"I'm crying out. I'm breaking down. I am fearing it all, stuck inside these walls. Is there any hope for me? Is anyone out there listening? Can't you hear my call? I'm in here.- Sia

( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ )

Isabella shot up in bed, heart pounding. She'd had the strangest dream! She groaned as she looked at her screaming alarm clock and delicately shut it off. She felt like she'd had no sleep at all. Perhaps she was coming down with something? Her mouth tasted horrid again.

She gathered her clothes for the day and made her way to her bathroom for her morning ablutions. As a habit, she avoided looking at herself in the mirror until after she was presentable. She didn't need to know how horrible she looked after waking up. Her vanilla life and fashion were bad enough without seeing bed head and eye crusties..

Shower with strawberry scented items, check. Fix hair in a neat French twist to go with her sensible outfit, check. Apply a light layer of makeup suitable for a young woman of her class and station, check. Apply even more makeup to cover the bags under her eyes signifying lack of sleep and loss of decorum and poise, check and CHECK.

She dressed in a simple pencil skirt and collared button up with a light vest covering it. She wore a pair of ballet flats with it and began her routine of tidying up and re-checking everything before Edward arrived to collect her. When she was making her bed, she noticed a frump of black on the floor. She picked it up and frowned at the jacket, obviously male. It didn't belong to her, nor Edward (not that he had EVER been in HER bedroom). So where had it come from?

She prepared their usual morning drinks, a straight- black coffee for him and a lovely morning breakfast tea for her. Ladies her age were still much to young for coffee and she'd never even had a taste of the stuff.

She often wondered what coffee would be like. She had dreams of frequenting a dank coffee house, perhaps one that her mother said "hippies" and "ruffians" frequented.. With a poetry night and unknown musicians.. She would sip delicately dressed like a trendy beat-nik.. Perhaps with a beret perched on her head? A man, simply a dark shadow with no detail, would come up behind her and whisper in her ear. She would laugh and eye him through smoky make up. He would reach up and unleash her dark mass of curls, tangling them in his fingers before jerking her head back and slowly bringing his lips to hers.. Her hands would reach up, running over his chest before-

Her thoughts were interrupted by Edward's knock. With a sigh, she once again waited the correct amount of time before opening the door, greeting him and locking up.

( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ )

He left her at the door of her first class, Theoretical Foundations- Family Theory. She would then venture to Assessment of Treatment- Couples Theory before moving on to Family Life Cycle and then Advanced Psychopathology. Before Family Life Cycle, Edward would collect her and they would walk together to the commissary for lunch before he walked her to her next class. He would meet her at the end of Psychopathology and walk her home, depositing her at her door with a kiss to her forehead before departing..

Same song and dance each day, different classes. She yearned to break free!

For once, her day was different. Edward was unable to meet her for lunch, as he had research for a paper due and would be working over at the library. She began to walk across campus alone for the first time. Her mind began to wander. She wished whole- heartedly to be the woman in her mind. Were she Izzy, she would be wearing eye-catching clothing. She'd have her smoky make- up and heels.. And she would catch the eye of her mystery man from her dreams!

She heard her name being yelled and turned to see Alice Cullen, Edward's younger sister. The small, almost pixie-like female was walking quickly towards her. Her upbringing dictated that remain where she was and allow the female to catch up. It was rude to not wait and to expect Alice to run was laughable- ladies didn't run unless they were being chased by a rapist.

"Isabella!" Alice cooed, giving her a European style double- cheek kiss.

She smiled politely. "Hello, Alice. How are you today?"

Alice began to chatter on about mindless things- clothes, her fiancee Jasper, classes. They went through the line for food, each grabbing only a salad (though Bella longed for a burger or some pizza. What did pizza even taste like?) When they sat down, Alice gasped. "I forgot to tell you! I saw you last night!"

Bella frowned, confusion quite evident on her face. "I beg your pardon, Alice? I was in bed by 8:30 last night. How did you see me?"

Alice made a very un-lady like sound and then excused herself before continuing. "Jasper and I were returning from having dinner with his parents and when we were at a stop-light, there you were. Well, not you, obviously. It couldn't have been. This woman, who looked so uncannily like you, had her arms wrapped around a guy on a MOTORCYCLE and she was dressed like a common harlot! Her face was painted and everything! To make it even more scandalous, she BIT HIM on the neck- He seemed to like it."

Bella frowned. That had been quite similar to her dream. They'd been few and far between lately, but last night was something else.

She shook her head, "Of course it wasn't me, Alice. You know I wouldn't do anything like that. My mother raised me better than that."

Alice smiled. "I thought so. I know you, Isabella. You're above such boorish actions."

Inside, Bella wished that really had been her. What would it have been like to go where they were going? To press herself against the hard, hot body of a dangerous bad boy who owned a motorcycle…

She had a vague memory pop into her head. She had been maybe three, before her father became Chief of Police and her mother the mayor. A time when she had been almost normal, but not quite. Her father was in his study drinking a BEER of all things and listening to classic rock music. She remembered the song saying something about a heat of the moment. Would Bella ever get her 'heat of the moment'? she missed having her father be so carefree, but she understood. No one would respect him if he drank beer, listened to such outlandish music and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt anymore. Her father had worked hard. All she wanted was to make him proud.. She had no such memories of her mother.

She excused Alice for checking out mentally, and they parted ways for their next class.

Upon arriving at her classroom, she was a missive on the door stating her teacher was sick and class was canceled for the day. She supposed she could walk home by herself. She was a big girl, after all. It wasn't a social impropriety..

She sent Edward a quick message and began her short walk back to her residence. She vaguely heard for a short while, a male voice screaming "Izzy" but she dismissed it. Isabella was a common name.. and women with less social restrictions than her probably would shorten it to Izzy. Isn't that who she wanted to be inside? She already called heself Bella in her mind.. She dismissed the calling and continued walking, a thrill going through her chest at the sound of a motorcycle driving by.

It was Friday, which mean no more classes. She sent Edward another message saying she was going to have a lie down and she would call him later..

She wondered if later would even come or if she would be trapped in another strange dream, but stuffed that also into the now spider webbing cracks in her mind.

Oh how she wished she could break free and be the Izzy she knew she could be..

( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ )

Author's Note:
Can you tell us apart yet ;) We would love to hear back from you guys. Tell us what you think, how much you love it, like it or even if you hate it- though I can almost guarantee you a nasty review would only be laughed at and possibly deleted for its idiocy.. Maybe that's just me though..

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