Renewal [Emmett Cullen] (1)

[07- Why me?]

The lesson flew by, conversation with Emmett was so easy, so natural. It was the first time since the accident that I felt this way. He would ask me questions to keep the conversation going. He looked totally absorbed with what I was saying; no matter how stupid or boring my answer was.

It didn't take a idiot to realise how breathtakingly handsome he was. In our conversation, I kept on having to remind myself to breath.

The bell rang loudly, making me jump, well metaphorically, I could never actually jump again. By now, he probably had enough information to write a book on my life.

I slowly gathered my things.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Emmett."

"You too, Eleanor," he beamed. I grinned as his enormous frame got up and left the room.

Days passed a bit easier now. I was actually excited for school. Was it my crush? Maybe. No who am I kidding? It was Emmett. I was so anxious, how could a personable guy like him talk to someone like me. Emmett stayed in the back of my mind. There was something intriguing about him and I was determined to know more. But I was confused; people like him weren't interested in people like me.

I was a stubborn, insecure person. People weren't exactly lining up to be friends with me, and I wasn't making it any better for myself.

Our conversation made me question myself. I always assumed the accident fundamentally changed me but he somehow uncovered parts of myself I thought were lost.

The person I saw in the mirror every morning was flawed, not just with the disability. I use to be tall, I got my 5'8" height from my dad. Tall enough that I was never the shorter girl in class but not a giant.

Now in the chair I was barely 4 feet. Not tall enough for anyone to stop and get to know me but noticeable enough for people to stare.

My natural athletic frame had slowly faded, though I tried to incorporate more chest and arm exercises into my daily leg ones. My forearms were decorated in faint scars; claw marks from unusually aggressive basketball players I had encountered over the years. Joining them were scars on my shins and ankles from cleats.

Whenever I was nervous, I would subconsciously trace this scar I had on the back of my hand. Something about feeling where the skin was puckered up, like a small mountain range soothed me.

I've been told I had nice hazel eyes, but lots of girls had the same color. My hair was closer to blonde than its natural brown, lightened by the sun over years of running outside but I suspected that it would go darker since I would be staying indoors. Other girls at school were much prettier than I was. Jasmine had beautiful chocolate curls, off set by her striking blue eyes, a combination I hadn't often seen.

Maybe it was my personality. Was I being too narcissistic? I mean, most of the girls I use to compete again were mean, arrogant people, which I used to help me beat them. My mom always said I had a strong heart, that I was carefree and confident. But after the accident, that side of me was locked away. I was always cracking jokes with my friends and maybe Emmett could sense that. Well I suppose I would have to wait and see.

My first class of the day was biology, Jasmine had a different class so I was on my own.

After my double period of math, Jasmine and I grabbed lunch. Today's special was Alfredo pasta. 

"Do you mind if I introduce you to some of my friends?" She asked. I nodded, hopefully everyone knew my circumstances so I would be old news.

I sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. I wasn't a shy person but this exceeded my comfort zone.

"So rumor has it that Emmett Cullen was talking to you in chemistry," a girl, Sophia blurted out.

Jasmine elbowed her friend, "So what? People can talk to other people. It's not against the law." I chuckled, subconsciously rolling my eyes. Rumors spread like wildfires in this small school.

"The Cullens never talk to anyone besides themselves," Sophia elaborated, as if it explained her sudden fascination.

"Yeah I don't know. He just started talking to me. Weird right?" I said, trying to evade the topic of Emmett, knowing that I probably couldn't contain my excitement to talk to him after lunch.

For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully steered the conversation away from the Cullens. As I entered the lab, I saw Emmett, who grinned when we made eye contact. His wet hair looked like a darker shade of black. I was astonished by his height, in a wheelchair everyone was tall but from far away, Emmett was huge. He must have been 6'5'', more than 2 feet taller than I was. I was hardly noticeable, especially around people like him.

"I have your assessment task today. It's a group research project and since there's two people at each desk, that will be your group," Mrs. Waters announced when we were all seated.

"You will have the remainder of this lesson to discuss and plan out the assignment," she said, passing out the guidelines for the task.

Emmett and I spent the lesson breaking down the project. We were instructed to write a report on renewable energy, keeping on the topic of fuels that we were currently studying.

"Do you want to come over to my house tomorrow? It's Saturday so we all day to finish it. The Iowa vs Florida game is on, if you're interested in football," he offered.

"Yeah definitely. I've been looking forward to that game. The Hawkeyes might actually be able to defeat the Gators."

Emmett's eyes widened, smirking slightly, as if something I said was hilarious. I couldn't identify what.

I continued, "But it's probably easier if you come over to mine." Emmett understood, nodding in agreement.

"Awesome. That sounds good. Just text me your address and the time and I'll come over," he said. I tried to calm my pounding heart as we exchanged phone numbers.

Since our assignment was sorted, we continued our previous conversation.

"What's with all the questions?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know. There's something about you that intrigues me. You're different."

"Believe me, I'm a boring person. Basically a waste of space."

He shook his head, "No. You're definitely not boring and definitely not a waste a space. I think you're more alluring than you give yourself credit for." And at that moment my heart stopped.