Crystal Clear

Chapter 2

The Day Everything Goes Wrong- Friday

Disclaimer: Since you all seem to have a misconceived notion that I own Twilight, for the record, and on the record, I DON'T. :) Stephanie Meyer, you are one lucky woman.

Morning, Swan Residence, 7:50 am

Friday dawned bright and early and Bella was pretty much miserable.

The rain was pounding down with a vengeance outside her lilly-flowered curtains and the bed was so snug and so warm and..

..the alarm was going off to tell her it was time to get up. As if she didn't know that. Just a few more minutes of sweet oblivion anyway...

When she did open her eyes, her alarm was blinking accusingly at her, showing a time far too near school.

Bella cursed unintelligibly and stumbled out of bed. Of course she would have to trip on her way to the bathroom and hit her head on the shower-curtain's railing as well, Bella thought blackly. The great almightly wouldn't be satisfied without a dose of Bella misfortune to brighten his viewing time. Making it out of the pretty little blue and white room in a record twelve minutes, she tugged on the first things she saw in her wardrobe which just happened to be a rose-pink sweater and her favourtie blue jeans. Stupid sweater still had a tag on it. Damn Alice and her generosity, Bella did not want to know how much she owed her friend or the mental wieght of that alone would probably kill her.

This is where I need to get a job, if atleast to pay her back someday, rather than my tution costs. Charlie would have a fit if he knew.

Charlie had already left but there was marmalade and slightly blackened toast awaiting her on the kitchen counter. Bella grabbed her breakfast while stuffing books into her bag with the other hand. Hopping toward the door, she finally finished pulling on her boots and raincoat and rushed outside only to find out she'd forgotten the keys to her truck. Cursing again, she fetched them and flung herself into the ancient red Chevy, taking a moment to catch her breath.

She was about to pull out when she saw Alice waving to her standing next to a brilliant yellow Porsche, wearing a cute water-proof parka. Muttering a prayer to heaven, -amazing how Alice almost always knew when she was in trouble-, Bella grabbed her bag and ran to meet her friend.

"Hey Bells-"

"Get in the car and drive."

Alice giggled slightly as Bella jumped in, walking over to her side and slipping in gracefully. "Oh it's alright. I have a feeling Mr. Willis is going to be a bit preoccupied today."

Bella raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "And if he isn't we're doomed. So let's just try to be on the safe side." She regretted her words almost as fast as she uttered them, because Alice was a cerified speed-maniac and would certainly take her words as encouragement to continue her borderline suicidal tendencies.

She wasn't wrong when Alice shot her a devilish looking, chirping out an an aye-aye captain before peeling out the driveway and pressing down hard on the gas. Bella gulped and prayed to be spared a violent gore filled death and began apologising for being deregatory toward God earlier that morning. If she died, she wanted to be welcomed into heaven with open arms.

The only other thing she noticed on the drive other than that her face was turning quite green in the rear-view mirror was that even though it was still raining, Alice's hands were by far colder than the freezing water.

Homeroom, 8:30 am, First Year Forks High School

They reached homeroom with moments to spare. The bell had already rung, but no sooner did they flop into their seats than Mr. Willis came charging in, wet, dripping and completely distracted.

"Class," he barked, squinting behind fogged glasses, "you Keith, take the attendace!" And he turned, nearly slipped in a puddle and just as hastily made his way out of the room.

Bella froze as she settled herself in her chair, turned to Alice and pinned her with a stare. "Okay, that, is too weird to pass off as a fluke. How did you know he would be like that, Alice?"

Alice smiled, shrugging, though she looked tired and occupied as well, "The principal called a meeting to discuss the grizzly sightings."

Bella bit her lip. That was right. Recently, ther had been quite a few incidents of people getting mauled and killed by something, most probably a wild bear. The school was probably considering cancelling the trekking trip of her class. Bella was glad. Sporty stuff had never been her thing. Ever.

"And you knew this because...?"

Alice sighed, propping her head in her hand. "I too, have my sources Bella," she mumbled, rolling her eyes. Bella frowned, Alice was drooping and it wasn't her guilt-trip inducing droop either. In fact, this looked real.

Bella took a closer look at her friend. "Are you okay Alice? You look quite tired." She reached over and touched her friend's forehead, but as always, and maybe because of the rain, it was still deathly cold.

Alice was caught of guard. "What? No! I've just not been... sleeping well lately." She was being evasive. A sign that something was up.

"Does this have anything do do with the visitors Edward mentioned?" Bella questioned, watching Alice keenly. Oh, she hadn't forgotten that. Such mixed reactions- Edward, so guarded, and Alice,-brightening up almost immediately as to cause suspicion. She caught the tiny flicker in Alice's eyes and she knew she'd hit the mark.

"No...well, maybe," Alice relented as she caught sight of Bella's expression.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bella offered.

Alice shook her head so fast, it was more like a reflex reaction. "Ah, I'd rather not Bella. It's a bit-well, never mind." She bit her lip in indecision, her eyes glazing over. She remained like that for a while, Bella growing more and more worried every second. Was it, whatever it was, causing Alice this much agitation? If it was so bad, she probably should leave it alone till Alice came to her. Or maybe she should make Alice pour it out. Or what if it was just some family thing that Alice wouldn't want to tell Bella about?

"Alice," Bella prodded tenatively, when Alice showed no signs of breaking out of her day-dream. "Alice, hey, snap out of it!"

Alice jerked, eyes fluttering wide. She focused in on Bella and gave a shaky laugh. "Oh, god, did I zone out again? I must be really coming down with something."

"Maybe," Bella agreed, not totally convinced. She would talk to her friend about it later.

Mr. Will came in then, a grave look on his face.

"The school board has held a meeting to discuss the recent bear incidents. They do not feel it would be safe for you to be allowed to trek in these woods, as of now, till the bear is caught, the trip is being cancelled-" He raised his hands to ward off the collective groans. "-On the other hand, the La Plush residents have agreed to allow us to use the beach on the reservation as a kind of picnic area."

Everybody began cheering. La Plush was know for its huge wide expansive beaches.

Bella sighed and lay her head on her arms. Yay, she thought gloomily, so much fun. For the moment, Alice's problems were pushed to the back of her mind.

Cafeteria, Forks High School

Lunch was as usual, spectacular. She got to eat at Alice's table which meant a whole lot of glares drilling into the back of her head, (oh joooy) and also meant Edward and his slutty troop of airheads would be lounging around the table (the damn bastard kept feeding them cucumber peels or what ever else they ate to make people feel as though they would disappear if they turned sideways).

"Ah, Alice," Edward greeted, a smirk on his face, "and one simple single follower, welcome to my table."

The group of bimbos thought this hilariously funny. Bella gritted her teeth and sourly wished someone would chop their shiny silky hair off and stuff it in their wide lipsticked mouths. She'd see them eat that with pleasure.

Edward's lips curved even more as he slowly leant forward and placed a tomato slice, being exaggeratedly careful, in the mouth of the dumb blonde sitting nearest to him. She purred with happiness, even as her posse grumbled discontentedly. Flipping her thousand dollar high-lighted hair over her shoulder, the girl shot Bella a snotty look before turning to sling her thin arms around Edward's neck.

"Edward daaarling," she drawled, "who's that frumpy looking little thing?"

Bella began grinding her teeth. Lauren Mallory always got on her nerves, pretending to not know who Bella was everytime they crossed paths. Was it that funny as she seemed to consider? Personally, Bella thought not. She consoled herself by thinking that Lauren at fifty would be a hag and unmarried while she, Bella would be a famous author and living happily married with four kids to boot.

Edward smiled suddenly.

"It's Bella," Bella said, smiling sweetly. "Oh and Edward prefers being called Eddie, if you know what I mean. He also likes it when you scratch behind his ears. I've found he's particularly ticklish there. He always moans so delightfully when you do that."

There was perfect silence.

Beside Bella, Alice looked down, her shoulders shaking as she tried to fight off the impending fit of laughter. Lauren looked confused, half disbelieving, half hopeful, and a bit shocked and angry that Bella would know such a thing. Her posse furiously tried to mimic her fluctuating expressions. Edward looked completely shocked and annoyed.

"Didn't see it coming," he muttered to himself. He shot a look at Alice. "I didn't see it. Did you?" he repeated incredulously.

Alice shook her head, wiping her eyes in mirth. "No," she answered. "But Bella's always been unpredictable."

Bella didn't understand what was going on. She had just insulted Edward to his face, and he and his sister were comparing notes on whether she had had it in her?

Edward stood up, ignoring Lauren's squawk as she had to let go of him. He turned restlessly. "I'm going to get some air. Dont. Follow me," he warned the tearful Lauren.

She rounded on Bella as Edward walked away. "You! You just had to go and try get all his attention, didn't you? Well, I'm the only girl for Edward, you remember that Bella!" she spat. She actually got Bella's name right in her anger. Standing up, Lauren flipped her hair over one shoulder and strode off, her friends scrabbling hastily to follow her.

Bella quietly returned to her meal, shrugging. Dumb blondes were the same everywhere, even back in Phoenix, Arizona. After a few moments, Alice did the same, still chuckling to herself.

Parking Lots, Forks High School

Alice had to go for an extra lab class to cover for when she had been absent a few days ago. Bella didn't mind but that meant she either had to thumb a ride home or walk.

As she headed out of the school. people milling around her, she saw Ben Cheney walking out with Angela from her literature class. Hurrying up to them, she was about to ask if they would mind dropping her off at her house as one, Ben had a car, two, they were obviously on a date, three, the only ice-cream parlour in town had a route that passed by Bella's house from the school and four, she really wanted to get home before the swirling storm clouds that had been there ever since afternoon broke and drenched her. She had just opened her mouth and was reaching for Angela's arm when someone grabbed her roughly by the wrist and yanked her, stumbling and tripping, all the way to the side of the school builing and flung her against the wall.

Bella's eyes swam with the unexpectedly quick movement and it took her a few seconds to realize that her captor was pressed up against her very intimately.

Her heart pounded and she was about to scream when a dark voice ordered her to be quiet, cursing softly. She recognised Edward's voice and went slack, suddenly hugely relieved. She didn't question why though if it had been any other boy, even Ben Cheney, who was a nice enough guy, she'd still be kicking and screaming.

Her relief soon turned to anger. What the hell did Edward think he was doing?

She stepped hard on his foot and was rewarded when he went rigid. Sparkling amber eyes turned down toward her, flashing with murderous intent.

"Bella," Edward said very softly, "remove your foot. Or. Else."

She stared back at him defiantly. "What the hell do you think you're doing Ed-"

He stopped her with a hand against her mouth. Rendered mute because however hard she tried she couldn't pry off the hand -another thing the siblings had in common, serious strength and cold cold skin- she glared at him ineffectively.

He glared back.

The thought crossed Bella's mind that she would be missing her ride.

"Ben came on his bike today. He would have said no," Edward bit out.

Surprised, Bella relaxed in his grip.

"Ricky Tanning was about to offer you a lift. His friends were going to make sure you accepted. Then, once they had you in the car, they were going to drug you and take you out to Dead man's curve and do what ever they wanted to you, before leaving you there with another shot of a memory loss drug for a harmless bystander to see and call the police. Now tell me, Bella, do you really want that so bad? 'Cause I am this close to letting you go free and let it be damned to hell whatever may happen!"

Bella froze for the second time that day, staring at Edward, who despite his hot speech had not once lost his calm outward appearance save for his glittering eyes. He seemed to be holding some strong emotion at bay and Bella wondered sinkingly if she was the cause. He removed his hand, though still pressing her body tightly into the wall behind her, his eyes never once leaving hers.

She gulped in fresh air and tried to look anywhere but at him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "but..but how did you know?" Is he lying? Trying to trick me?

Eward's eyes darkened. "Believe me, Bella. I'm telling the truth."

She shook her head. Edward wouldn't lie, not about something like this. Would he?

Edward grunted, releasing her and stepping back to shove his hand in his pockets. "They were talking about it in class after Alice told you she wouldn't make it. Stupid clouts didn't care who heard them. But as I was right behind them I got the whole sordid details of their plan. Believe me, if it was legal to rip a human being apart with my bare hands, I'd have-"

"Stop it Edward!" Bella raised anguished eyes toward him. "I get it!"

Edward looked contrite. "I-" he cut off, looking away from her, his jaw working visibly.

She sagged against the wall. "Why did you save me?"

Edward looked incredulous. "Why did I-" He cut himself off, snapping his jaws together tightly in exasperation. When he spoke, it was in a controlled even tone. "I may not like you, Bella. In fact, I certainly do not like you. But I'm not about to let anyone suffer at Tanning's hands. How many poor girls do you think he's done this to before? You would have been just another in his long string of offenses. But I'm going to put a stop to it now. I'm not going to let him get away with anymore."

Bella's mind reeled with all the implications of what he had told her.

Shesuddenly began gasping, the enormity of the situation finally reaching her brain. If he hadn't caught her when he did, she would be on her way to certain humiliation and pain and abuse by now. She had so much to be grateful to him for. But Edward wasn't saving her for her. Somehow, that hurt a lot. And those boys would have- would have-! She didn't comprehend that she was beginning to hyperventilate but suddenly Edward was forcing her onto the ground, pushing her head between her knees. His continued instructions to breathe, uttered in calm tones, left her gasping hysterically with tears in her eyes. Oh, it was alright for him, was it! She was the one who would have been-

"Bella! Bella! Snap out of it!" The irony of it being the same words she had uttered to Alice didn't escape her.

"Bella!"

Only the cause was different. The cause was so horribly different.

"You little idiot!" He was shaking her now. How would she ever face her classmates again? Ricky and all his evil gloating friends-

The slap left her still with shock, eyes wide round hurt pools in the gathering dusk. It got dark early in Forks this time of the year, and the storm clouds weren't helping one bit. Bella tasted her stinging cheek. She smelt the carefully controlled violence in Edward. She felt his muttered exclamation of annoyance.

Tears ran down her cheeks as she held one palm to her face and stared at Edward, bewilderment in her eyes. Why had he slapped her? Did he think so less of her too? She began to cry and didn't resist as he hoisted her up and half-dragged, half carried her toward a sleek waiting yellow Porche in the school parking lot.

Alice was waiting by the side, eyes wide with worry and pain. She took Bella from Edward with gentle hands and Bella began shuddering again as she was gently pushed in the car. Cold, cold, her mind chattered. So cold, get away. Leave me alone. She could hear Alice whispering to Edward and caught the words 'tell Charlie' and 'arrested for possesion' and 'be arranged'- before a damp dark blankness enveloped her. The last thing she remembered was Edward staring away at something in the distance, an utterly grim and furious look on his face.

She didn't wake up on the ride home. Instead, Bella dreamt.

Dark and full of mouldering peeling basements and evil cowled figures mock her with ropes made of slitering snakes that twine round her body, flicking their horrible forked tongues out over her skin and vials full of gleaming liquid that they grasp triumphantly in powdery thin hands, swishing noiselessly toward her in their black robes with long sharp needles clutched between paper fingers. Only, the liquid light becomes radiant and brighter, sending them skittering away, howling in anger and distrust and the ensuing explosion of colour is bright amber, brilliant glittering amber that envelopes her in a warm, warm glow and gives her peace and serenity and the knowledge that she is safe.

Edward...

Bella woke up in her room, the lights turned off and a low comforting glow coming from a night-light. Her hazy mind took a few moments to orient itself. The events of the evening came back to her and she stifled a tiny cry. Her shoulders began to heave. She wanted to stay in her room forever. The fear that Ricky would still somehow find a way to get her wouldn't leave her mind. How could she go to school the next day and pretend nothing had happened when she knew for certain he had been looking at her with those disgusting eyes and would be still? She could hear murmuring voices from below, and crept out of her bed, feeling boneless and tired, till she was crouched at the ending of the stairs. What was going on?

Her father was below, talking to an officer in blue. The officer was Sam, a longtime friend of her father's and sometimes fishing partner and kept shaking his head with a grave look on his face. He was writing something down in his little notepad but stopped to look up at her father.

"What's the youth coming too?" he asked Charlie. "Well, alright Sir. I have enough here to send those boys away for at least a year. I should be able to get them that on a charge of possesion alone. You should have seen what all they had. It was like a mini-drug business going on. We can still get them without bringing your daughter into this. It's a real shame," the man said soberly, " the kids these days."

"I want them far from my daughter," Charlie said, and Bella could hear the rage in his voice. "Tell them if they ever think of laying a hand on her, I will show them hell worse than anything they've faced till now."

The other man chuckled and clapped a hand on Charlie's back. "Still got the old fire going in you, eh, old pal?"

Charlie said nothing for a moment. "She's my daughter," he said finally. "And I'm going to do right by her." He said nothing further. The conversation seemed over as the man respectfully made a little formal salute and left. Charlie sighed and sat down on the couch. He seemd years older as he picked up a photo of Bella and Renee in a beautiful frame standing on the coffee-table and gazed at it sadly. His cheeks shone wet.

"I nearly failed her, Renee," he said softly to the silence of the room.

Bella sat back, the wall behind her providing comforting support. So Edward had stopped them, she thought bitterly.

"He stopped them," she whispered dully. "But he didn't stop them for me." Her mind was stuck on that one point. Bella couldn't deny it any longer. If it hurt this bad, what he'd said to her earlier today, she must have, somehow, somehow, ended up feeling something for him. She'd hated him from the first day she'd met him. She'd vowed to. And what had happened to that? The pain in her chest said that she'd broken it. She'd started liking him, even more than that, it seemed. But now...

"Not for me."

A/N: First dose of drama, accomplished! Hehe! Review! And please tell me if you want some Bella-Edward interaction of the usual, he pisses her off and stuff, she snarks on him and stuff, before she finds out that he's really...well, you all know so, drop me a line!

Edward is gonna apologise for not wanting Bella just because her mind is open to him and he doesn't feel curious and intrigued about that since an open mind is open and not close. Hint hint, Mrs. Mayer. Sorry, that bit is for the reviewers and not for the story. Oh and, Edward is now getting too much involved with the little human his sister has taken on for his comfort. He wants, a bit sadistically, to get her into trouble, as he resents the fact that he felt obliged to save her cuz she was a girl and his gentlemanly instincts(lol) how much ever they are buried deep inside him from his youth, rose up and demanded him to. So now, he's concoted a plot to get the smartassed little girl in deep doodoo(lol lol). And that, is for the story!

See how that goes in the chapters to come. In the near future hopefully as my plot bunnies are vacationing in Florida right now.

But only if you R&R!