A/N: Hello again, wonderful readers. I didn't get very many reviews for the last chapter, but that's fine. This story is just about to spread its wings.
Before I start the next chapter, I have to say extra cheesecake to XoChelseaAmberXo and KeithHarkinFan for guessing the correct answer to the challenge. And a bucket of cheesecake for Oxygen.and.Cucumber for the amazazing review. Thanks, guys! Okay. Enough rambling.
Part Three
The Family
Edward and I met up in casual situations over the next couple of weeks. It may have just been friends sitting down for a platonic talk every once in a while to him, but I was finding every excuse I could to see him. I started with simple things, such as asking him for the homework assignment, and, gradually, we worked our way up to whole conversations between classes, over the phone, and even at local hangouts.
I could tell that Mike and the others didn't approve of my spending so much time with the Cullens, but I couldn't help myself. Edward's smile, his voice, his radiant skin; they were slowly, but surely, hypnotizing me. He was entrancing. Certainly, I was addicted to him. And yes, at the time, I was in denial.
I kept telling myself that I could stop seeing him anytime I wanted. Then every time I tried, I found myself thinking about his beautiful smile, gentle nature, his perfect teeth. I imaged our first kiss, ridiculous as it seemed. I imagined how our hands would fit perfectly together, the way his golden eyes shined, making them inevitably unavoidable.
If it was possible to love someone in such a short time, then I had fallen head over heels in love with Edward Cullen. He was perfectly graceful, and amazingly charming, two qualities I could not say I possessed.
"Bella!" Mike spoke, interrupting my controversial daydream. "I said 'Did you get the answer to number twenty-one?'"
"Ummmm…" I hadn't even been paying enough attention to know what we were talking about. "No. sorry, Mike."
"What's gotten into you, Bells?" he asked. I cringed. Bells. It was Renee's nickname for me. "Ever since you started hanging around the infamous Cullen Clan, you've been so… different."
I knew that it was true, but I couldn't help but feel like I'd been slapped in the face. Before I knew, all of the anger that I'd harbored my entire life surfaced at once. "Who made you the judge of my character, Michael Newton? Who says you can tell me who to make friends with? You're not my dad. Or my brother. Or even my cousin!" I ranted, feeling the blood rush to my face. "So butt out!"
Mike nodded softly, an embarrassed look on his face, as he turned back around to face the whiteboard.
I have always had, and will always have, an insane guilt problem. Sometimes were worse than others, depending on what I'd done. This time, the wait was minimal. I immediately felt guilty for yelling at Mike, and I felt the urgent need to apologize.
"All right, students. It seems we've wasted away an entire class period. See you tomorrow," Dr. Hopkins announced.
And the opportunity was gone as fast as it had come. Still, I just had to find a way to make it up to him.
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"Bella? Bella Swan?" a singsong voice inquired, tapping my shoulder lightly.
"That's me," I answered, turning one hundred eighty degrees to face the short, pixie-like girl. Her skin was a beautiful porcelain tone, and her sparkling eyes expressed her pure bliss. "You must be Alice." She had to be a Cullen. The only Cullen I'd yet to meet, in fact.
"Correct," she trilled, shaking my hand quickly. "Edward has told me so much about you! You wouldn't believe how much he talks about you." She had to be mistaken. Edward and I were merely acquaintances. I couldn't see him liking me in any other way. He was simply to… wonderful. Like a dream that you never want to wake up from.
"Alice!" Edward scolded, hugging her thin shoulders to his chest. "You'll scare the poor girl away."
Impossible. A freight train couldn't have scared me away from him. "Oh, well… Hi. Hi, Edward. How are you?"
"Wonderful. Now," he spoke, grinning from ear to ear.
"That's… wonderful," I stuttered. "Well, I've got to get to class. Nice meeting you, Alice."
"Delighted," she cooed, as I began to walk toward the classroom.
"Bella, wait!" Edward shouted, grabbing my hand to restrain me. My mouth was dry, my palms sweaty, as I turned to face him. every nerve in my body was burning, even as he spoke. "I was wondering if you'd help me with my history. Say… tonight? I'd like you to see my house. And meet my family, of course."
I did my best attempt at a sultry smile and tried to look like I was considering it, before happily agreeing. "Tonight."
A/N: And the emotions start to flow. Haha. Pleeeeeease review. Cheesecake! Thanks for your support. Sorry if this chapter was slow. It was sort of a filler. Forgive me?
C.J.