Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight Stephenie Meyer does. All human; All AU

Dinner with Bella was interesting. She kept looking at me, sneaking glances to see if I was really there. She curled her spaghetti around her fork and then promptly lost control of the fork as she moved it to her mouth resulting in the spaghetti falling into her lap. After watching five repeats of this I decided I should say something to her.
"Hey, kid, easy there. Let's try this again." I said. I moved over to the chair beside her and scooted close to her. "Can I help you, Bella?" I asked.
She nodded and I twirled her fork on her plate. "Open." I said.
She opened her tiny mouth and ate the noodles. "That was good. Why don't you try?" I suggested softly.
She repeated the process. This time she actually got a mouthful of noodles.
"Emmett, you're eating with me." She said.
"Yes, I am."
"I like it." She smiled up at me.
"Me too." I told her.
The noodles fell to the floor again.
"Uh-oh." Bella said.
"It's okay."
I curled my hand around her small one. I could break her easily. She looked so fragile sitting there. I lifted both of our arms up and guided the fork into Bella's mouth.
"Emmett." She whispered.
"Yes, Bella?"
"You're touching me."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to invade your personal space bubble." I apologized. I moved my hand from hers. She leaned into me.
"No. Don't go away. It was nice."
I leaned slightly forward to take her weight. She sighed. I groaned inwardly. I had to find out what was going on here. This just kept getting stranger and stranger.

After dinner I cleaned up the mess on the floor of the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, Emmett." Bella said.
"It's okay. It'll be our secret. I'll let you in on a secret too. I love cleaning floors. You need a floor cleaned, I'm your man."
Bella giggled.
"What's going on in here?" Charlie asked us teasingly.
"Nothing, Dad. Emmett's funny. I like him."
"I'm glad. Bath time, Bella." Charlie told her.
"Okay, Dad." She walked up the stairs and out of sight.

"Well, Emmett, what do you think of Bella?" Charlie asked.
"I have a lot of questions. I like Bella very much."
"What are your questions?" Charlie sighed.
"Why am I here? You don't need a bodyguard. Renee doesn't need a bodyguard. And, from what I've seen tonight, neither does Bella."
"We have a lot of problems with bullying. Harmless stuff really. Stuff the teachers say is normal. Stuff they say Bella should be able to take. But she doesn't." Charlie sighed again.
"Bullying is never harmless Charlie. Bullying, not just friendly teasing but real bullying, isn't normal. Bella shouldn't have to take any bullying from anybody. Have you talked to anyone about this?"
Charlie snorted, "Yeah, that was helpful."
"So why me?"
"I thought that if she had someone there, someone to protect her. Someone to help her establish a relationship with the other kids, I thought that maybe they'd finally see her as a peer, as an equal, rather than just some sub-human to be teased." Charlie said.
"So that's why I'm here. I'm here for Bella. To help Bella."
"Yeah." He said.
"It might not work."
"I know." He said.
"I'll try though. When can I start?"
"You can start right now. Come on. It's physical therapy time for Bella." Charlie got up and started towards the stairs.
"Wait a minute. Where do I sleep? Where should I put my stuff?" I asked.
"You'll be in Bella's room. You can put your stuff there. Remember the ad? You're on-call 24/7. I'll be upstairs." Charlie said.
"Thanks a lot, Charlie." I mumbled as I headed outside to my truck.

I jogged through the rain to my truck and grabbed my duffle bag out of it. I would be sleeping, eating, breathing, and going to school with Bella. Truth be told, I wasn't dreading it. I went up the stairs to Bella's room.
"Hey, Emmett." Bella called to me. She shot me a grin that melted my heart.
"Jeez, Bella, you shouldn't do that to people." I joked.
"Do what?" She looked confused.
"Dazzle them like that. You'll end up with people being your slaves for life."
"Really?" She giggled.
That sound was fast becoming my favorite sound in the world.
"Well, maybe not." I admitted.
Charlie smiled at me. "You make yourself at home, Emmett." He told me.
"Thanks, Chief Swan."

Bella's room was small. A narrow twin bunk bed set took up most of the space. The only other objects in the room were a desk with a chair, a lamp, a small closet, a tiny shelf with an alarm clock on it and a miniature bookcase. The room was plain and the walls were white. The floorboards were painted blue and a blue and cream-colored rug covered most of the blue planks. I eyed Charlie and Bella. It looked like Bella had the bottom bunk.
"I sleep up top?" I clarified.
"Yup." Charlie told me.
"Sounds good."
I began hanging up my clothes, suddenly thankful that St. Mark's Prep insisted on khakis and button-down shirts. At least I would look the part for the job. I pulled out my shoeshine kit and a small bathroom kit. I found it a bit sad that all of my worldly possessions fit in a duffle bag.
"May I use your shower?" I asked.
"Sure. Go ahead." Charlie said.
I knew from experience that my entire bathroom routine took no more than fifteen minutes. Any longer than ten minutes in the shower at St. Mark's got you yelled at for being a shower hog by the thirty other boys on your floor that wanted to take a shower.
I stepped into the shower, allowing the feel of the water to relax my muscles. It had been almost a week since I'd showered. On the way to Forks, I'd slept in my truck.

Once I had finished cleaning up I went back to Bella's small bedroom. Charlie was fastening Bella's night braces onto her legs. I watched, fascinated. Bella was braced from hip to upper calf and then was braced from upper calf to the bottom of her feet. She was double-braced on her upper calves.
"Doesn't that get hot?" I asked.
"I don't know. It just needs to be done." Charlie said.
"Yes." Bella said.
Charlie turned on a fan and Bella's alarm clock.
"Goodnight you two. Go to sleep." Charlie said.
"Night, Dad." Bella called as Charlie shut the door.
"Do you want covers, Bella?" I asked.
"Nope. Too hot." She said.
"Okay. Goodnight." On impulse I leaned down and touched my lips to her forehead.
"What was that for?" Bella asked.
"I thought you might want a goodnight kiss. Sorry."
"I'll see you in the morning, Emmett."
"Okay, Bella."
I climbed up into the top bunk and slid beneath the covers. Morning was sure to come quickly and along with it, my first day as Bella's bodyguard.