All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

storyline - "Slippery"

prompt - cheerleader

"Hi," he said back, taking me in really quickly before returning to his joint.

I watched him fuss with it, making sure it was smoke-able I guess. He looked good in his Adidas hoodie and faded jeans. The fact that he was all laid back and casual made him even more appealing to me. Alice and I went to school with a load of over styled pretty boys; it was refreshing – and terribly sexy – to be around a guy who was sexy just by being.

But then I caught myself. I was totally staring. For a second I worried he was more of a playboy than I'd anticipated, that his sweet, silly over-the-phone self was something of an act. But wouldn't Alice have seen that? Wouldn't she know?

She'd literally thrown me at him.

He elbowed me lightly, handing over the spliff as he exhaled.

"You… smoke, right?"

Nodding, I accepting his offering. Now it was his turn to watch me, so I hoped the smoke camouflaged my flushed cheeks. Ah well, I could always blame the cold outside. Or the heat inside.

And then it was just him and me, no props.

I rubbed my hands down the thighs of my jeans. "So. We meet."

"We meet," he echoed, looking at my ankle. "What happened? Why are you on crutches?"

"It's kind of stupid… I was just walking down the sidewalk back home and I misstepped," I explained. "Very lame."

He snorted and I looked at him.

"Lame?" he asked, grinning.

"Yeah… lame," I said, wondering where he was going with it.

"Lame. You can't walk."

I rolled my eyes at the awful pun. He was way too cute; it was dangerous. "Ha ha."

"Aw, come on. It was funny," he teased, elbowing me again. Only this time he stayed pressed against me, the warmth from his body transferring through the fabric of our clothing.

It made my stomach flip flop. Everything else faded into the background.

"Are you having fun with Alice?" Edward asked.

I nodded, appreciating his effort to make conversation. Not that we were a little stoney, it might be difficult to converse properly. Then again, it might be easier. I eyed him surreptitiously, wondering what he was thinking, and more specifically, what he thought of me.

"I mean, I've only been here a few hours, but everyone's been really nice so far," I said, careful not to move too much. I didn't want him to straighten up.

"Yeah, they're cool," he agreed, glancing at me. Our eyes met for a second and we both looked away. My heart panged.

An awkward moment passed. He cleared his throat. "It kinda sucks your ankle is messed up."

"Tell me about it."

"I think we're going ice skating tomorrow."

This time, my heart sank. "Oh. Well, I don't know how to skate anyway."

He looked at me incredulously, moving away a little. Darn.

"You can't skate?"

I shook my head. "I grew up in Phoenix. It's like, the desert."

"I guess," he said, still looking surprised. "Doesn't matter; I'll sit it out with you."

"No," I laughed. "You should go…"

"It's ice skating. I've gone a million times," he said, shrugging. "Besides what kind of guy would I be if I left you by yourself?"

I bit back a smile, but I knew the blush betrayed my amusement. "I don't know; what kind of guy are you?"

He leaned his head back, his eyes trained on me still. "What kind of girl are you?"

The grin broke through. I laid my head back, mirroring his pose.

"No, wait – I saw your Facebook. Let me guess. You're Greek."

"No way," I said. "Pledging's not for me."

"Cheerleader?"

"Do I look peppy or something to you?" I laughed.

"Maybe it's the ponytail," he said.

Without another thought I loosened it, letting my hair fall down over my shoulders.

His eyes followed the movement. He touched my hair, gently twisting it between his fingertips.

This flirting was going to be the death of me.

"Maybe you're an academic," he murmured, staring at me. "I bet you have glasses."

"I do. I'm wearing contacts."

His hand fell away. "That I'd like to see."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just… want to."

I was about to switch the conversation to him when a willowy brunette wandered over to say hi to Alice, who was sitting on the carpet right near my feet.

Al tugged my pant leg."Bella."

"Yeah?"

"Have you met Angie yet? She's graduating this year."

Aha. Angie. I evaluated her as we introduced ourselves, wondering if she and Edward were hooking up or if there were just friends. It couldn't that serious if she was still a senior, right? Would he be acting all coy and flirtatious with me if they were dating? Some guys were like that.

"You gotta let me know when it's time to go," Edward said out of nowhere. "Cuz I'm not going to remember."

Angie rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay."

"I'm just saying. Mom got all pissed last time cuz you were past curfew. I'm not dealing with that crap again."

"I said okay. She said I could stay out until twelve thirty tonight anyway."

"Oh yeah? How come she didn't tell me that?" Edward said, shifting closer to me again.

But Angie was already walking away.

"So she's your sister?"

"Step sister. Since we were little though, so yeah. She's my sister."

Suddenly I liked Angie.

Edward and I chatted and chatted. He was easy to talk to, and I didn't think it was the weed. I genuinely enjoyed his company and he seemed to enjoy mine. And then on course there was the undercurrent of attraction running between us. I no longer worried that it was one-sided; I saw the way he looked at me.

Angie came back, pulling a lanky boy along with her. "Ben said he'll drive me."

"I don't think so," Edward said, sitting up.

"Aw, come on," she cried, pushing her glasses up. "He's fine. He doesn't even drink, unlike some people…"

For some reason that made me laugh a little.

"Oh, you think that's funny, huh?" Edward accused, poking me in the side. he touched me a lot. I liked that.

"A little," I admitted.

He grunted, standing up. I took the moment to ogle him undetected, really liking how his clothes fell, how tall he was.

Why the hell weren't there boys like this back at Hoftsra?

And if there were, where were they hiding?

"Bella, I need to take Angie home. Do you want to come for the ride?"

Surprised, I hesitated and looked down at Alice, who of course was listening.

"Yeah go ahead, babe. They live, like, ten minutes away," she said.

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking up at Edward. "Maybe I should just stay; I can hardly move in this thing."

He gazed down at me, his lip twitching like he wanted to smile.

"What?"

"I'll give you a piggy back ride."

"No!" I gasped.

"Yeah. Come on." he started yanking me up,

"Edward, I'm just gonna go with Ben," Angie called, heading toward the door.

"No!" he called back. "Don't do it, Ben. I'll kill ya." Then he nodded toward me and resumed his tugging.

"Go on, Bella," Alice urged.

Careful to keep my weight on the good foot, I let Edward haul me up. Before I could figure out how he was going to get me on his back he went ahead and did it.

"You can come for the ride too, Ben," he said as we made our way to the front door.

If I was at all heavy to him, he didn't show it. He eased me into the front seat of his car, giving Angie and Ben the backseat.