Disclaimer: Not mine

Relied on the book for events in this chapter although I mixed the timeline around a bit.

Chapter 5

Bella put her book aside and headed downstairs as she heard the front door open. She'd lost track of time doing her English homework, so she quickly ran to the kitchen and took the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.

"Bella?"

"In the kitchen!" She called out as she began setting the table, hearing as Charlie locked his gun belt up. To her knowledge, he'd never had to shoot the gun and when she'd been younger he used to take the bullets out before locking it away, just to be extra safe. It seemed silly now since there was no way she could have gotten past the lock as a child.

She'd barely seen him since school had started, his shifts lining up badly with her school schedule, so it was nice to be having dinner together. "Welcome home," she smiled as he walked in, still in uniform.

"What's for dinner?" he asked as he looked at the stovetop and oven.

"Steak and potatoes," she answered, biting back a laugh at his relieved look.

Her Mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible….sometimes they were downright dangerous. That was partially why she'd taken over cooking duties as soon as she could. She was surprised Charlie still remembered that. He nodded and retreated to turn the TV on while she put a salad together. She called him in when it was done and he grabbed a beer, getting out a soda for her while she dished the food up.

"Smells good, Bells."

"Thanks," she smiled, and they began to eat. Neither of them was bothered by the quiet, unlike her Mom who would have tried to fill it and make it uncomfortable. She really was more like her Dad.

"So, how has school been? Made any friends?" he asked as he took seconds.

"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice, especially Angela." She didn't bother mention Edward Cullen's weird behaviour since Alice had explained, she hoped if he returned they could start again since they were lab partners.

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid, nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here," Charlie filled her in.

"Do you know the Cullen family well?" she asked hesitantly. She was curious about them, there was just something about them…

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school," Bella admitted, she understood that. She'd never fit in at any school and was shocked that she was so accepted here. Was it because of her Dad being the Chief? Or did they really like her?

Charlie surprised her by looking angry. "People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him, lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature, I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should, camping trips every other weekend… Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk." It was the longest speech she'd ever heard Charlie make. He must have felt very strongly about whatever people were saying.

Listening to him, it made her mad on the Cullen's behalf. Dr. Cullen had been so kind and gentle when stitching her up. Alice was just so bubbly that it was impossible to be annoyed by her. Jasper was harder to read, he was…still, maybe he was as shy as she was?

"They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves," she shrugged. "I talked to Alice Cullen and…Jasper Hale, they were nice. They're all very attractive," she added, trying to be more complimentary.

"Well you've seen Dr Cullen," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."

They lapsed back into silence as they finished eating. He cleared the table while she started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after she finished washing the dishes by hand, no dishwasher, she went upstairs to unwillingly to work on her math homework. She could feel a tradition in the making and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Did she want to make traditions? No matter how much she hated Forks she loved her Dad, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have their own traditions, even if they were very simple and rather dull.

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Edward parked in the driveway, happy to be home, even as he doubted whether coming back was the right thing to do or not. He may consider the Denali cousins, but he could only stand their company for limited amounts of time before they drove him mad. The sisters saw him as a challenge, trying to get him to give in to their charms.

In the end he had decided that he could not stay there for however long the family would be in Forks. He was not a coward, he would not run from his problems. Maybe, if he got to know Miss Swan somewhat it would lessen his desire for her blood, or at least make it easier to fight it. Surely it was harder to harm someone you knew? Her coming to Forks had made Charlie Swan so happy, the man had been their main defender, especially to the Quileute. He would not make the man grieve his only child.

He got out of his car and Esme appeared, smiling happily at seeing him again. "Oh Edward," she whispered, hugging him tight. "I'm so glad you're home. Carlisle is at the hospital, Jasper and Alice are hunting but Rosalie and Emmett are home," she told him as she guided him into the house.

Edward relaxed further as the scents of his family washed over him. It was good to be home.

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Sunday morning they were up early, Charlie dressed for fishing, and then they drove to La Push. He would be picking Billy up and she would spend the day with Jacob and some of the other kids. She was glad she'd spent time during the summer in Forks, it made showing up less awkward since they'd reconnected then. They drove separately so she wouldn't be stranded for the whole weekend.

"Bella!" Jake cried, pulling her into a hug and spinning her, making her laugh and stumble when he put her down.

Billy laughed at the sight. "I'm glad you're here Bella, you're all Jake's talked about all week," he teased, and she blushed slightly.

"Dad!" Jake hissed, embarrassed. "Go fish or something."

Billy and Charlie laughed but headed off and the two teens walked from the house to pick up the Clearwater's, Embry and Quill, before heading to the beach.

The mile-long crescent of First Beach was still breathtaking, no matter how many times she saw it. The water was dark grey, even in the sunlight, white-capped and heaving to the grey, rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, uniformly grey from a distance, but close up were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta, sea green, lavender, blue grey, dull gold. The tide line was strewn with huge driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves, some piled together against the edge of the forest fringe, some lying solitary, just out of reach of the waves. There was a brisk wind coming off the waves, cool and briny. Pelicans floated on the swells while seagulls and a lone eagle wheeled above them. The clouds still circled the sky, threatening to invade at any moment, but for the moment the sun shone bravely in its halo of blue sky.

They picked their way down to the beach, Jake leading the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties before. There was a fire circle already in place, filled with black ashes.

Embry went to work, and they soon had a bonfire goings, smores being handed around. Bella was intrigued by the colours coming from the driftwood fire, strange blue and green flames crackling toward the sky.

"I'm glad you're here, it's nice not being the only girl," Leah offered as they watched the boys play fight.

"Glad I could help," Bella answered, laughing as they teamed up and dumped Jake in the sea. Hearing her laugh as he surfaced he headed for her and she scrambled up. "Don't you dare!" she warned, backing away. She yelped as he caught her around the waist and put her over his shoulder. "Put me down!" she struggled, but Jake was taller and stronger, despite being younger. "Help!" she looked back to Leah who got up only to be blocked by the other three. Jacob moved to toss her in, and she shrieked but then he dropped her to her feet in the wet sand.

"Not funny," she shook her head and retreated.

Eventually they headed for the tidal pools, walking through the woods briefly before emerging at the tidal pools. It was low tide, and a tidal river flowed past them on its way to the sea. Along its pebbled banks, shallow pools that never completely drained were teeming with life.

"So how do you like the truck?" Jacob asked as they walked, occasionally reaching out to keep her from falling in, she'd done that a lot as a kid when at the pools with Charlie.

"I love it. It runs great."

"Yeah, but it's really slow," he laughed. "I was so relieved when Charlie bought it. Dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a perfectly good vehicle right there."

"It's not that slow," she objected, defending her truck.

"Have you tried to go over sixty?" he smirked, and she thought about it before shaking her head.

"No," she admitted.

"Good. Don't," he grinned.

She couldn't help grinning back. "It'll do great in a collision," she offered in her truck's defence.

"I don't think a tank could take out that old monster," he agreed with another laugh. "Be careful though, no airbags," he warned, and she nodded.

"So you build cars?" she asked, impressed, she hadn't heard that during her visit. They'd stuck to the house or beach during the summer when she'd come to the Res, or had been with their Dad's and the others for BBQ.

"When I have free time, and parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?" he added jokingly.

"Sorry," she laughed, "I haven't seen any lately, but I'll keep my eyes open for you." As if she knew what that was, but Jake knew that. She should probably learn some about cars, so she could do things like change the oil when needed, it would save money if she could do it herself. "Think you could offer some lessons?"

Jake blinked but then grinned. "Sure thing, you come with your Dad on a Saturday and I'll teach you how to look after that monster."

"Deal."

"So, how's school? Bet you're the most popular girl there," he nudged her arm.

Bella groaned, "I prefer not being in the spotlight. It's…school. Having to take gym is a real pain, literally. There isn't the selection of subjects I'm used to so I'm looking at doing some online work."

"You think that's bad, you should try the Res school."

"Yeah, it must be bad being even smaller," she didn't want to imagine it. "I guess I'm making friends? There's a group I sit with for lunch and I've spoken with Alice Cullen a few times."

"Cullen?" Jake asked in surprise, and she nodded.

"Do you know them?" She asked, curious and Jake shook his head.

"The Cullen's don't come here," Embry answered as he walked past them.

"What did he mean?" she asked once he was out of earshot.

"The Cullen's? Oh, they're not supposed to come onto the reservation." He looked away, out toward the ocean.

"Why not?" she pressed, why did people not like them? Other than Edward, those she'd met had been very kind.

He glanced back at her, biting his lip. "Oops. I'm not supposed to say anything about that," he grimaced slightly. He didn't understand why his Dad and the Elders insisted on secrecy though, it was stupid.

"Oh, I won't tell anyone, I'm just curious," Bella rolled her eyes, but she was very curious.

"Do you like scary stories?" he asked ominously, trying to build atmosphere. Seriously, what could it hurt to tell her? Charlie was practically an honorary member of the tribe anyway.

"I love them," she laughed, she didn't really but she was committed to hearing what they thought of the Cullen's. Something about that family drew her in, in a way that she had never felt before.

Jacob strolled to a nearby driftwood tree that had its roots sticking out like the attenuated legs of a huge, pale spider, sitting at the edge of the pools, closer to the ocean. He perched lightly on one of the twisted roots while she sat beneath him on the body of the tree. He stared down at the rock pools, a smile hovering around the edges of his broad lips. Bella could see he was going to try to make this good, so she focused on making sure she didn't act scared. "Do you know any of our old stories, about where we came from…the Quileute's, I mean?" he began.

"Not really," she admitted, feeling bad for not knowing much. She'd known the Black's since she was a baby, why had she never learnt more about their people, their culture? She really had been a self-absorbed kid.

"Well, there are lots of legends, some of them claiming to date back to the Flood, supposedly, the ancient Quileute's tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the ark," he smiled, to show her how little stock he put in the histories. "Another legend claims that we descended from wolves, and that the wolves are our brothers still. It's against tribal law to kill them. Then there are the stories about the cold ones," his voice dropped a little lower.

"The cold ones?" she asked, not faking her intrigue now. Dr. Cullen's hands had been colder than normal when he treated her.

"Yes. There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some much more recent. According to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. He was the one who made the treaty that kept them off our land," he rolled his eyes.

"Your great-grandfather?"

"He was a tribal elder, like my father. You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf—well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves."

"Werewolves have enemies?" she asked even as her mind mulled over Jacob's lineage, he was descended from Chief's and Elders.

"Only one," he paused for a second. "So you see," Jacob continued, "the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. But this pack that came to our territory during my great-grandfather's time was different. They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did, they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe. So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they would promise to stay off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale faces," he winked at her.

"If they weren't dangerous, then why… ?" she tried to understand, struggling not to let him see how seriously she was considering his ghost story, which was ridiculous, most doctors had cold hands.

"There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilised like this clan was. You never know when they might get too hungry to resist," he deliberately worked a thick edge of menace into his tone.

"What do you mean, 'civilised'?"

"They claimed that they didn't hunt humans. They supposedly were somehow able to prey on animals instead."

"So how does it fit in with the Cullen's? Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?" she was a bit confused about how the two things were linked.

"No," he paused dramatically. "They are the same ones." He must have thought the expression on her face was fear inspired by his story. He smiled, pleased, and continued. "There are more of them now, a new female and a new male, but the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time they already knew of the leader, Carlisle. He'd been here and gone before your people had even arrived." He was fighting a smile.

"And what are they?" She finally asked. "What are the cold ones?" she was very confused.

He smiled darkly. "Blood drinkers," he replied in a chilling voice. "Your people call them

vampires."

She stared out at the tidal river after he answered, not sure what her face was showing as she struggled to come to term with what Jacob had said. It wasn't possible, was it? Though…maybe that would explain Edward?

"You have goose bumps," he laughed delightedly.

"You're a good storyteller," she complimented him, still staring into the water.

"Pretty crazy stuff, though, isn't it? No wonder my Dad doesn't want us to talk about it to anyone."

She couldn't control her expression enough to look at him yet. "Don't worry, I won't give you away," she promised. Who would she tell without sounding crazy?

"I guess I just violated the treaty," he laughed.

"I'll take it to the grave," Bella promised, and then she shivered.

"Seriously, though, don't say anything to Charlie. He was pretty mad at my dad when he heard that some of us weren't going to the hospital since Dr. Cullen started working there."

"I won't, of course not."

"So do you think we're a bunch of superstitious natives or what?" he asked in a playful tone, but with a hint of worry.

Bella still hadn't looked away from the water. She turned and smiled at him as normally as she could. "No. I think you're very good at telling scary stories, though. I still have goose bumps, see?" She held up her arm and sure enough there were small bumps over the skin.

"Cool," he smiled.

"Hey you two! Come on!" Quill yelled so they stood and headed back to the beach, making some more smores before heading back.

Bella got in her truck and waved goodbye, heading home. She had a lot to think about now. She made sure she had a healthy dinner since her lunch had been junk and then did some homework before bed. She glanced at her computer a few times but decided to leave it, she could ponder the legends more later. Vampires didn't exist, they were just stories.

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Alice checked her visions, seeing Bella with Edward, looking at him lovingly and smiled. Edward deserved to finally be happy and she hoped it worked out for them, that he wouldn't ruin it like she had seen several times. She checked on Bella and sighed, house work on a weekend? She wished they were closer already so she could drive over and rescue her.

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On Sunday Bella cleaned the house, got ahead on her homework, and wrote her Mom a more cheerful e-mail. She did drive to the library, but it was so poorly stocked that she didn't bother to get a card; she would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. Bella wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got… and shuddered at the thought. The rain had stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so she was able to sleep well, despite Jake's scary story. It was just crazy superstition, wasn't it? And yet she wasn't able to fully push it out of her mind.

People greeted her in the parking lot Monday morning. Bella still didn't know all their names, but she waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by her side. They had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was straightforward, very easy, she'd read the book several times over the years and had studied it in class before. All in all, she was feeling a lot more comfortable than she had thought she would feel by this point. More comfortable than she had ever expected to feel in Forks. Maybe she would actually be happy here?

When they walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. She could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at her cheeks, her nose.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."

She looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past her face. "Ew." Snow. There went her good day.

He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes, you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips," she grimaced, and he stared at her. "What?"

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure I have," she paused. "On TV. I lived in Arizona and before that California, they aren't known for snow."

Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. They both turned to see where it came from. Bella had her suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward them…in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" she kept walking as she spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside." She was cold enough already, thank you.

He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the winter. Bella kept her mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain, until it melted in your socks.

She walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. Bella kept a binder in her hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Jessica thought she was hilarious, but something in Bella's expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at her, herself. Mike caught up to them as they walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as they got in line to buy food. Bella glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit, Alice always waved or smiled hello, so did Jasper most days. And then she froze where she stood. There were five people at the table.

Jessica pulled on her arm. "Hello? Bella? What do you want?"

Bella looked down; her ears were hot. She had no reason to feel self-conscious, she reminded herself, she hadn't done anything wrong.

"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.

"Nothing," Bella answered. "I'll just get a soda today." She caught up to the end of the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," she said eyes still on the floor. She waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, eyes on her feet.

She sipped her soda slowly, her stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how she was feeling. Bella told him it was nothing, why did she feel like that? She took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. She had done nothing wrong, Edward had just been overly stressed when they met. He was back now; did that mean he hadn't been accepted? He would surely be disappointed if that was the case so she wouldn't say anything. She was basically an adult and she would handle Biology like an adult.

She glanced at them, they were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair

entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else, only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of them. But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and she couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. She examined Edward the most carefully. His skin was less pale, flushed from the snow fight maybe, the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. Alice glanced her way and waved and then Jasper nodded at her as well, so she waved in greeting before turning back to her soda.

Vampires….yeah right. Jacob was right, the stories were crazy. She felt bad for them, for all the rumours people like Lauren and Jessica spread about them, how the people on the Reservation refused to go to the hospital just because Dr. Cullen was there.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following where she had been looking before and Bella couldn't help glancing back.

At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet hers. She dropped her head, letting her hair fall to conceal her face. Bella was sure, though, in the instant their eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time she'd seen him. He looked merely

curious again, unsatisfied in some way.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled in her ear.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" She couldn't help asking.

"No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me," she confided.

"The Cullen's don't like anybody… well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him," Bella hissed.

She snickered, but she looked away. Mike interrupted them then, he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted them to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. Bella kept silent, she would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.

For the rest of the lunch hour Bella very carefully kept her eyes at her own table. She didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual, he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers, but when they went to the door, everyone besides her groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. Bella pulled her hood up, secretly pleased, she would be free to go

straight home after Gym. Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.

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Edward glanced away from his family as he caught Jessica's thoughts and found her sitting with Bella. Once again, there was utter silence from the girls mind, it was like she wasn't even there.

'Edward?' Jasper's concerned thought reached him, and he shrugged minutely.

"I still can't read her," he admitted too quietly for anyone but his family to hear.

"Will you be alright in class?" Rose asked, worried he'd snap, and they'd have to move again. Edward nodded even as Alice smiled.

"You'll be fine, just talk to her," she told him.

Edward nodded again, finally looking away from Bella. He would not disappoint his family by slipping. Except for when he'd left the family, he'd never touched human blood, he would not slip now.

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Once inside the classroom, she saw with relief that her table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. Bella took her seat and doodled in her notebook while waiting for class to start. She heard very clearly when the chair next to her moved, but she refused to look over and appear nosey.

"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.

Bella looked up, stunned that he was speaking to her. He was sitting as far away from her as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward her so that was an improvement, right? His hair was dripping wet, dishevelled, but he still looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful. "My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

"Yes. Your sister told me about your audition, I hope it went well," she offered, and he smiled.

"It did, thank you. The next opening they have is mine."

"Congratulations. Your family must be very proud. Alice sounded very excited for you."

"Thank you," he managed a small smile for her, but it looked strained, pained almost. Was he not happy with the result?

Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. She tried to concentrate as he explained the lab for the day, biting back an annoyed groan as she realised it was something she had done before. Wonderful. Couldn't they cover something new in one of her subjects, other than math? The slides in the box were out of order, working as lab partners, the had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly, without checking the textbook. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right. "Get started," he commanded.

"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. She looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that she could only stare at him like an idiot. "Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if she was mentally competent.

"No," she said, flushing. "I'll go ahead." Maybe she was showing off, just a little, since she knew what she was looking for, making it easy. She checked the first side and grinned, confident. "Prophase."

"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as she began to remove the slide. His hand caught hers, to stop her, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class, immediately bringing the legends back to her mind. She shook those thoughts off, it was cold, and the Cullen's had been fooling around in the snow and rain which could explain it. "I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. She watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than she had. "Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on their worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and

then glanced at it cursorily. "Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.

Bella kept her voice indifferent. "May I?" He smirked and pushed the microscope to her. She looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right. "Slide three?" She held out her hand without looking at him. He handed it over; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch her skin again. She took the most fleeting look she could manage. "Interphase."

She passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. She would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated her a little. She didn't want to spoil the page with her clumsy scrawl. Did he take calligraphy classes or something? Her Mom had tried that once and had dragged her into it as well, it was one of Her Mom's hobby attempts that she hadn't minded.

They were finished before anyone else was close. She could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table. Which left her with nothing to do but try to not look at him…unsuccessfully. Bella glanced up, and he was staring at her, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes.

Suddenly she identified a subtle difference in his face. "Did you get contacts?" She blurted out unthinkingly.

He seemed puzzled by her unexpected question. "No."

"Oh," she mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."

He shrugged, and looked away.

In fact, she was sure there was something different. Bella vividly remembered the flat black colour of his eyes the last time he'd glared at her, the colour was striking against the background of his pale skin and auburn hair. Now, his eyes were a completely different colour: a strange ochre, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. She didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making her crazy in the literal sense of the word. Eyes didn't just change colour like that, at least, human eyes didn't. No…she really shouldn't have asked Jake about the legends. She looked down, his hands were clenched into hard fists again.

Mr. Banner came to their table then, to see why they weren't working. He looked over their shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers. "So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Bella," Edward corrected automatically. "Actually, she identified three of the five."

Mr. Banner looked at her; his expression was sceptical. "Have you done this lab before?" he asked.

I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."

"Whitefish blastula?"

"Yeah."

Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"

"Yes." And oh how she missed it, missed being challenged by her classwork.

"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away.

After he left, she began doodling on her notebook again.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked.

She had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with her. Paranoia swept

over her again, it was like he had heard her conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove her wrong. "Not really," she answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else. She was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion, and couldn't concentrate.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.

"Or the wet," she shrugged.

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.

"You have no idea," she muttered darkly. She held no fondness for the town, she was there for Charlie and Renee, that was all. She would make the most of her time in Forks, to reconnect with her Dad but for College she was applying everywhere warm and sunny.

He looked fascinated by what she'd said, for some reason she couldn't imagine. His face was such a distraction that she tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded. "Why did you come here, then?"

No one had asked her that, not straight out like he did, demanding. "It's… complicated," she shrugged, not really wanting to explain. She doubted he'd gossip about it like Jessica and Lauren might but that didn't mean she wanted to tell him.

"I think I can keep up," he pressed.

She paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused her, and she answered without thinking. "My mother got remarried."

"That doesn't sound so complex," he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic. "When did that happen?"

"Last month." Her voice sounded sad, even to her, which was ridiculous. She liked Phil and her Mom deserved a chance at happiness.

"And you don't like him," Edward surmised, his tone still kind.

"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough." They weren't really close but that was probably more her fault than his.

"Why didn't you stay with them?"

She couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at her with penetrating eyes, as if her dull life's story was somehow vitally important. "Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." She half-smiled.

"Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.

"Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot." How much more hectic would their lives have been if he was in the major league? Could she have left her Mom to deal with that alone?

"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him," he said it as an assumption again, not a question.

Bella's chin raised a fraction. "No, she did not send me here. I sent myself." She forced herself to calm down, he wasn't accusing anyone.

His eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact. Seriously, what was so fascinating about her family situation? Maybe it was because of his own blended family? Had he ever known his biological parents, or had he only known the Cullen's? That might explain things. He continued to stare at her with obvious curiosity.

"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy… so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie, my Dad. Just under two years till I'm off to college and it felt right to spend time with him."

"But now you're unhappy," he pointed out gently and she smiled slightly.

She shrugged, "Maybe a little, but it's worth it."

"That doesn't seem fair," he shrugged in return, but his eyes were still intense.

She laughed without humour. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair." Though it was kind of sweet that he thought it should be. Fair would have been her parents never divorcing in the first place. Then again, fair would be his living happily with his birth parents.

"I believe I have heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly.

"So that's all," she insisted, wondering why he was still staring at her that way.

His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."

She grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out her tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.

"Am I wrong?" he pushed, and she tried to ignore him. "I didn't think so," he murmured smugly.

"Why does it matter to you?" Bella asked, irritated. She kept her eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.

"That's a very good question," he muttered, so quietly that she wondered if he was talking to himself.

However, after a few seconds of silence, she decided that was the only answer she was going to get. Bella sighed, scowling at the blackboard.

"Am I annoying you?" he asked, he sounded amused.

She glanced at him without thinking… and told the truth again. "Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read, my mother always calls me her open book."

"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." Despite everything that she'd said, and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.

"You must be a good reader then," she offered, and he nodded.

"Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultra-white teeth.

Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and she turned with relief to listen. Bella couldn't believe that she'd just explained her boring life to the bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise her….and may or may not drink blood. He'd seemed engrossed in their conversation, but now she could see, from the corner of her eye, that he was leaning away from her again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.

She tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what she had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But her thoughts were unmanageable. When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully

from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, she stared after him in amazement.

Mike skipped quickly to her side and picked up her books. She imagined him with a wagging tail. "That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."

"I didn't have any trouble with it," Bella said, stung by his assumption. She regretted the snub instantly. "I've done the lab before, though," she added before he could get his feelings hurt.

"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as they shrugged into their raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it.

She tried to sound indifferent. "He was stressing over his audition."

"Audition?"

"For a musical school," she answered, hoping that wasn't meant to be a secret or something. She couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as they walked to Gym. Mike was on her team today. He chivalrously covered her position as well as his own, so her wool gathering was only interrupted when it was her turn to serve; her team ducked warily out of the way every time she was up.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Talking to her was difficult but he managed, trying to understand her. She had moved to a town she hated so her Mother could travel with her new husband? Selfless. He was glad she was there, for the Chief's sake, personally he wished they didn't share any classes, it would be safer that way.

"Okay?" Emmett's voice reached him from his brothers class.

"No bloodshed," he promised. As soon as the bell rang he was up and moving, needing a break from the tantalising scent of her blood and he found Jasper and Alice falling into step with him.

"You're doing great Edward," Alice promised, and Jasper nodded, he'd been monitoring Edward and Bella's emotions.

"You confuse her," Jasper told him. "She didn't understand your interest in her family life but then something changed…" he shrugged, he just read emotions, not minds. He could work some things out, match emotions to what someone said, but she'd said nothing about whatever theory she'd come up with for Edward's interest.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Alice stayed quiet, making sure to hide her knowledge from Edward. She hadn't seen it coming….Bella knew they were vampires, she just didn't believe it yet. One of the Quileute had broken the treaty. Though with no wolves, the young ones probably thought they were just old legends to laugh at. In none of her visions had Bella known so soon, what would that change? What would it take for her to truly believe what she'd been told in jest?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The rain was just a mist as she walked to the parking lot, but she was happier when she was in the dry cab. Bella got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. She unzipped her jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed her damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home. She looked around to make sure it was clear. That's when she noticed the still, white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from her, and staring intently in her direction.

Bella swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in her haste. Lucky for the Toyota, she stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that her truck would make scrap metal of. She took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of her car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. She stared straight ahead as she passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, she would swear she saw him laughing. She felt a flash of hurt but brushed it off, why should she care if he laughed at her? They weren't friends or anything. She was being silly.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Edward laughed when Bella nearly hit another car but then he caught her eye briefly and he felt a flash of shame for laughing at her. He watched her drive away before getting in to drive as Alice and Jasper joined him. He would hunt again that night, he would make sure to remain well fed, to take no risks.

TBC…

So Jake told her the legend earlier than in canon, putting the thought in her mind before Edward ever stopped a van hitting her.