not* to count Ryder.
"If he kisses you goodnight can we consider it a date then?" Paige asked with a smirk.
"Can we talk about something else please?"
"Okay, okay, I'll leave you alone. I'm only teasing. But I really do think you're underestimating him,
Bella. I mean, he seemed really nice the other day. And with the crop of guys to choose from
around here . . . well, you could do a lot worse, believe me," she said as she rolled her eyes.
"Anyone in particular cause this sudden anti-Rawley guys attitude?" Bella inquired.
"Eh, just some jerk in my bio class who thinks he knows everything about *everything*!" she
ranted. "He gets on my nerves. And he's here on scholarship so naturally he thinks that every
other person on campus is some stuck-up trust fund baby who couldn't possibly understand the
problems of real life. I mean, like money solves all of life's problems, ya know? Geez, I wish . . ."
"Wait, what's this guy's name?" Bella asked, curious.
"Scout something or other," Paige replied.
"Calhoun."
"Yeah, that's it. You know him?"
"Let's just say we've run across each other a time or two," she replied.
"My sympathies."
"He hasn't always been so bad," Bella said in defense of the boy she still remembered falling in
love with what now seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Just how well do you know this guy?" Paige asked her skeptically.
"Oh . . . he's in my trig class. And we talked in town earlier in the week. He's friends with that guy
Hamilton that works at the gas station. Remember, he waved to us when we left Friendly's
Monday night?"
"Oh yeah," Paige nodded. "So, this Scout guy . . . he doesn't act all defensive in the class you
have with him?"
"Well, actually, yes, he does," Bella admitted.
"But I thought you said he wasn't always like that?"
"I just . . . I get the feeling he's not," she said quickly. "Maybe it's just that he's, ya know, nervous
or whatever. I mean, he's in a new school. You know what that can be like. And he feels like kind
of an outsider in this place. It must be pretty rough."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Paige said. "Well, maybe I'll try to talk to him on Monday. He might
not be so bad."
"You're going to talk to him?" she asked, more than a little surprised. Paige had opened up a lot
around her this week, but she still came off as a painfully shy wallflower when they were in mixed
company.
"Maybe . . ." She grew quiet for a few minutes and they both just listened to the music, which had
now changed to an old Jewel cd. Then, just as the music picked up about people being meant for
each other, Paige broke the lull in the conversation. "He's kind of cute . . . don't you think?"
"Huh?" Bella asked, having been halfway lost in thought about the week she'd just had and
school and Ryder and what would happen the next day. It took her a moment to realize what
Paige had even asked. "Oh, Scout Calhoun? Uh, yeah, he's . . . kinda cute," she replied. How
weird was that? It seemed that even here Paige Bennett was destined to be attracted to Scout
Calhoun.
"I'll think about it," Paige said finally.
"About what?" Bella asked.
"Talking to him on Monday," she replied.
"Oh . . . yeah, well good luck. You should . . . well, you should do what feels right."
"So should you," Paige nodded sincerely. "Whatever happens tomorrow, you should just go with
what your heart tells you is right."
Bella smiled slightly at that. "Thanks, I think you're probably right."
"Well, I should get going," Paige said as she got up from her seat at Bella's desk. "I have a quiz in
Spanish on Monday morning."
"I thought you said even you weren't going to be studying on your first Friday night since school
started?" she reminded her friend.
Paige shrugged. "What else do I have to do? Besides, there's always next weekend, I guess."
"Yeah," Bella said with a nod. "Next weekend."
"Well . . . good night. If I don't see you tomorrow then, uh, have a good time."
"Thanks. And, um, maybe you should think about what you were talking about . . . about following
your heart. It might help you out. You know, on Monday," Bella told her.
She grinned and nodded her understand, then waved as she turned and pulled the door closed
behind her. Bella watched her friend leave, thinking how strange it was that things seemed to be
falling into kind of a parallel pattern to what she remembered. Maybe tomorrow really would tell
her something about where she was meant to be . . .
* * * * *