I suffered through the rest of my lessons, quietly stewing in my anxiety and anger. I needed to figure her out, and she seemed determined to ignore me. During my final class of the day, I made a decision. When the final bell rang out I rushed towards Alice's locker, and slid my car keys and a hastily scrawled note through the slotted gap. I knew I couldn't face my family until I had more answers.

The hallway of the school flooded with students, and I spotted Bella easily through the crowds. She usually walked so confidently, at her full height and in long, powerful, strides. Now though, she was hunched in on herself, as if willing herself to become smaller, less noticeable.

"Bella!" I called out, and tried to push through the pulsing throng of student, "Wait!"

I knew Bella had heard me, I saw the way she flinched at the sound of my voice. She didn't stop though, and I watched as she scurried away like a scared mouse. It was like Bella had a gift, the way she twisted away from others, and ducked gracefully through the gaps in the crowd the moment they appeared. No one else noticed it. The way she moved was completely natural, and allowed her to blend into the crowd around her, and yet as I watched the way she slipped between two freshmen as easily as sand through an hourglass I couldn't help but feel that it was entirely magical.

I tried to mimic her motions, but it was like I did not have the same sense of the ebb and flow of human movements that Bella had, and there was no way I could speed up and reach her in time without exposing myself. I pressed on, and by the time I made it outside, Bella was already in her truck. Her brown eyes met mine, and for a moment it felt like the entire universe had narrowed down to a single point.

"Bella." I said softly. It wasn't a shout, or a plea. It was simply the feeling of her name on my lips. I saw the way she clenched her jaw before she tore her eyes away from mine. Her truck groaned as she pulled out of the parking space and drove out of the lot.

I frowned as I heard the thoughts of my siblings grow louder as they started to make their way towards the parking lot. Rosalie's were the loudest, and there was no way I was going home to face her ire, or Carlisle's disappointment, until I had an explanation. Until Bella Swan provided me with an explanation.

I slipped into the woods before my siblings could accost me, and immediately started running towards the Swan residence. If Bella Swan would not give me answers, I would simply take them. As I ran, I felt anger spark in me again. I just wasn't sure who the anger was directed at. I wanted to be angry at Bella, be angry at her for so effortlessly consuming my thoughts and affections. Angry that she made me risk my family's safety for her, but in truth I couldn't be angry at her. It wasn't actually her fault, she had done nothing.

I stopped in the woods that edged along the side of the Swan house, I had beaten Bella here but it was only a few minutes before I watched her rust bucket truck as it stuttered to a stop in the drive-way. That thing couldn't be safe, it probably had no air-bags, and she would be lucky if the seat-belts were up to standard. And then there was the matter of her broken side mirror, I could only hope she would get it fixed soon.

Bella jumped out of her truck, and slammed the door of it violently, and I watched as she stomped her way up the walk. I watched as she started to burrow through her backpack before sighing dramatically, throwing her head back and staring up at the sky as if cursing God Himself. She then reached up onto her tippy-toes and pulled a hidden key from the eve of the door. How could she manage to lose her house-key but not the key to her truck? It seemed like Bella Swan was a comedy of errors. I couldn't help but smirk at her as she stomped her way inside, I listened intently and followed the sound of her footsteps up the stairs.

I heard Bella groan tiredly, "When did my life become so complicated?" Bella's words were partly muffled, but I could still hear them clearly. I brought a fist to my lips to stop myself from snickering. Bella talked to herself? Her thoughts we hidden from me, but it seemed that she often thought out-loud when she thought no one would hear her. How interesting. I tried to focus on how I could use this to my advantage, but I could only think about how adorable it was. I tried my best to focus on the sounds coming from the upstairs bedroom, and I could hear her walking about, huffing dramatically as she did so.

There was a pause. "Great." She muttered sarcastically, and I heard her heavy footsteps as she plodded down the stairs. For a girl who moved so daintily through the school halls, she sure had a heavy foot. I heard something open and then shut with a metallic clack, "Nothing can ever be easy." She continued to mutter under her breath and I heard the backdoor open.

I silently moved through the woods so I could get a view of the back of the house. Bella stood on the small concrete stoop, her hands on her hips and glaring at the forest as if it had personally done her harm. With yet another melodramatic huff she started her angry walk across the damp lawn, curiosity burned in my chest, what was she up to now? I skulked my way through the undergrowth, I needed to get closer to her, I needed to see what she was doing.

Biting back an annoyed sigh of my own, I launched myself into a nearby tree, and then found myself a perch were I could see perfectly. Bella had just finished her barefooted march across the yard, and without a single pause continued into the muddy, moss-filled forest. After she had taken a few steps into the woods, she stopped for a moment, she turned in a slow half-circle as if she were trying to remember something. I could see the way her eyebrows furrowed in thought, a tiny crease appeared between her eyebrows and it was positively precious.

Apparently coming to some unknown conclusion, she turned and strode off into the forest with confidence. She reached up and…oh good heavens. The shock of seeing Bella pull her underwear free from their place on a low-hanging branch shocked me to my core, so much so I couldn't stop myself from snapping the branch I had braced my hand against. At least I was far enough away that there was simply no way she could have heard me. And yet, I watched in silent confusion as Bella froze on the spot, like a prey animal who had just caught the whiff of a predator. Her heartbeat, which had been even and calm, started to thud wildly in her chest. Could she have heard me? How? I was a good 10 yards away from her, the soft sound of a twig snapping in amongst the forest should have been imperceptible to her.

Bella turned in a slow circle, coming to a stop facing me. From my perch, I could see her through the leaves and branches. Her face which was usually so open and soft was now eerily calm. Like a stone mask had dropped into place, her warm brown eyes had turned hard and cold as she scanned the dimly lit forest. Bella took a soft half-step in my direction, and then took a deep breath, a confused frown followed by another half-step. She inhaled deeply again and something flickered in her eyes for a second, shock? I watched her with rapt fascination, wondering what to make of this strange behaviour. Bella cocked her head to the side, and I didn't dare move. I didn't even breathe.

After a moment, I heard Bella's heartbeat become calm again, and she let out a weary sigh. She balled up her garments in a tight fist and started to stomp her way noisily back the way she came. Bella paused on the back stoop, and turned to glare at the forest as she had done before. But this time it was different, her gaze was calculating, searching. I watched as her eyes skimmed over my location, not pausing for a second. She couldn't see me. Bella turned and entered her home, slamming the door behind her.

XxXx

I had stayed in the woods outside Bella's house while she greeted her father, and ate dinner. The conversation I had overheard made it clear that the secret was safe, now all I had to do was convince my family of the same.

I didn't run as fast as I knew I could on my journey home, I knew that as soon as I got there the inquisition would begin. Sure enough, as soon as I stepped through the threshold, Rosalie was there, her face twisted in outrage as she stalked down the hallway towards me.

"What – and I can't stress this enough – the fuck!?" She yelled at me, shoving me once for good measure.

"Rosalie! Language!" Esme admonished with a gasp.

Rosalie gaped, "Language?" She spun around to stare at Esme "You are chastising me for my language, when he-" She spun back around with an accusing finger, "Has put the entire family in danger with his reckless, stupid-" Rosalie's tirade was interrupted by Carlisle abruptly clearing his throat.

"I think we should all head into the dining room and discuss this, rationally, and calmly." Carlisle's stern gaze looked over each of us still lingering in the entryway.

"But he-!" Rosalie started,

"I don't want to hear it, Rosalie." Carlisle warned, "Dining room, now." He pointed down the hall, not taking his eyes off us.

Rosalie scowled but relented, lowering her head in surrender. I followed her lead, training my eyes onto the floorboards as we walked past our father single file, like a pair of disobedient children. Carlisle's authoritative presence was not enough to stop Rosalie from attacking me with her thoughts.

You stupid, irresponsible jackass! Do you ever think about anyone other than yourself!? You are a brainless, simple-minded, idiotic fool!I actually likeit here, and if we have to move because of your reckless behaviour I swear to God I will make your life a living hell!

When we reached the dining room, Rosalie had stopped her telepathic tirade. Emmett sensed his mate's anger and put a comforting arm around her waist and guided her to a chair, whispering in her ear to take a deep breath and calm down, promising to help her dismember me later. No one said anything about it, even though we all heard it, we knew it was just Emmett's way of calming Rosalie down.

Once we were all seated Carlisle cleared his throat to gain our attention. "Now that we are all seated," He turned his gaze to me, "Edward, would you like to explain what happened today?"

Rosalie looked ready to jump out of her seat and start yelling, her body was tensed and her eyes were cold with icy fire. Only Emmett's firm hand on her knee kept her in her seat.

"There was a car accident at school this morning." I said plainly, and Rosalie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "An out of control vehicle was heading for Bella, and I saved her. I had to, I couldn't let her die." I finished, choosing to ignore Rosalie.

"Are we just going to overlook the part where he raced across a crowed parking lot and exposed us all!" Rosalie burst out, yelling across the table at me with a venomous glare. My mind felt foggy as a wave of calm washed throughout the room, and I spared a thankful glance at Jasper for his input. Rosalie blinked in confusion for a moment, before she shook her head violently as the glazed look disappeared from her eyes. She turned her glare to Jasper, "And you! Stop that!" She barked.

"Rosalie," Carlisle hummed her name warmly, "Please remain calm and allow your brother to explain himself."

"Explain -" Rosalie sputtered, "Explain himself!?" She shrieked.

"No one saw anything!" I yelled back, cutting off whatever Rosalie was about to say. I was no longer willing to sit there and allow myself to be berated by my sister. "I checked the minds of everyone at school throughout the day! No one suspects a thing!"

"Oh well excuse me! I forgot that you were all knowing and all seeing! And what about the Swan girl? You know, the one person's whose mind you can't read!" Rosalie shouted back.

Our family's eyes were shooting between each of us as we spoke, trying to catch all sides of this verbal sparring match. When Rosalie finished, their eyes fell to me, awaiting my biting retort. A quick rejoinder, or snide remark, but instead I just stared in shock, blinking slowly.

Jasper caught on to my emotions and levelled me in a calculating stare, "Edward," Jasper spoke my name slowly, carefully, as if he was approaching a skittish animal. "What is it?"

"I can't read Chief Swan's mind either." I admitted quietly.

"Oh for the love of God!" Rosalie roared as she shot out of her chair, it clattered back on the hardwood floors with a resounding crash.

"Rosalie!" Carlisle bellowed, and it was enough for Rosalie to close her mouth and stop the oncoming rant. She angrily picked up her chair and sat back down with a huff. Carlisle took a calming breath and turned back to me, "Explain."

I clenched and unclenched my jaw, "When the Chief arrived after the accident, I tried to read his mind, I couldn't. It's just like his daughter's, completely blank."

"Have you considered," Rosalie sneered, "That you can't read their minds because there is nothing to read? Perhaps they are just a pair of imbeciles."

"Rosalie," Esme chided. "That's not very nice." Rosalie ignored Esme's rebuke.

Anger unfurled in my chest like a snake readying to strike. "Well if that is the case, Rosalie -" I sneered her name like it was the worst curse imaginable, "We have nothing to worry about!" Carlisle opened his mouth to say something but I didn't let him, "Besides! That's not it, Bella Swan is hiding something… she's," I searched my brain for the appropriate word, "Different."

Rosalie scoffed, "Just because you want to get your dick wet doesn't mean the girl is anything special."

Esme's gentle face fell into a scowl, "Rosalie! That is quite enough out of you! I will not have that sort of language in my house!"

I tried to hide my smug expression at Rosalie being reprimanded, I knew it wouldn't garner me any praise from my mother. Esme's expression was a careful construction of calm when she turned to face me, "What do you mean by different, dear?"

All eyes were yet again trained on me, waiting for my response. "Immediately after the accident, I tried to keep Bella still, to try and convince her she hit her head." Questioning eyes matched questioning thoughts so I explained, "So I could claim that her mind was playing tricks on her, if she did indeed see anything."

Rosalie's scowl turned into a disapproving glower, "Lovely," she droned sarcastically.

I ignored her, "She wanted to stand up, I had no intentions on letting her until the paramedics arrived but then she… she just pushed me away."

Silence. Complete silence, both mental and verbal. And then there was an eruption of sound. My family were screaming thoughts in my direction, words and questions and vibrant images were thrust into my mind as violently as a knife slicing flesh. At the same time, each of them started talking, asking me a different question. Pain stabbed in my temples from the onslaught and my hands flew to my head, gripping the hair at the sides of my head. I groaned, and clenched my eyes shut "Please," I moaned painfully, "Not so loud." I begged. Instantly my family stopped talking, and each person made a conscious effort to quiet and calm their thoughts. My breaths came in stuttered pants as the pain fell away, "Thank you," I whispered.

"Son," Carlisle's voice was soft and calm, "When you say she pushed you away…?"

I slowly blinked my eyes open and lowered my hands, "I mean she forcibly removed herself from my grasp. She is strong. Very strong." I took a deep breath into my lungs, even though I no longer needed to breathe the motions of it calmed me. "And then this afternoon, I was watching her near her house and… her sense of hearing is much more acute than it should be."

A low rumbling of thoughts returned to the room as my family processed the information. "This is good." Jasper declared after a moment.

"In what world is this good?" Rosalie huffed.

"Bella Swan has something to hide, which means she has something to lose." Jasper replied, his keen eyes sparkled with hidden strategies.

I didn't like the look in his eye, or the direction his thoughts were taking. I needed to protect Bella, "This is – that uh, isn't necessary, Jasper." I stuttered out, I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders. Six pairs of cunning and perceptive eyes fell on me, "Neither of the Swans suspect anything, and tomorrow I will approach Bella to ensure her silence. I will then distance myself from her, that way whatever it is she is hiding wont matter, as she will have no connection whatsoever to us."

There was a tense moment of silence as we all turned to look at Carlisle, his calm face was the perfect mask to hide his whirlwind thoughts. Eventually he stood, "Alright then. Very good. I suggest we all take some time to unwind, hunt, and ready ourselves for tomorrow." He nodded his head once conclusively before he led Esme out of the room by her hand.

I quickly stood up and darted out the back door before Rosalie could make good on her threat of dismemberment.

XxXx

I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to distance myself from Bella, the mere thought of it was painful. I had gotten so close to her yesterday, held her body against mine, and by God did I want to do that again. But it was more than that, I wanted to know her. I wanted to discover each of her quirks and interests and memorise them, brand the knowledge into my soul.

Warm confidence flooded my chest, foreign and entirely unwelcome. I looked over the hood of the car to Jasper and sternly shook my head at him, and instantly the feeling vanished. Just trying to help. He thought unapologetically in my direction. I stalked away from my family, deciding to wait for Bella near the building of her first class. I was so lost in my own mind, in my own angst and self-loathing that I almost missed Bella entirely.

"Bella!" I hollered out, and I watched as Bella froze on the spot. She glanced over her shoulder before frowning and turning around to face me. Well, at least it was better than running away. I approached her at a hurried walk, and I watched as her eyes flickered though a dozen different emotions before they calmed, she shuttered her emotions away with cold efficiency and I ached with the desire to know her thoughts.

"Hello, Edward." She greeted me stiffly, but her calm demeanour was betrayed by her pounding heart.

Being in her presence again was staggering, "Are-are you okay?" I breathed, I took a small step towards her, longing to be closer. "You seemed to be avoiding me yesterday." I searched her eyes for… something, I wasn't sure what it was I wanted to see.

Bella looked at me, her brown eyes were warm… affectionate even. And then it was gone. Like a door had been slammed she straightened her shoulders and her eyes lost their warmth. Her gaze became more reserved, like she was fighting against her wants and emotions, as if they were dangerous. "That's because I was. Avoiding you, that is." She remarked coldly.

It was like someone had taken a knife, and plunged it into my chest. "Why?" I breathed.

I needed to get it together. I had to finish this, I couldn't allow myself to feel hurt by her rejection. Her rejection is what I wanted. No, not what I wanted, but what I needed. It was necessary, even though it was painful.

Bella narrowed her eyes, "Because I didn't want to listen to whatever lies you were going to tell."

I faltered at that, "What would I have to lie to you about?" I demanded.

Bella rolled her eyes, the coldness in them melting away into irritation and annoyance. "Come on, Edward. I saw you stop a van, you pushed it away with your hand. Not to mention that fact that you were no where near me." She hissed the words at me, the challenge clear in her voice.

I frowned down at her, "Bella, I don't know what you are talking about." I hissed back, my voiced dripped with disdain.

Bella physically recoiled as if I had struck her, and I had to fight the urge to comfort her. "Look Edward, you keep whatever secrets you feel like you need to keep. But here's the thing, I really don't like being lied to. I also don't like being called a liar." Bella snapped, I tried to defend myself but she held up a hand to stop me. Bella seemed to be irradiating anger, her face was flushed red, glowing with her ire. "So when you're ready to stop gas-lighting me, and have a real conversation like two reasonable people, come find me. Until then, do us both a favour and leave me the hell alone." Bella hissed the words at me, and before I could utter a single word she spun on her heel and stormed into the school.

XxXx

I tried to be subtle in my examination of Bella during lunch. I didn't glance in her direction at all, and instead chose to occupy the minds of her different companions. She seemed alright, if not a little upset.

She's right ya know. Alice's thoughts chirped at me from across the table. I raised a questioning eyebrow at her. You were gas-lighting her.

"I don't know what that means." I muttered under my breath.

Emmett chuckled deeply, but tried to hide it behind his hand. I dipped into his mind to see that he was eavesdropping on Bella's conversation. Apparently I was being a jerk.

It means that you are trying to get her to doubt her own recollection of events by presenting a false narrative. It's mean. Not to mention manipulative. Alice replied in her thoughts, her disapproval was palatable.

I was so busy stewing over Alice's thoughts that I was startled by the snickering of Jasper and Rosalie, and Emmett's deep chuckle. I immediately zeroed in on their thoughts, and Rosalie helpfully supplied me with a replay of Bella's voice saying that she could handle me, and that she didn't find me very intimidating. Fantastic work there, brother. Rosalie's thoughts mocked me. I growled at Rosalie and she smiled innocently at me. I shot out of my seat just as the bell rang and stalked my way to biology.

Sitting next to Bella for an entire hour was the sweetest kind of torture, there was never a lull in Mr Banner's lecture so I was unable to say anything to her. I kept glancing at her, willing her to meet my eye, but it was as if she were purposefully ignoring me. On the surface she seemed relaxed, bored even, but I could hear the way her heart thundered in her chest.

The hour was up and Bella began to hastily stuff her notes in her bag, not caring as they crinkled or ripped.

"I'm sorry." I blurted.

Bella's hands froze and she turned to face me, "What?"

I hurried to explain myself. "At lunch, my sister Alice explained what gas-lighting is. And I'm sorry, I was doing that. It's just… It's better if we aren't friends."

I saw the heartbreak in her eyes before she could hide it behind her mask of indifference. "Right, well. Glad we got all that sorted out." She muttered bitterly as she shoved the rest of her things into her bag. I briefly wondered how she managed to find anything in amongst the mess. Bella clenched her jaw and looked over to me, her eyes brimming with tears. "It's not like I was going to tell anyone anything. But thank you for your vote of confidence." She spat sarcastically, her anger betrayed her hurt.

Before I could say anything else, she grabbed her bag and stormed away.

Lord help me. I wanted to follow after her. I wanted to pull her against me and beg her forgiveness for my foolishness. I wanted to plead with her, fall at her feet and tell her everything. I wanted to lay all my secrets bare, and let her see my soul, or whatever was left of it. But I couldn't. Not only would doing so endanger my family, it would endanger her. I would have to distance myself from Bella Swan. I could not allow her to be hurt. My secret was like a rocky cliff in a midnight storm, and Bella a lone ship. I would have to be a solitary lighthouse, and warn her away.

A/N: Hot damn this chapter was exhausting to write. I hope you guys enjoyed it!