Hello, darlings! Thank you so much for all your kind reviews, and your amusing hate towards Edward, I always love when I receive a review saying "Edweirdo".. Keep it coming, I love it.

For those with a healthy hate towards Edward, you'll have to stay tune for my Jasper/Bella vampire fic.. I have written some of it, but I want to finish this one first.

On that note, I think that if chapter 17 doesn't bring us the battle, it will be then on chapter 18.

Small spoiler alert: Don't hate on Jake in this chapter. I have a plan for him :)

BTW, This chapter is just a small transition, but I had to bring up an important issue. You'll see.

In the meantime, stay safe, enjoy and review :)

SILVER

Chapter 16: New plans.

Bella arrived home on Sunday afternoon feeling like she was still walking in a dream. This had been the best weekend she had in a very long time. She ached in the right places after a weekend at Paul's, where they barely left the house. Apparently, he had shopped for groceries, hoping in anticipation that she would stay the weekend.

Just as this had been the best weekend so far, it had also surpassed every expectation she had about their first date. She smiled at herself, realizing that she had slept with him after the first date. So much for thinking she wasn't ready. She really had to start listening to her instincts and stop overthinking everything. Of course, she was ready; she was just scared about the nature of Paul's feelings for her. Once that was clear, she could clearly see the nature of her reservations regarding sex.

"Hey, Bells." Her dad called from the kitchen. It was more a 'come here please' greeting than a 'hello' greeting.

She left her bag at the bottom of the steps and went to the kitchen, where she saw her dad standing with a bunch of envelopes. Just then, she realized what those were. Her college applications, those Edward had made her fill, despite her feelings for costly colleges with an admission code that surely didn't apply to her. Her heart started beating faster than ever, and her palms started sweating. She didn't want anything to do with those admissions or rejections (because, truth be told, to be admitted into a college like that with her qualifications, Edward must have paid a significant sum to them. She felt sick at the thought of people who let themselves be bought. Such a corrupt system, honestly.)

"These arrived for you." Charlie's voice was strained. He didn't know Bella had planned to move so far from home for college. It made him sad.

Bella's suspicions were correct. In her dad's hands were a few envelopes that looked like admission envelopes for colleges. She shuddered, looking at the names. She shook her head and looked at her dad. "I don't want them."

Charlie started coughing, surprised. "What? Why did you apply then?"

"I didn't want to apply. Edward made me apply. He forged my signature and sent them. We had a fight over that. I completely forgot about them." She left out the possible fact that the Cullens might have bought her way into those admissions. She didn't want to go to a school and be constantly wondering why she got in. Mainly because Edward never affirmed or denied that his family was bribing someone at that school. If she was going to college, it was because she earned it, fair and square.

Charlie got red on the face, angry at the thought of his daughter being forced to do something she didn't want to do. Another reason to be glad that Jacob had come into her life, and to an extent, she had met Paul. That Edward kid was more trouble than he had initially thought. He knew he was right not to trust him after the first time Bella came home injured.

"Do I need to file a restraining order?" He would do it, and he would deliver it in person to him at his house. His parents ought to know what their golden boy was up to.

Bella shook her head. Whatever problem Edward created for her in the past was solved now. As for the future, he hadn't done anything, and honestly, a restraining order might not stop him should he want to do anything. "No, dad. It's not necessary." She wanted to say he was harmless, and she was about to say so, but Jared's words about Edward wanting to pick a fight with Paul came to her, and she wasn't sure Edward was precisely harmless. Paul hadn't wanted to discuss that encounter this weekend; he promised to tell her but that their first date was about only them. And it had been.

"Are you sure? I can have it done very fast." There was no doubt that he would, but she honestly thought it was not necessary.

"I'm positive. If that changes, I'll let you know immediately."

Charlie eyed her for a few seconds, trying to read her expression, and whatever he found convinced him for the moment to trust Bella.

"What do you want to do with these?" He pointed to the envelopes.

"Contact the corresponding admissions office after making sure I was admitted and thanked them for the opportunity but tell them I will not be attending their university." Charlie nodded, silently proud of Bella's process. She was a smart kid. He kissed her forehead and told her he was going to bed early because he had to be at the station bright and early the following day.

"Goodnight, dad."

She was left alone in the kitchen with the intimidating envelopes. She sighed, knowing that there was no point in delaying the task.

The first university, as she had thought, offered her a spot on their English literature and creative writing program. As if, she thought derisively. She loved books, but she wasn't going to study that.

The second and third said the same, for similar programs as the first university. She groaned angrily. She had let Edward dictate so many aspects of her life. How could she have done that?

She was glad that was no longer going to be the case. She went up to her room with the papers and contacted each office, writing exactly what she had said to Charlie.

Now, she had to see if there was any college with a late admission process open. It had to be near home because she was comfortable in the area. It was her home, and no way she was going across the country for college when she just started to mend her relationship with her dad and had started a romantic relationship with Paul (who couldn't leave the area due to his own duties.)

She spent the rest of the afternoon looking, and just when she was giving up; she found the perfect psychology program for her. It was in Seattle, the closest university she'd seen in her research. It was a three-year program, with the last year (an extra one) was for internships if the student so desired. She didn't waste any time thinking about it, the deadline was coming soon, and she was already late to the process.

She scribbled her admissions essay about her relationship with Edward, analyzing how she had been psychologically abused by a guy who claimed to love her. She wrote about toxic love and how she had let herself consume with the memories of him when they first broke up (she couldn't say he left her, and then she went to Italy a few months later to save him from suicide). He had manipulated her feelings for him, making her feel irresponsible and reckless. He wanted her to himself, but he wanted her on a glass box, like the rose from Beauty and the Beast. No one was to see her, think about her, touch her, want her, love her. He was the only one who had that right. The rest of them had contaminated, impure feelings. Her friends were not her friends. They were vicious, dangerous, reckless, and couldn't protect her or love her the way he could. He barely trusted his family. That was not love, she concluded with tears in her eyes. That was control.

She stood up from her chair, with tears still falling down her cheeks, and walked to the bathroom. She would shower, have some dinner, and then sit down again to re-read what she had written and then submit it. If it didn't land her the spot on the program, at least it had helped her drain and had served as catharsis.

…

…

…

The essay was as good as it was going to get. It was a personal experience; it showed emotional growth and a personal connection to the program. Of course, she couldn't write the other reason she wanted to study psychology. Being a wolf was emotionally draining for the guys, having such a big responsibility at such young ages. She didn't have the tools to help them deal with their conflicting feelings for the situation, the fact that their families had lied to them and kept this huge secret. She wanted to help the future generations of the pack (whether they phased or not) into an easy transition, and if on the way she could help her friends, she would consider herself pleased.

With trembling fingers, she sent the online application. It had been a surprisingly technological application that didn't require her typical signature but an electronic one, like a password. She sighed once more when the screen showed the message that her application had been sent and they would be in contact soon via e-mail. "They're also ecological." She said amusedly to herself.

She had a feeling of self-realization when she went to bed. It felt good.

…

…

…

"Hey, Seth." She greeted, surprised at the wolves' presence at her house.

"Hey, Bella." His greeting was not his normal cheerful one, which worried Bella.

Seth was such a happy guy, always seeing the good in everything. Quite a contrast to his sister.

She opened the door, letting him enter before her. She eyed the street, wondering if there was any of the Cullens around and that required the assistance of Seth.

He sat heavily on a kitchen stool, frowning profoundly and lost in thought. He looked like he wanted to ask her something but didn't know how to begin. She gave him an iced tea in the hopes of shifting his focus from his thoughts to the glass. But it was a failed attempt.

"Do you want to talk about something?" She was honored that he'd thought of her when seeking someone to talk to.

He raised his eyes, and Bella gasped at how troubled his eyes looked. He was holding the tears, and it broke Bella's heart.

"What's wrong, sweety?" She hugged him from behind, setting her chin on his broad shoulder. Seth had always looked like the little brother she never knew she wanted.

Now, his tears ran freely down his cheeks. She was surprised he had any strength to speak at all. "I'm failing math and literature. I have tried everything, I swear, but I don't get them!" he exclaimed, frustrated.

Bella sat next to him, letting him vent. "If Leah and my mom find out, they'll kick my ass. And then Sam will hear about it, and he'll order me to stick to school. I like hanging out with the pack."

There were certain things about being a wolf that Bella quite didn't understand yet. Paul said certain lupine gestures meant different things. Perhaps, hanging together was one of those lupine gestures. She had recently viewed a documentary that said that the desire to belong to a group was ingrained in the human's DNA as some sort of preservation strategy.

"I can't help you with math because I almost failed that myself, but I'm pretty good at literature. If you want, I can tutor you. And I can ask Angela if she is any good at math. Maybe she can help too." Seth seemed to brighten up at the idea.

"You would do that?"

"Of course. You're my friend, and friends help each other." Seth nodded and smiled, wiping the remnants of tears. "I can ask Angela to keep it a secret, and I won't tell Paul either until you pass. That way, neither Sam nor your sister will know about it."

Seth hugged her tightly, feeling grateful for her friendship.

"Is this why you came?"

Seth shook his head. "No, Billy asked me to bring this to Charlie." He pulled out an envelope from the back pocket of his shorts.

Why hadn't Jake brought it? He was avoiding her. He hadn't returned any of her texts or her calls. He was never there at Sam's when she went. Had she done anything to upset him? Had she offended him in any way? It hurt that after everything they've been through, he behaved that way. It was like the time he first phased all over again.

"Thank you, Seth."

Before leaving, he coordinated a schedule that worked for them both, with Bella's promise of asking Angela about her math prowess.

…

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…

The next day was her day off, and she planned on spending it resting and reading.

Charlie had come home at noon, claiming to feel queasy and unwell, so much so that he had refused to eat anything, opting to sit on his chair with a blanket and turn on the tv to have some noise to fill the house. Bella constantly checked on him, which made him complain and say he was not a child. She would only roll her eyes and keep on checking on him. She amusedly remembered her grandmother saying that Charlie was the worst sick person ever; he would complain about his ailment, complain of being bored, complain if you didn't check on him, and complain when you did check on him. You had to arm yourself in patience to attend to an ill Charlie. Luckily, that was an odd occurrence.