Edward's hand flew out to grasp anything behind him, in front of him, anywhere. His father's hand was tight and firm, strong around his neck. "Listen to me." He hissed, drunk of course. Edward could smell various beers and alcohols on his breath. "Don't you- t- tell..." his father took a breath, drawing a shaking deep breath. "that... damn woman, about any- th- thing." His words slurred together, again and again.

Edward could feel his vision blurring on the edges. "Fine. Let..." The hand around his neck dropped, and he fell with an ungraceful thump on the floor. "me go." He breathed quietly.

"Mr. Cullen." His teacher's gaze was dangerously observant. He cowered down in his seat, trying not to look scared, harmed. He felt dirty, scarred. "How is your paper coming?"

Edward looked down at his shaking hands, seriously doubting his ability to hold a pencil, let alone use a pencil adequately. "Could I go to the Nurse, please?" He said abruptly.

His teacher, Mrs. Jane, observed him for a moment longer, she fought an inner battle. What to do?Something was obviously wrong, but this was a Final. She eventually nodded, touching his forehead to check for a fever. He cringed away from her hand. "Mr. Cullen."

"Give Alice my homework." He said stiffly while walking quickly toward the door.

Alice's doe like eyes followed his form with apprehension. "Can I go talk to him?"

The teacher, not knowing what to say, didn't say anything.

Alice was up and out the door before her brother was even completely out of the hall.

"Stop, Edward!" Alice ran after her brother, eventually shedding her shoes (Jimmie Choos from Jasper, she almost swore when she stepped on a rock.) and sprinting after his running form. He was headed for his Volvo, the silver glinted strangely in the gray sky cover. "Stop!"

Edward got in and slammed the door in her pale face. "Open the damn door!" She yelled at him. Her tiny fists came into contact with the driver side window, fast and hard. "Open the fucking door!" Her mind was spinning in big circles, Edward hadn't gone home, had he? He was only like this, never this bad though, after he went home. What was wrong? She stopped hitting the door and slumped in defeat against the driver's side door. "Fine, Edward. You win, alright? I give up."

She put her hands on her hips, facing the door. "Something is wrong." Her voice was resolute and firm. She turned around, looking up at the sky, willing rain to soak her. She wanted the cold rain to clear her mind, she wanted Jasper to hold her. She settled for looking through the slightly tinted windows at her brother. He had huge bags under his eyes, and he was clutching the uniform's turtle neck, cashmere sweater to his neck. "Something is so damn wrong." Alice put her palms against the windows. "I want to know; and when you get over your frickin' ego, please, feel free to talk to me." She turned away from him. "I care about you, you know. Jasper, I love him, but you're my brother, Edward. So just tell me." Her eyes pleaded with him. "Please."

He shook his head.

"Don't talk to me until you have something to tell me." She hissed, running away as fat raindrops hit the ground.

"Jasper," Alice put her hands around his naked, soft, neck. "Something is wrong." The Porsche wasn't that comfortable, but the windows were tinted, and somehow, it didn't seem like Jasper's motor cycle would work for the things they wanted to do.

He noticed how sad she was when she wouldn't touch her food at lunch, but she claimed it was a 'stomach ache.' He had kept his mouth shut, but when she hadn't showered after gym, hadn't even participated in gym, the one class they had together, he had gone into the Girl's Locker Room. She was sitting on a bench, staring bemusedly at the lockers.

"Is he okay?" It was a stupid question, Jasper realized after he said it. Of course Edward wasn't all right, Alice wouldn't be so sad if he was all right. "That was a stupid question." Jasper got her to half smile. "What I meant was, is he..." Jasper didn't know what to ask. What did one ask their love when their love's sibling was sad? "hurt or something?"

Alice shook her head. "I don't think so... not physically at least."

"Hm..." He thoughtfully ran his hand through his blond hair. "Maybe hes just having an off day." Jasper offered lamely. It was a stupid thing to say, again, but this wasn't his thing. He knew her, but this seemed to be out of his league. "Hes just having a bad day, try to talk to him tonight. Maybe he just doesn't want someone to over hear at school."
She looked skeptical to say the least. Jasper ran his hands over her hips, resting over his hips. "Alright, Jazz." She clutched his warm body to hers. "I just don't want to see him hurt."

"Hes a big boy."

Alice laughed.

"He can take care of himself. I Pinky Promise you." He smiled at the slightly childish thing they had always done. Alice and Jasper had been friends since before they could walk. It was one of the first things that had ever connected them, made them a couple. He still did it, just to remind her of the small things he loved about her.

She laced her pinky finger with his. "Love you, Jazz."

"Love you, Kitty." She slapped him chest playfully at the old nickname.

"I don't know what to do!" Emmett threw his hands in the air and sank into the seat next to Bella at the small, corner table in the cafeteria. "She won't talk to me, won't look at me." He pouted, glaring balefully over at the tall, blond object of his dreams. "What can I do?"

Bella shrugged, not willing to admit that she hadn't heard a word that Emmett had uttered.
"Bella!" Emmett chided, he rapped his knuckle against the side of her head, upsetting the curls there. They spilled from her messily made bun in a water fall of brown and slightly caramel accents. It was really beautiful, even to Emmett, who was her brother. His hands ran through the water fall slowly, coaxing out small tangles and snarls.

She looked over at her brother, fascinated as he was with the silky hair. "Emmett..." She sighed, glancing at the floor of the cafeteria. "Get her flowers." Bella nodded, slightly. Yes, that was good advice.

Emmett was in over his head with this popular and beautiful girl. She was a beast, she wouldn't hesitate to hurt Emmett. Bella cared way too much about her brother to ever shoot down his dreams, that was stupid, she hated having her dreams touched by anyone, her parents had already crushed so many of her dreams. She looked at Emmett, she stood, giving his bristly hair a playful ruffle. "Go get her, tiger."

As Bella walked towards the plate disposal center, she could feel eyes on her back. People weren't used to seeing affection in this school, that must be why Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale were sitting apart from others. Their love and affection set them apart, after all this was New York, and while they were hardly young... Who's parents weren't divorced?

Bella sighed, slipping her plate onto the conveyor belt, she spotted the object of her careful surveillance of the cafeteria: Edward Cullen, looking sickly, and paler than usual, and scared out of his mind. She stared at him for a moment too long... his dark green eyes, ringed by dark circles caught hers.

He looked at her for a second longer than usually acceptable, her hair tumbled down in her back in a deep brown waterfall the same color of her eyes.

Bella started to walk away, it was wishful thinking on her part. He was rich and powerful, someone helpful and smart, brilliant and handsome, it seemed life had gifted him with more than normal people. He was smart and handsome, it hardly seemed fair. She exhaled sharply when she felt a cold hand grasp her wrist. "What the-?"

He was there. Standing there. About a foot behind her, his hand around her wrist in a feeble grip she could easily break. She didn't. "Edward?"
He jerked his hand away from her skin, looking at her with carefully guarded eyes. "Please." The normal velvet of his voice was rough and seemed to be strained. "Don't tell anyone, I'm here. Please." He begged her quietly.

She looked at him. He seemed so small, so breakable next to his normal strong front. His turtle neck was pulled high and tight around his neck, the bruises under his eyes seemed to spell out to her that something wasn't right. She nodded. "Are you okay, Edward?"
He looked at her for a moment. "Thanks." Then he walked away, fast and silently, he was gone. There, then gone. She shuddered. What was up with him?

Rosalie Hale walked into the kitchen next. She looked around, obviously missing the average looking girl. She walked over to the refrigerator that housed the drinks and put her head against the glass. She exhaled sharply, and when she hit the cold container with her hand, the hit rang like a shot. "Damn!" She exclaimed.

Bella walked away, afraid of intruding too private a moment.

"I will have your attention, please." Mr. Banner pressed his hands to his temples. "Today, I will have all of the partnerships, relocating to a new room. You will be there alone, and it will be ample time to rehearse and study. Finish your plans then proceed to these individual rooms assigned to you. I will have no complaints." He pointedly glared at a few groups. "Thank you." He clapped his hands, signaling that everyone had the okay to work...

Edward lurked outside the doorway, he didn't feel well, but letting Bella down would get him nothing. Emotionally or Academically. He sighed and hung his head, then he pulled out the fake pass he'd stolen from the Principal's office. The pass read one twenty, he walked into the room.

Three heads all rose at once, everyone else stayed working. Alice, her eyes narrowing into taunting slits, her hand that Jasper held clenching. Jasper, noticing how defeated the other Cullen looked. His whole disposition said "Help," but with what? And Bella. Her brown hair bouncing slightly with the movement, her eyes widening in a question. Edward's eyes sought out Bella's, he shook his head and mouth something to her. "Later." His lips read.

"Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Mr. Cullen." Bella chose that moment to sidle up, holding a completed poster board and a handful of perfectly typed notes.

"Edward and I are done, could we have our room?" She rushed to ask. Bella could sense Edward closing himself up, she could see the walls rise in his eyes. She didn't want that, so she wanted to get Edward out of this situation as quickly as possible. "Thanks."
Mr. Banner's eyes were fleetingly on Bella. "Off you go." He said quickly.

"Are you okay?"

Edward shrugged, talking seemed to be so hard. He didn't know what to say, and besides, his throat was black and blue, and it hurt like hell. He grimaced around the mouthful of cold water he drank. God. What did he do to deserve this? Is there someone up in the Heavens that had him cut out for a bad person? Someone to be potentially eliminated? He didn't know. He didn't want to know.

Bella let that question hang in the uncomfortable silence between them.

"I still don't know, Emmett." Bella pulled her sweat pant clad pants to her chest, resting her head on her knees. Emmett was on the floor, nervously twisting a shirt in his huge grip, his jeans hung dangerously low on his hips. "What if she just wants to see us, so she can be mad at us? Or something just like what she used to do?" Bella didn't want to meet her mom, again, after all of the things she had done to them, it was a lost cause. She refused with every muscle in her being to meet her mom. Her dad, Charlie, was living in a little rainy town in Washington... Forks or something. He emailed them, and called them regularly, but their mom had pretty much removed herself from the family picture. There should have been a burn mark where her face was in all of the pictures, but instead it was their past, staring at them in childlike eyes with hair way too much like Bella's. She picked her head up off of her legs. "You can talk to her, Emmett, but please. Be careful. Be safe, whatever. I don't want you to get hurt, thats why I don't want to talk to her. I don't want you to get hurt."

Emmett's golden brown eyes were mad when he looked at Bella. "I don't want you to worry about me." He snarled at her. "What about you, Bells?" He was standing now, jabbing his finger at her accusingly. Emmett tried, so hard, to stop the torrent of words that were coming tumbling out of his mouth, but he couldn't. This was what he needed. With all of this stress, it was getting to him, he was cracking. Now. This was everything he'd wanted to say for as long as this whole shitty situation had been his to deal with. He couldn't stop, maybe somewhere in his body, he didn't want to stop. He let it out in a voice barely above a whisper, letting his voice gain speed and volume as it tumbled out. Tears, angry ones, leaked out of the corners of his eyes, he didn't care. Let himself cry. "I'm not going to get hurt, Bella. Is that you're excuse for everything?"

She sat on the couch, cowering in her seat. Emmett, what was wrong with him? She watched him with a rapt attention, this was it. She could feel it, the stress was finally getting to him. She hadn't seen Emmett cry in years. Whats more, she didn't know how to answer that question.

"I'm not a child, Bella. I'm not that same kid mom dumped on our Aunt's doorstep. I'm different, but I don't know about you. Why are you so afraid of me getting hurt? Are you worried that I'm going to blame you? Because I'm not. I couldn't, even if I wanted to. So, please, stop using that excuse. I'm not going to talk to mom, alright? I just wanted to know what you thought, don't flip on me." Then he walked away.

Bella fell to her side on the couch, switched on the flat screen, and cried until she couldn't see the shapes anymore.

Alice curled up against Jasper's side in his bed at his house. "How are you?" He asked quietly.

She made a non committal sound, a grunt low in his throat. "I don't know. God. Everything is so weird."

Jasper threw his sweater over his head, and slowly bent to unbutton her shirt, exposing the... "Where is your bra?"

Alice laughed, throwing her head back on a pillow and laughing like someone had suddenly dropped a comedian on her lap. "In... you- your... Car!" She huffed. Alice looked at him for a moment. "I love you." She was so abruptly serious, Jasper loved her.

Jasper knew. Right then and there, it was the right time. He looked into her dancing dark blue eyes. "Alice? I have a question."

Her eyes widened. "Yes, Jasper?" She breathed.

He got off of the bed, and awkwardly kneeled at the foot of the bed, pulling Alice into a cage of his arms. "I... God... Um..." He ran his hands through his feathery blond hair, already mussed from all the times he'd already made that gesture today. "Alice... you are beautiful, and amazing, and I love you so much," it was one of the most cutely awkward things he had ever done, Alice smiled so widely Jasper worried that her face would split. "Will you marry me?" He asked quietly.

The question hung in the air between them. All those years, eighteen years of knowing each other, and a love stronger than anything either had ever known.

She started nodding slowly. "Of course, I will." She said quietly.

His lips met hers in soft, promising kiss. Jasper was promising himself and all he had to offer her, all the bad and all the good. He loved her, all of her, every bit of her snowy pale skin. He wanted her. Alice was promising her heart to him. He was hers, she was his. End of story. The ring was a small pair of bands that twisted into an intricate Celtic knot, there were tiny sapphires embedded in the bands at equal intervals.

"Dance with me?" He asked quietly.

The song Sweet and Low, by Augustana was playing. Their song, they'd decided.

Jasper pulled Alice into his embrace, and they swayed. Half naked, and so in love, in the creamy moonlight.

"Mom?" Rosalie stomped through the house, in a mad dash to find their parents... or so they thought. She was actually checking to see that her parents had left the house for the night, tomorrow and the day after. Rosalie was having a masked party. Everyone who got the text could come, but her parents had to be gone for that to be possible. "Mom?" No answer.

She sighed, sinking into a chair in the living room. She flipped out her Sidekick and dialed her brother's number. Rosalie stood walking to the window and running her hands over the nice, smooth metal that covered the ledges. She sighed when he picked up.

"Busy Rose." He grunted, then he hung up.

That ass.

Edward sat in his room, running his hands over the cold wood chair of his desk. He trailed his hands over the smooth curves and subtle swells of wood. He loved this chair, it was where he had made the decision that this was not the life he wanted.

He ran back to the suitcase on his bed. Sliding that, and his backpack over his shoulders, he ran through the apartment. Apprehensive and afraid of running into his drunk father. No sign of him.

"Mom's house!" He yelled at the limo driver just as he was diving into the car.

He was leaving. He sighed, maybe he would sleep well tonight.

Bella finished with a nod to Edward. They had done well, after yesterday's awkwardness and today's gentle, almost whispering new friendship, Bella had worried that the little boat of their project was going to flip. She sighed, and walked to Edward as Mr. Banner and the class lightly clapped.

They got to go into the hall now for about five minutes. Mr. Banner called this 'debriefing,' which basically meant that you wrote your name on whatever your group used or failed.

"Well done!" Edward said enthusiastically. Although his turtle neck was still pulled up on his neck, he didn't have huge bags under his eyes and he didn't look pale. It was a nice change and he looked very attractive.

Looking at Bella made Edward feel... something so indescribable. It was amazing to see the way she glowed. He even felt better, the bruises on his neck had been iced, and Advil had been administered late at night when everyone else was sleeping. "Thanks." Bella bent over the table and began writing their names.

Edward came up behind her and gently picked the marker from her fingertips. "Let me." He said quietly, his eyes smoldered.

They stood uncomfortably for a moment, then Edward straightened. "Thank you." And he kissed Bella quickly on the cheek. He had no clue what had possessed him to do that, just that her cheek was soft and not coated in make up beneath his lips.

Bella put her fingers to where Edward had kissed her. "Your welcome." She said quietly.