Well This Is Awkward

Teeny Tiny Twilight

I hated Edward Cullen. I mean I really hate Edward Cullen. I glared at the wall across from me, knowing I had sticky ice cream dried somewhere on my face but not caring enough to go get a face cloth and wipe it off.

Millie had knocked on my door not twenty minutes after I had finished my shower. It had taken me off guard that she would come to me for comfort, her eyes red and puffy with the stinging salty tears that left wet marks on her cheeks. I did not know her well at all, other then knowing she had been dating Cullen, and that she lived next to me, I really did not know anything about her.

I had of course let her in, feeling an undeserved bout of guilt as she confessed that she had been utterly convinced that if she had just given him what she knew he wanted, and then he would have realized that he really did love her. My guilt stemmed from the fact that the girl who had sat down on the couch next to me, crying, watching the few chick flicks that I owned, and eating an entire tub of ice cream, would shave her head, pull her teeth, and give her body up for even break-up sex if it meant that she could spend just a little more time with Edward. I had selfishly spent my morning with him, and hated every minute of it. Seeing her blond hair pulled up into a messy bun with her make up running down her face, panda circles around her eyes, sweat pants hanging loosely on her perfectly curved hips; it really put it into perspective for me. Never was I ever going to have a boyfriend. I would join a convent or something.

I had, at one point, wanted to ask her why she was here instead of with her friends, but I didn't want to make her feel like I was trying to get rid of her, or to let her see just how uncomfortable I was at the moment.

She had, in her own sweet time, gotten to that point.

"Sorry," she had sniffed, apologizing yet again for steeling my ice cream, and crying on my shoulder. I had meant to pack Saturday, having procrastinated packing all my things into boxes until the last second.

"Don't worry about it." I tried to comfort her by rubbing her back. It felt awkward. I had never been that good with crying. Something I got from my dad. I had rarely had a breakdown, I wasn't one for fits or off the wall tantrums, and I was healthy enough with my emotions to not bottle them in until I freaked out on some unsuspecting casher because I didn't have the right change. Break-ups…? There had never been anything to break-up, so I could not quite empathise with her.

I would have been more then willing to join in with her on some Edward bashing, but all she seemed to want to talk about was how wonderful he was and how much she loved him. I wanted to shake her, slap her, dunk her head in the toilet, something to get that thought of her head. Phh, Wonderful.

"Sorry," she had whispered weakly, the thirty-second time in only one hour. "I really don't mean to barge in on you, but…well, all my friends…they like Edward, and even though I'm sure they would eat ice cream with me," she grinned down into the nearly empty chocolate ice cream bucket, "They would be more excited to hear that Edward was single, and then they would be sympathetic that I just had my heart stomped on." She laughed suddenly, slightly hysterical, before lapsing back into sobs. "That sounds so melodramatic."

At three o'clock in the morning, she finally left, apologizing before she slipped out the door. I had a feeling she would be back for round two, so I hurriedly put all my belongings into my suitcase for when I would have to drag it over to Alice's place after school, before running for Basketball practice. The room I was staying in right now was supposed to be for the new arrivals who were still looking for a more comfortable place to stay. You could of course, have a room to your self at this boarding school, but it was more expensive that way.

Renee and Charlie and pooled their resources together to get me into this school. It helped that since Charlie was a cop, small town or not, the school had been more willing to let me in. The reason why I was in this school was because just across the lake that sparkled clear and sapphire in the sun, was one of the most prestigious, esteemed universities in the whole of the Americas. Attending this high school was an almost guaranteed shot to get into East-Coast University. Likewise, doing that was almost guaranteed to get you anywhere you wanted in either health care, psychiatrics, or law.

I had finished more quickly then I had expected to, having hardly unpacked anything since I got here other then clothes, and some toiletries.

I went into the bathroom to wipe the sticky spot of brown off the tip of my nose and my chin. This only reminded me of Millie, and the feeling of sympathy that over washed me as I remember her tears.

Who knew that feeling bad for someone could make you feel such a hot feeling of anger towards the cause of his or her pain? I certainly had not.

I did not feel close to Millie, it was rare for me to feel close to people with the exception of Rose, and Alice. From what I had seen of Emmett and Jasper, I was sure I liked them too. It was not that I did not like Millie either, but I didn't quite know what to do around her. She was pretty and girly, had long manicured nails and she had a beautiful laugh that caught every man's attention. I honestly couldn't say I was jealous, at the age of 18 it was obvious to me that my curves wouldn't get more defined, that I wouldn't grow another cup size, and so it was pretty useless to feel self conscious about something I couldn't change. I had come to terms with myself a long time ago.

There was a knock at the door. sighing I went to see it with one despairing glance out the window to see the sun just peeking over the white puffs of clouds in the sky, painting them shades of purple and orange with little streaks of pink through the tops.

The first thing Millie said as she looked at me through teary eyes, the same sweatpants as yesterday was, "I'm sorry."

And so it began.

--

When the sun rose up in the sky on Monday morning and Millie said goodbye until another time, I had dark circles under my eyes, I had not gotten any sleep since Friday night. I groaned as I looked at the clock, fixing the time on my alarm clock so I could sleep for the next half an hour before school started and I had to go to the office to get my new schedule.

I had applied to German class as a third language, but two days into the course, I knew I was drowning. I had to switch that class for Spanish instead. I bit of a disappointment; I had really been looking forward to the class.

The secretary had warned me that since the school was so full, I would probably have my schedule so mixed up, I might not even have one the same classes as before. So that was a not so comforting thought to pull at the corners of my mind, distracting me from much needed sleep.

Just as my lids, feeling like lead, drooped over my eyes, there was a nasally buzzing sound by my head. I whimpered, turning my alarm clock off and crawling unwillingly from my cocoon of blankets. I threw all my books into my back, hopped into the shower that helped wake me a little, and then ran to get dressed, choke down some form of nutrition, and pack my bag.

I was too tired to dig through my bag to get out new clothes for school today, choosing instead the jeans I had worn the day before, they were not really dirty, though they could have been caked in mud and I would have worn them anyways.

I grabbed some money from my bedside table and shoved it into my pocket. Little pieces of torn paper rustled as I did so. To show her appreciation last night, Millie had stopped every few minutes to rip a piece of paper off, write down some boy's name and number and give it to me because I 'deserved a good man to keep me company'.

In all truth, I was not interested in dating. All my friends since the second grade had been boys for the most part and I just did not see any difference between dating someone and being friends. Other then the physical part of course, but I did not want to hurt her feelings so I took them and shoved them into my pockets with my best gracious smile.

I sighed, sometime during the day I would empty my pockets into the recycling somewhere safe, where Millie would not see the little shreds of paper.

I was out the door and to the school in time to pick up my new course sheet. I sighed. Nothing was the same as the petite woman behind the desk huge black desk with fluorescent pink and green flyers tapped to the front had predicted, and so that meant I didn't had Alice in my first period.

I trudged off to my first class as the secretary called a cheerful "Have a good day!" after me. Go fifty something hours with out sleep, then wish me good day. It won't be nearly as cheerful.

It might not be fair to say that to her, but it was defiantly tempting.

I walked into first, repeating my first day by handing over the little yellow slip of paper, and then I walked to the seat the teacher pointed to. After a minute, the girl I was sitting next to smiled shyly and whispered a polite hello to me.

"Umm." She fidgeted nervously, with the light blond hair in a neat ponytail. "Your shirt is inside out." She murmured shyly in an apologetic whisper.

I looked down, a little more sober now that I had something to concentrate on, "Oh." I turned then, to smiled at her again, looking like a lunatic I'm sure as I extended my hand, shadows under my eyes, shirt inside out, my hair wet and uncombed. "I'm Bella."

"Angela," she whispered back, looking kindly at me before looking up to where the teacher was starting his lecture on the war in 1918.

I sighed, concentrating with all my will power not to just let my head fall on the desk, instead I wrote careful notes, concentrating on staying conscious. It had not been as hard as I thought it would be to stay awake, and as I heard the bell ring for my next class, I was slightly more alert then before. Maybe there was hope for me to make it through my day, and then practice later on. Heck, maybe I could even convince Alice to help me move all my things into her place.

I had Spanish next; I was concentrating on the numbers on the pages, and the numbers on the doors, waiting for them to match. Someone slung their arm over my shoulder, I shook it off groggily. Looking up to see who it was.

Alex had a faux tragedy look on his face, hand over his heart, "I'm hurt Bella. Here I am, trying to say hi to you, and you give me the cold shoulder." He winked playfully.

I blinked at him a couple of times before I realised he was being funny. I laughed, "Hey Alex, sorry." I shook my head, trying to wake up a little more, "What's up?"

He shrugged, eyeing the shadows under my eyes, "Nothing much. Jez Bells, you look like crap. Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

"Nope." I replied cheerfully.

Alex laughed, shaking his head, "'Kay, well I guess I'll see you after school! Oh!" he added turning around, "And your shirt is inside out." He called, disappearing into his class. I blushed fire truck red as people turned to give me funny looks. There was a girl's washroom right across the hall. I hurried in quickly and righted my shirt, not wanting the be late for Spanish.

I made it into the class just as the bell rang. I walked up to the teacher and handed him the slip. Mrs. Springett smiled at me. She had been my first period teacher for Spanish, "Oh Miss. Swan, what a surprise! What brings you to my class second period?"

I grinned sheepishly, "I switched my German class for Spanish. I guess all the classes were too full for me to keep the same schedule." I shrugged, forcing a smile.

She smiled brightly back at me, but then her smile faded as she looked to the back of the class, "Well Mr. Cullen, it seems like I have no choice but to put someone beside you. I do not want my class interrupted again by your chatter though." Her voice was firm.

My breath caught. I turned slowly to see Edward Cullen sitting next to the only empty desk in the class. Its days like these where I really just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Edward didn't look happy either. The tension between us was so thick that the teacher noticed.

She looked at me questioningly when I stood where I was, "Do you and Mr. Cullen Get along?"

"Not especially." I ground out through clenched teeth.

"Wonderful!" she cried enthusiastically, "Then neither of you will talk." she waited for me to move and when I didn't her tone was no longer amused, "Please take your seat."

I hesitated a moment longer, before forcing my feet forward. I heard some whispers as I walked to my new seat. I must have brutally murdered unsuspecting, innocent baby faced children heartlessly in my past life to deserve this."

As I unwillingly took my seat next to him, he muttered sarcastically, looking forwards, "Careful Bella, I'm contagious."

"Oh God I hope not. I do not think I could l stand more then one of you.

His teeth snapped together.

The rest of the class was just peachy.

When the Bell rang to go, he was out of his seat, and out the door. I glared after him, and then got ready for English.

Here was there in English too, and biology after that. We stayed silent through out each class, until the lunch bell rang. Famished, I dug into my pocket for my lunch money. As I pulled the five-dollar bill out, a few of the phone numbers fell out of my pocket and onto the floor by Edward's feet.

Impulsively, he reached down to pick them up for me, he froze though as he examined it. His eyes darkened, as he looked at it, and then at all the other numbers that either had fluttered to the floor as well, or were sticking out of my pockets.

He bent down to collect the rest of the numbers, stealing the couple that were visible from my pockets and pilling them on the table in front of him. His smile was amused but his eyes were still dark, "You've been busy." he chuckled

I sighed, making to grab them back and throw them in the garbage.

He wasn't having that. "Ah, ah, ah," he waved his finger in front of my face like a misbehaving child, "I'm just weeding out the ones you don't want to waste your time on."

I sighed, sitting back down, glaring grumpily at the front of the empty room. I was hungry, frustrated, and tired, and because I was tired, I was cold. I was not in a good mood.

Edward was not helping that.

He spread all the numbers out on the desk. I reached down, taking the remaining numbers out of my pocket. Why not?

Edward had one eyebrow raised, as he looked at all the numbers finally spread out in front of us. I gaped at the black desk, now dusted with little pieces of white paper. Had there really been that many? How many men had Millie dated? Kissed? Slept with?

I did not really want to know.

My stomach snarled threateningly. Edward didn't seem threatened, he picked up some numbers in his hand, "He's a jerk," he threw the number into the 'not keeping' pile, "He's a moron."—toss—"lazy"—toss—"asshole,"—toss.

About five minutes later the 'not keeping' pile had not only become the so big that I had to wonder if Edward was really reading these names and actually knew these people, or if he was just trying to get back at me for calling him a selfish, spineless, snake.

And for deflating his ego a good four feet.

Just when my stomach was starting to gnaw on the desk, he put the last number in the pile. I looked at all the little pieces of paper that were destined to go into the trash. Bravo Cullen, you just made what I was going to do in 10-seconds into a 10-minute chore.

I laid my head down on the desk, hoping, however vainly, that Edward would leave me alone long enough for me to get a few minutes of sleep.

A piece of paper ripped by my head. I groaned, sitting up. My eyelids might as well have been coated in lead. He scrawled something quickly on the paper and handed it to me.

I took it, standing up and going out into the hall for lunch. It wasn't until I got into the hallway that I look at it.

Edward Cullen, Call me

Underneath there was a seven-digit number. I turned to face Edward calmly; I was not in the mood for a big screaming match.

"I heard about this guy," I told Edward as he slowed his strides to match mine, "apparently, he tricked his Ex into sleeping with him by convincing her that they were getting back together."

He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off, "And that's not even the best part! He was too much of a coward to tell her face to face that he was using her, so he leaves a note for her to wake up too, then when she calls him to ask what the hell, he acts like a completely self-centred—"

He grabbed my wrist spinning me around to face him. I just barley managed to keep my books from turning into hazardous flying objects

I forgot what I was about to say.

His vivid green eyes burned with anger, "How can you judge me when you don't even know what happened?"

I did not say anything, and he took it as an invitation to defend himself. "She called me Friday night, and asked me to come over, said she wanted to talk. I said sure, went over to her place, and found her sitting on the couch nearly nude, waiting for me. What was I supposed to do? Walk out?"

"That's not what Millie told me happened." I finally muttered, after making sure he was done his little rant. I looked away from him to rearrange my thoughts. We were standing just outside an on campus café; some people looked at us as they passed. Another fun thing about boarding school, we had our own little community, small little coffee shops, and one or two restaurants. Had we really walked this far from the school?

This defiantly was not what I was expecting, had I been expecting anything, but I still did not agree. If he did not want to be with her, he should have just walked out.

He snorted, "I'm sure. But please, go on, tell me how it happened."

I mumbled quickly through the story, feeling like an idiot, "You came over and promised to get back together with her, so she slept with you, and then you left." I watched my shoes as I shifted my weight.

To my surprise, he laughed quietly. I looked up startled, his eyes were still dark, irritated, but he was smiling. "No wonder you don't like me, you've been hearing all the wrong stories."

"Yea, that's it." I rolled my eyes. I was relieved he was not angry with me anymore. I could smell the coffee from where I was standing. I had never really been one for it, it usually tasted bad, and I had a low tolerance for caffeine anyways. Today though, I could break my regular habit of getting a piece of pizza in the cafeteria and get a coffee instead. I needed to be awake today.

I walked into the dark little coffee shop, watching the people nursing their cups and reading newspapers or talking to each other quietly. I felt a little self-conscious being here.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked quietly, following me to the cash where I was getting a French vanilla. If I had to drink the coffee, I was not getting the taste that went with it.

"I'm saying that my first impression of you was not the best. ' Do you have a name plate on the bench or have you actually stepped onto the floor'" I quoted sourly in a deep voice.

"Large black for me please," he told the woman before turning to me, "I'll admit that was stupid, but you just don't look like you can take on a team of guys." He saw the look I was giving him and put his hands up in surrender, "I know that now, but then I didn't think you could."

I burnt my tongue taking a drink of coffee. "Okay, that doesn't mean I forgive you. You're still a jerk."

"Thanks."

I smiled brightly at him, checking the clock on the side of the wall. We only had half an hour left before lunch ended. I could not say I was having fun, but it was interesting to talk to him at least.

The sleepless nights must be getting to me.

I sighed taking another scalding drink. He was watching me curiously, as he drank his own coffee. It was making me feel uncomfortable, "How can you drink that?" I asked, motioning to the cup in his hand to distract him. I walked over to one of the tables and sat down, putting my bag on the floor.

He looked down at his cup, shrugging a smile playing at his lips, "What?"

I made a face, "Black coffee. Doesn't it taste bad to you?"

"No, I don't know how you can drink that, much too sweet." He teased.

"Oh, God forbid anything sweet touch your lips." I laughed, letting him know I was teasing. I was starting to feel bad for what I had said earlier, if I had falsely accused him of something.

He had a look of mock hurt on his face, "I can be sweet if I want to. You just won't give me the chance."

"What team do you play on? The boys?" I laughed stupidly. A poor imitation of him.

He grimaced. Taking another drink of his coffee, he looked away. I sighed, getting my book bag organized. I was feeling more awake.

"Where are you going?" he asked, shifting back in his chair.

I hesitated before answering.

He pursed his lips, taking in my expression, "I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you're not going to call me?"

"You're a mind reader." I muttered, grinning a little to soften the sharpness of my voice.

I felt a prick of guilt. He had not done anything too aggravating today. And then what if his story was true and I had been judging him too harshly? Not that has was in the right either way, and he was a jerk either way, but I had not been there to see what had really happened.

"I guess I'll probably see you in class then." He muttered intent on the miniscule ripples in the coffee.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. A wave of sympathy over whelmed me. I was going to kick myself for this later, "I'm moving out tonight, moving in with Alice. I was wondering if you wanted to come over, and help me move. You don't have too if you have something else." I bit my lip, hoping more for the later.

I took a breath, waiting.

He smirked up at me, "You grind me into the dirt, and then expect me to help you?"

I shrugged letting out my breath, grinning, "I thought it was funny. You should have seen you're face when little ol'me took you down."

He laughed, smiling now, "I hate to admit it, but you're pretty good…for a girl."

I shook my head in exasperation, as he stood up. "If I behave, do I get a rematch?" he asked, walking beside me as we headed for the school.

I tapped my chin, pretending to think, "Maybe. But on two conditions." I raised an eyebrow setting the bait.

He shot a wearily look at me, "Okay, lets hear them."

"One, you have to make up for all the derogatory things you've said."

He thought for a long second. Someone walking too close bumped my shoulder. I apologized quietly by automatically, moving a little closer to Edward. I was still waiting for his tribute to me.

Finally, I scowled at him, "It can't be that hard to find a complement."

"No, no. that's not it, I'm just trying to narrow them down. You're too amazing."

I felt the heat in my cheeks. He finally seemed to find something, "I would say you're beautiful, but that's not making up for the things I've said, since I have never claimed other wise." I narrowed my eyes; sure, he was teasing me now. He was not getting any closer to my good side, doing that. "So instead, I'll tell you this. You are a better then the majority of the guys on my football team. I'm not even going to get started on basket ball." He rolled his eyes.

I smiled. He grinned back at me, "And the second condition?"

I grimaced, "That last hit you did. Ouch. No more of those."

He laughed loudly. "Deal"

I am sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I was kicked off the computer for a week. I hope you like this.