Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, any of its characters, or Earth and Venus. Andy Davis does.

AN: Thanks so much for all of your reviews! I'm so excited that people are enjoying this story. Here's my Christmas present to you guys: another chapter. Hope you enjoy it! Happy Holidays to everyone! And now, without further ado...

Ch. 8: Earth and Venus Andy Davis

I heard that the Earth
Had a thing for Venus
Big cities
And those skyscrapers they could
Never turn her head
And it feels the same with you
Yeah, my world gets lonely too

Wherever you are
You're never close enough
Don't be afraid of love
Yeah, keep waiting
And I can't get in
If you never open up
Don't be afraid of love
Yeah keep waiting

You push me away
And you say
You'll never love again
Oh you can see
It's a beautiful thing
But I see it's frightening
So you go build a wall
And i'll stay here til it falls

Later that night I found myself lingering in the shadows of the forest outside her house, watching the single light in the window, waiting for it to be clicked off.

Charlie had turned in well over two hours ago but Bella was still awake. Checking my watch, I frowned. It was a little after midnight. She'd have to get up for school in a few short hours. She needed to sleep; rest was necessary for humans to stay healthy.

What could she be doing up there? For the hundredth time today, I wished that I could hear her thoughts, to know what she was thinking. But as before, her mind was a closed book. I snorted in frustration.

I knew she had polished off her homework an hour ago, but what was she up to now?

My curiosity was just too much for me. I climbed up the tree that would give me the best view into her bedroom. Feeling a bit too much like a Peeping Tom, I promised myself that once I saw what she was doing, I'd resume my post on the forest floor.

Settling against the truck, I gazed across the yard to find her reading in bed. How…human. I chuckled to myself at my overactive imagination. I had no idea what I supposed she would be doing, but finding her doing something so normal made me laugh at myself.

I shifted on the branch, causing a limb to snap.

I froze. Most humans wouldn't have even noticed the sound, but Bella…well Bella seemed to not be like most humans.

Sure enough, her head snapped to the window at the sound. Setting her book down, she hesitantly made her way to the window, sliding it open. I crawled back along the branch, hiding in the shadows.

Bella peered into the darkness, but I was certain I couldn't be seen, even if she had enhanced vision. The distance was too great and it was far too dark.

After listening for several moments, she shook her head slightly before shutting the window.

I didn't miss the slight click as she locked it.

Good. It was nice to know she at least had a little sense. Although a measly lock couldn't keep any of my kind out, it was a start.

I watched as she walked over to the lamp, probably to turn it off. She reached out for the switch, but her hand paused as she hesitated. She shook her head again, a wry smile on her face, before clicking it off, shrouding her room in darkness.

Although I could still see perfectly.

I watched as she crawled into bed, pulling the covers up to her shoulders. Taking that as my cue, and satisfied that she'd be safe for the night, I jumped to the ground, turning to head back into the forest. I needed to hunt a bit before school.

I had not moved twenty feet, however, when it happened.

Glimpses of dreams not belonging to Charlie.

I froze, waiting. They became stronger, more defined the longer I waited.

Bella.

Spinning around, I ran back until I was standing at the edge of the woods.

Images played out in my mind. Images of Bella with her mom and dad, memories from a past birthday party, glimpses of childhood scenes flashed through her head and into mine. It was like watching home videos of Bella's past.

My eyes widened at the next image.

Two familiar golden eyes were peering back at me from her mind.

She was dreaming of me.


I watched over Bella all that night. And the next night. And the one after that. My every thought was filled with making sure she was safe, and watching over her as she slept was the only way I could put my mind at ease. During the day, we could all look out for her at school, but at night I resorted to protecting her from the trees.

And I couldn't help but be drawn in by her dreams. It was the only time I had any idea of what was flowing through her head, any clue as to what she was thinking. Satisfyingly enough, images of myself popped into her dreams quite frequently. Sometimes it was conversations we'd had at school, or imagined conversations between the two of us. Sometimes it was just a glimpse of me. It didn't matter what appeared, I was just content that I was on her mind, if only subconsciously.

Carlisle and I had discussed this issue of me only hearing Bella's thoughts when she was asleep at great length and had run through several theories. We decided that she was developing a shield talent, or something akin to it, which was a rare ability indeed. We'd also come to the conclusion that during the day, whether she was aware of it or not, she must put up that shield, which is why I couldn't hear her thoughts. But at night, when she was sleeping, her guard was lowered and it was therefore down, allowing me to peer into her mind. I doubted Bella was aware of this talent, and figured that she was doing this without even knowing it; that somehow her subconscious was protecting her.

Unfortunately, out of obligation, Carlisle had to pass this information along to Aro as well. If it were up to me, Aro would be left in the dark in regard to anything having to do with Bella.

I also wondered why my sibling's talents weren't blocked from her. Perhaps it was the nature of their abilities, something to do with mine being a mental thing, or maybe it was because she trusted them more. I wanted to test that theory. If I could get Bella to trust me, perhaps her shield would automatically lower, allowing me at least a peek into her thoughts during the day.

But I had little success at school. Every other member of my family had managed to get Bella to open up to them, especially Alice. But with me, it was…interesting. She seemed to waver between wanting to let me in and throwing up a wall between us. Some days led to insightful conversations, others, only the necessary talking required to complete an assignment. I had never wanted to hear her thoughts more than now. It was killing me. I had no idea what she was thinking. The only answer I could come up with for her reactions toward me was that I had really spooked her that first day and now she was unsure of me.

My only solace was that I was the one she dreamed about. Often.

My siblings may have her attention during daylight hours, but her nights belonged to me. I never ventured any closer to her house than the edge of the clearing, but it was enough for me. For now.

Something about Bella drew me in like none before. I didn't even technically know her that well, and yet, it had felt like she belonged to me as much as I belonged to her. I don't believe I was in love with her or anything. But I felt like we had a deep connection, deeper than most people experience in a lifetime. And I wasn't about to lose that.

Two weeks later, I managed to tear myself away from her house long enough to clean up and change for school.

I had just stepped through the doorway of my house when I saw my family gathered in the living room.

"What's going on?" I asked, slightly worried by the expression on each of my families' faces.

"Oh thank goodness Edward, we were just about to call you," Esme spoke first.

I stepped further into the room. "Carlisle?" I looked to my father, but his frown didn't tell me anything good either.

"We have a slight problem Edward, something I was just made aware of."

Oh no, Bella. What happened? Is she okay?

I was ready to dash straight back out the door when Alice stopped me.

"Edward wait. She's all right. For now at least."

For now? What the hell was going on?

"Will someone just tell me what's happening?" I practically shouted, frustrated by the lack of information.

"It seems that another group of vampires has settled in the region," Carlisle finally explained, "Ones that don't adhere to our diet."

My eyes widened. This was not good.

"Jasper, Emmett and I are going to try to track them down," my father continued to explain. "We need to arrange a meeting with them. They need to understand that they cannot hunt in this area."

"They've already hunted here then?" I asked, horrified at the possibility of Bella becoming their next victim.

"Yes, a bit north of here. The humans are blaming animals for the attacks, but the signs are obvious. It's vampires."

I nodded curtly. "I'm heading back to Bella's."

"At least change your clothes first Edward," Alice stopped my rush to the door. She zoned out for several seconds, checking the future. "She'll be fine. We still have a role to play. The other students can't become suspicious of us already."

I was torn. Now I really didn't want to let Bella out of my sight, even for the few seconds it would take me to change. But I already had a plan in place to keep Bella close to me whether she wanted to be or not.

Alice's gaze became unfocused again as she scanned my now changed future. She snapped back to the present, a wide grin on her face.

"That'll work. But I'm driving."

I frowned. I didn't really want any of my siblings in on this with me.

"I'm coming with you. Besides, she likes me better."


A few minutes later and my family was ready to go. Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett were heading out to track these nomad vampires, Esme was sticking around Forks in case they made some appearance here so she could call Carlisle and my brothers back to town, and Rosalie, Alice and I were heading to school, to keep an eye on Bella and uphold the charade.

But we had a quick pit stop on the way.

While Alice drove my car to Bella's at a painfully slow rate, I took the shortcut, dashing through the trees. Checking that Charlie was gone and Bella was still in the house, I darted to her car and quickly made a few adjustments.

Satisfied with my work, I ran down the street to where Alice was parked just around the corner, where we could still see Bella but she couldn't see us.

Now we just had to wait.

A few moments later, Bella emerged from her house and climbed into her truck. We heard her try to start the engine, but with no success. She tried a few more times, but each time it sounded like it was dying. Rosalie was cringing at the sound while I smiled triumphantly.

Phase one complete.

Bella hopped out of the car and slammed the door shut. She muttered a curse word, which made me laugh it sounded so out of place coming from her.

Sighing heavily, she slipped her arm through her book bag and began shuffling down the sidewalk, apparently deciding to walk to school.

Perfect.

Alice swung my car onto her street and made it look like we just happened to be driving by. She suddenly slammed on the brakes a few feet passed Bella and rolled down her window.

"Bella? What are you doing?"

Bella's eyes widened in surprise before she made her way over to the car.

"Oh hey Alice," she peered into the car to see who else was here, "Hey Rose, um, hey Edward." She gave me a little wave in the backseat before turning back to Alice, blushing faintly. "My car won't start." She jerked her thumb back toward her house and the orange monstrosity sitting in front of it. Alice followed her motion, her eyebrows raised. "Bella, it doesn't look like that car's started for years."

"Hey, don't hate on the car!" Bella said in mock anger, before laughing beautifully.

"Hop in," Rose interjected. "We'll give you a ride."

Bella looked torn. She glanced between our car and the sidewalk, nibbling on her lower lip.

"Alright. Thanks," she opened the back door and slid into the seat beside me. I offered her a warm smile, which she reciprocated. The second she slammed the door shut, Alice hit the gas, causing Bella to grab onto the nearest thing to steady herself, which just happened to be my arm.

Bella instantly realized what she was holding in a death grip, and blushing furiously, gave me an embarrassed smile before releasing my arm.

I smiled reassuringly, which helped alleviate her blush a bit.

"We can just pick you up everyday," Alice said, interrupting our little moment.

"Oh no, that's really not necessary," Bella rushed out.

"Don't be silly! What else are you going to do? Walk?"

"Um…"

"That's what I thought. Besides, we drive right by your house on the way to school, so it's really no problem at all."

"Well in that case, thanks. At least until I get my truck looked at."

I couldn't help but smirk. That truck wouldn't be running again if I had any say in the matter. This had worked out perfectly. Now we'd have an excuse to pick her up and drop her off each day. We just needed to find some new schemes to keep her close during out of school hours. We weren't going to let her out of our sight until these new vampires were long gone.

Alice must have seen my plans because the next thing out of her mouth was a step in the right direction.

"So Bella, about that shopping trip…"


Our excuse for the absent members of our family was a camping trip. A guys extended weekend. And that the only reason I wasn't there was because I had a lot of schoolwork to catch up on.

Bella and I walked to first period together, while I tried to figure out more ways to keep her close. Alice and Rosalie had already planned a shopping trip for this afternoon, but that was only one day. As much as they might love it, they couldn't take her shopping every day.

"Are you okay Edward?" Bella questioned softly from beside me as we headed down the hallway together.

"What? Oh yeah, sorry. Just thinking about something," I mentally berated myself. Bella actually seemed to want to talk today and here I am blowing it by ignoring her.

"So where'd you get that old truck anyways?" I asked the first thing that popped into my head.

"Oh, a friend of my dads. He got a new truck and sold his old one to my dad." She saw my questioning look and rushed on. "It works perfectly fine," she added defensively. "Or at least it usually does," she muttered. "Billy's son fixed it up for me before they handed it over."

I suddenly found myself hoping that Billy's son was either married or 30. I didn't want anyone else catching Bella's eye…

"Maybe it's time to start thinking about a new car."

"Hey! I love my truck. It's not going anywhere."

I shrugged my shoulders as we entered the classroom. "Suite yourself then. But you're probably right, it really won't be going anywhere. I don't expect it to be moving from that driveway ever again," I said, jokingly. "Maybe you could build a little museum around it. Ancient vehicles from long, long ago."

Bella threw me a playful scowl before collapsing into her chair. "Not funny Edward Cullen."

I chuckled at what she probably supposed was a menacing glare.

The bell rang at that moment and Mr. Berty began class, putting an end to our playful banter for the moment. I cursed the stupid clock. This was the most comfortable conversation we'd had yet, and of course it just had to be ruined by class.

But the next words out of the teacher's mouth made me grin.

"Your next assignment will be a project over Jane Eyre. A partner project."

My lips quirked into a smirk.

Perfect. Just perfect.


So, whadya think? I'm trying to set things up for a pick up in the plot, and some of your questions and things you've been wondering about should be answered soon....And for those of you reading I'd Lie, I'm trying to get the next chapter to you guys before Christmas, but I might not have time to get it out until after (I'm trying to make it as perfect as possible...). Anyways, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Western