Chapter 9 est. Here! :D
Thanks to 'Spidermonkey-09' and 'YankeeDiva' for their reviews....
Wow...A chapter on Christmas Day for you....I can never keep any promises.
I am now stocked up on 'Soap and Glory' for the next five years thanks to my GORGEOUS sister! I hope everyone got what they wanted!
I do not own twilight....The brilliant Stephanie Meyer does!
So here is the meeting between mademoiselle Bella and monsieur Edward...I will warn you now that this story is not a 'love at first sight' story I believe that relationships take time for two people to get to know each other so it won't be easy for Bella and Edward...Let's just put it that way...
*~Bella~*
I stepped out of the shower and was about to sit down and dry my hair when my door flung open.
"Good morning, Bella!" Emmett called out to me; I screamed and tightened my grip on the towel across my chest.
"Emmet!" I almost-yelled...Feeling the sudden blush to my cheeks.
"Bella....At least you have something covering you, it could be a whole lot worse" He chuckled looking me up and down to make me feel even more inadequate.
"I came up here to say that you will be riding with me today" He exclaimed...I froze instantly not wanting to be in a car with him if Rosalie was there...I swang lightly on my feet my body moving slightly trying to calm myself down.
"Are you alright with that, Bella"? He asked, looking confused and admittedly a little hurt.
"Yes, Emmett....Thank you" I answered him...Biting my lip from wanting to ask him about Rosalie.
"Emmett....Is Rosalie mad at me?" I asked...taking my lower lip into my mouth again.
Emmett exhaled and threw himself onto my bed on his back...He turned to face me as he lay there.
"Bella...You have to understand something...Rosalie finds it hard trusting new people, she may look like she has a huge deal with you but she really does – just give her some time and she will warm to you" He explained and I smiled...
"I am sorry...I don't mean to make an issue out of it...I just...I don't know" I trailed off.
"Come and have a seat a minute, Bella" He said...Patting the bottom of the bed.
I shook my head still holding my towel up with one arm.
"Please?" He asked me....After a few moments I walked over and joined him on the bed...He took a strand of hair and threw it back behind my shoulder...I lowered my head to the floor feeling very vulnerable...I was after all just in my towel.
"Is something bothering you besides Rosalie, Bella" He asked.
"No...I just feel like I need to make people comfortable with me...Especially people like my family and the people connected with them." I sighed "Is that wrong?"
Emmett chuckled..."Of course not, Bella...Everyone in the world wants to go through life wanting to be liked and appreciated...I am sorry if Rosalie made you feel uncomfortable"
"She didn't...I was afraid of asking you whether she was upset with me because I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable" I stated tears filling my eyes.
"Bella" He said touching my cheek "I doubt there would be anything you could do to make me feel uncomfortable with you....You're my sister and I love you already" he said and I giggled through a sob sounding ridiculous. Emmett pulled me into his chest and wrapped both his arms around me...I wrapped my arms on his shoulders now trying to keep both of our weights over my towel.
"Thank you, Emmett" I said into his chest "You have all been so great to me"
"It's our pleasure, Bella...You were a hit before you came here with my dad and sometimes I admit he doesn't always make the right decision but he was spot on with you. I just hope you feel the same way about Edward as you do about Alice and me" He stated. I frowned a little at his remark...Why would I not like Edward?
"What do you mean, Emmett?" I asked him pulling away from his hold and holding my towel back up again.
"Edward is...Unpredictable...Much more than us two – He's a great guy and I love having him as a brother...But he has a tendency... he just can switch from time to time...One minute he will be talking to you normally and the next he will be shouting his head off."
Was Edward the troublesome brother? Would I be able to deal with him if he decided to shout at me for no apparent reason? I decided to wait and see for myself – I had no right to make a judgement about anyone before I had even met them.
"Thanks Emmett but I am willing to be open-minded" I said before climbing off of the bed.
"How long do I have to get ready?" I asked him
"About half an hour...Although don't be looking like you did at the weekend....Otherwise I will have my work cut out for me" He smirked and I shook my head at him.
"You don't need to worry about that, Emmett" I answered as he pinched my cheek and walked out my room.
Forks high school....I didn't know what to expect and even if I did I wouldn't think about it; I made my outfit simple but added a few changes of my own – It will take me a long time to get to grips with the whole make up thing...'Doing it right' was harder than doing it 'in order'.
I grabbed a green sweater from the wardrobe along with a pair of black trousers and matching green underwear; I hadn't worn any of it yet and I figured that because I was in a neutral mood I would have a neutral colour on...Maybe with a darker colour on I wouldn't draw attention to myself which was almost impossible seeing as I was probably going to be the only new girl entering the school year that has already started...Breathe Bella you can do this.
I wiped a pale blue colour over my eyelids and added a touch of liner, I surprised myself with how steady my hand was when putting on the liner...Maybe this makeup thing isn't so bad after all. I added a touch of foundation to my face as I had liked the new darker tint to my natural pale skin tone last time Alice had put it on for me.
I had done the same with my hair as Alice had done at the weekend – making sure that I didn't go over the top, I didn't care about my hair and I would chose to go to school with it all natural but Alice was no doubt going to hunt me down and make me up when we were in the school grounds.
When I had finished my hair I went down to the washing room and put my towels in for a wash and turned it on the right programme...The house was quiet except for the faint sound of the television which was obviously Emmett as Alice had gone back round Jasper's and Carlisle had gone to work...I had no clue about where Esme was, she had mentioned something last night about the garden so I presumed then and there that she would be in the garden.
I did-up my room doing little things to make it look cleaner, I didn't want to mess up the room as it was just too beautiful and I wouldn't think that Esme would be very appreciative of me. Once I had finished I picked up my bag – which was a simple colour of brown and then took a deep breath before making my way to the living room.
Emmett was stretched out on the sofa pressing buttons into his cell-phone as he turned to see me enter; he looked up and down at my appearance and smiled.
"That's better...Still very pretty though" He said, smiling and winking at the same time...I smiled in response and readjusted my bag on my shoulder.
"So you ready to go?" he asked me, I nodded back and he climbed off of the sofa and grabbed his gym bag from behind...I looked at the bag and then up to his face.
"Gym all-day...Coach wants us fitter for the game next month" Emmet replied with a small chuckle at my obvious unknown grasp of the sports world...I hoped to god that we wouldn't have to have gym every day like in Phoenix, five days a week and a lesbian teacher named Ms Condon was more than enough for me to handle...Everyone had always left me till last to be picked because I had a record of accidents made to both other people and myself – Any kind of sports aren't good for un-coordinated klutzes like me, we should be made to do an academic subjects instead of making ourselves look like twits in a gym.
Emmett lead the way out of the house and locked it after him, I took the time to gaze at his Jeep...It was nothing special but it was typically Emmett and the cleanliness wasn't at all great but I wasn't expecting him to drive a Mercedes like his father...Emmett wasn't the type.
Emmett climbed into the driver's side, I was surprised at the fact that his door wasn't locked but brushed it off and climbed in next to him on the passenger side, he turned on the radio and some songs that I didn't recognise blazed through the interior causing it to shake with the percussion beats...I stayed motionless and silent not allowing the nerves to get to me...If I got nervous now I wouldn't be able to get through the door.
"So the reception is straight in front of the parking lot...I will walk you in if you like but I will have to leave you because I have to hit registration before signing in to Coach Merton...Is that alright?" Emmett asked snapping me out of my concentration.
"No...Thank you all the same Emmett but I think I can find my own way...Besides if I don't know my way now then I never will" I answered as nicely as possible.
"Okay, Bella...Just be careful....Not everyone in Forks has a good reputation...I should know that better than anyone" He answered with a nod.
I nodded in reply....Not really knowing or wanting to say anything to his remark...I hadn't met anyone yet and I was in no position to make judgements right now.
My stomach began flipping increasingly as Emmett parked the car into the parking lot, Forks High School could look really beautiful if the weather in Forks wasn't so much like the weather back at home...The rain didn't make it clear enough to see and the clouds added darkness and gloominess to the atmosphere. Emmett patted me on the shoulder lightly as I turned to him.
"Are you going to be okay, Bella?" He asked, I was so thankful that someone like Emmett looked after me...I guessed it might have been a little difficult for him with my early tension with his girlfriend, Rosalie but I needed to keep my side of the bargain.
"Yes, thanks Emmett." I replied feeling a little choked up.
Emmett smiled at me one last time and turned off the ignition before both of us got out of the car at the same time.
I threw my back nervously over my shoulder and made my way the same way to where Emmett had gone towards a pair of double doors...I gained a few stares that I could feel at the back of my neck but I wasn't prepared to put my head down and give them more ammunition to target me.
I walked through the doors the smell of bad canteen food and chemicals hit my nose...I cringed a little but soon got used to it walking down the long corridor...I was lucky that the reception was sign-posted things could have been a lot worse for me luck-wise.
I headed through another pair of double doors and got to a large desk in front of me...An elderly woman was standing behind it looking down through her semi-circle classes in front of her, I approached the desk slowly and leant on the counter before she instantly looked up to face me.
"Hello young lady, Can I help you?" She asked me nicely with a warm smile.
"My name is Bel...Isabella Swan, I am a new student" I said hoping that information would be enough.
"Ah yes" She beamed her smile growing wider on her mouth...She reached down and disappeared out of sight for a few moments before coming back up with papers in her hand.
"Here we go Ms Swan...Your timetable and a school map...There is also a log sheet in there which I need you to get signed by your teachers for each lesson today and you will need to give it back to me at the end of the day okay?" She explained handing me each of the pieces of paper in turn.
"Thank you very much" I replied back, taking the papers and skimming them as quickly as I could.
"Your locker number is 029 which is down this corridor here...You will have to get hold of your own padlock or combination lock" She said.
"Okay" I replied, that didn't seem too difficult.
"Have a good day, Isabella" She replied and smiled...I smiled and walked backwards out of the double doors now on a search to find my locker.
I wasn't standing very far from it which was lucky too; It's going okay so far, Bella I thought as I opened the dark blue locker...I looked inside to see how big it was...It was medium-sized...Back at home our lockers were much smaller so we needed smaller bags to fit them, my brown one was going to fit perfectly in these lockers. I closed the locker again, deciding that carrying my back around wouldn't be a bad thing and turned by back to the now closed door leaning against it as I read the school map.
Mondays were...In order, English Literature for a double, Trigonometry for a double, history and Biology...Tuesdays were History double, Gym, Social studies and double English Literature...Wednesdays...I had two free periods in the morning and then Gym and Physcology....Trigonometry and Government studies....Thursdays I only had three lessons, Double biology and history in the middle of the day and Fridays had a total of four lessons...Gym, Double government studies and Biology. I breathed a sigh of relief once I had finished, we had to have P.E (which was known as Gym here) five days a week in England whereas in Forks I only had it three times and overall it wasn't a bad timetable...I seem to only have the subjects that I was really good in but I assumed that maybe that's what they did in America...I was now living as an American.
I took my bag off my shoulder before putting the log sheet away and kept hold of the map and my timetable...Luckily I brought a notebook that I found in one of the draws of my bedside table last night as I had a feeling I may need it...I put my bag back on my shoulder before looking at the watch...I had ten minutes left before the first period so I decided to make my way down there early...Looking at the timetable again...English Literature was held in building four...
"You're Isabella Swan, right?" A voice caught me off guard as I shot my eyes from my timetable to look next to me to find a young boy standing there leaning against the locker next to mine casually.
"Yes" I answered...Slightly worried that he knew who I was.
"I'm Mike Newton." He said before holding his hand out to me. I took it hesitantly.
"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Mike" I said nervously...He had a stronger grip than me.
"So...What do you have first period"? He asked me casually, this guy doesn't seem to have a problem with being sociable.
"Double English Literature...In building four" I finished hoping that my subtle hint would make him tell me where it was.
"I am on my way to building seven...I will show you the way if you like"? He offered with a smile...Yes!
"Thank you, Mike" I replied appreciatively as he gestured to show me the way.
"So you're from England?" He asked me as we began making our way to our lessons...Passing various different people and their killing stares.
"Yes" I replied...It didn't surprise me and I reckoned that I was going to get my home country mentioned a lot...I did stick out like a sore thumb to everyone else in the way that I spoke.
"That's awesome...I have never had a friend from England before" He stated and I smiled awkwardly...Were we friends? I was in no position to pass up friends but I had known him for about five minutes.
"So here are all the buildings" He stated stepping out into the outside again and he was right there were four main buildings in a semi-circle shaped around where we were standing "to get to buildings four to eight you need to go straight down the pathway between buildings two and three and make a left" He said as we approached the pathway he was talking about. Why is it that buildings look so large on the outside but once you get inside everything is simple? I could remember this...I know where all the buildings are now so I shouldn't ever have a problem with getting lost.
Mike and I ended up outside an identical building as the others with a large letter '4' above the door; I exhaled looking at my watch again I had three minutes before the class began.
"Thank you, Mike" I said as he smiled.
"I have a double in Building six...Wait I have said that before haven't I....Yeah, well if you'd like I could meet you outside here and maybe...Show you the way to the cafeteria for lunch...Only if you want to though" He babbled as I tried hard not to laugh at his slightly evident nervousness.
"That would be great, Mike. I will see you then" I said and he nodded walking off to his building as I went into mine without another word being said.
English Literature has always been one of my favourite subjects...I used to spend a lot of time in our local library at home to develop my reading further bringing large numbers of contrasting novels and plays home to read and study for pleasure...This action had paid off as this term we were studying 'Romeo and Juliet' which I have studied in detail before and the novels we were studying were 'Wuthering heights' and 'Persuasion'...Bronte and Austen were my favourite novelists...Their work was like my guide. This was going to be an easy year for me in that subject and I was silently relieved.
It had begun to rain again as I walked out to meet Mike's smiling face outside of Building four.
"Hey, did you enjoy your first official lesson at Forks High?" He asked me, I didn't think he was aware of the face that he and I were both getting soaked.
"Yes thanks" I answered, the biting wind beginning to pick up through the spray of the rain shower.
"Right..Let's go" He said as we both ran back to the main building.
The canteen was on the first floor and thankfully was only one stair climb...There were another set of double doors as the smell of food got closer and my mouth was beginning to water slightly.
Forks High School's canteen...Bella you're in America now...It's a cafeteria...Was plain and somewhat strange...There were a large mix of people and I imagined that not every single student was now present in the cafeteria which amazed me, there were a huge amount of people in there and I found myself wanting to run. I stood awkwardly with Mike...Watching and waiting for him to do something.
"Belllllllaaaaaaaa?" Before I even had time to register the calling of my name Alice had bounded up to me and grabbed my arm...I saw Mike turn to look at her at the corner of my eye as well.
"I see you have met Mike Newton, Bella" Alice chimed...Giving Mike a look I couldn't distinguish. Mike then left us both and joined a table in the centre of the cafeteria...With two girls giving me contrasting looks and two other guys. Alice tugged on my arm that she still had a grasp.
"Our table is over here, Bella" She sang before leading us the way.
"We have our own table?" I asked confused and somewhat amazed.
"Of course, only the best for us Cullen's" she said linking our arms together and walking towards the table.
"Hello Bella" Jasper acknowledged and smiled at me, I smiled back.
"Hi Jasper" I said back...He had a way of making me feel calmer...If that was possible.
"Bella, come and sit next to me, you didn't waste any time getting to know a guy in your year did you?" Emmett said as I sat next to him, Rosalie sitting on the other side playing a game on her cell phone.
"He showed me to my lesson...He was very helpful" I said defending Mike...And swiping off Emmett's remark at the same time.
"I think it's nice that he helped you, Bella" Alice said grasping on to Jasper's hand tightly on the table.
I smiled to Alice as a way of thanks and she nodded ever so slightly in understanding...Thank god for her!
I looked at the large amount of food on our table and then looked at Emmett.
"Don't start, Bella...It isn't all for me" Emmett snapped and gave me a dramatic look of disgust, I giggled a little...Emmett was a lot of things but once thing he wasn't was an actor.
"The majority is" Rosalie remarked and looked up at Emmett; he poked her in the ribs with his elbow and she chuckled at him, giving him a kiss on the lips.
"So Bella, how did you find your first two lessons?" Alice asked me after a moment.
"Good...I have already read this year's material" I stated and she smiled.
"She sounds like Edward" Jasper said with a smirk.
"What do you mean?"
"He is always ahead...Top of the class and the majority of the teacher's favourite" He answered me...I was still in awe about Edward Cullen...I still had yet to meet my other new brother and I hoped that it would be soon before I got too used to Alice and Emmett as my only siblings and overall only us three siblings.
"He will be back tonight, Bella and you can determine that for yourself" Emmett said before grabbing two slices of pizza off of the plate and scoffing it down.
The rest of lunch went by quickly...I wasn't that hungry but did choose to nibble on a slice of pizza so that I wouldn't collapse later. Emmett, Alice and Jasper had all said their goodbyes to me beforehand and Alice informed me that she would be waiting in the parking lot when school finished and I thanked her. When they had all gone (including Rosalie who didn't say goodbye) I grabbed my bag...It was five minutes before the bell went for the end of lunch and walked towards the same double doors to my next lesson I pushed the door outwards to exit when I heard a loud thump from the other side...I gasped and was still as the door swung back towards me before rushing out...I must have hit someone and that wasn't good.
I was out on the other side and looked to my left... A guy was on his knees picking up his scattered belongings. He was pale, had brown hair that had bronze colours that shone in the light...He was sighing angrily as I bent down to pick up a few small books that were by my feet...He collected the rest before standing up fully...He was an inch or two taller than Jasper...His features were chiselled but had some clench in them as he gazed at me.
I held the books out to him with an apologetic look on my face; he grabbed them from my grasp.
"Why don't you watch where you're going!" he snapped at me, creases showing in his forehead. I flinched away at the sound of his voice.
"I am so sorry....I'm new here and-" I started
"Funnily enough...I don't care and I haven't got the time for a life story right now." He broke me off.
I was getting annoyed now...The door was outward opening and it could have been anyone on the end of it, did he really need to act this way?
The guy grunted suddenly as he opened one of his books, a small hole appearing in the middle and the pages ripped a quarter of the way down...I felt guilty now.
"You know that I will have to pay to get this replaced...Are you going to pay for it by any chance, new girl?" He said still angry but with a hint of sarcasm.
"I will....Of course I will pay for it" I answered...It seemed only right as I was the reason for the book being damaged.
"I should think so...Now if you don't have any more desires to destroy my property...SOME of us have lessons to get to"! He grunted before walking off in the opposite direction away from me.
Tears began to rim my eyes as I walked away...I had a feeling that I had made a new enemy...Just what I needed.
The rest of the day went quickly; although I did spend all of the time having flashbacks of what the guy had said to me...Even though I had attempted to try and wipe it from my mind it seemed impossible to get his piercing stare out of my head.
Trigonometry was another easy lesson, I had been in an advanced class in England and I had been put into an normal tiered class this time in Forks. I knew what I was doing and I was under the impression that school was going to be too easy this year for me. Trigonometry was led by a very boring teacher who was on the brink of retirement, there was an atmosphere in the room which I didn't like, it looked like none of the pupils liked him much either but he hadn't been rude to me so I was able to bear it for as long as it took as long as we stayed out of each other's way.
History was a much nicer class...Not as nice as English but a close second...The teacher was a young female with a deep, husky voice with a eye for detail...She had been the only one nice enough to not order me to introduce myself in front of the class and I was grateful to her for that.
When I had got to Biology my heart literally had fallen into my stomach when I realised who would be with me in the same class....It was the guy that I had knocked over outside the cafeteria the guy who's words I hadn't been able to get out of my head the whole day.
He glared at me and rolled his eyes as I entered the classroom...Do not cry, Bella...Do not let him see you cry. I fought back the tears as I gave the teacher my log sheet.
"Hi Ms Swan...Welcome to the class...Here's the stuff you need and just follow along until you catch up okay. Mr Yorkie?" He said before looking over my head to someone in the class.
"Yes, Mr Banner" I turned to see who the teacher had acknowledged and saw a guy, much shorter than the other guys I had met, he had sleek black hair gelled back in a flat-style and had glasses...His skin tone slightly olive. He smiled at me and looked back at the teacher.
"Ms Swan is your new lab-partner" the teacher said before gesturing me towards the seat
I nodded and then walked over to the desk quickly and taking my seat before any more attention could be drawn to me.
"Hi...Isabella is it?" Eric asked me as I sat down
"Yes" I said...How is it everyone knew my name? I guess any kind of news is welcome in Forks and considering how well-known Carlisle was it didn't seem surprising that the whole town new about me already.
"English? Very nice" Eric complimented me and I smiled, opening my bag which I had placed on the desk to pull out my notebook and a pen.
"Listen....If you ever need anything, you know like a lunch-date, agony aunt...You only have to ask me" Eric told me as I placed my stuff down on the desk and leaned over to put my bag under the desk.
"Um...Thank you" I answered...Feeling a mix of sadness of seeing the door-guy again and the kindness that Eric had already shown me.
"You're welcome" He smiled and turned towards the teacher to listen to the lecture.
I was so pleased to see the end of Biology class..I walked out with the log-sheet I needed to hand back to the receptionist I met this morning...Keeping my head down I sped as fast as I could to the reception through the familiar double doors facing the same woman from this morning.
"Hello Isabella, did you have a good day"? She greeted me and I placed the log-sheet on the desk in front of her.
"Thank you, Isabella...Everything is sorted now. You have a good night and I will see you tomorrow" She said before I nodded and walked out.
I didn't want to get into a conversation...I needed to go home and be on my own for a while in seclusion.
I went out into the parking lot and instantly saw Alice waving excitedly at me...I waved slightly with much less enthusiasm and walked towards her.
"Hi Bella...So how was your first day?" She chimed. I groaned internally I had hoped that I would have got through the day without anything bad happening and it would have done without the door-incident.
"It was okay thanks Alice" I answered with as much enthusiasm as I could.
"Well...Let's get home" She said before we both climbed into her car.
We both got home with limited conversation...Once we were inside I excused myself from dinner saying to Esme that I had assignments to do...She agreed and said that work was more important but that I must eat something at some point. I felt guilty that i had lied but I desperately wanted to crawl under my covers and cry for most of the night.
How did I let it all get to me? Why did I care so much about how some random person acted towards me? It just seemed ridiculous for me to act this way? For the moment I didn't care.
I made my way upstairs and wrote into my diary about my day – the good and bad points...Then putting the diary away I lay under the covers and leant into my pillow deeply and finally allowed myself to cry....I had forgotten how long I had held my emotion in...I was thankful that no one came to check on me, they seemed to respect the fact that I needed time to 'work'.
It was about two and a half to three hours later that I emerged from the covers at the sound of voices downstairs, Emmett or Alice must have been going out and everyone must have been saying their goodbyes.
"Bella?" Esme's voice called from downstairs, muffled slightly by my closed door...I climbed out of my depressed place...Ran a few fingers though my hair and checked my reflection in my bathroom mirror...Luckily my makeup hadn't left marks I exhaled and walked out of the bathroom turning off the light and then walking over to the door of my room...Opening it and closing it behind me to make my way downstairs.
I got to the living room and Esme was there in front of me.
"Sorry to disturb you Bella" She said and I felt confused as to what she meant when it finally clicked in my head that she thought I was working.
"That's okay Esme...I have finished now anyway" I said...My voice low...I cleared my throat once I heard it.
"That's good. I want you to come and meet Edward with me, Carlisle will be back soon...Alice and Emmett have both greeted him and gone out for the night so you are the only one left.
Edward...I had completely forgotten that I was meeting him today...After all the heightened emotion on my first day it seemed all of the things I was actually looking forward to went straight out of my head.
I beamed at Esme and she smiled back "Great" she said before taking my hand and taking me into the living room.
We both entered the living room and there was a man standing with his back to us
"Edward?" Esme called before we reached the entrance, he turned instantly and I instantly felt completely and utterly sick.
No....No....This can't be happening....Please tell me this is a nightmare...Please!
It was unfortunately real and I was left staring into the eyes of the one person I had not wanted to see again if I had a choice for the rest of my life.
The door-guy from outside the cafeteria in Forks...The person who books I destroyed....The person's who's angry voice and almost evil remarks had earnt a good half amount of all my tears for most of my night was staring right back at me.
Piercing eyes meeting my astonished ones.....I think I am going to throw up!
Dum dum dum!! :D
Will update with the next chapter tomorrow....Everyone enjoy the rest of all your Christmas's!
Thoughts? Changes? AND If you would like your own dedication in the next chapter...You know what to do! Send me a review.
Lots of love and drunken joy
.S.
x