Hi, everyone! This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction; well, at writing anything really. I am a little nervous, but generally excited. I hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.

Bella

I woke to the seemingly ever-present sound of rain as it violently pelted against my windows. I let out a muffled groan, my face still buried in my soft pillow. More rain. I never even attempted to check the weather forecast anymore—the rain was just an inevitable occurrence in my now home-town of Forks, Washington. I moved back here eight weeks ago after my mother decided to get remarried. She and her new husband, Phil were always on the road due to his profession. He was a semi-professional baseball player and ten years my mother's junior. But they loved each other, and at the end of the day, if she was happy, then I was, too. So I packed up to give them their space and decided it would be good to spend some time with Charlie before heading off to college.

My dad picked me up at the airport after my flight from Phoenix. I was a little anxious, as I hadn't seen him in over a year. We would call every few weeks to let each other know of any changes that had occurred in our mostly-predictable lives, a tradition left unbroken from the time my mother had moved us to Arizona when I was five.

It had been a silent drive back, as neither one of us ever felt the need to fill it with inane chatter. It didn't feel awkward, either; in fact, it was a welcome change from Renee's constant exuberance.

When we had pulled into the driveway in the dreaded cruiser, I automatically noticed that nothing had changed. From the outside, it was still the same house I had spent my first few years and random summers in until I was fourteen. I remember practically begging Renee to ask Charlie to visit us or go somewhere completely neutral on our yearly visits. It wasn't that I really disliked Forks—it was undeniably beautiful with the never-ending greenery and vast forests surrounding the town. I just found it boring sometimes.

Forks was peaceful—on the odd chance of good weather, we would go down to La Push Beach, which was located not far from the reservation. I'd been to the reservation numerous times in the past, as it housed Charlie's good friend Billy Black, and his son Jacob—who I spent a lot of time with during my younger teenage years—but hadn't seen once since I had been back in town.

Billy was a little older than Dad, but younger in spirit. He had that twinkle in his eye and was always cracking jokes; his presence was not unwelcome. They would come back from fishing trips and I would cook their recent catch for them while they sat and watched sports on the wide-screen television Charlie had recently purchased.

Fishing had been their favorite hobby since I was a kid. I'd cooked more fish these past few weeks than I had my entire seventeen years. I mean, who didn't appreciate good seafood? But fuck me, if I didn't see another pollock—or whatever the hell it was—for another ten years, it would be too soon.

Charlie was Chief of Police here in Forks, which meant that we hardly got to see much of each other during the week. He always left a note for me every morning before he left for work, though, and I would always have an evening meal ready for him when he returned.

I would start my first day at Forks High School tomorrow, something that I most definitely was not looking forward to. I did, however, have the advantage of at least knowing a few of the students there, which hopefully would make the new-girl status a little bit more bearable.

I'd spent the last eight weeks of summer in the company of my neighbours. Well, most of my waking minutes, in fact. Alice Cullen was by far the main reason for this.

Three hours after I'd arrived back in Forks—I'd just finished unpacking my minimal possessions—a small girl had let herself in through the front door, gave Charlie a bright smile, and introduced herself to me as new neighbour and soon-to-be best friend. I was completely tongue-tied and quickly took my loss of speech to look her over.

She was about five feet, spiky, black hair—blue, mischievous eyes—and a cute laugh. She was really pretty, too, with her expensive-looking clothing and friendly face. I couldn't help but smile in return, and finally managed to give my ever-present timid greeting of, hi back. And well, the rest was history.

Soon after, she'd practically dragged me next door to her house to introduce me to her small circle. As soon as I'd stepped through the door, four pairs of eyes zeroed in on me. I, of course, tripped over my own feet, but for once wasn't too mortified, as it broke the awkward silence and tension that had been present moments before.

The first to introduce himself was Jasper. He'd been dating Alice for a little over two years. They were so attentive to each other. It always made me feel slightly envious that I didn't have that to share with anyone, but more than anything, it always brought a smile to my face. Jasper was tall, with a medium build, blond, wavy hair and silvery-gray eyes. His smile was calming and infectious.

Emmett—Alice's bear of a brother—had been next. Seriously, he had muscles in places I didn't know existed. He had dark brown—almost black—short, curly hair; his eyes were the shade of dark honey. When he smiled, his resulting dimples were quite possibly the most adorable—and somewhat sexiest—things I had ever seen. Which then brought me to his girlfriend of three years, and sister to Jasper, Rosalie Hale. Long blonde locks, blue eyes, plump, pink lips and a perfect figure. She had the appearance of an angel and the mouth of a trucker—intimidating didn't even cover it.

I'd learned quite a lot about my new friends in the two months since I'd met them. Jasper and Rose were twins. They were always bickering with one another, but it didn't fool me. They were deadly loyal, and if you messed with either one, the other would take you down. Emmett was the typical playful, protective brother. If I had ever been blessed with a brother, I would have liked him to have been something like Emmett. Alice was always enthusiastic and didn't take no for an answer. Her famous bottom-lipped pout and puppy dog eyes never seemed to fail. Oh, and that girl loved to shop. Seriously, when she walked into a store, the sales assistants either immediately ran to help her or turned in the opposite direction and hid for the remainder of her purchasing. But most importantly, she had turned into a great friend.

It was strange how quickly I had made friends here. Back in Phoenix, my mother was always my closet confidante. Here, I instantly found myself comfortable with all of them, especially Alice. They all made me feel welcome, for which I appreciated more than they knew.

There was a third member of the family that I had yet to actually meet. Alice's twin, Edward. He was described as a brooder who always got what he wanted. I'd only ever seen a few pictures in passing, not enough to pick out any detail of him apart from the unusual bronze shade of his hair.

While getting tortured by Alice with the latest beauty products, I would hear quick footsteps leading to the third floor of the house. I knew it must have been him, as there were only two rooms up there: his and a guest room. I very much doubted anyone would dare go into his room without his knowledge, as he was supposedly a very private person.

Sometimes I would wake in the night from the sound of a car engine or flashing headlights coming down the Cullens' driveway. One of the two windows in my bedroom faced in that direction, so it was impossible to miss.

As I still hadn't got accustomed to the sound of the rain beating against the house, I'd become a restless sleeper; hence even the slightest disturbance waking me. I wasn't sure if it could have been Edward; after all, Carlisle was a doctor and would be on call a lot of the time. To say that I hadn't become anxious and slightly nervous to meet him would be a lie. I was very rarely curious, but as I was involved with the family, it was kind of hard not to want to ask questions.

The beeping of my phone from somewhere nearby broke me from my thoughts. I fumbled blindly along my bedside table, effectively knocking over my lamp in the process. The thud it made on impact with my floor made me hope it hadn't broken. I opened my sore eyes and glanced at my digital clock: 8:02 a.m. I knew one of only two people who would ring me this early on a Sunday morning. I looked at the name of the caller flashing across my screen. Of course.

"Alice, I assume you own a clock or a guide of some sort that advises not to wake people on a Sunday until at least 11 a.m.?" I asked. I was already awake, but she didn't need to know that. I really should look into this guide business, there must be one out there somewhere.

"Quit your whining Bella. Get up and be over here in an hour. We have a busy day ahead of us and I want to start early."

Perhaps I was becoming a little grouchy, but lack of sleep would do that to you.

"Why? Where are we going?" I queried. I had a damn good idea where we would be going, but for some sick reason, I needed verbal verification.

"Don't play dumb with me, Bella Swan. We both know what I'm talking about." I swear if I didn't know any better, I'd say the girl was psychic.

"Come on, Alice, what else could we possibly need? We spent six and a half hours yesterday getting my shit for school." My feet were still a painful reminder of that outing.

"Well, you'll need new accessories to match your uniform, like headbands, socks and things—totally forgot about those yesterday. Plus, when we get back, I need to make a few alterations to your uniform." Oh. My. God.

"What do you mean alterations?" I was thinking it was going to involve scissors.

"I'm going to have to cut at least five inches off you skirt, silly. Why they make them so long, I don't know. It's not as if anyone actually wears them knee length anyway. So, don't worry about it."

Fuck, no. I'd seen the length of their skirts, and I sure as hell was not going to have my rear-end paraded around for all the pervs at school to ogle at.

"No, no, no, no and no." Yeah, I'm a real Jane Austen.

"Now, don't be so difficult, Bella." There was a brief pause. "What about a compromise then, say… four inches?"

Nice try, pixie but still a no-go.

All was quiet, so I sighed in defeat, knowing I was going to have to agree on something for this conversation to ever end. "Three inches is the most I'm willing to consider. Take it or leave it." I could hear Rose mumbling in the background, something that sounded like stubborn bitches. I snorted—typical Rose response.

Alice's exasperated sigh filled my ear before she agreed. "Fine, three inches. Now get up." And with that, she hung up the phone.

I grudgingly got out of bed, snatching a clean towel from the closet on my way to the bathroom. My bedroom was my sanctuary of sorts. It consisted of a double bed—next to the window that looked out towards the Cullen's property; there window seat there made it a favourite place of mine to sit while reading. Light blue paint graced my walls, and deep purple curtains—that matched my duvet cover—framed my windows. Bookcases took up the wall opposite my bed, filled with books and music that I had collected over the years. The rocking chair my mother used when nursing me as a baby still sat in the corner. A wooden desk, chair and bedside table completed the furniture.

I turned on the shower, letting the water heat while I stripped off my pajamas. I stepped under the spray, my sore muscles relaxing instantly under the heat, and proceeded to wash my hair in my favourite shampoo. Once washed, I dressed in a pair of dark wash jeans, white camisole and a blue wool cardigan, my ever-faithful chucks laced on my feet. I knew Alice particularly hated the fact that I always insisted on wearing these, or something similar, but I just didn't work well in heels.

I left my room and started for the stairs. My house was a good size, plainly decorated: no extravagant pieces of art lined the walls and the furniture wasn't grandeur or particularly expensive. It was comfortable and homely. It only really needed a new lick of paint, as again the décor hadn't changed since my mother's departure. Charlie had surprisingly managed to keep it relatively clean over the years. That, or he'd hired a housekeeper to give it a good once-over before my arrival. Either way, I was thankful I hadn't had to do it.

Once in the kitchen, I rummaged through the cupboards in search of my usual breakfast—the ever-convenient granola bar along with orange juice from the refrigerator. Charlie's note was stuck to the fridge using one of the many magnets that adorned the appliance. It had the usual scribbling of what time he should be home, and the always, 'keep safe' at the end. Also, the station's number was attached to the side of the telephone in case I needed to contact him. This number was also stored on my mobile, and on the note-board in my room. He took safety measures very seriously.

Most of the houses on this street were pretty pricey. They all had well-kept gardens and expensive-looking cars in their driveways. But none of these compared to the Cullens'. It really was exquisite. The exterior was a stark white, and the entire back wall of the house—that overlooked their back garden and small lake at the edge of the property—was floor-to-ceiling glass. I felt sorry for whoever was hired to clean those windows. I hope they were payed well.

The interior mostly consisted of neutral tones on the walls, and each room that I had entered was lavished with beautiful furnishings. A huge, winding staircase dominated the foyer and there were doors and floors leading off in all different directions throughout the house. Esme truly had a gift when it came to home décor, which made her design business extremely successful.

My ultimate favourite room in the house was without doubt the music room, with the beautiful grand piano on its highly polished raised block. The glass back-wall filtered the light through, sheathing everything in a warm glow. It reflected the gold tints in the paint, making everything seem so tranquil and somewhat magical, that I was always reluctant to leave. When Alice and Emmett wanted "quiet time" with their respective others, I'd go and sit alone in there to read, or just quietly bask in the comfort the room evoked. The piano itself, however, was strictly off limits. I was told it was Edward's baby, and if it in any way got damaged then shit would most definitely hit the proverbial fan.

I placed my glass in the dishwasher, unhooked my keys off their peg and slipped on my coat ready to face the downpour outside. I quickly locked the door behind me and started to make my way next door down the long, twisting driveway. Alice insisted I let myself in through the front door to which I always refused. I wasn't comfortable waking in as if I owned the place; so I told her I'd just use the side entrance that led into the kitchen. She even once offered to give me a key, saying it would only be fair to the return the gesture as she had a key to my house. I seriously hoped she was joking; although, that would explain how she entered without me ever hearing her.

I was just rounding one of the corners of the extensive driveway, lost in my thoughts as usual, when a silver car screeched to a stop inches in front of me. Holy-fucking-shit. I stood there, eyes wide, trying to control my erratic breathing. My hood must have fallen, as I could feel the sharp sting of the icy rain striking my face. I didn't know what to do. Faint? Vomit? Cry? Try to move my limbs and go and scream obscenities at the driver; start listing off all the Johnny Depp films I had ever seen?

Yeah, I was pretty much about to lose my shit.

I noticed the driver's side door opening which snapped me out of my shock-induced freak out. Then again, maybe not.

I felt my eyes bulge once again. He was tall, lean and dressed in all black. His t-shirt was sculpted to his obviously well-defined chest and torso. I nervously lifted my gaze to see a perfect jaw and prominent cheekbones all covered in familiar pale skin.

Then I heightened my gaze some more, and was met with the most piercing green eyes I had ever seen. It was almost as if they were searing straight through me, leaving a hot trail in their wake. It was then that I noticed the messy bronze hair. It looked like he'd either been running his hands through it constantly all morning, or he'd had one hell of a fucking session. From what I'd been told by the others, I decided sex hair it was.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, momentarily breaking eye contact, before quickly glancing back up through my lashes to meet his stare once more. OK, when had he gotten right in front of me? I took another deep breath to calm myself; so this was Edward Cullen.

"You know, you should really look where the fuck you're going," he seethed. OK, asshole was definitely more fitting.

"What the hell? You do realize that you were the one driving and nearly hit me, right? Did you hit your head? Are you confused?" I waved my hand in front of his face as if to try and prove my statement.

He grabbed my wrist, not roughly, but forceful enough to stop my movements. I felt a shiver ripple through me, most likely due to the fact I was getting drenched out here.

I tried to move my arm but his grip didn't falter. I noticed his gaze had lowered to where we were joined, a look of confusion crossing his face. I had hardened my stare by now—he was really starting to piss me off.

"Do you think you can drop my arm now? I kind of just want to get inside, you know, out of this whole rain business?" I raised my right eyebrow, something I always did when irritated.

I felt my arm fall to my side and noticed his jaw was clenched tight. "Next time you decide to try and stop traffic, do it on someone else's fucking driveway," he stated. Seriously, could we say attitude problem?

I crossed my cold arms over my chest. "Yeah, I'll try and remember that for next time. Thanks for the advice, Yoda." Okay, that one angered him further. His eyes flashed, the green growing darker in shade. I thought he was going to speak again but he just stood there, eyeing me for a second longer before turning, muttering bitch under his breath as he got back into his car.

"Yeah, I heard that asshole!" He just flipped me off in return. I lingered in front of his car for another few seconds in retaliation. He beeped his horn in frustration which made me smile. I didn't ever act like this to complete strangers—hell not to anyone in fact—but he didn't even seem concerned about the whole nearly-running-me-down-in-his-car affair.

He didn't ask me if I was hurt, nothing. No, what I got was the f-bomb and a wrist-grab. I eventually decided to move after a few more seconds to which he just sped off to wherever he was originally headed.

I ran the remaining distance to the side entrance, proud and somewhat surprised that I hadn't slipped and fallen. I pushed down the handle, hung my coat on the hook by the door and entered the kitchen.

Carlisle was at the table reading the paper, taking sips from his mug. The smell of coffee filtered through the air, assaulting my senses. I didn't drink it myself, but I loved the smell.

He noticed my arrival and gave me a heart-stopping smile. God, if he wasn't my friends' father, and was ten years younger, I would be a constant pile of jelly around this man.

Apart from the fact that he was insanely good looking, with his blond hair, blue eyes, and extremely pert ass, he was an incredible doctor. And from what I could tell, a very caring father.

I had gotten to know the Doc quite well, what with my frequent trips to the hospital, and the fact that I was constantly in the company of his daughter. The first time I met him was after an unfortunate accident with the stairs. I was walking down from the second floor of their home only to stumble over my own feet. I was bracing myself for an imminent hospital visit from the fall, but thankfully, I fell into a pair of strong arms. I had looked up and nearly choked on the saliva that was pooling in my mouth. He had the kindest face, an amused expression playing on his lips. I swear, it was quite possible I had drooled like a St. Bernard.

Thankfully, Alice had been with me to make introductions as I didn't think I was able to speak. Also, I'm pretty sure if she wasn't there distracting me, I would have been openly eye-fucking her father on the stairs in her home. The word awkward would have been the understatement of the century.

A throat clearing caught my attention. My face broke out into its usual blush as I realized I'd just been standing there staring at him, mouth most probably agape.

"How are you this morning, Bella?"

"Um... fine, thank you, Dr. Cullen. How are you?" God, kill me now, he was giving me that panty-dropping smile.

"Bella, remember, I've told you before to call me Carlisle. And I'm great, thank you. Just enjoying my day off, hoping to have a relaxing Sunday."

If I was Esme, he would be doing anything but relaxing. I mentally face palmed myself. I had to get out of dodge, like now.

"Well enjoy the rest of your day… um, I better go on up to Alice before she comes looking for me." I gave him a quick wave and scooted myself out of the kitchen as fast as possible without making it look too obvious. His own response for me to do the same reached me just as I had made contact with the first step of the stairs. I took a steadying breath and made my ascent towards the second floor.

Alice's door was already open. She was sitting crossed-legged on her bed with Rose sprawled out next to her skimming through a magazine, pointing out random things to Alice on each page. Her room consisted of a colossal bed in the center, completely dominated by throw pillows of all different shapes and sizes. All the other furniture in the room was constructed of glass, tying in with the back wall. The two walls on either side of her bed were white, leaving the main focus wall in blood-red. Her walk-in closet was too horrific for me to even think about. It was a maze in there. I got stuck in there once, resulting in nightmares about sequins and leather for a week.

"Hey, I'm here shopping Nazi." Her head snapped up from the magazine, her smile slowly slipping into a pout.

"What the hell, Bella? You're dripping all over my carpet." She got up from the bed, made her way to the land of nightmares and grabbed me a towel.

I gave her an apologetic look. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I forgot to put my hood up or something. I didn't realize it was raining so hard out." Rose snorted from her place on the bed. I looked back to Alice. She was staring at me, head cocked to the side, obviously searching for something. I didn't blame her; I wouldn't have believed my story either. I don't know why I didn't tell them about my encounter with Edward—I couldn't really explain it. I suppose I just didn't want to make a big deal about it... or have to explain to Alice that her brother, was in fact, a dick.

I ran the towel through my hair once more before a pile of clothes were shoved in my arms.

"Go change in the bathroom. You can't keep those clothes on, you'll get sick."

I looked at the heap before me. "Um, Alice, you're smaller than me, I doubt these are going to fit."

She rolled her eyes. "Silly, Bella. They're your size. I picked out some things for you a few weeks back in case of emergencies. Although, I didn't expect to have to use them due to the fact that you supposedly forgot to put your hood up." That same look came across her features again so I quickly diverted my eyes and went into her adjoining bathroom to rid myself of my damp clothing.

I had found a hair tie in my jeans pocket, so I quickly braided my hair to keep the wet strands from sticking to my skin. Once ready, I made my way out and turned to close the door. Before I could fully shut it, I felt a huge pair of hands grab me by the waist and flip me over their shoulder with my denim clad ass riding high in the air. I felt and heard the rumble from a hearty laugh run through me—I knew that sound.

"Put me down, Rambo, I feel sick." I then felt a hand slap my ass cheek, hard. I let out a scream—that fucking hurt.

"I swear to god, Emmett Cullen, if you don't put her down, I will break you." Thank you, Rosalie.

"Oh, come on, babe, it's just a game. Isn't that right my sweet, virginal Bella?" Ugh, I hated when he called me that. Emmett had unfortunately overheard a conversation with Alice and Rosalie about my experience, so now I have affectionately been dubbed his 'svb'. I know he's only teasing, and would never tell anyone outside present company, so I usually give him either a thump on the arm or an eye roll.

"God, Em, I swear you just bruised me." His body sighed in response.

"I didn't slap your ass, Bella." If I didn't know any better, I'd say he almost sounded disappointed.

"No, that would be me who inflicted that delight. I couldn't help myself, it just looked so perky." I turned my head to see Jasper giving me that damn goofy smile of his. I noticed Alice slyly approach him from behind and give his ass a non-too-gentle slap. I burst out laughing as he flinched.

He swept her up into his arms just as Emmett set me down on my feet. "That didn't hurt, my sweet; in fact it got me rather excited." He started attacking her neck, causing Alice to squeal in delight. I just rolled my eyes—damn horn dogs.

"Eww, god, Jasper, cut that shit out. And Alice, jump down before I drag you down. We need to get going." Oh crap, and cue the tension.

"Rose you are such a damn hypocrite. You and Em are permanently glued to each other." I saw Emmett wiggle his eyebrows in response which caused to me to stifle a giggle.

I had better step in before Rose got all Jackie Chan on his ass. The smallest things to seemed to set them off, seemingly more so in the mornings as Rose was obviously not a morning person.

I grabbed Rose's wrist, tugging her along. All the while, she was giving death stares towards her brother. Alice quickly followed behind us. I gave both boys a wave before closing the door.

We made our way down the stairs and filtered into the foyer. I was passed one of Alice's coats to put on, so I swiftly buttoned it and put the hood up.

"Glad to see you remembered this time, Bella," Rose said. She was giving me an amused expression while Alice was just staring. I gnawed on my lip, not liking all their attention directed towards me.

I cleared my throat. "So whose car we taking?" Alice grabbed her keys shouting 'mine' quickly. I wasn't shocked—she loved that Porsche. So naturally she took any excuse to drive it. I swallowed nervously. I knew Alice was a competent driver, but she drove like a maniac. I guess it ran in the family.

Edward

I'd gotten next to no sleep and had the bitch of all hangovers. I groggily turned over in my bed only to see Jasper sitting at my desk giving me that damn toothy grin of his. I was slightly surprised to see him there, as I hadn't seen much of him this summer—apart from the occasional passing on my way to and from the house.

I'd spent the majority of my time with James, Laurent, Ben, and the usual girls from school. I didn't particularly like James or Laurent, but they seemed to always be at the same parties I was at, and equally as interested in the girls as I was, so I resigned myself to their company. Ben was as quiet as always: smoked a lot of weed and only spoke if he needed to. I'd known him for a few years now. We just seemed to have a silent understanding of each other, which was fine by me.

Another reason I hadn't seen much of them—like Alice had told me last week—was that they didn't enjoy watching me take advantage of any girl that happened to catch my eye. I doubted anyone could ever take advantage of Jessica or Lauren or whoever. Those girls were the ones constantly fawning over me. I swear I had been violated on more than one occasion. Not that I ever really complained.

I had learned from mum at an impromptu breakfast, that Alice had befriended some new girl. Chief Swan's daughter to be precise. I was told she was a really sweet girl, and that unmistakable sparkle in Esme's eye made it obvious that she thought highly of her. I was more than a little curious to meet this girl who had won them all over, but I'd yet to come across her. Also, I wasn't sure how the Chief would react to me sniffing around his daughter. My relationship with him wasn't dire: he was fair and most likely thought of my activities as just typical teenage nonsense. I could even recall a few times he had chuckled at them. But that still didn't mean he would approve.

"What's wrong, Cullen? Can't handle your drink all of a sudden?" Jasper quipped. I aimed a pillow at his head, which just made the throbbing worse.

"How the fuck can you always be so happy in the morning? There is seriously something wrong with you. What are you doing here anyway? Have you missed me that much?" I gave him my shit eating grin, swiftly trying to block the offending light from my now open curtains with my arm. Fucking Jasper.

"You're right, I just can't get enough of your cheery disposition. It brightens my day," he said before he started chuckling. I soon found myself doing the same along with his sarcastic ass.

"Anyway, the girls are all going shopping soon, so me and Em are just going to hang around here, crack out Guitar Hero." He started making air guitar movements. "So, you in?"

I glanced at my clock. "I can't, sorry. I have a prior engagement."

He let out a snort. "You mean your dick does. Surely he's seen enough action already this summer?"

"What can I say? He likes the attention." My smirk was making its way across my face.

He let out a short chuckle. "I'll let you get to it then. Plus, I better go and wake Em and see Allie before she leaves." I gave him a slight nod in response—shit, again not such a good idea.

I got out of bed, making my way towards my bathroom to clean up. Once showered, I quickly got dressed and grabbed my cell phone, keys, and wallet before descending from my room towards the kitchen. I had adamantly stated my preference for my room to be on the top floor. It was private, and the fact that it had a balcony with steps leading down onto the patio was an added bonus. It meant I could usually come and go at night undetected.

I pushed the door to the kitchen open just wanting to grab a bottle of water and find something to kill my headache, but then I paused, noticing who was sitting at the table.

I involuntarily ran my hands up and down my face. I hadn't seen Carlisle since our last talk two weeks ago, which needless to say, didn't end well.

"If you're here to lecture me, Dad, can you at least make it quick? I have somewhere I need to be." He had obviously not noticed me standing awkwardly in the doorway, as his head snapped up from the paper he held between his hands.

"A lecture, son, would indicate that you've done something wrong. Something to get off your chest perhaps?" he asked. Yeah, like I was going to tell him shit.

"Nope, not that I can think of. But I promise to think real hard about it in time for one of our next father-son chats."

I noticed he had set the paper down flat on the table, as the thumb and forefinger of his left hand were now pinching the bridge of his nose, something he did when stressed; a habit which I myself, had picked up from him over the years.

"Edward, all this attitude has got to stop. I wasn't going to lecture you about anything. I was simply just enjoying a rare Sunday off, sitting quietly reading the paper. However, I did receive a phone call from Mrs. Clearwater next door complaining again of cars coming and going at all times during the night. Now, before you say anything, I know you start school again tomorrow and probably wanted to make the most of the time left, but you have to take other people into consideration. You know she's had a hard time since Harry's death trying to bring up Leah and Seth by herself, so, in the future, just try to keep the noise down. That's all I'm asking."

Fuck, that woman was a hypocrite. When I arrived home this morning, Leah was parked outside her house surrounded by all those damn assholes from the reservation down in La Push, hence all the noise.

He just continued to stare at me, obviously waiting for some sort of acknowledgement, so I just gave a curt nod in reply. With that, I forgot all about the reason I had entered the kitchen in the first place, and proceeded to exit through the side door and make my way to my Volvo.

I sped off down the driveway, looking for my iPod in the glove compartment of my car; finally, I noticed the black casing. Just as I was about to place it in the dock, a blur clouded my vision as something shot out in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, squeezing my eyes shut, hoping like hell I didn't hit whatever the fuck it was.

I nervously opened my eyes, hands shaking slightly, and was completely stunned to see a girl, wide eyed and frozen, just staring towards me in utter shock. Well... fuck. What the hell was she doing here? And better yet, who the hell was she? She was still just standing there getting drenched. I decided I had better get out of the car and check to see if she was alright. I really hoped I hadn't in anyway hurt her.

I opened my door, trying to dodge the puddle to my left as I made my way towards her. She was still staring, eyes bulging even more so than before. I silently took note of her. Wavy, long brown hair, heart shaped face, pale skin, perfect red lips, naturally so. Finally those eyes, a warm brown. She seemed to be contemplating something, judging by the little crease that had formed between her eyebrows. Her head shook, breaking eye contact for just a moment, before glancing back at me through her wet lashes. It felt like she could see straight through me. I didn't like it, it unnerved me. I hadn't realized I had gotten so close, the mist of her breaths blowing across my face. I felt uncomfortable, so I did what I did best, letting my irritation out, snapping at her.

"You know, you really should look where the fuck you're going." A scowl formed on her face from my harsh words, probably pissed that I hadn't apologized. I couldn't really blame her.

"What the hell? You do realize that you were the one who nearly hit me, right? Did you hit your head? Are you confused?" She started waving her small hands in front of my face, causing my irritation to deepen. I reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her actions. I felt her trying to pry herself from my grip just as a shiver ran straight through me. I glanced down at our hands, only then realizing it was still raining heavily, droplets of water were cascading down the sleeve of her coat onto the back of my hand. She seemed to also notice that we were getting soaked, and gave me some sarcastic remark about wanting to get inside. I dropped her arm, replying with my own sarcastic remark about the next time she wanted to stop traffic to do it on someone else's property. I had to hold in a smirk as I saw her defiantly raise her right eyebrow before crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, I'll try and remember that for next time. Thanks for the advice, Yoda." Wait, did she just say next time? Anger was coursing through my veins. I took one more contemplating glance at her, just then realizing that perhaps this was the elusive girl from next door. She didn't look anything like the Chief, but that really didn't mean anything. What I did know, was that this girl had a big attitude problem. I even think I muttered 'bitch' out loud due to the hardened gaze she shot in my direction. I turned, making my way back to my car, slamming the door shut. Yeah, she had definitely heard it, and told me so. I just flipped her off in response. I glanced back up—she was still fucking standing there. I could tell she was doing it to piss me off further. I beeped the horn, a smile forming on that bitchy, perfect mouth of hers. Yep, definitely doing it on purpose.

She eventually moved out of the way, so I pushed down hard on the accelerator and sped off. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I rang the number of my destination. She answered in her usual high-pitched and somewhat nasally voice.

"Why, hello, Eddie." God, I hated that abbreviation.

"I'll be there in five minutes, be ready." I flipped the phone shut, not bothering to wait for a reply. I needed to release my frustration desperately, so what better way to do so than with the ever-willing Jessica Stanley?