A Heart of Ice

In The Heart of the Storm

Bella's POV:

I was confused. Want to know why? I was confused because of the conversation I'd overheard from the boy's locker-room. Tyler had called me a hoe and a whore and Edward of all people had defended me. He'd called me a lady and protected me verbally even though I'd been absolutely awful to him. He didn't know me and the only thing I'd shown him was that I was a bad person with a bad reputation. Why? Maybe he wanted something from me and wouldn't be like every other guy until I absolutely refused to give it to him. I didn't know, and I sighed as I walked to the gym door.

Suddenly, the door opened before I could touch it and I gasped, and looked up, startled, into shining emeralds. Edward had opened the door for me and was now looking at me almost like he was hypnotized as he gazed into my eyes. I felt warmth spread over my cheekbones.

I blinked. "You should really take what the shirt says seriously, Edward. I don't play with little boys." I walked into the gym before he could respond and sat on the bottom bleacher, waiting for Coach Goad to come into the gym. I crossed my legs at the ankles and leaned back on my arms. Most of the girls in the gym were huddled together, laughing and giggling together, dressed in really short shorts and tight shirts. Jessica and Lauren were the sluttiest though. Jessica's shorts were so short that half her butt was hanging out and her shirt was so short it was practically a sports bra. Lauren's was cut so low, it was amazing her chest didn't just fall out of her shirt and her shorts were just as tight and short as Jessica's. I snorted and rolled my eyes. If they were any sluttier they'd be on street corners advertising staying the night for five bucks.

Edward came in after me looking like a male model advertising a clothes line called 'Gym Class'. He was wearing a fitted gray T-shirt that hugged his chest and shoulders with basketball shorts. His hair was tousled as usual and he ran a hand through it almost absent-mindedly as he surveyed the scene before him. Every girl had their eyes on him, including Jessica and Lauren and the expression on every single face screamed 'Yum!'

Edward looked uncomfortable and looked at me, and looked like he was debating on whether or not to come sit next to me. I raised my eyebrows at him, daring him to come over. A determined look entered his eyes and he deliberately walked over, and sat down next to me.

"Hey," He greeted me.

I looked up at him from under my lashes. "What?"

His expression stayed calm and relaxed despite the quiet cool in my voice. "We are partnered for the project Bella. I figure it'd be a good idea to start now."

"Well, you figured wrong. Why would you even want to start now? We're in gym." I was trying not to stare at him, and failing miserably. I was coming to love how his eyes shined and showed so much emotion.

"Well, we could start by seeing if we're good at whatever it is we'll be doing today. Are you clumsy? Graceful? Competitive? I already see that when you come to gym you actually expect to sweat. I want to know what else I can learn about you right now."

I felt my eyes widen, then pulled myself together, taking it as a challenge. "You want to know? Well I guess you'll find out now, huh?" I stood up as Coach Goad decided to make his appearance. He had a big white mustache and a ruddy complexion. He was carrying a clipboard and had a whistle around his throat.

"Alright people, partner up. We're going one on one in basketball today. Each team will play for five minutes and when the buzzer goes off, whoever has the most points wins."

The moment he finished speaking, Lauren and Jessica immediately whipped to Edward, who was standing next to me. Edward, who was completely oblivious, looked down at me. I raised one eyebrow.