Author Note: This is the first fanfiction I have written in a long time, and I'm really excited about it. I would love to hear from any lovely readers I pick up along the way, and I hope you enjoy my little story. Thank you in advance for reading, and for any reviews! I'll try to reply to them all. Oh, and feel free to drop me a PM and say hi :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga.

Chapter One

"Don't even get me started on how hard it was to get out of bed this morning," I panted, puffed from the seemingly mile long sprint I did from my front door to the awaiting car through the torrential rain. I didn't close the door quick enough behind me and the rain came in, drenching the leather interior of Emmett's father's car and my leg. I scowled hard before turning to face him. "I hate this place."

"It hasn't grown on you at all in these last few years?" he asked teasingly, smiling wildly and pulling away from the curb. "There's no one here that brightens your day?"

"Sure, there are some people. Then there's you." I stuck my tongue out at him. "I just wish it would rain less," I explained with a sigh.

Emmett turned into a drive way, and I recognised Rosalie's house through the downpour. "And I wish Rose would wear heels like that every day," he groaned. I watched him lean over the steering wheel, peering through the rain and the franticly waving windscreen wipers at where Rose's figure approached the car. Unlike me, she brought an umbrella, so instead of making a mad dash to the car, she strutted. I was amazed to see Emmett was right. Rose was wearing tall black pumps, sheer stockings, a grey knee length skirt, with a blouse and blazer. Her hair was slicked back into a bun at the nape of her neck, and she wore her lack framed glasses.

"Good morning baby, hey Bella," she said as she slid seamlessly into the car, closing her umbrella and shutting the door in one smooth motion. There wasn't a drop on her. I sighed. "How are you?"

Emmett didn't acknowledge that she had spoken. His eyes were still glued to her legs. "Holy shit, Rose!" he exclaimed. "Are you trying to kill me?"

She smirked. I had to admire Rose's confidence – she knew she was beautiful, and she knew that everyone else did too. She especially knew what she did to her long-time boyfriend. "I have my mock job interview today, remember? I'm just dressed for the part."

"You're so corporate and sexy. You're like a professional seductress … I'd hire you any day." Emmett threw a wink over his shoulder before putting the car into reverse and hitting the road again. "Man I'm so lucky," I heard him whisper. I doubt Rose heard from where she was in the back seat behind me, but I smiled at his private comment.

"Well, I'd like to think people would hire me for my intellect and academic prowess," Rose meanwhile was saying. "But I'm not against using my looks to stand out in the interview process. All's fair in love and war."

"I didn't know this interview thing was so serious," I said. "I wasn't planning on wearing anything so formal and proper." I mentally ran through my wardrobe. It wasn't even that I wasn't going to dress up – I couldn't. I bit my lip, worrying about what to do.

"Don't worry, you don't have to dress up for it," Rose reassured me. "It's only an option. It won't affect your results or anything."

"Well I'm glad you did, baby," Emmett chimed as we turned into the school parking lot. "You look stunning. And anyway, people would hire you if you were dressed in a potato sack. You're a total brainiac. Any law firm will be lucky to have you."

Rose leant forward and kissed his cheek. Emmett, who had stopped in the middle of the traffic as he was reversing into a spot, started a traffic jam in order to lean back and steal her lips in a kiss. Horns started blaring behind us after a moment and I laughed. "Come on, guys, you've got all day for that."

I wandered behind the happy couple as we approached the school. Heads, male and female alike, turned and followed them. Rose garnered a lot of attention wherever she went, especially with Emmett by her side. He was a six foot six giant, with bulging muscles and curly hair. But, I have to admit, my eyes were trained on the curve of Rose's calves, and the swish of her arse as she walked, rather than Emmett's broad shoulders.

"She's done it again," Angela sighed, falling in beside me. "Blown everyone out of the water. My self-esteem goes down about four notches whenever she's in the room, let alone now. Oh well."

I nodded in agreement. "How was your night with Ben last night?" I asked her.

"Oh, it was great. We just watched movies in our pyjamas in bed, with hot chocolates and croissants all afternoon. His parents going away for their anniversary was the best thing that ever happened, I swear. We don't have to stop and go home and be apart. We get to sleep together all night, and not just in that way," she added as I blushed. "It's nice to just fall asleep in his arms, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm so glad you guys finally got together."

"I know! It took him long enough to ask, right?" we both laughed.

The bell rang, and I walked alone to roll call. The halls were filled with people rushing everywhere and despite being a senior I was pushed and shoved around. It was just one of the benefits of being five foot five, I guess. It didn't bother me too much though. I would rather blend into a crowd, a chameleon that goes unnoticed, than a person who commanded a crowd with all eyes on them. The sheer thought of tripping in front of a group of staring eyes made my stomach drop.

I found my seat next to Jessica in roll call. I was less than pleased with the arrangement, but since we both came under 'S' for surnames, I was stuck with her. She immediately started gushing about Mike. It wouldn't have bothered me – if she talked about anything else. Unlike Angela, who talked only rarely about her newly blossoming relationship with Ben, Jessica was obsessed with Mike, and they weren't even together yet. Their 'chemistry' seemed to largely be in Jess' head.

"So what do you have first?" I asked when she paused for breath. She huffed and frowned, but let me change the topic.

"I have math," she grumbled, "with Mr Banks."

"I have economics."

"I really don't know how you do that. It seems so dry and boring."

I shrugged. "It's interesting to me, I guess." It also was one of the only classes that Forks High offered with the smallest amount of students. It was a class of twelve, instead of a packed class of thirty.

"Well, I'll see you at lunch. Bye Bella," Jessica said. She was halfway out the door before the bell rang. Undoubtedly, she was off to corner Mike somewhere in the corridor. I almost felt sorry for the boy. Almost. Months of his pestering me, endless texts, constant date invitations, and prying eyes has left me somewhat glad that Jess was occupying most of Mike's time. I chuckled at the irony. She was chasing with him as much enthusiasm as he was me, to no avail. Mike was getting a taste of his own medicine.

The rest of the morning passed in a mundane blur. Before I knew it I was lining up in the cafeteria line with Rose. "So how was the interview?" I asked. "I'm dreading mine tomorrow."

"Oh, it was good. There are two interviewers. A young lady, maybe mid-twenties, and a middle aged man. I had the girl, and she totally was checking me out. She couldn't keep her eyes off me, and by me, I mean my chest and not my face." Rose scrunched up her nose before remarking, in a rather proud tone, "I guess I pull both teams."

I laughed. "Rose, you could pull the Pope."

She laughed too. "So, are you nervous for your turn? Don't you think it's stupid that they only do it on Mondays, and have it split over weeks rather than in one go?"

"The interview? Yeah. It isn't the best idea. Everyone is all over the place. I am nervous too. I have nothing to wear, and I don't really do well being interrogated."

"They aren't going to interrogate you, sweetie. They just ask you questions. Besides, the whole thing is fake and doesn't matter. It just gives us experience for when we finish at the end of this year." I gulped at the reminder. "Oh, and I could totally lend you something if you wanted to dress up."

I almost snorted, trying to visualise myself in what Rose was wearing now. The whole idea was comical. Rose was a good head taller than me, at least a size smaller around the waist, and, weirdly, had abnormally large feet for a girl. We could never share anything. "The most I could borrow would be a shirt, Rose, and even that might not fit."

"Yeah, you're so lucky," Rose said enviously, looking down at where my admittedly larger chest was. "I'm a flat chested six foot giant."

I was about to correct her, but she was called to the counter then. I picked out a salad sandwich, a yoghurt, and a Sprite before follow Rose to our table. She slid onto the bench next to Emmett, and I sat next to Angela. Ben, Eric, Mike, Jess and Lauren sat around the rest of the table. Conversation erupted around us, and I immediately regretted sitting between the two couples. It was like placing myself in social isolation.

"Having fun over there, Bella?" Eric's teasing voice rang out. Suddenly all eyes were on me and I felt my cheeks heating. Emmett's booming laugh rang out and he reached around Rose to ruffle my hair. I glared at him as I soothed it.

"Oh, yeah, I'm loving this," I joked. Angela turned from where she had been unintentionally cutting me off as she faced Ben, and smiled apologetically. Rose, on the other hand, just chuckled and patted my leg.

"Bella's used to it by now," she said, still laughing.

"Oh, hey, this is kind of off topic, but my parents are going away this weekend. I'm thinking of having a party on Friday night. You guys in?" Eric said.

"Hell yeah!" Mike shouted. "Let's Project X this!"

"Yeah!" Emmett agreed enthusiastically.

"I don't know about that, but yeah, let's have a good night," Eric hedged.

"Oh, no, this is so going to go off," Emmett stated. "There is no way we are half-arsing this, man."

"My parents are trusting me with the house."

"Yeah, and in the start of Project X the kid didn't want to either, but hey, they went wild in the end," Mike said, and we all laughed.

"And his street burnt down," Eric muttered miserably, and we all laughed harder. Eventually it died and down and he posed the question again, "So, are we all in?"

"Of course I'm in, and so is Lauren," Jessica chimed. She smiled sweetly at Eric before shifting to Mike. "You're in too, right, Mike?"

"Uh, yeah, I said before. I'm keen."

"So am I," Emmett added. Rosalie and all the others all agreed too.

"What about you, Bella?" Eric asked.

"I'm not one for parties –"

My objection was cut off by Angela's plea. "Oh, but you have to come Bella! It's the first party of senior year, and Eric even said he doesn't want it to get too out of hand."

"Fine, I'll come," I sighed, "but it won't be a big night for me."

Everyone started making plans then. Lauren wanted to bring a few friends from work, and Mike was bringing some of his soccer buddies, and Eric was going to invite a few others from school that didn't always sit with us at lunch. All up there was about forty people coming. The whole table chatted about it excitedly for the rest of lunch. It was only Tuesday and I was exhausted.

I had math with Rose that afternoon. I never really struggled at school, I got good grades with minimal effort, and I was happy with that … and then there was Rose. It was almost frustrating at how she seemed to have it all. The looks, the brains, the boy, and the car. She blitzed every class she took, and undoubtedly could make it into an Ivy League college if she tried. It was a blessing, sometimes. "Rose," I whispered, "help?"

She peeked down at my work. "Wrong formula, babe. This is an integration, not a differentiation." She crossed out my scribbled mess and wrote down the right formula. "Try that one."

"Thanks."

After math I had gym with Emmett and Mike. I didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse to have them in my class. Emmett delighted in watching me stumble and trip and make a mess of every sport Coach threw our way, and Mike just seemed to follow us around everywhere. However, they were funny, and sometimes Emmett took pity on me. He was doing so today, playing both my position and his own in our class's half-hearted volleyball game. I think he enjoyed the challenge.

Mike bailed as soon as the bell rang, waving a quick goodbye and sprinting from the change rooms. "I wonder where he's off to in such a hurry," I mused.

"Jessica," Emmett reported.

"What? Really? I didn't know they were an item."

"Oh, Bells," Emmett said. I frowned at his tone. He sounded like he was talking to a child who didn't know any better. "There are so many options to being an 'item' that has potential couples interested in each other."

I felt my face flame. "Are they, you know …?"

Emmett's roaring laugh echoed across the car park. "No, Bella, not that. Man you have a dirty mind for someone so innocent and little."

"Then what are you talking about?" I frowned.

"Don't worry, Bella, don't worry." He shook his head and waved to Rose, who was waiting beside the car already. He leant in to kiss her quickly.

"What's so funny?" she asked as we all climbed into the car.

"I really don't know," I mumbled, as confused as ever. I might not have the most experience when it came to dating – okay, so I had none – but I'm pretty sure Emmett's bizarre comments wouldn't have made sense to anyone. My closest thing to a romantic experience was being chased by Mike, and my one kiss with Jacob Black when I first moved to Forks almost three years ago. I had been sixteen and the whole thing could only be described as an 'ordeal'. He was a year younger, and obviously had been as inexperienced as I was, taking a first kiss to mean an open mouthed tongue rape, with his dirty hands pawing all over me in the back of his Dad's garage. Or at least I hoped he was as inexperienced as I was. Other than that, boys didn't notice me.

"Do you want to come over this afternoon and watch movies with Em and I?" Rose asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

"No, but thanks for the offer Rose. I have a whole lot of reading to catch up on for school."

"Like you haven't read Wuthering Heights a thousand times," she complained. "Just come hang out with us instead?"

"No thanks. Some other time," I assured her. I really did appreciate her offer, but sitting on a beanbag in Emmett's room while the happy couple cuddled on the love seat, watching the latest romance or action thriller, depending on who got to pick the movie this time, just wasn't always my thing. Besides, I knew they liked to be alone together – enough to start what should be done alone while I was still in the room on occasion.

"Thanks for the lift guys," I added as Emmett pulled over outside my house. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"No worries Bella, have fun reading," Emmett snickered before driving off. I chuckled at his antics before wandering up to the house. I still had an hour or two before Charlie arrived home from work. I kicked off my wet boots next to the door before going upstairs and dumping my book bag on my bed. I turned on my iPod dock and changed out of my jeans and sweater and into an old sloppy Joe, tights, and big fluffy socks. I was more and more glad I didn't hang out with Rose and Emmett. It felt way too good to just be me.

I read through the first few chapters of Wuthering Heights before going downstairs and starting cooking dinner for Charlie and I. Chicken schnitzel, mashed potatoes, and corn. It was a simple meal, but a favourite of his. I enjoyed the simplicity and routine of preparing the food, cooking it, even the heat of the stove on my cold hands.

I hummed as I went along and realised, despite such a terrible start to the morning, today hadn't turned out so bad after all. And, I was surprised to think, I was kind of looking forward to seeing everyone at the party on Friday.