He was right. People did lie. That was true, it was only natural. I felt bad for Edward, he seemed like he was… in pain when he talked to me about it. Did the rumors really get to him that much? I felt bad for him, having no friends. Or…maybe he liked it that way?

Charlie was as overprotective as ever. Ever since Mike's death, he made me carry pepper spray in my backpack, and was worried whenever I didn't come home on time. Which was rare.

It was Friday. We were meeting at 8 for the movie, and the others were all talking about it at lunch. Even Jessica seemed happy.

"I heard that everyone in the movie dies," Erik said, grinning from ear to ear. Such a guy.

"Eew Erik," Angela mumbled. Erik laughed and gave her a slight nudge.

"What's wrong, Ang? Can't stand the thought of a creepy, crawly, vampire sneaking up on you….slowly…slowly…and right when you least expect it….he gets you!" She jumped slightly as he nudged her again at the last part. Erik laughed and Angela was soon laughing too. They had been getting closer and closer together. Both me and Jessica knew what was coming between those two, not that it was hard to figure out. I saw a sad glint in her eye, and began to wonder how deep what she felt for Mike really was.

"Oh, Erik.." She sighed, looking to him with a smile "Don't even start. You're such a wimp when it comes to horror. You were practically crying when we saw that slasher movie a few months ago." Erik laughed nervously and shut up after that. Angela smiled victoriously and went back to eating her slice of pizza.

I looked around the cafeteria. Everyone was where they usually were. Even the Cullens look animated in a conversation, smiling and laughing except for a blonde haired guy. My eyes trailed to Edward. He was sitting alone, as usual. No one even spared a second glace at him.

"Was he always like that?" I asked. They all looked at me confused, but followed my line of sight to his table.

"Yeah, as far as we know." Erik answered.

"His family moved here towards the end of Freshman year, and he came after the summer…he just never wanted to make friends, I guess. " Jessica said, shrugging. I couldn't believe that fact that he just didn't want friends. Everyone wanted friends. He just looked so…alone. All the time.

I got up, taking my tray and sliding my backpack onto my shoulders. I gave my friends a small wave and walked towards Edward's table.

"Bella, what are you-"

"Are you crazy?"

"This won't go well…"

Such supportive friends I had.

I got quite a few looks as I walked towards Edward's table. Not that I cared, but an embarrassing blush crept up my face at all the unwanted attention. Was it really that big of a deal?

Edward looked up at me from the novel he was reading and quirked a brow. "I think you have the wrong table."

"No, I don't." I answered back with a smile. He looked completely shocked by me sitting there, and a little suspicious.

"No, I really think you do." His voice got a little lower and his muscles tensed. Was he getting angry?

"If you're trying to intimidate me, it's not working." I said with a little smile. If it was even possible, Edward paled even further, and his jaw clenched, featured hardening.

"You've got balls, Swan…" He mumbled, though I couldn't the strange expression in his eyes.

"It's good to know that my biology partner doesn't know the difference between male and female." Edward looked so annoyed at that moment, and I thought he might get up and leave.

But instead he mumbled "Hillarious." and returned to his book, apparently finding that ignoring me would be the best solution. I looked at the book he was reading. Wuthering Heights. Hm.

"Never pegged you for a guy of the classics." I noted, nodding at the book.

"Yeah, well." He mumbled offhandedly, seemingly engrossed in his reading. Slightly annoyed, I picked up an apple and bit into it, then inspecting the bite thoroughly.

"What the hell are you doing?" I jumped and looked to Edward, who was staring at me incredulously. I put down the apple and finished chewing before I answered.

"Looking for the worm."

"Excuse me?" I almost wanted to laugh at Edward's clueless look, as if I was speaking some foreign language.

"Whenever someone eats an apple in cartoons, there's always a worm in it. I'm looking for the worm."

"And why would you want to find a damn worm in your apple?"

"Because…" I sighed, "If every cartoon shows a worm in an apple, then that means that it, apparently, happens a lot. I've never seen an actual worm in an actual apple, so I've aways been curious as to where the trend formed." He still didn't seem to get it, so I summed it up with "I just want to find one, so that I know that this type of thing actually happens." Edward looked at me like I was crazy. I didn't mind, mostly because Angela, Jessica, and Eric gave me the same look when I explained it to them. I simply went back to eating my apple, though I wish that the blush that formed under his gaze would disappear.

"That's so weird." Edward mumbled.

"If I'm not mistaken, it was you that asked." I shot back. His expression went from blank, to really mad. Good. Let him get a taste of it. I was glad I finally got under his skin. But, in a second, it was gone, replaced with a look of quiet seething, which was just a bit scarier.

"Well, I'll leave you to your damn worm." He stood abruptly and slammed his chair into the table. I'm pretty sure there was a dent in there afterwards. He shut his book, and, at a speed that seemed a little too fast, left the cafeteria. My eyes trailed from the door to the cafeteria, where pretty much the whole cafeteria was now staring at me, due to the loudness of Edward's little outburst. A blush grew on my cheeks and I stood, rushing out of the cafeteria quickly, confident in my status of the 'freaky new girl'. That douche.

I was still fuming when I sat down in biology. Why did he always her do damn angry? Maybe he has anger issues. Maybe he can't help himself. Oh, hell. Why am I defending this douche? I scoffed to myself, and busied myself with the warm-up questions on the board. Edward slunk in seconds before the bell rang, sliding into his seat. His head dipped towards me, and I saw his eyes flick to me in my peripherals, but I didn't flinch. He seemed to take the hint, and left me alone.

Mr. Banner called attention to the class a few minutes later. He grinned an entirely too happy grin and wrote on the board 'GROUP PROJECTS' Hell no. I though I saw Edward's jaw clench out of the corner of my eye.

For the next half hour, Banner explained the group project to us. People around us shuffled around, some happy, some nervous, some just bored. The only people that seemed completely frozen were Edward and I. We were waiting, and soon enough, he spoke the damned words "And your group will consist of you and your table partner." God. Damn. It. The rest of his talking drowned out in my ears, as I contemplated how I was going to pull this off. I guess we could split the work early on, cut out communication early on. Hell, I don't care if I have to do the damn thing myself. My thoughts were interrupted by the shrill ring of the bell. I stood packing up my stuff as quickly as I could. The air was suffocating, and his presence was choking me.

"Bella," Edward called, in a softer voice than I'd ever heard him use. I ignored it, scooting behind him to get through. "Bella," He said, louder and more forceful. Before I knew it, his hand shot out, grabbed my wrist, and spun me to face him. My eyebrows raised, and the hairs on my neck stood. Something stirred deep inside me, bringing up strange feelings. Scream. Run. "I…I apologize for my behavior earlier." He said earnestly. The anger was all gone out of his voice, and his hand raked through his hair, eyes turning to the ground. "I hope you'll forgive me." His sweet breath tickled my face, his eyes locked onto mine. Sweet damn.

I couldn't look away even if I wanted to.

"For the sake of the project, if nothing else." He added, bringing me out of my slight daze. My eyebrows lowered, and I looked away. I didn't want to be late to my next class, and I didn't really want to talk to him just yet. It was too soon, and I was still getting looks in the hallway.

"My house. 5." I tugged on my wrist, prying it away from his iron grip, and turned on my heel, beginning to walk away. My write throbbed lightly, and I realized just how hard he was gripping it.

"Bella," He called out again. Annoyed, I spun around. Just let me go get murdered in P.E.!

"What?" I said loudly, annoyance clear on my face. His lips twitched, almost like they were going to smile, then went blank again. His eyes couldn't contain his amusement though. Great, glad I amuse you, douche.

"I need your address." He said softly. With a roll of my eyes, I wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to him. His long fingers snatched it up and slid it into the back pocket of his jeans as he walked past, me subconsciously watching, and finding myself envying the paper. Once I came back to reality, I was now sure I'd be late to class. Fan-freaking-tastic.

What a douche.