A/N: So, with the help of vjgm, I've gone through through the first three chapters and toned them down as far as my gratuitous use of the word "Fuck". This was done in an effort to get my story accepted at Twilighted, so if you feel so inclined, feel free to go back and re-read. It may be easier to follow without so much profanity.

That being said, sorry it took me so long to update this chapter. I kind of hate it, but I wanted to get the first meeting between Edward/Bella over with. It's kind of just a filler thing.

Chapter Four: First Impressions

EPOV

Wednesday Morning

"Rise and shine, sweet cheeks."

"You have got to be kidding me," I groaned, rolling over in the bed, pulling the blanket over my head. "The sun hasn't even come up yet."

"That's Forks for you, honey. The sun almost never comes up. Come on. You can't lay in bed all day."

"I could if you'd get out and stop talking."

"Come on sweetheart. We'll go get some breakfast."

"For the love of GOD let me sleep!" I moaned, pulling the pillow over my head.

I wanted to scream when I felt the warm covers being ripped from my body. "You have ten minutes to get ready. If you're not downstairs, then you don't eat."

And just like that, she was gone. With a loud growl, I pushed myself up on my elbow, squinting my eyes in the darkened room for the clock.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," I spat bitterly. It wasn't even fucking six o'clock yet. Granted, it was nearly eight back in Chicago, but fuck! I punched the pillow away from my body, knowing that even though I desperately wanted to, there was no way in hell I was going back to sleep now.

It took me less than a minute to strip out of my pajama pants, grab the jeans that were laying in a pile beside the desk chair and yank them angrily over my hips. I grabbed an old black t-shirt from the dresser and threw it on, but I didn't even bother with my hair. I had learned from a young age that I had the world's most unmanageable hair, especially when time constraints didn't give me a chance to shower. So I grabbed a hat from the closet and threw it on before heading downstairs, stomping the whole way.

"Ah," the wench greeted, a stupid smile on her old ass face. "You're learning."

"Yeah, whatever. Can we go now?"

"We're waiting for our ride."

"What? What about your rickety as—uh, your old truck?"

"I borrowed it."

"You don't have a car?"

"Never had much use for one."

"Are you kidding me? Well, how am I supposed to get around?"

"The same way I do. You'll walk if the weather permits, or you'll catch a ride with your cousin. You remember Emmett, don't you sweetheart?"

Ugh. Of course I remembered Emmett. Even as a child, he was obnoxiously loud. I never looked forward to visits with his family. I couldn't imagine that much had changed over the course of the years. Once a pain in the ass, always a pain in the ass. This old bitch had proved that.

"Is he picking us up now?"

"Oh no. Emmett's never up this early, dear." I didn't even try to hide my fucking snort. "But then again, Emmett doesn't live under my roof. My house, my rules."

"Whatever," I grumbled angrily. This shit wasn't fair. With every second I spent in this fucking house, the Marine Military Academy was looking better and better.

The loud rumble of an engine sounded from outside, startling me slightly.

"She's here. Let's go."

She looked like she wanted to put her arm around my shoulder or something, so I stalked out of the hallway ahead of her, not willing to give her the opportunity. I didn't want her old ass touching me. I pulled the front door open, groaning when I saw that goddamned truck again. Couldn't she pick friends that had nicer rides? Christ.

"I'm not sitting in the middle," I called over my shoulder. The last thing I wanted was to be squeezed in between two old bats.

"That's fine with me," she responded, closing the front door as she stepped out onto the porch. I started towards the truck when the sound of her voice stopped me. "Edward?"

"What?" I asked, not bothering to look at her.

"I expect you to be nice."

"Yeah whatever."

"I mean it," she warned.

"Fine! Jesus, I got it the first time you said it!"

I didn't miss the warning glance she threw me as she brushed passed before she pulled the heavy ass, rusted door open. "Good morning sweetheart!"

"Good morning, Miss Ruby." The sound of the voice threw me for a loop for a minute. It sure as shit didn't have that… weird ass wavering quality that most old people had.

"Edward? Are you coming, sweetheart?"

The sound of Ruby's voice snapped me from my thoughts as I trudged over to the truck. Please don't fucking let anyone important see me in this rusted ass piece of shit, I prayed to the non-existent God above.

"Edward, this is Bella. Bella, this is my grandson, Edward."

The girl in the driver's seat was nothing like I expected. I had been pretty sure that only old ass people ever got up this fucking early to go eat breakfast for senior specials or whatever, but she looked to be about my age. My first impression of her was that she was pretty, but not in the usual way. My standards of 'pretty' usually consisted of blonde and tan. She was neither, but there was something about her.

In an effort to not seem like a complete fucking weirdo, I forced my gaze away from her as I climbed into the cab of the truck beside the old woman.

"Hey, what's up?" I greeted casually, as I pulled the door closed behind me.

At the lack of a response, I chanced another glance in her direction and found her hands gripping the steering wheel, her knuckles white. Her cheeks were flushed, and she made absolutely no move to even put the truck in drive. Okay. Apparently, she was a fucking weirdo. And possibly retarded.

I wanted to ask Ruby what the fuck she was doing hanging around mentally challenged teenagers, but before I got the opportunity, the weirdo seemed to realize that we were still sitting in front of the house, because she slammed the truck into drive, popping the clutch and effectively stalling the piece of shit.

I coughed into my hand to cover up my laugh as she mumbled an apology and started the truck again, the blush on her face darkening. She stalled the truck three more times before she finally got her shit straight and pulled away from the curb. I really tried not to laugh at her, I swear. I knew it was rude. Ruby had elbowed me several times to make sure I was aware that I was not being nice by laughing, but seriously. It wasn't that fucking difficult to drive a manual transmission, and this weirdo made it seem like fucking rocket science.

I just prayed that the rest of the girls in this town were significantly less weird.

BPOV

My first impression of Edward Cullen was that he was perfect. This assessment was, of course, based purely on his physical appearance because the minute he opened his mouth, I formed acompletely different opinion of him. Jerk was the first word that came to mind, actually.

As if the whole incident in the truck wasn't bad enough, it got worse. It always gets worse. The actual breakfast part went off without a hitch. There was an awkward silence between the time we ordered and the time we got our food, but it wasn't so bad. No, the trouble didn't start until after we'd finished eating.

I was probably the world's clumsiest person. No, I'm not exaggerating; it's a fact. Anyway, as I was sliding out of the booth to go pay our bill, my stupid foot got caught in the table leg and before I could even process what was happening, I was sprawled out, face down, on the linoleum.

It was definitely not my most graceful moment.

I didn't care that he laughed at me. I was used to that, with having Emmett as a friend. Emmett's day wasn't complete unless he saw me do a face-plant or smack my head into something. I didn't even care that he didn't offer to help me off the floor.

What changed my opinion about Edward Cullen was the question he asked Miss Ruby when he thought I was out of earshot.

"Is she retarded?"

It was stupid to get so upset over that ignorant question. Really, it was and I know that. But it stung and there wasn't much I could do about it. Needless to say, I was more than relieved when the whole fiasco was over with.

Pulling into the parking lot of the school, I immediately spotted Emmett, leaning casually against his Jeep, no doubt waiting to hear how the morning went. Unfortunately, he was not alone.

I'd known Alice Brandon almost as long as I'd known Emmett, and aside from him, she was my best friend. The three of us had been nearly inseparable and with Alice and Emmett, no subject was taboo.

Jasper and Rosalie Hale were the newest addition to our clique. They'd moved to Forks from Los Angeles just last year and almost immediately became a part of our small group. But I suppose that was to be expected when Alice claimed that Jasper was her soul mate at first glance and Rosalie practically attached herself to Emmett at the lips…or pelvic regions, as the case may be.

"So," he greeted in his booming voice as I climbed from the cab of the truck. "How did this morning go?"

"Ugh," I responded, "you don't even want to know."

"That bad, huh?"

"Well, your cousin is… he's different."

Though I was slightly hurt by Edward's apparent opinion of me, I thought it would be unfair to voice my opinion of him to people that didn't even know him. It had to be hard enough for him to start over in such a small town; I knew from a first hand experience how difficult it was, being a transplant myself. I didn't want to make things any harder on him than necessary.

"Well, if he looks anything like Emmett, he can't be all that bad. Is he hot, Bella?" Leave it to Rosalie to concern herself with his looks.

Regardless of how shallow I found the question to be, I couldn't help the slight blush that crept onto my cheeks. "He's… well, he's not bad, I guess."

"For God's sake, Bella! We need details, girl!"

"Leave her alone, Rose. You know how flustered she gets when it comes to the opposite sex," Alice teased, nudging me playfully.

"Alright, alright. We've reached our quota for teasing Bella for the morning. Let's save some of it for after lunch," Jasper, bless his soul, said as he dropped his hands onto Alice's shoulders.

We made our way across the parking lot, as my friends chatted happily with one another, Emmett's cousin forgotten by this point. I allowed my thoughts to drift back to Edward momentarily as we walked. One thing was for sure when it came to the sullen boy: the female popular of Forks High School was definitely in for a treat when he started… as long as he didn't open his mouth.

A/N: As much as I love Asshole!Edward and the gang, I love reviews even more! Dazzle me!