A/N: Two in two days! Aren't you lucky XD I think I've got some creativity back, but I'd really like some feedback. I don't really like it when people beg for reviews, but I realise now how joyous reviews are. I love getting the notifications that this has been added to Story Alert, but reviews rock too :D

I own nothing, apart from Blake. I hope you enjoy :D

Oh, and! Soulless is actually a book my friend has written and is editting just before it gets published :)

Chapter Song – Lady Gaga – Paparazzi

I'm your biggest fan,

I'll follow you until you love me.

Papa,

Paparazzi.

The Truth

The room was exactly the same as I remembered, just without Edward. There was no one else in the room yet, so Alice and I walked over to the desk that Edward used to sit at. Alice took Edward's place, and I sat back into the same seat I sat all those years ago. Slowly, the other kids came into the room, each of them staring at Alice and me. This behaviour I was getting used to after a hundred years, but looking around, I saw features that I saw in the people I went to school with, and it was unsettling. There was Angela's hair on the girl sitting in front of me; Connor's eyes staring at me from across the room; Jess's voice whispering to the boy who had Quileute skin. I could hear every whisper, even those from the back of the room. They all consisted on the same thing.

"Who are they?"

"They're so beautiful. Do you think they're single?"

"Probably related to those other boys; the really strong looking ones."

"Yeah, but they look terrifying. These girls are gorgeous!"

"Who do you think they are?"

"Can you smell that?" That was even quieter, and caught my attention. Alice had tensed up beside me, and I felt like I was missing something. Looking round, I saw that two Quileute boys at the back of the classroom were staring at Alice, and they were the one that had spoken. They saw me looking at them, and averted their gaze. They appeared to be as tense as Alice, adding to the feeling that I was missing something. I turned to look at Alice, who just took a deep breath in and winced. That's when I noticed that I was blocking everything subconsciously, and I let my defenses fall until it was just my basic shield. Suddenly the smell hit my nose. It was too sweet, and it burnt. This had been described to me previously, and I knew that I smelled the werewolves for the first time in my hundred years for what they really were. It was overpowering and I wanted to escape as quickly as possible. Not only did the burning hurt my nose, it hurt deep down inside. Deep underneath the painful smell lingered something I remembered vaguely from my human years; Jacob's scent of which I adored. The memory was even more painful, and I was about to get up and leave when the teacher entered. Putting my shield back up to stop my sense of smell, I focused on the lesson ahead of me. Alice and I were briefly introduced, and Dr. West continued quickly with the lesson. We were learning about something mundanely boring and I didn't pay much attention as my mind and memories were a hundred years behind me.

It's strange how human memories fade. I remember how much Jacob meant to me with such clarity that I was sure I would never forget him. I remember how I felt when I saw him on the night that everything changed. I remember how angry I was at myself for hurting him how I did, and how grateful I was that he was still looking out for me. I could recall how I felt the moment he told me that he loved me, and the moment I first gave myself to him. Every feeling I had with him, I could summon up without a problem, whether it be negative or positive. But I struggled to recall his face, it would always elude me. I know he was beautiful, muscular, and mysterious, but so was Edward and I didn't know what lines I was blurring. With the Quileute's surrounding me, I thought I could remember Jacob's face more clearly, but it was still blurred. Sometimes I had pictures of faces contorted in pain to go with certain memories and emotions; the day I lied about the paternity of Blake being the main one.

"Bella, it's time to go," Alice nudged me out of my stupor. Looking down, I nodded and walked out of the room towards Trig. Alice called my name, but I ignored her, needing to be alone. Returning was having more complications than I thought.

I was alone in Trig, and it passed in much the same way as biology. The struggles I use to have with trig didn't bother me so much now, and I could afford to waste a lesson daydreaming about how different my life would have been if things had turned out for the better. I would have still been here, but I would have had nothing but positive memories. If Blake had survived, I would have told Jacob the truth at some point. And maybe we would have been able to come to some form of compromise. Maybe Jacob would have carried on phasing to see his son grow, to aid his son. Maybe Jake could have imprinted and been happy. Maybe a lot of things that will never happen.

By lunch, I had forced myself down into a terrible mood. I walked into the cafeteria and saw everyone staring at the same table I stared at years ago. I went up to collect my food with the eyes of everyone on me, following my every step. Jasper looked concerned for me, as did Edward. I knew there was no point trying to conceal my mood; even though I could, it wouldn't be beneficial. I lifted my mental shield from Edward. I'm going to eat outside. I need some time alone. Sorry, I thought. I scooted around the side of the cafeteria and outside into the field. Disregarding my food, I sat until the cloudy sky of Forks staring into the greenery before me. I heard them coming up behind me but believed they'd just walked by. No one had ever had the confidence to talk to me before, but I'd never left the Cullen's before.

"Hi. You're Bella Cullen?" Déjà vu, all over again. I turned and looked up at the person who spoke. He was tall, muscled, and too old to be a student. I nodded. "Do you mind if I sit?" I gestured for him to sit down. He shot me a smile which lit up his face. His blonde hair was gelled in a messy way. His baby blue eyes stared into mine with intensity, as if he was trying to figure something out. I recognised him from somewhere, but I didn't know where. "I'm Mr. Newton. I teach English here." I nodded, numbly. Newton… The blue eyes, blonde hair… Mike Newton's grandchild? It was too much. "If you don't mind me saying so, but you don't look very happy, Bella."

"I'm okay, sir, thank you," I said politely, trying to avert my eyes.

"Are you sure?" His concern was deep rooted, but was not something I understood. I nodded again. He continued to look at me, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it before he did. Shaking his head, he started to stand up. "Well, Bella, if you're sure. This is going to be a difficult time for you and if you need to talk, you know you can talk to me." With one last puzzled look, he walked back into the cafeteria. I stayed where I was sat, contemplating what was before me. I could interrogate Mr. Newton, try to find out if he is the grandson of Mike, and if so, then try to find out what he knows about Charlie, about Jacob, about what happened after I left. The way that he looked at me suggested he knew something; it was just a case of finding out what.

Dumping my food in the bins, I went back into the cafeteria with a new determination. My family was still sitting at the table, but I completely blanked them. I heard Edward call my name quietly, worry encroaching his voice. I listened as Jasper filled the rest of the table in on my new mood, and I nearly turned when I heard the soft intake of breath from Alice as she looked into the future. I was scared to find out what she saw, but more scared that Edward would try and stop me from talking to Mr. Newton. Glancing at the clock, I saw that lessons didn't start for another fifteen minutes, so that gave me fifteen minutes to find and get this information out of him. Which, given the fact I was blocking my sense of smell, proved to be difficult. Although my focus was strictly on finding out the truth, I was sure that should I let my defenses down, the despairing spiral would come back, and I wouldn't make it through the day. As such, I settled to finding Mr. Newton with only sight and hearing.

It was proving harder than I thought, and with five minutes to class, I gave up. I looked down at my timetable and saw that I had French, Gym and then English. With Mr. Newton. This was perfect; it was at the end of the day, so I could talk to him all I wanted then. Relaxing, I went to French, and saw Edward sitting at the back of the class, subject to a large amount of whisperings and stares. He smiled at me when I entered, and I sheepishly walked up to his desk and sat down next to him. Although he was still smiling, his eyes were both angry and worried. The green tint behind them smoldered furiously, and I knew that I was in trouble for not sitting with them at lunch. I sorted through my thoughts, putting those I didn't want him to see at the back of my brain, and then lifted my shield to him.

I'm sorry, I thought, keeping eye contact with him.

"What was wrong?" he murmured back, his lips barely moving. It was so quiet that the humans around us wouldn't have heard, and luckily for us, there seemed to be no werewolves in this class. Deciding it was too risky to keep my shield down, when there was so much I needed to hide, I decided that a vocal conversation would be best. I knew Edward would realise that there was something I was hiding from him, but it was something he was going to have to deal with, whether he liked it or not.

"Just the Quileute boys; brought back memories that I struggle to deal with. We both knew this was going to be difficult for me Edward, so cut me some slack and give me time to adjust." It wasn't far from the truth. After all, it was because of Jacob that I went outside to think. It was just Mr. Newton that managed to change it all around for me. The lesson had started, but neither of us was paying attention.

"You know that I want to be able to help you through this Bella, but when you completely blank the whole family, it makes us all wonder…" he left his sentence threateningly, as if I was threatening to do something.

"Makes you wonder what, exactly?" There was an anger that flared inside of me, but Edward's body language change. The anger in his posture and eyes disappeared, and was replaced by a deep rooted sadness.

"Alice sees you leaving." His voice was close to breaking, and I wondered what secrets lay in Forks that could make me want to leave the Cullens, to leave Edward. The pain of being away from Edward still haunted me to this day, and I felt uncomfortable being away from him for any long period of time. The week away from his recently was the longest I ever spent away from him, and even then I struggled. I shook my head in confusion.

"Why would I leave?" He mirrored the head shaking, just with sadness.

"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me," he whispered, sounded defeated. I was sure that if I really was to leave, it couldn't be for long. Or that I'd take Edward with me. Or at least, he'd follow. But Edward and I have never argued, so I couldn't see what there could be to make me want to leave. Unless it was something Mr. Newton was going to tell me, something to do with my past. Comprehension flitted across my face, as I knew that whatever it was I was going to find out today would change everything. Edward saw the change in my face, and his face fell even more. "You know, you know what it is that will make you leave," he accused.

"No, I don't know. I just… I think I know where it stems from," I retorted. He stared at me, waiting for me to continue, but I didn't.

"Where?" he asked, but I just shook my head. I wasn't going to tell him, I couldn't. I didn't know exactly what I could be told that would make me want to leave, but it had to be bad. And there had to be a certain amount of betrayal in there… Edward had to already know, but be keeping it from me. I looked at him, trying to figure it out. His face just looked the same as always; perfect. Any secrets he was hiding from me, he was hiding well. I looked straight into his eyes, searching for something, anything, that would prove my suspicion wrong. However, the further I searched, the more I found, and the more my suspicions were confirmed. Hidden deep in Edward's eyes was fear; fear that I would find something out; fear that I already had.

"What are you hiding from me?" I asked. This time, it was him that was shaking his head, and he quickly broke eye contact with me and looked ahead. His body tensed up, and he was angry. Whether at himself or me, I didn't know, but I didn't care either. Edward Cullen was lying to me, and I was determined to find out what.

***

French and Gym flew by. I didn't speak to Edward throughout French and walked away without saying anything. Part of me knew I was being unreasonable, but I couldn't help myself. Edward had promised me that he'd never lie to me again, and keeping something from me constituted as a lie to me, meaning he'd broken his promise in one way or another. I had Gym with Emmett, and although he asked me what was up at lunch, he accepted my excuse about the Quileute boys, and didn't mention it again. Then it was time to go to English.

I walked into the room and saw Mr. Newton standing at the front of the class. He saw me, smiled, and I went up to talk to him. He seemed a little confused about my approach, but relaxed when the rest of the class piled in.

"Hello Bella, how can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Sir, I was wondering if I could talk to you after the lesson has finished. You were right earlier when you asked if there was anything wrong – there is, but I don't know how to phrase it." Although I failed to become more tactile, I still believed that honesty was the best policy in every case. Mr. Newton nodded sympathetically.

"Of course, Bella, it won't be a problem. I'll be free after this lesson, so if you wait behind, we can talk."

"Thank you, sir." With that, I turned and walked to a spare seat. I actually paid attention in class, because it was still a lesson that I enjoyed. Mr. Newton taught it well, and we were learning about a recent classic book called Soulless. When I say recent, I mean it was written in 2009, so a hundred years ago. It was a love story centering the world of magic. It was beautifully written, and could have easily have told my story, just without the heartbreak. Soon the end of the day came, and the class flew out of the classroom. Slowly I walked to the front desk, and sat down in front of it.

"So, what did you think of the book so far, Bella?" he asked, trying to spark up a conversation.

"It's beautiful, a modern day fairy tale…" Well, modern isn't really the word. Mr. Newton was looking at me strangely again, and if I could, I would have blushed. "Mr. Newton, why do you look at me like that? It's like… You recognise me or something…" Astonishingly, it was him who blushed.

"Forgive me Bella. It's just… I have been brought up with your picture in my household since I was a young boy."

"Come again?"

"My great grandfather was a police officer called Mike Newton." I knew it! But, a police officer? "He went to school here years ago, where he fell in love with this girl. Isabella Swan." He nodded in my direction, and I pulled a puzzled look over my face to try and hide the shock. I think he saw straight through it, because he smirked. "She was beautiful, bright, funny and hopelessly in love with Edward Cullen. They had many pictures together, and my grandfather kept one and passed it down, generation to generation, in case they were to ever come back."

"And because I have the same name, Bella, and Cullen, you thought of me?"

"No, because you look exactly like her! I always thought my grandfather was crazy, because the Bella he knew – you – was killed. It was a tragic accident, happened when she was eight months pregnant; killed by a bear, along with Edward Cullen, although neither body was ever found. Grandfather always thought there was something more, something no one was telling us. He went to talk to Jacob, who was there at the time of the accident, but he was so busy looking after Blake that he had…" I grabbed his hand suddenly, shocking him with the coldness into silence.

"What did you say?" I whispered urgently.

"Jacob… He was busy looking after Blake…"

"No, that's impossible" I said sharply. "Blake died. They told me Blake died." He gasped.

"You are Bella Swan!" I nodded, knowing this was going to complicate everything. "Bella… Blake survived."