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Chapter 5
"What did you just ask me?" my head had whipped around towards the tenured voice coming from the left of me in the hallway. I squint at Edward as he massages the back of his neck. This motion struck me as odd, and I couldn't figure out why it did.
"I was just wondering...ah. I noticed your truck was..older." He paused, as if to give me an opening to defend the state of my truck. I almost took it, but was more eager for him to continue. So I waited. "...Anyway, I was just making sure..do you need a ride to Port Angeles? For the.. Supplies?" I blinked a few times, processing again.
"I'm sorry, did we skip a few chapters?' I'm squinting again, "Are we friends, suddenly?" I cock my head to one side. "You want to give me a ride?" I clarify. Both of Edward's hands are behind his head now, seemingly exasperated. It hit me then, why I found the motion so strange. It was so human. There was a momentary wisp of triumph at finally unraveling this one small thing I found strange, that was almost instantly crushed when I realized thinking of one of his actions as human shouldn't be strange at all.
"I wouldn't go that far," He has the audacity to bark a laugh, "Think of it….as a thank you." he looks around as he says this, voice lowering to a level that was starting to seem as if he reserved it specifically for me. He takes the smallest steps closer to me, his eyes meeting mine, still dark. "For your..discretion." His eyes flick towards a spot behind me and back to mine, and I turn to look at what he saw. The gorgeous blonde girl, Rosalie, is in his former line of sight. She isn't looking at us but I get the sneaking suspicion that she had been.
There's a beat of motionlessness before she looks towards her large, smiling boyfriend and takes his hand, moving to turn a corner. I'm lost in my own head, straining to watch them go as the mismatched puzzle pieces are mashing themselves together mercilessly in my mind. I almost forget Edward is standing there until his hand is on my elbow to turn me back towards him. "So what-" he's saying as I turn back, but I let out a gasp when his fingers make contact with my exposed skin. They're cold. His hand is not just cold like the snow outside, but more like...an absence of warmth. He nearly jerks it away at the sound of my sudden inhale.
"I'm sorry," he says. "I shouldn't have touched you. I'm not sure what I was thinking."
He looked frustrated, as if chastising himself internally.
"It's okay." I say. We stare at each other awkwardly before I remember he'd asked me a question. "Oh..Jessica and Angela are picking me up. So I don't need a ride." There is yet another pause before Edward nods his head, carefully, as if we both might turn to dust at a moment's notice.
"Good," he states finally, "I'm glad you're going with friends." he emphasizes the last word with actual humor, impossibly white teeth glinting.
"Speaking of friendship, ole buddy, ole pal," i'm smiling now, too, "Next time Eddie boy and the gang decide to give me the cold shoulder for no apparent reason, could you warn a girl?" I'd verbally tripped over the word "cold," and it had not gone unnoticed, Edward's teeth disappearing again for a moment. He's smiling again by the end of my sentence, and he bows his head playfully.
"I promise to try." He says, and uses it as his goodbye, leaving me there as the bell rings for the first class of the day.