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Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Edward or Bella... any of the characters, really... not even the dirt on the silver Volvo... but I like to play with them a little bit...

So, this is the beta-ed version... Thanks a million to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight for helping me with this story!

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Chapter 5: A peek into a colorful mind

EPOV

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I never gave away my drawings unless I actually made them for that person. I mean, Alice had a ton of my sketches in her room. Sketches of our house in Georgia, of our parents, of Esme and Carlisle, of Emmett, of us… but I've never given a drawing to a stranger before. And certainly, I've never ripped a page out of my book. But I felt like I needed to this time.

What was it about Bella Swan that made me do that? I mean, I know I treated her awfully wrong when she was trying to help me with the Newton thing, but I could've apologized in the normal way. Instead, I went and not only gave her the rose sketch but put some effort to add the "sorry" at the bottom in color.

Bella Swan was a mystery to me. I didn't understand why I felt drawn to her all day. I actually tended to be by myself with the exception of Alice, of course. Emmett couldn't be left out of anything. And Rose was his girlfriend, so… then there's Jasper, so freaking annoying that you couldn't help but be his friend.

But Bella was different. For once, she didn't mock me while I had to get some oxygen for my breathing problem. She was cool and her laugh was captivating. Yeah, I had a problem.

Emmett soon smacked my arm and told me we were home. I left the Jeep slowly. I didn't want another coughing fit so soon. Mom would freak out. Alice and Emmett left me there to get to the house at my own pace. My car was parked there, so was Alice's and also Dad's car. Uh oh… Dad was never home at this hour unless he was on vacation. He always came home in time for dinner.

I sighed and went to leave my stuff in the family room. Then I went to the kitchen where Mom was giving Emmett a hug. Or Emmett was trying to see if she would suffocate in his arms. Then she saw me and grinned.

"Oh, Edward! How are you? How was your day, sweetie?" Her caramel hair sparkled under the kitchen lights. We were so alike it was actually ridiculous, since she was my aunt, not my real mom.

"It was cool, Mom." She hugged me, too, but she also raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay, I had to use Bob while I was in Gym class. But nothing serious, just out of breath. I guess I just have to get used to the dynamic of the school year again."

"Are you sure, honey? I can ask Carlisle."

"No. Seriously, Mom. I'll be fine."

"He'll be more than fine, Mom. Don't worry about it. He was more worried about being a good citizen of good old Forks," Alice said with a smirk. I glared at her and she hid her smile behind her mug.

"What in the world do you mean, Alice?" Oh, boy… Dad… so embarrassing.

"Oh, nothing serious, Dad. There was a new girl in class today and it seems she has the same schedule as Edward. So he was a darling and showed her around." I'm so gonna kill her.

"Really?" Dad asked, amused. I blushed. He knew I didn't mingle with my classmates, so this wasn't normal behavior for me.

"Well, she was new. Alice made her laugh at homeroom and then we realized we had the same schedule. She didn't know the school." Dad just chuckled while drinking a cup of coffee. "I think you know her dad—Chief Swan?"

"Oh, Chief Swan's daughter. She finally got here. Charlie must be so happy," Esme said while smiling at Carlisle.

"Yeah, if she hears you say 'Chief Swan's daughter' she'll be the one unhappy, Mom," Alice said, and we laughed.

"Well, I'm glad you guys made new friends. Besides, if she's new, she could use some friendly faces around her," Carlisle told us. I yawned and he looked at me. "You look tired, son. Why don't you take a nap before dinner?"

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna try to do just that. Let me know when dinner's ready."

"Absolutely… and son?" I looked at him again "Remember that you have an appointment tomorrow after school. Just a checkup, but I wanna make sure everything's okay."

"Okay."

I took the stairs to my bedroom with my stuff from school and my art supplies. I know my dad told me to try and get some sleep, but I knew I wasn't going to get any until I got the idea I had out of my head. I took my big sketchbook I always had in my room and got to work. Once I had something I wanted to draw in my head, I couldn't stop until it was finished.

I don't know how long I was there, adding details with colored pencils. I didn't like to draw in color, but it was necessary this time. I didn't know how many shades of brown and red I used, but it was like I was saving a photograph from my head. Soon, a knock alerted me and Alice peeked inside my room.

"Hey there. Mom asked me to tell you dinner's almost ready."

"What? What time is it?"

"Almost 6, why? Lost in your art again, twin?" I closed my book and smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I was." A yawn escaped from me and Alice smiled sweetly.

"Hey, do you want me to tell Mom to bring your food up? That way you can rest a little bit more."

"If she doesn't mind, sure. I'm a bit tired, to be honest." She nodded and left the room.

I went to my bed still holding the book with my latest sketch. If Alice or Emmett caught me with this, they would mock me for all eternity. But it was perfect.

It was a portrait of Bella, holding my rose drawing and smiling. I tried to catch every single strand of color in her hair and the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled. Bella Swan was interesting and a good drawing inspiration.

I closed my eyes for a little bit while the picture of her smile was still fresh behind my eyelids.

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AN: Well, since the other chapter was tiny... No, it's not just that. First of all, I wanted to give you guys a peek into Edward's mind... it's small. But it won't be the last... so, surprise!
And also, because you guys are so cool, I wanted to give you guys a reward. So, an EPOV and well... what do you guys think?
Next chap will be up on Wednesday...

AYEN