RISING MOON
CHAPTER FIVE
. . .
"I'm sorry, Evangeline, but your brother is an ass!" Jonathon seethed as the two walked together away from the school building. Apparently, Edward Cullen had been a no-show that day, and so Bella had spent the entire morning before classes in the cold in front of her truck, waiting for a confrontation that never happened. What an insult to his sister! How dare this rich prick treat his sister this way?!
They had been partnered up for one of their class projects and also happened to have the last class of the day together, so once the bell rang, they were off together in the direction of the Swan household.
Cass had reluctantly dragged off her partner, a dreamy blonde who would have much rather had her nose in her book, from what Jon had seen, than do any kind of socialization with their peers. Jon thinks her name is Helena or Helaena or something; he hasn't gotten acquainted with any other students here yet, but she seemed nice.
"I have three; you're gonna have to be more specific," Evangeline deadpanned to the human boy, unable to stop the slight tug at the corners of her lips into an amused smirk.
"Edward," Jon hissed, "I have him on my fucking shit list! Your brother is a royal prick deserving of a good beat down."
Evangeline chuckled, "Yeah, well, you're not wrong. Edward has a major stick up his ass." She peered at the taller boy, then, curious, "So what'd he do this time? You don't seem the type to get this bothered over nothing."
"He humiliated my sister and made her insecure," Jonathan spoke through his rage as he reigned in the fiery fury of his temper. He stuffed his hands in his hoodie pockets, wishing he could get a smoke right about now. Those always took the edge off of his temper. "And now he's a no-show. She wanted to confront him this morning, but of course, he's absent."
Evangeline nodded, agreeing with his upset demeanor over how Edward had treated Bella Swan. Obviously, she had heard about it from Edward, and she knew that Jonathon must've been pissed, too, because Edward hadn't been there for Bella to confront. Instead, he was up in Alaska taking a temporary breather with the Denali Coven. Most likely for the next two to three weeks, it honestly depended on how out of control he had felt.
"What? Not defending your brother?" Jon mused, a little surprised.
Evangeline shrugged rather daintily at that. "He's annoying and such a snob, so I don't disagree. He could probably use a good punch to the face to get a reality check every once in a while." She looked over to the boy, who continued to amuse her and simultaneously took her non-existent breath away. "You and Bella both will have to wait, though. He's gone on a little sabbatical for a couple of weeks and won't be back for quite a time."
Jonathan sighed, disappointed. Though he noted the strange way she spoke, he had yet to say anything. He kind of liked the way she talked. It was different. "Shame. I could've used the stress relief of throwing my fist into his face, especially since I can't smoke here."
Evangeline tilted her head to the side in curiosity, "As opposed to?"
"My mom is a bit more absent in the parenting department," Jon shrugged, "She was usually too preoccupied with Bella or her new husband Phil to really noticed. And Phil let me do whatever to get on my good side."
Evangeline nodded in understanding, "But your dad doesn't let you." She supplied, and he nodded. "Well, I'm glad you're here, then," Evangeline smiled at him shyly, "Smoking's such a bad habit. I'd hate for anything bad to happen to you... or, rather, your, uh, your lungs!"
The two teenagers avoided eye contact as Evangeline's words sunk into their minds. Jonathan felt his face heat up. Evangeline wanted to sink into the ground and never rise again. She cannot believe she said that! Out loud!
As they walked, the two teenagers settled into a comfortable quiet until they eventually returned to the Swan residence. Bella's orange truck was missing, which meant she had probably been dragged into something with her new friends. "Sorry for the walk in the cold," Jon winced as he opened the door for her with his key, now noticing how cold it indeed was.
Evangeline smiled, seemingly endeared by his blunder. "Don't worry about it. I don't really get affected by the cold."
Jonathan faced her with an incredulous look, then. "Seriously? It's so cold I can see my breath."
Evangeline pursed her lips, giving him a small, awkward smile.
Jonathan took it as a concession and admittance to being cold but being too polite to admit it. "Come on in," Jonathan led her in and then closed his front door. "Would you like anything to drink?"
"No thanks," Evangeline spoke softly as she looked around the home. It was small but quaint, yet the living room felt oddly lonely. Perhaps it was the darkness of the room without the lights on.
Jonathan nodded to her answer but moved himself to the kitchen, and she followed slowly, watching him prepare himself a cup of hot tea. "It's a gift from Cass," Jonathan answered an unspoken question about his choice of drink. Especially not even a day ago he had gotten into an argument with Cass about coffee vs. tea. "It's a chamomile blend," Jonathan continues to explain as he waits for the water in the pot to boil. "Sure you don't want some? I think we also have some instant hot chocolate packages, too."
"I'm good," Evangeline smiles, and once the water is boiled, Jonathan guides her up the stairs and into his room.
It's a wondrous room, Evangeline decides as she looks around. Reminds her a little bit of Edward's room with the music collection, though Jonathan prefers music other than classical. He also has a record player, which looks well-kept and regularly dusted. His book selection could rival Jasper's and Carlisle's, though, Evangeline notes.
His room is decorated with string lights along the walls where it meets the junction of the ceiling and some plants on the top of his dresser that look fairly well taken care of. However, his walls seem to be covered in shelves of vinyl records, books, and other wonderful knick-knacks. His bed is a queen size, covered with a white down-blanket and dark blue sheets. His pillows are the same dark blue. His desk is neat and clean, with few odds and ends on his desk other than his computer and lamp and a shelf of some notebooks and textbooks resting on the wall above that his desk is rested against, casting a slight shadow on his desk.
His closet is small, filled with jackets, hoodies, and other nice shirts and pants that he doesn't dare to fold. He doesn't have a collection of shoes or any posters of sports teams, which would probably aghast Emmett, but he does have pictures of family and friends.
There's a picture of Bella and Jonathan, looking around the ages of 12-13, with Jonathan smiling wide as Bella offers a shy one, albeit still bright. They're in front of a beach, looks like California. Bella is in a pretty sundress and Jonathan in a pair of swim trunks and Batman t-shirt. They're happy in that picture, and Jonathan's wide, cheeky grin is adorable.
There's another picture of Cass and Jonathan, covered in mud and grinning into the camera, most likely taken in Forks as they're posed in front of the tree that rests behind the house, which Evangeline can see through Jonathan's wide window. They look about 8 or 9 in that one, and then there's one of the pair dressed up as Boy Wonder, Robin, and Batgirl. Most likely a play on Jason Todd and Cassandra Cain, as Evangeline had heard them refers to themselves as such.
There's another picture of Jonathan with his father and what looks to be Billy Black and his kids on a fishing trip. Jonathan is grinning again, holding up a large rainbow trout while the other two kids look excited or grossed out. Meanwhile, Charlie and Billy seem to be laughing about something.
The last one seems to be out of place, a wedding picture, with Bella smiling and clapping and Jonathon scowling with his arms crossed over his chest. The couple must be his mother and her new husband.
"Do you mind if I play some music? It helps me concentrate." Jonathan asks, and when she nods, he places a classical music vinyl onto the record player. It's a wonderful song, slow and calming.
The work is actually quite quick. They work well together and can finish the project fast. It also helps that Evangeline had done a project like this before, and with her immortal experiences, she was already dully familiar with the material. But Jonathan is smart and picks up on the themes of the reading fast.
Once they're done, Jonathan changes the record to some unknown Jazz. It brings Evangeline comfort, reminding her of the music of the French Quarter in which she had been born and raised. It reminded her of her birth home.
The two just sit there, chatting for hours and getting to know each other. As she had expected, Jonathan likes the DC comics, and his love of music surpasses anyone she knows. While Edward had preferred classical music above all, Jonathan's tastes in music were vast.
He enjoyed movies, but his love of books far outweighed his enjoyment of movies. He enjoyed classics like Pride and Prejudice, Charles Dickens, Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo and other works, and Shakespeare's playwrights. Still, he liked mystery books like Agatha Christie's various murder mysteries. And yet he could also follow the works of Greek and other philosophers. Anything he could get his hands on, Jonathan would read. He enjoyed literature far more than he would ever enjoy sports or other hobbies, which had made him strangely unpopular yet popular at the same time in his other schools.
They were laughing about a story Jonathan had shared about the picture in the photo of his fishing trip with the Black family and Charlie when they heard the door open. Charlie and Bella were home.
"Hey, Jonathan, come down, we're going to the diner to dinner tonight!" Charlie called up the stairs before he stopped, seeing Jonathan and a guest come down the stairs.
"Hi, Evangeline Cullen," the girl smiled, "We were just working on a school project." She then turns to Jonathan, "I should go."
"It's late, and I don't see a car out," Charlie says in his usual friendly yet awkward manner. "Join us for dinner and I'll drive you back to the hosptial and drop you off with your father."
"Oh," Evangeline glances between Jonathan and his family, "I don't want to be a bother."
"It's no bother, the more the merrier."