Chapter Two
Unfamiliar feelings.
Edwards POV.
As I drove to school I thought about all the things I had talked to Gladriel about last night, but then all I ever did was think about her. With any luck I would actually get to meet her today and the idea of it sent a charge of excitement through me. I was still more angry than I let on to her, that her stalker was back. I knew if I ever caught hold of him I would probably rip him limb from limb just for scaring her.
Five months it had been since we had met online and we had hit it off right away, she was fun, smart and caring and she was more of a friend to me than anyone I'd ever met. It didn't matter to me what she looked like, I knew her and to me she was beautiful.
Once at school my brother and sister set off for their classes, I'd driven faster than usual purposefully, to arrive early, I got out of my car and stood leaning against it.
Gladriel said she would ride to school with her brother and sister, so I knew I was looking for a junior dressed in black with two seniors. It wasn't that big a school so she shouldn't be that difficult to pick out. I smiled to myself when I saw Jasper Hale drive into the lot, it was a good thing that Alice wasn't with me, she got all weak kneed and tongue tied around him. Though she had never had the nerve to ask out the senior, she'd been crazy about him ever since he first moved here five months ago. Along with his twin sister Rosalie, they were the only twins in the school besides Alice and I, I knew they have a younger half sister.
I gasped as I saw them pull into a space just two vehicles down from me, I saw her in the back seat as the car pulled in, a black hoodie pulled over her head obscuring my view of her. Bella Swan, I still remembered the first day she arrived, I had thought how pretty she was as she walked towards me, our eyes had locked and she had tripped and fell into my lap. I had looked down at her, her face just inches from my zipper, her mouth hanging open in shock. She looked up at me from under those long lashes and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry.' Seeing her there I had been more turned on than ever before. I chuckled to myself about what Gladriel had said about the one time we had spoken 'Our first and only meeting didn't go so great.' She'd said, on the contrary I thought it was very great. It had to be her! I had tried to get to speak to her practically everyday since then and she had avoided me ever since. She was more shy than anyone I had ever known and she was majorly clumsy but there was just something about her that, well if I was being honest with myself I was actually very attracted to her. Unfortunately I had never been able to get near enough to her to find out if that attraction was justified. I think what I liked most was the fact that unlike all the other girls, she didn't ogle me, she didn't go out of her way to speak to me like the others, or that could just be my ego wanting the one thing I couldn't have.
The prom was coming up and out of all the girls in school, juniors and seniors she was one of the few, who had not asked me. I had said no to them all, none of them were of any interest to me, I had been hoping that Gladriel would ask me. If I was right that Bella Swan was my Gladriel, then I was going to ask her to the dance.
I watched from my peripheral view as the three of them walked by, her sister Rosalie, smirked at me. She was supposedly the most attractive girl in school, head cheerleader and all that, but she wasn't my type at all, I liked Bella. Who I could see was wearing black jeans and a black hoodie. I smiled to myself as I watch her cringe into Jasper, trying to make herself invisible to me, that was an impossibility, I always noticed her. Jasper nodded in my direction I knew him pretty well as he was on the football team with me.
I thought more about the things Gladriel and I had discussed last night and I remembered that she had said that she would go naked. Foolishly I started to imagine Bella that way, Urgh I needed to stop that thought dead. I'd have to get back into my car and hide until I calmed down enough, as that would stir up all the wrong emotions in me and I would be emotional enough trying to get near her without that.
I didn't follow right away, I waited a moment or two first, I wanted her to get to class before me. It was lucky I guess that I did wait. I saw then that a very slimy kid I thought to be most unpleasant was moving in the same direction and acting most suspiciously. I thought that his name was Jamie Zucker, but I wasn't sure and I was sure he'd been expelled. I followed slowly across the lot, up the steps and then into the school.
Rosalie and Jasper left Bella just inside the door and headed off in a different direction, so I started to hurry my pace, suddenly anxious as I watched Zucker getting closer to her. I shoved passed people in a rush now, I saw him reaching for her and she screamed as he pulled her hood and hair, he slammed her into the wall and she crashed to the ground. I felt my heart explode like someone had squeezed the life out of it, then just two paces away he jumped on top of her and smacked her in the face, with the handle of the knife he was holding.
I grabbed the hand with the knife, I wouldn't have cared if it ripped through my flesh, as long as it was away from Bella. I yanked him away, but he kicked into her and she screamed again, the sound of her pain felt like my body had been doused in ice, worse than if I had been stabbed myself, her pain was my pain. I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him a foot from the floor, I slammed him up against the wall. Someone else grabbed his arms, forcing him to drop the knife, I looked to see that it was Jasper. I turned to see Rosalie and Alice helping Bella up from the floor, I saw as she put her hand on Alice's shoulder for support that she was wearing black nail polish. I hadn't doubted that it was her, but it was nice to have it confirmed before I spoke to her, it was a relief to me to see that she didn't seem too badly hurt.
Teachers started to appear from classrooms, coming to investigate the commotion, then all six of us were escorted to the heads office. One of the teachers brought along the knife, but Jasper and I were left to frog march the fiend to the office. I didn't remove or loosen my grip on his throat, I was very tempted to rip it out and I saw that Jasper's hold on him was also cutting off the blood supply too. The moment we got to the office two of the teachers took Zucker into another room, Jasper looked like he would have like to be alone with him for a few moments, just as much as I did.
As I had seen most of what had happened, I told the head what I saw, his first question was, "What is your involvement in this Mr Cullen?"
"I was walking to class behind Bella when I saw him grab her and throw her into the wall, then jump on top of her when she fell to the floor, so I pulled him off her." I stated. I felt a warm glow inside me as I said her name out loud and I liked the way it felt. I explained the rest and then the police arrived. Bella was checked over but despite all of our disapproval she insisted that she did not need to go to the hospital. During our time waiting I spent most of my time looking at her, but our eyes only met twice and each time they did she would blush and look away. I felt an unbelievable urge to go and sit next to her and hold her hand, but she was sitting between her brother and sister.
Whilst Bella was with the police, Jasper and Rosalie came over to me in the waiting room, I felt Alice tense up next to me at Jaspers approach.
"I would just like to say thank you to both of you, for your help today, my sister is a little shy so she might not say it, but I know that she is very grateful to you both." Jasper said.
"Yes thank you so very much." Rosalie added, her usual smugness absent for once I noted.
"We are all very grateful to you Edward." Jasper went on. "You too Alice." He said turning to Alice and winking at her, I was surprised she didn't turn to jello and start giggling.
"No problem," I said, "is... is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's pretty badly bruised and very shaken of course, but underneath that shy exterior she is quite a tough little cookie. She will be fine in no time, just as long as that scum is locked up for good this time." Jasper said.
"This time?" Alice asked shocked, "has he attacked her before?"
"Not exactly." Rosalie answered.
"He has stalked her, so we had a restraining order put on him, but he has never been this close to her before and I shudder to think what could have happened if you hadn't have acted so quickly." Jasper said shakily.
"Me too." I agreed.
The door opened then and the female officer brought Bella out, the head teacher followed.
"I think you have all had enough excitement for one day, so Edward and Alice you can go back to class. Jasper and Rosalie, I think you should take Bella home now." The head teacher Mr Green, said.
I had not taken my eyes off Bella the entire time, so I noticed when she whispered something to Jasper, he nodded to her and as we were leaving the office Jasper stopped me.
"Edward, could you wait a moment, my sister would like to speak to you."
My heart swelled along with my lungs.
"Alice, shall we?" Jasper said gesturing to Alice to walk with him and Rosalie, her blush made me smile. I turned to Bella.
"Hey..." I said feeling a little nervous, not an emotion I was familiar with. "Are you okay?" I asked now that we were alone in the hallway.
"Yes... thank you." She said, then she bit her bottom lip and her cheeks turned the most delicious rose pink I could have imagined. With her pale complexion, it was like cream and roses, I couldn't believe I had never noticed just how beautiful she was, her smile lit up her face and I could not help but smile back in reaction to it. "I'm very grateful that you were there." She said, "so... I owe you."
"Well, I too am grateful that I was there and you don't owe me anything." I told her.
"Considering that I could be in hospital or worse I think I do." She insisted, I winced at her words, I couldn't even think about that.
"I was not about to stand by when someone attacks my best friend." I said the words but I didn't like the way they sounded, it wasn't enough, I wanted her to be more than just a friend. "But if you insist." I said and her answering smirk as she tried not to smile, made me smile at her even more than I already was.
"I do." She said, smiling widely and the sight of that smile took my breath away and almost stopped my heart, she was so pretty.
"In that case, you can let me take you out for dinner tonight and maybe a movie?" I asked hopefully, raising one eyebrow.
She turned her face away from me slightly embarrassed again, "okay," she said still smiling widely. "But maybe we should start with dinner and go from there." She said, she was several feet away from me and I ached to close the gap between us.
I took a step closer to her, she was tiny next to me and when she looked up, she looked up from under her long dark lashes and I could see into the deep chocolate depths of her eyes.
"Well its not like we don't already know each other is it?" I pointed out, she blushed even more.
"I guess not," she said turning her face the other way in embarrassment. I gasped and she turned back to me quickly. "What?" She asked, almost alarmed.
"Your face..." I said and automatically raised my hand, very slowly and as gently as I could, I stroked along her cheekbone with my fingertips, where a bruise was just beginning to appear. Her eyes locked with mine and if I had been talking on MSN with her I would probably tell her that she was making me hard just from stroking her cheek, the feel of her skin under my touch was making my cock throb. "I will pick you up at six." I said, inwardly cursing the fact that I would have to wait until after football practice.
She smiled and bit her lip again, "Okay, I will see you then." She said shyly.
I watched her walk away from me and I felt empty, deflated almost the moment she left my side.
"Oh and Bella?" I said wanting to prolong my time with her.
"Yes?" She said, turning instantly and looking shocked to be so close to me, I had taken several steps in her direction and there was no space between us now.
"You're wrong." I whispered down to her, her hair quivered as my breath blew across her face.
"About what?" She asked a confused expression on her face.
"I do want to know you, now that I know who you are." I said, then grinned, I must have looked like a mad man. "I'll see you later." I said and turned unwillingly to walk away from her.
I almost ran to the rest room. I could hardly control the overwhelming urge I had to go after her. The school day could not go fast enough, I needed to be with her again, it felt like my body and mind would cease to exist until I was back by her side. So yes, I thought to myself, most definitely attracted.
My class was almost finished, so I stayed in the rest room until the bell went, then I headed off to lunch.
I stood in the lunch line and Alice came to join me.
"Are you going to tell me what all that was about?" She asked.
"I don't know what you are talking about." I said.
"Do gooder you might be, but that was above and beyond, plus... don't think I didn't notice that you couldn't take your eyes off Bella, so what is going on?" She asked again.
"Alice, your cheer squad are waiting for you." I said avoiding her question again.
"Tell me... or I will just ask Rose." She threatened.
"Bella, is..." I looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Gladriel."
"What?" She gasped, "You're kidding? She was right under your nose the entire time?" She giggled. "The only two girls in school you actually like and it turns out that they are the same person." She laughed.
I ignored her, paid for my food and went to sit at my normal table with the rest of the football team.
~F~
"What's this I hear, about you fighting Zucker this morning? We have semi's tomorrow, you don't go fighting some guy with a knife the day before semi's, what was it all about any way?" My brother Emmett asked, as he came to sit next to me.
I didn't answer, but it had gotten the attention of the rest of the table and they all went quiet waiting for me to answer. So I stayed silent.
"Wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that he was attacking the Swan girl would it?" Emm went on when it became obvious that I wasn't going to answer him.
I sighed to myself as the table erupted with questions, none of which I was ready to answer yet. Why was my private life of such great importance to them? It wasn't that I was ashamed of her, far from it, but I would have liked to have spent some time alone with her before it became public knowledge. I didn't want to be here, I had no interest in fuelling their curiosity, I just wanted to be with Bella. I sighed again and picked up my food tray. "I'll be on the field." I said as I got up and turned my back on them all.
I couldn't concentrate, I had never felt like this before, I didn't want to be around my friends, I couldn't eat, I couldn't even think straight, I just felt completely useless, but more than anything else, I knew more positively than anything else in my life that I wanted to be with Bella.