Back to the Start

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

Plans

Charlie was not the smallest bit surprised when he came home from work to find Jacob and Bella sprawled across the living room floor with their books scattered around them.

"Hey, kids." He said, his eyes straying to the kitchen. The smell of the lasagna Bella had spent the afternoon making – while Jacob watched and occasionally sampled -wafted down the hall.

Jacob stayed for dinner, and took a plate home for Billy. "Same time tomorrow?" He asked before he left.

"Yes." Bella confirmed with a smile and a wave as she watched him take off on his bike.

As Bella headed for the stairs, she heard Charlie call out to her.

"Wait, Bella."

Bella paused on the first step, turning her head, and looking at her father expectantly.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to you tonight. How was your day?"

"Spending time with Jake was good." Bella searched for details that she could safely share. She didn't want to bring up the subject of Edward Cullen and the irrational terror she felt when he sat beside her in biology class.

"And school?" Charlie added, fishing for more details.

"My badminton team won all four games."

"Wow, I didn't know you could play badminton.

"Well, actually I can't, but my partner is really good." Bella admitted with a wry smile.

"Who is it?" Charlie asked with token interest.

"Um…Mike Newton." Bella told him reluctantly.

"Oh yeah- you said you were friends with the Newton kid." Charlie perked up. "Nice family." He mused for a minute. "Maybe he might ask you out on a date this weekend?"

"Dad!" Bella groaned. "He's kind of dating Jessica."

Charlie's face darkened at the mention of the Stanley girl. "Oh, is he? There is no accounting for taste, I suppose."

"I set them up together." Bella confessed awkwardly. "It was before the whole Port Angeles thing."

"You set them up?" Charlie questioned, now beginning to understand the lie of the land. "Is it because you were trying to deflect his attention from you by any chance?"

"Dad!" Bella exclaimed again. The last thing she wanted to talk about with Charlie was boys.

"Alright, kiddo." Charlie laughed. "We'll leave it there." He smiled apologetically. "Its just that I've made plans to go fishing with the guys from the station all day Saturday. The weathers supposed to be really warm. But if you wanted me to stay home, I will. I know I leave you here alone too much. And with this whole Cullen thing…I'm worried."

"Dad, you're doing a great job." Bella reassured him. "I've never minded being alone – I'm too much like you." She winked at him, and he smiled his crinkly eyed smile.

Bella slept better that night, probably because she was too exhausted to dream again. When she woke in the morning, her mood was much more positive. She put that down to spending time with Jacob-even if all they had done was study. Her mood always improved in his company. He made her feel safe. Secure.

She decided to forget all about Edward Cullen, banishing him from her mind completely. It was a brand-new day and she refused to give in to the irrational terror that she had felt around him during biology class. She caught herself whistling as she pulled the front part of her hair back into a barrette, and later again, as she skipped down the stairs.

Charlie noticed. "You're cheerful this morning." He commented over breakfast.

Bella shrugged. "Its Friday."

"Ah." Charlie grinned. "The old Friday feeling." He went back to eating his breakfast, chuckling under his breath.

Bella hurried so she would be ready to go the second Charlie left. She had her bag ready, shoes on, teeth brushed, eager to rush out the door to her truck. She wanted to get to school early, thus avoid any chance of accidentally running into Edward Cullen or any of his peculiar family.

Bella didn't hesitate as she climbed into the driver's side of her truck. She slammed the door closed, doing a premonitory check, just to make sure there was no sign of a silver Volvo waiting to intercept. Luckily it was all clear.

The morning sped by faster than she anticipated, with no sign of Edward or his family. She walked with Angela to the cafeteria, doing another quick check, just to be on the safe side, only to find again, that the Cullens usual lunch table was empty of all occupants.

Feeling relaxed and reenergized, Bella was just about to join the lunch queue with Angela, when out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed the whole family walking fluidly by. She stiffened, her heart rate immediately ramping up, the old fears coming piling back down on her shoulders, making her stomach ache, and sending the blood rushing to her face.

The Cullens drifted over to their usual table. They sat staring off in different directions, the same as the first time she had seen them. Only now there were four, as she suddenly realized Edward and his sister, Alice, were missing.

Right at the exact moment Bella looked across, Rosalie, Edward's blonde, and breathtaking sister, turned to look at her. No, not to look – to glare, with dark, cold eyes.

As Bella glared back – wondering what the hell Rosalie's problem was – she started as Alice Cullen appeared by her shoulder. Her short, inky hair was in a halo of disarray around her small, elfin face. Her slight frame was willowy, graceful even in absolute stillness.

"Hello, Bella." Alice greeted her politely, her brilliant obsidian eyes were unreadable, but her smile was friendly. "I've been wanting to introduce myself to you for the longest time."

Bella didn't know what to say to that. She mumbled a quick, "Hi, Alice," in response.

"The queue's moving, Bella." Angela quickly intervened when she noticed Bella's discomfiture.

"Oh, thanks, Angela." Bella flashed her a grateful smile.

"Goodbye, Bella." Alice said, smiling brightly. "We'll talk again soon."

She left without another word, her walk was so fluid, so sinuous, it almost seemed unnatural.

Disturbed by her brief encounter with Alice Cullen left Bella feeling sorely tempted to ditch the rest of the day, at the very least Gym, but a warning instinct stopped her. She would be better off surrounded by others than at home alone. Mike would notice she was missing, probably tell Coach Clapp, and finally it would reach Charlie's ears. No, it wasn't worth the risk.

She went to class, listening with only half her mind on the conversation, as Mike chattered away. "What are you doing at the weekend?" He asked, too interested.

Bella's natural urge was to tell him to butt out. Instead, she spoke brightly. "Oh, just the usual household chores. And then I must study for the Trig test or I'm going to fail."

"Do you need a study buddy?" Mike offered hopefully.

Bella's smile felt strained. "No need. I already have one."

"Who?" Mike questioned sulkily.

"Oh, my friend from the res – Jacob Black. You've probably seen him around. He was the one who saved me from Tyler's van."

"Oh, the sophomore." Mike said lightly, as if Jacob's younger age made him less of a romantic threat. "Oh, well, have fun. And if you change your mind, I am always available."

"Thanks." Bella murmured. It seemed that Mike wasn't as interested in Jessica as she had thought.

When the school day finally ended, Bella walked to the parking lot without enthusiasm. Even though she had seen no sign of Edward all day, she still could not shake off the foreboding feeling that he was somewhere close by, watching. She knew she was being completely irrational, that her overactive imagination was making her feel things that were not there, but still, she just couldn't shake the apprehension which seemed determined to dog her every step as she walked to her truck.

To Bella's disappointment, Jacob called to say he couldn't come over to study as Billy wasn't feeling too well. "I'm really sorry." He apologized profusely. "Can you believe I was actually looking forward to hitting the books?"

"Don't be sorry, Jake." Bella replied, sighing. "Missing one session won't make much difference. I hope Billy feels better soon."

"He will. He just gets these dizzy spells sometimes, you know. It's the meds." Jacob sounded defeated.

"Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't I come over tomorrow? I can bring some food and keep you company. Would you like that?" Bella asked, hoping to cheer him up.

Her suggestion worked like some magic pill. Jacob brightened up immediately. "Are you sure? The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow, I thought you might have arranged something with your friends or something."

"You're my friend, Jake." Bella said earnestly. "Actually, I would go as far as to say, you're my best friend." She added.

"And you're mine, too, Bella." Jacob's voice was warm, husky as he spoke.

There was a beat of awkward silence after that little emotional confession. Jacob was the first to break it.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bright and early." Bella agreed. "Bye, Jake."

"Bye, Bella, honey."

Bella's smile was wistful as she placed the phone back in its cradle. She was on a high after their conversation.

During dinner, Charlie seemed absentminded, worried over something at work, Bella guessed, or maybe a basketball game, or maybe he was just really enjoying the left-over lasagna – it was hard to tell with him sometimes.

"You know, Dad…" Bella began, breaking into his reverie.

"What's that, Bella?"

"I think you're right about me staying home alone. I don't think I should."

"Oh." He said, surprised. "Okay, do you want me to stay home after all?"

"No, Dad, don't change your plans. I thought I might head over to La Push and spend the day with Jake. I need to go to the library and grocery store as well. I'll do that on my way back."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, Dad. Besides, the freezer is getting dangerously low on fish – we're down to a two, maybe three years' supply."

"Very funny, kiddo." Charlie laughed. "You're sure easy to live with."

"I could say the same thing about you." Bella agreed, joining in his laughter.

After dinner, Bella folded clothes and moved another load through the dryer. Unfortunately, it was the kind of job that only kept her hands busy. Her mind definitely had too much free time, and it was getting out of control. She kept thinking about Edward and his family and the stories that Jacob had told her about the cold ones. She fluctuated between thinking that there might be some truth in the old legends, to thinking she was going crazy.

"Vampires! Werewolves!" She muttered under her breath. "You are losing it, Bella Swan. Letting your dreams get to you."

As she continued doing her chores, Bella had to continually remind herself that the tribal histories were just stories, weaved with some fact, some fiction. Jacob certainly didn't put much stock in them.

But a tiny voice in the back of her mind wouldn't let it rest. The more she tried to ignore it, the louder it got.

If Edward was a vampire – she could hardly make herself think the words -then what should she do? Involving anyone else was definitely out. She couldn't even believe it herself. If she told anyone of her suspicions, they would have her committed.

Only one option seemed practical, to avoid him and his family as much as possible. Though wasn't this what she had been doing anyway? And failing miserably at it.

There was one thing she was sure of, if she was sure of anything. The dark Edward in her dreams was merely a reflection of the fear she felt around him during the day. She thought about the werewolf's lunge in her dream, the way she screamed out in terror. It wasn't fear for herself, it was fear that the wolf, the protector, would be harmed by him. How curious? She was definitely team wolf in this scenario.

Bella was relieved when it was late enough to be acceptable for bedtime. She knew she was far too stressed to sleep, already dreading the usual feeling of being watched. So, she did something she had never done before. She deliberately took unnecessary cold medicine- the kind that would knock her out for a good eight hours. Normally she wouldn't condone this type of behavior, but she was so exhausted from lack of good sleep, that she was becoming desperate.

While she waited for the drugs to kick in, she dried her clean hair until it was impeccably straight, and fussed over what she would wear tomorrow when she went over to the Blacks.

With everything ready for the morning, Bella finally lay in her bed. She felt hyper, she couldn't stop twitching. She got up and rifled through her CD collection. She wanted something soothing, something to ease her into sleep. She found a collection of Chopin's nocturnes. She put it on quietly and lay down again, concentrating on relaxing individual parts of her body. Somewhere in the middle of that exercise, the cold pills took effect, and she gladly sank into unconsciousness.

Although, it wasn't enough to stop her sleep talking….

"Jake! Jake! Jacob!" She mumbled off and on, upsetting the shadowy figure standing in the corner of the room.

A/N-thanks for reading!