I flew back to the woods near my house before transforming back and walking to my house where Charlie's cruiser was parked in the driveway.
"Ch-Dad?" I called out as I stepped into the house.
"In here, Bella!" He called from the kitchen.
Walking to the dining table, I felt like I was in some sort of trouble, which was ridiculous since he was the one who asked me to step in.
I sat down across from him, the pizza he ordered in front of us. Neither of us said anything for a while, and I shifted my eyes awkwardly around the room.
Charlie finally cleared his throat. "You did good today, kid."
"What?" I looked up at him, my eyes wide. "S-so you're not mad?"
Now it was Charlie's turn to look surprised. "Mad? I'm the one that asked you to come. Why on earth would I be mad?"
I just shrugged.
"Look, I know I said I wanted to keep you safe. And I do. But I also realize that we have been given a gift to protect innocent civilians. So I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you sometimes maybe used those powers of yours for something other than moving furniture."
I couldn't believe what he was saying. The whole reason we moved to this small town was so I'd be away from all this superhero stuff and now he was giving me permission to use them! I launched myself across the table giving him a huge hug.
"Thank you!"
"Yeah, yeah," Charlie awkwardly patted my back.
"Now that other fellow…" Charlie changed the subject.
I felt my cheeks start to heat up, although I didn't know why I was embarrassed about it.
"He's my partner...I guess," I told him.
"Did you two-"
"Yeah," I nodded.
"That's better, I suppose. At least this way you'll have backup," Charlie concluded.
"Right. Well, I should get to bed. Uh, school and all that tomorrow so…" I stood up, bidding Charlie good night before heading up.
The next day was fairly uneventful, although everyone at school seemed to be talking about the fire at the pier and the superheroes that stopped it. Apparently superheroes in Forks was big news, since they'd never had them before.
I sat through lunch smiling and nodding as Jessica and Angela discussed what they heard happened at the pier, while the boys talked about what they would do if they had superpowers.
I was glad to get some kind of break from their conversation as I made my way to biology, even if it meant getting the cold shoulder from Edward.
I was the first one at our table. Right as I sat down, something someone at the table next to me was looking at caught my eye.
"Can I see that for a second?" I asked them.
I grabbed the newspaper that was on their desk and saw the picture on the front page.
It was a shot taken right after the fire had been contained. I was in the air, and the guy had stopped running just below me.
But what really caught my eye was the headline.
Pale Beauty and Dark Knight Stop Fire On Pier
Pale Beauty. Really? I knew that once you were coined something as a superhero, that's what stuck, but when I imagined different superhero names I might get, they always seemed cooler. But I guess it could be worse.
I felt the seat next to me shift and I looked up to meet those green eyes. Only they weren't looking at me, they were looking down at the paper in my hands.
"Do you mind?" Edward gestured to the newspaper. I wordlessly handed it over.
He stared at it and I watched his face as he did so. He looked amused, the side of his mouth twitching up in an almost-smile.
"Anything interesting?" I asked.
His head snapped up as if remembering I was there for the first time. His face immediately turned cold again and I internally sighed.
"No. Thanks," he shoved the newspaper back in my hand.
I nodded, placing the paper back on the table next to me.
"Please send one person from each table to collect the lab materials," Mr. Banner's voice brought my attention back to the class. When did he start class?
I got up before Edward could, grabbing the bag of materials from Mr. Banner. But of course my clumsy self had to make an appearance as I tripped over the edge of my table. Before I could even think about trying to catch myself, a pair of strong arms had wrapped around me. I felt my entire body on fire as my face started to blush.
Edward.
As soon as he saw that I was stable, he let go, sitting back down.
"Th-thanks," I stuttered, taking my seat, placing the materials between us.
We worked in silence, not saying anything. And that was really the extent of our interaction for the entire week.