Chapter 8: First Sight
(A/N: This is my longest chapter so far. Another character intro note: Ireya and Silke will be like the bimbos Jessica and Lauren! Cade, Johnson, Pablo will sort of be equivalent to Mike, Eric and Tyler. I am not into sports so much and please just skip any mistakes that I might make with the player positions etc.I am also not an American and hence do not know the system of schooling there! Advance apologies for any glaring mistakes that might relate to the system of education there!)
EPOV
I was drowning in thoughts about this new Bella and my Bella that the chaotic thoughts around me dulled to a faint buzz in the background… I was wondering how this girl, someone I had not even seen yet could have such an effect on me…
APOV
Edward was actually smiling…in fact for his normal standards I could say that he was euphoric. I was praying that my last vision would come true. It would kill him if it was otherwise. I was also hoping that Jasper would be able to control Rosalie's reactions. I know that she has changed a lot in the past century and was actually hoping that Edward would find someone but would she accept it even if it was a human, again?
JPOV
With so many emotions hitting me at the same time I was going crazy. So many from just Edward alone. I knew he had complex thinking but complex emotions too? Who was I kidding here?
EmPOV
I saw Alice, Jasper and Edward walk into the cafeteria. Alice was smiling and Jasper looked like he was trying to put up with the tidal wave of emotions. But what got my attention was Edward…He was actually smiling. He has not ever done that even for Esme's sake in the past 100 years. I noticed that Rosalie was also watching Edward.
RPOV
Was Edward actually smiling? Was he done with his "attention-claiming wallowing" phase? But still…what in the world could get him to smile that way…a heart-felt happy smile? I saw Alice whisper something to Jasper and break away from them, when they were waiting to buy some food…sometimes keeping up with the human charade feels so irritating! Alice came and slid on to the seat next to me. This was strange. She never sat next to me.
Slowly, she whispered to me. "Please Rosalie, do not act violently or say anything filled with venom. He deserves this happiness. He needs her and we need him. Please, for him, for us."
I was shocked to hear this from her. Alice had never bothered being patient with me. Only Jasper and Edward could cope with her. Alice never lived in the present and threw away the present moment and was cast away in her visions about the future. All the same, I loved her as a sister. But did she not see in her "visions" as to what I would say? I recovered quickly and for once I told her what I felt, rather than thought. "He is my brother too Alice. I love him. I have known him since when I was created. Would I not give anything in my power, to see him happy again, play the piano where he pours his unspoken thoughts and emotions into music, for him to be himself again?" Alice had hurt me very much but that is how they saw me, everyone except Emmett, because he loved me more than anything else and Edward, because he heard my thoughts even before I assembled them myself! Emmett had heard our exchange and nodded in agreement, a small smile gracing his lips, appreciating my effort to speak my heart for the first time.
EPOV
I knew she had to come into the cafeteria sooner or later. I could not contain the excitement coursing through my body. Jasper kept smirking in my direction. We grabbed some human food. Ew…it even smelled disgusting, how do they eat this stuff. I suddenly remembered the day when Bella had dared me to eat a bite from a slice of pizza. A felt myself getting caught in her thought again and Jasper grimaced slightly, feeling my pain. I had left the family, to live alone for a period of time after I had left her because, with me at home, Jasper was literally doubled over himself grimacing in pain and sorrow. But I had grown strong enough to come back to my parents, my family and tried to start over once again…
And today I could see her face again. I was lost in my own thoughts, wondering if this new girl will have my Bella's way of thinking and doing things. Will I be able to read her mind?
I went and plopped down next to Alice, not wanting to see the reactions on Rosalie's face, and also because of the fact that I now sat facing the crowd entering the cafeteria. Any time now…
I was looking down at my tray of untouched food but concentrating on the thoughts around me. Half the football team, including their captain Cade, was drooling over Bella Noris. With the spring dance around the corner, each of them was wondering if they should stick to their cheerleader girlfriends or ask Bella out. I growled internally. Did I want to ask this Bella out? Will she accept me for who I am?
Alice's thoughts interrupted me…Edward she is here…look up…
I took a deep breathe and that is when her scent hit me…it was exactly like my Bella's but stronger and even more appetizing. The fire in my throat burnt my insides, it had been a very long time since I had felt so thirsty for someone's blood, my singer's blood. But when I looked up at her, she took my breath away. She was really here. What would I not give to hold her in my arms. A century long wait… Her beautiful deep brown eyes, the silky hair, her porcelain skin with that warm blush on her cheeks. She looked as beautiful as my Bella or even more beautiful if I were to be honest. She noticed Alice and waved to her but looked away immediately, when her friend Milo grabbed her hand to pull her towards the queue for the food. I felt my dead heart flutter. I looked at my siblings and they had a similar awestruck expression on their faces, except Alice, who had already talked to Bella and was now smirking, quite pleased with my reaction.
As I watched her wait in the queue, I felt myself falling into a depression, my insecurities getting the better of me. What if she does not want me, like me, sees at me for who I am, a monster…What if she is not like my Bella…Will I still be able to love her because of the way she mirrored my Bella, her blush? I was fighting an internal battle when Jasper's thoughts got my attention.
Jasper's eyebrows shot up as he gave me a curious look, followed by a smirk… What is that Edward? I feel your nervousness and depression. An insecure teenager, are we? Don't worry, I am sure you can control your thirst for your singer… Yes, I feel your thirst as well! Even though my control has greatly improved, I am not sure if I will be able to handle double the thirst…So before I do something for all of us to regret, control your thirst. But I find your other emotions quite amusing… did I actually get a whiff of lust?
Even as I listened to Jasper's words as they passed his mind, I could not look away from her, even though she now faced the opposite direction. I growled and Jasper chuckled.
BPOV
I entered the cafeteria with Milo to get some lunch. It was a small eating area with not too many tables, but was still crowded. I looked around for familiar faces and noticed the girl from my English class, Alice, sitting with a group of people. Everyone in her table was looking at me. They were all beautiful; in fact, the word beautiful does not do them justice. They were all different and yet similar, with the same eye color and mild dark circles around their eyes and for some strange reason I felt a strange pull, an ache, towards the guy sitting next to Alice. I have never felt this way before. He had tousled bronze hair and perfect features. I was not the one who paid too much attention to men around me but when my eyes met his, I could not help but feel a faint stutter in my heart beat! There were so many emotions playing in those eyes, but were masked with a sheet of serenity. I waved a 'hi' to Alice before Milo pulled me into the line for the food. As I was picking up my food, I felt people stealing glances at me. I abhorred the fact that we moved around so much, having to be the new girl in some school every few years! I was tired of it. I missed having close, true friends and a truly caring boyfriend with some intentions of commitment. My mother had met my father in high school and they got married soon after, since their parents were quite understanding and approved of their relationship. They went to the same university and graduated together. My father had taken over his family business soon after and my mother became a home-maker and had me within a year after graduation. I have rarely seen them argue and they still have the same intensity of love that they shared when I was a baby, and before (from what I have heard from my mother). My parents loved me, I knew that. But neither of them had the time to show me their love, except by symbolically getting me expensive gifts for no good reason or occassion. To an outsider it will seem like I was a spoilt-brat.
But this is not what I wanted, what I terribly missed. My heart yearned for that special someone who would love me! I would not care if he had a third eye or webbed feet (A/N: Modified from Twilight), as long as he truly loved me for what I am as a person, in my heart and mind, without just being overwhelmed with my curves and money. May be, just may be, Forks would grant me my wish!
Milo was neither too shy nor too out going. She introduced me to a bunch of my batch mates who sat at her, now our, lunch table. There were a couple of guys from the football team, and Milo's boyfriend Martin was on the team as well. Soon, people started discussing about the start of the next football season and I tuned out most of the conversation. I caught some of the guys in the table eyeing my body and felt my blood rush to my cheeks. Grrr…why did I have to blush now! I did not want them to interpret it the wrong way…Oh boy…it's a no no…
The rest of the lunch hour passed quickly and I found out from Milo that the people in Alice's table were her siblings, all of them being the adopted children of Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife. She also told me that the beautiful blonde girl, more like woman, was Rosalie Hale and her twin was the blonde guy, Jasper Hale. The huge muscular guy with curly brown hair was Emmett Cullen and the one with tousled bronze-brown hair, the one I was actually interested in, was Edward Cullen. That meant that Alice, Emmett and Edward (even the thought of his name sent my heart over the hill) were siblings. I got to know that Jasper and Alice were a couple and so were Rosalie and Emmett.
I was surprised to know that the boyish looking yet well built, cute, Edward Cullen was single! Is that even possible?? But what disturbed me was when Milo told me that he had turned down every single of the "hot girls" who had tried to flirt with him. From the way he acted I could almost be sure that he was straight, but may be he had a girlfriend in his previous school, considering they just moved here. For some unknown reason, not really unknown considering I realized that I was crushing on him, him having a girlfriend hurt me more than I thought it would.
Once we left the table, Milo and I headed towards the gym. We had this class together and I was really enjoying her company. I sort of felt that she liked me for who I was and not for just being the new girl or the girl with filthy rich parents! Like me, she was partly shy to people and dressed decently, unlike a few of the cheerleader girls at our lunch table. Some of the girls, Ireya and Silke shot me death glares through out lunch.
"Why were the two girls at the far end of our table, Ireya and Silke if I remember correctly, giving me such great welcoming looks?" I asked sarcastically, hoping she would understand the sarcasm behind what I said.
Milo just smiled, shrugged and said "Well, they treat every girl who is not a part of their cheering squad that way. I do not like them so much but since Martin likes to sit with this football team mates for lunch and Ireya is the captains girlfriend, I have to accept her presence at the table. For the most part, Ireya and Silke are caught up in their own delusional world of make-up and gossip to bother with anyone. I noticed Cade and Pablo size you up. Johnson is a nice guy but is a little sexually frustrated, if you ask me. Bella, I already feel like you are a good friend and I am telling you this to keep you safe…I would never want to be close to those guys. They are not just football players, but also players, if you know what I meant"
I nodded and gave Milo and smile to let her know that I understood what she told me and appreciated her for what she had told me so frankly. Luckily, we had basketball that day and I finished my warm-up run and joined the team. To my dismay, both Cade and Pablo were in my team and trying to 'hit onme' during the game, both figuratively and actually. We finished 10minutes before the end of the hour to clean up and get ready for the next class. I was glad when the bell rang to announce the end of the hour, but it was short-lived since I realized that I had math next! It was the one subject, other than quantum physics of course, that I had trouble keeping my straight As. I had to put in triple the amount of time that I normally needed for the other subjects. I was praying, as I entered the class, that the teacher would not call me for any of the answers in class!
Once he signed the new student sheet, he asked me to take the last seat in the right end of the class. I looked up to see if I had a bench mate- my eyes went wide and a mild gasp escaped my lips as I my eyes met with those of my bench mate…