Hey everyone!! I know that I've taken a really really long time to get another chapter up, but I'm just really busy and I get sidetracked really easily lol :) There's a lot more to this story, though, and I hope you enjoy it!! :D I'm sorry for how long it took to get this up!!! I seriously just finished typing it up haha I kept forgetting about it with everything else going on, actually...lol
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything but the plot!!!
When school started up again, everything felt the same, including my fear of James. I would never feel safe as long as he knew where I was…which was where the ones I love were. I couldn't help but think I should leave, which would destroy me, but it would keep everyone else safe because they wouldn't know where I was, either. I kept trying to keep this thought out of my head, but it was very difficult. At school, the walls were covered with posters of a valentine dance coming up soon. It seemed so odd that life kept going by in such a blur.
"Oh great." Emmett chuckled at me when I said that.
"You'll get to go with Edward."
"I'm not a dancer, Em. You know this better than anyone." He gave me a smile as he remembered the incident when I fell down the stairs from dancing in my room. No one knew how that happened, but I somehow managed it.
"Bells, you'll only have one more year left of dances after this one, but you can choose to do whatever you want. Say yes or no to your boyfriend."
Boyfriend. Such an interesting word. I've never really thought of Edward as my 'boyfriend'. I've always just pictured him as the person I wanted to spend forever with, which is another reason why I keep pushing my thoughts about leaving to the back of my mind.
"Well it's not so bad with Edward, but I don't dance."
"I know, Bella. Well, I better go ask Rosalie…" He winked as he walked off, and I noticed Edward coming my way.
"Hey, you." I smiled up at him, but he looked nervous about something. "Are you okay, Edward?" He looked spacey.
"Oh! Yeah. Sorry, Bella."
"What's going on?"
"Nothing-Jessica just-gah! Forget it. She's just so…frustrating. And annoying."
"Oh Edward, you make me laugh." He looked into my eyes and smiled.
"I'm glad, because I love your laugh, and I love hearing you laugh." He stroked my face, and Jessica came over with a glum look on her face.
"What?!" She wouldn't stop staring at me, and I got really annoyed when she didn't say anything.
"I…Oh…Mike and I are over. Way over. He got really annoyed that I was struggling with him and other guys, but he's got to give a girl some space. I did talk about it a lot more than I should have, but…"
"Well I wouldn't like that either. I wouldn't want to hear Edward here talk about other girls when he and I were together! Mike feels like you don't want to be with him, so he had every right to break up with you."
"JERK!" She stormed off as tears ran down her face and she went into the restroom.
"I was just trying to explain what happened! She knows that he talks to me!" Edward put his hand on my shoulder telling me to stop.
"She's hurting, though, even if it is her own fault. She probably just feels better blaming it on someone else…and you were her target just now."
"Yeah…I just want to help her." Lauren ran into the bathroom and came out with a laughing Jessica in a few minutes.
"Thanks, Lauren. I'll go talk to him." They both wandered off in separate ways and I shrugged my shoulders as the bell rang, and we went to the first class of the day.
"See ya later," he smiled at me and I sat in my seat, trying not to think about James, and unable to wait until I saw Edward again.
After one week went by, Jazz and Em had already asked Alice and Rose to that stupid dance, and I was hoping that Edward had somehow not heard about it. But this morning, a week before the dance, I overheard a conversation that shattered all my hope. Jessica and Lauren were talking as I walked passed them, and I couldn't help but overhear what they were saying as I waited for Edward to find me. I was rifling through my locker quietly as they spoke.
"Has Edward talked to you about the dance yet?" Lauren was quarreling with Jessica. They didn't know how loud they were.
"Yeah! But he was gonna ask Bella!" Wow. She was SO dense sometimes.
"Well, duh! I meant with the decorations!"
"You know, they could break up. And decorations? Who asked him to do that?" My heart crumbled at the thought of Edward and me breaking up…which would probably have to happen for me to keep him safe from harm if I decided to leave.
"You were supposed to, Jessica! And stop talking about Edward and Bella like that! Just because he has something planned for her at the dance! I'll be so glad when this is over and I don't have to talk to you anymore!" I realized that I probably wasn't supposed to hear that last part of the conversation, and now I had to avoid Edward. I quickly closed my locker and casually passed by the two dance committee leaders, and they stared at me in horror.
"Edward is going to kill us!" Lauren angrily looked at Jessica.
"No! I won't say anything!" I had to say something. They saw my face, which was way too easy to read.
"I know, Bella. But he'll read it in your face."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
"Not YOUR fault, Bella. Just please try not to rat us out!" I nodded and walked away toward my first class and ducked down when I saw Edward walking by. I managed to get to my seat just before I realized I had to face Alice.
She looked at me suspiciously as she sat down.
"What's up, Belly?" Belly? Where did Alice come up with that one?
"Belly? Well…I'm just thinking about that stupid dance!" It was the truth, so I knew Alice wouldn't question it.
"Oh! Yes! Has he asked you to go yet?"
"No-I don't want to go anyways. I hope he doesn't ask me."
"Bella-oh, never mind."
"What?!"
"Exactly!"
The teacher began lecturing the class as I sat there wondering what Edward could be planning for me at this dance…and becoming more stressed about it by the minute. Not to mention the fact that James could show up there and not only hurt me, but everyone around me…maybe I did need to leave.
When I saw Edward at lunch, he was a bit eased up from the last time I saw him. He gestured for me to sit down next to him, and I almost fell and dropped my whole tray, but luckily he was used to my clumsiness and prevented the whole accident.
"Thanks."
"It was my pleasure, love." I started to turn red while Em and Jazz started giggling.
"Shut up." They looked up at me and we all started laughing for no reason at all.
"HAHA maybe James will show up at that dance." He winked at me as he was joking, but I couldn't help but stiffen so badly that I fell out of my chair. I closed my eyes as I hit the ground with the right side of my body, and for a minute all I could feel was the fear numbing my whole being. When the pain came it wasn't bad, but it was so sudden that I made a strange sound indicating that I had recognized the feeling.
"Oh man! Bells are you okay?" Jasper was very concerned.
"Em…" I tried to sound angry.
"Not funny, Emmett." Jasper's voice was cold.
"Whoa! I was just…I didn't…"
"So? How could you joke around like that? You know how real this all is to her right now!"
"I'm so sorry Bella. I wasn't thinking when I said that."
"It's okay. Well, maybe this injury will be enough to keep anyone from asking me to the dance." I winked and they all calmed down…except for Alice.
"Edward! You didn't ask her yet?" She was appalled at her brother.
"Uh…no?" He looked at her, and suddenly she had a look of understanding on her face. I wondered what was going on. This had to be about that conversation I overheard earlier…about the surprise at the stupid dance.
"Bella…can you come with me to the ladies' room please?" When Alice wanted something, there was no arguing, so I rolled my eyes as I slowly stood up and walked with her to the rest room.
"What is it Alice?"
"You better say 'Yes' when he finally asks you to that dance."
"It's not like I'd say no to him! Goodness! I'd do anything to put a smile on his face, and I know that me not going with him, if he asks, would make him upset. I don't want to do that to him. Plus, dancing isn't so bad with Edward…" I started blushing a deep shade of red, and Alice chuckled. I felt a little off from this conversation though. Why would Alice or Edward believe that I wouldn't go to the dance with him? Did they really think I was that kind of a person? Didn't they know me better than that by now?
"You know, you ought to fix your blush monitor."
"Yeah…that would be such an easy fix. Why didn't I ever think of that before?"
We both laughed at our sarcasm and headed back to the cafeteria.
When we got back, all the boys and Rose were smiling widely about something. Before I had the chance to ask about it, Alice intervened with her usual bubbly self.
"We should all hang out tonight! At the Cullen's residence!"
"I don't know if I can. It depends on how much homework I get done."
"Party pooper. Come over when you're done with it." Alice wasn't going to let me get out of this one. I could see it on her face. But I thought that maybe, for some odd reason, I could convince her otherwise this time.
"I have a lot to do, though, and it might be really late by the time I finish it. I don't think it's a good idea for me to come over."
"When is all this homework due for you?"
"Well math is due tomorrow, and English is due in three weeks, and Science is due in two weeks, and…"
"Then just do your math and have some fun!"
"But I have a lot of projects and…"
"So have this last ounce of a fun night before you have to buckle down and do all of them!"
I sighed, and I knew I was never going to win. Alice always did.
"Fine. I'll come over." At least I would get to see Edward again…although I was trying to avoid him as much as possible at the moment…which was quite difficult because we had the next class together. The lunch bell rang at that moment and we all left to go to our destinations. I was still thinking over the conversation with Alice in the bathroom. Why couldn't I just let this go? I had to stop thinking about it, though, because I couldn't let Edward read my face like he normally would.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" Shoot. What could I say?
"Oh…nothing. Just homework and school, you know." I could see it in his face that he wasn't going to buy that, but all he did was sigh and look down.
"Certainly not proteins and lipids, I'm sure."
I laughed as I said, "no, not yet today, anyways." He smiled at me and held me, but I could tell he knew that something wasn't right.
"Bella, you can talk to me. I promise I won't get upset or anything…"
"There's nothing to talk about." I smiled politely as we sat down in our seats. He knew I was lying. He could read my face so much better than anyone else. And it was pretty easy for everyone else. On top of making sure Edward didn't know that I knew there was a surprise for me at the dance and sorting out Alice's conversation with me in the bathroom, I still had this fear that James would come here again. The feeling of needing to leave the ones I love behind so they couldn't get hurt anymore came with that fear. I had a lot to sort out, but I didn't want to worry Edward. I tried to keep my face calm and steady as I listened to the professor, and I paid much more attention than I normally do so that Edward wouldn't catch on, and I wouldn't accidentally tell him.