A/N: Yay for quick updates! Also a big thanks to JasaTheAna for proof reading each chapter so it doesn't burn your eyes with typos and grammar mistakes (or at least there is significantly less of them).
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer... Except perhaps the term microscope, but who really knows? Anyway, I own nothing [related to Twilight since you know I do own some things such as a computer, obviously.
Bella wasn't at Biology that day either. 'Nor did she return to school for the rest of the week. I was apprehensive to know if it was because of me, as she seemed so repelled when she was in my presence. The glares she gave felt deadly. Could she stop coming to school because of me? I shook these egotistical thoughts from my head as quickly as they entered.
Being concerned about a girl I barely knew took up a lot more of my time than it should have. The week without Bella was a blur of school and home. If I'd been asked to recall the day's events to someone, I would not be able to. The only clear parts of the week were the ones I spent in the arts building.
I went everyday and usually had the space to myself. Angela and the rest of the school band came twice in the morning during the week but that was it for music. An occasional painter would drift through but not too often. I was able to clear my thoughts, and have a few sweet moments where I wasn't completely obsessed. My frustration flooded from my veins through the piano keys and transformed into fast-paced, angry melodies.
I irritated myself with my fixation of Bella Cullen. She was the most stunning girl I had ever seen but she also seemed to completely hate me. Why was I acting so pathetic? Was I only drawn to her because of her appearance? I convinced myself; however, that it was because she was hard to read and unattainable. Still, I had always loved a challenge.
The weekend was not eventful. Charlie had a fishing trip planned and I had convinced him to go without me. He was reluctant at first; however I knew he was relieved when I insisted. I mostly stayed at the house, doing homework and listening to my vast CD collection. I tried driving around Forks a few times in the ever-present rain but that did not take too long, considering the size of the small town.
Even though I enjoyed my solidarity over the weekend, I was relieved when Monday morning came.
The first part of the day followed my routine without any noticeable differences. The arts building, to clear my mind after having a whole weekend to think, and then my regular classes followed. At lunch, I waited in the cafeteria line with Angela and that was when I decided to take a quick glance at the Cullen table.
My heart began to race and I felt a wave of euphoria glide over me. There she was, just as striking as I had remembered, if not more so. Bella didn't turn her gaze to me though; she continued to talk to her brothers and sisters. I observed silently as she threw her head back and laughed. Amazed by her sudden change in personality, I paid for my lunch and attempted to turn my attention to my own table. I passed the remainder of the lunch hour in a sort of trance and was only shaken from it when the warning bell rang.
Bella was in biology that day. We both arrived at our table and we sat in a kind of awkward silence. I was searching my brain furtively for something to say.
"Hi," she said before I had a chance. "I'm Bella Cullen. I wasn't feeling well last week, so I'm sorry for how abrupt I acted. You're Edward Cullen, right?"
"Yes," I replied, stunned.
Our teacher began handing out sheets, explaining we were doing a lab today. When I received the hand out, I was disappointed to see that I had done something very similar before. We had to look through the microscope and name the specimen. Nothing about it was remotely new.
"Is something wrong?" Bella asked, noting my frustrated expression.
I stared at her for a moment, not wanting to boast. "I've done a lab like this before," I gave in, grinning. "I'd prefer a challenge."
She raised an eyebrow and smiled, revealing perfectly white teeth. Her eyes were a golden shade. Had they always been so magnificent? I could remember them being very dark, almost black. Perhaps small town life was getting to me. Bella pushed the microscope towards me.
I looked for only a few seconds and began writing down the specimen's name.
"May I?" she asked, taking the microscope from me. She was surprisingly easy to be around now; though, I did notice how far away from me she was sitting. She looked through the viewing tube and frowned.
"You're right," she sighed and placed the next slide on the stage of the microscope. She looked through the lenses for an even shorter amount of time than I had.
I confirmed her answer and we continued through the lab. We finished much sooner than anyone in the class and we were left with plenty of time to kill.
"So, how do you like Forks?" Bella turned her chair to face me, but kept a noticeable difference between us. Her pale skin looked very smooth but slightly brighter than it had the first time we met.
"It's not too unfortunate of a place to live," I answered honestly. "Just undersized and a little too wet."
She placed her elbow on the table, resting her face on her hand. She looked thoughtful and a little sad, but I couldn't be sure.
"Yes, I hate the rain," she sighed. I stared at her for a few moments before she realized the sudden gloomy atmosphere of our table. She straightened up, turned her chair to face the table and began doodling on a sheet of loose leaf.
While everyone else was still doing the lab, we both concentrated on things unrelated to biology; Bella on her drawing and I on her. After a few minutes, she noticed I was watching at her. Her eyes met mine and I held her gaze for a long moment.
"It's very depressing," I elaborated on her remark, far too late. "I understand why you would hate it."
She smiled and my heart rate doubled. I was really beginning to adore that facial expression of hers.
I opened my mouth to say something else but the bell rang and Bella quickly rushed from the room. I sighed, but was pleased with the improvement of this biology class to last week's.
I attended my Spanish class but I wasn't exactly there. I thought of Bella and how I wanted to get to know her. My teacher called on me three times and for the first time since being in Forks, I couldn't give the correct answer. I was too distracted to allow even a fraction of my mind to concentrate on the lesson. The rest of the class passed by quickly since the teacher soon gave up on getting my attention and I gladly left the room after the final bell had rung.
I decided to stop by the arts building before returning to Charlie's. I entered the familiar room which was empty as always, sat in front of the piano and began to play. This time, my song pulsing from the piano was slow. It did not bring on feelings of sadness or despair, but a considerate, well-deserved happiness. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to lose track of time. I smelt a sweet scent that inspired the music to speed up. My fingers began moving faster and faster until I suddenly stopped. I twisted around on the aged, wooden bench and saw none other than Bella Cullen, standing just inside of the old, mistreated room.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I am proud of myself for updating this fast, hehe. I will have lots of free time over the next week so hopefully I can update loads then.
I will continue to update with or without a certain number of reviews but they motivate me to write faster (sad but true), plus they make me happy. :) Tell me what you think about the story so far!