The cafeteria was filled with the usual sounds voices overlapping, trays clattering against tables, the occasional burst of laughter cutting through the monotonous routine of school life.
But none of it mattered.
Because Kane could feel the weight of golden eyes on him.
He didn't need to look up to know.
They were watching him. All of them.
Rosalie's posture was rigid, arms folded across her chest, her irritation palpable. She didn't like him. Not because of anything he'd done but because she could feel something she didn't understand.
Edith, on the other hand, was focused not irritated, not emotional, just calculating. Her eyes flickered across Kane's movements like she was collecting data, trying to piece together what made him different.
Jasmine was quieter, more withdrawn, her fingers tapping a slow, rhythmic beat against the tabletop. It was subtle but Kane knew a habit like that meant thinking. And Jasmine was thinking hard.
Emily leaned back, arms folded, her stance casual but controlled relaxed enough to seem uninvolved, but not completely detached. She wasn't ignoring Kane. She was observing.
And then there was Alice.
Alice was watching him the most.
Her golden eyes held something different.
Curiosity. Uncertainty.
Interest.
Kane's smirk curled just slightly when she stood.
He knew it was coming.
He felt it in the way her muscles shifted before she even moved.
Alice left her seat, stepping away from the Cullen table, crossing the cafeteria toward him with a smooth, deliberate stride.
She wasn't rushing.
She wasn't hesitating.
And Kane?
Kane didn't react.
He let her approach. Let her close the space between them.
Only when she was right in front of him did he finally look up.
Alice tilted her head slightly, eyes scanning him not subtly, not politely, just openly.
"You're not nervous," she said.
Kane let his smirk widen just a fraction, leaning back slightly.
"Should I be?"
Alice let out a short breath almost a laugh, but not quite.
"Most new students are."
"I'm not most students."
Silence stretched between them, thick with tension.
The cafeteria around them felt distant, fading into the background.
Alice's fingers twitched at her side not in discomfort, not in defense, but readiness.
She could feel it the pull, the way Kane's presence disrupted the normal flow of the room.
"You don't seem surprised to see me," she said.
Kane exhaled slowly, setting down his fork.
"Should I be?"
Alice narrowed her eyes slightly less suspicion, more intrigue.
"Most people are."
Kane chuckled under his breath, stretching his arms slightly.
"Most people don't get the pleasure of you walking up to them."
Alice blinked.
Just briefly but Kane noticed it.
Then, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.
"You act like you know me."
"I know enough."
"That's not the same thing."
"No," Kane agreed easily, "but it's close enough."
Alice narrowed her eyes, but there was a playful sharpness in her gaze now like she was enjoying the unpredictability of him.
"You don't ask many questions," she noted.
Kane shrugged.
"People give answers even when they don't mean to."
Alice hummed slightly, tilting her head.
"And what answer am I giving you right now?"
Kane leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows against the table, his gaze dipping just slightly lower not inappropriate, not obvious, but enough to make her notice.
"That you're curious," he murmured, "and that you don't know whether that curiosity is dangerous yet."
Alice stilled for half a second long enough that Kane caught it.
Then she smiled.
Not forced. Not polite. Amused.
"I think you might be right."
Kane exhaled slowly, shaking his head with a knowing look.
"I usually am."
Alice flicked her gaze toward Edith for a fraction of a second just a glance, just a moment but Kane saw it.
Then, she looked back at him.
"You're interesting."
Kane smirked, letting his gaze dip deliberately slow before meeting her eyes again.
"So are you."
Alice chuckled softly, stepping back slightly but her eyes lingered.
"We'll talk again."
Kane's grin widened slightly.
"We better."
And just like that she was gone.
But Kane knew this was only the beginning.