Thanks of course to Fire1 for letting me adopt this story!

This chapter came out HARD! I have been working on 'When Souls Ignite', which will not be posted until I have a 10 chapter lead. So while Bella and Charlie are 'here' having a moment in the kitchen, Bella was over 'there' trying to leave Charlie, in the kitchen. Needless to say, I couldn't focus on this chapter for a few days.

And, I am not a huge fan of Jacob. His character seriously annoys me. So having a conversation with him is very difficult for me… But, I survived… amazingly!

But here it is, right on time as scheduled.

Enjoy!

~~NoT~~

Bella's POV:

I was still trying to hold on to sleep when the unpleasant smell of bacon wafted into my room. It was Sunday…and only … 7 am… Hasn't anyone ever told Charlie that Sunday's are for sleeping in? I had only gotten three hours of sleep, thanks to my newly acquired Peeping Tom. When was he going to learn that he would never see anything?

Knowing that sleep was now a lost cause, I pulled myself from my bed and went downstairs to see why Charlie was up so early. When I entered the kitchen he looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey sleepy head, good morning." I really wasn't enthused about his cheerful tone this morning.

"Dad, it's Sunday, why are you up this early?" I asked with a yawn.

"Well, I was going to go fishing, but I figured that since this is your first weekend here, you might want me to stay home with you instead." He handed me a mug of hot tea, and pointed at the table. He brought over a plate of bacon and eggs and set it down in front me. I tried… I really tried not to gag at the smell, but it came out anyways. Thankfully Charlie didn't notice.

I picked up a piece of the offending bacon, and nibbled on it. Meat was the hardest thing for me to eat. It just smelled so wrong while it was cooking. However, I would have fewer dizzy spells after eating it.

As I sat there trying to look like I was eating more then I actually was, I thought that Charlie must have been up at the crack of dawn if he was planning on going fishing. I mean he was always up early, but on a Sunday? It just seemed morally flawed somehow.

"You know dad, if you want to go fishing you can. I have to do some homework, and I was thinking of doing some cleaning, and going to the grocery store. You don't need to baby-sit me, I'll be okay."

He looked a little abashed, but also pleased at the same time. He shouldn't stop his routine just because I was here.

"Well, Billy did invite me over to watch the game at noon with a few other guys. I guess I could stop by after I do some fishing. That is, if you're sure you don't mind."

"No, of course not! I would think you would get bored sitting here watching me clean and cook all day. By all means, go!"

"Well, I'll leave you to get your things done then."

I got up, taking my almost full plate to the sink.

"Bells?" I knew what he was going to say, so I cut him off.

"Dad… if I tried to eat any more right now, then all of this would come back up. It's way to early for me to be eating. Trust me, I'm fine. He looked really upset for some reason, but I couldn't understand why.

~~NoT~~

It was already ten-thirty when I was done showering and getting dressed. Charlie left right after breakfast. I was pondering what to get done first on my list of things when the phone rang.

"Hello, Swan residence, Bella speaking."

"Hey Bella, it's Jake. I just wanted to know how the truck was running? Oh, and if made it through your first week of school without anyone eating you alive?"

He chuckled at his own joke.

"The truck is running great, thanks for doing such a great job on it. And… well, my first week was… oh I don't know." I hated talking about myself, and with Jake I had to be extra careful, he was not easy to talk to. And I knew there were things about me I was not supposed to tell people.

"Oh come on Bella, tell me… please?"

He sounded like a little kid whining for a toy. And I knew I would give in, just a little.

"Well, I have met a few nice people, and made friends with at least two girls. I met Angela, whose shy, like me, and doesn't force me to talk about myself, and then there's Jessica, she like to lead a conversation, so I don't have to talk much." Jake snorted on the other end.

"It sounds like you're making friends based on how little you have to talk to them."

"Is that a bad thing?" I demanded, defensive. I really did like my new friends, but I also liked not having to talk about myself.

"No… I'm just saying. So what else?" His tone was careful now as he responded.

"Um… this guy Mike won't stop asking me out… it's kinda annoying actually. I don't like him." I glanced out the window nervously, wondering how much more I should tell him.

"Why Bella! Already turning guys down, huh? You're fast at catching their eye, that was fast!"

"JAKE!" I screeched out, horrified.

"I'm kidding… I'm sorry Bells, I really was kidding, I swear!" He was laughing though, so I knew he wasn't sorry at all. I scowled into the phone.

"Trust me Jake, there are no guys at that school that I would even consider going out with. Between Mike's thick skull, and Tyler being a…" I stopped short, I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to tell him all those disgusting details.

Noticing my hesitation, Jake's tone changed drastically.

"Tyler is being a what, Bella?" He demanded into the phone. His tone was sharp, and very serious.

I sighed; I knew I'd give in eventually.

"Tyler has been peeking in window at night from down the street. He has binoculars."

"WHAT?" He screamed into the phone, making me pull the receiver away from my ear. He sounded dangerous.

"Jake, it's ok, seriously…" He cut me off

"How long has this been going on? All week?" He sounded like he was almost growling into the phone.

"…Yes." I muttered into the phone.

I had been planning on downplaying the details, knowing Jake would be worried. I couldn't get that lucky though. When anyone, not just Jake, guesses something right, I can't lie. I'm a terrible liar. And I think he knows that.

"It's okay though, he doesn't bother me at school anymore. I told Rose and Jasper what was going on. Besides, all he does is look, and it's not like I actually do anything in my room. I do my homework and sleep. My window is always closed and locked."

"Does your dad know about this?" He still sounded so angry.

"Uh… no."

"What… what did you say?"

"No, he doesn't know. As long as you don't come here and kill the guy, I promise I will tell later, okay?" Please say you wont come Jake! I don't need this kind of attention!

I could hear the reluctance in his tone as he sucked in a breath and sighed.

"Okay, I wont." Yes, that was definitely forced.

I felt bad knowing that I would break that promise, but I just couldn't add to the list of Charlie's ever growing list of concerns about me.

I knew I was going to have to calm Jake's growing anxiety somehow. So maybe if I told him what happened on Tuesday, it would help.

"Jake, it's not as bad as I am sure you are picturing. Like I said, I did tell two people. On Tuesday I knew I needed to stay away from Tyler, so I was on the look out for him. Right before lunch he spotted me. I ended up spinning around to quickly to avoid him and plowed right into Rose. She looked pretty annoyed that I bumped into her, as I was apologizing I kept looking back nervously to see what he was doing. He…"

"While he what? Bella?" The anxiety in his voice was growing; I guess this wasn't what would calm him.

I took a calming breath before I spoke again. "He stopped and leaned up against the wall, like he was waiting for me to be alone. It scared me."

"YOU THINK HE…" Oh no! This wasn't good!

"Calm down Jake! You're shouting like a mad man."

"You think he was trying to get you alone? His voice was shaded with concern, but it just barely came through. His tone was more pissed than anything.

"Bella, this is bad." I interrupted him again. I was trying to calm him down, and apparently I was just making it worse.

"Yes Jake, I think he was trying to get me alone. Can I please finish now?"

"Go on then." He replied, though he didn't seem happy about it.

"I was scared, and kept pushing myself closer to Rose and Jasper. I think that is what tipped them off that something was wrong. Rose picked up on it immediately, I was expecting her to look pissed when she looked down, but when she did her eyes widened and the concern was evident on her face. She pulled me closer to her then. Jasper put his hand on my shoulder, and I instantly felt calmer somehow. He must be a very soothing person. Once I was calmer, he asked what was going on.

"I completely embarrassed myself by bursting out in tears as I told them about waking up the night before with the creeps. About how I looked out my window to see Tyler sitting in his van outside, using binoculars to look in my bedroom window.

"I told them how I have been avoiding him all day, and that it seemed like he was trying to get me alone. Rose looked mad as I continued my story, though I thought it was strange that she'd be mad for my sake. Tyler was still looking at us, and I think they could tell that I didn't want to be on my own just then. He asked if he should distract Tyler while Rose walked me to the cafeteria. I felt like we were in a spy movie! It was like 'Agent X, please escort the witness to the safe house. I'll take care of the renegade.' Or something like that, right?"

My weak attempt at trying to make Jake laugh was an epic fail. His end of the line was completely silent. "Seriously Jake, I'm fine. Rose took me to the cafeteria, straight to my table with Angela and Jessica, and Jasper stalled Tyler. Can we not play the 'worry about Bella until steam comes out our ears' game? There's nothing to worry about, I was protected and made safe!"

Jake let out a loud huff into the phone. "Bella, just promise me that you'll call if it gets worse, even if it only worsens just a little bit."

"I promise Jake." I poured as much conviction into my voice as I could. Hoping he would drop the whole thing now.

Suddenly I remembered that Charlie was on his way over there, while I was on the phone talking about things I wanted to keep on the down low from the police chief. I knew I needed to change the subject and fast!

"You know what Jake?" I chirped out happily.

"No… what Bella?" His voice was suspicious, and I could feel his eyes rolling over the phone.

"Well, I told you how I met Rose and Jasper, and that was perfectly normal and fine,' He snorted, he clearly didn't agree. 'But I feel like I am some kind of plague to their family or something. I have run straight into, or fallen in front of almost all of them this week at one time or another." And chased one out of school. I wasn't going to tell him that though, something told me to keep it to myself, and I would do just that.

"Okay, I'll bite. What are you trying to distract me with? Oh, I mean tell me everything, I'm dying to know." I wouldn't have thought that sarcasm suited him, but it seemed like they got along just fine.

"Well, on Monday I tripped right in front of Alice, Jasper's girlfriend and his sister. She was really nice about it, and she helped me and everything. She didn't even laugh at me."

"Wait! What do you mean sister and girlfriend?" He sounded confused, and rightfully so. It wasn't a typical family set up.

"They're adopted siblings, so there is no blood relation at all."

"Oh, okay. That's fine, I guess." Good. This seemed to be taking his mind of the Tyler situation.

"I ran into her and her mom on Saturday. They accepted my apology when I practically knocked over their cart."

"Where did this happen?" He asked.

"At the hardware store. I was looking for darker curtains for my room, but they didn't have anything I wanted there. I'll have to go to Port Angeles to get some."

"Well I think it is a good idea that you're trying to make it harder for him to look in." Shit, did I just bring us back to my peeping tom?

"I'm glad you approve Jake. Now, where was I?"

"You being some kind of plague on this poor family." Well, I was a plague to my family too, but I knew if I voiced that, it would bring on a whole new round of questions, and I would have to tell him all the things that were odd about me and that would not go over well.

"Oh right! On Thursday I was leaving the cafeteria and I tripped right in front of Emmett. Emmett is huge, seriously. I think everyone in school is afraid of him because of it. Anyway, when I fell right in his path, the entire cafeteria went silent, except for him. He busted out laughing at me, and then he helped me up and said something about keeping me as a pet. I don't think he meant for me to hear it though. When I responded, he was so surprised and embarrassed. He ended up walking me to my class, and we were joking together the entire time. I don't see why everyone is so scared of him. He's really nice."

"Bella, what have I told you about consorting with giants? Giants are not safe."

"Shouldn't it be that I am not safe for anyone? I thought that was what you always told me."

"Yeah, that too. I guess you and giants would get along great." Neither one of us could help the laughter after that.

"Okay… okay… so tell me what has been going on down on the Rez?" I asked while trying to stop the laughter from taking completely over.

"Hmm, oh I don't know. Mostly the same old thing." I could hear the hesitation in his voice, and knew something must be up.

"Jake, whatever it is, you can tell me."

"How could you tell anything was wrong?"

"Your voice, Jake. You sound really upset about something. Come on, it might help to let it out. Besides, I'm an outsider. Aside from you and Billy, I've never met anyone from the Rez. I can be an objective third party." He was silent for a minute, and if I didn't hear his heavy breathing I would have thought he had hung up on me.

"Jake… whatever it is, it will be okay." I wished I had gone down there with Charlie. It was easy to tell that whatever it was it was killing him, and he didn't want to tell me.

"There is something strange going on around here Bella. I don't know what to do about it." His voce was laced with hurt and confusion, and after a pause he continued.

"Some of the guys I used to hang out with have started avoiding everyone, and doing really stupid shit. I know it sounds lame if I say it like that, but it's true. At first, it was just this guy Sam, who I don't really know, but now Embry is doing it too, and he's a good friend of mine. Or rather, he was. That is until he gave everyone the proverbial finger and started leaping off the cliffs for the hell of it." Yes, Jake was really bitter about this.

"Wait…jumping off cliffs?"

"Yeah, fully stupid." Now he sounded sad. I wished there was something I could do for him. After all, he was the first friend I made when I came here. Well… actually, he was my first friend period.

"Jake, is there anything I can do to help?" I was beginning to feel sad hearing about the loss of his friend.

"No, I don't think there is… but thanks for asking. Hey, why don't you come down and say hi some time next week? I could show you around the Rez." He wanted me to come down and visit? Wow! I could just hear my mother now… 'Bella, it's your first paly date! I'm so proud of you!' I almost laughed out loud.

"Yeah, sure, that would be great! When…" But before I could finish my question, I heard a commotion on the other end of the line.

"Bella, all the guys just got here to watch the game. I better get going."

"Okay, have fun taking care of the old men Jake."

"Sure, sure. Bye Bella."

"Yup!"

I hung up the phone, and tried to mentally go over my list again. What will I do first? Ah, the bathroom, that chore would be the fastest. But the phone rang again just as I was reaching under the sink for the cleaning supplies.

"Hello, Swan residence, Bella speaking."

"Bella, hi! It's Mike." He sounded a little too happy about something as he identified himself. But how did he get his hands on my phone number?

"Oh, hi Mike." It was hard to keep my voice friendly. "Um, how can I help you?"

"Well… I wanted to know…" Oh, here it comes. He's going to ask me out again. "… If you had plans for today?" I was going to tell him that I was busy, like always busy, but he continued before I could answer him.

"Well, you know we have that paper to write with our lab partners in biology, and since Edward has been out, I thought that perhaps you would want to work with me and my partner?" Oh no! Angela was his lab partner. I did like her a lot, but I had my list to get through today, and Mr. Banner has already extended the due date for me since Edward's been out.

"Thanks Mike, and thank Angela for me too, but Mr. Banner extended my paper until next Friday."

"Oh, well that was cool of him. You could still come over and hang out with us."

"Sorry Mike, but I have a lot to do today." For once that excuse was the truth. I was glad that 'excuses' didn't fall under the same category as 'lies' otherwise I'd have been spending every spare second with Mike Newton. I shuddered as I thought about that. That idea did not appeal to me in the least.

"Okay, well, see you tomorrow then." He sounded dejected, and I just couldn't feel sorry for him.

"Bye Mike." I was having a hard time not sounding relieved. There was another bullet dodged.

After hanging up the phone for the second time, I got the cleaning supplies out, and started on the kitchen, and started thinking back over my first week here, both at school and in general. I had made one good friend in Jake, and two possible friends in Angela and Jessica. There was only one person who seemed to have had a strong reaction to me. A strong negative reaction. Everyone else seemed to accept me, unlike back home. And I couldn't help to wonder why that was.

~~NoT~~

Psst…

How many readers do I have that have followed over from Fire1? I'd really like to know your thoughts on how I am doing with rewriting this awesome story! I know a lot of it is a 'copy', but I am hoping that I am actually making it flow better and adding more to it. Let me know in a review!