Welcome to Blind Spot. I've been playing around with these characters in my head for a while, and it was nice to get it out between chapters of Wish You Were Here (if you haven't read it yet, check it out on my profile). I love reading your reviews, so let me know what you think xx

I yanked my bike to the gutter, narrowly missing the bumper of a shiny grey pick up.

"Asshole!" I yelled, looking up with a scowl on my face to see red brake lights as the truck jerked to a stop.

A head stuck out of the window. "Are you okay?"

"Watch where you're going!" I huffed in response.

The driver's eyes narrowed and I saw his cheeks pink. "Hey, I'm not the one ignoring people's signals."

"You didn't even signal!" I flapped my hands like a crazy person.

"Yes, I did!"

"Whatever, jerk," I sneered as I righted myself on my bike. I started riding before I started a road rage incident.

"I heard that!" I heard shouted behind me. I flipped the guy off over my shoulder without looking back and pedaled down the busy street toward campus.

I grumbled to myself the whole ride. Freaking drivers, always thinking they had the right of way and never checking blind spots. It wasn't the first time I'd nearly wound up under someone's fender because they weren't watching where they were going.

By the time I got to campus and locked up my bike, my phone was already blowing up with texts from Alice asking where I was. As an army brat, the girl was obsessed with time, so I wasn't surprised by her freaking out over me being three minutes late to meet her and Rose.

I saw them stretched on a patch of grass in the quad with books strewn at their feet. It was a beautiful day and the cherry blossoms had started blooming, igniting pink against the clear blue sky. "I'm here, you can stop the hysterics," I announced, plopping myself down beside Rose.

Alice rolled her eyes and threw her phone onto the grass. "I told you I have to leave early for class today. My professor's helping me with the application for that internship."

I nodded and swiped some frosting from the top of the muffin she held in her hands. "So what's the emergency?"

"Jasper asked me to move in with him."

"He what?" My eyes bugged out my head. I shot a look at Rose and saw a bored smirk across her face. "You knew," I accused.

"Well, yeah. Unlike you, I've actually been home this week."

"Damn," I muttered quietly. I looked back at Alice and saw an apprehensive smile on her face. "Allie, that's great. I'm sorry I haven't been home for you to tell me. You could've just told me you needed to talk to me."

"I did," she rolled her eyes again, but now the apprehension was melting away as she beamed at me. "You were too busy wrapped up in Jacob's sheets."

I ducked my head guiltily. Rose and Alice were my best friends. Rose and I even went all the way back to elementary school in Forks; we'd met Alice our first year of college and almost instantly became a tight unit. We'd lasted one year in the dorms before Rose almost got kicked out for racking up alcohol infringements and I was terrified of my weirdo roommate who used to watch me sleep. Alice actually seemed to like dorm life, but as soon as we floated the idea of getting our own place, she practically jumped at the chance to decorate an apartment and she was all in. We'd lived together for the past two years, and I suddenly felt my heart clench at the idea of our threesome shrinking down to two.

My lip jutted out in a pout as I reached over and wrapped my arms around Alice's small shoulders. "Allllllie," I whined. "I'm going to miss you so much. What am I gonna do without your cuddles?"

"I'm sure Rose will be more than happy to spoon you on the couch."

Rosalie snorted indelicately and flicked Alice's leg, making us both laugh. "Fat chance babe."

"So, when are you moving?"

"We haven't figured it out yet. I kind of want to stay put until the end of the semester." I did the math in my head; a little over two months. "And we'll need to look for our own place. There's not a chance in hell that I'm moving into his bachelor pad."

"This is exciting," I smiled honestly. Alice also met Jasper in our first year of college, and the two of them just clicked like no other couple I knew. Jasper was a total chiller, the perfect yin to Alice's yang.

"I know," she sighed, "now I just need to get through the school year and figure out how I'm going to tell my parents that I'm shacking up with my boyfriend." Yeah, Alice's parents were old school, I internally flinched imagining how that conversation would go down. "Oh, I almost forgot. That parent Jasper was telling you about who needed help with his kid's English tutoring—I got his number."

"Oh cool, thanks." My phone buzzed as Alice texted the details to me and I made a mental note to call that afternoon. Studying full time and paying rent without parental financial support was expensive, and my irregular shifts at the cafe near our house didn't always deliver, so I took on tutoring gigs where I could. Plus, I liked working with kids and helping them understand the meaning behind authors' texts, even though I knew most of what I was telling them was going in one ear and out the other. Literature was my first love.

The three of us chattered for a while before Alice had to go to class, and Rose and I soaked up the rare sunlight for a little while longer, sprawled across the grass.

"So, how's donkey dick going?" Rose's affectionate name for Jake.

"Don't call him that, Rose. He's not that big."

"Oh yeah?" She quirked a perfectly shaped eyebrow in amusement. "What's with the weeklong sleepover then?"

"Shut up," I chuckled. "I've been home. I just keep missing you guys, I start work before you even wake up. Jake and I are just hanging out."

"Hanging out, huh? You do that with all your male friends?"

I shoved her shoulder, eliciting an evil cackle. "Maybe if you actually got out there and started 'hanging out' with some male friends you'd get off my back."

"Nah, I'll leave that to you." I shoved her again but smiled. She was teasing, but I knew it wasn't malicious.

It was funny because looking at us, you'd think Rose was the one that got around. She was gorgeous, the most beautiful girl I'd ever met, but she guarded her heart and I respected her for it. Guys seemed to think she was easy because of her bombshell appearance, but she was discerning and smart and demanded respect. I, on the other hand, was more than happy to sample the menu. I wasn't a slut or anything (not that I thought there was anything wrong with that) but I definitely had fun. I liked the attention of cute boys and I liked sex, and I didn't see anything wrong with taking advantage of my youth while I could. I wasn't unattractive, but I was no runway model like Rosalie. At a respectable 5'4, I had boobs that I was proud of and a nose that I rather liked. If Rosalie was the hot babysitter, I was the girl next door.

A smattering of clouds started to form over the clear sky and we sighed as we pushed ourselves off the grass and split up to go to our classes. The sun was sinking beneath the horizon by the time I walked out of my last class, and I lazily made my way back to my bike to head home.

I pulled out my phone as I was walking, remembering to call that parent about tutoring his kid. I read the contact Alice sent me— Edward Cullen— and tapped call.

Three rings sounded before a deep voice answered. "Cullen Construction."

"Oh, hi. I'm looking for Edward."

"Speaking."

"Oh," I fumbled again. "My name is Bella Swan, I'm a friend of Jasper Whitlock's. He passed on your number and said you were looking for an English tutor."

"Of course, sorry," the man sighed. "I thought maybe this was a work call. Thanks for calling me, yes, I'm looking for someone to tutor my daughter. She's in seventh grade and she's been having a hard time with the texts."

"No problem. I've tutored seventh grade before. I'm about to finish my undergrad at UW, then I'm starting a master's in literature next year. I can get my previous clients to send you references if you'd like."

"Er, sure that would be good. Sorry, I've never had to get her a tutor before so I don't really know how this works."

I smiled into the phone as I unlocked my bike. "That's okay, normally I'd come over or we can meet at a library one or twice a week, depending on how much help… er, sorry what was her name?"

"Lizzie."

"How much help Lizzie needs. How are her test scores going?"

"She used to have a B average, but she's started to slip into C's."

"Okay, it'd help if you could provide me with some sample essays of hers so I can see what it is that she's getting stuck on."

"I can do that," he said quietly.

We made plans for me to meet Edward and Lizzie at their house that Thursday afternoon. After scrawling their address on the back of my hand, we said our farewells and I coasted the few blocks to our apartment.

Jasper was sitting on our living room floor slurping ramen into his mouth when I pushed through the front door.

"Well, if it isn't the little roommate thief," I playfully glared. Jasper had enough compunction to look a little guilty, ducking his head with pink cheeks. "Hey, none of that," I softened, ruffling his hair. "I'm happy for you two."

"Thanks Bells."

Alice rounded out of the kitchen with another steamy bowl of ramen in her hands. "Hey, how was class?"

"Long," I sighed, dumping myself onto the couch. "How'd your meeting with your professor go?"

"Good," she said brightly. "He thinks I have a real chance at the internship."

"Sweet, that's great," I smiled. "Oh, Jas, thanks for the tutoring hook up. I just spoke with Edward and I'm gonna go meet him and his daughter on Thursday."

"No problemo. Edward's a cool guy, I just didn't have time to fit him in. He's my brother's boss actually."

"Oh, yeah? He seemed nice on the phone." Jas nodded, stretching his legs across the rug. "I'm gonna have a shower, I reek," I announced, stretching my arms above my head.

"Yeah, you do. Doesn't Jake's place have a shower," Alice wrinkled her nose.

I poked my tongue out and rolled my eyes, padding down the hallway.