LIMINAL || 𝙅𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙚 [1]

𝟙𝟙 | 𝕀 𝕙𝕠𝕡𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖

That afternoon, Matthew met me on the way to Angela's car. We had missed each other throughout the school day, especially since I skipped lunch to spend time getting a head start on the next calculus unit.

"How do you think you did?" He asked as I loaded my bag into the back seat.

"Mr. Savrda graded my test right away. I made a ninety."

"That's amazing! I knew you could do it!"

Matthew pulled me into a tight hug, which I gratefully returned. It was nice to have someone to hug. He planted a quick kiss on my cheek before taking a step back.

"I'm glad you're happy. Jasper acted like he couldn't care less."

I had expected Matt to be irritated on my behalf. What I didn't expect was him to be irritated at me.

"You told Jasper about your grade before you told me?"

His eyes were a mix of hurt and anger, something I hadn't seen from him in the past two weeks. My stomach plummeted. It'd never occurred to me that Matthew would be jealous of Jasper when the only reason Jasper and I tolerated each other was because it'd been mandated by a teacher.

"Yeah...I saw him in the hallway right after Mr. Savrda graded it. He is my tutor afterall." Perhaps if we talked it out, he'd realize that it wasn't a big deal. Instead, he pushed his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders.

"I was just hoping that I'd be the first person you'd tell. Does this mean that you don't have to spend your lunch in the library with him anymore?"

I chose my next words carefully so as to not cause more damage than I already had.

"No...not really. Mr. Savrda wants us to keep meeting indefinitely." His face didn't lighten up any. "Look Matthew, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you first. I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that Mr. Savrda likes to meet with both of us so that he can hold us accountable: Jasper for tutoring well and me for paying attention. I'll make sure you're the first to know after my next test, okay?"

That seemed to placate him enough that the cloud over his face lifted. Overhead, the clouds only darkened as thunder rumbled, promising yet another afternoon of rain.

"Okay, that sounds fair. Still want to meet for ice cream tonight?"

"Yes please. Pick me up at six?"

"I'll be there."

He planted another small kiss on my lips and turned to head to his car. Angela and Jessica who had been standing by the school doors headed to my car. I figured they wanted to discuss more about the dance, which would take way too many texts or way too long of a phone call. None of us could spare the minutes, and Cara would bark at me for hogging the phone if I used the landline.

"Okay, so, totally rude inviting Alice Cullen to get ready at Angela's house without consulting her." Jessica placed a hand on her hip and cocked it to the side. I turned my attention to Angela, who nearly lost her gum with her mouth agape like it was.

"I don't mind if Alice comes over! You're the only one that has a problem with her," Angela angrily whispered, furiously twisting her head this way and that to make sure none of the Cullens were in hearing range. It appeared that they were long gone already.

"Well, duh. She's kind of weird," Jessica said, then raised her eyebrows as if we were the crazy ones for not agreeing with her.

"Look, I'm sorry that I didn't bring it up to anyone else first. But I just thought she'd like to hang out with us since she missed the dress shopping trip. Besides, Alice has been nothing but nice to me since I've moved here."