Today's Quote:

I exercised once, but I found out I'm allergic to it. My skin flushed and my heart raced, and I got sweaty and short of breath. Very dangerous!

I gave a riddle to my brother, and he absolutely failed it. I wanna know if it's hard or if he's just bad at riddles. Anyone up for a challenge?

"You measure my life in hours, and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm thin, and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?

Bella's fingers twisted into the belt-loop of my jeans, pulling me towards her seat. I unhooked her fingers and stood next to her, towering over Bella for once due to the fact she was sitting.

"Hi, Ana," Jessica said brightly, beaming at me from her spot at the lunch table. I scowled at both the nickname and her general perkiness. "You should totes sit with us, Bella and I were just talking about this movie that we're going to."

"Cool," I said, disinterested. "And?"

"And you should come with us!" Jessica said.

"I'm good."

"Morgana, I want you to come. It won't be the same without you," Bella said, her voice as lifeless as ever. Because that was convincing.

"As much as I'm pleased you've taken an interest in anything, I'm not watching some dramatic-ass Romeo and Juliet type movie."

"Actually," Jessica said, in a voice far too condescending for my liking, "it's that new zombie movie."

"Dead End?" I asked, surprised. It was said to be one of the scariest horror movies all year - why Bella would want to watch it, I had no idea.

"Yeah. You should definitely come, and then we can all get dinner and catch up."

As much as I didn't want to 'catch up' with Jessica, if this would help get Bella out of her funk then it couldn't be that bad of an idea. Besides, I had seen the trailers for Dead End, and the movie looked promising.

"Okay," I said slowly. "But if I find out that you've dragged me to that rom-com thing you were squealing about to Lauren in math class, I will cut your fingers off."

Jessica gulped.

I didn't feel the need to tell her that cutting off fingers took far too long (thank you, crazies at Westhock Asylum for those wonderous tales of murder, btw), and that I'd rather torture her by pulling out her hairs.

"So? You'll come?"

"I just said that, didn't I?" I said. "Now, let me go, I want to go grab a pudding cup before they run out."

The day passed quickly, and I soon found myself standing in front of my closet. While I wasn't looking forward to spending time with Jessica, I couldn't help my excitement building over going out. I hadn't been to the movies in nearly a year, and it would be nice to get out of Forks.

I quickly stripped off my shorts and singlet, replacing them with an oversized sweater and leggings - I was going out with my depressed sister and her annoying friend. There wasn't exactly much need for me to dress up.

There was a soft knock at my door and I hurried over to unlock it, opening it for Dad. He looked worried, his stress lines and wrinkles appearing more prominent on his face.

"You're going out with Bella tonight, right Ana?"

"Yeah," I said slowly.

"Will you look out for her?"

"No Dad," I said sarcastically. "I'm going to just abandon her on the streets, maybe even steal her clothes if I feel like it."

My humour went unappreciated. "Morgana."

"I know, I know," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'll watch out for her and make sure the zombies don't come to life from the screen and eat her brains."

Dad's eyes softened. "I know this must have been really hard for you, Ana," he said, sitting on the edge of my bed. "Dealing with your friends leaving, and then your sister, and everything Renee has been doing."

"Wait, what's Mum been doing?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Just everything that's already happened because of her, I mean."

"Uh-huh."

"Point is," he continued, "I'm really proud of you, kiddo."

A pleasant warmth spread through my body, and I felt my eyes prick with tears. I stubbornly wiped at my eyes. It was dumb and stupid, and a bunch of other synonyms, but hearing someone say they were proud of me? It was different. A nice different.

"Thanks, Dad," I said.

"Anytime."

We stared at each other before I cleared my throat loudly and swatted at a fly.

"I think I hear Jessica's car," I said, saving us both from the awkward silence.

"Right." Dad stood up and gave me a tense hug. Clearly, he was just as useless with feelings as I was. "I should, um-"

"Yup."

I half shooed him out of the room, grabbing a small purse and a pair of white sneakers. I heard a horn honking and hurried down the stairs, meeting up with Bella.

"Hi," she said. I raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with you, chatty?" I asked. "First you invite me out and now you're greeting me? I feel like I should start shouting 'The end is nigh!', or something."

Bella glared at me. "I just need to hang out with you so Charlie'll get off my back."

"Rude," I said, "but understandable. Not just anyone can handle all of this-" I ran my hands down my sides "-at once."

"Right," she said, in a tone that clearly showed her lack of respect for my joke. I rolled my eyes.

"C'mon moody."

We made our way outside, climbing into Jessica's little white car. I sighed as my ears registered the all too cheery pop music playing.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight," Bella told Jess.

"Sure. So, what brought this on?" Jess wondered as she drove down our street.

"Brought what on?"

"Why did you suddenly decide… to go out?" It sounded like she changed her question halfway through. Bella shrugged.

"Just needed a change. Do you mind?" Bella asked, reaching for the radio dial.

"No, go ahead."

My ears almost bled as Bella switched through every channel, finally settling on some knock-off rap music.

"This is horrible," I muttered.

"Since when do you listen to rap?" Jessica asked.

"I don't know," Bella said. "A while."

"You like this?" I asked doubtfully. What was with that girl?

"Sure."

Bella bobbed her head slightly out of time with the music, and I groaned. If she was going to torture us with this 'music', the least she could do was pretend she was listening too.

"So what's up with you and Mike these days?" Bella asked quickly.

"You see him more than I do," Jessica said.

"It's hard to talk at work," Bella mumbled and then tried again to spark a conversation. "Have you been out with anyone lately?"

"Not really. I go out with Conner sometimes. I went out with Eric two weeks ago." From the mirror, I could see Jesica roll her eyes, and I braced myself for a long, ridiculous, and incredibly boring story.

"Eric Yorkie? Who asked who?"

Jessica groaned, getting more animated. "He did, of course! I couldn't think of a nice way to say no."

"Where did he take you?" Bella demanded.

"It's Eric Yorkie," I said, "probably some bad date at a diner."

"It was, actually," Jessica said, smiling brightly at me. I grimaced back.

She launched into her tale, and I rested my head against the door of the car. I brought out my phone and flipped it between my fingers. Feeling incredibly bored, and also incredibly dumb, I scrolled through my contacts for the half-second it took before I found Carlisle.

'Hey,' I texted. 'Dad's making me go to the movies with Bella and Jessica - entertain me please?'

He should have been working, he probably was, actually, but a response popped up on my screen almost immediately.

'Butterflies taste with their hind feet.'

Random, yes, but exactly the kind of response I expected from Carlisle. 'Really?'

'Yes. Also, humans have only discovered 5% of the ocean.'

'That I did know.' I let that sink in for a moment. 'Humans?'

'I may have taken a quick trip down to the bottom of the ocean back in the 1800s. The underwater pressure is intense.'

'Seriously?'

'One day I'll show you.'

I bit my lip. I'd have to be a vampire for that to happen, which would require me to want to be one, and for Carlisle to be back in Forks. Obviously sensing the tension, Carlisle continued with reducing my boredom.

'Knock-knock,' he texted. A small smile worked its way onto my face.

'Who's there?'

'Cash.'

'Cash who?'

'No thanks, I prefer peanuts.'

I may have snorted at that. 'You're ridiculous.'

'Thank you.'

We pulled up outside the cinema, and I texted Carlisle a quick bye before stepping out of the car. The movie was playing early, so Jess thought we should hit the twilight showing and eat later.

Despite the incredible ratings and reviews of horrified critics, the movie was fantastically tedious. It was impressive how dull they had managed to make the horror film. Not just was the acting bad, but the plot was predictable.

"This is horrible," I said lowly to Jessica.

"I know," she said, before shrieking as the zombie ripped off his arm. "It's so scary!"

"What? No. The props are horrible, I mean, look at that blood! It's way too dark, and honestly, ripping off an arm wouldn't cause that much blood. Like, sure, there'd be a lot of it, but not that much."

Jessica and some people behind us shushed me. "Sorry," I muttered. "What time does this movie end?"

"Eight," Bella whispered.

"I'm gonna do some shopping, I'll meet you back here in an hour, then."

I took my time walking around the streets, I had an hour to waste, and Port Angeles didn't have that much to do. It took me a moment to realise it, but my aimless walking had caused me to arrive in front of the same witchy store from last year.

Just like before, the windows were full of crystals, tarot cards, dreamcatchers and anything else that could be considered magical. And just like last time, I felt a rush of excitement, but also the feeling that I was supposed to be here. I had to be here.

Bells jingled as I stepped inside, and I was met with the same lady as before. Again she wore colourful beads and a rainbow shawl, the only difference I could see was that her grey hair had grown even longer, the tips of it now brushing against the floor.

"Hello," I said, giving a tight smile. Last time I had been here she had gone off about some sign, and the 'stench of the undead', and yet here I was, back again.

"Humph," she snorted. "It's you."

"Thanks?"

She curled a finger at me, inviting me to come closer to her. She sniffed me deeply. "Excellent," she said in her raspy voice. "You've lost the scent. Killed the dead off, have you?"

"Not quite," I said, tugging a strand of my hair back from her wrinkled hands. "The, uh, 'undead' have left town."

"Good. Now we can worry about your ash and smoke."

"We can?"

"Keep up, will you?"

She pulled me over to a chair and forced me into it.

"Um-"

"Shush!" She pushed me back down when I tried to stand. "Sit, let me help you."

I sighed. "Sure, why not? Although I do have to tell you, I've kinda started loving my powers. They've grown on me, so if you can get rid of them, I'd really rather you didn't."

The witch gasped in horror. "Get rid of them? No! No, no, no! They're a gift from the gods! It cannot be removed! It is a blessing in a curse! A curse in-"

"-a blessing, I remember from last time."

"Then you will remember that the gods are the ones that blessed you with this curse, or cursed you with this blessing, however you feel it to be."

"Sure," I said. I eyed her suspiciously as she gathered a bunch of vile-smelling plants from a drawer in a chest. "You're not gonna make me eat those, are you?"

The witch cackled, and I pushed myself back in the chair. The way she moved, with the grace of a ballerina and yet creepiness of a contortionist, added with her rasping voice, strange plants and now her cackling… it made me uneasy.

"No, you don't eat them, silly child," she said, shaking her head as though it was something everyone should know. She placed them on the floor around me, each of the plants leaking green slime. Where she found them, or even what they were I had zero ideas.

"Right."

"What you lack, child, is-"

The door jingled, and a couple walked in holding hands.

"Out! Out!" the witch screeched. She grabbed a broom from who knows where and held it up threateningly. "Can't you see I'm busy?" she yelled. "Normals," she muttered angrily as they backed out of the shop. I bit my tongue to hold myself back from saying anything rude.

"What I lack?" I prompted, instead.

"Yes. You lack control, don't you? You have it until a point, and then it flitters away and you have no authority or direction, correct?"

"I suppose."

"I thought so."

She pressed her fingers to my temple, and then to my ears, and then to my mouth.

"What're you doing?" I managed to say, despite the pressure on my lips.

"Granting you control."

"Um, thanks?" I said, my voice full of scepticism.

"You're very welcome."

Her fingers trailed down my body, prodding under my armpits and between my fingers and into the ribs and then into the flesh under my hip bone. Just as she got lower, and I started to think it could get even weirder, she stood up, her posture straighter than, well, Bella.

"There. All done," she said sweetly.

"Right. I can, I can go now?"

She nodded, and I hurried out of the chair, stepping away from the foul plants as fast as I could.

"What was the point of that?" I sighed, shaking my head.

"Control, obviously."

"Right. Thanks for, well, whatever that was," I said.

"Control," she reminded me.

"Uh-huh."

"You can go now," she added. "I'll see you next year, I'm sure."

I threw my hands up in annoyance. "I'm just gonna go with it. Bye-bye."

I stalked out of the shop. What an absolute waste of my time! What was I thinking, going in there? And, from a quick check of my phone, I had mere minutes to get back to the cinema in time if I wanted to be on time.

I arrived at the theatre only a few minutes after eight, and caught Bella and Jessica as they came out of the movie.

"Was the movie too scary for you?" Jessica wondered to Bella.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I guess I'm just a coward."

"That's funny." She frowned. "I didn't think you were scared—I was screaming all the time, but I didn't hear you scream once. So I didn't know why you left."

Bella shrugged. "Just scared."

"That was the scariest movie I think I've ever seen. I'll bet we're going to have nightmares tonight."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "From what I saw, that entire movie was rushed and horribly put together."

"There's no need to be rude," Jessica chided. I rolled my eyes. "Where do you want to eat?"

"I don't care," Bella said.

"Some place decent," I said.

"Okay."

Jess started talking about the male lead in the movie as we walked. I nodded as she gushed over his hotness, unable to remember seeing an attractive man at all. I didn't watch where Jessica was leading me, only paying attention when Jessica gripped my arm with freezing fingers.

"Can you like, not?" I asked, rolling my eyes, only to forget my complaint after glancing around myself for the first time.

We were on a short stretch of unlit sidewalk. The little shops lining the street were all locked up for the night, windows black. Half a block ahead, the streetlights started up again, and I could see, farther down, the bright golden arches of the McDonald's we were heading for. Across the street there was one open business.

The windows were covered from inside and there were neon signs, advertisements for different brands of beer, glowing in front of them. The biggest sign, in brilliant green, was the name of the bar—One-Eyed Pete's. I wondered if there was some pirate theme not visible from outside. The metal door was propped open; it was dimly lit inside, and the low murmur of many voices and the sound of ice clinking in glasses floated across the street. Lounging against the wall beside the door were four men.

"Jessica, calm down," I said as she hurried her walk, dragging me along with her vice like grip. "It'll be fine," I lied. I couldn't exactly reveal my powers to Jessica, which left us practically defenceless.

I glanced back at Jessica. Her eyes were fixed on the path ahead and she moved briskly. She didn't look frightened—just wary, trying to not attract attention to herself.

Beside me Bella paused and stared at the four men.

"Bella?" Jessica whispered. "What are you doing?"

"I think I know them…" she muttered.

"Bella, why- nevermind." I grabbed her hand to try and pull her towards the McDonalds. She resisted, still staring at the men with an odd fascination.

"Bella, come on!" Jessica said.

Bella ignored her, pulling out of my grip and walking slowly forward. I lunged forward and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back.

"Bella! You can't go in a bar!" Jessica hissed.

"I'm not going in," Bella said absently, shaking my hand off. "I just want to see something…"

"Are you crazy?" Jessica whispered. "Are you suicidal?"

I stared at Bella, wide eyed, waiting for her answer.

"No, I'm not," Bella said lowly. "Go eat," Bella encouraged us, waving toward the fast food. "I'll catch up in a minute."

"She's right," I said to Jessica. "Go order us something, I'll watch her and make sure she doesn't do anything dumb. Well, dumber."

Maybe I should've tried to drag her away, but it felt like one of those scenarios with a sleepwalker. It was better to ride it out then wake her up. And powers and promises to Dad or not, I was still going to protect her.

"Are you sure?" Jessica asked dubiously.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead."

Jessica crept backward, obviously pleased she wouldn't have to deal Bella or the strange men, though she still looked concerned. I turned away from her, back to the men who were watching us with amused, curious eyes.

Bella walked forward a few more steps before stopping and staring at an empty spot on the road.

"Bella?" I asked, when she made no move to go back or continue her journey.

"Hi," one of the men called, his tone both confident and a bit sarcastic. He was fair-skinned and fair-haired, and he stood with the assurance of someone who thought of himself as quite good-looking. "Can I help you with something? You look lost."

"Oh, fuck off!" I said, rolling my eyes. "She's obviously going through something, and looking at your ugly mug is only gonna make it worse."

His mates laughed at him, snickering at his misfortune.

"No. I'm not lost," Bella said slowly. Still she watched the men closely.

"Can I buy you a drink?" another man offered.

"I'm too young," Bella answered automatically.

"Well, what about you, Blueie?"

"I'm younger," I replied dryly.

He was baffled—wondering why we had approached them.

"From across the street, you looked like someone I knew," Bella explained. "Sorry, my mistake."

"That's okay," the confident blonde said. "Stay and hang out with us."

"What part of 'fuck off' don't you blokes get?" I asked sarcastically. The man held his hand to his heart.

"I'm hurt," he joked. "C'mon, just for a few minutes."

Bella shook her head, and we turned to rejoin Jessica.

"Let's go eat," I suggested. Jessica nodded, glaring at Bella.

"What were you thinking?" Jessica snapped. "You don't know them—they could have been psychopaths!"

Bella shrugged. "I just thought I knew the one guy."

"You are so odd, Bella Swan. I feel like I don't know who you are anymore."

"Sorry."

We walked to McDonald's in silence. I'd bet that she was wishing we'd taken her car instead of walking the short distance from the theater, so that she could use the drive-through. She was just as anxious now for this evening to be over as I had been from the beginning. Bella tried to start a conversation a few times while we ate, but Jessica was not cooperative.

When we go back in the car, she tuned the stereo back to her favorite station and turned the volume too loud to allow easy conversation. The ride had not taken long, but, short as it seemed, I wouldn't have thought that Jessica could go that long without speaking.

"Thanks for going out with me, Jess," Bella said as she opened her door. "That was…fun."

"Sure," she muttered.

"I'm sorry about… after the movie."

"Whatever, Bella. Bye Morgana."

Bella must have really offended Jessica if now I was her favourite.

She drove away, still without looking at Bella. Dad was waiting for us in the middle of the hall, his arms folded tight over his chest with his hands balled into fists.

"Hey, Dad," Bella said absentmindedly as she ducked around Dad, heading for the stairs.

"How'd it go?" Dad asked.

"It was…" Boring at the movies? Weird with the witch? Disturbing with the men? Awkward in the car? "It went fine," I said instead. "Bella seemed… more lifelike."

"That's good," Charlie said. "Did you enjoy it?"

"I didn't dislike the movie," I said truthfully. I just hated the little bit I had seen. "I'm gonna head to bed, goodnight Dad."

"Night Ana."

First up - Yes! Over 300 followers! Thank you all SO much for your support - it really does mean a lot to me. Also, over 200 people have favorited Honey It Burns, which is just amazing!

Next, I just want to say that while Morgana may seem to be a little indifferent or even mean towards bad mental health, particularly depression, that does not reflect my own views. Unfortunately for Bella, all Morgana sees is an overreacting girlfriend. Because Morgana can deal with Carlisle being gone, she doesn't get why Bella can't live without Edward.

Also, assuming that I won't update before the end of the month, because, let's face it, I'm me, Happy New Year!

(Is anyone else sad this is the last month the 20/20 vision joke can be used?)

AnimeFreak71777 - :D

GhostWriter71 - I'm afraid I can't help you with the egg question - I have zero idea. I literally never eat eggs, and the last time I had one my Mum made it, so… I literally just wrote the scene hoping it wasn't too incorrect. Let's just go with it's a 'Morgana Special'.

And yes, the imprinting and soulmates can be super disturbing. As the story progresses you're definitely gonna see a lot of my views being voiced by Morgana.

And yeah, when I was little I watched BBC's Merlin all the time, and Morgana was my favourite character.

Lolistarkiller - Yeah, Renee was always a little nuts in the books, so I'm kinda just expanding that crazy and using it to suit HIB. As for her meeting the wolves, well… It'll definitely be interesting, I can tell you that. I haven't even thought about Harry yet - I'm not sure how she's help, but I'll see what I can do to incorporate that idea. And yup, Charlie and her relationship will only grow stronger.

Brookie Twiling - She really does. And yeah, despite having had my parents split and do custody over me, I have like zero idea of how that really works. So yes, Renee has full custody of both the girls, but that will probably change later on. As for how the mental asylums and stuff are legal… um… next question? Honestly, I'm just making all this up as I go.

Libbywww - Lets just say, the end of New Moon is gonna be pretty exciting.

Terriekusugak - Nope. There's this book (New Moon), and two more (Eclipse and Breaking Dawn). I will hopefully finish all four books in total. And thanks :)

Bimbumel2 - :) Thanks

Guest - I promise to always keep updating, it just might take me some time. I swear I get the worst writers block, and it's so annoying.

Hermonine - Thank you, and I will