A/N: Wow, thanks for the great comments guys! And I would like to congratulate Stephenie on the release on Breaking Dawn!
Chapter 3
My eyes closed tight then fluttered open. I was starring at the wall. Well, at least half of it. My hair concealed most of my sight. Instinctively, my hand reached up, brushing away the hair that was on my face. I blinked a moment and sat up, my head a bit fuzzy from just waking up. A ran a hand through my extremely knotted hair with a frown. For a dreamless night I was surprised my hair was such a mess. My eyes wandered towards the window. My frown became more pronounced. It wasn't dark like the night. It was still light out. My eyes flickered towards my alarm clock. It was 8 o'clock. This confused me. I untangled the blankets from my legs and stood up, stumbling slightly as I did so. My head was still a bit fuzzy but I was sure my lack of balance had something to do with it to.
"Bella?"
The voice of my father surprised me. It shouldn't have though. He was usually home by now. "Yeah, dad?" I called back, trying to even out my hair.
"Can I come in?" his voice asked.
"Yeah, come in!" I called, desperately trying to make my hair a little bit less messy. I failed miserably, however. I couldn't even imagine what I looked like. The door opened, a sheepish Charlie entering. The time suddenly became a bigger issue.
"Oh! I'm sorry Dad, I must have fallen asleep. I completely forgot about dinner!" I apologized, frowning at him. My dad shook his head, waving his hand like it was no big deal.
"It's alright, Bells. I figured you were tired so I let you sleep. I ordered a pizza awhile ago. It's on the counter." He explained.
"Thanks, Dad." I said, giving him a smile.
"Tiring first day, huh? How was school?" he pried, giving me another small smile.
I had hoped Charlie wouldn't quiz me about my day but what was I going to do about it?
"It was pretty good, Cha- Dad." I lied, giving him a small smile. I couldn't remember much really. The sleep probably hadn't work off on me. I gave him all the details I could muster. "I meet a few new friends." I figured I could call them friends, they accepted me at least. "I sit at a table at lunch with a few of them. I and this one girl, Jessica, seem to be getting along good." I reported, giving Charlie a smile.
"Jessica Stanley?" My father asked, curious.
"Yes, the very one." I said, giving another forced smile.
"Good, I'm glad you're making friends." Charlie said. "I'm going to go back downstairs. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He said, already walking out the door.
I sighed and collapsed back down on the bed, resting my head against the pillow. I frowned, watching the ceiling. Then, it suddenly hit me.
"Edward." I breathed, my eyes going wide. He had... captured me. The others had saved me! I bolted into a sitting position, my eyes terrified. My heart took off, beating wildly in my chest. I stood up, glancing around frantic. I had fallen asleep somehow. The last thing I could remember was seeing Edward being… held down my one of the big males from the Cullen family. And then someone had said 'Thank you, Jasper.'
I moaned, rubbing my temple in annoyance. This was not good! I let off a very human growl. Best not worry about this now. A nice, relaxing shower was called for. I grabbed my bag of toiletries and sprinted to the bathroom. I turned the shower on, jumping in. The water was cold, sending chills down my spine. It quickly heated up however.
I just stood there, letting the warm water relax my muscles. I washed my hair and body quickly after just standing there. Once that was done, I stood there some more, just letting the water work its magic. Once it began to run cold, I turned it off and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around me tightly. Stepping out of the shower, I was greeting by a cold draft that created goose bumps on my skin.
I changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater. I quickly brushed my teeth, stuffing my things back into my bag. I walked back into my room, throwing the bag in before I went down the stairs. I walked past Charlie. Some kind of sports game was blaring on the television. Sports never really interested.
I walked into the kitchen, snatching a piece of pizza from the box on the counter. I nibbled it while I stared ahead. I had to admit, I was scared. I know I should be calm and collected but I couldn't calm down. I sighed, taking a larger bite. This was such a pain. I finished it off and set off towards Charlie.
"I'm going to go out in a bit." I informed him, hoping he wouldn't question where.
"Out where?" he quizzed, eyeing me.
"Just out to explore town. I want to take a look around." I lied, frowning at him. He bought the lie, however.
"Alright, be back by 10:30 at least, alright?"
"I will!" I smiled, hurrying out the door. I pulled my still damp hair into a ponytail, jumping into my truck. I was heading to the pack now. They should have taken care of this problem so long ago. Why were these vampires still living? The coven was large but I was sure the pack could take care of the infestation. Then again, how many wolves were there? The Cullen's were large in number, which is extremely unusual. Vampires usually only travel around and are in groups of two, three. This was just ridiculous.
I drove my truck as fast as it would allow me. I began to pass a few houses of the small Indian reservation. I smiled, driving through. I remembered the address of the leader, Sam. My mother had given it to me and I had memorized it.
I cut the engine in front of a small building. I crawled out and made my way up to the door in a hurry. I knocked quickly and the door was opened seconds later.
A girl opened the door. I almost gasped at the sight but I didn't want to be rude. I smiled at her and didn't linger on her scarred face.
One whole side of her face was scratched up and scared. An animal of some kind must have done this to her.
"Hi, is Sam here?" I asked carefully, giving her another friendly smile.
"Yes, he is." As if on queue, a large muscular man was beside Emily, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She gazed up at him, a certain sparkle in her eyes. I immediately felt uncomfortable, almost out of place. I offered the large man a smile.
"I'm sorry for bothering you but I wanted to speak to you. My name's Bella Swan." I explained, giving him a shy smile.
"Bella? You're mother, Renee called me a day or two ago. Informed me you were going to come live in Forks." He said. I found it slightly odd my mother would announce my visit. "Come in." he invited, giving me a warm smile. He stepped aside, the girl one step behind him. It was then that I noticed he was topless. He grumbled something and walked off.
I walked in, the girl giving me a smile as she closed the door. "It's nice to meet you, Bella. I'm Emily." The girl greeted, extending her hand. I shook it willingly.
"It's nice to meet you too, Emily." I replied back.
"Anyway, what did you want to talk about?" I looked up, meeting Sam's eyes.
"Well, I was confused." I began, rubbing my arm absentmindedly. "I was wondering you do know vampires are in Forks, correct?"
Sam went tense. "What do you mean?"
"They go to the high school. The Cullen's? Why are they still there?" I asked. Sam suddenly began to laugh while Emily just smiled at him.
"No, No. You got it all wrong. We allow the Cullen's to live here." He explained. He must have noticed my confused expression so he continued. "A long time ago a few of them arrived here. They convinced us they were harmless, that they only ate animals. Vegetarians they call themselves. We made up a treaty. They are not allowed on our land and are not to harm, or bite, a human. If they do, the treaty is broken." He hesitated before he asked. "Did they do something?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No, I was just curious." I lied, frowning. "I didn't know if it was okay for them to be here." I said. "I'm sorry for wasting your time, I'll be off I suppose." I smiled and nodded to them. "It was nice to meet you bother and thanks you! Bye." I stepped towards the door as I heard a small bye from both Emily and Sam.
I hurried to my truck, getting into it and began to drive home.
So it seemed they were allowed here. And Edward hadn't broken any treaty by simple whisking me away. I frowned.
Vegetarian, huh? The Cullen's only fed on animals, which might explain why his eyes had been golden. Maybe they change certain colors with different diets. I shrugged and continued towards home.
I cut the engine and stepped out of the car, walking up to the door. I stepped in and retreated towards the stairs.
"Hey, Bells. Welcome back."
The sound of Charlie's voice made me freeze.
"Thanks dad." I gave him a small smile before I hurried upstairs. I quickly changed into a pair of old sweats and a t-shirt. I wasn't exactly tired so I got started on some homework.
Surprisingly, I finished my homework rather fast. I had a small load and it was all fairly easy. It hadn't taken me very long. The clock only read about 10:17 and I didn't have much of anything to do. Except sleep, but that long nap still had me wide awake.
I sighed and retreated back over to my bed. I laid there, staring up at the ceiling in complete boredom. There was absolutely nothing to do.
Reading was an option but I didn't think I had the patience to just sit down silently and read. Yes, reading was out of the question.
Music was an option. Music was good. It was always good. Perhaps dancing around my room would tire me out enough to help me pass out. Of course, there was always the risk of something happening. With my luck, I would most likely end up falling out of my window.
What's life without a few risks?
I grabbed a CD Phil had given me, popping it into my player. I had never heard it since I knew the band was the loud kind. I gave it a chance though.
The first few songs I just listened. By the fifth however I was on my feet dancing around my room. Well, it wasn't so much as dancing as twirling and stumbling around like an idiot. By the second time I listened to the CD, I was singing along, making sure to keep my voice down, however. Charlie was sleeping.
Maybe the third or fourth time I was replaying the songs I found myself on my bed, curled up, head phones still in. I found myself falling asleep in moments, listening to the music as I drifted asleep.
I woke up extremely early. Charlie wasn't even up. It seemed the sleep I was hoping only a nap. I suppressed a yawn as I picked out the days attire. I dressed as slowly as possible. Putting each piece of clothing on with care and concentration. I basically took my time.
After my 10-minute dressing I made my way down stairs. There wasn't much to do this early in the morning. There was also nothing that had to be down. Not one thing. I had nothing to keep my eager little mind busy.
So my mind wandered to one thing. Edward. He was the last thing I wanted to be thinking about. And yet, my mind needed to consult this problem.
Edward and his coven were a huge problem. I was almost sure they were completely harmless to the human population of Forks. I trusted Sam and the weird little treaty. I also felt like the Cullen's would keep their word. That worried me. Why was I so willing to believe them? I shuddered to myself.
And then there was the fact he had swept my away into the forest yesterday. What was that? That was totally uncalled for, and unessicary! I mean, he obviously didn't want to bite me, right? It didn't seem so. What was the point of kidnapping me? What about my car, too? It was still at school and it was already drizzling! I scowled and got up, peaking out of the window. To my surprise, my bulbous red truck was there. I gawked a moment and shook my head in slight shock. Odd. I frowned.
Charlie was up soon enough. I decided to make pancakes for the both of us. Charlie was happy to have a good breakfast. We ate in silence. We both were the silent type. Charlie left for work soon enough.
I rushed upstairs, brushing my teeth quickly. I ran a comb through my hair, fixing it up the best I could. I didn't know why I was so anxious now. I waited as long as I could until I flew out the door and into my truck. I climbed into my truck and turned it on. I took my time getting to school however, not wanted to be insanely early.
I was still early when I got there, however. Only one or two other unfamiliar cars were in the lot. I parked as close as I could and sat it my truck. I pulled out my calculus text and studied. But you could only study calculus for so long. Frustrated with book, I slammed it closed and let out a frustrated sigh. Calculus was never my strong point. A ran a hand through my hair and put my book back into my bag.
The lot was half full now but it was still too late to get out and wander the halls to my next class. I didn't need to be pointed out as a teachers pet. I sighed and shook my head slowly to myself.
A loud knock came from my window. It forced me to jump, the hairs standing on the back of my neck. I gasped and looked towards the window carefully. Mike was there. I blinked and rolled down the window.
"Uh, hey Mike." I said, giving him a small smile.
"Did I scare you? Sorry." He said, giving me a sheepish smile. "I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out this week. Go see a movie or something?" Mike asked, giving me a hopeful smile.
I opened my mouth to answer but I closed it as my eye caught Edward. He was walking towards the two of us, lips curled into a smirk. I frowned and Mike seemed to follow my gaze to Edward.
"Hello Mike." Edward said in his beautiful voice. It made my heart pick up. I flushed and looked at my hands.
"Err, hey Edward." Mike said, turning back towards me. "So what do you say? Want to hang out this week?"
I opened my mouth to speak but Edward beat me to it.
"Actually Mike, Bella is not available this week, or the weekend." He said, flashing the most sincere, apologetic smile ever. I sent a glare at him while Mike was not looking. What was he doing? He didn't control my social life!
"Why is that?" Mike asked, fake curiosity etched into his words.
"Oh, Bella and my sister, Alice, have been talking." He said, waving his hand like it was nothing. "And Alice has stolen Bella for what seems to be days. She's planed tons of shopping trips and even a sleep over." Edward rolled his eyes as if she thought his sister was silly. He then shrugged. "I just came over here to remind Bella that she is supposed to come over today at 5:00 o'clock." He explained, flashing Mike a smile. "Alice wanted me to make sure she doesn't forget."
I gawked at him, mouth hanging. He sent me a look and I quickly recovered, glaring once more. Mike rubbed the back of his head, turning around to face me again. "Eh, I'll see you later then, Bella." He mumbled, taking off.
My gaze flickered back to Edward. "What was that?" I demanded.
"What?" he asked, innocence filling his voice. "I thought you would need some help." He said, flashing me a smile.
"I don't need your help with anything." I hissed.
"A bit of a temper, eh?" he chuckled, running a hand through his beautiful hair. "Oh, well. And Alice is expecting you at 5:00. You probably don't know where the house is so Alice will pick you up." He flashed me another smile.
"What?!" I stared at him, shock clear in my face and voice. "I am not going anywhere with her!" I ranted, glaring sharply at him. "I refuse to go anywhere with her! Tell her our plans are canceled!" Pft, like he had even had plans! Who was she to just force this on me? It wasn't like I wanted to do anything with her anyway!
"Bella, Alice wants to meet you. Anyway, she does need a shopping partner." He was serious now. "And trust me; Alice isn't afraid to drag you out of the house."
"Fine." I mumbled. He just smiled and walked away.