The rest of the weekend I spent planning the Monday ambush as I was left mostly on my own. After Sully's, the guys had ditched me, citing chores that needed to be done. They didn't let me take them back to La Push, instead electing to jog back. The weirdos.

I was left to my own devices since Mom and Dad decided to try their luck in Seattle for flooring. They took the bullet train instead of driving themselves to have more time at the depot.

Trying to find a subject that Edward would be willing to have a conversation about, I tuned to the net. Our school, like serval others across the country, had a secure online connection site to get the students to interact with each other more, put together events and such as. I knew it'd be a dead end – they didn't seem the type to want to go to a poetry night at the coffee shop – but I tried it anyway. According to the log, none of the Masens have used their sign on. Undeterred, I moved to the broader web. That's when things got strange.

Edward wasn't anywhere on the most popular social media websites. They defined our generation, even more so than our grandparents, the "millennials". Now that sites were faster, more secure with constant information being thrown at us, we were more plugged in than ever.

I tried looking up Alice as well, thinking her personality fit with the present times more, but again, I came up empty. Then I searched the rest of them. How could five teenagers completely avoid any form of social internet interaction? My curiosity kicking into high gear, I turned to the powerhouse Google. They owned almost every other tunnel and even some news stations. They were the biggest archive accessible to the average person. But even it failed me. The only similar match I got name wise was for Edward, but that guy was born back in the early nineteen hundreds, according to an old Chicago census.

No matter how I narrowed my search parameters, I kept coming up empty.

"Well, that was a dud," I muttered to myself as I slumped down on the couch. I still had nothing to talk to Edward about and now I had another mystery on my hands. How could they be so off the grid that any search brought up nothing? That was nearly impossible. I needed them to teach me their ways.

To try and think about something else, I turned to my massive movie collection to keep me company. The small discs took up nearly two bookshelves on either side of the projector wall space, save for a few of Mom's decorations.

Immediately action flicks were out, their plots too basic and void of complications to keep my mind occupied. Horror films weren't good for me to watch when I had the house to myself; it had a tendency to make strange noises that sent my imagination into overdrive. I settled on a period romance, one of my favorites. The latest version of Pride & Prejudice.

Yeah, it's a bit of a cliché to like the classics, especially Jane Austen, but just look at Mr. Darcy. When you're a hopeless romantic, like me, you can't help but swoon at his broody, mysterious nature. The way he seemed cut off from the world, but just needed someone to break down his walls.

Edward's face flashed in my mind and my eyes snapped open.

Great. So much for distraction.

I weighed heavily on picking a different movie, but my heart was already set on the drama. I commanded the disc reader to play the movie and tried not to imagine Edward in breeches and a tailcoat.

Once it was over and Elizabeth was married to Darcy, I watched two more Austen movies before calling it quits. At barely nine o'clock, I was ready for bed. My early morning made it easy to fall asleep.

Sunday was spent in a similar fashion. I added in some reading between movie watching, contemplating if Edward had a favorite book, and double checked my trig homework. I helped my parents clean around the house, as I mulled over more possible topics. I was so lost in my own thoughts I hadn't heard what Dad was trying to tell me while I was spraying down the counters in the kitchen. Apparently, Mom had finally chosen the flooring for the upstairs. Redwood. Unfortunately, it was going to take almost a month to get here since they had to special order.

When I crawled into bed, early again, I was sore from both Saturday's hiking and the day's dusting and sweeping, and worse, I was no more prepared to talk to Edward than I was Friday.

I woke up well before my alarm, throwing on a green sweater and jeans before tossing my hair back in a ponytail. After chowing down on my usual cereal, I ran out the door. The plan was to be one of the first people in the parking lot. Right outside Building One there was an old lunch table that was a perfect circle with a matching bench where I could sit and watch the lot for a familiar black Tesla.

The car enthusiasts were practically drooling when the Masens pulled into the school grounds on the first day of last semester. Most of us drove vehicles that were a decade or so old, but not even teachers drove something that nice.

Only two other cars were there when I pulled in. It wasn't raining for once, but the clouds were dark and foreboding. I sat at the table, facing the entrance, and waited.

I jumped every time a black four-door drove by, but it was never the one I wanted. The other students came in clumps, hanging out more towards the center of the courtyard. Thankfully, no one seemed inclined to join me.

With less than fifteen minutes to spare, that shiny Tesla pulled into a spot on the edge of the lot. I watched as the five siblings got out of the car and made their way towards the school. Acting casually, I sifted through my bag, which was nowhere near full, and pulled out its few contents like my book, tablet, and notebook. I wanted to look busy, but there was nothing else to search for, so I faked it.

When I looked up, the Masens were passing me already, and beginning to split up to their respective classes. How did they get up here so fast?

I scrambled to put my stuff back in my bag and untangled myself from the picnic table without falling on my face. He was about ten feet behind me now.

"Edward!" I called out, running up to him. He stopped mid-step and turned his head to me. His eyebrows were knitted together when I stopped beside him.

"Good morning," I greeted, smiling at him.

He didn't smile back, but at least he didn't look angry. "Good morning, Sloane."

I took his cooperation as a good sign. "How as your weekend?"

"Productive," he replied, his voice loosening up on the monotone indifference. "And yours?"

I froze. Not because he was helping along the conversation, but because his eyes were no longer the black I remembered that stuck out so severely. Now they were a soft gold, maybe even amber.

Maybe it's just colored contacts. A lot of people wear them these days, I told myself. But when I searched his eyes for the tell-tale outer rim around the iris, there was nothing.

"Sloane?"

I shook my head, trying to get back to the task at hand.

"Right, sorry. My weekend. It was good. I did some hiking."

"Not by yourself, I hope," he chastised. "The woods can be dangerous."

Trying not to be irritated by his obvious chivalry, I reassured him, "No, I went with a couple of guys from La Push."

A deep frown flashed on his lips before disappearing back to their normal flatness. Was the dislike between the Masens and the Quileute mutual?

"So, what was the reason you were waiting for me?" Edward asked bluntly.

I was caught, but that didn't mean I had to fess up. "Waiting for you? I just saw you and thought I'd say hi. Get to know my physics partner."

I didn't know how, but apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Without a reply, Edward turned on his heels and stalked away.

"Wait–"

Rrrrring.

I groaned. "Stupid bell." I ran to English with about a minute to spare before the final bell could count me late.

I would give him space. That's what I concluded. Edward was different. Not just in "he doesn't quite fit in" different. His eyes changed colors over the weekend and he was fine with small talk, but then I used that fateful phrase "get to know" and it was like flipping a switch. What was he hiding?

At lunch, only four were sitting at their normal table. Edward was nowhere to be seen in the bright, florescent room.

Around the time my eyes had drifted over to the Masens' table for the fourth time, just out of habit now, Alice caught my glance and waved.

Stunned, I waved back. Rosalie threw Alice a dark look, but it didn't faze her. She got up, threw away her untouched food and skipped out of the cafeteria.

And then there were three.

"Did Alice Masen just wave at you?" Jackson asked, astonished.

I shrugged, trying to play if off as if it was an everyday thing. "We have English together."

Abby pursed her lips. I'm sure she was thinking the same as I was. Alice hadn't acknowledged me, or anyone else, today in class. So what happened between then and now?

I wonder…

Excusing myself from the table, I threw my lunch away as quizzical looks followed me, and headed out in the same direction as Alice.

When I found her, I had to fling myself back behind the wall I was rounding. She was standing by the same table that I had sat at that morning. Edward was sitting across from her. By luck neither of them saw me. I sunk down to the ground, pressing my back into the brick building as I peeked around the corner.

The conversation seemed to be one sided. Alice stood there, arms crossed. Edward's lips were moving, practically quivering from the speed, but he was talking so low that I couldn't catch a single word. He'd pause every so often, like he was waiting for or listening to a reply from Alice, but one never came.

Suddenly, Edward stood up, throwing his hands in the air.

"Stop it, Alice!" He growled, just loud enough for me to hear. "The only reason I agreed to come back here is because it was safest for all of us. That is it!" He stormed off. Alice stayed there, her hands moving to rest behind her back, like her brother had simply stated that he had homework to do and for her to have a nice day instead.

Standing up, I slowly walked to physics wearily, unsure of what might be waiting for me.

I was not surprised when Edward had reverted back to the scowl in class. In the forefront of my mind, I paid extra attention to the lesson. On the backburner, I let simmer the idea of giving him space. The next in-class work day was Thursday. He could have Tuesday and Wednesday to brood, but Thursday he would have to put up with me.

So, that's what I did. There was no tracking him down, staring at him during lunch, and no forced small talk.

Abby noticed my sudden lack of interest in the Masens. When she asked about it after English on Wednesday, I simply shrugged. I wasn't really indifferent now, just being patient. But I didn't want to lie to her. So wordless answer it was.

Thursday morning came and it was another day spent in an anxious state. In trig, Mrs. Borden called on me and even moved my work on my tablet to the electric board for the class to see. Worse, not only was my answer wrong, but she proceeded to go through my work step by step to show exactly where I went wrong. I'm sure it was a good teaching tool, but in front of the whole class, it was mortifying. I came out alive, though.

At lunch I kept my attention on Lynn and Jackson's argument over a new movie that was coming out this weekend. Jackson thought the action thriller was going to be something we hadn't seen before; "genre-changing" is how he phrased it.

Lynn, on the other hand, was very adamant that it was just going to be the same rehash that Hollywood's been doing for over a century. How they could still be making money on those movies was beyond me.

Finally, with no conclusion to argument, the time came to go to class, ending the mind-numbing conversation. I loved my friends, but sometimes I couldn't stand what they wanted to talk about.

Mr. Shelter spent the first half of class finishing up yesterday's lesson. Jackson was bouncing his leg rapidly a few rows down, something he only did when he was impatient or nervous. The whole mood of the class was restless, wanting to get started on their projects as soon as possible.

"Okay," Shelter said, putting down the stylus. "Get to work."

Everyone around me scrambled to get with their partners. Taking my time, I removed my part of the project from my bag and joined Edward, moving the same desk to face him as last time.

I was, admittedly, still a little sour about Monday, but I told myself it didn't matter, it wouldn't affect anything. I sat down without really glancing at him and spread out my work. "So–"

"Sloane."

My head shot up. I'd fully expected him to give me another silent treatment until I forced words out of him. I had a whole plan on how to do it nicely, even. I thought I was doing a good job masking my shock as indifference, but I must have failed because Edward's lip twitched upward for just a second before smoothing out again.

"Yes," I urged him to continue. I had to be honest, I liked how he said my name, drawn out, every letter pronounced.

"I want to apologize for my behavior on Monday," he frowned and looked down at the space between us. "You simply caught me off guard."

I scrunched my eyebrows together, not quite believing him. The "caught off guard part", anyway. His apology seemed sincere. I wondered if Alice put him up to it.

"It's okay," I smiled softly. His hands were folded out in front of him. I resisted the urge to reach out and grasp them. Were they cold like Alice's? "I just thought that since we'd be working together, we could also be friends. You look like you could use one."

"I'm not a good friend to have," he murmured, more to himself than to me.

"Shouldn't I be the judge of that?" I argued.

"People are the worst judges of what is good for them," he countered, looking up at me.

"True," I nodded. "But only in certain cases. Everything is subjective. Someone like me who has a very good grip on what's good for them could still want to be your friend. And they should be the only making that decision for themselves."

"Let's say the theory has been tested and proven that I'm not good for people to be around." Edward's expression was almost pained. He wasn't going to relent. That just meant I got to push harder, but treading softly.

"But no experiment ever ends with the exact same results each time." I had to admit, this was a fun argument. For me, at least. "There are changes to different variables each time it's conducted. That's why it's an experiment."

Edward narrowed his golden eyes at me. They were beginning to dull out, not as bright as they were on Monday. "And what major variable do you think is different this time that it won't have the same outcome?" He was getting angry, but visibly holding it back. I wasn't just touching a nerve, I was poking at it. Repeatedly. But I was too far ahead now to stop.

I grinned. "Me."

He growled. "You think very highly of yourself."

My smile didn't wane, even with that blow. "No, I don't," I shook my head. My opinion of myself was actually very low. I pushed away the image of my reflection out of my head. "I just have a cheery disposition."

"That I have noticed," Edward agreed, letting out a short laugh that was absent of any cheer or amusement. He paused. "Except for right now. I had said something that had upset you. Just for a moment."

How did he do that? I know for a fact that I had kept that smile on my face during the falter.

"It doesn't matter," I answered quickly.

"It does to you," he guessed.

Sighing, I shrugged. "We weren't talking about me. Nice try on changing the subject, though."

He huffed, shaking his head. "No wonder Alice likes you."

I perked up. "Alice likes me?"

"Yes," he frowned, not happy with the idea. "Too much."

My watch vibrated on my wrist. A quick glance told me I had a message from Abby. I'd read it later. She was brave to risk it with Shetler's keen eye. But that's not what took me by surprise. It was the fact that we had less than five minutes left of class.

"Well, crap," I sighed. "There went our time. We didn't even get anything done."

"That's all right," Edward shrugged. "We'll finish up next Thursday. Besides, I think we accomplished something today."

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "Really?" He nodded. Good. "Oh, by the way, we need to figure out when to work outside of class."

"How about next Saturday?" he suggested. "That way we can work on the presentation."

"Sounds good. We can use my house." I immediately regretted the offer. Mom would have a field day, hovering the entire time. I just didn't want him to suggest his place. Too late now.

"If you would like. Where do you live?"

I took one of his reference sheets and wrote down my address. He picked it up and read it, his face filled with surprise and recognition.

"You know the place?" I asked, though I didn't know how he could. We moved in before they were ever here.

"No."

The bell rang and Edward folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

"I will see you tomorrow, Sloane." He flitted out of the classroom.

I stared at the tile, trying to put pieces of a puzzle together that were refusing to fit and make a picture. But I understood what at least one piece was screaming at me. He was absolutely lying.

AN: And the ball keeps rolling! Shout out to everyone who was followed, favorite-d, and reviewed this story! I am actually quite proud of it! I hope you guys enjoy the next one!