A/n: Thank you for your comments! After such a long time, I truly don't expect or deserve much feedback, so i was happy to have some to read :) And with that I will leave you to this next chapter.

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Chapter 9: Pizza and Beers

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I watched the cruiser arrive from the second story window. The clouds were shrouding the front lawn and driveway and all the surrounding trees in greyish blue. It would've looked bleak to my human eyes. Now, the colours were still vivid and recognisable. But this time I could feel the gloomy atmosphere. It was quite oppressing.

Edward was behind, his arms clasped around me. He watched Charlie over my shoulder. My father stepped out of his car hastily, looked up, and I could see the look of recognition on his face as he probably saw Carlisle and Esme waiting for him by the door.

The hard expression faded and softened. The Cullens had that effect on people.

"Good afternoon, Sheriff Swan." I heard Carlisle greet him. Esme's warm words followed and welcomed Charlie into the house.

Edward's lips were briefly but intensely on the back of my neck before he disappeared down the stairs to meet Charlie. We all thought it better for me to stay out of sight for now. Charlie would get angry that I was still here and not at home where he'd ordered me to be. And the shock of seeing me…changed…might make things difficult.

Besides, Charlie was my father, my parent. I didn't have any kind of authority like Carlisle had, or Edward could have in speaking to him. Not in this matter anyway.

"Good afternoon, Sheriff Swan." I heard Edward say respectfully. Charlie had never and could never accuse Edward of not being courteous and respectful, like he accused most of the boys in town.

"Edward." I heard Charlie acknowledge stiffly. I imagined the tiny nod that would accompany it.

"Is Bella here?" Charlie asked immediately. But he didn't sound as worked up as he did on the phone a half hour earlier. I cringed. Would they lie?

"Bella is still here, Charlie." Carlisle said in an apologetic tone. "We haven't had the opportunity yet to give her a ride home." Would Charlie buy that? He didn't know all the cars that were parked in the Cullen Garage.

"Where is she?"

"Sheriff Swan," Edward began carefully. "I think we need to talk first."

I could hear Charlie gulp. He had difficulty with Edward telling him what to do. Edward was 'a kid' in his mind.

"Edward is right." Carlisle intervened. "Why don't we sit down?"

"Would you like anything to drink?" Esme's warm tone soothed the atmosphere. I felt a wave of calm invade the downstairs floor and just reaching me. Jasper was somewhere near, keeping an eye on things.

Coffee was brought into the living room. I wondered what the Cullens would do. Pretend to drink with Charlie? It would be weird to let him drink it alone.

I started walking back and forth, along the front bay window. I was probably the only vampire who had trouble staying still at some times. Or was that part of the instincts I hadn't inherited somehow?

"Dr. Cullen," Charlie's gruff voice rose again. "I assume you know everything?"

"Yes, I've known since the start."

Charlie grunted.

"I owe you an apology, Sheriff Swan." Edward said, in his gravest voice. "I was very foolish. I should've come to you before I proposed to your daughter. I take on all responsibility. Bella did nothing wrong whatsoever."

"Yes you should've." Charlie said sternly. "So I could've told you to stay the hell away from my daughter!"

"Mr. Swan." Esme spoke. She didn't like anyone swearing.

It was clear Charlie regretted his outburst when he spoke again. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"My apologies, Mrs. Cullen." Then he addressed Edward again. "But she's just seventeen…you're just seventeen." He stopped short. He was remembering his own age when he and my mother decided to marry. "This is years too soon!"

"I understand, Mr. Swan." I noticed they switched to Mr, instead of Sheriff. It created a feel of closer familiarity. "I assure you we have no intention to marry soon. We are simply engaged."

"All right." Charlie heaved a deep sigh. This news seemed to relieve him a little. "I can allow it to go that far, but no further. On the condition that you do not distract her from her studies. Until she has finished College, there will be but one visit a week during the weekend."

Charlie sounded as if the arrangement was already concluded. He was the sheriff. He was used to people abiding by his decisions. There was a tense silence before Carlisle began.

"We have already invited Bella to stay with us for a while, I'm afraid."

"We all would love to have her as our guest." Esme added.

I realised I was biting my lip. Charlie would never want to be so selfish as to say he wanted me home, just to have me home. But I could feel how this development pained him. After what I'd said when I left because of James, that I hated Forks just as much as my mother had, I had come back to Forks willingly, but not to stay with him. He was probably thinking he'd done something wrong, that he couldn't take care of his own daughter.

It broke my heart, and in a heartbeat I was standing at the foot of the stairs, in the living room.

Charlie only noticed my presence because the Cullens turned to look at me. I hadn't made a sound audible to human ears.

"Hi dad." I said with an awkward smile. It did make me happy to finally see him again, or to have him see me again for the first time.

No one moved or said a word for what seemed to me a long time.

"Bella." Charlie said as he rose slowly from his seat. I'd put in contacts before, just to be sure, so my eyes had nothing to make him suspicious. The pitch black irises weren't hard to cover with a layer of brown. And my skin could never have gotten much paler than it was before. Any change that was visible could be attributed to stress due to the situation.

And still, Charlie looked at me, and everyone could see that he noticed something.

Edward came to stand next to me, his arm snaked around me waist.

"I promise, Mr. Swan. I will take care of your daughter. I will do anything to make her happy. She will have the best education possible. You don't need to worry about it."

I could see it in his eyes then. He didn't say it, maybe he wasn't even aware of it, but he felt it: that's not fair. Because he worked as hard as he could, he had done everything in his power. But he couldn't afford to send me to Stanford or Oxford, like the Cullens could.

"So I beg of you, Mr. Swan, to grant me your daughter's hand." Edward spoke solemnly. Esme's eyes sparkled. The same proud look I'd noticed before was in Carlisle's eyes. Charlie however, was dumbstruck. He was still trying to get a grasp on this. It had only been an hour ago since he first heard. He had his emotions to figure out.

I couldn't let this go on. I couldn't see him like this. I couldn't let him think he'd been a bad father. I wanted to show him that he was the best father I could ever have wished for. Just like my mother was the best I could ever have wished for. My parents had made mistakes, yes. But I could see why they'd been in love with each other. They were wonderful people.

"I'll go home tonight." I blurted out. I hadn't thought the words before they came out, but I agreed with them. I should go home with Charlie. I could handle it.

The Cullens' expressions changed infinitesimally. Edward's hand squeezed my hip.

"Bella," Esme was first to speak. "You are welcome here, you don't need to worry about that." She thought I thought I was too much trouble to them. Which I did think, but this wasn't about the Cullens. This was about my father, my dad.

A few warm but awkward goodbies later, me and Charlie were back in the cruiser, as we had once been. I felt the contact lenses in my pocket. Edward had slipped them in when he'd embraced me. I knew he would come to my room tonight, but until then, I needed a change of contacts. The ones I had were slowly dissolving.

Just like my first day, back in march, Charlie left me time to settle in my room. Alice had handed me a suitcase that looked like the one I'd packed when I'd left. This one didn't hold many of my own clothes though. But they were pretty normal. Thank god I had to keep up the pretence of being human, or she would've given me all kinds of frilly dresses. Or dresses with holes in them. Or whatever kind of strange trend was going on in the distant dreamy world of fashion.

Once I stood in my room, and Charlie had deposited my suitcase on my bed (and I'd had to resist the urge to tell him I could do it, probably much better than him) I found myself just standing there.

My room. This was my room. Or had it been my room? Was it still my room?

It had the rest of my books, the ones Edward hadn't sneaked out for me. It had the sheets I last slept in. It had my CD's and the old computer on which I first looked up about vampires.

And now I was one. Now the websites talked about me too.

I didn't have the urge to sit down, unless I was nervous. I wasn't nervous now. I simply felt…strange. Nostalgic too. For who I'd been. I didn't know what of it was left. I was a vampire, but not really. Did that mean there was more of the old Bella left than there was for the others of their human selves?

I had no clue. No idea. Did anyone know? But here I was confronted with the contrast. And I would be more and more. Would I even drive my old truck again? The Cullens had brought it back, and now it stood in font of the house, like it had been for so many mornings.

No, Edward would probably pick me up. If I stayed here. But for now, I'd only said I would stay tonight. Charlie expected me to stay though. And the Cullens expected just the opposite. What was I to do?

Time seeped by faster than before, and I had to catch myself when I noticed more than half an hour had already passed. I decided to leave my suitcase unpacked under my bed, and descended the stairs to go into the kitchen…to do what?

There were still memories in me. There was still a routine. It's incredible how routines can stay with you forever. I could feel the strength of it now, it was pushing me, telling me: now you have to cook dinner. That's what I used to do.

I opened the fridge. Nothing of course. I opened the freezer and was about to take out some fish when I heard Charlie get down from his room and come into the kitchen.

"I thought we'd eat out tonight." He said with a smile that was certainly supposed to be warm and encouraging, or enthusiastic. With Charlie though, it usually just turned out vague and tentative.

"Oh, I…" My brain thought of the fact that people would see me and spread rumours before I'd prepared my return to Forks with the Cullens, getting our stories straight, and the fact that I'd have more trouble hiding the fact that I wasn't eating the food, or not much of it anyway. But the pause was undetectable to Charlie. "don't want to attract too much attention, you know. Monday will be hard enough as it is."

That, at least, was something Charlie could understand, and didn't argue with. "Oh, sure." He said with a shrug. "I'll call in some pizza or something."

The phone rang at that point. Charlie moved to pick up the phone, and I simply stayed planted there, not knowing what else to do.

"Hello?" Charlie answered.

I could immediately hear the voice on the other end was Billy Black.

"Hey, I was just wondering for tonight, should I bring some beer? And Jacob's asking if he can drink some too."

"Ah." Charlie let out a short burst of air through his lips. "Sorry Billy, I completely forgot about that…" He glanced at me concernedly. I picked up quickly.

"It's fine," I said. "Don't change your plans for me."

Charlie thought for a moment, which seemed slow to me. I had to remind myself that it was normal for a human. I wondered how Edward had never gotten frustrated. Then I remembered he had showed some frustration, mainly at my walking pace.

"Bring some, I don't have any left anymore. But just one for Jacob." He added authoritatively. "He's already driving without a license…" He grumbled discontentedly as he put the phone back. "I'm sorry, Bella, I completely forgot this after you called me before…"

"It's all right." I smiled encouragingly, I hoped. "It'll be fun."

I said this, but in my head I knew this wasn't the best thing to happen. I still wasn't really sure what Jacob had said or not. Would he let slip tonight that he'd seen me a while ago already? He would know my story was fake. And even if he didn't divulge anything, would Charlie and his father notice if he lied for me?

I could do nothing but join my father on the sofa though. I didn't have anything to do, now that cooking duty was off, and I'd supposedly already finished packing, or I wouldn't have come down.

Besides, I wanted to savour every moment I could with Charlie, even if it was just watching some random show. I realised how quickly these moments could slip away from my grasp.

"Bella," Charlie began suddenly, and judging by the waver in his voice, uncomfortably. "I know you said you had a month to think about this, and I know you're a smart kid." Another pause. Charlie was even more socially awkward than I was, I realised. But I had to give him a break. I hadn't tried being a parent who has to tell their kid about relationships yet. "But have you really thought this through? I mean… you came back, straight to him…does he mean that much to you?"

That, fortunately, was not a hard question. "Yes." I could say with confidence. Edward meant the world to me, despite the strange feeling I'd had lately of needing to be away from him.

"Oh." He said, he sounded just slightly disappointed.

"Dad, we're not rushing anything." I tried to reassure him. "I…I love him. With all of my heart." This was awkward. "And we're engaged. That's all I know. We'll figure out how to go from there."

Charlie made a non-committal sound towards the television.

An hour later the doorbell rang and I stood straight like a statue in the hallway while Charlie opened the door and went out to help get Billy's wheel-chair out of the car. It was only when he and Jacob wheeled Billy in that I remembered to slacken my stance to a more normal, teenager-ish stance.

"Bella!" Billy's eyes sparkled at the sight of me. He still seemed wary, like I'd seen him before. But I didn't detect anything in his tone that would indicate Jacob had told him anything. I smiled back tentatively before I looked up at Jacob.

"Hey, Bella." He said with an easy smile. "Long time no see."

Apparently, he was indeed going to pretend like he hadn't seen me that day at La Push. I felt relieved. Which reminded me I had to breathe to look normal.

We all got together in front of the television with pizza and beer. Jacob and I on the floor in front of the sofa. We watched the football game. And luckily, the three men were too busy watching to notice I'd crushed my part of pizza in my hand, waiting for an opportunity to get rid of it somewhere. I really didn't feel capable of swallowing that warm, slimy, cheesy, sour thing, after all the blood I'd already had to tolerate the past month.

After half an hour I made an excuse to go to the kitchen and put the crushed pizza in some tinfoil to throw it in the garbage. Charlie would never go look. But when I turned around to go back, Jacob was suddenly standing between me and the living room. I hadn't been startled like this since I'd turned. Had he really not made a sound? Or was I distracted somehow?

"You want a beer?" He asked as he held out a bottle for me to take.

"No thanks, I don't like it." I waved it away. He shrugged and opened it for himself.

"Why are you throwing away your pizza?" He asked next. But it felt more demanding this time. I began to feel uncomfortable.

"I…I didn't, it was just the crust."

"I can smell the cheese." He simply said.

"Oh, well." I tried to walk around him, but he held out his arm, blocking my way. I thought for a second to just shove him away, but then I remembered he'd been stronger than me before…

"Don't touch her." An icy voice rang softly but ominously through the kitchen. Edward was in front of me in a split second and Jacob was forced to take a step back. He glanced at the living room, where both our fathers were still fixed on the screen, then stepped fully into the kitchen again.

"Bella," He addressed me, ignoring Edward completely. "What are you? Or rather, what have you become?"

I had no idea what to say. I had no idea what I could say. I felt the urge to simply tell the truth to Jacob. But I also knew that this wasn't my decision to make. I had to think of all the members of my coven. Because yes, I was part of a coven now.

"Are there any others in the vicinity?" Edward spat at Jacob. It seemed unwarranted to me. And I didn't really know what he was talking about. Though Jacob did apparently.

"No. I didn't come here for that. I didn't even know you'd be here." He spoke to me again, his eyes were wide open, as if he didn't know what to make of me. I could tell it was irritating Edward, who shifted further to block me out of Jacob's vision.

"So it's true then." Edward whispered further, to make sure not to alert the two men watching football. I wasn't worried though. When Charlie got at it, even a bomb exploding wouldn't make him miss a second of an important game. "There's a new pack forming."

Jacob stayed silent, but his gaze did shift more to Edward for the first time. He didn't seem at all scared though, as I had seen people be before. He merely seemed to feel like the irritated vampire was in the way. It was a little rude.

"What do you mean, Jacob?" I asked. "Edward, what's happening?" Of course, my mind had already a few possibilities ready, of which I knew the likeliest. The word 'pack' didn't' leave much doubt. But still, I wanted to hear it from them. I felt left out. They clearly knew more than me.

"He's…" Edward started, but even Jacob was quicker.

"No!" He hissed. "I want to tell her myself."

"Why?" Edward growled.

Again, Jacob ignored him and shifted to the side so he could look into my eyes again. Edward's hand moved to my stomach. He seemed ready to snatch me away if needed. But when I looked at Jacob, I really couldn't see anything even remotely dangerous. He was…well…a little changed…a little big…but still a teenager. Still the smiling boy from La Push.

"Bella, I trust you won't freak, since you seem to know about them already, " he nodded towards Edward, "but… I'm a werewolf."

"Since when?" Was the first question that came to my mind. I hadn't believed to spot any signs last time I saw him. However, I did barely know anything about werewolves.

"Just a few days. Just after…" He stopped short before mentioning our meeting on the beach.

"Oh." Was all I could find to say.

"But again, what are you, Bella?"

"What do you mean?" Edward spoke coldly. "She's like us."

"No." Jacob retorted immediately. "She doesn't stink like you."

This seemed to put a dent in Edward's defensiveness. He relaxed his stance infinitesimally. "What does she smell like?" He asked.

He seemed more intrigued now, though he was still angry. I had to admit, I was getting very interested too. But even for my mind this was a little confusing. I was still trying to spot the 'werewolfness' in Jacob, if such thing existed.

"I don't know." Jacob refused to look at Edward again, and kept his eyes fixed on mine. This made scrutinising his body impossible. I had no choice but to look away. "It's nothing I've ever smelled before." He sounded vague and distant, like he was rather talking to himself.

Edward finally moved to put himself next to me, and circled his arm around my waist. It didn't feel as protective now as it felt…possessive.

"She's no danger to your pack. And neither are we. So I suggest you keep your distances." Edward stated in an authoritative tone.

"What, I can't even come to watch a game with my old man?" Jacob said mockingly. He gave a sour version of his usual sunny smile. "Now that I'm even allowed to have beer?" He brought up the bottle he'd proposed to me before and made a 'cheers' kind of motion before taking a large gulp. "I'm not sure about you, but I think Charlie and Billy are going to start thinking we're making out in the kitchen." He said to me then.

The beer seemed to give him a snide edge. I didn't like it. A low growl coming from Edward's throat told me he liked it even less.

"It's up to you if you want to blow your cover." He put his hands in the air in an 'I'm innocent' gesture and raised his eyebrows at Edward in a challenging way.

Edward had serious trouble letting me go, and it was only after I'd promised solemnly that I'd meet him upstairs as soon as I could, and that he'd looked Jacob up and down from head to toe several times, that I was allowed to go sit with Jacob…the new werewolf…on the floor in front of the sofa.

"You kids missed all the good stuff!" Billy croaked in his bass voice. Charlie acquiesced.

Oouuuu a first confrontation between werewolves and vampires/ Edward and Jacob! That was a little fun ^^