A/N: This is Bella's POV, so if it feels a bit different from the rest of the story then that's a good sign b/c it was intended. If it doesn't, well then … Oops?

BellaPOV

I closed my eyes and leaned into the padded headboard. The rhythm in my chest was going a mile a minute. I knew this feeling, I had had it before, it was like waking up from a bad dream, but different. It was like I couldn't remember the dream but I knew I didn't want to wake up. My entire body was humming, was I still dreaming? Frustrated with myself, I opened my eyes and scanned the room ticking off all the familiarities. My desk, my books, a few pieces of clothing folded over the back of a chair. It was all exactly the same as it was when I had gone to bed. I had been having trouble sleeping for over two weeks now, since that night in the alley in Port Angeles. It was strange, because whenever I woke up it wasn't like I was scared, which admittedly I should have been, but something else… I couldn't place it. I brought a hand to my face, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, and the foreign coldness of my own skin surprised me. I gathered the blanket pooled at my waist and pulled it over my shoulders noticing the open window.

"No wonder…" I mumbled to myself.

I got up, not even attempting to quiet my bumbling footsteps on the hardwood floor. Charlie wouldn't wake up. I could probably have a kegger with half the school in the living room and he'd still sleep like a baby. I leaned out of the window to pull it shut, but stopped immediately, my heart picking up speed. I blinked once and it was gone, but I swear I saw it. A retreating figure, more of a blur than a body… I blinked my eyes a few more times… Was I imagining things? I tried to peer past the rows of trees across the street, but like always at night, I could only see one or two rows in… It wasn't much better during the daytime either.

I felt a chill crawl up my spine and I scolded myself almost instantaneously. I was doing it again, letting my over-active imagination get away with me. Moving to Forks was making me paranoid. There was something that irked me about that forest. Maybe it was all of those years living in Phoenix. You could stare into forever in the vast deserts of Phoenix; she didn't have any secrets. But not in Forks…No, certainly not in Forks. In Forks, everything seemed like one big secret. I sighed and trudged back over to my bed grabbing a book off the floor on the way. Sleep would be futile now. 4:55am the clock read, I would have to be up for school in a little over an hour anyway. I settled into the pillows and flicked on the light, feeling strangely calm. I smirked, even with all the broken hearts and bloodied bodies I could always trust the world of fiction and fantasy to calm my worried nerves.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

"You promise, Bella? You promise you're coming to La Push?"

I gave a withering glance to Angela, but it was the wrong choice. She was begging me to agree with that silent look of desperation I had come to know and not always love. She nodded subtly behind her and I didn't have to look to see whom she was referring to. Ben. I was beginning to be irritated with Ben on principle. If he didn't know that Angela was into him by now then the boy was deaf, dumb or blind. I knew it wasn't the first, and for Angela's sake I was hoping it wasn't the second, so maybe it was the third. She was definitely the most likeable of all my new friends here in Forks and it wasn't the first time I'd done something I wouldn't have otherwise for her sake, but I wasn't sure if I could take a 6th day in a row with Mike. I'd only been in Forks for about two months, but he was quickly becoming my second shadow.

"Bella? Are you listening?"

I gave him a tight smile to placate him for my upcoming refusal, but Angela seemed to notice my sudden resolve and plastered on an even more pathetic face of shameless pandering.

"Suuuuuure, Mike. Why not?"

A genuinely pleased look came over him and I saw Jessica bristle out of the corner of my eye. I didn't want to fan the fire, so I gave him a less-than-enthusiastic smile before turning away. I sighed and grabbed Angela's forearm, pulling her close to me as I rushed the two of us into the parking lot.

"Well, we gotta go… " I called behind myself, dragging us away.

I lied easily having stayed back with Angela who was making up a quiz she had missed the week before. She needed a ride home and I was an infinitely better choice than Jessica. Angela and I had an understanding about these things.

"You owe me!' I hissed to her as soon as we were out of earshot.

"Thank you, Bells!" she squealed, clapping her hands together as she let me drag her to our cars, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

I grimaced slightly as I focused on the ground, being extra careful since I was lugging an extra body behind me.

"Wow," Angela breathed suddenly, "Who is that?"

I looked up into the direction she seemed to be speaking to and my spirits rose at the sound of her voice. That wistful tone was usually reserved for Ben, the idea that someone other than him might catch her attention had me suddenly gleeful. Maybe this would mean less forced interaction with Mike Newton. I scanned the nearly empty parking lot before my eyes caught sight of him. He was leaning against a tree scanning the parking lot idly before his eyes met mine. He looked almost… sinister. My stomach dropped as her tall, lanky frame crashed over mine.

"Urgh, Bella! Walk!" Angela urged, "He already saw me staring. But God, how could I not? Is he new?"

"I---"

I was aware on some level that my feet had stopped and my mouth had probably dropped open and I was blatantly staring, but I couldn't stop myself.

"Bella! He's staring at you."

"I—Uh---"

"Do you know him?" she hissed at me.

"Yes… I mean, no…. I mean, kind of?"

"What does that even mean? Kind of?"

I knew we were both moving now. It must have been her effort more than mine.

"I mean," I continued not sure how much to reveal, "I've met him before, but I don't think I can say I actually know him… His name is Edward?"

My statement ended in a high-pitched question not because I wasn't sure of his name, but because he seemed to be walking in our direction.

"Shit!" Angela said, stepping into my path, effectively blocking my view of Edward, "Okay, he's coming over here. Bella, don't be weird!"

"What?!" I demanded as my heart continued in double-time, "What are you talking about, Angela?"

"You," she said accusingly, "have a tendency to be dismissive of boys that give you attention."

"I do n—"

"--Yes, you do."

"Excuse me, Bella?"

His voice was the most beautiful mixture of velvet and gravel, smooth and melodious, but with some kind of rough finishing. Angela was still facing me, her back to Edward and she gave me a quick look before she nodded slightly back in the direction of Mike Newton and the others.

"No." I hissed immediately, too quietly for him to hear, "I'll take you home. Wait for me."

She rolled her eyes before turning around, coming to stand at my side. My view of Edward was unimpeded now and on his face I read something else. Not quite a smirk, but I think it may have been amusement.

"Edward," I said surprised, "What are you doing here?"

His eyes were focused on Angela, he gave her a quick once-over and gave the smallest shrug. It was almost as if he was disregarding her presence with that look. It was slightly rude to be honest.

"This is my friend, Angela," I said, stopping my own line of questioning.

"Angela," he repeated, nodding to himself just once.

"Hi," she breathed.

He answered her with a grunt before he was back at me with a penetrating glare; all traces of amusement were gone now.

"Where are you going?" he asked abruptly, as if he had every right to know the answer.

"Home," I answered succinctly.

"And you?" he asked Angela," Don't you have a home to go to?"

" I – Uh—"

"Surely that wasn't a difficult question," he interrupted rudely, frustrated with her lack of an immediate response, "It is either a 'yes' or a 'no'."

"Edward," I interrupted quickly, "Don't be rude."

He raised an eyebrow before growing silent, though it seemed less of an attempt to placate me as much as it seemed he just had nothing left to say. He looked between the two of us expectantly, waiting for one of us to continue.

"Sorry," I apologized immediately to Angela, "He's rude sometimes."

"Don't apologize on my behalf, Isabella," he eyed me as he ground out the words.

"Don't give me a reason to, Edward."

The three of us grew awkwardly silent again and I, for one, had no idea where to chart the course of this conversation. He was here, wasn't he? He must have wanted something? But what was with the attitude?

"You eat," he said suddenly.

It wasn't a question, so I made no attempt to answer him. I just stood there staring at him confused as I inched closer and closer to Angela.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

"Of course I eat."

"Do you feel like eating now?"

"Umm, well…" I wasn't quite sure what to say.

He couldn't possibly be asking me out on a date. It was impossible. I'll be the first to admit I didn't have much experience when it came to dating, but I was positive that this was not the way to go about it even if I did think he might have the smallest shred of interest in me. I looked at Angela, pleading with her silently as she always did to me, but before she could answer he interrupted us again.

"No," he said with finality in his tone, "Not her. Just you."

Angela cleared her throat with surprise and started to pull away from the two of us, but I reached out to grab her arm before she could get too far. I wasn't sure if I was completely comfortable with the idea of being alone with him. He seemed more tense today, which was no small feat considering our last two meetings.

"Excuse me?" I questioned automatically.

"I didn't ask her if she ate. I asked you."

"Yes, I heard you, but –"

"Fine," he stated, giving no indication of disappointment or surprise.

He turned on his heel and began to walk in the direction of the trees. I wanted to call to him, not necessarily to accept his invitation, but moreso to ask him if he was always so unpleasant.

"Bella, you can go… I mean, if you want to… I really don't mind, I swear."

"No, it's… I don't want to."

"Are you sure? I can walk home from here, it's not far…"

"No, really, I don't."

As I watched his retreating form I knew that my previous statement was a complete and utter lie. To say he was intriguing was an understatement of epic proportions. Everyday over the past two weeks I had thought about him to some degree. I couldn't help it. He was unbearably handsome. Long and lean and muscular and with perfectly smooth, radiant skin, which was strange, because he was obviously dark, tortured and brooding. His brow was heavy with something, maybe the constant warring of morals or maybe a haunted past, it could have been anything… But good God, he was handsome.

…But it was more than that. Even from a distance I could see his confidence – no, his conceit – was genuine. The way he carried himself was with a certain air, like nobility, so secure in its own class and status that it need not exaggerate its posture. The abrasive behavior he displayed only a few moments ago reinforced this observation. He didn't bother with superfluous words of courtesy or custom. He focused only on what he wanted and felt entitled to have and when he didn't get what he desired immediately it was already forgotten because nothing was worth a second thought.

… But he had his redeeming quality, too. For now, I only knew one, but it was enough. He was pure of heart. He had to be. Otherwise he wouldn't have saved me that night in the alley. Just that one redeeming quality was all it took…

"Go…" a voice urged at my side.

Angela. I had forgotten she was there.

"Bella, go…" she urged again, this time pushing at my shoulder, "I'll catch a ride with Jessica, her car is still here. She hasn't left yet."

"No, I shouldn't… He's kind of …" I hesitated, not knowing what sort of word to use. I couldn't be too harsh, he saved me from god-only-knows-what in the alley…

"—Hot, " Angela interrupted.

"No, that's not what I was going to say."

"No, he's not hot?" she raised an eyebrow over the rim of her tortoise shell glasses.

"I didn't say that."

"Well, then go… He's not going to like… Kill you in the woods or anything?"

"No, he wouldn't. He's actually sort of… Good."

"Good?"

"Yeah," I said, watching his retreating form grow smaller and smaller, "… he's a decent human being, I mean."

"And how, Bella, do you know that?"

I chewed at my bottom lip and knew that if he got any further, I would lose my nerve.

"Are you sure that you can catch a ride with Jessica?"

"Yes, Bella. Just go."

I shot a look of surrender over my shoulder as I stumbled in his general direction.

"Call me when you get home!" she called after me, laughing, "Just so I know you made it back in one piece…"

He was so far away now, god he walked fast, and well into the forest before I thought I was even remotely within earshot. I glanced behind me one last time before crossing the threshold into the wild unknown, Angela was motioning me forward with her hands, and I knew it was now or never. I drew in a breath, feeling the untamed earth under my feet, and called out his name as I chased after him.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Edward!" I called after him," Hey! Wait!"

He was still walking, but he answered almost immediately.

"Are you sure you want to follow me in here? You might not make it back in one piece," he said sarcastically.

I was surprised at the coincidence of his comment. And it had to be a coincidence, there was no way he could have heard Angela before. We were all the way across the parking lot and she was a soft-spoken girl, her voice didn't carry all that much.

"I-I trust you."

He stopped just as he was jumping over a fallen tree trunk and he seemed to pause in midair. He turned quickly from his raised perch and eyed me with what I assumed was amusement.

"So soon?" he questioned, rolling his eyes.

"Do I have a reason not to?"

"None that I've given you, I suppose."

"And what does that mean?"

He shrugged before turning back around on the log. He seemed as if might continue walking, like maybe he was already uninterested with me, but he whirled back around. He scowled down at me and I stared back at him, wide-eyed I'm sure.

"So are you, then?"

"Am I what?" I asked timidly.

"Hungry."

Apparently his cold shoulder and the scowl on his face were not accurate predictors for his behavior. He was making me feel seriously inadequate at normal human interaction. Though I followed him into the forest, and I was the one that initiated the second part of our conversation, I still wasn't entirely sure if I should accept. He was being downright boorish, giving me every reason in the book to decline his invitation, but there it was again… That lone reason that I knew I should. I should have known better, but my mind was made up the second I saw him standing there in the parking lot…

"I could eat, I guess? But only if you were …"

I stammered over the words and for some reason I felt like I was the one inviting him somewhere, which was incredibly stupid, because he had already asked. Twice. He raised an eyebrow and I knew he could see the beginning of the blush staining my cheeks.

I forced myself to finish the sentence, "I mean, are you hungry?"

A wolfish grin spread across his face as he answered and a cold chill ran down my spine. It was the first time I had ever seen him smile.

"Starving."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So when you said you were starving? You actually meant you weren't at all hungry."

"No."

"You didn't order anything, " I shot at him.

"What I want isn't on the menu," he easily shot back.

I huffed with frustration but shoveled an acre of salad into my mouth; at least it was easier than talking. He wasn't willing to give me even the smallest inch of progress when it came to him. We walked from school to the diner in tense silence, we sat down and waited wordlessly, I ordered and now here we were. Silent, yet again.

"Do you want some of mine?" I asked politely.

"It doesn't look very appetizing."

"So you're a meat and potatoes type of guy, I take it?"

He shrugged, seemingly amused by simple assumption.

"You're a vegetarian?"

Apparently the way my voice went up at the end of the sentence gave him no inclination to answer. The way he picked and chose which questions to respond to and which to ignore was infuriating. Based on my rough estimation, I would assume that he was at about a 70% answer rate. Barely passing. Barely bearable.

"You don't like salad? "

He shrugged at my question, but he only looked at me for a second before he turned away. The silence was back and I was tired of competing with it, so instead I took the time to analyze him. I was beginning to mentally compile a running list of all the things about him that I found perplexing, the least of which being that he didn't like salad. He sought me out, but now that I was here he didn't seem the least bit interested in me. He seemed to have disciplined posture and impeccable manners when it came to things like opening doors and saying please and thank you to the wait staff, but he had the bad attitude of a juvenile delinquent. He was obviously troubled, not entirely nice, maybe even emotionally stunted based on his evasiveness, but how could he be? This internal monologue made all those niggling little questions resurface and they were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Why did you come back for me that night in Port Angeles? How did you get away from them? What are you doing in Forks? How did you find me? Why did you find me?"

He answered so quickly that it caught me off guard. I was certain the answers to my questions would come in the form of another shrug or a wordless grunt.

"Because those men were dangerous. Because I'm dangerous. Looking for some old friends. There's only one high school for 30 miles. I don't know."

I eagerly opened my mouth to continue my line of questioning, if he was this willing to answer, I wasn't going to stop now…

"Wh---"

"No."

"But—" I protested.

"You got 5 answers, now I get 5 answers."

"This isn't a swap meet, if you want to know something you don't have to trade me for it," I snapped at him, surprised at my shortage of patience.

He nodded once, "Good to know."

He took a moment to think, occasionally letting his gaze drift back to my own as he slowly traced the grain of the wooden tabletop with his fingertip.

"Where are you from?"

Apparently he wasn't the brightest bulb in the box. It took him that long to think of that question? I guess, subconsciously, I had expected him to have some deep and insightful soul. Something inside of me was deflating slowly. Taking the place of my lofty expectations was something else… What was it? Oh, that was disappointment.

I sighed, "Well, I live on the other side of town. No more than 10 minutes from here, over by the---"

He shook his head with a furrowed brow, "No. That's not what I meant."

I looked at him expectantly as he did the same. The silence was back again, I guess this was going to be a threesome. I cringed at the suggestiveness of my own internal statement. Get it together, Bella. As if you have a chance with him…

I broke first, he always seemed so content to wait.

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Before you lived here, before Forks. Where were you from before you were from here?"

"But how did you know—?"

"You aren't at ease here, that much is easy to see. Even with my…" he trailed off, pausing to think of the right words, "… limited knowledge."

I perked up a little. So he wasn't stupid…

"I moved here a few months ago. From Phoenix."

"What's in Phoenix?"

"Sand. Lots of it."

I chanced a smile at my joke, but he didn't even crack a smirk.

"My Mother," I said begrudgingly, "My Mother is in Phoenix. I used to be in Phoenix with her."

"Why did you leave?"

"She just got remarried, her and my Dad split up when I was pretty young."

I focused on pushing a cherry tomato around my plate while I waited for the next question. I was trying to keep my answers short on purpose, I was sure that I was far more interested in him than he was in me. As long as I kept the answers short and vague, he would have to keep wasting his questions on follow-ups. I was counting in my head; he had already used three.

He cleared his throat and my head shot up immediately. He was staring at me with an irritated look on his face.

"That can't be the only reason. You aren't happy here."

"How do you know I not happy there?"

"I'm not completely certain. But if you think that I'm going to waste chance asking the same question, then you are mistaken."

The smallest smile tugged at my lips and I bit down to keep it from spreading. So he was a thinker then. Apparently the answer to this question was important enough that his prodding was a conscious effort.

He cleared his throat again before giving me a scowl. I laughed and it surprised both of us.

"My Mom always said that if you keep making faces like that, it'll freeze that way."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you ever smile?"

"Your answer," he growled.

I laughed again and if it was out of nerves or genuine amusement, I wasn't sure. He was taking all of this so seriously, I couldn't imagine why. It felt more like some kind of formal interview rather than anything else. I waited for another long moment as I examined the contours of his face. His features were angular and classically handsome: Strong, high cheekbones that were offset by a delicate nose and full lips, perfect eyebrows and the smoothest alabaster skin. His eyes were searing into me, uncharmed by my evasiveness, and black as night. Yet not a flat black, smooth like glass. No, they seemed tormented, the way the ocean looks black at night, but looking closely you could see the ripple of every wave.

"Isabella," he warned me again, growling.

Ah, yes. He was waiting for me to expand on my answer.

I bulldozed through my explanation without lifting my eyes from the tabletop, " My Mom and Dad had me when they were pretty young. They were never right for each other, but they tried for a while, for my sake. It's better that they're apart," I nodded to myself, before finishing.

"Phil makes my Mom happy. She loves him and he's good to her and that's all that matters, I guess."

I shrugged my shoulders and finally looked up at him, but the familiar scowl was still firmly in place.

"That still doesn't explain why you left, if they didn't make you."

I pulled my hands away from the tabletop and ran a frustrated hand through my hair, "Okay, now I really don't know what you mean. I'm not trying to be evasive this time, I swear."

"You liked your life better there."

"I've only been here for two months, Edward. Maybe after a few m---"

"Did you?"

"Yes, of course I did!" I tore my hand away from my hair and it landed on the table with a thud, "I had friends there! And my Mom to talk to! There was sun and sand and a million colors that weren't… GREEN!"

The hand that had just landed on the table was immediately covering my mouth and I stared at him with wide eyes. Where had that outburst come from? Why was I yelling?

The scowl had finally disappeared and he looked at me appraisingly.

"So then," he pressed on, "Why did you leave?"

I had come to the decision to leave Phoenix months ago, and it wasn't a difficult decision to make. No, if fact it was easy. I knew that I wasn't going to like it here, I knew that I would miss everything about Phoenix, I knew that I would miss my Mom and the sun and the familiarity of everything… and still it wasn't a hard choice. But here, today, it seemed like an impossible thing to explain. Yet, I wanted to. I didn't know quite why, but I wanted to explain everything to this scowling, confusing, frustrating boy sitting in front of me. So I tried…

"Everyone deserves to be in love, I guess. My Mom loved my Dad, I think, maybe for a little while… But she wasn't happy in the end. My Dad loved her more than she loved him, enough to let her go, and so we left. Phil makes her happy. And she needed to be… free."

"Free from you?" he asked.

"I don't know… Free to just…be in love I guess? Free to be in love recklessly and passionately and without having to worry about anything else but the other person… Just free."

I looked up at him and shrugged. He seemed to be waiting for me to go on, but when I didn't he asked another question. Finally, he was satisfied with my answer.

"Why did you differentiate between the two?"

"Between the two what?"

"Love and happiness. Aren't they the same? A logical person would assume that if a person was in love, then they would ultimately be happy."

"We both know that isn't true," I sighed wistfully, "Sometimes love is torture. And my Mom has the chance to have love and happiness at the same time. What kind of person would I be if I denied her that simply for my own comfort?"

It was a rhetorical question, but he answered anyway.

"Human," he said simply, "you would be human."

His ears seemed to perk up, the way a dog's did, and he was already putting his wallet back into his pocket before I realized that he had decided that I was finished eating.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Goodnight, Dad!"

"Night, Bells…"

As I heard the volume on the TV rise, I knew that he'd be in bed within the hour. He always turned the volume up when I came to my room for the night, trying to convince himself that he wasn't tired, but like clockwork he always turned in right around midnight.

I shut the door softly and leaned against it, closing my eyes. I exhaled slowly, drawing out my breath until my chest went slack and my shoulders sagged. I just needed a second to breathe… Since I had arrived home earlier this evening I hadn't had even a moment to myself. It seemed as soon as I walked through the front door of my house, Charlie was arriving and since I had been out with Edward all afternoon, I had a late start on dinner. I was noticeably tense, which wasn't saying much, and Charlie was uncharacteristically chatty… And observant. I had barely put his pork chop down on the table before he felt the need to ask me if something was wrong. Of course I told him it was nothing. What could I have possibly said? Yeah Dad, some mysterious, gorgeous, roughneck boy saved me from impending doom in an alley in Port Angeles, showed up in Forks a day later and then waited for me after school in an empty parking two weeks after that just so that he could be rude to me while I ate a salad?!

I collapsed into my bed in frustration, kicking the shoes off my feet in the process. I knew that I should have changed out of my clothes before I either got too lazy or sleep crept up on me, but I couldn't find the will. I shimmied further up my bed, the comforter bunching in a pile at my feet, until my back came to rest on the headboard.

What was wrong with him?

I just couldn't figure it out. And he wasn't helping any. After the abrupt end of our conversation at the diner, he just walked me back to my car in silence and left. That's it. He just left. No goodbye, no explanation, no nothing. I replayed the scene over in my head and it was like grasping at straws. I vaguely remember asking him something along the lines of whether or not I would see him again and apparently that was just another question he wasn't willing to answer. So I had to assume that his silence should be taken as a definite no.

Bella, you tried to be nice to him … You said thank you… What else can you really do?

I felt guilty, though I knew there was no reason to be. I just felt like… Maybe I could have tried harder. I sighed, grabbing a pillow from behind me as I turned on my side. The clock showed an hour that was still a bit early for bed, so I grabbed the closest book I could find. I didn't bother to check the title, I knew every book in my room all too well. The answer would be upon me the moment I opened to the first page.

Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

Great, just what I need… A romantic tragedy.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So what happened yesterday?"

Angela and I were walking out of the building after our 7th period class. It was now or never. I had been avoiding her questions all day, partly because I knew that she would read more into his presence than I'm sure was intended and partly because I still couldn't wrap my head around the entire ordeal. All she needed to know was that he came, he subjected me to some awkward conversation, and now he was gone.

"I don't know, Ang," I sighed, "We went to the diner and that's pretty much it, I guess. He asked me some questions about where I was from. Boring small talk. And that's it. Really."

"Really?" she asked with raised eyebrows, "I find that hard to believe."

"Well, it's the truth."

I focused on the patterns of cracked concrete at my feet as I trudged along at her side.

"Did he pay?"

"Hm?" I asked, looking up at her, her voice seemed unnecessarily optimistic.

"Did he pay, Bella! For lunch?"

"Yeah, I guess. It wasn't like a date or anything," I scoffed, "Angela, come on…"

"Come on what, Bella?"

"As if a guy like that would take me out on a date…"

"Well would you go out with him again?" she asked, growing even more excited still.

"Angela…What are you talking about it. It's not like that. I , um, know him from before… Kind of."

"Answer the question, Bella."

"I don't know," I hedged, "I mean… He was kind of weird, I guess. And rude… He was pretty rude."

"Be—"

"I don't know, Angela! Geez, really… It's not like it matters. I'm never going to see him again."

She laughed, stopping abruptly to toy with my hair, while giving my overall appearance an appraising look.

"Angela, wha—" I struggled to bat her hands away from my head, but her height was a clear advantage.

"Well, Bella… I'm not so sure about you never seeing him again."

"What are you talking about? Why?"

She sidestepped from in front of me, motioning to her side with a loaded glance. My heart picked up speed in my chest as her teasing smile confirmed a new and particular form of anxiety.

He was standing against my truck, ignoring the glares and whispers of the inquisitive female population of Forks high school. He seemed to be particularly occupied today, his eyes were trained on the westernmost gate of the school from where the majority of the students left. Angela and I had 7th period gym and the girl's locker room was conveniently located near the eastern gate. He looked tense. Vigilant, even. I wanted to admire him for a moment, positive that he hadn't seen us yet, but he locked eyes with me the moment I seemed to notice him. He made at attempt to call me over by way of an impatient hand gesture.

"Well, I better go see what he wants."

"Should I wait for you?" Angela asked with a smile that made me believe she already knew the answer.

"I'll be fine. I'll call you later."

She nudged me with a teasing elbow before veering off into the opposite direction of the parking lot, probably to look for Jessica.

"Hi Edward!" she called behind her as she skipped off to the crowd of liberated students.

I could barely hear it, it was so faint, but it was there.

"Hi Angela," he mumbled at the ground.

She turned toward me so that he could not see and gave me a huge grin and a thumbs up.

I could have strangled her if she wasn't the only real friend I had at this school.

I reached him quickly, and miraculously, without incident. He spoke first, which was surprising.

"So…."

"So…" I answered hesitantly.

"…. Hungry?"

There was no point in avoiding it. My curiosity already had the best of me. I threw my backpack into the bed of my ratty old truck and turned to face him.

"Well, Edward," I began, "As a matter of fact, I'm starving."

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And there you have it. It's long. I'm sorry. I'll try to keep from doing that in the future.

Read and review, please? It made this chapter pop up faster, didn't it? XX