A/N: So, here's the second chapter *smiles sheepishly*. Er, I'm sorry it's late, I really am. I've written Chapter Two over THREE times! Until, alas, I was satisfied with this copy. Okay, so please don't be mad, my internet is really messing up, and yeah... UGH! ;\

I just realized I've been forgetting to put this, so here it goes; I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters. I just own my own creations, which makes me satisfied (:

Please enjoy the read (:

3. COMEBACK

FOUR MONTHS HAVE gone by since they left. Nothing's really changed, Bella's still inside that shell of her's, dad's still constantly working, and me, I've been doing my daily routines. When I'm at home, I feel alone—which is stupid since I have Bella, but just peering a look at her far-off, dazed face made me feel like I was alone.

Never mind that, I haven't seen much progress in Bella at all. It upset me sometimes, that she couldn't just stop wallowing, and move on. But, I knew deep down, that she truly loved He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Their love just wasn't puppy love, it was real, deep into the heart's core. Perhaps that's why Bella always clutched her chest when something reminded her of him—I was starting to gain a greater understanding, and being gentle with Bella.

"Miss Swan?" Asked the teacher. He sounded a tad irritated.

I looked up, blinking several times. A few people giggled—I must've looked funny—which made me flush hot in the face. The teacher, Mr. Meeker, seemed displeased, staring at me sternly. I gulped. A stern Mr. Meeker meant more homework for everyone, and I did not want to be that person that damned the whole class with extra homework.

"Yes?" I asked, clearing my throat.

"Please describe the U.S. Constitution." He demanded.

My mind went blank, just when I needed it. Ding-dong great. I hurriedly searched my brain for any source information. All I got was a mental image of my dad's tired face, and Bella's frowning face. That was all that I could think about these days. My dad's been working far too much.

"Miss Swan?" Mr. Meeker pressed, his eyes narrowed.

"Uh," I began. Just say anything, Liv, "they were branches of the government?" I said uncertainly. My friend, Kendra Marks, was behind Mr. Meeker, and she had her Textbook up, page open, and she was pointing at something that read The Three Branches of Government.

The teacher frowned, seeming disappointed. I bet he was hoping I'd be wrong. "Hm, then please describe the branches."

Why was he picking on me? Sure, I wasn't paying attention, but, still, why me?

Kendra pointed them out, and I read them out loud, "There is the Legislative Branch—congress—the Executive Branch—president—and finally, the Judicial Branch—the supreme court?" I breathed, looking up at Mr. Meeker hopeful. My face was still hot, but I chose to ignore it.

He looked down at me, with a raised, grey bushy eyebrow, and turned. I didn't realize I had been holding my breath until I exhaled. I sent Kendra a small smile. I was highly aware of the other kid's eyes on me, some were sniggering behind their hands.

"Good job, Miss Swan, but next time please be present on class. I don't want you wandering off in that little head of your's." Said Mr. Meeker, sternly.

All I did was nod quickly. Anything to get the attention off from me.

Anything.

For the rest of the class, I had my chin raised up in the air—showing Mr. Meeker that I was still paying attention to class, even though my mind was distracted. He kept on shooting me glances—no doubt wanting to pick on me once more, and make a fool out of me.

I sighed happily when the bell rang. School was over—Social Studies was my last class for the day. I slung my backpack on my arms, making sure I had everything ready, before walking away from this horrible class. I loved History, but the teacher who taught it, not so much.

The halls were crowded, kids around my age were talking happily, some making plans for the weekend, some laughing, and some preferred to stay quiet, like me. I pushed my way through the crowd—not hard, but to make the people just standing there move out of the way. Some shot me nasty looks—which I responded back with a shrug. I didn't need to be stuck here any longer. It wasn't raining outside, and I wanted to take that as an opportunity to rush home. I didn't want to get drenched. Yep, I walk home after school since Bella comes out later than I do.

Kendra had tutoring everyday, so we couldn't walk home together.

To my immense luck, it wasn't raining. I smiled faintly, staring at the darkened clouds, looking viciously back at me, I looked at the vivid green trees, with their brown trunks, that already had moss growing on them. You wouldn't see this back in Arizona, that's for sure. There was traffic—parents picking up their kids, or older siblings ordered to come and pick up their younger siblings, were here already.

No one was here for me. If someone was, I'd hear a loud, distinct roar, or see red and blue headlights stand out from the pile of other cars. I imagined that if my dad were to come pick me up, traffic would slow down, and there wouldn't be as much honking. I winced when two cars were about to collide.

More maddening honking followed.

I was quite thankful that no one really picked me up. Bella nor dad had to trouble themselves with these traffic jams. I enjoyed my walks—when it didn't rain, at least. I didn't have to worry about other cars behind me because I'm driving too slow. Psh.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a flash of curly golden hair. My head turned to get a better look, only to find Arthur Forbes, my crush, standing on the opposite sidewalk from where I stood. He was waving at me, a smile on his face. I stopped dead on my tracks, my cheeks beginning to flame. I turned around—who was he waving at?—but there was no one behind me, except for a bench. He wouldn't be waving at a bench. There was only one other option; he was waving at ME.

That couldn't be it. Why on earth would he be waving at me?

"Hey, Liv!" He called, catching my attention once again. I looked up, surprised that he knew my name—my preferred name no less.

Realizing that I've been standing there like an idiot, I slowly waved back. Though, it was more of a weak half-wave. I flushed. "Hi?"

Arthur smiled, beckoning me forward with his hands. It took me a couple of seconds to register that, since all I could think about was him and his smile, or that I could hear my erratic heartbeat in my ears.

I have super-hearing now.

With each step I took, I felt my breathing come faster. I was a nervous wreck. I bit on my lower lip, and stopped two feet away from him, staring at him with confusion. He merely grinned, walked the two feet so that he was now standing beside me.

"You live other there, right?" He pointed to where my house resided at. I nodded meekly, not trusting my voice at all at the moment.

"Well," He continued, "do you want to walk with me?" He sounded nervous, too, which eased me off a bit. He was cute. His suddenly red cheeks made him adorable.

His grey eyes locked onto mine, and I could see my reflection in him—I looked tiny. That wasn't the point though, his eyes reminded me of the clouds that hanged above us at the moment. His eyes were nice. No objection.

Again, I nodded, but smiled shyly.

The walk was awkward, to say the least. None of us spoke. Sometimes, I saw Arthur open his mouth, but later close it. I myself wanted to say something to break the pregnant silence, but found I found out that I was just too nervous to say anything. If I did end up saying anything, I knew I'd stutter like a fool.

I hated it, to say the least. This wasn't what I imagined my first time being with Arthur alone. Heck, we weren't even holding hands. In my embarrassing day-dreams, we'd be kissing like no tomorrow, or we'd be holding hands and just talk forever. Like we were super-duper close. Right now, we were about a half a foot away from each other.

"So," I began, building up enough courage, "what brought this on?"

He looked at me, "Nothing, really. I just thought we'd walk together, ya know? Since we are kinda heading the same direction, and uh, I'd thought that each other's company would make our walks fun-er."

"Oh." Then my brows furrowed, but my heart was beating quickly again, " Our walks?" As in plural? I added silently in my head.

Arthur turned red, staring ahead, "Uh, yeah. I'd thought we'd walk together each day... if you'd like, of course." He said quickly, staring at the ground.

I didn't want to sound too eager, so I let a few seconds—okay three seconds, but that's better than just answering right away, right?—pass by, before I answered. "Yeah, I'd like that." I blushed.

He now looked up. I think I saw his lips curling upwards. I couldn't investigate much further since something ahead caught my eyes.

There was a stray dog, it was medium sized. It had shaggy grey fur, it looked dirty. I saw it walk along the sidewalk, coming closer and closer, until it was just five feet away from Arthur and I. I stared at it, the boy beside me forgotten—the world is ending, folks! I kneeled on my knees, and beckoned it, whistling poorly. Yep, I suck at whistling. I couldn't even whistle to save my ass.

The dog cocked it's head to the side, it's dark brown hazel eyes stared at me, its tail wagged behind it. I grinned. I've always wanted a dog.

"Hi there," I cooed. Who cared if it had fleas, I'll just wash them away—if dad left me keep the stray—which, I want him to. The dog neared me, its tail going left-to-right quickly, it made me laugh. "Hyper, are ya?"

It was a guy. I checked, quickly. I flushed, standing up, not caring that my knees were wet at the moment. I wonder if dad would let me keep him. I sighed, cooing to it. "Come here boy, follow me, that's right."

"You want to keep it?" Arthur asked from beside me. I jumped.

I stared wide-eyed at him, trying to calm my jumping heart, "I-I want to. I need to ask permission, though." I really wanted to keep him. I felt bad seeing the dog out in the streets.

He nodded, grinning. "That's a Border Collie. I have one, too. Her name's Shasta."

"Like the soda?" I mused.

"Yeah." His eyes twinkled as he observed me. I smiled.

"Hm, I wonder how'd I name him. Coke? Pepsi? Seven Up? Doctor Pepper? Squirt?" I pondered, staring at the dog. "I'm gonna name him after a soda, too."

"Okay... hm, Squirt sounds good," He sounded humored. I looked up, following his gaze to see my dog—soon to be, I hope—jumping on puddles, splashing water here and there. I smiled brightly.

"Yep, Squirt fits him." We both laughed.

Laughter is the solution to for awkward moments.

Still, as we walked, Squirt walking beside me—I had to call him when he strayed off—the silence wasn't as painful as before. We would occasionally catch each other's eyes, and quickly look away, me blushing bright red. Arthur would comment random stuff, which I would comment with even more random stuff. It was fun-er now. All thanks to Squirt.

"Well, this is my hood." I joked, stopping in front of my house. He looked behind me, grinned, before meeting my eyes again.

"Nice hood." He then looked down at his feet, turning pink. "Uh, can I, er, have your number? I mean, you know—in case we need help with our homework—we do have three classes together, you know." He stuttered, playing with his hands.

I flushed myself, and nodded meekly, "Sure." I said brightly.

Taking out my phone, I asked him for his number—vise versa. We both said our hushed farewells, still embarrassed. It began to drizzle lightly, not enough to soak Arthur, but enough to get him slightly wet. I asked him if he'd like an umbrella, but he said he liked rain. Something we both had in common, I pointed out.

"Wow," I breathed once inside my home, staring down at Squirt, who was sniffing the coat hanger—we'd gotten it before He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named left. I thought it'd be nice, just like in those TV shows who had coat hangers by their doors.

Squirt wagged his tail, peering up at me.

"We need to take you a shower. I don't think Bella'd like you if you're all dirty. First impressions are always the best—that's what my mom, Renee used to tell me." I murmured sadly. I really did miss her.

I lead Squirt upstairs, into the bathroom, then into the bathtub. I didn't know what shampoo to use, but he was a guy, and I don't want him to smell like a girl, "So dad's shampoo it is!"

Squirt thrashed around, jumping all over the place. I laughed when he shook his fur out, throwing flecks of water my way. I struggled, trying to wash off the shampoo, but managed. When I was finally done, I sat back, staring at Squirt, who had his fur all fluffy. I grinned.

"I should've named you Fluffy." I mused.

He looked at me, cocking his head to the side.

"Hey, it fits you." I protested. "Fine, Squirt it is, Squirt—ahh!"

Squirt began to lick my face. It was ticklish. "Squirt—stop—Squirt!" I squealed like a girl, trying to push him away, failing miserably. I laughed, as Squirt oh-so-innocently sat back, wagging his tail with his tongue out. "You and I will get along pretty well."

He barked.

"Liv, what was that?" Asked my older sister, Bella. She came into the bathroom, gaping at the grey Collie, who was staring at her curiously. I flushed as her eyes wandered all over the bathroom, taking in the wetty mess. Then, they landed on Squirt, her dark brows furrowed.

"Um, I can explain." I started, getting up. "Well, you see, d'you remember how I always used to say I wanted a dog? Well, meet Squirt!" I beckoned said dog, who just continued to sit. "Okay, we need to practice—he still doesn't know his name's Squirt." I muttered.

Bella continued to stare at the dog. "Squirt?"

I nodded, "Yeah, Squirt. Arthur helped me pick it out."

"Arthur?"

My face heated up. "Uh, um, a boy from school." I rushed out, staring at Squirt. Huh, he's still a little wet.

"Oh," Bella said in a tone I recognized as shock. I turned to look at her, confused. She was looking at me weirdly, like something had slapped her across the face. Her face said it all—she was envious. But why would she be envious? Arthur?"

Then it hit me; I was liking someone, a boy, who was close to me—while the boy she loved wasn't here, and I had my crushy-crush close to me. It was a wild guess, but I tried to ease off her envy. I didn't want Bella to feel envious towards me.

"So, how was your day?" I changed the subject as I grabbed some towels and began to dry off the floor. I felt Bella's eyes on my back.

"Normal." Was her simple response.

I nodded, trying to find something worth talking. It was hopeless though. Even if I did try to converse with her, she'd just end it curtly—she wouldn't be into our conversation. Why force her? If she didn't want to talk, I was okay with it. When she did want to, I'll be there for her. Simple as that.

Nodding, I finish up cleaning the wet floor. I peek a look at Bella from under my lashes, only to see her staring at me oddly. I quickly look away, not liking the emotion in Bella's eyes. I wanted to make her happy, positive, not negative. Drenched, I get up, and try to smile.

"So, wanna make something to eat?" I asked, trying to sound bright.

"Well, I was wondering, if you'd like to go to the movies with me?" She asked. I saw her trying to fight off the emotions on her face, and settle back to Zombie Bella.

My mind reeled. "Can we go after dad comes?" I asked, hopefully.

"Why?" She asked.

"Squirt. I don't think dad'll act kindly to a dog in his house." I mused. A smile curled on my lips, I couldn't fight it off.

She nodded, "True."

We got out of the bathroom, with Squirt following after us, smelling everything on his way. Already was I warming up to Squirt. Back in Phoenix, I couldn't get a dog because Phil disliked them.

Yet, he still are Hot Dogs.

He claimed they were the best food invented.

Psh.

There were several occasions were'd I could've gotten a dog—my old friends would ask me if I'd like any puppy, but I would have to refuse. All thanks to Phil. Though, I guess Phil made it all up by buying me a turtle I'd named Dory.

Yep, ultimate Finding Nemo fan over here.

"I want a cat for my birthday," I said out of nowhere, smiling.

"Keep on wanting." Dad's teasing came from the hall. I hadn't noticed Bella and I were downstairs already. Man, I should really start paying attention, my mind's been spacing out a lot today.

My eyes darted around for Squirt, but there was no sign of him.

"What the—?" Dad's confused voice made me squeak.

I rushed forward, seeing Squirt and dad staring at each other. Dad still had his gun on hand. "Dad! No, he's mine!"

He looked up, startled at my outburst. Dad looked down at Squirt, then back up at me. "Since when?" He huffed.

"Today, actually," I flushed, "um, can I keep him?" I gave him my best puppy eyes. I must've looked stupid. But dad just stared at me, then sighed.

"We'll see. If he's a good dog..." He trailed off.

"He is, trust me!" I exclaimed, smiling brightly—even if I only knew Squirt for less than an hour. Then I tackled dad into a hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Dad patted my back, "Er, no problem, kiddo."

A smile was present on my face as I pulled away. I beamed down at Squirt, my smile still present on my face. I rushed towards him, "You're officially mine, boy."

He merely wagged his tail at me, and began to lick my face. I laughed, pulling away from his wet tongue, looking up at Bella—who by now had arrived at the scene. She looked at dad, mildly surprised.

"Why are you here, this early?" She asked him. Come to think of it, it was pretty early.

Dad raised a thick eyebrow, "Can't I not come to my own home, early? Don't my daughters want me?"

Bella shook her head—she didn't even blush, like she would've if she weren't acting all zombie-ish. "No, just wondering."

"Let me guess," I piped up, "there's a game on." Dad smiled. "Bingo, I was right."

"Anyways," Bella spoke again, "Liv and I are going to the movies—girl's night out." She said off handedly, grabbing her coat that was on the coat-hanger.

I blinked when dad turned to look at me. "Uh, yeah, we're going to go watch...?" I turned to Bella, clueless. I knew watching a romance movie was off limits—Bella wouldn't sit well with watching two people smooching each other, with their love-sick faces on the screens. Besides, I wanted something thrilling. I wanted something scary—I wanted my mind to get distracted.

"Well, I asked Jess if she'd like to come, but she declined. But she did mention this movie I'd thought you'd like." She said. I was aware that she didn't want to say the movie's title in front of dad—probably not wanting to hear his objections towards it. Dad's frown went unnoticed.

"Didn't you invite anyone else, Bella?" He asked, staring quizzically at her.

"No," She stated bluntly. I admired her now-a-days bluntlessness—she sometimes said the truth.

Dad didn't seem to like the answer. He didn't seem like wanting to complain, so he bid us a farewell—he was rushing through it, maybe wanting to see the game. I left Squirt up in my room, with an old bowl—dad didn't want it— filled with water. Dad promised me he'd buy Squirt dog food when the game was over, since we'd probably not be back by then.

The car ride to the movies was uneventful one, not that I'd expected anything fun to occur. Bella liked her quiet, and I respected her wishes. I let my mind wander, but it only flew around dad, Bella, Arthur, and Squirt.

I blushed when I focused more so on Arthur—my imagination seemed adamant of us kissing, laughing. Just being free and happy with ourselves. I longed for it. With or without Arthur—I just wanted all this mess to clear up, so everything could back to normal like when we first arrived to Forks. No Cullens, no He-Wh-Must-Be-Named, anyone. I wanted to go back in time, were Bella didn't know he even existed—where it was just Bella and I, two sisters moving in with our Father.

Sadly, this was reality, and reality seemed to always slap you across the face, laugh at you, taunt you. It made you see that not everything's a fairy tale. That life could suck, a lot.

"What movie are we seeing?" I asked finally, when my mind went back to the different choices of movies that would be playing. I side-glanced over at Bella, who was focused on the road in front of us, her pale hands holding the steering wheel.

She had her lips pursed. "I was thinking about this... zombie movie—"

"Oh, Dead End?" I beamed, almost jumping on my seat. She looked at me, her brown eyes truly wide.

"Yeah, you want to see that?"

"Sure. I could use a distraction." I shrugged, already looking forward to watching the movie—I kept that up until we got there.

The movie was playing early. Bella had suggested we eat after the movie was over—I had asked if we could go the McDonalds, which she complied. I smiled when we took out seats in the back of the theater room, my arms carried a bucket of popcorn. Bella said she didn't want any of it—which meant the whole, big bucket, was all mine.

I groaned inwardly when I saw a lovey-dovey couple enter the theater room, holding hands, grinning at each other widely, displaying their puppy love for everyone present. I knew —by the way Bella stiffened in her seat—that she'd seen them, too.

"I thought this was a zombie movie," I said quickly, wanting to draw Bella's attention towards me to distract her from the couple.

She said nothing, but firmly kept her eyes on the screen as the movie began to play. Up until now, no one was getting their brains eating. No horror has happened. I ate my popcorn, watching the movie—watching Bella too, just to see how she was doing. Her fist were clenched. I frowned. The light that gave off the screen made Bella's pale hands glow, making her clenched fist even more frown-worthy.

"I'm getting more popcorn," Bella said in a hushed tone, taking the bucket away from me, then stood. I didn't even get to protest, because she was already making her way out.

Bella didn't come five minutes later. I couldn't count how long she'd been absent, since the action had just began. Zombies ate a girl's brain out. I gagged at the scene, but didn't scream like the people that surrounded me. I didn't want to seem foolish. Plus, I knew this was fake, so why scream when everything was... not real?

Finally, Bella came back. She handed me my now re-filled bucket—along with a soda—silently. I looked over at her, frowning.

"You took a lot." I whispered to her, biting on my salty-tasting lower lip.

"Long line," She offered, or more like lied. I sighed.

The rest of the movie was epic. Some of it was gruesome, Bella would cover my eyes at times so I wouldn't see some scenes, which I protested indignantly. She ignored my complaints—much to my dismay. It wasn't until the end that Bella's face crumbled—not from fright, but from realization—she watched as an emotionless zombie persued the heroine of the movie. My own face crumbled, too, as I realized what Bella's mind analyzed of the scene.

She was the zombie. She knew that.

I didn't object to her leaving. I understood perfectly. After she'd left, the movie wasn't as interesting. I guess it had to do with the fact that it made Bella feel depressed, or bad. It made her see that she was azombie. I hated the movie from now on then.

When the movie ended, I met Bella in the hall, sitting in a bench. I forced a smile on my face, trying to seem chirpy for her. She looked up, stood up, and lead us outside—I dumped the empty bucket in the trash on the way.

We were making our way towards McDonalds, both of us silent. I was torn; I wanted to say something comforting to her, but at the same time, I wanted to let her by herself—let her think. She looked forward, hands on her jacket's pockets. I don't even think she realized it was chilly. I shivered, tightening my sweater more around my body.

Suddenly, she stopped walking.

I stopped, automatically, confused. We were standing in front of bar with neon green letters that said 'One Eyed Petes'. Standing in front of the bar—now that I got a closer look at it, it looked like bar—were four men, not old, but not Bella's or even my age. That wasn't the point here, though. What really mattered of this whole situation was the fact that Bella was looking at them, her eyes were squinting—it looked like she knew them. From where, though? Why would she know men that stood in front of a bar, with cool motorcycles? Unless, she was a rebel now, sneaking out of the house at night—which I found impossible, since I did sleep with Bella almost always. Bella always woke up screaming, sweat pouring down her face. She was having nightmares. No doubt about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"Bella?" I said, my voice drifting along the chilly wind, "What are you doing?" I tightened my jacket even more tight. If dad were here, he'd be screaming at us to get away from these men, harmless looking or not. They were strangers, "Stranger anger." I reminded Bella.

At first, she said nothing, but took a dazed step forward, eyes locked onto the men. It was a couple seconds later that I heard her voice. "I think I know them..." She muttered.

Bella took another step forward, after a dark man called her, "sugar". I shivered, furrowing my brows.

I was beginning to panick, "Bella? Bella, come on." I whispered feverishly, taking a couple steps forward, myself. I tugged on Bella's sleeve, trying to swerve her to the right direction; McDonalds. Not towards these creeps.

Heck, they might not be creeps. They might be the Teenage Ninja Turtles.

I peeked a look at them.

Damn, no they weren't.

Even with me tugging on her sleeves, she continued to take a step forward. My heart was beating wildly—not like the way it did with Arthur—and now, I was a tad frightened. After all, we were alone, in a dark street, with possibly four drunk men, encouraging Bella to come forward, while I, tried to pull her back. I wanted Dad here—he'd had his gun out, threatening the guys to leave his daughters alone, for sure.

A small whimper escaped me as she stopped a few feet away from them. I tried to look bold, like a brave thirteen—soon to be fourteen—old girl, who wasn't scared of four men standing in front of a bar. I made myself known beside Bella's side, trying to look confident in their presence. My lower lip is going to hurt later—I was biting way too hard.

"Liv," Bella acknowledged me for the first time, looking down at me with surprised eyes, "what are you doing?"

"Trying to pull you back," I breathed. I saw my breath turn misty against the cold air.

She pursed her lips, turning back to the curious looking men. I saw her open her mouth, but she said nothing.

In that moment, I saw her freeze. Her face was contorted into one of utter shock—like she something in her snapped, and finally made her see her surroundings. I would've questioned her behavior, but I was too preoccupied on the men, who were running their eyes down Bella's body—she wasn't even aware of that at the moment, for she seemed distracted at something inside their heads.

This made me sick to the pit of my stomach. I was growing furious—how dare they stare at my sister? Those sickos! My jaws clenched when their eyes wandered over to me, looking up and down my body. My eyes narrowed into a glare, and I don't know what made me speak so strong, but I was proud.

"Stop looking at us," I spat. I was too mad to even analyze my actions at the moment.

One of them, a blonde haired man—he was good looking, I'll admit, but that didn't lessen my quick dislike towards them—smiled at me, flashing his small teeth. I stared at him.

"Aw, isn't this little one feisty?" He asked his friends, who all grinned in response. "Aren't you a cute one?"

I inhaled sharply, clenching my fist that wasn't holding onto Bella's sleeve. "Shut up," I barked. Despite all the situation, my face began to warm. I gulped, but tried to look brave for both Bella and I.

Speaking of Bella, she took a sudden, cautious step forward.

Their attention turned to Bella—who still seemed unaware of the men looking at both of us.

I want my dad here.

A cop.

A protected, poppa bear cop.

"Bella," I said more forcefully, and in result, I caught her attention. She took on look at my face, her brows furrowed, before she looked at the men who were looking at us, once more.

"Oh." She whispered, now aware of the scene we were at.

"Can we leave?" I pleaded, widening my eyes.

She nodded quickly, placed a light hand behind my back, before leading us away from the men. I was thankful—I didn't want to stand in their presence much longer. We were now around the corner, where we were met by the sight of more people, in the lights, were cops were at.

I did notice that Bella still seemed in a trance. I noticed that her eyes would occasionally shift to something around—which surprised me at first, because she was observing her surroundings. Something she hasn't done in quite a while.

It wasn't until I couldn't withhold the giant bubble of anger inside of me, that I snapped at her. "What the heck was that, Bella?"

She looked down at me, blinking her brown eyes. "I'm sorry." She murmured, at loss of words.

"Sorry?" I exclaimed, incredulously. "Those men were looking at us... ickily." My jaws clenched again, and I closed my eyes, trying to clear those images of them checking us out away. What if they'd done something to us?

"I-I'm sorry, Livi." She said, staring forward.

I didn't say anything else.

We ate silently—Bella still on a trance. I took this as an advantage to stare at Bella, openly. I noticed that she did notice her surroundings, like something had snapped inside that mind in her's, and made her comeback to the real world. I was startled, not expecting it to happen with these men we recently saw. I was beyond mystified, too utterly confused to speak. I didn't know what to ask Bella—all I could think of was; what happened back there?

Obviously, something had happened back there. Something that helped Bella come back to Earth. It made be blink several times, trying to process all this new information down. The reason it took me a couple of minutes to process it was because; I couldn't seem to believe that Bella changed not twenty minutes ago. Even if the proof was sitting right across of me, chewing on her french-fries—the thought of having my sister return back to be was enough for me to stop breathing for a few seconds.

"Liv, are you alright? You seem too pale." Said Bella, concern etched her tone. I breathed finally, staring at my sister with quizzical eyes.

I nodded slowly, drinking from my soda, while I tried to stimulate a good question that made sense—a question that didn't come off to strong when I asked. It was easy to find one, once I knew what I wanted to know.

"What happened, Bella—back there, with those men?" I tried to avoid those men in my head. "Something's obviously changed."

She stared at me, eyes wide, like she once again just realized something important. Immediately, a frown curled down her lips, and she stared at my face, searching for something. I waited patiently, hopeful, that I'd at least get some answers.

Bella didn't say anything, and then she driving us back home. Suspense was eating me out.

Hearing the roar of the truck abruptly stop, I looked out, confused. We were now outside our home—whoa, the car ride was quick.

Inside, dad was waiting for us. He asked us how it went, and I smiled and told him it went fine—no need him knowing about those men. Bella seemed almost relieved that I didn't blabber that out—did she not know I was not a tattle-tale... anymore?

I've grown out of that stage. But it was fun ratting out Bella to mom.

"Where's Squirt?" I questioned dad, looking up the stairs. "Is he in my room?"

"Yup, I bought him some food—like I promised," He grinned tiredly at me. "Well girls, up you go to your rooms. I'm tired. 'Night girls."

"Night dad." I patted his shoulder as he passed by me. Bella mumbled her own good nights. Then, dad was upstairs, inside his room.

Both of us trodded upstairs, silently. I was about to open my room, but felt something light touch my shoulder, halting me on my spot. Confused, I turned to look at Bella, who was staring at me with those eyes of hers—eyes that now had a tiny little emotion. I was immensely happy for her, something had happened.

"Yes?" I asked politely. Bella made an effort to smile.

"Come, I need to tell you," She breathed, leading me to her room.

She flickered on the lights to her room as we entered. She sat down on her bed, staring down at her joined hands, not looking at me. It seemed like she was choosing her words carefully. I was pleased with the silence, it made me prepare myself for the slow blow—I knew something weird happened back there, and I needed time to prepare myself carefully.

Though, I was distracted, to be truthful. I couldn't rub off the men's stares that seemed to burn all over my body—it made me feel quite uneasy. I twitched a few times. I tried to think of other things, like mom, Squirt, Arthur. Nothing seemed to help. I let out a shaky breath.

"I-I don't know how to explain it," Bella breathed finally, looking at me, then back at her hands, "but... but I saw him, Liv." She stressed, running a hand through her hair now. "I heard his voice, Liv. I heard him clear—like he was standing right next to me. He told me to go away from those men, with you. He said to keep my promise, and not do any reckless things. I obeyed... Liv, I'm stupid, I know—but I need to hear his voice again. When I heard it, I felt like everything—the world—came back to full volume. It was as if I had the world was on mute, but when I heard his voice—the world seemed to be loud in my ears, like I could feel everything around me—hear, too."

It made sense, really, that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named made her make a comeback. I mean, he was the one who made her into this zombie, and he's the only one who can undo it. Not that I won't try to break Bella from her zombie-state. But, I felt jealously towards him. Stupid, lying, perfect him.

I looked at Bella. She was staring at the floor.

I hugged her from the side, clenching my jaws so I wouldn't say anything stupid. Bella was well, or was in recovery, and I won't ruin it just because I wanted to act like a jealous brat at the moment.

That night, Bella didn't scream—that night, was the first time in like what seemed like forever that I had a nightmare.

Later that night, it wasn't Bella who woke up. It was only me, shaking, staring at the dark room. I didn't want to wake Bella up, she needed her sleep.

I didn't sleep for the rest of the night, until it was four in the morning, and rain began to hit the roof of the house.

"No dreams," I told myself, as I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

A/N: I want to know what you think of this chapter, so please review and yeah. I want some reviews, people, I love them. For me, this site is just like Facebook. A review is like a someone that 'Like's my status! I know, it's stupid... but review, and it'll motivate me much, much, MUCH more! I'm begging!

Also, Jacob is appearing next chapter (; He'll hand you a virtual cookie, if you'd like! Never mind, he's mine... but you'll still get a virtual cookie... so...

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