The Kindness of Semi-Strangers

By Freddie Stardust

Disclaimer: I own nothing – Stephenie Meyer is the genius behind the Twilight series. I make no money from writing this story.

Chapter Seven – Hark! A Concussion Approaches

"Morning Bella," Edward cheerfully greeted me over the phone.

"What happened to those guys that attacked me in Port Angeles?" I demanded, skipping the pleasantries.

There was an eerie silence over the line; Edward wasn't even fake-breathing.

"I'm not sure I…"

"I know you know!" I squeaked, feeling my face grow red in my anger.

"Bella, calm down. I wasn't going to say I don't know, but it's not my place to tell you."

There was a shuffling noise on the other end, along with a whispered conversation that I couldn't make out.

"Hello Bella," came a soothing southern drawl.

"Jasper?"

"Would you like to go to lunch?"

I frowned, and then realized Jasper couldn't see it. Crap.

"Um, sure?" I was too confused and surprised to continue arguing.

"I'll pick you up at noon. See you soon."

Before I could say goodbye, there was another exchange of the phone. I sighed.

"Should I even ask?"

Edward chuckled. "No. Not until noon, anyway. And stop frowning; you'll get wrinkles. Love you."

I groaned. "Love you too. Bye Edward."

"Goodbye Bella."

I spent the rest of the morning lazing around the house, drinking coffee and watching cartoons. Mature, I know. Anyone who says they don't love cartoons in the morning is a damned liar.

By the time noon rolled around, I had showered and dressed in denim shorts, a green off-the-shoulder tee, and my new favorite black boots that Alice had insisted on buying for me "as an early birthday present, silly!" I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and headed downstairs just as there was a knock at the door.

Jasper stood on the other side of the screen door in jeans and a leather jacket.

"Bit warm for leather, isn't it?"

He smiled and gestured toward the driveway, where his Ducati stood waiting. He then held out another black leather jacket for me.

"Alice thought you would need this," he explained. "She also said not to worry about the ketchup you drop on it at lunch since it's not her favorite."

I rolled my eyes, still not used to the "gifts" the Cullens possessed. "Thanks." I took the jacket, slipped it on, and followed Jasper to the bike.

"Are you sure it'll be okay?" I asked, studying the bike.

"Clumsy as you are, I could still catch you before you fall," Jasper said as he straddled the huge motorcycle.

I pouted. "I meant me and my blood being pressed against your back. Does everyone seriously think I'm an accident waiting to happen?"

Jasper grinned. "Yes ma'am." He stretched his hand out to help me onto the bike, and with one last glare, I hopped on behind him.

We sped down 101 toward Port Angeles, but stopped about 10 miles down the road, near Beaver. Jasper pulled off to the right, zipping past a farm and then winding down several side roads into the woods. I briefly wondered whether I was about to become lunch before a clearing came into view. In the middle of the field was a picnic spread, complete with red-and-white-checkered blanket.

Despite my aversion to cooing, I couldn't help but do it at the sight of the picnic.

"Jasper, this is so nice!" I exclaimed, letting him help me off the back of the bike.

He grinned and shrugged, his face and hands sparkling in the bright sunshine. "I thought you'd like it."

After several minutes of eating – only me, of course, making me feel a bit pig-like – I couldn't help but blurt out what was on my mind.

"Jasper, what are we doing here?"

Jasper smiled and sighed a bit condescendingly, but not so much that I felt like a dumbass for asking. "Humans are so impatient."

I began to fire off an indignant retort simply to remind him that I had emotions, which I'm sure he could feel, but he held his hand up and laughed.

"It's not a bad thing. It's refreshing."

I felt a wave of calm settling in my chest, and instead of fighting it, I embraced it.

"When Carlisle and I intervened in Port Angeles, I informed my friends Peter and Charlotte that there were four rambunctious, vile humans that might make a good meal."

I blinked, understanding what he said but at the same time feeling horrified. "You mean, you just offered up four lives that weren't yours to give?"

"We have to eat, too, Bella," Jasper pointed out. "We all struggle with the nature of our existence, but the fact of the matter is, we must eat, or we die. Survival instincts overpower everything else for vampires, as is the case with puppies, bunnies, cheetahs, humans, and every other species. Would you rather we not exist?"

I felt my cheeks burn with shame, and I looked down at my hands, which I wrung furiously. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about it that way. It's just…"

"Scary," Jasper finished, reading my emotions. "It is. At any point in time, for a vampire to decide arbitrarily that you're his next meal… It's almost as sickening as rape or murder. Perhaps more so. But not all vampires have the self-control to live a 'vegetarian' lifestyle. And besides, most criminals like those four serve a few years and are released back into society – is that justice?"

I reached out for Jasper's hands and squeezed them. "No. It's not like that. I meant it's just a very hard, very sad thing to have to do. To make a choice between your life and someone else's on a regular basis – that's terrible. I have an incredible amount of respect for you and your family for your decision to deprive yourselves."

Jasper smiled and squeezed my hands back. "Thank you, Bella." He looked like he might cry if he were capable, but shook it off quickly. "Eat. Alice said to make sure you did, or else you'd get dizzy and fall off the bike. And if you began bleeding…"

"Vampires," I mumbled good-naturedly, wincing as I dropped ketchup on the leather jacket, as Alice had predicted. "I trust you not to devour me, even if you don't. So, tell me about Peter and Charlotte."

Jasper leaned back in the grass and put his hands behind his head, looking nostalgic. "Well, it all started in the 1860s, when I signed up as a soldier in the Confederate Army in Texas."

The picnic with Jasper was definitely the highlight of my day. The rest, for lack of a better word, sucked. Charlie sliced his hand open while struggling to cuff some drunk hunter, and he was as bad as a six-year-old when it came to injuries. I spent the rest of the evening cleaning it up and convincing him that it was incredibly unlikely that his hand would fall off.

In addition to that little ray of sunshine, Jessica called me and ranted for an hour and a half about her inattentive, flaky boyfriend, putting me far behind on an op-ed article I was writing for the local paper on the need for more economic development in Forks. For the time being, Jessica's anger about Mike forgetting that it was their 52-day anniversary or whatever took precedence over the lack of local commerce and employment.

And to top it all off, Jacob Black, this kid I'd had play-dates with when I was younger, had been calling me for weeks to try to get me to hang out, and tonight he had shown up on my doorstep to drag me to his house to see his car. I had no problem with Jake, and I actually found I enjoyed spending time with him, but he was unnecessarily cruel when talking about the Cullens. He also seemed to have a bit of a crush on me, and while he certainly wasn't bad-looking, I couldn't bring myself to feel the same way about the kid with whom I used to build Lego fortresses.

By the time I got back to my house, Charlie had passed out on the couch watching a baseball game, so I made myself a sandwich and took it up to my room. I closed the door behind me and turned around, almost having a heart attack when I did so.

"Edward, could you maybe, just maybe be normal and use the front door?" I gasped, clutching my chest and setting my plate on my desk. "One day you're going to kill me, and not by draining my blood."

Edward shrugged as he played with the Rubik's Cube I had purchased years ago and had yet to solve. "Nah. I prefer the element of surprise." He whirled the cube with superhuman speed and suddenly held it up, solved.

I glared at him. "Show-off."

"Human."

Edward tossed me the cube and hopped off my bed, peering at my mirror as he fluffed his hair. "I'm here to extend an invitation from the Cullens."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Do tell."

"Baseball."

"What about it?" I asked, a feeling of dread growing in my stomach. "Do you guys own the Mariners or something?"

"Used to. No, this is an invitation to come play baseball, not watch it."

"Pardon?" I squeaked.

Edward rolled his eyes dramatically. "You're such a girl."

"Am not!" I protested. "Well, I am, but I'm not… You know what I mean!"

"Then why can't you play?"

"You saw me in gym class last week! I nearly broke Angela's nose with a Frisbee!"

Edward chuckled. "Oh yeah. That was classic. Wish I could've taped it and put it on YouTube."

"Edward!"

"Bella!" Edward mimicked, snickering.

I sighed heavily. "Fine. Whatever. But if I crack someone's skull open, I'm holding you accountable."

"Well, I see no danger of that. First of all, our bones are like steel. Secondly, Alice already checked. You'll be fine."

"When is this game happening?" I asked, flopping down on the bed and chucking the Rubik's Cube over my shoulder.

"Saturday…"

"I'm working!" I exclaimed triumphantly.

"At 4 o'clock." He pointed to my work schedule stuffed in the frame of my mirror. "After work."

"Damn it."

Edward gave me a crooked grin and ruffled my hair affectionately. I un-ruffled it un-affectionately.

"You'll have fun. And Carlisle's going to be there," Edward added in a sing-song voice.

I blushed hard. "Shut your face."

Edward laughed. "I love it when you blush."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Now get lost before I start my period."

The vampire grimaced. "Good God, Bella, do you really have to be so graphic?"

I shrugged. "Well, if you're certain you'll be okay around me when I'm…"

"Stop!" Edward put his hands over his ears. "I'm leaving, all right? Gross." He leapt out the window. I threw a tampon from my desk out after him, and it was batted right back up at me.

"Victory," I muttered, returning to my abandoned sandwich. I resorted to the Crimson Tide excuse whenever Edward was overstaying his welcome, and it never failed. Vampire or not, no teenage boy wanted to hear about that time of the month.

The days dragged on after Edward's visit. Much to my dismay, I found myself looking forward to Saturday. It was a little pathetic that I would put myself through such baseball hell to spend a few hours with Carlisle, but I was so desperate for interaction with the blond bloodsucker that I was willing to resort to extreme recreational measures.

Jake and I hung out again on Friday after I got off work. He was laboring away on his carburetor when I suddenly had an idea.

"Hey Jake, you ever ridden a motorcycle?"

His head popped up from under the hood just long enough to give me a "bitch, please" look. "Is Joe Montana the greatest quarterback of all time?"

"I don't know, is he?"

Jake gave me another, more scathing look. "Yes to both questions. Why do you ask?"

"Technically I didn't ask about Joe Montana. You did."

"Bella."

"I think I'd like to learn how to ride a motorcycle," I admitted, remembering how much fun Jasper's Ducati had been.

"It's pretty dangerous. Charlie probably wouldn't be thrilled."

I rolled my eyes. "In two months I'll be eighteen, and then it doesn't really matter what he thinks about motorcycles. If I find a couple of junkers, do you want to fix them up?"

Jake finally put down his wrench and stood up to consider the offer. "Well, I guess it would be fun to work on something besides this wreck," he said thoughtfully, nudging the fender of the Rabbit with his knee.

"I'll pay for the bikes and any tools you need. Plus unlimited pizza and soda," I added, knowing he couldn't resist food.

He smiled widely. "Yeah, let's do it!"

"Sweet." I watched Jake get back to work on his car as I toyed with an old CB radio on his workbench. If I weren't so hooked on a certain vampire, Jake would be one hell of a catch.

Once I got home from the Blacks' house, I was a complete nervous wreck. Tomorrow after work, I would be showing off my non-existent athletic skills to someone who'd had centuries to perfect his game. Someone with perfectly toned muscles. Someone who probably looked amazing in a ball cap and jersey.

"Oh shit shit shit, what do I wear?" I cried aloud, pacing in my room. "I'm going to be a poorly-dressed non-athlete!"

I threw myself over-dramatically onto my bed, feeling intensely sorry for myself, and suddenly felt a pain in my ribcage. I rolled over and found a long, flat box on the comforter.

"What will it take to get vampires to stop breaking into my room?" I wondered aloud, sitting up and placing the box in my lap.

Inside the box I found a note in Alice's handwriting: You'll need these tomorrow. And quit worrying, you'll be fine!

Underneath was a ton of pink, poufy tissue paper, which I quickly trashed. Below that obnoxious display of femininity were a baseball cap, jersey, lightweight tank top, and jeans. Pinned to the jeans was another note reading: Wear sneakers. Any sneakers.

"Crazy vampires," I grumbled good-naturedly. Secretly I loved that Alice and Edward looked after me – without them, who would make sure I dressed for the occasion?

There was a noise downstairs, from which I gathered that Charlie was home. The sound of a beer can being opened confirmed my suspicions.

I shoved the box of clothes under my bed and trotted downstairs to see my dad. He was already comfortably situated in his armchair watching a baseball game. Perfect.

"Hey Dad," I greeted, dropping onto the couch.

"Hey kid," he replied, eyes glued to the television.

"Good day at work?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Caught that drug dealer we've been trying to nab for a few months. He's going away for a long time." He chuckled as if remembering a fond memory. Cops had a weird sense of humor.

"Nice. Good job." I cleared my throat awkwardly. "So, who's playing?"

"Braves and Nationals."

"Ah." I nodded as if I knew what he was talking about. "Cool."

There was another moment of silence during which both of us stared at the screen, he with intense interest and I with utter perplexity. Then he looked over at me.

"Something on your mind, Bella?"

"Nah, not really. I'm supposed to play ball with the Cullens tomorrow, and I kind of have no idea how to play."

Charlie laughed. "You? Baseball?"

I rolled my eyes. "I know. No need to rub it in."

"You're going to give someone a concussion if they give you a bat. Probably yourself."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically.

"Well, I hope you have fun. It's good that you're getting out there and making friends. The Cullens have always been nice." He turned his attention back to the television, and I took it as my cue to go to bed.

My feeble attempt to get Charlie talking about baseball's many intricacies failed, but I should have known better. Charlie was never the perceptive type, so unless you just came out and said what it was you wanted, he'd never take the hint. Like nearly every guy, and many girls, on the planet. At least, that was what I'd gathered from my very limited experience on Earth.

Once upstairs, I powered up my computer and Googled baseball. The first couple of sites, MLB and Wikipedia, were informative but not nearly dumbed down enough. I ended up on the third site that was listed in my results and spent a good two hours playing the Miniclip version of the game. I lost every damn game.

Great. Tomorrow was looking really promising.

A/N: Well, I've got absolutely no excuse for my delay in updating. I've been sick on and off (in fact, I have the flu right now. Poo.), there have been some family emergencies, and I got an adorable puppy who has happily been taking up a great deal of my time. I feel back in the groove, though. Once I sat down and started writing again, it just felt great. Really relaxing, like it used to. So, my apologies if anything seems weird and again, I'm SUPER sorry for not updating.

My chapter-ly poem takes the form of a free-form tongue twister:

Carlisle can caress my curves constantly;

I can't quite quit my craving

For this cute, captivating quack

Who could kill me quicker than a cannonball.

Many thanks to those who continue to add me as a Favorite/Alert Author/Story. Your adds totally make me squeal. Literally. And that can be really awkward in a waiting room filled with sickies.

My thanks also go to my incredible reviewers, each of whose reviews I savor like a fresh-baked derby pie:

Kathy Hiester, acw1, Sinthya Van Dan, aerobee2, Cullens Darlin, anmarie, Malu Snape Rickman, Briyer Rose, yueyuuko, Merina Green, Tetiani (holy vampires I'd taken Jackson too!), brighteyes343, Blood Red Vampress, mzinke, , B-RizzleDizzle (yum, potential wolf action…), notashamedtobesoilyfan, Kookie-chan, aixa00, Avalonhighgirl, allmine, Nissa-Cullen, OddBall2008 (haha, I'm nerdy too!), vikinglass25, attagrl, cutthecrepe (love the penname), bwkitty, shallwedance9, WannabeWolfe, xitwa74, Shiloh McDuff, Kristen, schus522 (glad you've converted!), -siarafaerie-101-miss, CasperBleu, Goddess of the Black Rose (I'll definitely address your question next chapter), TearyJewelEyes (I'll absolutely check out your petition – thanks for the heads-up!), rosedragonamber, Adipocere, and IsleofSkye.

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH. I love love love your reviews! You guys all have such nice, wonderful things to say!

In the next chapter: Bella spends some quality time with the Cullen family. And perhaps gets a concussion. Luckily she has Dr. SexyPants to tend to her… Also, we have some unwelcome visitors. Stay tuned!