A/N: So this chapter is the start of a big shift in the relationship between Edward and Isabella. I hope you like it.

Mesmerizeme is my totally amazing beta and I swear everyother word would be misspelled if it wasn't for her. Seriously, I have a way of spelling things where they are real words, just not the ones I wanted. One time at work I wrote "shirts are optional for females." I meant to say skirts, you can imagine how that went down with my male boss. LOL

Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight, I just give them a good mental mind screw.

-Edward-

Flames surround me; the smoke is choking and my eyes burn. I notice that my friends are all trying to escape, not really working together, but each on their own. Emmett is trying to pull burning pieces of wood away from the door, only to have more fall in their place. Jasper is trying to climb out of a hole in the floor, but the flames keep dancing below, not letting him through. Alice is trying to open the window, but the glass is melting and not letting her open it up. Rose is trying to put out the flames, but as soon as she gets one part out and turns to the next, the first has burst into flames again. Bella is trying to explain to the firefighters where we are, but it seems that they keep getting lost on their way. I try to rally them together, but no sound will pass my lips, it seems as if they do not even know that I am there. I duck as a section of the wall gives way and bricks and plaster fall to the ground. That action creates a hole in the wall big enough for a person to fit through. As I survey the hole to make sure it was safe, the others come over and began to push me through. I try to stop them, I want THEM to go first, I need THEM to be safe. However, I am no match for the five of them and soon I feel myself falling through the hole in the wall. I grab for my Bella's arm at the last moment and pull her through with me.

Heat is replaced by cold; we are underwater, submerged in freezing murky water with no idea which way was up. I look toward Bella only to see her face pale and slacken; she is unconscious and will soon drown if I cannot get her to the surface in time. In a panic, I search and search, trying to determine which way is up.

Suddenly I feel Bella begin to struggle away from me. She wretches her arm from my grasp and begins to swim away. Desperate to save her, I give chase, fighting the intense burning feeling in my lungs. After what feels like forever, the water begins to turn brighter, a little warmer; I realize that we were nearing the surface. I swim as hard as I can and finally surface, gasping for air. After a moment, I realize that Bella is nowhere to be found. I duck back under the water to look for her, but it is impossible to see through the muck. The fog sitting on the water made little difference in my ability to see there either. I call out her name, desperate to find her, desperate to save her.

In the distance, I hear a boat coming toward me, it has no motor and the only sound emanating from it is the soft rowing of ores. As the boat nears, I see that it is a woman rowing the boat. Her hair is down hiding her face and she does not look at me. The boat comes to a stop next to where I am treading water but I make no move to climb aboard.

"She is no longer here," the woman says. "Only I am here." Just as the woman is about to lift her head and let me see her face, I am ripped violently away from her, whooshing helplessly across a blackened sky.

I wake in a cold sweat, gasping for breath, my heart pounding in my ears. I place my hands in my head as I try desperately to recover from the dream; it felt so real.

What does it all mean? Was the woman in the boat Isabella? Is she trying to tell me to let go of my Bella?

My questions are cut short as my alarm sounds. I groan as I reach over and turn the offending sound off. I can already tell that I will not be able to make it through my morning without some serious caffeine.

I quickly shower and get dressed, leaving just a little early to allow time to stop at Starbucks on the way to work. I ask for a very simple, yet very large, cup of coffee with two shots of espresso and soon I am on my way into my building.

I try to keep my mind on the work in front of me, but my mind keeps returning to the previous night's dream. I want so badly to have someone I can talk to all of this about. I want to talk to my mother, but I can't tell her about Isa. I want to talk to Isabella, but how do you tell the only non-family female in your life that you think you were dreaming about her? I want to talk to Isa, but she doesn't talk.

The feeling of loneliness grips me almost painfully, the want for comfort from someone, anyone has fast become a need. The problem is that I have little to offer back to anyone who would comfort me.

An image of Isabella flashes in my mind. She has been an amazing friend in the short time I have known her, she has listened to me and helped to push me toward being a better person. Could I return to favor? Maybe if I can try to be the comfort that she needs, maybe she will want to give that same comfort back. I wonder if she would be open to spending time together outside the coffee shop, maybe even dinner. Would she be more comfortable talking about herself and her past when it was just the two of us?

Would she see it as me asking her on a date? Would she want that? Do I want that? I want to let someone in, and Isabella is the only one I feel comfortable enough to want to do that with.

My head swims with unresolved questions and before I realize, it is lunchtime. I look toward my computer screen and see that I have entered only one word on my spreadsheet, but that word had been entered tens if not hundreds of times.

Try

I tidy up my desk and head out to lunch, it doesn't take me long to get to the sandwich shop and my heart is beating hard as I open the door.

It is amazing the level of physical pain you feel when your heart rapidly goes from beating out of your chest, to nearly stopping all together and then plummeting to your feet. For the first time that I can remember Isabella is not there. I try to keep my disappointment to myself as I purchase my sandwich and go to sit in the back.

I don't even taste my meal as I eat quickly. Just as I finish the first half of my sandwich the chime on the door rings and causes me to lookup. My breath catches as Isabella walks in and takes a quick look around. I cannot see her eyes, but I hope it is me she sees when she pauses.

She purchases her lunch and comes to sit in her usual spot, right next to where I am sitting.

"I was afraid you weren't coming today," I say as she begins to unwrap her sandwich.

"I wasn't going to. I had a really bad night last night."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I take a deep breath and prepare for my next comment. "I know we haven't known each other very long, but I've been told I'm a really good listener. And me not having much of a life means that I'm available pretty much whenever you might need me." I smile a little bit, trying to lighten the mood.

"Thanks, Edward. It really means a lot to hear you say that."

I'm not sure what else to say so I change the topic.

"So I've started night classes. I took your advice and I'm going to get my degree."

"That's great, Edward."

The silence envelopes us again and my brain wages war against itself, fight or flight, take the chance or just stay the course.

Isabella finishes her sandwich and prepares to leave. It's now or never.

"Have dinner with me." I practically blurt out the request and mentally slap myself for being so crass.

"I-I mean, we might be more comfortable talking where we don't have the lunch crowd surrounding us. We don't have to, it's just a thought."

I lower my head and sigh; she must think I'm going crazy after listening to that ramble.

"That sounds nice," She replies and I'm both shocked and elated that she has agreed.

"I make a mean tuna alfredo." I smile up at her hoping she'll agree.

She lets out a small laugh, "My favorite."

"So tonight? Seven o'clock?"

She takes a moment to think about it and tells me she'll be there. I give her my address along with my phone number in case she gets lost and she turns to leave.

I finish my lunch without even tasting it and head back to work. The rest of the day flys by and I cannot keep my mind off my plans for the evening.

-Isabella-

I tried to stay home and not go to the sandwich shop today, I was sure that my outburst the other day had put Edward off. Yet I needed to make sure he was all right, after our harsh words, and his session with Isa, I was worried about his emotional well-being. It nearly broke my heart to see him looking so sad when I walked past the shop window on my way inside. The look on his face when he saw me enter said it all; he was waiting for me.

I sighed as I looked at my closet trying to find something to wear. I knew from the first time I saw him here in the city that I would not be able to hide from him forever; I just didn't think that it would happen so soon. Part of me wants to call and tell him I can t make it, just so I can hold on to what we have right now for just a little longer. I know that tonight will change everything; I have no more excuses to hide myself from him.

Will he be upset with me when he finds out who I really am? Will he even recognize me?

I decide on a simply gray dress, with long sleeves and a long skirt. He may see my face tonight, but I'm not ready for him to see the rest of my scars. I doubt that he is ready for that either, but if Isa is going to heal him, he needs to face this demon. He needs to see that I am okay, that he really did save me.

I glance at my reflection in the mirror; I usually try not to look in it for too long. The scars creep up my neck like the fingers of a lovers embrace, they do not go up too far, and other than a scar near my bottom lip, my face is relatively unmarred; although that is on the outside. My vocal chords were scarred from breathing in the intense heat and while I've been told that my voice did not change a lot, it is now a bit huskier than before.

I briefly consider wearing a scarf as well, but I cannot think of a reason to wear it once I enter his apartment so I decide against it.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I pull my hair back into a ponytail. I grab my hoodie and slip it on, pulling up the hood. Checking to see that I have everything I might need, I head out the door and into the unknown future.

A/N: So, thoughts? Do you think Isabella will actually show up? How will Edward react when he sees her without the hood? Will he recognize her?

As always, reviews get a teaser!

I tied for third place in the 100 pictures competition! Hop on over to my profile to read my entery - The Human Princess and the Friendly Vampire.