Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

A/N: I want to thank everybody for their reviews. There are too many to thank individually, but I really appreciate it.

Chapter 10: Tanya

Bella threw her pencil down. Stupid math. She knew that the math wasn't the real reason she was having a problem with her homework. The problem was that she didn't want to think about the real reason and it kept nudging at her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about her confrontation with Tanya. She remembered the hurt look on Edward's face as she had walked away today. Thinking about it now brought about a fresh wave of pain. She had had a chance with Edward. He had wanted to be with her and now Tanya had crushed that chance. She had finally realized that she wasn't as afraid of Tanya as she was of giving Tanya a reason to be nasty to Edward. Growling softly she turned back to her math homework. She jumped at the sudden knock on the door. "Coming." She pulled the door open and was greeted by Edward's pleading eyes. "Edward. You shouldn't…I have homework…"

"Bella, please." He took a step closer. She shook her head. She opened her mouth to tell him he should go, but was cut off when he closed the distance and pressed his lips against hers. She gasped and tensed slightly before her legs gave way and she melted. He wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling. He pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Are you okay?" She nodded. "If I let you go are you going to fall?"

"Probably," she whispered. He chuckled and guided her over to her bed.

"Sit." She sat down and he sat next to her. He looked down at his hands. He seemed to be trying to formulate what he was going to say. "We need to talk." She waited. "I was so freaked out today because I couldn't figure out what I did wrong to cause you to run away from me like that. I talked to Alice and she brought up Tanya." He looked at her quickly then looked back down. "I assume that Tanya made those marks on your arm. And I assume she talked to you." Tears began to well up in his eyes. "Bella, I'm sorry. I didn't think that she would- this is my fault." She took his hand.

"Edward."

"Bella, I won't let Tanya do anything to you." Bella blinked back tears.

"Maybe we should just," she choked slightly on her words, "see other people." Edward looked stricken.

"Bella, I don't want to see other people," he held up his hand when it looked like she was going to interrupt, "and I know you don't either. Alice said that you liked me."



"Maybe Alice needs to keep her mouth shut," Bella muttered. "Edward, you can't control Tanya unless you're planning on trailing her 24/7. All she wants is for me to stay away from you. It would be easier if…" He grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"Is that really what you want?" She shook her head.

"I don't want to give her a reason to do anything to you."

"You're worried about me? Bella, don't. I'll worry about me. I'm not going to let Tanya get in the way of us." She leaned in closer to him. He brushed his lips against hers softly.

"Us…" she whispered. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer to her. He ran his tongue along her lips and she parted them, inviting him in. A soft moan escaped from her throat as his tongue explored her mouth. The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity. When it became necessary for Bella to breathe she pulled back reluctantly. "Edward."

"Bella," Alice came in and dropped her purse on the floor. She paused when she saw Edward and Bella sitting on the bed together.

"Hi, Alice."

"Hey." Bella saw Alice bounce a little with excitement. "I was going to tell you about Edward." Bella looked back at Edward.

"What about Edward?"

"I assume he's already talked to you about it. He called me today. He was upset that you ran away, but that's clearly not a problem now." Alice pulled some clothes out of her dresser and grabbed her toothbrush. "I'm going to go stay at Jasper's tonight." She winked at Edward. He blushed slightly and cleared his throat. She picked up her bag up. "See you tomorrow. Have fun." As soon as the door shut behind her, Edwards lips were at Bella's jaw.

"What would you like to do with our evening?" he whispered. She shuddered slightly.

"I don't know. We could watch a movie." He smiled.

"Do I get to pick?"

"Of course." He jumped up off her bed and scanned her movie collection. He pulled down Pride and Prejudice from her Jane Austen collection. "How's this one?"

"I like it, but it's a chick flick. I think Alice has Nightmare on Elm Street." Edward feigned shock.

"Horror movies terrify me." She laughed.



"Don't worry. I'll protect you." He smiled and put the movie in before coming back to lay on the bed with her.

"So," Bella fidgeted. "What are we?"

He looked at her, confused. "Hmm?"

"Are we…together now?"

"I hope so. I really like you Bella." She wrapped her arms around him. She still couldn't get her worries about Tanya to stop nudging her, but they did subside a bit when she was by Edward's side. She knew her paranoia would hit her full force tomorrow when they went off to their respective classes. She believed that Edward would protect her, but she also knew that he couldn't be with her all the time. She would just have to be careful.

Edward kissed the top of her head. "What are you thinking?" She figured it would upset him to know that she was worrying about Tanya so she plucked the next thought on her mind.

"I really like you too." She laid her head on his chest. They laid and watched the movie in silence enjoying each other's presence.

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Bella opened her eyes slightly. Sunlight was filtering through the window. She felt Edward move beside her and she snuggled closer to him. She smiled and closed her eyes again. "Bella," his lips brushed over her neck. "Time to get up."

"No." She pulled the covers up over her head.

"Bella, class." She opened her eyes to look at the clock. 7:30. Stupid clock. She rolled over to face him and kissed him softly.

"Thanks for staying over last night."

"No problem. Sorry I fell asleep on you like that." He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. She wrapped her arms around him.

"It's okay. I figured you must have had a hard day yesterday."

"It was long, with all the auditions and I have more. I'm also an AI in a music theory class this year." He looked at the clock. "Which I'm almost late for." He kissed her then stood and stretched. She also got up and came around to hug him.

"Will I see you again tonight?" He smiled softly.

"I would love that. Should we go out, or should we stay in. I can think of plenty of things we could do in." He smiled suggestively.



"Maybe we should go out." His face fell a little. "Sorry, Edward. I really do like you I just don't want to rush things."

"I understand. I'm fine with waiting until you're ready. Can I at least sleep over?"

"Yes, I don't mind that." He kissed her.

"When do your classes end today?"

"Four."

"I get done at 5 so should I just come back by here then?" Bella nodded.

"It'll give Alice time to make me pretty." He laughed.

"You don't need Alice's help with that. Not that it'll change anything, but tell Alice I said that." He grabbed his jacket. "I'll see you around 5:15." They kissed once more at the door before he left. She stood and stared after him until he disappeared around a corner. Holy crow. She was dating Edward Cullen. She shut the door and got ready for class. She was still floating when she got to her first class. She didn't even care that she was three minutes late.

"Hey," James whispered to her. "You didn't run into me this morning."

"Did you want me to?"

"I can't start my day without it." Bella suppressed her laughter and tried to focus on what the teacher was saying. English meant very little next to the thought of waking up next to Edward. After class James snatched her bag up before she could get it. "You seem distracted today. Does it have something to do with a guy?"

"Edward." Bella said in a slightly dreamy tone. James nodded.

"Ah, I understand." He sounded disappointed. "So I take it things are going well." It was a minute before Bella realized that they were headed in the direction of her next class.

"Things are fine. Isn't your class in the other direction?"

He shrugged. "I have time to take a detour. I don't mind." She slipped her arm through his.

"Thanks, James." He looked down at their linked arms and the corners of his mouth turned up in a grin.

"No problem. So…is it official? Are you and Cullen an item?"

"I think so. It seems like we are. We don't have to talk about this if it upsets you."

"Bella, it doesn't. As long as he makes you happy I can deal with it." Even though he knew he could make her happier. They had stopped in front of the building her class was in.



"Thanks for walking me James. We should hang out again sometime soon."

"That would be fun." He handed her a paper with his number on it. "I'll see you later Bella." She nodded. He turned and headed in the direction of his next class. She watched him walk away for a minute before turning to head into the building. Tanya's face was inches from hers.

"What did I tell you about staying away from Edward?" Gasping, Bella turned to run, but found that she was surrounded by Katie and a few of Tanya's other friends. She cried out as Tanya's fingers tangled in her hair. She began to haul Bella toward the back of the building. Bella tried to break free, but Katie had a tight hold on her arm. Crap. She had just gotten Edward to like her and now she was most definitely going to die.

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James left Bella and headed towards his building. He reached in the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his headphones then dug deeper for his Mp3 player. His brow furrowed when he came up empty. Dammit. The thing was so small he wouldn't be surprised if it had fallen out of his pocket. He began to head back to where he had dropped Bella off, retracing his steps. As he neared the building he looked up and was puzzled when he saw a group of girls walking away with Bella. One of them had her arm around Bella's waist. She hadn't mentioned that she had a slew of friends, but what did he really know about Bella anyway. Still, there was something about one of them, the strawberry blond that bugged him. He just couldn't put his finger on it. A small glint on the ground caught his eye and, smiling, he bent to pick up his fallen Mp3 player. With it, he turned and headed back towards his class. He slid into a seat one row up from where Edward Cullen was sitting. This was the one class he had with Cullen. He sat and stared at the back of Edward's head. The feeling that there had been something off about that group of girls was still bugging him and he couldn't shake it. He knew the blonde. Her name was…Tanya. He gasped softly. He vaguely remembered that Edward had been dating her. He remembered what Bella had said about girls being nasty when there was a boy involved. Quickly he stood and knelt down behind Edward.

"Cullen?" Edward turned.

"James right?" James nodded.

"I know you don't know me very well, but did you used to date a girl named Tanya?" Edward nodded, confused.

"Why?"

"What did she look like?"

"Um she was tall, skinny, and had blonde hair and green eyes." Edward saw a look of panic cross James's face at the same time that a sick feeling hit him in the gut. Bella. "Why do you want to know about Tanya?"



"I think, I just saw and a group of her friends walking with Bella." Edward stood abruptly.

"Where?" he demanded.

"Outside of Litton Hall about 10 minutes ago." Edward was a blur as he ran from the room. James sat stunned for a few moments before quickly following in the direction Edward had gone.

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Once they were behind the building, Tanya threw Bella up against the wall. Bella winced as she felt the stone digging into her cheek. Two of Tanya's friends grabbed her arm and spun her around to face Tanya. Tanya was pacing in front of her while her friends held Bella. "You just couldn't leave him alone. One simple thing. I told you to stay away from Edward. Did you think I was kidding?" Suddenly her enraged face was just inches from Bella's. She pulled her hand back and slapped Bella, hard. Bella fought back tears and shook her head.

"I didn't think you were kidding, I just thought that, I don't care."

"What?"

"I won't stay away from Edward." Tanya shook her head in disbelief. This one was going to need a little coaxing.

"You could have made this easy on yourself. You must have a thick skull. Let's see if we can get through it and teach you a lesson." Bella stared horrified as Tanya bent and picked up a large rock. "This should do the trick. If this doesn't get through that thick head of yours… Unless you're willing to say that you won't see Edward anymore." Bella shook her head. Surely Tanya wasn't that unstable. She still couldn't make herself denounce Edward like that. "You won't say it? You do think I'm just messing with you. Edward could tell you stories of the last girl he tried to leave me for. If you're still alive." Tanya pulled back the hand with the rock in it, aiming it for Bella's head. Bella shut her eyes. She heard Tanya cry out and opened her eyes to see that someone had grabbed Tanya's hand and in a lighting fast movement had both disarmed Tanya and folded her arm up behind her back in a lock. Bella's eyes widened as she saw Alice's sweet face poke out from behind Tanya. She leveled her glare on the two girls who were still holding Bella. Their faces were masks of confusion as they tried to figure out how to deal with the new turn of events.

"I suggest you let Bella go and leave unless you want to be next." Her sweet voice was laced with poison. The two girls let go of Bella and backed away.

"Don't you dare," Tanya winced. The shorter of the two girls shook her head before they turned and ran. Bella didn't blame them. She certainly wouldn't want to be on Alice's bad side. She looked at Katie, who had poised herself to defend against Alice. Alice spun Tanya around.

"Don't tell me you were about to hit my friend with that rock."



"Back off Cullen," Tanya hissed, "this doesn't concern you." Tanya took a swing at Alice, who caught her fist and elbowed her in the ribs, knocking Tanya back up against the wall. Before Tanya could recover she sent a side-kick to Tanya's gut. Tanya slid down the wall. Alice stooped down so she was eye to eye with Tanya. Katie had coming out of her crouch and was backing away.

"If you ever mess with Bella again I will break every bone in your body." She smiled sweetly. "If you don't believe me just try me." Tanya stared at her wide-eyed.

"I'll have you arrested for assault," Tanya stammered. Alice shrugged.

"You swung first. It was self defense. Bella will back me up and I doubt anyone would argue with what you did to her face."

"Bella!" Bella spun around and was crushed in Edward's arms. She wrapped her arms around him and tears that she had been holding back flowed down her cheeks. He glared at Tanya who was pulling herself to her feet and retreating. Then he held Bella back to look at her. He gasped then looked away in shame as he saw the scrapes from where her face had hit the wall.

"Is it that bad?"

"Bella, I'm so sorry. I didn't- I couldn't…" She touched his face.

"Edward. I'm fine. I didn't expect you to shadow me everywhere. I'm touched that you ran in to save me like that." She kissed him. He mumbled something that sounded like "not fine." She laid her head against his chest while he rocked her back and forth, still apologizing profusely.

"Oh shut up Edward," Alice rolled her eyes. "Nobody expects you to be Superman."

Bella turned to Alice. "And we certainly didn't expect you to be Superwoman. Where did you learn how to do that?" Alice shrugged. "Thank you Alice."

"No, problem. Take care of her Edward. I'll see you guys later. Jasper's taking me out so don't wait up." She turned on her four inch spiked heels and headed off to her next class.

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James watched as Bella and Edward shared their moment. He clenched his fists. He was the reason Edward was here. If he hadn't told him about Tanya… He felt a small kernel of jealously beginning to build inside of him. He tried to tamp it down. He wanted Bella to be happy, but he would rather it be with him. He took a deep breath and walked away from the couple. He would just have to convince Bella that he was the better choice. After all, he didn't have any psycho ex-girlfriends who would try to kill Bella. He was going to tell her so the next time they were alone together. Bella flashed him a smile and mouthed, "thank you." He nodded, and turned away with a small smile on his face. Maybe it would be easy to get her away from Edward. He just had to be more charming. His face fell. At least he had to present the better argument.



A/N: Sorry this took so long. I kept waiting until way too late to start working on it then I would fall asleep in the middle of it. I'm going to start work on chapter 11 soon. I'll try not to take so long updating the rest of it.