The next day, I awoke to a stream of light pouring into my bedroom.

Apparently it had decided to be sunny today, something that did not fit my mood. I wanted thunderstorms. Blizzards, lightning. Even gloomy dark clouds would do. By the looks of it, the sunny weather would probably last the whole day, only a smattering of clouds floated in the sky.

I ended up choosing a long sleeved rugby shirt and a pair of three quarter jeans, praying that the sun wouldn't last and the gloom would come back.

When I left my bedroom, I could hear Bella and Charlie talking downstairs. From the sounds of it, she was happy for a bit of sun, her excitement in her tone of voice.

I furiously scrubbed my teeth. Why on earth was Bella doing looking up vampires?

I thought that part was pretty self explanatory.

Of course it was. But that wasn't the point. Bella didn't seem the type of person who'd think to look up vampires on a whim. Vampire was very low down on the list when a person tried to figure out what Edward Cullen was – if they were trying in the first place.

So how did Bella know to look up vampires? I pulled my blonde hair into a bun, not bothering about the wispy strands that refused to be tucked away. I went over the last couple of days in my head.

Bella had been somewhat cheerful the day before, excited about going down to La Push with the others. That and the fact that her and Edward seemed to be getting along quite well. Then she had come home last night, acting strange and almost recluse. I hadn't seen her at all yesterday – when she had come back from her walk, she shut herself up in her room.

"Homework," Bella had explained later that evening. "Mr. Mason gave us a Shakespeare essay."

But why vampires? I thought to myself, staring at my reflection in the mirror. The person in the mirror with my blue eyes stared back. Most people related it back to something like Peter Parker, not Dracula.

Then it hit me.

Jacob Black.

They had all gone down to First Beach, on the reservation. Surely they would have met up with the Rez kids – Jacob included.

A couple of days before Bella had arrived; the Blacks had been over for dinner. A game was scheduled for later, and Jacob had brought a heap of homework with him. Charlie had been talking to Billy about Bella's arrival during dinner, and I had noticed Jacob looking very interested when Bella's name was mentioned.

Jacob had obviously discovered his hormones.

So there would be no doubting that Jacob would tell Bella something about the Cullens if she asked. And of course she asked. Edward stopped a van from turning her into spaghetti. Jacob probably told her about the legends as well. There goes the treaty, I thought to myself.

"Ally?" I turned to face the doorway, surprised to see Bella. She didn't bat an eyelid when she saw me standing in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection.

"Ready to go?"

"Um, sure," I mumbled, not looking at her in the eye. "Let me just grab my bag." I darted into my bedroom, picking up my heavy tote bag, grabbing a random book off my shelf.

In the truck, we didn't talk a lot. A few mumbles about how we slept; a couple of enquiries about homework. I half-heartedly made a joke when Bella tried to get the truck window down. Avoiding any other small talk, I fiddled with the radio, choosing a station when Operator Please came on. The volume was loud enough to thwart any talking, so I concentrated on the lyrics of the song, saying the words with no sound as I stared out the window.

At school, I noticed we were one of the first ones to arrive. Not wanting to hang around Bella and accidentally let slip that I knew she was looking up vampires, I made my excuses.

"I have to go find someone – Celeste," I said, giving the name of a girl in my World History class as my excuse. "About some notes on the Ancient Greeks." In truth, I was just going around the back of the school to where I usually sat and read during break. "See you at lunch?"

"Sure," Bella nodded, grabbing her book bag. She had pushed the sleeves of her v neck blouse up, relishing the sunlight. Her dark brown hair had shades of natural red in it, accentuated by the sun's rays. "See you at lunch."

I sighed. Obviously, Bella was still thinking about vampires. And of course that changed everything.

--

"It's not too late to change your mind, you know."

I was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, my hand in the box of Captain Crunch as I watched Bella get ready to go to Port Angeles. I shook my head, my legs swinging. "I'm still not going," I laughed, "Despite how many times you tell me that Lauren wouldn't be there."

Bella grumbled, throwing her wallet and a chapstick into a purse. Putting the strap around her head and letting it fall across her body, she gave me another pleading look. She had been a lot chattier today, mainly because of the sunny weather continuing. That and talking all lunch about the Port Angeles trip with Jess and Angela.

I shook my head again. I wasn't fooled that easily.

"Ally, if I see your hand in that box one more time you will not be getting any dinner," Charlie scolded, swiping the box from my hand as he walked into the kitchen. "I think I'd rather take my chances then, Chief Swan. What with you cooking and all," I grinned, patting Charlie's jacket as he moved passed me.

Charlie laughed, shaking his head as he pulled a can of something out of the fridge. "You're lucky you have solid grades missy, otherwise I'd be on that phone like a shot," he joked. "What, and tell Amanda what a naughty girl I've been?" I jested back. "She heard that one when I was ten, Chief Swan."

"I hate to break up this little conversation, but Jessica's here," Bella broke in, kissing Charlie on the forehead. "Have fun Bella," he said, patting her on the arm. His focus was now on the sports headlines that flashed over the TV screen.

"See you Bella," I smirked, reaching for the box of cereal again. Bella gave me one final pleading look, and I sat fixed on the counter. "Have a lovely evening."

With a final glare my way and a goodbye to Charlie, Bella left for Port Angeles.

"So, Charlie," I started to say once she had left. "What are you planning on destroying for dinner tonight?"

--

I was reading when a familiar noise caught my attention. Closing the book, I jumped off the bed. Bella was home and I wanted to hear all about Port Angeles. Having another girl in the house was making me dependant on female conversation.

Turning out into the hallway, I quickly glanced out the window to see if Bella had gone inside yet. She hadn't. And I had just realized why the noise of the car was so familiar.

Instead of Jessica's Elantra, there was a silver Volvo sitting outside the house. I stood just to the right of the window, peering through so that the occupants of the car couldn't see me gawking.

There was movement as the passenger side door opened, and Bella started to climb out of the Volvo. She paused, turning back to the driver who said something, his pale face illuminated by the small light omitted from the car. Bella turned back around again and stepped out of the car.

The Volvo waited until Bella had reached the front porch, obviously fumbling around for the key to unlock the door. As it drove away, the front door closing, I hovered in the hallway, scowling. Charlie called out to Bella over the television. She replied back from the kitchen.

Should I go down and say hello? I pondered. I didn't really feel like talking anymore.

Suddenly the phone rang, and I stood on top of the staircase, listening in to Bella talking to someone on the other end – Jessica, I gathered. I turned on my heel, heading back into my room as I decided that if Bella wanted to talk, she would have to come to me.

I spent another ten minutes trying to get back into my book as I lay on the bed, resting my head on a cold pillow. A quiet knock echoed through my door, and I sat up. "Come in," I called out. Bella peered round the door.

"Hey," she murmured, coming to stand by the edge of my bed. "What are you reading," she asked. I held up the book for her to see. Bella's eyebrows rose. "You're reading that?" she asked again. I nodded, slipping a bookmark in between the pages and setting it down.

Bella picked it up, inspecting the cover. "It's in Spanish though." I laughed. "That's the point. I wasn't going to read it otherwise," I replied. "But why? I mean, you don't have to do this kind of thing unless you're in Honours," Bella stated, setting the book back on the bed.

"Because so far all I've learnt in Spanish this year is how to find the nearest bar and where the hospital is. Mrs. Painter is terrible at Spanish. It's a crime," I ranted on.

Bella just shook her head, not bothering to reply.

"So, tell me," I mused. "Am I going crazy? Because I swear, when you left this afternoon, you left in the company of Jessica. Yet when you arrive home, you're with Edward Cullen." I dropped my voice to a whisper, accentuating his name.

Bella turned a deep shade of red from the neck up. "He was in Port Angeles," she managed to blurt out. "We-we bumped into each other, and he took me to dinner and then drove me home."

It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. "Edward Cullen took you to dinner?" I repeated. Bella nodded her head. "Well," I mused. "There's always a first time for everything." I noticed Bella was looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Did Angela and Jessica find dresses?" I asked, turning the conversation around. An awkward air was hanging in the room. Bella, her natural pale colour coming back, nodded. "Jess found a blue dress, Angela a pink one." She sat up straight. "And you'll never guess what Tyler's been saying."

I stretched on the bed, ignoring the grumbles that I was getting from the voice in my head. "What?" Bella rolled her eyes. "Apparently, Tyler's been going around telling everyone that he's taking me to Prom. That's why Lauren hates me so much."

I cracked up. "That," I coughed in a fit of laughter, "is the funniest thing that I have ever heard." Bella narrowed her eyebrows. "It's not funny. I never even agreed to go to Prom with him, the stupid jerk." Her last words were muttered as she folded her arms under her.

I shook my head, still laughing to myself. Bella yawned. "I'm going to go have a shower, and go straight to bed," she muttered, more to herself than me. "'Night Bella," I replied, picking my book up again as she left my room, closing the door softly behind her.

After a minute, I set the book back down again. I had noticed a change in Bella, one that had been growing since she had moved from Arizona. Not only did Bella know that Edward Cullen was a vampire, but she was in love with him too. That was plain to see. But as simple as that was to see, it made things a hell of a lot more difficult.