Chapter 2

A/N: Here we are another chapter because I know the last one was kinda short and introductory. Lots of stuff going on in this chapter. Thank you so much for all your lovelies reviews and support. Y'all are amazing. Thanks to Maplestyle, SassyNoles, and 2 brown eyes. Also, thanks to Alice'sWhiteRabbit for her beta powers. Let's see what Bella is up too!

After four hours on the road, I made it to Oregon. My parents had tried to call me consistently for the last two hours, and I just kept declining. Then my mom started with the text messages. I know they were from her because my dad didn't do texting. Half the time, he couldn't even find his phone. I knew I couldn't get a hotel room because I wasn't 18 yet. I was a few months shy of my 17th birthday, so there was no getting around it. I would have to catch a nap in my truck, and then figure it out from there. I was glad I at least had that. During the drive, once I'd calmed down enough to just be numb, I returned to my normal skin color and hair color.

I got some fast food at a drive-through, and while I was eating my meal, I opened my text messages. I saw there was a number I didn't recognize. I deleted all the ones from my mom. Each one getting more panicked and snippier. I opened the messages from the other recipient. The first one brought me up short.

I know you're running. Tell me where you're going.

I scoffed and went to the next message.

Bella, I can help. Tell me where you are.

Don't make me threaten you.

I gasped and dropped my phone. An old memory came back to me.

"Just put on the blue dress, Bella. It makes your eyes pop and your hair look darker. Please. Don't make me threaten you. I can be quite fierce," Alice said, batting her brown eyes at me.

I smiled at her and rolled my eyes. Rose laughed, flipping her blonde hair behind her."Oh, please, Alice. You're the size of a fairy. You're not gonna hurt anyone."

Alice laughed and hip-checked Rose, causing her to stumble back a few steps, and raised her eyebrows looking back at me.

There was no way it could be Alice. That just had to be my mind seeing coincidences where there were none.

Who is this? I typed out and pressed send. I finished eating my chicken sandwich and threw the trash away. I pulled my maps app up to see where I could go in Oregon that was small enough to hide out in. I had no idea how this was all going to work out. Obviously, my parents would be looking for me, but would it be a national thing? Doubtful. Well, with what happened at my school, they would brand me as dangerous, but really, who would believe that a 16-year-old girl could freeze things.

I noticed Eugene, Oregon was only an hour and a half drive from Portland. That's where I would go. By the time I made it there, it would be dark, making it a lot easier to hide my truck while I slept. I was about to shift into drive when my phone pinged with my message notification. I pulled up the messages.

It's Alice; you know that.

I felt the air whoosh out of my lungs. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. All this time alone with no one to talk to, and then on the worst day of my life, she had the audacity to text me like she hadn't ghosted me for weeks. I gripped my phone, and before I could stop myself, my phone cracked, and there were webs of frost over the surface.

Shit, well there went that. I guess it was fitting for the day I'd had already. With my phone now out of commission, I guess they wouldn't be able to try to track me. I pulled my tablet out and got out at the closest coffee shop I could find. I connected to their Wi-Fi and looked up the directions. I wrote them down as fast as I could, and then I was off.

The great thing about Oregon and Washington was there were a lot of wooded areas to hide in if one needed to. It was perfect but also really dark and kinda creepy. There were no city sounds, but the sounds of the animals and whatever else was in the woods seemed amplified. Currently, an owl was keeping me from achieving some REM sleep. I punched the threadbare pillow I had grabbed from my bed at the last minute. I moved around and tried to force myself to relax.

I had almost nodded off when I heard whispered voices. I sat up in the seat of my truck when I heard someone say "shhh". Oh, hell, no. I was not getting robbed. I heard the handle of my truck rattle, so thinking fast, I grabbed both door handles and concentrated as hard as I could and froze them solid. Try to break in now, assholes.

I was sitting there pretty smug when I saw the ice start to melt. I stared at the door, slack-jawed. I concentrated on projecting the frost out of my hands, and it froze only to start melting again. I projected my frost again in constant bursts, and I was started to get really tired. I was panting like I had run a marathon.

"She keeps freezing it." I heard a low male voice say. He seemed to be a little winded too. Good, so it wasn't just me.

"Screw this delicate crap." A deep booming voice said.

Suddenly, my door was ripped off the hinges. I was instantly pissed off and blasted the hulk of a guy right in the chest with my frost. It knocked him back a few feet, and he started coughing and looked like he couldn't speak for a minute. It took me a minute to take in the scene in front of me. Rose and Alice were there along with three other guys. Rose ran over to the big guy, helping him stand, and Alice shared a worried look with the guy who was glowing red. All of his skin that was visible was the shade of fire. His hair was the same shade but with some orange thrown in there as well. The other guy with them was blond, and he seemed to be concentrating.

My anger with Alice and Rose faded, which also meant that my powers started waning. I fought to stay angry, and it felt like pushing against an invisible barrier. This just frustrated me again, and I felt my control snap. Again, the buzzing and tingling washed over my skin, and the comforting cold came again. I didn't even have to look at myself to realize I had changed to my other form. Whatever that meant.

The blond male looked surprised. "She blocked me. I can't do anything."

"What do you mean? What were you doing to me?" I asked, leaping from the cab of my truck. I started to advance toward him when I was stopped by the red guy. He grabbed my arm, and I grabbed his hand, fully intending to blast him with my frost. We both stood there in a standoff. His warmth battled with my cold, and neither one of us was gaining any ground. He let go of me and looked pissed off. Well, good, so was I. He was about to come for me again when Alice yelled.

"Edward, no. She's not going to trust us if you don't stop."

"Way past that, pix," I said, reverting to the nickname I had come up with years ago.

Alice smiled, looking really excited. "You're gonna come with us."

"Like hell. I don't know these three guys, and you two fucking ghosted me. We were friends for 11 years, and you just fucking left me. Do you have any idea what I have been through without my best friends?"

Alice looked like she wanted to hug me, but the blond male grabbed her shoulder, holding her back. "She's not in control of her emotions, Alice. Can't you hear her?"

Alice shook her head. "No, but I never could."

"What the fuck is going on here? Why do I feel like I'm missing a huge chunk of information?"

"Because you are," Rose said, finally speaking up.

I sighed. I always could count on her to be blunt. "Then tell me what I'm missing."

"Come on, Bells. Even when the answer is right in front of you, you still don't see it?" Rose said. She closed her eyes and smiled. She stood still for a moment, and then there was what looked like electricity skating across her hands. She opened her eyes, and they were purple. "Do you get it now?"

I looked at Edward. The red color on his skin was fading, and his hair turned an auburn color. His eyes were a deep jade color. Alice, the blond guy, and the big hulking guy all looked the same. "You and this guy have powers?" I asked, tilting my head at the guy Alice referred to as Edward.

"We all do," muscle guy said. "Some of us have less obvious powers than Rosie and Eddie."

"Don't call me Eddie," Edward said, exasperated.

Rose smiled sweetly at the muscle guy. Well, there was definitely something going on there. Rose hated to be called Rosie, and back in Forks, I never saw her look at someone like that.

All of a sudden Alice stood stock-still and seemed to stare off into space. "We need to go. The others are looking for her too. They don't know we're here yet, but they will."

I started to ask questions, but there was a flurry of activity. Everyone was grabbing the "important" items from my truck, and then before I knew it, Edward flung a fireball at my truck, setting it ablaze.

"You just torched my truck. What is wrong with you?" I asked, pushing him.

"Listen, princess, I get you had a bad day, but if you don't move your ass now, it's gonna get a whole hell of a lot worse."

I was about to argue with him when he handed the stuff he was carrying to the muscle guy, and then suddenly, I was being flung over his shoulder, and everyone was running. To my surprise, everyone was running pretty damn fast. I tried to freeze Edward, I tried kicking, screaming, but suddenly, exhaustion swept over me, and I fell into the peaceful blackness.

F&F

I awoke to bright white light. I was lying on a bed that crinkled when I moved. Oh, my God, did they actually take me to a hospital? I sat up so fast the room spun around me. I put my hands down to steady myself, and I saw the webs of frost form under my hands. I was still blue, and I didn't understand why my skin hadn't turned back and why I was freezing stuff without even trying.

"I'm told that your name is Bella. Is that correct?" A calm, serene voice asked.

Standing there right next to me was a blond-haired man. He looked to be maybe thirty. He was actually rather good looking for an older guy. His skin was flawless, his blue eyes looked kind, and everything about him seemed non-threatening.

I realized that he had asked me a question and was waiting for a response. "Yeah. My name's Bella." Since my skin was still blue, I wondered about my hair. I grabbed a lock, and it was blonde. "Why haven't I changed back?"

"Well, it takes a lot of training for all of us to get our powers under control, but it seems like yours have progressed exponentially in just the last 24 hours alone. This is kind of an anomaly."

"What? So even among all these people with superpowers, I'm still the freak?"

"Why do you call yourself that? A freak?"

"Um, I freeze stuff with my hands. I'm not even trying right now," I said, lifting my hand from the bed where there was a perfect chip of ice.

"We need to assess what your specific powers are. Maybe we can find out what's keeping you in this state," he said, almost muttering to himself. It was then I noticed the guy with curly blond hair in the corner. My rage flared up, and I got up off the bed and marched toward him, palms raised.

"Mr. Cullen, I can't stop her," the boy said. I grabbed his arm, and he fell to his knees.

"Why are you here, and what did you do to me?" I asked him.

"Bella, please let go of Jasper."

I looked over to who was apparently Mr. Cullen, and I felt a sharp pain in my head. It's like something was trying to get inside my head. I hit him with my frost, and it stopped. I looked back at Jasper, and there was a large patch of skin that was turning red, like what had happened to Lauren at school. Our eyes locked, and I let go of him, realizing that I'd hurt another person without meaning to. I stumbled back from him, and before I could get far, I was grabbed around my midsection by strong arms.

I looked down, and it was those red arms. It was that jerk—Edward. I fought against him, but he was too strong for me, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on the warmth from his power and tried to smother it with my cold. The warmth seeped into my senses, and it made me feel powerful. I focused on it. I heard Jasper yell for Edward to stop, but it was too late. I let go of all the pent-up energy in my body and pushed it out.

Edward let go of me, and I opened my eyes. There was a sheet of ice over everything in the office, and Edward, Jasper, and Mr. Cullen had all been pushed off their feet and were all lying on the floor in different locations. Edward looked pissed and exhausted, Jasper looked frustrated, and Mr. Cullen looked awed. I was a little shocked because I had never done anything to this extent before.

I let out a deep exhale and realized my breath had turned visible. My skin was a lighter blue than before, and my hair was almost white. Edward was the first to get to his feet. He glared at me, and I held up my palms, daring him to come at me. I think he got that wouldn't be smart, especially when Jasper grabbed his forearm, pulling him back. Mr. Cullen stepped in between us.

"Well, Bella, it seems we know why you hadn't turned back yet," he said calmly.

I looked down, and my skin was slowly changing back to its normal color, along with my hair. "Maybe I missed it because I don't understand," I said.

"You don't realize what you just did there, Bella?" he questioned, sincerely.

I shook my head. "No, I just know that I felt an excess of energy, and I needed to get it out."

"You were absorbing Edward's energy. He can project heat and flame, but it's pyrotechnic energy. You absorbed it and changed it," he said, like that explained everything.

"Great, so she's another leech."

I glared at him around Mr. Cullen's form. "Do you want me to knock you on your ass again?"

"Oh, I'd love to see you try in a fair fight," he said; he was still red.

I was, however, completely myself and not even breaking a sweat. I closed my fist, and when I opened it, there was a completely perfectly formed ice ball. "I'm not even breaking a sweat, Edward."

"Okay, I'm gonna get him out of here," Jasper said and pulled Edward out of the room, and it seemed he was having a hard time getting Edward to leave.

"Edward, go now," Mr. Cullen said. His voice seemed deeper and louder when he said that. Edward immediately turned and left the room.

"What just happened there," I asked. "Your voice got deeper and louder."

Mr. Cullen looked at me. He seemed to be studying me, and I felt that stab in my head again. I winced and doubled over. "What the hell?"

"What's wrong, Bella?" he asked, coming over to my side.

"That's the second time that's happened. Earlier, when you asked me to let go of Jasper, and now when you looked at me, I felt a sharp stabbing feeling in my head."

"I'm afraid that's my fault, Bella. Let's take this to my office. I think this room needs to be defrosted," he said.

I smiled shyly. "I really am sorry about that."

He gave me a friendly smile and led me to a room two doors down and opened it, ushering me inside. It was a normal office that would be in any regular building across the US, I noticed, taking in the desk, bookcase, and chairs placed in front of the desk. I took my seat in one of those, and he sat in the one behind the desk. "You're someone who is what we call gifted. This school is full of other gifted children, who also have extraordinary powers. We try to give them an education, training for their powers, and protection from those who don't understand or accept them because of these gifts."

"So, am I like a superhero or something?"

Mr. Cullen laughed, and I smiled at him. I knew it was a silly question, but I just couldn't help myself. "Well, you do have powers that are super."

"So, everyone who was there last night? They all have powers? Do you?"

"Yes, all of us. Let's go to our training room, and I'll let your friends show you what they can do."

"I wouldn't call them my friends per se."

He nodded, and we chatted as I followed him through the halls. He said his name was Carlisle, and I asked if I could just continue to call him Mr. Cullen, which he actually preferred. He told me that his powers were all of the mind. He had telepathy, mental manipulation, and ESP. "I think that there is some sort of shield around your mind, at least, because neither I nor Alice can hear you. When you felt the pain earlier, that was me trying to read you, but I can't hear you at all."

"Alice can read minds?"

"Yes, I've been mentoring her because our powers are so similar, but when she arrived here, she was unable to control her powers at all. She is telepathic, telekinetic, and she has precognition."

"Her parents had just died."

He nodded, and I felt like an ass. Yes, Alice and Rose had dropped off the face of the earth, but they were dealing with their parents dying, and on top of that, they found out they had powers. I guess I would need to talk to them once everything calmed down if that was even a thing now. We made it to a metal door.

Carlisle turned to me before he opened the door. "I wanted to talk to you about Edward. He's been here the longest out of his group of friends. He has a hard time with new people, but I think because of the nature of both of your powers it would actually be better for you two to work together, so please try to be patient with him."

"So, be the bigger person and take the higher road?"

"Yes."

"Sorry, Mr. Cullen. That's never been my thing. I'll try to be forgiving and civil, but if he messes with me, I won't hesitate to drop him on his ass again."

Carlisle chuckled, shook his head, and opened the door. I followed him in the room where Jasper, Rose, muscle guy, Alice, and Edward were standing. Another girl I didn't recognize was standing there too.

"Ah, Jessica. So glad you're here. This is Bella. Bella, this is Jessica. She's going to be your roommate until we can get you moved into your own room."

I smiled at her, and she smiled back at me and waved.

"I'll have her come find you, but could you excuse the rest of us for a few moments?" he asked, addressing her. She said sure in a sweet voice and left the room by walking right through the wall.

"What the …"

"Kinda crazy right?" Muscles asked me. I nodded, and Rose rolled her eyes at him.

"Emmett, why don't you go first since you were the first to speak up?"

"By the way, I would pay money to see you knock Edward on his ass."

I looked over at Edward, and he was refusing to look at me. I smiled. "You never know, Emmett. The day is still early."

Emmett laughed. "Don't worry about blasting me, baby bell. I have super strength. Like I said, some of our powers are less noticeable." He grabbed a pocketknife and sliced a huge line across his palm, and I was about to protest, but before it even had time to start bleeding, it was already closing up. "I also have accelerated healing."

I smiled at the big guy, and he smiled back, showing off dimples. "Very cool."

"I think so too," he said, giving me a high five.

"Rose, would you like to go next?"

"I already showed her."

"Rose."

"Fine," she said, and I saw the electricity crackle over her hands and arms. Her eyes turned that violet color again. There was a target at the far end of the room. She flicked her wrist toward it and disintegrated it. My eyes widened. "The other is something I can't show you, but I can paralyze someone's senses. Sight, sound, smell—all gone. Those all work in the mind, and I can't get into yours."

I was grateful for that. I nodded and smiled at her. She looked surprised and finally smiled back at me. That was the Rose I knew. This standoffish and emotionally closed-off Rose I had been experiencing wasn't who I remembered. I think I understood now why she had been acting that way. She was worried that I would be freaked out by her. I walked over to her and pulled her into a hug.

"I missed you, bitch," she said quietly so only I could hear. I smiled at our familiar greeting to each other.

"Not as much as I missed you, jerk." I hugged her tighter. "Those eyes are fucking beautiful, love." I pulled away from her, and she had a tear rolling down her cheek. I wiped it away and gave her a kiss on the cheek. We stood side by side, an arm around each other's waist.

"Jasper."

"Well, I can't show you one of mine, which is that I can implant suggestions in someone's mind as a type of mind control. The other one sometimes works on you," he explained. He stared at me, and I felt an immense sense of calm sweep over me, and I felt completely relaxed; the next second, I was angry. I clenched my fist, and grabbed the hem of Rose's shirt to keep myself grounded, and then I was calm again. What the hell? I felt that barrier again, and I pushed against it with all the energy I had. Jasper actually took a step back. "You blocked me again."

"Was that you? Who made me angry?"

He nodded. "I was making you calm too. I can sense emotions, and I can manipulate them. I'm able to do it to you for a few moments, but then you keep blocking me."

"Interesting. We'll have to investigate that further. That may be your shield."

I noticed that Edward was looking at me with the weirdest look on his face. He looked a little curious and a little bewildered.

"Alice, I already told her about your powers. Only the precognition will work."

Alice nodded, and she looked so lost and sad. "That's how we found you last night. I saw a vision of what was going to happen at your school. Once I knew what I was seeing, it was something that was happening at the moment, and it was hard to get a read on where you were headed—you kept changing your mind. Finally, I got a read on you, and we headed to you." I let go of Rose's waist, and I pulled Alice over to me.

"Thank you, Pix. I missed you, Alicat."

"I'm so sorry, Bellsy. I was so lost for so long. I never wanted to leave you alone to deal with all this by yourself," she said, and she had tears running down her cheeks.

"Hey, I know, babe. I understand. I'm sorry I was angry with you. We can talk later, okay," I said quietly. She nodded and wiped the tears away from her face. I pulled her into my side and embraced her. I was extremely happy that I had my best friends back. Then the pretty boy with the hair and eyes had to open his mouth.

"Obviously, you already know what my powers are."

"Edward …" Carlisle warned.

"Other than pissing me off, no, I have no idea what yours are."

Edward glared at me and took off his long sleeve shirt so he was only in a sleeveless tank top. For a guy who was still obviously growing, he was pretty fit and toned. His skin started to glow red, and his fist actually had flames licking at the end of them. He seemed to be pulling in energy or something because he relaxed, then tensed and shot a large fireball toward the fireplace, lighting the bundle of wood there. I had to admit it was pretty impressive. I decided to be civil for once.

"That's pretty impressive, Edward," I said, completely sincere. This seemed to catch him off guard, and he mumbled a thank you. I smiled.

Carlisle clapped his hands together. "I need to check in with Esme. Girls, can you see that Bella gets to her room?" Rose and Alice nodded. "Bella, can we talk again after lunch? You can follow Rose or Alice to classes?"

"Sure, Mr. Cullen. Should I just come to your office?"

"I'll come find you."

I nodded, and with no further words, he was out of the room. Emmett and Jasper were talking to Edward, and he kept glancing in my direction.

Before I could analyze it any further, Alice and Rose were pulling me from the room and thoughts of Edward vanished as I caught up with my friends.

A/N: So, how are we feeling? Lots of stuff going on here. Looks like Alice, Rose, and Bella are back to being friends. It also looks like Edward is not to fond of Bella. Let me know what you think. Come join me on Facebook at Cullenlvr83 Fics. Until next week lovelies!