So yeah, sorry for not getting a chapter out earlier this week. I'm suffering with a massive bout of hay fever, my oldest who has non-allergic rhinitis, gets all the symptoms of hay fever during allergy season without being allergic to anything and developed bronchitis because of it, and my youngest also has the seasonal allergies like me and has been miserable as well. We've all been medicated and in a fog all week, going to bed early and barely crawling out each morning. But I'm finally feeling better and was able to get this out. I hope you all enjoy!
Twilight Crystal is my beta and heterosexual life mate and I only own the plot!
Cover Girl Chapter 17
"I present your graduates!" Principal Mallory announced and Edward stood in the hideous yellow robe, took off his hat, and tossed it into the air with a shout of joy.
High school was officially over and he was glad to have it all behind him. His senior year had definitely been interesting, especially since Christmas, but he was ready for a change and ready to take care of things that needed to be addressed. He had most of June and all of July free to do as he pleased, and then the first of August would find him relocating for college.
It had taken an extremely long and laborious internal debate for Edward to decide where he wanted to go. UNLV had been his first choice the entire time, but obvious reasons kept him from choosing it…at least initially. He looked at every other school he had been accepted to but none offered what UNLV did. He was worried about running into Bella after everything that had happened, but he couldn't let one person keep him from where he truly wanted to go. Besides, she was ahead of him so he figured he wouldn't run into her at all.
With his mind made up, he accepted the offer from UNLV and got to work on the scholarship and grant deadlines that he hadn't missed while wallowing in his own self pity. Edward wasn't sure if he'd get any of them, but made sure to search for ones for his sophomore year as well and jump the gun on them. His urge to be financially self sufficient drove him to apply for any and every one that he thought he had a remote chance of receiving.
All summer long, Edward even took a job as a janitor at the hospital to save up money. He threw himself into work, picking up extra shifts whenever they were offered. His friends were a little pissed that he didn't spend the summer partying and getting wasted with them, but that had never been his style. The only reasons he had even become friends with the jocks was because of Emmett and him playing on the team. Had it not been for that, he most likely would have ended up with the Audio Visual Club or something.
Finally, the end of July neared and Edward found himself packing for college. Classes didn't start until the third week of August, but Edward and his parents were heading down early as they had never been to Vegas and wanted to make a road trip out of the entire thing, seeing the Grand Canyon and other attractions on the way. Edward thought he was going to be lucky enough to drive his own car until his parents suggested riding with him and flying back. Thankfully quick thinking reminded them that he needed room for his stuff so they ended up in their SUV, loaded with his belongings, and he was in his car which was also full of stuff.
Edward figured the 'family trip' would be horrible, but he found himself actually enjoying his time with his parents. They seemed different, cooler somehow, like him going off to college caused them to finally treat him like an adult. They didn't make him tag along on every outing and didn't hover when he did. It was actually quite nice.
But all that 'treat Edward like an adult' went out the window when they arrived on campus. His mother became the weepy and sentimental mom that was always portrayed in the movies. His father tried to be cool but also gave him lectures on being responsible as he slipped several boxes of condoms into his bedside drawer. His mom started fussing over where to put everything in his dorm, and then started worrying that he wouldn't be okay in the dorms and tried to get his dad to agree to Edward having his own apartment near campus.
Edward knew they meant well but he wanted to have the dorm experience, take in all that was college. He finally compromised with his mom to let him have one year in the dorms, and then if he felt that an apartment off campus would be better they would take care of that over the summer break. She relented, then cried as she hugged and kissed him goodbye. Edward went along with it, happy to see other freshmen in the lobby having the same interaction with their parents, and then he was left alone.
It didn't take long for him to quickly settle into his daily routine, even dealing with an annoying roommate. UNLV wanted to try and make a change with their freshmen that year to make an attempt at ending the cliques and naturally formed groups due to interests. Instead of pairing students with similar majors together, and keeping the jocks with other jocks and vice versa, they mixed it all up and Edward the computer science nerd was rooming with Benjamin Kebi, the extremely metro male cheerleader. Benjamin wasn't all that bad, but he had Miley Cyrus's complete collection on his iPod and played it extremely loud whenever he was in the room. It drove Edward absolutely insane and he found himself wandering the campus whenever he didn't have to be in his room or in class.
It was during those wandering sessions that Edward began to watch for Bella. He had tried to not think about her as he arrived on campus, but it was inevitable. Whenever he passed the spot where she first kissed him, he thought of her. Whenever he rounded the corner where they had made out he couldn't get her out of his mind. And every night he would reread her letter and think about what he would say to her if he had the chance to see her again.
She hadn't been spotted anywhere on campus by him, he hadn't seen her in the halls, heard her name on any class rosters, or passed by her in the library. It was like she was a figment of his imagination. He had even considered going to see Alice Brandon, his financial advisor, to ask about Bella, but decided against it at the last moment. It was as if he wasn't meant to see her again and it bothered him.
Edward had realized over spring break, after reading her letter, that he had been an asshole. Emmett had been right, Bella was every man's dreams as the girl next door that you could take home to Mom and the uber fantasy that men dreamt of at night. And he knew he had royally fucked up. He owed her a massive apology but it wasn't something that he could just put in a letter. He needed to say it to her face, to show her how truly sorry he was and how horribly he had reacted.
After a long talk with Emmett, Edward finally admitted that he had handled things wrong and that Bella had as well. Sure, they both had more than enough reasons to react the way they did, but they both had messed up. Bella confessed to her mistakes and seemed to be taking all of the blame in her letter, but Edward knew he should hold more of the blame. He just needed to speak to her to make her realize that.
He finally decided that if he didn't see her within a week after the return from Christmas break that he would go to Ms. Brandon and try to find her. It was with that resolve that Edward continued on with his classes, dealing with the Miley loving Benjamin, and enjoying his first full semester at UNLV.
When Christmas break arrived, his parents flew him home so that he would have more time to spend with the family. Emmett had gotten them all tickets to a Seahawks game on New Year's Day and Edward was more than excited to see his brother on the field. Emmett hadn't seen much field time as he was second string, but a torn hamstring on the first string player over Thanksgiving had given Emmett a place on the field since.
To say the game rocked was an understatement. It was tense, emotional, and a total nail biter to the end. With only ten seconds remaining, the Broncos caused the Seahawks to fumble the ball and Emmett somehow recovered it, running it in for a touchdown for the win! The final score was 16-13 and Emmett was even granted a coveted interview on ESPN. Edward was ecstatic for his brother, and the celebration afterwards with the team and their families was nothing short of spectacular.
But, all the fun ended and Edward had to fly back to Nevada two days later to get ready for the next semester. He and Emmett had talked before his flight and Edward had confessed to looking for Bella but not finding her, and also about his plan to speak to Ms. Brandon. Emmett was really supportive and even offered to hire a private investigator if Edward wanted to go that far, but he vehemently turned down the offer. He didn't want to come off as a stalker.
Back at UNLV, Edward started into the first week of classes and each day passed with no sign of her, that is until the very last day of his personal deadline. Edward was sitting in Mrs. Cope's class, gathering his things after the lecture, when the door opened and Bella walked in. Everything faded around him as he focused on her. She looked tired, sad, and not like the Bella he remembered from their short reconnection.
He watched her carry a stack of papers to Mrs. Cope and they exchanged a few brief words, and then she turned to walk out of the class. At the last minute she looked up and their eyes met. Edward stood there, completely still as he gazed upon her deep brown eyes once more, but the connection was broken when she quickly dropped her gaze and hurried out of the room. Not wanting to let her get away, he grabbed his stuff and took off after her, not caring that people were looking or that he pushed some out of the way. His only concern was getting to Bella.
By the time he reached the hallway he saw her turning the corner. When he made it to the corner, she was jogging out a door, and when Edward pushed the door open, she was halfway to the parking lot. It was then that he was grateful for his speed because he took off in a sprint, gaining on her with each foot fall. It was at the last moment, right before she was able to unlock the door of an old rusty red pickup truck, that Edward caught her.
Out of breath and unsure of what to say he just stood behind her panting heavily. She didn't turn to look at him and he fought with every word that crossed his mind until he finally settled on exactly what he needed to say first.
"Bella," he said softly, his throat tight and his mouth dry, "I'm…I'm sorry."
Hope you enjoyed! And I hope to see you in a few days with more as long as the hay fever doesn't flare back up. But a few days of heavy rain we're expecting to get should get rid of a lot of the pollen and give me a bit of a break. See you soon!