A/N: Hello fellow fanfictioners! Yes I'm finally back from my hiatus and ready to continue this story. I will try to update once a week, Monday's worked best in the past. I still don't have a beta for this story which is a bit disappointing because it was something that I really wanted to try out this go around. I contacted several people who had beta profiles that I liked but they never responded to me. So if any of you want to give it a shot please pm me. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy the chapter. And please don't forget to review!

The closest to religion that Charlie had was going out on a boat and being one with God, nature, and a fishing rod. Sunday's were lazy days for me, especially since I finished my homework Friday night. Charlie promised to bring home some fish and Harry Clearwater's fish fry for dinner so there was literally nothing for me to do on this lazy, sunny Sunday.

I grabbed a book, Wuthering Heights of course, and a blanket outside for a little sun. There was no way I expected to catch some color, I'd lived in Phoenix for most of my life and not once did I even get sunburned. But the sun was warm and it reminded me of how much I missed it.

It was cooler than I thought it would be even though it was still the beginning of spring. The sun was a bit deceiving and I soon wrapped half the blanket around me before returning to my book. My sun drunkenness was soon spoiled by the clouds that were rolling in and I hightailed it back inside before the rain threatened. It was just a matter of time.

I decided to settle on the couch with my book, rather than go back upstairs to my room, but I was interrupted by a knock at the door. There were no words to describe the shock of seeing Jacob on my doorstep.

"What are you doing here? I thought you hated me and wanted me dead." I said walking away but leaving the door open so that he could come through and follow me to the living room. I heard the door close and his massive feet closing the distance behind me as I plopped back on the couch.

"You know I didn't mean it. I was just upset that they were here. Especially because of that Victoria bloodsucker. I'm sorry. Forgive me?" Jacob gave me his dimpled smile that I could never say no to and we instantly fell back into our comfortable friendship phase. Well at least for me it was only a friendship, Jacob seemed to blur the lines of where our relationship was.

"Sure, sure," I said mockingly how Jacob would answer someone back. "How did Sam take the news about Victoria and the Cullen's?"

The look that Jacob had on his face reminded me of someone that was saying, "seriously?" I raised an eyebrow when he finally spoke, "How did you know I said something?"

"Please Jake, you mean to tell me that you didn't say or think anything to Sam in regards to the vampire that wants to kill me or the vampires that stopped by for a visit?"

"I know, I just kind of forgot I told you pretty much everything about the pack." He paused for a moment to clear his throat. "He thinks the Cullen's were extremely careless for allowing anywhere near hostile vampires, let alone know their name and leaving you unprotected from her. And he's not happy at all that they were here, but he was satisfied when their scent disappeared outside of the state borders. It doesn't seem like they planned on staying. So that's one good thing, I just wish they didn't even bother on coming at all." Jacob picked up a pillow that was laid absent-mindly on Charlie's favorite chair and sat down.

"But how are you doing? Did you talk to them after-," Jacob started his sentence but he realized he couldn't finish.

"After you left me?" I was sorry I said the words, they came out so spitefully. Jacob was already wincing with me finishing his sentence. "We talked briefly, but then they left. Just as fast as they showed up." I thought about Edward's last words to me, how his kind can get easily distracted. That was all this concise encounter with them was: just another distraction.

Thinking about in those terms didn't exactly make me feel better about them leaving me, nor did it make me feel better about them in general. I still didn't hate them for it, it was their nature. I guess.

"Well they shouldn't have bothered." Jacob harrumphed, and after I protested that I didn't want to talk about it anymore, Jacob backed off and we just watched TV, and just hung out for a little bit. It would have been a really nice time if my mind wasn't trying to figure out the Cullen's. Once Jacob left, I shook the Cullen's out of my mind and finished watching TV until Charlie came home with his catch of the day.

"Oh CRAP!" I woke up with a start when I realized I overslept. One look at the clock on the small table by bed told me I'd overslept by a lot. Thankfully Charlie had to work early so I wouldn't have to endure any lectures from him, though he might hear about the fact that I didn't stroll into class until third period.

I took the fastest shower in history and threw on a pair of jeans that I had folded on my rocking chair and found a burnt orange cotton shirt and practically ran out the door after brushing my teeth. The truck started with no problems but groaned as I tried to push it beyond its limits to try to minimize my tardiness.

All of the good spots in the parking lot were taken, of course, but I was able to find one in the far left corner of the lot, closest to the football field. Now grabbing my bag, I realized I had an unfortunate dilemma that I needed decide upon quickly: should I run or walk? The odds were always in favor of me falling if I ran so I came to a compromise and walked, very briskly, towards the administrative building.

Mrs. Cope was in the warm but poorly lit office painting her nails when I walked in. "Hello dear. How can I help you?" She managed to pull herself away from the small brush in her hand and look up at me.

"I just need to sign in. I wasn't feeling to good this morning, thought I'd wait it out." I explained and Mrs. Cope went back to painting her nails. I glanced at the clock and sure enough there were ten minutes left of third period and the thought of walking into my History class that late made me nervous since everyone would be looking at me. Best course of action was to hide in the bathroom until the bell rang, I'll just copy Mike's notes for World History, and Angela was in my first two periods, English and Trig.

I got to bored by myself in the bathroom and decided I'd go to the gym and meet up with Angela after her third period class and we could go to Chemistry together. I stood by the lockers and only needed to wait about two minutes before the bell rang and students began filing out into the hallways. Angela caught sight of me and smiled, but she had a sort of strange look about her. Like she was trying to figure something out.

"Hey Ang, I overslept this morning. How was class?" I asked as we made our way through the crowd to get to the science building.

"Class was good. I'll let you copy my notes for them at lunch." She kept opening and closing her mouth like there was more that she wanted to say but wasn't quite sure how to put it.

"Ang, spit it out. You look like you're trying to catch flies or a fish who's gasping out of the water." I tried to say it in a light tone, but I could tell this wasn't easy for her. Whatever this was. She continued to flounder with her thoughts, and I started to think something was really bothering her. "Angela is it the twins? Is something wrong? Did you and Ben break up?" Questions started forming in my mind and with each one that popped up, the scenarios kept getting worse.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. Everything with me is fine. It's just I was wondering if you were doing okay." Both my eyebrows raised in surprise as I looked at Angela. We now had our seats in our class, and we were setting our books down on the tile.

"Yeah, of course I'm fine. I just overslept. Why?"

Angela's eyes narrowed as she looked at me, her mouth started to open and close again until I stared her down and practically told her with my eyes she better not even think of it. "Well I guess it's better to hear it from me rather than Jess or Lauren. You know they have it in for you. And it'll be loads better than actually running into them I'm sure." Angela rambled on and on, as if she was more debating with herself than actually telling me something. But the second she said the word "them," I knew who she was talking about. She didn't have to say another word.

"The Cullen's are back?" Angela sighed in relief at my question. As if she didn't want to say the words. But I know Angela better than that. She was worried how I was going to receive the news, especially since I took the break-up so hard.

"You already know! Well that's good." She whispered the last part, but I understood her sigh of relief. She hadn't heard the sound deflection in my voice and she must have thought I was making a statement.

"No actually, I didn't. I had an idea though. At least I should have had an idea." My voice was sad when I thought about it further. But Angela was right, it was better than blindly walking into to them, only now I was looking for them. I had no idea if all of them were back or if it was just Alice that was here in school since Jasper had graduated with Emmett and Rose. But I immediately sensed that wasn't right. Angela said them, with worried eyes as she had studied me. That could only mean that somehow they contacted Edward, and he was here too. Considering I was now noticing the stares of everyone in the room, I wondered how many of them knew that Edward was back in school. Who was I kidding, this was a small town. Everyone but me seemed to know.

My confusion of the matter soon turned to hate. I hated Charlie for living in a town that called for constant overcast. I hated Jacob for not patrolling the town a bit longer to warn me. I hated Edward for leaving. Mike for his persistence, and Lauren for hating me no matter what I did. I hated everyone, but just as my temper flared to a boiling point. I couldn't hate them, not even Edward, well maybe Lauren. None of this was their fault. I quickly calmed myself down by counting backwards from twenty-five and took deep breaths to even them out. Since Mr. Banner was passing out a test, I at least didn't have to think about the Cullen's for the next forty minutes.

I tapped my foot against the tall stool anxiously as I took full advantage that this test had to offer. Not once did I think about Edward or his family while the three page test was in my hands. But as soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, my heart sank and I was forced to face the hallways.

Me and Angela split up, she had study hall in the library and I had to go back to the gym for fifth period. I was a nervous wreck while walking outside towards my personal hell. I kept glancing sideways and behind me, I knew they were out there now and I felt like they were watching me. Why would they come back here?

I quickly changed my clothes, and left the locker room. I hated gym, even more so this year because the only friend I could turn to for help with just about everything is Mike Newton. I started our daily routine of waiting for him on the bleachers closest to the boy's locker room.

I rolled my eyes when he gave me the same look that Angela gave me.

"I'm fine, Mike. You don't have to look at me like I'm going catatonic again." I tried keeping it light. It seemed to me to be the better course of action to stay normal. Act normal.

"Oh umm…" Mike struggled to find his words until I reconfirmed that it was okay, and I smiled at the normalcy that we were able to fall back to. The normalcy of which included me smacking Mike and a few other people with the volleyball. Of course once I hit Mr. Greene with the ball, he said I could sit down, which I was perfectly okay with.

There were only a ten minutes before everyone would be sent to change their clothes, so I went and changed before sitting on the bleachers by myself until the bell rang.

I met Mike in the hallway and we headed towards the cafeteria, as it became our ritual. Only today it felt like I was being led to my execution. I knew there was going to be no avoiding the Cullen's once I entered and I could tell that Mike sensed the tension as well. We were walking slower than the crowd that was pressing it's way to the cafeteria.

I sighed a breath of relief when I scanned the large room and I didn't see Alice or Edward, but I didn't want to press my luck. Everyone was already mentioning seeing them in the hallways, so since I was the only one that hadn't seen them yet, only meant that they were probably late to lunch. Me and Mike arrived at our table and I plopped my stuff in my seat so I could join Angela and Ben in line to get our food. I couldn't have been more grateful for Ben for keeping my mind off of my impending doom. Of course it only worked until we got to our table.

I placed my tray on the table and started to lower myself into my seat when I noticed that the Cullen's former table was no longer empty. I could have sworn that my heart skipped about ten beats, or maybe it was doing me a favor and stopping all together.

"Bella!" Angela was calling my name, and from the sounds of it, it wasn't the first time she had said it. I gasped for air that I didn't even know I had held.

Edward got out of his seat, leaving Alice in her chair bouncing happily away, and started walking in my direction. With each step closer, my heart fluttered until I could barely stand. Until finally he was standing directly in front of me and I could feel his cold breath reaching for my face.

"Ed-," I tried to speak but I suddenly felt his lips and tongue crashing down on mine with a force of urgency that I'd never felt before. Edward's arms wrapped securely around mine waist and I relaxed into him. I couldn't believe he was really here, he was back.

I heard Angela's voice calling out to me and for the first time in my life I found her annoying. "Bella!"

I opened my eyes to look at her and she looked just as annoyed with me. I looked back at Edward but he was talking quietly with an angry looking Alice. Realization dawned on me and I hurriedly sat down in my chair, hoping I didn't embarrass myself.

"Where were you just now? You looked like you were tanning on a private beach just now." Angela stifled a small laugh.

"Yeah. I was thinking of Phoenix and how uncomplicated my life was back then." I gave her a weak smile before turning to look at Edward. Both him and Alice had grabbed their trays and were dumping them in the trash. And then they left the cafeteria without even a glance back in my direction. So much for a reunion.