This chapter was harder to write so it doesn't flow well. I wasn't sure how to write it out. I promise that the next one will be better.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet or not but when you review one of my stories, I'll be sure to go on your profile and review something of yours. There's a catch though. Your review has to be at least two lines long. I thought that was reasonable. You help me out and I'll help you out.
Please and thank you.
I don't own Twilight.
Sitting on the bench in the first row, I was scanning the syllabus that I had picked up from the door when he walked in. Before my eyes even saw him, my instincts were quick to alert me that something was amiss. I felt the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand straight up and a slight shiver ran through the rest of my body.
I looked up from my paper and saw him enter the room.
His hair sat atop his head in stark contrast to the paleness of his smooth skin. He wore jeans and a cotton shirt. I could hear his leather boots tap on the floor. My first thought? He was beautiful. My second?
He wasn't human.
After spending seven years with my pack, I was an expert at spotting creatures pretending to be people. Hell, it's what I had been doing my whole life.
It was his movement that gave him away. I could tell by the way that he walked. His gait was smooth and precise. No human moved like that.
At first, I thought he might have been another wolf. The predatory stride was enough to make me consider it. But, like I said before, my pale skin was rare in the species. I had never seen another wolf like me. All of my pack members had the darker skin tone. I watched him with a certain interest as he moved to the back row, sitting ten rows behind me.
That's when the fan blew his scent my way. I recognized it immediately and had to stop myself from yelping out loud.
I had smelled them before but never like this particular one. The others odor had made me gag and choke in the air. His smelled much sweeter, like musk. It was almost pleasant but it didn't disguise what he was:
A vampire.
In the entire history of werewolves, we've only had one enemy. After I was welcomed into the La Push pack, Sam was quick to tell me about them. He explained that they were fast (like us) and their senses were enhanced (like ours). Their fangs could tear through our thick fur, though we were immune to their venom. They knew this and preferred just to rip us apart instead. The warring between us had an extensive history and now, in this day and time, we preferred to just stay away from each other.
We had the ability to tear them apart as well, making us one of the few creatures that could break through that hard-as-stone skin. That's probably why we avoided each other. Otherwise, there would be a lot of bloodshed.
The last (and first) vampires we had ever encountered were making a trip through our town. Sam hadn't let the younger members near them but we still knew the scent. They knew ours as well.
Now, in my History 101 class, there was a vampire sitting behind me.
Yes, that's a complication.
It was apparent that he hadn't noticed me. He hadn't been in the right place of the classroom to catch wind of what I smelled like and I hadn't moved from my seat since he came in. Unless I changed into a wolf in the middle of the classroom, he was completely oblivious to what I was.
Throughout the class, I tried my best to ignore him but the fan that sat behind us made sure to keep blowing through him and down to me. The scent was annoying at first, but soon, I became accustomed to it. For a vampire, he smelled pleasant, like he wouldn't repulse me in we were forced into closer contact.
The others had smelled of death. After all, they were dead themselves, right? Walking corpses. I shivered at the thought. I had a Hollywood zombie in a classroom with me. The fact that I wasn't completely sickened by what he smelled like concerned me. Why was I able to sit there and take it with an open nose?
Towards the end of the class, I had sunk into a stupor in my attempts to ignore his presence. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I had completely missed what the professor said about partner projects and had to raise my hand to ask him to explain it again. Annoyed, he went on with it and added that he had already taken the liberty of selecting who would work with whom, as a way to get to know another classmate.
"Your name? Isabella? Your partner is Edward Cullen."
I looked around at the people in the class and searched their eyes. No one responded in a manner that would suggest that the name belonged to them. I shrugged and decided that I would wait until he dismissed the class to address the person-less name.
I was gathering up my books to leave when a silky voice addressed me from behind. "We'll be working on the project together, Isabella." It had a musical tone to it.
I turned and saw him standing a few feet from me. The vampire. He wore a soft smile, showing very white teeth.
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, unsure of why he couldn't smell me. When I realized that I was downwind of him, I managed to stutter out "You're Edward Cullen?" Then, I wanted to get out before he could change his position.
He chuckled a little bit with a puzzled look on his face. "I am. I could tell that you were a little confused when you hadn't seen a more obvious partner. You hadn't looked my way so I decided I would catch up to you after class."
His voice was surprisingly smooth and I had to keep myself distracted from looking into his golden eyes for too long. Sam had told me that the golden coloration meant that he was well fed. Who he had been feeding on, I didn't want to know. I also knew that some vampires had the ability to put their prey into a trance. It made them easier to seduce and drink dry. I had to suppress a shiver at that thought.
"Oh, well, I should have looked behind me then. I'm sorry. Call me Bella." I stuck out my hand out of habit before I had thought it through. Before I could withdraw it, however, he took and shook it.
"Bella. Your hands are very warm." His smile was a little intoxicating and I took my hand back quickly.
"Yours are rather cool." I retorted back. Werewolves were naturally much warmer than any human and, of course, we were warmer than dead people.
He moved to stand beside me. I prayed that he wouldn't move below me. The fan would make sure that he caught my scent. Nervously, I made for the front door, like I was in some kind of a hurry. I gave him an apology on my way out, promising to speak to him next class after the project.
His facial expression was a little confused as he spoke a goodbye. My face turned red. I dropped a book and had to bend down to reach for it. Then, I made my way out as fast as I could.
Back in my room, I had to contemplate what to do now. I was pretty sure that he hadn't realized what I was. And he clearly had no idea that I knew what he was. However, if we were to get together to complete this project, surely, he would be able to tell that I wasn't what I appeared to be. That would make us instant enemies, no matter how polite we had been today.
I made the decision to go to the registrar first thing in the morning and change my last block class.
