Chapter Two: Conversation

Emmett Cullen was not at school the next day. The other four were there but he wasn't. At lunch, I watched the others, waiting for their handsome brother to show up. He didn't. I thought about Emmett's perfect, dimpled face as I waited for him to show up so I could see it in person. I was disappointed.

As I walked to biology, I realized that I was still holding on to a shred of hope that was crushed as I sat at my empty lab table. I wondered why Emmett Cullen wasn't there. Was he avoiding me because I couldn't stop staring at him? Was this his way of telling me he wasn't interested? Of course it was; I was insignificant to him. Wait, if I was insignificant, why wasn't he here? None of it made sense. The school day ended as I tried to reason this out.

The rest of the week and weekend passed without incident. I got my schedule down and walked with mike to most of my classes. I could feel a routine forming.

Emmett Cullen didn't come back to school.

Every day, I watched anxiously as the other Cullens entered the cafeteria without him. I wanted to see him so badly. Why wasn't he here? I thought of him almost the entire weekend; his dark curls, his muscular arms, his perfect face.

On Monday, it was snowing. I ran into the cafeteria for lunch, avoiding snowballs on the way. Out of habit, I glanced at the table in the corner. I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table.

Jessica pulled on my arm and said, "What's the matter Bella? Move, you are holding everyone up." I moved immediately through the line. My appetite had vanished so I only got a soda. I sat down at the table, facing their direction. I looked at them through my eyelashes but they weren't looking in my direction so I held my head up a little.

They were laughing. They were enjoying the snowy day, too. Emmett, Edward, and Jasper all had their hair completely saturated with snow. Emmett was sitting in the middle and the other four were leaning away from him as he shook his beautiful, dripping curls out at them. I was awed by his beauty and size. His full lips were stretched into a wide smile as he laughed, flashing a set of perfectly white teeth. I smiled at his beauty and chuckled at his action.

"Bella, what's so funny? Who are you staring at?" Jess asked, elbowing me. Across the cafeteria, Edward nudged Emmett and they both looked at me. I dropped my eyes but not fast enough to miss the irritated look on Edward's face and the smirk on Emmett's.

"Emmett Cullen is staring at you again." Jess sang. I was too scared to look up in case it wasn't friendly.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I asked.

"No, should he?" Jess replied with her own question.

"I don't think he likes me." I replied in a small voice.

"He is pretty intimidating." Jess admitted. "I don't think he hates you. He was sort of grinning." That surprised me. I was about to look up when the bell rang. I hurried off to class; he and his family were already gone and I wanted to see him.

I walked into biology to find my table still empty. I hope he hadn't decided to skip; I would go crazy if he did. I doodled on the cover of my notebook and waited.

I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.

"Hello," said a deep but soft, musical voice.

I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was sitting as far away from me as the desk would allow but his chair was angled toward me. His dark curls were a dripping wet mess but it was still so perfect. His dazzling face was friendly and open, a smile on his flawless, full lips. His eyes had a touch of humor to them but were slightly careful.

"My name is Emmett Cullen," he continued. "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made the whole thing up? He noticed me now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything good to say.

"H-how did you know my name?" I stammered. He chuckled. It was a deep, enchanting sound.

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive. You're kind of a celebrity around here." He teased me.

I grimaced. I knew it was something like that. The last thing I wanted was a spotlight.

"No, I persisted stupidly. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"

He looked confused but slightly amused. "Do you prefer Isabella?"

"No, I like Bella." I said. He mumbled something that sounded like, " I like Bella too." I continued like I hadn't heard that, "but I think Charlie- I mean my dad- must call me Isabella behind my back- that's what everyone here seems to know me as." I tried to explain unsuccessfully. I felt like an utter moron at the look he gave me.

"Ok, Bella it is." He chuckled. I looked away awkwardly.

Mr. Banner started class at that moment. He explained the lab we were doing today. It was very standard for me. We were working in partners to identify the stages of mitosis.

"Get started!" Mr. Banner commanded.

"Ladies first, partner?" Emmett asked. I looked up to see him smiling a full, dimpled smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.

"Ok, maybe I should start. You ok?" his smile lessened in intensity; he looked like he was slightly concerned about me.

"No, I'm fine." I said, flushing. "I'll go ahead." I was showing off just a little. I wanted him to know that I wasn't the idiot he probably thinks I am. I'd already done this lab in Phoenix and I knew what I was looking for. It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it. I didn't take too long to identify it.

My assessment was confident. "Prophase."

"Can I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine to stop me as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us. It wasn't unpleasant. He pulled back too.

"What the hell was that?" he muttered. I stared at him and he met my gaze, just as astonished as I was.

"Did you feel it, too?" I whispered.

"It was like an electric link between us." Emmett muttered.

I nodded. "Wow. That was weird." I said slowly.

"And why aren't we working, Mr. Cullen and Miss Swan?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Sorry, Mr. Banner. We'll get right to work." Emmett replied with a dazzling smile.

Mr. Banner nodded and moved on. I slid Emmett the microscope.

He looked and said, "prophase." He wrote it down as I replaced the slide with the next one. He had very nice handwriting.

"So, it's too bad about the snow, huh?" Emmett asked as we worked. The snow had turned to rain during lunch and I was glad about that.

"Not really." I answered honestly. I didn't see the point in lying to him.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question but I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Or the wet."

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live in, huh?" he mused.

"You have no idea." I muttered darkly as I removed the last slide. Then I looked up at him.

He looked oddly fascinated by what I had said but I couldn't think of a reason why. Maybe I'm not so insignificant to him but why wouldn't I be. His face was a distraction from my thoughts as his eyes watched me carefully.

"Why did you come here, then?"

No one had asked me that- not straight out like he did, humorously demanding.

"It's complicated."

"I bet I can keep up." He jokingly pressed.

I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. The dark gold confused me, and I immediately answered without thinking.

"My mother got remarried."

"What's so complicated about that? When did it happen?" Emmett asked, flashing me his dimpled smile again. There was sympathy in his eyes.

"Last September." My voice sounded sad, even to me.

"What, you don't like the guy or something?" Emmett asked, his tone still kind and sympathetic even though he was teasing me a little.

"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough I guess."

The humor was back in his eyes. "I wonder why you didn't stay with them then."

I couldn't fathom his interest but he continued to stare at me with humored, penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow fascinating and vitally important.

"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living, not well, though. Strictly minor league so he moves around a lot." I half smiled.

"So your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." He said it as an assumption, playful and humorous.

"No, she did not send me here. I sent myself." My tone was a mix of defensiveness and humorous sarcasm.

The smile left his face and his eyes and his eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, for once no humor colored his voice. Only frustration.

I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity. What was with him? Why am I suddenly so interesting? Why do I suddenly feel like telling him everything?

"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy… so I decided it was time to spend some time with Charlie." My voice was glum by the time I finished. I missed my sunny Phoenix.

"But now you're unhappy. It doesn't seem fair to you. Life should be as fun as you can make it." he said, the humor and good mood returning.

I laughed without humor. "Haven't you ever heard? Life isn't fair and it usually isn't fun."

"I don't believe that. And I bet you don't either. Not really" he disagreed, shaking his head so that his curls bounced.

"Maybe you're right." I mumbled.

His gaze became appraising. "You put up a pretty good show but I'd be willing to bet that you are suffering more than you let anyone see."

I grimaced but didn't answer.

"I thought so," he muttered, the amusement colored by smugness.

"Why does it matter to you?" I asked, slightly irritated.

"Good question. It seems wrong to me that you are so miserable," he said, looking away from me. He turned back after a minute with a grin on his face. "Hey, wanna hear a joke?"

The rest of class, Emmett kept up a string of jokes and humorous stories. I was laughing the whole time. He seemed very pleased with himself that he could cheer me up. Emmett was probably the happiest, funniest person I had ever met.

When class was over, Emmett gave me a quick grin and was out the door before everyone else. Even though he was so big and bulky, he was amazingly graceful and quick. It surprised me and I sat in my seat, watching him leave.

Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail; he was so much like a loyal dog.

"That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. How'd you do? You seemed to get done quickly."

"I didn't have any trouble with it. I've done the lab before though." No need to sound like a know-it-all.

"Cullen seemed friendly enough today. You both did." He commented. He didn't seem pleased that I spent most of the hour talking and joking around with Emmett.

I tried to sound indifferent. "I wonder what was with him last week."

Mike grumbled and headed to the boy's locker room. I would probably have to do something about him soon. He seemed overly jealous of me hanging out with Emmett. I'm his friend, not his girlfriend. I couldn't focus on Mike, though. Through the rest of the day, I played through everything Emmett had said and did. It was the best daydreaming I had ever done.