A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.

Chapter 6-

Bella's POV- Say what now?

"Umm….what just happened here?"

I turned to look at Quil, shrugging heavily. Heck, if I knew what had just happened here!

I was equally- if not more- confused than him in regards to the concerned matter.

"Why did Paul run out of here like that?" He demanded to know from the room at whole, neither of us having an answer to provide him with, continuing to stare at him like stupid motionless statues incapable of having an opinion.

Anyhow, oh. So, the stranger's name was Paul?

Nice to know that.

Paul.

The name suited him.

It was a nice name, I had to admit.

"Why was he behaving so weird? Why were you behaving so weird?" he turned an accusatory eye at me, his voice as low as a whisper. "Don't tell me you are thinking of joining the 'hall monitors on steroids'?"

"What? No." I glared at him, instantly protesting out loud.

How dare he accuse me of something like that?

I would never, ever, betray him in this manner.

And, let's face it, Sam Uley was a jerk. Or at least, he looked like one.

Not that I knew anything more than his name to be able to answer whether he was a jerk or not.

He looked like a jerk, and that is all I had to say in the matter.

Either way, I was in no hurry to join that gang of half-naked men…not that I had received any written invitation…but still.

"Then why was he staring at you like that! Like you were his sun and moon?" he demanded- loudly, his eyes wide in disbelief and anger.

"I don't know." I frowned at him, waving my hands in air. "I didn't even know his name, before you told me of it. Why don't you go and ask him of this? Obviously, you know him well enough."

He did know Paul's name, didn't he?

"He is not my friend." Quil folded his arms over his chest in absolute defiance, the unspoken words in that sentence being that 'no way was he going to embarrass himself in that manner'.

"Ditto." I mirrored his posture, giving him a brief smile.

I did not know the man from Adam.

On the contrary, I knew nothing but his name.

Obviously, that was no great conversational starter.

And, neither was I brave enough to talk to him.

He was this entire package of smothering looks, a devilish smirk and a bad boy attitude that makes you want to sit on the back of his bike as he drove you to nowhere in particular- and I- I was simple, old, me.

No comparison at all.

Which was sad.

Definitely was.

Quil rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Back to the start, then."

I shrugged, agreeing with him.

I had to admit, though. My behavior had been strange and unexpected. I mean….what had I even been thinking?

Why had I been staring at him like that?

You can't make a clap with just one hand- you need both your hands for that- and I had reciprocated to his stares and weird words with equal intensity.

We had shared a conversation; I was aware of that. But it felt like I had been underwater when said conversation occurred.

It was all…hazy and messy.

I couldn't remember, for the life of me, what we had spoken about. It felt like we had opened our hearts to the other for those few brief moments….but I couldn't say this with absolute surety.

Like I said, it was pretty much a mess in my head at the moment.

Either way, my behavior had so not been normal and expected.

It was so….so strange.

"Bella." Billy let out a sigh, rubbing a hand over his forehead in sheer exhaustion. "I am sure you have several questions in mind…"

"Uh-huh." I nodded my head in agreement. Understatement of the year and all of that!

He grunted in response, whipping out his phone from his pant pocket and dialing some unknown number, the cell phone up to his ear as he waited for said person to respond.

"Sam,"

Why was he calling up Sam Uley now?

What did he have to do with any of this?

Nothing. That's exactly what it was.

"Yes." Billy sighed into the receiver. "You saw it in his head? Yes, exactly. He has run off to Canada? That boy! He acts first and thinks later."

Who was this 'he' who had run off to Canada, pissing Billy to this extent in the process?

And. Wait.

How could you see something in 'someone's head'?

Was something like that even possible?

Or maybe Billy meant that in a whole another sense?

What other sense, don't ask me, I have not a clue.

But there had to be one, considering Billy had just mentioned it.

Anyhow, Billy was still talking to Sam 'I have a constant frown on my face' Uley, and so I pretended to look at my toes, every inch of concentration that I could muster occupied in listening to that conversation.

What?

Everyone loves to be a fly on the wall to another's conversation, especially if said conversation is one filled with controversy and loud disagreements- both of which were ticked for by this currently ongoing conversation between Billy and Sam.

It was literally a gossip lover's wet dream.

Not that I loved to gossip or anything.

Just saying!

"Yes, I feel bad for Jake, too. His feelings for her were genuine…but we can't deny what the spirits want. We have to accept it. Paul has to accept it. And Jake will have to accept it, too."

Wait.

Jake had feelings for someone?

Who?

And why hadn't he told me about her?

I had thought that we had been friends….

Oh.

No.

No.

That could not… be it?

Could it?

I turned to look at Quil in question, my mouth almost dropped open in disbelief, the way he refused to meet my eyes being my answer, apparently.

I was such an idiot!

"Yes, she is here."

Were they talking about me?

No…

But Billy was looking at me while he spoke on the phone, and didn't that indicate that he was talking about me?

And, another very important thing, I was the only 'she' in this room at the moment.

That just proved it….didn't it?

"Okay, we will be waiting for you."

With that, Billy ended the phone call, his eyes assessing my very being with just one look, making me squirm at my place in discomfort.

"So…" Quil awkwardly smiled, reminding everyone that he was still in the room- and had heard this entire conversation that had just occurred between the two men. "I don't know about the others, but I am pretty confused right now…"

"Quil." Billy interrupted him, a no-nonsense look on his face. "I think it is better if you leave. This is a private conversation."

Excuse me?

How very rude?

"Um," apparently, Quil agreed with me, a stupefied expression crossing his face. "Are you sure…"

"Yes, as sure as one can ever be." Billy stated, glaring at the younger boy.

Wow. Billy was losing respect by the seconds here.

Quil was literally a kid in front of the man.

"Okay…" Quil nervously trailed off, turning in the direction of the front door, defeat visible in the way his shoulders drooped.

"Wait."

Now, just to clarify, Quil wasn't a friend or anything, but it was just wrong the manner in which Billy had spoken to him.

It was offensive to another extent.

Not to forget, Quil was his son's best friend, and was half his age, making the matter all the more wrong and not required.

"I am coming with you."

If I had to choose between right and wrong- between Quil and Billy- I would choose Quil, and hadn't Billy tried doing the same thing to me just a few days ago?

What had changed then?

"No." Billy instantly, firmly protested; an unknown fear visible in his eyes. "Bella cannot leave. She is family."

I am sorry…what?

When did I become family?

I wasn't family this morning.

Heck, I wasn't even a friend this morning.

What suddenly changed within a span of a few minutes?

And why hadn't anyone bothered to inform me of it?

"But." I opened my mouth to protest, the sound of heavy footsteps coming our way enough to distract and interrupt me from speaking ahead.

"Billy is correct."

Yes, the man had finally arrived.

'Sam Uley the Great' was here.

Please take note of the sarcasm in that sentence!

"Bella is family now." Sam nodded his head in my direction, expecting- I don't know what- maybe for me to start dancing in joy at that declaration of his.

For the record, I just stared at him for the next ten minutes or so in absolute shock and evident disbelief.

What fucking parallel universe had I walked into?

And where was the exit?

Someone guide me to it!

Now!

"She needs to be here for this discussion." He continued; his eyes narrowed together as he looked at Quil. "The door is in that direction." He motioned towards the front door, no hint of politeness in his tone.

Say what now?

"How can you dismiss him like that?" I demanded from the two supposed reputed men in the room. "He has done nothing wrong…"

"Bella." Quil's disheartened whisper grabbed my attention. "Please don't. It means a lot that you spoke up for me….but I am okay. I am a big boy." He attempted to smile, failing miserably.

"This is wrong, Quil."

He shrugged me off. "I am going to go. Don't….don't forget me, okay?"

"Of course not." I assured him, scoffing heavily.

I wasn't joining the Sam Uley gang.

No way and no how!

But then…why did it feel like a goodbye?