Recap:

EPOV: "I want to take you to this place I go a lot," I told her over the phone. She agreed and fell asleep shortly after. That night I dreamt of Bella. From that night on, she was the only one on my mind.

Dissatisfaction

Edward's POV

I drove to her house slowly. I was tempted to see her face but I was in no condition to be near her. Her face plagued my dreams all night. I welcomed it, but now I regretted it. I wanted nothing more than to kidnap her and never give her back. I wanted all of her.

And there was nothing gentlemanly about that.

I arrived at her house shortly, but didn't go in immediately. I sat in the driver's seat taking long, deep breaths. It wasn't that I was nervous; it was the temptation that was broiling under my skin. I needed time before I could go in and see her. I opened the car door slightly. The cool air did me good.

I walked in a slow, steady pace to her door. Charlie had gone to La Push and Emmett was probably with Rosalie. I paused outside the door unsure of whether I should have called before I came or just ring the doorbell. I didn't ponder it much longer as my finger reached up and rang the doorbell.

In a matter of seconds, I could hear Bella fumbling with the door. The lock always gave her trouble, but I waited patiently. When she opened it, I was expecting Bella, but I got so much more. Her cheeks were flustered, her smile was bright, and her eyes were so joyful they made me smile.

"Edward, I wasn't expecting you so early," she told me warmly, but she didn't seem surprised to see me at all.

I glanced down at her, taking her all in. And then I couldn't hold back my laugh. She looked at me at frowned.

"We match," I told her, amused at our choice of style. I thought it was cute.

She looked down at her clothes and looked at mine. And then she smiled that beautiful, sweet smile.

She reached forward suddenly and pulled me into her house and into her arms. My own arms circled around her waist as I pulled her closer to me. I inhaled her strawberry scented hair and picked her slightly off the ground. She was absolutely perfect but adding another inch or two would never hurt.

I didn't ever want to let her go.

"I missed you," I told her, talking into her hair. She leaned back and kissed me on the cheek. I reluctantly let go of her waist and took a tiny step back, assessing her fully. She smiled at me.

"I fell asleep on you last night, didn't I?" she asked me. I smiled and nodded. I didn't mind that she had fallen asleep on me. It was what I wanted.

She led me inside where she was eating breakfast. I sat across from her and read the cereal box as she ate. I knew she wouldn't have been comfortable if I watched her while she ate and so my eyes diverted everywhere else but her cute mouth, slowly chewing the spoons of soggy cereal.

"So, where are we going?" she asked me suddenly, while I was studying a picture of her when she was younger.

"It's a secret," I replied grinning, not taking my eyes off the photograph.

It was the Bella I had grown up with. This Bella was different, but only appearance-wise. She still had the child-like personality I loved her for, though she was still mature for her age at the same time.

I heard her sigh in frustration. She took her bowl to the sink and I sat in the chair watching her. She was avoiding my eyes and I didn't know why.

"Is there something else you had planned for today?" I asked her. I didn't know how long my plans would take, but I wanted as much of her as I could get. She shook her head but didn't look up at me. She began to wash the bowl so I got up and dried it for her. But still, she didn't look at me.

After she packed it away, she stood there, motionless in the kitchen. "Is something wrong, Bella?" I asked her. I was worried she didn't want to come with me after how forward I was with her on the phone yesterday.

And then she looked at me. I saw so many emotions playing about her focus. She was happy, she was sad, she was confused. But most of all, she was curious. "Bella?" I asked her once more.

She sighed once more. "Jake called me this morning and asked if I could go visit him," she told me. I understood now. She did have plans…plans with Jake…plans that she preferred over mine. I nodded sadly.

"Would you like me to drive you?" I asked her slowly. It killed me to have those words exit my mouth, but if she preferred to visit Jake, I would respect her decision. Even if it killed me.

She looked back at me more puzzled than before. "I told him no," she said softly.

Now I was confused. I knew she wanted to see him. She was sad. "I can take you if you want Bella."

"I said no," she said again. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want her to feel obliged to come with me just because I had made plans with her first. I wanted her to come with me out of will.

"You can go if you want Bella. We can do this a different day," I said. I watched her. But her emotions didn't change. Her curiosity was rising, but I didn't know why. Was she curious about where we were going?

Bella's POV

I didn't know what to do. I knew Jake was always busy and that if I was given a chance to go see him, I should have taken it. But I didn't want to see him. All I wanted at the moment was to go with Edward.

Last night, I had dreamt of Edward. It happened a lot when I was younger seeing as he was my first crush. But last night, I dreamt of us in the theaters, his arms around me, my head in his chest. It was one of the best dreams I'd ever had, because it had actually happened. And I loved it.

I was curious as to where we were going. I was curious as to why Edward was insisting that I go to La Push. I was curious about what it would feel like to be Edward's girlfriend.

I had been thinking about it a lot today. I knew I said I didn't want a boyfriend, but I began to wonder. If Edward asked me out, would I say yes?

I knew if Jacob asked me out again, I would most likely say no. He was my best friend. I wasn't attracted to him in that way. Yes, he was beautiful, but I wasn't...urged to touch him like I was with Edward.

Did that sound as disgusting as I think it did?

Urged to touch Edward? I was a sick, hormonal teenager.

I wondered what it would feel like if I approached Edward right now and reached up and kissed him. Would he back peddle? Would he allow it? Would he enjoy it?

"Edward, I don't want to go to La Push," I said slowly. I was ecstatic when I saw his face light up dramatically.

Maybe he did want me to go with him. Maybe he offered to drive me to La Push because he knew how much I missed Jacob. I knew that was it because it was a very Edward-like thing to do. Which is why I loved him.

"Well then, let's get this show on the road, shall we?" he asked me elegantly, holding out his arm for me to take it. I smiled at him and wrapped my arm around his as we made our way to the door.

He helped me put on my jacket and wrap my scarf around my neck. It reminded me of the last time he'd helped me, how cute he was to offer. He shocked me when he stooped down all of a sudden to put my boots on for me. While he was putting them on, he smiled and looked up at me.

"Cinder-Bella," he said grinning as he put the next shoe on. I laughed. What an ugly name.

He put his own coat and boots on. He did it steadily, and I didn't know how to help, so I sat and watched him. Everything about him was beautiful. When he was dressed and ready, he held out his hand for me and I took it.

"It's pretty warm today," he said, "but we'll be outside for a while, so make sure you have everything you need."

I nodded as I grabbed my hat and gloves from the seat. We made our way outside and into his car. We drove for a good 15 minutes, not talking. I was watching out the window, trying to decipher from the passing scenes where we were going. He stopped somewhere down the road, at a dead end.

I looked at him puzzled. "It's beautiful Edward," I said sarcastically.

He gave me his infamous crooked smile that took my breath away each and every time. "We have to walk from here," he said.

Walk? I looked around me. Other than the dead end sign, we were surrounded by trees. The only paths I could see was the one we had driven down, and a narrow, crooked one that led well into the forest.

I panicked.

I heard him exit his car and make his way around to my door. He opened it for me and held out his hand for me to take it.

"Ed-Edward. You know I can't walk properly," I said stammering. I was nervous. Surely I would make a fool of myself even attempting to hike with him. And with the slippery snow hiding the roots of trees, there's no way I'm going to make it to wherever we were going.

I'm going to die, I thought to myself dramatically.

He pulled me out of the car and held me close to his body and he shut the car door. Every curve of my body was pressed against his. I inhaled deeply; his scent always calmed my nerves.

"Stop worrying, Bella," he told me. "I'll be with you every step of the way. You know I'll protect you from anything out there…even yourself," he grinned the touched the tip of my nose gently.

I knew I should have been reassured; Edward would never let me hurt myself.

But I was not longer worried about that. I was scared I would make a fool of myself. I was a slow walker to begin with. Walking on a bumpy, unstable ground was out of the question. He was joking, right?

Edward's POV

I could see the worry on her face.

"Please don't worry Bella," I told her reassuringly. "I'll help you if you need it." I was pleaded with her.

I wanted her to come. I was taking her to a place I hadn't even spoken of to anyone else before. I wanted her to know that she was the only one that knew of the place.

But before I told her about it, I wanted her to see it with her own eyes; the beauty, the serenity, the simplicity, the magnificence. I think I fell in love with it because it reminded me of her.

I believe she saw the plea in my eyes, because she sighed slowly and looked up at me with a new found determination.

"Okay," she said quietly. I knew she was still scared but I would be there with her like I had promised. I took her hand and led her to the edge of the trees.

"Edward, the path's that way," she said confused.

"We're not taking that path," I said smiling at her. Her eyes widened but she continued with me nonetheless, quietly walking beside me clutching at my hand for needed support.

As we journeyed into the heart of the forest, I kept up easy conversation with her, trying to distract her from the long length of the walk.

When the path was covered with tree branches, I would hold them away as she walked through. When there was a steep slope or a jump she had to take, I would hold her waist firmly and lift her, resting her feet on stable ground.

The walk took about an hour, but after time, we began to enter the clearance of the trees. When she saw the dispersion of the trees was growing further apart, her steps quickened. I followed behind her, holding onto her waist gently incase she were to slip suddenly. I was forever watching her, just so she could make it through unscathed.

When we reached our destination, she paused. She looked out from the tree line towards the meadow. My meadow, well, I suppose now our meadow. I smiled at the thought.

"Edward," she said breathlessly. "It's… beautiful." I smiled. It was beautiful, but compared to her, it lacked in comparison. I took her hand gently and led to her a patch grass. The ground was cold but it was dry so she wouldn't get wet.

The snow dusted the meadow lightly and the trees were covered in white. It looked like a Winter Wonderland.

I reached into the backpack I had been carrying and spread a thick thermally-insulated, waterproof sheet on the ground. It helped to be prepared. We sat down while she continued to stare in awe. I poured her a cup of hot chocolate and gave it to her.

"How did you find this place?" she asked.

"Just, walking around, I guess." I stumbled upon it only a few months prior, but I had fallen in love with it immediately. "Are you cold Bella?" I asked her as I saw her shiver slightly.

"Only a little," she admitted reluctantly to me. "But I don't want to go yet," she added quickly.

"Come," I said beckoning her over to me.

As she made her way over as I went through my trusty knapsack and pulled out a thick blanket my parents had bought so long ago when they decided we should try our hands at camping. The plan was a dismal failure but the experience was worth a life time.

I raised her legs over mine and pulled her closer to my body. Then I wrapped the blanket over the two of us, keeping us both warm. She rested her head on my shoulder, her cold nose pressed into the crook of my neck.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Edward," she said against my warmed skin. "It's beautiful."

I looked down admiring her face. "Yes, very beautiful indeed," I said smiling as my thumb grazed against her cheek.

She sighed blissfully and we continued our conversation on whether global warming was more important than the AIDS epidemic. She believed AIDS to be serious, but global warming was more important. I contrastingly believed global warming was important, but that AIDS should be taken care of immediately because those who suffered were in great pain. They needed a cure and they needed one fast.

The conversation made me think about my relationship with Bella. It made me realize that she was probably the only person out there that I could have this kind of conversation with. Who else would talk to me about global problems as easily as her?

As we talked, I began to look around the meadow. It was either too bright, or my eyes were playing trick on me because I swear I was seeing figures darting through the trees. Bella's head came up from my shoulder as she leaned back to untie her hair. At that moment, a figure emerged from the trees. Both she and I spotted it at the same time.

It was a boy with rust coloured skin. Before I even had time to process the information, Bella bounded from my lap and ran to the boy. She lurched before him and jumped into his open arms and he wrapped them around her in a tight hug.

I felt my heart sink.

Out of politeness, I followed my way over to the boy and Bella.

"Aww, Jake I missed you," I heard her say from where I was.

Jacob Black. I guess I should have known. But that didn't stop they pain.

Jacob's POV

She lunged into my waiting arms. I pulled her tightly to my chest, twirling her in the air as I hugged her. I missed her so much. I ignored the boy she was with, standing off to the side watching us. Sure he could watch, I didn't mind.

"Aww, Jake I missed you," she said against me.

I saw the boy's eyes flicker to me in recognition. Ah, so he knew who I was? That's good.

"What're you doing here? Why aren't you wearing a shirt? Don't you know you'll get sick? And why are you so hot?" She asked me all in one breath.

I grinned. "You think I'm hot?" I asked waggling my eyebrows. I loved teasing her. It was almost too easy making her blush.

"Your body's like…emanating heat," she said puzzled. "A lot of heat. Are you sick?" she asked.

"No Bells, I'm just hot blooded." I couldn't just tell her I had hot blood because of what I was. This monster. No, I could never tell her what I was. Only I would be plagued with this awful truth, not her too.

Sure being a werewolf had its ups. I was fast, I was always hot, and I never had to explain myself to my pack. But there were so many downs.

And topping the list would be having to let Bella go. I couldn't be her boyfriend; I would be putting her life in jeopardy every second I was with her. I would never risk anything that would harm her, even if the thing causing her danger was myself.

I kept her close to my body, but I could feel her feeble attempts of pushing me away slightly. She didn't want to be that close to me. I let her go slowly and grudgingly. She began to back up slightly, further away from me and closer to theboy.

He stepped forward but didn't look at me. He was watching Bella. As she began to approach him, he held out his hand, touching her lower back, telling her he was there. She stopped and looked up at him. They smiled at each other.

Ah, it all made sense now. He was her new boyfriend.

"Jake, you remember Edward, don't you?" she asked me happily. Edward? Her best friend, Edward? I remembered all the times she used to talk about him when we were younger. I didn't know they were that close though. I held out my hand halfheartedly, not really caring to meet him.

He raised his hand with a grin, and shook it politely. "Pleasure," he said to me simply. I just smiled back.

"Jake, why are you here? And where is your shirt?" Bella asked me again.

I sighed. How could I explain myself to her?

"I was just hot, so I took my t-shirt off. Me and some of the guys are just playing a little game in this area. I saw you and—Edward did you say your name was?" I knew very well his name was Edward, but I wanted the upper hand in the situation. He nodded as if nothing had happened but me asking him a mere question. "Yes, well I saw you and Edward in the field, and I thought I would just visit. Why are you here by the way?" I asked. I had seen them from the trees, sitting together intimately. It made me jealous.

"Edward found this place a while ago and he decided to bring me. It's beautiful," she told me smiling whilst looking around the meadow.

"Well, why didn't you tell me you liked this kind of stuff? I would have brought you here a while back if you wanted." In truth, I hadn't known of this place before. But I would have taken her somewhere just as beautiful if I had known she would like it.

"She never told me she liked this stuff either. I just wanted to show her because I come here to think a lot," Edward explained to me but looking at Bella the whole time.

I heard my pact calling me. I knew I had to leave. But I didn't want to. But I had to. But I would be leaving her here with Edward. But maybe it was for the better, maybe he could be there for her more than I ever could. I battled between myself.

I could see the love and adoration in his eyes as he watched her. It was apparent enough for even a blind man to see. And she looked at him the same way. In a way she never looked at me.

They were in love.

I sighed and scratched the back of my head, breaking their trance.

"Bells, I got to go," I said as I stepped forward to hug her. I saw a slight frown tug at her lips. I smiled. At least she missed me to some extent. She came forward and wrapped her arms around me.

In my ear, she whispered, "I hope everything's going okay with your ritual." I smiled. She remembered. "I'll miss you Jake…come and visit me, okay?" I nodded and let her go. "Bye Jake," she said.

I smiled at her. I then did something even I didn't expect from myself. I shook Edward's hand and told him, "You take care of her, alright?"

He smiled in reply and shook my hand back firmly in conformation. I smiled at Bella once more and ran back to my pact. She would be safer with him. She would probably even be happier with him.

Edward's POV

After Jake left, it was silent. I watched Bella. She was watching Jake's retreating form. I knew she missed him. I knew she was sad to leave him and watch him go. I knew she loved him in a way and it broke my heart. Could she ever love me?

"Bella, are you okay?" I asked her quietly.

I didn't touch her. I couldn't touch her knowing she was thinking about someone else. What if she had always been thinking about him when I was touching her? I sighed.

She turned to me and smiled. "I'm fine Edward," she answered me.

I nodded reply. I didn't really care that she was lying to me. I already knew what I wanted to know. She didn't love me. She loved Jacob. She wanted Jacob.

I turned away from where he'd left and made my way back to our spot. I sat down and folded my arms on top of my knees and sighed deeply. She sat down directly beside me and rested her head on my shoulder. "I'll miss him," she whispered close to me.

"He'll always be there, for you Bella. You know that," I told her reassuringly. Though she wanted him, I couldn't stand to see her sad. I draped an arm over her shoulder.

She raised her head and kissed me on the cheek sweetly.

"I know he'll always be there. He's my best friend. He's stuck with me whether he wants to be or not," she said smiling.

I smiled back at her. It wasn't a true smile, but I was at least happy to see her smiling.

I wanted to ask her what I was to her. Was I her best friend too? Or was I more?

"Are you ready?" I asked her instead. She nodded her head and helped me fold the sheets. We stuck them in the backpack and made our way back to the car.

The walk was slightly easier now that she'd gotten the hang of it. When we reached the car, I opened the door for her and helped her in, closing it behind her. I then got into the driver's seat and drove her home.

Throughout the ride, she kept looking over at me but said nothing. I had nothing to say either. The car ride was silent except for the hum of the heater and the faint music playing in the background.

When I reached her house, I leaned over and kissed her ever so slightly on the cheek, my lips barely making contact. She looked at me again, before she got out of the car. When our eyes locked, I just couldn't look away. I was falling deep within those brown pools.

I studied the emotions I could see floating around in them. She was confused and sad. No doubt she was sad about her situation with Jacob. My heart broke seeing the pain in her eyes, but what could I do?

She got out of the car slowly and made her way into her house. I waited until she closed the door, and then I sped off. I could love Bella forever, but would she ever love me back?

No, the dissatisfaction she saw in me was clear. I wasn't Jacob. I was just a friend to her, not even a best friend. She couldn't love me…she never did love me.

Bella's POV

He kissed me on the cheek lightly. It wasn't like his other kisses. This one barely even touched my skin. I was disappointed. I always anticipated the shock I got when his lips made contact with me, no matter where the kiss was. There was no spark here.

I watched him. I knew something was bothering him. He looked horrible. Not ugly in any way, just pained. And it pained me to see him like that. I didn't know what was bothering him, and I didn't know how to go about asking him.

He too studied my face and I saw him frown. He was unhappy with something he saw.

That was predictable. I wasn't beautiful enough for him. I wasn't a Rosalie, or an Alice, or a Jessica, but I always expected more from Edward. I always hoped he would see beyond my face and love me like I loved him, for his personality and not for how he looked though he was beautiful.

I knew Edward was beautiful even when we were younger. All the girls in our class had crushes on him. They used to torment me endlessly, asking me silly, shallow questions about him. At first, I did tell them, until I realized they would use the information to win him over. After that, I either ignored them or lied to them. If they wanted to know Edward like I did, they would have to take the time and talk to him first. But I didn't want that either.

I turned my head away from Edward's apparent dissatisfaction and made my way out of the car. I held back my tears all the way to the house.

I didn't glance back when I hear his tires squeal against the pavement.

I closed the door behind me and slid down it, mimicking the tears that were steadily flowing down my face. Edward didn't love me. He didn't see any reason to love me.

I pulled off my boots and hung up my jacket. I trudged up the stairs and collapsed on my bed.

I sighed into my pillow; it came out rough and shaken. He deserved better than me anyways.

I knowww... very saddening. Maybe ExB weren't made for each other after all? I've always had a soft spot for Jacob...

Love Edward to death of course... but that Jacob—there's just something about him...

What will happen next? Don't forget to REVIEW! =)