Alrighty, here's my second chapter. Thanks for the ZERO reviews. I appreciated every last none of them! He he. See, my play on words?! Sorry, had a moment. Well, here's chapter two and I think it's pretty good. No, it doesn't have much to do with the plot, but I am getting there. And who knows, maybe a few hints were thrown in here to confuse you? -hints hints- -coughs- -nudges elbow- -winks-
Enjoy...
"1. Don't see him. Don't phone or write a letter.
2. The easy way: Get to know him better."
-Wendy Cope "Two Cures for Love"
"Bella! Bella! BELLA!" Edward's voice echoed through the crowded hallway of Forks High School as it called after me.
I could keep walking, I thought. I could take a phone call, run into the rain, or disappear into the woods, I also thought. Why can't any of my thought be realistic? "Yes, Edward?"
"You have to help me," his breath came out in heaves as he came to stand where I had stopped in the hall.
"No I don't," I said defiantly. People were beginning to file around us and Edward would occasionally get pushed this way and that.
"Please, Bella. We don't have much time," his gaze would jerk over both shoulders.
"We have lots of time. Oodles of time. Time is every—" Edward grabbed my arm, cutting me off mid-sentence, into a remote section of the hallway where most couples went to have some "alone time." He held his finger over my lips and looked down at me with more intensity than I had seen for some time. Well…ever. The last time I ever saw him remotely upset was when he almost knocked some tenth grader's lights out for stealing his Ipod out of his gym bag, but even then he only glared.
"Hush!" he chided.
I stayed shushed, my head backed up against the wall and his index finger, cold and clammy, still on my lips. Edward didn't run away from anything. Ever. Not even when his mother, Esme, came in with matching Christmas sweaters for him and Emmett. He walked right up to Esme, hugged her neck, told her he loved her, and wore that sweater for the rest of the day. Can't say the same for Emmett, but the ninth grader stuffed in his locker for two hours said it was very warm. The ninth grader mouthed off to him. The locker was his punishment.
Edward relinquished his grip from my head, but his eyes were still locked on mine. I could swim in those eyes. Normally, I would never, in a million years, want to swim in anything remotely green, but his eyes made green seem so…inviting. I knew he wasn't thinking the same thing, because swimming in my eyes would be like swimming in a pool of—
"Bella, please," his voice was still barely above a whisper.
Edward's hand was still above my shoulder and resting on the wall behind me, "Why did you pull me here?"
He immediately dropped his hands to his sides, but still stayed unusually close. Fine with me. "To get away."
"From what?" I looked out into the hall adjoining the nook, and the only person walking away was a tenth grader named Veronica. The only way I knew who she was because she set off the metal detectors at the mall every time she went. With her piercings. She was a little…huskier than most girls and her black hair was parted on the side and stuck to her head with some substance that could fry an egg if it got hot enough, but her face—or the half that was exposed beneath the hair—wasn't that bad. "It's only Veronica," I hissed.
"Exactly!" Edward looked out to see if the coast was clear, and he grabbed my arm and dragged me into the parking lot. Both of us had free period now, so we walked out to his Volvo.
As soon as the doors closed on the Volvo and the music flooded the air, Edward began speaking again. "She's in love with me."
I had to work extra hard to stifle my laughter. The last any of us heard, Veronica wasn't exactly into guys. She had lots of girlfriends…in more ways than one. I couldn't take it any longer and the sputters that had been evidence of me trying to hold it in became booming laughs that had me shrieking and gasping for air.
"I'm serious, Bella."
"So," gasp, "am," shriek, "I!" gasp and shriek.
My head was tilted toward the dash as I laughed, but I felt firm hands grab both sides of my face, and pull them toward the driver's side. That stopped my laughter immediately. "Bella," the words came out with a rush of breath again.
He was definitely not making this easy, "Can I help you?" I felt a lot weaker than my words sounded. If I had stood up, I would have definitely collapsed. I had mastered the art of appearing not to care. After a year of liking Edward Cullen, and having him be your best friend, all the while wanting more, but being too afraid to say anything, can make nonchalance easier than it appeared.
He dropped his hands, leaving my head in the same downward position, "Yes you can. I was afraid you'd never ask."
"What do you want, Edward?" He never asked for favors, and when he did, they usually weren't the usual, can-I-borrow-your-pencil favors. They usually were the I-accidentally-opened-the-president's-mail-and-now-the-secret-service-is-after-me-so-can-you-get-me-a-new-identity favors. No, that one hadn't happened yet, but I had the kit in the back of my truck just in case.
"Veronica. She loves me. Don't laugh. She kind of scares me a bit, and Emmett had a great idea—"
"Emmett?"
"Yes, is there a problem?"
I nodded my head at Edward's naïve attitude. "Yes. Emmett. Idea. Problem."
"It's a good one for a change."
I stared at him with my award-winning that's-a-load-of-crap-but-go-on looks.
"And..." he drew the word out longer than was necessary, "the plan consisted of you telling her you're my girlfriend," he finished the last part in a rush, knowing how I would react.
At first I just stared at his face, which had that stupid crooked grin that normally worked at getting him whatever he wanted. Not me. Slowly, his grin faded into more of a pleading gaze.
"Why me?"
"You're the only one who'd go along with it. You're crazy."
"Yes, I am crazy, but that crazy is like I don't mind getting a pie thrown in my face crazy, not mess with the manliest chick in Forks crazy." My hands ran through my hair, not knowing if I had a way out of getting pulverized, "Correction, that's not crazy, that's insane!"
Then we had one of our famous staring contests that Alice found to be a big time waster. Alice was my best girl friend, and she knew how I felt about Edward. She figured it out before I did. She noticed how much alike Edward and I were, and she pointedly told us every chance she got. She said our staring contests were cute, a little creepy, and one more way proving Edward liked me.
I internally debated if Veronica could speak English, but then remembered she cursed out the Art teacher when she said black wasn't a color, but the absence of light. Not a real trigger for me, but it set her off. She knew more words than I did. I shook my head, ridding the vulgarity and volume she reached from my mind. "So, Emmett thinks that I, little old me, Bella, should go and talk to five-foot-nine Veronica, who tried out for the football team, and tell her that this guy she supposedly loves is in fact my boyfriend?"
Edward just stared at me again. Apparently he was still in the game.
I blinked. "There."
"Ha! I win!" he exclaimed and closed his eyes and rubbed them to get the moisture back in them.
"Am I right?"
He continued rubbing, "Yeah, that's about right."
"You're not worried about my safety?"
"Nah, you can take her."
"My morals?"
"Not implemented here."
"My body?" I knew he had a soft spot for me. I knew he thought I was hot, and maybe his precious looking object would peak his interest.
He scanned me up and down, putting his hand on his chin, "Don't get hurt."
"So you see no problem with this?"
"Bella. Trust me. Emmett thought this out."
"Like he thought out sledding off of the roof?"
We remembered the time Emmett took one of those circular sleds and decided to sled off their garage roof, but the weight from his massive frame putting a hole right above Alice's car. Emmett landed on the hood of her yellow Porsche, and put a dent the size of…well…him in the hood. Alice chased him with a knife, but Carlisle decided Emmett would have to pay to fix the roof and the car. That was two winters ago and Emmett was still paying it off. "No, not like that. But, in his defense, it looked completely stable."
I glared only to prove my point further.
"You'll be fine."
Edward looked so honest and sincere. He was lazy, I had to admit, but it couldn't be that bad. Right?
Who thinks Bella is going to get pulverized? Who thinks Edward is going to save her? Who pictured Emmett crashing through the roof and hitting Alice's car and her chasing him with a knife? I have to admit, I did picture the last one....Hehe. Review!
