Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

A/N: Hey everybody. This is a late New Year's story obviously. This sequel is dedicated to all my reviewers who requested another chapter. Also thank you to everyone who reviewed to the first chapter, it really made me happy! Sorry this sequel took so long. It's been about a year, but better late than never.

The teenagers quickly went back to their party after the shock of Edward's impromptu kiss had worn off. Soon the noises of music, laughter, and talking had resumed full volume. Edward and Bella were still unaware of their surroundings as they gazed into each others eyes. Bella swore gazing into Edward's cobalt eyes had frozen her feet to the very spot she was standing. Edward was the first to break the spell.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" His velvet voice sent shivers down her spine. She didn't trust her voice so she merely nodded her willingness to leave the party. Bella knew she would go anywhere with him. Edward took her hand gently in his and led her out to her truck. No one noticed the couple's departure except Mike and Jessica.

The truck ride to Bella's house was silent. However, it wasn't a cold or awkward silence. It was the silence of two new lovers slowly adjusting to their newfound relationship. Bella allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of frantic butterflies in her stomach and the sound of her blood rushing through her veins. She knew that Edward would be able to hear her heart pounding and she briefly wondered if she had a similar effect on Edward.

Bella felt the car slowing and she realized that they had reached her house sooner than she hoped. Her face gave away her disappointment as Edward parked the truck in her driveway. They both sat back in their seats not wanting this to end yet.

"Edward…"Bella murmured. She savored the way his name rolled off her tongue.

"You should go inside, Bella." Edward whispered. Bella felt panic rising in her heart. Was she wrong about his feelings?

Edward seemed to recognize her panic. "Your father will start getting suspicious soon and come look outside. I don't know if you're ready to tell him you're dating a vampire yet."

Bella grinned. "Well maybe we can leave out the vampire part." She joked. "At least for now."

Edward rewarded her with a genuine smile. "So are we really dating?" Bella asked nervously.

"Yes, we are." Edward said. Then he appeared nervous. "That is…if you want to be in a relationship with me."

Bella didn't know what to say. How could Edward possibly think she WOULDN'T want to date him? Unsure what to say, Bella did the first thing that came to mind. She kissed him. The kiss not romantic or sweet, rather it was rough and hard and conveyed four months worth of suppressed emotions. Edward soon had to break the kiss, but the look in his eyes told Bella that he had not done so willingly.

Then, Edward was gone. Before Bella had a chance to blink, Edward was outside her passenger side door. He opened her door and helped her out of the truck.

"But…" Bella tried to protest, but Edward placed a finger to her lips.

"You need to go inside now, Bella." Edward explained. "I am going to go get my car, drive it back to my place, and then I'm going to come back here."

"But what about Charlie?"

"Trust me," Edward looked like he was about to laugh. "Charlie won't know I'm here."

Bella nodded and walked to her front door. She paused once to look back at Edward. It scared her how much she hated the idea of being parted from him, even for such a short time. Finally, Bella walked into her house and left Edward behind. She made small talk with Charlie then rushed upstairs to her bedroom. Bella sat down on her bed to wait for Edward, but impatience quickly overtook her and she began pacing around the room.

She almost had a heart attack when she heard a soft knock on her window. She turned and saw Edward entering her room through her bedroom window. Bella gasped and sank to her bed. So this is what he meant by 'Charlie wouldn't know he was here'.

"Bella," Edward murmured as he walked towards her. Bella's shock disappeared as Edward towered over her. He reached out a hand and gently caressed her cheek. Bella gasped at the unexpected coldness of it, but quickly adjusted.

"How long can you stay?" Bella asked when she found her voice again.

"As long as you want me to," he said. "Vampires don't exactly sleep at night."

"Wait…" Bella pushed him away as a thought occurred to her. "You mean you could stay the whole night?" Edward nodded. Bella found that she could not look Edward straight in the eyes for a moment. The idea of Edward spending the night with her both frightened and excited her. When Bella regained her composure she looked Edward straight in the eyes. Their silent communication was all that was needed for both to know that they were ready for this.

"I guess I better go get ready for bed." Bella said absentmindedly as she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair. When she reentered her room she searched for her tank top and bottoms that she usually slept in. Bella grew frustrated when she couldn't find them in the drawer she usually kept them in. She turned and saw Edward standing next to her with her pajamas in hand.

"You put them in the third drawer instead of the second." He explained.

Bella's gaze alternated between Edward's face and the pajamas in his hand. The realization washed over her like a wave. "You watch me?"

"Yeah," Edward admitted. He shifted his eyes to the floor like he was suddenly ashamed of his actions.

"How often? How long? Why?" Bella stammered. There were so many questions running through her mind.

"I've been coming about every night for the past two months." Edward admitted. "You're beautiful and amazing. I guess I just can't pass up a chance to be near you." He paused. "I understand if you're angry with me, Bella. It's not exactly normal behavior."

Bella laughed and she only laughed harder when she saw the stunned look on Edward's face.

"I know I should be really creeped out by that, and maybe some rational part of my mind is, but I can't be mad at you." Bella said. "If anything, I'm flattered that you find me that beautiful."

"You are beautiful." Edward said as he pulled her into another kiss. When he let her go he turned his back so she could have some privacy to change. Bella dressed quickly. She was embarrassed to have so much flesh exposed in Edward's presence, even if Edward wasn't looking in her direction. She cleared her throat to get Edward's attention when she was done.

Edward flashed over to her bed and pulled the covers down so Bella could climb into bed. Bella slowly climbed into bed and smiled when Edward lovingly tucked the blankets in around her.

"Where are you going to lie?" Bella questioned when she realized that he wasn't going to crawl under the covers with her.

"Next to you," Edward said as he climbed onto the bed. He positioned himself next to Bella as he lay on top of the sheets. Even through the sheets Bella could feel how cold Edward's body was. He pulled her close to him, and while Bella knew she should be uncomfortable by the cold she felt oddly comforted. She felt safe in Edward's arms. Bella tried to stay awake to enjoy every minute of this night, but slowly she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

* * * *

Bella woke when the morning sunlight came through her window and landed on her face. She rolled over to escape the light and the soft skin of her cheek encountered something hard and frigid. Bella sprang to her hands and knees to see what was in her bed, but found that it was only Edward. He laughed at her and she glared back at him. He pulled her back down to lay beside him.

"Sorry." Edward said. "I don't mean to laugh."

"Well, you startled me that's all." Bella said as she nestled in beside Edward and savored the feeling of waking up next to him. "I'm not used to someone sharing my bed." Bella cringed as a thought occurred to her. "I hope you weren't bored staying up all by yourself."

"I wasn't bored." Edward assured Bella. "I used to sneak in here just to watch you sleep remember?"

"Oh yeah." Bella muttered as she blushed. "I'm just not used to knowing that you're watching me sleep." Bella really couldn't figure out why Edward would be fascinated with watching her sleep.

Suddenly Edward's body tensed. "What's wrong?" Bella demanded.

"Jessica's here." Edward said as he climbed gracefully out of her bed.

"What? Why?" Bella was still confused.

"She wants to grill you about last night." Edward replied as he opened her window.

"Wait. Don't leave me here to deal with her by myself." Bella pleaded.

"I can't let Jessica see me here." Edward said. "Don't worry I'll be right outside your window." He gently placed a chaste kiss on her lips and a second later he was gone. Bella heard the doorbell ring and her dad answer it. She couldn't hear what they were saying but she figured Jessica wasn't in the mood for small talk with Charlie today. Bella mentally braced herself as she heard Jessica Stanley's footsteps thunder up the stairs towards her room.

* * * *

Edward felt guilty for leaving Bella to face Jessica alone, but he knew this was for the best. There were probably enough rumors circulating around this small town without having to add Jessica finding him in Bella's bedroom wearing the same clothes he had worn the night before. He perched himself in a tree next to Bella's slightly opened window. He wanted to be close enough to hear what Bella had to say.

He could envision the look on Jessica's face as she walked into Bella's room and her thoughts were so loud they were almost deafening inside his head.

I can't believe she stole MY man. She knew I had a thing for Edward.

"Hey, Bella," Jessica said, her voice was filled with fake niceness.

"Hey, Jess. Why are you here so early?" Bella asked pretending she didn't already know the answer. "Did we have plans or something?"

"No, I just wanted to see how you were." Jess answered. "You kinda disappeared pretty quickly last night. We all missed you." Well, Mike missed you. You probably snuck off to be a little slut with Edward. Edward balled his fists when Jessica's thoughts entered his mind. It took all his willpower not to storm into Bella's bedroom.

"Oh…" Bella was stumbling for words. "I figured I should get home early. You know how Charlie tends to worry."

"So you came straight home?" Jessica asked. Probably after a quickie with Edward in the woods somewhere.

"Yeah, you can ask Charlie if you don't believe me." Bella volunteered. Her confidence was coming back when she realized she had nothing to explain to Jessica.

"No, that's okay. I believe you. Why wouldn't I?" Jessica laughed. "But last night was pretty crazy huh? Crazy like parallel dimension crazy.

"It kinda was." Bella said. "It shocked me too."

"Really?" Jessica sneered. "You mean you haven't been trying to get with Edward before last night." Does she think I'm retarded or something? I just need to know how the little tramp got him.

"Well I'll admit I had a crush on him but I honestly didn't think he liked me like that?" Bella said. The sincerity in her voice stunned Edward. How could she possibly believe he wouldn't like her?

Yeah, right. You knew exactly what you were doing. "I understand. But you knew I liked Edward." Jessica faked being hurt. "I thought we were friends, Bella."

"We are friends." Bella said. Edward felt a constricting pain in the area where his frozen heart lay. He didn't want Bella to feel guilty about loving him.

"Bella, friends don't go after guys they know their friends like." Jessica accused.

"I knew you liked him in the past but I thought you were over it. Besides you were flirting with Mike all night. I thought you had a crush on him now."

"Mike's okay but I still had my heart set on Edward." Jessica moaned. You intentionally did this to spite me. You were nobody, some loser new kid till I took you in and this is how you repay me?

"You never said anything about still liking Edward. I'm not a mind reader, Jessica." Bella said. Edward surged with pride as he heard Bella speak with such confidence. "Besides, guys aren't like the passenger seat in a road trip. You can't call dibs. And you definitely can't call dibs on every cute guy in school."

"Excuse me." Jessica sneered. Who the hell does this girl think she is?"

"I'm sorry I ended up with Edward." Bella said although it sounded pretty clear that she wasn't sorry at all. "You can't hold it against me that he chose me and not you."

"Like hell I can't."

"Look, Jessica, you want to know how I got Edward." Bella taunted. "I actually talked to the guy. Amazing how that works. Plus I love him because he's a great guy. You just like the way he looks."

"Well that's all there really is to him." Jessica said. Edward shook his head. How could this human girl possibly be foolish enough to think he would ever choose HER over Bella?

"Actually there's a lot more too him that I guess you'll never find out." Bella said.

And I bet you found out all there was to him last night. Edward was sickened as images of his naked body filled Jessica's mind. He had to give the girl credit though; she had a very vivid imagination.

"Is there anything else you need, Jessica?" Edward was eternally grateful to Bella for interrupting Jessica's disturbing thoughts.

"I guess not." Jessica admitted. "I guess I'd better go now."

Bella nodded. "Jessica, if it's possible I still would like to be your friend. I think you are actually a good person. I'm just not going to be your door mat."

We'll see about that. Jessica thought as she stormed out of Bella's room. Panic surged through Edward as he contemplated what Jessica meant about that. He tried to scan her brain to find out exactly what she was planning but all he found was incoherent angry rants. When Jessica ran into Charlie downstairs her mind suddenly locked onto a plan.

Oh, no. Please, God no. Edward silently prayed although he doubted God cared what vampires wanted. In his mind he could see the scene playing out like he was in the living room. Jessica told Charlie about the party and the kiss and then she casually implied more happened when she said Bella left with Edward.

I'll kill him, was the single thought that replayed in Charlie's mind when Jessica insinuated that Edward and Bella had left Mike's to have more….quality alone time.

Once Jessica left, Charlie immediately stormed upstairs and confronted Bella about the accusations Jessica made. Bella admitted to the kiss but denied anything else. Charlie grilled her for a good fifteen minutes before finally giving up. He couldn't argue with the fact that she had come home shortly after midnight. Considering the drive from Mike Newton's house, there wasn't much time for anything else. Still, Charlie had his suspicions.

He ruled that Bella could not see Edward unless Edward came to the house. He wanted to get to know Edward before he allowed them to leave the house for their dates. Bella thought this was a fair idea, but then Charlie conveniently found excuses to go over to Billy's every night so Bella couldn't see Edward. She was grateful when night came so that Edward could quietly sneak through her window to be with her. She was not grateful for the fact that she could never seem to stay awake all night. It was frustrating to know she was sleeping away part of the precious time she had with Edward.

Four days after Mike's party was the first time Bella saw Edward without being at her house. School had resumed much to everyone's unhappiness. Bella, however, found she was grateful for the short Christmas breaks high school granted. The idea of more time at home with Charlie was more than she could stand. She knew lunch time would be the first time everyone in school saw her and Edward together since Mike's party. Her anxiety was almost palpable when she took her seat for her first class. Of course, her anxiety made the time fly by.

Before Bella knew it, it was time for lunch. She began her death walk to the cafeteria with her head held high. She had dealt with starting a relationship with a VAMPIRE; she could handle a lunch room full of teenagers she told herself. Her heart raced when she saw Edward. He was leaned against the wall of the cafeteria with his arms crossed and eyes closed. He looked like he was bored or had a headache, but Bella knew it was because all the voices he heard were sometimes overwhelming.

His eyes opened when he sensed her presence next to him. "You ready for this?" he asked as he offered her his hand.

Bella only nodded as she accepted his hand. She gripped Edward's hand as tightly as she could as they walked into the cafeteria together. Bella could hear that the room was buzzing with gossip. She picked out the words "new girl", "Bella" "Cullen" "party" and "kissed". Someone noticed they had entered and tapped the person next to them. Soon the whole room was silent. Bella was sure the whole room was staring at her and Edward. Their gazes shifted from their faces to the entwined hands and then back to their faces.

Bella took in a deep breath. They spotted Ben and Angela at a table at the other end of the cafeteria and they went to join them. Why did they have to take the table the farthest from the entrance? Bella cringed. Heads turned to watch them in the passage to the lunch table. She knew every girl there felt a girl like her didn't deserve to be with someone like Edward Cullen. Suddenly, Bella felt they were right. Edward nudged her side and smiled down at her. Just like that her confidence returned.

Bella and Edward took their seats with Ben and Angela. "Hey guys, how was your last couple days of break?" Angela asked trying to break the tension.

"Not bad." Bella murmured thankful to have a friend like Angela.

"Well that's great. Ben and I went to Port Angeles the other day to do some shopping, but we didn't get much."

"Yeah we pretty just went to kill some time and to get out of this place for a bit." Ben added.

Bella smiled. She knew what Angela and Ben were trying to do so she focused all her attention on their conversation to ignore the onlookers. Edward never let go of her hand.

Soon Bella found that she was genuinely enjoying the conversation. She didn't know if her peers were still scrutinizing her or not but it didn't matter. It was a small town and gossip was king. She could deal with whatever they threw at her as long as Edward stayed by her side.

A/N: Well there it is. Hoped you guys liked it. As always, PLEASE REVIEW!