Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. End of story. :P

AN: So, I've decided you should probably just ignore any time frames I set for the next updates. Because they are always wrong. At least this one is on the fortunate side of wrong!! A lot sooner than I said! :) (you know how you should thank me? Review. Don't make me do my ghost impression again! :P) So, yes, this is the next chapter! I like it, that's all I'll say. :) So, read on!

The days slipped by, and I was having a better summer than I'd ever had, a better summer than I ever could have dreamt of having. By the beginning of the third week with Edward and Casper - we were coming into August now - my days had fallen into a pleasant rhythm. I woke late in the mornings, because of late nights talking with Casper, and then Casper would bring me back into the past, where I'd spend most of the morning with Edward. Then I'd come back to my real life. I hadn't forgotten the vow I'd made to myself, and I tried to spend more time with Renée, helping her put finishing touches on the house and gardens, but my mind was often elsewhere, back in nineteen-eighteen.

If I ever stopped to take stock of the time, the summer was flying by at an amazing rate, and it was already the second week in August as I sat with Edward one morning on a bench under a willow in the public park. We'd been meeting almost daily for over a month now, and we'd almost stopped the show of walking around altogether. This bench had become our spot. We were becoming closer and closer, talking about everything. This thought brought me face to face with something I'd been trying to avoid. I was getting along so well with Edward, but Casper seemed to be almost. . avoiding me? He came every morning like always to bring me back, but he seemed more distant than before, reserved, not the light-hearted joking friend I remembered. He still came some nights, but not all of them, as before, and he never stayed as long. He kept it strictly business, not the long talks we'd had about everything and anything before, just asking me about our progress. I sighed involuntarily. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, and I was sure he wouldn't tell me.

"Isabella?" inquired Edward's soft, musical, and, at the moment, slightly concerned, voice.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something." I smiled apologetically. "What was it you were saying?"

And with that, I was wrapped back up in our conversation. We were talking about music today. I knew some classical - Renée liked to play it - but Edward was a veritable font of information on the subject. Right now, he was trying to explain to me one of his favourite pieces, one of Chopin's lesser-known nocturnes, but he couldn't get it right. He whistled a few bars again, ad shook his head. Then his eyes lit up. "Could I play it for you?" he asked, his eyes bright with excitement.

"On my piano." he clarified when I looked confused. "My home is just around the corner, and my mother would love to meet you. I've told them all about you." he admitted shyly.

"Alright," I agreed, somewhat shyly, but eager for any plan he suggested. Bad, bad, Bella! I scolded myself, but then told myself to shut up.

He was up from the bench in one fluid motion, and offering his hand to help me up. I didn't really need it, but took it anyway. When we were both standing, he held out his arm for me, and I took it. We'd started doing this a few weeks ago, and it felt right, and natural. It was common enough back then, I told myself. I'd seen fathers walking this way with their daughters, or brothers and sisters. That was all it was. Friendship. I tried to ignore the way it felt when he touched me, when he kissed my hand every morning in greeting. I refused to think about how easy it would be for me to develop a crush on him, or the possibility that I already had. That was not an option. I was here to help him, and only that. I would ignore me.

We were approaching his house now - my house. He must have caught me staring, it was, again, so hard to wrap my head around. "Do you like it?" he inquired as we climbed the few shallow steps to the porch and front door. As opposed to the mess of boxes and a few odd gardening tools that still cluttered this porch back in my time, it swept, neat, and pretty now. Bathed in golden sunlight, with a whicker rocking chair at the far end, and a pretty wooden hanging porch swing just to the right of the door.

He was holding open the wooden screen door, which was painted a soft, faded blue, for me now, and I stepped over the threshold of my own home, almost ninety years before we'd bought it. It was a strange feeling. I heard a soft click, and he was standing beside me in the bright entranceway. "Edward?" a melodic woman's voice called from somewhere upstairs, "is that you, dear?"

He made a face at that last word, and I had to press my lips together to keep from smiling. "Yes, mother. Would you mind coming downstairs? I have someone to introduce you to."

I felt my face redden slightly at those last words, and he smiled at me reassuringly. I both loved and hated the tone of that smile. Not allowed!!! I screamed at myself in my head.

Just then, a woman descended the stairs. Her hair, piled in a soft knot on the top of her head, was the exact same colour as Edward's, as were her eyes. she was dressed in a similar style as I always was when I came here, but her skirt was a lovely deep green, complementing her eyes. She was classically pretty, and had a kind face, but she also looked kind of anxious, stressed. I realized with a shock that she was probably already worried about the Influenza, and thought for what seemed like the hundredth time today that I really needed to hurry up with the plan. It was just so easy to get sidetracked around Edward.

"Mother," said Edward, when Mrs. Masen had reached us, "this is Isabella Swan, who I was telling you about." He gestured towards me.

"It's lovely to meet you, Isabella," She greeted me warmly, "Edward has told us so much about you." the object of her statement made a face behind her back, and I had to work hard not to laugh.

"I'm glad to meet you too, Mrs. Masen." I replied shyly.

"Please, call me Elisabeth," she smiled.

Edward interrupted our somewhat awkward interruptions then, "Mother, I was going to show Isabella my piano, if that's alright?"

"Play for her?" Mrs. Masen asked. "That's fine. You two go up, I'll bring some refreshments by in a moment."

Edward's piano room looked almost the exact same as in my time, except there was much less dust, the flowers weren't dead, and the shutters were open.

We sat in there for a while, me on the window seat, and him playing for me, not talking very much, me just listening, and him absorbed in his music. I could tell he loved it. I was absorbed too, in him and would have gladly stayed there for hours, until the chiming of a grandfather clock downstairs reminded me of the time. "Oh! It's getting late Edward, I really should go. This was lovely, though, you play beautifully."

He walked me to the door, and then, as soon as I was around the corner, his double met me. "There you are. I though I was going to have to come in to get you!" The words sounded like they should be teasing, but his tone wasn't quite right, and his expression was unfathomable. As soon as I was back safely home, he disappeared.

I sat in my room for a time after I got back, not even realizing what I was doing until I came to a conclusion. As I thought about the day, and these past weeks, I noticed something more than I had consciously realized before. I had noticed, somewhere in my mind, that, as the weeks went by, Edward and I talked about the war less and less. But now, as I sat here, mulling things over, a new pattern became evident to me.

For the first week or so, after he had realized I was interested, Edward would bring it up himself all the time, and I would just have to help keep the conversation going. Then he didn't bring it up as much, but would still talk when I did. But in these past few weeks, not only did he hardly ever mention it anymore, but he would change the subject soon after if I ever brought it up. It wasn't as if he was embarrassed, he just didn't seem interested in it anymore. I wasn't sure how, but, somehow, I had caused Edward to lose interest. It was my fault. That, I realized, must be why Casper was acting oddly. I could time his slowly escalating distancing from me exactly with Edward's losing interest. He was upset that I was failing. Who wouldn't be? It was such a simple task!! Only I could mess it up.

I was abruptly furious with myself. This wasn't something I was allowed to mess up! And it was all my fault. Secretly, I hadn't minded that we talked about the war less and less, wanting to prolong my time with Edward. And I was ruining everything! This wasn't something trivial that didn't matter! This was somebody's afterlife! Two people's afterlives, actually! Edward had every right to be furious with me.

But I would change. I vowed to myself that, starting tomorrow, I would push away my feelings. I would apologize to Casper, promise him that I would try harder, and then I would try harder. I would make Edward listen to me, force him to enlist if I had to. To save his life!

The next morning, I woke early, anxious to start my new plan,but also apprehensive. I spent all morning in my room, waiting for Casper very impatiently and going over what I was going to say to both of them.

The minutes dragged by, but it was finally ten o'clock. He was always here at almost exactly ten every day, without fail, unless we had discussed it the previous night. I tried to busy myself with writing an email to one of my few friends back in Phoenix, and that took me to 10:15. By then, I was seriously worried. By eleven, I was prowling the house, calling for him in whispers. But I never saw him, and he never answered me.

By one o'clock, I realized that he wasn't going to show up, but I was still anxious the rest of the day. My mind tried to placate me with possible explanations, but none of them really fit.

I was anxious, but I didn't imagine that the process would be repeated the next day. And the next. This continued on all week, and I got progressively more worried. I had no idea what could've happened. I had been to Edward's house on Monday, and now it was Sunday, and Casper still hadn't shown up. It was the day I got my chance, though. Renée had been home all week, but Sunday morning she announced she was going shopping. I took my chance.

"EDWARD!!" I called, practically shouted as I paced the upstairs hallway, "Edward, you're freaking me out!!". After about fifteen minutes I decided he either wasn't there, or was so angry with me he was giving up and ignoring me completely, so I headed back to my bedroom, close to tears.

I almost had a heart attack when I opened the door. There he was not five feet away, but standing with his back to me. After the initial surprise, relief washed through me, but it quickly turned to anger. "What the hell, Edward Masen? Where have you been?" I was just started yelling, when I realized that I was supposed to be apologizing, and that he was already mad at me. "I'm sorry, I mean, Edward I was just so worried, I had no idea where you'd gone, and Edward, I'm sorry I'm so bad at this! But I will try harder! Just bring me back, and I promise, I'll do better!"

He face was hard, but I could sense some emotion lurking beneath the surface as he finally turned toward me. "You're not going back."

"But Edward, I have to! I have to save you!"

He shook his head. "No. We were wrong, that's not. . . it's something else. We had the wrong plan."

This shocked me, but I pressed on. "Then tell me the right plan Edward! What can I do I need to-"

"No." he said, and his face was cold, defiant. "You can't help."

I was mad now. "Edward, I know I messed up, but I can fix this! I'm supposed to be the one figuring this out! You said I was meant to help you, you're not supposed to be figuring this out, I am! It's my job!"

During this exchange, he had ended up with his back to me, and he was facing the door. Now he turned, and his face was dangerous, and furious. "It's MY LIFE!" he roared, and then wheeled, heading out my door. If he had actually had substance, there would have been a lot of noise, probably a door slam, but as it was, there was only an eerie silence.

I stumbled after him, barely thinking, but of course he was gone when I got to the hallway. I stood there, numb and dazed, staring into the empty air, searching vainly for a figure I knew I wouldn't find.

A few things: First, sorry for the craptastic chapter titles. And yes, this one is a New Moon reference. This chapter reminded me a lot of New Moon, and also certain parts of Twilight/MS, when I was writing it. hopefully that's not giving away to much. :P So, I think that's pretty much all. I won't say when the next chapter will come, because I'll be wrong. :P So . . rrrrrrrrrreview!!!! :D And thank you to everyone who has so far! :D

SkySong :)