I had thought this story lost forever, until my amazing and oh so beautiful other half found it for me and emailed it through. And so, here I am, re-posting my first multi-chapter fic. I haven't changed it, it still holds the ever fantastic beta skills of Mynxi, and a special place in my fanfic writing heart. Hopefully it gets to stay up this time. Enjoy!

B~E~L~L~A

My English essay was being uncooperative, completely useless at its assigned task of distracting me from my less than innocent thoughts. I glanced at the clock, 6:20pm. Shit, Edward was due in the next ten minutes and I was still sitting in my towel after my shower. Shutting my laptop, a little harder than was strictly necessary, I jumped up and made my way to my closet. Taking a moment to bask in the freedom of being able to choose my own clothes, I purposely bypassed all of the clothes that Alice had bought me and went for the Bella Special, a long sleeved shirt and nicely worn in jeans. Ah…the comfort.

My hair had dried naturally, all curls and waves; it was more than presentable after I'd pulled my brush through it a few times. I was mortified when I considered using the spray that Alice had bought for me…squealing something about making my hair shine and glow and all other kinds of rubbish that I tuned out quickly. Damn that little pixie is rubbing off on me. I shivered at the thought.

6:27pm, three minutes to go, Edward is nothing if not punctual. I rolled my eyes thinking about all the times that he had lectured me about the importance of punctuality. Honestly, the way he was talking you would think that it was the answer to world peace.

I was kinda looking forward to tonight, if I was lucky then Edward would want me all to his self, testing the boarders of his control…a past time that I was all too eager for. I'm a patient woman, if it takes a little time for my boyfriend to stop wanting to kill me every time we kiss, I can wait. The future benefits far outweigh the trouble to get there.

But if the stubborn ass would just change me, this wouldn't be a problem. NO…bad Bella, surely you're not thinking about the positives of becoming a vampire! Oh the horror!

Ok, Ok…so I am simply winding myself up about this. I tried to distract myself by wandering out to the porch. Didn't work though, same thoughts…different location.

The way I look at it is this; if he doesn't change me then my stellar track record of attracting danger, be it of the mundane or supernatural, would likely force his hand or just kill me. In which case I would haunt his sorry ass and make sure he suffered. Either that or if he doesn't see the light, I'm sure that I will be able to find some way to make it happen. I'm a resourceful woman…getting bitten in a house full of vampires shouldn't be too difficult.

Right on time I was greeted with a cool breath on my neck as Edward wound his arms around me from behind. I hadn't even realised he'd pulled up. Where the hell is my brain today?

"Good evening Love, ready to go?" Edward asked, punctuating his question with several light kisses down the length of my neck.

"Hmm, no…I think I would like to stay right here, for a while." I all but groaned out. He knows exactly what he's doing to me. Bastard.

He chuckled against my neck. "I am under strict orders to make sure you are there on time, Alice has something planned."

This time I did groan, and not in a good way. I hate being Alice's mannequin. It is during these times that Alice mysteriously stops understanding the English language; this becomes obvious as she blatantly ignores my pleas and starts yammering on about shading this and enhancing that, then depositing me into her closet and into whatever outfit she deemed fit that day.

This was something that I liked…no loved…to avoid.

"What? Has she finally got a life sized version of the Barbie Dream House to complete the Bella Barbie collection?"

"Come now Bella, don't be mean. You know how much she enjoys doing this for you." Edward's tone had turned from playful to chastising. And it was not appreciated.

"For me? If it had anything to do with me then she would listen to me instead of steam rolling over me with everything that she thinks I should wear." I took a deep breath, calming myself. I didn't want to argue. Turning around in the chair so that I could look into his face I tried the simple approach; puppy dog eyes with a side of pleading. "Just tonight please, Edward? I was looking forward to spending time with you and the family as a whole. I can do the sisterly mannequin thing another time."

He stared at me for a while, obviously considering my plea. But Edward is a chicken shit when it comes to Alice. She's the only one in the family that can really get one over on him with out him knowing about it before hand. Therefore, any and all plans of my escaping such torture fall on Emmett. He is always up for a fight, one way or another. The only drawback to accepting his help means that I am drawn into a night of video gaming of epic proportions.

When his face became a composed mask and his crooked smile came out to play, I was on immediate dazzle alert. Of course, by the time it registered, it was always too late and I was nothing but a compliant pile of goo.

"She was so excited Bella, I promise that she won't have you to herself all night, ok?"

I had learned early on that there's no point arguing. I also knew that Alice had never been able to do anything like this, she has no human memories and Vampires are so drop dead gorgeous that they don't need make-up; with skin like

Teflon…nothing sticks. I sighed, resigning myself to a night of torture to appease my best friend.

Maybe I'll get a reprieve and be able to spend time with Esme or spend time debating with Carlisle. Even though they are physically less than ten years my senior, it is easy to see why they so easily fit into the parental roles that have been carved out for them. For me, it has given me a chance to experience hands on parenting, it's funny but I am more worried about disappointing them than my own parents.

Seeing my acceptance…all be it grudgingly, Edward smiled and kissed me. Chastely…can't possibly do anything more…no, that would be wrong, god forbid if he slipped me some tongue. Gah! Give me a vampire with a little more bite. Please!

The car ride was filled with the calming notes of Debussy, while I wondered what Edward would do if I snuck in a little Heavy Metal. Cry probably. I ended up lost in my thoughts, wondering if Jasper would be there tonight, standing on the edges, just watching. Jasper…well, Jasper…is just…Jasper. Gorgeous, sexy, Texan, he's a veritable bundle of tasty cowboy goodness that I just…fuck I just wanna lick him! He's always so quiet and civilised, but I know that there is a true bad boy hidden somewhere in there. I know little of Jasper's vampire roots, only that it was brutal and he is relatively new to the Cullen's diet of animal blood. He is the one that I most love and hate to think about. I can't help my dreams, I try my curb my thoughts, but sometimes I wish that he had been the single Cullen, and it was times like those that I was infinitely grateful that my mind is closed to Edward.

Edward is always reminding me that Jasper needs to work on his control so that he would be able to spend time getting to know me. This seemed to be a running theme for me; men in my life having to become desensitised, so that they don't want to kill me. Non-homicidal thoughts are always a good foundation for a loving relationship or friendship.

We were in the garage before I realised we were at the house. I started to get out of the car, automatically bracing myself for Emmett's overzealous greeting. He would then receive the customary chastisement from Edward as he set me back on my feet, and then I'd be immediately pounced on by Alice.

Tonight, however, was different.

Edward ordered me to stay in the car, halting my attempt to exit. I got no explanation, no apology, and no chance to even question his suddenly surly demeanour. He simply issued the order and left me with the echo of the door slamming in his wake.

Well, there is no way that I'm just going to sit here like a fucking toddler. It was obvious that I wasn't in any danger, if I were, I would not have been left on my own. Edward's overprotective ass would never leave my side if that were the case. So I felt safe in the decision to exit the car at least. Once out and away from the Volvo my planned excuse would be that I was suddenly interested on Rose's vast array of tools. I could hear the sounds of arguing coming from inside as I closed the car door behind me. It was more of an angry buzz; obviously without me in the room there was no need to speak loud or slow enough for a human to hear. Growls erupted and the crashing of something made me jump and rethink my idea of getting out of the car.

The shouts got louder; I distinctly heard Esme and Carlisle's pleas for whomever to calm down. Then my name came into the mix and I froze. This is about me? What the hell is going on now?

"Bella's mine, Edward. You took her from me." A voice I was sure was Jasper's, bellowed out.

What the fuck?

Was that Jasper?

What the hell is he talking about?

I really, really wanted to just waltz in there and find out what the crap is going on. But my feet were glued to the concrete floor. Walking into the middle of a supernatural fight spoke even to my meagre sense of self preservation.

Suddenly there was silence. All sounds of, well everything, just stopped. I was left with nothing but the harsh beating of my heart drumming through my ears…so, ok, maybe not everything stopped.

I felt like I was stuck in the eye of the storm, where everything pauses and calms before all hell breaks lose. My eyes were trained on the door Edward had disappeared through. I was waiting for him to reappear, to tell me that everything is fine and that we would be spending tonight at my house. Because I knew damn well that he would never actually tell me something that he thinks might upset me. God forbid he causes me to worry.

Well, I have some news for you this time Edward Anthony Cullen, there is no way that I will be taking any lame ass explanation. This time I want the whole truth and nothing but the tru...

HOLY SHIT!

I scrambled towards the side wall as Edward exploded through the front wall, next to the closed door, and into the Volvo. Both he and his car skidded back and into the garage door. The Volvo, where I had been sitting not two minutes ago, was nothing but a twisted lump of metal. I got about enough time to register that I was now sitting on my ass as Jasper came careening through the hole left by Edward's entrance. He stopped, taking me in. He looked pissed; his eyes were black and narrowed, and trained on me. His face softened slightly, determination and want took over his face as he started towards me.

I didn't know what the hell to think, my brain had gone on vacation. All there was for me just then was an insanely hot, barely in control vampire, stalking towards me. I didn't even flinch. I definitively made no move to get out of his way.

He didn't get to me though; Edward intercepted him and kicked him through the garage door. What the hell is it with vampires and destroying things? I was grabbed though, no idea by who, and the air was whipping past me as I instinctively buried my head into the shoulder of whoever the hell was taking me away from the carnage.

Seconds after I was deposited in a car, the door slammed and Rose appeared next to me, throwing the car into gear and shooting off down the drive. It took me a minute or so to find my voice.

"What in the unholy fuck is going on?" I screamed.

Rose just turned to me and cocked an eyebrow, smirking at me. "All in good time Bella. I never knew you had such a mouth on you."

"Like that matters! What was the argument about? Why the hell did Jasper throw Edward into the Volvo? What did Jasper mean by someone stole me from him? And why the hell am I in a car with you? Going god knows where? Another question, where are we going?"

Rose sighed, obviously annoyed with me, well tough titties blondie, I want to know what's going on.

"The argument was about you. Jasper threw Edward into the garage and consequently into the Volvo because Edward declared himself the stronger fighter. Jasper meant exactly what he said, Edward took you from him, and you are in the car with me because I am the only one other than Emmett that Jasper trusts completely. Emmett was busy getting Jasper off Edward, so I grabbed you and took off. As to where we are going, well you will just have to see. I can't say it out loud otherwise Alice will know. Hell I don't even know where yet, I need to make contact with a friend. Now go to sleep, it's going to be a long drive."

Huh?

What a way to answer all of my questions without actually giving me any useful answers. So I was right, the argument was about me, and Edward stole me from Jasper? Where the hell did he get that idea from, I've barely said two words to him let a lone anything resembling a relationship. What about Alice? Plus, Rose and Emmett are the only ones that Jasper trusts with me? What the hell does that mean?

Sleep sounds like a fabulous idea right now, oblivion for a few hours, a respite from all of this shit that has exploded. Rose's phone rang, startling me. She answered, doing nothing more than bringing the phone to her ear and ends the call soon after. I turned to the window; the memory of Jasper as he stalked towards me is fresh in my mind. He was so…enticing, exciting, sexy.

I smirked, feeling naughty and mischievous, damn exuberant, and more than just a little bit turned on. It turns out the sexy cowboy who I've wanted from afar wants me too.

Leave me some love...