A/N: I'm sorry for the wait, but I did warn you that it would take a while. There's not much else to say about this chapter except for 'read on'.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, if I did I'd made everybody burst out in song at random places.

The Air I Breathe

Chapter 21

Two days later, and it was time to go back to school. I had bareky spoken to Edward since Carlisle and Esme came back, and I was starting to feel it. There was something in my body that ached, and it scared me a bit. Was it possible to love someone so much that you physically felt ill when you were away from them? If it wasn't for the text messages and short calls I'd managed to make to Edward when Esme and Carlisle was busy doing other things, I probably would have gone mad.

The first day of school was nothing special; it was just like any other school day. There was only one major difference. Edward. The first thing that met me when I pulled into the parking lot was Edward's silver Volvo, and a warm feeling spread through my stomach when I thought about that my lover was somewhere inside that building.

I checked my face in the rear-view mirror to make sure that my mascara hadn't melted in the snow that was falling down from the sky. Yeah, you heard me right. I was actually wearing make up. I had on nice clothes too. I had, in blind panic, called Alice at 6.30 this morning because I didn't know what to wear. I wanted to look nice for Edward, without looking like I was trying too hard. Alice ordered me to put on skinny jeans, ugg boots and 'that white and blue striped sweater I bought for you in New York last year that I know is still hanging in the back of your closet with the tags still on it'. Alice had a thorough knowledge of basically every item in my closet.

When I was sure that my make up hadn't melted I drove a hand through my hair and grabbed my bag from the passenger seat. As I stepped out of my car I saw Angela approach me, the hood of her jacket up to protect her face from the snow.

I smiled at her, pushing up the hood of my coat over my head. I was having a good hair day, and I didn't want the snow to destroy it. "Lovely first day at school, isn't it?"

Angela let out a dry laugh, and we started to walk hastily towards the entrance of the school. "Wonderful darling, just wonderful."

I chuckled as we walked through the doors, and unzipped my jacket, glad to be inside. The hallway was bustling with activity, everybody wanting to catch up with their friends after the winter Holiday. I had just put my jacket and bag in my locker when I heard the familiar sound of Jessica's squeal. I heard another squeal too, and understood that Lauren was with her. I inwardly groaned. I didn't want to deal with Lauren right now. Or ever, for that matter.

"Did you see the new teacher? He's soo hot!" Lauren giggled, and it was startling when I realized that she was talking about Edward.

I heard Jessica agree with Lauren. "I know! He's even hotter now than when I saw him at Bella's house."

Crap. Why did she have to tell Lauren that?

"What do you mean?" Lauren was confused, I could hear it.

"He's Dr Cullen's son, and as you know Dr Cullen and Bella's mom got married right before Christmas."

"So the new teacher is Bella's brother?"

I flinched. It didn't sound good.

"Yeah. His name is Edward, and he's only like 25 or something. Definitely raking high on the hotness scale."

I was so glad when they left, sparing me from having to listen to them anymore. Making sure that no one was reading over my shoulder, I took out my phone to send a text to Edward.

Good luck on your first day, and watch out for teenage girls. They're ruthless. Love you - Bella

The warning bell rang, so I stuffed my phone in my jeans pocket and grabbed my English books, ready to start the day with Mr. Mason. I had barely entered the classroom when I felt my phone vibrate. I chose a seat in the back, and discreetly pulled off my phone, reading the text from Edward.

Hardy har har. Just about to start my first class, and am feeling slightly sick. Can we meet during lunch? Love you too – Edward

I smiled to myself and looked up just in time to see Mr. Mason closing the door and starting the class. It was about as exciting as English always was, and I saw more than one student dose off. Before Government I sent a text to Edward saying I could meet him in his office.

Once I had plans to see Edward, my classes seemed to drag on forever. I even went so far as to sprint over to the cafeteria before Spanish to get an apple; I doubted I was going to set my foot inside the cafeteria that day. If Mike and Angela noticed my cheerful behaviour they didn't let on, because neither one of them said anything.

I tried to tone my mood down as I shoved my Spanish books in my locker and started to walk towards the music classroom, where Edward's office also was. When Angela wondered why I wouldn't eat with them I made up an excuse that I needed to go to the library.

The hallway outside Edward's office was empty, but I still looked around to make sure no one noticed me before I knocked swiftly on the door. It opened immediately, and Edward's form became visible. We stared at each other for a few seconds before he stepped aside to let me in. I heard him shut and lock the door behind me, making sure that there'd be no uninvited visitors.

I turned around to face him, sitting on the edge of his desk. He still stood by the door, eyeing me with an intense look in his eyes. He looked even more good looking than he usually did, in dark slacks and a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone, exposing his pale throat.

The fact that I hadn't seen him for two days was becoming evident. "I've missed you." It was just a short statement, but it held a lot of significant to me, that he had missed me as much as I had missed him.

"I missed you too." In a short second he closed the space between us and wrapped his arms around me, nearly lifting me from the floor. I clasped my arms behind his back, burying my nose in his shirt and letting his scent and warmth overtake me. I looked up at him and smiled. "How's your first day been?"

"All right. It's better now, though." He leaned down and kissed me, his lips moving softly below my own. My eyes slid closed and I moved my arms to around his neck, pulling my body closer to his. A low moan left my mouth when Edward's hands slid down to my ass, lifting me up and setting me down on top of the desk. I splayed out my hands in his hair, feeling the silky strands between my fingers. I moaned when his hands slid up under my shirt and around my front to palm my breasts, but then I remembered where we were, so I pulled away.

"We can't, I don't have enough time," I said, slightly out of breath. Edward groaned and dropped his head to my shoulders. He slid his hands out from under my shirt and instead settled them on my hips.

"Can I see you tonight?"

I could feel his warm breath on my skin, and it made me shudder. "I don't think so, I promised Esme I'd help her clean the house when I got back."

Edward lifted his head from my neck and instead rested his forehead against mine. "Tomorrow?"

I nodded. "I'll tell Esme I'm going over to Angela's house."

Edward smiled, and crushed his lips against mine. I reciprocated gladly, my tongue gliding over his. We both groaned when we heard the bell ring, signaling the end of our meeting.

I pulled away slightly to catch my breath, though I didn't part my body from his. "I love you," I said, my voice low.

Edward grinned crookedly and reached up to tuck away a strand of hair behind my ear. "I love you too. Insanely."

I smiled and let him pull me down from the desk. "I don't think I'll be able to meet you during lunch tomorrow, but I'll meet you at your house around four?"

Edward grinned and nodded. "I can't wait." He gave me a last kiss, and then ushered me towards the door. I smoothed down my hair and took some deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. Edward opened the door and peeked his head out, making sure I could get away unseen. "It's clear."

I stifled a giggle, holding my hand over my mouth. This all reminded me of some crappy spy movie.

Edward turned to look at me and grinned crookedly. "I'll call you tonight."

I couldn't help the smile that came onto my face. "I'll be waiting." I leaned up on my toes and pressed a short kiss to his lips before stepping out of his office, trying to calm down my racing heart and make sure that I didn't look like I had spent the last 15 minutes making out.

I was almost late to Biology, and I felt my face flush with heat when I sat down next to Angela. Mr Banner gave me an evil look, but then started the class. I was only semi paying attention to his lecture when a note appeared in front of me.

Are you okay? You look kinda flustered.

This, off course, made me think about the reason I was flustered in the first place, which lead to my face becoming even more flustered. I grabbed my pen to write an answer to Angela.

Yeah, I'm okay. It's just really hot in here.

The look she gave me told me that she didn't believe me one bit, but she didn't press the matter. That was what I liked about her, that she knew to back off.

Gym was a total disaster, as usual. We were playing dodgeball, and I highly doubt that any of those balls that Lauren sent my way were unintentional. For some reason she'd never liked me, and she made no secret of that fact either. It seemed though like she was more open about it now than she was last year, which probably had to do with the fact that Alice wasn't around anymore. That girl might be small, but she can be scary as hell, and Lauren knew well enough not to piss her off. One time Lauren pushed me in the hallway, causing me to fall down and sprain my ankle. The next day after Gym, Lauren got the shock of her life when her hair turned green. Although she accused both me and Alice of being the ones doing it, she had no evidence, and the whole thing was dropped.

Esme was baking when I came home, I could smell it as soon as I walked through the front door. I followed the smell to the kitchen, where I found Esme standing over the stove. She looked up and smiled when she saw me.

"Hi sweetie. How was school?"

I shrugged as I sat down by the kitchen island, leaning forwards on my elbows. "It was school."

"You didn't happen to see Edward did you? When I spoke to him last night he sounded nervous, and I hope he had a good day."

I was lucky that Esme had turned back to the stove, because my face turned beet red. "Yeah, I ran into him during lunch. He said that everything had been going fine,"

"That's good."

"Hey, what are you baking?"

"Banana nut muffins. Do you want one when they're done?"

At the thought of eating a muffin, my stomach turned. "No thanks, I'll wait until dinner."

--

Later that night, before going to bed, I pulled out the photoalbum in which both Esme and I had put in pictures since I was 13. It was overflowing with photos, and I reminded myself to buy a new one. I sat down on my bed and opened the blue cover, smiling to myself as a picture from my 12th birthday came up. A birthday cake was in front of me, and I was smiling brightly at the camera.

I flipped the page until I came to the pictures I had been looking for.

The summer before my sophomore year.

My eyes slid over the photograph on the left page, taking in the two figures with their arms around each other's shoulders. One short, with spiky black hair and a huge smile, and the other taller with brown hair and dull eyes. I was pale, paler than normal, and I could see my bones stretching over my skin. The arm that rested on top of Alice's shoulders was thin, and I actually looked thinner than Alice.

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply through my mouth as I thought back on how it all started.

Flashback

My footsteps echoed as I ran down the empty hallway, and I tripped four times before reaching my destination. The girls bathroom was deserted, so no one noticed when I barged in, tears streaming down my face. Lauren's words still haunted me, echoing in my head along with the laughter of the others. I gripped my head between my hands and squeezed, as if I was trying to press the thoughts out of my head.

It didn't work.

The voices grew louder and louder.

I looked at myself through the mirror; saw the imperfections; the way that they were right. I was disgusting.

I was getting clammy, beads of sweat forming on my brow. My stomach turned, I started to feel dizzy, and I stumbled into a stall, slamming the door behind me and in the last minute emptied the vegetable roll I had for lunch.

My knuckles gripped the porcelain seat so hard they turned white.

When there was nothing left in my stomach to throw up I reached up with a shaky hand to flush, and then sat back against the door, closing my eyes. Despite the weak and shaky feeling, I felt better. Much better, actually.

End flashback

A hand clasped over my shoulder, and I gave a half shriek. Twisting around I saw Esme standing there, an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't mean to scare you."

I closed the photoalbum and put it down on the bed. "It's okay Esme, I was lost in my thoughts."

"I just wanted to say goodnight, and I hope you have a good day at school tomorrow."

I smiled at her, mimicking the one she was giving me. "Thank you. Goodnight."

She stroked my hair and bent down to kiss the top of my head. "Goodnight Bella."

After she left I changed into Edward's t-shirt, which seemed to erase all negative thoughts from my brain, and got ready for bed. A smile crept onto my face when I thought that I'd be seeing Edward tomorrow. I picked up my cell phone and opened a blank text.

Only 17 more hours to go. I can't wait. Love you forever – Bella

Without waiting for a reply I turned off the sound and laid back against my pillows. It only took a few minutes before I fell asleep.

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