ch- 9 : (Reactions)

Normally French was the subject in school that passed the slowest for me, but right now it was flat-out ridiculous. I was looking up at the clock so often, it felt like the handles never moved. My body was tense, I looked out the window when I couldn't take looking at the clock anymore. Perhaps to catch a glimpse of an escaping Edward hoping I wouldn't.

It was a miracle that the teacher - Miss Anderson wasn't calling me out for my lack of attention. I was trying to take notes, but the pit in my stomach, and the fear in my mind was too powerful. I even tried to sketch something on a blank page of my notebook, but all I could draw were hateful eyes and a girl coiling in fear.

An eternity later, the bell finally rang, and I was about to jump out of my seat to run to the Gym when I was once again approached by someone. "You're Isabella Swan's friend Katherine right?"

"Bella," I automatically corrected. "And yeah." The person who asked was a tall, very tan, dark-haired guy with brown eyes. My eyes kept darting from him to the door.

He smiled. "Tyler Crowley. Where are you headed?"

"Gym," I answered, probably a tad too fast. My foot was beginning to tap on the floor. So this is Tyler.

His smile faltered. "Dang, English for me, but I could follow you to Gym since it's on the way?" He slid his hands into his pockets, as he swung his bag over his shoulder.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't. "Sure," I replied, maybe too eagerly, but I had to get out, and see if Bella was all right. My limbs were stiff, from sitting in the same position for too long and my nerves were all over the place. I was sure Bella was all right, or else there probably would have been ambulances and police sirens by now.

Somehow that mental image made my anxiety worse.

"So what brought you to Forks?" Tyler asked as he led the way toward the Gym.

I almost jumped. A part of me had forgotten Tyler was next to me during our small walk. "Bella," I answered. "I was an exchange student at her school, and we became

friends, she had to move here, so I offered to move with her." I was fiddling with the strap of my bag, to keep my hands occupied. To keep myself grounded, so that I didn't sprint towards the Gym.

Tyler looked puzzled. "So your parents just let you move with her?" In the distance, I could see a large building with the words GYM on the side. Finally.

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I possibly could. "There's a roof over my head, a school to go to, someone else is feeding me. Why wouldn't they let me?"

If his eyes could have bulged out of his face, they probably would have. "You seriously have some cool folks," he shook his head. "Mine would never, even if it was to move in with a friend."

We had finally reached the door to the girl's locker rooms. "Then it's good that they aren't your parents," I told him as I reached for the door. "That would have been a bit weird, don't you think?" I turned around to wink at him, before opening and closing it in his face. Hopefully, that would keep his thoughts occupied, so that he wouldn't approach me again when school ended.

Inside were five rows of lockers, each in a grey, metallic color. All had combination locks, to my immediate relief. No keys to bring into the Gym with me. Large, square fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in a cold, clinical light. The floor was made of white/gray tiles probably to make it easier to clean after everyone's showers. It made me think of wooden counters that were a pain to manage - especially if they were repeatedly wetted. My mother had unknowingly chosen wooden countertops around the sinks in our bathrooms, resulting in everyone having to remember to wipe them after using the sink.

At first, it appeared I was the first to arrive, but then I heard someone open a locker and toss their bag inside rather forcefully. A tiny hope glimmered in my mind, as I allowed myself to move quickly towards the sounds.

In the last row of lockers, I finally found her - Bella. She was looking at the locker, like she was about to murder it, as she forcefully closed it and sat down with an angry sigh.

I had to focus all my energy on not running towards her and hugging the ever-living crap out of her. It made my body stiff and my fingers twitch. She was alive. Edward had shown restraint and not killed her. And Bella was standing there, glaring murder into the tiled floor as a result. I almost pumped my fist into the air. Finally, something had gone right.

"Wow! Who got your goat and where can I find them, to get revenge?" I asked, trying really hard to keep the smirk off my face.

Bella - probably startled by my voice - jumped a little into the air. Her hands were raised towards her heart. Her eyes were big and her mouth was open. Then she glowered at me.

Uh oh...

"You said-" she stopped herself and breathed in and out a couple of times. Then the door to the locker room opened and more girls flittered inside. "Never mind," she sighed. "Let's just get this day over with and go home."

Somehow - even though I had read this through her eyes in the book- I had never thought about how hurt and angry Edward's behavior would actually make her. Not many would be able to show the emotional restraint she was right now. She was hurting, asking herself what she had done to deserve his utter hatred. Only two people knew the truth about it right now. Edward Cullen; the vampire predator who had almost made a meal out of Bella and me. The one person who shouldn't be here inside this godforsaken story.

"Biology was that bad, huh?" I said, instead of asking her what had happened. Somehow I was sure she knew that I knew.

Bella rolled her eyes and forcefully opened the locker next to hers. "It's just- I don't get what I did?" Then she sighed. "Can we talk about it later?"

I nodded and moved closer to her, putting my bag into the locker she had just opened. "Sure, whatever you need," told her. "Hug?"

She froze only for a moment and looked up at me with eyes just a bit wider than normal, "Sure," she answered with a small smile. It looked a little forced.

Gym went as well as could be expected. Both Bella and I got our uniforms from Coach Clapp, but he didn't expect us to participate today. Lucky for the other student's heads.

I noticed throughout the class, that a blonde-haired, babyfaced guy kept waving at Bella, throughout the four simultaneous volleyball games we watched. I didn't ask Bella about who he was since I was 100% certain this was Mike - and that Bella would rather be alone with her thoughts than me trying to distract her from them. She'd told me as much between the lines of our conversation in the locker room.

After Gym both Bella and I slowly headed towards the Front Office again. The wind was colder than it had been before Gym. The rain had also ceased falling. Cars were leaving the parking lot, and I noticed the silver Volvo with four people sitting inside it.

My stomach dropped. I had completely forgotten about Edward and the Front Office. Crap. I had to read up on what was going to happen from now on. "That pizza sounds good right about now," I told Bella, as we finally approached the Front Office. Both of us had our arms wrapped around ourselves, trying to shield our bodies from the harsh wind.

She laughed quietly, before opening the office door.

I took a deep breath before entering with her. My stomach was in knots.

There he stood, in front of Mrs. Cole with his back to us. I almost grabbed Bellas's hand. She moved to the side to stand against the back wall. Her face told me all I needed to know. She would rather be anywhere else than here.

I didn't pay attention to Edward at all. My eyes were on Bella's face she was frowning at him.

The door opened beside me, and a cold gust of wind blew past Bella and me, ruffling our hair in the process. A girl stepped up to put a note in the wire basket at the desk, and then merely turned and left the way she came.

Edward's body went completely still. Even though I knew what was coming, the glare he gave Bella as he turned around, raised the hairs on my arms. For a short second, he also looked at me, before turning around to face Mrs. Cole, and announcing, "Never mind, then," in that velvety voice of his. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." Then he began walking in our direction towards the door. He wasn't looking at either of

us.

Please, Edward. Don't hurt her. You can overcome this! You are stronger than your hunger.

I knew he couldn't hear my thoughts, but for a fraction of a second, he glanced at me as he passed, frowning instead of glaring. Then he was out the door.

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding in.

Bella - paler than she had been a moment ago began moving towards the desk with small, meek steps, prompting me to follow. Then we handed our slips to Mrs. Cole. I'm pretty sure I looked as pale as Bella.

"How was your first day dears?" Mrs. Cole asked kindly.

"Fine," both Bella and I said simultaneously. Her answer was a lie - I could hear it, and her voice sounded weak. Mine, I didn't know. So many things had not gone according to plan. However, Mrs. Cole didn't look convinced.

We walked slowly to the truck, not talking the entire way. I wasn't sure if I should try to comfort her or talk to her about what had just happened. She seemed so deflated. Why had I never really thought about what Edwards's glare and hatred did? Because Bella was just a character in a book. It wasn't real.

But here I was. Walking next to a very real and very hurt girl. Everything that was supposed to happen, was going to be real. Bella would be in real danger. From humans. From Edward. From James. She had just been in actual danger.

I was just in actual danger. I shuddered as the cold wind also blew past me. Was it possible that I could die while I stayed here? What would happen then? My family would never know where I was, always believing I ran away from home. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes. I quickly wiped at them, before getting in the truck. It was now the last car in the parking lot.

Behind the wheel, Bella just sat and stared. I didn't know what to say, even though I knew I wanted to say something. Then she sighed.

"You told me to come here and meet him," she said, her voice cracking a bit as if she was holding back tears. Her knuckles were turning white, gripping the steering wheel. "You said I had to!" Her voice raised a notch and tears were threatening to fall from her eyes. "Why does he hate me so much? What did I do to him? Tell me!"

"I don't know," I lied, my voice sounding hoarse, yet believable. It wasn't my place to tell her.

Bellas eyes were scanning my face, for something probably evidence of me lying to her. The tears were now flowing freely. She removed one hand from the steering wheel and wiped the tears away with her sleeve.

"You really don't know?" She sighed.

I shook my head. "Maybe it had nothing to do with you. We can't know that."

Bella began glaring at me again. "You heard what he said in there! Any other class than Biology!"

I sighed too and grabbed Bella's shoulders. "Look, we only have our side of the story, not his," I tried to rationalize. "For all we know, this could just be one big misunderstanding. My point is, maybe we should wait, before we start raising the pitchforks and gather the angry villagers."

She quietly laughed. "Only you could somehow find a way to make this comical." The smile stayed on her lips.

I shrugged and let go of her shoulders. "What can I say? I'm a comedian."

Bella laughed again. Then she shivered, before turning the keys in the ignition, making Grandpa truck roar to life.

"Pizza?" I asked.

Bella nodded. "Pizza."