Chapter 8 Leap

It has been over a month since Edythe and I stopped talking. I was still figuring out how to deal with it. On the outside and in the public eye I was acting like nothing really happened. That's how Edythe was acting as well. She hadn't as much as said a word to me in over five weeks.

The following Monday after the van accident the whole school was buzzing with excitement about Halloween. I was still hungover from the day before to care much. I had debated the previous day as to whether I should have skipped. I didn't want to run into Edythe and I was dreading fifth period with her. It was silly that I was dreading such a ridiculous experience. I kept reminding myself that this girl was nothing to me and that I would soon forget her. The day dragged by. All the people that I would have considered friends here, were excited that I was back. Taylor was extremely annoying today on account of hitting me with her van and I wasn't in a good enough mood to put up with it. I put my earbuds in at lunch and everyone left me alone. I had noticed Edythe was sitting with her family and it appeared that they were having an entertaining conversation. They all seemed to be laughing and smiling at one another. Edythe was laughing but it seemed almost forced. I only watched them out of my peripheral vision. I didn't want to risk the chance of getting caught staring at her, that wouldn't help the situation.

I sighed and started doodling. I thought about how it must be nice to have a family, people to talk to, hell to just be around. I missed my family but despite how close we seemed we were always apart. I don't know why but seeing Edythe laugh made me feel better, her laughter was like my laughter.

When the bell to dismiss lunch rang I sighed and walked to my next class. This was going to be like hell, sitting next to the one person I wanted to talk to and not even speak to her. It would be agonizing. I walked slowly to class trying to delay the inevitable. When I made it to the class it was halfway full. I saw Edythe sitting with her head in her hands with her eyes closed. For a split second I focused on how dazzling she was. She couldn't be real. I walked over to our table and sat my bag down. My movement made her adjust herself and she sat up slightly. I decided I could still be polite, it would be the nice thing and it would also test the waters of her resolve of avoiding me.

"Good afternoon Edythe." I said politely in a low voice.

She tilted her head towards me and she nodded. Other than that complete silence. I was startled but I had to hide it. I wasn't going to let anyone know I was caught up in this girl, especially not her. When the bell rang to dismiss the class Edythe rushed out of the classroom. I wasn't the only one to notice, Mikayla came up to me as I walked to gym.

"What's wrong with Cullen? I've never seen her act that weird before." She said in her shrill voice. I didn't like how she thought Edythe was strange. She was right but her label was intended as an insult.

"I don't know what you mean?" I said flatly.

Mikayla was caught off guard by my coldness. She has only been on my warm side. Now I didn't care to be nice or polite, I had no reason to.

"She hardly spoke to you and she rushed out. What did she ask you out or something?" She laughed at the situation she was implying. She thought I rejected Edythe.

A surge of anger flowed through me. I wasn't going to let this forgetful girl laugh at Edythe. So what she was mad at me and was rude, she was genuine and I wouldn't stand by this.

I turned to face her. "Mikayla I don't have any idea what Edythe's problem is, and you shouldn't worry about it anyway. It's none of your business." I muttered clearly in my cold tone. It might have been overkill but why should I care. I walked off to gym.

The following weeks were more or less the same. Edythe and I were lab partners in biology and nothing more. I stopped saying hello after the third day of the cold shoulder, what was the point anyway. My days became predictable. I would wake up and do the same things I had always done without failure. I would endure the same mind numbing chatter that forks high had to offer each day. I would stay near Jeremy's group. They were the easiest to tolerate. I would eat lunch with them. I would listen to their pointless stories and only comment if I was asked something directly, besides my occasional input I would read or look at blueprints on my phone. I had started to tinker again. It was the only thing that brought me any form of peace in the purgatory.

Some days I would let my mind wander out of boredom. I would look at the outdated ceiling tiles and imagine designs in the patterns. Lunch was by far the most annoying part of the day. To start the food wasn't that good and the group I sat with was so dull. They almost always had the same exact conversation day after day. Most of the girls would still try to hit on me and they never recognized that I just wasn't interested. Usually I would bring a book to read or play on my phone during lunch but most of the time however I would end up staring at the Cullen table until I realized what I was doing. They never seemed to notice, neither did anyone else and if they did they just didn't mention it.

The only people I could really tolerate to converse with were Jeremy and Allen Webber. Jermey and I would talk about sports, mainly the current football season. Allen was easier to talk with. He was kinder and I found myself not being as cold with him. Usually he would ask me things related to class or books and the occasional pop culture topic. I found out he had two younger siblings and it was obvious he loved them very much.

The weeks slowly moved by. The weather began to get colder as November moved in to replace October. I had meetings each week in Seattle to have a report from each branch. So far the arrangement was working but the tension between the different parties was still present. Rictor was still being watched and for the most part he didn't do anything that set off any alarm. We still had no luck tracking down Julius. He was in the wind and only rumors spread. Rictor had been Julius's closes lieutenant, so eventually he would reach out. We would find him and punish him for his crimes against the Order. That was inedible, so I put the thoughts to the back of my mind. I didn't like that dark area of my life.

Thanksgiving rolled around. My family didn't celebrate. We each had different stuff going on in our lives. Dad was still in Japan working on the new division of StoneTech. Dave and Lexie were both on holiday in the Mediterranean. They had invited me but I didn't see the point. I would only be able to be there for two days and it wasn't worth the jet lag. They were bummed about it but understood. Trish had offered to spend the holiday with me but I insisted she head back east to be with her family. I cooked a nice meal on thanksgiving. Nothing too fancy but it was still delicious and I spent the rest of the day watching the turkey bowl and working on a drone design.

It's the first week of December and the holiday spirit is everywhere in this small town. It might be my favorite thing about this place. The closeness and general warmth of the people despite the frigid weather, it's a nice feeling, one I don't know if I can return. There is a winter dance coming up. It's like one of those cheesy balls that you would find in a 80's romcom. It wasn't until the Saturday after winter break started, but that didn't stop Jeremy from obsessing over Mikayla Newton. He was frantic with desperation to ask her out. In my opinion the guy was being a coward, he should be direct instead of beating around the bush. Many of my admirers had started to ask me to the dance but I turned them down. I decided to lie and let them down easily. I told them I was going to be with my family in New York. I wasn't but they didn't need to know that. It would keep me from hurting their feelings if I had a previous commitment to attend.

I had kept up my discrete observation of the Cullen table at lunch one day when Jeremy asked me a question. It pulled me from my compilation.

I turned to look at Jeremy. "Sorry I didn't catch that." He had asked me a question.

Jeremy's eyes dotted over my shoulder toward the Cullens direction and then back, he shook his head. Maybe people were noticing my new obsession but it didn't matter.

"Do you want to go with the guys tonight to a movie in Port Angeles? We are all going to order our corsages for the dance while we are there."

I looked around at the group. It looked like it would be only Jeremy, Allen, and Logan Mallory. I could deal with that. It would be something different to do.

I sighed. "What movie are we going to see?" I asked.

Allen looked at me and slid me his phone. It had a photo of a Christmas horror film about some Germanic demon. It looked okay, enough to warrant a watch.

"We are all gonna drive up after school to order our corsages then see the movie" Allen said.

I didn't really want to ride with them. It was nothing against them but I didn't like now having my car. If I got ticked I could leave. I would lie.

"I'll meet you guys there. I have something to take care of after school but then I'll just head that way." I said, faking a good mood.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The rest of the day moved slowly as it always did. Edythe was still ignoring me. She had been acting strange the last couple of days. Whenever Mikayla would come to chat with me before class I could swear Edythe was listening to the conversation. Once I thought I saw her chuckle when I told Mikayla a joke that went over her head. I wanted to talk to Edythe but I couldn't.

When gym rolled around Mikayla and I were badmatten partners today. It was a fun game and she was a good partner to have. She was extremely athletic and was super competitive. So she and I dominated the game. When we finished with class I sat in my regular seat on the bleachers. When Mikayla came to sit beside me.

"Whats up Mikayla?" I asked politely.

"Nothing much, what about you?" she asked

"Same, same. Trying to get home."

"Jaxon, I have a question for you." Mikayla said.

"Shoot."

"Would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?" She asked

I kept my face composed. I didn't really want to do anything tonight, I didn't even want go to that movie with the guys. I didn't want to hurt Mikayla's feelings but I figured I could help Jeremy out a little.

"Mikayla I would love to but I can't." I said sounding upset.

"Oh that's okay. Maybe some other time." She said sounding dejected.

"Actually Mikayla, I'm going to let you in on a secret and it is like presidential clearance okay?" I said

"Okay."

"You see I would say yes to dinner but I can't because I know that would make Jeremy upset. Between you and me he has a giant crush on you and he is planning on asking you to the winter dance. Now you can not tell him I told you. It's my word against yours." I said.

"Wow. Jeremy is going to ask me to the dance?" Mikayla asked.

I nodded. "Yes but he's a little shy so maybe if you invite him on a dinner date tonight he might pop the question at dinner."

"Oh Jaxon, that is brilliant." She said.

The bell rang.

"I'll see you tomorrow." i said.

"See ya." Mikayla said, walking off. I turned and walked out of the building.

I started to walk to my car when I bumped into someone. I immediately started to apologize and then froze when I realized it was Edythe. I was at fault. I had been going around a corner not looking and walked into her.

We stared at one another for what felt like too long.

I cleared my throat. "Sorry." I uttered in a low voice.

She stood rigid for a second but then her features began to soften. I thought I saw a smile starting to form but it went away.

"It's okay. I wasn't looking where I was going." She said in her musical voice. It had been weeks since I heard her voice. It made the storm in my stomach surge.

She took a step past me. I knew that this was my only chance to have any hope of talking to her and fixing this mess. I couldn't explain the desire, it was too strong.

I turned back to her. "Edythe?" I said louder to catch her attention.

She stopped and turned to face me. Her long rust colored hair shielding her face from the brisk wind. It did send her scent towards me and it froze me for a second. She just stared at me like I was crazy. I had one goal I had to make her smile

I finally caught myself. "How have you been? It's been a while since we last talked."

She looked at me for a second. I thought she was just going to walk off. But then her dimples appear on her cheeks.

"I've been dealing, what about you?" She asked

She was dealing. Was this hard on her as well. This entire time I thought she had been mad. Was she just nervous to break the silence after so long?

"I've been about the same. Did you have a good thanksgiving?" I asked like an idiot. I didn't know what to say to her at the moment I just wanted to make this last as long as I could because the second it stopped I was afraid it would go back to the silence.

She nodded. "Yeah it was okay. I had a book report to do the entire time. What about you? Did you have a nice break?" She asked

I thought about it, I didn't want to reveal that I had been alone the entire time that would be lame and weird.

"Yeah it was okay." I lied for the most part

She smiled but it looked pained.

We stared at each other for a second until this brunette came up behind Edythe.

"What's taking you so long Edy, Royals being impatient." Eleanor said, Her sentence cutting off when she saw me. She just stared at me. It was different from how the other girls stared at me. It was like she was sizing me up for a fight. I was frozen, I had yet to see any of the other Cullens up close but Eleanor was a sight to see. She was almost as tall as me, and her arms were equally as defined. She was definitely a gym nut. I could only imagine how strong she was compared to Edythe and Edythe wasn't one to push around.

"I'm coming El." Edythe muttered. Her voice picked up an edge. "Bye." She said, looking at me.

I swallowed. "Bye" I muttered.

She turned and walked toward her car. I just stared at her.

I walked to my car after the lot cleared. I sat in there for about ten minutes just thinking. I was definitely going to talk to her tomorrow.

My phone buzzed. It was Jeremy. I thought it would be about the movie but I was wrong.

Hey, we are going to postpone the movie until tomorrow. Mikayla asked me out to dinner with her. Wish me luck. Jeremy

I chuckled.

Ok good luck. Let me know when we are going tomorrow. Jaxon