Author's Note: I can't find a definite answer on Bella's exact schedule so excuse anything that isn't exactly right!
Chapter 17 – The Rumor Mill
By Monday morning I was running around trying to get ready as quick as possible, even with magic, I was stumbling all the way, nearly falling down the stairs in the process. Charlie was gone, as usual, I flung my bag over my shoulder, grabbed my keys and a granola bar before running out the door.
I wore one of my favorite items of clothing, a large, thick knit forest green sweater. The perfect security blanket for any socially awkward kid. I would need it today... I was also dressed in black jeans and my favorite shoes: my Classic Chucks.
After locking the door I scrambled down the front steps, watching my feet as I went making sure I didn't fall before I quickly realized there was a car in the driveway and I skidded to a halt. I looked up to see Edward's Volvo parked there, he was leaning against the driver side door and smiled when our eyes met.
"Good Morning, may I drive you to school?" He grinned as he walked over to meet me in front of his car, I was still stuck where I'd stopped. "Or not?" He asked after I didn't answer. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped the gun, I thought-"
I shook myself from my stupor, "No! Sorry, I was just surprised to see you." I smiled up at him, "I-I don't mind you driving me to school... but Charlie."
He tilted his head as he pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around my torso. "What about Charlie?"
"I don't want him asking questions." I sighed.
His eyebrows pinched together, "You don't want him to know about us?" He asked, his tone neutral, but I could see it stung a little more than he wanted me to know.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and sighed, "I... Charlie is very protective and I just want to avoid that talk for as long as possible... but I do want you to drive me."
His eyes were that beautiful amber color I loved so much, he must have hunted recently; they sparkled and crinkled at the edges as he laughed, "Those are two very different sentiments." He lifted my chin up as he let our lips meet. I felt dazed and confused once we parted. "Whatever you want, I'll follow, Ms. Swan but we have to make a decision or we'll be late." He smirked at my face, which I'm sure was one of serene drunk bliss.
"Okay, today you drive."
"Good." He gave me a cheeky grin. "Because I don't think you'd get there on time otherwise."
"Hey," I pointed a finger at him, narrowing my eyes,"be nice to the truck. She's an old lady." I said defensively and his grin widened.
.
Pulling up at Forks High was like going through an enchanted waterfall, one who revealed you to the average world after being in a wonderful dream. My stomach churned as I watched all the students go about their business. I knew that the moment I stepped out of Edward Cullen's car the rumor mill would churn.
I suddenly realized something as Edward parked and looked over at him, "Where are your siblings?" I asked.
"They took Rosalie's car." he nodded towards my right and I looked, "She was more than thrilled not to drive with me."
"Wow." I whispered, "That looks... expensive." Sat in the parking spot beside us was a sporty, red convertible. I had no idea what make or model but it screamed "I'm-worth-more-than-a-down-payment-on-your-house." Something I'd never afford and frankly, would never want. Too nice, too attention grabbing, not my style at all.
He chuckled, "Yeah and ostentatious but we do love our shiny things."
I whipped around, "Is this a normal thing for you?" I asked incredulously.
"We do enjoy our indulgences," he stepped out and I followed, realizing as I tried to grab it from the floor he'd snatched my bag already. "And to drive fast."
"Yeah, I noticed." I mumbled.
He laughed, "Hey, I'm always on time." he slung his arm around my shoulders as we walked towards the main entrance. "Everyone is talking about us." He whispered in my ear. I shivered.
I looked around, yes, everyone was staring, most had looks of shock or disbelief. "Great." I groaned. I was already the talk of this tiny town and now this.
"Don't worry," he continued in my ear, "typical teenage jealous stuff." He smirked, looking very proud of himself.
"What's with that face?" I asked, smiling despite myself.
"Mike especially is not pleased."
"What-! Him and Jess are a thing so he shouldn't be jealous!" I replied, looking around to see said boy staring darkly towards us from his suburban.
He chuckled, "You think he respect Jessica enough to care?" And again he looked extremely proud, "He's especially mad that it's me."
"Don't go rubbing it in." I warned and he smirked.
"Speak of the devil," Edward continued and I looked a few feet in front of us where Jessica and Angela stood waiting for us. "She's going to attack you later."
I groaned, "Today's just started and I already want it to be over." but I smiled as we stopped in front of them. "Hey, guys." I said awkwardly.
They blinked, "Hey, Bella." Angela smiled, "You okay?"
"Yeah, I think." I sighed, "You?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I spent a nice quiet day at home with the twins."
"I'm so sorry that happened." I said, feeling guilty that she'd been so shaken by the events of our weekend.
"Don't, it wasn't your fault... I'm just glad we got out okay." She smiled at Edward, "Thank you for coming to our rescue."
"Of course." He said seriously.
The first warning bell rang and I jumped, Jess looked pointedly at me, "See you later, we have to talk!" She glanced between Edward and I before dragging Angela towards their respective classes.
"Bye, Bella, Edward!" Angela called over her shoulder.
"What am I going to say?" I sputtered, turning towards Edward.
"You tell her whatever you want," he tucked some hair behind my ear.
"What... are we, exactly?" I asked unsure, this still felt unreal.
He looked down at me curiously, "What do you want us to be?" He asked.
"Uh..." I thought, what did I want us to be? Boyfriend sounded so... formal, this was all so new. "Seeing each other?" I asked, did that sound less ritualistic?
He laughed, "I don't think the wording matters," and then kissed my forehead softly, "You should head to class though, the bell will ring soon."
"Right..." I sighed, "See you, then." He rubbed his thumb over my cheek before turning swiftly off to his first period. Forcing my legs to move I went off to mine, enjoying the spark his thumb left on my cheek.
.
In English, Mike sat slumped in his seat with a glum look on his face. I tentatively sat in my usual seat next to him and started pulling out my things. "Morning, Bella." He lamented as he glanced my way. I felt a pang of guilt, why did I feel bad? He's with Jess and I don't even like him! "how was your weekend?"
"It was... good," I said slowly, turning towards him. "Jess got a really beautiful dress." I added quickly, hoping this would brighten him up a bit and distract him from any interrogations he might have been considering throwing my way. It did just that, he perked up and smiled softly, "Oh yeah? I can't wait to see..." he trailed off as Mr. Mason called order and began class. Thankfully, he didn't talk about Edward or anything else scandalizing for the rest of class; and once it was over he waved at me and smiled as he left for his next class.
Jessica found me as I exited my 3rd period classroom, snagging my hand and tugging me towards the door that lead to the back walkways around the school. Not as many kids took this route to class, she was hoping it would loosen my tongue, no doubt. While I wasn't one for gossip, I had to give it to her for her tenacity.
"Okay, spill!" She barked, looking eagerly towards me as we slowly made our way towards Trig.
"Uh," I hesitated, what exactly do I spill? I still was reeling from the weekends ordeal. I glanced at her, "What exactly do you want to know?"
She huffed, "How did this happen? Edward Freaking Cullen!" She nearly yelled, I raised my eyebrows at her, glancing around nervously.
"Keep it down, Jess! I don't know how it happened, honestly, one minute he wouldn't even look at me and now he's confessing his feelings for me."
"Did you plan to meet up with him in Port Angeles?" She asked, almost accusatory.
I laughed, "No, it was like we said, he found us and helped us... that's it."
"That seems... extremely lucky."
"Yeah, tell me about it." I mumbled, "I don't even want to think about where we'd be if he didn't show up."
She grimaced as she pulled open the door to our building, "So what happened after we left? Did you go out to dinner? Was it your first date?!" Her voice rose as she went on and I gave her another look, begging her to lower her voice as we approached our classroom.
"Uh, we got dinner and took it to my place and I don't think so." I sat down at my desk as she sat in the one beside me.
"He went to your house?!" She whispered frantically, "Wasn't your dad out of town? Bella!"
"What? We didn't do anything, we just talked!"
"How can you just talk with him in front of you! Hes so dark and dreamy!" She giggled.
I felt a weird flare of anger build in my stomach, I looked at her with a glare, "He's more than that, you know." I hissed.
She laughed, "Damn, already protecting him," She glanced up at Mr. Varner as he began preparing for class, "you do like him."
"Of course I do, I wouldn't be with him if I didn't."
She smirked, "Well, keep your claws in, I get it." she opened her book to the page Mr. Varner was asking us to and I did the same, "But I wont apologize for thinking hes hot, because he is. You better get used to everyone being jealous of you."
I groaned and she giggled again. We ended it there, it was already a few minutes into class and Mr. Varner was giving us dirty looks. I was grateful for the distraction, praying that I wasn't questioned anymore today.
Once the bell rang for lunch Jessica turned to me, "Are you eating with us today?" She demanded, clearly wanting to continue her interrogation.
"Uh..." I pulled my bag onto my shoulder as we made our way for the door, "I don't know..." I couldn't be sure, maybe Edward came to his sense during his morning classes and decided he actually didn't like me? I felt my stomach squirm with unease. It was unwarranted, though, because leaning against the wall outside the classroom was Edward, looking as perfect and divine as ever.
"Uh, see you later, Bella." Jessica said, eyes wide with awe and turning to head to lunch.
Edward smirked after he masked a small look of irritation, "Hello." He called, falling in line with my steps.
"Hi." I said stupidly, feeling all the eyes following us as we went. A treacherous blush began to burn my cheeks. "What was that face for?"
"Hm?" He pulled my bag from my shoulder, I tried to snag it back but he chuckled and draped it onto his left shoulder out of reach. "What face?"
"The one you made as Jess walked away." I rolled my eyes as he held open the door.
"Oh," He glanced down at me, "Nothing, really, she's just very loud about how surprised she is that we're together."
I laughed darkly, "She's not the only one surprised." I mumbled, feeling my blush darken.
He looked at me with surprise, "What do you mean by that?" He asked, eyebrows pinching in concern.
I glanced up at him, "I mean... look at me." I waved my hands around me, "And look at you!" waving around him, "We're on completely different playing fields."
He shook his head, "You don't see yourself clearly." pulling open the door for the lunchroom and heading for the line that sprawled along the wall, "You also don't know what every male in this school was thinking on your first day."
"I was a new, shiny thing... that's it."
"No and you can't hear what they're all thinking now, either." He punctuated as he started filling a tray with food.
I shook my head, not believing it for a second. Sure, maybe a few had their crush but that was it, nothing more. I looked at the tray grasped in Edwards hands and blinked, "You're not getting all that for me, are you?" I asked incredulously.
He smirked down at me, "No," he payed for the food before I could even think to pull out any money. I frowned. Feeling, for some reason, irritated by the small gentlemanly gestures he kept performing. "Half is for me, of course."
I quirked an eyebrow. "You know you don't have to pretend in front of me, right?" I asked, as we made our way to a table, he picked one far off in a corner that no one ever occupied. I glanced towards his siblings, curious as to why we weren't going there or maybe even to my usual table. It looked as if the Cullens were all in a heated, but whispered argument and my usual group followed us with their eyes as we went, all varying emotions on their faces.
He hummed, "I do, however, have to pretend in front of the student body of Forks High." He sat down and I paused before taking a seat across from him. No need to look too coupley just yet, I thought. "And I also want to learn what your favorite foods are." He added, waving towards the tray, "Take whatever you'd like."
I grabbed a slice of pizza, "You know, you can just ask me, right?" I laughed, taking a bite.
"Okay," He said, leaning back in his chair, "Do you like that?" nodding towards the slice in my hand.
"Yeah, who doesn't?" I laughed, "It's bread, sauce and cheese, all delicious things in the perfect packaged."
He smiled, "You're a fan of Italian, then?"
"I suppose, it's all been good so far." I shrugged.
"Favorite dessert?"
I thought for a moment, "Anything peanut butter and chocolate." I decided.
He nodded, "I wish I knew what it was like, I don't remember if I ever had any as a human." He looked off, thinking, "I don't think it was popular just yet, when I was a kid." He shrugged.
A thought suddenly came to me and I leaned forward, "How old are you, exactly?" I didn't even think to ask the other night.
"Seventeen." He answered immediately.
I rolled my eyes, "Yes, but how long have you been seventeen?" He smirked.
"A while." Then he sighed when I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to elaborate. "I was born in 1901."
"Wow," I whispered, "you've... seen so much."
He shook his head, "Hardly, nothing compared to Carlisle." He picked up a roll and began tearing it apart.
I titled my head, my curiosity tickled. I'd met some old wizards over my time at school, probably as old... older even, than Edward but there was something strange about hearing it from someone who looked so young. "How old is Carlisle?"
"About 360."
I felt a blow, wow... that was, old. And he probably was nowhere near the oldest out there... "Wow." I said softly.
He chuckled, "Yeah." He looked up at me, "Ever thought you'd meet a 104 year old, 17 year old?"
I laughed, "Well, not the 17 year old part..." I opened and took a swig of the soda he'd gotten.
He tilted his head, "What do you mean?" He snagged the cap to my drink and spun it effortlessly on the table top. "Do you meet hundred-something year olds often?"
"Sure, magical folk, we live longer than normal humans."
He looked up, surprised. "Really?" He paused, tilting his head to the right for a moment before continuing, "How old, exactly?"
"Uh, I don't know... I heard of this guy called, Berty Winkle? Or something, I don't know, maybe Cole was fucking with me... he said he was like, 700 or something."
Edward's eyebrows rose, "700? How is that possible?"
I shrugged, "No idea, good workout regime?" I laughed, "And then there was Nicolas Flamel, I'm sure you've heard of him? Famous French scribe? He had the elixir of life: the Philosopher's Stone."
Edward blinked, "And that kept him alive?"
"Uh, yeah, him and his wife had to consume the elixir to stay alive, I guess."
"Had to?"
"Yeah," I paused, "they died in the 90s."
"What happened?" He asked, "I'm surprised to hear someone would give up that... gift," He said with a bit of venom.
I looked up warily, "I don't know the whole story, we learned about it briefly at school but basically, there was this dark wizard, Voldemort, he was trying to take over Wizarding Britain. He'd been thwarted, vanished, but some suspected he was still alive out there, somewhere. He came back in the 90s and tried to steal the stone. Flamel decided to destroy it to prevent him from trying again."
"Wow," He sighed, "He must have been a really bad guy, to give up something like that."
I laughed darkly, "Yeah, the worst."
We were both lost in thought and before I knew it, I looked around and the lunchroom was nearly empty. I jumped up in surprise, "We're gonna be late!" I shrilled, snagging my bag from the chair next to me.
"I'm not going to class today." He said, twirling the cap of the soda again.
I looked at him in surprised, "Why?" I asked, a little hurt, I didn't want to go to Biology alone.
"It's healthy to ditch class every now and then," he paused and looked up at me, "ditch with me?" he asked hopefully.
"I-Edward Cullen," I smiled, putting my hands on my hips, "Are you trying to be a bad influence?"
He smiled softly, "I think we've already crossed that bridge." He frowned, "They're blood typing in class today."
"Oh," I said knowingly, "I don't know..." I didn't want to go and I was also extremely squeamish around blood, especially my own... but I didn't want to skip. God, we'd only been dating a few days and I didn't want the first day back to school to look bad for our relationship. That's all I needed, more rumors to fuel the fire. "I don't think I should," I said slowly, "I'm sorry."
He shook his head, "I get it, go ahead, the bell will ring soon." He smiled softly before spinning the cap once again.
I knitted my eyebrows together, feeling like I couldn't even drag myself away from him; but finally, I did, calling a quick "Goodbye" over my shoulder and ran off to class.