Frozen
That night was a long one. I tried to read but I would finish a page and not have a clue what I had just read, so eventually I gave up and just laid in my room listening to the Titanic theme song and thought about Isabelle´s movements on the ice.
When morning came I waited until everyone was ready and gathered downstairs, and then I rushed to the door colleting the car key on the way.
Emmett looked at me with an amused expression, "Excited for school?" he snickered.
I gave him a hard look to let him know that he was to tell no one about Isabelle, he just laughed and said, "Come on let's go to school, since you're so keen to learn."
I decided to ignore him and Jasper as I drove a bit faster than usual down the narrow path leading from our house.
When we pulled into the school parking lot I searched everyone's mind to try and find her but I guess she hadn't gotten to school yet. As I took my seat in history, a subject that I had always hated, I still couldn't find her. I was suddenly scared she was out sick, the thought bothered me a little too much, but I'd really wanted to see her again today.
I was looking through Mike's mind, and he too, was staring at the door waiting for her, and just as I was about to give up on seeing her today she stumbled through the door. Her face was red with exertion and her hair dripping wet, and the teacher gave her a hard expression.
She smiled when she saw Mike and went to sit beside him, this made him ecstatic and I crushed the pencil I was holding in my hand.
"Mr. Cullen?" I heard my teacher call, and it brought me back to the room I was actually in. Everyone was looking at me and I scrambled my brain to find what he'd asked me. "1939." I answered, and Mr. Fitzgerald nodded and everybody turn back to look at the board.
When class ended I hurried in human speed to her classroom, and I met her and Mike just as they were walking out the door.
"Hello Mike." I smiled, barring all my teeth, knowing this made humans naturally scared.
As I had expected he started a little before he answered. "Hello Edward."
Isabelle was standing there shy as ever so I turned to her and gave her my least threatening smile and said, "Hello Isabelle." There was a little too much excitement in my voice and Mike was frowned.
She looked up from the floor and into my eyes, at first she had a puzzled expression but it disappeared and she greeted me in a clear voice. "Hello Edward." She smiled and blushed, and my throat burned.
"Walk you to class?" I asked, ignoring Mike completely.
"Sure." She smiled. "I have history next."
As I lead her though the corridor away from Mike I said, "I had History the class before. Do you have Mr. Fitzgerald too?"
Away from Mike she seemed surer of herself. "I don't know." She said dismissively, and then she continued, "What's with your eyes today? They're a different color?"
I froze for a millisecond as I understood her expression when she'd looked into my eyes before. She had seen in two days, what most of the student body had missed for two years; the obvious change in eye color that happened when I fed.
"They're the same color." I said.
She raised her eyebrows in disbelief, but then she shrugged and said, "I suppose you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I liked them better black though."
This surprised me as well and I wanted to ask her why. But we had arrived at history and she shook my hand just like yesterday and walked into her classroom.
At lunch I didn't sit at my usual table with my siblings, instead I sat at an empty table waiting for Isabelle. Alice and Rosalie looked confused but Jasper and Emmett just shook their heads signaling that it was better not to ask. Alice, who was as curious as ever looked into my immediate future and saw who I was waiting for. She gave me a big mental smile but I ignored her because Isabelle had just walked through the door.
She saw me, and smiled as she came to sit by my table. "Hello again." She said without hesitation, and her swings between complete openness and extreme shyness was giving me whiplash.
"Hello. What did you mean you like my eyes better black?" I asked in an urgent voice, even though I was aware of my siblings who wouldn't be happy about a human noticing something like that in us.
"I don't know… I guess, I think you look more like yourself with black eyes if that makes any sense. Something's not right with golden eyes on you." She answered and I could hear she was trying for honesty.
"Right." I mumbled, aware that she was right since they would be red if I had been a "normal" vampire.
"Are you tired?" I asked in an attempt to change the subject, seeing her slouching in her seat.
"Yeah." She yawned. "I had an early practice today."
"Oh. What kind of practice?" I asked, as if I didn't already know.
"Figure skating." She smiled, and the spark was burning in her eyes. "I actually want to pursue Ice-dance but I still haven't found a partner. My partner in Sweden moved away before we could start competing internationally."
"Is that why you came here, to find a partner I mean?" I asked intrigued.
She thought for a while before answering, and seeing her eyebrows crease in concentration made me desperate to hear what she was thinking about. "Not entirely." She started. "I think I've always wanted to come to America, and I thought it would be nice to get away from my family for a while."
"But why Forks?" I wondered. "It's not the most livid town, and the weather's horrible." I said, gesturing towards the windows. It was raining buckets.
"I like small towns, and I don't have a problem with cold." She answered looking down at my hands. I pulled them under the table and onto my lap, clearing my throat.
"So since you're a figure skater, maybe you could help me. See, we have skating for PE this week and I could use some help. Perhaps you could teach me some things?" I asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from my vampire hands. She seemed intrigued by the idea and said, "Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun."
"After school today?" I smiled, excited to spend time with her and to see her skate up close.
"Sounds good. I don't have practice until later anyway." She seemed genuinely enthusiastic about it. I smiled and looked into her eyes trying to unlock the door to her mind. I wanted so badly to hear what she thought of me. She just stared back for a while before saying, "What's up with your sisters? One of them looks like they want to rip my head off and the other like she wants to become BFFs and braid my hair." She said it as a joke, but she still seemed unsure if she should run or laugh.
"Quit it!" I mumbled fast and low, only audible to vampire ears and they turned to look away from our table.
"Sorry about them, they're… strange." I half-mumbled, I didn't want them involved in this but I just knew Rose would scorn me for hanging out with Isabelle.
She shrugged it off. "Well they seem normal enough to me." She stated.
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief, normal was the last adjective I would use to describe the four people sitting at the table by the window.
The bell rang and Isabelle stood up gathering her things. "See you in biology." She smiled and walked out of the cafeteria.
Biology was interesting, she had her undivided attention towards the teacher and I had my undivided attention towards her. Since there was no chance to talk, I settled with staring intently at her until the lesson was over.
"Walk you to class?" I said when the bell rang, and she nodded.
She didn't shake my hand when outside the classroom like she had before, she simply said, "She you at the ice rink." with a mischievous smile.
I kept my skates on after PE and sat down on a bench next to the rink to wait for Isabelle. When she walked through the doors into the cold space I smiled a little bit nervous, the effect she had on me was ridiculous. She'd already changed and her black skirt was moving around her legs in a very distracting way. Thankfully the cold air made her scent less distinctive and my thirst was under control.
"Ready?" She smiled and I just nodded.
"Why don't you get out there and warm up for a bit while I put my skates on." She suggested as she sat down on the bench beside me.
"Okay." I said and stood up quickly since she had sat down a little bit too close and her smell was still potent despite the cold air.
As I stepped out on the ice I could feel her eyes on me so I tried my best not to make a fool of myself. I did some turns and steps, and it went quite well, Isabelle stepped out on the ice with an impressed expression and I skated towards her and stopped right in front of her.
"You're good." She told me. "Have you ever taken lessons?"
"Nope." I smiled, happy about the compliment before realizing that normal humans might not be this good if they had no training.
"You're a natural then. But can you do any jumps or spins?" She asked curious.
"Not really." I admitted, I hadn't really tried anything in PE trying to keep a low profile. But I felt like I could be more myself with Isabelle, so I said, "Can you teach me?"
"Sure." She smiled. "It's what I do. I was a coach back in Sweden. That's what I miss most, my kids." For a moment she seemed consumed in her own thoughts and once again I badly wanted to read her thoughts. "Let's start from the beginning." She said after a while.
We kept skating for hours and time passed incredibly fast, she taught me different jumps and spins and she was an amazing teacher. She was impressed with what I could do, and kept making me do more and more difficult things. We goofed off a little bit too, sliding on our stomachs on the ice and she showed me how to spin lying on your back. I don't remember laughing like that in a long time, and Isabelle had the most infectious and liberating laugh.
"You really never took any figure skating lessons?" She asked me when I landed what she called a double Lutz.
"No I haven't." I said hoping she would chalk it up to natural talent, and not supernatural talent.
"I'm almost tempted to try and teach you double axel, but that's the most difficult jump I know, and I can't have you landing as many jumps as me." She teased.
"It's fine I think I'm done with the jumps anyway. Isn't there anyone who needs the ice?" I asked realizing that we'd been here for a while.
"Not really." She answered. "I mean, Forks doesn't have a hockey team, and no figure skating club, so basically it's me and my coach, and also the schools who use the ice. It mostly stands empty. It's a crying shame too. In Lund every second of ice time was utilized."
"But it's good for us." I smiled.
She smiled back, "I suppose it is. What do you want to do now? Want to try some ice dance lifts?" She asked eagerly.
I hesitated, I didn't want to lose my balance and drop her but I decided to trust my vampire abilities and agreed.
She showed me what to do and how to lift, and when I put my hands on her hips I felt the same shock to my system I had when I'd first locked eyes with her. And I knew she felt it too because I could hear her heart beating faster. We took some speed and I lifted her with ease. She seemed surprised at my strength and at how easily I held her up in the air. After a while I put her down carefully and suddenly we were way too close and her scent filled the air between us. Her heart was pounding and I could see the vain in her neck move as blood moved through it. I was frozen not able to tear away, and debating whether I would kill her or kiss her. She wasn't moving either, and we just stood there looking at each other.
"What are you doing?" I heard a stern voice call out and I saw her coach standing outside the rink. It gave me a chance to take a step away from her where her scent wasn't everywhere and I was able to clear my head.
"You should be warming up already!" Her coach yelled at her in a very rude voice, and I had the urge to punch him.
She looked at the clock and said, "I lost track of time. You should go now Edward, I have to practice." She started warming up and I left the ice, I was reluctant to leave but I felt like she wanted me to, and it seemed almost like she was afraid of her coach.
On the way home, away from the pull she had on me, I realized how stupid I'd been letting her notice my vampire quirks and how close I'd come to killing her. I decided for her sake I would try to stay away, be polite to her in school but no more alone time.
As I drove up to the house I heard my siblings and parents thoughts and I knew they were not pleased with me making friends with a human.