A New Beginning

I do not own any of the characters in Twilight.

BPOV

I awoke early to the sun coming up over the mountains, moaning I turned to my other side and then remembered today was the day I would meet my roommate. Ugh! As I lay there waking up I heard the first sounds of life in my new home outside my room. Drake and Ian were laughing about something I couldn't hearas they passed as they passed. I'm going to have to get used to co-ed living too, this might be a little draining on my nerves. It'll just be a couple of weeks until you get settled in, I told myself to in order to relieve some anxiety.

Okay, time to face the day. There were a great deal of things I needed to take care of, so instead of languishing in my bed, I put my feet on the floor to begin. Grabbing my toiletries I headed in to take a shower. As the warm water cascaded down my body, I began running a list in my head of all the things I would need to do today. Getting acclimated to the campus was going to be my first priority, and I had to pick up food – something I should have done yesterday. I also had to go to the registrar's office to complete the paperwork for my first semester.

I headed downstairs and found Anne, Sam, Ian and Drake in the kitchen making breakfast. They all looked so comfortable with each other it was a bit disarming, so I stood in the doorway not sure what to do with myself. Ian looked up and said, "Bella, good morning. Would you like some pancakes? Anne would be happy to share her portion with you" he stated chuckling.

Anne smiled over her shoulder as she continued flipping the pancakes on the stove. "Bella, no problem, I know you haven't had the chance to get any food yet and there's plenty here."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I was going to head down and check out the campus as well as get to the store to pick up some stuff. Do you recommend a particular store that will have everything?"

That's when Ian spoke up, "I'll head out with you, I have to get a few things myself. Walking campus blindly isn't a bad thing, but it always helps to have someone who knows their way around. Besides, I wouldn't be doing my job if you were to trip and I wasn't there to catch you." He smiled sweetly and Drake poked him in the ribs. Looks like I was going to have to let him know I wasn't interested in that type of relationship before it got out of hand.

Instead, I blushed and smiled at him agreeing that his company would be appreciated. What was I doing? I couldn't let him get interested in me; this was not a good thing. I'd just let it ride until the time came and then make sure he understood, friends are all we'd ever be.

Having breakfast with the four of them was nice. They laughed and exchanged stories about each other never once making me feel like an outsider. I helped clean up the dishes while Ian ran upstairs to grab some things he needed for our trip to the quad.

It turns out that Anne and Sam were dating and Ian, Drake and Sam grew up together. Anne's major was in Media Communications, while Sam majored in Mass Communication. Ian and Drake were both majors in Electronic Game and Interactive Development – that explained the Wii in the common room!

Ian came back into the kitchen and asked if I was ready to roll. We quickly said goodbye and headed out the door. I took a chance to watch him as we strolled the streets, he really was a good-looking guy. He was at ease with himself and didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable with the fact that he was walking with someone he just met. He told me all about the buildings we were passing and the quickest ways around campus.

The campus was really nice, quant and charming, not so enormous that I would get lost like some colleges. One of the reasons I chose Champlain was because it was a smaller school with under 2,000 undergrads enrolled, yet still had all the academic requirements I would need. All of the buildings held so much history and I felt myself getting excited every time Ian would point out some of the details. He seemed to know so much about the architecture so I asked him, "How is it a major in electronic gaming knows so much about history and architecture?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely, I happen to have an appreciation for building structure and history. One of the reasons I was drawn to this area of the country was because it holds so much history. I find the early 1800/1900 period interesting, even though I am a techno-geek." As he spoke I noticed he was a bit shy about revealing this because he kept looking down, a habit I'm very familiar with.

He smiled at me, "So Bella, isn't it time you started telling me a bit about yourself. This conversation seems to be a bit one-sided."

Even though I knew the time would come for me to tell my story, it still took me by surprise. What should I tell everyone, that I have a habit of attracting mythical creatures and felt the need to runaway, so here I am on the other side of the country hoping to gain some sanity and piece my life back together. I didn't think that conversation would go to well.

"Well, where should I start…I come from Phoenix originally where I lived with my Mom. About 2 years ago I moved to Forks Washington to spend some time with my Dad and get to know him before I began college. I love to read literature, especially stories written by Jane Austin, but then again I like Shakespeare – well suffice it to say I like all the classics."

"Do you know that your eyes sparkle when you talk about literature, no wonder you're an English major" Ian smiled. I felt myself blush, and then he smiled even brighter.

He put his arm around me while chuckling and said, "So what else do you need to take care of before we go to the store." It didn't bother me much that he had his arm around me, it was very casual and not possessive in the least more, like a comfortable friendship was beginning.

"Well, I really need to get my photo taken for my student ID. I have to pick up my course schedule and find the bookstore. I don't plan on buying all the books today, but knowing where the store is will be helpful when I return."

"Alright then, lets get you over to the student center. Once we get your picture taken, they'll tell you where to pick up your course schedule and I'll take you to the bookstore. Have you set up your email account? You should have been sent your course schedule via email. We also have to bring your laptop down to the student center so they can set it up for wireless." Looked up at him, I smiled. It felt good to have someone who knew the ropes.

I poked him in the side, "Okay, you can bring me to the student center, but when I'm getting my picture taken you can't be anywhere near me. I hate having my picture taken and don't need you trying to get me to make a goofy smile."

Ian stopped walking and said, "Bella, I'm hurt. You hardly know me, how could you assume that I would be so cruel. You have to use this ID for nearly everything on campus, I wouldn't subject you to using an ID that didn't show all of your beauty."

Ut oh…perhaps I better have the conversation about just friends before this really got out of hand. I didn't think it was the time to get into it, I knew the time would come; I just knew that this wasn't it. So I smiled and took his hand to pull him forward. "Come on, let's get a move on, aside from all the other stuff I have to get done I'm meeting my new roommate this afternoon."

Soon enough we had finished everything at the student center and were headed for the local grocery store. Good to his word, Ian didn't interrupt the photo ID part by making me laugh. When I showed him my ID all he said was, "Perfect." I found my time with Ian easily passed with no "pregnant pauses" looking for conversation that had to be forced. He really was an interesting guy besides being easy to look at. He told me all about his Mom and Dad in upstate NY, his brother who was in the reserve and how they were concerned that he would be sent to Iraq. He was very close to his family and it was nice to see how his face would soften as he spoke of them.

As we entered the grocery store he grabbed a cart and asked me if I wanted to push it through the aisles. I shook my head no, letting him know that he was still in the lead on this adventure. He quickly headed over to the frozen food aisle and started throwing frozen dinners into the cart. After about the third one, I grabbed his arm and said, "What are you doing? Don't you know how to cook?"

"Bella, I know that college life is new to you, but you'll soon discover when the courses begin that cooking is a luxury. And, no I don't know how to cook!" he laughed.

"Humph, I see. Well, since our courses haven't begun yet, how about we get some real food and I teach you how to cook something that even you can make!" I put my hands on my hips and smiled up at him.

"Ah, a challenge. So you think you can turn my culinary skills in the kitchen? Are you sure the rest of the house is prepared to be subjected to this?" shaking his head. "Ok, lead on oh wise one."

I grabbed the cart putting back the frozen dinners quickly while asking him, "So what is your favorite meal besides frozen mush?"

"Easy, that would be chicken parmigiana. Anything chicken is good. I can't stand sea food, so please avoid that by all means!"

"Good, I know just what our first class will be!" I thought to myself 'great chicken parmigiana, easy enough' knowing him as I did at this moment I know he'd pick up on how to make this quickly.