It seems I shall have no reprieve, not that I deserve one. Bella has been allocated to the same fourth period English class as I and worse we must work together. There is nothing I want less. And nothing I want more.

I had quickly entered school upon arrival with my siblings, avoiding the animated chatter and excitement of the student body. The crash of mental voices of so many people pushed me to my very limits long before my first class even began.

It is really going to take a lot of adjustment to survive this, but I have to. Bella wants me to face up to the consequences of my actions and to her that means I should go to school and feel the discomfort in myself and others that I have caused. I don't think she is trying to punish me per se, more prevent me from denying my past.

After school I laid exhausted upon Esme's lap and answered her questions about the day. Truth be told, I recall little except the visceral shock of being so surrounded by minds and voices, and of course, Bella.

She was so transcendently beautiful. She is always and eternally so. It is well that I do not need to breathe because she leaves me utterly breathless each time I lay eyes upon her.

There are no words that do justice to how utterly laid bare she makes me feel. I am not used to being vulnerable, to feeling like cornered prey. I am so afraid of her. She can crush me in an instant.

She does not want me to be anywhere near her and I must respect that. It is the only important thing. I cannot entertain my desires to be near her, even in the tamest of fantasies of taking a walk with her, helping her carry her book bag or of holding an umbrella over her in the rain. I am constantly battling such thoughts. I will eat her if I fool myself into thinking such things would ever be possible. I am a monster and damned. I must always remember this.

So we are to work together in English. The powers that be have decided so and it was made very clear that our pair assignments were non negotiable. I am sure this is not appropriate at all.

The pair project we have been assigned lasts the entire semester, we are to write biographies of each other, dedicating time in and out of class to learn each other's life stories, personalities and ambitions. Of course this will force lie after lie to fall from my mouth. A cruel irony given how much I crave to be honest with Bella and to be truly known by her. It distresses me so.

After Mr. Berty's explanation of the task before us, I could see Bella steeling herself, swallowing her nervousness and letting the spark of anger she still feels for me swell in her eyes as she turned to meet my gaze.

She interrupted me when I spoke of how I'm sure Esme can get us reassigned, saying she thought this was 'kind of perfect, actually. Now you have to learn how you didn't know anything about me like you thought you did.'

I cannot deny her logic. I cannot deny her anything.

A/N: Please leave a review! Poor Edward, high school is hell and he is a perpetual student. No wonder he's so sullen.

Edward will dwell a little less on the past and a little more on his present. This story is labelled as angst/comedy and though it started out as comedy caused by Edward's angst, it is now a balance of both I guess. Edward is growing though and I think that is a beautiful thing. Are you falling in love with him yet? I hope so.

Thanks to the creative, kind and funny wh1teow1 for being the best beta for this story please show some love and read Moirai, a reimagining of Twilight for the new decade!