Chapter 4

Bella struggled to survive biology. Up front Mr. Banner was lecturing about the parts of the cell in a dreary, monotone voice. A few goody goody students were actively taking notes, some were sleeping, but most were staring at Bella. After a lengthy perusal, Jessica gave Bella a condescending smile before turning to her partner. It was obvious what the topic of their discussion was.

At her own table Edward gawked at Bella's arms. Although greatly disgusted, he couldn't help but be intrigued. He had to clamp down on the urge to touch. To run his finger up the flames that licked at her wrist and forearm.

From the corner of her eye, Bella watched as Edward's hand crept slowly towards her only to pull back at the last moment. You can touch if you want. She scribbled on the corner of her notes before sliding them over. She saw his eyes widen at the page before looking up at her. Hoping to ease the tension between them, she gave a little smile and offered her arm.

Staring at Bella and at her outstretched limb, Edward started to panic. He could feel his heart race and his breathing accelerate. Suddenly a wave of nausea swept through him. Wrenching his backpack open, he quickly threw his notes and books into it. He was already racing for the classroom door when the bell rang signaling the end of class.

Edward's violent reaction to her left Bella inwardly hurting and extremely embarrassed. She picked up her things and made her way to the door. As she passed the last desk, Jessica's, she overheard the bitch whisper to someone "Such a slut. Even Edward knows to stay away from her."

Her first reaction was a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach; However, this quickly dissolved as the anger took over. Before she realized what she was doing, she found herself standing in front of Jessica staring her down. Jessica could see the burning hate and anger in Bella's eyes. She frantically tried to back away only to stumble backwards into her chair. Unaware of the attention she was garnering, Bella leaned over to Jessica's ear. "Listen you skank ass ho cause I'm only gonna say this once. Keep your ass outta my business and my name off your lips."

Standing up and brushing her hair over her shoulder, Bella strolled from the room. She wondered how long it would take before Edward's reaction and her threatening Jessica hit the news stand. It was evident that Jessica wouldn't say a word. She had seen the fear in her eyes and had noticed her quivering bottom lip.

Bella pushed through to the end of the day; Edward's reaction wreaking havoc on her mind. In gym she agreed to write a five page paper on the history of dodgeball in exchange for sitting out the period. When Coach Clapp finally signaled the end of class, Bella was grateful the school day was finally at an end. She took her time in the locker room in the hopes of delaying the inevitable. When she could wait no longer, she grabbed her books and headed to the parking lot. Thankfully, most of the student body was already gone for the day. She tried not to dwell on the empty spot beside her blazer as she made her way towards it.

Disarming her vehicle, she threw her backpack into the passenger seat and climbed in. From the corner of her eye, she noticed somebody across the lot. Turning her head, she gasped. Mr. Masen was standing at his car, a black 2009 Subaru WRX-STI, watching her. Even at such a distance she could feel the heat radiating from his hungry, black gaze. With a small smile, Bella turned her attention back to the task at hand; Getting home. With a flick of the wrist and a push of a button, the blazer was roaring to life and lifting from the ground. Shifting into reverse, Bella flipped on the radio and backed out of the parking space. As she left the lot, she shot another look in his direction but he was already gone.

She was almost home when she remembered the grocery store. Quickly performing a three point turn, Bella drove back through the town. As she neared the stotre she was relieved to see the near empty parking lot. Locating a spot near the front door she grabbed her list and money and strolled inside.

Pushing her cart down each aisle, Bella could feel the eyes of her fellow shoppers. The few patrons in the store openly stared. While trying to check out, both the cashier and bagger had to be prompted to do their job. Bella sighed, knowing the gossip that would be running rampant through the small town about her. She could just imagine it. She hoped that Charlie would remain ignorant until she could show him that evening.

After what seemed a lifetime, Bella finally found herself back in her blazer and on her way home yet again.

Once at home, Bella put away all the groceries before trekking upstairs to do some homework. Flipping open her laptop, she turned on her playlist and cranked up the volume. Soon she was bobbing her head to the lyrical beats of Master P, Snoop Dogg, and other such artists. She was just finishing up with her biology assignment when her phone rang. Pausing her music, she answered, "Sup Jaz."

"Hey! Em and I were just messin around in the studio. We wanted to see if you'd like to join us."

"Can't tonight but tomorrow is good. How bout right after school?"

"Cool."

"Oh hey, I'm making dinner tonight. You and Em in?"

"Hellz ya. You know we never turn down a home cooked meal!"

Bella could hear Emmett agreeing in the background. "Okay. How does six sound?"

"Six is great. We'll see you then!" Bella hung up the phone. Starting up the music again she resumed working on her assignments.

Finishing up her last assignment, Bella contemplated the upcoming conversation with Charlie and the "big reveal" as she referred to it. Charlie was "old-school" and had very conservative values. Even Renee with her liberal hippy views, was perturbed by Bella's lifestyle choices. Bella was anticipating a very large explosion from Charlie as well as an extremely heated discussion.

The sound of the doorbell pulled Bella from her musings. Pulling on a black cardigan, no reason to start the entire evening on the wrong foot, Bella headed to the door. She swung it open to reveal both Emmett and Jasper. "Hey guys!"

"Where's the food? I'm starving!" As always, Emmett was thinking with his stomach.

Jasper chuckled, "Hi darlin."

Pulling the door all the way open, Bella motioned them inside. As they entered she saw that Emmett carried a case of beer and Jasper held a large paper bag. She directed them into the kitchen and shut the door. "What ya got Jaz?"

"Well we couldn't exactly show up empty handed. So I've got us some marbled cheesecake and Em..."

"I've got beer for the men!" Emmett bellowed proudly. "I thought Charlie, Jaz, and myself could have some good male bonding tonight."

"Um Em?"

"Yea Bells?"

"I hate to be the one to break it to you, but Charlie is staunchly against any alcohol in the house." Bella turned to look at Emmett. His eyes grew to the size of saucers. His face a mix of shock, disappointment, and fear.

Picking up the beer, Emmett turned to the door. "I'll go stick this back out in the car then."

Both Bella and Jaz waited until he made it to the front door. "Wait Em! I was just kidding!" The pair collapsed with laughter.

Stomping back into the kitchen, Emmett glared at them. "You two are going to get it. Just wait." At the fridge he opened it looking for room for the beer.

Gasping for breath, Bella stopped him. "No not in there. There's another refrigerator in the garage. Put it in there."

He returned with an evil grin and a twinkle in his eyes. Bella groaned. "I'm going to start on dinner now. How does chicken cordon bleu with roasted potatoes, asparagus, and french bread sound?

Jasper and Emmett both moaned at her words. "Wonderful!" "Awesome!" They chimed.

"Okay. Well why don't you go ahead and grab a beer and make yourself comfortable in the living room with the tv. Charlie should be home in about fifteen minutes."

With that, they did as she commanded and she set to work. She had just pulled the bread from the oven and replaced it with the chicken when she heard the cruiser pull up into the driveway. Hearing Charlie greet the guys, she grabbed a beer for him.

"Smells good Bells. Thanks." He accepted the beverage. "What's for dinner?"

"Chicken, potatoes, and asparagus."

"Great. I'm gonna go sit with the guys." He backed out the kitchen towards the others. In the living room, Charlie took his usual seat in the recliner. Gesturing to the tv, he asked "What's on?"

"Not much at the moment but reruns of Overhaulin'. There's a game on at seven though." The three fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the Foose in action. Right as they settled in for the start of the game, they heard Bella announce dinner. Even from the kitchen Bella could hear the protests. Feeling thoughtful, she made each of them a a plate and served them in the living room. Anything for more brownie points! She thought.

"Thanks Bella."

"Thanks!"

"Thank you Bells. You didn't have to do that."

"Its alright guys. Need anything else before I join you guys?"

"How about some napkins?"

"Sure." Grabbing napkins and her own plate, Bella returned to the living room and plopped down on the loveseat.

After a very rowdy game, several beers, and a round of cheesecake, Emmett and Jasper decided to call it a night. To thank Bella for the meal, they forced her to relax on the couch while they cleaned up. Once finished. they both shook Charlie's hand, gave Bella a hug, thanking her once again for dinner, and exited the house.

"Thanks for dinner Bells. It was really good. I didn't know you could cook like that." Charlie patted his stomach in satisfaction. "I had fun tonight with those guys. Maybe we can invite Billy and Jacob over next time."

"Sure thing Dad. I'm glad you enjoyed the food and company." Taking a deep breath, Bella decided to take the plunge. "Dad, can we talk about something?"

The relaxed atmosphere evaporated instantly. Charlie swung his eyes to Bella noticing the sweat forming on her forehead. Instantly he could feel his heart rate increase. "Sure. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine dad."

"Okay so why are you sweating? You're making me anxious over here."

"Honestly I'm just nervous what your reaction is going to be. Knowing how Renee misguided you on my career, I'm absolutely sure she failed to mention some other things. Things that you need to be aware of."

"Um. Okay. What kind of things?" Charlie's head was a whirl wind of activity.

"First off, I have to start working on my new album. This means long hours spent in the studio which often results in nights spent crashing there. I will always have my phone on me. The same for Jasper and Emmett. For nights like that I'll try my hardest to let you know thats where I am but sometimes we get caught up in work and time slips away."

Some of the tension eased from Charlie. "Okay. Please try to remember to let me know. Maybe you can put a schedule on the fridge of when you'll be recording so if you do get caught up, I at least know thats where you are. Also make sure to leave both Jasper and Emmett's numbers for me. What else?"

"Sounds like a great idea. I'll get that for you tomorrow along with the numbers. Second, my new album is going to have quite a few guests on it. This means a bit of celebrity traffic through the town of Forks as well as here at the house. Hopefully with both the location of the studio and the new garage, we can keep the town of Forks oblivious to their presence. That being said, I do want to warn you that some of them are quite thuggish looking."

"Hmm. Now I know why Renee said there would be some interesting and strange people showing up at the house. I can't promise you anything but I will try my best to not jump to any conclusions and to be on my best behavior."

Bella giggled nervously. "Thanks dad. There's one more thing. Remember I told you that I wasn't a perfect angel? Well please just try to keep an open mind."

Instantly Charlie was on alert. "What do you mean? Open mind?"

Standing up, Bella took another deep breath and stripped off the cardigan. She watched as Charlie took in her arms. Slowly the color drained from his face. His mouth opened and closed like a fish as he tried to talk. "How? When? Why?"

"I got my first tattoo to commemorate my first successful single. The addiction just grew from there. I wanted you to know because I'm not going to hide them. This is who I am." Bella slowly pivoted to let Charlie take in all the artwork. "I know that being a small town that news travels fast. I wanted you to see the truth from me and not anybody else." She turned back to face her dad.

"Bella. What's done is done. There's not much I can do about it, is there? I appreciate the honesty." Staring at her he smirked. "Why do I have a feeling that Forks is never going to be the same again?" The pair laughed.

"Well dad. Its getting late and I'm gonna hit the sack." With a quick hug and kiss, she made her way to her room. "Night dad."

"Night."

To Bella the rest of the week dragged by. The topic of discussion continued to be Bella and her body art. It appeared that very few of the students and townspeople of Forks were as open minded as those from the big city. Even Edward continued to minimize his involvement with her, however, he was no longer avoiding her like she had the plague. Only Alice, Rose, and Angela acted as nothing was wrong. They pushed to have a girls night.

"Oh come on Bells. You've been here a week. We can get all dolled up and head into Seattle for some fun. Then afterwards we can crash at my house." Alice turned her puppy dog eyes on Bella. Her hands clasped together as if she was praying to some deity.

Bella's eyes narrow in contemplation. "I'll agree but only if you'll let me invite some friends to join us in Seattle. I promise you'll enjoy them."

"Sweet!" Alice grabbed Bella in a bear hug. She then turned to the other two. "What do you guys think?"

"What if we went for sushi and saki and then afterwards decided to check out that new club, Ensnared, afterwards? It takes almost two hours to get there so we could meet at Alice's house at seven and all ride together."

"Sounds great." With that the girls parted company and went their seperate ways.

Bella knocked on the door to Jasper's house. After several minutes of no answer she checked the door handle. She shook her head as the door swung open easily. Small town does not equal safe. Closing the door quietly behind her she stood there listening to her surroundings. A few minutes later she heard some slight noises coming from the back living room. With an evil smirk, she made her way to Jasper's office.

She had searched three of the huge drawers in the oak desk before she finally discovered what she knew was there. Grabbing the small Smith and Wesson she then went to the small half bath to load it. Knowing things would get ugly, she slipped off her leather jacket and boots and left them with her keys and phone on the entryway table. Both hands on the gun, she slinked through the house.

Grenade blasts, machine guns, and yelling could be heard coming from the french doors at the end of the hallway. Knowing how Jasper liked his setup, she was extremely confident her plan would work. Grasping the door handle, she slowly turned it before opening the door. As she thought, the boys were locked in a vicious battle on the gaming system with their backs to the door. She slipped inside but left the door open for a quick escape if necessary. She took a few seconds to contemplate who to surprise. Em or Jaz...either way I'm gonna my ass whooped! Finally she decided on Jaz.

Silently she walked up behind him and placed the gun to the back of his head. "Don't move a muscle either of you!" She yelled.

Emmett screeched like a little girl, throwing the controller across the room. Jasper froze, feeling the barrel pressing against his skull. Emmett stared at her. "What are you doing Bells?"

"I think small town living has already made you lax, Jaz. Front door unlocked. Anybody could have crept up in this joint." Knowing Em would never put Jaz's life in jeopardy, she focused her attention on her hostage. "Jaz, I want you to stand up slowly. Then I want you to take two steps forward." She pulled back the hammer.

Jasper complied with her demands. "Now slowly turn around." She waited gun still focused on his frame. "What exactly were you thinking?"

He looked closely at her. "Apparently I wasn't. Now why would you ever turn a gun against me Bells?" He shifted his attention to the weapon. Something was very familiar about it.

Knowing her time was up, Bella yelled, "Gotcha!" She pulled the trigger, soaking both Em and Jasper with water before running out the door. She ran straight to the front door, hearing the swearing and yelling following behind her. At one point she heard a loud crash followed by a "Damn!" She could only assume Em had ran into the something. A few more obscene words and she was positive he had ran into something. Grabbing her things, she flung open the door and raced outside to her vehicle.

Both Jaz and Em had barely cleared the front steps when Bella floored the blazer out of the driveway. With a laugh and a single finger wave, she was gone.