Better Things

Chapter 6

A/N:  You all are awesome.  Thanks so much for your reviews!  Things are starting to move along, so I'll let you get to it.  Big thanks to Heather for being such an awesome beta!

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"Holy crap, Edward! You look awful!" I exclaimed as he took his seat next to me in class.

He shot me a dirty look and muttered thanks, but he really did look awful. His skin was paler than normal, and he had dark circles under his eyes, almost giving him a vampirish look.

"Were you up all night studying for the test?" I asked him, and he shook his head.

"I wish. I'm gonna end up failing this test. I didn't get much studying done at all," he told me quietly.

"Why not?"

He shook his head and told me he'd tell me later. I nodded and accepted the test that was being handed to me by Dr. Banner. Unlike Edward, I'd studied and felt confident that I'd do well on the test. I was one of the first people finished, and I handed in my test before leaving. There was a small sitting area outside the classroom, so I took a seat and cracked open a book to wait for Edward.

As I was sitting there, I saw Lauren walking down the hall with one of her friends, Bree or something. I prayed she wouldn't see me because I had no doubt she'd have something unpleasant to say. Ducking my head so that my hair fell in front of my face, I pulled my book closer to me and sighed with relief when the two of them passed by.

"Can you believe she said that to me?" I heard Lauren ask her friend. "I mean, really. I'm his girlfriend. She can't talk to me like that."

Her friend made some noise of agreement, and I lost the rest of the conversation as they turned the corner. Looked like someone wasn't happy with the way things had gone over the weekend.

A few minutes after Lauren went by, Edward walked out of the classroom, and he looked really upset. He gave me a small smile, but it was forced, and I couldn't help but reach out and give his arm a gentle squeeze.

"That bad, huh?'

He nodded, a hand going to his hair. "I think so."

"I think you'll be okay. One test isn't going to kill you, and you have an 'A' in the class right now."

"I guess," he said, now shoving his hands into his pocket.

"Want to tell me what's going on with you? You've been different for the past week," I commented as we began walking toward the stairwell.

"Shit with Lauren. She's been talking marriage and crap, and I'm so not ready for that. Honestly, after the way she acted at my house and the tension she caused while she was there, I'm not sure what I feel for her anymore. I mean, whatever I've felt, it was never true love, but …" he trailed off in a quiet voice with a guilty look on his face.

"You're young, and I think it's completely understandable that you aren't ready to get married. I know I sure as hell wasn't when I was asked," I told him before I realized I'd said too much. I let out a heavy sigh, and I hoped like hell he'd ignore what I'd said, but he didn't.

"What?" he asked, staring at me with a confused expression.

"My ex asked me, but I wasn't ready, so I told him no."

I didn't feel the need to elaborate on what had happened after I'd said no. Edward didn't need to know the details.

"Is that why you broke up?" he wanted to know.

"It led to why we broke up," I replied vaguely and began to walk a little faster.

"I think Lauren and I are headed that way. I'm sure Alice told you about Lauren's attitude while we were at home?"