Ali, 1st Period, 8:09 AM
"Ohmigod Ali, there is NO WAY I can do this," Bella assaulted me in a panicked voice before we were even clear of the door. "NO way," she repeated.
She's really only shy around boys. And people she doesn't know well. You wouldn't think that would be a big problem in a town like Forks, but she's seriously so timid that 'people she doesn't know very well' constitutes pretty much everyone but me and Esme. Its ridiculous, really. I mean, I love that girl like she's my sister, but we are like, polar opposites. I have no idea how we've stayed best friends this long.
"Alright, chicken shit, calm down," I said with a scowl. "You dragged me into it too now. You'll be fine."
We were practically running to make it to English Lit on time; that whole debacle had really slowed us down. Well, time-wise anyway. I can't say for sure if Bella had felt anything going on back there (although I had my suspicions), but just occupying the same space with that boy had caused my own heart rate to double, at least. In just about every other way, I was running pretty hot and pretty fast. I was still completely bewildered over that sucker-punched feeling I'd walked away with, and it was making me a little ornery.
"But, Ali," Bella was blubbering on now, "those boys make me uncomfortable…ok well, the tall one does. The blond one is fine."
"Oh yeah, he seems like an absolute paragon," I muttered under my breath. I don't know why, but his presence made me feel edgy. On guard. Irritable. Under attack. I kind of wished I could undo the last half hour of my life and keep Forks boring.
Oh and he was good, I silently fumed. Making me all defensive with just his eyes, and that dimple (which ought to be fucking illegal, in my opinion). My knees literally felt weak just at the memory. I couldn't even begin to imagine how awesome our next stilted conversation would go.
"Alice," Bella grunted, out of breath and struggling to keep up with me in my marathon mode. "Wait up!"
What can I say? I have a hatred of being late to begin with and my agitation level was through the roof. Not a good combo. We skated into our seats just as the bell was ringing, and were treated to a dirty look from Mrs. Winton, and then about ten more from every girl in the classroom who had taken their sweet time leaving homeroom and seen us talking to the new boys. Oh wonderful, I thought. We needed another reason to stand out from the rest of the beautiful people. My agitation level, not surprisingly, rose a notch or two.
I really did try to concentrate on Winton's 'Welcome Back' spiel, but I was seriously still too strung out. Plus, Bella was fidgeting herself bald beside me, which wasn't doing any favors for my mood.
"Would you knock it off?" I finally hissed under my breath. She gave me a worried look. "I can't help it," she finally confessed. After a few seconds of silence and one pained expression later, "They're both so good-looking."
Word, Bella. I noticed too.
I rolled my eyes. One of us had to keep it together, whether we wanted to or not.
"You're worried because some guys we don't even know are good-looking?" I asked, purposely misunderstanding her.
She didn't answer, but instead asked in an almost-whiny voice, "Why did Mr. Banner pick me?"
Starting to get a little tweaked that I had not only my own issues to deal with, but now hers too, I replied a bit sarcastically, "Well, jeez Bella. Let me think. He probably just wanted to torture you mercilessly by alerting the two hottest guys at our school right now to your existence."
She gave me a patently horrified look.
"Get real, Bella! Not only do you conveniently have Study Hall when they do, your dad's the school principal. Why do you think he asked you?" I'm pretty sure I had passed from irritated to just plain mean, which was not cool. Luckily, Bella was a bit too preoccupied to mind.
Just breathe. This too, shall pass.
Still, she was really freaking about this. I mean, I wasn't exactly thrilled, but really, so we were saddled for a little while with the best dating options our school currently possessed. Though it was pretty big for Forks, this was not CNN-worthy. And even though he had rubbed me the wrong way (I think), I had the notion that dealing with him would still beat dealing with Stanley and her posse during gym hands down. Seemed to me like she was totally flipping her shit over the lesser of the evils. And besides that, we were like, juniors now. When was she gonna grow a pair?
"Seriously, Bella. This is not a big deal. We're just giving them a tour of the school. You'll be fine. I'm pretty sure they don't bite." That you know of.
"Ok, Ali. But will you do most of the talking? I just embarrass myself when I try to talk to boys," she mumbled dejectedly.
"Ok, Bella. Fine." Why was I doing this?? "But you have to promise me you'll at least try. Practice makes perfect, right?"
"Alright," she said. "I think I can talk to the blond one, er…Jasper. He wasn't as…I don't know, weird."
I pulled a face. She thought he was less weird? I wasn't actually sure either of them was normal. Stop it. You're being a jerk again, I scolded myself.
I glanced at the clock. Five minutes to the bell…damn, I wish all of my classes went that fast. A glance at Bella assured me that she was aware of the time too.
"You ready for this?" I whispered, as we all began to stuff things in our bags and ready ourselves for escape. She looked absolutely terrified at the thought of fraternizing with these boys, but tried for a brave face anyway.
"They're just boys," she said in voice that I'm sure was meant to be resolute; I didn't point out how much it wavered. Apparently, she'd made some decisions in the last 40 minutes. Go Bella.
"Who knows?" she said with a timid smile. "Maybe we'll end up with dates to the prom this year."
I think I openly gaped at her. Who was this Bella, and where had my best friend gone? After attempting (and failing) to picture that scenario, I looked back at her hard- she had to be joking. But if the dreamy smile on her face was anything to go by, maybe she was being at least partially serious. Huh. Bella never failed to surprise me. I hoped this newfound self-assurance hung around for a bit, so I didn't have to lead this dance the whole time.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I said, "Alright then Prom Queen, let's go see if these boys are worthy of being on our arms, then." I was impressed when she stood up and said in a much stronger voice, and with a smile on her face, "Let's do it."
Edward, 1st Period, 8:38 AM
I didn't pay much attention in Chem first period. For one thing, I had been in advanced classes in Texas and had already covered Chem before I had to move here to Forks anyway. Plus it was the first day of school, and this intro stuff was a joke anyway. That suited me perfectly fine- I was already bored with being stared at and my mind was drifting back to homeroom, or more accurately, back to those girls in homeroom. Bella and Alice. Neither name was exactly common in our generation, so they weren't hard to remember or anything.
Alice- she was damn cute with her hair deliberately sticking up everywhere. She was obviously the more outgoing one of the two, although how much so, I couldn't exactly be sure- all of our verbal exchanges earlier had come off a bit forced to me. And there was an undercurrent I couldn't quite put my finger on. She hadn't seemed exactly impressed with us, which I didn't really understand at all. Well, I guess to be more specific, she hadn't seemed impressed with J at all; I don't even think I registered on her list of people in existence at that point.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like I think I'm God's gift to women or anything, but I think I'm generally a pretty decent looking guy. And J can't help but make the ladies swoon with all that hair and that accent- he's one of the most disgustingly pretty guys I have ever known in my life, as much as it pains me to call my cousin 'pretty'. His cross to bear, I guess. As a result of the family connection, I've heard the term 'fuck-me eyes' in relation to him about twenty times more than I needed or cared to from the mouths of female acquaintances. And the fact that he always looks like he came from a funeral only gets them riled up more. Nothing ruffles his feathers, so he comes off looking like some kind of great fucking mystery of life. And the chicks eat that shit up. I don't know how he fends them off. Or why he wants to. But he does. Pretty successfully too.
I looked over at him now. He was staring straight ahead, not giving anything away, although I could tell by the twitching muscle in his jaw that he was concentrating pretty hardcore on something. And I doubted very much that it was Chem.
My mind wandered to Bella. What was up with that chick anyway? She seemed a bit on the awkward side, even if she was easy on the eyes with her big brown eyes and long brown hair. Then again, I thought, if I was the principal's kid, I'd probably be a social pariah too. In a town this small, it must be pretty hellish, actually. I frowned at that, feeling kind of bad for her. She had seemed terrified of us, until Alice had swooped in and saved the day. I wondered if that was a common occurrence; they seemed pretty tight.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw J look up at the clock. About ten minutes to go before we got our 'tour' of the school. I glanced over at him; he caught my gaze and looked down quickly at his notebook, unopened on the desk and with nothing written in it.
Interesting. That wasn't a normal reaction for him. And then the tapping started. Another questioning glance from me. He pointedly ignored me, but looked back up at the clock. I was willing to bet money he was thinking about those girls too. Or rather, at least one of them; him and Alice seemed to have some kind of unspoken pissing contest going on earlier. I have to admit, the thought kind of tickled me. Girls practically fell over themselves trying to get into his lap, not that he really encouraged it. But it couldn't hurt for him to have to work for it a little bit once in awhile.
On that thought, the bell rang and the period ended. I waited for the classroom to clear out for a few seconds before getting up myself and following J outside, where we were supposed to be meeting these girls. More staring from the great citizens of Forks High. You'd think we were a traveling freak show the way these people were ogling us.
Just then, a wave of people cleared away and I saw a black head bobbing up and down, heading in our direction. Alice. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that Bella was with her, just mostly hidden from view. I turned my head to look at J when they came into plain view, and was slightly surprised to see that he was standing up straight and stock still, watching their every move with fucking eagle eyes as they approached. I couldn't remember ever seeing him so…formal…or alert, for that matter, in the presence of some random girls. Very interesting. I filed my impressions away for later analysis.
Let the fireworks begin.
Ali, between 1st and 2nd periods, 8:51 AM
We made our way back to Banner's room in no real hurry. The hallways were literally buzzing with the news that there were new students- everyone in school knew by now. And if the curious glances and whispered comments were any indicator, I was pretty sure we were involved in the gossip. I noticed that for all her bravado three minutes ago, the closer we got to Banner's room, the farther behind me Bella fell. And not just in steps either. I mean, if I had happened to be any larger than her, you may not have even realized she was behind me.
"Bella!" I growled.
She gave me a sheepish look and moved over next to me. I continued glaring. "What?!" she exclaimed. "Old habits!"
Pfft. Old habits, my ass. We were gonna have a serious talk about this one of these days, I swear.
"Yeah," I said. "Well, I got news- you're not even gonna make it to prom if you don't knock it off."
She made a face at me. As we got nearer to the door, I searched ahead, trying to see if they were already outside waiting for us. I kid you not, it was like the people in the hallway parted liked the Red Sea, making Jasper's blond wavy hair stand out like a beacon.
Immediately, a powerful surge of emotions. Sucker-punched again. A fascination for his breathtaking beauty and an undeniable physical attraction; couldn't write off the rapid racing of my heart or the butterflies swarming in my stomach. Why, why, why did it have to be this way? I knew better than anyone that huge crushes only led to huge letdowns.
Just then he lifted his head and looked me in the eye, like he just…knew I was there. And just like before, I was hit anew with a blast of charged sexuality. I felt like my reaction must be transparent to those around me, but again, he didn't seem visibly affected at the sight of me at all.
It made me irritable; like a puppet on a string. A string that he was holding. That was it exactly: his cool demeanor made me feel like he must deliberately use all that charm to prop himself up, and I absolutely detested the notion that he controlled my emotions regarding him.
You're being judgmental, my voice of reason contributed unsolicited. He hasn't said anything more to you than 'Hello'. I latched onto that, and repeated it to myself like a mantra as we closed the distance between us.
Determined to behave, I stopped at what I gauged to be a safe distance away, pasted an exuberant smile on my face and exclaimed, "Hi!" I was seriously going to be nice if it killed me. I made certain not to get too close though; regardless of my irrational emotions, my body responded. And every inch closer I got, the higher the temperature between us rose.
I watched his face for any signs that he could feel this…thing…between us, but maddeningly, he didn't even twitch a muscle. Feeling annoyance, I glanced over at Bella instead, who was typically no longer beside me, but had maneuvered herself behind me again and was watching her shoes, a blush creeping up her neck.
Skyward look. So much for that.
I turned back around. Jasper's countenance was unchanged, but the look in his eyes had gone from unassuming to guarded, and I noticed he was standing straighter, almost at attention. I briefly wondered if that was part of his southern background, or if there was a military school in there somewhere.
"Miss Brandon," he addressed me. Edward gave us a sideways glance, pretty interested in the exchange, it seemed to me.
"You can call her Ali," Bella piped up, peeking out from behind me. "We all do."
Whoa. What the hell, Bella…way to pick the wrong time to get personable.
I sent Bella an exasperated look; she knew I had a hang-up about people calling me by my nickname unless they were close friends. Or had known me since the paste-eating days and refused to call me anything else.
Jasper's expression broke and the dimple came out again as his walls came down for a split second. And Edward not only smiled, but looked almost as if he would laugh. It sent Bella scurrying behind my back again, nearly knocking me off balance. I almost made the near-fatal mistake of having to hold onto Jasper for support, but caught myself. That smile was lethal.
"Well," I said, tamping down both attraction and annoyance. "What's the game plan then?"
I guess I addressed this to Jasper since he had his attention trained on me and Edward seemed to be trying to scope Bella without her noticing. Huh. Maybe she'd end up with a prom date after all. That is, if they ever bothered to look up at each other.
I found it a bit odd that we both seemed to have assigned roles in our little parties of two- one more dominant than the other. It didn't normally bother me, but I was really hating that I had to be the assertive one this time. I pasted that smile right back on my face and looked back to Jasper, where it died an instant death when his eyes met mine again. How was it that when he looked at you, it felt like you were the only two people in the world? I seriously had to get over this rush of…lust. Or it was going to be a long year. Here I'd logged maybe seven and a half total minutes in his presence, and I was thinking about heat, and clothing, or lack thereof, and bed sheets and being achy everywhere. And him. That's just not right.
He gazed intensely into my eyes and spoke, never breaking the eye contact.
"I believe Mr. Banner wanted one of us to retrieve him when you arrived."
Retrieve him? Why did his way of speaking seem so anachronistic to me? I didn't have the time to ponder it. "If you ladies would give me but a minute, I'll go fetch him." And with that, he turned and walked off.
Right. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. It was like a freaking magnetic field, standing near him. I looked over at Bella and Edward who were both staring at each other, beneath lowered lids, in such a way as to not stare.
Right. Long year.
Edward, between 1st and 2nd periods, 8:53 AM
Bella was literally hiding behind Alice. It struck me as ridiculous that anything could hide behind Alice- she's tiny, for chrissake. Was she really that afraid of us? Alice said something. I missed it though; watching Bella too hard. I heard J say 'Miss Brandon' again though and looked over to them.
"You can call her Ali," Bella startled me (okay, maybe all of us) by randomly jumping in.
Alice jumped and gave her friend a dirty look. I heard J chuckle and looked at him. It was one of the first smiles I'd seen from him in a while. I couldn't help but smile myself.
A quick movement from Bella had me looking at her again; she was half behind Alice again, and had somehow managed to almost take her down. I watched Alice sway backwards, teetering as if she might lose her balance, and throw her arms out a little to steady herself. She probably should have just grabbed J- he was standing right there, within reach, and God knows he loves to rescue damsels in distress. I'm sure he wouldn't have minded.
She managed to right herself without his help though, and gave Bella another dirty look. I almost started laughing. These girls were a riot, like…Abbott and Costello. Only way better looking.
"Well," Alice said, the annoyance in her tone evident, "What's the game plan then?"
I stole another glance in Bella's direction; I felt like she was looking at me, but I had yet to catch her in the act. I heard J say something, and before I could figure out what it was, he was gone and walking back into the Chemistry room. There were strange vibrations in the air, making me wonder what I had missed. In any case, there had clearly been something going on between those two, and it wasn't lost on me that we were near the Chemistry room, which I privately found to be both ironic and amusing.
I didn't waste my time with questions though; Bella had been distracted by his leaving, so I took the opportunity to steal another glance. Idly, I pondered what it would take to crack her shell, and how long. I thought it could be interesting. At least those were my thoughts, until Alice interrupted my musings seconds later.
Ali, between 1st and 2nd periods, 8:54 AM
"So, Edward," I tried. "Do you go by Edward, or something shorter?" I was sooooo not gonna be the third wheel on an already squeaky bike.
He glanced up and over at me like he was surprised I'd directly addressed him. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that with his attention on me, Bella had lifted her head and was gazing intently at his profile, hanging on his every word.
Surprising Bella with a fleeting glance, he shifted uncomfortably. "Ah, no. Nothing shorter. Just Edward."
He fell silent again. Ok. Round two. I could see this was going to be like pulling teeth.
I looked warily in the direction Jasper had gone off in, not wanting to get caught talking about him.
"And how about your friend? Jasper's not a very common name."
Another strange look. I sensed that he wasn't quite sure how to handle me. I thought Bella might be more his speed.
"Jasper's my cousin, actually," he finally gave up. "Most people call him J. Some people call him Jazz. He doesn't really care one way or the other."
Try as I might, I really couldn't imagine this guy as a 'J' or a 'Jazz'. Even though it sounded old-fashioned, 'Jasper' kinda seemed to fit him, given the alternatives. But then, I thought, I don't really know him either. I filed that information away in my head for later contemplation.
Silence, again. Exasperated, I wondered if I should even bother asking any more. Edward sure seemed reluctant to talk about himself and it was getting old. I almost thought it might be worth it to have Jasper back.
Another glance in the classroom rewarded me with a view of Jasper talking to Banner, who looked up and saw us standing outside waiting. They both started walking towards us. Looking away immediately, I felt a blush working itself up and wondered if I was forever destined to be caught staring at this guy or worse, picking a fight with him. Neither was particularly desirable; he must think I'm bipolar by now, for sure.
"Alright kids," Banner said, clapping his hands together in front of him. "You've all got 2nd period with Ms. Witmer, right?"
Jasper nodded, as did both Bella & I. "Ok, great," he said, putting his hand on Edward's shoulder since he happened to be nearest. "Why don't you follow me? We're going to bust you out of Study Hall so you can take the grand Forks High tour." He laughed at himself, like he was doing us a favor. Privately I wondered what the benefit of busting us out of Study Hall was; I mean ideally, it could have been Chem…or better yet, Trig.
He began walking away, motioning for us all to follow, which we did in our little pairs, none of us speaking to one another. Could this be any more awkward? I felt like we'd all gotten caught kissing under the bleachers or something and were being dragged to the principal's office.
We all paraded into a room down the hall, causing Ms. Witmer to give us an alarmed sort of look. Banner walked up to her and they had a brief, not so quiet (thanks to Banner) conversation about our ambassadorial duties, while we all stood around being awkward…what a scene we must have made. Both clumped in our pairs, obviously not easy with one another, and not attempting to converse at all. And of course everyone was staring at us, naturally; not everyone in the classroom had been in our homeroom, so some of our classmates were getting their first look at Jasper and Edward. Not that the ones who had already seen them weren't staring too. And us standing there with them was fuel for the fire- I could already see Jessica, Lauren and Bethany sitting in the corner and giving me and Bella the evil eye while they whispered among themselves. Oh yeah, I thought. Gym was gonna be fan-fucking-tastic.
They wouldn't confront me; they never did. Jessica would send her airhead friends after Bella because she was usually too smart to get caught doing the dirty work, and then I would be forced to stand up for her, because I can't sit by and watch those bitches mess with my bestie. There is definitely such a thing as loyal to a fault, and I define it. This is practically a routine by now, with the end result being that once in awhile, I end up in detention. And Stanley too, if she's slipped up and the gods are feeling particularly merciful.
I had no doubt in my mind that she'd start in at the first opportunity, and the thought of being stuck in detention today, the first day of school, really pissed me off. I was just gonna have to keep my cool, no matter what she pulled. And I knew she'd pull something. Ever since the 8th grade, she's loved nothing better than humiliating me, and to do it in front of new boys would just be too hard to resist. That bitch is cold.
As if on cue, she looked straight at me, then Bella who was busy chewing all her fingernails off nervously. That trash had the effrontery to smirk at me, and it's a good thing Banner, oblivious as always, decided to join us again. After giving her one of the nastiest looks in my repertoire, I turned back to my misfit party of four, only to find Bella actually trying to talk to Jasper (knock me over dead), and Edward watching me with a questioning look.
Great, he'd obviously scoped our silent threats. Oh well. At least it hadn't been Adonis over there. Edward didn't make me feel the need to explain myself with his eyes the way Jasper did, for which I thanked every god out there. Daring him to confront me about it with a look of my own, he looked at me curiously for a second and then dropped his gaze back to the floor. Apparently Jasper and Bella had missed the nonverbal battle that had just occurred. Fine by me. Nice to know he wasn't omniscient like I had originally thought, and therefore obviously flawed.
There you go again, my conscience admonished. Guilty, that other side of my psyche responded. Sigh. There was just gonna be nothing easy about this.
Bella, 2nd period, 8:58 AM
I tried to stay as far behind everyone else as I could. I'd seen Jessica Stanley and her friends when we walked in. And honestly, I really don't like confrontation all that much. It doesn't seem to bother Ali; I don't know how she just ignores it when people are talking about her or staring. Sometimes I wish I had even a smidge of her confidence.
I stood there and chewed on my nails, a bad nervous habit that I'd never really been able to shake. And I was. Nervous, I mean. God, I probably looked like a total spaz to these guys.
"So Miss Bella," Jasper said in a low voice, turning in my direction. "Have you lived here long?"
I gave a nervous chuckle, although I did notice that I felt easier talking to him than I had ever felt talking to almost anyone else, except maybe Ali. I decided now was the perfect time to get some practice in.
"All my life," I replied truthfully. I didn't really know how to carry a conversation, so I let it die there. Jasper is a life-saver though. Somehow he seemed to know about my crippling personality disorder. He gave me what I guess was an encouraging smile and said, "Well, that's perfect then, isn't it?"
I must have taken on some kind of confused expression, because he continued on. "I wouldn't want a tour of the place from anyone who wasn't as familiar with it," he said with a beautiful smile. He really did have a beautiful smile.
I warmed up to the subject a little. With a self-conscious chuckle, I said, "I'm still not sure why they picked me to do this. Surely you can tell Ali is a better choice. She's lived here all her life too." I'd never really though about it before, but for some reason bringing it up made me realize exactly how…well, lonely, life would have been if she hadn't been here.
He smiled at me a little cryptically and drawled, "Well, I'm glad I've had the chance to meet the both of you this fine morning, and that's the truth, Miss Bella."
I giggled a little at him, and the smile turned broader, although it seemed somehow…sad to me. Because I'm the freak-tard I am, I said the first thing that came to my mind which was, "Wow, you have a really beautiful smile." Damndamndamn. This is why I don't talk to boys. Ohmigod. Did I really just say that? I could feel all the blood in my body rushing to my cheeks.
He gave me a big grin then, one that lit up his entire face. If I'd thought his previous smile was something to behold, there were just no words to compare for a genuine smile. I stood there dumbfounded.
"You did, and thank you," he responded with a little chuckle.
Horrified that I'd actually said it out loud, I brought my hands up to cover my flaming cheeks and wished the ground would just open up and swallow me whole. I peeked through my fingers at Jasper, almost afraid to look for fear of scaring him off. If I hadn't scared him off, surely he had to be literally rolling on the floor with laughter.
To his credit, he was still standing there with only a hint of the mirth I'm sure I inspired on his stoic features. God, I really needed to take a lesson from him. He caught me peeking and gave me a conspiratorial grin. I laughed out loud; I couldn't help myself. There was just something about him that felt…not as uncomfortable as when I tried to converse with any other guy.
I turned my head before he could make any more conversation sure to make me look like the Forks village idiot, and caught a glimpse of Edward, who was looking at Ali's profile. I shuddered. If I could hardly keep my inner pyscho from Jasper, there was no way I could be caught dead trying to talk to Edward. Honestly, he looked like he was more interested in Ali anyway, which make me kinda depressed and relieved all at the same time.
He turned his head back in our direction and I panicked, quickly turning my own head and hoping I didn't just get caught staring. Luckily, Banner was approaching; I hoped it was enough of a distraction to get me off the hook.
Ali, 2nd period, 9:04 AM
"Ok, kids," Banner boomed. "You're free-until 3rd period anyway." He winked at me and chortled to himself. I rolled my eyes again, my patience with this day, week, month already almost spent.
"Have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do!" he yelled as he walked away, laughing to himself.
No worries there, I thought acerbically. And he was just abandoning us. Spectacular. With a gesture of disgusted disbelief, I turned back to find three pairs of eyes trained on me, each sporting a different expression. Edward was eyeing me with open curiosity. Bella was still doing the shrinking violet thing she was so good at and looked at me hesitantly. Jasper regarded me with that cool, steady gaze that he seemed to excel at, and I realized they were all waiting on me.
Apparently I'd been elected the de facto ringleader. Shocker.
"Right," I said, giving Bella a you-owe-me-one glare and turning to leave the classroom. I was getting annoyed at being stared at. Unable to keep the sarcasm out of my tone, I said as I walked, "Better get on with the tour then. Gotta make sure we can fit it all in one class period."
Which was a complete joke since a "tour" of Forks High, and probably all of Forks for that matter, could be done satisfactorily in under half an hour.
Not really sure where to begin, since I'd never signed up for the tour myself, I stopped, turned back around and figured I'd ask them for some input.
"Alright guys. What's first on your sightseeing list? Anything in particular?"
Edward kind of shrugged. Jasper looked at all of us, and said with what seemed to me a mysterious kind of smirk, "Apparently, we're at your disposal. Wherever you go we'll follow."
Okay seriously, was it just me, or did everything he said have some kind of double entendre?? I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to decide if he was doing it on purpose. I mean, he couldn't possibly know that I was having trouble not jumping him. Could he?
"How bout the library?" Bella suggested in a small voice.
Bella loves the library, and by loves the library, I mean she eats, sleeps, breathes and lives the library. She's the only person I know who reads more than I do, she like…consumes books. She even volunteers to reshelf books in the school library during Study Halls…when she's not asked to show new boys around the school, anyway. And not surprisingly, she works after school some days at Forks Public Library. I was not kidding about this girl being the epitome of inoffensive.
Seemed as good a starting point as any to me. "Any objections to the library? Going once? Twice?" I inquired.
No one seemed to have any better suggestions, so I said, "Alright then, this way," and turned down a hall to take us to the library. As I did so, I pointed out classrooms and other important fixtures we passed… drinking fountains, bathrooms with broken smoke detectors, etc. When we got to the library, I introduced them to the librarian, and tried to prompt Bella into talking a little. Unfortunately, even her love for the library wasn't making her bite, so we quickly left and continued on, hitting the cafeteria, the gym, the Aud, the pool, and the radio room.
Interesting fact: Forks High, which doesn't even have a football team, has a radio room. People can come in before and after school, during lunch and Study Halls and play at DJ'ing… whatever they feel like hearing, so long as the teachers don't find it offensive in any way. I've always found this a little weird for such a small school, personally. And not many people took advantage of it either; seems like a colossal waste to me.
Edward seemed to perk right up though, when I pointed it out. Somewhere along the line, we had fallen into pairs again, but this time around we had divided into couples. Jasper and Bella were straggling about 10 feet behind us as we walked around outside, exploring the grounds. He had somehow gotten her to open up a little and was being extremely attentive to her, encouraging her to speak and be spoken to. Edward was ambling alongside me, not saying much. From behind me, I heard Bella laugh. Clearly Jasper was using that magic tongue to loosen her up. Throwing a glance over my shoulder, and seeing them huddled together smiling and laughing kind of made me jealous. I mean, I understand she was more comfortable with him, but jeez. Unable to keep a little scowl from escaping, I told myself it didn't matter anyway. I wasn't out here trying to score a date. Unfortunately, that didn't really appease my sulky side.
When I looked up again, I found Edward watching me.
"You don't really like us much, do you?" he asked quietly.
I was so shocked, that I almost came completely to a standstill, although I couldn't honestly say whether I was more astonished that he was addressing me directly, or at the question he was posing. I'm really glad I was able to keep myself from abruptly stopping, because in all likelihood, it would have ended with me on the ground, and Jasper on top of me, given our current positions. And as much as my hormones delighted in that idea, indeed practically begged for such an 'accident,' I just did not think I was equipped to handle that right now.
I glanced behind me before I even tried to answer that loaded question; no way did I want to explain my strange misgivings about either of these two to one of them, but since my hand was forced, I'd take Edward over Jasper any day. He didn't make me act or feel like a 10 year old. Seizing the opportunity while Bella distracted him, I said in a hushed tone, "Look, Edward. It's not that I don't like you. Honestly, I don't even know you. Yet. But I'm just gonna lay it all out there."
He looked at me expectantly.
"I'm not trying to be offensive here," I prevaricated, still a little unsure of what to say. "You guys showing up is like the biggest event in Forks since Summer Greco fell off the Miss Forks float and broke her leg during the Annual Fireman's Parade.
He looked questioningly at me now, clearly not grasping the significance of that.
"Yeah, that was in like, 1987," I responded.
"Ah," he remarked.
"So, you really have no idea how much trouble it causes for Bella to be singled out to "show you around," I said, using finger quotes, "which, by the way is something that's never happened before. That I'm aware of anyway. Sometimes, I swear Charlie Swan has shit for brains," I muttered.
Don't get me wrong, I love him like he's my own dad (most days), but you really wouldn't think he spend most of his life around teenagers. I was kinda fired up and already knew I'd be ranting in the very near future, but that's just the kind of person I am. I occasionally need to get it all out there, and like the answers or not, Edward had invited them.
"Charlie Swan," he mused. "That's the principle, right. Bella's dad." He looked to me for confirmation.
"The one and only," I stated. "And who apparently has less in the way of observational skills than a gnat. I mean, really. He has to know she gets picked on and.."
"Bella gets picked on?" Edward asked. "Why? And by who?" He seemed very interested in this line of questioning.
"By who?" I asked almost incredulously. "By practically everyone! Have you ever had the pleasure of being both shy and the principle's kid, in a small town? Tell me you haven't noticed that she's not exactly Little Miss Extrovert, what with all the scoping I've seen going down this morning."
He looked up at me with a nervous laugh, although I noticed he didn't deny it. I was an a roll now, too.
"I can't be-lieve she's talking to your cousin back there. That's got to be some kind of record, seriously."
It was still rubbing me the wrong way too. Bella was getting an awful lot of Jasper's time and effort, and it was making me sulky. Edward seemed equally chafed by the Bobsey twins. Glancing behind us with a furrowed brow, he said, "Yeah, well. J does have a special way with people."
"A 'special way'?!" I practically snorted. "Is that what you call it?"
Oh, shut up Brandon, I berated myself, too late. Now I'd really put my foot in it.
Edward glanced at me with interest, seemingly answering his own question after hearing the change in my tone. "Oh…I get it. So its not me at all…There's something about J that bothers you," he commented with what I perceived to be a smug smile.
Something that bothers me? Yes, I thought hysterically. Looking at Jasper caused my mind to be filled with the simultaneous notions that birth control is a must, cigarettes and alcohol would be extremely useful right now, and physical violence may not be out of the question. Yes. Yes, I think I can say with certainty, that bothers me. But there was no way Edward was hearing that from me. Trying for damage control, I said, "Look. I'm sorry I said that. I don't know you, or him, from Adam, and have no real reason to be annoyed by him."
"But you are," Edward remarked. At my blank look, he prompted, "Annoyed by him."
I remained silent. I'd already said way too much considering we weren't even through second period yet. He wasn't done yet though.
"J makes you edgy. He gets your back up for some reason and its frustrating the hell out of you that you don't know why. Maybe…because you're not in control?"
What the hell, was this guy a mind reader? Mind reader or not, I totally did not feel like this was a conversation we knew each other well enough to have. When in doubt, deny, deny, deny. That's my motto.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said with a scowl, which didn't seem to dissuade this new personable Edward.
"Don't worry," he said with a grin. "I won't tell him. But for what its worth- he can probably already tell. He's pretty in touch with people." As if the statement needed emphasis, he jerked his hand back towards the new and improved Bella Swan.
I threw daggers in Edward's direction with my eyes. I did not like feeling like the butt of a joke. Especially not one being told by some slicked back new kid, who didn't know me, or Bella or Forks from beans.
"What?!" he laughed. "It's true, scout's honor. J's got some kind of…built in people meter." A hint of frustration entered his voice.
I silently, and ineffectually, mulled that bit of information over.
"For what its worth," he remarked conspiratorially, "I think you interest him. Possibly, a lot."
"What?" I asked, kind of violently. "How could you know something like that after knowing me one whole hour? And, why would you think I care?" I finished off, lashing out with frustration, knowing everything I was saying only helped to disprove my point.
Edward looked straight in my face and said predictably, "Oh, you care all right." I sputtered. "Calm down," he replied. "Keep in mind that our acquaintance may be new, but I've known my cousin all my life. And I'm telling you, you've piqued his interest."
I really just did not know how to react to this. A blush was beginning to stain my cheeks, I could tell. My ovaries were practically weeping with happiness at such a declaration. But my rational mind wouldn't let it lie. However, neither was it being particularly helpful right this moment. I decided on truth.
"Ok, I really have no idea what to say to that, and to be honest this conversation has been kind of surreal, so I'm just going to forget we had it," I said, a little huffily, I'm ashamed to admit. I stole a glance behind me and practically fell over dead when I saw Bella, obviously telling a story, gesticulating madly and smiling radiantly. And Jasper focused on her every word. I was amazed, but jealousy was eating me alive, no matter how irrational the idea was. And then I was annoyed, because I was jealous. Desperately, I thought that there was no way Jasper could 'read' me…I couldn't even read me right now.
As if privy to my thoughts, Edward chimed in, "You'll see, soon enough, if I'm right. Which I think I might be," he said with a smirk.
Incredulous, I know for a fact that I openly gaped at him. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of second period, and students erupted from classrooms on either side of us. Still staring open-mouthed at Edward, I completely forgot to be self-conscious until Jasper walked past me, brushing me slightly (totally not necessary!) and murmuring in a low voice, "Miss Alice" as if to say goodbye. I was treated to that beautiful smile one more time, and vaguely heard Edward's voice off to the side somewhere saying, "Later, Brandon- thanks for the tour."
With that parting shot, he and Jasper sauntered away without looking back; I stood frozen in the hall, my mouth working like a fish, I'm sure, and with Bella blabbering on excitedly off to the side of me somewhere, I watched them disappear from sight.
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