Sheep In Wolf's Clothing
Fandom: Twilight
Rating: M
Pairings: Canon
Comments Unedited. This is a slow chapter to me, as we are still leading up to the good stuff. And the good stuff gets good.
[Read Chapter 1]
Chapter 2
By the time I woke up, I was lucky enough to find Edward gone already. Seizing the opportunity, I allowed myself to shower peacefully. With all my supplies and clothes kept behind the locked bathroom door, I was finally able to truly rest. It was good to have privacy, because it allowed me time to my own thoughts.
When I first saw Edward come in, I was overwhelmed by the possibility of us sharing a room together. It was by some unfortunate luck that I would have to be paired up with not only an idol of mine, but a very, very good-looking one at that. Still, I wanted to gather my composure and not come across as some lovesick fangirl... but it was easy enough once he'd shown his true colors. He had been glaring at me since the moment he walked into the room, which was strange because I hadn't said a single word to the guy. And when I tried to alleviate my nervousness with my blabbering, he had to go and ruin all preconceived notions I had of him.
From all the interviews and comments I never would have guessed what an asshole he really was.
Of course I hadn't expected Edward Cullen to be all dandelions and rainbows, but I couldn't deny the disappointment I felt when he wasn't even remotely friendly. Still, this would work out for me in the long run. I hadn't planned on being too chummy with anyone anyway, instead conjuring up a plan since my acceptance letter to just lay low in the school.
As the new kid, I knew it wasn't entirely possible to be invisible, but if I at least just keep to myself, I won't have any major problems. I'll get to go to a fantastic school, and I'll be able to run freely. A sigh escaped my lips. It hadn't been since Saturday morning when I last ran. I made a mental note to go look around campus for a good spot to run. Surely somewhere other than the track, right?
With this in mind, I was reminded of what I was here to do: to be passionate in what I love, all while acting as a guy. I was finished with my serious thoughts, so when I resumed showering, it occurred to me that I didn't want to not shave my pits. I could handle my legs being unshaved (in fact, I had welcomed this new lazy development for a while now), but something about leaving my underarms unattended sent disturbed shivers down my spine. Once I took care of my cleaning, I looked at myself in the mirror after wiping it free of steam.
What was I supposed to do with my hair now? How did guys style their bangs? I mean, I never even had bangs before, but truthfully, I didn't do much with my hair either. Then again, most guys didn't do anything at all. Unless they were metro or gay. And I suppose I could pull myself off as gay, but I wouldn't want to bring more attention to myself, so I just let it be. Besides, not caring about appearance was a good trait of mine.
I eyeballed my eyebrows, knowing I won't have to tweeze or maintain anything. I won't have to think about what to wear to an extent (after all, my clothes were of the same baggy variety). I won't have to brush my hair or have my nails done or any of the sort... and no one would expect me to. I thought of Leah back home, who, even under her brashness and tomboy qualities, still dragged me to those salons, if only for the sole reason that we were girls. But here? Here, I was a boy. And it occurred to me how happy I was over the fact.
Delighted with the development, I simply bound my breasts and put on my school uniform. The outfit was big on me; the dress shirt a size larger than my stature, loose straight cut pants, and a baggy vest with the school emblem to complete the look. I looked like a regular nerd, but if it wasn't going to bring me extra attention, especially to my curves, I was glad for it.
I was getting my things together when a booming knock resonated through the room. Frightened from the shock of the noise, and the fact that someone was here to see me, I cautiously opened up the door.
In front of me was a brute of a man, muscles showing even through his school sweater, wearing an even bigger smile.
"'Lo there! Billy, right?" he said, sticking out a hand to catch mine in it. "I'm Emmett, your RA. Was wondering if you'd like me to show you the way to the dining hall for breakfast, as you're the only upperclassman who's new."
I felt myself relax with his explanation. "Oh, yeah, thanks. Nice to meet you, Emmett. Let me just get my stuff, and we can go."
He nodded, leaning on the banister of the doorframe. As I slung my book bag onto my shoulder, not taking it across my chest, he looked into the room curiously. "Where's Edward? Taking a dump or something?" He paused, his eyes glinting mischievously. "Don't anyone this, but one time I was locked in his bathroom, and he left his dookie in the toilet. His crap log is rank as hell."
Laughing, I gave an amused shrug. "If he was in there, I'm sure I'd've passed out from the smell by now. Woke up, he wasn't here, and so far, no sign of the guy."
It was a good thing I was already familiar with guys: Seth and Jacob were my best friends, after all. Plus the guys on the rez would make conversation with no holds barred when it came to gender or age (but sometimes the elders would give them shit for it). Most of the girls I knew back home, such as Kim and Emily, were insulted by the comments they would make, and would often call them pigs and idiots. Having grown up with only the boys around, I was used to it. Besides, it was easy with Emmett; he seemed actually funny.
"Huh, I woulda thought he'd be back by now, but then again..." he trailed off, eyeing me. After a beat, he slapped on that grin again and asked that we be on his way, because he was "starving like a mofo."
We walked out of the building and into the sun, towards the Arts Residence, where the Dining Hall was attached. Boys were excitedly running to one another, yelling, playing. Just outside the doors, next to a couple of older looking students playing cards, stood a very tall blonde guy who couldn't seem to decide where to land his eyes on: Emmett, or me.
"Hey, Jasper," Emmett called loudly. "Billy, this is Jasper. Jasper, this is Billy. New guy on the floor."
He gave me a cool smile, and asked, "Edward's roommate, right?"
I gave him a nod, a little shaken. Jeez, what was wrong with the water here? I meet three guys at the school, and they're all hotter than I can imagine. Jasper, with his cool demeanor, oozed sex appeal and a DGAF attitude; Emmett was all brawn, humor, and friendliness, a perfect mixture of each; and Edward... I had to mentally shake off the image of his perfection. They all just seemed so... man, in every sense of the word - attitute, muscle, talk, height. And here I thought I was a rather tall girl - but I forget, pretending to be a guy, I was a shrimp, especially compared to these men.
"Not only Edward's roommate, but possibly his rival for top track participant," Jasper continued thoughtfully. "Broke just under a 4 minute mile, didn't you?"
I blinked at him. "Uh, yeah. How'd you know that? I wasn't...aware people knew of me here."
"They don't," Jasper shrugged. "But I'm in cahoots with the coach, being captain and all. He's pretty excited about you, man."
"Under a 4 minute mile? Holy shit!" Emmett grinned down at me. We all walked through the doors as they led me down the food line. "That's gotta be a record or something."
Shrugging, I replied, "Not really. I mean, there have been other... guys faster than me."
"Yeah, but not many," Jasper retorted when we stopped in line. "Besides, you didn't have any formal training, so that's gotta be even more of an accomplishment."
I gulped, not wanting to go down that road. Instead, I ignored his comment and started picking out my food. In the lull of our conversation, Emmett filled it up with explanations of how the Dining Hall worked. While I was excited about the idea of all-you-can-eat, I thought of home, where I normally cooked for Charlie, and how I'll miss the idea of cooking. Maybe if I got one of those portable stoves...
My thoughts prevented me from joining Emmett and Jasper's conversation, but it was comfortable with them. When we were done getting our food, Emmett and Jasper spotted Edward at the end of the room. He seemed to be glaring at me again, and this time, I ignored him.
"Looks like Edward's being a bitch again," Emmett snickered. He glanced over to me. "Do you wanna eat with us, Billy?"
Well that sounded like a terrible idea. "Nah, I'm pretty sure Edward would chop your - our balls off if I do."
Emmett barked off a laugh before Jasper responded, "Yeah, that does sound like something he'd do. Seems like you've already got an idea of our resident bitch-face. Anyway, if you're sure you don't wanna sit with us, it was nice meeting you, Billy. See you around."
"Yeah, see you guys."
And I was left alone. In a cafeteria. That was fine with me, because I did have my plan to lay low after all. And it wasn't as if I was the only one eating alone. Being the first day of school, underclassmen and new students such as myself were segregated into separate tables, eating away dutifully at their food. I hardly spared a glance at the three boys I had become acquainted with in the last twenty-four hours (well, as acquainted as you can get with someone you barely spoke two sentences to). Again, I was fine with this, and when I was done, I headed off to my first class.
School itself was what I was expecting: challenging, advanced, and undeniably exciting. You'd think that first day of classes consisted of syllabi and ice-breakers? No, what I got from V.H. were brief introductions to the courses, an even briefer review, and a whole lotta learning. There was no way I'd ever be able to go back to Forks' own pitiful high school. I even enjoyed my first class of trigonometry, of all things. Still, though I worked diligently in each class, and engrossed myself in each lesson, I stayed silent, not wanting to bring attention to myself.
However, I couldn't keep to myself during English. Already a discussion was made over the summer reading, and I found myself spewing opinions and theories about Sinclair and Hemingway and Hawthorne. It was a good thing there were others who were just as involved as I was or else I'd be the blatant suck-up know-it-all. Maybe I was still that, but it was fine by me, because this was a domain I could truly lose myself in. And the fact that Edward was in this class with me didn't even cross my mind, much.
But I wasn't so lucky to have him in only one class. I happened to have him back-to-back from English to Biology, with lunch in between. He ignored me still, and I ignored him some more. It was an arrangement I could work with, especially with him being such an asshole, I wouldn't be able to stand to be in his presence any longer than a couple of minutes.
...Which, of course, would prove to be a problem in our dorm room.
In the afternoon, it wasn't the strained silence that occurred the night previous, but more of an awkward quietude. Edward refused to make a peep, sticking headphones into his ears while he worked at his desk. As I was done with my homework quick enough, I got ready for bed early, and climbed to my bunk for some nightly reading. I decided to skip dinner because of how mentally exhausted I was. Sleep came to me easily and was thankfully dreamless.
The next morning I was awake earlier than the one previous. Still, there was no sign of Edward. If yesterday morning was any indication, I would have the room all to myself for the duration. I took the time to do some quick stretches and sit-ups, determined to stay in shape though it had been nearly three days since my last run. After my shower (door still locked faithfully), I still had time left, and decided to call my father. It was still dawn back in Washington, but being an early-riser, our conversation was lively and cheerful and full of well-wishes. Unfortunately, I had to cut it short at the first mention of Jacob.
I thought about home, how obvious it was that neither Jake nor Seth spilled the beans to my father. It was a comforting thought, so I didn't dwell so much on it. Instead, I went through my day once more, singularly. Passing by him, I was going to leave only a wave to Jasper when I passed by him in the courtyard, but I remembered I wanted to ask about the running.
"I know practice isn't here yet, but I still have to run," I started. "Any good places that wouldn't be too crowded?"
"Definitely not the track," he laughed. "Everyone on the team seems to have it in their minds that it's cool to encroach on my space there. But, anyway, yeah, if you follow the school entrance to the sidewalk, there should be a dirt path a little down the block towards town. It's a narrow path but it goes all the way around school, depositing you by Athletics Residence, your side of the building. Only a few of the, uh, better runners know it."
Gratitude filled me up. "This is a lot more than I expected, but thank you, Captain," I gushed. "Seriously."
"No problem, and, please, don't call me Captain off practice," he smirked. "Makes me feel like I'm as old as Coach Clapp."
That afternoon, and the other afternoons following, I found myself feeling the refreshing air of the nearby Lake Michigan hitting my face as my chest burned lightly. Such an intoxicating feeling. This was the one thing I could truly lose myself in. Sure, I had books and English and even Seth to talk to back home, but nothing else could give me the elation, the freedom I felt while running. Due to the lone nature of my lifestyle here, I'd found myself thinking strictly of running when I wasn't in class.
My first week truly was a solitary one. At the room, Edward and I continued to ignore each other, which was easy enough because he was hardly ever there. Mornings and nights he was gone, and I had a sneaky suspicion that he knew I wasn't in the room during the afternoons while I ran, because his desk was usually littered with the day's work by the time I got back. My interactions with him were even less than mine with Jasper and Emmett. Despite having met the two earlier in the week, our interactions were limited to waves and hellos in the hallways. It wasn't until my first Friday at V.H. when there was a change in my solitary lifestyle.
It wasn't much, but it was just before lunch had I been approached by Mike Newton and Eric Yorkie, two of the few classmates of mine who were just as enthused about English as I was. I knew this because they were constantly in heated discussion and arguments with me during class time.
"Hey Billy, we wanted to talk to you," Mike opened up. "Since today was our first all-period in-class essay, there was no discussion, and..." He hesitated, which was odd, because, given his attitude in class, he was all words.
"He wanted to continue his explanation from yesterday," high-pitched Eric interrupted after Mike's long pause.
I smiled knowingly. Mike wanted to beat me in our argument, did he? "I see. Wanna kick my ass with your point? I doubt it'll happen, but you can try."
He stammered before delicately smoothing out the side of his head, then with an exaggerated gesture, blurted out, "Look, I've noticed that you eat alone during lunch, which is completely up to your discretion if you really do enjoy your privacy, but we were wondering if it would make you at all uncomfortable for you to eat with us. And if you would join us, of course."
Mike looked at me expectantly, while Eric avoided my gaze. I furrowed my brow, unsure of his meaning. In my thought, I caught the stare of Edward Cullen, who for some reason was watching me from our classroom door with a curious gaze. Forcing my blush down, my attention went to the two in front me once more. They were acting strangely... Then, Mike gave a very delicate sigh, and it just clicked.
"Oh," I breathed, almost wanting to laugh. "No, no, trust me, I'm much more open-minded than you'd think. I'd like to join you."
I thought of my own current state of cross-dressing, and knew a couple of gays wouldn't even faze me in the least. Once upon a time, I happily thought that my own best friend Seth was homosexual, considering he never had a particular interest in girls, but he quickly shot that down when I hinted at it. No, I knew I wouldn't care, but it still didn't mean that I would pretend to be gay, no matter how much easier it would make my attempts at being male. It would just make my lay-low plan a little more complicated.
The two boys gave me both a relieved smile, which was soon replaced with quick chatter over English. They were easy to talk to, I realized, especially given that our subjects never strayed from class. By the end of lunch, I was surprised by how quick time had passed. The two were such good companions that I hardly even realized the rest of the cafeteria, mostly Edward, kept glancing my way. Fortunately for me, his attentions didn't continue onto Biology.
With my first week done, the weekend proved to be an unfortunate wrench in my routine. Tryouts were on Monday, so I trained for it as much as possible, but it was difficult considering Edward actually spent time in our room for once. I ignored his light humming to his iPod as I did stretches dutifully. However, he was unable to ignore me, apparently. At some point when I was leaning forward, legs apart, he fled the room rather abruptly. It startled me, but I was mainly ticked off. Was he acting annoyed at me while he was being a dick and not even acknowledging my presence?
I felt my face grow hot with anger. So that asshole feels uncomfortable with me doing stretches? I wasn't even in his way, whereas his humming was more than enough to get in the way of someone's business! I threw myself into my exercising even harder.
A couple hundred crunches and a phone call to dad later, I was finally calm again, yet I still couldn't help but wonder about our frustrating predicament. I'd tried talking to Emmett about Edward earlier in the week, but he just brushed it off, so I never brought it up again, not even to Jasper. I gave Edward benefit of the doubt and figured it wasn't something to do with me, and that he really had a good reason to be a dickwad. This is what pushed me through the weekend whenever we were alone together.
It still didn't excuse him for being such an asswipe when he gave an annoyed grunt and stormed out again when I did stretches on Sunday.
The Monday was Labor Day, thus, no classes meant all day preparation and tryouts for the various fall and winter teams. Though I knew I was a shoo-in (said my partial scholarship for cross country), the school insisted on formalities and had everyone tryout, including students like me who applied on the basis of joining a sport. I looked around the field as I waited by Jasper for my call-time. I caught sight of nervous looking Freshmen and bored looking Seniors, but no sign of what I truly wanted to see. Or, rather, who I truly wanted to see.
As much as I hadn't wanted to admit it to myself, for some reason, I found myself looking for the one person who was giving me stress all week.
It annoyed me that I wanted to see Edward of all people, so I tried to distract myself by prepping myself for the tryout. Who was he to dictate how I felt today? I was supposed to be excited: we'd be running to the lake and it'd be my first time seeing it. Yet instead, I was disappointed... because, well, without any sign of him, I wouldn't be able to see him run today. And even though I knew he was a prick, it was one of the reasons I applied to this school.
Pushing down the scowl that was finding its way onto my face, I prepared myself to blow everyone out of the water, because all I could do to calm my anger was to just run, and keep running.
When I got back to my room and found Edward on his bunk playing some handheld video game, it took everything in my being to control myself from cussing him out. I huffed loudly. Of all the fucking nerve... Was he so cocky that he didn't have to go to tryouts? Did he just know he was a sure thing so he couldn't grace us lowly people who needed their time to be recorded? Or did he just know that the school kept records of his impeccable half-marathon time?
I wanted so badly to wipe that smug look off his face, when he glanced my way. I couldn't handle looking at him. I just couldn't. So I ran into the bathroom and firmly locked the door. I was planning on showering, but I realized I had left all my stuff, including my clean bandage bonding, outside in the room, so I pretend to take a dump or something.
By the time I went back to the room, Edward was no where to be seen.
A structured schedule began to develop that week. My mornings were free of Edward, so I'd do a quick work out, shower, and check on home via phone or Facebook. In classes I'd stay diligent and quiet, except for English, where afterwards Mike and Eric and I would go eat and continue discussion. Right after the school day, I'd run for miles, maybe to the lake, now that I knew the way. Dinner, I was always alone. Some nights, I was granted reprieve and could enjoy it alone peacefully, maybe on Skype with Seth, or reading a book. Other nights, Edward would come in, make eye contact with me, and stiffen. It was always the same.
It should have brought me comfort, to know that he would do the same thing every time we were close, because in a way, it was like a pattern, and I liked those. However, the more he seemed to tense around me, the more I'd get annoyed with him. At some point over the next weekend, he just about frozen up when I accidentally grazed his arm to go to the bathroom. Hell, it wasn't my fault that his desk was so close to the goddamned door. Why did he have to be a fucking asshole? Why did he have to hate my presence so much?
Saturday and Sunday were frustratingly similar to the ones the week before.
I was beyond aggravated, that Mike and Eric even seemed to notice during lunch on Monday. I assured them it was nothing they could help, but they seemed to have it in their minds that it was because we ate together. My scoff let them know that I didn't give a crap if we occassionally got stares during lunch time. They were good to talk to, and it wasn't like it was too much attention being brought on me.
Still, as much as I hid my annoyance, there was only so much a girl-pretending-to-be-a-guy could take.
That is why, when, for the first time in three weeks, I was walking up to our room and I spotted Edward coming up the stairs from the other side, that I just about exploded. Not only did Edward seem to be stunned that I would be going to our room, but he seemed pissed, which in turn made me pissed. It took some time to realize that his glare wasn't directed at me, however.
He was staring intently at the door, where there were not one, but two taped envelopes. Each said our names very clearly. Before I knew what was happening, I heard a soft chuckle. From the corner of my eye, I watched Edward smile as he grabbed his envelope and walk through our door. He didn't even give me a second glance.
Though the door was left slightly ajar, I didn't walk in when I reached for my envelope. Instead I read it curiously in the hallway, not exactly surprised to find its contents.
Billy Swan,
This is your official invitation to the Volturi Hill Academy Cross Country and Track and Field teams...
I glossed over the rest of the letter, surprised at how formal an acceptance this was. Though I knew I was joining the team already, it still warmed my heart to see they've accepted me for my running - not because I was some exceptional female phenom, but because of my talent alone amongst the best. I took note of the times they posted on a separate paper for practice, starting the upcoming Wednesday.
Then, all the way at the bottom was a small, but clearly written P.S. on a post-it.
Hope this is a good birthday surprise. Have a good one. - Jasper
Shit.
It was my birthday. And I forgot.
--
What I expected to see on the door was not two envelopes, but one very familiar letter taped at the center of the door. It never in a million years occurred to me that Billy would apply and be accepted into the cross-country team. Well, then again the universe was trying to bite me in the ass.
I knew I shouldn't be so egotistical to think that this was yet another ploy from fate to force me to endure the presence of one Billy Swan, but really... not only my room, but my other sanctuary, the track field, too? The boy was infiltrating my entire life and I hated every bit of it. Of course, I should have expected it when I saw that he was missing from the room during try-out day. I thought he'd been pitifully attemping to try out for another sport, maybe tennis or swim, something more... delicate for him. I hadn't thought of track at all, because I hadn't thought the world was so cruel.
Again, it was partly my fault I didn't see this coming. I did warn both Jasper and Emmett to never mention my roommate to me, ever. And Jas being the team captain surely would have known about Billy trying out. It must have been pure luck that the kid got accepted at all. Maybe the pickings were not so good this year.
Of course I hadn't seen what the competition was like; I didn't attend the try-outs this year. But that was because I had a deal with the coach to come during the summer for my private try-out so I could have personal training before the season really kicked off. If there was one thing I truly cared about, it was running... and there was no way I was going to stay at home during the summer while I could be doing something useful with my time.
Seems even running won't be able to give me a clear head now.
I chuckled at the coincidence as I noticed in my peripheral the object of my thoughts standing a couple yards away. I grabbed my envelope and rushed in, leaving the door open for my roommate. I would've liked to have seen the reaction he'd get once reading his acceptance letter, but I realized I had no right, considering we weren't even friends.
Plopping myself onto my bed, frustration filled me up. I hated how this boy seemed to permeate my every thought. It was odd; from the get-go I knew he was different, so much so that I hated the effect it had on me. I wanted his friendship; no, I craved it. But it was too late for that. I was an ass from the very beginning, and there was only one course, which was to continue on my fucked up path to distancing myself.
It's not like I was one to have many friends. Or any, for that matter. It was a wonder that Emmett and Jasper put up with me.
Finally, the boy walked in, letter in hand. His eyes looked everywhere but me, but I noticed a faint happiness to his visage. Of course he'd be excited, who wouldn't be excited? It was a different sort of expression I was used to, at least, in our dorm room. The thought brought me to think of his excitement during English class. His insight and enthusiasm was bright as day to everyone there, especially to the two resident lit nerds, Eric and Mike.
I scowled, thinking of them. God, they were so... ugh.
It wasn't the fact that they were gay that bothered me, nor was it even that Mike himself once had a blatant crush on me in the eighth grade. No, it was that Mike liked to rub his knowledge all over the next person, trying to show him up. Eric wasn't much better either, being a sick puppy around the guy everywhere he went. The two were quite the pair, and I just couldn't see how Billy could consider himself part of that group. He was so much better than them, gay or not.
And it wouldn't concern me if my roommate was into guys; something about him did, after all, have that sort of...quality to him. But honestly, did he think Mike Newton would make him happy?
Still, he seemed to enjoy his lunches with the two boys. His face really did light up around them.
That was a total opposite of now, I realized. Glancing over, he was tugging his extremely baggy sweater, and heading for the bathroom. I got up, planning on doing something productive now, before the initiation tonight for newcomers. As Billy's desk was next to our bunk bed, the letter sat, open, easy to take a peek at.
I was right. He was accepted. An interesting development in the life of Edward Cullen. But I hadn't failed to notice the attached post-it note to his letter. Fuck. It was his birthday, and he seemed to be getting the worst treatment from me, as usual. I thought to myself that I should be nice to him today, but I knew that wouldn't do. It would be too strange, and I was just barely getting used to his presence.
Sure, every time he came close, it made me uncomfortable. The fact that I was attracted to him at first glance was a weird and annoying experience. The fact that I was just now getting used to my reaction said a lot. Who knows how much worse I would get were I to actually talk to the guy? I couldn't even handle being in the same room with him as he stretched on the floor. No, I'll just keep to myself still, but I won't be so outwardly harsh.
Doing my homework by the bathroom desk hadn't helped my thoughts when he came out in a completely different outfit. It was a track uniform (not the school one that I knew they'll give tonight). I figured he was going out for a run, which I wasn't exactly sure what to make of. I almost wanted to warn him, but thought better of it.
Instead, my approval came in the form of a short nod, to which it was his turn to stiffen up at. That's right, I can be cordial.
A sense of accomplishment filled me up as I studied my Mandarin. It was a driving factor for me: all throughout my studying and eating dinner I thought of the first step of progress I'd made. I hardly even noticed or froze up when he came back into the room to knock out on his bed, clothes and all. Then I looked at the clock's hands reading eleven and ten, and realized that it was five minutes till my call time. I was reveling in my private success for so long I hadn't even noticed I was going to be late!
I quickly changed into sweats, and sprinted to the track field, using the shortcut through the woods on the path. Jasper was standing in front of a bench in the middle of the field, scanning the crowd of upperclassmen. When he reached me, he smirked. He knew I knew he'd purposely withheld the information about Billy's involvement with cross country.
"Alright, guys, we've got a big night ahead of us," Jasper began. "You know the drill, I already contacted all of you on what's going down. Reminder, the 'kidnappers' have to leave at approximately 11:50 so that we can get cracking by midnight. Unfortunately, we can't do it early morning like last year, but I do still plan on having the whole team eat breakfast together, so don't forget tomorrow. I will let the unders know. Now head out and get ready."
For the next forty minutes, we took up our stations and got our stuff together. My place was with Jasper, as his second-hand man. Therefore, at midnight, I found myself standing next to him as everyone was filing in with one or two underclassmen in their grip, bandanas tight over each's eyes. My eyes landed on one I was sure was Billy. He was biting his lip, but otherwise he had no indication that we was terribly scared. His Senior probably was gentle, or as gentle as you can be while in this situation. For some reason, I found myself grateful for this fact.
"Listen up, everyone!" Jasper called out in an uncharacteristically loud, harsh voice to scare the kids. "Welcome, new and old. I'm glad you could make it to our very own unofficial initiation. That's right, this is an initiation to you new cross country runners. The coach technically has no idea about this annual meeting, so no mentioning this to the old man. It's been going down for nearly ten years, and we wouldn't want to ruin our streak, would we? You'll be undergoing some tests I'm sure each of you will pass, but trust me, should one of you fail to complete the tasks ahead of you, you will suffer the consequences. That said, newbies, may our games begin."
Billy had stopped biting his lip and was smiling in determination. He was the only upperclassman to have to do this, considering all of us were initiated when we were younger. I wonder how he would fare; the process was a sort of hazing, but no one would be hurt or eliminated for their efforts. In all honesty, it was good-natured competition, but the captain was never above putting a little fear into the kids before the season. Plus, after the whole thing was done, there was a sense of family for everyone in the team.
Jasper was explaining the rules: the initiates have to find their way back into the track from the next-door forest, where they'll be dropped off with only flashlights and instructions to an indiviualized task, which may or may not put them in direct competition against each other. I was part of a group who would be running around with green glow sticks around our necks to indicate that we would offer help and watch out for any foul-play. Others would be hiding out in bushes with blue glow sticks to trick the kids. Essentially the whole thing was a race. First person got bragging rights and a chance to keep fully clothed while on the following two-mile run.
The boys seemed to get nervous at this last detail, especially Billy, who put on even more of a game face, if possible.
But they had little time to react, because soon they were pulled away and into the woods. I headed in too, though I had to forcibly try not to follow my roommate. Of course, there was that thing called fate which had other plans for me.
I amusedly watched as I ran through the forest, taking note of the kids who were starting their various tasks. I noticed one looking rather idiotic as he was crouching and sniffing some bushes. Many were looking up to the trees, searching for some object or other. Others seemed to be directly up against some other candidate who was gunning for the same thing. No one seemed to call out for me, so I just enjoyed my observing.
I did come across one rather interesting scene. Billy's hands were high above his lithe body, as his torso was pressed against a tree. If I didn't know that he was trying to get up the tree, I would have burst out laughing seeing the ridiculous sight. His fingertips barely reached a hanging blue handkerchief, so that he leaped up to grab onto it. Once he caught hold, however, he fell right back, landing on a rock.
"Aghh!" He called out, clutching his scratched up arm, which made me come forward.
Immediately, at the sight of me, he got up and ran past. Feeling worried that he was bleeding out, I ran after. I only got a few yards to catch him agiley jump over a freshman who was on all fours. In my moment of stunned silence, I wondered how on earth he could have gotten away so fast and still had the energy to jump over someone his toes.
A part of me was glad that he didn't need my assistance... He was still trying to win the game, and additionally I wouldn't have to be the one to have to lead a medical rescue. I was curious if Billy was done with his goal, which meant that the competition would be ended soon.
At the thought, I rushed back to base, where the initiates would have to run back to. The first one there would be the winner. When I got to the check point, nobody besides Jasper and a couple other seniors were there. I knew the kids were probably lost in the brush, but it was still nerve wracking. Anyone could get here now.
There was no sign of anyone coming out of the forest yet, and even if we were dead quiet, it was still making our pulses race and our faces sweat in anticipation. And then--
A bush rustled.
Out of the brush closest to us was a freshman, Riley.
His face broke out in a complete grin as he held up a star-shaped rock as he jogged in tiredness toward us. It was exciting, really, and I should have been clapping along with my teammates, but I just couldn't bring myself to do so...
When he was a little less than a hundred feet away, however, someone came out of the other side of the woods.
Billy's face was in a deep concentration as he sprinted across the field. Riley was good, and he was close, too, much more so than my roommate. Yet the freshman was still surpassed when Billy ran right past him before Riley could make any headway. My teammates were stunned silent, but I couldn't help myself from breaking out into a steady clap. If it was any indication from Riley's face, I'm sure many of our faces were in a shocked awe. The distance was just too great, and yet, Billy had outrun an incredibly fast runner in a matter of seconds.
Pride filled me up as he stopped in front of Jasper and me, bending at the knees and resting his hands there. His head hung low between his legs, and we heard his gasps coming in deep and fast. Riley came up to us just after, shock still lingering on his face as he took in the champion's form. Then, Billy took a deep breath and lifted his head up at us. His eyes connected with mine as he gave a small grin underneath his breaths.
His smile was so happy that I instinctually froze up.
Taken aback by my reaction to him (again), I could hardly notice everyone's congratulations and the excited chatter that started surrounding us as kids starting pouring in. All I knew was that, even during the run - with Billy the only new member in clothing - and the team breakfast, whenever our eyes met, we both broke out into large grins.
Maybe this...thing...I had in reaction to him would get better. After all, it seems I had just gained a formidable rival in what I did best. And I so wanted to race him now.
Rating: M
Pairings: Canon
Comments Unedited. This is a slow chapter to me, as we are still leading up to the good stuff. And the good stuff gets good.
[Read Chapter 1]
Chapter 2
By the time I woke up, I was lucky enough to find Edward gone already. Seizing the opportunity, I allowed myself to shower peacefully. With all my supplies and clothes kept behind the locked bathroom door, I was finally able to truly rest. It was good to have privacy, because it allowed me time to my own thoughts.
When I first saw Edward come in, I was overwhelmed by the possibility of us sharing a room together. It was by some unfortunate luck that I would have to be paired up with not only an idol of mine, but a very, very good-looking one at that. Still, I wanted to gather my composure and not come across as some lovesick fangirl... but it was easy enough once he'd shown his true colors. He had been glaring at me since the moment he walked into the room, which was strange because I hadn't said a single word to the guy. And when I tried to alleviate my nervousness with my blabbering, he had to go and ruin all preconceived notions I had of him.
From all the interviews and comments I never would have guessed what an asshole he really was.
Of course I hadn't expected Edward Cullen to be all dandelions and rainbows, but I couldn't deny the disappointment I felt when he wasn't even remotely friendly. Still, this would work out for me in the long run. I hadn't planned on being too chummy with anyone anyway, instead conjuring up a plan since my acceptance letter to just lay low in the school.
As the new kid, I knew it wasn't entirely possible to be invisible, but if I at least just keep to myself, I won't have any major problems. I'll get to go to a fantastic school, and I'll be able to run freely. A sigh escaped my lips. It hadn't been since Saturday morning when I last ran. I made a mental note to go look around campus for a good spot to run. Surely somewhere other than the track, right?
With this in mind, I was reminded of what I was here to do: to be passionate in what I love, all while acting as a guy. I was finished with my serious thoughts, so when I resumed showering, it occurred to me that I didn't want to not shave my pits. I could handle my legs being unshaved (in fact, I had welcomed this new lazy development for a while now), but something about leaving my underarms unattended sent disturbed shivers down my spine. Once I took care of my cleaning, I looked at myself in the mirror after wiping it free of steam.
What was I supposed to do with my hair now? How did guys style their bangs? I mean, I never even had bangs before, but truthfully, I didn't do much with my hair either. Then again, most guys didn't do anything at all. Unless they were metro or gay. And I suppose I could pull myself off as gay, but I wouldn't want to bring more attention to myself, so I just let it be. Besides, not caring about appearance was a good trait of mine.
I eyeballed my eyebrows, knowing I won't have to tweeze or maintain anything. I won't have to think about what to wear to an extent (after all, my clothes were of the same baggy variety). I won't have to brush my hair or have my nails done or any of the sort... and no one would expect me to. I thought of Leah back home, who, even under her brashness and tomboy qualities, still dragged me to those salons, if only for the sole reason that we were girls. But here? Here, I was a boy. And it occurred to me how happy I was over the fact.
Delighted with the development, I simply bound my breasts and put on my school uniform. The outfit was big on me; the dress shirt a size larger than my stature, loose straight cut pants, and a baggy vest with the school emblem to complete the look. I looked like a regular nerd, but if it wasn't going to bring me extra attention, especially to my curves, I was glad for it.
I was getting my things together when a booming knock resonated through the room. Frightened from the shock of the noise, and the fact that someone was here to see me, I cautiously opened up the door.
In front of me was a brute of a man, muscles showing even through his school sweater, wearing an even bigger smile.
"'Lo there! Billy, right?" he said, sticking out a hand to catch mine in it. "I'm Emmett, your RA. Was wondering if you'd like me to show you the way to the dining hall for breakfast, as you're the only upperclassman who's new."
I felt myself relax with his explanation. "Oh, yeah, thanks. Nice to meet you, Emmett. Let me just get my stuff, and we can go."
He nodded, leaning on the banister of the doorframe. As I slung my book bag onto my shoulder, not taking it across my chest, he looked into the room curiously. "Where's Edward? Taking a dump or something?" He paused, his eyes glinting mischievously. "Don't anyone this, but one time I was locked in his bathroom, and he left his dookie in the toilet. His crap log is rank as hell."
Laughing, I gave an amused shrug. "If he was in there, I'm sure I'd've passed out from the smell by now. Woke up, he wasn't here, and so far, no sign of the guy."
It was a good thing I was already familiar with guys: Seth and Jacob were my best friends, after all. Plus the guys on the rez would make conversation with no holds barred when it came to gender or age (but sometimes the elders would give them shit for it). Most of the girls I knew back home, such as Kim and Emily, were insulted by the comments they would make, and would often call them pigs and idiots. Having grown up with only the boys around, I was used to it. Besides, it was easy with Emmett; he seemed actually funny.
"Huh, I woulda thought he'd be back by now, but then again..." he trailed off, eyeing me. After a beat, he slapped on that grin again and asked that we be on his way, because he was "starving like a mofo."
We walked out of the building and into the sun, towards the Arts Residence, where the Dining Hall was attached. Boys were excitedly running to one another, yelling, playing. Just outside the doors, next to a couple of older looking students playing cards, stood a very tall blonde guy who couldn't seem to decide where to land his eyes on: Emmett, or me.
"Hey, Jasper," Emmett called loudly. "Billy, this is Jasper. Jasper, this is Billy. New guy on the floor."
He gave me a cool smile, and asked, "Edward's roommate, right?"
I gave him a nod, a little shaken. Jeez, what was wrong with the water here? I meet three guys at the school, and they're all hotter than I can imagine. Jasper, with his cool demeanor, oozed sex appeal and a DGAF attitude; Emmett was all brawn, humor, and friendliness, a perfect mixture of each; and Edward... I had to mentally shake off the image of his perfection. They all just seemed so... man, in every sense of the word - attitute, muscle, talk, height. And here I thought I was a rather tall girl - but I forget, pretending to be a guy, I was a shrimp, especially compared to these men.
"Not only Edward's roommate, but possibly his rival for top track participant," Jasper continued thoughtfully. "Broke just under a 4 minute mile, didn't you?"
I blinked at him. "Uh, yeah. How'd you know that? I wasn't...aware people knew of me here."
"They don't," Jasper shrugged. "But I'm in cahoots with the coach, being captain and all. He's pretty excited about you, man."
"Under a 4 minute mile? Holy shit!" Emmett grinned down at me. We all walked through the doors as they led me down the food line. "That's gotta be a record or something."
Shrugging, I replied, "Not really. I mean, there have been other... guys faster than me."
"Yeah, but not many," Jasper retorted when we stopped in line. "Besides, you didn't have any formal training, so that's gotta be even more of an accomplishment."
I gulped, not wanting to go down that road. Instead, I ignored his comment and started picking out my food. In the lull of our conversation, Emmett filled it up with explanations of how the Dining Hall worked. While I was excited about the idea of all-you-can-eat, I thought of home, where I normally cooked for Charlie, and how I'll miss the idea of cooking. Maybe if I got one of those portable stoves...
My thoughts prevented me from joining Emmett and Jasper's conversation, but it was comfortable with them. When we were done getting our food, Emmett and Jasper spotted Edward at the end of the room. He seemed to be glaring at me again, and this time, I ignored him.
"Looks like Edward's being a bitch again," Emmett snickered. He glanced over to me. "Do you wanna eat with us, Billy?"
Well that sounded like a terrible idea. "Nah, I'm pretty sure Edward would chop your - our balls off if I do."
Emmett barked off a laugh before Jasper responded, "Yeah, that does sound like something he'd do. Seems like you've already got an idea of our resident bitch-face. Anyway, if you're sure you don't wanna sit with us, it was nice meeting you, Billy. See you around."
"Yeah, see you guys."
And I was left alone. In a cafeteria. That was fine with me, because I did have my plan to lay low after all. And it wasn't as if I was the only one eating alone. Being the first day of school, underclassmen and new students such as myself were segregated into separate tables, eating away dutifully at their food. I hardly spared a glance at the three boys I had become acquainted with in the last twenty-four hours (well, as acquainted as you can get with someone you barely spoke two sentences to). Again, I was fine with this, and when I was done, I headed off to my first class.
School itself was what I was expecting: challenging, advanced, and undeniably exciting. You'd think that first day of classes consisted of syllabi and ice-breakers? No, what I got from V.H. were brief introductions to the courses, an even briefer review, and a whole lotta learning. There was no way I'd ever be able to go back to Forks' own pitiful high school. I even enjoyed my first class of trigonometry, of all things. Still, though I worked diligently in each class, and engrossed myself in each lesson, I stayed silent, not wanting to bring attention to myself.
However, I couldn't keep to myself during English. Already a discussion was made over the summer reading, and I found myself spewing opinions and theories about Sinclair and Hemingway and Hawthorne. It was a good thing there were others who were just as involved as I was or else I'd be the blatant suck-up know-it-all. Maybe I was still that, but it was fine by me, because this was a domain I could truly lose myself in. And the fact that Edward was in this class with me didn't even cross my mind, much.
But I wasn't so lucky to have him in only one class. I happened to have him back-to-back from English to Biology, with lunch in between. He ignored me still, and I ignored him some more. It was an arrangement I could work with, especially with him being such an asshole, I wouldn't be able to stand to be in his presence any longer than a couple of minutes.
...Which, of course, would prove to be a problem in our dorm room.
In the afternoon, it wasn't the strained silence that occurred the night previous, but more of an awkward quietude. Edward refused to make a peep, sticking headphones into his ears while he worked at his desk. As I was done with my homework quick enough, I got ready for bed early, and climbed to my bunk for some nightly reading. I decided to skip dinner because of how mentally exhausted I was. Sleep came to me easily and was thankfully dreamless.
The next morning I was awake earlier than the one previous. Still, there was no sign of Edward. If yesterday morning was any indication, I would have the room all to myself for the duration. I took the time to do some quick stretches and sit-ups, determined to stay in shape though it had been nearly three days since my last run. After my shower (door still locked faithfully), I still had time left, and decided to call my father. It was still dawn back in Washington, but being an early-riser, our conversation was lively and cheerful and full of well-wishes. Unfortunately, I had to cut it short at the first mention of Jacob.
I thought about home, how obvious it was that neither Jake nor Seth spilled the beans to my father. It was a comforting thought, so I didn't dwell so much on it. Instead, I went through my day once more, singularly. Passing by him, I was going to leave only a wave to Jasper when I passed by him in the courtyard, but I remembered I wanted to ask about the running.
"I know practice isn't here yet, but I still have to run," I started. "Any good places that wouldn't be too crowded?"
"Definitely not the track," he laughed. "Everyone on the team seems to have it in their minds that it's cool to encroach on my space there. But, anyway, yeah, if you follow the school entrance to the sidewalk, there should be a dirt path a little down the block towards town. It's a narrow path but it goes all the way around school, depositing you by Athletics Residence, your side of the building. Only a few of the, uh, better runners know it."
Gratitude filled me up. "This is a lot more than I expected, but thank you, Captain," I gushed. "Seriously."
"No problem, and, please, don't call me Captain off practice," he smirked. "Makes me feel like I'm as old as Coach Clapp."
That afternoon, and the other afternoons following, I found myself feeling the refreshing air of the nearby Lake Michigan hitting my face as my chest burned lightly. Such an intoxicating feeling. This was the one thing I could truly lose myself in. Sure, I had books and English and even Seth to talk to back home, but nothing else could give me the elation, the freedom I felt while running. Due to the lone nature of my lifestyle here, I'd found myself thinking strictly of running when I wasn't in class.
My first week truly was a solitary one. At the room, Edward and I continued to ignore each other, which was easy enough because he was hardly ever there. Mornings and nights he was gone, and I had a sneaky suspicion that he knew I wasn't in the room during the afternoons while I ran, because his desk was usually littered with the day's work by the time I got back. My interactions with him were even less than mine with Jasper and Emmett. Despite having met the two earlier in the week, our interactions were limited to waves and hellos in the hallways. It wasn't until my first Friday at V.H. when there was a change in my solitary lifestyle.
It wasn't much, but it was just before lunch had I been approached by Mike Newton and Eric Yorkie, two of the few classmates of mine who were just as enthused about English as I was. I knew this because they were constantly in heated discussion and arguments with me during class time.
"Hey Billy, we wanted to talk to you," Mike opened up. "Since today was our first all-period in-class essay, there was no discussion, and..." He hesitated, which was odd, because, given his attitude in class, he was all words.
"He wanted to continue his explanation from yesterday," high-pitched Eric interrupted after Mike's long pause.
I smiled knowingly. Mike wanted to beat me in our argument, did he? "I see. Wanna kick my ass with your point? I doubt it'll happen, but you can try."
He stammered before delicately smoothing out the side of his head, then with an exaggerated gesture, blurted out, "Look, I've noticed that you eat alone during lunch, which is completely up to your discretion if you really do enjoy your privacy, but we were wondering if it would make you at all uncomfortable for you to eat with us. And if you would join us, of course."
Mike looked at me expectantly, while Eric avoided my gaze. I furrowed my brow, unsure of his meaning. In my thought, I caught the stare of Edward Cullen, who for some reason was watching me from our classroom door with a curious gaze. Forcing my blush down, my attention went to the two in front me once more. They were acting strangely... Then, Mike gave a very delicate sigh, and it just clicked.
"Oh," I breathed, almost wanting to laugh. "No, no, trust me, I'm much more open-minded than you'd think. I'd like to join you."
I thought of my own current state of cross-dressing, and knew a couple of gays wouldn't even faze me in the least. Once upon a time, I happily thought that my own best friend Seth was homosexual, considering he never had a particular interest in girls, but he quickly shot that down when I hinted at it. No, I knew I wouldn't care, but it still didn't mean that I would pretend to be gay, no matter how much easier it would make my attempts at being male. It would just make my lay-low plan a little more complicated.
The two boys gave me both a relieved smile, which was soon replaced with quick chatter over English. They were easy to talk to, I realized, especially given that our subjects never strayed from class. By the end of lunch, I was surprised by how quick time had passed. The two were such good companions that I hardly even realized the rest of the cafeteria, mostly Edward, kept glancing my way. Fortunately for me, his attentions didn't continue onto Biology.
With my first week done, the weekend proved to be an unfortunate wrench in my routine. Tryouts were on Monday, so I trained for it as much as possible, but it was difficult considering Edward actually spent time in our room for once. I ignored his light humming to his iPod as I did stretches dutifully. However, he was unable to ignore me, apparently. At some point when I was leaning forward, legs apart, he fled the room rather abruptly. It startled me, but I was mainly ticked off. Was he acting annoyed at me while he was being a dick and not even acknowledging my presence?
I felt my face grow hot with anger. So that asshole feels uncomfortable with me doing stretches? I wasn't even in his way, whereas his humming was more than enough to get in the way of someone's business! I threw myself into my exercising even harder.
A couple hundred crunches and a phone call to dad later, I was finally calm again, yet I still couldn't help but wonder about our frustrating predicament. I'd tried talking to Emmett about Edward earlier in the week, but he just brushed it off, so I never brought it up again, not even to Jasper. I gave Edward benefit of the doubt and figured it wasn't something to do with me, and that he really had a good reason to be a dickwad. This is what pushed me through the weekend whenever we were alone together.
It still didn't excuse him for being such an asswipe when he gave an annoyed grunt and stormed out again when I did stretches on Sunday.
The Monday was Labor Day, thus, no classes meant all day preparation and tryouts for the various fall and winter teams. Though I knew I was a shoo-in (said my partial scholarship for cross country), the school insisted on formalities and had everyone tryout, including students like me who applied on the basis of joining a sport. I looked around the field as I waited by Jasper for my call-time. I caught sight of nervous looking Freshmen and bored looking Seniors, but no sign of what I truly wanted to see. Or, rather, who I truly wanted to see.
As much as I hadn't wanted to admit it to myself, for some reason, I found myself looking for the one person who was giving me stress all week.
It annoyed me that I wanted to see Edward of all people, so I tried to distract myself by prepping myself for the tryout. Who was he to dictate how I felt today? I was supposed to be excited: we'd be running to the lake and it'd be my first time seeing it. Yet instead, I was disappointed... because, well, without any sign of him, I wouldn't be able to see him run today. And even though I knew he was a prick, it was one of the reasons I applied to this school.
Pushing down the scowl that was finding its way onto my face, I prepared myself to blow everyone out of the water, because all I could do to calm my anger was to just run, and keep running.
When I got back to my room and found Edward on his bunk playing some handheld video game, it took everything in my being to control myself from cussing him out. I huffed loudly. Of all the fucking nerve... Was he so cocky that he didn't have to go to tryouts? Did he just know he was a sure thing so he couldn't grace us lowly people who needed their time to be recorded? Or did he just know that the school kept records of his impeccable half-marathon time?
I wanted so badly to wipe that smug look off his face, when he glanced my way. I couldn't handle looking at him. I just couldn't. So I ran into the bathroom and firmly locked the door. I was planning on showering, but I realized I had left all my stuff, including my clean bandage bonding, outside in the room, so I pretend to take a dump or something.
By the time I went back to the room, Edward was no where to be seen.
A structured schedule began to develop that week. My mornings were free of Edward, so I'd do a quick work out, shower, and check on home via phone or Facebook. In classes I'd stay diligent and quiet, except for English, where afterwards Mike and Eric and I would go eat and continue discussion. Right after the school day, I'd run for miles, maybe to the lake, now that I knew the way. Dinner, I was always alone. Some nights, I was granted reprieve and could enjoy it alone peacefully, maybe on Skype with Seth, or reading a book. Other nights, Edward would come in, make eye contact with me, and stiffen. It was always the same.
It should have brought me comfort, to know that he would do the same thing every time we were close, because in a way, it was like a pattern, and I liked those. However, the more he seemed to tense around me, the more I'd get annoyed with him. At some point over the next weekend, he just about frozen up when I accidentally grazed his arm to go to the bathroom. Hell, it wasn't my fault that his desk was so close to the goddamned door. Why did he have to be a fucking asshole? Why did he have to hate my presence so much?
Saturday and Sunday were frustratingly similar to the ones the week before.
I was beyond aggravated, that Mike and Eric even seemed to notice during lunch on Monday. I assured them it was nothing they could help, but they seemed to have it in their minds that it was because we ate together. My scoff let them know that I didn't give a crap if we occassionally got stares during lunch time. They were good to talk to, and it wasn't like it was too much attention being brought on me.
Still, as much as I hid my annoyance, there was only so much a girl-pretending-to-be-a-guy could take.
That is why, when, for the first time in three weeks, I was walking up to our room and I spotted Edward coming up the stairs from the other side, that I just about exploded. Not only did Edward seem to be stunned that I would be going to our room, but he seemed pissed, which in turn made me pissed. It took some time to realize that his glare wasn't directed at me, however.
He was staring intently at the door, where there were not one, but two taped envelopes. Each said our names very clearly. Before I knew what was happening, I heard a soft chuckle. From the corner of my eye, I watched Edward smile as he grabbed his envelope and walk through our door. He didn't even give me a second glance.
Though the door was left slightly ajar, I didn't walk in when I reached for my envelope. Instead I read it curiously in the hallway, not exactly surprised to find its contents.
Billy Swan,
This is your official invitation to the Volturi Hill Academy Cross Country and Track and Field teams...
I glossed over the rest of the letter, surprised at how formal an acceptance this was. Though I knew I was joining the team already, it still warmed my heart to see they've accepted me for my running - not because I was some exceptional female phenom, but because of my talent alone amongst the best. I took note of the times they posted on a separate paper for practice, starting the upcoming Wednesday.
Then, all the way at the bottom was a small, but clearly written P.S. on a post-it.
Hope this is a good birthday surprise. Have a good one. - Jasper
Shit.
It was my birthday. And I forgot.
--
What I expected to see on the door was not two envelopes, but one very familiar letter taped at the center of the door. It never in a million years occurred to me that Billy would apply and be accepted into the cross-country team. Well, then again the universe was trying to bite me in the ass.
I knew I shouldn't be so egotistical to think that this was yet another ploy from fate to force me to endure the presence of one Billy Swan, but really... not only my room, but my other sanctuary, the track field, too? The boy was infiltrating my entire life and I hated every bit of it. Of course, I should have expected it when I saw that he was missing from the room during try-out day. I thought he'd been pitifully attemping to try out for another sport, maybe tennis or swim, something more... delicate for him. I hadn't thought of track at all, because I hadn't thought the world was so cruel.
Again, it was partly my fault I didn't see this coming. I did warn both Jasper and Emmett to never mention my roommate to me, ever. And Jas being the team captain surely would have known about Billy trying out. It must have been pure luck that the kid got accepted at all. Maybe the pickings were not so good this year.
Of course I hadn't seen what the competition was like; I didn't attend the try-outs this year. But that was because I had a deal with the coach to come during the summer for my private try-out so I could have personal training before the season really kicked off. If there was one thing I truly cared about, it was running... and there was no way I was going to stay at home during the summer while I could be doing something useful with my time.
Seems even running won't be able to give me a clear head now.
I chuckled at the coincidence as I noticed in my peripheral the object of my thoughts standing a couple yards away. I grabbed my envelope and rushed in, leaving the door open for my roommate. I would've liked to have seen the reaction he'd get once reading his acceptance letter, but I realized I had no right, considering we weren't even friends.
Plopping myself onto my bed, frustration filled me up. I hated how this boy seemed to permeate my every thought. It was odd; from the get-go I knew he was different, so much so that I hated the effect it had on me. I wanted his friendship; no, I craved it. But it was too late for that. I was an ass from the very beginning, and there was only one course, which was to continue on my fucked up path to distancing myself.
It's not like I was one to have many friends. Or any, for that matter. It was a wonder that Emmett and Jasper put up with me.
Finally, the boy walked in, letter in hand. His eyes looked everywhere but me, but I noticed a faint happiness to his visage. Of course he'd be excited, who wouldn't be excited? It was a different sort of expression I was used to, at least, in our dorm room. The thought brought me to think of his excitement during English class. His insight and enthusiasm was bright as day to everyone there, especially to the two resident lit nerds, Eric and Mike.
I scowled, thinking of them. God, they were so... ugh.
It wasn't the fact that they were gay that bothered me, nor was it even that Mike himself once had a blatant crush on me in the eighth grade. No, it was that Mike liked to rub his knowledge all over the next person, trying to show him up. Eric wasn't much better either, being a sick puppy around the guy everywhere he went. The two were quite the pair, and I just couldn't see how Billy could consider himself part of that group. He was so much better than them, gay or not.
And it wouldn't concern me if my roommate was into guys; something about him did, after all, have that sort of...quality to him. But honestly, did he think Mike Newton would make him happy?
Still, he seemed to enjoy his lunches with the two boys. His face really did light up around them.
That was a total opposite of now, I realized. Glancing over, he was tugging his extremely baggy sweater, and heading for the bathroom. I got up, planning on doing something productive now, before the initiation tonight for newcomers. As Billy's desk was next to our bunk bed, the letter sat, open, easy to take a peek at.
I was right. He was accepted. An interesting development in the life of Edward Cullen. But I hadn't failed to notice the attached post-it note to his letter. Fuck. It was his birthday, and he seemed to be getting the worst treatment from me, as usual. I thought to myself that I should be nice to him today, but I knew that wouldn't do. It would be too strange, and I was just barely getting used to his presence.
Sure, every time he came close, it made me uncomfortable. The fact that I was attracted to him at first glance was a weird and annoying experience. The fact that I was just now getting used to my reaction said a lot. Who knows how much worse I would get were I to actually talk to the guy? I couldn't even handle being in the same room with him as he stretched on the floor. No, I'll just keep to myself still, but I won't be so outwardly harsh.
Doing my homework by the bathroom desk hadn't helped my thoughts when he came out in a completely different outfit. It was a track uniform (not the school one that I knew they'll give tonight). I figured he was going out for a run, which I wasn't exactly sure what to make of. I almost wanted to warn him, but thought better of it.
Instead, my approval came in the form of a short nod, to which it was his turn to stiffen up at. That's right, I can be cordial.
A sense of accomplishment filled me up as I studied my Mandarin. It was a driving factor for me: all throughout my studying and eating dinner I thought of the first step of progress I'd made. I hardly even noticed or froze up when he came back into the room to knock out on his bed, clothes and all. Then I looked at the clock's hands reading eleven and ten, and realized that it was five minutes till my call time. I was reveling in my private success for so long I hadn't even noticed I was going to be late!
I quickly changed into sweats, and sprinted to the track field, using the shortcut through the woods on the path. Jasper was standing in front of a bench in the middle of the field, scanning the crowd of upperclassmen. When he reached me, he smirked. He knew I knew he'd purposely withheld the information about Billy's involvement with cross country.
"Alright, guys, we've got a big night ahead of us," Jasper began. "You know the drill, I already contacted all of you on what's going down. Reminder, the 'kidnappers' have to leave at approximately 11:50 so that we can get cracking by midnight. Unfortunately, we can't do it early morning like last year, but I do still plan on having the whole team eat breakfast together, so don't forget tomorrow. I will let the unders know. Now head out and get ready."
For the next forty minutes, we took up our stations and got our stuff together. My place was with Jasper, as his second-hand man. Therefore, at midnight, I found myself standing next to him as everyone was filing in with one or two underclassmen in their grip, bandanas tight over each's eyes. My eyes landed on one I was sure was Billy. He was biting his lip, but otherwise he had no indication that we was terribly scared. His Senior probably was gentle, or as gentle as you can be while in this situation. For some reason, I found myself grateful for this fact.
"Listen up, everyone!" Jasper called out in an uncharacteristically loud, harsh voice to scare the kids. "Welcome, new and old. I'm glad you could make it to our very own unofficial initiation. That's right, this is an initiation to you new cross country runners. The coach technically has no idea about this annual meeting, so no mentioning this to the old man. It's been going down for nearly ten years, and we wouldn't want to ruin our streak, would we? You'll be undergoing some tests I'm sure each of you will pass, but trust me, should one of you fail to complete the tasks ahead of you, you will suffer the consequences. That said, newbies, may our games begin."
Billy had stopped biting his lip and was smiling in determination. He was the only upperclassman to have to do this, considering all of us were initiated when we were younger. I wonder how he would fare; the process was a sort of hazing, but no one would be hurt or eliminated for their efforts. In all honesty, it was good-natured competition, but the captain was never above putting a little fear into the kids before the season. Plus, after the whole thing was done, there was a sense of family for everyone in the team.
Jasper was explaining the rules: the initiates have to find their way back into the track from the next-door forest, where they'll be dropped off with only flashlights and instructions to an indiviualized task, which may or may not put them in direct competition against each other. I was part of a group who would be running around with green glow sticks around our necks to indicate that we would offer help and watch out for any foul-play. Others would be hiding out in bushes with blue glow sticks to trick the kids. Essentially the whole thing was a race. First person got bragging rights and a chance to keep fully clothed while on the following two-mile run.
The boys seemed to get nervous at this last detail, especially Billy, who put on even more of a game face, if possible.
But they had little time to react, because soon they were pulled away and into the woods. I headed in too, though I had to forcibly try not to follow my roommate. Of course, there was that thing called fate which had other plans for me.
I amusedly watched as I ran through the forest, taking note of the kids who were starting their various tasks. I noticed one looking rather idiotic as he was crouching and sniffing some bushes. Many were looking up to the trees, searching for some object or other. Others seemed to be directly up against some other candidate who was gunning for the same thing. No one seemed to call out for me, so I just enjoyed my observing.
I did come across one rather interesting scene. Billy's hands were high above his lithe body, as his torso was pressed against a tree. If I didn't know that he was trying to get up the tree, I would have burst out laughing seeing the ridiculous sight. His fingertips barely reached a hanging blue handkerchief, so that he leaped up to grab onto it. Once he caught hold, however, he fell right back, landing on a rock.
"Aghh!" He called out, clutching his scratched up arm, which made me come forward.
Immediately, at the sight of me, he got up and ran past. Feeling worried that he was bleeding out, I ran after. I only got a few yards to catch him agiley jump over a freshman who was on all fours. In my moment of stunned silence, I wondered how on earth he could have gotten away so fast and still had the energy to jump over someone his toes.
A part of me was glad that he didn't need my assistance... He was still trying to win the game, and additionally I wouldn't have to be the one to have to lead a medical rescue. I was curious if Billy was done with his goal, which meant that the competition would be ended soon.
At the thought, I rushed back to base, where the initiates would have to run back to. The first one there would be the winner. When I got to the check point, nobody besides Jasper and a couple other seniors were there. I knew the kids were probably lost in the brush, but it was still nerve wracking. Anyone could get here now.
There was no sign of anyone coming out of the forest yet, and even if we were dead quiet, it was still making our pulses race and our faces sweat in anticipation. And then--
A bush rustled.
Out of the brush closest to us was a freshman, Riley.
His face broke out in a complete grin as he held up a star-shaped rock as he jogged in tiredness toward us. It was exciting, really, and I should have been clapping along with my teammates, but I just couldn't bring myself to do so...
When he was a little less than a hundred feet away, however, someone came out of the other side of the woods.
Billy's face was in a deep concentration as he sprinted across the field. Riley was good, and he was close, too, much more so than my roommate. Yet the freshman was still surpassed when Billy ran right past him before Riley could make any headway. My teammates were stunned silent, but I couldn't help myself from breaking out into a steady clap. If it was any indication from Riley's face, I'm sure many of our faces were in a shocked awe. The distance was just too great, and yet, Billy had outrun an incredibly fast runner in a matter of seconds.
Pride filled me up as he stopped in front of Jasper and me, bending at the knees and resting his hands there. His head hung low between his legs, and we heard his gasps coming in deep and fast. Riley came up to us just after, shock still lingering on his face as he took in the champion's form. Then, Billy took a deep breath and lifted his head up at us. His eyes connected with mine as he gave a small grin underneath his breaths.
His smile was so happy that I instinctually froze up.
Taken aback by my reaction to him (again), I could hardly notice everyone's congratulations and the excited chatter that started surrounding us as kids starting pouring in. All I knew was that, even during the run - with Billy the only new member in clothing - and the team breakfast, whenever our eyes met, we both broke out into large grins.
Maybe this...thing...I had in reaction to him would get better. After all, it seems I had just gained a formidable rival in what I did best. And I so wanted to race him now.