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Gamer Gerald
The last bell of the day rang with a deeper tone than usual. Or maybe Nate perceived it that way because his mind was still elsewhere.
He walked toward the gym with a firm step, but his mind was several meters behind.
Alice Cullen.
His conversation with her, if it could be called that, had been short, but strangely intense.
Do you value her enough to be with her, even if she were in the middle of something dangerous?
It was not an innocent question.
There was something in Alice's tone… a tension wrapped in kindness as if she were testing him. A warning disguised as simple curiosity.
The gymnasium loomed before him. Nate pushed through the double doors, crossed the threshold, and was greeted by the murmur of students huddling together, collecting balls, and stretching. Some were already playing; others were still changing—the typical organized chaos of the last hour of the day.
Nate walked to the corner where he usually left his backpack. He hadn't taken off his jacket yet. His mind kept echoing that phrase.
What kind of danger could Bella get into?
He regarded it as an initial criticism, but deep down, it was a genuine concern.
Bella was kind, awkward in the best way, a little out of touch with her surroundings but genuinely sweet.
He wasn't the kind of person you associate with "danger."
And yet...
"Are you ok?"
Nate turned slightly, taken out of his thought bubble.
It was Bella.
She stood beside him, holding a rubber band in her hand, her expression troubled. Her eyebrows raised, her gaze fixed on his.
"What?"
"You're frowning," she said softly. "A lot."
Nate smiled faintly, running his hand across his forehead.
"My grandmother told me something similar a while ago. I'm starting to think I'm becoming too expressive."
Bella chuckled, and Nate watched her for a second longer than necessary.
"So everything's okay?" she insisted.
"Yeah, yeah. I just… had an interesting conversation. With Alice Cullen."
Bella raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"With Alice?"
"Yes. In class. Nothing serious, just... a curious exchange."
"I didn't know you were talking to the Cullens," she said, tilting her head slightly, a gesture somewhere between curious and puzzled.
Nate noticed how her eyes wandered, just for a second, as if she were thinking about someone else.
Edward.
He didn't say it, but he thought it.
"We're not friends or anything," he clarified. "We just occasionally meet up in class and… well, we talk a little. Talking to her can be… fascinating."
Bella smiled. She didn't seem upset. More interested.
"You seem happy when you talk about her," she commented lightly. "It's funny. I guess I thought that you," she said, glancing at him from head to toe, "being the way you are, would be more interested in someone like Rosalie. I mean, she's, you know, beautiful. Impossibly so. Rather than someone like Alice, who, while also very beautiful, can seem a little… odd, maybe?"
Nate laughed softly and shook his head.
"And you aren't?"
Bella looked stunned for a moment, and Nate took the opportunity to change the focus.
"Besides, you'd think a new girl like you would be interested in the team's star player…"
"Mike?" Bella replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh-huh. Not the kind who seems to have chronic stomach pain. What's his name? Edward?" Nate added with mock confusion.
Bella snorted and smiled, though her reaction was almost too quick.
"I'm sick of everyone assuming I like someone I haven't even had a normal conversation with," she replied, almost too emphatically.
Nate watched her closely. That last part was a lie. He knew it.
Not because of anything specific she said… but because of how she said it.
Too firm. Too defensive for someone who, in theory, wasn't hiding anything.
But he didn't confront her.
He was about to change the subject when a ball flew straight towards them.
Instinctively, Nate caught it with one hand before it could hit Bella. He held it up, twisting his body at the same time. He knew where it was coming from before he saw it.
Mike Newton.
And his fake smile.
"Oops! I missed it," Mike said as he walked over. "Good reflexes, man."
Bella smiled. She didn't hesitate for a second.
"Hi, Mike."
She waved goodbye to Nate and headed off with the girls who were already starting to split up for practice.
Mike stared at Nate. The smile was gone. He was staring at him like he was an equation he didn't like.
And Nate… well, he wasn't the type to take offense easily.
But there was something in that look that lit an unnecessary spark in him.
He threw the ball back with more force than necessary. Mike caught it, though not gracefully.
Nate didn't say anything. He didn't need to.
The gym class passed like a blur. Nate sloshed along, still anchored to the conversation with Bella, Alice's tone, and Mike's unnecessary hostility.
When it was all over, he took a quick shower, put on his jacket, and headed to the parking lot. His Mustang was waiting for him under the usual gray Forks sky.
The engine roared with familiarity as it started, and Nate breathed a little easier as he pulled off campus. The drive home wasn't long, but it was long enough to leave the noise of school behind. The wet road wound through trees that seemed even quieter than usual.
At home, he parked at the side of the garage and got to work on the car.
His '68 Mustang was a gem of a temperament: beautiful, strong, and slightly unpredictable. Like some people, he thought.
He checked the battery, adjusted the carburetor, and replaced a spark plug that had been giving him trouble for days.
His grandmother came out shortly after, holding a cold drink.
"You're so wrapped up in there you didn't even hear me come out," she said tenderly.
Nate nodded without raising his head.
"I was concentrating. The carburetor is acting up again."
She smiled and handed him the drink.
"By the way, I heard on the radio that the next few days will be sunny."
Nate blinked. It was weird. Very weird in Forks.
"Sun?"
"Sunshine. A few days in a row, they say. Maybe more."
"It'll be a nice change of scenery," he murmured, accepting the drink.
He stood for a moment in silence, leaning against the car, looking at the leaden sky that would soon let in light.
While thinking how nice it would be to see the sun again, which I hadn't seen in weeks.
Author's note: I'm surprised by the amount of power stones, now we have a little over 500, if we get to 700 before the weekend, this weekend I'll do a marathon of chapters (Like the one from last end, 5 chapters a day or something like that)