November

"Hey, Clearwater!" I heard my name and turned quickly, even though I knew the voice well. Ever since he'd called me beautiful at the party, it had pretty much haunted me. Every time he said my name, that night replayed over and over in my head: the way he smiled, how his eyes had burned into mine, how my insides seemed to turn over anytime he was around.

"What's up, Cullen?" I slowed my pace through the school parking lot and let him catch up with me. The wind blew his hair wild around his face and his cheeks and nose were pink like he'd been standing out here for a while.

"What are you doing today?"

"Uh, I'm going to school," I laughed and nodded toward the hulking building in front of us where kids were already milling about.

"How about you…don't."

"Don't?" I asked.

"Yeah. Don't go to school. Come with me instead." He shrugged and gave me a melt-your-insides type of smile, almost as if he knew I couldn't say no to it.

Which, of course, I couldn't. "And where are we going?" I turned back to the parking lot, following him to a silver sedan.

He shrugged and opened the door for me. "Wherever the wind takes us."

"How poetic of you. Imagine what you could do if you actually went to class."

"You know, I'm a little flattered at how much you pay attention to my attendance." He smirked and started the car.

I felt my cheeks flush and turned to stare out the window. I swear, all I did was blush and say stupid shit around him. I kind of hated him for that.

Edward was silent as he drove, his fingers drumming along with whatever songs played on the radio. Eventually he pulled over at a little turnoff and turned to look at me.

"Here we are," he said with a small smile.

"Really, Cullen?" I raised my eyebrow at him and he nodded. He got out of the car and I followed him around to the trunk, watching as he opened it and pulled two Capri Suns and a couple granola bars from a cooler-sized lunchbox. "You come bearing kindergarten snacks?"

"I just didn't want to go to school today. Sue me," he shrugged, after slamming the trunk and holding his hand out to help me up.

I took his hand and let him pull me onto the trunk with him, immediately letting go when I'd settled myself. My skin tingled from the contact but I ignored it.

"So, what do you have against this day, anyways?" I nudged him with my shoulder and stabbed the straw into my juice.

"Ah…you don't want to know," he said quietly, fiddling with the aluminum packet in his hands.

"Well, then. What are you doing after graduation?"

"MIT," he answered nonchalantly.

"What? Really?"

"Don't look so surprised!" Cullen laughed and nudged me back. "I have dreams, you know."

"I just always assumed your dreams involved you hanging out in dark alleys bumming smokes and buying hookers."

He laughed at that, his head thrown back and his mouth stretched into a huge grin.

"I'm not one for hookers, just so you know," he replied with a wink. "I've always wanted to be an engineer, though."

"That's very cool, Cullen."

"Yeah, I guess. What about you?"

"I haven't heard back from any schools yet. My first choice is Stanford, but paying for it's going to be a bitch."

"Well, that's life," he said, shrugging. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

We were quiet after that, just listening to the cars pass by on the highway.

"It's been five years since my mom died. Five years today, I mean."

"Oh…" I trailed off and glanced at him. He stared at the space in front of him, jaw set tight and eyes dry.

My fingers twitched on my leg before they reached over and wrapped around his.

"I didn't really skip school. My dad called me in. We usually hang out, but he had an emergency at work and…I didn't really want to be alone."

He squeezed my hand and offered me a small smile. I found myself comforted by the fact that he wanted to spend the day with me.