When I'm finally released from the hospital, it feels like I've entered a weird, dreamlike world, in which I'm treated like a porcelain doll, easily breakable and to be handled with care. Even Will has been less boisterous than usual, a surefire sign that things are different.
"Not you too." I groan when Emmett shows up on my doorstep the Wednesday after I was attacked. My parents insisted I take at least a couple of days off, along with the insistence that I see a therapist when we find one. Forks itself doesn't have any therapy practices, and my mom has been busy looking for a nearby option. I wanted to drive myself today, but Emmett has thwarted that plan.
"Concussion, remember?" He reaches out and messes up my hair before sliding his hand down so my cheek is in his hand.
"I was cleared, remember?" I reach up and attempt to reach his hair to muss it up, but I'm too short. He laughs and bends over, letting me get my revenge on his curls.
"Carlisle thinks it'd be best if you don't drive for a bit," He adds after I close the door behind me. "Besides, are you that desperate to get away from me?"
"No, it's not that," I pause. "I just want my life to get back to normal. I'm not breakable." Emmett quirks an eyebrow at me.
"By human standards, I mean." I clarify. Emmett picks me up and carries me over to the Jeep. He tosses my cane and backpack in the back seat before crossing around to the driver's side.
"Raquel—let your body heal itself. And you don't need to prove you're a badass. You did that when you fought with that piece of—"
"Then you'd think people would treat me like the badass I am." I grumble, crossing my arms.
"I do." I look at him and raise my eyebrows. "Do you want to exhaust yourself before you even get to school?"
"No." I admit reluctantly. "Oh, we're supposed to present our Spanish presentation either today or tomorrow. I have it on a flash drive. You're doing even slides, I'm doing odds."
"Should we try to do it tomorrow? So we can practice?" The grin on his face gives away his flirty agenda.
"Sorry, I'm too delicate to go on dates." I sniff.
"Okay, no dates." He looks serious, steeling himself against my rejection.
"I don't mean not ever, you know that." I put a hand on his arm, worried he couldn't tell I was teasing. He turns into the school parking lot and glides into the space my car is usually in. He gets out, grabbing my stuff and helping me out before handing it to me.
"I know," a giant grin lights up his boyishly handsome face. "I just wanted to hear you say it." He ducks out my way, so quickly it almost looks like he used vampire speed.
"Emmett!" I shout after his retreating form, chasing after him as quickly as I can with a cane. "Get back here!"
I can hear his laugh, ringing across the parking lot. He obeys me, and I'm slightly surprised. He keeps himself out of the range of my cane.
"Yes?" His eyes sparkle with amusement.
"That wasn't nice." I frown, reproving.
"I'm sure you already have a plan for your revenge. Do you want me to carry your stuff?"
"No, I got it."
"Then I'll see you at lunch."
"I might sit with Angela and Jess. They've been dying to talk to me, now that Bella's accident has fallen to the back burner in terms of new gossip."
"I can still wave at you, right?" I roll my eyes.
"You can. Maybe if I'm feeling charitable I'll wave back."
As it turns out, I do feel charitable. Emmett waves at me with an extreme amount of enthusiasm, making me blush and shyly wave back. I take a seat sandwiched between Angela and Jess, who has her arm around me.
"Oh my God, are you okay?" Jess asks, squeezing me like there's no tomorrow. She pats down my arms, as if to assure herself that I am, indeed, fine.
"I'm here, aren't I?" I laugh, patting Jess's arm so she'll let go.
"But still, you could have died!"
"I didn't. I'm fine, really." Jess gets an evil glint in her eye.
"Yup, thanks to Emmett," she sighs. "Did he give you mouth to mouth?"
"That's when you aren't breathing, Jessica." I feel my face heating up. I refuse to look over at the Cullen table, where I'm sure Emmett will be laughing.
"So he did?" Jess looks floored.
"No." I answer, a little curtly.
"Jess, leave her relationship alone." Angela steps in, gently derailing Jessica.
"Thanks." I sigh out, relieved.
"Besides, we can get the nitty gritty details later." Angela says over my head.
"Hey! I thought you were on my side." I complain.
"I am. But I'm also on the side of being curious about the Cullens. Do you think he's a good kisser?" Angela asks Jess.
"Oh, totally. Have you seen his lips? And I bet his hair is so soft." I tune Jess and Angela's joking out, and my eyes, seemingly of their own accord, find Emmett across the room. He's looking at me, of course, and he quirks an eyebrow at me. I can feel my face burning which just sends Angela and Jess into hysterics when they follow my line of sight.
I don't have to participate in gym, and for that I'm grateful. Coach Clapp lets me stay inside while the rest of the class heads out to the soccer field. I take the opportunity to begin working on all the work I've missed. Angela was kind enough to get my notes for me; however, teachers did not extend the same kindness to me even though I nearly died.
I'm dreading the inevitable teasing from Emmett that's sure to ensue from the conversation at lunch, but he seems preoccupied, talking animatedly to Edward about something. Edward's frowning, and he nudges Emmett to end the conversation. I take my seat in front of Emmett, turning to look back at him, a question in my eyes. He shakes his head and mouths "later" to me.
Class drags by as pairs of students slog through their projects. When Mrs. Goff calls Emmett and me up to present, Emmett helps me up out of my chair and lets me take a seat on the stool at the front of the room beside the computer. I plug in my flash drive and pull up our project.
At first, everything goes without a hitch. Then about halfway through I remember what's on the next slide and realize I never changed the sentences from when I angrily wrote them out. I look around at the sea of faces and lock eyes with Edward, who is clearly trying to hold in his laughter, aware of what's coming thanks to his invasive power. I have no doubt that if he were human his face would be turning red with the effort.
"And then we have…" I watch the wheels turn impossibly fast in Emmett's head. For anyone not watching him, they wouldn't have noticed the brief shock that covered his features. He recovers quickly, reading the rest of the slide.
"An example of the correct use of the preterit tense is "estuve embarazada por nueve meses" because it has a specific time period during which I—I mean the speaker was pregnant. On the other hand, "yo estaba embarazada" is the proper use of the imperfect tense because the pregnancy could have been long ago and does not have a specific time frame." I'm positive my face is red from trying to hold in my laughter. Emmett sends a glare back at me, and I move on to the next slide.
I barely manage to make it through the rest of the slides, laughter threatening to burst out of me at any moment. A few moments after Emmett and I take our seats, a small, folded up sheet of notebook paper sails over my shoulder, landing neatly in front of me.
Not funny.
I stifle a giggle and write a response.
You asked about my revenge for this morning? Here it is. I look over at Edward who, reading my intentions, holds out a pale white hand so quickly it blurs. I drop the refolded note into his palm, and in less than a second, it's gone. Another second, and the note flies back over my shoulder.
How did you manage to slip that in within a few hours? I roll my eyes, though I know Emmett can't see me.
I didn't. I've had it in there since you abandoned me for two days to work on this alone. I was mad. Rather than let Edward be the messenger, I drop the note on the floor, cover it with my boot and kick it back to Emmett.
When class ends, Emmett wordlessly picks up my bag and wraps an arm around my waist, subtly helping me out. He lifts me up into the Jeep before crossing to the driver's side.
"Another benefit to me driving you is that Will likes the Jeep. He likes me too, you know."
"He just likes that you've promised to arm wrestle him at some point. When you do, you had better let him win." I respond.
"Of course."
The rest of the drive to the middle school is quiet. When we're waiting in line I lean over and wrap my arms around his arm, resting the side of my head on his bicep. The maneuver is kind of awkward with the cast on my wrist, but he moves his arm to make it easier for me.
"I've come to a decision." I say. I can feel his eyes looking down at me.
"And what might that be?" He asks, curious.
"I decided that you can call me Quel." I can feel him pull back from me to turn his full attention onto me. "But there is a condition."
"Of course. What is it?"
"I get to call you Em." I look up at his face. He's grinning down at me.
"Sure, I thought that was a given." He turns back to face the line. I sit up when I see Will bounding towards us. He opens the back door and flings himself in.
"Hey, Emmett!" His voice is filled with enthusiasm.
"Hey, big man! What's up?"
"Not much. Hi Quel." He says with decidedly less enthusiasm.
"Hello to you, too," I chuckle. "I see where I stand on your list of favorite people." Will reaches around and squeezes me around the neck in a hug.
"Oh, c'mon, Quel. You know it isn't like that."
"I know. Can you loosen up before I pass out?"
"Oops. Sorry!" He says, flopping back into his seat and fastening his seatbelt.
Will chatters the whole way home, asking Emmett so many questions I think he must be annoyed, but one look at his face says he's enjoying Will's interrogation. When we get to my house, Emmett comes around to my side to help me out, gently setting me down and holding me a little closer than necessary.
"Thanks," I say as he hands me my stuff. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"I can't come in?" He asks, mock pouting at me.
"Of course you can! If she says no, you can hang out with me!" Will gets between me and Emmett. He pops up so suddenly I move to step back and lose my balance. I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable jarring fall, but it doesn't come. I open my eyes to see that Emmett caught me with one huge hand.
"Careful, big man. Your sister's still a bit fragile." I stick my tongue out at him, but he only smirks.
"Sorry, Quel!" Will says before dashing off into the house.
"Do you want me to go?" Emmett asks, his face perfectly neutral.
"No, you can stay, if you'd like." I reply before heading off towards the house, Emmett keeping pace with me, though I know it must be painfully slow because of my slight limp.
Emmett and I manage to get past my mom with only a few semi-invasive questions before heading up to my room, where Emmett has made himself at home on my bed. I silently debate where to sit when he sits up so he's upright against the headboard and pats the spot next to him.
"You know, most people would ask before climbing into a girl's bed." I tease.
"I'll keep that in mind for next time."
"Next time." I scoff, rolling my eyes.
"You know, you have a problem with admitting you like me. When you were doped up on painkillers, you said some of the funniest things." Emmett adds conversationally. He begins playing with my fingers, curling them and uncurling them.
"Oh, God. What did I say?" I'd bury my face in my hands, but since Emmett has one captive, that makes that plan impossible.
"Y'know, the usual incoherent stuff. Plus you did say you thought I was the most handsome guy you'd ever seen." He laughs.
"I said it for your ego, not that it needs a pep-talk." I try, and fail, to hide my blush.
"Would it make you feel better if I said you were the prettiest, funniest, most interesting girl I've ever seen? Plus I have been around a lot longer than you, so I can confirm this." I look up into his amber eyes, trying to gauge his sincerity.
"So you're saying you didn't eat me the first time you saw me because I'm pretty? Prettier than my other selves?" I purse my lips. He looks taken aback for a second.
"No, I didn't eat you because that's rude and I've learned my manners." He grins before getting more serious. "Every time you've looked slightly different, but your general features have stayed the same. So I'd say you look about the same. Granted, this is the longest I've seen you alive, for what it's worth." Though his words are serious, his eyes have a smile in them.
"How are you managing to not, y'know…" I trail off.
"It's not easy. I'm not sure how Edward does it with Bella, either. Of course, he is a lot more melodramatic than me. He had a whole internal debate with himself of whether he should allow himself to even be in Bella's vicinity. For me, and this is going to sound bad," He pauses, turning his eyes to mine. "But I've always been of the "if it happens, it happens" variety. In fact, I didn't discourage him from drinking Bella's blood. Slip ups happen, even for us. I think since I've accepted there's a good possibility I would've killed you and still could, it's almost easier to be around you. I know that sounds convoluted, but I think now my motivation for keeping you around is the fact that I do like you. A lot. It goes beyond my physical need now." I take a few minutes to digest his words. I take his hand holding mine and begin aimlessly doodling on the soft, cold surface.
"Did I scare you off?" He asks, trying to keep his tone playful and failing.
"No. I appreciate you telling me the truth." I lay my head on his shoulder.
"Are you free Friday?" He asks suddenly.
"Maybe. It depends on how fragile I'm feeling." Emmett's laugh is silent, I can only tell he is by the shaking of his shoulders.
"Let me take you out. Please." I sit up to look at him.
"Okay. But I'm driving myself from tomorrow onwards. I feel fine, Emmett. Carlisle said I can get a brace for my wrist soon, anyway."
"Alright. It's a date." Emmett grins at me. He gets a mischievous look in his eyes, and I immediately regard him with suspicion. "I also recall Jess asking you about my kissing skills."
I groan. "I knew you were going to have a field day with that."
I drop my head into my hands. Emmett nudges me until I look up at him. The smirk on his face shows off his dimples.
"Aren't you curious? Shouldn't you kiss me, y'know, for science? I'm sure Jess and Angela would like you to report on the matter." His voice is hypnotic.
He slowly leans towards me his eyes flashing between my lips and my eyes. I close my eyes, anticipating the kiss. He smells incredibly good, citrus and earth. Right when he's about to kiss me, he pauses. I open my eyes, annoyed, when I see he isn't looking at me.
Following his gaze, I find Will. One hand on the doorknob that he opened, the other on the frame of the door. A single beat of silence. Then, Will yells.
"Mom! Emmett and Raquel are kissing!" He shouts, running down the stairs.
"We were not! Will, get back here!" I chase after him. Emmett just laughs, I can hear him all the way down the stairs.
When I catch up to Will, he's already made it down the stairs. My mom is looking at us wide-eyed from the kitchen.
"MOM! Raquel and Emmett were kissing!"
"We were NOT!" I yell, covering Will's mouth with my hand. Will licks my hand.
"Ew!" I pull my hand away in shock, wiping it on Will's shirt.
"Hey!" He complains.
"Raquel, William, knock it off," My mom says in her "serious mom" voice. "Raquel, I think it might be time for Emmett to go. Before you scar your brother for life."
"Mom!" I yelp out in embarrassment, my face turning red. She only smirks. I turn around to go get Emmett only to bump into him, he must have silently made his way down the stairs.
"Thank you for having me, Mrs. Lewis," He says to my mom before turning to me. "I'll see you tomorrow, right? And Friday evening, too."
"Friday evening?" My mom asks. Emmett grins.
"Raquel and I have a date." My mom tries to hide her smile, a sure sign she's about to embarrass me,
"Well, I'm sure you two can finish your conversation on Friday then." My blush turns into a full-on flush.
"Mom." I groan, dropping my head in my hands. She laughs before heading back to the kitchen.
"I'll walk you to your car." I say to Emmett. He grabs my hand, says goodbye to Will, and leads me out the front door.
"That was mortifying." I grumble, still trying to hide my face.
"Aw, Quel." Emmett says, wrapping me in a bear hug. I feel his lips touch my hair. "On the bright side, I now know that I can most likely kiss you without murdering you." I can hear the smile in his voice.
"I guess that's a plus." I say begrudgingly, pulling away from him.
"I'll see you tomorrow. And I'll be looking forward to finishing our "conversation" on Friday." He grins when I flush again, quickly getting into the Jeep before I can respond. I wave at him, smile, and head inside, more excited about this date than I want to admit.