Chapter Four: I Hate the Way You Invade My Mind

Fuck him. Fuck his stupid hair, combat boots, and bitchy scowl. Fuck that guy.

I kept repeating that mantra in my head the whole drive home from school. I needed to just stop thinking about him. Stop letting him invade my mind and drive me bonkers. I needed to stop trying to talk to him because it was becoming a pointless, stalkerish act of desperation. I just had to face the facts. Whatever reason he had for hating me was none of my goddamn business. I had more pressing things to worry about anyway.

Like my true best friend who was seemingly really ticked off at me. She was the one I needed to be focusing on.

I sighed as I pulled into my driveway and shut off the car. My mind was going haywire and I needed a distraction. I snatched my phone out of my backpack that was sitting on the passenger seat unlocking it quickly with hope swelling in my chest. That hope quickly vanished and I felt the pit in my stomach grow more pronounced. Still nothing from Alice. I tapped my nails on the steering wheel trying to think of what I could do for her so she would at least acknowledge my existence.

The whole Ice Queen act had gone on long enough. We were best friends. We could forgive each other anything. Just like when I forgave her for "accidentally" going through my diary.

I bit my lip, my mind working a million miles a minute trying to come up with something that would get her attention. I stopped tapping my fingers, an idea springing to mind. I quickly started my car back up and backed out of the driveway. I was a woman on a mission.

She was going to talk to me whether she liked it or not.

It only took three minutes to get to Dollar General from my house. I grabbed my wallet from the center console and ran inside. My mom was going to kill me for using my emergency money, but Alice was worth whatever punishment I might face. I grabbed a basket and started piling Alice's favorite treats in it. All of the things that her mom wouldn't let her eat because she was obsessed with Alice maintaining her figure. Hot Cheetos, mild cheese dip, four Red Bulls, two Mountain Dews, and then I threw in some Hershey Kisses for good measure. Then I made my way over to the toys, searching for Alice's favorite animal in the form of a stuffed toy. When I found a pink and white owl with yellow shiny eyes, I grinned triumphantly and added it to the growing pile.

The basket was getting so heavy, it was cutting off circulation in my arm.

I was about to check out when I saw the most perfect shirt hanging up by the front display that I was sure would make Alice laugh. I grabbed it along with its companion shirt, both in a small, and made my way over to the checkout line. Luckily there wasn't a long line, and I was out of there in two minutes. I was starting to get restless as the time passed by. I had to see Alice and make things right with us again.

I couldn't stand her hating me.

I pulled up in front of Alice's familiar large house in just a few minutes. I grabbed the bags full of goodies from the backseat and practically skipped over to her door. Her parents weren't home, but her car was there, which meant she had picked it up from school at some point. That gave me hope that her wrist was okay enough to perform certain tasks.

I rang the doorbell and then knocked a few times bouncing on the balls of my feet. After a few minutes of standing there, I started to rethink my plans. She might not even let me in. I took a step back and looked over to Alice's window on the second floor. The white curtains quickly fluttered closed, and I rolled my eyes.

So that's what we're playing at?

I huffed, trying the door handle as my last-ditch effort. I smiled to myself when the doorknob turned with ease, allowing me entrance. I always told Alice to lock that damn door when she was home alone. for once, I was glad that she didn't listen. I walked inside and closed the door with my foot, immediately heading for the stairs. I took them two at a time and then walked over to her bedroom door. I turned the knob and swung it open.

Alice sat on her bed leaning against the headboard with her arms crossed over her chest and her legs crossed at the ankle in front of her. Her eyes glared at me; her lips set into a hard line. She had changed out of her cheer uniform and into a pair of silky pink pajama shorts and a white tank.

I held up the bags in my hands as a peace offering. She eyed them before looking up at my face.

"I'm mad at you," she said simply before looking away.

I sighed and walked over to her bed, sitting next to her waist. I set the bags in front of me and pulled out the snacks first. I gauged her reaction to each snack I pulled out, smiling to myself when I saw the mask on her face crack just the tiniest bit. When she noticed me looking, she quickly schooled her features back into a cold stare. She was so damn extra sometimes. After I finished with the snacks, I pulled out the owl, holding it out to her with a small smile. She regarded it with narrowed eyes for a moment before rolling her eyes and taking it from my hands. she held it on her lap, rubbing her hands over the wings.

"Still mad at you," she said, but with less heat.

I was definitely getting somewhere, and I knew that with the last gift, I was going to hit a home run.

I grabbed the last bag, pulling out the two shirts that I was sure would break through her icy walls. I handed her the one for her first. She unfolded it and held it up. Her cold mask slipped, and her lips perked up at the side.

"I'm with stupid?" she asked as she read the shirt, her eyes amused meeting mine.

"Just wait," I said as I stood up holding the other shirt to my body. I looked down, reading the shirt and chuckling to myself. The shirt read I'm Stoopid.

Alice's smirk turned into a full-blown smile, and she let out a few giggles of her own. My long sigh of relief was audible. I was so happy that I was able to get her to laugh. If she was laughing then she wasn't mad.

"You really are stupid," she giggled, shaking her head.

"Do you love me again?" I asked with an exaggerated pout.

Alice rolled her eyes and patted the other side of the bed. I grinned as I dropped the shirt down onto the floor and jumped over her body, settling next to her, and leaning my body on the headboard. I got comfortable and sighed happily, turning my head to look at her.

"How's your wrist?" I asked, concern lacing my tone.

She held up her hand, the blue and white splint on it making me grimace. I still couldn't believe I hurt her. I touched the splint lightly with my finger and then dropped my hand, looking back into her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, bestie."

Alice shrugged, "It's really not that bad. I'll be fine in a month, maybe sooner." She turned her body more to face me. "What I want to know is how you didn't catch me?" She raised her brows, her eyes locking on mine. And I knew that with Alice, the truth would always get me further than a lie.

I pursed my lips and looked down at my lap, "Edward showed up," I mumbled.

"Excuse me?" she asked, her sprained hand coming up to lift my chin and force me to meet her eyes. "I got dropped because that douchebag supreme showed up?"

"It really shocked me," I defended myself and then rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "And get this, I went over to talk to him, and he literally jumped off the top of the bleachers to get away from me. Talk about guy repellent," I snorted.

I still couldn't believe he did that.

"Wow," she muttered. "So extra."

I nodded and hummed, "I just don't get what his problem is." I threw my hands up, getting frustrated all over again. So much for not letting him get to me. It seemed no matter what I did, or what I tried, he would continuously invade my mind. I needed a fucking shrink, stat. Because my obsession with the guy was boarding on psychotic.

"How did you guys leave things when he left all those years ago?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well…" I thought back to the day Edward left, my heart constricting the tiniest bit as the memories flooded back, "We hugged and cried and promised to stay in contact," I snorted painfully, "Which we, of course, didn't."

"Why not?" Alice seemed genuinely curious.

I shook my head, "Girl, I have no idea. I got his new address from his aunt, sent him numerous letters for a year straight, and got nothing back. I guess I shouldn't have been so shocked that he didn't want to speak to me. But I thought maybe he was somehow not getting the letters. I don't even know. And he doesn't have any social media. Trust me, I checked for years. There was no way to reach him and he never reached out to me, either."

Alice pulled her head back making a sour face, "Who the fuck doesn't have social media? Even my granny has an Instagram."

I laughed because, of course, that's what she was focusing on.

I blew out a harsh breath, "Edward always said social media was lame. That he didn't care what other people were doing on a daily basis and that no one needed to know what he was doing. He had a lot of opinions about a lot of things." I shook my head. It was true. Edward always had something to say about everything. It was part of the reason I liked him so much back in the day. He was fearless and opinionated and that him even more awesome.

Alice pursed her lips, "Why didn't you guys, like, call each other or text?"

"The whole reason I got his new address was because his phone got turned off as soon as he left, and I have no idea why. I asked his aunt about it when I couldn't get ahold of him, but she just said it was a long story that Edward needed to tell me."

Alice turned back around and leaned heavily on the headboard with a look of extreme concentration on her face.

I gave her a narrowed look because I knew that expression all too well.

"I see the gears turning in that brain of yours," I said poking her temple, "What are you planning?"

Alice poked her tongue out and shrugged, "I'm going to get to the bottom of this," she said confidently.

"And how do you expect to do that?" I was never one to question Alice's detective capabilities, but when it came to Edward, I had very little faith that I would ever know just what the fuck his major problem was. Mostly because he was so hell-bent on avoiding having an actual conversation with me, but was a-okay with telling me to fuck off.

"I'll figure it out," she answered simply with a one-shoulder shrug. "Anyway," she grinned as she leaned down and picked my shirt off the floor, "We're so wearing these tomorrow." She threw it at me and I caught it before it could hit me in the face.

I laughed, "I'd expect nothing less. I owe you big time anyway."

Alice nodded quickly, "Oh, you have to do a lot more than just wear this shirt to get back in my good graces, girlfriend," she said with a mischievous tone.

That didn't sound good.

"Oh, jeez, what do I have to do? Go streaking down the street?" I joked.

Alice wiggled her brows, "Close. You're going to buy yourself a sexy little bikini and participate in the carwash I'm planning. We are going to get those new uniforms and you're going to parade that hot body around and stack up the cash for them."

I groaned, rolling over onto my side, and facing away from her. She only laughed evilly, poking me on the back of my thigh making me scream and dart back up to glare at her.

"I hate you," I told her.

"You fucking adore me," she countered with a smirk.

"Yeah-yeah, whatever."

Alice held out her fist and I bumped it with my own and just like that, we were back. True best friend could bounce back from anything.

I didn't know why, but Alice insisted that I drive with her to school today, and after what I did, I would do anything to stay on her good side. I finally knew what it felt like to be snubbed by her, and I never wanted that to happen again. Just thinking about it sent a chill down my spine.

Alice was always bright and early for school, so I woke up thirty minutes earlier than usual and hopped in the shower, scrubbing and washing as quickly as I could manage. When I got out, I stood in front of my closet in my bra and panties with my hands on my hips, trying to find something that would go with the light blue stoopid shirt.

I looked at my selection of skirts and decided on a short white jean skirt with gold thread and three gold buttons up the middle. The skirt was high-waisted and hugged my curves tightly and was one of the few things I owned that was Alice-approved. I put on my shirt, then shimmied and jumped into the tight material of my skirt, tucking my shirt into the waistband. I sat on the edge of my bed and put on my white ankle socks and light blue platform Converse.

I put my dark hair in a high ponytail and applied blush, mascara, and some lightly tinted lip gloss. If I was going to wear this shirt, then I was going to look damn good while I did. I even added some gold bracelets and rings to the mix. Anything to distract from the shirt.

When I heard a car honking outside, I walked over to the window and peered down into my driveway. Alice was sitting in her shiny red convertible, the hood pulled back. She gave me the finger when she saw me peeking at her. I rolled my eyes, laughing as I grabbed my backpack off the floor. I skipped down the stairs, the smell of pancakes permeating the air.

"Bella," Mom called when I tried to pass right by the kitchen. My ninja skills could use some work. "Aren't you going to eat?" She crossed her arms over her chest, popping out her hip and giving me her best "mom" expression.

"Mom, I have to go. Alice is here," I told her, jabbing my thumb toward the door as I hedged my way closer to it.

"Why is Alice picking you up? What did I buy you a car for?"

I rolled my eyes and huffed out an annoyed breath, "Mom, I love my car. I appreciate my car. I love you. I appreciate you. But can I please go? Alice doesn't like to be late to school." My tone was pleading. Mom was such a freaking handful.

Mom checked the watch on her wrist and raised a brow when she looked back up at me, "School doesn't start for another thirty-five minutes."

I groaned, slumping my shoulders forward. Why the hell did my mom always have to so up in my business? It was damn irritating. Could you love someone with your whole heart and still want to choke them sometimes? Damn.

"Please, Mom. I have to go," I begged, not bothering to explain that Alice was a freak about being early and getting the best parking spot. Even though everyone pretty much knew not to touch her spot, lest they wanted to have hellfire rain down on them.

Mom frowned but waved her hand out, "Fine, go."

I ran out the door before she could pester me anymore. I loved the woman dearly, but she was seriously overbearing sometimes.

"Bout time, bitch," Alice muttered when I jumped into her car. "I was about to come in there and drag you out by your hair." She looked me over quickly, "Which looks super cute, by the way."

I grinned, "Thank you."

I looked at the shirt she was wearing, glad that she didn't leave me to wear mine alone and look even more dumb than I already did. I half expected her to pull that stunt just to get back at me for dropping her at the pep rally.

Alice backed out of the driveway, and she sure didn't obey the speed limit claiming that she had to speed because I wasted her valuable time already. I only rolled my eyes at that and held onto the oh-shit handle until we pulled into the school parking lot.

Alice swerved onto the property, her tires skidding on the pavement. I cringed and closed my eyes, keeping my mouth shut tightly so the scream bubbling forth didn't spill out. When Alice came to a screeching halt, my eyes popped open. I looked over at her and her jaw was set, her eyes blazing.

"Alice, what –,"

"That's my spot," she growled cutting me off, her hand slapping down onto the steering wheel, "Everyone knows that's my goddamn spot."

I followed her line of sight and noticed a beat-up blue Chevy parked in the spot that Alice had unofficially claimed as her own last year. Alice was the most popular girl in school, so people tended to want to stay on her good side in hopes of getting in with the 'it' crowd, so they just naturally let her have her way. Something she took full advantage of. What could I say, Alice was a spoiled rich kid, but I swear she had a heart of gold.

The door to the truck slammed open and I wasn't even surprised when scuffed-up black combat boots popped out. Edward jumped out of the truck, that signature scowl on his face. He grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and then slammed the door shut before stomping his way inside the school without giving anyone a passing glance.

I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest, "He just thinks he is so cool."

When Alice didn't say anything or make a move to park her car, I glanced over at her from the corner of my eye. She was watching Edward's back as he made his way inside with the coldest glare on her face. If she were a cartoon character, smoke would be shooting out of her ears.

"So, first, he hurts my best friend's feelings on her fucking birthday," Alice seethed through clenched teeth, "Then he makes me get dropped at the pep rally in front of the entire Senior class and sprain my wrist in the process, and now he takes my parking spot?" Her white-tipped fingers tightened around the steering wheel. She let out a low chuckle that sent chills down my spine, "Oh, he's on my shit list."

I almost felt bad. Alice's shit list was not a place you wanted to be.

Alice rolled her car into the empty spot across from Edward's truck and pressed the button to lift the hood back into place. She reached into the backseat and snatched her dark brown bookbag before setting her heated gaze on me.

"Let's get to class before I do something illegal," she growled.

I jumped out of the car. I wasn't about to argue.

Math class was going by too quickly and dragging on at the same time. Mr. Mata handed out pop quizzes before we could even get into our seats and I was having a lot of trouble with it. As in, I had no idea what I was doing. I sighed, laying my sweaty forehead on my fist as I tapped my pen on the quiz, the material looking like gibberish. I glanced up at the clock for the umpteenth time. He gave us only thirty minutes of class time to complete the quiz and I was seriously lacking.

I blew out a breath, my eyes scanning everyone around me who all looked to be just fine, scribbling down on their papers with ease. Even Edward. He looked completely relaxed as he leaned back in his seat, his hand working quickly across the paper in front of him. He was always good at math, though. I used to copy his work in elementary and middle school. I had a rude awakening when I got to high school and knew nothing and didn't have him to copy off of anymore. Maybe I would have learned a thing or two had I not been such a cheater.

Hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that bullshit.

I looked back down at my quiz, my anxiety spiking when I counted all of the problems I had skipped because I didn't know how to answer them. It was more than half. I adjusted in my seat, feeling my stomach twist into knots.

"Time," Mr. Mata called as he stood from his desk, "Drop your pens and send your quizzes to the front."

I groaned quietly, handing my unfinished quiz to Angela. I dropped my face onto the desk, hitting my forehead a few times. And then another two for good measure. I clasped my hands on my lap and turned my head so that my overheated cheek was pressed to the cool desk. My eyes widened when they connected with Edward's across the room. A cocky smirk formed on his lips as he lifted his hand and scratched his chin with his middle finger, effectively flipping me off in the sneakiest way.

I turned my head the other way. I was in no mood for his bullshit and displaced anger. I never did a damn thing to him, so he could take that finger and shove it up his ass.

I lifted my head when Mr. Mata called attention to himself. He had the big math book in his hands, and I knew he was about to go over some new material with us. I quickly grabbed my notebook and a pen, ready to take as many notes as I possibly could. I needed to catch up with the damn curriculum.

When class ended, my hand was on fire from all the scribbling and jotting down I did. I shook it, grimacing as my fingers cracked from being in writing mode for so long. I bent down and gathered up all of my things, ready to be free of my most hated class. I practically ran out of the classroom and ended up knocking Lauren down in the process. I made a mental note to give a shit about that later. She glared up at me as her friend helped her up off the dirty hallway floor.

I smirked, "Whoops, sorry, girl." I spun on my heel and skipped over to where Alice was waiting for me by the girl's bathroom. She was laughing quietly to herself, shaking her head as she leaned against the wall.

"Nice one," she snickered when I made it over to her.

"It was an accident," I said innocently to which she grinned and rolled her eyes.

Alice pushed the bathroom door open and gestured for me to go in first. We always met before our second-period class and hung out in the bathroom so Alice could fix her makeup and hair. Alice walked up to the mirror and set her bookbag down on the sink. She rifled through it until she found her brush and glided it through her shoulder-length hair. She looked at me in the reflection of the mirror.

"So, I saw Edward leave your first-period class," she grimaced with contempt.

"Yup," I shrugged and leaned my back against the wall.

"Still not talking to you?" she asked as she put her brush away and pulled out her lip gloss.

I snorted, "No, but he managed to muster up the energy to flip me off."

Alice's eyes narrowed angrily, "The fuck is his problem?"

I didn't answer since I knew it was a rhetorical question. She knew that I had no idea what I did to make that guy hate me so badly.

"Whatever," she said flippantly and then turned to me, "I was talking to Tyler in first-period and apparently your ex-bestie signed up for lacrosse tryouts next week." She rolled her eyes so hard I wouldn't have been surprised if they got stuck in her head. "It's always the jerks that want to play lacrosse because they get to bash into people with long sticks in their hands."

I sighed, "At least we don't have to cheer for the lacrosse players. That would suck."

The warning bell went off and we left the bathroom, making our way over to social studies where, thankfully, Edward would not be present. It sucked that we had classes together, but at least it was only two classes and lunch.

As we made our way to social studies I wrapped my arm around Alice's shoulder and whispered close to her ear, "So you never did tell me how you're going to figure out what Edward's problem is."

Alice patted my stomach lightly, "All in good time, my dear. All in good time."

"I'm so glad you're okay," Jessica said as she went to sit on the other side of Alice. I rolled my eyes at her brownnosing ways. If her nose was any further up Alice's ass, she'd be able to taste what she had for breakfast.

"Yeah," Lauren piped up from next to Jessica, "Some people just can't be trusted to catch you when you fall," she sneered giving me a pointed look that made my blood boil.

"Just like some people can't be trusted to brush their teeth. Girl, I can smell you from all the way over here," I waved my hand in front of my nose, "What have you been eating, hot garbage?"

I grinned at her and there were a few snickers around the table. Before Lauren could say anything else, Alice slammed her hands down on the table so hard our lunch trays shook from the force, "That's enough, guys! Let's all just get along. We have a carwash to plan."

She pulled out her purple notebook and fuzzy pen, setting them next to her lunch tray.

"First off, we need to advertise," she picked up her pen and pointed it at Angela, "You're the best artist so I expect you to draw up something fun and exciting and then make copies."

Angela nodded immediately, already pulling out her sketchbook from her bookbag to jot down some ideas.

"I talked to the principal and we decided that August twenty-fifth from eight in the morning until one o'clock in the afternoon will be the best time to have the car wash, so make sure you get that on the flyer, Ange."

"How much are we charging?" Jessica asked as she popped a grape in her mouth.

Alice huffed angrily, "I'm getting to that," she snapped at her with a glare. "We're going to be charging ten for a wash and then twenty for a wash and detail, that includes vacuuming out the inside of the cars."

She looked at Mike, "Speaking of which, can we utilize those big vacuum things that your parents have at their store?"

Mike shrugged, "I can ask."

Alice scribbled some things down on her notebook before looking up quickly, her eyes going back to Angela, "We need a sign as well! Different from the flyer, but still eye-catching, got it?"

Angela nodded again, flipping the pages of her sketchbook quickly. Poor girl. Alice was putting a lot on her plate, but when Alice wanted to get something done, she wanted it done thoroughly and perfectly. And Angela was most definitely the best artist.

"I'm going to bring towels, rags, sponges, and buckets. But just in case, I want everyone to bring one of each."

"Are we dressing modestly, or…" Ashley asked, trailing off when Alice sent a sneer her way.

"We're trying to raise enough money for new cheer uniforms, so dress to impress. I'm talking itsy bitsy bikinis, bitches."

I rolled my eyes, tuning out of the conversation. Alice was such a tiny little Hitler; it wasn't even funny. It was terrifying actually. I was brought back to the bake sale in our sophomore year when she made a girl cry so hard, that she had to go home and didn't even show back up to school for two days.

Inevitably, my eyes wandered the lunchroom until they landed on Edward, who was surprisingly not sitting alone this time. He was talking to the lacrosse d-bags at their table. He was wearing a dark flannel that was rolled up his forearms, a black tee, and dark jeans. It made me wonder if the guy even owned anything other than black, or dark.

Gosh, he's depressing.

The bell signaling the end of lunch went off and I couldn't help but laugh as everyone at our table scurried off as fast as they could to get away from Alice, the tyrant. Alice walked me to English class since it was on her way to biology. She smiled and blew me a kiss before spinning around and skipping off to her class as if she didn't just bark orders at the whole squad, as well as the football team.

She was something else.

I took my seat and pulled out my book, setting it atop my desk and folding my hands over it. As if my eyes were magnetically drawn to him I looked to the door when Edward breezed in with Tyler next to him, talking his ear off. I guessed the two biggest jerks in school were becoming fast friends.

I could barely contain the eye roll.

Mrs. Tilly called the class to attention with a smile on her plump face, "Everyone, I graded your short stories and I have to say, I was very impressed with all of them. I could see that each of you put your best foot forward and really dug into your imaginations to create your own little worlds. It gives me some hope that this next assignment will go smoothly."

She walked over to her desk and grabbed a stack of papers. She walked to each row, handing the person in front a small stack to send back. When she reached me, I eagerly took the papers from her, looking over mine as I held the rest over my shoulder for the person behind me to take.

All the paper said was Tragedy/Romance in big, bold letters in the center. I narrowed my eyes, confused. I looked over to the teacher, waiting for an explanation.

"Each of you has a genre of literature on your papers," she started with excitement clear on her face, "I want you to find the person that has the same one as you because that will be your partner for this next project," she began excitedly. "You'll pair up and create your own play using the genre you were given. Please go find your partners and sit next to each other, because I want you all brainstorming for the next thirty minutes of class."

I was actually really excited about this project. I loved creating worlds and characters. I had never written a play before, but I was hyped to give it a shot. I just hoped my partner was as excited as I was or else it would diminish the fun aspect.

I looked around as everyone was chatting excitedly and pairing up. I stood on my tippy toes, craning my neck to look over people's shoulders, hoping to spot my genre written on someone's paper. When that proved fruitless, I gathered my things and walked down the aisle, looking at the papers on the desks. I didn't have to go very far.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes widening. There was no way God could be this cruel. I refused to believe that.

I looked down at Edward who looked up at me when he noticed me standing there like a deer caught in the headlights and I nearly fell over when he opened his mouth and actually spoke directly to me for the first time.

"Please tell me you're joking."

Please let me know your thoughts on how this story is going. I know it's slow progression, but this story will pick up pace soon. I don't plan on this story being terribly long. Let me know what you think, what you want to see happen, and some of your theories about Edward, because I love reading those!

Also, check out my other stories:

Love Again

Summary: Bella lost her husband to infidelity. Edward lost his wife to an accident. Both of their kids are suffering the aftershock. Can these two families unite and fill in the gaps that love left behind?

Crossfaded (originally Complicated Overcast, but I had to repost it)

Summary: Bella is a good girl who gets mixed up in some risky business when she meets Edward at a party. The attraction is instantaneous, and the pull is magnetic. Can she survive in his fast-paced and brutal world? Or will the good girl become a statistic?