A/N: I'mm baaackkk! :D Good news, huh? And I'm here with the long awaited second chapter! Well, semi-long awaited. It picks up from here though, don't you worry. Thanks for the benefit of the doubt!

Things only got worse from there. Jake refused to see or speak to me since he had fallen ill. What was worse, Quil, Embry, Seth, and Leah fell sick with the same... whatever that Jake had and also dropped off the face of the earth. Charlie watched me like a hawk, assuming that I was next, but nothing ever happened. Meanwhile I sat at home, healthy as a horse and bored out of my mind. They weren't even texting me. Each day that passed in silence had me more and more concerned, not only because of their absence but also because of how strangely their parents were acting. Billy wouldn't even talk to Charlie, and Harry and Sue, who had always loved me like their own children, were suddenly blunt and cold. It was like it was national turn-your-back-on-Bella week or something.

My mood deteriorated quickly and before long I was just laying on my bed and staring at the ceiling. Summer work that a week ago I would never have imagined doing until the week before school began was finished in two days. I spent a day and a half cleaning the house from top to bottom, I even organized Charlie's damn record collection. I organized my closet and went grocery shopping twice. It was when Charlie came home to find me staring at a blank TV screen that he finally said something.

"Bells... What about your school friends?"

"Huh?" I asked, dazed.

"Angela and... and that Stanley girl. You haven't seen them at all since you went on break. Why not give 'em a call?"

I shrugged and said, "Angela's working and Jess and I aren't really friends."

"Well you've gotta do something! Go make some new friends, I don't know."

"Yeah, I'll just do that," I said sarcastically.

"I'm serious, I've half a mind to go down there and give Billy a piece of my mind. Just not right they they're letting their kids do this to you."

"Do what? If they don't want me around, fine. Whatever."

"It's not whatever, Bells. Have you actually gone to try and see them in person, yet?"

I sighed and said, "No, I haven't, but-"

"Why not try that? At the very least it'll give you something to do."

I shrugged and figured why the hell not? "Yeah, alright Dad."

I drove my dad's civilian car, a little white Honda. It was old and I was just about the only one who ever drove it, but it had four wheels and an engine so it was good enough. When I pulled up to Billy's house I saw the curtains in one of the upstairs windows pull aside and then quickly sway back into place. Good, I knew for certain Jake was home, since Billy hadn't been upstairs since the accident. I took a deep breath then slid out of the car and walked slowly up to the door. Despite the warm weather I wore a jacket, and my hands were stuffed deep in the pockets, shoulders hunched against what I could only explain as a sense of emotional turmoil to come. Call it instinct.

I knocked three times on the door and heard shuffling inside. I knocked once more and called out, "I know someone is home, and if you don't open this damn door I'm coming in anyways!" I didn't know how angry I was under all my sadness until I spoke and it came out.

I heard something akin to growling and heavy footsteps. The door swung open and I opened my mouth to speak, hoping to get a word in before either Billy or Jake, whoever answered, but the sight inside caught me up. Inside, sprawled across all of the Black's furniture, sat Quil, Embry, Seth, Leah, Jared, Paul, and Sam. Jake had opened the door. He looked so different. He had somehow shot up in height and had put on serious muscle. It hadn't been that long at all since I last saw him, and the changes were so radically different it took my breath away. When I finally looked at his face my breath caught again. There was no easy going smile or lazy laughter, but instead I was met with a dark glare.

"What, Bella?"

"I- I-," I stuttered out.

Jake sighed irritably and began to take a step forward as if he was going to come outside but a deep voice stopped him. "Jake." Sam had only said his name but Jake stopped in his tracks and turned his head back over his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Just... be careful. Remember what we talked about."

Who the hell did this guy think he was? I looked awestruck as Jake nodded and walked the rest of the way outside. There was a tint of remorse in his eyes, a kind that made my gut twist with worry, but it flashed away just as quickly. Jake led me in silence back towards the shed where we stored our bikes. Finally, once we were around back and outside of view, Jake whirled around and glared at me again as if the mere sight of me made him mad.

"What do you want, Bella?"

It took me a stunned second of processing his tone to get to his words. "I want to know why my friends have suddenly stopped recognizing my existence. And why you're all suddenly buddy-buddy with Sam and his cronies!"

If Jake showed any sadness at my first statement, it was all washed away by the time I'd finished my second. "Shut up, Bella! You don't know anything about Sam, we had him pegged all wrong. Trust me, he's a great guy."

"You know what, I don't trust you! Because of him all of my friends aren't talking to me anymore!"

"We have bigger things to worry about than your feelings, Bella!" Jake growled and grimaced. He was so mad he was even beginning to shake.

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Tribe things," he growled again. "Are you a part of this tribe?"

"Your tribe wasn't an issue before all this! All I know is you all got sick then hopped trains over to Team Sam! And no one will tell me why!"

"Because you don't need to know Bella! Like I said, we've got other things to worry about now. Duties. And they just don't involve you, so maybe it's best if you left."

"Are you saying all this?" I asked, stunned and close to tears, "Or is Sam?"

"It doesn't matter, the words are the same. Get out of here Bella."

"My friends wouldn't do this to me," I whispered, voice choked against sobs.

"Probably not. But you don't have any of those here anymore. So get out of here."

"No, Jake! Not until I get a real explanation!"

"Now!" He yelled, body shaking as if he were freezing to death. I knew that couldn't be the case though, and for a second I wondered if Jake was still sick, because I could feel the heat radiating off of him.

"No!"

"Dammit, Bella!" He said and raised his hand. I couldn't do anything to stop the hit so instead I just braced myself. I saw a flicker of something in Jake's eyes but if he tried to pull back I didn't feel it. With blinding pain his hand crashed against my face and sent me tumbling backwards. White, red, and black lights danced inside my skull, and I dazedly tried to stand but slipped back down. My jaw already screamed in pain to the point of not being able to move it. Once my eyes refocused I looked up to see a horrified Jake looking at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. Without a word he turned tail into the woods and disappeared amongst the trees.

I groaned and stood, my limbs shaky. Slowly and praying that no one would come out of the house, I quickly walked back to the Honda and slid in. My head still spun and I figured I should probably wait to make absolutely certain I wasn't going to pass out before driving, but I started up anyways. I had barely walked in the door when Charlie's head popped around the corner.

"So how'd it g-" His words died in his throat as he took in my appearance. "What happened? Who did that?"

"It was nothing, Dad," I mumbled against the swelling of my jaw. I could taste the salty copper and rust of blood in my mouth and fought against my gag reflex.

"Bella, it's a damned hand print!" Charlie argued, voice raising.

"I tripped and bashed my face against a tree." Why was I defending Jake anyways? I didn't have a chance to look at it before now. We had a mirror hanging in the hall so I turned to see for myself but my addled brain couldn't handle that quick of a motion and I stumbled.

"C'mon. We're going to the hospital." Charlie walked up to me and grabbed me by the elbow with the intent of dragging me, apparently.

"Dad, no!" I argued, pulling my arm free. "I'm fine!"

"Bella, I can see it in your eyes. You're tired and malnourished and have a giant welt of a hand print on your cheek, probably a concussion and maybe even a fractured jaw by the look of that swelling. We're going!"

As his words went on the reality of the situation crashed down around me and I figured maybe I should go. I certainly didn't feel well, that was without a doubt, and it went beyond my aching jaw too. That twitch in my gut, the one I had felt since summer began, was agitated. Maybe I needed to have that checked out too. I sighed. "Fine. Fine, I'll go but only if your promise no to pursue this down at La Push. I really did trip. Just... funny shaped tree I guess."

Charlie looked at me with dry eyes and appeared to weigh his options. "Fine. Unless it happens again. But don't you think for one god damned second I believe you."

Charlie's pull as Chief of Police got us straight through the waiting room. A nurse led us to a waiting room, and another nurse came in, took one look at my face, then turned around only to return a moment later with a bag of ice. I smiled weakly and pressed it to my still swelling face. I didn't even want to look at it, I could just tell it was black and blue, purple and green and a total mess. If it looked like I had a baseball in my mouth, I wouldn't be surprised.

"Doctor will be with you in just a moment," the nurse said with a weak smile. Most of that very long moment was spent with Charlie glaring at me. It hurt to talk so we hadn't done much on the ride over and that hadn't changed now, but it was still uncomfortable. I would almost chose the pain of moving my jaw over the tense quiet.

The twisting of the door handle was the only warning we got before a young, gorgeous man walked through the door. He was a little old for me, looking between twenty five and thirty, but still. He was blond and lean, not too tall and not too short. His jaw was chiseled and his eyes were a beautiful golden color I had never seen before. Unfortunately, that little thing in my gut jumped and made me feel as if I were going to vomit. What timing, right?

I watched as the doctor's nostrils flared momentarily, his brows drawing close, before his expression cleared. It was a split second thing and I gave it little credence. "Hello, Miss Swan is it?"

I smiled as best I could and said, "Um, Bella, please."

"Bella, then. I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I need to take a look at that jaw but if it's not too much trouble, could you tell me what happened?"

"Well, I-" I winced as I opened my mouth too far.

Charlie sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Not that she's admitted to it, but I think one of the local boys slugged her." My eyes narrowed and I shot Charlie a glare. He looked sheepish and said, "Our deal was that I wouldn't go to La Push and arrest the punk, but I won't lie to a doctor, Bells! And neither should you!"

I just glared and looked out the window, ignoring both men in the room.

Charlie went on. "She was real close to a group of kids at the reservation, but out of no where they just up and stopped talking to her. So she went there today and came back with a hand print on her face. By the swelling, it might've even broken her jaw."

Dr. Cullen frowned and took a step closer. "Oh dear. Well, Bella, regardless of what happened, would you mind removing the ice so I could take a look?"

I sighed and lowered the bag. A mirror across the room caught my eye and I saw that Charlie had been beyond right. In stark red and purple, mottled with blood under the skin, a perfect hand had been practically engraved onto my face. I winced and it had nothing to do with the pain. The doctor's eyes seemed to darken and he frowned.

"Bella, this is quite serious. You would be fully within your rights to press charges, as I'm sure your father knows."

I just shook my head and whispered out, "Nothing happened."

"Was it Jake?" Charlie asked, his jaw set in anger. "Or Sam?"

Dr. Cullen stiffened, and I shot a glance at him to find him rather preoccupied with my chart.

"Nothing happened, Dad. I went over, Jake answered the door and he and Seth, Leah, Quil, Embry, Jared, Paul, and Sam were all inside. Jake took me aside and said I wasn't welcome there so I left. Nothing happened. Tripped on the way back to the car, clumsy old me, just like always." That much talking had my head light and I closed my eyes against the pain and dizziness.

Dr. Cullen took out a pen and said, "Well, Bella, I want to check you for a concussion. Can you follow this pen with just your eyes please?"

I did, to the best of my ability but apparently it wasn't good enough. Dr. Cullen sighed and said, "Looks like a concussion to me, but most likely a minor one. Any tiredness or nausea?" He asked.

I lied and shook my head no.

"Well, I'm going to check your jaw for breaks too, alright? This may hurt a bit. And sorry in advance for the cold hands."

I braced myself for both but it did little good. True, his hands were as cold as ice but the bigger problem was the fact that whenever he touched along my jaw and cheek it felt like he was hammering in nails.

"Well it's clearly bruising but the swelling seems to have halted thanks to the ice, and your jaw isn't dislocated which is good. But I'm absolutely going to prescribe you some pain meds, alright?"

I just shrugged. I hated medicine and probably wouldn't take them anyways. I was about to open my mouth and ask if I could go now when a new voice sounded from the door way.

"Carlisle! Emmett and Rose want to know if- Oh," the speaker paused, noticing me. "Hello!" She was... breathtaking. She had short black hair that fell just past her ears and her eyes were the same golden hue. Her face was tear drop shaped and each feature, eyes, nose, lips, seemed to have been hand crafted by a master. She dressed in an elegant white blouse and dark jeans. My stomach lurched again, stronger than ever before.

"Ah, Alice! Bella, this is my daughter, Alice Cullen. Alice, this is Bella Swan and her father, Chief of Police Charlie Swan."

"Pleasure to meet you Bella, Chief Swan!" She answered with a bright smile, eyes alight with vivacious... something. Her eyes darkened as well when she locked her gaze on my face. "Oh dear..."

"Bella has had an accident of sorts but will be better in no time at all. Perhaps you'd like to keep her company while I take her father out into the hall to fill out some forms?" Dr. Cullen asked her with a smile.

"Of course, if she doesn't mind?" Alice smiled and directed her question at me.

Did I mind? Hell yeah I did! I was here in ratty clothes and this grotesque thing on my face, and here was a gorgeous girl I was supposed to interact with and not make a fool of myself in front of. Yes, I did mind. Did I say no? "Uh, sure, if you want to." No. No, I did not.

"Great!" Alice smiled and walked over to sit at the foot of my bed as her father led mine out side, closing the door behind us. "So, what happened if you don't mind my asking? That looks pretty bad..."

I sighed and offered the best half smile I could muster. "Just an accident, don't worry about it. I'm a klutz, it happens all the time. Most of the hospital staff knows my face by now." I cut off my rambling with an embarrassed blush but Alice just laughed.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. But then again, my dad would be out of business if it weren't for people like you!" It was a goodnatured joke so I smiled and shrugged.

"Happy to help." I examined her for a moment then asked, "No offense but you look very young. Are you going to High School here? I haven't seen you around before. And I don't remember hearing your father's name around here before."

Alice smiled and replied, "No offense taken. I'm eighteen, and yes, I'll be attending Forks High this upcoming year. We just moved here at the start of the summer, so that'd explain why you hadn't heard of us before."

"I guess it would. I've lived here year round for the past four years, and came every summer to visit my dad before that."

Alice grinned and said, "Well, maybe you could help show me around then?"

I blushed at the thought of spending time outside of this odd scenario with a beautiful girl like her. "I-it's a small town. I'm sure you know everything I do by now."

"Forks, sure, but none of the other nearby towns. Not Port Angelas and not Seattle. I'm kind of a shopaholic and I need to know the best places to go."

I winced and said, "Not much of a shopper here. Sorry."

Alice mock gasped and brought a hand to her forehead. "What? And here I had such high hopes for our friendship, Bella! Oh well. Win some, lose some."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. Hah. As if she'd be friends with me outside of here anyways. Still, no reason not to help the girl out while I could. "There is this one dress shop in Port Angelas I can recommend. Quaint, but cute. It's called Dividends, if you wanna check it out. I mean, it's mostly formal wear and things like that, but it's about as good as you can find local."

Alice beamed and took out her phone, likely saving the name. "I will, thanks. I've got a sister who needs some new clothes too. We just moved down from Alaska, not much need for formal wear there so we need to restock."

I laughed and shook my head. "I doubt you'll find much need for it here, either."

She just shrugged. She opened her mouth, about to say more but the door reopened and our fathers reentered. "Alright, Bella! You're free to go, but please call in or drop by if you feel dizzy or nauseous, alright?"

As if Alice had been reminded that I was indeed injured and we were indeed in a hospital, she flashed a worried look at me. "Well Bella, it was nice talking to you! Do you have a cell phone?"

"Uh, yes?" I asked, making it sound like a question in my confusion.

She laughed and pulled a slip of paper and a pen out of a shoulder bag I hadn't noticed before now. She scribbled on it and said, "Trade me numbers, I'll shoot you a text when I'm ready for that shopping trip!"

I laughed and did as she asked, though I was a bit surprised that she was planning to include me in this. "If you say so, but I'm crap at malls."

"She really is," Charlie said with a grin, walking over to help me up and out of the bed.

"Gee, thanks Pops."

Charlie just shrugged as Alice and Carlisle chuckled.

"Well Bella, like I said, call us if you start feeling worse, and keep ice on your jaw to keep the swelling down."

"Aye-aye," I mumbled past the pain of blood rushing from my head after laying down for so long. Alice looked worried yet again but said nothing. I clutched her number tightly in my hand, marveling at it's mere presence.

"So, I can text you later on?" She asked, looking almost nervous.

"Uh, sure! Sure, if you want to. Knowing my dad he'll do his best to keep me bedridden for the rest of my life, so I'll probably need the entertainment."

Charlie looked a bit sheepish yet again but Alice just laughed. "Happy to help."

Charlie steered me out the door and I cast a glance over my shoulder, waving. "Thanks Dr. Cullen! And bye Alice, it was nice meeting you!"

"Likewise, bye Bella!" Alice called out after me, and I couldn't help but grin at the way she said my name. What a weird day...

A/N: …:D Yay Cullens! And Bad Jake! Don't worry Jake fans, things will right themselves eventually. Maybe. I haven't really decided that one yet but all is not lost! Hopefully this chapter was better than the last? Let me know?

Also! A few shoutouts here:

SHADOWCUB: A Denali you say? Hmm, a lovely prospect ^^ Have anyone in mind?

SRICKARDS: I am indeed back! I fills my tummy with warm and fuzzys that this makes you happy :3

DEJEE: I should surely hope so! So far I've got 46,306 words written, and a ton more yet to write. So yes, it will indeed be a long story!

For the rest of you who said this was a bit slow, hopefully this sped up a little bit? Let me know with your lovely reviews!