Chapter 5: Losing My Mind

-x-x-x-

"Never thought I'd say I could go insane,

Till I saw your eyes.

And I had to take another look to know for sure,

That you could be for real."

Daughtry – Losing My Mind

-x-x-x-

The next morning, Lexi made an effort to avoid every mirror in the house.

The images from the night before were constantly racing through her mind, making her terrified of the possibility that she would see something else in her own reflection. How she was meant to get through a day of school knowing that she would have to sit beside Jasper Hale by the end of it, she had no idea; the picture of his demon-like features twisted in hunger as he lunged at her constantly replaying in her head.

Her mother could tell that something was wrong. She had spent the entire morning trying to enquire as to what was bothering her daughter, but Lexi couldn't possibly tell her. She wouldn't understand, she would worry, and Lex just wanted everything to go back to normal; wanted to pretend that life was the same as it was in Phoenix, just plain boring and uneventful.

"Seriously, Lex, what's wrong with you?" She asked, stopping her daughter as she went to leave.

"Nothing." Lexi's eyes were glued to the front door, her escape, knowing that if she met her mother's gaze that she might break. "Really, it's just bad dreams… That's all."

She could hear her mother sigh as she placed a comforting hand on Lex's shoulder. "Are you sure there's nothing more than that?"

Finally locking her eyes with her mother's, Lex noticed her intense stare, as though she wanted to ask her something specific but just couldn't find the words to do so. "I've got to meet Bella for school, if I take any longer then we'll be late."

Quickly throwing the apple she had intended to have for breakfast at her brother as she heard him mumble about how "Acting as though Lex isn't strange on a daily basis is a bit redundant", she made her way out of the house before she could be asked any more questions.

-x-x-x-

The entire ride to school had consisted of Bella rambling on about how she would confront Edward Cullen on how strange he had acted the day before. Lexi had half a mind to warn her to stay away from the guy, to keep as much distance between them as possible, but she just wasn't prepared to explain her reasoning for such a dramatic request.

But, as luck would have it, she didn't have to. Edward Cullen never showed up for school.

As Tyler and Lexi threw a ball back and forth, Bella opened up her 'Wuthering Heights' book for the hundredth time and attempted to read - but Lex could tell that her attention was elsewhere as the rest of the Cullen clan hopped out of their cars.

"He could just be ill, Bella." She tried, turning to her as she made her last throw to her new friend. "Maybe that was why he looked so weird yesterday, maybe he wasn't holding his breath cause you smelt bad, maybe he was trying not to hurl?"

It was a theory, a pretty terrible theory, but she thought there was a chance it would make her best friend feel better.

Watching as the Cullen family made their way up the stone steps towards the school, an unsettling feeling washed over her as they all glanced back towards the small group near the truck. The images of last night flashed into her mind, terror rising within her as she locked eyes with Jasper Hale, just for the feeling of fear to be washed away as waves of calm rolled throughout her body like the day before.

It was no longer a confused glare that she saw swirling in his eyes, but a look of genuine curiosity; she didn't know which one was worse.

"There's no way it's a coincidence." Bella piped up from beside her, forcing the redhead's eyes away from his golden ones as she came back to her senses. "You have to admit that it's kind of odd, Lex."

"Okay, I'll admit it's strange, but we have to get to class." She replied, picking her bag up from the back of the truck. "We don't really need to be late on our second day."

The Cullens weren't a topic Lexi was willing to discuss properly at the moment. There was something off about them, she could tell, and after last night she was almost certain that she never wanted to find out what it was.

"Do you think he'll be here tomorrow?" Bella asked, as they walked into English, the school bell ringing to signal the start of the day. "He's skipping school to avoid me, I know it."

"Some would say you're being extremely full of yourself, B." Lex mocked, sitting down in her seat with a sigh. "I genuinely think he could just be ill. If he is going to the extreme length of skipping school just to avoid you, then I don't really consider him stable enough to bother caring about anyway."

Shoving her bag at her feet, she shot Lexi a glare. "Well, that doesn't explain why Jasper acted so strange around you." She quipped, her voice turning to a whisper as Mike sat on her other side. "You were just as convinced as I was last night, what aren't you telling me?"

"What's going on?" Mike asked, leaning in to hear.

"Nothing." Lexi cut in before Bella could say anything more, she should have known her best friend would recognise a change in her attitude within seconds. "We're just starting to understand why everybody thinks that the Cullens are so strange."

"I told you they were freaks. You would think that after two years of being here they would have at least attempted to make some friends."

Shrugging her shoulders, Lexi turned her attention to the book they were studying. "I guess we'll never know why they didn't."

Casting a quick glance out the corner of her eye, she noticed Bella glaring at her book as she all but mutilated her bottom lip with her teeth. She could tell that she was never going to let it go. If Edward knew what was best for him, he would stay as far away as possible.

-x-x-x-

In photography, the teacher decided that everyone was to be split into two groups. One group would go out to take photographs, while the other would stay inside to read up on the theory of it all. Half way through the hour the two groups would switch and continue on until the end of the lesson. Much to Lexi's dismay, Angela had been put into the other group, leaving her with a bunch of people she didn't know.

As she sat in the back corner of the room, she figured she'd be able to sit quietly for the rest of the first half of the lesson when she felt someone sit down next to her. Eyeing the seat at her side, she saw Alice Cullen smiling sweetly, eyes crinkled in a purely innocent greeting.

"Hi." She started, her voice sounding quite similar to the sound of a windchime. "I'm Alice Cullen, we met yesterday, I thought you looked a little lonely."

"Lexi." Lex replied, giving a polite smile in return.

Opening up her textbook to a random page, Alice turned to her with a questioning glance. "Your father works with mine at the hospital, right? Carlisle was talking about him, apparently he's been a real help since he got here."

"Yeah, well, he loves his job." Lex shrugged, not overly surprised that someone could say something nice about her father. "My dad said that your father is one of the greatest doctors he's ever seen."

"Carlisle just loves helping others." She smiled fondly, casually flicking over the page. "He doesn't have a bad bone in his body, I couldn't imagine him being anything other than a doctor."

Nodding her head, Lexi guessed that they had something in common; their fathers were apparently extremely alike in that fashion. "My dad's the same. He constantly tells me about the bravery of his patients, how they give him hope for the future."

"That's really beautiful."

Lexi surprisingly found it quite easy to talk to Alice, she had an almost pure presence and she seemed to immediately know the kind of conversation to have with those she interacted with. Lex's father's words replayed in her mind, telling her to give the seemingly good-natured girl a chance - maybe her mind had just been warped by the words of others.

"So why did you move to Forks?" Alice asked, absentmindedly flipping the page of her book once again.

"My parents wanted a change of scenery." Lex explained, lips turning up ever so slightly at the chance to talk about her family. "My mother likes to paint, she was getting tired of big cities, sand and cacti... So when my dad heard there was an opening in Forks he jumped at the opportunity."

Alice beamed all of a sudden, excitement filling her kind eyes. "That's wonderful, I'm sure you'll invite me round one day to see some of her paintings."

Her eyes conveyed that she truly believed that. All at once Lexi was glad to have made a friend in the pale pixie that sat before her, but confused as to why the girl was trying to befriend her. After all, everyone she had spoken to so far had informed her that the Cullens keep to themselves. But Alice looked so innocently happy that Lexi just couldn't bring herself to care.

Then she blinked, and her eyes were a deep blood red.

Lexi gasped slightly in surprise, blinking rapidly, but her eyes had returned to the golden colour that they'd been seconds before.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked, her smile fading.

"Yeah." Lexi lied, shaking her head. "I'm fine, I'm just tired I guess. I had a hard time sleeping last night." She explained, settling on a half-truth, before turning back to the book in her hand.

They sat in a semi-comfortable silence for a few minutes before she gained the courage to ask her what had been on her mind all day. She gave the impression of being the friendliest of the Cullens, so if Lexi was going to get anything out of any of them, it would probably be her. "Hey, is your brother okay?"

"Edward had to go out of town for personal reasons. Family stuff." She answered, though it sounded rehearsed.

"I wasn't asking about Edward." Lex corrected, suddenly feeling like this was an awful idea. "It's just that… Your brother Jasper seemed to act strangely around me yesterday. I was just wondering if I'd done something wrong..."

"Oh." The look in her eyes told Lex that she was holding something back. "He's fine. He just isn't used to being around many people… He was homeschooled for a long time."

The hesitance in her words made Lexi wonder what she was keeping to herself. Maybe there was more to the Cullens than just being outcasts at school after all, but what was it? Surely they couldn't actually be a danger to anyone, they wouldn't have made it into the school.

"You should sit with us in History." Alice suggested, breaking Lex out of her thoughts. "There's plenty of room at our table. We know what it's like to be the new kids at school, you shouldn't have to sit alone."

She had the immediate urge to refuse her, to come up with some excuse as to why she couldn't possibly do such a thing, but her father's request echoed through her mind once more; telling her to give them a chance and that there was the possibility that she'd let other opinions cloud her judgement of the Cullens.

"Sure, that'd be great." She told her, gaining a bright smile in return.

"I know you'll like Jasper, once you actually get to know him." Alice assured her, her eyes filled with mirth, as though she knew something that others didn't.

Not long after, the first group came back into the room, informing the other group that it was time to switch.

Heading outside, Lexi quickly lost track of Alice. It was almost as if she'd disappeared, one moment she was by her side, the next she was nowhere in sight. Lexi didn't understand how someone could move that fast.

Shaking it off, she held her camera up to her eye and took a snapshot of the scene in front of her. The tall trees to the side of the school, a layer of frost starting to coat the emerald bristles. She hoped that snow would swiftly follow, never having seen it in her time at Phoenix. Lex loved the idea of making snowmen, snow angels, snowballs, the whole lot, and she was sure that her time in Forks would provide her with the opportunity.

Looking around the yard for her next photo, her eyes drifted to a nearby classroom.

Raising the camera to her eye, she looked through to the subject of her new photo. The pale skin, the honey coloured hair, the image of perfection to most people, his golden eyes staring off into the tree line in a daze.

As she stared down at the screen after the picture was taken, she couldn't help but realise that she was quite anxious for History later; knowing that she may just be able to start understanding the mystery that was Jasper Hale.

Glancing back at the classroom, Lexi noticed that Jasper's gaze had wandered over to her while she was distracted.

She didn't know what it was about him, but whenever she knew she had his attention, Lexi found it difficult to breathe. She didn't understand why someone she hardly knew, someone she had never really met, had such an effect on her. She felt ridiculous, fixating on some guy that she had potentially seen in her dreams. It was as though her mind had lost its balance, unable to function as it usually would. The contrasting feelings of unease and calm somehow filled her all at once.

Lexi chose to move to an area that was no longer visible to him, hoping that her mind would clear with him firmly hidden from her sight. As she went round a corner she glanced back, noting Jasper's eyes still watching her from afar.

-x-x-x-

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong with you now?" Bella asked as she sat down beside her best friend during break.

Certain that she'd managed to find some alone time in the secluded area of school, under a range of tree branches and a wide span of dark shade, Lexi had hoped she wouldn't find her. She should have known that Bella wouldn't give up until she had sought her out.

"It's nothing, Bella." Lexi lied again, not looking up from the book in her lap. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."

"Was it the dreams again?" She asked, shuffling closer to the red-head, curiosity clear on her face. "What happened this time?"

Sighing, Lexi shrugged her shoulders, sounding much more calm than she felt. "Just random stuff; monsters, aliens, bad guys." Hoping that Bella would just drop it and move on was a big ask of the universe, but she had to try. "Really, Bells, everything is alright."

"You're not telling me something. You know you'll tell me eventually."

"Well then you can rest easy knowing that if I am hiding something, that you'll know what it is someday." She replied with a tired smile, knowing how to change the topic. "Alice Cullen sat next to me last period."

Her eyes filled with surprise, as she said "Really? Why?"

"I don't know, I was shocked too. She said that Edward went out of town for family reasons by the way, I told you it had nothing to do with you."

Bella scoffed as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "You really think she'd have told you otherwise?"

"I suppose." Lexi sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration for what felt like the hundredth time that week. "Well, I should be sitting with her and Jasper next period, so I'll let you know if I hear anything."

"Wait, you're sitting with them in History now?"

Dragging a hand down her face, she explained "Alice asked me to. Don't ask me why, like I said, I'm too tired to try and figure out the reason right now."

Bella looked as though she was trying to figure out a complex puzzle.

"So, what's up with Mike, anyway?" Lexi asked, hoping to further change the subject away from the pale students who always seemed to be on everybody's mind. "He follows you around like he's attached to you with string."

"Don't get me started, I hope it's just something that'll last a couple of days until he gets over the whole 'new girl' thing." She said, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

"You can just hope he gives up before a dance comes along, I don't know if you'll have the grace to let someone down easy." Lexi laughed, picturing the brunette beside her stuttering her way through a transparent excuse. The panicked look that Bella gave her made her laugh harder than she had in a while.

"Don't even joke about that kind of stuff" She stuttered out, looking around herself to make sure the boy hadn't magically appeared during their conversation. "You know how bad I am with dancing."

"Right." Lex snickered at her memories. "Who could ever forget ballerina Bella?"

"Oh God. I thought we promised to never speak of that again, it was so bad."

"You truly sucked ass." Lexi could feel her cheeks hurt from grinning at the image in her head. "I think that was when we finally came to terms with how utterly ungraceful you are."

"At least I'll never have to do that again." Bella said with a small embarrassed smile as the bell for third period rang. "Ugh."

"Speaking of how clumsy you are." Rising from the ground, she held out a hand for her best friend. "Are you ready for your second day of Gym?"

-x-x-x-

"Alexis!" She heard the cheerful tone of Alice's voice as she entered History later that day. "Right here." She called, gesturing to the seat next to her.

The strange thing, Lexi found, was that the seat she was offering her had been the one Alice herself had sat in the previous day. She had expected to sit next to where she had been, in the empty seat by the wall; but the petite girl had shuffled over into it. Her change of seating left an empty seat for Lex, in between the two of them.

Walking past the other students in the room, she noticed their stares, all directed at her with a mixture of confusion and slight resentment. She could tell why they were confused, she was probably more baffled than all of them combined. However, she couldn't put her finger on why they were resentful. For the girls, she was sure it was because she was away to sit next to a guy who hadn't even registered their existence. For the rest of them, Lexi wasn't sure. Was it because they wanted to be the ones the Cullens ran to for friendship? Or did they turn against anyone who would befriend people as strange as the mysterious family?

Lexi was starting to think that taking her father's advice was the wrong move. She had a sudden worry that a friendship with any of them would lead to her being an outcast as far as the rest of the student body was concerned. But as she sat down in her new seat, she felt a veil of calm surround her; much like it had that morning.

Sighing with relief, she went to open her History book on the Civil War. As the book opened, a small black creature scurried towards her, its multitude of legs rushing to reach her hand. Lexi made a noise that could only be described as a squeak as she shoved the tiny spider away from her and off the desk, lifting her feet onto her chair and checking around to see where it had landed.

A light chuckle escaped the lips of the person sitting on her left.

Turning to look at Jasper Hale, he had his hand covering his mouth as an attempt to hide a smile; but his eyes gave away his amusement.

"Seriously?" Lexi scoffed a laugh, eyes narrowed at his face. "You stare at me strangely for almost an entire day and the first thing you do afterwards is laugh at me?" She stared at him in disbelief, a small smile creeping onto her face at how joyful his laugh had been; completely contradicting the demonic image that had plagued her mind since last night.

"My apologies, ma'am." He drawled, smirk firmly in place on his lips.

Well damn.

Over the past day and a half, Lexi had tried to imagine what the golden eyed boy would sound like. Only having heard Alice speak, she didn't really have much to go on in ways of figuring out where they had all come from, but she had never expected that.

Somehow, Jasper had a strong southern twang, filling her with certainty that he was either from Texas or from somewhere incredibly close to that area.

Alexis believed, with how beautiful every member of the Cullen family was, that they should all have at least one bad quality. But so far Jasper and Alice were perfect in every way. They were beautiful, had voices that drew you in, and both of them seemed friendly once they had spent a few moments getting to know you.

But she couldn't fully get past the images racing around her mind: Jasper lunging towards her, Alice having red eyes, the images of them being inhuman; dangerous.

Lexi wondered how Jasper had managed to go from weirdly staring to laughing and smirking in such a short time. Maybe Alice was telling the truth, maybe it was just new for him to be around so many people. Lexi couldn't quite work it out.

She felt like she was losing her mind.

With how the past few days had panned out, it was the only logical conclusion. Sane people wouldn't have the weird images popping into their heads like she did, sane people wouldn't feel an overwhelming feeling of dread and serenity at the exact same time just by locking eyes with some guy that they'd never met before.

Realising how long she'd been staring at this point, she shook her head and asked the first thing that popped into her head. "Were you okay yesterday?" Looking at the pen she fiddled with in her hands, she was unable to look at him in the eyes again. "I was worried that I'd done something to offend you."

His eyes widened, looking suddenly caught off guard by the question. "I have a hard time knowing how to react, I've not had much experience with this." He explained, though his tone made it seem as though there was an alternate meaning to his words.

His smile was almost angelic in a way, lazy in another. It drew you in so completely that it made it hard for you to focus on anything else, but there was a part of Lexi that couldn't help but feel weary of such a smile. He was too perfect, it was hard to believe that he was even real. She couldn't get over the feeling that there was something off about the Cullens; her gut was screaming at her that there was something wrong with them, but she could only feel at peace when around them.

"Well a good tip is to not stare so much... It's unsettling." She told him with a slight laugh, before turning back to her textbook.

"I've been trying to help him the past few years." Alice piped up from Lexi's other side. "I'm trying to convince him that this lifestyle isn't as hard as he thinks."

"Lifestyle?" Lexi asked, tilting her head at the odd word that Alice had decided to use.

"Going to public school. He's just so used to being private and hidden away."

Alexis didn't really think that it should be classed as a lifestyle, but as the teacher came in to start the lesson, she decided to drop it; it wasn't overly important.

-x-x-x-

Walking into the cafeteria with the two Cullen's by her side, Lexi listened as Alice rambled about her outfit for the day. She went on about different fashion tips and what styles Lexi should try for her hair. Lex had started to feel like she really was going insane before. How could she think there was anything strange about these people? Alice seemed like a genuinely friendly and kind person, it didn't seem like she would even hurt a fly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lexi." She smiled, gripping her into a hug. "I know we're going to be best friends." As she hugged her, images of them laughing on a white couch in a house that was made almost completely of windows popped into Lexi's head.

She found it hard to not enjoy being around Alice, she was so full of joy and happiness that it was contagious. Lexi slightly laughed, watching as she skipped away to the table the rest of her family were sitting, her mind lingering on the image she had just seen. What was that?

"I wanted to apologise for my actions yesterday." Jasper said, speaking for the first time since their slight interaction at the beginning of History, bringing her back to reality.

"It's fine." Lexi said, her thoughts retreating to the back of her mind for now. "Really, I understand how hard it can be to talk to others. I know that I have the ability to, I just find myself mentally exhausted whenever I try to talk to someone new."

"I just find it hard to be around people that aren't my family." He explained, glancing towards their table. "But, I would very much like to get to know you."

As he looked back at her, she noticed how intense his stare was. She also realised that the colour of his eyes were somewhat lighter. At the beginning of History his eyes had been a deep amber. Focusing on them now, they were back to being a light gold like they were the day before.

"Okay." She said, although it came out as an almost whisper. "Biology then."

"Alright." He replied, nodding with a slight smile, before walking off to join his family, glancing back at her on the way.

After getting her lunch, Lexi sat down next to Bella to see her looking at her questioningly. "What?" She asked.

"What the hell was that?" she heard from across the table. It was Jessica, looking at her as though she had done something wrong. "Why was Jasper Hale talking to you? Or Alice Cullen for that matter?"

"I don't know. I sit near them? Alice mentioned my dad working with hers… My dad probably just begged Dr Cullen to make his kids talk to me."

"Still." She carried on, face twisted in disgust. "They don't talk to anyone."

Lexi sighed, she was getting quite tired of everyone in the school being so focused on the Cullens. After just two days she was convinced that they were probably normal people who just got misjudged; even with the feeling of danger that came from looking at them.

Jessica continued to prattle on about how she had no idea what could be so interesting about the redhead, every now and then stopping to say, "no offence." She could feel herself getting more and more agitated by the second, wanting the conversation to change to anything else. She shook her head, looking for a means to escape. She had just glanced over at the Cullens' table when another wave of calm washed over her for a slight second.

What the hell was that?

"Coach Clapp said that track is too easy so we're going to be switching to basketball for a couple of weeks soon." Tyler's voice cut in as he sat down by her side, gaining her attention. "Are you any good?"

"I can handle myself." She answered with a smirk, thinking back to her friendly games with her brother. "You should be worried about losing to a girl."

"You're on, newbie. We're going to have to start taking bets at some point."

"Well I've won both of our races so far, so…"

"Earlier on you tripped me though, so I doubt that counts." He argued, taking a bite out of his burger.

Lexi scoffed a laugh, face contorting in disbelief. "Just because you tripped doesn't automatically mean that I tripped you, mate." Eating a slice of apple, she looked down at his food. "Maybe if you ate better, you'd run better."

"Just because you eat like a rabbit." He mumbled, picking at the lettuce on his burger. "Come on, Lex, get some meat in you."

As he slid his burger over to her, she couldn't help but make a face. "I'm good, thanks."

"She's a vegetarian." Bella butted in, sliding the plate right back to him. "You've got a better chance of her eating dirt, trust me."

"Just when I was starting to like you." Tyler said, mockingly shaking his head.

Playfully slapping his arm, Lexi laughed as she went back to eating her fruit bowl. "You're an ass."

"Bunny rabbit."

-x-x-x-

"Seems like Hale tried to walk with you." Eric muttered to her as they walked into AP Chemistry together.

Glancing back, she saw Jasper and Emmett not far behind them. "I think you guys are just looking too far into this whole Cullen thing." She said, turning back to him as they took their seats.

"Lex, everyone thinks they're weird. You even said that yourself in English today."

"And I think I rushed to a judgement, I should know better than that." Lexi reasoned, pulling out the materials they would need for the day. "Today Alice and Jasper have been nothing but nice to me, I think people are just making a big deal out of new students."

"You're new." He stressed, trying his best to keep his voice down. "Nobody is making a big deal out of you."

"Oh really? People haven't been staring at me and Bella constantly for the past two days?"

"Well, yeah, but that's different. You've only been here two days, they've been here two years." It seemed as though he was getting frustrated. She got that seeing the Cullens talk to people was an unusual thing, but people had to just deal.

"Well would you want to be friends with people who constantly gawked at and judged you?" She asked, trying to come to the understanding that they were not going to agree on this anymore.

"Fine. Fine." He conceded, opening up his Chemistry book. "So, that Alice... Is she single?"

"Oh my God." She sighed, exasperated. "You all judge, but then the second you have an in, you want to be all over them."

"Okay. I'll leave it." He said, looking quite awkward before asking her his next question "You think Bella would be interested?"

Trying her best to hide her laugh, she pictured the look on Bella's face if Eric was to try and ask her out. "Hmmm." She began, struggling to hold it together. "I think you'd have to ask her."

"Really?" He perked up, resembling a meerkat. "You think I should ask her soon?"

"I'd wait. You know, for a dance or something to come up."

He looked quite happy, turning back to his book. She would have to apologise to Bella after it no doubt led to an awkward encounter, but she couldn't let that opportunity pass by.

-x-x-x-

"So why don't you and your family usually talk to anyone else?" Lexi asked Jasper, as Mr Whitmore told them to get to work. They were learning about evolution and had to look up different information for a paper that would be due next week.

"People seem very judgemental here. I suppose that's normal for such a small town." He replied, opening up his book to a random page. Lexi couldn't help but notice the way his eyes moved over the page, like he was only pretending to read. "What about you? You seem quite friendly, how are you finding it hard to make more friends?"

"I don't know, I guess I just lost the ability to actually make friends back in Phoenix." It was strange thinking about her last home, the world seemed so different there.

"You didn't make friends there?" He asked, looking at her with concern. "Was there something wrong?"

"No." Her head shook in denial, not wanting him to get the wrong idea and think she was a pitiful dork who nobody would befriend like her brother always joked. "I just… I never really bothered to make a friend other than Bella…"

"Why is that?"

"I… Bella… She just needed me more than anyone else did…" Lexi sighed.

"You didn't want her to be alone." He summarised, smiling gently as he processed your words. "That's highly noble."

"I wouldn't call it noble." She said, shaking her head. Trying to gather her thoughts, she grinned at the memory of her first day at school in Phoenix. "She was instantly my best friend… I'd do anything for her. Have you never had an instant connection with someone that made you drop everything else in your life for them to be happy?"

He seemed to zone out for a moment before he quietly responded "Yes."

"Well there you go then. And I was happy just being friends with Bella." She admitted, head resting in her palm. "To be honest, if I thought there was any chance that she would stay in Forks after this school year ended then I probably wouldn't have spoken to anyone else here either." Sighing, she realised something, looking back into the eyes of the boy next to her. "I suppose that's why your family doesn't really need to make friends, right? You always have each other."

"That we do. But making your acquaintance has been quite extraordinary."

"Extraordinary?" Giggling at his words, she wanted to scold herself for sounding like a love struck puppy. "We've had like two conversations and they've both been extremely short."

"I know…" He trailed off, looking lost for a way to say what he was thinking. "I just… I find your company quite calming."

His admission had caught her off guard. Calming… Her mind thought back to the waves of calm that had flowed through her almost every time she locked eyes with him, she had experienced the same feeling as she sat down next to Jasper as the lesson started. Although she felt more at ease knowing that it wasn't just her, it also made her feel wrong. This didn't happen to people, she didn't believe in love at first sight, she believed it was something that grew over time. The feeling that they were meant to be together couldn't be right, it's some insane infatuation… She was sure of it.

Realising that the two of them had been locked in a stare for a few minutes now, she looked down to her book to read about the last stage of evolution; the human race.

"Do you think the human race will ever evolve?" She asked, hoping the topic change would go over smoothly.

However, he looked taken back at her sudden change in conversation. "Pardon?"

"You know... That we'll become faster, stronger, live longer. You think that's possible?"

The smirk that she'd seen back in History had reappeared on his face. "I think there are already beings such as that in the world."

There it was again. That tone. That tone that suggested he was in on some kind of inside joke that she wasn't aware of. "I guess we'll just have to see if you're right." She said, writing down some points for her paper.

As she looked back at him, she realised that the distance between them had diminished once again.

How does she never notice him doing that?

-x-x-x-