BPOV

Alice heard my gasp and turned to look at me. "What? Bella, what's going on?"

I guessed I'd better answer her, but I didn't know if I could yet. "N-n-nothing, Alice."

I forced a smile and swallowed- which was difficult to do with the lump in my throat.

"Bella? Bella, I know when you're lying, and even if I didn't, it's obvious. What is it?

What are you suddenly so worried about?" Alice had turned back to the road, and continued to drive, but she kept peeking into the rear view mirror at me. She's pouting again, dang it. She knows I can't stand that!

"Um… I just hope James doesn't think I am still with him. You know how possessive he gets." The thought of my ex-boyfriend made me shudder. I'd hoped he'd never remembered me, but he'd come back. Then I'd moved in to my best friend Alice's house – mansion, really – so he couldn't find me.

Alice gritted her teeth and shuddered. "And?"

"Well, I hope no one else assumes I am with any one…" I thought of Edward.

"Oh, of course no one would brand you off so to speak, and assume you're with any one the way you assumed about Edward." She smiled a sly little smile.

I bit my lip and turned my face, flushing a beet red. "How'd you know?"

"Bella, I'm slow sometimes, but I am not blind. I know your body motions and I think I can tell when you are blushing." She looked for my reaction in the rear-view mirror. I kept my expression.

"You know, I think he likes you, too. Maybe you can hang with him at prom." Alice's mouth curled up into a small smile.

"Alice!" I shrieked suddenly. For there, standing thirty yards from the front of the car, in the middle of the road, was James.

He was smiling like a maniac, and sticking out his left thumb to the side as if he were hitchhiking. Alice hit the brakes.

"Turn!" I shrieked. "Go! Anywhere but here!" Alice pushed the peddle with a set expression and honked. James' smile turned to shock, then to fear as he dove out of the way. Alice didn't relax, but kept right on going. She didn't stop before we reached the school, and even then she barely slowed below thirty until we were parked. I jumped out and slammed the door. I set my face, and Alice and Jasper gave me a minute before getting out of her car. With Alice and jasper on both my sides for my protection, we walked to where an incredulous-looking Jacob stood with his friend group. I forced a crooked smile.

"Hey, who was that?" Jacob questioned, and we all knew of whom he spoke.

"Th-that was James." Alice said through a forced clamped jaw and fake smile. She looked like she wanted to go right back to where he had been a moment ago, and murder him. Only her and Jasper knew the reason.

I knew they considered it my story to tell, so I stepped forward and said, "I am so sorry, Jake, if that caused you any trouble. I am trying to avoid him, and I don't know how he found me." I shoved my memories out of my mind and forced another smile.

Five pairs of curious eyes stared at me, while the other three pairs looked suspicious and accusing. I looked down and hurried to step back into my spot between my still-stiff friends, Alice and Jasper.

Laughing approached us and we turned to see Eric on his way over to us. "hey, Bells!" he hollered and we all started moving at once toward the school. Someone caught my hand as I started to advance forward with my friends.

A hand covered my mouth and the arm released my hand and instead covered the front of my body to restrain me. I tried to scream but he was pulling me backwards. No one took any notice.

"Hush, Bella. I only want to talk to you." James' voice silenced my struggles temporarily, before I recognized the lying laughter leaking into his voice with the second phrase. I struggled even more and he tightened his clasp around me, and tripped me to the ground behind a bush. He sat beside me on the ground and released me long enough to rearrange his hold.

I heard a faint "hey, where's Bella?" and sighed with relief. Immediately, James' hand covered my mouth and he lay down beside me.

"Bella?" Edward hollered, and Alice called a second later, "Bella, where are you?"

I struggled and shrieked and his hand grasped my throat, cutting off my breathing. But I had succeeded, because I heard Alice gasp, "what was that? Hey, I think she was over here!"

Foot steps came closer, and they were quick and rapid, but still far enough away that she couldn't hear my muffled struggles.

From the other side of the car on my right, some one – probably one of James' friends – came around the car from the front of it.

James greeted him with a backwards glance, and a look of 'what took you so long?'

On the other side of the bush hiding me, Alice still hesitantly advanced forward, looking for me. James released the grasp on my neck long enough for me to take a quick breath, and reclaimed his hands' position. "We want you alive," he explained, and I didn't miss the smirk in the 'we.'

Mike came into view, and his Jessica was tied up in his arms. James whispered to him, "Put her in the car." Nodding his head to the knocked out Jessica. Mike struggled with the door and threw her in. "Help me with her!" he said nodding at me now, and squeezing my neck until I grabbed his hand and tried to pull it away form my throat, with no avail.

Foot steps turned away and Alice called, "I cant find her!"

James smiled and I knew I would be unconscious shortly.

I slowly drifted into an unconscious state, and as I did, I noticed several things at once. Edward asked Alice if she were sure I wasn't found, and he ran in this direction to be sure. I kicked a little and made noise any way I could, and hoped it would be enough.

And then all senses faded into oblivion.

EPOV

I was thinking about her when Alice suddenly turned and said, "Hey, where's Bella?"

All I could think about – or had been thinking about all night – was Bellas' beauty. Now we didn't know where she could have possibly have gone.

I turned to look for her and called, "Bella?"

I walked toward where we'd last seen her.

Alice shouted, "Bella, where are you?"

I froze. We heard a shriek and turned in that direction. Alice recovered first and walked in the general direction we'd heard the shriek. The others had forgotten all about us and walked toward the school. I recognized the song 'girl, put your records on,' and lost my focus for a moment, as this song had been playing on the radio in the van, moments ago. Alice came back in my direction, calling to me, "I can't find her!" her voice brought back to the hard reality. "are you sure?" I called back. I ran past her, and she had a devastated look on her face. I noticed after a moment, that a bush was shaking too much for the cause to be the wind, and that a car was parked only three or so feet away from it on the other side. Bella's feet lay between, hopefully attached to Bella. I ran and noticed she wasn't struggling much.

I quickened my pace, and came around the corner to Mike, and a man I assumed to be James, hovering over Bella. James had a hand on Bellas' throat. He released and she passed into unconsciousness. I ran in, pulling my arm back. I snapped it forward into the shocked face of an unsuspecting Mike. He flew backwards a foot or so, and James looked up at me.

He didn't realize until I had him into a hold by the collar of his shirt, that he had – luckily – not gone far enough away with Bella. "What did you do to her?" I growled at him. He smiled an evil smile and simply said, "She's only knocked out!" I turned around and walked away a few paces before dropping him to the ground. He landed on his feet and tried to throw a punch which I smacked out of the way, and landed one to the left side of his nose with my right fist. I kneed him in the groin and let him suffer a moment before walking backwards to Bella.

She woke up when I patted her arm. I assumed he hadn't done a very good job of knocking her out. She began to sit up and I knelt beside her to support her head. She'd probably hit it.

She stuttered, "wh-where's Alice?"

I laughed, relieved she hadn't forgotten much, but I still was unsure as to weather or not it was true. "Do you remember where we are?" I asked to test her.

"Yeah, the prom… right?"

Relieved at her apparent lack of memory loss, I laughed, then looked around to see if the two culprits were still where I'd left them. I glared at Mike for a moment, before turning to the spot I'd left James. Hadn't it been right there in the middle of the parking lot lane? Then where...?

Jasper and Alice ran around the corner at the same time Bella got to her feet.

"Really, Edward, I'm fine!" Bella insisted as I caught her elbow when she took a step. I removed my hand from her arm, but I wasn't convinced.

I let Alice take her away, caught up on the way Bella'd said my name. And the fact that James had gotten away.