The Tutor

Chapter 13 – Not Going to Happen

Alice and Jessica were sitting together in the quad, their heads close together as they were deep in conversation. They looked up when they heard Rosalie approaching them. She held a brown paper bag in each hand.

"Hungry much?" Jessica asked as she pointed at the bags.

"They're not both for me," Rosalie rolled her eyes. "One's for Edward."

"Edward?" Alice frowned. "You're making his lunch now?"

"No, I'm just doing something nice for him." Rosalie made a motion for Alice to move down so that she could take a seat. "He's had a rough go of it this week. Did you guys know he might not graduate?"

"Surprise, surprise." Jessica said sarcastically. "I think you actually have to come to school to get credit for being here."

Rosalie laughed. "Well, actually, he has been here a lot more lately."

"It might have something to do with his new extra-curricular activity." Alice rolled her eyes. "I swear, guys wouldn't even get out of the bed in the morning if there were no women in the world."

"Totally." Jessica agreed.

Rosalie looked between her two friends. "What are you guys talking about? What extra-curricular activity?"

"You know," Alice nodded. "Bella."

"No, he can't stand her," Rosalie insisted. "He's totally pissed at her."

"Since when?" Jessica asked. She prided herself on being up on all the gossip and this was something that had eluded her.

"On Monday Edward and I hung out," Rosalie paused, reveling in the sound of what she'd just said, "and he couldn't even stand to say her name."

"Oh, well then on Tuesday they made up, because I saw them all hot and heavy against her locker yesterday after school." Jessica reported, sure of herself once again.

Rosalie looked as if someone had just punched her in the stomach. She looked at Alice to clarify the information.

"I thought you knew Edward liked her," Alice whispered.

"Edward Cullen doesn't like anyone. He just uses people and he's using her. Bella is an easy target because she doesn't know his reputation." Jessica rushed in. "Rosalie, you aren't an easy target. He knows he has to be real with you. That's the only reason he hasn't come around yet. You intimidate him."

"But I don't want to intimidate him." Rosalie said softly. "Seriously, what can he see in Bella? She's gross!"

"She's not that bad," Alice countered. However when she saw the evil glare Rosalie was giving her, she quickly amended her words. "But I've never really seen her close up."

"Well consider yourself lucky. I've seen sea urchins with better features." Rosalie huffed.

Alice sat quietly listening as Jessica and Rosalie engaged in their own conversation. Jessica was assuring Rosalie that Edward and Bella would be over before they began. Rosalie appeared desperate for every word, drinking it up like an oasis in the desert.

Alice couldn't make a judgment about Edward's relationship with Bella because she didn't really know her. But Alice knew Edward and, more importantly, she knew Rosalie. And in her mind, the two were no love match.

********

Edward would never let on how thankful he was that Jasper had chosen to pick him up for school that morning. He hadn't given much weight to being grounded when Carlisle had first told him of it, but the solitary confinement, once his parents added no television and no video games, was starting to become maddening. It got to the point that he couldn't wait to go to school, which was why he was riding to school, on time, with Jasper, at the moment, instead of skipping through his free period. And this was only his second day of restriction.

"So…" Jasper ransomed a long gaze in Edward's direction.

Edward ignored him, figuring he'd get to the point eventually.

"So you finally settled down, eh? Trying out the other side of the tracks?" Jasper wagged his eyebrows at his friend.

"Man, what the hell are you talking about?" Edward said gruffly.

"You…and Bella?"

Edward started at the mention of her name coming out of Jasper's mouth, but he quickly recovered. "How did you know about that?"

"Dude, everyone knows about that. You weren't exactly incognito when you guys were going at it yesterday after school."

Edward sighed in exasperation. "Fuckin' small towns…people don't have anything better to do than get in my business…"

"People are talking about it because they're shocked. I'm even shocked and I know you."

"What's so shocking? I kissed a girl. Big deal."

"Well, for one, you're like a vampire, Edward. You don't usually come out to play until dark. And two, this girl is like…not your type."

"What's my type?" Edward pretended to be interested.

"I dunno…Rosalie?"

"Not even."

Jasper laughed. "I know you don't like her…but I've never really understood why. I mean, she's pretty, she's the horniest girl I've ever met and she's totally into you. Why not go for it?"

It wasn't as if Edward had never considered Rosalie. When she'd first approached him a few years ago, he had been interested at first. But after spending time with her, she just didn't hold his attention. And then the more time they spent together, the more obsessed she became. Lately they couldn't even have a conversation without Rosalie putting him in a position where he had to turn her down or reject her. It was tiring.

"She just doesn't do it for me. No spark, or whatever." Edward summed up. "What'd she do, pay you to talk me into hooking up with her?"

"No. I just wondered. You guys do have a lot in common." Jasper added.

"That's part of the problem. Rosalie changes who she is for every guy she likes. When I go over to her house, she has everything I've ever mentioned in her room. If I like a band, she finds out every possible thing about them, buys every CD they've ever made, and just goes overboard. She makes me hate everything I thought I liked. Besides, what's the point in hanging out with someone if they're trying to be you? I'd just hang out with myself if I was that into me."

"True," Jasper acquiesced. "But you did say she gave good head."

Edward looked unenergetically over at Jasper. "Have you ever had bad head? I mean, as long as she doesn't bite it, it's good."

Jasper was silent for a long while as they neared the school campus. Finally he started laughing. "I still can't believe you have a girlfriend."

"Who said anything about a girlfriend?" Edward challenged.

"But you…in front of everyone…so, wait…you guys aren't together?" Jasper asked awkwardly.

"I don't do the label thing. We just kissed, end of story. She's not my girlfriend and I'm not her boyfriend."

"And she knows this?"

Edward shrugged. "I never told her otherwise."

"Well damn," Jasper said in a near pout, "I thought I would finally get you to agree to that double date Alice has been bugging me about."

"And why would I do that…even if I had a girlfriend?" Edward asked with distaste.

"Just something to do. Keep things interesting, I guess." Jasper said.

"Alice getting boring already, 'eh? There's something to be said about the thrill of the chase. That's why I don't settle down."

"Alice could never be described as 'boring', that's for sure," Jasper laughed. "She just wants to go on a date with another couple…and there are rewards to giving the lady what she likes."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Pussy," he muttered.

"Yes, pussy is one of the rewards," Jasper added. "Anyway, if you change your mind and you and Bella ever want to go to a movie or something, let me know."

"Not going to happen," Edward insisted.

********

It had been sixteen-and-a-half hours since the agonizingly glorious moment Edward's lips came in contact with Bella's. And ever since then, all she could think of was kissing him again.

Over and over again in her head she replayed how their embrace had felt hard and soft at the same time; how Edward had smelled of leather and cigarettes and how his fingertips upon her skin had ignited a fire deep within her.

Often called a late bloomer by her mother, Bella had never been the type of girl to hope for "happily ever after", nor did her eyes search for eye candy amongst the male species. Sure, she'd found guys visually appealing, but never to the point of fantasizing about them.

All of that changed with that one kiss. Like a physical alarm clock, that kiss had awaken feelings that had, up until now, been in a slumbering state. Bella found herself longing for things she didn't know she had knowledge of. Her mind pleaded her to imagine Edwards hands, his lips, his…

"Bella!"

She snapped to attention quickly as Angela Webber waved her hand to and fro in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry. Um, what?" Bella asked.

"You're walking away from your truck," Angela said.

"Um…yeah, I know. I have to get to class." Bella answered.

"But it's still running." Angela pointed.

"What?" Bella quickly turned around and stared at her truck in disbelief. Surely she hadn't left the key in the ignition and the truck going…that had to be something else.

But there her truck sat, sputtering and a shaking with the exertion of a thirty-year-old motor.

"What the hell?" Bella retorted as she hastened over to her truck and cut the ignition quickly.

"You seriously didn't realize you hadn't shut your truck off?" Angela asked incredulously.

"Uh-uh," Bella was embarrassed to admit. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"Wow…that must have been some kiss." Angela giggled.

Bella's cheeks blazed with the intensity of a thousand blushes. "How'd you know about that?"

"Bella, this is Forks and he's Edward Cullen. Everyone knows about that kiss."

********

Second period English, with Edward, was interesting to say the least. Bella was still starry-eyed as she took her seat next to where she knew he would soon be sitting. She'd tried to wait for him outside of the class, but when the warning bell had sounded and he still hadn't appeared, Bella headed into class without him.

Just as suspected, Edward arrived to class approximately five minutes later. Miss Teale gave him a disapproving glance, but she didn't make an example of him by pointing his tardiness out to the class. Instead, she continued on with the question she was asking a boy in the front row.

"Where were you?" Bella whispered.

"With Jasper," Edward answered. He kept his eyes forward, apparently interested in the incorrect answer that was now being given to the teacher.

It didn't take Bella long to realize that Edward was purposely avoiding her gaze. Once she'd caught him looking at her, but when he saw that he'd been caught, he quickly looked away.

Confusion settled over Bella and she wasn't able to concentrate on anything being taught during the hour. All she could focus on was Edward and why he was acting the way he was acting. Her mind replayed everything that had transpired between them since the kiss. Dissecting each detail for some shard of an explanation for his behavior. She came up with nothing.

When the class ended, Bella expected Edward to storm out of the classroom in another effort to avoid her, but he didn't. He simply remained glued in his seat, blocking her ability to exit. Bella sat perplexed, staring at the side of his face.

"Oh, good, you two haven't left," Miss Teale approached Edward and Bella with a packet of papers in her outstretched hand. "This is all the classwork you have yet to catch up on, Edward. So, since you passed your test, once you get your participation grade in, you're fine. You'll receive credit for this class."

Tutoring. It was Wednesday and Bella was supposed to tutor Edward on Wednesdays. She had thought that the passing grade on his exam had negated the need for her services, but it was apparent Miss Teale had other plans. And she also hadn't finished her driver's manual. But with the way Edward was acting she wondered if he would find a way to get out of their appointment.

"I've got to get going," Bella stood, hinting to Edward that she needed him to move so that she could get by.

"Yeah…wait up," Edward said as he grabbed his jacket and moved alongside her.

Bella was silent as she waited for Edward to say whatever it was he had to say.

"So, can we meet at your house?" he asked. "Being on lockdown is getting old and I figure the wardens will let me out if it's school related."

It hadn't been what Bella had been expecting to hear, so she immediately had trouble following him. "What?"

"I'm grounded, but I think my parents will let me go to your house since we're doing homework. I just need to get out of that house." Edward clarified.

"Oh…well…sure. Okay." Bella shrugged. "Unless, of course, it interferes with your rule of not talking to me."

"I'm talking to you now, aren't I?" Edward countered.

Bella couldn't help but be annoyed by the small smirk that dwelled on Edward's lips. "And why is that, exactly? Why can you talk to me now, but not five minutes ago?"

Edward shrugged. "Whatever I say to you is meant for you, not everyone else."

"Okay," Bella drew out the syllables on the word, feeling as if Edward was speaking in a language she didn't understand.

"Everyone was staring at us. Watching to see how we acted and what we said. So I just didn't say anything." Edward said, as if his behavior was the most normal in the world.

"And you couldn't have clued me in on this little strategy?" Bella asked, not bothering to hide her irritation.

Edward stopped walking and turned to face Bella head on. "Bella, I don't like people in my business. So, I might not talk to you during class if I feel like everyone's trying to get in my business. How's that?"

Bella pursed her lips. "One might stand to argue that you shouldn't have kissed me at school, in front of everybody in the first place."

"Stand to argue? Who talks like that?"

"Sorry," Bella laughed. "I've been watching re-runs of Judging Amy."

Edward tried not to, but he couldn't help laughing right along with her. "Bella, you're weird."

"I've been called worse by better," she quipped as they fell into step alongside one another.

Edward followed as Bella walked to her locker… and everyone they passed was watching.

********

It was Edward's first inclination to lie to Esme about tutoring at Bella's house, but he couldn't find the right story that sounded viable enough to warrant a change of venue. So, he simply asked her if he could study at Bella's house instead of his own.

"Sure, that's fine. I'll have your father pick you up on his way home from the hospital." Esme agreed.

When speaking to Edward, Esme had started referring to Carlisle as "dad" or "your father" about a year after Edward had been adopted. Edward could remember the first time she'd said it because it had felt so awkward and inappropriate. Even now, when Esme would tell Edward to "go ask your dad"; he always wanted to correct her – though he never did.

It had nothing to do with Carlisle…not really. It just seemed like an unnecessary sentiment. Edward and Carlisle were very clear of where they stood with one another and what role they fulfilled in one another's lives. Unlike Esme, who, on the other hand, had to constantly be reminded of how Edward felt about her…which is why when he'd called with his request, he'd referred to her as "Mom".

Bella had given Edward a disinterested "sure" when he'd asked if he could ride with her to her house, but her facial expression, and the nervous quiver of her voice conspired against her. Edward's ego soared as he relished the obviously conflicted emotions he bestowed upon her.

Edward followed Bella inside her house, and though she offered him a seat at the kitchen table, he followed her up the stairs and into her bedroom. She hadn't even heard him behind her until he spoke, and it startled her.

"Huh…definitely not how I pictured this room," Edward said as he looked around.

Too curious to ignore him, Bella asked, "Why are you picturing my room in the first place?"

"You can tell a lot about a person by what their bedroom looks like," Edward said, ignoring Bella's connotation. Instead, he walked over to a hardened chunk that looked like a dried mound of clay painted to match the color of Pepto-Bismol. "This, for example, means you're sentimental."

"Or it could mean that I needed a paperweight and it was the only thing I could find." Bella countered.

Edward picked up the clay and read the inscription on the bottom:

"To Miss Bella from Mrs. Amster's Kindergarten class – 2008"

It was a parting gift from a kindergarten class she'd helped out in for her Child Development class in Phoenix. They'd made her a "flower pot" (it didn't resemble one at all) for her to remember them by.

Bella reddened when she knew she'd been caught. "So I'm sentimental. So what?"

"I didn't say it was a bad thing," Edward shrugged as he took a seat on Bella's bed. His eyes fell on an antiquated looking piece of equipment on her bedside table.

"What's that?" he pointed to it.

"It's an alarm clock." Bella answered.

"I think they stopped making those in 1973."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I know it's old, but it has the best radio reception and I can't go to sleep without the radio on."

"How about a CD? Or an ipod?"

"My ipod has too many different types of songs on it and Cd's end. With the easy listening station on, I don't have to worry about some loud rock song coming on and waking me up. It all sounds the same."

"I have to have total quiet when I sleep."

"Well then, I suppose you live in the right town."

Bella sat across from Edward on the bed and pulled out the packet of papers Miss Teale had given them. She began reading the instructions aloud and explaining what Edward needed to do to complete the assignment.

Instead of listening, Edward fixated on how her lips moved as she spoke. Watching her lips reminded him of what it felt like to kiss her. Thinking about kissing her made him want to do it again…he tried to squelch that desire. Yet that made him want to kiss her all the more.

"Edward?"

Edward hadn't realized that Bella had asked him a question.

"Earth to Edward…" Bella stated again.

"What?" he asked, trying to act like it was completely normal for him to space out beyond auditory compliance.

"Were you even listening?" Bella asked.

"Actually, I was trying to remember if I thanked you for helping me pass that test."

Edward could tell what Bella was thinking before she opened her mouth to speak because of the hue that colored her cheeks.

"I believe you thanked me quite…well." Bella averted her eyes as she spoke.

"That was sorry," Edward said as he leaned forward, close enough to invade Bella's personal space. "This is thank you…"

Edward reached up and placed his fingers at the nape of Bella's neck, guiding her mouth closer to his. Gone were the tentative kisses of yesterday. Today's kiss was desire-ridden – the consequence of longing thoughts and self-deprivation.

Panting, they pulled away from each other.

"Am I really the first guy you've ever kissed?" Edward asked.

"Ugh! I'm never telling you anything ever again," Bella sighed in frustration, assuming Edward was poking fun at her.

"I just asked because you're a really good kisser," Edward admitted with a side-winding smile.

"Oh," Bella looked away in embarrassment. "So are you."

The quiet atmosphere of the room hung in the air, longer than socially appropriate. Edward watched Bella for a signal of her feelings. She toyed with the edges of the worksheet in her lap while stealing glances at Edward.

Damn, she's cute.

Cute. It wasn't a sentiment Edward usually had about girls. Fine, hot or sexy were terms Edward usually ascribed to members of the opposite sex who'd captured his interest before appearing in his fantasies wearing nothing more than a smile. Never cute. Cute was for things you wanted to snuggle, lovingly stroke and whisper sweet nothings to.

So, what was to be said about Bella, of whom he'd recently had the most erotic fantasies of his life about, but also who's hand he now ached to grasp in his own.

"Bella, do you like movies?" he asked before he realized what was coming out of his mouth.

"Um…yeah. Why?" she asked.

Sudden panic washed over him as he realized what he was about to do. Was he seriously about to ask her out on a date? Forks was a small town and if Edward took Bella out on a Friday night, everyone would know about it. Was he ready for that?

"Just wondering," he muttered.

Apparently not.