A/N: I know it has been attempted by many other people before, but I couldn't stop thinking about what Edward was going through in the second half of Twilight. So, without further ado, here is Midnight Sun part 2.

12. Complications (continued)

"Oh Bella?"

"Yes?"

"Tomorrow it's my turn."

Her forehead puckered. "Your turn to what?"

"Ask the questions." Tomorrow, when we were in a safer place, surrounded by witnesses, I would get my own answers. I grinned at the thought, and then I turned away because she made no move to leave. Even with her outside of the car, the echo of the electricity zinged in the air. I wanted to get out, too, to walk to her door as an excuse to stay beside her...

No more mistakes. I hit the gas, and then sighed as she disappeared behind me. It seemed like I was always running toward Bella or running away from her, never staying in place. I would have to find some way to hold my ground if we were ever going to have any peace.

As I sped away from the Swan residence, from Bella standing so effortlessly beautiful in one spot, a smile was glued to my face. For a moment, I could forget about who I was, about what I was and just think about her. It was selfish of me, I knew that down to my very core, but it felt incredible to think about her the entire drive home.

It took me only a few minutes to arrive home, and as I neared the end of my drive I could see and hear Alice waiting for me. She was positioned outside of the garage so that there was no way I could ignore her, and there was something she had to talk to me about.

Where are you off to this evening?

I rolled my eyes at her; she knew the answer to her pressing question, there was no need to dignify it with a response.

Showing clearly that I had every intention of parking my car in our garage, Alice eventually gave up on getting an answer from me and let me drive past her, allowing me to park in my normal spot next to Rosalie's car.

The run back to Forks from our home was something I looked forward to every evening. Most parts of my routine I found tedious and unnecessary. School, spending nights at home or hunting, driving most places; it was all for show. But as I sped through the greenery that surrounded and defined the small town of Forks, Washington, I couldn't be more grateful that my obnoxiously tedious routine brought me to her.

I easily sneaked through her bedroom window like I did most evenings, comforted by the feel of the old wood brushing against my skin.

Settling into my usual seat, I softly rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, hands folded in my lap. As Bella tossed and turned throughout most of the evening, much of my attention was focused on staying in my chair and not moving to comfort her. I wanted nothing more than to comfort her, nothing more than to hold her against my chest and sleep with her instead of sitting what seemed like a mile away and simply watching.

I sat, silent and still, but couldn't help and think back to Biology earlier in the day. My mind flickered to the magnetic pull that her body had to me, recalled the way her warm skin felt against my hand as I brushed the side of her cheek. Nerve endings that hadn't been active in who knows how long had been called awake by that one moment of self indulgence. But the question that kept burning itself in the back of my brain was simply if she had felt the same way, if the electric charge sent through my body was the same for her. I was willing to give up hearing the thoughts of every other person in the world if it meant that I could peek into her brain.

And then, as if on cue, my name softly escaped from her lips.

"Edward," she whispered, "please stay."

Time passed, and eventually Bella's sleeping became more peaceful. Once she had been still for about twenty minutes, I decided to press my luck, to try and be close to her again. Slowly rising from my seat, I took a deep breath. The burning in my throat was slightly more manageable, and I walked impossibly slowly toward my sleeping beauty.

After what felt like an eternity, I knelt by the side of her bed frame, reaching my hand out and softly tracing the outline of her face. I could hear her heart pick up the way it always did when I was close to her and for a moment, was extremely frightened that she was going to wake up to find me mere inches from her face. But she simply smiled wider, eyes remaining shut, and whispered another quiet and fond "Edward."

The sun was rising outside, the world was waking up, and in an instant, I was reminded of pesky humans and their ridiculous circadian rhythms. I stole one last look at Bella asleep peacefully in her bed and raced home as fast as I could, knowing that the sooner I got home, the sooner I could be in Bella's presence again.

I barely took the time to notice the rest of my family as I sped around our home to get ready for the day. I was sure it was unnecessary to tell Alice that Rosalie needed to drive again, but just in case, I took a moment to check in with the thoughts of my siblings.

Next time, I'm going to find a bear twice his size.

Hair up, hair down, hair up, hair down.

All I feel is love right now, and I couldn't be more content.

I'll need to ensure Rosalie doesn't get mad when I talk to her in a couple minutes, but right now I have more...important matters to attend to.

I smiled to myself as I heard Alice and Jasper together, seeing the way Alice looked at him and vice versa made me long for the love they had; the type of love that never died no matter how many years it lived on, the type of love that got stronger through patience, understanding, and...

I cut myself off from that train of thought before it got too out of control. I could never have what they had, I wouldn't let Bella become one of us just to spend her life with me. Her life was worth so much more than my happiness.

Not bothering to slow down to say goodbye to my family, I moved quickly back to my car. Bella's scent lingered in the passenger seat, and I took a deep breath, letting the slight burning sensation make its way comfortably into my throat. I welcomed the pain.

On the drive to Bella's house, I took a moment to listen for Charlie. His thoughts were delivered to me partially, giving off an annoyed tone. I looked at the clock as I pulled into the driveway. He had left two minutes later than usual.

I sat and waited patiently for Bella to finish getting ready, letting my mind wander and think about all the questions I wanted to know the answer to today. I desired to know every detail about her, every trivial and seemingly unimportant factoid and piece of information. Today would most definitely be a good day.

A smile spread across my face as she opened the passenger door and climbed into the car. What was she thinking about? Was she happy to see me? Was yesterday as monumental for her as it was for me?

I took a breath before speaking, the comforting burn settling back into my throat.

"Good morning. How are you today?" I asked, searching her face for a recollection of the previous day, the previous evening, the stolen touches I took every moment I could, and finding nothing.

"Good, thank you," she replied, but I couldn't help but continue to search her face, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and how lethargic she seemed.

"You look tired."

"I couldn't sleep," she said, swinging her hair to provide a sort of wall between us.

I couldn't help but laugh at that comment. "Neither could I," I said, quirking my eyebrows at her before putting the car into drive and taking off toward our destination for the day, school.

She chuckled at my joke - that always made me feel good about myself - and replied. "I guess that's right, I suppose I slept just a little bit more than you did."

"I'd wager you did."

"So what did you do last night?"

I laughed. Her ability to ask questions with extremely revealing answers was unparalleled by anyone I had ever met before, but she was not getting away with this today.

"Not a chance. It's my day to ask questions," I reminded her, fingers drumming against the steering wheel.

"Oh, that's right. What do you want to know?" she asked, an apprehensively eager tone in her voice.

What did I want to know? Everything.

I decided to start simple. "What's your favorite color?"

"It changes from day to day," she stated, and I lightly shook my head. That answer was not going to work.

"What's your favorite color today?" I pressed in response.

"Probably brown."

I couldn't help but snicker at first. "Brown?" Was she serious? Brown was the color that a beautiful art project turned into when you forget how to blend color correctly, the color of mud, a color that simply existed, never noticed by anyone. Except, it seemed, by her.

"Sure. Brown is warm. I miss brown. Everything that's supposed to be brown — tree trunks, rocks, dirt — is all covered up with squashy green stuff here," she explained and I pondered on that for a moment.

Maybe brown was all of the things that came to my mind before, but brown was also the color of her hair, providing a beautifully stark contrast to her pale skin. Brown was the color of her eyes, her warm, inviting eyes. I could lose myself in the shades of brown that made up Bella.

Without brown, she wouldn't be who she was. I had a newfound appreciation for the color.

"You're right," I stated plainly, reaching out to lightly touch her hair, to knock down her makeshift wall of...well, of brown.

I snapped my arm back to the wheel as we pulled into school, maneuvering to my spot in the parking lot like I did every day. The minute I put the car in park, I turned to face Bella.

"What music is in your CD player right now?" I asked, trying to take the topic of conversation as seriously as I could.

As she spoke the name of the Linkin Park CD currently in my car, I couldn't help but smile an all knowing smile. I produced my copy of the same CD, and laughed. "Debussy to this?" I asked, shaking my head at the many similarities that never seemed to end with the two of us.

Eventually, we had to leave the secluded environment that was my car, but I made use of the time we had together throughout the day extremely well. Every moment we were together, I was asking her another question, delving deeper, finding out new information, and loving every minute of it.

I took mental notes as we talked. She loved Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights, hadn't traveled to many places in the world, but one day wanted to go to Asia and see all that she could, didn't watch very many movies or play any sports, but loved curling up with a good book at the end of a long day.

As we stood in the lunch line, I turned to her again.

"What is your favorite gemstone?" I asked, hyperaware of how close we were standing.

She quickly said topaz, and then immediately seemed embarrassed at her answer. Once again, I found myself completely infuriated at my inability to read her mind. I asked her to tell me why she was blushing, took out every charm technique I had in the book, but none seemed to work.

I sighed. "Tell me," I pleaded, frustrated that I had to beg to find out answers I could get so easily from everyone else.

"It's the color of your eyes today," she said, her voice accompanied with a deep sigh and her eyes suddenly very focused on the lunch tray in her hands. "I suppose if you asked me in two weeks I'd say onyx."

I wanted nothing more than to tell her that she had just given me the most genuine compliment I had ever received, that I didn't appreciate sleeping or holey pajamas or humanity until I met her. But instead, I stayed silent as we walked, pulling out her chair for her and then taking my place at our table.

Instead of confessing, I nodded at her and continued on with the laundry list of questions I still wanted to know the answer to.

By the time we got to Biology, I had completely forgotten about part two of yesterday's movie watching extravaganza. As much as I wanted nothing more than to hold Bella to me the minute the lights switched off, I decided instead to scoot my chair a bit to my left in order to try and stop the imminent spark that was already forming between us.

And then the lights switched off.

The minute the two of us were sitting in darkness, I sat on my hands to resist the urge to reach out and touch the angel sitting next to me. Easily tuning out the film that Mr. Banner put on, I thought back to the first day Bella sat next to me in Biology. During that hour long class period, I was in pain. I had spent the entire time trying to figure out some convoluted scheme to get her alone to murder her. But now, nearly two months later, I was in pain for a different reason. I spent the entire hour trying to figure out a way to touch her without letting it escalate.

I was not capable of doing that with the lights turned off. No matter how much I wanted to, I resisted the urge for the entirety of the class period through observing her. When she shifted her position to rest her chin on her hands, I could hear the shuffling sound her clothing produced and could see her eyes glazing over as she stared at the tv screen.

The light eventually flickered back on and a wave of relief washed over me. I didn't know if I could have successfully maintained my composure for much longer.

We made eye contact, her expression showcasing a strong emotion I couldn't quite place before quickly looking away from me.

The lingering electricity in the air was too much to handle, so I rose and made my way out of the classroom, Bella following closely behind me. The silence was noticeably different compared to how talkative we had been earlier in the day.

We arrived at the gym, and with no shield of chatter in between us this time, my hand subconsciously reached for her face. As much as I willed it to return to my side, the aching inside me to feel her soft, warm skin once again was unbearable. I stroked the side of her face with the back of my right hand, starting at her temple and moving to the end of her jawline, wanting to never move my hand from her skin.

I knew that if I stood there for much longer, we would be kicked off the premises for public indecency, so I returned my hand to my side and headed off to Spanish without a word.

The entirety of the period, I was staring out the window, begrudgingly checking in on Bella periodically through the thoughts of Mike Newton.

Bella looks more beautiful than ever today.

I bared my teeth.

I'm a lot more attractive than Cullen clearly, people are into the boy next door type of vibe, not the perfect Greek Adonis thing.

I rolled my eyes.

Oh gosh, Bella, look out!

Finally, something that wasn't entirely self-absorbed. I winced as I watched her throw her racket up in the air through Mike's eyes, but let out a sigh of relief when it just barely missed hitting the top of her head.

Emmett gave me a confused look and I shook my head, implying it was something that he didn't need to worry about.

The moment the bell rang, I sprang from my seat and walked toward the gym, walking as fast I could without raising suspicion. I knew that changing her clothing would take a bit, so I stood against the wall of the gym building when I got to my destination, leaning against the wall as the rest of our small school moved toward the parking lot or their extracurricular activities.

All people watching immediately ceased when Bella walked through the double doors of the building and made her way to my location against the wall. Her demeanor seemed to shift as her eyes settled on me. A huge grin began to spread across her face and a matching one snaked its way onto mine as well. As much as I wanted to reach out and hold her hand as we walked, I would not let myself give in. Instead, I shoved my hands deep into my pockets to resist the urge to touch her.

The drive home was filled with questions about her life before she moved to Forks, her life before me. I asked her what she missed about home, what the sky looked like in the South, how the sun looked bouncing off the mountains at sunset, all things I never got the chance to see for myself. I could get lost in the tone her voice took when describing home, it should be an art form, but a groggy and annoyed voice in the back of my brain brought me back to reality.

I looked around (when had it started raining?) to regain my bearings. My attention had been so focused on her descriptive words that I needed a moment to remember there were other people in the universe.

She let out a light sigh. "Are you finished?"

I chuckled at her plea and shook my head. "Not even close — but your father will be home soon."

"Charlie!" she said, frantically looking around herself. "How late is it?" With those words, she glanced at the clock and then back it me. It seemed like she didn't want to leave.

"It's twilight," I replied, my voice abnormally calm in comparison to how panicked her voice was. I took a deep breath before continuing, letting her scent wash over me, cherishing the small time we had left before I had to leave for the evening.

"It's the safest time of day for us," I continued, after taking a moment to turn back to address her directly. "The easiest time. But also the saddest, in a way… the end of another day, the return of the night. Darkness is so predictable, don't you think?"

"I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars." She frowned. "Not that you see them here much."

The sentiment made me chuckle, but she had a point. In life, you never got to enjoy the most beautiful things until you suffered a little bit. And the very fact that Bella was sitting next to me was proof that was true.

"Charlie will be here in a few minutes. So, unless you want to tell him that you'll be with me Saturday…" I quirked an eyebrow at her, as if I was daring her to tell him about it.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Is it my turn tomorrow, then?"

"Certainly not! I told you I wasn't done, didn't I?" I asked, smiling an all knowing smile. The entirety of forever would still not be enough time to ask her every question I had for her. I would never run out.

"What more is there?"

"You'll find out tomorrow," I said, eyes bright and wide, and reached across the car to open the door for her. I froze for a moment, enjoying the sound of her beating heart practically begging to escape her chest, but then two rude voices in the back of my head interrupted the moment.

You should invite Bella over to spend time with us at the reservation, Jacob, I think it would be good for her.

Daaaaaad, don't talk about Bella like that, I've gotta look cool in front of her.

"Not good," I said under my breath, trying not to think about the Quileute trash rounding the corner.

"What is it?" she asked, and I simply shook my head, opening the car door for her.

"Another complication," I replied, using all of my willpower to not get out of the car and face the Black scum who broke the treaty in the first place. "Charlie's around the corner," I said, as she left the car.

The moment she was safely out of my Volvo, I sped away from her home as fast as I could in an attempt to clear my mind. But I all I heard was Jacob's annoying thoughts in my head, just another Mike Newton to add to the list of people that would be better for Bella than I was.

That was the most infuriating thing. As much as I hated Jacob Black and his self-righteous great-grandfather, he was better for Bella than I was, anyone besides a soulless monster was better for Bella.

I watched the speedometer climb as I drove away.