The next morning Bella woke up exhausted. She had spent the entire night tossing and turning, too wound up to really sleep. Her dreams had all been brief but stressful. The one she remembered the best involved a tall man with golden hair reaching out to her, calling her by name. She tried to run to him, but he kept getting further and further away.

Sighing, she pulled back the covers and sat up. She grabbed her phone off of the nightstand and looked at the time. 7:09. Good, she still had a whole twelve hours before her dreaded date.

Bella dressed quickly, pulling on an oversized hoodie and some jeans. She needed to get some air and think before she decided what to do about the Cullen boy. She said a quick goodbye to Charlie, packed a small bag, and headed down to LaPush.

As she spread out her beach towel on the cool sand, she inhaled the clean, crisp air of first beach. She had always loved coming here as a child. The peaceful crash of the waves against the sand had always brought her comfort, even on her darker days. And today was certainly one of those days.

Her mind was reeling. Why couldn't she resist Edward's charms? Something about it felt preternatural, like she literally couldn't say no. It was disturbing, and honestly a bit scary. She wasn't sure if she could call off the date even if she wanted to. She shuddered. Oh well, she thought, nothing I can do about it at the moment. All I can do now is try to relax and get her mind off it.

"Bells! Hey!"

Bella jumped, and let out a small yelp. She turned around to see Jacob Black standing before her, a wide smile on his face. Why was everyone sneaking up on her lately?

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare 'ya. I just saw you down here and thought I'd come say hello."

Bella couldn't stay mad at her childhood friend's smiling face. She knew Jacob hadn't meant any harm.

"Hey, Jake. I missed you dude. How are you?"

He grinned. "Great, now that you're here. I heard from my dad that you were staying around for good this time."

She nodded, "Yepp, I'm stuck here for a while now I guess."

He laughed, "Aww, you sound so enthusiastic." He sat down on the wide towel beside her. "How have you been?"

Bella sighed. "It's been, uh, interesting for sure. I made some friends at school, which is a first."

Jacob smirked. "You? Nah, impossible."

She pushed him playfully, "Whatever, meanie."

She paused.

"But no, really, I think I really like some of the girls at my school. Everyone is a little gossipy, but what can you expect? I mean I'm probably the most exciting event they've had in a while."

Jacob nodded, "Yeah, not really many newcomers around here really."

Suddenly, Bella had an idea.

"Hey Jake, do you know anything about the Cullens?"

Jacob smiled uncomfortably. "Uh, I'm not really supposed to say anything about them."

What on earth does that mean, she wondered.

"Hey, I can keep a secret."

"Really, it's just an old, scary story."

"Well, I want to hear it."

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, well, did you know the Quileutes are supposedly descended from wolves?

Bella shook her head no.

"Well," he said, "That's the legend of our tribe."

"That's really cool, but what does it have to do with the Cullens?"

"Well, they're supposedly this enemy clan. My great grandfather, the chief, found them hunting on our land. They made a treaty: if they promised to stay off our land, we wouldn't expose what they were, to the pale faces."

"Wait, I thought they just moved here."

"Or, just moved back."

Bella felt a chill run down her spine.

"But that would make them all, like, hundreds of years old."

Jacob laughed.

"Hey, don't take it so seriously. It's just a story."

"Yeah, just a story," Bella repeated, feeling shaken.

Jacobs' face changed, looking concerned.

"Hey, they aren't like, bothering you or anything are they?"

Bella shook her head.

"Um look, Jake, this has been great, but I have to go."

Jacob caught her hand, "Wait, Bells, I didn't mean to freak you out. You just got here. Let's catch up a little more."

Bella felt a well of guilt rise up in her throat. She hadn't meant to make Jake feel like this was his fault. So she smiled,

"I'm not upset or anything, I'm just late for meeting Charlie for lunch. Let's do this again soon though."

Jacob grinned, "What about next Friday? I can pick you up after school, if you want."

Bella's smile was genuine this time. Jake was a good guy. It was so refreshing to be asked what she wanted after her experience with Edward.

"You're on. I'll see you then."

Jacob got up, helped her pack her stuff, and gave her a quick hug. They exchanged phone numbers, and then Bella set off, knowing what she had to do.

When she got home, she got right on her computer. She couldn't find much on Quileute legends, but she did find a bookstore in Port Angeles that had exactly what she was looking for. Port Angeles. That got her thinking.

The hours ticked by impossibly slow as she waited for Edward to arrive. She tried doing her homework but she simply couldn't concentrate. She gave up pretty quickly, and instead tried to figure out what she was going to wear.

She didn't want Edward thinking she cared all too much, but she also didn't want to go out in public looking like a total disaster. Eventually, she decided on a casual blue top and a pair of distressed skinny jeans. There, perfect, she thought. She was presentable, but no more dressed up than when she was at school.

The doorbell rang, and she listened as Charlie answered. Shit, Charlie. She had forgotten to tell Charlie about this. He was sure to be freaking out at Edward downstairs, so she quickly gathered her things and ran down the stairs to see what was going on.

Her jaw dropped. The scene before her was practically impossible. Charlie sat perfectly relaxed in his favorite chair, a beer in hand, chatting casually with Edward, who sat on the couch. Charlie turned his head, noticing his daughter at the base of the stairs.

"Bella, you didn't tell me you had a date," Charlie said, a slightly glazed look in his eye.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry- it slipped my mind I'm really-"

Charlie cut her off, "It's fine Bella, Edward here is a fine young man."

Bella froze, completely confused. There was no way Charlie was okay with this. But there her overprotective father was, calm- and even approving? Edward looked back at her and smiled. An anger started building in the pit of her stomach. He had clearly charmed him in the same way he had done to her.

Edward stood up and grinned at her father.

"Thank you, Mr. Swan," he looked back up at her "Isabella, you look stunning."

Bella looked down at her shabby outfit and beach tousled hair. It was far from stunning.

"Yeah, thanks, Edward." She took a deep breath, "So there's this Italian restaurant in Port Angeles that I've been wanting to check out. I was wondering if we could go there." She crossed her fingers behind her back, hopeful.

Edward smiled, "Of course. That wasn't where I was planning on going, but it certainly can be."

She smiled through gritted teeth. "Great, let's do this."

The ride to Port Angeles was uncomfortable, to say the least. Uncomfortable silence filled the air, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Isabella, I'm sorry."

All she could think to say was "What?"

He sighed. "I know I've been, well, a little forceful. It's just-" he paused again, as if he was unsure of what to say, "-I don't know how to interact with people without it."

She raised an eyebrow, "Without what?"

"I-"

Bella looked up, and they were there.

"Oh good," he said, looking relieved, "We're here."

Bella looked out the window at the quaint Italian restaurant and noticed that the bookstore she was looking for was just across the street. Now she just had to find an excuse to head over there.

As they entered the restaurant, Bella quickly noticed all eyes were on them. Or rather, all female eyes were on Edward. It was a strange mix between disturbing and pathetic how desperate they all looked. The waitress that seated them was no exception, and she seemed to have no issue expressing her disdain for Bella.

"Hi, my name is Vicky, What can I get for you tonight?" she asked Edward, her voice syrupy-sweet.

Edward looked annoyed, "I'm fine, why don't you ask my companion what she would like?"

Bella looked at Edward, feeling confused, "You're not going to eat anything?"

"I'm fine", he repeated.

Bella nodded slowly, "Ok, I'll have the vegetable ravioli, if that's alright?"

Vicky gave her a tight-lipped smile, "Sure, I'll be right out with that."

As she left, Bella turned back to Edward.

"So what did you mean by "I don't know how to talk to people without it."

Edward shifted uncomfortably, "I don't know what you mean."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Oh come off it, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

He sighed, resting his head on one hand.

"Okay," he said, "I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you this,"

He paused, taking a breath.

"I'm a charmer."

Bella scoffed. "Wow, self-centered much?"

He shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean. I'm a mind charmer. I can…" he paused, "I can put ideas in people's heads and influence their choices".

"So, like mind control?"

He nodded, "Pretty much."

"So that's what you did to me yesterday"

He looked down, "Yes"

"And to my father tonight."

He nodded again.

Bella sat back in her chair a bit, thinking.

"Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do all this to me? Why not some other girl, who's more popular, or pretty, or smart? I mean, I'm not usually the 'hot guy's' type."

He smirked, "You think I'm hot?"

She rolled her eyes. "Answer the question."

"Well, honestly, because it doesn't work on you."

"Wait, what do you mean? It clearly worked yesterday."

"Not like it usually does," he paused, "Isabella, you clearly don't like me,"

"Well-"

"No, it's okay. I know its true. If my powers truly worked on you, you'd be totally unable to resist. You would think of me every waking moment. You would see me in your dreams. You would be completely under my control, till the moment I released you. But I could feel from the moment I met you that you were different. I bade you to come towards me, but you resisted. It made me very frustrated, to be honest. I've never experienced it before. So I commanded you to come here with me, and while you did accept, you weren't happy about it. You're not… well, you're not obsessed with me the way you should be."

Bella shivered, "You didn't, you aren't still controlling Charlie, are you?" She whispered, afraid of the answer.

He shook his head. "No. I normally don't hold anyone in my sway for long. I keep them just long enough to get what I need, and then I release them."

"Can you hold more than one person in your 'sway' at a time?"

"Yes. But with enough people, it causes quite a strain."

"Can people tell? Like do they know once they've been released what you did to them?"

"No, only you."

She nodded. There was a pause, and the air was incredibly tense.

"You do know how wrong this is, don't you?"

For a moment there was silence, but then Edward nodded.

"You don't know how hard it is. To know you can get whatever you want out of someone and just resist. It's not... it's not as it seems Isabella."

"Well, if you want to be my friend, you have to try."

He looked up at her, hopeful.

"There's going to be some ground rules though."

"Okay."

"One, you can never, ever use your powers on me again."

He gulped.

"I'm dead serious. You try it one more time and I'll move back to Phoenix. I'm not putting myself in that situation anymore."

He nodded, "I understand."

"Two, you have to work on curbing the use of your powers. I don't expect you to stop cold turkey, but you have to be making an effort to be a better person."

"I- I can do that."

Bella took a breath in, "And three, you are under no circumstances allowed to call me Isabella. I hate it. You can call me Bella from now on."

Edward gave her a small smile.

"Ok, Bella. It's a deal."

Bella finished her meal and they exited the restaurant. The dinner conversation after their initial talk had been surprisingly pleasant. Edward was a bit awkward (when he wasn't controlling her mind that is) but she truly didn't mind. In fact, she suspected his powers had stunted his social abilities. After all, why would you bother learning how to talk to others when you could just make them bend to your will? It was nice, though, knowing that under all his mysticism he was just a regular human being.

Well.

Maybe.

"You ready to go Bella?" Edward asked.

"Um, if you don't mind I think I'm going to take a Lyft home. I wanted to check out that bookstore across the street."

"Oh, I can go with you if you would like. I don't mind."

"No, it's alright. I need some time to think anyhow."

He looked a bit sad, but nodded.

"Well, be safe." He moved to leave, but then stopped.

"Would you mind, um, texting me when you get home? So I know you made it alright?"

"Well," Bella replied, "That would be hard when I don't have your phone number."

They exchanged numbers, and Edward walked her to the bookstore. They said their goodbyes, and finally, Bella was alone.

She was in and out of the small shop fairly quickly, as she had placed the book on hold before her date. Her trip successful, she called her lyft and made her way home.