Now for the real update for today! I just got finished going through this chapter, so it is hot off the presses just for you (all of you who are actually reading!) I know it's been a little confusing today, but I hope you can all get to this chapter with a little bit of anticipation. Please?

Onward and Downward!

Curiosity & Fascination

October, 1945

Edward

Monday morning was cloudy and rainy as it had been the last four weeks, and even though I hadn't slept at all the night before — hadn't really needed to sleep at all — I remained in my room well after dawn, watching the soft gray light from outside permeate the windows to my room while Rosalie and Emmett emerged ready to get to school. I lingered in my room without a real desire to go until Esme knocked on my door.

"Edward, it's time for school," she said softly.

I glanced back at her, lifting my journal from my desk and following her downstairs where Rosalie and Emmett were waiting for me. I knew my lack of desire had nothing to do with anything that had transpired Friday night. I knew I didn't want to go to school because it was the most mundane place to spend any amount of my time, but I also knew that if I didn't go, Carlisle or Esme would have to make up some excuse for me to remain home. I wasn't about to make them suffer for trying to make my life bearable.

We'd been living among humans for thirty years, and I wasn't the person to brag about how perfect my behavior had been. In fact, I was the last person to pretend I was the model student or brother or son to anyone involved in my life. For a few years there before we'd found Rosalie, I'd spent my time believing I could be like every other vampire in the world. But I'd been wrong, and I didn't want to be wrong again. Not when our existence was as stake. So for the time being, I would go to school. I would attempt to fit in — to be as invisible as I possibly could even though I knew it would not be any easy task.

I sat in the back seat of the car watching Emmett and Rosalie and wondering if they'd decided not to talk about what had happened, since I'd spent the last two days listening to Rosalie grumble about the fact that I'd done exactly the opposite of what she'd requested. She never said anything to me about it, of course. Though I was a good twenty years ahead of her in vampire years, she still relished in the idea and fact that she'd been changed a full year in Human appearance than me and she always would be despite how much more I'd been through dealing with her superiority than anyone else.

The front parking lot of school came into sight before I realized we were already there, and I remembered everything that had happened here when I'd been here last. I didn't really want to over think what I would say or do the first time I saw Keira, especially since I was still at somewhat of a loss as to what was really going on with her. I'd never met a person whose mind I could read and still didn't have the ability to know exactly who they were and what they wanted. Most people were only interested in their own lives and making everyone else's miserable. And most people avoided me because that's what their instincts told them to do. The girls all looked at me from a distance, thinking stupid fantasies and desires they had no business thinking, and the boys all wondered how I was able to garner the kind of attention all the girls gave me. And it was just me. Emmett and Rosalie were clung to each other too tightly for them to be targets, and they stayed on the edge of people's peripheral vision while still remaining visible. I was the only one people could notice because I was the third wheel. Knowing all this as we pulled into the parking lot and slid into our usual spot, I silently wished one day that I wouldn't be a third wheel for the rest of eternity.

It was already seven-forty-five when I rose from the car and took a blank glance around the lot to see all the other students doing what I was doing. Just as my eyes passed by the entrance to the lot, the car Keira's older brother drove pulled into the parking lot and eased into a space adjacent to ours. She was wearing blue today with an elegant jacket since it was a bit cold, and she glanced over her shoulder at me with a small smile even as Fisher took her shoulders and directed toward the school. He glanced at me also, nodding in my direction and then following their older brother inside. She looked back one more time, and then she bowed her head.

Maybe Abigail was right, she thought, and I wondered exactly what she meant.

Our first class together, Advanced Mathematics, was one of the more moderately acceptable classes I'd attended in a little while, especially when the teacher, Mr. Clarence attempted to make it appear like he knew more than he actually did. I wasn't fooled, however, especially since I'd already studied everything he could possibly teach me a few times at a college level that was well above his own skill. The other students didn't know this about me, so whenever he called on me and tried to hinder my process, most of them were usually impressed with how well I could spar with him. Everyone except Keira, of course. I'd yet to impress her, or rather impress upon her the fact that I wasn't normal and probably wasn't the best choice for her to become curious about. But after speaking with her Friday night and thinking over our conversation Saturday and Sunday, I'd realized it didn't matter if I tried to keep her away. She wasn't going anywhere. It was . . . comforting, somehow.

She was already in class when I arrived, sitting in her usual seat and talking to Abigail while the other students in class milled around trying to look like they didn't see me enter the room. A few girls and two boys failed, catching my gaze and immediately looking away. I grinned and moved to my chair which was on the other side of Keira, and she glanced at me just as Mr. Clarence came into the room. I got the sense that she wanted to say something, but he spoke before she could.

"All right, let's get to our seats," he said. "We have lessons to tend to. Everyone get out their homework and turn to chapter 3 in your books. We're going to be getting ready for the next set of lessons, starting next week, so I hope you've all be paying attention."

His eyes settled on me as I sat at the back of the room, and while I appeared to do as he asked, I got the feeling from him that he was still hoping to beat me somehow. I considered allowing him to believe he was smarter than me, but I honestly didn't see the point. Perpetuating his fantasies wasn't something I thought would alleviate the situation, so why give in now?

We turned in our homework, most of which had consisted of simple fractions and formulas that were far below my own abilities, and I sat back waiting for him to start. His voice droned on as he began explaining the next step, which included a test, and a stray thought from Keira's head was enough to draw my attention away from him for the moment.

Thank goodness I won't be doing this when I go to college.

Intrigued, I leaned closer to her, speaking softly. "You intend to go to college?" I asked, swearing inwardly when I realized I'd actually spoken.

She looked at me while turning pages in her text book, one of which I did not own and did not need. "Sorry, did you say something?" she whispered, glancing up to make sure our teacher wasn't looking.

I leaned a little closer, gathering my thoughts. "Um, you're going to college?" I asked as off-handedly as I could.

She nodded. "Well, of course I am," she replied. "I won't be one of those girls whose life revolves around a boy or the man she marries. I want to have a dream of my own, separate from who I love. Don't you?" she asked, blushing slightly as she realized her words and then rephrased her question. "I mean, don't you want to have your own future, and not one tethered to the significant other in your life. If you had one, that is."

"I suppose so," I offered with a smile, fascinated by how easy it was for her to become embarrassed when she said the wrong thing despite the way she carried herself. She was obviously proud of her family and the life she'd lived before coming here. I admired that about her. She refused to blend in so people wouldn't notice her. That wasn't to say that she enjoyed the attention. It clearly made her uncomfortable. "And what is it you would like to do in college?" I asked, glancing ahead to preserve the privacy of our conversation.

She blushed again, tickling the edges of my thirst despite me having hunted just a few days earlier. "Well, my father wants me to be a lawyer," she revealed. "But I want to be a teacher."

I smiled again. "Is that so?" I teased.

She bowed her head. "Of course. Especially children, younger than me obviously. Probably five or six. Children are precious, don't you think?"

Listening to her talk about her aspirations was endearing. I'd have never thought she would want to be a teacher, of any age group. Carlisle was the only person I knew who took pride in helping people. I'd never really given much thought to what kind of future I would have or could have. When I'd been human, life decisions such as that were only reserved for those people who didn't have the means to choose whatever they wanted. They had to be selective about their futures in a way I'd never had to be up until I fell ill. Of course, I only thought about this for less than a 64th of a second, answering Keira instantaneously by her point of view. "Of course they are."

"Ahem!" Mr. Clarence called over the class, his thoughts causing me to turn my attention to him. For the love of God, I'm the teacher! You'd think these children would respect that for once in their lives. He was looking right at me. But he didn't say anything, scowling deeply.

I dismissed him easily.

Science, though it wasn't my favorite subject, was usually rather fascinating, especially when the teacher decided to assign what he called his semester projects which would go for the rest of the year until Winter break. I didn't usually like scavenger hunts, especially since it was sort pointless for someone like me. I spent time outdoors because I had to, not because I wanted to, and it wasn't something I liked doing because a teacher at school requested it so I could advance to the grade above mine. So when the Science teacher, Mr. Fillmore, demanded all of our attention at the beginning of class, I knew exactly where he was heading when he presented all of us with a small white bowl filled with little slips of paper.

"It's time for all of you to select your semester projects," he announced. And I know for certain none of you will be expecting this, he thought off-handedly.

I grinned slightly, listening to all the thoughts of the students around me and then looking at Keira as she waited patiently for the teacher to call on her. While the other students were grumbling about what kind of project Mr. Fillmore could possibly assign to them, Keira was thinking about what kinds of things she could learn about the place around her. She was wondering about how she could impress the teacher, and I was intrigued at her ambition. Most of the students in school whined at the very idea of doing a project for any of their teachers. I didn't really have an opinion otherwise. But Keira was looking forward to it.

"Mr. Masen," Mr. Fillmore called, and I looked at him despite having heard every word he said. "You will be partnered with Ms. Jones, and if she would come up to the front of the class to select your project, it would be greatly appreciated."

I glanced at her, seeing that she was blushing again, and she glanced at me a few seconds before rising slowly to meet Mr. Fillmore at the front of the class room. She looked at everyone else, glancing over her shoulder at me until she was in front of him as he held the small bowl in front of her. The moment she picked the small slip of paper from the bowl, I knew immediately what we would be doing.

Earth Sciences - Geology of the Pacific Northwest.

Instantly, I began thinking of the kinds of things that would be required for Mr. Fillmore to give a grade allowing his students to advance. He was such a simple man, and I knew it wouldn't take a lot to impress him with whatever project we decided to come up with. In two weeks, since Keira had started school, I'd accepted we were both new and were both more likely to be paired together for that purpose. In any other school, it would have better for the teachers to separate the newer students to give them a better chance of making friends. But here, it seemed like the teachers wanted to keep an eye on us for some reason. They either didn't trust me because I was so smart, or they didn't know her because her father had moved away as a small boy to live in Seattle.

She never complained. She always accepted the situation for what it was, and I always wondered what it felt like to want to do what she did. I didn't really know what it felt like to have to listen to the people around me and have no control over what happened to me. I hadn't really felt like that in 30 years, and even my mother and father had given me the kind of freedom more children these days usually dreamed of. Carlisle was always telling me to appreciate how freely we moved around now since it wasn't always going to be like this. Keira hadn't been given a choice in her move. Her father had made the choice for her. It made me feel . . . sorry for her.

When she sat down at my side with the slip of paper in hand, she looked at me, and she opened her mouth to speak, but Mr. Fillmore spoke first.

"For the next three months," he began, "until Winter break, you will collect and do research on your selected project, and I will grade your work on facts and the thoroughness of your work. You will turn your project on December 19, and you will receive your marks after the first of the year. This will amount to half your grade, people. I recommend that you don't dawdle around on this until the last possible moment. I will also be scheduling regular classes where you will be giving everyone an update on your project. For the rest of this class, I want all of you to come up with enough ideas to make a proper project."

Several of the students began talking over their various assigned projects, and I glanced at them before looking at Keira. She looked at me, speaking softly.

"Guess we should've seen something like this coming," she commented. "The teachers all seem to know something we don't."

I grinned slightly, looking around the room again. "It does seem obvious to them, doesn't it? Perhaps we should at least humor them for the time being."

She laughed softly, bowing her head and then handing me the slip of paper that was stained with Mr. Fillmore's somewhat sophisticated scrawl. "We should," she agreed.

"Shall we discuss it over lunch?" I asked, seeing a memory of a trip she took to the library in Seattle flash through her mind.

"We shall," she nodded, the curious smile on her face becoming more so even though it was only minutely. I was intrigued at how much difference I could see in her face as the milliseconds ticked by.

The end of class was signaled by Mr. Fillmore requesting a copy of the ideas his students were able to come up with over the forty-five minutes of class. I offered to hand in the copy, opting out of escaping from class the way I usually did, and Keira said she would see me in our next class. It was a different feeling to look forward to something rather than dreading the remainder of the day. I was intrigued to say the least as to what this would lead to.

I watched her brother Fisher walk her away from the door to her next class, and he nodded in my direction when he saw me. A natural smile crossed my face, and she looked over her shoulder at me, smiling herself at whatever the future might hold.

Gym class was an interesting experience by itself, and having Emmett here made it even more interesting despite him being a senior and me being a sophomore. The size of the school lent itself to the necessity for a mixture of students to have the same gym class together, and even though Rosalie always had an excuse to not participate, I noticed that Keira almost always took part in whatever the girls' instructor had planned for any particular day. Today it was badminton, and it looked like she was paired with Abigail against two girls in our Advanced Mathematics class.

"You sure are watching that girl a lot," Emmett commented as we stood across the gym together, pseudo-participating in the simple drills the boys' instructor had us doing this morning.

I looked at him as we ran at human pace from the center of the gym to the edge of the court we were currently occupying. "You look at human girls a lot," I told him, to which he chuckled.

"Don't tell Rosalie," he grinned. She might try to make me tell her who they are if she finds out.

I grinned too, glancing over my shoulder at Keira as she played with Abigail and the girls from our grade. "She's just a friend," I told Emmett. "She's a very intriguing human, even if Rosalie wouldn't care to admit that out loud."

He laughed again. "Some of them can be more interesting than the others. You gonna ask her over or something?"

"I believe it would be customary for me to meet her parents first," I informed him. "And besides, she's just a friend. We're doing our science project together, so a meeting with Carlisle and Esme might be somewhere down the road. But only if you swear to behave yourself. It would be the first time since that last debacle we will have a human in the house."

The boys' instructor blew a whistle then, signaling it was time to stop, and he motioned for us to come to where he was standing. Emmett thought quickly.

I'll behave myself, he promised. Anything to keep you from moping around the house another three years.

I frowned at him. "I don't mope," I hissed, and he laughed again.

If you say so.

"At least I don't have to worry about keeping Rosalie happy," I teased.

I like to keep Rosalie happy, he quipped, followed by several lascivious images and thoughts and prompting me to grimace softly.

"Honestly, give it a rest," I pleaded.

He smiled, but he didn't say anything, nor did he think anything after that.

I immediately began thinking of reasons why I couldn't take Keira to my house when Emmett was there with Rosalie. I wondered if we would have to do more than read through books, and I decided it would probably be better to have the experience of studying the geology of the area as opposed to sitting in a library and reading about it. I thought about talking to Carlisle about possibly using a few of the books he had in his library to do comparisons. Mr. Fillmore would like that.

Even though I didn't sweat, and therefore didn't need a shower, it still looked a little strange that neither I nor Emmett required bathing after gym class, so we'd both begun the arduous task of joining the other boys in the locker rooms to "clean up" afterward so it wouldn't appear too odd that neither one of us ever broke a sweat during the hour and a half we spent in the gym. It was interesting sensation to have to take a shower before being released back into the school's population for the rest of the day — especially the cafeteria for lunch where most of school body ate after their suffering through the morning monotony of their classes. Nearly all of them welcomed the break. I didn't care one way or another.

Rosalie was already sitting at the table we'd been occupying the last three weeks after they'd absorbed enough of each other's attention to come to lunch while at school. Today was different however as I decided to find a table to myself with the intention of speaking to Keira on a neutral level where we could talk without being interrupted by her friends or my siblings. I knew she was going to take this science project seriously, and I wanted it to look like I was doing the same. I'd already thought of several things for us to do to impress Mr. Fillmore, and it was only fair that I enlighten her to them. I was sure she would have her own ideas, and I wanted to give her the opportunity to impart them to me herself — without invading her thoughts without her permission.

The cafeteria was already filling up when I spotted her come in with Abigail, and I knew from her thoughts that she realized my intent. I was rather glad there was no need for explanation, and she made her way to the table I'd procured for us with only a glance in Abigail's direction. She sat down quietly, the air breezing toward me as she did so and carrying her scent along with it. Gardenia and rose wafted through the air, and I had no choice but to breathe in, causing her to speak softly.

"Are you going to eat?" she asked me.

I looked to see that she was brandishing an orange in my face, and I held up my hand to her.

"I've already eaten," I assured her, feeling the edges of my thirst prickle gently. "You should eat though. I've already made a list of possible subjects for our project, and you can look at those while you eat."

I slid the small sheet of paper in front of her, having remembered the list I'd given Mr. Fillmore completely and copied it down verbatim. I'd added a few things I thought would impress him, and as Keira began peeling her orange, the powerful citrus scent filled the air around her. I focused on that, watching her eat and listening to her wonder if her mother would have her favorite dessert waiting for her when she got home from school. Chocolate-marbled cake with butter cream icing. She also wanted to scoop of ice cream, in case she needed an extra treat before dinner.

"Hey, Keira."

I lifted my eyes to see one of the boys her age standing behind her, and she turned to see him there.

"Hey, Ethan," she said, giving him a friendly, if not forced smile.

This guy already has half the girls in school pining away for him, Ethan grumbled silently. Does he really have to steal the one girl who moved here from another city? These new kids all think like they can come in and just take whatever they want.

"Are you going to sit with us today?" he asked, turning his jealous brown eyes in my direction.

"Well, we have to talk about our science project," she said, gesturing to me and then looking at me. "Edward, this is Ethan Conway. Our fathers work in the police station together."

I looked at him, extending my hand and becoming perplexed when he hesitated. A slight chill flickered through his body as he took my hand in his, and I was pleased his deeper rooted instincts were intact despite him attempting to make me uncomfortable.

"Well, he can sit with us too," Ethan offered. "If you don't come over, I think Jennifer's going to make one of the freshman do something stupid."

"Maybe tomorrow," she suggested. "I've already started eating, and Abigail can keep Jennifer in line for now."

He stood there another half minute, looking at me and instead of moving on, he continued. "Well, what if I want you to sit with us?" he asked her.

She blushed gently, and when it was obvious he was embarrassing her, I spoke up. "It's quite clear she doesn't want to move," I told him, "so perhaps you should move on now. There are plenty of other girls here for you to harass."

"Maybe if you weren't here, she wouldn't be having such a hard time with it," he challenged, causing me to scoff softly.

"And it might just be that she doesn't want to sit with you," I snapped. I leaned over the table, lifting my eyes to his and hoping he could see something in them other than whatever façade I'd had in place to keep anyone from seeing what I really was. I watched him back up a couple of half-steps, pleased with the fact that I could still scare someone just by looking at them.

"It's okay," Keira said softly.

"She says it's okay," he repeated, and I stood up, easily towering over him and uncertain why I felt the need to do so.

"You're making her uncomfortable," I told him, unconsciously growling softly. "You should leave her alone."

For the slightest of seconds, I could see he was scared, but then he recovered, looking around and obviously spotting Emmett who was already on his way across the cafeteria to where we were standing. Then he looked at me.

"You're a freak," he spat, turning and leaving before Emmett could arrive to defend me.

"Take it easy," Emmett whispered, and I snapped out of the trance I'd slipped into upon rising to confront Ethan. I looked around, noticing a few teachers watching me, and I could see half the students in the cafeteria staring at me. "What was that?" Emmett asked, sitting down at the table with me where Keira was waiting bewildered by my behavior.

"I don't know," I hissed, too softly for her to hear me.

He looked at Keira, glancing behind him at Rosalie and prompting her forward before he looked up again. "I'm Emmett," he announced, reaching for her hand and eliciting the same reaction she'd had to me.

They're both cold, she thought looking from my face to Emmett's and then up at Rosalie's as she arrived at the table and sat down with a rather annoyed look on her face. I wonder if it runs in their family. That happens right? Some people's skin just feels colder than others, doesn't it?

I grinned, glancing at Rosalie and nodding in her direction. "This is my sister Rosalie," I gestured.

She didn't extend her hand to Keira, and with the pleasantries out of the way, I leaned closer to her.

"I apologize if I made you uncomfortable," I said softly. "But I promise not to do it again unless you wish me to. All right?"

She smiled a little more easily and bowed her head. "All right," she agreed.

I nodded, sitting up straight and facing Rosalie as Emmett spoke.

"So," he said with a wide smile. "Science project huh? That sounds like it could take a lot of work. Any idea what you're going to do as of yet?"

Science project? Rosalie demanded with her eyes trained on mine incredulously. You mean you're not going to leave her alone? Surely you can get out of this without making anyone suspicious!

I didn't acknowledge her, looking at Keira and pointing to her food. "Please, eat. I'm certain we'll be able to discuss this later today."

She realized the half-eaten orange on her plate along with the small salad, and with that, she began eating again while we sat with her silently. I didn't want to alienate her from the other students, but it was clear other boys were going to approach her like Ethan had because she was new, and it obviously made her uncomfortable. The less that happened, the easier it would be for her to become accustomed to the idea of being around me — and Emmett and Rosalie.

By the time we walked into English at the end of the day, I'd only been able to talk to Keira a small bit through French and the lone study period we both shared. And I wanted to make sure we had a set schedule before there was any confusion about where most of our project would get done. While I trusted Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie to give Keira a wide berth in the house, I still wasn't convinced that Emmett could control himself with a human nearby. The last time we'd had a human in our house, it had been an utter disaster, and we'd had to leave rather quickly. I didn't want that to be the case now. Though I'd only recently begun speaking to Keira on a mutual level, I was actually enjoying her company. I didn't want it to stop simply because Emmett still had somewhat poor impulse control.

Mr. Jennings was standing at the front of the class when we all filed inside, and I sat next to Keira with the explicit intention of speaking to her while he was taking in all the homework he'd assigned over the weekend. Most humans were completely oblivious to me when I whispered, and I had no doubt he wouldn't hear a peep out of me. Keira, on the other hand, was another story altogether. So I wrote her a note.

We should meet after school is over to come up with a few possible locations to do our project. I folded the paper and slipped it under her book while his back was to me.

It took her less than a second to notice it, and I waited while she wrote her response and slid it under my journal.

The library has a small collection of books we could look through, she wrote.

I kept my eyes on Mr. Jennings as I responded, thinking the library would be quite appropriate for a first meeting place even if the selection of books was dreadfully obsolete. Perhaps we could walk there after school, I wrote to her and folded the paper back to slide under her book.

She blushed even as she wrote. Fisher will tease me about this for the rest of the week, she thought with a light chuckle even as she slid the paper under my journal.

It shouldn't be a problem. As long as I'm home before dinner at seven, she wrote, and I thought about how much we could accomplish in the hour or two there would be before it began to get dark. The sun did set around five-thirty these days.

I was about to write a response to her when the voice of our teacher pulled my attention from my desk to see him standing less than three desks away from me.

"Mr. Masen," he said, and then he looked at Keira. "Ms. Jones."

She was blushing even deeper now that we'd been caught red-handed passing a note in class, and the speed at which her heart increased astonished me. It was obvious this had never happened to her before now. I had to admit it had never happened to me either.

"Something is obviously important enough to take your attention away from class," Mr. Jennings said, looking at me again and then looking at her. "So how about you two stay after class to give yourselves a little extra time to discuss it?"

He left no room for discussion as he turned and walked away, and Keira glanced at me before bowing her head and attempting to calm her nerves.

My father's going to kill me, she thought dreadfully as she covered her face with her hands.

I wanted to say something even though I had no idea what I say to make this situation seem not as bad as it actually was. But with Mr. Jennings already watching us, I decided against it, carefully folding the note and slipping it inside my journal before I sat back and turned my eyes forward for the duration of class.

The forty-five minutes that passed wasn't as excruciating as I'd thought it would be since Mr. Jennings barely said a word to either of us for the remainder of class. The bell rang, and while the other students got up to leave, neither Keira nor I made any attempts to rise from our chairs. Mr. Jennings smiled at all his other students, and when it was just the two of us, I looked up to see Fisher waiting outside the door with his eyes trained on both of us.

"What going on?" he mouthed in Keira's direction.

"I can't leave," she responded without looking at me.

"Mr. Jones, how can I help you?" Mr. Jennings asked as he stepped toward the door.

Fisher stood up straight, looking his English teacher in the eyes. "I was just waiting for my sister."

"Well, your sister and Mr. Masen are going to be sitting here for a little while, so maybe you should wait for her outside."

He looked into the room, at Keira and then at me before he looked at Mr. Jennings and bowed his head. "Yes, sir."

Mr. Jennings smiled as Fisher left, looking at me and then her before he moved away from the door to make his way to where we were still sitting.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emmett appear near the door, and I shook my head slightly so he wouldn't interrupt what I was certain would be a fairly lengthy lecture from my English teacher. Emmett sighed heavily, moving away from the door instantly before Mr. Jennings could see him.

"So," Mr. Jennings said. "What's so important that we can't pay attention in class?" he asked as he settled over one of the desktops with his arms over his chest. Surely I'm not giving them so much to do that it's distracting them in class, he thought off-handedly.

"It was my fault," I admitted as guiltily as I could. "We have a science project we were assigned, and I wanted to get a good start on it."

"I see," he said with a smile. So he does have an ambition. "In need of a quiet place to get some work done for Mr. Fillmore's famous semester science project? Well, how about this? Since it's obvious you're comfortable not paying attention in my class, you can stay after class for an hour tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday so you'll have plenty of time to work on your science project."

Keira's pulse increased again, and she blushed so deeply I thought she was going to pass out on me. I tried to negotiate with Mr. Jennings for her benefit.

"That's not really necessary," I objected. "It won't happen again."

He smiled again. "Oh, I know it won't happen again, because for the next three days, you'll have plenty of uninterrupted time after class to talk about your project all you want. Do we understand each other?"

I knew it was useless to argue with him further, but Keira was absolutely beside herself with worry and fear.

What am I supposed to tell my mother? she cried inside her head. I'd never felt more sorry for getting anyone into trouble than I did at that moment.

I looked at Mr. Jennings, seeing that he was apparently waiting for a response from me. "Yes, sir," I said softly, my eyes downcast to appear ashamed of my behavior. I was surprised that I actually did feel bad about making him think I didn't enjoy his class. It was one of the few bearable ones in school.

"Good," he said with a nod. "You two obviously have people waiting for you, so you can go. But tomorrow, I get your undivided attention before the end of class. All right?"

I nodded.

He didn't say anything else, turning from us and moving back up to his desk before I rose slowly. I waited for Keira, and she followed me reluctantly to leave the classroom silently. I tried to speak to her as soon as we were in the hallway.

"I apologize for getting you into trouble," I began only to be stopped by her.

"No, it's my fault," she insisted. "I should've been paying attention. Maybe we should just talk about the project at school. I have to go. I have to explain this to my parents."

She hurried ahead before I could stop her. I've never been given detention in all my life! What was I thinking not paying attention? God, I'll never hear the end of this. I'm so stupid.

I followed her slowly, listening and wondering how I was supposed to alleviate this particular problem. I surprised myself by realizing that I wanted to fix this for her, even though I had no idea what this would mean for the next three days.

Emmett and Rosalie were both waiting in the parking lot when I stepped outside, and I noticed that Keira and her brothers were nowhere to be seen. I wondered if her oldest brother had been so upset with her that he hadn't given her a chance to explain. I didn't like thinking what her parents would say to her when she arrived home.

"What happened?" Emmett asked. "You get the new girl in trouble or something?" he teased.

I smirked at him. "Or something."

"Let's just go," Rosalie insisted impatiently. "I want to get back before Carlisle starts to worry."

I looked at her incredulously, wondering exactly when she'd begun to worry over Carlisle's peace of mind. I slid into the back seat without saying anything, but Emmett wasn't finished with his teasing.

"Seriously, what'd you do?"

I bowed my head. "We were caught passing a note in class," I told him, and his smile widened to cover most of his face. "It was about our science project, before you can think anything else would be going on between us."

He shrugged. "Don't mind me," he grinned, wondering silently what kind of notes we could've been so involved in for the teacher to catch us.

"Please stop," I begged. "Honestly. When will it be appropriate for you to mind what you're thinking around me?"

He laughed. "When you stop behaving yourself," he taunted.

I didn't understand how that would accomplish my goal.

Well, if you're all the way down here, then I hope that means you're liking what you're seeing, and I hope you'll tell what you think. So far, I haven't had a lot of people telling me what's on their minds, but I still have hope that someone will take that step.

Until next time, which I hope won't be too long, Keep Reading!