A/N: Welcome back! Final upload of the week. Let's see how Edward will respond to Bella's text...

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all connected to it. I only own this story line and any characters not included in her original saga!

I'll Always Find Peace In The Meadow

Previously...

I hurriedly pick up my bag and route for his note from yesterday. It's buried at the bottom, crumpled and torn at one corner. After torturing myself last night, trying to decide what to do, I shoved it into my bag and tried in vain to forget about it.

After typing his number into my phone, I rush to send him a text, not thinking too much of it in case I lose my remaining bit of courage.

I'm sorry. - B

Chapter Twelve: 'Okay means... okay' (Bella POV)

Tuesday 25 April 2017

I watch him intently as he picks up his phone after seeing the screen flash with a new notification. I can't see his face from back here. I can only watch his form. I notice his back straighten slightly as he stares down at his phone.

I start to lose the small remains of hope I have left, as more time passes and he doesn't respond in any way except his posture strengthening. Then my phone buzzes in my hand.

What for? - E

I inhale sharply, not expecting a reply after such a long pause between him reading my message and now. I glance up at him, but I can still only see his back. I look back down at my phone to answer.

For yesterday. I was too quick to point the finger and I was wrong. - B

I bite my thumb nail as I anxiously wait for his reply. Letting my eyes quickly jump to the time displayed in tiny font at the top of my screen, I see that we still have another minute until our class is supposed to start. And then possibly another few due to Mr. Banner arriving late. As always.

How do you know that you were wrong? - E

My brow furrows as I read his message again. Is he testing me? Why is he questioning me like this?

I overheard a certain conversation and then saw the hall void of any of the posters. It wasn't hard to work out. - B

I instantly regret sending that one. Crap. Does that sound bitchy? It does, doesn't it.

Okay - E

Okay? I don't mean to overreact, but OKAY?! That's it? That's all I get? I was hoping for something more along the lines of 'I accept your apology' or 'all is forgiven', not that!

What does it even mean? Does he accept my apology? Or did my last message ruin my chances of that ever happening?

I internally groan in frustration. Ugh! I hate text messages. You can't interpret the true meaning of a word or phrase through texting, because you can't hear the person say it. Are they happy as they talk, or sad? Are they being sarcastic, or genuine? I have no clue if okay means that all is okay now, or if it means 'okay, whatever'.

See my predicament?

I reread the message a few more times, before looking up at Edward with a huff. He's still turned away from me, only allowing me to see the back of him.

For the next two minutes, I waste precious time trying to figure out the meaning of his last text message. As I let my eyes flicker between my phone screen and the back of Edward, I attempt to work out what he meant. But I come up with nothing.

Mr. Banner arrives two minutes late to class, demanding that we all turn our phones off this instant. With a huff, angry and confused, I shove my phone into my bag that is still on my lap, and then unceremoniously drop my bag to the floor.

Biology drags by.

Mr. Banner goes on and on about the different types of tropism and how plants grow in response to stimuli in the environment. I would usually be interested in a topic such as this one, seeing as my favourite place in the whole world is a meadow filled with plants, but my concentration is lacking today. Edward's cryptic message is the only thing my mind is focusing on. I pay just enough attention to pick up the basics, but I miss all the intricate details.

By the end of the class, I'm dangerously close to insanity. My mind has come up with every possibility of what this message could mean. Every single idea is one I'm unsure of, which leads me back to square one as I try to conjure up another idea.

As soon as the bell rings, signalling the end of Biology, I'm up and out of my seat. Whereas before, my rush was because I was eager to have a chance to talk to Edward, it's now because I need to get away from him. And soon. I need more time to think over his message, to work out the meaning of it.

I rush to the door, barely stepping out before I trip. Dear clumsiness, now is NOT the time! I manage to balance myself before anyone has the chance to poke fun at my bout of clumsiness, and then I quickly begin walking to my next class.

French whizzes by fast. Too fast. Figures. The one lesson of the day so far where I've needed time to think over certain things, and it speeds by in the blink of an eye. In all my other lessons today, I've wanted to be in and out of as soon as possible, but they dragged by at a snail's pace. And then, the one that I need to actually do that, to move slowly, and it's gone before it's even begun. Or seems to at least.

Time is so cruel.

Sooner then I had hoped, the bell rings at the end of French, and lunch has begun. I'm unprepared for this. I'm not ready to face Edward yet. I haven't worked out what he meant, and I'm not really sure that I want to ask.

I hesitantly pack up my bag, and make my way to the door. After the slowest walk known to mankind, I arrive at the cafeteria doors. Thanks to yesterday's events, I'm nervous about setting foot in there today. Will it happen again? Will posters be distributed around the room, like they were a piece of advertisement for a travelling circus?

I decide to just go for it. As I walk forward, I mentally tell myself to not look down, to keep my head high and walk in with confidence. But, my mental voice and my brain signals aren't cooperating today. As countless pairs of eyes turn to me, my chin automatically drops to my chest and I rush to the line, not really paying attention to what's in front of me.

In the line, that appears to be even slower today than usual, I stand with my eyes locked on the floor. Even as I feel numerous eyes on me, I don't dare look up. I finally get to the front of the line, and grab a sandwich and an apple, before practically sprinting out of the room. The library seems like a good idea today.

I hadn't chanced looking at the center table while I was in the cafeteria, so I'm unsure whether Edward was sat with his sister and Rosalie's click or not. I wonder about it as I make my way to the library.

I don't have to wonder long. I've been sat down for less then two minutes before Edward appears at the end of the bookcase again, just as he did yesterday. I'm in a state of shock at first, wondering if I'm seeing things or if it's real. Is he really stood there? Has he really bothered to come and find me?

No words are spoken as he comes towards me and drops down in the space beside me. I hadn't realised it until now, but when I sat down, I left a large amount of space to my right. It's like my brain automatically put me in the same spot as yesterday, pushed up against the bookshelves to the left of this corner, leaving a space for him.

We say nothing for the first five minutes. We eat in silence, stealing glances at one another every so often. I'm the last to finish my lunch, but that's only because I was eating miniscule bites in an attempt to drag out the time. I catch Edward's look of mixed disbelief and humour at my behaviour.

With a sigh, I drop my apple core into the empty sandwich box, and look down at my hands, twisting them in my lap. Silence lingers around us. Neither of us speaks for the next couple of minutes, but eventually, it becomes unbearable. All of the confusion, anger and despair I've been feeling the last two hours or so comes barrelling out in a flurry of words.

"Is that all you had to say to me? 'Okay?' Do you know how worried I've been about how you'd answer my text today? I didn't know if you'd accept my apology or just shrug it off. I didn't know if you'd find offense or be shocked. And then when you answered, I was shocked. I honestly wasn't expecting you to want me to explain myself. And please tell me why you asked if I knew I was wrong! Because that baffled me to no end. Who asks that? I said I was wrong, which means I was wrong. That should've been the end of it! So why ask? And then, oh God, and then I answered rudely and I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to come off sounding rude. But I mean... 'okay?' Seriously? Is that all you could come back with?"

I'm breathing heavily by the end of my rant. My hands were flapping about the entire time, like I'm a mad woman. Maybe I am.

I watch as Edward's face turns from neutral to shocked to bemused and finally, it rests on amused. His lips twitch at the corners as he arches an eyebrow. "Hello to you, too," he says quietly, like he's trying to show me how loud I just was. Oh God. Mrs. Jensen probably heard all of that. Fuck my life!

I face plant my forehead as I groan, earning a small chuckle from Edward. I turn to glare at him. His small smirk falls. "Are you bipolar?" he asks suddenly.

"Excuse me?" I ask, my back straightening as I stare at him, bewildered by his question.

"Are you? 'Cause you have done some serious emotional one-eighties," he says. At first I can't tell if he's trying to offend me or not. But the quirk of his lips tells me it's the latter.

"I'm... I..." I stutter, my cheeks burning red, though I don't know why. Embarrassment, maybe?

"I only ask because, in the last several minutes you've displayed a wide range of emotions. It almost seems impossible to feel so much in such a short amount of time. One minute you're ranting about what I've done and then you're embarrassed and then angry. It's very... worrying," he explains, his brows furrowing towards the end.

"Worrying?" I ask.

"Yeah. Bipolar is serious, and if you have it then-"

"I'm not Bipolar," I say quickly.

"Okay," he says.

"That! That is what gets on my nerves!" I exclaim suddenly, pointing a finger in Edward's face. He leans away from me quickly, looking surprised.

"What?" he asks cluelessly.

"You! You're so... Gah! What does 'okay' even mean?" I say rapidly. I'm not sure if he understands a word I say, and I realise that I kind of sound like a lunatic. Huh. Maybe the posters were right after all. Maybe I am a fruitloop.

Edward sits up straight again, his shoulder bumping mine. "Okay..." he thinks for a second. "Okay means... okay. It means I accept you're statement," he says, shrugging like it's no big deal. I, on the other hand, think it's a very big deal.

"Are you serious?" I ask, pulling myself forward and turning around, so I'm sat in front of him with my legs crossed. He copies, tucking his legs in to cross them, giving me room to sit directly opposite him.

"What?" he asks, shrugging.

"You mean to tell me that while I've been fretting about your last text, all you meant was that you accept my message before that?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"Well... yeah," he answers, like it's obvious.

"Could you not have text me a more detailed response?"

"Why? What's wrong with 'okay'? It's a great word. It can mean so many different things," he replies, smirking slightly.

"Yeah, that's the problem," I mumble. He looks confused for a second, but just shrugs, leaning back against the wall as he stares at me. We both sit in silence for the next few minutes. I'm unsure of what to say. It's been so long since I've had company at lunch, that finding a plausible topic to discuss is virtually impossible. And Edward... he continues to stare at me. I don't stare back. I lowered my gaze to my green Converse high tops and began playing with the laces long ago, but I know he's staring at me. I can feel his gaze.

"It's time to go, you two," Mrs. Jensen announces from behind me. Her sudden appearance makes me jump in fright. I raise a hand to my chest and close my eyes, breathing heavily, trying to calm my shaking. "Sorry, dear," she chuckles as she walks off.

I open my eyes to see Edward also chuckling, though he tries to hide it as he stands and picks up his bag. After swinging it onto his shoulder, he reaches a hand down towards me. I look between his hand and his face a few times, before giving him a tiny smile of gratitude and reaching up. My hand wraps around his forearm as he grips around the inside of my elbow and pulls up.

Of course, being me, I stumble as he pulls me to my feet, unsuccessfully staying upright. I fall into him and he immediately steps back with one foot to balance himself, grabbing my waist to stop me from falling. I suck in a quick gasp of air as he touches my waist, but his hands are gone as soon as we are both stood steadily.

I instantly move away from him, blushing as I avoid his eyes. "I'll see you later, Edward," I say, before I hurry away, almost knocking into Mrs. Jensen in my rush to leave.

A/N: That's it until Monday. Let me know what you guys think of this! Thanks!