AN: Aaaand we're back! I'm super stoked to continue this story!

A very kind thank you to all those who wonderfully decided to follow! And another thanks to the kind people who took the time to leave comments which I shall now respond to:

Guest 1: Glad I could scratch that invisible itch! Also glad you liked my writing thus far!

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7: Glad you're enjoying so far, hope you like this chapter!

Guest 2: There's actually more Jessica and Edward stories? I was so sure there wasn't that I didn't even bother searching! Do you have any recommendations? I'd really like to check them out!

Victoria: Hello! I'm very well and thank you, hope you enjoy wherever this story leads!

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That's about it, hope you all like this chapter!

Enjoy!

Chapter Two: Get a Grip Jess!

There was a study conducted by some psychology guy (whose name Jessica forgot) about building relationships with only thirty-six questions.

Thankfully, Edward Cullen was a fascinating specimen and she had plenty of questions to ask him—why he never ate at lunch, why he skulked PE, why he and his family were such loners—but most importantly, why he hated her so much.

That would be question numero uno.

Jessica penned all her questions down in pink glittery pen from atop her vanity table, a conspiratorial smile on her face as she did so. She was going to have him in her bed by month's end. Why not? Everything else was looking up today: it was a non-rainy Friday afternoon, she was getting jealous glares thrown at her in school because of her courage to ask an unspoken unattainable on a date, and Edward had started a conversation with her.

…well okay, not really, he just said, "Hello," in biology instead of ignoring her, and Jessica's brain had short circuited in pure glee, so she couldn't even respond with anything except for a strangled girlish giggle and shiny eyed gaze that made him wince.

But this was good, this was progress!

Shutting her journal with a pleased nod, Jessica flicked on the radio switch and changed the dial to the news station. It may have been non-rainy at the moment but Forks was unpredictable, she didn't want to be caught off guard in an outfit or hairstyle that wasn't weather appropriate.

As she'd hoped, the weatherman promised no rain, and even a sweet, sweet possibility of sunshine that made Jessica smile happily. Ironed curls it was.

She was just about to change the station to a music oriented one when the reporters switched and a worried woman said, "It is advised that residents stay out of the woods, as there have been a number of wild animal attacks taking place. So far at least there people have died…"

Jessica's smile faded as she listened to the report before sighing in disappointment.

Fine. No hiking. It's not as if she liked hiking but Jessica had figured Edward did—he and his family had gone on two impromptu camping trips in the two weeks they'd been in town so it was a pretty smart guess…

"Well," Jessica said to herself as she switched the station to one blaring pop music and flipped through her notebook to rip out the page dedicated to the planning of the hike date. She was lucky she'd only given Edward the instructions to pick her up Friday afternoon for "a surprise"; how embarrassing would it be to promise a hike and not be able to deliver?

But alas, she was a winner, not an idiot-who-risks-the-lives-of-boys-she-wants-to-date-er.

Plan B, then—picnic in the park. All she needed was something breezy and cute…and she had just the dress…or, more accurately her mom did.

Jessica left the room and hesitated once she reached the hallway, steeling her nerves before tuning to her mother's bedroom door and rapping lightly on it. "Mom?"

No answer. Not a surprise. Sighing softly, Jessica eased the door open and stopped herself from coughing as the scent of tobacco and alcohol filled her nose. The mother in question was under the comforters, an unmoving lump on a bed covered in cigarette burns and empty bottles.

She was either sleeping or in her head again—either way, Jessica knew she wasn't going to be saying a peep at the moment.

Still, she announced, "I'm going to borrow that summer dress of yours," as she entered the room and slid open the curtains a bit. "You know, the pink one with the sweetheart neckline and the puffed sleeves?" She opened up the window and the breeze shot through immediately, ruffling Jessica's hair and spurring her to take a deep non-drug polluted breath.

Glancing over her shoulder and pushing a flying bang from her eye, she continued, "And I'm going in a half-hour. On that date I told you about last night, 'member?"

No response, but again it was unsurprising.

Jessica took the dress from the closet and left, gently shutting the door behind her and staring at it for a few moments.

Then shaking her head, she turned on her heel and went back to her room—she had a date to prepare for after all, and more than one surprise to dish out.

He supposed he should count his lucky stars that this date had been planned a swift two days after the fiasco in the cafeteria.

It wasn't as if Jessica would stop thinking and giving him unintentional headaches and inappropriate images about himself if he wasn't "100% satisfied with the Jessica Stanley charm", but at least she would stop thinking so damn close for the entirety of the school day and give his mind a rest.

Edward didn't know what the girl was planning, but movie dates seemed popular with teenagers in this town as there was practically no other form of entertainment for them. It would be an interesting experience; he hadn't been to a theatre in years as he wasn't all that interested in seeing one and the very few times he was, Alice had seen what he was planning to watch and had it playing in her head, thus accidentally spoiling him within seconds.

Speaking of whom…

Alice smiled in self-satisfaction as she adjusted Edward's outfit in the long mirror within her bedroom, blissfully ignoring the omnipresent glare he was searing her with. It was a simple outfit; a fitted white T-shirt and dark jeans but Alice treated it as if it were a delicate tuxedo in need of last minute prep.

"What if the sun comes out?" Rosalie demanded, eyes holding a similar glare that Edward's did and arms crossed tightly over her chest as she stood off to the side.

"Alice probably can't hear you," Edward said, not even bothering to hide his annoyance. "She's too busy singing in her head in an attempt to block me." If only she'd remember that technique when he wanted to watch a movie...

Alice batted a hand through the air with one hand and brushed Edward's hair with the other. "Nothing's going to happen, Rosalie."

"She'll ask questions," Rosalie said sharply.

"And she won't get answers!" Alice tapped her skull. "Trust me."

Edward sighed heavily. "If you would just let us know what's so important about this Stanley girl—"

"Nope!" Alice said with infuriating cheerfulness before patting Edward on the shoulder. "All done! And she'll be done in around five minutes so hurry your butt!"

Edward sighed. 'Let's get this over with,' he thought gloomily as he turned from the mirror and towards the open door. He intended to speed out of the house to avoid the rest of his family—Emmett and Carlisle in particular. Both seemed far too happy that he'd found a date and he was getting incredibly tired of everyone but Rosalie and Jasper getting oh-so-excited over his misery.

Before he could leave however, Rosalie gave his hard shoulder a slight squeeze. Edward met her fierce amber eyes as she said, "Be safe."

Alice rolled her eyes from behind her as Edward gave his sister a small smile and nod, squeezing her shoulder back before dashing out of the house in a supernatural blur.

As Edward slid into the drivers' seat, turned the ignition, and pulled out of the driveway, his skin glittered briefly. He jerked violently and shifted to the side to glare at the slowly growing patch of sunlight on the leather of his seat. He looked up briefly at the sun slowly peeking from beneath the clouds, only to blessedly sink back behind them.

Good God.

Edward groaned and pulled the sun visor down. He was never going to go out on a day the sun was playing peek-a-boo again because it was agonizingly anxiety inducing.

And for what? A date he didn't even want to go on!

It didn't take long for him to reach Jessica Stanley's house, the address of which was the only information Jessica would give him in regards to the surprise date. He checked to see if the sun was out, and it wasn't, so he slid out of his seat and shut the door behind him.

A headache immediately bloomed in his head as Jessica's thoughts pitter-pattered against his skull with their usual vigour, though the words were highly muted no doubt thanks to the fact that she was shielded by the four walls of her house. Instinctively, he looked up to locate the words' source and found Jessica Stanley in front of her bedroom window—in naught but a bra.

Edward's eyes widened with a gasp and he sharply averted his gaze, but it was too late, what he'd seen had already burned itself vividly into his retinas and his dead heart was being squeezed with shame and guilt and—why had he looked up? He had no right to see such a—how could he be so perverse and uncouth? What was wrong with him? He—

Something else caught his attention then, thankfully.

Edward's brow slowly furrowed as he turned his head towards the subtle scent he'd picked up. It was somewhere to the left, he was sure of it. And it wasn't a scent he recognized, at least not as harmless or friendly.

His muscles immediately sprung taut.

Another vampire.

Surprise number one, show Edward what he could have with only a bit of TLC and romance.

Jessica had been a bit self-conscious at first—Edward had been uncaring towards her most revealing clothing thus far (although in her defense, they were only slightly tight or slightly low cutting thanks to the bullshit dress code), maybe he wouldn't even care that she was partially naked. So she had to steel herself and take in a deep breath the second the familiar car pulled into the driveway. Only then did she instill herself with reminders of how drop dead gorgeous she was before shimmying off the pink henley shirt she'd worn to school that day.

Jessica kept her gaze unfocused from him, but had at just the right angle to see his reaction (or potential lack-there-of) at—checkmate!

She fought a giddy grin as Edward quickly looked away all cute and flustered. Ah-ha! Not even Mr. Broody could resist a good old pair of D-cups in a push up bra.

Edward then seemed to tense suddenly, eyes flickering left and right as if he saw something suspicious. Jessica tilted her head to the side in curiosity at the reaction, wondering if—

She blinked and he disappeared.

Jessica's hand paused halfway to the hook holding her dress as her jaw dropped. Where the hell did he go? She would've thought she'd hallucinated him or something, except his car was still there.

But Edward wasn't. Why—? She'd only…blinked and he'd been right there—people just didn't move that fast!

Pursing her lips, Jessica shoved herself into her mother's dress and snatched up a pair of waiting white strap stilettos and brown cloth backpack. That was some freaky abnormal as hell shit she'd just seen and she was going to get an explanation!

Jessica exited the house, locked the front door and hopped around on one leg as she strapped on a heel before balancing on the other to repeat the process, eyes scanning for her disappearing date all the while but never finding him.

Scowling, Jessica sped walked down the driveway and peered into the drivers' window. Nobody. She stepped back and looked around, left, right, atop the roof and even crouched under the car to check. Still nobody.

But she did feel a pair of eyes on her back.

Jessica shuddered, the hairs on her body standing upright in attention as she stood cautiously and swallowed thickly. "Edward?" She called gingerly as she slid her door key in-between her knuckles.

"Jessica."

Jessica shrieked and spun around to throw the hardest punch of her life. Her fist then connected hard with an open palm and she gasped in pain as the impact rattled through her bones and seared her nerves.

"I'm sorry," Edward said as he lowered his hand and Jessica flicked hers around to rid it of the stinging burn. God he had some hard muscles. "Your hand isn't broken, is it? I'm aware I have very—"

"Where did you go?" Jessica demanded, effectively cutting him off as she glared at him—an action she knew wasn't all that intimidating as she was sucking her bruised knuckles simultaneously.

Edward blinked twice. "I beg your pardon?"

"Oh don't bullshit me! Where did you go and how'd you get back so fast?"

There was a pause as Edward stared at her, an expression that looked like panic flashing across those amber orbs before his jaw clenched. Even though she was turning her headache-inducing confusion into anger, she had time to admire the way the action annunciated his perfectly shaped jawline and cheekbones.

"I was right here the entire time, Jessica," he said simply, gaze turning molten.

"You were not! I—" Oops, best not tell him she saw him from the window she oh so suspiciously left open while she was changing. "Came out here and you weren't there!" Ah-ha! Saved.

"You're mistaken," he said firmly, and she inexplicably felt her mind turn to mush as the ferocity of his gaze intensified. His next words were like honey seeping into the melted grooves of her brain and she felt her confusion slowly seeping away. "I was here the entire time. I didn't move an inch, you're simply remembering it wrong."

Jessica had an argument for that…but she couldn't remember. She just blinked slowly and smiled lazily. "Uh-huh, yeah. Totally. Makes sense."

Edward nodded and moved around her to slip into the drivers' seat, leaving Jessica to blink away the molasses in her mind. She laughed to herself and slid into the passenger's seat. 'Get a grip, Jess! Crazies aren't attractive!'

Edward felt bad for having to compel Jessica Stanley—he really did. But she would never let it go if he hadn't, and he wasn't about to risk her finding out about things she shouldn't.

It was foolish of him to go on a brief wild goose chase anyway; it wasn't as if vampires never passed by Forks. It was simply…odd that this one was so close. The woods weren't very near Jessica's house, and he'd been mildly suspicious.

But alas, the vampire scent had disappeared and no scent of blood was left behind to take its place, so he'd just been a bit paranoid.

He furrowed his brow. Hopefully.

"Take a left, right here," Jessica said, smiling bright and excitedly about this "surprise". Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your point of view, Jessica was unaware that her mind was strapped to the world's loudest microphone, and Edward had learned about it the second she'd slipped into the car and the compulsion residue wore off.

An outdoor picnic.

He appreciated the sentiment behind it, truly. It was nice to know she'd actually paid attention to a little bit more than his "gorgeous amber orbs" or "kissable-ly shaped lips", but the clouds could split any moment and he really didn't want to use compulsion again, or explain why he was glittering freakishly. One could potentially damage Jessica's mind after using it again in such a short time, and the other could force his and his family's secret out into the open.

Hadn't Alice seen this? Couldn't she have given him an umbrella, or a jean, jacket, or something?

"T-da! Here we are!" Jessica said with a grin as Edward pulled into the car parking lot near the park she'd chosen. Many people were there, taking advantage of the breezy weather and flying kites, licking ice cream cones, kissing atop benches and having an early dinner. Thankfully, the sky was still a steel gray.

"I was going to take you on a hike," Jessica said as she and Edward slipped out of the car at the same time and shut their respective doors. "But I figured it wasn't safe because of the wild animal attacks and stuff."

That gave Edward pause as Jessica cheerfully sauntered towards the park. "Animal attacks?" he repeated.

"Uh-huh, haven't you heard the news?" Jessica asked over her shoulder. "Three people died already. I just found that out today so this whole thing is a bit rushed but…."

Edward tuned her out as he mulled that over. An unfamiliar vampire and wild animal attacks…it could be a coincidence but—what if it wasn't? He'd need to talk about with the others, check out—

A blue slushie was shoved in his face and Edward blinked in surprise.

"I didn't know what flavour you liked," Jessica said with a shrug. "But you looked like a berry boy."

'But for now…' "Thank you," Edward said mildly as he took the offered drink, fully intending to toss it into the bordering woods while she wasn't looking. '...I have obligations towards my date,'

As the two casually strolled towards a bench, Edward shifted through Jessica's thoughts in search of a topic she was interested in. Him. Fashion. Him. Gossip. Herself. Edward was certain she and Rosalie would have gotten along swimmingly had she not been convinced that Jessica was a danger to the family.

And oh, he loved his sister dearly…but he'd never been able to stay present in a conversation with her about one of her passions for more than five minutes, and he was certain the same could be said for Jessica.

Lovely. Edward sighed in a near inaudible manner as he casually dropped his drink into a passing trash can. This was going to be a very long day.

They took their seats, Edward preparing to broach one of the topics floating in Jessica's mind— some girl named Angela and her possible love life—when Jessica took the reins immediately.

"So! I planned a lot for this date. Like a lot," Jessica said with a playful roll of her eyes as she slid out a fluffy pink journal from her backpack and slammed it across the picnic table. "That includes convo topics. Is that okay?"

'Thank God,' "I don't mind," Edward said with a slight nod.

"Okay, good!" Jessica said, rolling her shoulders back and pushing her long brown hair behind her ears. Her thoughts had become so chaotic and anxious that the words jumbled and grew considerably in volume. Edward winced and massaged his temples as Jessica took in a deep breath, cleared her throat, and looked up at him with a wavering smile.

"One. Why do you hate me?"

Edward jerked in surprise at that. He'd expected…not that to be the first conversation of their date. He also had no idea where she'd gotten that impression from. "Hate...you?" Edward repeated slowly, wondering if he'd properly heard.

"Yes," Jessica said simply, her thoughts rising to an incoherent screech that was making him tense.

"Hate is a strong word," Edward said, trying to hide the pain of his constricting headache from his voice. "Where did you get that notion?"

Jessica stared at him incredulously for a few moments before saying. "Are you serious? You were totally rude and dismissive towards me since the day we met and when your sister suggested the date was a good idea you looked like a kid being told that Santa wasn't real!" She paused for a moment and then added, "Santa isn't real, BT Dubs." and took a sip from her red slushie.

Oh. Edward supposed he could understand how she'd come to the conclusion that he hated her. "I…haven't been the most polite to you," he admitted sheepishly, clearing his throat awkwardly. "I apologize. But rest assured, I don't hate you."

"But I annoy you," Jessica pressed, although she was clearly less anxious as her thoughts had thankfully lowered in volume. "Why?"

Well, he couldn't very well tell her "I can read minds and your thoughts are agonizingly loud." Mind reading wasn't exactly a vampire cliche but he didn't want her thinking he was anything but human at all. So he decided to do a slight bit of truth bending.

"I suppose…" he paused, making sure his words didn't come out wrong. "Well to put it bluntly you make me feel mildly uncomfortable."

"I get that," Jessica said. "But why? What exactly did I do to earn the ultimate disdain of Edward Cullen?"

"I don't feel disdain towards you, Jessica," Edward said honestly. "But I'd be lying if I said the ah...looks you give me aren't bothersome."

Jessica frowned. "The loo—?" She paused before awkwardly laughing and avoiding his eyes. "Oh."

Her thoughts weren't as loud but they were even more scrambled and chaotic. Edward had to shuffle a few incoherent words and sentences together to confirm she knew what he was referring to.

"Oh," she said again. "You know what I—yeah…I'm not exactly subtle, am I?" she laughed awkwardly again and ducked her head, slurping silently at her drink.

"You needn't be embarrassed," Edward said. "I'm…used to such looks. But that is the reason for the discomfort, since you were wondering." Partially, at least.

"And I begged you to go on this date when—I-I thought I introduced myself wrong or something but no, I was just being a weirdo!" She huffed out a breath and pushed away her drink before steepling her fingers and leaning forward. "Well! One thing you need to learn about me, Edward. I'm like lightning—I get one strike on something and I won't make it again. So! No impure thoughts from now on?"

Edward's lips twitched into a tiny smile and he nodded. "That...would be appreciated, thank you."

Jessica smiled back and shrugged slightly and her gaze flickered up and down his chest. "I will warn you—you won't exactly make it easy for me." And then she unwittingly gave Edward the image of him shirtless and sweating, causing his thankful smile to twist slightly into a grimace.

"But I'll try. So now that that's settled, let's move on to question tw—" Jessica stopped talking, her eyes falling to his bare forearm. At first, Edward thought she was having another inappropriate fantasy about his muscles, but then her mind fluttered with question marks and glitter—

Glitter.

Edward hissed sharply and jerked his arm away from the cursed patch of sunlight that had peaked beneath the cloud barrier and caused his arm to shimmer briefly. Snapping his head up, he saw the clouds parting, the sun's rays growing broader—

"Wow," Jessica said with a half-hearted smile that couldn't quite mask her confusion. "The sun's...very shiny today."

Edward made an incomprehensible grunt of agreement as he swiftly staggered off the bench and pressed himself against the back of a nearby willow, praying the shade wouldn't give way to more sun rays—

"Hey, are you okay?" Jessica asked with a frown, getting up and glancing up at the sun to try and see what was wrong with it and why it was affecting him so.

Edward inched away from another patch of sunlight as he quickly scrambled for a way out of his current predicament. 'Damn it, Alice! You didn't see this?'

He needed to think fast, Jessica's face and thoughts were radiating confusion and he needed to give her something… "I'm fine. I just—I, um."

Stunning wit. Excellent use of vocabulary.

Jessica gasped suddenly, and Edward quickly checked to make sure no exposed flesh was beneath the sun's rays when she said, "You have xerdo—xerdo—you have that super rare sun allergy thing!"

A very wild leap, but Edward eagerly snatched up the gifted explanation. "Yes...It's not something I usually like to tell people but—"

"You should have told me!" Jessica cried as she fished in her backpack for something. "Here I was not taking you into the woods so you wouldn't die, but then taking you to the park where the sun is everywhere!"

Her thoughts were a screeching whirlwind that rejuvenated Edward's headache. "Please...calm down," he grunted as he pressed his fingers against his temples. "It's not deadly just…painful."

Jessica sighed in relief. "That's a tiny bit of comfort at least," she said as she pulled out an umbrella and handed it to him. "Here."

Slumping ever so slightly in relief, he accepted the gift. "Thank you very much, Jessica," Edward said earnestly, a part of him wondering if this was the reason Alice had opted not to give him an umbrella.

"It's the least I can do," she said weakly as she slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Sorry for…" she gestured up at the sky as she walked backwards and Edward followed with the umbrella safely protecting his skin.

"No worries," Edward said. "You weren't aware."

"I should've been," Jessica muttered in a self-agitated voice before turning to him with a raised eyebrow. "Make up date next Friday?"

Edward blinked several times. "I'm…sorry?"

"Well you don't think this actually counted do you?" Jessica said with an incredulous snort. "We spoke for a few minutes about me being a creep and then I learned you had a sun allergy. We have to re-do."

Edward opened his mouth before swallowing his protest. It was true, this had hardly qualified as a date—and he had promised Jessica a date…

"...alright."

"Yes! Okay, but no outdoors, promise!"

"I'd appreciate that and...Jessica?"

"Hm?"

"About the sun…"

"Lips are sealed," Jessica said with a bright grin before she opened the door to the passenger side and hopped in.

All and all, it wasn't a complete failure of a date—at least she knew the reason Edward was so stand-offish and had finally got him flustered. Plus she actually knew something about him, now! Yes, it was a horrible sun allergy but that was something!

She smiled happily to herself as she stared out the window, arm resting atop the sill as she stared into the distance. Sunshine warmed it and she found herself frowning slightly.

When the sun had touched Edward it—

She scoffed and shook her head. It was nothing probably, the sun must've reflected off of something and caused Edward's skin to shimmer, because what other explanation was there?

She was really losing it today, wasn't she?

As they pulled into the driveway of her home, Edward got out first and quickly went to her side to open the door for her.

"Well! Gentleman, are we?" Jessica said with batted lids as she stepped out.

"I try," he said with a small smile back. "Take care, Jessica. I'll see you on Monday, yes?"

Jessica grinned and offered two thumbs up. "Great!"

He nodded and returned to the car, backing out and offering a quick car honk of farewell.

It was then when Jessica felt goosebumps pop up over her skin again. She shuddered, hugging herself and looking over her shoulder, but finding nobody.

Huffing and shaking her head at herself, she went to the door in brisk strides, checking over her shoulder every few moments. When she moved to shove the key in however, she was given pause.

Frowning, Jessica squinted at the key, the top half bent slightly.

Did punching—

She snorted and shook her head again. God, what was with her today?

AN: That was chapter two! I hope you all enjoyed! Can't wait to show you the next chapter.

Fantasy Fan OUT!