BPOV

When I was in middle school, I had to give an oral presentation for my 7th grade history class. My face was pale and my palms were sweaty for the entire hour, with the kids around me waving their hands and yelling for their chance to go. I, on the other hand, managed to shrink down in my chair and avoid eye contact with the ever-gentle Mr. Schulyer until everyone else had presented their reports.

It was inevitable that I had to go at some point, though, and I was the last person to speak. I shuffled up the the front nervously, shoved my hands in my hoodie's pocket, and stared at the Chucks on my feet. I began my well practiced speech. "My report is about-" I glanced up quickly at my audience. Big mistake. I could have simply looked back down and continued talking, but no. This was Bella we're talking about, of course. My mind froze and I couldn't remember a single one of the the thousands of Theodore Roosevelt facts I had memorized the night before to the save my life.

I broke out in a nervous sweat, and stared fearfully out in the crowd, no more than 20 students, mind you. I was petrified. Most were waiting patiently for me to start talking again, a few of my enemies had sneers upon their juvenile faces, and one boy was sleeping with his head on the desk at the back of the room, oblivious. Oh, to be that lucky boy.

"Bella? Are you alright? If you could please conti-" I cut him off as I retched all over his shiny black dress shoes.

So, why, do you ask, revisit such traumatizing memories from so many years ago?

Because. The simple fact is that I hate attention. Ergo, the idea of showing up in a chauffeured black stretch limousine to a glitzy club opening in Manhattan was really not my style.

Damn Rosalie and her Black AmEx card.

I took a deep breath and stepped out after Rose and Alice, trying to appear as graceful as possible for someone so very ungraceful as I. Their was a plush strip of red carpet leading to the entrance, surrounded by what looked like thousands of New Yorkers vying for access to Club Rave. They all stared openly at us as we strolled freely towards a large bouncer, complete with the typical black sunglasses, suit and tie, and the all-important clipboard. It struck me as to how completely predictable all of this was; almost as if we were on the set of a movie.

I hurried to catch up to Alice. I caught her by the elbow. "Alice! Look at all these people. We're never going to get in. Let's just go home. You know I don't even want to be here, after all."

Alice jutted her bottom lip out, pouting. Rosalie had stopped a few steps ahead and turned, surely curious as to the reason why Alice had ceased babbling excitedly in her ear. Alice spoke. "Bella, come on. You're acting as if this is nothing. Do you see all these people waiting?" She gestured around us. "They want to be able to do what we're doing. Honestly, right now, they want to be us. And do you have any idea about how many strings I had to pull to get invites to this place tonight? It is unbelievably exclusive, and so difficult to get in. Just relax! This is going to be amazing. Please, try to enjoy yourself."

With little pep talk, she turned around Rosalie grabbed my hand, tugging me forward. I sighed, but relented.

"Three for Cullen, please!" Alice chirped to bouncer, nearly half his size. His freakishly large muscles flexed and moved as he scanned the list for our name. He looked up, smiled a toothy grin at us, and unclipped the rope guarding the door. We said "Thank you," and stepped inside.

Instantly we were overwhelmed with too-loud music, flashing lights, and many, many people.

My eyes grew wide.

"Woa," we all spoke at once, though I'm certain the reason for saying 'woa' differed from my friends'.

In typical Alice fashion, she started bouncing, looking around excitedly. "Look! There's a restaurant part! And, oh! A disco ball! How adorable! And a bar!" She pointed in the direction of the bar, and I grumpily stored the information for later use. But Alice's attitude was infectious. I decided I would at least try to have a semi-good time. "Hey! There's the DJ! Let's dance over there!" Alice grabbed my arm, nearly wrenching it out of its socket in her haste.

We pushed and elbowed our way through the mass of sweaty bodies until we reached a location Alice deemed acceptable. We were deafeningly close to the speakers, and I gritted my teeth with the effort to force myself not to cover my ears against the pulsing notes.

Rosalie and Alice had begun to dance, but I settled on simply standing. I got away with this for a few minutes, but, eventually, Alice glanced over and came closer to me. "What are you doing, Bella?" She had to yell over the music, despite the fact that she was right next to me.

"I don't know, Alice. I really can't dance, and you know that."

She clucked her tongue. "Do you want me to teach you then?" she asked, grinning. I had a feeling the 'dancing' she was speaking of wasn't anything nice and innocent. With my luck, she would attempt to get me to dance like the girls around me, swaying their hips and bodies with the music in some alluring technique that eluded me no matter how hard I tried.

I shook my head wildly, hair flying, but she was already directly in front of me, hands on my hips. "Just like this, Bella." She started to dance again, and moved my hips in a similar way. Once again, my eyes grew wide. I looked over at Rosalie for help, but she had already noticed Alice's lesson and laughed. She came over to 'help'. She stood behind Alice and started instructing me. "Bella, go with the music." "Bella, your arms." "You look like you're having a seizure." "Ugh, Bella! This isn't difficult..." It went on like that for who-knows-how-long, and I had yet to improve in any fantastic way.

"Seriously, Bella? You're not even trying," Alice scolded, with her hands on her hips. "It's like you don't even want to learn." Rosalie snorted.

Behind me, someone cleared their throat. Everyone turned to see who it was, and we saw a tall guy with blond hair and blue eyes staring at Alice. I saw her jaw drop out of the corner of my eye. "Would you like to dance, m'am?" He drawled in a Southern accent. Alice flashed her teeth, beaming, and nodded vigorously. They disappeared together in the crowd.

I turned to Rosalie. "Rose?"

"Bella?"

"You're not going to make are you?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, Bella. Go, hide, be free." I grinned and turned away as she scanned the room for, presumably, a suitable dance partner.

Slowly, I made my way through the groping, writhing crowd towards the bar at the side of the club. Finally, I collapsed onto one of the stools. Really, dancing was not my thing. My feet were sore, so I kicked off my heels. They hit the floor with a loud clunk, and I exhaled loudly, exhausted.

I signaled to the bartender and he nodded. I put my head in my hands and rested my elbows on the wooden surface of the bar. I closed my eyes, relaxing. The music was not nearly as loud here as it had been on the dance floor, and there were only a handful of people. I heard a glass slide in front of me, and I opened my eyes again and sat up. It was a glass of... something... but I took a drink anyway. It tasted horrible, and I made a face, but drank it nonetheless. I sat it down and looked around me.

There was a group of college boys having some kind of drinking contest beside me, the bartender tending the bar and such, and when I looked to see who occupied the stool at my right I saw-

The most amazing pair of eyes I had ever seen.

They were a stunning, piercing shade of green. They were filled with curiosity, intelligence, and some other emotion I couldn't be sure of. I found myself lost in them.

He spoke, and the deep, smooth tone stunned me further.

"So, I take it, you were forced here against your will, as well?"

Woo! You all just wait, it's gets good next chapter, I promise! Review, pretty please?