Edward thought of following Tammy, he felt the urge to go after her, but knew he had to go meet Bella and walk her to her next class. He felt bad for giving her that shocked look. It just took him off guard that she of all people would get partnered up with him.

Edward was at Bella's classroom in no time. In fact he had gotten there faster than he intended to. Bella smiled at Edward when she saw him "Hey, Edward."

"Hey," he replied flatly to her. He rapped his arm around her and led her to her next class.

"Edward, are you okay?" asked Bell worriedly.

Edward gave her a half smile "Fine, just fine. How was class?"

"It wasn't too bad, but I'm sure you already knew that." Joked Bella.

Edward smiled "I know. Mike again huh?"

Bella laughed and nodded her head. They were at Bella's class before they knew it. Bella wanted to continue talking to Edward but she knew she'll have lunch with him after this class. Edward headed to his next class without so much as a word to Bella, leaving her speechless. She sighed, turned and headed inside her classroom.

"Why do I feel so guilty? She's just as human girl. A NORMAL human girl! Well then again, listening from her thoughts earlier, she doesn't seem like a normal girl…Sigh. Should I have followed her? Bella could've understood…"

Edward walked into his next class trying to forget about Tammy. He sat down in his seat ignoring everyone in the room and began to think. He knew there wasn't anything he could've done. Tammy probably wouldn't have wanted anything to deal with him anyway. He was used to not being wanted by humans. He can remember multiple times that wherever he went it was the same thing, people thought he was gorgeous and also feared him. He wasn't stupid. Even as a mind reader he could tell the look of fear in a human's eyes. But then how come in Tammy's eyes it wasn't the same fear he was used to?.

When the bell range, Edward blocked out whatever the teacher was saying. As always, the lecture wasn't new or anything different from what he already heard. The only thing that he kept on replaying in his head was the look on her face when everyone had laughed. She had a mixture of shocked from finding out it was him who was stuck being her partner and hurt that everyone laughed. Maybe this whole experience is all new to her. Maybe she had a lot of friends back in her hometown. Of all people he should know what it's like to be viewed as different. He felt like he left her down and could've defended her somehow.

Edward was getting really annoyed with this guilt feeling. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way. It was stupid. He didn't think he'd have to go through these human emotions again. He didn't mind being in love with Bella but it was bad enough that he felt jealous whenever Mike talked to her and thought about her. Now he has to go through guilt? And for what? He knew he didn't feel the same way for Tammy the way he felt for Bella. That was certain. He loved Bella unconditionally! Tammy was just some human girl who was in his class. Some human girl that he'll never see after next year. So what did this matter? He didn't need to feel sorry for her at all. So why should he even care about her? He didn't do anything wrong.

Feeling confident and normal again, Edward shrugged off what he was feeling earlier and relaxed in his chair. He tuned out everyone's thoughts again and thought of what he and Bella could do that evening.

He'll go with her to her house and they could 'work' on their homework together. Edward laughed to himself how he and Bella would get so wrapped up in making out that they would sometimes end up doing their homework late. Edward didn't mind since he had nothing better to do at night. He could only play the Piano so much to keep him occupied. But lately he would stay with Bella in her room and watch her sleep. It wasn't exactly the traditional gentleman thing to do but he didn't mind. When he watched her sleep, he lost all track of time. Anytime he was with Bella, nothing else mattered in the world and he would forget the fact that he was a Vampire. He felt like a normal teenage boy, just being in her presence. He really wished he was.

*Lunch time*

The Cullen sibs and Bella were sitting at the table with Bella's friends. Emmett had finally convinced Rosalie to sit with them this one time. Jasper was ok with it since they went hunting last night and Alice didn't mind at all. Rosalie rolled her eyes when Jessica and Lauren arrived with their lunch.

"Oh, well this is a surprise," Jessica was shocked to see all the Cullen sibs and not just Edward this time.

"Why?" Questioned Rosalie. Edward glared at her and Emmett raped his arm around Rosalie.

"She didn't mean anything by it." lied Edward. He honestly didn't care about Jessica, Lauren and Mike. He and Bella took turns sitting at each other's table. Today they were sitting with Bella's friends and tomorrow, he and Bella would be sitting with his sibs. He knew Rosalie's attitude would upset Bella because her friends would get upset or collide with Rosalie. Rosalie wasn't the best person to be around, especially humans if they didn't appreciate her beauty. But there were always people like Lauren and Jessica who were jealous by her beauty.

"Whatever," replied Lauren.

Rosalie's eyes flared "You know if you don't…"

"Chill, babe." Whispered Emmett.

"Hey guys!... Oh wow you're joining us today?" asked Mike. He cluched onto his lunch tray and trying not to shake.

Rosalie glared at him. "Don't get used to it!" She snapped. She was getting very irritated by Bella's friends. It had been only ten minutes at this table and she was already annoyed by them. If someone else came up and stupidly asked "Oh, joining us today?" she was going rip them in half!

As Mike hurried to his seat next to Jessica, Jasper looked at Rosalie and made her mood lighten up. She knew what was happening and narrowed her eyes at him. Emmett kissed her and that made her better. She smiled at Emmett and gave him a hard firm kiss right when Angela and Ben came to the table with their lunches. They, Mike and Jessica looked away uneasy. Lauren rolled her eyes and scoffed under her breath. Alice and Jasper didn't pay any attention. Edward shrugged his shoulders and Bella ate her lunch, trying not to pay attention.

Then Edward saw Tammy walk through the door. He could see there were headphones in her ears but you couldn't really see because her shoulder length hair was kind of covering it. She looked around the room and saw who she was looking for. She smiled and waved at the guy she liked, Derek Kings. She walked on over to him and told him that she needed to take care of something really quick but she'll be back to join him for lunch. Edward thought to himself "Oh, so she's not eating alone today…"

"EDWARD! She needs to talk to you and she's going to do it now. I know about what happened in your class, just please don't do anything too drastic!" hissed Alice in her mind. You couldn't tell that she was screaming this in her head because she had a perfect face on.

Edward gave her a funny look so Alice in her mind showed him of two outcomes of this upcoming conversation. One was a future image of Tammy as an adult and Edward laughing and hanging out together at a pond. They were both tossing rocks and sitting on some rocks. She looked very mature and beautiful. Her dark brown eyes full of life and wisdom and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. He was really happy and carefree! Something he hadn't been since he was human! Then it flashed forward to the very future where an older version of Tammy and immortal Edward were at the same pond and it was sun! Edward was sitting next to her, the sun beating down on both of them and Edward shinning and sparkling on Tammy. Tammy just sat there as if it wasn't anything new and the next thing Edward saw was Tammy knocking at the Cullen's front door and being greeted by Emmett giving her a huge hug! Despite being old, she laughed out loud, saw the rest of the Cullen family and sat down next to an immortal Bella, as if somehow part of the family.

Alice replied "That's only one way it could go. Here's the other way…" She showed him the second outcome. Tammy yelling at Edward for something that seemed to be his fault. She stared screaming at him saying she hated him and that she never wanted to see him again ripping something apart and throwing at it in Edwards face. Her eyes were furious and she began crying….

Edward could hear Tammy's heart rate. It was racing and pounding very hard. He looked up and saw Tammy step next to him. He could see her shaking. "Is she really that scared of me? Or is she really that nervous?" Edward thought to himself.

Everyone faced Tammy. Bella gave Tammy a questionable look because she's never really met her before. She'd seen Tammy around school but never talked to her. On her arrival, Bella remembered Lauren's terms for Tammy. "Freak," and "Weirdo."

"Just do it. You're already here. There's not going back now." Tammy smiled shyly at everyone "Hi, everyone. Edward I nee…"

"This table is for invitation only. No freaks!" spat Lauren.

Tammy cooly turned to Lauren "That's ok. I wouldn't want to sit at the same table with a bitch like you anyway."

Alice, Angela and Bella all secretly smiled at this girl's guts, Rosalie didn't feel the need to hide her smile. "I like this girl." Thought Rosalie. Edward grinned and he boys all said "OOOOO" in unison.

Lauren glared at Tammy, her hand growing into a fist. Lauren replied "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

Tammy rolled her eyes "Whatever," She turned back to Edward. Her heart was racing faster and faster. Jasper could feel how nervous she was talking to Edward so he tried to help her out and calmed her nerves. Tammy felt a sudden relief and felt confident to talk to Edward in front of everyone "Edward can I talk to you for a sec?"

Edward nodded his head. He got up from sitting next to Bella, they both walked over to where Edward and his sibs usually sit, but they didn't sit down. Edward and Tammy stood next to the table. They both ignored some nosey student's glances. Edward sighed "Look if it's about…"

"Don't worry about it," Tammy cut him off. She spoke low to where only Edward could hear her "Since it's a shocker that we're working together on this project well…from the look on your face, it's pretty obvious that you don't want to work with me, well I'm thinking that you and I can split the project down. We can pick a topic and you do your half and I'll do the other half. When we come to school, we can put it together and come up with what we're going to say and that'll be it. We don't have to see each other, so it'll save us both from humiliation. Agreed?"

Edward just looked at Tammy. Her dark brown eyes were full of innocence and courage. He was surprised that she had the guts to come to him in person, plus she wasn't afraid to tell Lauren off. She also had some manners in talking about this privately- well they are standing in the cafeteria- but she didn't talk about this in front of everyone else because this was their issue and nobody else's. Tammy didn't feel the need to bring anyone in because there was no use for it. She wasn't some whinny crybaby who was going around trying to make Edward look bad.

Despite her courage, she really did look young and innocent. She didn't look seventeen but looked fourteen. And she was short, 5 feet to be exact so she was a little taller than Alice. One of her bangs was covering one of her eyes, so she moved it aside. Her heart raced again and she tried not to fidget or shake just standing there. She jammed her hands into her jacket pockets and raised her eyebrows at him. "What's he waiting for? I thought he thought of me as a freak like the others do, that's what his face read when I ran out of History class. I kind of feel stupid for standing here and telling him I want to talk to , why is mostly everyone trying to listen to our conversation? Really? That's really stupid… I told Derek that I wouldn't be long. Great now Derek is thinking that I like Edward like everyone else! Yeah Edward is good looking but I DON'T see him that way! …Plus what is Edward staring at? Do I have something on my face?"

Edward finally spoke up, speaking the same level Tammy spoke to him "Look, I'm sorry I reacted that way I did in class. I didn't mean to, it just took me by surprise that I would get partnered…."

Tammy's eyes flashed anger "Oh I get it. So you believe everyone else? You're afraid that I really am some sort of freak?" she crossed her arms over her chest.

Edward was taken aback by her comment. She thought that he was afraid to work with her? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Every human up until he met Bella have been terrified of him and his family. This girl…she saw him as a normal person. Not as something scary or something to stay away from but as normal human. "I didn't mean it like that." Tammy waited for him to continue. "I just meant that, you see I've never worked with anyone on a school project before and to be honest I thought I was going to get stuck with someone who was a jerk," He leaned forward whispering into her ear "As you can tell, I'm not the most popular guy here."

Tammy's anger left her. She lowered her arms and her face softened. She smiled "I understand. So…there's the most important questioned unanswered. How are we going to work on this project? I would volunteer my house…but ah… let's just say, it's not the best place right now."

Edward thought about it for a moment. It probably wouldn't be best to invite her over to his house yet. Bella of course was welcomed, but he would have to talk to Carlisle about this later tonight. Tammy wasn't a mate but some outsider and well… they couldn't tell Tammy that they were vampires. He couldn't just trust her right off the bat. "Why don't we meet in the library for now? The project isn't due for another two months and it counts toward our final grade anyway. We can figure out meeting outside school later."

"Ok, sounds good to me. We can think of topics tonight and start tomorrow. Do you have a free period or if not we can work after school tomorrow if you're free. Bella is more than welcome to come and she can help us out and we can help her out. She's going to be working on the same project anyway." Suggested Tammy.

Edward was a little surprise that Tammy would invite Bella to come along. Most girls would've never done that and taken advantage of the fact that they're alone with him. He searched her thoughts to see if that's what she really is thinking and not acting. "It would be fun. For one thing, we can get our project done quicker and maybe we can become friends. Plus, inviting Bella is the right thing to do. She is Edward's girlfriend after all and it wouldn't look right if Edward and I worked alone together. I wouldn't want to give the wrong impression to Bella, I'm not a home wrecker!...Ok, seriously why does Edward keep on staring at me like that? Like he's trying to figure me out or something… or do I really have something on my face?"

"I can get out of one of my classes tomorrow. How about first period?"

Tammy thought about it. "What do I have first period? That's right it's Theater." "Sure, I got Theater class but I can miss it. I'll meet you in the library?"

"Sure, I'll talk to Bella about joining us and we can work as a group on our projects."

"Sounds good to me! See ya later Edward." She leaned in a little closer to whisper "And thanks," She smiled and walked away without looking back. She ignored everyone who tried to pretend like they weren't trying to listen to their conversation. Tammy rolled her eyes "Nosey morons."

Edward watched Tammy sit in front of Derek, apologizing to him that she didn't mean to take that long. He heard him ask what was that all about and she said it was just a project they had to do for a class. Unlike the students who laughed, Derek nodded his head and started talking to Tammy on some other topic.

Edward walked back to the table. He sat down next to Bella as if nothing happened. "So what did that she want?" asked Jessica.

Everyone turned towards Edward for a response. He just shrugged his shoulders "Nothing, just talking about a project we have to work on."

Mike who was sipping his milk at the time Edward said that, spit out his drink and it landed all over Jessica! "Ewwww Mike!" screeched Jessica. She got up and stormed off. Mike followed her, apologizing. Some people were laughing about it.

"Oh wow, so you got partnered with her? That's interesting." Lauren smiled.

"Why? What's wrong with Tammy?" asked Bella

"Come on, she's not bad." Protested Angela.

"Angela, she's too weird. She makes the Cull… ah I mean she's just weird." Replied Ben.

Rosalie glared at him and turned to Emmett. She had enough of these humans and she was really questioning why she had let Emmett convince her to eat at Bella's table with all her annoying friends- except Angela. Well then again, Angela she didn't really care about because she wasn't as annoying as the others. She never wanted to do this again that was for sure. "I've had enough of this, Babe. Let's get out of here." She got up and walked away. Emmett grabbed hers and his tray and took off out the door. "You BETTER explain this tonight Edward!" Rosalie hissed in her mind. She knew Edward would still be listening.

Edward rolled his eyes. Alice spoke "I don't think she's bad at all either."

Lauren glared "Of course you wouldn't. I'm surprised Derek Kings is talking to her!"

"And what's wrong with that? I feel so bad for her that she sits all by herself at lunch most of the time and she doesn't have any friends." Angela spoke in a soft voice.

"Maybe we should invite her over to sit with us next time." Suggested Bella.

"Well next time you can sit with her. Besides, there's no room at this table. It's already full and today was just as crowded." Lauren got up, taking her tray and left. Once she left, everyone was more relaxed and calm. They put aside what just happened and enjoyed the rest of lunch.