AN:- okay. Here's the second chapter. Oh and just so you know, Bella doesn't get sick at the sight of blood. She watched all of the Saw movies! Kudos to Bella! lol

Edward Cullen

January 2009

The bells rang for our first class - English - and I had to drag Bella away from an intense thumb war with Jacob, my other close friend and her brother-from-another-mother as they called it.

"Seeya, Bells! Catch you next period, Ed!"

"Byebye, Jakie!"

"Laters, Jake!"

"I told you not to call me 'Jakie' Bells! You never listen, do you?"

Bella grinned at him over her shoulder, walking smack into my back. She grabbed me around my waist to steady herself, pouting and grumbling as I chuckling, reaching around to place a hand on the small of her back to make sure she was good but the little brat smacked it away and stalked off, making extravagant hand gestures and managing to punch poor Mike Newton right in the nose, knocking his glasses askew.

"Ohmihgod! I'm so sorry Mike!" Bella panicked overly visibly as Mike clutched his nose, eyes watering. "Edward!" she screamed over at me, "Come help me!"

With an extravagant roll of my eyes and a sympathetic smile, I went to them and pried Mike's hands away from his face. It was nothing serious and it was not broken but it was bleeding a bit.

"Bells, I need a napkin or something." I turned to my little nurse expectantly.

"Oh, move!" Little Miss Fix-It reached up and wiped away the blood with the end of the sleeve of her white hoodie nonchalantly before moving aside to let me finish up.

"Okay, Mike, you should be good. It's not broken." I probed his nose again for good measure and he didn't flinch. "She hit you pretty hard." Cue dirty look and poke. "so if it bleeds again just go to the infirmary and they'll fix you right up. You may have a bit of a headache so I think you should take some Paracetamol or something non-drowsy. Other than that, you're good to go."

"Hey, thanks, Edward," Mike gushed, wiping his eyes and trying not to look at Bella, "I appreciate it. And it's okay, Bella. I'm fine."

"Hey, no problem, Mike. It was nice to be of any assistance."

"Thanks, Mike. I'm still really sorry." Poor Mike. She reached up and planted a small kiss on his cheekbone that turned his face a pleasant shade of pink.

"Breathe, Mike," I reminded him before following Bella into the classroom, smiling only slightly.

July 2005

My backside was black and blue, bleeding in certain places, swollen and tender and I bit my lip as I pulled my jeans up. I had no idea how I was going to lie to Bella this time. I couldn't walk properly so this was going to difficult. As quickly as I could, I limped down the stairs and shuffled into the living room where Bella was waiting for me to walk home with her.

"Ready?" I asked her with a smile. She was looking so pretty in her little yellow sundress with her hair down and curly.

"No." she made a face. "I don't want to go on that date anymore. I, mean, Eric's nice and everything but he's boring!"

"What are you going to do?" I stifled the laughter as much as I could, holding the door open for her.

"He taking me to Chucky Cheese!" I snorted with laughter. "Then we're going to his house to play video games. I don't like video games, Tony! Can I just stay home and watch movies with you?"

"Sure." I had absolutely no problem. Her dad made the greatest pizza. "Your dad's making pizza, right?"

"He will be." She was grinning from ear to ear.

"Just call Eric and tell him you're sick."

"Why?" I slapped my forehead with my hand a number of times under Bella's confused gaze before rolling my eyes at her.

"You want to stand him up? I don't think so. Call him and tell him you can't come and then we'll hang."

"Oh, ok. I think I prefer hanging with you to dating." She kissed me hurriedly on the cheek before running to the doorstep.

"You never even been on a date!" I called to her, wiping away her kiss, "Yuck! You got lip gloss on my face!"

Bella giggled. "Get used to it. You'll end up getting all of my kisses if I don't date."

"Once you don't kiss me on my mouth. That's just wrong." I twisted my face into a grimace at the idea.

"Agreed. We're family. Family no suck face with family." We busted up laughing at that as she patiently waited for me to get to the door, smiling sadly like she already knew what was going on. I shook the idea from my head with a minute shudder. Six years I'd been hiding it and hide it I would continue to do.

January 2009

"Poor Mike, you probably give him a mild seizure with that little number of yours, Marie." I smirked widely and undisguised, dropping myself into the desk behind hers, wiggling my lanky frame around to fit properly. Bella sucked her teeth but turned around in her chair to speak to me all the same.

"I was being nice and besides, it's not like it meant anything."

"But Mike likes you, Numbskull, you should at least be sensitive to that fact. No one like to be led on."

"You're just jealous, Eddie, my boy." I snorted at her unabashedly before flicking her on her forehead - Jackie Chan's Uncle style. Unflinchingly but not un-glaringly, she continued, "you wish you had someone to lead you on."

I blushed profusely at the idea. "No thank you. I don't need that sort of drama. I'm fine as I am. I'll just lead on others." As breezily as I said this, I knew I could never. I was too much of a 'nice little boy', in the words of Jake, to do so.

It was Bella's turn to snort. "You don't even know how to flirt."

"It's in my genes, baby." I looked up heatedly at her from beneath my lashes, quirking on corner of my lips before licking the top lip. "The Cullen charm is irresistible."

Bella gave blush a whole new shade to work with. "By the time, you're ready to use it, your balls'll shriveled and ready to drop off."

September 2007

"We're finally here, Tony. High school."

It was beyond me why she was so happy to be here. She complained about leaving junior high and whined about us splitting up and still cried even after she found out I was not going away to some fancy private school. Charlie had told me it was 'girl stuff' and not to worry but I worried anyway.

"Yeah, I guess so, kiddo, but I think I'm already ready to go home." I knew I was frowning and I knew she was just about to try to wipe my frown away.

"Oh, come on! You're just sour because you have to be seen with a busted up face. I told you to be careful when you're riding your bike but I guess you never listen to me, huh?" she huffed with kitten anger, folding her arms and pouting up at me.

"I hit a bump in the trail, I told you." yeah, I broke a plate and he smashed up my face.

"Look at yourself!" She held up a small mirror to my face and I could've seen the purple and blue marks, the scrapes and the swollen, split lip. I knew what my face was looking like and I appreciated all of her concern but looking at my face was too much at the moment and I was dangerously close to slapping the mirror out of her hand. Instead, I griped her wrist and lowered it gently, staring into her narrowed eyes.

"I won't go riding on that trail anymore, Marie, I won't make you worry like that again. I promise." With a small squeak she launched herself into my arms, sniffling into my sweater.

"I just don't want to lose you, Edward. I can't lose anyone else."

"Shush, Bella, shush, I'm not going anywhere."

"Mum said the same thing." Knowing, not what to say, I rested my cheek on the top of her head, rubbing circles on her back. She had been opening up to me more and more since she had told me about her mother and father a few days ago.

"Well, I'm not breaking my promise. Have I ever broke any promise I made to you?" She just sniffled harder. "Bella?"

"No.

"I'm not starting now. I- I love you, Bella." My eyes widened as I said these words, my breath catching at the back of my throat for a moment. Three words I would never take back or regret. Three words that left me bared and vulnerable to her. Three words that I was more than willing to give to her after these long seven years.

"I love you too, Edward, with all of my heart. No one has ever been there for me the way you've been there and no one has ever been as honest as you have." My stomach knotted terribly. If only she knew just how honest I was, she would never have said such a thing but I was glad that she had given me those three words and her heart. "Family?" She stopped sniffling to look up at me with watery eyes.

I smiled crookedly down at her before pressing a big, wet kiss on her forehead; the first kiss I had ever given her. "Family."

"Hey, you freaks going out now?" Lauren sneered over at us, her group of vapid robots snickering along with her.

"She's just jealous that I got Edward Cullen all to myself," Bella muttered to me with a smug, little grin.

"Oh please."

"No, seriously, Tony. Right now, you're rank one man candy."

I blanched and my arms tightened around Bella but she laughed sweetly before saying, "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

January 2009

Ms. Schneider walked into the classroom, taking small, restricted steps in her tight pencil skirt - why do I knew what that is? - with her stilettos - I blame Bella - clicking against the hardwood. She was a substitute teacher which meant that we were free for this period.

"Hey, awesome, we're free!" Bella did a weird little happy dance within the confines of her seat that frightened me a bit, to be completely honest, and it showed on my face. Sucking her teeth she flipped me her middle finger, waving it around in my face until I nipped the tip of it savagely with my incisors.

"You little bitch!" Ms. Schneider cleared her throat loudly with a pointed glance in our direction which Bella pointedly ignored. She poked me on my forehead for laughing at her. My face had to be slightly flushed at least from all of that laughing. Bella paused, cocking her head to the side puppy-style, she smiled fondly at me before splaying her fingers across my cheek. With a fond smile of my own, I brushed the back of my hand with my knuckles.

"You're really cute when you blush, Edward, it really suits you."

"Thanks, kiddo."

"I really have my work cut out for me," she sighed heavily but playfully, her thumb now rubbing arches on my cheekbone. I cocked my head to the side this time and pressed my cheek deeper into her palm. "Protecting you." I laughed heartily at her observation, swallowing the urge to quirk my eyebrow at the memory.

"It's alright, hun, maybe I should get a girlfriend. I don't want to keep you from dating because I'm single and occupying all of your time." She huffed and pinched my cheek hard at my words.

"Don't get a girlfriend unless you want to and the boys at our school are too stupid to date anyway. I'll get a boyfriend when I'm good and ready. Probably during college. Where do you wanna go?" This was surprising for me. Usually she avoided these conversations; any conversation that involved a separation of any sort.

"Well, Dad wants me to go to Darthmouth to study medicine but I want to go to Juliard to major in music. If it's anything I'll end up going to Washington to major in Bio and come back and teach here. That seems like neutral territory. . ." I rubbed my cheek thoughtfully.

"Hey, you're going to Juliard!" she flicked me on my forehead. "I'm going to Washington to major in English and go back there to become a professor and when you're playing for symphonies and I'm a nationally renowned professor with my PhD, we'll take a holiday and tour the world."

If I lived that long. . .

AN:- I am so sorry I took so long to update this story and chapter six of The river Flows In You is still in progress. . .I'll try to get it up this weekend. Enjoy this, please and thank you! Love, Zakh.