Bella wasn't in school the next day, nor was Emmett.

The weekend was sunny. Mom, dad and I went to the beach. La Push was so pretty, especially when the sun was out. I worked on my Macbeth paper for English, finishing it..

Monday and Tuesday were also sunny. I decided upon wearing t-shirts and shorts. Lauren and Jessica both asked me out, as well as a girl named……

Monday night, one of my old friends texted me and told me all about this new book about vampires.

Everything made sense. Cold, pale skin. Inhuman beauty. Super-speed. Super-strength. Talks like she's from a different time. Not being at school when the sun's out. Skipping blood typing.

It all makes sense. But could Bella really be a Vampire? If she was a Vampire, then is her family, too? Why does she live in a small town if she drinks blood? Wouldn't she live in a big city for a larger supply? How can they attend school and play human so well?

Only one way to find out: ask her.

All of my friends had dates to the spring dance. Mike was going with Jessica, Tyler was going with Lauren, and Ben was going with Angela. So now, we were on our way to Port Angeles to get some new tuxes for the dance. They wanted to look nice for their dates. It's Tuesday.

Ben was the first one done picking out tuxes. The other two were still picking out and trying some on when I decided to leave and go look around.

"Hey, Ben, I'm going to go and explore a bit. Tell the others that, okay?"

"'Kay."

I exited the tux store and started walking down the street. I found a book store called Port Book and News. The books were pretty decent, but none of the vampires fit the description. I sighed and left the store.

I was heading to La Bella Italia where we'd have dinner when I saw a man and a woman coming towards me. I sighed. I do know good self-defense.

"Oooo! You're cute! What are you? A movie-star? Model?" The woman asked.

"Sorry, but no."

"Look, we don't have time for chitchat." He took a gun out and pointed it at my head. I swallowed thickly.

"What do you want?"

"Your father is Edward Masen, right?"

"Yes."

"He did us some bad, so now we're going to get revenge on him. By taking you. You don't cooperate, we kill you and drop your body in front of your parents' door, understood?"

I nodded quickly.

"Follow me."

I was going to follow him when I heard a fast car. I turned and saw a very pretty and fast red sports car coming this way.

"You brought company?!" The man screeched.

I saw a blur before hearing a loud cracking sound. Within a second, he dropped the gun and screamed. He grabbed his hand.

"Someone broke my wrist!" He screamed.

That's when Bella stood in front of me. She spoke in a low, deadly voice. "If you ever even think about hurting him, I will not hesitate to do worse to you."

They were both shaking in fear before running.

"In my car, now." She snarled.

I nodded, and followed her over to the car. While she got into the driver's side, I got into the passenger. She started driving at over 100 miles per hour.

"Can you take me to La Bella Italia?" I asked.

"Um, sure."

A few minutes later, we were parked in front of the Italian restaurant. We got out just as my friends left the restaurant.

"Hey, guys."

"Where were you?" Tyler demanded.

I shrugged. "I got lost."

"Oh."

"Did you guys already eat?" I asked.

"Yeah. Sorry. You were taking so long, and we got hungry……"

"Right….."

"I'll take him to dinner. You have to be hungry."

"Okay."

Bella sent them a glare and walked past them. I followed them inside.

The host was tall, and had dirty blond hair. He seated us in a booth, away from everyone else.

Bella and I sat across from each other. Today, she wore a blood red long sleeve cold shoulder shirt, a black skirt, and knee-high boots. She had on her usual makeup—red lipstick, mascara, dark blush. Nothing else.

The waiter was as tall as Rosalie, with cropped black hair and pale skin.

"Hi, I'm Sal. Can I take your order?"

"A coke." I said.

"Make that two."

She smiled and walked off.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Why were you in Port Angeles?"

"Next."

"Tell me."

"Later. Next."

I sighed. Sal brought over our drinks, and I ordered some Chicken Parmesan with Fettuccine Alfredo.

"Okay. I'll ask you a basic first date question. What qualities do you like in me the most?"

"You're brave, thoughtful, kind, talented, and motivated. You're not the normal generic boys I'm used to. You're special and different. You have a very weird talent, which I think is cool. It's like you can read minds. You can see right through me, which makes me uncomfortable. But I think….I think you're the one, Edward." She smiled weakly up at me.

I smiled back.

"What do you like to do in your free time?" I asked.

"Well, I like reading, listening to music, dancing, singing, gymnastics…..And you?"

"Listening to music, playing the piano, singing, reading, running, and playing sports."

"Who is the kindest person you know?"

"My mother."

"Esme. What country do you want to visit?"

"Hmm...either Italy or Greece."

"Probably England. What is the most beautiful view you've seen?"

"The girl in front of me."

She giggled. "If you found a briefcase filled with 1 million in 100$ bills in front of your door, what would you do with it?"

"Keep about of it and donate the other s."

"That's good. When you were a kid, what seemed like the best thing about being a grown up?"

"Not having to be bossed around my parents and having more freedoms. Would you rather have an incredibly fast car or incredibly fast internet speed?"

"An incredibly fast car." She flipped her hair back. "What's been the most significant plot twist in your own life?"

"Moving here. I had everything back in Chicago…..a big group of friends, I was the most popular boy in school, captain of the basketball team, quarterback of the football team, and the fastest on the track and field team." I sighed. "I miss Chicago."

"Why did you move here?"

"Mom was tired of the big city. She wanted to move somewhere smaller. Quieter. Forks is too small and doesn't have any decent things. Clothing stores, restaurants, movie theaters…….And it's always rainy and cloudy. At least Chicago had sun." I sighed.

"What would you do with the extra time if you never had to sleep?"

"I would probably just watch TV."

"Hmm……. What's the most essential part of a friendship?"

"Trust and honesty."

Sal arrived with my meal and sat it down in front of me before turning to my date.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can get you?" He asked Bella.

She smiled at him. "I'm sure."

He walked away.

We sat in silence while I ate. She did me a favor and didn't watch me eat.

When I was done, Sal came over.

"How are you do—" he started to ask.

She cut him off. "We're finished, thank you very much, that ought to cover it, no change, thanks."

She was already out of her seat.

I fumbled for my wallet. "Um, let me—you didn't even get anything—"

"My treat, Edward."

"But—"

"Try not to get caught up in antiquated gender roles."

She walked away, and I rushed to follow, leaving the stunned waiter behind me with what looked like a hundred-dollar bill on the table in front of him.

I passed her, hurrying again to get the door, ignoring what she'd said about antiquated roles. I knew she was faster than I could probably imagine, but the half-filled room of watching people forced her to act like she was one of them. She gave me a strange look when I held the door open—like she was kind of touched by the gesture, but also annoyed by it at the same time. I decided to overlook the annoyed part, and I scrambled past her to hold the car door, too. It opened easily—she'd never locked it. Her expression was more amused than anything at this point, so I took that as a good sign.

I almost ran to the passenger side of the car, trailing my hand across the hood as I moved. I had the nerve-wracking feeling that she was regretting telling me so much, and she might just drive off without me and disappear into the night. Once I was inside, she looked pointedly at my seat belt until I put it on again. I wondered for a second if she was some kind of safety-first absolutist—until I noticed that she hadn't bothered with hers, and we were racing off into the light traffic without a hint of caution on her part.

"Now," she said with a grim smile, "it's your turn."