A/N: Just having some fun with Edward and Bella in high school. This takes place Post Breaking Dawn, and Bella has gained some confidence at least. I tried to keep to the original characters as much as I could, but I don't them as well as Stephenie Meyer does.

I planned to put this into an entire story. As I'm writing this, the story is unfolding in my head at rapid speed.

This is my first fanfic. I'm not a native English speaker, so please forgive any mistakes. I appreciate feedback on my writing skills, both regarding the content as well as the quality of my English!

I don't own the characters or anything else related to the magnificent Twilight series. I do own this plot.

I swirled into Biology just a tad late, the teacher was just about to begin his lesson for the day. I smiled apologetically at him and let my eyes wander about the room. Although I did not need my eyes to know where I should go, it was still a sight to see Edward waiting for me in the back of the class. He'd saved me a seat and now beckoned me with his eyes.

"You must be an other new girl," the teacher smiled. "I'm Mr. Jones, your teacher. Could you find this class alright? Why don't you take the opportunity to introduce yourself, while you're still here at front?"

I smiled and nodded, then turned towards class. Half of the students weren't even paying attention. The glory of attending a big school. I shrugged before I said the mandatory lines. "Hi, I'm Bella, I'm 17. I just moved here from Alaska with my parents." After a second of thought, I added: "I like it here. It's less cold." I could barely but definitely hear Edward's snicker from the back of the class.

When Mr. Jones beckoned me to have a seat, I thought of something. With just a little effort I lowered my shield, keeping my face serene, while I started to walk to Edward's desk.

Oh, there's only one seat left. Guess I'll just go and sit there, then. Oh my, but he's a hottie! Wonder what his name is? Should I ask him?

I had the pleasure of seeing Edward's surprised face when I sat down next to him. I decided to drag this out a little further. Just a little.

I fanned out my hair over my left shoulder, just as I had done all those years ago when we had shared a desk at Biology. I could feel how he was resisting the urge to put my hair back behind my ear - I knew how much he loved to see my face.

As girly as I could, I peeked at him from behind the curtain of my hair.

Is he looking? Oh! He is! Have a look at those eyes! And that body! I'd tap that. Swoon.

This time Edward could not contain his laughter, and so he poorly tried to disguise it as a cough. I could barely keep my own face composed. A few students were looking our way now, but they couldn't make any sense of what Edward was doing. I stared straight ahead, not meeting Edward's gaze. It would be my undoing to see his eyes, I was sure of that.

As Mr. Jones started the lesson, talking about osmosis and whatnot, I could feel boredom set in immediately. Edward was looking distracted as well, obviously tapping into our fellow students' heads to see if any of their thoughts were alarming to us. And to distract himself from me, I supposed.

Suppressing an evil grin, I lowered my shield again.

He looks distracted. Well, I should have known that he wouldn't notice me. Hmm, I'd know what I do with such a body, would I happen across it in my bed, say, tonight...

It snapped Edward out of his trance sure enough. He looked at me again, the look in his eyes was priceless. I bit my lip not so as not to explode.

Just then my phone vibrated in my pocket. Alice, of course. I started to read her text. This time I had to disguise my laughter as a coughing fit:

Behave. You're going to give 'exposure' a whole new meaning if you keep on driving Edward to extremes like this.

A wicked grin flashed across my face. Quickly I sent her a reply: Ok. I'll be good, I promise. Then I put my phone back in my pocket before Mr. Jones had had the chance to look up and see me with it.

Alice was right, though. We'd gone over this again and again. It turned out that there were different aspects of 'self-control' Edward and I both had to learn. So as doom's day was approaching, we decided, with much chuckles and shrugging, that we would try staying away from each other. We had spent months trying to 'behave,' so that we could cope with public situations such as high school. At first I wasn't at all inclined to put too much effort in it. But we tried nevertheless. Being in school for a third part of the day meant not only the temptation of being with humans, but also the temptation of being in close proximity with Edward, whilst not being allowed to touch him. Or at least, not in any way that I would like to, given the chance. I was pretty sure that Edward felt the same.

We'd followed the same course as Emmet and Rosalie had. First, we went hunting without the other. That way we would be away from each other for a day or so, and it would be difficult to seek the other out in the meantime. Being so far away from each other for a certain amount of hours was uncomfortable, but bearable. After two tries however, Alice did insist that we put on old clothes before we saw each other again, because whatever we were wearing at our reunion, it would not see another dawn.

When we were getting used to the physical pain we felt when being miles apart, we started trying spending a couple of hours in the same house, but in a different room. Edward would play piano most of the time, I would try to watch some TV or read something - anything. Our success rate was alarmingly low.

Of course our siblings were trying to help us, albeit in their own way. Emmett mainly boasted about how we would surely start breaking down some walls when we'd managed to get through a day of school without cracking. It annoyed me, but I could ignore him quite easily. Alice literally ran away screaming a couple of times, crying that she could no longer bear the visions of us she kept seeing. Well, if I wasn't going to be with Edward, at least I could plan what I would do to him when I had him back in my arms, could I not? Jasper visited us both for small talk now and then during our periods of seclusion, but he got on my nerves when I felt the feelings he was projecting. When I confronted him, he put the most innocent of looks on his face: "Hey, don't blame the messenger!" He'd actually managed to sound piqued. Renesmee was almost desolate as she dribbled between me and Edward, hugging us and trying to cheer us up with her happy memories. But she understood why we were doing this. She was our child, but she was a grown-up all right. And in a full-fledged happy relationship with Jacob Black.

Carlisle and Esme kept to themselves, it was Carlisle's philosophy that it would be easiest for Edward and I if we tried to figure out ourselves how to manage being away from each other.

And then there was Rosalie. She was the only one that was actually trying to help me. She came to sit with me one dreary afternoon, just after I'd thrown my battered copy of Wuthering Heights into the wall. The damaged binding of the book finally had given in and loose pages whirled about the room. I sighed. Great. Now I'd have to get a new one, and paper classics like these were getting harder to find. I was not yet sold about the whole e-book thing.

Rose just looked into my room as the pages were settling down, and asked me if she could keep me company.

"I'm not in a happy place," I warned her.

Rose accepted that as a consent and walked into the room in her high heels. She was so elegant, it still pained me to see her move like that.

She put her arm round my shoulders as she sat down next to me. I was curled up at the couch, wearing a sweater that was so big I could fold my legs under it - which I'd done. My arms were wrapped around my legs, my chin was resting on my knees. I'd been very comfortable in this position when I was still human.

Rosalie tucked my hair behind my ear, cooing shushing sounds.

"I just can't see how being away from Edward now is going to make it any easier later," I pouted.

Rosalie smiled sympathetically at that. "I know honey, it was just as hard for Emmet and I. And we had been together for longer than you and Edward are now. I'm sorry you couldn't put this off any longer."

Indeed. I'd delayed enrolling into a 'normal' life for as long as I could. Edward was in on that conspiracy, though, so I could not be blamed for all of it.

The first year after our confrontation with the Volturi, the obvious argument had been that I was a newborn that could not be trusted around humans. And of course there was Renesmee.

The second year I 'almost slipped up' as inconspicuously as possible, and it was obvious that I was not starting high school for yet another year. And of course there was Renesmee.

The third year I could no longer hide that I was very much in control of my thirst, but as Edward had stated very nicely, this could only mean that our bridal days could finally really start. Another two years were added to postpone impending doom, and we went to a cozy, very remote place were we could play house in earnest. And of course there was Renesmee.

The fifth year, which really, really came way too fast after the third and the fourth, I was running out of excuses. But of course, there was Renesmee. And I flat out refused to miss even one second of her while she was still growing, let alone waste a third of the time I could be with her at school, whilst already losing a third of my time with her because she needed to sleep.

And now, with Renesmee grown and the excuse of 'bridal days' no longer usable – I had been furious when it was obviously thought that Edward and I did not need a 'solid decade' for that – I was here, preparing to be away from Edward by being away from Edward. Really, the uncanny logic behind this was beyond me.

I looked up at Rosalie. Over the last years we had build an intense friendship with each other. The bonding that had started when I was pregnant with Renesmee had only intensified when Renesmee grew up. She really was a very nice friend, once you got past the superficial façade.

"I think you and Edward are doing a really good job," Rosalie continued. "And we all really appreciate that you are trying this, so that we can make a new start as a complete family again. I do, at least."

I smiled thankfully at her for that. "At least you're not trying to make it worse, like some others. I wouldn't call any names," I let my voice rise a little, so that I could be sure everybody could hear.

"Hey, I'm innocent as a baby!" Emmet called from downstairs.

"A baby from hell," I muttered, and Emmet's booming laugh thundered through the house.

"What's wrong, little sis', can't take the teasing?"

Did he just say teasing? Well, two could play at that game.

"What's wrong, big bro'?" I replied, "still mad about that wrestling match you lost yesterday?"

In an instant I could hear Emmet flying up the stairs, doubtless wanting to challenge me for a rematch. But then, just then, the egg timer rang. The piano music that had been playing stopped abruptly. Edward beat Emmet to the door of our room, snatched me up in one fluent movement and flew out of the window, into the forest, into oblivion.

"Miss Bella? Care to answer my question?"

Drat. What did I miss? I chanced a glance at Edward, who was studiously ignoring me. Very nice.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Jones. Could you please repeat your question?"

He seemed a little taken aback by my politeness. Just as well, I did not want to make a bad impression on my first day.

"Could you tell me what osmotic pressure is?"

"Of course," I answered pleasantly, "osmotic pressure is what keeps plants upright. When water enters the plant by osmosis, the turgor pressure exerted against the cell wall is raised, until it equals the osmotic pressure, thus creating a steady state."

Mr. Jones did not reply immediately to my answer. His hesitation made me uncertain. Had I said something wrong? I quickly flipped open my Biology book, searching for the right page. Then I sighed in relief. I'd given the right answer, I'd just used slightly more scientific terminology than was right for a high school student. I suppressed a grin at that thought. Maybe I was slightly more educated than your average high school student. My hunger for knowledge was definitely a personality trait I'd brought with me to this life. I was a welcomed guest in both the library as well as the local bookstore.

Hmm, the bookstore. I was certainly looking forward to my next visit there. My new book order had arrived. Twenty treasures were waiting for me.

Did I mention that I was easily distracted?

I glanced at the clock. We were halfway through the lesson, with twenty-five minutes to go. Wait, what? I would have thought that all my mind wandering had at least cost me some more time than a mere twenty minutes. Technically I wasn't even half way through the lesson, as I had been five minutes late. This was worth a very human-sounding sigh, indeed.

I shot another sideways glance at my husband. He was rigid, a look of concentration furrowing his brow. What was he listening to? Or rather, who? In any case, he was sitting way too still.

"Fidget," I whispered under my breath. At once he sat back, crossing his arms and clearing his throat. He still did not look at me. Was he annoyed that I had played with his mind earlier on? I couldn't image that.

Leaning forward, I caught his gaze. I had to suppress a gasp when I saw his eyes. Liquid topaz, and positively smoldering. Oh, my. Was that because of my little game? I could not deny that I was viciously proud of that accomplishment. But I thought I was supposed to be the one who was having issues with control? Maybe I should help him a little. I lowered my shield.

Pizza, I sent his way.

Although he was looking straight ahead, I could see him raise an eyebrow.

Barbecue. Wet dog smell. Jacob in a wedding dress.

It worked – he snickered and seemed to relax a little.

You know, I think you're doing a good job, I tried to assure him. I wished, I deeply, sorely wished, that I could grab his hand for comfort. But this school had a strict non-PDA policy. Leave it to me to be the last one to find out that that doesn't have anything to do with smartphones.

Edward still did not look my way. Instead, he ripped out a piece of paper from his notebook, and started to write in his impeccable handwriting:

If I'd known it'd be this hard, I'd kidnapped you for at least another year or two. It's really quite annoying, this.

I guessed he was writing at human speed just to kill time. I took the piece of paper from him and wrote back:

Then again, we've been through worse, haven't we? And think about how sweet it'll be when we get home…

Edward didn't move, but I knew he had read my message. Then I did something that, in my eyes at least, made me a true monster. I leaned towards him carefully, letting my breath stir the hair that fell over his ear as I whispered, "I've found us a new meadow…"

That was it. His jaw clenched, and his hands gripped the table with such force that I was afraid he was going to break it. He remained like that for the rest of the lesson. My phone vibrated in my pocket again, but I ignored it. I was having way too much fun to be scolded by Alice.

When the bell rang, Edward got up immediately and left the room before the others had started to pack their books, without so much as glancing back at me. It was such a close resemblance to our first ever Biology class, that I could not suppress a smile. It was a good thing that Edward and I did not have the next class together. We could not have pulled that through.

Hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it... Tell me what you think!