Disclaimer: I do not own anything Twilight; all rights go to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N I am sorry for the late update! I've been sooo busy! I hope this chapter makes up for my being late! Love you guys!

Chapter Seventeen, Isabella.

Previously…

The diner door chimed and Rose and I turned towards the door expectantly. But our eyes widened immediately at who had walked into the diner.

She walked straight over to us, "Hi. We need to talk."

Alice's POV:

The whole time this girl walked over to us, I kept running her face through my mind.

Who is she? I've never seen here before…I've been here long enough to remember the diner regulars…

I looked more closely at her strawberry blonde locks, she looked determined as she stood in front of us.

Oh yes, this is…uhm. I struggled to remember her name, but I did remember briefly meeting her at the disastrous baseball game.

Rose's face turned from shock to a suspicious smile. "Hey Tanya, I haven't seen you around lately."

Tanya threw me a cold glare, "I've heard you've been busy."

I was immediately on the defense with this girl after she had looked at me like that.

Rose seemed to catch her meaning and smiled brightly, "It's no excuse. We definitely should hang out more. But what did you need to talk about."

Tanya smiled, "We do need to hang out, but actually I am here to talk to Mary."

"U-uh me?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes." Tanya said, motioning over to an empty booth.

I gave Rose an unsure glance, but followed Tanya to the booth. Rose stared at us for a moment, but then walked outside briskly.

"Alright, let's just get to the chase." Tanya spoke quickly as soon as Rose had left.

I raised my eye brows at her, "And what would that be?"

What is with this girl?

"I see you and Edward running around all best friend like, all over each other all of the time; nonstop chatting and giggling whenever you are together." Tanya's voice had a slight irritation to it. "So unfortunately I have to accept that you are part of his life." She sighed heavily at this.

This girl is crazy… I was taken aback by the way she spoke of Edward…like she was his girlfriend or something.

Tanya rolled her eyes at my confusion and incredulous facial expressions. "You're as dense as you look."

"Hey!" Someone yelled from the other side of the diner.

I looked over to see Edward, walking quickly towards us. I felt relief that the guys were here.

Tanya smiled brightly up at him, "Hello Edw-"

Edward lifted up his hands to cut her off, "No hellos, leave Mary alone." He grabbed me by my arm and yanked me up out of my seat.

Tanya looked momentarily stunned but she soon recovered, "You're going to have to face this sooner or later, so you might as well do it now!" She said coyly, and then she walked out of the diner with something of a pout on her face.

Why do I get the feeling that this is something everyone else is going to know about; leaving me in the dark, again.

Bella's POV:

I felt shaky as I walked into the diner, I could see the five of them sitting there at a booth, talking, laughing, and getting along.

I miss my friends… I thought bitterly.

I took a deep breath, I had come here to talk to Mary or Rose, but I didn't expect all of them to be here.

There has been so much chaos in my life recently, and I have done nothing but antagonize it. I've never got along with any girls as well as I have with these two. They just seemed to understand me; it was like the six of us were different from the rest of the world. The boys and I got along great too, well except for Jasper and I; since he knew about Jake the whole time. Mary and Jasper were facing the door, sitting in the corner. Jasper had his arm around her shoulders, it was undeniable that those two were meant to be together; they looked like they belonged. I could see Rose's blonde hair and the back of Emmett's head. Edward…he was sitting by himself on a chair at the end of the booth. I felt frozen as I stood there in the doorway, looking at him; it broke my heart, in a million different ways.

Mary's eyes connect with mine, but she quickly looked away. Then Jasper saw me, at first it was like he was just looking around vaguely, but then when his eyes rested on me, an apologetic look crossed his face. Edward's head snapped around at me, he moved so quickly that his chair fell over.

Emmett's loud laughter bellowed throughout the diner, Jasper was covering his mouth with his hand, and Mary flew to Edward's side.

Of course she is there, right by his side…it's like they are glued together.

Nothing about this struck me as funny, I felt numb. I watched Mary help Edward and his chair up, it was too much. I turned to leave the dinner, but then something grabbed my arm.

"Talk to him." A gentle, kind voice said to me.

I turned to see Jasper holding me back, a soft smile on his face. "I've been where you are. And although we may have done things differently, we both still did about the same thing. You wouldn't know it by looking at them, but you mean the world to Edward. Even though she does too, it's in a completely different way." He spoke vaguely, but his words impacted me greatly.

I was hesitant to believe that I meant anything to Edward…

Jasper let go of me, "Believe me, no…better yet, believe him." Then he turned away and walked back towards his friends.

I continued to walk out the door; shaken by Jasper's intense words.

"Wait…Bella." That smooth, alluring voice called out.

I had my hand on the handle of my truck door when the voice spoke. I wiped around to see Edward smiling nervously at me. His smile reminded me of Jake…

Edward's POV:

"Mary, get off of me! I can get up on my own!" I whispered harshly to her.

She rolled her eyes, "Shut up, it's not weak to get some help." She sighed as I pushed her away, "She isn't even paying attention right now. Jasper is going to talk to her." Mary whispered very quietly, even though Emmett's howling laughter was enough to cover her voice if she just whispered.

Suddenly my thoughts were taken to a different point of view. Through Mary's thoughts, I saw Jasper grab onto Bella's arm. "Talk to him." Jasper said gently. "I've been where you are. And although we may have done things differently, we both still did about the same thing. You wouldn't know it by looking at them, but you mean the world to Edward. Even though she does too, it's in a completely different way." Jasper let go of her, "Believe me, no…better yet, believe him." But his words didn't stop her; she walks out of the diner anyway. She gets to her car, and when she is just about to open the door something stops her.

"That'll never stop being the weirdest, coolest thing ever." I said to her.

Mary laughed quietly, as Jasper stepped over us since we were still on the floor. "You're telling me. Now I suggest you go get her before she leaves. I'm not a psychic or anything," and at this she giggled, "But I'm willing to bet that you're that very thing that stops her."

This was why Mary and I were friends. It wasn't because of the freaky talents or any other reason than the fact that we just understand her. Neither Emmett nor Rosalie understands why I continue to hope and wait for the moment Bella and I can be together. Mary wouldn't need her visions to understand, even though it might help, it's because she believes in soul mates; she understands that sometimes no matter how insane it seems, some things are just meant to be. That's the best part about Mary and I, no words have to be shared, we just get each other.

"You're up lover boy." Jasper said, smiling at me. "I would like to take my girlfriend back now."

Mary smiled up at him as she took his hand and stood up, "Good luck." She chimed at me.

I smiled at the two of them and dashed out the door.

Just like Mary's vision, Bella had her hand on the handle of her car.

"Wait…Bella." I called out to her.

She spun around and looked at me, surprised. I felt nervous, suddenly realizing I had no idea what to say.

She smiled back at me, but we both just stood there silently. After a few moments Bella opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry." She took a couple steps towards me, leaving about three feet between us. "I'm sorry about leading you on when I knew I had something with Jake, I am sorry about not ever telling you about it until that day at the café, and I am sorry for any pain you've felt because of me." She took a deep breath, "I broke things off completely with Jake...well anything romantic. His dad is best friends with my dad, so I still see him, but only as a friend."

I felt a little unsure of her words. But everything inside of me wanted to believe her.

Bella's POV:

I spilled out my apology to Edward, but he stood there not saying a word. I waited awkwardly while he took in my little impromptu speech.

"I forgive you." He stated simply.

"F-forgive me?" For some reason those were not the words I expected to come out of his mouth.

He nodded his head, and walked towards me; closing the rest of the very cold distance between us.

Edward stood just arm's length away and gave me a lopsided toothy grin. "Yes."

"You forgive me…just like that?" I asked doubtfully.

He chuckled, "No, I've had some time to think about it after our last conversation, and I decided that I wasn't angry or going to let it hurt me any longer. But in order for that to happen, I had to forgive you first."

"Oh." I didn't know what else to say.

"So where does this leave things?" I asked after a while. Things were more awkward between us than they had ever been.

Edward shrugged, "Friends?" He spoke the word so casually, so nonchalant that it nearly broke my heart.

"F-friends?" I stuttered out.

He smiled, and then he turned around and walked back into the diner.

"What the heck." I muttered. I mean, I didn't expect him to declare his undying love to me or anything, but friends…he said it so casually and then walked away!

"Ha ha." Someone laughed sarcastically nearby.

I turned around to see Tanya. "Edward does have that way of pretending to be so madly in love with you that you expect that to be his reaction every time, but then suddenly he acts as if you never meant a thing."

I was about to ask her what she was talking about but someone spoke before I had the chance.

"Shut up Tanya. I thought you left earlier?"

I turned around to see Edward. He smiled brightly at me, "She does mean a whole lot more to me than you will understand, but after everything that has happened between us it is probably best to start over, a clean slate. But that is not any business of yours."

I felt my cheeks grow warm at his words. Tanya scoffed at us and stormed off farther into the parking lot.

Edward rolled his eyes as she walked off, "I thought you were coming in?" He asked me.

"What?" Coming in where?

"We were just about to order so it's perfect timing." He said, putting his hand on the middle of my back and walking us towards the diner.

"Eat with you guys?"

He nodded his head, "Of course, that's what friends do, right?"

Not wasting a chance to be back in the group I nodded my head, "Sure."

The whole Tanya thing was bugging me though, were her and Edward a thing? Before I could think any further on the subject, Edward was pulling up a chair for me to sit next to him at the end of the booth.

I was met with smiling faces, well all but one. Rose looked like she could care less whether I was here or not. But that is to be expected… After we had sat down and ordered I couldn't keep the question that has been brewing around in my thoughts.

"I didn't know you and Tanya dated?" I asked quietly.

Mary grinned broadly at me, "YES! Finally someone who is as clueless as I am!" She squealed out, bouncing around slightly in her seat.

Was that an insult? I wasn't sure.

Jasper put his hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. Mary then looked straight at me and smiled apologetically. "I meant that I am glad to have someone else in the group who doesn't know everything there is to know about this town."

I nodded at her words, wondering why that would make her so excited.

Jasper laughed, "Mary is strange like that isn't she?"

I laughed along with everyone us, but truly I was struck by her words. She had immediately considered me to be part of the group again. I could tell throughout dinner that Emmett and Rose were a little less welcoming to the idea, but I had hurt Edward and I need to earn everyone's trust again.

I realized that Mary had interrupted my asking if Tanya and Edward had dated. Jasper looked at me and nodded, it was as if he knew what I was thinking and feeling. Just as I had worked up the courage to ask again Edward spoke up.

"Before you had come to Forks, Tanya and I had dated. It was only for a few months, she was new and I barely knew her. We broke up because she had someone else…but it was perfect timing because I wasn't sure how to break it off."

"How come I've never heard of this before?"

Edward shrugged, "I don't know, she left that summer and came back going on and on about some guy named James she had met on vacation."

From the corner of my eye I saw Mary silently choke as she was taking a sip of her water. She covered it up neatly, but something about it bothered me.

Edward's POV:

James?! Did he just say James? Calm down Alice…there are thousands of people with that name! There is no way its James from Ohio…no way.

Mary's thoughts were racing from when I spoke of James. I gave her a questioning look, but she ignored it. She occasionally has these little fits, but slowly comes back down from her panic.

Mary's freaking out…Why? Jasper thought questioningly, pointedly looking at me.

I shrugged at him, and he gave me a doubtful glance.

No matter how far things have come between Jasper and Mary there was still a giant part of her life that she couldn't share. It made things a little complicated, but I knew Jasper would understand if he or when he ever found out; it's all for her safety.

I looked over at Bella, who smiled warmly at me.

Why can't I read your thoughts? I wondered.

Alice's POV:

Calm down Alice! Calm down! Someone is going to notice your behavior and it's something that you cannot explain so calm down.

Eventually I was able to pull myself together after Emmett made an amusing comment that helped me not to focus on my inner turmoil.

"Hey, Rose, Mar-Mar…aren't you guys supposed to be working?" Emmett asked the group, he looked serious as he whispered this to us.

Rose and I exchanged glances, "No we got off about twenty minutes ago."

Emmett squinted, "But we've been here for an hour…"

Rose nodded her head, "Yeah, Paul and Seth said that they would cover our tables."

"Did you think that we were just skipping out on work?" I asked him.

He shrugged, "People do foolish things when they are in love…or want some yummy food."

We all chuckled at Emmett's antics, he really is truly food minded.

~000~

"I'm home!" I called out when I walked in the door to the house. The Cullen's had just dropped me off.

There was no answer, which was weird because she should already be home.

Maybe she is with Carlisle?

I shrugged, not thinking too much on it, taking my book bag upstairs. As I walked up the stairs I slipped on something wet.

What in the world?

I landed on my behind, landing in whatever it was. I brought my hand in front of me so I could see what it is was that had caused me to fall. Expecting to see nothing, it felt as if the world had stopped when I saw it.

Blood…

"AAAAHHHH!" I screamed out, my lungs burning from the force.

WHERE IS ESME!?

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