A/N: So, the last chapter was a little random, but it was needed as filler and it helped with this chapter. Thanks for the reviews!!

Two Steps Back

BELLA

Like I wasn't a big enough freak already.

When it had seemed as if the drama regarding my name had finally started to simmer down, someone had to kick it up a notch, bring the water back to boiling. I mean, nothing is better than making your grand entrance at school with a distressed boyfriend on one arm and a massive guy who could rival Emmett on the other. Life couldn't be any better.

Ha.

I avoided all contact with the curious students, heading to my first class. My main objective was to get by without anyone really questioning my reasons for a bodyguard. As if that isn't a far-fetched dream, I don't know what is.

"Bella, there is no rush to get to class, I'm here," Jacob said softly as I hustled through the halls.

Abruptly, I stopped walking and whirled around to face him. I exhaled deeply and replied, "I don't know what kind of school you went to, but here, I am the main spectacle. Having you by my side isn't helping me shed the limelight."

He chuckled, "Some people like the attention."

"Well, not me. I rather remain anonymous, than to be selected as 'Class Freak.'"

Looking over my head, Jacob smiled, "No, I think that dude over there get the cake." He pointed towards a guy who was dressed in a Spider-man suit, running down the halls.

Somehow, I still thought I beat that guy out.

Up to about…here (if you could imagine me reaching up on my tiptoes with my arm extended as much as I could reach), I wanted to yell at every person I met that I was okay. I had to have some sympathy for my teachers. They only knew me as the girl who fought Tanya and as Chief Swan's daughter. So, when my father called, warning them about the sensitive situation, I could understand why they all thought I was doing to divulge my life story.

First class…

"Bella, I understand from your father that you have protection at school. I'm just curious to know under what circumstances…?"

Second class…

"I am terribly sorry for whatever tragedy has been bestowed upon you.…"

After that, they pretty much sound that same. Either everyone was curious or wanted to bury me in their pity. Doesn't which hand I took; both were equally as horrible. Which is why I couldn't wait for lunch to quickly come; I wouldn't have to deal with the probing faculty or students for a least thirty minutes.

With Jacob, quiet and alert, behind me, I walked into the lunchroom and spotted my sanctuary. The group was already assembled. Quickly, I zoomed through the line, telling Jacob he could get what he wanted. After the formalities were out of the way, I practically ran over to the first seat vacant.

"Ahh," I breathed, a smile breaking on my face.

"Bella," Emmett laughed, "You don't have to sprint to lunch. This is not musical chairs Olympics-edition. Not that you would qualify."

I laughed along with him, enjoying his G-rated humor. Jacob sat next to me with only a bag of chips at hand. His presence prompted me to say "Oh, and everyone – this is Jacob, my official babysitter."

Alice giggled. "Hello, I'm Alice. The cool one."

Jacob smiled, nodding in her direction. "I remember you," he started out, shocking the table. "You were…the girl who decided she wanted to give everyone a makeover at Bella's fourth birthday after we ate the cake and were ban from the pool. My hair was so long that I got caught up in one of your transformations. I ended up leaving with pigtails in my hair."

Alice's eyes widened with recognition. "Oh my GOD! I remember you! Oh my GOD!" At this point, Alice was squealing so loud, the whole cafeteria could hear her. "I haven't seen you since then."

A slight blush swept on Jacob's face, framed with a sheepish grin. "Well, my dad really didn't want that kind of influence on me at such a young age. You know, he wanted me to be a…man." His voice got considerably deeper for added effect. "So…" he shrugged, trailing off.

"Humph," Alice pouted. "I give good makeovers. I used to do Edward, and he isn't gay."

Rosalie's right eyebrow rose, but she didn't voice her opinion aloud. I just sighed. Somehow, I didn't remember that party.

That was when Brandy walked over to our table. "Hey," she said nervously to me.

"Hey," I whispered.

She placed her hands turned out on our table while she giggled and blushed from embarrassment. "Umm…Bella, I was hoping, you would…introduce to your friend, here?"

"Oh," I jerked, straightening my back. "Brandy," I smiled, "this is Jacob, a family friend. Jacob, this is Brandy, uh…a friend of mine?" That last part was lie, but given the circumstances, no would care.

Holding out his hand for hers, Jacob greeted, "Hey, Brandy, it's nice to meet you."

She giggled uncontrollably. Edward rolled his eyes, and I glowered in his direction. I guess Edward was done with the whole Brandy episode. Then again, we were still trying to sort through our own episode.

Brandy brought her attention back to me. "Bella, I heard that something awful has happened in your family. Is there something wrong with your father?"

"No…why?" I asked cautiously. Did Charlie get hurt?!

She shrugged, "I don't know. I thought something would have happened to your dad because you seem pretty normal. Anyway, it's nice seeing you, again, Bella. You too, Edward." Edward smiled as she walked away from our table.

"Wow," Emmett voiced. "Didn't you go out with her, Eddie?"

"Yes," Edward said curtly, "And could you please call me by my real name. I hate that nickname."

"Aww…come on," Emmett laughed, reaching over to smack his brother's shoulder, "it's all in good fun. You know I love you, man. The nickname is just one way I express my affection for you. Would you rather I kiss you like mom?"

That made Edward crack a smile as he laughed, "I don't think that would be any better" – he sighed – "if you must call me 'Eddie,' please limit it to once a day."

"You got it, Eddie!" Realizing his mistake, Emmett said, "whoops," remorsefully. We all laughed.

"So, what's with the added protection?" Rosalie asked, picking at a broken nail. "Did Charlie find out that you snuck out with Edward?"

"No," I laughed. "Actually, it is more of a personal problem. In a nutshell, a crazy man is after me."

"Is he like a past love – an ex-boyfriend who wants to pledge his undeniable love for you, but has taken up stalking because you fled town in search for your childhood love?" Rosalie watched way too many soap operas for her to come up with that explanation.

"No, actually it is my mom's ex," I answered, drinking some lemonade.

She recoiled away. "That's disgusting. You dated your mom's ex?"

"No."

"He loves you?"

"No, he hates me," I corrected.

"Because you were your mom's child?" Her face was confused as she was trying to make sense of my words.

"No! Yes! Ugh!"

"I'm lost," she said flatly. "You're story is way too complex for me. I rather just not know."

How I wish other people could take that way out.

I was riding on my way from school, Edward driving, Jacob in the back, and I sulking in a bad mood.

I hated high school. Today, I heard everything from "she's pimpin' both of them," "she's in a gang who had a drug deal gone bad," "she has to have him with her at our times to keep Edward and her from fooling around," etc…

That last rumor wasn't entirely all lie. In less than ten hours, Jacob managed to bring my relationship with Edward back to square one. Freakin' square one. No, I was exaggerating. It was more like square three. Still, it wasn't where I wanted to be right now.

Out of thoughts and into reality, I noticed that Edward wasn't heading straight for my house. "Where are we going?" I whispered, looking over at passing streets.

"We are…" he announced, sighing as he shifted his grip on the steering wheel, "…going to see Betsy about some chocolate milkshakes."

"I haven't seen Betsy in so long," I smiled. Betsy would be happy to know Edward and I are back together, even though nothing was perfect yet. I mean, he still hasn't given me the ring back.

"Who's Betsy?" Jacob had stuck his head in between Edward and me as if he was a nosy child. I had to giggle at that. Besides Jacob being a stranger to me, his aura had a certain familiarity to it. He seemed like one of those times who you could depend on as the best friend for the rest of your life.

I decided I should answer the question. "Betsy is young waitress who is friends with Edward and me. She is very pretty and has one of those old souls. You'll love her."

"I'm glad that you love her so much," Jacob frowned. "Charlie doesn't really want you hanging out all over the area. That guy could be anywhere. I mean, there is a restraining order against him, but that doesn't help much when his goal may be to kill you. So, constantly I have to be on the lookout."

"He's right," Edward spoke up. "You really shouldn't be all over town. Man, I'm being dumb by taking you to the diner. We are going to turn back around." While Edward was in the process of turning his car around, I yelled out, "Wait!"

Edward slammed on the brake, causing us, all, to jerk forward. A car passing honked at us.

"I want to see Betsy. If I die without seeing her, I will personally haunt you, two as a poltergeist. Now, swing this car back around and we are going to see our girl," I declared.

"Bossy," Jacob hissed.

"And," I snapped.

He smiled, "There is nothing wrong with being bossy…except that people don't like that."

"At this point, I could care less about what other people like," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest and pouting. "I don't see what the point of the restraining order is if it's not going to do anything but agitate Damien even more. And believe me; he gets ticked off over nothing. For instance, he has the weird OCD about making sure spoons were on coasters or their rests. One time, I had made spaghetti for my mom and myself, and he had surprised us with a bottle of cheap wine. I had laid the spoon I had mixed the sauce with on the stovetop and he freaked out yelling that it belongs on a spoon rest. I was so scared that I started crying. The next time he came over, he bought me a spoon rest."

"He sounds like he's cracked," Jacob muttered, seating back. "I don't know him, but he sounds like a jerk. Why did your mom date him in the first place?"

"Well, being a kindergarten teacher limited her friends. Sometimes, she found herself addressing me in a way she does her students, and if she did that with me, she did that with adults. Anyway, I think they met in a grocery store – I don't know. But what I do know is that my mom started seeing him.

"However, she found Damien to be very clingy. I knew he was doing it too. Always calling to make sure my mom wasn't out by herself, making sure she wasn't seeing someone else. One time I was home, he called literally five times in two hours. I had to keep informing him that my mom had two Parent-Teacher conferences."

"So, the guy was controlling?" Jacob spoke up, trying to assess the situation.

I nodded, smiling at this conversation. It felt nice for a change to have some "free therapy" – able to talk about Damien in a comfortable environment. I guess Jacob had that effect on people. Throughout the exchange, Edward was silent as he steered. Could he still be upset?

"Damien was as controlling as they could get, but he never put his hands on my mother. He treated her like a goddess, worshipping the ground that she walked. However, he wasn't so happy-go-lucky with me. Maybe it was because I could see right through his deceitful flattery. But when my mom broke up with him – she said he was creeping her out – he took it out on me. Actually, I felt like wanted to hit me for a long time. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted to punish me from the get-go." I blew out my relief.

"I hope that we find him, so you can be put out of your misery," Jacob smiled, touching my shoulder amiably. "You seem like too good a person to have something horrible happen to you."

I shrugged. "I believe it was supposed to make me stronger as a person. I mean, not everyone can handle something like that."

"True," he agreed. "Hey, are we here?" He pointed to the window to the little diner, only populated with two cars in the front.

"Yep," I giggled, hurriedly jumping out of my seat.

Once inside, I saw one of my favorite people in the world serving a man. "Betsy!" I cheered, running over to the counter.

"Bella, you're back!" she smiled, reaching over the counter to kiss my cheek. Looking around me, she said, "I see you're here with Edward and…another gentleman?"

"Oh, that's Jacob. He's watching me," I explained dismissively.

While pouring out a cup of coffee for the man, Betsy muttered, "I don't see why a grown woman such as you would need a baby-sitter, but hey – that's life."

Edward sat on one side, while Jacob sat by me on the other. Giddy, I smiled at the both of them. "See? Nothing possibly could go wrong."

Edward sighed, rolling his eyes and staring out of the window. I huffed and looked at Jacob, who was just as happy to be out as I am. Good thing my dad chose someone who liked to have fun.

Soon, Betsy came over, smiling, and asked, "So, what do I owe this visit, kids?"

"Edward and I are back together," I announced to her.

"Congratulations! So, what do we want – milkshakes?"

"Chocolate milkshakes," I clarified.

"Right on it," she assured before she left our booth.

I turned back to Edward and asked him, "So, did you hear any weird rumors about me pimping you and Jacob? Or about my drug dealing?"

He smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah, it seems like you are the major topic of our high school again."

I frowned. "Sometimes, I just want to climb under a rock and hibernate for the next year and a half, come out and graduate, and then, live a normal life again."

"Your life will never be normal, Bella," Edward pointed out, looking at Jacob.

I looked over at Jacob, also, but he wasn't looking at us. He was surveying the people in the diner – a mother with her child, sharing a plate of fries; an older gentleman, with a hat, sipping on a mug of coffee; a younger man, wearing a greased shirt and worn pants, relaxing in a booth all by lonesome. Jacob was doing exactly what Charlie wanted him to do – watch and be on alert. But it was strange to see Jacob in this mode. I had only known him for twenty-four hours, but had grown attached to his friendly disposition, but this careful Jacob was unnerving. His dark eyes darted around to the various suspects, watching for any sudden movements. His shoulders were rigid to convey he was older than he was. His jaw was set.

He looked like a watch dog, ready to spring on the first intruder.

"Jake…?" I whispered his nickname, hoping he would soften up.

Abruptly, he turned back to me with a smile on his face. "I'm sorry about that. I'm taking this very seriously."

"It's okay." Actually, it wasn't okay to me. I didn't like this full alert Jacob. Not only was it intimidating, it was scary. I could only imagination how hyper-aware his mind was at night. I shivered inwardly.

Just then, Betsy returned with a tray of glasses. "Okay, three chocolate milkshakes on the house," she smiled.

"Aww…thank you, Betsy," Jacob grinned.

Her fingers nipped his chin as she replied, "You are so cute! Anything for you, kids."

I turned to my milkshake and sighed, "I love chocolate."

EDWARD

At this current moment, I envied Jacob.

I wanted to be the one who got to follow Bella, protect her, save her. I wanted to be her hero. Why did Jacob get to be the one who would potentially save the day?

Coming home after dropping Jacob and Bella off at her house, I was met by Alice at the bottom of the stairs. "Edward?" she asked with confusion and worry in her voice. I turned my head in her direction. I guess I looked just as disturbed as I felt. "What's wrong with you?" she questioned as I stepped past her, heading to my room.

"Edward," I heard her voice call as she pursued me. Didn't she have someone else to worry about? "Edward."

I swiveled on my heels and slammed my door closed, hoping that Alice wasn't right behind me or I would feel terrible.

"Edward, I know you hear me." Her voice came like a muffle call as she held a one-sided conversation. "I'm your sister and I want to know what's wrong with you. You haven't been yourself since the camping trip. At first, I thought you were all happy with Bella, but now you're sulking again. Do you need me to tell Carlisle to put you on some drugs?"

"Alice – go away!" I growled, throwing myself on my bed.

Silence followed my words. She was gone.

Once I thought I would be alone, I reached under my bed and pulled out the scrapbook I looked so many times. This was what got me through my years of torment, but somehow, I thought the night was only just beginning for me.

Why couldn't Bella and I just get it right? Every time we were making progress, we messed up. One step forward, two steps back. But something about Bella's words today got to me. Everyone kept talking about her fourth birthday.

I remembered that day. I remembered how pretty she was, how happy, how Bella. I also remembered how she looked at Jacob – the same way she looked at me.

In the back of the scrapbook was a collection of photos that weren't used to fill up the book. Alice promised when I had enough pictures that she would make another. Flipping the photos quickly, I stumbled upon the ones from that day. Carlisle must have been taking pictures during this time, because they were all over the place. Kids running around in the swim attire, parents laughing with one another, Bella's cake – the rainbow cake. There was a picture of Bella hugging Jacob with me in the background. I could easily identify with the young boy in this picture. He was feeling pushed aside as I did now.

Bella wouldn't need me if Jacob was around. He would be her superhero, while I would become his sidekick. The hero was the one who received all the credit, the glory, and the girl.

The little Edward in this picture was jealous.

And so was I.