I walked mindlessly down the hall. Avoiding Edward was hard. It was like avoiding the sun on a cloudless day, impossible, pointless, and why would you want to avoid it anyways? Not that I like the sun that much. Not the same way I like Edward.

It seemed that the more I avoided him, the more we were shoved together. We had a group project due in one class, and Edward was in my group. In Chemistry, we were always working as lab partners. Communication was kept to a minimum. He sat as far away from me as he could.

My heart is still broken. If I peered up at him during class, I'm pretty sure that I would just start crying. It was hard to ignore him, but I had treat to him like an invisible person.

Lunch was even more awkward. I felt as if the Cullens were staring a hole through me. All the Cullens except Edward. He would look at his food, appearing as if in deep concentration on anything but me. My guess was that the Cullens were mad at me for finding out. Who knew with them, they never had any interest in me before. They certainly never stared at me during lunch when Edward and I were friends.

I snapped back to the present. I unlocked my locker and shuffled through to get the correct books. I was frustrated, hurt, bothered. I didn't know how much longer I could take it. I slammed my locker door shut.

People walked past me in the hall. I saw Edward walking up the hall, and then my friend Jessica a few short steps behind. Edward walked past me as if I wasn't even there. Alice Cullen was at her locker, about 10 feet down from mine. Edward stopped and began talking to her. I sighed.

Jessica bobbled up from behind me.

"Hey! Where have you been lately? You've been in your own world…."

"I was failing a class, and Charlie was relentless…" I explained.

"Oh tell me about it, my dad flipped when I was failing English Lit."

"So what's up?" I asked.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to be on the decoration committee for the Halloween dance?"

"Oh the irony," I thought to myself. However, I knew it would give me an excuse to stay away from work, Edward, and everything else, so I nodded in agreement.

"Great!" Jessica squealed. She continued, "We're going to decorate the gym like a dungeon and we're going to rent a fog machine and everything."

"Sounds exciting."

"Here's your to-do list." Jessica handed me the list, and I saw that it had at least twenty items on it. Well, I asked for something to do didn't I?

"I'll get started right away."

I scanned the list and noticed a few items.

Among the things on my to-do list, I noticed "make a coffin."

I took out a pen from my pocket and scribbled on the neatly typed to-do list

"Make a coffin--and get in it."

Coffins. Great. As if I weren't reminded of Edward enough already.

"Bella?" Jessica added, she was clearly not done with me.

"I think Tyler is going to ask you to the dance today in P.E."

"Really? I didn't see that coming, thanks for the heads up." I squinted. I didn't want to go to the dance with anyone really. I never considered myself a great dancer.

I looked up from my to-do list and saw Edward still talking with Alice.

Edward had a look of fuming rage on his face.

I hadn't noticed an angry look from him all week.

I knew he had super sonic hearing. Maybe he thinks I'm going to go to the dance. Maybe he finds the halloween dance offensive. If I were a vampire, and people dressed as a misconstrued version of me one day a year, I would be offended.

He probably didn't like that I was participating in such an ostentatious occasion. Yes, that was it.

****

When I began to walk to my P.E. class, nervous butterflies shot through my stomach. I wasn't sure if I should go with Tyler just to have a date, or say 'no' because I wasn't interested in him at all. I walked nearer and nearer to the double doors. Then, I noticed Edward, standing in the coaches office. I just pretended like I didn't see him at all, and waltzed into the gym. Immediately, I was approached by Tyler.

"Bella, I need to ask you something."

"Sure, anything." I said, meanwhile thinking, "here it goes."

"Well, Friday is the Halloween Dance…..would you be my….date?"

"Tyler, I think you're so cool, really, I just don't know if I want to be at the dance."

"Jessica told me you are on the decorations committee…"

"Oh…" My excuse would not work. "Sure, I'll go with you."

"We should figure out a couple's costume. Call me this afternoon, okay?"

I nodded my head.

Well, that was painless.

Tyler walked off, a basketball nearly missing his head.

During P.E., the gym was often divided into two halves, the girls' half and the boys' half.

I made my way over to the girls' half. I climbed onto the bleachers to see my friend Angela.

"Did he ask?" She said.

"Yep."

"Are you going with him to the dance?"

"Yep."

"Aren't you excited?"

At this, I stopped to think. I really wasn't excited about anything. A normal teen would be. Not me.

I looked over to the gym doors to see a shadowy figure. I didn't have to look again to know it was Edward. I had no clue why he was hanging around here, when he should be on the other side of the school.

Then the thoughts hit me.

1. Jessica told me Tyler would ask me out when Edward was in ear-shot.

2. Tyler asked me out in the gym when Edward was coincidentally in proximity.

3. Edward is waiting to see what my response and reaction will be.

I'm going to use this information to my advantage.

"I'm glad that Tyler asked me. I've never been around Tyler that much but who knows? I've been kind of lonely lately. I think I'm ready to date around, ya know?"

"Yeah, now if only Ben would ask me out." Angela said.

"Well, why don't you just ask him?"

"Do you think I should?"

"Totally! Don't wait for him. Sometimes guys just need a push."

Including Edward Cullen, who is totally getting pushed right now.

I heard the gym door slam, and I didn't need to look up to know that it was a very jealous, very angry, Edward Cullen.