Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is sitting rather comfortably in her large house right about now, thinking about how much money she has made and how much more she will make in the future. She will never have to work one more day of her life. Obviously, she does not have to worry about semester exams next week (agh!!) and can, therefore, focus on writing more if she so wants. I think the fact that updates will be more scarce in the next two weeks gives you a pretty good hint that I am NOT her. Sorry to disappoint.

Chapter 13—Edward P.o.V.

When Bella had fainted in Phys. Ed., Jasper had run to her side immediately. Coach Clapp had stopped the game and there had been instant confusion and hubbub in the gym. With all the people mobbing around him and Bella, the shoving, the curious looks, and the obvious gossip, he felt lost and displaced. Edward had never learned to do very well in large crowds of people and so, much to his shame, he had not been able to do much for Bella. Jasper had done well enough, however, picking her up and rushing her to the nurse's office.

Coach Clapp, shaken by the experience, had dismissed the class early, and everybody had headed to the nurse en masse. Edward and Alice had attempted to as well, but Ms. Cope had stood outside the office door and blocked anyone from coming inside. She had allowed Rosalie in, because she was Jasper's twin sister, but she was the only exception, so Edward and Alice had reluctantly made their way to his Volvo and had driven home. They had been rather unable to concentrate, though, focusing too much on Bella and how she might be feeling.

Alice? Edward signed, trying to get her attention, do you think Bella is alright?

Alice dropped her head to knock it against the table repeatedly. That was the fifth time Edward asked her that question in less than an hour, and she was, obviously, getting quite tired of it. Edward could tell that she was worried as well—her eyebrows were furrowed and there was a small chink between them, and her lips were tight and puckered, like they always were when she was deep in thought—, but he could not help himself. It was instinctual for him to worry, since he could not hear if something was wrong, causing him to be hyperaware of everything that might ever go wrong.

If something horrible happens, they'll call us, alright? Now, she stressed, her signs becoming larger, more exaggerated, and more extravagant, calm down!

Edward frowned, crossing his arms over his chest and his lips pouting. He sat still in his isolated corner on the edge of the sofa, facing away from Alice. It took exactly five seconds (he was counting down) until Alice tapped his shoulder, offering him an apologetic and conciliatory smile.

Alright, I'll call them, but you have to calm down. OK? she signed, obviously exasperated. Edward nodded vigorously and she took out her cell phone, sighing. She looked through her agenda until she found Jasper's number and pressed the green "call" button. Edward watched as she brought the phone up to her ear and rolled her eyes at him; she must be getting the dial tone. Edward knew what that was—the sound before somebody picked up—, but could not quite understand how a sound could be boring. He probably never would. Alice's expression changed quite suddenly, though, her face filling with a smile, and he assumed somebody had picked up. She spoke animatedly, her lips moving quickly as she nodded her head, twirled her hair with one hand, paced back and forth…it looked like she was having quite a bit of fun during this phone call.

At long last she hung up the phone and walked over to him. She did not sign anything, merely smiling goofily out into the distance. Edward groaned, rolled his eyes, and leaned over to her to shove her teasingly.

So, how is she? he asked, trying to feign aloofness now that he had been slightly reassured; he knew Jasper would not have stayed on the phone for that long if something were badly wrong with Bella.

She who? Alice teased for a second before replying in earnest, she's just fine. She slept for hours, woke up at about dinner time, and, except for a slight limp, which Jasper claims is Bella's natural state, she was just fine. Stop worrying.

I just can't believe I let her faint. I thought I was taking good care of her! he said, a pained expression on his face.

Edward, it wasn't your fault!

I could have at least stopped her from falling. I didn't even notice. His frown deepened and his head suddenly snapped up, did she call me?

What do you mean? Alice asked, looking quite clearly confused.

Did she, you know, call out my name? When she was falling.

Alice's eyes softened as she realized what Edward meant. No, she didn't. We didn't even realize what was happening until she was halfway to the ground. It is not your fault. Nobody blames you, OK?

Edward shrugged and, now that he knew what he wanted to know, stood up to go to his room. Alice tried to stop him, probably to tell him about how it was not his fault, but he made his way around her and went to lock himself in his room. He paced around for a while before he decided that it would be best if he calmed down a little, at which point he sat down to read. He remained like that until dinner time, when Alice came to fetch him.

Edward, stop mopping and come down for dinner. Mom made your favorite, and she wants to ask some more about Bella.

Looking up from his book, quite obviously angry to be interrupted, he followed Alice down the stairs. He remained incommunicative throughout dinner, looking down at his plate and refusing to meet his parents' eyes. He finished his dinner, took his plates to the kitchen, and went back to the dining room.

Thank you, the food was great, he signed before going over to kiss each of them on the cheek. He then went back to his room to wallow some more. He could not fall asleep until quite late, and his sleep was restless. He barely ever dreamed, but that night he kept waking up from nightmares in which his friends and family were in danger, calling for him, calling for help, and he could not hear them.

The next morning, Edward was woken up by an excited Alice, shaking him madly. His head hurt, his eyes did not want to focus on anything, and his whole body hurt. He just wanted to go back to sleep. Alice, however had other plans. It seemed that his mother did as well, because she was standing by his bed, smiling quite excitedly at him. He turned to look at the clock on his bed side and groaned, bringing his hands to his face, to hide the light and the sight of his sister. She did not give up, and shook him again.

Get up, Edward! It's Friday! Bella is coming today! Get up, get up, get up! We need to fix the house. Come on!

Edward pushed Alice away and got out of the bed, grabbing his things and going into his bathroom, slamming the door behind him. No matter if he could not hear the door, he knew how dramatic an exit that was. Besides, slamming it let him release frustration. After the hard night, he definitely did not enjoy being waken up earlier than usual, in such a careless manner.

The shower did not improve his mood at all, and when he went back into his room to find Alice waiting for him there still, he felt like screaming. Alice jumped off his bed when he came back in, examining his clothes carefully. She frowned and began to pull at his shirt, trying to rearrange the wrinkles and how it sat on him. Edward pulled away angrily.

Stop it, Alice! Leave me alone, OK? he asked. She did not pay attention to him, though, and kept at it. Edward slapped her hands away angrily and shoved her out of his room. He was most definitely not in a good mood that morning. He remained in his room, checking his mail, for a while before finally going downstairs to have breakfast. By the dishes in the dishwasher he could tell that Alice and his mother had already eaten. He ate quickly and then went searching for Alice so they could go off to school. He found her in the dining room, comparing dinner sets against tablecloths.

Alice, if you want to get to school today, I recommend you get your butt over here. Now, he signed, his mood not at all improved. Alice did as he said, her expression somewhat worried. He did not pay it much attention, though, and simply walked to the garage. They got into the Volvo and drove to school, Alice not even bothering with the radio. It seemed she had finally realized that he was in a bad mood, and so, even when they go to school, she did not turn to him. She merely went to her locker and headed to her English class from there.

As Edward headed to the library, he found himself wishing that Mr. Carper would still be sick and he would get to go to the regular classes again, but then he realized that would mean spending all day with Alice, and he did not really know what he wanted to do. When he got to the library, however, he saw that he did not have much of a choice; Mr. Carper was waiting at their table, his face overtaken by a deep scowl.

Sit, boy. I want to start as soon as possible.

Edward did as he was told, his anger flaring at the rude expression on Mr. Carper's face.

Here, complete this sheet. If you need help, don't ask me. I'm not in the mood to deal with stupid questions, he signed harshly, tossing a rather simplistic worksheet about trigonometric derivatives at him. Edward began to complete it without qualms, doing his best to ignore Mr. Carper. It looked that, despite his bad mood, he wanted to talk, however.

So, I see you have been spending a lot of time with Bella, he signed, trying to hide interest. Edward wondered why Mr. Carper would take any interest on her, and simply nodded.

What do you think about her?

Edward shrugged, unsure as to Mr. Carper's intentions. Why was he taking an interest now? What was he up to? Edward began to worry.

What, you have no opinion? Come on, Edward. You must think something.

She's nice, Edward responded tentatively, cautiously examining his face at the answer. Mr. Carper rolled his eyes.

Nice? That's all you've got? That's a mighty small impression for spending lunch with her every day. Or are you trying to be polite?

She's nice, Edward signed, gritting his teeth. He was obviously angry. A spark of—was that accomplishment? Indeed it was,—accomplishment seemed to light up in Mr. Carper's eyes, isn't that enough? If you want to know more, why don't you go talk to her and leave me alone?

Mr. Carper smiled, and Edward shuddered. There was something wrong with that smile, as if he were thinking of something that should not at all be funny. It was a twisted kind of smile.

Is that an invitation to lunch? I had some plans, of course, but those can be changed. I shall arrange it at the beginning of lunch, and join you and your…friends, when I am done.

Edward was too shocked to reply anything, and it seemed that that was settled. The next thing Mr. Carper signed was about the lesson again. The rest of the morning went by tensely, and Edward's mood did not improve at all. By the time art came around, Edward was ready to explode. He stalked over to the art class and sat down at what had become "their" table and sat down, glowering at everybody around him.

Alice and Bella came in, chatting with Jasper. Bella laughed at something Jasper had said, and Edward tightened his fists. There they went, joking and laughing, out loud, so that he could not partake. They did it on purpose, they were isolating him. What kind of friends did they think they were? And Alice? She was supposed to be his sister, shouldn't she side with him? When the trio finally sat down at the table, Edward kept glowering at them.

Edward? Are you alright? Bella asked, a concerned look on her face. He snorted and turned his head away roughly. He saw her hurt face off the corner of his eye and felt somewhat guilty, but when Jasper leaned over and whispered something in her ear he felt his rage come back. There they went, keeping secrets around him again.

Deep down, he realized he was being unreasonable. He knew that they were not trying to keep him out of anything, that Jasper was probably trying to comfort her because of how he had hurt her. Often, when he got angry, he found himself hating the world for not being suited to him and hating himself for not being suited for the world. He knew he was being unreasonable, but he did not want to follow reason, he wanted to be angry; it let him purge.

Edward! Alice signed, having walked around the table so she was in front of him. She looked angry. You can be as angry at me as you want, but what has Bella done to you? Apologize!

Edward glared at Alice. Who was she to boss him around? To tell him what to do? She was his sister. She was younger, if only by three and a half minutes. She did not get to boss him around. So he did what best he could do to block her out; he turned to the table and closed his eyes. He did not want to listen to what she had to say. However, as always when he used this particular method of avoidance, he had to open his eyes soon; he was not comfortable not knowing what was going on around him.

He saw that Alice was at her seat, drawing with angry, deep strokes. She would probably cut through the paper if she kept it up like that. Next to her was Jasper, who looked calmer, but whose anger was still obvious to the trained eye. He turned his eyes to Bella last, trying to avoid the unavoidable. She held a pencil lightly in her hand, but she was not drawing. She looked deep in thought and her sadness and hurt was written all over her face. The guilt came back, a thousand times stronger than before. He was too proud to apologize, though, and so he just sat, staring at her.

The whole class seemed to be working on something, but he did not know what it was. He did not want to ask Alice to interpret; she looked like she would stab him with her pencil if he so much as sneezed. Resigned, Edward took one of the pieces of paper at the center of the table and began to doodle. Bella must have looked up from her own paper because she reached over to take his hand.

We're sketching one item in the room. Pick any and sketch it. No erasing. All mistakes are made for a reason, and they are what make art.

Even as she signed this she looked hurt. Edward did not dare to say anything now, though, and he merely nodded and looked around the room. He saw a backpack sitting on a chair two tables down, and he decided to draw that. He set to it, but could not concentrate. When the class finally ended he looked down at his paper, only to find it covered by spirals and circles. He shouldered his bag, tossed his paper, and followed Alice out the door. Jasper pulled Bella aside once again, and Edward had the uncomfortable thought that Jasper was going to comfort her because of his coldness.

Alice was still angry at him, and so they sat at their cafeteria table without exchanging any pleasantries or small talk. When Emmett and Rosalie arrived they greeted them, but they must have noticed the tension between the siblings, because they settled to talk quietly among themselves. Bella and Jasper came by not long after; Bella's eyes were slightly red and puffy, and it looked as if she had been crying. They also sat quietly, staring at their food wordlessly. He grew uncomfortable with the awkwardness of the meal and finally snapped.

One of you, say something! Why are you all acting like this?

Edward, we were just, Bella started, looking apologetic. But Edward did not let her finish.

You were just, what? Huh? Don't try to act the perfect angel, Bella, you're far from it, he answered, his tone lethally furious. Bella winced and looked away while Jasper looked murderous. Emmett could not understand what was being said, but he quickly assessed the facial expressions of those around him and he turned to glare at Edward, his expression hard. Alice was whispering something quickly to Rosalie, probably summarizing what was going on, and they both looked as angry as Emmett. None of their angry expressions, not even all of them together, amounted to Jasper's look, though. Edward found himself afraid.

Look, Bella, I, Edward began to sign, only to stop when he saw Bella's eyes widen with complete and absolute terror. Next to her, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett stiffened as they looked over Edward's shoulder. Their eyes widened, their jaws tightened, and they closed their hands into tight fists. Edward turned slowly to look over his shoulder. Mr. Carper was coming towards their table, the twisted smile from that morning once again on his face.

Mr. Carper wanted to come talk to Bella, Edward signed detachedly, he decided to come sit with us at lunch. I forgot to mention it.

You randomly decided to invite somebody to sit with us? Jasper asked angrily, scooting closer to Bella and putting one arm around her waist while Rosalie, who was on Bella's other side, put hers around Bella's shoulders, taking a protective stance, you realize you are new to this group? You have no idea about anything. How could you invite him? Who do you think you are?

Edward would have replied something about how he thought they were friends, and friends did not have rank to pull over one another, but Mr. Carper had gotten to their table by this point.

Well, this is a lovely gathering, he signed, his expression sickeningly sweet, you don't mind if I join you, do you? He did not wait for an answer before he sat next to Edward, directly across from Bella. Edward, you must introduce your little friends to me. It's such a pleasure, he signed, his eyes never once leaving Bella. She looked terrified.

This is Bella. Next to her are her sister Rosalie and her brother Jasper. Next to Rosalie is Emmett, and next to me is Alice, my sister, Edward signed. He did not miss Mr. Carper's amused look as he introduced Bella and the twins, but he did not understand it. Was it that they already knew each other?

Well, how nice. It is so very nice to meet you, he signed, ignoring the glares that he was receiving and focusing only on Bella and her terrified face, I suppose I will see more of you soon. I just wanted to drop by and say hello. I have to go now, he signed before standing up and leaving. Bella's terrified look relaxed slightly, but it was by no means gone. The same could be said for the others' angry faces which were now trained on Edward.

How could you invite him to lunch? What were you thinking? What the hell is wrong with you, boy? Jasper asked before seeming to decide Edward was not worth it and turning to take Bella into his arms, pulling her onto his lap. She buried her face on the crook of his neck and grabbed his shirt tightly. She was shaking, but Edward did not dare to ask why. She was still shaking when the lunch hour ended and, while everybody else began to get up and gather their things, she remained on Jasper's lap.

Jasper turned to Rosalie and said something. Rosalie nodded, and understanding look on her face. She ran her hand through Bella's hair once before setting off towards the office. Jasper picked Bella up bridal style, swung her bag onto his back, and went out into the parking lot and towards their car. He was taking her home, it appeared. When they were almost to the car, however, Bella looked up and said something, motioning towards Edward, who was still standing in the cafeteria, feeling guilty and confused. Jasper brought Bella back.

Edward, Bella signed, I know you invited me to dinner last night, but if you don't feel well…I mean, if you'd prefer that I didn't go…I don't mind.

Edward stared at her in shock. Did she truly think that he was that rude? That he was angry at her specifically? He shook his head quickly.

Bella, you and your family are still invited to my house. Alice and Mom would kill me if you didn't come just because I was being stupid. And, besides, I want you to come. Please. Forgive me for being so rude.

Alright, Bella signed back, looking slightly better despite being dwarfed by Jasper's arms around her, we'll see you at seven, then.

And with that Jasper turned back around and took her to the car. He put her in the passenger's seat and got in the driver's seat before pulling away quickly. Still feeling guilty and remorseful, Edward headed to the library, where Mr. Carper was waiting with his twisted smile still on place.

Author's Note—I am so sorry I haven't updated this week! I feel really horrible, but life was kind of catching up with me. I have been having my semester exams (my last one is tomorrow: English), drama rehearsals, I've upped my standards for my ASL learning, and I had to catch up on some sleep. To top it all off, I had the worst case of writers' block you will ever encounter; I knew exactly what I wanted to say and what I want to happen in the story, but I just…didn't know how to write it. It was horrible. I think I'm over it now, though! Yay for me! And yay for my AWESOME reviewers who kept reviewing even though I was gone. Über special thanks to HANNAJAMESNIVEK, who P.M.d me to check up on me and tell me to take it easy and not to stress. I feel so loved!! (Although, let's face it, what you guys love is Edward...)

Thanks to:

Zapeable

OECD

Grace--yay for reviewer # 300!!

Katevangogh

PlatypusFreak

Twilight is my Second Language

Divamercury

Kolored

Music ADD

UltravioletSpark

Bluebaby3296—I will be less shy next time. Yupyup.

Tianna M.V.A.—you are far from pathetic! I actually thought the idea was far fetched...which is, in a way, why I went with it!

iWant2BaMonsterToo

beachcutie12—lucky! I have to be out of bed at 5. Since I usually stay up writing until midnight or so, my sleep is being severely harmed...

SRK1012010

dramione12

A. Fire. In. The. Attic—thanks! I'm so happy you liked it!

HorsecrazyJr—I know this is random, but...could you kind of give me a summary of what you know about cochlear implants? Either through a review, a PM, or an email, I don't mind which. I am trying to decide if Edward is, indeed, getting one, but I need to have a lot of info. Do you know, for example, who is eligible, what are the success stats, etc? Also, of course, your own personal experience. Any help you could provide, even if it's just a reference to a book or a website, would be highly appreciated.s

Skittleysweet—my final is on Thursday...I'm actually in the IB program (do you know what that is?), so, other than APs, I have IB exams...and my semester exam consists of a set of five essays. No DBQs, just a theme (causes for the French Revolution, Connection between the Renaissance and the Reformation, etc). It's going to be hell!!!!

Viper003

Cabtwilighter

Ameeona

Not-a-writer-ish

Attackoftheemo—I'm glad you are liking it!

Questions & Comments:

Paris Tokyo—eventually…nobody is really helping him (or Alice) by telling him her last name, and she always talks about the Hales when they ask about her family.

Jules—actually, I write my review replies as I receive them, and my author notes as I make realizations about the story (or myself!), but they are written pretty much in passing. I don't know if you write, but, if you do, you probably know that the writing process takes a lot more out of you than you realize. It's not just about sitting at the keyboard and typing, and I spend an average of 4 hours a day working on this story. It kind of hurts that you would think that I do not put as much effort as I can into my writing. Just from the fact that my notes are, as you put it, "incredibly unprofessional," you can tell that they are written without much thought, as the thought strikes me. You seem to think my story is good, so, what do you have against my replies? The personal connection not only motivates me, but helps me get ideas, develop plot, and allows me to bounce ideas off people. If you don't want your reviews replied to, however, just tell me. If my writing improves dramatically by not answering to ONE reviewer, your point will have been proven. If not, no loss no gain, right? I just find responding to the people who take the time to read my story to be common courtesy as well as helpful for both them and me.

Special thanks to:

PrettiaLydia—yay, iReviewer!!! I'm so flattered that you know my story, screen name, and updating frequency (even if that last one has been a bit weak recently...). I am also really happy that you are spreading the word. Thank you!!! I hope my story doesn't end up disappointing either you or your friends...And don't sweat the iPod's correcting...you should see me try and text. It's pretty pathetic, particularly because I am a total grammar Nazi. Well, keep reading and reviewing as cheerfully as you have!

Erin Cade—please, never apologize for reviewing! I am really happy that you like my story. When I started to write it, I was afraid of exactly what you described; I thought I was aiming too high, writing about a subject I could never fully understand. The reader responses have been great, however, and many people from the Deaf community have reviewed, giving me ideas, advice, corrections, and personal stories so I could understand the Deaf world better. I really enjoy hearing from you! So, thank you very much for sharing your story! I hope you (and your cousin) will enjoy it and, if you ever see something that seems wrong, that might be offensive, or that makes no sense, please don't doubt to tell me! As to your questions, Bella's real father shall make an appearance, but I (technically) cannot tell you who he is yet. It is rather self-explanatory, though, no?

Hannajamesnivek—I do believe this is the longest review I have ever received; it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you! (And yes, indeed, SM bashers, please, unite!) As to your time zone issue...actually, I'm on the East Coast. I update at around midnight, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, depending on how late I get home that day. What that means, however, is that, if I PM you, I will get a reply by the next morning, so I can take in into consideration as I begin to do the blocking for the chapter. Yay! And, please, please, please, please, set your snarky journalist side on my as often as you want! It really does help me! I will make sure to try and cut down my sentence length. I have been told that I am rather wordy...I am glad you liked my character AND relationship development, though. And, I think the reason chapters are getting to start in the morning is because, with the increasingly late hour at which I get up, I have come to realize the importance of mornings...so much family interaction that you usually never even think about! Well, I should end about now, or my review replies will be longer than my actual chapter. Again, thank you very much!!!

Mrs. Dom Masbolle—yes, I will talk to him. I will talk to him. I will! I just have to figure out what to say so that I actually know how to sign it, instead of having to fingerspell everything out. Oh, and, on second thought (xD) I'm glad you liked the chapter. I have been thinking of working with this kind of thing to make the chapters work without repeating myself, where, unless Edward and Bella were apart, I have a little "flashback" kind of thing, really fast, summarizing the character's feelings about it...Most people voted towards keeping things as they are, so they could get more updates.

Scarlett—thank you! I'm very, very, very happy you liked it. As to your questions, yes, revealing Bella's dad will become relevant to the plot as we go on, and Jasper met Victoria because he was close friends with Bella and because she was giving him piano lessons.

Cgcopyrighted—new reader and reviewer! It makes me very happy to see the new names on my email...Well, thank you very much for reading! I am elated that you like it (but, please, don't lose too much sleep over my story!). I think part of the reason why you can, as you put it, "see" the story is because, since Edward is Deaf, I try so hard to describe things visually and emotively. If it shines through, I'm doing a good work! I am sincerely happy that you are on board, and to have another fellow 19 year old reading. I hope your semester is wonderful as well, and I hope I will keep seeing your screen name pop up in my email whenever I update.

HonVampyreChick—I'm glad you liked it! This dream sequence was not as bad, since it was a memory. When I'm coming up with my own dreams…now that's tough. It is not very good at all. But I am glad you like the coherency of my chapters. As I said, I spend my entire Environmental Sciences class plotting this story out!

Cheesepuf311—I'm sorry I update at such strange times…I really do post just as I finish writing, though…trust me, it's not doing much for my sleep deprivation either! In fact, this chapter described what I've been up to for the past week rather well. I'm glad you liked it, though. Oh, and, as I'm sure you noticed in today's chapter, Bella and the Hales go to the Cullen's on Friday (today). I find it amusing, now that I think about it, that I'm posting my Friday chapter on a Friday. Hm. Interesting.

BroadwayBound96

As of the time of this posting, I have 302 REVIEWS!!!!!