The Twilight Twenty-Five
Prompt:
Comfort
Pen name: ladyinblue6
Pairing: Canon and non-canon
Rating: M

I'm warning you right now: I am not very good at writing funny banter between boys and girls. There's a difference between being in a real situation and writing it down on paper. I'm not sure if this is funny or not to you guys, but I, personally, was cracking up at what Bella had to say.



Thankfully it wasn't hard to get back into the swing of things. My old school and FHS did the same classes during the same semesters, so I didn't have to work to catch up.

Monday was spent figuring out the bizarre set up of the high school. Tuesday was easier. Wednesday even easier than that. I was starting to get used to Forks and, dare I say?, even enjoying it in the rainy town.

The only problem was that I attracted a lot of unwanted attention from the forty players that were left on the roster for the Kings, which brought more unwanted attention from the Queens of Forks. I had always gotten along with guys better than girls, but this was ridiculous. I got called a bitch in the hallway for the first time ever on Wednesday morning. Someone shoved me purposely. It was an experience to say the least.

But, my boys, as I had taken to calling them "mine" in the five days that I'd been in Forks, were there for me. I had people to sit with a lunch and I had partners to work with in every class. This was all okay with me. I'd be with my boys most of the time anyway. By the looks of it, they'd be my only friends.

"Bella!" Mike Newton called as soon as I finished paying for my lunch. "Over here!"

I smiled and waved, trekking over to the table that was occupied by Mike, Tyler Crowley, Eric Yorkie, Edward Cullen, Emmett McCarty, and Jasper Whitlock. I hadn't eaten with the latter three yet.

"Hey, boys," I greeted, sitting down in between Jasper and Mike. "Nervous for cuts tonight?"

They all laughed.

"Hell no," Emmett declared boisterously. "Have you seen me tearing up the ice, baby? I'm a machine."

"Yeah, I know who you are," I replied while prying my milk carton open. "Emmett McCarty, top defence man in the league last year. You had the most penalty minutes and the most take downs. You broke two arms and a clavicle."

"Whoa," Emmett breathed, eyes wide. "Charlie said you knew hockey, but I didn't think you'd actually know."

I shrugged, blushing. "I'm a hockey girl, what can I say?"

"Betcha you don't know much 'bout me," Jasper drawled beside me.

"All I needed to know was what I saw on Saturday," I replied. "You got skills, man."

Jasper smiled lazily, leaning back on his chair, balancing it on two legs. "Well, thanks, darl."

"Welcome."

"You don't remember me, do you?" Edward finally asked.

I shook my head, scowling and swallowing a bit of my sandwich.

"We took skating lessons together once when you were visiting Charlie," Edward said, trying to remind me. He grinned crookedly. "You kicked my ass at races."

I vaguely remembered it, although a younger version of Edward didn't come to mind.

"You could lap me like nothing now," I replied. "I'm too clumsy for skating."

"You mean to tell me that a hockey expert like you can't even skate?" Emmett asked. "Jesus, what happened to Charlie? He dropped the ball on you."

"He tried to get me into hockey," I told them. "I'm more of a watcher than a doer, though. In theory, I should be able to kick ass at hockey, but in real life, I suck."

"You're going to need skating lessons," Edward decided.

"Hell no I don't," I replied automatically.

They all laughed at me.

"C'mon, Bella," Tyler pleaded. "It'd be fun."

"Psh, like you guys could even get me to go near a pair of skates," I scoffed.

"We'll see," Eric said ominously.

I snorted. "Yeah right."

"Party at Johnson's next Saturday!" one of my boys, Jason Martin, bellowed.

"Woo!" Emmett called back. "Nice. First hockey party of the year. You in, Bella?"

"Um," I replied.

"Heck yeah she is," Mike answered for me. "The Chief wouldn't want his own daughter miss something like this."

"Sure," I murmured, taking the last bite out of my sandwich. Then a tall blonde with the figure of a supermodel walked up to the table. I was gaping at this Amazon chick, feeling like a troll in her shadow.

"Emmett, you're going to come over tonight, right?" she asked, draping herself over the big guy.

"Yeah, I'll be there, Rose," Emmett replied dismissively.

Then the girl leaned into his ear to whisper something. She kept glancing at me with an evil smirk, like she was proving a point somehow. Emmett growled and laughed at the same time, making the girl on his lap smile before planting a giant, open-mouthed kiss on his lips. She stood, giving me one last cold glare before turning back towards a table of girls who were also staring at me.

"Are all the girls here so territorial?" I asked when she was out of hearing range.

"Nah, it's just Rose," Emmett replied nonchalantly. "We've been dating since freshman year and whenever a new girl comes to Forks she practically pisses on my leg so the chick knows that I'm taken."

"She shouldn't be so self-conscious. She's like fucking Barbie," I murmured, looking at the table of girls.

"Oh, she knows there's no way in hell I'd leave her," Emmett said. "She just likes intimidating poor girls like you."

"Like I'd want you anyway," I replied smoothly.

Jasper whistled with a smile while the rest of them laughed.

"Honey, who said I was trying?" Emmett countered with a panty-dropping grin.

"Well, your girl seemed pretty concerned. Maybe I should tell her to put you on a tighter leash."

"Ho, ho!" Tyler exclaimed. "Bella's on fi'a!"

I popped a carrot in my mouth, smiling at Emmett who was smiling right back. I was in my element among these crude boys. I knew my way around sexual innuendos better than I knew how to apply makeup.

After school, just as I was about to walk the atrocious two-block walk home, Edward pulled up beside me in a silver Dodge Ram Charger. A '010. Dodge. Ram. Fucking. Charger. I almost orgasmed on the spot.

"You wanna ride?" Edward asked with a crooked grin. Another unintentional orgasm.

"Fuck. Yes," I replied breathlessly, running over to the passenger's door and flinging my body inside the truck. My fingers began memorizing the console and my eyes darted around, taking in the interior.

"You like?" Edward asked as the tires squealed.

"No, I love," I corrected. "Seriously. Is this really yours or is it Carlisle's?"

"Technically, its Carlisle's since he's paying for it, but it's my early Christmas present."

"It's only September," I reminded him.

He grinned. "I know."

The ride didn't last nearly long enough. God, I would have given anything to drive the truck. Literally anything.

I sighed, scowling at my new home. "I guess I'll see you tonight."

"You're coming again?" Edward asked, surprised by this fact.

"Well, yeah," I replied. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Why would you?"

"Charlie respects my opinions," I told him haughtily.

Edward snorted. "Doubtful."

My eyes narrowed. "Don't underestimate me, Cullen."

He grinned cockily back. For being a rec player last year, he sure was a confident little shit. I hoped he would have the worst practice of his life tonight.

I hopped out of that sexy truck with my chin in the air. And then I tripped on the curb, falling onto my hands and knees. The trucked remained behind me for a few seconds. I knew Edward was laughing at my graceful escape. I stood up, flipped him the bird over my shoulder, and walked into the house.

--

Practice was intense that night. Charlie was really trying to weed out the weak from the strong. Some cuts were obvious, but there weren't ten players that were horrible.

To my great dismay, Edward was on top of his game. He even had the balls to look up at me in the stands and wave before executing a slap shot that made me cringe when it hit Jasper.

Instead of doing a half hour's worth of starts and stops, the boys did diving lines. That's where Charlie found some guys to cut. Three of them quit and one guy hurled all over himself. It was good to see some weaknesses in the forty guys out on the ice, but also very disgusting to watch.

They played shinny again, but the teams weren't as stacked this time. There was some competition. Edward got demolished by Emmett, earning an internal cheer from me.

After a close game ending with a three-two score for Jasper's team, everyone took a knee again. I listened to Charlie as he explained what would be happening on for the next two practices and next Saturday at their exhibition game against La Push. Then Carlisle started talking about their training schedule and their basic diet outline. The Kings were serious this year. Second place wasn't going to cut it.

I sat with the coaches again while they discussed cuts. I put in my opinions occasionally. I stood with the coaches when the announced cuts this time, silently pleading Charlie to hurry up so I could get away from Edward before he got all smug on my ass.

"Okay, boys, Saturday at two. No drinking on Friday, okay?" That was the cool thing about Charlie. Yeah, he was the Chief of Police, but he wasn't about to get all strict on everyone's ass when there had been a time when he drank underage, too.

Everyone started piling out of the rink, myself included. I jacked Charlie's keys for his F-150.

"Hey, Swan! Watch your step!" Edward yelled from his outrageously sexy Charger.

"Hey, Cullen! How's your ass?" He looked bewildered. "I was just wondering because it looked like Emmett fucked you pretty hard during shinny today."

I could hear him laughing a little bit. "You're something else, Bella."

"And you're an ass," I mumbled as I pulled myself up into Charlie's truck.


So, I was at my best friend David's hockey game last night. They tied with the top team in the league, btw. But, anyway, David's mom told me that David's top in the whole league for points (which includes assists and goals) and for penalty minutes. That takes serious skill. He's already got two game's worth of penalty minutes. David's got a wicked temper.

Just thought I'd let you know. (:

Mary