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"So, do you want to go buy school supplies in PA tomorrow?" Edward asked, climbing out of the back seat of the car. The drive back to Forks had taken almost four hours due to traffic and all I wanted to do was go home and nap.

"Yeah, I'll text you in the morning and let you know when I'm ready," I told him, yawning. "I might want to sleep in."

"Okay, bye, Bella. Bye, Chief," Edward said, shutting the door.

"That was nice that you let him come," I told my dad as we pulled away from the front of Edward's house.

"Yeah, well. I saw him a couple times around town looking all mopey. I thought he might want to tag along."

"Aww, Dad. You big softy," I joked.

"Well, I guess Edwards not a bad guy. You could have done a lot worse."

When I didn't respond, he added. "Just don't tell him I told you that. I still want a bit of that fear in him."

The weekend had gone by fast. On Saturday, Edward and I had gone to Port Angeles early in the afternoon to go to the Office Max there, then went to the downtown area to eat and walk around.

Sunday night, I couldn't sleep. I was feeling anxious about the next day. The plan was that Edward would come and pick me up and then we would go to registration together to pick up our schedules. Hopefully, we would be able to be in some of the same classes.

Too soon though, it was Monday morning.

I was really dreading seeing the classmates I had been able to avoid over the summer. I hoped that over the course of the summer, Edward and I would have been virtually forgotten. Maybe there would be another new kid this year?

The only upside to going back would be to see James and Victoria. I hadn't really gotten to spend too much time with them over the summer.

I moved around quietly in the morning; Dad had worked late and came home sometime in the middle of the night.

At 7:30, Edward picked me up.

"Good morning," I greeted him, leaning over the console and kissing him.

"Morning," Edward smiled back. "So, are you ready for today?"

"Ugh," I groaned. "Can't we just pretend we're on the way to the beach or something? Even if it's just for the five minutes we're in the car?"

"So dramatic," Edward sighed, jokingly.

0-0

"See? Not that bad," Edward said when we reached the auditorium for registration.

I arched my brow at him. "Okay, Edward. Not that bad. Sure." Honestly, it wasn't that bad. I hadn't seen Victoria or James yet and for the most part, people have ignored me other than a few weird looks.

I had an idea that my change of feelings on the date might once again change if I ran into Lauren or Jessica.

"So, I guess we better get in line," I said, looking around. There were four different lines for each grade, broken down into first letter of your last name. Since Edward was C and I was S, we were basically at opposite ends of the line.

"Okay, then we'll meet in the library and compare schedules?"

"Sounds good," Edward said. He gave my hand a quick squeeze then walked over to his line.

I sighed deeply and headed over to my line, trying to ignore the annoying feeling that I was being watched.

After a few minutes of a barely moving line, I lost myself in thought until I was sharply jolted back to reality with a kick to my ankle.

"Ouch," I muttered, turning around.

Of course.

"Hey, Bella!" Jessica and Lauren grinned at me widely. I looked down at Laurens feet to see her wearing pointed boots.

"Hello."

"Aww, come on, Bella. I haven't seen you all summer, aren't you happy to see me?"

"No, really," I laughed. "What do you want, Lauren? Can't you just leave me alone?"

Lauren smirked. "I don't want anything. I just came by to say hi and see how your summer was."

"Well, my summer was great, Lauren. It was awesome. Now can you leave me alone? You're not even in the right line."

"I know. But I've already registered and now I'm waiting with Jessica."

I nodded. Right. Jessica Stanley.

After that, they seemed to ignore me and were chatting mindlessly behind me. The line went by slowly, but finally, I was able to register for classes and get my schedule.

"Bye, Bella!" Lauren called enthusiastically at me.

I ignored her, but caught Jessica's gaze. It looked almost...apologetic?

Whatever. I just wanted to go to the library and see Edward.

The library, like usual, was pretty much empty. There was still an hour left until we had to go to our classes, so most people were still in line or hanging out in the quad.

"So, how'd it go?" Edward asked. I sat down besides him on the ground in one of the back rows of books.

"Ugh. I take back what I said earlier. This year already is starting bad. I ran into Lauren and Jess in line." I scooted closer to Edward and laid my head on his shoulder.

"Uh, oh. Wanna tell me what happened?"

I sighed, then filled him in on what had happened in the last thirty minutes.

"Don't worry about them, Bella. The fact that they've held onto this...whatever it is over the entire summer and are still acting like jerks just shows how pathetic they are."
"Well, I would say bitches," I giggled into his shoulder. "But yeah, you're right."

"Good, so, changing subjects. How about we compare our schedules now?"

I pulled my schedule out from my bag to compare. First period I had Women Writers, Edward had a prep period."

"Ohh, lucky. You get to sleep in in the mornings!"

"Nah, I'll probably mostly get to school early anyways. Plus I can still give you a lift in the mornings."

"Aww," I cooed, "You're so sweet. Let's see what else."

For second period, I had PE...yuck. Edward had Pre Calc. Third period I had Pre Calc, Edward had PE. Fourth, I had a prep period while Edward had analysis of Shakespeare.

"Shakespeare, Edward? Seriously?" I laughed.

"I don't know what happened. I don't think I got first pick of any of my classes. This sucks."

I scanned our fifth period classes.

"You have Auto? Since when have you ever wanted to work on cars?"

"Yeah, I think Auto was my last class choice. I wanted to take a computer class but I guess I didn't get in to any of them," Edward sighed. "Cars really aren't my thing."

"I have Foods that period. Maybe you could talk to the counselor and see if you can get into my class? You might like cooking more than cars."

Edward nodded. "Yeah, I'll see if I can move that around a bit. But look, we have last period together. Physics."

"Oh joy," I rolled my eyes. "I hate science. Ang said that it was hard. If she thought it was a hard class, what am I gonna think?"

"I like science," Edward said, squeezing my knee. I can help you. Hopefully we can be lab partners again."

"Definitely," I agreed.

The bell rang a little while later, signalling the start of school. Each class was only twenty minutes on the first day, just enough time for us to get a syllabus and the inevitable, stupid, 'getting to know you' game out of the way.

Jessica ended up being in my Women's Lit class. She sat two seats behind me and to the left.

Maybe I was being paranoid, but I felt her gaze burning holes in the back of my head.

I didn't have Victoria in any of my classes and luckily no Rose or Lauren.

James was in my Foods class, and I had a feeling he signed up for the class so he could have food after he smoked weed. It was just an added bonus for him that the class was the period right after lunch.

Edward and I had been able to secure a table in the back of the class.

Newton was in our class as well, but he was sitting up near the front of the classroom. I had tensed as I walked past him on my way to Edward in the back, but he didn't say anything to me.

At the end of the day, as Edward and I walked together down the halls of the school towards the parking lot, I began to feel more confident and think that maybe he actually had been right about this year being better.

And the first week of school did go better.

Sure, Lauren was still being a bitch, giving me snide looks every time I saw her, and yeah, I could still tell when someone was saying something about me. But other than that, it was okay.

As okay as high school ever is.

But what was not okay? My birthday was the next day.

Yeah, my eighteenth birthday.

I know, most people were excited about turning eighteen and entering adulthood, and so was I, I just wasn't looking forward to the celebrating aspect of the day.

When I had been over at Edwards a few days earlier, his mom asked what my plans were. When I shrugged and said I didn't think I would be doing anything, she instantly went into planning mode.

"Bella, it's your eighteenth birthday. You have to do something. What if I cook a nice dinner and you and your dad come over?" Esme suggested.

"Oh, no. I really don't want to put you out or anything," I told her, shaking my head.

"Nonsense," she insisted. "It won't be anything big, just dinner and cake. What do you say?"

Esme was smiling so brightly at me, I couldn't find it in myself to say no again.

"Okay, dinner sounds nice. Thank you, Esme," I told her sincerely.

"It's nothing, Bella," she said, waving me off. "Now, you think about what you want for dinner and I'll make sure it happens."

That brought me to Thursday morning. The day of my birthday.

I had overslept, and after rushing through my morning routine, I checked my phone to see that Edward had already been waiting for me outside for the past five minutes.

I grabbed my book bag by the door and skipped down the steps towards Edwards car.

"Good morning, happy birthday," Edward smiled.

I leaned over to kiss him. "Thanks! Good morning to you, too."

"I got you something," Edward nudged his head toward one of the coffee cups from Mocha Motion that was in the cup holder.

I picked up the cup and took a sip from it. "Yum, Mocha."

"That's not all," Edward said, opening up the center console and pulling out a chocolate muffin with a candle in it. "Sorry, I don't have matches or a lighter, so you have to pretend."

"Oh my god," I giggled. I took the muffin from him and a ripped off a piece, popping it my mouth. "You are an awesome boyfriend."

"So, do you feel any older? After school are you going to go buy cigarettes and a lottery ticket?" Edward joked, pulling away from the curb.

"Oh, yeah," I played along. "Want me to pick up a Playboy for you as well?"

Edward let out a strangled laugh and when I turned to look at him, I saw his face was turning bright red.

"Kidding, Edward," I told him, slapping his arm. "Playboy is gross, anyways."

"Right," he agreed, nodding his head. "Gross."

0-0

The rest of the school day went by uneventfully. When Rose passed me in the hall, she gave me a slight smile and a quiet 'happy birthday.'

During Lunch, Victoria and James gave me a card with a giftcard to a bookstore in Port Angeles inside of it. James had also given Edward and I a hard time, calling me a cradle robber and asking Edward how it felt to be dating an older woman.

Other than that, Alice, Jane and Angela sent me 'happy birthday' texts.

After school, Edward dropped me off at home so I could do some homework and get ready for the dinner.

Instead of getting any homework done, Renee called and we ended up talking for almost two hours. She even put the phone to Dot's ear so I could talk to her.

At 6:30, Charlie and I went over to Edwards.

Even though we weren't going to a restaurant or anything, I still dressed a little nicer than I usually do, opting for a pair of dark wash jeans and a nice blouse.

I tried to help Esme in the kitchen, but she insisted that I was the guest of honor and that Edward would be helping her while I watched the game on TV with Carlisle and Dad.

The dinner was really good. I had told Esme that I really liked chicken fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli, so she made that along with a salad and garlic bread.

I thought it would be pretty simple for her to make, but no. Her sauce was homemade, even the garlic bread was homemade.

It was delicious.

For dessert, Esme made my favorite, Banana Cream Pie. Sure, it wasn't the traditional birthday cake, but it was way better.

"Okay, Bella. Are you ready for your presents?" Esme asked. We were all sitting in the living room, the parents on the couch and Edward and me on a chair, with him sitting on the arm.

"Yup," I nodded. "Although really, the dinner was amazing, you didn't have to get me a gift on top of that."

"Please, you only turn eighteen once. Here, Bella," Carlisle took an envelope off of the coffee table and handed it to me.

I took the card out and opened it, a thirty dollar iTunes giftcard fell out. "Wow, thanks! I've been wanting to add new music to my iPod," I told Edward parents.

"Good," Esme smiled, looking pleased.

"Okay, now do you want to open mine, or your moms first," Charlie asked.

"Yours," I said, reaching for the gift bag he had brought with him.

Charlie couldn't wrap gifts at all, so the present was just loosely wrapped in tissue paper. "Oh my god. Dad! Thanks so much!" I stood up to hug him.

"Glad you like it. I thought since you're always going out and doing things you might like to take some pictures."

Charlie had gotten me a new digital camera. Looking inside the bag, there was also a photo album as well.

"No, this is great. Really," I told him, sitting back down.

"It also kinda ties in with your moms gift too." Charlie handed me a larger envelope. I ran my finger under the flap, flinching when I felt a sting.

"Ouch. Paper cut." I put my finger in my mouth, sucking on it to ease the pain. The metallic taste of blood made me cringe.

"Oh, no. Do you need a band-aid?" Esme asked, starting to stand up.

"Nope, I'm good. It's just a little cut. I'm better now," I told her. I finished opening up the envelope and pulled out another smaller one.

"Airfare vouchers?" I asked.

Charlie nodded. "Yup, your mom and Phil got you two tickets for you to go to Jacksonville. She was thinking you could go during Winter break. It'll be a nice break from the rain and snow."

"Yeah, I agreed. But why two? Are you coming with me?" I asked. I glanced over to Edward, who had a huge grin on his face.

"Well, she thought it would be nice for Edward to go with you. Plus, I know she wants to meet him and you'd like for Edward to meet Peridot."

"Are you serious?" I squealed. When Charlie nodded, I turned to Edward. "You knew?"

Edward shrugged. "Yeah."

"You jerk!" I threw a wad of tissue paper at him. "You knew and didn't say anything to me?"

Edward tossed the paper back at me. "Duh. It was supposed to be a surprise."

"Well, I'm surprised." I turned to my dad. "Thanks for all this, really. I'll call Mom in the morning."

"Okay, so my present is in the tv room. Come with me to get it?" Edward asked, standing up.

"Uhh, sure," I agreed, standing up and following him into the other room.

"So, is this like a secret present or something? I asked, sitting down on the couch.

"I just wanted to give it to you privately... I thought it would feel awkward giving it to you in front of our parents. Edward pulled a little jewelry box out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I took it from him and opened it. Nestled inside was a small gold anchor charm on a chain.

"It's pretty," I told him, taking it out of the box. "Put it on?"

Edward took it from me and I turned around, lifting my hair out of the way for him.

"I don't know if I can put it on," Edward mumbled, fumbling with the clasp. After a few attempts, he finally got it fastened around my neck.

"There's kind of a meaning to it, as well," Edward rubbed the back of his neck, looking nervous.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "You've just been amazing. Really great. I really didn't want to move to Forks. I mean, I didn't really have any friends in Chicago. I thought it would just be more of the same here. Then I met you and you've made me happy."

I didn't know what to say. I felt like if I opened my mouth to respond, I would just start crying. Instead, I just lept forward to hug and kiss him.

"Basically, I guess the anchor is saying that you are my anchor," Edward said after I finished kissing him. "Wow, that kind of sounds a lot more cheesy than when I picked out the necklace."

"I love it," I told him, fingering the charm. "It's really sweet. I feel the same way about you, too."

"Yeah?" Edward asked, a huge smile on his face.

"Yeah."

"Good. So, how about we get another piece of that pie my mom made?"

A little note I forgot to include last chapter. Peridot was born in August, the birthstone for August is Peridot. If she had been born on time in September (she was early) she would have had a different name.

Okay, next chapter will jump ahead in time a bit to November/Thanksgiving time.

Next update will be December 24th. Yes. I'm setting a deadline. Hopefully someone else will meet their deadline as well (you know who you are. don't make me name names.)

You can always hold me accountable and tweet me or message me on facebook. Both those things are linked on my profile.

Leave a review and let me know what you think, I'll reply with a teaser!