Chapter Ten

Alice looked down onto the floor as Rose sighed, "you know why."
Silently, I nodded. I did.

"Now hush," Rose chided softly as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder, "or your mascara's gonna clump."

I hiccuped as I smiled at her attempt to cheer me up, "I'm not wearing any make-up," I choked back.

Alice's mouth turned into a grin as Rose's perfect lips formed a surprised 'o', "Oh. That is just… unfair!" she seethed. "Not only are you a record-signing, hot-shot, teen heart-throb, but on top of that, I find out you have unbelievably thick lashes as well! Damn! And I thought all the Hollywood stories about stars and being 'au natural' was bull!"

At that tirade, I burst out laughing. "Thanks guys," I sighed. Alice grinned back.

"Come on, Bells! Or we're gonna be late!" I nodded and stood up shakily. The pain was numbed but it was far from over, I briefly wondered again why it hurt so bad. It wasn't like I could blame him though, it was my fault that I left.

I stifled a sigh as I walked down the corridor to the Biology lab. I was beginning to see a pattern here.

"Er, Bells? Where are you going?" Alice's voice broke through my musings. I looked up to see her pretty face tilted at an angle, her expression slightly confused and slightly nervous at the same time.

"I have bio lab next."

Her eyes widened for a second, but in the moment I blinked, it was gone. "Oh. I have to go for my next class. See you!" then she hurried down the corridor and disappeared into a throng of students. The same students who were still gaping at me. I sighed out loud, not even bothering to hide my annoyance and just walked into the lab. I handed my slip to the teacher, who introduced himself as Mr. Banner and as I waited for him to find a pen to sign the slip, I threw a casual glance across my shoulder and froze. There he was, sitting at the third row on the left side, perfectly poised, with his chin in his hand, staring out the window.

"Here you are, Ms. Swan," Mr. Banner said, handing me back my slip. I turned around quickly and was about to say thank you when he pointed a finger behind me, "you'll be sitting next to Mr. Cullen for the rest of the year." My eyes widened momentarily as he dismissed me with a wave of his hand.

Just my luck.
Normally, I would be thrilled to be seated next to Edward, but today, I just wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

Edward turned and flashed me a crooked grin as I neared the desk, I flinched; I couldn't help the nasty though that flew through my head at that moment, I couldn't stop myself from wondering if he ever flashed her that smile too. That damned, sexy crooked smile that I'd come to know as mine.

Edward didn't miss the way I flinched when he smiled at me, and as I sat down, he leant into my side and breathed, "what's wrong?" with concern flashing across his beautiful, emerald green eyes.

And even though I felt betrayed by him, I still couldn't help the way my heart thudded loudly against my ribcage as his warm breath touched the crevice of my ear. I wanted to face him head on, wanted to demand for him to tell me that he was dating Tanya, or better yet, deny that he wasn't dating her, that she was just a casual fling, but like the coward that I am, I stared unseeingly at an ink-stain on my desk and mumbled, "nothing."

I knew he didn't buy it. I could tell by the way he tensed in his seat next to me, but at that moment, Mr. Banner decided to start the class and so he had no way of continuing the conversation. Yet, even though I knew I was going to have to face the truth eventually, I couldn't help but feel grateful that I wouldn't have to face it now. The hardest part in accepting the truth was knowing that I couldn't do anything about it, because I'd lost the right to be angry after I'd left.

The sane, quiet, logical part of me wondered if this betrayal and aching hurt was what Edward felt when I'd upped and gone away, but the selfish, loud part of me shook her head resolutely, staring down at her feet, stamping and jumping, screaming "NO! NO! NO!" over and over again. The lesson was about the different stages of mitosis, something my private tutor had taught me last year, so it was safe for me to tune out and sort my thoughts out.

My eyes widened as my lips fell apart. The ink-stain that I'd been unthinkingly staring at for the past ten minutes suddenly formed words, crystal clear words and a sappy heart: "E+T 4ever". I grabbed my files and dragged it over the insulting letters and curled my fists around the edge of my chair. If Edward noticed my tenseness, he made no indication, and as the last, painful minute of the lesson ticked by, I jumped up from my chair, gathered my things and immediately headed out the door.

I didn't look back as I walked hurriedly towards the gym. I didn't want to see Edward until I was sure I wouldn't blow up, until I could fully accept that he didn't tell me about Tanya. I didn't want to break our friendship any further, especially now that he had only just began to forgive me. I was so absorbed within my thoughts that I didn't notice I was already in the gym until I tripped over a basketball. As I fell through the air, I closed my eyes waiting for the inevitable kiss that I was sure to bestow upon the ground, but the rushing sensation stopped, and it was replaced by strong, warm arms.

I looked up thankfully, but the grateful words I was going to express, was caught in my throat as I stared into the sparkling green eyes of the boy who caught me. My breath hitched.

"Hey." My saviour chuckled as I blushingly stumbled to my feet.

"Thanks for saving me." I squeaked.

"No problem. It was my pleasure," he grinned, eyes still sparkling, as he ran a hand through his dark, spiky hair, " Izzy."

I know it sounds crazy, I mean, I grew up with Renee and Charlie, I wasn't really one who believed in love at first sight, especially not at a tender age of eighteen, but at that moment, my heart starting thumping in overdrive. This was even stronger than when I felt attracted to Mr. Lloyd, because let's face it, which girl in this school isn't? But this was even stronger than anything I'd ever felt before, and the way his lips curled as he said my name, the way it sounded; the rich, velvety tone… his sparkling green eyes, I couldn't help it, I gaped.

A/N: HEHEHE!! OOOH! :D OK. So i realized that I'm making Bella's heart thud a LOT in this story, but seriously though, she isn't supposed to realize that she likes Edward till later. Anyways, this romance is only gonna last a couple of chapters k? I promise. And Edward's and Tanya's as well.
And yea, I made Tanya into a bitch in this story, just like cliched, every other one. But well, I couldn't help it. You'll see why later! (: Please continue reviewing!! (:
I'm trying to make the chapters longer. But then, I'm not sure if I want uber long chapters. Do you guys want uber long chapters??

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Edward Cullen (SOB!)