Leilani

I was buzzing the whole way home. Sitting on the bus, I looked out the window whilst listening to my favourite playlist, replaying the last couple of hours in my head.

Not only was it crazy I'd met some cool people my age, they also wanted to hang out again sometime. I didn't know if anything would come of that. If it was just a one-time thing, where we would all forget about it the next day and the next time would never happen. But usually a number exchange wouldn't be a part of that.

I bounced my leg in my seat to the rhythm of the rock song I was listening to. On my phone I tapped on the contacts and scrolled down to Jasper's name, smiling a little. There was no denying he was quite attractive. Not that I would be making any moves. It was only about a month ago since Lewis and I wasn't ready for that yet. Plus, I really wanted to make some friends. Real friends that would last.

At my stop, I hopped off the bus and made the short five-minute walk home. To my surprise my dad's car was parked in the drive. I hadn't even seen him yet since I'd arrived.

"My little Leilani!" he smiled and hugged me tightly. Too tightly, like he always did.

"Hey," I stepped back, helping myself to a glass from the cupboard to make a drink.

"Sorry I've been so busy. I didn't get back until ten last night and you were already in bed."

I'd heard him. "That's ok."

"Where've you been? Job hunting?"

I swallowed. Fuck. I wasn't ready for that yet. Especially not the shit storm that happened with every job I got. "Just looking around the city. Seeing what's changed, and the shops."

"Right. Well you can always go tomorrow."

"Yep," I forced myself to say.

"When's your first lecture?"

"Wednesday evening."

He nodded, "Well, good luck."

"Thanks." I walked past him, going straight to my room. The last thing I wanted was to argue with my father about working. He was obsessed with it. Best to end conversations quickly and painlessly. Not that it was too difficult with him being constantly at the office.

Wednesday came quickly and slowly. Tuesday was a day to kill time. I looked over my Masters work, scrolled through social media, watched videos, and tried to play some games for about half an hour before giving up.

I remembered playing with Jasper and Emmett and how I actually forgot about time for a minute and just focused on winning the game. It had been so much fun, and not a slog or something just to waste time. All I seemed to want to do these days was wish for tomorrow.

And yet on Wednesday afternoon I restlessly double-checked bus times as my heart ached, scraping my chest from the inside with each beat. I forced myself to take deep breaths, trying to stay calm, whilst tapping my foot.

I couldn't listen to music on the bus. Instead I looked out the window, making sure I was going the exact route I was supposed to take. Part of me wished I could stay on the bus forever, riding the same route for eternity. And then I reached the University.

Playing with my hands, I made my way towards the modern grey and blue buildings in the dim light. The sun had already set, though it was still mostly light. I stopped for a moment to take the leaflet out of my bag with the map of the Uni on the back. Squinting at the tiny text, I looked around me to try and match up where I was.

"Hey, are you lost?" A beautiful girl with short spiky black hair asked me. "Do you need help?"

I smiled in relief. "Yes. Please, I need to get to Austen 103."

"Oh, that's on the other side of campus. It takes about fifteen minutes to walk there from here." She explained. Her voice was so pleasant, it was like bells.

"That's ok, I'm like forty minutes early." I giggled, nervous.

"Alice!" I heard a familiar voice and when I turned towards the source, I saw it was the guy from the arcade.

She waved at him as he came over to us.

"Oh, hey, Leilani," he said when he saw me standing next to her. He flashed me a really cute smile that I couldn't help but return. He seemed so friendly and warm.

"Shall we walk with you to the Austen building? I can show you all the best parts of campus." Alice seemed really eager and full of energy. It seemed a bit crazy to me since usually after lectures everyone was exhausted.

"I'd really like that, but you don't have to be somewhere?" I asked, hoping that they really would walk with me.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine. Let's go!" There was no stopping her. She skipped up some steps just ahead of us. "I'm Alice by the way. You're Leilani?"

I nodded, following behind her. "Yeah."

"And you already met my brothers, Emmett and Jasper at the arcade the other day." She stated. "About time someone flattens his ego." She tilted her head, motioning towards Jasper who was walking up the steps just in front of me.

"Ego?" Jasper scoffed. "I've thrashed Emmett, a lot. It's not ego if it's fact that I'm just better than him."

Alice giggled, "I am so gunna tell him you said that. He's going to kill you."

"He can try." Jasper grinned.

I smiled, enjoying watching their banter. I wished sometimes that I had brothers and sisters. At least then I'd have someone to hang out with at home while my parents were working. I didn't think on it too much though, as my mind quickly drew me back to Uni and worrying about attending my first lecture. I felt my chest begin to hurt again.

"This is the café," Alice pointed out a building to our right. "And they have computers in there. Oh, and that's the library, which is pretty much always empty at night. You can see the Austen building through there-," she continued, showing me all the buildings and giving me some tips.

At the Austen building, Alice slipped inside. Jasper held the door open, beckoning me to enter ahead of him. Inside I could see the door numbers on the wall in huge letters and 103 was just at the end.

Glancing at my phone, I guessed they were already inside for the lecture. I felt my heart speed up.

"See you later, Leilani," Alice said. "Have fun!"

"Thanks guys. See you."

"Bye," said Jasper, his unusual amber eyes looking straight into mine.

My cheeks felt warm and I looked away. I couldn't focus on that right now. I had to focus on getting through that evening without falling apart.

I could barely concentrate on the lecture. The thing about doing a Masters was that everyone was various ages and there were only about two others around my age who already seemed like close friends.

Everyone was discussing what they wanted to write, what novels they had already planned and edited, the thrill of writing for them. I felt like a fraud. Writing was just something I could do, and enjoyed doing. I didn't know if I wanted to write books. I just knew I had to do something and the Masters was another way to just… kill time.

At the end, I walked out the Austen building, relieved that I hadn't perished. Great, I'd survived one lecture. Just the rest of the year to do. And my dissertation. I let out a long exhale. Fuck.

Jasper

"How do you know something bad won't happen?" I asked Alice.

"I don't." She replied.

"How do you know she won't ask questions? Or find out the truth?"

"I don't."

"Then how can this be a good idea?"

"Jas," Alice turned away from the mirror and looked at me, one eye without mascara. "Seventy years and you still don't trust me?"

I sighed, "Of course I do. It's just, you can't predict everything."

She shook her head, "I don't need to see the future to know, this is going to be good for you. For her. For both of you." Alice faced the mirror on my bedroom wall again, carrying on with her make-up. "Besides, aren't you tired? I know I am."

"Tired of what?"

"You know I love our family. But nothing changes. Ever. It's so boring. It would be kind of nice having outsiders to hang out with."

I stared at her, amused. "You want to risk exposure because you're bored?"

Alice groaned, "Well not when you put it like that!" She threw one of her pencils at me, which I caught and started twirling between my fingers on one hand.

"You feel it too though, right? Of course, you do. We need some changes around here. I don't want to be isolated forever."

I paused, "So what do you want me to do then, Alice?"

"Meet her on Monday, with Emmett. She'll say yes. And I'll 'drop by'. Do you think it's weird if I bring nail polish?"

I nodded slowly.

"Alright, no nail polish…" her eyes lit up. "We can go to the movies!" She squealed. "And bowling, and the beach on an overcast day, and shopping!"

"Alice," I said with seriousness, interrupting her excitement. "We cannot tell Rose. Hopefully Edward won't care."

She made a face. "They'll come around."