A/N- All right, I know a lot of you are exited to read the first chapter of All Grown Up (what with the whole DAY you had to wait for it)
So, without further ado, here it is, my Easter present to you. Enjoy.
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3RD PERSON POV (I NEVER DO THIS)
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"7:15!" Bella Cullen called up the stairs toward her kids rooms. It as your typical Monday morning- Bella had just finished making breakfast (nothing that she nor her husband, Edward, would eat themselves), Edward was staring at Bella, wondering how he got so lucky in marrying this woman (as he did often).
Their son, Anthony, was downstairs on time, his black backpack slung over his right shoulder. He was dressed in the same fashion his dad normally used; light blue button-up men's shirt with black Levi jeans. His bronze hair was caught in the margins between chaotic and orderly, his emerald green eyes bright. Apart from the eye color, Anthony was the carbon copy of his handsome father, whom he was named after.
"Have a good day at school," Bella said, kissing her son's cheek.
"Thanks, Mom." he replied, smiling as he grabbed his routine glass of no-pulp orange juice from the counter and a piece of toast from the toaster.
Annabelle, the twin sister of Anthony, danced down the stairs then, donning her favorite apparel: her cheerleading uniform. As head cheerleader for the Coyotes, she had required that the girls on the squad wear their uniforms to school on Mondays and Fridays, the days of their weekly, all-school pep rallies. Her fully formed hips held up the blue and gold pleated skirt easily, though she wore a jacket over the tank top, embellished with a giant golden 'C'. Her backpack was slung over her left shoulder, her mahogany curls pulled into a ponytail, held up by a sapphire blue ribbon. Her chocolate eyes smoldered with excitement for the after-school assembly, a fine chance to flaunt her excellent moves.
"Bye, Daddy." she said sweetly, kissing her fathers jaw.
"Have a good day, sweetheart." Edward replied, judging, for the thousandth time, the length of his beloved daughter's skirt. Annabelle hugged her mother and grabbed her mango juice-and-toast breakfast off of the counter.
"All right," she said, taking a giant bite out of the toast, "there's no practice tonight- Coach's sister had her baby last night, so she went to visit."
"That's nice," Bella said.
Annabelle nodded as she polished off the toast. "Ready to go?" she asked, turning to Anthony. The two had been carpooling to school almost every day since last year, mainly because she was a total tree hugger, and Anthony's Mercedes got better gas mileage than her own Porsche.
He nodded. "Bye Mom, bye Dad." he said, waving at his parents as he headed out the door. They climbed into his car and sped off, thinking about two totally different subjects: Annabelle was pondering the text message her best friend, Jessica Beeland, had sent her earlier, that read;
Party tonight my place- bring your brother!
She had responded with;
He probably won't go for it- you know how he is. :(
After less than a few seconds, Jessica had come up with the solution.
Beg! Please? It's for me- having both of you there would make it the hottest (or should I say 'most attractive') party ever!!! He's too hot!
Annabelle had choked back a giggle at that; it was hilarious to listen to other girls, especially her friends on the squad, hit on her brother.
Anthony, however, was thinking about the Pythagorean therom for his quiz in Algebra 4.
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APOV (Anthony's Point Of View)
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"So," Annabelle started casually, that 'I want something from you' tone in her voice, "Jessica Beeland is having a party tonight and really wants you to come."
I rolled my eyes- she had been trying to "boost my popularity level" since she had become head cheerleader (a.k.a 'queen of the faceless zombies') at the beginning of the year. Her sprint to fame had made her become obsessed with making me popular, too- she had tried to hook me up with all of her friends, to drag me to every party, and quite frankly, I was getting sick of her efforts. All of the girls she had set me up with had only rambled about themselves the entire time, so, towards the last few, I just started turning her down. I just didn't fit in with her crowd.
"I take it you're not going with me." she sighed.
"I'll think about it." I said. No way. I thought.
She surprised me by exploding.
"That's the exact same thing you said about trying out for the baseball team!" she hissed, "And tryouts are in three weeks! I haven't seen you bring home any forms for Mom and Dad to sign!"
Another eye roll.
"I mean, God, Anthony!" she sighed after a moment, leaning against the passenger's side door, "You are awesome at baseball! Mickey Mantel wishes that he had your skills!"
"Mickey Mantel is dead." I said in a poor attempt to change the subject.
"So?" she demanded, "We aren't talking about him, Anthony. We're talking about you. You have skills, yet you won't let anyone see them!"
"Shut up!" I growled, exasperated, "You are lucky- you have Dad's charisma. I got Mom's human shyness."
"But you got Dad's face!!"
My eyes widened, and I growled. She had hit my big sore spot. Luckily, we pulled up to the school, climbed out, and went our separate ways, not looking at one another. I headed to my locker, number 121. (Ironic, because that was my Dad's real age.) I grabbed my math and history textbooks from inside, when, suddenly, my cell phone vibrated. It was my best and only close friend, Trevor Jackson.
Look out- new girl on campus. he had written.
Thanks for the update. I responded, putting my phone on silent. I had about five minutes before first period started, so I put my Ipod's ear buds in my ears and listened to my current favorite song quietly as I walked through the crowded hall, a buzzing hive of aura and talking.
I used to rule the world; seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sweep alone,
Sweep the streets I used to own…
"Hey, Anthony." Sarah Branford, another air-headed prep, flirted as I passed her. I half-smiled, another trait my father had given me, and she melted against her locker. I slumped into my seat for first period Algebra 4. The teacher began to take roll, calling out the un-alphabetized names on the list in her usual monotone.
"West."
"Here." a girl named Rachael called from the front row.
"Jackson."
"Here." Trevor called.
"Cullen."
"Here." I called.
After a while, she got to a name I hadn't heard before.
"McClain." she called.
"Present." a girl in the corner called back in a voice like pealing bells. It was beautiful, but, from where I sat, I couldn't see her face- all I could see was her cascading red-brown hair, tied back into a ponytail that reached the middle of her back. The teacher passed out quizzes, and I neatly printed my name in the corner. The first question was, luckily, on the Pythagorean therom. I finished quickly, as usual, and looked back up- the new girl was finished already. The first person in my Algebra 4 class to beat me at finishing an assignment. Wow. I wanted to talk to this girl.
I checked the clock- still 30 minutes left in class, so I reached over and took out my book, Twilight. It was an extremely ironic story- a vampire falls in love with a human in the rainy town of Forks, Washington, but, regardless, a very good read. I was halfway done with it by the time the teacher called pencils down.
Some people hadn't finished.
We all lined up to hand in our quizzes; I situated myself at the end of said line. She smiled at me when I handed her my quiz, the confident smile that she always gave me.
"Um, Mrs. Willows?" I asked.
"Yes, Anthony?" she said.
"Could you tell me the new student's name?"
"Of course. Her name is Ann Marie McClain. She's a very sweet girl who just moved here from Nevada- a very bright girl." she said, almost bragging.
I nodded and looked around the room for this Ann Marie- there was no sign of her. She wasn't in my next few classes; bio-chemistry, English, geography. I didn't see her at lunch, mainly because a girl named Libby kept pestering me, her dark curls bouncing, swathed with her cheerleader nature. My afternoon classes passed without another sighting of the mysterious new girl- French, art, and finally, gym.
Gym was, by far, my least favorite class. I had it with Trevor, of course, and it wasn't that I wasn't fit. I was extremely so. I was just…uncomfortable taking my clothes off and showering in front of other guys. I swear, I had, on occasion, caught a few of my classmates checking me out.
We were on the first day of our baseball unit, so we were outside, thank God. I was at bat first- the pitcher threw a fast ball, which I easily hit out of the reach of any and all outfielders. I involuntarily smiled at the sound of the bat meeting the ball, hitting an easy home run. My team cheered me on as I effortlessly crossed all of the bases, giving high fives as I crossed home plate. We won the game, 18-7, mostly thanks to me. My teammates mock-punched me on the arm in congratulations as we all headed to the showers, but, our gym teacher, Mr. Anderson, caught me by the sleeve.
"Cullen, you have skills." he said, unthinkingly using my sisters words, "Ever considered going out for the baseball team?"
"Not really, sir." I lied.
He pulled a manila envelope from under a stack of papers on his clipboard.
"Here." he said, handing it to me, "Get these signed by your parents and be here at 5:30 sharp on the 24th. I have a good feeling that you'll make the team."
I nodded and turned to walk away. On the way into the locker room, I made a move to throw the papers away, but, my fingers would not release the envelope. I just kept thinking about Annabelle's words: You have skills, but you won't show them to anyone…
I huffed, shoved the envelope into my backpack, and headed for the showers.
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"Attention, students." our vice-principal, Mr. Willard, said over the intercom as I was towel drying my hair, "due to the absence of Coach Kirshner, whose sister delivered a healthy baby boy last night, there will be no after-school pep rally. You are dismissed to go home right after final bell. Again, no after school pep rally today."
I groaned, catching the attention of several guys.
"What is it, Cullen?" Jacob North, a kid who used too much hair gel, asked.
"Nothing." I said, quickly pulling my shirt over my head, "Annabelle hates it when those retarded things get cancelled, so she should be in a great mood tonight."
They all laughed.
"Hey, man, your sister is a real hottie." Josh Parson commented.
I blushed heavily, a gift from my mother, and grabbed my bag, making my way to my car, unlocking it and sliding in, bracing myself for my twin's wrath. Just for good measure, I pulled the manila envelope with the baseball forms from my bag.
Just then, my passengers side door slammed shut, and she hissed at me for no apparent reason. I held out the envelope, a peace offering and silent 'please don't kill me' plead as I drove off. She snatched it from me and went through all of the forms, a small smile appearing on her lips.
"So, are you going with me to the party?" she asked, hopeful.
"Sure. But only because I love you."
She smiled wider as we pulled up to our house.
"We're home!" I called out. My Mom appeared by my side, my Dad trailing right behind her. I smiled at them and handed my Dad the envelope. He smiled at me after he read all of the papers.
"Baseball- that's my boy." he praised, patting my shoulder. I nodded and Annabelle spoke up.
"So," she said, "there's this party at Jessica's tonight…"
"Have fun." my Mom said, turning to me, "And what are you doing tonight, Anthony?"
"Oh, I'm going with her." I responded.
They both looked shocked, not surprisingly, as I headed up to my room. I dropped my bag onto my bed, quickly finished what little homework I had left from school, and went to get ready. I walked over to my closet, which was half the size of my actual room, and grabbed a black button-up shirt and a white undershirt off of the racks, choosing to wear the same jeans. Before I headed to the bathroom, I texted Trevor.
Hey, you going to Beeland's party? I asked.
While I waited for him to respond, I laid my clothes across my large bed and looked around; my bookshelf was almost overflowing with my 'already read' books, my clothes hamper next to it. My large window, blinds shut, was on the wall next to my bed, and my bathroom door was right across my room from my bed. My phone vibrated.
Yeah- you going?
I smiled- even Trevor, who knew me better than my own sister, was surprised.
Yeah- going to take a shower. See you there.
I put my phone- a Blackberry- on top of my clothes, and turned to go into the bathroom. But, there came a knock on my door. Annabelle peeked in, still in her uniform.
"You mind if we take your car?" she asked.
"No problem." I assured her.
She nodded, and I headed into the bathroom, stripping off my clothes and locking my door behind me. I turned on the hot water with just a bit of cold, and waited for the water to heat up. Suddenly, my clothes started to float around me, circling my head.
"Very funny, Bell." I called to my telekinetic sister. Her laughter rang out in the next room
I climbed into the shower, washing quickly. I climbed out, wrapping a towel around my waist. I wiped the fog off of the large mirror and looked at myself. My fiery emerald eyes were glassy with the relaxing feeling of the shower, my face pale, as usual. Curse my inability to tan. I grabbed another towel and dried my hair, leaving it alone afterwards-my hair was amazingly easy to care for.
I put on some deodorant, smiling at the unused can of AXE that Trevor had given me- I sprayed a little on and pulled my underwear and jeans back on. I strolled out into the room and pulled my shirts on, leaving the button-up open and fixing the collar. After an overview of myself, it was blatantly clear:
I was as ready as I would ever be.
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A/N- Okay, what do you think? Just in case you were wondering, the whole story won't be in Anthony's point of view- part of it will be Annabelle's, other times, Edward and Bella. The song Anthony was listening to is 'Viva La Vida' by Coldplay, in case you didn't know. ;)
I HAD ALMOST 50 REVIEWS AND ALMOST 3000 VIEWS- I HOLD UP MY END OF THE BARGAIN. TWO CHAPTERS POSTED TOMORROW!