Chapter 7

A/N: I think that Friday or Saturday is the day we are going to keep for posting this story. This chapter is full of a ton of stuff so we're just gonna get right to it. I want to thank everyone who reads and reviews. You are all amazing and I kinda love you. Thanks to my prereaders SassyNoles, 2 brown eyes, and Maplestyle- I love you guys! Also, thanks to Alice's White Rabbit for making me sound smart 3. Here we gooooo!

Edward's lips were on mine. If it wasn't so shocking, I might actually laugh and scream at the fact that he was kissing me. I'd been kissed before but not like this. Not from someone who obviously knew what they were doing. His large hand moved from my cheek to the nape of my neck, twisting my long locks in his fingers and pulling my face impossibly closer to him. I tried to press my body closer to his, and his other hand ran down to press against the small of my back, helping my mission to get closer. The feel and smell of him put my body into sensory overload, and I had to pull away. I could feel the control about to snap.

Edward looked at me a little surprised, and I wondered if it was good or not. The beautiful smile that overtook his face told me it was good. I smiled. "Wow."

"Ditto." He leaned in like he was going to kiss me again.

I stopped him. "As much as I really liked that, my control isn't so great right now."

He smiled again and laughed. He stood up, pulling me with him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "It might be fun to watch you lose control, Bella."

I inhaled and forgot to exhale. He didn't mean … Of course, he did, he's 17, my subconscious snarked at me.

"But I don't want to get my ass frozen, so I'll take the raincheck," he said, giving me a wink. I rolled my eyes at him and playfully smacked his chest.

"Aren't you too hot for that, Edward?" I asked. I'll admit it was an obvious and cheesy joke, but it made him chuckle, and that's all that mattered.

"We should probably go to our next class before we get in trouble."

I sighed and followed him, acting put out. In reality, I did really like my classes. I felt like I finally fit somewhere, and I was where I should be. We got halfway there when the bell rang. He turned to me and gave me a smug smile. Oh great, like he needed more proof he was a know it all. I bumped him with my shoulder.

I hadn't realized we were holding hands again until I walked into our next class, and Caius, Emmett, Jasper, and Seth's eyes all got wide, looking right where our hands were interlocked. We immediately let go of each other's hands, and I went to sit on the other side of the room with Emmett where I'd been sitting since the first day. Edward went and sat with Caius, Jasper, and Seth.

The look on Caius' face made me fear for Edward's safety a little. I thought back to when I mentioned Angela's name, and he'd physically flinched. I got Emmett's attention.

"What's up, little one?"

"Hey, were Caius and Angela ever close?" I asked.

Emmett looked at me wide-eyed for a minute, then he smiled wide and shook his head, like he couldn't believe I was asking this question. "Caius had his eyes set on Angela the minute she got here, but when Edward was more trusting, he was charming, and obviously, girls are attracted to him."

I nodded and rolled my eyes because I wasn't blind. I saw the way girls got that dreamy look in their eyes when he smiled at them or thanked them. He was gorgeous. That was just facts. I gestured for Emmett to continue.

"Plus, Caius isn't shy about who he is. He's playing nice now, but that isn't always his M.O. Angela wanted Edward, not Caius, so he had to concede he lost. Shortly before she left, though, they were acting really weird around each other. Then when she left, he acted … lost. Edward never noticed because it devastated him, but I noticed. Why are you asking?"

"When I told him that Edward told me about her, he physically flinched when I said her name. Either like it was painful or he was scared. Then when he said her name a couple minutes after that, he stuttered getting it out. I just found it kinda weird and unsettling. He told me she messed with all of you. Then he tried to tell me that Edward is good at hiding who he really is."

"Did you tell Edward any of this?"

"I mean, he said Caius told him what he said to me, but somehow, I don't think he was very truthful about much of it to Edward."

"Hmm … was that before or after you two kissed?"

I stared at him, mouth agape. How did he know? "What? What makes you think we kissed?" I asked, noticing my voice was a lot higher than I wanted it to be.

"Well, I wasn't sure until just now with that high squeaky voice. Plus, the way you two keep subtly looking at each other. Damn, Bella, that's some wicked girl mojo you got there. You got the grizzly to calm down."

I laughed and smiled at him. "I didn't do anything. He said he overreacted."

"No, he fucking didn't," he said, disbelief coloring his tone.

"He did," I said, shrugging my shoulders and smiling.

"Well, looks like my little Eddie is growing up."

"You know he can't hear you, right? Calling him Eddie isn't gonna annoy him."

"Yo, Eddie!" Emmett said, yelling across the classroom. Edward gave him a look like he wanted to strangle him, and then rolled his eyes, chuckling when I made a face at him. The teacher also looked a little annoyed because it interrupted the video she was showing. She pursed her lips and glared at Emmett. Emmett gave her an apologetic smile, dimples fully on display, and she visibly melted and smiled at him and shook her head.

"You know we should register those as a lethal weapon because it's really not fair."

"How do you think I get my way with Rosie? If I didn't have these, I would never win."

I laughed, shaking my head. I knew very well how stubborn and strong-willed Rose could be. Funny enough, in that family, Alice was the pushover compared to Rose. Not that Rose was spoiled, because Alice was, but Rose stood up for what she believed in and made her opinion known. She had gotten Alice to back off and back down several times without even really trying too hard. She just had to give Alice one look, and she would bend immediately. It could also be a twin thing, but they were like opposites so much sometimes.

Emmett and I continued to talk and joke throughout class. I knew the teachers who had me and Emmett together probably were regretting it, but we always did our work, and I helped him with stuff he struggled with. He would try to rush through his work too fast, so he would get confused. I made him slow down and worked through it with him. Even just after a couple days, I saw a definite improvement. Emmett went and turned our homework in while I put my stuff away in my backpack. When I sat back up, Caius was sitting in the seat in front of me. I gasped.

"Shit, you scared me."

"Sorry, Bella. So, it occurs to me I asked you if I had competition, and you told me no, but I've watched you and Emmett all period, then you walk in here holding Masen's hand, so is it your intention to screw with all of us."

"Are you kidding me? When I told you that you had no competition, it was 100 percent true. Emmett and I are great friends. He's with Rose, if you haven't noticed. What goes on between Edward and me is none of your fucking business. You didn't have the balls to ask me out then, and rest assured, I would turn your ass down now if you did. Do you think this intimidation thing works? Is that what you tried with Angela?"

"You don't know shit about her." He hissed, leaning forward, getting into my personal space. It honestly freaked me out, and I flinched back from him, not even thinking about using my powers. Suddenly, he was pulled out of his chair, and Emmett pushed him away from us.

"Back off, Volturi, or I won't hesitate to knock you out. You touch or get near Bella like that again and I will make you swallow your own teeth."

Caius and Emmett glared at each other, and when the bell rang, Caius grabbed his backpack and left the room. I saw Jasper and Seth holding Edward back, which explains why he hadn't come over during that whole thing. When we locked eyes, he struggled against them more.

"Thank you, Emmett."

"You okay, Ice Queen?"

I nodded, and then I walked over to Edward. Jasper and Seth let him go, and he rushed the few steps to me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, he just really freaked me out."

"His emotions were volatile. I was trying to calm him down, but I was more focused on keeping Edward from going nuclear," Jasper explained.

"It's okay, Jazz. I understand."

He smiled and he, Seth, and Emmett all filed out of the class, trying to get the stragglers to move along. We'd drawn a crowd. I looked at Edward.

"What did he say to you?"

"He accused me of screwing with you, Emmett, and his feelings, or hey, maybe even in the literal sense of screwing."

Edward's hands clenched at his side, and his jaw snapped shut. He started to turn red, and I grabbed his wrist, using my ice to calm him down. He shivered and turned his intense gaze on me. His eyes held me captive. His skin immediately started to go back to its normal color. "Bella—"

I shook my head. "Don't go after him, Edward. He wants to cause trouble. I probably shouldn't have mentioned Angela."

He looked at me confused. I sighed. I grabbed his hand, and as we walked to our next classes, I told him everything I had told Emmett and what Emmett had told me. Then I told him about the conversation between Caius and me.

"Before Angi—Angela, left, she and Caius were acting strange around each other. You know those TV shows you watch, and the two friends sleep together, and then act all weird around each other? That's how they were acting."

"Oh, God. So, she cheated on you with Caius?"

"I don't know, Bella. She was a virgin the first time we had sex, and that was shortly before she left, so it had to have happened within weeks of her leaving."

"You—" I almost asked, but I stopped myself. It really was none of my business if they had sex. I mean, he had just told me, but I wasn't going to inquire further. I had no frame of reference either. I had been kissed before, and someone had clumsily groped me, but I was still a card-carrying virgin.

Edward and I just kinda awkwardly looked at each other. He wanted to ask me a question because he kept opening then closing his mouth, and I wanted to ask him about sex with Ms. Looney Tunes, but I assumed neither of us thought we had a right to know. The one-minute warning bell rang, and I mumbled an awkward "later" to him, kissed him on the cheek, and ran off to my next class. I felt terrible about it, but I didn't know how else to feel.

We weren't in a relationship, so I really didn't have a right to feel this burning desire to hunt Angela down and cut off all her hair and freeze her into a block of ice, but yet, there it was. I'd never had to deal with jealousy before, and even more, when I really had no right to feel it. Ugh, I needed Rose and Alice.

I got to my class seconds before the bell rang. As luck would have it, this class had none of my friends in it, but it had Caius and some creep who leered at me constantly and made me feel really uncomfortable. I sat in the very back and as far away from ass hat one and two as I could get. I pulled my cell out and told Rose and Alice that I needed to talk to them.

About five minutes later, Alice came breezing into the class and whispered in the teacher's ear. The teacher told me to grab my things and follow Ms. Hale. I grabbed my things and did as she said. Alice linked arms with me and pulled me into the girls' bathroom where Rose was already waiting.

"Did you seriously get me out of class so we could gossip?"

"No, I got you out of class because Caius and Marcus were going to corner you after class and scare you a little. Carlisle's been notified, and now your class this period is switched to one you would enjoy more, that also has Jessica, Seth, and myself in it."

"Now, what do you need to talk to us about? Is it the kiss with Edward?" Rose asked.

"You kissed Edward?" Alice asked.

"God, Emmett is worse than a gossiping old woman. Yes, Edward kissed me, thank you," I said.

Rose and Alice squealed and lost it. I just chuckled and shook my head as they acted like silly girls who were way too excited that their friend kissed a boy.

"I've kissed a boy before guys. Geez," I told them.

"Seven minutes in heaven with Eric Yorkie doesn't count," Rose clarified.

"I know. I kissed Jacob Black," I replied.

"No, you didn't!" Rose exclaimed, scandalized.

"Yes, I did. After you guys left. My know my dad and mom always take me with them when they visited Billy. They left us to our own devices one time, and he kissed me and groped me a little."

"Jesus, woman. These are the facts you lead with," Alice exclaimed.

"It wasn't good, so really, there's nothing to report there. Like he either has no dick, or women don't do it for him because I felt nothing."

"Well, regardless, you had to be desperate to go there. Isn't he like 14?" Rose joked.

"OMG, Rosalie Lillian Hale, he's 16 just like me, and you know it."

She snorted, and I rolled my eyes at her antics.

"Anyway!" Alice interrupted, trying to get us back on track. "So, back to the topic at hand. Continue, Bellsy."

I told them all about the kiss in great detail. Then I told them what happened in class, and the conversation Edward and I had afterward. I told them I knew we weren't in a relationship, but I still felt jealous and how irrational it was.

"You like him, B. There's nothing wrong with that. I mean, I'd like to do the same to Angela, but it's because she's an evil wench. Especially if she cheated on Edward with Caius. I may be with Emmett, and Ali with Jazz, but even we know Edward is a much better choice that Caius," Rose explained.

"He's cuter, too," Alice chirped.

Rose nodded, agreeing with her.

"Um, weren't you the one telling me to go after Caius?"

"Yeah, you and Edward weren't an option then, plus Caius has that bad boy thing working for him. Obviously, not anymore. Now that we know how unhinged he is," Rose said.

"Did you guys ever meet Angela?"

"No, she left shortly before we came here, but we've seen pictures that Em had in his room," Rose said.

"Yeah, she looked like she was really nice. Brown hair, brown eyes, retro winged glasses, minimal make-up, normal clothes. She didn't look like she could be evil or corrupt. Just goes to show, you never know," Alice explained.

Aside from the glasses, Alice could have been describing me. I mean, I had a sense of fashion, but I got that from Rose and Alice, and my hair was only dark because I'd dyed it.

Alice, Rose, and I finished our gossip session in the bathroom, and then after class, we all headed to lunch. It didn't escape my notice that Caius didn't join our table for lunch and that he'd joined the "bad boys" table. You know, the guys who were always in trouble or at least causing some sort of problem. The problem in this school with everyone having powers, when someone tried to cause issues, it could result in someone getting really hurt.

I scooted my chair closer to Emmett's because the looks I was getting from the occupants of that table were really starting to make me uncomfortable. Edward noticed this, cocked his head, and then turned to look at what was going on. I knew he saw it because his posture went rigid. He stood, shoving his chair away. I looked at Jasper, and he nodded. He seemed to be concentrating, and Edward sat back down and turned to face me.

He gave Jasper a shocked look, his jaw clenched. He grabbed his jacket, and then stomped out of the cafeteria. I got up to follow him, but Emmett put his hand on my shoulder and shook his head. I scoffed and stood up with more strength this time and shook his hand off. I grabbed my bag and hoodie, walking right past Caius' table. I shot ice at the floor, and the two guys who stood to give me a hard time slipped and fell on their asses.

"Oops," I said simply, not even turning to see if they replied.

When I made it out to the courtyard, I had to look around to find Edward. I saw him standing by himself, tossing a fireball back and forth between his hands. He looked lost in thought, and I stopped when I was right in front of him. He continued to toss the ball back and forth, ignoring me. I froze the ball, and he let go of it, letting it fall to the ground. It shattered on impact. He looked into my eyes.

"What's up? Why were you so angry?"

"Jasper has never used his mind control shit on me, Bella, but he just did. He told me to turn around and sit down, and I did."

"Yeah, 'cause you've said it before yourself. You have a temper. Your buddy, Caius, knows that and is trying to provoke a reaction. Why do you keep giving him one?"

"Because he knows what buttons to push."

"I already made it clear I have no interest in him," I said. He shook his head. "Edward, didn't you say I was the most powerfully gifted person you've ever met?" I waited for him to nod his head. When he did, I continued. "Then don't you think I can take care of myself?"

"I know you're perfectly capable, but when he got in your face in class, you didn't do anything. Emmett had to intervene. I get it; it's hard to defend yourself against someone you should want to protect," he said, and in that moment, I saw the full extent of the damage Angela did.

It made me see red, and like flipping a switch, my skin turned the light blue color again. My breath fogged in front of me, and the snowy mist surrounded my hands. Edward looked awed. He stepped toward me, and before I could take a step back, afraid that I would hurt him, he gently took my hand. Unlike when Carlisle grabbed me and got freezer burn, Edward was fine. He tucked my white hair behind my ear. "You're beautiful." My blue eyes, in this form, snapped up to meet his sincere verdant ones. I placed my hand on his cheek, and he smiled at me.

"How am I not freezing you?" I asked.

"I'm hot, remember," he said, smirking. We both laughed, and my skin started to go back to its normal color. "What happened that made you turn that color? I've only seen that happen twice; there aren't usually snowflakes."

"When I get really mad, my powers use the energy, and I turn that color."

"Why were you upset? I was just talking about—" He cut off, remembering what we were talking about.

"I hate what she did to you, Edward. It's not fair, and I can't even imagine how that felt."

He shook his head, and we stepped away from each other minutely. "I don't want to talk about her," he said, his eyes pleading.

I nodded and changed the subject. We talked through lunch, and then made our way to our next class, which was together again with Caius and Rose. Rose, Edward, and I all sat together like the other days, and the school day passed by.

The last surprise of the day came when I got to my room, and Jessica was in the middle, packing her things on a cart.

"What's this?"

"Another room opened up; it's a little bigger than this one, and since I have more stuff than you, they asked if I wanted to move my stuff."

"Well, that's cool, but I'm gonna miss rooming with you."

"We'll still see each other. Got classes and breaks. How are things going? I know you've been busy, and it's hard to catch your breath sometimes."

"I really like it here. I feel like I fit in finally. I never felt that anywhere else before."

Jessica gave me a warm smile. "I'm so glad. Plus, looks like you and Edward are getting along better," she said, teasing me with a playful nudge.

"Yeah, our moment in front of the entire cafeteria wasn't a shining one for me."

"You two click. There's nothing wrong with that." Jessica put her last box on the cart. She gave me a hug. "Catch you later, babe," she said, leaving the room, pushing her cart.

I waved and sat on my bed. I looked over at the space where her bed had been and sighed. I got ready for bed and finally laid down. It felt like I'd been awake for days with everything that had happened today. I closed my eyes, looking forward to getting some rest.

A tall, slender girl with voluminous hair, dark makeup, and plum-colored lips smiled at a man who was tall, dark, and handsome personified. "I want her added to my collection. How are you going to make that happen?"

"I'm working on it, master. Our plan is almost together. I'll make them all regret the day they met me."

"You will get your chance for vengeance, but I want my prize first. Taking their treasured friend may do the job well enough."

"You can have your toy, but I want Edward alive."

The man chuckled. "Oh, Angela, how utterly predictable. That's fine. Go. Make your preparations. I want this expedited."

Angela nodded and exited the room. The man smiled, and I felt my stomach drop.

I jolted awake, remembering everything I just saw. That would have been disturbing enough, but what set me more on edge was I wasn't in my room but on the grass in the courtyard. What the actual fuck?

A/N: Dun dun dun! What does it mean? Let me know what you think and leave a review. Until next week my lovelies!