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Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Edward or Bella... any of the characters, really... not even the dirt on the silver Volvo... but I like to play with them a little bit...
So, this is the beta-ed version... Thanks a million to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight for helping me with this story!
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Chapter 6: Spanish extravaganza and Artistic Minds
BPOV
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Suddenly, time seemed to fly and I had been in Forks for almost a month. It was really funny that I didn't think I would fit in at this school. However, time with the Cullens and the Hales seemed to fly. I was always laughing, or being sarcastic with them, or marveling about something.
I was pretty close with all of them, and I was glad. I didn't want to be the weird new girl that couldn't make any friends. Alice made me laugh and want to punch her at the same time, most days. She always had some input about my clothes and sometimes I didn't want to hear it. She was an awesome friend, though, and I was glad she was by my side. Jasper was also pretty cool to hang out with. He had a new nickname for me every time I saw him, and most of them were actually pretty funny—but not if you ask Edward or Rosalie. Emmett was a huge teddy bear, unless you got on his bad side or his family's, because then he was a huge grizzly bear. Rosalie was quiet but she didn't take BS from anyone.
And then there was Edward. Shy, compassionate, talented, mysterious Edward. I honestly wanted to solve his mystery. To understand him. Thankfully, he didn't need oxygen more than twice at school in this month, which was a relief. And I think Alice's "warning" got through Newton's thick head because he didn't molest Edward anymore. I don't know why, but I was closer to Edward than anyone else. Maybe because I didn't like attention just like I could tell he didn't either, maybe because he was always there with a shy smile to make me feel secure. Maybe because he always let me see his drawings before anyone else and he helped me with art class because I suck, no way around it! Maybe because he was an enigma to me and I wanted to be inside that protected bubble he cast upon himself and see him in all his glory. That rose drawing from the first day was placed in my room and I smiled every time I saw it.
The day went by faster than I thought possible and suddenly, we were in lunch and Emmett was telling a story about his Spanish class that had us all crying from laughter.
"And then Señora Goff asked me if I wanted to say something on the matter. Let's face it, everyone was already laughing because he said shit and didn't realize it, and then I went and added ¿Puedo ir al baño, por favor? Señora Goff was so mad, I thought she was gonna throw the eraser at the first one that tried to speak again."
"I don't know how, but Emmett manages to destroy every Spanish class, I'm telling you. It's ridiculous," Jasper added between peals of laughter.
"Damn, why am I not in your class, Emmett?" I asked, trying to control my breathing. We were so immersed in his story that we didn't hear anyone get close to us.
"Oh, look at all of you. Are you sure you're cleared to laugh like that, Firecracker?" Newton's whine stopped our laughter short and we all turned to look at him. "That's what I thought. You should be careful, or you could break, Firecracker." He had a smirk on his face—a smirk I wouldn't mind wiping off!
"Are you here for something, Newton? Or you don't have anyone else to annoy with your presence and you must infect our lunch with it?" Alice said with a sneer. Jasper put his hand on her shoulder to stop her for getting in Newton's face again.
"Oh, Half-Pint. You should be careful. I heard Dr. and Mrs. Cullen don't want you getting all tomboy at school and if you lift a finger, they will ground you for sure. You wanna risk it?" Alice scowled at his words.
"She might not be able to do it, Pineapple-Pear, but I can. I'm tired of you messing with my friends," Jasper growled, and Rosalie looked at him in shock.
"Jazz," she called, but he didn't seem to listen.
"I don't care if I get in trouble, but if you keep annoying my friends, especially Edward, I'll rearrange your face in a painful way. Got it?"
"Aw, come on, Jazz. I thought you were after Alice... or do you have a thing for twins?" Jasper jumped from the table but I stopped him.
"Okay, that's enough. I don't give a damn if you're too pea-brained to understand that we don't care about you or your stupid little game. You need to stop annoying the hell out of us. You keep molesting us and it's getting old. Get a life." I turned to the table again when I heard his voice.
"It's good that you're so buddy-buddy with the Cullens. I assume they told you why they had to move here, huh? Since you're all good friends?" I stayed quiet because I actually didn't know. Edward looked down and Alice avoided my eyes. "Yeah, maybe you should ask the freaky twins why they had to move here with their Aunt and Uncle a couple of years back. Ask them what happened to their parents." I looked at Edward and he didn't meet my eyes. "You don't know, do you? Aw, Bella. You're so naïve." He patted my cheek and I swatted his arm away. He left with a smirk and the bell rang.
Edward and Alice didn't say a thing. They just picked up their stuff and left. I quickly gathered my stuff and went to follow Edward when a hand on my arm made me stop.
"It's not like Newton said. There's an explanation, I promise, Bella," Emmett said with a somber look on his face.
"I don't care what Newton, or anyone, says, Emmett. I want to know if my friends are okay."
I left him there and sprinted to the Biology lab, not breaking any body parts in the process. Coach Clapp should be proud. I caught Edward as he was about to go inside the lab.
"Edward, wait!" He looked at me, but avoided my eyes. "I don't care about whatever bullshit was coming out of Newton's trap. Really. I don't give a damn. You and Alice are my friends. I don't care what anyone has to say on the matter… really."
"You shouldn't be our friend, Bella. Mike was right, you don't know the whole truth about us," he whispered with a cough.
"What the hell?"
"Mr. Cullen. Miss Swan. You better get to your class or I'll have to take you to the principal's office with me," Señora Goff told us when she was checking the hallways. Edward turned around and entered the lab.
I sighed. What the hell did he mean by that? I didn't get what had happened between laughing with Emmett and this point. I wanted to turn around, find Newton, and break his nose. I got to my table just as Mr. Banner started to speak.
"Well, today we're gonna start with your special project for this semester. It's half your grade, so you'll have to impress me. You'll also work in pairs, so look to your partner at your tables." A few groans were heard. "Give it a rest. Now, you'll have to pick a topic and bring it to me for next Monday. Today being a Friday means you'll have all weekend to plan your topics and I suggest you bring more than one just in case. You have the rest of the class to discuss it while I finish grading your latest assignment."
Thank you, Mr. Banner. You just gave me a reason to spend more time with Edward and break down his wall.
I turned around to watch him and he had his head on his arms on top of the table. He was trembling lightly and I didn't know what was going on. "Uh, Edward. Are you okay?"
He looked at me with his head still in the same position and started coughing. Oh, that was the trembling. He was suppressing his coughs. "Yeah… I think."
"Well, I know we're supposed to discuss our project. But honestly, I don't know where to start." Maybe by letting him speak, Bella. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Uh… well, I know it must be something cool, so, maybe we could ask my dad about it. See if he can give us some pointers," he whispered with a raspy voice. I got a water bottle out of my bag and gave it to him. "Thanks."
"Okay, then, you could ask your dad and send me a text to let me know?"
"Why don't you come to my house tomorrow? I mean, it would be easier." I stared at him to see if he was sure. "Only if you want to, of course."
"Are they gonna be okay that I invade their place?"
"You're talking like you're the plague, Bella." He smiled shyly and I returned it.
"Okay, then I'll go to your place tomorrow at…"
"11-ish?" he said, and I smiled. That was it. I was going to go to Edward's place tomorrow.
We kept up the small talk all the way to art class. I groaned when I saw the notebooks and all the crazy art supplies at every table. Our teacher, Miss Sue, was waiting for everyone with a smile. I looked at Edward with a pout and he laughed. It was small and it ended with a cough, but it was a nice laugh, nonetheless.
"Okay, guys. Let's start with this so you can have a nice afternoon at home relaxing before the weekend." I groaned again. "In front of you, there is everything you need to be able to express your creativity. Let it flow. Show me whatever you wanna show me. Unleash it all on the paper. I'll see them as soon as you're all finished."
Edward and everyone else went straight for the papers and started. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was thinking that, if I gave my teacher a drawing of stick figures, she would probably return me to preschool to enhance my art genes. Not going to happen in this lifetime. I looked at the crayons on my desk. There were a lot of different tones of colors. I started to look at the green shades of crayons and grabbed one. This is exactly like Edward's eyes. I took all the shades of green and started making lines on my paper.
Honestly, I didn't know what I was doing, exactly. I just wanted to replicate as best as I could Edward's eye color on the paper. He has a ring of gold close to the pupils. I started to use a lot of colors and then suddenly I felt someone next to me and Miss Sue was looking at me with a smile. "That's a nice abstract design, Bella. Great job blending the shades of green." I blushed. Abstract? That's one way of calling something that has no purpose, artistic. "What's that supposed to be, by the way?"
Edward was listening when she asked and I wasn't about to say I wanted to get his eye color right. Shameful, Bella. It's probably the one time the art teacher is gonna give you a compliment and you can't say your real inspiration. Think! "Uh… everything is green in Forks. I didn't have anything set in my mind. I was thinking that I'm starting to like the color." I looked at Edward and smiled. He returned it while giving me a thumbs up.
"Well, you did a great job, Bella. I'm proud." Miss Sue then went to check on Edward and gasped. "What do we have here?"
Edward blushed. "I was just thinking about my friends and things that remind me of them. So…"
"This is so amazing. Congratulations, Edward." She moved along and I was curious. Edward always let me see his drawings, but for some reason, he didn't let me see this one immediately.
"What did you draw, Picasso?"
"Hey, you did the abstract thing, you should be Picasso," he replied with a smile.
"Okay, Da Vinci. So, you gonna show me or not?" He shuffled his paper around and I smiled. "Come on, my hands are clean, and I won't damage it. I promise." He clutched the sketchbook closer to him and I sighed when the bell rang. "Look, you don't have to show me if you don't want to."
"I want to show you, but, if it's awful, don't be mad, okay?"
I scoffed and then grabbed the book he was giving me. I gasped, I couldn't help it. There on the page was Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, Alice, and I. All different and all amazing. Emmett was sitting with a controller in his hand and different sport stuff beside him. Jasper was sitting on a motorcycle with huge earphones and a smile on his face. Alice had a closet full of clothing and was showing off a dress in the mirror. Rosalie had a car beside her and everything else was covered in flowers. And me, I was sitting in a park, under a tree, with a book open in my hands. Different books were by my side, and I could read the titles. Bronte, Austen, Hemingway, Allende…
It was like his special way of him drawing our souls. I couldn't help but be mesmerized by his art. It was amazing. "This is unbelievable, Edward." He was blushing and I didn't want to push it. "You should show it to the guys. It's really cool, you know."
I walked with him to the parking lot, hearing Jasper call him Prismacolor. Don't ask… I don't even have an answer about that. Edward waved at me, reminding me that we had a study-date tomorrow and I couldn't wait.
I was gonna spend my Saturday with Edward Cullen. Can I squeal in my head? I think I can!
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*Puedo ir al baño, por favor? ~ May I use the bathroom, please?
AN: Well, here's the new chapter. And I wanted to ask you guys. Next chapter is going to be about their weekend and I wanted to know if you want to see it from Bella's POV or Edward's. It's going to be so interesting from both sides, and I have both POV outlined, but I want to hear from you guys…
Again, thanks for all the support and the tips to improve my writing, it means a lot.
Hopefully, the new chapter will be ready next week!
See ya soon!
AYEN!
