Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart

Chapter Nineteen: Propositions & Pleas

2nd April

2 Months 3 Weeks & 6 Days Left

Bella's POV

Just like yesterday I was nervous but this time the nerves were so bad I felt like my breakfast was going to come straight back up. But we weren't even at school yet, I was still in the car. I really hoped that my nerves weren't going to get to me. I would hate to make a scene on my first day.

We were all in Edward's Volvo and had just left their house so were still on the estate. Alice was in the back whilst I was in the passenger seat in the front. I hadn't asked any questions about what it was going to be like but Alice felt that I needed to be filled in anyway. Just so I'm more prepared.

"It's not exactly going to be a walk in the park but we'll all be there for you. Honestly there shouldn't be that much trouble as we kinda keep to ourselves. It'll just be the six of us. Some of the girls might give you a bit of hassle, Edward's psycho ex-girlfriends being jealous, but if there's a problem just come and tell us. We'll take care of it."

She paused as though judging whether or not she should tell me something. Instead she just shook her head and smiled blissfully. But the change didn't go unnoticed and Edward gave her a curious glance in the rear view mirror.

"When we get there I'll take you to get your timetable. You should be in the same classes as us but if you want to change just go to the office and they'll sort it out." Edward said eyes back on the road, which was good to see since he was driving ridiculously fast.

"Bella?" Alice said quietly. I knew she wanted something from the way she said it and I was a little apprehensive about what it could be.

"Yeah?" I eyed her curiously.

"Would you mind doing something after school?" Oh well that's not bad. Maybe I was just paranoid for nothing.

"No that would be fine. What are we going to do?" She perked up once I agreed. The glint in her eyes told me I wasn't out of the woods yet.

"You, Rose and I are going to go shopping!" She said excitingly. My face dropped and I felt like she was trying to torture me. Edward started chuckling when he saw my expression so I shot him a glare to keep him quiet. There is no need to laugh at my misery.

"Why do we need to go shopping?" Maybe I could get out of it.

"Because this weekend is the first of many social occasions we will be taking you to. It's a charity dinner for something. So you need to get a dress and shoes so we can make you drop dead gorgeous and give none of the snooty stuck up woman reason to bitch about you." Then she went off muttering about what to wear for it and what might look good on me. I tuned her out and turned to Edward who was still smirking.

"Do I have to go to this thing?" I asked hoping he would hear the pain in my voice of the prospect of attending.

"We could maybe find a way to get you out of it but then who would I take as my date?"He asked teasingly but there was still an edge of seriousness to it. The only thing I could think was why in god's name would he want to take me?

"Are you serious?" I croaked out which made him smile my favourite crooked smile. Great now I was dazzled into submission.

"Of course. I want the most beautiful woman in the room on my arm."

"So why are you taking me?" I blurted out. That was meant to be said in my head but it just slipped.

He turned to me frowning. I couldn't work out the emotions running across his face or what lay deep in his topaz eyes that were slowly darkening. I just bit my lip and looked down at my hands in my lap. He was still driving but was still looking at me. That nerved me a bit but not as much as the way he was looking at me.

"So will you be my date?" He asked ignoring what had just happened. I think Alice was doing the same because she seemed to have picked up on the tension rising in the car.

"If you want me to be."

"Do you want to be my date?" Clearly he wanted a proper answer. One I wasn't sure I wanted to give. In my heart I knew I would love to be his date and that thought alone makes the butterflies in my stomach flutter but I have to remember I can't get in too deep with him. This is just a fling even though it feels like so much more.

"Yeah that would be nice." I said quietly. He just nodded and continued driving. For the rest of the journey Alice filled me in on what teachers were nice and which were the ones that should be arrested for cruelty to children.

When we pulled up most eyes were on the car. I guess that made sense since they hadn't seen either of the Cullens since they left. Alice stepped out when Jasper came over and I was about to get out when Edward grabbed my hand.

"It'll be fine. I'm here if you need me." He smiled at me reassuringly then stepped out and raced round to open my door before I had a chance to do it myself. Always the perfect gentleman.

I could feel their eyes burning into me from all directions but tried to ignore it. Alice and Edward, followed by Jasper, dragged me through the throng of students and helped me pick up my timetable before escorting me to my first class. Neither of them were in it but I was okay with that. I think I could handle sometime without them protecting me. Turns out Emmett was in it though and ushered me over. He kept the mood light and relaxed me a bit more. This wasn't that bad actually.

At lunch we all sat at the same table, away from everyone else I noticed. They didn't acknowledge all the eyes on us but I know they felt it just as much as I did. Edward was getting quite angry about it actually and wanted to ask them to stop looking.

It wasn't until I had a class myself that the issues their fellow students had with me started to arise. Jasper walked me to the class then said goodbye reassuring me it'll be fine. That relaxed me a little more and I entered more confident than I was a few seconds previous.

Instead of focusing on the people around me I focused on the empty desks. Unfortunately not many people were sitting and I didn't know if there were set places or what so I just went for the one in the back corner. That way if they wanted to look at me they would have to turn round and make it obvious.

Just as I sat down a group of guys swarmed round me. I decided it would be better to hold my tongue and wait until they did whatever they came over here for. I was looking down at my timetable pretending that I was deeply interested in it when one guy stood towering over me. Where he stood he blocked anyone else's view of what was going on.

"You're in my seat." He said stoically. I sighed and grabbed my bag to move, there was no need to cause trouble and I didn't need the harassment. I stood up and tried to walk away but they were stopping me from getting out.

Finally taking them all in they all had their arms crossed over their chests and small smirks playing at their lips. Just like most people I saw here they were rather good looking too but from the waves of arrogance emitting off of them it quickly put me off.

"Can I get passed?" I asked. The one who spoke to me gently reached out and started stroking my arm.

"What's your name?" His voice was trying to be seductive but there was an edge of anger to it. I felt very uncomfortable here and very vulnerable. I wished he was here.

"Can I please get passed?" I asked again but the persistent one gripped my arm a little tighter.

"I asked you a question so answer me." Hoping once I gave him my name he would get lost I told him. "Ah so Edward's little whore does have a name then." I flinched at the venom in his voice but it went unnoticed.

"Let me pass." To my surprise my voice didn't break off at the end and reveal how nervous I was. "Let me pass please." I said it a little louder, wanting to draw people's attention to the back of the room so these guys would let off. To my utter shock many looked over but just turned back to their friends, diving deeper into conversation.

"So how much does he pay you?" I ignored him and just prayed that the teacher would arrive soon. "Come on Bella what are your daily rates?" He was stroking my waist and running his hand over my hip. The way he said my name filled me with fear. It sounded threatening almost tauntingly cruel. Like he wanted to get into my pants whether or not I was willing. His friends seemed to have the same idea.

Never in my life did I think I would be accosted for sex. Adrenaline was running through my veins when I slapped his hand away. He cocked his head to the side with anger burning in his deep blue eyes.

"So you like it rough. Well I can be rough. We can all be rough." He said, just proving to me that his friends wanted to be a part of this aswell. Sick assholes. To be honest I was terrified. Yes we were in a room full of people but they were turning a blind eye to what was going on and I felt helpless.

"Here's fifty pence. I'll give you another one when I'm satisfied. Think of it as payment in advance." He grabbed my hand and placed it in my palm before they all walked away and sat down in their seats. One pound, that's all I was worth to them.

I don't know how I functioned the rest of that class. It seemed to be one big blur. The only bit I could remember clearly was with those jackasses. When I left the class Rosalie was outside waiting. I know she didn't like me so I was expecting there to be some awkward moment between us. She gave me a piercing look then glanced over my shoulder before whipping me away.

Even though Alice did tell me I was going to bump into a few of Edward's ex-girlfriends I really didn't expect them to just downright hate me from the go. Only Alice, Edward and I knew of the relationship between us but they all thought I was dating him. They were also convinced I was just a gold digger out for the biggest catch.

They made their glares obvious; their snarls as I approached grew louder, their 'accidentally' shoving harder as the day grew on. When school finally finished I was relieved I hadn't collapsed under the work load and the harsh treatment and couldn't wait just to get home to lie down. But then of course I remembered I was to go shopping with Alice and Rosalie.

Alice asked how everything was as Rose drove us to where ever it was we were going. I said it was fine and just mentioned some of the girls weren't particularly friendly. Leaving out the part about those guys. There was no need for her to worry. Rose caught my eyes in the rear view mirror and I felt like she knew I was leaving something out.

They led me to a few stores which I would never in a million years imagine myself shopping in. I explained that this was out of my price range and Alice just rolled her eyes and said she had it all covered. That brought out a mini protest in me. I did not want her spending money on me. Somehow I lost that argument and she did just like she had done last time I was shopping with her. She shoved me in a changing room and passed me clothes but instead of deliberating over whether they were right or not she just asked if I would wear it or not. If no then she would put it back.

I learnt quickly to turn things down but I had a funny feeling she was collecting a pile of clothes out there anyway that she would just buy. After a few more shops she found an acceptable one to look for a dress for me in. I was once again shoved in a changing room and they handed me dresses except this time I had to come out and show them what I looked like in it.

After about forty minutes we found one that I thought was nice enough. They wouldn't let me see the price tag and from the look of the dresses in here I knew it was probably worth more than my entire wardrobe. Luckily for me we didn't need to go shoe shopping. Alice said she had an amazing pair that would look great at home. So while she went off to pay for it all, she wouldn't let me come and see how much the total was, I waited with Rose.

"So I saw that you met James." She said coolly.

"James?" I asked confused.

"The asshole who propositioned you for sex." I looked over at her carefully to see her watching me. The first thing that popped into my mind was how did she know? I opened my mouth to ask but she cut me off. "Even though no one came to your aid they understood what was happening. Most people prefer to turn away and ignore his pig like behaviour. From experience I know this is going to become a problem. You should tell Edward." I shook my head.

"No. It was nothing. Edward doesn't need to know anything."

"You're wrong. It definitely wasn't nothing. James isn't one to joke about things like this. Trust me." It was almost a plea.

"Why do you care Rosalie?" I asked, a little harsher than I meant to.

"Because Edward cares about you and for once in god knows how long he looks happy. I wouldn't want to see that spark gone from him. You bring it out so it would be wise if you stuck around. I may not have been particularly nice when meeting you and am still a little unsure of you but I trust that you like Edward as much as he likes you so I know you won't hurt him." I could detect no malice in her voice and she sounded completely genuine.

"Did you and Edward da-" Before I even finished she smirked and shook her head.

"Not exactly. It was always thought I would be the one to marry Edward. His father thought there was a bond between us and my parents just agreed. I was already friends with Edward so it was a little weird at first to think I might end up marrying him. Then Emmett came along and the guy with the auburn hair and piercing topaz eyes no longer had my attention." I nodded understanding what she just said.

"I'm protective of him Bella because he's alone...or at least was alone. I love him like a brother now and don't want to see him get hurt. Give me some time and maybe we could be friends." She smiled sweetly and then Alice came over and joined us.

We drove home in silence since we were all rather tired. For some reason I felt like I understood Rose more now that she had explained a few things. Though my mind kept replaying what she said about James and telling Edward. I was going against her judgement and planned on keeping it to myself. There is no need to kick up a fuss for no reason.

Even though I was adjusting to their life slowly I still felt out of my depth. Things are so different, too different. I could never get used to a life like this, the constant scrutiny and struggle for wealth. It all seemed so unnatural and consuming. I have a funny feeling that the next three months are going to be the most challenging my little life has seen yet.