seven.
it used to be green

   Bella, Angela, and Mike walked with JT to biology. She hadn't attended the class yet and had heard interesting things about their teacher.
   Luckily for her, Mr. Molina didn't make her introduce herself or anything of the sort.
   Unlucky, however, because his new seating chart placed her next to the one and only Edward.
   The bronze haired boy smirked as she sat next to him. "Long time no see," he murmured. She leaned forward, placing her chin in the palm of her hand.
   "I'm still trying to heal my broken heart," she responded. His eyes twinkled humorously.
   He copied her position the opposite way, leaning on his chin, but keeping an appropriate distance. "I hope it's not causing you too much pain."
   JT sighed dramatically, "I'm afraid I'll never recover from the trauma."
   A quiet snicker escaped his lips, causing her to smile.
   "Mr. Cullen?" Mr. Molina called.
   "Abiogenesis, sir," he said, dragging his gaze from JT. The girl looked at the teacher as well. He seemed agitated that they had been talking instead of paying attention, which she understood.
   The teacher looked over his glasses at the duo with a frown. "Correct. I'm going ask that you refrain from talking during my lecture," he warned.
   "Yes, sir," Edward answered. JT only nodded, heat filling her cheeks. She looked over at Bella. The brunette was looking at her with wide eyes. JT copied the look but shook her head. She didn't know what was happening either.
   Edward leaned a little bit closer. "I'm sure you'll get over it quickly. I've found that I'm easily forgettable," he whispered, keeping his eyes on the board.
   With the bridge of freckles on his pristinely clear skin, full lips, long eyelashes, and secretive smile he had, she sincerely doubted that. So she just smiled, facing the whiteboard again.
   She wondered if Angela, who was in the back of the room, would bring it up like everyone else had been. Why was it such a big deal that she got along and spoke with the Cullens? She just hoped that Ang wasn't going to be like everyone else.
   When the bell rang, she expected Edward to leave quickly to his next class, but he surprised her when he waited for her to collect her materials.
   "What's your next class?" He asked. It stunned her for a moment. She recalled her schedule which was conveniently on her desk at home.
   "Spanish, I believe," she said. After zipping her backpack, she looked up at him. It felt like his eyes were reading every thought and emotion in her body, and she suddenly felt self conscious.
   He looked away swiftly, moving aside so she could get past. "Emmett and I have that as well. I'll walk you, if you'd like." The offer took her for a loop, but she nodded.
   "Yeah, that would be great. Thanks." Why was he being so nice? Especially after she had told him she would leave his family alone, it seemed that he was making extra effort to speak with her and be kind. She wasn't exactly complaining, but it confused her a bit.
   "What is your favorite color?" He blurted.
   "Probably any shade of orange," she answered, smiling slightly. "What about you?
   He examined the people around them as they passed, but his real focus was solely on the small girl next to him. "It used to be green."
   They were nearing the languages building. Eyes followed them everywhere, but JT chose to ignore it. Let small minded people be small minded. "And now?"
   Her heart fluttered as his gaze met hers. "I'd say blue."
   God, she could die happily right now.
   But she wasn't going to be one of those girls who fawned over boys they barely knew. She refused to be.
   He held the door open for her, the girl passing under his arm and feeling even smaller. When they entered the classroom, Edward passed by her, brushing lightly against her arm as he did. Despite the fact that they both wore sweaters, goosebumps rose on her skin where their bodies had made contact. He sat beside his brother.
   Emmett grinned at her, mood significantly better than it had been that morning. She smiled back, still flushed from the interaction with Edward.
   Mrs. Goff placed her next to Ben Cheney, which was actually beneficial. He was a genius when it came to Spanish, so she was able to speak freely with him without having to worry about either party understanding. She also needed to ask him about doing the art project with Alice.
   "Hey Ben," she murmured when the class started.
   He smiled, a cute, lopsided thing that lit up his face. "Hi JT. How are you?"
   She'd been asked that question a lot. It had never really bothered her, but the repetitiveness of the constant concern was beginning to grate on her. "I'm okay, Benny. I've got a question actually." Mrs. Goff was going over the days of the week and months of the year — something JT had learned in fourth grade on an online Spanish program. The boy nodded, but didn't speak.
   "Would you be willing to do a couples photoshoot for me for my art project?"
   His cheeks colored. Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.
   "Yeah, sure. Who is my partner?" He questioned. They were both slouched in their seats, shoulders touching. 
   She prayed that he wouldn't freak out like everyone else would. "Alice Cullen," she whispered.
   He just shrugged. "Okay. She's cool," he answered, completely nonchalant. Shock filtered her veins, but the girl kept her features schooled. He had been the only person that didn't seem to have a non-normal reaction to the family.
   It was refreshing, to say the least.
   JT noticed something while talking to Ben. He was as easy as breathing. She didn't feel the need to hide away from him and any tension she held previously just melted. He was calming without even trying. How had she not been friends with him before she left?
   She sank further in her chair and examined the classroom. Rain pounded on the windows, the clouds blocking any real natural light as per usual. Maps of Spanish speaking countries littered the north wall, pictures of their presidents scattered around the room like a scavenger hunt of sorts. One of the president pictures made her giggle when she decided it looked like the Lorax and Mr. Potato Head had a baby.
   Across the room, Edward snorted. Her eyes snapped to his face and found a crooked smirk on his face as he seemingly watched Mrs. Goff. Soon enough, Emmett was snickering too. Just the sights and sounds alone of the two of them made JT smile. They were a goofy pair and they had been kind to her since she had started here. Why anyone would talk badly on them was lost to her.
   A quick glance at the clock sent her heart racing. It was fifteen minutes until the final bell rang. Fifteen minutes until she and her sister had to go home. She wracked her brain for a plan. Maybe they could go to Jessica or Angela's? Maybe they could go get something to eat at Carver's? They could even go for a hike or something.
   Then she remembered Lauren's high heels and the fact that Angela had a yearbook meeting after school. And it was also pouring down rain. The muscles in her back tensed as she thought of what was possibly waiting for them at home. Lauren had told her this morning that Lorraine often disappeared for days at a time, coming back just as drunk as when she had left. Maybe they would be lucky today.
   God, she hoped so.
   Sitting up in her seat, she could no longer relax with the looming thought on her mind. JT had never been an anxious person. She only had six months of practicing coping mechanisms and breathing.
   And the breathing part sucked.
   Her skin felt hot.
   Prickly.
   She leaned forward, placing her forehead on the cool desk in front of her. The fabric on her neck itched, but she refused to allow another person to see the bruises that decorated the skin there.
   "JT, you good?" Ben asked from beside her.
   Weakly nodding, she checked the clock again.
   Fourteen minutes.
   JT wanted to release a guttural scream from deep within her soul, but she went with a quiet groan instead. The scream was released internally, and everyone but Emmett missed Edward's minuscule flinch.
   "What?" Emmett muttered, uninterested in the language that he became fluent in sixty years ago.
   "JT is screaming inside," Edward explained.
   The dark haired boy huffed, "Aren't we all?"
   Minutes crawled as quickly as a snail doing the mile in P.E. Mrs. Goff had dismissed the class, technically, but they couldn't leave until the bell rang. Ben sat dutifully by her side as others chattered  about in the room. Perhaps he sensed the comfort she drew from him. Perhaps he felt it too.
   And finally, the bell rang.
   She bid Ben a quick and soft goodbye before darting out into the rain to find her sister. Her sweater was soaked through when she found Lauren talking to Tyler. The younger blonde perked up upon seeing her.
   "Josie, I'm going over to Tyler's to study. Will you be okay to find a ride home?" She asked. The unasked question was easily decipherable to JT. Will you be okay at home by yourself?
   JT shrugged. "I'll manage. Have fun." She winked at Lauren, the girl playfully making a cut-throat motion with her index finger in response. The sisters giggled as Lauren hopped into the Jeep and drove closely behind Tyler's new-to-him vehicle. He had totaled the van in the wreck the other day, much to his parents' dismay.
   JT wanted to smack herself. She was outside in the rain without a jacket, a ride, or any idea as to what she would be doing for the next several hours.
   The soft pur of an engine crept closer, but instead of going past her, it came to a stop next to her. The passenger side window of a silver Volvo rolled down just a smidge, allowing sound out but keeping the rain from coming in. "Get in, you'll get sick." Despite their few and sparse conversations, she'd know that voice anywhere.
   And she didn't have to be told twice.