"You're doing great," Jun said, holding out his hand to her, not pulling her up, but letting her use his arm as leverage.

The scramble up the awkward incline, slick with wet leaves and broken twigs, challenged her newfound fitness.

She remembered the last time she'd gone for a hike.

Then immediately wished she hadn't.

It had been cold then, too.

But it had been the far colder, and much deadlier creature encountered then, that made her shiver.

She wondered if she'd be just like that.

Red eyed. If she'd be able to hold her own. Not be a mortal menace.

"You OK?" Jun asked. The hue of her complexion, sliding down her face, couldn't be missed. "Maybe sit down for a bit." He patted a log, only moderately damp, and Bella did, mindful of the spreading seep in the seat of her jeans.

"Fine," she said, smiling weakly, "ready for a break though."

Silly, she told herself. There was nothing dangerous here. Just Jun.

And maybe Victoria, the little voice whispered. Or the Volturi. Come to check.

She silenced it. She'd made her choice. There was no pointing in second guessing it.

She looked at Jun, who was sitting down beside her, pulling a water bottle from his bag. He didn't want to fuss over her, knew well enough to see it had the opposite of the desired effect.

Bella pulled her own water bottle out, hiding the shiver of her memories in the busying of her fingers.

"Much farther?" she asked, still trying to occupy her thoughts with the present.

"About an hour," he said, watching her sideways, eyes on the flagrant moss at his feet, avoiding looking concerned.

She nodded, still paler than usual. "I'm ready."

"'K," he said, standing, taking her hand as she did. He held it for a moment, his fingers enjoying the subtle warmth of her palm, massaging it gently. Then, stepping closer, he leaned in to claim her lips in an equally soft kiss.

It took them the wider estimation of an hour to reach the crest. Neither minded the delay. Bella just wished she'd brought chapstick.

The view was, as Jun had promised, worth every slip and scrape.

He'd had to work to convince her to go.

"Hiking? In December?" she'd asked, more nervously than she liked.

"Pre-exam tradition," he'd assured her.

It was. He'd just never taken anyone with him.

"It's really beautiful there," he'd said softly. "Reminds me of you."

Her blush had, too. The Arbutus trees that clung to the rocky ridge also held their burnt and auburn bark, papery and thin. The colours matched the warmth of her cheeks, and the chestnut glints in her hair.

"Saturday's s'posed to be sunny," he'd assured her. "And if it's too much, we can turn back."

She hadn't wanted to disappoint him. Clearly, this meant something to him.

"You'll need to be patient," she told him. "I'm slow."

Now they were looking down at the emerald lake, its waters stilled by distance.

She said nothing. Jun's gaze and silence spoke of his own reverence for this place.

When he put his bag down, and began pulling crinkling packages from it, she allowed herself to sit beside him, comfortable with the absence of speech.

He offered her a sandwich, which she took with a smile and a quiet "thanks."

"You ready for exams?" he asked softly, shifting his leg a bit, sitting.

She nodded, taking a bite. "Think so." She'd started her study schedule in early November.

Jun chuckled. "The rest of us are in trouble if you're not," he said. "I've never seen anyone study like you."

"You mean," she said, grinning, "someone who actually studies. Regularly."

"Sure," he said, matching her expression, "some of us like having fun."

Bella rolled her eyes at him. He was just as studious as her. She'd seen it. He just liked to pretend he wasn't.

She didn't press the point, and scooted closer to him on the blanket. Now that they were sitting, it was cooler, the sun weak even at their increased elevation.

"Home was good?" he asked. They'd talked about their respective visits there, but only cursorily. School had been in its last throes of activity before the quiet of December, and exams.

Bella briefly considered lying. It would be easier, in some ways, to avoid talk of Jacob.

She opted for vague honesty instead.

"It was OK. Different. You?"

"Same as always," he smiled. "Mothered. Smothered. Distantly fathered." He shrugged.

More silence.

He couldn't help himself. He wanted to know. Had been itching to ask all week.

"You tell your dad about us?" he finally asked.

She looked at him before asking. He was carefully staying focused on the view, tracing the snow line, and then the tree line, up and down the mountains' edges.

"No," she said, watching his reaction.

There.

She saw it, just. His eyebrows nudged together. A small sign of disappointment.

"You?" she asked, the light tone point enough.

"No," he said softy.

She hadn't expected any different.

She reached her hand out to take his. "I wanted to," she said, "I just wasn't...sure, how to explain it. My dad is...well, he operates in clearly defined things. This is—"

"Clearly undefined. Gotcha," Jun said, squeezing her fingers.

He stopped himself then. Because the words that wanted to slip, all new and raw were, I love you.

He swallowed them instead, letting his heart thump loudly in their place.

I love you, he heard his mind say.

Stupid, he told himself. Stupid. Foolish.

Dangerous.

Bella was taking in the curve of his eyes, so unguardedly squished at the corners, the thrum of his pulse a flutter in her hand.

A strong feeling, she could see. But what? That she had no clear answers for. Only speculation.

Don't, she told herself. Remember what you agreed to. To let this just be.

To just let this be.

"We should head back," Jun said, breaking the spell of their wondering.

Bella nodded.

They descended, feelings dizzy with thin air, blood rushing. When they reached Jun's car, the normalcy that they had wrapped their expectations in had returned.

We are just more than friends, Jun told himself. Just a bit more than friends.

Bella observed his coolness, and chastised herself when she allowed disappointment to wander among her thoughts. Something, she was certain, had happened on the mountain. She just wasn't sure what.

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.