I'm so glad so many of you seemed to enjoy chapter one! The answer to the most popular question: Bella is seventeen, and Edward is twenty four. Also, I'm not sure about EPOV but I never ever rule it out. Most of the time I feel like it's just necessary to tell the story a certain way. So we'll probably be hearing a bit from Edward at some point. I'll let you know when!

I have a little bit of future chapters done but no idea when I'll have the next one ready to update. The next chapter of Me and You will definitely be coming first- maybe even the next two or three. Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying this!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone, too. I'm stuck at work until midnight but we had a great morning/afternoon celebrating with my mom. Hope you all had a nice day, too.

… …

The first week of senior year had gone by quickly, but the second week was dragging on.

I caught myself thinking about Edward more than once. I was literally a schoolgirl with a silly crush, and I was more embarrassed than anything. Kate, Rosalie, and I drove to school together every day, and we were doing our best to get a jump on making senior year amazing. The first major party of the year would be this weekend, and I was already looking forward to it.

My talk with Edward had re-inspired me, so when I got home from school on Wednesday, I grabbed my phone and my jacket and headed outside. I lived on the outskirts of our small town, so my backyard gave way to the surrounding woods. One of my favorite places wasn't too far away- it was a tucked away clearing in the woods that was always beautiful, but especially when all the flowers were in bloom and turned it into the most colorful thing I'd ever seen.

It had been raining lightly all day, but with the hood of my jacket up, I barely noticed. This was the norm here, and I loved the smell of the woods in the rain, and the sound it made in the leaves. I loved my friends more than anything, but time alone was nice, too.

However, I wasn't alone for long.

"Bella?"

I whirled around, my heart pounding at first because I was a little startled and then because it was Edward approaching. "Hey!"

"Sorry if I startled you. I thought that was you…and I didn't want to keep just skulking behind you." He jogged to catch up to me, his hands shoved in the pockets on his leather jacket. He was wearing a v neck shirt underneath it, and I could see more tattoos spread across his upper chest. I could also see his camera slung around his arm, protected by his jacket. "I came looking for one of those spots you were telling me about."

"You're headed in the right direction." We both continued walking, and I noticed that Edward kept a good distance between us. "I was just headed out there, too."

"Yeah? You don't mind if I join you?"

"Not at all."

We walked in relative silence for a few minutes, but it was comfortable. Edward whipped out his camera twice, but never stopped walking.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" He was already pulling a cigarette out, and even though I thought it was a bad habit, I said no. "I know," Edward said as he lit up. "Nasty habit. But…it's a habit."

"It's just up here." I gestured ahead of us, where I could see the clearing.

"Wow." Edward paused, tilting his head up and looking around. "It's incredible here." He was already taking more pictures, but it seemed like a second nature for him. It was like he didn't even realize he was doing it. "How did you find this place?"

"My house isn't far. I just kind of stumbled upon it one day a few years ago, and I kept coming back. I could probably walk here with my eyes closed at this point. I love to come here."

I felt incredibly amateur compared to him, but I couldn't resist pulling out my phone and snapping some pictures of my own. I might have even gotten a quick one of Edward. He looked so incredible, and just like when he was doing Kate's senior pictures, he was amazing in his element. The camera looked like it was a part of him, and I wished I could see the outcome of all the pictures he was taking. He looked over at me after a few minutes, smiling. "Do you want to see?"

"Yeah, I do actually." I was nervous as I stepped close to him, close enough to smell the soap he used through the cigarette smell. He kept the camera strap slung around his neck as he moved the camera closer so I could see the screen. "Wow." The display wasn't large, and I'd probably seen every angle of this clearing over the years, but there was something special about what he captured. It made me see it in a new way, and I told him so.

"That's a high compliment," Edward noted, his eyes crinkling as he smiled at me. "Can I see yours?" He noticed my hesitation, and lowered his own camera. "I'm not here to judge your pictures, and you don't have to show me if you don't want to."

"No, no, it's okay…"

I fumbled with my phone for a moment, not wanting him to see the picture I'd taken of him. He leaned closer still to see my phone screen, studying it as I slowly scrolled through the photos I wanted him to see.

"You've got a good eye." He peered over at me, looking pleased and maybe even a little impressed.

"I don't even have a real camera," I said, repeating what I had told him on Saturday.

Edward shrugged. "That doesn't matter, if that's what you have to work with. And iPhone cameras aren't bad, you know. I use them all the time."

"Well, you're the expert I guess. The professional."

He snorted. "If you say so."

"You don't consider yourself a professional?"

"No. I mean, I do. Like, I try and act professionally, and this is my profession. But I'm no expert, and I won't tell other people how to do it. Everyone does it differently, and gets different results. Just because I have a business and an Instagram page doesn't make me better than everyone else. Everyone contributes something, and has their own impact."

He said it kindly, then went back to taking pictures.

We stayed silent for a while, and even though I was done trying to take photos, I never got tired of looking around.

"Can I take your picture?" His sudden question surprised me, and I looked up at him in shock.

"Why?"

He cocked his head, giving me an incredulous smile. "You're beautiful, Bella. And this is your place. You're a part of this, aren't you?"

I couldn't believe he thought that I was beautiful, especially when I was surrounded by a place like this, overflowing with pure, abundant beauty. "O…okay," I managed to say, tucking my phone back into the pocket of my jacket. "What should I do?" I instantly felt awkward, and tried to not look at the camera.

Edward chuckled, already snapping a few photos. "Just…do what you were doing. I noticed you when you were looking around, and the way you see this place is amazing. You look around like it's your first time seeing all of this, and you appreciate everything that your eyes are taking in. How many times have you been out here? Hundreds, thousands? And you're still looking around like that. I think you're more observant than you probably give yourself credit for, and even though you didn't believe me when I said that I thought you had a good eye, you do."

He continued to talk to me, and eventually I forgot that he was holding a camera. By the time he put it down, I felt completely relaxed.

"I'm glad I ran into you." Edward tucked his hands back into his pockets again as we left the clearing, heading back. "I got more than I was looking for."

"I thought you said you wanted to photograph nature?"

He shrugged. "I did. Some things just catch your eye."

I blushed, ducking my head down in hopes that he wouldn't notice. He might have, but he didn't comment on it and just smiled.

"So…I'm glad you're looking into the places I suggested. Have you gone to any others yet?"

"Not yet." Edward lit another cigarette, but he pulled it away from his lips immediately and rolled it between his fingers. "I was hoping to work more on Kate's pictures, since Alice has just gotten started on them, then go back out over the weekend to find some of those spots. I'd like to go back to some of the spots we were at last weekend, too."

"Maybe I could come with you."

The words came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop myself, but I don't think I would have stopped even if I could have.

He looked a little surprised, but smiled crookedly. "Yeah, okay. Any suggestions? I think you're the expert in this case."

"Third Beach would be good. It's not far from where Kate took her pictures, but it's more popular."

"Okay." Edward nodded. "I'll probably head over there later in the morning…around eleven. Is that okay with you?"

"Perfect. I'll see you then."

… …

Rosalie frowned at me, tapping her pen against her desk. "Why are you so spacey today? I asked you twice if you wanted to come over tomorrow night."

"Sorry." I shook my head, trying to refocus and pretend that I was thinking of anything other than Edward Cullen. "I don't know what's going on with me today. Yes, I want to come over on Friday. Is Kate coming, too?"

"Yeah. I know it's early, but I figured we could start talking about homecoming."

I wanted to groan, but I didn't. Rosalie loved this kind of stuff. She was beautiful and friendly, and she and her boyfriend were shoe-in's for homecoming king and queen. She always helped plan and decorate for the dance and was involved in everything to do with homecoming week. I, on the other hand, didn't mind helping plan but would rather stay in the background.

"I've already been looking at dresses and you know I have to have your opinions," Rosalie continued. "And we can figure out a day to go try on dresses for all three of us in Port Angeles."

"Sounds good."

Rosalie told me a little bit more about her plans, but was cut off by the bell ringing shrilly, announcing the start of class. But my focus still wasn't there, and my mind was still wandering.

I couldn't wait until Saturday.

… …

So I want to assure ya'll that nothing illegal will be happening. It's late august-very early September at this point in the story, and I'll be keeping her birthday canon and on September thirteenth. No jail for Edward, and they're both aware of the fact that for now, she's jailbait. Age of consent is sixteen in Washington State, but I believe there is a clause there about the age difference involved. Either way, nothing will be happening until later, when Bella is legally an adult.

Whew. Just had to get that out of the way.