At last, it was Monday.

The weekend had whizzed by ridiculously quick. It was one of the greatest weekends I'd ever had. I hung out at Jason's with him and Kathy playing X-Box for hours on end; we never got a call from Keith and the gang to meet up somewhere so we where free to do whatever we wanted. Though I didn't want to weekend to come to an end, at the same time I did. I did because I couldn't wait to see Bella again.

A shy smile crept onto my face as I slipped on my black Van's. I threw on my jacket that hung off of the bed post and stepped out of the guest room. I strolled down the hallway that lead to the kitchen and saw Kathy slouched on a stool with her back to me.

I quieted my footsteps and extended my arms out to her. Sneaking up on her, I grabbed at her tiny waist and let out a low scream. She shrieked in response and toppled sideways off of the stool. Before she could make contact with the ground, I caught her and placed her on her feet. She spun unexpectedly, and continuously slapped at my arms and chest. "Edward, you freaking asshole! You scared the crap out of me, you retard!" she glowered, tears pooling in her angry azure eyes.

"Kathy, it was a joke. Aw, don't cry it was just me." I reassured her, pulling her to me in a tight hug. I squished her tiny frame against mine until I felt that she was calm enough to be let go.

When I did let go, she turned away from me and stalked towards the living room. I rolled my eyes and followed after her. Women.

She sat on the couch with her knees tucked under her chin and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. When she saw me appear at the entryway she turned her head away from me, allowing her blonde hair to conceal her face. I lightly plopped down on the cushion beside her. I wrapped my arms around her tiny body as she struggled to get my arms removed from around her. She gave up as she noticed that her strength was no where in comparison to mine.

I lay my head over hers and sighed. "I was just playing, Kathy. What's wrong? You didn't need to get so upset."

She shrugged and removed her arms from around her legs to wipe at her tear streaked face. "Kathy, look at me." I said, shifting her in my arms so that she was now facing me. "What's wrong?"

She sighed and slumped her shoulders, looking up at me from behind her damp eyelashes, "nothing."

"Katherine, tell me what's bothering you. You're never like this. And don't lie to me, I know you too well." I said in a serious voice.

She bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath from her nose. "First, I don't like being snuck up on. And second, I was...thinking about stuff and then you just come in and interrupt me...not to mention that you scared the crap out of me."

I shook my head. "You know I'm always doing something like that to you, but I'm sorry that I scared you. And what where you thinking about that had you so caught up?"

At my words, a fierce blush covered her entire face as she gazed up at me with wide eyes. Her expression reminded me of Bella's but Kathy's was even more innocent. "You don't need to know that." She mumbled in reply. I raised a questioning eyebrow at her, waiting for her to continue.

She let out a huff of air as her body deflated into the couch cushions and partly into my side. "Fine, I'll tell you. But please, promise that you won't go crazy on me."

"I can't keep that promise. It depends on what you're going to tell me."

She waved her hand at me to be quiet, "ugh fine, whatever, I'll tell you...so, um there's this guy-"

Without thinking, I interrupted her as my protective instincts kicked in. "What?! You're not supposed to be thinking about a boy and your age! You're like twelve!"

"What the hell, Edward, chill your Kool-Aid. I'm old enough to have...feelings for guys, you know. And for your information, I'm fourteen not twelve!"

"That's still way too young." I said in a tight voice.

She rolled her eyes at me and flipped her hair, "no it's not. Get over it. And I'm not telling you anything else if you keep reacting this way."

I clenched my jaw in rage. My little Kathy likes a boy. How fucking horrible. She can't have feelings for someone, that's just...no, it's impossible. I don't like this; I prohibit her to have a boyfriend until she's about thirty. Yeah, thirty sounds about right...wait, I'm not her blood brother and I can't tell her what to do. Fuck my life. But Jason will side with me, I know he will. "Fine, continue on about this boy you like oh so much." I scoffed.

"I never said I liked him...and gladly." She grinned, "Okay, well I met him at the diner down by the hardware store when I was with Haley. He was there with a group of his friends and when he saw me, I don't know I just felt something...as if I was meant to be there, and meet him. I don't know, but it was great. He even came up to me and started talking to me...and heaskedmeoutfortonight." She rushed through the last couple of words, so I couldn't catch them.

"Excuse me? What was that last part?"

She averted my gaze and fiddled with the tips of her hair, "that um...he asked me out for tonight." She mumbled, but this time I caught every word.

I took many deep breaths before I could respond. I was practically seeing red. "And you said?"

"I-I said yes..." She trailed off, staring at me warily.

My eyes bulged and practically popped out of their sockets. "You said what?! Why would you agree to go on a date with a guy you just met?! I haven't even met him yet...and neither has Jason for that matter since you haven't even told him about the little fucker!" I cracked my knuckles menacingly as I mulled over the things I could do to scare that fucker away.

"Edward, calm down." Kathy said softly, grabbing my hands in both of hers. "I'm really excited for tonight, so please, if you love me then you won't ruin this for me. If all goes well tonight, I think there can actually be something between him and I."

Shit. My little sister's going on her first date tonight. I couldn't help it when the grief washed through me and positioned itself on my face, causing a chuckle from Kathy.

"Why do you look so sad, Edward? It's no big deal."

I gaped at her, "no big deal?! You're going on your first date tonight...you're growing up way too fast."

"That's sweet, big brother, but I'm really excited. So please, for my sake, be civil tonight when you meet him. Please, don't ruin this for me...and can you tell Jason for me? I don't want to die just yet."

I nodded, still quite depressed. "Yeah, I'll tell him on our way to school." I sighed, getting up from the couch. The rest of the morning passed by in a blur. When it was finally time to leave for school, Jason emerged from his room and walked out of the house with me following. In the few minute ride to school, I explained to him about Kathy's...situation. And it took almost all of his willpower to not pop a U-turn and speed back home to confront Kathy. But at least he took it better than I had. He was just angry that she hadn't told him about it sooner. He was entirely all right with the fact that she was growing up and going on her first date that night. How absurd.

When we reached the school, we headed towards The Cold One's table, and we caught up with the guys. I informed them on everything that had happened in the past few days...well except for everything that had to do with Bella. Keith stated that Jason and I had been distant from the rest of them lately, and that we hadn't been meeting up with them like usual at the diner. So we reluctantly guaranteed to meet with them more often.

When the bell had finally rung, I walked with Jason down the halls until we reached our different classes. We bumped fists and I made my way towards Biology. I arrived to class about two minutes before the late bell and sat in my usual seat. I allowed my eyes to roam around the room and land on the door. In second's time, it swung open and there appeared the most amazing woman I'd ever met. Bella walked in with her bag slung over one shoulder and thumping against her opposite leg with every step she took. She wore dark wash jeans that hugged her legs miraculously, and had her arms tucked into the pockets of her snuggly black hoodie. Ugh, I want to hug her, I laughed to myself.

When she caught me ogling, a breathtaking smile broke across her flawless face and I couldn't help but return the smile. My crooked grin flashed brightly as she somewhat skipped towards her seat beside me. As she bent forward to place her bag on the floor between us, she also leaned into me, placing her warm lips to my cheek. "Hi, Edward."

"Hey, Bella. How are you?" I asked softly, gazing at her as she situated herself and then turned her body towards me.

"I'm good; my weekend was dreadfully long and boring though. I couldn't wait for today." She grinned, bouncing slightly in her seat. "And how was your weekend?"

I played with the hem on my long sleeve shirt as I responded, "well, for me it went by extremely quick. But I couldn't wait for today either...for some reason, I love being in school now." I said kindly whilst beaming down at her. "Oh and the fact that Kathy's going on her first date today is just...fabulous." I said sarcastically, the irritation bubbling up in my chest.

Bella tilted her head to the side questioningly, "who's Kathy?"

"My li-I mean Jason's little sister. She's fourteen years old and she's going on a date tonight!...and on a Monday, who goes out on a Monday?" I rambled, running an anxious hand through my hair.

Bella placed a small hand over my sleeved forearm. I looked down at her when she did so and instantly calmed when I saw her soft and caring expression. "Edward, calm down. You're clearly very protective of her, as if she was your own sister, but she's fourteen, let her have a life."

"But she's Kathy! I can't just give her up to some boy I've never met." I whined, dropping my head with a thump onto the cool marble of the table in front of me.

Bella's laughter was like wind chimes, a sound of beauty and marvel. "If this is you reacting to your sister going on a date, then I can just imagine you when your own daughter tells you she has a boyfriend."

Many different emotions flashed through me all at once, "I'll kill the kid that even steps one foot near my daughter."

Bella sighed and shook her head in incredulity. I laughed at her reaction and lifted my head off of the table to face the front of the room. Right on time, Banner explained today's lesson and gave us our assignments. "So remember kids, the report is due next class, finish as much as you can today. And whatever you don't complete, you'll most probably have to exchange numbers and go to each others houses."

A chorus of complaints erupted out of nowhere but Bella and I remained quiet. She glanced towards me and smiled. "Want to work on it at your house?"

My brow furrowed in worry. I can't tell her that I moved out of my step father's house...but I can tell her that he's out of town, right? I don't think Jason would mind me bringing Bella over tonight.

"My dad's out of town for a while on a business trip, so I'm staying over at Jason's. I don't think he'd mind if I brought you over, is that all right with you though?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, that's perfectly fine." We quickly exchanged numbers so that I could text her the address after school.

The rest of the day seemed to pass by as if in slow motion. I was looking forward to after school a little too much that I crashed into open lockers numerous of times. I hastily apologized to the owners as I rushed away all the while rubbing at my reddened forehead. I also thankfully found Jason before lunch and asked him if he was cool with Bella going over his house tonight, and of course the guy never let's me down.

When school finally came to an end, I made my way as quickly as possible to Jason's Integra and sent Bella his address. He met me at the car soon after and we where off to the house.

It was now a little past six pm as I sat on the couch with my right leg shaking nervously. I kept running my hands through my hair, anticipating Bella's arrival. "Ed, chill the fuck out. You're acting as if you've never met her before. You're just going to work on a report...and you've already seen her out of school, so I don't know why you're fretting so damn much."

"Ugh, I don't know either." I said, taking a deep breath to placate myself.

Right then, the door bell rang. I stumbled towards the door and threw it open. There stood Bella looking as beautiful as ever. She had removed her black hoodie, and now had on a midnight blue cashmere sweater that hugged her curves perfectly. I almost drooled. "Hey Bella, come in."

I stepped aside and let her enter the house. As she passed me I caught a whiff of strawberry radiating of her. Ahh, amazing. She suddenly turned towards me, but her expression was altered. It was guilty and slightly uncomfortable. "Um, Edward...I kind of got bored at home and accidentally did the entire report by myself...but I didn't want to stay home so I kind of came over anyway...I can leave if you want..."

I was doubled over in laughter by the time she finished. "You sure do surprise me, Miss Swan. And of course you're not going to leave...now we don't have to do any work. We can do something else, that's not school related."

She beamed up at me with her bright chocolate orbs. "Great."

I nodded and led her towards the living room where Jason and recently arrived Kathy sat watching TV. When they heard us enter, the both stood up from the couch and faced Bella. "Bells!" Jason greeted stridently, stepping up to her and placing a chaste kiss onto her forehead. "This is my little sister, Kathers." He said motioning towards Kathy.

She glared at her brother and then turned towards Bella, smiling widely. "It's Katherine, but you can call me Kathy...so you're the famous Bella?"

Oh, that evil child.

"I don't know about famous, but yes, I am Bella." She chuckled nervously. "Also, I hear that you're going on your first date today. Mind if I help you get ready?"

Kathy blushed fiercely and stuttered out a reply. "U-uh yeah, I'd like t-that."

"All right then. I'm not as good as my cousin in the beauty department but I think I've picked up a few things from her throughout the years." She smiled.

"Do you mind if we start now? Cause my date's kind of coming in about an hour." Kathy said quietly.

Bella's eyes widened, "an hour?! Crap we better start, now. Lead me to your room."

At that, the girls disappeared into the hallway and into Kathy's room.

I sighed and plummeted onto the couch beside my best friend. As he watched TV, I closed my eyes and threw my head back against the cushions, deciding to take a short nap as Bella prepared Kathy for her date.

Stephen stood there in the shadows of a green and brown covered forest with his left hand curled around a hunting knife. His expression was twisted and taunting as he leisurely took small steps back as light began to creep up the sky and illuminate a single spot behind him. He stepped aside and gave me a clear view of what was being elucidated. Bella lay in a heap at his feet; she had bloody scratches along her arms and a few on the side of her neck.

I could hear her low whimpers and pleads of protests as he bent his body down towards her. He seized her by the hair and tugged her face up to look into his eyes. Without prior notice, Stephen slammed Bella's face onto his and roughly made her lips move against his. He shoved his tongue into her mouth forcefully as her feeble fists pounded against his chest in attempt to get him away from her.

I roared in fury as I tried to move my feet forward and discontinue the repulsion before me. But it felt as if my feet where frozen in place. My body wouldn't move an inch. All I could control was my voice, eyes and thoughts. "No, Stephen! You motherfucker, no! STOP IT!"

He removed his vile face from Bella's and turned his head towards me in a sneer. "Oh, you want me to stop now don't you, Edward? Okay, I'll stop. I'll just end it all.."

As those words escaped his teeth, he seized Bella once again, but this time by the nape of her neck and lifted her in the air with just one arm. "I'll end it, Edward...just how you want me to."

Stephen's left hand went flying up towards Bella's body. In that instant, he sunk the knife deep into her stomach and dropped her to the floor.

"No, Bella, no!" I cried in anguish at her fading silhouette.

"...No, Stephen! STOP!" I shot up off of the couch with sweaty palms. I glanced around wildly and saw Jason standing beside me with worry etched upon his face.

"Ed, are you okay? It was just a dream bro, don't worry. It's going to be fine." He placed a hand on my shoulder, trying to soothe me. I held my breath as I fell back onto to couch. I cradled my head in my hands and pressed my fingertips tightly to my temples.

"I know. I'm fine. Sorry about that." I apologized in a defeated voice.

"Want to talk about it?"

I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose. "No, I don't. Are the girls done yet?"

"Yes, actually we are." Bella's smooth voice interjected. With one glance at my face, she was by my side. "Edward, what happened?"

"Nothing, I fell asleep and had a bad dream." I replied curtly.

The worry never left her eyes as she nodded and turned away, heading back towards the hallway. She stood at the entrance of the living room, and began to speak once again. "Boys, I hereby present to you, Katherine Cooper."

The fourteen year old girl that appeared beside Bella could no longer be called a little girl. She was a young lady. And she looked beautiful.

Kathy's curled golden hair was tied back in a half pony tail away from her fresh smoky-eyed complexion. She wore a black halter dress that tightened at her middle and fell loose by her thighs in gentle waves, with small black ballerina shoes, or whatever they were called, placed on her feet.

Her full attire was marvelous except the top of her dress. It had a plunging neckline. Jason and me shared a subjective glance and at the same moment spoke up in disapproving voices. "Go change."

Kathy's face was heartbreaking at our words. "I look...bad?"

Jason immediately stepped forward and placed one of his hands against his little sister's face. "No no, of course not, Kathers. You look beautiful...it's just the neckline...too much boobage exposure for your first date."

Katherine blushed fiercely as Bella winked at her. "That means don't change. You're staying like that and Landon's going to love it."

Now it was my turn to interpose. "Landon?"

Kathy shrugged, "Yeah, that's his name." As she was saying this, the door bell rang and she skipped to go answer it. We all followed after her in curiosity as she swung the door open in excitement.

Standing at the doorstep with a bouquet of red roses, and dressed in black slacks and a red dress shirt, was Landon. Landon Sinclair.