Title: You Found Me

Full Summary: Edward Masen has lived the life of a nomadic vampire, travelling with James and Victoria since he awoke as an immortal. His ability to read minds has had the unusual side effect of making him a vampire with a conscience. Despite the ridicule from his coven mates, he's confident he's making the best of his existence and doing what's morally right... until he stumbles upon a brown-eyed girl reading in a meadow in Forks. As he attempts to befriend her and learns more about the sleepy town of Forks, Edward finds there's a lot more to being a vampire than he ever thought possible.

Pairings: Canon

Rating: M, for language and future sexing.

Chapter: Eight; Tenacious

POV: Bella

AN: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. My inspiration to write went on vacation much longer than I did. I'm not exactly thrilled with it, but hey, it's done, right?

Hope it reads better for you guys than it did for me. As always, thanks to those of you that continue to support the story, you make me happy :) I hope to have the next chapter to you sooner than a month next time. Leave another review, won't you? I'm in need of a kick in the ass, clearly.

xx

The drive home was much less eventful than the events proceeding it. Driving, even if it was in my ancient truck, was soothing. The predictable sputtering of the worn engine was familiar and comforting.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, a small degree of tension had melted away. Not enough, though. I could still feel the lingering of my bad mood in the back recesses of my mind and body. My shoulders were a little too tense and my mind was a little too frayed.

Just the thought of seeing Edward again had me on edge. On one hand, I wanted to ignore him, like he had me, and refuse to show up in the meadow. On the other hand, the more dominant one, I knew I needed to see him.

The tiny niggling part of me that held a grudge won out. Mom had always said I inherited Dad's stubbornness tenfold, and Charlie was pretty stubborn.

Recalling the way Edward had been so evasive, treating me like a child, refusing to tell me anything, even though I had every right to know, made that small spark of anger residing in the pit of my stomach flare up into my throat like bile. He could have a taste of his own bitter medicine when he was left to wonder why I hadn't shown up in the meadow. Maybe then he'd see how much it sucked to be left in the dark with no answers.

The small grudge-holding part of me really liked this plan.

I stormed up the stairs, dropping my feet on each wooden step loudly. The boisterous noises filled me with an odd gratification. Kicking off my boots, I plopped myself in front of my laptop. I checked my email. Only a letter from my mom and updates from several unimportant subscriptions that I rarely checked filled my inbox.

I quickly replied to my mom, half of my mind still on Edward. Though I pretended I wasn't, I was fully conscious of the fact that he would be waiting for me in the meadow by now. It was 3:15. That was usually the time that I'd show up and he'd smile his beautiful white smile at me and I'd smile back and sit down across from him in the grass...

Shaking my head as though I could physically dislodge the unwanted thoughts from it, I resolved to finish the English essay I'd been assigned earlier in the day. It worked for about five minutes. I managed to concentrate on the question Mr. Mason had assigned long enough to read it twice and jot down a few ideas for an outline. My attention didn't stay focused long.

The moment I propped open The Heart of Darkness it was like I was playing an Edward-centric game of word association. It was funny how even stupid, insignificant words would make me think of him.

"Red" reminded me of the flashes of colour in his hair. "Sky" reminded me of the way we had laid down in the grass and stared up at the clouds in companionable silence. "Destiny" reminded me of our strangely coincidental meeting. Heck, even "yes" reminded me of him. Whenever I'd read it, all I could think about was the way his velvet voice wrapped around the syllable when he would answer a question I'd asked him. And then, when I'd think of his voice, I'd think of his laugh, and I'd smile dopily at the book, like I'd been indulging in certain substances my dad had confiscated from Tyler's locker last week.

I trudged through my homework this way for about twenty minutes, pausing frequently as reminders of Edward darted across the pages, distracting me from doing any real work.

Frustrated with my own single-mindedness, I tossed the book on my desk, staring blankly at the cover for a few moments. Even the trees pictured on the cover reminded me of him and the stupid little corner of the forest we shared, a fact which only bolstered my annoyance with both myself and him.

Stupid, beautiful, annoying boy.

An angry glance at the clock revealed it was almost four o'clock.

Suddenly regretful, I wondered if maybe that was enough time to punish him. After all, he'd been waiting for over half an hour now. By the time I reached the meadow if I did go, it'd be even longer. He had to be wondering why I neglected to show up. Best of all he was left gloriously in the dark the whole time. Then guilt began to creep in. I wasn't being too spiteful, was I?

I was kind of punishing myself too, I reasoned. The longer I refused to see him, the longer that I would be left in the dark too. I wanted answers. And more than that, a tiny, little subconscious voice in the back of my head chimed in, I really wanted to see him, even if I was kind of upset with him.

Ten minutes and a too-long hike down the well-worn trail behind my house later, I was sweating, the unusually warm, sunlit Forks day making the walk take longer than usual.

When I reached the meadow, Edward was nowhere to be found.

A tendril of dread began to creep up my stomach. Had he been here and left? What if he didn't wait for me? What if he thought I wasn't worth waiting a measly half hour for? Or worse, what if he'd never shown up? What if that thing that had pulled him away yesterday was preventing him from coming today? Or he was hurt because of it?

Fighting the urge to call my dad and ask him to check hospital records for recently admitted patients named Edward, I settled into the long grass, the familiar tense but anticipatory feeling of waiting for something you weren't sure you would like settling around me.

An hour later my nerves were shot. I sat completely still, staring off into space, thinking of all the things that could have happened to Edward while I was off being stupid and spiteful. My mind whizzed around a mile a minute, conjuring up dozens of horrible what-if scenarios.

Waiting was just making it worse. Staying any longer would just drive me crazy.

Resigned that he wasn't coming, I trekked back home, my stomach in knots. For the first time in two weeks, I made Charlie dinner.

He noticed something was wrong but wisely didn't try to make small talk over the tacos I had prepared. I wasn't sure I could stomach another of Charlie's attempts at "dad" conversation. He was probably just thankful that he had a home-cooked meal on his plate that didn't consist of toaster strudels or poptarts. Though Charlie scarfed down three in short order, I hardly took two bites of mine.

I couldn't work up the nerve to ask Charlie about Edward, either. I wasn't sure how exactly I'd bring it up, anyway. Dad knew my school friends. Asking him about the wellbeing of a stranger seemed out of place.

I didn't think saying, "Dad? I've been secretly meeting up with this strange, beautiful boy I met in the forest when I said I was doing my homework. Anyway, he didn't show up today, so I was wondering if you could check if he got killed?" would work.

I zoned through the rest of the evening on autopilot, my mind never straying from thoughts of where Edward was or if he was okay, even as I moved through my mundane routine. Sleep was just as elusive as the answers to the multiple questions swirling about my head.

The next day at school wasn't much better. All day my thoughts would routinely drift back to Edward, not that they ever really drifted away from him. He was a constant whisper in the back of my mind.

Angela shot me concerned looks all through government. Thank god it was the last of the day. I didn't think I could have taken her sympathetic looks for the entire day. Mr. Jefferson eventually coupled us off, handing out an assignment for us to complete in our assigned pairs. I was with Angela, who used the opportunity to bestow even more pitying looks.

Finally, unable to take any more, I glared at her. "I'm fine, Angela. You can stop looking at me like that, okay?"

"Bell, I don't know what you are, but it isn't fine. You haven't said anything all class. It's not like you to not raise your hand when Mr. Jefferson asks a question. You know the answers even no one else does."

I sighed and rubbed my face. "I'm just tired, Ang. I've had a long couple of days."

Angela nodded. "Maybe. But that's not all. You've been…happy, for lack of a better word, the last few days and suddenly you're not? Something is up. Is it Jacob? Mike said you guys were fighting in the parking lot. Are you guys…you know?"

"What! No!" I screeched, a little appalled at the thought. "I mean, yeah, we did fight, but we're friends. Nothing more. Never have been, never will be. He's like my little brother. He's two years younger than me; it would be weird."

"If it's not that... is it another guy, then?" Angela asked tentatively, as if asking the question carefully would prevent me from freaking out.

"No," I lied, my tone firm, though the furious flushing of my cheeks gave the untruth away, if there was any doubt. I was a horrible liar.

"It is!" Angela smiled warmly. "It's okay. I understand if you don't want to talk about it. I won't tell Jess or Lauren, I promise. But if you do, you know I'll listen, right?"

I smiled back reflexively. "I know. You'll be the first one I come to. It's just complicated right now. He doesn't go to school here. Yesterday we were supposed to meet up and he didn't show up. I'm a bit worried about him."

Angela squinted at me, her warm brown eyes crinkling in understanding. Instead of asking questions, she cracked a joke. "Ooh, daring, Swan, going for an outsider."

For the first time in over twenty-four hours, I laughed. "Well…the dating pool in Forks is kind of limited," I joked. "But, it's not like that. We're friends. I worry about my friends, too, you know."

"But you're hoping for more," Angela said, matter-of-fact. There was no inflection in her tone. It was a non-judgmental statement. Sometimes I really hated the fact that Angela was so perceptive.

My face burned brighter as she drew the correct conclusion. "Maybe," I muttered.

Angela grinned at me. "You're the most persistent person I know, Bella. If you want something to happen, it will."

"Thanks," I said shyly. "That means a lot to me…"

The rest of class I couldn't help the small half-smile that tugged at the corner of my lips. Angela thought there was hope for me and in turn that made me hopeful. Angela wasn't the kind to coddle anyone, even her friends. She was honest to a fault.

xx

I was in the midst of packing up my things after last period, neatly stuffing papers into my homework folder and loading down my backpack with textbooks, when a flash of black hair whizzed by me.

My gaze focused on Alice, her hand locked in Jasper's. He seemed to be standing as far away from me as possible, while still holding her hand. I wondered briefly if he didn't like me. He seemed to go out of his way to avoid me, while remaining in his orbit with Alice. The only time I'd ever seen them parted from one another was when I'd spent lunch with Alice working on our Spanish project. I shrugged it off. I was probably overreacting. It was most likely some lame chivalrous attempt to give Alice privacy.

"Hey Alice." I attempted to smile in her direction, a weak effort to show my dull tone wasn't her fault.

My nerves over whether or not I'd see Edward tonight were eating away at my stomach. It was the first Friday since we'd started our after-school get-to-know-one-another sessions. Something told me weekends would be different. I didn't know if I could go three more days before I could potentially see him, if he returned at all.

"Oh, hi Bella! I think our Spanish oral went remarkably well! Don't you? Ms. Goff is going to give us an A, I just know it."

I nodded mutely.

"We should totally pair up for our next Spanish assignment. We make great partners! It's been fun getting to know someone in the class who isn't intimidated by me."

My brow scrunched in confusion. Intimidated? Bubbly little Alice intimidated people? She was cute, in a kind of elfin way, but hardly what I'd call intimidating. Her sister, Rosalie, was far more menacing. Nearly six feet of blonde Barbie concealed the spirit of a biker chick, barely.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"I mean that you treat me just like I'm any other student. Not like I'm some social pariah just because I'm a Cullen…you know, one of the wacky, gifted foster children of Dr. Cullen?"

"Anyone who would treat you differently because of who your parents are doesn't deserve to get to know you," I countered. "People act like I'm a burden to be around because I'm related to the police chief, sometimes. I know how it is to feel like people don't like you because of who your family is."

Alice nodded thoughtfully. "They do like you, though. Some of the girls are jealous of you, even."

Before I could challenge that ridiculous statement, she changed the subjected rapidly. "Anyway…Jasper's bored." At the sound of his name, Jasper's head popped up. He shot me a sheepish smirk. "You probably have to get going anyway… he's waiting for you!"

I stared at Alice in shock. "Excuse me?"

She raised a thin eyebrow at me. "I said 'I'll see you.' You know, in class, tomorrow?"

I nodded dumbly. I must have been imagining things. My wishful thinking was causing me to have selective hearing. There's no way Alice could predict what Edward or anyone else was doing, as much as I wished it were possible. Clairvoyance sure would make life easier, I thought wryly.

Despite the pessimistic rumblings of my overactive imagination, the little part of my heart reserved for hope was working at full capacity the entire drive home. By the time I reached the meadow, I'd almost convinced myself that I'd shut it up and that I was prepared for Edward not to be there.

When I caught sight of a flash of bronze amidst the long grass and wildflowers, I knew I was wrong. I wasn't even really surprised to see him. That didn't stop the immense relief I felt at seeing his face or the more beautiful than usual smile stretching across it.

I crossed the meadow in a few seconds, flailing gracelessly as I stumbled through the crabgrass. I didn't care how stupid I looked. Based on his beaming smile, neither did he.

He didn't even comment when I flung myself onto his lap, heaving with unshed tears. He felt hard and masculine, almost rigid, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I was so thrilled to see him, my reaction was completely spontaneous. It didn't matter we'd never been that affectionate before. I needed to touch him to know that he was okay.

His arms wrapped around my waist carefully, almost as though he was bracing me from hitting him too hard, which was ridiculous as I was the one jumping on him. Once neither of us was in any danger of tumbling over (I trusted him to counter my clumsiness) he stiffened.

After several long seconds, he wrapped himself around me fully. A hug from Edward was my new favourite thing ever. He hugged me tightly for a moment, sitting so still I wasn't even sure he was breathing. Finally, he sucked in a shaky breath, tensing and pulling me against him tighter, almost to the point of pain. Before it could register, he loosened his grip, a regretful grimace slipping across his perfect face.

"Thank God you're here!" I wailed, still clinging to his neck. "I was so worried!"

He looked pained. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to frighten you. Worrying you was the last thing I wanted to do."

Now that I knew he was okay, I felt the haze of rage that had been swirling around me for the last few days resurface. "What the hell, Edward!"

I uncurled one of my hands from around his neck and thumped him on the chest. A move, which incidentally, probably hurt me more than him. He hardly flinched, though my fist stung painfully.

He tenderly wrapped his hand around my fist, unfurling it and inspecting my fingers, which were already starting to bruise slightly. His fingers were icy cold, like he'd been waiting in the cool meadow for me for hours. The coldness was soothing to my bruising flesh.

"Please believe me, Bella," he implored. "I'm more sorry than you know. I was trying to protect you."

I glared at him, an expression that was quite hard to pull off while I was half curled around him. "Did it ever occur to you to tell me what the hell was going on? You know, before you demanded I go home without any warning and took off like a bat out of hell? You disappeared, just like that! One second you were behind me and then you weren't. You scared me!"

His expression hardened stubbornly. "I will not apologize for putting your safety first, Bella."

"Okay, fine," I grumbled. "Clearly I'm safe. So explain it to me now, then. What the hell happened?"

"The noises. In the forest," he stated without explanation, averting his eyes from mine, looking at our joined hands, his fingers playing with mine, expertly avoiding the forming bruises.

"Yes?" I asked impatiently, tilting my head to regain his gaze. He stubbornly refused to look my way. Instead of burgundy, all I could see were pale lids and dark lashes. Geez, he had nice eyelashes, though… long and dark… pretty.

"Hmm?" I asked stupidly, realizing I'd been ogling eyelashes of all things, ignoring whatever it was that he'd said.

He smirked, looking up at me again, his eyes playful rather than sorrowful. I mourned the loss of my view of his eyelashes fanning his cheeks, though they did look pretty framing his eyes, too…

"I said the noises worried me. I wanted to make sure you would be safe."

I frowned at his answer. What was with him and my safety?

"That's like the third time you've said that, Edward," I groaned. "You want to keep me safe. What exactly does that mean? How are you any better equipped to handle dangerous things than I am? I could have helped you. I want you to be safe, too, you know."

"Bella, I wish I could tell you what I mean when I say I want to keep you safe, but I can't. It would only put you in danger, knowing. That is something I won't do. To have any harm befall you because of me, it would kill me, Bella. I know we hardly know one another but you're very important to me."

My heart swelled at his words. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay mad at him when he said things like that, even if I had suspicions it was because he was being a misogynist pig.

"You're important to me, too," I whispered, laying my head against his shoulder, suddenly needing to be closer. "But just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I need you to protect me."

Edward looked affronted at my rejection of his macho man protective instincts.

"Your gender has nothing to do with anything, Bella," he said stubbornly, his burgundy eyes narrowing, challenging me to argue.

"So let me get this straight… you have no plans to tell me what happened to cause you to leave on Wednesday?"

He nodded defiantly. "I'm sorry that it has to be this way, Bella. Truly, I am."

He peered into my eyes imploringly, the unusual burgundy hue of them burning pleasurably into mine.

"It doesn't have to be. You could just tell me."

"No, Bella, I can't."

I rolled my eyes. "Just one little hint?"

He shook his head stonily, his bronze hair flipping in the wind attractively. He even made "no" look appealing. My irritation spiked.

"Not even a little one?"

Edward looked almost amused. "You are so stubborn."

Sighing in temporary defeat, I decided to try a different line of questioning.

"Okay then, how about telling me about what happened yesterday? How come you didn't come? You scared the crap out of me. I thought maybe you got eaten by a bear or your sister decided she was sick of Forks and moved you away without notice."

"You didn't come, either," he said, his tone verging on petulant. Even so, he didn't loosen his arms from around my waist. His eyes, once again averted from mine, oozed sadness.

"How would you know?" I grumbled, a sinking feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. He knew I had been avoiding him yesterday.

"Because I was here."

I suddenly felt really bad about my temper from the day before. The shame was almost suffocating. I had no right to be hanging all over him now, questioning him about where he'd been, when I'd purposely chosen not to show up yesterday, just to hurt him.

"Edward…I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I was upset that you didn't keep me in the loop. I was trying to punish you. It was stupid and mean and I'm sorry."

He squeezed my hand, his cold fingers enclosing mine, careful to avoid aggravating the tender bruising. I reveled in our newfound closeness. It was a relief not to have to worry that he'd be unreceptive to contact. Holding his hand made me want to forget the stupidity of the past two days and just be happy.

"It's okay, Bella. I was planning to show you something, but it can wait."

"Show me now," I suggested.

"You'll have to be patient. The circumstances aren't always ideal."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "Is this one of those things that can only be done on the fall equinox or something?" I asked suspiciously, remembering some of the more unusual rituals my mother had adopted, during her witchcraft phase. I knew for a fact that the fall equinox fell in late September, too.

"Or something." His mouth quirked. "I know patience isn't your strong suit, but soon. I keep promises. Especially any made to you."

It would probably be fruitless to argue with Edward, who had proven he was just as stubborn as I was, so I didn't bother attempt it. I didn't want to fight anymore. I was happy to bask in his presence for the time being.

"Okay. If you promise. I trust you."

Edward's responding grin was completely worth the leap of faith.

"Thank you. I know how hard that must be for ye of little faith."

I shrugged. "You make me want to be a better person," I teased, though, to be perfectly honest, I meant it.

He smiled at me tenderly. "You've already made me a better person."

Because no conversation with Edward would be complete without it, I blushed. It was a miracle I'd managed to go so long without my telltale flush to begin with.

Edward had been right earlier when he said I was stubborn. My stubbornness made the little spitfire buried within me rear her head defiantly, all blushing and embarrassed reactions forgotten in the quest to be right. It was kind of funny, how after a scarce few days together, Edward knew me and my reactions as well as any of my friends in Forks.

I kind of liked it.

Content that we were okay for the time being, I settled deeper into his lap. When his cold hands came into contact with the strip of skin exposed between my jeans and my jacket, I gasped.

He looked up at me in alarm, an apology written all over his face. The chastising look on mine halted the words before he could say them.

"I have a blanket," I explained as I detangled myself from him, already digging through my backpack. I'd packed a blanket in my bag, knowing that it was a chilly day for late September. The lack of sun had cooled the air considerably. Despite the chill, I wasn't prepared to skip the time with Edward.

Triumphantly dislodging the fleece from my bag, I thrust it toward Edward. He wrapped it tightly around me like a cocoon. Playfully, he pulled me down so I was resting between his legs, propped up against him. Even when he was being playful, his movements were tenderly choreographed, as if he were worried I'd snap any moment.

"Well, this is cozy," I teased. "Aren't you going to share with me? You're freezing, Edward."

"I like the cold, Bella. You know that game, where one asks 'would you rather burn to death or die of hypothermia?' I'd pick the cold, every time."

"Me too," I said dryly, "but that's no reason to test out how it actually feels to freeze to death."

"I'm fine, Bella," he assured me, touching my blanket-covered leg soothingly.

I was so comfortable, caught up in the warmth of the blanket and Edward's calming presence, before I knew it, the lack of rest over the last few days had caught up with me and I was asleep in his arms.