A/N: Once again, this is un-beta'd. Hope it isn't too abysmally unreadable.
And now for some apparently much-needed clarification. Edward left in ETS for a variety of reasons. I'm not going to commit to any of them at present, because why would you keep reading?, but here are some possibilities. First of all, he inadvertently exposed himself as something inhuman (sparkly skin, super strength, super speed) when he saved Bella from the motorcycle. Second of all, he was getting pretty close to Bella pretty fast. And third, remember when Bella was looking out her window and saw something out of the corner of her eye? If it was Edward, and I think I'm safe telling you that it WAS Edward watching her, would you really want an Edward who was COMFORTABLE with the fact that he was basically stalking a teenage girl? Perhaps he realized how obsessive he was becoming and left before things progressed. Again, I'm not committing to anything, but now you've crawled into my brain a bit. I hope that makes things a bit clearer. And, while we're on the subject...
Edward's reasons for leaving in New Moon were equally vague. Bella got hurt, he blamed himself, so he uprooted his entire family (where they were perfectly happy, btw) and ditched Bella in the woods by her house? Seriously? Were you guys OK with that? I'm getting a lot of flack for my Edward leaving, but, hey, he left before things went too far. The whole "I love you more because I'm willing to leave" means that you leave in a manner that would help the one you love, not hurt. Telling Bella it was all a lie, he didn't love her anymore, and then ditching her... this was for her own good? Fuck that. Seriously. I like mine better. I'm not saying he won't leave again, cause you know as well as I that I don't think ahead when I write (sorry, but it's true), but really... my Edward won't be such an immature prick.
Oh... and, by the way. After telling Bella not to go into the woods alone... Edward totally leaves Bella IN THE WOODS ALONE. Just saying.
*cough*
Ummm... rant complete. I don't own this. Hope I answered your questions. And for the crazy people who accused me of pairing Edward and Alice in my EPOV (Learning How to Live)... you're on crack. That is all.
For There You Have Been
Chapter Two
"Isabella," Charlie breathed, wrapping his arms around me in the most intimate hug we'd ever shared before. "I missed you so much."
"I can see that, Dad," I laughed, giving him a quick squeeze before taking a step back and offering him a smile. "Ate a lot of pizza, did you?"
"You don't even want to know," he muttered, reaching down to grab my two suitcases and dragging them towards his cruiser. "Geez, Bells, you're coming back with more crap than you left with. Are there rocks in here or something?" he asked, hoisting the purple duffel bag that Renee had bought me to carry my new wardrobe back to Forks.
"Renee," was my only reply, and Charlie managed a knowing smile before his eyes clouded over for a moment, almost imperceptibly. He looked away for a moment, concentrating a bit too hard on unlocking the trunk and depositing my bags safely inside before turning to me with a fresh smile and ushering me towards the passenger door.
"Let's go, kid. Jacob's been pestering me about you all day."
The hour long drive home was much more peaceful than the one we had made together all those months ago. The trees lining the highway were welcome now, the gray sky not as oppressive as it had felt to me before. I was home now, and it was a nice feeling.
I released a contented sigh and turned to regard my father for a moment, smiling as I noted once more just how happy and relieved he was to have me back. His lips seemed to have been frozen in a permanent little smile since the moment I had stepped of the plane, and he was humming along to the radio, something he rarely had on while I was in the car with him. Somewhere in the back of my mind I realized that he had probably been concerned that I would choose to stay in Florida, choose Renee over him. He had probably been worried that my mother would try to talk me into staying (which she did, on numerous occasions), and maybe the old Bella would have wanted to stay there. Maybe the old Bella would have chosen the sun and her mother's familiar idiosyncrasies over the cloud-filtered light and quiet of Forks, but, for new Bella, for post-Edward Bella, the idea of leaving Forks is laughable at best. This is my home now. This is where I found myself, and found people who accepted me. This was it. Charlie had nothing to fear.
The drive continued in comfortable silence, and, before I knew it, we were back, pulling into the narrow driveway in front of the small two story house that I had grown so attached to since I moved here. We were back and I was home. Eagerly helping Charlie unload my overstuffed suitcases from the trunk, I practically ran into the house and up the stairs to my small bedroom, calling a thanks to my rather amused father as he dumped my duffel on the landing and left me in peace. I unpacked my laptop with haste, logging online and pouting when I found that neither Angie nor Jacob were on, before whipping out my cell and making the phone call I'd been dying to make since my plane touched down.
I dialed the number by memory, bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet as the line rang once, twice, again...
"Angie," I screamed when she finally answered, "I'm home!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Update time," Angela announced, grinning as she playfully nudged Ben in the ribs before turning her attention to Jacob and I across the table. "Spill."
"Angela, I've spoken to you twice a day, every day for the past month. What am I spilling about exactly?"
"Not you, Ms. Bella," she replied, roguishly eying Jacob and giggling as he dropped his eyes to the table.
"Jacob?" I asked, smiling at Angela's behavior. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class?"
"I... uh..."
"Jacob has a girlfriend!" Angela sang out, reaching across the table to ruffle his hair playfully.
Jacob has a girlfriend? What?
I looked at him, watching his already reddish skin darken considerably as he blushed at Angela's announcement. A sudden lurching sensation in my stomach overtook me for a moment, and I felt my hands ball into fists under the table. What the hell?
"Well, Jake?" I prompted, giving him a pointed glance before kicking Angela under the table, my way of telling her to stop embarrassing him.
"I, uh... yeah. Well, she's not really my girlfriend. We've just been... uh..."
"Dating?" I suggested gently, trying to figure out the emotions that were coursing through me.
"Yeah," he agreed, relieved for the confession to be over. He stole a glance at me, his eyes still not quite meeting mine, as though trying to gauge my reaction.
"Well that's great," I declared with forced enthusiasm, plastering a smile on my face and wondering why I wasn't quite as happy for my friend as I should have been. "Do I know her?"
"I don't think so. She's from the Reservation."
"Oh. Well, would I like her?"
"Oh yeah, Bells. She's great we all love her," Angela replied for him, offering Jake a smile and nodding. "She's awesome."
"Does she have a name?"
"Sarah," Ben offered, speaking up for the first time since we arrived at the diner. "She's Leah Clearwater's cousin."
"Sarah," I repeated to myself, nodding. "Well, I'm really happy for you, Jake. I hope I can meet her sometime soon."
"Yeah. Yeah, me too."
He was still glancing at me cautiously, his eyes settling on my face long enough to read my expression before darting away again, but he gave me an awkward smile and a bit of a nod, and I took that to mean that the subject was closed for now. He had clearly been nervous about telling me. It made me wonder a bit...
"So, Bells. You're fucking tan."
I smiled at my best friend across the table, stuck my tongue out at her playfully, and, just like that, my life had returned to normal.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
There were two weeks left, and then one, and then, suddenly, I was waking up on a very particular Monday morning, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, and preparing myself for the first day of my last year in Forks. It was time for school again. Time to finished what I'd started. And I couldn't wait.
Angela and I had compared schedules the week before and had lucked into having quite a few classes together. Ben was in a couple with us as well. And we had run into Mike, Jessica, Lauren, and Tyler on more than one occasion over the past couple of weeks and gotten along just fine. After Edward left, Jess backed off of me, and I had my suspicions that Lauren was interested in Jacob. All in all, everything was going well. This year would be great. I'd make sure of it.
After a quick shower, I hit my hair with a blow dryer, something Renee had insisted on training me how to do over the summer. Using the technique she had drilled into me, I sculpted my usual waves into long, smooth layers and topped it all off with some goopy finishing serum when I was done. Looking into the mirror, I had to admit that my hair looked pretty amazing, but the odds of me keeping up that kind of time-consuming regimen on a daily basis were nil. Once in a while was ok, but, let's face it, I'm just not a glamorous girl.
Offering myself a satisfied nod, I headed back into my bedroom, violently attacking my closet and donning a pair of dark skinny jeans and a white v-neck top, glancing out the window and smiling to myself as I opted for a pair of black Converse low-tops over my usually requisite rain boots. It was cloudy out, but definitely wouldn't be raining today.
Makeup was a quick affair. Renee had offered obsessive instruction in that arena as well, adding to the small supply she had sent me away from Phoenix with what felt like every product known to man. Getting into the "back to school" spirit, I cheekily applied some black eyeliner and a bit of sparkly nude shadow, curling my lashes and coating them with mascara. I hadn't worn makeup since I'd gotten back, so Angela would be both surprised and thrilled, I was sure. I threw on some bronzer for good measure, trying to accentuate the bit of tan I had leftover from my trip to Jacksonville, and glossed my lips, smiling to myself as I assessed my handiwork. New Bella was out in full force today. People wouldn't know what to do with me.
With a flip of my hair, I was downstairs grabbing a Pop Tart and waving goodbye to Charlie, walking carefully to my truck and gunning it towards school. My primping had made me late and I suddenly remembered why I was so low maintenance to begin with. Still... acting girly on occasion was kind of fun.
I parked in my usual space and let the familiarity of it all wash over me. I was back in Forks, back at the school that had become a source of comfort to me. Climbing out of my truck, I waved enthusiastically at Angela as she pulled in beside me, yanking my backpack out of the cab and hoisting it onto my shoulder.
"Damn, Bells. Who'd you get all sexified for?" Angela asked, appraising me in a rather suggestive manner.
"Only you, baby," I purred, exaggeratedly swaying my hips as I walked towards her... until I lost my balance and turned my ankle, dropping my backpack with a thud. "Shit."
"Now there's the Bella I love and know," Angie laughed, closing the space between us to hand me my bag and link her arm through mine. "You ready for this, kid?"
"Apparently not," I muttered, stepping tentatively onto my abused ankle and sighing with relief when the pain I had expected didn't appear.
"Yes you are. Don't be such a whiney bitch," she chirped, smacking me lightly on the arm before practically dragging me towards the school. "You do look nice, though. Really, Bells. You look great."
"Thanks, Angie. You don't look so bad yourself."
"Well, duh," she replied, smoothing her free hand over her green dress and offering me a devious smile. "Have to keep my man interested, don't I?"
"Speaking of men," I laughed, gesturing towards a rather over-eager Ben Cheney as he rushed across the parking lot towards us, grinning broadly.
"Hey, Bella. Hey, baby."
"Benjamin," Angela intoned, releasing her hold on my arm to dip into a formal curtsy before practically jumping into his arms and capturing his lips in a rather intense kiss.
"Don't mind me," I muttered, averting my eyes uncomfortably.
"We won't," she mumbled almost inaudibly, her lips still engaged with Ben's.
I stood there awkwardly, watching my friends practically fuck in the parking lot, shifting my weight until, thankfully, the bell rang signaling the beginning of the day.
"Let's go, Angie," I said, jerking her away from her boyfriend, ignoring the rather rude names she called me as I pulled her away. "You'll see him in English."
"Bye, baby," she called over her shoulder, smiling at the rather disheveled state of his hair and the glazed expression on his face. "I did that," she remarked to me proudly, gesturing over her shoulder to Ben's retreating form.
"I know, honey. And we're all so proud of you."
"Oh, fuck off," she said contentedly, smiling broadly as we began to approach our homeroom. "You're just jealous."
"He's not really my type."
That comment earned me another smack in the arm, and for the rest of the walk my best friend talked my ear off, extolling Ben's virtues and smiling dreamily to herself. It was a good start to the day. The people I loved were happy, and I was happy as well. It was with a contented sigh and a distracted mind that I wrenched the door to the Math building open, ushering Angela inside before following behind her, laughing at her story about when she first introduced Ben to her father.
If I had been paying more attention, if I had waited just a couple of seconds longer before entering the building, if I had spared a glance at the parking lot before heading inside, I might have seen a familiar glint of silver metal as it pulled smoothly into a space near my truck. I might have seen two rather distinctive figures pop out of the car and walk briskly towards the campus. I might have seen the shock of copper hair, glinting in the filtered light, the broad strength of his shoulders, covered in tight black cotton.
But I didn't look. So I didn't see. And my day began as though nothing was wrong and everything was right. My day began as it should have. And I didn't know that that change I had felt, that change that I had known was coming, that change that I had been waiting for, was upon me once again.
Edward Cullen had returned to Forks.
A/N: Author's notes are back with a vengeance, bitches. And so is Edward. :)
Review, please. I can't wait to get yelled at for Bella's reaction to Jacob. And I apologize for adding an OC, but I didn't want him dating anyone we knew. Sarah's a biblical name, like most of the female names of the Quileutes, so I figured it worked.
Review. Review. Review. Review.
