A/N: I haven't updated in a long time, and I'm really sorry! I went on vacation, came back, updated my story You Belong With Me, then I was dealing with other stuff, and now, I'm back and updating. So I'm VERY sorry! I hope you all still review and thanks for the reviews I received for the previous chapter. I should update in a few days. I'll try my best. Kay, please review!

And, I might be doing POVs in Bella's POV and Edward's POV. This chapter is in Edward's POV.

Special thanks to: Everyone who reviewed the first chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, and I never will. Boo me.

I went to biology, which luckily enough, Bella was in. I sat alone at my table, while Bella sat with another guy at another table two tables in front of me. But the guy she usually sat with wasn't sitting beside her.

"Okay, Miss Swan, it seems as if your usual table companion is ill and won't be in for the remainder of the week. So, since Mr. Cullen's partner recently moved, you two will be paired together for the assignment," Mr. Banner said to Bella. Does it not matter what I think? "Is that okay with you, Ms. Swan?" Bella nodded at him. Mr. Banner looked at me, and I nodded, too. Bella looked back at me, smiled slightly, and then turned back around.

"Okay, get to work. The project is due two weeks. I expect this to be worked on in and out of class and school."

Bella slipped out of her chair and sat down beside me in the empty chair.

"Hey," she said. She looked nervous.

I smiled at her. "I'm Edward."

She nodded. "I know. I'm Bella." She looked away.

"Um, so…" She turned back to me, a little too quickly, managing to hit my pencil off the table.

"I'm sorry," she said under her breath, blushing scarlet. We both reached down to pick up the pencil, bumping heads. Bella's head flew up, and I grabbed the pencil quickly, looking up at her. "I'm sorry," she told me again.

I smiled, showing her I wasn't angry. I wasn't. It was an honest mistake. "It's alright." How did I choose someone so innocent to test Emmett's theory? She was too nice to harm. Why couldn't I have picked someone who was far from innocent, someone who deserved this? I couldn't think of anyone, just because nobody deserved this.

"So," she said, breaking my train of thought. She smiled at me, her cheeks still pink. "We should begin."

I nodded.

And so the games begin, too…

"So, do you want to do the project at my house or yours?" Bella asked after class was over. I knew the teacher said we had to work on the assignment out of school, but I didn't think it was actually necessary. Bella was the best partner I've ever had to work with in school. She didn't ask too many questions, and she went with her instincts and was correct each time she went with it. She was smart.

"Um…" I thought. "My… your house." I had to rethink that for a moment until I thought of Bella meeting my mother. My mom would assume there was more between Bella and I, and I didn't want to feel guilty for lying to her. "Let's work at your house."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll just drive home in my vehicle, and you'll follow me?" She stopped at her locker, holding her books in her arms. She was cute in a way, even pretty. God, I needed to get myself together and stick to the game plan. I couldn't get attached… Not yet, anyway. Damn it.

"Sure."

She smiled up at me. "Okay. So, I'll see you after school."

And we did see each other after school. I waited at her locker for her, and she came walking down the hall, looking at her feet, clutching a book to her chest. She dropped her bag as she went to hang it on the hook in her locker, and her books and pencils spilled out onto the floor. I bent down to pick them up for her, being a gentleman as my mother taught me. Jeez.

Bella smiled at me, blushing again. I already knew two things about Bella: she was clumsy, and she blushed a lot.

"Thank you."

I nodded, giving her the belongings she dropped. When she was finished at her locker, we walked to the parking lot together.

"Bella," I said, remembering I forgot I rode to school with Alice today. Crap.

"Yes?" She slowed her pace. "Did you forget something?" She was so polite.

"Sort of; I just forgot my sister gave me a ride to school today," I answered. "So, I hope it's okay if… Can I just ride with you?" I was way over my head in this.

She nodded instantly. "Of course, Edward. It's not a problem at all." She led me to a piece of crap. Whoops. I meant… red truck, telling me the passenger door was sticky and might not open.

I opened it on the first try, and she blushed.

"I guess I'm just weak." She smiled embarrassedly.

I shook my head at her. "Not weak. Delicate." She smiled at me, turning the truck on. It roared to life, and a small puff of smoke sputtered from the rear.

"Is it always like that?" I questioned.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sometimes," she said. We were leaving the parking lot, and I noticed she drove slowly, carefully, cautiously. "But it gets the job done, you know?"

I didn't know, but I nodded anyway. I felt somewhat sorry for her. I didn't know how that was – not being able to drive a car that was brand new or having to worry about if the door was sticky.

"Yeah," I said slowly. Focus on the game, Edward. "So, how long have you been seeing your boyfriend?" Emmett said Bella has never had a boyfriend. She has one best guy friend, Jack or something from the Indian reservation, La Push.

Bella squeezed the steering wheel. Either she was struck by my question, or she was scared of the turn she was making. Perhaps it was both.

"Um," she hesitated. "I don't have a boyfriend…" she trailed off, biting her bottom lip. I noticed her bottom lip was fuller than the top lip.

"Oh?" I was playing the game.

She nodded sheepishly. "Yeah," she confirmed. "Do you have a girlfriend?" I wasn't expecting her to ask that question, but I should have.

"No," I told her. She glanced at me, and I couldn't describe her expression. It was caring, maybe. Sympathetic.

We were silent the rest of the ride to her house. She pulled in, and I was sorry I judged her just by her truck. Her house had two stories and maybe a basement. It had a deck that wrapped around the front of the house, and it was good sized.

We got out, and she let us inside. Now, I really felt ashamed. On the wall of the living room was a large screen TV.

"Nice entertainment," I commented, gesturing to the flat screen.

She smiled. "The chief loves his sports." Bella father, the chief of police, was happy when Bella came to live with him. Bella moved here at the beginning of tenth grade. Everyone said she was a freak, or so Emmett had told me. Paying attention to what people said was pointless.

I smirked. "Don't we all?"

"Just the guys." She smiled at me.

"Amen to that." I grinned. She nodded, smiling slightly, and turned slowly to walk into what I assumed would be the kitchen. I was right. I followed her into the kitchen, and she pointed at the counter. There were bags of chips lined up.

"Do you want any?" I scanned the bags.

"Sure. Barbeque sounds great, actually."

"They're my favorite," she told me, opening the bag and handing it to me.

"Me, too," I agreed. I wasn't just playing the game; I was actually telling the truth. They were my favorite.

Bella and I worked on the project on the floor in the living room, watching TV. Curse the teacher for coming up with damn project.

"So, our baby will have my eyes, since it's the dominant gene," she said, writing something down.

"What should we name this scientific baby?" I questioned. Punnett Squares sucked.

She smiled. "First, we have to find out if it's a boy or girl," she said.

"Well," I began, "we already know it has twenty three of my chromosomes and twenty three of your chromosomes. So, now what?"

She shrugged. "And it has my eyes."

I smiled. "Must be a girl."

She laughed, and slugged me in the arm. "Oh, you!"

We finally figured it out and checked it twice, that the baby was a girl. Instead of working on the project some more, we thought of a name for the non-existing baby.

"How about Claudia?" she suggested, popping a chip in her mouth.

I shook my head. "Anytime I hear anything with 'Claude' in it, I think of the guy, you know. Jean-Claude Van Dam."

She smiled at me. "Jeez. How about Carlie then?"

I thought for a moment. "I like that one."

"Carlie it is, then."

We talked for a while, and I asked her about crushes she's had in the past or even present.

She just shrugged. "I've only had two – one back in fifth grade until the beginning of seventh. His name was John," she explained. "Then, when I was in eighth grade, I liked this boy, Ian…Then I found out he was a serious ass. He played girls. I hated him after that."

I nodded slowly. I should've just backed off right then, but I didn't. I wanted to win the bet.

"Nothing after that?" Pause. Something in her expression changed. "No." I knew better not to press that answer and question it.

She sighed. "What about you, Edward? Any girlfriends back in Alaska?" I should really stop setting myself up.

"Just one." She nodded, waiting for it. "Her name was Tanya."

"That's a pretty name," she said truthfully.

"I suppose." She did have a pretty name.

She paused. "What happened?"

I couldn't just spill everything that happened between Tanya and I to a girl I recently befriended. But then again, girls liked honesty. Maybe I could be honest with Bella without telling her too much.

"We broke up. She wasn't…" I paused, hesitating. She wasn't… what? In love with me? Yes. I wouldn't tell Bella that, though. "She wanted to end things when I was about to move here. It ended quickly."

She gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry." She was sorry, I could tell. Her eyes said it all. Damn.

We worked on the project a bit more, and then we just ignored it completely.

"Favorite color?" she asked. We were playing 'Twenty Questions' to get to know each other better. It was my idea; I wanted to know more about her.

"Blue or green," I answered.

"Me too. And purple." She added the last part quickly with a smile.

I shrugged and smiled. "I'm a guy, so I can't say I'm a big fan of purple." I looked at Bella's sweater, which was a light shade of purple. "But this," I said, pinching a bit of the soft fabric between my fingers, "is nice on you."

She flushed. "Thank you."

I nodded. "No problem." It wasn't at all a problem. The sweater did look nice on her.

It was almost six o'clock when I said I should be leaving. I called Alice to pick me up, and she came and to get me, beeping when she pulled into the driveway. Bella led me to the door.

"I'll see you in class," she said.

"Yup. I'll be the one behind you." I laughed at the stupid joke I made, and she laughed too.

She smiled widely, showing her white teeth. "Yeah. I'll be the one in front of you."

I smiled at her, and brushed her arm lightly as I walked out. But then I remembered the game. I had almost forgotten about it.

"Bella?" I turned around on the heel of my foot.

"Yes, Edward?" She was just about to close the door. She stopped, looking at me.

"Would you care to sit at lunch with me tomorrow?"

She was hesitant, but smiled. "Sure."

I smiled back at her, and I was really happy. I really did want her to sit with me at lunch. "Great."

Bella smiled at me one more time, and then closed the door. I realized I couldn't do this to her. She was so innocent, too nice. But I could do this. Maybe.

Emmett Dale McCarty, I am going to shoot you.

A/N: That was fun to write. Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, guys! I'll update soon now! But ya'll gotta review!

B/N: That was fun to Beta. Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, guys! I'll make sure she updates soon now! But y'all gotta review for that to happen, okay? And slipping in something about how awesome I am may encourage me to make her write faster. ;)) See, I have this super power. I can just pester someone until they give in and do what I ask of them. :D Oh! If you guys didn't already know (from her other stories), I'm twilight-is-lovee. xD Wanna let me know how funny (or possibly annoying you find me), review and tell Keely. :D She'll pass the message along. ;)