Hearing from my dad was nice, but it opened up a lot more questions than it answered. Mostly all but confirms the fact that something isn't right here...besides the whole deadly infectious disease thing. I just hope we can figure it out before it kills us.

"I'm really starting to worry about Jess, Bella. I still haven't heard from her," Angela checks her phone for the millionth time today and throws it back on her cot.

"She was pretty upset about Mike. Maybe she just wants to be alone." I shrug, trying not to scare Ang. When Jess is upset, the last thing she wants to do is be alone, so there's a slim chance that's what's keeping her away. I'm too worried to think about the other, much more terrifying options.

"Knock, knock." Edward pops his head into our homeroom. "Hi."

"Hi."

"You ready?"

"Sure."

Ang watches us curiously from her cot. "What are you guys up to?"

"I'm taking her out on a date." Edward smiles and presents me with exactly two roses. "Stole them from the Greenhouse club."

"I see." She smirks at me despite her worry for Jess. I try to push my anxiety back, because as much as I'm scared about Jess too, I need some relief from the constant state of terrified I've been living in since this whole thing started. "Well, you kids have fun," Ang says.

"Barrels," Edward says. "Your chariot, my lady." He steps aside, revealing an old, rusty bicycle. One with the big banana seat and wide-set handles.

"Where'd you get this?"

"Stole it from the Gym Closet."

"Is there anything from this date you didn't steal?" I ask.

"It's not called stealing. It's called improvising. I'm low on resources here, Swan, work with me."

I stare at the bike, wondering where I'm supposed to sit. Before I have another moment to think, Edward scoops me up and sets me on the seat, and then hands me a blanket. He hops in front of me and I hesitantly grab his shirt for balance as he pedals away.

"Hold on tight," he says, looking over his shoulder.

I wish I could accurately describe the look on everyone's face as we rush down the hallway, but I know I won't do it justice.

We turn the corner by the girls' bathroom and speed toward the gym. Once we get there, Edward parks the bike and I hop off, curious what kind of date he's planning in the gym.

"I don't really do sports," I say, wondering if he was planning to slaughter me in a game of Horse.

"We're not doing sports." He smirks and holds the door open for me. I duck under his arm and follow him inside.

He leads me across the gym and to the storage closet at the opposite end. He steps over some hockey sticks, rolls out a few basketball storage shelves, and pulls away a wrestling mat.

At the very back of the storage room, is a door. It looks like it hasn't been opened in about fifty years, but it's a door.

"What is that?" I ask.

"That, Bella, is a door." Edward nods, pulling it open. It creaks so loud it almost echoes in the gym.

"I know, genius. I mean where does it go?"

"It's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises." Especially as of late.

"Too bad." He holds out his hand and helps me back before allowing me inside.

Behind the door is a dark stairway going up, lit only by flickering, cobweb blanketed lights.

"How did I not know this existed?" I ask, taking a tentative step up.

"Most people don't. Nobody ever moves that mat because they just use the ones in the weight room."

"How do you know it exists?"

He shrugs. "I moved the mat. Asked coach about it and he told me no one ever uses it anymore." We continue up the stairs until we reach another door at the top. "Which I don't understand, because the view isn't too bad." He smiles and pushes it open.

The cool air of the night gives me goosebumps and I realize exactly where were are. We're on the roof of Forks' High.

"Holy cow..." I whisper.

Edward walks a few steps ahead of me and sets the blanket down on the ground. "I used to come up here sometimes before a game, if I needed some time to think or whatever." He laughs to himself. "Everyone was always wondering why I spent so much time locked in the storage closet."

I take a seat on the blanket and look off into the distance. The lights from the spotlights along the edge of the parking lot are almost blinding. The hum from the tanks is far off and loud at the same time. I can't imagine how the people who live across the street are going to sleep tonight. Although the houses look awfully dark.

"I imagine it looks a little different tonight than it normally does," I say.

"You are right about that." Edward settles down next to me and pulls his knees up to his chest.

We sit there for awhile, watching the tanks and the soldiers and the lights.

"What a circus," I say to myself.

"It's almost unreal, isn't it?"

"Like we're in a movie or something."

"Horror or science fiction?" He asks.

"To be determined."

"And how is that determined?" He smiles.

I turn to face him. "How it all ends." It's the truth. If we all die or turn into zombies or something, that's horror. If they come up with some miracle drug and we're all saved, that could be science fiction.

We try to hold a somewhat normal conversation, but it's hard. If it were any other night or any other situation, this would be a normal date. Deadly plagues kind of ruin everything.

When the conversation lulls, I lie back onto the blanket and look up at the stars. They're normally pretty bright in Forks, not dulled by the lights of a big city. Tonight, I can barely see them flickering against the bright spotlights of our boundary.

"If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?" Edward asks, settling down beside me.

"My own house. My own bed." Seems stupid when I could pick anyplace, but it's the truth. I'd give anything to be home right now.

"That's a given. Where else?"

"Paris," I admit. "I've always wanted to go to Paris. See all of the art. Sit by the Seine and sketch."

"Paris would be cool. I've always wanted to go to a deserted island and spend days just laying on the beach in the sun. Give me a break from the dreariness of Forks." His eyes flicker toward me. "Although Forks has its perks, I guess." He smiles.

"Like what?"

"The company."

"Edward, what do you like me for anyway?"

His brow furrows. "What does that mean?"

"I mean, I've been here for months and this week was the first time you really spoke to me. Why?"

"I've always thought you were beautiful, Bella."

"That's flattering, but that doesn't explain why."

"I'm really shy."

I scoff. "You? Edward Cullen...the big man on campus, star athlete, is shy? Don't believe it."

"I didn't believe it either. I was never shy until I met you. That's when I knew you were different."

"In a good way?"

"In the best way." He shrugs. "I'd been trying to play it cool and get up the nerves to talk to you, but every time I did I chickened out. Until Alice talked to me."

"Alice? She knew?"

"You ever try to keep a secret from that girl? I swear she has some kind of sixth sense."

"I know what you mean. And what did she tell you?"

"To stop being an ass, and be brave. She's a hopeless romantic." He turns his head toward me, and we're so close that our noses almost touch. "I want to be brave again."

His breath brushes my lips and I want so badly to kiss him right now. "We can't...do that," I whisper.

"Why not?" He breathes.

"No...bodily... fluids...exchanged," I stammer.

His eyes drift down to my lips before he sighs and dips into the crook of my neck, where he plants a soft kiss on my skin. "That'll have to do, for now."

My heart is beating so fast that it feels like it's going to hop right out of my chest. I'll say it again. Deadly plagues kind of ruin everything.

A/N: STUPID. PLAGUE.

Speaking of plague, I am finally somewhat back to the land of the living thanks to antibiotics. Unfortunately, it did put me quite a bit behind on my writing schedule, so I'm doing everything I can to get caught back up. Thanks for your patience :)