The Tale of the Brokenhearted

Chapter 5: A Friend

It was crazy how easily Leah found random things to do. Only she had the capability to find a dance studio open after midnight. We stood in Miss Lisa's ballroom at 12:30AM, watching as she and her assistant performed a tango. It was a beautiful dance, not a particular favorite of mine, but it was something to do. I looked over to Leah, who watched the couple only briefly then looked away. It seemed a little pointless to be here if she wasn't going to pay attention.

"Do you not like the dance?" I leaned down slightly so that she could hear my whisper.

"No, it's not that. It's the music. The volume and pitch are too loud, it hurts my sensitive ears. The noise is distracting." I nodded, understanding. She was right, the music was loud but it didn't bother me to the extreme it seemed to bother her.

"We could still make the art exhibit." I offered and she mulled over the decision in her head. She wasn't thrilled with how the evening was going and deemed a change of venue a positive solution.

"Okay," she said, as we turned to exit the room. The woman cut the music volume, brightened the lights, and started to talk. Leah paused and turned back around. It'd be rude to just leave, she thought. I couldn't help but snicker; Leah was not a bitch and I considered the members of her pack to be imbeciles to consider her as such. Simply stated, a bitch would have left.

"Tonight is about the romantic, yet structured dance, the tango. Everyone will need to pair up." Leah and I stood off to the side. We were partners; there was no need to ask her, she'd already assumed that we'd dance together. Miss Lisa instructed the class on how to hold each other, Leah and I followed the directions. Pop rocks. She offered me a small smile. The sensation of our hands touching felt good, it even tickled a little.

"Pop rocks," I repeated her thought out loud.

"It's a weird and creepy feeling." She wrinkled her nose as she studied our coupled hands.

"I hope you don't find this odd but-" I launched into my confession, but was interrupted by the instructor.

"Now we're going to try a few steps." I half listened as she gave her instructions, mainly because I'd performed the dance before. I began to lead Leah and she had no trouble following me, she didn't even stumble once. It was then that I finally picked up on the difference in the way her mind worked verses those of most humans.

"You have a photographic memory!" I whispered, for some reason knowledge of this excited me. She frowned at me confused by my outburst.

"Yeah, I'm glad you're excited about it. It's really kind of a burden. Do you know how many times I got in trouble, when I was in school, for not paying attention? The teachers actually got mad at me when I made straight A's. They wanted to punish me but couldn't find a reason." She laughed a little and glanced up at me. "I guess that's why your, um… gift… doesn't bother me. I can only imagine how annoying it is being all up in people's business when you don't want to be." Leah and I spun in circles while we talked. I wasn't sure if we were still doing the tango, I just knew that I was enjoying moving with her. It was the sensation of simply being around her; it was sort of like a weird high that I was being exposed to for the first time.

"So you sing?" I asked after picking through her brain a little more.

"Yeah, I used to, for my dad mostly, same with the guitar. My dad played so I wanted to play. However, my mom is the singer. Her voice is so deep and raspy, it's beautiful. Do you sing?" I dipped her and the whole class clapped. It was then that I noticed the expression on Miss Lisa's face. She was not happy having her pupils "upstaging" her performance, so we were kicked out. As we walked out to Leah's car, she nudged me.

"What?" I asked, pausing and giving her my attention.

"You didn't answer my question. I hate when people do that." She giggled nervously. I played back our conversation in my head. Singing.

"I sing, not really well though. Esme likes it. The piano is more my thing." She nodded and sighed in relief, resuming our walk toward the car. "It really bothered you that much, me not answering?" I tried not to laugh but I found her mannerisms humorous.

"I spend all day being ignored. Sam, the pack, even Seth doesn't really even listen to me anymore. I hate feeling like… what I say doesn't matter." She shrugged. "It's stupid, and I feel dumb for making a big deal out of it but it is a big deal." My eyes widened at her confession and without my permission my hand made its way to her shoulder. "Great, now you pity me." We had paused again briefly, she laughed but she was genuinely annoyed.

"Only a little," I teased, "besides you took pity on me when you allowed me to stalk you. So now we're even." My hand remained on her shoulder, and she glanced at it before she once again met my eyes. This time, for the first time, she really looked at me. She took me in, which was interesting; I'd never had someone with a photographic memory commit me to their memory.

She looked down and smiled, "You're a good person, Edward, I'm glad we're friends." She continued walking to her car.

"How do you know I'm a good person, you just looked at me?" I asked. I tugged slightly on her jacket, to stop her from walking. I wasn't ready to head back home. Pausing in the parking lot was just as good a place as any to chat.

"I didn't just look at you," she frowned. "I looked into your eyes. People joke about the eyes being a window to the soul, but they really are. That's why I normally don't look people in the eyes; I'm usually scared of what I might see. I don't like being disappointed." She frowned at the pavement at our feet, for a moment, then studied my face again. "But you have a pure, good natured spirit; I would almost go as far as to call you innocent." She snickered.

"Leah, you sound like some weird fortune teller." I laughed, and she rolled her eyes.

"I know. I don't really talk like this that often. It makes people think I'm weird, but I thought I could be myself with you." She was slightly offended, so I stifled my laughter.

"You can. I want that. Trust me, I say odd things, too" I reassured. She rolled her eyes, shook her head, and started walking again.

"I know you do, but I was a good friend. I didn't laugh." She teased.

"What did I say that was weird? Leah? LEAH?" She just laughed as she quickened her pace to her car, never telling me her little secret. If I had wanted to, I could have lifted the information, but I didn't. I enjoyed the chase. Playing with Leah was fun. Actually, being with her was fun. As we loaded into her car our conversation continued. With each passing moment our friendship grew. We shared hurts, thoughts, and secrets of our kind that we probably shouldn't have; but I, personally, felt it was the easiest conversation I'd had in my entire existence. Maybe this is what I'd been missing my whole life; a friend.