Last time:
I looked around hesitantly, sweeping the room for Bella.
As usual, she looked stunning, and left me short of breath.
I wondered idly how I was going to survive a month of this, when I had already lost my cool ten seconds in.
EPOV
Once I had regained control of my limbs, I shut the door and sat down at the desk furthest from Bella.
And then the waiting began.
Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes… the minute hand must be moving too slowly. It seemed we had been here for an hour at minimum. I managed to contain my sigh of mounting exasperation. Out of the corner of my eye, I cautiously glanced at Bella…
No. Not a good idea. I snapped my head back around to face the front of the classroom and half-heartedly examined the diagram of meiosis that had been left on the blackboard. Prophase I, Metaphase I, Anaphase I… though this could hardly hold my attention for longer than a couple of minutes, it was better than looking at anything else in the bland room.
Well, anything other than…
"That's it," said the object of my current musing. She stood up quickly, and knocked her chair over in the process. I wanted to smile.
"I'm out of here before I carve out my eyeballs just for something to do." She stated. I frowned in confusion – getting out of here? Impossible. The only door led straight into the office, and straight past the secretary. Not to mention the fact that the door in question was locked.
"Getting out? How? They locked the door after us." This stopped her for a moment. I watched her chew unconsciously on her bottom lip, and gaze blankly at the window. Suddenly, a bright smile lit her face, and she walked briskly across the room.
It took me a minute to understand what she was doing at the wall opposite the door.
"You're going to crawl out the window?" I asked, amused. It seemed so cliché.
"Yup." She replied smoothly, pulling away the curtains and opening the window easily. Like a pro, she hoisted one leg over the ledge, and prepared to drop, pausing first to glance back in my direction.
"You're staying here? Well, have fun wasting your day then."
Without another word, she dropped silently to the ground.
Unconsciously I jumped from my seat and ran to the window – knowing her stability issues, it was quite possible she could have broken a leg, though the drop was only a couple of feet.
By the time I got to the window, however, she had already collected herself and was making her way to the parking lot.
I didn't stop to think as I quickly followed her out the window.
"Decided detention wasn't the best way to spend your day after all?" she called to me without turning around. No, I thought to myself, but I would follow you anywhere. This thought shook me – it was completely true.
"I have finally seen the light," I muttered, chuckling, in reply to both her and my mental statement.
We walked together to the parking lot, though Bella was three strides ahead. When we finally reached the expanse of pavement she turned towards her truck without further acknowledgement, and I to mine.
I had just reached my car when I huge raindrop landed on my head, quickly followed by a dozen others.
"Shit," I muttered, racing to get out of the rain. A second later I was in my Volvo, the heat and music both cranked up.
I sat still for awhile, flexing my fingers and toes in an attempt to warm them up. It didn't surprise, or bother me when it didn't work – my extremities were almost always cold.
While I attempted to warm up, I looked around the parking lot. Directly ahead of me on the opposite side was Bella's truck. I smiled as I saw she was still outside the door, fumbling with her keys. It was so Bella.
Eventually she managed to open the door, and heaved herself in. I waited for her to drive away, but her truck remained stationary. Odd.
By now the rain had become torrential, making it nearly impossible to see across the lot. I slowly put the Volvo in gear, decided to drive around and get a better look. When I had halved the distance between our cars, I understood why she had yet to move.
There was an unnatural gurgling coming from the engine of her car, that I could hear even above the rain. I laughed silently, shaking my head. Leave it to Bella to flood her engine on a day like today – honestly, the girl attracted trouble like a magnet.
I kept the Volvo at a slow crawl, always moving in the direction of the truck. What was she going to do? Did she have a cell phone to call for help?
By now, I was almost directly beside Bella. Suddenly, the truck's door flew open, and she leapt out, her feet skidding on the wet pavement. Instinctively, I leaned across the passenger seat and opened the door.
It took her a second to realize there was a car in front of her. I watched her brow furrow and her mouth moving – of course I couldn't hear what she was saying above the rain.
"Get in," I called, making sure it was loud enough to be heard. Surprisingly she slid into the passenger seat without a complaint.
I tried not to look at her, but it was hard – her wet clothes were clinging to her, and even with dark rimmed eyes and wet hair she looked good.
"Why are you still here?" she asked, tilting her head away from me as she did so
"I was listening to a CD," I said slowly, "then I saw you getting out of your car to stand in the rain."
True enough.
"My damn truck won't start," she said unnecessarily, "so I'm walking home."
I smiled. Walking? Did she not realize she was sitting in a perfectly functional car?
"Would you like a drive?" I asked carefully. I mentally crossed my fingers as I watched her consider it. Her thoughts were clear in her eyes. She hated the cold and wet, but she also hated me – so what to choose?
"Fine," she said finally. My heart leapt. "Drive me home."
I shifted gears without a sound, heading for the main road. Out of the corner of my eye I watched her stare at her truck in the rear-view. She looked sad – maternal, even.
"I could come back for it after," I said, "And get Rosalie to take a look at it. It might surprise you, but she has a way with cars." She smiled.
"Thanks. That would be… helpful." She said earnestly. I smiled in return.
The silence that followed wasn't the kind I was used to with her. The atmosphere was neither tense, nor angry. Just… awkward.
"How about some music?" I said finally, "I have some CDs in the glove compartment."
As soon as I said it I regretted it – what if she didn't like my music? What if she was into, god forbid, pop music? It didn't seem likely based on what I knew of her personality, but you never know…
It was too late to take it back, however, as she had already popped open the glove compartment and pulled out my ridiculously overstocked CD case. She picked one at random, and her jaw dropped.
"Linkin Park?" she asked. I wasn't quite sure what to make of her tone… I glanced at the CD in her hand.
"Ya, Meteora. I have their other CDs in there somewhere too."
As she took out more and more CDs, it became clear that I had been silly to worry. Of course a girl like Bella would have impeccable musical taste (if I did say so myself).
She shoved a Rise Against CD into the slot, bobbing her head as it played.
"You," she said after a minute, "have great taste in music."
I laughed, glad that she agreed. "I like to think so."
To my delight, things continued to get better. We chatted above the music, with hardly any more awkwardness. In fact, it took her a couple of minutes to realize we were parked outside her house. When she did, she looked confused. I frowned slightly – had I gone to the wrong address? No, of course not – how many times in my childhood had a ran by this very house, waving to Police Chief Swan as I went?
"How d'you know where I live?" she asked.
Oh. Of course. Coming from Phoenix, such a huge city, of course it would seem strange for her that I knew where she lived.
"Forks is tiny. Everyone knows where everyone lives," I explained, smiling at her expression.
"I don't," she pointed out.
"You" I said slowly, "are an exception." To everything, I added to myself.
"Do you want to go somewhere? Or even just drive around? Charlie's not home yet, and I don't really feel like being alone…" she blushed. I mentally slapped myself for staring, and nodded. Yes! Had she finally decided to give me a chance?
I pulled back out of her driveway.
"There's a coffee shop two blocks away."
We arrived in no time, and quickly bought coffees and sat down.
"So," I said lightly, "there's something I've been meaning to ask you."
She nodded for me to continue.
"What did Lauren do to deserve a broken nose?" I'll admit, I grinned. I couldn't help it. She grinned back.
"Oh, she'd been asking for it since I first met her. And I figured if I didn't do it, nobody would."
How true. I laughed.
"You're different, Bella, I'll give you that."
Suddenly, I froze. Different… she was different. In good ways, and then… in ways that were not as good. Before today, she didn't seem interested in me at all. Maybe even disgusted. Disgusted enough to invite some boy all the way from Phoenix…
"So I heard… ," I started slowly, "that you have some friends from Phoenix coming down."
My heart crashed as she grinned and nodded.
"Yea, Dan and Kyle."
"Are they…," Are they what? Better keep it light…, "how long are they staying for?"
"They get here on Wednesday, and leave Sunday," she looked confused. Obviously wondering why I cared so much about these boys…
"Any particular reason they're coming?" I pushed. By now she was frowning.
"No, nothing in particular… just to catch up," I could tell she was lying – she was completely avoiding eye contact, and she was incessantly twirling a lock of her hair around her left index finger.
"The dance is this Friday," I said roughly. Why was she lying? Her face hardened in response to my expression.
"Thanks, I didn't know," she said, sarcasm burning through her words.
"I think there's another reason they're coming," I said flatly.
"You're wrong," she said. It was obvious she was on the defensive. I was right.
"Well, you don't have to worry about it anyways," I snapped, "I would never ask you to the stupid dance."
She was a good actress. Her surprise looked almost genuine.
"Wait, what? Why do you think I invited them?"
"So that you wouldn't have to go to the dance with any Forks Boys, that's why," I hissed, seriously mad now.
"You cocky… you arrogant… you really think I would go through all that trouble so that I wouldn't have to go the dance with a 'Forks Boy'?What, do you not think I'm capable of just saying no? You… You…" she stuttered, seething.
"Well I know there's a reason they're coming," I snapped, "I can tell you're lying."
"Well, if you must know, there is a reason, but there's no chance in hell that I'd tell you now!" she yelled, standing up quickly. She left the coffee shop at a run.
"Shit!" I muttered. Good job, Edward. Way to lose your cool. The one time we start getting along, and I go completely psycho! Shit, shit, shit!
I ran out after her, jumping in my Volvo when I saw her already half way down the road. A second later I was crawling along beside her. I rolled down the window and called out:
"Bella! Bella, look at me. I'm sorry! I admit, I… I overreacted. Come on, get in, you'll get pneumonia!"
She never looked at me, keeping her face stubbornly ahead.
I followed her all the way to her street. By then I realized she wasn't going to change her mind. I swore fluently under my breath, and then, surpassing the speed limit by fifty, shot away.
"Edward! Edward! Come on, you need to get up!" Alice screamed in my ear. I swore at her and rolled over. She didn't give up.
"Edward, it's time to go! Come on!"
I groaned. Time to go? No, it couldn't be – it seemed as though I had only just gotten in. In fact, this wasn't too far from the truth – I hadn't returned home until past midnight, venting my anger on the roads.
For once I had refused to tell Alice what had happened. Though I'm sure she guessed it had to do with Bella – she was really the only one who could get me into these kinds of moods.
"Edward, don't make me…"
I groaned, but got up.
"I'm up. Now get out so I can get dressed."
She silently obliged, and I got ready quickly. Just as I was leaving my room, I heard a strangled cry from the other end of the hall.
"What the-" I rushed to the source of the noise, only to find Alice, sitting cross legged in front of the stair. It took me a second to find her amidst all the shopping bags.
"Alice, what happened?" I asked, worried. She had really sounded in pain…
"Nothing," she said, though she winced as she spoke. I noticed she was massaging her right wrist.
"Did you hurt yourself?"
She shook her head no. I raised an eyebrow, letting her know I knew that was a load of bull.
"Alright, I hurt my wrist carrying this stuff. But I'm fine. Let's go."
"Let me see."
She silently showed me her wrist. I gasped – it was already swelling.
"Alice! You can't go to school like that. You won't be able to write anything! Here, I'll get you some ice…"
Though she huffed and puffed and put up quite a fight, we finally convinced Alice that she should stay home. When we finally left, she was propped up in her bed with her wrist wrapped and a bowl of chicken noodle soup on her lap.
The school day was an uneventful haze. Bella didn't sit at our table at lunch, which was to be expected, what with Alice at home and her mad at me.
In biology I simply didn't have the energy for another showdown with her, and decided ignorance was the safest bet, at the moment atleast. So I spent the entire period in silence. To anybody watching, I would have looked like the perfect student – quiet, attentive. In truth I had absolutely no idea what the teacher was droning on about, and if someone were to ask me I doubt I would have been able to repeat a single thing he had said.
I knew I had to talk to Bella soon. Maybe, just maybe, I could preserve a tiny scrap of how we had been yesterday? If I did it very carefully…
With this in mind, I raced off to detention as soon as the last period bell had rang, wanting to beat her there to prepare myself. The result of this was that I had very little space in my mind for anything else. Including the fact that I had ditched detention the day before. My memory was quickly refreshed, however, as soon as I walked into the main office.
"Mr. CULLEN," the secretary screeched. I jumped, completely unprepared for such a welcome.
"Skipping DETENTION? Crawling out a WINDOW? What has come OVER YOU? I've never seen students behave the way you and Ms Swan have! This earns you both FOUR MONTHS of detention. Now SIT DOWN, and I do not want to hear A SINGLE WORD from you!"
I sat down quickly, and without a word. Shit. Four months of detention. With Bella. Life was cruel.
A minute later Bella entered the office, to a similar reception. We were then ushered into the detention room, with the door locked behind us. I was amused to see they had also locked the windows.
I was not amused, however, to find the atmosphere thicker than ever between Bella and I.
Good job, Edward, I thought to myself, you've got a lot of work ahead of you to make this right.
Did I ever.