CHAPTER 12: On the Set

Thursday couldn't have come any sooner even though it's just two days after the initial invite. I text Jane the following morning and she says it should be okay as long as I stayed by where Alice and her team were so that I didn't disturb the shooting going on. I'm sure she figures me standing next to a cameraman would cost my uncle a heart attack if I somehow brake the machine or rip the film that's inside it. I didn't want to be known as that girl who ruined a great film in the making. I can just imagine Aro shunning me back to Forks.

Because Alice also has an early meeting on the set with her team of designers and makeup artists, Jane sends Felix to come and get me. "Good morning, signora," he smiles as he walks around to my side of the car and opens the passenger door.

"Hey, Felix," I smile back. "How have you been?"

"Very good, thank you. And, yourself?"

"Good," I nod, having to actually think about what to say to him. If anything, I'm nervous and excited to be on the set since I didn't know what to expect. I get into the town car and the first thing I do is roll down the window. As Edward says, today is supposed to be a nice day. I can already tell from the sun's bright rays beating down on the car.

"Signora Jane told me to give this to you." Felix turns around from the driver's seat and hands me a small plastic-like card attached to a lanyard. I take the item from him and examine it. I smile when I read 'access pass' on the front. It has barcode numbers written on the bottom. "She said to be very careful with it and not to lose it," he smiles again.

"I won't," I assure him. This was like a golden ticket as I have mentioned before when the fan girls were eyeing it on me during the press conference. "Hey, Felix…"

"Yes, signora?" he looks at me from the rearview mirror.

"Can I ask where you're taking me first?" I have to ask since it seems too early to head to the beach with the sun still shining so brightly in the sky. Edward said the particular scene he wants me to witness is during the sunset. It's still about two hours until then.

"I am taking you to the beach. They are still setting up the area but I was instructed to take you to Signora Alice."

I nod my response and scoot back comfortably in my seat, waiting patiently for us to get to our destination. By car, the beach isn't very far, but all the barricades and constant security stopping us made the ride longer than it needs to be. Some of the hired police even glance behind Felix to get a view of the back seat to see who's sitting here. I smile politely since they think I was probably some celebrity making my way to the set when in reality, I'm just an ordinary girl who got the opportunity to go behind the scenes.

"Are we…here?" I look ahead when Felix finally stops the car. I see the ocean so we have to be on set. It is crowded with people carrying banners and signs and screaming hysterically, blocked off to the sides, when they see the town car. Sorry, to disappoint you but it's just me.

Felix gets out of the car and talks to one of the security people who nods and runs off behind the lines. "This is as far as I can go," he bends down by my window. "He is getting someone to escort you inside."

"Okay, thanks…"

After a few minutes of waiting, I hear an excited voice directed at me. "Bella!"

"Alice!" I stick my arm out the window and wave to her. She signals for me to get of the car, which I do.

"Have a good day, Signora Bella."

"Thanks!" I smile one last time at Felix and jog over to Alice who squeals with delight to see me.

"I'm so glad you're here!" she squeezes my arm. That's how Alice usually greets me.

"Me, too."

"When Edward told me you were coming to the set, I didn't believe him at first until Jane told me that you'll be spending the day with me! Well…more like keeping an eye on you," she lightly scoffs, "But, it's practically the same thing."

I glare at her for a brief moment. "Well, I hope you're a good babysitter," I grumble quietly.

"Oh, shush, Bella," she lightly slaps my arm. "Aro is just very strict about people walking around the set where they're not supposed to. I heard some crazy fan got in yesterday and ruined a perfectly good scene. That's why you see that extra blockage out here. C'mon, I'll introduce you to my team."

We walk up to the guard who first checks my badge then head toward a bunch of tents that are set up along the beach on the sand. Alice introduces me to the people that work under her, who are all very friendly people. Two tents alone have the actors' wardrobe stored that is kept a close eye on in case an item goes missing. After the fan girl incident, Alice wants to ensure that she didn't see one of her pieces being flashed on Craigslist or on eBay.

"Why are you guys here so early?" I ask. I take off my flip flops and dig my feet into the warm sand, watching the waves splash against the shore. I finally wear my sunglasses to shield my eyes from the sun's blinding light.

"That's how it is. We always have to set up before the actors get here so we can get them changed into their outfits quickly. Here, put this on." She throws me some sunscreen. "Trust me you'll need it being out here all day. Don't forget to reapply every few hours."

"Thanks. So, are you guys the only ones here?" I lather my exposed skin with sunscreen, even my face and continue to stare at the scenery.

"So far. The cast and the rest of the crew should be here soon, though. This is where everyone will take a quick break for a late lunch before Edward's scene."

"Where are they now exactly?"

"Edward and Jessica are shooting their 'date' scene in the streets somewhere on the other side of town. It's not really that far given how big this town is," she replies.

"'Date scene…'" I nod slowly at the words. I wonder if he's kissed her. I assume he would during some point in the movie since she's playing his love interest. I roll my eyes inwardly.

"It's not much of anything. They're just shooting around the streets holding hands or something," Alice says nonchalantly. "Oh, look! There's one of the vans," she points. A black van with tinted windows pulls up near the barricaded entrance with fans taking whatever pictures they can with security pressed against them. The guards have to hold back the people so that they didn't get injured by the vehicle trying to pass by. Once it was in the safety zone, the entire area is blocked off again prohibiting access to anyone else.

I see Mike step out first, stretching and yawing. He is surprised to see me when he turns in my direction. I wave at him from where I am and smile. He seems shocked then happy and waves back. "Hey, you!" he calls out. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to catch you guys in action!" I chuckle.

He jogs down to the beach to meet me. Angela and a few others step out of the same van after him but no Edward…or Jessica. Angela sees me and waves like Mike did, joining us on the sandy pathway. "Hey, Bella. It's nice to see you again."

"Yeah, you, too," I smile. "Where's everyone else?" More importantly, Edward.

"They were in a different van. I think that's their van pulling up now." Angela shields her eyes from the sun to get a better look at the designated parking are where their own van is sitting. She adjusts her white-rimmed glasses and nods. "Yup, that's them."

Edward is the first to stick his leg out of the sliding door, putting on his dark sunglasses as soon as the sun's rays hit him. He looks around and smiles immediately at me once he catches a glimpse of us on the beach. I wave back a little too excitedly.

Mike suddenly clears his throat. "I'm going to see what's there to eat," he almost grumbles the words out. "See you later, Bella."

"Oh…okay. Bye," I hold my hand up awkwardly for a short wave. He head is held low and is gone before I can give him a proper farewell. I can never understand that guy's weird mood swings.

Angela just shrugs with an apologetic smile. "We'll be by the food table if you want to join us later."

"Sure…thanks."

"See, I told you there was nothing to worry about," Edward smirks as soon as he reaches me.

"Yeah, I guess not," I flashed him my access pass.

He exaggerates his own pass in front of me that is hidden inside his flannel shirt to prove that mine wasn't really all that special. The first top two buttons of his shirt are also undone revealing some of his chest hair. I'm not a big fan of chest hair but he makes it look oh so sexy, so I can't object to his chest being slightly exposed like that. If it wasn't for my own dark sunglasses, I wouldn't have been able to get away with staring for more than two seconds in that region.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"Oh, uhh…no. Just a few minutes before the first van got here." I snap back to reality, blinking behind my glasses. "Mike and Angela are at the…food table?"

"Wanna go?" he smiles, tilting his head in that direction.

"Sure," I shrug. As I walk beside him I notice Edward has his hands in his pockets again. He always has his hands in his pockets. It's an automatic habit he has that maybe he's not aware of. We walk silently together to where everyone is stationed around the tables, some sitting and some standing.

"Are you hungry?" He finds a spot for us to sit near the end of the sitting area that only has space for two people. It almost looks like we segregated ourselves on purpose from everyone else. Some of the crew discreetly smiles in our direction that makes me blush. People are paying too much attention to us when they really didn't need to. "I'll go get you something. I'll be right back."

Edward is gone before I even have a chance to sit properly sit. I'm really all that hungry since I ate before I came, but I didn't want to seem rude, especially since he left before I could reject his offer. "Hey, Bella…" my ears perk up to a female voice.

"Oh, hey...Jessica," I turn behind me, twisting my body in my seat.

She looks timid, almost like Angela sometimes, the way she's standing near me as I stay planted in my seat. "So, you're eating with, Edward…huh?" she lets out a short laugh at the fact that I'm sharing a table with him.

"Yeah, he just decided to sit here. You can…join us if you want?" I offer nicely. It is the least I can do as to not seem like our table is exclusive or anything. All she had to do was pull up a chair. But that cramp the table. I try to act cool and calm about it, even though I still wasn't completely comfortable around her, only because of my previous thoughts about her and Edward, which are stupid—I know. Feeling awkward around her is my own fault, which I'm trying to not let get to me.

"Oh, no, no!" she shakes her head vigorously, waving her arms in front of me as if she was warding off some evil spirit. "This is your guys' table. I just wanted to know if…you've seen Mike?" she slightly blushes.

Huh? "Oh, Mike?"

"Yeah…have you…seen him? I want to practice a few lines with him since we have a scene together coming up tomorrow."

"Sorry, I haven't. The last I saw him was on the beach. But I do know he was supposed to head this way."

"Oh, okay…" her eyes dart around the room and land on Edward who is coming back toward us with two paper plates in his hands. "Well, thanks…I'll check out the beach." She leaves right before Edward reaches the table.

"What'd Jessica want?" he asks casually while placing my plate down in front of me. He finally sits down, reaching over the table to hand me a napkin.

"Thanks. It was nothing. She was just looking for Mike," I reply.

"Newton, huh?" he playfully scoffs.

"Yeah…why?" I look at him curiously. He's smiling about something that has to do with the blonde-haired boy.

"Nothing," he shrugs it off. "It seems like Jessica is always looking for him, that's all."

"I wonder why?" I say without really being that curious as to the reason behind it. As long as it wasn't Edward. That, I'm relieved about.

Edward shrugs again with the same grin. "They get along pretty well," he comments then takes a bite of his mini sandwich.

"That's good…" I munch on my carrot stick. My thoughts apparently have wandered off somewhere else because I didn't hear what Edward had said next. "Huh?" I focus back on him.

He laughs at my expression, wiping his mouth with his napkin before speaking again. "I said are you okay with the food I got you?"

I glance down at my plate and nod. "Oh, yeah! It's fine. Thanks." Him asking me that actually makes me pay attention to the items on the plate. He brought me carrots, strawberries, broccoli and two small cheese sandwiches.

"I know you don't eat meat…so I hope the cheese sandwiches are okay."

"It's perfect," I smile. "I'll eat cheese." Even though it came from cows, I was okay with the diary product.

"Isabella!"

There it was. I immediately cringe at the name like nails on a chalkboard. And I know exactly who it is when I turned around. "Uncle Aro!" I smile widely to hide my annoyance at that blasted name. I get up to give him a proper hug. He squeezes me tightly, which actually feels really good; being in his arms. I rarely see him at the house because he is always off somewhere or going over the storyboard.

"It's good to see your face," he caresses my cheek. "Are you enjoying yourself so far?"

"Yes, I am," I smile again.

"Has Edward been taking good care of you?" he leans to the side of me to get a better glance at his leading star.

"Trying," the boy with the green eyes chuckles innocently.

"I'm supposed to be with Alice, but I don't know where she ran off to."

"She is getting different wardrobes prepared," he rubs my back. "Stay with Edward for a while. I'll have Alice come and get you when she's done. Edward," he gets his attention again, "You'll need to change into your next outfit soon, for the beach scene."

"Yes, sir," he casually salutes the director with a grin, half a bite still in his mouth.

"Just take care of my niece," Aro rolls his eyes, giving me a smile, before walking away to check on everyone else.

"I guess someone's got to with your kind of…elegance," he jibs.

"Shut up," I suppress a smile and glare at him before I sit back down. He lets out a soft laugh, not saying anything else. I play with the cheese sandwich, which I really had no appetite for. Silence grows between us but it isn't the awkward type of silence because there are other things going on around us. I find that I am not able to think of any real topics to discuss with him. There is the movie and his role but I already know the gist of it from Alice. Even at the conference he mentioned he was a spy who didn't want to get the witness involved in his schemes.

"Hey, thanks again for coming, by the way," Edward finally speaks again.

"Yeah, no problem. It's nice finally getting the opportunity to be here," I nod.

"You're still going to hang out with us afterwards, right?"

"Yeah…I'll be there. Unless I'm not wanted," I joke.

"I wouldn't be inviting you if you weren't," Edward rolls his emerald eyes at me. "Well, I can't really say much for the others' opinion of you tagging along though…" his voice still holds a tease tone in it.

"Wait…what?" I lean forward into my seat trying to let his words register in my mind. I have my palms placed on top of the table like I'm proving I wasn't holding a concealed weapon somewhere. "The others don't know I'm coming?"

He smiles sheepishly with a laugh. "Well, no. I haven't really mentioned it. But, I know they won't mind. You know them and they know you so…no big deal."

"Ed…ward," I whine like a little kid. "I thought when you told me about it the other day that you would mention it to them before today."

"I forgot, I'm sorry," he lifts his shoulders showing he wasn't really all that apologetic. "Don't worry about it. I'll take the blame if someone objects. We can go off and do our own thing, too, if you prefer."

If I prefer? My heart skips a beat as my eyes go wide for a second. I try to hide the blood sweeping across my face by looking down at my plate. "…Remember what happened the last time we did that?" I say quietly. I take the risk of glancing up at him when he doesn't respond. The light expression on his face briefly falters as I remind him of the restaurant incident when our picture was taken.

He leans back into his seat, his thoughts clearly elsewhere. "Well, it would be different this time," he answers back as quietly as I had asked the question.

"How?"

"Well, first off, I wouldn't take you to another public place like that," he gives me a crooked grin. The look he has on his face seems like he's telling himself that he has learned his lesson from that 'incident'.

I can't stop my heart from banging against the bones and skin it was under. My ears suddenly feel like popping as if I'm on an airplane, the crowd's voice around us disappearing. "Where…would you…take me…then?" I just really asked him that! I feel like I'm provoking the man into divulging top secret information.

"I don't know?" he shrugs nonchalantly, taking an actual moment to think about it. "Probably just walk along the beach. There are a lot of secluded spots around here."

"Are there?" It's more of an intrigued question. How would he know that unless he's already been walking along the beach front?

He leans forward again, reading into my response. "Let's just say I've done some research into the area."

"For the shoot?"

"No," he shakes his head casually. "For personal…enjoyment."

How does he make that sound so sexy? I laugh away my inappropriate thoughts and wonder what sorts of things he means by this 'personal enjoyment' of his. "Well, it's a pretty good sized beach. I'm sure you can enjoy it…personally when you get the chance."

He shakes his head, chuckling at my words. "I didn't mean alone. I meant enjoy it with someone."

"Oh," I silently form the words with my mouth. I can feel a slight rush of warmth trickling to my face again.

"Wouldn't you want to walk along the beach with someone? I find it's more interesting when you have company."

"Sure. But, not when I want to be by myself."

And it was true. I do like the whole sappy long walks on the beach scenario, but usually alone. I used to do it all the time in La Push at First Beach if Jake was too busy with his chores or homework to do anything with me. It's a nice, calming feeling with the waves rushing up against the gravely sands and the wind brushing against your face. I love sitting on the big tree that lays on its side with its roots sticking up sideways, buried deep within the sand. Sitting on top of it when it was low tide makes a person look like an ant from the distance because the tree trunk is so huge. Thinking about that place makes me suddenly miss the Northwest.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward examines me curiously.

"Huh?" I blink back to our conversation. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how we have a pretty cool beach back home—as in Forks, not LA."

"Have you been to the beaches in LA?" he asks.

"No, not really." I always though the beaches are too crowded and wearing a bathing suit makes me feel self-conscious with all the gorgeous bodies walking around.

"There are a lot of nice ones in and around LA—ones that don't have a lot of people. I'll take you to one sometime." It sounds like a nice enough statement without anything hidden behind it. Just a nice gesture from a nice guy who has no idea what that kind of offer does to my insides.

"S-sure," I try to keep my voice leveled and as casual as his.

"Edward! Your sister is looking for you." A lady with an earpiece and clipboard in her hand calls him over to follow her. "You need to get changed."

"Duty calls," he gets up, leaning forward at me, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. I giggle at his boyish behavior as roll my eyes at the same time.

"Better go before Alice bites your head off," I tease.

"And we wouldn't want that from that little monster, now would we?" he rolls his eyes with a smirk. "I'll see you after the shoot. Hope you enjoy it."

"Yeah…see ya."

After Edward leaves I didn't know what to do with myself. I'm not sure which areas are restricted and since Alice is still busy I'm left to fend for myself for the meantime. I am about to get up when someone approaches me. "Hey, Bella."

I look up to see the shy, timid girl waving at me with friendly eyes behind her glasses. "Hey, Angela."

"Are you headed to the set?" she asks while adjusting the frames on her face.

"No, not yet. Edward just left to change into his outfit for the scene. What about you?"

"I was going to meet up with Jessica and Mike on the beach. Riley isn't feeling too well so he's going to rest for a bit before we go out later. There's an area around the beach set with chairs where we can watch Edward's scene. This is the last scene we're shooting for the day so we're just waiting for him to finish. Do you…want to sit with us?" she smiles. "We should have a good view of the sunset, too."

"I've discovered that Angela is a really nice person. She's shy and soft-spoken, a real people-pleaser, which makes me wonder how she is in front of the camera. From what Alice says, she looks very confident without her glasses. The little pixie-haired Hobbit wants to play dress up with her as well, but Angela refuses and keeps trying to hide from her. I wish I had that kind of tactic against her evil powers. Knowing Alice, she's just waiting for the right moment to catch the poor girl at a vulnerable moment before pouncing on her.

"Is that okay? Jane was kind of clear about me not being so close to the set," I half-joke. I'm sure it was safe for them—I, on the other hand, had my own special category.

"That's ridiculous," she brushes off the assistant's request. "We'll be away from any of the equipment to avoid ruining the take unless you cough or something, which I doubt will happen. It'll be fun. So, yeah?"

Since my best friend is busy with her work, I agree to follow Angela outside. The sky is cascaded in different colors and the sun is finally beginning to set. It's really beautiful out here during this time of day. Maybe this is what Edward wants me to see? The cameramen and crew are all talking into their headsets and walkie-talkies about clearing certain areas and raking the sand where Edward is supposed to be sitting on. They didn't have a lot of time to shoot since they are on the sun's setting schedule.

I see Aro in his director's chair looking into a small, long lens camera with Jane by his side with her padfolio tucked where it always was. He says something into his walkie-talkie and looks around the set the camera is going to capture on film.

"Here, sit here, Bella." Angela pulls up a high chair for me to sit on next to her.

"Thanks."

"Hey, Washington," Mike approaches us.

Washington? "Hey," I half-smile back. He and Jessica are given two other similar chairs that are in a row next to us. I smile at Jessica who smiles back but seems uncomfortable in her gesture. I have no idea what reasons she has to act that way round me? Mike is seated beside me and Jessica next to him.

"Alright, everyone…quiet on the set!" a man with a microphone instructs to the watchful audience. I look behind me toward the barricade and see the sea of people waiting to get a glimpse of Edward. Security was instructed not to let anyone take photos or videos while they are filming.

The cameraman that is carrying the heavy equipment on his shoulders and waist slowly moves forward to capture the sun. Edward comes walking out from the side somewhere, undetected by us, as we all turn our heads as he steps into the scene, the camera turning its focus on him. He stares at the horizon and sighs. A large fan is turned on to give the illusion that it's windy out when the weather is actually pretty calm and still. He's wearing a white buttoned-up shirt and cargo shorts, standing barefoot in the warm sand.

Edward's face looks distraught as if he was battling with something inside himself. He sits down on his mark and takes out a picture from his shirt pocket and stares at it, almost scoffing at the figures it's captured. His other hand that's in his short's pocket pulls out a small, shiny object. Holding it up next to the picture, I finally see it was a lighter. Edward holds the picture up in the air and burns it. He lets the fire scorch it to pieces until it's nothing but mere ashes in the grains around him.

A cell phone suddenly rings from his other pocket to which he answers. He doesn't greet the person on the other line but instead listens and say, "Yeah…I know. I'm not a child." He sounds scornful and seething with emotions that he's trying to keep under control. Edward finally gets up and walks down the beach away from us.

"And…cut!" Aro yells.

I glance around me and realize many of us were sitting still and holding our breaths during the scene. Everyone finally relaxes and starts talking again. The crew moves quickly to fixing the sand again where Edward has left his footprints so that it looks untouched once more. The handsome actor smiles and runs back behind the camera equipment to watch the playback of his talent. I see Aro nodding and saying a few words to him while they watch the monitor, Edward also nodding back, smiling in the same way. I thought he played that scene perfectly. He really looked like he was troubled. But, Aro announces they are going to do the scene again at a different angle since the sun's final rays are still working with them. I hadn't realized how long this small scene was actually going to take until I see it a million times, each time Edward giving a great performance as if he's performing it for the first time each take.

"Alright everyone, that's a wrap for today!" another man with a grayish mustache claps that is followed by a chorus of applause. Everyone looks happy and relieved from the long day that's finally ended.

"Who's that guy?" I whisper to Angela.

"That's Pete. He's the AD—Assistant Director."

"Oh…I see…" I nod, not knowing Aro had an 'assistant' other than Jane.

"C'mon," Angela smiles at me. The three people beside me hop out of their seats and head to the dark tents where their wardrobes are stored. "We can finally go and change out of our outfits."

"You guys are still in your studio clothes?"

"Yeah…" she laughs softly." Alice never really cares if we dirty our clothes after they've been used in a scene, as long as there aren't any reshoots, since she said we would never wear them again."

"Of course," I chuckle. It was typical of Alice.

"Bella! There you are," the Hobbit approaches me as I enter the tent after the actors. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to stay with you. I had some sewing emergencies I had to take care of and then Edward's scene came up and I had to get his outfit and blah, blah, blah—you know the drill," she sighs.

"It's okay, Alice," I grin. "I watched the scene with Angela and them."

Alice looks relieved, "Oh, good." She's probably worried thinking that I was swallowed by a giant squid or something when she hadn't seen me. "Oh! I forgot you need to change, too!"

"What?" I'm not sure if I hear her correctly.

"You'll be cold out there with just that. I had some extra outfits so I put one together for you. Here," she practically shoves a dress bag at me, "put this on."

"Wha…why? You're not making sense, Alice," I give her a confused and frustrating look. Then again, it was Alice. She rarely makes sense.

"Alice! We can't get one of the zipper's undone," one of her assistants looks worriedly at her. "I don't want to rip the dress."

"I'll be right there," she sighs again.

"Anyway, Bella, just put that," she pokes the bag, "on while I go put out another fire."

"But, Al—" she walks away from me before I can fully protest.

"Hey…" I jump at the startling sound and drop the dress bag. "Sorry, let me get that." We both dive for the plastic material at the same time and bump foreheads.

"Ow," I rub my head, feeling slightly dizzy from the impact. I stand erect, allowing him to finish the task for me.

"I guess clumsiness never rests does it?" Edward teases, rubbing his own sore spot.

"It's your own fault," I grumble. "If you hadn't snuck up on me—"

"Yeah, I know, I know," he holds his hand up to stop my lecturing and hands me the bag. "I'm sorry. Yes, I was at fault." He even did a little bow. If only my arguments with Jacob were these easy, I'd argue with that guy more often. Jake and I butted heads sometimes and we always want to have the last say in everything so our little bickering went on forever. "Are you…changing into that?" he looks down at the item wrapped around my arms.

"Yeah…thanks to your sister," I sigh.

"Well, you'd better hurry. Most of us are ready to head out. There's a changing station right over there behind those curtains," he points.

"Where are we going anyway?"

Just then his cell phone rings. "Sorry, I have to answer this."

"Emmett, right?" I raise an eyebrow. How convenient. He gives me an apologetic smile before acknowledging the other person on the line and walks away to talk privately. Edward and Alice are more similar than they care to admit. For one, they both like to avoid questions, and two, they have that look in their eyes whenever they were up to something good or bad. They are definitely twins.

I go behind the changing station and hang the bag on the metal rod that holds the curtains in place. I unzip it slowly; curious and nervous as to what Alice wants me dressed in this time. I tilt my head to the side when I see the outfit. It didn't seem like it was out of the ordinary garments she usually assigns me. It's a pair of gray leggings that fall a little past my knees with a long, oversized cotton baby doll top with gray, pink, and white mixed in with pockets and a light pink cardigan to go with it. I'm still wearing black flip flops and because Alice didn't coordinate any shoes with it, they'd have to do as my feet attire, which I am perfectly fine with.

There is no mirror in sight either so I have to trust that I am capable of undressing myself with no injuries. By the time I'm safely in my outfit, most of the people have left the tent and because I didn't want to get left behind, which would be embarrassing, I jog out to the beach to see where everyone has disappeared to. The crowd by the barricade is slowly dispersing, some still lingering hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous. I finally see Edward standing with the rest of the cast watching something in the distant ocean. He has his arms crossed in front of his chest, talking to Riley and smiling about whatever the topic of discussion was.

I find it strange that everyone is watching the waves as I approach so I focus my eyes to see what they were staring at. I almost stumble on my own two feet when a small yacht comes into view, pulling up near the beach. It bellows its horn at us, receiving waves from the cast and crew members that are packing up equipment in the area.

"Bella!" I have to pry my eyes away from the boat that looks vaguely familiar to find the owner of the voice calling me. It was Edward signaling me to hurry and join them.

"What's with the boat?" I ask when I finally reach him. Mike, Jessica, Angela and Riley ran off ahead to where the waves are splashing against the shore. They're all excited to get a closer look at the expensive sea vehicle.

"On that is where we'll be spending the next two hours on," he replies with a smile. "It's too big to pull up by the docks so we'll have to take a smaller boat to get on it. C'mon." He motions with his head for me to follow him. I can see a small motor boat coming at us, most likely the boat that will take everyone aboard. "What's wrong?" Edward stops half-way, looking back at my planted feet from where I stand.

"Is it just the six of us?" I ask and look even more confused. "What about Alice…Emmett and Rosalie?"

"Alice needs to stay behind and get our stuff prepared for tomorrow then after she wants to spend time with Jasper. Rosalie gets sea sick, which automatically rules Emmett out," he grins at his brother's misfortune. "When Emmett isn't 'working' he still talks about work or football—two subjects I'd rather pretend don't exist for the next two hours."

Knowing Alice wasn't going to be there makes me feel uncomfortable. She was going to be my wing woman. I'm not a part of the cast or crew—heck—I wasn't even a gofer for anyone on the set! They all had time to bond and I will look out of place if join them. "You know…it's fine…" I smile and back away slowly.

"What? Do you get sea sick, too?"

"Umm, no…"

"Do you know how to swim?"

"Yes."

"Then what's the problem?" his looks at me with frustrated green eyes. Does he really want me on this boat that badly?

"Hey, Edward! You guys coming or what?" Riley hollers at us. We both briefly turn our attention to the group that is already putting on their life vests and getting ready to board the small transporter boat.

"Yeah, we'll be right there! Don't leave without us!" he hollers back.

"You should go ahead, Edward," I encourage him along. "I can find a ride back to my uncle's."

"What?" he looks at me like I'm talking crazy-talk. "No, Bella…" he shakes his head disapprovingly. "I mean—why don't you want to get on the boat?"

"I have no problem with the boat. I just feel like I'm intruding in on you guys," I flat out tell him. "This should be a time where you guys can relax and bond more as a cast. I really have no business of being on that boat. I mean…it'd be different if Alice was here but..." I let my words trail off. What I didn't tell him is that I also didn't want to feel singled out if they were to talk about a subject that everyone was familiar with except me. I hate being in awkward situations like I'm awkward enough as it is.

"Is that all?" Edward softly laughs, shaking his head at my lame excuse. "You don't want to go because Alice isn't coming?"

"No! That's not the reason!" Did he not listen to anything I had just said?

"You know, when I told everyone that you would be joining us this evening, they were all really excited."

"Really?" I ask skeptically. It could have just been a ploy to convince me to go so I wasn't easily buying it.

"We all really like you," he says softly, smirking a little, almost looking embarrassed to admit it. "It's absurd for you think that you'd be 'intruding' on us. We don't segregate ourselves from the crew or anyone who wants to talk to us or hang out. Don't look at us as actors in the movie, think of us as friends—friends hanging out together on a boat in Volterra, Italy on a beautiful evening with the stars out. Wouldn't you want to experience that in the open sea? I hear there were dolphins in this area, too. And besides, I think Angela is the most excited when she found out you were coming. If you're going to back out then you'll have to explain yourself to her directly."

"That's not fair!" I pout. How dare he use Angela as bait to lure me in? Edward smirks again knowing he got the upper hand against me. Angela is such a sweet person and really don't want to give her my lame excuse that I thought was very reasonable in the beginning.

"C'mon, Bella." I can tell Edward is suppressing a smile. He extends his hand for me to take hold. "I promise you won't regret it."

With a puppy dog look in his eyes and words like that, how can I resist? He was, after all, the guy I was in love with…or at least thought I was? I can't believe I have to think about it now! Edward gives me a pondering look as I shakes my inner ramblings away that didn't make a lot of sense sometimes. Love is such a confusing…thing.

"Hey! C'mon, you two!" Mike shouts. "We're gonna leave you behind if you don't get the runnin'!"

Before I have another moment to think, Edward grabs my hand and drags me off toward the water. "We're coming! Hold the boat!" he shouts back at Mike, laughing, while my heart raced faster than our feet carrying us across the sand.

Author's Note: Thank you all for being so patient with me and sticking with this story. I still have a lot of twists and such in the later chapters.

By the way, that big ol tree I mentioned in La Push (First Beach) is REAL. I know because I've been there. Mwahaha! The waves come in really far into the beach area and if you're on the log when it's high tide, you'll be stuck there unless you swim back to shore. And, when I say that tree trunk is huge, I mean it's gigantic!

Here's also a fun little fact. Forks is actually about 3 hours away from Seattle, so it's not just around the corner. You'll have to take a ferry over to that side of the state and drive for miles and miles and miles. The main airport (SEA-TAC) is about 5 hours away. So, in the first Twilight movie when Charlie picks up Bella from the airport, that's like 10 hours back and forth. ;X

AND there is really a place in the Belltown area of Seattle called Twilight Martini Lounge. Cool, right? But, that place has been around for years, before the whole Twilight craze, so there's no relation.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed those little tid bits. Now go review! ….Please. :)