In Bella's dream, she was in the middle of the road. Halfway down the other end, she saw Edward standing there in silence. She tried to run toward him, but she was moving in slow motion and he walked away from her. Just then, Bella turned and looked into the headlights of an oncoming car.

She woke up with a gasp, and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the corner of her cover. It was past midnight, and she knew she wasn't going to fall back asleep for a while, so she watched some television before she fell asleep again.

Bella didn't go to school the next day knowing Charlie wouldn't allow her to go anyway. She talked to Renee for a bit, ensuring her again that she didn't need to come to Forks. Jessica and Angela came over after school and told her everyone was talking about the accident. It was pointless to hope people would have something new to talk about, but she still remained optimistic.

On the following Monday, everything was uneasy and a bit embarrassing. Unfortunately, Bella became the center of attention, which made her want to hide under a rock. Half the student body pestered her about the accident, while everyone avoided Edward like a plague even though she told them he was the one who saved her.

Bella still hasn't spoken to him since their fight outside the ER. Trying to get along with him was like dealing with a child. She wasn't going to torture herself with trying to be his friend or anything else for that matter.

In biology class, Bella asked Mr. Banner to switch lab partners, but to her disappointed he denied her request. Looks like she was stuck working with an asshole.

When Edward sat next to her, he sat as far from her as the table would allow. He ignored her for the entire class and Bella happily did the same with him. She had decided he regretted saving her life. It was the only explanation.

On Wednesday, the snow was completely gone which Bella was happy for. She was surprised to see how quiet Mike was. He looked nervous, biting his nails and his left leg jumping up and down like he had an itch he couldn't scratch. He finally got up from his seat and approached Bella.

"Hey, Bella, can I talk to you for a second?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

As usual, Bella could sense Edward presence next to her, but she paid him no attention.

"Well, you know how the spring dance is coming up?" Mike took a glance at Edward, but he was staring ahead. Was Mike trying to make him jealous? "I-I was wondering if m-maybe if you would want t-to go…with me?"

Bella was completely taken back. Mike had had always been really nice, but she would have never thought he would be interested in her.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Edward tilt his head a little in her direction. A part of her wanted to be petty and rub it in his face, but she dropped that plain since one, he didn't like her. Two, she wasn't going to use Mike for some childish game. And three, Jessica liked Mike, and Bella wasn't going to hurt one of her friends like that.

Sucking in a breath she says, "Mike, thank you for asking, but I can't go with you."

"Why not?"

"I'm…um…" She wanted to spare possibly hurting his feelings, so she came up with the first thing that came to mind. "I'm…actually going to Seattle that day."

"Can't you go some other weekend?"

"Sorry, I can't."

His face dropped with disappointment.

"You should ask Jessica," Bella said.

Mike looked confused "Jessica?"

"Yeah, she would really love to go with you."

"Okay, I'll ask Jess," he smiled, and returned to his seat. Bella really did feel bad about lying to Mike, but the more she thought about it the more she realized she really did need to get out of town, and going to Seattle was probably a good idea.

After the bell rang ending class, Bella went to locker to put her books away when Edward called, "Bella?"

Bella sighed heavily. Angela and Mike walked past giving her a questioning look and Bella waved her hand to tell them everything was fine. They nodded and went to their next class, and Bella turned to Edward.

"What? Are you done pretending I don't exist?" she asked sounding irritated.

"I never pretended you didn't exist." He sounded surprised.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay," she said, shutting her locker a little harder than intended, and walked away with Edward following behind her.

"I wanted to apologize," he said sincerely, "I know I've been a complete jerk, but it really is better this way." His expression was serious.

"What do you mean?"

"It's better that we're not friends."

She laughed without humor. It was pretty clear with them not talking to each other that they weren't friends, so why was he wasting her time like this?

"I honestly don't understand you, Edward," she said as they reached the outside of the building. "You don't want to be my friend, but here you are talking to me. Why didn't you figure this out earlier to save yourself all this regret?"

"Regret for what?" he asked confused.

"Regret for saving my life."

Edward gently grabbed her left wrist making her come to a stop. He looked completely stunned.

When he spoke up again he sounded upset. "You honestly think I regret saving you?"

"What else am I supposed to think, Edward?" she said removing her wrist from his hand. "You've been treating me like shit since the day I got here."

They stared at each other for moment, and then Edward spoke up first. "Why do you think the worst of me?"

"You've given me no reason to think better of you." Bella said.

"You are being completely asinine, Bella, you know that?" His tone was calmer now. "You have this all wrong."

"Then explain it to me."

Bella stood there waiting for him to talk, but he remained silent. She grabbed the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"You know what, Edward? You're right. We're not friends, so why don't you save us both the trouble and leave me alone." She turned away from him and walked away.

Gym was awful as usual. The class was playing basketball and Bella managed to fall numerous times and almost hit someone in the face. Coach Clapp made her sit out the rest of the game before she hurt herself or someone else and she sat on the bench embarrassed.

After the last bell, she quickly changed out of her gym clothes to her regular ones, and proceeded to the parking lot. She entered her truck and just as she was about to start the engine, Eric Yorkie was jogging toward her.

Bella rolled down her window as he approached her truck.

"Hey, Bella," Eric says catching his breath.

"Hey, Eric. What's going on?"

"Not much. I was wondering… do you want to go to the spring dance with me?"

"Eric, I uh…" Eric caught her off guard. "I can't go with you, Eric. I'm going to Seattle that day."

He frowned. "You can't go some other day?"

"I can't, sorry."

His face was filled with disappointment.

"Look, Eric…" Bella said softly, "I'm really sorry, but I don't feel that way about you, and I would like it if we could just be friends."

He smiled and shook his head yes. "Yeah, of course we can. Besides, prom is in May. So maybe we can go as friends."

"I'll think about it."

He patted the side of her truck as he left.

Bella smiled and waved goodbye. She started her engine and headed home.

Around eight o'clock later that night, Bella started to get ready for June's birthday party. After she took her shower, Jessica called to tell her she and Angela were going to pick her up around eight-thirty which Bella agreed too. Putting her hair into a ponytail she went into her closet trying to decide on an outfit to wear.

She finally decided on wearing a sleeveless white t-shirt with a long sleeve grey shirt over it, dark blue jeans, and some black and white converse shoes. A car was honking outside and she looked out her window to see Jessica and Angela in a black Ford Tempo.

"Bella, your friends are outside!" Charlie called from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" Bella replied. She slipped on her jacket and placed the present she brought for June inside her purse and headed downstairs. She had brought June a new album from the band Coldplay which was Junes favorite band.

Charlie was in the living room watching a football game while eating some lasagna Bella cooked earlier.

"Dad, I'm heading out," Bella said.

"Okay. Be home by twelve alright?"

"Alright. Oh, and Dad? Can I go to Seattle on the first Saturday of next mouth?"

"Why?" he asked surprised.

"I wanted to get some books. The library here is pretty limited. Plus, I need some new clothes."

"Do you think your truck will even make it?"

"I'll stop for gas if I need too."

"And uh…are you going by yourself?" He sounded suspicious. Bella hoped he didn't think she had some secret boyfriend, and she was lying about it.

"Yeah, would you feel more comfortable with me going with someone?"

"I guess I'm okay with it. Do you want me to come with you?"

She mentally cringed at the thought. "Uh…no that's okay, Dad."

"Alright, have fun tonight, and remember be home by twelve."

"Okay, I will," she said heading out the front door.

The ride to June's house didn't take very long. Forks may not be filled with mansions around every corner, but June's house was definitely one of the nicer looking houses in town. From the car, Bella could see the silhouette of the guests inside the house through the window, and hear the music. The three girls exited the car and walked toward the front door ringing the doorbell.

When June opened the door her face immediately lit up with happiness.

"Happy Birthday!" Bella, Jessica, and Angela said at the same time.

"Thank you! Come on in!" June replied, taking each of their present as they entered the house.

Bella felt ridiculous and out of place seeing all the other guests dressed so nicely, and she was just looked plain. But that wasn't the only thing she was worried about.

Around the house she could see people smoking, filling the air with the smell of marijuana. There was people drinking alcohol, solo cups scattered across the floor, and a few folks making out.

"Are your parents here?" Bella asks June.

June shook her head no. "Nah, both of them are out of town. They gave me the whole house to myself."

"Oh," she said nervously. Bella had never been to a party like this. Plus, her dad was a cop, and if he found out she was here he would probably freak out.

"Hey, Bella, don't worry everything is going to be fine, okay?" Angela assured her.

Bella nodded her head.

"There's Mike!" Jessica waved at him, and he waved back. "I'm going to go talk to him. I'll see you guys later." She turned and walked in Mike's direction. June headed off upstairs.

"Hey, I'm going to walk around a bit," Bella told Angela.

"Are you sure you're going to be fine by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You have fun."

Angela smiled and gave her a hug, and went off to where Jessica was.

For half the night, Bella wondered around the house occasionally checking up on Jessica and Angela. Due to peer pressure June got her to drink some alcohol which she spit back into her cup because of the awful taste. Three guys also tried flirting with her. One being Tyler Crowley and it got her some dirty looks from Lauren Mallory who was another girl from Bella's school, and was stand offish toward her for some reason.

By eleven-twenty, everyone started to leave to head home. Thankfully no one had gotten seriously drunk to the point where they couldn't drive themselves home. Bella, Jessica, and Angela all hugged June and again wished her a happy birthday before they went back to the car.

During the drive, Jessica excitedly shared how Mike asked her to go with him to the spring dance and prom. Both Bella and Angela cheered happily for their friend. Bella always thought Mike and Jessica would make a nice couple.

"Do you have a date for the dance and prom, Bella?" Jessica asked suddenly.

"No, not really," Bella replied. It surprised her how disappointed she sounded even though she didn't even like dances.

"Did anyone ask you yet?" Angela jumped in.

"It's not that. It's just dances aren't really my thing."

"Or, maybe you'll only go with a certain someone." Jessica said.

Bella stared at her. Was she suggesting she would only go with Edward?

Jessica continued. "A certain, tall, dark an-"

Bella cut her off before she could finish. "If you're talking about Edward you're so wrong."

"Actually, I was talking about Eric. Good to know you still think about Edward" Jessica and Angela begin to laugh.

Bella felt so embarrassed letting herself get tricked like that, but she couldn't help but laugh as well. Jessica was right though. She did still think about Edward. Even at June's party when she was walking around looking like a lost puppy she thought about him. No matter how much he pissed her off there was still a part of her that likes him, and she hated that.

"Hey, I need to go get some gas real quick," Jessica said pulling up near a Shell gas station to the nearest gas pump. A blue Honda Civic was on the other side of the pump.

"Bella?" Angela called as Jessica exited the car.

"Yeah?" Bella replied.

"Can I talk to you about something?" she sounded serious.

"What is it?"

"Well…I've been having these weird feelings lately."

Bella looked at her confused. "What kind of feelings?"

"It's really strange. Every time I see the letter B and the number ten I get this…terrible feeling."

"Have you told Jessica about this?"

"No, you're the first person I told. I didn't want anyone thinking I was being weird or something."

"Angela…" Bella said resting a hand on Angela's shoulder, "you're not weird. It's probably just bad nerves or something. I'm sure you'll be okay."

Angela smiled and gave thanked Bella. Jessica exited the gas station a minute later talking with an older man. Getting closer they saw that Jessica was talking with their biology teacher, Mr. Banner. Jessica proceeded to take the nozzle from the gas pump and fill up her gas tank.

"Hello girls," Mr. Banner said.

"Hi, Mr. Banner," Angela replied with Bella waving.

"I heard you girls are just coming from a study group."

"Yeah. Something like that," Bella said, with Jessica and Angela holding in their desire to laugh.

"That's good. I won't be in tomorrow so you girls are getting a substitute, but I hope you'll still be ready for tomorrow's assignment."

"Um…yeah, we'll be totally ready," Jessica lied.

"Good. Anyway I should be going. You girls drive safe now alright?"

Jessica took the nozzle from her gas tank and placed it back in the gas pump. "We will."

They all told him good night which he returned and he got into his car and drove off. Jessica entered the car and put on her seat belt.

"What was he doing here?" Angela asked Jessica.

"He was just buying some cigarettes," Jessica replied, starting the engine of the car and driving out of the gas station lot.

It was a little past twelve when Jessica dropped Bella off at home. When she came into the house and walked into the living room she saw Charlie just waking up from his sleep.

"Hey, Dad, I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay, sweetie," Charlie said yawing and stretching. "Did you have a good time tonight?"

"Yeah, it was really fun."

"That's good."

"Well, I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Bella."

When Bella woke the next morning, she could hear Charlie downstairs talking on the phone with someone. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she went downstairs to see what was going on, but he was already hanging up.

"Hey, sweetie," Charlie said putting on his jacket.

"Hey. What was that about?"

"I have to head down to Mason County. Someone got killed from an animal attack."

"An animal?" Bella asked confused.

"Yeah, I figured I might give them a hand."

"Be careful, Dad."

"I always am." Charlie kissed her forehead and headed out the door.

After Charlie left, Bella went upstairs to get ready for school. After taking a shower, brushing her teeth, and getting dressed, Bella went outside to her truck and drove to school. When she Pulled up into the parking lot, she saw a crowd of students heading toward the gymnasium and police creating barricades to keep out the news reporters and camera men from entering the gym.

Parking her truck, she followed the crowd toward the gym. Inside the gym everyone was taking seats with the other teachers and the principal, Mr. Greene, who was up on the gym's stage. Bella couldn't find Jessica and Angela, so she took the nearest seat in the third middle row of seated students

Once everyone was seated, Principal Greene walked up to the stage podium and began to speak into the mic. "Dear students, and faculty," Principal Greene began, "it saddens me to say this, but late last night one of our faculty members, Mr. Banner, was found dead last night."

The room suddenly filled with gaps and 'oh my gods' and a few people were beginning to cry. Bella heart felt like it stopped. Her mind went blank and sat there in complete shock. She, Jessica, and Angela saw him just last night. How could he be dead?

Mr. Banner was one of nicest teachers in the school, and everyone loved him. This could not be happening. On the other side of the room, Bella could Edward looking like he had seen ghost. He looked almost scared.

Principal Greene continued to speak. "The reasons behind his death are currently under investigation by the police. For the remainder of the day, Mr. Banner's class will be canceled. We ask that no one talk to any reporters, and if the police ask for your cooperation, I urge you, as students of this school, to provide only the facts."

After the school was dismissed from the gymnasium, Bella met up Jessica and Angela.

Jessica spoke up first. "I can't believe this is happening. We literally just saw him last night."

Angela sniffled and wiped her tears from her eyes. Bella wrapped her arms around her comforting her.

"To think that could have been us…"

"Jess, don't say that!" Angela said cutting her off.

"It could have!"

Bella remained quiet. She honestly didn't know what to say. Jessica was right. It could have been them. The thought of Charlie and Renee finding out she had died made her heart ache.

"How did he even die?" Jessica asked.

"My dad said something about an animal attack," Bella said. Angela removed herself from Bella's arm and started to walk away.

"Angela, where are you going?" Bella called after her.

"I need to be alone." she continued to walk not looking back. Bella tried to go after her, but Jessica stopped her and told her to give Angela space. Bella hoped that she would be okay.

There was a sense of sadness going around for the remainder of the school day. Walking past Mr. Banner empty class room filled Bella up with grief. She knows there nothing she couldn't have done, but she still wished there was something she could have done to prevent this.

On her way to her third period class, Bella heard her name over the intercom asking her to report to the principal's office. Everyone in school was being question by the police and she dreaded when it was her turn. She wished her dad was there to put her at ease.

In the Principal's office, she was questioned by two officers who made her feel nervous, so she ended up lying about seeing Mr. Banner last night. Bella really did want to help them, but she truly didn't know anything about what could have led to his dead. The conversation with Mr. Banner was short, and he didn't say what he was doing or where he was going, so honestly she couldn't help as much as she wanted too.

At the end of the school day, Bella immediately went to her truck careful to avoid any reporters. She told Jessica and Angela she would call them when she got home. Halfway to her truck, she pulled out her keys from her pocket and accidentally dropped them in a puddle of water at her feet.

She cursed under her breath and as she bent down to pick them up a hand reached out and grabbed them before she did. She jerked up to see Edward Cullen standing in front of her.

"Give me my keys, Edward," she demanded, holding out her hand. He did what he was told and dropped the keys in her hand. "And please stop doing that."

"Doing what?" he asked.

"Appearing out of nowhere," she said annoyed, "It's getting really weird."

"It's really not my fault you're unobservant, Bella."

"I really don't have time for your smart ass remarks today," she said angrily, brushing past him.

"Wait," Edward said, walking in front of her. "I'm sorry. I'm being a jerk again."

"Do you have some type of mental problem?" she snapped. "Honestly, there is something truly wrong with you. First you treat me like shit, then you're nice and save my life, then you're back to treating me like shit again and tell me you don't want to be my friend."

"Bella don't be so ridiculous," he scoffed, "my intention is not to upset you. Honestly. I really just wanted to ask you something."

She sighed and placed a hand on her hip "Fine. What do you want?"

"I heard you telling Mike you were going to Seattle on the day of the spring dance."

"Ease drop much?"

He rolled his eyes. "I was wondering if you wanted a ride."

She stared at him. "Go to Seattle with you? Why?" she asked mystified.

"I was planning to go to Seattle myself, and from the looks of it your truck doesn't look like it would make it. And after what happened to Mr. Banner, it's not safe to be driving to another city all by yourself."

"My truck will do just fine, thank you very much. And I don't need you to protect me." She walked around him, but he walked in front of her again

"Bella, come on." He looked at her pleadingly.

"I thought you said you didn't want to be friends."

"I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be."

"Oh, well now I feel so much better." She was being sarcastic.

"It would be more prudent for you not to be my friend," he explained stepping a little closer to her. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella."

His voice was serious, but his eyes were soft. She hated when he did that thing where it was almost impossible to say no to him. It was like he had you under some of type spell. On the other hand, it was a great chance to figure out his secret.

Her curiosity got the better of her. "Fine, Edward. I'll go with you."

"Thank you. You really should stay away from me" he warned. "I'll see you tomorrow." He turned and walked away.

Later that night, Bella was cooking spaghetti and meatballs. Charlie was going to be late for dinner, so she put some in a plastic container for him and put it in the fridge. Her phone started to ring and she rushed into the living room to get it. It was Angela calling.

"Hey, Angela what's up?"

"Bella, turn on the news right now!" Angela was panicking.

Bella heart started to beat fast and she instantly became freighted "Angela, what's wrong?"

"Oh my god, Bella I'm freaking the fuck out." She was crying now.

"Angela, honey, you have to calm down." Bella said turning the TV to the news.

On the television, she saw police forensic around the scene of the crime taking photos of Mr. Banner's car which the front hood of the car dented heavily, the front window was shattered, and the driver seat door ripped open. She could see blood on the driver's seat leaving a trail of blood all the way into the forest. The camera panned a shot of the back of the car and Bella threw her hand over her mouth in shock. The license plate read B-10.