Ch. 2 Damnit Tyler

Another few days passed, and I was still stuck in Bella Swan's body. On the upside, I was being discharged from the hospital today. Renee had called my room twice since I had been here, and Charlie had come to visit every day between shifts. It was nice to know that Bella's parents really cared for her, and Charlie seemed like a pretty great dad, just like he was in the books. He said he would have taken time off work to stay with me, but he was having to work double time working with the Olympic Park Rangers since so many hikers had gone missing lately...I guess that meant the terrifying trio of James, Victoria, and Laurent were in town already...

I outwardly shuddered at the thought of what would happen if the intended narrative were to come to fruition. That would not bode well for me seeing as I was trapped in the main protagonist's body...Oh well, I'd just have to stop that from happening as long as I found myself stuck here. Good. Stay positive, McGee.

I had already proven that I could change things since I fell out of the window. Sure, it was an extreme way to test the theory, but still, it worked. My new plan? Ride this thing out until I came to or woke up or whatever the hell Would happen in the real world. I just had to recall the story and do the opposite of everything Bella did to stay out of trouble. I knew the plot backward and forward having read the story about 23 times give or take a few in my late teens and early twenties. I may have been a little, tiny, itsy bitsy obsessed which, come to think of it, could partially explain why I found myself here to begin with.

I had seen Dr. Cullen each morning as he made his rounds. I tried to avoid any topics besides normal pleasantries and any updates on my treatment. Thankfully, he didn't seem too worried about my behavior since that first day. After he signed my discharge paperwork and the nurse gave me instructions for wound care at home—which I didn't tell her that I could have saved her some time and breath if she just dropped off the supplies with me and left, but oh well—I found myself on the way home. It was Sunday afternoon, and I was to return to school in the morning. High School. Again. Greeeeeeaaaat.

I passed out when I got to the Swan house with very little—no—preparation on my part for the grand adventure back to school the next morning. I mean, I had already gotten my masters in nursing back in the real world, so how hard could high school really be..?

I awoke the next morning feeling groggy and hungover from too much sleep. I showered, dried my hair, and threw on a t-shirt and jeans, completing the ensemble with those damned converse sneakers that I had tripped on.

2005 was my year back in high school. I would have been a sophomore then in my world, so it would be kind of nostalgic to relive my glory days here. It also occurred to me while I sat in the hospital all those days that I was back in a seventeen year old body. I could eat whatever I wanted, lounge around, and stay thin. My knees no longer bothered me, and I would bounce right back from any injuries that occurred—which, let's face it...the injuries were guaranteed until I could get a handle on this clumsy body. This bizarre experience might be a blessing in disguise, a nice little vacation from being in a body that was almost thirty. Three words: unlimited carbohydrate consumption. Heaven.

I asked Charlie for directions to the high school which I figured might prove difficult to find since I hadn't even been outside of the house or hospital since I had been here, but he informed me that it was just a mile and a half drive down the road—two turns away. Huh. Easy peasy.

The school looked just like the book described, separate little buildings and a main office. Quaint. I got my new student slip that each teacher had to sign from Mrs. Cope—I even convinced her to change my schedule under the guise that since I, Bella Swan, was in honors biology back in Arizona, I shouldn't have to sit through the lower level course here in Forks. Sure I sounded like a pretentious jerk trying to sell it, but it kept me away from the infamous meeting with Edward Cullen in biology. Step one of my "avoid danger at all costs" plan was complete. No Edward, no story, no danger, right? Well, I couldn't have been more wrong...*sigh*

In order to get out of biology after lunch, my sciences were switched out so that I had chemistry that same period. The trade then put me in gym right before lunch, and Spanish last period. This all sounded A-OK to me, like whatever it takes to avoid the Cullens.

I even tried to be standoffish with all the other Forks kids, so that I wouldn't have to sit with any of them at lunch or be followed around all day. No intimate connections to this story would be the best way to leave unscathed, but that part of the plan foiled rather quickly since they—Jessica, Angela, Mike, Eric, and even Tyler once—insisted on walking the new girl—A.K.A me—to every freaking class of the morning. They even continued speaking to me when I was awkwardly silent and glared at them! Each joked that I must be super shy, and the constant blushing didn't dampen their amusement any.

So despite my best efforts to avoid all things Cullen, imagine how surprised I was when I walked out of the locker room and into fourth period Gym and saw across the room a wild-bronze-haired boy looking like a freaking Abercrombie and Fitch model. He was hitting a volleyball lightly over the net to a spikey-raven-haired pixie of a girl—Edward and Alice Cullen, a two for one special buy. Crap. Well, maybe Alice would hold him back when he tried to eat me. This might be a good thing that they're together. At the very least she will see him about to attack and stop it, right? I hope so. Welp, here it goes.

I walked confidently to the farthest net away from them. I was probably suppose to sit out of gym today with my head injury, but I was feeling lethargic after all that time spent in bed and needed to get moving to catalyze some kind of energy. I had always been an active person. I had played varsity Volleyball in school, so this would be a nice warm-up for me.

Hah. I was wrong about that too...so, so wrong. I severely underestimated the power of muscle memory. This body clearly did nothing athletic, but of course not because Bella Swan hated sports. She was far too clumsy for anything besides walking, and even that was iffy most days which meant that I now had that trait too. Ugh!

I, however, was determined to fight the limitations of Bella's body. I could power passed this ineptness!

Nope. Big mistake. I saw the move that I wanted to make in my mind and went to serve the ball when all of a sudden I lost my footing—tripping on air again—and rolled my ankle. And to think that I had gone almost the entire period unnoticed since none of the other Twilight characters were in this class when this stupid, clumsy body failed me yet again!

I shrieked out in pain like the crybaby that I am as I dramatically fell to the floor, and it felt like the whole room came to a screeching halt to gawk at me. In a reflex—as I had been watching them like a stalker all period to make sure I didn't get too close—I stole a glance over to where the Cullens were now also looking my way in concern. I noticed Alice's face go blank, and then her expression abruptly changed to confusion and finally landed on shock. Next I saw Edward shoot her a questioning glare before he turned back to me, and his golden irises met the brown of my own. I felt a tear escape down my cheek as I cried from the pain, and my cheeks blushed furiously under his intimidating scrutiny.

But I couldn't look away. Oh crap, Iris. Be forgettable. Be forgettable. Stop being weird. Don't stare at him and cry. Bella's face looks like a baby doe. Come on! He's a chivalrous guy. He might try to come offer help, and then he'll want to drain you. Cut it out. Oh God, he's coming closer!

Edward took a few steps forward in my direction when no one else came to my aid. Go away, Cullen. I don't want your help. I'm not ready to die!

Less than a minute had passed since I fell. A few kids had shot anxious looks at me when I cried out. The wimps were probably scared that my head was cracked open again and didn't want to get involved, so they each backed away rather than offering help. Ok so one girl did wince at me sympathetically and ran to go get the coach, but like where was overly helpful Mike Newton when you needed him? One thing I didn't need was to attract the attention of the Cullens. Good job, dumbass!

Edward was still walking toward me, closing the distance between us, his face now rearranged into a polite, reassuring smile. I tried to send him "go away and leave me alone" vibes the closer he got to me, but he wasn't getting it. I even momentarily considered whispering the whole "I'm your singer" situation to him, but I wasn't sure how he would respond to that information if he understood that I knew their secret. He might just go ahead and finish me off to protect his family.

He was close, like really close, now, and I watched in horror as he froze, took a deep breath, and his eyes darkened as his polite smile abruptly shifted into a murderous glare. This was it. I was about to live a real nightmare, but in the same moment, Alice, who I hadn't noticed was right behind him, grabbed his arm and steered him out of the room.

I watched them leave in shock, sitting on the ground, with my possibly broken ankle, and crying as I still gasped in pain. But even in my surprise, I still felt relieved that I had avoided what surely would have been a bloodbath.

The coach finally arrived, chastising me for participating while I was still in recovery, and I was helped to the nurse's office.

While waiting for Charlie to come get me from school—I was no good to drive home with my right ankle decidedly sprained—I pondered how close I had come to dying. When would this nightmare end?

•PTaT•

The next morning I woke up—surprise, surprise—still in Forks. The swelling in my ankle looked better after I wrapped it with ice and elevated it overnight. I decided to go back to school since Edward, most likely, would be long gone. That's how the story went, right? Edward wanted to kill Bella that first day in biology, and then he left to go to Alaska for a week. If he stayed true to character, he should be with the Denali coven right about now.

With that thought, I hobbled to the shower, dressed, re-wrapped my ankle, and slowly made my way downstairs. I popped some Advil on my tongue before putting my mouth straight to the faucet and limped as quickly as possible to my truck.

I noticed chains on the back tires before I hopped in the cab. That was sweet of Charlie. I'd have to mention it later. Maybe I'd make him something nice for dinner. The man really couldn't cook anything besides frozen pizza and fried eggs. It was pitiful, really.

I arrived at the school ten minutes later, and because I was a bit later than usual thanks to moving at a slower pace, there was only one parking spot left over toward the side of the lot. I pulled in easily and made my way out of the cab as I tried to balance the banana I had grabbed before leaving on top of my books which weren't back in my bag yet. I slammed the door of the old, rusty red clunker closed and started to make my way toward the bed of the truck so I'd have a bit more space to reorganize all the stuff I was juggling.

"Hey Bella!" I heard Mike call eagerly.

I could only respond by waving briefly and smiling tightly as I mumbled through my grin, "Stop being so desperate for attention, Newton..." He seemed all too pleased with my lackluster greeting as he nudged Eric and winked. I just rolled my eyes as I turned back to my pile of stuff now strewn across the truck bed.

That's when I heard it—it, THE VAN! How could I forget? Iris, you idiot, a rookie mistake! I had somehow forgotten all about Tyler's van and the accident that was supposed to happen today according to the story timeline, and as if the stars aligned, I was parked in the exact spot that the stupid van was hurdling toward. The only difference between the cannon story and what was happening now was that I hadn't spoken to Edward yet, and he was probably in Alaska sulking anyway.

No one would care to save me. I was dead meat.

My almost death seemed to be a recurring theme in this world. I swear I didn't have any near-death accidents in my actual body. Damn you, danger-magnet, Bella Swan!

I squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as possible, bracing myself for the inescapable blow, not willing to actually see it all happen. I gasped aloud as a hard object collided with my frame, slamming me into the asphalt. My head hit the ground—though not as hard as I might have expected—and I was seeing stars. Double head injury in less than two weeks is no bueno. I heard another final crunch of metal nearby and my legs were quickly lifted off the ground.

I didn't know who it was that was holding me, nor did I really care. Only one special family would have the abilities to save me, but I wasn't going to get involved in this supernatural drama. I was just thankful to not have to go through the pain of dying from the god-awful wounds sustained in a motor vehicle accident. I've seen the outcomes of those about a hundred too many times working in the ICU, and it isn't pretty.

I kept my eyes squeezed closed, feigning a worse injury than I had sustained to keep up pretenses. "Uhhh..." I moaned as I cupped the posterior of my head over the stitches which hadn't yet healed from the week prior. I wanted to make sure that whoever it was who had saved me knew that I hadn't seen anything fishy happen. Must stay out of the drama!

I felt myself being gently placed back on the ground before a tinkling voice asked, "Isabella, are you alright?" Alice? Well, color me surprised. That's certainly deviating from the story. Huh. I definitely didn't see that one coming.

"Ah, I don't feel very good. I think I need to see a doctor. Sorry, I don't know your name." I figured playing total airhead was my best bet as I squinted back into the smallest Cullen's golden eyes.

"I'm Alice Cullen, and the paramedics are on their way," she responded easily. "I don't see any blood...Guess it was lucky I was standing near you."

Liar liar, pants on fire. She was on the other side of the lot moments before as we had briefly made eye contact, but I wasn't going to get involved. No more danger, damnit! "Yeah, lucky. Thanks for pushing me out of the way. Are you ok?" I used my doe-eyed innocent look that Bella's large eyes were so good at.

"Yep! Not a scratch. Oh! I hear the ambulance sirens. Let me go direct them over here and check on Tyler." And she was off.

See, book Bella? Crisis averted. Was it THAT difficult to mind your own damn business? I chuckled quietly and internally gave myself a pat on the back for once again dodging all the supernatural Twilight drama. Now, If only I was as successful at staying out of the non-supernatural drama as well. It's a great story and all if you're not actually living in it...

Just then the EMTs showed up, eventually loading me into the back of the ambulance, and I was shipped back to the hospital, my own personal mother-ship as it felt like.

"Isabella," Carlisle greeted me, clearly taking note of my wrapped ankle. I was beginning to see why she always insisted on being called Bella. Her full name was super annoying the more often I heard it aloud.

"You can just call me Bella." I corrected.

"Well then, Bella, this is your second visit to us this week, and looking at your extensive medical history which your mother graciously sent to the hospital during your last visit with us not so long ago, I'm beginning to comprehend where all your scars and extensive history have come from. Are you going to be a frequent visitor of ours?" He asked sarcastically, but not in a hurtful way. He seemed more concerned than anything. Ok, maybe slightly amused as well. He really was a stand-up guy, and not too bad on the eyes, though, Edward definitely had that competition under wraps. I mean, seriously. It was not the vamp mutations that made him so attractive. He would have easily been most beautiful man of the year material for People magazine as a human.

"I think I mentioned before that I'm rather clumsy...yeah, I'm not good at walking or even standing for that matter. I'm really trying though, doc, I swear." I recycled the innocent doe eyes again. I figured it worked well enough on the other Cullen, so it was worth a try.

He appeared to deliberate for a moment before finally shaking his head, his lips turning up into a small grin. "I see. Well, your scans appear clear enough for me to send you home, but please do take care of yourself." Geez, man, it's not like I wanted to get hit by that van. He seemed like he genuinely cared about his patients, though.

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen. I will try my best to avoid any more stray vans. I'm just glad that Alice was there to push me out of the way. I didn't even notice her standing there before." It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself. His eyes grew wide at the mention of his daughter but his features smoothed just as quickly. The change happened quickly enough that had I not been staring intently at his perfect, marble-skinned face I would have missed it, but it was there all the same.

Crap. Stay out of it, Iris! Don't bring up the Cullens extraordinary abilities if you want to stay out of the drama! I'm just trying to get home. Cut. It. Out.

"Alice...Yes, you were very fortunate. I'm sorry, but you will have to excuse me as I have a few more rounds to make this morning. Your father should be in the waiting area when you are ready." He gave me one last weary glance as he turned to leave.

As Dr. Cullen scurried from the room, speak of the devil, Alice entered, and she was not alone. My eyebrows shot up into my hairline, I'm sure, when I saw Edward walking in behind her. What the hell was he doing in Forks? And why on Earth was he at the hospital visiting me, a virtual stranger? And how did he plan on not eating me?!

"Isabella!" Cringe. Ugh, fine. I'll play your game, Twilight.

"Call me Bella, actually. How's it going, Alice? Are you still feeling ok?" My smile strained which probably made me look crazy.

"I told you I'm fine, silly! I just heard my dad giving the nurse the ok for your discharge, and I just wanted to see if you needed a ride home with my brother, Edward, and me." Edward smiled cordially and nodded. Charlie was in the waiting area which these two vampires would be well aware of for sure. What was their endgame here?

"Thank you for the offer, but Char—uhh, my dad is already waiting for me. I should get going. See ya later and thanks again!" I made to leave before I could get anymore involved. Was I trying to do the impossible by avoiding the events of the original story?

"Wait, Bella?" It was the sound his velvety smooth voice that stopped me. This was the first time I had heard it since arriving here, and holy crap was it gorgeous just like the lips it came from. Nope. Hard no. Do not get involved, Iris. Ignore him. Pretend you didn't hear. Do. Not. Do. It.

"Yes?" Shit.

"I just wanted to say that I'm really glad that my sister was able to help you today. I hope your head is alright." He continued to smile politely, but there was something to his eyes. Was this a test? He couldn't read my mind, right? He was probably just wanting to absolutely make sure I hadn't seen anything in the accident.

"Yeah, it was lucky that she was right next to me. I didn't even see here there. So crazy...But, you know, I'm alive, so thanks so much, Alice. You're a lifesaver, a real hero. Forks is a safer place since you're here!" Both the Cullens exchanged a certain look with one another and laughed as if I was missing an inside joke. Oh, if they only knew...

Then Alice piped up, "Anyone would have done the same."

"I doubt it. Most people run from trouble, but you're one of the good guys. Thanks. I really gotta go find Charlie now. See you later!" I avoided making eye contact with Edward, though I could have stayed and stared at him all afternoon and not gotten tired of the view. Those eyes...shut up!

I gathered my few items—school bag and coat—and went back to the waiting area. I could still feel the Cullen siblings eyes on the back of my head when I spotted Charlie looking relieved that I was alive and well and able to walk, or rather hobble thanks to my still injured ankle, toward him. He rushed to help me with my things.

"Bells, could you try a little harder to go one whole day without a trip to the ER?" His eyes crinkled in amusement, but I could hear the fatherly concern in his voice.

"Hey, I spent a whole week here without going to the ER." I shot back.

"You were in the hospital all week." He stated bluntly with a look of incredulity.

"Yeah, but I wasn't in the ER..." I said indignantly and heard quiet laughter behind me. When I turned to look I saw Edward turning the corner after his sister. Stupid vampire hearing. "Let's get going. We're wasting precious daylight hours." I said moodily. Charlie just laughed at my blushing, and guided me to the exit.

That night I dreamed of Edward Cullen, but not in the way you might expect. I just kept telling him to leave me alone as I ran through the forest, but at every turn, there he was with Alice right behind giggling and asking me to go shopping with them. Super annoying.

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