On the way back I looked at the destruction my sprinting had caused and instead of a 16-year-old teen, it looked like a stampeding Elephant had charged through the woods. The earth had been gouged out, leaving small potholes on the forest floor, while tree roots that got in my way had been snapped.
While I was appreciating the carnage, a scent or rather two different scents flowed into my nose and I instantly groaned in frustration before changing coarse and picking up my speed.
Recognizing the human scent, and smelling the sickly sweet scent next to them, I knew exactly which pair had followed me.
Before long, I was looking over at a worried Bella and a nonchalant Edward who was trying to hide the fact he'd already sensed me from my sister. Shaking my head, I made my presence known to my sister, by purposely snapping a twig underneath my feet.
Her head snapped toward me and her eyes went from worry to confusion in a split second, while Edward stuck back and watched with barely veiled mirth shown through a small smirk on his face.
"Alex! Why'd you come running out here?!" Bella stomped over to me but half-way her foot got caught on a tree root and she nearly went flying. On instinct, I made it next to her and caught her in my arms. But not caring that I'd saved her the embarrassment of falling over in front of the boy she was slowly becoming obsessed with, she just looked up at me, a pout forming on her face and her eyebrows furrowed making her eyes look angry despite their soft chocolate brown color, "You gonna answer me or not, Alex?!"
Rolling my eyes, much to her frustration, I helped her stand on her own two feet before finally answering her.
"I got a bit angry so I came out here to calm down," I shrugged it off before looking over to Edward, "Thanks for coming out here with her. You probably tried to stop her but she's pretty stubborn, so yeah, thanks for helping her not get lost," Edward looked surprised at my sincere gratitude but he got passed it pretty quickly before he nodded back at my thanks with a curt smile.
Unsatisfied with my answer, Bella poked my chest with her slender fingers, "You got angry? No one who gets angry can leave the...the destruction you did when you ran," my face dropped a little - did she see? - but she carried on with an accusatory look on her face, "You think I didn't see it?" her tone was biting but she wasn't finished, "You're lucky Edward and I are the only ones who followed you out! Now," she poked my chest again and I felt a spark of anger flow up from my stomach, "What's wrong?"
I quickly snuffed out the anger, or I tried to, but the anger had already affected my choice of words.
"Right now? You," I spat venomously, the anger in my voice clear to both Edward and Bella, "You're my problem, Bella. Can't you just mind your own business? And you," I looked at Edward, the anger I couldn't snuff out, growing from an ember into an inferno, "Who do you think you are to just sit back and smirk at me while she has a go at me? You fucking leech," I snarled, feeling my body heat up in response to my anger at the Vampire.
My instincts pushed my body into a hostile stance, both my legs spread and my knees slightly bent, ready to push me toward the Vampire in front of me. My arms lay at my sides but they were fully ready to whip out at the vampire's throat, even if I knew I could do nothing but scratch him.
Bella slowly backed away from me, fear quickly growing in her eyes. That fear was quite sobering but not enough as I looked between her and Edward, who was now frowning, before a wide, almost manic smile spread across my face.
"Bella," I started, my voice filled with malicious mischief, "Why don't you touch Edward's skin. It'll give you a clue to what you want to know."
They both realized what I'd said at the same time and Bella's eyes lit up with a reckless curiosity as she looked over at Edward who wasn't too far from her. Edward, however, glared at me, his stance now hostile but by now, my anger had cleared enough for me to know I'd done enough damage. Walking past him, I snickered at his grim expression before breaking out in a jog.
The further I got away from them, the more my anger cleared and I came to realize my actions were pretty childish. Though I didn't regret them so to speak, I did wish I hadn't done them the way I did. I'd be lucky if Bella didn't flinch the next time she saw me from the animal-like display I just put on.
But I have to say that I am playing my part quite well. I'm slowly showing more and more that something is happening and I'm spurring on Bella's curiosity into the supernatural.
Whatever.
I shrugged my shoulders before making sure neither Bella nor Edward could see me as I took off in a sprint, doing my best to keep the damage to a minimum this time.
Before long I found myself back at the cafeteria with a few minutes to spare. Not wanting to speak to any more vampires, unless they were Edythe, I didn't go back into the school through the Cafeteria but instead through the front where I went to my locker for my history stuff.
Once that was with me, I went to my history class and got there just in time for the bell to ring, signaling the end of lunch. Entering, I wandered over to my seat and just slumped into it putting my notes and books on the desk.
Slowly people started flowing into the classroom before a familiar scent hit my nose. It was slowly yet surely setting itself apart from other Vampire's scents. If the normal vampire had a sickly sweet scent then this scent currently filling my nose was still sweet but it had a fruity mix - it was nice and wasn't too hard or intense on my wolf-like sense of smell.
"Hello, Alexander," I heard a sweet voice next to me, speaking with her usual calm tone but there was some worry mixed in there, and as if to prove what I said right, she carried on, "Are you alright? Jasper and Alice told me you charged off at Lunch," her voice became filled with not just worry but slight guilt.
Guilt? It didn't make sense until I figured it out - she was the one who sent them over. It would explain why she was within earshot when she threw that apple at Jasper; she was actively listening to the conversation.
Not that I was angry. It's fine to be curious about something. I'd probably be the same if I didn't have foreknowledge about what she was.
Smiling over at her, I replied, "Yes, I'm fine now. I just got a bit...angry at something Jasper said," looking back to the front of the classroom, I nonchalantly carried on, "You do realize that if you seriously sat down and spoke to me, I'd probably have told you most of what you wanted to know, right? You didn't have to get your siblings to do the dirty work while you sat away from us and listened in," I smirked but the sincerity of what I said wasn't diminished by it one bit.
Looking at Edythe from the corner of my eye, I could see that she couldn't even bring herself to look at me. Her bronze-colored hair was covering most of her face but I could see her biting her juicy-looking lips, while her topaz eyes were showing guilt and a tiny bit of fear. Fear of what, I had no clue.
"...Is that so?" she muttered, her tone seeming absentminded or like she was distracted, but she carried on, "Now I feel like a child trying to get their way. I'm sorry, Alexander, I should have been more upfront with you but...speaking to you makes me nervous, so I had Jasper and Alice talk to you for me..." her shame was practically pooling off of her and I couldn't help but smile at how polite she was being despite doing what anyone would do in her shoes:
Be nosy.
I know for sure that I'd do the same thing, anyway. So, if I were to hold this against her, I'd be nothing but a hypocrite.
Putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, I ignored the nice feeling of her cold skin on my hot skin and just got on with what I wanted to say, "Don't worry about it, Edy," I smiled as her head lifted slightly to look at me, her eyes shining with a light of hope, "You were just curious. But for the next time you get curious, just remember; Ask me directly and we can avoid some unnecessary steps, okay? The only reason I got mad with Jasper was that he said something I don't think you'd ever say. I'm sure you heard it," smiling I let my hand drift down from Edythe's shoulder to her mid-arm, before taking it off her arm, though I didn't miss the shiver and sharp intake of breath from Edythe.
Realizing what she did, Edythe quickly rushed into answering with a slightly embarrassed look on her face, "Yes, I did! I, I most likely wouldn't refer to such extreme ways of...persuasion," she looked around the room trying to look for things to change the subject too but she seemed to realize something, "D-do you wish to, I don't know, discuss those questions over dinner? It's fine if you don't want to, it's just an idea," her voice went incredibly polite sounding, like she was asking for a massive favor from me, despite asking me if I wanted dinner with a beautiful girl aka not too much thought had to go into it.
Sadly I had to reply otherwise, "I'll have to say no for the meantime; I have dinner with an old friend planned. Plus, I'd be the only one eating, wouldn't I?" I cheekily smiled to which Edythe laughed and nodded her head.
"I guess that's true--!" it seemed to finally click in her mind as she looked at me with a defeated smile, "...You actually know what I am?" her voice seemed almost...scared?
Didn't she say she heard the conversation between Jasper and Alice? Then wouldn't she know I already know-- She thought I was bluffing.
Ah.
Smiling reassuringly, I looked at her with gentle, kind eyes, or at least I that's what I was aiming for.
"Edy, no, Edythe, I don't care what you are. Even though I've known you for, like, a few days, I still see you as a friend. I hope it's the same for you," I looked away from her before carrying on, "I know all about what you are and what your...'people' are like but I also know not to judge a book by its cover. I also like to think that I'm a pretty good judge of character, so don't go proving me wrong on that," I said with a playful wink, which seemed to cheer Edythe up, albeit if it was only a small amount.
Seeing she wasn't cheering up fully and seemed to be entering a sort of unresponsive, catatonic state, I poked her shoulder, getting her attention, before speaking, "Edy, do you know how to play instruments?"
My question seemed to catch her off guard because she looked at me dumbly before stiffly nodding her head.
"Uhh, yes, I, I do. Piano mostly, but I can also play the Violin and the Guitar," she shakily said, still unsure about something, before she looked directly at me, her gold eyes looking sad, "Why?"
Trying to ignore her sadness, for now, I gave my reason, "Well, can you teach me? I'd like to learn how to play the piano. We can talk about any questions you have while we take a break from practicing or in your case, from teaching me...so, how does that sound?"
Her eyes slowly lost their sadness, which was replaced by confusion. Her confusion slipped out her mouth in a slew of questions, "Aren't you scared? You do realize what your scent does to me, correct? And how you run the risk of me, you know, doing what my kind do? Don't most people hate..." she stopped herself and looked around before whispering, "...Vampires?"
Chuckling at her confusion, I just shrugged my shoulders with an expression that said I didn't understand what she was on about.
"You must realize both of us are from that side of the world, right? So, why would I be scared of you? Sure, you could do 'that' to me, but I like to think that there's more to you than just your baser instincts. If there wasn't, you'd have already done something, no?" I looked questioningly at her, to which she averted her gaze, knowing I was right. But still, I carried on, "I'd probably dislike you if you just let yourself drown in your desires while fulfilling them without a care for your, let's just say, 'prey'...but something tells me you aren't like that, Edy. You're kind and nice, please don't forget that," smiling at her, I wondered why she thought so lowly of herself just because she was a Vampire.
She was the same as Edward in that regard; they both thought they were monsters. Which is pretty far from the truth seeing as both of them are vegetarian Vampires who don't prey on humans anymore.
Looking over at me, Edythe gazed intensely at every inch of my face, looking for any sign of a lie. But she found none and despite feeling uneasy about my answers as she couldn't use her telepathy to test its truthfulness, she seemed to come to believe me and she smiled with an embarrassed look on her face.
"I'm, uh, sorry about that display, Alexander. I'm just not used to people like you - such open-minded people. I was expecting hatred or at the very least disgust. I never expected...acceptance or rather indifference at what I am..." she trailed off before dazedly looking at me and biting her lip, "...I'd enjoy teaching you," she wrote something down on a piece of paper before handing it to me, "Here's my address...and my phone number. Call me later today and we'll discuss the details of your lessons."
With this, our teacher came into the class calling for our attention, which I gave, not noticing Edythe's gaze which was slowly filling with more and more intense fondness.
That's it for me. I'm absolutely knackered.
I'll try and get 2 chapters out later today (It's like 2am where I'm from, so it counts as today for me) so until then, goodbye and goodnight~!