----*----
When I got home, I didn't have a chance to think about who, or what Cullen was.
"May-May, Izzy!"
"JAKE-JAKE!" I screamed, hobbling out of the house. "OH MY GOD! YOU'RE HERE!"
Bella was looking seriously confused. "What? Who?" she whispered.
"Of course," the fifteen year old Quileute chuckled. "Where else would I be? Harvard?"
"Bella," I said, intentionally loud. "You remember Jacob Black. Dad bought The Thing off his dad, Billy." Figures that Bella wouldn't remember my best friend. The best friend we've known for years. Before we started spending summers in California, I spent my entire summers with him. People used to joke that we'd get married.
Billy wheeled up to us. "What did you do to yourself this time, May-May?" he asked, cautiously.
"Tyler Crowley hit me with his van. I even left a dent." Lying to cover-up for Cullen was too easy, not to mention I had a funny feeling I'd better not mention his family. I pulled out my cell phone. "I've got pictures of the gash on my leg."
Jake started to laugh. "Is that bone?" He shook his head. "That is gross."
"Yeah that's my tibia, and I dislocated my patella." I was smirking.
"Shit, May, I don't know anatomy, but that sounds painful." I'd never heard Jake say 'Shit' before. It was hilarious and fit him perfectly.
Charlie's response was even funnier. "Jacob," he gasped. "Watch it!"
We doubled over in laughter. Bella was staring at us, apparently trying to keep from laughing herself. "Oh, gosh!" I sighed, "Forks might actually be worth getting expelled with you around, Jake."
Billy's winkled face went sober. "Okay," he said, the joking manner gone. "What did you do, really?"
"I didn't say I was good a role model, Mr. Black." I said, somberly. "Just don't let Jake take driving lessons from me, okay?"
Jake and I broke out in laughter again. "I'm sorry I asked," Billy said, trying not to laugh himself.
----*----
The next morning I hobbled into Spanish, a few minutes late. Cullen was standing at the front of the room, talking with our teacher who had his back to the room. Cullen nodded politely in my direction.
"Micah," I whispered, leaning over to the freshman next to me. "What's he doing here?" I forced my voice to drip with disgust and distrust.
"I'm not sure," she replied. She looked mildly surprised, as if she had never heard me speak before. "They're talking in Spanish."
Speaking, I corrected in my mind. They're speaking Spanish.
The teacher turned to the class. "Class, this is Edward. He doesn't have a morning class, so he agreed to spend the hour with us. Say 'Hola', class."
"Hola," the rest of the class chorused. I remained stubbornly silent. I refused to acknowledge Cullen, even as a member of a group.
"Liza?" the teacher called. "Participate, please."
I bit my lip and crossed my arms. No way, Jose. I'd rather eat raw meat and that's something coming from a vegetarian.
Cullen hid a chuckle behind a cough. "Esta bein. I know Eliza-May doesn't like to talk."
I flinched slightly at his use of my name and closed my eyes. I focused on the back of the lids, trying to block the classroom out.
"Actually," the teacher said, looking right at me. "I think you could help Liza. She's missed a lot and we're taking a test today. Perhaps you could go with her to the library and help her study?"
I groaned as Cullen nodded. I slammed my textbook and stood, wobbling slighty.
----*----
"I don't need a tutor," I muttered, in the almost silence of the library.
"Don't you?" Cullen asked. "What's your grade point average?"
I snorted. "Your mood swings are giving me whiplash. One moment, you almost turn me in for smoking. Then, you save my life. Now, you're insulting my GPA."
"I didn't save your life," he muttered, his face guilt-ridden. "I'm not the hero."
"You're the villain," I replied, suddenly understanding. "When you knocked Bella out of the way, you knocked me into the path of the van." I looked him in the eyes. "You almost killed me and my sister still thinks you're amazing."
"Your sister is stubborn." He shook his head, his hair flying slightly. I haven't noticed his hair color before. It's strange. Copper almost. "She refuses to be frightened of me. She doesn't even know what I am."
The word 'what' caught my attention. I blinked once. "I just think you're a creep." I put my nose in my book. I began to search my mind for ideas.
A very faint memory from Freshman Mythology stuck in my mind. Dark under eyes, pale with purple undertones. He didn't seem to breathe when I was bleeding. Bella thought he thought she smelled that first day. The fact that most people naturally repelled him and his siblings.
Cullen seemed to concentrating on my face. "What are you thinking, Liza Swan?" he asked, absent mindedly, as if he was talking to himself.
That's when it hit me. I wrote on my paper, and passed it Cullen.
No eres humano.
He looked alerted.
¿Tengo razón yo?
He nodded. The world began to move in slow motion as I wrote my next question. I'd figured it out.
Eres un vampiro, ¿verdad?
He took the paper from me gently.
Scared yet?
I nodded. My sister might be in love with a vampire. "She loves you," I whispered, forcing myself to stay seated. "She doesn't know what she's up against, does she?"
He nodded. "I was hoping either one of you would discover my true nature."
I was clenching the side of the book. Tears began to roll down my face. "She will." I replied. "She's smarter than me and…" I looked him in the eyes. I think she loves you.
He nodded. "I was afraid of that."
I watched his face. "You're a telepath too. But you can't read me well."
"And you sister not at all. When you're stressed or hurt your mind becomes—"
"Clear?" I offered; surprised at the turn our conversation had taken.
"Yes, thank you." He tapped my book. "Are we on chapter six?"
"Yes," I muttered, turning to the page.
----*----
I sat on the bleachers during Gym, unable to play. I began to think about Cullen and what would happen next.
Bella was clearly distracted. In fact, she seemed to be playing worse than usual. I knew what was on her mind. Silently, I wished she would get over him.
I wouldn't be so lucky.