Something Just a Little Different (Jasper Hale)

Deviate

Arri had gotten the call from Josh just moments after Alice left to come get him. Something had come up on the reservation that required the small gang of guys to have to go.

When they got home, Arri locked herself in her room as to not be disturbed anymore. She wasn't going to leave the house again until she absolutely had to, which was exactly why come Monday, the thought of school was just abhorrent.

Her reoccurring nightmare was frequenting her more than usual at night, so even though she was in bed, she didn't get much sleep, and what little she did wasn't very restful.

When her mom asked why she wasn't being very active, Arri would just put on a smile and hold up the book she had bought. It wasn't strange for her bury herself into a book for a couple days, but in reality, she had maybe read a chapter since she had gotten it.

Monday morning, Arri hit snooze a good ten times before she absolutely had to get up as to not be late. Her head was pounding with an awful headache and she felt groggy, but she threw on a sweatshirt and some comfy cotton capris anyways, tossing her hair up into a halfway decent bun on top of her head.

Josh was waiting impatiently downstairs, tapping his foot as he scrolled through his phone. When she appeared at the bottom of the stairs, he opened the door and tossed her the keys. "It's about damn time, Mom almost made me ride with her." He made a face, stepping through the doorway.

Ever since his wreck, he was weird about riding with anyone besides Arri, including his mom, or himself driving, which was why he was putting off getting a new vehicle. Even though he hadn't been injured even in the slightest, it really freaked him out. He claimed he was "so ready to get a new car", but really, he was terrified of being behind the wheel of a car again, so Arri put up with his impatience and only mildly complained when he asked her to take him somewhere.

The ride to school was quiet. Arri wouldn't let her brother turn up the music due to her headache, so he just put in his headphones and slept the whole way after offering her some medicine.

It started sprinkling as soon as they pulled into the parking lot, so they didn't meet up with their friends like they normally did. They were barely on time, anyway, so they wouldn't have been out there even if the weather permitted.

English drug on, and Arri had managed to keep her head on her desk without the teacher getting on to her, and she thought the headache might be easing up, but by the time fourth period rolled around, her body was tired and the slightest movement made her heart pound.

When she finally made it to her desk, she eased into her chair next to Bella, resting her head on her arms and letting out a deep sigh.

"Are you alright?" Bella asked a little too loudly for Arri's comfort, making her flinch away.

"Just...got a bad headache. I'll be alright." She forced herself to sit up and give Bella a reassuring smile, but she was seriously considering going to her mom's classroom and laying down for a bit.

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Rosalie sighed, popping a piece of gum into her mouth as she situated herself at her desk. She usually skipped English, but her brothers were always so damn worried about everyone, and she always got drug into it.

Arri got to class right as the bell rang looking like she had just rolled out of bed. It didn't look like she had gotten any sleep, though, judging by the size of the bags under eyes.

Well, there you go, Edward, the shock finally wore off. She's a normal human after all, Rose thought to her brother sarcastically , but she was already here, and leaving in the middle of class always made such a big fuss, so she just stuck it out for the rest of the period, realizing just how potent the smell of her blood could be when you were shut in a room with her, and her gum wasn't tasting very good anymore.

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Edward scoffed at Rosalie's attitude. He had picked up on both teens' scent as soon as they had pulled up at the school, focusing first on Josh's thoughts.

He learned of Arri's poor health through the concern of her sibling's thoughts, but he soon brushed it off as a cold. Josh's thoughts then wondered to his plans for the weekend on the reservation, the faces of the teenage tribe members pooping into his head.

This made Edward frown. The group typically didn't take in outsiders. And for a good reason. It was dangerous.

But soon the boy had zoned out, mind blanking to white space as his math teacher droned on, so Edward switched his focus to Arri, who was now seated by Bella.

The few times Edward has picked at her mind before, he discovered that it was like listening to a radio. When she was reading or doing menial tasks, her mind would go through her playlist and rattle off songs with expert memory. Most mortals, when they got a song stuck in their head, the voice was muffed, it was the same verse over and over, and it was just the vocals, but when Arri played music in her head, it was like playing a CD. Sometimes, Edward found himself listening in when class was exceptionally boring and he didn't feel the need to constantly watch over Bella.

Today though, her mind was the white noise of a headache, an image or two popping into focus only every now and then, the rest of the time it was fuzzy, with the occasional "Man, I feel like shit." to "Oh my god, I could literally die right now, and probably feel two hundred times better! That would probably really freak Bella out, though....better lay off of the keeling over for right now until I get to my own bed."

That particular thought amused Edward, at least she was in good spirits. By the end of class, though, he could tell something was wrong. He picked up Rosalie's thoughts as the bell rang, watching as it made Arri cringe. He could see the paleness of her skin and noticed the sheen of sweat coating her forehead. 'This isn't a side effect of shock, is it?' Rosalie thought at her brother.
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Arri felt like absolute hell. Her head was pounding, her heart was racing, and the loud bell that rang above her head only made matters worse.

As Bella stood to leave, she cast a worried look to her friend. "Maybe you should go see the nurse?" She offered. Arri made a move to get up, "That's probably a really good idea."
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Alice saw it a split second before it happened. Arri going to stand up, dizziness overtaking her. Her body dropped hard against the tile floor, her head hitting with a sickening crack, right as Jasper would walk by to get to his next class.

Edward didn't need to watch the bloodshed he knew Alice would predict next, instead, rushing out of the classroom as fast as he could manage without being out of human range and towards Bella and Arri's classroom.

Alice had seen it right before it had happened, which meant that there was little to no room for deviation, so why hasn't he smelt the potent sweet smell of her blood yet?

When he got to the hall, expecting to see Jasper in a rampage, he was surprised to see Alice and Rosalie standing next to their adopted brother, making sure he was okay, Jasper's face only giving a slight hint at confusion.

Curious now of the situation, Edward looked into the classroom to see Josh supporting his sister against his shoulder, Bella and the teacher both standing next to them with looks of worry.

"He just barely stopped her from eating tile. He walked in right as she fell and caught her," Rosalie explained. Even she had been surprised at his reflexes.

Alice looked concerned, and Edward understood why. It was stressful having someone that deviated from the rest of the world. He had Bella, and now they had found a new anomaly in Arri Wills.

"Either way, it worked out for the best. No bloodshed. No trouble." Edward sighed, turning as Josh helped his sister out into the hallway to head to the nurses office.

Bella came and stood next to Edward, her forehead creased with concern. "I hope she's okay." She mumbled, taking Edward's hand in hers.