Disclaimer- Twilight is not mine. This story is not Beta'd, so sorry for any misspellings or grammatical errors.
Alice walked beside me down the hall, watching me cautiously from the corner of her eye. After Edward had left through the cafeteria doors, she turned on me and stared.
"What the hell was that?" She asked me completely mystified. I didn't know how to answer her, because truthfully I didn't even understand it myself. Never in my entire life had I ever experienced anything like that before. The only answer I could give Alice was a shrug.
Before she left, Rose hugged me lightly, taking care not to cause me further alarm. She knew I was still a little jumpy when someone touched me. Emmett had told Rose the bare minimum about my abuse after I first arrived in Forks when I required the help of a woman to shower and use the bathroom. I didn't want to burden her with all the darkness of my past, so I had Emmett tell her I had been attacked only once, by a stranger at a party I attended back in Jacksonville.
Rose grabbed Emmett's hand, and started to pull him towards the crowd now filing out of the cafeteria. He gave me one last sympathetic smile, and turned with Rose to leave. Alice was standing quietly next to me, still looking at me with shock. I ignored her and pulled on my backpack and started walking. She kept pace with me as we weaved through the student body, making our way to Biology.
"You feel like telling me why you screamed?" Alice asked me gently. I wanted to give Alice some type of answer as to my behavior, but didn't want to go anywhere near the truth. The truth was locked away, deep down below the surface where it wouldn't be able to hurt anyone other that me and occasionally Emmett. Even though we had only met that morning, Alice felt like the sister I never knew I had, and I was afraid that if I told her the truth, she would only ever look at me that way Emmett and Rose look at me, with pity and sorrow.
"It just scared me, that's all" I lied. Alice didn't look convinced. "It's fine. Really. Edward just caught me by surprise when he grabbed me and kept me from falling." I didn't want Alice to see the lie in my eyes, so I focused on the ground in front of me, counting the tiles that I walked over.
I tried to distract Alice by changing the subject.
"Jasper barely took his eyes off you during lunch." I stated. It was Alice's turn to stare at the ground below her. A slow red blush crept up her face. I stole her words from earlier. "So should I just send out the wedding invitations now, so should I wait until he's actually popped the question." I mimic jokingly. Alice's bright smile spread across her face.
"Admit it, you are totally hot for Jasper" I teased.
"I just can't help it," She said. with a smile "He's so cute!"
"Why, thank you darling," Said a voice behind us. "You're pretty cute yourself." I couldn't help the embarrassed laugh that came from me as I turned and found Jasper smiling at us. Jasper walked up to Alice and kissed her cheek as he passed.
"Catch you ladies later." He said with a lazy southern drawl. I watched him walk away, until he turned the corner, then I looked to Alice. She stood rooted on spot, pale and in shock. Her wide eyes focused on my face, and then she suddenly burst into a fit of giggles.
"Oh. My. God. Did that really just happen. That didn't happen did it? Oh my God. I . . . I . . . Did he really kiss me? . . . Oh my God." Her shocked expression turned into a look of burning curiosity in a single second. "Did he just call me pretty?"
I laughed and shook my head. "Come on, we're gonna be late" I pulled her by her elbow, until she started moving with me to Biology. Alice held her slender fingers to her cheek, where Jasper's lips had brushed just moments ago. She snapped back to reality and stopped walking, jerking me back a step by my arm.
"Wait. You changed the subject on purpose" Alice accused. "You were literally eye fucking the shit out of Edward at lunch, but when he grabbed you, you started screaming. Why?"
"I told you Alice, he just surprised me. "
"Bullshit" She spit at me. "Why did you scream?"
"Because. . . " I didn't know how to finish this sentence without sounding crazy. "When Edward grabbed me, it felt like I was being zapped with volts of electricity. It burned all over my skin." I confessed.
"Wow." Alice said. "You've got it bad."
"What?! No! It's not like that Alice. I don't like Edward like that. It just surprised me when he shocked me."
"Mmhm" she responded with a doubtful nod. She opened the door to Biology and held it out for me to walk through first. A middle aged man stood behind the long counter in the front of the classroom, pointing to a sheet of paper in front of him.
"Afternoon ladies." He addressed me and Alice. "Here's the seating chart." I walked over, picked up the chart, and held it out for Alice and myself to look at. Alice's name caught my eye right away, her seat was smack dab in the middle of the front row of tables. My name was written over the table directly behind Alice's. The name written next to mine made my stomach drop. I turned around slowly, and found my Biology partner already seated at the table. His head was down, looking at the pages of the textbook he was flipping through. I pinched Alice's arm.
"Ow!" She squealed. Edward's eyes popped up from his book and met with mine, causing the buzzing sensation from earlier to return. Alice looked between me and Edward, smiling.
"Behave" She muttered under her breath and gave me a shove towards my table. I stumbled over and slowly lowered myself into the open seat. Alice simply sat down, turned around in her chair, and rested her arms on the table Edward and I would now be sharing.
"This is so great!" She said. "How funny is it, that all three of us would have a class together?"
I tried to be mad at her, for acting so casual about this situation, but I couldn't deny the pull inside my body, trying to drag itself closer to Edward. The force drawing me towards Edward was overpowering, forcing me to pull in a gasping breath. His piercing green eyes locked with mine, his eyebrows pulled together in confused concern.
"Are you ok?" He asked in a low, smooth voice. Shivers slid over my skin, and heat pooled in my stomach at his tone. His tongue darted out and licked his lips and I watched as the muscles in his throat convulsed as he swallowed. I jerked my head up and down in a nodding motion, hoping he understood my nonverbal response, although I'm sure it looked more like a case of tourretes, than a quiet form of communication.
"God, just get a room and get it over with already!" Alice blurted out sarcastically.
"Alice!" I piqued. My lungs expelled all their air, leaving me coughing and sputtering.
"Stop it Al." Edward warned.
"Oh, she knows I'm just kidding. Don't you Bella?" She turned to me with a smile. I stared at her incredulously. Thankfully, the teacher called the class to order and cut off any further 'jokes' from Alice. He walked around the classroom, placing two syllabi papers onto each table for the partners to read. A spark zapped my skin where Edward's fingers brushed against mine when he passed me my syllabus. His eyes shifted from the paper in his hands to my face, and the look in his gaze told me, that he too, felt the spark.
Breaking eye contact, I looked down at my paper and used my hair as a curtain between Edward and I. My breath was coming in rapid, uneven spurts of oxygen, and my heart was just as erratic. I really tried to concentrate on whatever the teacher was reading from the syllabus, but I was consumed by my traitorous body's refusal to behave and the magnetic pull trying to draw me closer to Edward.
I let my eyes close and tried to breathe. I inhaled through my nose, and exhaled out my mouth. Gaining control of my breath, I worked on slowing down the runaway freight train that was my heart.
"Isabelle Swan?" The teacher called out. Chills ran down my spine and James's face flashed though my mind as I heard my name called out. I hated when anyone called me 'Isabelle', because James had been the only one to call me by my first name.
"Just Bella." I corrected him. I felt the gaze of all my classmates zero in on my back, right between my shoulder blades.
"Bella," he started again, "Have you gotten to the library today to get your text book?"
"Um . . . no." I confessed. "I forgot. I'm sorry"
"Very well Miss Swan. Please look on with Mr. Cullen next to you." My heart that had been racing away was suddenly lodged in my throat, threatening to choke me. I scooted my chair closer to Edward, and he pushed his book towards the center of our table. We leaned our heads in close, trying to focus on the small print of the page, but all I could focus on was Edward's breathing. I tried to make my stammering heart match the pace of his steady breaths. Edward's proximity was making it difficult for me to do anything other than watch him from the corner of my eye. Every little move he made, or every time he shifted in his seat, I watched him with sharp eyes.
I felt his eyes on the side of my face and looked up, catching Edward staring at me. The blush that smeared across my face must have been really bright, because he smiled his crooked grin.
"You're blushing." He whispered. His hand slowly came up to my face, and he tucked my hair back behind my ear. He rested his palm against my cheek for a moment, and i could feel heated electricity radiating from his hand. Without thought, I leaned my face against his palm, wishing the heat from his hand could warm my entire body. When he began pulling his hand back, he let his fingers softly graze my neck and jaw. Goose bumps exploded over my skin and my heart began stammering once more when he dropped his hand from my face.
Suddenly I couldn't breathe. I was choking on my own breath. Flashbacks of James invaded my mind. It felt like James had his hand wrapped around my throat, reminding me he could hurt me anytime he chose. Panic must have shown on my face, because Edward's expression changed from wonder to distress. His eyebrows pulled together, and his eyes filled with concern. A frightened sob was about to break lose from my shaking body, but was swallowed back when Edward slid his hand over mine. Tight pressure closed around my hand, as he enveloped it with his own. The panic and fear immediately dissipated, like the dark smoke of a bad dream dissolving into bright light of the morning sun. My lungs pulled in air, and felt like they wanted to burst open inside my chest if I dared take another breath. I closed my eyes and put my head down, pressing my face against the cool table top.
"Bella?" Edward whispered softly. I opened my eyes, and looked up into his. "Are you ok?" I nodded, afraid to speak. I wasn't sure my voice would be as strong as I wanted it to sound. Edward just squeezed my hand again, and used his thumb to rub small circles on the back of my hand. Afraid what I would see behind my eyes if I looked away from Edward, I kept my gaze with him.
A loud bell ringing broke our connection, and everyone around us stood up from their seats to leave. I stood up and grabbed my backpack before Edward rose from his chair. Alice turned around, looked at me and asked "Ready?" I nodded again, and turned to wave goodbye to Edward.
"See you later Eddie!" Alice called behind her. Edward still hadn't moved from behind our table when I walked through the door, and out into the hall. Alice pulled me along to art class, but I wasn't paying attention. The faces of the classmates that walked past me blurred together, as my mind refused to process the fact we were no longer holding hands with Edward. For some reason, that thought brought tears to my eyes. I don't know why I was suddenly so sad, normally the thought of human contact made bile rise in my throat, but now I just wanted to feel the buzzing energy of Edward's touch. Using my free hand, I wiped away the tears in my eyes before they had the chance to betray me by spilling over my cheeks.
Art class passed quickly. After going over the syllabus and getting a tour of the room, we only had five minutes until the bell would ring.
"Edward likes you." Alice just blurts out. "Back in Chicago, he never held any type of interest for a girl, not even our next door neighbor Tanya. She was drop dead gorgeous, and she hit on Edward every single day, but not once did he ever show any feelings in return. But during lunch and Biology, he couldn't keep his eyes off you."
"I don't know Alice. When he touches me, it's like hot energy buzzing and vibrating through out my entire body. It feels like I might slip out of my own skin if I don't hold on tight enough. I've never felt anything like this before."
"But does it hurt?" She asked.
"No. Not really" I admitted. "But it scares me."
"Why? Why does that scare you Bella?" I don't want to answer, and thankfully, I won't have to because the bell rings. Alice gives me a tight hug and she leaves for Health class. I grudgingly head towards the locker rooms to change for Gym. There are maybe a dozen other girls in the locker room when I arrive, changing without reservations in front of their classmates. I am not that confident with my own body. I know the bruises are gone and there is no longer any physical evidence of his abuse, but I always feel them on me. Grabbing my gym clothes, I walk into the bathroom and change in a stall. I stuff my school clothes into my gym locker and follow the other girls towards the gym.
Coach Clapp greeted us right outside the doors to the gym and told us he had the boys setting up the nets for volleyball. I groaned and wished the world would open and swallow me up. I hated volleyball because I always hit someone else with the ball instead of actually hitting it over the net. We followed the coach inside the gym and stood by the doors, watching the boys work together to stretch the nets taught. A warm hand was placed against my back, and I jumped in surprise when I felt the electricity.
"Edward!" I exclaimed.
"Sorry Bella, I didn't mean to scare you."
"That's ok. I've experienced worse." I answered truthfully. Edward's eyes filled up with questions, but before he could ask any of them, Coach Clapp told us we could warm up by walking around the gym a few times. Edward and I set an easy pace, and walked stride for stride beside each other.
"So Alice tells me you guys are from Chicago. What do you miss about Chicago?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation centered on him.
"I miss going to Cub's games. I miss the museums, and concert halls, and this awesome piano bar that served the best coffee in Chicago." He was smiling as he remembered his childhood home. I felt myself smiling, and knew it was because he was so happy talking about his past. "I know Alice misses the malls in Chicago" He laughed.
"Yeah, that sounds like her. Is she a shoppaholic?"
"Definitely. She had so many clothes, she couldn't fit them into her closet, so she put them in mine." He laughed at the memory. "She started crying when I first told her no."
"First?" I repeat him.
"Yeah, once she started crying I caved. In the end, she took over my closet. There was enough space for me to hang three shirts of my own in there." I laughed as I pictured Alice elbowing her way between two different hanging garments in order to hang a third.
"You two sound like siblings."
"Lord knows we fight like siblings." Edward told me. "Don't let her size fool you, if it comes down to it, she can throw a punch." I shook my head in disbelief.
"I can't picture Alice fighting." I confessed.
"Oh believe me. When she came to live with us after her parents passed away, I came home from a friend's house and she had moved all my stuff into the guest room and had taken over my room. I demanded she get her crap out of my room, but she started screaming at me, telling me that it was her room, and if I had a problem with it I could, and I quote, 'Suck her dick'." Edward had used his pointer finger and middle finger to make air quotes.
"Yeah, I've noticed Alice has a bit of a mouth on her."
"That she does." Agreed Edward. "She doesn't have much of a brain-mouth filter, she just says whatever she feels like. She's always been like that though, I can never remember a time of her being different than that."
Coach Clapp blew his whistle and motioned for all of us to start walking over towards him. He split us into teams of two, and had us play volleyball against other teams in the class. Edward was elected to be my partner and I cringed. I knew that I would hit Edward with the volleyball at least once, and was afraid of how he would react. The couple on the first team we played were named Ben and Lauren. Ben played pretty good, but Lauren treated the ball like it was a piranha, avoiding it at all costs. I mainly stood at the back of the court and watched Edward play. His strong limber arms sent the ball back over the net every time. His muscles would shrink and stretch with every move, and I stared, captivated. We had won 2 matches when the coach blew his whistle and signaled for everyone to rotate.
The boy on the team we were about to play looked familiar.
"Bella!" He cheered. Mike! His name was Mike!
"Hi Mike."
"How's your first day going?" He asked me.
"Good." I told him. "How's your day going?" I asked back.
"Better now that I got to talk to you again." He said, full of confidence. He stepped a little closer to me. "Hey look, if you need someone to show you around Forks or anything, I would be more that happy to volunteer my services." He brought his hand up, like he meant to rest it upon my shoulder, but I stepped back from him before he could, so his hand just fell through empty air.
"Have you met my partner Edward Cullen?" I ask, extending my arm out for Edward. He stepped into my reach and wrapped his arm around my back, holding his free hand out for Mike to shake.
"Hey Mike. I'm Edward." He said in a solid voice and grasped Mike hand firmly in his They exchanged a few other greetings and such, but I didn't hear any of it, because Edward's hand was touching me again. Heat radiated out through my body, from where Edward's hand was settled on my back. . Mike's partner cleared her throat, hoping for us to notice her. Mike finally remembered her and introduced her.
"Bella, Edward. This is Jessica!" When Mike said her name, she looked up at his face with longing, but quickly looked elsewhere when she caught me watching her. The four of us started our first match. Edward took his usual spot up front by the net, and I stood in the back, watching him beat Mike and Jessica. As the match went on, I watched as Mike tried harder and harder to score against Edward. He was visibly getting frustrated by his inability to score even a point.
After losing the first match, Mike said "Hey Bella, why don't you come up front and get some playing time, instead of Cullen and me hogging the ball."
"No, I'm fine back here" I assured Mike.
"I insist Bella. Edward and I haven't given you a chance to play." Mike said breathlessly. Edward simply shrugged and walked to the back of the court where I was standing.
"Don't worry about it Bella." He whispered in my ear. "Mike just wants to score a few points, we'll switch back soon." I nodded and walked up closer to the net.
Jessica served the ball, and sent it flying towards the back corner to Edward, who hit it back with easy grace. Just as the ball was about to fly over the net, Mike jumped out and spiked the ball back down. The next three seconds slowed down and split into frames, clicking past one by one. The ball was flying straight at me. Behind me, Edward called out my name in panic, and Mike's face turned from triumph to tortured. There was no time to move away or bring my arms up to block my face, there was only time to turn my face away from the ball. The force from the ball knocked my head back so violently that I lost my balance. My feet came up as my head continued falling backwards. I felt my head crack against the hard gym floor, followed by my body falling into a limp heap. When my back hit the floor, the force knocked the wind from my lungs. I fought to draw in a breath, but couldn't make my lungs behave and start working again.
"Bella!" Edward shouted. His face swam into my vision, mixing with the stars and flashes of light. I gripped his arm, and begged my body to breath. I was panicking.
"Shhh. Shhh Bella. It's ok. Relax." He brushed my hair behind my ears, and placed his hands on either side of my face, forcing me to look at him. "When you relax your windpipe will open back up." Edward told me in his smooth voice. He kept speaking to me, but I couldn't make out the words, so I just listened to his voice. I imagined his voice was a blanket, and I wrapped myself in it, willing it to help me relax my body. It was working, but not fast enough. The edges of my vision began to grey and blur.
Through the fog and pain, I reached up and touched Edward's face. His eyes were panicked, but calmed slightly as I held my hand against his face. His cheek felt as smooth and soft as his velvet voice. The warm buzzing sensation traveled up my arm and straight to my heart, spreading out to the rest of my body from there. I sighed and closed my eyes. Sweet, painless oblivion cradled me, waiting for me to give myself over, but not before I heard Edward shout very close to my ear "Fuck!"
Thanks again to everyone who reads this story! I hope you liked it. Reviews are appreciated. Check back next week for an update!