A/N: And the story continues. Enjoy.

I sat in my car in the school lot with no appetite for lunch. I hoped some Gd awful thing would happen so I wouldn't have to face anyone again.

"Hey Bella," a solemn voice called. I turned to see the girls approaching.

"We saw what happened," Rosalie vocalized. "You okay?"

I shrugged to my shoulders. "I can't believe Marcus said that in front of all those people."

"It will be alright," Rosalie uttered as she patted my hair in a comforting motion.

"He's a jerk like his friend Alec," Asia added.

"Yeah," Angela agreed, "You don't need him." They all nodded in unison then Angela laughed. "Did you see the three stooges? They just yanked him away.

"I know," I was confused, "and they looked angry."

"Hey, I have a good idea," Rosalie said with a smile. "Let's all just climb into Bella's car and go get some frozen yogurt."

"Uh Rosalie, won't we get in trouble if we leave school grounds?"

"Don't worry, we'll be back before lunch is over and we all will be replenished for the second half of the day."

-o-

On the way back to my classes, I spotted Volcano. He had just stuffed some poor student into a locker.

"Now when I tell you to step aside, what do you do?"

A muffled voice came out of the locker.

"I can't hear you!"

I walked over to him; heat burned at the tips my ears. "Volcano, what are you doing?" I walked in between him and the locker. "Are you okay in there?" I called into the metal slits.

"Don't talk to him," Volcano said. "He pissed me off." Then he banged at the door.

I unlatched and opened it to release his victim.

Volcano grabbed at the boy's collar. "Lucky the lady came around to let you out. Next time you might not be so lucky."

The kid ran off.

I just stared at Volcano not knowing what to do next.

His face relaxed. "Hey, so how are you doing?" he questioned politely.

"Excuse me?" I was confused.

"I saw you dumped Marcus; are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. I went out with Rosalie and the girls."

"Yeah, they are a great group of friends," he agreed.

"Volcano, why did you put that boy in the locker?"

He chortled, "He stood in my way."

"Did you ask him nicely to move?"

He paused before answering. "Maybe not nicely."

My hand went out, pointer extended. "You can't just stuff someone into a locker."

He laughed again, "He was so scared. I think he wet his pants."

My face felt heated. "Volcano that is what bullies do."

"Lighten up. It was funny."

"No it wasn't." The bell sounded the beginning of class and I started to walk away.

"Hey wait up. Now that you're not preoccupied with Marcus, I was wondering if you wanted to go out."

"No," I answered shortly.

"What? Why not?"

"Are you kidding? What if I 'pissed you off'? Would you put me into a locker?"

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous."

"What about your friends?"

"They wouldn't dare," he stated, "and anyway, they like you."

That took me by surprise. "Really? Is that why they grabbed Marcus?"

"Yeah. They think he's scum. They took him out for a beat-down, but I got there in time, since I knew you wouldn't want him hurt, at least not badly. He'll only have minor bruises."

"Well thanks," I said sarcastically as I walked off.

-o-

I went straight home after school, not really in the mood to do any tutoring. I sat at my desk trying to figure out how I planned to get Victoria's number to James without dealing with Volcano. The simplest way was to just hand it to him, but the idea of approaching him or any of the stooges still frightened me, even if Volcano claimed they liked me. I walked down the steps to the dining area to eat dinner with my parents, still preoccupied with my dilemma.

If I see Volcano again, it will be too soon.

He got under my skin and the very thought of him irked me. I needed to let out some of my pent up anger, but I had no intention of sharing my boy problems with my parents. It would bring on "the talk" and I had avoided a repeat of it since they explained the birds and the bees to me graphically when I was eleven. I called up Angela and she reminded me I owed her an after dinner walk.

"So. Are we. Going to. Make this. A regular. Thing?" I panted. Her speed did not imply this walk was even remotely "light."

"Only if you want to, Bella. I really appreciate you coming out with me." She wasn't even winded. "Let's do two more blocks straight and then make a left."

"Hey can we rest for a bit, sit, maybe pass out?"

She giggled, "Really Bella, I would never guess you'd be out of shape."

We found a bench and sat quietly for a few minutes while I caught my breath and conjured up the courage to talk.

"Okay, time's up." She popped up from her spot and started to walk.

"Wait Angela," I called. "Something has been bothering me and I would like to run it by you."

She sat back down. "All right, shoot."

"I seem to have this attraction to a guy," I began. "And after getting to know him better, I found it difficult to ... NOT like him, but also I don't want to like him. Do you follow?" She nodded as I continued. "Because ..."

"Bella," she assured me, "just give it time. You'll get over Marcus."

"No, I'm not talking about Marcus. I'm referring to Volcano."

"Volcano? I thought you didn't like him?" she asked.

"Yes and no," I sighed. He's so ... ugh. I don't know. I saw him with this kid in a locker. I can't imagine ever being okay with that behavior. Liking someone like that ... but I can't stop thinking about him. I mean, what should I do? It's just another toxic situation."

"Look Bella, I can't tell you what to do. It's your decision, but remember to protect your heart. Hearts are strong, but they can also be fragile. You don't want it to break. It's no secret we all think he's a bully, but at the end of the day it's about how he treats you. Some boys have a real knack at playing the good/great/ awesome guy in the public eye, but are really creeps as boyfriends. Is he like Marcus and just wants a low-standard pretty face to complement his own, but doesn't really care about the person behind it?"

She had a good point, but I still didn't think I could ignore his actions toward other students, especially when I've seen how good he could be.

-o-

I woke up the next day still ambivalent about my feelings for Volcano. After my morning facial cleanse, I took a good look at myself in the mirror. I carefully applied my eyeliner and mascara then paused. This is what gets me in trouble. Would I like him, if he wasn't interested in me?

I didn't think I could go barefaced to school, but I didn't have to enhance myself either. I lightly placed my foundation just to even at my skin tone and finished with just my tinted chapstick. I headed to my closet chose the most androgynous items in there: a pair of J Brand Jeans, a blue flannel shirt I found in the back of my closet (When did I get that?) and my leather jacket. I wore Timberlands on my feet and stuffed my hair loosely twisted into a black beanie. My reflection revealed if I were viewed from behind I would be unrecognizable as me. I quickly ate breakfast, reapplied the chapstick and drove to school.

-o-

I caught Victoria heading into the school building and explained I hadn't managed to get her number to James yet, but I hoped she would make it to class. The expression of distaste painted her face.

"Sitting in class only frustrates me more. Why would I go?"

"Um ... maybe for attendance. The teacher will see you are trying, even if you are really not."

Second period chemistry was uneventful, especially because Volcano was absent. My curiosity ignited when I spotted the stooges in the hallway, but I didn't dare ask them his location.

Between 3rd and 4th I caught a glimpse of someone familiar: an olive skinned boy with black hair and a worried face.

"Hey there," I greeted tapping him on the shoulder. He jumped and quickly turned around backing himself loudly against the lockers. His body shook and his head and eyes searched the surrounding area. "Hey are you okay?" I asked, my hand hovering over his shoulder. I didn't know if it would be safe to touch him.

He sounded, "Al sateb akhar eh?"

"Huh? I'm sorry. I can't understand you."

Someone roughly pulled me back by my shoulder. "Hey! What are you doing..." his contorted face smoothed out when he saw me, "...to my cousin?" His voice changed, became softer and easier to hear his accent. "I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else."

"You should be sorry," I remarked as I straightened my jacket and shifted shirt.

"I thought you were harassing him." He turned to the boy and uttered something in a different speech.

"What language is that?"

"Egyptian."

"You mean Arabic?"

"No, I mean Egyptian," he corrected.

I narrowed my eyes. "As in ancient Egyptian? Isn't that a dead language?"

"Not as long as my family speaks it. The name's Benjamin and that," he pointed to the frightened teen, "is Amun."

"I'm Bella. What's wrong with him?"

He asked him in the foreign tongue and there was some explanation back and forth before the strange boy took off quickly without looking back.

Benjamin huffed and glanced at me for a split second previous to speaking. "He claims you are the girlfriend to the aggressor who'd been bothering him most recently. I tried to explain such a brute couldn't possibly have a girlfriend, but he insisted you had to be if you could call him off. I believed it to be utter nonsense; you could just as easily be the head boss man of the crime syndicate." He smiled at his joke. "That's when he took off."

"Oh." I smiled too. "No, Volcano and I are ... I guess, friends. I don't think he's here today."

"I guess it would be safe to walk you to class."

"Actually, my class is right there," I pointed, "but thank you."

A/N: What do you think of the story so far?