Chapter Seven

They had a school trip.

The literature class was having a school trip. A camping one to be clear, because their professor wanted them to get in touch with nature like the great authors of old and use that inspiration to write. This meant Bella was going to be stuck in the wilderness for three days straight.

It's not like she wanted to go on this trip. But the teacher had said if they did it would boost their grades for this class and let's just say...Bella was in need of those points. But because Bella was going and Edward couldn't go to keep an eye on her since he wasn't in this class, Rosalie was elected as tribute. Because she was the only Cullen in Bella's Lit class.

The blonde was not happy at this resolution.

"I can't believe I'm your glorified babysitter," Rosalie grumbled under her breath as they got onto the yellow school bus that would take them to the camp site. "Why couldn't you study harder?"

"You don't have to come, you know," Bella grouses out, not in the mood to deal with a grumpy Rosalie. It's six in the morning and too early for the blonde's antics. Bella is still partially asleep and she'd like to finish that sleep on the bus before they arrived.

Rosalie clears her throat is if this was a moot point and Bella ignores her and chooses a seat deliberately in the back, far from Rosalie, before closing her eyes and promptly falling asleep even as the bus is still filling up with students.

Typical of Forks, it's raining by the time they check in and go to their cabins. The whole place looks like it's seen better days and Bella shudders at thinking about finding multitudes of bugs under the bed. At least she won't be sharing a cabin with Rosalie, that way she won't have to hear the woman bitch and moan about being stuck here. Though Bella can feel her reluctance and anger at this situation radiating all the way from across the camp and through the cabin walls.

Bella's staying with Angela and some girl whose name Bella doesn't recall. They leave their stuff in the cabins and then head back out into the dreary rain because of course their fucking psycho of a Lit teacher wants them to go out and find inspiration in these woods and write about the weather.

Bella has a great two word story in mind: fuck rain.

She bundles up in an insulated poncho and heads out. It's dark and murky even though it's not that late in the evening. Bella can't wait until she's able to go back and get some food and be warm and happy inside her cabin. Angela pairs up with her and they walk through the woods, lazily following some trail markings. They don't talk for which Bella is grateful. She wants some silence in order to think about her relationship with Edward.

They've been dating for a while now and he's certainly chivalrous. He always does things for her which she feels bad about, but it's just the way he grew up. They haven't even moved past kissing. They haven't even made out yet! Bella wonders, will she like it? She likes Edward, as a friend and romantically- it a sort of chill progress that happened gradually and slowly. What more will come of their relationship? Edward already claims Bella is his one and only and that's pretty heavy to put on a teen. He may not be a teen but she still is and while he's got his whole future planned out with her, she doesn't even know what she's having for breakfast tomorrow.

He's intense and she hopes she didn't hurt his feelings by being unable to vocalize feeling the same way.

"It's alright," he assured her. "It's different for us vampires. We believe in soul mates. In those who are absolute one and only."

"Are we that? What if I'm not your soul mate-"

"You are. I feel it in my bones that you are the one for me," he cut in, grasping her by the shoulders. "It may take some time for you to develop the same strength of feelings but you will get there and I shall wait. I've waited eternity for you before, I can wait again."

She had offered him a watery smile in return and let him kiss her lips soundly.

With a jolt Bella realized she was alone. Angela had disappeared somewhere and the rain was coming down hard now. It was making it hard to see. Bella reached out a hand to steady herself as her shoes slipped in the mud. Bella had been so deep in her thoughts she hadn't noticed where or when Angela had left.

"Angela?" she called out, sliding forwards. She looked around, having no idea where the fuck she was or which way was back to the camp. "I'm fucked," she sighed to herself, completely lost on what to do now. A strong urge to cry welled up inside her but she would not give up. Rosalie was somewhere. Surely...if Bella called for her she would have to come, right?

But then again, Bella didn't want to prove that she needed a baby sitter. She wanted to prove she could handle herself. "Angela?" she called out instead once more and squinting her eyes against the cutting rain she walked off, slipping on a patch of mud.

She didn't even have time to curse because suddenly she was weightless and in midair. She slipped off a small cliff she hadn't even noticed she was on. Could this day get any worse?

She closed her eyes and braced for impact when she felt something cold wrap around her. She gasped and opened her eyes to see there were arms wrapped around her, holding her close. And then she hit the ground, but the fall was muffled and broken by a body that could take it. They bounced once and rolled to a stop, Bella safe in the cocoon of the arms. They dropped around from her and Bella sat up, finding herself unwittingly straddling Rosalie Cullen's hips.

The blonde had appeared out of nowhere and saved her. Bella was in shock. She looked down at the blonde's grumpy face. "You are a walking hazard," she declared pointedly, sitting up but Bella did not move from her position and Rosalie didn't push her away.

"H-how did you know-?"

"I followed you because I had a feeling something would happen. And I was right," Rosalie said, this time pushing Bella off of her. Rosalie got up, trying to wipe off the mud on her clothes. But it didn't seem to be working, the fabric in some areas stained through. "And now you owe me a new outfit."

Bella got up on shaking legs. She had been a bit more rattled by the fall than she would like to admit. "I- um sure," she said at last. "If it would make you happy."

Rosalie gave her a cutting look, the effect dampened by the sheets of rain between them. "You can't afford my outfits."

Bella laughed, shivering a bit in the sudden cold. Her jeans had soaked through and her converse were flooded. "I was thinking more on the lines of giving you a potato bag. I'm sure you'd look nice in that too," Bella added a compliment to soften the blow. Rosalie scoffed at it.

She too was wet but unlike Bella, she couldn't feel the cold. Her hair hung in long plasters and the rain coat she wore had ripped when they fell. "I'm heading back."

"Take me with you," Bella hurries to add because she does not want to get lost and she has no idea how to go back.

"Like I have a choice," Rosalie complains. And then, she sticks out her hand. Bella looks at it dumbly. And then looks up at Rosalie.

"Hold my hand, idiot," Rosalie growls out, sounding embarrassed and if this was killing her to say it. Bella, naturally, cannot just go along and has to question it. "Why?"

"So you don't fall! Or do you want to fall?" Rosalie nearly spits out, bristling with how vulnerable she has made herself to Bella. Before Rosalie can change her mind, Bella grabs the hand, perhaps a bit too needily and holds on. Their fingers linking together.

It feels like their hands belong. They fit so easily together that it almost scares Bella. It certainly makes her heart stutter. She can't help but look at their conjoined hands as they journey, Rosalie not looking back even once as she focuses on taking paths on which Bella will not slip on. With Rosalie leading the way, they make it up around the cliff and back towards the camp. Bella doesn't say anything because she's simply too overwhelmed by holding hands with Rosalie to comprehend anything else. She's barely even aware of the chill in the air when her cheeks are flaming hot and everywhere Rosalie is touching is spreading warm tingles up and down the arm.

Rosalie is silent as well but it's probably more out of anger than anything else. They finally arrive at camp and Rosalie drops Bella's hand like it's burning her. "Try not to hurt yourself when you get into bed," Rosalie says snidely.

Bella is able to think more clearly now and she shoots back a response, "or what? You'll have to tuck me in? Sleep in the bed next to me to make sure I'm alright?"

Rosalie steps back to distance herself. She always gets uncomfortable when Bella makes jokes about intimacy or romance. "Keep talking like that and I won't rescue you next time you decide to pull a stupid stunt like that."

"I didn't choose to fall!" Bella argues. The rain has slowed down now and it rises like a mist on the cold ground. "Do you honestly think I purposefully put myself in danger?"

"Maybe you do, maybe you don't," Rosalie argues back. "Maybe you get high off of having Edward come to your every beck and call."

"I cannot deal with you!" Bella hissed, aware that while they were alone outside, any second one of their classmates could come out to see why the two of them were taking so long to come back. Bella did not want her private affairs out there. "I don't chose to fall off cliffs! Not all of us can be blessed with grace like you. And I don't use Edward to protect me from danger. He does that on his own, like asking you to watch over me, when I would have been fine!"

"Fine, like you almost were back there!" Rosalie shouts, really getting into this right now. "You could have seriously hurt yourself falling off that cliff and then what? Who would have helped you? You could have been stuck out there for hours before help arrived!"

"Why are you so upset?" Bella screeched out, any happiness she could have derived from holding hands with Rosalie gone now. "Is it because you're stuck here on this trip with me? Then fucking leave! I won't tell Edward you left, and you can leave me be for the next two days and then pretend like you took care of me."

"Don't be stupid! I can't do that! You'll actually get hurt and then I'll-" Rosalie stops herself, clamping her mouth shut, swallowing back the words she had been about to say, instead saying something else. "Why are you wasting my time with this argument?"

"I'm not the one who started it!" Bella points out, frustrated. "You did! Because you always have a giant stick up your ass."

This is the wrong thing to say, Rosalie's nostrils flaring. "And you're about to have something up your ass too if you don't shut up!"

"You are being incredibly juvenile! You would think being alive for so long would have taught you something other than how to be a big massive bitch!" Bella has no idea why Rosalie's being this rude to her and she hates it. Hates it, hates it because she thought they were getting past that. Getting to be at least on a civil level.

Is this about the clothes? Is this about how Rosalie's hair is wet?

Rosalie gasps at the insult and leers in, all threatening. It's a bad idea to make a vampire mad. But Bella doesn't care. "I'm done here," she grits out between tight teeth and leaves Rosalie out in the rain with words still unspoken.

The rain continues to persist through out the whole camping trip. And it sounds loud as it pounds the roof of the cabin. Bella's two roommates are already asleep. She's up, lying in bed under scratchy covers, trying to go to sleep as well. But she can't. Not when her mind is running reruns of what had happened with Rosalie.

It sits wrong with her that they fought. She doesn't want them to fight and even though Rosalie is in the wrong, Bella feels like she should go up and semi apologize to her. Maybe get an apology out of Rosalie too. If Bella can, it'd be the biggest accomplishment ever. Grander than winning a Nobel prize.

With a huff, Bella pulls herself out of bed and slips into her rain gear. She peels open the door, being rewarded to absolute dark and wet. She flicks her flashlight on and makes way to where she thinks Rosalie's cabin is. It's far from Bella's cabin and by the time Bella gets there, she wishes she hadn't only worn her pjs under the rain gear. She's freezing cold.

She knocks on the door, lightly, because she knows Rosalie's hearing will catch it. A few seconds later and the door opens up to reveal it's dark inside.

Rosalie does not look pleased. She's all ready for bed, wearing a two piece set that is way too short for this weather or for this type of trip. It's a pink crop top tank top with equally pink booty shorts. Bella hopes Rosalie doesn't notice her ogling. But she probably does because Bella's flashing the light at her.

"Turn that shit off," Rosalie hisses, making to smack at it.

"Sorry," Bella turns the light down because it was shining right in Rosalie's hyper sensitive eyes.

"What do you want?" Rosalie grits out.

So, the blonde's still in a foul mood. "Can I come in?" Bella asks.

"No," is the resolute answer. "Everyone else is asleep."

"Yea, well it's cold like your heart outside, so I'd appreciate the warmth of the indoors," Bella counters, her teeth beginning to chatter. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Rosalie rolls her eyes and let's Bella inside. "Don't drip on the carpet."

There isn't even a carpet to drip on, but whatever. Bella takes off her wet rain gear and hangs it up, grateful to be inside. She's still cold, however, because these cabins aren't all that insulated and Rosalie lets out a huff of annoyance but grabs a blanket off of her bed and throws it at Bella.

"Use that," she whispers roughly. "Eddy would never forgive me if you so much as got a sniffle on this trip."

"Thank you," Bella murmurs, wrapping herself up in it and sitting down on the window sill next to Rosalie's bed. Rosalie's bed is upfront so the other two beds are further away, meaning the two of them can have a quiet conversation without hopefully waking anyone up.

"Why are you here?" Rosalie gets straight to the point and in the light of the window, Bella can only make out about a fourth of Rosalie's appearance. She's got her hands on her hips, long blonde hair spilling down her alabaster shoulders. She slips and slides out of the shadows of the room and Bella's human eyes have a hard time seeing her.

"Because..." Bella licks her lips, feeling dumb about this now. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come here. "Because I felt bad about our argument." She decides fuck it, might as well come out with it. "I shouldn't have called you a massive bitch even though you are one. It was rude of me."

Rosalie stiffens up at being called that word again. "You woke me up to say this tripe?"

Bella sighs out in exasperation. "See, this is you being a bitch again. You don't even need sleep!"

"Well I'm sorry you find my personality so difficult to deal with. Maybe you shouldn't bother me. Isn't that a thought? That way you won't have to put up with my bitchy behavior."

Bella is getting annoyed. It's a frequent occurrence with Rosalie. "I'm starting to think that you're just saying all this and doing all this because you don't actually hate me and you have to convince yourself that you do."

Dead silence. Bella almost thinks Rosalie has left but there's a shaky exhale a moment later. "Why the hell would you think that? If you don't think I hate you, then you are sorely mistaken. If you need more evidence than I sure as hell will give it to you." Rosalie's voice is a dangerous threat and Bella swallows nervously. Why does she feel like she just made things worse between them?

She should have just stayed in bed.

"Get out," Rosalie hisses at Bella who scrambles up, knowing it's better to leave than to draw Rosalie's ire out even more. She takes her things and runs out, not even bothering to put on the rain gear, just rushing back to the cabin.

She makes it back, soaked and shivering but she can't care for that when she feels despair well up inside her. Rosalie hates her.

They were never friends.

A/N: Drama time. Something tells me Rosalie won't be able to stay away for long.