Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Prelude

'Life is just one damned thing after another'- Elbert Hubbard

EPOV

Twenty minutes of class left. Fuck this. Mr Banner was talking about some shit assignment that had to be done with a partner. I looked out the window, watching the rain splash down on Forks. It was surprisingly soothing, but it didn't help because I was already in a messy mood and it was only Monday

Mr Banner clapped his hands together and ordered the class to partner up. I watched everyone scramble out of their seats. I didn't need to, I thought, snickering. My name was synonymous with wealth, money, sex, and style. The bitches would come to me. I never needed to ask a girl for anything. Ever. And fuck me if I ever did.

"Edward?"

Ah…Jessica.

I nodded. It only took an incline of my head to find a partner.

"Mom's going away for the weekend," Jessica began; oh so this wasn't only about the damn assignment- she was asking a favour. "Come over and spare me a bit of loneliness, yeah?"

I nodded again. Jessica smiled, pleased. I was doing myself a favour, too. I was seriously in need of fucking company so badly that I was almost at the point of asking. Almost.

"Screw the assignment," she muttered, "but I'll see you on Saturday, Edward."

She gave me a goodbye kiss on the lips and left.

Mr Banner cleared his throat and she slithered back to her seat next to Lauren.

I wondered if she realized that I didn't even have to say anything. That made me a little proud. But I still wasn't satisfied.

I didn't know why I had that feeling. I had more money, girls, and brains than the entire of Forks' High School had together. I'd had countless amounts of one night stands - more than I could've asked for. So what was I missing? In my eyes, clearly - nothing.

My thoughts drifted to what my sister had said to me last night.

"Edward, that's enough!" Alice had stormed into my room, snatching away the glass of tequila that was in my hands.

I sighed. I was going to have the worst hangover ever, and school was starting tomorrow. Fuck.

"Go fuck with Jasper, Alice, and leave me alone."

Alice sighed. "Edward, you need someone."

Oh yeah. The fuck I did.

"You mean a girlfriend? No thanks. I have more than enough."

"They're not GIRLFRIENDS! They're random slutty bitches at school. You're lonely. And I don't want to see my brother getting wasted every other night for the rest of my life."

I snorted. "You won't."

"Oh yeah? Look at me and Jasper, or Em and Rose. None of us are as messed up as you. We don't go screwing random girls every other day. And our definition of a party night is not a synonym for one night stands!"

I whistled. Shit. If Alice got more agitated, she would cry and there'd be hell to pay when she went running off to Jasper.

We were silent for a moment. She was waiting for me to apologize. I was waiting for the dam to explode.

Alice was the one to break the silence. 'I hope you don't end up putting your shit on Bella. She's my best friend. Don't fuck with her.'

Was she freaking kidding me?! "Bella, as in Bella Swan? Bitch, please."

I was sick of Alice talking about Bella. It was always Bella this, Bella that. Or Angela this, Angela that. If Alice didn't act as though those people were her air, I probably would be more inviting when they came over to our place. Maybe.

The bell ringing brought my thoughts back to the present.

I got out of my seat and headed to my car, surprised to find Alice waiting for me already.

"Alice?" Why the hell was she waiting for me? Didn't she have gym or something? I walked faster, until I realised that there were tears in her eyes.

"Alice, what's wrong?" What if something happened to Carlisle? To Esme? To-

"Charlie," Alice whispered. The fuck was going on?

"Edward! Charlie's in the hospital with Carlisle. We have to take Bella."

I groaned, 'Alice! She can get there on her own. She ha-'

"A truck, Edward!!! A truck! She can't drive back in the rain. It's pouring!" Alice shrieked.

Frustrated, I got into the car, waiting for Alice to get her precious Bella. Why was Alice acting like that? Sure, Charlie's in the hospital, with Carlisle. That was fine, wasn't it? Carlisle could deal with anything.

Suddenly, the door slammed. Looking behind the driver's seat, I saw Alice comforting Bella. She looked shaken.

I shrugged and drove off.

I knew the way to the hospital well enough, not that I ever needed to go there. I only went occasionally for checkups.

A few minutes were all it took.

"Bella, c'mon. Do you want me to come with you?" Alice whispered gently.

I groaned. That was enough of this babyish shit.

"Alice! Bella's not a fucking child. She needs to go see her father for Christ's sakes!" I snapped. What the hell was Alice thinking? Wasn't this shit supposed to be personal? It wasn't like Bella was inviting Alice to a tea party or something.

I watched her eyes flash and I waited for her to start screaming. Uh oh. I could see this was a bad day for my sister.

"Well, Edward, maybe if you would think about how others feel for one second in your fucking self-centered world, you would be able to get along with more people in your fucking life, you complete dick."

What the fuck had just happened? Alice never swore. Whoa. She must've learned it from me, I thought.

"Let's go, Bella" Alice whispered softly again. Please.

I heard Bella take a deep breath before getting dragged out of the car by Alice.

"Edward, thanks for driving me here," Bella said sincerely. She actually leaned her head down to thank me.

She had tears that threatened to drop and looked crestfallen.

My stomach reacted at that expression. I couldn't say anything so I nodded and drove off.

I couldn't believe I actually felt something when I looked at her. It infuriated me. I never looked at her as anything more than my sister's best friend, and it felt like today was the first time I truly saw her.

Once I got home, I slammed the door and headed into my room, before I got distracted by some shit Jasper or Em was doing.

Damn the assignment. It wasn't like it was difficult for me or anything. Nothing was ever difficult for me. I'm pretty much fucking perfect.

I looked down at the first question but before I finished reading, my phone rang.

Alice again. Oh please. There was enough drama for today. I wasn't ready for anymore, nor was I ready for Alice's tantrum. Maybe she has PMS, I thought. That was an advantage to sleeping with girls- you learn about them more than you'd ever expect.

The phone rang again, shrilly.

I sighed and answered it.

"Alice? What the bloody fucking hell do you want?" I said, my voice brittle.

"Edward,' she whispered, "Charlie's gone, and Bella's staying over for the night." Then she hung up.

Shit. It was going to be a very long night.

Thank you to my two betas Penny and Izzzyy for their wonderful help and advice

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