Ten

Bella

Edward didn't call me at all on Sunday, and I wasn't sure what to make of that. Several times, I picked up my own phone and selected his number from my contacts list, but couldn't bring myself to hit send. Had he not had a good time? It had seemed like he had – better than good, actually. We had spend the rest of the band's set wrapped in each other's arms, paying only nominal attention to the music, and had left as soon as the show ended. But he hadn't taken me home. Instead, we had gone to Cal Anderson Park, a public part a few blocks away from Seattle Central Community College and Seattle University, a small private school. There was a large fountain in the park which looked rather like a volcano spewing water into a shallow but very long rectangular pool. Edward had sat on a bench and pulled me down beside him. We said nothing, simply watching the water splash and listening to its sound, almost like laughter. Edward's hand had remained on my waist, his thumb tracing lazy circles on the fabric of my shirt under my coat as I lay my head on his shoulder. It was only after the third time that I stifled a yawn, that Edward suggested taking me home, the regret clear in his voice.

When we had arrived back at my house, he had gotten out of the car with me and walked me up to the front door. All the lights in the house had been off. He pulled me into one last embrace and I wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling his lips press to the top of my head. Again, we had been silent, not trading any cliché "I-had-a-really-nice-time-tonight" lines. He just took my chin between his fingers and tilted my head up, brushing my lips with his once more before he gently instructed me to get inside. I had, and he had waited until he'd heard the lock engage before going back to his car.

I had then leaned up against the door and squealed, cutting myself off before I could wake my dad. Again, I'd wished I had a best friend to share this with.

But then Edward hadn't called. A best friend would probably be able to help me figure that out too.

It rained for most of Sunday and continued into Saturday, which was unexpected, seeing as to how October was coming to a close. With a start, I realized that I had been in Seattle for nearly two months now. I had been assigned to only one operation. Vaguely, I wondered if they really had needed me here to replace Irina.

Irina. Despite my best efforts, I hadn't been able to find anything indicating what had happened to the girl. I had hacked into the attendance files of all the local high schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges and universities for any new students who fit Christina's basic identifying statistics and had come up with nothing. Alice was convinced that I had been mistaken, and Jasper didn't think it was worth pursuing. So I was on my own with this, it seemed. I knew that Jasper should be right, but I couldn't help but feel that something was off.

And so it was a cocktail of Edward and Irina that kept me awake on Sunday night. The last thing I consciously thought before I drifted off was that the agency had a stake in both of them. At least they would, if I were to do my damn job and tell them about Edward.

Edward

I almost ran late to school on Monday, because I miscalculated the amount of time I'd need to go to the corner coffee shop I'd taken Bella to the previous week, get her the exact same order she'd requested that time during the morning rush, and find a parking space in the school lot. I managed it, and still found myself in front of Bella's locker before she got to school. Her whole face lit up with a smile when her sparkling eyes met mine across the crowded hallway, and my dead heart stuttered at the sight. "Hi," she breathed, coming to a stop so close to me, forgetting entirely to open her locker.

"Hello, Bella," I smiled back, handing her the cup and brushing her hair off her shoulder with my other hand. She looked at the beverage in shock. "It's chai. That's what you wanted, right?"

"Yeah… but… Edward, you didn't have to–"

"It's payback. For the cover charge?" I reminded her, grinning when she rolled her eyes at me. "How was your day yesterday?"

Bella shrugged, breaking eye contact as she finally opened her locker. "Um, pretty slow, actually." She placed two books in the locker and removed her English book, but before she could put it in her bag, I took it from her and took her chin in the same way I had last night so that she turned to face me. "Bella," I said slowly, the concern I felt lacing my tone. "What is it?"

She shrugged, but muttered, "You… I was kind of hoping you'd call me yesterday," she mumbled, unable to keep looking into my eyes, and the blood rushed to her face.

I muttered a curse under my breath and dropped my hand from her face. I swallowed the chagrin clouding my throat, I said, "Bella, would you believe me if I told you that I've never actually… done this before? Any of it?"

She looked up at me blankly. "But you're so good at it," she blurted, apparently without thinking.

"Clearly not." I ran a hand through my hair. "I didn't call you because I thought I would come across as a stalker. But I did want to talk to you. I mean, shit, I brought you chai."

"You did." She looked down at the beverage again before looking up at me. "And I'm being sexist, anyway." Off my confused look, she elaborated. " I could have called you, and I didn't."

I laughed once. "I'm sorry I didn't call you."

"And I'm sorry I didn't call you." Bella smiled shyly, looking up at me through her eyelashes.

My hand returned to her cheek, and I brought her face closer to mine and kissed her gently. The same shudder ran through her, from the blush across her face to the thump in her heart to the heat on her skin, and I relished it all. The warning bell rang and I let her go, handing her book back in the process. Tucking it under her arm, she asked, "Will I see you at break?"

"I should hope so." I flashed her one more smile and disappeared into the crowd.

Bella

Nearly lightheaded with my happiness, I hustled to class and landed in my seat just in time. My phone buzzed with a text just as I passed up my homework, and I checked it under the desk, half-expecting it to be some sort of reprimand from Jasper, even though he seemed to have changed his tune about my interactions with Edward.

But it wasn't from Jasper.

TO ALL YOUNG AGENTS:

Further to our directive last week regarding the existence of vampires and your expected extermination thereof, we are modifying our biweekly training session at the Young Agents Training Center to focus solely on this new threat. You will all leave your homes after your traditional classes end on Thursday instead of Friday so that you may spend a full two days, plus the auxiliary days of Thursday and Sunday, in training. Your tickets have been modified to reflect this.

For ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set ye free.

I sighed and deleted the text, forcing myself to pay attention in class. The fact that an extra twenty-four hours were being devoted to their training seemed to indicate that the agency had learned something more about vampires, I thought with a shiver. I didn't know how to lie to the agency – I wasn't even sure if I could. Yes, they taught their agents to be the best liars in the world, but it just didn't make sense that I would be able to beat them with their own tools. I knew that there was no reason for anyone in the administration to ask me directly about Edward, but I hated that it was even a possibility.

Memories of our evening together flickered through my mind: the light in his eyes when he looked at me, the feel of his breath on my neck, the taste of his lips….

I had to keep him safe.

My phone buzzed again in my pocket, and I jumped. I ignored the incoming text just long enough for my classmates who had glanced over at me to look back at the teacher before I slipped the device out and opened the text, which turned out to be from Alice.

Fuck my life.

It happens, Bella replied. Besides, it's not like we go out and party or anything on thurs nights.

But it's the principle of the thing, bell! btw, should we all meet up after skool? I think I kno something about vamps that could help us.

It was as if my blood froze in my veins. I typed back quickly, What? What do you know?

In the few seconds it took for Alice to reply, I fidgeted to the point of drawing my classmates' attention back to me. When the phone buzzed again, I pounced on it. dude, I'll tell you both later. calm your tits.

Alice, seriously. What is it?

I could almost hear Alice's confusion at my tone, but I didn't care. Alice couldn't know. Please, don't let her know.

But when Alice did reply, it did little to alleviate my fears: I'm just saying there might be a reason that they told us (Seattle) to focus on vamps. But nbd, seriously.

And I had to content myself with that, seeing as to how, at that moment, the teacher called me to the board to solve for a reverse differential.

Edward

I was flying. I had kissed Bella again this morning, I had earned her smile, I had won a permanent spot in her life – at least for now. I was barely paying attention in his classes, and I didn't care.

I was happy – for perhaps the first time in my life, I was genuinely happy about something. I had always taken pleasure in the company of my family and in satisfying my thirst for knowledge by various travels and academic pursuits, but now… when I thought of Bella, there was a lightness in my chest that I could not remember ever having felt before but would not trade for anything. This girl made me so happy, and she didn't even know it.

I knew I could not love her – for one thing, love was not real unless it was reciprocated, and I doubted that Bella had enough life experience to appreciate what love really was – but I was growing to understand that I needed her company like I needed… well, blood.

At the thought, my throat tightened, and I took a moment to beat back my baser instincts. I would not remember her floral scent, the way her pulse thrummed beneath my hand when I stroked her neck.

But even as I tried to force that thought back, a new one surfaced. The way when, as I stroked her neck, a blush would rise under her skin, turning it from porcelain to rose. How her breath would catch, how she would smile up at me.

Perhaps… perhaps if I could focus on that, I truly would not be a threat to Bella. The thought pleased me.

Emmett caught up with me between classes, asking if he could borrow the headphones for my iPod since he'd left his at home, and also Rosalie's birthday was coming up and did I have any ideas on what he should get her and also, where had I been last night?

I handed him the speakers, told him to find some books by an author Rosalie had recently become infatuated with, and added, "I went out."

"Yeah, I figured that. Where did you go?"

I shrugged. However much I had told Esme and Carlisle about Bella, I wasn't ready to share it with Rosalie or Em yet. "Just around, Em."

Emmett put a hand on my arm and pulled me out of the flow of traffic in the hallway. "Edward, are you okay? I mean…" Em shrugged and a lock of his brown hair fell into his eyes. "I know I've been teasing you a lot about Bella, and I'm guessing that whatever's bothering you has something to do with her, but… seriously, if there's anything I can help you with–"

I cut him off. "Em, I… I do appreciate that, but I feel like this is just something I have to figure out for myself." It wasn't what I had planned to say, but the relief I felt at not lying to or hiding from my brother nearly floored me.

"So she's… important?" Emmett asked, trying to be delicate. I nodded, looking away. "Good. I like her." Clapping me on the shoulder, Em grinned once more and headed off to his own class, headphones in hand.

I sighed, wishing that just once, life could be as easy as my brother imagined it to be.

As lunch approached, I realized that my stomach was in knots. I wasn't exactly nervous, per se, I just didn't know exactly how this was going to go. And as soon as that thought crossed my mind, I knew he absolutely would not be able to stand sitting with Bella in the cafeteria.

There would be mindless humans watching, staring, whispering, trying to analyze every single movement, every facial expression, try to overhear every word. I wouldn't be able to stand that – I barely knew what Bella was to me, I had no idea what I was to her, and the thought of anyone else trying to invade what we had not yet learned for themselves sickened me.

And so as soon as fourth period ended, I hurried through the crowd of children wending their way toward the cafeteria, hoping to catch Bella before she went too far from her class. I managed to catch her just before she turned into the main hallway. "Edward! I thought we were getting lunch..." she trailed off, flushing and biting on her lower lip. The sight did strange things to the muscles in my chest.

"We are," I grinned at her, suddenly shy. It never failed to fascinate me, this subtle power she had over me. Around her, I could go from secretive to sweet and back in mere seconds – my emotions were not my own anymore.

I couldn't find it in me to regret that.

"I just thought you might want to go somewhere that... wasn't the cafeteria," I continued. "After all, we started some rumors in the hall today. I didn't know if you'd want to..."

"Sure," Bella cut me off, her eyes brightening. "So where did you...?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it, because I hadn't actually thought that far ahead. While I could eat human food in the daytime, I still had a very limited appreciation for it, and furthermore, I had no idea what Bella would like. "We could... there's a Subway around the corner," I offered, thinking that sandwiches would be safe. Everybody liked sandwiches.

Bella nodded, smiling up at me, both of us ignoring that, as long as we stood in the hallway, the more frustration we were causing as people tried to push past us. "One condition. I get to drive."

"Fine," I agreed as we began to head out of the school. "And I'm not complaining, but any particular reason?"

She shrugged. "You always drive."

"Because you don't know the city."

"And how am I going to learn?" she retorted, playfully. "You're going to give me directions, because I'm going to need them, but I get to drive, please and thank you."

I laughed once, nodding. No one else had been able to coax laughter from me so often in a long time. Emmett tried, but I usually found his optimism more wearing than uplifting, and they both often felt guilty about that. Rosalie, too, had a hard time tolerating my perpetual somberness. But it saddened Esme and Carlisle.

How would everyone in my family react to Bella, I wondered for the hundredth time. Esme would instantly love her because she made me happy. Carlisle would be thrilled at the prospect of someone changing my life, and Emmett would enjoy Bella's sarcastic sense of humor, I was sure.

But Rosalie... she wouldn't understand why I felt the need to come back to Bella again and again. I could almost hear her advice now: "Fuck her and have done with it. Let's go back to normal."

I shivered, partly in disgust at the thought of debasing Bella in that way, but part of me shivered in desire as well. What would it be like, I wondered, to loosen her hair from the elastic she'd bunched it up in, to watch it cascade over her neck? To follow the motion of the hair with his fingertips, running them along the skin of her neck until he reached her collarbones, the way the buttons would slip through their holes in her shirt, revealing more of that snowy skin...

A hand waved in front of my face, and I startled. "Hey," Bella laughed. "Where did you go, kid?"

Shaking my head to clear it, and to stop my eyes from wandering down from hers to the very part of her body that I'd been imagining, I glanced around and saw that we'd made it to the parking lot. It wasn't raining, but the dark, thick clouds overhead didn't exactly look friendly. "Sorry, sweetheart. Did you say something?"

It took Bella a moment to respond, and she stared up at me with wide eyes, and after a moment her silence got my attention, and I glanced down at her, then grimaced. "Should I not have said-"

The next thing I knew, Bella's hands were cupped around my neck as she drew my mouth to hers. She kissed me hard, and it only took me seconds to catch up to her, my hands meeting her waist as her lips opened against mine. I took her top lip between mine, allowing my tongue the most gentle of caresses, feeling the warmth of her body seep into my own, even through our two jackets.

The sound of the main school doors opening behind us and chattering students making their way down the steps seemed to remind Bella where she was, and she pulled back from me, though not enough to dislodge my hands from her waist. "Sorry," she muttered, the word coming out breathlessly.

I chuckled, a rough sound, even to my own ears. "God, I'm not, but can I ask what that was about?"

Bella blushed and started walking towards her car again, but my hand simply slid from her waist to her arm so I could wrap her fingers with my own. The level of physical comfort she inspired in me was a little unnerving. "You called me sweetheart," she mumbled, and I barely heard her. Off my confused look, she shrugged. "I can't really explain it. But I... I like... that you called me that."

I grinned, thinking to myself that if I got that reaction every time, I'd certainly be calling her that more often. I got to the car just in time to open the driver's side door for her, ignoring it when she rolled her eyes. Once I was seated and she had started the car, she asked, "Left or right?"

"Right," I instructed, and moved my hand towards her knee, but stopped and pulled it back into my lap before she could notice.

It took us only a few minutes to get there, but in that time, the rain had started. Bella had apparently still not realized that she was in the Pacific Northwest now, and there was no point in her wearing a jacket if the jacket had no hood. I teased her for this after we paid for our food, but I handed her my bag so that I could shrug out of my jacket and offer it to her.

"Edward, we'll be outside for like two seconds," she protested, but still couldn't fight off her wide smile at the gesture as she made me put the jacket back on. Pride swelled in me.

As Bella got the car back on the road, I took a moment to just study her. Sometimes, when she was relaxed, her face at rest, I could see traces of some deep-seated pain in her eyes. The longer I spent with her, the more I was sure that her pain did not stem from one specific incident - she had lived a series of things that no girl as young as she should ever have to, and this stirred an ancient rage deep inside me.

I wanted to find it – I wanted to find the source of her pain and fucking end it for her, destroy it so that it could never come for her again. Because now it wasn't enough for me that Bella be safe. She should always be happy – because someone as beautiful and snaky and brilliant as she deserved nothing less.

Bella

Once we were heading back towards the school, he asked me, "You do own a real raincoat, right? With a hood and everything? You do know what a hood looks like, I'm assuming. Although I'm just guessing as to whether or not they make those in Arizona."

I glared at him out of the corner of my eye. "Yes, I own a real raincoat with a hood and everything, smartass. It just wasn't raining when I left the house this morning."

We continued to tease back and forth for the full ride back, and I found that my parking spot was still open. I slid my car into it before shifting my seat back and turning to lean against the door so that I was facing Edward as I pulled my lunch from my bag. Again, it had not escaped my notice that he had asked for easily the blandest sandwich possible – turkey on wheat, no condiments, no vegetables.

I looked up from my own sandwich to see his eyes on me. "You keep spacing out on me, bro," I observed, raising an eyebrow at the vacant look in Edward's golden eyes as I took a pull from the straw of my soda.

Edward laughed at the term of endearment. "Have I been acting like your bro, Miss Swan?" he shot back at me, raising his eyebrows. "I know and I'm sorry, sweetheart."

I snorted. "Don't apologize."

We ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, the radio playing softly and rain tapping the windows and roof of the car, before Edward spoke suddenly. "Can I ask you something?" When I nodded, he went on. "Why did you move to Seattle?"

I shrugged. "It was time to spend a few months with my dad before I disappear to college."

"Really?" Edward asked quietly, and something about the intensity of his voice made my gut twist at the lie. "Bella, do you trust me?"

I sighed, putting my sandwich down in its wrapper and looking out the windshield. "I... would you understand if I told you it's something I really can't go into?" I asked, fully aware of the magnitude of the risk I was taking. "Edward, listen," I cut him off before he could answer. "I really like you. That sounds ridiculously cheesy, but it's the best I can do right now. I don't want to lose this," I gestured at the space between us, "but... I can't... tell you everything."

"Can I ask one question?" I gestured Edward to go on, but my guard was up. "Were you running from something?"

I laughed once. "No, I was not. You're just going to keep playing twenty questions in your head, aren't you?" Off his silent nod, I shrugged. "Well, enjoy. What if it's something you can't handle?"

"Example?" Edward snapped, eyes hardening.

"Well," I drew the word out dramatically, stretching my arms out in front of me before bringing my hands back to my lap, "I could be in the Witness Protection program, and they just placed me with Charlie Swan 'cause he's a police chief."

"They'd do better to place you with someone not in law enforcement," Edward retorted, fighting the smile that was growing against his will.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Charlie wouldn't be a real cop; he'd be a US Marshal undercover. God, Edward, you're so stupid."

Edward snorted, the sound of mirth escaping him against his will, it would seem. "Sorry."

I waved my hand, inwardly applauding myself for turning his questioning into a teasing match. "Next theory."

"Er... You're actually a drug smuggler."

She rolled her eyes. "Now you're just judging the entire state of Arizona. Just 'cause you're a white boy from the suburbs..."

"I'm not from the suburbs, and you're easily as white as I am," he countered, indignant, moreso than the situation warranted, I thought.

I cocked my head. "Yeah? You're not from around here?"

His eyes tightened, but relaxed quickly. "We were all born on the East Coast, but different parts. Esme and I are from Philadelphia, and Carlisle and Rosalie are from Boston. Em was born in upstate New York."

"I'm sorry about your parents," I said after another brief silence, and Edward looked up at me with wide eyes. "I don't know that I've ever said that before. But I am. Sorry."

He shrugged. "It was a long time ago."

I nodded and looked down, playing with my fingertips in my lap. "Would we ever have spoken if not for this Kennedy project, do you think?" We would have been in the same history class, but had the project not been assigned, would he ever have taken the time to notice me?

"I hope so," he murmured, but it was enough, and I felt myself blushing.

In seconds, the atmosphere in the car changed. He unceremoniously tossed what remained of his lunch onto the dashboard and reached for me. "Come here."

My laugh was breathless as his fingers closed around my wrist and I let him pull me into his lap so that my legs were straddling his. I took great care not to let the critical parts of our anatomy come into contact, knowing that we weren't ready for that yet, but I by no means stopped him from plunging his fingers into my hair, thoroughly loosening my ponytail, as his lips sealed over mine; I sensed his suddenly desperate, ravenous mood and caught up quickly. My own hands gripped his shoulders, bringing our chests flush, as my tongue coaxed his out to play.

Edward groaned at my tongue meeting his own soft flesh, and I marveled at the taste of him. His hands left my hair and moved down my neck, only to brace between my shoulder blades as my arms wrapped around his neck and I angled his head to deepen the kiss. Everything in me was urging me to grind down on him, but I couldn't let that happen.

To distract myself, I broke my mouth from his and brushed my lips roughly along his jaw line, eventually making it to his neck. Another beautiful sound escaped Edward when I left an open-mouthed kiss on the skin that joined his neck to his collarbone.

He could not make his hands stay still. They shifted all over my back, under my jacket, and I could feel him trace the outline of my bra through the T-shirt that I wore. His palms skimmed down the cotton to the waist of my jeans, and after a moment of hesitation in which I kissed across his throat to nibble lightly at his ear lobe, he took a deep breath and shifted his hands to my rear. I gasped, my teeth scraping the skin of his throat, and Edward to gripped me gently, causing my hips to move.

He left one hand where it was, the other one lifting back up to my jaw to quickly angle my face back at his so that he could reclaim my mouth. After one fast, bruising kiss, he tilted my chin back so that he could brush his lips along the skin of my throat, and I couldn't think of why that particular part of my body should be a bad idea. I sighed, the rush of Edward's breath on my skin causing me to shiver, to roll my hips again.

And suddenly, I could feel him, the way his body was changing beneath his jeans. A sound almost like a growl escaped him and he lunged for my mouth again, claiming it, fighting me for dominance I willingly gave.

There was a haze in my mind now, and all it let me focus on was the feeling of him - wrapped all around me, his tongue exploring my mouth, the golden eyes, now the color of night, that I kept getting glimpses of in the brief moments I could hold my eyes open. My hands slipped down his chest, caressing, tracing the muscles through his Henley, marveling at what I felt. But when my hands reached his abs, Edward grunted, an arm wrapping tightly around my back to pull me closer. Whether it was his intention or not, our hips were now completely flush, and that, at last, awakened me.

"Edward," I whispered against his lips, and he grunted in acknowledgement while continuing to kiss me. "No, I... Edward, wait."

"Shit," he hissed, pulling his head back so quickly that I briefly feared whiplash. "Bella, are you all right? Did I hurt you?"

I laughed, lifting my fingertips to touch my swollen lips. "Not at all," I reassured him. "We just need to... slow down, yeah?"

Edward grimaced, nodding. "Yeah," he sighed, gently shifting me back towards his knees, but not letting me go. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

I threw my head back and laughed. "God, I'm not. That was..." I met his eyes again, and he chuckled at my blush, his sheepish eyes darting up beneath his long lashes.

"Yes." He ran a hand through his bronze hair, and the motion drew my attention to his watch.

"Shit. We're late."

A smile flashed across his face. "Should we just skip, then?"

"I wish," I sighed, clambering back to the driver's seat. What I didn't say aloud was that Jasper and Alice would handily kill me for the attention that an unnecessary truancy would attract. "And hey, if you like, we can always continue this in the library."

Edward barked a laugh, and his grin did not leave his face as we grabbed our trash and school things, left the car, and headed back towards the school.

No one noticed us slipping into the library late, and even though we did hide behind a shelf deep in the stacks, we kept our kisses sporadic and chaste as we discussed books. In fact, the closest we got for the rest of the day to anything risqué was when he slipped his tongue between my lips as he kissed me goodbye in the parking lot, causing me to tingle all over again. I forgot entirely that I had anything to be worried about until Alice and Jasper showed up at my house several hours later, as I was trying to concentrate on homework.

"Do you know what she's on about?" Jasper asked me as we all went up to my room. His tone was exasperated, and I hoped with everything in me that he could not see my tension as I shook my head.

"This isn't a joke," Alice snapped, sitting cross-legged on my bed and pulling out her laptop. "In fact, I think we can end this – all of this – if we report it soon enough."

So I'm sure everyone is aware of the recent spate of deleting that's going on with this site. Just so everyone knows, I don't believe that either this story nor the new one that I'm about to start posting, "Everything's on Fire," fall under the MA category, and so I don't think I'm going to wake up one morning and find them deleted. That said, both stories (and some other pieces that aren't on this site) are indeed posted at under the pen name Lily Cullen. I'd be glad to see you over there, but as of right now, these stories will continue to appear on FFn.

Now, as for the other story I mentioned earlier…

The title is "Everything's on Fire," and it had two distinct inspirations. The first, and less important, is the song that Taylor Swift wrote for the Hunger Games film, entitled "Safe and Sound." The second is from the absolutely brilliant drotuno story "Angel's Embrace," the sequel to "Broken Angel," an AU story of what would have happened had Edward not returned to Bella in New Moon. Fear not – it is a Bella/Edward story. I took one of the stories that the Cullens told about their family in a new high school setting and turned it into a real AH story all on its own. I really recommend that you go read "Broken Angel" – not that you need it to understand "Everything's on Fire;" it's just life-changingly good.

Please review! You all have to have some thoughts about Alice's new discovery