A/N: One of my longest chapters yet. This, ladies and gents, is where the action begins.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters; Stephanie Meyer does.

Chapter Ten

BPOV

Monday rolls around eventually and I find myself eager to reach school for more reasons than one. First, I want to see if what Jacob says about the Cullens is true. I'm not sure how much I can prove it without outright asking them, but I'm pretty sure that might not be the best course of action. Second, I know the bigger part of why I'm so excited to get to school is so I can see Alice. I might as well admit to myself that I have a crush on her - who wouldn't. Denial is overrated anyway.

I walk outside and find my bike waiting for me in the driveway. I seriously need to thank Rosalie since otherwise I'd be walking nearly two miles to school. I reach into my backpack and grab my keys before putting my helmet on and mounting the bike. When I turn the key in the ignition, the engine makes significantly less noise than it used to before Rosalie fixed it. She must've done more work on it than she told me.

I manage to get to school in record time since I can now push the bike way above 80. My previous anxiety with fast speeds seems to have abated quite a bit. That, and my balance on the bike also seems much better than before. There are less looks from other students as I pull in than when I first rode in on my bike.

I spot Alice talking to Jasper near the parking lot and I feel a smile spread across my face at the sight of her. Geez, I'm getting cheesy already. I park my bike next to her car and walk over to them with my helmet tucked under my arm and my keys twirling around my finger.

"Hey Bella!" Alice greets with a giddy bounce on her toes. I try not to stare at the way her breasts bounce in time with her movement.

"Um…h-hey." Ugh, how can I not stare when she's doing that?

Jasper coughs and clears his throat conspicuously and raises his eyebrows at me knowingly when I meet his gaze. I blush at being caught and adjust my grip on the helmet nervously.

"You've grown again," Alice comments with an adorable pout on her sexy lips.

"Must be something in the water…well, my water anyway," I tease, eyeing her small frame. She narrows her eyes at me and sticks her tongue out. Jasper tries not to laugh but lets out a small chuckle that refused to be suppressed. Alice's glare turns to him and he stops immediately, excusing himself to get to class.

"The bell's gonna ring soon, better get in there," Alice says.

I can't resist, "That's what she said."

Alice rolls her eyes. "You're sick Bella."

"You know you like it," I tease.

She once again lets her eyes travel up and down my taller frame with a confused expression. "I'll see you at lunch."

I wave a bit too late, distracted by her smile at me before she leaves. I really need to stop thinking like a creeper. I shake my head and make my way to class, passing by my locker to dump my helmet. Classes pass by sluggishly and I barely take notes as I go back to thinking about my conversation with Jacob on Saturday. I guess I'll check during lunch.

I catch up with Alice before she makes it to the cafeteria, hooking my arm around her elbow and steering her toward the library.

"Hello to you too," Alice says with a chuckle.

"Sorry, I just need to talk to you about something," I say with a weak smile. I see a hint of worry in her eyes as I hold the library door open for her to enter.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asks with a smooth voice, contrasting with anxiety showing in her nervous hands.

"I met up with a friend of mine over the weekend - Jacob - and he kinda told me something about you. Well, you as in your family."

"Oh. What did he tell you exactly?" I pull out a chair and gesture for her to sit. She sits and looks at me with a mix of impatience and dread.

"Well, it was really just some old tribe legends. Nothing concrete. I'll just come out and ask you because I'm not good with this whole 'beating around the bush' thing."

She nods and I run a hand through my hair nervously.

"Are you a vampire?" Okay, maybe I could have been a bit more tactful.

She doesn't react for a moment and I start to feel nervous under her unwavering gaze.

"So uh…are you?" What do you do when you ask your crush if she's a blood drinking vampire? There's no generally accepted protocol for this.

"Who's your friend again?" she asks, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Jake. I mean Jacob. Jacob Black. He lives down on the reservation. Is he right? Are you vampires?"

"They broke the treaty," Alice mutters, now glaring angrily at the table between us.

"What treaty? Who's they?"

Alice sighs and loosens her clenched fists. "How about you come by after school today? I can explain everything to you then but I can't do it without my family there. This involves them too."

Well if that wasn't a confirmation, I don't know what is.

"Sure, I'll follow your car over."

"So you guys were here fifty years ago? Isn't it weird to see some of the people you were in high school with now adults?"

They all share confused looks and Rosalie shakes her head. "Of all things to ask that's what you pick?" I shrug and grin at her.

"So what do you think Bella?" Carlisle asks.

I look from one pair of golden eyes to the next. Each of them with the same anxious look in them. The last pair is Alice's and I hold her gaze the longest.

"Well, since I know I won't be turned into a snack pack or anything, I'm good," I say with a smile.

They all visibly relax, and Emmett lets out an audible sigh of relief.

"Well I was thinking about it, but I guess I won't now," he says with a wink at me before pulling me into a hug. I laugh and hug him back.

"Ignore Emmett Bella," Esme says warmly as she comes closer. "His humor is a bit…off." I hug her as well and share nods with rest. "Well, are you hungry Bella?"

"Actually, I better be heading back. It's almost dark and I don't want to be out on the road too late. Charlie would kill me."

"I can give you a ride back if you want," Alice offers. "You live pretty far and you probably shouldn't be riding on your own this late anyway."

"Nah, I don't want to be trouble. You guys chill and I dunno, do vampire stuff. I'll be fine."

Alice seems reluctant to let me go on my own, but eventually I'm on my way out the door with a promise to be back again soon.

Jacob made it seem like they pounce on anything with a heartbeat and are heartless monsters but I could never think of the Cullens that way. They're all so sweet, especially Esme. Who could ever think of her as a monster?

I quickly hop onto my bike and start it up with shivery hands. The cold always gets worse as the night sets. With one last wave at Alice who's standing in the doorway, I set off down the long dirt road that leads me back to the main road.

I start regretting not bringing a jacket with me as the shivering increases once I pick up speed. It hasn't rained since morning but the road is still slightly slick, making me more careful.

I squint into the darkness beyond my headlights and curse myself for not leaving when there was more daylight. Seemingly out of nowhere, a woman appears on the road in front of me. I quickly swerve out of the way off the road to avoid crashing into her. My front wheel hits a rock that I notice too late and topples my bike over, sending me flying a few feet away from my bike.

I groan and feel pain radiating from my right leg. I struggle to get up and see the red haired woman slowly making her way closer to me.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how close I came to running you over?!" I only have time to see her gleaming smile when she walks into the light cast by my headlights before she suddenly rushes past me faster than my eyes can follow.

I'm thrown off balance by the slight gust of wind and suddenly my heart starts racing. Heat spreads through me like I've been thrown into a sauna and I start hyperventilating.

Out of nowhere, I'm thrown into the forest behind me and into a tree that my back collides with roughly, knocking the wind out of me as I slide to the ground. I gasp anxiously, trying to get air back into my lungs when my limbs start trembling violently.

When I finally get my breathing under control, I call out a shaky "Who's there?", unable to get back on my feet.

The woman from before appears in front of me again and holds me up against the tree by my neck, applying pressure. The trembling increases and I feel as if the heat spreading through me will make me burst from the inside out. Her red hair moves out of her face enough for me to see the blood red color of her eyes and I gasp.

"Vampire," I whisper under my breath. Just my luck; the day I find out about vampires I end up dying at the hands of one.

Her eyes widen in shock and she growls. "What do you know about vampires?" she hisses, her hand tightening further around my neck.

As soon as I hear her voice, the fire inside me turns into a full-blown inferno and my leg shoots out on its own, kicking the woman away from me. My vision gets hazy as I fall to the ground and I cry out as I start to feel incredible pain from all over my body. It's as if my bones are being broken one by one and eventually the pain becomes too much and I black out.

A/N: Any ideas about what's happening to Bella? Reviews are welcome :)