Chapter 6: Introductions

"So is he…like, your boyfriend, now?"

I realize I'm nagging Bella with my insistent questions, my arms practically braced over the center console as I lean in for an answer. It's my bloodborne right, I think, to get to ask.

But it's not only because I'm Bella's little sister. If anything, our sisterhood comes second to the fact that only a few weeks ago Bella was telling me about how weird this guy was, and somehow over a short period of time, I've been expected to…adjust… to this very sudden change.

And maybe, my own pestering helps me ignore my growling stomach underneath my jacket. There's nothing I want more at this moment than to eat a turkey sub and take a nap at seven in the morning, but I can at least entertain myself with something else since I can't have either of those things.

"We haven't… we didn't really-" Bella trails off uselessly.

I immediately facepalm.

"Please don't tell me you're gonna be those people who don't use labels to define the relationship," I beg behind my hand. "Please, Bella, those people are the worst."

"You didn't even give me a chance to answer, Sophie."

"Because you have to D.T.R.!" I exclaim. "Do not allow yourself to be suckered by episodes of The Real World, Bella. The whole 'no labels' thing only works on TV!"

"I have no clue what you're even talking about right now."

I realize I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, either. I'm nonsensically rambling as I pry her for information, hoping she'll tell me something, anything, that answers the millions of questions running rampant in my head.

It occurs to me that she's been here for a month. Only a month.

In such a short time period, Bella has moved to a completely new state, seriously impacted the hormones of one of my childhood friends, nearly died in a car accident in our school's parking lot, and now, she has miraculously landed herself in a …non-relationship relationship… with a mysterious guy who might've or might not have saved her from aforementioned car-accident-related doom.

A mysterious guy that I haven't even met yet, hospital hallway aside.

It's a lot to adjust to, and I feel like my brain is lagging as I try to catch up. When did this all start happening? What else have I missed? Am I missing information, or is she just choosing not to tell me?

"We just…I like him, and…he likes me, Sophie," she explains simply, though I can tell by her tone that her words carry some undetermined weight. I groan again.

"You're already speaking in 'we's'. Are you going to get a shared couple Facebook page?"

Bella pulls into her spot in the school's carlot, and she aggressively jerks the truck into park. "Okay, enough," she blurts out. "I didn't drive you this morning so you could interview me."

I flinch at her tone, never having heard her raise her voice at me once in the last fifteen years. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you've been acting…I don't even know, moving at a million miles a minute. Pump the breaks, a little," she explains, looking to me for an answer. "Is something up?"

I shake my head perplexedly, unsure of what to say. "No. Nothing's up."

"You sure?" she asks me seriously. "I just…things have been a little...is it me? Are you upset that I moved back to Forks?"

My eyes widen in shock. "Gosh, Bella, no. I swear, I'm really happy you're back. Do you think I'm not?"

"I don't know, but if it's not me, what is it?" she sighs.

I don't know, I think to myself. I know what my sister's talking about yet somehow not at all- but I do know she's not the first person to have noticed I haven't been my normal self. It makes me think back to Jake's words on the beach.

'Not like you,' he'd said.

Nothing's wrong. I don't know what to tell you.

"Is it Edward? Does…me liking him bother you, or something?"

I shake my head again. "No. It'd be nice if I was actually introduced, maybe, but why would you think I'd be bothered by you liking some guy?"

"I'm not really sure what to think, honestly," she confesses softly. "Is it…is it soccer...?"

"No," I interrupt. "Soccer's fine. Great, even. Coach says I'm doing even better than last year now."

She looks a little surprised by my immediate response, but she breathes out a sigh. "Okay, well… you haven't told me anything about Jake's friend. Steven."

"Seth, you mean."

"Yeah. Is he… are you guys…?"

What?!

"No!" I laugh out loud, my stomach twisting at the sudden movement. "Oh gosh, no. He's just, like, a nice person. That's it."

"If you say so, Soph."

"I'm serious. The only thing we do is play games, I swear."

Bella's face scrunches, and I vehemently shake my head. "I meant soccer. We played a few rounds, the last two times we hung out. It was helpful. And recently, we've been playing tic-tac-toe."

And even more recently, a failed attempt at text-checkers and an even poorer attempt at four-in-a-row. I don't mention either of those to her, though.

"But nothing's bothering me. Maybe I'm just a little stressed," I try.

"Okay."

"I'd tell you if it was anything else."

She smiles comfortingly at me, and strangely, it brings me comfort to know that she believes me.

Truthfully, I'm not even sure if I believe myself.

I sit outside at one of the tables past the main entrance during my study hall.

It's technically my lunch period, but over the last few weeks, I've been using both times interchangeably since it's not as though I do much of either. My English assignment sits right in front of me as I tap a pen against my forehead, and as I look at the prompt written on the paper, a flare of anxiety begins to fester.

Week 5 Essay: Who is your favorite character in 'Little Women,' and why? Which character do you most identify with?

It's news to me that we've begun reading a new book in class, and I definitely didn't know we were reading Little Women. English is my least favorite class, but I can't believe how far behind I've been without realizing it.

Sighing, I pull out my phone and send a text to Jake in the hopes he'll have an answer before my next class.

From: Sophie

What do u know about little women?

A second later, a buzz.

From: Jake

Um

They should be cherished and respected?

I breathe out a huff and shake my head, shoving my phone back in my pocket in resignation. Jake's hardly an expert in this sort of stuff, anyway, I don't know why I bothered.

"From what I hear, I think you might have a few things in common with a certain Jo March. But maybe Beth?" a voice says in front of me. I look up from the table at the interruption, and I blink in surprise once I recognize who it is.

He's more handsome up close, I think. I can see why Bella likes him so much. He's not at all the weird guy I'd pictured in my head weeks ago when she first mentioned him – trench coat and guyliner are decidedly not in sight.

Edward stares at me amusedly, and with a tilt of his head at the bench across from me, he silently asks for permission to sit down. I nod my head in a quick series of jerks, scrambling to push my notebook and pencils out of the way.

"I was walking around during my free period and I just happened to notice you were out here," he muses. "I felt it might be a good time to introduce myself."

Skeptically, I glance around us to see if anyone's watching us- more importantly, if Bella's looming behind a corner somewhere, having set this all up unbeknownst to me after our conversation this morning.

But everyone around me is minding their own business, uncaring of my newfound company.

Nothing seems suspicious.

"I'm Edward Cullen," he informs me as if Bella hasn't mentioned him nearly every day since she decided he wasn't weird anymore. Yeah, buddy, I know.

"Sophie," I say, my tone a little meeker than I would've liked. It's hard to pretend this isn't intimidating, being approached so boldly by my sister's…whatever… out of the blue. The overt catalog-model handsomeness doesn't do much to alleviate my nerves. "How'd you know? What I was working on?"

"Sophomore English, nearly the end of the term. I took a guess."

"Lucky guess."

He folds his hands on the table like a proper gentleman and laughs. "I've been told I'm fairly good at those."

I don't say anything to that, unsure if there's some underlying implication I'm supposed to understand. "So," he asks me. "How far along in the book are you?"

I struggle to decide how to respond, especially since I'm not completely unconvinced that whatever I say won't get back to my sister. If she finds out that I'm struggling to keep up with my schoolwork, I can only assume she'll tell Dad, and I don't even want to entertain the thought of what he'd have to say. "Almost finished," I lie instead.

"It's a great read, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Love it."

"Do you have a favorite part?"

"Yeah, the part where it...ends?"

He raps his knuckles against the wood, and I realize my lies aren't nearly as believable as I'd hoped. "So, what are your thoughts? Are you more of a Jo, or a Beth?"

"Jo. He's cool."

Edward smiles widely then, a quiet laugh escaping his lips. "Ah, yes. Jo March, the strong male lead of Little Women."

It occurs to me that I've definitely made a serious misstep, and I feel my cheeks turn red as he looks at me humoredly. "I've been really busy with other stuff, so I'm just running a little behind with this class," I explain uselessly. "I'd, uh, really appreciate you maybe not telling Bella about this."

He cocks his head to the side in thought. "Asking me to lie to your sister? Well, that seems like I might be setting myself up for a trap."

"Not a trap. But you'll score a few little-sister-approval points, if that matters."

His expression softens, and it looks strange as it graces his sharp, chiseled features. "I'm sure you can understand it matters a great deal," he tells me. "My family is very important to me, too. And little-sister points are hardly a small matter, I should know."

"Because you have siblings."

"And there are two more than the two you met on your way to the hospital. Four siblings, all together," Edward explains. "Is there anything else you'd like to know about me? I'm sure you must have some questions."

I purse my lips. "I don't think Bella would appreciate it if I asked them."

"Why not?"

"Apparently, people don't like feeling like they're being interviewed."

I wrinkle my nose at the memory of this morning, and I look down to rub at the charm bracelet adorning my wrist nervously.

"Well, I'm giving you full permission. From one younger sibling to another," Edward posits earnestly, eyes shining.

Anything? I wonder to myself. Why do you look like a male model? Why does your dad look like a male model? Why do you people live in Forks, Washington, of all places, when you all look like models?!

Edward clears his throat, and he covers a small smile behind his hand. "Assuming I have the answers, of course."

I think for a moment, and glance down at the table. "...You said you're a younger sibling?"

"I'm technically the youngest."

"Technically."

"My siblings and I are all adopted, and we were all adopted at different times. Our birth order doesn't mean as much as it does for most blood-related families, I presume. It's more of a feeling than a fact."

"Okay," I say mollifyingly. That makes sense, I guess. "Do you have a criminal record?"

"No."

"Do you get good grades?"

"I'd say so."

I nod, and ready myself to pose a bigger, more complicated question. "What is it you like about my sister?"

Edward's expression softens even more perceptibly, but his eye contact remains unwavering. "She is undeniably the most fascinating person I've ever met in my life."

My eyes widen. Woah.

"Will you… you will be good to her," I state, not bothering to phrase my words as if it's a choice. "Because if you're not, I'll kick the shit out of you until you cry like a baby. And then, my dad'll kill you. And after he kills you, I'll kick the shit out of you again."

Edward does his best to school the humored expression on his face, but he nods. "Kick the shit out of me? That sounds awfully violent."

I let out a sound of acknowledgment, and strangely, it reminds me of Seth's words. 'I could be the best soccer player on the planet, but nothing would ever compare to how you just showed me up.'

My face feels hot at the memory, but I disregard it as quickly as it comes to mind. I can't tell if Bella's boyfriend/not-boyfriend is smiling at how flustered I've suddenly become, but I think at the very least, he looks curious. "I've been told recently I'm a pretty decent soccer player," I choke out. "I play defense, and kicking the shit out of things is a big part of the job. So I guess if I were you, I wouldn't do anything that would give me the opportunity to show you how decent I really am."

His expression smooths into something serious, and I can't help but feel like he looks nearly grievous. "I want you to know that Bella's happiness…her wellbeing, her heart, they're the most important things I've ever had the privilege of holding so closely. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her, for however long she allows me."

Woah. Again.

My tongue twists itself in my mouth as I search for something to say to that, and I merely hum to let him know I've heard him, loud and clear. Shyly, I turn back to the notebook I've pushed away, pressing my hand against the pages as a gust of wind blows overhead. I hope he interprets what I'm doing the way I intend for it to- an open-ended dismissal, a subtle "I've said everything I need to say, I think you have, too." I offer a nod, just in case.

But strangely, he doesn't rise from his seat. I notice Edward's looking at me with his head cocked again, his expression inexplicable.

"I…" I say carefully. "I just…I have some work to do, so…"

He shakes his head of his thoughts, and forcibly blinks back to awareness. "Of course," he says, like he's just remembered something important. "My apologies. I…never mind."

"No biggie. Everything is... we're good, right?" I ask him. He stills for a moment, and then offers an assured nod of his own. "Yes. No biggie at all," Edward answers, still looking at me a little strangely. If his face wasn't so curious to me, I'd laugh at just how foreign my own words sounded from his own mouth. He smoothly climbs over the bench, and he offers me a crooked smile.

"I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other soon. You should really read that book, in any case. I have a feeling you might really enjoy it," he tells me. A smile curls at my lips, a genuine one and the only smile I'd allowed throughout the duration of our chat. I watch him leave and as he turns around, I call back over to him.

"So, Edward," I say as he faces me again. "…No future shit-kicking, okay?"

He grins.

"I should certainly hope not."

From: Sophie

Guess who I met today

From: Jake

?

From: Sophie

Bella's bf 3

From: Jake

?

From: Sophie

Yeah

His name is Edward

I don't receive a reply for the rest of the evening, but I don't pay much mind to it as I maneuver through my house like I'm walking through a landmine, nervous that Bella will hear all about my meeting with Edward and have questions of her own to ask me. Did she know he'd come and talked to me? Was it planned, like I thought it might've been?

We sit at the kitchen table across from each other, the air between us quiet. Dad is working late at the station again, more than likely pulling another all-nighter in search of whatever animal killed Waylon and that security guard – I wonder if he'd want me to bring him dinner, or if he'd prefer Bella and me to stay inside when it's this dark out.

I push the food around on my plate, feeling guilt curl inside my chest at the prospect of wasting Bella's efforts in the kitchen. It's lasagna, and the few bites I took were delicious- I carefully move the large, floppy noodles from one end of the plate to the other, hoping it looks like I've eaten more than I have. I look at my phone again, and I see a new message from Seth.

Since our last hang out, we've sort of run out of ingenious games to play over text- it was Seth's idea to play a very butchered version of 'Guess Who?', which quickly diverted to 'Guess Where?' instead, and then dwindled down further into an even more obscure 'Guess Where- Forks/La Push Area or Well-Known Location Edition.'

Like I said, this was not my idea. As it turns out, neither Seth nor I have been to many places outside the PNW, so it's made for a very long-winded back and forth. Still, I grin mischievously at his question.

From: Seth

A city with a really famous building? Is this a place I can drive to?

From: Varsity Ass-Kicker

Maybe

From: Seth

U said yes or no questions only! This is rigged

Can I get a hint?

From: Varsity Ass-Kicker

U can drive there, but not from here. U would drown if u tried

From: Seth

So it's in a different country?

From: Varsity Ass-Kicker

Yup – u only have 2 more questions so think really hard

A minute passes, and my phone buzzes on the table.

From: Seth

Can I just guess?

Wait that doesn't count as one of my questions right?

That was a time out question I'm timing back in

Actual question - is it Paris?

The minute Bella finishes her own portion, I stand up from my chair and hold my plate high up on my chest, extending a hand to take her own. "Here, I'll wash up. You cooked, it's only fair," I say.

"I was gonna have a second slice," she says a little sheepishly. "You don't need to wash the dishes, I've got it. I'll take care of them once I'm finished."

"No, no, you just…sit," I say forcefully. "I'll just start the dishes now. What else needs to be cleaned? Just the sauce pot, and stuff?"

I move to walk over to the sink, but Bella's face pinches and she grabs the wrist holding my plate, looking up in surprise to see what's left behind on my plate. "Aren't you going to finish your dinner?"

"Oh, I'm full. Do you want me to make you another plate?"

She looks at me oddly. "If you didn't like it, you could have just said, you know. I don't have to make it again."

A startled laugh leaves me. "What? No way, it was amazing, Bells. You're a regular Julia Childe. Lasagna's just really heavy, you know? I'm not really used to all this homemade stuff."

I move past her, and quickly discard the rest of my leftovers in the trashcan. Turning on the faucet, I throw a quick glance over my shoulder and see that Bella's staring at the back of my head with a furrowed brow.

"Ugh, okay. We can talk about my conversation with Edward, if you really want to," I say mournfully, bracing my hands behind me as I recline against the counter. Her expression morphs from one I can't place to one of total surprise, and she opens her mouth before shutting it. "W-What? What conversation?" she asks bewilderedly.

"You don't have to pretend like you don't know."

"Know what? What are you talking about?"

"Edward sat with me for a few minutes while I was in study hall. Didn't he tell you?"

I wipe a paper towel over my hands and watch as she shakes her head in befuddlement. "Well, he did," I say. "Are you aware your boyfriend looks like he should be on the cover of Vogue? Because he does. It's, like, actually a little scary to have a guy that good-looking sit right there in front of you."

Whatever Bella seemed to want to say before seems to disappear into thin air as she takes in my words, and she smiles something small as she hears me praise him. "Did you guys…did you talk about me?" she asks warily.

"Honestly, a good fifty percent of our talk was about my English book, but yeah. We did talk about you," I confess. "And of course, I told him I'd beat him up. Because I will, if I need to."

Bella's smile widens even more, her eyes glancing down like I've said something funny. "What'd he say to that?"

I frown. "I don't think he was really intimidated, but I still mean it. I'm probably faster than him, too."

She nods and smiles to herself, spinning her fork aimlessly on her dish. "I'm sure he was terrified."

"Yeah. In my dreams, maybe."

"I really didn't know he'd do that, you know," she promises. "I didn't know he was planning on talking to you. I mean, I'm glad he did, but I…I wouldn't just ambush you like that."

I don't know if I completely buy it. In a very brief window of time, Bella's view of Edward has completely shifted without much explanation as to why, and it certainly feels like every time I hear something else about him, I'm ambushed with information I wasn't aware I was missing.

But I can see in her eyes that she's being honest with me, so I offer a smile. "Jury's still out on the weirdo thing," I tell her, feeling the need to be truthful, too. "Still...I can tell by the way he talks about you, that he really, really likes you, so I'm willing to grant a signed, stamped, little-sister probationary-approval."

"Oh yeah? That seems charitable of you."

"I'm in a giving mood. Besides, he won a few points in my book today. Apparently, my opinion 'matters a great deal' to him," I say a little wryly, making sure to deepen my voice and speak with as breathy and smooth a voice as his was, as I repeat his words back to her.

In the quiet that follows, I wonder if she's ever dated a boy, before. She never said so in the emails we've sent each other over the years, but maybe those kinds of things aren't really best conveyed in any other way than face-to-face, something we'd been sorely lacking until now. "Is he…?" I ask quietly. "Have you ever had a boyfriend before?"

Bella looks a little surprised at my question, and she shakes her head. "No. Edward's the first guy I've ever…yeah."

"Oh."

"Mhmm," she states succinctly, scratching the back of her neck nervously. "And…and you-?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Have you ever…uh, dated anyone…?"

I laugh out loud despite myself in disbelief. "Oh gosh, no. Who? When would I have had the time?" Who would I have even dated? I don't think most guys have that look in their eye the way Edward does when he's speaking about you. "I'm in a committed relationship with soccer, it's all my schedule will allow."

"You're only fifteen, Sophie. You have tons of time."

"Duh, in life, maybe. But not anytime soon, and I'm not really looking to date anyone."

I turn back to the sink, lazily throwing some soap over soiled dishes since it's not like I have much else to contribute. I'm much more interested in hearing more about Bella's blooming relationship than I am with my lack thereof, so I busy myself with the insistent scrubbing of a used pot cover.

"You seem to text that Seth guy an awful lot."

I nearly drop the glass in my hands, blinking rapidly at the implication. "Yeah, because we've been playing Guess Who for the last few days. A butchered version, or at least, a different version. I'm winning by a long shot."

It's true. As it turns out, Seth is a horrible guesser, and I'm not too bad myself. See, Edward? Little do you know, I can be pretty good with that sort of thing, too.

"Is he…cute?"

The whole kitchen feels about ten degrees warmer after I hear her question, and I run my hands under the cold water in an effort to calm down the weird pitter-patter in my chest. Seth? Cute?

From a purely objective standpoint…sure. He has nice, dark hair, he's tall and lean. He has a great smile, the kind that I notice doesn't seem to disappear for very long in the last two times we've hung out together.

"I don't see what that has to do with anything. I barely know him, anyway. We've hung out twice." Her mouth curls up in the corner like my non-answer is all she needs, so I bat an annoyed hand at her. "Don't look at me like that. Your lovesickness has seriously affected your brain, Bella."

"It's just…it seems like you must like him a little. Even if you don't know him that well."

"He's nice."

"Whatever you say."

I offer her a lame shrug, and I set the clean pot cover in the dishrack before getting started on my own plate. "I'm a busy person, and I have other things to focus on," I mutter seriously. "I guess this is payback for all my questions this morning."

I glance over at her, and her expression looks a little thoughtful, if not awkward. She looks back at me. "You can… if you, uh, ever wanna talk about it. Or anything. I'm here."

I'm here.

My chest tightens with warmth.

"Me too," I say to her. "Even if it means I have to listen to, like, gross stories about how you and Edward are totally boning, or whatever. I won't…I'm not too busy for you."

She smiles, and as she lifts her plate into the sink alongside the others, I get the sudden urge to reintroduce the topic we had the other week at dinner with Dad. "By the way…Bells," I pipe up anxiously. "Um, so we have a game on Saturday. It's a pre-qualifier for Regionals, which is like, a bigger tournament in the area. So if you, can…"

"Give you a ride?"

"Oh, no. No, I won't need a ride. I was actually wondering if you maybe want to come?" I ask, shoving my hands into the back of my pockets as I wait for her answer. "Edward can come too, if he wants. I mean, technically anyone can show up since it's free, but I figured you'd have a better time if you have someone to sit with. It'll be rainy, though."

Bella's eyes widen, and she nods. "Yeah. Yeah of course, Sophie, I'll be there. I'll ask Edward," she tells me assuredly. "Is anyone else coming? Dad?"

I shrug. "I guess it depends on Dad's caseload, so I dunno. I could ask Jake, I guess."

"You could also invite Seth along. Since you guys have been playing soccer together, and all."

My cheeks heat, but she brings up a good idea. It might be worth it to ask him, although I cringe at the idea of him sitting next to my sister… and God forbid, Dad, if he's able to show up.

I reach for my phone and look back to Seth's last message. I quickly type one of my own.

From: Varsity Ass-Kicker

Ding ding ding

U got it

Paris is the correct answer

Placing the Samsung back on the counter, I let out a breath.

"I'll think on it," I say simply.

A/N: Chapter 6 is up! Definitely can't wait to see your thoughts and reviews 3 thanks so much for the love, and can't wait to update soon! xoxo