Summary: Edward and his best friend Bella are geeks. They love reading and classical music, and other things considered "weird" by their classmates. Edward, sick of his unrequited love of the most popular girl in school and the way they're treated by the other students, makes a wish on a star to become the most popular boy in school. What happens when his wish comes true? And how come Bella is the only one who seems immune to the wish? All human. Told in third person POV, which is different for me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Edward Masen woke up early on Monday morning, his alarm clock blaring in his ears. He groaned and rolled over in bed, hitting the snooze button and hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep. But that dream was quickly shattered when his mother's voice came yelling upstairs.

"Edward, dear, time to wake up! Can't be late on your first day of school!" Elizabeth Masen trilled and Edward let out another groan. School. Ugh. They should call it torture. That would be more appropriate. If it wasn't for Bella, Edward probably wouldn't have lasted the last three years of high school. She seemed to be the only person who didn't shy away from him like he was some sort of pariah. She enjoyed the same "uncool" books and music, and didn't seem bothered by their constant teasing from the other students.

"Come on Edward, breakfast will be ready in five minutes!" his mother yelled again, and her voice sounded closer. Edward stood, stretching lazily and letting out a yawn. As if school didn't suck enough, it had to be early in the morning, which was his least favorite time of day. He made his way over to his drawer and pulled out a pair of plain jeans and a ratty old t-shirt, before pulling a plain black hoodie on over it. He left his hair as messy as it always was, and stuck on his glasses, pushing them up his nose to make sure they wouldn't fall. Luckily his mother had let him get new classes—the world's meanest jock, Emmett McCarty had smashed his glasses last year, forcing him to have to tape them together. He was sick of being called "Harry Potter" whenever he walked the hallways at school.

"Edward are you up?" Elizabeth called again, her voice sounding impatient.

"I'm up, Mom!" Edward called back downstairs, rolling his eyes. He grabbed his old black backpack, sticking his favorite paperback in it along with his iPod, knowing he would need them during the boring school day. Edward didn't bother looking in the mirror—he already knew what he would see. Every year before the first day of school, his face completely broke out due to stress and nerves. He wasn't in the mood to see his face look like a pizza. He made his way into the kitchen, where both of his parents were sitting. His father was reading the newspaper, eyebrows pulling together in concentration and frustration. His mother was finishing putting butter on some toast and placing it all on a plate before pushing it towards him, smiling the whole time.

"Thanks Mom," Edward said, instantly digging into his food. His mother made the best breakfasts in the world. Most of the time Bella would come over to eat with him—she loved his mothers food as well—but since it was the first day, Bella had decided to skip on it.

"So dear, what are your plans for after school today?" Elizabeth asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Edward sighed, unable to believe she was starting this argument already. Elizabeth was constantly trying to get him to branch out and make new friends or join a sports team. Anything to socialize. He had told her he was perfectly content with Bella and the few other friends they had—Angela, Ben and Jasper. They were fine and all he needed. More like all I can get, Edward thought to himself, sighing again. Edward had honestly tried to make friends outside of his small social circle, but no one would accept him, for a reason he couldn't understand.

"I don't know Mom. I'll probably hang out with Bella or something," Edward said dismissively, trying to let his mother know without words that he didn't want to talk about his social life, or lack thereof.

"You should try out for the cross country team Edward. You've always been quite the runner," Elizabeth noted softly, still trying to sound casual. She didn't fully succeed. Edward could hear the undertone of worry and disappointment in her voice.

"Mom, I really don't like running competitively," he sighed. Elizabeth let out a sad sigh and Edward pushed his plate away. He wasn't hungry anymore. "Really, it's just not my thing. I'd better go. I don't want to be late." Edward stood and kissed his mother's cheek before departing, getting into his parent's Volvo. It wasn't a very nice car—nothing like the S60R he had always dreamed of—but it got the job done. Although he looked more like a mom picking up the kids from soccer practice than a teen cruising around town.

Edward knew he was going to be pretty early to school, and he definitely didn't want that. But he also couldn't stand to be in the house with his mother anymore. Her disappointment was too much to bear. It hurt that she didn't think Edward was good enough, that he wasn't happy the way he was. And maybe he wasn't. He shook his head, pulling out of the driveway, and started the familiar path to Bella's house. Edward knew she wouldn't have left her house yet, since her father didn't pester her like his mother did. Most of the time, Chief Swan was already gone anyways, leaving Bella in peace for the mornings. Edward envied this, although Bella seemed to love his family, the way the small family of three would eat together and loved each other. Edward would much rather have his independence.

He pulled outside of her house just as she was coming outside, the keys to her rusted down truck in her hands. Edward frowned—he never did like her driving that thing, it was a death trap on wheels, but Bella loved it. Edward swiftly honked the horn, causing Bella to jump, hand fluttering to her chest. She smiled when she saw it was Edward, a delicate blush appearing on her cheeks. She waved and bounded down the stairs and across the lawn to his car, tripping and catching herself on the mirror as she did. Edward snorted a laugh and Bella turned red again, letting herself carefully into the car.

"Thanks for the ride," she said, smiling up at him. Bella was wearing simple jeans a t-shirt, a unisex raincoat hiding her figure and an overstuffed backpack sitting on her lap. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she wasn't wearing make-up. She never did—it was unnecessary and took too long to put on. Plus, she knew that a little make-up wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't make the student body of Forks like her and it wouldn't make Edward see her as more than a friend.

Bella sighed. All through her breakfast she had been thinking of Edward. They had been best friends since freshman year, and Bella had fallen in love with him almost instantly. He was witty and smart, funny and sweet. He was even cute. When he took off his glasses, his green eyes sparkled like emeralds, and when he didn't wear baggy clothes, his body was actually pretty muscular. Edward, of course, was clueless to Bella's feelings, and Bella was going to keep it that way. She only had four friends, including him, and she didn't want to lose her best friend.

"No problem," Edward answered, feeling uncomfortable under Bella's scrutiny. He sometimes caught Bella looking at him, and it always made him feel self-conscious, especially since he never knew what she was thinking. Her facial expression was always detached, bored, guarded, never letting anything show. It was quite confusing to Edward. "Mom had started on the whole 'make new friends' thing and I couldn't stay home any longer, so I figured I'd come see if you needed a ride."

Bella nodded understandingly. She had been around Edward's mother enough to know how much his mother wanted him to make new friends. It was kind insulting to Bella that his mother didn't seem to think she was good enough for him. But who was she kidding? She wasn't and never would be. Edward was simply…perfect.

"Well it was very thoughtful of you," Bella said after a moment and Edward flashed her a crooked smile that made her melt. Edward turned on the radio to one of their favorite classical CDs, glad he had decided to pick up Bella. She was always good company, and now he wouldn't have to walk into school alone. "How was the rest of your week?"

"Good. Boring. I missed you," Edward answered. Bella had gone to Arizona for the last week to visit her mother, and Edward had missed her deeply. Sure, he could've called Angela and Ben or Jasper, but it was never quite as fun as hanging out with Bella.

"I missed you too. But it was good to see my mother. She's such a goof." Bella rolled her eyes and launched into an explanation of her week in Phoenix, which Edward listened to intently. Bella was always so funny and unpredictable in the way she described things, and he never said quite what he expected to hear. All too soon, they were pulled into the parking lot of the dreaded Forks High School, which was already filled with squealing girls and fist punching boys, everyone catching up on a summer apart. Bella instantly silenced herself, noticing Edward's distraction.

Bella knew that Edward wasn't content with his life. She knew that he wanted to be popular, to hang out with the beautiful girls and the jock boys, no matter how shallow he called them. She knew that he wished he wasn't so left out and unpopular. He felt like he was missing something and it always saddened Bella. She was sure Edward had the potential to be beautiful and she was almost worried he would discover it as well. She didn't want to lose him. Not to the popular girls that were always so mean to her.

"Ready to go?" Bella asked, pulling herself out of her depressing thoughts.

"As I'll ever be," Edward grumbled, watching a group of laughing boys, dressed in jeans and various polos and t-shirts, with obvious envy in his eyes. Bella reached over and squeezed his hand, feeling a little thrill as she did so. Edward looked away from the boys and turned to face his best friend. She had only concern for him in her eyes and Edward smiled back. "Let's go." Bella nodded and the two of them climbed out of their separate sides of the car, looking around for a friendly face, but there were none to be seen. Apparently, Jasper, Angela and Ben weren't at school yet. Edward and Bella hovered by the Volvo, unsure where to go.

"Let's just go to our lockers," Bella suggested, trying not to make eye contact with a group of girls near them. The girls were all beautiful and Bella couldn't be more jealous. There was Alice Brandon, with her short black hair and super thin body, who was probably the nicest of the group. And Rosalie with her model looks and long, flowing blond hair. Victoria with flaming red hair and a killer body, plus a boyfriend who would kick the ass of any man who dared look at his girl. Not to mention Tanya. Bella narrowed her eyes at Tanya. Strawberry blond hair, perfect body and bitchy attitude to top it all off. "Come on let's go," Bella insisted, tugging on Edward's hand to try and pull him away. But he was frozen.

He had seen her. Tanya. The love of his life. Unrequitedly, of course. Edward had admired Tanya from afar since she had moved here from Alaska last year. She was beautiful with her flowing, reddish blond hair and eyes that were almost an almost purple shade of blue. Her laughter flowed out to Edward, caressing him like velvet, encasing him and trapping him. He couldn't look away, and yet in the corner of his mind he knew if she caught him staring, she'd be disgusted.

"Edward, come on," Bella whispered, tugging his hand harder. She reached her hand up to his face, placing it on his cheek and forcing his head to turn and look at her. Edward snapped out of his reverie the moment Bella's soft hand had touched his cheek, and he grinned apologetically at her, but still feeling slightly angry she had made him stop looking away from his angel.

"What is your problem Edward?" Bella demanded. "You've been feeling this way for so long. Either do something about it or forget about it, but you can't stand here and ogle her like a creep. Let's go." Hypocrite, Bella thought to herself. Why couldn't she take her own advice?

"I wasn't ogling. I just…I don't know. I was admiring her from afar," Edward hissed back, glancing around to make sure no one was paying any attention to their conversation. No one was. As usual.

"Whatever you want to call it, it's still creepy," Bella snapped.

"Lover's quarrel?" came a snide voice from behind them and they both whirled around to see the devil herself standing in front of them. Tanya, Victoria and Rosalie had made their way over to Edward and Bella after seeing their low, intense conversation, not to mention the fact that Bella hadn't removed her hand from Edward's cheek yet. Bella quickly dropped her hand and turned a furious shade of red, not meeting the eye of any of the three beautiful girls in front of her. She could see Alice standing a few feet away, talking to an unfamiliar blond boy. Edward's mouth had dropped open in surprise, and he had yet to close it, making himself look like a gaping fish.

"We're not lovers," Bella finally stuttered after regaining her speech.

"Sure you're not," Tanya said sarcastically.

"We really aren't," Edward said quickly, chancing a glance up at Tanya. He didn't want her to get a misconception. He didn't want her to think he wasn't single, just in case. Although it was hopeless—Tanya was looking at him like he was something unpleasant on the bottom of her high heeled shoe.

"Question," Rosalie said suddenly, holding up one finger and pretending to think. "Why do we care?"

"We don't," Tanya and Victoria answered before bursting into laughter. The three of them shook their heads and made their way inside the school. Rosalie instantly draped herself on Emmett McCarty, leaving Victoria to toss herself at her boyfriend James. Tanya had several boys by her side, although she wasn't officially dating any of them.

"Well that sucked," Bella managed after a moment, staring after the three girls. They were all wearing skirts. "And who wears skirts like that? It's like fifty degrees outside! Their legs are going to freeze."

"But they look good in them," Edward said, still staring wistfully after Tanya. Even though she had been rude to him, it hadn't dampened his feelings for her. He still wanted her the way the earth wanted the sun. And yet she was just as unattainable as the sun. She was untouchable.

"Ugh!" Bella snapped, feeling jealous and annoyed. She stomped away from Edward, boots sloshing in the puddles from an earlier storm. Edward snapped his eyes away from Tanya and followed Bella guiltily.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, quickly trapping her waist in his arms and pulling her back. "They're bitches, I know. You can't help who you fall in love with," he said, shrugging and chancing a glance back at Tanya. She had her head tossed back in laughter as she listened to a joke some boy had just told her. Her hand was resting on his chest. Edward, feeling stung, turned right back to Bella.

"No, you can't," Bella mumbled. Edward was confused by what that was supposed to mean, but the moment he opened his mouth, Angela and Ben had entered the school building and were heading over to them, hand in hand.

"Hey guys!" Angela called excitedly. She let go of Ben's hand to give Bella a quick hug. Ben and Edward said hello to each other, catching up on the bits of summer they had missed as Bella and Angela did the same next to them.

"Has anyone seen Jasper?" Bella asked after a moment, peeking over Angela's shoulder and back outside, glancing around for their other friend.

"No," Angela answered, shaking her head. Edward looked around as well. Jasper was probably his best guy friend—they were closer than he and Ben—and Edward had been looking forward to catching up with him. Jasper had been away for most of the summer, so no one had seen him since the previous June. "It's been forever though. I can't wait till he gets here."

"Me neither," Edward agreed. He glanced at the clock and was surprised to realize there were only five more minutes until they had to go to homeroom and receive their schedules. He glanced around for Jasper again as Angela and Bella fell into a discussion of some recent novel they had both read. It was unusual for Jasper to be late, especially on the first day.

The bell rang soon after that, and there was still no sign of Jasper. Edward couldn't help but feel disappointed—you would think after a summer apart, Jasper would want to see his friends again. Bella agreed with his feeling. She missed Jasper as well. He was the only one who knew about her feelings for Edward—she hadn't told him of course, but he had figured it out easily. Jasper had an uncanny ability for almost feeling the emotions of those around him. He picked up on the love Bella had for Edward almost instantly, but promised not to say anything when she begged him not to tell. Bella had been looking forward to having someone to rant to for a few minutes.

"Well, I'd better get to homeroom," Edward said, saying goodbye to his friends.

"Bye Edward," Bella said with a wide smile, watching him wistfully as he walked away. Edward's homeroom was only a few minutes away, and he kept his head down as he walked, not wanting anyone to see him and make fun of him. He was able to slip unnoticed into his homeroom and took a seat in the back of the classroom, pulling out the paperback he had brought to school with him. It was a sci-fi, which was Edward's favorite genre, besides the classics.

"Okay, class, when I call your names, come up to the front of the room for your schedule," said the teacher lazily and Edward's stomach dropped. He would have to walk up in front of all those people. Why had he chosen a seat in the back again? "Lauren Mallory." A blond girl with a nasally voice stood up, walking down the aisle between the desks like it was a runway. Edward rolled his eyes. She was nowhere near as beautiful as Tanya. Edward went back to his novel.

"Edward Masen." Edward could feel his cheeks turning a shade of red to rival Bella as he made his way to the front desk, people snickering at his clothes and glasses as he walked. One boy stuck a foot out to try and trip him, but Edward expertly dodged it, having suspected something like that to happen. The boy looked disappointed. "Here's your schedule."

The teacher handed Edward the slip of paper and waved him off. Edward started back to his seat, staring at the paper, hoping he would have at least one friend in each class. Because he wasn't paying enough attention, the boy managed to trip him up this time. He stumbled, catching himself on a desk, managing not to fall flat on his face. Everyone laughed and Edward's stomach boiled with anger. The teacher didn't even say anything. Edward hurried back to his desk, watching the floor intently, his cheeks a brilliant shade of red.

Edward sank down in his chair, grateful to have made it back unscathed. He stuck my schedule back under my nose and began reading the classes. He had English first, followed by Spanish, Physics, AP American history, lunch, gym and AP calculus. It looked like an all around boring schedule, filled with classes that would be a breeze for him. He hoped Bella would be in a lot of his classes; and Jasper, Ben and Angela as well. Classes were much more tedious when Edward didn't have any friends in his classes. But they were all in advanced classes, so they had more of a chance to be in the same class.

The bell rang, signaling the start of first period and he hurried from his seat, off to his English class. He was greatly enthused to see Bella sitting down in a seat in the back, and he hurried to occupy the seat next to her. They instantly began comparing schedules, and Edward was ecstatic to see they shared all the same classes except for physics and calc. That would make his day much more bearable.

Bella was thinking much along the same lines. She couldn't be happier that she and Edward shared most of the same classes. She wanted to spend all of her time with him if she could. And that way choosing project partners would be much less difficult. Normally, Bella would be paired with whoever was the odd person out from a different group, often having to do most of the work herself. With Edward, she knew that they would work equally.

"This is great!" Bella said excitedly as she handed Edward back his schedule. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't in my classes."

"I know," Edward agreed instantly. "Let's hope Ben, Angela and Jasper are in some of our classes as well."

"Yeah, definitely," Bella agreed. The teacher called the class to attention then and they both turned back to the front of the classroom, Bella unable to wipe the small smile off of her face. She barely listened to the English teacher as he prattled on about books they were going to read and their senior theses. She had heard it all before and it would be simple for her. Plus she had already read all of the books he talked about, so she just had to take her pick. Although maybe she'd reread them for fun.

The class flew by and Edward and Bella began making their way to Spanish. They were glad to see Angela in this class as well, and the three of them spent the period chatting contently to each other. Edward had physics next, which he made his way to alone. He was grateful to see Ben in there, since both Angela and Bella weren't in this class. It was good to have one friend to talk to. After that was history, which Edward had with Bella. They chatted again, discussing a book they had recently read. The bell rang quickly and the two of them made their way to lunch. Of course, on the way, they ran into the crew of jocks that all hated Edward. Edward's palms began to sweat when he spotted them, and he tried to act casual so Bella wouldn't notice. He kept his eyes on Bella so he wouldn't make eye contact with them. Bella seemed to be thinking along the same lines, keeping her eyes averted. But of course, the bullies noticed them.

"Oops," James said as he "accidentally" tore Edward's backpack. The bottom ripped (it was so old and ratty it didn't take much to break it) and all of Edward's papers, his iPod and novel all fell out, scattering across the floor. Edward's cheeks flamed and anger boiled in the pit of his stomach.

"My bad loser," James called to the cackles of his friends. Edward leaned down to pick up his things and Emmett pushed his glasses from the back, making them fall on the floor. James had moved his leg, an eager and menacing smile on his face, about to step on them. But Bella could see Edward was ready to burst and she felt white hot anger stab her insides. She stepped forward and pushed James away, causing him to stumble since he already had one foot lifted to step.

"Stop it," Bella commanded angrily, narrowing her eyes at James.

"Oh come on baby, don't be that way," James cooed, slinging one arm over her shoulder. Bella cringed away from his touch. Edward stood up, ready to beat James with a stick, thinking of how inappropriate it was for him to be touching Bella.

"Get off me, asshole," Bella snapped. She grabbed his arm and twisted it until it was behind his back and then jerked her knee into his crotch. James instantly doubled over in pain, clutching his parts. His friends burst out laughing, making fun of him for getting beat up by a girl. Bella's anger was slowly edging away and embarrassment was creeping its way in. She knew she shouldn't have done that.

"Well, Masen," James said after regaining his breath. He flinched as he stood up straight, but tried to hide it. "Looks like you have to have your little girlfriend fight your battles for you. I guess I'll stay away from you to keep away from your big bad girlfriend." His voice was bitingly sarcastic and Edward felt embarrassed. Bella shouldn't have to fight his battles. He should be manly enough to do it himself. James kicked Edward's bag once and walked off with a group of his friends, some of which were still teasing him about getting kicked in the crotch by Bella.

"Edward are you okay?" Bella asked, care in her voice, leaning down to help him gather his stuff.

"I'm fine," Edward snapped. "You shouldn't have done that Bella." His voice was cold and harsh. Bella's eyes stung with tears.

"Sorry I was just trying to help," she mumbled, not meeting Edward's eye.

"Just don't next time. I'm already considered weak enough around here I don't need them thinking I need you to fight my battles." Edward knew his anger was misplaced, but he didn't care. He gathered the rest of his stuff in his arms, tossed his destroyed backpack in a trash barrel and stalked off, anger coursing through his veins along with the shame that reddened his cheeks.

Bella felt horribly guilty and upset as tears gathered in her eyes. She wiped them away furiously. She was only trying to help. She didn't mean to get Edward even more hated by the other students. It wasn't her fault. Why did he have to be mad at her? She didn't do anything. She stalked in the other direction, wanting to calm down before going to lunch.

As Edward began to cool down, he realized he should apologize to Bella. He had taken his anger out on her, and it wasn't her fault. He was just angry with James. It was actually pretty funny how she had beat up a guy twice her size. He knew he shouldn't have snapped at her, but he was having a horrible day.

The girl he loves hates him, he trips in front of his whole class, his backpack gets destroyed and a girl fights his battles for him. Could my day get any worse? Edward thought as he entered the cafeteria. He froze. The answer was clear.

Yes. Yes it could.

A/N: So what do you all think? I don't write much third person, but when I started this it just didn't sound right in first person to me, so I had to switch it up. And I stopped here because the chapter is already over 4000 words and it needed to end someplace. Thanks to my beta .miserable . fate. for helping keep me in 3rd person! REVIEW!!