Disclaimer: Me? Not Stephenie Meyer. Meaning I don't own.

I wrote this story for synapsegirl for the Support Stacie Auction and she has given me permission to publish it publicly for all of you to read. I hope you like it.

Short summary:

Edward Cullen is the Geek Boy of Forks High School. The ultimate outcase. Because of his glasses, less than perfect skin and booksmart ways, he is the prime target for the 'Populars' and a favourite victim for the Queen Bee, Isabella Swan. When Edward's father receives an invitation to become Head of Cardiology at Chicago Hospital, the family move away. Something that Edward never thought would happen. Two years later, Forks Hospital receives its own Cardiology Ward, and guess whose asked to run it. Carlisle Cullen. When the Cullens' move back in time for the start of Edward's Senior Year, how will the school receive him? Will they still see him as the pathetic little geek they used to love to terrorise? Or will they see him for what they've become? And how will Edward react to being back in Forks? Will he still be the shy bookworm he always was? Or will this Edward give as good as he gets?

12th September 2007

Edward.

I felt my cheeks flush, yet again, as I stood up. I really hate gym. I grumbled internally. I wasn't the most co-ordinated of people and the jocks just loved to play that up.

Well, saying I wasn't the most co-ordinated of people was a bit – okay, a lot – of an understatement. I couldn't walk across a flat surface without tripping even a little. I had had balance problems ever since I was a child. My mother had always told me that I would grow out of it. I never did.

I pushed my glasses back up my nose, groaning as I stood up, not wanting to go back to the game.

I turned around and saw who it was that had hit me with the damned basketball. He was standing there, twirling it on his finger, grinning like the jock he was.

Emmett McCarty.

He was one of the 'Populars' as those at school called them. The group consisted of six members and even though they were only just starting sophomore year, they 'ruled the school' as so many people called it. There was Emmett McCarty. About six foot humungous, with dark, almost black hair and blue eyes. He was the star quarterback of the Forks High Spartans football team, and pretty much a school hero. It was because of him that the team won every game they played.

His girlfriend was Rosalie Hale. Tall, blonde with one of the bitchiest attitudes I'd ever seen on . . . well, anyone. She was the Ice Queen of Forks High. Everyone knew that Rosalie Hale was off limits to everyone except Emmett. If he even suspected that anyone was day dreaming about her in any kind of way, they quickly became a eunuch. On the cheerleading squad, it was clear that she was out of the league of every male on the campus that wasn't Emmett McCarty.

Then there was Jasper Hale, Rosalie's twin brother. He had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as his sister, but his attitude and demeanour was completely different. Whereas Rosalie was cruel and snarky to everyone she deemed below her, which was everyone, save a few, Jasper was cool and collected, rarely talking to anyone other than those in their group. He still held the air of superiority about him, like they all did. If he didn't, then I think he might have been a decent guy. As it was, he, like the rest of them, was an asshole.

His girlfriend was Alice Brandon. Small, peppy, a cheerleader, as you'd expect with her constant energy. She was the only one of the group that would actually talk to rather than at other people. She was the only one that seemed to no qualms about talking to the rest of the school. She had spoken to me once, and she hadn't made me feel like a total loser. Unlike the rest of them.

Next came Jacob Black. He too was on the football team with Emmett. Second best player, or so I'd heard. I didn't really like football, or any other kind of sport, so I didn't pay attention to it. He was huge, like Emmett and the two of them together made an intimidating duo. Hell, they were intimidating on their own, let alone together. His hair and eyes were almost pitch black and the only time he seemed to relax was when he was with that group and his girlfriend, the bane of my existence.

Isabella Swan.

Even though she was just starting sophomore year, it was clear that she was lead contender for head cheerleader. And she hated me. I had no idea why. I hadn't done anything to her. Ever. We had been in the same class together since kindergarten and I had no clue why she suddenly started hating on me. We hadn't even said two words to each other in all those years.

Maybe it was because I didn't conform to her view of a beautiful, perfect person. Maybe because I had a higher GPA than she did. I didn't know. Maybe it was because I wore glasses. Maybe it was because I didn't have perfectly smooth skin. How was I supposed to know what her problem was? I might have been smarter than average, my IQ ridiculously high, but hey, I wasn't a mind reader.

As you may have guessed by now, I am a geek. Resident geek of Forks High. Hell, I even had a geeky name. Edward. Who the hell calls their kid Edward anymore? Wait, that's right. My parents. Esme and Carlisle. They didn't seem to mind that my name was over a hundred years out of date.

Not much I can do about it now, is there.

I wasn't just a geek though, oh no! I was the favourite playtoy of Isabella Swan. Nothing made her day more than humiliating me. I had grown used to it by now. I was used to the endless laughter and snickering that followed me around the halls. I avoided the cafeteria as much as I could and if I went in there I made sure never to go near their table. I usually ate my lunch sitting under one of the trees near the playing field, out of the way of everyone else, reading or getting started on my homework. Told you I was a geek.

I was tall, lanky and uncoordinated. I didn't have that much muscle, seeing as, unlike the rest of the guys here at school, the only sport I was involved in was the compulsory gym classes. In my world, I didn't really need muscle. The only muscle I really needed was that grey matter inside my head. Physical strength wanes, but the strength of the mind lasts infinitely.

One more day, Edward. I told myself as the coach called me to sit on the bench as Emmett and Jacob snickered, banging their fists together. You're leaving tomorrow. You can handle one more day.

Thank God, I was getting out of here. I wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

My father had just received an invitation to become Head of Cardiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. When he told me that we were moving I had to physically stop myself from leaping on him and hugging him to within an inch of his life. I had never been so happy in my whole life.

No one here knew that I was leaving. If they did then it would only make it worse for me today, seeing as they would know it was their last chance to torture me. At least I knew that it would be the same as every other day today.

After I'd changed after gym, I had English with the Queen Bee herself. She sat right behind me, which was just another addition to my already crappy life. Why couldn't she have been placed at the back of the class? Why wouldn't we have been seated in alphabetical? Because the teacher hates me. I think it was because I'd corrected her about something in Shakespeare's sonnet 'Shall I Compare Thee'. She didn't like me much after that.

As I sat down, I heard Isabella and one of her friends Jessica giggling behind me. Just as they always did.

"So, Edward." I heard her deep, sultry voice call from behind me. I didn't respond, knowing that she'd just be winding me up as per usual. She was doing it to get a rise out of me. She never did. Maybe that was why she'd constantly been going after me for the last three years. "Um, I was just wondering, why you didn't send me a postcard."

What? What was she talking about?

"I heard that was some trip you had." She continued, her voice completely serious as she spoke. "It sounded like fun. Maybe next time you take one, you could take me. I mean, I haven't had a good meeting with the floor since . . . oh, I don't know, I can't remember." Jessica sat there giggling behind her. The teacher didn't look up from her papers as Isabella continued to make fun of me. This was her being mild in her taunts. "In all honesty, I know you went away over the summer, and I was wondering . . . did you finally lose it? I know you turned sixteen, so mommy and daddy can't do anything. Come on, Eddie, you can tell me. I won't make fun."

Yeah right. She was right about my going away over the summer, but that was it. If you hadn't gathered by now, I'm still a virgin, and I wasn't about to change that status just to be a sheep to some crowd I hated more than anything else in the world.

I pushed my chair out, grabbing my books, folder and bag before quickly leaving the room, to the wide eyed stares of the students and the teacher calling my name telling me to sit back down. I had half an hour left stuck in this hellhole and I didn't really feel like staying here for them.

I made my way through the deserted hallways towards my locker, pulling out all the books and stuff I had in there, piling it all into my bag, slamming it closed before making my way towards the parking lot.

With my luck being what it was, I turned the corner and saw Emmett and Jacob leaning against their lockers. Of course they'd be skipping. They never went to their classes, but their parents paid for their consistent GPAs, I was sure of that.

"Well, well, well." Jacob chuckled stepping away from the locker. "What have we here? Little Eddie Cullen is skipping class."

"Well, I don't believe my fucking eyes." Emmett grinned, flicking the football in his hand in the air before catching it again. I didn't look at either of them as I made my way down the corridor. Before I realised what was happening, I was aware that my feet were no longer underneath me as I fell to the floor, hitting my head and knocking my glasses off. "Where you going, Eddie?" I heard Emmett's mocking voice call as I pushed myself up, groping around for my glasses.

Sliding them back on my nose, I was able to see again, grabbing my bags and climbing to my feet, walking away from Emmett and Jacob before they did something else to me. I was running. Again.

"See you tomorrow, Eddie." Jacob called, laughing loudly with Emmett and I could just imagine the two of them standing there, bumping fists as they normally did. It was quite pathetic the way they behaved actually.

"No." I said softly, making my way through the doors at the end of the corridor. "You won't."

I quickly made my way to my car, my Volvo S60R and climbed in. I had been so lucky when my dad had taken me to take my drivers' test and he had bought me this car as a congratulations when I'd passed. I quickly reversed out of the parking lot at the school and made my way home, smiling at the thought of leaving this damned place tomorrow morning.

I could see my mother standing outside watching my father load up the rest of the things we would be taking into the trunk of his black Mercedes. Everything else in the house, save a few provisional's had been sent with the movers three days ago. With any luck, they would be arriving in Chicago at some point tomorrow afternoon, right when our plane touched down. How my parents were planning on getting our cars there, I didn't know. All I know is that a Mercedes and a Volvo were not going to be too easy to ship. My father didn't want to part with his car, and he had some things to finish up at the hospital so he would be driving out in a few days time. For the first few days it was just going to be me and my mom.

"Edward." Her voice was startled, not expecting me home so early. She walked down the steps that led up to the house and wrapped her arms around me. "What are you doing home so early?"

"I just . . . wanted out of there as soon as possible." I admitted, knowing that she'd see straight through any lie I'd concoct. There was no point with my mother. "It's not like they can give me a detention for cutting, is it?"

"I guess not." She sighed, running a hand through my hair, smiling softly at me. "Right." She turned to face my dad as he made his way over to us. "Is everything you need packed away?" He nodded and she grinned. "Well, seeing as I have nothing to cook on, why don't we go out for dinner?"

"Mom, I really . . ." I didn't want to sound rude, especially when it concerned my mother, but I really didn't want to go out.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" She pressed the back of her hand to my head and I pushed her away gently.

"I'm fine." I told her and I could tell that she didn't believe me. "I'm just really tired. It's been a long day. You two go out, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure honey?" She asked, her eyes slightly worried. I swear, she worried for no reason.

"I'm sure." I confirmed, nodding once. "I'll order a pizza or something, okay." I could tell that she was no appeased. "All I want to do is go to sleep right now, Mom. Even though my bed is probably passing somewhere through South Dakota or Nebraska. Depending on what route they took, I'm going to have to settle for the air bed, again."

"I know it's not ideal honey, but it's only until tomorrow." She said squeezing my shoulder and I nodded. "Did you say goodbye to everyone at school today?"

I scoffed at her assumption that I had friends. "No."

"Why not?" She asked, her eyes hurt. I wonder if it was the tone I had used, or the fact that she had to accept that her son was the pathetic geek at school.

"Because nobody cares." I told her honestly. "Mom, I don't have any friends. You know that. The only thing that would have come of me telling them that I'm leaving would be even more hell today than normal."

"I know, sweetheart. I know." She pulled me into a hug, pressing a kiss to my temple.

I spent that night as I said I would. I ordered a pizza and flaked out on the tiny airbed I had in my room, replacing my bed. I couldn't wait to get back into it tomorrow. I would finally not be waking up with a stiff back and sore limbs. I hated airbeds, if only for that reason. They were the most uncomfortable creation that anyone has had the audacity to think anyone can sleep on.

Ridiculous.

I awoke to my mom calling me downstairs for breakfast, so after showering, getting dressed and rolling up the godforsaken airbed, making sure I'd left nothing in my room, I closed the door one final time and made my way downstairs, depositing the back destroyer with my mothers. They couldn't find the double one they had, so they had pushed two singles together for the time being.

"How are you this morning?" My mom asked, her smile bright as she pushed a plate of pancakes towards me. A paper plate mind you. Everything we were using could be thrown away. Saved her packing things that we didn't have to at the end of the day. At least that was her reasoning. I wasn't sure if I bought it or not.

"I'm good." I nodded, eating the pancakes quickly. I saw that it was already ten o'clock by the watch on my wrist that I had just flung on this morning, which mean that we had five hours to get to Seattle and check in before our flight left. My dad would be taking us to the airport, seeing as we weren't taking our cars and he wanted to say goodbye to us both before we left.

Just under five hours later we were sitting in Seattle Tacoma International Airport, waiting for our flight to be called.

"Hey." My dad called me over before whispering into my ear, low so that my mom, who was busy looking up at the boards listing the different flights. "Look after her while I'm still here, okay?" He looked at me sternly and I nodded my head.

"Of course I will, Dad." I promised him and he nodded, pulling me into a brief hug before moving on to say goodbye to my mother.

They embraced gently, saying goodbye as though it would be the last time they would see each other for months or years. It was only a week or so ten days at the most, but when you're that in love with someone – as in love as my parents still were – it didn't matter whether it was days, weeks, months or even minutes. I knew that my mom would miss my dad as soon as we went through the boarding gate.

I had to call my mom when they called our flight to board and seeing as we were first class – only the best for the Cullens' right? – we were boarding first. "Mom." I called again as she clung to my dad. "We have to go. They're calling our flight." She nodded, eventually letting go of Carlisle and following me through the gate handing the attendant our passports and boarding passes.

As soon as we were in the air, I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders. I was free of Washington. I was free of Forks. I was free of everything that had happened to me there.

I could become a new Edward Cullen.

And I was going to become a new Edward Cullen. I wasn't going to be the geeky boy that everyone picks on anymore. I wasn't going to be the one that everyone finds amusing to prank when they're bored. I'm not going to be a target anymore. I promised myself that I would stand up for myself in Chicago. I would do what I had failed to do in Forks.

I had asked my mom if I could swap my glasses for contacts, which she had enthusiastically agreed to, because she said that the glasses dimmed my 'beautiful eyes' as she called them. I didn't see what was so great about them to be honest. They were just green. And I had also plucked up the courage to ask if she knew of anything that would help with my acne. Thankfully she did and I could start using it when we got to our new house tonight. It was a deep cleansing exfoliating wash thing that I had to use every morning and every night. Apparently it was designed specifically for teenage acne, so hopefully it would work, because hell, nothing else seemed to. She seemed confident about it, so I didn't really have a reason to doubt her, right?

I turned and looked out the window as the clouds passed by underneath us. Every so often I could see a sliver of land, but not really enough to judge where we might be. All I knew was that I was travelling far away from the nightmare that had been the town I'd grown up in.

Feeling someone's gentle hand on my shoulder, shaking me softly. I opened my eyes to see my mom smiling back at me.

"We're here, honey." She said softly and I sat up, rubbing my eyes underneath my glasses, nearly causing them to fall off my nose, before I stood up, following the other passengers off the plane.

As we walked out the main doors of the airport, I saw my mom looking around for the car service that my dad had organised to pick us up and take us to our new house. I looked around, gently nudging my mom when I noticed some grumpy looking dude standing outside, by a black car with the nameplate 'Cullen' out in front of him. We walked over to him and he opened the door for us, the grumpy look not leaving his face as we thanked him and climbed into the car. What was his problem?

I rested my head on the back seat of the car, sighing as I watched the city pass by the window, smiling to myself. This is where I could start over.

A few minutes later, we pulled up outside an extravagant looking townhouse, that had to be at least the size of our old house back in Forks. How that was possible, I wasn't sure, seeing as Forks was in the middle of nowhere and this house was in the middle of a city.

"It was originally two houses." My mom explained walked up onto the sidewalk beside me. "But one of the owners in the early nineteen hundreds, bought both houses and knocked them into one, creating more room. That's why the house is so big."

"So it's twice the size of the other houses here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her and she nodded. Sweet.

I followed her up the steps to the house, following her as she walked through the door, closing it firmly behind her. It looked as though the movers had been and gone, leaving the keys that my parents had given them on the island in the kitchen. From the looks of things, everything that been put in the respective rooms, which meant that nothing would really need switching around. I walked up the stairs, nothing that the doors had different signs on them. 'Carlisle's Office,' 'Master Bedroom', 'Edward's Bedroom'. I made my way into the room marked as mine, sighing in relief when I'd seen that they'd put my bed together. I didn't care about anything else. All that mattered to me was the fact that I had a bed. I flopped down on it, kicking off my shoes, not caring whether or not it was made, just revelling in the feel of a mattress underneath me, closing my eyes.

When I woke up, my eyes were assaulted by light coming in my room from the east. I blinked a couple of times, sitting up, remembering the day yesterday. Getting on the plane and in the car, driving through the city and walking into the house. Finding my bed. And the best part of the whole thing.

Leaving Forks.

I was so glad to get out of that place it wasn't even funny.

I got off of the bed and stretched, making my way over to the boxes that were marked 'Edward's Room' trying to judge by kicking them what was in them. All I wanted was a pair of sweats and a new t-shirt as I wasn't going to be going anywhere today. Today would consist of unpacking, unpacking and oh yeah, unpacking. Dad was lucky. He didn't have to do this.

I eventually found a box that contained some of my clothes and I pulled out a pair of grey seats and a black t-shirt, and pulled them on, knocking off my glasses in the meantime.

Slipping my glasses back on, I looked down into a box that I had opened already, noticing that it had the unopened boxes of contacts lying at the top, as well as that wash, scrub stuff my mom had given me.

Deciding that because I was now in Chicago, I was going to start things off straight. I walked into my en suite and stood in front of the mirror, taking in my appearance. I knew why people in Forks chose me to be the butt of all their jokes. I mean look at me. I was skinny, not overly tall, probably about five seven or something like that. I wore glasses, was covered in spots and I used to have braces. Thankfully I'd gotten rid of them two years ago and now had brilliant straight teeth to show for it.

I followed the instructions on the bottle, doing what it said for the first time use. I would have to work it into some sort of mask thing and leave it on for ten minutes before washing it off. Apparently, that allowed it to work into the pores or something. I didn't understand. I just followed the instructions.

Holy crap, did it sting!!

I managed to not wash it off before the ten minutes was up, even though it felt like my face was on fire and my skin was slightly inflamed. Maybe I'd had a reaction to it or something. I would ask my mom when I went downstairs.

Now it was for the real test of courage. I didn't know how to use contacts. I'd never used them before so I was pretty damn nervous about putting them in.

Opening the box, I took the contact out of the small container it was in, balancing it on my finger gently, holding my eyelids apart, and hoping for the best really.

It took the better part of half an hour, but I finally got them in. They didn't feel as uncomfortable as I thought they would. In fact, I didn't really notice them once I got over the whole 'I'm shoving something into my freaking eye' factor.

I made my way downstairs, looking for my mom and found her, of course, in the kitchen. She turned around, holding a frying pan which was filled with scrambled eggs, made exactly how I liked them.

"Morning, dear." She smiled at me, freezing when she saw I wasn't wearing my glasses. "Are you wearing your new contacts?" She asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she put the pan down. I nodded, silently and she grinned at me, making her way over and placing a hand on either side of my face. "Now you can see your beautiful eyes." She cooed, her thumb running gently over my cheek. "And your skin is softer, too. Did you use the scrub wash I gave you?"

"Yeah." I nodded as she moved away from me and pushed the plate of food towards me. "But it really hurt."

"Oh, it does the first use." She waved me off as though I was complaining about nothing. "It'll continue to sting for the next few uses, but not as much. It's cleaning out your pores, getting all the dirt out of them. You'll have clear skin in no time." She smiled at me sadly, probably wondering why I was changing myself now.

"What?" I asked her, placing my fork on my plate as she sighed.

"I'm just wondering why?" She sighed, resting her arms on the table in front of her.

"Let me guess." I took another mouthful, swallowing quickly before continuing. "Why I'm suddenly bothered about the glasses and everything else?" She nodded. "Because . . . I don't want to be that kid anymore, Mom. I don't want to be the kid everyone picks on. I don't want to be the kid everyone laughs at. I just . . . I want to be someone different."

"I know, baby." She placed her hand on my cheek again, running her thumb back and forth over my cheek, slowly.

As she cleared everything away, I looked out the window into the street below. We were in a new place, with new people. Nobody had to know anything about who I was in Forks. Nobody had to know anything about the geeky Edward Cullen that had lived in the middle of nowhere. All the people here had to know about me was what I told them.

This was a chance for me to change who I was. And I was definitely going to take that chance.

So what do you think?

I know it's not that long, but that was where it ended naturally.

I have chapter 2 almost done if you like it.