Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter twelve of "Into the Shadows." A reviewer asked why Bella was only hanging out with Mike instead of a group of her friends. The explanation is given in the previous chapter. All of her friends are busy with the exception of him. This includes her not wanting pizza two nights in a row after Jacob invited her over to his place for some. It irks me when readers do not bother to read the details of a situation. Stay tuned for chapter thirteen.

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Chapter 12: At the Café

Bella pulled into the Carver Café's parking lot seven minutes later. She parked in a space near the entrance. She turned off the engine. She and Mike undid their seatbelts. They got out and made their way toward the front door. Two children pushed it open and ran out. This forced them to stop in their tracks. Their parents followed close behind. Mike and Bella looked at the family. They shook their heads.

"Those kids were so rude," Mike grumbled in annoyance.

"Their parents did not bother to get on their case," Bella added angrily.

"Kids just want me to make me punch myself silly these days," Mike said while balling his hand into a fist. He pressed it against his cheek as they looked ahead. "They have no sense of civility whatsoever."

"They also have a huge sense of entitlement," Bella said with a roll of her eyes.

"That's the worst," Mike grumbled and cringed badly. He wondered why parents couldn't say no to their children when they wanted something. He didn't have a problem with his saying that. Then again, he'd thrown a few temper tantrums himself. "I can't stand it."

"Look on the bright side. Most of this town's kids are disciplined," Bella pointed out.

He smiled warmly. "They sure are. Of course, Tyler and I did stay out past curfew once."

"No way!" Bella yelled in surprise as they walked inside.

"I wish I was kidding, Bella," Mike said truthfully. He rubbed his nose. "This happened four months before you came here. Tyler and I were supposed to be home by ten-thirty, but we played video games at the arcade in Port Angeles past eleven o'clock. Our parents were pissed when we got home. We were both grounded for a month."

"I'm sure you learned your lesson," Bella said.

"I did," Mike admitted. "However, that doesn't mean I don't dream of doing it again sometime."

She chuckled. "Many kids do something like that a lot. They can be a little crazy too."

Bella pointed her finger at her head and twirled it around while making cuckoo sounds. Mike laughed as they stopped before the cash register. Cora looked up and smiled warmly.

"Hi, Mike, Bella," Cora greeted. "What brings you two here?"

"Bella invited me to have dinner with her. Then we're going to hang out at my house," Mike explained happily.

Cora took out two menus. "Oh, that's nice. Come with me."

Cora headed toward a back booth with Mike and Bella close behind her. The teens sat down as she handed them their menus.

"I will be back to take your orders," Cora said softly. "I need to take care of a customer."

Cora walked toward a man on her right and gave him his bill. She returned to the register. Mike and Bella put their menus on the table. They opened them and began looking through them.

"Man. There is so much great stuff to eat that it's hard to choose," Mike exclaimed.

"No denying that," Bella agreed. "I already know what I want to drink. It's iced tea."

"Me too," Mike chimed with a laugh.

She looked at him in surprise. "You drink iced tea?"

"All the time. I once drank four big glasses in a row. It sent me to the bathroom for more than five minutes," Mike commented.

"You might as well swim in a pool full of iced tea," Bella responded.

He smiled mischievously. "I will if you swim with me in it."

Bella stuck her tongue out at Mike. She looked at the top of the second page and chuckled lightly. She placed her finger on it.

"I'm having this salad like I always do," Bella announced.

"I'm having this cheeseburger and fries," Mike said while tapping his finger at the bottom of the first page.

"I'm not a big fan of meat. I prefer vegetarian stuff," Bella pointed out matter-of-factly.

"You'll never see me without meat," Mike responded, his voice filled with proudness.

"Don't eat too much meat. It can make you fat," Bella commented seriously.

"As long as I exercise, I don't have anything to worry about. Besides, I'm as healthy as a horse," Mike responded.

"That's what Dad said after you met up with me outside the café that day," Bella said and cleared her throat.

"Touché," Mike said, smirking. "Touché."

Bella waved Mike off. They heard footsteps approaching and saw Cora taking out her notepad. Cora cleared her throat before snorting.

"What will it be?" Cora asked.

"I will have iced tea and a salad with honey mustard dressing. Hold the onions and radishes," Bella replied.

"Okay," Cora said while jotting down the order. She eyed Mike, who raised his eyebrows. "You?"

"I want the cheeseburger and fries along with iced tea," Mike announced, smiling lightly.

"I got that," Cora said as the teens closed the menus. "I will get your drinks."

"Thank you," Mike replied.

The duo watched Cora walk away until she was out of sight. They turned to each other with raised eyebrows.

"What do you plan on studying in college?" Mike wondered.

"I hope to study education and get a degree in it. I want to be a high school teacher," Bella explained. "What about you?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I would like to play college sports," Mike admitted, giving a shrug.

She gave him a look of encouragement. "I hope you do get on a team."

"So do I. Maybe someone will be lucky enough to dunk me in the basketball hoop," Mike joked.

"Or throw you in the volleyball net," Bella added and laughed delightfully.

"That's a good one, Bella," Mike said, pointing his finger at her as if it were a gun.

"Don't point that finger. It might go off," Bella warned playfully.

He lowered his hand. "All right. I won't. Just don't be surprised if I end up shooting paint instead of bullets with it later on."

Bella pretended to punch her friend in the shoulder. She ruffled his hair, making him chuckle. They began talking about going to school on Monday.

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The café was a little more crowded ten minutes later. Bella laughed loudly as Mike told her about the time he, Tyler, Eric, Angela, and Jessica got caught up in a food fight started by Lenny Miller, Larry Hartland, and Jamie Ryder during their sophomore year. She breathed deeply to calm down. They already had gotten their tea.

"Mr. Green came in and yelled, 'Silence!' He was so mad that his head looked like it was about to pop off and land on the floor. He demanded to know who was responsible. Lenny, Larry, and Jamie claimed responsibility. He sent them to detention for the rest of lunch," Mike explained with a chuckle.

"Talk about a crazy food fight," Bella commented.

"You bet," Mike agreed. "Lenny and Larry couldn't stop smearing food on each other's clothes. This was after the former accidentally tripped and dumped his milk all over the latter's shirt. Jamie decided to yell 'Food fight!' after Larry threw a banana at Lenny and missed when he ducked."

"It is good Mr. Greene didn't let the incident go unpunished like some principals do," Bella said in relief.

"He has always been a great principal. He cares a lot about his students. He is always on guard when it comes to bullies and disruptors," Mike replied, a small smile forming on his face.

She picked up her tea and sipped it. "Bullies and disruptors were never much trouble at my old high school. Ms. Han was always on the lookout for them."

"That's good," Mike replied and snorted. He stood his fork on its end and acted as if he were walking it across the table. "Did you ever get in trouble?"

"I did get detention for being late twice. I've never been in any other trouble," Bella pointed out.

He winked at her. "Cool."

Mike and Bella watched a woman leave after she put her tea down. They turned back to each other as a man entered. Cora took him to a booth that was close to them. She handed him a menu and walked away.

"I heard Mr. Greene has a preference for the Cullens because of their perfect academic history," Bella said.

"Yeah. That's nice," Mike mumbled sarcastically and looked away. He blinked three times. "Yes, it is."

Mike emitted a soft huff. He didn't like it when anyone mentioned the Cullens, especially Edward. He wished that young man would leave town with his family for good. He found them too creepy for his taste. Bella became concerned for him.

"Mike, you okay?" Bella asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, Bells," Mike answered, turning back to his friend.

"Since when did you start calling me Bells?" Bella teased and slipped a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I guess now," Mike said with a chuckle. He faked screaming when she started knocking on his head. He pushed her hand aside. "Are you trying to get someone in my head to come out and answer?"

"I hope they do and give you a kiss after that!" Bella squeaked cheerfully. He blew a raspberry at her, and she retaliated with her own. "Good raspberry."

The teens heard approaching footfalls and saw Cora coming toward them with their orders. She placed their plates on the table in front of them.

"Thank you," Mike and Bella said gratefully.

"You're welcome," Cora said, giving the duo a wink. "I will see you later."

Mike and Bella watched Cora walk away and turned toward their food. She poured the honey mustard on her salad. She cut it up with her knife and fork. She placed a forkful of salad into her mouth. She chewed it up and swallowed quickly. Mike grabbed the ketchup and squirted some on his plate. He put it down and used his knife to cut his cheeseburger in half. He picked up the first half to take a small bite. He proceeded to chew it up.

"Wow," Mike said in delight as he swallowed. "This cheeseburger tastes even better than the one I had last time."

"I can say the same for this salad," Bella said with pride.

"I remember a really funny scene in Problem Child 2. It was when a tomato in Big Ben's salad moved from one place to another," Mike said, trying to keep himself from laughing. "He asked Lawanda what was in it. She said blue cheese. He saw a cockroach on her face. Then cockroaches started crawling out of the salad bowl. They began attacking them and Little Ben. Junior laughed his head off."

"I agree," Bella said. "It's sad John Ritter died at the age of fifty-four in 2003. He was such a funny man."

"He was at his best in the first two Problem Child movies," Mike whispered, his voice showing hints of sadness.

"It astounds me they replaced him with William Katt as Little Ben in Problem Child 3," Bella muttered in disgust. "He sucked big time. The same goes for Justin Chapman as Junior when he took over for Michael Oliver."

"I pretend that movie doesn't even exist. It's nothing more than a piece of crap," Mike grumbled irritatingly.

She poked her fork into a slice of cucumber, followed by a broccoli floret. "I say the first Problem Child was the best."

"Me too. John and Michael had a great chemistry going from the second they came together onscreen. I could really see the father/son bond taking shape," he said, taking another bite of his cheeseburger. He proceeded to chew it up.

"So did I. Jack Warden and Amy Yaserbeck were hoots as Big Ben and Flo," she commented and giggled quietly. "Michael Richards was cool as Martin 'The Bow Tie Killer' Beck."

"Hey, that actor shares my name! So does Michael Oliver!" Mike exclaimed and swallowed with a loud gulp.

"Yep. Of course, you prefer to be called Mike," Bella pointed out and put her fork into her mouth. She started chewing. "It is not unusual."

"It's better than being called Mikey," Mike muttered and poked his finger into his mouth.

"Okay, Mikey," Bella said and swallowed.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't start."

Bella held up her hands. She and Mike continued eating as two men walked in. Cora grabbed menus and took them to a table located in the front.

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Three people entered the café thirty minutes later. Cora got menus and took them to a table located to the left of the register. Mike and Bella were still seated at their booth. He listened to her talk about the time she was the victim of a whoopie cushion in Brian Kilmer's algebra class at the hands of Roy Lemming in her freshman year. They had already finished their dinner and dessert, which consisted of white cake with white icing. They were waiting for their bill. A to-go box sat to the left of him and contained half of his cheeseburger.

"I heard a deflating sound. I felt embarrassed because I thought I had passed gas. Mr. Kilmer turned around because he had heard it. I pulled a whoopie cushion out from underneath me. I looked at Roy angrily. I knew he had done this. Mr. Kilmer told him to go to Ms. Han's office. Roy did so. Ms. Han made him apologize to me in front of everyone," Bella said.

"It is good Roy apologized at Ms. Han's request. He still deserved to be sent to the principal's office by Mr. Kilmer," Mike commented matter-of-factly. "No teacher should tolerate pranks when it's not the time for them."

"You got that right," Bella agreed. "Ms. Han was never tolerant of pranks unless it was the school's annual Prank Day."

"Your school had Prank Day?" Mike asked surprisingly.

"The entire day was filled with funny yet harmless pranks," Bella commented with much pride. "The best part was seeing pranks backfire on the culprits."

"Our school has Prank Day too. It's in the fall, so you missed it. It was a lot of fun. Tyler and I rigged Jessica and Angela's lockers to shoot silly string all over them when they opened them. They weren't happy about it. They got back at us by putting rubber spiders in our seats in Mr. Jefferson's class," Mike said, holding up his hand.

"Neat," Bella said. He laid his hand on the table and began tapping his finger on it. She decided to mimic him. She got a mock-annoyed look from him. "What?"

"Oh, you're imitating my tapping now, huh?" Mike said.

"Yes, I am. Is there a problem with that?" Bella wondered and put her other hand on her side.

"Yes, there is. No one taps the table with a finger, except me!" Mike declared.

"Too bad. I'm tapping it, anyway!" Bella said playfully. "In fact, here comes my tapping finger!"

Bella moved her tapping finger across the table and up Mike's arm. She went to the top of his head. She proceeded to tap it. He pushed her hand aside and brought his to her neck in which he tickled it. She laughed and pulled herself out of his grasp.

"I think we can wait until we get to your house to play around some more," Bella suggested.

"Sure," Mike said. "We wouldn't want to make a mess in here, do we?"

Bella shook her head. Just then, Cora approached her and Mike with the bill in her hand. She laid it in front of them along with a pen

"Are you two paying separately or together?" Cora asked.

"We're paying together," Bella answered.

Cora nodded. "All right."

Bella looked at the bill and saw the meals cost fourteen dollars and fifty-seven cents. She put it down and started to reach into her purse for her wallet when Mike grabbed her wrist. She gazed at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Hold on, Bella. I'll pay for this," Mike said and licked his lips.

"Are you sure, Mike? I invited you to dinner," Bella replied while tilting her head somewhat.

"You can call it a tradeoff," Mike commented and smiled. "You invited me to dinner. I'll pay for it."

She chuckled, feeling grateful for his offer. She didn't think it'd hurt for once. "All right. You can pay for it."

He laughed. "Great."

Mike winked at Bella before taking the bill from her. He reached into his pocket to get his wallet. He got a ten and a five. He grabbed three ones to lay them on the table. He grabbed box after closing his wallet and putting it back in his pocket. He stood up and headed to the register along with her. He handed the bill to Cora, who typed in the price and rung it up. He gave her the money. He saw her type in the amount given and ring it up. She handed him his change.

"Forty-seven cents is your change," Cora said and smiled widely. "Thank you. Have a nice evening."

Mike saluted her. "You too."

The teens walked out of the café to Bella's truck. They got in and buckled their seatbelts. Mike placed his box between his feet. He rubbed his stomach, sighing in content.

"Man, that really hit the spot," Mike whispered.

"Yes, it did," Bella agreed and got her keys out of her purse.

"Thanks for inviting me to dinner, Bella," Mike said sweetly.

"You're welcome," Bella replied, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. "Thanks for paying the bill."

He winked at her. "No problem. Just don't let that salad leave your stomach."

She snickered. "Then don't let that cheeseburger leave yours."

Bella started the truck. She and Mike heard Bryan Adams' Summer of 69 begin to play as she pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the street. He clapped three times.

"Whoo-hoo! I love this song!" Mike cheered.

"So do I. It's got a great beat to it," Bella said warmly.

"Who would've thought Bryan Adams could play rock-and-roll as well as soft music?" Mike wondered and laughed quietly.

"I know!" Bella shouted, tapping her hand on the steering wheel. "He was great on the Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron soundtrack. My favorite song is the end title version of Here I Am. He really puts his all into it."

"That's my favorite song too. I feel like I am actually running with Spirit and his herd in the Cimarron Valley," Mike whispered, moving his arms as if they were a horse's legs.

She nodded in agreement. "I have to give horses credit for being so hardy. They can survive in almost any weather condition."

He laughed in delight. "No kidding. They put their backs to the wind and continue grazing like they don't have a care in the world."

Bella imitated a horse's neighing. Mike started moving his foot to the song, and they proceeded to lip-sync the lyrics.