EDIT: 08/29/2018 Minor editing made.

Chapter eleven

The next day was very similar to the previous one. Edward picked me up in the morning, drove me to the school, waited for me after Art and went to sit with me at lunch. We agreed not to talk about me at school to avoid being overheard by his siblings or someone else, who could happen to be close to us. Edward didn't want to talk about his family and refused to tell me what they thought about me knowing their secret. I was curious but didn't want to push the subject too much so I let it go for the moment.

We talked about school subjects instead. Edward offered to help me with most of the subjects and said he'd like to tutor me. I was pleasantly surprised and immediately agreed. It meant more time with him and I knew I really needed some improvement, especially in Biology.

It was another "movie day" in Biology, since the film was almost two hours long. Again, I felt the mysterious urge to touch Edward as soon as the room went dark, and like yesterday, I spent the whole hour sitting with my arms folded across my chest, trying to concentrate on the film. It seemed to drag more than yesterday but finally the hour was over and I could turn to Edward who was smiling at me. Then he walked me to Gym and said he would be waiting in the car.

Mike still wasn't very friendly but at least he didn't try talking to me about Edward again.

After Gym Edward was waiting for me in his car, like he'd said. His siblings had already left in Rosalie's car.

"What are you going to tell Charlie about Saturday?" he asked suddenly, after I'd gotten in and put on my seatbelt, surprising me. I hadn't given this much thoughts, I realised with a shock. How could I forget about Charlie? I wanted to facepalm myself.

"I don't know," I admitted, embarrassed. "I somehow didn't think about it."

He frowned. I could see he wasn't happy with my answer.

"You should tell him the truth," he said firmly.

"You want me to tell him what you are?" My eyes were wide with shock.

"Well, no." He rolled his eyes impatiently. "I want you to tell him you will be with me."

"Oh." I looked away from him, thinking. What would Charlie say, if I told him I would be with Edward, even if I didn't say he was a vampire? Would he jump into the conclusion that I had a boyfriend? Probably. Would he have a problem with it? I didn't know. I was an adult after all, and he knew that. I thought he could expect something like that from me now. I sighed. Edward was right. I should tell him the truth, or at least something as close to it as possible.

"So?" I could hear the impatience in his voice, so I looked back at him.

"I think you're right," I agreed with another sigh.

"I usually am." He grinned at me.

I decided to put Charlie in good mood before I told him about my trip with Edward, so I made him his favourite chicken wings with fries for dinner. I found cooking a nice distraction and was surprised how easy it was for me. Charlie was pleasantly surprised when he came home and sniffed the air.

"Are we celebrating something?" He raised his eyebrows suspiciously, when I placed a bottle of beer and a plate full of the wings and fries in front of him.

"No. I just thought you might like it." I smiled, trying to look as innocent as possible.

He complimented my cooking and then we ate in silence for a while. I was pondering the best way to approach the subject. I cleared my throat nervously. Charlie looked up, curious.

"Dad? I was invited for a trip this Saturday…" I began, not sure what to say next.

"Who invited you? Jessica?"

"Well, no. Edward Cullen." I could feel my face getting red.

"Edward Cullen?" he repeated, taken aback. "I didn't know you were friends with the Cullens."

"Um, yes. I share the desk with Edward in Biology and after he saved me from the van, I've gotten to know him a little." I shrugged, trying to sound calm.

"Which one is Edward?" he asked after a minute of silence.

"The tall one with reddish brown hair."

"Who else is going on the trip?" He watched me carefully.

For a moment I thought about telling him that the whole family was going but I hated lying to Charlie.

"Just the two of us," I admitted sheepishly.

"Hm," he said thoughtfully. "So you're asking for my permission to go on a date?"

I gaped at him. Charlie looked amused by my expression but then his face turned serious.

"You're an adult, Bella. You spent the last five years in a school half the world apart from me. For all I know, you could have been dating several boys without me or your mother knowing about it…"

I opened my mouth to protest but he didn't let me.

"Let me finish. I'm glad you told me about it so I know who you are going to be with, but you don't have to ask my permission."

I didn't know what to say. I'd thought I would have to argue with him. But of course he was right. I'd spent the last five years basically on my own, supervised only by teachers of Hogwarts. Dating was very common among students. Ginny'd had several boyfriends before she started dating Harry Potter earlier this year.

"Okay," I finally said and smiled in relief. "Thanks, Dad."

"Of course, if things get serious between you two, I'd like to meet him."

"Sure." I lowered my eyes but smiled slightly.

Edward looked pleased when I told him about Charlie's reaction the next day at lunch. Then he announced that he wouldn't be waiting for me after Gym because he was going to leave early to go hunting with Alice.

"Why are you leaving early? You have all night to hunt." It didn't make much sense to me.

"Well, we're going a little farther into the park. I want to take as much precaution as possible."

"But still, it wouldn't take more than a few hours." I looked at him suspiciously.

"A couple of Jasper's old friends are visiting so I want to spend some time with them." He shrugged, avoiding my eyes.

"Old friends?" I frowned and glanced at Jasper, who was now talking animatedly with Alice.

"Of course that means I won't be able to drive you home," he pointed out, ignoring my question.

"I don't mind walking." I shrugged. It wasn't raining today so it would be quite a nice walk.

"I'm not going to let you walk." He rolled his eyes impatiently. "I'll have Alice drive your truck here."

I sighed, rummaging in my bag for my car keys. I handed them to Edward and at that moment I noticed Alice standing next to me. I hadn't heard her coming.

He greeted her without looking away from me. "Alice."

"Edward," she answered in a high voice.

"Alice, Bella – Bella, Alice," he introduced us, gesturing casually with his hand.

"Hello, Bella." Her dark eyes were excited and her smile friendly. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Hi, Alice." I smiled back.

"Are you ready?" she asked Edward.

"Nearly. I'll meet you at the car," he told her with a short smile.

After that she left without another word. I stared after her for a while. I somehow couldn't imagine someone, who looked so small and fragile like Alice, hunting. I shook my head shortly, trying to clear it, and looked back at Edward, who was watching me intensely.

"What time will I see you tomorrow?" I asked.

"That depends… it's a Saturday, don't you want to sleep in?" he offered.

"Not really." I shrugged.

"The same time as usual, then," he decided.

I walked to Biology alone, not very excited. We had still about thirty minutes of the film left and Mr. Banner had said he would ask some questions about it afterwards. I scowled, mentally cursing Edward for not staying an hour longer.

I was in my seat, pulling my textbook out of my bag, when I felt someone standing next to my desk. I looked up and saw Angela. She looked nervous but determined.

"Hi, Angie." I smiled at her, straightening up.

She cleared her throat.

"Bella. I need to talk to you," she said quietly, looking around to be sure no one could overhear us.

"Yes?" I watched her warily. It looked like I was about to find out why she was being so strange the last few days.

"I heard you're going out with Edward Cullen," she said. Her voice was still low and her cheeks turned pink. It was clear she didn't like talking about these things.

"We're just friends," I said slowly.

"But you're going on a date tomorrow."

"What's going on, Angela?" I raised my eyebrows.

"I – I don't think you should spend time with the Cullens," she warned in whisper, a hint of urgency in her voice.

I stared at her, trying to think of what to tell her. I wanted to ask her what she knew but it was too dangerous. There were other people around us. I could see Mike watching us curiously.

"Why not?" I was whispering too.

"Because they… they're not what they seem to be." She sounded anxious now, her eyes pleading me to understand.

I did understand. She knew they were dangerous, that much was clear. But did she know just how dangerous?

But before I could say anything the bell rang and Mr. Banner arrived. Angela threw me a last pleading look and walked to her seat.

After Biology, Angela's neighbour needed her help with something so we didn't have another chance to talk. I wanted to know what she'd been trying to tell me but she left school with Jessica after Gym.

I found my truck parked in Edward's usual space, the key was in the ignition. When I started the truck, the roar frightened me. I was so used to the quiet ride in the Volvo.

I was driving slowly home, thinking about tomorrow. I was very nervous about the trip. I'd never really been on a date before, not counting the dinner with Edward in Port Angeles. I was wondering what it would mean for me to have any kind of relationship with a vampire. My kind usually avoided vampires, I never heard of any witch or wizard being romantically involved with them. I remembered reading about vampire love. They fell in love for life and it was usually very intense. Was that what happened to Edward? Was he in love with me? It seemed impossible. I wasn't that special. He was propably only interested in me because I was a witch and it was something new and exciting to him, I decided.

I was suddenly filled with sadness and disappointment but I was also angry at myself. I should have said no to the trip. But I knew it would be too late to cancel now and I didn't even have any excuse for doing it. Sure, I could fake an illness or something but I had the feeling that Edward would come to see me anyway and would see through it immediately.

When I got home, I got out of the truck, slamming the door more fiercely than usual. Charlie was still at work, it was too early for him, so I decided to do my homework first and then prepare dinner. I needed something to do to avoid thinking about tomorrow.

I woke up in the morning into what seemed to be the start of a beautiful day. The sky was clean and I could see sun shining through the treetops. That improved my mood a bit. I wondered if I would get to see Edward in the sun. We learned about vampires and the sun at Hogwarts but we all had thought that professor Lupin was joking when he told us about it. At least it looked like I would learn the truth today.

Charlie had already gone fishing so I ate breakfast alone like almost every day. At least we had dinners together, otherwise it would have looked like I was living alone. I didn't know where Edward was taking me so I packed some sandwiches and a bottle of water into a backpack so we wouldn't have to look for a grocery store or a restaurant.

It was exactly 7.30 when the doorbell rang. I cleaned the table with my wand and, grabbing the backpack, hurried to the door.

Edward stood there with his hands in his pockets and a thoughtful expression on his face. He smiled at the sight of me and I smiled back automatically. I immediately knew that even if he begged me to cancel the trip, I wouldn't do it.

"Good morning," he said quietly. His eyes slid down to my wand, which I was still holding in my hand.

"Hi," I murmured, sticking the wand hurriedly into my secret pocket in my jeans.

"Are you going to show me some magic?" he asked excitedly, reminding me of Charlie on the day of my birthday.

"Maybe." I smiled, trying to look mysterious.

I locked the door and we walked to his car in silence. I could see him glancing at the place where my wand had disappeared. My jeans looked perfectly smooth, like there was no pocket in it. I pressed my lips together, suppressing a smile, and got in the Volvo.

"So, where are we going?" I asked as soon as we pulled away.

"To a place where I like to go when the weather is nice." That certainly cleared it up.

"Is it far?"

"No. But we'll have to do a bit of hiking, if that's not a problem for you." He glanced at me uncertainly.

"No, but you'll have to be patient because I'm a very slow hiker," I admitted. It was true, I was slow because I was usually trying not to trip over roots and rocks when walking in woods.

"No problem, we have plenty of time," he assured me with the crooked smile I liked.