Feeling rather lonely and irritated at the idea that my sister not only didn't like living with me—I'd forgotten I'd been less than welcoming myself—and furious that she would think anything nice about the Cullens, I fell asleep on the couch watching Die Hard long after my small family had gone to bed.

Dad woke me up in the morning and told me to catch a ride with Bella: he wasn't trusting my car in the new snow after the little chat he'd had with Jacob and only had one set of snow chains. In a completely foul mood, I made my way up to the attack and found my favorite outfit, favorite jewelry, and favorite snow boots before making my way down to curl my long, dark brown hair.

When Isabella appeared in the bathroom door, she looked rather overeager and also seemed in a hurry to get rid of me. Not in a mood to linger, I went to fetch an apple and we met at the front door. Bella made her way over to the truck and I slammed and locked the front door behind us. Bella was already in the driver's seat, idiot that she is, but I was in no mood to argue about my experience with the weather. I climbed into the passenger seat and stared at a smudge on the windshield all the way to school where I hopped out as soon as she parked and began to walk quickly toward my first class. Maybe I could catch one of my friends and vent a bit, I thought. Maybe that would get rid of all this annoying pressure swirling around in my chest. I stepped over a spot of ice and began to walk more carefully, starting to look back to give Bella a rude warning to be careful. Maybe…

Screeeeech.

Oh, come on. What idiot drove full speed into the freaking parking lot?

I turned and found a rush of adrenaline bursting into my veins as I took in the scene, took in the dark blue van skidding toward us, took in my sister standing at the back of her truck waiting to be smashed like a bug against the wall.

I managed one step toward her but I knew it was too late and all my hurried step did was place me right back on the spot of ice I'd just avoided. I found myself falling backward, still watching the horror on my sister's face as… as something brushed against my back and restored my balance? I turned my head but no one was there and when I looked back all I had to see was the van, come to a stop where my sister had been standing.

You might expect me to yell her name.

I yelled the 'sh' word.

I walked quickly over, expecting the worse and starting to pull off my coat, meaning to use my sweater to stop any bleeding. Stupid Bella, stupid Bella, stupid… oh, hey, Tyler. Stupid Tyler. Stupid Bella. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"—so fast?" I heard a voice saying.

"I was standing right next to you, Bella." A melodic voice replied. He looked up at me as I rounded the front of the van and stared over the lack of a gap between vehicles. "You can put your coat back on, Swan." He told me, looking at me standing there awkwardly with my coat around my elbows.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" Someone shouted behind me.

What? Idiots! Wait for paramedics.

"I think you'd better go help out." Edward said, looking both amused and distracted as he read the look on my face.

"Right." I said, shaking my head and stalking back the way I came. "Oi! Crowley! Don't you move a muscle!"

Surprisingly, everyone listened to me until the teachers and EMTs swarmed in, catching a bit of the calm in my voice as I ordered them around like I ordered my team around at practice. Dad showed up as they put Bella in the ambulance, but thanks to my call he didn't seem too worried, though he insisted on talking to the EMTs for a second opinion and refused to let me go into school until I was checked for shock. As he was arguing this point, the ambulance drove away and he decided that I needed to come with him to the hospital, which was about as pleasant an outcome as I could have hoped for.

"Dad, please don't send me to Dr. Cullen." I begged as we pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"You know my opinion on avoiding the Cullens." My dad said sternly. He knew my opinion about the Cullens, too. It was an old argument.

"Dang it all." I muttered as he got out of the car.

I soon found myself shoved off in some corner room, wrapped in a blanket and waiting for the model doctor. I sat on the plastic sheet of the exam table in a paper gown beneath the blanket, wondering if how much time I had before someone appeared; I'd discovered that I'd put my underwear on inside out again and it was all I could think about unless I allowed myself to worry about my oh so wonderful sister or the actually wonderful Tyler.

Finally, the doctor appeared.

Why did all the Cullens have to be so hot? For that matter, why did it have to be today that I'd had to dress in the dark? Uck. At least my hair was nice: I still felt like a piece of junk being in the same room as him.

"Miss Swan."

"Hi, Dr. Cullen." I sighed. "You hear the story yet?"

He laughed. "Yes. And, before you ask, everyone seems to be on the path to recovery." He glanced over me. "Though I haven't heard how you were involved."

I considered for a moment, chewing on my cheek as I thought. "I might… I might have hit my head?"

"Ok." He said. "Does it hurt?"

"No…" I said slowly, embarrassed.

"Did you fall? Any memory loss?" I shook my head. He smiled kindly. "What's wrong, Genevieve?"

"I… felt something." His face stiffened, almost imperceptible. "I remember slipping but I don't remember… It felt like something caught me but there was no one around… Can you feel things? Like seeing things, only feeling things?" I smiled apologetically at the idiocy of my question.

"Let me see." Dr. Cullen set down his clipboard and carefully looked me over: pupils, skull, tonsils, and so on. Then he shook his head. "I think it may have simply been the stress of the situation, Gen. I'm sure if you'd been less preoccupied you would have looked closer and seen whoever it was that steadied you."

I frowned and nodded. What was it, though… what had Bella been asking Edward when I'd found them?

My thought was interrupted by a knock on the door and Edward came in.

"Privacy." I snapped.

"Edward." Dr. Cullen said reproachfully.

"Tyler and Bella are wondering how she is." Edward defended himself.

"Liar." I muttered miserably. I'd been with the two long enough to see Tyler catching whatever Mike and Eric had. And Bella knew I was tough, even if she did care.

"I'll be letting her go any minute." Dr. Cullen promised. "I just want one more word with her."

Edward nodded and slipped out. I watched the door click shut and then sat quietly as Dr. Cullen went over all the symptoms I should report to him if they came up. After asking me one last time if I was ok, he left and I finally got a chance to change, forgetting to fix my undies but in too much of a hurry to care.

I found Edward lurking around again. He smiled handsomely and I wrinkled my nose: it was hard to know how to act around him. With Mike, I knew to hide the dislike because he was popular and Jessica liked him. With Eric, I could do whatever I wanted because he was just Eric. With Edward, I wasn't sure what was expected or how I felt about him smiling his insanely handsome smile at me.

"You ok?"

"Yep." I said shortly, over enunciating each syllable. What did he want?

"No need to worry about Tyler." Edward told me. "Bella's not his type."

What.

"I'm her twin sister." I pointed out. Fraternal twin, but sisters are sisters. "And who says I care about Crowley?"

He just smiled, looking a little tense. "I could help… Give you some hints…?" He said awkwardly, regretting the offer as he gave it.

"Shove off." I told him tiredly. "I'm not going to start stealing boys from my sister until I know who she likes." I exaggerated… not that I could steal Edward anyway. Or would want to. Dick.

Edward had been squinting at me, his look the look Lizzy gave when she wasn't wearing her contacts, but as I spoke his eyes briefly widened slightly and I had to pause, trying to remember what I'd done to merit that reaction. He didn't give me time to think, immediately pointing me down the hall and offering to bring me to my dad before they all ran off without me. He hurried me so fast that I walked right past the room Tyler was in, forgetting to say good-bye.

Damn it.

Dick.

..

..

Author's note:

So I know this chapter is about half as long as the others, which is weird to me: I feel like there's something I could have elaborated but it hasn't come to me since I wrote this a week and half a go, so sorry? Still working things out. Let me know what you think. I really appreciate all the comments! Super helpful and giving me new places to take them and making me rethink how things can work out. Like I said before, Gen's gonna half a ton of growing up to do. Especially when Bella actually starts going out with Edward... Dun dun dun? Yeah. Let me know what you think!