1I glanced down as my phone went off. It was Bella.

"Hi Edward. I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

"No of course not, I'm always available to talk to you, what's up?"

"Nothing really just had a few bad days and Dad's been real busy so I thought I'd call and just talk with you a bit. I know that sounds crazy since we barely know each other. I just always seem so calm after talking to you."

"What happened that has you upset Bella?"

"Oh I'm not really upset Edward, just frustrated and I guess I just wanted someone to vent to. I'm sorry I never should have called. Um, I'll let you go, I'm uh, sorry" She hung up.

I dialed her right back. "Bella, hey guess what, it's Edward, I was just sitting here with no one to talk to and thought you might feel like a chat. So how's your week been?"

I could tell she was smiling just by the way she spoke. "Smarty pants"

"Yeah that's me. But hey, you met my big brother Emmet so you know I come by it naturally."

"Well since you took the time to call and all I guess I could humor you and chat a bit."

"Oh thank you my lady, so kind of you."

"Yeah yeah, did anyone ever tell you that you are a nice guy?"

"Shush! Please don't go around saying such things out loud. You could ruin my reputation. Now seriously, what's wrong?"

"There is this new guy in school, he's only been here about two weeks. Every single time I walk past him he acts like he just wants to reach out and snap my neck. I mean really hateful vibes, and I am not the only one who has seen this. My two best friends Rose and Alice have both remarked on it as well. Normally I wouldn't have even said anything, but after you came by the house and told me I need to start paying more attention to things I just had such a weird feeling about him. The only class we have together is biology, and today in class we were poking our fingers and doing a blood smear to look at under the microscopes, then we had to write down our observances and turn it in with our slides. As I stood up to turn mine in at the end of class, he came from the opposite side of the room near the door all the way across to me and grabbed mine off my desk and said he would turn it in for me. I tried to grab his arm to tell him I was capable of doing it myself but he jerked away and took off to the teachers desk. This guy has never spoken to me at all, why did he want to turn my assignment in all of a sudden, I mean why was it so important to him today of all days?"

I could tell she was upset as she spoke, and my alarms started going off in my head as she told me what happened. "Ok, calm down, it's probably his way of trying to apologize for being so rude to you lately. What's this guy's name? Do you know where he moved here from?"

"His name is Chris Jetters and I'm not sure where he came from, like I said, I haven't even spoken to him before today. Do you think there is anything to be concerned about?"

"Nah I'm sure there isn't but if it will make you feel better, why don't I show up at lunch tomorrow and bring you and your two friends a pizza and I can get a look at him? Would that be ok with you?"

"Oh that would be fabulous Edward! Are you sure you wouldn't mind? That sure would make me feel better."

"No problem at all. I'd enjoy getting to dine with someone besides my brothers. What kind of pizza would you ladies like?"

"Hmmm, how about everything but anchovies. We will save you a seat. Will Emmet and Jasper be coming too? That way it will be an even number."

"I'm pretty sure I can convince them to join me", I laughed. "I might want them there for backup in case the whole football team attacks me for sitting with their girl." I was teasing her to get her in a better mood. But also feeling her out about a boyfriend.

"Yeah right. I don't think you have any worries in that department." This bit of information made me smile. She said she needed to go so she could get dinner cooked and I promised to meet her in the cafeteria at noon.

As soon as we hung up I told Em and Jas about her phone call and they too thought the guys actions were a bit overboard. We decided to make a little detour through the high school office that evening as we made our rounds to try and find out more information on this Chris kid.

It was easy to make our way into the school via the air conditioning vent system on the roof. We never even had to worry about the alarm, we just dissipated into mist and traveled through the vent to the principal's office. Then we moved down to the floor and formed back so we could go through the file cabinet. His papers looked pretty basic, his family had moved here from rural Montana, he had 2 younger brothers, both in school, his school records looked ok, no reports of bad behavior or anything. Nothing really stuck out from his files. But we still had a cautious feeling about him after Bella's call. We decided the lunch at school tomorrow might be just what the doctor ordered to make everyone feel better. At least it gave us the opportunity to spend some time with three young ladies, instead of just each other.

We picked up a large pizza with the works and some sodas and was at the school a few minutes before noon. We had to check in at the office and get visitor badges to be able to have lunch with the girls. As we walked into the lunch room Bella looked up and saw us, her face lit up with a huge smile. How could you not smile back at seeing that beautiful face? Emmet and Jaz both elbowed me and grinned. I finally noticed the two girls sitting there by Bella. One was a tiny little thing, real cute, short haircut, the other was a leggy blonde, looked like she stepped out of the pages of Vanity Fair, but to me they couldn't hold a candle to how Bella looked.

We walked over and Bella introduced us to the girls, the petite dark haired one was Alice and the leggy blond was Rosalie, Rose for short. I held up the pizza and told them I brought lunch. We sat at the table with them and passed the sodas around, then tackled the pizza. Since our kind drank the blood of animals for sustenance, it was unnecessary for us to eat human food of any kind but we could do it. It tasted like the equivalent of chewing cardboard. We bragged on how good it tasted right along with the girls, then made the excuse that we had a late breakfast and told the girls they could finish off the pizza. We sat there chatting and suddenly I felt Bella get stiff and somber. She was looking at a table near the serving counter. I looked over nonchalantly and saw several teenage boys there but one of them was staring holes through Bella. I turned my head where only she could see me and whispered, "Is that him?" She nodded yes and I decided I wanted a closer look at him.

I excused myself and said I was going to get everyone some more napkins. I stood and walked over to the serving counter and got a few, slowing down on purpose to get a real close look at this kid. He tried to look like he didn't notice me but it was more than obvious he did. I turned to head back to the table and I could feel him staring at me. I do believe I felt a slight fear emanating from him. I smiled as I went and sat back down. I placed my arm on the back of Bella's chair and leaned in so I could whisper to her. I told her he obviously was frightened of me being there and must feel guilty about the stunt he pulled in biology class. But to make sure he didn't bother her any more I was going to pretend to be her boyfriend as we sat there and for her to just play along. That would give her an advantage over him. Then I remembered at the last to ask if that was ok with her. Her answer was a grin and to lean her head over against mine as if we were snuggling. I noticed her friends reaction and I whispered that we were playing a part and she would explain after lunch. They both nodded but continued to smile like cheshire cats.

Emmet and Jasper whispered that they might as well make it look good, so Emmet leaned his arm across Rose's chair and Jas took Alice's hand and held it on top of the table. They both looked mighty proud of themselves. I didn't see either of the girls complaining. Bella whispered in my ear that we may have created some monsters here. I couldn't help but laugh. We had a nice visit and I kept close attention to what the Chris guy was doing as we were there. When it was time for them to go to class, we got up and walked them to their lockers. I told Bella to call me when she got home and we would discuss things about Chris. She nodded and I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and a hug then we left. Before Jas or Emmet could make ay remarks, I said I had to make it look good for the busybodies that might say something in front of Chris.

We left the school and drove over to the police station, we wanted to ask the chief if he knew anything about the newcomers. He said he hadn't heard anything about them at all and then asked if there was a problem. We assured him there wasn't and we just had them recommended to us as possible clients and was wondering if there had been any problems out there lately that we may need to concentrate on helping with. He bought our excuse and said that he would let us know if he heard anything. We thanked him and left. After returning home, we called Carlisle and asked if he would run a check on the last name Jetters to see if there was anything in the history about the name or any alarms with it. He said he would get back to us as soon as he knew anything.

We went on a quick hunt so I could make sure and be there when Bella called after school. I wanted to know if the Chris boy had said anything or done anything further to her after our little visit. We were walking in the door just as the phone rang. Bella was laughing and announced that I was on speaker phone because Rose and Alice had followed her home like puppies so they could talk to Emmet and Jas again. I laughed and called them in there so we could all chat for a bit. She was in such a good mood that I really didn't want to ask her about the guy but knew I needed to. As soon as I did, she got serious again. She said that he had stared at her all during biology, but never said a word. Rose said he was hanging around her locker at the end of the day, but she figured it was to see if she said anything about who we were and why we were there. She just turned to Alice and was bragging on their new boyfriends and how good they kissed. I looked over at Emmet and he was actually blushing. I cracked up! The girls asked what I was laughing at and I tattled on him to them. They all started razzing him. Served him right, he normally was the one razzing the rest of us.

I decided to throw all caution to the wind and while I had them all three here on speaker phone I asked them if they wanted to go out on Friday evening with us. The girls giggled then said they would love to. I told them we would discuss different venues and get back to them with ideas. Then I asked Bella what she thought her dad would say about it. She laughed and said she didn't think he would fuss too much as long as she was home at a decent time. I told her I would definitely have her home before daylight the following day and she laughed. Emmet and Jas exchanged phone numbers with Rose and Alice and we told them we'd chat later and hung up. My brothers smiled all evening like the cats who ate the canaries. Geez we really did create some monsters.

I laid in bed that night and was going over things in my head. The things that kept standing out was, Bella had called me when she needed comfort, then she had accepted my pretending to be her boyfriend with no complaints, then she accepted my offer of a date on Friday. I fell asleep with a grin on my face. That night I dreamed about Bella. She was leaning into me and I was just holding her as we talked. It was a good dream. I didn't wake until morning for the first time in a long time.

We made sure Bella got to school safely and the guys wanted to wait to make sure Rose and Alice made it as well, even if it was for entirely different reasons. We were discussing where we might take the girls when the phone rang. Dad had researched the name from our history and came up with nothing at all, he also asked the Elder Court and they did not recognize it either. That made us feel a little better, but we still wanted to know why he had such animosity for Bella when he didn't even know her. Dad told us his best advise would be to stay on our toes and keep on alert until we caught some form of explanation of why we were there. We told him we were taking her and two of her friends out on Friday night and he thought it was a great idea. This way we could see where they liked to hang out, and put in a showing so people would think we were actually dating them. That would make them even safer, it was about that time Mom piped up and asked if her friends were cute too. We laughed. We didn't even know she was listening in on the conversation. Emmet and Jas had to give a complete description to her about the girls and she approved laughingly, adding that they had better take good care of her little boys. We rolled our eyes as we always did when she said things like that. We hung up with a promise to let them know how the date went.

We weren't real sure about where to take the girls so we left it up to them to decide, with the stipulation that it couldn't be anything too feminine. We drove over to Bella's and I walked up to the door to get her. Chief answered the door and I told him I was there to pick Bella up. He called upstairs and told her I was there, then offered me a soda or something. I told him I was fine and thanked him. Then she came skipping downstairs. She had on new jeans and boots and a baby blue colored v-neck sweater. She looked adorable and I smiled as I complimented her. I shook the Chief's hand as we left and promised to have her home before curfew. He told us to have a good time and we went out to the car. I was driving and Bella hopped in the front by me. Jas and Emmet were in the back. She showed us the way to Alice's house and then she got out with Jas to go get her. Alice met them at the door and they stepped inside so Jas could introduce himself to her grandmother whom she lived with. They weren't in there but a short time. Then we were off again to go to Rose's. Emmet and Bella got out and went to the door. He shook hands with her mom and introduced himself, promising as the rest of us that we would be home before curfew. They came out and the four of them piled into my back seat while Bella hopped back into the front and scooted over to the middle by me.

We asked the girls which direction to head to and they teasingly said the ballet was playing in Seattle, we each gave them dirty looks at that one and then promised to get them back if that was what they had planned. The said they had decided on bowling if that was alright. We could eat there. We all agreed that was perfect. Sensible girls, I liked that. We had a really good time, the conversation flowed nicely and the games were competitive but not overly so. Emmet and Rose had taken it upon themselves to bet on every frame with each other, whoever had the lowest score of the frame owed the other a kiss on the cheek. Leave it to Emmet to make up bets that resulted in his getting some sort of action. Apparently Bella couldn't have chosen a more perfect set than her friend Alice and Jas. They were both quiet but not necessarily shy. Their personalities seemed to mesh together quite well. They held hands most of the evening and would lean in and whisper together. It was like they had known each other most of their lives instead of just a few days.

Bella and I had a great time watching both other couples, we did our fair share of laughing and teasing as well. A few times I caught myself just wanting to touch her, I'd reach over and rub her shoulder and tell her good throw, or just lay my arm across her shoulder as we sat and waited our turn. She would lean against me when I did and a few times her head would lay on my shoulder so I could smell her hair and just cuddle her close for a brief minute, until it was my turn to bowl. I didn't want to be excited about things so soon, but I was definitely getting a thrill from it, and I don't think she minded at all by the way she kept looking up at me. After several games and hotdogs and sodas for all, we said we had better head home so everyone would make it in on time. When the girls pouted at first we reminded them that if we had them home a little early, their parents or grandparents would have no reason to complain when we asked them out again. That seemed to brighten their spirits back up. We changed back into our own shoes and gathered our score sheets Emmet and Jas and I went to pay out as the girls headed to the ladies room. We went to the door to wait on them and when we looked out in the parking area we happened to see Chris Jetters sitting there a few cars down talking to a couple of boys. We hadn't noticed him in the bowling alley, but maybe he just hadn't gone in yet, or maybe he just pulled in to talk to his friends when he saw them. There was many reasons he feasibly could have been there so we could not jump to conclusions. None of us got an alert response from seeing him. So we passed it off as coincidence and decided not to say anything to the girls unless they noticed him. We didn't want to scare them or worry them.

He got in the car and drove off right as the girls were coming to us. We walked them to the car and got in and headed home. We had them all home in plenty time with promises to call their cells when we got to my house. Jas walked Alice to her door and hugged her and kissed her hand as he said goodnight and made sure she got inside safe. Emmet walked Rose to her door and hugged her tight then kissed her quickly across her lips as he said goodnight. I walked Bella to the door and gave her a hug, which she held on a long time before finally letting go. I tilted her chin up and gave her a peck on the lips and told her I'd talk to her in a few minutes. She blushed so sweetly, as she went inside. I saw the chief sitting on the sofa watching the game and called in good night to him. He waved fondly as she shut the door and I heard the locks click.

As we got home we all went in separate directions, each heading to our rooms for a little privacy to tell the girls a proper good night. I rang Bella's number and she answered before the ring was complete. First I told her that I had a great evening and thanked her for going with me. We laid there talking for a while and I had a weird idea I wanted to try. I asked her if she remembered the night I had come to her hospital room, how we had both seen the vision. She got real quiet as she said yes she remembered it well. I told her I wasn't trying to upset her but that I was so curious to know if we could communicate psychically like my brothers and I could. I asked her to close her eyes and concentrate on me, just me and nothing else and try to listen for my voice in her head, that I would try to send a message to her if she was willing to try this. She agreed and I gave her a minute to lay back and close her eyes and concentrate.

Bella, can you hear me Bella?

Bella, it's Edward, try hard Bella, let me know if you hear me.

Bella, listen to me babygirl it's Edward, can you hear me? I heard a gasp on her end of the phone, then... Edward? I .. I heard you.

I almost jumped for joy when I heard that sweet voice in my head. We had connected even just for a brief second we had connected. I tried again.

Bella, tell me what you hear.

But silence from her end. We had both got so excited that the connection had broken again. I spoke out loud and asked her what she had heard. She said it was just like my voice but inside her head. YES! I told her that I had heard her answer. She was very quiet for a minute. I wasn't sure if she was scared or what was wrong so I asked her. She said she didn't know what to think, she was surprised, and nervous and a little confused, but Wait. Did I call her babygirl? I laughed and said yes, that it just slipped out and I apologized. She said, that she wasn't complaining just making sure that she had heard it clearly. I grinned. Silly girl.