Disclaimer: Hm…I'm having issues coming up with original, fun, disclaimers, so for today a simple "I don't own Twilight" will have to do.

Chapter 9—Edward P.o.V.

Edward drove to school as madly as ever. He felt like seeing Bella again, particularly since she had taken his journal home last night. He was curious as to what she had done as a response. Remembering the delighted look on her face as she wrote the previous day, filling the paper with her thoughts, he assumed she had written in response, rather than drawn. He would have to wait to see, though.

When they got to school, he parked and looked around the parking lot, trying to find the Hales' ostentatious car. He was surprised to find Jasper standing by it, his arms crossed over his chest, his brows furrowed. He looked deep in thought and very concerned. What was wrong? He looked over at Alice, to see if she had caught sight of the blond as well, and found her watching with just as much curiosity. He stepped out of the car and started to approach Jasper, but thought better about it. He really did look rather worried. He stopped Alice, who was also walking towards him.

I think he needs a minute. He looks really worried about something. Let's just go, he signed, we can ask him about it later, if it's OK with him.

Alice agreed, reluctant. She always wanted to know what was going on, particularly when it had to do with someone she cared about. And she had indeed grown to care about Jasper, even if they'd only known each other for a day. Edward had found himself growing attached to Bella and Jasper as well, and he worried about what that might mean. He had always been weary of hearing people outside of his family, yet Bella made him feel so entirely accepted…it was a strange feeling, but not at all unappreciated. Just…slightly disconcerting.

Hey, Edward, is that guy over by the library your teacher? That Mr. Carper?

Edward looked over to the library and, indeed, saw Mr. Carper. He really did look angry, and Edward could not help but wonder why. Would that affect his teaching? If so, how? He worriedly bade goodbye to Alice and made his way into the library. Mr. Carper glared at him but followed him to their table without an explanation or an angry outburst. Once the school day had begun, however, it was a different story. He was short tempered and particularly scathing, even though Edward had not made any mistakes.

What kind of handwriting is that? How old are you, again? This is such a lousy attempt! Do I need to go back and teach you the basics? If you insist in writing like a child, you shall be treated as one. You are going to write the alphabet a hundred times. Now, start!

Edward growled in the back of his throat, taking out a new sheet of paper and a pen, instead of the pencil he had been using. He spent the entire morning copying out the alphabet over and over and over again. When he saw that art class was going to begin shortly, he began to put his things away.

Have I dismissed you? asked Mr. Carper angrily, where do you think you are going? You have not finished your assignment.

Mr. Carper, I have art class right now. If you don't mind, I would like to get there in time, Edward replied, his eyes icy cold. It was obvious to both men that there was no love lost between them. It was easier that way, Edward thought, that way they would not try to put up fake fronts. He could tell when he was being lied to much too easily; people's body language and facial expressions could give away so much, it was like reading their minds!

When he got to class, he found Alice sitting at their table, alone. She looked worried now, as well. Her eyes kept scanning the door whenever a new crowd of people shuffled in, and she was holding her hands tightly on her lap, as if she were trying to hold them back. Edward smiled as he realized that she was probably trying to stop herself from biting her nails; it was a nasty habit that had taken their family a long time to break her from. Edward could not understand why she would ever bite her nails; it would only make them look ugly and distracting when he was signing.

Alice, you OK? What has you in such an uproar?

Oh, Edward! Alice signed, obviously startled. She had been so immersed in looking for…whatever she was looking for, that she had not noticed his approach. Bella was not in any of our morning classes. I'm worried about her. Do you think she's sick?

She did not look sick yesterday, but you never know. Don't worry too much, Alice, signed Edward back before turning to watch the door himself. When Jasper came in, he looked even more worried than he had earlier on that morning. That on its own caused Edward to worry. What was going on? Where was Bella? It was completely irrational to worry that much about a girl he had only just met, but he could not help himself. He had never expected to meet anyone who spoke ASL in the little town of Forks and so, when he had, she had immediately become somebody that he wanted to search out and get to know further. He worried for the friend he was hoping to meet.

Ms. Sanchez was not letting one student's absence bother her, though, and started the class. Both him and Alice were rather distracted, though, and so Alice did not really pay attention to the directions and, therefore, could not pass them on to Edward. While everybody began to get up and shuffle around, they stayed at their seats. Eventually, Jasper came by. Apparently, he had the ability to compartmentalize his emotions enough to focus on other things.

We're exchanging the…he seemed to struggle for the word. Edward assumed he meant the Journals, but he did not want to patronize him and so allowed him to finish signing what he thought. If he was wrong, he'd correct him, as simple as that. If he was right, however, he would get a confidence boost. The notebooks, Jasper finally finished. Satisfied, Edward took out Alice's while she took out Jasper's. He realized that Jasper had brought Bella's and had set it aside, as if she were about to come in any second. He wondered if she really was about to come in, if she had had a doctor's appointment or something else that would justify her absence, or if it was wishful thinking on Jasper's side.

Since Bella had his journal, Edward could not really look at what she had done in response to his writing. Alice was smiling and it seemed as if she were happy and excited about Edward's response. He was glad; she had demonstrated such trust in him through her writing, he could not help but want to demonstrate that he was worthy of it, even if he did not truly feel it. Jasper also seemed to be excited about whatever Alice had done with his journal. Edward was curious as to what was in it, and leaned over to try and see it, but when he caught sight of scraps of fabric and lace in it, though, he decided he did not really want to know.

The assignment for that class period was to, on a separate sheet of paper, write what they thought made the other person's response artistic. They had to write what they liked, what visual effect it had, what emotional effect, etcetera. Edward sat quietly while everybody else did this, his mind once again drifting to Bella. Or, rather, her absence. Where could she be? Jasper looked so worried, yet…weren't they siblings? Should he not know where she was? Maybe she truly was sick, and that was why Jasper was worried. Or maybe she had gotten in a fight with him and had run off? It did not seem like something Bella would do, from what Edward had gathered about her, but, what would he know? He had only known her for about 24 hours.

Halfway through the class period, the door opened and in walked Bella. As soon as he saw her, Jasper jumped out of his seat and ran to envelop her in a bone-crushing hug. She returned it fiercely, pulling away reluctantly. She walked to Ms. Sanchez's desk and explained that she had overslept. Ms. Sanchez nodded and went back to her work. She was obviously not a very involved teacher.

Edward (and Alice, from the looks of it! Her eyes were wide and her mouth had opened as if she were trying to start asking questions) wanted to find out what was going on, but before he had time to approach Bella, Jasper had grabbed a bathroom pass and had grabbed her hand, leading her to the hallway. Edward sighed and sat back down, set on waiting. The two were gone for about 15 minutes, and they returned for the last quarter of the class. Jasper looked much more relieved and calm than he had before, and Bella had a small smile on her face. Just what was going on?

Edward, Bella signed, I have your Journal. Wait a second, OK? she asked before starting to dig through her bag. She took out a battered copy of Pride and Prejudice followed by a newer-looking copy of Emma. There were some more books in her bag, but she only shifted these around, she did not truly take them out. No wonder her bag had been heavy the day before, Edward thought. Did she carry a whole library in there? Eventually, she pulled out Edward's Journal. He took it almost reverently, his thoughts rushing as he tried to figure out what her reaction might have been.

Taking a deep breath he opened the book and was instantly glad for that breath, since the wind was knocked out of him by what he found. Bella had painted the entire page black. Bella had then cut pieces of paper in the shape of hands, some open, some signing, and glued them all over the page. Upon a closer look, Edward could see that the paper she had used had had E. E. Cummings poetry on it. On top of all of this, running from one end of the page to the other, were words. But they were not written; Bella had made them out of construction paper and had attached them to a string so that, when the Journal was opened, the stood up and were on 3D. These letters read: "The mind is for seeing, the heart is for hearing."

Edward looked up at Bella, who was sitting at her seat by this point, looking shyly up at him. When his eyes caught hers, she blushed and ducked her head so that her hair created an efficient wall between them. Edward rolled his eyes. He stood up and walked around the table to stand next to Bella. After he'd stood there for a minute, Bella finally dared to look up at him. She was still blushing, and she looked as if she really did not want to meet his eyes. She was too polite to ignore him, though.

Bella, it's beautiful. Thank you. I love it.

Bella's eyes brimmed with tears and her face was filled by a wide, radiant smile. Edward felt his own lips turn up into a smile; Bella's happiness was contagious. They were smiling, simply staring into each other's eyes, when Alice suddenly interrupted, trying to see Bella's Journal. She must have said something out loud, because Bella's eyes shot to her and she shook her head, looking slightly panicked again. Edward sighed and went back to his seat, still staring at the Journal. He realized that some of the hands could be moved to reveal something behind them, so he did just that. Behind each hand he found one of the words he had used to describe his family. Under the last one, Bella had written his name intertwined with Alice's. It was beautiful.

They were dismissed to lunch quickly after, and they made their way there together. They sat at the same table they had used the previous day and they were joined by Rosalie and Emmett soon afterwards. Edward felt a strangely warm feeling inside; he had never felt so accepted by hearing people before. When Emmett or Rosalie wanted to talk to him, they talked directly to him, looking him in the eye and enunciating carefully while allowing Bella or Alice to interpret it over to him, and they then waited patiently for them to interpret a message back at them. They did not give him sympathetic or pitying looks, and they did not tiptoe around him, they just treated him as one more. He appreciated that more than he would ever be able to express.

Edward could not help but notice that Jasper was sticking close to Bella at lunch and that he kept glancing from her to the door and back, his eyes tightening with worry every once in a while. Rosalie looked worried as well, and Edward could see that she was also feeling protective towards Bella. What was going on with her? Edward could feel his curiosity grow exponentially. Much too soon, however, lunch came to an end.

During lunchtime, Edward had seen Mr. Carper come into the cafeteria for a little while. He had looked around and, when his eyes had landed on Edward's table, he'd glared even more than before and had stalked out of the cafeteria angrily. Edward could not help but wonder what was wrong with him. When he went to the library after lunch, however, Mr. Carper was smiling eerily at him. It looked like a very fake smile, overly sweet. Edward was instantly in guard, expecting an attack of some sort. He did not receive that, however.

So, I see you have made some friends. Congratulations.

Thank you, Edward replied tentatively, still unsure of what to expect from Mr. Carper. He just kept talking, though, the sickly sweet smile still in place.

I saw that you were sitting with the Hales and their friends. Do you know them well?

Yes, signed Edward, still wary about Mr. Carper's behavior, Bella and Jasper are in my art class. Bella knows ASL.

Mr. Carper nodded, trying to look superior, as if he were listening out of kindness. Edward could see the hardening of his eyes, the tightening of his jaw, and the way in which he flexed his fists on top of the table. What was going on? What did Mr. Carper have against the Hales? It made no sense. For a second, he considered asking, but then realized the futility of such an action. First off, Mr. Carper would not answer. And second off, that would probably only get him angrier. So Edward said nothing and turned to the lesson.

Mr. Carper was not a good teacher; he had anger management issues, he did not know the subjects he was teaching, and he had no respect for Deaf culture. He was slowly driving Edward up the walls. When the time finally came for Edward to go the gym for Phys. Ed., he could not have been happier. To be sincere, Mr. Carper scared him slightly. More than fear, however, he felt anger towards the man. He was still thinking about this while he changed and as he headed into the gym. His eyes instinctively sought Alice out and found her with Bella and Jasper. Much to his amusement, she had a jump rope and was jumping while she spoke to the two teens. Where had she gotten that jump rope, anyway? They were playing soccer!

My teacher is driving me crazy. He is a nutcase with one heck of an anger management problem.

As he signed this, he noticed both Jasper and Bella stiffening. Bella's eyes widened with something akin to…fear? No, it could not be. Why would Bella even know his teacher? He had to be imagining it.

Oh, yes, he was complaining about him last night, Alice added, stopping jumping. She had been crossing the jump rope in front of her before jumping, uncrossing it once she had jumped over it, and she had tripped, so she had decided she had had enough, our parents cannot wait to meet him, just so we can make fun of him. He sounds like such a jerk.

The conversation was postponed while Coach Clapp called attendance and organized them back into groups. This time all four of them—Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Alice—were on the sidelines. They went over to sit, Bella sitting so close to Jasper that it looked like she was sitting on him. She was holding his hand, and Edward noticed her grasp was so tight her knuckles were white. What was making her so anxious? He could not understand it.

Bella, speaking of my parents! Mom wanted me to ask you if you, and your family, of course, Alice looked over at Jasper for a second, smiling at him, would like to come to dinner on Friday. She says she'll make your favorite, whatever it is!

Edward watched with increasing curiosity as Bella stiffened again. Her eyes turned to look for Jasper's, a scared question in them. What was going on? Those reactions, so full of fear and secrets, were starting to get on his nerves.

I don't know if that'll be possible. I'll ask. Bella turned to look at Jasper, would you guys mind very much coming?

Jasper shook his head, hugging Bella tight. She seemed to relax, the tension in her shoulders dropping, her eyes softening. Edward realized that he had been tense himself, just by watching her reactions.

I'll ask if everybody's free Friday night, then, and get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for the invite!

The rest of the period passed without much incident except for, of course, Bella managing to get hit by the ball when it wasn't even coming her way. Edward was not capable of understanding how it had happened, but the ball, which had been speeding off in quite the opposite direction, had bounced off…something, it must have bounced off something, and propelled itself back, to hit Bella right on the head. She had been dizzy and confused for a few minutes, but at least she had not been knocked unconscious. By the end of the class period she was feeling just fine.

At the end of the day, after they had all dressed back in their regular clothes and were heading out to the parking lot, Edward realized with interest that Bella was not heading towards the red convertible, with Jasper and Rosalie. Instead, she was heading to the end of the parking lot, towards a rusty, old, red truck. She opened the door and got in, turning the engine off. From Alice's wince and the amount of birds that took off just about then, Edward assumed the engine was loud. Very loud.

Edward kept watching as Bella drove out of the parking lot and headed in the opposite direction than Jasper and Rosalie. Just a few minutes later he watched as Mr. Carper stalked off to the parking lot, got into a rather fancy car, and drove off in the same direction Bella had left. He wondered where Bella was heading. Maybe she had a job in town, or maybe she was going to the library. Either way, he thought, he would see her the next day. And so, with that in mind, he finally pulled out of the line to get out of the parking lot and sped his way home, much to Alice's delight.

AUTHOR'S NOTE—Thanks for all the support! As of right now, we have 171 reviews. I can't believe we got so many! Thank you all for your support. Just for that, you get a chapter today, even at the cost of a few hours of precious sleep. Look at how nice I am to you! Now, just to clear things up, since it was apparently unclear in the last chapter, JAMES IS NOT BELLA'S FATHER. Just to let you know. It will become important as we go through the story. Now, on to review replies…

Thanks to:

Klsymrrsn

Dramione12

Cabtwilighter

JK5959—he's not...did I make that unclear? I'm sorry!

Kolored

LoveFashionPeace—thank you! I really do appreciate it when people help me improve my story!

Beachcutie12—well, thank you for the very long review, and thank you for lending some of your time to reading my story. Knowing that there's people out there reading makes the extra work time sooo worth it.

Bitemeplease235

Viper003

Skittleysweet

Mkitkat

Alyria Phoenix—yay! I enjoy keeping people on their toes. It makes life so much more fun. Just make sure to tell me when you feel you're about to tip over, and I'll try to ease it a bit.

not-a-writer-ish

Music ADD—you're actually the first person to catch up on all the missed calls and their consequences! Woot for you!

Goldenrose37—really? I was just writing her as both worried about her future and his state of mind. After all, if he's really angry, something really bad might happen.

BOREDOM14

SRK1012010

Tianna M.V.A.

Questions & Comments:

LyssAU17v—that's just, what? I'm curious now! [puppy eyes right back at you]. I do not know yet if I will make healing Edward a possibility. It would seem slightly wrong to make him regain his hearing to get him a happy ending. In all truthfulness, I have been fiddling more with the idea of Bella going deaf that with that of Edward regaining his hearing. As for killing James...we have no superhuman powers here, and I can't really imagine (this) Edward chasing James with a gun. Can you? But I am sure something interesting will happen between the two.

5tarRach6330—Charlie was replaced for plot purposes...he might come in later. But don't scream at me if he doesn't, that just a plot bunny for now.

cheesepuff311—a lot of the confusion is intentional, I want you guys to be aware of the fact that Edward does not know a lot of these things, and the best way is to make you not know them as well. As for Bella's full name, it has not technically been disclosed, but it's Bella Marie Carper. I want you guys to realize that this Bella is very different from the books' Bella, and starting with a different last name is a good step.

GrlWithoutAName—well, it depends. Who do you think is Bella's real father?

Bluebaby3296—no, he does not. He does not hit her, just verbally abuses her.

HorsecrazyJr—thank you for sharing that with me! I can see how you can understand it but not sign it, though, because that happens to me a lot too. You know the signs, you just can't really remember them unprompted, to e able to use them. However, when somebody signs something, you remember it and can understand. And I'm glad you like my story. I am actually fiddling with the idea of having Edward have a cochlear implant, but I don't know if I'll go through with it. If I do, I will PM you to ask you about it!

UltravioletSpark—Victoria is the deaf grandmother, so, technically, it's not a grandmother at all...

Special thanks to:

Hannajamesnivek—ultra nice review! Both in length and content. Let's address everything individually...I'm glad things are beginning to make sense! However, the reason I was reluctant to state everything so openly is that you need to know that Edward does not know anything. He knows just as much as you did before yesterday, maybe even less. Please keep that in mind in following chapters. As for Bella's developing character...I'm not quite sure where I'm taking her yet, but I definitely want her to actually do more stuff than she does in the books. There she just...exists. Not cool. Then, the James/Carper situation. Interesting stuff, no? I was not sure if that was a good direction to take it, since so many people write an abused Bella, but I think I can manage to make my story avoid the main clichés. I hope so, at least. Your "bizarre ideas," as you call them, are actually helping! Hearing what my readers want is one of the best ways of delivering what they want! Now, for the questions. Yes, the "consecutive violence" is the verbal abuse. Violence does not necessarily have to be physical, and a lot of what I'm trying to show through this story is that You don't have to be bruised and battered to be abused (or abusive!). Emotional and mental abuse can be more scarring that physical abuse, sometimes. Last of all, for the school thing...Actually, this is a bit embarrassing, but I'm still in High School. I am not a native English speaker, I moved here when I was 13, and did not speak English (only Spanish), so I was held back a year until I controlled the language. So I will be heading off to college next year, where I will study French and ASL. I was considering going into Literature, but language interests me more... Yours was a good guess, though, and I'm flattered! I am going to try and finish my chapters quickly (I have a class at school that I can basically spend outlining, so I get half the work done there) so that you can still be somewhat spoiled. Best wishes!

Attackoftheemo—well, it's nice to know that people who are part of the Deaf community do not think I am being intrusive or pretentious by writing this story! I was afraid somebody would come along and call me out on a bunch of mistakes, but that has not happened yet, and with the number of members of the Deaf community that are offering me their support, I think I can make this story work even better. I hope you don't mind if I randomly PM you to ask you about certain aspects of Deaf culture or how it has affected your life, I think personal stories will help me make this all the more accurate. As for what you said about how people behave around you...I understand what you mean, to a slight degree (I will not attempt to claim to understand what it's like to grow up Deaf!), and I am trying to show that through Edward. I hope that, by seeing (or rather, reading) how that treatment affects this one character, my readers will become more educated on how to be polite and understanding. That's part of the reason why I'm going so much into Deaf culture and etiquette. I am really glad that you like my story, though! It makes me so happy to come home and see all these nice reviews. I feel like a horrible flame will have to come at some point (but I really hope not). Lastly, as for your sign name, that is so funny! That is a big coincidence, and I hope it made you smile. If I had a more unique name, I am sure I'd be excited when I found others who shared it (Anna is a bit too typical, though). Well, I can't wait until your next review and, again, I ask you, tell me if you see anything that could be improved!

HONVamyreChick—thank you! You warm my heart and make me smile (which is just what I need before going off to school). What she means by the whole truth (sorry if I made it confusing) is that she is not truly James' child. I hope that clears it up!

BroadwayBound96—it's a good plot twist, then? I was worried I might be crowding my plot up a bit much, but I didn't want to have a story that was all exposition.

With this chapter I got my REVIEWER NUMBER 150!!!!!! W00t!