Everyone was quiet. I felt the blood rushing into my cheeks, my blush burning. Chris was staring at me with his head still cocked, his eyes full of wonder.

"Bella?" Jake said uneasily from behind me, but I ignored him.

"I can't believe it's actually you," Chris said quietly. His voice had gotten deeper, more mature.

"I thought you said she was in California," I repeated, my voice uneven, as I turned back to Jake. He was staring at me like he'd never truly seen me before.

"We were in California," Chris said quickly, and I turned back to face him. He glanced back at Leah, who looked just as confused as Jake. "I was in LA."

"What about your dad?" I asked, but Chris just shrugged.

"He said he was tired of making me move around, so I followed a few friends to California when we graduated high school."

"Where is he now?"

"Bahrain," he said, his expression dropping slightly. "He was sent over there last year."

"Hold up," Jake said loudly, standing from the couch. I turned around to look at him, but he was already right beside me, towering over Chris though Chris was tall himself. "What the hell is going on? How do you know him?" I glanced at Chris, who was just staring at me.

"He was my best friend," I said softly, still staring at Chris. I couldn't stop. I was locked onto him, like seeing a ghost. My stomach felt queasy, my feet unsteady.

"When we were kids," Chris finished, smiling slightly at me. I remembered his smile, and I smiled back involuntarily, a rush of memories washing over me: riding our bikes down the street in our neighborhood, walking home from school every day, playing in the yard in front of our houses.

"You didn't tell me you knew Bella," Leah said, her voice almost acidic. She looked furious, and I averted my eyes from the anger in hers.

"You didn't tell me you knew Bella," Chris retorted, swiveling around to look at her.

"How was I supposed to know that she was important enough to even mention?" Leah asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Exactly," Chris countered. Leah huffed and crossed her slender arms across her chest.

"Leah, I'm sorry," I said quickly, trying to placate. "We're probably being weird. I shouldn't have even been here. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Leah said, exhaling through pursed lips. Her expression softened. "It just surprised me, is all. At least it makes the introductions a little easier." I smiled slightly. Huh, I thought, Leah joking was new.

"Come in, please," Sam said, motioning to Leah. "We can talk some more once everyone is inside." She stepped in and reached out for Chris's hand. Jake grabbed mine almost roughly and held it hard, squeezing.

The day dragged through a series of awkward questions and stunted silences. Jake refrained from asking me too much about Chris, but instead we had to listen to him and Leah talk about where they've been. They met in a small diner where Chris was working; he was her waiter in the dead of night, when the restaurant was empty besides her. She was low on money by then and feeling lost and confused. Chris saw how worn out she was and sat down with her, and the two talked all night. He took her back to the hotel to get her things then to his apartment, where she stayed.

Leah was so different. She was smiling and happy, not brooding or snarky like I'd only ever seen her. She had a great sense of humor, and she talked with her hands a lot, waving her arms around and setting her bracelets – a set of about 10 shiny silver bangles that I hadn't noticed before – jingling together. Chris, on the other hand, hadn't changed at all. He was still very vocal, a little too sarcastic, and overwhelmingly easygoing, not showing any signs of feeling uncomfortable at all. I wish I could've said the same for Sam and Jake.

After a couple of hours, Leah tapped Chris on the arm and motioned to her wrist and the imaginary watch there. He nodded and stood up, stretching his long arms above his head easily.

"Leah and I should get going," he said, and she stood up beside him. Sam followed them to the door, but I was torn, not knowing whether to follow them out or to stay sitting with Jake, whose discomfort was flowing out in waves.

"It was nice to meet you," Jake said, his jaw unclenching with noticeable effort. I smacked him lightly on the leg, hoping they couldn't see.

"You too," Chris replied from the door. "And Bell?" I turned around, and he was smiling at me. "Come here, I'll give you my number. We should catch up." I stood and walked over to him, feeling like a child again as he scribbled a few numbers onto a scrap of paper and handed it out to me. I tucked it away into the pocket of my jeans. He stuck his hands into his hoodie pocket.

"It was really great to see you again," I said, my stomach turning again. His smile widened.

"Call me, seriously," he said coolly. "I'll see you soon." With that, he tugged Leah out through the open door, and Sam closed it with a solid sound. I exhaled, feeling like something had been gripping at my chest and had finally let go. Jake stood up and came over to me, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"We should get going, too," he said, a little too harshly. I glanced up at him, and his eyebrows were hard-set.

"When will you be back in La Push?" Sam asked. Jake shrugged.

"I'll let you know." Sam nodded and, at that, he opened the door back up for us. I smiled at him and opened my mouth to say goodbye, but Jake, gripping my waist tightly, pulled me out the door and to the car. He was silent as he opened my door and then rushed around to his side, almost slamming his door as he sat down. I turned to him, ready to protest, but his expression stopped me. He was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes shining.

"God, I'm so glad that's over," he said brightly. "Let's do something today. We have a few hours until dinner with Charlie. By the way, you still need to call him, right? We'll do that now, and then we can go do something. What movies are out? We could go-"

"Jake," I interrupted, putting a finger over his mouth to quiet him. "Relax. You're talking way too fast." He exhaled slowly, his cheeks puffed out.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I'm just...I don't even really know. It's weird that you knew the guy, I can't lie. But it makes it so much easier to not hate him. Plus, you can probably get a lot more out of him than we can get out of Leah. It's perfect."

"I guess." I didn't like that he thought of me as a spy, but at least he wasn't upset.

"This is good, okay?" He reached for both of my hands and cradled them in his. His copper skin contrasted so much to my pale color; I wished I was tan so we weren't so different.

"All right," I said, smiling. He leaned over and kissed me, putting a hand behind my head to hold me there, right with him.

"Bella!"

"Hi, Mom." I held the phone a little away from my ear, her squealing loud and shrill. I waited for her to calm down a little.

"Oh my goodness, Bella, it's so wonderful to hear from you!" she was gushing. "I feel like it's been so long! You must just be so busy! But I'm so glad you called!" She continued to ramble on and on, and I settled into the couch for a long phone call.

Jake and I had gone and seen a movie after all, the latest comedy that had terrible reviews but ended up being all right. We had dinner at Charlie's after with the fish fry I had promised Jake earlier. As we were sitting around watching television, Jake had gotten a call from Sam asking him to come back to La Push, so we had to cut dinner short. Jake drove me back home and promised he'd call me later before driving off. I decided to call Renee, whom I had been neglecting; I hadn't talked to her in weeks.

"How's Phil?" I finally managed to get in between her fretting.

"He's wonderful," she said easily. "He's home now, which has been great. But Florida is just getting so cold lately! It's amazing how chilly it's been here! I thought this place was supposed to be warm."

"It's supposed to be a pretty cold winter this year all around."

"I heard. But enough about the weather! How are things in Forks?"

"I actually have something crazy to tell you." I heard her gasp a little, and I could imagine her hands fluttering around.

"I love crazy! What happened?"

"Do you remember Chris Patterson? Our old neighbor?"

"Patterson?" Renee said thoughtfully, dragging out the syllables. "Was he the little boy with the father in the military?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"I do remember him, vaguely," she said, still slowly.

"Well, he's here in Forks," I said. "One of Jake's friends met him in LA and brought him back up here."

"Small world!" she said, laughing. "How is he?"

"He's great. His dad is overseas right now."

"Steven was always such a nice man," she said wistfully, and I knew she was remembering the long nights they spent together while Chris and I played. We had always hoped they would get together so that we could live in the same house, our rooms side-by-side, staying up late into the night in bunk bed forts.

"It's really cool seeing him again," I said, switching the phone to my other ear.

"I can imagine. Let me know what's been going on with him when you talk to him next!"

"I will." We talked for a little while longer; she told me about her newest hobby of knitting scarves, and I told her about my job at the library and visiting the Cullens. She wanted to hear more, but Phil came home in the middle of the call and she hurried off the line with a quick 'I love you sweetie, call me later!' I sat back on the couch for a minute before I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the little scrap of paper there.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Chris," I said. "It's Bella."

"Liberty Bell!" he said cheerfully, his voice loud. I smiled at my old nickname. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to see what you were doing tonight," I said, cocking the phone between my ear and shoulder.

"Well, Leah left a little while ago to go back to La Push," he said, and the phone crackled for a second. "So at the moment? I'm not doing much."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in some hotel, probably pretty close to you. Where's a good restaurant?" I thought for a moment. Forks was pretty lacking in options.

"There's a little place not too far from here that should be open for a while," I said thoughtfully.

"I'll meet you there," he said, his voice moving to a room that echoed more. "Give me ten minutes." The phone clicked off, and I sat with it in my hand for a moment, a smile plastered stupidly on my face. I left in a hurry, checking my face in the mirror by the door and fluffing my hair a little before rushing out to my truck. I cranked the engine and backed out of the driveway, too fast.

It wasn't until I was stopped at a light that I noticed the butterflies dancing around in my stomach, the way I kept touching my hair, the warm pinkness in my cheeks. I was excited and nervous and anxious. And, suddenly, I felt guilty. I was driving around at night to go see a guy while my boyfriend was away at a pack meeting. My skin began to crawl like I was surrounded by static.

I thought back to the day Chris left. We had known that his dad had been deployed for a few weeks, but when the day came, it was still hard. I was barely ten, still a child, and Chris was young enough to cry as the movers loaded up the huge truck. We sat on the lawn under the shady tree in my yard, both of us leaning against the trunk, watching the men go in and out of the house endlessly. When his dad finally called him over to the car, we had hugged for what felt like hours before he broke away. He kissed my cheek, promised to call when he got settled, and ran to the car where his dad was waiting. Renee held my hand as they pulled away, Chris sticking his head out of the car window, waving until they turned a corner and disappeared. He had never called.

Chris was one of my only friends. We were both a little off, and that worked for us. When he left, I retreated back into myself, and I didn't make any lasting friends after that. Leaving Phoenix to come to Forks, what felt like so long ago, had been easy socially, as I wasn't leaving anyone behind that I cared about. Seeing him again was almost like seeing my childhood in a flashing movie, years and years later.

I saw the diner through my windshield and pulled over, my skin still zinging but no longer from guilt. Bubbles rose and popped in my chest like something inside of me was boiling. I tried to shake off the feeling and got out of my truck.

Chris was easy to spot. He was sitting alone at a booth, a few other tables full around him. He had a menu open in front of him and he was looking at it absently. His fingers were draped around the black straw in his glass as he stirred it slowly. As I walked up to him, he glanced up and smiled. I felt myself smile back and take the seat across from him easily.

"You look exhausted," he remarked, eyeing me. I wrinkled my eyebrows.

"I just got off the phone with my mom," I said, plucking a menu from the stand at the end of the table. Chris laughed.

"God, I remember Renee!" he said, pointing at me like a discovery. "Does she still just ramble on and on?"

"Of course," I replied, waving my hand in an imitation. He rolled his eyes.

"When did you move up here?" he asked. I reached for the second water on the table and took a sip.

"A few years ago. Renee got remarried to a guy named Phil, and he plays baseball out in Florida. So, when she went to move to him, I came up here to live with Charlie. My dad, I mean," I corrected, not sure if he would remember specific names.

"I almost forgot he lived up here. You used to visit when we were kids."

"Yeah, I did. And when it came down to Florida or here, I picked here." The waitress came by, a girl I recognized from high school in the class below mine. She smiled at me in recognition before taking my order of a soda. She waved before wandering to another table, a pad of paper in her hand.

"What's it like?"

"Very wet," I said, grimacing. He laughed again. "It's really different from Phoenix, for sure. But you've probably gotten used to new places by now."

"I'll never get used to it," he said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Once we left Phoenix, we must've moved about three times a year. But I never got used to it. And we've never been anywhere like this, so this is all new."

"Where else did you go?"

"Well, remember when we left the first time, we just went to Charleston. We were there for about a year before we started moving constantly. From there, it was all over the world, places like Japan and Italy and Guam. We were even in Pearl Harbor for a little while, which was pretty awesome. We came back to the states a few times here and there, but it was never for long."

"I'm sorry," I said, and I was surprised by how genuine I sounded. He glanced up from his menu at me, and I smiled a tiny smile. "That must've been rough."

"It was just the way it was," he said, shrugging again. "It's nice to be back in the states for good this time, though."

"What happened? Why California?" I was brimming with curiosity, and I felt like I would explode. It was so easy to talk to him, like falling back into an old routine. I wanted to pull his hair and toss sand at him like we used to when we were kids.

"Dad was in Jacksonville for my senior year last year. We were doing great there. He had a girlfriend and I had some really close friends. But then he got orders again, this time for Bahrain. I was almost done with school, and he just felt so guilty. So he let me stay there while he went off. And, when the school year ended, my friends decided to move to California for school. I didn't really care for college right away, so I just went with them for a change of scenery."

"I'm surprised Steven was okay with that." The waitress came back with my soda then, placing it on the edge of the table and saying something about taking my time to decide what I wanted to eat before strutting off again. I took a big gulp.

"He just didn't want to keep moving me around, I guess." Chris was staring out the window at nothing, the darkness swallowing up the trees outside. He turned back to me and perked up, his eyes warm. "Enough about me, though. How have you been? What was Phoenix like without me?" I laughed, pushing my hair out of my face.

"Pretty dull," I said, folding my menu back up and sticking it into the stack.

"Oh, come on," he said, dragging it out. "What about the hot gossip? I want to know whose lives went to shit." I thought for a minute.

"I've got one. Remember Carrie? She got pregnant and dropped out of high school." Chris's mouth dropped open like he'd been hit.

"Carrie?" he said incredulously. "No way."

"Scout's honor," I said, scrunching up my face. "It was some guy at her sleepaway summer camp during sophomore year."

"I would never have pegged her as the type," he said, shaking his head. He took a sip of his water. "Now Maggie, I could've seen it happening to her."

"She hadn't flushed her life down the drain before I left, but who knows what's happened since then?" Chris smiled, and I remembered the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled a genuine smile. The edges of his eyes still creased up, just like I remembered.

"Who else? I'm dying to know."

"Garret started dating Noelle during freshman year, and they were still together when I left. Nick and Christina were dating, too, but there was no way that one was going to last. Aaron moved away in middle school when his mom died, and Brendan was arrested for stealing gum from a gas station." I went on and on, telling him all the minute details of the kids we had grown up with, their lives unravelling or growing with the passage of time. Chris loved anything I had, soaking up the information like he couldn't get enough. The waitress came back and took his order, a burger with fries, and she came and dropped it off later, with us still talking on and on.

I felt like a different person. I was turning back into the child in Phoenix, a little girl who loved to go swimming and play on the playground and run around late at night playing hide-and-seek. I could've stayed there and talked to him forever, filling him in on the life he left behind. But, with him across the table laughing like I remembered, it was as if he never left.

"You've got to be kidding," Chris was saying. We had been there for what was presumably hours.

"I'm not, I swear," I said through giggles. "It was a dog. I have no idea how it got into the school, but it was just running around like it belonged. And-" My cell phone started chiming, and I stopped mid-sentence to pull it out of my pocket, expecting Jake's name to appear on the screen. Instead, to my surprise, it was Alice. I held up a finger to Chris and opened the phone.

"Hello?"

"Bella, what the hell?"

"Alice?" I was taken aback by her tone, incredulous and angry and elated all at once.

"What is going on? Who is that?"

"Who is who?" I asked, confused.

"The boy you're with. Who is he?"

"What, you mean Chris?" I saw Chris perk up at his name, and he looked up at me, his eyebrows raised. I pursed my lips and stared right at him.

"I suppose that's him. Chris, you said?" Her voice was off, almost wild, like she was crazed.

"Yeah. Alice...wait, how do you know I'm with him right now?"

"You're with him right now? No wonder!" She trilled a loud expletive which sounded metallic in her beautiful voice.

"What on earth is going on?"

"Bella, I can see you! How can I see you? Where is Jacob?" My mouth was open slightly, my breath gone, my words choked. I was still watching Chris, whose expression hadn't changed.

Alice could see me. I knew what that meant.

"Alice, how far can you see?"

"Maybe two, three hours."

"I have to go." I snapped the phone shut and closed my eyes, covering my face with my other hand.

"Bell, you okay?" Chris asked, his voice tinged with concern. I pushed out from the booth, too fast.

"I have to go," I said quickly, tossing a few dollars onto the table to pay for my soda. "I'm fine. I'll call you, okay? And thank you for this, really." I glanced at him one last time, his face twisted into a mask of alarm and confusion, before I pivoted around and walked out the door. The cold November air was bracing, and in it I was able to breathe again. I sucked in enough air to fill my lungs, holding it there as I stood, rooted to the spot outside of the doors.

"Isabella."

I spun fast to my right, my balance off as I almost jumped out of surprise. The air in my lungs shot out of my mouth in a loud gasp. I reached up for my heart, holding a hand there to steady myself. Edward didn't move, just stood leaning against a tall sign post for handicapped parking. I caught my breath for a minute before I looked back up at him.

"What on earth are you doing here, Edward?" I asked, whispering furiously. "You scared me half to death!"

"Who is that?" he asked flatly. I creased my eyebrows.

"What?"

"That boy inside." He motioned to the table where Chris sat, talking to the waitress. "Who is he?"

"He's an old friend of mine," I said. "Why?"

"He looked at you like you were more than friends." I narrowed my eyes at him, suddenly angry.

"Who are you to make judgments on my friends?" I spat out, angling myself towards him to get closer to his face, to let my anger seep into him. "You and I were friends, and then out of nowhere you just take off for a week. And then when you finally come back, this is what I get? Well, welcome back, Edward." He blinked, his lips pursed.

"I'm sorry." I opened my mouth to retort, but I hadn't been expecting an apology. I huffed out my pent-up breath. "I didn't mean to pick a fight with you. Would you like me to drive you home? You seem distressed." I eyed him for a moment before nodding, and we walked over to my truck in silence.

"Where have you been?" I asked, climbing into the passenger's side. He didn't answer, nor did he say a word during the entire drive back to my tiny house. He cut the ignition in the driveway, and it was suddenly very quiet.

"I do want to be friends," Edward said softly. I turned to face him, and he was staring down at his hands in his lap. "I would prefer to be friends than nothing at all."

"Then tell me before you decide to take off," I said firmly. He looked up at me, and I kept my face steady.

"I will tell you if I decide to leave again," he agreed after a minute. I sighed.

"Look, I'm really tired, okay? I just want to get to bed." Edward nodded, and we both got out of my truck. He walked me to my door, and when I turned the key in the lock, he leaned down to kiss me on the forehead before darting off with inhuman speed into the night.

I set my keys down on the kitchen counter and opened my phone to call Jake. He didn't pick up, so I left a message, telling him that I was home and turning in for the night. I changed into pajamas and laid down, wrapping my quilt around myself. My mind raced with thoughts of Chris and Alice and Edward and Jake, my brain tossing and turning. I closed my eyes tight and tried, in vain, to sleep.