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The lunchroom clock was already well past lunchtime when Nate walked through the cafeteria doors. He was walking slowly, but his mind was alert. His eyes, almost reflexively, searched for the Cullens' table. He wasn't just curious: he wanted to confirm whether Edward had only missed his class or had skipped it entirely.
He wasn't there.
The empty seat at that spotless table confirmed it. Edward wasn't at school. However, it wasn't that that caught his attention completely, but rather those who were present. The Cullens chatted among themselves in low voices, as synchronized and elegant as ever, as if the entire lunch had been a perfectly rehearsed choreography. But Nate, a trained observer, detected what others wouldn't: one or another glanced at him, barely for a few seconds, without pausing the conversation, as if they were analyzing him... or anticipating.
He decided not to give it much thought. Yet.
From a nearby table, Bella called out to him with a genuine smile.
—Nate! Do you want to sit with us?
He nodded naturally and sat down opposite her. Mike and Eric exchanged a tense look that didn't go unnoticed. Jessica pursed her lips as if she were holding something back. Nate, for his part, simply smiled with gentle courtesy. Knowing the social dynamics was like reading a map: you just had to pay attention.
The group conversation flowed easily. They talked about the blandness of lunch, the boring history teacher, and a viral video that had gotten laughs last class. Nate chimed in with restraint, not seeking prominence, but also not going unnoticed.
"I don't think Edward came today," Bella said suddenly, with a furtive glance toward the Cullens' table that she tried to disguise as indifference.
Nate allowed himself a slight smile.
"Yes, I noticed. He didn't attend the class we shared. In fact..." he paused briefly, feigning casualness, "I had some unfinished business with him. Some questions about the class."
He lied fluently, like someone breathing.
Jessica, always ready to sneak into the spotlight, bowed her head slightly.
"I thought it was weird that you were so perfect," she commented with a flirtatious smile, touching her hair. "You know, if you need help, I could totally..."
Nate didn't let her finish. He calmly stood up, still smiling, and without losing his composure, walked over to the Cullens' table.
He chose his angle precisely, skirting around a couple of tables to approach from Rosalie's side. If he was going to test the waters, he'd do it from the most difficult point. He hadn't forgotten that strange "electric shock" feeling when he'd been near Alice… and now, standing just a few feet away from Rosalie, he felt that same surge of energy again.
But this time I was prepared.
Unlike Alice, the attraction Rosalie radiated was more dangerous, more raw… and yet easier to contain. Her expression was stony: she stared at him as if his mere presence polluted the air. That coldness, that immediate judgment, was exactly the kind of attitude he found unpleasant. And it repelled him enough that the attraction didn't take over.
Rosalie was perfect, yes, like a statue carved by divine hands. But her hostility was as evident as her beauty. Nate felt the dazzle, but he quickly encapsulated it, with the efficiency of someone who knows how to control his center.
When he leaned slightly toward her to speak, he noticed a minimal movement. Emmett, sitting next to Rosalie, tensed one shoulder, almost imperceptibly. A reflex. Protective.
Couple, Nate deduced instantly.
But the interesting thing wasn't the gesture... but what didn't come with it. Emmet didn't perceive it as a threat. There was no tension in his jaw, no hostility in his eyes. Nothing. As if he knew Nate wasn't a danger. As if... he knew something else.
Curious. I am attractive.—he thought with a pang of irony. And he knows it. So… why doesn't he react?
"Hi," Nate greeted in his usual friendly but non-invasive tone. "Sorry to intrude. I just wanted to ask about Edward. We share a class, and… I needed to ask him something."
The Cullens looked at him. Alice was the first to smile, sweet. Jasper nodded briefly, his calmness calculated. Emmett gave a casual smile. Rosalie's expression didn't change.
"He had to leave town," Alice replied in her sing-song voice. "Family business. He went to visit some cousins."
Nate studied them as they spoke. The sentence wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. He knew it from the slight stiffening of Jasper's shoulders, from the smile that froze on Emmett's face for just a second. There was a tension.
Good—Nate thought. —If I want something from them, it won't be by force. I'll have to make them want me around.
Then he changed his strategy.
He abandoned the role of the curious student and activated that more charismatic side he'd mastered since childhood. His body language became more open, and relaxed. He told a couple of light jokes, one about the trigonometry teacher who looked like a zombie, another about the heating system that made the walls rattle as if the school were cursed.
Emmet laughed heartily. Alice did too. Jasper seemed to relax a millimeter. Rosalie… didn't move.
But he didn't interrupt him either.
Before saying goodbye, Nate dropped one last question, in a casual tone:
—By the way… I never see you touch your food. Are you a fan of intermittent fasting or something?
Emmet, who had a tray in front of him, flinched slightly. He quickly took a large bite of what looked like a hamburger.
"Nah," he replied, chewing with difficulty. "It's just that our mom cooks so well that this here tastes like cardboard. She spoiled us, I guess."
The grimace he made as he swallowed betrayed him… Disgust. Nate noticed but pretended not to. He laughed softly as if buying the excuse.
As he walked back to Bella's table, he heard a faint chuckle behind him. A barely audible laugh, but one that cut through the air clearly: Rosalie. She was laughing… watching Emmett eat.
So she can laugh—he thought, almost amused.
He returned to his seat, his mind more occupied than she would have liked. The Cullens were more complex than they appeared, and while Edward seemed to be the most sensitive—or the most worried—perhaps the others wouldn't be so difficult to read… if he played his cards right.
And Nate always played his cards right.