Disclaimer: I own nothing...SM does.

Realisation

EPOV

Jasper met me in the parking lot at school as he had promised. He was excited about me getting to meet Alice and their friend Bella. Mostly about me meeting Alice though. When I had been forced to leave Forks it was only a month or so after Alice and her parents had arrived. I could barely remember her. There was a vague recollection of her being tiny. Absolutely tiny. That could be the fact she was only 12 when I had last set eyes on her. Jasper had sent a photo once, but it only held their happy faces, nothing more to go on then.

"Bella slept in." Jasper told me after checking a text that came through from Alice.

"Couldn't Alice drive herself? You told me she had a pretty nice car."

"Yeah, her parent's way of saying we love you." He snorted bitterly. "She loves it, but likes coming in with Bella more."

"Dude, I'm going to the office to get the usual first day stuff. Play nice with the other children." Emmett shouted back at me, obviously having been bored waiting with us, as he stalked into the front office. Jasper snickered and I rolled my eyes.

"I should do the same." I told Jasper apologetically. "I'll meet Alice at lunch I'm sure."

"Sure. I'm going to wait a few more minutes. See you at lunch."

I walked through the parking lot to get to the office and I could feel everyone staring at me. Emmett was better with attention than I was, I should have gone at the same time. At least then some of the attention would have been deflected onto him. I raked my fingers through my hair and pulled at a tuft of it. Two girls stopped in front of me and stared with no shame.

"Edward?" One of them gasped.

"Um, yeah." I replied out of politeness.

"Do you remember me? Lauren. Mallory." She started towards me as I frowned and pulled at my hair again. "This is Jessica Stanley. Remember?" I looked at both of them and shook my head. They looked like identikit high school girls. I wrote them off as vapid the second I spotted them.

"I have to get to the office." My hand made a motion forward and I stepped between them, walking hurriedly away.

It only took moments to get the information I needed from the office and I walked to my first class, ignoring the stares and thankful when the teacher pointed me to a vacant chair without asking that I introduce myself.

The seat next to me was empty and I hoped that it would stay that way. In fact I prayed that I would not have to listen to someone's inane prattle about small town life for the next hour. The bell sounded and the seat next to me remained empty. Thank god for that.

Just as the teacher started his teachings the door opened and in stepped another student. Her face was hidden by a wall of deep dark hair, her pale hands clutched the strap of her book bag and as she stepped towards her designated seat, that I quickly realised was the vacant one beside me, she caught her foot on the leg of a table. She was sent crashing down to the floor before anyone had the chance to react, books spilling across the floor until one stopped at my foot. A waft of strawberry scented air blew over me and I gripped the edge of the desk, suddenly transported to the previous night where that smell had enveloped me with its comfort.

She groaned with embarrassment, her hands grasping at the fallen books before she stood up and gave a quick little bow. The class had overcome their shock and were snickering as she made her way over to the seat beside me. I had bent to retrieve the book at my feet and I handed it to her as she sat down.

"Thanks." She breathed at me with a shake of her head, moving the wall of hair away from her face and revealing to me the most beautiful brown eyes I had seen. The same eyes that looked at me hooded with lust every night. The same eyes that pleaded with me to please her as I held her body flush with mine.

BPOV

There was no doubt that my day is going to get worse; I thought this as I landed face first on the floor of biology class. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. I groaned with embarrassment as Mr. Banner made a move to help me up. I waved him away and grabbed the books that had spilled out of my hands before standing up. I gave everyone a little bow and shook my head. I quickly made my way over to my seat and noticed that where there was usually an empty seat there was now a body. A male body. He handed me a book he had picked up for me.

"Thanks." I impatiently tossed my hair away from my face and looked at him. This had to be Edward Cullen. There was no way that this was not Edward Cullen. He looked at my face and recoiled. He actually recoiled. He pulled his seat away from me and looked straight ahead. Like I was the most repulsive sight he had ever had the misfortune to see.

His hands went up to his bronze hair and pulled at a tuft that obviously had been pulled hundreds of times before. Frowning, I draped my hair down as a shield between us and stared at my book. Jasper never said anything about Cullen being rude. I was horrified that someone could react like that to me. I knew I wasn't as pretty as the Laurens and Jessicas of this world, but still.

I wasn't going to tell Alice about this. She would be apoplectic with rage, forcing Jasper to say something to Cullen about his abhorrent rudeness. I would pretend that this never happened, I was good at that. It was a trait I had inherited from Charlie. We didn't have to be friends just because he and Jasper were. I didn't need a new friend. In fact, why was I even thinking about him?

Because I recognised that bronze hair from somewhere. I glanced at him from through my hair and tried to place it. It was amazingly messy, but it suited him. His habit of raking his fingers through it and pulling at little tufts was apparent to anyone who looked at him. His nostrils flared as he tried to concentrate on the board, his lips in a tight white line. Mentally shaking myself I tuned into Mr. Banner again and tried to care about what he was saying.

EPOV

How? What? Why? How?

Those are the questions swimming through my head as I sat beside the girl who visited me every night in a dream. This wasn't a case of someone who looked quite a lot like someone but wasn't them. I had no doubt in my head that this clumsy teenager was the same person in my dreams. She had the same tiny, light freckle under her right eye as the girl in my dream. She smelled of the exact same shampoo and moisturiser. I had no doubt that if I were to lick her neck she would taste just as I had imagined.

I felt like I was going mad. Sitting next to her and not being able to check for definitive proof. I was preternaturally aware of her every movement. Saw the way that she peeked out from her hair to stare at me with a look akin to curiosity. Saw the way her tongue traced her bottom lip before she pulled it into her mouth and bit down nervously. There was no doubt that she had noted my physical reaction to the realisation of who she was. My fingers moved automatically through my hair and I saw her eyes trace the movement.

Class seemed interminably long. I thought it would never end. When the bell finally interrupted Mr. Banner's final statement I snatched up my books and was about to push past her when my way was blocked by another student.

"Are you alright? That fall looked sore." He placed his hand onto her elbow. She pulled away from him quickly, I noted with a perverse satisfaction. What did I care who touched her elbow? It was innocent enough, but I had to fight back a growl.

"I'm fine, Mike, just another day for me." She said with a hint of resignation in her voice. I realised I was staring at them when the boy, Mike, cleared his throat and moved out of his way, signalling for me to leave.

He was predatory. There was no doubt about that. I wondered if this act of altruism was for my benefit, whether he had noticed my awareness of this girl. Even if this was the case I had my escape route and I pounced upon it, hurrying out of the room. Leaving behind the scent of strawberry, and the sense of going mad with it.

A/N: I really hope that you are all enjoying this...