Chapter 2: Huh?

The next day did nothing for my self esteem. It was raining, and while I didn't mind the rain, I wanted it to go away…at least for today…

In English I sat next to Angela, and mike sat next to me. Angela walked and talked with me on the way to my next class. Even though it was my second day, I was beginning to feel more at home here in Forks. At lunch I sat with the same group consisting of mike, Jessica, Angela and the others, whose names were more familiar, yet not committed to memory yet. I glanced across the lunch room and noticed that there were only three Cullens at their table today. The first missing one you can probably guess, but the other was the short one Alice.

The rest of the day went according t plan. In biology, Mike convinced Mr. Banner to let me work with him and Jessica. Then in P.E., I played volleyball against Mike's team and the game got ended early due to Lauren spiking one of the other students in the head.

After gym, I walked to my truck and cautiously glanced over towards the Cullens. No glares today; they didn't even look in my direction.

I got home and noticed that Steven wasn't home. I remembered that he wasn't very creative in the kitchen, and unless I wanted to eat the same thing week after week, I was going to have to intervene. When I mentioned this to him yesterday, he left me some money to go grocery shopping.

I got back from the grocery store and began to make spaghetti. An hour later, Steven got home.

"Devin?"

"Of Course" I'm in the kitchen." I yelled.

"Hey kiddo," He said, now joining me in the kitchen.

"Hey dad, dinner's ready." I sat the food down at the table and we both sat down.

"So how was your second day?" He asked.

"Better than the first."

"Made any friends?"

"Yeah, there's Mike Newton, Jessica Stanley, Angela Webber, and a few others."

"Yeah, I know their parents. They're pretty good people, but you might want to watch out for Jessica, I hear she's a bit of a gossip." Of course my dad would know the inner workings at my school. "So any girls caught your eye?"

Mental Cringe…Awkward question…

"Umm…no"

"Okay, I hear there's a dance coming up, so you might get asked, I hear its girl-choice."

"I hope not," I muttered, too low for him to hear.

After dinner I went up to my room to check my email. My mom had already sent two…

Good morning, how is Forks? I don't know how you stand the constant cloud cover? I'd go mad…Anyways, how's school going? Made any friends? How are classes going? Things were great. Just wanted to see how things were going…

Love,

Mom

The second one was shorter.

Devin, why haven't you emailed me back yet? I can call if email is too hard for you to keep up?

Love,

Mom

I decided to email her back before she died of anticipation.

Hey mom, everything's good here. I'm liking Forks way more than I thought I would. School is fine. I've made a few friends, and everyone seems really nice.

She couldn't hear uncertainty in an email right?

Classes are going well. I'm not going to check my email daily, but I will try to email soon.

Love,

Devin

I got to thinking and I decided to go downstairs. My dad was sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

"Dad, do you know the Cullens?"

"Dr. Cullen's family? Of course."

"The kids are…" I was looking for the right word. "…kind of weird."

He was angry.

"Those kids haven't done anything to hurt anyone. Just because they keep to themselves, people think they're weird. Dr. Cullen is probably one of the best doctors in America, and while he could be in New York or somewhere else, he chooses to live here. We're lucky to have them here."

Whoa…didn't expect that…time to save the situation…

"No, I mean, they seem okay, I was just saying, they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive."

Hopefully that was good enough

"Yeah, you should see the doctor and his wife. They look like they stepped right out of a movie." He seemed to have calmed down.

We continued talking for a little while, and then I returned to my room and did my homework before going to bed.

The rest of the week was boring. I grew more and more accustomed to the daily routine. I remembered everyone's names and most of the stares died down. Alice and Jasper never came back. Maybe I wanted to see if he would run away again…

Most of the talk that week was about Mike planning a trip to the beach in La Push in two weeks. I agreed to go because I loved beaches and bonfires so there was no reason for me not to go.

I got used to working with Jessica and Mike in biology. Jasper wasn't coming back. Hopefully he would be "sick" for a long time. With each day that passed, it became easier to believe that it had nothing to do with Jasper's vanishing act. After all, he wouldn't stop going to school because of me.

The weekend was good because my dad worked most of the weekend and I had the house to myself all day. I finished all of my homework, sent my mom an email and even managed to clean a little before Sunday night.

Monday morning followed the usual path, English with Mike and Angela, etc, etc…Typical school ensued…until lunch.

We were all sitting at the lunch table when Angela said, "Oh, all the Cullens are here today."

"…What?" I said, slightly startled. I had grown accustomed to not even thinking about the Cullens. I turned my gaze in their direction unexpectedly meeting eyes with Jasper. I quickly looked away.

"Yeah, I can tell how interested you are in them." Angela said thoughtfully.

"What? I could care less about the Cullens…" I said defensively.

"Devin, don't insult my intelligence. You look over there like every day."

Did I really? I don't think I did…"That's because I kind of need a lab partner." I told her. It sounded like a sad excuse.

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch. I didn't really know if I wanted to go to biology or not…

What's the worst that could happen? I told myself.

I walked into Mr. Banner's class and went to my lab station. Jasper wasn't there…maybe he went home early or something. Maybe he had gotten his schedule changed after all…

Apparently not…

Jasper walked in the class looking unusually calm. He walked so smooth and gracefully. I was instantly jealous. He moved his chair as far away from me as possible and angled it in my direction.

"Hello"

"Huh?" I said, slightly dazed by the cool sound to his voice, and the fact that he was actually speaking to me.

"We were never formally introduced. Hi, I'm Jasper Hale."

"Umm…Hi, I'm Devin Michaels."

"Nice to meet you Devin."

"Er…yeah, nice to meet you too Jasper." I mumbled.

Luckily Mr. Banner decided to start class at this precise moment. We were working on the cell cycle, which luckily I had already learned. The assignment was for us to use the microphone to identify the different phases of the cycle.

"Shall we get started then?" Jasper asked his voice liquid.

"Sure." I replied. I picked up the first slide.

"Anaphase." I said confidently.

"May I?" He said politely, holding out his hand out for the slide.

Our hands brushed together as I handed him the slide. His hand was ice cold. He quickly pulled it back. He looked at the slide, and then neatly wrote down anaphase.

He picked up another slide, and then said, "Prophase."

"May I?" I asked.

He handed me the slide, this time making sure that not to make contact.

"Okay." I said. He was right.

He wrote down prophase in his ever so neat handwriting. The rest of the assignment went on, wordlessly following the same pattern. We finished before all of the other couples.

An awkward silence fell upon us. Something was different about him today. He was looking away, so I felt it safe to look at him.

His gorgeous hair was the same. His skin was the same pale shade. His eyes were the sa-His eyes were what were different.

"Are you wearing contacts?" I asked him conversationally.

"No." he replied simply.

I could have sworn that every time we locked eyes were a grayish black. Maybe I'm just crazy. Maybe, just maybe, I was paying too much attention to Jasper Hale.

Mr. Banner came to our table, probably wondering why we weren't working. He silently looked over our work and then eyed Jasper.

"I hope you let Devin do some of the work. It really isn't fair to him if you do everything."

Jasper sighed. I looked at him, but he didn't return my stare. I sighed too, feeling bored.

"Devin actually did most of the work"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, I already learned this."

"Were you taking an honors course before you came to Forks?"

"Yeah," I said. I felt really…serene, like I was talking to a peer rather than an adult.

"Well, I guess its good you got paired with the smartest student in my class." He walked off to help some other students. I put my head down, fully prepared to take a short nap.

"So how are you liking Forks?"

I swear, if one more person asks me that…"Its fine, I've been there for a while you know. I've pretty much gotten used to it here."

"Oh…" He sounded kind of hurt. I decided to sound a little nicer.

"It's very green and most of the people seem really nice."

"If you don't mind my asking. Why did you move here?"

"My mom got a boyfriend and it's just a tad bit awkward…" He was looking straight ahead, his face looked so smooth. I wanted to touch it…Jasper was looking at me again, this time out of the corner of his eyes while he still faced forward.

"Umm…so…Are you happy you moved here?"

"Moderately. My dad is much easier to live with." Why did I feel the need to open up to him? Maybe it was his looks…

All of a sudden, I felt a strong lust for something. It wasn't sexual…I didn't know what it was…that was the weird part. My mouth watered. I felt lightheaded. Jasper raised his hand.

"Mr. Banner, May I be excused?"

"Where do you need to go?"

"The bathroom sir, it's urgent." His tone was serious. A few girls giggled.

"Sure Jasper."" Mr. Banner said, sounding slightly embarrassed for the beautiful blonde. Jasper, unaffected, walked swiftly from the room.

As usual, I stared after him. Was it me? No. Just because someone has to go urgently to the bathroom doesn't mean that you scared them off. Stop being paranoid.

A few minutes later, Jasper returned to class. He pushed his chair a few more inches away from me as he sat down.

This is getting annoying

"So, Devin, tell me more about yourself"

"Why are you so interested in me?"

"…I don't know…" he sounded thoughtful, and helpless. I got the impression that the conversation had died.

We didn't say anything else to each other for the rest of class, and when the bell rang, he darted out of the classroom as usual. I gathered my things and left the classroom. Angela was waiting for me outside of biology.

"Have fun?"

"What?"

"With Jasper Hale…Did he speak to you?"

"More like interrogated me"

"So he's interested in you?"

"I mean, I guess…Wait! What are you implying?!"

"Oh nothing…" she stated simply and walked off.

What the fuck?! Does she know?!

I found myself thinking about Angela and Jasper throughout most of P.E. class, inevitably causing my team to lose. All of my teammates glared at me as they walked to their respective locker rooms.

After gym, I ran through the rain, and straight to my truck. I looked toward the Volvo. Jasper was leaning against it, his hair and shirt soaking wet. I could see every detail of his lean chest. I couldn't breathe…the sight was just…amazing.

Edward leaned out of the window and told Jasper something. He smiled. Glorious. He looked at me, still smiling. He waved. I blinked. I waved back dazed, then I pulled out of the parking lot, heart still racing.