Surrounded

Making a Friend

***Izzy's POV***

Kill me noooooow, I silently prayed to the gods. My stomach grumbled so loud that I was sure my friends back in Arizona could hear it.

I was on my way to my last class of the day. Biology. I kept my head down as I walked through the halls, hoping nobody noticed me. 

"Oh, hey, you're Isabella, right?" A friendly face smiled at me. I looked at her cautiously.

"I'm Angela. I noticed you weren't at lunch today, so I wanted to give you this in case you needed it." She held out a granola bar, offering it to me. 

"Wow....th-thank you. That's very thoughtful." And kind of weird. I wonder if she has  some kind of an ulterior motive. 

"Anytime. I moved here when I was in middle school, so I know how intimidating the first lunch can be. If you ever want to talk or anything, I listen pretty well." Angela smiled sweetly and gave me the granola bar. Ahhh, okay, I thought, so she's just nice.

 After handing me the bar, Angela left. The whole interaction was comforting in a weird way. Like she didn't expect anything from me and just wanted to help me out. 

I slipped into one of the bathrooms near my classroom and ate the granola bar quickly, hoping that Angela would have a nice day. Maybe, I pondered, maybe I'll talk to her tomorrow. 

I made it to class just as the bell was ringing. I bee-lined for the only empty chair in the room. The last seat open was beside that guy Edward from the hallway. I gave him a small smile, but when he  looked at me, he grimaced. 

Did he not like me anymore? Did I stink from the rain that never seemed to have fully dried? I tried to just ignore him, sit as far from him as I could, and focus on Mr. Vayner's lecture for the remainder of class...

***Edward's POV***

How could I have not noticed just how.....potent her scent was!? Sure, we had only had a brief interaction in the hallway, and I had been with my family so their scents helped cover hers....but dear god. 

With her sitting so close to me...I should not have went so long without feeding. Feeding. The word made venom fill my mouth.

This was dangerous. 

Should I just leave? No. I cannot move or I will kill her.  

I thought of thousands of different ways to kill this human beside me. The urge had never been quite as strong. But if I killed her here, then I would have to kill everyone in this classroom. That would be...a mess, to say in the least. I could lure her to the woods, but that would mean making it through the class, and that seemed impossible.

I had denied myself of human blood for so long. When I went through my rebellious phase and finally drank human blood, it was the blood of scum that I had convinced myself the world would be better off without. I can't read this undeniably mouthwatering human's mind to know if she's some secret serial killer, but I knew the minds of my classmates, and none of them deserved to die. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I killed them. I wouldn't be able to face my family.

I hated this girl with every fiber of my being in this moment. No, I knew that was wrong. I hated myself. I hated the monster within me. 

I thought I would never make it to the end of class. When the bell rang, I stayed until everyone had left the room. It was sheer willpower that kept me in my seat instead of stalking after Isabella Swan and killing her.

***Izzy's POV***

My neck had a crick in it from sitting in such an awkward position. Edward had looked like he hated me. Like he was plotting my death from just having to sit beside me. What a weirdo. How are you going to be so nice to me in the hall and even pick my books up, and then act like I'm the most repulsive creature on the planet? This is why I had stopped interacting with people. It takes too much damn energy to figure them out.

Well, I thought to myself, this is going to be a great semester...

I walked past everyone in the parking lot. Most of my peers seemed to be hanging out in groups instead of leaving the parking lot to go home.

"Hey! Isabella!" Angela came running up to me from a small group. I smiled at her as best as I could manage.

"You can call me Izzy." I told her; I was feeling generous.

She smiled brightly at me. "Do you need a ride?"

"Um, actually, I was just going to walk. Thank you, though." She had already done too much for me, and it was a nice cool day anyway.

"Oh, okay, no problem! Maybe next time?" She asked in a friendly way.

I just gave her a small smile and nod. Then, I awkwardly waved my hand as a goodbye and turned from her. She didn't look like she minded. I don't think she could understand what I'm going through with my whole situation, but it seemed like she understood what I needed. I didn't feel like I had to justify my actions to her, or act like something I'm not. The small interaction with Angela made me almost forget about the awful past hour with Edward.

I didn't consciously know it, but I was smiling as I walked home.