A/N: Please don't hate me! I am seriously so, so, so sorry! School has already kept me tied down and you have no idea how much crap they've already loaded me with. Please understand. I appreciate those of you who are reading this and have stilled managed to stick with me despite everything. I know I keep saying this story will end soon, but then I'm thinking that I don't want to move it too fast. So my estimate is about 25 to 30 chapters. But sorry this chapter is shorter than usual. I just wanted to get it out there rather than have you all wait a week or two later for a longer chapter. But anyways, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight…just the plotline ^_^

Guardian or Stalker

"No."

"What?"

"Bella, I said no. And that's final."

"But Dad!"

"I said n-"

"Mom said so!"

"So you're telling me that she knows it's just you and Edward going? Alone?"

Silence.

"That's what I thought," Charlie scoffed as he brought the paper up to his face to continue reading.

"Dad, that's not fair!"

"When did you hear about this?" he inquired.

Bella stayed silent once more wondering whether she should lie or tell the truth, but she knew Charlie could see right through her. They were one in the same. Despite being raised by Renee most of her life, she took on more of her father's characteristics than anything else.

"Valentine's day," she nearly whispered.

"Valentine's day?!" Charlie yelled in surprised while Bella cowered. "You've known about this for over a month and decided to tell me just now when your spring break is next month in April?"

"Yes," she responded though it sounded more like a question.

After having received one of the best gifts in her life, nothing else seemed to matter. The month of February and the days of March were whizzing by faster than the blink of an eye. She had told the others about it excitedly the day after and they were all happy for the two of them. Though they were sad that they didn't get to spend spring break all together, they promised to make it up to them another time.

Bella felt ashamed that she didn't tell her parents sooner, but she was too excited and preoccupied to have her hopes let down so soon if her parents' reactions were going to be bad. And by the road Charlie seemed to be traveling right now, things were indeed going bad.

"I don't want you to be going across the country with some boy you just met," he spoke calmly while Bella was pouting like a five year old child.

"First of all dad, he's been my boyfriend for months. Secondly, Edward already bought the tickets! You can't refund them."

"Well tell him to bring someone else then," he took a sip of his coffee without sparing her a glance.

"Daddy!" Bella whined on the verge of tears as she stomped her foot. "Please let me go! I'm almost eighteen now and I am responsible. If you can't trust Edward, then trust me!"

Charlie finally took his eyes off the paper to look at his only daughter jutting out her bottom lip with her eyes wide and glossy in an attempt to show off her puppy dog look. Charlie could feel his will losing its sternness as Bella actually went down on her knees to beg with her hands intertwined as if in prayer.

"Bella…" Charlie sighed while closing his eyes. Bella knew she was getting to him and so took her window of opportunity to give it her all.

"Dad please! I promise if you let me do this, I won't ask for anything from you again."

"I've never heard that one before," Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Dad!" Bella's high pitched voice echoed in the kitchen.

"Ask Renee one more time," Charlie emphasized with his hand and with serious tone. "I want you to tell her all of the details, Bella. I mean all of it; itinerary, who's going, your step by step plan. Then come back to me and if she says yes, I'll think about it."

"You'll think about it?" Bella raised an eyebrow.

"Would you rather I not think about it at all?" he challenged her while he turned his attention back to reading the paper.

"Nope!" Bella quickly stood up and patted her knees that were previously on the floor. "Thanks, dad!" she moved forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go back home, okay?"

"Sure, Bells. Love you."

"Love you too," she quickly waved as she made her way over to the door. She opened it and walked out just as she was looking down at her cell phone to check the time. She was too absorbed In her thoughts to see the figure in front of her.

"Oof!" Edward clutched his chest as Bella ran into him. He immediately caught her and watched her rub her forehead with a grimace.

"Why were you directly in front of the door?" she muttered as she moved past him and walked to the passenger's side of Edward's car. He unlocked the door shaking his head as she got in and he followed.

"I was pacing waiting for you to tell your dad's answer since I was nervous," he replied as he put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. "Anyways, where are we heading now?"

"Back to my house," she sighed, slumping into her seat. "My dad said I have to tell my mom all the details."

"Didn't you just do that before you came here?" he glanced at her.

"Well…" she bit her lip. "Not all of the details."

"Bella," he sighed in disappointment. "What if she says no this time?"

"She won't," Bella shrugged, though her brain was trying to persuade herself that that was the case.

"You sound so sure of yourself," he stated sarcastically. Bella rolled her eyes and snorted just as Edward shot her an amused look. "That sound coming from you?" he quirked an eyebrow. "I would have expected something more lady like."

"Shut up," she laughed, leaning her head against the car window as she looked out.

The rest of the drive to her house was silent as they both submerged themselves into their own thoughts. By the time she pulled up to the driveway, she noticed her truck was the only vehicle parked and Renee's was missing.

"Oh crap!" Bella muttered, hitting her head on the dashboard.

"Bella?" Edward tried to stop her. "What's the problem this time?"

"My mom's going out with Jasper's mom and their other siblings. Usually she comes home late."

"Why don't you just call her?"

"Why don't we just basically leave for Florida without telling anyone," Bella rolled her eyes as if what he said was ridiculous. "You can't drop the news through a phone call. It should be face to face."

"But I broke up with so many girls that way..." his voice trailed off as Bella sent him a withering look. "Anyways," he cleared his throat, "let's just watch a movie at your house with just me and you. I've had my share of the boys and you of the girls. I'm sure spending a lot of time with Alice has worn you out these past couple of days," he gave her a knowing look in which she smiled. "See," he held her chin and used his thumb to trace her smiling lips. "How about we make this a date," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"A date huh?" she took his hand in hers and hovered her lips an inch away from his.

"Uh huh," he nodded and slowly leaned in toward her as her eyes fluttered to a close.

When they felt the other's lips slightly brush against their own, they quickly jumped apart by the sound of tapping against the car window. Bella actually jumped up high enough to slam the top of her head on the roof of the car while Edward slammed the back of his head against the window. They were both rubbing their heads when they took a look at Emmett making kissy lip faces at them.

"Stupid," Edward grumbled as he open his car door abruptly causing Emmett's face to slam against the window.

"Ow! Fuck!" Emmett hissed as he tentatively touched his nose.

"Emmett!" Bella gasped as she jumped out of the car to help him out. His nose started to bleed and she quickly rushed him to the door of the house to get him cleaned up. Edward only shrugged thinking he deserved it as Rosalie followed them into the house and Jasper and Alice slowly came to his side.

"That was unnecessary," Alice shook her head.

"I think you broke his nose," Jasper shrugged as unfazed as Edward.

"Oh well. He deserved it for ruining the moment anyways," Edward sighed as he led them into the house. "I guess we'll all be watching that movie now."

~*~*~*~

"Come on!" Bella slapped her hand against the steering wheel impatiently as she held the phone tightly to her ear. "Pick up, pick up, pick up!"

"Hello?" came a groggy voice from the other end.

"Edward!" Bella screamed while Edward brought the phone farther away from his ear so as to not break his ear drums. "I told my mom and she said it's okay!"

"Really?" he sighed, sitting up from his bed. "Why couldn't you wait to tell me later rather than at," he paused to look at his bedside clock, "seven in the morning?" The end of his sentence came out in a moan of disgust.

"Because silly," Bella rolled her eyes just as she made a turn. "Wouldn't you wanna know? I'm on my way to my dad's house to tell him about it."

"Did you want me to come or something?" he sighed once again as he got out of bed to brush his teeth. He was exhausted since all of them stayed up until two in the morning watching and talking before they headed home. He was trying to prolong his stay so that he could be there with Bella to support her when she talked to her mom, but she was right in saying that she would come home late since Renee didn't show when he was there. "What time did your mom come home anyways?"

"Around three," she yawned, though her voice still held her excitement. "I stayed up because I couldn't go to sleep. She was in a good mood so I knew it was the right time to let it all out. She was mad at first, but thought it was okay. But you don't have to come. I just wanted to let you know."

"Well I'm up already. Are you sure? And aren't you exhausted?"

"It's nothing coffee can't fix. And yea, I'm sure I can do this on my own. I'll stop by your house afterwards to tell you about it."

"Sure," he mumbled since his mouth was already occupied by a toothbrush and tooth paste. "Ser yer lader."

"Bye," she sighed and hung up just as she came to a stop at Charlie's house.

She checked her appearance in the rear view mirror quickly before hopping out of the car and bounding the steps towards the front door. She took a moment to compose herself before her hands turned into a fist preparing to knock. Before it could complete its course, Charlie opened the door as though expecting her already, clad in his police uniform and with a cup of coffee to his lips.

"Mornin', Bells," he smiled before turning around and heading towards the kitchen.

Bella eyed him curiously but then replaced that expression with her previous happy one.

"Good morning, dad," she spoke aloud as she shut the door behind her and followed him into the next room. "How did you know it was me at the door?"

"I figured you'd want the news pretty early," he chuckled as he resumed to his seated position at the table reading the newspaper just as he did yesterday. "Plus, the noise of your truck kind of gave it away."

"Okay, okay. So back to business," Bella lowered down the newspaper so her father's head was visible. "I talked to mom and she was fine with it. So can I go now?" she bit her bottom lip anxiously.

He paused and watched her, giving her a moment of suspense while her face twisted into an expression of agony.

"Alright, alright!" he chuckled after a minute or two of silence. "I'll let you go."

"Oh my god!" Bella screamed and quickly threw her arms around her dad for a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she let out a breath of relief.

"Nah uh uh," Charlie shook his head. "Let me finish. I was going to say that I'll let you go, but on one condition."

"Condition?" Bella pulled away nervously as she looked directly at Charlie's mischievous face.

"I want someone else to go with you."

"What?!" Bella's eyes widened while she folded her arms. "Who?"

"You just have to find out when you meet that person at the airport."

"So you just want me and Edward to travel with some random guy?"

"No," Charlie looked at her as if she were crazy. "It's a guy I trust."

"You're not talking about yourself, right?" her face scrunched up.

"No," he chuckled, shaking his head. "It's not yours or Edward's parents either."

"Then who is it?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Dad, I want it to only be me and Edward."

"It's either you, Edward, and the person, or you're not going at all," he spoke firmly.

Bella frowned and saw that her dad had officially put his foot down and he wasn't going to change his mind.

"Does mom know about this?" she questioned, hoping that Renee would side with her.

"Yes she does since I talked to her earlier yesterday and she approves," he stated to her disappointment. "So do we have a deal, Bells?" he held out his hand.

Bella eyed it apprehensively but knew she wasn't getting anywhere. After a moment's hesitation, she sighed as her hand made contact with Charlie's hoping she wouldn't regret this decision.

"Deal."

~*~*~*~

"You did what?!" Edward chocked, splattering orange juice from his mouth. Bella frowned and reached for a napkin to hand him so that he could clean up the mess. "What in the world do you mean?"

"I made a deal with my dad," she shrugged. She tried to act casual about the whole thing, but on the inside she was fuming, scared and nervous all at the same time. She was surprised that she managed to suppress all of the emotions. Maybe letting out that long shrill-pitched scream in the car earlier once she left Charlie's house actually did do her some good. "It was either that or nothing at all," she took a sip of her glass slowly while keeping her eyes steadily on his.

"Nothing at all then!"

"What?" Bella crossed her arms allowing some of the anger to seep through as she slammed her cup down. "You don't want to go then? I can tell him that if you want me to-"

"No, no, no," Edward sighed, shaking his head in regret. "I didn't mean what I said."

"Oh really? Because I heard-"

"Bella, you know I'm just surprised. That's all. It's just that…you know…" he couldn't find the exact words while he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "For all we know, it could be some guy that we hate. They'll probably follow us twenty four seven. I already know that feeling literally. Had a few girls stalk me back in junior year."

"Let's take this one step at a time. I can only be mad at you now for what you just said…or we can get into another spat at yet again you mentioning all your little flings you had before," Bella glared.

"We weren't dating then," he tried to clarify.

"Doesn't mean your current girlfriend wants to hear about them," Bella eyed him threateningly.

"But I-" He stopped short when he saw Bella on the verge of snapping. "All right," he sighed. "Anyways, I guess the deed is done then. When will we meet this…stalker," he began to eat his breakfast once again.

"At the airport?" she bit her bottom lip.

"You're serious?" He looked up from his plate to see that she indeed was. "That long? God…this puts a damper on my mood."

"Tell me about it," Bella leaned her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands. "I'm already counting down the days."

~*~*~*~

"Luggage?"

"Check."

"Passport?"

"Check."

"Plane Tickets?"

"Edward has it."

"Lingerie?"

"Che- What?" Bella turned around quickly to see her mom's amused expression.

"Just kidding sweetie. I'm only making sure you're paying attention," she laughed and winked at Charlie's disgruntled expression as he leaned over the back of the truck to remove Bella's suitcase.

They were standing outside of the nosy airport, the smell of gasoline and cigarette smoke evident in the air. She was supposed to meet Edward here as well as the rest of the gang since they insisted on seeing them off at the airport. Edward wanted to give her a ride but her parents, mainly Renee, didn't want to let her go and was adamant on spending as much time with her as possible since she would be gone for a week.

Bella was beat red but was relieved to see that her mom was joking. She thought that she did peek into her bag because she truthfully did bring along the lingerie Alice bought her for Christmas. Hers and Edward's rooms were separated, but who knew if someone decided to have a sleep over. She had to be prepared just in case.

"Bella!" she heard Edward's voice call out to her. She looked up to see that he was with his parents parked a few cars ahead of them. He turned towards his parents who he gave both hugs and a kiss to his mother. They waved him off as well giving Bella and her parents a smile and wave for recognition. She watched as Edward jogged towards them with his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey," he smiled, giving her a rated G kiss on the cheek to keep up appearances in front of her parents.

"Renee," he greeted, giving her a hug while he looked up at Charlie in a formal manner. "Mr. Swan," he nodded, reaching out his hand to shake Charlie's extended one.

"Edward," he nodded stiffly. "You'll take care of my girl now, won't you?"

"Of course," he smiled, making his way to Bella's side while taking her luggage with him so he could carry it. "And I thank you both for allowing her to come with me once again. I assure you that we'll check in with you ever day so you know your daughter is safe."

"I'm gonna miss you!" Renee choked, suddenly lurching forward to wrap Bella in her arms.

"Mom!" Bella whined. "Don't make this like sixth grade science camp all over again! I'll be gone the same amount of time."

"I know," Renee, sniffed as she pulled away and took out a Kleenex to dab her eyes. "I'm sorry. I hope you two have a wonderful trip together."

Charlie wrapped his arm around Renee comfortingly while his eyes showed genuine concern for her. Her parents were officially boyfriend and girlfriend, though Bella found it awkward thinking about it that way. But it was good that they found each other once again.

"Anyways," Charlie cleared his throat while Renee stuck to burying her face in the sleeve of Charlie's shirt. "Your guardian will be here any minute now," Charlie looked around apprehensively. He ignored the slight twitch both his daughter and Edward made upon hearing that. Between the excitement of leaving for vacation and saying goodbye to their parents, they had forgotten about that last detail. Charlie stuck to naming the person that was supposed to come along as their 'guardian'.

Bella and Edward preferred to call whoever it was their 'stalker'.

"Where's Alice and them?" Bella checked her cell phone. "They're running late to see us off. We might not be able to say goodbye if the person comes before them," Bella looked sadly at the incoming cars as she longed to say her last farewells to them.

"About time!" Edward let out a sigh of relief. They saw their friends pull up in front of their own truck with all four of them stuffed inside. Jasper was driving with Alice in the passenger's side while Rose and Emmett were trying to fit themselves in the small backseat.

"Bella!" Alice immediately called out upon opening her door and rushing to greet them. She brought the two into a hug and even hugged Bella's parents.

"Hey," Jasper waved while Emmett and Rosalie tried to smooth out their wrinkled clothes from being squished in the tiny compartment. Rather than saying goodbye to them as expected, they were surprised to see Jasper and Emmett round the back of the trunk and open it to reveal four large roller suitcases and a few carry on bags.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Edward held his hands up as he approached them. "What's going on?"

Jasper and Emmett could be seen grinning while giving Edward a what-does-it-look-like-I'm-doing look.

Edward turned around confused to see Bella with the same perplexed expression and Rosalie with Alice by her side giggling.

"Edward, Bella," Charlie cleared his throat, taking a step forward and placing a firm hand on Jasper's shoulder, "I'd like you to meet your guardian, or shall I now say...guardians."

A/N: There you have it people! As always, smiley faces and reviews are welcomed! Every Review gets its Sneak Peek! And because I've held out on you all for weeks, I'll provide you with a longer one this time :D Thanks everyone!