Chapter 10

I still wasn't entirely sure yesterday hadn't been a dream.

It all seemed so unreal. No, it was unreal. There had to be a logical explanation for everything that was happening, one which didn't involve the supernatural. Asking Edythe was out of the question, but maybe there was another way…

It was foggy and dark outside my window, which meant she would most likely keep her promise. I dressed in layers, remembering I didn't have my jacket and hoping I wouldn't be thoroughly soaked before I found it again. I also remembered to pack her scarf – well, her brother's "borrowed" scarf. Even if I didn't return it, I might need it later.

When I got downstairs, Charlie was already gone. I glanced at my watch; it was later than I thought. After a quick breakfast of milk and a granola bar (not exactly the most important meal of the day, at least for me), I hurried out the door.

I estimated the temperature to be slightly above the freezing point. I didn't know how long it would take me to acclimate to this weather; after living in the superheated wasteland that was Phoenix, Forks felt like the Artic. I couldn't wait to get the heat going on in my truck.

The fog was so thick I was a few feet down the driveway before I realized there was another car in it: a familiar silver car. My heart suddenly skipped a beat; could it be her?

The passenger window was down, and she was leaning toward me, amused by my dumbstruck look.

"Would you like a ride to school?" she asked.

Though she was smiling, I detected a note of uncertainty in her voice. I realized she was testing me, trying to see if I'd stay away from her. I thought about it for a brief moment.

"Yeah, thanks," I said casually. Aside from not really wanting to stay away from her, I thought it might lead me closer to finding out the truth. As I ducked into the warm car, I noticed a light tan jacket slung over the headrest of the passenger seat.

"Is this your jacket?" I asked politely.

"Actually, it belongs to Royal. I didn't want you to catch a cold or something."

I set the jacket carefully on the backseat. She certainly didn't seem to mind stealing (or borrowing, to use her preferred euphemism) her brothers' belongings. I suddenly remembered the look on her siblings' faces, so unconcerned for Edythe. Royal's face stood out vividly; he had been absolutely furious.

That, I thought, could be a problem.

I pulled the scarf from my bag and laid it on top of the jacket

"That won't be necessary. But I appreciate the concern."

She laughed, though I wasn't sure why. Regardless, I'd grown to like the sound very much.

She drove through the foggy streets, always unnecessarily fast, barely looking at the road. She wasn't wearing a jacket, either, just a pale lavender sweater with the sleeves pushed up. The sweater hugged her body, and I tried not to stare. Her hair was messily wound up into a twist on the back of her head – and the way it exposed the slender column of her neck was also distracting.

I quickly averted my gaze, hoping she hadn't noticed. Though I still wasn't entirely convinced that everything that had transpired yesterday hadn't been a product of my imagination, part of me felt it wise to play it safe.

"No Twenty Questions today?" she asked me.

"Closer to forty, actually, though I can't remember the exact number. I'm guessing that annoyed you."

"Not… it was just… confusing.

I was surprised she felt that way. "Why?"

"Your reactions – I don't understand them."

"My reactions?"

She glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, Beau. When someone tells you they drink blood, you're supposed to be afraid, not angry. Make a cross with your fingers, throw holy water, run away screaming, that sort of thing."

I smiled. "I guess I won't be inviting you to church, then."

Her mouth dropped. "You go to church?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Why does that surprise you? Most Americans consider themselves Christians. Many of them don't go to Mass, at least on a regular basis, but some do. Like me."

She shook her head. "You're so full of contradictions."

I leaned back against my seat, trying to relax.

"So," I began, "where's the rest of your family?"

It was odd, now that I thought about it, that the car was empty except for the two of us. Though that was hardly the most pressing issue on my mind, I was simply trying to make conversation.

Then I realized she was already pulling into the school parking lot.

"They took Royal's car." She gestured to a glossy red convertible with the top up as she swerved into the spot next to it. "Ostentatious, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. But then why does he even bother riding with you?"

"Like I said, it's ostentatious. We try to blend in."

I chuckled as I opened the car door. "I think there's plenty of room for improvement in that area."

She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

I wasn't late anymore, thanks to her lunatic driving. "I just have to ask, did you ever take a course in defensive driving?"

"No," she replied, amused. "I've never been in an accident, or even been pulled over."

"Still breaking the law, though. But let me guess, you use your little ability to detect anyone nearby, including cops."

She smiled. "Right you are."

She met me at the front of the car, staying very close to my side as we walked onto campus. I wanted to close that little distance, to reach out and touch her hand, to put my arm around her shoulders, but something told me that wasn't a good idea.

"Why do you even have cars like that?" I asked. "If you're looking for privacy, I'm sure you could find a used car somewhere."

"It's an indulgence," she admitted with a little half-smile. "We all like to drive fast."

"Really?" This was interesting. "But you said you were the only one with the ability to – well, you know." I still felt rather uncomfortable actually saying it. "So how do they avoid ever getting pulled over?"

She grinned. "Did I ever say that?"

It hit me then (no pun intended). "No." I couldn't help smirking, trying to imagine Royal getting a speeding ticket.

Under the shelter of the cafeteria roof's overhang, Jeremy was waiting with his eyes popping out again. Over his arm was my jacket.

"Hey, Jeremy," I called when we were a few meters away. "Thanks for bringing that."

He handed me the jacket without speaking; understandable, considering how I'd treated him yesterday.

"Good morning, Jeremy," Edythe said politely. I could tell she wasn't trying to overwhelm him, but even her smallest smile was hard to take in stride.

"Er … hi." Jeremy shifted his wide eyes to me, trying to reorder his scrambled brains. "Guess I'll see you in Trig. There was some stuff I thought you could help me out with."

"Sure. See you then."

He walked away, pausing to glance at us twice.

"What are you going to tell him?" she murmured.

"Hmm?" I looked at her, then at Jeremy's back. "About what?" Then it dawned on me. "You mean about what's going on in his little mind?"

Her mouth pulled to one side. "I don't know if it's entirely ethical for me to tell you that …"

"Don't worry; you don't have to. I can't say I really care that much, but I can already guess what he's thinking.

"Ok, then." She grinned a mischievous smile.

"Let me guess. He was astonished that a girl like you would take someone like me to dinner, especially since I'm technically dating McKayla. Also, he's extremely interested in the – ahem – details of what might have happened afterwards. Am I close?"

"Right on, as usual." She was still grinning. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you could read minds too."

"People like Jeremy aren't complicated. It's almost impossible for him to hide what he's thinking. You don't need to be telepathic to figure it out."

"No," she replied coyly. "You just need an I.Q. of about 193."

"Just so you know, I've never taken an I.Q. test. I'm not entirely sure I even believe in those things."

"Neither did Einstein. Alright, genius, see you later." She brandished her dimples before walking away.

Suddenly I realized we were standing right outside the English classroom. Three people had paused by the doorway, staring at me with varying shades of surprise and awe. I ignored them and walked into the room. I pulled out one of my favorite books, Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein (I'd yet to find anyone who could decipher that man's arguments) and started reading.

"Morning, Beau."

McKayla was already in her normal seat. Her greeting wasn't as enthusiastic as I was used to. That was an understatement, in fact; she looked quite upset. Oh, great.

"Hey, McKayla. How've you been?"

"Fine. How was the movie last night?"

"Well, I didn't actually see it. I got lost and …"

"Yeah, I heard," she said.

Dammit. I'd hoped this wouldn't happen. "Who told you?"

"Does it matter?" She sighed. "Jeremy did." Her expression was forlorn. "Why'd you do it, Beau? Why go out with her?"

I should've known that idiot would mess things up. "It wasn't a date, really. It's just – I'm not really into romantic comedies, that's all. I know what you're thinking, but I want you to know Edythe's just a friend." I gave her what I hoped was a sincere look. "I promise you nothing else happened. And nothing will happen between her and me."

After what seemed like an hour, she finally smiled at me. "Ok. I believe you. Just don't do it again."

"I won't." Just then, Ms. Mason finally got up and asked us to open our books.

I hoped that settled things between us. Now to handle Jeremy…

The sky was like lead as I walked to Trig, dark gray and heavy. And just as damaging to the psyche, I thought.

When I saw Jeremy sitting by an empty desk in the back row, watching the door, waiting for me, I briefly wondered whether I should punch him or not, but decided against it; he wasn't worth it. Though there were other seats available, I sat next to him. He didn't keep me waiting.

"Dang, son," he said. "Who knew you had that kind of game? Going out with McKayla and Edythe?

I gave him a scathing look. "You couldn't keep your mouth shut? Why'd you tell her about last night?

He threw his hands up. "Relax, man. I just told her you two went to eat together. I never said you actually went out."

My eyes narrowed. "It's not exactly a secret that you like McKayla. But I'm warning you: if we break up because of you, I will make you regret it."

I saw a flash of fear in his eyes. "Ok. Look, I'm sorry, man. It won't happen again." He suddenly grinned. "So, did anything happen between you and Edythe? I swear to God I won't tell anyone."

"Sorry to disappoint you. I would never do that to McKayla. But I guess that gives you a chance. Maybe if you step up your game, you'll have a chance with Edythe." Now that I'd love to see.

He stared at me, apparently trying to decide whether I was telling the truth or was trying to hide something from McKayla and didn't trust him with a secret.

I decided to ignore him. Let him think whatever he wanted. I turned to face the teacher, but he continued to look at me suspiciously until Ms. Varner noticed and called on him for the answer. He started flipping spastically through his book, trying to figure out what she'd asked him. I smiled inwardly; serves him right.

Jeremy walked ahead of me on the way to Spanish, but I didn't care; I wasn't in any hurry. We didn't speak again until the end of class when I began shoving my books into my backpack.

"Are you sitting with us at lunch?"

His face was suspicious again, and more guarded now.

"Of course."

He walked off without waiting for me, but then he did a litter stutter step and paused on the threshold of the classroom.

"Seriously, what the hell," Jeremy said loud enough that I could hear him – as did everyone else within a three-meter radius.

He glanced back at me, shook his head, then stalked away.

I was in a hurry to get out the door – to see what that was about – but so was everyone else. One by one, they all stopped to look back at me before exiting. By the time I got out, I didn't know what to expect.

But outside the door to my Spanish class, leaning against the wall – looking far more beautiful than anyone had a right to – Edythe was waiting for me. Her wide gold eyes looked amused, and the corners of her lips were right on the point of smiling. Her hair was still coiled up in that messy twist, and I had an off urge to reach down and pull the pins out of it, but that would never do.

"Hello, Beau."

I smiled. "! Tanto escándalo por una gringa! ¿Qué le pasa a este güey?"

She grinned. "Well, this gringa would like to know if you're hungry."

I frowned. " I am, actually, but I was going to sit with McKayla. I thought we went over this."

She was still grinning. "She won't be going to lunch today."

"What?" Now this I was not expecting.

"You won't be seeing her again until tomorrow." Her smile suddenly faded. "She's waiting to see if – "

"I'll sit with you when she's not here," I finished. I underestimated that girl's paranoia, it seems.

She gazed at me searchingly. "Will you?"

I shrugged. "Why not? What could possibly go wrong?"

She turned toward the cafeteria, swinging her bag into place. "I'd rather not think about it," she muttered darkly.

If she were an ordinary girl I might've asked whether she needed help carrying the bag. But knowing what I did, the offer would probably just come across as insulting.

Once we were in the cafeteria, I followed her to the food line. I couldn't help staring at the back corner of the cafeteria the way I did every day. Her family was all present and accounted for, paying attention only to each other. They either didn't notice Edythe with me, or they didn't care. If it was the latter, the feeling was mutual.

Just then Archie looked up and smiled across the room at me. I couldn't help smiling back, though I was more than a little puzzled. I glanced down to see if he'd actually meant the smile for Edythe. She was aware of him, but she wasn't responding in kind. She looked rather angry, in fact. My eyes cut back and forth between the two of them as they engaged in a silent conversation. First, Archie smiled more widely, showing off teeth so white they were bright even across the length of the room. Edythe raised her eyebrows in a sort of challenge, her upper lip curling back very slightly. He rolled his eyes and held up his hands in mock surrender. Edythe turned her back to him and moved forward in the line. She grabbed a tray and started loading it up.

"He can be really annoying sometimes," she said in a low voice.

"Archie?" I asked. "Why? What did he do?"

"Nothing important," she said dismissively.

I glanced back at him; he was laughing now. Though he wasn't looking at us, I thought he might be laughing at her. I was suddenly amused. Archie didn't appear to be entirely stable, but I was starting to like him.

I was paying so much attention to this little exchange that I didn't notice what she had on the tray till the lunch lady was ringing us up.

"That'll be $24.33," she said.

"What? There must be some mistake –" I looked down at the tray, and my stomach turned over (and not from the hunger).

Edythe was already paying, and then gliding off toward the table where we'd sat together last week.

"Hey," I hissed, jogging a few steps to catch up with her. "I can't eat all of that."

"Half is for me, of course."

She sat down and pushed the overflowing tray to the center of the table.

I raised my eyebrows. "Really."

"Take whatever you want."

I sank into the seat across from her. At the other end of the long table, a group of seniors watched her with wide eyes.

"You don't feel bad about all the food going to waste?" I asked solemnly. "Think of all the starving children around the world who would beg for the food I'll be throwing away."

I stared at her accusingly. She looked away, a guilty look in her amber eyes.

"I apologize for sounding ungrateful, but there's people out there who need it far more than I do."

"You're right," she said heavily. "But there's nothing we can do for those people right now. The best thing to do," she added with a smile, "is to make sure as little of that food goes to waste as possible."

I took a bite from the pizza and swallowed. " Is it physically impossible for you to eat food?"

"Not impossible, just very unpleasant. I'd imagine it would be like someone eating dirt."

Interesting. I glanced at the pizza, then at her. "Then how does your digestive system work exactly? You don't eat or drink anything besides blood." I didn't know if I'd ever get used to saying that. "And more importantly, how do you derive that much energy just from drinking blood? You must have an insanely efficient metabolism."

Edythe seemed taken aback by my relentless questioning. "I honestly don't know, Beau. All I know is there are some things that can't be understood by your method of thinking. It's possible they can't be explained at all."

I thought about that as I continued eating. What kind of method of thinking would it take to understand everything, then? Was it possible that some things were truly incomprehensible? Maybe we simply weren't evolved enough yet to comprehend the mysteries of the universe. In the meantime, Edythe waited, watching me with the intense little scowl that I knew meant she was trying to get inside my head. When I took another bite of the pizza without speaking, she blew an angry breath out of her nose.

"I truly hate it when you do that."

I took a second to swallow. "I'm sorry? Oh, right, you mean not tell you everything going on in my mind."

I knew she wanted to smile, but she didn't give in. "Precisely."

"I don't know what to say. All I know is that your very existence has forced me to radically reorient the way I look at the world. Maybe science will eventually answer all of our questions, and maybe it won't. But I'll never give up looking for answers, no matter what happens."

She half-smiled at me. "That's so like you. But I'm compelled to warn you: you might not like what you find."

Hesitantly, she stretched her arm across the table toward me, leaving her hand in easy reach.

I covered it with mine. Suddenly, finding all of the answers didn't seem so important after all.

She smiled, but then she winced.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, pulling away.

"It's not you," she objected. "Here."

As carefully as if my hand were blown from the thinnest glass, she rested her fingers on my palm. Copying her caution, I folded my hand gently around them.

"What happened?" I asked, half-whispering.

"Many different reactions." Her forehead wrinkled again. "Royal has a particularly strident mental voice."

I glanced across the room and saw what, or rather who, she was talking about.

Royal was glaring intensely at Edythe's unprotected back, and Eleanor, across from him, was turned around and glowering at Edythe as well. When I looked, Royal shifted his furious eyes to me. I'd anticipated that this might become an issue.

I slowly pulled my hand away and stood up. "Give me a moment."

"Where are you going?" she asked warily, but I ignored her and walked toward the Cullen table. Eleanor stared at me, her mouth open in astonishment, though Royal continued to glare at me. Jessamine never turned.

"Howdy," I said, my hand outstretched. "I'm Beaufort Swan, but you can call me Beau. Pleasure to meet you."

Only Archie responded. "Hey," he replied, grinning, and shook my hand.

I directed my attention to Royal. "I've heard you're good at Physics. Do you think you could help me with a problem I've been having involving electrical currents and resistance?" I placed just the slightest emphasis on the word resistance.

He didn't answer.

"Hello? I understand if you don't want to help, but could you at least –"

"Get lost."

I glanced at Archie. "I guess this isn't a good time –"

"No," Archie interrupted, grinning even more widely now. "This is a great time. You're right. My brother's an expert in Physics. Isn't that right, Roy?"

Royal glared murderously at Archie but didn't speak.

"Ok, then. So if a wire of resistance R was stretched uniformly until it was twice its original length, what would happen to its resistance?"

Archie looked expectantly at Royal.

"Stay away from her," Royal said, his voice seething.

"I'm sorry?"

"I know why you're here. I'll admit, you've got some nerve coming over to our table pretending everything's alright, but I'm telling you now; stay away from Edythe before things get worse."

"I haven't exactly been the one inviting her," I replied equably, matching his gaze. "And since when have you been the one to decide who she hangs around? You're not her father, last I checked."

He stood up. "You better watch your mouth, kid. You don't know who you're messing with."

"Sure I do. I've met people like you before." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed many of the students in the cafeteria were turning to looking at us.

He finally smiled. "I doubt that."

"You shouldn't. Arrogant, entitled bastards like you aren't exactly rare, unfortunately. But if Edythe wants to stay away from me, I can assure you I won't go chasing after her."

His hands curled up into fists. "You better get the hell away from me."

Eleanor finally spoke. "Roy, calm down." She looked at me angrily. "If something happens, you're on your own."

"Don't worry. I'm just about done here." I began to turn back.

"Beau."

I turned back to look at Archie. He seemed to be the only one at the table who didn't seem to hate my guts. I smiled. "Yes?"

"If the length doubles, then the cross-sectional area is halved, because the volume of the wire remains the same. So the resistance would increase by a factor of four."

"Thanks," I said, and meant it.

"Don't mention it." He gave me a rueful smile.

I went back to sit with Edythe. She looked as if she wanted to tear me apart, limb from limb, then set my remains on fire.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" she asked furiously. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wanted to show Royal that I wasn't afraid of him," I answered calmly. "And to make sure he knows that he's not in charge of your life." I smiled deviously. "Although I'll admit, it was deeply gratifying on a personal level. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've never liked Royal from the moment I first looked at him."

"Do you have any idea how close you were to getting into a fight? Do you seriously think you can win against him?" She was still fuming.

"No," I said. It was true; if the rest of her siblings were like her, then any one of them could kill me in a heartbeat. It was a calculated risk, but I thought it would pay off.

"You're unbelievable." She was trying to calm herself down, steadying her breathing, with limited success. "You're suicidal, that's what you are. Don't you ever do anything like that again."

I sighed. "Fine. But don't expect me to apologize to him."

She shook her head. "As long as you don't get anywhere near him. If you wanted him to hate you, then you've done a wonderful job."

"I thought he already hated me. I saw the way he was looking at me before."

"He didn't hate you," she said sadly. "He just didn't want me close to you. But you've really made him angry." She glared at me again. "Why do you have to be so reckless?"

"I don't know." I looked into her amber eyes, not really sure what I was looking for.

"You don't have anything to prove," she said.

"It's not that. I guess I just … " I trailed off, not knowing what to say. "Can we talk about something else?"

She sighed. "I'm not sure there's anything left to talk about. Beau, it's not safe to be around me, or anyone in my family. Especially now."

"And yet you've always been the one to approach me. You're always talking about how dangerous it is to be together, but you almost invariably make the first move." I wasn't upset with her, though. I knew I was equally guilty for accepting her advances.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just… I've never, in my life, seen anyone like you." She paused for a moment. " You don't know how utterly fascinating you are to me. Every time I think I have you figured out, you say or do something that completely throws me off. It's driven me crazy, not knowing what you'll do. I just can't stop thinking about you."

I didn't know what to make of that. "You really find me that interesting?"

She smiled. "Don't you? Wouldn't anyone?"

I looked away. "Not really. But I've gotten used to it. I'm usually alone. Who cares about the nerdy kid, right?."

Her eyes were full of sorrow. "I'm very sorry you feel that way."

I noticed the students were starting to leave. "Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. Live and let live, as they say. And thanks for the food." I rose from my chair. "I guess I'll see you later."