I don't own Twilight!
By the time lunch rolled around, I was relatively calm again. I don't know how, but Edward always made me feel safe and protected. He was special like that.
I think all the teachers were informed that Edward and I are supposed to stick together because during class when we needed partners, the teachers always paired Edward and me together, and I don't think that it was really a coincidence. Not that I'm complaining though! I love the fact that I get to spend more time with Edward. He's a really great guy. He's a total gentleman, not to mention he looks like a god! Maybe it's the eyes, or the hair, but every girl looks at Edward when he walks into a room.
Alice and Angela were still in class. Edward and I pretty much had free reign now. Teacher's just didn't know how to act around us anymore, which bothered me at first, but Edward said we can use that to our advantage. We got out of class 10 minutes early so that we could beat the huge lunch lines! It was actually pretty great. I hated waiting in lines. It took too long and I always got impatient, especially if I was waiting for food!
Edward and I were sitting in a secluded corner in the cafeteria. We had two seats saved for Alice and Angela.
"Edward?" I asked, "What did happen to you and Alice last year? Where did you go?" I asked remembering what Mike Newton said in PE the day before.
Edward sighed, "I knew you were going to bring it up eventually."
I waited for a few minutes, but Edward never spoke. "Edward?" I asked.
Edward closed his eyes, "I'm not ready to tell you yet Bella. I will tell you eventually, I promise, but I . . . I just . . ."
I cut him off putting my hand atop of his, "Don't worry Edward. You don't have to tell me. I'm sorry for asking."
Edward smiled tenderly at me, "Don't worry about it Bella. I will tell you. I promise."
I smiled back at him, then the bell rang.
Students began pouring into the cafeteria and I was glad, once again for Edward's brilliant idea about cutting class a bit early.
We continued talking a bit about nothing in particular when Alice and Angela showed up, "HI guys!" Alice said enthusiastically. She brought an extra chair with her.
"Um, Alice? Why do you have an extra chair?" I asked. Angela took the seat beside me.
"Guess what?" She squealed.
"What?" I said with an amused smile.
"Jazzy is sitting with us!" she exclaimed.
Edward and I turned to Angela who just nodded, taking a sip from her coke can, "It's true. Alice practically attacked the poor boy. She wouldn't leave him alone until he agreed to sit with us."
Alice, to my surprised just blushed a bit, "That's not quite how it went." She said.
Alice took her seat and she seemed a bit flustered. She kept repositioning the chair that Jasper was supposed to sit in. "Jesus Christ Alice! Calm down!" Edward said, when Alice moved the chair for the eighth time.
Alice moved her hand back to her lunch tray, "Do you think he's even coming?" She asked nervously, "I mean, what if he doesn't show! Shouldn't he be here by now?"
"Alice!" I groaned, "It's only been 2 minutes. He'll be here. Besides, he's probably too scared to not show up." I assured her.
Alice calmed down a bit.
A few minutes later, Jasper showed up looking just as nervous as Alice. He was always a nice guy, a little shy, but nice nonetheless.
"Uh, hi Alice." He said patting down his hair nervously.
Alice jumped up, "Hi Jasper! Oh my gosh! You're seat is right here!" Alice said pointing to the chair next to her.
Edward just rolled his eyes.
"Thanks." He said taking a seat.
I took note as to what Jasper was wearing. It looked like he brushed his hair. I sniffed the air. He also put on some more cologne! Geez, what guy brings cologne to school? Maybe Jasper and Alice are perfect for each other, I mean, Alice brings a bunch of perfume bottles with her to school too.
"Hey man." Edward said.
Jasper looked up, "Hi."
"I'm Edward. This is Bella, and I'm guessing you know Angela?" Edward introduced us all.
Jasper nodded, "Yeah I know both Bella and Alice. We have been in the same school since we were little." Jasper seemed to smile a bit.
"Do you remember Edward and I from sophomore year?" Alice asked anxiously.
Jasper just nodded, "How can I forget you guys. Especially you Alice." Jasper then turned an interesting shade of red, then he began stuttering, possibly trying to cover up what he just said. I thought it was cute.
Alice seemed a bit shy too, "I didn't forget you either." She said.
They stared into each others eyes. The rest of us shifted nervously.
The rest of lunch went smoothly. Jasper fit in with us really well and he and Edward seemed to be getting along well. Jasper also opened up a bit towards us.
"So Bella." Alice started. Uh oh, "I heard about your birthday coming up!"
I groaned, "Alice, how did you find out?"
Alice just smiled, "Emmett told me! I'm planning a party for you!"
Jasper's head snapped up, "Emmett?" He asked. Awww, he was already jealous.
"He's my other brother." Alice informed him.
Jasper calmed down.
"I don't want a big party." I said. I knew that I was never going to get out of Alice planning a party. Compromise was always better.
Alice huffed a big dramatic sigh, "Fine. How about just you, me, Angela, Edward, Jasper, your dad, and Emmett too."
I nodded, "That's fine. Just don't go overboard." I reminded.
"Yeah, yeah Bella." Alice giggled. I knew she wouldn't listen to me.
The bell rang and everyone stood up, "See you guys after!" Alice sang grabbing Jasper's arm and running off.
"See you guys," Angela said.
I began heading towards the Biology room when Edward caught my arm, "Bella, we should talk to Emmett about the letter."
I pouted, "Now?" I asked, "I just want to forget about it."
"Bella." Edward scolded, "This is serious. Emmett needs to know what the letter said.
I nodded and we went off to find Emmett who wasn't too far away from us. He was always lurking in the shadows.
"Let's get the letter." Edward murmured to Emmett as we passed him.
We went to my locker and I undid the combination. I opened the front pouch of my backpack where I stored it.
It was empty.
I began digging around frantically, "What's wrong?" Edward asked.
"It's gone!" I said.
"Gone?" He asked, eyes wide.
Emmett then seemed that it was safe to talk with us since everyone was in class, so he came over, "What the hell is going on?" He asked.
"James sent Bella a letter. It was in her locker this morning." Edward said.
"Well, let's see it." Emmett said holding his hand out.
"The letter's gone!" I cried.
"Gone? Bella did you misplace it? You need to take care of the evidence! That could've been a lead!" Emmett scolded.
I shook my head furiously, "Emmett!" I snapped, "I didn't lose it! It was in my backpack. I distinctly remember putting it in there. He must've taken it out!"
Emmett seemed to pale a bit. Nobody saw him doing this. It was like he was a ghost.
"Go to class you two. I'll go tell your dad Bella. Edward, take care of her. He might be trickier to catch than I first thought." Emmett said absently.
The rest of the day went as good as to be expected. Everyone was talking about how Tanya was the one the stalker was after, even though that was false. That seemed to bother Edward as much as it did me.
When Edward walked into the class with Alice and I, all the girls stared, especially Tanya, and that really bugged me. She wasn't having my Edward. I blinked at myself in surprise. Edward and I were just friends. He wasn't my anything!
We all sat near the front of the room, away from the windows. Mr. Banner wasn't in the room yet, so Tanya came over, "Hey Ed." She said flirting. I grimaced.
"Tanya." He replied coldly. I don't think that Edward could ever stand Tanya. He went out with her briefly in sophomore year, but it lasted about a week. Tanya was so pathetic that she went around telling everyone that she just lost her virginity. She was dating Edward at the time, so it gave him a bit of an unwanted rep. Edward was really angry.
"Ed, will you protect me from the stalker?" She whined.
Edward rolled his eyes, "I think you have enough people protecting you Tanya." Edward said nodding his head towards all the boys in the class.
"But they can't protect me as well as you can." Edward turned his head towards Alice and me and made a gagging face. Alice and I giggled.
Tanya turned to glare at me, "What are you laughing at?" She demanded.
Before anybody else could say anything, Mr. Banner walked in the room, "Take your seats!"
Everyone sat down grumpily. Mr. Banner headed towards the front of the room, "In response to what happened yesterday at the window," He began, Tanya let out an unnecessary shriek, "an officer will be staying in the class. There is an officer in every classroom. This will ensure the safety of all of you. You're all familiar with Agent Cullen. He is assigned to this room. Show him respect and get to work!" Mr. Banner took his seat and Emmett entered the room.
A few of the girls sighed and stared dreamily at Emmett. Alice pretended that she was choking. I laughed again. It was always fun teasing Emmett. When Emmett saw what we were doing he stuck his tongue out at us. Mature.
The rest of class went fine. Edward, Alice and I joked around the whole time.
When the final bell rang everyone jumped up, eager to get away from the classroom.
Edward walked me to my car. I hopped in and Edward waved and headed with Alice towards his shiny silver Volvo. I waited a few minutes for Emmett to come out so that we could get going.
There was a note in the passenger seat. I gasped and picked it up with shaky fingers. The front of the folded paper had my name on it. I opened it up and it read,
Bella,
How was school? I know that you enjoyed my previous letter, but I had to take it from you. I didn't want Agent Cullen reading it and ruining it. I will save it for when you come with me. I will see you tomorrow. Remember, wear the pink sweater!
J.H
I crumpled the letter in a ball suddenly furious. I turned my truck on and sped down the road back to my house. I wouldn't let that asshole control me!
My truck came to a screeching halt out front of my house. I stuffed the letter into my jean pocket. I unlocked the door and ran into the house. I went into the kitchen first and furiously pulled the cupboard open and grabbed a small lighter. Charlie always kept one for when he had the craving for a cigar.
I then ran up the stairs and tore my closet open. I grabbed the stupid pink shirt, then I went to the window and yanked it open. Nobody was home yet, so I didn't have to worry about anyone stopping me.
I knew that James was watching so I shouted, "Hey James! You want me to wear the pink shirt? Well fuck you!" I then lit the corner of the shirt on fire. I wasn't worried about burning the house down because it was lightly raining outside and the ground was wet, so I knew that just the shirt would go up in flames. I dropped the shirt out the window and watched it flutter to the ground in a puddle. It continued to burn until it was finally smothered by the rain, "There goes the stupid pink shirt! Stay away from me asshole!" I shouted, then slammed the window shut locking it, then shut the blinds.
As soon as the rage passed I sank the floor and cried. I couldn't believe I just did that! I probably made everything worse.
I cried until I heard the front door slam against the wall. I curled myself into a ball against the wall. There were thundering footsteps on the floor.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight. James was probably so mad that he was coming after me now!
So there you have it! This was one of my favorite chapters to write because Bella was finally standing up to James instead of being scared. It felt good to write that.
Anyways, I got a message from someone that said they thought it was unclear if the stalker (James) was after Bella or Tanya, so I thought that I would clear it up. James is after Bella, but Tanya just said that the stalker was after her because she just wanted all the attention from everyone and she's a pathological liar. So Bella is the one the stalker is after.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Please review!
~greeneyes-99 (Nat)
P.S. I've got green eyes, hence my user name! Just wanted everyone to know that.