Dusk

Chapter III

"Are you coming to lunch?" Bella asked from her place beside Elias.

Elias offered her a small apologetic smile, shaking his head. He had been avoiding the cafeteria with prejudice for the past week, hanging out by himself in the library. Bella looked disappointed but nodded in understanding, before she headed to lunch with Jessica and Mike joining her soon after.

Elias knew that he couldn't avoid it forever. So he had been training himself somewhat. On the second day of his schooling career at Forks, he'd followed the scent and snatched a black scarf from the change room. It made him feel like a pervert, but it was the only thing he could think of, which was to desensitize himself to the scent that he now knew belonged to probably the most deadliest of Cullen's, Jasper Hale. It was surprising that he even got away with it. Elias was just waiting for the Cullen's to come storming up to him before removing him from the picture.

Fortunately, shoving his face into the scarf was providing some benefit and he was getting better at control. Currently, it was safe to say that he wasn't going to reveal his secret the moment he got a whiff of the other male in passing. The scent still made him happy and feel all the good stuff, but that just seemed like something that was unchangeable.

But this time Elias did honestly have something to do and wasn't just avoiding the cafeteria. Walking in the opposite direction, Elias headed to Mrs Sulvian's class. She taught chemistry, a subject he was failing spectacularly at considering Mrs Sulvian's class was far ahead of his old school. If he had known, he would have never picked the subject, but it was too late for Elias to change to a different course since every other class was full. After speaking with Mrs Sulvian and explaining his situation, she kindly promised to get him a tutor, one of her best students from the year above.

"Mrs Sulvian?" Elias softly called after knocking on the door. He pushed it open, peering inside to see the older lady sitting down and marking papers at the front desk, a sandwich laying discarded by her elbow. The woman blinked and glanced in his direction, smiling warmly at him.

"Elias dear" she greeted, waving him over, the various colourful bangles clacking together on her wrists. "Right on time. Your tutor will be joining us shortly. He's agreed to tutor you at the school library every Tuesday and Thursday for three weeks at lunchtime. Of course, it will be only for an hour, hence you'd still need to put in the hard yards yourself".

"Do I need to pay him?" Elias questioned, thinking of his own, small personal funds and the amount that would need to be taken out.

"Oh no dear. Although he is my best student, he tends to skip my classes quite frequently and it's become a mark on his record. After speaking with his father, this was the most appropriate action we decided to take. He makes up for skipping and the school wipes his record clean. Hopefully he'd stop after this".

Elias was even more daunted. He didn't know if whoever this was would even teach him properly. This could even end up being a waste of time.

Just then the door opened and the worst thing, Elias thought, happened. Jasper Hale walked into the room. Dressed in dark jeans, a thin black shirt and a gray coat with cowboy boots, the taller male was a vision in itself. He was even more intimidating up close than from a distance. And something, an instinct maybe, zapped up Elias' spine and made him straighten and pay attention.

Of course, that's when the smell hit him. Stronger now that they were closer. Gritting his teeth, Elias managed to stop his change, but the scent still made him feel all warm and fuzzy and like he could start laughing giddily. 

"Jasper" Mrs Sulvian said, oblivious to the shorter males struggle as she beamed at the other student. "This is Elias, he's in the year below. I'm sure your father has talked to you about our agreement?" Without waiting for a response, the older woman took out a textbook from her drawer and handed it to Elias. "I've marked the sections that you need to go through with Elias. You might as well start today".