First of all, a big shout out to my team of pre-readers and beta: NimNimBonjangles, bevey99, and Fran. Thank you so much for all the help with this story.
Also, a huge thank you to all of you who've read, fav'ed, followed, and reviewed this. It means a lot to me.
Ready to hear from Edward?
[Edward]
Fuck McCarty for coaxing me into smoking in the parking lot!
Fuck Black for hoisting my ass to Whitlock's office. Again. I hadn't seen it for two weeks now.
Fuck me! I was so stupid.
Emmett always managed to talk me into doing a shit-ton of crap. If he wasn't my best friend, the brother I'd never had, the only person who understood me, I'd have kicked him to the curb long ago.
Coach stormed into Whitlock's office without knocking. He thundered about us while Whitlock watched passively from his leather chair. The man never showed emotion, but he put the fear of God in us when he did.
"Thank you, Jacob. I'll have a chat with them," Whitlock commented.
I clenched my jaw, curling my fists so I wouldn't punch Emmett in the head. It was all his fault we were in trouble.
Esme would be delighted to know I got in trouble again. I hated upsetting her, but she should have known what she was getting herself into when she accepted my ass in her house. I wasn't going to be a cute toddler all my life. I'd eventually become a teenager.
"So, boys…" Whitlock said slowly after Black left, slamming the door in his wake. "What am I going to do with the two of you?"
"Put us in detention?" Emmett joked.
I shoved him, making him stumble, which was no easy feat considering he was a pack of muscles.
Whitlock snorted, grabbing my attention. "Your assumption is correct, Mr. McCarty. I hear old Marcus wants to clean his closet. He's going to need help."
Phew. Been there, done that. Cleaning the janitor's closet was the easiest task.
"Mr. Cullen," he turned to me, tapping his chin. "I just had a chat with Ms. Swan about her desire to repot the plants. You're going to help her with that process."
I felt my jaw unhinge.
I'd made it my personal mission to stay the fuck away from our new Biology teacher when I could see how I got under her skin while in class.
Swan was hands down the hottest teacher we'd ever had. She was wet dreams, and porn movies rolled up in one.
The moment I'd seen her across the cafeteria on her first day, sitting next to Black, I had my eyes on her. I hadn't known who she was at the moment. Foolishly, I'd thought her to be a new student, sucking up to Coach. I'd gone to my AP Bio class, and when she walked into the classroom, I nearly creamed my jeans.
She dressed in a classy way, and even though her clothes weren't tight or too short, they emphasized her delectable form. As if it wasn't enough for her to have a killer body, her face was like a picture I could stare at for centuries and not get tired. I had snagged the front desk, claiming it as mine at the beginning of the year, but I was ready to trade with Weber. She'd love it, being the teacher's pet.
Having Ms. Swan mere feet away from me every day was screwing with my mind. Her warm brown eyes often found mine, and I did my best to keep my walls up, but she could read right through me. I wasn't used to being bested at my game, especially by a teacher.
Spending so much alone time with her after class was going to be hell.
"Can we switch?" I almost begged Whitlock.
I wasn't fucking naive to think a teacher would look at me, but I knew my limits. I was going to do something stupid if I were to spend my afternoon alone with her. I'd get in even more trouble.
"I actually thought you'd be perfect for the job. I know your mom loves flowers."
"Esme's not my mom," I snapped. "Fine," I added under my breath.
"I'll let you two boys speak to Marcus and Ms. Swan about when they need you."
You, sadist, I thought to myself.
When he dismissed us, I stomped to my car, ignoring Emmett's lamenting about being stuck with old Marcus, while I got Ms. Swan. I got in my car, effectively cutting him out.
By the time I arrived home, I knew Whitlock had called Esme. She was waiting in front of the house; arms crossed across her chest.
Hanging my head, I went to her, ready to hear her scolding.
"Oh, Edward! I'm so proud of you," she cried out, reaching out to hug me.
Come again? She's proud I got detention again?
"Your principal called to say you offered to help your new Biology teacher with the plants."
Wow. Here I thought I was a smooth talker. I had no idea why Whitlock had covered for me, but I appreciated it.
"Yeah, you know…" I lifted a shoulder. "I like your greenhouse." I nodded to the large glass structure tucked between the side of the house and the trees.
She smiled softly, cupping my cheek in one of her palms. "Carlisle will be so proud of you."
"He better," I mumbled, half-joking. It wasn't like I saw him much. The bastard lived at the hospital, being the Chief Surgeon. How many surgeries could there be at Forks Hospital?
If the fucker didn't love Esme as much as I knew that he did, I'd suspect him of cheating.
"I'm going to need a small pot from your collection. We have a project in Biology to grow a daisy from seed."
Esme beamed, always happy to share her love for plants with anyone willing to listen. She was actually an interior designer, but plants livened up the place, as she always said.
"It's a long way until you need the pot. But if you need it for a project, we can try planting it directly in the soil."
"Just hand over the pot, and I'll do it. It's my project. I don't want any help. If I fuck up, it will be my mistake."
"Okay, okay." She led me to her greenhouse, handing me a small white terracotta pot and a small bag of soil.
I took the supplies to my room. The first thing I did was search the Internet on how to plant daisies. I had to plant the seeds in the soil about 1/8 inch deep. They were to germinate in ten to twenty days.
I set to work in the bathroom so I wouldn't make a mess in my room. Once the dirty task was out of the way, I placed the pot on my desk, turning my attention to the web page on how to grow daisies.
Daisy plants will bloom the following year after one season's growth. That couldn't be right. Did Swan expect us to fail? Or, maybe this was a test…to see how many would buy a fucking daisy and bring it at the end of the school year.
Hmmm…she played dirty.
I didn't have much to do but wait for it to grow.
I focused on homework until Esme called me to dinner sometime later. I was fishing for tips on handling Eve during the repotting because I dreaded that moment, when my phone buzzed next to my plate.
Esme frowned at it. She'd picked Carlisle's rule about no phone at the table, but of course, he was the only one allowed to break his own rule. It was usually the hospital who called him.
Ignoring her frown, I checked the screen without opening it.
Party at Rose's house tomorrow. You in?
I stared at the message for a while. My skills at sneaking out were immaculate, and my skills at sneaking back in were even better.
I waited until Esme was loading the dishwasher to answer Emmett. Count me in. I was still mad at him, but he needed his wingman. I had to keep him from making a fool of himself in front of that frigid bitch.
I'll never understand what attracted him to Hale, but he was one lovesick puppy when it came to her. Sadly, her target had been me for months. At first, I'd tried to steer her attention toward Emmett, but when that didn't work, I gave her my usual cold shoulder.
No girl in my high school would be what I want. The only one smart and level-headed enough was Weber, but she was dating her companion geek, Ben Cheney.
It wasn't like I didn't have at least five girls throwing themselves at me daily, but they didn't do it for me. Sometimes, I indulged and had fun with one of them at a party, but it was just that – a fuck. Thankfully, they'd learned there would never be more after that moment they'd been on my radar. Sometimes, once I'd sobered up, I usually questioned my sanity for sleeping with some of them.
The truth was, I'd never find someone the way I wanted in high school. I couldn't wait for college and all those older chicks. They were hotter and had the experience. They were smarter, too, unlike those silly girls in my classes.
.
.
.
On Monday morning, I parked in my usual spot, which gave me a clear view of Swan chatting with Coach Black. They seemed awfully cozy, which got on my nerves.
I glared out the windshield when he threw one meaty arm around her shoulders, laughing, as they walked inside the school building.
I had no idea why I felt that sudden anger toward him. Maybe it was residual anger for getting me detention because of Emmett. Thinking of my best friend reminded me of the tragedy that had happened during the weekend.
He'd hooked up with Hale. The last I'd seen of him was his shit-eating grin as he escorted me out of her house before he finally dove into that pussy.
Futilely, I hoped he'd fucked her out of his system, but I knew it was more than mere infatuation. The fucker had feelings for her.
As if summoned, Emmett parked next to Swan's car, across from me. I didn't give him the satisfaction of slapping my car. I was going to break his hand one of these days if he touched her again.
I met him halfway across the parking lot. To my horror, Hale climbed out of his car, all sleek blonde hair and short skirt. She flitted to his side, and I refrained from retching.
She held my eyes as she leaned up to kiss Emmett. I was going to punch the smirk off her face if she dared toy with my homeboy. I had to get Emmett alone and warn him about the psycho bitch. He was not likely to listen to me, but it was worth a shot.
"Hey, man," Emmett greeted when I reached them.
"Hey," I said curtly.
The three of us started walking toward the door, and I already felt like the third wheel. Reason number one why Emmett shouldn't have betrayed me for this cunt. I hated feeling like that. He even abandoned me, walking her to her locker.
I stomped my way to English, ready to punch the first person who looked at me the wrong way.
During Spanish, Emmett told me how he and Rosie were dating now.
Someone bring me a trashcan, so I don't throw up all over the desk.
On our way to the cafeteria, he ditched me again, saying he was going to get his girl. Like, she had no idea which way the lunch area was.
I sulked in line to get food. Of course, I didn't let others see how it affected me that Emmett had found someone, and he was distancing from me. I ordered my usual chicken breast and rice. If I followed one rule in this world, it was Black's meal plan. I loved basketball, wanted to stay on the team, and nothing would jeopardize my free card to a good scholarship.
When I slumped in my chair, ignoring the others at the table, I glanced at Black's table. He was laughing with Swan.
Fuck. I'd almost forgotten about my detention. I wondered if Whitlock had told her. Should I say something when I arrived in her class? If yes, what the hell do I say? Looking forward to repotting these motherfuckers? Yeah, right.
Black intercepted Emmett and Hale when they arrived, all smiles, in the cafeteria. I gripped the edge of the table, glaring daggers. I was the fucking captain, and Black always talked to me first before anyone else. But I'd dodged him lately.
It wasn't on purpose. Besides the fact that we had a shit-ton to catch up on in Bio after missing two weeks due to Banner's death, Denali wanted my fingers around her throat for testing my patience. She wanted all the answers to her fucking math problems to be found following the textbook formulas. I found an easier way to get to the same result, and she gave me a motherfucking D. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd seen that letter on a test.
If Carlisle saw it… I shuddered, planning to seek her out and coerce her into changing her mind. Bitch hated me for the simple fact that I was breathing. The feeling was very much mutual.
But back to Black clapping Emmett's back, right before Hale flung herself at him, hugging him tightly. Hugging Black, that is.
I saw red when I realized what he'd done. It wasn't difficult to read between the lines. Hale had wanted on the team for ages.
I got up violently, making my chair topple over. That decision had to be run by me. Sure, it was Black's decision ultimately, but I had a say in it. And I didn't want a chick on the team. If he didn't change his mind, I'd make sure to slam a ball into her pretty face. Emmett could hate me forever, but it seemed I was the only one thinking with the head on my shoulders around here.
"What the fuck, dude?" I shouted, approaching them.
Black met my eyes, lifting a brow. I wasn't going to drop my voice or try to be respectful when he'd clearly lost his mind.
"Coach just accepted Rosie on the team," Emmett said in a surprised voice.
He'd been a fervent supporter of mine and Black's decision not to accept her on the team. Him, I could understand why he was bursting with joy. But Black? What the fuck.
"Ms. Hale is going to join us at practice later today…and for the rest of the week. If I see she's not a good fit, she promised no hard feelings." Black smiled warmly at her, and she smiled back. This was a parallel universe. "I'd have told you about my decision to find a replacement for Scott, but I've barely seen you in the past week, Cullen."
I glared at him, my eyes sliding to Swan, who was staring at me curiously. She busied with drinking from her portable bottle. She teased me endlessly with that thing in class whenever she drank from it. I wanted to shove it down her throat.
"Whatever," I muttered, grabbing Emmett's sleeve and dragging him after me.
Of course, Hale sat in the chair next to Emmett. Every other guy at the table turned to leer at her. Emmett wrapped an arm around her shoulders, showing them she was now his.
"When were you going to tell me about this? Did you go to Black and beg him to put her on the team?" I spat.
Emmett shot me a surprised look. "No, man! I'm just as shocked as you are."
I turned to Hale. She met my eyes, not one to be afraid of a little heat. I was afraid of how good she'd be in court. "Did you try kissing Black's ass for this position?"
"Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?" Emmett shoved my shoulder.
I grabbed my food and left the room. Luckily, it was overcast outside, so I ate at one of the wooden tables. The chill in the air reminded me it was early March, still too cold to go outside without a jacket. I ate quickly, barely tasting the food, as I tried to calm myself.
Deep down, I knew the reason I was a ticking bomb was Swan. In only one week, she'd fucked up my perfect life.
I couldn't stop thinking of her.
Everything upset me.
The only reason I'd ever wanted to punch Coach before was that he pushed me until I was ready to puke my guts out in his gymnasium. Now, I wanted to punch him for having her attention.
When I had her attention in class, I was an ass to her. She was professional, though, and never stooped to my level or even tried to give me detention.
Fuck…Detention.
That was the reason I was anxious as fuck.
If I were alone with her in that classroom, I was likely to do something stupid. I tried to imagine it.
She'd be sweaty from working with the plants, her hands would be dirty, and she'd touch her face. I'd offer to clean the smudge. I'd take her right there on the floor. Then she'd tell Whitlock, and I would be locked up for forcing myself on a teacher.
I managed to arrive five minutes late to class, getting too much inside my head about how detention would go.
"Sorry," I mumbled, stepping into the room. I actually meant it, for once.
Swan was too shocked to chide me.
We'd finished with flower reproduction on Friday, but I hadn't realized what that meant until she told us about the important chapter we were about to start. It was going to cover the better part of next month, human reproduction.
If I didn't want to follow in Carlisle's footsteps as badly as I did, I'd go right to Ms. Cope and tell her to take me out of this purgatory that AP Biology had become.
Newton catcalled because he had the maturity level of a turnip. He was in this class only to get enough credits to pass the year.
"Maybe now you'll know which hole to sink your cock in," I sneered, looking at him over my shoulder. If the rumors were correct, Jessica Stanley, a new girl in our year, had been in tears after a night with the idiot who'd tried to fuck her in the wrong hole.
"Mr. Cullen!" Swan's indignant voice spat from above me.
I spun around to face her, meeting her chocolate pools. She blinked once, taking a step back.
"If any of you decide to act like a ten-year-old, please leave the room. I'd like to teach mature people."
"Then go teach college students," I retorted.
I was pushing my luck, but I already had detention. What was the worst that could happen?
She slapped a palm on my desk, her red nails a few inches away from my arm, making the hair stand up as if being electrified. "You're staying after class."
I clenched my jaw. "Sure. You tell Coach why I'll be late to gym."
Her fingers made a claw as if she wanted to grab my arm and throw me in the hallway. She wouldn't be the first teacher to kick me out of her classroom. Denali took sadistic pleasure in getting her claws on me and escorting me to Whitlock every given chance. She probably got off on it, that frigid bitch.
Swan returned to her desk, leaning against it. "As I was saying…" She continued running us through what she planned on covering for the following month.
I didn't pay attention.
She was wearing a blue wrap dress with a deep neckline, but her long, brown curls obscured the view. The dress reached her knees, but it was the sexiest thing she'd worn so far. Her short boots clicked loudly on the wood floors as she walked between us.
Swan loved walking around the classroom as she spoke. I preferred her leaning against her desk in front of me, allowing me to ogle her delectable body.
As if we were a bunch of children who had no knowledge of the human anatomy, she told us to name parts of our body, reproductive parts. It hadn't been difficult to understand Swan wanted all of us to interact in her class. Not many teachers bothered to make sure all of us got what they said.
She pointed out people, and they had to name a part of the opposite sex's reproductive organs.
I wanted to bang my head against the desk when I heard Newton's answer: pussy.
"In a less vulgar term, Michael is referring to the vagina," Swan explained as if we hadn't understood the term.
Her delicate floral scent overwhelmed my senses as she approached my desk. She stopped next to me, the heat from her hip so close to my shoulder.
"Angela?" she said softly.
I made the mistake of turning in my chair, curious what prim and proper Weber had to say. This was out of her comfort zone.
My eyes were inches away from Swan's boobs. I barely registered Weber stammering out the word, testicles. Swan praised her, commenting on the importance of that part of the male's body. She pointed to Hale while I slowly returned to facing the front of the room. I swallowed thickly, feeling warm all over.
"Are you all right?" Swan's small hand touched my shoulder. Her brown eyes held concern.
No. I'm going to bust a nut because of you. "Yeah," I croaked.
She nodded, dropping her hand. "Your turn," she said, walking to her desk.
"Labium minora," I said in a rough voice. I tried not to imagine myself licking at her labia. She'd be spread on her desk with my head between her legs.
I jerked in my chair when she tripped…on what, I had no clue. Her eyes met mine for a heated moment as she found balance with a hand on her desk. It left me reeling. My cock jumped at the attention, and the coil deep in my stomach made me feel like I was running a fever.
"Actually, I'm not feeling well," I said, getting up. I hoped she couldn't see the outline of my hard dick in my jeans.
"You can use the restroom," she said quietly, sitting in her chair, crossing her legs.
The hem of her dress lifted so high I could see her toned thighs. I hightailed it from the classroom, running to the closest restroom.
Get a fucking grip, I mentally shouted at my reflection.
She's a teacher!
She's also fucking hot.
After washing my face and thinking of Emmett going down on Hale, I returned to the classroom. There were still several minutes left, and Swan wanted me there when class let out. And I still had to talk to her about detention.
The rest of the class, I kept my eyes out the window, barely paying attention to a word she said, as I clicked my pen. I was vaguely aware of the bell ringing, but I didn't make an effort to move or look away.
The pen disappeared from my hand, making me turn to break the fucker's hand who decided to take it.
Swan was standing next to me. I noticed the room was empty. She brought the pen to my ear and started clicking it.
"Do you like it?" she asked sweetly. She was the devil, I decided.
"Not particularly." I made to snatch it back, but she held it out of my reach.
"Then stop it. It's the most annoying sound in the world, next to chalk scratching the blackboard."
I shuddered because that shit made my ears bleed just imagining the sound. "Fine. I won't do it again. It's a habit." I rolled my eyes.
"Good." Her hands rested on the top of my desk, looking at me seriously. "I don't care what sort of relationship you have with the other students in this classroom, but you're going to stop picking on them."
"Anything else?" I gritted out. She was getting on my nerves.
She leaned closer, giving me a perfect view of her right boob. So round and smooth. Her bra was white and lacey. I was going to hell.
"You're going to drop this attitude in my classroom, Mr. Cullen. I won't tolerate it."
She wasn't the first one to try and tame me. They all gave up eventually, but I had a feeling she'd die trying.
I leaned back, away from her inviting floral scent and the side boob. Our eyes met, and that heated look we'd shared earlier seemed to return full-force. I wet my suddenly parched lips.
"Did Whitlock mention I have detention with you?"
"Oh, right," she said breathlessly, returning to her desk.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"What day works best for you? I know you have practice, and I'd hate to overlap your detention with that."
Huh. She was the first to take into consideration the well-being of the team. "I'll have to run it by Coach. Can I answer tomorrow?"
"Of course. We'll get several bags of soil and new pots by the end of the week."
"Okay." I gathered my things, ready to leave the room, but an unknown force pulled me to her desk.
She was drinking from that tantalizing bottle of hers. Her eyes met mine above the bottle's bottom.
Before I could do anything stupid and shove that bottle away, taking her right there, I heard Black's loud voice from the doorway.
"When Rosalie told me you were held back in Biology, I thought you got detention." His voice betrayed the surprise in his dark eyes.
"Of course, Rosalie, your new snitch." I rolled my eyes. "And another detention? On top of the one you got me in?" I sneered, walking to him.
"We were just discussing his detention. He's going to do it with me. The detention that is." I tried not to laugh at how flustered Swan sounded. "I'm sorry for keeping him from your class, Jake."
"Speaking of," I said loudly. "Since we're all here, let's discuss when we don't have practice, so I know which afternoon I have free to help Ms. Swan."
"I'm this close from kicking your ass off the team," Black barked, showing me his forefinger and thumb so close together, almost glued to each other.
"Sorry, Coach," I mumbled. "Look, I'll try not to whine too much about Hale."
"And stop getting in trouble. And stop smoking. And stop ditching my class."
I looked up, glaring at the ceiling.
"He's all yours on Friday, Bella." Black steered me out of the classroom, all the way to the gym, talking my ear off.
Friday.
At least, I knew the day everything would go to shit.
I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this chapter and your theories about what might happen in the future.
This story is fully pre-written and there will be regular Sunday updates until it's completed. I'm currently working on the sequel. =)
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