CHAPTER TWO

As lunch drew to a close, I purposefully waited for Bella to leave first. Rosalie and Alice were too busy teasing Jasper and Emmett over the loss of their snowball challenge due to the fact that it was now raining to even notice that I wasn't walking with them. I watched Bella enter the classroom and take her seat at the table that had once been mine and mine alone. From the doorway, I saw her pull out a pen and begin scribbling on the back of her notebook like any typical teenage girl. For a brief moment I considered her as just another normal human being. Whatever encouragement I felt was dashed when I tried to focus on her mind. Unsurprisingly, she was a void to me. Whatever she was thinking, the thoughts were closed to me.

But I could still smell her.

Mr. Banner, the biology teacher, was already passing out the tools we would need for the class. The bell would ring any minute. It was now or never. If I was going to participate in class, I had to sit next to her. Keeping my sense of smell in check by slowing my breathing, I made my way over to my seat and joined her at the table, making sure I was as far away from her as possible.

"Hello," I offered, wanting to make it clear to her that I wasn't angry and that I most certainly didn't hate her. More importantly, I wanted to make her forget my initial reaction to her. For reasons unknown to me, I didn't want her thinking poorly of me.

Her whole body shifted as she turned to look at me. Her breath hitched and I caught the scent of her in my nostrils. Dear God, her scent was delicious. So sweet. So tempting. Her eyes were so full of emotion. I felt as if I could get lost in the depths of those eyes. The only word that came to mind was…beautiful.

"My name is Edward Cullen," I started once I found my voice again. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

I internally scolded myself for the introduction. Humans normally shook hands when formally introduced, and the last thing I needed right now was an open invitation to touch her, regardless of the innocence behind the gesture. To my luck, she merely looked up at me as if she hadn't heard me correctly. Without being able to read her thoughts, I wasn't sure if she was confused or just annoyed with me.

"H-how do you know my name?" came the reply.

I laughed. Of all the things she could have asked me, this was not the question I expected. After all the lusty thoughts I overheard coming from every teenage male in this building last week, how could I not know her name? "Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."

She made a face, which left me awestruck, but again I couldn't place the meaning. It's been so very long since I've actually had to concentrate on just facial expressions for the meaning behind certain reactions that I found it impossible to understand her clearly.

"No," she said. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"

Again she caught me off guard. This whole idea of not knowing what question was coming next was really aggravating. "Do you prefer Isabella?" I asked, even though I had heard her friends referring to her with the shortened version of her name.

"No, I like Bella," she confirmed. "But I think Charlie — I mean my dad — must call me Isabella behind my back — that's what everyone here seems to know me as."

"oh" god I can be an idiot sometimes of course I wouldn't know that.
Saving me from embarrassment, the instructor began explaining the daily assignment of identifying slides of onion root tip cells in different phases of mitosis. I could do this assignment with my eyes closed I'd done it so many times, but as was the case in all my classes, I had to play along. Biology and history were the two classes I found it most difficult to sit through and pretend I was actually learning something. I'd lived through the last century, so both World Wars were common knowledge to me.

On those same lines, it would be impossible for anyone to live nearly a hundred years with Carlisle and not know the basics of biology. I was even more knowledgeable on the subject, having twice been through medical school to help supple Carlisle with current techniques and information. This time, however, pretending to be an ordinary student in a biology class meant I had to work closely with a human whose very scent captivated me beyond all reason. I forced a smile at her and asked, "Ladies first, partner?"

The look she gave me was so totally pensive I didn't quite know what to make of it. Maybe she wasn't comfortable going first? Maybe science was her worst subject?

"Or I could start, if you wish," I offered when she remained silent.

"No," she said, blushing so deeply that my eyes were transfixed to her face. "I'll go ahead."

I watched as she fitted the slide under the microscope. Her hands were so delicate. Her skin so pale - except for the pink tint still lingering on her cheeks. It was amazing to watch the color fade from her skin as she relaxed into the moment. Every move she made drew me into her more and more. It was riveting to watch her, and maddening at the same time.

She declared the slide to be prophase and started to remove it from its place. "Do you mind if I look?" I asked, and without even realizing what I was doing, I grabbed her hand with mine.

Heat. So warm. So enticing.

Glorious.

I quickly pulled my hand away from hers, suffering immediately from the loss of the sensation and wanting nothing more than to grab hold of her again and never let go. I would willingly burn up under her touch if she would let me. I had to keep my hands to myself. I couldn't allow myself to touch her again, no matter how small the contact.

Trying to act casually about the contact, I looked at the slide and found that she was right. I switched to the second slide and knew right away that it was anaphase. She wanted to check my work, which made me feel slightly challenged that she would doubt my ability. It wasn't often that a human challenged me so directly, and I was surprised to find that I rather liked the idea of Bella contesting my knowledge.

When she asked for the third slide, I carefully placed it in the palm of her hand, avoiding another chance of contact with the heat of her skin. We worked this way, back and forth, through all five slides and finished long before any of the other tables. I glanced at the clock, worried about what we would do for the remainder of the class.

My eyes were drawn to her again, taking note of how uncomfortable she looked sitting next to me in silence. I was so pleasantly surprised at her aptitude. She hadn't missed a single answer, nor had she taken much time to consider her answers. There had to be more intelligence to her than the other humans she was growing close to. If only her mind was open to me, I could see just how intelligent she was. I would hear what she thought about me. I would know what to say to her to make her feel more at ease.

But she shouldn't be at ease around me. It would be too dangerous for her to ever feel comfortable around me.

Her captivating eyes met mine questioningly. "Did you get contacts?"

The randomness of her query left me dazed. "No."

"Oh, I thought there was something different about your eyes."

Instantly I looked away from her. How had she noticed something like that? And how dare she ask me about it? No human had ever noticed such details and lived to comment about it, especially a human from whom I so desperately craved to drink. I wasn't thirsty in the slightest and yet I knew could drink from her until every last drop of blood was consumed. Was it possible that at some base level she had grown aware of my unspeakable desires towards her? Is that why she was so observant about my eye color?

The instructor came to our table and checked over our work. I could hear his thoughts right away and knew he actually assumed I completed the lab without Bella's aid. Wanting to give credit where credit was due, I explained that she had done more of the identification than I had. To my surprise, Bella admitted that she had done the lab once before but with another set of slides. In an age where most humans would have passed the ease of the assignment off on their personal brilliance, I was left speechless by her honesty.

When the teacher walked away, Bella went back to scribbling on her notebook. I didn't know how I would manage to get through another five minutes in silence sitting next to her without my ability to hear her thoughts. The only minds I heard were those of the other students as they tried to figure out the phases on the slides. Dull. Mind-numbing. I needed a distraction from the tediousness of the room — from the power of her scent.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" I asked in my most casual and friendly voice.

She peeked at me from the corner of her eyes. "Not really."

Of course she wouldn't be disappointed about the melted snow. "You don't like the cold," I stated, remembering clearly how she avoided joining in on the snowball fight conversation at lunch.

"Or the wet," she added.

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live."

"You have no idea."

Her face twisted in the most beguiling way as she talked. It was so bizarre to hear the words tumble out of her mouth when I had no inclining of how her mind was working. Fascinating.

"Why did you come here, then?"

"It's…complicated."

"I think I can keep up," I said hoping that I could back that up. I couldn't remember the last conversation I had with anyone without the aid of hearing their mind as they spoke. Humans hardly ever said exactly what they were thinking. They censored so many of their thoughts it was pathetic.

She told me about her mother getting remarried last September. "And you don't like him," I concluded from the sadness I heard in her voice. But when she responded by explaining that her stepfather was young but fine, I was left with the ever-growing feeling of confusion. "Why didn't you stay with them?" I asked, curious to solve this little puzzle she had placed before me.

"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living."

Baseball. The information made me smile. "Have I heard of him?"

"Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."

That explained everything for me. "And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." Humans really could be unfeeling creatures.

She frowned at me and thrust her chin up in defiance. "No, she did not send me here. I sent myself."

Now, I was totally lost. Why would she willingly move here if she hated cold and wet when such a move wasn't necessary? "I don't understand."

She sighed and the scent of her sweet breath made my head spin. "She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy…so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie."

"But now you're unhappy," I said, noting the unmistakable slump in her shoulders and the way her voice dipped lower as she explained the situation.

"And?"

She was challenging me again. "That doesn't seem fair."

She laughed a cold laugh that I couldn't comprehend. Again her scent left me breathless. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair?"

"I believe I have heard that somewhere before."

"So that's all," she finished.

But it wasn't all. There was more to her…so much more that curiosity began to consume me. I needed to know more about this amazing human. I needed to get inside that mind and examine just how it worked. It was almost as powerful a need as my thirst for her blood. She was clearly miserable here. My eyes told me that much at least. Yet she seemed determined to pass off her feelings as insignificant and unimportant.

"You put on a good show," I said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."

She frowned again. Was she annoyed with me again or had I got it right?

"Am I wrong?" I asked after a moment.

She shifted away from me, ignoring me. She didn't want to talk, to oppose me. She hadn't kept quiet about anything I was wrong about all hour…until now. Which confirmed that I was right.

"I didn't think so," I said, feeling confident in my conclusion.

"Why does it matter to you?" she snapped without even meeting my eyes.

"That's a very good question," I said softly, admitting to her what I had been wondering myself. I didn't have a good answer for why I was so interested in her. Why was I so fascinated by the expressions of her face? Why did I continue to pester her to talk to me just so I could hear the tone of her voice? Craving her blood was one thing, but I had no real explanation for why I was so mesmerized by every other quality she possessed.

I heard her sigh, her hot breath snapping me out of my thoughts. I glanced at her and saw the most perplexing scowl planted firmly on her face. Dear God, her face was the most expressive face I had ever seen.

"Am I annoying you?"

"Not exactly," she said, shifting her bright eyes from the blackboard to look at me. "I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read — my mother always calls me her open book."

For a moment I was rendered speechless. "On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read."

"You must be a good reader then."

"Usually," I said with a smile. It didn't escape my notice that her eyes flickered to my teeth. I would have to be careful with that in the future when near her. Those we hunt for prey are usually very attracted to our mouths. It makes it easer for us to drink from them, should we desire to do so. Even though I had every intention of restraining my urges where Bella was concerned, she could still be considered my prey. I was certain in that instant that were I to ask her to follow me outside after class, she would willingly do so.

The teacher called for the class's attention and began his typical instruction. Thankfully, I already was familiar with the content of the lesson, for there was no way I could keep my mind on Mr. Banner with Bella Swan sitting next to me. It was a mistake to let my mind consider her my prey. My thoughts had drifted off on a treacherous course as I contemplate the many ways I could so effortlessly persuade the girl to let me have what I wanted. She flicked her hair and her fragrance fell over me, drugging me and tempting me to give in to my desire. I shifted as far away from her as was possible and longed for the end of the class.

An agonizing twenty minutes passed before the bell rang. I was out of my seat and rushing from the room as swiftly as I could without drawing too much attention to myself. Once I was a safe distance away from her, I let my eyes seek her out, curious to see her face one last time and try to measure her reaction to our time together.

The boy — Mike — was with her again. What a simpleton.

And then I heard my name in his mind.

Cullen sure looked cozy with you.

Yeah, why was he so weird last Monday? If I had you as a lab partner…all that time to talk…just me and you. I wouldn't sit at the far end of the table, I can tell you that! Someday I'll get my chance.

An unknown feeling swelled in my chest. I couldn't place it, but all I knew what that the idea of Bella spending time alone with that boy was something on which I did not look fondly. I was incensed by the intention behind his thoughts, consumed by the need to hide her away from the world so no one ever thought about her that way again.

No one but me.

I forced myself to attend my next class, but only the stars know what the lesson was on. My mind was most decidedly on the unheard of reaction I had to the possibility of Bella being alone with another man. Not just a man, but another man. A man who wasn't me. A man who didn't have her best intentions at heart. I couldn't very well say that my intentions towards her were exactly well founded, but at least I was doing everything in my power to behave civilly. Mike's intentions were obviously less than honorable, and given the lust I heard in his mind, he would do his best at seeing that wish come to fruition. I didn't like it. I didn't like it one bit.

But why did it even matter? That was what left me so perplexed. It wasn't as if I could have her. She was human…mortal…and I…would only hurt her. Still, I couldn't deny that I had never before been so caught up in another being — vampire or human. Quite simply, Bella Swan was amazing.

When the bell sounded, I headed out to my car to wait for my family. I stood outside the vehicle, even though it was raining. I didn't mind getting a little wet. It felt refreshing. Naturally, my eyes were instantly drawn to Bella when she exited the building. I couldn't even see all of her face, which was hidden under the hood of her coat, protecting her from the rain. She walked to an old, red pick up truck that I would have never guessed belonged to her. Once she was settled inside the cab, I saw her fluff her damp hair and imagined what it would smell like to be seated next to her. As if on cue her eyes flashed up to look back at me for a moment.

The truck's engine growled and she mistakenly took off in reverse. The brakes squealed as she very nearly crashed into the Toyota behind her. The look of shock on her face was priceless. Eyes wide. Mouth open. And that intoxicating blush on her cheeks. I heard the shifting of gears, and the truck sped off past me.

Oh yes, Bella Swan was amazing. Thoroughly and indisputably amazing.