A/N: I know, I know, I said these would be more regular, but come on, a girl gets busy sometimes. The holidays are a hectic time for me, but don't worry, I'll try to keep a more steady schedule this year. Anyway, enjoy!
(1/22 - So there were a couple grammatical errors and I realized I accidentally deleted a section so there was a continuity issue - new chapter soonish, maybe next month.)
I don't own Twilight, so perhaps it owns me.

Chapter 14 - Communication

"Hey, Bella?" asked Charlie. I jumped, startled by his voice. I was sitting at the kitchen table, quickly wolfing down a small breakfast, my mind reflecting on the events of the previous day.

"Yeah, Dad?" I replied. He was looking at me with a concerned expression, and I tried to smile at him.

"You seem…off lately. I mean just now, you were completely lost in thought. You've been doing that a lot lately."

"Doing what?"

"Spacing out on me - like you're not really here." He sighed, wiping his hand across his face. "Look, I know we're not that close…but if anything is really bothering you, you can tell me, okay?" I sighed. I couldn't explain things to Charlie, but I knew he'd want some sort of explanation for my attitude at some point. My current plan was to blame on the whole "I haven't told you I'm a lesbian" issue, since that was much less shocking than "I'm the soul mate of a vampire who can barely stand me but we're also both slightly attracted to each other so it's sort of complicated, and oh yeah I'm being hunted by a lunatic."

"I will, Dad. I promise. There's nothing going on you need to worry about," I replied. Charlie gave me an appraising look, and then nodded once before heading out the door. I sighed. I do not like lying to my dad, but in this case, it is necessary. I ate in silence for a few minutes, before the sound of a car horn honking in my driveway startled me. I peered out the kitchen window, and saw a bright red BMW parked in front of my house, with a bemused-looking Rosalie Hale in the driver's seat. I stood there, gaping for a few moments before Rosalie honked impatiently, and I rushed out the door.

"Well, this car is certainly inconspicuous," I remarked, smirking as I climbed in the passenger side door.

"It's too early for me to tolerate you, Bella, so be quiet for the time being," replied Rosalie icily, though I could see mirth in her eyes, concealed by her sunglasses as she quickly pulled out of my driveway. She was driving far too fast, but that didn't really surprise me. A minute passed in silence, before I broke the ice.

"May I ask why you're here? Not that I object," I added hurriedly, prompting a smirk from Rosalie.

"Alice felt it was best that someone from our family escort you to and from school from now on." I rolled my eyes, but halted at the serious expression on Rosalie's face.

"Why?" I asked. Rosalie grimaces, her features maintaining her bleak expression.

"Victoria got very close to attacking your house last night." I felt my stomach tighten, and I took a deep breath to calm myself. I shut my eyes. Victoria…a constant threat, dangling over me.

"How close?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Emmett and Edythe had to work very hard to fight her off. The neighbors almost noticed. But of course, she got away again. None of us know how she keeps doing it. We're starting to think she almost has some sort of gift for escaping." Rosalie rolled her eyes at that.

"You disagree?" I asked, slightly amused, despite the awfulness of the situation.

"I just think that none of us are very good fighters, frankly. The fact that we successfully killed James was less about us being good at it and are about him letting his guard down. Beyond Jasper, none of us have much experience fighting there vampires. Alice and Edythe do okay with their gifts, but they rely on them too much. And the rest of us…" She trailed off, grimacing at her own line of thought. "I just think it's less about Victoria having a gift, and more about us not spending enough time strategizing and training to fight her."

"Do the others agree? I mean, it sounds like you're probably right," I said. Rosalie gave me a small smile, before returning to her serious look.

"Jasper agrees with me; Alice usually agrees with what Jasper says, but she's over confident in her own fighting abilities, so she's on the the fence. Edythe just thinks that eventually Victoria will give up because of something she saw in her mind, so why bother training, and Esme and Carlisle don't want to fight at all because they're pacifists. Emmett wants to fight, but he doesn't want to piss off Edythe." Rosalie half-laughed at her own statement. "Anyway, so for now we're at an impasse until something else bad happens. If Victoria gets even closer to you, or starts attacking people you know…" I shuddered, picturing Charlie or Leah getting attacked by the redheaded vampire.

"But you guys will be able to stop her, right? Before she hurts my dad? I know you guys aren't allowed in La Push, but there are people there I care about too…I mean, I don't want anyone to die because of me." Rosalie scowled, and whacked my arm.

"Relax. No one is going to die, and if they do it won't be your fault. Trust me, Bella, the risk is very low. We may be disagreeing at the moment, but overall we're on top of the situation, so relax, Bella," she said, practically hissing the last part.

"Right, because that's a vey reassuring tone," I replied sarcastically, prompting a harsh laugh from Rosalie.

"I don't do sweet comforting, I do realism; if you want to be cooed at, go find Alice or Esme."

"I'm sure there's a middle ground between cooing and hissing at me." I retorting, earning another harsh but more genuine laugh from Rosalie. Well, at least she's sort of loosening up. Then, another thought occurred to me.

"So did Alice suggest this? This new arrangement of you driving me to school?" I asked. Rosalie smirked, and nodded.

"It was originally mine and Esme's idea, actually, but Alice insisted it be me to drive you. My suggestion had more of a rotating schedule, but then Alice said the only people you are really comfortable with are you and me, and maybe Emmett."

"Yeah, I don't fancy spending 15 uncomfortable minutes in a car with Edythe." I muttered. Rosalie smiled again and nodded.

"Yeah, that was the impression Alice and I had. To be fair, because she knows that you're feeling the 'mate' pull now," said Rosalie, wincing slightly at the word mate, "she's being less hostile. She's still an insufferable know-it-all, and she still really hates that she can't read your mind, but she's complaining less and she promises to spend less time glaring at you."

"That works for me," I replied. "Fine, since this commute was technically your idea, I won't be lecturing Alice on 'stage-managing' us again, but she's still on thin ice." I smirked internally, knowing Alice was probably watching this conversation right now.

"Stage managing?" asked Rosalie.

"Oh, I lectured Alice last night on not trying to stage manage our relationship, i.e. forcing us into situations we're not ready for." Rosalie stared at me for a moment before giving me another genuine smile, and snorting somewhat derisively.

"I must say, I was worried about the same thing. She's been trying to give me date ideas ever since she found out about you. And while I'm not averse to spending time with you, I'd rather do things my way."

"I'd prefer that, too," I replied, smiling. "Alice's way seems much more over-the-top. You know she took me to a restaurant that had my name attached to it? Not exactly romantic." Rosalie laughed again.

"Yeah, that's not really my style. Besides, I don't see us ever sharing any tender, romantic candlelight dinners."

"Thank god for that," I said under my breath, earning another quiet laugh from Rosalie. I looked at her, and she gave me look that could be almost described as warm, before returning to her icy mask.

"By the way - we'll each be walking you to classes from now on. Mostly me, Emmett and Alice. Edythe, well, she'd probably bombard you with questions - she really hates not knowing what's in your head, so she'll want to hear and know everything. And Jasper, he..." Rosalie paused, unsure of how to proceed. "He struggles more with the diet than the rest of us."

"Why?"

"He's an empath - he feels all the emotions others feel, which includes the bloodlust of other vampires," answered the web, providing its first useful insight in ages. I nodded in appreciation, softly saying "Oh."

"I didn't answer yet," said Rosalie, looking annoyed.

"You didn't have to." I replied, before wondering whether Alice had told her about the web. This was answered for me by the scowl of comprehension that crossed her features.

"Oh, right, your information web - I swear, you're going to be as bad as Alice," she muttered darkly, causing me to laugh somewhat loudly.

"I shall take that as a compliment, Rose. Besides, the web only chimes in occasionally. It's not constant, like Alice's visions."

"Good, so it won't be as bad, then," said Rosalie, her scowl lessening. We were silent for a moment, before she broke the silence again. "What did it tell your exactly?"

"That because he picks up on the emotions of other, he picks up on the bloodlust of all of you - I can imagine managing the bloodlust of 5 to 7 vampires on a given day must suck." Rosalie stared at mead dumbfounded for a moment. She looked almost…surprised?

"I…I never though of it that way," she replied, her voice softer, her expression almost guilty.

"Oh?" I asked, surprised, "it seems obvious. Aren't vampires supposed to be smart?" Rosalie scowled, and I suppressed another smile.

"We just always assumed it was…for other reasons," she replied darkly. "And we are smart - we just all don't have the luxury of possessing some bizarre form of an mystical encyclopedia in our heads, do we?"

"I'm not a mystical encyclopedia, and frankly I resent the implication," replied the web. I snorted, earning me a glare from Rosalie.

"The web just wanted to inform me that it's not an encyclopedia - it sounded almost insulted, really. You should apologize, Rose." Rosalie looked way from me, facing the road, as we turned down the street towards the school. I could have sworn I saw another smile behind her scowl.

As we parked and stepped out of the car, I noticed Mike Newton standing by the entrance of the school, gaping like a fish. I laughed, and nudged Rosalie. She looked surprised by the contact, and gave me a questioning look.

"Look at Newton," I mouthed, and she did, smirking in the process.

"I can't tell if he's shocked or turned on, or some disgusting combination of both," she said, dryly. I laughed harshly, flushing at how undignified the sound was. Rose smirked at me, as well, which I hoped was a good sign - I can't tell all the time, really.

"Well, are we going to keep watching him?" she asked, bored and amused.

"No, we won't. Let's entertain ourselves instead," I said, and I reached out, pulled her to me, and wrapped my arm around waist. In the space of about five seconds, quite a bit happened. As I pulled her to me, she immediately recoiled, so fast it shocked me. Her face was immediately alarmed, her eyes wide, and she looked as though she'd be shaking if she were still human. She stared at me for a moment, before relaxing, and returning to her normal expression. What was that?

"Rose…" I began, unsure. She looked at me, and shook her head.

"You have to ask me if you want to do anything like that. And be prepared for me to say no. A lot." Her voice was icy, but there was something else lurking underneath there, uncertain and afraid. I chose not to comment on it and she looked grateful as we entered the building, stiffly walking side by side, unsure of how to proceed.

"So, the car ride went well at least," said Alice, a hopeful tone to her words. Alice was taking over for the drive back from school, as Rosalie and I had not spoken since the morning (Which incidentally made working together in biology extremely difficult). I sighed.

"Yes, before I touched her and she froze up. Which is a great sign, when couples can't touch each other - I think it's mentioned all the time in wedding vows," I replied sarcastically. Alice looked at me, and her usual smile was gone. She looked serious, which really didn't suit her face.

"There's a lot Rosalie needs to tell you, Bella. And it's not my place to tell you, trust me," said Alice. I didn't ask further, but I wanted to know. However, despite Alice's tendency I didn't want to hear it from Alice. I wanted Rosalie to trust me enough to talk to me about these things. I didn't know if that would ever happen, but I wanted it, very much. I sighed again, and then turned back to Alice, who was giving me a small, cryptic smile.

"You saw what I was going to say, didn't you?" She nodded and I snorted. "Smug little psychic."

"That's brilliant little psychic to you, Bella," she replied. I rolled my eyes, and looked back at my house as we pulled up. She parked and looked at me.

"Victoria's debating trying again tonight, so one of us will by later, and again at night, all right?"

"How hard is it to kill a vampire anyways?" I replied bitterly, before looking at the sadness in Alice's face. Right. That hard. And their lives were all on the line too. I grabbed Alice's hand, and hurriedly muttered a "Sorry, I didn't mean to be selfish," before opening the car door.

"It's fine, Bella. We're all on edge." she said reassuringly.

"I know," I replied, melancholy etched in my tone.

"It'll all work out, Bella!" shouted Alice as she drove away. I sighed, and entered the house, slamming the door loudly.

"How was school, Bells?" asked Charlie, calling from his seat in the living room. I gave a generic reply, before heading into the kitchen to get a start on dinner. I moved mechanically through the motions of cooking, hardly thinking of the pasta ingredients

"Bells?" I turned around. Charlie was standing in the entrance of the kitchen.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Are you alright? You seem really preoccupied about something?" he replied. I debated lying, but he was a cop - he'd know was keeping something from him. I sighed.

"It's hard to explain, Dad." He gave me an appraising look, and I quickly flipped through my brain, trying to access the web and determine what best to tell him. Charlie shifted uncomfortable, partially gazing at the floor, before looking back to my face, looking distinctly embarrassed.

"This isn't about a boy, is it?" asked Charlie, discomfort lacing every word of his question. I felt another distinct rush of guilt at the concern he was showing, and at my secrecy on my love life. At that moment, I decided to tell him a half-truth - something that would distract him from the overarching thing. I inhaled deeply.

"Dad, it's not about a boy. It will never be…about a boy." I tried to emphasize the last word, but he didn't seem to fully understand. I internally sighed again, before adding "I don't like boys, Dad. It's about a girl." There was silence, before comprehension dawned on Charlie's face, and he pulled me into a very tight hug, surprising me. I closed my eyes, and hugged him back - my father was not a physically affectionate man, and I knew this gesture was meant as one of love and acceptance, which I really appreciated. I hadn't been too worried about his reaction, but my relief at his response was almost overwhelming. We stood there like that for a while, before he pulled back and gave me a sincere look.

"Renée had called…before you came, she said you had something important to tell me. I didn't know it was this, but…" He trailed off, before returning his gaze to me. "I love you, kiddo. Don't forget that." Another unexpected show of affection. Charlie then let go of me, patted my shoulder awkwardly, and then sat down at the kitchen counter. "You know what, Bella? Take a brea from cooking tonight. I'll order some takeout, okay?" For once, the notion didn't repulse me, and I nodded, and headed into the living room to start doing some homework.

A half hour passed, with me sitting in the living room, answering questions in my textbook, while Charlie occasionally pestered me with questions about my preference for certain foods. In the end, we settle on Chinese food. Just after Charlie completed calling our order in, there was a knock at the door, causing me to jump. Charlie gave me a confused look, and walked to the door, opening it. There stood Rosalie, dressed casually and looking just as amazing as ever, even with a slightly apprehensive look on her face. Charlie looked like someone had just smacked him in the head with a brick. He opened and closed his mouth several times, before managing to remember how to speak.

"….Hello. Who…uh…who are you?" he asked. He flushed at his own hapless tone.

"Hello, Mr. Swan. I'm Rosalie Hale - Bella invited me over to help with her homework, " she replied smoothly, her voice silky. She smiled, unleashing the full force of her beauty on Charlie. Charlie's mouth opened again, and then stayed that way for a solid ten seconds. I stifled a snort and walked over to him, gently closing his mouth. He shook his head, and then looked at me, confused.

"Sorry, Dad, I forgot to mention it, but yes - Rosalie is my biology partner, and we have an assignment due tomorrow." I said. Charlie didn't respond, and smirked, beckoning to Rosalie and headed towards the stairs. Rosalie seemed amused, and much more at ease than she did this morning, which was a relief. As we were heading up the steps, Charlie called out to us.

"Hey Bells?"

"Yes, Dad?" I replied.

"Do me a favor and leave the door open." Charlie winked, and walked back into the kitchen. I blushed, and lead Rosalie into my room without looking at her, and left the door partially open before collapsing on the bed."May I ask what that last thing was?" asked Rosalie, mirth coloring her voice.

"Oh, well...I told my dad I was a lesbian today. He took it well but…yeah." Rosalie's expression became ponderous and unreadable as she looked at me. I gazed right back at her, noting the amber tint of her eyes.

"He didn't mind?" she asked, slowly.

"No, he didn't. I didn't think he would but he hadn't told him yet. It had never really come up before." I shrugged, and Rosalie continued staring at me.

"And why did it come up today?" she asked, carefully.

"He asked me if I was upset about a boy, and I told him that would never happen. Simple, really." Rosalie actually smiled slightly at that.

"So you had never discussed your dating life with him before?"

"I had never really…well I've never dated anyone," I replied, a bit embarrassed. Rosalie's smile faltered, fading into a look of understanding. I wondered why that was. Without thinking, I asked "Have you? I mean, have you dated anyone?" Her smile vanished, and her blank mask was back. Shit.

"Rephrase the question, and explain why you're asking," hinted the web. Oh, finally you decide to say something useful.

"I'm sorry, I…look, I don't know how to say this. But look…we really don't know anything about each other. At all. Today made that…clear." Rosalie winced, but didn't look away from me. "I…meant when I said I want to know more about you. I want to know…everything. I want you to trust me enough to tell me those things. I know you can't do that right away, but…I want to know you. I've never loved anyone before, Rosalie. But really think that I could love you. Before we get there if we get there, I need to understand you." I finished, taking a deep breath. I hoped that hadn't come off as cheesy or disingenuous. Rosalie, gave me a searching look, before part of her mask slipped. She had the vulnerable edge to her features that she did the other day, in Biology, and I unconsciously leaned forward. She broke my gaze and looked down.

"Rose…" I said. I reached my hand out, and held it near hers. She looked up at me, and nodded slightly. I grabbed her hand. Her cold touchy s always, surprised me, but I cherished the rush of electricity it gave me.

"There was a girl when I was human," said Rosalie. "Her name was Vera. I loved her, if I didn't fully understand it at the time. We had tried being together secretly, but she had a husband, which made it difficult. We never went further than kissing. It got less frequent after the wedding. Her wedding. And then we had last night together before I died. She was still my best friend. I miss her, a lot. Ever since the transformation, though, there's been no one. Some would say I'm tough to love. Me included," she added, bitterly.

"So, you were never married?" I asked, quietly. A look of distinct anguish and hatred crossed her face and I involuntarily drew in a very deep breath.

"I was engaged. I died before the wedding." She finished, and let go of my hand.

"I'm sorry. I know that's not helpful in any way, but…I'm sorry." I brushed my fingers across her hand, and she looked away, a pensive expression on her face. "Like I said, you don't have to tell me everything. But little things…they're good. I just want us to have better communication. More of an open dialogue between us." I sighed at how pedestrian that sounded. She looked at me, curious.

"It's weird, you know. You're a vampire and I'm a human, we're both lesbians, but somehow our biggest issue is just like every other boring couple on the planet." She smirked slightly, but she didn't laugh. I just wanted her to relax.

"You know I really hate this." she says, quietly.

"Hate what?" I asked, confused by the change in subject.

"The fact that I constantly feel the desire to be vulnerable and open with you." She looked up, smirking again "It's terrible for my reputation, really."

"Don't worry, I'll tell anyone who walks that you're cold as ice. Metaphorically, of course," I added, thinking about her temperature. She didn't laugh, but her smirk widened, and her overall demeanor relaxed.

"We should probably do some biology homework, now. So your dad doesn't get needlessly suspicious."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?" I asked, smirking. She looked repulsed, and I laughed, which earned a glare from her.

"You really have no idea how repulsive human food tastes to us. It's awful, and we try to avoid having to eat it as much as possible," she said, distaste coloring her tone.

"Yes, I noticed you guys don't seem to eat much at lunch," I replied.

"God, the food there somehow smells even worse than it regularly does."

"Well, we're having Chinese food tonight, so…" Rosalie looked like if she could have omitted, she would.

"So…what are you doing this weekend?" I asked, trying to segue into something else.

"Hunting, probably lurking around your house to fight Victoria. Hopefully killing her, but…she's tricky." Rosalie sighed in displeasure.

"Could we…spend some time together? Go somewhere, just the two of us?" I asked. I tried to ignore my nerves, and waited for her response. Rosalie gave me a cold, appraising look, before softening and nodding.

"Alice and Edythe had both suggested that, actually. Alice agrees we have 'communication issues.'" Rosalie rolled her eyes as she said this, and then muttered "irritating little pixie." I snorted and she glared at me again.

"Anyway," she continued, "Edythe suggested a place for us to meet. It seemed sappy and romantic, but I thought about taking her up on it. It's…a meadow." Rosalie cringed as she finishes. I immediately flickered in my thoughts back to the dreams I had about Rosalie, the meadow with the purple flowers, the ethereal quality of her skin in the sunlight…it couldn't be the same place, could it?

"Does the meadow have purple flowers," I asked, before realizing how stupid that question sounded coming out of my mouth. Rosalie gave me with an annoyed look she usually reserved for harsher offenses.

"I don't know, I've never been. It's Edythe's private place. She offered it to me as an apology of sorts - both for her recent behavior and for pissing me off for the past seven and a half decades. I wanted to turn it down but Alice insisted on it for some reason. I reminded her about your stage managing thing, but Alice said you'd agree with her this time." She glared at me again, as though my mentioning the flowers confirmed this.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I just…the web sometimes shows up in my dreams. And I had a few…okay, a lot about you in a meadow with purple flowers." Rosalie groaned in irritation, pinching the tip of her nose.

"God, there's two of you now…look, I did agree. On the condition that they have Emmett and Jasper move some furniture there. I have no desire to lie down in the grass." She shuddered at the thought of it.

"Yes, god forbid anything messes up your clothes or hair, Rose," I uttered, earning me a quiet whack on the arm. I looked up at her, and thankfully she looked more amused than pissed off (though it was pretty close).

"So…homework?" I asked, trying to redirect things.

"I suppose we have to, don't we," she said, returning to her usual cold demeanor.

"Oh relax, for fuck's sake." I muttered, pulling out a notebook. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, and saw that she was smiling again. Hopefully, I could keep her that way - at least for a while.

A/N: So yes, I had her tell Charlie. I figured she'd have to sooner or later, and always pictured Charlie as the sort of person who really wouldn't care one way or another, as long as he didn't have to express emotion for too long. Also, yes, I have made some alterations to Rose's backstory with Royce, but it will be similar - it just has a different slant to it. You'll see.
(Also feel free to message me if you see any typos - I suck at proofreading, but I'm pretty sure this one is close to perfect in that regard.)