Authors note...

Ok, sorry loyal followers this chapter is having a few difficulties.

I've never had so much trouble writing before, I know what I want it to say but its not behaving itself.

do not own etc. etc...

READ AHEAD.

Chapter 4 school daze

Charlie grabbed me in an awkward embrace he never really was one for hugs.

"Hey kiddo, it's good to finally see you" he said into my hair.

I sighed a little in relief to be here, he was the only family I had left now. His arms released me from their grip and he ushered me out the terminal towards the cruiser, great I'd almost hoped he would have invested in a second car it felt weird to be in the cruiser not that forks had a high crime rate at all. The hour long trip 'home' was filled with a peaceful silence, I never felt the need to fill the void with small talk Charlie and I were much alike in that sense.

We pulled into the driveway and I slipped out of the car grabbing 2 of my bags from the trunk I headed up the front steps and into the small house. Setting my bags down at the foot of the stairs I looked around, Charlie never changed anything, the entranceway was still cream and the photos of him and mum were still hung on the walls. I ducked my head around the corner into the kitchen where Charlie was searching the cupboards,

"Cha – dad I'll fix dinner if you like" I mumbled. Charlie looked slightly nervous obviously remembering my mums misadventures in the kitchen.

"Uh – yea sure Bells, I sort of haven't gone to the store yet" he blushed

"Oh not a prob I'll just nip down and pick up a few bits and pieces its not a long walk" I replied. Charlie seemed to be thinking hard about something he looked up at me whilst removing a piece of paper off the refrigerator

"How about we have take out tonight? we can shop tomorrow"

"Uh sure dad, that sounds great, how about pizza" I added

"you read my mind" he grinned back at me. I trudged up the stairs to start unpacking while we waited for the delivery to arrive.

I suppose the best thing about living with Charlie is that he is a very non invasive sort of dad, we just leave each other to our own devices. Aside from the meals I cook for the two of us I don't see many happy family moments on the horizon. My room was comfortable but not too small it had a queen sized bed that took up a lot of the available space and pale blue walls with fluffy clouds painted all over them, another of mums projects when I was still just a twinkle in their eyes, not a lot had changed over the years aside from my crib being replaced with a bed and a desk added as I grew older. Mum used to make me spend a month of every summer break with Charlie until I was eleven, then I refused to come stay in the ever constant dripping too green Forks. Dad and I compromised instead having him come to me for two weeks. The crunching of gravel under tyres snapped me out of my daydream I shut off the light and made my way down to Charlie and the kitchen.

I hurriedly set the small dining table and grabbed out 2 bottles of water I placed them on the tabletop and sat down. The smell of pepperoni assaulted my delicate nose and my mouth began to water, I wasn't aware I was hungry until now. Charlie finally appeared in the doorway carrying the pizza like it was a prized possession, I was immediately reminded of a little boy who had just got himself a brand new toy. I chuckled softly as he made his way over to the table.

"What's so funny bells? He looked over at me his brows furrowed.

"Oh it's nothing dad, you just look, so young" I managed to squeak out without ending up in a fit of hysterics.

He raised his eyebrow as he sat down and shook his head.

"Whatever kiddo, lets just eat before it gets cold"

I agreed whole heartedly and extracted a steaming hot slice out of the box placing it onto my plate in front of me. Dinner was a quiet affair both Charlie and I ate in a comfortable silence, When we were done I gathered up the plates and headed to the sink. Running the hot water and adding the detergent I was reminded of when I was younger how Renee had always hated doing the dishes so I was always stuck with the job, And the excuse she used was, Children are expected to do the dishes after all mothers were expected to cook. I smiled at the memory and quickly washed up before saying my good nights to Charlie and heading upstairs. I gathered my pyjamas and toiletries then headed into the bathroom, I turned on the water to let it warm, whilst waiting I vigorously brushed my teeth and ran a brush through my tangled hair.

My shower wasn't nearly long enough but I didn't want to run Charlie out of hot water. I hastily towelled off and slipped into my leopard print pyjamas, a set I had fallen in love with at the mall last year and Renee had thought them too cute to leave behind. Thinking of Renee a lump formed in my throat, not wanting to spend another night crying I quickly busied myself by French Braiding my hair. A process that took all of my concentration to achieve best results after I was finished I popped downstairs to give Charlie a final goodnight then headed up to my room, closing the door behind me I clambered in between the crisp sheets and pulled my comforter close flipping off the lights I settled into a deep slumber.

The insistent patter of rain on the roof roused me from my peaceful sleep, I missed the stifling heat of phoenix, glancing at the alarm clock on my side table it read 6:57 I groaned and rolled out of bed. I'm not at all a morning person so I shuffled dejectedly cursing inwardly at the weather, typical of Forks. I was surprised to find Charlie in the small kitchen normally he was already gone by now, being Police Chief to the people of forks meant he started early and finished late.

As if he read my mind he grinned at me and stated; "Oh Bella you're awake, I was just going to come up and see if you were ready to enrol in school?" he looked down at his hands and left the question hanging.

"I just think maybe if you have a normal routine it will help. You know..." I stood silent looking at the linoleum tiles on the floor.

"But its totally up to you" He tacked on to the end.

I hadn't thought much about how my life was supposed to carry on, for the most part my thoughts wandered back to days when Renee and I would spend afternoons together getting mini manicures or shopping in the local mall. Those were the carefree days before she had started dating again. I looked up at dad thinking quickly through my options, and to be honest there weren't many, it was sit home and mope, attempt to find work in this small town; and mope or attend Forks High School and try to kick start my life back into the fast lane. With a thoughtful sigh I looked dad in the eyes and agreed that school was just the medicine my heart needed.

So here I was sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair whilst my dad met with the principal and grade dean to try and secure me a place in the small student body of Forks High. Whilst I sat there I fretted about how I would fit in I'm not a sociable person, I wasn't popular in my last school and I doubt moving to a smaller school would help me to find a niche to slip into. I wondered if anyone else in this school had even the slightest bit of horror invade their lives?, the waiting room was rather large and was split in half by a large reception desk that had multicoloured flyers taped to it and overflowing wire baskets on top. Sitting behind the desk was a kindly looking woman I'd say in her late forties, with her auburn hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She had the warmest smile I'd seen on anyone in weeks, the nameplate on her desk identified her as Ms Cope.

It was in that room with it's orange flecked industrial carpet and beige walls that I saw for the 1st time a boy I can only describe as an angel. I had looked up as the door opened admitting a boy around my age the breeze from the air conditioner caressing his messy bronze locks, his green eyes filled with curiosity as they swept over me. I immediately felt heat rising to my cheeks as his eyes locked with mine, I had been caught blatantly staring. He flashed me a smile as he approached the desk, handing Ms Cope a piece of paper he then turned around exiting the room. Maybe Forks High wouldn't be as dull as I had originally thought.

EPOV:

I was running an errand for my 1st hour English class when I first met her. I didn't know her name and I'd never seen her around Forks before. I stopped at my classroom door and leant against the walls remembering how the fluorescent light caressed her porcelain skin how, her chocolate brown eyes so full of sadness it made my heart ache had lit up as I looked at her and how her cheeks flushed red as soon as she realised I had had seen her so obviously giving me the once over. I smiled at the memory of this mystery girl and hoped fate was on my side and I got to share at least 1 class with her. A sharp tap on the shoulder snapped me out of my reverie and the curious stare of Mr banks my English teacher assaulted me.

"Are you alright Edward?"

"Uh yeah I was just feeling a little dizzy so I stopped to let it settle" I lied expertly.

"If you think you can cope would you like to join the lesson again" Mr banks enquired as he held the door open.

I never answered just quietly entered the room and took my seat at the back. For the rest of the lesson I appropriately busied myself by taking unnecessary extensive notes on the subject to avoid being singled out. Occasionally my thoughts wandered to the office where I hoped right now the mysterious angelic girl was being assigned classes and I hoped she would appear in the doorway and take my breath away for a second time today.

BPOV:

I looked up as I heard a door protesting loudly on its hinges out emerged Charlie and the principal chatting animatedly, I heard dad chuckling softly as he approached me.

"Alright Bells, you're all signed up. Mr Hull here took the liberty of ringing your old school to work out your classes" he was actually pointing at the principal as he spoke.

"Uh, do I start now?" I mumbled

the principal stepped forward and approached Ms Cope talking in a volume too low for me to hear they exchanged only a few words before he turned to face me.

"First hour classes are about to end so Ms Cope here will go over your schedule and a map of the school to point you in the direction of your next class" he stated, then he returned to his office.

Charlie gave me a light squeeze on the shoulder and after promising to meet me at the nearest grocery store after school was out he too bid farewell and headed off to work. Apprehensively I approached the desk Ms Cope was shuffling through a pile of papers on her desk extracting several sheets and placing them before me. She went through my class list and highlighted the best route to each of my classes before sending me on my way.

As I trudged through the eerily empty campus my map firmly grasped in my hands studying it dutifully, hoping that by some miracle I would memorise it and not have to keep looking at it all day, A bell clanged and the school was engulfed by a horde of chattering teens. I quickly shoved my map into my bag and headed towards building 4 and my government class. As I entered I was met with stares, I blushed furiously and handed over my slip to the teacher. Everything about him screamed boring, from the brown scuffed shoes all the way up to the wire rimmed glasses perching precariously on the tip of his nose. He gave me a wary look and sent me to find a seat in the back row, great I knew for certain now his lessons would be as boring as himself.

I took out my notebook and readied myself for the class, though my mind wandered towards the bronze haired boy I had seen earlier. I shook my head and concentrated on the monotonous drone from the front of the classroom carefully taking notes to avoid falling asleep. At the end of the class a girl with wild springing curls approached my desk, she looked down at her feet and mumbled about how boring the teacher is, obviously trying to break the ice, and failing miserably might I add. I looked up at her and smiled weakly.

"Oh I'm Jessica" she added,

"Bella" I simply replied.

An awkward silence grew between us, I racked my brain for something to fill the void settling on a comment about the blonde haired boy in the row behind Jessica must be part owl because I swear his head spun one hundred and eighty degrees to look at me. She giggled and I sighed in relief. After I had packed my bag she asked if she could walk with me to my next class. Coincidentally we both had Trig next hour one of my hardest classes, but I looked forward to the challenge.

EPOV

The hours seemed to drag by, I was anxious and I couldn't explain why. Finally the bell clanged loudly signalling the lunch hour had begun, I headed towards the cafeteria to meet up with my best mates, As I entered the room I quickly scanned it to see if the mystery girl had appeared again, I was disappointed when I couldn't spot her amongst the sea of faces in the crowd. After grabbing an apple and soda I headed over towards my usual spot, as usual My very loud and somewhat goofy best mate started cheering as I sat down.

"Finally Eddie, you made it, I'm starved!, can I eat now?" he rushed the words and looked over at Rosie, his gorgeous yet tenacious girlfriend, for approval.

"Yes Em," we all chorused.

It was a rule we had that no one could start eating until we were all at the table, something Rose and Alice had decided, and like usual the boys weren't allowed to disagree. I didnt mind, I was staring out the window at the sheeting rain when the most delicious scent invaded my nostrils. It was sweet like strawberries, with a hint of something floral, I inhaled deeply and turned to try discover where it had come from. I was not prepared for the sight that awaited my eyes, sitting alone at the table in front of us was the mystery girl, the one I had been trying to catch a glimpse of all day.

I must have been staring because suddenly a hand slapped the side of my face,

"What the..., What was that for?" I spun around glaring at the rest of them at me table.

"Don't you know its rude to stare" Alice said back just as angrily.

I don't know what possessed her to get up and go over to the girl, but she did. And when she got there she made a show of whispering in the girls ear and pointing at me, I just looked daggers at my soda can on the table. I could hear chairs being scraped across the linoleum and there was a movement to my right, I looked up carefully to see the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen blushing furiously at me, as she hurriedly tried to sit.

Okay, Okay, I know this has taken far too long, and I am aware of this, I had originally thought I wanted the chapter longer, but alas if I don't stop here I'm never going to get through the 1st day of school.

I'm not a begging sort of girl and I don't want to claim the whole reviews make me write faster. Because well I'm a natural procrastinator.

Though I would very much love to hear your opinions and I desperately want to hear how you want this story to go.

One thing I will promise is, Reviewers get a little surprise in the form of a tasty future scene :)

much appreciation, and apologies for the long wait.

Kree