Title: I Like Me Better

Author: Pantheradraconis

Rating: M

Pairing: Bella/Rosalie

POV: Changes, 3rd Person

Summary: Bella, after graduating high school in Florida under the roof of her mother and stepdad, moves to Forks, WA for her first year of college. She arrives the summer before and spends most of her time at the res with her friends Jacob and Leah, learning about the wolves and taught to fear the cold ones. On her first day of classes at Peninsula College, Bella runs into the most gorgeous girl she's ever seen and immediately becomes infatuated with her.

Chapter 2

Leah

The forest is quiet in this particular area as the small wolf skirts the edges of where she truly wishes to go. She watches the trees bend in the wind, the birds flying so high overhead she can barely hear their tune. There are no squirrels skittering around, no dens in the ground or nests in the trees; it is truly the home of a beast, a monster. Leah huffs at the ground, smelling the stench of vampires as if they had run the parameter to mark their scent. She closes her eyes knowing her pack acted the same. Were they so different? These vampires that only feed on animals; does that make them less vampire and more human? Was she, herself, even able to still identify as human?

Taking a curious but very reserved step forward, Leah crosses the invisible line into the monsters' den. A part of her expected to be attacked. If the vampire boy had crossed into Quileute land, would her pack allow him safe passage? Her mind is blank, empty of the thoughts of the other wolves. Jake, Seth, and Embry are on patrol tonight. They started the night joking about an eating contest between Seth and Paul that went horribly wrong; poor Emily had thought she could feed the pack for at least a week on those portions. As Leah somberly joined the link she heard just the wisp of the joking, the memory of mere moments ago. When she transformed, trying desperately to remain quiet, Leah tried to keep her mind completely blank, but Jake figured her out quick enough. She could tell he was immediately furious and would most likely try to stop her; Luckily for her, she had driven out of the Res and was well out of their reach already. In his normally calm way, and before Jake was able to form any cohesive anger or plan of action, Seth wished Leah good luck. It was a gentle wish, just a thought like a peaceful breeze. Leah smiled and moved forward slowly. Jake flashed a few thoughts of Sam; he would be furious in the morning but for right now, Leah didn't care. The link went quiet, although Leah knew her pack was cautiously watching her in case of trouble.

The grey wolf moves quietly but quickly, inching through the trees closer and closer until she could finally see the house. It is strange to know they live in such a normal dwelling. It is lit well, all the lights glowing brightly into the night air. Leah groans as she realizes their electric bill must be astronomical. The walls are covered in large windows shedding all formalities of privacy. Is it to feel a part of the forest all around them? Or is it so they can see a threat from a mile away.

"He's not here," the soft voice comes from several yards in front of Leah yet she had missed the presence of the woman entirely. Leah growls loud and menacing. Not a woman, a vampire. The vampire doesn't miss a beat, her smile wide and unimposing. Her long hair falls in wide ringlets across her shoulders, her face is the shape of a heart and holds so much warmth it makes Leah uneasy. "If you'd like, I could make you a sandwich while you wait. Edward went hunting with his father."

Leah's body tenses and she feels overwhelmingly exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. Edward. His name is Edward. The boy with the smell of sandalwood and pine. The boy with the bronze hair and beautiful skin. The boy who makes her heart long for understanding, acceptance, and to merely be a part of his unending life. She growls and lowers her head wondering why she is even there. Sam had forbidden her to come, commanded her to keep her distance until they were able to understand what had happened to her. He refused to see that she had imprinted on this vampire. Leah is still shocked that she can fight against the command; perhaps it's a small perk to imprinting.

Leah sits and lifts her head toward the female vampire. She holds her hands together and against her heart, as if she understands the turmoil going through Leah's head. The wolf squints wondering if perhaps she can.

"I'll go make that sandwich," the vampire says softly before turning and running toward the house.

Sighing, Leah shakes her head. Of course, the vampire can't understand her. Not like Edward could. She briefly wonders if it is a symptom of the imprint, his ability to seem to know what she was thinking. But Emily has never said anything. No, it must be something stranger. Stranger than a wolf imprinting on a vampire.

While the female vampire works in the kitchen, Leah thinks back on what exactly had transpired just a few days prior. Leah had asked Sam if she could have the extra time to join the research group. She had heard they were cataloging the wildlife but they were also cataloging the resources. When resources were accounted for they were more often than not stolen by corporations. Sam had agreed offhandedly more worried about the current problems in front of him than some possibility ten or twenty years down the line.

Everything was going fine, Leah had gotten lost trying to find the entrance but was escorted by a nice woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl opened the door and Leah's senses were immediately assaulted; first by the horrible stench of a vampire, but then by the sensation of falling off a cliff just to land in her childhood bed, freshly made, on Christmas morning, with her entire family at home, and her father alive and proud of the woman she had become. The shock of being so happy and complete at the very vision of this vampire, her mortal enemy, had caused her skin to burst. She still doesn't understand how she had been so lucky as to make it to the forest before she exploded.

Sam had come to her immediately, both a blessing and a curse. He helped her calm down, he helped her understand what she was feeling. But when he learned it was a bloodsucker she had imprinted on, his tune quickly changed. He denied her feelings, made her feel unworthy, incomplete, and wrong. It reminded her of when she had first changed. It was the same look of fear, loss, and disgust her father had held just before his heart gave out.

"I wasn't sure what you liked so I made several kinds," the female vampire returns with a large platter of sandwiches. She keeps her distance, even places the plate down and takes several strides back. Leah shakes her head knowing she has completely lost her mind. What was she even thinking coming here? Without another thought, she turns and leaves, running through the forest until she reaches home. Not even bothering to transform back, the grey wolf leaps cleanly through her bedroom window and crawls onto her mattress. She circles several times before collapsing on the bed, her thoughts only allowing a fitful sleep; glimpses of bronze hair and bright, venom-covered teeth.

Bella

Pacing her room, Bella looks through her Intro to Sociology reading. The words blur in front of her so she focuses on the photos and graphs but without the explanations to go with them, they confuse her even more. The large book feels incredibly heavy but she can't get herself to sit still. The hardwood floors beneath her creak with each step; the bed and desk take up most of the space in her room leaving her only four steps stride before turning and walking back four steps. She looks up at the bare walls and debates how she should decorate. Perhaps painting the white walls a deep purple, to match her bedspread. Or maybe a collage of her friends and experiences from the summer. She had a pile of photographs sticking out of a box on her desk. She places the book on her desk and begins searching through the photos. There are her and Jake sticking their tongues out. One of Leah laughing from the other side of a beachside bonfire. Seth, Leah's little brother, playing football with Paul and Jared. Charlie and Billy next to the grill, Sue in the background watching the sky.

Bella runs down the stairs and grabs a roll of clear tape from the kitchen junk drawer. She's home alone and is grateful she doesn't have to fake interest in any game Charlie might be watching, or explain her strange mood. The teen trips on the second step running back upstairs but catches herself enough to continue her trampling. Back in her room, she begins taping up photos in a random pattern on the wall. Her only source of design is for the photos to all be touching, slightly overlapped. Perhaps she'll create a real design later. Maybe a heart? Maybe a star? For now, they go up in more of a Rorschach splatter than anything else. She tilts her head and wonders what she sees. Then laughs as a photo of Jake hanging upside down from a tree catches her eye.

The teen turns back to her Sociology book and flips through the pages. Why should we study sociology and how can we apply it to the real world? Jake had asked Bella why she decided to go to school for social work. She just smiled, shrugged, and laughed it off. As she rubs her hand down the crease of the book, Bella ponders that same question. She knows it has to do with wanting to help people and wanting to understand people, but sometimes she wonders if it isn't something else, something even she doesn't understand. She shakes her head, letting her hair flow around her face, and tries to clear her mind. The feel of her hair makes her think of the golden locks she finds herself dreaming of all too regularly.

It's been over a week since she last saw the goddess of Peninsula College, Rosalie, and she has no one to talk to about her. She closes her Sociology book and checks her phone for the third time today. No missed calls, no emails, no texts. She clicks on Jacob's face and looks through her last few messages.

[Bells] U'll never believe what happend to me! And it isn't just the concussion talking!

[TeenWolf90] Busy

[Bells] k

[Bells] Hey, it's been 2 days. You alive? I've got a problm.

[TeenWolf90] If not on fire, I'm busy.

[Bells] And if I was on fire?

[Bells] How R U still busy?

[Bells] I'm on fire!

[TeenWolf90] Stop, drop, and roll. Then call Charlie.

[TeenWolf90] Still busy. Sry.

[Bells] What R u so buzy doin?

[Bells] U've been busy for like a week. Anything I should be worried bout?

[TeenWolf90] No

[Bells] Is it Res stuff?

[TeenWolf] Yes. Sry, g2g. Call when can

[Bells] Ok but srsly call me!

The last message had been sent over a day ago and still nothing. Bella knows that Jake wouldn't just be ignoring her out of spite, which meant something serious must be happening on the Res, but if that's really the case then that means it is wolf serious. And wolf-serious meant vampires.

Bella shivers as the thought hits her stomach like a ton of bricks. It's still surreal, the idea that bloodsuckers are a real thing. She had never seen a vampire before but she had nightmares of grotesque humanoid creatures with incisors as sharp as a shark's. They prowled at nighttime and attacked lonely damsels as they tried to find their way home. She knew she was being dramatic but her lack of knowledge made her lean toward the more dramatic. One thing she knew for certain was that if she ever came face to face with a vampire, she'd turn tail and run! There won't be any Buffy heroics going on with her clumsy ass!

Flopping down in her bed, Bella thinks about what she did know of vampires. They were bloodsuckers; they drank the blood of humans, killing them in the act. Jacob never got more detailed than that and Leah was completely uninterested in the details. Whenever Bella tried to get any bit of information, the wolves would get so angry and worked up they'd practically burst out of their skin, and that was not a situation Bella wanted to be a part of. On the other hand, Bella could probably write a book about the Quileute supernaturals. The wolves protected their tribe from the bloodsuckers. They were stronger, faster, and ran at a hotter temperature than humans. They healed at ridiculous speeds and ate mountains of food every chance they got. When in wolf form, they can hear each other's thoughts enabling them to work together instantly to kill any and all vampires.

She also knew that the wolves imprinted on their mates, helping to ensure the bloodlines continue. Bella thinks about Leah explaining the heartbreak she felt when Sam left her with little to no explanation. The second heartbreak was when Emily turned her back on her cousin and best friend to date Sam. The final heartbreak was when Leah transformed and had to experience Sam's imprint on Emily through their mental connection. It was hard to be mad at someone that had a supernatural disposition to love someone else but Leah seemed to find a way.

Imprinting is such a romantic idea to Bella, the very thought there could be a greater power pulling two people together was almost magical. There are stories of soulmates both in epic romances as well as tragedies; for something to be so repeated, there must be a level of truth in it somewhere. Are soulmates real? Or are they only for the supernaturals? The special people? Bella closes her eyes and hums gently. Jake hates it when she calls him special. He sees his condition as a curse rather than the amazing miracle that it is. He has the power to protect his people, to save his loved ones. He has strength, speed, heightened senses, and a loyalty from his packmates that most people would trade their entire lives for.

Many nights are spent where Bella dreams of a cosmic intervention where she discovers a secret history of Quileute blood in her family; a string just powerful enough to change her. She rolls onto her back and stares up at her ceiling, her hands resting softly on her stomach. Bella knows she is meant for more, she just doesn't know what that more is yet. She closes her eyes again and fades into a restful sleep; the vague memory of a dream brings a smile to her lips as she opens her eyes a few hours later. With or without the help of her friends, Bella is on a mission to get Rosalie to go on her date with her.

Angela

October is turning out to be a colder month than normal and Angela feels the cold in her bones. She pulls her coat tighter around her neck hoping to block the chill from finding her delicate skin. She had grown up in Washington and yet never managed to become acclimated to the colder months. Rain was something she could deal with, but a crisp wind could keep her shivering for hours. She pulls the door open to Maier Hall, holding it open for the small group coming in behind her. The first two weeks of classes had fumbled by in such a strange blur that Angela still wasn't entirely sure they had happened at all. The only thing she is too aware of was a change in Eric's schedule placing him in a different time slot for the mandatory College Success class. His absence from the class makes Angela's only friends Alice and Jasper.

She moves past the line for the elevator and opens the door to the stairwell. Taking the steps two at a time, she exits the stairwell long before the elevator even reaches the first floor. The classroom is in the center of the hallway on the left and Angela slides through the door avoiding the group of boys chatting in the doorway. Her eyes search the spread-out seats, each grouping around small tables meant for open discussion in a team setting. In the corner, separate as usual, Angela sees the perky, short-haired pixie always shadowed by the tall, lean, terrifyingly somber soldier boy.

Taking a large breath in, before slowly letting it seep through her teeth, Angela moves towards the corner.

"Good morning, Angela," Alice's voice is as smooth and soft as an angel's and Angela can't help but sigh in response.

"How are you today?" Jasper asks. He has a small smile on his lips but holds himself in a reserved, tightly wound manner. At least he isn't scowling as much as he did at Forks High School.

Angela stands slightly awkwardly beside the table and plays with the straps of her messenger bag. She opens her mouth to reply when she's suddenly knocked forward slightly.

"Sorry, sorry," a brunette excuses herself as she takes a seat at the table. She drops her bag to her feet and is typing furiously on her phone before growling down at it. The girl is small in stature and incredibly pale. Angela raises an eyebrow toward Alice and Jasper but Jasper merely shrugs in response before holding his hand out toward the other empty chair at the table. Alice seems enamored by the girl and spends the next few moments staring at her every movement.

Taking a seat, Angela places her bag at her feet and pulls out her notebook designated for College Success, the class syllabus, a small packet of papers given out on the first day, and two pens, just in case. She then turns toward the mystery girl and watches her carefully.

The brunette looks up and smiles shyly. Angela blinks at the girl a couple of times before turning back toward Alice and Jasper, a question written all over her face. Who is this girl?

"Oh!" The girl exclaims all too loudly. The rest of the class seems to turn toward their table, causing Alice to laugh softly. The girl shyly sinks into herself but still whispers out, "I'm sorry, were you saving this seat for anyone? Do you want me to find another spot?"

"All the other seats are full," Alice replies with a mischievous smile and a glint in her eye.

The brunette searches the room quickly before blushing. Angela notices Jasper tensing ever so slightly before nodding and smiling at Angela. She feels a wave of relaxing vibes and takes the hint. She needs to remain calm and relaxed to help Jasper. She will have to question him why the sudden change at a later time; it seems odd that a simply blushing human would cause that reaction after so many years at their shared high school.

Before anyone else can add to the strange interaction, the professor starts the class. He warmly bumbles on about a short project where groups will need to produce an examination of a particular learning style. At the end of next week, the groups will have to present to the class an argument as to who should use the particular learning style and what the pros and cons of the style are. He then ends his announcement by stating the groups will be their current seating arrangements.

The brunette laughs and says, "Talk about a classic TV cliche."

Alice smiles but tilts her head, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, well, you know," The brunette blushes again and seems to make herself even smaller than she is, something Angela is slightly impressed by. If only she had had that ability in high school, maybe she wouldn't have so many horrible memories. She shivers slightly, breathes in slowly through her nose, and closes her eyes. When she opens them again, she sees Jasper looking at her, concern is written all over his face. She smiles sheepishly and turns back to the brunette who is still talking. "...And they always end up getting into some sort of strange trouble, like the neighborhood drunk uses their report to wrap around his bottle-o-liquor." She uses air quotes while saying the word liquor in a slightly higher tone. "Or the scraggly street dog runs off with it only to find it has puppies under the building that's about to be taken down so they need to devise a plan to save the puppies! But in the end, because it's basically just an afterschool special, everyone ends up with an A for the presentation and the nerd is now best friends with the jock." She stops abruptly and begins playing with a pen, twirling it around her fingers before tapping it on the table.

Alice almost explodes in giddiness before leaning forward and reaching out toward the brunette's hands. "What can we call you?"

"Oh, right, yeah, I'm Bella. Bella Swan." Bella reaches out and shakes Alice's hands awkwardly but she doesn't flinch at the cold. Angela nods to herself and decides to hold onto that bit of knowledge.

"Bella!" Alice squeals. She wraps Bella's hand in both of hers and declares, "We are going to be the very best of friends. I can just feel it."

"That's nice," Bella replies shyly but smiles and squeezes Alice's hand in response. She then looks over at Angela expectantly.

"I'm Angela, it's nice to meet you. You said your name was Swan?"

Bella rubs the back of her neck with her free hand and laughs. "Yeah, that Swan. Charlie is my dad."

"Chief Swan. How interesting," Jasper says so low Angela isn't sure Bella can hear him.

"Yeah, that reaction right there is probably why I didn't move here as a teenager." Bella laughs and shrugs.

"Are you not a teenager now?" Alice asks. Angela notes that she is still holding onto Bella's hand, almost as if believing letting go means Bella will disappear.

"Well I mean, technically," Bella rolls her eyes and laughs lightly. "I'm 19 if you want to get specific."

"What a coincidence!" Alice's voice has lifted to an impossibly high tone and yet it still rings like a beautiful bell. Angela finds herself smiling in response.

"We're all 19 as well," Angela comments.

"Did you guys go to high school together? You seem to know each other really well." Bella comments, turning her head so she looks at each of them in turn. She pauses on Jasper but continues to smile in a friendly manner.

Angela watches as Jasper seems to relax just slightly and smile in return.

"We attended Forks High School together," he responds softly. "And I'm Jasper."

Alice's eyes go wide. "I forgot to introduce you! I never forget to introduce you." The words seem to flip up and down in her own confusion.

"I do believe you were preoccupied with meeting your best friend." Jasper smiles and leans ever so slightly into Alice.

"You two are a pair, aren't you?" Bella asks lightly, smiling with her eyes.

"It is true," Alice says in more of a sigh than bothering to pronounce the individual words. "Jasper is my heart, the very thing that keeps me tied to this world."

Angela finds herself turning away from the two lovebirds. There was a time when she wanted nothing more than to be in a love as romantic as theirs. Perhaps she is the star of the tragedy instead. After all, in order for the romance to shine, the tragedies must simmer. She sighs and turns her attention to the collection of papers in front of her, anything to get her head to think of other things.

"So we've got to pick one of these seven different types of learning styles and present a case on why it's good, right?" Bella says.

Angela looks up to see the brunette has her hands back to herself, despite a small frown on Alice's face, and is focusing on the same paper as Angela. Bella looks up and smiles at Angela before taping her nose. Angela is immediately embarrassed by being caught in her jealousy but she nods her head in a quick thank you and the group gets to work.

Later that evening, Angela is helping her twin brothers work through their Social Studies homework. She honestly didn't remember 6th grade being this hard, but perhaps things really do change over the years. Trying to figure out the multiple-choice questions about the Mayan empire was more than a little tricky but the boys were doing most of the work. Angela only had to help make sure they understood what the questions were actually asking. She found her mind trailing its way back to her College Success class and Alice's reaction to Bella. She wondered if Alice knew Bella was going to appear. What role did she play in their lives? In the Cullen's specifically? Did it have anything to do with Emmett? Angela's heart hurt at the thought of the burly vampire. She had so much love still for the man she had come to know but the memories of what happened, the memories of James, they were just too much to handle. She snaps back to attention when Joshua asks her what the Mayans meant by God being the sun and Angela has to put her thinking cap on to make sure she doesn't confuse the boys with her response.

Cause I don't really trust my heart/In your hands/Maybe I don't need that chance/And my soul in/Your glance/Baby that's a dangerous dance/She make my heart stop drop and roll/I'm on fire baby yes I know/She make my heart stop drop and roll/I'm on fire when you touch my soul - Man On Fire by Earl St. Clair

A/N: So this whole following three different relationship thing is a lot harder than I thought it would be! I'm having fun with it, don't get me wrong, and I'm really enjoying the outcome, but no one should be surprised with how long it took me to update. We'll work on that speed thing. Once again, please let me know the good and bad of my descriptions and anything else you wish to share.