Disclaimer: I am not the proud owner of Twilight, but I commend Stephenie Meyer on her work.
FORKS ROX MY SOX!
This chapter has been revised, y'all!
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Aubrey was nearly late to school the next day. She had punched her alarm clock in her sleep and awoke to find it smashed on the floor with its batteries expelled. Her phone told her she had fifteen minutes before the bell. Aubrey dressed and brushed on a little eye makeup before flying down the stairs to gather her books. She ran out of the door with a brush in one hand and her jacket in the other, hurriedly locking the door behind her and throwing the key into the bushes instead of hiding it above the doorframe as they had been doing.
The rain had paused for the time being and had been replaced by a thick, white fog. Aubrey decided to stay on the shoulder of the road as she sprinted. She wasn't in the mood for a repeat of her first walk to school. After what must have been an Olympic race against the bell, Aubrey burst through the door to Mr. Varner's class just as the bell let out its bleeping scream of finality. She gathered her breath and walked slowly to her seat with a posture not unlike that of a war hero.
All through Biology and Government Aubrey's mind brooded on the incident in English from the day before. She couldn't forget the look on his face when he had first turned to see her staring at him. The smirk that had twitched at the corners of his porcelain mouth. He was just too perfect, even if she hadn't seen him entirely face-on. She was now completely convinced that he wasn't a figment of her imagination though. Figments didn't get you into the most embarrassing class situations.
When Aubrey walked into Mr. Mason's classroom, she immediately turned and thought about going back out. Marek Rhodes was there, a few feet away talking to Mr. Mason by the board. He looked just as stunning as he had the day before. More so even. Aubrey turned away from the door and hurried to her seat, taking it and concentrating her eyes on a bit of graffiti on the desk as a distraction. The bell rang and Mr. Mason cleared his throat.
"Welcome, class. Unfortunately Sarah Barnes will not be joining us today. Mr. Rhodes has informed me that she and her family moved back to Jackson, Mississippi. As you know, the marriage projects will be starting today. Everyone move your desks next to your partner's--"
Aubrey felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.
"--So, Mr. Rhodes, your new project partner is..." There was a shuffling of papers and Aubrey closed her eyes with dread. "Miss Neils."
There was a thunk of books hitting the desk in front of her and the screech of metal on linoleum as the angelic being dragged it back next to Aubrey's. Aubrey turned slightly, flicking her eyes to the left to take in the radiant, perfect heartthrob sitting right...next...to...her. She realized her mouth was hanging open and quickly closed it, tearing her eyes away to stare at the carving on the desk. When that didn't work, she turned her eyes to Mr. Mason and tried to hear what he was saying.
"...project for the next few weeks will be, as I have said, the marriage project. You will pretend to be married to your given partner...you'll notice it's boy-girl already...and you will write a story on what it would be like to be married to said partner. Set it at about ten years from the age you are now. Write about how you met, your wedding, your marriage, and your children if you choose to have them. You will need to include information on your partner. Write about their interests, their skills, all that information. The story must be at least five chapters with a minimum of four page per chapter."
"Why are we doing this?" asked a boy in the back, who was not enjoying his frizzy, acne-ridden braceface of a partner.
"Well, if you don't want to, then don't. But that's two hundred points of your grade lost if you do," said Mr. Mason with a wry grin. "If you want to have the pleasure of my class again, Mr. Morris, then by all means, skip the project."
He laughed, but Aubrey could swear she was choking. She had to pretend to be married to the perfect, serene being next to her. The thought was enough to make her go limp. She wasn't the social type around other guys. Forget perfect guys. Around them she was a complete mess.
"What are you waiting for? Get to know each other!" said Mr. Mason from the front. Aubrey felt no desire stronger than the one to throw her pencil down the teacher's throat in mid-laugh.
"So," said a voice that sounded like music to Aubrey's ears. She turned to look at her partner. He was smirking at her. A casual, natural-looking smirk, as if he bore it often. "Tell me about yourself."
"Uh...I uh..." stuttered Aubrey. She cleared her throat. "Um...I'm Aubrey...and...I'm from Little Rock." Her voice seemed a little high-pitched, uneasy.
"Well hi. I'm Marek and I'm from Rockland," said the marble god. His smirk seemed so beautiful; it should have been illegal.
"Erm...hi..." mumbled Aubrey.
"Nervous are we?" asked Marek.
"You have no idea," said Aubrey, sighing.
"Don't worry," said Marek. He leaned in. "I often have that effect on people."
"Mmmhmm..." It was all Aubrey could say. She reached into her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper, writing down the name of the city. Then she turned back. "So uh...what are your...interests?"
"Ladies first," said Marek, ripping out his own paper and clicking a pen open. "What are your interests?"
"Uh...I like reading and...drawing...and...movies..." mumbled Aubrey, feeling like a moron.
"Any family?" asked Marek.
"No, I'm an orphan. It's a hard knock life, for us." Marek laughed.
"Tell me about your family?" he said. Aubrey thought.
"Well...I live with my dad," she said. She was finding it getting easier to talk to him, though his looks were still intimidating.
"Do you have a mom?" asked Marek with his lovely smirk.
"Yes," said Aubrey.
"...Any siblings?" he continued to press.
"Yeah," said Aubrey, frowning. He dropped the subject, scribbling away on his page.
"And what does your father do?"
"He's an anesthesiologist. He works with uh...your uh...umm...," stuttered Aubrey, searching for the right words.
"Carlisle," finished Marek for her, not looking up.
"Yeah," said Aubrey.
"So how long have you been here?" asked Marek.
"Four days," said Aubrey. "How long have you been here?"
"I came in October," said Marek. He laughed to himself as Aubrey copied the date down. "What kind of car do you have?"
"I don't have one," said Aubrey nervously. "I...uh...walk here." Marek looked up.
"You live close?" he asked, raising one perfect eyebrow.
"Yeah...down the road," said Aubrey, pointing off at a wall, not looking away from his gaze. His eyes seemed browner today. Less black, perhaps a burgundy. There seemed to be a hint of red in them. He looked away, and she shook herself mentally. "So...what car do you have?"
"A 1994 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am," said Marek simply. Aubrey struggled to get all of that on the paper. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"No clue," said Aubrey with a sheepish grin. "And you?" Marek looked up, staring at the front wall, seemingly lost in thought. Aubrey waited a while. "No ambition?" she guessed. He looked back at her.
"No." he said, smiling. "What's your favorite color?"
"Clear," said Aubrey without thinking. Marek raised an eyebrow at her before writing it down. "Um...what's your favorite food?"
"Deer," said Marek quickly. Aubrey blinked.
"You hunt?" she asked.
"Yes," he said, smiling his brilliant smile. Aubrey felt her jaw slack open again. He reached over and closed it for her. Her ears went red. Marek's eyes flicked to her ears and a strange look seized his features. Aubrey covered them in embarrassment.
"Sorry..." she mumbled, hiding her face. Marek didn't answer. The bell rang and he was up and out of the door in seconds. Aubrey felt her heart sinking as she picked up her bag and started out with the rest of the class. What had she done now?
"So, I hear Mason's started the marriage projects," said Jessica with a squeal when Aubrey sat down at the usual lunch table.
"Yeah..." said Aubrey distantly.
"Have you had that class yet?" asked Jessica. Aubrey nodded, hoping her face looked casual to mask the raging awe and disbelief that had deeply shaken her mind. "So who's your husband?" Jessica pressed, eager for the dirty details.
"Um...Marek Rhodes..." Aubrey mumbled, hastily stuffing an apple into her mouth. Jessica's jaw dropped.
"No way...you're married to one of the Cullens?" she asked in disbelief.
"Technically he's not a Cullen," said Aubrey.
"But he's as gorgeous as one!" she hissed.
"I've got a French test next, don't talk to me," said Aubrey, trying to recall the verb forms. She really did have a test next, but she couldn't recall anything besides the memory of Marek's smile in English. Jessica seemed ready to burst with anticipation as she stared into Aubrey's face.
But she never got her story. Aubrey finished as quickly as she could and got to French very early. She reflected over the chapter while she waited for class to begin. The door opened after a few minutes. Aubrey glanced up as voices floated across the room from the teacher's desk. Alice Cullen was speaking. Aubrey felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she forced her eyes to return to the textbook. Her ears did not comprehend what was being said as she repeated the various verb forms loudly in her head. When the voices stopped, however, she chanced another upward glance. Alice was walking to the door. As her pale, delicate hand grasped the knob, her bronze eyes flicked to meet Aubrey's. They were darker than Aubrey remembered. The door swung open and back into the frame and she was gone.
Aubrey's conflicted mind caused her to remember only five of the nine verbs they had been asked to conjugate. She didn't seem to care much though. Her thoughts were elsewhere, or, more accurately, on Marek Rhodes. He would be in her class again. In Gym.
Sure enough, in what seemed like no time at all Aubrey found herself standing on the basketball court, holding a small paddle. Today was pickleball, the most random sport on Earth in Aubrey's opinion. Who had ever even thought to name a cross between ping-pong and tennis pickleball? What significance did that name hold? She forced her thoughts to remain present as Bella moved to the back to serve. No good could come of Bella hitting a ball across a net. Someone was bound to be injured. As expected, Bella tripped over her own feet trying to serve. Both the paddle and the ball soared towards Aubrey. She managed to dodge the paddle, but the ball hit her shoulder and bounced off into the next court.
Aubrey's eyes followed it, but then moved up to see Marek three courts down letting off one serve after another towards a stationary opposing team. He and his grateful partner were scoring point after point as none of the balls were hit back. While Aubrey stood in her daze, another student had retrieved their lost ball and threw it to her. She didn't notice it until it collided with her forehead.
Changing back into school attire was especially quick for Aubrey and she left the gym before the bell had even rung yet. She wanted to leave her embarrassing day behind as quickly as she could. She flitted across the street and began her walk home. Suddenly, a bright red convertible shot past her, splattering the contents of a deep puddle mere inches from where Aubrey had just stood. A green-blue Trans Am followed at the same speed, splashing water in a wave right in front of the poor girl. It screeched to a stop suddenly and a pale face poked out of the window, looking back at her.
"See you tomorrow, darling!" Marek called back. He laughed and floored the acceleration, speeding out of sight.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
REVIEW!