Chapter Six:

With a final grunt, Edward and I pushed the mats into place, standing up and letting out spines rest for a moment. I uncapped my water bottle and drank a mouthful before wordlessly handing it over to Edward, who accepted it with a nod of his head, takign a swing.

"Nice job," I praised, nodding as I minded out handiwork.

The gymnasium was filled within its borders with royal blue mats about two inches thick. I pushed my red hair out of my face, proud of our handiwork.

"Why
I heard a deep but soft voice as me.

Slowly I turned to see me student, the emerald eyes oh so deep and stormy. The copper hair fell onto his forehead, framing the beautifully angular face, "Why what?
I asked, surprised that my tone was cool.

There was no doubt in my mind that a majority of my class was attractive— but why was this one student affecting me so? I was his teacher for fuck's sake— and in the middle of a full scale war. I couldn't be side tracked….

With those two seconds of thought to myself, my resolve strengthened, as I waited an answer to my question. What I didn't expect, was that he would be so disarming.

He whirled to me, "Why are you here? Why are you teaching? How come you're helping my friends and me? Why do you care?" he blurted, unadulterated puzzlement settling on his face.

I was stunned into silence. All important questions that would take extreme perception to see.

Edward's cheeks flushed a bit more on top of the exertion from moving the mats, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

I waved away his apology, grounding myself again, "Don't worry bout it. You have to realize that I can't tell you some things," I warned, narrowing my yes at him with suspicion.

Edward shrugged, his demeanor cool, "Part of the career. I understand," he said.

I turned towards the mats, watching as Jasper and Emmett practice taking a whack out of each other, crossing my arms over my chest tightly, "I'm teaching because this group had been hand picked fro a certain mission and only I can teach what is necessary," I explained, smirking as Emmett tackled Jasper and they began to wrestle on the mats.

"Why?" he asked in a whisper.

I refused to look at him, knowing that this piece of information was not vital to his knowledge. My past would stay with me— locking Alistair and his evil away in my head. Rather than answering the uncomfortable question, I kept answering the original torrent of questions.

"I am helping your friends and yourself because it seems that you three are the only ones who give a damn and want to do above and beyond. If that means tutoring before and after class, I have no problem— but you guys have to get it by yourself. This isn't something you can remember for a day then forget, I growled, finally turning to Edward, his green eyes sobering.

"And first off, Mr. Newton needs to be taught respect," I seethed, watching as students began to file through, murmurs about the mats floating through the air.

Edward cleared his throat, bringing my attention to him, "What did he do to make you so angry?" he asked softly; gently.

I huffed, turning away from Edward, "Bastard made a pass at me," I murmured quietly, beginning to walk away to teach my class.

I picked my whistle up between two fingers and blew it, brining the students' attention to me, "I bet all of you are wondering what's up with the mats," I said to them.

"Hell yes, sweetheart," Mike called out, winking at me.

I glared, "Watch your mouth, Mr. Newton," I growled coldly, "I may just have to cut your tongue out and feed it to the raccoons," I threatened quietly.

Mike rolled his eyes but said no more. I resumed speaking, "None of you have been able to accomplish the dodge ball activity, so I thought of an activity that makes your senses awake and tense to defend," I paused for a moment, making sure I had all their attention.

I resumed when I saw that I did, "Defending yourself requires all of your senses. Your sense of hearing those rubber balls bounce off the back wall, your touch as you feel the vibrations wave through the air and most importantly, your sixth sense."

A snort resounded through the gym. Turned to see Mike roll his eyes, "Something you need to say Mr. Newton?" I asked frostily.

Mike's lip curled up into a snarl, "Yeah, actually. I don't know what drugs you're hopped on, but we only have five senses."

I blinked at his comment, wondering how badly he must have hit his head as a child, "So you do. But you have to remember instinct. When in defense mode, your gut reaction is stronger than ever," I explained to the entire class, rather than the imbecile Mike, "You will be divided into pairs and you will fight each other— one will be blindfolded and we will see how your fight fares," I said with a smile.

Though, it was more of a smirk.

"I think," Mike said in his disgustingly slick voice, "That a demonstration is in order," he said with a smirk.

I hid a laugh— right on schedule, "Ad I suppose you'd like to be my guinea pig?" I asked my tone nasty.

Since you asked so nicely," Mikes aid, stepping forward.

I nodded, heading to the center of the mats, catching Edward's eyes for a moment. His gaze was serious and blank. Curiosity surged through me as I saw this— what could be the matter with him?

I bent and picked up the black blindfold, beginning to tie it behind my head, my vision turning black.

"Allow me," I heard Mike say, his hands knocking mine out of the way and tying the knot behind my head.

I froze at this. This was not part of the plan. Mike's lips grazed the shell of my ear, breathing in the scent of my hair, "I like my girls tied up and blindfolded, you know," he murmured in my ear.

At his words, a white flash came behind me eyes,

"Come on Isabella, this won't hurt a bit! You might even enjoy it— you don't want to disappoint your new daddy, do you?"

~TMW01~

The flash faded and I noticed that the muscles in my arms were strained and the bones in my hand ached. There were no sounds— as if everyone was holding their breath.

With my left hand, I ripped off the blindfold, to see Mr. Newton ten feet from me, lying on his back; his breathing deep— obviously unconscious.

I cleared my throat, "Right….so pick a partner and get started," I said, dropping the blindfold and walking out the gymnasium doors.

A strange pressure began t build behind my eyes as I stalked away. I blinked, hoping it would disappear but it only intensified. My fast wake soon turned into a jog as my mind began to focus on the person behind the words.

I could not go back— I can never go back.

"Isabella!" a deep voice called out, causing me to freeze.

Slowly, I turned around to see Edward hesitantly stepping towards me then rushing to my side, "Sorry Coach, but that was the only way to get our attention," he apologized standing a foot away from me, his body language awkward and unsure.

I inhaled shakily, "Why aren't you practicing at the gym?" I asked.

Edward gave me a soft smile, "You knocked out the only guy I wanted to beat the shit out of," he teased, half heartedly.

I laughed softly, the sound watery. Edward hesitated once more, his emerald eyes unsure, but nevertheless; he stepped forward, "What happened back there, Coach," he asked softly.

I nearly laughed at the reverse roles. Here I was, teacher to the student and he was here making sure I was alright. Edward towered over me a good six inches, making the original role seem inappropriate.

I thought back to his question and laughed a bit, "Would you believe me if I said I had no idea?"

Edward chuckled a bit, but the sound was forced, "Well, one thing's for sure: Mike sure as hell won't want to touch you with a ten foot pole after he wakes up," he offered.

I thought about that for a moment before laughing. I gazed into the jade eyes, finding strength— the strength I needed.

"Thank you," I said sincerely.

Edward nodded, "Anytime Coach."

I sighed, pulling my ponytail tighter and gazing at Edward, "I think it's your turn to have your ass kicked, Mr. Masen," I said, teasingly, flashing him a smile.

Edward laughed, "Maybe it's high time I kicked yours," he teased right back.

A grin took place of my smile, "One can dream," I laughed beginning my way back to the gym, feeling much better.

~TMW01~

I returned to the gym, pleased to see that my students had resumed doing as I asked. It was very hard to ignore the fact that the boys were staring at me. Their expressions were mixed and varied from awe to confusion to fear. I tried my hardest to avoid their gazes.

With ease I strode to my earlier position, picking up the midnight blindfold, ready to place it behind my head but I froze as someone cleared their throat. I gazed up seeing 5hat Edward stood, a small smile painted across his lips, "Can I try, Coach?"

I smirked at that, "You sure?" I asked, holding out the blindfold— a challenge.

Edward's smile grew and he plucked the piece of cloth from my hand, "Oh, why not?" he said flippantly, tying it off, brining himself into a defensive crouch.

I grinned, mirroring his stance before laughing myself at Edward, winding my arm back to hit his shoulder. Imagine my surprise when I met with open air.

I whirled around to see Edward standing a foot's distance from me, his forehead scrunched in concentration. Uncontrollable pride burst from me, "Good!" I praised, swinging my left leg out to trip him only to watch him evade by jumping.

Encouraged by his natural ability, I laughed myself into a series off attacks, jabbing and punching wherever I could get my hands on. I managed to nick him near the hip but otherwise, he deftly avoided me like the plague.

It wasn't until I had tried to hit his midsection with my foot that I realized how good he was. My foot was firmly in his hands, causing me to become immobile. I squirmed, hopping on one foot hoping to break his hold, but it was firm. With a flick of his wrist, he twisted my ankle causing my center of balance to shift and in half a second I was eating mat.

The gym was quiet, my class watching how I ate mat. And suddenly, a laugh bubbled to my lips.

I couldn't help myself but the laugh continued longer than intended. When I stopped, I gazed up to see my class stunned. I tugged to have my foot back, the hands capturing them releasing it gently. I pounced to my feet to see a bemused, but confused Edward. His perfect brow was arched in question.

I felt giddy with relief, "Finally!" I yelled, the words spouting out of me without control, "I was beginning to believe it was impossible to teach you," I sighed, still smiling.

A chuckle emanated from Edward, and his emerald eyes sparkled mischievously, "Thanks coach," he said with a chuckle, "I told you I'd beat you."

At that I narrowed my eyes and stuck out two fingers hitting in all the key pressure points, watching as he fell forward, stunned.

I grinned, crouching so that I was next to Edward's ear, "But yet you don't know all the trade secrets," I murmured, smiling when Edward struggling to move.

I then turned to my class, "Class dismissed. Everyone have a good weekend and will somebody take Mr. Newton to the nurse? He's going to have a hell of a headache when he wakes," I warned, leaving my class to enjoy in small victories.

A/N: Finally, interaction. Sorry for the earlier boredom, things will become better now!

Review!

Best wishes,

Themidnightwriter01