"You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Amethyst said, pushing Tyler out of the way to head into her house. She was going to be sick, she was sure, and didn't want her friend to see it.
Tyler followed behind her as she went to go inside. "Who hit you?"
His comment pushed her stomach over the edge. Grabbing onto the rain leading up to her porch, the contents of her stomach forced their way out. Tyler jumped into action, pulling her heavy layers of hair back from her face and rubbing her back. She pushed his hand away from her back when he placed it exactly on her bruise, causing another wave of nausea sweeping over her. It took a few moments before she could pull up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
Amethyst turned to look at Tyler, both of them completely soaked by the pouring rain. Salty tears mixed on her face with the drops as she looked at her friend.
"I'm really hurt," she said softly.
"I know," he muttered back. Tyler had reached for her but dropped his hands almost immediately, afraid of hurting her again.
She sniffed. "I did fall down the stairs. My face was just hit on both sides." The switch to passive voice helped her avoid the point.
Tyler nodded, still not looking as if he believed her. "Go inside and change. I'll be back in a few minutes after changing. Get yourself some tea and dry clothes."
Amethyst nodded and turned to walk away, but Tyler grabbed her hand gently which made her turn back. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before walking back to his van.
A smile twitched at her lips as she worked her way back inside. The stairs were rough, particularly on her knee, but she managed to climb them safely. Amethyst brushed her teeth first, working to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth, before stripping the wet clothes off with some difficulty. The wasted outfit upset her slightly, but she dived back into her closet anyway.
Among her dresses, she noticed a raspberry long sleeve dress. The collar rested around her neck without showing any bruises, so she pulled it out. Amethyst took the time to wrap up her knee while changing, realizing she needed the support more than she thought. A pair of white leggings to cover her legs, a white scarf and new boot socks covered her skin slowly as the girl attempted to work against her resisting muscles.
Knowing her hair would dry into a mess she couldn't contain, she twisted the sheets up into a ballerina bun and went to work on reapplying her makeup. Finally believing she got it back to the point she had before, Amethyst pulled her boots back on and grabbed a leather jacket out of her closet.
The girl worked her way back down the stairs carefully and grabbed an umbrella before stepping back into the rain. She walked over to Tyler who was sitting in his van patiently, trying not to limp or walk too heavily.
Amethyst climbed in, wincing slightly at the pressure she had put on her knee. Tyler made a face when she did so but remained silent. She could feel him staring at her as she closed her umbrella and snapped the door shut.
"What?"
"How did you hide your bruises with makeup?"
She sighed. "You've commented on what I can do with makeup before when Jasper split my lip. Does it surprise you I have a talent?"
"Not at all. It actually just concerns me as to what else I've been missing."
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking to see a thermos between the two of them. "What's that?"
"Tea," he replied, putting the car into gear. "I knew you would take a while to change so I made some for you."
"I don't like tea."
"Drink it anyway."
She sighed, giving in and grabbing the hot drink to try to chase her chills away. The rain hadn't helped, she was sure.
"Why does it smell like cinnamon?"
"It's chai tea. Drink it."
The flavor wasn't the greatest in her opinion, but the warmth did begin to spread through her body.
Tyler pulled all the way to the back of the lot to find a parking spot when they arrived at school, ushering Amethyst out the moment they parked.
"First period literally just started," Tyler said, using the girl's hand to guide her toward the school.
She checked her watch and made a face, noticing they were two minutes late. Tyler escorted the girl all the way to her class, dropping a kiss on top of her head before turning around to his own.
Everyone turned to stare when Amethyst walked in, muttering an apology to her teacher. He didn't say anything to her as she slid in next to Angela, who looked relieved to see the brunette.
When the bell rang, Angela turned to her immediately. "I was so worried when you and Tyler weren't here this morning. We all were, but none of us knew how to reach out to you guys to see if you were okay."
Amethyst smiled a bit at the girl. "Didn't you tell me not to worry so much when he was running late yesterday?" She tucked her books back into her bag before another voice joined the conversation.
"You were late, Ms. Ashford."
She looked up guiltily at Mr. Gulden. "I'm sorry, sir, we were having some car trouble this morning."
"I'm afraid that doesn't change the fact that you were not in school on time. Do you know the procedure when you show up late?"
"No, sir."
He sighed. "I have to tell the office you were running late and they'll call your parents to let them know."
"No!" Angela and Mr. Gulden's eyebrows shot up at the same time. "I mean please don't call my parents."
"I'm sorry Ms. Ashford, but that's procedure. Unless you have a circumstance that would justify us not calling."
Amethyst sighed slightly. "No sir. I just really, really would prefer it if you didn't call home."
Her teacher considered her contemplatively. "Alright. You were barely late. Do all the odd problems along with the even and we'll talk again tomorrow."
"Thank you," she replied, relief passing through her chest.
"Get to your next class." He studied the girl when she stood up and grabbed her bag.
She was careful to keep the bag in her hand instead of slinging it over her should like she would on a normal day. Amethyst followed Angela to the door, holding it open for the quiet girl.
"Ms. Ashford?"
She turned around to look at her teacher. "Mr. Gulden?"
He had his arms crossed while he looked at her. "You know you can talk to any of your teachers here if there's a problem."
"There isn't, sir. I just didn't want to disappoint my parents," she said, following Angela out of the classroom before he could say anything else.
Amethyst knew her walking was slightly unsteady, concerning her as she navigated her way between buildings. Alice frowned at the girl the instant she walked in to physics, causing the brunette to drop her eyes.
She avoided talking to anyone until lunch, when she was surprised to not see Tyler standing outside the cafeteria. Amethyst waited for him for a moment away from the crowds, confusion flowing through her. After most of the crowd passed by, she followed them inside to see Tyler already at their normal table, talking to Angela.
Amethyst quickly bought herself cranberry juice before heading over to the table. Her friends fell silent as she walked up to them, peaking her curiosity. The girl eased herself down into the chair, raising an eyebrow at her friends who were all watching her.
"What?"
Mike snorted. "You move like you're 80."
"Sue me, I'm sore."
"From what?" Eric wiggled his eyebrows at her, dividing the table between laughs and cringes.
"Just a long night," she replied, winking back at the boy.
Tyler huffed next to her, making her turn with raised eyebrows. He shook his head and her lips pressed into a line.
He reached over to lay his arm across the back of her chair. "You should go get more to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
Angela jumped in their conversation. "You weren't hungry last night either."
Amethyst groaned internally, not want to deal with the conversation again. She stood up quickly, wincing as she shoved her chair away. "You two have been giving me the third degree for the past two days and I'm done with it." Snatching her drink off the table, the girl walked away from the group who had been shocked into silence.
She walked into the hallway toward her locker with her head down. Amethyst tucked her morning books away, sighing before she dropped onto her butt in the middle of the walking path. She stared into her locker as she tried to keep the bruised part of her body off the ground.
A body sat down beside her, surprising the brunette. But because she wanted to be alone, she didn't look over or say anything.
They sat in silence as Amethyst slowly calmed down, picking at her leggings. A cold hand was placed on top of hers, stopping her motion.
"You pick at everything when you're nervous or bored."
She sighed, pulling her hand out from under Jasper's. "Why are you out here?"
"You more than kind of blew up at your friends and Alice sent me to check on you."
"Great. So Alice didn't care enough to come check herself and you do everything your girlfriend says." Amethyst wanted to get angry, but she felt herself remain calm.
Jasper shook his head, blonde curls moving subtly. "She's not my girlfriend."
"That's what Tyler told me and what everyone here thinks."
"You of all people should know it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. It's just high school. I don't care and neither should you."
Amethyst turned to the boy sitting next to her with the odd eye color. "I don't."
"You aren't acting like that today."
She sighed when he refused to break eye contact, the odd amber color back from the honey gold. "Why are you freezing?"
"Poor circulation. Why haven't you been eating?"
"Not hungry. Why are your eyes changing colors?"
Jasper finally broke eye contact to roll his. "Fluorescent lights play with the color oddly. Why are you limping today?"
"Fell down the stairs. Why doesn't your family associate with anyone?"
"We do. I'm speaking with you right now and you're coming to our house tomorrow. Why have you been wearing so many layers?"
"It's cold and everyone's bundled up," Amethyst mumbled pulling her leather jacket tighter around her body. "Why do you hate me?"
He snorted a way she wondered why she found attractive. "You don't always make yourself the easiest person to like. Why do you have so much makeup on today?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Is it a crime to want to look pretty?"
"No. But you look better with much less."
Amethyst's cheeks burned as she looked away, listening as Jasper stood up and walked away. After he was out of sight, she felt anger bubble back up within her. She reached out and kicked her locker door shut as well as she could from her position.
When the bell rang, she struggled to pull herself up with the locker doors and was glad she managed it before crowds poured back into the hallway. Amethyst made her way to the locker room, hiding behind the furthest divider from the entry to change.
The girl made her way into the gym walking only slightly unevenly, her eyes immediately drawn to Tyler. He looked upset, prompting the girl to make her way over to him.
They made eye contact and Amethyst smiled slightly. Tyler put a hand on her shoulder when she got close.
"We care."
"I know," she said softly, breaking eye contact. "I told you I'm not okay and sometimes I just need space to deal with that."
"Answer me one thing honestly." The girl didn't respond, but he sighed and continued anyway. "Did you purposefully fall down your stairs?"
Amethyst started in surprise. "Why would I do that?"
He shrugged slightly, dropping his arm. "We were just concerned." Tyler looked over at Coach Clapp as class began. "We'll talk later," he said softly, lining up to begin stretching.
Possibly the most painful gym class she had ever experienced ensued after, despite Amethyst hanging to the back while the rest of the class took part in a surprisingly competitive game of basketball.
Changing back almost made her cry as her tired muscles did not want to cooperate, but she managed to slide into literature moments before the bell rang with the paper she had written that weekend.
Emmett looked at Amethyst the same way Alice had when she walked into the final class of the day, making the girl sigh as she carefully sat down. He didn't say anything, instead continually looking at her throughout the class.
She shoved up from her desk and away from annoying golden eyes as the bell rang. Tyler quickly joined her and they headed to the van in silence. Amethyst threw her book bag into the back and climbed in, tucking the borrowed thermos back into the cup holder.
"Are you going to explain why you wanted to know if I threw myself down the stairs?" She cranked the heat when he started the car, settling deeper into her jacket.
Tyler sighed, adjusting his mirrors. "Angela and I were concerned you'd been hurting yourself. You never show your arms and are really reserved in your emotions unless they're exploding. Moving is a lot to deal with and we wanted to know if you were okay."
"I wouldn't do that," Amethyst said softly. "I wouldn't purposefully injure my body. I could never understand what people go through that makes them feel as if they have to do that."
Tyler reached over and tucked some baby hairs behind her ear. "I'm glad to hear that." He checked the clock on the dash as he pulled his hand away. "What time do you need to be at your interview?"
"3 p.m." She checked the clock as well. "Can we stop and get hot chocolate before going to the library?"
The boy shook his head and smiled as he threw the car into gear. "You have an obsession."
"With trying to be warm," she defended. "It's so cold out."
"Are you sure you don't have a fever or something? I don't feel as if your chronic chill is natural."
Amethyst shrugged and looked out the window, wishing she could pull her knees to her chest without pain. "Not as far as I know." They stopped at the gas station where Amethyst went inside while Tyler gassed up the van. She had tried to pay for part of the tank but he argued stopping to pick her up was so barely out of his way she didn't have any right to be paying.
She grabbed herself a hot chocolate and Tyler a Mountain Dew and beef jerky before getting in line. Eyes were piercing her, bringing Amethyst to glance around in surprise.
Two guys were staring her down as she stepped up to the counter, making her uncomfortable. She heard them follow her out of the store and hurried her steps as much as she could without killing her knee. Amethyst walked straight past Tyler into the van, releasing a shaky breath when she was inside.
"What was that about?" The boy laughed as he climbed into the car, grabbing his snacks from her.
She shrugged slightly, sighing when he gave her a pointed look. "Two guys inside made me feel uncomfortable."
"Did they say anything to you?"
"No just their gazes were freaking me out. It's so different from New York here and I just get unnerved by people sometimes."
Tyler started the van and drove off as she leaned into the vents. The library was conveniently near the school and gas station, a fact Amethyst rather appreciated.
They pulled in about 15 minutes before her interview. The girl nervously sipped on her hot chocolate as they quietly looked at the brick building. Tyler shook the bag of beef jerky at her and she took a piece, nibbling on it as the seconds passed.
After a few minutes she sighed and undid her seat belt. Tyler leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "You'll be great."
"You've been kissing me a lot today," she commented, pulling the visor down to check her makeup quickly.
He shrugged. "Someone should. And at this rate, it's not going to be Jasper Hale."
Amethyst snorted out a laugh and climbed out, walking in the main entrance of the library. She went to the desk just inside, picking at her jacket. Remembering what Jasper said earlier, the girl immediately tried to still her hands.
"Hi, I'm Amethyst Ashford. I'm looking for Chloe Harman?"
The redhead at the desk looked up, smiling at the girl. "Hi Amethyst, I'm Chloe. It's nice to meet you in person."
"Oh, of course, hello." Amethyst reached a hand across the desk and plastered a smile on her face, one the small woman returned.
"Hi again. If you hang on just one moment, I'll get someone to cover the desk while we chat."
The girl stepped back, keeping the smile as Chloe made some calls until a older man came and sat behind the desk.
Chloe stood up and motioned for Amethyst to follow her, leading her to an office that was behind the desk. The woman closed the door behind the two and the brunette eased herself into a chair.
"Now, Ms. Amethyst," Chloe smiled at her as she sat down behind the desk. "We reviewed your application but noticed you didn't have a resume attached."
"No ma'am, this would be my first job." Amethyst forced her hands still when she began pulling at the material of her dress.
The redhead nodded, pulling out the application. "Can you explain your connection to your references?"
"My references are my grandfather, whom I assisted at his law firm without actually working, my math teacher from my old school in New York I was very close with and my principal."
"What did you do to assist your grandfather?"
A smile pulled at her lips. "I used to go through archives for him, basically doing the work of a paralegal. He would explain the parameters of a case to me and I would attempt to find previous rulings that could benefit his argument or ones that went against him so he could find a counter argument before the defense attorney brought it up in court."
"You said you went through archives to do that?"
"Yes ma'am, Supreme Court rulings and district courts mainly. Pretty much everything is online these days, but the hard copies were always easier for my grandfather to work with."
Chloe nodded, her eyes scanning the application again. "You said your teacher in New York. Did you just move here?"
"I did."
"Any particular reason?"
Amethyst had to fight off the instinctive flinch. "My father is a politician whose term was up. He wanted to begin a career as a lobbyist, and my mother had contacts in Seattle that helped him land a job. She's a trauma surgeon, so she could work almost anywhere."
"Very cool. Now, tell me about your reading habits."
The girl's eyes and smile lit up, making Chloe grin back at her.
Almost an hour later, Amethyst walked out of the library and climbed immediately into Tyler's van. She grinned at her friend, leaning over and putting her forehead against his shoulder, the only part of her face she could use to do so without aggravating her bruises.
"Does this mean it went well?"
She smiled up at him. "I should be hearing back within the week. Thank you for convincing me to apply here."
He chuckled. "I just knew they are always looking for help and figured you would enjoy it more than serving." Tyler started the car, pointing all the vents immediately toward his friend.
"Don't forget you have to drive me tomorrow," Amethyst said, trying not to heave a sigh when they pulled up to her house.
Tyler grinned at her. "How could I forget? You have the great Cullen invasion tomorrow."
She smiled and shook her head at the boy, climbing out and going to shut the door.
"Hey." Amethyst looked up at the boy who had a serious look on his face. "Please, don't fall down any more stairs."
She pressed her lips together in some semblance of a smile before closing the door and heading in to a silent home.
