Hey guys !! Here's the next chapter.. I hope you like it. Just to let you know, I'm over 4,000 words now. I'm going to make this story my first priority since there is a deadline. Of course I'll be working on my other stories, but less often, until I finish this one. Enjoy:

Chapter 3

The next day, I was dreading Mechanics class, since Emmett would be there. When he entered the classroom, I held my breath in anticipation of some kind of acknowledgement of last night. To my surprise and relief, he acted as though nothing happened. He sat next to me, and turned to face me.

"Good morning, Rosalie," He said politely.

"Emmett, listen-" I started. He held up his hand to stop me.

"Rosalie, I don't know what's wrong, but I do know that I will wait until you're ready. I'll always be there if you need a friend. Please remember that." He told me, looking into my eyes. I was about to reply to that, when Mr. Lindeman came into the class. I slid into my seat, and smiled to myself. I was glad that Emmett wasn't trying to force me into anything, and that he was letting me take my time. I was waiting for the bell to ring, so that I could thank Emmett, but when it did ring, he slid swiftly out of his seat and hurried out the door. Ok, I thought.

"Listen up students," said a voice through the loudspeaker, as I was leaving the classroom. "Due to a change in schedule, all students will have the subject that they had first period in the second period also. Please note the change in the schedule. The remaining classes will follow the usual timetable. Thank you for your attention." I groaned and rolled my eyes. Turning around, I went straight back to my seat and collapsed into it. Just great, I thought, watching everyone else come in noisily and occupy their places.

"Well, it seems like we're back here again," joked Emmett, dragging his chair into place.

"Yup," I agreed. "I wonder why they changed the schedule. I was looking forward to math class."

"I know, I was looking forward to English class. OK, let me tell you a joke." He said brightly. "I just heard it today, and you might like it. So here goes. What does a fish say when it runs into a wall?" HE looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer.

"Umm, ouch?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Come on, don't be such a spoilsport!" Emmett whined. I held up my hands.

"OK, ok. I don't know, I bet you're dying to tell me." I said, watching his expression. It lit up like a thousand watt bulb.

"DAMN!" He exclaimed. I stared at him, waiting for the punch line.

"So, what's the answer?"

"That's the answer! I mean, you know dams and all that… Get it?" he smiled at me. I just rolled my eyes.

"It was funny and you know it," Emmett said. I raised my eyebrows at him, but finally cracked a smile.

"OK, it was stupidly funny," I agreed. "Who invented such a dumb joke?"

"Who knows?" Emmett said. Mr. Lindeman, carrying a stack of books, shuffled into the room.

"Good morning, everyone. Looks like we're all back together again. So I think I can finish off this topic now, and then we can practice all these problems, ok?" He spent most of the class discussing the chapter, which left little time to practice the problems. "Since we've run short of time here, I think I'm going to make groups of three. Please try to solve all of these on your own, and if you have doubts, come to me, and I will clarify them." He announced, and then walked around the classroom, and put people into groups. My group consisted of me, Emmett and another boy Kyle, who was tall, lean and had brown hair. After the bell rang, Kyle tore a small piece of paper out of his notebook and scribbled something on it.

"Here's my number," He said. "If you guys plan a time to meet up to work on this, call me up, ok? I gotta run, but I'll catch you later." He almost ran out of the room.

"Looks like he's in a hurry," I commented.

"Even I need to be somewhere, so I'll talk to you later." Emmett told me. He put his notebook in his bag, zipped it up and slung it on his back. I took in a deep breath.

"Bye," I said. As I watched him leave the room, I smiled to myself, and shook my head. If I didn't like him when I first met him, I sure was starting to find him interesting now. My cell phone rang, startling me. I looked at the caller ID and pressed the answer button.

"Hey Alice, what's up?"

"What's up is that we were all supposed to have lunch together today. Did you forget?" She exclaimed. I inhaled sharply.

"Oh my god, I'll be right there." I disconnected the call, and hurriedly stuffed my binder into my backpack. I half-ran to my car, and started the engine in a hurry. I was almost out of the parking lot, when I heard a loud popping sound. The front left side of my car sank down, and the car jerked forward to a stop. I threw my hands up in frustration and groaned. I dug my phone out of my purse and dialed Bella's number; I know Alice would go ballistic if I told her that I would be late.

"Hey Bella, it's me," I breathed when she answered the phone.

"Hey, what's up? Where are you?"

"I have a flat tire. Would you mind stalling until I get there?" I asked hopefully.

"Sure, but get here as quick as you can." She promised. I stepped out of the car, and bent down to examine the tire. Yup, it was a flat tire. Great, now what would I do? I heard a car with loud music playing pull up next to me.

"Need some help?" I recognized the voice and stood up. And ended up losing my balance. I grasped the side of my car for support and saw Emmett in a large truck, music blasting from the speakers.

"I would really appreciate a lift right now. I'm late for a lunch date." I said in a rush. Emmett raised his eyebrows at the word date. "With Alice and Bella," I added hastily.

He leaned over and opened the door for me. "Get in, I'll drop you off. Where's the restaurant?" I gave him directions to the restaurant, which happened to be Bella's favorite. We took turns choosing a restaurant to eat out at every two or three weeks and this week was Bella's turn, so she naturally picked her favorite. We soon reached there and as I climbed out, I paused. Turning around, I leaned in through the window.

"Emmett?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to join us for lunch?" I asked timidly. He grinned.

"My pleasure. But is it ok with Alice and Bella?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry about them. They like you already."

"And you?" He asked with a sly smile. I looked down at my feet. "Fine, it's ok. Don't answer that." He hopped out of the pick-up and walked around it, towards me. He noticed that I was still standing in the same spot, not having moved an inch. "Coming?"

"I'll be there in a minute," I replied. He shrugged his shoulders and walked into the restaurant, leaving me alone on the sidewalk. I watched as a girl and a boy walked together along the sidewalk, hand in hand. And another couple sat on a bench, the boy's arm around the girl's shoulder. My eyes filled with tears as I watched reality. Would I ever have it? OK, focus now. Alice, Bella and Emmett are waiting inside for you, I reminded myself. I walked briskly into the restaurant and found them immediately. It wasn't hard to miss Emmett, with him being so big.

"Hey guys," I said cheerfully, and sat down across from Bella. "Sorry we were late. I got a flat tire."

"It's ok," Alice assured. "Anyway, we were just talking about random stuff." I nodded my head. Suddenly, Emmett's phone rang, causing all of us to jump. When I heard the ringtone, I started laughing.

"Are you serious? Barbie Girl?" I gasped, through my laughter. Emmett threw me a dirty look, and answered his phone.

"Hey, Chels," He said happily into the phone. "I'm just having lunch with a few friends. Oh! I completely forgot. I'll be there as soon as I can. Love you. Bye." He snapped his phone shut. I felt a hint of irritation. Who was Chelsea? "I have to go. I promised my little sister that I would take her out today. She's the one who wanted me to have this ring tone." His little sister? I smiled a little.

"Bye," I said. Alice and Bella told him bye, too and he walked off. As he was about to step out of the restaurant, he paused and turned back, catching me watching him. He smiled and waved at me. I waved back at him, and turned back to my conversation with Alice and Bella.

"So," Alice said casually, twirling her fork around. "Emmett gave you a lift? I thought you were avoiding him."

"Well," I had to phrase this carefully otherwise they would get the wrong idea. "I accept that he's nice and all that. And anyway, he's my class mate, he's allowed to offer me a lift. I told you I had a flat tire."

"Do you like him?" Bella asked curiously.

"He's a classmate," I stated with a finality that ended the topic where it was. Nobody touched this topic again throughout the duration of lunch, and I was glad for it. I wasn't ready to talk about it. Yes, it was true that I was starting to like him; but it was only as a friend, and nothing more. After lunch, we headed back towards our respective destinations. Alice and Bella studied at a different college than I did; they both went to California State University. My classes went relatively well for the rest of the day, and as the day came to a close, I realized that my car still had a flat tire. Just before the bell rang, one of the peons who worked in the office knocked on the door.

"Is there a Ms Rosalie Hale here?" He squeaked. I raised my hand tentatively. He handed me an bulky envelope, and wishing me a good day, went back to the office. I opened the envelope slowly, and found a white piece of paper and my keys. The note said:

Rosalie,

You don't need to thank me. Just making sure you get home safely.

Emmett

Emmett got my car repaired! I didn't remember giving him my key, but then again he was always full of surprises. I was a hurry to get to the parking, more than usual, to see if my car was really there. Sure enough, it was parked where it had been in the morning. I laughed, and spun around. What was this new feeling that was consuming me?

EmPOV

After I got the mechanic from the garage to change Rosalie's wheel, I drove it to the parking lot. I handed over the key along with the short note I had written to the peon in the office, and requested him to give it to Rosalie. I was sure that she would be surprised that I had her key. When I had left the restaurant that afternoon, I noticed a key on the sidewalk, which had a key chain with her name engraved on it. At that time, I had kept it for safe keeping. I watched from the shade of the corridor as Rosalie half-ran to the parking lot. I was looking forward to her reaction. Though I was so far away, I could see the smile that illuminated her face. She spun around laughing. I automatically smiled, seeing that she was so happy. It was definitely worth the effort.

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