Dusk Till Dawn

Conversation Starters

"It's uh...too bad about the snow, hm?" Rosalie asked. I could tell she was forcing herself to make small talk with me, but I appreciated the attempt nonetheless. "I saw you outside. You didn't look too happy about it snowing."

"I'm slowly starting to like it," I answered. "It's a big change from the constant sun."

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," she mused.

I only shrugged, glancing back at the empty note sheet in front of me. Rosalie tilted her head at my lack of reaction. She moved a piece of blonde hair behind her ear, glancing up at me from under her thick lashes. My heart stuttered at the action and I could've sworn I saw Rosalie smile.

"You moved here from Phoenix, right?" she asked, moving a little closer to me. "Why's that?"

    "That's...a little personal," I confessed, rubbing the back of my neck. "It's not really my favorite topic to talk about."

    Rosalie looked guilty and immediately started to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to pry. Honestly, I was just curious."

    "It's not that big a deal, Rosalie," I smiled, trying to ease her worries. "Like I said, not something I like to talk about. Or, at least at the moment. But uh, the rundown of it is that my mom and I had a really bad fight and I moved here to ease the tension."

    "So, you're not close with her?" Rosalie guessed.

    "I never really was— I was always closer with Charlie, my dad," I said. "And when she remarried, we started to drift apart even more."

    "Do you not like him?"

    I hummed. "He's okay, I guess. Plays baseball for a living but he's not that good at it. Phil's nice enough though."

    "Have I heard of him?"

    "Probably not," I chuckled. "Like I said, he doesn't play well. Strictly minor league and moves around a lot."

    Rosalie nodded but still looked a little sheepish. "I hope I'm not annoying you, Bella. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy talking to you."

    I couldn't stop the words from flowing out of my mouth, not thinking about what I was saying. "It's okay, Rosalie. I can't pass up a conversation with someone as beautiful as you."

    Rosalie released a soft, bubbly laugh that may have earned us a few looks. She covered her mouth, turning her head away from me to look out the window. I groaned softly to myself, rubbing my hand over my face.

Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen. Stupid, I thought to myself. Why the hell would you say something like that? I hope I didn't ruin whatever potential friendship I had with her.

I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable.

When the bell finally rang, Rosalie slowly got up from her chair. She gave me a shy smile. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Not only after she left, Mike almost ran up to my table. He had a look of amazement on his face.

"Am I crazy, or did I hear a laugh come from Rosalie 'Stone Cold' Hale?"

I gave him a harsh glare. "Don't call her that. And don't be jealous that the only thing you've made her do is insult you."

"Ouch," Mike laughed.

I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym, and P.E. didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today. He covered my position as well as his own, so my wool gathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve; my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up.

The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, not really caring about the mind numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down and fluffed my short, damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.

I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the figure standing by a silver Volvo, three cars down from me. Rosalie starred in my direction, the one called Alice talking to her. With a warm face, I threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota in my haste. Lucky for the Toyota, I stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car my truck would make scrap metal of. Taking a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I would swear I saw her laughing.

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Encanto has me in a chokehold and I'm not mad at it

Bye!