A/N - I don't own Twilight, any of the characters, plot or locations that are recognisable belong to Stephanie Meyer. Unfortunately...That's not me.

Chapter 6

Non-Dates And An A*

We entered the restaurant and the delicious smells of Italian food circled the air making my stomach growl loudly. I blushed and put my head down but Mr Cullen just chuckled a little and squeezed my hand before linking our fingers and pulling me towards the hostess, who was ogling him. I clutched his hand tighter as we approached. The hostess was a typical Bimbo. Blonde hair, bright blue eyes, stick-thin, fake tan and thick make-up. She smiled suggestively at Mr Cullen.

"What can I get you?" she asked him.

"A table for two please." He said shortly.

"Right this way," she said leading us to the most crowded part of the place to a table for four. Mr Cullen quickly turned around and placed something in her hand.

"Are you sure there aren't any more secluded tables?" He asked politely.

She scowled at me and led us to a booth at the back of the restaurant. We sat down and the hostess walked off with a huff after receiving no attention from Mr Cullen. He smiled crookedly at me. The waiter came to our table. Thankfully it was a man so he didn't ogle Mr Cullen.

"What would you like?" he asked us.

"Bella?" Mr Cullen asked.

"Mushroom Ravioli?" He smiled

"Two mushroom raviolis and two sodas please," he asked the waiter.

"Sure. It won't be long." The waiter walked away leaving us alone again.

We just stared at each other for the longest time. Both getting lost in each other's eyes.

"How did you know how to find me?" I asked suddenly. I seemed to have pulled him out of a reverie.

"Umm, I uhh…"he stuttered.

"It's okay. I won't be mad, I trust you," It seemed to reassure him.

"I followed you," he paused searching for my reaction, but I made sure I had a blank expression. "When you told me you were coming to Port Angeles, I wanted to make sure you were safe…when you left the girls, I followed, but then I lost you after you left the bookstore. I drove around all the streets until I found you," he looked as if he was waiting to be scolded. I just smiled at him. It was quite flattering really that he would care about me so much.

"Thank You" I whispered, reaching over for his hand.

He flipped his over so that we could intertwine our fingers. I gazed at our joint hands, wishing we could be together, but I had to be realistic. He was my teacher, and possibly a friend, but nothing more. No matter how much I wanted it, he didn't like me like that.

"Your not freaked out?" he asked

"No, quite flattered actually," I told him honestly.

"You are the weirdest, most extraordinary girl I've ever met,"

"Thanks" I replied sarcastically.

"No, it's a good thing" he said stroking the back of my hand "a very good thing," I tightened my grip on his hand.

We soon left the restaurant ready to go home. Mr Cullen kept asking me if I was okay. He was certain that I would go into shock soon because of my encounter with the drunken man.

"Are you sure your okay?" he asked for the hundredth time.

"I'm positive! Can you stop asking now?" I asked annoyed.

"I'm just worried about you," he muttered.

"Well, I'm fine so there's no need to worry," I smiled.

He held my hand all the way home. It was like as if, if he let go, I'd disappear. We listened to Van Morrison and he even sang a part of Brown Eyed Girl to me. He was a fantastic singer. The way he sang the song to me made me feel like he could love me. It gave me hope and confidence to tell him how I felt. We pulled up to my drive and the house was in darkness. Charlie didn't get back for another few days. Mr Cullen looked worriedly over to me.

"Bella, where's your father?"

"He's left for the week for a case. Said he'll be home in a few days,"

"Your on your own?" He asked. I could detect the anger in his voice.

"It's only for a couple of days, I'll be fine" I tried to reassure him.

"It's not okay Bella! Your all alone in this house. I'm not letting you stay here on your own!" His voice was getting louder and he was gripping the steering wheel tightly again.

"Where else could I go?"

"Can't you stay with any of your friends?" He asked.

"No," I sighed. I liked Jess, but with the way she was acting earlier, I didn't feel like staying with her. I didn't know anyone else well enough.

"Well you can't stay here on your own," He stated calmly. He gave me a stern look as I opened my mouth to argue.

"You can stay with me," I suggested. He looked shocked and stammered for a while before he finally spoke a full sentence.

"I can't stay here, I'm your teacher" He was trying to convince himself more than me. I decided to play on his uncertainty.

"Your also my friend. You'd only be staying to make sure I'm okay…" It seemed to work because he was walking me up to the door after a minute. I quickly took the key from under the eave and opened the door. I set my bag down on the table and offered Mr Cullen a drink.

"Yes please, coffee, two sugars," He pulled out one of the chair and sat down, observing me in the kitchen.

He looked like he was deep in thought. I set the coffee down in front of him and sat in the next chair. We talked for a while about Charlie and what he was like. He asked about my mother.

"What's your family like?" I wanted to know all about him, like he did me.

"Well, my biological parents were called Edward and Elizabeth Masen. They died when I was ten, it was a car accident. A drunk driver ran a red light and crashed head on into them-" he paused.

You could see the pain in his eyes. I gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.

"Esme is my auntie, but her and her husband Carlisle adopted me. They have been my mother and father ever since. They have two children themselves. Emmett and Alice, you might have seen them in school?" I nodded. "Rosalie and Jasper are our adopted siblings. They're mother died giving birth and no-one could find their father. Esme fell in love with them one day when she visited Carlisle at the hospital and demanded that they adopt them. Five years after that, they adopted me."

I felt sympathy for him. Losing his parents at that young age, but at least he had two very caring people to look after him. His eyes were glazed over. He was reliving something in the past.

"I was named after him you know?…my father," he whispered.

"Really?"

"Yes," He got that faraway look in his eyes again.

"What's wrong?" He shook his head, ridding him of his thoughts.

"Nothing," he murmured. I stroked the back of his hand with my fingers.

"Mr Cullen-" he flinched at the name.

"Edward," he whispered.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You can call me Edward, only when we're alone though,"

"Edward, would you like to watch a movie?" I smiled at the name. It was a sign that we were getting closer.

"Sure," I got up and led him towards the small sofa in the living room. Edward sat down on the sofa while I tried to pick a film.

"What do you want to watch?"

"Hmmm how about 'Shaun Of The Dead'," he smirked.

"Really? I though you hated that film?"

"Well, I thought that you could try to enlighten me?" he laughed.

I put on the film and went to sit on the sofa with Edward. It was awkward. Even though we'd held hands before, I wasn't sure how close I should sit to him. He solved my worries when he grabbed my waist and pulled me to him. I giggled when he accidentally tickled me. He got a devilish look in his eyes.

"Ticklish?"

"No," I tried to move away but he still had a hold of my waist. He tickled me until I couldn't breathe, he just chuckled at me. We settled down to watch the film. Edward actually laughed at some points and I got him to admit in the end that he enjoyed it.

"See, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to movies," I suddenly yawned and felt the heat rise in my cheeks. Edward reached out to stroke my cheek, making me turn eve redder.

"Your tired, go to bed,"

"No I'm-" I got cut off by another yawn. "Okay, I will," I laughed and stretched before getting up. Edward got up as well, put on his coat and reached for the door.

"I'll lock up for you now Bella, Goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow." I walked over to him and kissed his cheek.

"Goodnight," I muttered before trudging tiredly up the stairs. I fell onto my bed and fell asleep straight away.

The sun peeked through the fabric of the curtains and hit me right in the eyes, bringing me abruptly from my sleep. I rolled over and checked the clock to see that it was almost 7, I would have to rush to get ready. I pulled on some dark blue skinny jeans, a t-shirt that said 'boys are always better in books' and an old pair of converse before running down the stairs. I had just reached the bottom when I heard Edward beep from outside. I grabbed my bag and coat and carefully walked across the yard towards the car.

"Morning," I beamed.

"Good morning, how did you sleep?" he asked after starting the car.

"Very well, thanks, you?" I asked observing the shadows underneath his eyes.

"Not so good," we pulled into the lot later than usual.

There were already a few cars parked up. He put the car in park and stepped out, waiting for me to catch up so we could walk together. I had English first anyway so we headed straight to Edward's class. We didn't get to talk that morning, as there were only a few minutes until class started. Angela came over to sit next to me.

"Just to warn you, Jess' looking for you, be prepared for the third degree," I groaned and turned to face the front again as Edward began to talk.

"Right class, I have the results of the test you did for me, I'm going to give them out for you to look over. Most of you need lots of improvements," He started walking up and down the isles handing out the tests. I was extremely nervous because I knew I hadn't been able to pay attention in class recently with my growing feelings for Edward. When he put mine on my desk he gently brushed my hand, making sure no-one could notice. I instantly felt calmer. I looked down to find an 'A*' written in red and circled along with his elegant script that said :

100% Well Done Bella, highest in the class. Keep it up

I don't know how I had a hundred percent in his class. Half of the time I wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying. I was too wrapped up in watching him. A few times, I would be staring at him, and he would catch me watching him. My cheeks would flush red, but he would just smile at me. It was very easy to let my imagination run wild with thoughts of him; especially with our new friendship making us closer.

The crush I had originally had for him had become something else, I was falling in love with him, and fast too. My heart would race whenever I'd see him, threatening to explode out of my chest. I was always happy when I thought about him, which was all the time lately.

The more I fantasized about him, the lonelier I felt. Charlie was due home in two days, but even with him there, I still felt alone. I decided that I was going to tell him I loved him. Even if he didn't feel the same, at least I would know that I had tried. My desire for him transcended any rational excuse.

A/N - Review Please? Merci xx