i

Although she hadn't felt well, Jacob had helped her decompress, at least slightly. The boy had sat with her for the rest of the day, letting her lean against him, and offering to help do the things she needed, without pushing her. She had always appreciated that he offered first, never taking over a task without permission. Her father helped her out by cleaning up the kitchen himself and helping her get her laundry done. (He had offered to help her fold her clothes, but she had flushed and said -"Nope!"- almost immediately. She was far too worried about her dad seeing her underwear than her arm aching while folding).

The Blacks had gone home long after the sun had set. Bella had been nodding off non-stop, unable to keep up with the conversation, so her father had ushered them out gently. Jacob had promised to call her each day, just to make sure that she was feeling ok. She had thanked him profusely, (always grateful for her best friend), and headed straight to bed. She was dreading the next day.

ii

Bella had been right to dread the following day. She had slept uneasily, a constant feeling of dread preventing her from getting rest. (She had been so sure someone was in her room with her at one point. She couldn't close her eyes after that). Then her day had started out as well as she had expected- with her falling right out of bed, and onto her rump.

Charlie nearly crashed through the door at the sound. "Bells! You okay?" His voice was frantic with worry, and it showed on his face too. (He had even completely disregarded his deep fear of seeing his daughter naked- opening the door without a second thought!)

Bella peered over the edge of her bed, looking over at her dad. "Yeah," she started, struggling to get up with her lame wrist, "I'm okay. Took a tumble, like always."

Charlie let a huff leave him as he shook his head just slightly. "Yer always so clumsy. Gonna need to put padding everywhere, kiddo." He smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back. Her clumsiness had always been the butt of the joke, but with her dad, it was never malicious teasing. Always just this loving banter that she appreciated.

Bella was also glad to see that her dad wasn't overly worried about her hurting herself either. He let her get herself ready for school, and he gave her the pain pills that she would need to take at lunch, (a little note from the doctor was included just in case a teacher made a fuss). He drove her, however, since she obviously wasn't going to be driving herself. (She had complained for a brief moment, but gave in when her arm gave a pang). He told her to have a good day and let her head into class as normal.

The day would have been okay with just her morning having happened the way it did, but it only got worse from there. Bella had been swarmed with people upon entering the school. It had been extremely overwhelming- even her friends were asking a bunch of questions- and she had ended up in the bathroom, hyperventilating.

It was only her luck that could have caused the short Cullen girl, ("Alice, I think," Bella had thought to herself as she watched her bounce into the room), to decide to go to the bathroom. The girl had seemed oblivious at first to Bella jumping into the furthest stall (trying to hide), barely able to breathe, but it quickly turned out to not be true.

Alice pranced over to the stall and stopped just outside of the door. "Bella, is that you in there?"

Her voice was light and bell-like. It barely seemed real, and it made Bella's anxiety rise. On top of that, she was concerned at how the Cullen girl knew her name at all. They hadn't really talked, and the thought of Edward talking to Alice about their interactions made it worse. (She didn't like Edward and she wasn't about to go and interact with his sister either).

Alice didn't appreciate her silence if her voice seeming irritated was anything to go by. "Bella, I know you're in there! I can help you calm down if you'd like."

Bella started shaking her head, her messy hair tumbling over her shoulder and covering some of her face. She knew Alice couldn't see her, but she had hoped that her lack of a reply would be enough to send her off.

"Bella, if you're not going to let me come in and help, I'm just going to talk to you through the door," Alice said, trying to return the airiness to her voice. "I know that you and Edward haven't gotten to the best start, but I think you'd really hit it off if you gave him a chance."

Bella's heart rate went through the roof and she gasped out, "No! No thank you." Bella was trying to remain polite, but she didn't want anything to do with them.

Alice seemed not to care about her emphatic 'no'. "I really think you should give him the opportunity to make it up to you," Alice started, dropping into a crouch, and peeking her head under the stall door. Bella backed up against the wall, thankful that the handicapped stall gave her more room to maneuver. (Normally she wouldn't use this stall at all, but she really did need more room. Her discomfort with small spaces was showing in her anxious state). Alice ignored her obvious distrust- and even worse her chest heaving for air- and crawled under the door. "He's really great, and he feels really bad about how everything has gone so far."

Alice got closer to Bella, her small, lithe body moving in an unnatural way. Her amber eyes glowed in the low light of the bathroom, and her smile set alarms off in Bella's brain. When she got within inches of Bella, (curled into a tight ball against the furthest corner of the stall, valiantly ignoring the grossness of the bathroom floor), her scent washed over Bella.

Bella didn't have the greatest nose, but her long history of cooking made her more sensitive to particular smells, something that helped a lot. However, now she was regretting that particular skill. Alice's scent was overly sweet, but it suddenly stilled Bella's shaking. (Something about this only made her anxiety worse, but there was little she could do).

Alice noticed her sudden stillness and smiled widely. "See? I told you I could help," She said, her voice lilting in a way that made the other girl's head hazy. Bella couldn't think straight, and it made her worry that perhaps her minor concussion was worse than they thought.

Alice sat down beside Bella, her legs going criss-cross and hands dropping into her lap. She took an interest in Bella's hair then, taking a section of it in her hand and running her thin fingers through it. She hummed to herself while shifting the section of hair in the light, focusing intently.

Bella wanted to scream, but her body was still, and she couldn't focus on any singular thought for more than a moment. (Something was so incredibly wrong, she could feel that tiny part of her begging her body to move- "Remember what Jacob said! She's not safe-" but it seemed to shut down and go silent the longer she sat there, unmoving).

"I think you and I would be good friends too, sisters even," Alice was still talking, her voice bubbly as she rambled. "You and Edward would make such a pair. You're very pretty, you know. Your clothes don't really suit you though. Edward doesn't mind though, he prefers modesty, even if it is a little plain."

Something about what she said unlocked Bella's voice, and she frowned at Alice. "I don't want anything to do with him. I really just want you to leave me alone." Her voice turned pleading, "Please."

Alice suddenly dropped her hair, her face going a little flat for a moment. A glare started up on her face before she smiled again. It all took less than a few seconds, but it started Bella's shaking again.

"Of course," Alice said, all false cheer, "I'll let Edward know."

And Bella was alone again.

iii

Edward caught her in the parking lot at the end of the day, just as a light drizzle began. Bella had been surprised when he grabbed her elbow, his grip just a little too hard. Her wrist hurt already, and she was waiting for her dad to come pick her up. (He was taking his lunch to get her home, so it would be a little bit before he could get her). Bella could only turn towards him in surprise and fear. His eyes were hard, but he had a wry smile, as if he was trying to act like he wasn't threatening at all.

"I wanted to say I was sorry," He let go of her as he started talking. "About pushing you, I mean. I didn't intend for you to get hurt like that."

Bella frowned at him, trying to keep herself from full-on glaring at him. She was thankful he was apologizing, but she really just wanted him to leave her alone. She opened her mouth to try and tell him as such, but he interrupted her.

"I'd like to take you out on a date, to really apologize, and maybe get to know each other a bit better." He tilted his head as he stepped into her bubble. Bella felt nausea erupt in her as she smelled him. The heavy scent of wet earth did nothing to overpower his smell. The sugary smell mixed with something rotten made her want to retch, but something fogged up her head again. Her brows furrowed as she grew more confused.

"I was thinking perhaps I could drive you home though. I know you hadn't been able to drive in today." He was already pushing against her lower back with his hand as if guiding her to his car. She stumbled along with him, trying to think of why she couldn't go with him.

Bella shook her head. "Uh- no, no. I'm okay, my dad is picking me up."

Edward tilted his head at her, a small smile popping up. "Oh?"

As Bella tried to formulate a response her name was called from the doors to the school. She turned to see the school secretary waving her over. Bella adjusted the strap of her bag before walking over. (She was doing her best not to slip on the lightly wet pavement. She didn't need another accident).

"Hey, your dad called, Bella. He said he got caught up at work, and wouldn't be able to make it. He said to see if one of your friends could take you home." The secretary, an older woman with a kind smile, told her. Bella could only nod in response. She turned back, and there was Edward, smiling at her with a knowing look.

Fear festered in Bella's stomach.