Part 5

When Edward finally arrived in Biology class, right before the bell rang, Bella ignored him and concentrated on what the teacher was writing on the board about today's lesson. She listened to the teacher, confident that she understood the lesson well and that she wouldn't need help, when a piece of paper appeared in front of her. She didn't recognize Torvi or Bjorn's handwriting, which she knew well by now. She could guess who it was from and she decided not to pick it up. If he had something to say to her, Edward would have to work harder than that.

About 2 minutes later, another piece of paper appeared next to to previous one and, once more, Bella ignored it. 5 minutes later, a third piece of paper arrived and, this time, it was placed directly under her pen, on her notebook. Annoyed by his insistence, Bella opened it, determined not to make it easy for him but to have peace during class so she could follow.

"Bella,

Please forgive my earlier outburst, I didn't mean you any disrespect. I was just trying to protect your virtue and innocence. You have no idea how violent and unevolved Vikings can be. You have to trust me on this.

Edward"

Chuckling silently, Bella shook her head and crumbled the piece of paper into a ball that she set aside, with the other 2 unopened ones, before she went back to listening to the teacher's lesson. She probably knew more about Vikings than he did, but she kept that for herself. If he wanted to keep on acting immature, then so be it. he'd only manage to look like an idiot.

Of course she could run away, go to the nurse and let her friends sort this out and make Edward go but she didn't like other people fighting her fights. She'd stand strong and if he wanted to be her friend, he'd have to change his behavior. She was a modern and independent woman, not a little girl from a century ago who needed a man to tell her what to do and when to do it.

Seconds later, another piece of paper appeared and a bigger wave of annoyance washed over Bella.

"I just want for us to be friends, Bella. I promise I won't bring up Rollo again if you give me a chance. I'll do my best to keep what I know of the Vikings to myself."

Bella wanted to ignore him again but she knew that it wouldn't be nice. She was a good person and good people forgave, gave second chances. After all, if he only wanted to be her friend, she should give him that opportunity and maybe she could use that opportunity to teach him what the Viking people were really about. This could be an occasion to educate him, help him get along better with Rollo's family. Maybe he would be a good friend and if he disappointed her, then she'd cast him out of her life again. She discreetly wrote on the piece of paper before she slide it back to Edward, who hide his smile as best he could.

"Fine, one chance to try and be friends, now let me listen, I actually care about my education. And don't forget that I know more about the North people than you do so don't try to influence me, you'd only end up looking like a fool."

To Bella, this was one chance for him to become her friend but to him, this was one chance to win her over, one chance to take her away from Rollo, one chance to hurt the arrogant warrior and the entire barbarian family Carlisle loved so much without reasons. Thankfully, nobody would know his plan, and what little Alice would manage to see wouldn't tell her anything specific. Maybe he'd even manage to convince Jasper and Alice that he was falling in love with Bella. After all, she wasn't so bad for a human.

.

"Did everything go well? I noticed he wrote you a couple of notes, what did he want?" Bjorn asked Bella on their way to PE.

"I swear, Bjorn, sometimes, you make me feel like instead of being my friend, you're my big brother." Bella chuckled, making Torvi smile as well.

"I might feel a bit overprotective of you." He admitted with a smile.

"He just apologized and promised never to speak about Rollo again if I gave him a chance to be my friend. I agreed to give him one chance, just one." Bella replied, showing them both notes.

"Just friendship?" Torvi asked.

"Of course, why?" Bella asked back, curious.

"Just wondering... He might end up wanting more." Torvi replied as they waved at Bjorn and entered their changing room.

"Well, that's too bad for him, then. I'm not interested in him, not this way. He'd have better chances with Jessica, if dating is what he's interested in." Bella replied.

She had almost added 'I'm spoken for', thinking of Rollo, but she held it back for now. She didn't want to sound too forward, she didn't even know if she'd like him, if they'd get along. She might simply be expecting too much out of their prophecised bond.

.

When she finally got home, Bella cast a dark look at the darkening sky. The clouds indicated rain for the night, and she always slept badly when it rained during the night. To top it all, it was getting colder each day and she hated the cold, especially when she had to drive. Watching the snow or ice from inside her bedroom wouldn't bother her, it was actually kind of pretty but having to drive and walk through it was something else entirely, especially with her terrible coordination. She could feel that she'd end up at the ER sooner rather than later. Her vampire friends wouldn't be able to protect her against her clumsiness 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"How was your day?" Her father asked her as they ate dinner together.

"Fine enough. Why?" She asked him.

"No reasons. I've heard of a dance coming up at school, will you go?" he asked her, trying to hide that he didn't like having this conversation.

"I don't think so. I don't like dancing and I don't see anybody I'd like to go with. I guess I could probably tag along with Bjorn and Torvi but I'd feel like a third wheel and I don't like it." Bella replied honestly.

"It's just... While I was at the supermarket earlier, I got everything on your list by the way, I heard Jessica Stanley telling her mother that the boy she liked, Edward Cullen, was flirting with you." Charlie hinted.

"You're acting like a gossiping teenage girl, dad." Bella chuckled.

"So?" he insisted.

"So Edward is barely a friend. I'm not going to the dance with him, even if he asked me." Bella shook her head.

"Is it because of Rollo?"

"What do you mean?" Bella was confused now.

"I mean, I don't want you to pass on normal life experiences because you're waiting on someone else, because of some prophecy. That's not what he'd want." Charlie explained.

"I'm not. School dances or other group activities with people my age just isn't my thing. That's probably why I get along so well with Bjorn and Torvi, because they're far from being teenagers." Bella replied with a smile.

"Maybe you should still find something to do, you shouldn't stay at home all the time, Bella."

"My favorite activity is reading, dad. That's hardly something I can do elsewhere in this town. Maybe in summer, but otherwise, I'm afraid I'm stuck here." She chuckled.

"Just... I don't want you to grow to resent this place like your mother did." Charlie insisted, explaining why he was so insistent.

"Don't worry, dad, I won't. Sure, I don't like the rain or the cold, but otherwise, it's kind of nice here. I fit in better than in Phoenix, probably because of Bjorn and Torvi. And it's kind of nice not having to be the adult all the time, to know that there's an actual adult I can count on here." She said the last part with a smile to her father, who smiled back to her, happy.

"They're good friends then?"

"Yes. Torvi is my best friend and Bjorn... Bjorn makes me feel like I have a big brother. He's a bit overprotective but he's saved me from quite a few embarrassing trips to the ER due to my clumsiness." Bella chuckled.

"I'm happy things turned out so well for you here, Bella." Charlie smiled at her.

"Let's hope it stays that way." Belle whispered.

.

The next day, Bella drove extra-carefully on the way to school, not wanting to get into an accident with the ice on the road. Once on the parking lot, she noticed that her truck had chains it didn't have the previous night. Her father had probably done it before he left for work and she made a mental note to thank him later. Standing carefully next to her truck, she waved back at Bjorn and Torvi who were waiting for her next to the front door, the Cullen's by their side. They were probably waiting to see if she'd need their help crossing the parking lot without falling over.

She turned around, back to the truck to grab her school bag and thought that she saw something, or rather someone, in the tree line. A tall shape, with dark hair.

"Rollo?" Bella whispered, but she couldn't see much now.

Shaking her head, she turned back around and saw Tyler Crawley's truck heading right toward her. She saw everything happen in slow motion, unable to move. Bjorn and Torvi had looks of horror on their faces and Emmett and Rosalie seemed to be holding them back, Alice's eyes were closed and Bella knew that she had very little chance of getting out of this alive. She could see Torvi's mouth forming her name. They couldn't get to her on time without anyone noticing, which was probably why Emmett and Rosalie were holding them back. No point on risking exposure.

Bella wanted to close her eyes but she couldn't, all she could do was watch the truck slide towards her. It was about to hit her when she felt cold and strong hands pulling her down. In less than a second, she was laying under her truck, a strong man by her side. He had even placed his hand between her head and the ground to prevent her from hurting herself too much.

"Thank you." Bella whispered, pulling her head up to see that it was Rollo who had saved her life.

"Are you okay?" he asked her in his deep voice, concerned, as his hands pulled the hair from her face, allowing him to look her in the eyes.

"I think so. Much better than I would be if you hadn't been there." Bella smiled.

"And here I thought that putting the chains on your trucks would be enough to keep you safe. Floki was right, keeping you safe is going to be a full time job for me." Rollo replied.

"You're only starting to get that now? I thought you were watching after me since I was a kid. I'm sure it's not only the second time you've save my life." Bella replied in a whisper while people tried to call after Tyler, to see if he was still conscious.

"I thought it'd get better with time." Rollo chuckled.

"Bella, are you okay down there? Please tell me you're okay? Are you alive? Are you dead? Answer me!" Angela called out, having seen Bella fall down at the same time the car hit her truck.

"Yes, I... I'm fine, I think. Just stuck under my truck." Bella replied, knowing that she couldn't spend all day with Rollo hidden under her truck.

"I should go." Rollo whispered.

"No! I... There's so much I want to ask you..." She shook her head, panicking.

"Don't worry princess, I won't be far. You'll always be safe." Rollo told her and, before she realized that he had dropped a kiss on her forehead, he was gone.

"Bella, are you hurt?" A teacher's voice asked her, after having been told that she was down there.

"I don't think so. No obvious damage anyway. No hurry." She replied back, shouting to be heard.

"Okay, don't move, stay there." The teacher, mister Varner she recognized, replied.

"Not going anywhere." Bella agreed, making a few people chuckle.

After a few minutes, Bella heard her father's voice coming closer, she was sure that Bjorn and Torvi would tell him what had happened and that she was fine. Sure, she felt a bit sore, but considering she could have been dead, or paralyzed, she considered herself lucky and fine. She could lie in the cold a bit longer.

.

When Bella was finally pulled out from under her truck, they insisted on taking her to the hospital so that a doctor could check her out. There, she finally got to meet Doctor Cullen. He confirmed that she was fine but he also advised her to go home for the rest of the day, so Charlie drove her home before he left to go back to work.

"How is she?" Rollo asked Charlie, appearing behind him, before the man could get into his car.

"Doc said she was fine. Thank you, for saving her and for putting the chains on her truck. I was going to do it this morning before work but you had already done it." Charlie nodded at the tall man.

"I had the time. Nothing else to do at night." Rollo waved it off.

He had almost added "for now", but considering that he was speaking to Bella's father, he changed his mind. He wanted the man to continue to like him for as long as possible.

"Well, I feel better knowing that you and your family are watching over my daughter, especially on days like today." Charlie nodded.

"Do you mind if I go in and talk to her?" Rollo asked him.

"You're asking for my permission?" Charlie was surprised.

"You're her father, Charlie. If you think she's not ready or that it's still too soon, I'll do my best to wait." The warrior replied.

"I wish I could tell you to wait but my daughter isn't like normal teenage girls, she's much more mature, always has been. Just... Keep in mind that she's only 17, alright? Wait until she's ready for... You know, more serious stuff." Charlie advised with a big blush.

"Thank you." Rollo nodded.

Charlie started his car and went to work while Rollo walked through the front door of the house and made his way to Bella's bedroom.

"Dad, I told you, I'm fine, you can go to work, you don't have to check on me all day long." Bella called out when she heard someone knock on her door.

"Your father did leave for work, it's only me. I figured we could talk now." Rollo told her as he opened the door and walked in her room.

What did you think? Will he tell her more about the prophecy? Will Edward do something?

Review please

Lorelei Candice Black