Chapter Four
"Did you hear about the latest missing girl?" Bella asked the next morning. She had stopped by before her classes started for the day and was leaning against the counter as Edward stocked various bottles.
"Yeah, and I knew her actually. Jasper was kind of dating her."
"No!" Bella exclaimed, shocked.
"Yeah, he's pretty much locked himself down in the workroom. I haven't seen him all day."
"Wow."
"Is your dad on the case now?"
"Yeah, that's where he was last night." Bella started chewing on her bottom lip. "He's getting really paranoid about me going out now, and I'm starting to understand why."
"Oh?" Edward raised an eyebrow and looked up at her.
"Apparently my room isn't as safe as I thought it was." Her tone was accusing, though there wasn't any real venom in it.
Edward chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on you."
"You can't watch me twenty-four seven."
"Is that a challenge?"
"No," she scoffed, "It's a fact."
Grinning, Edward placed the last bottle on the shelf and stood up. "No, I hear a challenge."
Bella straightened. "Don't even think about it. I don't want you sitting outside my house and living off Cheez-its or something crazy like that."
Calmly, Edward slinked over to strand directly in front of Bella, their bodies only inches apart. Bella's breath hitched as she straightened, trying to match his height, even though he towered over her.
He leaned closer, his breath leaving a hot trail down the side of her face. Her heart thudded madly in her chest, threatening to break out of her ribcage at any moment. He slowly made his way to just below her jawline, where he skimmed the skin with the tip of his nose, then pressed a quick and shockingly chaste kiss to her neck before pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes.
"It's a challenge."
Bella shivered, not quite sure if he was serious or not, and unable to forget the burn of his lips on her skin..
After Bella left, there was a bit of a mid-morning lull, so Edward went down to the workroom to check on Jasper. He'd been working like a madman since the disappearance of his girl.
He found Jasper staring intently at the vat that Alice had helped him prepare only nights before.
"How's it coming?" Edward asked.
Jasper didn't make any indication that he heard.
Edward walked up and put a hand on Jasper's shoulder. "Jasper?"
He shook himself out of his trance, "Sorry, what were you saying?"
"Just checking in on you."
"I'm fine."
Edward removed his hand and stood beside Jasper, and also stared into the vat. It filled with a clear mixture of liquids and alcohol and Jasper's secret ingredient floated in the middle.
"How much longer, do you think?" Edward asked.
"Everything's working out quite well so far," Jasper said. "I'm going to begin mixing samples tonight. You never know how long that will take."
"That's encouraging."
Their conversation died there, as they both stared into the clear vat that held their newest chance at a fresh fragrance and consequentially another chance to further their careers until Edward was called away by the bell chime upstairs.
When Bella stepped out of her stats class, she was surprised to find Edward casually leaning against the tree that stood guard just outside the building.
"Edward?" she stopped short, confused. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," he pushed himself off the tree and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I told you, I'm keeping an eye on you."
"You can't do that." Bella protested, "Aren't you supposed to be working? And what about Jasper?"
"Jasper can handle himself, he's a grown man. And there's another guy that comes in sometimes, when we need extra help. I just gave him a call and I'm covered."
"So, what, you're just going to lurk outside my buildings?"
"I can sit in on your classes, too."
"No, you can't. My next class has like, 30 people in it. My professor will kick you out."
"Then yeah, I'll lurk outside your building," he smirked.
Bella sighed. "How did you figure out my schedule, anyway? I never told you."
He shrugged. "I might have charmed an administrative assistant or two."
"You didn't."
"I'm very persuasive, if you haven't noticed."
"Believe me, I've noticed," she muttered and pulled away from him, wrapping her arms around herself and shivered.
He just grinned and pulled her back in. To her own surprise, she let him. She told herself it was because the air was chilly and it was quite warm nestled up against his body. And, the jealous stares other girls threw her way were nice, too. It was shallow of her, and she knew it, but she couldn't bring herself to care.
"So, next I believe you're heading to physical sciences building for health?" Edward spoke again.
"Unfortunately."
"Why is that unfortunate?"
She looked at him sideways, "Seriously? I guess you haven't been around me long enough to realize how uncoordinated I can be, huh? I'm amazed I haven't knocked over a display of bottles yet."
"Duly noted. Keep you away from freestanding glass bottles."
Bella nudged him with her shoulder. "You can't keep in me safe from everything, you know."
"That won't keep me from trying. You're my inspiration, remember? I protecting my own interests by protecting you."
Bella didn't say anything after that, and they continued their walk in silence. When they reached her building, Edward walked her right up to the door and stopped, pulling her aside and out of the way of traffic.
"I'll see you when class is over," he hugged her close for a brief moment before letting her go, then disappeared into the crowd before Bella could say anything in return.
Bella walked to her classroom in a daze, and chose a seat near the back. Angela was in the same class, and was already in the normal seats in the second row. When she saw Bella, she quickly relocated.
"Hey," Angela sat down beside her, "Something wrong?
"What? No, I'm just…" Bella shook her head to clear it, "Edward was outside my last class and then walked me here."
"And? That doesn't seem like a big deal."
"No, it isn't," Bella said slowly. "It's just…unnerving. He keeps showing up everywhere. First my house, now my class? Should I be getting worried?"
"Do you think you should be getting worried?"
Bella frowned. "I don't think so? I mean, he's just being enthusiastic, right?"
"I don't know," Angela looked uneasy.
"I mean," Bella continued, talking more to herself than to her friend, "It's normal to want to spend a lot of time together when you just start going out, right? If anything, I should be flattered he's giving me so much attention. I'm being ungrateful, acting like this."
Angela didn't say anything, but didn't look convinced.
"I was rude, trying to blow him off like that. I should apologize to him after class." Bella resolved.
"I don't think you need to go that far…"
"No, I do. I don't want him to walk out on me for being a jerk," Bella was convinced and wouldn't hear otherwise. "I'll talk to him after class."
Bella wasn't able to concentrate at all during the lecture since she was so concerned about Edward and how she was supposed to act. She'd never been in a relationship where she and the boy hadn't already been friends first. This was new to her, and she wasn't sure exactly how she was supposed to act.
As soon as the bell rang and the professor dismissed them, she shot out of the room with a hurried goodbye to Angela, and searched the crowd outside the building for Edward.
"Behind you," his soft voice made her jump and she spun around. He was smiling down at her, and she felt her heart stutter a little at his proximity and sudden appearance.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. I shouldn't have been so cold to you," she said quickly, before she lost her nerve.
He looked surprised. "Don't worry about it."
"I just, um," she looked down at her feet and played with the hem of her jacket. "I don't want to seem ungrateful for you caring about my well-being."
He stepped closer to her and hooked a finger under her chin, his dark eyes serious. "I said don't worry about it. It's already forgotten."
She lost herself under the power of his gaze for a moment before shaking herself free and stepping back, putting a more appropriate distance between the two of them. "I have an hour until my next class. I usually go grab something eat, if you'd like to join me."
"I'd love to," he smiled and lazily swung an arm around her shoulders, leading the way to the food court.
"Usually I eat alone, but sometimes a classmate from my next class joins me, just to warn you," she said as they walked side by side.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, he's really nice. His name is Mike. Sometimes we study together, too."
He quirked an eyebrow at that. "Just study?"
A deep blush filled her cheeks at his implication. "Yes! Just study, I swear. I have no romantic interest in him whatsoever. But he's a nice guy."
"Hmm." Edward didn't say anything more after that, and Bella hoped that today Mike decided to spend some time in the library instead of the food court.
Bella scanned the crowd as Edward opened the door for her, and there was no sign of Mike. She breathed a sigh of relief. "What are you in the mood for today? Burger? Taco? Pizza?"
"Whatever you'd like."
"Fries sound pretty good right now. Is that alright?"
"Like I said, whatever you'd like," he grinned.
After she placed her order, Edward insisted on combining their orders so he could pay and wouldn't take no for an answer.
"I do have my own money," Bella said, irritated.
"I know you do, but it makes me happy when I can do something for you." Edward argued good-naturedly. "You wouldn't deny me my happiness, now would you?"
"It's just a meal," Bella grumbled.
"Exactly." Edward said. "Not a big deal. So let me do something nice for you. There's an open table over there," he pointed it out and dropped the subject.
Just as they were sitting, Bella heard her name being called. She cringed, knowing exactly who was trying to catch her attention. Edward seemed to have figured it out, too.
"Is that your Mike?"
"He's not mine," she mumbled before turning around to wave at Mike, indicating that she heard him. She hoped he'd catch that she had company and wanted him to stay away, but Mike was oblivious.
"Hey Bella, who's your friend?" Mike pulled a chair from a neighboring table and straddled it, dropping a paper sack on the table and pulling out a sandwich and chips. His shaggy blond hair and open, boyish face were usually a welcome sight, but today Bella wished he would just disappear. She didn't know how Edward would react to her friends, and having the two of them meet made her nervous.
"Um, this is Edward. Edward, Mike." She gestured helplessly.
"Nice to meet you, dude," Mike waved and took a big bite of his sandwich. "You two have a class together or something?"
"Not really," Bella began, but Edward cut her off.
"I'm her boyfriend."
Mike choked on his sandwich and grabbed his water bottle, chugging down water try to dislodge whatever stuck in his throat. Once he could breath again, he said, "Come again? I didn't know you were dating anyone, Bella. Or even open to dating anyone."
"Yeah, it's kind of new?" it came out more like a question than the statement she meant. She was still trying to wrap her brain around the fact that Edward just called himself her boyfriend. She thought they were still in the awkward getting-to-know-you phase. Especially judging by how rarely he displayed any physical affection for her.
Edward however was glaring at Mike. If he were a dog, his hackles would be up and teeth bared.
Mike seemed completely unaware of Edward's hostility. "Well, that's cool, I guess. So, how did you feel about the reading for today? Did you make any sense out of it?"
Bella confessed that she'd completely forgotten about it, and the two of them spent the rest of lunch talking about it and preparing for the class, while Edward stared daggers into Mike's skull the entire time.
When it came time to leave for class, Edward walked silently, purposely putting himself between Bella and Mike. When Bella turned to say goodbye to Edward, he pulled her roughly aside. Bella looked at him, confused, and Mike asked if she wanted him to wait.
"You go on ahead, I'll be just a minute," she said.
"I don't want you spending any more time with him," Edward all but growled at her, gripping her arm tightly.
"What?"
"You heard me. I don't want him hanging around you. He's clearly got feelings for you, and I don't want him near you."
Bella tried to laugh it off. "Be serious, Edward. He's just a friend, and he's not interested in me. He's harmless."
"You can't be that blind. The boy's an idiot and has no tact. It couldn't be more obvious that he liked you unless he started walking around with a neon sign."
"You're being ridiculous, and I'm going to be late for class." She shrugged off his hand and started walking away.
"I'm serious, Bella. Don't talk to him anymore."
She didn't reply, but when Mike waved at her and pointed at the seat he'd saved, she paused, then pretended not to see and sat on the other side of the room.
A/N - Thanks for reading and thanks again to Anechka86 and Adair7 for their help!