It was just a regular Friday morning. Edward had driven me to school, as usual, since he still believes my truck will break down. Things were going smoothly between us. Well, as smoothly as it can be under the circumstances.

Flashback:

I brushed my fingers through my hair and put on a dab of eye liner. I smoothed my hands down the length of my dress. My hair hung in loose waves around my shoulders and framed my face perfectly. Usually I didn't care how I looked, but tonight was an exception.

"He's here, Bells," Charlie called from downstairs. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. It was my birthday today and Edward was taking me to The Lodge to celebrate. But that wasn't the only special event tonight. Today was the day I was going to tell Edward I had feelings for him.

His sister, Alice, was my best friend. A while back I had accidentally let it slip that I had feelings for her brother. Which had earned me tons of squeals and promises to be the best sister-in-law. After the excitement had worn off, she started pressuring me to tell him. I kept telling her I would soon, but then I would find excuses not to. "He's got a game coming up and he doesn't need this distraction" or "He has a big test coming up and he doesn't need anymore stress." They were pitiful excuses, but she went along with them.

It wasn't until Edward started flirting with popular girls that I finally reached my breaking point. I had to tell him before he fell for one of them. It wouldn't hurt as much if they were decent people, in fact I may have even found it in me to be happy for him. But they aren't, those girls are downright egotistical and snobby.

"Bella?" Edward called, pulling me from my thoughts. I took a deep breath and slowly made my way down the stairs. Edward stood at the bottom of the steps, his body turned towards Charlie as they made small talk. He was wearing a dark blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. A pair of dark jeans hung low on his slender hips. When his emerald green eyes landed on me, I felt my breath catch in my throat. He was devastatingly beautiful. A wide grin spread across his face as he took me in.

"Wow. You look amazing, Bella."

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself," I mumbled. The traitor blush bubbled on my cheeks, evoking a chuckle from Edward.

"Same old, Bella" he grinned. I stuck my tongue out at him and said a quick goodbye to my dad. Edward placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to his car. He opened the door for me and waited for me to get settled in before he shut it. The perfect gentleman. God, I could never deserve him.

"How does it feel to be eighteen?" Edward asked. He shut the door and turned on the engine. I couldn't help but watch the muscles in his forearm flex as he switched the gears. Mouthwatering. A song flowed from the speakers and snapped me out of my daydreams.

"Like an old woman. I'm waiting for the gray hairs." Edward looked over at me and smirked.

"Found one." I gasped and grabbed my purse. I shoved my hands inside of it and frantically searched for a mirror. Edward started laughing at me, and kept on until I finally demanded that he tell me what was so funny. At times his laugh was music to my ears, but in this situation it was just aggravating.

"You are still so gullible," he explained. Understanding dawned on me and I shoved my purse in the floor, wishing it was him instead. Gray hairs are not something you joke about, especially to a woman. I huffed and turned my body towards the window and away from him.

"Aww come on, Bells. You know it was funny." I ignored him and kept watching the window. By now we were only a few minutes away from the restaurant.

"Please forgive me?" No response.

"Fine. I didn't want to have to do this, but you have given me no choice." My ears perked up and my heart hammered in my chest. He couldn't be serious. His hand reached over and started tickling my stomach. Giggles escaped my lips as I tried to arch my body away from his hand. He was relentless in his attack and kept on tickling me.

"Stop! Please, I can't breathe" I gasped as a new wave of giggles erupted from me.

"Say you forgive me."

"I forgive you!" I yelled. He finally released me as I fought to catch my breath. I glared at him as a smug grin appeared on his face.

"Jerk," I mumbled.

"I'd be careful with my words, Ms. Swan, unless you want a repeat performance." I stuck my tongue out at him. I loved joking around with him. He could always make me laugh no matter how angry I was. It was one of the many things I loved about him.

"We're here," he announced.

The rest of the night went by smoothly. We talked about the colleges we applied for and the careers we aspired. He wanted to open up his own music studio, and I wanted to own a bookstore. The colleges we chose were pretty similar since we both wanted to stay in Washington. He didn't approach the subject of boyfriends/girlfriends and I certainly didn't bring it up. I was afraid I would lose my nerve if I found out he was dating someone.

The night ended quickly and soon he was pulling into my driveway.

"I need to tell you something," I started. Edward motioned for me to continue. I tried to think of the right way to say it, but words escaped me. I sighed in frustration and looked into Edward's eyes. He waited patiently and stared at me curiously.

"I..I," I stuttered. I still couldn't find a way to word it, so I tried a different approach instead. I unbuckled my seat belt and reached over to kiss him. He was still for a minute before he finally started to move his lips with mine. He let out a groan and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to his body. I buried my fingers in his soft hair, bringing his face closer to mine. We continued exploring one another until he abruptly broke it.

"We can't do this," he whispered. Tears welled in my eyes as I quickly tore myself away from him. I ripped the door open and swung my feet around to get up.

"Please, Bella. You don't understand," he begged as he grasped my wrist.

"What's there to understand? I just humiliated myself in front of someone I have feelings for who obviously doesn't feel the same way." I yanked my hand from his and got out of the car. I slammed the door and started to walk up the driveway. Edward ran out of the car and stopped me in my tracks. I crossed my arms and leaned against the hood of his car. He placed his hands on my face and wiped away my tears.

"I do like you, Bella. I just can't be with you right now," he explained.

"And why not?"

"Because I have a girlfriend. And I'm not the kind of guy to cheat on girls." Oh. I guess I should have asked him if he was in a relationship. Nice one, Bella.

"So what are you going to do?" I asked. He stared into my eyes as he debated his answer.

"I'll break up with her," he said. I smiled up at him in surprise.

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you," he whispered.

Edward didn't mention anything about what happened last night. In fact, he acted as if it had never happened. I tried not to dwell on it too much. He said he would break up with her and I trusted him.

"Bella, can you take the attendance to the office, please?"

"Yes ma'am," I responded. Mrs. Walker smiled at me and handed over the envelope. She was one of my favorite teachers. She was the one who really got me interested in English and encouraged me to pursue my dreams. And the fact that she taught my favorite subject probably helped a bit.

The halls were deathly quiet, which was strange since it was only the beginning of first period and usually there were kids bustling around to get to class before their teachers caught them.

The soft hiss of my shoes sliding across the floor was the only noise I could hear. It put me on edge a bit and I started walking faster. I rounded the corner and accidentally ran into a couple who were shamelessly making out.

"Oh, I'm sorry" I mumbled.

"You should be," the blonde sneered. I glared at her and almost evacuated the scene when I heard a familiar voice.

"Tanya, be nice." I looked up in shock to see Edward standing in front of me. He finally noticed that I was still standing there and he turned towards me. His eyes got wider and his mouth fell open in shock.

"I knew it was too good to be true," I whispered. Edward raised his hand but my glare quickly diminished his hope of reaching me. I felt tears brim in my eyes as I stumbled away from him. Suddenly there was something behind me and two arms wrapped around my waist. I tried to push against his grip and one of his hands fell away from me, but the other stayed locked around me.

"Let me go," I hissed. I felt a cool object poke my temple and my whole body stilled. I've been around guns long enough to know the feel of the cool metal against my skin. Although, usually it was in my grasp and not being used against me.

"I don't think so, sweetheart" a cold voice whispered in my ear. Goosebumps erupted across my arms and my breathing sped up. I looked up at Edward to see that he was still staring at me with a mixture of horror and fear.

"Let her go, James. It's me you want, not her" Edward commanded. What? Who the hell was James?

"True, true. But what better revenge than to kill the one who has claimed your heart?" His grip tightened around my waist and I gasped in pain. It was getting harder to breathe.

"Let her go, dammit! You want revenge on my dad, right? What better revenge than to kill his son?" Edward yelled. Tanya cowered behind Edward and dug in her pocket for her cell phone. She watched James make sure his attention was diverted before she dialed 911. A blonde with brains. Impressive.

"Tempting, but I only have one bullet left. Why would I want to waste my bullet on you? Besides, I may want to keep this one," he smirked. I felt the gun run along my arm and I inadvertently ripped my arm away from it.

"Hmm, feisty. I like a good challenge." A shiver ran down my spine. God, this man was repulsive. How on Earth did Edward get himself tangled with this monstrosity? James stepped closer to the doors leading to the parking lot, dragging me with him. Edward snarled and stormed after him.

"Ah ah, pretty boy. You come any closer and I'll shoot," he threatened. Edward immediately stopped and glared at James. I looked behind Edward and gulped. I had forgotten about Tanya, and now she was left without a shield. She stared at James in terror as he looked down at her cell phone still clutched in her hand.

"You just had to misbehave. I guess I won't get to play with my toy," he let out a defeated sigh. I heard the click sound throughout the room as he cocked his gun. His finger rested on the trigger as his grip on my waist loosened.

"Any last words, Tiger?" he purred. I gulped. Just as James was about to pull the trigger, a strong force knocked me to the ground. Before I could figure out what happened, a roar of anger sounded throughout the room. I jumped to my feet and saw that James had his gun pointed next to me. At Edward.

"No!" I screamed and quickly jumped in front of him. The bullet would of hit Edward's stomach, but it hit my chest instead. Time seemed to slow down as I felt my body slump to the ground.

"Bella!" Edward yelled. He kneeled down next to me and ripped his shirt off. He placed it over my chest, struggling to stop the blood flow.

"Stay with me, baby. You're going to be just fine," he whispered. At that moment nothing else mattered. It didn't matter that he kissed Tanya, it didn't mattered that I took a bullet for him, all that mattered was that I finally told him the whole truth.

"I love you, Edward."

"I love you too, Bella. So much," he mumbled. A small smile graced my lips before everything went black.

Poor Bella. What do you think will happen next? What do you think so far? Please R & R! :)