Chapter One
" Rise and shine" I winced at the sound of Alice's sing song voice, I groaned, grabbed the pillow next to me and placed it over my ears. This was our morning ritual, Alice my crazy loveable step-sister who is waaay to peppy in the morning wakes me up at a ungodly hour to drag me off to wherever she's planned for us for the day whether I liked it or not.
Today was one of those days when I just wanted to wring the little pixie's neck, today was our first day of classes at the University of Washington. While Alice was practically bursting with excitement at the prospect of us finally becoming college students, I was dreading the start of classes and college life. Me and Alice were polar opposites, she was bouncy and bubbly and full of life and I was the shy, virginal, book worm who still hadn't filled out yet but we balanced each other. Alice was just over 5 feet with short, cropped, jet black hair that made her unbelievably blue years pop out, despite her height her shape was anything but adolescent which made her even more beautiful especially to the lustful boys at our high school. I spent most of high school hiding in the corners of the library with my nose in a book, no one would have even known I was there if it hadn't been for Alice. I knew I couldn't hide in the shadows forever, but I didn't know if I was ready to be thrust into the bustling stream of college life.
I finally got out of bed and made my way to bathroom to get ready. I took my time, giving myself a pep talk. " You can do this Bella. This year will be different, this year you will be seen." And with that I got out of the shower, draped my self with a towel and went straight to Alice who was seated at her desk that she made into a mini beauty salon.
" Alice" I said timidly, twisting my hands nervously.
" Mmmhmm" She said not looking up from the mirror as she applied mascara to her eye lashes.
" I want you to give me a make over" She dropped her mascara and turned to look at me, I knew what was coming so I put hands over my ears. She popped out of her seat and squealed in such a high pitch I'm pretty sure the people across the street could hear her.
" Are you serious?! Don't joke when it comes to make-over's" she says, playfully scolding me.
"I'm serious Alice. I'm tired of being shy, mousy Bella, I want this year to be different. I'm giving you total control over hair, wardrobe, and make up but I have veto power, so nothing over the top Alice" I said, knowing Alice would have me blonde and dressed in Gucci if I didn't stop her. By looking at her face I was already regretting my words as I could tell she stopped listening after "total control". She pushed me down into the chair and turned me so I faced the mirror and ran her fingers through my damp hair. I looked horrible, there were dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep, my skin had a sickly pale hue, my plain brown eyes looked dull and uninteresting. I hoped by some miracle Alice could transform this ugly duckling before me to a blossoming swan.
" So, I was thinking that we stay with your natural hair color but give it some umph by giving it some layers to make it bounce." She tried to smooth my bushy eyes but they stubbornly shifted back in place every time.
" Bella when was the last time you got your eyebrow's waxed, your eyebrows look like they've gotten married." She scrunched her nose up in disapproval.
" Gee, thanks, Alice" I say rolling my eyes. They weren't that bad. I leaned over and took a closer look, ok maybe they were a bit scraggly.
" But no problem, I have a do-it-yourself waxing kit for emergencies." She chirped.
" Of course you do" I said shaking my head, what didn't Alice have.
Four hours of being plucked, primped, powered, waxed, and poked later Alice guided me to the chair as she told me to close my eyes, and sat me down.
" Oh Bella, you look amazing. This year will be different for you, I can feel it." Hope surged through me, if I learned anything over the years, its not to doubt Alice when she has these "feelings".
"Ok, open your eyes!" She says excitedly. When I opened them, I couldn't believe that girl in the mirror was me, I blinked rapidly a few times, just knowing my eyes were playing tricks on me. My once plain brown hair was now brightened with soft caramel highlights and had a bounce to it, that wasn't there before. My usual sickly pale pallor was now a vibrant ivory color that was tinted pink because of my perpetual blush. My make up consisted of natural tones, to give my face that fresh look. Finally the ugly duckling was no more, I was finally becoming a swan, I looked beautiful.
"Alice, you're a miracle worker!" I bolted from a chair and almost knocked her over as I gave her a huge bear hug.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" I felt Alice tap softly on my shoulder.
" Uhh...can't...breathe" I forgot how tiny Alice was. I let her go quickly, a mumbled an apology, she smiled and waved it off.
" Oh Bella I knew you would love it. Now, don't get mad at me but I knew this day was coming, so I might have done a little shopping.." Alice looked down at her feet sheepishly.
"Alice.." I said cautiously, knowing a "little" shopping for her meant only having the take one trip to the car after leaving the mall and not three.
" Okay maybe I did a lot of shopping" She relented " But Bella, I only bought the necessities like panties and bras, shoes, a couple of camis, some jeans in every shade, a few casual dresses, shirts of course to go with the jeans" She rambled off the list of so called "necessities" as if it was the most obvious things in the world.
"Alice I have all those things" I said exasperated.
"Bella, busted tennis shoes and holey jeans aren't real clothes" She scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Now just wait here, while I bring out my 'Bella collection' " She squealed and ran off to the closet.
After another hour of playing Bella Barbie, I was dressed to the nine in what Alice called the perfect 'first day of school' outfit. I had on a flowy emerald summer dress with a empire waist that made my figure look amazing paired with a pair of cute wedges. As we walked through campus I couldn't help but blush at the attention we were getting from the male and female population. The guys we're sizing us up looking at us up and down with lust in there eyes, while the girls glared at us in envy, we giggled childishly at each other and walked hand in hand to our first class together. I was looking forward to starting my English, class its no surprise being a bookworm that it was my favorite subject in high school. I looked down at my schedule, Mr. Cullen, was the teacher, I hoped he would keep it interesting and engaging as my last teacher did. As we walked into the building, we saw Jasper Whitlock, a popular guy in school who drooled over Alice since ninth grade and by the way he looked at her, he just as infatuated with her as he was then. She bounced over to him giving him a tight hug.
"Hey! I didn't know you were going here! I thought you were going Northwestern. How was your summer? You look so grown up now." Alice rambled on, I chuckled and shook my head, the poor boy looked at her with a confused face, trying to process everything she was saying.
"I was going to go to Northwestern but then my dad got sick so I decided to stay close to home." His face looked dejected for a moment before he perked back up. His baby blue eyes shining as he stared at Alice.
"But things may be looking up" He said blushing. The continued to stare at each other and I began to feel as though I was interrupting a intimate moment between the two.
"Alice, I'm going to head to class, I'll save a seat for ya" I say to her. I continued walking down the hall, occasionally catching several students staring at me. I looked down shyly, keeping my eyes trained to the floor, embarrassed by the attention.
I took a few more steps before I hit something hard causing me to drop my books onto the floor. I looked up to see the most handsome man I've ever seen up close. He stood at least six foot, he had the oddest copper colored hair with streaks of gray in them. His nose was straight and his angled jaw was strong and made him look sexy. The best part though, was his eyes, oh those eyes made me melt with desire, he had the greenest eyes I'd ever seen. We stared at each other, for a moment, his eyes conveying so many things at once. Desire, sadness, hope maybe? I looked away quickly, reminding myself to keep dreaming, no way a guy like that could ever be interested in me.
"I'm so sorry Miss. Let me help you." His voice was low and sexy, as if his face wasn't enough his voice was pure sex. I continued to look down meekly as I hastily picked up my things.
"It's no problem." I said quietly. Once I collected my things, I couldn't help but look at him once more. If this was all I had with this gorgeous man I would commit every detail of his face to memory. When I looked up I saw him staring at me, with the same look as before, maybe I wasn't dreaming maybe I did see desire in his eyes. He stuck his hand out and I slowly took his hand in my shaking it. The electric jolt I felt when his hand touched mine was all consuming. , I gasped at the intensity of it, I let go quickly and looked at him questioningly silently asking him if he felt it too. His eyes darkened, but not in the way I was hoping, sadness flashed in his eyes before his jaw set in what looked liked determination.
"I must be going" He said, coldly and swiftly walked away. My mouth hung open stupidly in shock as though I had been slapped. I shook my head, of course he was an asshole most guys that look like that don't have to be personable. I huffed and adjusted my things and stalked to class, I plopped in a chair next to Alice dramatically still scowling .
"What happened to you" she whispered to me.
"Nothing just an accident outside." She looked at me sympathetically and patted my arm. I tried to shake it off but in my mind I keep seeing his eyes, those eyes that said everything and nothing at the same time.
"Hello class, I'm Mr. Cullen, and I'll be your professor this semester." I already knew who it was before I looked up, the asshole from the hallway was my teacher. I looked up at him and I stared at him for awhile before he caught my gaze. I felt butterflies in my stomach and my breathing became labored. Recognition flashed in his eyes and he looked away clearing his throat. This is going to be one long semester.
A/N: I'm sorry for the wait! I promise to update frequently. Review please :-)