Chapter 10: Interrogations.

I woke in the morning, opening my eyes and staring at the ceiling. I had to check the date, making sure that last night wasn't a dream. I sighed, thankful it wasn't. The night's events replayed in my mind, full with more questions. As I got dressed into a simple black, long sleeved top and some jeans, I threw on Edward's jacket that was hanging on the end of my chair. I tied up my black sneakers quickly and trudged out of my room to the bathroom, where I met Katherine in there doing her makeup. She smiled at me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Morning" I spoke, looking at her before picking up the hairbrush.

"Morning…In a rush?" She asked, a small smirk on her face. I blushed, my cheeks heating up into flames.

"No" I replied while yanking the brush through my hair. She continued with her makeup as I finished brushing my hair. I made my way out of the bathroom as fast as possible to avoid any more questions, and narrowly avoided Matt and my parents.

I sat and rushed through breakfast, pouring everyone's cereal into their bowls and placed them on the table and sat down. Everyone joined me, supporting their own choice in drinks. We finished breakfast quickly, or well I did while everyone took their time. We bid a goodbye to Charlie and Renee before exiting the house and jumping in the car. I earned a look from Matthew as I pulled into reverse and quickly reversed out of the driveway.

We drove through the streets covered in thick fog, driving at a normal pace to not arouse suspicion with my siblings. They were quiet, sitting in their seats and looking out at the window. As I pulled into the parking lot at the school, I parked in my usual spot and slid out of the car. Katherine and Matthew followed suit in silence. I was confused as to why they were so silent all morning apart from Katherine in the bathroom with me this morning.

My eyes scanned the parking lot and I looked over towards the silver volvo, and saw a bright red convertible in the parking lot. Leaning against the volvo next to the convertible was Edward, looking over at my general direction. I smiled and walked over to him, ignoring the stares from my siblings that followed.

"Morning" I said, my voice demonstrating my mood. He grinned at me and pushed himself so he wasn't leaning against his car anymore. I looked over his shoulder at the convertible, studying the colour and the interior. He noticed and turned to look over his shoulder at it.

"That's Rosalie's car" He said as an explanation, looking back at me. "A bit ostentatious, hey?"

"More than a bit" I stated, my eyes widening. "Why does she drive with you when you have that?"

"Ostentatious. We try to blend in." He said in a way of an explanation. He was looking around, catching the stares we were receiving from the people around us. I stared at his inhumanly perfect face as his gaze came back to me, a smile as he looked at me.

"Why did Rosalie drive that then today?"

"I'm breaking all the rules now" he admitted with a shrug, "Plus we all like to drive fast."

"Figures," I mumbled. "You better not let Charlie catch you speeding."

He tapped his head, grinning at me. "Wouldn't dream of it."

We turned to walk towards the buildings in silence next to each other, ignoring the stares pouring into the back of my head. My thoughts were relatively empty as we walked, not touching.

"No twenty questions today?" he suddenly asked, breaking the ominous silence. I turned to see him smirking at me and the blood rushed to my cheeks.

"No…Do they bother you?"

"Not as much as your reactions do," he admitted. He sounded like he was joking but I wasn't sure. He was facing away from me as we walked. Suddenly he looked back to me, his eyes staring deeply into mine as if he was reading them. "It makes me wonder what you are really thinking."

"I always tell you what I'm thinking"

"You edit enough to drive me insane" He admitted as we slowed down. I looked in front and saw Jessica talking to Katherine, their heads were turned towards us.

"You don't want to hear it" I muttered to myself. We approached Jessica and Katherine who exchanged looks. Jessica smiled at me and Katherine just raised her eyebrows. Jessica's arm reached out to hand me my jacket from the previous night before, and I wondered why she didn't just hand it to Katherine.

"Good morning Jessica. Katherine" Edward's velvet voice spoke, politely. Jessica's cheeks brightened to a red, a ruby like shade.

"Thanks Jess" I said quietly with a small smile. She smiled slightly at me, her cheeks still covered a light shade of red, ruby like. "I'll see you in Trig?"

She nodded and lightly tugged on Katherine's jacket to pull her along silently, the air still as she continued to stare before no longer being able to as she rounded the corner. I looked back at Edward who had a small smile on his face.

"This is going to be fun," I murmured sarcastically, throwing my eyes into the back of my head in a dramatic roll. He chuckled lightly by my side, his shoulders shaking slightly.

"Well I'd like to hear that one" he laughed quietly, looking over to me. I folded the jacket over my arms and we continued walking in the same direction slowly.

"What does she want to know?" I asked him curiously. He grinned at me before turning his head back to look forwards.

"That's cheating" he snickered as we approached the door. I threw him a glare in annoyance, my eyes staring at his face in concentration.

"Now that's not fair." I huffed at him, turning to look at the entrance.

"Well, Katherine has filled in Jessica quite quickly. She knows a lot already in terms of what you told Katherine" as he spoke, he shrugged his shoulders lightly. He seemed unbothered, which was weird for him.

"Will you be listening?" I asked him quietly. He nodded, smiling lightly at me. His eyes looked into mine as I turned my head upwards to look at him. He turned his face away from mine, his eyes finding something else to look at.

"I'll see you at lunch?" he asked, his eyes still straying away from my face. I nodded and watched him walk away through the corridors until I could no longer see him. I turned my body into class, my feet automatically finding my usual seat at the back. Mike slumped into his seat next to me dramatically, earning a giggle from me. He placed down his books at the top of the white table, then turned to me with a small smile.

"Hey. How was Port Angeles?" he asked quickly, his eyes looking at my face. I threw a friendly smile at his face before answering his question.

"It was great. Jess picked out a stunning dress"

He beamed at me, before his attention was called upon by Mr. Mason. I turned to face my things, trying to avoid the conversation with Mike and to let my thoughts jump around in my head. English and Government passed on a blue and before I knew it I was walking through the dissolved fog towards Trig. I was silently praying that Katherine hadn't told Jessica anything before I arrived, but then remembered my sisters and Jess' reputation. They were known in the school for rumours, and all the gossip that had come up throughout the years, and Katherine wasn't going to keep anyone's gossip back - including my own.

As expected, Jessica was almost bouncing off her seat in excitement when I arrived. I slid into my seat, nervous about the police interrogation that was likely to follow. Jess looked at me, her eyes wide and her face turned into a grin before she exploded.

"YOU'RE DATING EDWARD FLIPPING CULLEN?"

My hand immediately went to her mouth as I looked around the room. Everyone's eyes were on me and Jess due to her sudden outburst. I sighed quietly and looked at her, raising one eyebrow cautioning her not to continue. She nodded, and I slowly took off my hand from around her mouth.

"Could you like…not?" I hissed at her, knowing internally it was pointless anyway. The whole world knew it now and I wouldn't be able to stop it from getting to Renee and Charlie. "I'd rather keep my private life private… you know?"

"So it's true" she hissed back at me, her eyes sporadically wide and her face flushed slightly. I resisted the urge to sigh, and nodded slightly, holding one finger up to caution her to stay quiet.

"Has he kissed you?"

I nearly choked at her sudden, quiet attack. "No" I hissed back at her. "It's not like that"

She silently attacked me again. "Do you like him?"

I nodded. "Sounds crazy, but yes. And more than he probably likes me"

"What makes you say that?" she pressed, her eyes eager to retain the latest gossip.

I shrugged my shoulders lightly, looking to the front of the classroom so we wouldn't get pulled up for not paying attention. "It's hard to explain. He just makes it seem like sometimes he doesn't care as much? It's really complicated" I sounded extremely insecure, but it was the truth on how I saw it.

"Oh" she whispered in a sigh. I could tell she wanted more from that explanation. "You're so brave though. I thought he didn't date?"

I shrugged my shoulders, confused by her remark too. "He's not so scary anymore like everyone thinks he is" I breathed, understanding her first statement.

We turned our bodies more to the front, and began scribbling in our notes. "Mike asked about Port Angeles. I told him you picked out a very pretty dress." I paused, turning my head to look at her to read her reaction. She seemed to be happy about it. "He seems really interested in you" I noted aloud.

"Really?" She whispered, her face showing the shock she felt as her cheeks flushed a light shade of red. I nodded, and looked back down at my notebook with a smile. The class passed through with a blur, and before I knew it, we were heading into lunch.

Jessica and I extend the classroom at a normal pace, Jess rambling on about her plans for the weekend. I smiled accordingly while still trying to look forwards and not trip. Unfortunately, fate had other plans as I stumbled, dropping my books on the ground. I looked up at Jess' face, which was attempting to hide a giggle at my misfortune.

A hefty sigh escaped my lips as I bent down to pick them up, and found a pair of stone, white hands picking them up for me. I internally smiled as the hands passed them to me swiftly, the owner still standing in front of me.

"Hey" I breathed lightly, smiling up at his inhumanely beautiful face. "Thanks".

Golden, honey like eyes stared back at me, a small smile gracing Edward's lips. "Sit with me today?" He asked quietly, his breath hitting my face as he spoke due to proximity. I remembered Jessica was here and took a small step back.

"Ummm… Well I guess." My eyes fluttered over to Jessica's, whose eyes were still staring at Edward's face. She turned her head to look at me due to my voice and gave an encouraging nod in my direction before stalking off in a daze. I suppressed a giggle as we walked towards the cafeteria.

Edward pulled me over to the counter, where the lunch line was located. I felt everyone's eyes on Edward and I, and had assumed that news had gotten out. So much for keeping this a secret. As we moved through the line, I felt his eyes looking at my face, then back in front of him, only a few seconds at a time each way.

We reached the end, and he started to pile up the tray with food.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. "You're not getting all of that for me!"

He laughed quietly, stepping forward to buy the food that was situated in his hands on the grey tray. "Half is for me, of course."

He led the way to an empty table, sitting in the opposite seat to me. His fingers slides the tray slightly towards me, the food wobbling slightly when it stops.

"Take whatever you want," he encourages me.

"I'm curious," I said as I picked up an apple, turning it around in my hands, "what would you do if someone dared you to eat food?"

"You're always curious." He grimaced, shaking his head. He lifted the slice of pizza off the tray, and deliberately bit off a mouthful, chewed quickly, and then swallowed. I watched, eyes wide.

"If someone dared you to eat dirt, would you?" He challenged back.

"Actually, Katherine dared me when we were young." I shrugged my shoulders but my nose wrinkled.

He laughed lightly, his eyes starting at my face. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

I placed down the apple as he went silent and picked up the pizza, looking at his face still. I bit a piece off and began chewing slowly. At this moment his eyes diverted from mine and he decided to speak.

"Something you said to Jessica earlier bothered me"

"I'm not surprised. You shouldn't have been listening" I sighed.

"I do want to know what you are thinking. I just wish you weren't thinking some things" his voice agreed slightly, but still held a hard edge as he talked.

"And what do you wish I wasn't thinking?" I scowled at him, slightly annoyed.

"That you think you care more than me" he murmured, leaning closer at his and his dark golden eyes piercing me.

I had to remember how to breathe, looking away before it came back to me.

"You're doing it again," I muttered.

His eyes opened wide with surprise. "What?"

"Dazzling me," I admitted, trying to concentrate as I looked back at him.

"Oh." He frowned.

"It's not your fault," I sighed. "You can't help it."

"You truly believe that? That you care more than me?"

"I believe it because it's my truth. It's my opinion" I stated, slightly irritated. "It isn't a competition about who cares more. We're meant to be equals"

He blinked as he looked at me, eyebrows raised to his forehead. He sighed, and looked away through the glass at something I wondered if I could see. "Do you really need to go to Seattle this Saturday or is this up for a compromise?"

"It's up for a compromise. It was just an excuse to say no to everyone" I admitted with a grin, happy my plan had worked.

"Would you have said no to me?" He asked me, his face turned back to look at mine.

"Yes"

"Why?"

"I can't dance. I can barely walk across a flat surface without finding something to trip over" I admitted guiltily.

"That wouldn't be a problem." He was very confident. "It's all in the leading."

"Are you trying to take me to the dance? Because it's not going to happen" I huffed, folding my arms over my chest.

He laughed suddenly, causing me to jump a little in my seat. "No. Trust me I'm not."

"Good. So what are the alternatives?" I smiled, leaning back to how I was previously sitting, picking up the soda and taking a sip.

"So the weather is nice. So if you would like, you can spend the day with me. And I'll show you what I mean about the sun." he grinned at me as he spoke, his teeth catching the light.

"Really?"

"Yes" He paused and looked at me. "Let Charlie and Renee know though. I'd rather you let someone know if we were going to be alone together" His eyes sparkled in concern as he stared into mine.

"I think I'll take my chances"

He exhaled in a puff and leaned back into his seat, arms crossed. I could tell by his body he was frustrated, and slightly angry. I glanced my eyes around the room, making sure that we were well out of anyone's hearing. As I passed my eyes over to the Cullen's table, I caught the eye of Alice who smiled at me before turning back to Jasper. The rest of the Cullen's ignored me.

"So why did you hunt bears this weekend?"

"Grizzly is Emmett's favourite" he shrugged as if this didn't bother him.

"What's your favourite?" I asked before taking a sip of my coke.

He raised an eyebrow and then met my gaze. His mouth turned down slightly as he answered me. "Mountain lion."

"We have to be careful of overpopulation for hunting ofcourse. We try to focus on where the overpopulation is as far away as we need. There are plenty of deer and elk here, but where is the fun in that?" he smiled at his own question, laughing at a joke that I was sure I was missing.

"Early spring is Emmett's favourite bear season — they're just coming out of hibernation, so they're more irritable." He smiled.

"Nothing more fun than an irritated grizzly bear," I agreed, nodding. My brow furrowed, confused. "How do you hunt a bear without weapons?"

"Oh, we have weapons. Just not the kind they consider when writing hunting laws. If you've ever seen a bear attack on television, you should be able to visualise Emmett hunting." He grinned as he spoke.

I peeked across the cafeteria toward Emmett, grateful that he wasn't looking my way. The thick bands of muscle that wrapped his arms and torso were somehow even more menacing now. Edward followed my gaze over before I looked back over to him.

"Are you like a bear too?" I asked quietly.

"More like the lion, or so they tell me," he said lightly.

"Is that something I might be able to see one day?"

"Absolutely not!" I swear I saw his face go whiter than it already is. I leaned back stunned by his reaction, and he did the same, his arms folding neatly against his chest.

"Too scary?"

"Yes… and no. I can't be around you when we hunt. We give into our senses and I would lose control." he looked at me almost painfully.

I glanced around the cafeteria, and realised that we lost track of time. "We're going to be late" I announced as I stood and grabbed my bag from my chair.

He stood after me, grabbing his bag as we walked to class together.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update. Time really caught up to me. Hope you enjoy this chapter, have been sitting on it for a while so hopefully its coherent and makes some form of sense. Love yall xx