Genesis [Emmett Cullen] (2)

[08- Stalking tendencies]

"Has anyone seen Edward?" I asked as we assembled by the car to leave for school.

"He's meeting us at school." Alice looked down at her feet.

"Alice?" I pressed. If she could blush, I know she would.

"He went to Bella's house," she finally said when we were in the car.

"Wait like he got invited there? Why haven't I heard about this?"

"Uhh, she doesn't exactly know he's there." I raised a brow.

There were so many things I wanted to say but I bit my tongue and kept them to myself. What he did was wrong. And who was I to say anything? Part of my role in the family was hacking into federal agencies. But sneaking into someone's window in the middle of the night and staring at them while they were sleeping was just creepy to say the least. I was really hoping Emmett understood personal privacy and never snuck to my room when I was human. That was definitely something I would be discussing with him later.

And sure enough, when Jasper parked the car, Edward emerged casually from  between the trees that bordered the pavement into the lot full of parked cars. He carefully avoided my bemused stare and headed to class.

"How's the video game going?" Emmett asked when we were in biology. Our conversation was too soft and fast for humans to pick up.

"Good. There are a couple of glitches that I need to fix but we should be able to play it soon." Emmett lit up. I knew he was looking forward to playing the video game, maybe more than I was.

"Can you please tell me what it's about?" His voice was soft and seductive, and when I turned to meet his gaze, he was pulling that expression he knew I couldn't resist.

I shook my head, "I want it to be a surprise," I insisted.

He rolled his eyes, "I was hoping you would forget."

"Now when have I ever relinquished my stubbornness?"

"True."

"Can you please answer the last question, Ms Whitlock?" Mr. Morgan asked. Crap, that's me! In a fraction of a second, I glanced down at the worksheet and recalled the correct answer.

"Gel electrophoresis," I replied. Another benefit of having a photographic memory.

"Nice save," Emmett said with a smirk.

For the rest of the lesson, I made more of an effort to look like I was paying attention to the class.

The bell finally rang, now only four more classes of torture left.

I knew Alice was in the hallway before I saw her.

"What's wrong?" I asked warily. Emmett's eyes scanning our immediate surroundings, Alice never normally caught us between periods.

"It's Edward. He will be sitting alone to talk to Bella. Don't make a big deal out of it," she stared at Emmett. He threw his hands up in surrender.

And sure enough, as Emmett and I entered the cafeteria, Edward wasn't at our normal table. Instead he was sitting alone at a table I knew was always empty. As much as I couldn't help but hold grudges, I permitted a brief smile when our eyes made contact.

The cafeteria quickly filled with chatter as more students filed in from class. We all held our breath in anticipation as Bella entered the cafeteria. Her eyes locked on our table, her face in dismay as she realised Edward wasn't with us.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you again," someone on Bella's table said. I think her name was Jessica. "I wonder why he's sitting alone today." I watched as Bella followed Jessica's gaze to Edward. He raised one hand and motioned with his index finger for her to join him.

"Maybe he needs help with his Biology homework," Bella muttered. "Um, I'd better go see what he wants." We all held our breath as she walked across the cafeteria and took an empty seat beside Edward.

After a while, I tried to tune out their conversation. It was somewhat boring and Emmett wanted to talk about sports; I was more than happy to oblige.

———

Edward was already in the car when school finished.

"Oh. The girl again?" I commented as I inhaled and caught Bella's scent in the car. Edward nodded minutely.

"Why is her scent here?" I asked.

"I was...doing good deeds."

"Huh?" Emmett replied for the both of us.

Edward chuckled. "Caring for the sick, that kind of thing."

"This is getting weird," Emmett grumbled.

"Tell me about it," Edward mumbled. Alice skipped to my side of the car and he handed her an old looking car key. I watched as she went to Bella's truck and started it up. Ahh, so Edward must have driven Bella home early. That would explain her lingering scent.

Edward drove in the opposite direction to our house, Alice loosely trailing behind us in the truck. We turned off the main road and onto a quiet street. At a seemingly ordinary house, Alice skilfully parked the car in the driveway. This must be Bella's house.

Alice climbed in the back between Jasper and I, and we sped home. The roads were empty, and so it only took a few minutes. We trooped into the house, and then went to our various pastimes.

Esme was upstairs, humming over a new set of blue prints. Alice was working on a fashion design project on the computer, her hand traced over the touch sensitive screens (Carlisle helped me tweak that system a bit, given that most touch screens didn't respond as well as they could). Emmett and I were lounging on the couch watching the beginning of the major league soccer season. Though soccer wasn't one of Emmett's favorite sports to watch- as he put it, there wasn't enough aggression- he finally agreed to watch it with me. After all, it was one of my favorite to play. And like always, we never rooted for a specific team, instead just enjoying the game as a whole.