Hey! Sorry it's been so long, I think you'll enjoy this chapter. Finally, I've come up with a good plot twist! Special thanks to litnerd for egging me on. I felt kinda guilty when she kept updating her story and I hadn't in nearly a month. Thanks for the inspiration!

The rain had changed to snow. The rain had iced over, making the smooth rock surrounding us blissfully slick. The delicate white flakes whispered against the ground, building up powdery banks. I smiled, letting eyes drift close while a contented sigh escaped my lips. I tightened my grip around Edward's neck.

"Comfortable?" He chuckled, still speeding through the forest. I snuggled my face against his satin neck and grinned, not opening my eyes.

"You have no idea." I murmured, pressing my lips to his frost-dusted hair. He slowed slightly, something outside of the woods catching his eye. He exited the forest curiously, pushing the ferns on the edge out of the way.

A glassy lake stretched out beneath us, white-tipped mountains framing the horizon. I slowly disentangled myself from Edward's frame, stepping out towards the still water, entranced.

"It's frozen." Edward mused, drawing his fingers across the smooth surface.

"How thick?" I inquired, leaning down next to him. He cocked his head and straightened, measuring the depth of the lake with his sharp eyes.

"Two feet, maybe three?" He suggested. He began to turn towards where I had been, but I was gone. I bounded onto the ice, skidding delightfully fast. I yelped happily as my feet slid in different directions. I sprung into the air, sommersaulting wildly before landing with a hollow thud on the balls of my feet.

Edward blinked. "Bella!" He hissed, "Get back here! What if the ice breaks? You'll-"

"Drown?" I finished for him, grinning. "Freeze?" I jumped and landed harshly on the ice. A gunshot-like crack rippled through the air. Edward's reaction took me off guard.

He gasped, the air cutting off from his lungs, his eyes darkening. I stared at him, sliding over to the bank quickly. He glowered at me.

I padded over to him, stopping when I was in front of him.

"You're angry at me." I stated. "Why are you angry at me?" I asked.

He huffed, exasperated, flopping down on the cold sand. "I have been devoted to keeping you safe for a long time, Bella." I sat down gingerly next to him, listening. "Sometimes I still think that you're still human, and I completely forget that you don't have to breathe, that you don't need to be warm."

I lowered my eyes. "I'm sorry, Edward." He lifted my chin with his forefinger, and smiled warmly.

"Don't be sorry. I should be sorry." He stood up, dragging me along with him. "Now, can you show me how to do that? Afterwards, we'll hunt."

I beamed and led him onto the ice. We spend an hour or two sliding gracefully along the glassy surface, Edward leading me in a musicless dance filled with twirls and dips. His eyes sparkled as we stopped, and he enthusiastically kissed me full on the mouth.

I smiled as he pulled away. He smiled back at me, running a hand affectionately along my cheek.

"Shall we hunt?" He asked, and I nodded, still light-headed from our kiss. He grinned, and we took off into the forest.

………

I took a perch on a large oak bough a good ten feet off the ground, swinging my legs childishly. I gazed around the strikingly familiar clearing, although I was positive I had never been there, not recalling it in my vampiric or murky human memories.

Edward had just finished hunting, and he set a large tree on top of an unlucky mountain lion, packing down the dirt and scattering snow around the base of the trunk.

He grinned up at me, and I screamed, realizing why this damned place was familiar, Alice's vision flooding back into my memory.

The icy mountain air caressed my cheeks. Leaves quivered and fell from the branch I was perched on, swinging my legs childishly. Snow daintily drifted from the milky-grey sky, staying perfect and starshaped on my white arm. I giggled quietly to myself. These didn't look like Q-tips. Edward smiled crookedly at me as he placed a tree on top of an unlucky mountain lion, packing down the dirt and shuffling snow around the bare patch.

I grinned back and turned my face towards the sky, letting the flakes catch on my eyelashes. A cloud of warmth engulfed me. Something screeched in protest a few meters away. My eyes flashed up quickly to see the forest cracking in flames, and a white arm twitching as it blackened…

I flung myself from the branch and ripped Edward's tall frame thirty feet away from where he had been standing just as I heard the slosh of liquid, and a muffled spark. Then, the explosion. Blistering clouds of angry scarlet fire plumed out behind us as we ran, swallowing trees, melting the glimmering icicles that hung from their branches.

"The lake!" I shrieked at Edward, feeling the flames licking at my feet. "The lake!" We burst out of the forest and spiraled into the air towards the thick, cloudy ice. We came down with unfathomable force, and the ice gave way, shattering deafeningly.

Black water engulfed me, the cold temporarily shocking me. I thrashed wildly in the darkness, my eyes searching frantically for Edward. I blanched as two strong white arms wrapped around my torso, pulling me further beneath the crimson-glowing surface. I wheeled around, twisting desperately. Edward's golden eyes stared, terrified, back at me. I clung to him, and him to me, as we floated in the ebony waves, the roaring overhead never ceasing.

…………

When the cloud of flames had died away, Edward and I made our way to the surface, breaking through the sheet of ice. We lay there, sputtering and dripping, gulping in the smoke-clouded air. It was more comfortable with breath in our lungs, even if it tasted horrible. I rolled onto my stomach and pushed myself up wearily with my arms, gazing at the barren, blackened landscape before me.

Clouds of deep grey billowed from the treetops, dusty ash lining the edges of the lake. All hints of green had disappeared, leaving only gray and black, all hints of brown gone. Small, glowing orange embers and tiny flames lined the forest floor.

I coughed and rose to my feet, pulling Edward up with me. I sobbed dryly, shaking from fear as he pulled me into his chest kissing every part of my face that he could reach; my eyelids, my cheeks, my brow.

The run home was silent as I kept my arms locked around Edward's neck, my eyes darting suspiciously at the dead forest around us. The river behind the Cullen's house had acted as a firebreak, and the house and yard had fortunately remained unharmed. Our family paced worriedly in the backyard. Relief clouded each of their expressions as they saw us leap over the river, Alice being the first to sprint towards us, wrapping us up in her tiny arms.

"You're… both… so… stupid." She managed to choke out between sobs. "Would I have honestly interrupted you two in Edward's room if it hadn't been important?!"

We all shuffled inside, Edward and I sitting down on the couch, not minding the dark smudges we were leaving on the upholstery.

"What happened?" Carlisle started off bluntly, and we described the story in unison, adding in parts the other missed.

"Some one set something off, Carlisle, on purpose. Bella heard the spark. What we don't know, however, is if it was intended for us or not."

Suddenly, I remembered last February, when Jacob and I had been sitting in his garage, sipping lukewarm sodas and working on the bikes. Well, at least he had been. I remembered the welding tool he had used to attach two pieces of scrap metal we had gotten from the junk yard. The thing had been so old, he had needed to turn it on and off a few times before it gave that unique, coughing spark...

"Jacob." I whispered.

Yay! I finally updated. I can't wait to see what you all have to say about this one. You seriously better review, cause I haven't updated in forever! Okay, enough guilt tripping...

But SERIOUSLY. Review!!!

Love,

Rasine