(A/N: This is one of my favorite chapters of anything I've written. I love it. Yeesh. And omg, kids. My hands are so very cold. It's getting chilly! They started to get numb when I started this chapter. I'm going to put my hands in the toaster while I'm pondering next chapter.
Disclaimer: I own a toaster, a dog, a cool scarf and this plot, but sadly, I don't own these characters. I'm just playing in SMEYERS toy-box.)
If there was one thing I learned in half of a day at Forks High School, it was that kids were mean. You'd think – upon first impression of the town – that it was a town where everyone was nice. Like a common small town, where everyone knows everyone, everyone is friendly and kind. But, the high school proved exactly the opposite.
All day, I'd come across one nice person. She wasn't one of those people who seemed like a smug person, or the type of person to get to know me only because she wanted gossip to spread through the claustrophobic halls. She was a quiet person, like me except she seemed more reserved. I met her in second period. Trig. She taught me the ropes of getting through the year with the eccentric teacher we had – Mr. Varner.
"See, Bella." Angela –my new friend – whispered to me quietly as she shifted her body in her desk to lean closer to me. "Everyone knows that Mr. Varner is practically insane." She giggled slightly and gestured to the front of the room to prove her point as the teacher stood at the front of the room, drawing a triangle in a tutu. Evidently, he was trying to teach us a memory trick.
I couldn't help but to giggle. Other people were staring at Mr. Varner in shock. Apparently this exceeded his normal insanity. "So, what's the trick to passing the class without thinking that triangles wear tutus?" I whispered back, still snickering at the teacher's art.
"Basically, grasshopper," She said in a mockingly wise tone, "You just need to read the lesson from the book when you get home at night." By this point her tone had gone back to serious. "Sometimes, he doesn't deviate too far from what we're learning but occasionally he has his ADD moments."
I chuckled under my breath and someone who sat a seat away from me on the other side snickered as well. Apparently he had heard. I blushed slightly; it seemed like a reflex and looked back to the teacher, spinning in a circle. It looked as if he were giving us a visual of his memory trick. He was dancing like a ballerina.
I burst into a fit of giggles. In all my life, I'd never seen a teacher teach a class this way and it was entirely amusing. I could get used to it. It seemed that second period was going to be my favorite.
All too soon, the bell rang; marking the end of one of the most exciting classes I'd ever endured. I'd never actually been upset when the bell rang but this was most certainly a different case.
I walked down the hallway with Angela, as it turned out, her locker was right next to mine and it was very convenient considering we shared all of our classes except fifth period biology, and first period English. I'd get to see her often.
As I shoved my things from Trig into my locker, and proceeded to pull out my Spanish binder, a little scene caught my eye. A tall, very handsome boy – or was he a man? I decided to refer to him as a man because he wasn't very young boy ish – walked down the hallway near me. Or at least tried to.
"Hey, freak. What the fuck are you doing in this hall? Didn't we tell you to stay out?" A tall blond boy pushed the handsome one who was the object of my stares. The handsome one simply reached up, pushing a bronze lock out of his eyes and simply stared at the guy who decided to start something. I gasped at the intense color of his eyes. They were a vibrant green. A shade I'd never seen before. As if it was created specifically for this beautiful creature.
Another boy came up behind the green-eyed bronze haired god and shoved him again. "Oh, Mike! Cullen decided to grace our hallway with his freakish presence again? How dare he?" The other boy said to the blonde. Apparently his name was Mike. And the tall god was Cullen?
It seemed petty to only notice how beautiful the boy being tormented was. I felt like I should have stepped in and defended him or something. But, I didn't want to mess with the two burly guys, who according to their jackets- were on the football team.
Angela whispering in my ear caught my attention. "Poor, Edward. They torment him relentlessly." She sighed. "He may be a bit of an outcast, but they need to just leave him alone." So his name was Edward? Cullen must have been his last name. As I thought about that, another thought registered. Hadn't someone said something about Alice Cullen earlier today? According to what I heard, she was fairly popular. Maybe they were related?
"Who are the boys that are picking on him?" I whispered back as I looked at the scene in front of me with sadness in my eyes.
"Well," began Angela. "The boy with the dark hair is Ben Cheney. The blond is Mike Newton. They're both on the football team." So, I knew their names now. If only I had the courage to say something.
Just then, the bell rang once more. I was going to be late to class and the two bullies wouldn't let Edward get by. I felt bad but noticed something. Through the whole encounter, the god like creature didn't say a single word. It puzzled me and I pondered it a moment too long.
"See you, douche bag." The blond – Mike - sneered at Edward, smacking his binders out of his hands and grabbing his friend Ben by the collar and bolting off. I hadn't realized that Angela already left. It was only Edward and I in the hallway.
Edward looked at his scattered papers with a defeated expression as he bent to pick them up. As long as I was late, I figured I might do something. I went over to where he was, sadly picking up papers. Not just papers, music. I bent down as well and helped him gather his things.
"I'm sorry they did that to you. It wasn't very nice." I handed him a stack of music and he flinched, as if he expected me to be a bully too. He looked up at me through his lashes, his eyes wary yet; he did not utter a word. "I'm not going to be mean to you like them." I promised, and felt like I was talking to an abused dog or something.
He gently took the papers from my hand. "You play an instrument?" I noted and he simply nodded. I had a feeling he wasn't going to speak to me. I went to pick up one last paper that was by my foot, as he was doing exactly the same thing. Our hands touched for only a fraction of a second and it felt comfortable oddly enough. He immediately recoiled his hand, letting me take the music.
"Clair de Lune?" I asked reading the top of the score. "You can play that? It's beautiful." We both stood up then, and he looked at me confused. As if he were surprised that I knew it. "I love Debussy." I added for good measure.
"My mom used to listen to classical music." I sad sadly, giving him an explanation and he nodded.
It seemed very odd to me that he didn't speak, but I guess I understood. Being tormented as he was could drive someone into sheltering himself. I wasn't positive that that was his reasoning. For all I knew, he could have been a mute. But, I felt like I understood.
"I guess I should be going. I hope they don't give you trouble again." I said quietly as I walked off. I was determined to show Edward that maybe he would have a reason to come out of silence. I felt oddly buoyant as I walked away. I felt good.
The rest of third period all I could think about was a pair of vulnerable green eyes. The beautiful boy that appeared to be the subject of a lot of torment. The boy who I felt I might dream about.
Journal,
Disappearing is exactly what I wanted to do. It's sheer agony being tormented and not saying a single word. But it seems my defenses are broken. I can't even bring myself to speak anymore. It seems that there is no longer a point.
Humans are mean. It's just a statement of fact. It's their defense mechanism. If they're threatened, they react on it. How I could pose as a threat to anyone is beyond me. But, my mechanism is broken. Destroyed. I couldn't even make myself walk away. I stood there like some kind of masochist and took it. I simply took it. I still wanted to vanish.
But, I saw her. I saw her and I realized, as she helped me collect my life from the dusty linoleum floor, I realized that maybe I didn't have to disappear. And if I were to vanish, I hoped she would be there. .
Of everything I'd encountered, she was the most interesting. She lifted my spirits with seemingly no malicious intent. And as I walked away, I smiled.
-EAC