I trudged through the halls of the school, the laughter and chatter floating past me faded, as though deflected off of a invisible barrier surrounding me. The teachers' voices in all of my classes had been shrunk to a droning babble, as plain and monotone as the white school walls caging me in.
Without looking up once, I went to sit at the Cullen's old table in the lunchroom. I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes, just for a moment. I was exhausted from my lack of sleep, but nothing I did seemed to help. I didn't suppose, though, that I was putting enough effort into my health to be able to expect results.
Eventually, the words echoing across the lunchroom faded into white noise, and I was able to relax into a somewhat restful state. I felt someone besides me, though, so I looked up, pushing my hair out of my face, and saw Edward. My breath caught in my throat, and I blinked a few times and let the air rush out in a gush. I hadn't ever seen him at school.
He looked almost exactly like he used to when at school. His face somewhat guarded, but still touched with hints of amusement as he enjoyed the carefree environment that school provided to his normally onerous life. It wasn't quite right, though, because now, he didn't fit. Of course, the Cullens had never fit in. They just didn't possess the ability to belong to this environment. However, back then, they could at least give off the appearance. They could keep up with the pretenses. But now, my illusion of Edward couldn't even give off a single breath of belonging.
I didn't say anything, and neither did he. We simply stared at each other, being held up through the other's presence. Eventually, my absorbed reverie was disturbed as people swarmed around the cafeteria, throwing away trash and pushing past each other to exit the cafeteria. The bell must have rung, signaling the end of the lunch period. I looked back to Edward, scared he would use this excuse to leave as well, through the same doors my classmates walked through, yet into someplace completely different. He was still there, though, watching me just like before. I wished that I could have stayed there for the rest of the day with him, and I had made no move to get up, but then I saw a few lingering students casting me weird looks. Mike was among them, and he looked as though he was thinking of coming over to me to help me up, so I got up to leave without another moment of thought.
I didn't dare look back as I left, but as I walked down the hallway, I noticed someone familiar keeping pace right beside me. Edward had stayed. We arrived at my classroom, and though I had expected him to stop outside, he diligently followed me in, seating himself at the seat besides mine, the one that people kept vacant. It occurred to me just then that people now evaded me the same way they used to Edward.
Again, Edward looked nowhere close to right. Instead of looking prepared for class, he continued to stare at me as though we were alone, his golden eyes scorching through mine. I supposed that I didn't look quite right as well, because I kept my eyes on him all class too. No one chose to say anything.
He stayed with me the rest of the day, and we whiled away the hours in silence. I didn't risk touching him. When the final bell rang, signaling the end of the last period, everyone else rushed to leave the room, ready to get started on whatever plans they had for the evening. I, however, stalled at the back of the crowd, not sure if I wanted to leave. Would Edward follow me home, too? Or had he only been planning to be with me for the day at school? He stuck by my side as we walked through the halls, but when we reached the doors of the building my feet faltered.
It was raining outside; droplets of water streaked down the windows of the doors, and I could see them disturbing the puddles on the cracked pavement with ripples. I turned my head to watch Edward as we exited the building, but he faded away at once, as though the rain had swiftly melted him away. I looked down, as though I was expecting to see him reflected back at me in the puddles at my feet, but he was nowhere to be seen. I walked on, letting the afternoon downpour hide the solitary tear falling down my cheek.