This is a short unlike anything I've ever written before.

If I come across as making fun of people, it's really not my intention. Sometimes I explain why I write things but I always just end up rambling and people hate it. Important note: because of the length, certain statements won't be elaborated on, but you can always PM directly.

Character Briefs

Edward- Far from popular and not on any team, but loves to play ball with his friends, 'athletic' and with his height and thick, semi-long hair, you would think he belonged to the IN crowd.

Bella- Not even ugly, doesn't wear wide-rimmed or thick glasses, her hair isn't even frizzy, just blah. But all that and lacking a personality (according to her) and hobbies is enough to make her undesirable, even unnoticeable to everyone her age. That's why, after being completely engrossed in a vampire romance series, she goes out of her way to put herself in front of this mysterious boy, who apparently has the greatest smile when he's hanging out with friends that nobody else sees because he's otherwise totally alone in college. He was always walking around campus, alone, catching up on stuff while sitting on benches between the pillars of the buildings. He studied alone in the large library, wearing these dark colors, and his beautiful, thick hair would flop over his head as he read that he had to hold back.

My god, would she like to hold it back for him... But his secret athleticism didn't ruin the fantasy for her. In fact, it made her jealous. She wished she could be as interesting, aloof, playful, impressive, just...have this charisma. Is that what he had? Was that what that was?

How do you have it all? Smarts, physical ability, a group of loyal friends that actually meet up with you to play basketball- who made time to do that with you too apart from school? How do you just have it all? How do you exude this 'has-it-all-together' vibe, this 'glow'? There was just this golden air about him. He resembled that goofy friend character in movies, like Eric from Twilight. He could play that role really well. Why wasn't he in movies?

If Bella were like that, maybe she'd have it all too.

He should have all the girls hanging off him, she thought. Why didn't anyone notice his worth? It was so strange that he could be so hidden away, almost forgotten, like a little mushroom in a forest.

In the Beginning... Narrated by... me, I guess.

College, the idea, the word, would bring this vision of a free world into mind. A magical one where anything was possible. The grass was greener, the air crisp and clean. Your parents were far away, so, you no longer had eyes on you making sure you weren't doing anything you weren't supposed to or having any fun. It was a world of endless possibilities. You could be whatever you wanted to be, and the teachers would be happy to help you. They would be on your side, on your team. 'You're the future, and therefore special'. And when you graduate, it's like ascending. When you leave, the world will witness you. The world was your oyster, and you will rule.

At least, that was the vibe I got. I think we all got that. At the same time, guidance counselors, or whoever that person that was making me make a list of my top 5 colleges was, and college advisors had no idea how to get me from A to B. Excuse me for wanting an experience tailored to the kind of career I wanted.

It was a nice idea, all that. A nice little daydream of walking onto campus on the first day, dressed to impress, completely different from my frumpiness or awkwardness. A daydream of really being whatever I wanted to be. And you couldn't forget about the parties. All of the movies said that this was the time of your life when absolutely everything went out the window. You made mistakes, had relationship drama, and came out of it with crazy, great, important lessons and memories. You came out a whole-r person, knowing yourself more. You grew up and became more sophisticated like your parents thought they did, only hopefully it was true for you.

I wasn't surprised it didn't turn out that way. I was more disappointed how I was hoping my life would finally do a 180 here, be exciting, worth living, and then...it didn't. Because such a thing requires people.

It was like high school. People who knew each other stuck together, and if their friends were at different colleges, well. They didn't mingle. And classes, the homework, 5-page paper writing kept everyone busy. Those papers kept me from getting too lonely.

I tried talking to classmates and even led some group projects, but I had to. Everyone was just so awkward and unwilling. If I hadn't volunteered to organize the project, it would have never gotten done. I didn't get it. I was even failing a class. I asked a girl who got an A+ on her paper if I could read it, so I could try to figure out how to do better. She said yes! And she was the first to leave. It was like it had never happened. What sort of vacuum was I in?

I hated how I knew I had potential. I was smart and empathetic. I could most certainly be a great friend, and...it just wouldn't come out. My reality, my surroundings just didn't facilitate that. But I get it.

I understood. I sort've understood. It was the same in high school. People knew each other from middle school and didn't really increase their friend group. The cafeteria was clique-y and I wasn't a gambler, I didn't play any card games and I wasn't dating a football player (pbbft) so I didn't fit anywhere there. And the librarian was so territorial, that it was better to avoid that place. I once only put my head down to rest, and he immediately shouted I couldn't do that with such a hideous attitude. It was wild.

It was the one place I could have made friends, and I couldn't. There was no talking, and...I wasn't the only one who wanted to avoid the 'troll'. But that was what made stairwells so special. Yeah, kids would be sucking face in them at times, but that was in between classes. It was your world during class. I would pull out my book, part of a worldly hated series that I loved, and imagine the beauty of being surrounded by people you loved and loved you. All of the characters were complete strangers to each other at one point but came to love one another so much they'd die for them. I was more than a boy-meets-girl romance. It was the ultimate love story.

Maybe even an ideal. Too many people were forgotten and ignored, I think, but we have needs. What's a girl gotta do to live in a world where everyone treats each other like family? But more importantly, I was bored. Nothing exciting ever happened.

But sure. I was in my awkward years. I was ugly and thirty-seven pounds overweight, with a possible PCOS diagnosis hanging over my head. It made sense why I wasn't a 'chosen one'. At least I was kind of smart. I landed in a good school which made my parents proud. I really wanted to work hard, to land in a good place, and give changing my life a good go.

Edward Cullen, Edmund Sullen (I think that was the name used in Toilet)

They say vampires aren't real (I wish) and that Twilight maybe ruined dark colors or certain styles for everyone else but... my god. How can a perfect person dare to exist?

My jaw nearly dropped open wide when I first saw him. Maybe he was always there, but today I finally noticed. His features were chiseled, his skin alabaster pale, hair beautifully wavy and thick. Maybe it was the lighting- class was in an auditorium with little circular lights overhead and one was directly above him- but his skin seemed to glow. Maybe it was his black top that offered the contrast necessary to exaggerate his fairness.

What sealed the deal, drove the arrow through my chest, was his intelligent presentation of how death could be a euphemism for love. I agree. I think I just died.

I quickly diverted my eyes, tried to hide behind my binder, and cursed myself for looking like shit. Dammit! I've presented before, read out loud- you're still made to do that in college- what did I look like then?

I was serious about turning my life around. I maybe couldn't play the part, but I could look it. I dressed as well as I could like everyone else did. Then a few weeks passed, and the 'uniform' was established. Sweats, or whatever you slept in last night because you were up studying or whatever.

Dammit. He definitely saw me. I pulled my hair out of its bun, used it to further shield my face, and adjusted my sweater to sit in a more flattering way. I zipped it down and pulled it up so the neck was almost falling off the shoulder. I pulled the camera up on my phone and changed it to the front-facing one. I did always make sure my eyebrows were shapely, and the peach fuzz around my lips was gone, but sometimes some powder was necessary to hide an ugly-face day. I looked darker or extra-textured in a way. One color, one dimension, I don't know.

I sighed. It doesn't matter if shifting my clothes made a difference. A good body was useless if it had an ugly face. I just have to hope he doesn't see me on the way out.

...

I was oddly a little depressed after that. It was silly and I was aware. Also, aware that it was a bit neurotic to think people noticed me or cared, but I cared. A small possibility was too great. It might as well be a definite one. Could I just not prove I was deserving of being left to the wayside for once?

I hurried to my dorm, hiding my face to make sure I wasn't seen, and reminded myself of all the studying and reading I had to do. That helped put the embarrassment behind me. College made a lot of things worse, but it did make me forget about it. I couldn't wait for the spectacular, prolonged combustion that was going to happen later on.

But I swore that I was going to make an effort again. It wouldn't be for myself, but trying to save myself from embarrassment would sort of make it for myself, right?

To be continued, but as it is a one shot, the story may proceed to be told as a series of segments.