Chapter 4

So I asked around. Just because I hadn't caught Edward in whatever the act was didn't mean that no one else had seen him do it.

But then again, as I questioned everyone throughout my classes, it turns out no one saw him do anything. Or, actually rephrase that, no one saw HIM.

It didn't seem that strange to me when the first couple of people mentioned that they hadn't been watching Edward, hadn't even noticed he was there. But when everyone I asked had no memory of seeing Edward by his car that morning I started to get suspicious.

The car had been headed straight towards him, even if people hadn't noticed him to begin with, wouldn't their eyes have been drawn to the potential victim? Wouldn't they have then seen him do whatever he did to avoid being hit?

I kept asking, hoping I'd run into the one person who had seen what I hadn't. But then at lunch Jessica interrupted my questioning of a guy named Billy who sat with us with a, "some of us just aren't as obsessed with Edward Cullen as you are, Bella," and I shut down.

Yeah, ok, I was bordering on obsessive. But not with Edward, with what Edward DID. There was a huge difference.

When I made it to Biology I was pissed. This was one of those things that was going to bug me until I figured it out. It couldn't be that hard, the answer was there somewhere. I glared at the board until Edward sat down.

"So, what, are you like paying people off not to let on that they know what you did?"

He lifted his eyebrow in that annoyed expression I was beginning to loath. "Have you been tested?"

"I'm serious, how is it that out of everyone in this entire school, I'm the only one who noticed you standing by your car this morning?"

He smirked. "I don't know, Bella, why were you ogling me?"

I glared at him. "So why aren't you dead?"

He made tsking noises at me. "Now, now, Bella, it's not nice to ask people why they're living."

I just kept looking at him and he seemed to register my stubbornness. "I saw it coming. I dove out of the way. I crawled farther away. That's it, why can't you accept that?"

I held up my hand and counted the reasons on my fingers. "You didn't have the time to do that, it was slippery, you look guilty, and no one saw you which seems weird."

He raised his eyebrows. "I did have time, the slick surface helped me slide faster away, I'm not guilty, and people don't care what I do."

I frowned.

He smirked. "But then again, stupidity is to be expected in a girl who can't figure out biology which is, you know, the STUDY OF YOUR OWN BODY."

I made a face. "Like my future is riding on my knowing what a chromartin is."

"Well, the fact that you don't even know it's called a CHROMATIN kind of underlines what I'm saying."

I made a face, then I turned back to the board. Fine, he wasn't going to tell me the truth so I would stop raving around like a crazy person. But I would remember and I wouldn't let it go. Our argument played through my mind over and over again, fueling my steady anger.

"Bella," Edward's hands covered his face. "Come on, let it go."

I refused to acknowledge him.

"Seriously? You're really going to pretend like I'm not even here?" He waited a moment. "Fine, have fun failing the quiz tomorrow because there's no way I'm letting you cheat off of me anymore."

My grades were so good because of my cheating in this class one bad quiz grade was not enough to scare me. And, if worse came to worse, I was not above studying.

And so we sat, not talking for the rest of the period. Edward with his head in his hands and me with my jaw stubbornly set. We sat that way the next day too, and the next, and the next, and on and on.

Pretty soon it just became instinct that this person next to me was to be avoided. The only problem was that with each day we sat in determined silence, my grade in the class dropped. The labs were the only thing keeping me afloat because they were group work and Edward refused to let me even look at the worksheets. I tried studying, but it never clicked. Each time I thought I understood it, it would turn out I was wrong.

But the days continued to pass. My first article was published in the school newspaper (the South vs. the North) and I became entranced in a new style of photo that involved placing everyday objects in places they usually wouldn't be found.

I had sent Jack my measly stack of twenty pictures at the end of January, but he never texted me or tried to talk to me about them so I didn't know what he thought of them. It was as I was wrapping up my February batch (a whopping 50) to bring to the post office that my phone went off.

Jack.

It was now the 26th of February, why did he wait so long?

I thought about ignoring him, but then again my current task was shipping pictures off for him, so either way I was screwed.

I thought you hated photo shop

I stared at it for a good five minutes. I did hate photo shop, the way it wasn't REAL pictures, but why was he bringing that up?

WTF? What are you talking about?

The eyes

Edward. I cringed, I had forgotten about that picture. Now I had asshole eyes in my portfolio.

Not photo shopped…really purple

O cool…new friend?

New enemy…I miss you guys

There was no reply.

After a couple minutes, I put on my coat and gloves and jumped into my truck.

"Way to go 35 on a 45 mile road!" I yelled at the car in front of me while my windows were rolled up. Finally the turnoff for the post office approached and I gave a sigh of frustration.

As soon as I had sent the package off, I pulled out my phone. Still nothing.

Just sent you some more you worthless piece of crap

The reply was immediate. Save the sweet talk for your new buddy

I grumbled the whole way home.

The year before, as we watched the signs go up for prom, my friends and I sneered at the juniors in line to buy tickets. Sure, juniors were technically allowed to go. But unless they were dating a senior it was just weird. Prom was an event for seniors to celebrate that they were leaving high school, juniors would be back in the same hell hole next year.

And so, laughing at the unwanted juniors, we all agreed that when we were juniors we would not go to prom. But we would do something else that night, all together.

But now, just without me.

The beginning of March couldn't have started any worse, all because of the stupid prom committee announcements. I wanted to stab a fork through my eye.

It was all anyone at my lunch table was talking about. Dates hadn't been formed yet but dress shopping, dinner, and the after party were already being planned. I focused on my food, trying to avoid eye contact while I daydreamed about what my friends back in Phoenix were probably planning.

"So, Bella, are you going to go?" Lauren asked me. A few heads turned my way, waiting for my response. "If you're asked, I mean." She clarified.

The feminist in me wanted to bark back, "right, because even though we're in the 21st century our feelings on whether or not we go to prom don't matter, because our happiness still is based off of what men want." But of course that would have been too hostile, even for me, so I held it back.

"No," I said with a small smile.

Everyone looked all confused. "Why not?"

"It's kind of stupid." I said, and then recognizing that I may have insulted them added, "Plus, I can't really dance."

Lauren smiled. "Then you're fine, no one dances anyway, we just grind."

As if I didn't know what happened at school dances. I had been to my fair share of homecomings in Phoenix and with a student body five times bigger than the one here I was positive I had way more experience in the dirty than anyone. Well, dirty dancing that is, not the dirty…well, you know.

"Yeah," I pretended to think about it. "But I might be out of town that day anyway. You know, going back to Phoenix."

Jessica raised her eyebrows and then slapped on a Grinch-like grin. "Phoenix, huh? This wouldn't have anything to do with a boy maybe? One who would take you to your old school's prom?"

I almost started laughing, embarrassed by the ridiculous idea that I might spend how much money on a plane ticket just on the off chance I could get asked by a guy to prom. But then I realized- this was my ticket out of this conversation. "Yep," I grinned, "am I that obvious?"

"Oh, sweetie," she pursed her lips. "that's so cute! Were you dating? Has he asked you already?"

If I was going to lie, might as well do it full force. "Yeah, we were dating for three years up until I left, and then I told him I knew long distance wasn't going to work and that if he wanted to he could move on. But he is just so amazing, he told me he would wait for me and I could fly out in the summer and for dances and then, when high school is over we can go to college together." I almost gagged. I sounded like one of those girls who believed a promise ring actually meant he loved you, not that he was sleeping around behind your back and didn't want you to get too curious.

"Oh my gosh, that is too sweet! Uh! You are so lucky!"

I smiled. And just like that the conversation turned away from me and to dress shopping. I sighed inwardly. As if I would go for some sap like that. Nope, I wanted a real manly-man. A guy who wasn't too good with words, but showed love through action. Strong and tall, but not beefy. Protective, just enough were I'd have to assert myself and show him I wasn't some little wimp at which point he would back down, secretly loving the fact that I could call the shots. And able to do everything I could. I mean if I have the knowledge of how to drive stick and use power tools, then as a guy he should know these things too. I didn't think it was that much to ask for.

"Bella?" Jessica waved a hand in front of me. "Do you want to come dress shopping with us?"

No. "Umm, sorry Jess, I already have mine."

She giggled. "Well then come help us find ours, come on, it'll be a girls night."

There were a thousand reasons not to go: these weren't the friends I wanted to go out with, we had nothing in common, I didn't give a crap about what they bought, and I really just wanted to be left alone. But this was all I had now and I had to accept that. My old friends were not just going to suddenly appear again, I had to make do with what was in front of me. So I slapped on a happy face and said, "Sure, why not?"

I made it to Biology numb, I didn't know what to feel, so many emotions were racing through me. I took my seat next to Edward and tried to look bored, which was easy because this was Biology.

"This is your test from Friday," the teacher announced, handing each graded test back to its owner. I hesitated to pick mine up. My grades had dropped so low since Edward had stopped letting me cheat that I knew the score was bound to be terrible. I lifted the corner. 56%, sadly not my worst.

I groaned and then involuntarily glance at Edward's. 100%, go figure.

I sighed and looked at him, but he wasn't looking at me. I was about to do something I was going to regret.

"Listen, Edward, this whole not talking thing really isn't working for me."

His eyebrow lifted but he remained unamused. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," here goes nothing, "how bad would it be-"

"-if I let you cheat off of me again?"

Yes. "No, that's not what I was going to say."

A little, tiny-tiny grin formed. "Really?"

"Edward, could you, umm…" Oh, how did I ever get to this point?

"Yeah?"

"Could you, maybe, if you have time, maybe umm, tutor me?"

His eyebrows shot higher that I'd ever seen them go before. "You want me to what?"

"Tutor me," I mumbled, "if you have time. It's just, you obviously know what you're doing and I don't. And I don't want to have to rely on cheating off of you anymore." Especially when you get all moody and stop letting me.

"You're nuts."

I glared at him. "Excuse me for actually trying for once!"

He seemed to consider my request, lips pinched and eyes thoughtful. "You're really being serious?"

I nodded.

He shook his head slightly. "I must be crazy but, yeah, I'll tutor you."

"Really?"

He laughed. "Sure. But I have to warn you, my schedule's kind of crazy so the days are going to be kind of random."

I nodded fast, "that's fine."

He shook his head again, looking at me, then put his head in his hands. "I must be nuts."

If he was so was I.