A/N - So it's been a while... sorry about that, got a little distracted by an actual summer here in England!

Chapter 11 –

EPOV

Reluctantly, Edward watched Bella drive off with Rose and Jasper, and although he knew it was irrational, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He wanted to keep Bella all to himself; he was consumed with a need to know everything about her, but everything she told him only raised more questions.

Again he couldn't seem to reconcile the cold, taciturn girl he saw walking through the halls at school with the girl who had sung along with him at the top of her lungs as they drove.

A smile spread across his face as he thought about the way she had teased him on their drive before revealing the most beautiful and secluded spot.

She was a walking contradiction, impossible to pin down or figure out, but completely irresistible. It occurred to him that if he wasn't careful, he would fall for her, hard.

Although he would never admit it, the thought scared him.

A hand waving in front of his face caught his attention, and he looked down to see Alice watching him with enjoyment.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" At his recognition, she smirked. "So, now you have to tell me everything."

"No, Ali. I really don't." He turned to walk toward the car and stopped at the sound of her musical laugh. Something that usually meant she knew she was going to get her way and she was amused by the idea that anyone thought differently. His shoulders slumping in defeat, Edward turned again. "What?"

Pretending to intently study her fingernails, Alice sighed melodramatically.

"It's just that, if you don't tell me what's happening with you and Bella." She looked up at him, the mock sorrow clear on her face. "Then I'll be forced to tell Mom and Dad that you've been ditching school." As his face contorted in surprise and irritation, she continued, "I mean, I care about you so much, big brother. I only want what's best for you."

The glint in her eye belied her innocent expression as Alice waited.

"That's a low blow, Alice. I can't believe you would threaten me with Mom and Dad." Shaking his head, feigning disappointment, Edward sighed. "I thought we were past these petty games."

As they both tried not to laugh, Alice folded her arms across her chest and stared him down.

"Try me."

By the time they reached the house and Edward had filled Alice in on his day, he was grinning like a fool.

Even though he'd kept his descriptions brief and tried not to give too much away, Alice seemed to see right through him. Occasionally she would erupt into strange squealing noises at his words, and Edward found her excitement contagious.

Edward was happy, happier than he had been in a long time, and Bella had done that. He just hoped that he made her feel the same way.

888888888888

Edward pulled into the school parking lot bright and early again the next day, waiting for Bella to pull up. When he recognized the low rumble of her truck approaching, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

A gentle squeeze on his hand made him look down to see his sister give him a brief smile before she walked into the school.

Jasper and Rosalie bundled out of Bella's truck, sparing him quick waves and head nods as they made their own way inside the building. Walking slowly over to her door, Edward tried to conceal his excitement. Bella tended to be skittish, and he didn't want to spook her.

After a few moments she stumbled out of the truck and hit the ground, slamming the door behind her with a low curse.

"Morning," Edward called out softly.

Her head shot up immediately, and he couldn't contain his grin any longer at the startled expression on her face. She was definitely skittish.

"Uh, hi?" It came out as more of a question than anything else, and Edward quirked his eyebrow in amusement at her apparent confusion.

But his amusement quickly gave way to dismay as she pushed past him with a deep sigh and a weary shake of her head. That hadn't gone at all how he had expected.

Clearing his own head with a quick shake, he turned quickly to follow her, reaching out and snagging her fingertips with his own as he caught up to her shuffled footsteps.

"Okay, I'm just gonna write that off as you really not being a morning person and try not to take it too personally." Tilting his head to try and catch her eye, Edward realized Bella had stopped moving and was staring, slack jawed, at their clasped hands.

Her eyes lifted slowly to meet his, and he tried again with another tentative smile. She seemed to be assessing him, searching his gaze for something he couldn't be sure she would find. Just as the smile was about to fall from his face, she raised one corner of her mouth and bit the edge of her lip.

"No, I'm not really a morning person at all." Sparing a quick glance down at their joined hands, she continued, "And not taking things personally might be something you'll have to get used to with me."

Dropping her eyes to the floor again, Bella let her hand go limp in his grasp, as though she was expecting him to let go at any second.

"I'm sure I can handle that… Bells."

Edward couldn't tell whether it was his words, the slight squeeze he gave her tiny hand, or the use of her nickname; but she seemed to have found what she was looking for, and she graced him with a blinding smile in return.

"Good." With the one small word, Edward felt a sense of relief flood through him. He hadn't even been aware of the faint nerves taking residence in his stomach when she walked away from him, but the moment they disappeared, he felt it.

"Good," he returned. "So, no more ignoring me?" He thought he had managed to keep the tinge of desperation out of his voice; he didn't want her to know just how much he cared about her answer.

Surprising him yet again, she just shrugged one shoulder coolly and smirked at him. "Maybe. I guess that depends on you."

It was a challenge – everything about her was a challenge, but this time, she knew what she was asking of him. She was warning him, giving him every opportunity to cut and run, but there was no chance of that now. She couldn't scare him off, and he was determined to prove it to her.

"Well, I better not fuck this up then." Flashing a cocky grin, he watched her eyes widen in surprise. "Like I told you, I'm sick of staying away from you." A faint blush covered her cheeks, and this time he couldn't stop himself from leaning forward and feeling the warmth against his skin. Pressing his lips briefly to her face, he let his lips turn up into a smile. "See you at lunch."

As the bell rang he walked away, leaving her standing in a stunned silence in the empty hallway.

BPOV

Bella found herself gaping at Edward as he walked away. No, he sauntered away, that was really the only way to describe it.

She could still feel her skin tingling where his lips had pressed against her moments before, and unthinkingly, her fingertips began to rise to that spot. Catching herself, Bella dropped her arm sheepishly to her side despite being the only person in the hallway, and then rolled her eyes at herself for being such a girl.

She stood in the hallway until she could no longer hear his footsteps and contemplated the silence around her.

Waking earlier that morning, Bella had had the best of intentions about actually going to all of her classes after ditching the day before. She had a vague and unrealistic idea that her classes might distract her from thinking about Edward every minute of the day.

It was obvious that was going to be impossible now.

With a huff of breath and the unpleasant squeak of her sneakers on the floor, she spun toward the exit and made her way back into the early morning's drizzle.

Pulling the comforting anonymity of her hood up around her face, Bella traipsed around the outside of the school, heading for the patch of concrete behind the cafeteria.

As she dropped her bag to the ground, Bella surveyed the narrow space of concrete between the cafeteria and the back of the gym.

Lightly sheltered from the rain and close enough to the generator to provide some additional warmth, it had been her favourite smoking spot since her first week at school.

She hadn't been there for a while. Since the purchase of her truck and her subsequent ability to easily escape the confines of the school, she hadn't had too many reasons for visiting the drab corridor littered with butts.

But it was still familiar and bizarrely comforting, even though she knew how easy it was to get caught out here. With a small sad smile, Bella slid down the dirty wall as she thought about the first time she'd been caught smoking in this spot.

The plastic chair was hard underneath her legs, and Bella's feet tapped nervously against the squeaky floor. Her fingernail clamped firmly between her teeth, Bella allowed her apprehension to take its toll on her cuticles.

She could feel their eyes on her, but there was no whispered gossip. They would save that for after she had left.

The silence was heavy with implication, disturbed only briefly by the hesitant shuffling of papers and the hastily answered phone.

Not for the first time, she wished that Jasper was sitting on the uncomfortable chair beside her. But he had already been suspended, without any consultation or discussion. That meant three days without him by her side unless she happened to get suspended too.

It didn't seem likely; it was only ditching and a couple of cigarettes, and she was new, so she thought she might just get detention and a warning. She supposed they were lucky that they hadn't been caught five minutes earlier, with the freshly rolled joint dangling from her fingertips. That would probably have warranted a call to the cops for both of them, rather than just Charlie.

In the kind of echoing stillness only found in empty school corridors, a single door slammed and Bella winced. The row of curled hairdos and perched glasses rose from behind the desk to watch the door to the office.

His footsteps were hollow, the soles of his shoes didn't squeak as he made his way down the hallway, and Bella could picture him clearly before he came into view.

Full uniform, hand resting on the butt of his gun, perma-scowl etched into his forehead.

As he pushed the office door open, she wasn't disappointed.

"Chief Swan." It was like a well rehearsed chorus, and despite her nerves, Bella had to bite the inside of her mouth to prevent her smile from escaping.

With just a terse nod at his gaggle of admirers, Charlie passed Bella by without even a cursory glance, and suddenly she didn't need to fight off the smile anymore.

In the way that only sitting outside your principal's office can make it, time slowed to a standstill. Bella caught rumbling murmurs from underneath the heavy oak door, but nothing she could make out.

She wondered if the murmurs that made their way past the weighty barrier meant that their voices were raised. Then she wondered if that might mean that Charlie cared after all.

Eventually the door opened with a sigh. She couldn't tell if it was the air passing beneath through the doorway or her father's weary breath, but the sound seemed to mark a shift for Bella.

The man who came out of the office that day, shoulders stooped in resignation, spared her a single look. The muddy brown of their eyes meeting for what felt like the first time in the weeks that she had been living with this taciturn man.

"Let's go." His voice was deep and gruff, and Bella knew that it commanded respect in this backwaters town, but all she heard was disappointment and defeat.

He didn't wait for her as he strode out of the office, through the school, and into the parking lot. Didn't acknowledge her as they made their way to separate cars, or when they met again at their front door.

It wasn't until she began climbing up the stairs that he finally cleared his throat, but she stopped instantly. Awaiting his judgement, his condemnation, his rancour.

"As far as I'm concerned you're pretty much an adult now, Bella." Her heart stuttered as he said her name, but there was no familiarity or affection in those two small syllables. "I don't have time to come down to that school again. I told them as much, and I'll tell you. As long as your grades stay up, they're not to bother me again. Understood?"

Without turning, Bella nodded, she understood. He was washing his hands of her. She was on her own again. It seemed he didn't even care enough to punish her. She made to climb the stairs once more when his quiet voice stopped her in her tracks again.

"A lot of people say that Hale boy is trouble, and I can see why with his record, but I won't tell you who you can be friends with."

It wasn't what she had been expecting, and she didn't understand what he meant by it.

Suddenly there were a million questions racing through her head as she realized she didn't understand anything about this man. But before she could turn and ask him anything, the front door was opening, and he was gone.

At the sound of another nearby door dropping closed, Bella turned her head to the side and rested it on her knees. She already knew that it would be "that Hale boy," leaning carelessly against the wall as he watched her. The only thing she wasn't sure of was how long she'd been sitting there.

"Hey, Jas." Her throat was croaky from disuse, and she wondered why that was always happening to her. Why, she so frequently went for hours without speaking to another soul, did her throat close up on itself?

With a dip of his head and a slow smile, Jasper started to walk toward her, and it was so reminiscent of the first time they'd met that, for a moment, Bella could almost mistake him for that angry fifteen year old he'd been.

"Hells Bells. What you doing hiding back here?" Folding his legs beneath him as he sank to the ground beside her, Jasper focused his eyes on hers and waited. But when Bella dropped her gaze and started to pull at the rubber on the edge of her sneaker, he sighed and turned to face the wall opposite them.

"Just needed to do some thinking, you know. My head's kind of a mess right now." As Jas nodded his head without looking back at her, Bella waited in vain for him to ask her why. "You know, 'cause of everything that's going on."

Sometimes all Bella wanted was for Jas to badger the information out of her like Rose would. To hassle her until she just had to tell him to shut him up. Then it wouldn't feel so much like spilling her guts. It would be like he'd forced her to admit everything, and that would be so much easier.

But that just wasn't Jasper's style. He knew it would be so much more meaningful if she chose to tell him. So he was happy to wait for however long it took.

Usually it took a while; Bella didn't like admitting she had feelings, let alone sharing them with other people. Even those she trusted like Rose and Jasper. Yet for some reason, she wanted to tell Jasper everything about Edward.

She wanted to sit on the cold dingy walkway between the cafeteria and the back of the gym and gush about a boy she liked to her best friend.

She wanted to tell him because it didn't quite seem real. She wanted to tell him and see if she was being naïve or stupid to believe that Edward might actually be interested in her.

As much as she wanted to believe that he could be, it just didn't make any sense to her. Guys only ever wanted one thing from Bella, and then it was usually only because she'd thrown herself at them.

Why would Edward be any different?

Bella studied Jasper's profile as these thoughts passed through her mind. Waiting for him to respond, her mouth opened and closed as she tried to put the words together to explain everything she was feeling. How frightened she was about falling for someone and the power that would give him to hurt her.

Without turning back to her, Jasper simply nodded his head once slowly. "Yup."

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Bella let out a shaky breath and sighed out a responding, "Yeah."

Jasper squinted as though he was trying to see something in the distance and spoke without looking at her again, "So, I was thinking about asking Alice out."

Despite the dull ache his words caused in her chest, Bella let out a small laugh. "You haven't asked her out yet?" At his surprised shake of the head, her laughter grew a little louder. "Well fuck, Jas. Grow a pair and do it already. It's not like she's going to say no."

When he finally turned to look at her again, Bella was shocked to see those unfamiliar nerves shining through his eyes again. Running a hand through his hair and resting it on the back of his neck, Jasper shook his head helplessly. "It's not that, Bells." For a moment, his mouth turned up in the cocky smirk she knew so well. "I'm pretty sure she'll say yes. It's just; where the fuck can I take her?"

Understanding dawned on Bella as she realized the full implication of his question. Reaching out to grasp his free hand in her own, she shook her head at him.

"She's not gonna give a shit about stuff like that, Jas. I'm sure she'll just want to be with you, you know?"

Jasper let out a harsh laugh that reminded Bella even more of the angry boy she used to know, and she flinched at the sound.

"Really, Bells? You think being with me will be enough? I've got nothing to offer her except a criminal record and a fucked up family. What do you think she'll think about that?"

It almost seemed as though he wanted her to tell him to give up, that it would never work anyway so he shouldn't even bother. But she could see the hope in his eyes, the hope that she wouldn't reconfirm all his fears of being worthless. Fears that had plagued him for years.

"Honestly?" She waited for his response, and at his brisk nod, she smiled. "I don't think it'll matter. Besides, you're so much more than that anyway, and even if you weren't, all girls love a bad boy, Jas."

He shook his head at her, and the traces of a smile began to appear in his eyes.

"That they do, Bells. Not you though, huh?"

Deciding for once not to feign ignorance or cover her feelings with sarcasm, Bella asked Jasper quietly, "I dunno. You don't think he's a bad guy then?"

No one's opinion meant more to Bella than Jasper's and Rose's, and although both had made their feelings pretty clear, if Bella was going to risk anything on Edward, she wanted to be sure.

"Nah. He's not a bad guy."

With a nod of her head, Bella acknowledged his statement. It still didn't mean anything. He still might not be interested in her, but if he was, she wasn't going to run away from him anymore.

A/N - Huge thanks as usual to PTB, especially Ava Abney and as usual Savage Woman for taking a look at this for me and making sure it actually makes some sense!

Also, there seem to be some new people reading my little fic, so thanks to everyone who favourited and alerted this and hi!

It would be awesome if you'd let me know what you thought of this chapter too...