"Damn keys!" Bella swore as she moved to pick them up out of the puddle she'd dropped them in. Suddenly, Edward was there, pulling the keys out of the ice cold water. He leaned against her truck casually. "How do you do that? Are you a --?" She slammed her mouth shut before she said the word, realizing that he might not know exactly what she was. "You're not a mutant," she whispered. "Not exactly."

Edward straightened up. "How do you know that?"

"What are you?"

"How do you know that I'm not a mutant?"

"It's just an ability I've always had. I always know when there's a mutant near me."

"Bella, let's ditch today. I want to talk to you."

"Where are we going to go?"

"A little place I know. Come on. I think we have a lot to talk about."

She allowed him to lead her to his Volvo and place her gently in the passenger seat. Before she knew it, they were heading down the street, leaving the school behind in no time.

As they hit the outskirts of town Edward put his foot on the gas and sped away.

"Where are you taking her, boy?" Wolverine growled as he followed them on the bike he had stashed on the Blackbird. It was just like the one he had swiped from Cyclops when Rogue had run from the school.

****

Pulling up at the end of the road, Edward and Bella got out of the car. "I'll have to carry you the rest of the way."

She laughed for a moment and then realized that he was actually serious. "How are you going to carry me?"

"On my back. You'd never be able to keep up with me the way I run." He turned his back to her and she reached up, somehow knowing that she could trust him implicitly.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He took off running. He ran so fast that the trees were nothing more than blurs around them.

****

Wolverine pulled up alongside the Volvo and looked around carefully. He picked up Bella's scent and then lost it. But he had Edward's scent strong in his sensitive nose. He headed off in the direction that the vampire had gone.

****

Edward stopped just short of a small meadow that he had found one day while running. It had become a sanctuary of sorts. He stood still waiting for her to slide off his back. She was trying but her muscles wouldn't respond. Her arms and legs stayed locked around him as her head spun almost wildly.

"Bella?"

"I think I need to lie down."

"Oh sorry." He waited another moment but nothing happened.

"I think I need help."

He chuckled softly and gently loosened the stranglehold around his neck. He pulled her around to face him, cradled in his arms as a small child would be. After a moment, he placed her carefully on the springy ferns.

"How do you feel?"

"Dizzy, I think."

"Do you go through this when you teleport?" Her head snapped up. Grabbing her head, she groaned as the vertigo got worse.

"How do you know about that?"

"The professor's mind-control abilities don't work on me or my family. We aren't exactly human. We're not mutants either."

"What are you?" He took her hand to help pull her to her feet.

"Think about it, Bella. The super speed. The pale complexion. The cold skin."

"You're vampires? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" She stormed away from him not noticing the beauty of the meadow they were in at first. In the middle of the meadow she turned around. "Is that why you brought me out here? So you could tell me that you're a mythical creature?"

"I can't help what I am. I read minds. I think that's why the professor's ability didn't work on me. I can't explain it with the others though."

"And how do you know about the teleporting?"

"I saw you standing beside your truck. Alice saw a vision of the accident that was about to happen and I picked it up from her. I ran toward you to push you out of the way but you disappeared."

"So you almost revealed yourself in order to save me?"

He nodded. "And my sister Rosalie really let me have it for that. She wouldn't stop yelling at me in her mind." He chuckled. "I caught images of violence done to my favorite car. Carlisle nipped that one in the bud though."

"She was going to destroy your car?"

"Not the Volvo. She was going to mess with Aston-Martin Vanquish. Not a cheap car."

"Okay. So what makes you think it's safe to tell me your secret?"

"Because the way I see it, you are a trustworthy person. You obviously don't go blabbing secrets to everyone you meet. If you did, you'd be an open book and you just aren't. I see someone I can trust in you." He took a deep breath. "Someone I could spend a lot of time with. Maybe come to care for deeply. I already feel very protective of you. I don't understand this feeling but it's there."

He took a step towards her and was surprised when she didn't back away. He stepped closer still and stopped, smelling something else on the air. He smiled. There was part of her courage. Wolverine was nearby and she knew it.

"He's an excellent tracker isn't he?" She smiled as she said it. "He's always been super protective of me. I don't know why but he is."

"He's got to be one of if not the best tracker I've ever encountered." Edward chuckled. "We both know you're here, Logan. You can come out."

Logan stepped out of the tree line. "Just keeping an eye on the girl, Cullen. I promised her mother."

"You and my grandmother." At Wolverine's puzzled look, she explained. "Raven's at school watching over me. I saw her yesterday."

"I followed you from your house, Bella. I don't know why your grandmother came but maybe it's a good thing that she's here. After all, it would look kind of funny if I followed you around school all the time."

"Logan, there's no need for the extra protection. No one here knows that I'm a mutant. And I don't plan on revealing myself to them either."

"Your mom's worried about you, kid. She has been since the fire rescue. She's afraid you're going to decide that someone else needs to be safe more than you do. I'm just making sure that, at least as long as the professor's here you don't do that."

"Logan, I may not be over a hundred years old but I'm not stupid. I know what can happen to mutants. And usually small towns are the most vicious when it comes down to it." She smiled. "Besides, it looks like I have an extra protector right in front of me."

"I will watch over her, Logan. You have my word that she is safe with me."

"Except on sunny days," Logan growled.

At Bella's puzzled look, Edward took a deep breath and stepped out into the bright sun.

He was sparkling! Sparkling as if his skin was coated with diamonds! She walked closer and reached out a hand, stroking it gently down the side of his face.

A gasp from him made her yank her hand away and Logan stepped closer. "No. It's okay. The warmth of her hand startled me. I didn't mean to frighten you, Bella."

"You didn't frighten me. You startled me when you gasped. That's all."

"I'm going back to the professor. Bella, you be careful. We'll be leaving in a day or two."

"Okay." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Edward, I'll know if you hurt this girl. She's like a daughter to me."

"I understand, Logan. She does tend to bring out protective instincts doesn't she?" Edward's smile was returned by the Wolverine.

Logan left the meadow. Edward led Bella to a fallen log and the two of them sat down.

"Let's talk."