Disclaimer: I regret to inform you that I am not steph Meyer and thus do not own these characters!

A/N: Just a bit of calm before the storm. Plus it was a way to get our furry friends involved. Enjoy! And thanks for reading and reviewing and all the adds to alerts and faves. You guys really know how to brighten a girls day! You've all made my first week back to school bearable!

Chapter 13 What's a Vamp to do on a Sunny Day?

BPOV

The sun was finally peeking out of the foggy haze of the early morning, casting soft beams at me through the tress, rainbows sparkling each time I stepped out of the protective shadow of the branches. I'd lost track of how long I'd been stumbling around the vast forest. All I knew was that it was more peaceful here than back at the house. Jasper's words kept repeating in my head "I think you two need some time apart." If you would have told me a week ago that I would crave a separation from Edward I'd have told you, you were a fool, but now it was looking like a good idea.

I knew that I couldn't join Demetri and Alyria, Edward would never forgive that, and I despised what remained of the Denali clan, though Marie and her army had moved up there, so perhaps that was still an option. For now I would have to settle for Charlie. It had been a week since our last visit and I missed him more than I cared to admit.

Still, I couldn't just go there now with the sun illuminating everything. I'd have to spend the rest of the day hiding out here.

I laid down on the soft forest floor and closed my eyes, feeling the sun warming my face, listening to the birds and other animals scurrying about.

Minutes, maybe hours, passed like that as I tried to work out my next move. Clearly, I would have to stop by the Cullen's. I owed them that much, but I was hesitant to see Edward. Surely his anger had subsided; he didn't have it in him to remain mad for long-not at me, anyway. But his cold hard face would be forever burned into my memory.

Marcus' image replaced his as I took stock of all the vampires I knew and what my options were. He was still besotted with me and certainly would love to have me back. Aro would be tickled pink to have finally acquired me and I knew that they wouldn't force their diet on me; they yearned for my power far too much to alienate me. It sounded more appealing than Alaska at this point, but again, Edward might find it as unforgivable as if I'd joined Demetri.

I sat up as what sounded like a stampede rumbled toward me. I scented the air, my nose wrinkling as the acrid smell of wolves bombarded me. I stood quickly a smile spreading over my face as I waited for them to burst forth from the shrubs.

Half of the pack stood majestically in front of me, Jacob's intimidating form cocking its head to one side before rushing off to the forest with two more following after him.

Sam nodded his furry head at me and sprinted off, the rest of the pack fast on his trail.

I sunk back into the springy grass and waited for them to throw on clothes and join me. At least I'd have some company while I was waiting out the sun. I'd actually expected to run into a Cullen by now, but was thankful that that hadn't happened yet.

Seth sat next to me with Jacob across from me and Leah standing near the edge of the clearing looking bored.

"What's up vamp girl?" Seth asked as he ruffled my hair which still had debris strewn in it from lying on the ground.

"Lost track of time and kinda got stranded here," I chuckled softly.

"Yeah, you definitely can't go running around looking like that," Jacob snickered as he leaned forward and pulled some leaves out of my hair. "What would Alice think?"

I gave him the look he deserved before glancing at Leah. We weren't on speaking terms at all. I'd tried once after I'd healed her, but she'd made it very clear that she didn't want anything to do with me. "Hey, Leah," I offered hesitantly. She just sighed and turned away from me.

"So, what are you doing out here by yourself?" Jacob asked.

"I'm not some poor defenseless human anymore, Jacob. I think I can venture into the woods without an armed guard," I snapped.

"I didn't mean it like that. I…aren't you a bit new to this whole vamp thing? And shouldn't someone be around in case you get a little thirsty?"

My face went blank as I thought about Tyler; how delicious his blood had tasted, how satisfying it had felt- for a few minutes. If someone had been with me last night all of this could have been avoided.

"Bella?" He asked his voice full of concern.

I couldn't tell him. Not any of them. It had happened on our side of the lines, even though there really weren't boundary lines between us anymore. However, they might reinstate them if they were to discover my mistake.

"Nothing." I ran my hand through my hair removing more twigs. "Is there somewhere we can go where my sparkling isn't an issue?"

Seth laughed. "Well, everyone in La Push knows what you are, so I guess it'd be okay to take you up there."

Jacob stood and offered me a hand up. "There's a storm on its way. Should be here in a few hours so we'll hang out at my dad's place until it clouds over then we're going cliff diving. Can't drown this time around," he chortled.

Leah groaned. "Great. I was so looking forward to spending my day with a vile smelling bloodsucker."

"You don't have to hang around you know." Jacob released my hand and took a step towards her. "Why not gives us a break from your sulky presence and go torture Sam for a while."

She stiffened. Then a menacing smile pulled at her lips. "Or, I could go visit with Meghan for a while. I'm sure she'd be very interested to know that you'd rather jump off cliffs with that dead thing, than take care of her while she's pregnant with your child," she gloated.

"Leah," Seth mumbled looking incredibly embarrassed. "Do you have to be such a bitch to everyone?"

"Of course she does. Misery loves company and it's her goal to drag everyone as far down as she is." He grabbed my hand and led me away. "I don't care where you go, Leah. But stay the hell away from me," he called over his shoulder.

As we were walking I heard Seth plead softly. "Just come with us. It'll be fun." She snarled something that I thought involved a string of profanity and he continued, "She's going to be our step-sister soon. You should try to be civil for mom and Charlie's sake, if nothing else."

We'd hung out at Billy's for two hours before there was enough cloud cover to stop my sparkling and once again I found myself perched on the highest cliff getting ready to plunge into the raging waters below. "I thought you said it was stupid of me to cliff dive when it was getting ready to storm?" I asked a little fearfully. I was a big bad vamp yet suddenly I was terrified of jumping off a cliff. Worse, I didn't have his beautiful angry voice trying to scream sense into me this time. I pushed all thoughts of my husband firmly out of my mind. I simply couldn't deal with our argument from last night.

"For a human," he shook his head and slapped my arm playfully. "I'm pretty sure your new form can handle it, scaredy vamp!" And with that he shoved me hard in the back and I was sailing through the air a high pitch scream escaping from my lips before I decided that this was the most fun I'd had in a while.

The air licked at me, my hair flying behind me. I could still hear them laughing their asses off at my girlie scream. The water was rushing closer and closer. I positioned my body so that I would dive in head first. I cut through the cool water effortlessly, the current barely noticeable as I swam back to the beach. As I climbed up on a boulder a hand shot out wrapping around my wrist like a steel vice and pulled me into their chest.

I heard another splash in the water, but didn't bother to turn my head to see which one it was. All I knew for certain was that they hadn't screamed like a girl and that I was in trouble.

A/N: I know it didn't really progress the story, but Bella needed time to think and I needed a way to get Leah into the story so she can finally meet Demetri. She never encountered him during the last battle against the Volturi. Feedback? Thanks! The next posts begins answering many questions that have been PM'd to me.

Sabrina