(A/N: Hey y'all! I'm back with this new story! I'm in a creative writing class this semester and during one of the assignments, the idea just hit me. I've never been happier to do homework in all of my life. I'm calling this a little OOC, mostly because Rosalie is actually nice and Edward's a little shy. Anyways, here it is!)

Changes

The strong maple and oak trees are dead, void of life; and the branches are drooping. Winter is on its way, pushing autumn over the edge, not to be seen for another year. Alas, the last of the leaves still attached to its bearer separates and it glides along the slight, freezing breeze. It makes its way gently to the pond that lies beneath. I shivered as the breeze caught my hair and pulled my jacket tighter.

I sat on a bench of the park that surrounded the pond and thought about my most recent stressor. The semester is coming to an end. That means finals are coming up and those classes have proven themselves to be challenging. If my GPA drops, I'll lose my scholarship and have to go back home. I am in my last year of college and I am so close to getting my degree; it would be shameful to be sent home now.

"Bella, come on. It's getting a little bit too windy," Rosalie told me. She had been my best friend since high school. We decided that we would go to college together and work our way through it; we were each other's support system.

"Okay," I replied, standing up and buttoning my jacket. I shoved my hands inside the pockets, not aware of how cold they had gotten.

We walked back to campus, talking about nothing in particular, laughing most of the time reminiscing on the high school years.

"Do you remember how shocked Lauren looked when I won homecoming court?" Rose had always been the favorite of everybody in the tiny school; she chose not to join any cliques. Lauren fumed when her name was called for third place behind Angela and Rose.

"How could I forget? It's the only time I've seen anybody's face flush redder than mine," I laughed. By that time, we had made our way to the dorm room.

We shrugged off our layers and replaced them with sweat pants and t-shirts. Rosalie sighed when I sat down at my desk, cracking open a text book and started writing notes.

"Bella, you really need to get a life. Stop studying so much; you already know the material," she huffed.

"Rose, you know that I can't afford to lose my scholarship," I argued. We've had this disagreement many times in our friendship.

"But, you have a 4.0 GPA and your scholarship only requires you to keep a 3.25. That means you can get three A's one B and one C; or two A's and three B's! Bella, I know that you can let some study time slip," she proclaimed.

She hadn't pulled that one on me. I always just did my best to make good grades. I didn't really know what the minimum GPA was to keep the scholarship. I really didn't know how to reply to that one. She had won this battle; but that didn't mean she had won the war. I closed my book and glared at her.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, giving in.

"Really? We're going to do something fun?" I could hear the excitement in her voice. I merely nodded my head and she jumped up, pulling her curling iron and make-up from her desk drawer. I instantly regretted agreeing to this.

She plugged the curling iron into the wall and sat it down, grabbing her face moisturizer.

"Come here, Bella! I need you closer to the light,"

I got up reluctantly, took four steps across the room and sat in the chair she had pulled out for me. With a glop of the lotion already spread over her fingers, she attacked my face, rubbing it in all the small crevices. After it was rubbed in, she walked behind me and pulled a brush through my still wind-blown hair.

"Ouch, Rose! That hurt!" I half yelled.

"Sorry. You really need to take better care of your hair," she apologized. She started from the ends and worked her way up to my roots, brushing all the tats out.

She sprayed and curled my hair, making sure that every strand fell into place. After all of that was done, she tacked the sides up with bobby pins and announced that half the job was done. Rose worked on my face next, rubbing the foundation to blend with my natural color. She worked on my eyes after that. I felt the brush of liquid liner slide over the rim of my top lid. A few more moments and some strokes of lip gloss later, she was finished.

"I have created a masterpiece. Now all we need to do is find something for you to wear," Rose mumbled as she looked through my closet.

"Good luck finding anything in there," I knew that she wanted me in something dressy, yet fun. I didn't know the occasion, but I could tell by the way she pulled shirts out of my wardrobe and compared them.

"Ugh! Why haven't you worn this yet?" Rose asked, sounding aggravated.

I looked over to see her holding out the deep purple, silky, sleeveless dress she had gotten me for my birthday.

"What occasion do I have to wear something like that?" I answered her question with one of my own.

"This is the occasion, Bella. Here, put it on; I'll go get ready," she sounded a little disappointed in me.

Rosalie rushed around the room primping herself for the night's events. She curled the tips of her blond locks, and made her make-up fresh looking. After she put on a blue-green top and a knee-length black skirt, she looked at me holding her arms out, asking how she looked.

"You look great as usual, Rose. I'm sorry for being all sour about this. I don't know what came over me," I apologized.

"It's alright Bella. I know how you hate getting all dressed up, but it's not without a good cause!"

"What are you planning?" I asked suspiciously. Anytime she pulled out the war paint and weapons it meant that she was going somewhere special.

"Well, I have a date tonight with this guy in my robotics class and he asked me to invite Jasper and his girlfriend and you. He said he'd invite his little brother and set you up on a blind date. I know I should've told you sooner, but I never found the right moment. I'm sorry," she rushed.

I processed what she had said slowly. Rose was an engineering major and had taken a robotics class as a requirement. As a consequence, all of the other engineering majors, most of which are geeks, had asked her out. So, she must've found one that she found appealing or else she wouldn't agree to a date. Rose's twin, Jasper, went to school with us and his girlfriend, Alice, was perfect for him. We all got along great. Alice was actually the RA of our floor, so she got the room to herself…unless Jasper joined her, that is. So this guy has a little brother that is joining us as my date. Wait…my date? I felt my face grow hot and my temper rose with it.

"You set me up on a blind date?" I screamed at her, furious.

"Well, you don't get out much and all you do is study! Get out and live a little! By the way, this is the only way I'll forgive you for not wearing the dress sooner," she yelled back.

There was a knock on the door at that time. Rose went to it and swung it open. Alice and Jasper were on the other side of the door with wide eyes and half-smiles.

"Did we interrupt something important?" Alice asked. She was a short, spunky girl who was full of charisma. Her dark hair was only inches long, and it stuck out in spikes from every direction. She is one of the few people who can pull that look off.

"Bella found out about the blind date. She's mad at me," Rose answered in a very nonchalant voice.

"Wait a minute. Did you guys know about this too?" I glared at Jasper then Alice.

"Well, Bella, you do need to socialize a little more. I mean, we're graduating in May and I'm the only new person you've become friends with. It's not like you have to like this guy, just meet him and see how you two hit it off. I have a feeling that you will gain a new friend tonight," Alice lectured.

"And we all know how freaky Alice's 'feelings' are. She's been right too many times," Jasper chuckled while kissing Alice's forehead.

Damn it. Why did their sides always outweigh mine? I huffed and nodded. I've never had a boyfriend before. So, naturally, I've never been on a date. I have no clue what to do, or how to read guys' body language. If tonight turns out to be a disaster, I'm going to hover in a corner and do nothing but study for the rest of the year.

"Okay, when do we leave?" I asked, defeated.

"Right now. Jasper and I just wanted you two to know that we were going ahead to reserve the table," Alice answered.

"Thanks Alice, you don't know how much you and bub are helping," Rose said.

"Anything for my sis. Be careful, both of you. And don't let Bella wear any heels, we don't want her tripping all over her date," Jasper laughed.

I glared at the back of his head while he and Alice turned to walk down the hall. I slipped on some black ballet flats that Rose put in front of me. I grabbed my purse and followed Rose out of the door. We walked to her BMW and drove to one of the nicest restaurants in town. Melleni's was an authentic Italian restaurant that was affordable to the college students. It was by far mine and Rose's favorite.

We spotted Alice's yellow Porsche and parked beside it.

"Bella, please, just do this one thing for me. If I thought that this would turn out to be a bad night, I wouldn't even suggest it. This guy, he really seems like he gets me. And his little brother doesn't sound half bad either," Rose begged.

"What's his name?" I asked. If Rose would ask this of me, she really must like the guy. But, I was more interested in who I would be spending most of my evening with.

"My date's name is Emmett; your's is Edward," she stated. "From what Emmett tells me, Edward has a good head on his shoulders; and he's very focused, like you."

"Well, let's get this over with," I opened the car door and walked inside to where Jasper and Alice sat. Rose sat beside Jasper, while I sat beside Alice. There were two empty seats between Rose and me, just waiting to be occupied by our dates.

"Bella, breathe. Your face is turning pale," Alice rubbed my hand that was placed on the table next to her.

I took in a shaky breath. I couldn't believe I was so nervous over a stupid date. The waitress came over and took our drink orders, Rose and I both ordered sweet tea.

"This is your first date isn't it?" Alice asked me. She said it low enough so that Jasper and Rosalie couldn't hear her. I nodded my head.

"Don't be nervous, you'll be fine," she looked towards the door as the bell overhead jingled to announce a customer. "Hmm, I wonder why my brothers are here," she pondered out loud.

"Rose! There you are!" a booming voice sounded. I jumped back at the sudden noise and took a look at the invasion.

Walking towards the table was a huge guy with brown curly hair. His muscles were very well pronounced, bulging through his white polo. He looked like the kind of guy Rose dated through high school; very athletic, with bold personalities. Behind the huge bear of a guy, I assumed was Emmett, was another man. He captured my attention almost immediately. He was tall, though not as much as the guy in front. He had an average build, and he looked toned the closer he got to the table. His hair was bronze, and messy; but it looked really good tousled like that. As he finally stood before the table, I could see these bright shining emerald green eyes. This guy was a Greek god, only better. I really hoped that he was my date.

"Hey everybody, I'm Em…Alice? What are you doing here?" the large guy looked confused.

"I could ask you the same question Emmett, Edward," Alice looked equally confused. Ah-ha! So, this god, Edward, is my date.

"I'm here on a date with Rosalie. I asked her to bring her roommate and her brother and his girlfriend," Emmett explained.

"Well, it looks like you cleared the whole story up for us Emmett. This is my boyfriend, Jasper, Rose's brother. And this is Bella, her roommate. Everybody, these are my brothers, Emmett and Edward," Alice answered as she pointed everyone out. I blushed as she introduced me.

"So, this is a little awkward. I'm Edward," he said, taking the seat next to me. He held his hand out for me to shake; and when our hands touched, a volt of electricity shocked my body as I quickly retracted my hand.

"Sorry. I'm Bella," I replied putting my hands in my lap. He laughed and it was so musical; I could listen to it all day.

"What's your major Bella?" Edward asked, conversationally.

"High school grades education; I have an emphasis on language arts. What about you?" I found it surprisingly easy to talk to him.

"Music; I'm not really sure what I'll do with it, but it's what I'm passionate about," he answered.

We continued our conversation like this for the entirety of the dinner. I really enjoyed talking to him, and it seemed as though he felt the same. After we finished eating, the group decided to split; Alice and Jasper in her car, Rose and Emmett in hers, and Edward and I in his car, a shiny silver Volvo.

"So, what made you decide to go on a blind date?" Edward asked me.

"If truth be told, I was forced into going. Rose didn't even tell me about it until she had me all dolled up. It wasn't until she started begging that I finally agreed to it. How many blind dates have you been to?" I answered.

"This is a little embarrassing to admit, but this is my first date, ever," he spoke softly, his cheeks blushing.

I felt relief wash over me at his admittance. He didn't know any more about what he was doing than I did. We were in the same boat.

"Mine too," I told him to help rid him of his embarrassment.

"Really?" he looked suspicious, as if I may be lying.

"Yeah, I've never really been interested in any of the guys I've met," I answered.

"Same here. It just feels like everywhere I go, girls are trying to get with me. I don't want a dumb blond with a second rate job. I want a girl who actually opens books and tries to comprehend the words inside; you know what I mean?" He said.

"A little," I answered.

We spent the rest of the ride talking about music, only to find out that we had very similar tastes. As it turns out, Edward is just a few months older than I am. He explained how Emmett changed his major a lot, so it pushed him back a year and Alice took a bunch of summer classes so she wouldn't be left at home by herself. He followed the rest of the gang to the movie theater and turned the car off. He got out quickly, and before I could get my seatbelt unbuckled, he had my car door open, offering me his hand. I took it and let him help me up. He didn't release my hand once the door was shut either. He held it gently all the way through the parking lot and to the ticket stand. He let go to get his wallet out of the back pocket of his khakis.

"What movie are we seeing?" Edward asked Emmett.

"Dude, we totally gotta watch the Dark Knight. I heard it kicks ass!" Emmett spoke excitedly.

"Is that okay with you, Bella?" Edward looked at me. He really looked like he wanted my honest opinion; like if I said no, we would watch something else.

"Yeah, sure! I've wanted to watch that one since I saw the previews," I answered.

"It was so sad to hear about Heath Ledger's overdose," Alice sighed in a sorrowful voice.

Rose and I sighed in sadness too. He was our all time favorite actor. My favorite movie of his was "A Knight's Tale" while Rose's was "10 Things I Hate About You".

Us girls filed into the theater while the boys got the popcorn and drinks. Before I could walk in to get our seats, Edward grabbed my arm, turning me to face him. I noticed then just how strong and safe I felt while in his partial embrace.

"Do you want popcorn? Candy? Soda?" He listed.

"Umm, I want some Raisinetes and a bottle of water please. I can pay for it," he interrupted me.

"No, we're on a date. I'll pay for it," Edward smiled.

I found Alice and Rose in the half-lit theater, a seat between them. They motioned for me to join them and started badgering me with questions.

"So, what do you think about him, Bella?" Rose asked.

"He's nice," I answered honestly.

"Of course he's nice. He's always a gentleman. But, he really seems to like you; he looks happier than I've ever seen him. Whatever you're doing, seems to be working like magic on him," Alice grinned.

"Don't you think it's a little odd to have your brothers on a date with you Alice?" I asked her, genuinely curious.

"No, it doesn't bother me. I know that Emmett likes Rosalie, he practically showed everyone just how much with that big smooch at the car. And Edward looks like he's on cloud nine with you. As long as they're happy, and they aren't bothering me, I'm happy," Alice said.

"Do you like him?" Rose was interrogating me.

"Yeah, we get along pretty easily and we have a lot of stuff in common," I answered another question.

"The real question is: how much do you like him?" Alice rephrased.

I rolled my eyes and let out an audible breath. "Come on you guys, we're not in middle school anymore,"

"Why won't you answer the question?" Rose caught me up in something I didn't want to disclose just yet; but they were my best friends.

"Okay, okay; I like him a whole lot. Happy?" I was getting a little frustrated.

They let the subject drop and a few minutes later, the boys filed in with the food. Jasper sat in between Alice and Rosalie, while Emmett sat on the other side of Rose and Edward took the aisle seat beside me. As soon as the boys were settled in, like clockwork, the lights went out and the previews started. All through the movie, I kept stealing glances over at my date, to find him either munching on his popcorn staring intently at the screen or watching me out of the corner of his eye. The end credits started rolling and we all got up and stretched. The movie was really good, and Emmett's analogy of it didn't even come close.

"What did I tell you, Edward? I knew it would be totally awesome," Emmett boomed. He caused us all to chuckle.

We filed out of the theater in couples and the night had come to an end. Alice and Jasper got in her car and left for campus again. Emmett walked Rosalie to the driver's side of the BMW while Edward walked me to the passenger side.

"I had a really great time tonight, Bella," Edward spoke, looking down at his hands.

"I did too. Maybe we should hang out some more; you know, get to know one another better," I bit my lip, hoping I didn't sound too forward.

"I'd like that. Could I get your number?" He asked.

I was relieved when he didn't reject me. Somehow, I just knew that this night had to turn around on the good luck it was bringing me; I was very grateful when it hadn't. I gave him my number, and told him to go on and call me so I could save his number to my phone. He did and when it rang, I was slightly embarrassed at the ring tone blaring. "I believe in a thing called love. Just listen to the rhythm of my heart…"

I could feel my face turn into a bright pink color. Edward chuckled, but didn't say anything thankfully. Emmett called for him and he gave me a crooked grin.

"Goodnight Bella," he said, rubbing up and down my arm twice before turning to walk towards his Volvo.

"Goodnight Edward," I whispered, he couldn't hear me.

I missed him already. I got into the passenger side seat of the car and let out a sigh.

"So, what did you think about the little bro?" Rose asked with a big smile on her face.

I looked her and the smile on my face rivaled hers.

(A/N: So, is the writing class helping any? I hope so. I would appreciate reviews; should I keep the story going or no? I'd like to thank my beta: TwilightFan4Life for editing this story for me. You're a life saver!)