Major's Queen {J. Hale} SLOW UPDATES

Chapter IV

The rest of Talia's classes blurred by in a rush of bells, hallways, and unfamiliar faces, each period passing faster than the last. By the time the final bell rang, the gray light outside had deepened, and Talia made her way into the front office to turn in her signed slip. Bella followed just behind her, quiet but close enough that Talia could feel the weight of her sister's curiosity pressing at her back.

The moment Talia saw Edward standing at the counter, she knew exactly what he was doing. His posture was too tense, his voice too carefully controlled as he tried to switch out of Biology. Of course he was. The redhead rolled her eyes before she could stop herself, irritation flickering across her face like a match struck in the dark.

"I'll be with you in just a moment, dears." The lady behind the desk said to the girls, making Edward look at them- well, glare- but it was mostly aimed at Bella. "Fine, I'll just have to endure it." Then he left the office, moving with the kind of restrained speed that made Talia want to groan. Subtlety, apparently, was not one of Edward Cullen's stronger survival skills.

Talia handed her slip to the receptionist with a polite smile, then stepped back into the hallway. Edward was still ahead of her, cutting through the corridor like a storm cloud in human shape. She headed toward her locker and muttered under her breath, knowing perfectly well he would hear every word. "See, now that is exactly what I'm talking about, dumbass; you are being far too conspicuous."

Edward did not slow. He did not even look back. He simply kept walking, leaving Talia to roll her eyes at his retreating figure as she stopped at her locker. The metal door opened with a dull clang, and she gathered what she needed for the evening, already shifting her thoughts toward dinner with Charlie and Bella at the diner.

A smile tugged at her lips when she saw Jasper waiting there, just as he had promised. He stood beside her locker with quiet patience, somehow still and steady amid the rush of students flooding toward the exits. The sight eased the sharp edge of her irritation more than she expected.

Jasper noticed the look on her face before her smile fully settled into place, his gaze sharpening with the kind of attention that saw too much. "What happened? It's written all over your face that something is bothering you."

Talia sighed, giving him a look that carried equal parts frustration and restraint. There was so much she could say, so much she could not say, and all of it pressed against the back of her teeth. "this is not going to make a lot of sense right now but I will explain everything at some point, we did just meet this morning and that is a little soon to be spilling all of my secrets just yet... but your brother is an idiot."

Jasper's mouth curved into a teasing look, the tension easing from his expression for a moment. "Which one? I've got three..."

Talia chuckled despite herself, the sound brief but real. "Edward, despite every warning I've given him today, he's still done the exact opposite of what I said." She rolled her eyes as they started down the hall together. "Really, I'm just trying to save him a lot of hassle."

Jasper did not know what she meant, but he listened anyway, quiet and attentive as she ranted beside him. The hallway emptied around them, voices thinning into distant echoes as they walked toward the parking lot. When Talia caught the lost look in his eyes, she softened just enough to offer him something close to reassurance. "Okay, once I explain everything, what I just said will make sense, but for now, you are just going to have to trust me."

By the time they reached her Jeep, the last of the school-day noise had faded behind them. The black Rubicon waited under the low gray sky, solid and familiar in a world that still felt anything but. Talia and Jasper exchanged their goodbyes, and then she climbed behind the wheel, started the engine, and drove toward the diner where Charlie and Bella were waiting.