Author Notes: Hey, so this is the first time that I'm posting on . My story is validated and published over at . I'm a junkie over at that place. I love it there. I know a lot of you guys prefer , so I'm posting my chapters here. Don't forget to leave me a review and tell me what you think! Oh, and if you want to check out this story at Twilighted, my penname is Kayla Cullen.

Twilight and its Saga are owned by the beautifully talented Stephenie Meyer. She just brings out my inner vampire.

BPOV

It had been two days since Edward left with Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper to go hunting, and they still wouldn't be back for another day. I glanced at the time on my alarm clock and rolled my eyes in frustration with my inability to fall asleep. I was so accustomed to Edward taking up residence beside me on my bed all night that it threw me off on the days he had to be away from me. I would lay there, constantly thinking about him, and bring myself to the edge of insanity as I tried to find a way into a deep slumber. It was pathetic of me to have such separation anxiety, but I needed him to survive. Without him, it felt like my air supply was cut off.

When Edward was gone, my mind raced with thoughts that piqued my interest and heightened my curiosity. The fact that I was dating a vampire was one thing, but I wanted to know more. I wanted to know what blood lust felt like, what blood tasted like, and what Edward lived through in his 107 years. I could ramble on and on.

Edward and I had been dating for six months, and whenever I brought up the subject of vampires, he would tell me I knew everything I needed to know. One thing was for certain: Edward didn't condone changing me. He was a firm believer that vampires had no souls and were designed to kill, but I disagreed. I told him that he was a beautiful creature who probably had more soul than any human. Edward would just scowl and tell me to stop saying such absurd things. But I knew deep down, even in my severely exhausted state, that I wanted to become a vampire and stand beside him for eternity.

- -

I arrived at school with twenty minutes to kill, so I parked in my usual spot and used the time to catch up on some sleep. I shut my eyes and thought about Edward. Then, I didn't feel as lonely. The only reason school might not suck as bad as I thought it would was because Edward was returning tonight. As I started to fantasize about our reunion, I was startled by a smack on the driver's side window. It was none other than Angela Weber.

She was amazing. When Mike had introduced us to each other on my first day at Forks High, we instantly became great friends. She was genuine, down to earth, and nonjudgmental, which was something I couldn't say for a lot of people.

I smiled at her and opened the door to my truck. "Hey, Angela, what's up?"

Angela just stood there and looked at me with her shoulders slouched and her arms slung to her sides. I was about to make sure she was okay, but she finally spoke.

"Hey, Bella," she sighed.

I grabbed my school bag off the seat and got out of the truck. "Are you okay? You don't seem yourself."

"I'm fine."

The Angela I was met with today had me confused; she never acted this way. I wanted to question her about it, but I knew if she wanted to talk about it, she would.

"That's good." I didn't know what else to say.

For the first time in our friendship, I felt an awkward silence between us. While I tried to come up with a way to make the situation easier on the both of us, I brought up the English paper due next week.

"So, how's your English paper coming along?"

Angela said nothing. I decided to blow off all forms of communication and walk in silence with her instead. I noticed Angela wasn't keeping up, so I turned around to find her standing still with her hands clasped together, smiling.

Angela, you're officially off your rocker.

"Angela... your mood swings are starting to give me whiplash. What is up with you?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot on the wet pavement impatiently, waiting for her to enlighten me.

The way Angela was acting irritated me; I knew these thoughts were ones that came from a lousy friend, but I couldn't help it. Of course, I would always be there to support Angela, but she had to throw me a bone. I thought I was a trusted friend. We didn't need to tip toe around each other or play games. I had enough with the silent treatment, but just as I opened my mouth to give her a piece of my mind, she enlightened me.

"BELLA, ERIC ASKED ME OUT!"

Huh?

Angela clapped her hands happily before she started up again.

"I'd been giving Eric hints since school started that I liked him, but he never picked up on them. I decided to ignore him to see if playing hard to get would get me anywhere, and luck was on my side, because it did!" she squealed.

Angela skipped forward and hugged me vigorously. While I hugged her back, I couldn't help but feel as though I had neglected her in some way. I would have to sit her down and make her spill everything, but right now, I would mirror the excitement that radiated off of her.

"I'm happy for you, Angela! We can start double dating now."

Angela pulled out of our hug and laughed at my comment while we made our way into the school.

"Look, Bella, I'm sorry I acted weird... I just didn't know... I felt that... I didn't know how you would react, because I never told you I liked him. I knew that I should have told you right from the beginning, but I was slightly embarrassed of what you would think of me. I just thought I would ride it out to see where my feelings for him went and what came of it."

"Wow," I said shaking my head quizzically. "Um, yeah, Angela... Don't worry. I get why you would wait to start telling people, but know I would never judge you... like, ever."

"Okay, good. So, I'm forgiven?"

"There is nothing to forgive, Angela."

"Ah, Bella, there's Eric. I'm gonna talk to him before class. I'll see you at lunch?" Angela said, looking at me questioningly.

Seeing Angela all giddy that her boyfriend was at his locker and mine wasn't made me jealous in a five-year-old kind of way. I knew deep down I was happy for her, so I tried my hardest to push my immature jealousy aside.

"Uh, yeah, of course... at lunch."

"Good. I'll see you then," she said as she waved at me and walked towards Eric.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and reminded myself repeatedly that I would be seeing Edward tonight. I opened up my locker and started to take out my books when I saw Mike walking towards me in my peripheral vision. Great.

"Hey, Arizona! You ready for the math test today?" he asked, as he swung his arm around my shoulder.

"Hey, Mike. Of course I'm ready for the math test. Are you?" I lied, a little annoyed at his arm gesture.

Mike had an instant crush on me when I had first arrived at Forks High. He had asked me to the school dance, but I had declined, telling him I couldn't dance and that I didn't like it enough to try. I convinced him to ask our friend, Jessica Stanley. They ended up going with each other and became a couple soon after, but that didn't stop him from being a little flirtatious with me when Edward wasn't in school.

"Of course, I am the math guru."

I shook my head and chuckled. Mike could be an arrogant asshole at times, but he had the best intentions. That being said, with all Mike's annoying characteristics aside, he was a good buddy.

On our way to Chemistry, Mike rambled on aimlessly about stuff I couldn't care less about, so I let my thoughts drift to Edward. I couldn't wait to smell his beautifully scented skin; it smelt like honey and sandalwood. I wanted to touch his cool, hard alabaster skin, kiss him passionately and hold him all night long.

I was suddenly pulled out of my reverie when Mike's hand waved in front of my face.

"Bella, are you with me? You look like you've seen a ghost," he said, laughing.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about the English paper due next week," I lied as I crossed my arms over my chest and slouched in my seat.

Mike just grinned and nodded his head before he returned his attention to the lesson.

The bell rang after second period and I made my way to the cafeteria. I pushed the door open, and my eyes immediately fell on the empty table where the Cullens "ate," an ache pulsing through my heart. I walked towards my usual seat, noticing Jessica smiling and waving at me frantically. Here comes the third degree.

Jessica had outlined the Cullen family for me when I saw them walk into the cafeteria on my first day. She had told me they were all adopted by Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife, Esme, and that they were "together." Alice was dating Jasper and Emmett was dating Rosalie, which left Edward alone. Once I saw Edward, I was unable to look away. I felt a magnetic pull towards him, and I couldn't tear myself away from him. He was absolutely intoxicating, and from that day on, Edward was my addiction. I needed him to survive.

I put my tray on the table and slumped down in my seat. I waved at everybody and smiled while I tried very hard to ignore Jessica, who was staring at me with a questioning look on her face.

"So, Bella... Where's Edward?" Jessica demanded.

A few weeks after I had started dating Edward, the shock of our relationship eventually died down, but not for Jessica. Our relationship wasn't some big thing, but she fed off anything she could get her hands on.

Jessica told me that everybody at Forks High thought the Cullens were snobby rich kids who didn't give a shit about anybody but themselves. She was wrong, obviously; they were vampires trying to hide their true existence by blending in with society.

"He went camping this weekend, but he should be back today, Jessica."

"They go camping way too much. It's weird. You know, my parents never let me miss school when I'm sick, let alone to go camping."

I looked at Angela pleadingly, silently begging her to save me. She pulled out Wuthering Heights from her school bag and slammed it on the table, grabbing Jessica's attention.

"Bella, you've read this book so many times. I don't get it, so I really need your help in writing my paper. Maybe put it in REAL English for me?"

"Sure, text me later and we will set up a time to meet, cool?"

"Ugh... you're a lifesaver, thanks."

When everybody started to talk amongst themselves again, I mouthed a 'thank you' to her and she just simply nodded while taking a bite of her apple.

---

While I was trying to answer one of the questions on my math test, I could feel my frustration getting the best of me. I threw my pencil on the desk on the verge of giving up, when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. My heart began to flutter and I had butterflies in my stomach; I knew it was Edward. I put my hand in my pocket and took my phone out slowly, trying to be discrete. I flipped it open under the desk and read the text.

I can't wait to see your beautiful face. I miss you. -E

I smiled as I stared at the text, but quickly looked up to see if Mrs. Trent had seen me on my phone. The last thing I needed was to have my test taken away and be sent to the office to explain myself. I answered a few more questions on my test before I flipped open my cellphone and texted him back.

You don't know how much I crave you, Edward. I miss you, too. -B

I hit send and bit my bottom lip to stop myself from smiling. I put my cell back in my pocket before I finished up my test and handed it in. I sat back down and looked at the clock, 2:55 P.M, five more minutes until I was free, and that much closer to being with Edward. The bell finally rang. I hurried to my locker to grab my things and booked it out of there.

I arrived home and decided to make lasagna for dinner. Lately, I had been spending all my free time with Edward, so this would give me the perfect opportunity to spend time with the other constant man in my life, my dad.

As I took the lasagna out of the oven, I heard Charlie's cruiser pull up in the drive way. I grabbed a beer and a bottle of water from the fridge, and set it on the table as Charlie made his way into the kitchen.

"Hey, Bells, it smells good in here."

Charlie and I had a good relationship. We weren't people of many words, but I think we understood each other better that way.

"Hey, and thanks. How was work?"

Charlie hung up his coat and took a seat at the table while eying me suspiciously.

"Work is work. Nothing exciting about keeping people safe and in place. But, uh, enough about me. You didn't happen to skip out on school today, did ya?"

I wouldn't have been so lucky.

"No, I didn't...and if I did, they would've called to justify my absence." I sat down at the table and opened my bottle of water. "Why?"

Charlie opened his beer and took a pull before he replied to my question.

"Well, I was on duty in Port Angeles today and saw Edward leaving a store. I don't want you ditching and lowering your grades for that boy Bel-"

"Um, no, he told me yesterday he wasn't feeling well, so maybe he was just picking up medicine or something," I said as I took a mouthful of lasagna.

Medicine or something?

Edward was back and didn't think to tell me?

Ouch.

Charlie noticed a change in my mood and changed the subject.

"Anyway, Billy invited us down on Saturday night for dinner. Wanna give the old man some company?"

I ignored Charlie's question; I was seething. The feeling wouldn't leave my body. I saw red and couldn't concentrate on anything. My mind was going a million miles a minute and I wanted to confront Edward. He was back in town and he didn't even tell me? Why? Did he even go hunting? Why didn't he come to see me... or... come to school? I was more hurt than anything. I felt unimportant and unworthy of his time. I knew one day Edward would figure out that he deserved better than me, I just didn't know it would come so soon.

I pushed all thoughts of Edward to the back of my mind. I thought about Saturday night and seeing Jacob, Billy's son. Thinking about Jacob just made me more angry. When Jacob and Edward met for the first time, they instantly hated each other. I didn't get it; it seemed that everybody important to me hated each other. I was getting tired of being kept in the dark and I wasn't going to deal with it any longer. I was going to start demanding answers. I was going to ask Jacob about his hatred for Edward, and I wasn't going to let him blow me off again. I didn't want to start choosing between my best friend and the love of my life.

I had gotten up and cleared the table while Charlie made his way to the living room to watch sports news. I put the dishes in the sink and stared out the window. I wondered if Edward was out there, watching me.

I took the time to clean the kitchen thoroughly and cool down my heated emotions. I didn't want to overreact to a situation that could have easily been avoided. I wanted to get the day over with, so I could think rationally. Once I finished cleaning the kitchen, I made my way up to my room and as soon as I opened my bedroom door, I was hit with the scent of honey and sandalwood. I quickly took a look around the room to see if Edward was there, but he was gone. Disappointment ran its course through my heart as tears blurred my vision and sobbed quietly. I loved him so much and wanted nothing more than to be in his arms, but he was avoiding me and it hurt like hell.

I stood motionless in the middle of my room while I tried to compose myself. I wiped my tears away and brushed my fingers through my hair before I made my way over to my bed. I sat down and reached over to turn on my bedside lamp. It was then that I noticed a note propped up on my nightstand with my name written in Edward's handwriting. I immediately felt dread drop to the pit of my stomach at the unknown contents of the letter, so I took a deep breath before I opened it up and started to read.

My love, my life, my Bella,

I came to personally deliver this note to you. It took all my strength to leave your room and not await your return from dinner. As you could probably guess, Alice had a vision of Charlie telling you he saw me in Port Angeles, and you wouldn't be pleased with the given information. Please don't cry, my Bella, and know that I am not hiding from you, but a surprise awaits you. You are my life, Bella. Please do not doubt that. I need you to live, remember that.

Yours forever,

Edward

I let out a long sigh as relief washed over me. I should have known Alice would have seen my emotional turmoil. I felt a tinge of guilt for the fact that I automatically assumed the worst case scenario when Edward deserved the benefit of the doubt. I set the note back on the night table before I lay down, and wondered exactly what Edward had in store for me.

I closed my eyes and started to drift to sleep when I heard a soft thump. I quickly sat up and scanned the room for the source of the noise. At first, all I could detect was the newly opened window, the cool breeze drawing the scent of rain into my room. Then my eyes fell upon the rather handsome vampire standing in the shadows.