Twilight OC Rewrite VERSION TWO

Chapter Two: Open Book

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut, as normal. Bella's unenthusiastic deposition was coming off her in waves.

We walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. Bella kept a binder in her hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. I stayed half-crouched, ready to gather snow myself to hurl back at someone. Jessica thought it was hilarious, but something in Bella's expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at my sister herself.

Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I watched Bella glance at the table in the back corner out of habit and freeze where she stood. There were six people at the table. I pulled on her arm.

"Hello? Bella? What do you want?" Jessica chimed in as she noticed.

Bella looked down and I saw her ears turn red. She had no reason to feel self-conscious, I wanted to tell her. She hadn't done anything wrong. If anything, I should be the one embarrassed. Will Edward try to confront me about what happened last week?

"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.

"Nothing," I answered for her.

"I'll just get a soda today," Bella said.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica.

"Actually I feel a little sick," Bella said, her eyes still on the floor.

I waited for everyone to get their food and followed them to a table, my hand still on my twin's elbow.

She sipped her soda slowly. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how she was feeling.

I thought it was ridiculous. She had no reason to feel this way. I decided to turn around and give my best glare to the boy causing these feelings in her. I was by no means very brave, but I couldn't just do nothing. None of them were looking this way.

They were laughing. Three of the four boys all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Weirdly enough, the cousin — Christian Hale, who had come in with them, had no snow on him at all.

Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else — only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us. It was hard to remember that I'm supposed to be glaring, not gawking.

"Alex... what are you doing?" I heard Bella hiss beside me, trying to whisper so no one else heard her.

At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to mine.

I dropped my head. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious, unsatisfied in some way.

"I didn't want you to feel...out of place, because of him." I whispered back to my older sister.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you!" Jessica giggled to Bella just as I'd finished my sentence.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I could hear the accusation in her voice, she wasn't happy that I'd been glaring.

"No," she replied, sounding confused. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me," Bella confided to her.

"The Cullens don't like anybody... well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."