Bella has answered a lot of questions, like "Are vampires real?" and "How do I deal with the fact that vampires are real?" and "Is it weird that I'm dating a vampire?" But she still has a lot of other, equally important, questions, like "Do I still want to leave Forks?" and "Should we meet each other's parents?"

I'm going to go ahead and pretend that it hasn't been four months since last time I updated and *mumbles* months since the time I updated before that. Thanks for hanging in there and still reading this story-I see all your kudos notifications and they make my heart happy. Hope you're all doing well in these turbulent times.

The world seemed warmer when I opened my eyes. I wasn't sure why, until I remembered—Edward.

The events of the previous night came crashing back. I touched my lips with shaky fingers, feeling my incredulous smile and remembering his mouth against mine.

The alarm went off, but it didn't make me want to whine and hide my head under the blanket—in fact, I was looking forward to the day. Weird. I rolled out of bed and went through the motions of getting ready for school. By the time I headed down the narrow stairs, I was practically bouncing.

"You're in a good mood today," Charlie grumbled over his cup of coffee. I froze in the middle of making myself a cup of tea, wondering how to respond. "Have you… did you hear from your mother?"

"No?" I had turned my phone off for the night after Edward had climbed through my window. "Why?"

He was very carefully not looking in my direction. "Oh, no reason. She called early this morning—must have forgotten about the time difference—to ask if something had happened to your phone."

I fished the offending device out of my bag and powered it back on to see eleven missed calls from the previous night. "Oh. Oops." I wondered what she wanted to talk to me about—and why Charlie looked so uncomfortable about it. "I'll call her back after school."

"She'll be glad." Charlie sounded very un-glad. I wondered what had shaken his usually taciturn nature. He drained his cup and pulled a jacket over his shoulders, then headed out the door without another word.

I savored my tea, letting my mind wander to the next time I would see Edward again. Would we sit together at lunch? Would our shoulders touch in Biology? Would he kiss me again, maybe in the parking lot after school or on a walk in the woods or safely back in the comfort of my room?

I jumped as someone knocked at the front door. Who could it be? Seven in the morning was not a prime visiting hour. I opened the door, eyebrows knitted together until I saw who was on the other side.

"Good morning, Bella."

"Hi, Edward." I couldn't contain the smile that was breaking out across my face.

"I thought we could ride to school together?" Edward's voice was hesitant—maybe even nervous.

My heart thumped. "I'd like that." Daringly, I stood on tiptoe and brushed my lips against his cheek. "It's good to see you." He went still as I touched him and I pulled back, worried that I had done something wrong. "Oh—did I—"

"It's—you're—so near." He stumbled over his words. "You're not afraid—"

"Never," I promised fiercely, twisting my fingers into the front of his shirt. "Not of you."

Edward let out a breath slowly. "You never cease to amaze me, Bella." His voice was hushed. He reached up and took my hand, gently, as if he was afraid of breaking it.

He probably is, I realized. To him, I must seem unbelievably breakable. I wasn't going to let myself think about what that meant—about how different we were, how impossible. Instead, I let my hand be taken. "Should we go? I don't want to be late."

Edward's face was different when he smiled, somehow. He looked less like a marble angel and more like a boy. I couldn't get it out of my head all morning—but I wasn't trying very hard, so that wasn't saying much. Jessica was wide-eyed and Lauren was faux-friendly in our brief interactions during class, so I assumed that the Forks rumor mill had already spread that Edward and I had arrived together that morning.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It wasn't that I wanted to keep it a secret, exactly—just that it was all so new. Some part of me—selfishly—wanted the world to know that we were together (and there might have been the tiniest bit of sheer surprise and delight that Edward Cullen was with me, of all people). But another part wanted this to be something that was all mine, not something that was shared with the world.

It was probably too late for that. I hurried out of Spanish, not wanting anyone to catch up to me for the walk to the cafeteria. I didn't think I could face a round of Lauren's passive aggression or even Jessica's enthusiastic support at the moment.

Just before I reached the cafeteria, Edward was suddenly at my side. My tension disappeared instantly, replaced with a sense of ease. Somehow I never felt uncertain around him anymore. We made our way through the line without speaking, only to stop short at the end.

"Where do you want to sit?" I asked, balancing my tray and looking across the small sea of tables.

"It looks like your friends made an extra spot," he replied, gesturing toward my usual table. It was true—there were two empty seats beside Jessica, not one.

I couldn't stop the smile that spread over my face. "How thoughtful of them."

The table hushed as we approached. There was some significant eye contact going on between almost everyone, but Mike broke the ice at last. "Hey Bella. Hi… Edward." He sounded a little unsure of himself.

"Hi," Edward replied. "How's your History paper going?"

It felt like everyone let out a collective sigh of relief and normal conversation resumed around us. Jessica kept making meaningful faces at me, but she was discreet enough not to say anything in front of the group. Lauren tried hard to get Edward's attention, and, failing that, switched to asking me syrupy sweet questions about when and why we had started dating. I had no idea how to answer any of them, so I pretended not to hear her and spent the entire lunch period talking to Angela about anything and everything that crossed my mind. She rolled with it, easily carrying on the conversation when I stopped, which was often. Edward's nearness was driving me to distraction—his elbow resting on the table, his knee brushing against mine, the occasional sideways glance that made me feel like we were the only people in the room.

It was heavenly. I was too happy to worry about anything.

The happiness lasted through my afternoon classes (even Gym!) and most of the drive home, but worrying was my natural state and it couldn't be avoided forever. By the time we pulled up in front of the low brick house, reality had intruded again. Edward walked me to my door and I hesitated in front of it. "Do you want to come in?"

"When will your father be home?" Edward sounded reserved.

"Soon. Do you want to meet him?"

"Do you want me to meet him?"

I didn't know. "We're not a secret, are we?"

"No."

"Maybe we should be. Aren't you worried about what might happen if… if you have an accident?" I was surprised by how detached the words sounded, like it wasn't my life I was talking about.

He pulled back, looking angry. "Don't call it that."

"You wouldn't hurt me on purpose, would you?"

"Never."

"Then it would be an accident."

"Bella—what you're describing would be an unforgiveable crime."

My jaw set, stubbornly. "Who cares what I call it? If it happens, Charlie will hunt you down to the ends of the earth. Your family won't be safe. My family won't be safe. Are you sure we can risk it?"

Edward took me by the shoulders, looking deep into my eyes. "Bella, stop it. I will never hurt you."

I believed him. Or, at least, I believed that he believed himself.

He searched my face and frowned. "I should meet Charlie."

"You want to be introduced as my boyfriend?"

The frown vanished, replaced by an expression that was almost sly. "Am I your boyfriend?"

The word sent a thrill through me. "I've never had one before."

"Then I'm honored to be the first."

I only imagined the unspoken addition at the end: and only. But the idea of someone other than Edward coming into my life was unthinkable. Impossible. You or no other.

How much had changed in the last few days.

I took Edward's hands and pulled him closer to me, trying to be reassuring. "Then I'll introduce you to Charlie. But not today." I needed to figure out how to explain it all to him first. What could I tell him—if anything? "Maybe you could pick me up from home for a date?"

His eyes brightened. "When?"

I stalled for time. "Saturday. I'll make sure he's home."

"Saturday it is." Edward didn't seem aware that I was delaying. "What sort of date?"

"Oh, I don't know… anything."

"I know just the thing."

I waited for him to explain, but he didn't, just untangled his fingers from mine and slid them into my hair instead. We stood like that for a minute—just looking into each other's eyes. A few days before I would have thought we looked ridiculous, but now I could only stare, speechless with happiness.

"I should go," he finally said. "Esme is expecting me."

"Okay." I didn't want him to, but we couldn't spend every minute together. He stepped away as I pulled out my keys and unlocked the front door. I turned back, though, hoping for a goodbye kiss. It must have been written all over my face because he smiled, swept me into his arms, and leaned down. His mouth was still cold, but I didn't mind. I had been expecting it. A thrill ran through me from head to toe and I snuggled close for a long minute before pulling away. "Okay. Bye."

"Goodbye," he said, looking as happy as I felt. "I… I'll see you tomorrow."

It felt like he had been going to say something else, but he turned and was gone before I could ask what. I watched him all the way back to his car, admiring how gracefully he moved, before I closed the door.

I slumped on the other side. Wow. My heart was beating a mile a minute. I felt almost dizzy.

"You're being ridiculous," I said to myself, sternly. "You're seventeen. You don't know anything."

But it didn't wipe the silly smile off my face. Not even thinking about how I was going to introduce Edward to Charlie could do that.

My phone rang while I was halfway through Spanish homework. I jumped on the opportunity to take a break and answered before it had a chance to ring a second time. "Hello?"

"Bella!" Renee sounded even more upbeat than she usually did. I belatedly remembered that she had been trying to get ahold of me. "We found a house!"

"Oh!" That wasn't what I had been expecting. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting, actually. "What's it like?"

"You remember our place in Tampa? It's like that. Big windows, it's all sort of light yellow. Beautiful carpet. You'll love it."

"I'm sure I will! I'm buying tickets any day."

"I was thinking," she plowed ahead, barely waiting for me to finish my sentence, "that you could just buy a one-way ticket. You know."

"What?"

"You could come for spring break and then just stay with us," she said. "Phil's contract is good for two years, you could finish out high school in Florida! There are some great colleges around here."

I didn't know what to say. A few weeks before I would have said yes without a second thought, but now… "I don't know, mom. I have to think about it."

"It would be perfect! Just like it used to be. You could get out of Forks."

I don't want to get out of Forks. My stomach twisted as I realized the truth. I'm happier here than I was in Tampa, or Houston, or even Phoenix. "I can't just leave in the middle of the school year."

"We'll figure it out. It won't be that hard."

I knew in my heart that the answer was no, I couldn't make myself say it. "Maybe. I have to think about it," I repeated, stalling. "I'll let you know."

"Okay," she said, still sounding confident. "I'll let you go. Call me soon."

"I will." I wouldn't.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and leaned my head against my arms, staring off into space. How had so much changed so quickly? But it had changed—I was sure of that. For better or for worse, I wanted to stay in Forks.

I knew what had made the difference. I liked Charlie, I had fun with my classmates, I didn't hate my job. But I more than liked Edward. I hadn't ever let myself even think the words before. I love him.

I loved him, even if it meant staying in Forks to be with him.