A/N: Okay so there was a snow storm and my lectures got cancelled so it's your lucky day. I have to do my work up on campus but I can't get there so all I have to do is this all day. I may update twice.

Sink Ur Teeth In: thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

FluffStuff1991: Ha, thank you for the compliments.

Iz-Belle91: I know what you mean. I'm just trying to keep Bella in character but giving her a little edge. She's not a very emotional person and the stuff she's going through I think would make her less so. Also I like the contrast with how Edward is with Sarah Renee. It's the way it's written itself, really.

NightGlimmer: I'm glad you like it. Edward did seem a bit too wrapped up in his own thoughts at that point didn't he? Or maybe he was hearing what he wanted to hear…

CloverBabe: Ha, your comments are like little summaries of the chapters. It's great, I'm thinking of making them recaps at the beginning of the next chapters.

Caitie126: Thank you!

Lovedrher: I'm glad you gave it a chance. I love their little relationship too, but I don't know whether Bella will be too happy about it…

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters apart from Sammie and Sarah Renee.

Edward walked into the college a few days after he enrolled, knowing that Bella already knew he was there. He wasn't really sure what he was doing, he hadn't really thought very far ahead. He'd made a promise to himself that he would be involved somehow in her life, in some small way, and if that was just seeing her every so often in the corridors then so be it. It would be up to her whether she wanted to see him. He knew what he had done to her, her daughter had worried about her mother's crying a lot at night, and it hurt more to think that he was hurting her too. It was weird that he didn't even know her name, but she rarely thought of herself, and she hardly ever talked to him at night, just was content to let him sit next to her crib and play with her dolls until her mother got up.

Electronics was a strange change of pace from his usual medicine based education. He didn't have to follow Carlisle's route every time, he decided and when he and Jasper were deciding on their courses Edward had decided that maybe making robots would help him to forget about Bella. It seemed like serendipity, and only right that he should pick up his acceptance onto the course, however late it was.

There was going to be no room for mistakes now. Although every instinct was telling him to find some reason to visit the office, just to see how she was, he resisted. He wasn't going to do anything that would hurt her more.

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Months had passed since Bella got Edward's file on her desk, and she hadn't seen even a glimpse of the bronze-haired boy anywhere. Sammie still went on about him, talking about what she was going to do with him the minute she got a chance. Bella ignored her, knowing that all her friend's fantasies would never come to pass: she wondered whether her friend would be so interested if she knew just how virtuous Edward was. Or that he'd killed people and lived off of the blood of animals that he sucked straight out of the animal right where he killed it. She got back from lunch, coming into the office via the back door, and heard that Sammie was talking to someone at the front desk.

"Why do you want to know about her?" Sammie asked, in full flirt mode. "She's not very interesting, I mean, she's a nice girl, but there's not much to tell."

"I'm just interested. Go on, you can tell me." That velvet voice. Bella stood still, hiding around the corner. Edward had come to the office and was dazzling Sammie. Dazzling her to get information about someone, and Bella knew who that someone was.

She heard the smile in Sammie's voice.

"Lydia? You're chasing down the wrong alley." Sammie told him, Bella edged closer to the corner, she could now see that Sammie was leaning far over the desk, her low cut top probably showing enough to made even the hardiest human swoon. Bella wondered what Edward thought about it, but was too frightened to look further, in case Edward saw her. "She doesn't date. I'm available, though."

"What, not at all?" She heard the grin on his voice, and she wanted to throw something at them.

"Well, apart from the obvious, I've never seen her even look at any boy twice."

"The obvious?" Edward was curious.

"Well, yeah. She turns up here, no family, no back story, but pregnant? I mean, there has to be a boy somewhere in that chequered past of hers for that to happen. Who knows where she's been?" Sammie shifted, fully turning on the charm.

"She's got a kid?" Edward asked, feigning surprise.

"Yeah, I know, at her age right? So not something a guy like you wants to get involved with. She has a daughter, she's like two or something, her name is-."

"Hey Sammie." Bella walked out from behind the corner, and they were both a little surprised. She saw that Edward had been leaning into her as well, and he quickly leaned back and looked a little guilty. "You must be Mr Cullen. I hope you are enjoying your course."

"I am, thank you." Edward said in return. Sammie looked a little put out at Bella's sudden appearance.

"I'll see to it that your teacher gets your essays." Sammie told him. "Come back anytime Edward."

"Thank you." Edward threw another glance at Bella, and then walked down the corridor.

"Didn't I tell you he was too hot?" Sammie told her. "God that picture of him hardly does him justice. There's nothing about that boy I just wouldn't eat up."

"Hmm." Bella hardly trusted herself to talk. His appearance, although long anticipated, had shocked her.

"He's so into me." Sammie said, smiling. "College boys are so easy."

"Yeah." Bella knew that Edward had just been dazzling Sammie to get information from her. Sammie didn't even seem to realise that Edward was only talking about her. What was he doing? Bella wasn't going to rise for it, she sat down at her desk and began inputting the latest marks onto the database for the students to check.

The day went back to being normal, and Sammie's remarks about Edward were getting more and more smutty. She checked his timetable, and was planning to ambush him on the way to the car park and casually invite him out for a drink. Not that they'd make it to a bar, Sammie always orchestrates a reason to go back to hers and that's where they stay for the night. The whole night. Bella said nothing, but bit her lip. What could she say even if Edward did go back with her? She had no link to him; he wasn't tied to her anymore. The way he lived was his own business, and Sammie was attractive. Bella still didn't think it was going to happen, though. It wasn't Edward's style.

Sammie headed out to set her little trap, and Bella sighed, leaning back on her chair. She still had a few more bits of paperwork to sort through and an email to send about some classroom changes before she could go home. She still had half an hour before she had to pick up Sarah Renee from the nursery. It was a while before she realised someone was standing at the desk.

She twisted her chair, finding Edward standing over the other side of the desk, watching her. She turned back for a second, trying to control her breathing, then turned back to him. He had not moved, but was watching her with an odd look on her face.

"Hi." She said.

"Hey Lydia." He said, failing to suppress his grin. "Pride and Prejudice I presume? The one that runs away?"

"Edward, what do you want?" Bella was tired of this cat and mouse game. "I've got work to do and I've got to pick my daughter up in 20 minutes."

"I want…" He started, and then stopped, giving her a crooked grin. "I just want to know when I'll get my marks back for the essays I gave in earlier."

"Three weeks, usually, if there it's a busy time then maybe longer. They'll be up on the database and once you've checked your mark there you can collect your marked essay from here." Bella told him, and turned back to the computer, typed out the email angrily and shut it down. "Now, excuse me, I've got stuff to do and I'm sure you've got homework." She grabbed up her coat and her bag and went to leave.

"Bella, wait." He was right behind her, having jumped the desk. His breath was on the back of her neck. "Bella, I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"Don't make me do this Edward." Bella warned him. "You've made your feelings pretty clear." She began to walk away from him.

"No." He told her, grabbing her arm. Bella ignored the tingles up and down her arm as he touched her. It had been years, yet this simple act had such an effect on her. "Bella, let me explain."

"You don't need to." Bella told him. "I know exactly what happened. You went looking for me and you didn't like what you saw."

"No." Edward said again. "That's not it, Bella please, I've tried to stay away from you but I can't. Ever since you first walked into that classroom years ago my every thought has been of you." He turned her around and she was frightened by the look on his face. He wasn't controlled Edward, his eyes were on the verge of black, which told her two things, one that he was probably trying very hard not to kill her at the moment, and two that he hadn't planned this meeting. "I never sleep, Bella. Every single thought for years has been of you. When we were apart, I use to try and live in other people's heads just to find a thought that wasn't of you. It didn't work. I just want to explain my actions."

"I think we've both been through too much for this to work, Edward." She looked up at him with tears falling down her cheeks. "You may not change but I'm a different person. I have a child. I'm not a teenager anymore and no matter what your record says you will always be one. Just please, we can never be together."

Edward looked like he was about to protest, but he seemed to have regained some control as she spoke. He said nothing, but let his arms drop to his side, releasing her. She took one more look at him, grabbed her bag and it was her turn to run from him.