CHAPTER THREE.
( bad analogies. )

FROM WHERE SHE STOOD by his side, Shadow stole a glance at her companion. Minutes had passed since leaving the classroom and he still hadn't said anything to her. But, his quiet told her enough.

  Was he always this intimidating? She felt almost uneasy in his presence. It was unsettling how he could portray so much without speaking— that, or Shadow was just looking into it too much.

And, really, she figured she was just looking into it too much.

Taking the lead, the boy wove a path through the lunch-time rush. The crowd of students parted easily and few spared them a second glance. Shadow felt relieved.

  She would be lying if she said she hadn't worried about how much attention the golden boy would draw. But, it seemed his group's impact relied on strength in numbers. Thank god for that.

  Shadow doubted she'd be able to function among the rest of the group, let alone just one of them.

"So," Shadow began, breaking the silence. "I didn't catch your name." She wasn't really looking for conversation, but she preferred being on a first name basis when it came to accepting lunch dates with strangers.

  The boy said nothing. Shadow watched him, lips pursed in thought. She couldn't decide if he was trying to be rude or if silence was just his natural element.

"Jasper Hale," he finally said.

  Shadow almost missed the strain in his voice. She studied his tense shoulders. For an infinitesimal second, she was almost compelled to ask what was bothering him.

  But, she quickly thought better of it. It was too personal. Besides, it wasn't her business to ask— and like she'd said, they hardly knew each other.

More silence passed and Shadow waited for him to politely reciprocate. But, when she realized he wouldn't, she smiled bitterly.

"Nice," the comment was more sarcasm than anything. "My name's Shadow, in case you were wondering." She didn't expect a reply. As far as Shadow could tell, Jasper Hale didn't seem like much of an extrovert.

"Shadow?" Jasper turned to give her a curious look.

She lifted her shoulders defensively, "Just a nickname, the real thing is weirder."

Shadow made air quotations with her fingers, "'A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface' was too cool a nickname to pass up." She smiled, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

The truth was it was her father who'd made the nickname stick.

However, Jasper seemed to find her reply hilarious as he broke into a sudden smile, "You know the complete definition of shadow?" The expression looked so easy on his features, but he turned away just as quickly.

  Shadow frowned. He was hesitant, but the reason was clear enough. They hadn't exactly met on the best of terms and this newfound acquaintance was still uneasy.

  But, Shadow had high hopes. If things kept going smoothly and Jasper Hale kept smiling at her like that, then maybe this lunch would clear away any lingering bad blood. Worst case scenario; she was simply going to have to suffer the world's most silent date ever.

She shrugged, "What can I say, I got bored when I was ten and committed it to memory." Jasper chuckled and Shadow felt something in her fall at ease. Making him laugh felt like a commendable accomplishment.

  They fell quiet again for a while afterwards, but it wasn't as tense as before. The silence definitely could have been improved upon. But, Jasper's body language seemed to tell that he was relaxing more and Shadow could only hope that was a good sign.

  To think that they were more comfortable now, in spite of everything that had happened, was relieving. She wouldn't let anything ruin this for her, especially not on the first day. Shadow reminded herself that Forks was supposed to be something fresh.

"So, is buying you food really all it takes to get on this 'good list'?" Jasper's question caught Shadow off guard. She was already getting used to this comfortable quiet between them.

  She settled for a nod as Jasper looked back at her, though it didn't hold much truth. Shadow's choice to accept his offer had been a fleeting moment of courage. That was all there was to it.

  She wasn't fond of the idea of friendship, at least not right now. But, having tension between her and another student was just as distracting. Shadow told herself that it was best to make amends before things worsened.

So, she went along with his conclusion. "Yep, buy me food and I'm all yours— except for fish," she told him. Shadow made a face, disgusted by the nostalgic memory of her father's tuna sandwiches.

Jasper looked directly at her then. His smile seemed brighter, like he was finally focusing on the moment rather than the issue clearly troubling him. Being unable to help herself, Shadow found herself returning the gesture with a grin.

There was something in his expression that felt rare. Though, as the Swan girl's heart gave a sudden leap, she quickly looked away. The Hale boy was handsome— and charming— when he wanted to be, there was no denying that.

But, with each new curveball the world threw her way, Shadow Swan found herself becoming more adept at avoiding the blows. She focused her jade eyes on the hallway and her gaze soon fastened on the lunchroom doors. She exhaled a sigh of relief.

  There was no hesitancy now as she grabbed hold of Jasper's wrist and hurried them towards the cafeteria. All the while near-dragging the blond behind her.

Jasper didn't seem to mind as Shadow caught the sound of his chuckle. She smiled, but the expression soon fell as they entered the cafeteria. No one seemed to notice them at first, but more eyes turned to stare as they made their way amongst the tables.

Usually, Shadow was fine being the centre of attention. After all, how could she not be? With hair akin to fire and a knack for speaking when she shouldn't, attention drew itself to Shadow naturally. She had never shied away from it— and had she been in Forks under different circumstances, Shadow might have even revelled in it.

But, not this time, this was different.

  Shadow's skin crawled with a distinct and uncomfortable memory. The fear was so abrupt it made her legs stiffen and her footsteps falter. What if everyone had already found out? The image of her fresh start was already crumbling right before her eyes and Shadow wasn't even brave enough to try stop it.

Then Jasper was there, taking the lead without pause as he guided her towards the lunch line. His hand shifted out of her own as he laid it gently on her back; not quite on her shoulders, but not low enough to be uncomfortable either.

  Shadow exhaled a deep breath as she forced her legs to keep going, giving no thought to Jasper's proximity.

It wasn't until they came to the end of the lunch line that Shadow was suddenly aware of the way his arm slid away from her. She felt her heart give a jump at the contact (though she couldn't tell if it was from disappointment or some other nameless emotion.) Shadow cursed its inability to function.

  Think rationally, she told herself. She had bigger concerns than crushes on high school boys.

Shadow let her eyes wander around the food aimlessly. The act of pretending to ponder her selections helped to take her mind off the stares still burning holes into her head.

  "You get used to it." Shadow glanced up at Jasper, who's frame seemed to obscure her own. He wasn't looking at her, but it was obvious who the comment was meant for.

She looked back down at the sandwich selection, "I don't want to get used to it." She pretended not to notice Jasper's pointed look.

She wasn't going to elaborate on a 'why' and he seemed fine with that as they moved down the line.

Shadow made it to the end and gasped. "They have rice pudding here? Seriously, where has this school been all my life?" She muttered, intending only for herself to hear.

However, Jasper was close enough to catch her rambling. He let out a laugh. Not a chuckle or a huff of amusement, but a short-lived and genuine laugh.

It was a low sound as he tried to muffle himself, but Shadow had already caught it. She tried to stifle her own and settled for a grin as she stepped back to let him through. At this point, she was sure that the events from that morning had already been forgotten.

  It was almost as if they were friends.

Shadow felt her stomach drop, disappointed. Friendship wasn't what she was in Forks for and she'd promised to herself not to get too close. She stole a glance at Jasper as he stepped up to pay.

  His eyes seemed to glint like liquid gold when he laughed. Did he know what kind of difference it made when he smiled? Noticing her stare and angling away from it, Shadow guessed that he didn't.

She felt her face flood with heat, embarrassed by her own thoughts. Since when was she concerned about his attractiveness? The Swan girl averted her eyes.

  Still, if there was anyone who would have made a nice friend in Forks, it would've been him. Of course, her opinion could have been biased since he was paying for lunch.

As Jasper turned back to face her, Shadow masked her blatant stargazing with a smile. By then, it was instinct to follow the Hale boy as they made their way around tables once more. That was, until Shadow hesitated with the realization that she had nowhere to sit.

  It was just one issue after another.

Sensing that she'd stopped, Jasper turned back to face her. He waited, but Shadow couldn't exactly follow along when she didn't know where she was going.

"I have nowhere to sit," she explained, doing a quick scan of the lunch room. Every table was full of students she didn't know and outside was definitely not an option, considering it was pouring rain.

  This really is God's bucket of tears, Shadow thought mournfully.

"You can sit with me and my family, if you'd like," Jasper offered.

Shadow felt her brow rise, curious but also stunned. She looked at Jasper. He was being entirely serious. Shadow could only assume that he meant the group he'd been with that morning.

  Finding them was easy enough, even in a crowded room. They sat together, in one of the more emptier corners of the cafeteria. Inner panic almost immediately kicked in.

  Shadow haphazardly gestured to them with her tray, "Over there? With all of you?" She definitely hadn't meant for it to come off the way it sounded.

Still, it was hard to believe that Shadow could even breathe near their atmosphere. Never-mind entering it.

They sat the furthest from everyone in the room and, yet, they still managed to draw all the attention from it. With features clearly sculpted by God himself, it wasn't exactly surprising. But, even Shadow knew the description didn't do them enough justice.

  Sculptures could hardly compare, not when this family was closer to something ethereal.

The more Shadow thought about it, it was almost unnatural, really. But, she was quick to brush the thought aside. While the words may have rung true, that didn't make the assumption any less rude.

The fact of the matter was that little seemed to exist outside of their gravitational pull and Shadow knew she was going to stick out like a sore thumb.

  It wasn't that she felt threatened, but intimidated seemed to be a better depiction. They were beautiful, but good looks didn't always translate into a good personality. More importantly, Shadow simply didn't want to be mistaken as someone looking for friendship in them.

"Yes, with all of us. Is there a problem?" Jasper took a step closer, but his tone suggested that he was more concerned about her hesitancy than offended.

Shadow scoffed, "Hell yeah there is, I'm going to look like uncooked chicken next to you guys."

A grin widened on Jasper's features and it was obvious that he was struggling to hold back. "You're not going to look like..." he paused, unable to continue as he choked on his laughter.

  "You'll look fine," he insisted, but the stubborn Swan begged to differ as she gave him an unimpressed look.

"Look at it this way," Shadow began, "You and your friends are all the shiny, beautiful apples and I am the potato sack that lies next to them." It was a bad analogy, she would admit to that.

  Shadow just wanted to sit down and eat. Jasper's offer to buy her lunch was enough of a peace offering, she really didn't think sitting with his family was necessary.

"So, this is about pride," Jasper countered with a smile.

Shadow narrowed her eyes, "I happen to think a sense of pride is very important."

Jasper gave a thoughtful hum. "Well, what if you were a potato sack filled with precious gold and jewels?" He offered and Shadow had to admit that his reply was smooth.

  Still, she swallowed a huff. Well, at least he's not lying about sticking out, she thought to herself. False reassurances weren't her thing. But, Shadow gave a slow nod, pretending to contemplate Jasper's words while he waited patiently.

  She smiled with taunt, "That was sweet, but if you're trying to say my stellar personality is my winning asset, we all know you're lying."

  Jasper made a sound of exasperation and Shadow heaved a sigh. "Fine," she agreed, though she promised herself that it was only because she wanted to eat.

The Hale boy's smile was victorious. "You'll see, we aren't so bad," he teased, as if that were really the issue.

  He held out his hand for Shadow to take and she hesitated for only a moment before placing her warm fingers in his cold palm. From there, he began leading the way towards his family's table.

Shadow's heart seemed to quicken as the pair closed the distance between them. Suddenly, she regretted having ever agreed to anything at all. Jasper's family was all so... overwhelming.

  She didn't belong anywhere near them, but they looked almost expectant as they watched Shadow and Jasper approach. Shadow tried not to think about how strange that was.

  Though, it was comforting to see a few welcoming smiles from the table. The blonde looked as if she could care less if Shadow were there, but it was the red-headed boy and his perceptive smirk that bothered the Swan girl the most. She found herself unimpressed.

His air of teenage arrogance was nothing exactly new, but that didn't make it any less annoying.

Almost as soon as Shadow and Jasper arrived, a small brunette leaned forward to offer a hand. "Hi, I'm Alice Cullen, it's so nice to meet you," Shadow was momentarily struck by her enthusiasm— and her voice.

  Her words had an airy lightness to them. It was such a friendly sound, contrasting against every first impression Shadow had imagined.

At first glance, Alice's head of cropped, dark hair was distinct against graceful and defined features. She was beautiful in a way that would have come off as proud, if it weren't for the kind smile on her lips.

  Feeling self-conscious, Shadow returned the expression meekly. "I'm Shadow," the ginger replied, quickly dropping Jasper's hand to shake Alice's outstretched one. She was already desensitized to the difference in temperature.

  Maybe anemia ran in the family?

Shadow followed Alice's gaze as she looked to the rest of the group. "This is our adoptive family," she began to explain and the Swan girl scratched out that last thought.

  Shadow braced herself for the onslaught of names she would have to remember. "Rosalie is Jasper's twin sister—" Alice gestured to the blonde, who offered a polite smile that Shadow returned.

Rosalie didn't seem so bad, though she looked hesitant in her greeting. It was almost as if she didn't quite expect Shadow to stick around for very long. Which, wasn't wrong, of course.

  Beyond the niceties, Shadow wasn't sure what would happen after lunch ended and this strange spell was broken. Everything was happening so fast, it was getting hard to keep up.

"This is Emmett," Alice continued, powering on beyond the attitude of her sister. Shadow followed her gaze to the boy who easily overshadowed his siblings. Beyond his intimidating build though, his grin was more endearing than anything.

  Shadow felt her own smile widen.

"And this Edward," Alice finished, gesturing to the red-head— who hardly met Shadow's gaze beyond that same smirk he shot her way.

She couldn't tell if it was his boyish arrogance that annoyed her, or the rich colour of his hair. Feeling even more self-conscious, Shadow tried to plaster on a polite smile.

However, her expression faltered as Edward looked away. Disinterested. She didn't like the way he watched her. It was like he had everything about her figured out; right down to the very last detail.

  Shadow felt her jaw tense. She hated when people looked at her like that. As if she were easy to understand. She wasn't.

  Shadow Swan wasn't an open book; free for anyone to read and it was infuriating to her when people thought otherwise. It didn't help that she'd already heard about this boy from Bella herself.

  Her younger cousin had shared their encounter through a series of text messages and it was safe to say that the elder Swan wasn't exactly keen to meet the so-called Edward Cullen.

"So, you're the Edward that Bella's told me all about," Shadow said with a slow smile. She sat down next to Alice, directly across from Edward.

  There was no way he was getting the upper hand against her and, when his expression fell, Shadow knew she'd struck a chord. Now, she just had to play her card to its fullest extent.

"Bella Swan?" Edward looked confused.

Shadow feigned shock, "Right, sorry. I'm Shadow Swan, Bella's older cousin." Shadow noted how Alice and Edward both tensed. She was more perceptive than people gave her credit for and it was something Shadow counted on when it came to people underestimating her.

  It gave her a nice edge when she needed it.

"Bella talked about me?" Edward shifted in his seat as he watched Shadow's expression. It was as if he were trying to read through her all over again. Shadow felt immediately guarded.

  She pursed her lip before releasing a small breath of air. "Well, she did tell me about you, but she didn't seem fond of you— especially after you met in Biology class?"

  One glance at Edward told her that she was on the right track as the Cullen boy averted his eyes. If reading people was a game he wanted to play at, it wasn't one he was going to win.

In spite of his obvious shame, Shadow continued against her better judgement. "She said there were some glares here, a bit of moving away there."

  "I wonder," the ginger paused and spared Edward a grin, "do you get your rudeness from your brother?" Shadow gave an innocent smile and, from the corner of her eye, she could see Jasper roll his eyes.

  "We're not actually related," the Hale boy cut in.

  Shadow shrugged, "I figured, but if you were it's very clear who would have won the gene pool." She stared Jasper down, unabashed, before looking to his twin sister. "It obviously would have been Rosalie."

  Jasper frowned as he leaned back, pouting. "Such a tease."

Rosalie and Emmett let out a laugh, while Alice seemed to sympathize with Edward. She was as reluctant to taunt the poor Cullen boy as Edward was to admitting his faults.

  It was clear that Alice understood something that Shadow didn't. The Swan girl couldn't help but wonder what she was missing. She was hardly considered quick to forgive, especially when it came to family, but she wouldn't push the subject any longer.

Edward frowned. Clearly he hadn't found Shadow as amusing as everyone else had. But, she could only feel mildly guilty. Aside from that, the rest of their break continued on with small talk.

  Save for any commentary from the copper-headed Cullen— who was too busy burning holes into the table to join the conversation.

Shadow shot Jasper a questioning look when she noticed Edward's pouting. But, the blond merely shrugged in response. He tried his best to brush off the subject, but Shadow wasn't oblivious.

Though, for Jasper's sake, she pretended that she was.

  In what seemed like no time at all, lunch ended. Shadow grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, getting ready to throw out her lunch when a hand suddenly clasped her forearm.

  She jumped, looking up to meet Edward's dark set of eyes. "Can I talk to you?" He asked and, despite her confusion, Shadow gave a hesitant nod.

Quickly throwing out her food, Shadow turned back to Edward, waiting for him to speak. He gave a cautionary glance around them, but didn't start until everyone else had left the table.

  One eyebrow poised, Shadow gestured for him to go on. She had classes to get to that were a lot more important to her than this conversation.

"Can you tell Bella that I'm sorry?" Edward's request left Shadow reeling and— almost instantly— she let out a huff of disbelief.

  Edward returned her reaction with a puzzled expression. Shadow was annoyed that he would even ask. Was this elementary school? She wasn't going to play messenger between Edward and Bella.

"No," she told him, struggling not to be unkind. "Sorry, but you're on your own." Shadow didn't really feel guilty, even as she said it.

But, as Edward's expression fell, she couldn't help but feel a small bout of pity for him. Shadow sighed, hesitating as she prepared to leave.

Finally, she caved, "I'll tell you something, though." Edward watched her in earnest. "Whatever reason is stopping you from apologizing to her yourself, you probably shouldn't listen to it."

  Edward clearly wasn't expecting that answer. Shadow averted her gaze to the door, where students crammed against one another to leave. God, if only she could be pretzeling herself through the masses too...

  "Bella will only blame herself and that'll just end up being a mess for everyone," she advised, giving the Cullen boy a half-hearted smile. Though, it felt awkward on her lips.

Shadow gave him a pat on the arm before she turned and walked away.

  However, once her back was to him, Shadow couldn't help but feel smug as she replayed Edward's shocked expression in her head. He wasn't the only one capable of reading people; and if she were an open book, then at least she knew there was a part of her story still shrouded in mystery.

Edited 02/09/2016 @1:21 AM
Edited 07/11/2016 @9:03 AM
Edited 09/18/2016 @3:33 AM
Edited 12/19/2016 @2:21 AM