A/N: I know a lot of you are eager for Bella and Edward to get together. I'm just laying down the foundation. We're getting a lot closer. It should be either in the next chapter or the one after. I go where the muse leads me.

It's my slide, not my playground.

I have no beta.

EPOV

My vampire instincts have been running on overdrive ever since my beautiful mate was attacked. Seeing her lying on the locker room floor unconscious and bleeding from an obvious head wound nearly did me in. Every instinct I have has been screaming at me to hunt down the perpetrator and shred him apart with my teeth.

If it hadn't been for my siblings, especially Jasper, I would have done something despicable and would have ruined everything Carlisle has tried to build. Jasper's calming vibes are the only thing holding me back from going on the hunt. Unfortunately, no matter how many calming vibes Jasper sends my way, I will remain in blood lust until the bastard who harmed my mate is dead.

I cannot imagine why anyone would want to hurt such a beautiful soul. Bella is the epitome of loving kindness with a very strong playful edge. She would never intentionally harm another, so this attack makes no sense. Besides, Bella hasn't been here long enough to make enemies. Although, if I'm going, to be honest, I am still not positive that Mike Newton didn't have anything to do with the attack regardless of whether or not he was on campus at the time.

Last night, she fell asleep with her head on my shoulder. I really didn't want to disturb her, but Esme was concerned about Bella hurting her neck even more due to the position she was in. Esme did have a point, so I gathered my love up and carried her upstairs to what was now her bedroom.

I gently laid her down on the bed as Alice ran in behind me to cover Bella up. Even asleep, Bella is the most beautiful girl I had ever seen before. I caressed her face gently before following Alice out the door.

The moment Esme heard that I had found my mate, she began working on a bedroom just for Bella. It was important to Esme that Bella felt comfortable and at home here. With that in mind, Esme furnished the room in colors that Bella would find relaxing and decorated it with items that she hoped Bella would approve of.

The bed Esme chose for my mate was something that seemed to be from a fairy tale. There was a billowy canopy above the headboard that help to give the illusion of privacy. A comfortable armchair was situated against the wall opposite the bed. A side table with a reading lamp was beside it. It was a perfect reading nook for my mate who has a passion for the written word.

Esme chose a color scheme with a lot of browns, tans, and creams with small pops of color in sage green throughout. It was Esme's hope that it would remind Bella of Arizona and be a small little home away from home for her. The small cactus sitting on the bedside table would definitely help with that.

I was happy that the chief had thought to ask Esme if Bella could stay over. I had a hard time with her being in the next room much less being home alone. The attack has gotten my protective instincts going into overdrive. My life centers around Bella now. Her safety and happiness are my top priority.

BPOV

The movie was good at least in the part I was awake to watch. I don't know what is it about Edward, but just being in his presence relaxes me like nothing else ever has. I managed to fall asleep against his side while the movie was playing. I probably would have stayed in that position if the resident loudmouth didn't startle me awake again.

"Well, look who woke up. Sleeping Beauty is going to honor us with her consciousness," Emmett teased.

"Rose, do you have a muzzle for him?" I asked only half teasing. I really did want to find a way to tone him down several decibels.

"Unfortunately, I don't, but I wouldn't be against getting one," she said as she smacked him in the head. "You woke her up again. Keep your voice down, will ya?"

"Ow, Rosie, that one freaking' hurt," Emmett said as he rubbed the spot Rose hit.

"It was supposed to hurt, you oversized lummox," She said shaking her head at Emmett.

"Don't hurt him too much, Rosalie. We don't want to see him ugly cry," I cautioned her.

"Please don't," Esme called out from somewhere in the house.

We all had a good laugh at Emmett's expense. He was pouting again trying to gain back some sympathy. He was such a dufus.

"How long was I asleep for?" I asked changing the subject while fighting off a yawn.

"You were only asleep for a little over an hour," Alice said.

"I must have slept enough then because I feel wide awake," I said.

"How does your head feel? Any Pain?" Edward asked.

"It feels fine. I'm not in any pain not even my neck," I said as I rolled my head around my shoulders a few times. Yea, I didn't have any pain which was great. I wouldn't have to take any more pain pills.

I was feeling so much better. Alice heated up some soup for me and I ate on the couch again while we all watched Jasper kick Emmett's ass in SpongeBob: Battle for Bikini Bottom.

"You guys are playing SpongeBob. How do you even know about it?" I asked not quite believing what I was watching.

"How could we not know about it? It's SpongeBob for crying out loud. He's hilarious," Emmett boomed excitedly.

"I'm not judging," I said with a shake of my head. "SpongeBob is great. Squidward is my spirit animal."

"When I'm done kicking Jasper's ass, we can watch it. I have every season on DVD," Emmett boasted.

We did end up watching the first three seasons of SpongeBob Squarepants. Emmett's imitation of Patrick was hilarious. The dufus pretending to be a dufus was funny as hell. I ended up laughing so hard that I cried and nearly wet myself.

I have enjoyed spending so much time with the Cullens. There was just something nagging at me about them. It's not like they did anything wrong, not in the least. It was just odd things that I was noticing.

It had dawned on me while I had finished eating my soup that I have never actually seen any of them eat. I don't even recall seeing them eat their lunches at school. While it's evident that the cafeteria food at Forks High couldn't be properly classified as food, it was odd that all of the Cullens would fill their trays with food only to sit at their tables and never touch it.

Then there's the fact that they don't seem to ever sleep. To be fair, I have done a lot of sleeping while here. It's just that they always seem to be awake when normal people would be sleeping.

I know they are hiding something huge, and I know that if they wanted me to know that they would tell me. I respect them and their privacy, so I'm not going to be digging around for answers. Boundaries are important, and a good friend will not overstep those limits.

Regardless of whatever it is that they feel the need to hide, this family has shown me more love and acceptance than I have ever seen before. Hopefully, in time, they will become comfortable enough with me that they will tell me. In the meantime, I'm just going to continue to be their friend no matter what.

I just finished taking another luxurious bath and got changed. Alice helped me with my hair again and told me Carlisle was going to check out my stitches when he got home. I'm hoping that I'm healing up nicely so I can get to wash my hair sooner rather than later.

"How do you like your room?" Alice asked me.

I was confused for a second. It dawned on me a moment later what she was referring to. "Wait! Is this my room?" I asked indicating to the entire room.

"Yes, Esme designed it for you. She wanted you to be comfortable," Alice admitted.

"Are you for real? This room is fit for royalty. She shouldn't have gone through so much work. I would have been happy with a nice cot and a warm blanket. This is like my dream room," I told her. Esme really was the sweetest person ever.

"You just made her day. She heard you," Alice told me.

"Thank you, Esme. I love it," I called out to her.

A moment later Esme came into the room and gave me a gentle hug. "I am so glad you do, sweetheart. I wasn't sure what color scheme to go with."

"This is perfect. It reminds me of my home in Arizona. I also love the touch of the little cactus. It's perfect," I gushed as I returned her hug.

Esme left and Alice went back to telling me humorous stories about the family. I just about died laughing when she told me about the last game of truth or dare they played where Emmett chose the dare. He had to put on some sexy negligee and walk through Walmart with it on. Just picturing Emmett wearing a sheer emerald green peignoir and walking through the frozen food section had me dying.

"Oh my God, Alice, Emmett is too funny. Do you have pics?" I asked.

"Well, Bella, it just so happens that I do," she said.

"No!" Emmett yelled out. I could hear his thundering footsteps coming upstairs. "You told me you got rid of them," he yelled as he ran into my room. Rosalie, Jasper, and Edward followed right behind him. "Hand them over, short-stack," he ordered.

"Come on, Emmett, you're no fun. What good is it to do such an awesome dare and not brag about it? I'm sure your pert ass looked great," I teased with a giggle.

"You're right. I looked hot, but that doesn't mean I want everyone to see it," Emmett replied.

"Emmett, everyone already saw it. You walked Wally World like that. You're probably on one of those YouTube videos of what people wore at Walmart," I pointed out. "Those are funny."

"Damn! I never thought to check it," he said in a near panic. "Rosie, you have to help me go check," he said as he grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room with him. I gave the poor woman a wave and wished her good luck.

"Well, not that he's sufficiently distracted, good job, by the way, you can look at these," Alice said as she handed me her cell. She had pulled up several pics of Emmett strutting around near the produce section.

It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Emmett was wearing some lacy concoction with a slit that went all the way to mid-thigh and showed a lot of legs. "He was thrown out, wasn't he?" I asked already knowing the answer. There's no way the store managers would have allowed him to stay in barely there clothing.

"He was but they didn't do anything until after Emmett walked through almost the entire store," Edward laughed.

I kept going through the pics and stopped on one where Emmett is talking to some guy that was clearly flirting with him. "Is that what I think it is?" I asked as I flashed the pic at them.

"That guy followed him from the produce department all the way down to the dairy department. He finally got the guts to approach Emmett when he was walking over toward the electronics section," Jasper said with a laugh.

"Yes, and that poor guy was smitten. He asked Emmett out and refused to take a no," Edward added.

"This poor guy kept gushing about how gorgeous Emmett was, how sexy his legs were," Alice laughed. "The guy was so bold that he told Emmett that his legs would look even better wrapped around his waist."

"Yea, and he wouldn't leave after Emmett said no. It was Rosalie that had to threaten the guy in order to get him to leave," Jasper continued.

"I don't know if you have seen it for yourself yet, but Rosalie can be scary as hell. After she spoke to the guy, he ran out of the store like a bat out of hell. You could hear his car peeling out of the parking lot at breakneck speed from all the way back in the electronics section. It was too funny," Edward finished.

"You guys are so lucky to have siblings to mess with. I always wondered what it would have been like if I wasn't an only child. I grew up very lonely," I told them.

Alice hugged me to her. "We'll lend you Emmett anytime you feel the need to mess with a sibling," she offered.

I turned to look at her and smiled. "I'll probably take you up on it. I just hope Emmett can handle it."

"I can handle anything you dish out," Emmett yelled.

"Hey, why don't we introduce Bella to Truth of Dare Cullen style?" Alice suggested.

"Everyone down to the living room," Emmett called out as he stomped down the steps.

"Sure, I would love to play. Thanks so much for asking, Emmett," I said snidely.

Edward turned and offered me his arm to take to help me down the steps. I grabbed a tight hold and he wrapped his free arm lightly around my waist. With Edward's assistance, I made it down pretty quickly, and not once did I have any trouble.

We all gathered around in the living room. I chose to sit on the couch next to Rosalie. Edward sat in the armchair next to me. Emmett sat by Rosalie's feet and Jasper sat on the floor with Alice in his lap.

"The rules are simple. If you choose the truth you must tell the truth no matter how embarrassing it is. If you choose the dare, you have to do it. If you forfeit that dare, you must do the next dare and it will be worse," Alice explained. I nodded my head in understanding. The rules were pretty straightforward.

"I'm going first," Emmett yelled and stuck his tongue out at Alice. "Bella boo, truth or dare?"

I sure as hell didn't trust Emmett so there was no way in hell I was choosing a dare. "Truth."

"You scared, Bella? You should be, but I'll go easy on you now. Bella, who was your first kiss?" Emmett asked looking too eager.

"None," I replied.

"You have to tell the truth," he reminded me.

"I am. I have never been kissed," I said with a shrug. To me, it wasn't that big a deal. "According to the rules, it is my turn. Truth or dare, Emmett?"

"I'm not afraid of you. Dare," he yelled.

"We shall soon see. I dare you to strip naked and run out the backdoor and go skinny dipping in the river," I said.

"That's a normal day for me," he said as he practically ripped his clothes off and ran out the door.

Jasper followed along at a safe distance to make sure he did it. A minute late, Jasper came back in. "He did it."

Emmett came back in dripping water everywhere. Esme came up behind him and hit him in the head with a towel. "You're dripping all over my hardwood floors. Dry off and clean this mess up," she ordered walking away.

"Gee, Bella, that dare was so tame," Emmett teased.

"I didn't make you do that because it was a great dare. I made you do that so I could hear Esme yelling at you," I admitted with a laugh. "It's always funny."

"I'm onto you, Swan," Emmett said as he pointed his finger at me. "I'm picking someone else this time. Alice, truth or dare?" he asked.

"I will pick dare," Alice said with a little hesitation.

Emmett started to laugh while rubbing his hands together like a mad doctor. "I dare you to run upstairs and pick out your favorite article of clothing, bring it back downstairs, and then cut it up with scissors."

Poor Alice's eyes bugged out of her head. I held my breath waiting to see if she was going to follow through with the dare or forfeit it for an even more heinous one. This one was one of the worst, so the next dare would really kill her.

A fierce look of determination overcame Alice's features as she stomped up the stairs in anger. She returned a minute or so later with a beautiful dress clutched in her hand. She plopped back down in Jasper's lap and proceeded to take a pair of scissors to her dress. I cringed with each cut she made. Once the dress was cut into ribbons, Alice turned to Emmett with a look of fury. "Emmett, truth or dare?"

"I choose dare, small fry," he taunted. I just shook my head. Emmett was going to pay for his dare, and he didn't even seem to think so.

"I dare you to take Rosalie's favorite article of clothing and do the same damn thing," Alice said. Holy shit this was a high-stakes game. I am never choosing a dare with these people.

Emmett looked between the dirty look Alice was giving him and the dirty look Rosalie was giving him. He was between a rock and a hard place. Whichever he chose, he was going to end up getting his ass handed to him. This was entertaining.

"Hell, no, Rosalie will kill me. She hits harder than you do," he cried.

"Fine then. You forfeit your dare which means you have to do this one. I dare you to go out to your jeep and drive it over to the river and just before it plunges into it, you are to jump out and let it go in," Alice said with a look of pure evil in her eyes.

I swear Emmett looked like he was going to cry any second. He looked over at Rosalie for some pity but she wasn't having it. "If I recall correctly, this was the rule you made up, Emmett. You have to follow through."

We all got up to follow him. I couldn't believe he was going to go through with it. Jeeps are not cheap and he was about to intentionally destroy his. Is this what people with money do?

"Is he really going to do it?" I whispered to Edward who was standing with me.

"Yes, it's the rules," he replied glancing at me.

"Are Carlisle and Esme going to be upset," I asked.

"Not at all. He bought it with his own money," he reassured me. I was still flabbergasted. I looked up just in time to watch as Emmett jumped out of his Jeep and the Jeep plunged down into the river. Poor Emmett just laid on the ground looking pathetic. I almost felt bad for him.