A/N: Here's the second upload for this week! From now on, any chapters that lead straight on from the last one will have a little 'Previously...' at the beginning, just as a little reminder for you guys.

Even though I cut down this chapter, it's still relatively long. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all connected to it. I only own this story line and any characters not included in her original saga!

I'll Always Find Peace In The Meadow

Previously...

"I'm sorry, Tyler, but tutoring isn't really my thing. You'll have to find someone else," I answer. His face falls, his disappointment showing.

"Aaah, it's okay. I'd probably piss you off in no time. I am really shit at it," he replies. Surely he can't be that bad.

Chapter Five: 'Cut her some slack' (Edward POV)

Monday 17 April 2017

Okay. He is that bad.

I can't believe it.

Our teacher, Mr. Potter - who ironically has a birthmark on his forehead and wears round glasses. No joke! - kept calling on Tyler to answer questions. It must be his way of trying to help Tyler understand. It's not working. Every answer Tyler gave was wrong, by a mile. I was starting to reconsider tutoring him after the seventh wrong answer.

I, on the other hand, breezed through the fifty minutes. It was too easy. I doubt such a small school has any advanced classes, though.

The bell signalling the end of this class rings, and everyone packs up. I read my schedule - Biology. Great! Jessica and Lauren are in that class.

I can't deny that they are both attractive girls. They both dress well and their pretty on the outside, but I'm not too sure about the inside. That girl that I bumped into, she had been crying before I met her today. I'm going to take a guess, if the laughing was any indication, that she was the punchline to the joke. And not surprisingly, my sister and her new friends were in the center of the gathering of students. It's no shock that they'd be the instigators.

Lauren and Jessica remind me a lot of my sister. Money means more than morals to them, and at the end of the day, that cancels out all the attraction a girl has. To me, at least. I'm still male. I have hormones and feelings. I can appreciate a good looking woman. However, I'm more attracted to a good personality. If the girl has both qualities, then that's fantastic.

My Aunt Gina has always said I'm a bit of an old soul. I'm not like most teenage boys. I'm not totally consumed by the need to impress the opposite sex... or the need to have sex. That's probably why I've never had a girlfriend, but my time will come. After all, I'm only fifteen - nearly sixteen.

"Yo! Dude," Tyler shouts. I glance up to see he's by the door, looking at me.

"Who? Me?" I ask, pointing my thumb to my chest.

"Yeah. You want to sit with us at lunch?"

I feel my eyebrows raise again. I did not expect that. It's not like we had anything in common. "Um... who's 'us'?" I ask, walking toward him.

"Oh, just me and my friends. It'll be fun. You in?"

Why the hell not? It beats having to sit with my sister. "Sure," I answer. He smiles and smacks my shoulder before walking off.

I go to leave the classroom, but only make it a few steps. "Mr. Cullen," Mr. Potter calls my name from behind me. I turn to acknowledge him.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"I was wondering if you're suitable for this class," he muses. I feel my brow furrow.

"I'm sorry, I don't follow."

"Okay, let me rephrase... I was wondering if this class is suitable for you." He pauses, letting his words hang in the air between us for several seconds. "It wasn't hard to notice your ability during this lesson. I'd like to keep you here for the rest of the week, but if it's okay with you, after that I think you should transfer to the advanced calculus class."

I feel a large smile break out on my face. This is the best news I've heard all day. Heck, all year. Since finding out near the beginning of the year that we were moving, I haven't had much good news thrown my way.

And among all my new happiness, there is shock. Not for one second did I expect that a school of this size would have an advanced class of any kind.

"Seriously?" I ask, unable to keep the hope and joy out of my voice.

"Seriously," Mr. Potter affirms. "The class runs at the same time as this one, so you won't have to disrupt your current schedule. You would be with students from other years, especially the older ones, but I doubt that'll be a problem based on what I've seen from you today," he tells me, a genuine smile on his long face.

"Wow." This is great news. "Thanks, Mr. Potter," I marvel. He reaches out to shake my hand.

"No problem. I'm sure this'll be my last week with you in my class," he remarks, smiling. "Have a nice day, Edward."

"Thank you. You too."

I walk to my next class, all smiles and with a spring in my step. I reach my Biology class and the smile drops away, the spring leaving my step. I have to fight the urge to turn around and walk away when I see how Lauren and Jessica are sat.

They've taken the three front and center seats, and seem to have reserved the middle one for me. As soon as I walk in, they both sit up on their stools a little straighter, pushing out their chests and messing with their hair. These girls obviously don't know the meaning of subtle. I walk further into the room, which unfortunately brings me closer to them.

"Hello, Edward," Lauren greets. The way she says my name is sort of creepy; in a low and almost husky tone. The seductive voice doesn't really work for her.

"We saved a seat for you," Jessica says, leaning across slowly to pat the empty stool between them. I smirk, and they both sit higher in their chairs, pushing their chests out further. Oh dear God. My smirk seems to give them the wrong idea. I'm actually trying hard not to laugh at them; this is quite comical to witness.

I try and think of what to say to them. I don't want to sit here, but as I look around the room, I notice nearly all the seats are taken. My eyes scan the room again, and that's when I see her. The girl from the corridor.

She's sat at the very back of the classroom. Her shoulders are slouched and her head is bent down. I can't see her face, but I know it's her. She's wearing the same red, plaid shirt as before. It is way too big for her.

It's refreshing to see a teenage girl in something other than tightly fitted, designer clothes. I've been around it for so long. With my sister and the area we lived in Chicago, everyone tried to dress their best. Everyone had to, being a part of our community. But this girl, she's more casual. She's different.

I like it.

"Actually ladies," I begin, not taking my eyes off the girl. I really wish I knew her name. "I think I'll sit somewhere else for now. Maybe some other day, yeah?" I ask, finally looking down at them. Their smiles have disappeared, and their postures have slumped.

"Um... okay? But we'll see you at lunch, right?" Lauren asks hopefully. Thank God I have other arrangements!

"Sorry. I already have plans," I answer. Lauren frowns, while Jessica huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.

I take that as my chance to leave, and move around their desk. I walk to the back and sit in the last empty seat available in the room, next to the girl. She doesn't realise I'm here. Either that, or she's choosing to ignore me. I get the things I need out of my bag, and then lean my elbows onto the tabletop, turning my face towards her.

Seeing as she hasn't noticed me yet, I sneakily give her the once over. Thankfully I know the meaning of subtle. Her clothes are too baggy for me to see much, unlike most of the girls I've come across this morning. She's drawing in a notebook with her right hand, while her left is holding the hem of her black denim skirt in a tight fist. Her grip tightens, her knuckles turning white, so I chance a look up to her face. She's glaring at me out the corner of her eye. Shit! She caught me. So much for being subtle.

I quickly avert my eyes to the front of the class, only to see Jessica and Lauren glaring at the girl next to me. What the fuck? I look to my left, wondering if she's noticed, but she's concentrating on her notebook again.

I clear my throat once. Her pen stops moving for a second - the only sign I have that she heard me - before she carries on drawing again. Okay. Rude. I clear my throat again. She sighs heavily before turning her head to look at me. Shit! Those eyes. I clear my throat once more, though for a different reason this time, and try offering her a smile.

"Hi," I say. She narrows her eyes at me. It's only a short, fleeting movement, but I notice it.

"Hi." Her reply is short and clipped, though thankfully, her voice is quieter than earlier. It's a significant difference from the shouting I received in the corridor.

"Um..." I chuckle, starting to feel a little nervous. I don't know how to interpret her behaviour. I mean, it's not as if she dislikes me, right? She doesn't know anything about me. "I'm Edward," I say, holding my hand out between us.

"Bella," she replies, her voice still stern. At least she gave me her name. She shakes my hand with one weak, but quick flick of her wrist, before she pulls away and picks up her pen again. Just that small second of contact leaves my hand tingling, but I try my hardest to ignore it.

I want to say more, but I'm starting to get the impression that she doesn't want to talk. I don't know if that's just to me, or if that applies to everyone. I want to say something else, to clear this uneasy tension that seems to be lingering in the air around us. My brain musters up several things to say, but what leaves my mouth is totally unplanned.

"I'm sorry." Her head quickly turns to me, her hair whipping across her shoulder. I get a whiff of strawberries, and have to battle my desire to take a longer sniff of her hair. Edward, what the fuck are you thinking? Gee! I sound like a girl.

"For what?" she asks. Her voice is slightly softer, though still not entirely friendly. Her eyes still show that mask from earlier, and I'm a bit surprised when I feel disappointed by this.

"For earlier… when I hurt you," I answer. Her brow furrows as she quickly looks away. She drops her pen, and reaches up to run her finger down the double set of chains that are around her neck, peaking out from beneath her top. The rest of the necklaces are hidden beneath the oversized white t-shirt she is wearing.

"You didn't. It's fine," she says quietly, dismissing me, before looking down at her left hand in her lap, which is still gripping her skirt.

"I'm pretty sure I did. I heard you wince," I argue, leaning closer to her so I can speak without anyone hearing. She jolts away from me, turning her head to stare at me. She's scowling, and her eyes are burning with anger. Woah. The sudden surge of emotions present in her eyes startles me.

"You didn't, okay? I think I'd know if you hurt me or not. It is my body," she hisses. Her eyes quickly scan the room and she rapidly drops her head, looking down at her lap once more. I look around too, only to see Lauren and Jessica still staring over here, though they are now smirking slyly.

"Alright. God. I get it. No need to bite my head off. I was only apologising," I say defensively, turning to face the front. Just then, our teacher, Mr. Banner, enters the classroom. He's two minutes late. I can see a pattern emerging here.

For the remainder of the fifty minutes, I regularly look over at Bella - trying to be inconspicuous as I do so. There are some moments where I think she knows what I'm doing. The way she shifts in her chair every now and then. The way she hides her face with her ponytail. The way she stops writing for a few short seconds at a time.

There's a point where we have to share a textbook to copy from. It's placed between us, in the center of the desk, and we both lean in simultaneously to read the information. Our shoulders touch and she quickly jumps away, sliding to the very edge of the desk. I manage to not chuckle, but I can't stop a smirk from stretching across my lips. She looks up at me hesitantly. When she sees the smirk, she narrows her eyes and huffs, before sitting up straight again. I do nothing to stop my chuckle this time, which only angers her further.

She's kind of cute when she's all pissed off, I muse to myself.

At the end of the class, everyone begins packing up. I notice Bella is moving at a rather slow pace, like she has all the time in the world. Confused, I shake my head at the strangeness of this girl, and finish packing my bag. I don't even bother saying goodbye to Bella. She was rude to me, so I'll be rude back. Childish? Maybe.

My next class goes by too quickly, and before I know it, lunch has arrived. The bell rings, and everyone rushes out of the room. I walk at a leisurely speed to the cafeteria. When I arrive, I stand in the doorway for a moment, looking around for Tyler. I notice people are staring. It's no surprise. I'm the new kid who's arrived over half way through the school year. I'm bound to be the center of attention for a while.

I spot Tyler sat at the table in the center of the room. He is sat with another two guys. He sees me and waves me over, causing the other two to look up at me. I walk towards them, and take the empty seat on Tyler's left.

"Edward, this is Emmett," he says, pointing towards the big dude with short, dark hair sat opposite me. When I say 'big', I mean it as in he has a lot of muscle. He's tall as well, that much is clear even when he's sat down. "And this is Jasper," Tyler finishes, pointing to the blonde guy sat a couple of chairs away, on my left. They both nod their heads as a greeting.

"Hi," I say. They both remain silent and continue staring at me. I start to feel a little fidgety, when Emmett breaks the ice by smiling.

"Hey, man." He chuckles. "How was Biology with the girls?" Emmett asks, a wide grin on his face. He's lounging back in his chair, bulging arms crossed over his chest.

"The girls?" I query, confused. He asked like I'm supposed to know who he's referring to. Like I can read his mind.

"Yeah. Lauren and Jess. I hear you're in their biology class," he answers.

"Oh, yeah... yeah. It was... okay," I answer, briefly thinking back to Bella's attitude towards me. "Wait... you know them?" I ask him, his words finally sinking in.

"Of course. Lauren's my lil' sister, and Rosie is my girl. She told me you all met earlier on," he answers, his smile growing at the mention of his girlfriend, or his sister - I don't know which.

"Rose is also Jasper's sister," Tyler speaks up. I look at Jasper, but he doesn't confirm this. He doesn't even seem to be listening. He's balancing on the back legs of his chair, and looking around the room.

"So you're the Mayor's son?" I ask him.

"Yeah. He is," Tyler replies when it becomes clear Jasper isn't going to answer. "Where are the girls anyway?" Tyler asks, glancing around us. Emmett chuckles, shaking his head.

"You know how they are, Ty. They're probably in the bathroom, re-doing their makeup or whatever," he says, still chuckling. "Oh! Here they come," he says excitedly, looking behind me. I turn in my chair to face the cafeteria doors. Alice, Rosalie, Lauren and Jessica walk in. People wave and smile at them, but the girls only respond to a select few. It's like the others aren't worthy of a wave or smile in return. My sister will fit in just fine with these girls.

"Fuck, Edward. Is that your sister?" Jasper says, his voice full of awe. This is the first time he's spoken to me. I take my eyes off of the approaching girls, and look at him. He's sat properly now, with all four legs of his chair planted firmly on the ground.

"Um, yeah," I answer.

"Fuck," he curses again. He continues speaking without removing his eyes from my sister. "She's hot!" he exclaims.

I feel my eyebrows raise almost impossibly high. "Excuse me?" I ask, my tone losing all its friendliness. Alice may get on my nerves a majority of the time, but she's still my sister. His eyes briefly meet mine, and he shrugs unapologetically, before returning his lustful gaze to my sister. I shake my head at the rudeness of him, before also returning my gaze to the girls.

Lauren and Jessica rush forward, both striding quickly towards me. They both race to the empty chair on my left, almost knocking me onto the floor as they practically sit on top of each other in an attempt to sit in the same seat. Lauren wins, her victorious smile almost blinding. Jessica scowls, and reluctantly takes the seat next to her friend.

"Hey bro," Alice says as she walks past me, ruffling my hair. I frown and bat her hand away from my head. She knows I hate that shit. She sits down opposite Jasper, unaware of his ogling.

"Alice," I reply. My voice reminds me of how Bella greeted me in class; short and clipped. I don't know if that's due to my anger at Jasper's remark, or my frustration over Alice's action.

The scraping of a chair drags my attention in front of me. Rosalie is slowly pulling out the seat bedside Emmett, all the while staring at me. She doesn't take her eyes away from mine until she's sat in the seat. Then she finally turns to Emmett, who seems to be waiting impatiently for her. He needs to calm down. He's practically vibrating in his seat.

Rosalie goes to speak, possibly to say 'hi', but she never gets the chance. Emmett wraps his large hand around the back of her neck, and pulls her towards him. They begin kissing indecently, right in front of me and everyone else. I glance around at the other people at our table, but none of them seem affected by the nauseating PDA. Not even Jasper.

Gee. Here's me fuming over a simple statement about my sister, while an unfazed Jasper is sat a chair away from his, who currently has someone's tongue down her throat.

Jessica introduces Alice to the guys, much to Jasper's liking, while Lauren rests her elbow on the table and her chin in her palm. She bats her eyes at me and leans closer. I try not to gag at the strength of her perfume. I think she's sprayed more on since earlier.

Emmett pulls away from Rosalie, giving them both a chance to breathe. She speaks to him quietly, the two of them seemingly in their own little world, before he and Jasper get up and make their way to the lunch line. Thankfully, I brought my own lunch today. I wanted to scope out what the food was like here before I relied on it for my lunch. I'm glad I did; I'm starving and that line is way too long for me to have waited in.

"So, Edward..." Lauren begins, drawing all of the attention to me. I hate unnecessary attention. "How was it, sitting next to bookworm Bella?" Lauren asks me. Everyone else at the table goes silent, and they all look at me.

"Bookworm Bella?" I question.

"That's the nickname she's been given around here. Along with many others, that being the nicest one," Lauren answers with a giggle. Everyone else laughs along with her quietly.

"What does she mean, Edward? Did you have to sit next to her?" Alice asks, genuine concern in her voice.

"Oh, you poor thing." Rosalie adds, though her sincerity is lacking. I guess I'm not forgiven for my earlier meeting with her. It's not my fault I don't find her local status impressive.

"I didn't have to," I answer firmly.

"You mean you wanted to?" Alice asks, horrified, as if it's the most preposterous thing to happen in the history of mankind.

"Well, yeah. I wanted to apologise."

"Why?" Rosalie asks me, leaning forward to rest her arms on the table. I feel like I'm being interrogated for a crime.

"Because... because I upset her earlier today, and I didn't mean to," I tell them, getting a little flustered. I shouldn't have to explain my reasons for sitting somewhere. This is completely ridiculous!

"It wasn't you, man," Tyler sighs, patting my shoulder.

"What?" I ask. What's that supposed to mean?

"You have to understand, that girl has issues," Jessica declares, feigning sadness for Bella.

"That, and she'd just been exposed," Rosalie mutters, chuckling darkly.

"Exposed?" I ask, utterly confused.

"You know this, Edward," Alice sighs, rolling her eyes. "You asked her about it yourself. She was trespassing on our land yesterday, and she was caught out." In other words, you told everyone about it. Alice can be such a bitch sometimes.

"Honestly, Edward, I wouldn't worry about her. Like I said earlier, she's a lost cause. Apologising won't help in any way. Don't bother with her," Rosalie suggests. Her voice is softer now. This is the nicest tone of voice she's used with me since we met, though there's a slight authoritive undertone to her voice, like her words aren't a suggestion at all, more of a demand.

"Don't bother with who?" Emmett asks as he and Jasper sit back down with two trays, each piled with mountains of food. Everyone at the table begins helping themselves to the food. I glance over to the lunch line in shock. Did they skip the whole line? I guess there are perks to being the Mayor's son and future son-in-law, depending on how serious Emmett's relationship is with Rosalie.

"Who do you think?" Rosalie answers Emmett's question, a frown marring her features. Her eyes are trained on a spot behind me, and one by one, all of the other occupants of our table stare in the same direction. I turn in my seat, just as Bella walks past us.

I realise pretty quickly that it's not just our group that are staring at her. Most of the people in the room are. And they are pointing and laughing quietly, too. Bella doesn't react in any way. She keeps her head down as she walks hurriedly to a table at the back of the room. It's by the trash cans... and it's also empty. I frown, though mine is most likely for a different reason to Rosalie's.

Why is Bella sitting alone?

We all watch her as she sits down and pulls out a book from her bag. She places it down on the table, and then bends her head over it and begins reading. The angle she has her head held means her face is obscured from my view.

"Ooooh, you were talking about Bella. Of course," Emmett says, clicking his fingers.

"Well done, Dumbass," Tyler chuckles.

"You know, you should really cut her some slack," Emmett says casually, picking up a slice of pizza and stuffing half of it into his mouth. Rosalie stops what she is doing, and turns to her boyfriend. She grimaces for a moment at his animalistic eating habits, before scowling at him.

"Firstly, stop eating like a pig," she reprimands him with a smack to the back of the head. The other girls at the table giggle, while us guys grimace. Poor Emmett. "And secondly, I should cut her some slack?" she asks incredulously, quoting him.

"Yeah. I mean, you were friends with her once. We all were," he says, his voice the quietest I've heard it. Alice gasps in shock, while I remain silent.

"Ugh. Don't remind me," Rosalie complains, shuddering.

"You were?" Alice questions. Rosalie closes her eyes, in regret most probably, and nods.

"Yes. But it was a bad judgment on all of our behalfs," she says, glaring at Emmett, before turning back to my sister. "Trust me, I won't be making that mistake again."

"I can see why," Alice says, looking over her shoulder at Bella, who is still reading her book. I wonder what it is she's reading. "You wouldn't see me in those clothes, even if my life depended on it," Alice comments, shivering in disgust.

"I know."

"Mm-hmm."

"You can say that again."

Rosalie, Lauren and Jessica all agree with Alice simultaneously. I roll my eyes. Women.

"Oh, I like it!" Emmett voices, his eyes trained on Bella. Rosalie slowly turns towards him at a menacing pace. She looks about ready to commit murder. "The grungy look gives her an edge. It makes her interesting," he continues, oblivious to the anger he is causing.

"Fuck off, Emmett," Rosalie huffs, giving him a stern look before crossing her arms over her chest and turning her head away from him. Emmett looks stunned, while Jasper and Tyler snigger.

"Rosie, what's wrong?" Emmett asks, sounding like a lost puppy. He reaches for her arm, but she yanks it away from his hand.

"Why are you defending her?" she asks, turning to face him fully.

"I'm not. I'm only saying what I think," he answers, clueless as to what the problem is. I'm confused, too, in all honesty.

"Don't!" she snaps, before standing up suddenly and stomping off.

"Fucks sake," he groans, dragging his hands down his face.

"You're an idiot, Em," Jasper says, chuckling all the while.

"Totally," Lauren sighs, rolling her eyes.

Emmett nods sullenly. He looks longingly at all the food on the trays, before getting up. "See you guys later," he sighs as he walks off, going after his irate girlfriend.

The rest of the table begin talking about what's just happened, as I lean back in my chair and eat. I look up just as Bella does. Our eyes meet. They are only locked for a second or two, before she looks to my left, blushes and looks down at her book again. I turn to see what made her look away so quickly, and realise Lauren is glaring at her.

I frown and stare back over to Bella, but she doesn't look up again.

A/N: I hope you liked this new chapter! The next one, which is also an Edward POV, will be posted on Friday. Please leave me your thoughts in the review section! I'd love some more feedback!

Thanks again for reading! See you on Friday!