At lunch, I was upset to see that she was nowhere to be seen. That was, of course, until Mike said, "Bella Cullen is staring at you. I wonder why she's sitting alone today."

I snapped my head up and saw Bella sitting at a table in the corner of the room. She smiled at me and gestured with her finger to come over to me. I sighed and went over to her.

"Hey," She smiled at me.

I sat down. "This is different…….."

"Yes, it is."

"So, are we friends now?"

"Friends……" she mused. "If you want."

"I do want to."

She laughed. Her laughter was like a chorus of wind chimes.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked.

"No." I didn't think it was necessary to mention that my stomach wasn't steady enough for food. "You?" I looked at the empty table in front of her.

"No, I'm not hungry." She smiled like I was missing some inside joke.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked, the words escaping before I could make sure they were allowed.

She got serious quickly. "That depends on what you want."

"It's not much," I promised.

She waited, still guarded but clearly curious.

"Could you warn me beforehand? The next time you decide to ignore me? For my own good, or whatever. Just so I'm prepared." I looked at the lemonade again as I asked, tracing the lip of the opening with one finger.

"That sounds fair."

She looked like she was trying not to laugh when I glanced up.

"Thanks."

"Can I have a favor in return?" she asked.

"Sure." It was my turn to be curious. What would she want from me?

"Tell me one of your theories."

Whoops. "No way."

"You promised me a favor."

"And you've broken promises before," I reminded her.

"Just one theory—I won't laugh."

"Yes, you will." I had no doubt about that.

She looked down, then glanced up at me through her thick lashes, her long gold eyes scorching underneath.

"Please?" she breathed, leaning toward me. Without permission, my body leaned closer to her, like she was a magnet and I was a paperclip, till her face was less than a foot from mine. My mind went totally blank.

I shook my head, trying to clear it, and forced myself to sit back. "Um…what?"

"One little theory," she purred. "Please?"

"Well, er, bitten by a radioactive spider?" Was she a hypnotist, too? Or was I just a hopeless pushover?

She rolled her eyes. "That's not very creative."

"Sorry, that's all I've got." I used to like comic books and superheros when I was little.

"You're not even close."

"No spiders?"

"No spiders."

"No radioactivity?"

"None at all."

"Huh," I mumbled.

She chuckled. "Kryptonite doesn't bother me, either."

"You're not supposed to laugh, remember?"

She pressed her lips together, but her shoulders shook from holding the

laughter back.

"I'll figure it out eventually," I muttered.

Her humor vanished like a switch flipped off. "I wish you wouldn't try."

"How can I not wonder? I mean… you're impossible." I didn't say it like a criticism, just a statement. You are not possible. You are more than what is possible.

She understood. "But what if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the villain?"

She smiled as she said this, playfully, but her eyes were heavy with some burden I couldn't imagine.

"Oh," I said, surprised. Her many hints started adding up until they finally made sense. "Oh, okay."

She waited, suddenly rigid with stress. In that second, all of her walls seemed to disappear.

"What exactly does okay mean?" she asked so quietly it was almost a whisper.

I tried to order my thoughts, but her anxiety pushed me to answer faster. I said the words without preparing them first.

"You're dangerous?" It came out like a question, and there was doubt in my voice. She was smaller than I was, no more than my age, and delicately built. Under normal circumstances, I would have laughed at applying the word dangerous to someone like her. But she was not normal, and there was no one like her. I remembered the first time she'd glared at me with hate in her eyes, and I'd felt genuinely afraid, though I hadn't understood that reaction in the moment, and I'd thought it foolish just seconds later. Now I understood. Under the doubt, outside the incongruity of the word dangerous applied to her slim and perfect body, I could feel the truth of the foundation.

The danger was real, though my logical mind couldn't make sense of it.

And she'd been trying to warn me all along.

"Dangerous," I murmured again, trying to fit the word to the person in front of me. Her porcelain face was still vulnerable, without walls or secrets. Her eyes were wide now, anticipating my reaction. She seemed to be bracing herself for some kind of impact. "But not the villain," I whispered. "No, I don't believe that."

"You're wrong." Her voice was almost inaudible. She looked down, reaching out to steal the lid for my lemonade, which she then spun like a top between her fingers. I took advantage of her inattention to stare some more.

She meant what she was saying—that was obvious. She wanted me to be afraid of her.

What I felt most was… fascinated. There were some nerves, of course, being so close to her. Fear of making a fool of myself. But all I wanted was to sit here forever, to listen to her voice and watch the expressions fly across her face, so much faster than I could analyze them. So of course that was when I noticed that the cafeteria was almost empty.

I shoved my chair away from the table, and she looked up. She seemed… sad. But resigned. Like this was the reaction she'd been waiting for.

"We're going to be late," I told her, scrambling to my feet.

She was surprised for just a second, and then the now-familiar amusement was back.

"I'm not going to class today." Her fingers twirled the lid so fast that it was just a blur.

"Why not?"

She smiled up at me, but her eyes were not entirely disguised. I could still see the stress behind her façade.

"It's healthy to ditch class now and then," she said.

"Oh. Well, I guess… I should go?" Was there another option? I wasn't much for ditching, but if she asked me to…

She turned her attention back to her makeshift top. "I'll see you later, then."

That sounded like a dismissal, and I wasn't totally against being dismissed.

There was so much to think about, and I didn't do my best thinking with her near. The first bell rang and I hurried to the door.

Blood typing. Blood doesn't bother me, but I don't like blood typing. I already know what my blood type is; A positive.

I pretended to be sick to get out of class. I wanted to go find Bella.

"What's wrong, Mr. Masen?" Mr. Banner asked, walking over to me. I had my head on the table. Good thing I was a good actor.

"I already know my blood type, sir, and I don't feel very well. Could I go to the nurse?"

"Sure. But first, what's your blood type? I am quite curious."

"A positive."

"Hmm……..You may go."

"Thank you."

I stood up and left the classroom, pretending to feel weak and faint. But once I was out, I left the classroom and headed down to the empty track.

I started running around. I love running. I'm really fast, too. Probably one of the fastest runners in the world.

That's when I saw Bella glide over to me.

"I thought you weren't ditching," She said.

"We were blood typing, and I didn't feel like pricking my finger. Besides, I already know what my blood type is. Wanna join me?"

"I'm not really a runner. Why don't we just sit and chat?"

"Sounds good."

We both sat down in the front row of bleachers.

"Tell me about your family." I insisted.

"As you know, I was adopted when I was little. Emmett's my older brother by blood."

"What happened to your parents?"

"They died many years ago." She sighed. "I don't remember them well. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for a long time now."

"You love them." I stated.

"Yes." She smiled. "I can't imagine two better people. What are your parents like?"

"My mother's name is Elizabeth. I'm actually named after my father, though everyone calls him Eddie. Dad's a lawyer. He works in Port Angeles. My mom's a stay-at-home HR manager. She's the cook. We live in a nice-sized, four bedroom home, and I even have my own bathroom."

She laughed. "You sound quite spoiled. Are you an only child?"

"I wasn't supposed to be. I was five when my parents were expecting their child. It was a girl. They couldn't decide between Margaret or Elizabeth.

"At 19 weeks in, Mom fell down the stairs. She was rushed to the hospital, but the baby was already gone. It was declared that she couldn't have any more kids. I would have loved a little sister." I sighed. "But we can't change the past, now can we?"

"Sadly, no."

Bella started telling me all about her family. She told me what everyone's personality was, and her relationship with them was like. Then the bell rang, and I headed to Study hall.

A/N: Edward will find out that Bella is a different way than someone telling him. In twilight, Bella's childhood friend, Jacob, told her, but Edward doesn't know any Natives, so that doesn't work out. But I already know how to get him to find out. It will be in the next chapter!