The house was silent other than the occasional creak of the house settling. Charlie, Bella believed, had fallen asleep in front of the tv again. She'd seen the light of it when she'd gone to the bathroom earlier and hadn't heard him come up the stairs to his room. Not that she minded, it was his house after all, he could sleep on the couch if he wanted. She'd likely check on him before going to bed herself, just to be sure he was comfortable and warm enough.
Laying on her bed, propped up on one arm, she glanced at her phone on the nightstand, still no text. Sighing, she shook off her disappointment, trying to be patient for her goodnight text. She was in the middle of her calculous homework when the paper in her notebook fluttered slightly. Since the windows were closed and she couldn't hear the air coming through the vents, she had a sneaking suspicion she had a visitor. Grinning, she ignored them, feigning innocence as she continued to work. Minutes ticked by, and she wondered if her visitor hadn't stayed like she'd expected and was about to turn to look when the bed dipped slightly behind her.
From deep inside her, she could feel the mischievous delight building and she knew it came from the figure behind her. The movement behind her settled moments before cold fingers lightly pulled her hair back from her shoulder. Those same fingers lightly pulled on the neckline of the shirt she was wearing exposing her shoulder. Open-mouthed kisses were placed on her bare skin and despite her attempts to ignore her visitor, she found her eyes fluttering closed at the affection.
"I'm doing homework, Mr. Cullen." She chided, trying not to smile.
Chuckling, arms wrapped around her middle, as a firm body pressed itself against her back. "Don't let me distract you, Miss Swan." Came the almost purr of Carlisle's voice as he continued to lay gentle kisses to her shoulder, moving up to her neck.
Humming, she tried to focus on her work, even as his hands found her hips, pulling her flush against him. She could feel his arousal pressing against her and it made her chuckle. "Which one of us is the horny teenager?"
"I'm 23." He countered.
She lightly smacked him, a smile spreading across her face. "Please, you're almost 400. You told me yourself."
"Want me to stop?" His cool breath ghosting over her ear, his hands going still as he waited for her answer.
With an exaggerated sigh, she closed her book and set it and her notebook on the nightstand before rolling onto her back, gazing up at the man next to her. Carlisle shifted still on his side but slightly hovering over her, waiting. "No, but Charlie…"
"He's asleep downstairs." A hand slipped under her shirt making her shudder as it trailed up towards her breasts, those cold digits felt amazing against her burning skin. The man's topaz eyes burning with love and lust as they stared at her. She could feel his desire for her through the bond that connected them together, and it was definitely having an affect on her. Carlisle's eyes closed slowly, as he took a deep breath through his nose, and she blushed slightly feeling his hunger pulse through her. His forehead lightly pressed against hers as he gasped out her name. "Bella."
Bella was under no delusions, she knew he could smell her growing arousal and knew if it wasn't for his legendary self-control, she'd likely be naked already, with his cock buried deep inside her. As much as she wanted that, it made her nervous to have Charlie home and able to walk in on them at any moment. Even with Carlisle's hearing, she worried he'd be too focused on not hurting her to hear the man coming in time.
Feeling her uncomfortableness through their bond, the hand under her shirt retreated, and instead came to rest on her stomach over her shirt. He gave her a light kiss, then he pulled away, the burning desire from before turning to remorse. Reaching up, she cupped his face, pulling him down for another kiss. Pouring all the love she could into the kiss, and through the bond, she smiled to herself when she heard the rumbling groan from deep in his chest.
Pulling away from the kiss, her smile widened as she looked up at the man above her. His golden locks slightly disheveled, eyes full of love and compassion, and a hint of a smile on his gorgeous lips. She honestly couldn't believe this man wanted her. Compared to him, she was the plainest person in the world. Brown hair, brown eyes, average height, nothing about her stood out. Yet here he was, this god like man, wanting her, loving her. For a moment, as she bit her lower lip, she considered breaking her rule of no sex while Charlie was home, but she held fast.
"You know the rule." Was all she said.
He smiled at her and nodded. "Ok, sweetheart." There was a twinge of disappointment from him, but mostly acceptance. Carlisle would never force her, and she knew it. He liked to tease her, but once she'd said no, he'd stop not wanting to make her uncomfortable, and never was pushy about any sexual activity. He always made it very clear; she was in control during those times.
Carlisle pulled away, laying back against the headboard. She quickly followed him, laying her head on his chest, her arm wrapping around his middle. Though she knew she shouldn't, she felt more than a little guilty for denying him. She knew the likelihood of Charlie finding out Carlisle was there was minimal, she just really couldn't justify the chance. How would she even explain it? 'Sorry dad, my vampire boyfriend that's also my teacher sneaks in every night to watch me sleep, and sometimes more.'
"You're thinking too hard again, sweetheart." Carlisle spoke, obvious amusement in his voice as his fingers lightly trailed over her back and down her arm.
"Sorry." She mumbled.
Carlisle chuckled lightly. "Why are you sorry?"
She curled into his chest a little more, her hand gripping his shirt. "I feel bad telling you no."
With a finger, he tilted her head up to him. "You don't need to be sorry. We set up the rules for a reason. I shouldn't have pushed when I knew it was against the rules. I'm the one that should be sorry."
Nodding, she let her head fall back to his chest. They only had a few rules they abided by, and most came from little accidents like the rule of no kisses after eating/hunting. They'd both made that mistake before and where Carlisle had managed to not throw up when he'd gotten a taste of her breakfast one morning, though he'd had to almost scrub out his mouth afterwards. Bella had not been so lucky. It brought a smile to her face to remember how apologetic Carlisle had been after she'd accidentally gotten elk blood in her mouth and ended up emptying her stomach into the toilet, his cool hands holding her hair back for her. Since then, they've been careful about kisses after meals.
Her fingers etched out a mindless pattern on his chest as she let her mind wonder. It amazed her how much her life had changed since leaving Phoenix. She'd left to let her mom and Phil have some time as a newly married couple, figuring she could spend a little time with Charlie while they got settled. She had spent summers there before, but it had been a while since the last stay. It saddened her to think she'd almost turned down Charlie's offer to come live with him, if she had, she'd never have found her mate, and the love of her life.
One year ago…
Bella drove the semi familiar roads to the high school, quickly finding a parking spot and slamming The Beast into park. Her father had bought the truck for her as a surprise gift for her homecoming. It had a few things that needed fixing up, but she knew her friend Jacob would be willing to help her with it. He was good with cars and what not.
She wasn't looking forward to being the new kid coming in halfway through the year. Her only saving grace was she was starting after the holiday break. Knowing her luck, everyone would already be clicked up and she'd likely be left as an outsider. Granted, that didn't bother her that much, she had always been a bit of an outsider. Taking a slow calming breath, she shoved the creaking door of The Beast open, grabbed her backpack and headed inside.
Once she'd gotten her class schedule and found her locker, she started searching for her first class. She could feel the eyes of the other students on her as she moved through the crowded hallways. Keeping her head down, she rushed to find her classroom, going so fast that she ran straight into something solid in the doorway to the room, having been to focus on the staring eyes around her. Feeling herself falling she waited for the inevitable connection to the floor she knew was coming.
Why did she have to be so damn clumsy all the time?
Cold arms shot out, catching her mid fall and pulled her back to her feet. Blinking, she followed the arm around her up to their shoulder and to the face of a gorgeous young man with pale skin, blonde hair and topaz eyes. There was a slight quirk to his lips as he studied her for a moment, then the arm retreated from around her waist as she stared awe struck at this man. His lips moved, her eyes darting to focus on them wondering how they would feel against her own.
From behind her somewhere, a locker slammed snapping her out of her daze. Realizing he'd said something she blushed, ducking her head. "Sorry…what was that?" Was all she could mumble.
He chuckled lightly before repeating himself. "I asked if you were alright."
Straightening her backpack, she nodded, unable to meet the man's gaze head on, but stealing peeks at him as she instead tried to bore a hole into the ground to swallow her up. It figures that her first day she'd literally, run into the most handsome man she'd ever seen, and made a complete fool of herself in front of him. Could this get worse?
"Good." She could hear the smile in his voice. "Then, Miss Swan, please take your seat."
Again, she blinked in surprise. How had he known her name? Moving into the classroom, she took an empty seat as he stayed at the door greeting students as they entered. She pulled out her textbook and a notebook for her notes. As she waited for class to start, she vaguely listened to the chatter around her. A lot of it was about the teacher, and how good he looked today, though she could hear a few people questioning her presence, but none approached her. When the warning bell rang, he moved from the door and headed to the teacher's desk.
Oh, that's how he knew.
It made sense now; how many new students could there really be? He gathered a stack of papers as all the other students started to settle into their desks, the few stragglers quickly rushing in before the final bell rang. Her eyes had been glued to him. She kept trying to look away, but her eyes always drifted back to him. He wore a pair of fitted dark dress pants and a pale blue dress shirt that had the top couple of buttons undone. It fit him perfectly and she could see the lean, slightly muscular figure he had under the shirt by how it pulled as he moved. She wished she could unbutton the shirt a little more, just for a peek. Feeling her gaze, his eyes flickered up to her, and her heart started to pound harder as their gaze locked.
Crap.
Quickly looking down at her open textbook she tried to pretend she hadn't just been ogling him or imagining him shirtless. What was wrong with her? She'd never fantasied over a teacher before, let alone undressing one with her eyes. Then again, she'd never seen a teacher as gorgeous as the man at the front of the class. The man could easily have been a model, why would he have chosen to be around students, especially high school students. Shrugging it off, she dared to look back at him and found him handing out a syllabus to the front row students before taking his place at the front of the room.
"Welcome everyone. I hope you all had a good holiday break." A chorus of agreement went up from the student body around her as she took one of the syllabi from the stack and handed the rest back. "Good. As some of you know I'm Carlisle Cullen. I'll be your history teacher for this semester. You can address me how you wish, whether it's Carlisle or Mr. Cullen, I'm not particular. Before we get started, does anyone have any questions?"
Several hands went up. Carlisle nodded to one of the boys near the front. "Is the Mercedies out in the parking lot really yours?"
He looked taken aback for a moment, but then a smile spread across his face, and it had her heart rate rising. He was simply stunning. With a nod of his head, the man gave a light chuckle.
"Yes, the Mercedies is mine." Moving on, he pointed to another student who had their hand up.
"Is it true that on sunny days you and your family go camping?" A girl's voice asked. Bella didn't bother to turn around; her focus was solely on the god of a man in front of her.
"Yes, it's something I will be addressing in the syllabus. There will be days I won't be here, but I have arranged for a sub to take over in my absence."
Several more questions were asked, but Bella mostly tuned them out, preferring to focus on the smooth, honeyed voice coming from the man in front of her. She didn't understand it, but something about him drew her in and she couldn't stop herself. His appearance, his presence, his voice, it all called to her in a way no one else had ever. She'd had crushes before, but this was different. It didn't feel like a crush, but she couldn't think of another word that fit what she felt.
As he moved on, going over the syllabus and agenda for the class this semester, she listened with avid interest. When their eyes locked on occasion, she'd feel a shock of electricity shoot down her spine, adding to the growing flame that was starting to burn in her lower abdomen. Once he had finished the syllabus, he moved onto roll call. Slowly he worked his way down the list until he hesitated a moment, then looked directly at her.
"Isabella Swan."
For a moment, she swore there was a hint of something in his eyes as he looked at her. Desire, longing, something she couldn't put her finger on, but she was certain she'd seen it. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat as they stared at each other, she corrected him. "Bella."
"Bella."
It took all her strength to not shudder at the sound of her name on his lips as he jotted down a note on the paper. Her name sounded amazing coming from him. Tearing her eyes away from him as he finished off roll call, she took a slow breath. It must just be her hormones acting up or something, maybe she was close to her cycle. She often got horny as it approached, yeah, that had to be it. The rest of the class, she kept her head down as much as possible, listening to his voice as he lectured until the bell rang.
Gathering her things, she headed to the front of the class, following the throng of students heading for the door. As she passed, Carlisle called out to her. "Miss Swan."
Turning, she watched him give her a friendly smile.
"Welcome to Forks."
"Oh, um, thanks." She ducked her head and quickly scurried out of the room.
Her next class was math, and thankfully it went uneventfully. It gave her time to finally calm down from her previous class and she was able to finally focus on the task at hand. Several students approached her this time, a boy named Mike Newton with a girl named Jessica Stanley and welcomed her to Forks and asked her about where she was from, if she was enjoying herself here, and so on and so forth. Bella wasn't one to enjoy a lot of attention, so it was a little unnerving having them question her like this, but she tolerated it knowing they were likely just being friendly.
They ended up walking with her to her next class, telling her all about their little gang of friends, and before she was allowed into the classroom, Jessica insisted that she join them for lunch when it came. Ready to be done with the conversation, though really Jessica had dominated it, she agreed a bit awkwardly and followed Mike into the classroom. She ended up sitting in front of Mike, which he seemed overly delighted about.
Her next class was gym, which went horribly. With how uncoordinated she was, it was a miracle she hadn't hurt anyone by the time the bell rang. She had, however, managed to trip twice, and get hit by the ball three times. Glad to be done with it, she headed to lunch.
Heading to the lunchroom, Jessica quickly found her and pulled her over to their table after she'd grabbed a small salad to eat. Here she was introduced to Angela Webber, Tyler Crowley, and Eric Yorkie. They all seemed nice, and for the most part left her alone as she picked at her food as she tuned out the chatter of the lunchroom. Several minutes passed, and suddenly Jessica gasped then squealed excitedly. Confused, I tuned back into the conversation.
"It's him. The hottie teacher everyone's talking about." Jessica fanned herself, staring adoringly off towards the other end of the lunchroom.
Following her gaze, I found him, his blonde hair standing out above the teens milling around the room. The pull from earlier returned in full force, the desire to be near him, to listen to his voice, see him smile, it all felt so overwhelming but not enough at the same time. Jessica continued to fawn over him as she watched him make his way across the room, and about halfway, his eyes turned to her, and she swore they locked directly onto hers. When their eyes locked, she saw him smile, his eyes sparkling slightly, before he turned away and walked out of the lunchroom.
Jessica sighed dramatically. "He's so hot, and I hear he's single. I'd totally go after him if it wasn't for his siblings."
Curious to learn more about the tall, blonde, adonis, Bella finally spoke. "What's wrong with his siblings?"
"They're creepy." Mike supplied as he chomped down on his sandwich.
Angela fiddled with her glasses. "The Cullens just moved here at the beginning of the school year. Mr. Cullen is fresh out of college and has 3 younger brothers and 2 younger sisters. From what the rumor mill has said, his mom is some sort of architect or designer or something, so they all have a lot of money and live outside of town. They are all very private and rarely interact with others."
"Not to mention his siblings are like, together. It's weird." Jessica added.
Narrowing my eyes I was confused. "If they're siblings, how are they together?"
Eric sat forward with a big grin on his face. "They aren't real siblings, supposedly their like, foster kids or something. So, none of them are actually related."
Nodding, I looked around the lunchroom wondering if any of them were there now. "Who are the siblings?"
The group went silent as the doors to the lunchroom opened and in walked a bear of a man with an outstandingly beautiful girl on his arm. Following them were a girl with a pixie cut and a guy that looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there and lastly a copper-haired boy came through following them to a table near the back of the lunchroom.
"Oh, the Cullen's have arrived." Tyler said with a chuckle.
Jessica turned to Bella. "So, the first two are Emmett and Rosalie, they're like a couple, the next two are Jasper and Alice. She's like, extremely weird and he doesn't talk much. And lastly there's Edward. But don't waste your time on him, supposedly he's dating someone, but I've never seen him with a girl." Jessica turned back to her plate with a huff and mumbled. "Not that I care."
Bella glanced over at them all and noticed something strange. They all seemed unnaturally pale. Maybe it was just the lighting, but even she had a darker complexion than they seemed to have. Another thing she noticed; they all had the same eye color. Could it be that they were adopted because of their appearances, maybe it was some disease that they all shared.
After lunch, she headed to biology. Most of the seats were already taken so she started towards the only open one she saw. Surprisingly, it was next to Edward. As she approached, he stiffened suddenly, clasping a hand over his mouth and nose, his black eyes staring at her intensely. Hadn't his eyes been lighter at lunch? Sitting slowly, she turned away to discreetly sniff herself, did she smell? All through class, Edward didn't say a word to her, but he sure stared at her. It was a little uncomfortable, but she tried her best to just ignore him. A second before the bell rang, he grabbed his textbook and backpack, then bolted for the door.
She tried not to let his strange behavior get to her as she moved to her last class. Heading home, she walked into the empty house. Charlie wouldn't be back for a few hours, so she headed to her room to work on homework for a while. A few hours later, she went downstairs and made dinner, finishing up just as Charlie's cruiser pulled up in front of the house.
They ate in relative silence.
It was something she liked about Charlie, he wasn't one to hover or badger her for information. Sure, he cared about her and would check in and make sure she was alright, but he wouldn't push her to talk if she wasn't up to it. Once dinner was finished, Charlie offered to help with the dishes, but Bella declined and started to clean up. Charlie grabbed another beer from the fridge and headed into the living room to watch tv. It only took her a few minutes to finish cleaning up, having done most of them while she cooked to save on time, and headed back to her room.
Renee called and they spent a good hour chatting about her first day. Her mom, of course, asked if there are any cute boys she's interested in. Biting her lip, she remembered her history teacher, but lied to her mom saying there wasn't anyone yet. Catching her hesitance, Renee pushed a little trying to get her to spill the details, but Bella reassured her that there was no one. When the topic of boys ran out, they moved onto her classes, then how she was enjoying the town. They topped the conversation off by talking about Renee and Phil, and how they were liking the move to Jacksonville.
It tugged a little at Bella's heart as she knew her mother missed her, having wanted her to come with them to Jacksonville, but with her mom and Phil being newly married, Bella had wanted them to spend some time alone. Her mom regaled her of all their adventures that came up in the process of moving from Phoenix to Jacksonville. Most of it was mundane moving drama, but it was fun to listen to her mother embellish things now and then.
When they finally ran out of things to talk about, they said their goodbyes and Bella climbed into bed for the night. Her dreams were of a strong arms wrapping around her, disheveled blonde hair and a silky-smooth voice in her ear.
The next day started similarly, she made herself and Charlie some breakfast then headed to school. Throwing The Beast into park she was collecting her bag when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. Turning, she found Carlisle heading towards her with a little wave and that award-winning smile.
"Miss Swan, can I speak to you for a moment?" He glanced around, as if to make sure they weren't overheard. It made her wonder if she was in trouble already. What could she have done; it was only the second day of school.
"Um, sure. Am I in trouble?" She asked cautiously.
Carlisle looked perplexed for a moment then chuckled. "Oh, no, no. Nothing like that."
Letting out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, she nodded. "Oh, ok. What's up?"
He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, looking increasingly nervous about whatever it was that he wanted to talk to her about. "I wanted to apologize for my brother's behavior in biology class. I was told he was quiet, rude, and I hope you won't hold it against him. He's really a nice guy."
Bella stared at him in amazement for a few moments before her brain clicked into gear. "Oh, no, it's fine."
Carlisle seemed to relax visibly, smiling wider showing off those pearly white teeth. "Thank you for being so, gracious. I've scolded him so he should be better behaved next time."
She laughed. "Must be hard to have an older brother that's a teacher at your school. Can't get away with anything then."
The blonde chuckled, adjusting the strap of his messenger bag. "I suppose not. Not much happens without me hearing about it. I'm sure they will all grow to hate that."
They shared a laugh at that. It was strange, she could feel herself being drawn to him, wanting to close the distance between them. It wasn't even a want; it felt like a need. As they stood there regarding each other, she could feel a longing slowly filling her up, pulling her. What was it about this man that drew her in so desperately? As she gazed into his eyes, she could have sworn she saw the same longing she was feeling.
Blinking, Carlisle looked away, clearing his throat. "I need to get inside. Thank you for your time, Miss Swan."
"Bella is just fine."
He gave a nod. "Bella then." Carlisle strode past her, and she got a hint of his cologne and nearly moaned at the delectable scent of spice with a tint of something she couldn't name but it suited him.
He smelled divine.
From across the lot, someone yelled her name, snapping her out of her haze. Waving to Mike and the guys, she headed inside, following that lingering scent until she was sat in his class. She sat closer to the front this time, hoping to catch another whiff of him, and she was not disappointed when he came to stand next to her, his fingers touching the edge of her desk. He wore fitted jeans today, that he filled out perfectly, and another button up. Today though, he had his sleeves rolled up, and it was definitely a good look on him.
Jessica caught up with her after class and talked her ear off about some dance that was coming up, but Bella was still buzzing from her encounter that morning with Carlisle to pay to much attention to the girl. Her lack of enthusiasm didn't go unnoticed unfortunately.
"Come on Bella, you have to come. We're all going to dinner then to the dance. It'll be fun." Jessica pouted at her as Mike laughed.
"Yeah, come on, Bella."
"I'm not one for dances, I'm clumsy enough as it is without adding high heels." She protested.
Jessica wasn't one to relent apparently. "You can always wear flats, then you can come."
"I'll think about it."
This seemed to placate them as they headed into their math class. Her next two class periods went by quickly and when lunch came, Jessica pulled her to their table again, the topic of conversation was solely on the upcoming dance. The Cullen's arrive, all but Edward and she wondered if he was skipping today. Her theory proved right when she walked into biology, and he wasn't there. He wasn't there the next day either and she was beginning to wonder if he swapped classes or something.
Wednesday came and as she entered biology, her eyes locked onto Edward, sitting there like nothing had happened. His eyes had changed color, where before they had been black, they were now a bright golden color. Now they reminded her of Carlisle's eyes, not that she'd spent the last few days daydreaming of the man's gaze. He met her gaze and stared at her as she made her way to her seat. For a moment, neither said anything, but he kept staring at her. Just as she was about to turn on him and demand to know what his problem was, he spoke.
"Hi."
Caught of guard, she nodded. "Hi."
She watched him swallow hard; he looked like he was struggling for some reason. "I'm Edward."
"Bella."
More staring at each other as the other kids found their seats. Edward continued. "I wanted to formally apologize for the other day, I was rude, I hope we can start over."
Nodding, she pulled her textbook out. "Sure, I guess."
The tension between them seemed to ease a little bit as Edward's posture relaxed slightly. "Are you liking the weather?"
She huffed a little. "Not exactly. I'm used to warm sunny weather; this has been an adjustment for me."
"Why come here then?"
"My mom got married and moved." She shrugged her shoulders. "I figured they could use the time alone."
There was a small smile on Edward's face, it gave him a boyish look to his face, it was cute. "Wow, that was nice of you. Do you like the guy?"
Nodding, she flipped her book to today's lesson. "Yeah, Phil's really nice, and they seem really happy together. I might move back for college, but I haven't decided yet."
Class started and they began working on the days lab assignments together. The questions didn't stop though. Edward seemed determined to learn as much about her as possible in as short a period as possible. Normally she'd find it off putting, but for some reason she found she liked his company. The more he relaxed the more she realized Carlisle was right, he was a nice guy after all.
They separated for their last class, giving her a break from the questions, but it gave her time to think of a few of her own that she wanted to ask him. Why were he and his siblings so pale, what was up with the eye color and them changing color, and where had he gone for the last few days?
Edward found her after school was over and fell in line next to her as they walked out to the parking lot. "Can I ask you something?" She inquired.
Edward grinned. "Technically you just did, but yes."
Bella resisted rolling her eyes. "Why are you so pale?"
"Look whose talking." He smiled at her teasingly.
"I'm being serious Edward. You and your siblings, you're really pale, and you all have the same eye color. If you're not related, then what is it?"
He moved in front of her, walking backwards as they headed to her truck. He lifted a finger to his smiling lips. "It's a secret."
Frowning, she paused at her truck. "If you're worried, I'll tell people what the disease is, I won't. I swear."
Shaking his head, Edward's smile grew. "Sorry, but no go. If you want to know you'll have to figure it out on your own." He turned and headed to where his siblings were waiting by a Volvo and a Porche for him.
She watched as they all climbed into their vehicles and drove off. Shaking her head, she tried to open her door but couldn't seem to get it opened. It tended to stick but normally she could manhandle it into working. Apparently, today was not going to be one of those days. Bella tried her hardest to wrench the door open, but it wouldn't budge. Moving on she tried to kick it, hoping to jostle it open, but almost ended up flat on her back. Over and over, she tried anything she could think of, but nothing worked.
Frustrated, she felt tears starting to fill her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Looking around, she hopped she could find someone that was still there to help her, but the lot was empty save for a few cars scattered around that likely belonged to the teachers. With a defeated sigh, she leaned her back against the door pulling out her phone.
Who should she call?
Charlie would be at work and even though she knew he wouldn't mind; she didn't want to ask him to ditch out on his job for her. Being only her fourth day at school she hadn't gotten anyone's phone number from school so she couldn't call a friend. That left her with only one option and that was to walk home. Stuffing her hands into her pockets she groaned in frustration. It was cold, there was a light misting happening, and she just wanted to get home.
"Bella?"
Jumping, Bella's gaze sought out the only other occupant of the parking lot. Carlisle.
Part of her soared at getting to see him again, but the other part was embarrassed at the situation. Flushing, she took a moment to tuck her hair behind her ear. "Hi, Mr. Cullen."
"What are you still doing here?" He asked, looking concerned.
Gesturing to her truck she sighed. "The door is jammed, and I can't get it open."
He gave a thoughtful nod, looking over the door. "Mind if I give it a try?"
Moving out of the way, she gestured for him to have at. She watched as he gave it an experimental tug, then a harder one. He hummed as he inspected the door, she suspected looking for anything that might be jammed in there. After a few more tries, he turned to her.
"Yep, its stuck." He gave her a charming smile. "What about the other door?"
"Same issue. Charlie, uh, my dad meant to take it to get it fixed but just forgot about it."
"Hm." The man ran a hand through his golden locks and for a moment she was mesmerized. Oh, how she wished she could run her hands through his hair. "Well, I can't in good conscience leave you here, especially with how cold it is today. If it's not to awkward, I can give you a ride home."
Whatever strange pull the man had on her said 'hell yes,' to the ride, but her father was a cop, and she'd had plenty of stranger danger lectures from him. Nibbling her lip, she tried to find an excuse as to why she shouldn't go with him.
"What about my truck?"
"I know a good mechanic that can tow it and fix it for you and have it ready by tomorrow. Free of charge, they owe me a favor." Sensing her discomfort, Carlisle continued. "You can text your father if you want, let him know I'm taking you home, in case your worried."
Nodding, she fired off a text to Charlie to let him know what happened and that Carlisle, well Mr. Cullen, was giving her a ride home. He responded stating he expected a text when she was home, just to be safe. Stuffing her phone back into her pocket, Carlisle led her over to his black Mercedies and opened the door for her. Surprised, she carefully climbed in, setting her backpack at her feet. He rounded the car and got in, starting up the engine and turning on the heat for her.
The car was nice. She'd never been in anything his fancy before. It even had heated seats which she loved and found herself trying to snuggle back into the seat as it warmed her. She watched as he angled the car out of the parking lot, following her instructions to her house. It was a very smooth ride too, much nicer than her truck. In the small confines of the car, she could smell the same spiced cologne he wore, and it was making her a little lightheaded. Knowing she was so close to him, and his scent driving her wild, it was making it hard not to squirm in her seat.
Trying to distract herself, she glanced over at him. "So, who's your mechanic friend? Is he any good?"
His lips quirked up. "She, and she's very good. She maintains my car and my siblings' cars. I'm not sure if you've met Rosalie, but she's very handy to have around when you have car troubles."
"I haven't met her personally, but I've seen her."
"Once I drop you off, I'll give her your address so she can drop your truck off once she's done with it. If that's ok?"
Nodding, she turned to look out the window. Having only seen Rosalie once, she was surprised to hear that was his mechanic. The girl looked more like she'd be on a runway than in a garage under a car. Guess you really couldn't judge a book by its cover. Watching the scenery go by, she wondered what Carlisle liked to do in his spare time. Fiddling with her fingers, she tried to will herself to ask but was nervous that he'd think she was overstepping their student teacher boundary.
"Are you warm enough?"
She jumped, turning towards him. "Um, yes, I'm fine, thank you."
He gave a nod, and they fell into silence. There were so many things she wanted to ask him, but in the enclosed space of the car, that wonderful scent surrounded her, and it was distracting her. What prompted her to speak, she had no idea, but out of her mouth came the words. "You smell nice."
Blinking in shock that she'd just said that. Her mouth dropped open as she fumbled mentally on how to apologize to him, but before she could he chuckled. "Thank you, it was a gift from my sister Alice."
Nodding, she kept her jaw clenched so she couldn't spout out anything else embarrassing the rest of the way to her house. When they arrived, he pulled over, and she quickly opened the door tossing a thank you over her shoulder before she shut the door and practically ran inside. Her face was on fire. Berating herself for being so stupid for having opened her mouth, she moved into the kitchen, dropping her bag onto the little table there. She watched from the window as Carlisle's car pulled away and disappeared down the road. Texting her father to let him know she was safe; she headed to her bedroom trying to ignore the lingering scent of his cologne.
As promised, the next morning her truck was parked out front and when she went to open the door, it swung smoothly. Making a mental note to thank him, and Rosalie, she headed to school. When she arrived, Edward was already in the parking lot and moseyed over to her.
"Give me your phone." Edward held out his hand expectantly.
Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head. "Why would I do that?"
"So, I can put my number into it. Then if you get stranded again, you have someone that can come help." He smiled warmly at her.
Hesitating a moment, she wondered if she should trust him. After all, she'd only known him for a day, but it would be nice to have someone she could reach out to if something happened again. She'd trusted Carlisle, though that was a little different thanks to the weird pull she felt to the man. Biting the inside of her cheek, she held out her phone to him, Carlisle said Edward was a good guy, and she trusted his judgement, for whatever reason.
Once he was done, Edward led her inside, following her to her locker. "You're not off the hook, you know?"
Edward smiled down at her. "Is this about my appearance again? I told you yesterday, I can't tell you."
"Why?" She shut her locker a little harder than intended. "What kind of disease would need to be kept secret? Do you burst into flames if you tell someone?"
He laughed. "Not exactly."
"Then why can't you tell me?"
His lips pressed into a thin line as he regarded her as they headed towards her classroom. "Are you friends with any of the Quileute's?"
Confused, she nodded. "Yeah, so?"
"Ask them about us."
"Edward." A sharp voice broke through the air making them both turn to see Carlisle standing in the doorway to her classroom. "Go to class."
Edward gave her a little wink before turning and headed off leaving her under Carlisle's scrutiny. He said nothing to her but motioned her inside the room, so she quickly scurried past and took her seat. The day passed slowly, her mind wondering what the Quileute's had to do with the Cullen family illness but resolved to ask Jacob anyway. Edward caught up with her for biology class and they chatted more, and she learned that he liked playing the piano and classical music. They talked a great deal about their favorite songs, favorite composers and so on.
At the end of the day, she made a point to walk past Carlisle's room to thank him, and once everyone had filed out of the room, she stepped inside. "Mr. Cullen?"
He turned and smiled at her. "Bella, what do I owe the pleasure?"
She felt her heart rate pick up, and a blush crept into her cheeks. "Um. I wanted to thank you, for last night."
Carlisle tucked his thumbs into his pockets as he gave a nod. "You're welcome. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"Why would you think that?" Her head tilted to the side a little.
He raised an eyebrow. "You practically jumped out of my car and ran inside. I assumed I'd done something to make you uncomfortable."
Her blush deepened as she ducked her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. "No, it wasn't anything you did. I'm…I'm not great at asking for help. So, I felt guilty having you drive me home. I'd also like to pay you back for the work Rosalie did on the truck."
"No."
Blinking, she stared at him for a beat. "No?"
Carlisle nodded. "I'm not letting you pay me back for the truck. I told you; Rosalie owed me. Plus, it wasn't a big deal, she likes working on vehicles, especially old ones."
"But…"
He held up a hand, his expression turning stern. "Bella, this isn't up for debate. I was happy to help you out. So please, put it out of your mind."
Relenting, her shoulders slumped in defeat. "There's really nothing I can do to repay you?"
His hand lowered and slipped into his pocket as his smile returned. "Keep being a good student. It's nice having someone that clearly pays attention in my class."
"Easy enough." She returned his smile. "You make it more fun than other teachers, the details you give, sometimes it feels like you were really there."
Amusement flickered across his eyes. "I've done my research."
They both said their goodbye's and 'have a good weekend' and she headed home. Saturday and Sunday were slow days, Charlie went out fishing with Billy and Harry, so she had the house to herself. Having finished her homework Friday night, she spent the majority of her Saturday engrossed in one of her favorite books. Sure, she'd read it before, several times, but it had been a while, and she felt like revisiting her collection.
Sunday, she spent mostly cleaning, and when Charlie got home, they chatted a bit while she cooked up the fish he'd brought home. He'd inquired as to what she'd done all weekend and seemed a little put out when she told him. Later he explained she should be out making friends, enjoying her teens and all that, but she was still fairly new to Forks and wasn't sure she'd count anyone she knew as a friend, other than Jacob. Promising him she'd make a trip out next weekend to see Jacob, her father let it go as he went to watch some sports game, and she retired to her room.