EPOV
I was already running late, and now I'm lost. This is just peachy, really. That was sarcasm, people; learn to recognize it. In reality, Alice will probably kill me for being late. She'll give me a lecture on punctuality and how some people have plans that require other people to be on time. In my defense I haven't been in Forks since I was twelve and back then I wasn't driving anyways.
I'm glad I'm driving now; I love it. As soon as I got my Volvo my friends told me I had to name it. So I started to brainstorm. Naturally I turned to music. Finally I remembered a story my dad told me once about B.B King; he named all of his guitars 'Lucille'. So the Volvo was dubbed 'Lucille'. My friends laughed at that, but I wouldn't change my mind.
I turn up my music and pay attention to the road.
Well she was just seventeen
you know what I mean
and the way she looked
was way beyond compare.
So how could I dance with another
oh when I saw her standing there?
Ah, The Beatles; pure bliss.
Suddenly, I see a red motorcycle come flying toward me out of the corner of my eye. I slam on my brake and so does the driver of the bike. He gets off and starts checking himself. I turn off Lucille, my precious Volvo; it better not be damaged.
I get out of the car and walk over. "What the hell is your problem?" I ask. The guy just stands there for a moment. I hear him say something but the helmet muffles it.
"My problem?" the person asks, taking their helmet off. I stare for moment, I hadn't expected this person to be a girl; a hot girl, too. Too bad she's a horrible driver.
"Yes, your problem! Didn't you see me coming? You have brakes you know!" I say.
"I'm not the one who didn't stop at that stop sign!"
"What stop sign?" I ask, and she points to a stop sign that I apparently ran. I glance at the road she was on, she didn't have a stop sign.
"Oh… well I'm new around here, I didn't see it," I try to justify my stupidity. Key word 'stupidity', my rational, mature side thinks. My egotistical inner kid locks him in a closet.
"Yeah, well you could have caused a bigger accident than you did and I think my tire needs to be fixed now."
"Well, my car needs to be looked at."
"There's not a scratch on your stupid Volvo!"
"And nothing is wrong with your bike!"
"Argh!" she throws her hands up and puts my helmet back on. I try not to think dirty things about her as she straddles the bike. Before she leaves she flips up her visor and says, "Learn how to drive, jerk."
I stand there, dumbfounded. My inner kid lets 'rational me' out of the closet and three of us stare at her retreating figure in shock. I grumble my way back to my Volvo and start her up.
How could that crazy bitch blame the whole accident on me? Yeah, maybe I did run a stop sign, but I would bet one hundred bucks that she was speeding. Now I'll be later than I already was. Way to get me pissed off, psycho.
Finally I see a familiar house and park in the drive way. I look at the directions I had scribbled down; 'number 24'. I look at the house. It's number 24 alright. I take a deep breath and turn the car off. I get out, and walk up to the front door. I talked to Alice about a half hour ago when I entered Forks. She said to just come in. It looks like she has company. I walk up the steps and open the door.
"Come in, come in, everyone's in the kitchen," Alice says, running over from somewhere off in the house.
"Sorry I'm so late, Ali, I had a little delay," I say, the memory of the accident coming back. The psychotic chick really pissed me off.
"Really? What happened?" Alice asks, giving me a 'hello hug' and then leading me toward her kitchen. I vaguely remember the lay-out of the house. But it may have taken me awhile to find the kitchen on my own.
"I was in an accident with a crazy lady who tried to pin the blame on me," I say. I should just put it behind me. It's not like I'll ever see her again.
"That's horrible," Alice says. "Hey guys, this is my cousin, Edward."
"Hey," a blonde guy, sitting at a barstool says. We're in Alice's kitchen now. It looks really different; I bet they remodeled. A girl and guy sit at the counter, both blonde; they look related. A big guy with dark hair stands behind the blonde girl, a hand on her shoulder. A girl with wavy brown hair leans on the counter across from them. She doesn't sit, which isn't that bad because she has a pretty nice ass. Too bad I can't see her face.
"Edward, this is Emmett, Rosalie, my boyfriend Jasper and Bella," Alice says, gesturing to the people as she says their names. When the brunette hears her name she finally straightens up and turns around.
My mouth drops open and so does hers. I hadn't been expecting to see the motorcycle girl ever again. So why is it that she's here, in my cousin's kitchen, two feet away from me? I narrow my eyes and shut my mouth. That bitch will pay for telling me to learn to drive.
"You," I say. Smooth, my mature side says; 'inner kid' threatens to lock him in the closet again.
"You," Bella says back. My inner kid smirks at my mature self. She couldn't think of something better either. I think we're both in shock still.
"You… guys know each other?" Alice asks.
"Alice, let me introduce you to the asshole that caused me to get in an accident," Bella says, glaring at me. I can't believe this; if I was only mad at first, I'm furious now.
"Alice, this is the crazy bitch I was talking about who is blaming me for the accident," I say, returning a glare that I hope is just as evil.
"This is going to be an interesting summer," Emmett says, laughing.
"Shut up, stupid," Rosaline… no… Rosalie says as she smacks him upside the head.
"So, you guys were in an accident… with each other?" Alice asks.
"Obviously," I hiss.
"Yes," Bella says, not breaking her gaze. If I didn't think she was such an insane bitch I'd be extremely turned on by her right now. She's wearing a slightly unzipped leather jacket, skinny jeans and combat boots; and boy do I like me the brunettes. 'Inner kid' slaps my mature self so he'll stop drooling.
"Want Emmett and Jasper to help you bring your bags in?" Alice asks me, sensing the tension. I shrug and walk back toward the front door. I honestly don't know if I was going to argue with that chick or jump her bones. I shake my head at the thought.
"He's staying here!" one of the girls… probably Bella, screeches before I even shut the door behind me.
"Nice car, man," Jasper says. I didn't notice Emmett and him follow me.
"Her name is Lucille," I say, opening the trunk to get my luggage.
"B.B. King fan?" Jasper asks. I stare at him in shock for a moment and then nod my head.
"Dude, how much crap did you bring?" Emmett asks.
"I'm staying the whole summer, and I wasn't sure how the weather would be… also, Alice will die if I wear the same thing twice," I say.
"Or he's just gay," Emmett whispers really loudly to Jasper. I glare at him and Jasper laughs.
"You're gonna have to get used to him, man, it's just his nature," he says, nodding his head at Emmett before grabbing a suitcase.
We manage to split everything up between the three of us so that we don't have to come back again. Then we walk back up to the house.
"So, you don't like Bella much, huh?" Emmett asks.
"Humph," I grunt, rolling my eyes as I think of my encounters with Bella. Neither has lasted more than three minutes and both have aggravated me more than I've been in the past year.
"Cut the shit, I saw you staring at her ass when you walked in," Jasper says. I look at him, he's smirking.
"That was before I knew it was her," I say; Jasper rolls his eyes and I narrow mine.
As we walk up the steps Rosalie opens the front door for us. Emmett goes first and gives her a swift kiss as he walks past. I had a feeling that they were together. That's fine with me, blonds aren't my style.
Alice suddenly appears, directing us upstairs to the guest room. I don't see Bella anywhere. However, she couldn't have left with out us seeing her; unless she's leaving while we're bringing up my bags. That doesn't seem like something she would do though.
"Come down when you're ready," Alice says, leaving me alone in my room with my things. I walk into the ensuite and splash my face a little. I look in the mirror, my mom's green eyes stare back at me.
"Behave yourself, boy," Dad said as I was about to start to drive to Alice's. He gave me a quick hug, only to be replaced by Mom. She hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear.
"And if you don't behave… you best not get caught," she said and then she gave me a kiss on the cheek and let me go.
Honestly, my mom scares the hell out of me. Esme Cullen is a force to be reckoned with. I don't know why I do some of the things I do, even when I know just how much my mom will punish me if she were to find out. I leave my room, smiling at memories of pranks I've pulled with my friends from back home. It's amazing that I got my scholarship, really.
"Emmett, just put it down, you suck," Jasper says as I get to the bottom step. I follow the voices until I've arrived in the 'chilling' room. That's what we used to call it when we were younger. It's a big room, with three couches, a large screen TV and pool table. I'm slowly starting to remember where everything is.
"But, Jazz, I'm going to start a one man band. Therefore, I must practice," Emmett says.
I see him sitting on the couch with Alice's Dad's, my uncle's, old acoustic guitar. I try not to laugh when he tries to play it. It's a sad attempt on my part. I end up making a sound somewhere between a laugh and a snort. All heads turn in my direction.
"Well don't just stand there, Eddy, come in," Alice says. I hear laughter from one of the couches. I look there and am not surprised to see Bella is the one laughing.
"What?" I snap at her. She's lounging on the couch, a bag of Starburst in her lap.
"Nothing… Eddy," she says smirking.
"Ahaha," I 'fake laugh' and walk over to her couch. I pick up her feet and swing them off the couch so she has to sit. Then I sit down where her feet were and stretch, waving an arm in her face.
"Bastard," Bella snarls, getting up, I shrug and grab her bag of Starburst. Everyone gasps, like I've done something terrible. Bella just stares at me, unblinking. I take a handful and return the bag to her. I swear she growls before she goes and sits between Rosalie and Alice.
"Well anyways, tell me what you guys think of this," Emmett says, strumming something on the guitar. Even I don't know what he's trying to do. I laugh again, not even blocking it this time.
"Like you could do better," Emmett says to me. I raise an eyebrow and unwrap a Starburst. I pop it in my mouth and extend a hand. Emmett hesitantly gets up and hands me the guitar. Alice leans forward, smirking because she knows what's going to happen.
I feel the strings of the guitar. I remember it. I exhale through my nose and close my eyes. I'm about to start when Alice interrupts.
"Wait!" she squeals, "sing, too."
I glare at her for a moment and swallow my Starburst. Then I return my concentration to the guitar. It's waiting patiently. I smile and begin.
"Where it began, I can't begin to knowing , but then I know it's growing strong. Was in the spring, and spring became the summer. Who'd believe you'd come along. Hands, touching hands, reaching out; Touching me, touching you. Oh, sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good. I've been inclined to believe it never would . Oh, sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good. I've been inclined to believe it never would oooh oh no no."
Everyone stares at me. I try to gauge their reactions. Rosalie is smiling and so is Jasper. Alice has a 'shit eating grin' on her face and Emmett seems shocked. Bella… Bella just stares. I can't tell what she's thinking at all. There's a blank expression on her face. Finally she stands, and leaves the room, taking the Starburst with her.
"What's her problem?" I ask.
"That song hits a sore spot for her," Rosalie says quietly. My inner kid is pleased that I've upset the she devil. My mature side locks him in the closet.
"Oh," I say.
"I'll go check on her," Jasper says.
"So anyways," Alice says, tactfully changing the subject. "It was really good Edward, you've gotten so much better since I last heard you play."
"Thanks, Ali," I say.
"Yeah, it was really good," Rosalie says.
"Wanna join my band?" Emmett asks. I laugh and hand the guitar back to him.
"You should, Eddy, you can play all the instruments and Emmett can do the singing," Alice says.
"All the instruments?"
"Of course, you play, like, sixty."
"We're back," Jasper says, returning with Bella following behind him; she doesn't look at me. When she sits down she stares at her Starbursts and I try not to stare at her. Are those tear tracks on her face?
"So do you really play sixty instruments?" Emmett asks.
"No," I scoff, "Alice is just exaggerating."
"So how many is it?" Rosalie asks.
"Just six," I say, Emmett goes wide-eyed.
"Oh, just six, no big deal," he says. Jasper laughs at him and I can't help smiling. Jasper was right, being funny is in Emmett's nature.
"What do you play?" Rosalie asks.
"He plays the guitar, piano, drums, saxophone, bass guitar and banjo," Alice says.
"Banjo?" Bella asks, finally looking up, only to raise an eye brow and smirk. I had been feeling bad for her, but she's making me rethink that.
Disclaimer: anything above that sounds vaguely familiar; it's probably because I don't own it.
Well, here's another chapter, I hoped you all enjoyed it. thanks for the feedback on the previous chapter, too. I'm going to try to update once a week. So, that probably means every Friday, considering that's what today is. Thanks for reading, reviews motivate me… make me write faster. ;)
~EM~
p.s. Did you like the Edward POV? I think the story will be in both Bella POV and Edward POV but I'm not sure if it'll alternate every other chapter or be at random.
p.s.s. There's a banner for this story on my profile. There are also the outfits Bella and Edward wear in these past two chapters.