Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or the universe S Meyer created. There may (or may not) be strong language or subjects in this chapter...

Every Little Thing
Chapter 4

I didn't expect to deal with my situation with Edward until at least lunchtime on Monday. I hadn't expected Rose waiting in the rocking chair by my bed for me to wake up Saturday morning.

"Here put these on," Rose told me as she flung clothes at me as I opened my eyes squinting at the bright light.

"Goo moaning to you too," I mumbled sitting up as she started pacing the room.

"I was under strict orders not to wake you; Charlie was very reluctant to even let me up here. But look out your window, what do you see?" she asked pointing toward the window.

"What do I see?" I asked her not moving from my extremely comfortable bed.

"Look out there!" she told me pulling away my warm sheets. If it hadn't been for her urgent tone, I would have completely ignored her. Falling out of bed, I shrugged out of my pajamas and pulled on the clothes Rose had thrown at me.

"What do I see?" I said looking out of window to see my normal view of my front yard. To the left, Mr. Goldstein getting his mail and some trees. To the right, more trees, the Hale house, and a giant Jeep in her driveway. "A Jeep?"

"And who do you know drives a Jeep?" she asked annoyed.

"No one," I looked over at her confused. "Oh! I totally forgot; how was the movie?"

"Pssh, yeah right, we didn't go," she scoffed at me.

"Why not?"

"Why not?! Because you and Edward were almost killed yesterday, you idiot. Plus it would just have been me, Jasper, Alice, and Emmett," she said leaning toward the window to look at her house.

"Oh… so Emmett's at your house?"

"And he's not alone," she gave me a meaningful look, and I didn't need to read her mind to know what she meant. "And they've been there all morning; apparently Emmett dragged Edward over here to apologize for something that I don't KNOW about, but Charlie chased them off to my house. Jasper's been entertaining all three of them over there since."

"Yesterday at the hospital," I sighed heavily sitting on my bed slipping on my socks. "Edward called me a rude and pretentious stalker, and I pretty much ran away."

"Pretentious? Are you sure he was talking about you?" she asked giving me an unsure look.

"Yeah I'm a little positive on that one."

"It's always the pretty ones," she grumbled. "Come on let's go."

"Okay okay," I finished pulling on my rain boots and hurried down the stairs after her.

"Rosalie!" Dad scolded her as we passed the living room.

"I didn't wake her. I swear!" she yelled walking out the front door.

"Wait a minute, Bells," Dad called after me. I dragged my feet into the living room where he was watching TV. "Did she wake you?"

"No," I grinned. "For once."

"Okay, where are you going?" he asked giving me that skeptical look – the one with the raised eyebrow.

"Hale house," I told him even though I knew that he knew where and what I was going to do.

"You know those boys were over here this morning. The big one had a stupid smile on his face," he said turning back to the TV.

"That's Emmett… he kind of knows everything… about me," I told him staring down at the rug on the floor.

"What? Everything everything?" he gaped at me dropping the remote.

"Yeah," I stood there shuffling my feet.

"You okay with that?" he asked.

"Yeah, Emmett's… Emmett is a good guy Dad. Be nicer to him next time," I said staring at the back door noticing the leather bag that hung on the coat rack. "I'm going for a hike afterward."

"Be careful," he nodded un-muting the TV. "And take the purse."

I didn't see Rose waiting for me on the front porch as I pulled the leather strap of the bag over my head, but I did see a tall figure making its way toward me. I didn't think I even needed eyes to know who it was. Like usual, he looked beautiful as he trudged through the wet grass looking down to watch where he was going with hands stuffed into pockets. He stopped when he saw me, and I met him halfway standing between the two houses.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Edward told me still staring downward at the grass, refusing to even glance at me.

"Right, I know Emmett dragged you over here, and I don't want your half-assed apology," I told him causing him to meet my eyes. "Look… I know I'm the freak of Forks," I grimaced. "And I'll try to stay out of your way and I'm sorry for any future inconveniences." I turned away from him and headed toward the wooded path behind my house.

"Wait… you're not a freak," he said in a firm tone that made me turn around to see if he was actually serious. "You're not."

"No, but I'm a pretentious stalker, right?" I said reminding him of his words as he shook his head. "Don't worry about it." I turned away from him and made my way to the meadow. It wasn't a very long walk, but it was considered to be a nice day for Forks so I trekked slowly.

Rude and pretentious… that's what he called me. Rude, I was aware of. I knew that I didn't have the best manners when it came to my peers, but I think they earned it. Pretentious though, I did not agree. I wasn't sure of his definition, but the definition that I knew meant arrogant… conceited… showy… exaggerated… Me? I was Bella Swan, the invisible freak and rejected lesbian of Forks High. I was the girl who always walked around other people in the halls and the girl who refused make up and stylish clothes. I was not pretentious; he only thought I was which made the accusation feel even worse for some unknown reason...

When I got to the meadow, I splayed myself down out on the wet grass thankful that Rose had given me warm clothes to wear. Yanking off the leather bag, I pulled it up toward my head and used it an uncomfortable yet dry pillow. The purse was what Dad and I jokingly called it. It was an old worn out leather bag that was filled with everything that I would ever need if I were lost in the wilderness of Forks. Boxes of water proof matches, butane lighter, compass, emergency radio, first aid kit, knives, iodine, bottled water, packets of dry food. Apparently Dad thought I was going off to fight in Vietnam or something. There was also an untouched pack of cigarettes in the bag. Dad had started smoking as a teenager because it was the cool thing to do, but he didn't quit smoking until he found his eleven-year-old daughter smoking out on the back porch after school. It was easy for me to smoke especially when it helped dealing with my curse. It was definitely gross and dirty, but the process of breathing in and out the smoke was soothing; I didn't feel so anxious and the migraines weren't so frequent. A few other people caught me smoking and that's when I became Bella the Reject. Dad was determined to give up smoking for the both of us. Now he chewed on ice when he's stressed out, and I think it might be bad on his teeth but at least it wasn't cancer. Since then I've become weary of the cool things in life.

I sighed loudly concentrating on my breathing. I wished that I could live in this meadow forever, my little piece of heaven where not even the gods could touch me here. My eyes opened and took in all the different greens around me. The tall grass, ferns, eyes, the moss covered trees and their leaves...EYES? I sat up quickly to see Edward staring blankly at me...

"What are YOU doing here? Did you - did you follow me here?" I asked stammering my words. "Who's the freaking stalker now?"

"I didn't follow you here," he shook his head at me.

"Oh yeah, then how did you end up all the way out here in the middle of the woods?"

"I live here," he stated slowly.

"In the woods?" I scoffed.

"No in the big house on the front of the property," he thumbed behind his shoulder.

"What? You – you live in the Masen house?" I asked murmuring softly as he nodded. I didn't say another word as I grabbed my bag and set off in the direction that I came. Angry tears started falling as I walked back to my house; I was beyond furious. The one thing that had been mine and no one else's was given away to the one person who I couldn't stand.

I couldn't believe that Tilde's daughter didn't tell us that she was selling it or that she could even sell it in the first place. She seemed like she was going to keep it forever. She'd even hired a cleaning crew to come around once a year to check out the house. I had things in that house that I wanted back. Things that I was too scared to go get because Tilde wasn't there anymore. Things I'll never see again...

Damn the gods. I didn't care anymore.

It was Friday again by the time I even acknowledged Edward. I had felt really out of it all week like I was forgetting something, but I had noticed that a lot of things had changed at school starting earlier in the week. The other half of the lunch table filled up quickly, and if it weren't for Rose and Emmett I wouldn't have had a seat there anymore. I almost didn't want it. Jessica apologized sobbingly to Edward about the accident, even though none of it was her fault, and has clung to him like a shadow ever since. Tyler was decent enough to give me a full apology and made sure I was okay. And Ben Cheney also started making small talk with me in English when he noticed me doing my math homework, but I suspected it had more to do with a tall brunette that I happened to volunteer with time to time.

But I tried not to judge Jessica too much, because Jessica Stanley was who I should have been. I mean if I hadn't been given the curse, I would be just like her. Jess and I were best friends we were little right up until her 8th birthday party. It had been a traumatizing event for the both of us, and I'd accepted the fact that she blamed me for it. So I didn't really mind it when she scoffed or glared at me, Lauren Mallory, on the other hand, not so much. I don't think I would have liked her in any other alternate reality either. Lauren was tall, blonde, and pretty, but she was also loud and obnoxious. Rude and pretentious better described her than me.

"This summer my cousin went with her friend to tryout on American Idol, and she totally met Ryan Seacrest," she continued to babble on as I tried to eat my lunch.

"What's American Idol?" I asked whispering to Rose. I didn't watch much television so most of the time I was unfamiliar with pop cultural references...

"You know that singing talent show and you can call in to vote for your favorite," Rose told me.

"Oh right, who's Ryan Seacrest?"

"You don't know who Ryan Seacrest is?" Emmett gaped at me causing the rest of the table to look at me.

"No," I said with my cheeks burning.

"God Bella, how ignorant can you be?" Lauren chided me rolling her eyes before continuing to talk Mike's ear off.

"He's just the host," Rose shrugged before giving Emmett a glare.

"Sorry," Emmett murmured apologizing. "I didn't mean - I just have a loud voice."

"Don't worry about it," I smiled at him as he slid down in his seat. I may have been unaware of a lot of things but at least I knew the important things… like that Robert Gates is the US Secretary of Defense and how to change a tire. I tried thinking up more random facts trying to make myself feel better. My eyes flicked down the table and locked with Edward's before he looked away.

In the hall, on the way to biology, I saw Rose and Edward talking and giving each other harsh looks. Rose was probably defending my honor in some twisted way demanding him to be nicer or more civil to me or something. Except that I didn't really care what Edward did any more, not that I ever did, and I'd already given up being friendly and smiley ignoring him completely. Images of slides entered my mind as I entered the room concentrating on Mr. Banner. We were finally starting our labs for the year and Mr. Perfect Edward was my lab partner. But thankfully it was going to be a simple assignment. Mr. Banner barked out instructions as he handed out slides and work sheets for each lab table. Edward wrote his name neatly at the top of the page and slid it toward me as I readied our microscope.

"Metaphase," I told him sliding the microscope to him and scribbling my name under his on the paper. I wanted to erase it as soon as I compared the chicken scratch next to his perfect swirls. I twirled my pencil waiting for him to check my answer.

"Write it down. I believe you," he told me pulling out the next slide.

"Are you sure?" I questioned him watching him carefully. I mean he HAS seen me do my math homework. If I had seen me attempting my math homework, I would have thought I was a moron.

"Yeah I'm sure.... Telophase," he said after adjusting the lens. I wrote down my answer for the first slide but slid the paper to him.

"You might want to write it down," I told him as he gave me a funny look. We finished quickly and answered all of the post-lab questions and sat in awkward silence until Mr. Banner came up to us.

"Ms. Swan, I hope you let Mr. Cullen do some of the work too. This is a group assignment," he scolded me before looking over our worksheet.

"Actually Edward answered half the questions," I told him pointing at my handwriting mumbling something about chicken scratch.

"Alright then," he mumbled moving on to the next group. We settled back into our awkward silence as I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye every few seconds.

"Um," I stammered when he caught me. "I'm sorry about Rosalie."

"What?" he blinked.

"I saw you two earlier and it looked like you were arguing, and I'm just sorry. Whatever she said, I'm sorry. She has good intentions, but I never asked her to bother you," I continued as he knitted his eyes in concentration. "I'll tell her to leave you alone too."

"Um... No you don't have to do that," he shook his head at me. "Everything's fine." I nodded silently and turned back to my side of the table as we sat the last five minutes of class in silence.

In gym, we were still playing basketball but now teams were coed. I didn't even bother dressing out, and I sat myself in my spot on the highest part of the bleachers. Emmett helped me with a couple of math problems, but then he started rambling something about Imes.

"Hey Em take my place? I need a breather," Edward asked in an insisting tone and gave him a meaningful look that irritated me more than it should have. Emmett apparently knew what he meant and was off onto the court joining the game. Edward sat down on the row in front of me turning to face me and fumbling with his leather bracelet.

"Bella, I have to tell you that I am sorry for everything. I was a jerk to you and I had no right to do that. It was inexcusable" he said looking me right in the eye.

"You don't have-" I started to shake my head. I honestly didn't care anymore about his apology.

"And I should have thanked you for saving my life," he hurried his words cutting me off. "Thank you… I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you, but I'll try my best."

"I…" I paused wondering if I should tell him the real truth. "You… you shouldn't worry about it," I shook my head. "I didn't save your life."

"No, you did. You knocked me out of the way."

"I may have knocked you out of the way but not on purpose. I mean, I'm glad that you weren't badly hurt or anything, but… I didn't exactly – I don't think I saved you. To save someone, don't you have to have the intent of doing it? I don't know, but it all happened so fast, so all that I remember is being scared and falling on the ground," I finished my rant staring down at my knees.

"So you weren't being heroic when you knocked me out of the way…" he said. "But you still saved me."

"Wait, think of it as payback," I looked back up at him remembering something. "For that first day of gym when you pulled me out of the way of the basketball."

"A basketball isn't the same as a huge van. It wouldn't have killed you," he argued my point.

"It would have slammed right into my face; it would have killed me!" I told him finally looking up at him. He mumbled something as he ran a hand through his messy hair, and I couldn't help but stare at his beautiful hair.

"I don't think we're going to agree on this… do you think we could just start over?" he asked.

"Starting over is a good idea," I nodded as we fell back into that awkward silence. I was waiting for him to get up and leave, but he continued to sit there half turned in his seat watching the game.

"Oh, hello," Edward turned to look at me with fake surprise. "I'm Edward Cullen." He stuck out his hand for me to shake.

"Bella Swan," I hesitated nervous to take his hand. "Nice to meet you." I lightly grabbed his hand and he shook it once quickly letting go.

"So your dad's the police chief," he asked turning slightly to watch the game. "What does your mom do?"

"Oh, my moms dead," I said plainly startled by the question. I was more surprised that he didn't already know about it. Everyone in Forks knew about my family and the Baby Swan scandal of '92.

"Shit, I'm so sorry," he whipped his head to me so fast I thought he might have actually hurt himself.

"No, don't worry, its okay. It happened right after I was born," I told him wanting to change the subject.

"My mom died during childbirth too," he said looking away.

"How are you liking all the rain here in Forks?" I asked after clearing my throat. When he turned back to me, I swear my heart skipped a beat. Edward had this perfect, crooked half-smile on his face and he was aiming it right at me. Scowling Edward was beautiful, but Smiling Edward was gorgeous.

"You're asking me about the weather?"

"Yeah," I mumbled puzzled by his tone... until it clicked. Weather was the mundane topic of small talk when there was nothing to talk about... I couldn't help the blush that appeared realizing my lame people skills.

"I actually like it, a lot," he nodded.

"I wouldn't think you liked the rain," I mumbled.

"Why?" he asked confused. Why? Because perfect people liked being outside in the sun playing with their dogs in the park, all happy and smiley, didn't they?

"Just because you're not used to it," I lied. Fortunately the bell rang, and I jumped up eager to leave. My foot caught my book bag strap, and my body flew forward; unfortunately Edward caught me.

"Wow you fall down a lot," Edward mumbled pulling me up.

"Yeah, sorry," I muttered wiggling out of his grasp.

"Maybe it's an inner ear problem. My dad could probably do a check up or something."

"No don't worry about it; I'm just clumsy," I smiled trying to get myself from laughing. Edward and I finally departed ways at the bottom of the bleachers, and I finally released a chuckle. I did have an inner ear problem just one that didn't involve my cochlea. Walking to the parking lot, I heard Jasper singing a song and I couldn't help but happily hum along.

Singin sweet songs of melodies pure and true, sayin, this is my message to you-ou-ou…


AN: Song lyrics: Three Little Birds by Bob Marley

I know – I know – I know. Short chapter compared to the last two, but honestly those chapters were a fluke… school is kicking my ass already and when I have to pay for my schooling, it's going to come first. I promise 'going to the movies' is in the next chapter. It was supposed to be this one… but um its been like 12 days since my last update, :(

Holy crap, did you know that the word totals from ch 1 + ch 2 = exact total for ch 3… isn't that crazy? No? sorry okay…

!!! Learn about your government! Educate yourself. Okay PSA over… oh wait No Smoking. I've never smoked a cigarette or anything else for that matter… Smoking does lead to cancer and it's quite an expensive habit. Okay PSA now over !!!

Ryan Seacrest is super famous in the US, he hosts American Idol and pretty much everything else, in case you didn't know…

I do love all of y'all. For real – you're awesome!
THANKS FOR READING!!