The Gauntlet Is Thrown

He was staring at me. His gaze was like a physical touch moving over my body, and I could feel that familiar current of electricity waking up beneath my skin despite my best efforts to snuff it out. How could he do this to me with just a look? It wasn't fair. My nerves stretched tighter as the minutes slowly passed, and I struggled to concentrate on anything else rather than what he was doing to me.

I'd made it through my morning classes, gradually regaining at least a semblance of calm, but then it was time for lunch far sooner than I would have liked. I'd deliberately lagged behind the masses, taking as long as possible to reach the cafeteria and what was sure to be my next confrontation with Edward Cullen. My palms began to sweat as I entered the large room, but I refused to allow myself to search him out among the gathered throng of kids all happily chattering and scarfing down food, though I could tell he was present. I could smell his unique aroma and forced myself to breathe shallowly in the hopes of avoiding my normal reaction to the scent, though I was only partially successful; it just smelled so damn good. I got in line, being careful to pay more attention to my choice of sandwich today, and then quickly moved to a corner table, sliding my book bag beneath the chair. I had just sat down to hopefully enjoy the turkey and cheese sub I'd purchased when I caught the tail end of a conversation happening a few tables away.

"What do you think caused it?" Jessica asked, swinging her long blonde hair over one shoulder as she idly picked at the salad in front of her. She was sitting at a small table with Mike, Angela, and Ben, her usual group of friends from what I'd been able to tell.

"No one's been able to figure it out," Mike replied, his short brown hair sticking straight up in spikes around his head that I thought made him look faintly ridiculous, but that Jessica seemed to like well enough.

"I heard the janitors talking while they fixed it earlier. One said it looked like someone had punched a hole straight down into the ground beneath the building." This came from Ben, his deep baritone a pleasant change from Mike's higher-pitched voice.

Mike laughed heartily, spraying crumbs from his mouth that was currently full of what appeared to be an entire hot dog. His manners really were deplorable, and from the look on Angela's face as a few fell into her soup, she agreed wholeheartedly with that opinion. "Mike, UGH!" she squealed, quickly pushing the bowl of soup away from her and turning her back on him, much to the amusement of Ben. Mike didn't even have the grace to be embarrassed, simply swallowing his mouthful and grinning as if he'd accomplished something vastly amusing.

Jessica piped in then, her sweet voice at odds with her normally self-involved attitude. "There's no way someone could have punched through the floor, Ben. That's just stupid." With a roll of her eyes, she turned to Angela and changed the subject, talking about a new movie she wanted to go see this coming weekend. As the others joined in, I'd turned back to my sandwich, absently taking a bite as relief flowed through me. I'd been worrying about that hole, and was relieved it'd been fixed without too many questions being asked. I wasn't the worlds best liar, and it would have been a struggle to make anything I said sound plausible if I'd been asked about it.

That's when I'd begun to feel his stare. Even without looking up, I could tell exactly where he was sitting, as if we were connected by some sense beyond the normal five granted to most humans. I struggled to swallow the bite in my mouth, and knew I didn't dare take another. My throat was closing up with a mixture of fear and nerves, and all I could do was hope that he stayed where he was and didn't intend another confrontation with me. If I hadn't been concentrating so intently on keeping my aura under control despite my nervous state, I might have noticed his approach and had time to prepare myself for it. As it was, I heard the soft velvet whisper of his voice at the same time as his scent flowed over me in all its glory, and I was overwhelmed before the conversation had even begun.

"Hello again, Bella," he whispered, a faint hint of amusement threading through the words as he smoothly slid into the chair across from me, folding his hands on the table before him and regarding me with golden eyes that seemed to miss nothing.

I felt myself blushing and instinctively muttered, "Go away, Edward," without raising my eyes from the sandwich my fingers were busily tearing into small pieces. Don't look at him, I warned myself, just ignore him and maybe he'll go away.

I knew that wasn't going to happen as his soft chuckle wafted through the air and he leaned across the table, one of his hands reaching out to teasingly tug on a strand of my hair. "No," he said simply, then relaxed almost insolently into his chair as if daring me to make him leave.

My brain refused to work properly as I struggled to overcome the effect his nearness had on me. All I wanted to do was melt into a small puddle of heated goo where I could inhale his scent and listen to his voice undisturbed for all eternity. Of course, I'd want eyes because being deprived of the ability to look at his face would be devastating, it was simply too beautiful to give up that pleasure. The electricity beneath my skin was sizzling at full throttle now, and I could feel the new trembling of my fingers as my entire body seemed to sensitize itself to him in a way I'd never experienced before. This had to stop! Why wouldn't he just leave me alone so I could get back to some semblance of normalcy?

My fists clenched in sudden fury around the shredded sandwich, and without thinking, I lifted my eyes to glare into his as I sent a small surge of energy beneath the table and into the legs of his chair, yanking them toward me. I heard a soft, surprised yelp escape him as the chair toppled backwards, carrying him with it, but before I could bask in the small victory, he was on his feet next to the chair, one hand smoothly settling it back into its previous position.

My eyes widened. He'd moved with such speed, faster than any human should have been able to attain. Hell, anyone else would have landed on the floor with a smarting ass, the tile wasn't exactly soft. How had he done that? I blinked as a new train of thought utterly derailed the fury I'd just been feeling. Was it possible that he recognized how different I was from humans because he was different as well? My mind raced into overdrive as I silently examined the possibilities, and contemplating this new idea served to pull me back into the reality of where I was and what I'd just done. Edward's eyes narrowed as he looked at me, and I quickly assumed an innocent expression. What the hell had I been thinking? I couldn't afford to act rashly; I needed to be careful now more than ever, especially if the impossible thing I was currently thinking turned out to be the truth of the matter. I quickly scanned the immediate vicinity, and I breathed a small sigh of relief as I realized no one seemed to have noticed what had just happened.

As Edward took his seat once more, a strange glitter entered his eyes, and he leaned across the table to whisper harshly. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked, and it took every single ounce of willpower I had to sound nonchalant as I spoke the simple words. I couldn't stop the small nervous gulp I took as his eyes narrowed further, a hint of anger appearing within their depths, and I instinctively leaned back in my chair, trying to put distance between us.

"Don't play stupid, Bella. I'm not in the mood. How did you do that?" His voice was still whisper-soft, but the words were like the lash of a whip, each one striking me with significant force.

I suddenly realized that the only chance I had of getting out of this was to go on the offensive, rather than letting him call all the shots. It was obvious he knew that I wasn't exactly normal, and to continue to simply deny it was a waste of time. He'd never believe me, and he'd never let up until he'd found out the truth. The only way to possibly prevent that ultimate disaster was to give him something else to worry about, and I might have just stumbled upon the key to doing exactly that.

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore my body's reaction to his scent as I leaned forward once more, my voice cold as ice. "What are you, Edward?" I asked, forcing myself to stand my ground as the anger in his eyes intensified to match the glare that was now directed at me. Keep it cool, Bella, I thought. I'd only have one shot to pull this off. "You're so obsessed with being human, want to explain how you moved so fast just now? Not exactly a... human... trait," I taunted, and waited to see how he'd react.

This time I was certain I heard the snarl escape him before he visibly reigned in his anger and sat back in the chair, his eyes never leaving mine. I dared to raise one eyebrow as the silence between us lengthened, refusing to back down now that I'd finally taken a stand. "Cat got your tongue?" I asked.

I blinked again in surprise as he suddenly laughed, a full-throated sound of pure enjoyment. He had the nerve to actually wink at me as he pushed his chair back and stood, then came around the table so he could lean down and whisper his last words directly into my ear. He had the most irritating habit of doing that. "I'll see you in Biology, Bella. Let the games begin," he murmured, then walked away without a backward glance, still laughing softly.

I was left staring at his back as I wondered what the hell I'd just gotten myself into.

**********

Edward

My family wasn't pleased. Their thoughts were more like shouts in my head, and they were not warm and fuzzy. Did I do it on purpose? Did I want her to know that I was different? What was I thinking? How could I be so irresponsible? Didn't I care that I was putting the family in jeopardy?

Truth was, I hadn't been thinking. That wisp of a girl had me so confused I didn't know what I was doing anymore. Freud would have a field day trying to shrink my head. I had to get it together and fast.

At least she'd stopped denying she was something more than human. That was a minor victory in and of itself, and I was rather pleased. The wall around her secrets was at least a mile thick, but I wouldn't rest until I'd torn the whole damned thing down, one brick at a time if I had to. If she thought trying to turn the tables on me like that was going to work, she'd better think again.

Nothing was going to stop me from having her, and she was about to find out just how determined I was to win this little war between us. I've never been accused of playing fair, and I wasn't about to start now.

Bring. It. On.

**********

I slowly made my way to Biology, dreading it more than I think I've ever dreaded anything before in my life. Something about the way Edward had reacted back in the cafeteria told me that I'd lost the little gamble I'd taken. He wasn't going to stop, and I was out of ideas on how to make him. Part of my mind was concentrating on ways to make it through Biology so I could escape back to the sanctuary of my room at home, while the other was contemplating what exactly Edward might be if he wasn't human.

During the course of my life I'd run into other beings that most of the world would consider to be supernatural in nature; those who, like me, weren't human. I'd seen werewolves, wizards, even a faery once, but I'd always been able to escape detection as being something other than human myself. As soon as I'd smelled the hint of something other in their scents, I'd done everything in my power to avoid them lest they notice that I, too, was different. Edward's scent didn't have that particular flavor to it, but if I hadn't been so focused on the physical effect his presence had on me, I would have realized sooner that it couldn't possibly belong to a human.

There were likely many unknown beings far beyond my knowledge inhabiting the earth right at this moment. It wasn't like I had a list I could check him against to see what he might be. It wasn't even something I could really research, since humans had the annoying habit of twisting the truth in their legends and lore as it's passed down from one generation to the next. Most of what I could find on the internet, or in books, would be hogwash. Amusing, but not very helpful. So I was stuck with my own knowledge combined with what I could ascertain of him to reach some sort of conclusion.

I began to make a list of the characteristics I'd noticed in my head, trying to form them into some semblance of order as I finally entered the classroom and took my seat next to Edward. I pointedly turned my chair to face away from him, and opened my book so it would seem as if I was reading. Not that it helped. I sighed as I felt him move his chair closer to mine, and then blinked as his hand appeared on my book, his large palm slowly pushing it back along the lab table.

"You don't get to ignore me, Bella," he murmured, that damnable hint of amusement once again threading through his words.

I began to count to ten, trying to calm myself and maintain my control, and it was only when he chuckled that I realized I was counting out loud. I knew he was close, since the curls at my ear were stirred by the soft breeze of his chuckle, and I felt a shiver go through me. It only intensified as a gentle finger brushed along the back of my neck to the accompaniment of his next words, and I felt my face heat to an alarming degree.

"I love the way you react to me. It's adorable," he whispered, once again directly into my ear.

"Edward, stop..." I breathed, my hands gripping the edge of the table for dear life as my insides began to melt.

My eyes quickly scanned the room to ensure no one was watching us, but everyone was preoccupied with their microscopes and slides, paying us not the least bit of attention. Even the teacher was busy at the front of the room, his back turned to the class.

His finger left my neck to stroke down my back as he whispered, "Ah Bella, my beautiful Bella... what am I going to do with you?" A moment passed while I struggled to breathe, and then he leaned closer still, and I could feel his lips moving against my ear as he answered his own question. "I'm going to make you mine."

My heart actually stopped for a moment at his whispered promise, and then I did the only thing I could do. I ran.