forgotten were the days of school [bella swan]

[parker]

Edward sighed, driving down the same familiar road towards the high school. He couldn't believe he'd been talked into coming back to Forks "for the good of the family". Okay so his little stint had pretty much broken them apart, but in his mind it was for Bella's own good. Now he wasn't so sure. The pain still burnt him inside out, it was excruciating. Knowing Bella was out of his life now, it would take every fibre of his being to keep it that way. Classes would be difficult, after all he had changed things around so they were in nearly every class together, and what better then having English first period. She was sure to be there.
Edward tightened his hand on the steering wheel, hoping and praying for a spare seat...away from her if possible. It would be to painful to sit next to her as he used to.

Focusing on what he needed to do, Edward pulled into the parking lot. He knew everyone was watching as the volvo pulled in, they're thoughts were loud enough without the low mumur of whispers around him.
'what's he doing back?', 'I thought the family moved or something?', 'I wonder if Bella knows he's back?'
Of coure, he personally hadn't been to see her. Why would he? She didn't want him anymore, that was made very clear.
One mind rang out louder then the others. That of Jessica Stanley. She couldn't quite believe it.
Smirking at her rantings a little, Edward stopped the engine and stepped gracefully out of the car. He glanced slowly around the lot, it looked as though she wasn't here...yet. But then who knows, maybe that mutt had dropped her off.
Sure he knew about Jacob, the immature shifter who'd nestled his way in there behind Edwards back. Course the dog knew how to play it, but man the kid bugged him something rotten.

Shaking his head, Edward frowned and made his way into school, trying hard to drown out the thoughts and whispers. Was it really that bigger deal? So what, the Cullens were back in town. Of course this meant most of the girls were wondering if now Bella was off the cards, did they stand a chance. Edward laughed lightly to himself. As if any other human would capture his attention the way Bella had.
No, he wasn't going down that difficult path again. The first time he'd met Bella, it had taken everything in him to not kill her. No one else seemed worth the effort.
Making his way into English, Edward made a quick evaluation of who was sitting where. As he could see it there were two tables free, but the class wasn't full yet. Looking over to the teacher, he waiting to be shown where was free to sit.
Mr Berty pointed to a desk at the back. Where he used to sit. Next to her. Great he thought, as he made his way to his seat, carefully placing himself behind the desk. This was going to be a long day.


word count : 522
tagged : bella swan
status : complete
notes : uh, it's a start...

[bella]

Waking to a warmth outside her comforter, a sleepy Bella turned the other way under her covers. A slight groan was muffled by the sheets as her rather annoying alarm clock reminded her of just how early school was. Sighing, she kept her eyes closed as she swung her arm out from under the covers to hit the snooze button. Letting herself relax in hopes of five more minutes of sleep, she was rudely disturbed once more by Charlie’s pounding on the door. “Bells, wake up. You’re gonna be late.” Realizing then she wouldn’t be getting anymore sleep, she flung the comforter off of her and sat up on the edge of the bed. Her eyes still wanted desperately to close, but she forced herself awake by standing up. Sleeping habits had been incredibly different since Edward had left. No matter what, she never was fully rested. There was always a part of her that craving just five more minutes of sleep. Oh well…it wasn’t too bad once she got up and moving.

Preparing herself for yet another day of school, her body stiffened as she realized this was the first day Edward would be back. She hadn’t seen him since Volterra nor had she talked to him. All at once, she felt as if she could be sick to her stomach. The thought of seeing him again…sitting next to him. Her body literally ached and it was all she could do to lean against her desk for a moment. Sure, she was with Jacob now. She loved him, and her decision was made…but there was always something about even mentioning Edward that made her weak. He was her first true love, and as much as she wished otherwise, he would remain just that.

Glancing at the clock, she realized she was running late and she scurried to finish getting ready. Throwing on a dark grey jacket, she swung her book bag around her shoulder and headed down to the kitchen. Grabbing an apple from the fridge, she yelled goodbye to Charlie in the family room and made haste to her truck, taking care not to fall on the little bits of ice from last weeks winter mix. Starting it, she backed out and was on her way to school, thoughts of what she would say to him running through her head. Obviously, she couldn’t just act like casual friends. They weren’t that at all. Even without a label, they still loved each other. That much didn’t have to be said out loud.

Her heart sank as she pulled into the parking lot and saw his Volvo sitting there. It looked to be empty, which made sense. The bell was mere minutes away from ringing and she was just arriving. Great, what a way to make an appearance. Turning the truck off, she climbed out and began towards English. About halfway there she heard the bell ring and she closed her eyes. Sighing and quickening her pace, she finally made it to the classroom where she heard Mr. Berty starting the lecture. With an ‘I’m sorry’ look on her face, she opened the door and looked at the teacher. “Well, Miss Swan. Glad you could join us. Please take a seat in the back.” His words cut her heart as she saw the only remaining seat open next to Edward. Trying to act like it didn’t bother her; she moved next to him and sat down. Pulling out her copy of Shakespeare, she turned and gave Edward and awkward smile. “Hey…” She said, really quite unsure of what to say. Not letting her eyes linger too long, she looked back up to Mr. Berty as he began speaking again.

[parker]

"Well,Miss Swan. Glad you could join us. Please take a seat in the back." Edward shivered slightly and looked up, watching her as she forcefully made her way to the desk. From the look on her face, he knew this wasn't her seat of choice. She would most likely rather sit next to the babbling Jessica Stanley, or Mike. Oh Mike, the fool still had inappropriate thoughts about Bella, despite standing about as much chance as Edward had of being with her right now.
He inhaled the fresh air around him sharply, remembering the first day they'd met. He hadn't been around her much lately, though he knew her he wasn't taking any chances, even if it meant holding his breath most uncomfortably.

Focusing on the front of the class, Edward tried his best not to look phased by her appearance in the class. It was difficult, deep down he wanted to get up and storm out, never coming back. But that would cause too much of a stir, and right now he wanted to try and get back to his old...normal routine. The one he had down to perfection before Bella had moved to Forks.
He felt her eyes on him almost instantly. She was pushing him, it was bad enough for him to have to sit next to her, but polite conversation was going to be one hell of a painful experiance.
"Hey..." Edward glanced, wide eyed, round to Bella. She had an awkward sort of smile on her face. It wasn't the bright, happy one he was used to. No this one she'd used when turning down Mike when he asked her to Prom.

As she dropped her gaze, he closed his eyes for just a second, before turning back to study the front of the class. "Hi..." he replied in a cold, hard voice. He wasn't going to pretend this was all okay. It was hard, Alice had warned him before leaving the house, She'd not been able to see what would happen due to Edward's uncertain decisions, though he was sure now she'd have a clear picture.
"Alice sends her love, she wanted to come and see you before today but..." he wasn't sure how to finish that sentence. When Alice had announced her plans to see Bella before school, Edward had frozen, unsure of what exactly his annoying little sister was thinking. She'd quickly changed her mind and given up, Edward's hurting was enough to put any of his family even mentioning Bella's name around him.

Mr Berty cleared his throat, glancing over to their desk. The only plus about having sat at the back meant that the other kids in class couldn't stare at the two of them, sniggering about this awkward moment, though their thoughts still rang loud enough in his mind, making it very difficult to block them out, no instead they had to pay attention to Mr Berty and his boring lecture on Romeo and Juliet. Surely this should have finished by now, really what else was left to cover, the play was just as drab and boring as it had always been. Really in over a century they hadn't discovered anything new, no more hidden messages originally picked up back when Shakespeare had still been alive.
Glancing back over at Bella, Edward froze. She hadn't changed since...well before he left. It was a stab in the chest knowing she was no longer his. Sinking low into his seat, Edward frowned. Maybe starting back today had been a bad idea.


word count : 601
tagged : bella swan
status : complete
notes : awkward turtle!

[bella]

As her dark brown eyes caught Edward’s, she saw an all too familiar look. It was the same one he had given her the first time they’d met. He looked almost sick to his stomach and immediately she knew this was a bad idea. But what could she do? She had to continue to go to school. It wasn’t like she could up and tell the guidance counselor the love of her life was in the same class as she and they weren’t together. Oh yeah, and he’s a vampire too. Yeah…that would go over well. Really, there was no way. She had saved him in Volterra. That much had proved how much she loved him, and that they were meant to be. But, her heart just wouldn’t allow her to be drawn back into it. Jacob had more than proved his worth while Edward was gone. Not only in friendship, but he’d saved her from a Volturi attack…had been bitten and been moments away from death in the hospital. It had been at that moment in time that she knew she and Jacob were meant to be. They needed each other more than she had realized. And, while Edward would always be her first love, Jacob was about tied. There was just something about him that kept her drawn to him. No doubt though, sitting next to Edward…day after day…class after class…was definitely not going to be easy.

The discussion of Romeo and Juliet continued. She had read it numerous times as a kid, so she already knew most of what Mr. Berty was talking about. That made for a tough time paying attention. All she wanted to do was talk to Edward, but she knew things would never be that easy again.

He finally spoke, and his words were as cold as his skin. She felt them stab through her heart thousands of times within a split second. There was no way she would last talking to him. She simply couldn’t take that kind of pain. He was the one that had left. He abandoned her, and somehow he thought he had the right to speak coldly to her. What was she supposed to have done in his absence? It wasn’t her fault Jake had been the one to catch her when she fell. He had been her rock when she needed someone. And during that time, she had fallen for him. Maybe not as hard as she’d fallen for Edward, but fallen nonetheless. The idea of leaving him tore her apart...and even if she and Edward were meant to be, things didn’t always work out the way they’re supposed to. Or maybe they did?

Another stab fell in her heart as she heard Alice’s name emit from his lips. How she missed the Cullen family. Even Rosalie would be a joy to see at this point. But, she knew even if she wanted, she probably couldn’t. Not being with Edward meant rarely seeing his family as she knew it would bring up more pain than was necessary.

His sentence trailed off and she smiled weakly. Her eyes fell to the desk the two of them shared and then for a moment glanced back up the board. But, she wasn’t quite reading what the teacher had wrote. No, her eyes were distant. She really wasn’t sure what to say. “I miss her…how is everyone?” Why had she said anything to him? Why couldn’t she just shut up and pay attention? Ignore him. No, stupid sincere Bella had to initiate conversation as if everything was okay, when it clearly wasn’t. Biting at her lower lip, she let her eyes lift to the board again, occasionally looking over to him.