A big thanks to dare121 for daring (hah) to beta my story and putting up with all my questions 8)

This chapter features a guest star from the Last of Us 2, because why the fuck not!

###

Several weeks later, Rosalie stood in the parking lot of the hospital, leaning against her car as she waited for Carlisle to come down. She folded her arms, eyeing the large building and its many windows, belatedly realizing she was searching for a familiar figure. It would make sense for Death to be at a hospital, but really, how big were the odds that Bella would be at a hospital in Forks when there was an entire world full of dying people.

"You look hungry."

Rosalie would have smashed a dent in the side of her precious Mazda at the sound of Bella's voice, were it not for a lifetime of practising control. As it was, she whipped her head to the woman with a speed that was unbecoming of a human.

"Really hungry," Bella added with a raise of her brows. She rummaged around her bag of McDonalds and pulled out a few fries. "Is this, like, your drive through?"

Rosalie watched Bella eat her fries, momentarily short circuiting because the entire situation seemed so... normal. Bella looked like a regular girl eating regular fast food. Until her question registered. "Don't be crude," she grumbled, scowling. Her eyes found a safer place to land than Death, dismantling the architecture of the building in front of her. The vague smell of pine and wet grass permeated the air. It brought a certain nostalgic peace with it that Rosalie was starting to notice. It appeared often enough that she was starting to associate it with Bella, and she wondered if it was a supernatural phenomenon.

"Crude," Bella snorted, holding up the paper bag and gathering the last of the fries at the bottom with a few shakes. Satisfied, she lowered it again. "So what does a vampire do in a hospital parking lot?"

"What does Death's messenger?" The chill of regret grasped at her spine as soon as the words passed her lips. She probably shouldn't be smart with Death, but she couldn't help herself.

Bella chewed the last of her food, appearing unresponsive from the corner of Rosalie's eye. "I guess we're both being super sketchy," she chuckled.

"Look," Rosalie snapped, a little more violent than she meant to, her nerves peaking to the point of action. She made a conscious effort to even out her voice. "Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you talking to me?"

"Uh." Bella swallowed, eyebrows hiking up. "I didn't think I needed a reason?" She glanced off to the side, thoughtful. "Though I guess if I had one, it would be that you know what I am and... that's really cool?"

"Death must enjoy terrifying the unliving," she muttered to herself, feeling a sadness overcome her at Death's cruelty.

"What?" There was some crumpling as Bella balled up her empty bag of fast food. "Oh. Oh, you think I'm haunting you?" she asked, voice breaking at the end. She stepped into Rosalie's line of vision, and Rosalie begrudgingly met her eyes. Her kind brown eyes soothed some of reality's sting. "If it were up to me, your suffering would've ended in 1933. But it's not, and I can't hurt you any more than any other human. I could even—maybe I could make it better."

Rosalie's brow crinkled. Her heart ached at the possibility that life could get better. "You remember the year?"

"I'm trying to tell you that I remember everything, and that I—I don't know. I just want to talk." She sighed, releasing the tension she was holding in her shoulders.

Rosalie tightened her arms around herself, at the possibility that Bella had witnessed the last moments of her human life. She never found out how much she knew and it put her on edge.

"Maybe talk some shit about the guy who broke my hand?" Bella added, trying to lighten up the mood, flexing her fingers in either memory of the injury or nervousness.

"What's this I hear about a broken hand?" Carlisle asked, smiling pleasantly. It was a testament to how distracted Rosalie was by Bella that she didn't hear or see Carlisle approaching.

Bella jerked back in surprise, making room for him. She appeared sheepish for being caught off guard, up until the moment she caught a good look at his face. Her change in demeanor was instant. Hands clenched at her paper bag, shoulders tightened, and her jaw clenched. "Old sports injury," she said stiffly, and Rosalie was stricken by how much warmth her voice lacked.

Carlisle seemed to catch on to some degree, glancing between the two woman in search of a reason for the sudden change. "Those are tricky, yes," he said, face serious as he nodded.

Nobody spoke for a moment, making the tension all the more palpable. Rosalie still had her arms crossed, while Bella seemed uncomfortable at best due to Carlisle's interruption.

"We have to go," Rosalie found herself saying.

The words chipped away at Bella's stiff posture until she turned back to Rosalie. "Right, sure." She nodded jerkily, blinking away whatever thoughts she was having. She had mellowed out considerably when she told Rosalie, "I'll see you around."

Rosalie was too caught up in her own thoughts to wonder where they'd see each other, and instead took the proffered exit gratefully.

Once they were on their way home, and Carlisle had waved at a colleague and ensured her that, yes, he did have a ride, and no, he definitely didn't have to walk home, he asked the dreaded question, "Friend of yours?"

Rosalie glanced at the silver medallion hanging from a chain on her wrist, uncovered due to her stretched arm. "Hardly," she muttered, a softness creeping into her voice unbidden.

Carlisle watched her a moment longer, then peered at the road ahead of them. "She seemed nice," he said, and Rosalie swore she spotted a smile when he added, "to you."

Rosalie frowned, and, for lack of better comeback, retorted, "You just make sure to take a car next time."

"Of course." Now he was definitely smiling.

###

The next time, it didn't take weeks for Rosalie to bump into Bella. It was the very next day, even. She walked onto the campus parking lot while Emmett trailed behind to highfive the entire basketball team. Absentmindedly, she wondered how she was going to find Bella again, if maybe the scent of pine and grass could be isolated from the many forest-y smells that Forks had, when an absolute abysmal piece of junk screeched to a halt in a free parking space not too far away. Automatically, her eyes found the driver, ready to judge them to within an inch of their life, only to find familiar pale features.

"Of course," Rosalie said to herself, slowing down until she came to a stop in front of her own car.

Bella pulled out her phone and didn't move from her seat, so Rosalie could only assume she was there to pick someone up.

Either in a professional or friendly manner.

Before she could make a decision to hide or approach, Bella looked up from her phone. Their eyes met almost immediately, and, after a moment of surprise induced inaction, Bella raised her hand in a wave.

Rosalie's feet carried her over to the driver's seat window.

"You teach here?" Bella asked, glancing between the campus and Rosalie. No hello, no nothing.

"Hello to you too." Rosalie couldn't resist taking a look at the tires, to see if they were in the same horrid state as the brakes. "Not that it's any of your business, but I go here." The rubber was run down, but appropriately inflated, and she suddenly wished her eyesight wasn't superhuman, because she could spot the scratches on the brake disks. She swore she could feel a phantom sickness overcome her.

"Are you—what are you having an aneurysm over?" Bella climbed halfway out the window to see what Rosalie was looking at.

Rosalie had to lean back so they didn't knock heads. A brief whiff of a very human smell assaulted her unexpectedly. It was like a sucker punch to her control, and she swore she missed half a second of memory when she was suddenly looking at Bella's worried face.

The smell was replaced with pine and grass, grounding her once again.

Peculiar.

"You okay?" Bella asked, eyebrows knitting together. She waved in Rosalie's general direction. "You spaced it for a moment."

Rosalie was suddenly very grateful that she didn't have a heartbeat, because she was sure she'd be blushing at being caught in... whatever. "Am I okay? I'm not the one who's driving a death trap."

"Don't you mean a death mobile?" Bella grinned, wiggling her eyebrows.

Rosalie couldn't believe she had to make a conscious effort not to smile at that lame joke. "I suppose it is more efficient to bring your work with you," she deadpanned, eyeing the crooked rearview mirror.

Opposed to being insulted for her poor judgement, Bella laughed. "I didn't peg you for a mechanic."

"And I didn't peg you for an idiot, but here we are," Rosalie shot back, inwardly flinching for that subpar comeback. Thankfully, Bella didn't seem to mind, and Rosalie balked at the fact that she cared at all.

"Sick burn," she breathed, eyes crinkling with a lingering smile.

High heels clicked on concrete pavement, the sound making its way over in their direction, and Rosalie glanced over her shoulder to see who it was. A woman with black, curly hair and olive skin was closing in the distance. If she hadn't recognized her, the formal clothing she wore gave a hint to who she was. "Really?" Rosalie asked, turning back. Bella's eyebrows raised in question. "Mrs. Williams?"

"Yeah?" Bella said slowly. "I'm staying with her and her wife until I move on."

That answer raised so many questions, Rosalie didn't know where to start. Was Bella that poor? Or was that a conscious decision? Why would she move on? Did the amount of deaths rise when she stuck around?

Bella waved at Mrs. Williams. "Hey Dina!"

Her lightweight structures professor was married to woman.

"Ugh, I thought you were getting rid of this heap of junk. Ellie is going to throw a fit," Dina grumbled, grimacing. Rosalie suddenly liked her more than she already did. Dina's dismay disappeared once she realized who was keeping Bella company. Then, a smile turned her into politeness itself. "Ms. Hale."

"Mrs. Williams," Rosalie answered automatically, taking a moment to relish the uncomfortable way Dina was trying to keep an adequate amount of eye contact.

"Rose!" Emmett called, coming to a stop ten feet away and waving her over with a large smile. "Come on, the basketball game is held at the park."

Rosalie smiled a large, fake smile. "Don't get anyone killed," she told Bella, already walking away. "See you Friday, Mrs. Williams."

She was barely out of human hearing range before she heard Dina whisper, "What the fuck was that?"

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to talk about your students like that," Bella answered.

"Smartass."

"What's gotten you in such a good mood, huh?" Emmett asked once Rosalie got to the car, but if his open and expressive face was any indication, he didn't have a clue what was going on.

And nothing was going on.

Rosalie made sure to school her features in disinterest. "The world is going to miss a couple of idiots, seeing what car they chose to drive. If you can even call it that."

He glanced back, over his shoulder. "It can't be that bad—oh okay."

###

I gotta ask, has the fandom thinned out or is it just very shy?