Chapter Four: Approaching Edward.

Bella was on the floor, and Edward (who kept insisting that he was Lachlan) was sitting in the seat next to her at the table which they were supposed to be sharing. He kept staring at her and breathing really heavily. This reminded Bella of that late night call she once received from a stranger whose breathing seemed to increase as her distress and confusion increased. Bella was hit with an epiphany, as she realised that Edward must be nocturnal. There was something strange about Edward Cullen.

At lunch, Bella was introduced to the diverse and amazing student body. Jessica and Mike two students who had introduced themselves to Bella in art class, waved at Bella to join them. During the aforementioned class, Bella had been paining pictures of Edward and distributing them to her classmates, much to their delight. They had spent the rest of the class laughing hysterically. Bella had smiled then, knowing that she had already established herself as being not only the most beautiful girl in the school, but the class clown also.

Now, at lunch, Jessica stared at Bella.

'Why do you keep calling Lachlan Edward?'

'Edward is his true name,' Bella explained, rolling her eyes. 'And I think I love him.'

Jessica and Mike exchanged glances. Bella didn't appreciate Jessica's obvious attempt to steal all of the attention from her. Bella suddenly remembered that she could communicate with males on a much deeper level than Jessica. Therefore, she could convey secret messages to Mike without Jessica even knowing!

Bella stared at Mike meaningfully, and belched loudly. Mike cocked his head to the side, and stared at her agape. Jessica did much the same. Bella was satisfied, knowing that Mike was only pretending not to understand that she had actually just invited him to her and Edward's wedding. Jessica, on the other hand, would obviously not be able to interpret this secret language.

Mike stood up.

'Uh, I'm going to leave now. I have, uh, band practise now.'

Jessica glared at her friend.

'Don't lie to me! I know you don't play any instruments, you loser.'

Mike looked panicked and stared around wildly.

'Well, I got told to water the school's plants. All of them.' He stared imploringly at Jessica.

'Ohhhh!' Jessica's face seemed to register a new understanding. 'Yes. Well. I got told that too. Yes. Come on. Better start…watering. Bye, Bella.

'Bye, Bella!'

'Bye guys!' replied Bella happily. She was rapt that Mike could overcome his anguish at her having chosen Edward over him, but understood that he would have to cry himself to sleep for a while.

She felt eyes on her suddenly, and looked up at a nearby table to see Edward staring at her. He seemed be convulsing. Blushing, Bella tried to look modest. She looked away from him. She looked back at him again. The school nurse had rushed over to him, and forced some red liquid down his throat. The convulsing stopped. Was the liquid…blood?

Bella decided to bite the bullet and approach Edward while he was alone, which he nearly always was. She decided to turn her iPod on full blast, to set the tone. She needed to get this right. She had to look like one of those dancers out of a 50 Cent film clip. She drew a deep breath, chose the perfect song (Ice Ice Baby), and began her strut. She decided to incorporate a bit of movie star power into her walk, and started to move towards Edward in slow motion.

Silence fell over the cafeteria at once. Everyone stopped what they were doing (and one boy froze with his fork halfway to his mouth) to stare at Bella. Bella was exhilarated by the fact that this was playing out just like a video clip, where the gorgeous girl commands the attention of everybody in the given space, as she walks towards the object of her affection in slow motion.

Then, out of nowhere, Bella was interrupted! She was about to perform the strip tease when a really hideous blonde stepped out in front of Bella. She appeared to be shielding Edward.

'Excuse me,' the ugly girl said. 'I don't think that behaviour like that is very appropriate in a school cafeteria. I don't really want to embarrass you or Lachlan,' she lowered her voice, 'but I am obliged to report any troublemaking. I will let you off the hook if you turn around and make a quiet exit now.'

Bella stared at Edward, hoping that he would rush to her defence. Instead, he mouthed the words 'thank you' to the blonde girl. The girl went to sit down.

'Nice one, Rosalie!' a male voice called out from the sea of students. Somebody else wolf whistled.

Bella felt sorry for this Rosalie. Although she had cut Bella's dance short, she did not deserve to be teased by the boys. Still, Bella reasoned, it might teach her a lesson.

Bella seized her chance.

'Why didn't you stick up for me?' she questioned Edward. 'Edward, what is it about me?'

Edward squirmed for a while, murmuring again that his name was Lachlan Mulkitov. He straightened up, brushed the uneaten spaghetti from his lap, and stared at Bella square in the eye.

'It's complicated,' he began, 'and I wouldn't expect you to ever understand.'

Bella leaned in to Edward, breathing in the delicious blend of Mc Donald's, smoked ham and flatulence. She decided to prompt him.

'Yes?'

'It's just, that, I-I can always tell what people are thinking when I look a-at them,' Edward stuttered. 'But with you, all I see is a whirl of schizophrenia. Worse still, when you-you stand in front of people, it blocks me from seeing them. When you stand in front of a window-darkness is cast upon the classroom. Now you're standing in front of me, and I can't see anything or anyone else in this cafeteria! I'm sorry.'

Edward stood up.

'Once you stand in front of something, it disappears completely from view. I lose my bearings around you. You block out huge chunks of the landscape wherever you stand! It's too much!'

Bella was overwhelmed.

'Thanks!' she said.