Chapter 2: dreadful

"Too bad about the snow isn't it?" he said to me as I sat down the next day. No matter how many times he spoke, I could never get over the shock of his velvety voice. It was too perfect…

"Not really" I answered honestly.

"You don't like the cold" he chuckled "Forks must be difficult for you"

"You have no idea" I muttered darkly. Only one good thing had come of this…okay maybe two. Charlie and Edward.

"Why are you here then?" he asked straight out

I was taken back. No one had asked me that so straight out, not so brutally honest. "It's…complicated" I answered uncomfortably

"I have time" he answered

"My mother…passed away" I managed to choke out without tearing up. Swallowing back a batch of tears I continued "Charlie…Chief Swan lives here. and The man my mother was remarried to, didn't want me" I said the last part quickly, obviously raising suspicion on his end because his eyes did that weird quirky thing and his lips twitched like he wanted to ask about it. But thankfully he let it pass.

"I'm sorry" he said softly

"Yeah well…" I trailed off not know what to say. What do you say when people apologize for your mother dying? 'Its okay?' that hardly seems appropriate…because it's not okay. "I'm fine"

He quirked one of his perfect eyebrows "You put on a good show," he said slowly "but I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone else see"

I ducked my head, resisting the impulse to childishly stick out my tongue at him.

"Its okay" he shrugged casually making me look back up at him "It's only natural"

"Why do you care" I asked irritated

"That's a very good question" he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself.

I sighed, scowling at the blackboard. Did he always have to be so cryptic? Would I ever get a straight answer from him?

"Am I annoying you?" he asked in an amused voice.

"No" I said shortly

"Such a bad liar" he laughed

I glowered at him in annoyance. Why did he care? It was driving me crazy. He had done nothing but send me the death glare of all death glares for the past few weeks and now we were chatting it up like old friends? What was wrong with this picture? Oh yeah…I wasn't mad. Why wasn't I mad again? The answer came to me as I looked up at his modelesque face and I understood. I could never be mad at that.

As my eyes refocused, I realized I had been staring at him for too long. He was gazing back down at me with confusion written all over him. I could feel my cheeks turning a familiar shade of scarlet and it was confirmed when I saw him smile in amusement at me.

"You seem to do that a lot" he said

"I can't help it" I mumbled

"I know" he chuckled as if he knew my secret

The rest of the day went by in a blur. All I really remembered was biology. How cold Edwards hands were, how beautiful his honey eyes were, how utterly soft his bronze hair looked. I shook my head in frustration, how did he get in my head! I slowly walked through the halls, pulling at my sleeves nervously as I approached the parking lot. Home. I had to go home…where I would once again be alone to do what I pleased. That's what scared me the most. I sighed and threw my bag in the back of my truck before looking out at the long line of students waiting to get out of the small parking lot. Opting for staying a bit longer and waiting for the traffic to die down, I grabbed my iPod, sticking it in my ears and leaning against the side of my truck, letting myself drown in the melody of Claire de lune.

Over my peaceful music, I heard an odd sound. A dreadful squeak. A high-pitched screech and it was becoming louder. I looked up, startled and saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in movies when something terrible is about to happen. Instead I was able to absorb everything in clear detail, despite the fast pace thanks to the adrenaline rush that had kicked in.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward Cullen standing a few cars down from me, staring at me with a look of horror. His face stood out from the sea of people, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But the main event, the thing that really caught my attention was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back of my truck, worse….it was going to hit me.

Just as I was getting ready to face the impact, I heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me, hard but not from the direction I was anticipating. My head cracked against the icy blacktop, and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground. I was lying on the pavement behind the tan car I'd parked next to. The van was still coming; I saw it colliding against the dark gravel, screeching towards me.

I realized someone was with me. Two long white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop, a food away from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the vans body. His hands moved so fast they blurred. One was gripped the body of the van and something was dragging me, swinging my legs around like a rag dolls, till they hit the tire of the tan car.

I heard the screaming begin. I could hear several people shouting my name. But the one voice that stood out through all the chaos;

"Bella? Are you all right?" I heard Edwards's low frantic voice in my ear

"I'm fine" My voice sounded strange. I tried to sit up, and realized he was holding me against the side of his cold body. This was a strange sensation. I should be in trauma, probably in shock, but all I could think about was how I was touching Edward, just like I had dreamed out for the past couple weeks. God I really was messed up.

"Be careful" hew warned as I tried to get up "I think you hit your head pretty hard"

I was finally brought out of my guilty pleasure by the throbbing in my head. "Ow" I said surprised.

"That's what I thought" I heard him say, sounding amused and like he was suppressing laughter.

"How did you get here so fast?" I asked in awe. He was…there…and then he was here?

"I was standing right next to you Bella" he said, his tone serious like he was trying to push the topic

My anger died as I felt the burning start in my arms from the fall I had taken. My fresh cuts had been scraped raw and the sleeves of my shirt weren't helping. I shifted my sleeves uncomfortably, trying to lift them up a little, trying to get them not to cling so tightly to my arms.

"Bella?" He asked in concern

"Don't move" Another voice instructed

I didn't listen, I tried to get up only have Edwards cold hand push my shoulder down making me wince inwardly as he pushed down on a particularly new cut.

"Just stay put" he said seriously

"Cold" I said with a whine. I heard him chuckle under his breath, and it sounded like he was annoyed. I remembered why I wanted to get up. "You were by your car"

He shook his head, his expression turning hard "No I wasn't"

I let it go. What else could I do? Besides, I figured he couldn't hide forever. I had biology with him tomorrow and my arms and head were killing me.

"You want to change into hospital gown Bella?" Dr. Carlisle, who had been treating me for the past few minutes asked, seeing my blood stained shirt

I shook my head "I'll just go home and change afterwards. Am I free to go?"

The attractive doctor chuckled and shook his head "Let me just stitch up your head and then you're free to go"

"Is she okay?" I heard a musical voice ask. My eyes immediately snapped open, despite what the doctor was doing and glared at Edward

Edward was standing in the doorway, perched up against the frame, looking like an Adonis. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?" I sneered

"Its all about who you know" his smile got wider and pointed to Carlisle. "Dad" he chuckled

"Is there something you needed Edward?" he asked, still stitching me up

My mouth fell open. I should have known…where else do you get genes like that?

"Close your mouth, it might get stuck that way" Edward chuckled

"Are we finished?" I whined to the doctor who I now knew was Edwards's father

Dr. Cullen chuckled and shook his head once again "You're an impatient one. Let me fill our your chart and then you can go"

"Thanks" I said "Can I speak with you Edward" I said through clenched teeth

Dr. Cullen raised an eyebrow but went back to the chart he was filling out. He shook his head, his jaw clenched. "Your father is in the waiting room" he said through a hiss

"Tomorrow. We'll talk in biology" I relented, my arms burning against the rough fabric of my shirt.

He clenched his jaw and didn't say anything "Bye" he said shortly

"Tomorrow" I reminded in annoyance.

A/N: So I saw the Twilight movie last night at midnight (: …any thoughts on that perhaps? Lol, or maybe some thoughts on the new chapter?