Chapter 5: Project

B POV

"Ok class," the teacher interrupted, "Time to put the finishing touches on your assignment and turn it in."

I put the bookmark into the spot I had left off on in my book and set it aside. I had finished with the worksheet fifteen minutes ago but Edward was laboriously shifting through pages and notes. Maybe I was wrong about the not doing his own work and copying off me. He never once asked me for a question or even a hint.

"Are you done?" I ask politely. He looks up at me and smiles.

"Yeah," he nods once, "But I would feel more confident with my answers if we compared papers."

"Okay," I dig the paper out of my binder and scoot it closer to his.

"Well you got the nucleus mixed up with the nucleolus." I point out.

"Oh," His eyebrows scrunch together in a rather adorable way."I wasn't sure about that one. Thanks." He quickly erases and corrects.

"Anything else?" He taps his pencil eraser like a drum.

"You have the cillum and the vacuole mixed up too. Do you play drums?" I muse.

"Whaa? Yeah, how'd you know."

I gesture to his still drumming pencil. "You're unconsciously playing."

"Oh, Haha! Nervous habit." He corrects his mistakes again and sets his pencil down this time. "Emmett, Jasper, Alice and I like to play Rock Band. Jasper and Emmett play guitar, Alice sings and I play drums, mostly because I suck at the other three."

"Oh," I nod. "I like to sing but I don't think I could play drums."

"Drums aren't for everyone, but once you get the hang of it they're super easy. You sing huh? Anyway I could hear a song or two?"

"Haha. Umm, not unless you sneak into the bathroom while I'm taking a shower. I don't really sing in public. I'm probably not very good anyway." Did I just invite him to take a shower with me? Oh Lord, here comes the blush. I need to stop talking right now.

"Don't talk like that. I bet you're great."

Oh crap, a compliment. The one thing I take worse than gifts. I gulp audibly and turn away to pack up. Why is he being nice? I hope he's not one of those guys who's only nice when nobody's looking, those are the worst. The kind that will laugh and joke and tell you you're beautiful when it's just you, then when he's around his friends and more attractive girls he's a complete ignoramous jerk. I've had too much experience with that guy. I promised myself that would never happen to me again.

"Ok class, we have about five minutes before the bell rings. I'm passing around another assignment. This one is an out of class project you and your partner will be working on for the next couple of weeks. It is due two weeks from Friday and will count for 20% of your grade so make sure you do not put it off until the last night. I will grade on effort, creativity and grammar as well as content so make sure you take that into consideration."

The yellow sheet of paper is passed to me and I hand one to Edward.

"Cool!" He nods. "When do you want to start?"

"Well, I'm free whenever." I shrug.

"Great! How about today after I get off of football practice?"

Woah, that's quick. "Sooner the better," I nod. He obviously just wants to finish this and get rid of me.

I start to head off but am rubberbanded back to the table by an arm grasping the back of my jacket.

"Woah there." He stops me. "Where do you want to meet?"

"I don't know. I have a car so I can meet you somewhere."

"How about we meet at the Dairy Shack?"

"Ok," I bite my lip. Public? He's daring to meet me where people will see us?

"5:45?" He asks, "Practice ends at 5:15 and then I have to shower and change. You don't want me smelling like B.O." He chuckles.

"Sure." I nod. He smiles that gorgeous smile of his again and this time as I try to walk away I trip a little over my own feet.

Did I just agree to meet Edward Cullen, the hottest, seemingly nicest guy in school at Dairy Shack? The same Edward who I witnessed whispering jokes about me at lunch? The same Edward who Tanya Denali currently is glaring daggers at? I rein myself in when I remember that it's only for a school project. That he's only using me to get a good grade. That I'm nothing more to him than a pawn, a fat nothing of a girl who he can use and throw away. I promised myself this wouldn't happen again, so why did I just agree?

Well, here I am sitting in my truck, glaring at the clock and willing myself to back out of the driveway. I called Charlie to tell him where I would be. He was thrilled I'd made friends so soon, especially with Edward Cullen.

"That kid has got some serious promise Bella," he raved, "He's got the state record for recieving and rushing yards! He's going to break the record for touchdowns by the looks of it! Wow, my baby girl going on a date-"

"Dad-" I try to stop his rant.

"the first day she's here. With Edward Cullen no less! I bet Harry will hate this, oh and Billy! He's done nothing but brag about his son, the football hero this and his son the football hero that. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he hears about this!"

"Dad!" I forcefully interrupted. "Stop! It's not a date. We're partners for a Biology project."

"SO? Edward's a nice kid! He won't be able to resist how sweet and loveable you are."

"Okay dad, whatever you say," I spit out, meanwhile feeling worse about the situation. So now I can lump my father into the I 3 Edward Fan Club with all the rest of the hormonal teenage girls in my class, I roll my eyes.

"Ok baby girl," he chuckles, "What time should I expect you home?"

"Umm, I'm not sure, before seven hopefully. I'm cooking a lasagna for you though. It'll be in the oven under tin foil to keep warm. you can reheat it if it's too cold."

"Aww, thanks Bells. You didn't have to do that you know. I could have found my own dinner. I did survive for fifteen years before you arrived."

"I know dad. I just feel bad about leaving you alone my second night here."

"Don't be. I'll invite Billy over to watch the game. Maybe I'll spill the beans about your...undate to him, haHA!" He's acting like a little kid who just got a new toy.

"Okay dad," I concede with another eye roll. "I'll see you when I get home. Love you."

"Oh Bel-" I hang up, effectively cutting off anymore raving he might have done that would make me feel even more insecure and stupid for doing this.

My truck splutters as I ram it into reverse and slowly back out of the driveway. It's 5:30, I'm meeting him there in fifteen minutes. Bad thoughts creep into my head as I wind my way through the streets. I might have turned to go back home once or twice, okay six times, but I had my reasons. What if he and his friends show up and tease me for actually thinking he was going to meet me there? What if I get there and he makes me do all the work while he goofs off? What if he just doesn't show and I sit there looking like an idiot for an hour?

Well, if that were the case I would order food and pretend to just be there of my own accord. If he didn't show up by the time I finished eating then I'd leave. HA Mr. Gorgeous, see if you can control me now.

I creep my truck into a spot that is further away from the Dairy Shack. Wait, I pull out and flip around to park closer to the Dairy Shack. What if I have to make a quick getaway?

I grab my backpack and hop out of my truck. I walk up to the order window and peruse the big menu board.

'Welcome to Dairy Shack," the girl at the window welcomes me with little to no enthusiasm. "Our special today is the Moo Burger." I cringe, that doesn't sound appetizing at all. "What can I get you?"

"Um, I'll just have a small fry and a strawberry shake."

"What size shake?"

"Small?" I shrug.

"We don't have small, we have regular and large."

"Oh, well regular I guess then," I smile shyly and pull out my wallet.

"That'll be $4.28," she flips her hand out palm up as she pops a bubble with her gum.

I hand her the five and drop the change in the tip jar. I hate change.

"It'll be a few," she says, "Fries need refreshing."

I nod and turn to find a seat on the patio. I find a table that's next to a patio heater and has an umbrella. After all I'd hate to get all my papers wet.

I look around once I sit down. There's an older couple eating their burgers and sharing a drink. The man sets his burger down and places his hand down on top of hers. She smiles and he leans in to kiss her. It pulls at my heartstrings. I quickly turn away from the intimate moment and pull my binder out of my backpack.

A tray is set in front of me and I glance up. It's one of the girls I saw at lunch today. Jane, I think Angela said her name is.

"Anything else I can get you?" Her voice is surprising, so high-toned and child-like. I shake my head and watch her walk away.

I turn back to my food and pop the lid off the shake. I grab a fry and dip it into the pink ice cream treat. I take a bite and smile. Perfect blend of hot and cold, sweet and salty. I glance towards the parking lot, no sign of Edward. I check my phone, it's 5:50. Well he's not that late. Maybe practice went longer.

I reach into my bag for my IPod. I find it in the bottom of the bag and unwind the headphones. As I press play the soothing tones of Pachabel in D fills my head. I pull the assignment sheet from the binder and glance over it.

We have to create a presentation on cells. The structure and function of both animal and plant cells. Easy enough, but there's a catch. We can't just use a couple of diagrams of cells. We have to apply it to something else. Some other object or function. Okay, well that seems do-able.

HOLY CRAP! I jump about a foot in the air as a hand grasps my shoulder. I rip my headphones out and pivot around. It's Edward. He laughs at my reaction as he takes a seat.

"Sorry," Edward chokes, "Didn't mean. To scare. You." He says between laughing fits.

I don't respond, the only thing I can do is blush.

"Are you okay?" He asks as he catches his breath.

"Yeah," I nod. "You just surprised me."

"Haha, well that's obvious. Sorry I'm late. Coach wanted to talk to me about the big game on Friday."

"Oh, it's okay." At least he showed, that's a good sign. Didn't mean he was going to be much help though.

"I'm gonna grab some food, you want anything?" He points at the window.

"No thanks," I gesture to the tray in front of me.

"Okay, be right back. I'm starving."

I watched him walk to the counter. He had to lean down to reach the hole in the order window. I couldn't help but notice what he was wearing. He had on a black North Face jacket, a gray cotton tee shirt, khaki shorts and a pair of Nike's. He finished ordering and walked back to me. I glanced back to my binder when he turned, in order to avoid being caught checking him out.

He plops down on the bench across from mine and pulls his backpack up. I wind my IPod up and stuff it into the sidepocket of my backpack.

"What were you listening to?" He asks casually.

"Oh," I shrug. "Nothing." I don't want him to think I'm a freak for liking classical music.

"Well what's your favorite music?" He asks.

"Umm, I don't really have a favorite. I listen to a little bit of everything. Country, classical, rock, pop, alternative, R&B, rap. I don't discriminate."

"Cool! I love all of that too. My favorite band is Needtobreathe. I like how they can sound modern, but still incorporate a banjo and harmonica into their music."

I gape at him. My IPod had about 30 Needtobreathe songs on it and I have even more on my computer. They are one of my favorite bands because they sound country but also rock and alternative and folk, all mixed in one. I figured him for a rock or rap kind of guy.

"What?" He flashes his crooked smile with an eyebrow crick at me.

"Nothing," I shake my head quickly, "I love Needtobreathe as well."

"I saw on their website that they're going to be in Spokane soon. If I can find someone to go with me I was thinking of buying tickets and taking a road trip over there."

I nod. He'd probably invite Tanya, or a guy from the football team to go with him.

"But that's not for a couple months." He waves his hand in front of his face. "Okay, so I looked over the assignment and thought of a couple ideas."

Well there went my no help excuse out the window. Seriously? Was this guy too good to be true?