Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters… just this story.

A/N: Please, please, please review. I really need you all to keep me motivated. So read and let me know what you think of my story.

Chapter 10

*Back to BPOV, same day that Jake came to visit Bella at the Cullen's*

I felt better knowing that I got to apologize to Jake. I know that I jumped on him and he didn't need it but I was angry and I shouldn't have attacked like I did. And I am sure that Ashni didn't like that I jumped all over him either. I regretted it the moment I opened my mouth. I really should learn to think before opening my mouth. I needed to make sure that I didn't hurt the ones that mean something to me, but I just never seem to get that right. I am just thankful that Jake forgave me like he did.

After he and Ashni left, I sat with Alice and talked to her for awhile trying to see if my friendship was going to be the same now that I made Jake so mad. "I shouldn't have said what I said to him, Alice. I feel really bad."

"Just give him a call and tell him that. Just tell him that you are sorry and he will forgive you. A friend will always forgive you." I knew that she was right but I wanted to beat myself up over it. What was I thinking? I mean, he was only trying to protect me. Stupid, Bella.

"I'll call him in a little while. I just want to make sure that I don't blow up at him again. Thanks for the little pep talk Alice, you can always make me feel better." I gave her a hug.

"No problem sweetie. You know I'm always here for you," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "But, what I want to know is what is going on with you and my big brother? Now that is something interesting. So spill woman!" She laughed and I laughed along with her.

"Uh… I'm not really sure. With everything that just happened within the last few days, I don't really know. I think you know more than me," I said tapping my head.

"Oh Bella, that's not fair. I may know the future, but I want to know the feelings. What are you feeling about it? That is what I really want to know." She pouted. Even pouting she was cute. Alice could do nothing that would make her less attractive.

"Well, you seemed to have spilled the beans on that to Edward. He knows how I feel about him. And you have known for a long time how I've felt about him. What is missing is how he feels about me, right? So why don't you fill me in on that a bit. That would be a great switch for me." I thought I had a fair point on that as I folded my arms across my chest and jutted out my chin a little.

She smiled, but said, "You know, Edward is keeping some things hidden from me now regarding what his intentions are with you. I was able to see that you two would start going out and I wanted to tell you so many times but I just couldn't! And that was torture Bella, it really was. But now that you and he have sort of… taken the first step, he tries to not make up his mind which throws my talent way off I have to tell you. It is very aggravating. "

We laughed at that and I slumped over on the bed in our now shared room. I was rooming with Alice, but I know that she doesn't sleep so it is a little weird but I am starting to deal with it. Even with the two beds in there, one for appearance only, it was a great room for us. A place where us girls could talk. Every once in awhile Rosalie would come in and talk but we didn't have as strong a bond as Alice and I had.

Our laughing must have awoken the boys because the door burst open and Emmett and Jasper came in. "What's all the laughing for? Come on, you know that I want to be in on it, whatever it is," Emmett said pushing his way onto the bed with us.

"Emmett, I hardly think that you would be interested in girl stuff," Alice teased him. We all loved the way Emmett; the big teddy bear was such a jokester.

"Jasper, you want to get in on the action here?" Emmett asked as he patted the purple blanket, smiling coyly. At this I bust out laughing.

"No, I think with you on there the bed is full enough," Jasper said with a smile.

"So," asked Emmett, "what were you two laughing about so hard?"

"We were talking about how Edward feels about Bella," Alice said. "You two wouldn't happen to know that would you?" She asked in her singsong voice.

"Us?" Emmett answered her back, acting all innocent. "No. How would we know? You are the one that knows the future."

"Oh come on you guys. Jasper? Did he say anything to you?" Alice pleaded.

"Nope, you know that Edward doesn't open up to anyone," Jasper said.

"Sorry Bella. As you can see, it is a complete mystery to all of us," Alice said with a shrug of her shoulders. "But if I find anything out, I will let you know."

"Thanks guys. I really appreciate it." I said that but I was really embarrassed that Alice asked Jasper and Emmett about Edward's feeling. I guess something else for me to get used to. They all shared so much with each other. And they didn't show embarrassment like I did. I guess that is one good thing with being a vampire, you didn't blush.

"Bella?" Jasper asked. "I have a question for you. Why are you not afraid of us? Most humans tend to shy away from us right from the start. But not you. Why is that?"

"Good question," I said. "But I really don't know. I just have never been scared of you. I never understood why everyone else shied from you and I guess you know why, huh?"

"Yeah we know why," Emmett said with a big grin that showed off a mouth full of perfectly white and deadly teeth. I punched him, not that it hurt him any. He gave me a light shove back.

"Well, Jasper if you have had enough of the girl talk, how about we see if we can find our man Edward. And my lady Rosalie, I bet she is working on my Jeep."

"Oh sure, how about we do that. See you girls later. I'll keep you posted Alice." And out the door they both left. I loved them both. A comic break that was very much needed and Emmett knew just when one was needed it seems.

We watched them go and Alice hit me lightly with a pillow. "You gotta love those boys, huh?"

"Ha. Yeah. They are a hoot," I said sarcastically. They were actually really great. I was lucky to have such a great family of friends.

Esme is always making sure that I have enough of everything that I could think of. And Carlisle I think, has been checking on me too health wise too. But I know that I won't allow myself to show that I am hurting at all. They have all been too wonderful and the Cullen's are all so spirited, that I felt like I needed to fit in with them. But I don't think I ever will since I am far too human to fit in with them. I needed to eat and to sleep and they didn't. Alice. A force onto herself, she had way too much energy. I love her but she wears me out sometimes. In a good way, of course. Jasper was wonderful with her too. A person could tell that he loved her very much just by the way that he looked at her. It make me yearn for the exact same thing. Emmett and Rosalie were always so involved with each other that sometimes it was hard to look at. It was like having too much chocolate. And then there was Edward. I never knew about him, he kept so much in that I never knew quite what to make of him. The quiet, mysterious type.

I had to laugh at the way I thought of them. They were an odd group for sure but they all fit together perfectly that it was hard to imagine what it would be like without just one of them missing. But this made me wonder where that left me. Would I fit in somewhere? How could I be a part of this family? And was I even supposed to?

"You are getting far too serious Bella'" Alice said chiding me.

"Yeah, I was. I was thinking about how I could possibly fit in with your family." I just shook my head.

"You just have to be you and you will fit just fine."

"Alice, I think I am ready to go back to school. I never thought I would say that, but I know that my parents would want me to finish school. And I want to make them proud of me. They can see me, can't they?"

"That I don't know. I have to think that they will always be with you though. But school, huh. You know what that means right?" She asked me with a devilish look on her face.

"What?" I was scared to even ask.

"That means Miss Bella that I get to take you shopping!" She almost squealed it instead of saying it. I had to laugh at her for that.

"Alice, I don't need anything to go back to school. I have a perfectly good closet of clothes. I just have to go back and get more of it."

"Oh come on Bella," she whined. "Let me do this for you. You deserve a little indulgence. How about it?"

Oh man! Why did she have to pull that face out and use it on me? I knew that I was lost before I even had a chance. I looked over at her and she laughed and clapped her hands. Of course, she knew that I didn't have a way of telling her no.

"Thanks! You will have fun, I promise." She grabbed my hand, pulled me out of the room, and down the stairs. In the living room we ran into Esme poring over a design magazine, she was asking Edward some of his opinions. Even though we were together, he still made me nervous and shy. I can't believe that he kissed me like he did. It was the perfect first kiss. I never thought it would have been so magical. At this moment I was so very glad that he couldn't read my mind. As it was I blushed at the memory of it.

"Where are you two headed in such a hurry?" Esme asked with her head coming up slowly.

"Bella has agreed to let me take her shopping."

Edward looked at me with something between pity and shock. "You are in for it now," he said.

"I know. I kind of figured it. But she knew that I didn't have a chance to say no." We laughed at it and Alice crossed her arms and stomped her foot in mock anger.

"Well have fun," Edward and Esme both said. We left to go do some shopping, maybe I could get to the bookstore and pick up a few books too. That way the trip wouldn't be a complete loss for me.

All the way there I kept thinking about Edward. I really haven't had much time to be with him alone. I would love to get a chance to be with him some more, just the two of us. I think he was still worried about us, the way he could hurt me without really trying. I didn't understand so much about him or everyone else for that matter. I needed to find out more. I wanted to see if there was anything that I could do to help. But I don't know if I ever could.

We went through a couple of stores and before Alice could go into another store, she stopped cold in her tracks. I know recognized what was going on. I didn't like what was happening. Her gaze was blank and once again her face revealed nothing. I wasn't expecting it at all, but this time I was not as scared. I didn't want to even think about what she was seeing but I knew soon that I would find out.

A few seconds later, she snapped out of her vision and her eyes locked on mine. She once again looked worried. I knew before she said it, but we were going back home. "Let's go. I need to see Carlisle." She whipped out her phone after dumping all of the bags on me.

"Carlisle, get everyone together. Bella and I are coming home and we all need to talk." She closed her phone just as we got to the car. I didn't like the sound of this and I could hardly think of what might be wrong this time. She sped down the highway never looking away from the road. She didn't say anything so I had time to let my mind to imagine horrible things. I didn't even want to know, yet I had to know before I went crazy.

Before I knew it, we were back and running into the house. The bags were forgotten for the moment. When we got to the door, it was opened for us and we went in and were faced with everyone staring at Alice and I. They all looked a little worried, but I think they were holding a lot back so they wouldn't scare me.

"Okay, Alice, what did you see?" Carlisle asked slowly.

"There are more of them coming. More wolves. I didn't think that there were going to be so many of them. Right now, there is Jacob Black and Sam Uley. He is new but more are going to be changing. And soon."

"What does this mean, Carlisle?" Rosalie asked frantically.

"I don't know Rose," he said looking thoughtful. "Bella, is there any way that you can think of that we would be able to ask Jacob?"

"I… um… I can give him a call and ask him I guess."

"I will do some checking around and if that is what we need to do, then I will ask you to call for us. Are you comfortable with that? I don't want to make things harder for you if I don't have to."

"No, I can do that."

Edward was staring at Carlisle, reading his thoughts I'm sure. Carlisle looked over at him and Edward shook his head. Emmett was the next one to speak. "What does this mean to us? Are we being put at risk?" His eyes flitted to me for a fraction of a second. I almost didn't catch it.

"I don't think it will, but it is good to know anyway. Thank you Alice." She nodded quickly and squeezed my hand softly. I wish I knew what she was thinking.

"I'm going to go up and do some research. Alice, if you could stick close by that would be great. I may have some other questions on your vision. Emmett, if things turn towards the worse, we will need you close by too." They both nodded in response.

We all sat down in the living room. Jasper turned on the TV and we turned our attention to that. I don't think anyone was really watching what was on. I looked around and everyone was looking at the TV, everyone but Edward, who was looking at me. My stomach flipped and my heart started beating faster. Alice giggled softly. She whispered very softly to me, "Go."

I got up and went to the kitchen. I went to get a glass for some water, when I turned around Edward was right behind me. I hadn't heard him. He startled me so much that I dropped the glass. Waiting to hear the sound of breaking glass I cringed, but I didn't hear it. I opened my eyes and saw that Edward was holding my glass.

"You dropped this," he said.

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding and replied, "Thanks."

"No problem. Are you doing okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I am, thanks," I replied. "So I think we need to talk."

"Yeah…" he said, inching closer. "What is it that you want to talk…" leaning down getting closer to my face. "about exactly?" He was so close that I could feel his breath on my face. "I don't want to…" his hair was touching mine, he was so close. "talk." He leaned even closer to press his lips down to mine gently. It took all the air from my lungs and made my knees weak. Edward must have sensed that because at that moment her reach down and picked me up, cradling in my arms and kissed me again.

I pulled back to look into his eyes, they were a very deep and rich amber. No, that didn't even give them justice. They were just breathtaking, as was the rest of him. I reached up to grab his hair in my hands and bring his face down to mine again and I kissed him this time. We stood in the kitchen like that for a few more seconds before Edward pulled back this time.

His eyes were darker than they were before the kiss. "You give me far too much credit Bella. I may not be able to resist you much longer. You and your blood are calling out to me so strongly."

"I trust you, Edward. I always have."

"You may trust me, but I don't have the same faith in myself as you do." He set me back on my feet but kept me close to him. "But now you can call off your team. You should know by now that I am completely taken with you Bella. I can't leave you alone even if I tried."

I blinked trying to comprehend what he just said to me. His words were very passionate just like his kisses. They were so very romantic and everything I ever dreamed about. Something that every little girl wants but never gets. Of course, I never factored in that I would be receiving the kiss from a vampire. But being honest with myself, I didn't see him or any of his family as vampires. They were my family and it seems like Alice was right. I was starting to become part of their family. I didn't know how it happened but I didn't care.

I just wrapped my arms around Edward and smiled up at him. "Consider them off you."

"Good," he replied to me, with a crooked smile on his face. "Care for a walk in the sun with me?" I looked up at him with surprise written on my face. "I told you that I was going to explain that one, didn't I? What better way then a walk in the woods to my favorite spot?"

"Okay. I'm ready."

We walked to the back door, stepped outside, and Edward looked down at me. "Ready?" He grabbed my arm, whipped me to his back where I clung to, and he ran. Ran, I think he flew. He was so fast that the wind in my eyes made them water. We were running for less then five minutes when he stopped in a clearing.

The clearing was a perfect circle with thousands of wildflowers of every color on the edge of it. I walked to the center of the clearing alone, while Edward stayed in the shadows watching me. It was so beautiful and the sun felt so warm on my skin. I didn't get to feel a warm sun anymore, I was relishing the warmth.

"This is my special place, my meadow. This is where I wanted to show you our secret with the sun and why we don't go out in it ever." He took off his button down shirt and I had to cover my eyes. It was so bright. Looking over my arm, I looked at Edward. He was shining like brilliant diamonds. All over his skin was sparkling, he was beautiful. I never would have thought that he would have looked better, but I would have been wrong.

"You are so beautiful standing there in the sun, Bella. I wish that I could stand next to you and not be like this. You don't know how lucky you are."

"You are wrong. You are the one who is beautiful," I choked out.

He pulled his shirt back on with anger. I didn't expect this type of reaction. "Bella, you have to see that I am a monster. I am here to kill and by some lucky chance I have not killed you yet. Or any other human."

"You will not hurt me. I know you won't… because you love me," I said breathing deeply. I am sure that he heard my heart start to beat faster. "Right?"