All characters and anything else related to the Twilight saga belong to Stephenie Meyer. In shorter words, I don't own anything.

Due to popular demand, I've decided to continue the story. I don't know how often I'll update, because this is just a leisurely thing to do. I still have to finish my other story (which you should check out after you read this!), because it has only two chapters left before it's complete.

Updates for this story will take longer because of the length of it. Since it's longer than what I usually write (I only made this long because I was planning for it to be a oneshot), it'll take me a longer time to get the story out.

Destined

Edward Masen

January 21

7:00 AM - Dorm Room

I couldn't sleep all night, so I laid in my bed for the past..something hours listening to the snores of Logan. It's like sleeping next to a grizzly bear. Most of the time, I'd have to have my headphones on, and turn the music almost to the highest volume to drown him out. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but for the most part, it was true.

When I got home last night, Emmett and Jasper had bombarded me with questions. Did I have fun? Meaning, in a very subtle way, did I meet any girls to hook up with? I told them of the beautiful girl I danced wtih, the one that kissed me and then ran off. They were quiet for a minute before erupting into tumultuous laughter. I glared at them, and spit out a string of curse words and threats. Luckily that seemed to repress them.

More questions came. Like why didn't I ask Logan to find the girl in the yearbook for me. I did ask him, right when I got home, but Logan had told me he had the book confiscated during the manners workshop. Typical. During the time I've known Logan, I noticed that he wasn't the best person you can count on for being incognito.

Emmett was asking me why I was so hung up on just one girl. He was curious, in an almost innocent way, but like I said, almost. I said I didn't know, which was the sincerest answer I had. He clapped me hard on the back and told me not to give up. Even though he agitated me and embarrassed me to no end, he was the big brother that I never had.

Jasper had suggested that we should go to town, that maybe the girl I was with might be there too. It was a long shot, but it did sound better than staying under my covers all day.

So that was the plan for today. Emmett and I were going to head to downtown Seattle for the day and go sightseeing. Jasper had to stay home and finish his Economics paper that he procrastinated on. He and I were being joined by a couple of other guys too, Mike and Tyler. It seemed like a harmless idea at first, but then again, we're going to be out with Emmett.

The alarm clock rang, beeping relentless until I accidentally dropped it on the floor. That's one way to wake up. I threw off the covers and made the bed. It was too early to get up; normally I'd be asleep until noon as today was a Saturday, but at least now I'll get the first shower. I could use the hot water.

I brushed my teeth thoroughly, trying to waste as much time as possible. When I got into the shower, the hot water was amiable to my sore muscles. Ten minutes later, I wrapped a shower around my waist, and attempted to comb my unruly hair. No matter what I did, it returned back to a messy disarray. I dressed in a warm sweater and jeans and went to the dining room for breakfast.

There were very few early birds, some were wide awake, some were busy dozing over their morning cup of coffee. I got a few pieces of toast and some orange juice and ate quickly. I still had two hours to kill before we had to set out. I was walking around aimlessly, not noticing where I was going. The teachers never cared where the students went off to during the weekend because they trusted us enough that no one would do something stupid enough to be arrested by the police. Which was true. Our parents had paid a fortune to get us here and no one wanted to get kicked out. If you did, you can kiss your chances of college goodbye and say hello to a job in the fast food industry. The trees towering over me weren't high enough to block out the gloomy clouds that hung overhead. Fantastic day. My thoughts were dripping with sarcasm. I saw the Kentwood school up ahead, which meant that I must've walked for several miles already.

There was something on the road that caught my eye, and I bent down to get a closer look. It was a white mask, like the one Alice wore last night. I skimmed the beading embezzled in it. My heart throbbed in my throat. Maybe I had a chance yet.

Isabella Swan

January 21

9:12 AM - Dorm Room

There was someone yelling loudly, and I was constantly being hit by a pillow. I didn't need to open my eyes to know who was doing this. I wanted to stay in my dreams, my captivating dreams. The ones about Edward and I having a daytime picnic. Or digging out feet in the sand. Or riding a Ferris wheel at the fair. Fantasies that my subconscious had conjured up.

"I'm up, Al! I'm awake. You can stop pummeling me anytime now."

"Great! Take a shower and get dressed! I laid out your clothes for today. We're going to the mall!" The cheeriness in her voice bothered me. Her voice was almost too chipper. She just had to be a morning person.

I didn't bother with the shower since I showered last name. I brushed my hair and my teeth. Then after washing my face quickly, I saw the outfit Alice laid out on the counter. My jaw dropped.

"Alice! No way in heck am I wearing this!" I protested.

"You will! If you don't, I'll attack you with a mascara wand and eyeliner pencil!" she threatened.

"But I know you're already going to do that! There's no way I can win," I grunted. This was another fight I knew I'd give in to. So instead of countering back with weak statements, I surrendered and put on the white tights and jean skirt. I wore the maroon sweater over a lace trimmed camisole.

She clapped happily when I opened the bathroom door. I pursed my lips in a very thin line. "You're lucky I love you Al, or else I'd have to kill you."

"Violent much Bella? You should be happy your shoes have no heel whatsoever. They're boots." And she handed me a pair of tan winter boots that I slipped my feet in. Well, at least I'm warm.

"Now let's go! We'll get some coffee on the way to wake you up. Rose is going to drive us in her M3, so hurry!"

When we got into Rose's car, I shivered involuntarily. It was chilly. The top was down and it was well noticeable and ostentatious compared to the other cars in the student parking lot.

"NorthGate Mall here we come!" giggled Alice. For a small girl, she had a bubbling amount of excitement. Too bad it wasn't also contagious.

In my mind there was a small speck of regret for not telling Edward my real name. It was for the best. I kept reminding myself that every time I felt weak. Because in reality, it was. We were both boarding school brats. It wasn't as if we went to public school, because then maybe the situation might be different. But no, I had my studies, he had his. I contemplated reason after reason why it was a good idea to have avoided him. He was drop dead, jaw dropping, butterflies in the stomach, gorgeous. Although the mask obscured some of his face, there was no doubt that he was. And his lips..they were so soft and gentle. I savored the taste of them; he tasted unbelievably delicious.

I've only had two boyfriends, but neither of them were really serious. There was Ben Cheney, a sweet guy that also went to Hamilton. He was a sophomore, like me. We went out when I first transferred to Kentwood last year in the middle of the first semester. He was..sweet. That was the best way to describe him. A little obsessed with kung fu action films and comic books for my taste, but he was otherwise the nicest guy I knew. There wasn't any spark and we were broken up by the end of the week. It was mutual of course, and it wasn't like we still didn't talk. In my spare time, I'd plug in my laptop and email him the rare email. He was now currently going out with Angela, which was fine by me. They deserved each other and I couldn't be happier.

Then there was Jacob Black. He was my longtime best friend and neighbor. I've known him my whole life, since I was in diapers. We went out in the summer of 8th grade as an experiment, but he wanted more, he wanted a serious relationship. I didn't want to get all hot and heavy when I knew I was leaving the next year. He was disappointed, but he understood. I kept in touch with him too, and now he has a new girlfriend named Leah. I've talked to Leah as well, and though I didn't...approve of her attitude, she made him happy. Which made me happy.

So everyone had a happy ending except for me, and I was fine with that. I went to Kentwood to escape the male population. Not mate with them. Edward was better off without me.

I hadn't even noticed that we were in the parking lot of the NorthGate Mall until Rose's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"We're here!"

But to my surprise, Rose hadn't unlocked the car doors yet. I was confused. Why weren't we getting out of the ar.

"Now Bella, spill. We want to know what happened with that masked stranger you left with last night at the ball," commanded Alice from the passenger seat.

Ah, of course. I should've known. Last night, to elude from Alice's questioning, I pretended to be asleep. I had a feeling that she didn't quite buy my acting, but I didn't think too much of it. Now came the interrogation from both Alice and Rose! Perfect timing, Bella. Good going.

"What is there to spill?" I muttered under my breath. I ignored their scowls and fixed my gaze on the mall itself.

Apparently Alice heard me regardless of my incomprehensible mumble. "Who was he? What was his name? Why did you trade name cards with me?"

I took a deep breath. This would take a while. No wonder Alice wanted to get a head start, we were going to be here for a while. "His name is Edward Masen. He goes to Hamilton obviously. And I traded name cards with you because I didn't want to expect anything heavy."

"Go on," Rose prompted. Her voice had an edge to it, and I almost flinched. Never get on Rose's nerve.

"Okay, after he whisked me away like a gentleman, he asked me what my name was..so I lied. I said my name was Alice. He believed me to some extent. Then I led him outside to the gazebo. I don't know why I did it. I never show anyone the gazebo except for you Al. It was like he had some sort of spell on me. He made some silly crack about how I was about to bust into song like in The Sound of Music. We talked for a bit. But the conversation was so easy..even if the subject we were talking about was maybe a little too deep for two people that have just met. And then..we kissed."

"You kissed? How was it? Was it good? Did he try anything inappropriate? Do I need to kick his gorgeous, firm butt? What do you mean to some extent?" Alice screeched. I held up a hand.

"I can only answer them one at a time Al. Cranking out question after question and flinging at me at rapid speed isn't going to speed it up," I said sarcastically.

She apologized and I continued where I left off. "Yes, we kissed. It was..unbelievable. Incredible. Fantastic. Terrific. Whatever adjective you want to use. Way better than Ben or Jacob, no offense to either of them. But when I kissed him, there were sparks, real sparks. Like in those old black and white movies. Actually, I shouldn't say sparks. That would be an understatement. It was a wildfire of passion, corny as that sounds. No, he was a complete gentleman, throughout the whole night. No, Al, you don't have to kick his gorgeous, firm butt. When I mean to some extent..I mean like, he believed me. But there was doubt in my eyes. Like he knew what my name was, and saw through my façade. It was unnerving."

Rosalie quickly analyzed every word that came out of my big mouth. "Sounds like you're falling for him, Bella."

I gaped at her. "No, no way. Well sort of."

"By the way, what happened to the mask I gave you, Bella?"

I froze. The..mask? Oh man, oh man, oh man. "I kind of..left it on the windowsill." I wonder, was it still there? The window was opened last night so..holy crow. It didn't..it wouldn't!

As if she was reading my mind, Alice spoke up, "It's okay Bella. The mask didn't cost me anything. It came from the costume department and it's not like they're going to miss one little mask." She rolled her eyes at my mini freak out session.

"Okay, now that we have all the details about Bella's love life, can we go shopping now?" Rose pleaded.

I nodded, and got out the car, which by now was unlocked.

"Bella, since you have a new man in your life, you know what that means?" Alice had a devious grin, and Rose mimicked hers. I gulped; this couldn't be good. It's never good when Alice had a plan. I've learned this the hard way.

"Victoria's Secret!"

Edward Masen

January 21

10:20 AM - Baskin Robbins, NorthGate Mall

I showed Emmett the mask Alice wore last night, and told him my theory of how it has to be fate. After all, Alice did say we would meet again if it was destined to be. This has to be a sign, God was being merciful.

He laughed and told me to lay off the coffee. Some friend.

We were walking around the mall, sometimes going into a store, but now the four of us, Emmett, Tyler, Mike, and I were at Baskin Robbins. There was a cute blond girl with wispy blond hair working the counter who glanced our way every couple of minutes. It was flattering, especially when she blushed every time that she was caught, but I wasn't interested in the slightest.

"Where do you guys want to go next?" Tyler asked. His Rainbow Sherbet ice cream was all over his mouth, giving him the appearance of a clown. I tried not to lock eyes with any of the other guys because I knew if I did, my laughter that I had been trying to contain for the past ten minutes would erupt and my effort would have been for nothing.

"Dude, you want to check out the Victoria's Secret store? I saw these three chicks that walked in there earlier. Might be worth some laughs," suggested Mike. Emmett and Tyler were enthusiastic in a way that I was not. We left the ice cream shop, and the cashier was frowning dejectedly.

Emmett was my ride home, so seeing as I had no choice, I followed them, trailing behind.

Isabella Swan

January 21

10:25 - Victoria's Secret, NorthGate Mall

My stomach was churning the minute Alice and Rose dragged me here. We've been here for almost forty minutes, and Alice kept up the constant piling of undergarments.

"Bella, I swear this is the last one. Just put this on, and we can go get a late breakfast," she promised. Rose agreed and went to the cashier to pay for her purchases. Fortunately for her everything she tried on was a perfect fit and hugged her curves. She might as well stood in the store window and stayed there as a window model. I'm sure sales would spike if she did work there.

I sighed. "Last one." She handed me a full outfit, because we were done with the sexy panty and bra set, thank goodness. My cheeks reddened to about six different types of red when Alice had forced me to demonstrate each pair outside of the dressing room. How demeaning. I was a show dog.

As far as the outfits go, this one wasn't too bad. That didn't mean that it was appropriate at any means though. Where did Alice think I'd wear this outfit to, by choice? Outfits were mandatory throughout the week, and we were underage and couldn't go to any bars or clubs without being carded. Well, I wouldn't. Alice probably could if she had the right heels to make up for her height. Rose would be let in, easily, with an entourage following her along the way.

The horrifying outfit consisted of low rise black skinny jeans (and I mean low rise! Literally!) and a silk halter top. A very sheer halter top. Sheer enough that everything under the bust was see through! Great. I grinded my teeth together. The sooner I put it on, the sooner I can put it off. Still..this had to be the worst one out of the bunch. Even worse than the bras and panties. Here's what I'm thinking; the bras and panties are nothing because no one has to see it but me. My clothes would layer them. The shirts I'd wear would be on display for everyone to see. Not so good.

But this shirt (if you can even call it a shirt) was worse than the last one, and that was saying something. The seersucker baby doll top gave me cleavage that I didn't know I had and practically had them pour over the top. Nice.

"Bella! You done?" Alice yelled. I cursed. I've been doing this more and more by the minute. Calm, Bella. You can do this.

I opened the dressing room door to see the last person I expected.

Edward Masen.

Edward Masen

January 21

10:30 - Victoria's Secret, NorthGate Mall

My jaw dropped. I can hear it hit the floor with a thud. That was how stunned I was to see Alice Brandon right in front of me, in the most seductive shirt I have ever seen. She turned the brightest shade of red before sprinting back inside the dressing room.

"Damn! Who was that?" Tyler hollered. Figures. He had to say something like that.

I growled. Emmett understood why I was fuming and punched Tyler in the shoulder. "That's Edward's girl, man. Whatsherface. But I agree. That was..something alright."

I rolled my eyes. Thanks for the help, Em. "Will you guys stop drooling? It's not that attractive on any three of you. Especially you, Mike."

The small girl and blond that was with Alice yesterday at the dance came over to us. I nodded to the tiny one in acknowledgment. "Please excuse our shy friend. She doesn't handle embarrassing situations well. I'm Al-Ashley. This is my friend Rosalie Hale." She pointed to the blond.

"Edward Masen. These are my friends Emmett McCarty, Mike Newton, and Tyler Crowley." After introductions were done, Alice came back out with her cheeks burning red.

"I don't think we've met before. Hi, I'm Mike. Your future boyfriend, nice to meet you," Mike said. He grinned at her and was shocked when Alice slapped him across the face. "Not nice to meet you," she sneered. I guess she was upset over the ordeal. This wasn't working out in my favor.

"Hello Mary Alice Brandon, it appears that fate had destined us to meet again," I chuckled.

"Appears so," she said curtly. She turned to her friends, and said, "Can we go now? I tried on everything you wanted. Are we done?"

"Yeah, we're done. Come on, Al. Nice meeting you guys," answered Ashley. She, Rose, and Alice went and paid for their purchases. That's when I did something amazingly stupid for someone who had better sense.

"Wait!" They turned around just as they neared the entrance of the store. Good. I had their attention. I caught up to them instantly and was beside Alice. "Alice, I apologize for my behavior and my friends. It was very rude to gawk, and Mike had no reason to act that way towards you. Please, let us buy you lunch as our way of making up to you." Ashley whispered something in her ear and Alice cooled down immensely.

"Okay, but we'll pay for ourselves," she compromised. I was about to argue when she cut me off, "Take or leave it."

I called my friends over, and explained to them what was going down. They loved the idea, maybe too much. We decided on Greek Fiesta for our dining. We were met with an eager hostess named Brenda who seated us. Alice was on my right while Emmett was on my left. Next to him was Rosalie, who he was preoccupied with.

Our waitress was a petite girl which the name tag read Melanie. "How can I serve you guys today?"

"Let's see, there's..seven of us," Emmett counted, "so seven orders of water. I'll get the Greek Platter. What do you guys want?"

"Fiesta Veggie!"

"Can I get the Fresh Greek Salad?"

"Authentic Lamb Kebab."

"Eww! Lamb? You're so a sadistic lion! How could you eat a poor baby lamb?" cried Ashley.

"Fine, I won't get the lamb kebab. I'll get the falafel then. Happy Ashley? Or do you not want me to eat the wittle tomatoes too?" laughed Tyler. She glowered at him, while the rest of us succumbed to laughter.

"I'll take the Cheese Melt," ordered Mike.

I watched Alice from the corner of my eye as she was going over the selection. What did she like? Was she a vegetarian? I wanted to find out. "The White Tuna Melt, I suppose." I ordered the same as her.

"Are you afraid of Ashley ranting about eating a poor innocent chicken like I am?" I whispered to her. She giggled. She had such a nice laugh. Irresistible and catching, because I found myself laughing with her.

"Something like that. I'm surprised she didn't lecture the both of us about the importance of tuna," she whispered back.

"Hey! What are you two lovebirds talking about over there? In case you haven't noticed, you're not the only ones here. If you want to nibble on her ear so badly, Eddie, why not ask her out a date later?" complained Mike. I scowled. I never really liked him much. I tolerated him only because he was friends with Tyler, one of my closer friends. He was a baby at times, and kept clinging onto Emmett and I. "Like you don't want to yourself Mike. I saw the way you were staring at her," Emmett retorted back.

"Oh yeah? If I recall right, Edward was the one catching flies in his mouth. No doubt picturing her in her underwear!"

"I think you have me confused with yourself. I don't mind reminding you but you are not me. No matter how you style your hair," I reciprocated. His face drained of all the color he had in it and hurt flashed crossed his eyes. It was way below the belt, but I was sick and tired of it. I saw the girls' disapproving expressions, but I didn't care about them. I only cared about the girl sitting right next to me, her hands in her lap, and the grim expression on her face. She stared right through me, like I was the bad guy. I had enough of this.

"Excuse me, I need to get some air." I rose from the table and left the restaurant.

What was I thinking? I'm in way over my head. I sat down on one of the benches far away from the restaurant. Storming out of there was definitely not my brightest idea. When I returned, and I had to return because I reminded myself again, Emmett was my ride home, everyone would've tried to hide the fact that they were talking about me. Ridiculous. I wanted to punch Mike in the face for embarrassing me in front of Alice. Unfortunately, my guilty conscience wouldn't leave, so therefore I didn't have the nerve to go do so. I pinched the bridge of my nose, a habit I've inherited from my father whenever I was stressed out.

"Are you okay?" I heard a small voice say. I turned to see Alice sitting right next to me, with a worried eyes and a sad smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I needed to cool off, that's all. Why are you here? Why aren't you having lunch with the others?"

"It got really quiet after you left. Mike left to go to the bathroom and Rose was texting on her phone. Besides, without you there, I'd have to face the wrath of Al-Ashley by myself," she joked, trying to lighten my mood.

"Hey, listen, I'm sorry for the commotion I caused in there. I also want to apologize again for the..Victoria's Secret..incident. But if it's any consolation, you looked better than any of the models in their catalog," I teased. Her face turned red, and I was about to take back my idiotic comment when she snickered. What was so funny?

"Hmm, you seem to be an expert on those models then? You must've paid extra close detail to those models am I right? I think you've been spending too much time in the bathroom, Edward. Maybe you should take a break once in a while and meet some real girls," she snorted. Now it was my turn to blush. She was always so witty with a comeback; is she really real? Or is this one of those wild dreams?

"Touche. Very well played." I did a very risky move, and stroked her cheek, ever so lightly. It was purely a test, to see if the flames were there from last night, and they were. Strong than before, multiplied by a thousand.

"Edward.."

"Alice, I like you a lot. I just wanted to let you know that," I murmured.

She shook her head defiantly. "Edward, no. I'm not the girl you think I am..I'm not worth your time. Trust me on this."

I scoffed. "I think I know how I feel better than you do, Alice. I happen to think that you are worth every minute of my time, and more. You said last night at the ball that we will see each other if fate destined us to meet. Look where that lead us. This isn't some silly coincidence. You know that this could be something more. I'll prove it to you." I dug into my jean pockets until I found what I hunting for. I pulled out the mask that was the sidewalk.

"I found this this morning when I was out on a morning stroll. This is your proof." She examined is closely and furrowed her eyebrows in frustration.

"Edward, this isn't - I can't - No, not - You are - Freakin' heck," she grumbled. She muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like This is not what I intended.

"Edward, please listen to me. There's a lot you don't know about me, a lot you don't want to know. You're better off without me. I have to go," she pleaded. She kissed me swiftly on the cheek and ran off to the restaurant. I strode off behind her, and caught up to her with no trouble. I grabbed ahold of both of her wrists and stopped her from advancing. Sure, there were people staring and several weird looks were aimed our way, but I wasn't about to let her go.

"Alice, why are you being so difficult?"

"Because I'm not Alice!" she yelled back. I paused, my hands drifting back to my side paralyzed.

"I got to go, Edward. This was a bad idea. I'm sorry." She pushed me away and ran inside the restaurant.

She was not..Alice? What did she mean by that? Of course she is! She had to be..but then what she saying? This is more confusing that I would've thought to be. Only then did I realize how moronic and psychotic I was acting. Who am I to say that she belonged with me? She hardly knew me, and I her. For all I know, we could have nothing in common at all. She could have a boyfriend for heavens' sake! And there I got acting like an obsessive stalker. She didn't want me, she made that evident. I should've listened to her. Why didn't I listen to her? Going on about how it was fate that we met, I must've scared the poor girl to death.

So I did the only thing I knew how to do right. The one thing I wouldn't screw up. The only thing that would relieve me from this pounding pain coursing from my brain to my heart.

I ran.

Isabella Swan

January 23

11:40 AM - Trigonometry, Mr. Varner's Room

I am an idiot. An utterly deranged idiot that has no regard for anyone else's feelings but my own. This was worse than I thought it would turn out.

It's been a couple days since I've seen Edward at the mall. I felt so horrible, doing that to him. He unmistakably liked me, and he told me that himself, and I had to shut him down. I had to dig out his heart and crush it with my bare hands.

I am a horrible person.

"Isabella!" Mr. Varner prompted, "What are the three trigonometric ratios?"

He was checking to see if I had been paying attention to his lecture, which I wasn't, but I knew the answer to this one. I spent all of yesterday studying because I feared if I stepped out of my dorm room, I'd run into Edward again. Alice mocked me, but I held my ground.

"Sines, Cosines, and Tangents," I replied shortly. This was all too easy.

"Uh, that's correct," he stuttered. I'd be surprise too. I've been doodling in my math notebook instead of copying down the actual notes. There were little hearts everywhere with my name in cursive, Isabella Marie Masen. I'm acting like some silly lovestruck girl, which I'm not. Maybe the silly part, but I did not, can not, and will not fall for Edward Masen.

I saw the hurt in his eyes, the apprehension when I told him I was not Alice. True, I didn't explain that fully, but I suppose he would've figured it out by now. He's an intelligent guy, with a little research, I'm sure he'll find out that Alice was really my best friend.

I told the truth, I faced the music, so why did I feel even worse than before? There was a constant pang in my heart, a stabbing pang, that made it impossible to concentrate on anything.

I was sitting with Angela and Alice at our regular lunch table. Rose was friendlier to me, but we weren't quite friends yet. I wonder if we'll ever be.

"Bella, are you regretting telling Edward?" asked Angela. Alice had informed her of everything at dinner time last night when we had gotten home from the mall with our purchases. Angela was one of my best friends, but sometimes she was too perceptive.

"I don't know if I made the right choice or not. God, why did I have to trade name cards with Alice? I should've just told him my real name and then none of this would've happened." I banged my head on the table and let my bangs cover my eyes.

"Bella, sweetie, don't worry. If it was meant to be, it will all work out in the end. You're worrying yourself over nothing. Edward needed to know that you were someone else. If you lead him on, and then told him when you guys have fallen deeply for each other, the wound would much deeper, and who knows how badly you'd feel then. There will be a silver lining soon," assured Angela. There were words coming out of her mouth but I couldn't understand any of them. They sounded like garble, like the adults when they're talking Charlie Brown. All I heard was "Wah wah wah wah, wah wah, wah wah!"

But I didn't let Angela know that. She cared enough about me to offer me advice, I didn't want to let her down and hurt her feelings too just because I'm a cruel and heartless person. "Thanks, Ang. I appreciate that pep talk." I smiled, but in her eyes was a skeptical look. She knew I was lying but did not say anything more.

"Bella!" I lifted my head up a little more to see a stern Alice. I grimaced. "Yes Al?"

"I've got a letter for you." I shot up from my seat.

"A letter?"

"Rose gave it to me. You know that day at the mall when we had lunch? Emmett and her really hit it off, and they got to talk. Emmett is Edward's best friend so he passed to letter to Emmett to give to Rose to give to me to give to you," she explained.

I stared at the white envelope. It was a creamy color, and smooth. On the back it said, To The Victoria's Secret Girl. I beamed. Maybe he wasn't mad at me at all. That was unlikely, but I had hope. But then the pessimistic side of me had to destroy that ray of hope. What if this was his way of telling me that he never wished to see me again? What if he wanted to tell me how mean I am to take advantage of him like that? I deserved everything I was going to get, but it was hard to swallow of it.

I tore it off slowly, because I was scared. Alice tapped her foot impatiently. Did I want to read this? Of course I did. Then why is my gut tellng me that I shouldn't? That I should simply throw this in the trashcan and forget that it ever existed? I pushed that instinct away, and unfolded the letter. The script was fairly elegant and regal. Like it belonged in some 1900s era instead of modern day. I read each and every word carefully and dissected it for any meaning.

Dearest Victoria's Secret Girl,

It's been days since I've talked to you. Is it so wrong of me to say that I've missed you? Or is that too much?

You never gave me a thorough explanation. You told me that your name wasn't Alice, and that you weren't the girl I thought you were. What does that mean? Do you care to explain yourself? I've pondered for nights.

Please, tonight, meet me at the gazebo, at 8:15 PM. Then you can finish off what you started. If you don't come, I'll understand. But if you do not desire to see me in your life again, then please, do not feel obligated to meet me. I just want to know why you ran off like that.

Edward

"Well? Are you going to meet him?" Alice demanded. I was frightened and nearly fell out of my seat when I learned that she had been reading over my shoulder the entire time.

I thought about it. Was it a good idea? I'd be breaking so many rules..going off campus..sneaking out of the dorms..especially after curfew! My parents raised me better than that! And yet I was most tempted.

"I don't know..should I?"

"It's not up to me, Bells. But he's right you know. He deserved better than that four word answer you gave him."

I closed my eyes for a minute. I drowned everything except for my thoughts. It was irrational to behave like this. It was wrong to consider sneaking out. But..my heart wants to, so bad. He gave me a way out, he told me I didn't have to meet him. I could just stay in my bed safely, and he'd never bother me again. But was that what I wanted?

"I'm going," I announced.

"Good for you Bells. See? There's your silver lining, right there," Angela laughed.

I pray to God that it was a silver lining. But something in my gut tells me that a storm is brewing overhead...