I don't own Twilight!

Chapter One: Normal to Nightmare

"Bella! Hurry up, you're going to be late," Charlie bellowed from the kitchen.

"I'll be down in a minute," I said, grabbing my backpack off the floor. I quickly stuffed my textbooks and homework assignments inside, and somehow managed to get the zipper up over the bulging contents. I hurried down the stairs, and when I reached the kitchen my dad glanced up from his newspaper and scrambled eggs and looked pointedly at the clock that hung on the kitchen wall. I rolled my eyes in response.

"I know, I know," I said as I grabbed a Pop Tart from the cupboard, "I'm leaving now."

As soon as the Pop Tart was securely in the front pocket of my bag I dashed into the hallway, grabbed my coat and my car keys from the little dish on the table in the hallway and headed for the door. I couldn't help but notice that my bag weighed roughly the same amount as I did, thanks to the insane number of books I was forced to carry.

"Have fun at school, kiddo," Charlie called from the kitchen.

"Will do," I muttered sarcastically.

"Don't forget dinner with the Blacks tonight," Charlie yelled as I ran out the door.

"I won't," I replied, "Bye, Dad!"

Billy Black was my dad's best friend, and we had dinner with him and his son Jacob at least once a week. Dinner with the Blacks meant I got a break from cooking, but it also meant I had to put up with Jacob's incessant attempts to kiss me and get me to go out on a date with him. Even though I made it clear numerous times that I don't reciprocate his feelings, he doesn't take the hint. Routinely during the evenings we spend there, Jacob manages to find an opportunity to get me alone, and I do my best to politely refuse because his dad is such good friends with mine. However, it was quickly approaching time for drastic action.

I climbed into my truck, which my dad bought from Billy, and started it up. As it roared to life I was reminded of another reason why I was forced to stay on Jacob's good side. He is my mechanic, and if anything ever goes wrong with the truck he fixes it and all I have to pay for is the parts, which is about all I can usually afford.

Glancing at the clock on the dash I realized how late I really was and quickly pulled away from the curb. I pushed my truck to its limit, trying to do everything in my power to make it to school on time. Since my dad is the Chief of Police, speeding isn't the smartest thing for me to be doing, but then again my truck only goes up to sixty. Not exactly Autobahn material.

Much to my surprise I pulled into the school parking lot with a few minutes to spare. After parking in the back of the lot where the only available spots were, I hurried into the building and ducked into home room just as the bell was ringing. I took my seat next to my best friend Angela and listened as the teacher read the morning announcements. After we were brought up to date on the latest fundraiser, sporting events, and lunch selections, we were left to our own devices.

"Hey," Angela said as she turned to face me, "You were late today."

"I overslept, and I got here before the bell rang so I wasn't really late," I argued.

"True," Angela agreed.

"How was your date with Ben?" I asked, steering the conversation away from my tardiness and on to Angela's favorite subject, her boyfriend Ben. I can't really blame her, if I had a boyfriend I imagine I would want to talk about him, too.

"Amazing as usual," Angela answered with a dreamy look on her face.

"You are so lucky," I moaned, "You got to spend your evening with an amazing guy; I spent mine eating fish and watching the baseball game with Charlie."

"Don't forget emailing your mom," Angela added.

"What?" I asked.

"You were going to email your mom last night," Angela said.

"Damn, I knew I forgot something. Renee is going to freak."

Charlie and my mother, Renee, got divorced when I was six and my mom moved to Phoenix. Originally she wanted me to go with her, but since I had just started kindergarten my dad talked her out of it. I visit Renee every summer, and the last time I visited she surprised me by picking me up at the airport with her new husband. Don't get me wrong, I like Phil. But he is a lot younger than my mom, and it all happened so fast it makes me a little nervous. Phil has kept my mother busy lately, but if I don't email her every few weeks she calls in a panic thinking I am in a ditch or something.

"Maybe you should write a note on your hand or something, so you remember," Angela said.

"Good idea," I replied as I took a pen out of my bag. My Pop Tart fell out of the front pocket of my bag as I took the pen out, so I munched on it while I wrote EMAIL MOM on the top of my hand. Angela and I were pretty quiet for the rest of homeroom, as I was busy eating my Pop Tart and she was busy thinking about Ben. The starry eyed look on her face was what gave away her thoughts.

The bell rang and we said good bye and left for our first classes of the day. My first class was English, which was pretty close to homeroom so I didn't have to rush. Just as I stepped out into the hallway, though, I heard a crash. When I turned I saw Eric and Tyler pushing Mike up against his locker.

Eric and Tyler were among the popular kids in school, but for some unexplainable reason they took great pleasure in picking on weaker and less popular kids. I had never seen anyone try to stop them, probably because they may become the next target if Eric and Tyler felt that their "fear factor" was being threatened. Mike had never done anything to them, and he was clearly just getting books from his locker, so their actions were completely unwarranted.

I watched in horror as Eric placed his palm on Mike's forehead and shoved his head into the metal locker with a sickening clang. When his head snapped back up, Mike's eyes darted around and found me, giving me a pleading look for help. I found myself frozen and helpless without a clue of what to do to help him. Just as a thought occurred to me to get one of the teachers in a nearby classroom, the bell rang. Mike fell to the floor as Eric and Tyler walked away, and suddenly I was no longer stuck to the floor. I walked over to where Mike was attempting to pull himself up and offered him my hand.

"Are you okay?" I asked as he got to his feet without my help.

"Don't pretend like you give a damn!" Mike spat before storming away.

Guilt welled within me. I stood and watched him get beat up and did nothing to help. No one else did anything either, but he begged me with his eyes for help and I did nothing. I battled self disgust all the way to English, and by the time I got there I knew that I owed Mike a huge apology. Apologizing didn't make up for my cowardice, and I couldn't blame Mike if he wouldn't accept it. I don't think I would be very forgiving to a person who stood by and let me get beat up.

English went by in a blur, as do my other morning classes, and before I knew it I was walking into the cafeteria for lunch. Lunch is my favorite part of the day. Not just because I get to take a break and eat, but because I get to hang out with Angela and Ben. I was starving, so I joined the rapidly growing lunch line. The incident with Mike kept nagging at me, though, and I was caught off guard by a high-pitched voice behind me.

"Hi Bella," I heard. I whirled around and came face to face with Alice Cullen.

"Hi Alice," I replied.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Pretty good," I replied. "How about you?"

"I'm good. I just wish this line would move faster," she answered as she bounced on her toes to see how many people were still in front of us. "I'm starving."

"I know, me too," I replied just as the lunch line moved forward. Luckily, we were towards the front of the line, so we didn't have to wait long to get our food. Once our trays were full, I headed to my table to sit with Angela and Ben while Alice headed to her table to sit with her family and friends.

Alice sits with her boyfriend Jasper, her best friend Rosalie, Rosalie's boyfriend Emmett and her twin brother Edward. Alice and Edward are twins and except for their emerald green eyes, they look nothing alike. Alice is short and petite with spiky black hair and Edward is tall and athletic with messy bronze hair.

Edward doesn't have a girlfriend, a fact which surprises me and every other female at this school. He is my lab partner in Biology, and not only is he incredibly attractive but also one of the nicest people I know.

"You're staring at Edward Cullen again," Angela said, breaking me away from my thoughts. I was so deep in my Edward haze I hadn't even realized I had made it to the table.

"I was not," I objected, causing Angela to roll her eyes. My crush on Edward wasn't exactly a secret at our lunch table. Angela keeps telling me I should make a move, but since I know there is no way in hell Edward would ever be interested in me, I stick to admiring him from afar.

"Don't lie, Bella," Angela said with a smirk, "You suck at it."

"Oh shut up," I huffed with mock anger. Angela laughed before turning to Ben and leaving me to eat my lunch. As I ate I scanned the cafeteria for Mike. I had hoped he would be here so I could apologize, but there was no sign of him at any of the tables. Actually, now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember the last time I had seen Mike eat in the cafeteria. I couldn't really blame him. If I was concerned about getting picked on, I would probably try to find somewhere peaceful to eat, too.

It didn't take me long to finish my lunch, and I gathered up my trash and made my way over to the trash can. Edward approached the trash can at the same time and nervous excitement fluttered in my stomach.

"Hi," Edward said with a small smile as he threw away his garbage.

"Hi," I replied as I felt my face heat with my signature blush.

"See you in Biology," Edward said as he turned to leave.

"Okay," I replied before hurrying back to my seat. When I got back to my lunch table I found Angela waiting for me with a smirk on her face and I quickly realized she was aware that I had talked to Edward.

"That was quite the in-depth conversation you two just had," Angela said, confirming my suspicions.

"Please drop it Angela," I begged.

"Fine," Angela replied with mock irritation.

"Thank you," I answered.

"Okay, on to bigger and better things," Angela said completely dropping the topic of Edward. "We are in desperate need of a girls' night, so I was thinking you could stay at my house on Friday."

"Sounds good," I replied, "You order the pizza and I will bring the ice cream and chick flicks."

"Deal," Angela agreed as the bell rang.

"I'll meet you in Biology," I said to Angela, "I have run to my locker really quick"

"You better hurry," Angela said as I took off in the direction of my locker.

I hurried to my locker and grabbed my notebook and textbook as I fast as I could. On my way back to the classroom I turned a corner and ran into a solid object. When I looked up and saw Edward standing there next to his locker with an amused look on his face I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"Edward I…I'm sorry," I stuttered as my face flamed with embarrassment.

"It's fine," Edward said. He must have sensed my embarrassment, because he rested his hand on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Are you sure?" I asked as I internally kicked myself for acting so stupid in front of the guy I had been crushing on for years.

"Accidents happen," Edward reassured me, "It's really no big deal, Bella"

"Okay," I sighed as I attempted to relax and let it go.

"Come on, let's go to Bio," Edward said as he led the way. When the classroom came into view I saw that Angela was standing by the door talking to Ben while Eric and Tyler were standing close by talking to Jessica and Lauren, their girlfriends.

I noticed Mike standing farther down the hallway, clutching his backpack in front of him and glaring at Eric and Tyler. I figured it was as good a time as any to apologize, but just as I took that first step I saw Mike reach into his bag and pull something out.

It was a gun.

Mike's hand was shaking as he raised it and aimed at Tyler, and the next few seconds turned into a slow motion nightmare.

A pair of strong arms pulled me to the ground just as his finger squeezed the trigger.

A sound, like a firework, filled the hallway just before the terror-filled screams of my classmates took over.

Another ear-splitting boom filled the air, and then I was on my feet, being dragged down the hallway among the panic stricken crowd. It took me a second to realize that Edward was pulling me by my arm into a nearby classroom.

Edward shut the door, then cursed when he realized it didn't have a lock.

"This isn't the safest room, but the hallway is not an option right now so we have to stay put," Edward explained and I nodded. My brain wasn't able to form actual words and comprehend what had just happened at the same time. I'm pretty sure Edward said something else, but between the ringing in my ears from the gunshots and the mixed up jumbles that were my thoughts, I couldn't be sure.

"Bella," Edward grabbed my shoulders and forced me to concentrate on his face, "I asked you if you were okay."

"I…I don't know," I said as I fought back tears, "I think so, but my ears are ringing. I'm scared out of my mind."

"Me too," Edward whispered as he wrapped his arms around me and held me close. I rested my head on his chest as tears silently cascaded down my cheeks. At that point, Edward was the only thing keeping me sane. All of the stupid teenage crush stuff and butterflies that I normally felt when I was around him had been converted to a desperate need for protection and reassurance.

"Edward, did Mike actually shoot Eric and Tyler?" I asked as I realized I didn't know the extent of the damage Mike had caused.

"I don't know," Edward replied, "When I saw him raise the gun I pulled you down, and then everyone was running around so I couldn't see what happened. When the second shot went off we were still on the ground and the chaos was even worse."

I tried to remember who else had been standing near Tyler and Eric. Another wave a terror ran through me as I remembered.

"Angela," I whispered in horror.

"What?" Edward asked.

"My best friend Angela was standing with her boyfriend right next to Tyler and Eric," I explained in panic. "What if she got shot? Oh God, Edward I have to go check!"

"No way in hell are you leaving this room," Edward said.

"Edward I have to," I argued as I started towards the door.

"Bella, I know that you are worried," Edward said as he put his hand on my arm to stop me, "but we don't know for sure if she is hurt, and if you go out there and get yourself shot it will makes things worse either way."

I really wanted to argue but I knew he was right; me doing something stupid and reckless wouldn't help anything.

"You're right," I said as I moved away from the door.

"Bella, believe me. If I thought it was safe I would be out there looking for my sister," Edward said with worry for Alice written all over his face.

"I know. But Edward, remember that Alice is tough, and she wasn't even around when the gun went off," I said as I rested my hand on his arm in a comforting gesture.

"You're right, and I know that, but I'm still worried," Edward said and I nodded in understanding.

"Edward, what are we going to do?" I asked.

"I don't know," Edward answered as he once again wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

Just then the door was thrown open with bang loud enough to make and Edward and I jump.

"Well, well…isn't this cozy?" Mike's angry voice came from the doorway causing chills of terror to run up and down my spine. I turned to face Mike and took some comfort in the fact that Edward kept his arm around my shoulder.

Mike was glaring at us with a hatred I had never seen before. My eyes, however, quickly left his face and landed on the gun that was clutched tightly in his lowered arm.

"You're probably wishing you had helped me out this morning, aren't you?" Mike asked as he raised the gun.

"Yes," I whispered as I stood frozen in terror, staring at the gun pointed at my face, "I'm so sorry."

"It's a bit late for apologies," Mike spat.

"Mike, please don't shoot her," Edward begged as he stared at the gun pointed at my head.

"No need to worry. I'm not going to shoot her," Mike explained as he glanced at Edward from the corner of his eye, "I'm going to shoot you."

"Mike…" I started, but he cut me off.

"See, shooting her wouldn't hurt her. Not really. She would die quickly without experiencing any lasting pain and suffering," he continued as he moved the gun away from my face and pointed it at Edward's.

"However, killing you would cause her an immeasurable amount of pain," Mike said. "I've seen the way she looks at you. It's obvious how she feels."

"Mike, please don't do this," I begged as he put his finger on the trigger.

"Shut up. I want you to feel the same pain I feel every day I come to this school," Mike said, "I want you to pay for being the self-centered bitch that you are."

Mike pulled the trigger, and I didn't even think as I shoved Edward out of the way.

A blinding pain exploded in my right arm, and I knew where the bullet had ended up. Looking down, I saw the red circle, getting bigger by the second, staining my shirt.

"Damn it!" Mike raged, "Why did you do that? Why him, but not me? When I needed you to save me you just stood there!"

I tried to answer, to apologize yet again, but my head was starting to spin and the smell of the blood was making me nauseated. I swayed where I stood, trying to stay focused. Edward looked like he wanted to help me, but with the gun still pointed at him he was unable to move.

"I have loved you for as long as I can remember, but you couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge I exist!" Mike yelled just as I felt my legs give out.

When I hit the floor, I landed on my already damaged arm and felt a new wave or overwhelming pain course through me.

"Bella," Mike said, and I could have sworn he actually sounded concerned. Consciousness was leaving me, and because of the pain and stress I welcomed the approaching darkness. My eyes refused to stay open any longer.

As I let myself drift, I heard muffled noises, as if I was underwater.

Struggling….the firecracker noise again…something falling to the floor...

Then black silence.

AN: Thanks to my beta Jenn!

If you read my story Now then you have probably heard me mention this story. I was going to write it right after I finished Now, but then other ideas popped into my head and this got put on the back burner. It is now front and center so I hope you like it. Please note that this story will be angsty, but I can promise that the angst won't come from Bella and Edward's relationship.

PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU :)