Argh the pain in my head was splitting but not as bad as when I had experienced my hem ridge earlier. I sprawled my arms to my sides and stretched. It felt like I had been asleep for what felt like a year. I was comfy. I glanced to observe my surroundings and noticed that I was in my bedroom at Forks, lying on my bed. My alarm clock read 6:30. Confusion set in as I flurried through my brain to come up with an explanation for what was happening to me. As I rolled onto my side I felt a crinkling beneath me, a piece of paper being squashed by my weight. I pulled it out from underneath me; it was addressed to me in very elegant scrawl, similar to Edwards, but not the same. I opened it out and read the letter.

Isabella,

Well yet again our powers of intervention have failed us. As promised however you have the opportunity to save your future but the rules are now different. You are Bella, we had to remove 18 year old Bella to avoid a paradox occurring but don't worry yourself with the details. You must not tell anybody who you are or that you know what is going to happen. Once events are back on track you will be replaced with your former self who will remember only the memories which you have created. This is your only chance, don't waste it!

Regards,

James

I clutched the letter in my hand and then jumped up to look at myself in the mirror. Crap! I still looked 21! It wasn't that different but certain features had definitely changed. These changes Edward was bound to pick up on. Since living in LA I had permed my hair slightly to make it a little bit curlier. There were now ringlets down the side of my body. It was slightly longer but I could fix that by tying it back. I had developed curves that my younger self couldn't have dreamed of. My breasts were bigger and I had slimmed at the waist. I was also slightly taller and my skin had a better shine to it from living in the sun. I still didn't need to wear make-up, which had saved me a lot of time in the morning and a lot of money. How was I going to cover this up? Wait maybe Edward had already left! I looked back at the letter and saw that in mentioned the 18 year old me. I dashed to the corner of my room and looked up at my calendar. Shoot! Today was Monday and on Thursday Edward was going to leave me. I realised that today was going to be the last day that I saw Alice in school. The last time I would ever see her with these eyes.

This means that my party was just last week. It also means that Edward has made the decision to leave me and will now be trying to make me think that he doesn't love me anymore. So I have to feel hurt, confused, in pain and whatever else to make him believe that his plans are working. Great I have to be rejected by him again. How the hell am I supposed to live through 6 months before Laurent comes and attacks me? Can't I get a skip card and fly forward 6 months? Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought but I had to do this to keep Edward alive. Our only other future was both of us dead. Determination stuck in then.

"Okay Bella think!" I said out loud. This week Edward doesn't give me a lift to school so that means I have time to prepare myself. He will meet me in the car park but today Alice will also be there. I can say I did something with my hair, keep her talking and then get to first lesson with speed so that Edward doesn't have time to analyse the difference in my appearance. Could I skip school? No, that would make Edward worried that something was wrong. He should act with as little interest towards me to try and keep up the pretence that he doesn't care. So even if he is suspicious, he shouldn't say anything directly to me.

I looked out the window and saw the cruiser had already gone. One bit of luck for today I guess! I grabbed my towel and headed for the shower. The warm water felt so good on my skin and I massaged the shampoo through my hair. Afterwards I contemplated straightening my hair to get rid of the curls but then realised that I couldn't bring myself to do that every day so I just left it. I looked in the wardrobe and saw all of the ill fitting clothes I used to wear. What if they didn't fit me anymore? I took out the jeans and only one pair was long enough for me now. They clung to my behind in a good way, not making me look like a slut, and hung nicely down my legs. None of my shirts could hold my new breasts without making me look trashy so I decided to put on a white strap top and then threw on a beige jumper which I had been given by my mother but never worn before. It had a wide open circle neck which hung beautifully on my shoulders exposing the fresh skin of my neck and above my breasts. It draped down my sides till about half way down my bottom. I tied a cord at my waist to reveal my figure. This was the best I could throw together at such short notice.

I grabbed my school stuff and examined my timetable to discover what lessons I had today. Biology wasn't till after lunch so I had time to think and create a plan. I slung my hair into a loose ponytail leaving some curls to frame my face then found a pair of flat pumps to wear on my feet. I grabbed some bread and put some butter on it before dashing out of the door into my truck. God I had missed this beauty! It had died shortly after the trip to LA and Carlson had insisted on buying me a new car. Or a company car as he called it as a way to persuade me to accept his gift. It roared to life and I couldn't help but smile with joy. I hadn't realised how much I had missed this life until now. I pulled out of my drive and down the route to school. Everything was just like I remembered, dull and grey, but I loved it all the same. For a Monday morning I was feeling particularly chipper!

As I pulled into the school parking lot my nerves set in. I could see him and Alice waiting by the silver Volvo. I parked as far away as I could which would probably surprise them as I usually parked right next to Edward, or came with him. I needed a moment.

"Come on Bella get it together! Think teenage thoughts, sex, sex...sex! Damn!" I was frustrating myself. I was never the usual teenager so this was going to be hard. I got out of the car as to not draw attention to myself by staying in there for a long time. The screwed up letter from "James" was in my pocket and I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed towards Alice and Edward. I saw Edward's eyes widen slightly before he covered his emotions with his blank expression. Memories of him kissing me, or our night together, or waking up naked in his arms flooded through my mind. I was engaged to him technically and he was about to pretend that he didn't love me. He was trying to read my expression now and I became nervous so looked towards Alice. She was smiling and staring at my hair.

"Oh my god Bella! Is that a perm I see, these curls look amazing! When did you get this done? You look adorable!" She rushed over and started plumping my hair. Crap when did I get this done? Edward was probably in my room last night and would know I hadn't had a perm then. Okay avoid question and get her talking about shopping and fashion to avoid having to talk to Edward.

"Do you like it? See I was looking in these magazines and I saw that this was a new style coming out so thought you know I might be able to pull it off seeing as I already had slightly curly hair," I began. I linked arms with Alice and started dragging her towards the school building, encouraging her to continue the conversation further. Was I really talking about a fashion magazine? She obliged and continued the conversation.

"Oh yeah it looks super on you, really suits your facial structure. I have always thought about different styles for you..." Alice continued as we entered the hall. Edward was behind us and I could feel his gaze on me. I felt awkward. As we turned to my first classroom I looked back at Alice. Now I had to keep up the charade of not knowing that they are leaving.

"So I was looking at my wardrobe this morning and thinking that I could really do with some more clothes," which was true as none of mine fitted, "so do you want to go shopping on Saturday? Nothing major just a few essentials." Alice would have usually jumped up and down at the chance to take me shopping but instead looked sad and turned to look at Edward, who kept up the same blank expression.

"Yeah sure, why not?" I nodded at her then turned to face Edward.

"I'll see you at lunch," I said in the sweetest and most innocent voice I could muster. I added a smile but I could tell from his intense gaze that he wasn't quite buying my act. He nodded back and I swiftly turned to go to my class. I felt a cold arm grab a loose grip on my arm and I turned around to face Edward. His eyes were trying to examine me.

"Yes Edward?" He broke his gaze then and shuffled nervously for a second. What did he know?

"Oh nothing, I'll see you at lunch." With that he turned around and swiftly stalked down the corridor like he used to do during our earlier conversations before I knew he was a vampire. When he thought that I was getting too close to the truth. I shrugged to Alice how gave me a sad smile and then turned to my class. I knew what that smile meant but I wasn't supposed to know. As I sat in my seat I opened up the letter in my pocket.

"You must not tell anybody who you are or that you know what is going to happen."

The words rang in my head until I was jolted from my thoughts by a familiar voice.

"What's that Bella, please don't tell me it's a love note from Cullen!" Mike Newton entered the classroom with a cheeky smile on his face. It was sad to admit it but I had missed Mike, well everything apart from his constant flirting. I smiled at him which he probably took the wrong way so I decided to tease him.

"Yep, I get one every Monday to prepare me for the bleakest day of the school week," I said with amusement. I then cleared my throat and put on my best impression of Edward's voice. "Bella, you are the sun in my life, the light in dark. Your beauty and passionate loving fill my life with," I couldn't continue as Angela was erupting with laughter behind me. I laughed with her and soon Mike was laughing as well. I dried the tears from my eyes.

"Very funny Bella, you know even I could write a better love letter than that! No imagination!" Angela and I both laughed again but I calmed down as I saw Mike was slightly serious.

"Well then it's a bet. How about I write a love letter for Angela and you write her one and she can judge which is the most imaginative!" Okay so I was boarder lining on flirting but I hadn't had this much fun in a long time. I had wasted most of my high school years moping around after Edward left. It was time to have some fun.

"You have a deal Swan but what exactly are we betting for?" He looked at me mischievously. That was tough and I rattled through my brain for something good.

"Our reputation of course! See if you win you will be seen as the Romeo of the school but then if I win I will be able to upstage you and prove I have more imagination," I slyly smiled at him. He chuckled and then returned to his seat on the other side of the classroom and got out a pen and paper and began to write. "You have until Biology!" I yelled at him. He continued scrawling and I turned to Angela who was smiling at me. "What?"

"You just seem rather happy today that's all," she mused. I guess I did feel happy but I knew it wouldn't last long as on Thursday Edward would be gone again and this version of me would never ever get to touch him again. "Oh and I like your new hair and clothes, and so does every guy in the school." She nodded her head to the side. I looked around the classroom and saw every guys head suddenly look down. Crap! I turned back to Angela and smiled nervously.

The rest of my lessons went by quickly until lunch. I wrote my love letter for Angela during trig which was intensely boring as I listened to Jessica tell me all about her relationship troubles. I did pay attention and input when necessary as I had had some experience with guys since living in LA.

"Look Jessica, maybe he's just not that into you! You are a beautiful, intelligent girl and you can find someone so much better than him. He is clearly wasting your time," the words were a pain to say out loud but she beamed at me and thanked me for my encouraging words of advice, stating that if she had known I had this much insight she would have come to me sooner with her problems. Great I groaned internally.

When I entered the cafeteria I saw the table that I usually sat at. Edward was already sitting there waiting for me, with the same intense gaze on his face. I contemplated making a run for it but decided against it. I got in the lunch queue and took a long time choosing what items of food to buy. I hadn't had much breakfast and all of the mulling through time had made me very hungry. I chose pizza and an apple and some crisps, a salad, some juice, some coke, a muffin and the soup of the day. As I sat down everyone stared at me. I ignored their gazes and dug into my food.

"So Bella," Tyler began, "some of us are heading down to La Push again this weekend and were wondering if you wanted to join us. It will probably be on Saturday."

"Oh I will probably be depressed and lying in bed all Saturday," I said. Buggar! Did I just say that out loud? "I mean Edward and I already have plans." He looked at me confused and then spoke.

"Bella, you see me every weekend why don't you hang out with your friends this Saturday." Okay so if I didn't already know he was leaving that would have upset me.

"Edward you can come to," Angela chipped in. He shook his head. No because he won't be here on Saturday. Wow becoming a spiteful teenager was far easier than I had thought.

"Thanks Angela but I don't really like the beach," Edward replied coolly. The remains of the lunch hour passed by with gentle chit chat between the entire group. Edward kept his cool persona up for the hour but I knew he would wait and ask his questions later. I, however, still didn't have answers for him.

I split from the group before lunch was over with the excuse I needed to go to the bathroom. This however was an excuse to not have to walk to biology with Edward. I had seen the good and bad sides of Edward, lived through the major mistakes that he made, lived through the pain he has caused me and even attended his funeral. Through all that, I still loved him uncontrollably. He was still my first thought every morning, I still dreamt about him every night and yearned for him to hold me close to his marble chest. It hurt, even though I was prepared for his behaviour that he was trying to push me away. I made a promise to myself that I would get one more night with him, just sleeping next to him, before he left me for the last time and I would never touch him again.

When I entered biology I felt all eyes on me. It felt like first day again and I was everyone's shiny new toy. I smiled at Edward and took my usual seat next to him. He leant in towards me so that I could feel his cool breath on my ear; my heart beat began to increase.

"What is this about a deal with Newton?" he teased lightly. I looked at him and could swear I could see some slight hurt in the back of his mind. Maybe I had flirted a bit too much with Mike.

"Oh yeah, we have a bet to see which of us is more imaginative when it comes to writing love letters," I said in an amused voice. I turned to look at Mike who was smiling at me and waving a piece of paper. I gave him the "whatever" face and turned back to Edward who wasn't as amused.

"You ready Bella?" Mike yelled from his seat across the classroom. I turned to my bag and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper on which I had written my note. I waved it in the air and then passed it to Angela on the desk behind. Mike came over and gave his to Angela as well.

"Well come on then Ange, we need a result." I hesitated; I didn't want everyone to see what I had written not with Edward in a mood like this one.

"No this has to be a fair contest. Angela cannot read them in front of us. She will take them home and read them tonight and give us the verdict tomorrow, we have biology first right?" I questioned innocently. Thankfully no one saw through my facade and they nodded and returned to their seats. I turned back to Edward who was looking at Mr Banner who had started the class.

"So what was the other letter?" he whispered to me. I stiffened.

"What other letter?"

"The one that Newton saw you reading when he came in, the one he thought was a love letter." He knew I was trying to cover it up but I wasn't going to let him win. I was very thankful at this moment that he couldn't read my mind. Wait; back in LA there were moments when he could read my mind. Note to self, cannot have mental breakdown while here. "What are you thinking about?" His question made me smile, I loved frustrating him.

"Nothing much, just that I love frustrating you with my locked mind! And the letter, it was just a bill I picked up on the way out this morning."He chuckled lightly at my comment then looked at me seriously for a moment.

"I like the hair, you look beautiful. And the clothes, you look stunning. I don't want to tell you what the thoughts of every other male in the room are right now." My cheeks blushed a deep crimson and I looked into my shoulder nervously.

"Why didn't you come and pick me up this morning?" I knew why but I wasn't supposed to know why. I could instantly see his cold facade slip into place as he remembered his mission.

"Oh, I just thought we could use a bit of time apart. I need some space to breathe," he muttered. Ouch that was a good one.

"Oh, okay, will I be seeing you tonight?" I didn't mean to sound hopeful but I was. If the family was leaving tonight though I knew he wouldn't be coming over till late if anything.

"Maybe later but I have something to do straight after school," he saw the hurt in my face and amended his statement, "but I will be around later I promise." I nodded and turned back to the class. My last lesson of the day was IT. I had no interest in this subject at all and spent most of the hour looking on the internet. In my boredom I looked up some of my friends, like Claire from LA. I knew she was from Australia but she had also mentioned that she came to live with her cousins in America for a while when she was between the ages of 16 and 18. That was when I discovered a link, her cousin was Lauren. I knew Lauren lived at the edge of Forks like the Cullen's but on the opposite side. She was rich. I could maybe get a message to Claire through Lauren's family or maybe through Carlson.

If I could warn her about the risk of her dying in child birth she might have a caesarean instead! Then she would be able to raise her son. If she ends up working for Carlson then I just need to make sure that her future lover is aware of her medical condition. He will already be working for Carlson, I just need to get to the offices in LA and that's a hell of a long drive. I looked Carlson up further and discovered that tonight he would be in Port Angeles on business. This was my only chance, I could use this as an opportunity to make sure that he stayed out of Forks after Laurent is killed, he can never find out about the pack at La Push or the Cullen's being in Forks. My truck would never make it though, I needed faster wheels.

As soon as the bell rang I ran out of school towards the parking lot. I saw Alice and Edward heading swiftly towards his Volvo and they were having an argument. Though I didn't hear what they were saying I knew what it was about.

"Alice," I yelled. They both turned around. "Can I talk to you for a minute please?" I was practically begging. She looked at me sceptically but saw I was very serious. I dragged her away from Edward's hearing range. "Girly stuff," I yelled back at him.

"What is it Bella?" she questioned.

"I need to borrow some wheels!"

Thank you for the reviews. I'm sorry if I have put some people off of my story but I am now trying to involve some more character interactions. Please R&R xxx