Chapter Four: Friends
The moment I stepped out of my truck at school the next day, a mob swarmed me. It seemed like the entire school wanted a first hand account of the accident from Tyler and me. I stifled my claustrophobia and told them. Even though I insisted that Emmett was the hero, there were no crowds surrounding him and asking for his side of the story. As usual, everyone avoided him and his family. I wish I were that lucky; I don't like crowds, especially when I was at the center of them. Emmett smiled at me when I walked into the cafeteria but I was still surrounded so I couldn't talk to him. I kept up my end of the deal and I expected him to do the same.
Emmett was already at our table when I got to Biology. He was reading a baseball magazine and hadn't seen me yet. For a moment, I thought he would get along great with both Charlie and Phil; that is if he ever met them. I took my seat and he still didn't look at me.
"Hello, Emmett." I said politely. He immediately closed the magazine at the sound of my greeting.
"Hey, Bella. I was hoping you weren't too ticked off at me to talk." Emmett said as he grinned at me.
"Does that mean you are going to tell me what happened yesterday?" I asked hopefully. Maybe he was going to fulfill his promise now.
"Sorry, Bella. I can't tell you that right now. I need to make sure you can handle the truth. Get to know me first and then, if I think you can handle it, I'll tell you everything. Besides, I can't tell you with all these people around. Be patient and when the time is right, I'll tell you everything." He promised. Emmett sounded sort of sad at the beginning then turned light-hearted. His gold eyes never left mine, like he was pleading with me to understand. He was giving me an inviting smile that showed his dimples. It was the kind of look that made me want to touch him, just once to know what his face felt like. The kind of look that made me agree to anything.
"Sure, I guess I can do that. So where does that leave us? Does this mean we're friends?" I asked him. I didn't know what he had in mind for us but I wanted to know.
"Friends." He said the word slowly. His mouth twisted around the word, like it tasted bad on his tongue.
"Or not." I said glumly. I put my elbow on the desk and rested my head on that arm. It disappointed me that he could possibly not want to be my friend. I sighed and let my eyes close.
"Bella, look at me." I heard him say before I felt his cool fingers on my hand, close to my face. I opened my eyes to see his face a foot away from mine.
"What?" I asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
"I don't know if being friends will work but we can try. It might not be enough for me, though." He grinned and looked like he could kiss me at any moment. I wanted him to do that.
Before I could ask what he meant, Mr. Banner started class. I didn't get a chance to talk to him that day.
The next day, Emmett pulled my chair out for me at our lab table. He smiled and said hello.
"Hey, Emmett. I wanted to ask you about what you said yesterday." I began but he put up one pale finger.
"Hold that thought. I wanted to tell you a few new jokes today. What do you call a psychic midget who just broke out of prison?" he asked. I could tell he really wanted me to hear this joke, like it was important that I did.
"Ok, I'll bite. What do you call a psychic midget who just broke out of prison?" I asked and waited for the punch line.
"A small medium at large." He said and started laughing. I started laughing too. His laugh was loud and booming. It was perfect, beautiful and infectious.
That started a very easy friendship between Emmett and me. He was usually at our table already waiting to pull my chair out for me when I got to class. We never hung out outside of class but we were really friendly during Biology. Every once in a while we would wave to each other across the parking lot or cafeteria. I continued to sit at Jessica and Mike's lunch table and he sat with his family. That was how it was.
And yet, it never seemed to be enough. I continued to dream about him but he was always on the edges. Always in view but still out of reach. It irritated me that I could never get to him through the fog that always surrounded him.
I tried to resolve that issue in real life by trying to get him to tell me what he was. It was clear that he wasn't human, not entirely at least. Whenever I brought up the accident or his promise, he would tell me to be patient, that now wasn't the best time.
It never seemed to be enough for him either, our distant friendship. I wondered if he was serious about our friendship not being enough for him. Maybe he did want more. Every smile or wave seemed to be an invitation. I was just too shy to make the first move. I didn't know how to and what if I was wrong. If he didn't want me, then I would look like an idiot. I would let him make the first move. And wait, hoping that he would.
So I tried to content myself with the fact that we were at least talking. he could be completely ignoring me. A not-so-completely satisfying friendship was better than nothing at all.