Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight. Enjoy.
I'd never realized how weird the Cullens were until I saw them all together, up close.
Wednesday at lunch time, I had cafeteria duty. Mrs. Prescott had called in sick and being new, the job fell into my new but apparently 'capable' hands. It involved sitting at a far table and monitoring student behavior, essentially on the lookout for students acting like idiots.
Thankfully free of student stupidity, the fifty-minute duty consisted primarily of people watching. Or, in this case, Cullen watching. As I sat at the far edge of an empty table, picking at my sandwich, I realized that not only were the Cullens incredibly beautiful but also that they didn't eat. Well, they gave the illusion that they were eating, but they didn't consume anything.
Maybe they were averse to cafeteria food. Or on a special diet? To be fair, I probably wouldn't eat the stuff served by the cafeteria either.
Their beauty was another thing entirely. They made every other teen look bland in comparison. I thought back to popular students in high school and college, and none of them held a candle to this group of students. Their appearance, although beautiful, could almost be described as unnatural. Realizing that my train of thought, if heard aloud, could be considered inappropriate, relief washed over me when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.
Jacob called on Thursday. Finishing up for the day, I juggled my belongings as I made my way to the teachers parking lot, trying to get my persistently vibrating cell out of my bag. Excitement flushed through my body as my eyes locked in on his name flashing on the screen. I took a breath trying to calm my excitement, hit answer and tucked the phone between the crook of my neck and ear.
"Hey. I've been waiting to hear from you." This wasn't a lie. I had been checking my phone on occasion wondering if Jacob would in fact call. Our interaction at dinner had been nice, and something I would be happy to do again. Jacob was nice. Jacob could make me happy. Jacob was only two years younger than me.
"Sorry, things have been crazy on the rez, I've been meaning to call." Jacob sounded tired. A yawn echoed through the speaker.
A comfortable silence fell between us, I looked around the lot, waiting for Jacob to say something. Edward standing next to his car caught my attention. I offered him a wave and he smiled back. His eyes were focused on something in the distance. Whipping my head around, I could see Alice and Jasper walking towards him.
"Bella, you still there?" Jacob's voice grounded me.
"Sorry, Jacob. I'm just a tad distracted trying to get into my car." I kept my eyes on Edward as I threw my belongings onto the passenger side and sat down. "Okay, I'm in the car. I'm listening."
"So do you want to do that hike this weekend? I'll take you to the meadow I mentioned at dinner?" He sounded hopeful.
"Jacob Black, are you asking me out on a date? An outdoorsy date?" my voice rose and fell in excitement. The echo through the cell speaker made me sound... girlish.
Jacob's laughter beamed through the phone and filled the cab of the truck. The sound made me feel warm inside. I smiled widely for the first time in a long time.
"Yeah, I guess I am..." I imagined Jacob's face as he said this. He sounded almost shy, like he was nervous too. I'd never heard Jacob sound that way, not even as an awkward teen.
"I'm in. I'd love to go with you." I nodded as I said this, offering Alice Cullen a smile as she waved at me through the glass, making her way to Edward's Volvo.
Jacob sighed into the phone. "Cool..." He was silent for a moment. "Ugh. Hey, I have to go. But I'll text you. I'll come to your place Saturday morning."
He ended the call and I sat in my truck grinning stupidly. I had a date on Saturday with Jacob Black. This was the perfect distraction from what had happened with Edward at the game. Jacob Black was a man. A man that was available, that I could have. Who wouldn't endanger not only my job, but entire career.
The next morning I eagerly waited for Angela to turn up to hall duty. I was bursting to tell her about Saturday. I smiled and waved to students as they walked through the halls and kept finding myself on my toes looking above students' heads to spot Angela. She knew the moment she saw my face. I laughed as she sprinted towards me.
"You have a date! I can see it all over your face! Tell me everything."
I shared the few details I had about Saturday as we attempted to look like we were monitoring student movement.
The bell rang and I shooed Angela away. I would wait until the halls cleared. I promised to message her Saturday night with the details. As the hall emptied only one student remained. Edward.
"Don't you have somewhere to be, Edward?" I asked as I walked towards him. He leaned against his locker, looking uncomfortable. His eyes were almost golden today.
He pulled at his hair. "I have a headache. I think I need the nurse."
Before I could even respond, he walked past me towards the nurse's office, not even giving me a second glance.
I understood Alice's comment from the first week of school. Edward's mood swings were giving me whiplash.
Author Note:
As always, a massive thank you to my beta team TheBaseBallGirl, Teaandsolitude & JennaReads. A particularly big shout out because the next chapter to be posted has required a lot of work, and they have been so helpful turning my gibberish into a story.
Apologies this is shorter than usual. Chapters will go back to their usual length as of Chapter 7 x