A/N: I just finished watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Yeah, because uh, I just felt like rewatching it, you know? Yup, no particular reason for rewatching it.

I wasn't willing to stay out my new friends' world.

But that didn't mean I had to bring them into mine.

I didn't know what I was going to do.

What I did decide to do wasn't the right thing. I couldn't handle it at first. I became distant; I hadn't yet figured out how much it was of myself that I could let them see, hadn't yet found the line that separated a good friend from a close friend.

This all just confused me even more. Did I have to cut myself off from Sam and Emily as well? Well Emily, more so. Damn. I'm so confused.

***

The days went by in a blur. I was shocked to wake up and find out that it was the Fourth of July weekend.

"Good morning, Bella," said a chipper Emily. I guess she didn't take my distant behavior to offense.

"Good morning, Emily. I'm sorry I've been acting so…weird."

"No worries, Bella. What's did is done, forgive and forget, and all that. Sam's not upset either. Hey, you know that tomorrow is Fourth of July, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. We'll be doing stuff today and maybe tomorrow."

"Like what?"

"Well, Taste of Chicago is still running. I was thinking we could get together with the Cullens and the Masens and go there. That's at Grant Park, and tonight there will be a fireworks show at 9:30 at Grant also. But if you wanted to see fireworks on the actual Fourth of July, then there's a show tomorrow at Navy Pier at 9:30. Then again, we could always see both shows. What do you think?"

"Oh, uh…hmm…I kind of want to see both. Is that fine?"

"Of course, Bella. I brought it up, didn't I?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I guess you did."

"Great. I'll call the doctors right now." She walked away, and I called Alice.

"Hello?"

"Hey Alice."

"Bella! It's so nice to talk to you again."

"I'm sorry for the past few weeks. I just—I don't know."

"Don't worry about it," she said. People were being much nicer to me than I deserved. "So what's up?"

"We're doing something this weekend. I'm sure you'll find out very soon," I said just as I heard Dr. Masen call Alice's name.

"Hey, I got to go. I'll call you back later. Bye!"

It didn't take too long for Alice to call me back.

"That sounds like fun! We're all going."

"That's great. I have to call Jacob, my dad, and Rose. I'll see you later, Alice."

"Okay, Bella. Bye."

I hung up the phone and decided to call Jacob first.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Jacob."

"Bella?" He sounded…worried?

"It's me. I'm okay now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Jacob. I'm fine. I'm going out for Fourth of July."

"With who?" He sounded curious.

"Oh! No, it's a big group outing. We, the Masens, and the Cullens are getting together again."

"That sounds like fun. Oh, hey, I heard a joke from Quil yesterday. You want to hear?"

"Sure."

"Okay. One summer, a blonde went down to Lake Isabella, an hour east of Bakersfield, California. She was new to boating, and couldn't get her brand new 22-foot Bayliner to perform. It was very sluggish, no matter how much power she applied. She finally drifted into a nearby marina, hoping one of the guys there could tell her what was wrong. A thorough inspection revealed that everything topside was in working order, so one man jumps into the water to take a look at the bottom. He almost choked on water, he was laughing so hard when he came up. Under the boat, still securely strapped in place, was the trailer." He began chuckling as he finished his joke. I laughed along with him.

"I don't think my friend Rosalie would like you very much if you told her jokes like that. She's blonde." This made him laugh harder, which in turn made me laugh harder.

"Oh well. Her loss. I'm a great person." I snorted. "What?" he said.

"Sure you are. That is, when you're not sarcastic or telling offensive jokes about people. I have to call Charlie. I promise I'll call you later, either tonight or tomorrow. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Bella."

Beep beep. My battery was dying. I plugged in my phone before I called Charlie.

I heard a lengthy yawn when he picked up the phone. I laughed.

"Hey, Dad. Did I wake you up?"

"No, of course not. I've been up for hours," he said, just as another yawn came.

"Quit lying, Dad. Call me back later when you're awake."

"Uh-huh, don' worry, I'll mage sir uvit," he sleepily slurred.

"Bye, Dad." In response I got a yawn, and then the line went dead. I began to laugh again.

I called Rosalie next.

"I can't come to the phone right. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!" Rosalie's voicemail said to me.

"Hey Rosalie, it's Bella. I'm sorry for the past few weeks. I'm better now. I'm pretty sure that Carlisle has or already is telling you about our Fourth of July plans. I hope you can come! Call me back later."

I didn't have much else to do, so I waited for the late afternoon to roll around.

"Bella, you ready to go?" Sam asked as Emily hurried around the house, making sure all the doors were locked. She had heard that there had been recent robberies nearby.

"Yup. I have my phone, I have my sunglasses," I said as I picked up my black wayfarers.

"Em, you ready?" he called.

"All the doors and windows are locked. Yes."

We met up with the others at the stand for Oak Street Beach Café. Not in the mood for the food there, Jasper, Edward, and I walked to the stand for Tiparos Thai Cuisine. Jasper and Edward got pad thai, but I found I didn't have much of an appetite.

I was actually feeling pretty ill, but I was going to stick it out. I didn't want to leave the fun. I'm quite a stubborn person. So we met back up with the others and continued our walk through Taste of Chicago. Dinner time came, but I still had no appetite. It was 9:15 when the families decided to find a spot on the grass.

"Over here, Bella!" Alice called me over, sitting next to Jasper and holding his hand. "I've always loved fireworks, haven't you?"

We chatted, and then the show started.

***

I woke up this morning not feeling much better than when I went to sleep yesterday. But yet again, I wasn't going to skip out.

I walked around the house giddy at the thought of seeing Edward yet again; twice in two days! Nobody felt like exploring the Pier so we were just going to watch the show, hang out, and go home.

My heart was in tune with the clock today, it seemed. At the set departure time of 9:00, it bounced around in my chest. Settle down, heart. I myself bounced in my seat as Sam drove to the pier. I had this strange sense that something exciting was going to happen tonight. What it was and who it concerned I didn't know, but something was going to happen. I just knew it.

Sam and Emily strolled their way down the pier to the Ferris wheel where the Cullens and Masens were to meet us. I, on the other hand, power walked. I said my hellos to Rosalie, Jasper, Edward, Alice, and Emmett first, and then turned to greet my friends' parents. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was 9:22.

"Ooh, hurry! We're gonna miss the show!"

"Bella, what's gotten into you today? You've been so jumpy and excited," Emily said in amusement.

"I don't know. I guess I just…like fireworks." Lame answer, but I didn't even know a truthful response to that question.

"We don't need to hurry. We can watch it right from the pier. There are some benches over there where we can sit," Carlisle explained.

"Oh. Okay. Let's go sit, then!" I took a few steps forward, turned back, and when I saw that nobody was following me, said, "Come on!" I heard someone snicker, but I ignored it. Probably Emmett, I thought.

When I sat down, Rosalie and Edward sat around me. Edward turned to me and was about to say something, but the first crack of the first firework was heard, so he mouthed, 'Tell you later.'

Fireworks rock. They're so pretty. All of the teenagers 'oohed' and 'ahed' at the fantastic explosions of color in the sky. I marveled over the ones that fell like fountain water. The rays of light arced and dissipated, again and again. Too soon, the show was over. I looked around and saw Emily engrossed in a conversation with Elizabeth, while Sam looked like he was telling a story to Carlisle. Dr. Masen and Esme were also engaged in a conversation.

"Looks like everybody's busy. Would you like to take a little walk with me?" Of course, my angel. I laughed at myself in my head.

"Yes." Edward and I didn't walk far down the pier. We could still the laughter and chatter of our family and friends. He looked down at me and once again opened his mouth like he was going to say something.

That was when it hit me. A wave of dizziness, nausea, and a cold chill all at once; I turned to lean over the railing, and a thought ran through my head that maybe I was leaning a little too far. My hearing became fuzzy, but I could still see with perfect clarity. That was why, when I turned my head to look at Edward, I could see the blond hair that haunted my nightmares a good hundred yards away. I jerked my eyes away and back to Edward, who had panic in his eyes, which only heightened as he saw the panic and fear that I was sure was in my own eyes.

"It's okay, Bella, let's just get you back to my father." He pulled at my arm, but I wouldn't budge. "If you don't want to move right now, at least come back over the railing." He tugged again, but I still wouldn't move. "Please, Bella!" There was a slight note of hysteria creeping into his voice.

I looked back to the spot where I had seen Him. But he wasn't there anymore. I scanned the area quickly, but he was still nowhere in sight. Maybe it was just a simple mist—no. No, no, no…I moaned in my head. He was even closer than he was before. Now he was only about twenty yards away.

"Dad! Dad, hurry, come quick! Bella needs help!" Edward was panicking. I longed to calm him down. He didn't have anything to panic about. There was no crazed man after him.

Until now, that was. I realized that with the sick, chilling thought that it might actually be true. He had seen Edward's cry to his father; He had seen the heads of every single one of them: Elizabeth, Emily, Dr. Masen, Esme, Carlisle, Sam, Jasper, Rosalie, Alice, and Emmett snap towards our direction with the shout of my name dripping with terror. He now knew who I hung out with. But at least he didn't know who was related to my angel…I think. I hadn't seen Dr. Masen make any move in our direction yet. He didn't get a chance to move alone; everybody got up and hurried over, but not before I took one last look at Him. He caught me looking at him and smiled.

I felt the floor under my feet and the railing under my stomach disappear as everything went black, and I went under.

A/N: Ooh, cliffhanger. I'm sorry about the long wait. I was out of town this weekend and last weekend, and I didn't have much time to write during the week. Today I didn't feel good and I stayed home from school, so I took the chance to finally finish this chapter. I like the ending. :) I don't know yet if I'll be able to update this weekend, but we'll see. Only this week and next week left of school! Whoo hoo! Then I'll have a lot of time on my hands.