End of Chapter 5

I hurry back to my room to gather my stuff for the day. Crap! I didn't finish my stuff for the biology lab. I'll do it at lunch. I shove everything into my backpack, stop at Charlie's door to listen to his soft snoring, before I head down the stairs, grab my keys, and head out the front door. The whole drive to school I am wracked with worry about leaving Charlie alone today. I wish there was a friend or someone I could call to check in on him during the day to make sure he is alright. But there was no one. I was his someone. High school just got infinitely more meaningless.

Chapter 6: Missing Partner (EPOV)

The fifth week of school rolled around, and with it came our term project in biology. On Tuesday, Mr. Banner gave us a list of potential projects to do with our lab partner. It was 40% of our grade for this term, and we had two weeks to complete it and the make a presentation on it at the end of the two weeks. Bella and I sat there silently reading through the list. She had laid her head down as she read, and I glanced over to find that she had drifted off to sleep.

"Hey," I hissed.

"Hmmm..." she said sleepily.

"Sleep on your own time," I said getting annoyed, and nudging her with my elbow. "We've got to pick a project."

Bella had been nodding off more and more lately, and she was becoming increasingly quiet. I used to look forward to biology, because it was the only time of day I got any sort of intelligent conversation, but that is before Bella became an extra from The Night of the Living Dead.

"Sorry," Bella mumbled sitting up, and wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth. "I was up late...studying last night."

"Let's just pick something, so you can get back to your beauty sleep," I glared at her from the corner of my eye. "You need it these days."

"Sorry," she mumbled again.

I sighed. I was not trying to make her feel bad. Two weeks ago, she would have came back with some snarky comment, or at least gave me an indignant look, but now... Now, she just look sad and beaten down.

"No, I'm sorry," I sighed again. "Let's just pick something. How about this 'Environmental Impact' project? I just might convince you to put the beast down after this one."

I looked at her with the hope that comment would raise her out of the dead. She hated when I trashed her truck. She narrowed her eyes at me. YES!

"Oh!" My eye lit up when I saw the next one. "What about one of these cellular ones? We could do one on cancer. My dad has lots of reference...."

"NO!" Bella almost shouted.

"What?" I looked at her shocked.

"Not that, please," her eyes were sad again, defeated.

"What is going on, Bella?" I asked. I was getting tired of this. "Why are you snapping at me one second and falling asleep the next? You have been forgetful and just...absent. I know we haven't known each other that long, but you just aren't being yourself."

"It's nothing. It's personal, OK?" Her eyes implored me to stop my line of questions.

"Fine," I said. "Let's just pick something."

We finally settled on a Dinosaur Evolution project. It actually sounded pretty fascinating, because we would mimic the evolution of a dinosaur. For once in a long time, Bella actually became animated again as we talked about things we might do. Apparently, she had gone on some archeological digs in Arizona as part of a class project her freshman year. By the end of the period, both of our eyes were alight, and we were talking quickly. Finishing each others sentences, almost. And hell, she even smiled at me at one point.

Just then the bell rang. Bella and I walked up to Mr. Banner on our way out of class to tell him what we had picked. He was very excited that we had decided to go with that one. We walked towards the door, and I motioned for her to go first. She gave me a smile and a small wave.

"See you later, Bella," I said quietly, and turned toward Spanish.

"Bye, Edward," I heard her say softly behind me.

I barely caught a glimpse of Bella getting into her truck after school. That girl must sprint from gym after school to get to her truck so fast. I rarely saw anything other than it pulling out of the lot these days.

"What is up with Bella these days?" I asked Alice as I got to the car. "Forks High is a necessary boredom in our lives, but I don't think it requires a sprint. Does she have an after school job or something she has to get to? The chief certainly can't approve of the speeds she is pushing that beast to go."

I looked up to see Alice just staring at me with a dumbfounded expression.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Why do you care so much why Bella is hurrying out of school?" Alice asked coyly.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "She just seems off lately. Just curious, I guess."

We got into the car, and started driving home.

"She does seem different," Alice agreed looking toward the direction that Bella just drove away. "She has lost a lot of weight, and not in a good way. She seems paler too, if that is possible. Also, she's been dozing off in class, and forgetting her assignments, though she can recite from memory every book on our reading list."

"That's what I am talking about!" I said. "She is not the slacker type, and she is smart as hell, but it is like she has checked out. It's like something is going on, and she is not telling me."

"Is she obligated to tell you?" Alice asked turning towards me.

"No," I mumbled, "but I guess I just sort of thought we were friends."

"Edward," Alice said half exhasperated. "You do nothing but give her shit. That doesn't exactly spell tell-you-my-secrets-while-we-braid-each-other's-hair type of friendship."

"I know," I said. "I guess that is my fault. She's just the only person I've met here in Forks that I enjoy talking to. I just wish she would talk to me."

"Awwww..." Alice chimed. "Eddie has a crush."

"No, I don't," I snapped. "And don't fucking call me Eddie. You are getting as annoying as Emmett."

The rest of the week flew seemed to fly by. Bella and I split up the project into parts. Our skills complemented each other. Bella was an excellent researcher and writer, and had the experiences, and luckily her old notes, on dinosaurs. I was stronger in the cellular and environmental equations that would make the project work. We both did our share, and our written report was almost complete by the time Friday rolled around.

"So, the presentation part is going to require some extra work together," I said pulling out my iPhone and looking at my calendar. "Saturday afternoons are out for me, because those are the days I go to symphony practice in Seattle."

She tried to disguise her laugh as a cough.

"What?" I asked getting annoyed.

"Nothing," she was still trying not to laugh. "I just never thought I would know someone who had symphony practice."

"Don't be such a proletariat, Bella," I chided her. "Lots of people play instruments."

"I am sorry to let my blue collar show, Mr. Cullen," she teased.

"So when do you want to work on this?" I asked.

"How about we get a pass from Mrs. Conner to work on our project in the library third period," she suggested.

"That is fine, I guess," I said. "Wait...how did you know I have study hall third period?"

"Forks," Bella said as an explanation waving her hand around her.

"Forks," I said as an explicative. "Well, we can ask Mrs. Conner tomorrow."

"Actually, I already asked, and she said that was fine," Bella said.

"When did you do that?" I asked.

"Um...I ran into her the other day." Bella said with that fucking sad look on her face again.

"Oh, that's settled then," I said putting my phone away not letting my eyes leave her.

"Bella, can I ask you something?" I asked.

"You can ask anything you would like," she half smiled.

"What is going on with you?" I just laid it right on out there. Way to be subtle, Cullen.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Why are you so tired lately? Why are you absent so often?" I asked.

"I haven't missed one day of school," she said defensively, "even though I should be!"

"That is not what I meant," I said sighing. "You are here, but you are not here. It's like your mind is always somewhere else."

"It is," she said softly.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked my voice taking the same volume as hers.

"No," she said. "We're fine."

"Who's we?" I asked.

"Just drop it Edward," she pleaded with her eyes. "I'm taking care of things, and it's not easy, and please, just drop it."

"Fine," I mumbled. "I was just trying to be a...friend."

"Thanks for trying," Bella said ducking behind her hair.

I was about to say something else, and the bell rang. Damn bell. Bella quickly got up, and hurried out of the classroom.

***

The next week I entered the library Monday morning, third period to see Bella standing at the circulation desk quietly talking to Mrs. Conner. Bella noticed me approaching, and ended the conversation. Mrs. Conner whispered something to her quickly, and Bella just shook her head shooting her a look.

"Good morning, Mrs. Conner, Bella," I greeted them.

"Good morning, Edward," Mrs. Conner said. "Take a seat anywhere, kids. You should have the library to yourselves for the most part this period."

"Thanks again, Mrs. Conner," Bella said.

As easy as the paper was for this project, the presentation was proving to be that difficult. Despite the sharp tongue Bella had for me, she was painfully shy when it came to the rest of the world I found out. Every time she even thought about saying her part of the presentation, she blushed furiously, and got all tongue tied. By Wednesday, she was finally starting to loosen up.

"You are doing great," I encouraged her. "Now, we just need to ease you in with a small audience."

"What?!" she gasped.

"How about you come over tonight to my house, and we can torture my parents and siblings with a run through of our presentation?" I asked. "The Hales are usually around too, so we would have an audience of six. It will probably be the most intelligent audience who hears this."

"Not tonight," Bella said quickly. "I have things to do tonight."

"Fine," I said. "Then how about tomorrow."

"Actually, after school is kind of rough for me," Bella said.

"You need to practice this, Bella," I said firmly.

"OK. OK." she relented. "I will see about tomorrow."

After school, I drove home alone. Alice had joined the homecoming dance committee, and Emmett had football practice. My mom had left me a voice mail saying that she was meeting with some new clients this afternoon in Port Angeles, and asked if I could drive her there, and then we could meet up with my dad somewhere for dinner. Maybe it was best that Bella couldn't come over tonight, because it seemed no one was going to be home. I picked my mom up, and dropped her off at her client's offices in Port Angeles with the promise she would call when she was done. I decided just to go hang out at my dad's office and do some homework until they were both done.

I parked my Volvo in one of the metered spots that sat outside of my dad's building. I wasn't paying attention at first, but when I looked up I saw something that made my vision go red. Sitting there on the streets of Port Angeles was an old relic of a truck. Bella's truck. And there walking towards it, with her arms full of shopping bags, was Bella. I slammed my door, hit the locks, and stormed in her direction. She saw me, and her face fell.

"Things to do," my voice yelled. "You had 'things to do'."

"I know this looks bad, Edward, but please, it's not what you...," Bella stammered.

"What?" I snapped. "Don't say it's not what I think, Bella. I think it looks like you blew off working on our biology project, that let me remind you is 40% of our grade this term, to go shopping."

"If it is so important, than what are you doing here?" She bit back.

"My mother had a meeting this afternoon, so I was nice and drove her here, since I had nothing to do, and we are meeting my dad for dinner when they are done. Some people put their responsibilities over themselves," I yelled. "But you wouldn't know anything about self-sacrafice, would you."

Bella's eyes welled up with tears, and she bit her bottom lip trying to hold the tears back. I tried to remain stoic, but on the inside I instantly felt like a jerk for making her cry. I stood there waiting for her to run off, as girls seem to do when they cry, but she stayed there. She continued to stand there staring at me with big tears cascading silently down her cheeks. My heart began to ache, and I wanted to wipe them away. At that moment, she started to walk towards me slowly, never breaking eye contact with me. My arms wanted to wrap themselves around this frail looking girl before me, but before I could will them to move, and before I even saw it coming, her small right hand landed with a loud crack against my left cheek.

I stood there stunned holding my left cheek with my own hand now. She slapped me! She fucking slapped me! OK. Maybe I deserved that. Hell no. I might have put her in her place, but I didn't deserve that! She was the one who was jeopardizing my future with her shopping excursion. I was about to say something, but she beat me to it.

"You know nothing about me, Edward Cullen!" She yelled. "You think you are so fucking smart, and have it all figured out. You stand there in all your self-rightiousness, and dare judge me! You said you wanted to be my friend. If this is what your friendship looks like, then I don't want it! We will finish this project, and then I will ask Mr. Banner to allow us to switch lab partners."

"That's the smartest idea to come out of your mouth in weeks!" I yelled at her retreating form.

Luckily, my phone rang just then so I couldn't dwell on what just happened. Esme was done with her meeting, so I hopped back into my car, and drove to pick her up.

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A/N: Once again, I must thank RosieWilde for talking me down from my literary ledge. When I went to write this chapter, Edward was MIA. With her help, I did manage to track him down and finally get this chapter out. I hope it is not terrible. If it is, please let me know. If I managed to pull something decent out, let me know that too, because I feel like I have some new stretch marks from giving birth to this chapter.

Also, thanks to roxymar for her exhaustion and daddy dedication that went into this chapter.