Edward's POV

"Alice, c'mon, get the others and let's go," I said impatiently, watching Bella out of the corner of my eye.

"What's the hurry Edward?" Alice asked, but I just shook my head.

"Come on let's go!" I pleaded. With that, Alice rounded up my other siblings, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie, and we all climbed into my shiny gray Volvo and sped home.

Once we got home, I immediately went to go find my foster dad, Carlisle. He had adopted all of us, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and me.

"Carlisle, can I go hunt tonight?" I asked him

"Sure son, but didn't you just hunt with Jasper and Emmett two days ago?" he questioned.

"Yeah, but I there's this girl .  .  . Isabella Swan .  .  .  she has the most mouthwatering scent I've smelled in the whole of my existence. I need to get away from her, and .  .  . well, I figured if I were less thirsty, I wouldn't want her blood as much." I admitted.

"Ok, the others don't need to hunt yet, since you guys just came back, so you can go hunt tomorrow by yourself, and the others will stay here," he decided. "Also, let me give you a piece of advice for them you come back and go to school. Treat the girl- Bella -like she's human, and if you are tempted by thirst, find the will to resist. You'll be fine. You haven't drank human blood for more than a century."

"Okay, thanks." I said, relieved, glad for Carlisle's permission to hunt alone, for I really needed some quality alone time right now.

Bella's POV

"What's his problem?" Mike Newton asked as we left Bio. "He bolted as soon as the bell rang and was acting weirder than usual today."

"I don't know," I answered truthfully, "He was like that as soon as I entered the classroom."

"Oh. Want me to push you to your parents' car?" he asked, voice filled with pity as he looked me over. I could feel his eyes scrutinizing my wheelchair, as if I didn't just roll myself to my classes the whole day.

"No thanks, I can roll myself." I informed him hotly, "I've been doing it since I was 11, and after six years of experience I can roll myself quite well." 

This was the reason I usually didn't keep the few friends I made for long. They could only be real friends for long before pity and sympathy started creeping back into their sentences and voices. Then they became like everyone else.

"Bella honey, over here," my mom yelled from the rolled down window of her car. Ugh, I'm 17 and have a phone, and my mom still insists on embarrassing me by calling me out after school. I silently fumed.

Rolling over and myself up the handicap ramp on my mom's van, I felt my fellow students' penetrating stares bore into my back. I hurriedly closed the back doors and lock my wheelchair into place.

"So, honey, how was your day?" asked my mom.

"It was okay," I lied. Except for Mike Newton, the people who were pitying me as soon as they set eyes on me, and the weird guy sitting next to me in Bio-what was his name? Oh right, Edward, I thought.

"Bella dear, is there something you're not telling me, hon?" Mom inquired.

Drat! I thought. I'll have to tell her about Edward!

"Oh nothing mom, just the usual. It's my first day after all. People staring at me with pity and interest . . . the usual. They'll get used to it over time. Nothing to worry about." I assured her.

We sat in silence while my mom drove the rest of the way home. Then, I rolled myself into my room to do my homework.

----------------An hour later----------------

Leaning back in my wheelchair, I thought back upon the events of that  day. Mike had treated me like I was poor and helpless at the end of the day, but that was something I was used to. Jessica, Ben, Angela, Lauren, Tyler, and Eric had seemed okay, but we'd see about that. But now, the real question, why was Edward acting so weird in Bio. I remembered during lunch, that Jessica had said not to waste time on him because apparently, no girl in the school was good enough for him. But, I recalled him wrinkling his nose and leaning away, and that didn't seem like a reaction from a boy who thought the girls weren't good enough for him. Maybe I smelled bad. I thought self-consciously, but after I quick sniff, I knew I still smelled like strawberries from last night's shower. I sat there pondering it, so curious as to what his reaction to me was about.