Twilight OC Rewrite

Chapter Four: Invitations

The month that followed the accident was uneasy, tense, and, at first, embarrassing.

Bella was the center of attention for the rest of that week. Tyler Crowley, the boy who'd almost killed her, was impossible. Following her around, obsessed with making amends somehow. She had tried to explain that she just wanted him to forget about it, but he remained insistent. Even though I was upset with him for the accident, I was starting to agree with Bella. He followed us everywhere, even sat at our already crowded lunch table. Even Mike was less friendly than usual towards him.

No one seemed concerned about Edward, though Bella had explained over and over that he was the hero — how he had pulled her out of the way and had "nearly been crushed." I doubted that, though. Jessica, Mike, Eric, and everyone else always commented that they hadn't even seen him there until the van was pulled away.

I wondered to myself why no else had seen him standing so far away before he was suddenly saving my sister's life.

People avoided him as usual. The Cullens and the Hales sat at the same table as always, not eating, talking only among themselves. None of them, especially Christian or Edward, glanced our way.

When they sat next to us in class, as far away from us as the tables would allow, Edward seemed totally unaware of my sister's presence. I know Christian tried to hide it, but I could see the faintest movement from his eyes when he would glance my way.

From his explanation before, I could only guess that he was trying to protect us. I just didn't know from what.

I wanted very much to talk to him, and the day after the accident I tried. The last time I'd seen him, he was vaguely warning me of something I still didn't fully understand. And it seemed Bella was getting even less from Edward. But no matter how he'd done it, he had in fact saved her life, so for that he had my gratitude.

They were already seated when we got to Biology, looking straight ahead. I sat down, expecting him to turn toward me. He showed no sign that he realized I was there.

"Hello, Christian," I said pleasantly.

He turned his head a fraction toward me without meeting my gaze, nodded once, and then looked the other way.

And that was the last contact I'd had with him, though he was there, a foot away from me, every day. I watched him sometimes, unable to stop myself𑁋from a distance, though, in the cafeteria or parking lot. I watched as his golden eyes grew darker day by day. But in class I gave no more notice that he existed than he showed toward me. The anticipation was killing me. He gave me a warning, didn't specify what he was warning me against, and then just blew me off.

Bella was doing much worse, though. She couldn't get anything out of Edward. She seemed miserable, like whatever light she was holding onto had gone out. Despite her lies, Mom called a few times worried about Bella's depression. She would wake up constantly in the middle of the night, but all she would share about her dreams was that they contained Edward.

Mike, at least, seemed pleased by the obvious coolness between Bella and her lab partner. She had told me that he'd been worried that Edward's rescue might have impressed her. He grew more confident, sitting on the edge of her 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 us aware of another event looming on the horizon — she called the first Tuesday of March to ask Bella's permission to invite Mike to the girls' choice spring dance in two weeks. Bella assured her that she wasn't going so it'd be no problem. Dancing was outside her range of abilities.