Thank you to all of those amazing people who favorited/followed/reviewed the prologue and decided to give this story a chance. Like I said before I felt the rewrite was necessary because I wanted to make this story the best it could be.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter and will keep giving this story a chance. I had lots of fun writing this chapter :)
Anyways, get to reading!
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
Chapter 1
Butterfly
I slammed my hand down onto the off button on the alarm clock the second it began to ring. I had already been awake for an hour or two, way too eager and nervous to get ready for my first day of school. I got out of bed easily and opened the blinds to reveal the clouds that were hanging in the sky. Droplets of rain were still running down the window from last night's storm and I watched a couple of them race down the glass before I took in the trees that lined the back of the house.
The smile that was playing at my lips would probably make every teenager around the world feel sick. While others were dreading the first day of the school year I was completely looking forward to it. It's been years since I've gone to school. I barely even remember what it was like to sit in a desk and receive homework assignments. My daily lessons at the hospital were probably nothing like the actual thing. Those lessons didn't include backpacks and classrooms and cafeterias. The Quileute Tribal School did.
I walked over to the full length mirror that hung on the back of my door and scanned over every inch of me. My hair finally reached my cheekbones, but it still wasn't long and curly like I remember it being before. My hazel eyes were wide with excitement and the freckles on my cheeks were stretched to the limit from the huge smile on my face.
This was going to be the first normal teenage experience I will have since I got out of the hospital last November. I've gone through a lot this summer just to get to this point. I did everything I could to ensure that I would be ready to go to school. I read an endless amount of books and even went for tutoring everyday just to be sure I would be at the same level as everyone else. Since I had missed so much school I would have to be held back by a year, but a year was better than two or three.
"Ali!" I heard my mother's voice travelling from the hallway and she opened the door, grinning at me with Kevin hanging on her hip, "I was just about to come and wake you up."
"You thought I could actually sleep?" I raised my eyebrow at her reflection in the mirror.
"I guess I should've known," she rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Breakfast will be waiting for you on the table after your shower."
She closed the door behind her and I was left alone with my reflection staring back at me. I let out a long sigh to try to rid myself of the nerves that were beginning to make my heart race. After I scanned over myself once more I nodded in approval at my appearance, "Day one of being a normal teenager."
I showered quickly to be sure I would have time to ensure that I looked as good as possible. First impressions were everything, and I really didn't want my ghost white skin and boyish looking hair to be what everyone focused on. I wanted people to see who I really was, not the person that cancer had made me.
I put on the dark washed jeans and light green t-shirt that I had picked out, adding on a denim jacket since La Push was hardly ever warm even in the beginning of September. The outfit gave off the casual vibe I was looking for that wouldn't really make me look stereotypical in any sense. My hair was a whole different ball game when it came to looking stereotypical. I had no idea what to do with it. It was too short to put up and do anything interesting with. I could add a headband or bow but that would make me look mousy and stupid. I could wear a beanie but that would make me look like a tomboy. I guess I would just have to hope that my hair didn't look too terrible in proportion to my round face and big eyes.
After I was finished with my hair I put on the purple Chuck Taylors my parents had bought me last week and grabbed my backpack that I had already packed up last night. The smell of bacon and grease filled my nostrils as I made my way downstairs. When I walked into the kitchen a huge spread was already sitting on the table full of eggs, sausage, and of course bacon. I couldn't remember the last time we all ate a huge breakfast like this. My dad was usually rushing to get to work while my mom almost always looking at paperwork, whether it be medical bills or some other sort of bills. This morning however, my dad was sipping a cup of coffee at the table, looking as if he was getting ready to settle in instead of head out while my mother was calmly eating her own breakfast beside him.
I kissed Kevin on the top of his head before I sat down in my own seat, my plate already made.
"What's all of this for?" I asked, looking between my mother and father.
"Well, I thought we could all start eating breakfast together from now on. It's the start of a new beginning for all of us," her face lit up as the words spilled out of her mouth. I couldn't tell you how good it felt to see her so happy. After everything I put her through it was good to see that I hadn't damaged her completely.
"I'm working on some new ideas for the shop and your mother is thinking about writing again," my eyes widened a bit at my dad's words. My mom used to write books before the cancer came in and ruined everything. She had written for as long as I can remember, her eyes always latched onto a computer screen and her fingers typing madly on the keyboard. It was what she loved to do, and she was amazing at it. I remember when she would let me read over some of her work and I would edit it a bit here and there. One of her books was even on the New York Times bestseller list, and yet she gave up her passion to take care of me. Hence one of the many reasons why I think cancer is so screwy.
"That's great," I grabbed her hand over the table and squeezed it, her russet colored skin contrasting with mine, "You have to let me read over it whenever you finish."
"I always do."
She squeezed my hand back for only a second before we both began to eat our new beginnings breakfast.
I looked up at the big decrepit building in front of me, my nerves taking control. I watched curiously as a bunch of tan, dark haired teenagers walked through the doors. In that instant, I knew that I would stand out more than I wanted to.
I gulped down the growing lump in my throat and closed the car door behind me, clenching my hands into fists to try to get them to stop shaking.
"I'll pick you up around three."
I turned back around towards the car and nodded, all of the excitement I was feeling before turning into anxiety.
"You'll be fine honey," she smiled, "I have faith in you."
I nodded again and waved a goodbye to her, watching as her car drove away. I didn't allow myself to acknowledge the stares I was getting from each person who passed by. Last night I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't show any signs of weakness while I was here, even if people were making fun of me. I was going to keep my head held high and embrace whatever was thrown my way.
My hands were clutching the straps of my backpack as I walked through the door, the only person walking in alone. I took a moment to take in the crowded hallway full of students, watching as they greeted old friends and opened their lockers, all of them studying their schedules intently.
I walked with my chin up, not making direct eye contact with anyone as I passed. When I got to the office I pulled out the form my mom had told me to hand in and waited patiently to receive everything I would need. The door behind me opened and I kept my gaze forward as the girl walked up beside me.
She greeted everyone in the office with ease and began to talk to the other student who had walked in with her. Before I could even look their way the woman behind the desk handed me the schedule. I said a quick thank you to her and began to study it just as intently as the people in the hallway.
"Hey," I looked over at the girl beside me, taking in her tan skin and dark chocolate brown hair that flowed in curls over her shoulders. Whoever she had walked in here with before was gone, "I'm Dominica."
She stuck out her hand and I shook it easily, "Alyssa," I replied.
She smiled warmly at me, "Nice to meet you. I've never seen you around before. Did you just move here?"
"No, I was just homeschooled before," I admitted, wondering if I should've just lied and said yes. I didn't know if I wanted to get into all of that just yet.
"Oh wow," she actually looked surprised, "that's different. What made you want to start going to school?"
I shrugged, "Just wanted to see what it was like I guess."
My answer didn't even cover half of the reason why I wanted to go to an actual school. I couldn't seem over eager though, I couldn't make it sound like I had a terrible disease and was finally getting back into the normality of life.
"Are you a senior?"
I stared at her for a long moment, her curiosity surprising me. I thought that it would be difficult to meet new people since I wasn't all that keen on how to make friends properly. Dominica was making it easy for me. She was showing me that I didn't exactly have to be the one that started things off, someone else could do it instead.
"Uh no, I'm a junior. I'm seventeen, but homeschooling doesn't really allow me to be at the same level."
"Damn that sucks," she puckered her lips, "It would've been cool if you were. We might have some of the same classes. There are always elective classes though."
I furrowed my brows, "Elective classes?" the term confused me.
She chuckled and laced her arm through mine, leading me out of the office and into the crowded hallway. I was no longer the center of everyone's attention now that Dominica and I were attached to each other, "They're basically classes you take outside of the basic subjects, such as art or music or gym. Let me see your schedule."
I handed it over, taking in the sights as we walked together. I had no idea where we were going, but I wasn't about to venture off on my own in this place so I stayed exactly where I was.
"Yes! We have photography together!" she exclaimed.
I couldn't help but smile at her. She was already accepting me and talking to me as if I was her friend. If this was how nice everyone was going to be then I had no doubt I would love it here.
"Nothing else though," she dragged me into a different hallway that looked similar to the last. Everyone was already grabbing their books and slamming their lockers shut. I was fascinated by all of it, "and right here is your locker," she stopped walking and let go of my arm.
I sent a smile her way, "Thanks," I said, wondering if she was going to leave me to my own devices now. She handed me back my schedule and I looked at the combination before I began to fumble with the lock. I had no idea how to open the damn thing, and Dominica just stood there watching me as I made a fool out of myself.
She didn't laugh like I thought she would and she didn't leave my side for a second. I kept questioning how she could be tolerating all of this or why she would even want to put up with a rookie like me. I was grateful for it no doubt; I just didn't think I would find someone who would take me under their wing like she already was. I thought I would be alone this first day.
After about five minutes of me failing time and time again to open the lock, she finally took over and taught me the correct way to do it. I listened to everything she told me about the basics of the school, such as where certain classrooms were and how to get to the cafeteria. When she was finishing her rundown of my classes I looked past her shoulder for a short second, noticing a group of boys at the end of the hall farthest from us.
All of them stood out like a sore thumb, with their tall frames and identical features. I watched them as they joked around with each other, pushing each other into lockers and talking like best friends would. There were three of them standing there, but there was only one that my heart leapt for.
His dark hair was cut short, and his build was slightly less muscular than the others, a bit lankier. No doubt he had muscles though. I could just see them bulging through his deep red shirt. When he smiled at something one of the others said my stomach awoke with butterflies that hadn't existed before. I couldn't tell you where all of this came from or that I had ever experienced it before. All I could say was that I was reminded of kissing Caleb, and even then the feeling of his kisses couldn't compare to this.
"Alyssa?" I felt someone's hand on my arm, and my eyes moved back to Dominica's face unwillingly.
"Sorry," I mumbled.
She looked over her shoulder and I went back to fixing up my locker, trying to act as if I wasn't affected by the group of boys I had seen.
"You don't have to feel bad, that's what every girl does when they see them."
"Feel bad about what?" That's right, play dumb.
She chuckled and rolled her eyes, "Staring at the Quileute boys. Jacob, Quil, and Embry."
Three names, and there was only one I really cared to know.
Wait no, no I didn't care. I didn't care about any of those names.
"I wasn't staring," I began to walk away from her, not exactly knowing where I was going. All I knew was that I had to get away from the sparks and the butterflies.
She was quick to follow me, "You were. Which one do you like best? Personally I think Jacob is the cutest but they're all pretty attractive-,"
"I don't think they're hot," I said, regretting the word 'hot' as soon as it left my lips.
"It's okay Ali," she had a huge smile on her face as she linked arms with me again, "Your secret's safe with me."
My eyes bugged out of their sockets and I elbowed her in the side as she continued to laugh at the blush on my cheeks.
I walked into third period, feeling overwhelmed with the amount of information I had received in just two class periods. I began to understand why everyone thought high school was so stressful. I wasn't even done with the first day and I already felt like I had gotten a month's worth of information thrown at me all at once. This definitely wasn't like being 'homeschooled'.
I sank into the desk in my calculus class and let out a deep breath as I waited for others to file into the room. I was probably going to be the only junior in this class as Dominica had told me. During my tutoring sessions over the summer I discovered that I really loved solving extremely difficult equations. Equations to me were like mazes, there were multiple paths to take but only one would lead to the exit. In math, it was the same way with only one path leading to the answer. My tutors had suggested that I take this class when I decided to enroll. I had no idea what to expect, but if it was anything like my other two classes I might be in trouble.
When the bell rang I was fully prepared to take a vigorous amount of notes and absorb all of the information my brain could handle. I had only written one number down on my notebook when my plans suddenly changed.
My heart began to palpitate against my ribs when he came rushing through the door and the butterflies began flapping their wings in my stomach once again.
"Late again Mr. Call," the teacher looked less than pleased and maybe even a bit bored. It told me that this wasn't the first time this had happened.
"Sorry, I was debating whether or not I was going to skip this God awful class."
People around me began to snicker and I noticed it was mostly girls who had found it funny. Obviously I wasn't the only girl who was captivated by him. I'm sure he has had his fair share of admirers.
I shook my head and forced myself to focus on my notebook instead of him, "Well, I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am that you decided to grace us with your presence. Now take your seat before you waste more of my time."
His footsteps were loud as he made his way through the aisle, or maybe it just seemed that way to me since it was the only thing I could focus on. I glanced beside me and almost threw up at the sight of an empty desk. Then, without warning he sat down right in that desk. In that moment I wished more than anything that my hair was longer just so that I could hide behind it.
I gripped my pencil tightly as I watched him open his notebook out of the corner of my eye. As soon as the lecture started I knew that there was no possible way for me to pay attention, at least not when he was right next to me. I wrote down what was written on the board obediently, but snuck a peek at him after each number just to be sure he hadn't disappeared.
I thought he was just taking notes until I saw his pencil begin to glide in ways that couldn't possibly form numbers. Every few seconds I would allow myself to look over at his notebook instead of him, amazed at the creatures that were taking form on the page. He bit his lip and furrowed his brows as he drew, which only made him look more attractive than he did before if that's even possible.
Throughout the whole period I watched him draw all over his notebook, not once bothering to listen to hear the teacher's explanation about limits. He didn't catch me gawking, but that was only because he hadn't looked up at all. When I took a break and looked around the room I saw that a couple of girls were glaring at me viciously, as if I was doing something wrong by staring at him, as if I was pathetic for even thinking he would consider me. So, I stopped, because it was ridiculous. These girls probably knew him better than I ever could.
When class was over he shot up out of his seat faster than the speed of light, his body a dark blur. I tried not to feel disappointed when he left, but the knot tied itself inside my gut anyways. It took a while for me to get the image of him out of my head. I spent the next class trying to convince myself that it wasn't worth it for me to obsess over him. He was way out of my league. I stood no chance against these other girls.
It wasn't until I got to lunch that I was finally able to focus on something else. Dominica introduced me to the rest of her friends at the table, and I found out that one of them, the girl named Jillian, was a junior like I was. We compared schedules for a minute and discovered that we had chemistry together. Then the four of them asked me tons of questions that kept my mind busy for the time being. I was too focused on finding ways to prevent myself from spilling out too much information to think about the unbelievably attractive boy in my calculus class. I knew that there was no reason for me to feel anxious about telling other people that I had cancer, I just didn't want them to immediately associate me with it. I wanted them to know me first.
After lunch was over with, Jillian and I headed for our class and parted ways with the other three. I was able to completely forget about him during those last few classes, concentrating more on note taking than the image of his face as he drew in his notebook. When it was finally time for photography I met Dominica outside the classroom door so that we could go in together.
We entered a dark room that was full of tons of pictures hanging around various parts of the room. I sat on the stool next to Dominica and stared at each picture in awe. Some of them were images of people in both black and white and color. Others were of buildings and landscapes, and each of them was beautiful in their own way. It made the whole room look like some sort of art museum.
"I'm not all that confident in my photo taking abilities," Dominica admitted.
"Me neither," a photo of a black and white rose caught my eye, "If we suck at least we'll suck together."
"Ms. S isn't a real hard ass so I'm sure we'll be fine," she bent over and rummaged through her backpack for something while I just couldn't keep my eyes off of the picture of the rose. Even though it was a black and white photo I could picture the colors bursting out of the paper and I could practically smell the sweet scent of the flower.
A dark figure appeared in the doorway that was directly behind the photo and my gaze shifted from the rose to the person immediately. It wasn't just anyone though; it was him along with one of the other guys that I had seen this morning. I gripped either side of the stool I was sitting on as tight as possible as they walked over to the two empty seats directly across from me and Dominica, which meant that they would be facing us. It wasn't enough that I sat right next to him in my other class, now I had to sit with his face in my face here too.
Ugh, why must this happen to me?
The teacher, Ms. S as Dominica called her, began her introduction by giving a basic description of what photography was and what it means to take photographs. Of course I couldn't listen when he was sitting right in front of me, and of course he didn't even look my way. I had no idea why I felt the need to look at him to be honest. It was like some part of me knew something that the rest of me didn't know. My heart was keeping secrets from my brain and forbidding any thought that did not include him in it, prohibiting any signals to be sent to my eyes that would make them look away from him. If I wasn't the one doing all the staring I would probably find it extremely creepy.
Ms. S handed each of us a camera, which made me come out of my heart's dreamland. I paid attention to the instructions on how to use the camera, but my thoughts would drift back to the nameless boy across from me every so often.
Dominica accidentally took a picture as she fiddled with the device, which caused the flash to go off, lighting up the whole room. I laughed quietly beside her as she mouthed a sorry to the teacher. She let the camera sit on the table untouched and I focused back on mine, putting it up to my face and looking through the eyepiece. When I saw the boy again his eyes were set on me, and I almost died right on the spot.
The camera was stuck to my face, my hands frozen. My heart began racing again, entering dreamland. When I was finally able to convince myself to put the camera down I looked at the table in front of me instead of at him. It was difficult to fight the signals that were trying to get me to look at him, and I had to close my eyes just so that I wouldn't do it.
For a couple of minutes I just sat there, biting my lip and keeping my eyes closed. I must've looked like I was in pain or something, and I was hoping I looked terrible enough to have him look away from me. When Ms. S told us that we would be going outside to take a few pictures I let out a relieved sigh. I heard everyone beginning to get out of their seats, which is when I decided to open my eyes again.
As soon as I did I realized that he was still staring at me, not moving or rushing out of the room like he had in calculus, just sitting there studying me. I built up enough courage to finally meet his eyes and when I did, the butterflies flapped their wings rapidly inside of me. Everything around me seemed to slow down and eventually disappeared. He smiled just the tiniest bit and my whole body began to tingle just at the sight of it. There was no way in hell I was going to look away now.
Suddenly, I felt someone lightly tap my shoulder. Then it happened again until eventually they were full on shaking my arm. I blinked and glanced in the direction of where it was coming from before I looked back at him.
"Earth to Ali," Domincia's voice rang in my ears, "Come on everyone else is already gone."
I blinked again and finally took notice to the fact that the boy and I were the only two people who didn't stand up and move for the door. His friend began to snap his fingers and wave his hand in front of his face to try to get him to focus, but to no avail. After almost the whole school day of me staring at him it was now his turn to stare at me.
"Ali! Come on!" she began to tug now and I broke eye contact with him.
"Alright, let's go," I couldn't ignore the sick feeling I got in the pit of my stomach the minute my eyes were no longer looking into his. It was making me walk slower, making me want to look back over my shoulder again. And I did, just to see his friend shaking his head hopelessly beside him, muttering something that I couldn't hear while he just watched me go.
Somehow I managed to get to the back of the school without falling apart, and that was mostly because Dominica was practically dragging me along. I kept my gaze forward when we exited through the back doors, trying to get myself to focus on reality again.
"What was that?!" Dominica had her camera hanging around her neck and I looked down at mine. I don't remember grabbing the camera at all.
I didn't know how to answer her question because I honestly didn't quite know what that was myself. It took me a minute to process what had just happened, to think clearly and not picture the way he smiled at me in my head.
"I have no idea," I answered truthfully.
She stood there looking dumbfounded and I grabbed my camera and snapped a random photo just so I wouldn't have to see that look on her face any longer.
"Oh my God, you like Embry Call!" she said it louder than she needed to, shout it as if it had all just clicked inside her head. It was loud enough for a couple of people to turn their heads around and look at us.
I dropped my camera and shoved her lightly, "I don't like him," I said it but I didn't believe it, because now all I could think about was his name.
Embry. It was unique and I loved the sound of it. Embry.
Ugh, she was right.
"Yeah you do I could totally see it on your face," she was beaming and I tried not to concentrate on the realization that I had just come to, "and he was practically drooling over you."
"No he wasn't," I shook my head and tried to focus on taking pictures. I kept clicking the button over and over robotically and without thinking about what I was doing. My mind allowed me to think of him and him only. It was getting a bit annoying.
"He so was," she had taken no pictures since we stepped outside, and I was starting to think that she wouldn't start anytime soon, "You should go talk to him."
I laughed, "Sure, okay," I replied sarcastically.
"Why not? Every girl wishes Embry would look at her the way he just looked at you," she sighed dramatically, which made me wonder if she was one of those girls.
"So, because he looked at me means I should go talk to him?"
"Yes! That's exactly what it means!"
I shuddered at her enthusiasm, "He was probably staring at me because I'm new. Either that or he was perplexed by the way I look…and not in a good way."
"Oh God, don't give me any of that bullshit. He probably thinks you're hot."
I took a picture of the trees across the field, a lump forming in the back of my throat, "That's what every girl dreams of, having a guy think she's hot. Gosh what an honor it would be if he actually thought I was hot."
"Your body just bleeds sarcasm doesn't it?" she asked.
I nodded, "My middle name is sarcasm actually."
"Good to know," she snapped her first picture.
I rolled my eyes and went back to picture taking, the camera glued to my face again. As I scanned the area multiple times with the camera I found something new to capture and clicked the button so it was saved on the device. When I turned around to discover more photo worthy things I saw him standing about ten feet away from us, staring again. I wondered how long he had been there for and questioned whether he had heard us talking or not.
Dominica was still turned the other way when I let my camera drop. His friend was looking between the two of us, mumbling about something and snapping pictures here and there. I allowed myself to smile a little at him before I turned again.
"I'm totally bullshitting this right now," Dominica said as she looked through the eyepiece of her camera, "If there were ever a time where I didn't know what I was doing, this was definitely it."
"I don't think there's a right or wrong way to take pictures," I replied.
"There's a right or wrong way to take good pictures though."
I opened my mouth to speak again, but the words got caught in my throat when he appeared in front of the two of us, his friend tagging along beside him.
"Hi," and just the sound of his voice saying that one simple word made everything begin to blur again.
My mouth hung open in the form of a word that wouldn't come out. I was so mesmerized by him that I found it hard just to talk. He stood there and waited for me to reply, wearing a smile that made his brown eyes crease and seeming as if he was content with my silence.
I had to take a moment to collect myself before I could try to talk again. Dominica spoke for me instead, "Hi, I'm Dominica and this is my friend, Alyssa," she nudged me in their direction, which I figured was her attempt at getting me to speak to him, to Embry.
So I did, "Hi," my voice sounded so small and weak. I didn't like that it sounded that way. If there was any chance of me speaking to him I would have to cut it out and stop letting him affect me this way. I wasn't weak and I wasn't small and I wasn't about to let him think I was any of those two things.
"I'm Quil," the boy beside him said, "and this idiot here is Embry," he slapped Embry upside the head which barely seemed to do anything to him. It certainly didn't stop him from looking away from me.
I nodded and smiled, at a loss for words yet again. The four of us just seemed to stand there for a few seconds in an awkward silence. Both Quil and Dominica watched us with raised eyebrows, seeming as if they were waiting for the two of us to speak or for at least something interesting to happen. I looked over at Dominica, desperately hoping that she would give me some indication as to what to say next.
"I'm going to go take some pictures closer to the trees," and cue panic mode. She wasn't going to help me; she was going to leave me.
"That sounds like a great idea," Quil slapped Embry on the shoulders before the two of them walked away from us.
I watched as they left, internally freaking out about the fact that I was now alone with the one person I couldn't stop thinking about. Usually I was fine with talking to guys, I had always been confident around Caleb, never feeling shy or nervous to talk to him. Standing here right now with Embry made me a bit nervous though. I felt like this first one on one encounter would be crucial for me, and I couldn't stop the voices inside of me that were warning me not to screw this up. I couldn't tell you what the exact reasoning for that was.
"Is this your first year here?" I looked up at his face, and he no longer looked like he was in a haze. He looked much more relaxed, which kind of helped me to relax.
"Yeah," I held the camera up to my face again, trying to make it seem as if I wasn't totally captivated by him and his good looks and his sweet smile and his mesmerizing voice, "I used to be homeschooled."
He picked up his own camera and snapped a picture, "Homeschooled? Really?"
I nodded in response and began to walk a bit, and he didn't miss a beat as he did the same, our steps practically in sync.
He waited for me to elaborate on the subject, but I didn't know how to do it without dropping the cancer bomb on him. Once he realized I wasn't going to say much more he pushed on with more questions, "So, you've never actually been to school before?"
"Nope," I said simply. I was handling things better than I thought I would. With the way my insides were feeling I didn't think I could pull it off, "I've always wanted to go, I just…" no I couldn't say that.
"You just?"
I shrugged, "Never mind."
He chuckled and shook his head which confused me. If anything I thought he would've asked again, "Do you like it so far?"
I took another picture of the sky above our heads, "Yes, it's really great. I've never been in a classroom before and I've never gone to actual classes, so it's refreshing. Homeschooling is downright boring and just terrible all around."
He smiled brilliantly, "I've never heard anyone describe high school as refreshing before."
"Well, it is," I let my camera hang around my neck as we kept walking. A few people stared at the two of us but I ignored the stares, "when you're confined...it's good to get back out into the real world."
"Confined?" he questioned.
Now he probably thinks I've been to prison. See what happens when I try to beat around the bush, "Not confined exactly, just…stuck I guess. Stuck with things you don't want to have and stuck in places you don't want to be."
Oh yeah, I'm just a master at beating around the bush. I had just made it all worse. Not only does he probably think I've been to prison, he probably thinks I'm a psychopath too. So much for not screwing this up.
"So you like high school then."
"Yeah," I shook my head and hung it in shame, "that's what I'm getting at."
I started blushing when he began to stare at me again. I figured he was only staring now because he thought I was strange and was trying to figure out a way to end the conversation without hurting my feelings. No doubt I had just made a fool out of myself.
"I've never liked it. I despise it actually."
I looked over at him in confusion, beginning to wonder why he was doing this at all. Obviously every girl was pining after him in the school. The glares that I've gotten in the past two minutes confirmed that the other girls wanted to be in my position. So why weren't they? Why was I the one he chose to talk to?
Maybe he does talk to the other girls and I just haven't seen it yet. It's my first day and I didn't know him. I wouldn't put it past him to talk to those girls. He was a guy after all and I wasn't all that attractive. He was probably just trying to be nice.
That didn't mean I wanted to stop talking to him, "Why don't you like it?" I asked.
He put his hands in his pockets and his elbow lightly brushed mine. That short second of contact made me shiver.
"For one thing I hate grades. I'm fine when it comes to projects and homework assignments, but I'm a terrible test taker and when it comes down to it the tests always outweigh the rest. So I just think that's a load of bull. If that wasn't the case I know I could be getting better grades than I do now," I listened intently to his rant, "Plus the people here suck. The thing about high school is you can never escape the drama. People love drama. And the teachers? They find great pleasure in degrading their students."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise, "Well that makes me feel really great about my decision to go here."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to discourage you. I just thought you should know what you're getting yourself into."
A light laugh escaped from my lips, "If it's really that bad, then maybe I should just go back to being homeschooled."
He grinned, "I can't let you do that."
"Why not?" I craned my neck so that I could get a good look at him.
"Because I've been looking for someone to suffer through the rest of high school with and I think you're just the person I need."
"You want me to be your suffer buddy," I stated.
"Exactly."
I smiled widely up at him and he smiled back at me. We finally stopped walking and began to stare at each other again with the same intensity that was present before. I took the time to memorize each of his features, concentrating on each one for a second before moving onto the next. My main focus was his warm brown eyes. Just looking into them made me feel safe, like anything could happen around us and I would be fine just because I was looking at them.
He was definitely good looking, much more so than any of the other guys I've seen at this school. He was practically the definition of dark, tall, and handsome. It definitely made sense that all of the girls liked him. I found myself liking him too.
This time it was him who broke the eye contact and I had to turn my head so he wouldn't see the redness in my cheeks. He raised his camera and kept it focused on me. Before I knew it the flash went off and I blinked in surprise. It took me a moment to realize what he had just done and I looked at him, feeling completely horrified.
"What was that?!" I exclaimed.
He chuckled, "The whole point of photography is to capture something that you find beautiful. I was just trying to capture a beautiful thing."
If my cheeks weren't red before they definitely were now, "You must say stuff like that to all the girls here. Now I understand why they're all obsessed with you."
"No, I usually just use my good looks to my advantage. I break necks every time I walk down the hallways. It's tragic really; the ladies simply cannot resist this face."
Everything he had said was probably true even if he had only meant it as a joke. I decided to play along with him anyways.
"Oh, he's charming and full of himself. You, sir, are what they call a diamond in the rough."
He sighed dramatically, "I really am," he snapped another picture of me out of the blue.
I grabbed my own camera and took a picture of him, which caused him to laugh, "The whole point of photography is to capture something you find ugly so that you can use Photoshop to try to make it look less ugly," I mocked him, trying to deepen my voice to sound more like his.
"Wow how nice of you. Taking my compliments and turning them on me."
"Do you think all the guys will find me attractive now? It seems like it works well enough for you," I clicked the camera again and he did the same.
"Does it count if I find you attractive?" he asked, his tone sounding much more serious than it had just a second ago.
His question made my stomach flip continuously inside of me and caused my heart to beat at a much more rapid pace. I wasn't really big on compliments that were directed my way. I would always deny what the other person had said and go on with my day. This question that was more of a compliment than anything else could not be ignored, and could not be rejected so easily.
"Yeah, it counts," I said quietly.
His smile grew wider, "Then yes, I think it'll work just fine for you."
We went on like this for the rest of the class, snapping pointless pictures of each other and goofing around. It was probably the most fun I've had in a long time. It wasn't until Ms. S told us all that we had to go back that we stopped. The two of us reluctantly walked back towards the school, nudging each other playfully the whole way there.
Dominica and Quil met up with us back in the dark room and I tried my best to ignore the very smug look on Dominica's face as I packed all of my things into my backpack. Ms. S told us all that we would be keeping the cameras for the rest of the semester, warning us that we would have to pay for a new one if we didn't return them in perfect condition by the end of the year. After class was dismissed, Embry immediately came over to me and walked with me out of the room.
I noticed that he was holding the same notebook he had in calculus before, and I decided to bring up what I had seen to him as we walked through the hallway, "I like your drawings," I said.
"What?" he seemed taken aback.
"I said I like your drawings. I saw them in calculus and thought they were pretty good."
"Wait, you're in my calculus class?"
I tried not to make it look like his question affected me, "I sit right next to you."
"Shit," he seemed to be thinking hard about something, like he was trying to remember anything about me being in that class, "You actually saw those?"
I nodded, "They're good, really good."
"Thanks," I could've sworn I saw his cheeks turn the tiniest shade of pink, but it could've easily been my mind making things up, "I can't believe you're in my calculus class."
"Why is that so hard to believe?"
He shrugged, "I just thought I would've noticed you sooner."
I half smiled at him, "The fact that you noticed me at all is pretty impressive."
So what did you think?
I made this chapter very long, which is kind of how I've been doing it with my other story In Too Deep. I think the longer chapters are best because it gives you more to read and tie you over until the next update. I hope you all liked the length.
I'm so glad I am writing this imprint story over again. I love Embry's personality and I think it showed a bit near the end of the chapter.
There were a couple places where a new character was introduced (barely but he was still introduced) named Caleb. The story of Caleb will be given in later chapters. I think that adding this character into this new story will give Alyssa more depth than I had given her in Angels and Wolves. I did make her a bit more confident this time around than I did in Angels and Wolves. I wanted her to be a bit spunky. That will show more in chapters to come.
Oh yeah and in the prologue I changed it so that she was seventeen instead of sixteen. I think it's just better that way for the story.
So please review/follow/favorite to let me know what you thought of this chapter and whether you liked the length or not. :)
Thank you all again for your support for the prologue! It is what motivated me to get this chapter finished.