Aiyanna
Since the classroom was originally small, the number of seats available was equivalent to the number of students per class. Edward and I, being the last ones to walk in the classroom saw that there were only two seats non occupied. My seat, and what used to be Mike's seat next to Ashley Durling.
I heard Edward snort, and contain his laugh which made me turn towards him. I realized that my reaction was probably a little too much. Why was I so displeased to see Mike seat next to an empty seat that I had secured for the past weeks ? Mike was supposed to be my friend and yet, I wished he'd be sitting somewhere else. Edward made a head sign towards Mike, as if to give me the authorization to sit next to him but that wasn't what my eyes were trying to tell him. I wanted him to save me. Edward, only smiled and walked towards Ashley to sit beside her.
In hopes that the class didn't end with me wanting to file a complaint against Mike, I walked up to him and took a sit.
"Hey Aiyanna. Happy Birthday." he told me, as I sat down.
I immediately hushed him, to avoid being heard by the others. "Thanks."
The last thing I wanted was to hear "Cumpleaños feliz" being sung by Ms Garcia and my comrads. I've heard enough of this song this morning.
"You don't mind me sitting here, right ?" he checked with me.
"Well, you were already seated, so no." I answered as I shrugged my shoulders.
He seemed to think at my answer as he nodded, not really convinced. "Are you sure you're not still mad about your hand ?"
"I wasn't angry in the first place. It's okay now. It's not going to leave any permanent mark, don't worry." I reassured him for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.
He nodded again, but I was sure he was going to talk about it again by the end of the day. Hopefully, he'll forget about it this weekend. The class hadn't started yet, as Ms Garcia was solving an issue with a student.
"So, what do you plan on doing today ?" Mike asked me, curious.
" I'm hanging out at Port Angeles after school, and I'll eat with my parents." I told him.
Mike frowned his dark blond eyebrows. "You're going to Port Angeles alone ?"
"Of course not, I haven't been there yet to go alone."
"Let me guess. You're going with Cullen, right ?"
The sound of his voice made me understand that he was displeased with this idea. This was the perfect moment to make everything clear to avoid any misunderstandings.
Before I could say anything, Mike continued. "I don't like the guy."
"What does that have to do with me hanging out with him ?" I asked. I felt like I was talking to a dad, who didn't want their daughter to date a certain guy. I doubted my dad would ever react like this.
"He doesn't seem to have good intentions towards you."
"And what makes you think that way ?"
"The way he looks at you... I always feel like he could hurt you any second." Mike answered which made me roll my eyes to the point it hurt.
"Thank you for your concern, but I'll take care of myself. Just because you find him intimidating doesn't mean that I have to. Come at me again, when you have solid reasons to make me think differently. What I do is my business and not anyone else's." I said in one breath, as I was annoyed at how ridiculous Mike's excuse was.
Ms Garcia finally began her class. I couldn't thank her enough for that.
Mike fell silent after hearing me rant. I ignored him for the rest of the class, and was thankful that he didn't try to talk about Edward again. I either kept my eyes in front of me, or at the window.
Why did he make it sound like Edward was a serial killer ? Edward, himself, tried to convince me that he was a bad guy. Did he do or say something when I hadn't moved in yet, that made him and his family suspicious to everyone else ? Did Mike know something about the Cullens and was trying to warn me ?
I closed my eyes tightly while pinching the bridge of my nose, to stop overthinking about it. If there was something that needed to be said, Edward would tell me sooner or later, right ? There was no need for me to get worked up about it.
Surprisingly, the class felt as if there would be no end to it. I kept on checking my watch every now and then as the desire to get out of the class grew in me.
As soon as the bell rang, I was out so fast, that I thought I was a Cullen for a second, since they were always the first ones outside. It didn't take long for me to feel Edward's presence beside me.
"You're upset." Edward stated.
"Not at all."
"Then what is that frown for ? And why..." he stopped in front of me and brought his hand to my face. He put his thumb under my bottom lip and pushed it down. "...do you bite your lip that hard ?"
"Because I can." I answered while shrugging.
I tried walking past him, but Edward grabbed my arm. "How about sitting with me at lunch ?"
"You really like to play with fire, do you ?" I asked him. People were still weirded out by the fact that we were just exchanging words. Now eating lunch with him ? It'd probably be on the newspapers.
This time, Edward was the one to shrug. "Okay." I finally accepted.
He let go of my arm and walked back. "See you at lunch, then." Edward said loudly enough for people around to hear.
He smirked at me when he saw my eyes turn wider. Once again, I refused to meet people's eyes that looked at the both of us when they heard him, and glared at Edward. I pointed at him and then did a "dead" sign before I walked towards my next class.
During the next classes before lunch, I sat with Jessica. Even she got used to the idea of me being friends with Edward, after literally interrogating me yesterday. Today, she was quieter. Maybe because I told her everything already. Or maybe because the class was harder than expected. We were sitting together at Calculus, when we were given exercices to do.
"What time is it ? I'm suffocating." Jessica asked me. As I brought my wrist closer to my eyes, she covered it. "Don't. If you tell me there's 30 minutes left, I'm going to have an attack."
"What do you want then ?"
As if the universe wanted to answer my question, the bell suddenly rang. I wouldn't be joking if I said that she looked like she was on the verge of crying right now. Calculus was our mutual hell. She quickly packed her stuff to escape, while I personally wanted to see if I was fast enough to come out of the classroom before Edward got there. As Jessica walked in front of me, I saw her get startled when she stopped in her tracks. At this point, it was useless for me to ask her what was going on. He came to me before I went to him. I followed her out, and found Edward leaning against the wall near the door of our classroom.
"How did you come here so fast ? Your class was in this building ?" I asked Edward.
"Yes." he answered before he looked down at Jessica. "Hello, Jessica. Did I scare you ?"
"Uh...yeah." Jess shyly answered before she cleared her throat. "I suppose you're here for Aiyanna ?" she asked him.
"Yes, indeed."
Her eyes went from Edward, to me, then to Edward and again to me, and she tried to contain a smile. "Enjoy your little cafeteria date, then."she told us, although her eyes stayed on me.
I glared at her. "It's not..."
"It is." she hissed.
She walked away, or should I say fled, leaving me with Edward.
"Shall we ?" he asked me, which I answered with a nod.
"You know sometimes, you sound like you come from the previous century." I told him as we walked next to each other, to the cafeteria. "Like you're really elegant in the way you speak, and the way you act. You don't look like your age."
I looked up at him, afraid to have offended him by expressing my thoughts out loud, but judging by the small smile that appeared on his face, I guessed I didn't. I actually liked the sound of his voice and how he talked. He sounded more mature, which I liked.
"How would you want me to talk ? Would you want me to sound like your boyfriend, Mike ?"
I hit his arm, and Edward stopped in his tracks.
"Are you okay ?" he asked me.
My eyes stared at the hand that hit Edward, and a frown appeared on my face. Not because of the pain, but because of confusion. I looked up at his arm, and then at his face to see that his smile disappeared to let a frown crease the space between his eyebrows. He looked concerned, and didn't seem to want to joke around anymore.
"What are you made of ? You look like you don't work out, but wow. Your arm's harder than I expected." I commented.
"You violated our second rule." Edward reminded me, sternly. "Do not hit or punch me."
"Sorry." I pouted. "But in exchange, don't you ever repeat that Mike or anyone else is my boyfriend. It gives me chills."
Edward nodded, and walked again. He still looked tensed, as if I really hurt him when I hit his arm. Or was it because I violated one of our rules ?
We reached the cafeteria and didn't even fill our tray with food which made me wonder why we even waited in line for this. I wasn't really hungry, and since I knew that I was probably going to eat until I would have to unbotton my pants tonight, I only took a water bottle and an apple, while Edward chose a slice of pizza that didn't look that appetizing to me. I let him guide me to a table that was empty, and was quite secluded from the other students, although I could still feel their eyes on us. Instead of sitting in front of each other, I found the seat beside him more tempting.
I never thought I'd overthink about a chair until now. In other situations, I'd sit in front of the person I'd be eating with. Even when I ate with Jess and Angela, there was a certain distance between us, that wasn't awkward at all. And yet, when it came to Edward, call me clingy, but I really liked feeling his presence near me. It felt like, I was being pulled closer to him, whether I liked it or not.
"Are you upset ?" I asked him to break down the silence that fell upon us. He shook his head. "You look like it though."
"You're not eating much today." he commented as he stared at my apple and my water bottle.
"And you're eating today."
It was probably the first time I saw him eat. Sometimes, he would have a tray with not much food on it, and I never saw him touch it. And sometimes, he just had nothing.
"I don't fancy what we are given here." Edward justified himself.
"You guys must have pointy tastes." I added more to myself than for him, as I had noticed that Edward wasn't the only one who didn't eat at lunch.
I also didn't really like the food we were given, but I knew I had to eat something if I didn't want to make the whole class hear my stomach grumble numerous times. If I ever skipped breakfast, my stomach would start grumbling by the end of the first period.
"Well for my case, I'm making room for dinner." I told him as I patted my belly.
"You never talked about your parents."
"You never asked." I said while shrugging.
"How are they like, compared to you ?" Edward finally asked me.
I looked at the ceiling, while I thought. "I would say I'm more like my dad, but they are times where I do things that my mom definitely would've done." I said before I looked down at my bottle of water. "My dad is extrovert. He's the light of our household. I sometimes think that if I had a brother that was just like him, my mom would've ended up at an hospital. She wouldn't have been able to handle the three of us."
I smiled at that thought. I really wanted to have a little brother and begged my parents to have one as if it was on command, but it was only later that I understood why they prefered having only one child. With work, it was hard enough to give time to their only child. Had they tried having another one, it would've probably been harder to be there for both. But, the more I grew up and the more I was getting used and happy with the way we were. The fact that I was an only child, might be the reason why it was easier for me to make friends despite my shyness. It was kind of a way for me to compensate.
"He's generous, funny, very family-driven and an amazing cook by the way. Sometimes he feels more like an old brother....like a very old brother, than a dad. I think it's his way to release the pressure he might have at work because he works as a surgeon. But at the same time, he's also someone you know you can count on. He knows about his responsibilities as a father, and fulfills them." I continued. "Contrarily to my dad, my mom's an introvert. She's the woman I admire the most on earth, and yet she's the one I fought with the most. But I like to believe that it's what made us closer."
Indeed, our personalities were so different that it was hard to be understood. Sometimes, I didn't understand her and sometimes it was the contrary. But as we grew older, and as I became a little more like her, our fights ceased to the point where I didn't even remember when was the last time we fought.
"If my dad's more like water, she's fire. She's hot-tempered. Actually, most of her side of the family is. She's really protective of what and who she cares about, and I think that's the reason why she's that courageous. She's not really affectionate. Like, she's not the type to say I love you that often, she won't be the one who hugs you out of nowhere, but she takes care of us discreetly. I know that no matter what happens, she'll always have my back."
I was staring at the void as I talked about them. Thinking about them, and having to describe them made me think that I was lucky to have both of them by my side. I was satisfied with the person I grew up to be, and the way I was raised.
"You seem to really love them." I heard Edward voice, almost whisper to me.
My eyes focused on his eyes, that I noticed were darker, almost black. " I'd do anything to protect them." I answered, firmly.
If there was something I was a 100% sure about, it was this statement.
"Where are your parents from ?" Edward asked me.
"My dad is Haitian from New Orleans and my mom is a Quileute."