10. Competition

"You can't be serious," Bella complained on Wednesday afternoon at lunch. "You've completely lost your mind!"

"Say whatever you like about me," Alice said. "The party is still on."

Bella stared at Alice with wide eyes, speechless.

"Oh, calm down, Bella!" Alice exclaimed. "There's no reason not to go through with it. Besides, the invitations are already sent."

"But…the…you…I…insane!" Bella sputtered incoherently.

"You've already bought my present. You don't have to do anything but show up."

"With everything that is going on right now, a party is hardly appropriate."

"Graduation is what's going on right now, and a party is so appropriate it's almost passé."

"Alice!"

Alice sighed. "There are a few things we need to get in order now, and that's going to take a little time. As long as we're sitting here waiting, we might as well commemorate the good stuff. You're only going to graduate from high school—for the first time—once. You don't get to be human again, Bella. This is a once-in-a-lifetime shot."

I'd been silent through their little tiff, but Alice's words were dangerous. I threw her a warning look.

Like anyone could hear me over the noise in here. Alice stuck her tongue out at me.

"What few things do we need to get in order?" Bella asked.

I spoke now. "Jasper thinks we could use some help. Tanya's family isn't the only choice we have. Carlisle's trying to track down a few old friends, and Jasper is looking up Peter and Charlotte. He's considering talking to Maria…but no one really wants to involve the southerners."

Alice shuddered as she thought of what Maria would do to Jasper if she ever saw him again.

"It shouldn't be too hard to convince them to help," I continued. "Nobody wants a visit from Italy."

"But these friends—they're not going to be…vegetarians, right?"

I panicked. Bella was with us all the time. Our friends weren't vegetarians, and she would be an easy target who smelled almost irresistible. "No," I answered, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.

"Here? In Forks?"

Calm down, Edward. Peter and Charlotte never hunt while they're here. They won't touch Bella, and neither will any of Carlisle's friends. "They're friends," Alice said in a reassuring tone. "Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry. And then, Jasper has to teach us a few courses on newborn elimination…"

I perked up a little at this reminder. I was very much looking forward to that.

"When are you going?" Bella asked, her voice expressionless.

"A week," I answered. "That ought to give us enough time."

Bella suddenly looked sick. I knew she was terrified, and I would have made a small wager that it was because she was thinking of us fighting the newborns, worrying about whether we'd come home.

"You look kind of green, Bella," Alice commented, worried. I wish I could tell you to stay home with her, Edward, but we need you.

I put my arm around my love and pulled her tightly against my side. "It's going to be fine, Bella. Trust me."

Bella was silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her tone was…hopeful. "You're looking for help," she said slowly.

"Yes," Alice answered, cocking her head to the side, trying to figure out what was on Bella's mind, just like I was.

Bella looked only at Alice as she answered. "I could help," she said, just louder than a whisper.

I stiffened and exhaled. The stress made it come out like a hiss. I hoped Alice had a good rebuff for that, because if Bella had said the same thing to Jasper, he would have been enthusiastically supportive right now.

"That really wouldn't be helpful," Alice answered. I've got a good rebuff, Edward. Calm down. She needs you to be calm right now.

"Why not?" Bella argued. "Eight is better than seven. There's more than enough time."

"There's not enough time to make you helpful, Bella," Alice countered. "Do you remember how Jasper described the young ones? You'd be no good in a fight. You wouldn't be able to control your instincts, and that would make you an easy target. And then Edward would get hurt trying to protect you." She folded her arms across her chest, proud of herself for coming up with it.

Bella slumped in her seat, acknowledging Alice's logic.

I relaxed and whispered the reminder in Bella's ear. "Not because you're afraid."

A blank look crossed Alice's face. She was seeing someone cancelling, not coming to the graduation party. "Oh. I hate last-minute cancellations. So that puts the party attendance list down to sixty-five…"

"Sixty-five!" Bella exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

"Who canceled?" I asked, ignoring Bella's response.

"Renee."

"What?" Bella gasped.

"She was going to surprise you for your graduation, but something went wrong. You'll have a message when you get home."

I was a little disappointed that Renee wasn't going to be coming, because I knew Bella would love to see her mother again, but at the same time, I knew Bella would be relieved. She wouldn't have to worry about her mother getting killed by our non-vegetarian vampire guests. I supposed I was a little relieved, too. I had enough to worry about already, like whether or not I would be coming home. I didn't need to add Bella's harebrained mother to my list of people to worry about.

Alice had been right, of course. Bella's answering machine had a message from Renee waiting for her when she got home. Apparently Phil had broken his leg while trying to demonstrate a slide to the high school baseball team he coached. He was completely dependent on her, so there was no way she could leave him to come to Bella's graduation. Renee apologized profusely, and I could tell from her tone that she really wanted to come see her daughter graduate. She was still apologizing when the message cut off.

"Well, that's one," Bella sighed.

"One what?" I asked, although I was fairly certain I knew the answer.

"One person I don't have to worry about getting killed this week."

I rolled my eyes, trying to seem unconcerned, although I was just as terrified as she was. I didn't want any of my family to die, and I desperately wanted to live through this. I had too much to live for, and all of my reasons were standing there in front of me, terrified that I wouldn't come home from Seattle.

"Why won't you and Alice take this seriously? This is serious."

Oh, I am, Bella. I'm taking this more seriously than you are, if that's possible. I smiled, trying not to show my anxiety. "Confidence."

"Wonderful," she grumbled, as she picked up the phone to call Renee back.

I was patient while Bella talked with her mother. Actually, to be more accurate, while Bella's mother talked to her. Bella could barely get a word in edgewise that wasn't an assurance that she wasn't mad.

I just played with Bella's hair for the whole time, memorizing her face again, and smiling her favorite crooked smile every time she looked up at me. I wanted my angel to be calm. It would help calm me down if she were calm, too. But I knew she wouldn't be. She was terrified that someone she loved, one of my family members, wouldn't come home. And she was right to be terrified.

But I figured I would concentrate on the good things while I still could. It was probably superficial to notice such things, but every time she smiled in response to one of my smiles, it metaphorically knocked the breath out of me (not literally since I technically didn't have to breathe). She was so beautiful. And, by some miracle, she was mine.

The second she hung up the phone, she stretched up to kiss me. I lifted her up onto the counter so she wouldn't have to reach as far, and she wrapped her arms and legs around me, holding me prisoner there as she melted against me. When I was getting to be overwhelmed by the desire to take it further, I pulled back.

Her face slipped into a pout, and I had to laugh at her expression as I extricated myself from her arms and legs. I leaned against the counter next to her and put one arm around her shoulders.

"I know you think I have some kind of perfect, unyielding self-control, but that's not actually the case," I teased.

"I wish," she sighed.

I sighed, too. So did I. Well, really, I wished I trusted myself enough to take it further, especially right now, when we only had so much time left to us. But I didn't. I didn't trust myself to be able to control myself enough not to hurt her.

"After school tomorrow," I said, desperate to change the subject, "I'm going hunting with Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie. Just for a few hours—we'll stay close. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett should be able to keep you safe."

"Ugh," she grumbled. "I hate being babysat."

"It's temporary," I assured her.

"Jasper will be bored. Emmett will make fun of me."

"They'll be on their best behavior."

"Right," she grumbled. She paused for a minute, her expression thoughtful. "You know…I haven't been to La Push since the bonfire."

I tried to keep my expression calm. I knew she would much rather spend the day with Jacob than take a ribbing from my brothers for an afternoon. But, now that I knew how Jacob really felt about her, I was apprehensive about Bella visiting him.

"I'd be safe enough there," she reminded me when I didn't respond.

I thought about it for a few seconds. "You're probably right," I sighed.

"Are you thirsty already?" she asked, touching my cheekbone lightly.

"Not really," I said. I didn't want to explain myself. I didn't want her to think about what was going to happen in a week any more than necessary. But she waited, so I explained. "We want to be as strong as possible. We'll probably hunt again on the way, looking for big game."

"That makes you stronger?"

I searched her face for some sign of distress, but all I saw was curiosity.

"Yes," I said when I was confident I wouldn't scare her. "Human blood makes us the strongest, though only fractionally. Jasper's been thinking about cheating—adverse as he is to the idea, he's nothing if not practical—but he won't suggest it. He knows what Carlisle will say."

"Would that help?" she asked in a small voice.

"It doesn't matter. We aren't going to change who we are."

She frowned, then shuddered.

I realized suddenly that she was willing to have a stranger die to protect me. That realization was almost enough to make me stay here, but I couldn't do that to my family. I would just be careful, protect myself, and I would come home after the fight in Seattle.

"That's why they're so strong, of course," I said, changing the subject. "The newborns are full of human blood—their own blood, reacting to the change. It lingers in the tissues and strengthens them. Their bodies use it up slowly, like Jasper said, the strength starting to wane after about a year."

"How strong will I be?"

I grinned, glad that I'd distracted her a little. "Stronger than I am."

"Stronger than Emmett?" she asked playfully.

My grin widened. "Yes. Do me a favor and challenge him to an arm-wrestling match. It would be a good experience for him."

She laughed, then hopped off the counter to go study for her finals.

After a few hours of studying for her calculus final (which, despite my tutoring, she was quite nervous about), she took a break to call Jacob with the news of her visit the next day. I tried to be just as patient with this phone call as I was when she had called Renee. I played with her hair again. But I still couldn't shake the feeling that something would happen tomorrow when she went to see Jacob. I didn't know why, but I was apprehensive about it.

Jacob was, of course, ridiculously enthusiastic, and eagerly embraced my safety precautions of meeting me at the boundary line again.

"So how do you feel you did on your exams?" I asked on the way to the boundary line the next day.

"History was easy, but I don't know about the Calculus. It seemed like it was making sense, so that probably means I failed."

I laughed. "I'm sure you did fine. Or, if you're really worried, I could bribe Mr. Varner to give you an A," I teased.

"Er, thanks, but no thanks."

I laughed again, but stopped instantly when I heard Jacob's thoughts. So this was why I had been nervous about Bella visiting him.

I'm going to tell her, bloodsucker. I'm going to tell her how I feel about her. The truth. I'm in love with her, and I'm going to tell her.

I frowned, suddenly nervous. The feelings of fear and anxiety I'd had the last time Bella had spent time with Jacob returned. Would Bella leave me for Jacob?

"What's wrong?" my love asked, sensing my tension.

I shook my head. "Nothing," I lied.

"You're not listening to Jacob, are you?"

"It's not easy to ignore someone when he's shouting."

"Oh," she said. After a pause, she spoke again. "What's he shouting?" she whispered nervously.

"I'm absolutely certain he'll mention it himself," I said.

Jacob honked his horn, his impatience getting the best of him. Hurry it up, bloodsucker.

"That's impolite," I growled.

"That's Jacob," Bella sighed, getting out of the car and hurrying toward the boundary line.

She waved to me before she left, but I was still irritated with Jacob for doing this, especially now. Didn't I have enough to worry about without this, too? Couldn't I at least have the few days before I went to Seattle to enjoy with Bella without worrying that she would leave me for her best friend, the werewolf? I sped away, and noticed, too late, that Bella had left the cell phone I had given her in the car. Was she not planning on coming back?

During the hunting trip, I was distracted and I ended up going back to the house early and waiting impatiently for Bella to call me. Just because she didn't have her cell phone didn't mean that she didn't have access to a phone. After a few hours, I was starting to get worried that maybe she'd left her phone on purpose so I couldn't call her. Maybe she would leave me for Jacob. Of course, the fact that Alice couldn't see whether Bella was going to come back didn't help my nerves at all, although she tried to comfort me.

"Edward, relax," she told me. "Bella loves you. She's not going to leave you for Jacob."

I tried to relax, but it didn't work. My phone finally rang, and it was Bella's home number. I was elated.

"Bella?" I answered on the first ring, unable to keep my joy out of my voice. I raced to my car and was driving down the driveway within ten seconds. "You left the phone…I'm sorry, did Jacob drive you home?"

"Yes," she grumbled unhappily. "Will you come and get me, please?"

"I'm on my way. What's wrong?"

"I want Carlisle to look at my hand. I think it's broken."

Had that mongrel hurt my angel? "What happened?" I asked, trying to keep all of the emotion out of my voice.

"I punched Jacob," she said a little smugly.

"Good," I said bleakly. "Though I'm sorry you're hurt."

"I wish I'd hurt him." She sighed, frustrated. "I didn't do any damage at all."

"I can fix that," I teased, hoping to lighten her mood.

"I was hoping you would say that."

"That doesn't sound like you," I said warily. "What did he do?"

"He kissed me," Bella growled.

I accelerated as fast as the car would go, unable to focus on anything else in my rage. How dare that dog kiss my Bella? Well, at least she hadn't wanted him to. She had punched him. She was still mine. I smiled a little at the thought.

"Is the dog still there?" I asked when I had gotten control of myself.

"Yes."

"I'm around the corner," I said, then hung up. I screeched to a stop in front of her house a second later.

"How's your hand?" I heard Charlie ask as I rushed to the door with human speed, so as not to attract attention from the neighbors.

"It's swelling," Bella responded.

"Maybe you should pick on people your own size."

"Maybe," Bella said, opening the door before I could knock.

"Let me see," I murmured.

She held out her hand, and I examined it gently, making sure not to cause her any pain. She was right. It probably was broken. She had to have put some force behind the punch to have broken her hand.

"I think you're right about the break," I told her. "I'm proud of you. You must have put some force behind this."

"As much as I have," she sighed. "Not enough, apparently."

I kissed her injured hand softly. "I'll take care of it," I promised her, then called, "Jacob," trying to keep my voice even.

"Now, now," Charlie cautioned, coming to the door. "I don't want any fighting, do you understand?" he asked, looking only at me. His thoughts betrayed that he was on Jacob's side. Of course, I'd already guessed that he would be. "I can go put my badge on if that makes my request more official."

"That won't be necessary," I said, trying to keep myself from yelling at Charlie.

"Why don't you arrest me, Dad?" Bella asked. "I'm the one throwing punches."

Charlie raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "Do you want to press charges, Jake?"

"No," he said, grinning. "I'll take the trade any day." He pulled his memory of the kiss to the front of his mind, taunting me.

I grimaced.

"Dad, don't you have a baseball bat somewhere in your room? I want to borrow it for a minute," Bella said, annoyed.

"Enough, Bella," Charlie said evenly.

"Let's go have Carlisle look at your hand before you wind up in a jail cell," I told Bella, desperate to get out of here, away from Jacob's fantasies, which were getting more graphic by the minute. He was trying to make me believe that it had really happened the way he was thinking of it, but Bella's broken hand proved otherwise. I knew she had fought him off, not kissed him back. I put my arm around my angel, careful not to touch her hand, and pulled her gently toward the door.

"Fine," she said, leaning against me.

I sighed. Everything was all right now, and all of my fears from earlier once again seemed ridiculous. Of course Bella loved me. Of course she wouldn't leave me for the dog. I had been foolish to ever doubt her affections.

"What are you doing?" Charlie whispered to Jacob as I walked Bella to the car. "Are you crazy?"

"Give me a minute, Charlie," Jacob answered, completely calm. "Don't worry, I'll be right back." He shut the door to Bella's house and followed us outside.

I ignored the dog at first as I helped Bella into my car and fastened her seatbelt so she wouldn't have to use her broken hand to do it. I left the window open and turned slowly to face Jacob. He was standing with his arms folded across his chest, casually, confidently.

"I'm not going to kill you now, because it would upset Bella," I said, making my voice gentle but threatening.

"Hmph," Bella grumbled.

I turned to look at my love, flashing her favorite crooked smile. "It would bother you in the morning," I told her, brushing my fingers across her cheek.

Then I turned back to Jacob. "But if you ever bring her back damaged again—and I don't care whose fault it is; I don't care if she merely trips, or if a meteor falls out of the sky and hits her in the head—if you return her to me in less than the perfect condition that I left her in, you will be running with three legs. Do you understand that, mongrel?"

Jacob rolled his eyes. Right. I can take you any day, bloodsucker.

"Who's going back?" Bella muttered.

I was glad to hear Bella say that, but I continued as if I hadn't heard her. "And if you ever kiss her again, I will break your jaw for her," I vowed.

"What if she wants me to?" Jacob said arrogantly. He again pulled out one of his little fantasies.

"Hah!" Bella snorted.

I shrugged. "If that's what she wants, then I won't object," I said. I was fairly confident that wouldn't ever happen, based on Bella's reaction this time. "You might want to wait for her to say it, rather than trust your interpretation of body language—but it's your face."

Jacob grinned as he imagined kissing Bella.

"You wish," Bella grumbled.

"Yes, he does," I mumbled.

"Well, if you're done rummaging through my head, why don't you go take care of her hand?" Jacob said, annoyed.

Something about Jacob's fantasies suddenly bothered me. I couldn't stand the thought of them coming true. "One more thing," I said slowly. "I'll be fighting for her, too. You should know that. I'm not taking anything for granted, and I'll be fighting twice as hard as you will."

"Good," Jacob growled. "It's no fun beating someone who forfeits."

Beating? He thought he would win? Had Bella told me everything? "She is mine," I said, unable to control myself entirely. "I didn't say I would fight fair."

"Neither did I," Jacob said, still arrogant.

"Best of luck," I said sarcastically.

Jacob nodded. "Yes, may the best man win."

"That sounds about right…pup."

Jacob grimaced, then leaned around me and smiled at Bella. I wanted to break the little punk's jaw, but I refrained.

"I hope your hand feels better soon," he told her. "I'm really sorry you're hurt."

I walked around the car and got in the driver's seat, desperate to get away from the dog's fantasies, which now involved Bella topless. I had to believe that if she knew he thought of her like that, she wouldn't want to spend time with him. I almost told her what he was thinking, but I didn't want her to break her other hand punching him.

"How do you feel?" I asked as we drove away.

"Irritated," she said.

I chuckled, imagining how much more irritated she would be if she knew what Jacob was thinking right now. "I meant your hand."

She shrugged. "I've had worse."

"True," I agreed. I frowned, remembering her covered in gauze and plaster after our little excursion to Phoenix a year ago.

We were already back at the house, and I drove into the garage. Rosalie was working on Emmett's Jeep, and he was holding it up, acting as the jack. Emmett watched curiously as I carefully helped Bella out of the car, making sure not to touch her injured hand.

Emmett's eyes zeroed in on her hand, which she held cradled against her chest. He grinned. "Fall down again, Bella?"

Bella glared at him. "No, Emmett. I punched a werewolf in the face."

Emmett blinked in surprise, and then burst into a roar of laughter. She did what?

"Jasper's going to win the bet," Rosalie said from underneath the Jeep.

Emmett stopped laughing and looked at Bella, genuinely worried that he would lose.

"What bet?" Bella demanded, pausing.

Oh, great. Why had Rosalie mentioned the bet? "Let's get you to Carlisle," I urged, glaring at Emmett.

"What bet?" Bella demanded as I dragged her inside.

"Thanks, Rosalie," I muttered, tightening my arm around my love's waist.

"Edward…" Bella grumbled.

"It's infantile," I said, shrugging. "Emmett and Jasper like to gamble."

"Emmett will tell me," she said, trying to turn around. I tightened my grip on her even more, restraining her.

I sighed. "They're betting on how many times you…slip up in the first year."

"Oh," Bella said, grimacing. "They have a bet about how many people I'll kill?"

"Yes," I admitted. "Rosalie thinks your temper will turn the odds in Jasper's favor."

"Jasper's betting high," she said, sounding a little high herself.

I quickened our pace. "It will make him feel better if you have a hard time adjusting," I told her. "He's tired of being the weakest link."

"Sure. Of course it will," she said in a monotone. "I guess I could throw in a few extra homicides, if it makes Jasper happy. Why not?"

I squeezed her gently, being careful not to hurt her hand. "You don't need to worry about it now," I assured her. "In fact, you don't need to worry about it ever, if you don't want to."

She groaned. I worried that it was her hand, so I pulled her even faster toward the house. When we got inside, I picked her up and raced up the stairs to Carlisle's office.

Her hand was broken, but it wasn't bad. Just a tiny fissure in a knuckle. Of course, she didn't want a cast, and Carlisle told her she'd be fine in a brace if she promised to keep it on.

I could tell Bella was out of it as Carlisle worked, fitting the brace to her hand. I worried aloud that she was in pain, but she assured me that wasn't it.

What was it, then? Was she considering Jacob? I tried not to think of her leaving me, concentrating instead on planning my maneuvers to make sure she stayed with me. I didn't know if I'd be able to stand seeing her with the dog, especially having seen his disgusting fantasies. If she wanted him that much, I would let her go, but it would be the most difficult thing I would ever do. And I wasn't going to give in without a fight. She was way too important to me.