Comments:

Thank you so much for being so patient with me, real life sometimes hits altogether too hard, and it took a great deal to crawl out of the muck. The reviews, encouragement, and support from each of you have meant the world to me. I'm forever grateful for the enjoyment you had in reading my work. My goal in this project was to re-imagine Twilight without losing the spirit of the original novel, and I can only hope that came across in the course of writing this 'book'. While ever reaching toward the mark; to a point where I feel confident enough to pursue my own stories and tales.

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In the past few days, I had a dream about twilight, and as this story originally began as a dream by Stephanie Meyer, I hope the new story I'm going to start working on will be amusing and inspiring for you, the readers.

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In regard to the questions many of you have asked, yes – I wish to continue this in a 'new moon' that I have yet unnamed. Whether I do this before or after I work on my next project remains to be seen. However, it is my hope to keep this story going if there is enough excitement for me to continue onward. While I don't do this for money, I may create a blog with a pay-pal donation page, or a account, just because it's hard times and any thoughtful gift helps myself and my family so much. If so, I'll link to the blog, but I would never want to charge anyone for enjoying my fan-fictions, so please don't feel obligated to help. I'll be working on a surprise soon, but with needing to go look for work, no guarantees on when it'll be done for you.


Replying to Comments:

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Reader:

I hope you review again someday, and find many wonderful fan-fictions to read besides my story. I enjoy reading your thoughts and comments. I agree, this is the norm – not the exception, though while I know the answer regarding Sue and Carlisle, I can't reveal it until the next book! So you're going to have to wait. I feel that there should be a great deal of distrust regarding the Quileutes and the Cullens; but, they are also capable of reason and consideration, and it was a little disheartening to go back over our beloved twilight and read how irrational so many of the characters ended up being written.

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8dr Whovian,

I haven't heard from you in a while, but you've been one of the most dedicated fans of this story and I wanted to thank you for your comments and reviews. I know you've had your heart broken, like many of us, over the 'bad choices' and decisions which some authors have made with various books and television shows, and while I can't say everything I wrote was perfect – I hope it encapsulates what I feel like Bella was intended to have been: a smart teenage girl who tries her best to make the right decisions.

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Gothic-Angel342,

I would love to someday be able to have Jasper and Alice describe how they met to Bella, or have Carlisle and Esme tell Bella about how they met more in-depth in future books of this 'series'; however, having their own stories would also be fun. I'll have to consider the idea of going into a story that is just their own down the road!

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LaraCrofttheDraonborn,

I'm honored you were so eager to binge read! Do you know the last time I was unable to put a book down? Gosh...it's been years – books are expensive these days! Thank you for thinking me a talented Author, I know I have a lot of work to do to improve my skills; but, I'm getting there.

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JohnLennon0315,

I would very much like to continue the story! Before I do, however, I want to write an epilogue scene/chapter sometime in the next month.

Final Comments:

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Everyone's compliments make me completely red-faced, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you enjoyed this! I will be going through the entire story soon, fixing needed spelling errors and lines that don't make sense. Hopefully when I have all my errors fixed, I can turn this into a giant e-book for free download! If you guys are interested, PM me, leave a review, or post in my Forum saying that you want a copy.

With all the love that I possess, BR

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Chapter Twenty-Six


Charlie was waiting for me when the Beast pulled into the driveway. His mustached silhouette looming in the window. Given the Peter Pan 'hand's on his hips' pose behind the curtains, one might presume I had sneaked out of the house for a kegger party instead of driven to my girlfriend's house after school. Girlfriend, the term still gave me shivers. Dry, cold, whispers of dread prickled through me at what I was about to face inside that house. The house I had practically been born in, the one my father had chosen for us.

Do you realize what your father has been through? What will happen to him if you die?

Harry Clearwater's words still haunted me. Try as I may to push them out of my mind, the rubble of a fallen dream remained firmly planted at the forefront of my mind. The simple house was cast under too many shadows – the only light pouring forth from the living room. A part of me hoped that I might avoid the cataclysm for a little while longer; but, within moments the porch light flicked on. The door opened, and the shadow of my father lingered in the doorway.

"Bella?" Charlie's voice rang out. The lack of anger in his voice surprised me. "Everything alright?"

Clutching the beautiful Quileute blanket Sue had given me against my chest, and hoisting my school bag over one shoulder, I opened the door to answer him.

"Yeah, sorry, Dad!"

Charlie's feet thudded softly on the rain-damp driveway as I started to climb out of the cab. My feet connecting with the familiar brick beneath me just as my father bounded beside me. "Do you need any help, Bells?"

"No, I'm alright," I started to say, only to warily scowl at the lack of enthusiasm my legs showed me in protest. "Well, if you don't mind."

Reaching out, Charlie extended his hands toward me. While I was fairly certain that my father meant for me to hand him something to carry, my fingers stretched forth to wrap around his sturdy hand. Holding onto him in a way I couldn't remember doing since I was very small. It was almost funny to me how much I wanted to feel his hand in mine again, even though I was seventeen years old. The urge to hold his hand was strangely more important than being practical. Bag and blanket tucked precariously under one arm, for once, I knew I wouldn't stumble over myself in the driveway.

Looking at Charlie, he seemed as surprised as I was with the hand-holding; but, he didn't shrink away from it either. "Billy called a few minutes ago. Said you were at Harry's house tonight?"

Anxious of revealing any guilt, I kept my eyes pointed downward as I answered. "Yeah, Sue made us burgers."

"What about Edythe? I thought you were over at her place?" Even with my eyes adjusting to the brightness of direct porch light, I could sense his mustache twitching suspiciously without needing to look his way to be assured of it.

"We all ran into each other at the Quillayute River today," the words flooded out of me. It wasn't exactly a lie, she had been on the Reservation tonight. "Billy wanted Jacob to look at the truck and I figured it was a good opportunity to mend fences."

"Is there something wrong with the truck?" Charlie rasped in horror – his eyes practically popping out of his skull.

"N-no!" A croaked sound like a dying frog funneled out of me as I shook my head. "I think he justmissed riding in it?"

"Was Harry alright with you and Edythe staying over?" The huff from his nose as Charlie guided me past the porch steps sounded like a snort of derision, he could have been amused, or disturbed, the noise itself didn't illuminate his thoughts enough for me to guess.

"Not really, but Billy sorted it all out." A wry chuckle escaped me in answer. "I think you would have been proud of Billy. He and Carlisle got along pretty well."

Inside the house, I set my bag and the blanket down to hang up my coat. The sound of the door closing softly behind me reverberated to a stop.

"Huh," Charlie commented gruffly, his fingers turning the knobs of the deadbolts to lock the door. Disbelief paling his face when I peeked up at him. "So, Billy and Carlisle talked?"

"Yep. For about an hour – Edythe and her family were on their way out of town to go camping."

His hands propped up on his hips indignantly. "During a school week?"

"What can I say, they dig sunny weather?" Even though it hadn't rained in a while, I tried to smack imaginary gunk off of the outside of it to stall for time while I came up with an answer. The sarcasm in my voice may have unintentionally been taken out of my coat…

A mirthful laugh hummed through Charlie's chest. "They do seem to enjoy the outdoors."

My eyes rolled toward him as a huff broke through my scowled expression. "Don't get any ideas," I warned as I dipped to pick up my bag and the blanket from Sue. "I've had my fill of adventure for the next month at least."

Genuinely amused and cheered by my chiding, Charlie's eyes crinkled as he smiled at me. "I know – no more fishing or dancing."

For one moment, one single moment, I gazed up into Charlie's candent brown eyes and drank in the perfervid warmth of overflowing gladness. My heart compared them to the images I bore from my early youth – when he and Renee would argue over time with me. Compare and contrast the reasons to stay apart or together. The pain that they both endured, coupled with the pain of the Charlie I had been imagining all evening.

He won't handle losing you, Harry Clearwater's words, or a paraphrase of the general meaning, flit through my head. Maybe he would and I was right to consider him strong and steadfast to weather any storm. Charlie truly was happier now than I could remember seeing during my summer visits.

In one year, ten, you'll want nothing more than to have spent every moment you could with your family, Edythe had warned. No, not warned, pleaded with me to consider. I had a little over two years, at best, to plan my eventual future. Two years to change my mind. Two years to spend time with my father, my mother, and reassure them that I was living my best life.

"Actually Dad," My arms squeezed the backpack up against my chest, enough that the frayed edges of the blanket tickled against my chin in the embrace. "I think I will try dancing."

For one second, the color drained from Charlie's face. "What?"

Bemused at the strange sort of victory it took to render my father flabbergasted, my mouth curled into an almost Alice-worthy smirk of mischief. "I've decided to go to Prom, if Edythe will take me."

Venturing into the kitchen, leaving my father blinking in disarray, determination bolstered through me. I wasn't going to leave my father in heartache unless, or until, I absolutely had to. Speaking of which…

"Sheesh, I'm just kidding, Dad," I turned my head back to him sheepishly, and my father guffawed. Craning his head disapprovingly at my sarcastic nature. "I am feeling pretty tired though, so I think I'll go to bed early tonight."

"Tsk, alright Bella." Charlie mumbled behind me; probably shaking his head as my feet hit the stairs. Whatever he muttered under his breath as I left remained a mystery.

Back in my room again, the long day having stretched on and on, the air felt stale and musty as the lamp light flickered on. With one foot my door was gently closed, with two my bag was on my desk. The native blanket gently nestled onto the seat of my rocking chair.

Before I could think of trying to sleep, I wanted to make sure Rosalie and Emmett's handmaid cactus mug was set someplace out of danger. That is, if it hadn't already been damaged by the run, the drive, or even holding my bag too tightly during the walk inside the house.

"Please don't be broken," I pleaded to myself as my hands unzipped my book bag. A breath of relief washing over me as I discovered the mug intact. Pressing the card inside it, I set the mug behind my aged computer monitor before the smell of aged velvet tickled my nose.

Gazing deeper into the main pocket of my backpack, my eyes fell upon the source of the smell. The ring case lurked like an ominous premonition between two of my larger schoolbooks. Edythe must have set it in here before we'd run to the clearing. I'd nearly forgotten about her mother's ring with everything that happened tonight, and a part of me – a startlingly large part of me – desperately yearned to peek inside.

What could it hurt? One little look? The ring meant so much to my Edythe, and she was so keen on giving it to me, anyhow.

A week ago, I'd have scoffed and laughed at something so ridiculous as a wedding ring. I'd have turned up my nose to the sheer idea of being so tempted to peek inside the ring box; but, the desire to steal a glance ignited within me. It saturated through me as I gazed upon the rich, dark, blue fabric of the ring case. One little peek wouldn't hurt, would it?

It's not the time for that, her velvet voice ushered through me, and I made up my mind not to open it. After all, if Edythe was still planning on proposing to me, then I wanted the look of surprise on my face to be at least somewhat genuine.

Decision made, and at peace with that choice, I found a semi-lax rubber band from one of the desk drawers. Gently tucking the elastic band around the middle of the rectangular box, to reassure myself that it wouldn't accidentally open in the night, I hugged the little ring box against my chest and walked to my bed.

For all I knew, the box could have been empty as a gesture of intent. That didn't matter to me, though. It was enough that Edythe considered me her future and wanted to pursue me more. There wasn't anyone or anything I wanted more than to share my future with her. Even if that somehow changed, it was surreal to hold an emblem of her love for me in my arms. To feel and touch the most precious thing in the world to her – an heirloom that she had entrusted only to me.

Still holding the ring box in my arms, safely held closed by the security of a rubber band, I tucked the antique box underneath my pillow. Of all the places in my room for it to be, it was the last place I felt Charlie would look that wouldn't break the box. At least until I had a fireproof safe to protect my precious treasures.

Staring down at where the box was hidden, curiosity continued to gnaw at me. What if she had given me an empty box?

Unable to resist, increasingly more desperate toknow for sure,I reached my hand underneath my pillow and tugged the ring box back out into the light. Hoping no one walked in right now, I gently shook the box like a mischievous child trying to guess the contents of a Christmas present. With exhilaration flooding through my chest, something small jostled inside – enough for me to tell that the box wasn't empty before it disappeared back into the home I'd made for it. Something sheepish probably pinkening my face as I practically danced to my dresser and changed into my nightclothes.

Climbing into bed, too restless to sleep, the events of the past few days flooded through my mind like leaves on a babbling brook or frogs croaking in the rain. There was no denying it – my time as Bella Swan, the Chief of Police's daughter, was over. I was forever more going to be known as: Bella Swan, the Police Chief's lesbian daughter. If we weren't the most exciting gossip in Forks already, we would be the moment we walked on campus together.

Which was when it hit me – with paralyzing panic – that Edythe wouldn't be there with me tomorrow. I'd have to face all the gossip, staring eyes, and judgment alone. How badly did I need to go to school tomorrow? Maybe I could fake a flu until Edythe came back? Open my window and hope I caught a cold during the night? What if she didn't come back? Not for days? Weeks? What if Edythe got hurt and tonight was the last time I saw her?

Instantly, I paled over. Raggedly gasping as if the wind had been squeezed from my lungs. My heart palpitated from deprivation as my hand clutched my chest. Hoarse breaths wheezing from my mouth, chapping my lips in the shadow of my darkened room. Alice would see their plan of action, she wouldn't let Edythe or any of them die. Vampires were hard to kill, and it was seven against two. I repeated those words like a mantra between breaths.

"Seven against two, seven against two," I reminded myself. Focusing on my memory of the clearing – when Alice said she knew where James and Victoria were going. She had such equanimity, assuredness, to her face when she looked at me. Maybe Alice's visions were subjective; but, with an edge like that how could they lose? My beloved Edythe was going to be alright, I knew it with every fiber of my soul.

If she could handle a fight with two dangerously lethal vampires, then surely I could handle walking onto campus alone tomorrow. So what if Lauren, Tyler, Jessica, and everyone else were weirded out by me? Had I been so normal before I fell for Edythe? No, probably not, I thought bemusedly; a smile curling over my mouth.

Be brave, Bella. Be brave for both of us, I imagined her voice so clearly in my head that my anxieties began to wane. Somehow, resting with my pillow draped over the precious velvet box serenaded me into a blissful sleep. As if the box itself promised her return to me. In my dreams, she was there with me. Her skin glistening like diamonds in the sun, golden-bronze strands of hair billowing wistfully in the floral breeze of our meadow. She stood on a carpet of wildflowers, dressed in exquisite eyelet lace. Layers of white, petal, fabric flowing around her seraphical form as her hand raised.

Fingers outstretched; beckoning toward me.

For so many weeks, months, of time after our first meeting, I dreamt of Edythe Cullen. She always fled from me in the last instance – retreating into the darkness away from me so often that I expected her to vanish when I reached her. My fingers wary of the inevitable ache of feeling nothing when our fingers touched. Drawn into her summoning grasp, I felt warmth encapsulate my fingers before I awoke from the dream with a start.

My alarm screamed vehemently from my nightstand table, beeping with all the gentleness of a throbbing migraine. With one lazy smack to silence the aggravated banshee, I crawled out of bed. Hoping that this irksome start wasn't setting a precedence for the entire day…

Soft pellets of rain were already sprinkling against the windshield of the beast as he pulled into the Forks Parking Lot. Most of the spots were already taken; but, I was able to find one near the back. The mountainous roar from the engine once again announcing my presence to the school like a medieval vassal with a megaphone. Turning the key, the engine soothed itself into a familiar, purring, silence, and with a sigh I rubbed the dashboard. It wasn't poor Beast's fault that his loud groaning could wake the dead.

Daring a glance over my shoulder, the school didn't look crowded. Possibly because the burgeoning rain was ushering everyone to seek shelter. Even so, my nerves ate away at me. Jessica didn't want to sit with me anymore, would the others decide not to sit with me, either? How far had the wildfire of gossip spread since yesterday? The Cullens usually sat by themselves – ignored by most in the school. If, no, when I became a vampire people would likely ignore me the same way, and I was ready for that if Edythe and her family were there with me.

No, not her family, I reminded myself. They were my family, now. If we were going to be together forever, then her family would become my family, too. I had to stop forgetting that we weren't alone. We had support. Closing my eyes, images of Esme from last night flickered through my head. The soothing sound of the rain pelting down on the windshield bringing me back to yesterday night. Esme wanted me to call her 'mom', and while we both knew she would never replace Renee, my own mom would eventually die. Esme would be the mother I might have forever – which made Alice and Rosalie my sisters; Emmett and Jasper my brothers. They already felt that way to me, though that didn't mean my brain always got the memo.

I might have kept thinking of my vampire family if not for the sudden tapping against the driver's side window. Startled, I turned my head and sighed with relief at seeing Angela standing there. Her glasses fogged up and wet from the rain.

"Hey, Bella." Angela waved enthusiastically with one hand when I noticed her.

Not wanting to raise my voice in the cab of the beast and risk her not understanding a muffled reply, I opened the door gently and climbed out of the truck. Pulling my arms through the straps of my backpack as the door closed with a tin-can sound. "Hi, Angela."

Locking up the Beast, the hood of my coat quickly tucked over my head, Angela didn't say anything to me until we started walking. "Do you think we'll have a pop quiz in biology today?"

"Why? Was he carrying a golden trophy around for us to win?" I joked as my hands jerked into my front coat pockets for warmth.

Angela laughed so hard that she almost lost her glasses. "Not that I could tell, but I heard that last year the golden onion began to rot. So, I hope he isn't just spray painting vegetables."

A laugh bubbled up out of my mouth at the idea, before I cringed. "I haven't looked at it since Edythe and I won. I should check it out, throw it away before it molts or something."

Angela's footsteps slowed to the point where she completely stopped. Her arms hugging two textbooks against her chest as a sinking feeling plopped into my stomach.

"A-about you and, um, Edythe."

My feet halted beside her. The rock of unease bouncing around as I waited for Angela to elaborate. When more than three seconds passed, I decided to play dumb. "What about us?"

"Is it true? Do you…like her?" As much as I admired Angela's determination and boldness to mumble the question directly to my face, it plopped another rock in my stomach.

Here school hadn't even started, yet, and the dreaded question had weaseled out from its hollow. Angela was gazing at me with big eyes full of compassionate curiosity, and here I was – completely stupefied. Paralyzed by one simple, easy to answer, question. The more seconds that passed, the less warmth I could feel I my face, to the point where my toes felt bloodless and numb.

Say something, Bella. Anything!

"Yeah!" the word nervously blurted out of my mouth. It seemed the best answer, and I tried to reassure her with a smile that I hadn't just clucked like a chicken. "I like her very much."

Relief washed over Angela's eyes as she began walking again. Even moving closer, as if there was nothing barring her from wanting to stand closer to me. "I think Lauren is mad you didn't like her that way."

"What?" Blinking altogether too much, too fast, dizziness and anger fuzzily prickled at the corners of my eyes. "What makes you say that?"

Angela uncomfortably swallowed. "She was asking us if we thought you liked her."

"No way." The words whispered hoarsely from me – as we were closer to other students now and I didn't want our conversation to be easily overheard by others. "Why would it matter if I did? Doesn't she like Tyler?"

Angela nodded repeatedly and stifled a giggle. "She's 'dating' Tyler, but I think she just wants to be liked by everybody."

"Wow, I feel a little sad for Tyler," the joke poured out of me and we shared a muffled giggle.

"I think he understands," Angela mentioned casually.

"What do you mean, 'understands'?" My eyebrows furrowed and stayed that way.

"That you don't like boys. So, you couldn't like him that way."

Something about Angela's kindly meant phrase deeply troubled me, and I couldn't immediately pinpoint the reason why. "I wouldn't say that's why – not that there's anything wrong with Tyler. I just don't like him that way, though, if Edythe was a boy, I might like him just as much."

Angela froze. Her bottom lip beginning to tremble as though I'd struck her.

"I just mean that I don't want to be labeled one way or the other. I don't know if I only like girls, but since there isn't anyone I've liked like this before, who knows? I mean, you really like Eric, don't you?"

She nodded with the swiftness of a bunny; large eyes watching my face behind her glasses.

"Would you like him any less if he became a girl?" A frown covered my face, a painful realization that dug somewhere too deep for me to process.

"I don't know..." Angela said, looking down at her shoes as we started walking again. "I don't think so..."

Regretting my fervor on the subject, I looked down to watch her shoes as well. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to take it out on you."

"It's okay!" Angela anxiously reassured. "I just hadn't considered it before and I need some time to figure it out."

My face felt pink with embarrassment. "Yeah. It took me a while, too."

Angela smiled softly, and I awkwardly joined her before I realized that we were being stared at. Ignoring eye-contact with the cloud of students staring our way, I quietly coughed and glanced back at Angela's face.

"Listen, if being my friend now makes you...uncomfortable, I understand."

Angela scoffed. "Why would I be uncomfortable?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I glanced up enough to notice that Mike and Jessica were staring at us from beside the cafeteria door. Not wanting to stare long enough for venom to gleam in their eyes, I hastily looked back at Angela. "Because I'm dating Edythe?"

Angela frowned so much that I thought her eyebrows might snap her glasses in two. "I don't care who you're dating, so long as its not hurting anybody. I am curious, though. Since, I've never met anyone who dated a Cullen before."

This time I chuckled and goofily grinned at her. It was wrong of me to have misjudged her or have been in fear of a bad reaction. Angela was a godsend, and for once I really took the time to appreciate her parent's insightfulness in naming her.

"Is that why everyone's jealous of me? Cause I snagged a Cullen?" My nose wrinkled playfully. "Edythe's great, though, I hope you both can get to know each other better."

Sunshine sprawled over her face. "She seems really nice."

"She is, most of the time."

I could tell by the way her countenance sank that she was running out of steam. The quarters powering her talkative mode were running low, and I was feeling a similar exhaustion. We walked in pleasant silence until we saw Eric, who of course came running up to her like he hadn't seen her in weeks. When they molded together in a tight embrace, I waved to Eric and excused myself.

Walking into Mr. Mason's English class, the third early bird to enter the building, I hung up my coat on the last peg as usual and moved to my seat at the back of the class. The other two students in the room turned to look at me, and I distracted myself by pulling out a Bronte novel from my backpack and opening it to a random chapter. While I read the eyes that peered toward me kept growing in number until the bell rang and the chair beside me made a soft noise.

Eric waved as he sat down beside me. Tucking his glasses higher up his nose as his eyes met mine with friendly warmth. What used to be puppy pining in his eyes was presumably erased now that he was dating Angela, and it brought a smile to my face to see his gaze so changed.

"Hey, Eric. Did you have a good weekend?"

A small part of me was worried that Eric might be uncomfortable at the idea of being seen talking to me, crazy as that was to consider. However, when I spoke he turned to face me with so much ease that I chided myself.

"Yeah, me and Angela hung out at her parent's house." Eric stopped talking once Mr. Mason began to stand up from his desk at the front of the classroom. His voice dropping to a lower volume. "Did you have a nice weekend?"

"Yeah, it was great."

Eric seemed to be fine that Edythe and I were together. It was either that or he just didn't know about it, yet. Why wouldn't Angela tell Eric, though? They were practically sewn together at the hip these days. Realizing that I could have over-exaggerated the way my friends would react to the news, and maybe this tiny town wasn't so close-minded as I thought it would be, a breath of relief slowly escaped my lips.

Once, just once, Mr. Mason called on me and all eyes turned to stare at my face. However, as soon as I answered the question, almost everyone turned back around or skimmed through their required reading.

When the bell rang, Eric waved and packed up his things to go meet Angela between classes. It was sweet really, and I stood to pack up my books and notes. Not in a rush to get everything in my backpack, since I'd just be pulling more stuff out when I got to Mr. Jefferson's Government class, I stopped when I saw a figure in the corner of my eye. Surprised to see Mike there, as I assumed he'd be in a hurry to go find Jessica and hang out with her, I froze with one hand in my backpack.

Mike reached behind his head to scratch at his neck uncomfortably. "Hey, can we talk?"

"Yeah, sure," the reply caught in my throat as I tugged my backpack over my arm. "What's up?"

A weird greenish hue overshadowed Mike's face as he avoided eye-contact. "Um."

Walking around the two-seat table, my fingers squeezed the strap of my backpack a little tighter to gird myself. "Is it about Edythe and I?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah. Are you, um, mad at me?"

My eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Why would I be mad at you?"

A deep sigh broke from his lips as we started walking out of class. We were the last to leave English with how long Mike stalled; but, it meant we could talk more comfortably about it.

"I know I was really into you when you moved here. If I made you uncomfortable or feel like you couldn't tell me you didn't like guys, I'm really sorry."

A soft snort chuckled through my nose. "You've been really nice to me, Mike. Besides, it took a while for – me – to accept that I liked girls, much less tell anybody else."

He shrugged, an apologetic frown tugging at his lips. "So, are we okay?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" I asked as he rounded the corner toward building six.

"Jessica's been acting weird, and I worried that maybe you'd think I didn't want to be friends anymore."

Warmth flooded into my face, a genuine affection that soothed my anxious soul completely. "We're still friends as long as you want to stay friends," I reassured, about to say more when Mike interrupted me.

"Did you and Edythe already like each other when we did blood typing?" Mike mildly grimaced, though it looked to be from concern rather than revulsion.

I pinked immediately at the reminder. "Yeah, we did. We were both fighting it, though."

Mike blushed this time, and shook his head. "Geez, I'm sorry. I had no idea – she must have thought I was trying to steal you away or something."

"Edythe understands. So long as you don't try and swoop me up anymore, I think you'll be fine."

We both shared a laugh as Mike ran a hand through his hair again. "Can't say I don't still like you a lot, Bella. But I'm with Jessica now, and I really like her too. So you don't have to worry about anything with me."

Trying to instigate a more 'buddy' gesture to solidify our friendship, I reached out to lightly bump his arm with my fist. Only, I missed, and I punched him in the chest with more strength than I thought I had.

"Ow!" Mike said with a laugh as he sidestepped away from my dangerous lack of hand-eye coordination.

"Sorry, Mike." If my face wasn't red before, it was now.

"It's okay, just…maybe we shouldn't fist bump."

We both playfully grimaced. "Yeah, that's probably for the best."

Walking into Government class, Mike walked on to his next class with a friendly wave. Nervous as I was to face yet another conversation about Edythe and I, thankfully Mr. Jefferson had a video for the class to take notes on, and it freed me from conversation for a while. The tedium of taking notes was refreshing, and I spent the time going over what I would do or say if Jessica sat next to me in Trig again.

Would it really impact me if Jessica didn't want to be friends anymore? Surely Jessica wouldn't try and force Mike to not be my friend anymore. Jess could be tactless sometimes, even vapid, but she wasn't vicious either. Well, not unless Lauren was instigating the cruelty. Maybe I was wrong, and Jessica wasn't as naive as I gave her credit for, but it was hard to imagine Mike liking Jessica this long if she really was a vindictive, nasty, person. If Jessica just needed some time to process and flipped out, I couldn't really blame her for that, but I wouldn't have an answer until Trig.

Focusing on notes for the remainder of the class, when the bell rang I packed up my notebook and pens and made my way toward the Trigonometry building. Feeling more optimistic than I had this morning, a deep breath of refreshing air breezed through my lungs as I stepped over the threshold. Flicking my eyes instantly toward my usual seat. Sure enough, Jessica and her inches of wild, dark, hair were sitting in her usual spot. She wasn't looking up at me when I came in, so I inhaled another steady breath.

Even if she didn't want to talk to me or sit with m at lunch, I reasoned with myself that we could still get through our classes together amicably.

Wanting to respect her request for distance, I sat down without saying hello to her and unpacked my trigonometry textbook. Turning to the page we'd left on and opening a fresh page of my notebook, I was starting to scribble my name onto the top of the page when I saw movement in the corner of my eye. Turning my head, I saw another triangular note tossed over a variety of math equations. My name scribbled in Jessica's handwriting in a flourish of cursive letters.

Jessica was too focused on writing her own name in her notebook to notice me staring at her. Figuring she wasn't ready for eye-contact just yet, I inwardly prepared myself for opening the Pandora's box before tugging open the folded triangle. Half expecting there to be three pages of ranting questions, or one sentence of ominous intent, the result was more and less than I imagined it to be. Far less fearsome in nature than my stomach clenching up had guarded against.

The note read:

'How long have you been dating Edythe? Did you lie to me when we went dress shopping to go have a date with her? Why didn't you tell me from the start that you liked girls? Did you like me? Do you like Lauren? Are you and Alice together, too? I'm sorry I freaked out yesterday, I've never met someone who liked girls and I don't know what to say or do. I don't like girls that way and I didn't want you to get the wrong idea.'

The note was comical to me for more reasons than the content. Even though there was punctuation and grammar, there was a decided rush to the lettering that made me think she had just scribbled the entire thing out in under a minute like one unending jumbled thought. Raising an eyebrow at Jessica for the last sentence, I tugged the cap back off of my pen and scribbled a reply.

'We started dating after the spring dance, I really did get hopelessly lost in Port Angeles. I never liked anybody before Edythe, so I wasn't sure how to act or what to think about it myself to tell anyone else. I think you and Lauren are pretty, but I don't like you both that way and Alice is like a sister to me. Eww. I forgive you, it's not something I'd expect anybody to just instantly process and be okay with. Are we still friends? Or is it too weird for you that I'm dating Edythe?'

Gently scooting the note over toward Jessica, she seemed to have no interest in my reply until after Mr. Varner started the lesson on spherical trigonometry. In-between taking copious notes on the structure of an equation Jessica's head peered over at my reply. Not even five seconds passed before she had pecked the paper away from the neutral zone between us and stuck her nose two inches from the page to read it.

Deciding it better to take notes from the white board than to watch Jessica writing and guess what she was trying to say from this angle, I kept my eyes away. Only looking back when I saw a flick of white being pressed beside my left hand. Too interested in what Jessica was going to say, I stopped listening to Mr. Varner altogether.

'I don't know. It's not that I don't want to be your friend. Everyone is staring at us and I don't want people to think I'm gay, too. Lauren and Britney won't stop talking about it and I'm still not sure what to think about it. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. My parents would kill me if she thought I liked girls and I just started to get noticed. I don't want to lose that.'

Nothing in her answer really came as a surprise to me, except that it was more optimistic than I had given Jessica credit for. It could have been a lot worse. Writing back a reply, I looked between the paper and Mr. Varner so that it wouldn't be super obvious that we were passing notes.

'I get that you need time to get used to it, it's okay if you want to hold off on hanging out at lunch or after school for a while. Everyone knows you're dating Mike, so I don't think anyone would really think you were gay, but if your parents have a problem then I understand. I thought my dad would flip out, but he's been pretty cool with everything so far.'

Sliding my response back over toward Jessica, I hastily scribbled the rest of the equation into my notebook. Jessica had just started to write something back when a girl two tables ahead of us started giggling and covering her mouth. Instantly alert, I watched in mild horror as the redheaded girl beside her laughed at a whispered comment that I couldn't make out.

Given that the two girls kept looking over their shoulders and Jessica and I – it seemed altogether too obvious that they were giggling about us. While my eyes were still plastered between the redhead and the brunette, the redhead held her middle and pointer fingers in a provocative 'V' shape in front of her mouth and jokingly wiggled her tongue through her open fingers.

The chuckling laugh which the brunette erupted with seemed to spread from one side of the room to the other. The tone of the room so abruptly lit on fire that Mr. Varner set his pen down mid-explanation.

If only Mr. Varner had turned around three seconds earlier.

"What in tarnation is so funny?!" Mr. Varner demanded and the room fell eerily silent. His eyes trailed from the brunette who had first laughed, to where her eyes were looking, which was Jessica and I. Actually, all the students in class were staring intently in our direction.

"Bella, Jessica, do you have something to share with the class?"

Jessica was starch white. Feeling a strangely powerful need to protect her, I shook my head. "No, Mr. Varner."

His eyes instantly returned to the brunette who started the giggle fest. "Mia? Is there something you want to share with the class?"

Mia covered her mouth with both hands and slowly shook her head back and forth. She made no other comment or giggle at our expense for the rest of the class; but, that didn't matter. The damage had been done and Jessica didn't pass anymore notes to me.

In Spanish, Jessica didn't talk to me at all. Outside of one or two guilty, apologetic, looks flashed my way I may as well have been a plastic chair.

The only relief I could think of was lunch, where I might be able to sit with Eric and Angela. That thought alone was the siren's song carrying me through the rest of the morning. Absentmindedly doodling a flower or Edythe's name onto a blank page of my Spanish notebook.

How many more days would it be until Edythe was here? Would it be another week until I saw her again? It felt like hours since I'd last thought about my Edythe. My girlfriend, I mused to myself. Pinkening instantly with warm, fuzzy, tingles through my face at reminding myself that she was mine and I was hers.

When did I become so unglued? So unhinged? In the end it didn't matter how similar I was to my erratic, lovesick, harebrained, mother. I loved Edythe Cullen, and if I ended up pining over her for the rest of my life like Charlie, at least I knew what it was to feel this way for someone truly extraordinary.

Golden-bronze strands of metal glistening in the sun of our meadow, blown about by the wind, burned through my hazy reverie. Someday we would lay in the wildflowers and talk for hours again, incandescently sparkling together in a neverending hereafter.

If I could handle all of this – all of today and the days before it – then we could handle whatever came next. Bloodthirsty vampires, jealous teenagers, judgmental family, the list of obstacles went on and on and none of them were big enough to scare me anymore.

Walking from Spanish toward the cafeteria, I meditated on how brave I was now – how much I had grown since coming to Forks. I had moved away from my mom, started a new school, survived my first car accident, and fallen for the most beautiful girl in school. Just standing here, walking with my shoulders taut, after the world could have come to an end and I became a permanent laughingstock was a victory for me. Maybe I would never be so heroic as the girls in books, or save a city or the world from being destroyed by some great evil, but I had conquered my former self.

Walking toward the cafeteria stirred a memory out of my subconscious; perpetually struck me mid-way down the hallway. My mind's eye drifting to that moment when neither of us could speak – when Edythe released her hand from being frozen in a fist, lip trembling in yearning, as she gazed into me.

'Kiss me'

The command had been so soft and pleading, and yet she may as well have asked me to dive from the La Push cliffs into the torrential sea. Right in the middle of the cafeteria – with a world of students around us no less! Compared to losing her to banishment from forks, a campus couple kiss felt like such a silly thing to have been so terrified about.

Laughing inwardly at myself, I was almost at the door of the cafeteria when I saw several students looking out the window and gasping. Struck with curiosity at what could have possibly made so many people freeze in awe, I turned, only to become numb myself.

There, walking toward me from the direction of the office, was my beloved.

Too stunned to think or speak, a hushed shudder rasped through my lips as my feet began to fly. Drinking in the enigmatic energy of her presence with each passing, weightless, step as we drew steadily closer to each other. The opposite of fear trickled through every nerve in my body and the exhilaration consumed me completely. It didn't matter that I couldn't run in a straight line, or that I nearly knocked into two students as my tingling feet leapt after Edythe. Each loud thump of my heart beat roughly against my rib cage, yet still she drew closer and closer with the same resplendent euphoria mirrored in her beautiful face.

"Bella," Her velvet voice flooded against my ear; rippling through my hair and raising goose-flesh all over me.

Any words Edythe said melted into symphonic harmony in my ears as I drew her into my arms. Floating into her strong, wiry, embrace and spinning round and round without an ounce of movement. The world span forever around us, and here she was, the eye of the storm holding me steady.

"Edythe," I whispered her name. Combing my fingers through her hair, and leaned back from nestling into her shoulder.

"You are utterly ridiculous," Edythe praised with a heavenly laugh; but, I was far too elated to be angry at her teasing. The sensation of her fingertips coaxing invisible lines against my cheeks and sifting through my hair dissolved what irritation there was. Was there whispering around us? I didn't know – I didn't care anymore. They could stare if they wanted to.

"You're back early," my entire body trembled now. Whether it was more from the lack of warmth emanating from her body or how the rain had saturated her and now I was wet, I couldn't tell.

Edythe brushed her lips against my ear to whisper softly. "James changed his mind about hunting you. Alice is still keeping an eye on him, but he knows he can't win against all of us. They ran up north toward our cousins, the Denali Clan. Carlisle called Tanya and they're keeping an eye out for them."

"So, everyone's alright?"

Her lips brushed against my ear, the delicious frozen burn melting me all the way down to my toes. "Everyone's fine, Bella. If they decide to come back to Forks, we'll be ready."

My heart swelled with delight – my family was okay. That one, palpable, faith radiated through me – warming every ounce of flesh and soul it touched. The sun might as well have erupted inside my chest with how positively, incandescently, happy I was.

"Where is everyone?"

Edythe's perfect lips curled in that devastating, tomboyish, half-grin that made my knees weak. "Alice made everyone wait in the car, to give us a few moments together."

My bottom lip throbbed a little from biting down on it too hard. "Did she say why?"

Edythe shook her head, newly damp hair shaking around her face like a halo. "No."

Gazing into Edythe's resplendent, golden, eyes – the reason was as clear as daylight. Courage seared through me as I stood up on the tips of my toes.

"Kiss me."

Gazing around us, at what could have been a massive silent crowd of students who had flocked to watch 'the show', Edythe timidly wet her lips. Cocking her head to one side as something like mischief began to glint over her irises. "Here?"

"Yes."

"In front of all these people?" Edythe whispered, her voice maddeningly husky.

A laugh at her apprehension burst from me at her needing to ask me twice. "Please."

"And you're sure you know what you're doing?"

Entangling my arms around her neck, resting my elbows against her shoulders, I nodded. "I've never been more certain of anything in my life."

Gazing deeply into her eyes, when she leaned down I sprang up, and the rest was history.

I'd daydreamed so much of kissing her again – and yet the feel of her soft, marble, lips never failed to venerate me. Enraptured by the electricity flooring through our nerves, the blood was pounding so hard in my ears that I couldn't hear anything else but the sound of our lips cascading and parting in one long, heated, willowy waltz.

Her perfect artist's fingers clutched the center of my spine and all thought of where my backpack was, who was staring at us, faded away, with one exception..

"Woo! Way to go, Swan!"

Uncertain who had spoken and thoroughly red-faced, Edythe and I locked up against each other. Before I could even break from the kiss to look in the direction of the voice, we were suddenly surrounded. Not just by our fellow students – I'd already presumed we would have a little crowd watching us after the gossip hit. It was something else, something so unexpected that my mouth dropped open from the shock of it.

Loud, triumphant, veneration wrapped around Edythe and I with all the sweet and savory passion of melted chocolate being poured into a plastic mixing bowl. Applause, whistling, shouting, cheering, from at least ten people rendered me impossibly mute. If not for Edythe's loving hands caressing down my back to rouse me, I may have remained standing there with my mouth hanging open like a common goldfish.

The most notable faces I recognized were Angela, a friend of hers that I believe is Becca Cheney, Eric, Mike, and of course Edythe's siblings: Alice and Emmett. Rosalie and Jasper were standing several yards away, waving with less enthusiastic optimism; but, they were smiling nonetheless.

Turning all the way around to survey for the loudly progressive voice, surprise elated me when I noticed it was our Biology teacher, Mr. Banner. He was having a spectacular amount of trouble trying to reel in the pride in his eyes as he cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Alright everyone, that's enough cheering." Mr. Banner looked directly at Edythe and I, his face a muddled combination of pink, tan, and red peach. "Girls, you both know heavy kissing isn't allowed on campus. So don't make me have to separate you both."

"Apologies, Mr. Banner, we'll behave ourselves," Edythe promised; but, the little curl to her mouth conveyed otherwise. Turning my entire face red again.

"S-sorry, Mr. Banner."

"Not a problem, carry on," He replied, acting bemusedly militant in how his rigid walk away from us contrasted with the devious glee in his eyes. We'd find out later that Mr. Banner had a live-in partner named Wilson, which came as a surprise to everyone in school, but for now we were the first known lesbian couple in Forks, High School. As if to give us privacy, Angela, Mike, Eric, Becca, and the other students I wasn't certain of the names of began to walk away toward the cafeteria.

As Alice rushed forth to be the first to hug me, Mike and Edythe shook hands. I couldn't hear what they were saying; but, I could tell they were on a road toward a budding friendship.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about!" Alice insisted sheepishly.

"Well, we all know better than to argue with you," I teased, just as Emmett barreled through two students I recognized from my government class.

"Give her up devil imp, or I'm squishing you with her!" The bear roared in all his brotherly charisma as he held his arms outstretched toward us.

"Emmett, no!" Edythe cried out; but, it was too late.

Emmett scooped me up into his arms, held me close against his chest, and spun me around like a whirling dervish. It likely wasn't more than one or two orbits before the hug came to a close; but, by the end of it I was green and seeing little white spots of fuzzy light cloud my vision.

"Emmett..." Alice's voice foggily echoed through my ears as I swayed side to side without moving. All colors melting into varying shades of gray and green.

"Sorry, Bella..."

Feeling something cold and wiry against the back of my knees, I was suddenly swooped up into someone's arms. The rich, luscious, scent of my beloved wafting through my nostrils being all the incentive I needed to close my eyes and dreamily curl my mouth into a smile.

"It's alright, big fella..." I mumbled, even though I could feel – without a shadow of a doubt – that my Edythe was scowling heavily at him. "So long as Edythe is here to hold me afterwards."

Opening my eyes long enough for three blurred images of Edythe's face to melt back into one, a deep sigh of bliss tunneled from my chest. My head was resting up against her upper arm and shoulder, and there was no place safer or more wonderful in the world.

"Bella!"

For whatever reason, worry so clouded her eyes that it hurt me. "Yes?"

"Please remember to breathe," Edythe chided, and we both ecstatically drowned in gentle laughter – like silver Christmas bells.