Turnoffs

E POV

I picked at my half eaten steak as Clair kept on talking about all the different cosmetics and lotions that they sell at the store she works in. Another boring girl Jasper and Emmett set me up with.

I knew I couldn't blame them. My brother and my best friend felt sorry for me and they were just trying to help me out – no matter how many times I told them I did not want to go out on dates with random strange or boring girls.

I sighed as I started zoning out; it was something I learned to pass the time while I was on these dates. Images flickered through my mind like a time line until I picked the one I wanted to focus on for the remainder of this date. I knew girls like Clair would not even notice that I wasn't paying attention, so I jumped at the chance to visit the past, knowing it was much better than the present situation I was in.

I was seven years old and I hardly noticed any girls. The only girls I ever actually talked to were my mom and Rosalie- Jasper's twin sister, and that's because I was at his house almost every day.

I was sitting on my basketball, my elbows on my knees with my face in my hands. Jasper was sick and there was nothing to do. It was boring playing basketball by yourself, so I had decided to sit there and watch my brother play with the older boys. Once in a while my eyes would drift to the swing set to see if any were open, and every time I looked there was a girl standing there with big brown eyes that were piercing right through me. I didn't know what was wrong with her and I didn't care to wonder, so I just came to the conclusion that she was an annoying creepy girl-just like the rest of them. I lazily turned my attention back to the game when I felt a kick on my ball. I ignored it thinking it was another ball hitting mine, but the kicks just kept on coming faster and harder.

"Why do you keep doing that?!" I shouted as I turned to see who it was. I found myself eye to eye with the girl that was staring at me earlier.

She shrugged her shoulders and simply said in a sing-song voice, "I did not want to touch you. If I called your name you would probably ignore me, so I thought this would get your attention."

"Yeah, well leave me alone," I seethed.

She completely ignored what I was saying and started hopping on the hopscotch near me, "you looked lonely and I felt bad. It seems like you don't have a lot of friends, and you weren't playing with your basketball so I thought maybe you would want to play with me."

She was forward, girls were usually too shy to say something like that, and that made me hate her more. "I don't want to play any stupid girl games with you. Leave me alone," I realized I was begging, too embarrassed to be seen talking to a girl while all the other guys played baseball and basketball.

"No, we won't be playing girl games, we will be playing ball." Before I knew it she had grabbed the ball from underneath me which forced me to stand up. She let out a little giggle and I glared at her wondering what was so funny now. "See, now you want to play with me. Don't worry we will have fun"

I was so angry that tears were starting to creep their way in to my eyes. "I don't want to have fun. I want to watch the guys play. Now give me my ball back." I tried my hardest not to cry as I pried the ball out of her small soft hands. I sat back down in the same position I was sitting in before I was interrupted when I saw a shadow float over my legs. I turned my head warily around to see her sitting down.

"If you don't want to play then I will just sit right here next to you, Edward," she smiled as she continued to look straight ahead.

"How do you know my name?" I asked knowing that I had never talked to her.

She rolled her eyes as she sighed, "you have been my neighbor since forever. I always see you and hear your mom yelling for you to come in the house. I'm also Rosalie's best friend. I see you at her house sometimes. And Alice is my best friend too, the one that Jasper is always chasing and trying to scare. Oh, and I am Bella in case you didn't know."

It scared me to know that this creepy girl was my next door neighbor. If she knew my name what else did she know about me? Maybe she had seen me take a bath before, or spied on me while I slept in my airplane pajamas, but all those thoughts were being washed away from my mind as I continued repeating her name in my head.

"Bella," I whispered. I cringed realizing that I just said another girl's name while I was on a date. I looked up to see Clair eyeing me suspiciously. I suddenly remembered something. I didn't like this girl, so why would I explain to her why I said another girl's name. Might as well use it to my advantage and get rid of her.

"My name is not Bella," she growled as she stabbed her salad.

"I know, sorry. You talking about lotions and stuff reminded me of this one inside joke I have with my friend Bella about me being an…athlete," I tried to sound as innocent as possible.

Her eyes lit up, "you are an athlete? I love athletes!"

Crap, why did I say athletes? Of course she loves athletes, how is that a turn off? "Did I say me being an athlete? I meant about me having athletes foot." I tried my best not to laugh as I looked her straight in the eyes, letting her know I was dead serious.

"Well, you don't still have it do you?" She was now worried. Perfect, she was right where I wanted her. All I had to do was gross her out and I would be home in about ten minutes.

"Oh yes, I do. It always keeps coming back to me ever since I was seventeen. I don't believe in showering everyday – you know, waste of water and everything- so I think that's half the problem but lotions and powder help a lot." She was definitely disgusted. "I hope that doesn't bother you." I tried to replace the smile that was crawling its way on to my face with a frown.

"No, but I just remembered I have to go Edward! My bird…he is really sick. Umm…he called me while you were in the bathroom…he needs to go to the hospital. I'll call you," she grabbed her purse and ran out of the restaurant. I laughed knowing that I would never hear from her again.