Hello again to all you beautiful people out there! I can't believe the number of reviews this little ol'd sequel has received already - there are over sixty (last time I checked) for just two chapters! That's insane! I can't thank you enough... but I'll do my best by making the story worth reading :-)

ISABELLA SWAN

It wasn't until morning break that I remembered Vanessa's promise. My mind had been completely saturated with Edward up until we walked in to the cafeteria and he was immediately swarmed by the rest of our friends – actually, all of our friends. Unbeknown to me, Alice had in English been listing all the questions she wanted to ask Edward as soon as possible, but as second lesson was for both Edward and I a newly acquired study period, I was able to bombard him with my personal … enthusiasm … without any interruptions.

I love study lessons.

So anyway, as soon as Edward was occupied with Alice's two feet-long list of queries, I yanked Vanessa in to the nearest bathroom by her elbow. Fortunately neither of us received any injuries from the rough gesture.

"So," I said after checking that the room was clear of eavesdroppers. I leant back on the row of sinks with my arms crossed. Vanessa looked politely interested. "Are you going to tell me what happened to you?" I gestured to my own face so she understood what I meant.

She folded her arms, but much different to how I had done it. Mine were folded across my chest, a teacherish kind of pose. Hers were folded over her stomach like she was trying to hold herself together. It worried me.

"What do you mean?" she asked. I knew she was stalling, so I stayed silent and raised a brow. "Oh, right," she caved almost immediately. "Well, my friends and I did go on a road trip, like I told Charlie. And the lack of showers and living arrangements weren't really to my tastes, either."

"Yes, I got that much, so what's the rest?"

She took a couple of steps back until she was leaning against the divider between two toilet doors. "I was with my boyfriend too. He likes to drink and smoke…not cigarettes, mind you. I agreed to try it, but in the beginning I didn't realise how much I was taking. When I passed out the first time, I woke up to Roy holding me. He was so worried, Bella, he said I shouldn't do it again because I couldn't handle it, but I said I wanted to do it. I didn't want to look weak. Then, the second time I passed out, when I came to I had bruises. I asked Roy but he said he didn't know, that I must've fallen or something.

"So I kept smoking with him and our friends, and every time I woke up the bruises got worse. One of my friends, Kirry, she took too much. She had to be hospitalised. I told Roy I wanted out so he dropped me off in Port Angeles."

"You walked to Forks from Port Angeles?!"

She smiled in a way that let me know that my assumption was wrong. "I hitchhiked. But it was dark and there weren't many cars. I freighter picked me up and dropped me by the highway exit because he couldn't drive on the suburban roads with such a heavy load. I told him thanks anyway, and walked for nearly two hours."

"Hang on," I said, finding a hole in her story. "You arrived at around six at night. That's not that late."

A grimace twisted her expression. "I couldn't find Charlie's in the dark so I slept in a bus stop. When I woke up it was just coming on dark but I thought I knew my way, so I wandered around until I spotted the cruiser."

I nodded, the picture in my mind unpleasant but believable. "Thank you for telling me."

"What kind of a cousin would I be if I didn't tell you? You're like a sister to me," she said, jumping forward and catching me in a headlock.

"Argh!" I mumbled through the sleeve of her shirt, which was pressed against my mouth. "Gerrof!"

She laughed and let me go. "Time to save Edward, I think," she pushed open the door and pointed at my boyfriend, who was now surrounded by besotted and giggly juniors and sophomores.

I rolled my eyes and stomped out into the cafeteria. I elbowed my way through the glittery headbands and swinging ponytails until I heard Edward's confused voice somewhere to my left. I listened with amusement as I clawed the air, trying to snatch something to drag him away by.

"…Model? What?...no, I live in Port Angeles…uhh, yeah, you look nice in that colour…ouch, that was my arm! Who's –? Ahh!"

His last exclamation was my doing, as I'd gotten a stronghold on his hand and tugged him out of the throng with such ferocity that I was surprised to see his arm still attached to his body.

"Nice to see you making friends with people," I shot sarcastically while dragging him toward Emmett, who I could easily see over people's heads.

"I didn't –!"

"Relax, I'm just teasing!" I laughed over my shoulder and winked cheekily. Edward rolled his eyes and I guessed that he was trying to be mad, but there was a smile playing about.

I sat down next to Alice, and Edward sat on my other side. In a very dramatic gesture he put an arm around my waist and kissed me on the cheek. I turned to him for an explanation, but didn't need one once I saw the looks on his admirer's faces. There was a mixture of admiration and murderous jealousy there. But at least now they knew how very unavailable he was.

Damn straight, I thought smugly.

Vanessa had sat down opposite me and was picking apart a bagel she'd acquired from somewhere. She looked a bit upset, but just as I opened my mouth to ask, a voice I knew far too well interrupted.

"Hey there pretty girl, what might your name be?" Mike slid in to the place beside my cousin and I almost fell off the chair with revulsion. Edward caught me and glared something incredible at Mike.

Vanessa looked up, too surprised to say anything, but she needn't have done anyway. Edward and Emmett jumped in like greyhounds on a fluffy rabbit toy.

"Hey Mike," Emmett started.

"How are you, Newton?" Edward added.

"Your nose feeling better?"

"How about your leg? How'd that heal?"

I spluttered into the lemonade I'd pilfered from Alice, half shock and half laughter. I elbowed Edward to calm him down.

Realisation crossed Vanessa's face. I'd told her about what had happened last year at Jasper's disastrous Masquerade Ball – and even though I'd skimped on the gory details, she still hated him with something close to loathing.

It was nothing compared to how I felt.

"You're Mike Newton, right?" Vanessa asked him. To anyone else she was spearing to be polite – but to someone like me, someone who knew her better than that, I knew she was just clarifying that her victim was deserving before unleashing the inner bitch.

"I sure am," he purred. I shuddered – how did I ever like him?

"Well, Mike," she said, leaning a little closer to him, "Why don't you turn right on around and take a very long walk off a very short pier?"

A shocked silence prevailed for a whole second before Vanessa gave Mike a hearty shove in the chest and he fell to the floor with a loud flump.

I cracked up laughing, holding Edward for support, who wasn't in much better shape than me in any case. Alice was sliding down her seat with cackles and Emmett thumped the table so hard with his fist that everything on it jumped a foot in the air.

Mike, furious and embarrassed at the same time, scrambled to his feet and tried to maintain some dignity while walking away. The fact that he'd fallen straight on to tomato sauce and now had a huge splotch on the back of his pants threw us in to hysterics. I wrapped my hands around my ribs in an effort to keep them from splitting.

Sucker.

"Way to go Vanessa," Emmett complimented, reaching around Rosalie to give Vanessa a well earned hi-five.

I just clapped valiantly. Alice was still erupting in giggles every few seconds.

Vanessa kept picking through her bagel, though she had a distinct smile on her face now. I concentrated on my lemonade, but that was interrupted again by the second guest of the day.

"Hey Jake!" I said cheerily as he walked over.

He stopped at the end of the table. "Hey guys." He smiled around at us all, spotting Vanessa.

Apparently she approved because she waved to the empty place beside her. "Sit with us," she offered.

He sat down. "Jacob Black," he said, indicating to himself. "And you are?"

"Vanessa Hicken," she returned.

He grinned. "Vanessa…hmm…"

"What?" she asked, clearly wondering about his deep-in-thought face.

Jasper leaned forward a bit, speaking for the first time. "He likes to give nicknames to everyone."

"He does?" I turned to him, never recalling a time when he'd given me a nickname. I supposed 'Bella' was already enough of a nickname.

"Yeah," Jasper went on, "he thought up the very original title of 'The Three J's' and, mean as it was, helped me think of Alice's old nickname."

Alice, who was very capable of taking a joke, jabbed him in the ribs. "I guess I owe Jake a few bruises then, don't I?"

Jacob, who wasn't listening, suddenly shouted "Ah hah!"

"Did you just get jabbed in the butt or something, dude?" Emmett joked.

Jacob ignored him. "I got it. Your nickname," he turned to Vanessa again, "is Nessie!"

Her face was perfectly blank. She blinked. "Nessie?" she repeated, and I detected a cutting edge to her tone. "Like the Loch Ness Monster?"

"Uh, no no no," Jake backtracked quickly, "I meant just that it- well, there's a 'ness' in your name and- err, I didn't mean it like an insult…sorry?"

Duck and cover! Shield your eyes! Look away or she'll turn you to stone! Run, run, run!

Try as I might, my telepathic warnings were lost on that boy. He stayed in his seat while Vanessa burned holes through his head with her eyes.

"I do not appreciate being nicknamed after a slimy sea monster."

I could almost smell his searing flesh from here.

Jake raised his eyebrows. How was he not cowering under that look?

"Well, technically the Loch Ness is a lake, actually."

I was scared to intervene. It was like watching two bears fight over a carcass – you were too terrified to move for fear of having their attention focus on you.

"How do you know?" Vanessa snapped.

"I read."

"Oh, so you can read, can you?"

"I'd bet I can read better than you."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because you look like you just crawled off the streets where you were working as a hooker, Vanessa. You should get those bruises checked." He reached up to touch one of her almost-concealed marks and she viciously slapped his hand away.

"Asshole."

"Whore."

"Get out of here before I do something I regret, Jacob."

"I'm sure there's plenty you've done in your little life that you regret."

And with that Jacob got up and swept from the room. Avoiding Vanessa's eye, I watched him until he had vanished completely. Everyone at the table was silent. Silent enough that I heard Vanessa's barely restrained sob of fury. Like me, she cried when she was angry.

"Vanessa," I started, but she got up and flew from the room so fast it was like she'd simply evaporated.

I made to follow her, but Edward stopped me. "She needs to be alone," he said quietly. Edward was very good at reading people so I didn't dispute him. Besides, I would have no idea what to say if I did find her.

But I did need to talk to Jacob at some point. What the hell was that?

Okay! There it is, chapter three! I hope you liked it, even though it was a little shorter than the last. But hey, it's about quality, not quantity, right?

This chapter I'll be asking you something a little more philosophical than usual.

Chapter 3 Question:

If we, as humans, weren't taught that love is a vital part of life and living, do you think we would still search anyway?