:-:-:-:-:
The Denali Institute for Rebellious and Troubled Teenagers
Chapter Ten
Jacob POV - Thursday 11th August 2011
I wasn't expecting to be invited to the morning hotbox session, but when Jasper found me in the hallway before breakfast and motioned me over with a casual head tilt, I didn't hesitate.
"Bro time," he announced, like that was all the explanation needed. "We're finding common ground and ending the bickering bullshit before someone actually throws a punch."
I raised an eyebrow, but followed him anyway.
He'd already rounded up Edward and Emmett, which made it pretty obvious what this was about.
The moment we stepped inside, Tyler was already getting things ready, setting up the bong like this was a religious ritual.
"Alright, gentlemen," he said, grinning. "Time to get philosophical."
Edward sighed, but took a seat without complaint. Emmett sprawled out like he was at a goddamn spa, already looking comfortable as hell.
Jasper grabbed the bong first, took a long hit, then passed it to me.
I didn't need the weed, but after the absolute mess of a morning I'd had yesterday, I wasn't about to turn it down either.
I inhaled, holding it deep in my lungs, letting the familiar warmth settle over me before exhaling and passing it to Edward.
He took it without hesitation, which was surprising, considering he carried himself like someone who was too good for shit like this.
But he hit it like a pro, passing it along as he coughed slightly.
"Jesus," he muttered.
"Lightweight," Emmett teased, taking his turn.
By the time the bong made a second pass, things were starting to feel a little easier.
Jasper leaned back, exhaling through his nose like he was meditating, then said, "Alright. Since we're all in a better mood now, let's talk about why the fuck you two hate each other."
Edward and I both glanced at each other, then immediately looked away.
Hate was a strong word.
But there was definitely something weird going on between us.
And the worst part?
I had no idea why.
Edward sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I don't know," he admitted. "Something about you just pisses me off."
I huffed out a laugh, leaning back against the wall. "Right back at you, man."
Jasper raised an eyebrow. "You seriously don't know why you hate each other?"
Edward shook his head, exhaling sharply. "Nope."
"Not a clue," I muttered.
Tyler snorted, shaking his head. "That's so fucking dumb."
Emmett grinned. "I mean, I get it. Some people just have punchable faces."
Edward gave him a deadpan look. "Thanks for the insight."
Emmett held up his hands. "Just saying, own your punchability."
Jasper rolled his eyes. "So, let's just call it even then. Bygones be bygones. You don't know why you started this shit, so let's just not be assholes about it anymore."
I thought about it.
Did I actually care enough to keep this weird, baseless feud going?
Not really.
And now, with the weed kicking in, it seemed even dumber than before.
Edward shrugged. "Fine by me."
"Same," I said.
Jasper clapped his hands together. "Excellent. Now, let's go get some food before we all starve to death."
By the time we made it downstairs, we were all in a great mood.
I had no idea what was so funny, but everything felt light and easy, and for once, no one was bickering.
We grabbed our trays, still half-laughing over some inside joke that didn't even make sense anymore, and found the only open table in the cafeteria.
Lauren was already sitting there, looking way too put together for a morning in this place.
But none of us were really paying attention.
We just kept talking, still caught up in whatever nonsense had been hilarious five minutes ago.
Lauren kept trying to insert herself into the conversation, but no one really noticed.
Eventually, she gave up, grabbed her tray, and left.
I barely even registered it.
Because for the first time since I'd arrived at this school, I actually felt relaxed.
Jasper POV
We were just about to leave Marcus's class, ready to eat and move on with our day, when we opened the door—
And walked straight into Caius, Aro, and Felix standing outside like a goddamn tribunal.
The girls walked past without issue, but the five of us?
We were immediately halted.
"Not you," Caius said, his voice clipped, blocking the doorway like some kind of gatekeeper of doom.
Aro smiled, way too pleasantly for someone who was about to rip into us.
Felix, on the other hand, just sighed, looking mildly disappointed. "Alright, gentlemen. Let's talk about this morning."
Marcus, still inside the classroom, rubbed his face like he was too tired for this shit.
"I didn't notice a difference," he muttered. "Nor do I care. I'm going to have my lunch."
With that, he brushed past the three of them, disappearing down the hall without another word.
I almost respected it.
Almost.
Felix crossed his arms, glancing between us like a strict older brother who wasn't sure how much trouble we actually deserved.
"So," he said, "anyone want to tell me what exactly happened this morning? Or should I just assume the obvious?"
Tyler snorted. "What's the obvious?"
Caius tilted his head slightly, his expression flat and unimpressed.
"I wouldn't suggest you make this a routine," he said simply.
We all exchanged looks, because apparently, that was an answer in itself.
Aro, still smiling in that too-knowing way, adjusted his sleeves like he had all the time in the world.
"I must admit," he mused, "while I found your attempts at maintaining composure rather entertaining, not all of our esteemed staff share my amusement."
Caius didn't blink. "At all."
Felix sighed again, rubbing his temple. "Look, if you're going to do dumb shit, at least be smart about it. You roll in like a bunch of cartoon characters, smelling like an Amsterdam coffee shop, and you're surprised you got noticed?"
Edward huffed. "We weren't surprised. We just didn't care."
Felix gave him a look. "Oh, I know. That's the problem."
Aro chuckled. "As much as I appreciate your dedication to nonchalance, Mr. Masen, I must remind you that the only way to keep your freedom is to avoid getting caught."
Caius cut in, voice sharp. "And if you do get caught, there are consequences."
Emmett leaned back slightly, tilting his head. "What kind of consequences?"
Felix shrugged. "The usual. Detention. Loss of privileges. Maybe we'll make you sit through an extra session with Marcus, see if his monotone puts you in an existential crisis."
Tyler groaned dramatically. "I'll be good, I swear."
Caius raised a brow. "You'll be better than that."
There was a pause, the five of us waiting to see if they were actually going to follow through right now or just leave us with the warning.
Finally, after a long, unsettling moment of silence, Aro grinned again.
"Go on then," he said, waving us off. "Enjoy your lunch. But do try to be less… predictable next time, won't you?"
That was as close to a free pass as we were going to get.
We didn't hesitate.
Without another word, we headed straight to the cafeteria, silent until we turned the corner.
Then, Emmett muttered, "Caius is fucking terrifying."
Edward snorted. "And Aro enjoys this way too much."
Jasper shook his head. "Felix is the only one who actually seems to care if we live or die."
Tyler grinned. "Good thing we're unkillable."
Jacob sighed. "Yeah. Sure. Let's go with that."
After the morning interrogation from our lovely, ever-watchful authority figures, we finally made it to lunch, dropping into our usual spots like nothing had happened.
Except for the fact that everyone else knew something had happened.
"Where the hell were you guys?" Leah asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Detained," Tyler said dramatically, grabbing a roll from the breadbasket. "Unjustly persecuted. Oppressed."
Lauren scoffed. "For what?"
"Apparently," Emmett said between bites, "showing up to class a little altered is frowned upon."
Bella smirked slightly. "You're lucky they didn't make you run laps in the snow or something."
"Yet," Edward corrected. "They haven't made us do it yet."
Emmett waved a hand. "It'll be fine. We'll be more discreet next time."
Lauren rolled her eyes, clearly still irritated from this morning. "Or, you know. Just don't get high before class."
No one acknowledged that, which only made her more annoyed.
I turned my attention back to the meal in front of me, determined to actually eat something before we had to endure another class.
By the time we shuffled into Geography, most of us had come down from our morning haze enough to be functional.
Eleazar was already at the front of the room, writing something on the board, his movements calm and deliberate.
Despite his calm demeanor, he wasn't exactly a soft teacher.
The first class had been light, mostly to ease us in, but today?
Today, he expected us to actually retain information.
"You are here," he said, pointing to Alaska on the map. "The rest of the world exists beyond these mountains."
"No shit," Jacob muttered.
Eleazar ignored him.
"Your assignment," he continued, "is to pick a country, research its history, and present a five-minute summary to the class by next week."
That was met with a wave of groans.
"Five minutes?" Tyler repeated, horrified. "Do you know how long five minutes is?"
"Three hundred seconds," Eleazar said smoothly.
Emmett snorted. "Smartass."
Eleazar smiled, completely unaffected. "And for those of you concerned with grades—" he looked pointedly at Tyler, "—you may find this useful."
Tyler groaned again, slumping forward dramatically.
Rosalie, still determined to be annoying, immediately picked France.
Lauren grabbed Spain.
Jacob muttered something about Mexico, which got a knowing smirk from Edward.
And I?
I picked Australia.
Why?
No idea.
But at least it wasn't boring.
The rest of the class was spent researching, Eleazar moving around to check on our progress.
Despite the complaints, most of us actually ended up absorbed in our topics, even if it was only because we wanted to make sure we had something decent to present.
As the bell rang, Eleazar nodded at us.
"Do well," he said. "Because I expect you to present without notes."
Tyler let out a soft, pained noise.
I smirked.
This was going to be interesting.
Tyler POV
Finally.
A class where I could fuck around without consequences.
Art with Carmen was a completely different vibe compared to the rest of the soul-sucking subjects we had to suffer through.
She actually seemed to enjoy being here, which made her the only teacher in this entire place who did.
The moment we walked in, she clapped her hands together, beaming at us.
"Welcome back, my little birds!" she announced, her voice way too cheerful for this time of day.
I smirked, already entertained.
"Are we still birds?" I asked, dropping into a seat. "Can I be an eagle? Or like, a hawk? Something badass?"
Carmen grinned. "You can be whatever you want, Tyler."
"Good," I nodded. "Just making sure I'm not stuck being, like, a pigeon or something."
"Nothing wrong with pigeons," Jasper muttered, already grabbing supplies.
Edward raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you about to defend pigeons?"
"Maybe."
Before that incredibly important debate could continue, Carmen stepped forward, her smile still unwavering.
"Alright, everyone," she said, "we're continuing our self-portraits of emotion today."
I groaned dramatically. "Can't we just draw, like, dinosaurs or something?"
Carmen laughed. "Dinosaurs have emotions too."
"Yeah," I agreed. "Like rage. Or hunger."
Carmen just smiled, motioning for us to get started.
"Express yourselves," she said, as if that wasn't a dangerous thing to ask a room full of troubled teenagers.
I stared at my canvas, wondering how the hell I was supposed to paint emotions when I barely had the patience to sit through a class without getting bored.
Jasper, across from me, was actually doing something decent, which was annoying as hell.
Edward's looked weirdly intense, like he was trying to prove something to himself.
Bella's?
She was too focused, which meant she was probably overthinking the entire thing.
Leah had already abandoned the actual project and was just painting random abstract shit, which was probably a better approach than whatever the hell I was doing.
Emmett was making a masterpiece purely by accident.
And me?
My painting looked like someone had thrown a tantrum with a paintbrush.
Which, technically, was still self-expression.
Carmen walked past, looking at my disaster of a canvas before nodding approvingly.
"Interesting," she said.
I raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"
She grinned, tapping the top of my canvas lightly. "Everything you put down is interesting, Tyler. Because it's yours."
I blinked.
Huh.
That was the nicest bullshit I'd ever heard.
But I wasn't about to argue.
Because if there was one class where I could do whatever I wanted and still pass, it was this one.
Emmett POV
Tyler was already too excited, and we hadn't even sat down yet.
I wasn't sure why he loved this class so much—probably because Irina encouraged his bullshit instead of shutting it down—but either way, it was too early for this much energy.
As we took our seats, he practically vibrated in place, drumming his hands against the table like we were about to witness a historic event.
"Alright, alright," Irina said, stepping to the front of the room, grinning like she already knew she was about to start chaos. "Who's ready for science?"
Tyler threw both arms in the air like a deranged game show contestant. "Hell. Yes."
Irina pointed at him. "You. I like your enthusiasm."
Tyler beamed. "I like your boots."
She smirked. "Excellent taste."
I shook my head, already exhausted, as Tyler turned to me with a self-satisfied grin.
"You see that?" he muttered. "I'm in."
"Into what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Her favoritism club," he whispered like it was a secret society.
Jasper, sitting beside me, didn't even look up from his notebook. "You are not her favorite."
Tyler scoffed. "Not yet."
The thing about Irina was that she was way too into this subject, but she was also not the kind of teacher to demand total focus.
Which was dangerous when you had people like Tyler, who thrived on chaos.
"Today," she announced, "we are talking about chemical reactions."
Tyler audibly gasped like she had just revealed the meaning of life.
Irina, of course, only encouraged him.
"Yes, Mr. Crowley?" she asked sweetly.
"Are we blowing shit up?"
A slow grin spread across her face. "Would you like to?"
Tyler made a strangled noise of joy, slamming his hands on the table. "YES."
I shook my head, half amused, half resigned.
"You know she's playing you, right?" I muttered.
Tyler pointed at me. "You don't know that. This could be the best class of my life."
Irina leaned against her desk, pretending to think. "Well… I wasn't planning on it today, but if you actually focus, I'll consider an experiment next week."
Tyler threw his arms up again. "Consider me focused as fuck."
"Language," Irina chided playfully.
"Apologies, Miss, consider me academically engaged."
She smirked. "That's better."
Despite the ridiculousness of the class, I actually didn't hate science.
Not that I would admit it.
People tended to assume I was just a big, dumb jock, and honestly? That was easier.
If you let people think you weren't that bright, they didn't expect much from you.
Which meant you didn't have to prove anything.
But every once in a while, I let little things slip.
Like when Irina asked a question about reaction rates, and no one answered fast enough.
I muttered, without thinking, "It depends on temperature, concentration, and surface area."
Irina perked up immediately, turning toward me.
"Very good, Mr. McCarty," she said, clearly pleased. "Care to elaborate?"
I shrugged. "Nah."
She grinned, tilting her head slightly. "You sure? You seem to know what you're talking about."
Tyler and Jasper both turned to look at me, equally surprised.
I sighed, rolling my eyes. "It's not hard. The higher the temp, the faster the molecules move, so the reaction happens quicker. Same with concentration—more particles in the same space means more collisions. And if you increase surface area, like with a powder instead of a chunk, there's more room for the reaction to happen."
Silence.
Then Tyler whispered, "Bro, what?"
I glared at him. "What?"
"You just... explained science."
"Yeah, and?"
Tyler narrowed his eyes. "Are you secretly smart?"
I huffed, grabbing my pencil and tapping it against my notebook. "You realize this is basic shit, right?"
Jasper smirked. "Not to Tyler, it's not."
Tyler pointed at him. "Exactly."
Irina was still watching me, her expression amused.
"Good work, Emmett," she said lightly. "Nice to see someone actually paying attention."
I shrugged again, but I could feel Jasper and Tyler still eyeing me like I'd just revealed a huge secret.
I sighed, muttering under my breath, "You guys are morons."
Tyler leaned closer. "Yeah, but you love us."
I shoved him away with one hand, but I was grinning despite myself.
By the time we were wrapping up, Tyler was still riding the high of knowing we might blow something up next week.
"I'm gonna hold her to that," he muttered.
"You do that," I said.
As we stood to pack up, Irina passed by, pausing briefly at my desk.
"You ever want to help with an experiment," she said, just quiet enough for only me to hear, "let me know."
I blinked, caught off guard. "Uh… okay?"
She winked, then walked off.
Jasper elbowed me. "See? You should embrace your inner nerd."
I rolled my eyes, slinging my bag over my shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "Let's just go before Tyler has an aneurysm from excitement."
Tyler, of course, took that as a compliment.
Edward POV
I knew this was coming.
It was inevitable, really.
Everyone had mandatory therapy, and after watching Bella, Jasper, and Emmett get dragged off in previous nights, it was only a matter of time before it was my turn.
Felix caught me as soon as I grabbed my tray at dinner.
"Alright, Masen," he said, his tone half-amused, half-weary. "Your turn."
I sighed, barely reacting. "And here I thought I could slip through unnoticed."
Felix chuckled. "Nice try. Let's go."
Felix's office was the same as Jasper had described it—dimly lit, a mix of professional and personal, with an overall vibe of 'I don't actually care if you take this seriously, but you still have to sit here.'
I dropped into the armchair, setting my tray on his desk.
Felix sat down across from me, leaning back with a casual ease that made it very clear he wasn't intimidated by anything I could throw at him.
He didn't start with small talk.
Didn't ease into it.
He just opened my file, flipped through a few pages, then tilted his head slightly.
"So, Masen," he said, voice light but edged with something sharp, "was your plan to get life in prison, or was that just a fun little side goal?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Subtle."
Felix smirked. "You're not exactly subtle either. Expulsions. Multiple arrests. A clear penchant for violence." He tapped his finger against my file. "You're not even seventeen yet. That's an impressive résumé."
I picked up my fork, poking at my food. "Didn't realize I was applying for anything."
Felix chuckled dryly, shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah. Deflect all you want." He leaned forward slightly. "Let's be real, Edward. What was the actual plan?"
I didn't answer right away.
Not because I was trying to be difficult, but because I wasn't entirely sure how to answer that.
What had the plan been?
The truth was, there hadn't been one.
I wasn't self-destructive for fun.
I just… didn't care.
Didn't care what happened to me.
Didn't care about the consequences of throwing a punch when someone pissed me off.
Didn't care if I got expelled.
Didn't care if the cops showed up.
And when you don't care?
You make a lot of bad decisions.
Felix was watching me, waiting.
I finally sighed, leaning back in my chair, my fingers drumming against the armrest.
"There wasn't a plan," I admitted. "I wasn't trying to get locked up, but I wasn't really trying to avoid it either."
Felix nodded slowly, as if that was exactly what he expected to hear.
"Yeah," he said, "that checks out."
Felix flipped a few more pages, his eyes scanning the list of incidents I'd been involved in.
Then he said, "You like hitting people."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
I huffed out a quiet breath, staring at my tray. "I wouldn't say I like it."
Felix smirked. "Really? Because it sure seems like it."
I didn't answer that.
Because the truth was… I kind of did.
I didn't start fights for no reason. I wasn't one of those guys who just wanted to watch people bleed for fun.
But when I was pissed?
When I was already on edge, already wired with too much emotion and nowhere to put it?
Hitting something felt good.
And that wasn't something I was ready to unpack right now.
Felix didn't press.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly, watching me carefully.
"You ever stop to think about what happens when you pick a fight with the wrong person?"
I raised an eyebrow. "You mean someone who can actually hit back?"
Felix smirked. "Yeah. Or someone who has no problem putting you in a hospital. Or worse."
I exhaled sharply. "I'm not an idiot. I know how to pick my fights."
Felix nodded. "Sure. But at the rate you were going, it wasn't a question of if you got seriously hurt, just when."
I didn't say anything to that.
Because, annoyingly, he wasn't wrong.
Felix closed my file, leaning forward slightly, resting his forearms on the desk.
"So now you're here," he said. "You don't have to worry about cops. Or getting expelled again. Or fighting your way into an early grave."
I shrugged. "Guess not."
Felix studied me for a long moment.
Then he smirked.
"And yet, you don't look happy about that."
I scoffed. "Am I supposed to be?"
Felix shrugged. "I don't know. Some people see this place as a second chance. Others see it as a sentence. I'm just trying to figure out which one you are."
I didn't answer right away.
Because honestly?
I wasn't sure yet.
Felix finally leaned back, stretching slightly.
"Alright," he said. "That's enough for today."
I stood immediately, grabbing my tray.
As I reached the door, Felix added, "Oh, and Edward?"
I paused, looking over my shoulder.
"If you ever actually want to talk about something," he said, "I won't make you. But I'll listen."
I held his gaze for a second, then nodded once.
I didn't know if I'd ever take him up on that.
But for now?
At least it was an option.
Without another word, I walked out, leaving whatever was supposed to come next for another day.
My appetite had been nonexistent since walking into Felix's office, and now, with the conversation still lingering in my head, I wasn't exactly feeling hungry.
I made my way back to the cafeteria half on autopilot, thinking only of options to entertain myself before bed.
I had just reached the door when Bella nearly collided into me.
I raised an eyebrow. "Guess I'm not the only one skipping dinner."
She smirked slightly, her expression as unreadable as ever. "Let me guess—you got dragged in to be therapized too?"
I exhaled, tipping my tray in with no ceremony. "Yeah."
Then, after a beat, I added, "Honestly? Kind of a relief. Gave me an excuse to slip away from Lauren."
Bella let out a quiet laugh, nodding knowingly. "Yeah… I've noticed she's been a bit… enthusiastic."
I couldn't help but laugh too, but it came out dry, tired.
"That's one way to put it."
I expected the conversation to die off there, but Bella just tilted her head slightly, studying me in a way that made me feel like I was the one being figured out.
Then, casually, she asked, "So why not just take her up on the obvious offer?"
That made me pause.
I frowned slightly. "Excuse me?"
She shrugged, completely unbothered. "She's pretty. She's clearly interested. Could be fun."
I scoffed, shaking my head immediately. "She's not my type."
Her eyebrow lifted. "Oh? And what exactly is your type?"
I hesitated for a second.
Not because I was embarrassed by the question, but because I didn't really have a concrete answer.
"I'm… not entirely sure, really," I admitted, stuffing my hands into my pockets as we started walking toward the entrance hall.
Then, after a pause, I glanced at her, lips twitching slightly. "But definitely not Lauren."
Bella smirked. "Fair enough."
She was hard to get a read on, and it was starting to annoy me.
Normally, I could tell what people wanted, what motivated them, within minutes of talking to them. But Bella?
She wasn't giving me much.
Not in a way that seemed purposeful, but more like she just… kept everything close to the chest.
Like she was holding all her cards, but she wasn't playing a single one.
As we walked closer to the main hall, the sounds of shouting and laughter from the rec room got louder.
Bella's gaze flicked toward the entrance, where the door was propped open just enough to catch a glimpse of the rest of the boys gathered around the TV.
Tyler nearly fell off the couch laughing, Emmett threw his hands up in dramatic outrage, and the entire scene looked like some chaotic mess of inside jokes and frustration.
I let out a slow breath through my nose.
Bella smirked. "Well, have fun."
I raised an eyebrow. "With what?"
She gestured toward the rec room. "With them."
I let out a dry chuckle, shaking my head. "You think I'm joining them?"
She shrugged. "You look like you could use some mindless distraction."
I gave her a look, half-expecting her to be teasing, but there was no mockery in her tone.
Instead of arguing, I asked, "And where are you going?"
"To my room," she said simply. "For some peace."
I smirked. "Anti-social much?"
Bella rolled her eyes, but there was something a little amused about it.
"Oh, please. You just spent twenty minutes ranting about Lauren. If anything, I'm being polite by excusing myself before you decide I'm annoying too."
I laughed—actually laughed, not the dry, exhausted thing I'd given earlier.
"I'll try to contain my judgment," I said.
"Good luck with that," she muttered, already turning toward the staircase.
I hesitated for half a second, watching her walk away.
Then I shook my head and turned toward the rec room, still frustrated with the fact that she was so damn difficult to figure out.