A/N: I've got to admit I'm a little disappointed with the results from my previous chapter, since I'd hoped my extra long chapter would get extra reviews, but that is none of you guys' faults. You guys rock! It's just that the alert system doesn't seem to be working so people didn't get notified that my chapter was up. If you are on my alert list, please let me know whether or not you got a notification for this chapter! Not to mention my timing seems to suck with updating chapters. I always seem to submit it at a time when my story will be on the second page of fanfics.

I would have gotten this out on Tuesday, since my bunches of tests were done then, but I was so tired when I got back from classes that I passed out for four hous! Haha… whoops…. This one is a tad shorter than the most of mine, but I blame my tests for that. I just wanted to make sure I got something out today!

I've officially gotten 50 reviews! I'm thrilled that you guys like my story! Time to celebrate with another chapter! Please review!

A couple review responses:

bellaandedwardforever02- Yay! Haha, I like the enthusiasm! I'll be sure to update soon after I post this one, too! I'm hoping to get another chapter up tomorrow but I might not get to. It depends on how long my dance practice goes tonight…

The Indigo Spirit- Thanks for the review! I'm glad you've been liking my writing! I promise I will keep writing!

MentalMaddy- I put some info about my RP and what an RP is like at the end of the chapter. Hope it helps! And yes, it is very lucky you checked! I'm hoping it works this time…

I WISH I owned Twilight… particularly Edward… but I don't. Sigh.

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Edward had to be bipolar or something. There was no other explanation.

After the field trip, I had expected he would be around even more. I felt like I had handled the whole hike very poorly, and yet considering how persistent Edward had seemed before and the way he had been looking out for me after I had fallen in the stream I would have thought I'd be seeing more of him

That is, that's what I had expected until I admitted I was afraid.

I was proud of myself for telling the truth. It was such a big step for me, since I rarely told the truth about that sort of thing. Normally, I would deny any suggestion that I was uncomfortable or afraid; I wouldn't want to call any more attention to my anxieties than absolutely necessary. It should have been a reason to celebrate.

It wasn't.

As soon as I had told this to Edward, he had stayed away from me. I wasn't sure if he was repulsed or weirded out, but it sure felt that way. Maybe I had finally chased him away. It seemed like my fear of him getting too close to me had finally won out. It had made me do what I had not wanted to do. I always did this, and I very badly wanted to kick myself for it.

In the span of a minute, Edward had gone from being my unofficial guard dog to a complete stranger. He missed school on Monday to go hiking again, since the weather was nice, but for the rest of that week, he barely paid attention to me. Occasionally I caught him looking at me, but aside from the a few "Good mornings" and "Goodbyes" he didn't talk to me. Me, the coward that I was, couldn't try to start talking to him, myself.

That week felt longer than I thought it could. The heavy silence between Edward and me persisted even past that. On Wednesday, Mr. Banner had lab tables working together to pick out the differences between plant and animal cells. On that day, the list of phrases Edward would actually say to me got a new addition: "May I have a look?"

The tension sitting around the same microscope was unbearable. It smothered me. I was sitting so close to him, and yet he barely seemed to notice me. By the end of the exercise my hands were shaking enough that I was having trouble writing my observations. I tried to pretend that nothing was happening, hiding my hands when I got the chance. Judging by the way Edward's eyes always seemed to zoom in on my hands when they were out in the open I don't think I had him fooled.

My days had started to follow a pattern. Every day, I would start my day off with Angela. By the time lunch came and went, Mike took her place. In biology, Edward would very predictably refrain from talking as much as possible. Gym was the only thing that changed in the slightest because I always went in not knowing how my clumsiness would interfere with whatever the instructor had lined up for us that day.

Monday marked the day when fissures started appearing in my newly set schedule.

"Hello, Bella!"

I snapped around at the door of my truck. I had been going through the books I had in my backpack, making sure I had everything I would need that day, when I heard an unfamiliar, musical voice behind me. Alice Cullen, of all people, was leaning against the front of my truck, smiling warmly at me. I was caught off-guard by her sudden appearance.

"Alice—hey."

"Cold day out, isn't it?" she asked me as she twisted a short strand of her short black hair between her thumb and forefinger. She said this lightly, like the weather didn't bother her in the slightest.

"Yeah. It's pretty cold," I agreed awkwardly. I was waiting for her to say something. Maybe she had a reason that brought her to me, like a message to deliver or… something. That didn't seem the case, though. She looked perfectly at ease, as though she always stopped by my truck on the way to her first class.

I couldn't figure out what she was doing here, but she wasn't talking. "Um… did you have a good weekend?" What else was there to say?

"Oh yes! I had a lot of fun, my whole family went hiking."

"Oh, well that does sound fun," I said politely, even though I didn't see the appeal.

"Yeah. Too bad it Monday had to come. What about you? How was your weekend?"

"It was alright I guess," I answered. I hadn't really done much. Angela and I had gotten together on Saturday and Jessica joined us halfway through, but aside from that I had pretty much done homework and spent time with Charlie. "Nothing exciting, but I got a good bit of my homework done."

That was lame. She was talking about having a huge family hiking trip and all this fun she had had. I was talking about homework.

"Oh hey, Angela, how are you?" Alice suddenly asked as Angela joined us over by my truck. Angela seemed just as surprised as I had been.

"Good, you?"

"Great! Well, I'm going to leave you girls. I've got to get over to my first class. I'll see you later, Bella!"

I stared after her with a confused frown set on my face.

"Alice Cullen?" Angela asked me, catching my expression. "What was that?"

"I have no idea," I answered truthfully.

The changes didn't stop there. All five of the Cullens sat at their usual table that day at lunch, and yet Edward didn't show up for biology. I automatically remembered my first day at Forks High School, when Edward had glared at me with dark, hateful eyes. He had missed biology that day, too. I hoped it wasn't some sort of sign. I didn't want to think that there could be a connection between the two events.

Mr. Banner quieted the class down when the bell rang. He had a white box sitting on his desk.

"So, how many of you know your blood types?" he asked, clapping his hands once and rubbing them together. Only seven students raised their hands. "That's it? No one else?" he asked, but simply shrugged his shoulders and walked over to his desk.

"By the end of class today, you will all know your blood types."

I froze in my seat. I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing altogether.

"Here is what you are going to be doing," he announced as he shoved his hands into a pair of latex gloves. I didn't even have time to brace myself—he took a very thin needle out and pricked his finger.

My stomach churned.

"You're going to want to wait until I can prepare your cards before you prick yourself," he explained, squeezing the tip of his finger lightly so that a drop of blood flowed out of his pinprick, "but then you can come to the front and get the supplies you'll need." The sight… the smell… it was all making me sick.

I rose my hand, desperate to get out of there before the lesson got any further, or at least before I passed out in the middle of class.

"Yes, Miss Swan?" he paused, studying my face. "Do you need to go to the nurse's office?"

"Yes," I answered meekly.

"Take the pass by my briefcase," he instructed, nodding his head over to where his briefcase sat partially open on his desk.

I practically ran out of that room, but once I had escaped I started fully feeling the effects of the blood. I clutched one hand over my chest, willing myself to make it to the nurse's office. The images in front of my eyes spun ever so slightly, but it was enough to make the ground feel wobbly and unstable.

I let myself fall onto a bench and rested my head between my knees. I was hoping that if I stopped for a couple minutes, the rest of the walk to the office would be easier.

"Bella?" I recognized that velvety voice.

"What?" I groaned, wishing that the one time Edward had decided he wanted to chat in the past two weeks hadn't been when I was on the verge of passing out or throwing up.

"Are—are you okay?" I might have thought he sounded concerned if he hadn't been avoiding me.

"Yeah, I always sit like this," I said sarcastically. I felt too light-headed to care about being pleasant.

"Oh, really?" Edward asked, humoring me. I could practically hear a smile in his voice. Seriously, why was he doing this now? "What happened?" he asked, seriously this time.

I exhaled deeply and shut my eyes. "I can't stand the sight of blood," I explained.

"Blood typing," Edward realized out loud.

"Mmhmm."

"Well come on, let's get you to the nurse."

I peered up at Edward for a moment and then returned my head to my knees. "Just let me sit here for a moment," I mumbled into my jeans.

Edward was silent for a moment, and then he walked forward and sat down on the bench next to me.

"I'm sorry."

"That blood makes me queasy?"

"For scaring you," he clarified. He wore a slight frown on his face.

"But I'm not afraid of you." Well, I was afraid of the situation I was in around him sometimes, but I'd never been afraid of Edward, himself.

"Why aren't you?"

I picked my head up off of my knees. It almost sounded like he wanted me to be afraid. "Should I be?"

"I told you that you would be better without me. I told you I was dangerous. That doesn't frighten you?" he asked, his eyes intense on mine.

"No."

"Why?" Edward's voice was strained and irritated.

"I don't know. I'm just not."

Edward didn't respond for a few moments, and just watched me intently.

"Then how come were you shaking?"

I blushed and looked away. I didn't want him to figure that out. If he didn't lighten up on his questions I was sure to start shaking again.

Edward shifted next to me. "Oh, I see."

In my peripheral vision, I could see comprehension replace the confusion and irritation on his face. I scrunched my eyes shut and buried my head back in my knees, where it belonged. Please tell me I hadn't just given myself away.

He did know. I could feel it in the silence.

--

A/N:

A couple of you expressed interest in the RP again and asked questions about what it is.

RP stands for roleplay. Basically, I've got one site dedicated to one large roleplay. Every member always plays the same character/s, and no two people share the same character. You write posts with other characters to create the story… and it can go in pretty much whichever direction you want. I've got different forums to represent different locations (Forks High School, the forest, The Cullen Manor, etc).

This one starts from the moment Bella moves to Forks. The characters we see in the book should have the same personality/history/interests/etc on the website. That doesn't mean the plot will be the same! Its already going in a different direction than the books went.

Anyway, the only canon characters already taken are Bella and Charlie. We've also got one original character (a vampire). I'm really hoping to get some more Cullens, maybe a few Forks High School students… etc.

I promise you, if you are at all interested in trying this out/applying (I swear applying isn't very difficult) and if you have the slightest of questions, I will help you figure it out. Just email me at , or else you can ask a question on the CBox at the bottom of the RP website or ask something in the Help forum near the top of the website…. Or ask for help when you leave a review!

Again, the url is goldeneyes rp.pro board s.co m/in dex.cgi

(I had a 101 in the url the first time but it looks like that isn't needed…)