A/N: I'm a horrific person for taking so long on this. My only excuse is that it didn't sound right, and I rewrote it like 10 times. I'm still not sold on it, but I hope you guys like it.

Special thanks to everyone who has favorited this story, put it on alert, and especially those who review! You guys are the reason I haven't thrown my laptop against the wall and given up!

Please read, enjoy, and review!

Chapter 10: I Need Answers

My second class of the day, Statistics, was pretty uninteresting. There wasn't anyone that I knew in that class, but I met some people who seemed pretty nice. My professor, again, only kept us long enough to go over the syllabus. This was the one class that I really was not looking forward to at all. I hated math with a burning passion, and Statistics was not looking good for me. I thought about finding a tutor, and wondered if Edward was any good at Statistics. Of course, my thoughts ran away from math, and I pondered Edward's strange behavior at lunch. Who was Kate Denali? I would have to ask Alice and Rosalie about it at dinner tonight. Ugh, I wanted answers immediately—I didn't want to wait till five or six. I took to doodling all over my paper again, trying to will the clock to move faster.

I was supposed to have Psychology right after Stat, but since we got out early I had about an hour to kill. I decided to call my mom, since I hadn't talked to her yet and I knew she would by absolutely dying to hear about my first day. And plus, she might have some insight into the whole Edward situation. I took up residence on a bench in the sun and pulled out my phone, dialing my home number.

"Hello?" my mom spoke into the phone.

"Hey Mom."

"Bella! I've been waiting for your call all day! How's your first day of college? Are your classes hard already? How was your date with Edward? Do you need money for books? Is it raining there yet? Have you—"

"Whoa, Mom, slow your roll a little!" I chuckled. "My first day is going well. I still have one more class today in about an hour, but I really like my English professor already."

"Oh good. You'll be fine in that class, hon. You're an amazing writer! Are you taking any math?"

"Yeah, I'm taking Statistics. I'm not so sure how I feel about that one though. You know how much I hate math. I guess it's better to get it out of the way now than wait till later."

"What else are you taking?"

"Psychology, Comparative Lit, and Art History. I'm really excited for my Lit class. I have it tomorrow."

"Okay, okay, enough about classes. Tell me about Edward!"

I laughed at my mom sounding like a teenage girl waiting for gossip. "Well, yesterday was absolutely perfect. He took me to a little park right outside campus and set up a picnic—complete with a red and white checkered blanket." She squealed into the phone, sounding very Alice-esque. "It was really nice to just spend some time with him out in the sun. Especially since I know that the good weather won't last too much longer. At the end of our picnic, he asked me to join him for lunch today."

"Bella! This boy is crazy about you! I like him already. Are you going to bring him home to meet me?"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know if he's 'crazy about me,' Mom. Today he was acting kind of, um, weird."

"What happened?"

"Well we were talking about how Emmett and Rosalie got together back in Forks," I quickly went into the story to fill her in. "When he mentioned Kate, I asked him about her because he never really talked about anyone in Forks other than the group here. He said that they ran in a similar group of friends, but when I asked him how their groups crossed, he was really sketchy about the details."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't really know. He said that Emmett and her boyfriend, Garrett, were friends, but it sounded like he was holding something back." As I was voicing my concern for the first time, I realized that I was probably overreacting, a lot. "Do I sound crazy? Now I feel like I'm reading way too far into things."

"No, you're not crazy, but this really seems like nothing. Next time you get a chance, just tell him that you felt like there was part of the story he was omitting on purpose. It's probably nothing important. There isn't much that boy could say that would be a deal breaker, from the way you talk about him, honey."

"I know, Mom. He just seems too good to be true. I need to call Jen. I told her I'd talk to her today and I only have like 20 minutes before class. I'll talk to you later though. Love you."

"Love you too, baby. Bye."

I called Jen and had pretty much the same conversation. She told me I was nuts for thinking Edward was anything but perfect. "She met him, she would know." I asked her about Jake, and she was just as smitten as she was when she left here.

"So, do you think you're going to head up to Washington for Thanksgiving?" I asked her.

"I don't know. My mom might kill me. But I do want to see you and Charlie. And obviously Jacob!" she replied.

"I think you should come up. Convince your mom to do Thanksgiving a week early at your house or something. It's not like you live far from home now."

"You're right. I'll persuade her somehow. But we have a lot of time to figure that out. So is it just gonna be you, Rose, and Alice for dinner tonight?"

"I think so, but I'm not sure. I kind of hope it's just us because I want to ask them about the whole Kate Denali thing without the guys around. I've gotta head off to class though, Jen. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, love you girlie! And don't stress about Edward. He's perfect in every way."

"Thanks. Love you too. Bye."

"Bye!"

I made my way over to the building that housed my psychology class. Once I stepped inside the room, I noticed Rosalie sitting cross-legged in the front row, with Edward on the left side of her! He flashed one of his million-dollar smiles at me, and I immediately turned bright red. How could I have thought Edward was hiding something from me? That smile was so honest. I could feel myself getting lost in his eyes until I heard an "Ahem" and saw Rosalie gesturing to the seat next to her. I slid into the desk, "I didn't know you guys were in my class."

"Well, neither did we," Rose chuckled.

"I'm so glad that you guys are here though," I said, "I'm a little intimidated by Psychology."

"Don't be," Edward reassured me. "I took it in high school and it's mostly common sense." Of course he took it in high school. The boy was absolutely amazing in every way. I wouldn't be surprised if next he told me that his father let him do open heart surgery with him!

"Thanks, and if all else fails, I'll pay you to write my papers," I replied with a laugh.

"If you pay me with buffalo chicken pizza, I'd do it," he grinned back.

Rosalie looked back and forth between us, giggling.

"What?" Edward and I both asked?

"You guys get caught up in this little world. It's cute, but kind of awkward when you're in the middle of it."

"And watching you and Em practically get it on on any hard surface isn't?" Edward almost spat.

"Calm down, Eddie," she sneered, "I didn't ask you to stop, it was merely an observation."

"Don't call him that," I said, nudging Rosalie and pointing to Edward, who was practically fuming from the ears. We both started laughing. "His head might explode. Oh! I meant to ask you, I need to pick up groceries from the store. Is tonight's dinner just us and Alice, or is it everyone?"

"Just the roomies," Rosalie answered, and then turned to Edward, "No boys allowed."

"You're leaving me to figure out dinner with Emmett? Oh Lord."

"You can eat at the caf one night," I told him, "it won't kill you."

"But you're cooking! I want that!" Edward whined.

Suddenly, an old voice came from the door, "Welcome to the wonderful world of Psychology!" Our professor was probably about 65, with white hair and a full-fledged beer belly. He was probably as short as me, but he stood straight and tall. He had a kind smile, one that made you want to smile right along with him.

This class did not follow suit to the rest of my classes. Firstly, Edward was constantly looking past Rosalie at me. It seemed like he wasn't even paying attention to what Dr. Keegan was saying. And Dr. Keegan wasn't just going over our syllabus. He was animated about Psychology and all the reasons it would be our favorite class this semester. He then made us pair up with someone in the class that we didn't know. I ended up being partnered with an exchange student from South America named Zafrina. She was from Brazil, and was an Amazon Woman in every right. It was kind of difficult to understand her through the thick accent, but it seemed that her school in Brazil thought Washington State was in Washington D.C. She's a Political Science major, so she wanted to be in the Capital for her study abroad. She seemed like a nice girl, although at 6'4" she was a little intimidating.

After we were dismissed, I waited for Rosalie so we could go back to the apartment together. Really, though, I wanted to ask her about Kate Denali and why Edward was acting so weird. I had this feeling that since Alice was all but planning our wedding, I wouldn't get a straight answer from her; so I figured Rosalie was a better avenue to go down. Little did I expect, Edward was staying, too.

"Do you think you could give me a ride back to the apartments? I didn't drive down to class today," Edward asked me.

Damn! I thought. I'll never get to talk to Rose at this point. "Uh, sure. Rose, do you need a ride, too?"

"No, I drove down, and I'm stopping by at Emmett's for a bit. I'll see you for dinner though!" And with that, she was out the door.

"Shall we?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"After you," Edward replied, holding the door open for me.

I took a deep breath. Maybe this was an opportunity to get my fears out in the open. I decided I was just going to go for it. "Um, Edward, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Okay. Today, when we were having lunch, it seemed like there was a part of the story you were trying to keep secret. Like how you knew Kate. It felt like you didn't want to tell me everything. Was there something else, or am I just insane."

Edward sighed. "You're right. I was keeping something from you. I don't even know why, really. Kate's sister, Tanya, is my ex-girlfriend. She's kind of crazy and I don't like to think about her." He looked really uncomfortable, and almost awkward in his own skin. "I didn't want to say anything, I guess because I didn't want to talk about my ex to you. It was really stupid. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," I said, now relieved. "I just thought my imagination was getting the best of me. I'm just glad I'm not crazy."

"I don't want to keep things from you, Bella. Can we forget about all my stupidity this afternoon?"

"Sure, but I mean, you don't have to tell me every little detail of your life if you don't want to."

"I do want to tell you though. I know we haven't known each other for more than just a few days, but I care about you a lot already." Edward looked deep into my eyes, and I was lost in his green orbs.

"Okay," I said lamely, still mesmerized by his gaze. I shook my head as if to clear my thoughts. "I care about you too," I managed to squeak out. We approached my truck, and I drove the short distance to the apartments.

"Will you save me some leftovers?" Edward pleaded.

"If there are any," I said with a laugh. "Alice can eat her weight in food." I remembered the breakfast I made the day before that Alice demolished.

"Yeah," Edward looked defeated, but then smiled. "One time she almost beat Emmett in an eating contest."

"I believe it," I giggled. I noticed how much I did that when Edward was around. He got out of the car and in a flash was at my door, opening it for me.

"I know how upset I would be if someone was keeping you from cooking me dinner, so we should probably get you to the girls." Edward gave a smirk and I almost melted into the seat. I regained my composure for a second, managed to smile back, and then got out of the car and walked hand-in-hand with Edward back to my door. He leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you soon," he said.

"Definitely," I replied, opened my door, and disappeared inside before he could see me turning red.

"It's about time!" Alice's distinct voice called from the bedroom. "I'm starving, and I've been dreaming about chicken all day. I drew a chicken in a ball gown in Sketching today!"

"All right, all right, I'm getting in the kitchen. Keep your clothes on." I quickly threw the ingredients together, breading my cutlets with lightning speed. As I tossed it into the oven, I called Alice out, "There's some bread and butter if you're that hungry, Alice. And I' m whipping up a salad."

That's all it took to have her running out of the bedroom and onto the dining room table, sketchpad still in hand. Alice dug into a roll, and just as I was putting the finishing touches on my salad, Rosalie walked in. "I thought you guys were going to wait for me," she complained.

"We just started with bread," Alice replied, mouth full.

"So Bella, how was your ride back with Edward?" Rose asked me.

"You rode back with Edward and you didn't tell me?" Alice almost shrieked.

"I didn't think it was a huge deal. Um, it was fine, but I kind of wanted to talk to you about him."

"What's up?" Rosalie arched an eyebrow at me.

"Well, it's nothing now," I started, "I talked to him about it. It was just when I was telling him how you told me yours and Emmett's story, he said the dress was probably Kate Denali's. I had never heard Edward mention anyone from Forks by name before so I was kind of interested. But when he explained who she was, he sounded like he was leaving a lot out. I asked him in the car, though and he cleared it all up."

"What did he say," Alice asked, looking almost as uncomfortable as Edward did earlier.

"He just explained that Kate's sister, Tanya, was his crazy ex-girlfriend and that he felt weird talking about exes to me."

"Where did this flower come from?" Rose pointed to the lily that I had put on the table.

"Oh, Edward brought it when we had lunch today. He was all upset that he didn't think to bring a vase. It was actually really cute."

"Do you know what a Calla Lily represents?" Alice questioned.

"No, I just thought it was a pretty flower."

"It represents ultimate beauty. My mom told Edward when we were kids that when he meets the most beautiful girl in the world, he should give her a Calla Lily."

"How come he never gave me one, then?" Rose joked, and we all laughed. "Seriously though, Bella. The boy's got it bad for you." I couldn't stop smiling the rest of dinner.

I made extra dinner for Edward, Emmett, and Jasper. I figured that I would drop it off to them when I left to go meet Angela. I put it in some Tupperware after dinner and told the girls my plans for the night.

"You're feeding Emmett?" Rose looked at me, feigning concern.

"Should I not?"

"Not unless you want to cook for him every night," she chuckled.

"Well, Edward already wants me to cook for him every night. I guess I can take on the role of chef."

"Good luck."

I walked down to the boys' apartment building. I checked the time; only 6:30. Good, I won't be late to meet Ange. I hoped that the guys hadn't eaten yet. Somehow, I figured that they would want food even if they already ate. I knocked on the door, realizing that I hadn't actually been inside yet. Emmett opened the door, looking surprised.

"Hungry?" I asked, holding the food in front of me.

"Oh Bella! Bellisima! You are an angel!" Emmett grabbed the food and ran to the kitchen.

"Bella's here?" My favorite sound asked from the next room.

"And she brought us dinner!" Emmett was bouncing up and down, just looking at it. "Rose told me that you were making them chicken parmesan and I was so sad when she said it was girls only. But now you're here with it and you're my favorite girl ever!" He ran over to me and swept me up into a bone-crushing hug, swinging me around in the air.

"Can't. Breathe!" Emmett finally set me down and I grabbed my chest, trying to catch my breath.

Edward came over and gave me a much tamer hug, but by the end of that one, I was still breathless. "Thanks, Bella. I was not looking forward to cafeteria food after your cooking."

"I could tell how bummed you were, so I thought I would surprise you. As thanks for the lily."

"He gave you a Calla?" Jasper made himself known for the first time.

"Yeah," I responded, blushing scarlet. I caught Edward giving a strange look to Jasper. Then I noticed Emmett taking the Tupperware and putting it into the microwave. "Emmett, no!" I stopped him. "You can't microwave that. Here, let me do it." I grabbed three plates and put the food on them, cooking them one at a time. I gave the first plate to Emmett, who was drooling at this point. "How can someone who loves food so much be so backwards in the kitchen?"

"Because my mommy loves me and cooks all my food."

"Am I going to have to teach you how to do laundry, too?"

"Yes, please!" he said between bites.

"Wow, Em, you're the biggest kid I know."

"He's proud of that, too," Edward interjected.

"Of course he is," I chuckled. "Well this has been fun, but I really have to get going. I'm meeting Angela for coffee and it's almost 7 already."

"Oh," Edward looked, sad? "Well I'll see you later then."

"Bye guys. Bye Edward." And this time I was the one that kissed his cheek.