I told you I was on a roll! And about that little teeny tiny problem I was asking about, there is now a poll on my profile. Mkay?
The next day (having kicked Fury out of my home and telling him to find his own goddamn place to sleep) at lunch time saw me sitting at my usual table with Bella, staring confusedly down at my math book. I wasn't sure how long I had been there unmoving, but judging from Bella's impatient stare, it had been a while.
"For god's sake! What has you so fascinated you won't tell me about the vamp- Daimons I keep hearing about?" Obviously, she couldn't take the silence any more.
"Help me," I managed, unable to tear myself away from the various lines that made up trigonometry.
"What with?" she said, frowning.
"This! Adding it gives you… no, no, but if you subtract… that doesn't work… but if you multiply there's too many of them… and if you divide, one of them ends up in bits. Help me."
She bit her lip and began talking in a tone reminiscent of Dr. Phil. "I think, in a situation as extreme as this, there isn't any help to provide."
"But they're not numbers!" I dry sobbed, head in my hands. "Three-point-four-two-six-two-seven-zero-eight is not a number! It's a bunch of squiggly lines posing as numbers! Posers! Fakers! Lies! All lies!"
"Rya, seriously, calm down. Trig really isn't that hard. You just need to get your head around it."
"Great," I groaned, whacking my head on my damned book. "Fan-freaking-tastic. I'm doomed."
"How is it you've reached this age and don't know math?"
"I do know math," I said, affronted, "but it's been so long since I bloody well had to use it. I mean, how much math is there to sticking a pointy object into cowardly bullies?" This last part was said like it should be obvious to her. Quietly.
She giggled. Just then Mike came up to our table and sat down, grinning at us. Bella and I shared a glance (one that clearly said 'You deal with him') before hastily turning away from one another.
"Hi, Mike," I said reluctantly. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, Rya, there's a dance coming up this weekend, and I wanted to know if you were going to ask me to it."
Was it just my imagination, or were the Cullens (in a failed attempt to be sneaky) watching the exchange?
I wracked my mind, thinking of something, anything that could save me now. "Um, some friends of mine are visiting, so I'm not going to go. And, I think your Jess would be upset."
"My Jess?"
Of anything he could have payed attention to, it had to be that.
"Yeah. She likes you." Way too freaking much, I added mentally, recalling my first day where she spent five solid minutes on his various (non existent, to my eyes) charms. "And I don't think my friends would appreciate me not turning up."
He pouted. Personally, I thought it was an expression reserved purely for two year olds, but even people millennia old make mistakes. We're only human after all. Ha.
"Are you sure?" he wheedled.
"Very," I said firmly.
He sighed mournfully before turning away to go sit at his own table. I watched, vaguely repulsed but unable to look away as Jess began to fawn all over him. Not ten seconds had passed before she had asked him to the dance, and he accepted, while looking regretfully at me. I glared as he stared at me in a way I was sure he thought seductive.
"You have no idea just how tempting it is to unleash Thanatos on him."
She raised an eyebrow and made a small circling motion with one hand. "Thanatos…?"
"Demon/god/thing of death."
"Sounds like fun."
"Oh, yeah. He's a real blast. Especially when he's drunk, and someone laughs at his non-existent dance skills. Real blast."
"Is that a hint of some kind?"
"Wow, you ords aren't as dumb as I thought you were."
"Ords?"
"Ordinaries. Mundanes. The uninitiated; perpetually annoying those in the know with questions on everything." I narrowed my eyes mock seriously at her.
The bell rang, and we went off to class. I parked myself in my seat, dropping my bag and rubbing my shoulder. All the weaponry was weighing me down. I usually had way more than what I did now (two daggers, a handgun, a full set of shuriken and an extendable sword), but it was unbalanced and beginning to irritate me.
"Hey, Rya." That was Eric, now standing in front of me grinning way too enthusiastically for my liking.
"Eric."
"Rya…"
I kept my mouth shut and clasped my hands firmly together in my lap, and tried not to look at my bag.
"Willyougowithmetothespringdance?"
"Nope."
He looked crestfallen. Damn me for having a conscience. "I have plans for this weekend already."
"Oh."
"Sorry." Well, no I wasn't, but hey, whatever works, right?
"Have you already asked someone then?"
"Nope."
"Not anyone?"
"Nope."
"Not the Cullens?"
"Eric, two of the guys are in a steady relationship, and I nearly got the other one's car. If they chose anyone at all to go with, I'm about 99.99% sure it wouldn't be me."
"Okay then."
I slumped over onto the desk.
"What was that about?"
I groaned. "What did it look like, Edward? The guy doesn't have enough bloody brain cells to follow simple survival instinct. You guys, you're all the same. You think that 'no' means' yes' and 'get lost' means 'take me, I'm yours'."
A small silence followed.
"You don't have any reply for that, do you?" I asked.
"Nope," he said, smiling cheerfully.
"Huh," I said, blinking. I turned to the front of the room and began copying down some notes.
____
School ended. I couldn't have been happier. The boys asking me out (yet again) had put me in a somewhat bad mood, and I had ended up taking it out on my gym class: it turned out many of them seemed to get trick knees trying to go after the birdie.
Bella was walking back with me to my car; I was giving her a lift home today. I was about to pull out of my parking space when Edward reversed, and then stopped, so no one could get out.
Bella grimaced and turned in her seat, surveying the build up forming. "Great," she said. "I was going to go to La Push for a bit, visit an old friend, but at the rate this is going, it'll be dark before we hit the main road." Considering the main road was only two blocks from here, I thought she was being a bit dramatic. Then again, seeing how slowly the rest of the Cullens were walking towards the parking lot, she had a point.
"Hey! Rya!" Ye Gods, the plague had returned. Not a plague of pus and boils and fleas and what not, but empty headed boys.
"Tyler," I managed through gritted teeth, repeating to myself: Not his fault Mike and Eric don't have a clue. Not his fault Mike and Eric don't have a clue.
"I was wondering if you'd ask me to the dance."
"No, Tyler." Not his fault Mike and Eric don't have a clue.
"Aw, come on Rya."
"No, Tyler, I have plans." Not his fault Mike and Eric don't have a clue.
"Yeah, I know. That's what Mike said."
My limited patience was growing thin. "You know? Then why did you ask me?"
"I figured you were letting him down easily." Not his fault- okay, screw it, it was completely his fault.
"I'm. Not. Going. Tyler. Okay?"
"Okay," he shrugged. "There's still prom."
And before I could punch him, he was gone.
I turned to look at Bella, jaw wide open. And over her shoulder, I could have sworn I saw Edward laughing.
Shouldn't be too long before the next chapter comes out... next is Edward (sort of) asking her out, and Port Angeles. But with Rya, there's a twist. Cue evil laugh and dramatic sounding music.
Next Chapter:
In which Jess is invited
In which Rya scares the shit out of Edward
"Save the innocent... save myself... save the innocent... fuck it. He's not innocent at all."
