A/n: And thus we continue my quest to get Edward's story caught up with Bella's so that he can tell you what the heck happened in chapter 10.5 of "The TA" because there's so much more going on than Bella realized.

Stephanie Meyer owns most of these characters – The college kids are mine though.

Music:

Dromedary – Cassiopeia's dance

Cold Play – Yes / Chinese Sleep Chant


Class ended and I waited for the other students to leave before I approached Bella. She valued her privacy and I would attempt to give her what little I could. It was inevitable that our relationship would draw some sort of attention though, and while she pretended that it was possible for the most beautiful woman in the department to start dating someone without notice, I knew that she wasn't that naïve. I would protect her reputation as far as I reasonably could be expected to do so, but as soon as I dropped this class I had no intention of hiding my affection for her. So, I waited and pretended that I needed to talk to her as a student, just like everyone else. Truthfully, I longed to be just another human; being a vampire complicated her life needlessly.

I had not thought that my admiration of Bella could grow but it seemed that over the past twenty-four hours it had grown by leaps and bounds. She was no longer a girl but a confident woman. Her skills and knowledge were staggering and the fact that she had overcome her shyness enough to teach made me incredibly proud. There would be no separation from her now, I was even more lost in her than before. As the last student left she lifted her brown eyes to look at me. The tension from our previous conversation had melted away over the course of an hour. I made my way across the room and took her things to carry them to the office.

"It really is a shame that I can't be in your discussion group." I whispered to her.

"Why is that?" She smiled.

"Because I've taken classes similar to this one too many times and the instructor makes all the difference." I briefly hugged her waist with my free arm before releasing her to walk into the hallway.

"Is it interesting enough that you want to forgo pursuing our relationship further?" Her eyes twinkled as she teased me.

"Oh no, being able to be with you is worth sitting through a semester of the most boring literary analysis from a regular, dull, human mind." I fought the urge to lean in close to her as we were now walking down the hallway in plain sight. I settled for walking close enough that our arms nearly made contact causing electricity to arc from her skin to mine. We passed by the computer lab only to find it closed. I glanced at her.

"You can use my office if there's someone there. I have to hurry on to my readings seminar." She tousled her hair a bit. "There is no way you're going to miss the drop/add deadline; I won't allow it."

She wouldn't allow it. If stone could turn to putty, I would have. She led the way back to the closet of an office and I made a mental note that donating to literature departments at colleges might be a good idea; it would be nice if she could have a private office like they had over in the business department. That was a thought that I had to shun from my head if I was going to stick to the rules. It was becoming readily apparent to me that I was going to need to win her heart completely back, marry her, and change her very soon.

Bella got her officemates attention. This one was Candace, one of the ones with a dirty mind. Candace's thoughts shifted immediately from the task that Dr. Stevens had assigned her to less pure avenues. She did pause to notice how closely I was standing to Bella.

Bel-la Swan, you sly little devil you. I do believe that you have a thing for younger men. I will babysit your little Freshman pet anytime you like, and when you're done with him...

Andrew came up behind us in a hurry to get to class. He had forgotten something in the office. Sometimes it could be difficult pretending not to anticipate the next move of absolutely everyone around me. I waited for him to clear his throat.

Ah, the pretty-boy freshman is back again today, with Bella, again. At least she's not crying this time. I wonder what he did. Andrew watched as Bella and I moved further into the cramped space. She flipped on the computer for me and motioned for me to sit down, when I made an error. My arm slipped unconsciously around her waist, craving some sort of physical contact. Andrew noticed.

Did he just... and she smiled and leaned into him. No no no... Bella! Perhaps no one has told her about the rules pertaining to dating students? "Can I talk to you outside?" There is no reason for her to allow such intimate contact with a student, particularly one that young.

Bella excused herself and smiled sheepishly at me. She knew that I'd be listening regardless of their proximity to where I was currently sitting. Candace was engaged in her daydreams so I navigated the screens to change my Literature course as quickly as the computer could handle and then pretended to do something else so that I could listen to the conversation in the outer office. Fortunately, Andrew's mind didn't disgust me.

"Edward?" Edward has to be Edward Cullen, he's the only one on the role and that would place him conveniently in her half of the class. "He's in your section, you're aware of this right?" Andrew took a long look at Bella's face. He could read it better than I was ever able to, that little sister of his had taught him a lot about women. Bella's teeth sunk into her lip and everything clicked in Andrew's too perceptive mind. "You KNEW him! He and the other one waited for you after class. That's Cullen, he's why you flipped out yesterday."

"I didn't flip out." Bella blanched at the comment, she felt that she had kept herself completely under control. Andrew and I knew better. "I was shocked to see his name on the roster that's all. I'm friends with his family and I thought that he and Alice were in Europe." She's lying about that. There must be something serious going on with this guy, does she realize the danger she's put her assistantship in?

"You can't seriously be pursuing a relationship with this guy. I'm sure he's attractive and all if you're in to that GQ model look but he's what, eighteen?" He couldn't fathom what she saw in me, neither could I but I was finished running from her.

"I'm only twenty two, remember?" Bella found this exchange amusing.

"People are going to talk." His voice was grim. "Do you really want to be the grad student who dates the freshman?" She's going to ruin her life for the pretty boy...

"It's not that big of a deal, he's moving over to Dr. Stevens' class as we speak and I'm only four years older than him." Bella's expression changed to one that I knew well, righteous indignation. Andrew didn't catch it and had no clue what was in store for him. "If I were a guy four years wouldn't be a big deal, admit it. You know that's a double standard, right?" I chuckled, not bothering to hide it. Bella's kitten-like rage had been set free.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Andrew had barely finished his statement before Bella's scent was assaulting me as she walked back into the office.

"Find something funny did we?" She leaned over me and put her lips to my ear.

"Nothing at all." I suppressed a groan as she avoided my lips. "It's settled, I'm no longer your student. Does that make you happy?"

"Yes it does."

That's what I thought... Bella's doing the freshman... Candace's thoughts grew louder.

"Are you sure you don't want to just go? You could study English Lit at Oxford, Carlisle has some friends there." Perhaps if we left and went to school together it would be easier for her.

"No! I'm not going to leave the department. I got in here on my own merit and I'm at least going to finish out the semester." She hesitated. "Unless you're not telling me something important."

"No love, nothing to worry about." I was disappointed but this was about her comfort, not mine.

"Then I stay, and you will kindly attempt to prevent yourself from killing Paul." Speaking of Paul, he was staring at her again. Her comment about dismembering his wrist had not caused his desire to do unsavory things to her to wane at all. As a matter of fact the threat had spurned him on, she would fight and he liked that. I hid my disgust.

"Ready to go?" Andrew motioned for Bella that they would be late.

"I suppose so." She had been ready to leave before we got there.

"Well, I am actually done here, so Candace doesn't need to babysit me!" Babysit indeed, I would never hire Candace to babysit, that was a given. "I'll be on my way as well."

I rose and stopped her before she could leave the office. Candace was back to her computer screen, and as soon as Andrew rounded the corner to the hallway door, out of sight, I took a moment to glance at my schedule. Paul had definite plans for the walk to class with Bella and I had to find a way to put a stop to it. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to walk her to class and then make it to mine at an inconspicuous speed.

"I have a class in the biology building. I can't walk you and make it on time." Perhaps this would work. I pulled her gently into me and smoothed the hair back from her face lovingly. Paul watched the tender way I caressed her face intently. I kissed her softly and her knees buckled, she leaned into me for support. When we separated she wavered slightly.

"Be safe love." I smiled down at her and walked away as soon as she was safely balanced. On my way out, I took a moment to nod at Paul as if to say, 'don't try it, she's mine'. I monitored Paul's thoughts on my way to Biology. He would leave her alone for the moment but this was far from over.

Instead of actually paying attention in Biology I busied myself watching Bella through the thoughts of her classmates. Andrew was the easiest to deal with. He thought some not so nice things about me but he was only interested in Bella's well being and that made listening to him much easier. I occasionally jumped over to monitor Paul who seemed to at least halfway focus on the class discussion. Near the end of class he started to formulate some ideas about touching her again. It was fortunate that my class ended half and hour before theirs. I waited for her outside.

She was first out the door. As she exited, her little hand holding the saddlebag from her bike which was filled with books and papers, she smiled at me. She took my hand and I grabbed her saddle bag with my free hand. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. She was happy to see me, and that reaction went straight to my core. Andrew gave her a warning glance on the way out. I knew that she caught it but she didn't react, it was me who reacted. Paul's plan had been thwarted by my presence and I couldn't help but stare murderously at him as he waltzed down the hall. It seemed like I could never leave Bella alone without one form of wolf or another sneaking up on her.

"So, are you off for the day love?" She had mentioned racing this afternoon but if I could help it we would find something much more normal and quiet to occupy ourselves.

"Well, until 7, I have a night class on Tuesdays and Thursdays." A night class, I had forgotten about those, they were quite common in Grad programs. I would definitely be sitting up here tonight whether she wanted me to or not.

"Well, it looks like we have some free time on our hands. Would you like to go pick out a table? It's sunny out but we could head back to the house and look at them on the internet and have one delivered." I suggested. I felt bad about the table; I should have realized that it wouldn't support our weight. She blushed and I couldn't help but tease her just a bit.

"What?" I pretended not to know why she was blushing.

"I was just wondering if you had a quarrel with any other furniture at my place. It would be easier to finish breaking everything you want to replace first." Bella Swan would be my undoing. I pulled her into my chest and pressed her back carefully into the wall with my body. I kissed her until embarrassment overcame her and she pushed me away.

"We should probably consider not making out right outside my office." Her heart was pounding.

"I apologize, but if you're the kind of girl who likes to break the furniture I would imagine that there are few other boundaries." If we could break furniture then surely kissing in public could be acceptable.

"Fine, the furniture stays in tact if you can keep yourself in check in public." She smiled at me as I lost that battle. Part of me wanted to break every single piece of furniture in that apartment and replace it all, and not just because I didn't like the furniture. "By the way, I know what you were doing with Paul this morning."

"I wasn't doing anything with Paul." Just attempting to keep him away from you.

"You were making your territory Edward." She marched off angrily into the office. I couldn't win for loosing. If I told her what Paul had been intending then she most likely wouldn't believe me, or even worse it could affect the way she treated him and make it even harder to work with him. Especially if she got aggressive about him staying away from her because that seemed to initiate the exact opposite reaction. What was I going to do?

I could hear Bella's frustration rise as she spoke to Candace. Apparently I had been the topic of conversation once again. I hadn't been listening properly and ran it back through my mind. Bella would be touchy about that. Candace had referred to me as "man-candy". That was hardly original.

"Does everyone have to put their nose in my business?" She looked up at me as I looked in the doorway.

"Touchy..." Candace's voice took on an annoying sing-song quality and Bella almost bolted from the room. I followed her to the mail room.

"Bella -" I made an effort to at least seem repentant but I had to admit that in this particular case, her anger was amusing. She didn't realize that most of the attention she was receiving was due more to her than me.

"You know I don't like attention and you draw a lot of attention." She sighed heavily, her shoulders fell just a hair as she did. "I'm not used to it anymore. I've spent the past four years trying to dig myself a hole to crawl into and be away from everyone and now suddenly you're here and I'm back in the spotlight. I don't need to be you to know what they're all thinking!" In a burst of fury and violence she slammed her bag and her mail on the table, screamed, and then punched it with both fists.

"Bella, you attract that kind of attention with or without me. You just don't notice it unless I'm around." She never could see what everyone else saw in her, that had not changed, she was just angrier about it.

"I seriously doubt that." Bella's head hung and she continued to pull herself together emotionally.

"Do you want me to leave?" I hated asking this question but if this was that hard for her, then I would go again. To be completely honest, I would pretend to go again but follow her around like a hopeless stalker but she didn't need to know that.

"No, why would I want that?" Bella was once again on the verge of tears. I couldn't help but think that she was making this harder than it had to be.

"This," this relationship, "is seeming to take a bigger toll on you than I'd like. I promise you that I'm not here to make things harder for you, quite the opposite actually, I want to take care of you." I approached her slowly, like a wild animal and placed her remaining bag on the table. She relaxed just a hair at my proximity to her so I took some initiative and made contact, rubbing her back gently.

"I want you to stay, at least for now." Her voice was a broken whisper but she turned around to face me.

My hand wandered from her back to her side and grazed the slightly raised scar. I couldn't help the sharp intake of breath that came through my lips but I bit back the instinctive hiss that would have followed it.

"It's in the past Edward, it might have even happened with you there; I was protected." The sadness was back in her eyes. "I know that it's hard to believe but Jacob loved me as much as you do even though I wasn't capable of returning it. He gave his life for me. He protected me the way that you would have if you had been there. You being in that clearing wouldn't have done any good. What I said yesterday was because I was angry. The physical part of my broken state isn't your fault." I smiled slightly, she was trying to make me feel better.

"Let's go home and buy a table, a sturdier one this time." She smirked.

"Home?" Who's home did she mean?

"Your home. You still have a table, and food." Bella had a point, I followed her to the parking lot gathering my siblings on the way.