The morning after Edward's little stunt with his car brought about the most bizarre change Niki had ever seen.

Bella had just parked - and neither Niki nor Mia missed the fact that she had parked as far as possible from a certain silver Volvo - and the girls had just disembarked when a familiar figure appeared as though out of thin air.

Bella missed Edward's approach, having dropped the truck keys in a puddle and being absorbed in bending to pick them up, but Niki jumped when she saw Edward appear around the corner of their truck. She was further disturbed when Edward flashed her and Mia a smile, acting as though he hadn't been ignoring all of them for weeks; but Bella was in for the greater shock as Edward bent down and snagged her keys for her before Bella could even reach them.

Bella leapt up, knocking into the truck as she did, and she stared at Edward in shock.

"Good morning, Bella. Mia, Nico." Edward greeted.

"Hi..." Niki said slowly. Had he just called her Nico as well?

Bella meanwhile glared at the boy.

"How do you do that?" She demanded and Edward tilted his head while an irritating smirk appeared on his lips.

"Do what?" He asked, holding out the truck keys for Bella.

"Appear out of thin air." Bella clarified as she took the keys Edward dropped into her open palm. Edward laughed.

"Bella, it's not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant."

Niki frowned; she hadn't seen him walk up either. She and Mia exchanged glances and Niki caught Edward briefly looking their way before he looked back at Bella as she demanded sharply, "Why the traffic jam last night? I thought you were supposed to be pretending I don't exist, not irritating me to death."

"That was for Tyler's sake, not mine." Edward answered with a wider grin. "I had to give him his chance."

Niki's jaw dropped while Bella sucked in a breath with a hiss.

"You..." Bella gasped, infuriated. Apparently words failed her, she was that angry - but if anything, it seemed that Edward was only more amused by her as his grin widened.

"And I'm not pretending you don't exist." He added as though it were an afterthought.

Niki glanced between the pair oddly but Bella appeared not to notice anything as she shot back waspishly, "So you are trying to irritate me to death? Since Tyler's van didn't do the job?"

That made the smile disappear off Edward's face fast. His lips pressed together in a hard line and his eyes flashed with anger. Niki noticed his eyes were lighter than they had been the prior week - and she was sure she wasn't imagining it.

Edward shot her a sharp look that only made Niki frown further before he looked at Bella and said in a flat and cold voice, "Bella, you are utterly absurd."

Bella's glare intensified; it was somewhat alarming. Niki couldn't even remember the last time Bella had been angry let alone as aggressively as she was now. She even swore Bella was inches away from punching Edward. Sadly, her friend just folded her lips angrily before abruptly grabbing Mia's arm and walking swiftly away.

Niki saw the way Mia stumbled, barely keeping herself upright as she hastened to fall in step with Bella's brisk pace.

"Wait!" Edward called, quickly following the two girls with one last sideways glance at Niki.

Niki shook her head after them.

"I will never understand." She decided before she trailed further behind the sisters and Bella's new weird stalker. She stayed away from the odd trio however, deciding that she wasn't ready for any more strangeness just yet.

Instead, Niki headed to her own locker. She had just spun the dial three time and opened it when a familiar brunette appeared beside her.

"Hey, Nico." Alice greeted her as usual. Not like usual however were Timothy and Jasper, who were already in tow beside Alice despite the fact that there was still quite some time until the bell rang.

Shutting her locker door, Niki looked at Alice seriously, making Timothy tense just slightly as though he were wary of her. He always seemed like that around her.

"Alice," Niki began seriously, "is your brother actually just weird?"

Timothy blinked; clearly that was not what he had expected her to say. On the other hand, Jasper's lip curved up in humour. But the entire school froze and glanced over as a beautiful, musical laugh broke out over the usual morning chatter. Alice ignored the looks and instead looped her arm in Niki's as she struggled to check her giggles enough to answer.

"Yes!"

Lunch brought yet another surprise. Niki entered late after she and Angela had stopped by Angela's locker to gossip about Lauren finally asking Tyler to the Spring Dance while Angela had kindly asked Eric so the group could all go together. They were deciding if they should go to Port Angeles to do dress shopping after the weekend they had planned at La Push when they arrived at the cafeteria, and Niki swore she was dreaming the moment she did. Because there was no reality she could imagine where Bella was sitting with Edward for lunch.

"What is going on today?" She wondered as Angela also stopped to stare at the unusual sight of a Cullen actually sitting with someone outside their family.

The two girls quickly joined their usual group of friends who were for once quiet as they also stared at Bella and Edward.

"What happened?" Niki whispered to Mia as she and Angela slid into their seats. Mia just shook her head, her eyes never leaving her sister.

"He asked Bella to sit with him at lunch this morning." Mia explained in a low voice so none of the others would hear her. "She and I didn't really believe he meant it until we arrived at the cafeteria and Edward was sitting alone, waiting for her."

Niki shook her head in amazement as she looked back at the odd pair sitting together.

"Maybe I was actually in a coma after the accident this entire time?" She wondered.

Mia snorted, but Niki was then distracted as her eyes absently moved over to the other Cullens. Alice looked quite calm and Emmett even seemed faintly amused by something. But she could easily read the tension in Timothy and Jasper. And Rosalie… Niki didn't think she had ever seen anger as dark as she saw on the beautiful blonde's face.

As Niki watched, Rosalie abruptly stood up and stalked out of the cafeteria. Emmett was behind her in a flash. Niki watched them go, puzzled as to why Rosalie seemed so angry (surely she couldn't hate Bella? They'd never even spoken), before she looked back at the remaining Cullens. Only to find herself staring right into Jasper's eyes. He had apparently been watching her after his sister's departure, but Niki was startled to find the same conflicted expression she'd seen on his face the first day she'd come back to school.

Niki frowned. She was really starting to feel like she was being left out of some big secret, something only the Cullens knew although maybe Edward was starting to let Bella in on it. And whatever it was, she was starting to become impatient: what could be so bad the entire family felt like they had to be on edge every time someone so much as talked to another person outside their little circle?

Niki was still thinking about the odd display at lunch as she sat down in Biology. She also didn't miss the fact that Edward was mysteriously missing from the class - maybe he was going on one of those hiking trips the Cullens seemed to often skip school for?

"Okay, guys," Mr. Banner called, drawing Niki's attention back as he had Mike start handing out some small cardboard boxes around the class.

"I want you all to take one piece from each box. The first should be an indicator card," he grabbed a white card with four squares marked on it from his own box and held it up for the class to see. "The second is a four-pronged applicator," he held up something that looked like a nearly toothless hair pick. "And the third is a sterile micro-lancet."

He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open to attempt to show them the barb inside. It was too small for Niki to see, but she realised now what they were doing this class. She grimaced; she hated blood testing day. She'd already had to do it during middle school on the rez.

"I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you." Mr. Banner continued as he started with Mike and carefully put a drop of water in each of the four squares on Mike's card.

"Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet-" He demonstrated by stabbing the tip of Mike's finger and then he squeezed slightly. "Put a small drop of blood on each of the prongs, and then apply it to the card."

He finished by dropping Mike's blood onto his card before he held it up for the rest of the class to see.

"The Red Cross is having a blood drive in Port Angeles next weekend, so I thought you should all know your blood type." He sounded proud of himself as he started to move around the classroom with his water drops. "Those of you who aren't eighteen yet will need a parent's permission. I have slips at my desk."

As her classmates started pricking and squealing when Mr. Banner was done preparing their cards, Niki started to sit back in resignation. But something caught her attention from the corner of her eye and Niki turned in surprise when she saw Bella sitting with her head against her lab table. It was unlike the brunette to be so out of it. Niki frowned.

"What's wrong with Bella?" Niki wondered, drawing Angela's attention. Angela looked over and she frowned too.

"I don't know…" She murmured just as Mr. Banner reached Bella as well. Niki watched them exchange brief words before Mr. Banner looked up.

"Can someone take Bella to the nurse, please?" Mr. Banner called, surprising Niki.

"I wi-" Mike started but Niki beat him quickly. She didn't think Bella would want Mike to accompany her, not after her awkward rejection.

"I'll do it, sir. I already know my blood type." She added when Mr. Banner paused.

"Okay, then." Mr. Banner nodded and Niki ignored the look Mike shot her. Instead, she hurried over to Bella's side.

"Can you walk, Bells?" Niki asked and Bella nodded weakly.

"Yeah." There was a desperation in her voice, like she would crawl out if she had to rather than stay inside the classroom.

Niki quickly helped her friend out of her seat. Together, the two girls exited the classroom. They were forced to go slow as Bella pretty much leaned her entire weight on Niki, whose bad arm kept her from being able to fully support Bella. It turned out not to matter anyway, as the moment they had rounded the corner of the classroom building, Bella stopped.

"Just let me sit for a minute, please?" She begged, still looking quite green.

"Sure." Niki was quick to do as Bella asked, helping her friend to sit on the edge of the walk. She watched anxiously as Bella slumped over, putting her cheek on the cold sidewalk. Maybe she was really ill? Surely she wasn't this sick just from the sight of blood? How was Niki supposed to get Bella to help if she couldn't move her?

"Bella, are you okay?" Niki asked worriedly and hoping she wasn't going to be sick, when a very familiar voice called from a distance.

"Bella?"

It was a little amusing how quickly Bella's face went from green to stark white. If she wasn't so worried about her friend, Niki might have laughed.

"No…" Bella moaned while Niki looked over at Edward who had appeared as if out of nowhere and was hurrying toward them.

"What's wrong - is she hurt?" Edward called, sounding and looking quite upset. Niki clocked the reaction as odd for a guy who had until yesterday been ignoring Bella's existence but at this point she would take any help she could get because there was no way in hell she was going to be able to get Bella to the nurse's office on her own.

"No, she's not hurt physically, I don't think."

"Was it the blood test?" Edward was slowing down now, and his voice sounded slightly strained. Like he wasn't breathing.

Niki gave him an odd look. "No, she didn't even prick her finger. I thought she was faint from everyone else's blood, but she looks really bad. How did you know we were doing blood tests?"

"Bella?" Edward called, ignoring her question as he joined the girls quickly. His voice was back to normal now, but Niki was puzzled as she thought he sounded relieved. "Can you hear me?"

"No," Bella groaned. "Go away."

Edward chuckled and he looked at Niki. "Where were you two going?"

"Nurse's office." Niki leveled him a look and repeated her question. "How did you know we were doing blood testing?"

"I overheard Mr. Banner talking about it this morning." Edward explained as he bent down beside Bella. "It's why I skipped class."

Niki was surprised by how easily he admitted he had purposefully ditched class but she was in for a greater surprise when Edward lifted Bella up in his arms like she weighed nothing.

"Hey!" Niki cried but Edward explained, "I'm just taking her to the nurse's office. You're not exactly able to take her, especially with your arm still healing."

Niki was unable to protest that. Bella, on the other hand, had plenty to say.

"Put me down! I said, put me down!" Bella protested, but Edward ignored her.

"I can take it from here." He told Niki. "You could go back to class… but if you go around that corner, I think you'll find a small gift."

He flashed a brilliant smile at her as he nodded to the cafeteria before he strode off with Bella still protesting in his arms. Niki hesitated for a moment, but curiosity made her follow the direction of Edward's nod. Besides, Edward was right about one thing: she wasn't much help to Bella and at least Bella was in capable hands.

Niki rounded the corner to find Jasper waiting although his glare was still being directed to where they could just see Edward disappearing toward the nurse's office.

"Jasper?" Niki wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but she could say it definitely wasn't this. Jasper moved his gaze to her face and his gaze softened.

"Hello, Niki."

"What are you doing? Don't you have class?" Niki asked, puzzled. Jasper shrugged.

"I saw you leave your classroom with Bella and was worried."

"So you're skipping class now too?" Niki raised a brow and Jasper smiled slightly.

"Technically, I'm on a bathroom break." He answered before he leant against the wall. "So, Bella faints at the sight of blood?"

"Apparently." Niki admitted. "I didn't know. I don't remember her having this kind of reaction when we were kids, but it was a long time ago."

"Hm." Jasper hummed but there was a slight gleam in his eyes like he was thinking of some private joke.

Niki almost asked but she didn't. Instead, she asked, "So… do you have any plans for the weekend?"

"Yes." Jasper nodded, and Niki was a little bit disappointed. "Our family has a hiking trip planned; we're actually leaving early tomorrow morning."

"Hiking? In this weather?" Niki asked, glancing at the sleeting rain. Jasper just grinned. "Where are you guys going?"

"Goat Rocks."

Niki frowned at Jasper's answer. "Goat Rocks? Aren't there a lot of bears there? I think Mike was talking about it before as a good place during the hunting season."

"It's fine, if you know what you're doing." Jasper answered but there was an amused smile playing at his lips that made Niki curious.

"So you've been many times?" She asked and Jasper nodded.

"Quite often - Emmett particularly loves to go there." Again, Jasper seemed to be enjoying some private joke.

Before Niki could ask about it, however, Jasper asked curiously, "Are you doing anything?"

"Well, my friends and I are planning to meet at La Push on Saturday to spend the day at the beach." Niki explained. Jasper's lips tilted in a teasing manner.

"In this weather?" He nodded at the rain teasingly and Niki stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's supposed to clear up by the weekend." She paused before admitting, "I was actually thinking that if you and Alice were free, you guys were welcome to join us. But, I guess maybe next time…?"

Niki trailed off as some emotion flashed across Jasper's face. It was too quick for her to be sure, but she thought he almost looked surprised, touched… and a little bit regretful, before he was just shrugging lightheartedly.

"That's kind of you to offer. Maybe next time." He agreed, when suddenly he stiffened. Niki was about to ask what was wrong when she heard a commotion from around the corner.

Niki peered out to see Mike hauling Lee along the sidewalk toward the nurse's office. He was still quite a ways away, apparently having just left the classroom - but even from this distance Niki could see the blood on Lee's hand.

She grimaced, but she was surprised when Jasper said abruptly, "I should get back to class. See you later, Nico."

Niki started at Jasper's use of her family name, which was unusual for him, but before she could say anything, Jasper was disappearing around the back of the cafeteria. She almost questioned it but then decided he must be trying to sneak his way back without being seen - why else would he go around the back where no one could see him disappear?

With that thought, Niki went back to class. Bella never returned and she never showed up to Gym either, which was worrying. Mia especially was beside herself with alarm when she heard they'd done blood testing and Bella had taken ill. She almost stormed to the nurse's office and Niki was pretty sure she would have, if Edward hadn't appeared at the end of their class, holding the keys to the truck.

"Bella wasn't feeling well so I drove her home earlier." He explained while the two girls stared at him in surprise. "She asked me to pass these along to you so you could take the truck home."

"Oh." Mia hesitated before she took the keys. "Thanks, I guess."

"You're very welcome." Edward smiled, making Mia falter slightly. "Have a good weekend, girls."

"Thanks. You have a good time at Goat Rocks." Niki answered, making Mia look at her in surprise. "Jasper told me you guys were going hiking this weekend."

"We are." Edward nodded.

"Isn't that the place Mike's talked about? Aren't there a lot of bears?" Mia asked, puzzled.

"It's quite safe if you know what you're doing." Edward answered and Niki raised a brow.

"Jasper said the same thing. You guys had better be careful, too much confidence can be dangerous." She pointed out. Something about her sentence made Edward's expression dim for a second before he was back to his cheery self. But it was a second Niki didn't miss.

"The same could be said for you, Nico." Edward answered in a light, almost teasing tone. "Be careful or you'll end up getting lost this weekend."

Niki flushed. "La Push is my home! I'm not likely to get lost in the place I lived my entire life."

Mia snorted before coughing hastily, while Edward just smiled.

"I hear you've still managed to do exactly that. You're infamous from what I hear."

"Heard from who?" Niki demanded but Edward just laughed.

"See you both later." He waved and walked away. Niki growled.

"You know, just one of these days, would it kill him to actually answer my question?"

*A/N: To all my loyal readers, Merry Christmas Eve and hope you have a wonderful holiday!