Ch 1: Rhythm
Edward's POV
Another day closer to the end of a year, another year closer to the end of a decade, so on and so forth. It all kind of merges into one long day in the end, one very, astonishingly long day. Except for one thing: that end does not exist for me, not for any of us to our knowledge.

Occasionally something exciting happens, though what I consider exciting and what the human population of Forks High School consider exciting are undeniably two extraordinarily different things. Not much puts me on the edge of my seat in anticipation. All it takes is a new student to make a human teen's day worth the while. Today is a very special day for most of them then, oh and Alice. She likes to pretend I suppose.

I didn't see the new girl all morning. Carlisle had told us about her, how she was in a wheelchair and was almost completely paralyzed.

I heard everyone thinking about her. The boys couldn't stop talking about 'how hot the cripple' was. This came directly from the mind of the ever pleasant Mike Newton. The girls' thoughts were also centered around this 'Bella'. Apparently they were jealous of the looks the boys gave her and the relieved that she was in a wheelchair. Ah, the human mind. What nice creatures.

I got my first glimpse of her at lunch. Jessica Stanley, I pulled the name out of my sister's mind, had been volunteered to show her around the school. Meaning she pushed the wheelchair.

Jessica wheeled the girl up to her table and then left to get in the lunch line. While she was gone only one student spoke to the girl, addressing her as Bella. It was Angela, one of the few teens in the school who always had good intentions. Angela told Bella that she would enjoy Forks and how nice the people were. Riiigght…

Thoughts flew around the room. 'What's the point in talking to someone who probably doesn't know what's going on at all', 'It's nice of Angela to try, I guess.', 'Wonder if I can get my hands on that. She won't tell, Ha!' Ugh, vulgar. I was going to stop, when one last thought filtered through to me. It was short, loud and clear. And it seemed to be directed towards others and not solely for whoever thought it. 'STOP STARING'. I began to search for the person that thought had come from, but Alice nudged me, breaking my concentration.

"What's going on in the new kid's mind?" Emmett asked. They had all been wondering. I hadn't actually looked yet. I had been too distracted by thoughts about her. I focused on her. It was like a void. There was nothing there and then clear as a bell, 'I'm not an animal in the zoo! Stop looking at me like one'. Weird. I tried again and again, but heard nothing until the a shrill ring signaled the end of the period.

"Well?" said Rosalie. The all looked at me. I looked back.

"I'm not sure…" And then I left for Biology as quickly as I could without drawing attention to myself, dumping my uneaten food in the trashcan along the way. I would ponder over this during the next class. This girl whose thoughts I could only hear, it seemed, when she directed them at others. My siblings would ambush me in the car. I had to have something akin to a real answer.

I gathered from the teacher's mind, Mr. Banner, that we were going over cellular anatomy, nothing new for me. It usually wasn't. I was the first to arrive. Mr. Banner gave me an odd look. 'Why here so soon?' I ignored him.

This girl… Other students were trickling in. There's something different about her, but what to tell the others. I can't say that I simply can't hear her. I don't suppose they'd worry, she can't exactly talk. At least not to others I added. The last minute bell buzzed, making me look up. Jessica Stanley came in rolling Bella in front of her. Great, I could hardly stand the Stanley girl and her mean thoughts at lunch. An extra hour with her would be no picnic.

She left Bella in the middle of the aisle and went up to Mr. Banner, still seated at his desk.

"Mr. Banner, where should I put Bella?" she asked politely. 'Still can't believe I got roped into wheeling her around for the entire year!' He looked up confusedly and then over at Bella.

"Oh, ummm. Put her next to Edward in the back."

"Yes sir." She replied. I was stunned. Well, at least I would maybe get that real answer to give to the others. It hit me then. The most tantalizing smell. Like blanket that wrapped and twisted around me until I couldn't find an escape. I felt my eyes widen, my breathing stop and my hands grasp the edges of my poor chair. My eyes were glued to her unmoving form. I heard it again. The same voice from the lunch room. 'You're not going to goggle at me the entire period too, are you?' Jessica had taken her seat and Mr. Banner had begun the lesson. 'What?' I responded automatically in my mind. Her eyes twitched towards mine. Had she heard me?

"Can you hear me?" I whispered.

'Can you hear me?' I heard in her mind just as softly. Ha, she was whispering.

"Yes."

'Wow.' I chuckled softly at that. I tried to loosen my grip on the chair that had crumbled beneath the force exerted upon it. I couldn't. Her scent still had me on edge, thinking I would be unable to maintain my sanity in this room of children even as I continued the conversation.

"Yes, wow." Wow that she wasn't at all what she seemed. I could gather that even from the shortness of our dialogue.

"Mr. Cullen! Would you stop talking at Bella and join the rest of us?" Mr. Banner interrupted.

"Yes sir" I replied

"Good. Now could you please explain the cell membrane for the rest of the class?"

"It's a living boundary between the internal and external environment of the cell. It is a gel in which the orderly arrangement of colloidal particles forms a very stable and elastic boundary." Despite the answer's curtness, it was textbook; I knew. It was also an accident. I hadn't been paying attention and therefore shouldn't have known, at least not to that extent. Mr. Banner left me alone for the rest of the period though.

'I thought you weren't paying attention.'

'I wasn't. I've taken this class before.'

'Me too. Snore. I don't really get much say in my schedule anymore.' I was shocked that she could be so open about her condition.

'I suppose you don't.'

Students started to pack up their things, even with 15 minutes till the bell. I followed in suit.

'It was nice talking to you.' she said or thought. Whichever. 'It's been a while.'

"You too." I must have said it aloud because Jessica Stanley, who had come over to move Bella said,

"Huh?" She thought I was talking to her. I actually did have something to ask her.

"You didn't seem to be particularly thrilled with your assignment today."

"What?" I hadn't been clear enough.

"Being chaperone. I bet you had classes with all your friends this year and now your whole schedule has been rearranged to suit yours and Bella's needs."

"It was, but I don't mind too much." Liar, I said to myself.

"Yes, of course. If you'd like I'd take over your duties for however long"

'He's so hot! You can have whatever you want!' I sighed to myself, too low for her to hear.

"Are you sure? It'd be for the entire year…"

"Yes, I wouldn't mind at all."

"Well, we'd have to go make the switch at the front office with Ms. Cope"

'Would that be okay Bella?' I switched over to her.

'Okay? Anything to get away from this girl. All she does is talk about hair and her friends behind their backs.'

"I can do that now." She stepped away from Bella's side.

"See you later" she tossed over her shoulder along with a small, careless flap of her hand, meant to be a wave.
I turned to Bella and started to wheel her through the hallways.

"Let's go see if we can arrange this. What class did you have next?"

'Gym, for only God knows why.' We both gave a little laugh. I was wondering and I had to ask.

'Why are you so calm about this?'

'About what exactly? I have a lot of things that I could be fretting over.'

'That's true I guess. About this whole talking with the mind thing.'

'Ever heard the expression 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth'?'

"Ah. I see." The ever so slight breeze that resulted from my pushing made her scent flow once again in my direction. I didn't stop though, as I had before. I reveled in it, taking long, slow inhalations softly so she couldn't hear. I listened past the flow of the heater and the light pat of my shoes against the linoleum to take in something else about her. The steady pulse of her heart. The rhythm more like a lullaby than anything. A lullaby which drew my full attention, away from all else even her smell.
'We're here.'

AN: Yeah, a couple days. It didn't seem that long. So tell me if you've heard this before: I went back to school on Monday and my teachers, well three of mine, were freaking out. They had this scared/nervous look in their eye and this odd smile. Yes, yes AP Exams are right around the corner. In order to make sure I do my fair share of studying they renamed it homework. They've all told me that if I don't pass the exam that corresponds with their class I will get a flogging…Not really, but you can never trust your parents either.

Anyways, thank you so very, very much for all of the reviews and helpful hints are always appreciated. Anything you like in this story is completely my doing and anything you hate is Diamond Raider's fault. ::blows raspberry::
-Crossing the Bridge