A.N.) Hey everybody! I'm so sorry about not updating in so long... between classes and work and homework, I haven't gotten much time to write. But I pushed myself to post this chapter and as a result I am posting this at about 3 in the morning when I have class at 10:30!

I wanted to thank you all for being so patient with me... I truly appreciate your kindness! Thank you so much to the people who reviewed my previous chapter! I am so sorry about not replying to you all as I originally intended to... I barely had time to write this chapter. Thank you also to everyone who has favorited, followed, reviewed or read this story, all of your support is truly appreciated!

This chapter may get some grammatical, the kind readers who had reviewed for the last chapter, and a few minor changes (as I am very tired right now and didn't have time to proofread it), but please bear with me! :)

Enjoy!

~UnicornNinja12

BPOV

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, I ask Dad, "So why exactly are we here?" We had been here for at least 2 minutes and already felt uncomfortable with all of the strangers around us.

"To volunteer for the Mystic Falls Historical Society," Dad says nonchalantly. I raise a brow. My father doesn't appear to 'volunteer' for things without a reason. Noticing my disbelief, he says, "What? I have to keep up with appearances somehow."

I chuckle. That sounds like my dad. "I figured that was the case," I say lightly, a smile playing about my lips.

Dad narrowed his eyes at me challengingly. "You think that I wouldn't volunteer for an event?"

My eyes widen and my muscles tighten. Instinctively, I felt as if I was treading on dangerous waters. "No, it's not that. It's just you strike me as the type that values their time and doesn't just volunteer without practical reason."

I mentally brace myself for impact, but my father's chuckle instantly breaks my mental brace and leaves me confused. I look up at him, bewildered, but still nervous. "Relax, I was only teasing. Why do you take it so seriously?" He gently pushes my shoulder.

I feel my muscles relax and instantly feel guilty. It was unfair to assume my father would react the same way my mother would. Those kinds of statements caused a lot of trouble around Mother, but then again almost any statement could lead to trouble with her. I send my father an apologetic look, but say nothing.

Dad's eyes furrow, seeing my remorse. As he stops, he turns to me with concern written all over his face. "What's wrong?" I begin to look down, but he gently cupped my chin and forced me to make eye contact.

How do I explain that I thought he was going to overreact even though I knew he wasn't the same person my mother is? My mind tries to formulate a response, but comes up with nothing. "Nothing," I say my eyes cast downward, before meeting my father's worried eyes, "I'm sorry if I have caused you concern."

My father removed his hand from my face and his frown deepened as he said, "I do not feel concern. I don't feel at all."

His words cut me, but I briefly let it go. I look into my father's conflicted eyes and nod sadly. Deep down, I know that he feels something, but at the moment, I don't question him.

Shaking his head, he begins to walk again and I follow beside him silently.

"You know you don't have to follow me, right?" Dad asks as he notices me following him.

"I know," I say simply.

"Don't you want to hang out with Caroline and Elena? I thought you liked them?"

I grimace as I remember the last time the three of us spent time together. "It's not that I don't like them per say, it's just that last night on the way back from the shopping trip, it was… awkward."

Dad's eyebrows raised. "Awkward? They didn't go sexually explicit on you?" His eyes narrowed at the idea.

DPOV (I figured I would try something new)

I couldn't imagine someone talking about sex around my sweet, innocent Bella. If Vampire Blondie and Elena put such an idea into her mind, I would pummel them into the ground. I wasn't going to allow anyone to take away my daughter's innocence, especially by the likes of them. I shudder at the thought of whatever they could teach and if her should she attempt have sort of relationship with a man. What if she attempted to do it with that Edward kid?

He is a dead man.

If he ever shows his face around me, I will rip him limb from limb before catching him on fire. The last you'll ever see of him will be his ashes.

Bella's voice pulled out me out of my thoughts.

BPOV

"No, definitely no!" I say paling at the thought, "They spent a lot of the time arguing is all. I don't really care to find out if they are still arguing."

Dad looked relieved at my words and says, "So did you have fun then?"

I give him a funny look before saying, "Typically I find that people arguing is too stressful to me, so for the most part, it wasn't as fun as it could have been."

"But it was drama filled," Dad argued, "And girls like drama."

"Not this girl," I say frowning, "I hate it." It appeared my father didn't know me much, but hey, we were making some progress. It was silent a bit, but I quickly filled it. "So how was it after I left the barbeque? Did I miss anything?"

DPOV

As she asked these questions, I considered what I would say to her. 'Yeah, I stabbed Mason with a silver knife and guess what? He didn't die!'

Yeah, that wouldn't go smoothly.

How about 'Not much. Did Stefan tell you that Katherine stopped by? Yeah, Katherine as in your mother. She was locked in the dungeon of the basement and tortured for information, but Elena arrived at the Boarding House, so she fled shortly after their encounter.'

Definitely not. Gosh, I'm a crappy father!

I could only think of one thing I could say.

BPOV

Dad pondered the thought for a minute and said, "I can't say that you missed anything."

I raise a brow at him. "After all the werewolf related comments you made, nothing happened outside of the brief outburst?"

"Nope," he said popping the 'p.'

"Huh," I said shaking my head confused, "Uncle Stefan and Elena seemed a bit anxious by the time I got back to the Boarding House. I thought something may have happened."

"Well, nothing did so there is nothing to worry about," he said quickly before asking, "Are you sure you don't want to hang out with Elena and Caroline?"

"So eager to send me away," I say placing my hand over my heart in mock hurt.

Dad rolled his eyes before saying, "Oh you know it. Pack your bags, we're taking a trip to Happy Acres."

I laugh and say, "I'll get right on it."

Dad chuckled at our antics before getting serious again and asking, "Are you sure you don't want to hang out with Elena or Caroline or anyone else? You start school soon, as a matter of fact, you were supposed to turn in on Monday." He sends me a knowing look.

I look down as he acknowledges that he does indeed know that I still haven't turned in my forms for school, which I may or may not have been purposely avoiding turning in. "I suppose I haven't turned those in yet, have I?" Dad raising his eyebrows at me causing me to look away and say, "I must be very forgetful."

"Yes, that clearly is the case," he says sarcastically.

"Do I have to? I've been going to high school for over a hundred years, couldn't I take half a year off?" I ask, dreading the answer I know he will say.

"That boat shipped away weeks ago when I told Jenna you were a junior in high school, sorry," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You don't sound sorry," I point out.

"Right you are," Dad says condescendingly, messing up my hair.

I frown and attempt to fix my now messy hair. "What's with the push for school? Can't I just say I'm homeschooled?"

"Nope," Dad said, popping the 'p', "You have to go to school." Noticing my frown he says, "Come on it won't be that bad, there's always Stefan and you know Elena and Caroline and Bonnie-"

"Bonnie?" I ask confused.

"Bennett," he said, as if that would make any more sense. Seeing I still had no idea who she was, Dad said, "The girl who tried to set me on fire."

My eyes narrowed as I remembered the witch that tried to light my father on fire. "Bonnie. Now I remember her." A thought suddenly occurred to me. "She's not here is she?"

"Not a fan of Witchy?" Dad says smirking.

I offer a weak smile. "She didn't leave the best first impression with me," I say simply. I look around warily, almost waiting for her to pop out of nowhere and try to French fry my Dad.

Dad is silent for a moment before saying, "No, I don't think she is here."

I furrow my brows and say, "I didn't ask if she was here."

Dad chuckled and said, "Well, the look in your eyes was clearly begging the question, I merely answered."

"What are you?" I ask amused, "A mind reader?" Ack, mistake. Way to add acid to the wound Bella. My father's expression turned, dare I say, concerned. Not wanting to cause him distress, I add, "The Mentalist?" though my attempt was futile, I didn't convince Dad, much less myself.

"No," Dad after staring at me a moment, "I'm much better." He briefly looked toward the forest before turning back to me and saying, "I'm a vampire!" in his vampire visage.

I immediately busted out laughing. "I love you Dad," I said quickly capturing him into a hug, "You're the best!"

Dad returned the hug after a moment and I had yet to stop laughing. "What's so funny?" He pulls out of the hug and begins to walk as he says, "Most people would be running for the hills with that face."

I follow after him and say, "Well, like I keep telling you, I'm not like everyone else, I'm an original, I'm a classic," I pause and pull out a Coca Cola Classic from my small leather jacket, "I'm a Coca Cola Classic," I say handing him the soda bottle.

"How did you get that?" Dad asked me, wide eyed and almost an awestruck expression on his face. "There is no way on earth that jacket could hold a Coke bottle and not have me notice it.

Heck, even I didn't know how the bottle got there. New superpower maybe? Chuckling, I look I wiggle my brows, but say nothing about it. Looking around at all the people around me made me feel uncomfortable, yet again, I reach into my pocket and pull out another Coca Cola Classic. I nod approvingly toward the bottle before looking up at Dad and saying, "I still don't want to be alone with Caroline and Elena, not until I know that they have resolved whatever conflict they have."

"There are other people here: entertain yourself," Dad says noticing Uncle Stefan walking away from Mason to us. "Stefan, what are you doing?"

"Negotiating peace on your behalf," Uncle Stefan states as he stops beside me.

"I don't want peace."

My brows furrow as confusion sets in. "There was a dispute between the two of you?" I ask Dad, "Did you lie to me, Dad?"

Dad glares at Uncle Stefan before turning his attention towards me. "Not now," seeing that I was going to push the issue, he says, "Enough. Go to Elena and Caroline." I begin to protest, but my father snaps, "Now Isabella."

I look down and say, "Yes sir," before making my way toward Elena and Caroline. I can't help but feel hurt and bit of frustration as I make my way toward the two girls. Did he consider me that stupid? I knew something had to have happened due to my father's long pause as he thought through the night, but not only had he lied to me once about it, he lied to me a second time when Uncle Stefan practically told me something else had happened after I left. Why did he continue to lie to me?

I ran my hands through my hair while holding back the tears of frustration. This is so not the time to have an emotional breakdown. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and slowly exhale, putting on my 'I'm okay' façade as I open my eyes. Head up, shoulders lifted and back tensed I made my way to Elena and Caroline who looked like they were sharing an emotional moment.

I hesitate. Dad said to go to them, not necessarily talk to him. But it would really seem weird if I randomly started painting beside them, especially after we had been acquainted. No, they would think I'm nosey. But if I flat out tell them, they could consider me weird for telling them something like that.

Either way, this was going to be awkward.

Sighing, I walk the distance to them and pick up a paintbrush. The two look up at me curiously. "Please forgive my intrusion, I assure you I have no wish to intercede your private conversation and you may ignore me if you wish, I won't judge," I say offering a small smile before going to paint on the wooden beams.

Caroline snorts and says, "Who still speaks like that?"

I turn my attention to her and say with a chuckle, "I do."

She laughs good-naturedly, but continues with her painting.

We all paint in silence for a few minutes and from the corner of my eyes, I see Elena and Stefan make eye contact and Caroline is quick to notice.

"Uh, oh, longing looks are being exchanged."

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Elena says putting down her paintbrush.

Caroline instantly panics. "No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea."

Elena ignores her friend and sets out to talk to Uncle Stefan.

We are alone no more than a few seconds when Dad appears and asks while watching Elena's retreating form, "What's her problem?"

"Don't worry about it," Caroline says as she too watches Elena walk toward Stefan.

"Bella." I look up to my father. "What is wrong with Elena?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know, I'm no psychologist and I certainly have no training in determining mental conditions," I say wittily before focusing back on painting.

Dad quickly takes my paintbrush and says, "Why are you giving me attitude?"

I look up at him and say, "I answered your question, I hardly call that attitude."

"Crafty, just like your mother," Dad says under his breath in a tone that clearly states his displeasure with my mother.

I bite my lip, but say nothing in return as I watch Dad and Caroline snoop on the conversation between Uncle Stefan and Elena. From the looks of it the conversation, it wasn't going too well.

"While everyone knows they are in a relationship, you still shouldn't listen into private conversations," I say, trying to wipe off the paint that was on my hands.

"Well you know what they say: relationships are about communication. Since you couldn't tell me what was wrong with Elena, I had no choice but to listen to their conversation," he says pointedly.

"You always have a choice, don't be fooled," I say not backing down, not now. I am not going to let my father use me like this especially after lying to my face twice today. "I've spoken the truth to you, but can you say the same to me?" Dad fell silent. "In a relationship, honesty and communication go hand-in-hand. Without honesty, there is seldom a relationship that can survive. I may be socially inept, but I am no fool."

I glance at Caroline and instantly feel bad about having this conversation. "I'm sorry about the timing of this conversation Caroline, I know I don't like it when people argue in front of me. Please forgive me."

I turn toward my father, whose face was blank. "Nobody's perfect Dad and it would truly be frightening if somebody was. But as I said before, there needs to be honest in a relationship." Letting out a sigh as I feel the anger pass, I take back my paint brush and continue to paint.

Caroline leaves in search of Elena while my father stood frozen in the spot. I sigh and set down the paintbrush and say, "I couldn't tell you what was going on between Elena and Caroline because I told them that I wouldn't listen to their conversation. It wasn't my goal to eavesdrop."

Dad turns to look at me. "So you admit to eavesdropping?" Dad asks with a smirk.

"No, I admit to accidentally overhearing them. There is a difference," I say correcting him, "And as such, it wasn't my place to talk about their private conversation, though I'm sure you would have gotten the gist of it when you overheard Uncle Stefan and Elena."

"Hmm," Dad says nonchalantly. It was silent a moment before he broke it. "So, you didn't even talk with them?"

"Well, I talked with them to let them know I was there, but other than that, no."

He nods and it's silent once again. Thinking this is the last of our conversation, I pick up the paintbrush and begin to paint the base of the beam.

"I sometimes worry about, you know," Dad so quietly I almost think I imagined him say it. I set down the paintbrush and look up at my father. He hesitates a moment before saying louder, "I sometimes worry about you. You're not like all the other girls, there's no 'How to Raise a Hundred Plus Daughter for Dummies.' I worry far more about you than I'd ever admit. What I know about you is very different from the stereotypical girl that I tend to forget you're not. I know I am pushing you to be with people, but I want you to be happy. I want you to have a chance at somewhat of a normal life." Dad ran a hand through his hair before saying, "It's why I wanted you to hang out with Elena and Vampire Barbie, to begin making friends. I'm sorry for pushing them on you, I just I don't want you to feel alone." Dad admits the last part quietly and I could put one and one together.

I stand up and hug my father while saying, "I appreciate your efforts, Dad. I know that I sometimes slip up when it comes to people and that I sometimes forget that the way one parent will react could be different than the way the other parent will react to the same thing, I know that we're not perfect. And though I believe what you set up was not necessary, I still appreciate it."

Dad broke the hug a moment later and left me to my thoughts so he could talk with Mason. Did my father really feel alone? Sure he didn't claim to feel anything, but I don't believe that to be the case. From the time I had spent with Dad, I could easily tell he didn't have very many friends, though now that I think about it, I think he really has one true friend. Alaric seemed to be forming a good friendship with my father, so it is a relief to see Dad wasn't completely alone.

Dad was just telling me that he was unsure how to fulfill his role as my father, but the truth of the matter was, I didn't have much more of a clue. I was just going with what I had seen with other families. Maybe my role as a daughter requires that I 'inadvertently' become friends with people that have a parent or relative that the Dad would like to be friends with.

Was finding a friend for my father my duty?

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Until next time!

~UnicornNinja12