Chapter 8: I dreamed that you bewitched me
Her golden eyes looked almost black in the dim light of my room. I felt like the air was too thick to breathe and all I could do was stare at her lips as she slowly leaned closer. I really hoped that the game Charlie was watching, was interesting so he would stay downstairs. "Kate," I breathed.
We were rudely interrupted by Kate's cell phone. I could hear Kate sighed before pulling away.
"Tanya," she answered without looking at caller-ID. "Well... maybe you shouldn't snoop around other people's business." It was quiet for a moment and I could hear Tanya's voice through the phone but couldn't make out what she was saying.
"Whatever." When Kate hung up, I could still hear Tanya talking. The phone was shoved into the back pocket with such force that I felt sorry for the jeans she was wearing. They were good jeans, they made her ass look really good. Every girl needs a pair of jeans like that.
"Are you alright?" I kind of didn't know what to do. I wanted to go back to the playfulness we had experienced moments ago, but the moment was ruined.
"I need to home." For one moment I panicked. Home as in Alaska. I didn't realise I had spoken those words out loud. "No, not Alaska," Kate said with a little laugh.
"We should do this again soon," she said as she put on her coat.
"I don't think my bank account is up for that. Maybe next time a movie."
"Great idea," she said as she walked toward my bedroom door. But before she opened it, she turned around and walked back. She kissed me so quickly and lightly that I almost thought I had imagined it. But before I could say anything, she had left. I could hear her say goodbye to Charlie. I rushed to the window to see her get into the car and then speed off.
The next morning when I got ready for school, Kate texted me.
'Good luck today. I'm sure it will be fine. Can't wait to see you again soon. Love, Kate.'
I could do this. I read Kate's text once more and then put my phone in my backpack. As I was walking down the stairs, I saw that Charlie was about to leave.
"Good morning dad. Good luck at work. Will you be home for dinner?" I stood still at the bottom of the stairs.
"I don't know. I got a call this morning about a bear attack. Don't know how long it's going to take. Why don't you invite Alice over tonight? You can order Pizza."
"I rather have Chinese, but I think that's a good idea. I will put the leftovers in the fridge for you." I walked into the kitchen, dropping my backpack on one of the kitchen chairs. I put some bread in the toaster. Charlie had already made coffee and luckily it was still warm. I poured some and then added some vanilla sirup I had bought yesterday. I hopped onto the counter while waiting for the toast to be ready.
Just when I had finished my toast and was about to drink the last of my coffee, I heard the honking of a car horn. Time to go back to school. I hoped that it would go better than last time. I was apparently taking too long because someone rang the doorbell. "Coming." I rolled my eyes as I went to get the door. Impatient much?
I was expecting to see Alice, but it was Edward who was standing in front of the door. "I just need to get my coat. Give me a minute." I turned around to grab my coat from the coat hanger.
"You changed your hair" I heard him say as I walked into the kitchen, leaving the door open. "Yes, I just wanted something different." I grabbed my backpack and walked back. "I'm ready."
The drive was a little awkward. I could feel Alice wanted to say something, but I kept staring straight ahead. Jasper was whispering something to her, but I couldn't hear what he said. To be honest, I didn't care what he was saying as long as it wasn't about me. Which I had a feeling it was. It was raining again and there was quite a bit of wind. I shivered and pulled the sleeves of my sweater over my hands. I should've brought my gloves or maybe I shouldn't have worn tights. But then I wouldn't have been able to wear this cute leather skirt. But I had been too nervous this morning to think about grabbing my gloves or checking the weather. However this time I was less nervous than the day before yesterday. I knew what to expect, at least in the morning. I would sit next to Eric in my first class and the other two classes I would sit next to Jessica. I would tell her to shut up this time because I needed to focus on the lesson. I would have lunch with her and Angela. If Alice wanted me to sit with her, she could come over and ask.
I got out of the car as soon as I could and thanked Edward for the ride before running to get inside. When I reached the door, I was still wet, and the cold rain was soaking through my tights. It made them feel uncomfortable and cling to my skin. More people entered the building as I started to walk towards the classroom. They were wetter than me but didn't seem to be bothered by it. Maybe if you grew up here, the rain didn't bother you as much. But I couldn't imagine ever being comfortable in wet clothes.
Just as I was about to enter the classroom, someone grabbed my arm from behind me. I turned around, surprised to find Edward standing there. He let go of my arm as soon as I turned around.
"We both have biology after lunch. If you want, we can walk to class together." I didn't know what to say so I just nodded. I didn't really know Edward. Had Bella known him before?
"Sure," I answered, he gave me a small nod before walking off in, what I presumed, was the direction of his class.
"In or out, miss Swan. Make up your mind quickly. Class is about to start." Mr Mason said as he walked in the classroom, his arms full of books.
"Sorry sir," I muttered and quickly walked in.
Eric looked surprised when he saw me, but I ignored him. As Mr Mason said; the class was about to start. Better to pay attention. Of course, I already knew this stuff, but he didn't know that.
Halfway through the class I lost my concentration and started to draw in my notebook. At first, I didn't really know what I was drawing. Just some female figure, long straight hair, black eyes. When I was drawing the second figure, I knew what I was doing. Those curls could only belong to Tanya. Annoyed, and bit embarrassed, I shut my notebook and made a mental note to rip the page out later. I couldn't believe what I was doing. How long had I known the two? A day, maybe two. And now I was daydreaming about them. It was ridiculous.
The bell made me jump and I hurried out of the classroom before anyone could strike up a conversation with me. Jessica was already in her seat when I entered the classroom. She stared even more then Eric had done.
"Yes, I changed my hair. I like and that is all that matters. I would like to pay attention to the teacher now." She seemed annoyed at me cutting her off before she could say something. But I had dealt with people like Jessica before, in my old high school. They would walk right over you if you let them. I wondered if this Bella had known that when she befriended this girl. Probably not.
"So where were you yesterday? To ashamed after what happened at lunch?" Jessica said as we walked towards our next class.
"No, I just needed to go shopping and my friend decided that we should do that yesterday. We had a lovely time." I adjusted the strap of my backpack. It was pushing the sweater off my shoulder. The hallways were crowded and loud.
"What friend," Jessica asked, her tone pissed me off. I could barely hear her as we walked towards our trig class. Some boys were tossing around a football and one teacher was shouting at them.
"Just a friend. She doesn't go here. You probably don't know her." I was glad when we finally reached the classroom.
"Who?" Jessica asked. "The same friend who picked you up the day before yesterday. When you ran out of the cafeteria. Mike saw you. He said you looked like a drowned cat." Now she was just trying to be mean.
"Well, I shall have to have a little chat with Mike then. He sits with us at lunch right." I saw her eyes widen for a sec. "What? If he is saying such mean things about me, I should tell him that that isn't nice. Unless, of course, those aren't the exact words he used. He seems way to nice to say such things."
For the rest of the class, Jessica was quiet and even the whole way to the cafeteria she didn't say a word. I sat down with her at the lunch table after grabbing a cup of coffee and a salad.
"I didn't know you drank coffee," Angela said as she sat down next to me. I smiled, "yes. I'm quite the addict I'm afraid. Can't go a day without it." She laughed at that. She also told me about what I had missed in biology, my next class. I liked her. She was the helpful quiet type of person. Now she was telling me about her little brother who had thrown soda over her English homework when all the sudden she stopped talking and stared behind me. I turned around to see what she was looking at and saw Edward walking towards our table.
"I promised him we would together to biology. You can walk with us if you want." I didn't know if that was going to be awkward, but Angela shook her head. "I.. ehm I have to ask Jessica something. You go ahead."
I stood up and grabbed my bag. We walked together in silence for a couple of minutes. I could feel that he wanted to say something but maybe didn't know where to start.
"About the other day," he started when we were almost at our classroom. "When I said 'no'. It had nothing to do with you sitting at our table." I raised an eyebrow. Nothing to with me. I had been standing at their lunch table, waiting for permission to sit down and he had said 'no'. It had everything to do with me.
"No, I mean it. I was trying to prevent my sister from saying something rude. It had nothing to with you. Rosalie tends to scare people away. She doesn't like strangers."
"Okay." We entered the classroom and luckily, we were the first to be there.
"I just… I really like hanging out with Alice. She's been great. But a friend is not someone you hide. We hang out at my place and now we ride to school together but after that, it's like she doesn't want people to know we're friends. That's the feeling I'm getting, which may be wrong but it's still the feeling I'm getting." That awful feeling I had felt when I had been standing at their lunch table, came back.
"I'm sorry you feel that way. I can assure you that she really wants to be your friend." More people were starting to get in now and I saw Angela and Mike walk in together. They both looked at me and Edward before taking their seats. I could see the questions in their eyes.
"Good. Then she won't mind if I invite her over for dinner tonight?" Edward laughed. "I think she would love that. She wants to hear all about your adventure yesterday. And I think she wants to see what you bought." He whispered. The class had started now, and Mr Banner was explaining what we were going to do today. I wasn't really paying attention. My mind had wandered off to all the things I bought yesterday, or more specifically the things I hadn't bought but gotten.
Edward dropped Alice and me off at my place after school. Alice had been visibly relieved that I was speaking to her again. She had been waiting for me outside the gym building and walked with me to the car, talking about her art class.
First thing I did when I got in was put on the coffee machine and waited for it to be ready.
"Do you have any homework that needs to be done?" I asked Alice as she sat down at one of the kitchen chairs. "No. You?" I shook my head. I was glad that I didn't have any homework because I doubt that I would've felt like making it right now. I was kind of tired, but not as tired as I had been the first day of school.
"Good," Alice stood as I poured my coffee. "Let's go to your room," she grabbed my hand and dragged me upstairs. I was glad that Edward had warned me beforehand.
"Alice what are you doing?"
"I want to see what you got. Kate was all excited yesterday when she got back and was pissed at Tanya for making her come back early. But she wouldn't tell me what you got."
I still hadn't put everything away. Well… to be honest, I hadn't put anything away. I had just grabbed the pile of clothes and dumped it on the chair so I could at least get to bed yesterday. I had been planning on putting it away today.
"I have a question," Alice asked as she picked up a shirt from the pile. I waited for her to continue, but she started folding the shirt and put it on the bed.
"What question Alice."
"Kate or Tanya," she asks. I didn't understand the question, but she didn't elaborate. "Kate or Tanya what?" Once again it took her some time before she started talking as she continued to look at the items on the chair, fold them and then put them on my bed.
"If you would have to choose, who would you pick?"
"Choose for what? Alice, you are not making any sense right now." By now she had reached the lingerie. I had hidden it under all the other items in case Charlie would come into my room for some reason.
"Never mind." Alice seemed to zone out for a second and I decided that this would be a good time to go and order dinner. I ordered extra, so Charlie would have something to eat when he came home. He hadn't said when he would be home. I decided that if he wasn't home by seven, that I would call him. Just to check if he was alright. He had written down the number of the station and stuck it on the fridge in case I ever needed something. I had felt this weird kind of feeling when he had done that. Living with my mum had kind of taught me that if something was wrong, I better figure out how to fix it myself because there was no one else to call.
The food arrived 30 minutes later and I at my foe-yong-hai while Alice only ate some white rice, claiming to not be hungry. Maybe she didn't like Chinese food, I should've asked before I ordered. But she had done that weird zoning-out thing and I knew I wouldn't have gotten an answer from her like that. After I had come back from ordering food, Alice had been back to her usual happy self and I decided to ignore the weird question. Why would I have to choose between Tanya and Kate? Couldn't I just hang out with both of them? Alice didn't approve of all the clothes I bought but she was okay with most of them. I had laughed when she had scowled at a green oversized jumper that I had only bought because it felt so nice and warm. After dinner, Alice helped me clean up and put the leftovers away for Charlie. He had texted me and said that he was going to be home late and that I shouldn't wait up.
Alice offered to stay, but I told her I would be fine. To be honest, I wanted some alone time to think.
After a nice long shower and a cup of hot cocoa, I decided to go to bed. I wanted to text Charlie goodnight, but couldn't find my phone. I walked back downstairs and grabbed the phone from the kitchen and typed in my number.
"Come on" I muttered as I waited to hear my ringtone, hoping very hard that I hadn't put my phone on silence.
Somewhere I could hear London's Burning starting to play. I was pretty sure that I came from upstairs. Okay, so it was in my room. I turned on the light and looked around. Was the sound coming from my closet? I dug around the pile of clothes that Alice had folded for me and found my phone.
'1 missed call' from an unknown number. I also had a text from that same number.
'Movie-night at the Cullens, Friday 8:00 p.m. Bring popcorn! Everyone will be gone, just the two of us. X. Kate'
I was sure that I had a stupid grin on my face with I texted back, and I was happy that there was no-one around that could see it.
'Looking forward to it. Pick me up? X. Bella.'
I quickly send the text before I could think too long about that little X. at the end of the text.
That night I had the strangest dream. I was standing in one of the hallways at Forks high school. At one end of the hall stood Tanya. She was wearing a navy-blue trench coat that fell to just above her knee. In one hand she had a cup of coffee. The other hand she held out toward me but just as I started to walk towards her, a familiar voice called my name. I turned around to see Kate standing at the other end of the hallway with a cheeky smile on her face. She also raised her hand and held it out towards me.
"Come here," she said and without think, I was moving in her direction.
"Bella, no." Tanya this time. I turned around to look at her and instead of walking toward her, I held out my hand. She dropped the cup of coffee and walked towards me at a slow pace. When she reached me, she slid her hands around my waist. Pulling my back against her front. I let my head fall back and then looked at Kate who was still standing at the other end of the hall. I also held out my hand towards her, but she didn't move as Tanya had done.
"Kate," I said, my voice no more than a whisper. "Please, I don't want to choose." I closed my eyes, fighting against the tears that welled up. "Please" I whispered again.
Then I could feel her. Her arm slid above Tanya's and I could feel her face in my neck. I was almost too scared to open my eyes, scared that she wouldn't be there. I placed one hand over Tanya's and the other I put on Kate's back.
"Thank you" I whispered as she started sucking my neck, I could feel Tanya kiss the top of my head as she whispered, "open your eyes darling".
I wish I hadn't done it, I wished I had held them close so the moment would last forever. Because when I opened them and was alone in my bedroom.
A/N: Please let me know if you see any spelling mistakes so I can correct them. And leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter.
A/N 2: Fun fact: the chapter title is from a poem by Sylvia Plath; "Mad Girl's Love Song". The full line is "I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed. And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane."