Mark's PoV

"Mark?" Angela quietly asked at one point.

"Yes?" I questioned.

"I guess you're not asleep either," she said.

"No, I'm too busy thinking," I answered.

"Me too," she sighed. "That was just too much information for one night."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I said. "I found out about it only a few minutes before you did."

"Bella hadn't ever told you?" Angela questioned, the surprise in her voice evident.

"No. She said it was for my safety."

"It's so surprising," Angela mused, "yet at the same time, it isn't. I've always known that the Cullens were strange."

"I've only known them for a few years," I said, "But I've always wondered why they were so odd."

"It makes sense," Angela said. "All of their strange habits and quirks make sense now."

I didn't respond, and the silence as we thought was full of wild animal calls and wind whistling through the trees.

"Are you afraid?" Angela asked.

"Yes," I answered. "I don't know if I'll ever see Bella again." I hesitated, and then asked, "Are you afraid?"

"Yes," she answered. "I'm afraid for the same reason you are, but I'm also worried about being in the house with the Cullens. I've been at school with them, but I'm not sure about being in a house away from civilization while they're all here."

"I've been in the house with them a lot lately. I'm not worried about that."

"How can they not scare you?" Angela asked. I heard her stand up and come over to my couch. I sat up and she sat next to me. "How can the idea that they could kill you in a few seconds not frighten you senseless?"

"I know that they won't do that. They're better than that."

Angela leaned on me, and I could feel that she was shaking. I put my arm around her shoulder.

"I'm scared," she said. "I'm scared for Bella and for us, and I with that I didn't know anything more than the Cullen's cover story."

"We both do," I assured her. "They say ignorance is bliss."

"Then I'd like to still be blissfully ignorant," Angela said wistfully.

Bella's PoV

Our party split up when we left. Emmett threw me on his back and started to run back to my house. Edward and Alice ran ahead to go clean up the glass in my room and replace the window. Everyone else, including the werewolves, went back to the Cullen's house to talk with Victoria and release Mark and Angela from the basement.

By the time Emmett and I arrived home the window was replaced and all the broken glass was gone. I went up to my room and found Alice waiting for me.

"Emmett, you're supposed to go home to help run Angela and Mark back here," Alice said. Emmett was outside, but I knew he heard.

"Is Victoria really going to join your coven?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she answered. "She has not made up her mind yet."

"But she won't do anything bad until she decides, will she?" I asked. "I mean, Mark and Angela are at your house right now…"

"Mark and Angela will be fine," she assured me. "Victoria won't do anything while they are there because she isn't sure if they know about vampires or not."

"Is she willing to listen to Carlisle?" I asked.

"She will listen, at least for a little while," Alice assured me. Somehow her words didn't help ease my fear.

Mark's PoV

Sometime after Angela moved over to the couch, we both fell asleep. I woke up to the sound of the door opening, and it took me a second to realize that the sleeping person leaning on me wasn't Bella. As soon as I realized it was Angela, I remembered what had happened the night before.

"Are we comfortable down here?" Rosalie asked while trying not to laugh.

"What?" Angela asked groggily. She sat up and looked around. She seemed to wake up when she saw Rosalie though. She paled, and scooted away from me very quickly.

"Rosalie," she said, trying to sound innocent.

"Rose," I greeted her, but my voice was urgent, not the calm I had been trying to achieve. "Where's Bella?"

"She's at Charlie's house," she answered. "Charlie will be home soon, so we're supposed to take you back."

"Is Bella alright?" Angela asked.

"She's fine," Rosalie answered. "She never fails to amaze me. She somehow managed to become friends with the person who was trying to kill her." She rolled her eyes before smiling at me. "Your wife is quite the woman."

"I know," I answered.

"I'm here," Emmett announced as he sped down the stairs. Angela, who hadn't seen a display of their speed yet, jumped.

"Why don't you take Mark?" Rosalie asked. "I'll take Angela."

"Where are you taking us?" Angela asked.

"We're running you home," Emmett answered.

"Running?" I asked. "Why can't we take a car?"

"This is faster," Rosalie answered. "We need to go so that we can get there before Charlie gets home."

"How is running faster than driving?" Angela asked.

"You'll find out," Emmett answered wickedly, and Angela gulped. Emmett grabbed me, Rosalie grabbed Angela, and we were running.

"I'm going to be sick," Angela moaned about a minute into the ride.

"Close your eyes," Rosalie instructed her. I didn't hear anything from those two after that.

When we arrived at the house Emmett ran me all the way up to Bella's room. Rose ran Angela into the bathroom, and from the sound of it she was barely in time.

"Bella," I sighed in relief when I saw her. I slid off Emmett's back and went to embrace her.

"Mark," she answered, her voice just as saturated with relief as mine was. She hugged me and I held her close, not wanting to let her go again. We remained like that, not moving or speaking, for several moments

"As wonderful as this reunion is," Rosalie said tentatively, breaking the silence, "Charlie will be home soon, and your guest is sick in the bathroom. Would you like to take care of making it look like you've been here all night?"

"Angela," Bella moaned, and reluctantly tore herself away from me to go take care of her friend. She gave me a look that plainly said she was sorry and practically ran into the bathroom.

"So what happens now?" I asked the three vampires in the room.

"We're here to get Bella ready for the party today," Alice answered innocently. "Emmett's here to keep you company while we have Bella, and Angela can get her hair done too, if she wants to. I think we'll keep her here for a little longer, just to make sure she doesn't go into shock."

"Alice!" Bella called from the bathroom. Alice was gone before I could blink.

"What happened once Victoria took Bella?" I asked the remaining two Cullens.

"We're, uh, not sure," Emmett answered. "She somehow became friends with Victoria and refused to let us kill her. So Victoria is at our house now, discussing whether or not she's going to join our coven, and she's probably going to be there for the rest of the day, even if she doesn't join our coven, so you'll have to be careful when you come for the party."

"Why does Bella have to befriend every vampire she runs into?" I asked sarcastically. Rosalie and Emmett laughed.

"Because I like them!" Bella called in her defense, and that just made the three of us laugh harder.

A/N: Thanks to those of you who sent me messages with well wishes. I'm not going to respond to each one individually, so I hope you read this. I know I asked you not to respond, but for those of you who did, the messages did make my day slightly better, and I appreciate that.

Writing is therapeutic, I swear (either that or I'm addicted to it…), so I couldn't stay away for as long as I was planning. The result is that this chapter wasn't quite as mushy gushy as I was aiming for. I'll try to get some mushy stuff in here somewhere, I promise. It's one of my goals. It may sound odd, but it is.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry it switched from Mark to Bella and then back to Mark; that may have been confusing. But I had to get both sides of the story in, and since they weren't together both had to tell part of it.

So please review! I would like it very much if you did. I'd give you cyber cookies. (Nothing like bribery, huh?)

Until the next chapter,

Addie