A/N Well, after a very stressful year at college, I'm now home and ready to write more. To that anon who kept pestering me to update, this one is for you -Drachesoul
I slowly made my way into the library after school, books in hand and ready to serve out my sentence. I'd never gotten a detention before, and I was curious as to what being "detained" was like. Walking past the front desk I found a group of tables, picking one and setting my things down.
There was a guy manning the front desk, though he wasn't doing a very good job of it. He had on a pair of headphones and judging by the music I could clearly hear, he hadn't heard me come in. I just looked at him for a minute as he rocked along to the music, still oblivious to my arrival. Picking up my heavy Biology textbook with both hands, I held it about six inches off the table and dropped it.
He still didn't turn around when the book crashed back to the table. The strange boy shut down the desktop, gathered his books and turned around, smile melting off his face in surprise. "Shit," he muttered, sliding the headphones off his head.
Really?
"Uh…hi." He grinned sheepishly back at me.
"Sorry, it's just that," he pointed to the headphones that hung around his neck.
"Cheap Trick, I understand," I said quietly.
"Yeah, yeah it is," he replied, looking impressed at my knowledge of music.
I smiled now, the awkward situation dissolving into thin air, "You can't really hum to Cheap Trick, once you start you're kind of obligated to…"
"Belt it out," He finished, walking towards me and holding out his hand. "Hi, I'm Jasper. You're in my Biology class, right?"
"Uh-huh," I nodded, looking around me. "So, where is everybody?" Jasper stared at me blankly. "Detention?" I clarified, hoping that I had come to the right location. The last thing I needed was to show up late to detention.
The blonde boy cocked his head quizzically, and that gesture reminded me vaguely of someone. "You came early to detention?"
Smooth, Bella. Now people are going to call you an idiot.
I fumbled for a minute, trying to regain my composure. "Well, I would hate to miss even a single second of being tortured," I mumbled lamely.
A passing conversation soon took my attention as Edward Cullen walked past the library, another girl clinging onto his arm. I seriously couldn't get what was up with him. "Ugh," I said, looking away as the girl leaned in for a kiss.
Jasper looked surprised, "Huh, you know that's not usually the reaction that he gets from girls. It's usually more like this." He moaned loudly, sounding like a cat in heat. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, I guess asshole isn't my type," I said.
"You're definitely right, he can have some asshole moments," the blonde boy agreed, brushing a stray hair away from his face.
You know, maybe I should have seen it sooner. I guess his statement just really caught me off guard at the time.
"Now I'm not the most observant girl in the world, but isn't Edward like, the equivalent to a god around here?"
"You're close, he's my older brother." He turned around to look at his brother, letting out an irritated huff. I cringed inwardly. God, I was such an idiot.
XXX
Edward Cullen Must Die
XXX
So naturally the next thing that came tumbling out of my mouth was, "Oh! You're the other Cullen?"
"Define 'other Cullen'," he said, pulling out his phone and flipping through it. He handed it to me and showed me a picture of him and his brother, surrounded by other people with the same golden eyes and wearing matching baseball uniforms.
"You already know Edward and I. The blonde girl is Rosalie, she's a senior this year. The guy that's standing with his arms around her is my other older brother Emmett. You may have seen him on the wrestling team. People around here like to refer to me as the 'loser' Cullen behind my back."
Aw, I didn't see him as a loser at all. Sure, I got a little bit of a strange vibe around him, but he liked the same music as me, so he couldn't be all bad, could he?
"No, you're not a loser," I assured him, though I was pretty sure that as the new girl, my opinion didn't count for much. "It's just… you don't look like…" I struggled to find the right way to say this without sounding like a complete bitch.
Jasper tilted his head in understanding, "I don't look like I'm capable of inciting an all-girl smack-down of proportions similar to the Hunger Games?"
Yeah, that was almost exactly what I was thinking. Maybe he's psychic…
I simply nodded, not trusting myself to speak anymore. Besides, he seemed to be doing a good enough job filling in the blanks.
"Yeah, no, it's all good." Jasper tucked the last of his schoolbooks in his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "But hey, I'll let you in on a little secret though." He paused for dramatic effect, "My parents, Esmé and Carlisle, say that I'm special on the inside."
"Good for you," I smirked as he left, waving goodbye over his shoulder. I pulled out one of the hard plastic chairs and slumped down in it, pulling out a pencil and my calculus homework, a goofy smile still plastered on my face. Might as well start on it now.
I didn't think it was possible, but maybe, just maybe, I had made my first friend here at Forks High. I guess people wrote off Jasper because he was forever stuck in the shadow of his brother. Just goes to show I guess.
Now, how in the hell do I do I find the derivative again?
XXX
I spent the next few minutes in a quiet contemplation, trying to work through a particularly difficult problem. I tapped my pencil against my thigh and flipped through my calculus book for either a tutorial or a cheat sheet hidden somewhere in the index.
I glanced upward at the window again and saw that Edward hadn't moved from the general area. He looked like he was waiting for someone. Sure enough, not a moment later, Jacob came breezing through, looking slightly distraught. Interest piqued, I shut my book and checked around to make sure I was alone before dropping to my knees and crawling across to the window.
Why on Earth am I suddenly so interested in Edward's comings and goings? Oh God, I wasn't turning into a stalker, was I?
I accidently brushed by a stack of un-catalogued books that sat precariously on a shelf and sent them tumbling to the floor with a crash.
I'd be the world's worst stalker.
I reached up to the window latch with one hand and pushed open the window just a bit.
"Edward? Can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Yeah, no problem babe. What's up?" Edward slung his thumbs in his pockets and looked at the raven-haired cheerleader.
"It's probably nothing, but in P.E. today, some loser said that…she went out with you." Recognition flashed in Edward's eyes, but he kept it cool, adopting a concerned tone.
"Really? And you believed her?"
Jacob sighed, running a hand through his short black hair. "Yes…no. I don't know. You can't have a girlfriend…"
"In basketball season," Edward finished, reaching out to caress Alice's cheek.
Whoa, what the hell? Had I zoned out and imagined him talking to Jacob?
"But if I could, you know who it would be, right?"
Alice Brandon nodded, still looking a bit wary, but accepting his story. Edward heaved a sigh and looked at his girlfriend with wide eyes.
"God, I don't even know why people say things like that. I mean, I think they're probably just jealous of what we have…"
The next time I peeked out over the windowsill, he was face-to face with Jessica Stanley. She looked the wariest of the three, with her arms crossed and expression determined. I got the feeling that even Edward's widest puppy-dog look wouldn't get him anywhere.
"Because we share something special, something we don't have to label. You know, it's an unspoken bond. And I just love how secure you are," he purred.
Damn it, Jessica, don't fall for it. Don't, don't…ah, fuck.
Peeved, I ducked back down and returned to my seat. Edward Cullen certainly was a force to be reckoned with. That boy had a silver tongue. Still irritated, I resumed my work just as Jacob and Alice filed in, sitting down at different tables. Jessica soon followed suit, entering just in front of the teacher on detention duty.
"All right, detention has begun," the teacher drawled, "I'll be right back." He turned on his heel and walked back out of the room, leaving me with the three lovers. "And no talking!"
I turned around to resume working on the ever mounting pile of worksheets and essays. As soon as the teacher was out of earshot, Jacob, Alice and Jessica all turned around to glare at each other across the tables.
"So I talked to Edward," Jacob said, flippantly. "It was sweet. He felt bad for you. He said that you were jealous because…"
"We share something special. Something that we didn't have to label…" Alice continued, her eyes beginning to widen in understanding. "Because it's out unspoken bond…"
Jessica finished off the speech, "And I just love how secure you are? And it hurts me to hear you question it…"
"Because you're the only one for me!" all three of them shouted in unison, looking outraged.
There we go. The cat's finally out of the bag. Huh, they're taking it better than I thought they would.
"Damn, he said the same thing to all of us," Jacob seethed, clutching his pencil so hard that his knuckles turned white.
Alice huffed, taking a bite of her completely vegan friendly snack. "It figures. First he makes up with us, then he hooks up with us –"
"You guys hooked up?" Jessica whispered angrily.
"Edward and I share something special," Alice turned up her nose at the taller brunette.
Jessica scoffed, "Oh, what, that you've both been in your pants?" Ouch. Not bad, Jessica, not bad.
"We share a vegan non-violent outlook on life," and with that, Alice turned away from the other two.
"Hippie slut," Jacob tried to mask the insult with a poorly-timed cough.
"Oh, stellar, Jake, it's not like everyone doesn't know that Mr. Cheerleader brings it on," Alice hissed, pelting him with one of her veggie sticks, looking furious.
They dissolved into a heated argument, flashing dirty looks and insults left and right. I felt oddly out of place, a bystander that just happened to be caught in the crossfire. They acted like I wasn't even there.
Maybe I misjudged the intensity of the situation.
"Look, Edward and I belong together," Jacob stated, as if it were painfully obvious. "After all, he is the team captain and I am the head cheerleader."
"Oh, I'm sorry, what kind of cheerleader?" Alice snarled. Clearly she had some type of beef with Jacob, more than she did with Jessica. There was something there that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
Jessica stared at the two of them in disbelief, "Like he'd take either of you two seriously!"
"Do not lump me with him!"
"Oh, so what, now you're better than me?"
"At least I don't smell like a wet dog after gym class."
I groaned, all of their bickering giving me a headache. I did learn some crafty new insults though. "Shut up, all of you."
The trio of scored lovers turned to stare at me, as if they just realized that I was there. "What?"
Oh crap, did I say that out loud?
"Sorry, I'm sorry," I backpedaled, trying to melt back into the background, but to no avail.
"If you have something to say, just say it," Jacob sighed.
"No, it's…nothing. Not my business," I cleared my throat and went back to my work, aware that they still had their gazes trained on me.
"What?" asked Jessica.
I set my pencil down, closed my book and folded my hands together, looking at them. "Let me guess. He always uses pet names like babe, or sweetheart, right?"
They nodded, motioning for me to continue. "That's not out of affection, he just does it so he won't mix up your names. And he's all about some unspoken bond and shit, but he's never willing to talk about a relationship. The whole arrangement was your idea in the first place so in the end you feel guilty that he cheated."
Jacob looked dumbstruck, "Son of a bitch, are you dating Edward too?"
"What? No," I replied quickly, suppressing an 'ew!' of disgust. "I've just known people like him. Flake," I mumbled under my breath, images of my dad's many girlfriend's popping into my head.
Alice cocked her head quizzically and said, "She's right, Edward is always making me feel guilty." Jacob and Jessica agreed.
It was then that I got an idea in my head. A crazy one, but one that I was thinking might work. After all, hell hath no fury like a scorned lover. Or something like that. I hated English.
"You know, it seems to me that if someone I knew ever treated me that way…"
"Yeah, yeah, you'd break up with him blah-blah-blah." They all turned away. Crap, I was losing them. "Edward would have another girlfriend in seconds."
I grinned wickedly and the words just came out. "Oh, no, I didn't say 'break up'. I'd get even."
Now I had their full attention, "Who are you?" Jessica asked, the smallest of smiles starting to form on her face.
"Bella Swan."
Next time on Edward Cullen Must Die:
"Okay guys, we need to define Edward. He's a statue wrapped in a painting in a frame of perfect muscle, but what makes him tick? Is it that charm or those piercing golden eyes? What is it? Dig deep."
Jessica swiveled around in her chair, laser pointed at the image of a shirtless Edward Cullen that had obviously been photoshopped.
"It's everything, his eyes, his lips, his chest," Alice looked off into the distance, her pupils beginning to dilate in the darkness. "The way when he hugs you and his whole body kinda…tightens."
"We all know what happens when boys get happy," Jacob snarked.
"Not what I meant!"
Good Lord, what have I gotten myself into?
