Gives You Hell

EPOV

I woke up slowly the next morning, sunlight streaming through the window and landing right on my face. I rolled onto my back and stretched out, making sure not to hit the person I felt laying next to me, and reveled in the feeling of my legs moving. I opened my eyes slowly, turning my head away from the window, to see Bella sleeping. Her eyes were closed, but I could tell there was something bothering her. Her face was slightly tense and her mouth was in the form of a small frown.

It was the first time I had really looked at her without my gaze being drawn directly to her eyes. Her hair fell around her face in soft brown waves, making her look like a small child that didn't like the dream they were having. She had full, dark lashes that framed her eyes, making them the centerpiece of her face. She had the same pale complexion as the others, but she didn't seem as pasty as them. Their features were much more angled and sharp than hers. Her cheekbones were defined, but smooth. Her softer features made her seem so much more human than the others.

She was beautiful.

I sighed and ran my thumb over her cheek, putting her features to memory. She was unpredictable, and I never knew when she might leave. I wanted to make sure I would never forget her, even though I didn't want her to ever go. I had to face the fact that I had no control over her and that she really had no reason to stay here. None of us could tell her what to do since she wasn't a part of the family, and it seemed to make her look more fragile to me. Like she would disappear as soon as I turned away.

Her eyelids fluttered before opening slowly, and my gaze was met by liquid gold. She smiled softly and stretched, her skin shimmering where it met the sunlight from my window. She relaxed and looked at me, sleep seeming to linger in her eyes.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," I said, poking her in the side. She flinched and laughed silently before poking me back. I rolled onto my side and propped my head up on my hand when someone knocked on the door.

"Edward?" Esme's voice called softly. "Bella?"

"I'm up, Esme," I responded, making sure not to imply anything about Bella. She looked at me gratefully, but turned towards the door as Esme entered.

"You know, Bella," Esme said, sitting down at the foot of the bed, "you don't have to stay in here with him all night. I'm sure it must get a little boring after a while." Bella shrugged.

I don't mind. Plus, I really don't have anything else to do. I translated and Esme looked like she wanted to blush, ducking her head to the side in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't realize-" Bella waved her off and shrugged.

It's alright. I'm sure you haven't meant anyone in my situation before, so it's understandable. Esme smiled and nodded.

"That is for sure, my dear. But the real reason I came in here was to talk about school. Do you think you want to go today, Edward? Or would you rather wait until Monday?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

"I don't see why I can't. I mean, I haven't been in any more pain, and Bella could always take me home if something comes up?" I turned to her as I said it and she nodded. Esme looked at me thoughtfully.

"You know you would have to go in your chair, right? So no one starts asking questions and investigating anything?" I nodded and looked down at my lap.

"I know. I don't think I'd be able to walk around the school just yet, anyway. I'd probably be trampled since I walk so slowly." Esme looked at me sadly and Bella put her hand on my forearm.

I could always work with you during your free time. We could try to get you to walk around the house a few times a day to help get your legs strong again, she signed.

"You would do that?" I asked her, sitting up, not believing that she would want to spend so much time with me. She nodded and I hugged her awkwardly as she lay next to me. "Thank you, Bella." Esme looked at me questioningly, and I told her what Bella said.

"Oh, that's very nice of you, dear. I'm sure the others would be happy to help as well, but right now you've got to get ready for school. And Edward, I'm going to call the school and let them know about you. I want you to keep it low, but I have to let them know at least that you are getting feeling back. We don't want you suddenly walking into school without your chair. They would ask questions," she said, standing up. We nodded and she walked out.

Bella rolled off the bed and walked to my side to help me up. She stood next to me as I lowered my feet to the floor and I took her hand lightly, trying to get up on my own. I started falling back down when Bella grabbed my hand tighter and put her other under my elbow. I managed to stand up without any more of her help and she walked next to me to the dresser. She put her hand on my back while I pulled out the drawer, and caught me as I started going down with the momentum of pulling it. I grabbed some clothes and pushed the drawer shut, using the dresser to keep myself from falling. Bella didn't say anything about it, to my relief. She walked me to the bathroom door before walking away to get herself changed.

I closed the toilet seat and sat down on it, changing into my jeans. I stood up and leaned myself against the sink and stripped off my shirt. It stuck to me in places from when I sweated during my attack. I threw it in the pile of dirty clothes and looked in the mirror, running a hand through my mop of weird colored hair.

I really wasn't much to look at. I had a medium build, but was slightly tall. I was probably around six foot. My hair stuck up all over the place, but it didn't look all that bad. It was the just-got-out-of-bed look that passed for styled sometimes. I had emerald green eyes, dark lashes, and sharp angles in my face. I was still slightly muscular, but not as much as I had been before. I still had my six pack, but it wasn't as defined as it had been. My arms were still slightly large, but not corded. Scars were all over my abs and arms from the accident, marring any semblance of a perfect body. I frowned and put my shirt on, diverting my eyes from the mirror. I opened the medicine cabinet and brushed my teeth.

I was nothing compared to the beauty Bella was. Everything about her was as perfect as it could get. No one could match her, and I knew I wasn't good enough. If she saw me…if she saw what that accident did to me…if she knew exactly how much I had lost, she would turn away. She would leave me just like everyone else. She deserved so much better than me, but insisted on helping me and spending all of her time with me. I couldn't figure it out, but I could feel the guilt right in my gut. She was spending her time with someone less than her, and didn't seem to care. I knew in my mind that it was her choice, but something told me there was a reason behind it. She could have anyone she wanted, and yet here she was. I couldn't decide whether it was because she felt she had to help me, or that she cared too much about my feelings to act on any of her own.

I sighed and rinsed my mouth out, putting my toothbrush back in the cabinet before walking out into my room. Bella was sitting on the edge of the bed and looking out the window, sunlight creating a spark in her eyes and tiny rainbows to dance across her face. I slowly walked over to her and sat down. She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed, taking my hand in both of hers. I don't know how long we sat like that, watching the sun rise up over the trees and Bella playing with my fingers, but Esme eventually called up to us, breaking the silence.

"Come on, you two! You don't want to be late!" I chuckled and Bella stood up, keeping my hand in hers as she did so. I managed to pull myself up without falling that time, and we made our way downstairs, Bella being one step below me so that I could hold onto her shoulders. We walked into the kitchen hand in hand and Esme smiled, handing me a granola bar. I cocked an eyebrow at her, but she just shook her head.

We walked out to her truck, my knee giving out once I stepped off the porch. Bella caught me before I hit the ground and let me stand myself up. I walked more carefully after that, a dull pain thumping in my knee every now and then. Bella opened the passenger door and helped me in before walking over to her side. I rubbed the sides of my knee, but it didn't seem to be all that bad. I wasn't really worried about it, and I'd be in my chair for the rest of the day anyway.

We made it to school with plenty of time to spare, letting me get to my locker without having to push through anyone. We made it to homeroom before most of the class and without seeing Lucas, and Mr. Banner walked over.

"It's nice to see you back, Edward. How are you doing?" he asked, sitting on the side of the desk in front of me. I shrugged.

"As good as I can be, I guess," I said, not hinting that anything had drastically changed, but not completely lying to him. He smiled knowingly.

"How long are you going to keep it a secret?" he whispered, even though the only person in the room was on the opposite side. I tapped the arm of my chair.

"Until I don't need this anymore, I hope." He nodded and went back up to his desk, grabbing some papers. He walked back and handed them to me. "Missed work?" He nodded.

"Could you do them with Bella? You know, read the questions out loud so she knows what topics we're on? I really don't know what else to do for you," he said turning towards her. She smiled and shrugged it off.

It's fine. I don't really mind. I translated and he nodded.

"And I guess I could read the test questions to you, when we have one. Can you write?" she nodded. "Okay, that works." He looked a little uncomfortable. "I have to admit, I had no idea how this was going to work when Edward brought your situation to my attention. I didn't think I was going to be able to do anything with you, but you are, thankfully, very flexible. If you ever feel you are being cheated in some way, let me know and the three of us will try to figure something out for you." Bella looked away like she would have been blushing and nodded.

He walked back up to his desk as everyone started coming in, and all eyes immediately shot to our corner. Whispers started as soon as people sat down, some as soon as they walked through the door. I just sat back and watched, being highly entertained by everyone.

And then he came in.

Lucas looked straight back to Bella and I, glaring. An evil smirk spread across his face, sending involuntary shivers down my spine. Bella put her hand over mine on my chair arm. Lucas sat in front of me glancing between the two of us with that smirk still on his face. Bella's hand tensed over mine, and I turned it so I was holding it. She relaxed minutely, but she was staring at him like she knew him from some time long ago. I could almost see her mind filtering through old memories, trying to find his face in one of them.

And that's where I grew confused. The first time she met Lucas was the first day of school, and she couldn't have seen any part of him, let alone his face. I turned slightly towards her, making a show of lifting myself and turning my body with my arms. I looked at her, concerned, and squeezed her hand. She jumped slightly and turned to me, confusion flashing through her eyes, but she shook her head, settling into her chair and looking away from the still grinning Lucas. I turned to him and glared.

"What do you want?" I spat. He gasped and put his hand on his chest like he was offended.

"Why, Edward! What did I do to deserve such a tone of voice?" he asked, sarcasm lacing his words. "Certainly you don't blame me for what happened to you a few days ago, because that would be accusing the innocent!" Bella shot half way out of her chair towards him, her upper lip twitching in her anger. She was glaring at him like she could see every pore on his face.

"Calm down, mamma. You could be ready to attack the wrong person, for all you know," he said, waving off her nonverbal threat. I grabbed Bella's wrist as she went to move around the table towards him, and she paused just short of pulling me out of my chair. Lucas started laughing.

"Looks like you need to keep a tighter leash on your service bitch. I thought they weren't allowed to leave their master's side," he said through his chuckles. I let Bella go, grabbing my textbook and making a move to throw it when Bella stopped me and Mr. Banner came over.

"That's enough, all three of you!" He moved so that he was looking directly at Lucas. "I don't want to hear you speak another word to these two for the rest of the school year. And if you have a problem with that, a little schedule change can easily be arranged, starting with suspension. Now, stand up and switch places with Ms. Weber," he said coolly.

Bella took the book from me and set it on the desk, sitting herself down in the process. I looked at her to see that her eyes had turned completely black, her breathing labored with her anger. She closed her eyes and tried to even it out, a scowl on her face the whole time. I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb and she seemed to calm down. She sighed and looked at me, her eyes back to their usual molten gold color. She smiled thankfully and I squeezed her hand.

The rest of the day was uneventful, unless the evil grins and occasional bumps from Lucas counted. I had lunch while the others talked about the rumors surrounding Bella and I, but I didn't pay much attention to them. At first they had questioned me about what had happened with Lucas first period, but quickly grew tired of the topic. Bella and I really didn't want to talk about it, so they moved on to what they all seemed to have been dying to talk about. I didn't pay any attention. We made it home and routine fell into place, Bella and I going to my room to do homework while the others did whatever they felt like. I fell asleep that night, Lucas's face haunting my dreams…

A/N: Okay, so I have officially been on winter break since Friday!!! Which means there is now sooo much more time to write…And you know what that means…

I already have a whole lot of the next chapter done, since it was originally part of this one. If anything seems a little awkward in this chapter, please feel free to let me know. It was a last minute decision.

The song for this chapter fits perfectly, but only if you take out the upbeat tone of the song. It's Gives You Hell by the All-American Rejects.

You know what to do now! Give me a reason to update before Christmas!!! And if I don't manage, then have a happy one!