Chapter 15: Mixed Signals

AN: See the end for notes. I know it's been a while since my last update

I woke up the next day feeling groggy and disoriented, my neck and back throbbing with a sharp ache.

I realized I had fallen asleep in my chair, surrounded by the scattered drawings of Edward, some of which were torn and crumpled into angry balls. In frustration, others suffered from repeated destruction by my pen as I drew angry circles over them, attempting to erase the supposed "art" on them. I had a hard time falling asleep last night, so I resorted to drawing and must have fallen asleep in the middle of it.

I yawned and cracked my neck. So much for keeping my promise to Carlisle.

As I rubbed my sore muscles and tried to shake off the sleepiness, I noticed that the brown blanket from my bed had fallen onto the floor. I could feel the soft fibers against my skin as I picked it up and wrapped it around me, frowning as I began to think back to yesterday. Despite just waking up, I was 99.9 percent sure I hadn't fallen asleep with a blanket on. Bella must have come in during the night and draped it over me. It was only a small gesture, but it filled me with a sense of warmth and gratitude. Bella really was a caring friend.

I turned to glance at the clock and saw that I still had some time before my alarm went off. After wrapping the blanket even tighter around me, I turned back to the desk and looked at the scattered drawings of Edward once again. I wrinkled my nose at them, frustrated that I couldn't capture his likeness; my memory obviously didn't do him justice. Either it was his eyes that I made too big or small, his mouth, his hair that fell in the wrong directions, or my latest pet peeve, his nose that just wouldn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Despite my frustration, I couldn't help but feel a sense of fascination and intrigue when it came to him. Drawing him was like trying to solve a puzzle; part of me was determined to get it right. But another part of me was ready to give up drawing him altogether; I'd never been this frustrated while drawing someone. I might just give up completely if I couldn't get him right soon…

Perhaps that was a tad melodramatic. He was just as irritating in person as on paper.

My alarm blared right then, and sighing, I went over to turn it off.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of routine. I showered, put my hair in Dutch braids, and had breakfast with Bella in comfortable silence. But as we pulled into the school parking lot, I noticed that she was gripping the steering wheel tightly and scanning the lot for a parking spot. When she finally found one far away from the silver Volvo — which still had a tiny scorch mark on the back, just beneath the right tail light, proof of the almost incident yesterday — she let out a relieved sigh. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her obvious avoidance tactics. She frowned at me when she noticed my eye roll.

"I'll behave myself, I promise," I reassured her, raising my hands in surrender as she maneuvered into the space.

She scoffed. "Sure. It was also for my own sake, you know," she said before killing the engine.

I chuckled and replied, "Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't survive a crash like that!" I had to unwrap my arms from my stomach before we gathered our bags and exited the truck. The image of Bella deliberately running over the Volvo was hilarious.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Bella sighed again and adjusted the bag on her shoulder.

As we walked towards class, she suddenly picked up the pace and grabbed my arm, pulling me along with her.

"Uhh… Bella?" I questioned, puzzled. "What's the hurry?" I tried to stop several times, but she was surprisingly strong. She pulled me along through sheer determination or something else close to it.

She laughed nervously, fidgeting with the strap of her bag. "Oh, I just remembered I needed something from Emily," she said, avoiding my gaze. I raised an eyebrow, instantly knowing it was a lie. She was a horrible liar, after all.

"You don't need me for that," I protested, trying to free my arm instead. "Besides, we have different classes, you know that." What is up with her right now?

At this, Bella laughed nervously again but let go. "Right, I forgot," she apologized before giving me a quick hug. "I'm sorry," She whispered before hurrying off.

"Sor—what are you talking about?" I called after her as she almost tripped while attempting to sprint toward English. I groaned and ran my hand over my face. To say I was confused was an understatement. This was wholly uncharacteristic of her; something was definitely off. What had her so freaked out that she had to flee from me?

Turning around toward my own class, I almost collided with the one person I'd hoped to avoid today.

Edward.

"Jesus Freaking Christ!" I shrieked as my hands flew up to clutch my heart. "Someone needs to put a bell on you!" I shook my head. "What the hell do you want?"

Edward chuckled but didn't answer my question. I frowned at him. He leaned casually against a blue Sedan a little to my left, looking like he'd just stepped off a movie set. His bronze windswept hair was perfectly styled, making me wonder if he ever brushed it or just ran through the woods at vampire speed to get it that way. Either way, it defied the laws of physics for looking so supernaturally good. It made me wish that my own wavy head of ginger hair didn't need as much maintenance - that I was too lazy to do - hence, why I'd opted for braids to avoid a tangled mess today.

Jeez, way to get off topic Katherine! Focus!

He still hadn't answered my question, so I decided to confront him about Tyler instead. "Enjoy the show yesterday?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Not sure that helping Tyler falls into the category of ignoring me, or even this for that matter," I gestured between us.

Edward chuckled, and my annoyance grew. "I'm sorry, that was very rude of me," he admitted, straightening up. "But it wouldn't have been fair to Tyler if he didn't get his chance." He almost laughed again.

With a scowl, I turned and walked away, my hands clenched into fists. I knew he'd purposely parked in front of the truck, but that still didn't make it okay. I could have done without Tyler trying to ask me out, too. Jerry and Erica had been more than embarrassing enough. Besides, it should have been to rile up Bella! Not me!

Ugh!

"Katherine, wait!" Edward called and was next to me almost instantly, easily keeping his pace beside me, although I tried to walk faster through the drizzling rain. "I'm very sorry if I offended you," he told me sincerely as we walked side by side. His hands were hidden in the pockets of his light, beige trousers. "But I was curious if you would turn him down as well. I know it wasn't nice of me. Can you forgive me?"

I scoffed and stopped, facing him again. My hands were still fists at my sides. "Of course, you would be curious about that," I snapped. "Just because you can't rea—"

I cut myself off, realizing what I was about to say, and covered my mouth in horror. My eyes widened on instinct, and it felt like they were about to pop out of my head any second. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap….

Edward only raised his eyebrow, amused. It was almost like he knew what my blunder meant….

"I have to get to class," I muttered lamely, embarrassed, and tried to walk away again. Why couldn't I control that stupid mouth of mine?! One more letter and he'd know that I knew a part of his secret. I shouldn't have come here. I should have stayed home and let Bella go here by herself…

"Wait! You sidetracked me again," Edward called, easily catching up to me again as I stalked towards Biology.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" I groaned, even though a part of me didn't want him to go back to pretending I didn't exist.

He chuckled. "Will you please hear what I have to say?"

I sighed, stopped, and turned to face him again. Even though he was taller than me, he was standing about an arm's length away, so I didn't have to look too far up to catch his gaze. I crossed my arms. "Fine. But make it quick, or we'll both be late to class." People were lumbering around us, trying to get to their own classes even though most looked like tired messes at this time of day. I tried to keep calm despite my earlier slip-up. Would he ask what I meant or was about to say? I really hoped not…

"I was wondering, a week from Saturday — you know, the day of the dance—"

"No," I interrupted bluntly. Not a chance, mister!

Edward laughed. "You didn't even let me finish." He had the gall to not even look embarrassed.

"I don't need to," I replied through gritted teeth. I could almost feel my blood begin to boil. Seriously, the nerve of him!

He shook his head, smirking, and I was close to just walking away again. "I heard you and Bella are going to Seattle that day, and I was wondering if you would like a ride."

Oh. Right… I was sure my open mouth conveyed my shock and surprise. This was the talk Bella was supposed to have with Edward. The day after, Mike, Eric, and Tyler were supposed to ask her to the dance. When had I stopped preparing for these things? With learning magic, homework, and Art Club, I had almost completely neglected that stupid book so that I could plan ahead for the next happening. It also hadn't helped that so much time had passed between the accident and what was happening now — it was just a few pages in the book, after all…

"What? " I asked stupidly as I finally found my voice.

"Would you and Bella like a ride to Seattle?" His voice was smooth as velvet, his eyes strangely intense for the nonchalant way he asked the question.

"Why?" I could understand if he wanted to be alone with Bella, but why ask me? What was happening? Was he asking me because Bella had run away? But then why wouldn't he follow her and then ask her?

Edward shrugged. "I was planning a trip there myself in the next few weeks, and, to be honest, I'm not sure that truck of yours can make it," he explained casually.

Scoffing, I rolled my eyes. "Well, for your information, Bella and I were planning pitstops. So no thanks," I declined.

Edward chuckled again, teasing, "And waste the earth's finite resources?"

Annoyed, I retorted, "Because you care so much about that."

"Shouldn't everyone?" He countered, still smirking.

"Seriously, why are you even asking me this? I thought you said we shouldn't be friends," I asked, exasperated. My hand was itching to run through my hair, but I held back, knowing it would ruin my braids. We had begun walking again and were almost in front of the science building.

Edward sighed, his demeanor changing. "That's right," he agreed. "I told you that. But I'm… I'm tired of trying to stay away. I would like to be your friend; however, more…. prudent, it would be for us not to be."

Stunned by his sincerity, I stopped in my tracks. He always seemed so confident, knowing just what to say, so hearing him search for words like that…. It was unnerving.

"What about Bella?" My heart raced in my chest, clenching as I waited for his answer.

He frowned but quickly schooled his features. "The same goes for her."

I was at a loss for words. Was I supposed to give Bella this message? Had she tried to pull me away because she'd seen him coming? Didn't she want to talk to him? Was I playing messenger between them? What was Edward playing at? My hammering heart clenched painfully at my thoughts.

"Will you go to Seattle with me?" He asked, strangely intense again. My heart began beating even faster, and my cheeks felt warmer the longer he stared at me.

I swallowed and opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Then I tried to clear my throat. His eyes were a burning butterscotch, clouding all my thoughts. I swallowed again. Finally, I just nodded, and he smiled again.

"I… I'll have to ask Bella, though…" I stumbled over my words as I found my voice again. "Not sure what she wants." I cleared my throat once more. My left hand found my right arm and squeezed. Somewhere in my stomach, it began to shake.

What's happening to me?

"Of course," he replied, still smiling. Then he seemed to sober and became serious again. "You really would benefit from staying away from me," he warned. "I'll see you in class." He turned and left abruptly, leaving me in front of the building, wondering if I'd entered another alternate dimension this morning.

As I stumbled into Biology class in a daze, I realized that Mr. Banner had already started, and I was late. I found my seat and noticed that the chair beside mine was suspiciously void of one pixie, precog vampire.

As I tried to focus on the class, I saw small index cards, needles packed in small plastic bags, and little plastic helpers being passed around. Today, we were supposed to do the dreaded blood typing. Although I knew I wouldn't faint like Bella, I still wasn't fond of having a needle prick my skin.

As I glanced at Alice's empty seat, Mr. Banner explained how to do the test correctly. I felt a pang of sadness, thinking about Bella almost fainting during her Biology class. I knew she would probably appreciate my support—and perhaps also a heads-up—but then again, Edward would "save" her and then drive her home.

This would leave me without any means of getting home, though, and I sighed as I hid my face in my arms on the table. Why had I chosen to come here again? I should have feigned illness and stayed home.

Suddenly, Mr. Banner's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Miss Henderson? Are you alright?" he asked, sounding concerned.

I slightly lifted my head to look at him as he stood over my desk.

"I'm fine, Mr. Banner. I just don't like needles."

He looked at me sympathetically. "If you feel faint or sick, don't hesitate to go see the nurse."

I nodded and braced myself before pricking the skin of my left ring finger. I followed the instructions to place several drops of blood on the index card and waited for the result. My mind wandered, and I couldn't help but think about what I smelled like to vampires — especially Edward. I knew my blood wasn't as appealing as Bella's since he could actually breathe and behave "normally" around me. But was my blood flowery? Citrusy? Sweet like candy? It felt weird and utterly wrong to think about this at school, during class. Suddenly, an irrational fear of Edward actually hearing my thoughts emerged.

I shuddered.

Trig was thankfully more normal after that. I walked with Erica after Biology, and it seemed that yesterday's award encounter was all but forgotten. She was in a great mood as we exchanged blood types before going to our separate classes. Hers was A positive, mine AB positive. The rarity slightly surprised me, but considering all the weird stuff that had happened, it had to be the most normal surprise of all.

As I made my way to English after Trig, my nerves were completely on edge, the jittering of my stomach returning with a vengeance. My heart sped up as I approached the classroom, and I felt my cheeks flush as I anxiously peeked inside.

Relief washed over me when I saw Edward's empty seat. Maybe he wasn't going to be there after all. I settled into my seat, my nerves calming down as I began to retrieve my books and pencil case from my bag.

"Hello, Katherine."

Smack!

Once again, I managed to hit my nose with something from my bag. This time, it was my sketchbook.

Edward chuckled as he took his seat next to me, his chair scraping lightly against the linoleum floor. "You really should be more careful. It seems you have a talent for getting hurt while rummaging through your bag."

I blushed, embarrassed, but still scowled at him as I rubbed my nose. "If you'd just wear a damn bell and stop spooking me, I wouldn't need to be careful," I grumbled.

He laughed again. "I distinctly remember not being the one spooking you in class yesterday."

My face burned hotter. Oh, the nerve of him…. Instead of responding, I focused on organizing my belongings on the table.

"I'm sorry," Edward chuckled. "I know it's not very polite of me. You're just very entertaining to tease."

I rolled my eyes. "Ha. Ha." Once everything was in place, I found myself at a loss for what to do with my hands. Since Mr. Mason hadn't arrived yet, I opened my sketchbook and started doodling the index card from Biology.

"How long have you been drawing?"

Surprised, I looked up to find Edward studying me intently, his gaze shifting between me and my sketchbook as my pencil hovered over my unfinished sketch. "As long as I can remember. Why do you ask?"

He paused for a moment before answering. "You're always sketching, and I hear you've joined the Art Club. It piqued my interest."

I couldn't help the snicker that escaped me. He really sounded his age when he talked like that… "Piqued your interest?" I asked although it was tough not to laugh while doing so.

He frowned but looked serious. "You're very talented, so naturally, it made me wonder."

My laughter faded, and I blushed again. "Oh Um…. Thanks…." It felt different being complimented by Edward than all the other times people had done so. I wasn't sure why.

"What made you want to keep drawing?" he asked, his gaze intense and smothering again. Those golden, butterscotch eyes bored into mine, almost like a magician using hypnosis. It made me unnaturally honest with him, which was very dangerous.

"What's with the 20 questions?" I quipped, surprised at how calm I actually sounded. However, Mr. Mason entered the room, signaling the start of class and cutting our conversation short. Edward looked like he wanted to say more but held back, focusing on the lesson instead.

It was hard to even focus on Mr. Mason's lesson, knowing Edward was beside me, probably waiting to ask more questions. I knew he had to have plenty because he couldn't read my mind, but I was also confused. He'd chosen to talk to me again, even though Bella should be in my seat right now. Would be in my seat…

Ugh! Why is this so complicated?

I couldn't sketch, write, or focus on the lesson. Edward's mystery, questions, and attitude towards me consumed my thoughts. From the moment I met him, he'd never done what I expected him to. If this was a fraction of what Bella felt in the book initially, then her anger and frustrations were absolutely understandable. Edward was enigmatic, stubborn, intense, ridiculously reserved, and, worst of all, extremely handsome. He shouldn't even be giving me the time of day. It should have been all Bella. What was it about me that made everything so different? Was I the wind that knocked over the wrong domino at the wrong time — the person who accidentally stepped on a butterfly — creating a whole wrong set of circumstances?

Amidst my thoughts, I could feel Edward next to me. The skin on the side closest to him burned. My stomach was shaking again, the hair on my skin almost rising like when I used magic. Much of what I was experiencing felt a lot like when I used magic with Latisha, although I wasn't tapping into my magic at all. It felt foreign and familiar all at once. It was both exhilarating and horrifying. What the hell was happening to me?

More than ever, I wished Joe or Mom were here to help me through this. Joe might not exactly know what to do, but she always listened. Mom would have known how to look at this outside the box; it was what she'd always been good at. Dad would have made a joke to make me smile before trying to make me write a list to come up with a solution. I missed them all so much…

It was hard to try and keep my tears at bay. It had been a while since I'd thought about my family. How were they getting on after everything? Had they called the police? Gathered a search party? Made missing person posters? My heart clenched painfully at the thought of them all together, weeping over me. I'd left them with the worst message ever. If — when — I could leave again, the very first thing I had to do was apologize to them. I hadn't been fair at all in my letter. I could only hope they would forgive me one day…

"Are you alright?"

I almost jumped at Edward's quiet, hesitant voice. I turned slightly to look at him. Mr. Mason was in the middle of some sort of monologue.

He frowned. "You looked so… sad," he whispered, still hesitant. Was he trying to comfort me?

I frowned, too, before I felt a single tear slide down my cheek. Quickly, I wiped it away, hoping he hadn't noticed. "It's nothing, really," I told him, trying to sound nonchalant. What could I tell him? Definitely not the truth. No one could really know that.

Edward didn't seem deterred; he only frowned further. "Are you absolutely sure?" He quickly looked up at Mr. Mason before continuing. "Was it something I said earlier?"

My eyes widened, and I almost snorted. You sweet, ignorant vampire. "No, you didn't say anything wrong earlier." I sighed, deciding to indulge him at least partially. "I just miss my family. It's nothing serious." My chest tightened at the lie at the end. It was necessary.

The sound of the bell thankfully cut Edward off before he could answer, and Mr. Mason gave us our homework, dismissing the class. I was ready to pick up my bag and leave when that velvety voice surprised me again.

"Would you like to sit with me during lunch?"

I could only blink at him. It was almost impressive how he could make me go into shock so often without killing me. "Excuse me?" I managed to ask calmly, trying my best to hide my nervousness. My heart was beating erratically, my stomach fluttered again, and I was sure my cheeks were scarlet by now if the heat I felt was any indication.

Edward got up from his seat, flashing a crooked smile. "We could discuss the newest English homework?" he said, his playful smile belying the seriousness of his eyes.

My mind went momentarily blank, and I struggled to think straight. The magically charged air was back, intensifying every feeling in my body. I was nervous and confused, and my stomach felt shaky with anticipation. "Why?" I finally managed to ask.

Edward chuckled. "I already told you I'm tired of staying away. And I'd at least like to attempt to properly be your… friend." He was very good at schooling his features and choosing his words carefully. It always made me wonder what he really meant by them. This time, however, I was almost certain the hesitation I heard was nervousness. But why would he be nervous?

Maybe it's because you keep getting angry at him?

Nothing made sense anymore. I tried to rack my brain for an excuse—any excuse—but drew a blank. Wasn't he supposed to sit with Bella during lunch anyway?

Finally, it dawned on me: I would give Bella the opportunity to sit with him. We could all three sit at a table together; I would then excuse myself to the bathroom, and voila! Finally, they would begin talking and fall in love…

I frowned at the painfully tight feeling in my chest but ignored it for now. Edward was still waiting for me to answer. "O-okay," I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper. "Can Bella come too?"

Now, Edward frowned but quickly schooled his features. "If she wants."

Did he not want her to sit with him? It was probably just because he was nervous being around her scent. Maybe my magic could help? I hoped.

"See you at lunch!" I told him before rushing out of the classroom. I didn't want to risk seeing his expression.

NOTES:
Soo... this took longer than I'd like to admit...

This chapter was just so stubborn and never felt entirely right. I believe I've edited it over 50 times now, and this is as close to what I wanted as I think I'm going to get.

And I also didn't want to keep you guys waiting for it any longer. It's been almost two months since I last updated, and you deserve to know that this story is still being written. Even if I am a little embarrassed that I haven't responded to comments in a while. I see each and every one of your interactions with this story, and it is pushing me to keep going, despite real life and overediting getting in the way -_-'

For now, I will take a well-deserved break before resuming my writing on Wednesday. The next chapter might take a little while, too, since I am eagerly awaiting a show to premiere on May 16th and intend to binge it a couple of times. ADHD and changing hyper fixations are not to be trifled with xD

Know that I am very much alive yet, and continuing to write this story for those of you who still enjoy it :D

xXx
Minnie