Author's Note: Hi, y'all! Curious, aren't you? Well, read on!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 10

Bella's Point of View

I resisted the urge to start sobbing. I had escaped to the parking lot, where the Cullens couldn't come to confront me. I leaned against the hood of my car, staring at two new shiny cars that I did not recognize: a flashy, bright red BMW that I guessed was Rosalie's, and a black Mercedes very much like my own that I deduced was Edward's.

Why here? Why?

I took deep breaths, trying to put out the pain in my heart by gulping in the cool air. The students were filing inside as the first bell rang. Soon, I was the only one left in the parking lot.

I knew that I should go to class, but I was afraid. With my luck, it was entirely too possible that one of the Cullens would be in the same class. I guessed that Edward and Alice were posing as juniors, like I was, but since I was in an advanced Math class, it was possible to have all of them in the same class.

Don't be afraid, I told myself. You've done nothing wrong.

I wasn't afraid. No, I wasn't. Why would I? I just didn't want to answer the questions they would undoubtedly have.

Slowly, I walked back inside the building just as rain began to fall. The late bell rang just as I stepped inside my math classroom and instantly caught a whiff of Jasper. I resisted the urge to run back out and offered Mr. Edison an apologetic smile.

"And why are you late, Miss Swan?" he asked, fixing me with a stern look. I hadn't had a chance to turn off my gift after the shock this morning, so I could see why he was so cranky today: His wife was threatening to leave him.

I fought back a grimace, knowing that I would have to resort to flirting to get him not to mark me tardy. Steven was like a second father sometimes – he would demand to know why I had been tardy, especially since I could move as quickly as I wanted to.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Edison," I said, laying it on thickly. I shot him a seductive smile. "It won't happen again."

He blinked, forgetting what we were talking about. The girls were shooting me death glares, and the boys were staring at me just as dreamily as the teacher was. Jasper was sitting in the way back, next to a girl who looked terribly flattered.

"Uh...go..." Edison cleared his throat. "Go sit down, Miss Swan. I'll let it go this time, but next time, I won't hesitate to mark you down."

As if. He ate up all my excuses.

I thanked him quietly before moving to sit down in the front row. My partner was a quiet, shy girl that reminded me of Angela Weber. She greeted me with a small smile, which I tried to return.

Edison waved to the back of the classroom. "We have a new student today. Why don't you introduce yourself? Stand up."

Jasper grimaced for a half second as everyone turned their attentions eagerly toward him. He stood up. "I'm Jasper Hale," he said. "Senior. Nice to meet you."

They all began clapping a bit too loudly as he sat back down, looking awkward. I tapped my pencil lightly on my binder, impatiently waiting for class to start so that I could distract myself.

"Welcome, Mr. Hale," Edison said, starting to hand out review worksheets for the upcoming test. "Let's hope you are very good at Calculus, because everyone knows I show favoritism to my best students. Right?" He smirked when everyone looked pointedly at me. "Alright, get started. You can work independently or with your partners – your choice. The worksheet is due at the end of class, so you'd better work your butt off." He returned to his desk and began texting his wife.

"Do you mind if I work alone on this one?" my partner asked. "I think I'm better at it if I do it inside my mind." She smiled apologetically.

I smiled reassuringly. "I don't mind at all."

"You have very nice handwriting," Jasper complimented his partner.

That caught my attention – he was obviously trying to flirt his way into getting something.

"Oh, t-thank you," his partner, Jasmine Walters, said. "So do you."

I worked through my first problem at human pace, focusing on their conversation. Jasper had just explained how to solve the first problem, and Jasmine was gushing about how he was such a great teacher. What was he up to? What did he want?

"So, I was wondering," he said conversationally. "Who's that up there? The girl that came in late."

I froze in the act of working on my fifth problem and had to stop myself from crushing my pencil. I realized what he was doing. He would ask questions about me, and Edward would undoubtedly be listening for additional information about me as the girl answered.

"Oh, Bella?" Jasmine chirped. She was famous for gossiping in this small town. "She's the genius in this town." She snorted at her own analogy.

I resisted the urge to whip around and glare at Jasper.

Edward's Point of View

After I had introduced myself in English, I sat in the back of the room with Rosalie. She took notes for the both of us while I tuned into the Calculus classroom. For once, she was quiet, both physically and in her thoughts. She knew how important this was to me.

I waited impatiently as Jasper explained the first problem to a girl named Jasmine. And I was alert when he asked conversationally, "So, I was wondering. Who's that up there? The girl that came in late."

"Oh, Bella?" Jasmine said cheerfully. "She's the genius in this town." She snorted with laughter. She's more than a genius. I bet she knows more than all the teachers put together.

"Do you know her well?"

"Nah, none of us do. She's a very private person. She keeps to herself." She's the weirdo of this town. I don't understand why all the boys want to date her.

At this, I felt an emotion I hadn't felt in so long rise up. Jealousy. It felt strange after years of feeling nothing but pain and depression.

"She even sits alone during lunch," Jasmine said. "She doesn't even eat – I don't know why she buys lunch to throw it away." Maybe she has an eating disorder. With her body, I wouldn't doubt it!

"Do you know where she lives?" Jasper inquired casually.

"Duh, everyone does. She lives with the Bones." I have to admit, Nessie is adorable.

Nessie? Who was Nessie? Who were the Bones?

"The Bones?" Jasper asked. This time, he wasn't faking curiosity.

"Mm-hm. Steven and Renesmee Bones. Steve is a math teacher at Lincoln Middle School, and Renesmee is his daughter. She's the cutest thing ever. Apparently, she and Nessie are cousins. They're certainly close enough to be family." She nodded.

More vampires? Jasper was undoubtedly wondering the same thing. "And does Renesmee come here?" We would've seen another vampire...

"No, silly!" Jasmine laughed. "Nessie's only six! She goes to Lincoln Elementary. Bella picks her up every day after school. You should see her. She's so adorable!" She sighed wistfully. "I wish I had a sister, or a cousin like that."

Jasper's mind was running a million miles an hour, and so was mine. If this Renesmee who claimed to be Bella's cousin was only six years old, there was no way that she could be vampire. Unless she was an immortal child...but that was impossible. This town wouldn't have escaped from an immortal child's tantrums.

Humans, Jasper told me. She's living with humans. I don't understand how she would get away with that. "How long has she lived here?" he asked.

"Oh, they moved here a few months ago." But what is it with all the questions? I thought he was already dating his sister or something. Or was he the single one? "Why all the questions?"

"Just wondering," Jasper said. "She reminds me of someone I used to know."

"Jasper, how do you do number two?"

"Mr. Cullen?" my English teacher called. "What is one of your favorite classics of all time?"

"Wuthering Heights," I answered without thinking.

Rosalie gave me a strange look – she knew I hated the book. But she rolled her eyes and muttered, "Bella."

We met up with Alice to find out who had Bella's next class after the bell rang. She shook her head. "We don't have anything else with her."

"Maybe we can try talking to her at lunch," Emmett suggested.

"She wasn't pleased when she caught onto what I was doing," Jasper said, frowning. "Is that wise?"

"We'll have to wait after school," Alice said. "She won't be in the cafeteria today. Edward, you can tell us what you found out about her so far during lunch. We need to approach her cautiously."

I waited impatiently until the lunch bell rang. I was the first one out of my math classroom, and I met my siblings in front of the cafeteria. We bought our food and settled in the corner of the room, away from the rest of the students.

The stares were getting annoying. There were whispers about how we didn't seem to be eating either.

"Maybe they just hate cafeteria food," the girl from earlier, Jasmine, suggested, and the rest of them bought the suggestion.

I informed my siblings about what Jasmine had been thinking earlier. They were surprised to learn about the Bones, who were humans, and yet, lived with Bella.

"Okay, wait," Alice said, holding up her hand. "I'm seeing something. She's at Lincoln Elementary, and she's picking up this cute little girl." She paused. "And you're right. Not an immortal child. Her cheeks are rosy." She sounded surprised. "She's hugging the girl."

"We should follow her," Emmett said. "After school. See where she lives."

"She'd know," Jasper pointed out.

"We could try speaking to her, I suppose," Alice said doubtfully. "But she'll only avoid our questions."

"We'll follow her," I decided, determined. "If she really cares about this human family, she'll want to keep everything a secret. She'll have to lead us to her house if she wants to act normally around them."

"Edward and I will follow her in his car," Alice said. "The rest of you should go back home and tell Carlisle and Esme about this."

I watched as Bella walked out fluidly from the building toward her car. It was strange to see her so graceful, but immortality suited her, despite her thoughts about it. She stiffened when I followed close behind her as she exited the parking lot.

She drove just as quickly as the rest of us did, and I had to smile slightly. She finally understood why I'd liked to speed so much.

I parked a few feet away from her and cut the engine off. We watched as she got out, looking annoyed. She leaned against the back of her car, closing her eyes as the cold wind blew against her, making her long hair dance wildly around her face.

She was beautiful.

We stayed quiet, since we knew that she would be able to hear. She ignored us successfully, and she didn't budge when the small kids started coming outside to greet their parents. Others would mistake her for sleeping.

"Bella!"

She opened her eyes instantly, and I watched in amazement as her lips spread into a beautiful, sincere smile as she held out her arms.

Renesmee was indeed a cute little girl. She had brown ringlets that came to the middle of her back, and her cheeks were still full of baby fat. She, too, was smiling happily as she threw herself at Bella, dimples showing.

"Hi, sweetheart," Bella said softly, kissing the little girl's cheek. "How was your day?"

"Bobby told everyone that he liked me!" Renesmee exclaimed, causing Bella to laugh. The sound was music in my ears, and I was glad that my leaving hadn't affected her to find a tiny bit of happiness in her life.

"And what did you say?" Bella prompted, looking sincerely curious as to what the girl had to say.

Renesmee scoffed. "I told him that I had to think about it. How dare he think he could like me? The nerve."

Bella laughed again, pinching the girl's cheeks lightly. "You adorable little vixen."

Alice chuckled lightly. "She really is cute, Edward. I don't blame her for sticking with her."

Bella chose to ignore that. She picked up the girl easily and opened the backseat, and proceeded to buckle her up in the car seat. "What would you like to eat tonight, Nessie?"

Renesmee thought. Macaroni? No, we had that yesterday. I know! "Fish lasagna!"

Bella paused, surprised. "Fish lasagna?" She wrinkled her nose, undoubtedly at the thought of smelling and cooking with revolting fish. "Are you sure?"

"Mm-hm. I want fish lasagna. Do we have to go to the grocery store?" she added hopefully.

Renesmee liked going to the grocery store. She liked all the flowers and the cool breeze as Bella pushed the cart. What a strange girl.

"No, no grocery shopping today," Bella said, laughing slightly. "Alright. Fish lasagna it is."

"Yay!"

Bella closed the door and went around her car, glaring at us as she did so. We followed her home anyway. She lived near the forest, which was quite convenient for feeding. Did the Bones know about Bella being a vampire?

I parked in front of their house while Bella unloaded Renesmee from her car seat. And Alice and I both froze when the girl said, "Bella, can you cook as fast as you can run?"

"Oh, my god," Alice whispered, staring at Bella's stiffened form. "Does she know, Bella? You told her?"

"I'm afraid I can't," Bella answered the girl's question as she carried her inside. "Cooking takes time. Besides, lasagna takes especially long."

"But I'm hungry!"

"You can have a snack while I cook. Deal?"

"Chocolate!"

"No chocolate. Baby carrots."

"Ew. Chips Ahoy!"

"Cucumbers." Bella was teasing now.

"Grosser! Potato chips!"

"Alright, we'll compromise," Bella said, laughing. "Apple slices. You like apples. We good?"

"Okay!"

"Nessie knows," Alice whispered in shock. "How could she...she would know never to tell humans about our existence."

"Bella, can we call Daddy?" Renesmee asked.

"Daddy's busy, honey," Bella said patiently.

"Okay," Renesmee said easily. "I'm hungry, Bella."

"Hang on, okay?"

"We have to come back later," Alice decided. "When they're asleep. Bella has to come out later to hunt – her eyes are getting darker."

I was doubtful. "Will she meet us?"

"I see it happening," Alice said. "Bella, we're leaving, but we want to talk to you later. Can we meet in the forest?"

No answer. I'd forgotten how frustrating it was to not be able to hear her thoughts.

"Please, Bella?" Alice tried again. "We just want to talk. Don't you think we deserve to know how you got changed? How you're living with humans?"

Still no answer. Instead, she said, "Here you go, sweetie. Eat up."

"Thanks, Bella. Can I watch TV before I start homework?"

"Thirty minutes," Bella told her. "And then, homework."

"Okay!" The girl headed for the living room with her apple slices, happy with the deal. The sound of animated characters rang out.

Bella sighed. "Fine," she muttered under her breath.

I sighed in relief, while Alice grinned. "Thank you, Bella. Let's go, Edward."

I would be seeing her again in a couple of hours. I would be hearing her voice again. Even if she hated me, I couldn't.

I was still madly in love with her.

AN: What did you think? They'll be facing each other next chapter! Dun-dun-dun! Review, review, review!