AN: My first new chapter in ages! If anyone is still reading this, thanks! Hopefully it won't be so terribly long between updates from now on. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If you recognize some paragraphs, yes, that's because they are basically taken right out of the book. I thought that would be easier to keep it with the right feel. Soon it won't be possible for me to do that, as the storyline is a bit different from Stephenie Meyer's.

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Luckily for me, Coach Clapp didn't make me change and participate in gym class. I stood by the wall holding the uniform he had given me, watching four of the most enthusiastic games of volleyball I had ever seen. I winced, remembering some of the many injuries I had sustained-and inflicted-playing volleyball.

Once gym ended, I headed back to the office and handed my slip of teachers' signatures to the receptionist. "How was your first day, dear?" she asked kindly. I obviously sparked a maternal flare in her.

"It was fine," I answered, my lie unconvincing. Gathering my things, I turned around and walked out of the office. I was about to head to the dorm when it hit me.

Dorm.

Roommate.

Edward Cullen.

I froze, panic filling me. How was I supposed to react to him after the way he acted in Biology? Maybe I could get a different roommate, one that didn't already hate me. On the other hand, if he didn't like me, he would ignore me, and would then be less likely to find out my secret.

I sighed. My shoulders slumped and I headed toward the dorms, resigned. I would just have to learn to deal with the situation, however bad it may be. It would probably be for the best; having a roommate that ignored me would make the conditions I was in a little easier to deal with.

I hesitated in front of the door to room 205. Should I knock, let him know I was coming into the room? No, this was my room, too; I shouldn't have to knock before going into my own room. I settled for being as noisy as I could while opening the door.

That turned out to be an unnecessary precaution, as it took me over a minute to finally get my key to work. "Do even my fingers have to be clumsy?" I muttered to myself as I pushed the door open. I paused in the doorway, expecting some response, but none came. Maybe if I was lucky, Edward was asleep.

"Hello?" I said, cautiously walking into the room as though I expected an attack. But none came. In fact, there was no response at all. Edward Cullen was not in the room.

A sudden shrill noise startled me, and I jumped, knocking over my luggage that had been carelessly stacked just inside the door. The noise continued, and I realized that the phone on the desk was ringing. I stepped over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this room 205, Blake Swan?" the voice on the other end queried.

"Yes, this is Blake," I answered, the name sounding strange to me.

"This is the office. Dr. Cullen just informed us that his son Edward will be absent for some time. We thought you should know, considering he is your roommate. Thank you, have a nice evening."

"Wait, what!" The click sounded on the end of the line, bringing the call to a close before I had a chance to ask any of the many questions that were now crowding through my head.

Edward Cullen was gone? He was going to be 'absent for some time?' I refused to believe that this had anything to do with me, although my mind immediately jumped to that conclusion. Surely I hadn't made that terrible of an impression on him. We never even spoke a single word to each other!

Regardless of why Edward was not here, his absence did make getting used to the school easier. It was a relief not having to deal with yet another boy once I got back to my room.

I did some homework before going to supper in the cafeteria, which was uneventful. I took my time getting ready for bed afterward, still being careful in case Edward was not as gone as the office seemed to think he was. I fell asleep quickly, mentally worn out by the day's events.

--

My second day was better and worse than the first. Better, because I knew what to expect, recognized some of the faces. Better, because I was already becoming more confident in my ruse, in 'being a boy.' And worse, because Edward Cullen was not there. Not at lunch, where I saw his brothers sitting at a table by themselves, nor in Biology, where I had my lab table all to myself.

It was not that I wanted him to be there, especially. I simply could not convince myself that I had nothing to do with his absence. That made me uneasy; perhaps I was not as good an actor as I had thought. Perhaps Edward was exceptionally observant; had he realized what others had not, that I was only in disguise as a boy?

The week continued in much the same manner. Wednesday was the same as Tuesday, no Edward at lunch, no Edward in Biology, no Edward in my room. By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed.

My first weekend passed without incident. Charlie picked me up Friday after class; after some anxious questions about how I was doing in the situation he had put me in, we spent most of our time together in comfortable silence. I cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom some bogusly cheerful e-mail. Charlie took me back to Seattle Prep Sunday night after dinner.

People greeted me at breakfast Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was straightforward, very easy.

All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here.

When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear boys shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."

I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.

"Ugh." Snow. There went my good day.

He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes – you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure I have." I paused. "On TV."

Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us – in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.

"I'll see you later, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain – until it melted in your socks.

I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Mike after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Mike thought I was hilarious, but something in my expression kept him from lobbing a snowball at me himself.

Tyler Crowley caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting in his hair. He and Mike were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner, where the two other Cullen brothers always sat, out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were three people at the table.

Mike pulled on my arm.

"Hello? Blake? What do you want?"

I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. Apart from being at this all-boys school in the first place, I hadn't done anything wrong. And the principal knew about that, so it must not be that bad.

"What's wrong with Blake?" Tyler asked Mike.

"Nothing," I answered. "I'll just get a soda today." I caught up to the end of the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" Mike asked.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.

I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet.

I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked how I was feeling. I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I should play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.

Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away.

I decided to permit myself one glance at the Cullen family's table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was.

I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.

There were laughing. Edward punched Emmett's arm in what appeared to be a playful gesture. Emmett laughed and lifted his arms in mock defense while Jasper shook his head with a smile. They were enjoying lunch just like everyone else – only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.

But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully. His skin was less pale, I decided; the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring trying to isolate the change.

"Blake, what are you looking at?" Mike intruded, his eyes following my stare.

At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine.

I dropped my head, wishing my hair was still long enough to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looking merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you again," Mike commented in a low voice.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I couldn't help asking.

"No," he said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me," I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm.

"The Cullens don't like anybody … well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."

"Quit looking at him," I hissed.

He snickered, but he looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure that he did, contemplating violence if he resisted.

Tyler interrupted us then – he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard outside the dorms after school and wanted us to join. Mike agreed enthusiastically. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the area cleared.

For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with myself. Since Edward didn't look angry, I would go to Biology. My stomach did frightened little flip flops at the thought of sitting next to him again

I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual – he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers – but when we went to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. I was secretly pleased. I would be free to go straight to my room after Gym.

Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four, where Biology was.

Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.

I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.

"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.

I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled – even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful.

"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Blake Swan."