Disclaimer: nope, twilight still isn't mine. I have to tell you guys though, the whole military school with a college down the road thing is based off of my actual college experience. So if anything doesn't make sense, I apologize, this stuff is like tattooed in my brain and the brains of all my friends , so sometimes I might forget that not all of you will get it….OH and the military guys in uniform are hot enough, but imagine Edward as one of them….I can't. It's just too perfect.
Finally, it was Friday. I made it through an entire week without Edward, and an entire week of college. And only fell down my dorm stairs twice. Okay, three times, but who's counting? Alice was insisting that we have a little get together tonight, to meet each other's friends. I suspect she has a few tricks up her sleeve that I'm not going to like, but I'm not dumb enough to argue with her. She may be a tiny little pixie of a girl, but she can be pretty scary when she doesn't get her way. I ran up the stairs to my dorm room after my last class, eager to get ready for tonight. I was hoping to get back fast enough that I would escape the evil makeover pixie, but as usual, Alice had outsmarted me. My room key was totally not on my key ring, and I know I should have been panicked or something, but when you live with Alice, you come to expect these kinds of things.
5 minutes later, Alice showed up with at least 4 shopping bags in her hand and a perky smile on her face.
"Why are you sitting out here in the hall, Bella? Shouldn't you be inside getting ready for tonight?" She asked me innocently.
"Ha-Ha Alice just let me in and let's get this torture fest on the road ok?" I decided it would be easier to just give in to Alice. Who knows, maybe it wouldn't be so bad?
It WAS that bad. No, it was worse than bad. Like, three hours worth of curling, brushing, bronzing, and glossing sort of bad. I hadn't put this much effort into my appearance since prom, and that was only because I had to cover up the bruise I'd gotten from falling face first onto my own hockey stick in gym class.
"Alice, is all of this really necessary? Seriously, we're not even going anywhere; we're just sitting here with our friends." I was starting to get seriously frustrated at this point. I mean I know I'm not beautiful, but does it really take THIS much work to create the illusion that I am?
"Yes Bella, I know we're just hanging out here, but if you want Edward to fall in love with you, then you're going to have to make him notice you first. I know you don't like makeovers, but think about it: how did Cinderella get Prince Charming? She did her hair and makeup and she wore a gorgeous dress!"
"No, she sat in a garden, crying, until her fairy godmother came to rescue her and magic up a dress and some fancy shoes. And then she went and tripped down some stairs in those stupid glass heels." I insisted stubbornly.
"Well then call me Fairy Godmother Alice, cause I bought you a dress and I did your hair. And these may not be glass, but they're Jimmy Choos, and sweetie that's pretty close to magic."
"More like Evil Pixie Alice" I muttered.
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3 hours later I sat in our living room waiting for our friends to arrive. I had been poked and prodded, and stuffed into an outfit that I could barely breathe in. To say I was uncomfortable was an understatement. But I had to admit, I looked pretty good. Alice and I had ordered pizza, and rented movies for our get-to-know-the-friends night. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, and I hurried to open it. Standing on the other side were Edward and his roommate Emmett. For the first time all week, I was truly happy. Alice was a sweet girl, and a good friend, but she was no Edward. I rushed to give him a hug, and refused to let go for several minutes.
"Geez, Bella, did you miss me or something?" Edward laughed at my refusal to let go of him.
"Edward you should really leave that school you know. It's not good for my health when I don't see you all week. All the sidewalks here are made of bricks you know, and it's very easy to trip. Who's supposed to catch me five times a day?" I still wasn't letting go, but I pulled back a little to look at his gorgeous face.
"I know sweetie, I'm sorry that I left you all alone and defenseless against those mean bricks. That was very selfish of me. How about I make it up to you with a present?"
"Aw, Edward you know I hate surprise presents!" I pouted at him shamelessly. Edward insisted that my dislike for presents was absurd, but I had always had less money than him, and it was hard for me to give him presents that were anywhere near as wonderful as the ones he gave me.
"Bella I already got it for you, so there's no sense in wasting it now, is there? Besides, it's something I want you to have, and it's not that big a deal, I promise." He looked at me pleadingly, and I melted immediately. I never could resist him when he dazzled me.
"Alright, alright, if it'll make you happy." I gave in.
"I'm just gonna go grab it out of the car really quick." After I looked at him funny, he explained: "I didn't know if you'd let me give it to you, so I left it in the car. I'm sorry, where are my manners? Bella, this is my roommate, Emmett. Emmett, this is my best friend in the whole world, Bella."
"Nice to meet you Emmett." I smiled, and shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you too Bella, I've heard so much about you." He smiled like he knew something I didn't, and shook my hand with his huge, bear sized paw of a hand. Well that was weird, I thought to myself…what was he smiling about??
"Edward, Emmett, this is my roommate Alice. Alice this is Edward, my best friend, and his roommate Emmett." I gave Edward a look, trying to ask why Emmett had a weird smirk on his face, but he ignored me and ran out to his car.
While Edward went to get my present out of the car, I got to know Emmett a little better. He really was a bear of a man, and it turned out that he put that to good use by playing football. Apparently he had been recruited to play for the school, and was getting a full scholarship. Pretty soon, the doorbell rang again, and this time it was Edward and Jasper, Alice's boyfriend. Jasper was blonde and thin, and he had a strangely calming presence. It was like he always knew how you were feeling, and he knew exactly how to fix it. Seeing as how Alice was practically bipolar, going back and forth between a happy fairy and an evil pixie, this was pretty much a match made in heaven. This was the first time I had actually met Jasper; before I had only seen his magic worked over the phone. Alice's face lit up when she saw Jasper on the other side of the door, and she immediately ran to him.
While Alice and Jasper engaged in PDA that was bordering on inappropriate, I finally took in Edward's appearance. I hadn't noticed before, but he was wearing his school uniform. I guess I had forgotten the good side to the military school, and that was, of course, how hot the guys looked in the uniforms. And at that moment I was willing to bet that no-one on planet earth had EVER looked as hot as Edward did right now, standing in my living room in a uniform and smiling at me.
"Bella are you ok? You went all like, catatonic or something on me for a minute." Edward's voice brought me out of my trance.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, just tired from the first week of school I guess." I lied quickly, but I'm sure he saw me blush, a dead give-away that I was lying.
"Ha! You're tired? The Officers woke us up at 2am this morning to do douche detail…AGAIN." Edward and Emmett laughed half-heartedly.
"To do WHAT??" I had no idea what 'douche detail' was, but it sure didn't sound pleasant… (AN: they actually have to do this. I choose to ignore their stories now, but the first hundred times I heard about it...I laughed)
Edward laughed at the look on my face. "Douche detail- it's a really awful name for washing and scrubbing the courtyard floors in your barracks. Bella you really should see the look on your face, it's priceless."
I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but seriously, douche detail? What the hell kind of school was he going to anyway? After finally managed to stop laughing at me, Edward came over and sat next to me on the couch and handed me my present. I hesitated for a moment before opening it- presents always make me nervous. Inside the little box was a charm bracelet with one charm: a silver E. I smiled and threw my arms around him.
"It's so you don't forget about me now that we can't spend every day together. Now every time you look down, you'll see this charm, and think of me." He whispered softly in my ear.
"Edward I don't need a charm to remind me of you, I think about you all the time. You're my best friend, no matter what, ok?" I was afraid to start crying- I can't believe he thought it was possible for me to forget about him for even a minute. I stayed there in his arms for a while, talking and laughing with our friends. Being here with my best friend and my new friends, I was the happiest I'd been all week.
Alrighty, more details on the rest of the night in the next chapter. Edward and Bella are gonna start realizing how each other feels in the next two chapters. Oh wait, that's right, you guys don't know how Edward feels yet do you? I guess you'll just have to keep reading…REVIEWS=AWESOME!!!
We're gonna have a few new characters sometime in the next two chapters and I'm gonna let you guys choose who comes first: Rosalie, Jacob, or Jessica?