Mike, at least, was pleased by the obvious coolness between me and my lab partner. I

could see he'd been worried that Edward's daring rescue might have impressed me, and

he was relieved that it seemed to have the opposite effect. He grew more confident,

sitting on the edge of my table to talk before Biology class started, ignoring Edward as

completely as he ignored us.

The snow washed away for good after that one dangerously icy day. Mike was

disappointed he'd never gotten to stage his snowball fight, but pleased that the beach trip

would soon be possible. The rain continued heavily, though, and the weeks passed.

Jessica made me aware of another event looming on the horizon — she called the first

Tuesday of March to ask my permission to invite Mike to the girls' choice spring dance in

two weeks.

"Are you sure you don't mind… you weren't planning to ask him?" she persisted when I

told her I didn't mind in the least.

"No, Jess, I'm not going," I assured her. Dancing was glaringly outside my range of

abilities.

"It will be really fun." Her attempt to convince me was halfhearted. I suspected that

Jessica enjoyed my inexplicable popularity more than my actual company.

"You have fun with Mike," I encouraged.

The next day, I was surprised that Jessica wasn't her usual gushing self in Trig and

Spanish. She was silent as she walked by my side between classes, and I was afraid to ask

her why. If Mike had turned her down, I was the last person she would want to tell.

My fears were strengthened during lunch when Jessica sat as far from Mike as possible,

chatting animatedly with Eric. Mike was unusually quiet.

Mike was still quiet as he walked me to class, the uncomfortable look on his face a bad

sign. But he didn't broach the subjec t until I was in my seat and he was perched on my

desk. As always, I was electrically aware of Edward sitting close enough to touch, as

distant as if he were merely an invention of my imagination.

"So," Mike said, looking at the floor, "Jessica asked me to the spring dance."

"That's great." I made my voice bright and enthusiastic. "You'll have a lot of fun with

Jessica."

"Well…" He floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my response.

"I told her I had to think about it."

"Why would you do that?" I let disapproval color my tone, though I was relieved he

hadn't given her an absolute no.

His face was bright red as he looked down again. Pity shook my resolve.

"I was wondering if… well, if you might be planning to ask me."

I paused for a moment, hating the wave of guilt that swept through me. But I saw, from

the corner of my eye, Edward's head tilt reflexively in my direction.

"Mike, I think you should tell her yes," I said.

"Did you already ask someone?" Did Edward notice how Mike's eyes flickered in his

direction?

"No," I assured him. "I'm not going to the dance at all."

"Why not?" Mike demanded.

I didn't want to get into the safety hazards that dancing presented, so I quickly made

new plans.

"I'm going to Seattle that Saturday," I explained. I needed to get out of town anyway —

it was suddenly the perfect time to go.

"Can't you go some other weekend?"

"Sorry, no," I said. "So you shouldn't make Jess wait any longer — it's rude."

"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled, and turned, dejected, to walk back to his seat. I

closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to push the guilt and

sympathy out of my head. Mr. Banner began talking. I sighed and opened my eyes.

And Edward was staring at me curiously, that same, familiar edge of frustration even

more distinct now in his black eyes.

I stared back, surprised, expecting him to look quickly away. But instead he continued

to gaze with probing intensity into my eyes. There was no question of me looking away.

My hands started to shake.

"Mr. Cullen?" the teacher called, seeking the answer to a question that I hadn't heard.

"The Krebs Cycle," Edward answered, seeming reluctant as he turned to look at Mr.

Banner.

I looked down at my book as soon as his eyes released me, trying to find my place.

Cowardly as ever, I shifted my hair over my right shoulder to hide my face. I couldn't

believe the rush of emotion pulsing through me — just because he'd happened to look at

me for the first time in a half-dozen weeks. I couldn't allow him to have this level of

influence over me. It was pathetic. More than pathetic, it was unhealthy.

I tried very hard not to be aware of him for the rest of the hour, and, since that was

impossible, at least not to let him know that I was aware of him. When the bell rang at

last, I turned my back to him to gather my things, expecting him to leave immediately as

usual.

"Bella?" His voice shouldn't have been so familiar to me, as if I'd known the sound of it

all my life rather than for just a few short weeks.

I turned slowly, unwillingly. I didn't want to feel what I knew I would feel when I

looked at his too-perfect face. My expression was wary when I finally turned to him; his

expression was unreadable. He didn't say anything.

"What? Are you speaking to me again?" I finally asked, an unintentional note of

petulance in my voice.

His lips twitched, fighting a smile. "No, not really," he admitted.

I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly through my nose, aware that I was gritting my

teeth. He waited.

"Then what do you want, Edward?" I asked, keeping my eyes closed; it was easier to

talk to him coherently that way.

"I'm sorry." He sounded sincere. "I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way,

really."

I opened my eyes. His face was very serious.

"I don't know what you mean," I said, my voice guarded.

"It's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."

----------------------- Page 37-----------------------

My eyes narrowed. I'd heard that before.

"It's too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," I hissed through my teeth. "You could

have saved yourself all this regret."

"Regret?” The word, and my tone, obviously caught him off guard. "Regret for what?"

"For not just letting that stupid van squish me."

He was astonished. He stared at me in disbelief.

When he finally spoke, he almost sounded mad. "You think I regret saving your life?"

"I know you do," I snapped.

"You don't know anything." He was definitely mad.

I turned my head sharply away from him, clenching my jaw against all the wild

accusations I wanted to hurl at him. I gathered my books together, then stood and walked

to the door. I meant to sweep dramatically out of the room, but of course I caught the toe

of my boot on the door jamb and dropped my books. I stood there for a moment, thinking

about leaving them. Then I sighed and bent to pick them up. He was there; he'd already

stacked them into a pile. He handed them to me, his face hard.

"Thank you," I said icily.

His eyes narrowed.

"You're welcome," he retorted.

I straightened up swiftly, turned away from him again, and stalked off to Gym without

looking back.

Gym was brutal. We'd moved on to basketball. My team never passed me the ball, so

that was good, but I fell down a lot. Sometimes I took people with me. Today I was worse

than usual because my head was so filled with Edward. I tried to concentrate on my feet,

but he kept creeping back into my thoughts just when I really needed my balance.

It was a relief, as always, to leave. I almost ran to the truck; there were just so many

people I wanted to avoid. The truck had suffered only minimal damage in the accident. I'd

had to replace the taillights, and if I'd had a real paint job, I would have touched that up.

Tyler 's parents had to sell their van for parts.

I almost had a stroke when I rounded the corner and saw a tall, dark figure leaning

against the side of my truck. Then I realized it was just Eric. I started walking again.

"Hey, Eric," I called.

"Hi, Bella."

"What's up?" I said as I was unlocking the door. I wasn't paying attention to the

uncomfortable edge in his voice, so his next words took me by surprise.

"Uh, I was just wondering… if you would go to the spring dance with me? " His voice

broke on the last word.

"I thought it was girls' choice," I said, too startled to be diplomatic.

"Well, yeah," he admitted, shamefaced.

I recovered my composure and tried to make my smile warm. "Thank you for asking

me, but I'm going to be in Seattle that day."

"Oh," he said. "Well, maybe next time."

"Sure," I agreed, and then bit my lip. I wouldn't want him to take that too literally.

He slouched off, back toward the school. I heard a low chuckle.

Edward was walking past the front of my truck, looking straight forward, his lips

pressed together. I yanked the door open and jumped inside, slamming it loudly behind

me. I revved the engine deafeningly and reversed out into the aisle. Edward was in his car

already, two spaces down, sliding out smoothly in front of me, cutting me off. He stopped

there — to wait for his family; I could see the four of them walking this way, but still by

the cafeteria. I considered taking out the rear of his shiny Volvo, but there were too many

witnesses. I looked in my rearview mirror. A line was beginning to form. Directly behind

me, Tyler Crowley was in his recently acquired used Sentra, waving. I was too

aggravated to acknowledge him.

While I was sitting there, looking everywhere but at the car in front of me, I heard a

knock on my passenger side window. I looked over; it was Tyler. I glanced back in my

rearview mirror, confused. His car was still running, the door left open. I leaned across

the cab to crank the window down. It was stiff. I got it halfway down, then gave up.

"I'm sorry, Tyler, I'm stuck behind Cullen." I was annoyed — obviously the holdup

wasn't my fault.

"Oh, I know — I just wanted to ask you something while we're trapped here." He

grinned.

This could not be happening.

"Will you ask me to the spring dance?" he continued.

"I'm not going to be in town, Tyler." My voice sounded a little sharp. I had to remember

it wasn't his fault that Mike and Eric had already used up my quota of patience for the

day.

"Yeah, Mike said that," he admitted.

"Then why —"

He shrugged. "I was hoping you were just letting him down easy."

Okay, it was completely his fault.

"Sorry, Tyler," I said, working to hide my irritation. "I really am going out of town."

"That's cool. We still have prom."

And before I could respond, he was walking back to his car. I could feel the shock on

my face. I looked forward to see Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper all sliding into the

Volvo. In his rearview mirror, Edward's eyes were on me. He was unquestionably shaking

with laughter, as if he'd heard every word Tyler had said. My foot itched toward the gas

pedal… one little bump wouldn't hurt any of them, just that glossy silver paint job. I

revved the engine.

But they were all in, and Edward was speeding away. I drove home slowly, carefully,

muttering to myself the whole way.

When I got home, I decided to make chicken enchiladas for dinner. It was a long

process, and it would keep me busy. While I was simmering the onions and chilies, the

phone rang. I was almost afraid to answer it, but it might be Charlie or my mom.

It was Jessica, and she was jubilant; Mike had caught her after school to accept her

invitation. I celebrated with her briefly while I stirred. She had to go, she wanted to call

Angela and Lauren to tell them. I suggested — with casual innocence — that maybe

Angela, the shy girl who had Biology with me, could ask Eric. And Lauren, a standoffish

girl who had always ignored me at the lunch table, could ask Tyler; I'd heard he was still

available. Jess thought that was a great idea. Now that she was sure of Mike, she actually

sounded sincere when she said she wished I would go to the dance. I gave her my Seattle

excuse.

After I hung up, I tried to concentrate on dinner — dicing the chicken especially; I

didn't want to take another trip to the emergency room. But my head was spinning, trying

to analyze every word Edward had spoken today. What did he mean, it was better if we

weren't friends?