Seven

I tumbled out of the car and into the hallway, shaking off the mud was caked into my sneakers.

Rosalie and Alice went one way, Jasper strode off with Emmett, and as the mood-controller left, I felt numbing hysterics begin to overcome me. But after a second, the independent side of me took control, and soon my racing pulse slowed.

Then I realized that I was left alone with Edward.

I thought maybe I should say something.

I quickly realized that Edward was not going to start the conversation, so I did.

"So…" I said, drawing the word out. "Jasper said you've got a detention… what for?" I tried to make my voice sound mildly interested.

He glanced at me, and matched my tone, answering my question indifferently, "I don't bother getting to class on time - if I ever go at all. And my attitude towards others… has been less than warm."

"Ah," was all I could think of to say.

I was right. He was a bad boy after all.

Our little conversation died off, and we quickly walked to our next class, Biology, avoiding each other's gaze. We didn't speak again.

But sure enough, just as we reached the door, a teacher who just had to be Mr. Rie tripped around the corner, simultaneously balancing a towering stack of papers in one arm and wheeling a trolley of microscopes in the other. He almost ran straight into me, but thankfully Edward saved the day and pulled me back, to give Mr. Rie room.

He looked at us suspiciously, and, ignoring me, barked a question at Edward, "You're in my class aren't you? You better have a good excuse for being late."

Not waiting for Edward to answer, he turned to me, frowning, "And what about you? I haven't seen your face before," he commented.

I smiled politely and told him, "I'm new to this school. Indie Lane?"

He shoved the stack of papers into Edward's arms before they toppled over, and hurriedly flipped through his roll.

"Jefferson, Kilpatrick, Kooney…" he mumbled, thumbing through the names. "Lane." He found my name. "Indiana Lane? What a pretty name. Pity you're still getting a detention."

He shook his head.

"Miss, a detention before the class had even started. Shocked?"

I raised my brows, not shocked at all.

Mr. Rie turned to Edward. "And it goes without saying, that you, the King of all Slackers, is getting a detention too. How many are we up to now, Mr. Cullen?"

Edward looked elegantly aloof.

"Four this week, Mr. Rie," he said, sounding bored.

The crabby teacher raised his grizzly eyebrows. "Only?" he said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. "Could we possibly get into class now, Mr. Rie?" I asked him, exasperated with the… eccentric teacher.

He glanced at me, "Oh yes, good thinking, ah… Miss."

Along with forgetting my name, he also seemed to have forgotten that I'd gotten a detention as well.

During the class, I dimly remembered several eager people introduced themselves to me, and I would smile back vaguely.

I remembered this one guy, Erik or something, with hair as black as an oil-slick and just as greasy, telling me a tiring number of corny jokes. I also slightly remembered this short girl with big hair, whose name I'd forgotten, towing along a shy girl who was several centimeters taller than me.

But most of my attention was spent on the intriguing boy sitting next to me. My eyes were fixed on Edward's sculpted face, and time flew.

I hardly noticed what was going on around me, yet somehow, I still managed to answer every question any teacher would throw at me, correctly.

When the end of day bell rung, Edward met me outside my Calculus class.

He looked stunning. I almost heard every girl's jaw hit the floor.

Edward, like the Greek-god that he was, leaned against the doorframe, his bronze hair messy and gorgeous…

I could've gone on about his superb appearance for hours.

"Detention time, Indie," he called to me, the voice unintentionally seductive. I turned around to face him. Everyone's face looked baffled, but inside, I glowed with glee. However much he annoyed me, Edward always seemed to dazzle me more.

We had detention in the Chemistry room, with Mr. Rie – sigh – supervising. And being Mr. Rie, instead of giving us work to do, he instructed us to scrub the 'stains' off the tables. Of course, he knew full well that those 'stains' weren't the stains made from spilled chemicals, but the ones created when a permanent marker meets a plastic surface.

It was quiet outside the class; everyone had already rushed home.

I inwardly cursed every graffiti-doer to hell.

As I leaned over a vandalized table, I heard a soft, husky voice behind me.

"I swear I will never draw on a table again."

I turned around, to see a tall, well-built guy behind me. He had dark skin, dark hair, and a beautiful, glinting smile. His eyes twinkled warmly.

I smiled back politely at him, and mumbled back a short reply, "Um hum." And turned back to my desk.

The guy didn't stop. "Is this even legal? To get students to clean tables?"

I turned towards him again. That smile was infectious. I found that I answered back easily, "Ha, this isn't as bad as back at home. The teachers would make us clean the spilled food in microwaves."

He cocked a brow, "Back at home?" After a second thought, he added, "Microwaves?"

"Australia. I lived in Melbourne, before I moved here. We bring our own lunches, and sometimes, people need to heat up their food…" I waved my hand limply.

He whistled, "Microwaves. Weird. But hey, wow, that's why you have that cool accent. Impressive."

Mr. Rie chose that moment to make his appearance. "No talking!" he almost shouted from where he sat behind his desk, munching on a donut.

We rolled our eyes, simultaneously, which made me smile.

The guy continued talking anyway. "I'm Jake. You must be the infamous Indie."

I raised my brows, and spoke, "Nice to meet you, but 'infamous'?"

Jake grinned. "You're the new girl who hangs out with the you-know-whos."

He didn't need to say who they were. Wasn't it obvious? I glanced over at Edward, on the other side of the classroom. He was staring at Jake and not even attempting to disguise the look of cold hatred on his face.

Jake didn't look ruffled.

"NO TALKING!" I jumped when I heard the frantic teacher shriek in my ear.

"Ow." I scowled at Mr. Rie, his grizzly face disturbingly close to my own, and rubbed my ear. "You didn't have to yell right in my ear."

Mr. Rie pursed his lips and said, "Oh, didn't I?" and stalked off.

Jake looked at me with a look of admiration, and burst out laughing.

"Don't worry, he does that to everyone." He chuckled.

I smiled back at him. "There's always an 'odd' teacher, right?"

He nodded wisely. "But 'odd' seems to be an understatement for Rie."

From then on, I began to like this Jake guy more and more.

Meanwhile, Edward was looking as though he was in immense pain.

I was still chatting with Jake, when I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. Jake seemed to see whoever had tapped me over my shoulder and he stiffened. I turned around, and looked straight into the marvelous, ocher-coloured eyes of Edward. His face looks strained, and his voice was just as tight when he spoke quietly to me. He ignored Jake.

"Indie, can I have a word with you?" Judging by the way how he was flicking his eyes uncomfortably to Jake, he meant 'alone'.

"Sure." And I allowed myself to be steered to a private corner of the large lab. Even when Edward positioned himself between Jake and I, I still felt my new friend's curious eyes on me.

Edward backed me into a corner, and at his overwhelming proximity, my heart began to stutter.

"Indie." He breathed. "I don't want you talking to Jacob."

"Why?" I asked heatedly, my voice a lot louder than his. Edward's eyes looked sad. He opened his mouth, then hesitated.

"What is it? You can tell me." I asked him slightly gentler.

Edward sighed, "You won't like hearing it."

"Hearing what? You won't know that for sure, until you tell me." I asked him, getting a little impatient.

"Okay." He sighed, giving up. "Bella…" my stomach dropped, but I straightened my features as he continued, " …befriended a man called Jacob Black… and he… constantly pursued her. She felt guilty. He was her best friend, and I think she… loved… him in her own way. But not like that."

"Then why didn't she just…" I petered off, curious.

Then, Edward's eyes flashed. "Because she was with me!" his voice breaking at the end. My mouth fell open.

"I don't understand." I whispered. Edward's words came out in a rush.

"Bella and I… we… were meant for each other. She was my other half, and we would've gladly died for one another." Here, he shuddered.

I felt like there was a whole lot more that he wasn't ready to tell me.

He leaned close to me, cornering me. But I didn't really want to escape. Edward reached out a hand, and I felt him lightly touch my hair. I heard his whispered words, full of emotion, "I won't lose you again, Bella, not again."

The words tugged at my heart, and I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.

He only liked me, because he thought I was Bella, 'resurrected'.

I pushed his hand away.

"Edward. I'm not Bella." I said, perhaps a bit more roughly than I intended.

He leaned back, eyes confused. "You're the reincarnate of Bella. I can see flashes of her nature in you."

I glared back. "Maybe there are, but what about any flashes of me in me? Indie? The person who is in here -" I tapped my chest. "- is not Bella. I'm Indie, not Bella!"

He crossed his arms, expression torn. "But…"

I stared back defiantly at him. "This is so stupid! Why do you keep thinking I am Bella? Are you crazy or something? My name is Indiana Lane. This is all me. I'm happy with who I am. Don't try and change me!" I hissed at him.

He stepped back, wounded, and I felt a rush of regret.

"I'm sorry, I know this must be very co - confusing for you, but I wasn't trying to…"

My eyes softened, and I reached out a hand, pleading forgiveness. "I'm sorry, Edward. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. It's just that… people always try and change me, and I… I don't like it."

Edward's eyes were miserable, but he nodded in understanding.

"Can I ask you something?" I whispered to him. He nodded again. I took a deep breath.

"Does your family, Alice… and - and Jasper…" My chest clenched as I thought of my closest friend I had here. "Do they only like me… because of – of Bella? Or do they really like me for me?"

Edward didn't reply. My heart sank. He reached out a hesitant hand, and this time, I welcomed it. We hugged, and suddenly everything seemed okay.

"What are you two lovebirds doing over there?" Mr. Rie called from the front of the classroom. We broke apart. "This is a detention, not a hotel."

This caused a flurry of stifled laughter, and I blushed. With my face burning hot, I walked back towards the desks, and resumed scrubbing the scratched desks. From behind my curtain of dark hair, I saw Jake glaring knives at Edward. This time it was Edward who ignored it.

I hoisted my bag onto my shoulders, and began walking home. It was beginning to rain; just those annoying spittle that would somehow find their way directly into your eyes. I pulled my hood over my head, and quickly made the short walk back to the Dorm House.

Just when I was about to walk through the House, I felt someone watching me. I turned around, and saw four people huddling under a tree together. There was a girl with lanky hair over her face, and three other boys - all wearing dirty, dark, over-sized coats.

One boy was staring at me, but he had pulled his hood over his head. All I could see were his grey eyes, staring straight at me. I looked away, suddenly unsettled about it. I pushed through the door and forgot about it.

I was in my dorm room, wondering how I had gotten through my first day, when I heard a loud knock on the door. I heaved myself up from where I was reading Pride and Prejudice yet again, and walked slowly towards the door.

Maybe it was Jasper, coming to say hi.

Or… but I refused to think of the other name.

But when I opened the door, I got the shock of my life.

A man with too long, dark hair was standing in my doorway, with a blinding grin on his face. He had the same blue eyes that I had, and he was grinning his head off.

"Scotty!" I screamed, throwing my arms around him.

"Hey," he said, laughing.

Several doors had opened in the hallway, and I glimpsed many gossipy faces peeking around the doors.

"We better get you inside. Paparazzi watching." I joked, eye-balling the eavesdroppers until they lowered their gaze and shut their doors again. I hauled him inside the cardboard box of a room.

"How the hell did you get here?" I asked him, practically bouncing around where I sat. Scott collapsed onto the worn-out couch, and after realizing that it was hard as cement, he rubbed his backside and stood instead.

"I just wanted to see how my little sis's going." He answered, grinning broadly at me.

My expression was deadpan.

"What?" he asked innocently. "Is that really such a crime?"

I slowly raised one eyebrow. I knew that couldn't be it.

"Okay, fine." He gave up. "I'm here because Mum and Dad wanted me to go 'check up on you'" He used his fingers as apostrophes.

I gasped. "You flew to America, to check up on me?"

He nodded, leaned back, and placed his arms behind his head. "I'm only here for a few weeks, but pretty much, yeah," he said comfortably.

I couldn't have been more stunned. "You actually listened to them?"

He knew what I meant. Mother and Father Dearest.

He looked sheepish. "Well, they bribed me."

My mind whirred as I wondered what could be big enough to make a guy in his last year leave his school and go across the globe to a tiny town. Just to check up on his little sister.

"What did they do?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.

He suddenly flashed an excited grin. "What do you think?"

I suddenly knew what he had been bribed with, and when Scott dug into his pockets and finally extracted a couple of silver keys, my guess was confirmed.

"A car!" He crowed with glee, looking as happy as a kid in a candy store.

He then proceeded to go on about precisely what type of car it was, what kind of tires it had, the exact shade of the windshield wipers. I nodded in the appropriate places, and every time he paused for breath, I would gasp in sisterly pride.

Thankfully, after a few minutes of his animated monologue, I heard another knock. Scott followed me to the door, still describing his new love.

Jake was standing in the door, the arms of his shirt rolled up, the buttons under his collar undone.

Scott fell silent, and put his arm protectively over me, glowering at Jake.

"Hey Indie." Jake greeted me warmly.

Before I could answer, Scott butted in roughly, "What do you want?"

Jake ignored him and just raised his eyebrows at me.

He went on, speaking only to me, "You forgot your jacket at detention. I was just bringing it over to you." His eyes flicked from me to Scott.

"Here you go." He muttered, shoving my jacket into my hands. For some reason, he looked resigned.

"Thanks," I said, slowly.

Finally, just as he was turning away to leave, I clicked.

"Jake! This is my brother, Scott."

Scott leaned back; crossing his arms across his chest, and didn't offer his hand. I glared at him and spoke, "Sorry, he's not usually this rude. It must be jet-lag."

Jake grinned back at me, much happier. "So, you're not…" he trailed off. He didn't have to say it to make me realize what he meant.

…together?

"No," I replied dryly. "Because that would be both illegal and extremely disturbing."

Behind me, Scott snorted.

"Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow, hey, Indie?"

"Sure," I answered.

Before Jake had even moved from the doorway, Scott shut the door in his face. I turned to him, annoyed.

"You didn't have to be so rude, Scott. Seriously. He's a friend." I scolded him.

He glowered darkly at me. "Yeah, he seemed very friendly to me." he hinted.

I put my hands on my hips. I asked, impatiently, "What? What is it?"

"You might think of him as just a friend, but I'm pretty sure he wants a little more than that." Scott fired back at me.

I glared at him, "And how would you know? You only saw him for five seconds! Hell, you don't even know his name."

"He was looking at you like you were… a piece of meat!"

I was surprised. "I hadn't noticed that." I commented.

Scott just pursed his lips.

I decided to make up with him. I hated fighting with my adorable, over-protective older brother.

"You know, Mum's right when she says that we're as hot-headed as each other," I teased him, poking him in the ribs.

He smiled. "Nah, I'm with Dad. You're way more stubborn."

I faked a look of outrage, and we settled down on the couch together to watch yet another re-run of Friends.