***A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed chapter one! I have no idea how many chapters it will take before I mark it complete, but I sincerely hope everyone stays with me until then. This story will definitely be an emotional ride. There will be frustrations, annoyances, laughter, and possibly even some tears. All I ask is that you keep an open mind, and don't let any annoying or frustrating moments end your read prematurely. Thanks again, and I'll be eagerly awaiting your opinions and reviews ;-)

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Chapter 2 – Perplexed

It had to be the strangest method to get rid of someone I had ever heard of, but I concluded that's exactly what Bella's odd behavior at the bookstore was. She just wanted me to leave her alone and decided to act crazy to achieve it. Message received. If I never stepped foot in that bookstore again, it would be too soon.

I tried to get her out of my mind after that, but occasionally she would seep back in like water through a poorly sealed window during a torrential downpour. There was just something about her that I couldn't get over. Her abnormal behavior overshadowed the amazing night we had spent together, but occasionally I found myself wondering what her deal actually was. What did she do with her time when she wasn't dancing in a nightclub and acting crazy to get rid of unwanted attention? Bella was an enigma, and as much as I wanted to forget her, it was harder than I could have imagined.

…

More weeks passed, and my life continued its normal monotonous path. There were times when I was so unbelievably bored that I couldn't help but think about Bella, so I'd score a date somewhere and hope to get her off my mind, even for a little while.

Really, there was nothing special or outstanding about the bookstore clerk anyway. She was pretty, but no bombshell. She was wild and spunky, but no more than any other drunken woman that I had crossed paths with. She was just an ordinary girl – except for her eyes. There was something about the depth of her irises that made me fearful I'd fall into them and get lost forever. They were lively and inquisitive, but also almost foreboding in a way that made zero sense, but there was no other way to describe them. There was nothing special about Bella, except for everything about her.

"Ugh, stop thinking about her!" I snapped at myself as I inadvertently drove past her bookstore. "Pull yourself together, Cullen. She is not interested. You are acting like a desperate idiot!"

Perhaps it was the fact that summer break was too fucking long. I shouldn't have come home; I should have stayed in Seattle with my friends until school restarted. Stupid fucking internship at my father's hospital!

An internship wouldn't even be that bad if it was actually shadowing the doctors; but no, I was only a first year med student, and Dear Ol' Dad thought it was best for me to pay my dues by spending my summer stuck behind the nurses counter, checking in patients without even getting paid for it. It was an utter waste of time, and I hated every minute of it… until the day when she walked in.

"O.M.G. it's you!" Bella said with unexpected excitement as she approached my station. "Wow, are you like, a doctor, or something?"

"Uh, no, volunteer actually," I said with more bitterness than I intended. "Are you here to see a patient?"

"Nope, I'm bringing these books to donate to the hospital library," she replied while plopping a heavy looking fabric bag on the counter. The books spilled out, which made her giggle. "Oops. Since you volunteer here, can you help me bring these to the library? I have like three more bags in my car."

"Uh, sure."

I called over one of the nurses to cover for me, before following Bella out to her car. She talked the entire time. Literally. Non-stop jabbering. I quickly got lost in the cadence of her voice, so I wasn't sure exactly what she was going on about, but it didn't really matter. Her tone was exuberant, and somehow lifted my spirits. I couldn't help smiling at her giggles, and everything else faded away.

After taking the books to the library, we ended up walking around the floor loop twice, and she was exactly the girl I remembered from the nightclub. She continued to talk about anything and everything, and I basically just listened; it was a nice change from the mundane I was used to.

When we made it back to my workstation for the second time, I decided to take advantage of our serendipitous encounter by trying my luck.

"Well, I'm glad we ran into each other. I should really get back to work, but do you maybe want to get together tonight?" I asked hesitantly, fully prepared for her rejection.

"Of course!" she said with unexpected excitement. "What time?"

"Really?" I said, having a hard time believing she wasn't messing with me. Despite her current apparent interest, I was on guard, given the way she acted during our last meeting.

"Why do you sound so surprised? Isn't it obvious that I'm into you? And I'm sure I'm not the only one who had fun last time we were out together?" she said with a wink.

"Yeah, well I thought we did, but you couldn't get rid of me fast enough when I was at the bookstore."

She waved her hand at me dismissively. "I was PMS'ing. Besides, I was at work; you can't expect me to be all flirtatious at work. I don't have a cush job like the arrangement you have here. What if my boss saw me?"

"There didn't seem to be anyone else there," I argued lightly.

"There is always someone else there," she disagreed.

"Okay, so do you want me to pick you up?" I asked, still not quite fully convinced she wouldn't back out.

"You have to, I don't drive after dark. We're talking about tonight, right?"

"Yeah, unless you're busy."

"No, tonight is perfect! Here is my address," she said while grabbing a notepad and pen off the counter and writing it down. "And my phone number. Oh, and I guess I should put my name on top… Oops," she said before quickly scribbling over something, so it wasn't legible. Next to the scribbling she wrote, 'Bella Swan', and finished it with a smiley face and a few 'XOXOXs'.

"Great. Say five-ish?" I asked.

"Perfect! See you then," she replied with yet another wink, before practically skipping out of the building.

It may have been a dick thing to do, but my curiosity of the perplexing woman got the better of me, and I raised the paper up to the light to see if I could make out what she scribbled over.

"A …L … something… maybe a C." I squinted my eyes to try to make out the rest, but it was of no use, and I was seriously creeping myself out. If she wanted me reading it, she wouldn't have crossed it out.

I sighed and decided to just be happy she agreed to go out with me again.

…

Five o'clock couldn't have come fast enough. I was the most excited I could remember being for a date in a long time, and decided to go extra fancy, hoping to impress her. My nicest shirt, slacks, and a dress coat; I even used some hair gel, which was a rarity for me. I made reservations at one of the fanciest restaurants in Port Angeles, which was a double win for me since I would get extra time with her during the car ride there and back. Extra time to try to decipher the enigma that was Bella Swan.

I was a tad bit overzealous and arrived a few minutes early. When I knocked at the door of the older white house, I was slightly disheartened when she didn't immediately answer. I must have knocked five times and waited a good seven minutes with no sign of her. Just when I was starting to think she was blowing me off again, my chest fluttered when she finally opened the door.

"Wow, you look stunning," I told her sincerely. Her hair was pulled back so I could see all of her heavily made up face. I actually preferred her the way she was at the bookstore with no makeup, but either way she was a beautiful woman. Her small black dress hugged her every curve, and I wondered how I was going to make it through the night without touching her – hopefully I wouldn't have to. Images of her naked in my bed flashed before my eyes, so to keep from embarrassing myself, I forced my mind to recall the cadaver I dissected last semester.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Bella returned the compliment. "Though, I have to say, I like your hair better when it's soft so I can run my fingers through it. Maybe even pull it a little," she said with another wink.

Holy fuck.

It took everything I had in me to not forget about the reservations, and just throw her over my shoulder and take her back into her house. But all that could wait; I really wanted to spend the next few hours getting to know her first.

I opened the passenger door of the car for her, which she looked impressed by, and then I took my place in the driver's seat.

"I hope you don't mind going into Port Angeles. There just really isn't anywhere local that's date worthy," I told her as I headed towards the freeway.

"Oh… no, that's fine. Capar damon," she said excitedly, but with the slightest hint of apprehension underneath.

"Capar damon?" I repeated confused. "Oh, you mean carpe diem? Like seize the day?"

"Yeah, that's what I said," she confirmed. She then rolled down the window, and proceeded to stick her head, shoulders, and both arms outside, before screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Whoa!" I shouted, swerving the car due to being distracted by her unexpected behavior.

"Whoo-hoo!" she laughed, and then thankfully came back inside. "Hey, you know what we should do? Turn off the headlights and see how far we can get without anyone noticing us."

I scrunched my brows. "Or, we could not do that."

As much as I was looking forward to spending the evening with Bella, I had to admit, she was getting to be a bit much. From her crazy antics, to her non-stop talking, she was seriously starting to make my head spin in a negative way. Unfortunately, she noticed my subtle lack of enthusiasm towards her.

"Why are you so quiet?" she asked, suddenly becoming anxious. "I'm being too much, aren't I? I'm sorry, but I locked the door, and I'm just trying to take advantage before they break out."

"Um, I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about," I said honestly.

"But isn't that the fun of it all?" she replied lightly. "If you knew what I was saying the entire time, that would be boring. Life is too short to be boring. Hey, there is a big rig coming up on the right. Watch this…"

As the truck passed us, Bella shocked the hell out of both me and the truck driver, by pulling down the top of her dress and flashing him.

"Whoa," I said as the other driver honked his horn, making Bella giggle.

"I have always wanted to do that!" she said enthusiastically.

"What? Why?" I asked disturbed.

"Oh, come on! Those poor drivers are on the road so long; I bet they go weeks without seeing real tits. Speaking of tits, how are you at motor-boating? I'm really into that, but you never did it when we were together before. I spent almost the entire night with you, and no motorboats. That's just wrong. Then again, I guess some girls don't like that. I just need to work on being more vocal about my desires," she said, keeping her tone casual and rendering me completely speechless.

I honestly and truly had no idea what the hell to think or say to her. She was completely forward and wild, in an over-the-top kind of way, and I was honestly starting to be turned off. She was sexy, and beautiful, and there was nothing wrong with a woman being secure in her body, but she seemed to truly have no filter whatsoever. The more and more she talked, the more I was dreading the rest of the night.

By the time we finally made it to the Port Angeles, she had flashed a total of three truckers, made obscene gestures to two other drivers, offered me a blowjob as I drove, and tried to pull my dick out anyway when I declined, which made me swerve yet again.

It was a mistake taking her out of Forks. A big fucking mistake, and now I was left trying to come up with reasons to turn around and end the night early. The only positive thing about the situation that I could see was that my obsession with her was officially over, which was definitely a relief.

After three failed lame excuses to end the night early, we were walking into the restaurant, hand in hand – or perhaps I was trying to restrain her from acting out, and she was trying to keep me from running away. Hopefully it didn't look as awkward as it felt.

"Reservations for Cullen," I reluctantly told the host.

"Of course. It'll just be a couple minutes," he replied.

"Oh, my gosh. Babe! Look at the lobsters!" Bella shrieked, drawing the attention of the other patrons waiting to be seated.

The fact that she called me "babe" at that point in our non-existent relationship was bad enough, but when she pressed her face against the tank of live crustaceans, before having the audacity to reach her arm into the water to stroke one, I had enough.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at her. "You can't just come into a restaurant and behave like this."

She raised her brows at me. "Wow, I would have never taken you for a square."

"I'm not a square, I just don't want to embarrass myself in front of a bunch of strangers," I snapped bitterly.

"Why do you care what strangers think of you?" she retorted.

"I don't, but…"

"So, you just don't like to have fun?"

"No. I mean, I do, but not like that."

"Are you saying my version of fun is not good enough for you?" she challenged me.

"No, there is just a time and a place for fun, and…"

"If we aren't here to have fun, what the hell are we doing?"

"We can have fun without you acting like a lunatic!"

"Don't call me a lunatic!" she snapped, suddenly becoming angry.

I opened my mouth to try to spew out some type of response, but that was when the host called my name to say our table was ready. I had a strong urge to tell her straight-out that I wasn't interested in continuing the date, but for whatever reason, I kept my mouth shut.

There was heavy tension between us as we looked over the menu. When the waitress came to take our drink order, I wasn't at all shocked when Bella not only ordered a bottle of the priciest wine, but also four different appetizers, and the most expensive meal available. Now, I wasn't a cheap jackass or anything, and I would have gladly paid for all of it if I thought her orders were genuine, but I had a feeling she was just doing it out of spite. Wonderful.

"I hope you're hungry," I mumbled as the waiter walked away.

To further confirm my sour assumption of her, she replied, "Not really."

"So you ordered a bunch of expensive crap just for the hell of it?" I asked brazenly.

"No, I just couldn't decide what I wanted."

My frustration with her was escalating, and as much as I just wanted to get the night over with and then never have to deal with her again, I just couldn't contain my bitterness for a moment longer.

"You know, this is really not…"

"You're going to have to hold that thought; I need to pee… possibly poop too," she cut me off as she stood.

She rushed away, and nearly slammed into a waitress carrying a tray as she went.

I absently looked at my watch. Time couldn't have possibly moved any slower, and I was counting the minutes until we could leave. But as I continued to count, and the multiple appetizers arrived and began to cool, I realized Bella had been gone far too long.

I could only hope she ditched me, then again, we were out of town and I drove her, so unless she called an Uber, or had friends who lived in the area, she was probably just causing trouble somewhere.

I was just about to go look for her, when she finally reappeared. I took a deep breath and braced myself for whatever antics she would come up with next, but when she walked right past our table and seemed to be heading for the exit, I grudgingly called after her.

"Bella?"

She paused and looked back at me.

"Everything okay?" I questioned.

She looked surprisingly disheveled, which made me worry about what exactly she had been doing. However, the way she had her arms wrapped around herself, and the grave look on her face, sparked an emotion I wasn't expecting – protectiveness. "What happened?"

Several different possible scenarios ran through my mind. She was being crazy and jumping around somewhere. She decided to go streaking through the kitchen. She ran into a stranger for a casual quick hookup. She was in the restroom doing some kind of drug that she had in her bag and fell. But the thought that surprisingly stood-out amongst the rest was that perhaps she got into a confrontation with someone, and she was violated in some way. As much as I was beginning to seriously dislike her, I wouldn't hesitate to kick anyone's ass if they hurt her.

"Bella, what happened?" I asked again a little more strongly. She was definitely dazed and confused, which only added to my concern.

"Huh? Oh..." She raked through her messy hair with her fingertips. "No, I'm fine. I just…uh… Edward?" she said, but made it almost sound like a question.

"You need to tell me what happened while you were gone," I demanded.

"Nothing happened. Sorry, I just had a headache, so I splashed water on my face and took down my hair."

"Do you want me to take you home? I can get the check and we can head out right away," I offered, sincerely concerned about her.

She bit her bottom lip as she considered it and glanced at the table full of untouched appetizers behind me. Coincidentally, that was also when the waiter came with the main courses.

She sighed. "I'm fine. I had some Advil in my bag. I already feel better, and I'd hate to waste all of that."

"Are you sure?" I asked doubtfully.

She certainly didn't look sure. "Yeah. Totally," she lied, and then sat down at the table in the seat I had been sitting in.

There was something seriously wrong, but she was still a stranger, and I didn't feel like it was my business to press the matter. I just needed to get through the evening, and then I would never have to worry about her again.

"Wow, you sure ordered a lot," she commented as she looked wide-eyed at the large mass of food on the table before us.

"Sure," I grumbled, not feeling like engaging another argument.

"Is this pork?" she asked of my delicious looking pork chop sitting in front of her.

"Yeah, that's actually mine. I guess the waiter placed it wrong. But you can have it if you want," I told her, not really caring either way, and hoping she wouldn't have another embarrassing outburst.

"No, no, please take it. I don't eat pork, which is why I was asking."

She stood and passed the plate over to me, and I passed mine to her. I half expected her to throw the food at me, so I was more than a little relieved when she didn't.

"I ordered this?" she asked surprised when she saw her plate.

"Is it not what you were expecting?"

"Uh… no, it's fine, it's just… extravagant," she mumbled as she poked the lobster with her fork.

"Why don't you eat pork?" I questioned, hoping to keep her talking rather than some other crazy scheme she could come up with.

"Well," she paused, and then shrugged. "It's a little embarrassing, but my dad found a pig when I was little, and we kept it for a short time. It was probably smarter than any dog I had ever come across, so I figured, I wouldn't eat a dog, so why should I eat pigs."

"Huh," I responded, suddenly feeling slightly bad about the pork chop on my plate.

"No, please don't feel weird about eating your dinner," she tried assuring me. "I'd never expect other people to censor their diet for me. I still even cook pork chops for my dad occasionally."

I nodded with surprise. "Lucky dad."

She laughed once. "No, trust me, I'm the lucky one to have him. Occasionally cooking for him is the least I could do."

"So, you cook for him and work for him?" I asked, trying to get a better understanding of the ongoing mystery that was Bella Swan.

She cocked her head, confused. "My dad is a cop. I don't work for him at all."

"Oh. I thought you said before that he owned the bookstore?" I replied, wondering if I was remembering it wrong or of it was just one more of her wacky untruths.

"No. Well, I guess he did co-sign for the business loan, but the store is mine. He literally has nothing to do with it."

I scrunched my brows. "I guess I have no idea what I'm talking about then. That's awesome that you own the store, though. Have you had it long?"

"No, and unfortunately, I'm afraid I might not have it much longer."

"Why not? From what I saw, it is a cool little store."

She sighed. "People just don't seem to want to go to a store to pick out books anymore. Everyone orders online now, which is just…"

"Lame," I finished for her.

"Exactly!" she agreed enthusiastically. "There is nothing I love more than browsing the shelves of a bookstore. Aisles and aisles of nothing but books. Anything you could ask for. I know the internet makes everything right at people's fingertips, but there is just something about holding a book – smelling the ink and feeling the pages between your fingertips."

"You're really passionate about this," I stated gently, finding myself momentarily slipping back into that baffling level of fascination with her.

"Of course. It's why I wanted to open a bookstore," she replied, as if it was the simplest thing in the universe. "And what about you? You're in medicine?" she asked, unsure.

"Yeah, my old man is the new Chief of Staff at the Forks hospital. Well, I guess he's been there for a year now."

"You don't sound too happy about that?" she questioned, probably judging by the tone of my words.

"I'm just not used to the whole small-town thing. I grew up in Chicago, and we moved to Seattle my senior year in high school."

"Oh, rough age to make such a move," she said sympathetically.

"Yeah, I went from being one of the most popular guys in my old school, to one of the lowest on the social totem pole in the new school I was forced into. All the other guys loved to hate on me all fucking year long. I couldn't even get a worthwhile date to the senior prom."

She smiled. "Poor guy. I can see how that greatly affected you."

I smiled back despite myself. "Yeah, it does seem pretty pathetic to still be griping about it over five years later."

She shrugged. "I'm still horrified by the one time I left my zipper down in ninth grade."

"I can see that," I said with a nod.

"So, you moved to Seattle your senior year of high school," she prompted, trying to direct me back on topic.

"Yes, and it sucked, but at least it was a big city like what I was used to back at home in Chicago. But when my dad got the job in Forks," I shook my head. "The people there are… crazy. I don't know how my parents stand living there. It's hard enough just spending my summer there."

"So, you live in Seattle still?" she questioned.

I considered it. "To be honest, I'm sort of homeless at the moment. I live in the dorms at school during the year, so I'm staying with my parents more out of necessity than the job at his hospital. Me working there was their stipulation staying with them. I guess if I was smart, I would have rented an apartment with my buddies in Seattle and found real summer employment."

"So, why didn't you?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just afraid of growing up," I admitted, way too honestly. It was an admission I hadn't even really made to myself, and there I was, suddenly opening up to the absolute craziest woman I had ever encountered. It was definitely a 'what the fuck' moment.

We spent the next hour or so discussing my issue with my parents, and before I knew it, we were scraping the bottom of our dessert saucers, and we couldn't put off leaving any longer.

I truly didn't understand it. One minute Bella was acting out and being ridiculously obnoxious, and the next she was so incredibly captivating and easy to talk to that I almost forgot the atrocities she committed in the beginning of the date. She certainly made my head spin, and I had no idea if it was a good or bad thing. All I knew for sure was that she had my attention, and in the land of the dull and monotonous, that was more than I could have hoped for…

…

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***A/N: Was this alter a bit extreme or what? My idea behind writing her is that the alters are all extreme versions of specific personality traits that Bella has, except some lack inhibitions. More details will be explained in upcoming chapters and no, the alters will not always act so wildly. Still with me? Let me know. Thanks again!