Intox 38
After arranging lunch with the cafeteria workers, I have a hard time remembering walking to class, and I don't recall listening to bullshit from my peers, which I'd always considered an everyday occurrence. I think I floated through my first three classes. I must have floated.
Today, everything was going well. When my teacher called on me in 4th period class I was actually able to answer the question, and the answer sparked a debate that disrupted class time for twenty minutes. It took up a majority of my attention; I forgot to crave cigarettes, heroin… even Bella for that brief amount of time. For my part, I debated the teacher directly and ignored my classmates like they tended to avoid me.
When the lunch bell finally rang my teacher pulled me aside to give me a "welcome back" that I hadn't realized I deserved. I stumbled through an awkward, dodgy-eyed reply and swerved into the hallway. The stream of students parted around me with lingering stares; I'd never thought myself bulky, but these kids made me feel like a two-headed giant. I pitied what Emmett had gone through.
Bella met me with a smile by her locker for the getaway. I directed her to the bathroom adjacent the cafeteria and exit doors. She looked at me quizzically.
"I don't have to pee."
I laughed so hard I almost had a coughing fit. The girl couldn't ditch class properly to save her life. "So it's not so obvious when you meet me outside. We can't both go pick up food in the caf, you know."
She scurried away blushing, and I snuck into the cafeteria door by the kitchen. The food line stretched across the room, but I slunk to the kitchen door and allowed myself in before Edward or Mike noticed me. Mrs. Brindley, the cook I'd flirted shamelessly with that morning, looked up with a smile and pointed at the bag of goodies she'd assembled. I shot her my most charming smile, complete with a bright-eyed wink, and headed to the outdoor exit with the loot.
The sky was cloudy but didn't smell like rain yet; for once it was cooperating with me. I breathed the essence of green… just green… until Bella burst through the doors and clung to the brick wall like an escaping fugitive. I couldn't help but laugh. She turned to me with wide eyes and clutched her heart.
"I think they saw me!"
"Well, my dear, it appears we'd better get moving." I wiggled my quirked eyebrows and smirked. She jogged along behind me as I headed for my abandoned walkway, my one grungy piece of the school that brought back peaceful memories. When she caught up, I took a quick look around before ushering her up the crumbly stairs with a hand on her back.
Once at the landing, I brushed away some debris and spread out my jacket to accommodate her. She took her seat and I flopped down beside her. A piece of plastic caught my eye, and I tossed the syringe cap over the wall behind me. She looked at me in alarm when I burst into laughter, but I couldn't stop myself.
"Why are you laughing?"
"It's too good a day not to," I explained. "You should try it sometime."
"I can't just laugh," she protested to my amusement, and I laughed harder. Her smile widened despite itself. She snickered.
"So fake laugh until you really laugh. It works every time, I promise."
Bella chuckled to herself and removed our food from the bag. I leaned back and grinned to the sky, too pleased with myself and her and how perfect everything was going to do more than pick at her grapes. We sat in wavering sunlight on the dirty concrete walkway, smiling and finished that game of Twenty Questions we'd begun what seemed like a month ago.
"If you could be any animal, what would it be?" I asked as she bit into her chicken sandwich, "and don't say chicken because I know it isn't true."
She snorted and nearly choked. "Well, I've always liked horses…"
"You're such a chick."
She was indignant; I could hear it in her breath when she said, "So what about you?"
I thought of all the animals people had related me to. Most of them were parasitic. I'd come to think of myself like a cat, however, and not in the way that mountain lions were ferocious or territorial but more like a lazy, sleeping housecat.
Bella punched my arm teasingly and settled against the wall, her shoulder brushing mine. I could have moved away but didn't. I liked her there, the soft weight against me, the hum of energy flowing between us. It made the clouding sky seem brighter.
"Hey, Jasper, how come you know this place? No one else has mentioned it."
"I … come here when I skip class sometimes … when I'm upset or want to get away from it all." It was technically the truth, too.
She had no follow-up questions, so I continued. "Speaking of skipping, you should go on that hike with me this Saturday. The weather's going to be perfect."
"You do know that hikes are a health hazard for me, though, right?"
"I won't let you trip into a river, Bella. Besides, I can tell you haven't seen the area."
"Not true! I used to live here when I was a kid."
"Doesn't mean you've seen anything," I countered her protest, looking at her out of the corner of my eye. She was watching me, too.
She eventually agreed to pick me up in the morning if I packed her a survival kit and made lunch. The terms were easy to accept, and then we enjoyed the chilly air and scents of springtime. I was amazed at how far we'd come from being at each other's throats, and part of me suspected that it was the power of opposites attracting; the air was electric.
If I was honest, I'd been attracted to her since I knew who she was or why she was sitting in the front of a police cruiser. She was funny in a dorky way that rivaled Emmet's personality, and she was a hell of a lot more attractive than he was. She had an eclectic taste in music and knew her shit when it came to literature, too. Her clumsiness, despite how hard she tried to overcome it, was adorable.
I was smitten, but how was I going to tell her?
The bell rang. I would never know.
Goddamnit.
EN: You've just seen my first regular update in about a year... Is anyone from the old days still here to remember when I posted every Friday without fail? Maybe that'll happen again... if you review! =D