A/N: This is a "drabblefic" which means that the chapters will be very short and the updates will be frequent (in this case, daily) until the story is finished.
Disclaimer: I make no claim to Twilight or any of its characters, nor do I make any money off this very time-consuming endeavor, which means I can't afford a lawyer if you decide to sue me...so please don't.
The Learning Curve: Chapter 1
Inside a girls' bathroom, Forks High School
"You'll never guess what Mike told me."
I froze as I was getting ready to flush. Mike Newton and I had been dating for a few months now. He'd been too persistent to refuse, but I'd really started to like him after we went out the first time. He was really sweet, and a gentleman, and I couldn't imagine what he'd have to tell Jessica Stanley that would be worthy of gossip.
"What?" Lauren asked boredly. I peeked through the gap between the stall and the door. She was applying yet more lip gloss. I wonder if she knew she'd had a smudge on her teeth all yesterday afternoon.
"Bella won't have sex with him," Jessica laughed, and I felt a blush spread across my face and down my neck. "And she's still a virgin."
Lauren simply rolled her eyes, and to my increased mortification, said, "I always told you she was a prude. I bet she won't even give him a blow-job."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Sex? Blow-jobs? We were only in high school, and we hadn't been together that long. Was he really expecting all of that from me? Lauren and Jessica clearly were – clearly they'd done these things. Jessica was Mike's ex, too. Why would he tell her a thing like that? Did he wish I was more like her? The thought made my stomach turn.
"There's something seriously wrong with her. Maybe she's a lesbian."
Lauren snickered. "Is thatwhy she's always hanging out with that emo freak Alice Brandon? I thought she was just taking pity on her."
Now I was mad. Alice was my best friend and the nicest person I'd ever known, and they had no idea what she struggled with. Furious, I almost went out there and confronted them, but I saw their high-heeled feet begin to move, and embarrassment held me in check.
Alone in the bathroom, I finally flushed and absently washed my hands while looking at my reflection in the mirror. Was there really something wrong with me? I wasn't stupid. I knew Jessica and Lauren were only talking about me this way because Jessica was jealous and because Lauren was just a hag, but could they be right? If Mike had said something to Jessica about it, then he must be unsatisfied. What if he didn't want to be my boyfriend anymore?
It wasn't like I would die if Mike dumped me. I wasn't in love with him or anything, and I knew we'd probably stop dating when high school was over, because he wanted to go to UW and I wanted to get as far away from Forks as possible.
But Mike was a good, normal guy, and if he expected sex from me, wouldn't every guy I ever dated? And if he didn't like that I was a virgin now, at 18, it was only going to get worse when I was older. I could end up dying alone without ever having sex with anyone, and I definitely didn't want that.
Clearly, I had some things to figure out.