Another update. Trying to keep the ball rolling. I have more free time than usual lately, even with work. Enjoy chapter THREE :)
THREE
"Was that Jacob?"
I emerged in the basement without having gone to the bathroom, feeling out of body. It took me a second to process what Jared just said.
"Um—I don't know...I guess? He didn't say his name," I answered, taking my seat next to Seth on the couch.
Embry rolled his eyes. "He was supposed to hang with us tonight. Probably got a call from his beloved Bella."
Honestly, I could tell you in three words why I cared enough to ask: I was nosy.
"Is that his girlfriend?"
Embry, Jared, and Seth all started cracking up at what felt like an inside joke.
Kim hushed them all. "Stop, guys, it's not funny! What if Jacob heard you laughing at him like that?"
"If he cared, I'd tell him to stop being a pussy," laughed Embry.
I interrupted them, leaning forward so that my elbows rested on my knees. "Can someone fill me in?"
"Jacob fell in love with this girl from Forks, Bella obviously," began Jared, the most tactful of the the group. "After she got dumped by her boyfriend, she started spending a lot of time with Jake. Kind of led him on, I guess—"
"Ha! You guess, my ass," murmured Embry.
Jared rolled his eyes. "Anyway, she basically used him. Her boyfriend came back in the picture and she went right back to him. Like that." He snapped his fingers for effect. "Jake was devastated. I mean, completely heartbroken, dude. It was sad."
"And all we heard for MONTHS was Bella this, Bella that." Embry made an exaggerated face. "It got fucking annoying, man. I don't know why he still hangs out with that—"
"I think I get the point," I interjected. I pondered this new information for a minute. "So, I take it we're not a fan of the boyfriend? Why?"
The four of them all exchanged knowing looks with one another. From this one evening of hanging out with them, I could tell they had history that went back years, that sort of tight-knit closeness that made you feel instantly left out even if that wasn't their intention. My brother and Tyler were oblivious to the conversation, as they were having their own slightly heated discussion about video games.
Finally, Seth spoke. "He's part of this family. They're kind of notorious in Forks—rich, the dad's a doctor at the local hospital, all supermodel gorgeous—"
Embry cut him off. He did that frequently. "Edward Cullen—that's his name—is a royal prick. He's a manipulator. Plus, his whole family is adopted and their parents are, like, the same age as them. It's weird. You'll see them at school and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about."
Their details amused me, though I wondered how much of it was pure fact. I wouldn't blame them for exaggerating, considering how the situation affected one of their close friends. In fact, I felt almost eager to start school so I could get a look at them myself.
That is what I thought of later that night, a few hours after leaving Iris's house. To be fair, there were dozens of thoughts running rampant around my brain, making it difficult to sleep. I had to be up in six hours, yet I lie awake with my eyes open wide, playing and replaying the events and conversations I'd had, including the promise from Kim that she would call me to hang out soon. Even though I'd grown up in Oregon, had built my entire life there, I never felt like I fit in quite so well as with Kim, Jared, Embry, and Seth. Of course, I missed my friends there, ones I grew up with, but things never had been the same once my father got diagnosed with cancer. Amazing how people could drift from you when they couldn't understand the pain you felt. One of my supposed "best friends" didn't even have the decency to show up for Dad's funeral...
Despite how utterly chaotic the dynamic between this new group of people—they constantly bickered like siblings, ate way too much food, and never stopped talking—it made me smile long after I'd gone home.
The worst, or maybe best, part of it all was Jacob. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened, as short and confusing as it was. The one million and one questions begging to be answered, ones that may very well go unanswered, made my head spin. Why did he leave so suddenly? Why did he look at me like I insulted him? Why did I find myself thinking about how cute he was? Why should a stranger make me care so much about what he did?
I found myself turning restlessly until, at some point unknown, I finally drifted off into sleep.
Comfort was the key to my style, especially when I had to be up at the ass crack of dawn for school. By the time I showered and completed my daily morning routine, I was ready to go back to sleep. However, unless I wanted to fail my junior year, I couldn't do that. Instead I dressed in a pair of high waist jeans, a mustard yellow cropped sweatshirt (if my personality was dulled by sleepiness, at least my outfit would shine bright), and a pair of white sneakers. I opted for minimal makeup as per usual, some mascara and lip tint, and then headed downstairs to eat breakfast.
Sophie dropped Theo and I off at the high school on her way to work. The front of the school was empty save for the kids arriving to school, and even those outside didn't linger long due to the drizzling rain falling from the dark gray skies. My brother and I hurried into the Main Office building after saying goodbye to our aunt.
Immediately I could tell Theo and I would stick out like sore thumbs, our naturally bronze skin acting as spotlights compared to everyone else's pale complexions. That, and the fact that this school was small enough that I almost guaranteed didn't get new students often.
I ignored the expected stares and whispering, leading my brother into the glass-walled office where we were supposed to get our schedules. An older woman with bobbed graying blonde hair and a pair of reading glasses perched on her pointed nose looked up at us from her stack of file folders with a wide, too bright smile.
"Well, hello there!" she chirped. Damn lady, do you know what time it is? "You must be Sophie Hayes's niece and nephew, huh?"
Sophie knew a lot of administration in the district, considering her position as a teacher. I nodded in confirmation. "Yep, that's us. I'm Alba, and this is my younger brother Theo." The latter curtly nodded once in greeting.
The woman, whose desk had a plaque that read DENISE OWENS, rolled back in her chair to the filing cabinet behind her, ruffling through the middle drawer for thirty seconds or so before she retrieved two manila envelopes. Denise reached inside each of them and extracted two white sheets of paper, handing them to the two of us. "Here are your schedules. Each teacher you meet today must sign this paper by the end of the day. Then you'll bring it back to me before you leave, alright? At the top you'll see your locker number and combination, which is typically located outside of your first period classroom."
With that, we thanked her and left the office, Denise wishing us a great day behind us in that sugary sweet voice of hers. I stopped to examine my classes, noting that Creative Writing would be my first period of the day.
"Good luck, bro," I said to Theo, who had a sulky expression on his face. Worse than his usual one, anyway.
"Yeah, thanks," Theo grumbled. He started off up the staircase to the right, getting lost in the crowd of students making their way upstairs.
I sighed quietly, taking a look at the room number before heading off in what I hoped was the right direction. When I found my appropriate locker, I quickly put in the combination and took out what I would need: two notebooks and a pen. I shut the locker, trying not to get too irritated when I heard a passing trio of girls that wondered, too loudly, "We have a new girl?"
Mrs. Lowe's Creative Writing class encompassed about fifteen students including myself. After signing off on the schedule, she made me introduce myself to the class, including my name, where I moved from, and what my favorite subject was. Luckily she didn't complain when I revealed that Art took the cake for me.
I sat down on the far right near the front, since that was the only open seat. Mrs. Lowe instructed the class that today's assignment would be a free write, where we would have the whole class to write whatever we wanted on the topic on the board. Today's topic would be: Write a story based on romance that may happen far into the future.
A creative twist to a cliché topic, I thought. I opened up my notebook and began my passage.
Whenever I thought about love, I imagined the words my father used to describe my mother. He talked about her as if no other woman existed, as if she was a goddess who he worshiped. Sometimes it made me sad that he never could quite move on from her, not seriously; sometimes, however, it made me long for that myself. I was young—seventeen—but I never had a boyfriend before. I wondered if I would find someone who would love me with such unending passion as Dad loved Mom. I wondered even more now that both of them were gone.
When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, I handed in my assignment, a story about a heroine goddess who falls in love with a mere mortal.
In Trigonometry, I wanted to cry. Math was not my subject and I found it unbearably boring. I sat next to a pretty girl, with straight dirty blonde hair and striking blue eyes. She paid no attention to the front of the class as she tried to hide her phone underneath her desk. Mr. Thorton, the teacher, instructed us to turn to page 160 in our textbooks for the next lesson. As I opened my notebook and textbook, my pen poised above a fresh page to take notes, Mr. Thorton called my name.
"Miss Hayes, is that a pen?"
Half of the class started giggling under their breath.
I took a deep breath. "Yes," I replied, as even-toned as possible.
"We don't use pens in this classroom. Too hard to erase mistakes. I'm afraid unless you have a pencil, I'll have to send you to—"
"She can use one of mine," offered the girl beside me. She produced a pencil out of her pocket, which she imediately handed to me.
I took it with a grateful smile. She nodded her head back in response; she obviously understood his strictness.
"Very well," Mr. Thorton said sourly. He turned his back, clearly disappointed at the lack of available punishment, and began teaching the lesson.
Post class, everyone began packing up their belongings, groaning at the thirty problems Mr. Thorton assigned as homework. I realized I still had my seat neighbor's pencil and quickened my steps to catch her before she got too far.
"Wait, here's your pencil," I reminded her, the two of us just outside the classroom. The halls were busy with students rushing to their next class.
She grinned. "You didn't have to give it back to me. It's just a pencil."
I felt kind of stupid now. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I replied, "Well, I'm more of a pen girl anyway. So, here." She finally took the pencil, still smiling as she put it away in her bag.
"Don't tell that to Mr. Thorton. He's sent three kids to the principal's office for not having pencils the last three weeks. He even gave my friend Dylan a F on a test because her pencil wasn't sharpened." The girl rolled her eyes, glancing with hatred toward the math teacher's classroom. "You're new here," she added after a moment. "What's your name?"
"Alba."
"I'm Lily," the blonde girl introduced herself. "What other classes do you have today?"
I let her have my schedule and Lily glanced over it quickly, pointing out the classes we shared.
"Lunch and AP Biology. Meet me at the cafeteria after fourth period and you can sit with me and my friends."
I smiled with relief. Making a friend here would make my life that much easier. Plus, Lily seemed friendly enough. You could never tell with teenage girls. "Okay, thanks. I'll see you after fourth."
History, though a favorite subject of mine, consisted of nothing particularly noteworthy. The subject of discussion in class included geography, one of my least favorite topics. After fourth period ended (Psych), I navigated my way through the hallways toward the cafeteria, only making one wrong turn until I arrived at the wide double doors propped open to allow the stream of students in and out.
Lily stood with another girl, who sported a brunette bob that actually suited her face, thick eyebrows darker than her hair color, and freckles scattered across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Perhaps the most eye catching thing about her was the stack of gold charm bracelets that jingled whenever she moved her arms. She sounded like a reindeer.
"Hey Lily," I said by way of greeting.
"Alba, this is Alex." Lily gestured toward the brunette.
"It's so nice to meet you." Alex's voice was raspier than I expected; certainly not the voice expected when you looked at her.
I smiled genuinely. "You too."
"Let's go get our food before someone takes our table."
The three of us made our way through the cafeteria line. I got a chicken sandwich and some fruit, waiting for Lily and Alex after paying. I followed them to one of the tables by the windows, a round table where four other people sat, three guys and one other girl. When we sat down, after announcing myself, more introductions were made, courtesy of Lily.
"There's Dylan"—a red-haired kid who wore a backwards hat and nodded in response to his name—"Andrew"—he wore too much hair gel for my taste and played for the school's soccer team—"and Shane and Melanie. They've been dating since, like, eighth grade." The couple mentioned were well-matched; Melanie wore her boyfriend's soccer jersey number.
The table fell into conversation while everyone ate their lunch. Andrew and Dylan started a heated debate on the Star Wars prequels—and which was best. I, a movie buff, couldn't help but interject myself into the discussion.
"Those movies sucked. Anakin and Padme had no chemistry together. It was like watching a brother and sister fall in love." I wrinkled my nose in distaste.
The two boys appeared offended by my comment.
"Finally someone around here who doesn't suck Star Wars dick," laughed Alex.
"You're only focusing on the love story part," defended Andrew.
"There are other flaws, that one just bothers me the most."
"Care to explain?" Dylan asked.
I shrugged, popping a grape in my mouth. "Well, since you're—" I was going to answer, but then a group of students caught my eye. I'd been looking for them in the halls all day with no such luck. But in the corner of the cafeteria, I spotted someone who I thought fit the description of Embry and Seth. Well, the description could be considered vague, but the ballet-dancer lithe girl who practically danced to her seat, her hair spiky and dark, her skin so pale she could be a porcelain doll could definitely succeed as a supermodel. When she smiled to her friends, her teeth were pearly white and she was one of those people whose beauty caught you off guard.
Everyone turned to see what distracted me from answering.
"Alice Cullen," Lily said. "She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Lily nodded her head toward a boy with copper hair and an expensive looking collared shirt, his back turned to us, and a girl with long, mousy brown hair whose hood peeked out from underneath her hair. "That's her brother Edward, and his girlfriend Bella. They're kind of well-known around here."
So these were the infamous Bella and Edward. For some reason, the hype that the boys created the night previous did not hold up as I stared at the backs of their heads. Not that I expected them to be wearing devil's horns or anything. Actually, I wasn't sure exactly what I thought would happen. I suppose the absolute disgust with which Jared, Embry, and Seth spoke of these people had interested me more than normal.
Nothing more was said of them, and I instead enlightened the table with why I wasn't much of a fan of the Stars Wars prequels.
Art was my final period, the elective I was most looking forward to. Mr. Cooper, an older man with gray hair and wire-rimmed glasses, pointed me in the direction of an empty desk and a new canvas paper pad. Today we would have a quick lesson on Impressionist art, then start to map out our next assignment based on what we learned.
Despite enjoying the day's lesson, I felt a certain happiness when we were released from school for the day. I gathered up my books and headed to my locker, looking at my phone to see a text message from Sophie that Dominic would pick us up after school. I put away the notebooks I didn't need for homework, packed up what I did need, and then began walking toward the front entrance to be picked up.
Once outside, I noticed that the rain stopped. I didn't see Dominic's car just yet. While I waited I texted Theo to see where he was. When I looked up, the most surprising face made eye contact.
Jacob, even more intimidating in broad daylight, took long strides to the bench where I sat. Practically everybody in the vicinity stared as he walked past, whether that be due to his over six foot height or the fact that he wore shorts and t-shirt on such a cool day. His expression softened the nearer he got to me. I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket, but I promptly ignored it as, in no time at all, Jacob stood in front of me.
"You're Alba." The way he said it came out as a statement rather than a question.
I cleared my throat, still more than shocked at his arrival. "Yeah...that's me. You're Jacob?"
Jacob nodded, the corners of his lips turning up when I spoke. He ran a hand through his dampened inky black hair, making it stick out wildly. "Listen, I stopped by to see my friend, and then I saw you. I mean, I was hoping to see you anyway. I want to apologize for last night, if it seemed like you pissed me off or something..."
"You don't owe me an apology," I blurted out quickly. That came out a bit rude, so I amended, "I mean—you didn't do anything wrong. You don't have to say sorry." I subconsciously played with the hem of my sweatshirt.
Sheepish, Jacob stuck out his hand. "I am sorry. And I wanted to make your formal acquaintance. The guys said you and your brother are really cool."
"They're almost too over the top, but they're fun to be around." I reached my hand out to meet his. Our skin touched; my stomach did a few somersaults. His hand, which engulfed mine, was shockingly warm, and we shook for longer than might be necessary. Not that I complained or anything. His eyes—so dark they appeared almost black—met mine, but unlike usual, I didn't feel the urge to instantly look away. Finally, my hand dropped to my side, the coolness of the air reminding me of the lack of contact. "It's nice to meet you, Jacob."
"You, too, Alba." Jacob wore a grin from ear to ear, one so contagious that I couldn't help smiling, too. "By the way," he continued, "the guys and Kim and a few others and I were thinking of going to First Beach tomorrow after school. It's supposed to be a nice day. Those are rare around here. Maybe you and your brother could come?"
"Sure." I didn't even hesitate, as much as it surprised me. It was one thing to talk to me on an off chance of seeing me, but another to invite me to hang out. Not that it means anything, I thought silently. No need to get yourself ahead of anything, Alba.
"Cool. I'll text you with the details. I'll see you around?" Without waiting for me to say anything, he turned and headed off around the corner. I heard the sound of a motorcycle coming to life.
It didn't occur to me until hours later how Jacob would text me without having my number.
AN: Did we like it? Drop a review for any comments, questions, concerns, and notes you may have for me. Thank you for reading.
XOXO