Dinner with the Swan's was weird.

It just was odd sitting at their table with them, eating the food that Emmett had made, while Bella and him talked about more plans for the garden and then his mechanic shop. Me on the other hand, well I listened to them talk and picked at my food, finding that it actually wasn't that bad. It wasn't my mom's cooking but it wasn't awful.

I left shortly after dinner was finished, Bella gave me a huge smile and I returned one. Maybe it wasn't a "Bella Beam" as I was beginning to call them but I did try to convey that I was in gratitude that she had shown me her garden. Her amazing, mind blowing garden. She nodded at me, her eyes shining knowingly and then I slipped out their door and walked home.

The next day I didn't see Bella at all because I overslept and missed homeroom…and my first two periods. Okay, so I had gotten better about that recently but old habits do not die hard. They live on, and on and on and my bed had just been so comfortable that morning.

But I did make it for lunch. So. It was like I didn't miss a thing.

"Cullen, where were you yesterday? We went to your house on our way out for a smoke and no one was there." Jasper said as him and Alice sat down across from us. Martin, Cody, Shari, Paul and I were already sitting down.

I looked at him for a second, his blonde curly looking more clean than it has in a long him. It was hanging in his eyes that were looking directly at me. I groaned mentally and dropped my pizza abruptly before leaning back in my chair and holding his gaze.

Everyone else at our table looked curiously on. I ignored them as I answered, "Well I wasn't home clearly."

"No shit, but where were you?" Jasper responded as he mirrored my position. I looked over at Alice who was smirking while munching on her salad. I rolled my eyes at her; she looked at me a grinned.

"Doesn't matter," I told him simply, daring him to defy me with my shrug. He backed down and started talking quietly with Alice who by the way seemed way too amused by our alpha/dog exchange there.

In our small group of guys I was the alpha, like in wolf packs. They were my friends but if they betrayed me I could make their life awful. Martin was the omega, but not really because Mitch was normally in charge of things. But Martin was my best friend so…it's like the right hand man thing.

And then there was Paul.

I wasn't really sure where he ranked.

"Let's bounce, I'm going out to the rock," I said, standing up from the table, the chair I had been sitting on flying out from under me.

"I'll go with you," Jasper and Martin both volunteered at once. I nodded as Alice rolled her eyes and took her last bite of salad and stood up as well. She seemed to find us amusing…all the time.

They quickly disposed of their trash while I waited, leaning against the column in towards the side of the cafeteria. I nodded at a few of the guys who I did have some amount of respect towards - mind you - only some.

We exited the hallway and were walking down both having side conversations with each other.

"My mom keeps bugging me about this future whatever garbage." Martin complained as Alice and Jasper dove into a conversation that did not seem like the two of us were meant to be in. If they became one of those annoying couples I would beat that punk up.

"Tell me about it." I grumbled while rolling my eyes, my mom had been telling me to get my act together for the past 9 months.

"I think I might go work at Emmett's," Martin shrugged after only a moment. I looked at him for a moment. He was wearing his black signature jacket with a black shirt under that and his, of course black jeans. He wasn't wearing his glasses today but his hair was in its organized disarray.

"Martin the mechanic," I said elbowing him. He laughed and shook his head shoving my back.

"I personally think it does have a nice ring to it, what can you put your name with?" I raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. "Exactly. So who is cooler?" He asked rhetorically.

"You're so incredibly un cool."

"Well you can't exactly live with your mom all your life, what are you going to do? I mean well, I guess you could because your family is loaded but I think you could actually do some things once we've graduated." I huffed, slightly peeved that Martin was the next in line to give me the 'your future talk'.

"I don't know, maybe I will do the truck driver thing…" I trailed off; smirking to let him know there was no way in hell that I was somewhat serious.

"You're right; I can definitely see some potential in that area." Martin said sarcastically, we joked about some other, less appropriate things until we turned to the right to the next hall.

My smile dropped instantly.

There in front of us, or rather 20 feet ahead of us was Bella, James and this other creep named Laurent who moved here last year. Bella's wheelchair was backed against the red lockers and there was James with his hands holding Bella's down on the armrest and leaning mere inches away from her face.

Laurent on the other hand was about two feet away from them, chuckling with one of his hands in his pocket and the other weaved in Bella's brown shiny hair.

And then Bella. She was so frightened, like a tiny kitten, all fierceness of a tiger gone. She was struggling against James' grip. He was pressed against her legs and I wished with all my heart that she could be able to kick him real good. But she couldn't and I could only feel the adrenaline from anger coursing rapidly through my veins.

I didn't glance at the other three of them as I took off sprinting. And I do mean sprinting in the sense that I could feel my feet pushing against the tiles, needing to get there and fast. I couldn't tell if anyone was behind but I didn't care, I was planning to take him on.

I slammed into James, bracing the impact with my hands out so that it shoved him to the ground and left me standing. I didn't think as he fell to the floor. Without missing a beat I grabbed his jacket, pulled him up and then slammed him against the lockers, a satisfying metal thud met my ears as I shoved him into them again.

"This is not where you should be now is it James," I hissed at him. His eyes were frightened and his hair was messed up. I was about to slam him once more but something snapped in him and he started to thrash violently, making more slamming noises and he begin to throw punches at me. I didn't have a father, and I could throw punches better than this freak.

Though I had to admit that he did succeed slightly; in angering me more. I glanced back for just a second and saw Martin jogging quickly over to where the scene was happening. Jasper and Alice were following, their hands joined together.

I turned my attention to James and was just about to slug him. Jasper appeared to my side and grabbed James right arm and held it against the locker, not speaking but nodding without looking at me. I grabbed his left arm and released my grip on his jacket. I did not know his motives but they must have been disgusting and therefore I had no desire to know them, I just know what I needed to do.

I snapped my right arm back in a fluid movement and shot it forward with as much force I was capable of and made contact with his face. I felt the sickening crunch of his nose before I pulled my hand back and shook it out. I flexed my fingers to relieve the sting before looking back at him.

"Don't ever touch my girl again." I gripped him again and shoved him just one more time. This time it seemed pointless but I needed my point to go across. He nodded while his eyes widened and the blood started to pool below his nose. I let go of him and Jasper shoved him, not into the locker but in the opposite direction of where we were going.

James stumbled forward while I turned my attention to what had been going on behind me. Martin had Laurent slammed into the lockers, mirroring the position I had James in seconds ago. Martin was livid; his face was fierce and angry. Martin was strong, he was more peaceful and often times chose not to fight. But when you made him mad, you wouldn't like it.

"Don't ever, ever touch that girl again you bastard. She's got a whole lot of protectors now and I know it wouldn't be in your best interest to go near her. Again." Martin slammed him harshly into the lockers as Laurent cringed back into them, his head wobbling from the force Martin was using.

"Cullen?" Martin asked before I could look at Bella. He gestured with a roll of his head towards the punk he had pushed roughly against the locker. Laurent's face looked relatively unharmed so I assumed he hadn't hit him yet.

"Nah, you go ahead, I just got the other jackass," I replied while flexing my fingers once more. A normal punch probably wouldn't have injured me, and I'm not saying this one did, it was just when you hit the nose, it tends to have longer affect. And I was positive I hadn't broken his nose...well...not positive persay...

"Hey V." My head whipped to the right where Alice was, she was kneeling on the ground in front of Bella. (Alice had shortened up Vogter. Which by the way I still had no idea why she insisted on calling me that.)

Bella's thin, pink lips were pressed together but quivering. Her eyes were shut, lightly though, they weren't squeezed together tightly. Her head was shaking back and forth, though it was barely moving more than an inch. She was gripping her armrests as if hanging on for dear life.

I didn't think I just rushed over to her. Alice stood up in a swift movement and I kneeled down on one knee. She didn't open her eyes as I leaned towards her and spoke in a soft tone, "Bella, open your eyes; just look at me, please," I begged her quietly.

I held my breath as her uneven breathing slowed down. She opened her eyes and I saw the instant fear. One look into her beautiful, bright eyes and I wanted to go and hunt down James and rip him apart and then bury him.

No, I wouldn't even bury him; I would rip him to shreds and then dump him in the wilderness where little squirrels and woodland creatures could feast…

"It's okay," I mumbled soothingly and then leaned in to her without hesitation and wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her forward into my frame. After a moment she wrapped her arms tightly around my shoulders, and I do mean tightly. She was clinging onto my shoulders.

"Let's get out of here," I murmured and let go of her, but she didn't let out of me. Her arms stayed constricted around me and her breathing coming out in sharp breaths as she sniffled. I knew what I was going to.

"Martin can I have your keys?" I turned my head to see the three of them looking on with different expressions on their faces. Martin looked concerned for Bella, his eyes confused and his eyebrows furrowed in thought. Alice who had Jasper's arm draped around her was smiling lightly, her eyes bright. And then Jasper, good ole Jasper looked confused as hell at what was going on between me and Bella. I was right there with him. I just- I couldn't help a person halfway, if I was helping someone at all, -Bella of all people- I would be doing it right.

Martin nodded while he shoved his hands into his pocket and pulled the keys out. I caught them awkwardly after he tossed them to me and returned my attention to Bella. "I'm going to carry you; you'll have to adjust your arms." I whispered to her softly. She nodded and sniffled in loudly.

With uncertainty I got up from the foot that was kneeling and the turned so that I could scoop her up like I did the first time that I carried her. I did this all the while her arms remained around my shoulders. When I lifted her she slid her arms around my neck instead of my shoulder and hid her face in my jacket.

"Come on," Martin said as he walked over to grab her wheelchair, I nodded in thanks to him, smiling in appreciation. He grinned softly back at me, nodding slightly in a knowing way.

Now, I thought with irritation as I started to walk, I'm all for people who know things, really that's great. But what was with every person I talked to giving me that look? What the hell did they know? And why didn't I know it!

Luckily Martin had parked in the lot closest to the smoking rock and we were right there. He led us out to his blue dodge truck. It was literally just like Emmett's only in a different color and his tires weren't as nice either. But it sure was a hell of a ride.

"I'll pick you up after school," I nodded to him as he lifted the wheelchair over the back of the truck and secured it.

"Whatever," he smiled and clamped my shoulder before heading inside to meet with Jasper and Alice again. I turned my attention back to the girl in arms. She wasn't crying, she was tough but she was scared and apparently did not want me to see her face at all.

"Open the door Bella," I urged her gently. She stilled in my arms. I would have opened the door but like I'd said before; I really didn't want to drop her.

The hand closest to the door fell from my neck and she grabbed the handle and tugged it with some effort. I caught it with the hand that was tucked under her knees and swung it open all the way before leaning in to place her on the padded leather seats. The car just smelt like…Martin.

Bella's other hand fell from its place around my neck as I placed her in the seat. I straightened up, figuring that she was fully capable of putting on a seat belt by herself.

She was looking down at her lap. Her hands were folded and resting and her hair was down, therefore creating a curtain, hiding her face away from my view. I frowned and felt my eyebrows furrow.

Tentatively I reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. She slowly glanced at me as my finger tips ghosted over her soft cheek. Her big eyes looked up at me, like a female deer, startled and scared. Her cheeks were tinted pinkly and her nose and was a little red but it didn't appear as if she had shed any tears.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, though as soon as I said it I mentally slapped myself. It was a pretty stupid question.

Bella simply nodded, biting her lip lightly. I sighed before nodding in response and standing up straight again. I shut her door before walking over and sliding into the driver's seat and started up the loud engine. It occurred to me as I started to back out that Bella had probably never left school in her life.

I wasn't sure where we were going to but I just drove around. Bella stayed silent next to me for a while, I kept glancing at her but she was just staring out her window. After a couple minutes I decided of where we could go. It only took me 5 minutes tops to get there.

I slowed the truck to a stop at the top of the hill. This was the hill that over looked most of Cedar Springs. It wasn't too high but it did have a fairy nice view of the small little town and all its life living within it. My dad used to bring me up here when I was little.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked her after leaning back in my seat and pulling the keys out of the ignition. I was still waiting for the events that had just occurred to come and hit with the force of a ton of bricks, but while I waited I figured Bella may want some to talk to.

"I was scared." Bella started out after a moment. She was no longer focusing on her hands but rather the town outside of the wind shield. She was staring but not really seeing.

I waited for her to continue. I looked over her outfit as I did so. She was wearing a gray skirt that hugged her upper thighs and strayed from the skin just a little bit as it went down to the knee. She had it up on her waist over a white sweater which sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. She looked nice, especially with her hair flipped up lightly and bouncing again.

"I've known James for awhile, but when he pushed me to the lockers, I didn't recognize the look in his eyes. And his friend Laurent was looking at me…that alone was enough to scare me." She was talking quietly. I had to strain my ears to hear her entire sentences.

"I wanted so badly to be able to do something. I'm not violent, I really am peaceful but I felt so threatened. And then before I could do anything James held down my hands. That was the worst part." I looked at her in confusion; I was confused because that didn't seem like the worst part of the ordeal. She must have felt my questioning glance as she continued.

"Without my hands Edward, I have nothing. He took away my only resource." I felt my left hand that I still had on the steering wheel tightened to the point where it was actually painful. I was already planning ways to kill each of their social lives…and then feed them to woodland creatures...

"It would have been so easy to just kick him. To defend myself from him and show him that I was strong and not weak. I wanted to so much. I...I just…it," Bella's breathing increased and her voice was getting higher as she abruptly stopped and sucked in a breath. "But I couldn't." She whimpered.

I sat there, stunned for a moment as Bella begin to cry softly. I shook my head quickly, clearing myself out of the daze and then sliding over the seats so that I was next to her. I wrapped my right arm around her shoulder and reached over with my left to rub her back as she curled into me. It was sorta like an awkward hug?

"Shh, it's okay. It's okay," I repeated to her, trying to sooth her as she buried her face into my chest and cried so quietly that I could barely tell she was crying if it wasn't for the fact that she was breathing strangely I wouldn't have known.

I let Bella cry for around 20 minutes before she started to sniffle quietly and then hiccupped. I smirked as she covered her mouth and avoided my gaze. It was fairly cute, I pushed her messy hair away from her face, and her cheeks were stained red from the crying.

We sat there for a moment, she was still wrapped in my arms and I was staring out the window, looking at the small town we called home. Eventually Bella's hiccups stopped. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her gazing outside as well.

I cleared my throat after some thought.

"You know, my dad, he used to take me up here sometimes. He would sit on the hood of the car with me and we would look down and he would tell me 'Edward, you will learn as you grow up, this town is small. Don't let it hold you back from your dreams, chase them. But you'll always find your way back home, just like your mother and I.'" I wasn't sure why being with Bella brought back memories of my father and childhood but I didn't really mind it.

"Your dad was smart, I remember him. He was so kind and compassionate. And right. He's so very right; chase your dreams because without them we would be nothing." Bella said softly after a moment. Her head was laid on my chest and her warmth was strange, in the new sense, but it was welcomed nevertheless.

"What do you want to do? Your dreams I mean." I asked her in genuine curiosity.

"I want to see the ocean." Bella said in a whisper. I smiled, it seemed so Bella, but at the same time not. I would have guessed she would say something along the lines of world peace but I could never really guess with her anymore, she always surprised me.

"It sounds stupid, I know but with my disability I can't do much of any traveling. I know other people want to see it as well but with me it would mean...so much more, because, it would be something I couldn't do easily if I wanted to…wait, does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, don't worry, I got it." I nodded, looking down at her and smiling, she glanced up and smiled back before we both turned again.

We spent the next couple hours just talking, talking about anything and everything without really having to speak too much at all. Because that made sense. I meant we talked about things. But then during the pauses we didn't need to talk, there was no awkward silence it was just…nice.

I glanced at my watch to see it was already past 4, and we had left school a little after noon. I knew I had to get her back home really soon. By now she was just settled in the crook of my elbow and I was looking at her, mesmorized by the way she talked so passionately about things.

Eventually I had to pull my arm back and start the car.

"Thank you," Bella said as we were driving down the hill and in the direction of her house. I looked over at her with my eyebrow raised. "You make me feel so normal, I forget that I'm not like others. It's quite refreshing and liberating."

"You deserve it," I responded with a grin over at her. She smiled widely back at me and I chuckled, shaking my head.

After Bella was safely home with Emmett I drove to Martin's to return his car to him. I honked when I pulled into his driveway and he jogged out the door. I slid into the passenger seat and he slid easily into the drivers side and started driving to my house.

"English was lame without you, Jasper and Alice just sat there giving each other lovey dovey looks. It was sickening." I rolled my eyes at Martin's over exaggeration. Or so I assumed any way.

"It was a good day off," I smirked at him, in turn now he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Cullen," Martin stopped me before I could get out of the car. He had just pulled in my house and it didn't look like my mom was even home yet. So I leaned back in the seat and looked at him.

"Yeah?" I asked expectantly and exasperated after he didn't say anything. I wanted to eat, I was really hungry.

"She's changing you man." He said after a second, not looking at me while he talked and then glancing at me when he was done. I didn't have to ask in who he was referring to.

"How can you tell?" I was a little confused.

Martin cracked a small grin. "How can you not?"

Chapter songs: Headstrong by Trapt and Awake by Secondhand Serenade

Reasoning; You Headstrong wasn't the best but I was playing that song while writing Edward and James. I felt I needed another one becuase this chapter was very sweet...and revealed something that will be a main part of the story (:

So, yeah, this chapter has some GIANT forshadowing. And I never use all caps...
(Guess; I dare you :)
Sorry it's like a week late...I've been busy?

I could totally use some encouragment right now-
-Yup. Writing slump.

And my golf season is starting quick!
Reviews would be very nice (:

~Carmen