PART I

Chapter Two:

I was suddenly aware of how nervous I became that I was in the same room as Edward. To make things more complicated for me, Edward and I were seated right next to each other at the dinner table. I had never once remembered being so nervous in front of a male. But here I was, seated next to Edward Cullen, hands shaking so bad I had clasped them together under the table so no one saw. On the other side of me sat Jasper. It was confronting to know I had him for support, even though he would never know. Thankfully Edward hardly ever spoke in the beginning of dinner. It was a blessing for me. I'm sure if he wanted to talk I could have responded civilly, but my once stone cold heart to the male sex was doing summersaults, and I could not concentrate while Edward was sitting next to me.

I took it upon myself to try to talk to him though, since he would not start the conversation and it seemed rude to just ignore him. "So apparently we knew each other when we were younger." I began, hoping that he would reply and that we could start some kind of conversation.

"I don't really remember." Edward replied while staring at his food. I got a vibe from him that he probably did not want to continue this conversation with me. I suddenly felt offended. Here I was just trying to be friendly, and I was getting shut down.

"I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?" I asked him, all nervousness fading away. Clearly I was doing everything correctly. I greeted him, tried to entice conversation, and yet nothing. I was getting nothing from him and it was kind of irritating.

"No…you're…I'm sorry." He stopped at that, still looking at his food. I just decided to leave it at that. Edward was the definition of what a male model should look like, but he was really detached and that kind of was a turn off. I decided that my teenage brain's immediate crush on this guy was premature. He couldn't even articulate a single sentence.

"One of my first memories involves you." Edward finally stopped looking at his food and turned to look me in the eyes. I would take back everything I said. Edward's eyes were green and magnificent and just everything. They made me feel like I couldn't look at him directly for more than a second for fear of exploding. But I knew this was just a crush. "Esme had taken me and you out of daycare early because we were both sick. She brought us back here and made us chicken noodle soup. I specifically remember you puking all over that very kitchen floor." He motioned to the kitchen. I never really considered remembering anything before the age of 4, but I vaguely had some recollection of a small Edward yelling 'Rose-lee' as I did empty contents over a pristine white tiled floor.

"I think I kind of remember that." I told him with a somewhat nervous laugh. My nerves were creeping back in. I tried to suppress them with thoughts like: this was Edward, the kid who saw me puke on his kitchen floor and still remembered it; and the guy who just wasn't paying me any attention. Somehow it didn't matter what I tried to make myself think of him. Edward made me nervous, there was no denying that.

The rest of dinner went well. Edward had actually continued to converse with me. He told me things of other stuff he remembered, that I had forgot. He said he considered me his best friend during our daycare days, and when my family moved away, he thought that he would never see me again. He said how he still kept a picture of all four of us; him, me, Jasper, and Alice, all sitting on a couch. I asked him why he kept something like that and he explained that we were his first friends. It meant something to him. He was nostalgic. I then should have went on and told him that I still had the same photo, but I only just discovered it the other day, so I didn't say anything.

Alice had mentioned that she didn't even have the slightest recollection of us. We all laughed at her bluntness. She then went on to ask us if we would be at school tomorrow and when Jasper replied 'Of course' she then went on to tell us the ins-and-outs of Forks High School. There wasn't much to know. It was a small town, so of course the high school was small. During my time listening to Alice ramble on about the local high school, I sensed Edward looking at me multiple times. It wasn't like a glance, but more like he was really looking at me, studying my face, or my reactions to what Alice was saying. After some point, I wanted him to keep looking at me. I was strangely intrigued by him.

When dinner was done and everyone was cleaning up, I was strategically trying to get Edward alone so that I could personally say goodbye to him. Unfortunately for me, Alice had pinned her hip to mine after declaring us new besties. She asked my choice of outfit for the night, which I confessed was not my normal attire. She released a huge sigh of relief at this and then began asking me where I shopped. This somehow led to a deep conversation about clothes. I was instantly captivated with Alice then. I loved my friends back in Michigan, but not a single one of them related to my interest in fashion. Alice was smart and she knew what she was talking about. We would get along really well.

Eventually though, I was worried that I would not be able to say goodbye to Edward like I wanted to. Thankfully for me, Edward sought me out and interrupted my conversation with his sister. "It was…really good to see you again Rosalie." I could feel him struggling to find the right words. I smiled back at him, unable to come up with anything to say in reply. Damn this crush. He left just as quickly as he came, and I felt like the world's biggest loser for not saying what I had wanted to say. 'Oh Edward, it was really good to see you too, and I hope that we can continue where we left off 13 years ago.' Too much too soon? Probably. Maybe it was best that I didn't say anything. This crush on Edward Cullen was new territory for me and I didn't know how to handle myself. Only one evening with the guy has got me so nervous that I can't even keep constant eye contact with him, and I get so nervous that I start fidgeting with my hands.

Later after we returned home, I was helping Jasper organize his room. I had mostly finished my room. Jasper had been too busy helping our parents with the rest if the house that he neglected to even unpack his boxes for his room.

"I kind of remember the Cullens from seeing them tonight. It's so strange being back here. Remembering things I didn't know that I knew." I said to Jasper as I was putting books on the shelf.

"Same. I wondered why we ever left. Father and mother seem to never talk about it. Up until thanksgiving when they told us that we would move, they never mentioned Forks. I wonder if they're hiding something." Jasper trailed off in thought. I wondered the same things too. "It looked like you and Edward hit it off." He winked at me. I threw a book towards him, but intentionally missing.

"Very funny. I could say the same for you and Alice," I said. He laughed but he didn't reply to me. Instead he asked me what I planned on wearing to school for our first day tomorrow. I knew he was distracting me from teasing him any further, but I couldn't not answer his question. Of course I knew exactly what my outfit would be tomorrow. First impressions were everything, and I also kind of wanted to impress Edward. He'd only seen me in comfy clothes. Wait till he sees how well I can put myself together.

I was purposely trying to make us late on the first day. Not late enough that we would miss our classes, but late enough so that everyone else was already there as they watched us pull in the parking lot. It was the beginning of January which meant snowy cold mornings. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't show up to school with the top off my red BMW. We would just have to make do with the top on. Finally when I was sure that I was ready and that the timing for our arrival would be perfect, I put on my Dior over the knee boots and Red Valentino black coat.

Just as I had thought, Jasper and I arrived to an almost full parking lot. I could feel the stares of everyone watching us pull into the lot. I spotted tiny Alice waving us down from across the lot. It looked like she had saved us a spot next to their car. I spotted Edward as I drove closer, and two other people were with them that I didn't know.

"Wow Rosalie. You look fantastic." Alice said as I stepped out of the car. I thanked her and walked over to where they were huddled together in the cold. Jasper followed me over. We never really kept the same company, or had the same friends, but I guess this was an exception since we didn't know anyone. We were in this together. Or maybe he wanted to see Alice. I guessed the latter.

"Good morning," I greeted Edward, and he smiled back in return. I caught him glancing me up and down. I noticed a girl standing next to him. She was pale in comparison to Edward's beauty. Her face was plain and she dressed in simple attire. She looked to Edward like she was waiting to be introduced.

"I'm Emmett by the way." A guy stepped in front of my view of Edward and the girl standing next to him. He was a really big muscular guy. "Nice to meet you." He shook Jasper's hand and reached out to shake my hand but instead he grabbed it and bent to kiss it. I was a little taken aback by his gesture but it was really cute that he did it. I smiled at him and introduced myself back. Emmett was handsome, tall, and had the most sincere smile.

"Em come one, give her some space," Edward said as he tapped Emmett on the shoulder. I hinted at a very small jealous tone to his voice. Emmett moved out of the middle of the circle we had created and stepped over to stand by me. The girl next to Edward was still looking to him to be introduced. Who was she? And why didn't she say anything?

"This is Bella." Alice grabbed the girl next to Edward by the shoulders and gave her a light squeeze. "And Bella, this is Rosalie and Jasper. Our friends that I've been talking about." I wondered what all Alice had told them about us.

"Oh right, nice to meet you." There was no handshake or anything else from Bella besides that. The first bell rang for class to start and Edward and Bella said goodbye and left towards the school hand in hand.

"Bella is Edward's girlfriends," Alice explained after they were gone. I sensed she was watching me as I may have dropped my jaw to the floor at the realization that Edward was dating plain Jane. I could feel myself getting jealous, and slightly crushed that Edward even had a girlfriend.

"So then are you and Emmett…?" I asked her while trying to evade any suspicions my face might have been giving away.

"Alice and I?" Emmett choked on the water he was drinking. "No. Never. I love her but she's like a little sister to me." He patted her on the head in an endearing way. We started walking towards the school building and Alice told us she'll catch us later as she skipped off. Jasper then said bye and went off after her. It was really cute to see my brother trying. Emmett walked me to my first class while talking the whole time. He was really cute actually and made me laugh multiple times.

While I sat in my first class of the day, I wondered how Edward, Alice, Emmett, and Bella made up a group of friends. They were all very different individuals. Edward was quiet and cryptic, I wasn't really sure what else he was other than the fact that he resembled a god. Alice was outspoken, fun, and quirky. Emmett was buff, charismatic, and cheerful. And Bella, well she just Bella. It was even perplexing to think that Edward and Bella were together. I didn't see how they made sense. For a split second I thought of how Edward and I might have looked cute together. That should have been me holding his hand. I quickly locked out any more of these thoughts that started to flood my head. I mean, he could have mentioned over our conversation at dinner last night that he had a girlfriend. Then I wouldn't have got my hopes up like I did. Now I felt like some silly little teenager with a crush. I would get over it, I was sure.

I continued to my next few classes of the morning. I passed the others in between classes and they stopped to say hi. Even Bella, I was surprised. It was comforting to have them though. On my first day of school and I had already made friends. Misfits they all were, but it somehow made sense.

When I arrived at the cafeteria, I could feel everyone watching me all except Alice who was motioning me to come sit at their table. Jasper was already there sitting next to her. The only open seat available was between Bella and Emmett and I silently cursed to myself. I didn't mind Emmett at all, but I just didn't like Bella. There was something about her, or maybe it just the fact that Edward had his arms around her.

I took my seat at the table. Emmett causal wrapped his arm around the back of my chair. I wasn't sure if he was just being nice to me all day, but I now realized that he's been flirting with me. Maybe if I didn't spend the whole morning thinking about other stuff I would have noticed. "How are you liking Forks so far?" Emmett asked me.

"It's really small," was all I could come up with. In my peripheral view I noticed Edward smirk at my obvious observation. "You guys have been really welcoming though," I quickly added.

"Of course Rosalie. You and Jasper are practically family to us, right Edward?" Even though Alice didn't need her brother's answer, she looked to him anyways.

"Yeah, of course." He replied with his irritatingly perfectly voice.

"What about your classes? What do you have next?" Emmett asked.

"I have Japanese 101."

"Hey Edward has that class! And here I thought I would know no one else that would be interested in learning Japanese. That's the hardest language class you can take. Well I think so."

I mentally checked out of the conversation momentarily. I should have probably been less thrilled than I was to have one class with Edward, considering that I was trying to forget that he was hot and that I was developing a crush. This is what happens when you've suppressed all of your girly emotions of whaling over boys since you hit puberty a few years back. It was all coming out now.

When I arrived in Japanese class after lunch, Edward was already there. I noticed that there was an empty seat next to him. I started walking in the opposite direction looking for another empty seat. There weren't any open so I reluctantly went to take the seat next to him.

"I uh… I kicked out the kid that usually sits in this spot." Edward half smiled at me as I sat down.

"Thank you?" I wasn't sure to be flattered by his statement. I guess what he was trying to say was that he had saved me a spot. I also guess that I was flattered. Actually I was over impressed. That same nervous feeling started creeping in again, just like how I sat next to him during dinner last night.

"You didn't say you had a girlfriend. How long have you two been together?" Oh no, I shouldn't have asked. I really didn't want to know anything about her and him, but at the same time I really did want to know.

"Bella and I have been together since the beginning of the school year. So about five months." Class began after that. I did not have much opportunity to talk to Edward during class. When we were allowed to speak to each other it was only in Japanese of practice dialogs. Edward would ask me a question and I would respond. Then I'd ask him the question back and he would respond similar to my previous response. There were some giggles in between our Japanese speech. It was mainly Edward's fault. He would say something incorrectly, and then I would correct him and pronounce it the right way. He would then say it again incorrectly, which I wasn't sure if he doing it on purpose or not, but I would then giggle and then he would giggle at me. I couldn't help it. I was sure after the first few times that he was purposely doing it just to get me to laugh.

"You should work on your pronunciation," I told him as we were walking out of the classroom once the bell rang.

"What's wrong with my Japanese?"

"Everything." I was pretty sure that he was flirting with me then. But just as we were walking into the hallway, I saw Bella coming towards us. Whatever moment we were having was instantly gone. It wasn't really even sure that it was a moment.

Before Bella reached us I decided to go. She was only coming to see Edward I was sure and I did not want to stand there awkwardly while they kissed or whatever. The rest of the school day was great. I met some girls who were on the swim team and I asked if I could possibly come to their next practice. Just because we had moved I wasn't going to give away my extracurriculars. I would find some way to run for senior president next year, but first I needed to integrate myself into the Forks High School community, starting with swim team. It's not surprising that growing up I aspired to be President of The United States. I was a natural born leader and trendsetter. I always held some leadership role every year in school. Before we moved I had finally attained a high role of junior body vice president. But that didn't last long since I'm in Forks now.

After school, Emmett found me while I was heading out to my car. "Are you coming to next Friday's basketball game? I'm going to be there. On the court. Because I'm part of the team."

"Rosalie you should come! Bella never comes with me to them." Alice approached behind us. Surprisingly Jasper was not with her. I mean, it was clear that he liked Alice and he was with her every opportunity he got.

"Alice come on, sports aren't really my thing." Bella joined in, hand in hand with Edward. I mentally did an eye roll. Why did they have to be so nauseating? Well if Bella wasn't going then I'd go.

"I'll go with you Alice." She thanked me for agreeing to come with her. It wasn't like I didn't like sports. I actually enjoyed sports. Jasper didn't care for them, so when our father wanted to go to a football, basketball, or baseball game I would always agree to go with him so that Jasper wouldn't have to suffer through it. It is how my father and I bond, I guess since we don't really spend one-on-one time together outside of sports.

"Hell yeah! Now I'm going to have Rosalie cheer me on. Things could not get any better." Emmet winked at me. He was kind of beautiful I realized then. Not beautiful like Edward. No. They were two completely separate opposite guys, and yet I found myself drawn to each.