Ha! Finally! I kept telling myself, 'post it tomorrow, post it tomorrow', but noooooo. For that, God sends me two chapters for your convenience (and my sleep deprivation). Anyway, I know Amber's last name is a bit familiar, but I'm listening to Alanis Morisette while writing this, so I have an excuse. It was either this or Lovelace, because Happy Feet is on my T.V. for the enjoyment of my little cousins. Should I have chosen the latter? (If you say yes, I'll have to admit that it actually was a consideration. Really-this is no joke.)

So, without further a do, here is your next chapter! Happy reading! (And leave some reviews on your way out. Consider it my tip/commission.)

-L-

P.S. For the seventeenth time, I do not own Twilight! It belongs to Stephenie Meyer, and only her. (Oh, speaking of which, how did you guys like Eclipse?)

Edward

Carlisle was holding the note from earlier in his hands, his eyes furrowing in amazement. His golden hair was slicked back today and he was wearing a cool grey suit that complimented his skin tone. Esme was standing by his side, her hands placed lovingly on either side of his shoulders.

Jasper was sitting on the couch in the parlor with Alice sitting on the edge of the arm-rest. Rose was leaning against Emmett, who was leaning against the opposite arm-rest to the couch. Bella was sitting in the center of the couch with her fingers interwining nervously over and over again. I didn't really see why she was so jittery. I'd already explained to her that once Carlisle spoke to the girl, everything would be okay again. That was enough to relax her up until we ran into the blonde again.

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We were all coming out to the car already when I noticed her sitting on top of a metallic blue Mercedes. She was conversing with someone over the cell, but for some reason, I couldn't intercept the call.

Once she caught sight of me, she smiled and waved. I froze and could feel Alice's jaw drop open at this girl's courage. I had already told everyone else about the incident, so I suppose Alice must have guessed that was her. Unlike in class, her hair was picked up in a sloppy ponytail, revealing a too pale neck. Her eyes flicked to my left side-toward Bella. Her grin widened.

I felt Bella go tense, though, again, I didn't comprehend. She had no real reason to be scared of this girl. Rosalie, on the other hand, was scrutinizing the girl's figure thoroughly, trying to find a flaw in her beauty. Only then did it hit me that this girl was now competition to Rose.

Then, before I could stop her, Bella was racing toward the girl. We all followed, trying not to approach too quickly. I don't know why, but Bella's picking up a bad habit of running off today.

When we caught up with them, neither was speaking. I wondered if Bella was inside her mind, but again, access was denied. This was getting a bit irritating now.

The girl looked away from Bella with indifference, which seemed to bother my angel very much.

"So, Edward Cullen." She said as she leaned back a bit. My eyes narrowed instinctively.

She nodded towards my family with another cool smile.

"And company." She added, casually.

She slid off the car and started heading towards the door to the driver's seat. Jasper intervened by sliding in her way.

"Explain yourself." Alice growled. The girl, from under her lashes, gave Alice a cold glare with yet another smile. I knew now why the gesture bothered me so much. She was taunting us. That smile of hers was teasing us with what she knew. I felt degraded and slightly humiliated. I didn't like the feeling.

"Hm…"she started, leaning against the little Toyota car next to hers. "Boredom…and a bit of anxiety." She answered.

"Excuse me?" Bella scoffed. The girl shot her a glance that a mother gives a child when she's gone too far.

"Well, you saw what happened this morning with Ja—"she cut herself short, but picked up quickly. "With Joseph."

"I needed some way to get my mind off of where that dimwit might have run off to." She pouted. A sense of recognition swam its way to my mind. The girl was there when Bella ran?

"Speaking of names, you seem to know ours, but we don't know yours." Jasper mentioned. Sometimes, it still amazed me how calm he could be when everyone else was just a bit on the edge of anger.

The girl shrugged her jacket off and made a gesture for him to move out of her way. "Amber. Amber Morisette." She replied.

"And why should we let you go, Amber?" Rosalie asked a bit too harshly. Yes, she is threatened. There's no doubt now. I nodded towards Jasper and he glided out of her way. Amber smiled sarcastically in thanks to him and only after the ignition was started did she reply to Rose.

"I should be allowed to leave because I mean no harm." She said simply. She reared out of the space.

As she looked off into the crowd, I could swear I heard her whisper something. I think the others heard it too, because after her vehicle sped away, we all stood there like fools-not knowing how to react.

"I only want the suffering to end."

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I shoved the memory into the back of my mind, putting this moment in front view.

Carlisle set the crumpled note down before him and Esme picked it up, examining it herself. I was standing next to the piano, itching to sit next to Bella and ask her what was wrong, but I would wait for that chance a while longer. Seeing what Carlisle wanted to do about this was a priority.

Not that she was second best, I was really thinking of her comfort, not my families. Of course, I know that sounds bad, but she's the love of my life. Of the few things I remember my birth mother saying was that my wife and children would come first. Then I would worry about the rest of my family. Bella may not be my wife-yet-but she was still my soul mate and somehow, if she should ever want, I would find a way to give her children.

Still, now was hardly a time to think on that.

"Edward." Carlisle spoke the words a bit impatiently, emphasizing my sudden train of thought. I shook it off and listened.

"Edward, why don't you invite your new friend for dinner tomorrow? I think I'd like to meet her in person." He said. I nodded briskly, not sure if I wanted her here either.

Alice shifted a little, but said nothing. Carlisle's eyes flicked towards her.

"Alice, have you seen anything referring to this girl?" he asked. Alice shook her head in dismay.

"I keep trying to check on her to see if she's told anyone, but I can't even find her." She replied. I cut in.

"I've tried looking for her image through someone else's mind, but she's like a phantom. At one point, I thought I found her, but the image was lost as soon as it was found." I said.

Carlisle nodded; his hand cupped under his chin, and turned to Bella. The gesture made him seem even more like a doctor. Any other moment and I would have laughed at that.

"Bella, have you seen anything?" he asked. Bella looked up at him as if she wasn't expecting to have him ask her. I wondered if she'd forgotten that we knew about her power. Silently, I questioned how much about this girl she really knew. The simple question Carlisle had asked her seemed to have thrown her off balance. She recovered quickly enough though.

"Well…I haven't quite found her either. But…" she cut herself short, fidgeting again.

"Um…well, I thought I'd seen someone today-Jacob, the Quileute, remember?-and…I saw him with someone else." She started. "I'm sure that this Amber girl was that someone." She added.

Carlisle was taken aback. "Jacob Black? Shouldn't he be…"he didn't finish the question, knowing how delicate of a subject that must be for her.

"Dead, I know…" she whispered. "I just thought…I thought maybe he was a descendant." She said the words in a mocking tone, but I could see a glint of broken hope gleaming in her eyes. It killed me to see that she cared so much for him. It killed me even more to see that I couldn't help her through it.

"I guess that was foolish of me. But I know that was her." She spoke quickly.

"How are you so sure?" Jasper asked. She turned to him, her hands still playing around until I feared they might become pretzels.

"Well…when I went ahead of you guys, I was talking to her…privately. She didn't want to answer my questions directly, but when everyone else was there, she kept biting her tongue when she was saying Josephs' name-the guy I thought was Jake. Even when she was responding to Edward, I'm pretty sure I saw her having a hard time to say his name. It's making me wonder if they really are who they claim to be." She finished. Again, the hope was almost tangible in her voice. She really did believe that boy was the Black kid. I knew I should probably hope for her sake as well, but the fact that she wanted him back so strongly stung me. Perhaps these were pangs of jealousy? But why? I know she only thinks of him as a friend. Right?

Bella

I lay spread across my bed, thankful for the comfort. I dug my face in a violet satin pillow that was in front of me as I prayed for sleep to come just this once.

I sighed in exasperation when I heard the door open. I peered from under the pillow to see Edward coming towards me. He sat down next to me, his hand gently stroking my back.

I sighed again as his touch relaxed me a bit. I let my love for him flood over me, despite the tension that was overwhelming everyone thanks to that girl.

My eyes stayed shut as I thought back on her. I guess I hadn't really looked at her when she was with…Joseph. I was still so tempted to call him by that name. She was just an extra at that point, but now she seems to be an important piece in that picture.

She was beautiful. The only one I would ever think to surpass her would be Rosalie. Perhaps not even, maybe they were equals. Either way, her golden hair was almost perfect. Her skin was slightly pale, but her eyes were neither honey nor ruby. I could not help but wonder who and what she was. And every time she spoke, I could see other humans watching the way her lips moved and the way her body reacted to whatever was said to her.

She had this grandeur presence about her, but at the same time, she seemed kind of quirky. If she weren't slightly threatening my family, I might have even liked to befriend her. Might. Well, no, I think I would have. Then again, thinking back on her words,-technically, her thoughts-maybe she didn't feel the same.

I groaned as her words hit me once more…

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We were heading out when I felt Edward stop. I turned to face the direction of his gaze to see her. I almost felt a slap across my face as I recognized her as the girl from earlier. And, judging by Edward, she was also the girl who knew of our existence. If it were to be that Joseph wasn't Jacob, a part of me would continue to suffer, but I wasn't planning on letting my life get turned upside down again for any other reason. I wasn't going to let her become another James.

Actually, looking back, I suppose I was approaching her quicker than I should have, but before I knew it, I was standing before her. I could tell she was trying not to smile by the twitching of her lips. It was like they were itching to turn up.

'Oh, my, don't you look cranky.' She thought.

"May I help you?" she asked casually. My nostrils practically flared. I answered her through her mind, just to give her a little scare.

'First of all, of course I'm mad. And secondly, yes, actually, I'm hoping you might answer a few questions for me.' I thought, pressing into her mind. Surprisingly, she didn't put up much of a fight, though I could see that she wasn't allowing others in. I wondered about what Edward was up to. Only then did I realize that she didn't look surprised at my action in the least.

'Well, frankly, I'm not so sure I want to, really. Perhaps you can stop by later.' She thought. I took in a sharp breath at her words. I tried to reply to that, but no matter how hard I pushed, shoved, wedged, nudged, or hammered, my entrance was disowned. I was beginning to be irritated at her obstinance and the headache that was beginning to come over me because of my own stubbornness.

Just as I had found the tiniest gleam of a crack in her fortress, our civil war was interrupted by the others. And that was it.

Edward's touch didn't relax me so much anymore. I sighed again and sat up. He smiled lovingly at me as he leaned in to place his cold lips against my forehead, staying there as we both breathed in each others presence.

"You know, other girls at school would be dying to take my place here." I teased, trying to seem indifferent to all that was going on, but the truth was that both things bothered the heck out of me. There were so many girls at school that wanted him and then there was that one girl that apparently wants us all for other reasons.

He laughed, placing his hands on either side of my shoulders.

"You know, I kind of don't care right now. All morning I was thinking of being with you and then you scared me out of my mind when you disappeared. I hope they're forgiving, because I've got the only angel I will ever want right within my grasp now. I'm afraid I'll have to get a schedule change after all, if that's what it takes to keep her there." He joked, though I wondered if he really would change classes. I rolled my eyes as he lay me down on the bed and began to kiss my throat. I laughed as he outlined my lips over and over. Honestly, I think I was laughing to keep from a spaz attack.

Just as he was going to place his lips to mine, hovering over me and melting my heart with his golden eyes, I heard it.

Though I'd gotten good at keeping the thoughts of others as a buzz in the back of my mind, the voice caught my attention.

'Oh, great, the guy's shaking all over again. I should get the kids inside.' Thought the woman. From the voice, I estimated she was about forty-two at most. The image in her mind was of a blonde girl and a russet boy arguing on the porch of a house. I gasped as the address became clearer to me. It was so close to our home, I could almost walk there at a human speed.

I don't know how my expression was, but suddenly, Edward's eyes became filled with worry.

"Bella, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice tense. He rolled over beside me, his posture much less relaxed than before. I sat up, taking his hand in mine.

"I think I found the girl." I said to him carefully as the woman in my mind thought again.

'I wonder what he did now. Poor Amber. The boy's got such a temper; it's almost unbelievable that they've lasted more than a week. Two years. I wonder how she deals with it.'

Yes. I had found her. And by the looks of things, I'd found Joseph too.

Please don't kill me for the cliffie! I promise it'll be up tomorrow, it's just that it's almost 2:00 AM and I have to get up at six...I'm not good at waking up, but I figured I could at least post this. And the other chapies done, I just haven't put it into the comp yet, but I PROMISE I WILL!!! Please, don't feed me to the sharks...

-L-

Oh, did the '0' confuse you guys? I thougt that puting the ruler would confuse some, but if you think it'd be better, I'll change it. REVIEW PLEASE!! I'M GOING HUNGRY HERE.