Digging In

Stephenie Meyer is still the genius behind Twilight!

BPOV

The next day I woke up early and headed down to the study room, fortunately I was up so early no one else was there. I had plenty of homework to get through and decided to work on the material that was easiest and save the challenging work for last. A true procrastinator always knows how to schedule their work.

I was working for several hours and barely noticed that the house was beginning to come to life. Leaning back in my chair I rubbed my eyes, I still had several hours ahead of me but I was beginning to get hungry. The smell of breakfast coming from the kitchen was making my stomach growl; I decided to at least make myself a pop tart or something. Leaving my books and laptop on the desk, I went into the kitchen to take a break.

The gang was sitting around the table, reading the paper and just generally enjoying a leisurely Sunday morning. Coffee, I thought, that's what I need. Caffeine will help me get through the rest of this day. Sitting down with a cup of coffee, I wrapped my hands around it and dazed off into space. I wasn't really thinking of anything in particular I was just drifting.

"Hello, earth to Bella…" leaning towards me from across the table, Anne smiled. "Are you okay, you seemed pretty far away?"

"Oh…I'm fine. I've been up for a couple of hours getting through this weeks study assignments. When my eyes started burning and my stomach started growling I figured it was time for a break." I put my head down on the table.

"Poor Bella" Drake chuckled. "I'm telling you, get used to this, otherwise finals are going to kill you."

I stuck my tongue out at him and said, "You keep telling me that, you're really starting to get on my nerves. Are you trying to put me in a panic and get me to drop out?" I picked my head up and looked around the table. Everyone was there except Roxanne. "Hey Drake, what did you do to my roommate last night, she's still in bed."

He just shrugged his shoulders and smiled a sly smile. "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you. Besides I'll get a reputation for being a gossip, you'll have to ask her."

Ian hadn't looked up from his newspaper yet and I was beginning to wonder if I had done something to make him mad. I sat there with my head on my arms on the table wondering what I could have done. We were having a good time last night and then he just rushed off. Now I think I'm getting the cold shoulder. I looked at the others at the table, everyone had just gone back to what they were doing before I came in. Maybe this was just how he was in the morning.

"Well, I'm going wake up Rox, I'm sure she'll give me the juicy details." I stomped out of the kitchen. I really should get back to my work; if I got it done early maybe I could relax on the patio this afternoon. But I really wanted to know what happened between Drake and Roxanne; I also wanted to know if she knew what was up with Ian.

I opened our door very slowly and sure enough there she was, all curled up in bed. No way, she wasn't going to sleep the day away. Grabbing her blankets, I pulled them all the way off her and yanked on her feet, getting them to the floor.

"What are you doing?" she screeched. "Do you want to die?"

"What is it with you and Drake wanting to kill me, have I done something to either of you to cause such a drastic reaction" I laughed as I flopped down on my bed. "Okay, give me the details and don't leave anything out."

"Why Bella, what kind of girl do you think I am?" She looked at me with a big grin and pulled herself back into bed wrapping her arms around herself. She looked so happy something must have happened.

"Come on, out with it. You wouldn't hold out on me would you?" I batted my eyes at her, "I'm your best friend in the whole wide world, aren't I?"

She really did look happy, there was a glow on her face as she turned to look at me. "Bella, he's great. We had such a nice night. When we were dancing he kept touching me as if to gently lead me to keep pace with his moves. It was so sensual, yet casual." I was right she was glowing; she couldn't keep the enormous grin off her face.

"When we came back here, we sat on the couch until four o'clock this morning just talking. He held me in his arms while I leaned back against his chest and we just talked." She let out a big sigh, "It was wonderful. We told each other about our families, our childhoods, our viewpoints on college and careers…" She had this far away look while she was telling me everything like she was reliving every moment.

I was so happy for her, I jumped up from my bed and pulled her out of hers, giving her a hug. "Rox, that's great. I told you it would work out. I knew you two were right for each other."

"Yeah, but it's early. You know how relationships are, they're great in the beginning and then they just fizzle out," she said sitting down again. "I really don't want him to get tired of me. It's not like I have a great track record you know. Remember the stories I told you?" She was starting to wring her hands in worry. Typical Rox, once again chasing away dragons that didn't exist.

I grabbed her hands, "Roxanne, your only a couple of hours into this relationship. Give yourself a break and enjoy it." Listen to me giving relationship advice, what right did I have. After all, I only had one relationship and look where that landed me…nearly in a coma. I probably wasn't the best person to give her advice on relationships or advice on Drake for that matter. It would make more sense for her to talk to Anne about this; maybe she could convince her that it was a good thing she and Drake were together.

"Look Roxanne, I'm not really that experienced at relationships and I barely know Drake. What I do know is the way he looks at you and the way he looked this morning" I said sitting on her bed.

"What do you mean? You saw him this morning? Oh my God what did he say to you?" She was in a panic, I needed to get her to calm down, she was pacing our small room running her hands through her hair like a crazy woman.

"Roxanne" I said trying to sound stern. "Stop making something out of nothing. He didn't say anything, he just looked really happy." I smiled at her trying to ease her mind. "Maybe what you need is a good talk with Anne, she knows him pretty well. Perhaps she can tell you what he's thinking or at least her perspective of what he's thinking."

She calmed down a little bit and sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm not sure I want to talk to Anne about this. What if she doesn't think I'm good enough for him?" There she goes again, full of self-doubt and imagining the worst.

"Rox, I think you'll probably feel better if you talked to her. You know that Anne is fair, look how she dealt with the Derrick situation. She never told the guys what happened because she thought it would upset me. As close as she is to them, she still considered my feelings on the matter." I looked at her, pleading with her.

"Okay, okay. Maybe later, right now I just want to take a shower and grab something to eat." She went to her dresser and started taking out her clothes, I figured now was as good a time as any to ask about Ian.

"Hey, did you guys…um…talk about Ian last night?" I didn't want to sound like I was anxious, even though I was beginning to be. Getting up from her bed, I made myself busy by making my own bed so I wouldn't have to look at her.

"No, he never came up, why?"

"No reason, I just thought it was really odd the way he took off last night." I had finished making my bed and moved over to the window gazing out at the scenery.

"Oh, I could ask Drake if he knows, if you want."

"No" I said a little too quickly. I turned back around and smiled at her, "I was just curious that's all. Hurry up, it's nearly lunch time," I laughed. "I'm heading back down to the study room, my break is officially over.

As she was entering the bathroom, she stopped and said, "Don't say anything to anyone, okay?"

"My lips are sealed." With that I walked out and headed back downstairs.

Heading back into the study room, I noticed there were a few more people focused on getting their work done. I quickly went over to my table and reviewed what I had accomplished. Most of my work was complete except my homework in Integrating Technology. Oh how I hated this course, but it was part of the mandatory curriculum so I didn't have much choice. There was no way I could drop it and still keep up with my major. The professor was great but I just didn't have a good handle on technology. I was barely able to figure out how to text on my cell phone.

Letting out a deep sigh, I sat down and began reading the materials that were covered in class. It might as well have been a foreign language as far as I was concerned. None of it made any sense to me. I looked up just in time to see Ian enter the room while reading a book; he looked around, saw me and quickly turned and left.

What was going on with him? I knew I wasn't imagining this, he was avoiding me. I decided to pack up the homework for now and join Roxanne for breakfast. After all, it's not like I could focus with this on my mind.

Even though Roxanne said she didn't know anything, maybe Anne or Drake might know, maybe they were in the kitchen. What was I doing? Why did I care what he thought? One minute I'm worried he's feeling too much for me and the next I'm worried I may have offended him. I was always giving off the wrong signals. No wonder Jake couldn't move on. I shook my head to clear it, what was I doing?

I got upstairs just as Roxanne was leaving the room, "Hey, wait for me. I just want to put my things in the room."

"Sure. Did you get all your work done?"

Throwing my things on the desk, I turned and walked out of the room, "No, I still haven't figured out what my assignment is for Integrating Technology. It's torture; I don't know how I'm going to make it through the semester. I can't figure out what's going on and it's only the first week."

We were headed downstairs and working our way towards the kitchen when I saw Ian going into the kitchen. Good maybe I'd be able to figure out if I did something or if I'm imagining the way he's acting.

Roxanne was walking through the kitchen door when she turned to me and said, "Hey maybe Drake could help you. His major is Electronic Games and Interactive Development, he's sure to know how to help."

"Now what are you volunteering me for?" Drake had a huge grin plastered on his face when he saw Roxanne.

Blushing Roxanne said coyly, "Not volunteering exactly. It's just that Bella is struggling with her assignment in Integrating Technology and knowing you're a whiz in technology I thought she should ask for your help."

I had never seen this side of Roxanne she actually looked shy. It was actually kind of cute, but I really liked her strong side better. Maybe after talking with Anne she'd see that everything was going to be okay and get back to being the strong person I was used to.

Sitting down at the table, I turned to Drake, "It's no big deal, I want to try and figure this out by myself, or at least try one more time before I hold up the white flag. I'm really stubborn and know if I just set my mind to it I'll figure it out."

The whole time we were talking Ian was just sitting at the table doing the Sunday crossword. He never looked up; it was as if we weren't even in the room. The worst part was, neither Roxanne nor Drake seemed to notice how distant he was being. Had I entered a third dimension? I know I didn't really know any of these people, but this was such a disconnect from the guy who danced with me last night. I let out a big sigh and pouted.

Drake and Roxanne started laughing at the same time. "Bella, if you need help, I'll help. You don't have to pout," Drake said as he came over and patted me on the head.

They had no idea that my reaction was due to Ian's behavior. So I decided to let them think that, "No, it's okay. Seriously I want to give it at least one more shot. It's not like you'll be able to sit in on my finals with me. And you are the person who keeps reminding me of finals so let me try. I'll find you if I need help."

"Whatever. If that's what you want, I'll be around all day. I've got some work of my own to get done." He turned to Roxanne, kissed her on the cheek and left the room. She was glowing again. Although I was happy for her, I didn't think I'd be able to take all the mood swings this girl was having.

All of a sudden Ian stood up and walked out of the room, never saying a word. Seriously, what was up with him! I was going to have to find out soon or it would drive me nuts.

"How about some eggs and bacon? I'm starving, I've been up several hours and knocked out some of my homework, so why don't you sit while I make us breakfast." Maybe if I cooked I'd either figure out what was going on or distract myself to the point of not caring.

"Great, I'd like to sit here and just daydream anyway." She sat down with her coffee and got that far away look again.

"Roxanne, you really need to snap out of this. It's great that you're feeling the way you are, but you need to focus so you can get your assignments done. Tomorrow is Monday and you haven't cracked a book all weekend." My back was to her as I was making the eggs and bacon, so I turned and she smiled at me.

"I know, I know. I promise right after breakfast I'll get back to being me. He's just so great, I can't help feeling sappy right now."

"Fine, you get to day dream all you want during breakfast, but that's it for the rest of the day."

After breakfast we cleaned up our dishes while she filled me in on some more details of her evening with Drake. They had so much in common that it just made sense they'd be attracted to one another. Reaching the decision that I wasn't going to be able to focus on my assignment with Ian on my mind, I made the decision to work on it later.

I ran upstairs and grabbed my book, with a beautiful day like today the deck was just calling to me to come outside and read. Maybe this would be the distraction I'd need to get Ian's odd behavior out of my mind. Stepping outside on the deck, I plopped in one of the chaise lounges and started reading. It really was a perfect afternoon, the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was about sixty-five degrees. This was so relaxing I sat back and put my book on my chest while closing my eyes.

Soon I heard the sliding glass door open. I opened my eyes and looked in the direction of the door, it was Ian coming outside. He hadn't seen me yet, so this would be interesting. I kept looking at him and finally he saw me. He looked around on the deck like he was looking for something and then started heading back inside again.

That was it; I was through with this, "Ian, can I talk to you for a minute."

He stopped in mid stride, his hand on the handle of the door. After a brief pause, he turned and looked at me without moving a step towards me. "Sure, what's up?"

"Well for starters, you don't have to stand in the doorway while I'm trying to speak with you. If you don't mind I prefer not to yell over to you. Can you come over here?" I pointed to the chair next to my lounge chair.

It was as if he needed to think about it for a minute and then he came over and sat down, but he never looked at me. "Well, I'm here, what's up?"

Wow, he really was mad. "I was just wondering did I do something to offend you? Last night I thought we were having a good time and then at the end of the night you practically took off in a sprint." I was tilting my head so that he had to make eye contact with me, but he just kept looking down at his hands.

He sighed and said, "No, you didn't do anything. I was just…well, I needed to get back to call my family." Huh, it was after midnight when we left the club, why would he need to call his family at that hour. He was lying to me, but why?

"Oh, okay, so we're good then. No problems?"

"Yup, we're good. No problems…" he said almost in a whisper.

I reached over and touched his arm, "Are you sure, because you're acting like I did something. If I did, then I apologize now, even though I don't know what I'm apologizing for," I said chuckling.

He finally looked at me, "No need to apologize Bella, you didn't do anything. We're great, I promise." He tried to smile at that point, but it wasn't his usual smile. It was sad somehow, like I had hurt him in some way and he didn't want me to know. I knew by the look on his face that he wasn't going to give me any more information, so I decided to drop it.

I looked out at the mountain range and sighed. "Great, then I guess we're good." I closed my eyes and let the sun warm my face. He stood up to go but didn't move immediately. Then I heard him walking away and into the house.

Whatever it was, it upset him pretty badly and I was determined to find out more. I would let it go for now, but there was no way I was letting this fester one more day. The problem was figuring out how to find out what was wrong. I knew I was going to need everyone's help in solving this little mystery. Maybe later, for now the sun was too nice and it was making me drowsy.