October 30th, 2011

I don't have many friends in Seattle, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why. I tell people that I'm very close to my family, and that I don't need friends, but that's not the truth. I've been hurt before, and if I can help it, I'll avoid having too many people in my life that could potentially hurt me.

But I have a few friends, and even though I don't talk to them every week, I still love them and hang out with them whenever I can. So Jacob calls me this morning and asks me if I'm up for coffee. I say, "Sure," because what else do I have to do besides sitting around on my couch? He chooses a small bakery near campus, and I meet him there at around 10 AM. It's early (at least for me), but when I enter the bakery, I can hear the commotion and loud voices talking. This bakery is big – and smells heavenly, by the way – so it's hard to find Jacob. When I spot him, though, my heart completely stops.

Edward Cullen.

How the hell do they know each other?

Before I can turn around and make a run for it, Jacob yells my name. I don't look at Edward and smile tightly and approach them slowly.

"Hi," I say quietly, waving like a freak. "I was just going to the ladies' room."

"What? You don't like public bathrooms," Jacob remarks, frowning,

"Yes, I do," I reply, looking away. I catch Edward's face expression and he's still as a statue. It should make me smile that this situation makes him uncomfortable, but, instead, it makes me uncomfortable.

"Hey, guess what?" Jake turns to me. "I was just showing Edward around. He's new here." He pauses. "Have you two met?"

"Ye –"

"Actually, no." I turn to him. "I'm Bella, nice to meet you."

He's quick to answer. "I'm Edward. Just… don't call me Eddie."

I stare at him until he gets it. I'm not giving him a second chance. I'm blowing him off and saving my ass, since I know Jacob would jump on the chance to ask what the hell is going on.

"Okay, I'll be going then. Thanks a lot, man." They shake hands and do the guy thing, and by the time he leaves, I'm not feeling any better.

"So… what do you want?" Jacob asks, leading me to one of the tables.

"Whatever you're getting, I guess."

Blowing someone off without wanting to sound like a complete douche is pretty hard, but Jacob kept going on and on about how awesome Edward really was and how he was born for medicine. Apparently they ended up in the same class. Yay.

I open the door to my apartment and drop my keys in the purple, star-shaped bowl, already smelling popcorn in the air. Although I don't see it anywhere.

"Why the long face, doll?" I swear there's a different nickname for me every time we see each other.

"Just ran into my past. I don't want to talk about it," I say, sitting on the couch near her.

"Sucks," Kate mumbles, picking up yet another gummi bear from her huge bowl.

Doctor Who is on. I didn't know until a few weeks ago that this show even existed. Kate is fixated on this kind of shit, though I really don't see the appeal. Not only this, but she likes comics like Superman, Batman and Green Lantern, she's completely obsessed with Harry Potter, and she's constantly making references to Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. In spite of fixating on all this, she still has a hectic social life, one I would very much like to have.

"How can you watch this? It's so fucking boring."

Kate gives me a look that clearly says, "Shut up or I'll cut you, bitch."

I laugh and nod, making myself comfortable on the couch. We continue watching the episode, and Kate laughs at a few scenes, while I stare awkwardly at her. When it's over, she asks what I'm thinking about.

"Nothing, really. Just that I was really stupid when I was sixteen."

She snorts, changing the channel. "We're all stupid when we're sixteen. That's why there's a thing called growing up. So that we can tell how stupid we were two, three years ago."

"I guess," I reply lamely, staring at the TV.

"So what happened?" she asks, laying her head on the other side of the couch and her feet on my lap. It catches me off guard, because I used to do this with Alice, and because I don't know Kate all that well.

"There was this guy –"

"Wow, there's always a guy." She laughs, and noticing my annoyance, she stops and tells me to keep going.

"He used to date this really beautiful girl, and I thought I didn't have a chance with him, but then they broke up and he became kind of interested in me –"

"I see where this is going," she interrupts, looking at the TV again.

"You do?" I frown, looking at her.

"So you guys dated, and he couldn't love you like you needed him to."

"Ha, it wasn't only that," I say, chuckling bitterly. "He cheated on me with her. At my goodbye party. And I saw them."

Her eyes widen, and now her interest is definitely piqued. "Are you fucking serious? Your life should be a Hollywood movie."

"Oh, yes, absolutely," I reply sarcastically, smiling a little.

"I'm serious. Lots of potential. Maybe Kristen Stewart could do you. Oh, better, Emma Stone."

I laugh. "First of all, I don't know any of those actresses, and second of all… how do you know these things?"

She shrugs, picking up her bowl and putting it on the table. "I'm a movie geek."

"No shit."

I end up getting a pillow in my face, and I laugh, because I think I found a new best friend.

"You know, Dad's not going to change his mind."

"About what?" my brother mumbles, unaware that there are people staring at him.

"About you and law school. You know what he thinks about lawyers."

He looks at me. "What is your point?"

"You shouldn't expect him to just forget it. Instead, why don't you try to convince him that it's the right thing for you?"

"Because I shouldn't need to," he replies, inspecting the showcase closely. As if he even knows what he's getting.

"Fine, I'm done talking about this. What do you think about that one?" I ask, while gesturing for the salesman to come closer.

He makes a weird face. "Really? It's so blah."

"I know what she likes, okay? Besides, she can come here and pick something else if she doesn't like it."

"Okay, then."

And after buying it and leaving the store, we take a cab and go to the Clearwaters' new house, hoping that Sue is okay and that nothing major is going to happen tonight. I don't think any of us can handle it.