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Chapter 2

I Get By With a Little Help from My Friends

Do you believe in love at first sight?
Yeah, I'm certain that it happens all the time.
What do you see when you turn out the lights?
I couldn't tell you, but I know it's mine.

(Edward POV)

The Princeton campus was overwhelming. The most I'd seen was the campus at a community college and it was no more than a library with a few classrooms. I stared at the photograph in my hand with the name Carlisle Cullen scrawled on the back in my mum's elegant script. I sighed and looked up at the mass of students ahead of me. There was a muffled crash and a upset of loose paper around me. I snatched one of the papers out of the air and looked down at the boy shuffling for his books in front of me. He was huge, I could tell that even in his crouching position. Not huge in a fat way, huge in a weightlifter kind of way. I bent down and helped him clean up his mess. He laughed nervously and ran his hand though his black hair.

"Thanks, man" He grinned at me, standing up to his towering height. I nodded and cleared my throat.

"Yeah, no problem. Hey" I looked down at the picture momentarily. "Do you know a Professor Cullen?" I could feel my voice failing me and the boy leaned forward to catch what I was saying. He shook his head, still deep in thought.

"No, sorry. I've pissed off every professor in Princeton and that's not one of them." He spun around in a full circle as if looking for something. "Oh! But there is a Carlisle Cullen right over there" he pointed in the direction of a maintenance man teetering on a ladder.

"Alright, thanks" I forced another grin and the giant patted me on the shoulder, shuffling away. I took a deep breath and headed over to the man on the ladder.

"Mr. Cullen?" I inquired looking up at him. He was thin and tall and very pale. He had blonde hair and he looked down at me with piercing blue eyes.

"If you're looking for work you're going to have to check in at the front" He muttered quickly before turning back to the air vent he was working on.

"I have a job, thanks" I was slowly becoming impatient. Was this really worth it?

"You sound like a limey" he chuckled to himself. I grinned.

"Yeah, I am" I listen to him go on about how he was stationed there and how he had some great memories. I tried to be as gentle as possible but there was no way around it.

"Me mother's Esme Masen" I put it out there and avoided eye contact as he took it in.

Carlisle was nice enough to let me stay in the maintenance building while I was in America, but he definitely didn't invite me home for thanksgiving. I didn't plan on it. The talk we had was short and awkward and made me feel more disappointed than ever before. I decided I needed a smoke. I grabbed my pack of cigarettes and pushed open the heavy metal utility door. I leaned against the cement wall and inhaled deeply when I heard a loud panting and then a thud as the heaping boy I had met earlier that day jumped down behind my wall, clearly on the run.

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(Emmett POV)

This goofy British kid was a lifesaver. I had hit a few golf balls into the pratty frat house across the way and they got their panties in such a twist. Needless to say, since none of them can take a joke, I was now relying on the Brit I had met earlier to drag me through the maintenance building back into some shitty little room he had going on. He collapsed into a chair at his desk and stared up at me with intense green eyes. Woah, this kid had some serious eyes going on. He probably thought I was gay staring at him like that. I chuckled and held out my hand.

"I'm Emmett" I offered and he shook it firmly. "Where's that accent from?" I watched as he pushed his bronze hair in every direction.

"Liverpool" he leaned forward. "I'm Edward" I bobbed my head up in down in acceptance and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Come hang out with me and my buddies tonight!" I couldn't wait to get back to the frat house and tell the guys about how Eddie here saved my life. Edward shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head in agreement. I leapt to my feet and tugged him along behind me. He sure was a wiry kid.

Tonight was going to be a blast I could tell.

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(Edward POV)

After hanging out with Emmett for what was about a week we became as tight as brothers. He was much more fun than any of the guys I knew back in the shipyard. He had such a reckless abandon. And for how intimidating he looked, he had to be the nicest guy in the world. He had invited me to come back to his place for thanksgiving. I said yes simply for the fact that I had nothing else to do.

He dragged me to the high school in his hometown to pick his little sister Bella up from school. I laughed as Emmett checked out all the girls walking out once the bell rang. And then I saw her. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. Long, mahogany hair bouncing softly behind her as she ran with her gleaming warm smile and large chocolate eyes. She threw herself into Emmett's arms and he swung her around easily. I was jealous I couldn't lie.

"Edward, this is my sister, Bella. Bella, Edward is going to be joining us for thanksgiving" he explained and I did my best to put on a charming smile, which I'm sure came out crooked and dismal. She shook my hand delicately before taking her place in the front seat of the car.

I listened to her soft and beautiful voice as she explained thanksgiving and America and the war and everything that was anything to me. And I loved it. I longed to hear her talk more and more. I wanted to hear her voice forever. At dinner all I could hear was her, despite everybody yelling over Emmett's announcement to dropping out of Princeton. All I could see was her despite everybody standing and pointing fingers and throwing accusations across the table. She sat outside with me that night and apologized clumsily for her family and how embarrassing it all had been. It was still the greatest night of my life. When Emmett finally escaped the madness he demanded that we go to the bowling alley.

Bella was hands down the worst bowler I had ever witnessed in my life. She had begged me to come show her how to get a strike.

I stood behind her, showing her the way she should stand and as she went to release the ball she went with it. Before I had time to laugh she had grabbed a hold of my shirt and was pulling me down the slippery lane. I laughed loudly as she collapsed in a heap on top of me. Her face was flushed red and she quickly pulled herself to her feet, pushing any wrinkles that might have appeared in her skirt out. I reached out and touched her face before I heard Emmett's booming voice.

"Edward!" he cried and I looked to him as he stood up on the chair, which creaked in protest against his weight. "Tonight" he started dramatically, "We go where any good drop out and kid without a purpose goes" He jumped from the chair and grabbed my shoulders. I raised my eyebrows. "New York" he declared and I felt a sudden rush of adrenaline. This was going to be it. The life I had waited for for so long.

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(Alice POV)

I had put an Ad in Rat magazine earlier that week in an attempt to find a roommate. My apartment was on the eighth floor and most people around here were either to lazy or to strung out to get that far up the stairs. It was impossible to pay for this place alone though. That when I got the call. Two guys coming from Princeton wanted to know if they could room here. I figured it was harmless enough.

I had completely forgotten that they were coming today when I heard the knock at the door. I let it swing open as I stood there and took in the sight of two winded boys. The one was huge, almost menacing looking, but had a grin so dopey on his face it almost completely eliminated his size. Next to him was a tall, skinny guy with hair going everywhere. He was easy on the eyes. To be honest they both were. I ushered them in and began to show them around.
"I'm Alice by the way" I winked at both of them and they quickly muttered, "Emmett" and "Edward". I could tell Edward was from England. I wondered what brought him to America.

"I'm a singer, so you guys can't be interrupting my beauty sleep alright?" I eyed them carefully and they nodded. "Just be quiet by like midnight" I clarified. I rubbed the back of my short black hair and let them go to their room to settle all of their stuff in. They seemed like pretty good guys.

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(Emmett POV)

"My god, what a fox!" I cried once Alice had shut the door behind her. "I mean, tiniest thing I've ever seen, but whatev. Fox!" I declared again, throwing myself onto one of the full sized mattresses in our room. Edward laughed and nodded his head in agreement. He shoved his head out the window and took in New York City. This was it. This was the reason to leave home. This was my life now. And I couldn't be happier.

We spent that evening with Alice playing cards. She was a total cheater though. It's like the girl could see the future or something, she won every time. Edward pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit up before passing around the pack to Alice and me. I leaned back in my hair and propped my feet up on the table. Alice cleared her throat, loosely holding her own cigarette between her tiny delicate fingers.

"So I got this call today right before you two goons showed up" She smirked and I laughed, scratching my chest. "Some kid named Jasper from Detroit. Says he's headed up to New York and needs a place to stay. What do you guys think, do we have enough room for Mr. Jasper?" she took a long drawl from her cig and looked at us with raised eyebrows.

"What does this Jasper do?" Edward leaned against the table on his elbow and narrowed his emerald eyes.

"Plays the guitar. That's what he told me on the phone at least" Alice shrugged, her loose silk shirt falling off her thin pale shoulder. I nodded my head in appreciation and grunted.

"There's plenty of room for Mr. Jasper." I announced, giggling to myself. I thought about where Detroit was. Michigan. That's what school told me. Why would they lie? Edward sniffed loudly and looked tired.

"Why would he leave Detroit?" Edward was so painfully and Britishly unaware.

Alice cocked an eyebrow high up over her darkly lined pale grey eye. "Why wouldn't somebody want to leave Detroit?" she tipped the ash of her cigarette onto a magazine on the table. A devilish little grinned crawled across Alice's face. She did that a lot I noticed.

"Riots, man" she rubbed the tip of her round little nose. "Everywhere there. Cops are shooting people dead in the streets. I hear it's so bad you can't even walk outside without getting shot by someone." Edwards eyes opened wide and he frowned. "Anyway, I guess Jasper's kid brother got shot or something like that, so he's looking for a getaway." I swallowed hard. Tough luck right there.

"Well, the more the merrier!" I flicked my cigarette butt at Edward and he sputtered as I laughed and walked into the kitchen in search of alcohol. I wanted it to be a long night.