I could not believe this. One wrong move, and I had ended up here with no idea whether the rest of the family even knew where I was. If Bella knew where I was.

I walked back and forth in my prison, waiting for something, anything, to happen. A low growl escaped my throat. A growl of sheer frustration. How could I have been so stupid? Going to Italy (and the Volturi) alone was dumb in the first place, but it was worse to do it on a mere whim so that Alice couldn't see the outcome. All because I had heard the thoughts of Aro, suggesting that they were coming for my universe, for Bella. How foolish of me not to see that it was all jut a trap. I let out another growl.

But it was too late to change things now. I could only hope that my family came in time to save me from whatever it was the Volturi had planned. I chuckled, seeing the dark, ironic humor in it all. How many times was I going to need rescuing from myself, from the Volturi? I wished I could hear my family's thoughts right now. That was the main frustration here. There was a new member of the Volturi. His power? Canceling out the abilities of anyone he wished. Lucky for the Volturi, he was loyal to them, and therefore careful not to touch them with his ability. No, that was reserved for me, their current target. They apparently felt I was getting in the way of Bella's transformation. Not to suggest I wasn't. It was just too hard to accept the necessity of it, to accept that I had to destroy the soul of my one and only love, the only reason I could accept the eternal damnation already forced upon me.

For now, though, I could only regret all that I'd done. Why couldn't I have just told my family where I was going instead of doing everything in my power to avoid them? I knew the answer. I hadn't wanted them in danger. Now I hoped to see them once more, if only to apologize. I sighed, sitting in a corner of the bare, windowless room. I tried for the fiftieth time that day to punch a whole in the wall. Of course it didn't work. Whatever it was made of, this room was too strong for even me. I put my head in my hands and sobbed tearlessly.

After what must have been a few hours, I heard Aro's hard, cruel voice somewhere nearby. I immediately stood up, bracing myself for attack and straining to catch the still-faint voices. After a while, I was able to distinguish two voices getting louder as they approached. It was indeed Aro, but who was he with? I focused harder, struggling to recall the name of that so-familiar voice. I'd heard it somewhere. But where?

I remained in the same position, still struggling, as I continued to listen. After a while, the voices came close enough for me to tell that the other voice was that of a female. Suddenly it dawned on me. Jane. Oh no, I though. No. Then I could tell what they were saying. "But Aro, I doubt torture will make him see how necessary it is to bite her. You touched him. You know how unlikely it is that he would ever let that happen to his pet human." "Ah, but you are wrong. He will see the light soon. Very soon." A cruel laugh. I went into convulsions. By what means would he torture me? Knowing the Volturi, it was easy to tell how bad it could get.

I was hardly prepared when the door I had tried so hard to find opened directly behind me. Before I could spin around to attack, I was pinned to the ground by Aro himself. I growled. He merely laughed as he probed my mind, obviously only curious to see what I'd been doing for the past few hours since I'd been unceremoniously trapped. I struggled to escape, but it was impossible. Aro was far too strong. I roared with anger and humiliation.

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"Get off, Bastard," I hissed, snapping my teeth inches from his face. He only smiled. A mocking smile. At last he stepped away. I prepared to lunge at him, but I was back on the ground in an instant, writhing in pain. I yelled. It seemed so real. I could hardly believe it was only an illusion. After what was probably an hour or more, I was released from the control of Jane. I just lay there. There was no point in getting up. I waited for some other form of pain to ensue.

After a long while, I finally spoke. "What good will it do you to torture me? Why don't you just change Bella yourself?" Aro laughed, enjoying my helplessness. "For one thing, it greatly amuses me. But mostly because I happen to know from another member who recently simplified things by taking your power for himself that you are necessary link.…" I realized what he was getting at. "You mean," I choked on the words, "that only I can change her?" Aro and Jane grinned. I was a statue, stunned into silence. But then a thought occurred to me.

"I do believe that you are bluffing, foolish Aro," I crooned. He glared at me, suspicious. "What do you mean?" I smiled. "I mean that Bella has been bitten before." He gave a start, which motivated me enough to sit up. "That's right. I sucked the poison from her veins just in time. She is indeed still human." Aro smiled, and I realized I must have missed something. "No Cullen, I am not bluffing. You wasted your effort in doing that. It never would have done a thing. All the venom of all the vampires but you will hurt just as much, but it will do nothing but that. It is little more than an effective form of torture." I growled, standing up. "I don't believe you."

He smiled, red eyes glinting. "Would you like to test your theory?" I saw how he had me cornered. I sighed and collapsed, resuming my dry, tearless sobbing. "You're right. But I will never do it." He smiled. "You will. Now come, boy." He yanked me up. I growled and struggled against his iron grip even after I saw the futility. Jane left, and I was dragged down a seemingly endless hallway into the huge room I knew so well from my last fateful visit with Bella. Here was a much smaller crowd, consisting only of Demetri and a strange vampire I did not recognize. I only knew that he was anything but good news. I continued to fight even when I was thrown to the floor and forced to stay down. Aro held me and spoke to me in a harsh voice, "Now Edward, I will make this very simple. Either you agree to change your pet, or you become the same species as her, courtesy of our friend here." The strange vampire laughed. I stopped struggling. No. No. I had to do something. But what? This wasn't working, and both being human (and therefore incapable of protecting Bella) and changing her were out of the question, and it wouldn't help to lie when Aro had access to my thoughts as long as he held me. He combed my mind and found that indecision. "Oh yes, you are a bright one. Because you would be helpless and incapable of offering protection to yourself and your human, we would be able to wipe you both out." I groaned. It was useless. I had to make a decision, and fast.

Just as I considered this, I heard the sound of Emmet's booming voice erupt outside the door. I grinned. Good old Emmet. I'd never loved my brother more than I did now. He was in the room before any of my captors could stop him, holding a familiar shape. It was the monster who had left me with the frustration of not knowing others' thoughts. I was already acquainted with how to restore my ability. Shoving off a momentarily stunned Aro, I was by him in a fraction of a second. I stared into the black eyes of our captive and immediately felt the comfort of Emmet's thoughts beside me, my captor's thoughts behind me, a million tourist and residents' annoying chatter (which I immediately blocked), and, in the distance, the rest of the family's worried thoughts. I looked up at Emmet, whose face broke into a wide grin, and he dropped the load he'd been carrying. We began to run just as Aro and his "friends" recovered. I heard Aro order the stranger to pursue us. I saw in his mind what he was going to do. I knew what had to be done to save Emmet and the others. I stopped dead, nodding to Emmet when he turned, panic in his mind. 'Edward, move!!' he bellowed in his thoughts. I forced a grin. "No, Emmet. Just keep going. Wait for me in the lobby, and do not do anything stupid." He nodded, obviously not wanting to obey, and continued on. I turned back, and just as I did, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I felt the odd sensation of warmth and a beating heart before I fell, unconscious. The last thing I heard was Emmet's voice, shouting my name….

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I woke up in the bed I had in my room. I was not alone. Carlisle was sitting on the couch. He stood up as soon as he noticed that I was awake. I had quite a few questions for him, but I just smiled and greeted him. "Edward, are you alright? You're acting like nothing has happened in the past twenty-four hours." I sighed. "I'm promise that to the best of my knowledge, I am still sane, and I do realize what happened." He didn't smile. Instead, he asked the one question I was hoping he wouldn't ask.

"Why did you just leave like that? You're not usually that stupid." My smile faded. "Carlisle, I heard Aro's thoughts. He was coming for Bella. I had to stop him, but if I told you, Bella would have come along, and so would all of you. I didn't want you or her in danger." I choked on the words. He stared at me. "And why did you stop and wait for Ravin to attack you?" "Who?" I was confused already. "The vampire who did this to you, Edward!!" He hissed. Oh, I thought. "He would have caught us. I stopped for Emmet to escape safely." It sounded silly when actually said aloud. Carlisle calmed down a bit when he saw my distress.

"I'm sorry. Did you learn anything while you were in there?" I made an attempt to growl, but only a low moan escaped my throat. I could feel the heat rushing to my face. "Yes. Aro said that I was the only one who could change Bella. They'll be coming for both of us soon." "Are you sure?" "Positive."

He stood up quickly, helping me onto my feet with him. I followed him out of the room, and we climbed down the stairs and into the living room, where the rest of the family waited impatiently for us. Carlisle filled them in while I struggled not to show any signs of my current condition. Bella spent the whole time watching me struggle to compose myself, to hide the panic bubbling up inside of me. She looked quite upset, sitting there and watching me suffer.

After what seemed like a millennium, Carlisle finished, and everyone scattered while Alice tried to find out when our unwanted guests would arrive. Bella immediately walked over to me. I winced, already assuming that it was to confront me, even though her face didn't give that away. "Edward, I know you feel bad, so I won't say anything about it. I just want to fill you in on the details. I was hoping you'd do the same for me."

I relaxed a bit, happy to see that she wasn't angry. I glanced around the room and concluded that it was a bit too crowded for me to be at ease. I nodded pointedly in the direction of my room. Most of the family watched us as we climbed the stairs, making me extremely uncomfortable. I could feel their eyes drilling holes in my back, now that it was no longer made of granite. We came to a stop in my room, and Bella, obviously hungry for information, sat down on the couch, patting the spot beside her. I grinned and plopped down next to her. "Bella, you may want to tell your side of the story, because mine," I paused, "isn't the most pleasant thing in the world." She smiled, trying to comfort me. It worked. "Alright. Well, when you went missing…." I winced. She stared at me for a moment before grabbing my hand and continuing, "After you went missing, we all panicked. We had no idea why or where you had gone, but after a few hours of serious struggle, Alice picked up a vision of you in a room that it was obvious you could not escape from. In the distance, she heard Aro talking with Jane, you getting in a defensive position…. That's where she lost it. We all immediately set off for Italy not seconds after Alice told us what she saw. When we got there, Alice had another vision. This time, you were passing out in one of those long hallways as a man touched you. We decided it was too dangerous to all go in for you at once, so Emmett volunteered. Edward, I hope you're thankful towards him. He was furious when he found out." I felt tears brimming in my eyes. Bella stopped talking. "Oh, Edward, do you need to be alone while you…." I wiped the tears away. "No. I'm sorry. Please, Bella, continue." She seemed a bit unwilling to cause me more unnecessary pain, but she continued anyway. "Well, I'm sure you now what happened up until you passed out. After that, Emmet says he went back for you when he heard you cry out. He found Ravin leaning over you, about ready to drink your…." I moaned. "Oops. I mean… kill you. Emmet managed to, as he puts it, separate the damned villain from his limbs." At this, I laughed. "We burned him later. It was only by luck that he got you out of there before he would have had to face a whole army of vampires." She finished just in time. Any longer and I would have vomited, which would have been quite unpleasant. "Wait," I breathed. "Where were the rest of you during all of this?" She sighed. "We were waiting in their underground passageways. Now will you tell me what happened to you from the time you left up till now?"

I nodded. "Okay, but I guarantee that you won't like it." "I don't expect to like it any more than I expected you to like my story." And so I told her everything.

By the time I was finished, she was in tears. I tried to comfort her, but I wasn't sure how without an enhanced charisma. She sighed, seeing the conflict. "Edward, you don't have to be amazingly gorgeous to comfort me effectively." I sighed. "Will this do?" She looked up at me, tears running down her face. I flashed her my most dazzling smile. She giggled. "See?" "Yeah. Come on, we don't want to keep the others waiting, now do we?" She smiled. I returned the gesture, not regretting as much the choice I'd so stupidly made.

The family was ecstatic when they saw me smiling. Emmet was especially happy. "Hey Ed, you seem to be adjusting quite well." I blushed. Emmet struggled not to laugh. "It's okay, Emmet. I'm not that sensitive. Have a sense of humor." A wide grin crossed his face as he led Bella and me to a couch. Everyone else took a seat as well.

Carlisle began talking first. "Now, as we all know, the Volturi are now after Edward and Bella. Alice just confirmed that they will be here in only a few days, so we need to prepare. Edward?" He turned to me. "Are you willing to join us in the fight?" I nodded. It took no consideration. The sooner I could protect Bella, the better. "That, then, is the first priority. I know none of you are as of yet ready for that, so I will do that in a moment." I shivered involuntarily. Still, despite the three days of pain, I knew I could do it. For Bella, if for nothing else. Jasper looked over at me, his face a mask of worry. Carlisle then filled us in a bit further with the details and main plan, after which we scattered again.

I walked over to Alice, leaving Bella to wait on the couch. Alice seemed extremely uncomfortable with my presence. "Oh. Uh, hi Edward…." I tried to ignore the discomfort in her voice. "Hey, Alice. What's wrong?" "It's nothing. Just… your blood is extremely potent." That was when I noted the blackness of her eyes. It looked like she hadn't eaten in days. No, weeks. I stammered an apology and was just turning away from her when she reached out a hand to stop me. "Don't go, Edward. I need to talk to you about something."

I nodded, not trusting me voice to work for me. Alice led me upstairs and into her room, shutting the door behind us. I sat down in a corner. Alice plopped down about a yard away. I could tell it was all she could do not to attack me. Strangely enough, I wasn't nervous about it. I trusted her to stay under control. "Yes, Alice?" She stopped breathing before she spoke. "Well, I don't mean to be nosy, but I think you should reconsider letting Carlisle bite you." I made a face. "Really, Edward. Can't you see how much happier Bella would be if she could spend a few days with you as a human? Besides, don't you want to enjoy some time like that before you go back to being one of us?" "No, Alice. Any amount of time spent as a human is made sour by the knowledge that I can't protect her."

Alice flashed me an angel's smile. That did it. My human side took over. I couldn't resist for much longer. "Ugh. Why do you have to do that?" "Because it works. Come on, Edward. They're only sending five out, and anyway, maybe we can convince the dogs to help." I stiffened. "No. I refuse to be outdone by those mutts." Another smile. I was helpless. "Fine. I'll do it if you promise to quit with the hypnotic smiles. It's not fair." She giggled as I sulkily stood up and stalked out of the room.

She stopped me in the hall, pulling me back in with her. God, why did she take advantage of me so? "Alice!" I whirled around. She was grinning. "What do you want?" "Nothing. Just thought I'd try that while I still could." I stalked off and sulkily walked into the living room.

Carlisle approached me. "Edward, are you ready?" I glared back. "No. I'm not going to change just yet." "Why is that?" "Let's just say that I have an evil sister and leave it at that." He nodded knowingly. "That's okay. I won't force you."

I made no attempt to reply, instead sullenly returning to the couch where Bella was still waiting. With a weary sigh, I collapsed beside her, catching her off guard and causing her to jump. "It's okay. Just me." She turned to face me when she heard the anger in my voice. "What's wrong?" "Alice," I fumed. "What do you mean, Alice? It's not her fault she and Jasper are drawn to your blood." "No, it's not that. It's that she finds it entertaining to take advantage of me." She laughed. "Let me guess. She convinced you not to let Carlisle bite you." "Yes, as a matter of fact, she did. And I fail to see the humor in it." She held back another giggle before interrupting my increased sulking. "You know, that reminds me of something you do to me all the time." That one really caught me off guard.

The heat rushed to my face-again. Another laugh. This one came from Emmet. "Wow. You blush more often than Bella." I turned to face him. I must have been pretty dark at that point. I sighed. Being human sucked. I finally relaxed enough for the blood in my face to drain a bit. Emmet laughed. "Ah, you know I'm joking, right?" I glared at him, putting a good amount of venom in it. "I'm tired. I think I'll go rest a bit," I muttered.

Once I was safely in my room with the door locked, I dragged myself over to the bed. Of course, I had absolutely no idea how to sleep, so I just laid down and tried to relax. The next thing I knew, I was somewhere far away, dreaming about Bella. Ha, I thought. I knew it.

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Someone was knocking on my door. "Edward? Please come out. I'm really sorry." It was Alice. I struggled into a sitting position. "Go away." She sounded hurt. "No. I'll break down the door if you don't open it in right now." I considered that for a moment. I finally decided it wouldn't do me any good to have a broken door, so I called out to her. "Fine. Just relax for a minute." I got up and changed my clothes. It took me forever. Why did humans have to be so slow? I finally got to the door and let Alice in.

She danced into the room, moving extraordinarily fast. I wondered if that was how it looked to Bella when I moved. She was lying down on the bed before I even had a chance to turn around. I walked over to the bed and sat down. She was eager to ask me something, that much was clear. I braced myself.

"Edward?" I sat in stony silence. Alice seemed to consider this an invitation to keep talking. "I was wondering… would you mind staying human 'till after the wedding?" I stared at her. Geez, this girl never let up. "Alice, do you really consider that an apology?" She stared at the bedspread for quite a while before answering. "Please, Edward?" "No" "Please?" "No." "But Edward, it'll be fun." "No." "You're mean." "Good." Alice then tried a wide variation of angelic grins and smiles, which I quickly came to despise. "Sorry Alice, but it won't do you any good." Finally she gave up, to my great satisfaction.

I grinned. "Anything else, Alice?" She let out a low growl. I got the idea that I'd made her angrier than I intended. "I still have more strength in one finger than you have in your entire body. Shall I resort to that?"

I grimaced. "I highly doubt that you actually would." "Try me." "Fine. Go right on ahead." She glared at me before admitting defeat. "Sorry. I'm leaving now," she muttered. I chuckled quietly as I watched her stand up - and then she was gone.

I decided to listen to music for a while, but it wasn't long before I noticed a gnawing pain in my stomach. I took it to mean I was hungry, so I gathered up the courage to stumble down the stairs for the millionth time that day (Or days. How long I had slept, I didn't know.) and ask Esme for something to eat. She smiled sympathetically at me before she stood up and began cooking something. It smelled good. I hadn't noticed how her cooking had smelled before, because, after all, I only drank blood then.

It was ready fairly soon. I saw that Esme had made a few sausage links, three scrambled eggs, and a huge pile of hash browns. I assumed that's what it was, anyway. I could only guess with the knowledge I had from various times and places of the past hundred years, since I had had no reason to know much about them previously.

I struggled for a moment, trying to figure out how to eat something that wasn't the blood of some poor, unfortunate animal straight from its dead body. After about half an hour and a good number of curses, I managed to get it right.

When I was finished eating (There was nothing left on my plate.), I stood up to find Bella. As I did so, Emmet came up to me from behind and put his icy hand on my shoulder. I jumped, letting loose a yell as I did so. He burst into huge fits of his booming laughter. "It's okay, Edward. I didn't mean to scare you. Why so jumpy?" I was so startled that when I spun around, intending to be as mean as possible, all I could manage was a slightly annoyed greeting.

He grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me as softly as possible back towards the kitchen chairs. I refused at first, but I was still so close to my brother (And who could blame him for being amused?) that I eventually gave up, not wanting to offend him. I sat down across from him and tried to start a conversation.

"Er…. So, Emmet, how long was I asleep?" He grinned. "Couldn't have been too long, bro. You only stomped up into your room a couple hours ago." I struggled to grin back, but it must have looked a bit strangled. "Where's Bella?" "Out on the porch. She wants to see you." I stood up abruptly. "Do you mind?" "Not if you can wait just a few more seconds." "Fine." I remained standing, unable to contain my eagerness to get to Bella. I guess I was a bit worried, though she had more reason to worry about me than I about her. "How long did Alice convince you to stay human?" I groaned. "She didn't get all that specific. Just that I should stay this way until after the fight." Emmet looked disappointed. "Aw, but I wanted to see how you act as a newborn." Damn, I thought. I'd quite forgotten to take that into consideration. My face gave that away pretty well. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you…." "It's okay. Alice did want me human for the wedding, but I refused." I grinned. "Ha. So that's why she's been so angry the past few hours." "Speaking of which, Emmet, do you mind if I go talk to her?" "Go ahead. She's up in her room." We exchanged grins as I left.

"Alice? It's me. Do you mind if I come in?" I heard her sigh. The door opened almost immediately. "Listen, Edward. If you're not interested in staying human for long enough to please Bella, not to mention yourself, you don't need to apologize." "I know. But I do owe you an apology for being so rude earlier."

I paused, unsure of how to continue. Suddenly, her face went blank. It was only a few seconds before the vision ended. She opened her eyes and grinned. "You want to reconsider the whole human thing, huh?" I nodded, embarrassed. "I don't think I could stand to be a new-born again so soon." "Oh. Well, how long will you go?" "A month or so." Alice was ecstatic. "Really? Oh my goodness, Edward, thank you so much!" "Wait." I put up my hand to silence her. "You will need to promise to try not to take advantage of me. I can only stand so much." She nodded her head. "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go see Bella."

Without another word, I turned and practically ran out to the porch. Bella looked up, her anxious face melting into joy when she saw the smile playing upon my lips. "Hello, Bella. Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" "Yes, actually. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to La Push." I tensed up automatically. "Why?" "For one thing, I don't want Charlie to think I've been kidnapped, and for another, I just want to see Jacob." I ground my teeth. My expression was pained. "Bella," I whispered, "I don't know if I really want to be surrounded by a bunch of dog-er, werewolves, when I'm like this." She gave me a sympathetic look. "That's okay. Maybe we can go down to the meadow when I get back." She stood up and started walking in the direction of her truck. I watched for a few moments, wild conflict raging in my head. Eventually, the need to be with Bella won over me. By the time I decided to join her, she was already climbing into her truck. "Wait!" She looked over at me. Forcing a smile, I ran over to her. Wow. How much more frustratingly slow could I get?

"I never said I didn't want to come." I grinned more naturally this time. She climbed into the driver's seat. "What are you waiting for? Get in." "Me? Ride in there again? Not likely. If I go, we ride in my car." She glared at me. I smiled with as much charisma as I could work up. She glared at me again before sighing and joining me in the Volvo. "Edward, since you're human and therefore capable of sustaining serious injuries, do you suppose you might slow down a bit as long as you're driving?" I smiled to myself. Chuckling, I replied, "not a chance." I could just barely hear her reply. "Stupid, shiny Volvo owner." I grinned again and sped away from the house, happily watching the speedometer needle indicate a rising speed while Bella ground her teeth beside me.

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We were there in only fifteen minutes. I was nervous, to say the very least. Jacob saw us coming, and he grinned when he saw Bella. He turned to me, and he obviously wanted to wring my neck. It was a pity that for once, it was actually an option being presented to him. "Bella, why is the leech here? It better be good, because he is in violation of the treaty." I glared. Bella looked to me, and I nodded. I wasn't going to be the one to say it. "Er, Jake…. No one's violating anything unless you have a no humans rule." I smiled as politely as I could without vomiting.

Jake obviously didn't believe her, so he turned to me. I nodded. "Uh, wow. Okay, so…. How the hell did this happen?" He grinned wolfishly. I spoke before Bella. "The Volturi have a new member with an interesting ability." Jacob obviously didn't know how to react. "So you asked them to do this?" "No. In fact, they'll be here either tomorrow or the day after, and since I won't be fighting, my family was curious. Will you help us out with this? It is for Bella. You can fight and just pretend it isn't to help me." Jacob paused before answering. "When will you change Bella?" I sighed. "When I'm back…. In a month. I am apparently the only one who can change her. I know I'll be able to do it somehow."

That was the wrong thing to say. He began shaking uncontrollably. He growled deeply, grinding his teeth. I somehow didn't feel the hate I usually felt for him when he was like this, so I hesitated before stepping forward. The growling increased in strength, and so did the shaking. That didn't stop me. I reached forward, touching him lightly on the shoulder. He winced, but the shaking gradually stopped. I smiled. He looked ashamed, but there was an underlying emotion I could only guess the identity of; it was gratitude. Friendship, even. I stepped back. Bella looked up at me, just as shocked as the dog.

I shrugged. "I don't feel that hate I usually feel towards you. It's odd, really." He struggled to smile. "Um, thanks, leech… er, human." "Call me Edward." "I think I can convince the others to help you guys." I grinned. "That's cool, Jake. Thanks." They must have been pretty weirded out. I know I was.

He extended a hand. "Truce?" I took it. "For now, dog." I winked. Bella touched my shoulder, softly spinning me around till I was face to face with her. She smiled. "Thanks." "No problem." We turned back to Jacob, now a friend, if only for a month. "Well Jake, we'd better get started." He grinned. "Sounds good. We can drive in my car."

Obviously, I was missing something. They noticed my confusion. "It's okay, Edward," Bella said," you'll see soon enough what we're talking about." I followed them to what I remembered was Jacob's Rabbit. He climbed in the front seat. Bella took a spot in the back, and I joined her, not quite ready for prolonged contact with the dog.

We drove at a frustratingly slow pace, so it took us almost fifteen minutes to reach our destination when it could have taken us only five with me behind the wheel. We arrived somewhere I didn't recognize. It was pretty much just a huge cliff overlooking the ocean. I climbed out of the car after Bella. She grinned up at me. "Ever been cliff-diving, Edward?" My breath caught in my throat. "You're taking me cliff diving!!"

Jacob overheard the conversation. Laughing, he came over and patted me on the shoulder. "Yeah. It'll be fun. Besides, Bella's done it. If she can do it and live, then so can you." I could feel my legs weaken. "Oh God. Oh God. Why are you subjecting me to this torture, Bella?" She looked innocently up at me. "Please, Edward? Won't you try it just once?" I steadied myself. "I wouldn't mind if it weren't for the fact that I'm so much more fragile than usual. Hell, I'm almost as fragile as you." She sighed, impatient. "Well, suit yourself, Edward, but I'm going to jump." She ran before I could touch her, leaping off the edge and causing my heart to skip a good number of beats. I screamed and took off after her. "Damn it, Bella!" I hit the icy water with a gasp. This wouldn't have hurt so much if I'd been a vampire with an iceberg for a body. Yet, somehow, I was glad to be free of that curse, to feel the way a normal human being should. I came up gasping. I spotted Bella a few yards away. Allowing a huge wave to propel me toward her, I yelled, "Bella, why did you have to just jump like that? I hate it when you act so reckless." "Sorry. It worked, though." "What worked?" "It got you to jump."

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I wanted to be mad, but I couldn't bring myself to feel that way. I sighed, knowing that Bella probably couldn't hear me anyway, and took off towards shore. She followed, and we made it there in a reasonably small amount of time.

The three of us jumped off that cliff several times before we returned home, and I was sure that I now had a new favorite sport.

We thanked Jacob, said goodbye, and started home. In the car, Bella said, "So. Do you want to go to the meadow, Edward?" I chuckled. "Of course."