If I could just discipline myself, make myself safe, then perhaps it would be right for me to stay with her.
When she walked through the gym doors, her shoulders were stiff and her lower lip was between her teeth again - a sign of anxiety. But as soon as her eyes met mine, her rigid shoulders relaxed and a wide smile spread across her face. It was an oddly peaceful expression. She walked right to my side without hesitation, only stopping when she was so close that her body heat crashed over me like a tidal wave.
"Hi," she whispered.
The happiness I felt in this moment was, again, without precedent.
"Hello," I said, and then - because with my mood suddenly so light I couldn't resist teasing her - I added, "How was gym?"
"Argh... did he have to mention that?" Bella groaned.
"Yep," Jacob chuckled. "Besides, isn't it better that you know he's watching you... not as creepy that way at least."
"Whatever," Bella shrugged.
Her smile wavered. "Fine."
She was a poor liar.
"True," Jacob and Bella both said.
"Really?" I asked, about to press the issue - I was still concerned about her head; was she in pain? - but then Mike Newton's thoughts we so loud they broke my concentration.
I hate him. I wish he would die. I hope he drives that shiny car right off a cliff. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Stick to his own kind - to the freaks.
"What does he mean, his own kind?" Jacob asked. "He doesn't know that Edward is a vampire."
"I suppose he means rich?" Bella said slowly, not sure of the answer herself. "That or he instinctively knows that Edward is different."
"What?" Bella demanded.
My eyes refocused on her face. She looked at Mike's retreating back, and then at me again.
"Newton's getting on my nerves," I admitted.
Her mouth fell open, and her smile disappeared. She must have forgotten that I'd had the power to watch through her calamitous last hour, or hoped that I hadn't utilized it.
"More likely the latter," Bella said, after all he had demonstrated that gift quite well during their last few encounters.
"You weren't listening again?"
"How's your head?"
"You're unbelievable!" she said through her teeth, and then she turned away from me and stalked furiously toward the parking lot. Her skin flushed dark red - she was embarrassed.
"You got that right," Jacob said.
"Well, no one asked him to watch me in Gym," Bella grumbled, her clumsiness was always a sore spot for her.
I kept pace with her, hoping that her anger would pass soon. She was usually quick to forgive me.
"You were the one who mentioned how I'd never seen you in Gym," I explained. "It made me curious."
She didn't answer; her eyebrows pulled together.
She came to a sudden halt in the parking lot when she realized that the way to my car was blocked by a crowd of male students.
I wonder how fast they've gone in this thing...
Look at the SMG shift paddles. I've never seen those outside of a magazine...
Nice side grills...
Sure wish I had sixty thousand dollars laying around...
"Um... Jacob do you want me to leave," Bella chuckled as Jacob was practically drooling at the description of the car.
"No, but I want you to get me into the Cullen garage sometime in the future," Jacob said.
"You do realize that's Rosalie's car..." Bella said smirking.
"Argh," Jacob groaned. "Why did you have to remind me of that?"
This was exactly why it was better for Rosalie to only use her car out of town.
I wound through the throng of lustful boys to my car; after a second of hesitation, Bella followed suit.
"Ostentatious," I muttered as she climbed in.
"What kind of car is that?" she wondered.
"An M3."
She frowned. "I don't speak Car and Driver."
"Come on, Bella!" Jacob groaned. "You should know that at least."
"Sorry," Bella shrugged, chuckling at his behavior.
"It's a BMW." I rolled my eyes and then focused on backing out without running anyone down. I had to lock eyes with a few boys that didn't seem willing to move out of my way. A half-second meeting my gaze seemed to be enough to convince them.
"Is that car really that special?" Bella rolled her eyes.
Jacob just stared at her incredulously.
"I guess it is," Bella mumbled.
"Are you still angry?" I asked her. Her frown had relaxed.
"Definitely," she answered curtly.
I sighed. Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up. Oh well. I could try to make amends, I supposed. "Will you forgive me if I apologize?"
She thought about that for a moment. "Maybe...if you mean it," she decided.
"And if you promise not to do it again."
"Don't hold your breath," Jacob chuckled.
"I know... that's never going to happen," Bella chuckled too.
I wasn't going to lie to her, and there was no way I was agreeing to that. Perhaps if I offered her a different exchange.
"How about if I mean it, and I agree to let you drive this Saturday?" I cringed internally at the thought.
"Oh... that works," Bella said.