I know. I KNOW. Normally, updates won't even come close to this fast, but I was actually writing this chapter at the same time I was writing the last one and since it's ready to go, no point in putting it off. I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and I apologize for the alerts you may get for chapters that aren't there. I have updated, it's just that I'm kind of a screwup and also ffn is giving me fits at the moment.
Some warnings; a little bit more language in this chapter and some discussion of more mature matter.
Evening Falls Chapter 25:
about a boy
"How is your omelet, Elisa?"
Hastily, I swallowed the bite that I had chewing to look up at Esme from my stool. She looked anxious at my delay in responding. "Did I go too heavy on the onions? I know you don't too many - or is it the cheese...?"
"Esme," I finally managed to get a word in edgewise. "Seriously, it's the best omelet I've ever had. I promise."
Esme beamed at this and disappeared only to reappear in front of the sink, where she started scrubbing out the frying pan.
"So where were we?" I turned back to the quiet figure on the stool next to me. "Oh, right, World War II! How did you all avoid the draft? Oh, wait...did any of you go to Woodstock? What did you think of the 80's? Did Alice love Madonna? I'll bet she totally did..."
"Elisa,' Jasper said patiently. "Perhaps we could take this a decade at a time? And not right now, either. You do have to go to school, after all."
"Fine," I sighed, picking up my empty glass and plate to take over to Esme at the sink. "But you'll tell me more tonight, right?" I gave him a significant look, one that said he'd better stick to our deal. If he thought for a second that he was going to spend another evening skulking around the woods by himself he had some serious re-education coming.
"Cross my unbeating heart,' Jasper said solemnly as he stood up to leave the room. The slight twitch of his lips told me he understood exactly what I was trying to do. Not that forcing him to participate in family life for once was my only goal in bombarding him with my zillion of questions. Esme's stack of scrapbooks had lit a firestorm of curiousity that would not be satisfied until I'd spent days interrogating each and every one of them.
"Thank you, Elisa,' Esme said as I handed her my plates. I was about to go get my book bag when something occurred to me.
"Hey, Esme, did Carlisle leave for the clinic already?"
"Yes, over an hour ago. Why?" Esme looked at me curiously.
"I just wanted to know what he said to Edward the other day; I keep forgetting to ask. Did Carlisle tell him that Alice is gone?"
Esme nodded, sighing. "Yes, he did. Edward did not take it well; he's worried sick about her. And when he heard about what happened with Sebastian..." she shuddered. "I don't know that it was wise to tell him about that. Carlisle said he was absolutely livid. At least he has Bella to think about now - that should stop him from doing anything rash."
Emmett snorted as he walked into the kitchen. "I don't think we need to worry about what Edward's going to do, Esme. He's not the newborn, after all. We'd just better hope he doesn't tell Bella," he snickered at that.
Esme looked even more worried at this, and Emmett covered his grin quickly with a forced sober expression.
"Speaking of Carlisle,' Esme was saying now, clearly wanting to change the subject, 'he was very touched that you volunteered to work at the clinic with us this Saturday, Elisa."
I felt the tiniest twinge of guilt at that. Truth be told, I could think of about a thousand different things I'd rather do this Saturday then work at the clinic, but Carlisle had been planning this day for months. Health care was free here, but that still didn't mean it was always easy to get. There were long waits at many medical facilities, except for medical emergencies. But even more so, Carlisle wanted to get basic care to the people who needed it the most, and were also the least likely to get it.
He had a small army of volunteers that would scout the city in vans, looking for the homeless, seniors, prostitutes, drug addicts, illegal immigrants, runaways... anyone that might normally never set foot inside a clinic like his. The mobile volunteers would go back and forth all day, bringing as many people in who were willing to come in, and doing what they could right there for those who would or could not. Inside the clinic, another large group of medical professionals who'd also volunteered their time would be waiting.
I'd never seen Carlisle so excited; this obviously meant a great deal to him, so how could I not volunteer? Of course volunteers like me would not be involved directly with any of the medical aspects; our job would be to check patients in, hand out paperwork and care packages and other miscellaneous duties.
"You know," Esme leaned forward on the counter now and to my surprise her suddenly innocent expression was rather reminiscent of Emmett's. "Carlisle will need as many volunteers as he can get. Maybe you could ask some of your friends? For example, this Jimmy we've been hearing so much about?"
What? Who had she been hearing about Jimmy from? Because it certainly wasn't me - I shot Emmett a sharp look and he just grinned in return.
"Elisa?" Esme was still waiting for a response, but I wasn't sure what to say. Was it really time to bring home the almost boyfriend to the vampire parentals? I felt slightly dizzy at the thought.
"Darn it, ' Esme frowned at the look on my face. "You're panicking and I thought I'd worked that in so casually. Apparently I need to work on my subtlety."
I couldn't help but smile. "You were very smooth, Esme. I'll ask him, but he might have plans, so no promises."
"Well, if he does, we'll just think of something else," Esme persisted. Clearly she was not planning on taking no for an answer. Really, the whole situation was kind of adorable. And bound to be incredibly awkward.
"Elisa!" Rosalie appeared, tapping her stiletto heel impatiently on the ground. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
I looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh, crap!" With that I sped out of the kitchen and ran down the hall to the bathroom.
"Elisa!" Rosalie yelled after me. "You're going the wrong way! The car is outside, remember?"
A second later she was framed in the doorway, watching me in front of the mirror, finger combing a few strands of hair and applying a quick coat of lip gloss. "Are you grooming again?"
"You're one to talk!" I snickered.
"Yes, well, I'm not the one about to be late. Now MOVE!" Rosalie waved me out of the bathroom impatiently and pointed towards the front door.
"Way to overreact; Rosalie," I grumbled as she shepherded me down the hall. "Nobody's going to fall over and die if I'm late one day."
Rosalie glowered. "Cullens are never late."
I flinched at that. Great; I really needed a reminder first thing in the morning that I was the only blight on the family name; the thorn in a bush full of roses. "I'm sorry, Rosalie. It's just that today is kind of a big day for me, and I want to look nice."
Rosalie's face softened as she opened the car door and waited for me to climb in. "What's the occasion?"
Before she finished the sentence she and Emmett were already in the car and we were zooming down the long drive. He was watching me through the rear view mirror, clearly waiting for my answer too.
"Well..." I hesitated for a moment then decided I'd might as well get this over with. "I've decided to ask Jimmy out. I mean, not just to volunteer at the clinic with me, but on a real date."
I braced myself for Emmett's explosion but he merely seemed to consider this for a moment. "Well, you could do worse."
At almost the same time, Rosalie turned in her seat to frown at me slightly. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do that, Elisa?"
"Wait...what?" I was bewildered. "Is this opposite day or something? Emmett, I thought you hated the idea of me dating him! And Rosalie, seriously, weren't you encouraging me to go for it just a few days ago?"
Emmett chuckled. "OK, so I may have overdone the overprotective big brother bit. Look, James seems like a good kid, and I can tell he cares about you, especially after what happened at the mall the other day."
I nearly choked, knowing immediately what he was talking about. "You saw that? I thought you guys were going to keep your distance!"
"We did!" Rosalie said defensively. "We tried as hard as we could to stay away and still keep an eye out for Sebastian, but that whole incident in the store...it was rather loud. Afterwards I had to stop Emmett from eating the shopkeeper."
"Oh," I looked down, my face scarlet. I could not believe they had witnessed my meltdown at the Avalon mall last weekend. It was bad enough that Jimmy had had to see it.
"Do you want to talk about it, kid?" Emmett's voice was softer now.
"No," I said honestly. "But if I did, I'd want to talk to you."
"What am I, chopped liver?" Rosalie looked offended at my words, but Emmett was clearly touched. He reached back to pat my cheek lightly before returning his attention to the road. I felt a little bad about hurting Rosalie's feelings; I knew I could talk to her too, but there was something about Emmett that always made me feel safe. If Edward was Alice's port in a storm, Emmett was mine.
We were almost at the school now, having made excellent time due to Emmett's lead foot and Nascar style driving skills. Rosalie was watching me with a slightly concerned expression on her face. I guessed she was thinking still about what had happened at the mall, until she spoke again. "About Jimmy...' her voice trailed off, her face uncertain. "Maybe you're just a little young."
"Rosalie, it's not like I'm going to propose! Anyway, I'm fifteen, not five! Are you really saying I can't go out on a date?" Ugh; why was she raining so hard on my parade?
"No, of course not," Rosalie sighed. "Ask him if you want to. Just...be careful."
"Okaaaay," I said slowly as we stopped and she got out to pull the seat back. I should have known Rosalie would overreact, even if she had helped to set us up before. I guessed the revelation that her human charge was about to stick her toe into the dark pool that was dating was a little much for her at the moment.
It turned out that my romantic life was not the only thing Rosalie had over-reacted to this morning; there was still a good ten minutes before the bell rang when we arrived at the school. I said a hasty goodbye to the two of them, my heart beginning to race slightly as I saw Jimmy next to the bike rack with his friends Connor and Mercer, racing on their skateboards. I squared my shoulders and marched forward like a soldier preparing for battle. Here went nothing.
This wasn't exactly the battle I'd had in mind, as I stood beside Mercer, one foot on the skateboard I was borrowing from Jimmy. Mercer was crouched over his own skateboard, giving me a sideways grin.
"Smoke him, Elisa!"
"No way! Mercer, you can't let a girl beat you!"
At that I glowered over my shoulder at Connor, who just grinned back at me. OK, now it was so on.
"OK, whoever makes it to the bike rack the fastest wins. Ready, set, go!" Jimmy waved us off.
Right away, Mercer was faster, but I was giving all I had, and I was catching up, almost there...at this point we were neck and neck... And then I shifted just slightly and immediately lost control, slamming directly into the bike rack. Luckily it wasn't a terrible collision - I just hit my shin hard and hurt my pride more than anything.
"You're getting a lot better, Elisa," Mercer walked over to me, holding his board. "You just need to balance your weight more; here, let me show you -" he continued giving instructions as Jimmy and Connor joined in with their commentary. I loved the way that none of them fussed over my minor injury; if I'd been at home Esme would be calling Carlisle right now to ask him if I needed an x-ray. Who knew vampires could be the very definition of over-protective?
"Hey!" An annoyed voice barked and we looked to see Mr. McCauley, the phys ed teacher, glaring at us. "Did the four of you become illiterate overnight?" He gestured impatiently at the sign hanging on the brick wall behind the bike rack, reading 'Absolutely No Skateboarding'.
"Sorry, Mr. M,' Jimmy grinned, not looking sorry at all. "We'll put them away."
Mr. McCauley scowled and stomped off, knowing as well as anybody that we'd be out here tomorrow morning doing the same thing.
Jimmy tossed me the heeled shoes he'd been holding for me and took the board back. "I gotta run and put this in my locker before the bell rings. See you in third, OK?"
Connor and Mercer chimed in with their goodbyes and the three of them were off. I sighed as I leaned on the bike rack, putting my shoes back on. How was I going to get Jimmy alone? I mean, maybe I could ask him in third but that would mean passing him a note and it would be just my luck to have Mr. B catch us and read it out loud. In fact, he'd probably make us stand up in front of the class and act it out. And how was I going to ask Jimmy anyway? If I asked about volunteering on Saturday and then suggested we go out to dinner and movie afterwards, would that sound like just a normal extension of a long day together, two friends hanging out? Because I did not want there to be any misunderstandings. I liked him, and if he liked me the way I was pretty sure he did, it was time to make it official.
I was snapped out of strategizing by the sight of Tandy, who was leaning against the brick wall from out of nowhere, watching me. The sight of her was greatly annoying; a reminder that if she had anything to say about it I wouldn't have a second with Jimmy today by myself. Couldn't she go get a life of her own and stop following us everywhere?
"Did you want something, Tandy?" I tried to make my tone as polite as possible, considering that I was speaking through gritted teeth.
"Just watching. Have to say I've never seen anyone skateboard in a skirt and stockings before," Tandy shrugged.
"Yeah, well, I'm a conundrum,' I leaned down to snag my bookbag and when I looked at her again she was just staring at me.
"Co-nun-drum," I repeated slowly. "It's like a riddle or - "
"Shut the hell up, Elisa," Tandy snapped, her warm brown skin flushing an angry rose color. With that, she turned and stalked away.
I supposed I shouldn't have baited her like that, but Tandy was so freaking annoying. After she'd tried to help me a few weeks back when she and Jimmy thought that I was being used as a punching bag in secret, I'd thought that maybe things would thaw between us. I mean, at least now I knew she had a heart, even if she managed to bury it under seventeen layers of nasty. But no, despite my efforts, which were admittedly limited, Tandy had been more hostile than ever. Clearly, she resented how close Jimmy and I were getting. The thought made me feel equal parts guilty and smug at the same time.
The warning bell rang, and I turned and ran in the opposite direction, making it inside and to my first class just in time.
I knew something was up even before I made it inside Mr. B's classroom at third period. It wasn't hard to figure out of course, not with every single student who walked in before me emitting a loud groan and immediate protests. When I walked into the room, the first thing I saw was Mr. B's smug smile, the one he only wore when he was able to make mass quantities of people extremely unhappy at the same time. It could only mean one thing.
"Pop quiz?" I groaned, staring at the ominous stapled papers on everyone's desk. "Why?"
"Because B stays up nights thinking of new ways to torture us, that's why." Jimmy scowled and flung himself into the seat next to mine.
I raised a curious eyebrow at him as I sat down. "What's with you? You seem mad."
Jimmy sighed as he returned my gaze. "Turns out there was a pop quiz in 1st period too. The thing is, I kinda wasn't there. Mercer and me split and hit the park instead. Mrs. Hardwicke knew I was cutting, and man, is she pissed. She just caught me in the hall and let me have it. I have to spend last period with her to make the test up. Not to mention the week of afterschool detention."
"Sucks," I grimaced. "So you won't be in English?"
Jimmy shook his head.
Just then an irritated voice broke into our conversation. "James, Alyssa, the bell has rung. Would you two kindly shut up?"
I gritted my teeth as I returned Mr. B's glower. Jimmy was probably right; he must stay up at night thinking of new ways to torment us all. His latest petty entertainment was to pretend he couldn't pronounce my name.
"It's Elisa, Mr. B. E-LEE-SUH." I snapped back at him.
"That's what I said, Alicia." Mr. B dismissed me.
I blew out an exasperated breath, and with that, I ducked over my paper.
As I flipped through the test sheets I began to panic a bit. This was the last kind of stress I needed right now. Life Science wasn't my worst subject, but it definitely wasn't my best either, and this test was long.
Doing my best to concentrate, I worked frantically. Luckily, I knew the material better than I thought, but the questions were complex and tricky, which was undoubtedly intentional on Mr. B's part. He was probably betting on a good deal of us not being able to complete it by the end of class. If I was one of them, which was looking more and more likely, Jimmy wouldn't be the only one in afterschool detention. Imagining what Rosalie would have to say about that made me quake slightly. Perfect Cullens didn't do detention. Ever.
A thin trickle of sweat rolled down my back and I didn't dare look at the clock. I knew the bell was going to ring any second and I'd be screwed.
To my surprise, it didn't. It felt like the period was stretching on and on, and as grateful as I was I couldn't ever remember the time passing so slowly before.
My fingers were cramping from clutching my pencil tightly and my head was beginning to pound when I finally finished the last question and turned to Jimmy, triumphant. "Finally! I thought that would never end. How did you do?" I frowned then, massaging my temples. "Ugh, I have the worst headache. Do you have any aspirin?"
Jimmy ignored my question, staring at me with a shocked expression. "How did you finish so fast?" Startled, I realized that he was only a third of the way through his own test, and he was far better at Life Sci then I was.
"What?" I stared back at him, confused. "What do you mean, fast? Felt like it was at least an hour. I can't believe the bell didn't ring!"
"Are you kidding me?" Jimmy looked even more bewildered than I did. "Elisa, it's only been fifteen minutes since class started!"
He had to be joking. My head shot up and I gaped at the clock on the wall. How...what...? How completely weird. Was I really that much better then I'd given myself credit for?
"Elisa Cullen!" Mr. B's ability to pronounce my name had miraculously returned. When I looked at him, he had his eyes closed as if begging the teaching gods for patience. "Do you know how many times I have wished it wasn't illegal to tape your mouth shut? Now, for the sake of my sanity be quiet and finish your test before I call your aunt and uncle."
"Oh, no need, Mr. B. They already know I talk too much. Also, I finished my test."
Mr B's eyebrows nearly shot off his forehead. Impatiently, he waved me forward, his face deeply skeptical.
After a few minutes of perusing my test Mr. B looked back up at me. "Congratulations, Elisa,' his voice was sour. "You passed. Since you finished so early, spend the rest of this period correcting the questions you missed."
I sighed as I took the test back. Of course Mr. B would reward my achievement with more work. My head throbbed even more at the thought. "Do you have any aspirin, Mr. B?"
Just as I spoke I felt something wet on my face. I looked down just in time to see the crimson drop splash on Mr. B's desk. Crap, my nose was bleeding.
Mr. B followed my gaze, looking completely disgusted. He threw a wad of tissues at me then scribbled impatiently on a white excused absence sheet and handed it to me. "Get out, Elisa. Go see the nurse. Sneak off campus. I don't care. Just go away."
He didn't have to tell me twice. I snatched the excused absence slip, grabbed my stuff, and hightailed it out the door, only stopping to toss a sympathetic look at Jimmy who mouthed 'LUCKY!' at me.
Luckily, my nosebleed was mild and stopped quickly, but my head was throbbing enough that I did go see the nurse, who gave me some ibuprofen, an ice pack, and a lollipop since apparently I actually was five. After that, I still had several minutes until the next class started. I meandered my way over to the school library, but at the last minute decided not to bother. Our library at home was a thousand times better stocked, and I already had a book to read with me anyway.
I tossed my backpack on the staircase at the end of the hall next to the library, sat down, pulled out my book, and unwrapped my lollipop, which turned out to be lime and therefore awesome. My headache was finally started to ease a little but I still felt mildly nauseous.
I was just getting into my book when the library door banged open. I looked up idly to see Tandy balancing a stack of books as she exited. She stopped as she caught sight of me, ready to throw some more shade on my sunshine as only she could.
"Skipping?" she snapped.
"Nope," I grinned and waved my excused absence slip at her.
Tandy rolled her eyes. "Must be nice being a spoiled little rich girl who gets away with everything."
My first instinct at that comment was to hurl my book at her head, but I didn't want to waste good literature on a cat fight, so I beamed brightly at her instead. "As a matter of fact, it is."
Tandy glared. "You make me sick." With that, she stomped off down the hallway.
"That's just a bonus!" I called after her and heard her disgusted sigh in response.
Just then the bell rang and I sighed loudly, realizing I'd had to waste my last few minutes of freedom on Tandy. How pointless. Putting her firmly out of my mind, I hurried off to fourth period.
Even though my last class of the day, English, and it's teacher, Mr. Thornhill, were both my favorites, it seemed to drag on and on without Jimmy wise-cracking beside me. I finished my assignment early, like I usually did and had nothing else to do. I could only contemplate sit there and contemplate the failure of my mission..
I hadn't managed to get Jimmy alone once; not even during lunch which had been our best bet. When I had put my plan together this morning, I had thought perhaps if nothing else I could ask him after school. We always sat on the steps together now that Rosalie generously picked me up 'late' every day, knowing that I wanted to spend time with him. That was out today, thanks to his stupid detention. Maybe Mrs. Hardwicke was right; I didn't want to lecture him but I should probably remind him that he'd barely escaped expulsion last year and needed to pull it together.
"Hey, Elisa!" Something hard and sticky hit me in the back of the head. I whipped around to see Jock Boy, aka Brett, sitting behind me, grinning. He'd lobbed a wad of disgusting, chewed gum at me. When I pulled it out of my hair, it took several strands with it. He was such a pig. It never ceased to amaze me that he'd made into AP English; he seemed to be barely be able to stand upright, much less read.
Jock Boy was enjoying my expression. "Saw you with your boyfriend this morning," he sneered, emphasizing the word boyfriend. "Has J given you anything else to ride besides his skateboard?" He rocked his hips obscenely and his friends guffawed around him. I wanted to kill him.
"Is there a problem, Brett? Elisa?" Mr. Thornhill called from the front of the room.
"Yeah, there's a problem. I gotta watch where I sit from now on; I think I caught something." Brett grabbed his books and stood up, giving me a deliberate glance. Some of our classmates snickered, and I wanted to stab him with my pencil. "I think I'm going to hurl,' he continued. "I gotta go see the nurse."
Mr. Thornhill sighed. "The next time you come down with a mystery illness I'm going to want a doctor's note."
"I hope you have the plague,' I snapped at Brett under my breath as he pushed past my desk.
At least Jock Boy had distracted me from mooning over Jimmy. I spent the rest of class quietly steaming and making plans for revenge, only interrupted when Mr. Thornhill stood up and called out, "Five minutes, everyone! Elisa, please get your stuff together and come up here." He smiled to let me know I wasn't in trouble.
Confused, I shoved my books and folder in my backpack and walked up to his desk. Mr. Thornhill was still smiling as he handed me a stack of papers clipped together. "I'm letting you go a few minutes early so you can catch James in Mrs. Hardwicke's room. Tell him I want today's assignments finished during detention."
"Sure," I took Jimmy's homework, instantly happy again. This could be perfect! I could walk with him to detention, and ask him out on the way. I was greatly relieved at my new plan; I didn't want to have another day in which to think everything over and psych myself out.
I hurried down the hall to Mrs. Hardwicke's room, Jimmy's geography teacher. She was actually mine as well, we just had her different periods.
When I got there, Mrs. Hardwicke was sitting at her desk, correcting papers. The classroom was empty. She looked up when she heard me approaching.
"Hi, Elisa. What can I help you with?"
"I'm looking for Jimmy. I'm supposed to give him his English assignments."
"Oh, I'm sorry; I let him go once he finished his test. I'm hoping if I give him a little slack, he won't cut out on detention as well," Mrs. Hardwicke sighed and smiled at the same time.
"Ok, I'll go find him," I started to turn around but Mrs. Hardwicke's voice stopped me.
"Elisa..." she paused for a moment. "Several members of the staff have noticed how much James' behavior has improved this year. I think you're a good influence on him. Maybe you can help us encourage him to not slip back into bad habits, ok?"
"Um, sure," I barely suppressed my horrified expression. So I was supposed to be the good girl who reforms the bad boy? Gag. I hurried away before a revival of Grease broke out around me.
My heart was sinking by this point. It seemed as though I wasn't going to be able to find him in time now, and all my careful planning and motivation speeches to myself would have gone to waste. This was so disappointing.
Well, I wasn't going to give up without a fight. I'd keep looking at least for a few minutes. Of course, the bell chose to ring at that moment, spilling my classmates out into the halls and making everything twice as difficult. Without any better ideas, I headed over to his locker. He wasn't there, but Tandy was, shoving her books into her own locker which was only a couple down from his.
"Hey, Tandy," I forced a polite smile. "Have you seen Jimmy?"
Tandy glared at me and opened her mouth with an expression that clearly stated she was about to tell me to go decompose in a ditch. Then, abruptly, she snapped her mouth closed. Her eyes brightened and next thing I knew, she was smiling happily at me. It was the creepiest thing I'd ever seen since meeting Jane of the Volturi; she had to be trying to melt my brain with some dark goth chick mojo.
"Oh yeah, I've seen him. He was heading down to the science labs. Mr's B's room, I think. If you hurry I'm sure you can catch him."
"Um...ok," I turned and hurried away from Psycho Tandy as fast as I could. I was fairly certain she was lying and sending me a wild goose chase, but I figured I'd go down to the science labs and check. Maybe I'd see him on the way.
I always hated being in the dank, unventilated and windowless basement of the school where the science labs were. Having to be here once a day was enough; I couldn't imagine why Jimmy would have come back down here unless Mr. B had some extra assignments for him too.
When I reached Mr. B's door it was closed and the shade pulled down over the small window. Great. I knew Tandy was lying. Just to be sure, I tried the doorknob, sure it would be locked. To my surprise, it wasn't. Gingerly, I pushed open the door as quietly as possible, hoping that if I encountered Mr. B I'd be able to sneak away without him noticing me.
The sight that met my disbelieving eyes had me freezing in place. Tandy hadn't been lying. Jimmy was here.
And he wasn't alone.
I stared at the entwined figures for several heart-crushing seconds, until the taller figure pulled back from Jimmy finally and I realized with an even greater shock who it was.
"JOCK BOY?"
Jimmy and Brett jumped a mile, turning to seek me out with pale, stunned expressions.
"Elisa!" Jimmy looked absolutely horrified to see me standing there. It was nothing compared to what I felt.
There was sheer silence for a moment, all of us frozen into statues, and then Brett lunged at me, knocking desks out of his way. "Bitch, I swear to God if you tell anyone…!"
"Hey! Back off!" Jimmy shoved him back even as I leapt forward.
"Yeah, what are you going to do about it?" I yelled back, so angry that I didn't care at the moment that he was about five times my size.
Brett started to shout something else, his meaty hands balled into fists, but with surprising strength Jimmy pushed him towards the door. "You stay the hell away from her!"
Brett glared at both of us so fiercely I was amazed that we didn't both go up in flames. "I'm done with this!" he glared at Jimmy, kicked another desk out of his way, and slammed the door behind him.
Jimmy turned back to me, trepidation all over his face, "Elisa, look – "
"No, don't," I held up a silencing hand. "I get it, really, I do," I choked back the tremble in my voice. "You were in here, helping him with a science experiment, right? And then…maybe it all went horribly wrong, the two of you breathed in some wonky fumes, and then oops…accidental gayness ensued. That's what happened, right? Because you couldn't be into guys. You would have told me that, right?" Bitter sarcasm saturated my every word.
"Elisa..." Jimmy stared at a spot over my head. "I'm gay."
I took a long moment to process the last thing I ever thought I'd hear him say, but understanding wasn't coming. "Oh my God. I don't believe this!"
Jimmy's light blue eyes met mine and danced away just as quickly, even as I watched them turn flat and hostile, reminiscent of the first day I'd met him. "Believe it, Elisa It's true. " His voice was dull. "Guess I should have told you but..." He gave me a derisive look. "I kinda thought maybe you couldn't deal."
"Are you serious right now?" I stormed at him, suddenly so angry I wanted to punch him. "You're really going to try and put this on me, act like I'm prejudiced or something? You're an idiot, you know that? Hello, I'm from Southern California; it's not like I grew up in a bubble! I had tons of gay friends!" OK, so tons was an over exaggeration but I'd had at least two.
"Southern California?" Jimmy's eyebrows shot up and he forgot his surly tone. "I thought you were from Seattle?"
"Um..." Oh crap; I'd forgotten the first rule of being an adopted Cullen yet again. No matter what, always remember the cover story.
"I mean, yeah..." I faltered, trying to fix my mistake. "We um...lived in California but then we moved to Seattle for uh...the weather."
"The weather?" Jimmy stared at me in blatant disbelief. "You left beautiful sunny California to go to gray, wet Seattle for the weather?"
"Shut up; this is not about me!" My temper was raging now and I didn't want to obsess on my latest slip. "You're the one who lied to me, for weeks!"
"I didn't lie to you," His voice was flat again. "I just didn't tell you."
"Whatever!" I fumed. "Let me remind of what you did do, Jimmy. Remember our little tête-à-tête on the steps? Where you kissed me?" I watched his face pale. "Yeah, remember that now, do you? Good. Because I'm going to remind you again, that YOU kissed ME. YOU initiated it. And you knew how I felt about you, didn't you?" My voice did betray me now, choosing this inopportune moment to crack once more. I watched him swallow hard.
I didn't want him to hear more of the pain in my voice, so I lowered it to a whisper now. "Didn't you?" I moved closer to him, staring him in the eyes, refusing to let him look away.
"Yeah, " He finally mumbled back. "I mean, I didn't at first, but Tandy - "
I interrupted him with a bitter laugh. "Tandy. Of course. Nice of her to fill you in." I was pacing back and forth. "And you? Does she know about you too?"
Jimmy nodded again. His expression was bleak. "Yeah. She was the first person I ever told. Years ago. I've known since I was thirteen."
So that's why she'd been so happy to send me after him. Tandy had finally found the perfect way to get between us.
"Thirteen," I turned away, blinking back the moisture in my eyes. "Well, that's just great." I spat out the next words. "What was I to you, just a game? 'Hey Tandy, let's mess with the new girl?' Is that what it was? Or was I supposed to be your beard or something?"
"No, I swear it wasn't like - "
I cut him off but throwing my hand up in front of his face. "Just stop!"
And then I couldn't help the way my voice broke. "I thought you liked me."
"Elisa, please, listen to me - "
"Drop dead," I pushed against his suddenly restraining arm, bumping him out of the way so I could leave with a few shreds of my dignity still intact. But he refused to let me go that easily, running in front of me and slamming the classroom door shut again as soon as I opened it.
"Let me out!" My voice was close to a scream. I couldn't hold onto any semblance of self control much longer. Another minute alone with him and I was going to be a sobbing mess. Plus I was probably going to get expelled and maybe even arrested because the urge to beat his head in with Mr. B's stapler was rapidly becoming irresistible.
"No," Jimmy leaned against the door with his back to it. His voice was trembling too, and his eyes were damp. His tough front was shattering as fast as I was.
"Look, I have to say this to you first. And then if you want to hate me, fine. But you deserve to know this, and I won't have the guts to say it to you later." His voice was trembling too, and his eyes were damp.
It was only these signs of vulnerability that kept his head, for the time being, without a stapler size dent in it. I took a deep breath, crossing my arms. "Hurry up," I snapped.
"Elisa, I do like you," He began, his voice hushed.
My cynical snort made him pause for a second, then he plunged ahead. "I mean, I really like you. More than I've ever liked any girl. I mean, that way."
"That way?" I was instantly bewildered. "What do you mean, that way? I thought you said you were gay! Are you bisexual or something?"
"No," Jimmy sighed and looked away. "No, I'm gay."
"Then I don't understand what the hell you re talking about."
Jimmy moved away from the door and began to pace. I guess I could have used that moment to make a break for it, but I couldn't move. I had to know what he was going to say next.
"Look, I told you I've known since I was thirteen. I made my peace with it a long time ago. It's been hard, but I've never felt...unsure. Not until I met you."
He looked at me now and the expression in his blue eyes was heartbreaking. "You made me feel...confused. You made me feel something more than friendship. So I thought, for the first time ever, that maybe I was wrong. Maybe I just hadn't met the right girl. And that's why..." he trailed off, and red suddenly flushed his features.
"That's why you kissed me," I completed.
We were both silent for a minute. My arms were still wound tightly over my chest. "And when you did?" I finally managed to get out. I understood so much more now. Why he'd pulled away from me so abruptly, why he'd run off.
"When I did..." his voice was still hesitant. "I mean, I have feelings for you, Elisa. I really care about you. If you don't believe anything else I say, I hope you believe that. But as soon as we kissed, I knew."
"What, that you found me repulsive?" I threw at him, the hurt of his words making me want to give it back.
"No! But I knew that I couldn't...I just knew I couldn't ever be what you wanted me to be to you. Even what I was starting to want to be with you. I'm sorry, Elisa. I really am."
"You're sorry, that's all you can say? Really? You know what the worst thing about this is, Jimmy? It's not even that I thought that I had a boyfriend, or that Tandy has probably been laughing at me for weeks. It's that you thought I wouldn't understand! How can you stand there and tell me you like me if you have such a crappy opinion of me?"
Jimmy had the decency to look shame-faced. "I didn't mean that, Elisa. I just - I was scared to take the chance. I didn't want to lose you. I still don't."
We were both silent for a long moment. I stared at the floor, chewing the inside of my cheek. Inside, my emotions whirled in a maelstrom of confusion.
After several minutes, Jimmy broke the silence. "Well, I guess that's it then," His flat tone was back, his defenses up again. He turned to the door and opened it before turning back.
"Look, Elisa, I know you hate me and you have reason to. But please, don't tell anyone about Brett. It would kill him."
"About Brett?" My voice was startled. "What about you? Does everyone know?"
Jimmy shrugged. "I don't run around handing out flyers to the St. Johns Gay Pride parade, but I don't hide it either. So yeah, pretty much."
"Oh great," It stung as I realized how stupid I must have looked, not just to Tandy, but to everyone in school that had known Jimmy for the last few years, following him around like a love struck puppy.
Jimmy read my expression and his jaw tightened. "Please, Elisa. Just promise me you won't take this out on Brett. I know you don't like him. Half the time, I don't even like him. But he doesn't deserve that."
I exhaled in an offended huff. "Of course, I'm not going to tell anyone, Jimmy. I may be petty, but I'm not mean."
A corner of Jimmy's mouth quirked sadly and then dropped again. "Thanks. See you around, Elisa."
I didn't respond, watching him take the first step out the door. Another one, and he'd be out of my life, with all his lies and his confusion and his however unintentional rendering of my heart. And so much the better.
Except that now I wasn't watching the boy who jerked my heart around like a puppet on the string. I was seeing the rebel boy with the light blue eyes that I'd fallen in instant crush with at first sight. The boy who introduced me to all his friends and gave me a place to sit at lunch. The one who'd stood up for me against his best friend. The one who saw my bruises, through my lies and tried everything he could to help me. The one who I cried to when Alice left, the one I clung to when my past caught up with me.
And he was walking away.
"Jimmy," I said, and he froze on his second step out the door, and then turned around, his expression wary.
"My uncle Carlisle works at the free clinic downtown," Out of nervousness, I was speaking too quickly. "I'm working there on Saturday, because he's having an open house day. He needs more volunteers," I looked hard at him, so he'd get my meaning.
Jimmy looked stunned for a minute before his mouth turned up into a real, if small smile. "Well, I was planning on going skateboarding, but hey, a whole day of selfless service to the community. How could I refuse?"
I smiled back, as much as it hurt to do so. "You can't, at least not without looking like a real jerk."
"Yeah, well I think I've already done enough of that," he sighed. Then he looked directly at me. "What does this mean, Elisa?"
I met his gaze head on. "It means you should have told me," I folded my arms back across my chest. "And I'm not even close to OK with the fact that you didn't. But you're still my friend. If you want to be."
Jimmy nodded and I could see the sincerity in his eyes. "Yeah, I do."
With that he took a step towards me and I immediately jumped back. "No way! Keep your hands to yourself, Skater Boy. We are SO not hugging," I hurried through the next words to ease the hurt in his eyes. "At least not today. Maybe when it's less confusing."
"I get that," His expression was rueful. "Saturday, then."
"Saturday," I confimed as he turned to leave again. "Oh, and Jimmy...DON'T bring Tandy." My voice turned to ice when I said her name. I'd settle my score with her later, when there were no witnesses.
Jimmy looked confused by the renewed anger in my tone but something in my face told him not to ask. He ducked out the door and was quickly gone.
I waited a few seconds, hoping that the halls would be mostly clear before I made my exit and then ran from the room, using the back door and streaking across the parking lot as fast as I could, hoping no one would see my tears. I did try to wipe them away before I reached Rosalie's car, but I had no chance of fooling either one of them. Emmett took one look at my face and was out of the car.
"I'm going to KILL that kid!"
"Emmett!" Rosalie jumped out as well, with an anxious look to make sure nobody had seen or heard. "Get back in the car!"
Emmett growled quietly under his breath, but he did get back in the car. I climbed in the back and Rosalie got back in as well. Within seconds we were zipping around other cars in the parking lot.
"What happened, Elisa?" Rosalie turned to look at me.
What had happened with Jimmy was the last thing I wanted to talk about, but I could see neither one of them would be satisfied until I spilled. Besides, if I didn't tell, Emmett would probably assume it was a lot worse and actually would kill Jimmy. I was almost certain I didn't want that to happen.
I managed to tell them the entire story without breaking down again, though there was no way I could hide how hurt I felt.
"He didn't tell you? He just strung you along like that?" Emmett was fuming. I heard a crack as his big hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"Emmett, DO NOT break my car!" Rosalie shot him a look and turned back to me. "Elisa, I'm so sorry you had to find out like this."
Something in the tone of her voice, the sympathy with no hint of surprise tipped me off. I gasped. "Rosalie, you knew! That's why you didn't want me to ask him out! How did you find out?"
"I - " Rosalie looked like she was going to deny it at first but when Emmett fixed with with a look she gave up. "You just seemed to like him so much and after that day at the mall I thought it might be getting serious between you two. I wanted to know more about him. So I might have - followed him once or twice," she sighed. "I saw him with that boy the other night. That's how I knew."
"What? How could you not tell me?" Emmett practically howled, glaring at her.
"Forget Emmett! How could you not tell me?" I was so mad I could barely get the words out.
"Emmett, you know why I didn't tell you," Rosalie silenced him with one of her patented glares. "As for you, Elisa, I wanted to, believe me I did, but there are rules and I just - "
"Rules?" I burst out. "WHAT RULES?"
Understanding had dawned on Emmett's face at this, but certainly not on mine. I couldn't even imagine a rule that would put me through this much embarrassment and misery.
"Well..." Rosalie's voice, for possibly the first time in her life, was apologetic. "You know Carlisle and Esme want to give you a normal life. That can't happen if you always have a heads up on every obstacle in your path. You have to experience situations just like any other human would. So the rule is, unless it is something life endangering or physically harmful to you, we can't interfere with anything that you would normally experience."
"What?" I sputtered furiously. "That is the WORST RULE EVER!"
"No, it's not, Elisa," Rosalie was clearly beginning to lose your patience. "You said yourself that we couldn't protect you from life, not if you were ever going to have the chance to live it. What happened to you is a part of life. You'll learn from it and you'll move on."
Her golden eyes searched my face for understanding, but I was too angry to give it to her yet. I could not believe she was using my own words against me at a time like this. Traitor. Huffing dramatically, I turned towards the window, arms crossed.
"Elisa.." Rosalie started again.
"It's too hot in here," I interrupted loudly as the heater cranked on again, blowing hot air into my face. I pressed the button on the passenger side window down just enough to get a blast of the cool breeze, deliberately keeping my gaze away from her and Emmett. We were almost to the drive going to the house by now.
As soon as the breeze hit the car, Rosalie gasped. For a quick moment, I almost thought she was cold until I saw the look on her face.
"Emmett, stop the car!" she cried out.
Emmett looked confused for a fraction of a second and then whatever had Rosalie's attention made his eyes widen. He yanked the car over to the and slammed on the brakes so hard I was tossed forward and my face almost hit the back of Rosalie's seat but her white hand flashed out and stopped me just in time.
"Trust me, you do not want a bloody nose right now," she was smiling widely, and the momentary panic disintegrated. "Get out of the car, Elisa, your day is about to get a whole better."
I didn't have time to ask; whatever it was had her too impatient to wait for my human slowness. She had me out of the car before I had time to take a breath and turned my shoulders towards the forest that lined the side of the road. Emmett was grinning too, his eyes expectant.
"What - " I started to ask as my eyes toured the dark treeline confusedly, and then my throat closed up. "Who is it?" I could scarcely bear to ask, afraid that my suddenly soaring hopes were about to be disintegrated.
"Guess," Emmett's grin was wider then ever as he stared towards the trees, waiting.
"Alice?" I whispered. I looked back at Rosalie and she looked down at me, still smiling. My eyes suddenly welled up. "Alice?" I whispered again.
A slight rustle of leaves, a blur of gleaming white and ebony and then she was there, in front of us. I stood perfectly still for a moment, afraid that maybe I was dreaming or just having a super vivid wish fulfillment fantasy.
"Aren't you going to say hello, Elisa?" Her musical voice was teasing.
"Alice!" I cried. Without hesitation, I closed the steps between us and threw my arms around her.
Alice's arms tightened around me. "I missed you too. I'm so sorry I left the way I did."
"I don't care," I whispered tearfully, and I really didn't, not now that she was back, now that the gaping hole left by her absence had instantly been filled. "You're back home now.
"Thank you for lighting my way," she whispered into my hair. With that, she pulled back and her eyes sparkled brightly. "Don't you want to say hi to everyone else?"
"What?" I pulled away from her, looking at her through tear filled eyes. "What do you - "
And then I couldn't breathe. Because I could see them both, walking forward with slow human paced caution, arms around each others waist. A matching set now, their multi faceted, slightly jeweled skin glinting in the weak rays of sunlight. There was complete quiet for a moment, even as the pandemonium in my head reached a crescendo.
Hesitantly, the smaller of the two stepped forward. "Hello, Elisa."
"Bella?"
to be continued...
In the next chapter, Bella struggles to integrate into life as a vampire, and someone unexpected shows up at Carlisle's clinic.
Later on, Tandy and Elisa face off and the Cullens explore the connection between Alice and Elisa.
I've been fairly nervous about this chapter, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.