Lucas now sat in cafeteria with Rosalie nestled against him, her golden hair brushing lightly against him as she listened to his heartbeat while leaning against his chest.
Across the table, Emmett-Lisa, and Alice-Jasper, were wrapped up in their own worlds, leaning into each other arm as if nothing could bother them. While Edward, however, was nowhere to be seen, to which Lucas and Cullens didn't bother to question it, and Lucas already knew that he would stroll back in with Bella soon enough.
Sitting with Rosalie, Lucas absentmindedly, twirled a strand of her silky hair between his fingers as if lost in thought.
Rosalie noticed him thinking again,"he had been distracted all morning, even during classes"thought as she looked towards him.
"What's on your mind, Luc?" Rosalie asked him softly, lifting her head from his chest, so that she could look at him in his eyes, clearly which didn't look serious but filled with confusion.
As her gentle voice fall on his ears, it pulled Lucas back from his wandering thoughts, to which he blinked. "Nothing serious, Rose… I was just thinking about writing a novel," as he admitted, while looking at her, though in truth, he was still confused as to which novel from his previous life should he choose first.
Rosalie's lips curved into a smile. "A novel? About what?"as she asked him with full interest.
"There are so many ideas," Lucas sighed, his tone carrying a faint frustration. "I just don't know where to begin." said to her as he tried to dodge the question, hiding the true weight of his thoughts.
Rosalie narrowed her eyes, her voice both playful and demanding. "Idiot Luc. I wasn't asking how many ideas you've got. I'm asking what you want to write about."as she put her hand on his hand, and giggled softly.
Lucas widened his eyes dramatically as he hear her calling him idiot with affection, while her eyes filled with playfulness, instead of answering to her, he reached up his hand, cupped her lips gently between his fingers, and guided her lips toward his cheek as if saying, "Kiss me instead of pressing me with questions."
To which, Rosalie chuckled softly at his little trick and with a smile on her lips, she leaned in, towards him as he guided her, while brushing her lips softly against his cheek, sliding his mask aside.
Gasps rippled through the cafeteria as students froze looking towards them, and starts whispering in shock at the bold display of their affection while grinding their teeth for being single.
Lucas ignored the shock and the talks of other and hugged Rosalie tighter to his chest as if confirming their relationship.
And Rosalie leaning against his chest feeling his warmth against her, wanted to ask him about the novel again, but before that, the cafeteria doors slammed open and Edward walked in, hand-in-hand with Bella Swan.
Looking towards them the room fell silent. Conversations died instantly while every eye turned toward them.
"Is that Bella Swan?" someone whispered.
"With Edward Cullen?" another hissed in disbelief.
"No way—he's never…"
Mike Newton nearly dropped his soda. Jessica's jaw hit the floor. Even Angela, usually serene, raised her brows in quiet surprise as they looked towards Bella, specially their hands which were connected to each other.
Edward ignoring the stares strode forward, his expression was unreadable, though his stride carried quiet determination as his fingers were tightly laced with Bella's, daring anyone to question him.
While Bella's heart hammered in her chest as she moved, guided by Edward. She had felt eyes on her before, but she never felt like this as she was feeling today, with so much curiosity, envy, and disbelief weighing down on her, through their gaze as she moved forward between the tables.
As they reached the table where he saw his family always sits, Edward pulled out a chair from the side for Bella with elegant precision, to which she sat, cheeks flushed, but looked towards all of them, while he took the seat beside her, not uttering a word.
Lucas tilted his head, unimpressed. To him, Edward looked like some failed alien knock-off of Mr. Bean, which amused him more than anything, as if seeing him doing a comedy.
The rest of the Cullens exchanged glances, amusement danced in Emmett's golden eyes, curiosity lit Alice's, while irritation flickered in Rosalie's, not for being Bella sitting with them, but at her gaze which lingered curiously on Lucas, to which a possessive spark flared in her chest as she shot Bella a glare, sharp enough to cut a glass.
Bella realizing her mistake, quickly looked away, as she feels a deadly glare pointed towards her.
Alice leaning in Jasper arm broke the silence first, her voice like chiming bells. "Finally," she said brightly, her excitement bubbling over. "We thought you'd never bring her here."same as the movie.
Emmett leaned back in his chair with a booming laugh. "About time, little brother. Guess you proved us wrong."as he looked towards them, to which Edward ignored him completely.
Jasper offered Bella a polite nod, though his jaw was tight, and the air around them shifted as Bella felt the subtle tension, as if he was clearly restraining himself, which also didn't go unnoticed by Lucas.
Lisa gave Bella a nod as well, but her eyes snapped to Edward with a sharp glare"what the hell are your doing"as she asked him in her mind. He, as usual, just ignored it, which only made Lisa clench her fists under the table, her knuckles itching to punch his face.
Lucas feeling the tensed situation between Lisa and Edward broke the silence, his voice smooth and teasing. "Hello, Bella. Looks like you forgot what I told you." His smile behind his mask made it sound less like an accusation and more like a playful jab, mocking the fact that she was the movie so-called main character.
Bella flushed, awkward under his gaze. "Hello, Lucas… and sorry, curiosity got me forget what you said" she muttered while tucking her hair nervously behind her ear.
Lucas smirked beneath his mask and shook his head. "Don't apologize. I only said what I wanted to back then. Whether you listened or not was always your choice."as he replied her to not apologize.
Edward, sensing Bella's awkwardness, leaned forward. "Bella, let me introduce you properly. This is Emmett and his mate, Lisa. Jasper and his mate, Alice. And Rosalie… and her mate, Lucas."while pointing towards them with his neutral expressioess face.
Lucas chuckled quietly at Edward's interruption, at his introduction with straight face, and leaned towards Rosalie, resting his chin on her shoulder, and whispered mischievously against her ear, "If he put his butt into my conversation again, I'll slice his butt in half with my katana."as if annoyed by him.
Rosalie stifled a laugh, while the others at the table nearly doubled over in quiet fits of laughter as they listened to his words, to which Edward shot Lucas a glare as if challenging him, but Lucas smiled wider beneath his mask, his maroon-dark eyes glinting with amusement as if accepting his challenge.
Bella sitting with them, caught in the middle of it all, blinked in confusion. She knew she was missing the joke, but without vampire hearing, the hushed words slipped right past her.