DISCLAIMER I don't own anything, yadda, yadda, yadda

DISCLAIMER I don't own anything Twilight.

Sorry it took me so long to update, friends. I was in Spain for a week at my brother's wedding. It was insanely awesome! Spain is a beautiful country, and I hope to get back there someday!

Enjoy this chapter!

Whenever your will starts crashing down

That's when you find me

- OneRepublic

Chapter 2

Edward POV

I'd resigned myself the last five years to the fact that I would never see, touch or smell Bella again, but the minute I set foot on the University of Washington campus, I smelled her scent in the breeze – the same fresh, floral, sweet ambrosia. The succulent flavors brought forth memories from the first time I kissed her plush lips, when the headiness filled my nostrils and almost made my knees give out. It tasted almost the same, yet something was off, something I couldn't quite pinpoint.

Now, here I was, standing in the doorway of this dingy little diner, staring at my first love from across the room, our eyes locked together. Every cell in my brain chastised me for not immediately running to her, scooping her up in my arms, and pleading her forgiveness for all the horrible pain I've caused her. I wanted nothing more than to do those things right now, but my companion, and the humans around us, prevented it. I looked to my left, and suddenly, the woman on my arm seemed mediocre compared to the beauty of Bella – my Bella. She was even more beautiful than I remembered, and I had made sure to memorize every millimeter of her face before I left Forks all those years ago. I suddenly understood.

Bella was a vampire. I should have figured that out the minute I saw her butterscotch eyes.

An elated grin tugged at the corners of my mouth, and I excused myself from my "date" and walked to the counter, where Bella stood frozen, almost as if in fear, her eyes steadily following my every movement. Pain and anguish washed over me in a wave as I approached her, and my face fell sullen. Apparently, she inherited Jasper's power of emotional manipulation, and was using it against me.

Get a grip on yourself, Cullen, I thought.

Yes, please do, Mr. Cullen. I froze as her voice rang out in my head, and my head snapped up to look at her. I cocked my head to the side, trying to read her facial expression.

Bella, is that you? I took a seat on one of the swiveling bar stools and clasped my hands together on the counter. This was going to be an interesting evening.

No, it's Zsa Zsa Gabor. Who do you think it is, genius?

I can hear your thoughts now.

Well la-de-da. I am a vampire now, you know. She raised an eyebrow at me. What are you doing here, Cullen?

I do have a name.

I realize that. And I remember it all too well. What do you want? I cringed at her indignant tone.

I hadn't expected to see you here. I thought you'd be at Dartmouth.

Things change.

How did this happen? I was most interested in finding out who changed her.

This is neither the time nor the place to discuss this. I have work to do. She glanced in the direction of where my companion was sitting. Who's your friend?

That is Tanya. She is visiting from Denali.

Bella POV

My face fell, but I didn't make it obvious. I would never give him the satisfaction of knowing that even after all this time, my heart and my body still ached for him.

He was with Tanya now, and he could hear my thoughts. His voice sounded so much smoother and more velvety in my head than I remembered. As I stared into his golden eyes, all of my human memories of that fateful night came flooding back, and I was certain if I were able to cry, tears would be spilling down my cheeks and my body wracking with sobs. A very public diner was not the place to stage an emotional breakdown.

He was here now, in the flesh, and no longer a figment of my imagination.

Tanya, huh? I raised my eyebrow indignantly as I stared down at his angelic, flawless face.

He still looked the same, his eyes beautifully ocher, bronze hair perpetually in disarray. His lips still had that perfect redness to them, and his smile still crooked and heartbreakingly dazzling. I restrained myself from leaping across the counter and beating the hell out of him for being so damned perfect.

I heard George clear his throat behind me. "Ahem." I broke my stare from…him and turned my attention to George. "Aren't you going to greet your customer, Bella?"

"Yes, George." I turned back to…him. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you. We've just come to enjoy the atmosphere."

His mouth broke out into said crooked, heartbreakingly dazzling grin, and I gently gripped the edge of the counter to keep my knees from giving out under me. Had I still been human Bella, my heart would have started to beat erratically, and I would have started hyperventilating at this very moment. I wondered to myself how after all this time, after all the pain he put me through, he still affected me in such a way. I knew he sensed this, and winked at me as he got up from the bar. I watched him rejoin Tanya, sliding lithely into the booth on the opposite side of the diner.

I felt the sudden urge to run, because his presence reopened the gaping hole I thought had long been closed. I found myself gasping to breathe.

"George," I breathed, my voice cracking, "I need some air. I'll be back."

I didn't even wait for an answer before I took off toward the employee entrance, and nearly tore the door off its hinges as I flew through the opening, the cold steel smacking against the cinderblock wall. I buried my face in my hands, leaning against the outside wall, muffling my scream of frustration. I wrapped my arms around myself so I would not fall apart, so the emptiness would not consume me, as I had done so many times right after he and his family left. I gave in to the lump in my throat and allowed the sobs to wrack my granite body, even though no tears fell from my eyes.

Edward POV

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Bella had disappeared. I'd hoped it was not on my account, but judging by her reaction to seeing me after so long, I probably was the reason she needed to escape. Part of me wanted to go to her and comfort her, but my rational half told me to maintain a safe distance. I knew things could never be as they were – too much time had passed, and I sensed her feelings for me no longer existed.

I paid no mind to Tanya's incessant yapping across the table. My mind was on Bella. My Bella. Now that she was here, in the flesh, and not a figment of my imagination, I began to form plans to get back into her good graces.

Bella POV

I began to panic as I realized my vision had come true. The vision of him returning this time had come true. I had no idea how I was going to handle this. Immediately, I had a premonition that he was going to want to speak to me in private about everything that had happened, but I was not ready to have that talk. I was not ready to look him in the eye and have him tell me once again that he doesn't love me and doesn't want me. My ears didn't want to hear that he was with Tanya now. I knelt down with my arms wrapped around my knees, staring straight ahead, trying to devise a plan to cope with his return.

"You alright, darlin'?" Viola's voice said, making me jump slightly. I'd been so caught up in agonizing over what to do about the situation at hand that I hadn't noticed Viola walk to the back door. I looked up and saw she had her head poked out, looking down at me with concerned eyes.

"Oh, Vi. You scared me."

"You been out here a while. George asked me to come check on you."

"I'm fine. I'll be in shortly." No, I'm really not fine. Not fine at all.

The old bat shrugged her shoulders and disappeared inside. The back door shut with a soft click.

I inhaled and exhaled the unnecessary air deeply, trying to compose myself, before heading back inside.

He was still sitting in that same booth with Tanya when I came back to the counter. My conscience told me I shouldn't spy on them, but I couldn't resist. A volatile mix of jealousy, anger and resentment coursed through my empty veins like blood. They conversed animatedly, like old friends catching up. Tanya would give out a hearty laugh and place her hand on top of Edward's on the table, but reflexively, he would pull away. Every word they traded stung my ears.

It was bad enough that I was inundated daily with the mindless chatter of human thoughts, but having to hear their conversation was excruciating. She fawned all over him like a giddy schoolgirl talking to her crush, and it made me nauseous, but I found solace in noticing that Edward seemed relatively uninterested in her.

Could he possibly still care for me? I wondered, blocking him from hearing me. Don't be ridiculous. It's been too long. He's probably found other "distractions."

Pretty soon, they decided to leave, and I saw him send Tanya out the door and he approached the counter once again. I picked up a wet rag and busied myself with wiping the counter and putting dishes in the bin.

"Bella," he spoke in his perpetually velvet voice, making me jump. My name rolled off his tongue like honey. "It was very nice to see you again."

"Likewise." I didn't offer a parting glance up at him as I wiped the counter. He put his hand on top of mine to still my movements, and I almost jumped backward from the jolt that radiated through my body.

"Hopefully I will see you around." I briefly glared up at him, then returned to wiping the counter. He must have seen the uncertainty in my eyes, because he took a step backward and gracefully floated out the door with Tanya at his side, his hand possessively placed on the small of her back.

A low growl formed in my chest. How dare he! I screamed internally after he was out of range to hear my thoughts. That smug bastard.

I rubbed that counter so hard that I almost cracked the dingy white Formica.

Sorry this chapter is short and kinda sucky. I'm severely jet lagged. I promise the next chapter will be better!

S