I chewed the end of a baguette as I drove to school, until it came to the point where if I didn't stop, I never would. But it felt so good, the texture soft and chewy, and the tinge of saltiness, which I hadn't tasted in so long. But as I wrapped up the bread again, I felt fed, but not satisfied, the deadish weight of hunger settling itself back into my chest.

Edward had the good sense not to show his face in biology, so I decided it was safe to once more brave the cafeteria, taking from my car a small cupful of chicken broth, a bit of bread, and a few celery stalks.

Hoping to stay discreet with my less then gourmet lunch, I power walked to the most deserted table. Then: "Bella!" The pixie had me. Shit. I was wise enough to know not to try and get away, and was subsequently plunked down next to everyone I had met in the two days previous. Jasper smiled in greeting.

"Hey, Bella, Baby!" Emmett roared. And Rosalie looked with derision at my lunch before flipping her blond waves over her shoulder.

"Anorexic much?" Alice arched her eyebrows at her, Jasper shot her a glare, and Emmett… Well, Emmett just looked uncomfortable.

"Rose, sweetie," he muttered. "We talked about this."

"No," she countered with indignation. "You talked at me." She got up, and stalked away. Emmett

looked at me with a face full of apology, and followed her. I sighed, and drummed my fingers on the table in a nervous tic.

"I am already causing trouble." I felt a cool hand fall on my twitching fingers. I looked up to see eyes that were a blue green, and the long blond hair that fell in them. If Edward wasn't so prominent in my mind, this man would've combusted me. But, with his hand on mine, I felt utter placidity that I couldn't place.

"No, you aren't, Bella. Rose is just… an anomaly. She'll come around." I grinned.

"Jasper?"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"If you will excuse the cliché, Bella, you just did. But, by all means continue."

"Why do you have a southern accent? No one else in the family does." To the left of me, Alice exploded in paroxysms of giggles. Jasper gave me a sheepish grin, and when he answered the twang was gone.

"Well, I don't really, but I have always been interested in the confederacy. And a while back I wrote a paper about it, and jokingly did the oral presentation in accent. Alice thought it was… sexy, I guess. So I always use it around her, and it's become a habit, and pretty much stuck. In fact," he said, the twang returning, "it feels weird to talk without it." I laughed, and Alice punched me in the shoulder.

"Stop making fun of us. You should be grateful; I am getting you ready for your date tonight."

"It's not a date!" I had to swallow my anger. "It is just… an obligation." Alice's eyes twinkled.

"It is still in date format, which means my services will be needed. What are you planning on wearing, your uniform?" Alice snorted delicately, and I immediately blushed at the idea of Edward seeing me in my uniform.

"Sweats." I grumbled, gesturing to the plain navy tracksuit I wore. She glared.

"You are never getting out of it now." Jasper whispered with the air of a co-conspirator.

*******

"Alice!" I whined. To shut me up, she shoved the straw in my mouth. Obligingly, I took a sip, and then was reeling. "Alice, what the hell is this!"

"Irish Coffee," she said, not really paying attention.

"ALICE! I'm seventeen!" My voice sounded shrill even to me as it rang indignation.

"Oh relax. You are going to fall asleep on your date unless you take something, and as of now, I certify you able to drink it, because desperate times call for desperate measures." She was kinda right; I was sort of drowsing in my chair. "And anyway, I changed the recipe. There is barely a shot in there." I reluctantly sipped the beverage, its chill and the sharp warmth of the barely there alcohol mingled pleasantly in me.

Alice was taking liberties with my body that I never would have allowed, were I not incapable of stopping her. After stripping me to a bra and panties, she pulled a dress that didn't flare out at all, over my head, it hugged every curve of me, with a sheer satin covering my shoulders, immediately followed by the clingy rose patterned fabric which ended somewhere above my knees. I felt rather self conscious in this, but when I mentioned it, Alice sent me a look so venomous I quickly quieted. Next a military cut coat that would keep me warm slid over my bare arms. I registered this; we were going somewhere outdoorsy, otherwise the coat wouldn't be important. Alice was just finishing my sliding my feet into shoes that I was very very sure she had invented. Douches. A leather boot with tie up laces and impossibly high heels. I groaned as she wedged them on my feet.
"Well, you could always where your skates." Alice jibed. I quickly stopped my protesting as she pulled me up by my wrist, admiring her handiwork. When her eyes reached mine, they narrowed. "Ugh! You still look tired!" She dipped her fingers in something and poked me hard under my eyes.

"OW! That hurts! N- AL!" She huffed that sounded distinctly like "wuss," Wiping her fingers on her smock.

"Okay. You need one more thing." She ran to her closet, and pulled out something long and rod-like, and tossed it to me. I shrieked and fell down as it came. Alice picked it up, and stuck the end in my face, which I grabbed, and used as leverage to pick myself up. Alice let go of the other end, and examined an… umbrella.

"Alice, it isn't raining."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. This is not an umbrella. This is a Venetian walking stick. Use it as

such." I opened my mouth to speak, but the door opened downstairs, and Alice dragged me to the hall in front of the stairs. "Okay, count to ten Mississippi, and follow."
I counted to six and a Missi-, before rolling my eyes and heading down stairs, where I found Alice, doing something to Edward that, for a less delicate person, would be called bellowing.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME IT WAS CASUAL, HM? FORGOT THAT LITTLE DETAIL? I HAVE HER IN EVENING! EVENING! HOW DARE YOU PRESUME NOT TO TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE GOING? I CAN'T SEE THE FUTURE, EDWARD! YOU SHOULD KNOW!"

Edward was really the only one who could handle Alice's temper, and sure enough, he was in a far less formal outfit then I: A casual pale green utility shirt, and black shorts, followed by black sneakers. Wow. He should found a cooperation, Insta-blush. Whenever you need to blush, say during a special occasion, first dates, weddings, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, hire Edward Cullen to look at you with his piercing hotness.

Woah… sidetracked.

Anyway, he wasn't shrinking under Alice, he turned up to look at me.
"Wow. So… demure. And yet sexy. Thank you, Alice." I smiled, and then, with the last three words, my face fell. He was just saying that to shut Alice up. I went over and hugged the pixie in thanks, and was about to take the arm Edward offer, when I remembered my Ice Queen act. I stalked out the door without him. I heard him sigh, and Alice chuckle, as I stepped into the dark midnight. Feeling my way toward the car, I found the door already open, and Edward already in the driver's seat. He flashed me the Dazzly-Crooked-Smile-o-Doom ™ at me, and drove.

"You still drive too fast," I pointed out. He scowled. I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"That's kind of adorable, you know."

"Snorting?"

"Rolling your eyes." At something like this, I may have rolled my eyes. But there was no reason to fuel the fire. The fire had little to go on anyway. "We're here," he said quietly. I looked up. There was a gated expanse in front of us, and behind it, plants far too tropical for the region.

"The zoo?" I asked, with an eyebrow arched. He ignored this, getting out of the car and opening my door. "At midnight?" He smiled and nodded.

"Best time for it."

"And it's open?" He nodded, but hesitated first. I looked at him until he relented.

"Well, I know people."

"So you are a high class manwhore?" He arched his brows.

"I'm your high class manwhore." At least now he is owning up to it.

"Like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman?" He regarded me with complete seriousness.

"Oh, exactly." We stared at each other, willing the other to laugh first. I lost, laughing so hard I forgot to glare as he pulled my through the gates.
There were silvery lights everywhere as we walked through the exhibits. Edward, typical guy, liked the gorillas. I could've looked at the turtles for hours.

"I honestly don't see the appeal," Edward said as we watched the shelled creatures paddle past. I shrugged.

"They are versatile. Land and sea, Eat plants and Animals. They don't bother anyone, stay out of the way, aren't exactly glamorous, and are the universal symbol for awkwardness."

"So," Edward pondered aloud, clearly facetious, "You like them because you can relate to them?"

"Yeah," I muttered, grateful I didn't have to explain this.

"Bella," he murmured back, disapproving, "I was joking."

"But you got it right." He gripped the tops of my arms and turned me to face him.

"You can't believe that. You don't. I won't let you."

"I do… I have to… TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF ME." He released me like I burned and ran his hands through his hair as if in pain, muttering something that sounded like

"Harder than I thought… complicated…"

"Don't forget that I don't like you." I pointed out weakly. He raked still faster. "C'mon." I sighed at length. "Let's go look at the big cats." He stood, took my hand, and we walked over. I sat on the bench in front of the glass that held in the majestic creatures. Edward, seemingly returning to normal, smiled his smile.

"I'll go get dinner."And he walked away, flickering in and out of sight as the lamps washed silvery glow over him….

Don't stare.

I turned my attention back to the lions, and notice a female resting just against the glass. I slid off my seat and went to sit next to her.

"Hey. Why are you so sad?" The lion raised her eyes to me and stared. When I didn't lower my

gaze, she huffed, and looked pointedly up the hill where two females were licking a male's mane. "Oh. Lovesick, eh.. I'm sorry, do you have a name?" She pulled a paw from under her and rested it just above a plaque in front of the glass.

Linda is the newest lion to the zoo. She is an adolescent, prone to being over emotional. She loves to go for a swim, and her name is rooted in romance languages, meaning beautiful.

"Linda. Nice name. Linda, if you love that guy…" She pointed tail at another plaque.

Lalo has been around here for a while now, and boy does he get around! His first name means 'rich guard', and for good reason!

"If you love Lalo, Why don't you just go spend time with him?" She leveled an eye roll and glare at this. "Oh, I see what you mean. You think he will think that you are like one of those lionesses. Yeah, I guess I understand that. But you know you aren't, so why does that stop you?" She looked indignantly down the path Edward had gone down. "No, it's not the same thing, I... And he… And you are a lion." She gave a huff and looked exasperated. "Fine. Touché, I guess. But that's life, isn't it?" She gave a sad dip of the head. Wow, what a downer. I put my palm to the glass. "Linda, hey. Don't be sad. It will all work out. If he doesn't work his issues out there is always…" I looked down for another plaque. "Uh, Sheldon. Okay, maybe you stick it out, and Lalo changes." She looked at me with deep and amused eyes, then opened her jaws, and I was airborne.

EDWARD CULLEN
Coke or Pepsi? I like Pepsi, but Bella, maybe she has a soft heart for the oldies. I picked both. Hm, alright, what else? Sunchips, always good… Chocolate, girls like chocolate, pretzels, some sort of granola bar, and two ice creams. I stuffed all of it in my back pack and tried not to run back to Bella. I thought I did pretty well, she would appreciate my down-to-earthness. When I reached my destination, she was whispering to a lioness that was three times her size. I was split between being nervous at her proximity to the big cat, and wondering whether she knew how beautiful she looked, with the crinkle above her eyes that she had when she was concentrating, and she was speaking in a hushed, placating voice. Then, the lioness opened its fearsome jaws. I lunged.

BELLA SWAN
I shrieked. Edward had his arms around my waist and was holding me aloft, sprinting toward the exit.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Edward stopped, looked at me, and complied. "What the HELL is wrong with you?"

"IT WAS GOING TO EAT YOU!"

"IT's A SHE, NOT AN IT, AND THAT GLASS IS THICKER THAN YOUR SKULL! LOOK!" But I was giggling, and pointed to the glass.

The lion was affectionately licking the glass where I had just been. Then, noticing my absence, she looked around bemusedly, and her eyes settled on us. She huffed, and prowled away.
I stared at Edward for a long while, and we burst into laughter. Still chuckling, Edward grabbed my wrist and used the leverage to sit me back on the bench, spreading a variety of vending machine confection between us. I sensed that making this our dinner was a struggle and a small triumph for him, a guy who I imagined as prone to lobster and the like, rich, romantic. As it was, I stared at the junk food with something akin to lust. No matter what it was, you could never go wrong when attempting to feed the homeless. He looked up.

"Hungry?"

"A little." I breathed, still staring at the colorfully wrapped sugar and Trans fat. He chuckled and tossed me a pack of sunchips, which I tore open snarfed down.

"So," he started. "Who are you?" I stared at him, bemused.

"I'm Bella, did you forget? Do you have so many other girls that you can't keep us straight?" Yeah, I know. Cheap shot. But he made it too easy. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I didn't ask your name, Isabella Swan," he countered pointedly, "I asked who you are. For example, I am an ambitious, musical, romantic, funny, protective, and modest seventeen year old male. Your turn." I sighed. Telling him about me was dangerous territory. I couldn't tell him or anyone else my secret. So I hestitated a while before answering.

"I am a clumsy, shy, literary, only slightly musical, did-I-mention-clumsy, seventeen year old turtle." He raised his eyebrows, and his look was pained, but he didn't argue the term.

"Then why do you work at The Lodge? Doesn't seem like a place for someone clumsy or literate, never mind literary." I chuckled in spite of myself, but inside, I was worried. This man asked questions that weren't probing, exactly, but way to close to the hidden part of me. So I shrugged.

"Need the money." He interpreted my short answer as tiredness, and pulled me up from the bench, handing me the chocolate ice cream and licking the vanilla. We licked in comfortable silence as we strolled back to the Volvo.

We drove back to his house and at his maniac speed, we were there in a flash. We got out and I followed him to the porch steps, with the intention of Alice bouncing out and handing me my clothes and keys. Instead, Edward pivoted, so that we were in classic post-date pose, my hands in his, hanging between us as we faced each other, inching closer.

"Bella," he asked, "Would you slap me if I kissed you on the lips right now?"
Yes. Yes. The answer was yes. A player, and a jerk. Fucks so much, he probably has an STD.
But really ridiculously good looking. And he made me laugh, and stayed by me. Isn't that what you are supposed to look for in a man? Maybe. But I was already playing Ice queen, and every good actress knows not to break character. So I said yes. Firmly. He smirked.

"Well, then, remember you set yourself up for this." He dropped a hand and twisted his free hand into my hair, pulling me closer with a light touch, and he kissed me.

On the forehead.

Swoon much?

I heard my breath hitch and felt the hum of the chuckle on his lips.

"Bye, Bella." He went inside. I wandered numbly to my truck.

ALICE CULLEN
Four hours previous
I closed the door behind them, laundry basket on my hip, smiling. Edward and Bella sittin' in a tree. I wandered into the kitchen where I found Jasper cooking. Damn, that was sexy. I sat on a stool of the island and watched him move as I folded laundry. Suddenly there was a crumpling in my hand. I looked down. It was the paper Bella had been carrying around for the past two days, holing it like a talisman, rubbing it as if to remind her of something. I pulled it out of the pocket of her uniform and eagerly unfolded it. I read, and watched red slowly cloud my sight as I did so.
That whore. I would kill her. Poor Bella. Poor Edward, he would never get her now. I had to do something.

All of a sudden, I was pinned to the cold tile.
Jasper.

"Now, for something really delicious," he murmured into my neck. Mmm. Edward and Bella could wait for now. We had fifteen minutes before Emmett bounded in for something to eat, and I intended to use them well. I wrapped my legs around him as he groaned, lowering his lips to mine.

Alright guys, don't forget to submit a review they are very important this time, if I get more than I do with IF YOU WANT ME FOREVER, I will update this story for often then that one. If not…

Anyway, Props as always to my lovely Beta, miss nerdasaurus93. Love you, girl! Go read her story, it is awesome and yay.

Also, if anyone out there was wondering, this story is going to have, as it looks to be right now, 31 chapters, more or less.

Ciao!

~L

Wait, one last thing. Links for Bella's outfit are in ze profile.

Bye!