First Blood | Ed. Cullen & B. Swan

Chapter 2

Simon wasn't sure what to think of what he was doing.

A few weeks ago, he had waited days for Bella to gain the courage to come to the Cullens' residence. When she had shown up, he had found himself ecstatic. They had stayed in the living room, making small talk with one another as they watched whatever was playing on the TV. When it had gotten late, he went with her to make sure she returned home safely. He had walked her to her door and had wished her goodnight.

He had to run home afterward, but he found that he didn't mind. He was beginning to see what Edward had liked about her. She had a way of making him feel human. It was a trait he was sure she wasn't aware she had.

They had emailed back and forth for two weeks before Bella trusted him enough to give him her phone number. After that, he had taken up the task of picking her up in the morning and taking her to and from school. He couldn't bring himself to attend high school, so she was stuck with just her friends throughout the day.

She often asked him to pick her up early in the mornings so they had time to talk before she had to head inside. He didn't mind it, of course, but he often found himself asking if what he was doing was good for her.

He knew she still loved Edward. That much was obvious to him, but he was beginning to learn that he didn't care. Edward had left her. Hurt, deep in the woods, freezing cold, and alone. He didn't know what Edward had said to her, but he imagined it wasn't anything good, considering how she was still taking it.

Charlie seemed to be warming up to him. Simon had never expected the man to, and he found himself oddly touched by the thought. People normally preferred someone else's presence, so the fact that Bella and her dad were taking a liking to him was rather surprising to him.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Bella opened the door and sat in the passenger seat. She brushed a strand of hair out of her face as she turned to look at him.

"Um, do you want to hang out tonight? Angela mentioned us all hanging out and we decided to do it at my place, so I was wondering if you wanted to stay and join us?" She paused for a second before quickly continuing. "It'll only be her, her boyfriend Ben, Jessica, and Mike coming. We're just going to watch a few movies together and just kind of catch up for a little while since I've been a little distant since everything happened. You don't...you don't have to come...if you don't want to." She spoke as she subconsciously began to wring her hands together.

Simon gently grabbed her hand with his own, stopping her from fidgeting with it. He flashed her a faint grin. "I'd love to come hang out with you and meet your friends, Bella."

She seemed to let out a breath of relief, relaxing into her seat as Simon pulled out of the student lot. She turned her hand over, subconsciously lacing her fingers through Simon's. He had to bite down the smile that threatened to take over his expression.

He glanced back over at her as he drove her home, his eyes briefly scanning over her face. "You thought I was going to say no, didn't you?" He asked as he gently squeezed her hand, looking back at the road.

"No...well, maybe a little bit," She paused before murmuring with a small shrug, "I don't know. Ed—he never really seemed that interested in being around them."

Simon let out a faint chuckle, rolling his eyes as he pulled up to a stop in her driveway. "Edward's not really a people-person. And thankfully, I'm not him. So, why don't we head inside and get ready for your friends to get here?"

He got out before she could respond. He jogged around the front of the car before opening her door for her. She seemed a little dazed, but he thought nothing of it when she shot him a faint smile. He took her bag as she got out, slinging it over his shoulder. They headed inside and he briefly climbed up to her room. He put down her bag by her desk before heading back downstairs.

"Anything I can do to help?" He asked as he found her in the living room, making the room a little neater.

She nodded her head and spoke without looking up. "Uh, yeah. Can you head into the kitchen and grab some snacks? I was going to order pizza, but I figured we could do that in an hour or so. Let everybody get settled first."

Simon let out a small noise in agreement before making his way into the kitchen. He looked through the snacks sitting on the counter, chewing on his lip in thought. He heard a knock on the front door and Bella moved to answer it. He heard a rush of voices as she let them inside, leading them into the living room to get comfortable. He grabbed one of the bags, opened it, and took a whiff of the food inside.

"Hey, Izzy!" He called out, letting out a small huff as he set the bag back down, "Can you come in here for a second?"

He ignored as all sounds of chatter from the living room died out before shuffling was heard. Bella entered the kitchen a few seconds later, and the chatter resumed.

"What's up?" She asked as she leaned against the door frame, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

He turned to face her, casting a brief glance back at all of the food. "Um, in case it was forgotten, because I kind of did, I'm kind of a, well–" He lowered his voice to a whisper, "A vampire. I don't think I'm the best one to be picking what you and your friends eat. It all smells the same to me. I don't know what's good and what's bad."

Bella seemed to straighten up as she took in his words. "Oh," She said, "Well, get out some bowls then, I can pick the snacks."

Simon nodded as he turned back to the cupboards, starting to look through them for some bowls.

"They're in the one above me," Bella spoke up while sorting through the chips, not looking up.

Simon closed the cupboards he was looking in as he moved back over to where she was. He reached up over her, opening the cabinet doors. He grabbed a few of the bowls before closing the cupboard and helping her put the snacks in the different bowls. If he had been looking, he would have noticed the blush that warmed Bella's face.

He picked up as many bowls as he could and headed to the living room as Bella followed with the remainder of them. He set them down on the table before helping Bella do the same with hers. He sat down next to her on the floor, where everyone sat due to there not being enough furniture for all of them to comfortably share.

Bella cleared her throat faintly, only to blush as everyone's attention snapped to her.

"Hey, um—er, everyone, this is Simon. Simon, this is Jessica, Mike, Angela, and Ben. Eric, Lauren, and Tyler didn't want to come. Simon's new to town, so we've been hanging out."

Simon faintly waved as Bella introduced her friends, sending them all a small smile.

"Huh, how come we haven't met you, yet? I don't think I've seen you around school," Jessica asked as she leaned into Mike's side.

Simon shrugged as he glanced at Bella, thinking of a lie as quickly as he could. "I've been here for a few weeks, but my aunt decided it would be best if I finished the rest of my schooling online. I'm nineteen, but all of my moving led to me missing a whole year. Crowds can make me a bit overwhelmed, so I try my best to avoid them."

Bella caught his thought process and joined in, trying her best to make his lie more believable. "His aunt wanted him to come and introduce himself to Charlie since he's the Chief here. Simon and I have been hanging out off and on since then."

Her friends seemed to believe them, and soon enough, the conversation was switched to what they were going to do for the night. They hung out for hours, finishing their homework together as they watched several movies. Bella ended up ordering pizza for them, and after a while, they ended up sharing stories with each other. Simon found him enjoying the company of Bella's friends, especially when Jessica and Angela told them all about times they had embarrassed themselves, including Bella.

The atmosphere was warm and filled with laughter. Simon began to accept that he might be enjoying this risk more than he ever thought he would.