*Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Running on Fumes

Chapter 4

By: EJJCullen

I did not sleep. I tossed and turned throughout the night but could not shut my mind off. Edward Cullen was a complete mystery to me. He somehow got into my dad's good graces without even trying and in a matter of 48 hours! That has never happened, ever. Charlie never likes someone on first glance. Even friends I've had since kindergarten have just been moved to his good side. I can see how Charlie would be wooed by Edward, I have been charmed too. Edward has a very appealing and trusting exterior – I'm just not so sure about the inner Edward yet. He avoids answering any questions about himself, and when he does actually give you an explanation, it's vague as if he is hiding something. But what could he possibly be hiding?

As the sun started to rise, I got out of bed and sat on the bench beside my window to take in the new day. It had the ingredients of being a good day, but just the thought of starting my first day of school already brought the day down a few notches. The sun looked warm, but the breeze blowing through the trees made me shiver even within the confines of my toasty bedroom.

My bedroom window faced the Cullen home, and looking over, I could see Edward's mother on the back deck. She was sitting on a patio lounge chair wrapped in a bright pink bathrobe, hugging a mug of coffee and enjoying the beauty of a Forks morning. She looked calm and content just enjoying the quiet morning and basking in the rising sun. The same could not be said about the scene my eyes took in as I glanced at the house. In the living room, through the giant bay windows, I could see Edward and his father in a heated discussion. From where I sat, I could clearly see wild hand gestures from both men as well as yelling, strained neck muscles and, in Edwards's case, crazily pulling handfuls of hair.

I couldn't hear any words being said between the two, but I would bet my life savings that it had nothing to do with starting the first day of school. I glanced at the clock which read 6 o'clock on the dot – 1 hour to get ready.

One hot shower later I was seated at my vanity drying my hair and putting on the finishing touches of my make up while eyeing my school uniform which was hanging neatly on the hook just next to my closet. With a huff, I put down my hair dryer and decided to just get this over with. I dropped the towel and pulled on my shirt, vest, skirt, knee high socks and finished off my look with a pair of black converse sneakers. Finally finished I headed downstairs for a quick breakfast with my 10 minutes remaining.

Charlie left a note on the kitchen counter along with a plate of Eggo waffles.

Bella,

Hope you have a great first day of school. I can't believe it's your senior year already! Throw the waffles in the microwave for about a minute. Sorry I had to leave early and couldn't say goodbye to you in person. Love you kiddo!

Dad

I zapped the waffles and wrapped them in a paper towel to bring with me to eat on the road. Grabbing my bag off the floor and my schedule off the corkboard by the front door I headed out to my Volvo. On the bottom step I stopped short. Edward was leaning against my car looking absolutely sinful in his uniform.

Having gone to Forks High for the past three years, one would think that I would be immune to how guys looked in the school uniform, but that was before I met Edward. His pale blue button down shirt was stretched tight against his lean frame, the vest hugged his chest, and the gray dress pants fit perfectly highlighting his slender waist and toned legs. I was momentarily stunned at the sight before I caught my breath and continued on my way to the Volvo.

Edward shot me a lopsided grin as I rounded the front of the car and hit the unlock button on the keychain allowing him entrance into the car. I opened my door and got in only to find Edward leaning across the middle console to drop a kiss on my cheek and whisper good morning in my ear. I smiled back, started the car and headed out into town towards the high school.

The car ride was quiet as we both watched the town pass us by. My anxiety started up as soon as we got off the main road about a mile from the school. As if sensing my unease, Edward leaned towards me once again and dropped his hand onto my thigh, just above my knee. Had I not been driving I would have surely jumped at his touch, but since my concentration was split between focusing on the road ahead and the start of the school year, I barely noticed his hand. Unlike my mind, my body instantly reacted to Edwards touch. My anxiety decreased, my breathing evened out and of course exhilaration pumped through my veins.

I pulled into the lot and parked in the senior designated spaces closest to the building. I cut the ignition and sat back glaring at the building straight ahead. Its not that I didn't like school, I did in fact. I excelled in my classes and enjoyed learning, but it was the social aspect of school that was my greatest downfall. I guess I have Charlie to blame for that – I was known as the "Chief's daughter". With that nickname came some teasing, limited friends, and absolutely no invites to parties. I was invited to a party once my freshman year and having been naïve I actually told my dad where I was going the night of the party, which resulted in him breaking it up, driving me home in the cruiser and being black balled from any social events in the future.

"You ready?" Edward asked as he opened the door and got out of the car.

I huffed a response he couldn't hear and got out of the car also. I pulled my bag onto my shoulder and hit the lock button on my keychain before heading in the direction of the brick building just ahead of me.

"Come on Bella, it's not that bad. In a few hours we will head home and maybe I can even make you forget about your first day." He whispered in my ear, earning a blush from me.

"Yeah alright," I said, now day dreaming of the day being finished and having some alone time with Edward as images of our lounge chair encounter flashed before my eyes.

I could see Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory stop dead in their tracks as Edward and I approached the overhang just outside the main entrance. On a typical day, I would earn a few snide remarks from them and then they would go about their day acting as if I did not exist. Today, they rushed right over to me.

"Hey Bella," Jessica said to me while her and Lauren's eyes stayed glued to Edward.

"Hey Jess, hey Lauren," I said back with no emotion.

"So who is your new friend?" Lauren asked, clearly jumping right to the reason that they were speaking to me at all.

"Oh, this is Edward. He just moved to Forks." I said, getting right to the point. "Well, I will see you guys later." I quickly ducked out of the conversation and headed into the building and over to my locker. I barely opened the metal door before Edward was behind me whispering in my ear.

"How could you just leave me like that?" he whispered. He was so close to me that I could feel his chest expand with each breath he took.

"Sorry, but I didn't feel like talking to those two. They only came over to talk to you anyway." I said.

"Yeah well, they were practically drooling on me." He said, rather disgusted by Jessica and Lauren. I tired to hide my satisfaction with his reaction to them, but I smiled despite myself.

"Oh, so you enjoy torturing me?" He breathed into my ear. My breath caught in my throat as he ran his tongue along the shell of my ear. I closed my eyes at the sensation.

"No," I panted.

"I'm going to make you pay for that one Bella." He promised, pulling me flush against his chest. My breath caught again, but this time with fear. He chuckled lightly, clearly confusing my reaction, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and left me to my thoughts at my locker.

I didn't see Edward again until lunch. Even though we were in all honors classes, our schedule, thankfully, was different. I did however hear Jessica and Lauren going on and on about how hot the new guy was throughout English, Math, and History. The two were scheming as to how and when they would conquer Edward. I tried to ignore their lame planning, but had a twinge of jealousy at the thought of Edward shifting his attention from me to them.

I took my typical seat in the cafeteria; small table, back corner, and pulled out a book to read while I ate my lunch. After a few peaceful minutes, I looked up to see Edward standing at the edge of my table wearing a smirk.

"Aren't you going to ask me to sit?" He asked, enjoying my shocked expression.

"Oh," I stuttered, "sure, have a seat". I moved my bag off the other chair and placed it on the floor next to me.

"So," he began as he settled in next to me. "How's your first day going?"

"Same as always," I said. "How about yours, after all, you are the new kid in town."

"It's not so bad. The teachers seem okay, but there are a couple of girls here that are a bit over aggressive."

"Let me guess…Tweedle Dee and Tweedle dumb over there?" I asked throwing a thumb in the direction of Jessica and Lauren.

"How'd you guess?" Edward said as he looked over to where Jessica and Lauren were sitting and staring at him.

We both snickered as the two girls continued to stare at him with glazed eyes no doubt dreaming about Edward. As we finished our lunches we talked more and I felt relaxed as the bell sounded signaling the end of lunch. I headed to Science Lab, Spanish and finally to gym.

Since it was the first day of school, in gym we had our annual "fitness test". It consisted of breaking into partners to perform a variety of activities while the gym teachers talked in a group and blew whistles from time to time. It was our responsibilities to record our times and what not on a sheet of paper that was handed in at the end of the period.

Dressed in our school issued gray shorts and matching Fork's High t-shirt I headed into the gym to join the others that were seated on the floor in the center of the basketball court.

"Alright, were going to break into partners, and complete the circuit around the gym. When I blow my whistle once you are to switch positions with your partner. When I blow my whistle twice you are to move onto the next station in the circuit. Grab a clipboard, pencil and record sheet off the table once you have a partner, and they go to an open station to begin. Any questions?" Coach Cope asked. She was the typical high school gym teacher/softball coach. There was a collective groan of understanding from the students as we stood to break into partners. This was by far the worst part of school for me; finding a partner. I always was the last to be paired off in class. I really didn't know why that was; I was a good student, could hold my own as an athlete, and didn't talk much. In my mind I was the perfect partner to have!

"So, you and me?" a velvet voice said, just over my shoulder. I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Edward.

"Uh, sure." I said, and looked up to see Jessica and Lauren shooting daggers in my direction before shifting my eyes to see Edward's smiling face. "I'll go get the clip board, you go grab a station."

I headed off to the folding table in the middle of the gym and over heard Jessica and Lauren talking.

"Who does she think she is anyway? And why the hell would Edward want to even be around her? She is such a loser."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that it was me they were talking about. I was used to this from them. It's been an ongoing thing since the freshman year fiasco, but it still took a shot at my ego. I grabbed the clip board and glanced around looking for Edward. He was over at the pull up station…great. I rolled my eyes and then jogged over to meet him.

"Sorry, it was the only one left, I guess I took to long making up my mind. But hey, it's better to get this over with first, right?" He said with a hopeful expression.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"You ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I lied, feeling the tips of my ears burn.

"Bella, come on, what's up?

"Nothing really, just typical 'pick on Bella' crap." I said.

"Please, don't worry about what other people say. Besides, they are just jealous."

I felt myself lighten with Edward's words. He was right, who cares? Jessica and Lauren meant nothing to me. In less than a year I would never have to see them again. Only 180 days left I reminded myself.

Completing each station was easier said than done with Edward as my partner. During pull ups he would grab my behind to "help" me, sit ups his fingers somehow danced along the outside of my legs, and any time we had to hand over equipment to the other person his hands would linger holding mine a little longer than necessary. By the end of gym class I was turned on and wanted to spend some alone time with Edward.

As if reading my mind, he asked me over to his place afterschool. Usually I went home to do my homework right away, but I figured it could wait a little while. I parked the Volvo in my driveway and we walked over to his house hand in hand. As he opened the front door he was nearly run over by his father that seemed in rush to get somewhere.

"Oh, sorry bud." He said to Edward as he took a step back. "I was just called back to the hospital so I will see you later."

"Sure, see ya." Edward said pulling me through the doorway.

"Oh, Edward…" his father called, before holding his hand out for Edward to shake.

That was odd I thought, as Edward shook his fathers hand and then put his hand in his pocket while leading me further into the house. His father didn't make eye contact with me, and barely acknowledged that I was even there. I couldn't tell if it was the fact that he seemed in a rush, or if I somehow offended him in the ten seconds that I was in his presence.

"Is everything ok?" I asked Edward.

"Yeah, yeah, don't mind him," Edward said holding me tighter to him and placing a kiss on my temple. "He just has other things on his mind."

Edward wasted no time leading me up to his room. I barely saw the interior of his house; except for the foyer, stairs, hall and now his room. It was as if he was purposely keeping me from any other area of the house. He even left me in his room as he went downstairs to retrieve two water bottles and a bag of pretzels to snack on. When he returned with food and drink in hand, I was sitting on his bed looking around his impeccably clean bedroom. There was nothing out of place.

His bed sat in the center of his room, two night tables hugged either side of it with a lamp on one and an alarm clock and expensive looking camera on the other. The wall to the left had a long dresser with mirror and a small tray holding a couple of bottles of cologne. On the right was two doors; one to a bathroom and the other to a closet I presumed since it was shut and I couldn't see behind it. The wall just ahead of me housed another dresser that was much taller, a desk complete with laptop, and a flat screen TV that hung in between the two.

Edward placed the two bottles of water on the night table next to the camera and pulled his wallet and a couple of other items out of his pockets that I couldn't see. He put the bag of pretzels on the bed and then sat down next to me. He turned the TV on and then leaned back until he was sitting on the bed with one leg on and the other hanging off.

"Come here," he said, motion to the spot next to him in the middle of the bed. I crawled somewhat over his leg to settle next to him as he put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

We were reclined, slightly propped up on the pile of pillows at the head of his bed when he turned on his side and leaned into me.

"I really like seeing you in my bed Bella" he whispered as he began to kiss my neck.

"It's nice and comfy" I said, rolling my eyes as those words spewed from my mouth before I could come up with something better to say.

"You would look even better under the covers" he panted as he pulled me closer to him and shifted his hand from my waist to the hem of my skirt. I closed my eyes as his fingers danced along my thigh and his mouth traveled from my ear to my jaw.

"Here, have a drink," he said, handing one of the bottles of water over to me. I took a few sips from the open bottle of water and then handed it back to him since he had the top in his hand.

"What, you're not thirsty?" he asked refusing to take the water bottle back. I chugged the bottle until it was mostly gone and then he gladly took it from my hands. His fingers continued to play across my thigh as we watched 'Diners, Drive Ins and Dives' on food network. I was really comfortable and I barely remember Edward taking my shoes off as my eye lids got heavier and heavier.

I woke up alone in Edward's bed sometime later. I glanced at the clock which read 9:30pm. Wow, I had been asleep for almost six hours! I was under the covers in Edwards's bed and hand a pounding headache. The throbbing in my head only increased as I leaned over to grab the other bottle of water on Edward's night stand. I opened it and drank heavily washing down the bad taste in my mouth. After nearly emptying the bottle I sat up and threw the covers aside. My knee highs were on, but my shoes were on the floor. As I stood up I caught my reflection in Edward's mirror – my hair was a mess from sleeping I presumed, my button down shirt was slightly off a button, heavily wrinkled and sloppily tucked into my skirt which was slightly off center, and my vest was folded and sitting on the end of the bed.

What the hell was I doing in my sleep I thought with a laugh. I pulled my vest on, not bothering to fix the buttons and leaned down to retrieve my shoes. I pulled my foot up onto the bed, put my shoe on and was about to tie it when I felt a bit of a draft. I pulled my skirt up and little only to realize that I was commando – definitely not the way I started my day. With one shoe on and the other in hand I looked desperately around the room for my underwear. Since Edward's room was immaculately clean I realized quickly that they were nowhere to be found. My eyes fell on the camera on the night stand and for some reason I was compelled to pick it up. With shaky hands and panic rising in my chest I turned it on and was met with a black screen that read "no card on file". Taking a deep breath I put the camera back on the night table and decided to get the hell out of dodge.

Without even putting on my other shoe I opened the door to Edward's room and followed the path he led me through on my way up earlier. As I descended the stairs I could hear Edward's muffled voice further down the hall. I stopped and held my breath to hear him clearer.

"Dad, trust me, its enough. I don't even think she will remember it. Besides even if she does I can come up with something. Just take the card, print them out, send them to Renee and be done with all of this bullshit."

I couldn't breathe. Renee? That's my mom's name. What the hell was going on? Before I could think, a door opened and Edward emerged seeing me on the stairs. His eyes met mine and his face paled for a second before he caught the slip and smiled.

"Hey sleepy," he said as he climbed up the stairs towards where I was. "I was just about to come wake you."

"Who were you talking to?" I asked.

"Oh, my father, he was just asking about my first day and all." His voice never faltered but his eyes gave away his lie.

"Edward, what's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said too quickly, "it's getting late, and your dad must wonder where you are. Why don't you head home and I'll see you in the morning."

"Did we…" I started, but the words died on my tongue as Edward's lips curled into a smirk and his fingers rose to his mouth before he licked them.

"God you taste sweet," he groaned. My chest ached with lack of oxygen, I couldn't breathe and I couldn't make my legs move to get me away from the situation.

"And you look so damn good sucking my cock," he moaned as he palmed his crotch.

I gasped as he chuckled darkly, his eyes teasing me with the delight dancing in them. I pushed past him down the stairs and ran out the front door, across the yard to my house. My house was still dark signaling that Charlie had not returned home yet, not that I could face him in that moment anyway. I flew through the front door and up to my bedroom before crumpling onto my bed and let my tears fall. What the hell happened?