I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual - he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers - but when we went to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison.
It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side fo the walkway. I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I wouldn't have to avoid the blizzard battle after Gym.
Mike hardly shared my enthusiasm, keeping up a string of complaints on the way to Biology.
Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table way still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table.
Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, preferring to pull out my sketch book and doodle in it.
I heard very clearly whent he chair next to me moved, but my eyes stared carefully focused on my drawing.
"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.
I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chiar was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wat, disheveled - even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commmercial for hair gel.
"My name is Edward Cullen," He continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Beall Swan."
My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now.
Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label the accordingly.
"Would you like to go first, partner?" Edward asked. I could only stare at him like an idiot as a crooked smile graced his features. The smile was fading. He was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent.
"Nah," I said, trying to sound cool. "I'll go."
I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.
"Prophase." I said confidently.
"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mind, to stop me, as he asked.
His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd be holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.
"Sorry, man." he muttere, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.
"Prophase." He agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.
"Anaphase." he murmuered, writing it down as he spoke.
I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"
He smirked an dpushed the microscope to me. I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right.
"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him, feeling my male competition streak begin to show itself.
He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again. I took the most fleeting look I could manage.
"Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. My hand writing was nice; inspired by one of my gay friends back home with perfect calligraphy, but not as nice as Edward's.
We were finished before anyone else was even close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides agina nd again, and another group had their book open under the table. Which left me with nothing to do but go back to my sketch and try not to look at him... unsuccessfully.
I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes.
Suddenly, I identified the subtle different in his face.
"Did you get contact?" I blurted out unthinkingly.
He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. "No."
"Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes." He shrugged and looked away.
In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me - the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair.
Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone.
I didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literaal sense of the word.
I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.
Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glace at the completed labe, and then stared more intently to check the answers.
"So, Edward, didn't you think Mr. Swan should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.
"Beall," Edward said smoothly. "Actually identified three of the five slides."
Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expressionw as skeptical.
"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.
I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."
"Whitefish blastula?"
"Yeah."
Mr. Banner nodded. "were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partner." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I returned to my sketch, and it began taking on the shape of a dog.
"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked.
I had the feeling he was forcing himself to make small talk with me.
"Not really." I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else.
"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.
"Or the wet." I added.
"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live." he mused.
"You have no idea." I muttered darkly.
He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. "Why did you come here, then?"
No one had asked me that - not straight out like he did.
"It's complicated." I said, running a hand through my hair.
"I think I can keep up." he pressed.
I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me, and I answered without thinking.
"My mother got remarried." I said.
"That doesn't sound so complex." He disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic. "When did that happen?"
"Last Spetember." My voice sounded sad, even to me.
"And you don't like him." Edward surmised, his tone still kind.
"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough."
"Why didn't you stay with them?"
I couldn't fathem his interest, but he continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important.
"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." I half-smiled.
"Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.
"probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor leaque. He moves around a lot."
"And your mother send you here so that she could travel with him." He said it as an assumption again, not a question.
My chin raised a fraction. "No. I sent myself."
His eyebrows knitted together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unneceassarily frustrated by that fact.
I sighed. Why was I explaining this time him? He continued to stare at me with abvious curiosity.
"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy... so i decided it waas time to spend some quality time with my Dad." My voice was glum by the time I finished.
"But now you're unhappy." he pointed out.
"And?" I challenged.
"That doesn't seem fair." He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense.
I laughed without humor. "Life isn't fair, man." My laugh quickly turned into a scowl.
"Am I annoying you?" Edward asked. He sounded amused.
"Not exactly. I'm just annoyed that i'm easy to read." I frowned.
"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." He sounded honest.
"You must be a good reader." I replied. Oh my god... was I flirting?
"Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultrawhite teeth. Oh my god.
Mr. Banner called hte class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen. I tried to be attentive through the rest of the class, but my thoughts were unmanageable.
When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement.
Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I thanked him and took them back. He looked hurt, but got over it quickly. I imagined him with a wagging tail.
"That was awful," he groaned. "they all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner, man."
"I didn't have any trouble with it." I said, stung by his assumption."I've done this lab before, though." I added.
"Cullen seemed friendly enough today." he commented as we put on our raincoats. He didn't sound pleased.
I couldn't concentate on Mike's chatter as we walked to the Gym, and P.E. didn't do much to hold my attention either. Mike was on my team today. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve. My team made sure to duck whenever I was up.
The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab of my truck. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine.
I looked around to see that the coast was clear before I pulled out. That's when I noticed the still, white figure.
Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of his Volvo and staring intently in my direction.
I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Corolla in my haste. Lucky for it, I stomped on the brake in time.
I took a deep breaath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success.
I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I could swear I saw Edward laughing.