The next day started off much the same. It's Thursday, meaning tomorrow is Friday. If you couldn't deduce that. And I am very anxious about Friday.
We arrive a little earlier to lunch today. Kayla, Brooke, Sierra and I are the ones who push the tables together. Brooke takes a seat at the end, with Kayla and Sierra flanking her, and me sitting next to Sierra.
The table slowly began to fill as people filter in. I am deep in conversation with Sierra over my black, white, and red plaid Burberry scarf when the chair on my opposite side grates against the linoleum. I turn to see who it is and am met with mischievous green eyes.
"Hey." He says simply, laughter in his voice. I stare at him in confusion for a long moment. "What? Did you forget how to speak English over night?"
"No.. You're just sort of puzzling." My lips begin to quirk into a smile.
"I said one word!" He laughs.
"I know, but it's like there is a million meanings behind every one of those little one words you say."
"This is only the second time we've ever met. How could you have already read that far in to me?" He props his head up with his elbow on the table.
"Maybe I'm just as great at perception as you seem to be a great lie-detector."
"Or maybe you are full of it and a really bad liar." He says in bemusement, quickly plucking up a grape from his tray and tossing it at my head. My hand snaps up, catching it right in front of my nose much faster than I should have. Fortunately, he's the only one looking. Unfortunately, his eyes are wide and his jaw has dropped.
"What the.." He trails off, staring at the little green grape in my hand, which is frozen suspended in front of my face. I quickly shake the ice off my bones and pop the grape into my mouth, chewing non-chalantly.
"Work on being a little more sneaky." I tell him with a casual smile.
"Your hand just moved at, like, a hundred miles an hour!" he says, totally dumbfounded.
"What are you talking about?" I don't let my smile falter as I grab another of his grapes.
"Don't lie!" he exclaims, startled and more than a little frightened.
"What? I have good reflexes. Is that a problem?" I turn it on him, acting like he is the weird one here.
"No, not a problem at all. But that wasn't just good reflexes. That was unnatural."
"You sound crazy." I tell him in a whisper with a tight smile. I quickly throw a glance across the room at my family, eyes scared and frantic for help. They've all noticed by now, and Mom looks like she desperately wants to come help me, but Dad has her rooted in place with one consoling hand.
"You can do it." He says to me in a voice much lower than all the humans so I am sure to pick it out. Of course. He is turning this into a learning experience. None of them are going to come rescue me from this situation because Dad obviously thinks I need to learn how to deal with curious humans. Errg.
"I guess I do. I could've sworn.. But then again, I didn't get much sleep last night." He shakes his head, strands of black hair falling over each other.
"And why is that?" I ask, playing absentmindedly with my long, russet-colored loops of hair.
"I don't know," he shrugs, "maybe it was because my little sister was bouncing off the walls after getting high on candycorn. A sugar high, not a real high. I'm not that irresponsible." He smiles loftily. "But then maybe it's because I was having the most vivid, realisitic dream of an enigmatic beauty with the most adorable curls." He grins playfully, boldly grabbing one of my locks and wrapping it around his finger languidly. I freeze up. I'm still getting used to being close to humans in general, but humans like Alec? That could take an eternity.
"There goes that vocabulary again." I tease. "And an enigmatic beauty? Never heard that one before. What part of me do you find mysterious, exactly?"
"There is just something about you that screams dark and dangerous. I can't quite put my finger on it though. But whatever it is, it's pretty sexy." He crushes my curl tightly in his fist, then releases and watches it roll back down without one hair out of place.
"Me?" I scoff, thinking of how totally not dark and dangerous I appear, yet knowing that is is probably his instincts screaming at him that I really am. "I think if anyone is dark and dangerous here it's you." My eyes roam over his black tee and loose red jacket, dark jeans, and black Converse.
"Really?" He muses idly, index finger brushing lightly over my collarbone. Chills run up my spine. How is he so comfortable touching me? I hardly know him! Plus his instincts, the ones that told him I'm deadly, they should be making him retract his hand by now.
"Mhm. Sort of have that whole bad boy vibe going on." I try not to focus on the blazing-hot trail his finger left across my collarbone. It feels like electric currents are spreading out over the rest of my body, originating from the thin line he is still creating.
"I hear girls like bad boys." His eyes twinkle in amusement, finger dropping from my collarbone down to just above the V-shaped dip created by my not-fully-developed breasts.
I hiss quietly and grab his hand. He releases a yelp of pain but all I do is tighten my grip, leaning forward and whispering, "Keep your hands to yourself. It would be just tragic if, I don't know, all the bones in your fingers were crushed into nothing more than dust." I smile sinisterly, tightening my grip a little bit more so there is a ripple of cracks that goes throughout his hand. The bones aren't injured, I'm not that cruel.
I release him, and he pulls his hand to his chest, cradling it there. "That hurt! I think you broke my fingers! And did you hiss at me?" He asks incredulously.
"Baby." I roll my eyes, ignoring his question.
"I hardly know you and you're already assaulting and insulting me. I kind of like you." He chuckles.
"Well I hardly know you and you're raping me!" I counter, exaggerating just a bit.
"Pfft, please. You know I wasn't really going to do anything, right? You're just so warm and soft." His smile turns boyish and more than a little embarrassed. Hm, so he's capable of becoming embarrassed. Good to know.
"Alec, I think it's pretty obvious you're very comfortable with girls. Let's just say that if you get too comfortable with me at any time, my sisters are very clever and my brothers are very strong." I give him a hard, cruel smile. He seems confused for a moment, before shaking it off like a happy-go-lucky puppy and switching the subject.
"So are we still on for our date tomorrow?" He wags his eyebrows.
"You mean friendly get together?" I offer, feeling like a prude. Then again, my dad is Edward Cullen, famous for being a virgin for a century.
"Well, obviously I didn't think I was actually going on a date with you. I mean, I just met you." He scoffs, showing a meaner and ruder side to him. A blush creeps to my cheeks and my stomach swims in nausea. My eyes flicker over to my family, who have all been tuned in to the conversation. Every single male at the table is glaring at Alec, and so is Rosalie. Mom looks appalled, eyes wide, and sympathetic. Alice looks just downright devastated.
"I know, Alec. I was just messing with you. No need to be mean." I roll my eyes, playing it off cool and battling away an overwhelming wave of chagrin. I suddenly feel very calm and lethargic though, and my eyes return to Jasper, thanking him silently. He nods at me, knowing my intent.
"I didn't mean to be mean!" He says quickly. "You're gorgeous, every guy here has seen that already. I would be lucky to be going on a date with you. I just meant that we obviously haven't gotten to know each other very well, and I don't expect you to feel like I'm trying to trick you into going out with me." His words rush out, the faintest blush on his cheeks also.
"I don't know if I should say thank you?" I laugh.
"So, how about Case 39 at 7:30?" He offers, fiddling with the charm bracelet on my wrist I got years ago.
"That's fine." I say quietly, side-tracked by watching him twirl each individual charm around, viewing them all from all angles.
"What's up with this one?" he asks, a wooden, detailed miniature wolf resting on his finger.
"Insider." I tell him, thinking of when Jake gave it to me on my first Christmas. Couldn't him being a shape-shifter be considered an insider?
"Why do I get the feeling you're half-lying?" he murmurs.
"Because I am." I say bluntly. I don't really want to tell him the whole story about how a crazy clan called the Volturi came to kill me when I was little so my shape-shifting best friend gave me this bracelet with that wolf charm as his tribe's version of a promise ring symbolizing our imprint, which is a bonding of souls that happens between two perfectly compatible people.
"Why are you so secretive?"
"You don't want to know about my life. Trust me, you really don't." I sigh, pulling my wrist away from him. If I was human, I wouldn't want to be dragged into this mess of a world. I wouldn't want to get pulled from beautiful black and white to shifting shades of grey.
"I think I do." His green eyes meet mine again, smoldering with intensity.
"I know you don't. Once in, there's no way out." I laugh darkly, then abruptly stand and leave, meeting my family by the door as an excuse to get out of there. Brooke is going to be pissed when she realizes. I throw him one last, lingering, scornful smile, and then disappear out the door.