Uncertainty

"Bella." Edward whispered as he shook her shoulders lightly.

He could've left her sleeping all day, it was so beautiful to watch Bella as she slept, and he felt so at ease when observing her sleeping figure. The way in which Bella would pull certain faces according to the content of her dreams, and the way she would softly whisper his name, just to let him know that she was dreaming about him; it would make him go to the most peaceful place on earth and he hated to be brought away from it.

But time was dragging on so he needed to wake her.

"Huh?" Bella answered drowsily as she pushed her hair away from her face.

"Bella," Edward repeated, "It's time to get up. You'll be late if I let you sleep any longer." He informed her as he kissed her forehead.

"Five more minutes, please?" she grumbled as she turned back onto her other side.

"It's half past."

"What?" Bella's eyes flew open and she made a dash for the bathroom. "Have you got the car?" she shouted as she turned on the taps to wash her face.

"I went to get it half hour ago. I thought you'd be awake when I parked up. When you didn't answer the door as usual I came to inspect your room and see what the delay was."

"Sorry." She apologised. "So where's Evie today?"

"She decided to catch a ride with Alice and Jasper." He replied as he picked up a book from Bella's floor. It was the Jane Austen collection that she continuously read over and over again. He flicked to 'Emma' and started reading about the title character and her blindness towards the world, especially when it came to matters of love.

"I thought she'd be getting the car with us like she did yesterday." Bella asked casually. She was happy that Evie wasn't there to spoil the time that she got with Edward, but she didn't want to seem too overjoyed about it. Edward might've got funny with her.

"She and Alice decided to go and buy a car last night." He told her as he flicked over a page. "And since Evie cannot drive yet she has allowed Alice to do the honours until she can."

Bella walked into the bedroom with foam around her mouth from when she'd been brushing her teeth at lightning speed.

"It's not an ostentatious car is it?" she asked as she wiped the foam away.

"It's a Mini Cooper." He replied with a small grin as he closed the book.

He'd found Evie gushing over the shiny car that had been residing in the garage this morning, she'd been constantly thanking Alice for taking her to buy it over and over again. They'd decided not to say anything to each other because there was still some awkwardness remaining from yesterday. Luckily, none of the other siblings had picked up on it. Only Esme and Carlisle were the only ones who knew about Evie's confession of love to Edward.

Even though he had been thinking about his emotions all night, he still hadn't figured out what he felt towards Evie. He wasn't sure if it was just brotherly love that he experienced towards her, or if it was an unconscious love that he'd buried deep in his heart when she'd gone to Denali.

There was only one thing he was certain of; and that was that if he did love Evie, then it was only an ounce of the love that he had towards Bella. No one meant more to him than Bella, even if his heart was split unevenly between the two women, Bella was the one who owned the larger half.

"What colour is it?" she asked before grabbing the clothes that she was going to wear today and racing back to the bathroom.

"It's red, with a Union Jack on the top." He said "They didn't mind paying extra just so Evie could show off her heritage."

"That's nice. So it looks like its back to you and me in the mornings then."

"It would seem so." Edward replied as he looked around her room for her bag. "Did you pack your bag when you got home last night?"

"No, I didn't have the time. I'll do it in a minute, I'm nearly ready."

When Bella walked back into the room she found Edward holding out his hands with her school bag in one and a granola bar in the other. He smiled at her with his uneven smile and she felt her cheeks blush crimson.

"Thank you." She thanked him as she took both objects from his cold hands. She let her hands linger on his skin as she took the bag and the bar; he returned her gesture by brushing her cheek with his now free hand and Bella took an intake of breath. He laughed airily and took her hand as he led her downstairs.

"No problem. You know I'd hate for you to be late." He smiled as he opened the door.

The silver Volvo which was parked in Charlie's space was already unlocked so they could make a quick departure. Edward was strapped in and had the engine switched on by the time Bella had loaded her bag in the boot and sat in the passenger seat.

"I bet you won't miss me taking so long in the mornings when I become a vampire." She smiled as she strapped herself in as he left the driveway with ease.

"I will miss everything about you being human Bella. You are perfect as you are, I don't see why you feel the need to change into a vampire."

"Because then I can spend forever with you, and you won't need to worry about killing me, or hurting me because I won't be breakable anymore."

"This transformation should be for you, not for me. Those reasons you're listing me are primarily for my benefit. Not yours."

"I will be benefitting from spending the rest of my life with you. There will be no need to worry about me dying, or being hunted, or me getting hurt. It will be a perfect existence."

A flashback of yesterday's conversation within the meadow hit Edward suddenly; it was similar to what Evie had said to him about Bella's transformation.

"You and Bella are so in love with each other that you're fighting on the opposite side for exactly the same thing. Each other's happiness. The only way that's going to happen is if you change her. Then you'll get your fairytale ending."

"Edward?" Bella asked worriedly when she spotted his eyes out of focus. "Are you ok?"

He snapped out of his daze and rubbed his forehead with his palm. Evie had been pointing out the obvious yesterday. Bella wanted to change to keep him happy, and he wanted her to remain human so that she would learn to appreciate how good it was to be one. To get the perfect life he would have to change Bella.

However, Evie was a vampire already. Their life could already be perfect, they would've already had seventy years of companionship and there would be no worry of her getting hurt or killed. The princess didn't need to be saved by the prince because she was already perfect, there was nothing to save.

"Edward?" Bella repeated as she resumed staring into his eyes. He was lost somewhere that she couldn't bring him back from.

The worry came back and now it was in overdrive.

Was he reconsidering changing her? Had her fears come true? Was he going to leave her to remain a human whilst he ran off into the sunset with Evie?

The car moved slowly into its space in the parking lot and Edward had still not replied. He had become a zombie and it was terrifying.

Bella on the other hand was suffocating from her overwhelming thoughts of worry. Was this why they'd driven alone instead of being accompanied by Evie? Was this silence because he wanted to tell her it was over, without anybody to argue back in her favour?

She started to remember the day in the forest where they'd been alone and he'd left her. By remembering that moment she then started to hyperventilate.

She clutched the dashboard and tried to steady her breathing but it just wouldn't work. The car started to feel like it was closing itself in on her and she started to feel dizzy to the point where she knew she was going to pass out. It was only about ten seconds now and she'd be away from this place, away from the worry, away from the possible break-up.

"Bella!" Edward gasped as he removed himself from his deep thinking. She looked at him with terrified eyes and clutched at his shirt with so much force that she was actually pinching him. "What's wrong? Please Bella just breathe for me."

She shook her head, her lungs just wouldn't work. She was only a couple of seconds from passing out when the car door opened.

In a haze Bella saw an extremely worried Alice, Jasper and Evie looking at her in horror.

"Put her in the back seat." Jasper demanded as Edward lifted her from the passenger seat and placed her across the back seats. Fortunately, everybody was in lessons so they could avoid this spectacle for now.

"What happened?" Evie asked as Bella's eyes closed, Alice leant over her to make sure she was still breathing.

"I don't know..." Edward replied, "I went into a daze and when I snapped out of it she was hyperventilating. She looked so worried; I don't know what she was thinking."

"I think we should take her to Carlisle." Alice told him in an authoritative voice. "Jasper, you in the front with Edward and Evie and I shall take the back with Bella. She seems ok but we should get her checked over just in case."

Edward was shaking with worry. He walked back to the driver's seat and quickly restarted the car. He sped quickly down the roads without any worry of hitting another car and they reached the hospital in five minutes flat.

Alice and Jasper rushed off to find Carlisle whilst Evie stayed with Edward who was holding Bella helplessly in his arms.

"She'll be ok." Evie whispered "It's nothing major, she's just fainted that's all."

"But I want to know why she fainted. What was she thinking that got her into such a flurry? I thought I was only out of it for a minute or so, but there's no way she'd be able to get like that in such a small time frame."

"I can't read her mind whilst she's unconscious." Evie told him as she looked into his worried face. His eyes were searching for any signs of Alice and Jasper coming back with Carlisle.

"I wasn't asking you to Eve." He whispered.

Carlisle arrived and led them to an empty gurney, Edward laid Bella on the mattress and Carlisle checked her over.

"She's just fainted." He concluded as he looked at the four worried faces. "She's come round when she's ready. But what happened to cause her to faint?" he asked Edward.

"I think she had a panic attack." He told him. "She was hyperventilating and shaking and her eyes were wide with worry." Edward was reminded by a mental image that went along with his description.

"I think you're right." Carlisle replied. "I'll keep her in for observation until she wakes up. Then I'll check her over again before I decide whether she should go home or not."

"Thanks." They all chorused.

As Carlisle left, Alice reprised her authoritative role again.

"I think you three should go back to school. I'll keep watch over Bella and notify you when she wakes up." She told them in a mother-like voice.

"I think I should stay." Edward stated as he took hold of Bella's hand.

"I think she'll want to talk to me alone when she wakes up." Alice informed him with a knowing glint in her eye.

"Did you see that she wanted to talk to you?"

"Yes, when we were driving to the hospital."

"If that is what Bella wants, then I'll go back. But you'd better call me the second she wakes up."

"I will do."

Evie turned to leave first and she was followed by Jasper after he'd kissed Alice goodbye. Edward was last to leave, he leant over Bella and kissed her lips lightly, silently hoping that she'd wake up like the princess did in 'Sleeping Beauty'. Unfortunately, Bella's eyes didn't show even a hint of a flutter.

Resigned, he left hospital and Jasper drove them back to school. He went off to English whilst Edward and Evie meandered to Biology. She didn't really intend on going to the lesson, neither did he. They found a bench on the way and sat on it.

"Are you ok?" Evie asked as she rubbed Edward's arm in a comforting gesture.

"No, I just keep going over it in my head. Why did she have a panic attack? What did I do to make her do that? It just doesn't make sense."

"Well what were you thinking about when you went into your daze?"

He looked down into Evie's eyes and hated himself, he was thinking about her instead of talking to Bella. He'd got lost in his image of a perfect life with Evie, it was wrong but a tiny part of him knew that it was the life he craved.

"I was thinking about what you said yesterday." He replied nervously.

"When I said that I loved you?" she replied hesitantly as she felt her insides squirm in embarrassment.

"No, when you said that Bella and I are fighting on opposite sides for each other's happiness."

"Why were you thinking about that?"

"Because Bella mentioned becoming a vampire and I started to realise that she wants to become one for all the wrong reasons..."

"But there was something else though wasn't there?" Evie asked as she held her breath.

Edward lowed his head and despised what he was about to say.

"I started thinking about a life where me and you were together, I was thinking about how there would be no real complications, we would've been able to sail through life contentedly happy. Nothing to shake foundations on which I'd set my life on, everything would've been perfect."

"We both know you can't have that life with me Edward. You want a life with Bella, Bella as the vampire princess with you as her vampire prince. Not me. That's why you need to change her. That perfect life with her is within your reach but you keep resisting it because you think you're being selfish. You're not; you're being human about it all. You're trying to put Bella's happiness before your own. But when are you going to realise that she wants to become a vampire because she loves you, and wants to spend the rest of her life with you?"

"You make this sound so simple but it's not. She has a life, she has friends, she has a family and she'll lose it all. With you we're the same, we were orphans before we were changed. We had nothing to worry about losing, no family to come looking for us. We nearly died in order to stay alive. Bella is alive and she wants to sacrifice everything for me, it's just not right."

"Just stop thinking about this. This 'we' life is just an alternate universe that you want to make reality. You want to be with me to stop hurting Bella, but really you'll be hurting Bella the most by leaving her again."

"But Evie..."

"Edward, I refuse to be with you just because I'm the safer option. I know that you could never love me as much as you do Bella so I think that it's unfair on me too. I don't want to look at you twenty years down the line and see you're unhappy because you didn't stick with the woman you truly loved. It would kill me and it would kill you too."

"You're right." He sighed "My head's all over the place, I can't think straight. I'm just so worried about Bella that I started to panic and started thinking about cutting myself out of her life again."

"That would be the worst mistake you've ever made. You should know that after you make a mistake once you should never repeat it again."

They were interrupted by the buzzing of Edward's mobile phone. He didn't look at the caller ID because he already knew who it was.

"Is she awake?" he asked excitedly. "Ok, I'll come down now...but Alice I want to see her..." he exclaimed with a frown "Fine, but once you're finished I'm coming to see her. Speak to you later...Bye."

He snapped the phone shut and Evie looked at him.

"She awake?" she guessed.

"Yes. But she wants to talk to Alice." He replied soberly.

"But she's fine, no lasting damage?"

"No, she's as perfect as she'll ever be."

"That's a good thing then."

"Thanks for bringing me back to my senses Eve." He smiled sadly. "Who knows what I would've done if you hadn't been the voice of reason."

"I'd hate to think." She replied grimly. "But Bella is fine so there's no need to do anything rash."

"Thank you again."

"Stop it; you'll give me a big head."

As he leant towards Evie to kiss her cheek she misinterpreted the direction he was aiming for and his lips ended up on hers.

It was an innocent mistake that she'd made, so why hadn't he broken away from her lips already?

He was kissing Evie with such ferocity that she had forgotten everything about what she'd just been saying; she'd forgotten that she was on Bella's side, fighting with Edward to change Bella so that he'd be happy.

Everything had been forgotten in their one heated kiss.

But it was something they wouldn't be able to forget once it had finished.

I bet you're all going to be yelling at me now, telling me that it needs to be made right! Aren't I a meanie?

Since a couple of you requested it, i'm going to make the next chapter from Bella's POV. She's going to have a little heart to heart with Alice in regards to Evie & Edward etc.

So if you want the next chapter...gimme some reviews! Please? You know they make me happy :)