After the last chapter, I wanted to give a small and gentle reminder that this story with conclude with an ExB HEA. So please stick with me as we get through the main conflict together.

In the final few days of school in the semester, Bella and I breezed through our now-standard routine. I woke up with her laying on top of me, limbs spread out like a starfish. I slipped out from underneath her and stepped into the shower. Bella and I tried showering once. What I thought would be a sweet, fun experience for us only ended in pain and humiliation. It started off perfectly fine; I held her in my arms as her legs shifted into her tail. She playfully shampooed my hair for me. It was all over when she got shampoo in my eyes. She tried to rub it out, accidentally making it worse, which resulted in me dropping her, slipping on her tail, and falling on top of her.

Now, Bella waited for me outside of the shower. She sat on the counter and carefully shaved away any bits of hair that I missed in the shower. She said she liked how soft my skin felt after shaving, but I suspected she enjoyed the shaving cream more. As I brushed my teeth, she mocked me for how long it took me to get ready. And every day, I reminded her that we couldn't all be beautiful, mystical creatures that naturally smelled of sandalwood and tasted of coconut.

Once we were dressed, I snuck her down the stairs. There was usually at least one person in the kitchen cooking breakfast or prepping a lunch, so Bella slipped out the back door and met me at my car in the garage. This morning, Esme was the one in the kitchen, fixing her morning coffee in a travel mug. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and ate over the sink.

We chewed and sipped silently for a few minutes before Esme kicked off the small talk. "Are you ready for your finals?"

We chatted about the final days of school and then what her work week was going to look like before she finally got to the point of the conversation, "Do you remember the summer expectations we have in this house?"

"Uhh…" After Carlisle and Esme adopted me, we went over what would be expected from me in about a million different scenarios, from nighty dinners to Christmas Eve. I was certain they had expectations for all their kids over the summer, but I couldn't quite remember what they were.

Esme reminded me straight away instead of waiting for me to guess, "You're going to need to get a summer job."

Right.

"We allow you to be full-time students during the school year, but we will not have you sitting around the house uselessly all summer."

It was all coming back to me. She had given this same speech before.

"Emmett and Jasper are both working at the school. You can ask Alice about her job at the mall or Rosalie about the restaurant she waitresses at."

None of that sounded appealing. "I think I'll look around first."

"Good," she approved. Then, smiled, "I always take summer interns at the firm." She pinched my cheek, which was a solid argument not to intern at her firm.

Esme and I parted ways—her car was parked in front of the house, mine in the garage. I found Bella sitting cross-legged in front of the fridge in the garage where her food was stashed. There wasn't a stranger sight than watching my girlfriend eat raw fish with a fork out of a Tupperware container, and I doubted there ever would be. At the sound of my arrival, Bella put the lid back on her container and stuck it back in the fridge.

"Did you hear any of that?" I asked, to which she shook her head.

"Esme talked to me about getting a job this summer."

Bella wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah, I know… We might have to start looking after school. Would you be okay with that?"

She blanched silently. Then, pointed to herself, asking if she was going to need to look for a job as well.

"No," I clarified, helping her stand. I led her to the passenger side of the car. "Although, have you put any thought into what you want to do after you graduate this weekend?"

"Wait for you." She placed a gentle kiss on my chin before settling into her seat.

I smiled. The sentiment was sweet, but impractical. "I don't want you waiting around for me."

"It's what I did before we met."

Another sweet, impractical statement. Shaking my head, I shut her into the car and walked around to the driver's side.

"Bella," I picked the conversation back up once we were stuck in the usual LA highway traffic, "We should figure out what you want to do after high school. Have you thought about it at all since the last time we talked?"

She shook her head. Which was fair. After the last time we talked about it, I had confessed my love for her, got attacked by her sisters, then she got publicly harassed, publicly assaulted, I got suspended, and to wrap it all up she got attacked by her sisters. It wasn't surprising that she didn't have the mental space for large life decisions after all that.

I reached across the center console and squeezed her knee. "I want you in my life. We should put a bit more thought into long-term plans." I was aware of the seriousness behind a sentiment like that one. As well as how absurd it sounded coming from the mouth of a junior in high school. But, I wasn't asking her to marry me and move in together. I merely wanted confirmation that she wouldn't disappear into the ocean after graduation.

"When I decided to enroll in high school, I never once considered what would come with graduation. I was mostly interested in the challenge. I never imagined I would discover my whole life there."

She was dripping with sweetness today. I rubbed her knee. "I'm happy to support you however you want me to. As long as I get to be with you." If that meant sneaking my mermaid girlfriend around for the rest of my life, so be it.

"After graduation, we'll come up with a list and try things out." When she finished signing, she placed one hand over mine.

I flipped my hand over and gave hers a squeeze. "I like that."

"I love you," I reminded her when traffic picked up again and I had to take my hand off her leg.

School came and went as it usually did. The end of the day held the only surprise when Angela asked me if she could walk with me to Spanish. Recently, Angela and I hadn't seen much of each other. We weren't on bad terms, but we weren't on good terms either. We weren't on any terms at all. One week of my suspension and one week of Bella requesting all my attention brought my regular study sessions with Angela to a grinding halt.

"I'm finally free after school today. Want to meet up at the coffee shop and work on this?" She held up the study guide our teacher handed out at the end of class to assist us with preparing for our final.

The way she phrased it made it sound like she had been the unavailable one for the past two weeks instead of the other way around. I ignored the unusual phrasing, chalking it up to Angela's typical, selfless nature, and agreed. "Yeah, that would be great."

"Perfect," there was an added skip in her step with the word. "We haven't had our usual study dates in so long."

"It's been two weeks, Ang," I reminded her with a grin.

She matched my smile, "It feels like longer."

I had to agree. It felt like far too long since I last spent time with my first friend in LA.

"Will Ben be there?" I tried to catch something in her eye as I said the name. After I tried to set them up at the concert, I still didn't know if Ben never gained the courage to ask Angela out or if she rejected him. They sat on opposite sides of their lunch table in the courtyard and Ben reverted back to ignoring me in Spanish. If their careful distance from one another said anything, it was that Angela had rejected him. But I didn't want to assume.

Even now, Angela's expression was smooth, her dark eyes gave nothing away as she shrugged, "I don't think so. I don't know where he'll be."

I didn't press as we parted ways at the door to my Spanish class. I could have sworn I caught them sharing a look, but it could have been in my head. I tried to make out something in Ben's expression, but he ducked his head into his notebook the moment he saw me step into the classroom.

I would have to find my answers somewhere else.

After school, I met Bella at the car in the parking lot. We parked in the shade that morning, and I was rewarded with the sight of her sitting atop of the silver Volvo, swinging her legs. I stepped between those soft, tempting legs of hers, ran my hands up her thighs, and greeted her with a kiss.

Before I helped her down, I told her about the change of plans. "I'm going to study with Angela at the coffee shop. Would you like to come, or would you like me to drop you off at the beach?"

"With you," she signed immediately.

When we got to the coffee shop, we were greeted with a Help Wanted sign on the door. "This seems a bit too convenient, doesn't it?" I asked Bella, who clearly was not paying attention—she was too busy scanning for the parking lot. What she was looking for, I had no idea.

Inside, I was surprised at how welcoming the familiar sight felt. As much as I loved my alone time with Bella, I missed my old daily ritual of doing homework and drinking lattes with Angela. She was in the back at our usual table, two cups of coffee already sitting on the table. If Angela was surprised to see Bella on my arm, she didn't show it. She greeted Bella with a warm smile, "Oh, Bella! Long time, no see!" Angela pushed the books she had on the table beside her into her backpack to make room for Bella and patted the chair.

"Did you see that they were hiring?" I asked Angela as I sat down across from Bella.

Angela grinned and slid an application out from her folder. "I already asked. They need a summer staff."

"How many people are they hiring? My mom told me I needed to find a job this summer literally this morning."

Angela's smile widened as she slid a second application in from of me. "I was already working out ways to convince you to apply with me."

I chuckled. "What did you have so far?"

"Free coffee."

"That was the best you could do?"

"Okay, okay. Money is too obvious, so I can't use that. And you have no need for a coffee shop meet-cute," she gestured over to Bella, who didn't understand why she was being gestured to. "What about solidifying our friendship through hardships?

I feigned a grimace. "Yikes. I might have to reconsider this job for that one."

Angela giggled and playfully kicked my shin under the table. The kick alarmed Bella and I gave her a reassuring smile that told her it was in good fun.

Before we started on our study guides, Angela and I filled out our applications—both with only one previous retail job to speak of—and I took them to the front counter for the both of us. The girl manning the front counter thanked me and said someone would get back to me within the week.

"Did you want to apply, Bella?" I asked, rubbing her shoulder as I walked past her and back around the table to my seat. "I'm sure you would be able to communicate enough with people."

Angela agreed, "Yeah. You would really only need a sign to point to or a whiteboard for complicated questions."

"And you would probably work with me or Angela who could translate for you."

Bella raised a skeptical eyebrow and shook her head. Then, she pulled out her book, effectively ending the conversation. Angela and I didn't push the subject and began spitting up the study guide, so neither of us had to complete the full thing. Bella leaned back in her chair, putting her feet up on my knees. I reached my nondominant hand under the table and rubbed the pads of her feet with my thumb as I worked on the study guide with the other. Our table was quiet, aside from the occasional question or comment from Angela or me about the work.

The bell to the coffee shop rang, and I thought nothing of it, splitting my concentration between wavelengths and massaging Bella's small foot. The sound of a backpack slamming on the table beside me jolted me from my focus, causing my pencil to break on the page and my fingers to dig into Bella's skin. I turned to scowl at the rude perpetrator and was unsurprised to see Lauren taking a seat.

"Oh, thank god," Angela actually sounded relieved at Lauren's arrival. Lauren and Angela switched packets, just as Angela and I had for Physics. Angela flipped through the contents. "Thank you for this."

"No problem," she said to Angela, then turned to me, "Edward." I tried to not flinch when she said my name. I needed to attempt to be civil around this girl, even though she didn't deserve it. "I was hoping we could work on Government together. Do you want to split up that study guide, too?"

"Actually, I have it done," I lied. It was sitting in my backpack completely blank.

"Oh. Then can you help me with number six? I can't find the answer anywhere."

"I really want to finish this first," I tapped the packet in front of me with my eraser. "I'm almost done with this section, then I'll help you out."

"Sounds good."

I stole a glance at Bella, staring at Lauren with wide eyes. We fell back into silence. With Lauren here, I kept comments I would have shared with Angela to myself and let the girls answer each other's questions.

"You guys want something to eat?" Lauren asked the group after about thirty minutes.

"I could eat," Angela said, putting down her pencil. She turned in her seat to look back at the counter. "I don't think they serve any food here, though."

"There was a food truck parked outside when I got here."

"Really? Which one?"

"That grilled cheese guy."

Angela perked up at that, "I love him." She looked at me and Bella, "He has this spicy honey butter stuff and it's just…" she sighed longingly, "absolutely delicious."

"Do you want something, sweetheart?" I asked, pointedly. It was always a good thing for her to pretend to eat around Lauren, even if it was just an order of fries that I would eat most of. Catching the hidden meaning in my question, Bella nodded. I handed her my debit card and told her to order two of whatever Angela wanted and to pay for both. Angela looped her arm through Bella's and told Bella exactly what she should order as they walked towards the door.

Halfway through the shop, I heard Lauren say, "Actually, I changed my mind."

Looking up, I caught Bella's horrified expression, but her arm was still interlinked with Angela's as Angela innocently pulled her to the front of the coffee shop and out the front door. I didn't say anything to Lauren as she sat back down beside me.

We worked for a few silent moments before Lauren spoke, "I guess Bella calmed down enough to be allowed in public again, huh?"

She was trying to goad me, and I wasn't going to let her.

"It's nice to see you out again. I know Angela had been worrying about you."

I hated the sound of Angela's name coming out of Lauren's mouth as much as I hated hearing Bella's. "Angela knew I was fine."

"She didn't. You see, she heard about Bella's little incident at the concert."

"There was no incident at the concert," I said, putting in my best effort to keep my voice level.

"It's fine, Edward. The poor thing experienced something triggering," Lauren's voice was calm and clear like she was an expert on the subject. It was more annoying than if she spoke with a sneer. "It's very common for people with severe anxiety. It's a shame she wouldn't say anything, so Jessica and I had to test a few options so we could avoid it in the future."

"You mean when you tried to get her to dump water on herself?"

"Well, we thought the water had something to do with it. Too bad we were wrong about that."

"Yeah… too bad. At least you thoroughly tested your theory, first."

She hummed in agreement.

Her flippant disregard worked; she riled me up. I slammed my pencil down on the table. "How dare you ask people to do that to her."

"I didn't do anything. I told my fellow classmates to be careful with Bella around water for their own safety. That's all. It's not my fault they wanted to see for themselves if it was true."

"It absolutely is your fault. You could leave her alone like everyone else does."

"I'm afraid that's not an option. There's something that causes her to lash out—it's a hazard to the rest of us. James figured what button to push, didn't he? When she freaked out again around him and made you take the fall for her."

I balked. "Is that what you think happened?"

"I know it's what happened," she said, absolutely.

"I punched him because he put her hands on her without her permission."

Lauren grinned, "Sweet story. Makes you look so heroic, swooping in to save your freak girlfriend. If you didn't have all the girls before, you certainly have them now."

I couldn't believe that this was what all of this was about. When Alice told me Lauren was reacting from jealousy, I didn't think anyone could act this cruelly for something so petty. "It's a damn shame I'm never going to want any of them. Especially not you after how you've treated my girlfriend."

Lauren snorted. "You really think this is because I want you?"

I felt my ears get hot. I did think that.

She scoffed again. "Please. This is LA. I can find another rich boy. He might not be pathetically naïve but, hey, they can't all be you." She placed her hand on the table next to my arm, like she was going to grab my wrist. "This is about the fact that you refuse to say that I'm right. All you have to do is admit that there's something off about Bella. No one will judge you for putting up with that freak because you like the way she looks. In fact, everyone feels bad that you think you have to."

"There's nothing wrong with her."

Lauren shook her head. "I've seen it almost lose it. At the concert. That day she came up and thought she had proved herself in the cafeteria. Her eyes darken to black. Something contorts in her face." Unfortunately, I knew what Lauren was talking about. I'd seen Bella morph into the deadly predator she truly was when she was in distress. Lauren's eyes lit up when she saw the recognition in mine. "You've seen it too."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's only going to take a little push to get her to snap."

"Leave her alone," I threatened.

The bell to the shop rang. Angela lingered at the front counter, double-checking that outside food was okay on the premises. Bella didn't wait for Angela and hurried back to the table. She placed our order on the table in front of me and a kiss on my lips.

Lauren's hand was still next to mine. Before Bella returned to her seat, Lauren wrapped her fingers around my wrist. "Thanks for everything," she said, though she had nothing to thank me for.

Bella had quicker reflexes than I did. Before I could pull my hand away, she plucked Lauren's hand by the wrist and shoved it off the table. Bella's eyes were locked with Lauren's—dark black and sinisterly sharp like her sisters'. Alice's warnings rang in my head like an alarm about Bella's predatory protectiveness, but I immediately disarmed them. She was simply standing up for herself. Like I asked her to do. That was all.

Satisfied with Bella's reaction, Lauren smiled to herself. "Looks good," she said coolly, indicating the sandwich Bella and I would pretend to share. "Kinda regret not getting one, now."

Bella was completely motionless as she continued to stare Lauren down.

"Hey, Bella," I rubbed her back gently, "Take whatever you want to eat, and I'll have the rest."

At the sound of my voice, Bella blinked, as if she had forgotten where we were. Bella's quick gaze flickered to me, then down at my homework, and she flushed. I gave her back another comforting pat to remind her there was no threat, nor bloodthirsty mermaids. Just a cruel human girl dangerously close to figuring out our secret.