When I First... [E.C.]

In Pain

18

When I first felt bad for Edward, it was when word got around that Bella had chosen to be with that boy from the Reservation instead of him. Jessica had a huge smile on her face as she bounded down the hallway towards me.

"Alison! Alison Beauregard! Come here!" she shouted, jumping up and down as she ran. I sighed, looking around at the stares of the other students. I rolled my eyes, tired of her ever-present teenage behavior. We were graduating soon, shouldn't she start acting like an adult?

"Coming, Jessica Stanley," I said and met her a few steps later. "What is so important that you need to shout for me?"

She grabbed my and pulled me into the bathroom. She checked the stalls to make sure no one else was among us. "Bella broke up with Edward!" she squealed softly, bouncing up and down. "She chose that Jacob boy instead. Said she grew close to him while Edward was gone and decided she wanted to be with him!"

My eyes widened. "What?" I whispered.

She nodded, a grin spreading over her mouth. "Isn't this great? Now you can slide in her place during the summer!"

I diverted my eyes slyly and asked, "What do you mean? Edward's my friend."

She snorted. "Yeah, right! I see how you look at him. If only he could read your mind!"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't feel glad they broke up."

"Why not?" she cried out.

"Because he's my best friend and I'm pretty sure he's in pain. He didn't like the guy, I could tell."

She frowned. "Be glad I told you first before you saw him."

She walked out of the bathroom and I followed behind. "What are you even talking about?" I asked but I was now in the grasp of Edward's arms. I looked up into his eyes and took notice to his charcoal eyes. Had they changed color? "Edward, hey."

"You should watch where you're going."

I smiled, trying hide my shock. His features were sharpened, the purple under his eyes increased with a deep boysenberry undertone. His lips were pursed, his face as hard as a statue, the cloud color resembling that of the storm that was continuing on the other side of the building.

"Yeah, I probably should. You know me, though. Always tripping over something," I chuckled nervously but he didn't even attempt a laugh back. I had a thought. "Hey, do you want to hang out tonight?"

"I can't," he said roughly. I noticed his grasp hadn't loosened on me and I wondered how that could be. I saw people staring and I knew what this must looked like. He noticed my gaze and immediately put several feet between us.

"Okay, that's cool. Maybe later this weekend?"

He shook his head. "Alison, I'm sorry but—"

I tilted my head. "I just got you back a month ago and you're already pushing me away? What happened to not leaving?"

"I am certainly not leaving you," he said with force.

I rolled my eyes. "Edward Cullen, you are truly the worst liar. All I want is to be here for you like a friend does. I know that you're hurting because of Bella," I noticed his wince "but shutting me out isn't going to help."

His jaw flexed. "I want to talk to you, I do. I just don't know how."
I took his hand and smiled. "Come over tonight. We can try to talk or we don't have to. Just...just come over, okay?"

He gave me a small smile and nodded. "Okay."

I wrapped my arms around him and felt myself forgetting to let go. Eventually, his arms found their way around me and we held each other together.