EPOV

Bella was sleeping soundly in my arms, though it took a while to help her calm her thoughts enough to sleep. I was overjoyed that she trusted me enough to not only fall asleep in my presence, but to allow me to be the one to assure her that everything was alright. That she was safe. That I wouldn't have let anything happen to her no matter what I would have needed to do, even if it had accidentally revealed my secret to Charlie.

It wasn't exactly the evening I hoped for. I had pictured much more kissing and admiring of her after Charlie went to bed, but any night with Bella was and would always be perfect as is. She deserved her rest.

There had been many thousands of times that I was ashamed of being a vampire. However, that day, having the speed to stop Jacob from tearing her apart more than his appearance already had was a blessing. My love for her would have been unaffected had he kissed her, but she confessed that she would have felt poisoned by just his touch. She was grateful I was there, and even more appreciative of my restraint and that I didn't punch him and ruin Charlie's house.

She assured me that she would have fought back, smacked him, tried to run outside, but I knew that her strength was no match for his. No matter how much I wanted to hurt him for daring think about Bella in that manner, I didn't want to lose Charlie's good graces, so I saw to her safety and held myself back, hoping for an opportunity to fight Jacob Black another time when Bella wasn't involved.

After he left, I held her as she cried, though she never cried for long. She couldn't bear the thought of me or Charlie seeing her upset.

Charlie stayed outside a while taking his anger out on the wood that needed chopped, in disbelief that Jacob wasn't as innocent and well-behaved as he had always believed. He thought of all the time he and Billy had left them unsupervised over the last few months and wondered how many times she had told him she wasn't interested. He wondered if there was more he could have done to be a friend to her while she was missing me, and I felt guilty as well, because I was the one that left.

I helped make dinner, distracting her by sampling ingredients and letting her watch my disgusted faces. All human food tasted awful, but some things were definitely fouler than others. I also narrated myself speed chopping mushrooms and peppers like a cooking show, and juggled a few pieces of fruit from the counter, causing her to laugh so hard she snorted right at the precise moment Charlie walked in from outside.

Charlie smiled and went to go get cleaned up. She made the right choice. I've never seen her so happy. And the way he ran to protect her without a second thought…I have never seen someone run so fast. Going to have to have a talk with Billy about Jacob and his behavior.

We finished our homework after dinner, and I helped her dry and fold the towels we had put in the washer after school. She told Charlie about her motorcycle, which he immediately almost fully blamed on Jacob, and I went home for an hour or two and spent time with the family, letting them know what had happened. I then spent another hour or so slowly choking up bits of mushroom and the dishes she had made for dinner. It was disgusting and uncomfortable, but worth it for extra time I had spent with her when she needed me.

Then, I returned to the woods outside her house until Charlie was sound asleep. She was exhausted and I held her in my arms, humming to her and rubbing her back until she fell asleep herself. My thoughts were mostly innocent, happy that she was mine. Grateful. At peace.

Bella was quiet when I picked her up for school the next morning. She smiled when she saw me as she always did and stood on her tiptoes to kiss me, but I could tell that something was bothering her.

"Are you alright?" I asked, rubbing her hand gently as I held it.

"Just tired." she insisted. "Charlie left for work a little late this morning. He wanted to talk to me first. Apparently, he called Billy while I was in the shower last night. He let him know what Jacob tried to do. And Billy is insisting that it was my fault. That I somehow led Jacob on the months I hung out with him. He asked my dad why I would hold his hand when we went for walks and such if I didn't mean anything by it…I just feel so guilty…so….I don't know…"

"Sweetheart, you didn't do anything wrong."

"Maybe, I did."

"Did you ever give any indication that you wanted him to kiss you or be anything more than friends, best friends even?"

"No."

"And even if you had, the moment you told him no or that you didn't want the same as him or anything, nothing you said before would have mattered anyhow. Not anyone who really cares about you, or is even a decent person would think that you deserved to be treated like that."

She nodded, tears forming in her eyes. I hated that I was driving and couldn't comfort her better but didn't want to make us late for school and get her in more trouble with Charlie. "What did your dad say?" I asked.

"That Billy needed to teach his son about respecting boundaries."

"See? Your father and I agree on something completely. That must mean it's a big deal. Bella, even after all we've done together, as intimate and as close as we are, if you ever asked me to stop, I would. If you asked me not to touch you, I wouldn't. You wouldn't even owe me an explanation. Even if you told me to go away and that you didn't want me anymore, it would tear me apart, I'd try to talk to you, but I would go. I certainly wouldn't force myself on you in any way."

"That is never going to happen. I would never ask you to stop. You are completely allowed to touch me or kiss me any time. I know you won't hurt me. And you can't scare me away. You've already tried."

"I know. My point remains the same though. Even if you had kissed him while I was gone-"

"I didn't!"

"I know. I know you didn't. But if you had, the moment you gave any indication you didn't want to, he still should have stopped. Do you see my point? You didn't do anything wrong, no matter what you think you may have done. You told him several times that it wasn't like that."

She wrapped her arms around my free arm, hugging me as best as she could while I drove. The second I parked the car, I unbuckled her and lifted her into my arms, grateful for tinted windows hiding us from everyone's view.

I kissed her softly and wiped her remaining tears away. "I love you, more than anything." I said, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

"I love you too. Thank you."

"That's what I'm here for." I smiled, still holding her face level with mine and looking into her eyes.

"You said that you would stop if I wanted you to…"

"Always."

"What if I asked you to carry me into the woods and have your way with me?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood and calm her nerves.

"Don't tempt me." I growled teasingly and laughed. Of course, her mind would go there with me. It made me happy. She trusted me in a most intimate way. I would never betray it.

I kissed her neck a few times playfully, nipping her a little with my lips as if I might bite. She giggled, some of the color returning to her pale face. I smiled back at her.

"Are you ready to face the day? I believe it's Rosalie's turn for mischief now."

"As long as she doesn't try to kiss me."

"She might."

"Sounds hot!" Emmett shouted from outside the car.

"So much for privacy." Bella said.

"Never." I answered. Emmett opened the door and helped her out and I handed him her bookbag, which he helped her put on.

Rosalie put her arm around Bella and led her into the building. I followed closely behind. "So kid," Rosalie started. "Want to help me get detention today?"

"As long as I don't also get detention." Bella said.

"No promises." Rosalie replied.

"Why do you want to get detention?"

"So, we can talk about it in front of your dad later."

"And that would somehow make him happy?"

"No." she laughed. "It would make him think we're less perfect as a family though. He'll think we're more normal and he'll be more comfortable with us."

"What's the plan?" Bella asked, glad to have the opportunity to get to know Rosalie a little more. "I don't suppose vampires chew gum?"

"No." she laughed again. "Our venom would dissolve it almost instantly. Plus, it tastes disgusting. We'll see what happens in class today. I'm sure we can come up with something."

"You will." Alice said, a vision of Bella and Rosalie laughing together in lunch time detention playing in her mind. I wasn't sure whether to be upset about missing lunch time with Bella, or happy to see Rosalie getting along with her better.

"Wait, you tried chewing gum after your change?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Curiosity." Rosalie answered. Bella laughed and Alice joined them to walk Bella to homeroom.

The school day seemed to take forever. I was anxious to see what Rosalie was going to do to earn her detention and hoped that she wouldn't upset Bella too much or make it last more than just the day. She didn't have any firm plans in mind just yet and that was perhaps the scariest part. Rosalie wasn't usually impulsive, but when she was, it could be catastrophic.

I didn't have to wait too long, because as soon as Bella and Rosalie walked to their morning class together, Tyler Crowley decided for sure that he was going to ask Bella to the spring formal a few weeks away. Honestly, as much as I loved the re-assurances that Bella was all mine when she turned down someone else, I hated anything that would make her uncomfortable, more so now after the almost incident with Jacob that she was still a little shaken up from.

Rosalie's thoughts set the scene for me in perfect clarity. The girls were talking about some of the sillier pranks Emmett had done over the years, many of which were at my expense, when Tyler approached them at their desk before class. He was intimidated by Rosalie but determined to get to Bella.

"Bella?" he asked, making both girls look up at him.

"Hi Tyler." she said politely.

"W-would you like to go to the spring formal with me?"

"That's really sweet, but I'm with Edward."

"I just thought that if you wanted to explore your options-"

"I love Edward. I don't want other options." It was incredibly rare to see Bella annoyed, but she had already turned him down several times. We both thought the prom incident last year would be the end of it.

"I figured since-" he insisted, but was cut off by Rosalie.

"Dude, she said no. Now, I suggest you go take your seat before class starts, you muttonheaded ninnyhammered asshat!" Rosalie was furious, but Bella cracked up laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. I almost got in trouble in my own class for laughing quietly at seemingly nothing, cementing the teacher's belief that I was crazy.

The girls' teacher was much less forgiving as he entered the room. "Hale, Swan quiet down! You both have lunchtime detention today!"

"Yes sir." They answered.

Tyler sat down at his desk, looking defeated. Rosalie smiled at Bella, but Bella couldn't stop giggling. Rosalie had to put her arm around her and hide Bella's face against her shoulder. Bella whispered, "Who the hell says asshat?" before giggling quietly and uncontrollably again. Rosalie was trying to hide a smile so the teacher wouldn't disturb them again.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Coach Clapp was in charge of the girls' detention, so he allowed them to get their food and sit in his classroom while he worked on updating the school sports schedule.

"Now here are two ladies I never expected to have detention. What are you in for?"

"Tyler Crowley asked me out for like the fifth time and he wasn't taking no for an answer, so Rosalie told him that I meant no and called him an asshat."

"Why are you in here Swan if Rosalie was the one cursing in class?"

"I couldn't stop laughing. Who says asshat?" Bella said with a straight face. Coach Clapp laughed loudly, never expecting such a statement from one of the quietest students he ever had.

"Very well. You all can talk and work on your homework if you have any. Just don't be too loud, alright?"

"Yes sir." both girls said in unison, siting two desks together so they could talk. Rosalie managed to crack Bella up laughing again with her knowledge of antiquated insults, and thus Alice's vision came true. As much as I wanted to be with her, it warmed my heart watching them getting along so well and Rosalie making an effort to be kinder to Bella.

We were watching a movie in Biology, so we happily held hands under the table and spent the class in silence, although I did try to come up with a list of vintage insult names that I would use at my earliest opportunity to make her laugh, preferably on Emmett or when discussing Jacob, although I had much more vile names for him and the fantasies he had entertained about her, knowing that she wasn't interested. While I didn't even like the high school guys daydreaming about asking her out or taking her to prom, at least most of them knew they didn't have a chance. None of them wanted to force her. Annoy her, perhaps, but none of them were quite as vile as Jacob Black.

Rosalie asked to drive Bella home from school, claiming that I had to stay late for chess club or something lame. She and Alice insisted that it was important that they bond with Charlie and that Bella be seen with someone other than me sometimes, so I reluctantly agreed and went for a hunt with my brothers, promising Bella that I would be back before her bedtime.

Emmett and Jasper teased me some more about my sex life, as expected, but we made quick work of our hunt, only running an hour or two away to an area with an overpopulation problem. Rosalie was waiting at the house when we returned from our hunt with a smile on her face.

"How did it go?" I asked. She played me the memories in her thoughts.

The girls listened to music, mostly quiet on the ride over. It turned out they both liked a couple of the same boy bands that I wouldn't have expected from Bella, but it gave her and Rosalie something to enjoy together.

Charlie was home early when they arrived, and Bella made 'them' a snack of cheese and crackers while they worked on their homework. Charlie asked how school was and Rosalie proudly announced that she had gotten detention.

"Me too!" Bella added.

"And why on Earth do you sound thrilled about detention?" Charlie asked exasperated.

"Because Tyler tried to ask me out and wasn't listening to me saying no repeatedly and Rosalie told him off. I got detention too because I couldn't stop laughing!"

"Isn't Tyler the one that showed up thinking you had agreed to go to prom with him last year?" Charlie asked.

"Yep."

"Going to have to have a talk with that boy's parents too." Charlie said, rolling his eyes. "Why are boys in Forks so thick skulled? Kids aren't what they used to be. Thanks for looking out for her, Rosie."

Rosalie smiled at the nickname, trying to get along with Charlie too. "No thanks necessary. He deserved it."

She sat with Bella an hour longer and then came home as Bella started cooking dinner, claiming that she had promised to help Alice rearrange her bedroom.

"Thanks, sis." I said.

"Don't mention it."

I waited until after dark and hid in the woods outside Bella's house, listening for Charlie to fall asleep before climbing in her window. She was worn out and already asleep. I kissed her cheek and sat beside her so I would be there if she woke up.

Listening to her mumble in her sleep was always one of my favorite things. "Edward." she whispered, smiling but still asleep. She was dreaming about me, or she sensed my presence with her, but either way, being able to put a smile on the face of such an angel was a beautiful thing.

I stood up quietly, remembering that there was something she might want that I hadn't yet given her. I lifted the loose floorboard in her room and gathered the things I had hidden from her when running away that horrible night so many months ago. My heart was always with her, and so were her things. I carefully arranged them on her desk for her to find when she woke up along with an extra note professing my love for her, and sat back down beside her, admiring her until sunrise.