Characters and base story line belong to S. Meyer. Twists, turns and new characters belong to me.

Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter and all the new readers of the story. I'm glad that it has captured your attention and you're enjoying it.

Story Recommendations: The Ex Factor: Bella & Edward by AngelAtTwilight – awesome story that I just can't stop reading! Check it out!

So, it can't be all easy now can it. Hope you enjoy a new twist in the story.

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Caleb - Chapter Twenty Five

Bella's POV

I woke up to the screaming of my alarm, jarring me out of the most fantastic dream of Edward that I'd had since seeing him on the first day of school. I flung my hand out, keeping my eyes closed, trying to hold onto the vision behind my eyelids.

The screaming continued and I realized I'd knocked the alarm clock off the table without actually hitting the off button. I moaned and sat up, running my hands through my hair as I did so. I leaned down, grabbed the alarm clock and hit the snooze for 10 minutes.

I usually hate Mondays. But this Monday was different. I'd be seeing Edward. Soon. I lay back down on my bed, closed my eyes and thought about yesterday. My dream last night had been about yesterday and what happened between us in the music room. But it was more than that. We went further in my dream than we had in reality. Now it's true I didn't really have any thing to compare my dream to but if being with Edward will be anything like I dreamed last night, my body was going to blow apart in ecstasy.

I couldn't believe how he made me feel. Just thinking about it now made me hot and wet. I stretched and thought about his hands on my body, his lips on mine. I wasn't sure how I was going to survive being in school and unable to touch him like I wanted to. Not that he let me do what I wanted anyway. Even though we had only been intimate this past weekend, I knew that I was going to have a problem keeping my hands off of him. And I also knew that we were going to have a problem when it came to his protectiveness of me. He'd taken over what was happening between us in the music room yesterday so that he wouldn't lose complete control of the situation. I knew he was afraid of hurting me with his vampire strength, and I knew that I was going to have to figure out a way for us to be together in every way. I wasn't about to let him rob me of the experience of being with him completely.

I was going to have to talk with Alice about this.

The alarm started blaring for the second time and I reluctantly got out of bed. I knew Charlie was already gone for the day so I didn't bother with a robe as I headed to the bathroom to shower for the day. I was just finishing getting dressed when I heard my phone go off with Edward's ringtone. I loved that Alice had programmed his as Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon. I just hoped Charlie was never around when he called, I thought with a giggle.

Hello?

Good morning Bella. As soon as I heard his voice, my knees went weak. I reached out to the wall to support myself. How could just his voice over the phone have this affect on me?

Bella? Are you okay?

Oh, sorry. Good morning Edward. I'm fine, especially now that you called.

I heard his chuckle through the phone. I was wondering if you wanted a ride to school this morning.

My breath caught in anticipation that I could spend more time with him. YES! I'm ready anytime.

He laughed this time, apparently appreciating my enthusiasm to be with him. I could feel myself blush.

Be there soon.

I was just getting to the door when I heard his car pull in the driveway.

The week went on like that, Edward picking me up in the morning and dropping me off after school. I spend some evenings at the Cullen's house and a couple with Angela although she spent more time with Ben these days.

Angela and Ben still sat with me at the "Cullen's" table in the cafeteria and we talked everyday but it wasn't the same as before I moved to Forks. Angela needed me more then but I was happy for her. I knew she was really into Ben and I was happy to see them together and that Ben had torn himself away from that creepy Mike Newton and his pack of idiots.

Mike still hadn't said a single thing to me since I tossed him across the hallway but I had the feeling that I hadn't heard the last of it. Edward thought he was up to something but he seemed to be biding his time. I wasn't really worried because I knew that Emmett, Jasper and Edward were all on the look out for anything that he might try. Even Rose had threatened to kick his ass if he tried anything.

I hadn't told Charlie about the incident since I was pretty sure he would have gone all protective Dad over it. I just didn't want that drama. I still had to tell him that I was seeing Edward and wasn't sure how he was going to handle that. On Wednesday night he came home and informed me that we were going to be having dinner with Billy and Jake on Saturday night. I was torn because I had thought I'd be spending the weekend with Edward and Alice and the rest of the Cullen's but I also missed spending time with Jacob. We'd only met when I arrived in Forks a few weeks ago but I felt a kinship with him that I didn't even feel with my parents.

Edward wasn't too happy that I had to go to the reservation with Charlie and wasn't shy about voicing that displeasure. I remember how he acted when he'd smelt me after my lunch with Jacob, and dare I say, it excited me that I might get the same reaction again this time? I know, pathetic wasn't it?

I hadn't gone through any more changes for a while but Billy had said that it might go like that. Carlisle still tried to ask me questions about the stuff that was changing in me physically but there was just some stuff I wasn't comfortable talking to him about. I sort of missed my mom right now. There were things that I was definitely not going to be talking to Charlie about, no way, no how. I guess I could talk to Alice but I wasn't sure she could really understand.

When Saturday came around, I was ready and waiting for Charlie to get home so we could head out for dinner when my phone rang. My heard skipped a beat. It was Edward's ringtone.

Hi. I smiled into the phone, really happy to be able to talk to him at least once today.

Hi Bella. Alice has informed us that there is going to be a thunderstorm tomorrow afternoon and I wanted to know if you'd like to come and play baseball with us.

Ah. Baseball? Uhm, Edward, you remember who you're talking to right? Bella, the klutz. I don't do sports very well. And why are you playing baseball in a thunderstorm.

You'll see why. Esme says you can be umpire. I could almost see him smirking through the phone. She thinks we cheat.

Oh, okay. That sounds alright then. I'll ask Charlie. He hasn't mentioned having plans tomorrow so it should be okay. I'll phone you later when we get back from dinner.

Yeah, right. Dinner. That's tonight isn't it. He growled into the phone.

Yes, Edward. Tonight is dinner with the Blacks. I should be home by 10ish so I'll call as soon as I get home. I'll miss you.

I miss you too. I knew he wasn't happy with me being around Jake but he was just going to have to trust me. I said goodnight and hung up just as Charlie came in the front door.

"Let me just change quickly Bells and then we can head over to the Black's."

I was surprised to see so many cars parked around the Black house when we got there. I had thought it was only going to be the 4 of us at dinner. We walked up path to the house and I saw Billy sitting out on the porch in his wheelchair. He smiled widely as we approached.

"Hey Bella! Hey Charlie! It's great that you could make dinner. It sort of took on a life of its own and developed into a potlatch. I hope you don't mind. Most of these guys are from the tribe."

I looked in through the open door and my mouth dropped open. Inside the house were a whole bunch of the most gorgeous guys I'd ever seen, besides Edward that is. They all had short dark hair, were something close to 7 feet tall and were built like body builders. It was like walking into a room full of testosterone. There must have been about 10 of them all milling around the living room and kitchen area. I was amazed that the house could hold them all. I spotted Jake standing and talking with a younger boy that didn't seem quite as big as the rest. He looked over just as I spotted him and gave me a little smile and wave. The boy with him looked over at me too with a big grin on his face. They made their way over to me and Jake introduced me to Seth. As we shook hands, I felt the heat from his and realized that this was the Seth that Jake had mentioned at lunch, Leah's brother.

As I stood there talking to Jake and Seth, I realized that almost every one of the guys in the house had come by to be introduced to me, with the exception of one that stood over on the other side of the room looking at me with a curious expression on his face. He was beautiful in a totally different way than the Quileute. He was tall and muscular but not as buff as the rest of the guys in the room; his dark hair was down to his shoulders and seemed to have a bluish highlight to it from the light in the room. His eyes were a piercing dark blue. His face was classically handsome; deep set eyes, straight nose, square jaw and full lips. Something about him mesmerized me, drew me in. I was wondering why he didn't come over when Jake turned his head towards him to see what I was look at. He looked away as he noticed our attention turned to him.

"Oh, that's Caleb. He's a part shape-shifter like you. He just arrived today from out east and he seems almost shy around the rest of us."

"Well," I replied, "you guys are sort of intimidating when you're all together like this. It's the first time I've been around you all and I know exactly how he feels."

Jake laughed at me. "Oh come on Bells. We're just a bunch of softies."

I laughed with him, feeling at ease as I always did when in his presence. I knew that there were a quite a few of them that had gone through the transformation but had only actually been around Jake since moving to Forks. Billy had planned to get everyone together sooner or later to introduce me to the whole pack but I'd have thought I'd have some kind of notice or something. If Caleb did feel intimidated by the pack, I can't say that I blamed him in any way.

I excused myself to Jake and wandered over towards Caleb deciding to see if I could put him at ease. I could feel Jake watching me while I walked away from him and Seth. When I reached where he was standing, he looked at me with those piercing eyes. Our eyes met and I almost lost my balance at the sheer impact of his gaze. I hadn't been this affected by someone since I first set my eyes on Edward.

"Hi. I'm Bella."

"Hi. Caleb."

"I'm part shape-shifter too so I thought I would come over and introduce myself. You seemed like you feel out of place here and I know how you feel."

He gave me a small smile. "You didn't seem very uncomfortable from where I'm standing."

"That's just because I was with my friend Jacob. He's a pretty good guy. Have you met him?"

"Yeah, I'm actually staying with the Black's while I'm here learning about what I am."

"Oh. Jake didn't say anything. Well, Billy's a great guy. He's helped me a lot to understand what all is going on with me even though we are still a bit of a mystery in the whole thing."

"Yeah, well. I wish this wasn't happening to me. I had my life planned out which didn't involve being some sort of freak." He growled out, grimacing over the word freak.

I was startled at his aggressive reaction. I wasn't 100 percent happy about being part shape-shifter either but I'd started to realize that I wasn't a monster because of it; just like Edward wasn't a monster because he was a vampire.

"Are you still in school? Are you going to be attending Forks while you're here?"

"Yeah, I just turned 17, so I have a year to go. My parents sent me here to stay with the tribe but since I'm not of recent Quileute descent and don't have my status, I have to go to the town school."

"Well, maybe I'll see you there. But I spend a lot of time with my boyfriend and his family." I told him with a smile.

"Bella?" I froze as I heard the question from behind me. I turned slowly to see Charlie standing behind me with a confused look on his face. "Boyfriend?"

I closed my eyes with a sense of dread. This wasn't exactly the way I wanted Charlie to find out about Edward, especially with all the Quileute around. I saw Jake looking around Charlie's shoulder with a quizzical look on his face too.

"Ah, yeah. Dad, about that. I was going to talk to you tonight when we got home."

"I'm going to be pretty interested in what you have to say about the subject, Bells."

Billy announced dinner was laid out and ready to be served. I grabbed what I wanted and went to find a place to sit. I noticed Leah sitting alone on the front porch so I went out to sit with her. I'd met her briefly while I was talking to Jake and Seth but hadn't really had a chance to talk to her. She gave me a little smile as I sat next to her.

"Hey." Wow, talk about an intelligent start to a conversation, I thought.

"Hi." She looked like she wanted to say more but wasn't sure how. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Actually not too bad, I haven't gone through any more physical changes since I've been here. My temperature is still above normal though." There was more going on than that but I'd just met her and I wasn't really ready to talk about it with anyone yet.

"Wow, I wish it was that easy for me." She met my eyes briefly and looked away.

I looked at her in surprise. When we had first talked with Billy about me, he'd let me know that it was actually quite rare for a girl to start the transformation, full blooded shape-shifter or not.

"Uhm. You're transforming too?"

"Yeah. Only Billy, Jake and Seth know about it. We haven't told the rest of the pack yet."

"Oh. Wow." I didn't know what to say.

We sat there for a few minutes eating in silence when she looked over at me.

"I was wondering, could I call you sometimes to talk? We're the only girls going through this that I know of and I'd sure appreciate if I could talk to someone about stuff."

She surprised me once again. I looked at her thoughtfully for a few minutes. I really could use someone to talk to about stuff that was going on. Stuff I hadn't talked to anyone about yet. I suddenly had an idea. "Sure Leah. That sounds good. Would you be interested in going to lunch tomorrow and talk?"

Leah's face lit up. "That would be great Bella! Thanks!"

We finished eating and I went inside to find Charlie. It looked like he was ready to go too so we said our goodbyes to the pack. As I was hugging Jake goodbye, I felt eyes on me and turned to see Caleb staring at me intensely. It made me a little uncomfortable, I felt my body flush and a shiver went down my spine. There was something about him that spoke to me. I had this sudden desperate urge to be with Edward and I just wanted to go home so I could call him.

Charlie was silent on the drive home. I knew he was going to want to talk when we got there. I just hoped he wasn't going to make a big deal out of Edward and I having a relationship.

Charlie was actually quite calm as we went into the house. He went into the living room and indicated to me that I should have a seat on the couch.

"So, a boyfriend, Bells?"

"Ah, yeah. Dad. Well .. .. "

"Bells, just spit it out."

"IvekindabeenseeingAlicesbrotherEdward." I said in a rush.

"Sorry Bella, I couldn't understand a single word you said. You've been what to whom?"

"I've been seeing Edward, Alice's brother for the last week."

"What!?! He's way too old for you!"

"Dad, he is not. We're in the same grade!"

"What? Wait a minute, which one is he?"

"He's the one with the bronze coloured hair."

He looked like he was thinking for a minute. Probably trying to figure out what Edward looked like.

"Oh. Well, that's better I guess. I'm not keen on you dating at all but at least he's the same age as you."

Plus a few decades, I thought wryly.

"And he's Alice's brother. So, I guess you can see him. But there will be rules! No sleepovers at Alice's unless her parents are there, she can come here anytime though. No being out late on school nights, midnight on weekends."

I grumbled a bit but figured it was fair for him to put rules into effect.

"Okay. I also have to tell you that I have a date with Edward tomorrow afternoon. He wants me to go play baseball with his family."

Charlie's eye widened and he looked surprised. "YOU? Play baseball?"

"I think I'm going to play umpire. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out from all the games you've made me sit through since I got here."

"Then I guess I'll say have fun. I hope they all survive."

"Oh and Dad, I'm having lunch with Leah tomorrow."

"Alright Bells. Glad to see you're making friends with some of the pack."

Since our conversation appeared to be finished, I ran upstairs to call Edward. I didn't know why but I had to talk to him. I felt really antsy. He answered on the first ring.

Are you alright, Bella?

Yes, Edward, I'm fine.

It sounded like he took a deep breath.

Good, I was getting worried. Alice kept getting weird vibes from you all evening. It was really starting to get me a little antsy,

We just got home. I told Charlie that you were my boyfriend tonight. Was that alright?

I was going to ask what you were going to tell him. I heard the humour in his voice. It's totally fine with me. How did he take it?

We have rules but he seems okay with it. He thought it was funny that you're taking me to play baseball.

You'll have fun Bella. I promise.

Okay. I should probably go to sleep. I'm having lunch with Leah tomorrow. What time are you picking me up for the game?

Does 2 o'clock give you enough time for your lunch?

That's great Edward! I can't wait to see you. I missed you today.

Me too, Bella. Glad you called. I'd be dreaming about you tonight if I could sleep.

I will be dreaming about you Edward.

We said goodbye reluctantly and I got ready to bed. As I started to drift to sleep, my thoughts on Edward, a pair of piercing dark blue eyes flashed through my mind.

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