This chapter is basically just a bunch of dialogue between Edward and Addison. I didn't notice while I was typing, and I'm too lazy to go and shorten it. I hope you still enjoy it despite that.
It was raining the next day, and I waited until the last possible moment to get out of the car. The hood of my coat was pulled far over my head and I was watching the ground for puddles, so I didn't notice that I was walking right towards a familiar figure until he was right in front of me. One look at the expensive shoes and I knew exactly who it was. Rather than stop and greet him, I swerved out of the way and kept walking. To my annoyance, he began walking in step with me. It was like he'd been waiting for me.
"No good morning, Addison?" I hated the way my name rolled so smoothly off his tongue. I hid my reaction behind a disbelieving frown.
"Excuse me, was I the one who said that I don't want to be friends? No, that was you literally yesterday. So, no, you don't get a good morning from me." His presence both thrilled and annoyed me at this point. It was too hard to keep up with him and his mood changes.
There was a hint of amusement in his voice. "I said that it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be," he corrected. I glanced in his direction to see a little shit-eating grin on his face. I probably would have chuckled if I wasn't so confused by him.
We were under the shelter of the cafeteria roof now, and it was easier to look at his face. "Thanks for the clarification, smart ass," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. "It really made a whole lot of sense."
"It would be more… prudent for you not to be my friend," he explained. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Addison." His gaze was intense, and I could feel my heart stutter in my chest. He had no right to say something like that while looking so handsome. It wasn't fair.
Sighing, I tried not to let on how his words had affected me. "You're way too hard to read. One minute you're rude, then you're pleasant, then you're distant and telling me we shouldn't be friends, and now you're saying that you can't stay away from me. How do you expect me to react to this?"
He shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure. You're difficult to read yourself."
I scoffed. "And here I was thinking that my irritation was clear," I joked. His lips quirked up in a smile.
"Oh, you've made that glaringly obvious, trust me." For the first time during our conversation, I felt myself smiling. When he wasn't being an asshole, he was actually okay to talk to. A part of me wanted to keep the conversation going, but I noticed how empty the parking lot had gotten since we'd been talking.
"Well, nice chat and all, but I have to get to class. Bye." I heard him call out a goodbye of his own, but I was already jogging towards Mrs. King's class. She was nice enough, but I didn't want to push it.
Class was just getting started when I walking into the room. She gave me a look and gestured to my seat but didn't scold me. I took that as a win and sent her a sheepish grin as I went to my seat.
The morning passed relatively quickly. My thoughts wanted to keep drifting to Edward and what he had said this morning, but any time I noticed myself thinking about him, I focused more on my work or whatever the teacher was saying. For someone so frustrating, he sure was on my mind a lot.
By the time lunch came around, I wasn't eager to sit at my regular table. I'd basically rejected two of the guys there, and I had a feeling things would be awkward. I took my time walking from class, debating whether or not to just skip lunch completely. I wasn't exactly hungry-I hardly ever was these days-and I would always see Bella at the end of the day. Everything would probably be blown over by tomorrow.
I stopped by the doors and glanced inside through the window. Everyone was already sitting in their unofficial spot, and things would be even more awkward if I were to go in at this point. I was seriously debating not going inside when I spotted Edward sitting at a table separate from the rest of his family. His eyes were focused solely on me, and a crooked smile was on his face. When he was sure he had my attention, he rose a hand and motioned with a finger for me to join him. I nearly had a heart attack when he winked.
Almost in a daze, I opened the door and took a few steps towards his table. Upon realization that I should probably get my lunch first, I changed course and quickly went through the line, grabbing an apple juice and a carton of ice cream. With my 'lunch' in hand, I made my way to the table he was sitting at.
I hesitantly took a seat across from him, watching him cautiously. Considering he'd yet to speak, I assumed he was waiting on me to say something. Clearing my throat, I focused on opening my tub of ice cream so I wasn't staring at his handsome smile. "So, what's up with this: sitting at a table by yourself?" I questioned.
"Well, I'm not sitting alone, now am I?" he quipped. I glanced at him dryly before sticking a spoonful of strawberry ice cream into my mouth. It was one of the best things they had available. He continued, "I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly." My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I waited a moment to see if he would clarify, but he remained silent.
Pulling the clean spoon out of my mouth, I gestured to him with it. "You just like confusing me, don't you?"
He only smiled, changing the subject. "I think your group of friends are upset that you chose to sit with me rather than them."
"I doubt they're upset. They're probably more curious than anything." I paused. "Then again, Mike and Eric probably think I'm planning on asking you to the dance, so maybe you're right."
He smirked widely. "And are you planning on asking me?"
"Nope," I responded without hesitation. I couldn't lie, he'd probably look hot all dressed up for a dance, but his mood swings were a bit much for me to handle. Maybe if he had settled on a personality, I would have asked him.
His smirk faltered. "You're already planning on going with someone else?"
I shook my head, scooping up another spoonful of ice cream. "Not really. You don't like crowds, remember? Or was that a lie?"
He leaned back in his seat, his face a bit more guarded than before. "You remembered that, huh?"
I nodded. "Yup. I remember a lot." By the way his expression hardened, I knew he caught my underlying meaning. We stared at each other in silence, neither wanting to back down. I couldn't help but be curious about what was up with him. After what had happened my first night in Forks, I was eager to find out if any other supernatural beings existed. Who knows, he could be Superman in disguise, and I was itching to know.
"Since you're so eager to claim there's something unnatural about me, what are your theories? I'll humor you." The smile was back on his face now. I had a feeling he was just acting calm on the outside. I wondered if I could guess correctly.
"Radioactive spider?" I shot out.
He scoffed. "That's not very creative."
"Alien from another planet?"
"That's better, but still a bit out there, don't you think?"
"Hmm… fell into a vat of toxic waste?"
"Who would survive something like that?"
"A witch?"
"Did you see me cast a spell?"
"A werewolf?" He laughed aloud at that one. I huffed and twisted the cap off my apple juice to take a swig. It wasn't that funny.
"No, definitely not. Kryptonite doesn't bother me either, in case you were thinking something like Superman." Damn. There wasn't much else I could think of on the spot. "What if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?"
I hummed. "Oh."
He leaned forward, curious. "Oh?"
"You're trying to indirectly tell me you're dangerous, right?" He just looked at me, eyes full of something that I couldn't quite place. The most I could get from his expression was that he was putting his guard up again, but that was to be expected. "That may be true and all, but I don't think being dangerous necessarily makes you bad, not in your case, at least."
"You're wrong," he muttered, stealing the lid of my apple juice and spinning it. By the way his eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw was clenched, I knew he thought what he was saying was the truth. I just couldn't find it in myself to believe it.
"Actually, I don't think I am," I retorted, snatching my bottle cap back while it was mid-spin. He looked a bit surprised, probably not expecting me to do that. "If you were as bad as you apparently believe you are, you wouldn't have stopped that van in the first place. You would have let it crush me and not cared a bit. You wouldn't be sitting here casually speaking to me and letting me guess about whatever it is you're hiding. If you're as bad as you say, you'd finish the job and kill me so I don't get any closer to figuring things out. So, yeah, you may be dangerous, but I don't believe you're bad for a second-" I tore my gaze from his to twist the cap back on my apple juice so he wouldn't snatch it back- "... unless you're planning on killing me now. That would be pretty uncool and bad," I joked, but he wasn't smiling.
If anything, he seemed to be brooding more now. "I could never hurt you. Just the thought of it…" He didn't finish the sentence, shaking his head as though to clear it.
I felt the urge to get that negative look off his face. It didn't suit him well. "That's good. For a second, I thought I was going to have to get you before you could get me."
He let out a huff of laughter. "I'd like to see you try."
Leaning forward with a wicked grin, I tried to look as intimidating as I could. "Don't underestimate me. I can be pretty dangerous too, ya know."
A gleam appeared in his eye, and he was suddenly leaning forward with a grin of his own. "Not as dangerous as me." His teeth were on full display, and his lips were pulled back in an almost-sneer. It was meant to be intimidating, I knew, but it had the exact opposite effect on me.
Holy shit, that's hot!
Clearing my throat, I leaned back in my seat and turned my attention back to my nearly-melted ice cream. "Whatever," I muttered, hoping he didn't notice the blush forming in my cheeks but knowing he did. I hadn't thought that he'd retaliate or that he'd look so good trying to be intimidating. He'd sent my stupid hormones wild with that.
I heard him laughing, and pouted while shoving another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. "You're as intimidating to me as a kitten, Addison."
I huffed. "I take offense to that. I think I'm at least a wildcat or something; not a kitten."
"Maybe an adult cat, at most," he corrected. Glancing up at him through my lashes, I saw the wide smile on his face. He really thought he was funny.
"Bite me, Edward." The amusement on his face quickly washed away, and I wondered what I had said. Was he going through another one of his mood swings? And just when we were getting along too. Not wanting our conversation to end, I blurted out, "Black."
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?"
I cleared my throat and mentally berated myself for not adding context. "That's my favorite color. You asked before, and I'm answering." Realization lit up his eyes, and he no longer looked like a stick was up his ass.
"Why black?" he asked, interested.
I shrugged. "It goes with everything, and I think it looks nice on me. What about you? What's yours?"
He smirked. "Well, you see, I'd tell you, but then you'd be even later for class." Tearing my gaze away from his own, I looked around to see that the last few students were filing out of the cafeteria. We were the last two sitting at the tables.
My eyes narrowed at him as a laugh forced its way out of my throat. "I cannot believe you used my own words against me like that-" I shook my head- "but it was such a perfect opportunity, so I can't even be upset." As I stood and began to gather my bag and trash, I noticed that Edward was just sitting and watching me.
"Aren't you gonna, like, go to class?" I questioned, shrugging my bag on my shoulder.
He shook his head, leaning back further in his seat. "It's healthy to ditch occasionally." My eyes widened fractionally. I never would have thought he was the type.
I shook my head once again and began to take small steps towards the door. "Damn underclassmen and their privilege," I half-joked. "Don't do anything too bad while you're out being a delinquent."
"Duly noted," he called back.
As I walked out the door, I couldn't help but steal a glance back at him. He was still sitting there, and his eyes were watching me. He lifted a hand in a wave, and I returned it with a small smile before turning and beating feet towards my class. I still wouldn't get there in time, but I didn't want to be disrespectfully late. A part of me wanted to curse Edward for not telling me when the bell had rung, but I'd been too entertained talking with him to really be upset.
But, as I walked into my class a few minutes late and my teacher began scolding me, I threw all those previous thoughts out the window and began cursing Edward out like a sailor in my head. I had a feeling that if he knew what I was saying in my mind, he'd be laughing.
So, there was a review that said Addison was being a hypocrite, and I just wanted to address it. Everyone has secrets, and most people are curious or plain nosy. When someone wants to know something, it's not obligatory to give up information as well like a transaction. Sometimes, you learn people's secrets without telling your own, and that's just how it is. So, I'll have to respectfully disagree about Addison being a hypocrite because she's trying to figure out Edward's secret without telling him about her own. That's just my opinion, and you, the Guest who reviewed, are entitled to your own as well. If you believe that she's a hypocrite, I can't stop you, I can only work to try and fix her image. I hope this didn't come off as rude, but I just felt I had to make my thoughts clear. Also, I'm not sure if it was a different guest, but thank you for your input about the love triangle. It really doesn't make sense to have, and I thank you for letting me know.
