Act I
Chapter 6 ━━ Alien Or Not?

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"Are you going to the prom?" Esdras asks Shelley, still keeping his eyes still on Mr. Molina. 

"No." She simply answers.

"Why?"

"Dancing is not my thing. Besides, I'm going to visit mom that weekend."

"Oh." 

"What about you, Esdras?"

He shrugs. "Haven't decided yet."

"Can I ask you something?" She questions, fiddling with the hem of her blouse.

He finally turns to her like he's trying to study her. "Okay?"

"How did Edward stop the van?" 

"He had an adrenaline rush. His words. Not mine."

The doorbell rings signalling the end of the period making all the students gather their stuff and leave the classroom.

Shelley watches Edward and Esdras passing by. She quickly grabs her bag and runs after them.

"Stop!" She calls out and surprisingly, they stop and turn.

"Hi again." Esdras greets me with a smile.

"Hi." She greets him back and turns to Edward. "Can I talk with you?"

Edward shares a look with his brother and looks at me again. "Uh… sure?"

They watch Esdras leaving before Shelley speaks. "Let's have a walk. Shall we?"

"So… what do you want to talk about with me?" Edward asks as they start the walk.

"How did you do that? The van?" She asks him directly, stepping into the subject.

"I had an adrenaline rush. It's very common. You can Google it." He answers.

"Trust me, I already know what it is. But I don't think an adrenaline rush could do such damage to that van." She argues. "You didn't had a single scratch and I find it impossible to a normal human being."

He laughs. "Are you trying to prove that I'm an alien from another universe?"

"Maybe. Or maybe not. Look, Edward. I won't gonna tell anybody. I just need to know the truth." 

"I saved your sister's life. She thanked me and we got over it. Why can't you?"

"True. Bella means me a lot and you saved her life. I owe you for that."

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

"No." She replies with much confidence and no intention to give up without finding out the truth.

"You're stubborn just like her. No wonder he's after you." He states.

Shelley raises an eyebrow with utter confusion. "Stubborn like who?"

"Nevermind." He shakes his head.

"Look here, Shelley. You're smart-" 

"What if I'm not? Will you tell me the truth?" 

"No, probably not. I'd rather hear your theories." 

Shelley throws a glare at him. She has this urge to whiplash his head into a wall. Edward smiles to himself like he just read her thoughts.

"Well, I have considered radioactive spiders & kryptonite." She remarks as they continue to walk.

He stops making her stop me too. "That's all superhero stuff, right? Um, what if I'm not the hero? What if I'm the bad guy…?" 

"I prefer to call you an alien rather than a bad boy." Shelley shrugs as she starts to walk again.

He laughs again with amusement, following her. "Thank you for the compliment."

She rolls her eyes. "It wasn't a compliment, you know?"

He chuckles. "Okay."

They continue to walk in silence in the next few seconds until Edward speaks again. "You and Esdras seem to be good friends. He thinks-talks about you a lot."

"Really?" She asks.

He nods and this time his face seems serious. "You seem to be as nice a person as your sister. But you shouldn't be friends with Esdras." 

"And why is that?" She asks him angrily.

"He has a very bad experience with relationships. And I don't want that to happen in the exact same way once again. He suffered a lot last time." He explains.

"What do you mean?" She inquires him confusedly.

"You said that Bella means a lot to you. As the same, Esdras means a lot to me. I can't see him in the same way he did again." He sighs. "Alright. I have to go now." 

Shelley watches him walking away with his words sinking into her.