A/N:

A lot of you a really hating on Charlie still. He is not supposed to be a bad character, and I promise that he will redeem himself, okay?

A certain character will enter the story in this chapter. A character I know some of you have waited for ;-)

Title: The Perfect Partner Program

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: EdwardsFirstKiss

Pre-reader: brwneyedgrl01

Genre: Angst/Hurt&Comfort/Romance

Rating: NC-17

Summary: The summer of 2005 was the summer that changed Bella Swan's life forever. Sent to Ohio by her mother to attend a school for debutante girls not quite up to par, she meets Edward Masen, an apprentice. But is that really all he is? AH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Word Count: 2, 857

CHAPTER 4 INTRODUCTIONS

I went downstairs and as soon as I set my foot on the bottom step, the group of girls standing in the hall all simultaneously turned their heads my way. I didn't look down in embarrassment because I wasn't going to be the girl who asked to become the victim.

As Mrs. Cullen had told me, there were fifteen girls, myself included, and while a few of them appraised me up and down with expressions that told me they thought they were better than everyone else, several of them appeared rather normal. One girl was even wearing jeans.

What stood out to me, though, wasn't the mix of girls and their style of dress; it was the guy standing at the back, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was tall and appeared to be lean-muscled. His hair was covered with a black beanie, but I detected it to be reddish-brown; a color I'd never seen before.

He looked away from the window he'd been staring through, and his eyes met mine for a second. My breath escaped me. He was gorgeous, and the complete opposite of George, who was blond and blue-eyed. Maybe that was why I was instantly so attracted to him—he didn't remind me of the douche—but I hadn't felt an instant attraction when I saw Seth the Valet who was just as much George's opposite as this guy, so why was I so attracted to him?

My undoing was when he held my gaze, and then a lopsided smirk stretched across his face before giving me a flirty wink.

I think I almost moaned, and that was actually what broke the spell for me. I blinked and tried to clear my head by looking away from him in the other direction, and luckily enough, Mrs. Cullen was coming through the hall with several others in tow. I suspected they were her staff.

"Ah, Miss Swan finally decided to join us," she said when she spotted me, and I knew she was hinting at my tardiness, but I simply smiled unfazed at her. "Lovely, then we can all gather in the ballroom for introductions."

With Mrs. Cullen and the staff leading the way, everyone walked to the ballroom, and as I passed the guy, our eyes met again, and I had to remind myself to walk steadily.

The girl wearing jeans sidled up next to me. "Hey!"

"Hi," I replied and smiled at her.

"You seem to be one of the normal ones around here," she said and then held out her hand for me. "I'm Leah Clearwater."

"Bella Swan."

Leah leaned closer to my ear. "Between you and me, how many of these girls do you think are here of their own free will?" she whispered, and I snorted.

"My guess would be three, tops! And that's probably only because Daddy promised he'd make whatever they did wrong in the first place disappear by flashing dollar signs."

Leah laughed. "Wow, you've got spunk."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I replied and smiled wider at her.

"Oh, you should. I like it."

We filtered into the ballroom and it was as breathtaking as the rest of the castle. It was a very light room with a white, ornate ceiling, stone pillars, and cream colored walls. A carpet covered the entire room and was so perfect it gave me the urge to spill something on it just for the sake of it. There were several large round tables that seated six people each placed in two neat rows—the setting reminded me of a wedding reception, and I scoffed at the picturesque image it presented since I knew how much bullshit simmered just beneath the surface.

I glanced at the others and most of the girls looked wowed and gushed over the beauty of the room. Leah, on the other hand, looked distinctly unimpressed, and it made me like her even more.

Mrs. Cullen stopped and turned around to the group. "If you would all be so kind and take a seat at one of the first three tables, please, and we will start introductions."

It was obvious, as all the girls scrambled for a seat, that most of them didn't know each other. They all displayed the insecurity of sitting next to someone they didn't know, except for two of the girls, both with long dark hair and wearing pastel-colored dresses, who giggled as they took a seat in the very front.

I opted to sit a little more towards the middle. I had never enjoyed being the center of attention, but I wasn't exactly a wallflower either, and to me, the middle was absolutely perfect. I was also very pleased when Leah sat down next to me without any hesitation whatsoever. I guess I had already kept my promise to Dad and had a friend.

"Perfect," Mrs. Cullen chirped once we were all seated. "As all of you know, my name is Esme Cullen, Headmistress, and co-founder of the Academy. I want to take this opportunity to introduce the owner of this fine school and my husband, Carlisle Cullen."

Everyone clapped politely as Mr. Cullen, a slender, blond man in his late thirties or early forties, stepped forward and gave Mrs. Cullen a kiss on her cheek before he turned to us.

A couple of the girls giggled and shared enamored looks with each other, which caused Leah to make a huffing sound, and I tried to hide my smile at her reaction.

It was true, though, that Mr. Cullen was a very good-looking man. He was well-built, tall and proud, and his blue eyes had a youthful glimmer to them.

"Thank you, love," he said in a British accent, and I could no longer stop my laugh when Leah rolled her eyes at the other girls' dreamy sighs. "The Academy is an establishment that, although, hasn't existed for very long has provided great results for both students and loved-ones. We are proud to lead lost souls onto the right path, give them the tools needed to understand and thrive in our society and to always do so with grace and compassion. Our mentors are here for you to learn from. Ask them questions, allow them to broaden your minds and they will give you everything of themselves to help you become the best version of yourself that is possible."

He turned around toward the staff standing behind him. "First we have our dance instructor; Ms. Rosalie Hale, and our discussion and charity expert; Ms. Alice Brandon,"—two women as different as night and day stepped forward. One was tall and curvy, blonde and fair, the other was petite with black-hair and no obvious curves to her body—"Next is our riding instructor and head groundskeeper; Mr. Jasper Whitlock and our head chef; Mr. Emmett McCarty,"—one honey blond man with tan skin that indicated he did most of his work outside nodded in greeting together with a mountain of a man with dark curls and playful eyes—"And lastly we have Mr. Liam and Mrs. Siobhan O'Shea, our educators in the code of conduct." A woman with platinum blonde hair carefully styled and a man, also blond, with light green eyes stepped forward together and smiled at us.

Mrs. Cullen took over from her husband. "Now that you know who we are, it's time for us to get to know all of you. We can start with you, dear." Mrs. Cullen gestured toward one of the dark-haired girls in the front. "Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself."

The girl stood up. "My name is Bree Tanner, I'm from San Francisco, I turned sixteen a week ago, and my favorite pastime is swimming." Bree sat back down and Mrs. Cullen thanked her and turned to the girl next to her.

"My name is Charlotte Moore, and like my bestie Bree, I'm from San Francisco, I haven't turned sixteen yet, but I will in a month, and my biggest interest is cuticle care," she said excitedly and held up her perfectly manicured nails.

The next girl's name was Emily Young from Boston who was entering a pre-med program after graduation. Next, was Victoria Johnson, a seventeen-year-old girl with bright red hair, and despite her sugar-sweet introduction, I got the vibe of a bad attitude. After Victoria came Lauren Mallory, a girl who had tried to achieve the same color blonde as Mrs. O'Shea but had obviously failed because her hair looked fried beyond repair.

Leah was next, but when she opened her mouth to speak, Bree and Charlotte giggled while not-so-subtle pointing at her distressed jeans. This caused Leah to narrow her eyes and glare deadly at them. They immediately shut up but didn't appear very intimidated either.

Leah cracked her neck. "I'm Leah Clearwater, I'm seventeen and from New York, and I play the bass in my own band; Selective Utopia." She sat back down with her arms crossed and looked at the floor. It was obvious she wasn't here willingly, and it appeared as if she wanted to be here even less than me, which I hadn't thought was possible.

I felt strangely protective of Leah even though I hadn't known her an hour ago, but I was pissed off at the girls who'd made her feel even more uncomfortable than she already was. So when I stood from my chair, I didn't revert my irritated stare from them once.

"My name is Bella Swan, I'm from Seattle, and I'll turn seventeen in September. My dream is to become a cop like my dad so that I can put low-life's in their right place." As I finished, Bree's and Charlotte's eyes widened, and they instantly looked away from me.

Mission accomplished.

The introductions continued with the other three girls sitting at our table; Jessica Stanley, a chirpy girl from Denver; Tanya Miller from San Antonio; and Vanessa Wolfe, the youngest girl of us all as she hadn't yet turned fifteen.

At the last table were Talia Samra, Rachel Barker, Kim Grace, Claire Grey, and Angela Webber.

"I believe that is everyone," Mrs. Cullen said with a pleased smile. But I had noticed that the guy leaning against the wall between the tables and the front where the mentors stood remained a mystery, and I wondered what his role was in all of this fuckery.

I wasn't the only one who had cast glances in his direction, and Mrs. Cullen noticed. She turned toward the guy and looked as if she just now realized he was standing there. "Oh my, how rude of me," she exclaimed and gestured toward him. "This young man is Edward Masen, and he's an apprentice. He'll act as a sort of factotum. You will no doubt see him around the grounds, but he is not a mentor."

She glanced over her shoulder at Chef McCarty, and he disappeared out a side door. "Now that introductions are over, we're going to enjoy afternoon tea. Chef McCarty and his team have prepared a few finger sandwiches and pastries and you can choose if you'd rather drink tea or coffee. Use this time to get to know each other. You will be spending a lot of time together this summer after all."

A team of servers came out with three-tiered platters filled with delicious-looking snacks, and while the room was quiet at first, chatter among the girls soon built up. I stood up to get something to drink and frowned at the selection of either tea or coffee. I had never drunk coffee before, but I hated tea, so that was my only choice.

As I tried to fix a cup that wouldn't be too bitter, I saw someone approaching me from the corner of my eye.

"Hi, there." I turned my head to see Edward Masen standing next to me, smiling. "I'm Edward Masen."

I smiled back at him. "Yeah, I know. I was in the room when you were introduced," I said, and he chuckled awkwardly.

"Right. And you're Bella Swan."

"Last time I checked, yes, I am." I offered my hand to him, and he accepted giving me a nice firm shake. "It's nice meeting you. So you're an apprentice. How'd you end up here of all places?"

He gave me a one-shoulder shrug. "My dad is an acquaintance of Mrs. Cullen's, and I think he was hoping that the men working here would rub off on me."

"In what way?"

"Probably to inspire me to apply for college. I've been putting it off," he said and ran his fingers through his hair as if he was ashamed. I'd heard what he said, but what stuck with me was that he talked about college.

"College, huh? How old are you?" I'd thought he was a year older than me at the most, not that he was old enough for college.

"I just turned twenty-one," he said, and I almost stopped breathing from the nerves that jumped out from absolutely nowhere.

I didn't know what it was about older guys that intimidated me so much. At Liam's party, his older brother Kyle had brought home an entire gang of college guys, and one of them had flirted unabashedly with me the entire night, but I'd been completely tongue-tied. They had only been nineteen and not even the smuggled alcohol that I'd been offered had done anything to relax me.

Edward interpreted my silence as a different kind of shock, though, and his cheeks turned red. "I don't really know what to do with my life yet, and I guess that for people around here, that's a foreign concept."

I hurriedly shook my head. "No, not at all. Lots of people struggle with what they want to do." My intense need to never make anyone feel uncomfortable kicked in. "I bet most of these girls think they know what they want, but we're all still teenagers, so who knows what we'll feel after graduation."

He nodded, and his smile returned. "That's very insightful of you. How old did you say you were?"

I swallowed hard. "Um, I'll be seventeen in September."

"Impressive. You're smarter than most of my friends back home in Chicago, and that's saying something."

It was my time to blush. I'd never received such a genuine compliment from a guy before. George never gave me compliments, and when they came from Dad, it sort of felt like he had to say them because I was his daughter—not that Renée ever said anything nice because of that fact though—and the same went with Becca. She was my best friend in the whole world, and while I listened to her and believed her when she said I was an awesome person, it just wasn't the same as when this virtual stranger told me that I was smart just two minutes after we'd met.

"Thank you, I guess."

"I hope I haven't made you feel uncomfortable. I just knew when I saw you coming down the stairs that I had to talk to you," he said, and my blush deepened.

This guy was indescribable. I'd never met anyone like him before, and I felt my heart picking up its pace as I looked into his eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of green that I'd ever seen, and I knew I was in trouble. I felt drawn to him on an unknown level, and I was speechless.

He looked over his shoulder, and I noticed that Mr. Cullen was looking at us with an expression I didn't understand. He appeared both displeased and concerned at the same time, and when he met Edward's eyes, he glared at him for a few seconds before he turned to Mr. O'Shea and started a conversation.

Edward turned back to me and smiled. "I guess I shouldn't keep you from getting to know the other girls. I'm just an apprentice after all." His smile widened showing his pearly-white teeth. "I'll see you around, Bella."

A/N:

To summarize the chapter, Esme is quite uptight, Leah seems cool, Bree and Charlotte are annoying, Bella is a protective friend, and Edward is shy and charming.

Yeah, that's pretty much it xD

Let me know what you thought, and I might just give you a teaser on Wednesday's chapter!