The first week of school had come and gone. I had four classes this semester: English Lit., Theatre Appreciation, Math, and Psychology. Three of the classes resembled a normal high school type setting. A room with 20-25 desks and a teacher up front. Easy enough to pay attention in. My Psychology class however was somewhat intimidating. It was a huge forum hall with over 200 seats. It was rows and rows of seats in a stadium with a podium, a microphone, and a big movie screen up front. I've never seen anything like it except in the movies. I would be just a face without a name in here.

I arrived to my Psychology class a little early to find that the teacher had made a seating chart. It was on the screen in the front of the class. I don't know if I was lucky or unlucky. My seat was in the top row with only three people to my right. The left side of me was the rest of the empty row. Good for daydreaming, but bad if I really wanted to pay attention. Psychology was my last class of the afternoon. I sat down and waited for class to begin.

"As you can see, I've made a seating chart for you. It is important that you sit in your assigned seat for the remainder of the semester or you will run the risk of being counted absent" Dr. Price stated followed by a couple of groans. Apparently there were some students that were friends and now they couldn't sit together. Most noticeable were a ditzy looking blonde and her curly headed sidekick. The blonde was in my row two seats down from me.

Class was just about to start and in walked a boy with hair that looked like he had just rolled out of bed. It was hanging in his eyes and sticking out all over his head. He wore faded jeans with a hole in one knee, a grey t-shirt that clung to his chest, and black leather boots that looked like they had seen better days. The hem of his jeans hung over the tops of them and dragged on the ground near his heel. I couldn't see his face, but he looked oddly familiar.

Dr. Price signed a slip of paper for him and handed it back. He then pointed up towards me and to my left. The row of empty seats. The boy turned and looked up and I was met with the greenest eyes I have ever seen. Well, that I have seen in person. I realized that I had actually seen those eyes before except they were in a picture.

"Back from the dead…" the ditzy blonde said under her breath two seats down from me.

Edward Cullen walked slowly up the stairs towards his seat. The seat that is right next to me. I looked closer at his face. He had a crease between his eyebrows that made him look worried. I noticed that that crease never seemed to straighten out. He was nervous. After having heard his story almost three weeks ago, I felt like I wanted to run down to him and scoop him up in a hug. Bella, get a grip! He doesn't even know who you are!

He walked down the row I was in and before he sat down he let out a heavy sigh. His eyes were focused on the blonde. He plopped down into his seat and closed his eyes while he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Welcome back to reality, Edward" I heard the blonde loudly whisper.

Who was this girl? Why was she trying to antagonize him? It was obvious that she knows him.

I could hear his slow breathing beside me. He just sat there holding the paper that Dr. Price had signed. It must have been an add slip. I chanced a glance in his direction just to find that he had his head slightly turned in my direction looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. Both of us quickly turned our heads back to the front to listen to the start of the class.

I had psychology three times a week. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I couldn't wait until Wednesday. I was determined to figure out this beautiful boy that had fallen from grace. Did I just say beautiful?

Wednesday finally came and I rushed to class to find that Edward was already there and in his seat.

I walked into the row and had to pass him to sit down. "Excuse me please" I whispered. He immediately shifted his legs so that I could get by.

We still had about ten minutes until class started. I was desperately trying to come up with a conversation starter. "Um…do you have any gum?" I asked feeling a blush creep up on my face for asking such a stupid question.

"No" he breathed.

"Oh, didn't you know that being the last student admitted in the class you have to provide gum to the person seated directly to the right of you upon request?" Did I just say that? Just shut your mouth already Bella!

He turned his head and looked at me like I was from Mars. The crease in his brow was still present.

Dr. Price started class at that moment. Half way through class, I tore a piece of paper out of my notebook and scribbled out a note and passed it to him. He took it and looked at me for a second before reading it.

I'm usually not an idiot. I swear!

I looked over at him and one corner of his mouth twitched and looked like he was going to smile that crooked smile that I had seen in the pictures. Wait…he was writing something.

Don't worry about it.

And with that I smiled.

Friday came and I was eager to get to class, but my math teacher decided to keep me behind for a few minutes because I had done so terribly on a pop quiz that we had taken the day before. I was five minutes late to psychology.

I ran in and rushed to my seat next to Edward hoping that attendance had not been taken yet.

I felt a nudge on my arm. I looked towards Edward. Edward was holding out his closed hand palm down. I looked at his waiting hand with curiosity. He looked at me and shook his hand slightly. I put my open palm out under his hand and he dropped a new pack of peppermint gum in my hand. I couldn't hold back my smile. I must have looked like a lunatic. Not only was I happy that he was responding to me, but I also had the attention of the most attractive guy I have ever laid eyes on.

Throughout the next few weeks we continued to write notes during the boring bits of the class. Edward was really funny. He would write jokes, and draw cartoons for me, and I would have to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from making a scene from laughing.

The ditzy blonde, Lauren was her name, kept giving me dirty looks all throughout the period.

One Friday after class, before I could get up, Edward caught my attention by grabbing my hand before I could stand. He immediately let go when I looked at him.

"Never mind" he said looking at the chair in front of him.

He must want to say something. How could I get it out of him? Our relationship was only for an hour a day three times a week. Were we even friends?

"Would you like to…um…go with me to…get coffee or something?" I said, holding my breath until he replied.

"OK…sure"

We walked out of the giant building and headed over to the coffee hut that was in the middle of the courtyard. We ordered and when I reached in my bag for money he stopped me.

"I got it." And he handed the cashier some cash.

"Thanks"

We sat in silence for a few minutes and I warmed my hands on the cup. He wasn't looking at me, and I didn't know what to say to him.

He broke the silence. "Tell me about yourself Bella. What brings you to U-Dub?"

"There's not much to tell really. I'm from Forks, Washington. I moved here with one of my best friends. My other best friend moved here last year and is a sophomore." I didn't know how much to say. I didn't know if he had met Rose through Emmett or not. I wasn't sure if I should even tell him that I knew his family. I would tell him, but I wanted him to feel comfortable around me first. I mean, he didn't have a healthy relationship with them, and maybe if I said that I was friends with his brother he would shy away. I didn't want that. I didn't want that at all.

"Tell me about you Edward"

He looked up at me. The ever present crinkle in his brow intensified. "I just moved here…at the beginning of the term from…uh…my family lives here, I was just…um…" he started to look really uncomfortable and was running his hand through his already messy hair.

I decided to interrupt and change the subject. "My math class is really hard. I don't understand a thing. It is my worst subject. The teacher is not helpful at all. She thinks that by giving out pop quizzes every day it's going to help me. I have to know what's going on first before I can even consider a quiz." I rambled.

"Maybe I could help you out-"

"Would you really? I mean, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Sure. I only have two classes right now. Since I started late and all. I have time-"

"That would be great! What are you doing this weekend?"

"Um…no plans. Should we meet at the library?"

I could tell he didn't want me near his house, and if I wanted to keep it from him (for now anyway) that I didn't know his family, I needed to keep him away from Alice and Rose also.

On Saturday and Sunday Edward helped me try and make sense of my math book.

Edward is really smart. He was really good at math. Not that I'm surprised. Emmett had said that he was an excellent student at one time. I think that I actually understand some of this foreign language called math now.

"Bring it on Ms. Carter! I'm ready for your stupid quiz!" I announced walking out of the library with Edward. He was sporting his crooked grin. I hadn't seen the full blown smirk yet and my heart started beating rapidly in my chest when I did. Did I have feelings for him? No, I couldn't. I hardly know him…

What I did know of him was through the story Emmett had told us about him. Edward didn't seem anything like the boy Emmett described. Edward was sweet, helpful, courteous, and devastatingly handsome. Cool it Bella…

Were the stories all true? Why would Emmett lie about something like this? It wouldn't benefit him at all. Maybe some of it is true, but Emmett embellished on the story to make it sound worse than it is. It didn't make sense.

My inner ramblings were cut short when I felt Edward's hand wrap around mine and pull me to a quick stop. I looked up and saw a guy on a bike whoosh past me. My hair whipped across my face.

Edward chuckled and started to release my hand as we stepped off of the curb into the parking lot. I tightened my grip on his hand and slowly looked up at his face. He looked torn, internally trying to decipher my actions.

"Is this Ok?" I asked, praying that I had not gone too far. I knew he was fragile, and I didn't want to ruin what we had started.

The only reply I got from him was his hand lightly squeezing mine.