Just like every other day I was hyper aware of Bella's presence. She came into the Biology room followed by ever persistent Mike. He was asking about her evening plans. Again.

"Mike I'm sorry, but I have the worst headache. I'm going to attempt math homework and then go to sleep." She said with a frustrated sigh. I noticed she was absently rubbing her forehead.

"Oh, you know Jess always has Advil in her purse, I can get you some if you want, or I can drive you home if it's really bad." He said with a hopeful smile. Bella clenched her first and gave an irritated 'humpf'. I couldn't help but smirk; she obviously didn't want his attention.

"I just want quite right now Mike." She said sharply. He pouted but scurried over to his table absolutely baffled that she didn't want his attention.

She laid her head down on the lad table closing her eyes. I knew I should have left her alone, she was just having a bad day she would be fine. I heard Alice scream my name from her English class.

"This is your chance to talk to her Edward. I told you before and I'll tell you again, you're being a jerk. She doesn't have anyone to talk to here. Be a friend."

I refused to talk to Bella. If I spoke to her I would inevitably fall more in love with her, and leaving her would only be that much harder.

Alice gave a loud mental sigh. "I thought you were raised better than this. You're letting someone who obviously needs help just remain in need."

Before she could continue her mental ramblings I tore a sheet of mote book paper and wrote a quick note.

Are you okay?

I laid it on her text book and barely brushed her shoulder. Even though it was momentary I felt an unfamiliar rush of heat shoot through my hand and travel down my spine. I faced the chalk board but watched her reaction out of the corner of my eye. She seemed baffled at first then jotted something down.

Just having a bad day.

I gave an inaudible sigh. I already knew that. Against my better judgment I wrote something else, hoping she would share something with me.

I'm a good listener.

She read it quickly and a genuine smile spread across her beautiful face. She wrote for a while and finally laid the folded paper beside me. I probably snatched it up to quick, eager to learn something new about Bella.

My mom is upset with me because I was short with her on the phone. Usually I can take her ramblings but she called at six in the morning and I was already having car trouble and missing my math homework that took me forever to do. Then Charlie went into work late leaving me only ten minutes in the bathroom and getting a ride in the cruiser, which I usually wouldn't mind but today was not one of those days. Then there's Mike the retriever and Tyler constantly apologizing. And now I have headache.

I frowned slightly, I didn't want her to be in pain. I knew she took care of others, and the bit about her mother only confirmed that thought. I could easily have repairs arranged for her truck, and it wouldn't cost much, something else I knew she didn't like.

I'm sorry. I can ask my sister to look at your truck, she's good with cars. And you should probably take the Advil, though I wouldn't get it from Jessica, she's not really one for quite.

She looked slightly confused but smiled, probably at the light jab at Jessica. The Stanley girl could go on about anything and was never comfortable with silence.

Thank you. You're sister is welcome to tinker around with it but I'm pretty sure the truck is dead. For good this time. I'll take something when I get home.

I smiled, of course she didn't want to talk about herself. My new found lightness was stomped down by Mike's thoughts

Are they passing notes? How often do they do that? Why's she talking to the freak?

Care to explain 'Mike the retriever"?

She blushed and paused for a moment before writing.

It's mean so you have to promise not to tell him or anyone else. Mike has an incredibly annoying habit of following me every wear. Always walking me to class and asking if there's anything I need. I noticed his behavior is close to a Golden Retrievers…

I chuckled and had to cover my moth with my hand so we didn't get caught. Mr. Banner was notorious for reading notes aloud.

Emmett would love that, but I promise not to tell. What would you say to skipping next period? I'll drive you home so you won't be stuck with Mike the retriever.

She looked surprised and quikly scribbled back.

I don't want you to miss class.

I frowned slightly, was she letting me down easy or honestly concerned. One way to find out.

I'll get notes from Emmett, unless you're trying to let me down easy.

My mouth gaped open slightly then she smirked.

Well…Get notes from your brother. You don't by any chance understand trig do you?

I grinned, maybe Alice was right, being friends with Bella was nice. My head snapped up towards Mike, he was glaring hatefully at Bella and I. She rolled her eyes and glanced down at her book.

Glad I have more favor than Mike Newton and yes I understand trig, I'm guessing you don't.

She gave me another genuine smile. Ugh, why did I have to notice things like that.

You have more favor than a lot of people, and would it be too much to ask for a tutoring session after school.

I turned to her smiling. "Of course not."

Surprisingly she smiled back, lighting up her whole face. "Thanks."

Silence fell between us but it wasn't awkward or tension filled like it usually was. Bella couldn't seem to focus so I took her sheet of notes and started where she left off. She smiled appreciatively and slowly slid down in her chair. Mr. Banner noticed her lack of attention but pitied her enough to let it go.

Mike kept glaring but didn't know what to do. Obviously his fantasies of punching me out, caring Bella home over his shoulder like a caveman and then having her profess her love for him. I gave an inaudible growl in his direction. I could hear Alice chuckling in her class.

Feel free to tell me I was right anytime. There was a faint shimmer in her thoughts as she got a vision. Catch her.

As soon as she thought it the bell rang and Bella almost fell out of her chair. I caught her arm before she could hit the concrete. She blushed, absolutely lovely, and mumbled a thanks.

"Maybe I should just take you home. We can go over math some other time." I said unhappily. I wanted to spend time with her when we didn't have Mike glaring at us or one of her friends analyzing everything we did.

She shook her head and didn't even give the glaring Mike a second look. "It's due tomorrow and I don't even have half of it done."

I grinned, I learned something else, something unexpected about her. "I never thought of you as a procrastinator."

She chuckled, "Only in math. Um… your sister is waving you down." She pointed to Alice, who was waving frantically, practically drowning in teenagers. "Edward! Hurry up! I don't like being squished by humans!"

I chuckled at her put out expression. "Having problems Alice?"

Be nice, I'm doing you a favor. She snapped and turned to Bella smiling her mega watt smile. "Here's Advil, you should probably put an ice pack on the back of your neck, it always helps me."

Bella looked slightly confused but took it, "Thank you."

Alice smiled again and pecked my cheek. "Stick to the truth brother."

Bella watched Alice dance off, "How'd she know?"

I tensed slightly, but I didn't have any reason not to trust Alice. "Alice has a way of knowing everything." I said vaguely. It was the truth but not entirely.

She seemed to be processing this, I almost sure she would bring up the van incident but she through for me for a loop. "Can I ask you a question?" She said without the seriousness I was expecting.

"Of course."

"I'm not complaining or anything, but I was just wondering what caused the sudden shift in mood. You didn't seem to care about me yesterday but know you seem genuinely concerned." She asked genuine curiosity lacing her words.

How to explain this without sounding like the desperate teenage boy I am. "It's not that I haven't cared it just…complicated." I said after a moment, she quirked an eyebrow and I sighed. "Alice sat me down this morning and told me to stop being such a 'arrogant pompous ass'. She said it would be better if we were friends." I admitted.

She bit on her lip, something I'd seem her do many times when she was deep in thought. She shook her head as if clearing thoughts away. She turned toward me smiling, "I take it the women are in charge in your family."

I laughed out right, "Absolutely. Now can I ask you a question?"

She frowned but nodded, "I suppose that's fair."

I took a deep unneeded breath, "You said I had more favor than most people, what does that mean." I stopped walking, hoping to gage her reaction. Maybe just maybe she did have feelings. Ugh, why did I care so much?

She blushed a beautiful shade of red, and stuttered, "I meant you're different than most people our age. You're not into gossip or what other people think. Even though you have looks and money, you don't flaunt it or try and make other people feel bad about what they have or don't have. You focus on school and really care about your family even though you're not related. You're a good person, that's kind of hard to find here, that gives you more favor."

I was elated that she thought I was a good person, even if it wasn't the truth; it still warmed my cold dead heart to hear her say it. "You're a good person too Bella."

She grinned widely, "So we're friends now?" She asked with an odd tone that I couldn't place. Maybe disdain, no I wouldn't let myself hope.

I forced another smile, "Absolutely."

I drove at an agonizingly slow pace to her house close to the edge of town. She stayed quite only commenting happily at the classic CD that was playing. I couldn't help but smile at another thing we had in common.

When we finally made it to her house she showed me the living room and said something about changing, I was too focused on the wall of school pictures. Each one held an embarrassing story I'm sure but made her that mush more endearing.

I heard her stumble down the stairs and groan when she entered the living room. "Please don't look at those."

I turned to the doorway and way surprised to see her in lounge pants and a tank top with her hair pulled up. Without a second thought my eyes roamed over her body. When I finally dragged my eyes away from her unbelievably beautiful body she was blushing.

Before I could apologize she smirked, "Can I get you anything to drink?"

I was instantly sobered by her question, "No thank you. Did you take medicine?"

"Yep, two Advil." She chirped and sat in one corner of the couch.

I hesitantly took the corner across from her. "What exactly do you need help with?"

She bit her lip, "Everything." I chuckled this was going to be interesting.

---

Almost two hours later the entire worksheet was complete and Bella was beginning to understand how to work the problems.

"So add the angles and that's the answer?" She questioned from her spot on the floor.

"That's it." I replied.

Sitting here with her explaining the same concept over and over reminded me of a human memory. I was on my way back home from church with my mother and father and we were talking about patience, something I have never had. My father told me that in praying for patience I was asking God to give me a situation where I should use patience. After thinking about it for a while I decided to pray for our neighbor's health instead.

Bella looked up, "Has anyone ever told you you're impatient?"

I laughed out right, sometimes it felt as if she was the mind reader. "My mother use to say it all the time."

She bit her lip, "Sorry I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." I cut her off. I forgot how little she knew about them. A casual mention of our human lives was just that at my home: casual. We had gotten use to the idea that our families were gone.

She frowned, "You don't have to shrug it off. I'm your friend, you can talk to me."

I looked away from her kind face, she just wanted to help. And I would gladly take her help, tell her everything about my birth parents, how they died almost a hundred years ago. How I felt like I was ruing there memory, or how unfair it was that I was here and they weren't. Talking to Bella was a nice comfort but I couldn't tell her everything.

"I honestly can't remember them much, and that bothers me so much. I only have a couple of photos of them and Carlisle's told me everything he knows but I have so few memories of my own." I said with a frustrated sigh. After a hundred years my memories were fading, leaving me only with Carlisle's thoughts.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to Charlie and Renée. Maybe you could ask Carlisle to search old newspapers or something, your parents might have had a wedding picture in there or something." She said trying to help.

I sighed, "I've made it this far without knowing to much it shouldn't bother me."

She huffed, "When you decide to be honest with yourself feel free to talk to me."

I chuckled at her attempt of sternness. "Will do. Is there anything else you need help with?" I asked glancing at my watch. The Chief would be home soon and I really didn't want to meet him today.

"Nope. Do you have to go?" She asked almost as if she didn't want me to go. No hoping.

"Yes, I promised Emmett and Jasper I'd get dinner with them. They made Esme pretty mad so they're trying to stay clear of the house for a little while."

She smiled, "Emmett seems like the type of guy to get into trouble. He's into pranks right or maybe sports indoors?"

I was momentarily stunned by how much she noticed. "Yes how'd you know?"

She shrugged, "I see him and Alice teasing each other all the time, but as soon as someone says something negative about her he's right their being the dutiful big brother. Pranks and sports are part of the big brother package."

I chuckled, "That's Emmett in a nut shell. He and Jasper knocked over Esme's china cabinet."

Her eyes got big, "I did that when I was six. My mother was going through a china phase and she had all these plates and cups on the living room coffee table. I was trying to practice ballet and ended up crashing into the table breaking almost every piece of china."

I could easily picture Bella doing just that. "You were in ballet?"

She blushed, "My mother insisted I do it. After about a moth of hospital visits she said I didn't have to do any team sports or groups."

I smiled and glanced at my watch. I was already an hour late. "Jasper and Emmett are probably going to drag me out of here if I don't leave soon."

She chuckled and stood up. "Can't have that. Thank you for all of your help and for talking."

I smiled and followed her to the door, unable to keep my eyes from wondering. Why oh why was this happening now? With the one person I could never be with.

"I'm happy to help. And thank you for letting me talk about my parents, it helps." I admitted.

"Like I said I'll be here when you want to talk about it." She said half joking, half honest.

Going against all common sense and rational thought, I hugged her. A friendly and all too short hug. She seemed to understand I was trying to say thanks and wrapped her thin arms around my waist.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She whispered with a dazed look.

"Tomorrow." I echoed. Tomorrow couldn't come quick enough.

Thanks for the lovely reviews! I have an idea for a second chapter but it won't be much longer than that. Reviews are appreciated!

Peace, Love,and Rockets,

Elle