1: Skinny Love (Ed. Cullen)

5.

Coach Clapp holds out a hand to stop Bambi from following the others into the hall, she frowns at him, Bella looks back and Bambi shrugs, Bella follows the others into the hall.

"Just a second, Miss Swan" Coach Clapp offers grabbing a file from the small table behind him, Bambi's file from her last school. "I...ur...read that you show promise as a track runner"

"Really?" she asks. "I never got a chance in Arizona, I was the only one interested in running and they didn't think it worth it..."

"Well your file says that there is some real promise there" Clapp states and looks to her file. "100m in 10.05 seconds" he reads. "Considering the world record is 9.58 seconds...." he looks to her. "That is a sign of great promise... and talent....if you can keep that up, hell, if you can beat it...you have a spot on the team.." she smiles, beams at him.
"Seriously?" she asks almost jumping on the spot, he nods.

"Yeah, our best is 15 seconds" she smiles wider.

"This is....so awesome...."

"Thursday, after school....in the locker rooms....alright?" she nods and he starts to walk away. "Don't let me down, Swan" she squeals a little and hurries after Bella. Bella raises an eyebrow as Bambi bounces over to her.

"Guess who just made track" Bella smiles at her sister. "Apparently they had my school record and someone marked down my best time...and now I get to run...." Bella hugs her.

"That's great, I knew you'd do it" Bambi hugs her back.

.................

The boys' basketball team runs drills on half the basketball court. A girls' volleyball game occupies the other half. Bella avoids the volleyball like it's radioactive. Bambi bounces around, almost at home on the court. An energetic, athletic team captain, Jessica, motivates the players.

"Block it, Chloe! Yeah! Good attack!" Unfortunately, the volleyball heads toward Bella. She closes her eyes and Bambi is suddenly there at her side, Bambi spikes the ball but it flies off court and beans a basketball player in the head. He is Mike Newton, good looking, affable, with blond spiky hair.

"Oops" Bambi mumbles.

"Ow!" Mike complains, Bella shoots Bambi a look, she shrugs and then hurries over to Mike.

"Are you alright?" Bambi asks. He turns to her and then smiles looking over her, Bambi is not an unattractive girl, and she owns her body, she's very comfortable in it. He smiles at her.

"It's only a flesh wound" Mike grins and she smiles, relieved. A bell rings, class over. "You're Nadine, right?" he asks, she crinkles her nose, she doesn't hate the name per say, she's just grown used to Bambi, it's a nickname she's had since she was a child, in facts it's even very rare her parents call her Nadine, unless she is in trouble.

"Bambi" she corrects, he raises an eyebrow, she smirks. "It's a long story" she offers,

"I'm Mike. Newton" He looks at her a second too long, clearly taken by her. Suddenly, Jessica appears, stepping between them. Subtle, but possessive as she nudges Mike.

"She's got a great spike, doesn't she?" Jessica asks, she turns to Bambi and looks over her. "So, you're from Arizona, right?" she looks across at Bella who shuffles nervously. "Aren't people supposed to be tan down there?" Jessica jabs at Bella, Bambi turns hostile in a second, like a switch has been flicked, it's instant.

"That's why they kicked me out" Bella offers with a small smirk. Mike laughs, and because he does, Jessica does. Bella just feels uncomfortable with the attention...Bambi turns and walks away, seething, she hates fake people, and already she can tell Jessica is fake. "Bambi" Bella calls out following her, Bambi disappears into the locker room and sits on the bench by her belongings and pulls out her ponytail with a sighs, Bella sits cautiously at her side and waits for her to cool down, Bella knows her sister's mood swings can be pretty unpredictable but they are lucky she hadn't lashed out at Jessica. Bella knows her sister hates fakes, pushy girls and brown nosers. And they just met Jessica who seemed to encompass all three.

......................

Edward Cullen wishes he could sleep, just so he could sleep through high school, his very own purgatory. He looks to his twin brother at his side, Connor, who doddles in a sketch pad, a human habit he'd retained over the years, he likes to sketch, gets images, fantasised images in his head that he likes to get down, Edward can't help but think he would have made a talented graphic novelist. Though both of them are considered artistic, it is Connor that produces some stunning pieces, though Edward is sure Connor would say the same about him and his music. Edward looks across at Alice who is watching Jasper, two weeks since their last hunt and being around this many humans is getting increasingly difficult for the younger vegetarian. Alice's eyes suddenly cast over when ever she has a vision, Edward lets himself into her mind and frowns. Or lack of vision, there is nothing but black static. Alice frowns herself as her eyes clear, she looks to Edward who shifts his shoulders ever so slightly, a shrug. Connor looks up from his sketch book and across the cafeteria, Edward raises an eyebrow at his brother and follows his eyes, one of the new Swan girls, Bella, he thinks, he'd noticed the twins a lot in other students minds, half the sheep like males were already imagining falling in love with the other twin, Nadine, Bambi, he corrects in his mind, even through other peoples thoughts he could see there was something about that girl, an....attraction, even to him, he's never looked that way at women, not since he was human. Mike Newtons thoughts on her were more....vocal, highly imaginative, he'd been watching her play volley ball, noted the curve of her hips, the way she moved, the way she played. Edward shakes his head slightly as if to remove the thoughts fro his mind and looks back across at Bella who walks with Mike and Jessica through the cafeteria carrying their trays to a table. Eric appears, and squishes into a seat next to Bella but Edward's attention has been caught again. Bambi enters the cafeteria pulling her bag over her shoulder and flicks her hair out to the side, there is something about her, dark hair, tanned skin, the way she moves, she cocks her head and then looks straight at him, he can't look away from her, those eyes pulling him in, drawing him, she looks away and he frowns.

[You alright?] Connor asks through their open channel link, Connor keeps a constant thought tunnel open between them, they have nothing to hide from one another.

[I don't know] Edward admits back. He honestly has no idea what just happened.

..........................