The letter had been clearly screened the Ravencroft employees. I still wondered why he would send anything to me now. It had been seven months. I promised I'd wait. I still would. Stupid me.

Dear Bella

I miss you. Can't say much, but I should see you in five more months. I'm getting better, at least, that's what they say. I'm sorry I ruined everything. I want to make it up to you. Even if you hate me. I wouldn't blame you if you did.

Love,

Harry

Short, simple, sweet, yet it had taken seven months. Why? And how did he know I'd moved to Forks? I checked the envelope. It had a stamp indicating it had been redirected from Phoenix, something I'd ignored in my haste.

Still, all I felt was relief. He still loved me. I still loved him. And maybe everything could be beautiful again. Or maybe I was a stupid, sappy lamb. Both was probably the truth. I wanted it to be beautiful again, not something to be ashamed of. I never wanted to feel so ashamed of who I loved. Yet I did. I hated my twisted emotions on the topic.

I'd wait, though. I'd probably wait forever, if he asked.

I sighed and flopped onto my bed. The emotions felt like they were tumbling around in my head. Then there was a knock at my bedroom door. I stashed the letter under my pillow and rose to me feet, opening the door to see Dad.

"Hey, Bells," Dad said. "I'm heading out to the station- they've got something big happening-stay safe, alright?"

"I will," I promised. "What happened?"

"I don't know yet," Dad said. "But it sounds like homicide."

"Be careful," I said.

"Wouldn't have gotten this far if I hadn't," Dad said with a smile. "Be good, Bella."

"Thanks." I shut the door as he walked away, and slid down it onto the floor. After a moment's contemplation, I decided to look through my scrapbook. I opened it to the last spread I created, based off of summer. The funny pictures I took with Peter in the suit were at the edges of each page, along with a pic of Gwen kissing his cheek, and totally out of context quotes written with a red calligraphy pen. Pictures of Harry and me were on the next spread, with a black paper with green ink spelling out half my feelings on him, including song lyrics. I glued the letter in, and smiled, satisfied.

Then the thought came to me- Edward Cullen was clearly like Peter in some way. But how? He was a superhero, that was certain. He saved my life. I flipped the page, and sketched with my pencil the eerie trees outside along the bottom border. Much like Harry, Edward made me feel confused. Then again, it wasn't always that way.

I sat in the guest bedroom, and stared out at the city skyline, wondering if I should've just gone over to MJ's house. Peter was busy with Gwen somewhere, and Aunt May demanded absolute silence because she was studying for her nursing degree. Unfortunately, MJ had already pulled out for the day on her bike, and I hadn't seen her return.

The landline began to ring. I grabbed it, not wanting to disturb Aunt May.

"Parker Residence, could you call back later, it's just-"

"Bella?" I heard Harry say.

"Yeah, it's me," I said.

"Where's Peter?" he asked.

"Coney Island with Gwen, I think," I said, a strange disappointment rising in my chest. "He wanted to be alone for the day."

"I see."

The line was silent for a few moments, and I was about to hang up when he spoke again.

"Would you like to come over, Bella?" he asked.

"I don't have a car," I told him. "Or enough cash to take the subway all the way to Oscorp."

"Bella, can you please wrap it up with your suitor?" Aunt May asked, sounding frustrated.

"How about I come there, then?" he asked.

"No!" I hissed. "Aunt May's studying- maybe you should call again later-"

"I'll come down there and pick you up- sound good?" he asked.

"Good," I said quickly, trying to end the conversation before my aunt got angry.

"See you then."

I quickly ended the call. "Sorry, Aunt May!"

I then headed back into my room, and glanced at myself in the vanity mirror. Might as well look nice for the CEO of Oscorp, I thought. I pulled open the drawer and looked for a nicer shirt than my ratty coconut and swallow one. I hadn't really expected my cousin to be the best friend of CEOs, so I didn't bring that many nice things to wear. In fact, it was all jeans and t-shirts, with maybe one dress. And I didn't want to look too formal.

After a lot of digging, I found an olive green top with white embroidery on it. I put it on, with a black tank top underneath to keep it modest. I then grabbed a black headband and used it to push my hair back. I'd already run a comb through it that morning, but you wouldn't know it, with how frizzy it got from the heat.

I managed to clean up my sneakers a little bit, and I debated putting on makeup to add some color to my pasty face. I finally decided on strawberry lip gloss and had just smeared it across my colorless lips when the limo pulled up by the house.

I grabbed my purse, and practically ran down the stairs. As much as I didn't like to admit it while I was on the phone, I was excited that Harry wanted to hang out with me of all people.

"I'll be out for a few hours, Aunt May," I said, stopping in the doorway of the living room.

"Be safe out there, Bella," Aunt May said with a smile. "And enjoy your beau."

"He's not my beau," I said, a blotchy blush rising to my cheeks. At least I'll have a little color to my face now.

Aunt May just smiled and shook her head. I skipped out the door, and entered the limo, in a seat right next to Harry.

"Thanks for inviting me," I said as I clipped the seatbelt.

"No problem," he said, his blue eyes practically glowing. I had to admit, he looked kinda cute.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I was about to ask you that," he said.

I hesitated. "I've never been to the Central Park Zoo," I admitted.

"What? We'll need to fix that!" he declared. "We'd like to go to Central Park!"

The chauffeur nodded, and began driving.

"So, Bella, how long are you going to be in New York?" he asked.

"The whole summer," I said.

"Sounds like fun," he said with a smile. Then that smile dropped. "You don't sound so happy about that."

"Mom shipped me off because she wanted to travel with Phil, my step-dad," I confessed bitterly. "He plays minor-league baseball."

"I understand what it's like to be shipped off," he said empathetically. He placed his twitching hand on top of my pale one. "I'll try to make this a better summer."

"Thanks," I said, hyper-aware of the blush rising in my cheeks. I looked down to his hand to hide my expression. "Is your hand okay? You're shaking?"

"I'm fine," he said, and he snatched it away, suddenly cold. "Just. . . Never mind that."

"Oh. Sorry," I said. It was silent for a few minutes. Then I finally got the courage to speak again. "I'm sorry to hear about your father. I saw it on the news."

"Don't be," he said bitterly. "He wasn't much of a father to me anyway."

"That sucks," I said. "At least you've still got your mom."

"She died in childbirth."

"Oh, sorry," I repeated. "I didn't want to bring anything bad up. Shouldn't have asked."

"You didn't know," he said. "Besides, I'd like to hear more about the amazing Bella Swan."

I blushed. "There isn't much to tell. I'm the result of a shotgun wedding, and my mom ran off with me when I was a year old. I've lived in Phoenix ever since I was five, and I'm a good student, I guess. There's not anything amazing about me."

"I find that hard to believe," he said. "Any hobbies?"

"I like reading," I said. "Scrap booking. Photography. Comic books."

"Sounds like you got a lot in common with Peter," he said.

"I guess," I shrugged. "I'm not nearly as smart as he is. I have to work to get the grades that he does. But what is it you do?"

"For fun?" he asked. "Well, science research, right now."

"Really?" I asked. "Is that all?"

"I haven't really had much time for other things," he admitted.

"Oh," I said. "I hope I'm not wasting your time."

"I don't let girls waste my time," he said with a smile.

That was the first time that I'd really gotten to know Harry. It's still a sweet memory. We'd had a great time at the zoo, taking pictures and the what-not. I still have a plush polar bear and the ticket stubs.

When I looked back at the scrapbook page, I realized that I'd drawn a pair of coal-black eyes- Edward Cullen's eyes. I closed the scrapbook and set it on my desk. I pulled out my camera to get some pictures for the new spread I was going to make based off my new home. That's when the landline on the wall rang.

"This is the Swan residence," I said, sitting back in the rolling chair near my desk.

"Hey, Bella!" Jessica cried. "How are you doing?"

"I'm great, Jess- you?" I asked.

"Good, glad to hear that you're okay," Jessica said. "I'm taking a group of friends up to La Push on Saturday, and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"

"Yeah," I said. "Should I bring a swimsuit?"

"Probably not, a bit too cold," she said. "We're just gonna have a campfire, hang out with some kids on the Rez."

"Sounds like fun," I agreed. "I'll be there."

"Great. See ya in school tomorrow, Bella!" she said eagerly. Then she hung up.