Thank you for the follows! It was slightly unexpected. Updates won't be frequent due to lack of reviews, and I know we all have our own feelings about it, but for me, it's been...destructive. So, I'm putting it on the backburner and only posting here to practice learning to love writing again. Thanks for stopping by! I genuinely hope you enjoy.

Part Two, or Three.

I planned and was ready to go with a week's worth of preplanned outfits. I had that literature class Edward was in twice a week, but I wanted to make sure I looked alright in case we passed each other while on campus. Typically, students were in college full-time which meant he was on campus most days regardless of if we had any more classes in common or the same major.

You know. Sneakers were perfectly fine footwear. Unlike those high heels some movies and shows had their teenage characters wear. It's ridiculous. Except for Rosalie, she was the exemption. Rosalie simply does not wear sneakers.

It was a bit of a hassle, making sure I looked alright at all times while trying not to make it obvious I was checking myself out on windows, etcetera. It was why I quit trying, like the rest of the student body. Being a woman is exhausting.

But as the days passed and I was watching him, he served as a reminder as to why I had to do it. He always looked so effortlessly good. He only wore dark colors and usually the same ones. And if he wore t-shirts, they were of a fabric that made it look fancy.

He could still intimidate in a t-shirt. I hate his guts. Guys have it so much easier.

There was this olive green, cargo jacket that he would wear that was my favorite. But the button-up shirts he wore with the sleeves rolled up were my favorite too. It was like he was prepared to work hard; he was focused and ready to go. It was such a turn-on, especially considering the work he would put out. I felt blessed to hear him. I swear he had more to offer than the professor.

I wonder what books he likes to read. Probably not YA. Maybe a few of the classics, or obscure authors. Not the widely known ones like Stephenie Meyer or J.K. Rowling. Maybe he even owns a few poetry books. I hate poetry. I'm still flabbergasted those still get published, but then I'm a sucker for YA romance and mainly of the vampire variety. Who am I to judge one's taste?

It was my lucky day when we got lumped with a few others for a presentation. I finally got to have his name.

Two guys and a girl came over to join us. He said his name out loud, holding up a hand to greet those sitting too far away, then offered me his hand after they responded in the same way.

"Edward,"

"B-bella,"

He sort've nodded and went back to settling into his new seat. How cool, to not feel eager in any way to meet new people or hope they made a good impression.

It was also fascinating how men could do so little to greet each other and it's alright. There were no frills and no problems. A hand-up was all that was needed. With girls, it was like you had to compliment them first and speak sweetly so they knew you weren't a threat.

Our project was to prove feminism existed in this short story which was an adaptation of the Jewish version of the Christian story of Adam and Eve and the tree of knowledge. Jesus Christ. Excuse me if I'm arrogant, but it can't exist there because the idea didn't back then. Maybe there were some frustrations, but do you really think a fanfiction of a bible story had an 'agenda' or that this author, a man, understood the feelings of women enough to make any related statement at all? Color me incredulous. Of course, the professor didn't offer any guidance and instead left it to us. The blind leading the blind. But I supposed it's how humanity got this far and figured out what food was poisonous and what was safe to eat. 'We'll get there'.

Edward led the discussion skillfully and organized who would do what. Even he had difficulty with the task. But his thought process gave us a way to approach the task. Crisis averted.

When class ended, he collected his stuff to leave without ceremony but so did the others. I followed behind, quietly. I think I catch the slight whiff of bergamot.

...

I read and re-read that short story several times to try to pick out some tid-bits I could spin to support our argument. I had every intention of proving I had a brain. I certainly couldn't bring myself shame as an English major, and not in front of him who is in the top five of the class or would be if there was a list.

We had exchanged numbers just to make sure we met up, but I couldn't text him to-what? Ask him out? I'm not that suave. It was too soon anyway. I didn't have a rapport with him. He'd never say 'yes' if I asked. I only have a first name so far...would be nice to get a last name, I thought.

The meet-up a few days before the day we presented was the perfect chance to get such a thing. I pulled out the slip-this-thing-out-without-him-knowing trick I saw in movies, grabbed a notebook from his bag, and put it in mine. We checked up on each other's work, gave notes, and made plans to meet up again to make sure we were good to go before we had to present.

I could hardly wait 'til I got home to look through it. But I swore that if it was some kind of diary, I would close it up and stop there.

It turned out to be a commonplace journal (with no name), an agglomeration of anything he found interesting from different sources. But it still proved to be useful. Roll call isn't done in college. Instead, you have to sign next your printed name on a list that gets passed around. Professors just hand it to the first person and start talking. You could even still be unpacking your things.

Anyway. Now that I had his handwriting memorized, I quickly picked out his name. He wrote in a fast script too; so we had something in common (hee hee).

Edward Cullen. I couldn't help but whisper it. I had to know what it felt like to say it. My eyes skipped to where he sat, pulling his hair back. I quickly imagined him in that pose, writing in his commonplace journal like a modern Shakespear. My comfort character had journals too, dozens from nearly a century of loneliness. I wonder how many he had. I wish I could see it.

With his name, I was able to look him up on all the socials. People my age were typically on at least one. Except for me. Depending on what I felt like, I'd tell you it was because I thought I was above it all or I simply had no interest. But really, I have no one to share it with and I don't how I feel about random people knowing what I look like or the general area I'm in.

It was hard to tell which youtube account was his, and his Insta wasn't very active, but his Snapchat, which was made public, was. I'll have to wait 'till class is over to look at everything. I should probably cross-reference the people in his stories with those on his Insta. I might be able to find out more.

I could have returned his journal to him after class, but I wasn't ready to lose this 'link' just yet. I decided to pretend that I missed my chance to give it to him after class so I could follow him to his next one, which would be a much harder way of figuring out his major as opposed to asking. But if I knew which areas of campus he went to, I'd be able to put myself in his path. It could be useful information.

I'd dodge behind pillars, trailing behind far enough to blend in and avoid being seen. I stopped outside his class door and loitered long enough to hear something that would tell me what the class was about. I could probably hang around, watch through some snaps, and then keep mapping out his haunts.

I wonder if he's from this state or outside...

The initial plan was to wait outside the building, but my genius brain told me that waiting in the stairwell on the second floor would be best. The stairwells were visible from the outside because of their floor-to-ceiling windows, so I'd have a bird's eye view of him leaving the building and which direction he was headed. And it would give him a natural head start, that way I ended up walking at just the right distance behind him.

...

I couldn't learn any more from trailing him today. He didn't have another class and he went straight for the dorms which also wasn't a clue into anything. He could just be visiting a friend, or maybe he is from out-of-state, or maybe he managed to get enough aid to cover the cost and lived there as a state kid. So, I focused my attention on whatever socials I could find instead.

There were a few videos of him walking in a neighborhood with old apartment buildings, ranting about school, of him and his friends at a park, wearing more casual clothes which was unexpected. On his insta, where he would post coffee and food pics, I found out that a cafe he liked was in an area with the same kind of apartment buildings. These buildings aren't everywhere, they're very centered. There's an area nearby with similar buildings but because it was built on a hill, they were on a slant. So, I knew it wasn't that cluster. However, that didn't narrow it down enough. That cafe could if he was a bit of a regular in his off time...

Maybe if I looked it up on google maps and tried to find out if there was a park in the area? I might be able to triangulate where he lived and facilitate some accidental meetings. Run-ins on the sidewalk. Put myself in his head. I don't know, make it seem like it's meant to be if he noticed me everywhere? Maybe we'd have a few conversations that then lead into a friendship! I was so excited.

But if it turns out we don't have much in common... I shook my head. I could check out what he liked and grow to like it, or see why he did and like it because of that. Good thing I hadn't returned this journal.

I certainly didn't need any help procrastinating my schoolwork, but this was sure a fun way to do that.

DON'T STALK PEOPLE! HOW THE HELL DO YOU SPELL 'PEOPLE', THIS LOOKS WEIRD?!

No, seriously. What's wrong with me? My brain broke. From writing this shit. That's it. Also, I've never used social media in this manner and I actually don't have accounts in any besides youtube. So, not much might be accurate and I don't actually know how to use it to stalk people. I'm making it up as I go while trying to be as realistic as possible. Like, make the methods logical- but!

DISCLAIMER: This story isn't to teach people how to stalk others. I don't condone stalking.