By the time the weekend rolled around, Evelyn had settled into somewhat of a routine in her new life.
She would ride to and from school with Bella, and in the evenings after she had completed her homework she would go to the café with Marie and help manage the restaurant. The stability and safety of her new life provided a sense of calm; she could tell her anxiety had begun to fade as the sun rose behind the clouds each morning in the sleepy town of Forks.
The fact that Jasper Hale had not come back to school had also helped tremendously.
After what Bella had told her about Edward's behavior and ultimate disappearance, she was not surprised when there were only three people sitting at the Cullen's usual table on her second day of school. Unlike her friend, who would gaze longingly at the table everyday when she thought no one was looking, Evelyn was quite unbothered by Jasper's absence; there was just something unnatural about the Cullen family. They were too perfect, too poised, and too closed off to blend in with the other students. Everyone else seemed to brush them off, and Evelyn felt like her and Bella were the only two people at Forks High School who could see through their carefully woven façade.
The weekend came and went, Evelyn spending the time with Marie fixing up the house and her signature yellow car, as well as working at the restaurant to earn some money. She wanted so desperately to go to Seattle or Port Angeles to go shopping; she had taken the easy access to stores and malls in Chicago for granted. Surprisingly, she also loved working there. Since she had played sports almost constantly, there was never any time for her to have a job in the first place. It was refreshing for Evelyn to feel needed and useful, even though it was in such a small way.
As Evelyn climbed into the rusty orange truck on Monday, Bella seemed like she was lost in thought.
"Bells? Everything okay?"
Bella kept her eyes on the road as she spoke. "There was an animal attack this weekend in Mason County at some warehouse. The security guard was killed, Charlie," she paused, "I mean, my dad is going down there to check it out. I'm just worried, I guess."
"An animal attack in a warehouse? What kind of animal could even do that?"
"I don't know. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks it sounds kinda weird, though."
Evelyn offered her friend an encouraging smile. "I'm sure your dad will be okay. It's gonna be the middle of the day when he's there and he'll be surrounded by their authorities too."
"You're probably right, Ev." Her eyes were still far away.
"I always am." Evelyn's grin made Bella roll her eyes, and the mysterious tension in the atmosphere evaporated just as quickly as it had come.
***
Evelyn looked forward to the solitude of her English class. She didn't mind not having a partner, since she knew no one in the class appreciated the literature the same way she did. It was a relief to have one period where she could just be herself and enjoy the classic books she had read over and over again. This week they were starting their study on Jane Eyre, one of Evelyn's favorites.
Her joyful mood was dampened when she walked into the classroom and noticed someone occupying the usually empty seat next to hers.
He was gorgeous; that, Evelyn couldn't deny. His metallic bronze hair appeared perfectly windswept, an effortlessly unkempt look that she had never seen pulled off so well before. As she approached him, she noticed the token golden eyes of the Cullen family. He, like his adopted siblings, had clear porcelain skin and unnaturally perfect features that simultaneously drew in and pushed people away. She knew who he was immediately from Bella's descriptions of him.
As she sat down, she studied his face. "So you're the infamous Edward I've heard so much about."
He chuckled, a warm sound that made Evelyn involuntarily smile, too. "And you're the infamous Evelyn that I've heard so much about." As her eyebrows furrowed, he elaborated. "Alice talks about you a lot."
Evelyn had developed somewhat of a friendship with Alice. She would talk almost nonstop in Government, and although Evelyn still thought she was strange, it was impossible not to like her. It was even easier since Jasper had not returned, and she never brought him up.
"So, Edward," she said, drawing out his name. "Where have you been this whole week?"
She watched as he froze for a split second before giving her a casual smile. "Yeah, um, I was out of town for a few days for personal reasons. You understand, right?"
She didn't believe him, and she knew that he knew it, but she decided not to press him. She turned from him to her backpack to find her notebook and copy of Jane Eyre before class would start.
Little did she know, Edward Cullen was searching through her mind in the silence. Jasper had specifically asked him to, but now that he had met her he was just as interested as his brother, if not more. He saw her life back in Chicago, the death of her parents, her aunt Marie, her loneliness, but most importantly, he saw she was suspicious of his family. Jasper's initial reaction to her probably didn't help anything, but Alice had been right about Evelyn. She was exceptionally observant, more so than the average human. They would have to be careful around her.
"Do you miss Chicago?" He asked.
Evelyn frowned as she met his eyes. She certainly hadn't told him where she was from. "How did you–"
"Your accent. I used to live there too, a very long time ago." He held his breath to see if she would buy the save from his slip up, although, it actually wasn't a lie.
"Oh. I thought I hid it pretty well," Evelyn said, suddenly self-conscious.
"Don't be embarrassed, it's not that obvious. I guess I just know how to recognize it."
She smiled thinly at the strange boy. "Well, I do miss it, but not as much as you'd think. There's nothing left for me there." She turned away from him, suddenly not in the mood to talk anymore.
The teacher passed out a worksheet and explained that the students had to read the first couple of chapters and then complete the worksheet with their partner. Evelyn sped quickly through the pages, having read this novel dozens of times before. When she finished, she looked up at Edward to find he was already waiting for her.
She slid their worksheet to him, watching as he wrote their names in cursive that was much too elegant for a teenage boy. Right away, she noticed he had spelled her last name wrong.
"It's 'en' at the end, not 'on'. Like this." She showed him her name written neatly on the inside cover of her English notebook. Evelyn Sara Masen.
Edward's eyes widened, his lips parting in momentary shock before he turned and erased his mistake. Evelyn raised her eyebrows at his reaction.
"My apologies, I've just never seen it spelled that way before." For some reason, Evelyn knew he had been bothered by seeing her name. He didn't say anything more about it while they worked, but she noticed that his right hand remained clenched in a fist for the remainder of the class period. Bella had been right; there was something not quite right about Edward Cullen.
***
Evelyn ignored the Cullen's table at lunch, painfully aware of a set of golden eyes burning holes through her baby blue sweater. She was not surprised in the least, considering he did the same thing exactly a week ago before completely ignoring her in class. She also was not surprised that he, too, was back along with Edward. She focused on Jessica and Angela gossiping about some guy on the swim team who apparently padded his speedo to keep her mind from wandering to the blond sitting across the room. Unlike Bella, who watched Edward curiously, Evelyn didn't even glance their way.
She was, however, surprised to see Jasper Hale in Alice's usual seat when she walked into her Government classroom. For some reason, the pair had switched spots, and Alice didn't even look up as Evelyn passed her and slid into the desk beside him.
She was determined to ignore him; she wouldn't even look at him. Evelyn didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had bothered her. She knew he was staring at her, but she faced perfectly forward after she had pulled her materials from her bag.
"Hello, Evelyn. My name is Jasper Hale." Failure. The sound of his voice, so silky and smooth, with a hint of a southern accent, disintegrated any sort of resolve she had. She all too willingly turned and met his topaz gaze, feeling just as enamored with him as she had when she first saw him. She hated that he made her feel this way.
"I want to apologize for the way I acted last week," he continued, his eyes never leaving hers. "I was having... a personal issue that day, and I didn't mean to take it out on you. Can you forgive me?"
She studied his face as he spoke. He seemed sincere and genuinely regretful, and his apology seemed to her to be heartfelt. "Of course. Everyone has a bad day, right?" She smiled softly at him.
"Right." He nodded, smiling down at her with brilliantly white teeth. Her breath caught in her throat for the second time because of him. She looked away as she felt the heat rising in her cheeks.
Mrs. Davis called the class to order, and Evelyn did her best to pay attention. She heard Jasper rip out a piece of paper from his notebook, and from the corner of her eye she could see him writing something on it. She jumped when she felt the edges of the paper tickle the arm she was resting on the desk, and she turned to see that Jasper had slid the paper over to her. He was not looking at her, but she could see the corner of his mouth turned up into a grin.
Are you enjoying Forks so far?
Evelyn almost blushed again; an extremely handsome boy, albeit an odd one, was writing her a note. And he was trying to initiate small talk, of all things. She pulled out her favorite pen and tried to write as neatly as she could. Jasper had extremely elegant handwriting just like Edward did, and she was slightly embarrassed at her less than ideal penmanship.
I think so. Almost everyone seems very nice.
She slid the paper back over to him, completely oblivious to what her teacher was saying as she listened to his pen scratching the paper.
Almost everyone?
At first I thought you weren't very nice.
She saw him frown as he read that, but he quickly scribbled an answer.
And now? I thought you forgave me, although I admit I was a little out of line.
I did, but I haven't made up my mind about you, yet.
I'll do my best to make sure you have a high opinion of me, then, ma'am.
"Ma'am?" She mouthed at him, struggling to hold back the laugh in her throat. He merely shrugged in response, a crooked smile gracing his lips that made Evelyn's heartbeat speed up.
They didn't speak for the rest of the class. Once the bell rang, Jasper left as quickly as he had the first day she saw him. This time, though, Evelyn was not angry or confused. As she gathered her things, she didn't notice the soft smile that had spread itself onto her pale pink lips. Jasper Hale was a puzzle, that much was clear. As she walked to gym class, she only hoped that she would one day get the chance to solve it.