So even after a dissapointing lack of reviews, I'm posting this because it's been done for awhile. LEAVE REVIEWS!!! I respond to them. Recommending this story would also make you my best friend. I'm open to suggestions about the plot.

I don't own twilight.

Edward's POV

Damn it, Edward. You scared her off.

Edward had finally mustered up the courage to go and talk to Bella, after days of debating with himself. As he approached her, he felt his stomach twist with anxiety. It was an unusual feeling, for Edward was usually quite comfortable with talking to girls. But then again, there had never been a girl like Bella.

"Bella? May I sit next to you?" He'd asked, feeling sick at the thought of her rejecting him. An immense feeling of relief swept through him when, after looking shocked, she'd said yes. But from that point on, he could see that although she had allowed him to sit next to her, she was extremely uncomfortable in his presence. Edward was slightly hurt by this, but he'd made an effort to act as though he hadn't noticed, trying to draw her out of her shell. But as luck would have it, his teacher had insisted that Edward return to his seat. He had complied, although very reluctantly. He'd hoped he'd made progress, but whenever he looked back at Bella, she stared down at her book, ignoring him. When the bell rang, she had bolted from the room, not even glancing at him. He tried to seek her out at lunch, but he didn't seen her for the rest of the day, though whether or not she had intended that, he couldn't be sure.

He should have known. A girl like that couldn't be interested in him. It didn't matter that ninety percent of the single female population of Forks would do anything to date him. He wanted Bella, knowing deep down inside she was that one percent. But he'd allowed himself to hope…. And she had thrown his attempts back into his face. Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair as he drove home. Alone forever he reminded himself. Today was further proof of that.

Forget about her, His mind told him. He knew he should, knew that he was only worsening the pain he felt by thinking of her. But he couldn't stop himself, and he didn't really want to. Edward had barely spoken to Bella at all, yet he felt something for her he had never felt before. It made him want to seek her out, to touch her perfectly smooth skin and to whisper to her sweet nothings. He could be her somebody special…

He forcefully stopped that train of thought before it went too far. Bella. Was. Not. Interested. She had made that very clear, and he wasn't going to be like Mike and stalk her regardless. She had made her decision and he had to respect that. He would leave her alone…or try his best to.

He pulled into the drive of his out-of-the-way home, parking the silver Volvo just behind Alice's convertible and Emmett's jeep. Taking his keys, he entered his house and inhaled deeply. His mother, Esme, was cooking something delicious. Chicken… something, he thought. His mother was just about the sweetest, most caring person on the planet, a mother to all, not just her own children. None could resist loving her: she was simply too nice. She was also a fantastic cook, and Edward's stomach growled as he entered the kitchen.

"Hi mom," He said, hanging his keys on the key rack. Esme turned and smiled brightly at her son. "Oh, Edward. I was wondering when you were going to get home." She rustled through the cabinet and offered him a soda. He took it, smiling back, his past anxieties put aside for now. "Sorry, I had some stuff I had to get done." Yeah, stuff like practically stalking a girl who doesn't like me in the slightest.

"That's fine sweetie," Esme replied, not looking up from the pot she was stirring. "Do me a favor and go see if your father is busy. I might need some help with this."

"Dad's home?" Edward asked. Carlisle Cullen was the head doctor down at the hospital in Forks. He had a reassuring way about him, something that made folks feel at ease in his presence. He loved to take care of people, and from what Edward heard, he was really good at his job. Usually, he stayed late at the hospital, his work never done in his eyes.

"Yeah, he took off early today," Esme said with a smile. "So go see if he can give me a hand with this."

"Will do. See ya, mom." Edward called over his shoulder. He went up the stairs and knocked on his father's study door. "Yes?" came Carlisle's voice. He sounded tired, but happy. "Mom wants to know if you can help her out with dinner," Edward called through the door. "Certainly," His dad replied. "I'll be down in a second."

Edward continued down the hallway to his room, stopping for a moment as he considered playing the piano. Edward always felt better after he had poured his emotions out through music. But he didn't want the rest of his family knowing he was upset, and he knew that if he played, his grief would come out through his song. Sighing, he entered his room and flopped down onto his bed. These days, he hardly slept at all. Usually he just sat on his bed, staring out the window into the forest. The forest seemed so peaceful at night-so full of secrets. Edward often wished that he could escape the pressures of daily life and just run through the forest, taking in the cool night air. He wondered absently if Bella ever felt that way….

His mother's voice interrupted his thoughts as she called him down to dinner. When he arrived at the table, he found that he was right about the chicken. It was a delicious chicken parmesan, and Emmet and Alice were already digging in.

Edward hardly said a thing throughout the meal, only occasionally nodding at something Alice or Emmett said. Though normally he would sit and talk a while after he was finished eating, tonight he quickly asked to be excused.

"Mom, dad," He said as he was clearing away his plate. "Do you mind if I go out for a walk? I need to clear my head…"

"Sure," Carlisle said, not looking up from his dinner. "Be back before it gets too dark out." Edward nodded and grabbed a jacket, to keep the rain off his skin. He left the house and wandered down the narrow driveway. He stood for a moment, indecisive over which way he should go. He decided finally that he would forsake the road and continued down an old hunting path. He took a deep breath, enjoying the chill it brought to his lungs. The mystical time between day and night, twilight, was a world all its own. Crickets occasionally chirped, warming up for their nightly performance while the birds wound down their songs and went silent. Edward continued walking briskly, glad for the rain and the clean forest air. It really did help clear his head to walk outside.

Abruptly, he became aware that the forest was strangely silent. Even the wind and rain stopped, creating an eerie lull. Everything was still. He looked up at the sky, deciding it was getting dark and that he should probably head back. He lingered for a moment, wondering why the woods had suddenly stopped all noises, as if the trees themselves were holding their breaths…

A sudden sharp crack in the bushes to his right made him jump, startled. He stood perfectly still, listening. Faint, muffled voices sounded from the direction of the noise. Puzzled, Edward cautiously made his way towards the voices, listening intently but not wanting to call attention to himself. As he drew closer, it sounded as though the voices were arguing. Peering around a tree trunk, Edward at last caught sight of the source of the voices. Four men were lounging about, each with a bottle in his hand. The men looked rough and haggard, as though they hadn't showered in days. They were arguing about something to do with a deal, and one man was accusing his partner of doing, as he put it, "a shitty job".

Edward was about to back away, sensing a fight about to start, when one of the men whirled and saw him. "Hey!" the man yelled. Damn. "What are you starin' at?" The other men turned and also looked at Edward. Squaring his shoulders and taking a deep breath, Edward stepped out from behind the tree. "I was just taking a walk through these woods, and I heard your voices." He stated calmly. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

The man who had first seen Edward glared at him, sizing him up. The man swaggered forward a few steps, adopting a sinister look. "Well, you did happen to disturb us," he growled. He swayed a bit, obviously drunk. Edward was no coward, but he knew that four drunken men could be dangerous, as he was all by himself. "Again, I'm sorry." He said, backing away a bit. The man sneered, thinking Edward was afraid.

"C'mere, boy." He slurred. He and his friends started towards Edward, looking as though they had no intentions of letting him escape unscathed. "Give us yer money," The lead man said. "And then maybe we'll forgive ya."

"I don't have any money," Edward replied, staying calm. "Please just let me be on my way."

The bandit, for that's what he seemed to be, grew angry. "No money!" he bellowed. His glare turned even meaner, and he gestured towards his friends. "Well, we'll see about that."

The men lunged at Edward, seeming intent on beating the crap out of him and taking anything that he had. Edward swung, hitting one in the jaw, and with the other had he shoved one man back. Edward had no intention of just letting them take what was his, and he wouldn't go down without a fight. He fought back wildly, his adrenaline odds were stacked against him, however, and after taking a jab to the face and chest, someone punched him right in the stomach, knocking the air out of him ad dropping him to his knees. The leader was panting heavily, blood dripping from a cut Edward's fist had made over his right eye. "You're gonna pay for this!" He seethed. He grabbed Edward's shirt, hoisting him up, and struck him sharply across the face.

A low, snarling sound erupted from deep within the forest. The robbers froze, listening and then glancing about warily. Edward hung in the grip of his attacker, dizzy from the blow he had received. "Who's there?" One man yelled. "Show yourself!"

Something moved behind them, and all four men swung around to face this new threat. What they found chilled their blood, causing the man holding Edward to drop him to the ground, mouth agape. Edward tried to see what they were looking at, his mind fuzzy still. A large, four legged beast emerged from the woods, stalking slowly towards the thugs. It's eyes were like fire, a blazing yellow tinged with red. Enormous fangs glinted in the faint light as it bared it's teeth and let out a heart-stopping growl. The men quickly scattered, screaming and cursing at the top of their lungs. There was complete madness as Edward was trampled by one man in his haste to escape the nightmare before him. Edward's vision blackened, and his already hazy view worsened. He tried several times to stand up and run, but each time he fell back, too dizzy to stand.

He sensed the men had left, probably still running recklessly in fear. He froze, hearing the growl again, although it was quieter this time. His eyes finally refocused, and he slowly turned. He forced himself not to scream as he saw the creature looming over him, staring down at him with fierce yellow eyes. Edward began to shake, terrified as he wondered what was going to happen to him. The beast was huge, easily five and a half feet tall at the shoulder. Its body was mostly wolf shaped, except for its enormous paws, which were more like lion's feet because he could see the claws had retracted slightly. It was covered in fur as black as the night, thick and tussled and damp from the rain. Its broad, muscled shoulders quivered as it stared down at him and sniffed. Edward held perfectly still, afraid that if he moved, the beast would strike.

The giant wolf seemed uncertain of what to do. It continued to gaze at Edward, the growl dying in its chest and its snarl fading away. Even its eyes seemed to lose their fury the longer it looked at the boy at its feet. It's huge head suddenly lowered towards Edward, and he cried out in fear, holding his arm up as if to shield himself. The wolf jerked its head back at the sound, and it's ears pinned back. A high pitched whine escaped its throat, and it looked down at Edward quizzically. Edward trembled, afraid, but the wolf only sat down on its haunches, continuing to whine. Its eyes looked almost….sad as it stared down at the boy. Finally, it threw back its head, letting out a long, mournful howl. Edward watched, now not only terrified, but confused. Why was he still alive? Not that he was complaining.

As its howl died away, echoing into the forest, the wolf's body began to shudder. Its limbs twitched and jerked and then bent in a very unnatural way. Edward tensed, ready to run, but the wolf still watched him intently. The wolf continued to spasm until suddenly Edward realized it was…shrinking. The once hug wolf was now only about twice the size of a large dog, and its proportions were changing as well. Bones crackled and rearranged before his very eyes, the fur receded and the limbs shifted. In seconds, Edward thought it looked almost human. And surely enough, as a minute passed the thing in front of him was human. The yellow eyes that had watched him only seconds before were now replaced with deep brown ones, eyes that looked pained and scared and wild all at the same time.

Edward gasped. If he had been confused before, now he was dumbstruck, staring at the person before him. Never in a million years would he have guessed….but he was too confused to speak. He could hardly think straight. So for a few minutes, they simply stared at one another, brown eyes meeting green with a look of uncertainty. Finally, Edwards mind had straightened enough to address his savior, and he inhaled, choking out…

"Bella?"

I promise, Bella is not just a "Jacob-style" werewolf. Will explain in the next chapter. :) don't forget about that review button