I was sitting on the couch next to Jake, and he had his arm around me almost protectively. Alice and the other Cullens were seated around the table. Esme and Carlisle looked on Jake with a serene smile, as did most everyone else. Rosalie could have tried to hide her distaste a bit better.

"So what exactly happened today?" Esme asked, easing into the subject at hand. "You met another vampire?" I nodded my head.

"Her name is Nicole Venus. I thought at first maybe her fangs had been a trick of the light, but when she mentioned smelling you guys, and me, and a 'wolfish scent', I knew something was up." I said

"Let me get this straight," Edward said, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. "She smelled us? As in our scent?" I nodded yet again. He swore quietly under his breath.

"Edward." Esme chided. Rosalie snickered.
"Sorry mom." Edward said, "What are we going to do though?" He asked, somewhat worried. "I mean, she obviously knows we're here. We have to strike before she does, in order to keep Bella safe." I pondered that.

"Well if she hasn't done anything just yet, we should just keep watch up." Jake said, "Obviously we're going to keep Bella safe, but we also don't want to draw unnecessary attention to her." I rested my head against his shoulder. It seemed safe enough.

"Just keep the watch up?" Edward said with disdain. "That's really your best solution? How is that supposed to keep her safe? The girl has admitted to knowing our presence. Who knows what she's planning on doing? We need to get her away from Bella." Jake's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I would think that a pack of werewolves and a coven of vampires could do the job." He said sarcastically. "Unless that is, you're afraid you won't be able to protect Bella?" Edward glared.

"Of course we'll do an adequate job of protecting her," he spit out. "I would just think it'd be in her best interest to take care of the problem before it becomes a bigger issue than it already is." The tension in the room was increasing with each syllable that came out of their mouths.

"Why don't we take the simple approach?" Jake shot back. "It's the easiest way, and it's the most practical." Edward snorted.

"The most practical? I've had decades more experience than you, and I can guarantee it is not the most practical." He crossed his arms. "And the easiest? The easiest way is not necessarily going to keep Bella safe. So I don't understand what you think you're doing, by possibly endangering her for the sake of simplicity." Jake began to shake. I looked on in horror

"Jake, calm down honey," I soothed him. He began shaking slightly less, but it was still there.

"I'm fine," he growled through his teeth. Edward looked upon him with a smug look.

"Obviously you're not. You better get a better control of your temper, or that's going to be a huge point for your enemies to get to." He said, as smug as ever.

"You trying to say something bloodsucker?" Said Jake angrily.

"Of course not dog." Edward said. "Just stating the obvious." Jake got up, shaking more violently than before. I looked to Emmett and Rosalie. Rose began to cautiously get up, and slightly in front of Edward. Emmett got slightly in front of Jake, and Alice and Esme went in front of me, to protect me from them I guess.

"Boys, calm down," Carlisle said, trying to soothe them. It wasn't working.

"I'm calm." Jake hissed through his teeth.

"Sure you are." Edward taunted. "You're as calm as a cat thrown into a bath of water."

"You would be too if some parasite was trying to take control of how to take care of the girl you loved." Jake said, his shaking getting more and more violent with each second. This was really not looking good.

"I'm not calm!" Edward spat, "You have no clue how hard it is to see her with someone as dangerous as you when I feel for her the way I do, never mind the approach you have on supposedly 'protecting' her! She needs to be protected and you seem almost incapable of doing the things necessary to keep her safe!" My jaw dropped.

"The way you feel for her?" Jake asked. "What way would that be?" He said, barely calm. Edward's tone turned icy.

"It's nothing you have to worry about. She loves you, doesn't she?" He said, glancing quickly to me, and then to the ground. "Keep your priorities where they belong. Keep them on her safety. Don't worry about me." Jake glared.

"Can I talk to you for a moment alone?" He said curtly to Edward. Edward nodded and they started going towards the door. I got up.

"Wait." I said, beginning to toddle after them. Jake turned to me.

"It's okay, Bells." He said, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "Nothing's going to happen, I promise. I just need to talk to him alone." I looked over Jake's shoulders to Edward. He put up his hands in front of him almost defensively.

"I promise I won't do anything," he swore. I looked at him and nodded.

"Be nice." I said, and they went on their way out the door. I sank down on the couch. Great. I had a vampiress possibly intent on doing something to hurt all that I cared about and I had a vampire and a werewolf discussing things about them liking me. That's always a great situation to be in. Alice gently sat next to me, as did Esme and Rose. Emmett, Carlisle and Jasper kept an eye on Jake and Edward's general direction. "Have you guys known about this all along?" I asked. They squirmed slightly.

"Well, we thought you had gotten a small idea of it," Alice said gently. "Since he was being such a jerk, and such a boy about it. But, I guess you didn't know the full extent of his feelings." I just shook my head.

"How long has he liked me?" I asked, dumbfounded. Had I really not noticed it? Was I really that dense? The answer was beginning to become blindingly obvious.

"Since the week he met you," Esme said softly. "He came home that first day, frantic that he might possibly hurt you because your blood appealed to him so strongly. Then, as the weeks went on, he couldn't stop talking about you. He got over the scent quickly once he started to fall for you. He took many necessary steps so he could just talk to you, never mind even being your friend." She gently rubbed my back. "I know that he was good at disguising it to you. But he really did care. And he still does." I hung my head and began rubbing my temples.

"Lovely." I groaned. "This day couldn't get better." Alice laughed gently.

"It's okay Bella. Edward will get over it. It just may take some time. You've got to remember, you're the first girl he's met that actually knows about his world, and that he's actually found himself interested in." Alice said. Rosalie spoke up quietly.

"You know, that may be it." She said.

"Huh?" I asked. Rose continued.

"You're the first girl who's known about our secret, and that he's interested by. Think about it, he can read everybody's mind, except for yours. It's the impossible mystery that he can't crack, and to top it off, you know what's going on in his world. If he found someone like that, he'd probably get interested in her. No offense to you," she said quickly, "but I would think that it'd be helpful to get this problem fixed as soon as possible. Just thinking out loud." Esme tapped her foot thoughtfully.

"That's a good point, Rose. We are some of the only women he knows, and if he found someone else who intrigued him as much as Bella, maybe he'd be interested in her!" Esme was enthusiastic. I think she liked Jake, but obviously loved her son and wanted him to be happy above all else. I rested my head against the couch cushion. It was going to be a long day. That much I could tell. They continued to try and comfort me while Jake and Edward talked outside. I was beginning to worry; they had been our there for at least 15 minutes. Finally, they came back inside. Edward looked gray and dismal, and Jake looked angry and tired. Edward came over to me.

"Bella, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I overreacted in the heat of the moment, and I'm sorry for any unnecessary stress it may have caused you. I know you're under pressure, and I truly didn't mean it. I just overreacted a bit." He said. I nodded. I didn't believe a word of it, but if he was going to tell me this, I guess I'd just go along with it. "Do you forgive me?" he asked apologetically.

"It's fine." I said gently. "I know you didn't mean it." Jake came over to me and put his arm around my waist protectively. I had a feeling I wouldn't be leaving his side for the rest of the night. Not that that was a problem for me, but I did feel bad for Edward. This was going to be a long night, and it hadn't even started yet.