BPOV

The next morning it was hard to get out of bed, the exhaustion of the night before carrying over to today. It was also to believe that yesterday had happened at all. It defied all logic, reason, and common sense. I finally got up, realizing now I was going to be late. I quickly got ready, I ran downstairs. I decided against a full breakfast, I instead opted for a granola bar. Charlie was gone already.

I was outside noticing the fog and dark, he had no reason to miss school today. I was almost to my car when I noticed the silver car parked in front. I didn't see where he came from. I saw him open up the passenger side of his car.

"You want to ride with me today?" He looked a little nervous. He was really giving me a choice.

"Yeah, thank you." I stepped into the warm car. I noticed the jacket from last night hanging from the back of the seat.

"I brought the jacket, I didn't want you to get sick or something."

I was about to make a comment.

"Don't." he looked at me pointedly. It was a little endearing how well he knew me already. I shrugged.

After a minute, he said, "What no twenty questions today?"

I chuckled, "Do my questions bother you?"

"Not as much as your responses do. You are so unnaturally calm about everything. It isn't normal," he responded.

"After a lifetime of bad news you kind of learn to roll with the punches, but I do always tell you what I'm thinking."

"You edit."

"Not very much."

"Enough to drive me insane."

After another minute, I asked where his family was.

"They took Rosalie's car today." I nodded, I was happy to have the time alone with him. We pulled up to the red convertible. "Ostentatious isn't it?"

"Um...wow. If she has that why does she drive with you?

"Like I said, it's ostentatious. We do try to blend in."

"You don't succeed," I laughed. With the way Edward drove, I wasn't late anymore. "So why is she driving it today if it's more conspicuous?"

"Haven't you noticed? I'm breaking all the rules now."

Jess was standing in the cafeteria with my jacket. She handed it to me. She kept her eyes on Edward like she was in shock.

"Thanks for remembering, Jess."

"Good morning, Jessica," Edward greeted her.

"Umm...hi." She turned to me. "I'll see you in Trig." She shot me a knowing look. I was dreading being under Jess' questioning.

"Yeah, I'll see you then." I started to wonder what I would be telling her.

"So what are you going to tell her?"

"Hey, I thought you couldn't read my mind." He looked at me, slightly startled.

"I can't, but I can hear her thoughts. She'll be waiting to ambush you in class."

"A little help?"

He shook his head, "That's hardly fair."

"No, what's not fair, is knowing and not sharing," I retorted.

He deliberated for a moment.

"She wants to know if we are secretly dating, and she wants to know how you feel about me." I felt my face getting warmer, and my hands getting colder.

"Yikes, what should I say?"

"Hmm." He said, while deliberating, he took a piece of hair that had fallen, twisted it, and tucked it behind my ear, his hand dragged down my neck after. My heart started beating erratically. "I suppose, if you don't mind, you could tell her yes to the first one. It's easier than any other explanation."

"I don't mind," I said in a faint voice.

"And I'll be listening for the answer to the second one." He smiled crookedly. I was still dazed when he turned and walked away. He only made it a few steps before slightly shouting over his shoulder, "I'll see you at lunch."

This broke my daze and I walked away from the peering eyes.

It wasn't long before I found myself in Trig. Jessica was waiting for me to take my seat. I was still exhausted from the night before, so it wasn't hard to drag my feet.

"Tell me everything!" Jess said once I got to my seat.

"What do you want to know?" I hedged.

"What happened last night?"

"He bought me dinner, and then he drove me home." I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant.

She glared, she wanted more detail. "How did you get home so fast?"

"He drives like a maniac. It was terrifying." I turned my head and lowered my voice a little. "I hope you heard that."

"Was it like a date, did you plan on meeting him there?"

I hadn't thought of that. "No, I was very surprised to see him there." Jessica looked a little disappointed.

"But he picked you up for school today?" she probed.

"Yes, but that was also a surprise, too. He noticed I didn't have a jacket last night."

"So are you going out again?"

"I don't know. He offered to drive me up to Seattle Saturday. He doesn't think my truck is up for it. Does that count?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"W-o-w." she exaggerated. "Edward Cullen."

"I know." I agreed. Wow didn't even cover it.

After probing me for all kinds of details, she asked, "How much do you like him?"

"Too much," I answered honestly, "More than he likes me." I really hoped he wasn't listening anymore. After that I switched the conversation to her and Mike. She continued talking until the period was up. The bell rang, and I got up a little slower than normal.

"You're not sitting with us today. Are you?" Jess asked.

"I don't think so." I couldn't be sure that Edward hadn't inconveniently disappeared again. But outside the door there he was waiting.

"I'll see you later, Bella." Her voice was thick with implication.

"Hello." His voice was amused. He was listening, that was obvious.

"Hi."

I couldn't think of anything else to say, and I think he was biding his time. He led the way through the lunch line. He had a mountain of food.

"What are you doing?" I objected. "You're not getting all of that for me?"

"Of course not. Half is for me." I raised one eyebrow.

We sat in the same place as before.

"Take whatever you want." he said, pushing the food towards me.

I grabbed an apple.

"I'm curious," I said, turning the apple in my hand, "if someone dared you to eat food, what would you do?"

"You're always curious." He glared at me. He picked up a piece of pizza, and deliberately took a bite, carefully chewing and swallowing. "If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?" He asked condescendingly.

I wrinkled my nose. "I actually did once, on a dare," I admitted. "It wasn't so bad."

He laughed. "I suppose I'm not surprised." Something over my shoulder seemed to catch my attention. "Jessica is analyzing everything I do-she'll break it down for you later."

I put down the apple and took a bite of the pizza, turning away from him knowing he was about to start.

"So the waitress was pretty, was she?" he asked casually.

"You really didn't notice. Poor girl."

"I had a lot on my mind."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"Something you said to Jessica...it bothered me."

"Well you know what they say about eavesdroppers," I reminded him. "Was it about the driving?" I laughed.

The corner of his mouth turned up.

"I heard that, too. I, also, warned you I'd be listening."

"And I warned you that you didn't want to know everything I was thinking."

"You did. But that isn't the point, do you really believe you care more for me than I do for you?" he murmured, leaning even closer to me, his dark, golden eyes piercing.

"You're doing it again."

"What?"

"Dazzling me." I admitted.

"Oh," he frowned.

"It's not your fault," I sighed. "You can't help it."

"Are you going to answer the question?"

"Yes."

"Yes, you're going to answer the question, or yes, that's your answer." He was irritated again.

"Yes, I really think that." I kept my eyes down, following the grain of the wooden table.

Finally, he spoke. "You're wrong." I glanced up to see his eyes looking gentle.

"You can't know that," I disagreed in a whisper. I shook my head in doubt.

"What makes you think so?" His gaze was penetrating-trying futilely, to lift the truth from my mind. I could see him getting impatient again.

"Let me think." I insisted. His expression cleared, pleased that I was going to answer the question. While I thought, I pressed my palms together, twisting and untwisting my fingers. They were ice cold. "Well, aside from the obvious, sometimes," I hesitated. "I can't be sure but it seems like you're trying to say goodbye, when you're saying something else." That was the best description I could give at the sensation of anguish his words could trigger in me.

"Perceptive," he whispered. The feeling of anguish was setting in again. "You're still wrong though," he began to explain. His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'the obvious'?

"Well, look at me," I said. "I'm absolutely ordinary, aside from well you-know-what, and all the near-death experiences. And look at you."

His brow creased. "Like I said before, you really don't see yourself clearly. You are dead on about the near death experiences. But I heard all of the thoughts of all of the male in this school on your first day of school."

"I don't believe it," I mumbled to myself.

"Trust me just this once- you are the opposite of ordinary."

My embarrassment was warming up my face more. The feeling of exhaustion hitting me a little harder now.

"I have another question for you, did you really need to go to Seattle this weekend, or was that just an excuse to say no to all your admirers?"

I laughed, all of my 'admirers' would be gone in seconds once I started getting really sick. Or once I started looking sick.

"You know I haven't forgiven you for the Tyler thing yet," I warned him. "It's your fault that he's deluded himself into thinking that he's going to prom with me. We'll see if I'm even around then."

He glared at me, "Still not funny."

I shrugged.

"Anyway Tyler would have found a way to ask you one way or another. I just really wanted to watch you face." He laughed. "If I'd asked you, would you have told me no?"

"Probably not," I admitted. "But I probably would have found a way to cancel later. Maybe a broken ankle or something."

He was puzzled. "Why would you do that?"

I shook my head sadly. "You've never seen me in Gym, I guess, but I would have thought you would understand."

"Are you referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?"

"Obviously."

"That wouldn't be a problem, it's all in the leading." He could see me about to protest. "But you never answered my question, do you have your heart set on going to Seattle, or do you mind if we do something different?"

As long as there was a 'we', I didn't care.

"I'm open to alternatives," I allowed. "But I do have one request."

He looked wary, like he always did when I asked open ended questions. He nodded.

"Can I drive?"

He frowned, "Why?"

"Mostly because your driving scares me, but also Charlie." I didn't want him to come home and still see my truck there.

He rolled his eyes. "Of all the things to worry about, you worry about my driving." He shook his head. "Won't you want to tell your father you're spending the day with me?"

"You know he's seen you dropping me off twice now, he's starting to wonder about you. If you hadn't figured me out, he would have made me tell you," I laughed. "He's a stickler for honesty."

The corner of his mouth was slightly turned up and he was leaning towards me again. "So are you going to tell him?" He asked again.

"I don't know, I guess if he asks again, I guess I can." This seemed to please Edward, The exhaustion was hitting me like a truck. Mentally, I was fine, but physically I felt drained.

"The weather will be nice, so I'll be staying out of the public. You can stay with me if you'd like."

"And you'll be showing me what you meant about the sun?" I was a little excited about the unknowns.

"Yes." He smiled then paused, "But if you don't want to be alone with me, I'd still prefer you didn't go to Seattle by yourself."

"You know Phoenix is three times bigger than Seattle, just in population. And in physical size-"

"But," he interrupted me. "Evidently your number wasn't up in Phoenix. So I'd rather you stay near me."

I shook my head, "Not entirely true, but as it happens I don't mind being alone with you."

EPOV

With all of the 'jokes' and comments Bella had just made, I was aware that my siblings could hear us. Even if they weren't doing it intentionally. It didn't take much for them to start putting the pieces together, they may not have known the specifics but they were getting an idea.

Jasper was the first one to realize his thoughts were a mix of sorrow for me and Bella, regret at how he had wanted to 'take care' of her, and feeling the insurmountable exhaustion radiating from Bella. Rosalie was conflicted once she put the pieces together, she was a little less sensitive, she was a mix of sadness for me, not Bella, more irritation that I couldn't leave Bella alone, and a mix of other emotions. Once Emmett piece it together he shared the same feelings as Alice, he had begun to see Bella as a future little sister, even with little to no interaction and Rosalie's borderline, unfounded animosity. I could see the tiredness in Bella's expression, but knowing her she would just push through.

BPOV

He started to look concerned. "Are you alright?"

I shrugged. I was dreading having to make it through Gym, the exhaustion was pummeling me. "A little tired, maybe." I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"

"I'll explain later. Want to go home?" I was tempted to say no, that I was fine, but I felt weary, more weary than normal. I nodded my head. Charlie would not mind my missing class if it was for an actual reason. Evidently we were the last people in the cafeteria. He opened the door, gently guiding me outside. We made it to his car and he opened the door for me.

"Okay, explain." I said as I got into his car.

He sighed. "You know you should really say something if you're not feeling alright."

I shrugged, "Nothing new." I said after a second of silence. "Back to you explaining."

"I told you Jasper can sense emotions," I nodded. "Well he felt this wave of exhaustion coming from you. Only you could make a vampire tired," he laughed.

I felt slightly embarrassed. I gave him a slight chuckle. "And, of course, you overhead him think that."

The corner of his mouth twitched up. "If school is taxing, why don't you switch to online or something? I'm sure you could test out if you wanted, you are smart enough."

"One, live life as normally as possible means the good and the bad, school, friends, everything. Two, have you tried to use the internet in Forks, it's awful. Testing out? I don't know. I'd hoped that I could live long enough for Renee and Charlie to see my graduate, you know at least give them that. I'm fine," he gave me a pointed look. "Really, I just overdid it yesterday. All the walking, and then speed walking away from those guys." I shuddered.

I don't think he really knew what to say to that. His arm and my arm were both on the middle console. They were very nearly touching. If it was possible, I was even more aware of him. I wanted to move my hand on top of his, but I didn't want to push my luck. The air was crackling with electricity.