Chapter Two

"Did you have fun today with the girls?" Charlie asked from his permanent spot on the coach. I didn't even know why he asked anymore, it wasn't really like he was interested or would listen to anything I had to say. He was to busy watching whatever football, basketball, or soccer game was on, on the big screen. He had his back to me, facing the TV since the coaches back was facing the small foyer. On the other side of the foyer was the small kitchen with yellow cabinets and mixed-matched chairs.

"Yeah." I mumbled, placing the tray with drinks on the end table beside the door. I hung my jacket up and kicked my boots into the tiny closet beside the front door. When Charlie heard the scrunch of the paper bags in my hand, he turned around.

"Whatcha' got there Bells?" I picked up the tray and walked to the living room. He sat up from the coach, so I could sit beside him. I handed him his drink and gave him one of the paper bags. "Well, this was awfully nice of you Bells. You didn't have to do this." He muttered, opening the brown paper bag with red writing and throwing a handful of fries in his mouth.

"I know." I said, curling my feet under me. I wasn't planning on staying long, most of the time it was just way to awkward to stay in a room with Charlie. I noticed that instead of sports, Charlie was watching fishing. Oh god, that's got to make him tired. I placed the other bag and drink on the coffee table. "But I wanted too. I wasn't sure if you ate or not."

"That was very nice of you, Bells." He said again, taking a giant bite of his big mac. Ketchup and mustard got stuck in his mustache and I held back a grimace. "But I'm a grown man, I can take care of myself." He laughed whole-heartily and nudged me awkwardly into the ribs. For the first time since I sat down, I noticed six empty beer bottles on the coffee table. I frowned, my father was drunk.

I forced a awkward laugh. "Anyway, it's late. I think I'm gonna go to bed. You can take that stuff with you tomorrow to work if you want." Charlie nodded and thanked me. I stood and walked up the stairs to the bathroom. I put my hair up messily on the top of my head, brushed my teeth and washed my face, scrubbing extra hard to get all the dark eye makeup off. I got ready for bed fairly quickly and climbed into my already warm bed. But sleep wouldn't come. I knew I had been tired, because I had been tired most of the day. Especially in the evening, I had even fell asleep in Alice's car, but had woken up ten minutes later when Alice roughly drove over a bump in the road. Which I'm pretty sure she had done intently.

But for whatever reason, every time I closed my eyes all I seen were stunning green ones. I spent the majority of the night tossing and turning trying to figure out what color green his eyes actually were. They weren't bright green or sage green. They weren't lime or lawn. Not pale green or spring green. It was as if I knew the color, and it was on the tip of my tongue. But for some reason I couldn't think of it. It literally drove me nuts, all night. I tried to remember his smell, but then I remember that when I was with him, I was way to entranced on the way he looked or the color of his eyes to really pay attention to the way he smelt. But thinking back, I knew he didn't smell clean. There was just no way, because he wasn't clean.

It literally looked like he had been living on the streets. For maybe weeks or months. Maybe he smelt of BO, but there was no way to be sure. Not without seeing him again. I wasn't sure what it was about this boy, maybe it was because he was homeless, which in fact, I was positive he was. I wondered when the last time he had a shower, or had a home cooked meal. And that made me frown, I didn't want to feel bad, because I knew people in that sort of situation hated when people took pity. But I couldn't help it. He was my age, and he was living on the streets.

Eventually sleep fell upon me. I wasn't sure how late it was that I had actually fell asleep, but I got there, somehow. When I woke up, I was already feeling shitty. I felt way more tired then I was when I had actually went to sleep. So I knew that today was going to be total crap. I slammed my alarm clock, trying to make the blaring noise stop. Eventually when it did, I heaved myself out of bed. My back hurt, because I fell asleep on my stomach. I had a shower, which was cold. Charlie must have used all the hot water. I couldn't find the other match to my sock, and spent ten wasted minutes looking around for it. My eyeliner pencil broke in my eye, and my mascara smudged all around my face, when I accidentally sneezed applying it. And that was just the morning.

It was a nice day out, which wasn't a God send or anything because the weather had been picking up for the last couple of days. I was grateful though, it was nice to see something other then rain and fog.

My radio wouldn't turn on for some reason when I had gotten in my truck, so the whole way to school I listened to static, which conveniently enough kept making my eyelids heavy with sleep. Alice was waiting for me on one of the empty picnic tables beside the school, which should of been a sign that something bad was going to happen. Usually she'd be in the cafeteria, her and sun didn't go well together. Or rain, or snow for that matter. I hopped out of my reddish - orange now, from the rust - Chevy truck, that I had bought from Charlies friend when I had turned sixteen and walked over to her. The closer I got, I noticed she was lightly bouncing in on the top of the table. Her leg was twitching a little, and her face was in a bright grin. She gripped the table top, as if trying to stop herself from running over to me.

Oh shit.

When she spotted me, she waved wildly at me. I forced a smile and timidly waved back. She was wearing dark skinny jeans a lot like my own I had worn today, but she had paired hers with a green ballet flat, while I paired mine with gray boots. She was also wearing a light yellow tank top with a green cardigan that matched her flats. Her hair was pinned back with a yellow headband making her bangs looked a little puffy. "Hey Bella." I heard a familiar voice say, as she walked up beside me. I smiled at her. She was rocking a jean skirt with a pink pull over sweater. Her hair was up in a loose pony tail, that laid off the side of her shoulder. We started walking over to Alice. "Huh, she's got that look in her eyes." Rosalie muttered.

I laughed as Rose and I linked arms as we walked over to Alice. She looked like she was about to burst, so we just stood there laughing. We knew Alice wouldn't say anything without us asking first. I don't know why, she was just always like that. Like it was some big secret, and we had to ask so she could spill. But that was hardly the case, usually it had something to do with shopping or having a sleep over. From the twitchy thing her eye was doing, it was definitely shopping. I sighed before I spoke. "What's up Alice?"

"Armory is having a sale and were going shopping today after school!" She said extremely fast, that I probably wouldn't of caught if I didn't already know what was coming out of her mouth. It was like one giant gust of air. She breathed deeply a couple times before her heavy breathing subsided. It was like she had just run a marathon or held her breath for minutes. Which it was probably the latter, even though it was completely unnecessary.

And that was that. I knew there was no way Rose or I could convince her that we weren't going. She'd probably end up calling Charlie at work, sweet talk him into not pressing charges and then kidnap me. It sounded ridiculous, but it's happened before. And Charlie just thought the whole thing was hilarious. Plus, I really wanted to go back to Port Angele's.

The rest of the day went by pretty fast. Mike had asked me to go to homecoming with him, but I told him I wasn't sure if I was even going. Homecoming was two months away. And even if I was going, I doubt it'd be with him. Ever since I moved to Forks five years ago, he's been trying to get with me. I mean, it's totally flattering and all, he just isn't my type.

Lunch was lonely because I didn't have Rose's or Alice's lunch period. I had second while they had first. So I spent most of my lunch in the library quietly eating. Jessica had my lunch, because we had the same class before hand together, but I wasn't Jessica's biggest fan. She much to into her self, and the gossiping around her. Don't get me wrong, I loved gossip. Especially if its something juicy. But when it generally relates to Angela going to the bathroom for a good solid three minutes, I choose to ignore it. Because who really cares what Angela is doing in the bathroom?

After school I left my trust at the school parking lot, I'd come and pick it up later when Alice dropped me back off. We never took my truck to Port Angele's because it only fit two people, and also because Alice and Rose wouldn't be caught dead in my truck. On the way there we talked aimlessly about stuff that wasn't all that important. Alice talked mostly of Jasper, and how things were progressing between them. Rosalie would comment about how Emmett was still as much as an idiot as usual.

"I mean, he's such a fucking dumb ass. How can one be so stupid?" But neither Alice or I would miss the small smile or the happiness in her eyes whenever she talked about him. We'd just shrug our shoulders and leave our two cents out of the conversation.

I talked about my tattoo and how it hurt, but it was tolerable. I also talked about how Mike asked me to the dance again, and Alice and Rose groaned and fake gagged, because they hated Mike with a passion. I wanted to mention Edward, but I didn't know how to start that conversation and I didn't know what they'd think of me interacting with a homeless boy, no matter how cute he was. So I didn't and let it be. Eventually it got quiet and we just sang along to the music in the background. Like we had done the day before. Rosalie turned around and gave me a clenched jaw smile. She didn't like Britney Spears, but we sang along anyway.

By the time we arrived in Port Angele's, it was a little after five. We had supper at the Cafe Garden. Rose ordered pasta, Alice ordered soup while I ordered a sandwich. I ordered another sandwich for Charlie too. We talked aimlessly for the rest of the dinner. "So, how'd you find out about the sale?" I asked, pinching off a piece of my turkey sandwich.

"The manager called me."

"The manager called you?" Rose asked dumbfounded, as she took a spoonful of her wholewheat pasta. Alice nodded her head, staring into her soup bowl. "Why?"

"We're friends. And she calls me whenever there's a sale."

"Wow." I muttered, rolling my eyes and taking a drink of my water. I looked over at Rose and she just rolled her eyes and gave me a small smile. "Alice, I think you need an intervention." I joked. Her head snapped up from her soup bowl and I'm pretty sure she growled a little. Like a fierce little growl. She clenched her fists around her spoon and narrowed her eyes at me. "Fuck, Alice. I was just kidding." I said, raising my arms up, palms forward.

Alice breathed deeply before calming down, and leaning back into her seat. "Kay." She said sweetly, sipping on her soup. I gaped over at Rose, silently asking what the fuck was that? But she just rolled her eyes, and held back a laugh like it was the most normal thing in the world. I shook my head and ate my sandwich quietly.

Alice wanted to leave the minute she finished her soup, so basically that was twenty minutes into the meal. Both Rose and I didn't get a chance to finish our food. We left our car parked in the parking lot for Cafe Garden and just walked the streets to the mall after I put Charlies sandwich in the backseat. The air was nice, not that chilly. But cold enough for a jacket. I pulled my hood over my head and hugged my jacket closer to my body, as we walked into the breeze.

Shopping with Alice was an experience that I wished only happened once a year. Because honestly, it can really tire you out. We spent ten minutes at one store, while Alice basically flew around the store picking things she wanted. Ten minutes later we were in a different store, doing the exact same thing. And for two hours we went store to store every ten minutes. Some stores we stayed in a bit longer, because Alice couldn't choose between red or pink. But she ended up getting them both anyway. My feet were hurting so bad, and I only ended up getting a red pull over sweater. Rose and I just stood awkwardly leaning up against a rack that nobody seemed to want anything from, while we waited for Alice. She'd file her nails, and I'd look at the cheep clothes on the rack.

By the time we were done it was a little after eight. Alice had seven large bags filled with clothes and shoes. We helped her carry them to her car. After everything was put away, I thought we might go home, because it was late and I was tired. Plus we had school in the morning and stores would be closing soon. But Alice walked in the opposite direction. "Where are you going?" I sighed dramatically.

"Thrift store."

"Why?" I asked, running to catch up with her.

"Why does she ever do anything?" Rose muttered picking at her nails. "Lets just go and get this over with." The thrift store that Alice wanted to go too was located on the board walk. It was one of the many stores and shops that lined that street. As we approached the street I heard the sound of a guitar. The melody was quiet, almost so low you couldn't hear it. As we walked closer, I could hear the smooth familiar voice singing along with the melody. His voice would crack ever so often, but he'd clear his throat.

The streets were quiet except for the sound of Edward playing the guitar and singing along. Most of the stores were closed and the street was dark, only being lit by a couple stores that were still open. You could see the light from a store across the road illuminating the side of his face as he leaned against a brick building, the guitar perched on her knee. He was wearing the same clothes that I seen him in yesterday, except he had a small parka over his shoulders. His bag was sitting beside him, tucked under his arm, while the guitar case was cloth, not plastic or wood. It was sitting in front of his crossed legs, opened like he was playing for money. But that wasn't the case because nobody was around.

He didn't see us pass the alley. "Ew," Rose mumbled with a hint of disgust laced in her word. She didn't mean to say it out loud, it was barely even audio-able but I heard it.

"What?" I asked, clenching my teeth.

"Nothing." She said rolling her eyes dramatically. It was dark, but I could still see. I let it go though, because I didn't want to cause and seen, or want Edward to hear us fighting over him. Alice didn't say anything. She just squeezed our locked arms a little tighter. I'm pretty sure it was meant to be soothing, as she was trying to calm me down. It didn't work, but I let her think it did.

She pulled us along to the thrift store, one of the three stores that were actually still open. She bounced around the store, talking to the older lady - maybe in her mid thirty's with a purple tank top and black leather pants - behind the counter. I sat on one of the coaches with green and white flowers decorating it, while Alice went in and out of the changing room trying things on. Rose was on the other side of the store looking through the glass jewelry case. I sighed. "Do you mind if I go to the book store down the street? I noticed it was still open."

I was a terrible liar, so I kept my gaze on my feet. "Sure. Meet you at the car in fifteen?" Alice mumbled, distracted by the lime green dress she was swaying around in, in front of the full length mirror.

I nodded, even though she didn't see me. I grabbed my jacket, putting it on as I walked out of the store. It only took a couple minutes of walking down the street to hear Edward's voice and guitar playing. The wind had picked up slightly, so I pulled my sweater hood and jacket hood up over my head and scrunched my hands up in my jacket sleeves. The light from the store was out now, and with further inspection, it looked like the store was closed for the night. I could barely see Edward in the darkness, but after I squinted my eyes a little bit, I was able to tell that he hadn't moved one bit since I seen him over a half hour ago.

He didn't notice me approach, until I was standing directly in front of him. He stopped playing and singing, and looked up at me. Squinting his eyes, trying to tell who I was in the darkness of the alley. "Bella? Bella is it?" He asked, his voice just as velvety as I remembered.

I nodded, a little hurt that he barely remembered my name. "Yeah, Hi Edward." I said taking a seat on the opposite side of the small alley. I tucked my legs up to my chest, trying to keep warm from the chilly air.

"What are you doing here?"

"My friends wanted to come shopping. I seen you over here and wanted to come say hi." I said with a smile, even though I wasn't sure if he could see me.

"Well, hi." He said shyly, raking his fingers through his hair. I hadn't noticed before that his hood was down, and his knitted hat was sitting beside his guitar case in front of him. He started playing after a couple moments of silence, and I listened intently. He was awfully good at the guitar, like he had been playing for years, but his voice could use a little work. I grimaced every time his voice cracked or went off key.

For living on the streets, he didn't look all that sad. He definitely looked lonely, but in someways, I thought he looked somewhat content. As he sung, his lips turned into a small smile. His white of his eyes bright in the darkness as he smiled down at the guitar case. I wanted to talk, I only had a couple more minutes until I had to walk to Alice's car, but I didn't have a clue what to say. I already knew asking why he was homeless was off limits, but that was the big thing I really wanted to know. So I asked the next best thing.

"How long have you been playing guitar for?"

He didn't stop playing as he answered me. His gaze shifting to me only for a brief second. "Since I was five." I smile and nodded at him, not finding anything else to say. I used the palms of my hands to stand up. I thought for a moment, should I say goodbye? What should I do? I dug my hands in my pockets, looking for something to leave him. I had a couple dollar bills, and a twenty. I walked over to him, leaned down and put the twenty three dollars in his guitar case. I was just planning on walking away after that, but I panicked a little bit when Edward stopped playing. He squinted his eyes at his guitar case, his eyebrows knitting together. "What the fuck is this?" He growled, picking up the money and throwing it at me.

"Wha-" I started but he cut me off. His breathing picked up, and he clenched and unclenched his jaw. He narrowed his eyes up at me.

"I'm not some charity case Bella." He seethed, emphasizing my name.

"I know, I just-"

"You would just what?! Give me twenty dollars and hope that everything would be okay? That I'd fall to my knees and bow fucking down to you? I don't want your damn pity!"

"Edward, I'm sorr-"

"Just get the fuck out of here Bella." He took a couple calming breaths and raked his fingers roughly through his hair, pulling at the ends. But I couldn't move. I didn't want him to hate me, and I definitely didn't expect him to throw a fit. I opened my mouth and closed it a couple times, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what the hell to say. I closed my eyes, trying to get my breathing under control, as I clenched my own fists inside my jacket sleeve. I didn't want to cry, especially in front of him but if I didn't leave now I was going too. So I turned around, and started to walk out of the alley. "Oh and Bella." He mumbled, harshly. I clenched my eyes closed again and turned around slowly. "Take your damn charity with you." He said, pointing to the four bills lying on the ground.

I nodded, and walked over to the money. Picking it up, and walking out of the alley. When I was safely out of the ally, I heard Edward start singing and playing the guitar again. I wanted to smile, but the guitar was heavier now. It wasn't happy, and his singing was rough and angry.