Note: OK, I know that last chapter was confusing, but hang in there! This is a mystery and a completely realistic one, too. No, EDWARD WAS NOT RANDOMLY WANDERING AROUND IN THE WOODS WITH A GUN! That would be really stupid and incredibly cheesy. C'mon, people! What the heck?? No, I'm going for as normal as possible in this FanFic since it doesn't contain any supernatural forces! Please be patient - I am going to activate my private messaging!! YAY! Feel free to message me - but if I get any bad stuff, I'll block it!

BPOV

OK. What are the chances that Edward would find me exactly when I needed him? I mean, really - it's about one in a million - maybe even a billion. Who wanders around in the woods carrying a loaded gun? I was fully prepared to ask him about it only to find that he was absent.

Frustrated, I randomly chose an empty lunch table and sat down.

"Uh!" I exclaimed. I was beginning to feel that the world was against me lately.

"Can I sit here?" I heard a voice ask from above me. I looked up to see Alice Cullen standing there, a smile on her face.

"Um, sure."

She set her tray on the table and slid into her seat. "Can I trust you with a secret, Bella? You may not believe me or you might just think I'm crazy - I don't know. But, you've got to promise that you won't tell anybody. It'd be utter chaos if you did."

Taken aback, I quickly composed myself. I hardly knew Alice, and she was already willing to tell me a secret with terrible consequences?

"Of course I won't. But, first, does this have anything to do with what happened yesterday?" I asked.

"Yes, it does," she replied, nodding. "You are probably wondering why Edward just happened to show up, armed, right when you needed help. Well, the thing is…I'm physic. I had a vision about you, Bella, and knew that you were in trouble."

My eyes went wide. "Wow. I believe you, Alice - how else would you have known? Can you…control when you have your visions?"

"You're not scared? You don't think that I'm 'physco'?" she asked in surprise.

"No, not at all, actually." It was the truth - I had no reason to do so otherwise. Who was I to call her a liar?

"Edward is smart to like you," Alice said nonchalantly. "You must be very special."

"Wait….what?! He likes me?!" There was no way that Edward Cullen could possibly…like me more than a friend! Heck, we weren't even openly friends except that he saved my life!

"To put it simply, yes. I was beginning to think that he'd never have a social life." Alice said this jokingly, but I glimpsed a small bit of the pain I'd seen in Edward's eyes in her own.

"He actually said this?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Because, no offense to him, he sometimes has a strange way of showing it…"

"He's had a tough time, Bella. Edward has had a lot…changes in the last couple of years." Changes? Did she mean moving? I wished I could ask, but I didn't want to pry into her business.

"Oh. I'm just confused, I guess. Honestly, it's kind of like he has multiple personality disorder."

Alice laughed a tinkling little laugh - sort of like the chiming of bells. Now that I thought about it, she was incredibly beautiful even if her haircut was a bit unusual. "You could say that. I think that sometimes, too."

"So…you have five siblings in total?"

"Yes. Emmett and Rosalie are the oldest, then Jasper and I, and Edward is the youngest. Here's another weird thing about us - Emmett and Rosalie are together and so are Jasper and I. We're all adopted from different families, though, so we're not dating blood relations."

"I don't find that wrong. Sure, it's different, but the thing is - if you're not weird, then you are weird - except in a bad way." That was truly how I felt. I could imagine what some people would say about the Cullens, and it wasn't very nice.

"You really are special, Bella. Almost everyone here thinks we're disgusting," Alice said sadly.

"Well, everyone should get to know people before they judge them," I retorted fiercely. That's the problem with small towns - gossip spreads about a million miles per hour.

"Is Edward OK? He's not here."

"Oh, um, he's just not feeling well right now. I think he'll be back tomorrow."

"Good. Tell him that I hope he feels better," I said.

"I will. It was nice talking to you, Bella." Alice waved. She slung her purse over her shoulder and got up.

OK. I was one step closer to solving the mystery that was called Edward Cullen. I'm finally realizing that he really is a mystery - and a beautiful one at that, inside and out. I am a pretty good judge of character and I knew there was more to Edward's actions than meets the eye. I just wish that the clue weren't so…vague.

The next day, I was taken by surprise. I hadn't seen Edward all morning until he waltzed into biology class. He barely even spoke to me then - just sat there with a grin on his face. I wondered what change had taken place in him - this was the happiest I'd ever seen Edward.

I had a feeling that if I just waited it out, I'd find out what was going on eventually. Turns out I was right - I found him waiting for me right next to my big red truck.

"Um…hi," I said.

"OK. I'm breaking all of my own personal rules now, so why not go all the way?" he mused, more to himself than to me.

"Excuse me?"

"The bottom line, Bella, is that…I'm tired of trying to stay away from you. It's not working out so well, and I've decided that I'm just going to do as I wish and let the chips fall where they may."

I almost stopped breathing right then and there. And the plot thickens… a little voice whispered inside my head. I chose to ignore it - hearing voices is a definite sign that you're becoming schizophrenic.

"What, exactly, does that really mean?" I asked hesitantly.

"Do you trust me?" he inquired, completely overlooking my own question.

"I only have known you for about a week -"

"Do you trust me, Bella?" Edward persisted.

"I…yes."

"OK. Then, follow me. I have somewhere to take you." He flashed me one of those breathtaking, famous grins of his, and then headed towards his shiny, silver Volvo. "We're going on a hike."

Note: OK. Maybe I just like confusing you! You will understand this chapter in the next chapter! Any questions about this one or the last? Private message me!