Monday came way too fast. We had spent most of the weekend together, which made it that much harder to separate for school. I got to the library an hour before class started to work on stuff I never got around to working on this weekend. I jumped when I felt someone smack me on the back.

"I figured you would be in here."

"You scared the crap out me. What time is it?"

"Nearly lunch." I spun around and stared at Angela.

"What?"

"Man you're gullible. You've got about ten minutes till first period."

"Sorry. I got absolutely nothing done this weekend and I was trying to get caught up."

"So, the date went well I take it?" She asked grinning. I tried to glare at her, but I couldn't stop my own smile.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Too bad I don't have time to talk about it right now though." I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She laughed at me and I promised to tell her during lunch. Jake texted me during first period.

I miss you.

Did you actually wake up for class then?

I made it to class but still trying to wake up

I told you to go home earlier. You're too stubborn.

Sorry not sorry I like spending time with you.

Again. It's just the food.

Umm, excuse me, pretty sure I brought pizza over last night.

Yes, and I made cookies.

I would have preferred the dough.

And that's why I made them before you came over.

Which speaking of, you probably shouldn't come over tonight.

Harsh Swan.

You know I want you to, but I have a project due next week and a paper due this Friday that I was planning on doing this weekend but for some reason got sidetracked.

Slacker

Shut it. I should be making you do it. It was your fault.

Hey, I didn't come over until yesterday afternoon. You had all morning to work on it.

You didn't leave til five am. When am I supposed to sleep exactly?

You did sleep. I have the drool stains on my shirt to prove it.

Eww, I don't drool!

No, but you do snore.

I hate you.

Yeah, sure.

Angela met me at the library for lunch and we talked about this weekend. She was still worried I was going to screw it up somehow, but I promised I was really not trying to think of anything except how happy I was. She said when her and Ben first started dating, they had to limit seeing each other to weekends only so they could keep up with school, and I agreed it was probably something Jake and I should think about too. Although, her and Ben also got to see each other during the day at school, so it wasn't quite the same.

We talked a little bit more about her weekend while we walked to our classes, and the paper we had coming up in history, and I was reminded of the project we had in bio for next Friday, and my unfortunate luck with having Cullen as my lab partner.

"He really can't be that bad can he? Half the girls in the school would die to get the chance to be in your place."

"They can have him then. I don't think anybody has any idea how weird he is. Their opinions are based solely on looks. They're brainless, remember?"

"So you think he's hot too?"

"I actually prefer my guys with a little more meat on their bones, and a little more color to their skin."

"Not to mention long, dark hair." She murmured.

"Yeah, that definitely doesn't hurt." And we both laughed.

Oh if the world had more Angela's in it, it would be a much better place. If only Angela was my lab partner, then the next 90 minutes wouldn't be so painful. Ugh.

"Good afternoon Isabella." I swear the sound of his voice made my skin crawl. Like it was too smooth or something.

Manufactured.

I just grunted back, without even looking at him. He had to know I was not the conversing type, not to mention he had ignored my many requests to not call me 'Isabella'. I lost patience with him a long time ago, and more often than not, he spoke to the back of my head. I was past being cordial, and the fact we had to work on this project together turned my stomach.

"Are you ready for next week?" He asked, and I cringed in frustration, and nearly crumpled my page of notes I was trying to take. I just nodded my head once.

"Why don't we get together after school this week to work on it together."

"I really don't think that is necessary."

"It is a partnered project."

"And we've already split everything up. Nothing more needs done as long as you do what you are supposed to."

"I'm not worried about me, Isabella."

Arrogant dick.

I wondered how much trouble I could possibly get in if I stabbed him in the eye with my pen. I didn't say anything else the rest of the period. The bell rang and I jammed my notebook in my bag as fast as possible.

"Isabella, I would really feel a lot better about everything if we could meet and go over everything together." I turned and looked him full in the face.

"I couldn't give a rat's ass how you feel!"

His eyes widened and mouth opened, and I spun around with satisfaction that I had finally shut the idiot up. I walked down the hall feeling a lot better having said my peace, when I was knocked backward by what I thought was a child. I dropped my bag and for some reason I hadn't zipped it all the way closed, and everything fell out.

Great.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" She helped me gather my stuff up off the floor. I had never seen her before, but she had those same weird yellow eyes that Creepy Cullen had. "I am such a klutz, I'm so so sorry! Are you ok? I can't believe I did that! Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine." I mumbled as I slung my bag back over my shoulder. She was causing a bigger scene by apologizing than she had by running into me. I swerved to walk around her but she stopped me and grinned widely at me.

"My name is Alice. Alice Cullen."

Figures. I had been around her for all of five seconds and was already completely done with her.

"Hi." I mumbled, and turned to go the other way instead. She called out for me but I kept on walking. What was with this family?

"Really? You didn't like her?"

Angela and I were in 7th period history and I was telling her about my earlier encounters with the Cullens.

"I don't know, it's just a first impression. She was making such a big deal about bumping into me, she was making a scene."

"Oh, well, she probably wasn't aware of your position around here as the invisible woman." She said, rolling her eyes.

"You're hilarious."

"I know. But really, she's the nicest of all of them."

"All of them? How many are there?" I asked in shock.

"Geez Bells, you really are in your own little world over there aren't you?"

"That's how we likes it." I said in my best Smoegel impression. She rolled her eyes at me.

"You're such a nerd. I think I may be the only person that would get that."

"Whatever. Now seriously, there are more? What are they, mormon or something?"

"What? Oh, no, they aren't all siblings. There are five of them. Edward and Alice are twins, and Emmett is their older brother. He's in our grade and they're juniors. Then there is Jasper and Rosalie Hale. They're cousins of the Cullens and live with them."

"Wait, Jasper that sits back there?" I looked to the back corner of the class. He was sitting in the same place he always sat with the same bored look like he always had. "He seems so normal though." Granted, I had never taken the time to study him, but he kept to himself, and that made him normal in my book.

"Yeah, that's him. His sister looks just like him. Tall, skinny, blonde, and perfect."

"Perfect, huh?" I smirked at her.

"I'm talking about her you idiot. She's a freaking runway model."

"How do you know all of this anyway?"

"How do you think?" She asked sarcastically.

Jessica.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Creepy Cullen is enough to keep me far far away." I stated.

"Nice!" Angela laughed at his moniker.

After class we decided to meet at my house to work on our history paper together. Actually, she made the decision based on me making barbecue chicken and mashed potatoes.

Seriously, if I couldn't cook, I wouldn't have any friends.

Ben met us at my car and ended up being invited to dinner also, so he and Angela walked off to their car. I was going through my bag looking for my keys when a voice came from behind me.

"Hello Isabella."

I heard my keys hit the pavement as I jumped in surprise.

"You have got to be freaking KIDDING ME!" I shouted the last part without meaning to, and spun around. Somehow this guy pushed all the wrong buttons, and I have never wanted to hurt someone so much.

"Please, Isabella. I came over to make peace." He said as he bent down to pick up my keys. "And reiterate that we really need to be working on our project. Together."

Ewww, that word. Now he not only annoyed me, but now revolted me as well.

Congrats.

I didn't even acknowledge his words. I just snatched my keys away from him and got in my car. And he stood there.

Looking at me.

With a stupid, almost creepy, looking smile on his face. What was this freak's problem?

I turned the key in my ignition.

Nothing.

I tried it over and over. I heard him tap on my window.

"Everything ok?"

I didn't look at him. Somehow, some way, I knew he had something to do with this.

I hung my head. Why wouldn't he just leave me alone? I was way past anger now. Frustration, as well as a bit of helplessness, had taken over and tears threatened to come. I refused to give him that benefit. I turned away from him, dug through my bag for my phone, and called the one person I knew I could always count on.

"Bells! Thank goodness you're not going through with this quarantine thing."

I gave a shaky laugh. He was already helping.

"Jake, I need you."

"Bella, what's wrong? Are you crying? What happened, where are you?" I heard something heavy and metallic drop and echo through his garage as he shuffled the phone around.

"I'm ok, just so very, very frustrated." I sniffed trying to forget about the crazy standing outside my door. "I'm at school, my car won't start." He blew out a sigh of relief.

"Geez babe, you scared me to death! I thought you were in trouble or something."

"No, nothing like that. Just annoyed." For some reason, I decided to omit the true reason for my annoyance.

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing serious, the thing is brand new. Worst case scenario, you got a dead battery. Let me clean up and I'll be there in about a half hour." Now it was my turn to sigh in relief.

"Thanks Jake, you have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"Bells, you act like this is some big favor. It's not. This is what I'm here for. I'd probably be mad if you didn't call me."

Now he had me smiling like a goofball, and I didn't care who saw me.

"Oh, well in that case, I guess I don't need to repay the kindness with dinner."

"Now you listen to me woman, coming to your rescue is just one of the perks of you being with me, and your cooking is a perk for me being with you. Got it?"

I laughed and conceded, and finally ended the call after another promise of him being here in thirty minutes or sooner.

I was betting on sooner.

I was still sitting in the afterglow of my conversation with Jacob when I heard another tapping on my window. I dropped my smile and just looked straight ahead through the windshield. I was back to anger. Jacob had pushed the frustration level down quite a bit. He made me remember that I was stronger than this.

"Isabella. Isabella, why don't you just let me drive you home. Maybe we could-"

I interrupted him the only way I could. I laid on the horn. The parking lot had thinned a bit, but there were plenty of people to stare. I kept my face blank and staring straight forward as he tried yelling over the noise at me, but I just sat there. My car may not be running right now, but my horn works just fine. And that sucker is loud too!

He finally got the hint and walked away, but I didn't stop until he got to his car. I wanted to laugh. As much as I hated making scenes and being seen, for some reason that felt really good. Not as good as punching him probably would, but good enough for now.

As much relief as I had felt when Cullen had walked away, it was nothing compared to the feeling of hearing the roar of Jake's bike coming down the road. I hurriedly packed up my history notes I had been working on and got out to meet him. I grinned at him as he pulled up next to me and pulled off his helmet.

"What are you so happy about?" He grinned back at me, pulling me to him.

"Just admiring my knight in shining armor coming to my rescue." He smiled and pulled me in for a long deep kiss. I couldn't help it, my hands wound back through his hair and I pulled him closer. I didn't care who saw us, although there were only a few people left this late. He did the same, wrapping one hand in my hair, and the other wrapping around my lower waist and pulling me flush against him.

He was still sitting on his bike, so I was centered around his one leg, right where it felt so good. I involuntarily rubbed against him and moaned. He lowered his hand getting a better grip on me and ground me into his leg again. I broke the kiss as I gasped.

"Oh, Jake. Not here baby." I gripped his shirt tight, trying to bring myself back to earth, trying to keep myself from mounting him. And that vision didn't help. I could feel him gripping my shirt too.

"Yeah." He cleared his throat, his voice rough and deep. "Uh, I need to…...to look at your car. Just, umm, give me a minute." I backed away from him, biting my lip in a smile. He had his eyes shut, he was pinching the bridge of his nose, and I knew he was trying to will himself to calm down.

"So Rachel was talking about her latest trip to Victoria's Secret for her new boyfriend, and you should see the outfit she bought..."

"ALRIGHT!" He said loudly. He blew out an exasperated sigh, and I held back a laugh. "Wow, you really know how to bring a guy back down, don't you Swan?"

"I'll make up for it later, promise." His eyes got big, and then he shook his head, getting off his bike.

"The car, the car. I need to check your car." He mumbled. He walked over and popped the hood and I let him look. I didn't even act like I was interested. He had tried teaching me over the years, but I didn't really see the point, since he was always around. He stood back looking…... not happy. That concerned me.

"What, what's wrong? And please remember you're talking to an idiot." I tried to joke. It didn't land, I wasn't even sure he heard it.

"Who has been in your car today?" He said very seriously, and almost sounded angry.

"Huh? What do you mean? Just me, why?"

"Did you give anyone the keys to it? To get something out of it?"

"No. Jake, what's wrong?" I felt my stomach clench. He bent back down and picked up something small with wires hanging out of it.

"Your spark plug wires have been cut. Not just pulled out, but cut."

"What could cause that." And suddenly I had a very good idea of not what, but who would cause that.

"Someone would have cut them purposely." He looked straight at me. "Someone didn't want you going anywhere." Suddenly I felt very

lightheaded.

Cullen….

He did this….

Why? Just to talk to me?

No….he couldn't have done this…..he's just annoying, he isn't…...

"Bella? What's wrong?" He looked at me with concern. I shook my head to clear away the thoughts. Right now is when I needed my head to be kept level, not clouded with both fear and rage.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just trying to figure out exactly what is going on here. So if someone cut these wires, do you think it could have been a prank? I mean it's rare that someone around here gets a brand new car, especially after they've been driving a dinosaur-"

"I don't know Bells, if this was a prank, then it wasn't done in fun. This is definitely vandalism, and it's gonna cost you money to get it fixed."

"But I couldn't have gotten hurt from it?" I definitely wasn't trying to defend anyone's actions, just trying to get all the evidence before I went around pointing fingers.

"No, not from this. You just can't get the car started. But if someone was waiting to try to get you alone, that would be a different story." His jaw clenched and he trembled a little as he said that and I debated about telling him my theory. I decided to try to lighten the tension instead.

"But Jake, there's just so many people I've pissed off over the years." I said dramatically with a smirk.

He took the bait.

"Yeah, but Jessica and Lauren are too stupid to even know where the engine of a car is, much less do any actual damage." He smirked back.

I could tell he was still tense, but I'll take that over angry.

"I guess we can swing by Autozone, and then you owe me some seriously good chicken. I'm starving." I smiled at him, and then I remembered.

"Oh no! Angela and Ben!"

"What?"

"They're at my house, waiting on me! I told them I was making dinner and then we were supposed to work on our paper tonight!"

"If she was worried, she would have called you, don't worry, her and Ben are probably-"

"She doesn't have my new number!"

"Alright." He said dropping the hood. "Let's go. Autozone can wait." He handed me the helmet he kept handy for me, and I got on behind him, scooting up close, holding onto him tight. I felt him take a deep breath before taking off.

I buried my face in his solid back, inhaling his delicious scent.I loved how he smelled. He had a slight garage smell to him, motor oil and gasoline, mixed with the smell of leather from his jacket, the fresh damp air that he had ridden through, and his own deep muskiness underlying all of it. There was no way I could ever explain it, it was just a very peaceful smell.

Safety.

And Home.

I squeezed him tighter as he accelerated onto the main road. I loved riding with him. It was exhilarating and I never felt scared, or that he would ever lose control. Maybe that was dumb of me, irresponsible and reckless, but I never felt that he would ever be careless with me.

I always felt that in everything he was doing, he was making sure I was being taken care of. I'm sure some of that was in my head, but I knew for a fact he didn't go as fast when I rode with him than when he rode by himself.

I just wish he would take as much care of himself though, I needed him just as much as he needed me.