AN: Seriously, I need to say again how bloody awesome the folks at Project Team Beta are, especially the fantabulous Love of Escapism, who talks me down from plot ledges and makes all right with the world again. Thank you x 1,000 to Great Chemistry and Love of Escapism for beta-ing this chapter. SMeyers' original ideas and characters, SManson & Co's lyrics. No copyright infringement intended. My words though, lovelies.

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Chapter Ten: Right Between The Eyes

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And you've been waiting all your life
To fly high into somebody else
And it's true it's a cruel, cruel world
Life's a bitch and then you die my love

Don't care what they have to say
You shouldn't listen to them anyway

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This class is soooooo boring. BTW, don't be a doofus, and let Banner catch us passing notes. My mom said if I got caught again, I'd be grounded. Gah, when is the suffering ever going end?

I know! If I hear Banner say "per se" one more time, I'm going to scream!

LOL! Don't say it if you don't mean it. He's gonna break it out at least once more this period.

Prob. Why do we need to know this stuff anyway? It's not like I need to know how many elements there are anyway. Who the hell cares?

I don't. I just need to know how many more days there are until I can leave this hick town.

OMG! I know, really. This place is driving me crazy.

Crazier, you mean.

Why am I friends with you again?

Because you've known me since we were in-utero.

Have you been reading the dictionary? I keep telling you there aren't any pictures.

I'm choosing to ignore that. You didn't share all the details at lunch. How was your "movie date" Friday? Did the ice princess say anything, or was she just as fascinating in P.A. as she is here?

It was fine.

What possessed you to see a movie with her?

She asked me, and I felt bad for her.

Well, golly gee, it's like you're some humanitarian now or something. Did her highness enjoy gracing you with her presence?

It's not like that, Lauren.

Well what's it like then? She's your "friend" for a bit, meets Cullen and falls off the face of the planet. Then when he leaves town, she's your new BFF? WTF, Jess? I thought we were going to hang on Friday.

It sounded like you were just going to try and get on Mike again. And as much fun as that sounds, I thought getting out of Forks was a good idea.

What'd you crazy kids do?

We saw the movie and got some burgers. Then we came home.

Something must have happened. What's the dirt? Spill.

Damn, he said it again.

I told you he would. Stop avoiding my question. How was it, really?

Promise not to tell anyone?

Why? What happened? Is she a creature of the night? Is that what really happened to the Cullens? She ate them? Quelle horror!

No! Nothing like that. It was just kinda weird.

She is the queen of weird. Look at who she used to hang out with.

Seriously.

Moving on…

Well, she just left at the beginning of the movie, for like, ten minutes. Then she disappears right before it ends. I thought she ditched me.

That sucks.

Yeah. Then the really weird stuff happened. We were going to get dinner, and we were walking by this gross bar. She just walks up to these nasty guys and starts talking to them! She said they looked familiar, but they just looked dirty to me.

Familiar, like she saw them when she was visiting her dad at work? Or like she was close, personal friends with them?

Um, ew. I don't know how. It freaked me out. I thought we were gonna get kidnapped or something.

Seriously, who'd kidnap you two? It's not like your parents could afford the ransom.

Screw you.

Then what happened? Did you get a good night kiss?

Why are you being such a jerk?

You love me. Tell me more! Tell me more!

Have you been watching cheesy movies again?

I resent that. Grease is a cinematic masterpiece. You're just too ignorant to know it.

Whatever. Watch me shake my head in violent disagreement.

Wait, what's you're favorite movie again? Which Harry Potter is it?

Duh! The Goblet of Fire! It's clearly the best one.

I can't keep track of them all. There's too many. And none of them have singing and dancing, or John Travolta.

Thank jeebus for that. Can you imagine? Awkward British teenage boys trying to carry a tune?

I can imagine something else I'd like too-hot-for-their-own-good British boys to be doing. Mmmm.

Le sigh.

Anyway, what happened next? You're too easily distracted.

I'm sorry. Have I not shown you the Equus pics? H-O-T-T!

Yes, yes, you've shown me, multiple times.

And?

I don't like my men scrawny.

Have you seen Mike? At all? Like ever?

Shut it. Take it back.

Yeah, whatever. He's a hot piece of man meat, et cetera, et cetera.

That's better. Can we get back to the story, please?

Sure. We came, we saw, we left. It's like we're ancient Romans or something.

Details! Did you get jumped? Did Bella hop on one of their bikes with them and ride away?

Don't be ridiculous. She may be dumb, but she's not a fucking moron.

So…

She just talked to them and left. They weren't who she thought they were. She said she must have been confused

Ya think?

She's has been acting really out of it.

No shit, Sherlock.

Woot! Three more minutes. Going to pretend like I'm paying attention now. I'll just cock my head and look intrigued, like Mike does.

I hate you.

No you don't. You wouldn't know what to do without me. You'd cry yourself to sleep at night.

Doubt it.

Anyways, that's not the strangest thing that happened.

You've been holding out on me!

Whatevs. After talking to the creepos, it was like she just woke up from a coma. You know, sleep like the dead and then super alert. It's like she was Rumple Whosits. She actually looked alive, not her normal corpse self. It was totally bizarro.

It was probably just some adrenaline rush. Or she's some sort of danger junkie.

What? Here in Forks? What's she gonna do? Jump off a cliff?

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AN: Music links on my profile. Thanks for reading!