Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer and I do not own Twilight, New Moon or anything else relating to her. I also do not own any of the text stolen from the books.

Chapter 11 - Complications

Everyone watched us as we walked together into class and took our seats side by side. As was the Wednesday tradition, Mr. Berty called for us to start working on our essays, so we turned our desks to face each other.

Edward pulled out a pile of papers and handed them to me. It took me reading exactly one paragraph to realize something was off. Oh, it looked like my normal messy handiwork, but there was one seriously big problem with it. It wasn't my paper.

"This isn't mine," I hissed.

"Sure it is." He looked perfectly innocent. As Charlie would say, too innocent.

"I know what I wrote and I don't embellish like this."

He kept his innocent expression for about another thirty seconds before his lips finally twitched. "Fine, I edited it, a little."

"A little, my ass," I muttered under my breath, looking down at the paper again. It was handwritten in pen, so for him to have even changed just one word, he would have had to rewrote the entire thing.

"What was that?" he asked politely, the voice innocent again.

My eyes flashed up to him. "You heard me." And even though I knew, had it been Eric or Mike or any of the other boys I'd known my whole life I'd be angry as hell, I couldn't find it in me to get truly angry at him.

"Ahem," Mr. Berty said loudly. I looked up toward him, flinching when I realized he was glaring at Edward and I, even though I knew others had been talking as well. "If people don't want to work, I'm sure there's another film we can watch to help further your research."

Everybody shut up, going back to work on their papers.

Edward handed me a piece of paper.

I have a question. If I'd asked you to the dance this Saturday, would you have said yes to me?

I looked at the paper for a minute before I quickly wrote back.

Not even if pigs grew wings and started to fly.

I'd learned a long time ago that simply claiming when pigs flew was not enough, people started pointed out things like pigs in airplanes when I did that. I passed it back to him.

Why not?

The note was back in front of me almost quicker than I could blink.

You've never seen me in Gym, I guess, but I would have thought you would understand.

And so we continued to pass it back and forth

Are you referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?

Obviously.

That wouldn't be a problem. It's all in the leading

Cocky much?

He flashed me a smirk, smoothly folding the paper up and setting one down in place of it that had both of our handwriting on it, though I'd never seen it before. Suddenly Mr. Berty picked the paper off the table. A moment later he placed it back on the table and stormed back to his desk, muttering under his breath.

Edward chuckled. I reached forward to grab the paper myself, wanting to see what it said. It was a list of suggestions and critiques for each of our papers. I blinked.

We parted ways after class and I headed to science, taking my normal seat beside Ashley where a movie called Microcosmos that was a documentary on insect life was turned on and we were forced to watch.

I did my best not to fall asleep outright during the fifty minutes of class. Ashley didn't even try to stay awake, just put her head down on the desk. I couldn't exactly blame her. It was boring.

After that I headed to gym, and the start of our current sport designed specifically to torture me. Badminton.

Coach Clapp handed each of us a racket, ordering us to pair up. I looked at him, desperately begging him not to make me do this. I'm much rather be forced to run laps or go do push ups.

He ignored me.

Mercifully, Mike came over to save me.

"Do you want to be a team?"

"My hero," I said exaggeratedly, but my relief was genuine. He knew me better than most, and knew how to avoid my lack of athletic prowess.

"No problem." He grinned. It was moments like this that I remembered why we'd been friends going on eleven years now. He was always easy going, always friendly, and perhaps most of all, always forgiving.

Unfortunately, it didn't go smoothly. It never did, when Coach Clapp got a barb up his ass that I wasn't doing enough standing in the background the way we both knew I should. After over two years with him, one would he'd think he'd know better, but he was a slower learner than even Tyler, apparently.

I somehow managed to hit myself in the head with my racket and clip Mike's shoulder on the same swing, after I was demanded to participate by the Coach, who watched me like a hawk while I tried.

Coach muffled a laugh with a cough when it happened.

"Sorry Newton." He walked off still muffling laughter.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked, messaging his shoulder.

"I'm fine. Are you?" I rubbed my head where I'd managed to smack myself.

"I think I'll make it." He swung in his arm, making sure he still had full range of motion.

I spent the rest of the class in the back corner of the court, the racket held safely behind my back. Despite being handicapped by me, Mike was still better than the other team; winning three games out of four singlehandedly. He gave me an unearned high five when the coach finally blew the whistle, ending class.

"So," he said as we walked off the court.

"So what?"

"You and Cullen, huh?" he asked, his tone rebellious. And just like that I forgot all my feelings over our long-time friendship.

"Don't go there, Mike," I warned.

He ignored me completely. "I don't like it."

"You aren't my dad or my brother, you have no right to say even one word about it," I snapped.

"He looks at you like... like you're something to eat," he continued, still ignoring me.

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. He had no clue how right he was. He glowered at me as I waved and fled to the locker room.

I dressed quickly, something stronger than butterflies battering recklessly against the walls of my stomach, my argument with Mike already a distant memory. I was wondering if Edward would be waiting, or if I should meet him at his car. What if his family was there? I felt a real wave of terror. Did they know that I knew? Was I supposed to know that they knew that I knew, or not?

By the time I walked out of the gym, I had just about decided to walk straight home without even looking toward the parking lot. But my worries were unnecessary. Edward was waiting, leaning casually against the side of the gym, his breathtaking face untroubled now. As I walked to his side, I felt a peculiar sense of release.

"Hi," I breathed, smiling hugely.

"Hello." His answering smile was brilliant. "How was gym?"

My face fell slightly. "Fine," I lied.

"Really?" He was unconvinced. His eyes shifted their focus slightly, looking over my shoulder as they narrowed. I glanced behind me to see Mike's back as he walked away.

"What?" I demanded.

His eyes slid back to mine, still tight. "Newton's getting on my nerves."

"You weren't listening again?" I was horror-struck. All traces of my sudden good humor gone.

"How's your head?" he asked innocently.

"You're unbelievable!" I turned, stomping away in the general direction of the parking lot, though I hadn't ruled out walking.

He kept up with me easily.

"You were the one that pointed out I'd never seen you in gym – it made me curious." He didn't sound repentant, so I ignored him.

We walked in silence – a furious, embarrassed silence on my part – to his car. But I had to stop a few steps away – a crowd of people, all boys, were surrounding it. Then I realized they weren't surrounding the Volvo, they were actually circled around Rosalie's red convertible, unmistakable lust in their eyes. None of them even looked up as Edward slid between them to open his door. I climbed quickly in the passenger side, also unnoticed.

"Ostentatious," he muttered.

"What kind of car is that?" I asked.

"An M3."

"I don't speak Car and Driver."

"It's a BMW." He rolled his eyes, not looking at me, trying to back out without running over the car enthusiasts.

"Big money wasted," I muttered under my breath. Yes, I'd heard of BMWs.

"What was that?" he asked, his lips twitching.

"Absolutely nothing."

"Are you still angry?" he asked as he carefully maneuvered his way out.

"Definitely."

He sighed. "Will you forgive me if I apologize?"

"Maybe.. is you mean it. And if you promise not to do it again." I wasn't accepting his apology if I wasn't getting something out of it.

His eyes were suddenly shrewd. "How about if I mean it, and I agree to let you drive Saturday?"

It was my turn to look shrewd. "Your car?"

"Ummm..." He obviously hadn't expected that. "I thought you weren't going to tell your dad?"

"I'm not."

"Then won't it be pretty weird if your truck is there and you're not there."

"I have lots of friends, Edward. Besides, I'm not trying to keep it a secret from him, I just don't want to tell him specifically."

"Then I'm very sorry I upset you." His eyes burned with sincerity for a protracted moment – playing havoc with the rhythm of my heart – and then turned playful. "And I'll be at you house bright and early Saturday morning."

"After 6 am please. Charlie will have left to go fishing by then," I said promptly.

He just shook his head, obviously having hoped for a different reaction from his words.

"Is it later yet?" I asked significantly.

He frowned. "I suppose it is later."

I kept my expression polite as I waited.

He stopped the car. I looked up, surprised – of course we were already at Charlie's house, parked behind the truck. It was easier to ride with him if I only looked when it was over. When I looked back at him, he was staring at me, measuring me with his eyes.

"And you still want to know why you can't see me hunt?" He seemed solemn, but I thought I saw a trace of humor deep in his eyes.

"Well," I clarified, "I was mostly wondering about your reaction."

"Did I frighten you?" Yes, there was definitely humor there.

"No," I said, a bit too quickly to be believable.

"I apologize for scaring you," he said with a slight smile, but then all evidence of teasing disappeared. "It was just the very thought of you being there... while we hunted." His jaw tightened.

"That would be bad?"

He spoke between clenched teeth. "Extremely."

"Because...?"

He took a deep breath and stared through the windshield at the thick, rolling clouds that seemed to press down, almost within reach.

"When we hunt," he spoke slowly, unwillingly, "We give ourselves over to our senses... govern less with our minds. Especially our sense of smell. If you were anywhere near me when I lost control that way..." He shook his head, still gazing morosely at the heavy clouds.

I kept my expression firmly under control, expecting the swift flash of his eyes to judge my reaction that soon followed. My face gave nothing away.

But our eyes held, and the silence deepened – and changed. Flickers of electricity began to charge the atmosphere as he gazed unrelentingly into my eyes. It wasn't until my head started to swim that I realized I wasn't breathing. When I drew in a breath, breaking the stillness, he closed his eyes.

"Bella, I think you should go inside now." His low voice was rough, his eyes on the clouds again.

"Not yet," I barely mouthed the words, but he still heard them and his eyes flashed to mine.

I leaned over to him, knowing from his show of speed this morning that if he really wanted to, he could easily avoid me. He didn't move. I gave him the briefest of kiss on the corner of his lips then I pulled back, opening the door.

His eyes had widened in shock at my move, but I didn't care. I'd needed to kiss him. Just in case he disappeared like his words kept insinuating. Slowly, I got out of the car before closing the door and slowly heading to my house.

A moment later, I heard the whir of the automatic window rolling down. I looked back to see what he wanted.

"Oh, Bella?" he called after me, his voice once again even.

"Yes?"

"Tomorrow it's my turn."

"Your turn for what?"

He smiled wider, flashing his gleaming white teeth. "Ask the questions."

And then he was gone, the car speeding down the street and disappearing around the corner before I could even collect my thoughts. I smiled as I walked into the house. It was clear he was planning to stay for at least one more day.

That night Edward starred in my dreams, as usual. However the climate of my unconsciousness had changed. It thrilled with the same electricity that had charged the car, and I tossed and turned restlessly.

When I woke up in the morning, my body ached in a way it never had before and I was drenched in a sweat that had nothing to do with exercise and everything to do with the current in the dreams. My dreams had been sensual and sexual in a way I hadn't even been fully aware that I consciously understood before then.

I dressed in a long-sleeve dark gray Metallica tee that was almost worn through in several places, but it covered the bruise that was now a nasty purple on my arm, which was my goal. I also pulled on a pair of faded black jeans that went well with the shirt.

Breakfast was the usual, quiet event I expected. Charlie made fried eggs for himself; I ate my bowl of fruity cereal.

"About this Saturday..." He started as he got up from the table after finishing his food.

"Yes, dad?"

"Are you still driving to Tacoma?"

"I think I'm gonna head down on Sunday instead. The open house isn't on the weekend anyway. It just makes more sense for me to wait."

"Does that mean your going to go to the dance?"

"We both know I don't dance."

"So the boy waiting in the Volvo around the corner didn't ask you to go to the dance?"

I froze for a moment, shocked, before cursing under my breath, "Marshall." It had to be Katie's dad. Had he called before I woke up this morning? Or had he called Charlie last night at work.

"Now don't blame him for looking out for you. I assured him you would tell me if anything serious was going on. Right?" He turned to look at me as he asked.

I crossed my fingers under the table as I responded. "Of course, dad."

"Good. And if he's going to be picking you up like this, then tell him I expect him to park at our property like a proper gentleman and not some strange stalker."

"Yes, dad."

He left then, with a goodbye wave, and I went upstairs to brush my teeth and gather my books. I headed downstairs, going out the door. Edward's car was already there, waiting for me. As I was getting in the car with him, he looked troubled.

"That was an interesting conversation I heard this morning, and an interesting conundrum I was placed in. I couldn't decide if it would be better or worse if I parked in front of the house after he mentioned it."

"I told you once before, there are no secrets in Forks."

He laughed, if there was any humor in it, it was minimal. "I'm actually starting to believe you on that."

"So..." He trailed off, but I could just hear where it was heading.

"What do you want to know?" I grumbled, not sure I was prepared for an interrogation like what I was sure he was planning. A little voice in the back of my mind told me I deserved it for ferreting out all his secrets, I imagined drop kicking that voice.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked, his face grave.

"In reference to what?"

He arched an eyebrow at me.

"Are we talking nature, clothing, decor, or what?"

"Let's go with all three."

"Green, dark, and blue."

"Dark is not a color."

"It is in my book."

"How can dark be a color?"

I pinched my shirt sleeve. "Dark." Touched my pants. "Dark." Then touched his upholstery. "And dark."

He raised one hand in mock surrender. "Okay, I hear you."

"What's your favorite band?"

"I don't really have one specific band that I like, though I guess my favorite music style was rock from the seventies and eighties. Not that that means much, I'll listen to country with Charlie, or jazz or even current hip hop and pop."

"And Debussy too," he murmured.

"More like just Clair De Lune than Debussy in general. I already told you how I knew that song."

"Yes, I remember. And then you laughed about your mom's opinions on you dating. Why was that?"

I shook my head. "Well, as you know, I dated Tyler for quite some time prior to this school year. After I decided to go out on my first date with him, I called mom to share the news. Her only advise to me was to buy condoms. I hadn't even turned fifteen yet."

His face screwed up sort of like he'd bit a sour lemon when I told him this.

I volunteered the next info. "She's my mom, and I love her, but I honestly think that the instinct that some women have towards taking care of their own child, she just never gained. And I'm alright with that."

We'd pulled up in the school parking lot whilst I'd been talking.

We got out of his car in almost the exact same moves and he once again met me at the front of his car. We walked together towards my English class as he kept asking questions.

"What's your favorite gemstone?"

"It's a weird one, but I've always loved Tahitian Pearls."

"Why is that?"

"There are tidal pools over at first beach." I was sure my start had threw him for a loop. "Well, as a young child, I always imagined finding pearls in them. I now know how ridiculous that idea actually was, but I didn't then. Well as I got older and saw my first set of Tahitian Pearls, on my grandmother actually, the tint of the pearls sort of reminded me of the tint in some of the tidal pools. I've loved them ever since."

We'd reached the class door, so I quickly muttered,. "Though topaz is currently trying to become my favorite." I knew I was blushing profusely as I said it, which was why I went into class before he could stop me. I just knew if he had the chance, then he would demand to understand the blush and I really didn't want to explain it to him.

The five classes that I had to take before I got to lunch and to see him again, seemed to pass at a snail's pace, but finally my Spanish class had come to an end, and he met me outside just like he had yesterday.

"Why were you blushing earlier?" he demanded.

"No particular reason," I mumbled, looking away so I wasn't caught by the power of his eyes.

He tried to get it out of me the whole way until we were sitting at our lunch table – after he'd bought far too much food yet again – and he reached forward to grab my chin so he could look me in the eyes. His touch caused splutter wildly.

"Tell me," he commanded.

"It's the color of your eyes currently, I suppose if you asked in a couple weeks, I might say onyx instead." I looked away the instant he released me. I didn't want to know if he thought badly of my words. The same way he seemed to every other time I admitted to caring too much about him.

Thankfully though, he didn't linger. "What kinds of your flowers do you prefer?"

"Poppies, peonies, and hydrangeas." Unfortunately, I blushed again. I sighed and spoke before he could ask. "When I was in third grade, it was an arrangement given to me by my friend, Jacob. I found out later that it was his mom that had put it together. But the three flowers have stuck with me for years."

"Do you like this Jacob?" His eyes flashed as he asked.

"Not in the way you mean, no. He's the closest thing to a little brother I've ever had. We were exceedingly close when we were young, often times almost inseparable, and I know he has a crush on me now, but he's still a little kid in my eyes. I can't see him as anything other than a little brother."

"What about the others here? I know you dated Tyler for two years..."

"It's hard to see any of them as something other than family. All of us grew up together. I met Eric the first day of kindergarten and Tyler a few weeks later – he was sick with the chicken pox when school first started. Ben Cheney and I have played together outside of the Lodge since I was about three years old. Even Mike, I've known since first grade. It's a small community and while some of the people have seemed to grow out of those childhood memories, I can't.

"Every time I look at Austin, all I ever see is the boy that tripped when he was carrying a cup of tomato juice. Rob over there gave me a wedgie when I was in second grade. Then there's D.J. who moved here when I was in third. I remember his first day of school extremely well because he accidentally came into the third grade class room instead of the second grade that he belonged in. Then there's JD there who gave me my first ever glass of beer when I was in sixth. Rot-gut that it was." I made casual motions at each of them as I mentioned them.

I shrugged. "There's so many memories wound up in each of them. It makes the idea of dating any of them pretty much impossible. The only reason I ever dated Tyler was to prove to myself that I could."

"Is that why you're interested in me? Because I'm new here?"

I shook my head. "I can't honestly answer that, Edward. I'm sure it's a part of it, but it's hardly all of it, or even the large majority, more like the smallest minuscule. I'm sure, if we'd known each other our whole lives, I'd still be interested in you. You make my heart flutter, make me feel alive in a way no one else ever has."

We had to head to class before he could ask anything else, and when we got there, Mr. Berty decided to change up the Thursday tradition so we were forced to sit through the first portion of Dr. No instead of work on our paper.

Sitting beside Edward in the dark, caused the same electricity I'd felt in the car yesterday to spark back to life. I closed my eyes, hoping it would help me ignore it, but all it ended up doing was make my imagination run wild as I wondered what it would feel like to have him stroke me in places that no man had ever touched me before. I bit my lip to keep from making a noise that would embarrass me.

Two minutes before class was over I rushed out of class, making a muttered excuse that I had to use the restroom, the truth was though that I wasn't ready to look at Edward after that.

I went immediately to science, managing to be the first one in class about two and a half minutes later.

I didn't see Edward again until after gym and, thankfully, he didn't say anything about what happened in film studies.

Instead he started asking about my trips to see my mom every summer. I'd explained to him how until my grandmother died when I was twelve, I'd spent a month every summer in California. The summer after Marie had passed, I spent in New Mexico. Then the summer after I'd spent it in Phoenix. Finally, the summer before my freshman year, I'd insisted my mom come up to visit me instead. She had, reluctantly, come up to Seattle for two weeks. She'd done the same thing the summer before my sophomore year. Finally I talked to him about this last summer.

"I wasn't surprised when she called up to say she was engaged. In spite of my dad's desires for them to get back together, I've always suspected it would never happen. Still, going down to be her maid of honor and then going with them to Panama was weird. Don't get me wrong, Panama is beautiful, probably one of the most amazing sights I'll ever have the chance of seeing. Even so, having my mother insist I buy things that I wouldn't wear in any situation just makes me realize how truly different I am from her."

His questions kept me talking for hours after we reached my house, and I was tempted to ask him to come in, but in my heart, I knew that if I did, it would have the opposite effect.

Finally, as it started to get dark out, he quieted.

"Are you finished?" I asked in relief.

"Not even close – but your father will be home soon."

"He already knows you're giving me rides," I pointed out, reminding him he'd been caught.

"Still, it's probably time I get back to my family."

"How late is it?" I wondered out loud as I glanced at the clock. I was surprised by the time – he was right in his belief that Charlie would be getting home soon.

"It's twilight," Edward murmured, looking at the western horizon, obscured as it was with clouds. His voice was thoughtful, as if his mind were somewhere far away. I stared at him as he gazed unseeingly out the windshield.

I was still staring when his eyes suddenly shifted back to mine.

"It's the safest time of day for us," he said. Another goodbye laced with another undertone of him leaving forever.

I could see him opening his mouth to say something more, but his words pissed me off. I opened the door, getting out as quickly as I could. "Go to hell, Edward." I slammed the door.

I was so sick of him having one foot out the door and the other halfway there. I stood just beside his car, breathing heavily through my mouth. I would give anything for him to step out of that car, to just meet me halfway, just for one night. And for half a moment, I thought he might. Then he started his car and took off.

A moment later Jacob drove up with Billy in the passenger seat. I could see the trouble brewing in Billy's eyes as they parked.

Edward's lack of commitment was the biggest complication in my life. And my friend's dad was obviously going to be another.

AN: Reviews make me happy.