Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
The next few days passed by in a blur. Emmett would be waiting for Bella outside every class. She found herself wondering how he could get to her so fast when most of the senior class rooms were on the other side of the school. He had not touched her since Monday, but he walked as close as he dared to her. They had eaten lunch together every day and every day when she tried to talk to him about Jacob and his tribe and what Jacob had told her one of the Cullen's would mysteriously appear at her shoulder without her hearing them approach. She was seriously considering having her hearing checked.
Jacob hadn't wanted to talk about Emmett or what they had discussed on Sunday when he came over on Tuesday. He had just pleaded with her to be careful which made her think that something was seriously wrong and it disturbed her.
By Friday she was starting to wonder if getting involved with Emmett was such a good idea. She was walking into school when she felt a rush of cold air before looking to her side. Sure enough, Emmett had fallen into stride with her. He held open the door for her, giving her an easy smile. She smiled back feebly, wondering what had changed since Monday.
They walked to her locker silently; she was comfortable just being with him, even if tension did roll off of him in waves when his family wasn't with them.
"Is everything okay?" she asked as she pulled her math and history books out of her locker.
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"You seem different; like you've got something on your mind."
"I'm having some trouble at home," he said with a shrug.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"I'll tell you soon enough," he said with a teasing smile.
"So it's about me?" she asked in concern.
"Partly, don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong. My parents have been asking about you is all."
She nodded, her eyebrows knitting together in concern.
"You worry too much," he said with a laugh.
"Maybe," she said with a shy smile.
"Come on," he said moving his head towards the throng of students moving down the hall.
He was close enough that she could feel the coldness of his skin, the tension was gone for now and his family was nowhere in sight. They stopped outside her first class and she saw Edward and Alice already in their seats. She turned her attention back to Emmett, seeing him stare down at her intensely. This wasn't the first time that he had looked at her like this. Every time it happened she was reminded that he felt something for her that she didn't quite understand. He had promised that he would explain it to her one day.
"I'll see you after class," he said with a crooked smile.
She nodded before walking into class. The bell rang as soon as she sat down. The teacher got them to quiet down before saying that they were having a pop quiz. Bella sent a silent thank you to God that she had been able to understand what she had learned the last few weeks in class without having to ask questions. Alice had been nice enough to talk her through it every morning when she looked over her homework for almost a week before Bella had felt confident enough to do it on her own.
She was one of the first ones finished and she felt confident that she would get at least a B on it. She started on the homework assignment while she waited for the rest of the class to finish. They started a new chapter that day and she made sure to take down every word. She didn't want to have to rely on Alice again. Not that she thought that Alice would mind, she just didn't like relying on others when she could do something herself.
She saw movement outside the door with less than a minute left in class. How had Emmett gotten out there already? She would ask him about him on the way to her next class. The bell rang and she bolted from her seat, grabbing her books before hurrying passed Jessica.
"Hold on a sec, I wanted to talk to you," Jessica said, putting a hand on her arm.
Emmett gave her a nod before leaning against the lockers across the hall.
"What's up?"
"I wanted to ask you if you would go to Port Angeles with me and Angela tomorrow. We're going prom dress shopping and we both want your opinion."
"Sure."
"Thank you! You want regret it, I promise," she said pulling Bella in for a quick hug.
"Not a problem," Bella said, patting her back awkwardly.
Jessica let go and Bella walked out of the room. She stood in front of Emmett, who was still leaning against the lockers a few seconds later.
"What did she want?"
"She wants me to go to Port Angeles with her and Angela tomorrow."
He nodded before pushing away from the lockers. They walked to her next class, talking idly until they got to the door.
"See you in forty five minutes," she said giving him a teasing look.
"See you," he said with a dazzling smile.
She walked into class, not thinking twice about what had happened during math or why Emmett always seemed to be waiting for her outside every class. She would ask him about it during lunch.
XXXX
Bella hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Emmett during lunch. He left after third period, telling her that he would call her tomorrow. She was at home that night waiting for the pizza she had ordered to get there when her phone rang. Jacob's name flashed across the screen before she opened it.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"What's going on?"
"We're headed to your house."
"We?" she asked with a laugh.
"Quil, Embry and I," he explained.
"I wish that you had called me half an hour ago. I could have ordered more pizza."
"We'll pick something up. I just wanted to let you know that we're on our way."
"I'll see you when you get here."
She was glad that they were coming over. A guys opinion on what was going on with Emmett would help a lot. Maybe one of them would finally tell her what was going on.
She was paying for the pizza when Embry's car pulled up out front. The four friends formed a circle on the living room floor, Bella eating pizza while the boys eyed her wearily. They hadn't stopped like Jacob said they would.
"Oh good grief, go and get yourselves paper plates out of the pantry," she said rolling her eyes.
"Thanks Bells," Embry said being the one designated to get up.
Bella broached the subject of Emmett once the boys were back in the room.
"Maybe you guys can help me with something. When a guy won't answer questions about himself, does that mean that he's hiding something?"
"Absolutely," Embry said with a nod before taking a pull of his drink.
"Having trouble with the pretty boy already?" Jacob teased.
"He's a pretty boy who could kick your ass. I don't know, I've been trying to talk to him about what you and I talked about and every time I do, we get interrupted."
"Who interrupts?" Quil asked.
"His siblings," she answered with a sigh.
"How many siblings can he have that go to school with you?" Embry asked.
"There are four of them, they're adopted."
"I told you to be careful with them," Jacob said.
"Who does she need to be careful with?" Quil asked.
"Emmett is a Cullen."
"You also told me that you didn't see things the way your dad does."
"I'm with Jake Bella; maybe being friends with Emmett isn't a good idea," Quil said.
"Has he done anything that would make you think something was wrong? Does he act weird when you ask him questions?"
"No. It's just strange that his brothers and sisters appear out of nowhere with some excuse for him to leave."
"Here's what you do, get him to come over here; that way his family can't interfere," Jacob said.
"We'll be here if you need us," Embry said reassuringly.
"That might not be a bad idea."
"Let us know what you decide," Quil said.
"Enough talk about Emmett, what's going on with Eliska?"
"Nothing," Quil said quietly.
"That girl has blinders just his size," Embry said with a laugh.
"She does not!" Quil said, glaring at him.
"She is talking to him at least," Jacob said.
"That's something. Just be patient," Bella said patting Quil's arm lightly.
"If only you went to school with us, then maybe you could talk to her," Jacob said.
"Just because I don't go to school with you doesn't mean that I can't talk to her. You said that she was the mascot for the basketball team, right?"
"He's gone to every game this year just to see her," Embry said in a teasing manner.
"Maybe I should go to the game this Saturday, I'll casually mention that I dated you and that you and I are still friends, so she that she knows what a good guy you are," she offered.
"You'd do that for me?"
"What are friends for?"
"Thanks Bells," Quil said with a thankful smile.
With the subject dropped Bella still felt ill at ease about Emmett, the boys hadn't been able to give her any information that she didn't already know. She caught Jacob watching her and he jerked his head towards the kitchen. She gathered everyone's plates and soda cans before going into the kitchen. Jacob came in less than a minute later.
"I heard more about the Cullen's; I just didn't want to bring it up in front of them."
"What did you hear?"
"I was walking on the beach the other night and I saw Paul and Jared ahead of me. I was close enough that I could hear what they were saying. Bells, I don't think getting involved with Emmett is a good idea."
"What did you hear?" Bella asked again.
"They called them bloodsuckers."
"You mean, like vampires? Vampires aren't real Jake," she said with a scoff.
"This is serious Bells. I want you to be careful."
"I am being as careful as I can. You shouldn't worry about what you heard. It isn't true."
"How do you know? He won't answer any of your questions."
"His family won't let him answer my questions. There is a difference."
"Do you honestly think that he would give you a straight answer if he had the chance?"
"I don't know."
"Be realistic Bells. He wouldn't answer your questions, and you know it."
"You don't know him the way I do."
"Why are you defending him?"
"Because he's a good person; and he doesn't deserve to have you talking about him like that."
"Fine, I'm sorry I brought it up. I thought that you would want to know," he said with a sigh.
"Thank you for looking out for me, but I don't need you to," she said, giving him a sincere look.
He nodded then looked over his shoulder when Embry called his name. Embry and Quil were both standing by the door.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I'll see you around Bells."
"Bye Bells," Quil said with a wave before walking out the door.
"Bye guys. See you Saturday," she said before Jacob shut the door.
Bella threw the pizza box, plates and cans in the trash before taking the trash outside. She couldn't brush what Jacob had said aside. Emmett's being a vampire was so farfetched that she wanted to laugh. Why would Jacob even think something like that? She didn't know Paul and Jared very well, so she didn't want to take what Jacob had heard them say to heart. She would do some research and form her own opinion. Now that the seed had been planted, she had to get to the bottom of what was going on.
XXXX
Bella slapped her alarm clock to turn off then shoved it off her nightstand for good measure. She felt a twinge of smug satisfaction when it clattered to the floor and she heard the batteries fall out and roll across the floor. She would have at least fifteen more minutes before her dad came to see why she wasn't up yet. She was going to take what she could get.
She had been on the computer until one last night searching vampire lore on the computer. She had no idea that there were so many people who took the subject seriously. One website that she found would have been more than helpful if she actually believed that Emmett was a vampire. According to the website, Emmett had all the telltale signs of being a vampire. The cold marble like skin, the aversion to sunlight and the speed were just three of the things that she wanted to question him about. She would never tell Jacob what she had done, he would tell her that he was right and it was another reason for her to not be associated with the Cullen's. She was not going to jump to conclusions.
Her dad could be heard walking up the stairs and she rolled over in bed with a sigh. He pushed open the door enough to stick his head in.
"You up?"
"Yeah," she said with a sigh.
"You don't sound too happy about it."
"I stayed up too late."
"You're still going to school unless you don't want to go with Angela and Jessica today," he said sternly.
"I know the drill," she said pushing the blanket and sheet off of her.
She was dressed and downstairs in less than ten minutes. Her dad was looking through the refrigerator when she walked into the kitchen.
"Where's the left over pizza?"
"There isn't any; Jake, Quil and Embry came over last night, sorry."
"It's alright. Pizza for breakfast is bad for you anyway," he said shutting the door with a sigh.
She gathered her stuff for school before grabbing an apple from the bowl by the refrigerator. She ate it as she waited for the truck to warm up. What she had done last night still weighed on her. Now she really needed to talk to Emmett, just to distill the rumor that Jacob had spread.
The sun shone brightly through her windshield and for the first time since she had gotten the truck she had to pull down the visor. At school, she searched the parking lot for any of the Cullen's cars. When she didn't see them she shook her head in dismay. She was beginning to rely on Emmett too much and it wasn't healthy.
Once inside, she found Angela talking to Eric. She waved as she passed them and Angela waved back with a smile. Jessica was outside their math class talking to Tyler and Mike when Bella walked in. Since she was half an hour early she laid her head down, hoping to get a little sleep before class started.
The warning bell ringing twenty five minutes later woke her up with a jolt. She pushed her hair out of her face with a sigh.
"Did you have a good nap?" Jessica teased.
"I stayed up too late last night," Bella said with a shaky laugh.
"I've done it myself, so I'm not going to pass judgment on you. Are you going to be able to go with us today?"
"Sure."
"I was thinking that we could take my car. We would be too cramped in your truck and Angela doesn't have a car."
"That's fine."
"Okay. We'll talk more during lunch."
Bella nodded with a smile as the bell rang and a few stragglers wandered into class. She opened her notebook and started copying notes once the teacher called the class to a start. With her head clear for the time being she was able to focus. She wasn't going to worry about talking to Emmett until she actually saw him.
The first half of her day passed without sight of Emmett or his siblings. When she walked into the lunchroom she scanned their section of the room to find it empty.
"They're never here when it's nice out. It's the strangest thing." Eric said, stopping a few feet away from her.
"That is strange," she said in agreement.
"We're all going to eat outside if you want to join us."
"I'll be there in a few minutes," she said walking towards the lunch line.
The weather had warmed since that morning. The puddles that had formed on the sidewalk from yesterday's rain were quickly evaporating as she walked through the throng of students. She found her friends easily and sat at the end of the bench next to Angela. Jessica sat on the table, sunning herself. So far Eric was the only boy who had made his way outside. He sat on Angela's other side, leaning in to whisper in her ear.
"It's good that you're sitting with us today. I wanted to talk to you," Jessica said, not opening her eyes.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"Emmett."
"What about him?"
"Have you been to their house?"
"No," Bella said with a laugh.
"Have you met their parents?"
"His dad came to my house to talk to my dad last weekend."
"Are the two of you friends, or something more?"
"Right now, I'd say we're friends. We haven't really defined what's going on yet."
"Emmett obviously likes you," Angela said joining the conversation.
"Oh, definitely," Jessica agreed, nodding her head quickly.
Jessica went back to sunning herself and Angela leaning in.
"If you want my opinion, I like Emmett better than Edward. He's better looking too. Just don't tell Jess that I said that," she whispered.
"You're secrets safe with me."
Angela gave her a bashful smile before pulling away. Bella opened her sandwich and started eating as Mike and Tyler sat down. The conversation turned to the upcoming dance and she tuned it out. She and dancing did not associate with one another.
XXXX
After two hours of watching Jessica and Angela try on dresses Bella was regretting saying that she would come with them. They had tried on five dresses each and each dress had looked amazing on them. Angela was leaning more towards the conservative side since her dad was a minister while Jessica felt that she had to flaunt her size D boobs.
"What do you think?" Jessica asked turning in front of a bank of mirrors.
"It looks great," Bella said.
"You've said that about every single dress we've tried on."
"They all looked great."
"I think she's right. That looks great on you," Angela said.
Jessica turned, checking out her backside in the mirror. She turned, looking at her chest scrutinizingly.
"You don't think it shows too much cleavage?"
"Isn't that what you were going for?"
"Yes and there's also a fine line between tasteful and asking for it."
"That dress doesn't cross the line. It might hug it, but it's perfectly respectable," Bella said.
"Thanks Bella," Jessica said brightly.
"I think I'm going to get the second one I tried on."
"The lavender one with the halter top?" Jessica asked from the changing room.
"Yeah," Angela confirmed.
"That's the one that I liked best," Bella said with a reassuring nod.
"I'm glad you came today."
"Don't you two still need to shop for accessories?"
"Yeah, if you want to shop for yourself we can meet you at the restaurant in half an hour," Jessica said coming out of the changing room.
"There is this book store that I wanted to check out."
"We'll see you at the restaurant," Angela said from the changing room.
Bella was one street over, searching for the book store five minutes later. She stopped in front of it, checking the merchandise from outside. It was mainly a Native American store/ medicine shop that also sold books on folklore. She pushed open the door and the bell above the door sounded lightly. The long haired man behind the counter nodded politely before asking if he could help her with anything.
"I'm just looking," she said with a shake of her head.
She walked to the back of the store where the books were kept. She had gone on the stores website last night on a whim and had found a book that would help in finding out if what Jacob had said was true or not. She wanted to believe him, but a part of her was still skeptical. She paused half way down the aisle when she found what she was looking for. She pulled the book from the shelf, running her hand over the cover. 'Vampires: The Unexplained, Explained' was the title. She flipped the book over to check the price to make sure she had enough money to pay for it.
With the book in hand she made her way to the counter. The man picked it up, studying it with scrutiny. She hoped that he didn't ask any questions. He rang the book up, and then bagged it for her before pressing a button on the register.
"That'll be twenty fifty," he said without looking at her.
She handed him a twenty and a five and he handed her the change before handing her the bag. She shoved the money in her pocket before waving to the man. He nodded in response before she walked out the door. The sun had set while she was inside. It was getting dark fast and the street lights were turning on all around her. She turned a corner and saw the restaurant up ahead and Jessica and Angela were waiting out front.
"Have you been here long?" she asked as she walked up to them.
"We just got here," Angela said with a shake of her head.
"Did you find what you wanted?" Jessica asked gesturing to the bag she was carrying.
"Yeah," she said holding up her bag.
"Come on let's eat, I'm starving," Jessica said leading the way into the restaurant.
She followed closely behind them, her mind on the book that she had just bought. She hoped that neither of them asked about it. She didn't want to have to explain it to them.
XXXX
Bella was skimming through the book when she heard her dad pull up just before eleven. She marked her page before slipping it into her nightstand drawer. So far, the book hadn't told her anything useful, then again she had only been looking through it for five minutes. Her dad was walking through the front door as she walked down the stairs.
"I figured you would have stayed over at one of the girls' houses tonight."
"Nope, Angela isn't allowed to have friends over unless her parents know them and Jessica has to be at work early in the morning."
"What did you do tonight?"
"Not much. I watched a movie and then I took a shower."
"How long have you been home?"
"Since eight thirty."
Charlie nodded as he untied his boots. They were placed underneath the bench by the front door before he told her goodnight and headed upstairs. She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator before going back upstairs. The shower was turned on as she passed the bathroom so she shut her door before pulling the book from her nightstand.
She had been reading for ten minutes before she came across a chapter on how not all vampires were the same. Every nation had its own beliefs. She read through the chapter entire chapter once, then went back to read about Olympic Region vampires. Little by little, all of her fears were proved right. The book described Emmett's family perfectly. They had left nothing out. She knew without a doubt that Emmett was a vampire. She should be more surprised than she was, she should be shocked, scared even; but she wasn't. Even with the information coming to light she knew that Emmett would never hurt her. Now she knew why he had been so distant, he hadn't wanted to hurt her. She needed to talk to him.
She dialed his number without looking down at her phone. It rang three times before his voice mail came on.
"Hey. I'm not able to get to the phone right now. Leave a message."
"It's me. Could you call me back as soon as you get this? I need to talk to you."
She closed her phone with a sigh before turning out her light. She got underneath the covers and got situated before staring up at the ceiling. She knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep until she talked to him, but she was going to try.
XXXX
Emmett listened to Bella's message before shutting his phone. She had called him three times since Friday night. He had a feeling that he knew what she wanted to talk to him about. Somehow, she had found out the truth. She didn't sound scared or even mad at him, which threw him off. If she knew, that would change things completely. He wouldn't have to lie; they could be together if she chose to.
"Bella called you again?" Edward asked.
"Yeah," Emmett said with a nod.
"Maybe you should talk to Carlisle."
"I've tried. He won't listen."
"Then talk to Esme. She'll help you make Carlisle see that you are strong enough to handle being in a relationship with Bella."
"He doesn't think that she will understand."
"Alice has told him numerous times that Bella will understand."
"You think she knows?"
"I'm almost positive that she does."
"Well, at least she isn't freaking out about it. It could be worse."
"You're right. I'm probably worrying over nothing."
Edward put a hand on his shoulder, patting it gently before walking away. Emmett was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands when Carlisle found him five minutes later.
"Something wrong Emmett?"
"I'm just wondering when you are going to ease up on me is all," he said with a sigh.
"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked, walking into the room.
"I told you that you had to trust me when it came to Bella and now there's a possibility that she knows."
"Did you say something to her?" Carlisle was now sitting across from Emmett.
"No. I've been a good little boy and I am doing everything that you say," Emmett said giving him an even look.
"What makes you think that she knows?"
"She's called me four times in the past two days. She's been asking questions for the past week."
"What kind of questions?"
"She knows about the Quileute legends. She and her dad have friends in La Push."
"That could become a problem."
"It hasn't been so far. I've meet two of her friends. They won't be any trouble."
"So she has told them that about you?"
"Yes."
"This isn't good. I'm going to need to go down there."
"What if Bella becomes more persistant?"
"Use your judgment Emmett; you're going to do whatever you want anyway."
"You aren't mad, are you?"
"No. I just wish that you had told me that she had friends on the reservation before now."
Carlisle pushed himself off of the couch with a sigh. Emmett could hear him on the phone less than five seconds later. Carlisle had given him the okay to talk to Bella about who he was. How could he tell her without scaring her? Alice came into the room and sat next to him and slipped her arms around his waist. It was times like this when he wished that he could read her mind like Edward could.
"Everything is going to be fine. I see Bella coming over for dinner next week. Esme is going to love her just as much as you do."
Emmett let out the breath he had been holding in a huge whoosh of relief. Should he call her now or should he wait until tomorrow.
"Wait until tomorrow, it's going to be nice out and you can show her who you really are."
He hadn't thought of that. Was he ready to show her what happened when he was exposed to sunlight? He would make that decision when the time came. He just hoped that everything went well. Alice sighed dramatically and he looked down at her. She gave him an accusing look before rolling her eyes. She couldn't blame him for being nervous. He felt like he had just before telling his wife how he felt about her. It wasn't as bad as when he had asked her to marry him, but the waiting was going to drive him insane.
