For those of you who have questioned Edward's intentions, here is a chance to hear his side of things. Thanks to my friend Burntcore who has a wonderful story, Breaking from the Ordinary, which I am totally addicted to. She was definitely a help on this chapter when I thought I was losing my mind (or Edward's). :)

EPOV

I sat in my car feeling like a complete fool. What was I doing here? What right did I have to meddle in Bella's personal life? I couldn't answer that question any more than I could bring myself to start the car and drive back to Forks. Something told me that I needed to stay put and just make sure that my gut instincts were wrong, and I hoped they were.

While I sat in the parking lot of Les Restants, I tried to figure out exactly how I got here. Not here in the parking lot, but here in this state of over protectiveness and, if I was being honest with myself, jealousy, over a girl who I hadn't even known long enough to reasonably cause me to feel this way.

After those first uncomfortable weeks of being in a new town and a new school I started to feel more at home and was making some good friends. I had even managed to get a job at the police station doing what I had done previously in Port Angeles. I was a little more than surprised to discover that the Police Chief's daughter worked there as well. I had noticed her staring at me in the corridors at school, and I smiled to myself as I remembered our first conversation (if you could call it that) at Emmett's house. It wasn't anything more than a pleasant greeting, but something about her eyes made me want to get to know her better.

I smiled even wider when I thought about our second conversation. Bella had come into the garage to say goodnight after work and ended up tripping over…well, nothing. I couldn't help but find her admission of clumsiness endearing. After that, we would have frequent talks at work about our lives and our families. Bella was a person who was easy to talk to, and it seemed like we were truly interested in what each other had to say, allowing a friendship to develop almost effortlessly.

My own boldness surprised me on Christmas Eve, when I kissed her under the mistletoe. It was an innocent act, I told myself, but the opportunity to do such a thing was just too much for me to resist. She looked so beautiful and more mature than her age that night, and as usual our conversation had been relaxed and natural. I felt something like an electric current when my lips touched her soft cheek, and the heat from her blush only made me want to take her face in my hands and see what fireworks might ignite from a real kiss. But, of course, I didn't dare. And the way she stood up to me when I mentioned her tendency towards accidents was refreshing; Bella was not the typical teenage girl who was going to let some guy get away with anything she didn't like.

I never expected to feel anything other than friendship towards her, but I couldn't deny that I found myself thinking of what it would be like to be more than friends. Not now, but someday. We both had growing up to do, and I didn't want to be one of those high school boyfriends who left for college, breaking her heart and regretting it later. If something was meant to be between us, then it would have to wait until we were both ready. Besides, right now I had to sort out my relationship with Tanya.

With that thought I let out a heavy sigh. Tanya... I really had no idea where things stood with her, and tried to avoid thinking about the situation. Her and her space, as she put it. We had been together for a long time, and at first she seemed like the perfect girl for me. We had fun together and hung out with the same friends, and it just seemed natural that we would continue as a couple during college. But lately it seemed as though she wanted too much, too fast. Having us share an apartment with other freshmen instead of staying in dorms was fine with me. But before our most recent fight, when she demanded her space, she was becoming more and more insistent about just getting an apartment for the two of us and 'starting our lives together.' I wasn't ready for that. And I wasn't sure if the reason for my hesitation was because I didn't want that yet, or I didn't want it with Tanya. Especially with her attitude surrounding my new address.

She loathed the idea of visiting me in Forks, and couldn't understand why I didn't spend every minute outside of school traveling back and forth to Port Angeles. When I first told her that my parents had decided to move, she was outraged. She had even suggested, to my horror, that I move in with her and her parents until it was time to head off to college. Declining her offer did not do much for her attitude, and she recently decided to punish me by canceling several of our dates, only sporadically returning my calls, and providing cryptic or vague explanations when I would ask her why. I knew this was her way of testing me, and at first I had felt some resentment towards my parents for taking me away from my girlfriend, my friends, and the city I grew up in. Slowly, however, I was beginning to wonder if they had done me a very large favor.

My friendship with Bella seemed complex from the first time we met, and I could never put my finger on why that was. It was Emmett's friend, Jasper, who finally shed some light on the situation when he explained to me that Bella obviously liked me. I didn't really believe him at first, but over the past few weeks I've begun to see things differently. The realization made me a bit uncomfortable at first, both because of Tanya and the fact that Bella was two years younger than me, but it did not make me unhappy.

My thoughts then returned to what I was doing. Wouldn't Bella be able to handle anything that might happen with that hormone-overloaded boy she was with tonight? Was my presence really required? I knew she would be furious right now if she knew I was out here, especially after what happened before she and Alice left the house. But I was not going to take a chance with her safety, and hopefully she would never even know I came.

Finally I saw some people exiting the restaurant, and I watched closely because I recognized Bella, Alice, and their dates. I watched them head towards the other end of the parking lot, then Alice suddenly brought her date back into the restaurant. My view wasn't perfect, but I thought that Bella looked nervous. As I observed her conversation with Mike, I thought that it was heading south quickly, until he moved to take her in his arms and kiss her.

I felt a little deflated at what I saw, but part of me was just glad that Bella appeared to be safe. If this guy was what she wanted, then I would call off my stakeout immediately. But her reaction to the kiss caused me to sit up and watch intently to see what would happen next. She pushed him away and seemed to be making it clear that his actions were unwelcome. I watched carefully then, my body wanting nothing more than to run over and reinforce her decision to Mike. But my reasonable side took over, and I decided to allow her to make her own choices and have the opportunity to diffuse the situation. I would only get involved if it was completely necessary.

I had to admire her resolve when she turned and started back towards the restaurant where Alice would be. I was glad that she was seeking the safety of being with other people after how Mike had just pushed himself on her, and that she would not just give in to his whims. I was still a little concerned, though, because I knew she would have to be with him for the remainder of the evening, and I didn't know how long that would be.

Mike's next move both shocked and infuriated me; the bastard actually grabbed Bella's hair and pulled her back to him, obviously not pleased at her refusal. I snapped.

As I watched fear overtake her usually calm expression, my instincts took over and I was out of the car before I realized what I was doing. My feet flew across the parking lot and before I reached my intended destination I saw those kind eyes, now fearful, searching for safety. It warmed my heart when her expression changed to one of surprise, and maybe even relief, when she saw me.

My priority was getting him away from Bella, so I quickly dragged him down by his jacket and he landed on the ground with a thud. Once he processed what was happening and voiced his surprise, I let him know exactly what he could expect.

"Get out of here now," I said, trying to remain calm. I don't remember my next words exactly, but I think I threatened his life. My only concern at that point was whether or not Bella was hurt. In any case, Mike got up and turned around, quickly returning to the car they had arrived in, looking back a few times to probably gauge Bella's reaction to my showing up uninvited.

"Bella, are you alright?" I asked her, expecting to see bruises or something, I didn't' know what.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said. Her head must have hurt her where Mike pulled her hair, but my Bella was always the brave one who didn't want anyone to think that she was less than capable of handling things.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. I should have been prepared for that question, but truthfully I wasn't. I thought for a moment, trying to decide the most plausible excuse for being at the same restaurant their dates had chosen, but in the end I just couldn't lie to her.

"I followed you here," I answered guiltily.

"What? Why would you do that?" she asked. Oh boy, here we go, I thought. Luckily I was saved by Alice and Ben, who had just exited the restaurant and had noticed that Mike was not the person talking to Bella.

"Okay, what's going on?" Alice asked, looking at me skeptically. She looked around then, most likely expecting Emmett to be nearby. He, however, had decided not to join my little crusade, giving his sister the privacy she had every right to demand. Not that he wasn't worried, though; I knew he expected a call from me in the morning with an update on my 'surveillance.'

Bella gave the abbreviated version of what happened just minutes before, and I had to admit that I was impressed with Ben's admission of Mike acting like an ass when it came to women. He asked how Bella was, and seemed sincere when he apologized on Mike's behalf. I felt comfortable giving him a positive review when I talked to Emmett.

"Yeah Ben, I'm fine, thanks. I'd just rather not be around him," Bella answered Ben's question. I realized quickly that this was my opportunity to not only ensure Bella's safety for the rest of the night, but also to spend some time with her. But it would definitely be her choice, since I obviously had not given her one up until now.

"I can drive you back to Alice's house, so you don't have to be in the car with him. If you want me to, that is," I offered. Bella just nodded, and something told me that I would be interrogated, like the criminal that I was, once we were safely in my car and on our way. I made a silent resolve to be truthful with her. Nothing less than that would make me feel worthy of her friendship, never mind anything else.

Ben turned to Alice and asked if he could still drive her home, dropping off Mike in the meantime. She seemed to like the idea, so Bella and I walked toward my Volvo after the girls shared a brief hug.

I watched Bella fasten her seatbelt and wondered how our conversation would start. No matter how uncomfortable it made me, I would endure each and every question just being glad that my mission tonight had not been in vain and that she was safe, with me.

"I'm not sure whether to be angry at you or grateful," she stated. Okay, that was reasonable, I decided.

"Well, you could just thank me and get over it," I said, trying to make light of the situation.

"Thank you," she said suddenly.

"But you're still angry," I noted, and with good reason.

"Yes. I mean, sort of. I think I'm more curious, actually. Why exactly did you follow us?" she asked. I looked at her then, more to build my courage than anything.

"When I left Emmett, I really just wanted to keep a safe distance from you in case anything strange happened. I couldn't shake the bad feeling I got when we met those guys. More from that jerk Mike than Alice's date, though. He was looking at you like you were something to eat, and I just didn't feel like you were safe with him."

"And it's your job now to make sure I'm safe?" she said, obviously angry. Again, honesty was my only defense.

"I feel…very protective of you," I said, fearful of her reaction. "I'm sorry if I overstepped a boundary," I added, "but I don't regret showing up."

"Oh," was all she said, for a moment.

"Well, I guess I don't regret you showing up, either." I let out a breath when she said that. "But I was very surprised, to say the least."

"I imagined you would be, if I had to show myself," I replied, thinking of myself doing PI work as opposed to going to medical school. She took me off guard when she clarified, though.

"'Well, not so much because of what happened, but when Alice and I left tonight I assumed you would have gone out with Tanya, since you didn't see her last night."

"Um, no, I'm not seeing her tonight," I said. Tonight had been complicated enough. I didn't need to bring my situation with Tanya into the mix if I could help it.

We were both quiet then, and I decided that some music would help us both deal with the silence. We both seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she reached for the radio's power button at the exact moment I did. Our hands touched, and I quickly apologized, but I'm not sure why. I turned on the radio and recognized the song at once; we had heard it last night at the concert. I just had to laugh at how so many things had happened in twenty four hours, yet so many things were the same. I felt so close to Bella right then, I couldn't have stopped myself from doing what I did next. I reached over the console and held her hand, much like I had done the previous night. I had no other reason than it just felt right, and comforting.

After I pulled into Alice's driveway, we sat quietly for a moment, and she looked as though she was expecting me to do something more. I wanted to. God, did I want to, but I couldn't. It took all of the strength I had in me not to kiss her.

"Be safe, Bella," I managed to say, looking at her with the hunger of an animal. She nodded slowly, seeming to understand my meaning.

"Goodnight, Edward," she said, and got out of the car and went into Alice's house.

I went home and took a very, very cold shower.

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