Oh hooray! I was so afraid you guys gave up on me! But seeing the plethora of fantastic reviews I was given for the last chapter, I can see that I was very wrong! Thank you! Oh, and to all who bought my book, thank you again! X3 I hope you enjoy it! Tell me what you think and what you hope to see in the upcoming ones! (there'll be five) Anyway, on with the show!

Eleven: New Additions

There were several surprises that Bella was presented with that day. For one, the minute she woke up, she found that Jacob was outside waiting for her with her truck. The second surprise came that morning, when Jacob asked her if she wanted to go to the winter dance with him, to which she said she'd think about it. And the third and perhaps biggest surprise was that, when she and Jacob pulled up into the parking lot, she spotted not only the face of Edward Cullen, but of Rosalie and Emmet Cullen as well. Getting out of the car, Bella approached the three, Rosalie nodding firmly as she did so. Rosalie had on her usual marshmallow puff jacket in bright pink, the fur trimmed hood over her head. Emmet, as usual, had on a boxer-esque sweat jacket, and Edward wore his usual black. Bella glanced over to see her other friends assemble near the front of school, and to see Jacob follow closely behind her. She stepped in front of the three vampires, her voice low. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked in a whisper, despite how noisy the parking lot was.

"Victoria has returned," said Rosalie seriously. "That's not something our family can ignore. So Carlisle sent me to look after you." She thumbed over to Emmet. "He just happened to tag along."

"Awe!" Playfully, Emmet threw his arms around Rosalie's shoulders, making an adorable puppy-face. "That's so mean, Rosie! Come on, kiss me and make it better! Ack!" Rosalie shoved her notebook into his face, stopping him.

"You idiot," she hissed, trying to keep her cool. "We're supposed to be siblings, remember. We're Edward's cousins from Oregon."

"Can't we just say that we're married, which is why you have my last name?"

Rosalie took her notebook back, rubbing her temple, which throbbed in irritation. "Honestly, Emmet. We're here to do serious work, and you're still goofing around."

"Because you're too stiff!" Grinning, Emmet patted her on her lower back, just above her buttocks. Annoyed, Rosalie reached up and yanked the strings on his hood tight enough to where his entire face was closed in. Huffing, she swiveled about and marched away. Edward merely rolled his eyes, turning to Bella.

"They're going to be your new bodyguards," he said as Emmet yanked his hood back open. "To be honest, I don't know who's more dangerous to you. Victoria or Emmet."

"You make me sound like a doofus, Eddie!"

"You are one."

"Hmph. At least Bella understands my comedic genius, right Bells?"

"Uh..." Bella had to admit, she'd wanted to laugh in this situation, but she said nothing about it. Edward dismissed the question and turned back to Bella.

"In any case, Carlisle is worried that she'll come back for you." In the pit of her stomach, Bella felt her lining drop out. "So he sent Rosalie to watch out for you. But then Emmet was throwing a bit of a fit because he wanted to go with Rosalie. Of course, this is all from what they've told me. I don't live there anymore, after all." He caught Emmet yawning, the vampire patting his mouth. "Not so easy waking up in the day, is it?"

"Eh, I'll just sleep through my classes. I didn't pass high school the first time around, so why should I try the second time?"

"You didn't pass last time?" Bella became suddenly interested. "How come?"

Emmet just flashed a boyish smile. "I dropped out to fight. After I won a few titles, I didn't need to go back."

"In any case." Bella jumped as Jacob's voice entered the conversation. She almost forgot that he was there. "I really don't think this is necessary. I'm already going to be with her, so there's no need for two other bodyguards." She blinked as that morning came to mind. Had he asked her to the dance simply to make sure she'd be safe? Part of her felt a little bit insulted at the realization. Still, she held her tongue. She'd talk to him about it later, her attention being drawn to Edward's scoff.

"Oh right, because you guys did such a great job last time." That elicited a growl from Jacob's throat.

"Why don't you piss off, bloodsucker? You don't even have a reason to be here anymore."

"Maybe I just want to be here."

"Ha! Who would actually want to go to high school?"

Edward nearly blushed in embarrassment. "Why do you care, ass-sniffer?"

"Blow me, bat-fag!"

"Flea dick!"

"Anus biter!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Emmet got in between them just as they were about to tare one another's heads off. Bella couldn't help but notice just how dirty their insults had become since their first few fights. Emmet put one hand on each of their chests, smiling weakly. "At least let me place a couple of bets before you guys brawl, eh?"

Snorting, Edward jerked away, trying to regain his composure. "Whatever. I don't have time for this anyway. Come on Bella." He took her arm and began to lead her away, when Bella felt a tug on her other arm by Jacob. The wolf growled in Edward's direction.

"I'm Bella's escort. Not you, Cullen." Edward jerked her towards his side.

"Quit acting like a child! I've always been her bodyguard. I'll take her to class. Besides, we're in the same grade." Jacob tugged right back.

"Funny, I didn't think hundred something year old guys were seniors in high school."

"Oh for the love of God!"

Bella yanked both arms out of their grasps, glaring at the both of them. "You're both idiots! I'll walk myself to class!" Emmet opened his mouth to say something, but Bella cut him off before he could. "You're not coming either!" With that, she marched away from the three boys, fuming as she stormed into her little group of human friends. She couldn't believe how immature they still were, after all that had happened. One might think that, though time and near-death situations, they might have grown to put aside their differences. How pathetic that they still bickered like a couple of squabbling chickens. Now that she was in a bad mood, she hoped that she gave out enough signals to let the others know that she didn't want to be bothered. Which was why, almost immediately, Jessica jumped on her case.

"Ooh, you look pissy," she said with a grin. "What happened? And who's the beefy guy you were just talking to?"

"It's a private issue."

"Oh? You know, he kind of looks the same as Cullen... They have the same skin and eyes, anyway..."

"They're cousins," Bella answered, remembering the story Rosalie gave them. "That's Emmet. The girl who walked off who was in the pink is his sister, Rosalie."

"Oh..." Jessica eyed her, as though trying to crack some unseen code on her face. "Something else is going on..."

There were two very distinct options in this situation. One was to ignore her, which would more than likely not work. Jessica would probably just bug her until she wound up snapping at her like the day after Chris dumped her. The other option was to tell her a small piece of information. Not enough to give anything away, but enough to pacify her. She decided that the second option was her best bet. So, with a heavy sigh, she answered her. "Jacob asked me to the winter dance." Right on cue, Jessica gasped, her eyes all a glitter.

"Oh my God, no way! Seriously?" Bella smiled weakly, trying to not become annoyed at her over-exuberance. To be honest, it was very difficult. "So what did you say! Are you two going?"

"I said I'd think about it," said Bella with a shrug. The look on Jessica's face read as though Bella committed blasphemy. With a blank face, she asked: "What? Did I say the wrong thing?"

"Duh!" Jessica threw her hands into the air. "Of course you did! You don't say something like that! He's a catch, Bella! Go with him!"

She looked a bit uneasy. "But I don't even know if I want to go to the dance – "

"Oh, you're going," she said promptly, hands on her hips. "I already know what kind of dress you should wear. Something low cut to show off your cleavage." Bella looked down at her flat chest as if to say: "What cleavage?" "Oh don't fret," said Jessica, batting away her clearly self conscious feelings. "I have the perfect solution. We'll just have some frills around the cut and a broach in the middle to distract him from the fact that you're flat."

Bella put her hand to her forehead. "Really, you're too kind," she muttered. Thankfully, the bell rang, and the group had to disperse to get to their classes. Her book bag clutched to her shoulder (she had long discarded the teddy bear pack), Bella walked herself into school and headed straight for first period. She knew that she would not be able to think all day today. And, not surprising, she wasn't able to. Particularly because she ended up sitting right beside Emmet Cullen.

As she took her seat, she got a strong sense of deja vú, reminded of her first few interactions with Edward. However, Emmet was a completely different breed. That was apparent from the day they met. However, he seemed a bit different now that he was separated from the other two. He greeted Bella with a smile and a nod, as usual, but his smile was a bit sadder than his usual beam. Bella set her books to the side, returning the gesture weakly.

"So you're in my math class?" she asked. Emmet nodded.

"I haven't done this stuff in ages. Has the material changed, you think?"

"Maybe if we were in science class. But I don't think math really changes."

"Ah." They were silent for a bit, Bella noticing how Emmet's eyes began to lower. "Hey... You don't think Rosie was too annoyed, right?"

That caught Bella by surprise. "What do you mean?" Emmet folded his arms on the counter and put his chin in between them, staring out in front of him.

"I know she gets irritated a lot," he admitted. "But... sometimes I just want to see her smile. She's really pretty when she smiles, she just is so serious all the time..." Emmet sighed and shook his head. Propping his chin in his hand, he stared sadly at the blackboard. "I know she thinks I'm a total square." There was a pause as he caught Bella's expression. "What?" Another pause. "Oh... wait, do people not use that expression anymore?"

"No..."

"Oh. Drag."

Bella smiled a bit, patting his shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Emmet. I'm sure she loves you. Why would she give you your legs back if she didn't?" He tilted his eyes to her, his smile returning somewhat.

"Yeah, I know. I just don't want her to get bummed with me, that's all." He put his hands behind his head, as Bella summarized that she'd just have to get used to his fifties slang before he picked up the speech of the twenty first century. With that in mind, she turned back to the teacher, took out her notes, and began scribbling a few things down.

This was going to be a long, long year.

So yes... More lovely reviews please! :3 I decided to do this chapter a day early, but for all intents and purposes, I'll be updating every Wednesday... and if not then Thursday... yeah.

~T.