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Hi, so I've decided to answer some questions a lot of people have been asking me to help clear the air a bit.

Can't Tanya smell Bella's cancer? For the sake of the story, no. While she can smell the drugs of chemotherapy in Bella's bloodstream the day of or maybe even three days after, she cannot smell the cancer itself. In addition to some whom believe she should, remember that Tanya does not know Bella knows of vampires. Even if she could, she would have to keep it to herself or else expose the secret.

Why did Victoria know Bella was dying? As I said in the chapter, Victoria could smell the hospital on her and the drugs, but the scent was covered by the wolf scent. So, while Victoria didn't know exactly that Bella was dying from the smell, she had a good idea after Bella told her the story. On top of that, Tanya is also the same way. She doesn't know Bella is dying because a) she has just found her mate and is elated and b) she cannot smell the chemo and hospital on her yet.

Is Bella a virgin? Yes, she is a virgin still because-as in the original series-there is no one of interest in Forks whom she would be interested in. The Pack was an option, but I decided it would make the relationship too awkward for later on and kept them all like brothers and sisters. Also, chemo and cancer make you very vulnerable to simple things like colds. If she got an STD from even one time having sex, it could possibly kill her. So, it wasn't a risk worth taking.

Alright, well, that's it. I hope I answered all of your questions for you. If you have anymore just let me know.

Disclaimer: Same as Prologue.

Tanya smiled at me brilliantly as she chuckled lightly. "When I said I hoped for us to run into each other, I didn't think it'd be the next day," she said.

I nodded as a part of me wondered if this was actually an accident. I knew that vampires were able to track scents very well, and if she had scented me in town she probably followed it here. Then again, it could've been an accident I guess and she thought that talking to me again would be nice. "I didn't think it would be, either," I replied politely.

She smiled when one of the blondes behind her cleared her throat for attention. Tanya looked over her shoulder at her. This blonde was more dirty-haired than Tanya and the other was closer to the same color as Tanya but with straight. From my guess, these were the sisters that Tanya had told be about yesterday.

Tanya rolled her eyes, but turned back to me. "Bella, these are my sisters Irina and Kate," she said, motioning to each one as she said their name.

See?

The dirty blonde-Irina-smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Bella. Tanya told us about the new girl in town," she said.

"Mm-hmm," Kate hummed with a wicked grin. "We always like to hear about fresh meat coming into town. You can probably guess that we don't get a lot."

Tanya gave her sister a sharp elbow to the ribs. Kate gripped her side and gave her sister a shrug as she spoke, "You'll have to forgive her, Bella, Kate doesn't really understand the concept of things going unsaid."

"I resent that."

I chuckled lightly and waved my hand dismissively. "It's fine," I smiled. "I'm friends with a pack of boys back at home, so a lot of things are said that shouldn't be."

Kate gestured to me. "She gets it."

Tanya rolled her eyes again where they landed back on me. She looked at the seats available. "Would it be alright if we joined you?" she asked, taking a small step forward.

I considered for a split second about rejecting them, but then it occurred to me how that would come out. If I was going to be in town for a while, I would need to get used to them anyway. I nodded, motioning with my hand. "Go ahead."

Tanya smiled and took the option of sitting next to me in the booth. She slid as gracefully as any vampire, wafting my nostrils with her vanilla almond scent that was surprisingly far more pleasing to me than Edward's, uh, well sunshine scent ever was. Kate and Irina sat in front of us in the chairs, smiling.

I again marked my page and took my coffee cup into my hands. The warmth seeped into my already cold hands immediately as I raised it to my lips to take another drink. The drink gave me an excuse to not say anything as Tanya practically made sure there was as little space as possible between us.

It took every fiber in me not ask her to move over. It was a little uncomfortable, but it was also too comfortable. Too comfortable for my liking if you follow.

I set down my cup and Irina leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "So, Bella, Tanya told us that you moved up here a while ago with your father?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes-Charlie. We're living in a friend's house at the moment for about six weeks now," I explained.

She nodded. "I see. What brought you up here?"

I gave a small shrug. "An issue came up and we moved up here to help. We're hoping it won't take long to solve or at least get under control enough to go back home," I said.

Kate nodded. "What kind of issue is it?"

I pursed my lips again. "It's…personal."

She nodded again, not pressing on it anymore-for which I was very grateful. "Have you enjoyed your time up here so far with your boyfriend?" she asked, giving a small smirk.

I furrowed my brow. Boyfriend? Who the hell did they think was my boyfriend? Wait, crap, did they find out who I really was? Did they know about Edward and me?

Tanya scowled. "Kate," she scolded. "They aren't really dating."

She shrugged innocently. "What? I thought it'd be funny. He called her his girlfriend when you met them after all," she said with a smile.

Oh, Frank…Right.

My shoulders immediately relaxed. That was a huge weight that seemed to be taken off my shoulders out of nowhere. I smiled. "He's got hundreds more, believe me. I believe the youngest is five," I chuckled.

"Oh, so he's a player?"

I nodded. "Oh yeah. You know, women 'just can't seem to resist his charms no matter what age,'" I quoted with my fingers. I rolled my eyes.

Tanya chuckled next to me as I grabbed the latte again. I took a drink from it as she asked, "So, where is your father? I don't believe I have seen him with you."

I shrugged. "He took up a part time job as a cop here to help fill in the spare time we have. He's out with some of the friends he made down at the department," I said. Not to mention it helps to keep the money coming in even if we don't have to pay rent or for the expenses.

Irina nodded. "I think I've heard of a new officer, though I never got his name." She smiled. "He's pretty liked down there already."

I smiled. "That's Charlie, always the one to impress."

Tanya smiled at me, moving just a little closer. "So," she said casually, "what are you doing here, Bella? At the café-I mean."

I shrugged. "I had spare time," I said. "I thought I'd try it out. Relax a little, read, drink coffee." I tapped my left forefinger on the coffee cup that was still clutched in my hands like it was evidence. I looked towards her. "What about you?" I knew that they didn't come here to just drink coffee. Vampires hated human food, and I doubted they did it for fun.

Irina shrugged. "We had spare time, same as you. We like to relax a little in here sometimes," she said. She then smirked and glanced over her shoulder. "Not to mention it is the best way to stay in the know with the town drama."

Kate gave a small, wicked grin. "Mm-hmm, very much agreed," she nodded. She looked over her shoulder at the table of four people who were making the most noise in the café. "I like to stay in the know with the drama around here. It's amusing to me."

Tanya rolled her eyes. "Anything is amusing to you, Kate. You could see a kitten dying and laugh," she said.

Kate actually turned around and gave a childlike pout. Her bottom lip jutted out and her eyes widened with venom tears filling her eyes. "Kittens dying?" she whimpered. "That's horrible."

Irina snorted. "At least we know there is one sane thing about you."

Kate smacked her sister on the arm. Irina scowled at her and slapped her right back. Thus ensued a sharp reply by Kate and soon followed a cat fight of insults and quips.

Tanya leaned towards me. I stiffened when I felt her lips only a few millimeters from my ear. "Excuse them, Bella. They have a tendency to act like children a lot."

I gave a small, stiff nod. "Don't worry about it," I breathed.

Tanya pulled away, and I could see the hint of a smirk on her lips. She knew she was going to do that to me. Crap, was she trying to seduce me? I knew vampires were good at that, but surely I could detect it…right?

I swallowed and took another drink of my coffee when Max suddenly walked over. He had a killer grin on his face and a plate of what appeared to be biscuit like things in one hand and a steaming cup in the other.

Tanya looked towards him as he neared, causing Irina and Kate to stop their bickering for a moment. He set the cup of coffee down and took my other one-which was almost all the way gone. He then set the plate in front of me. "We had extra and I thought, 'Huh, Bella ordered a vanilla latte and she has never tried our famous little biscuits.' So, here we are."

He motioned to the plate and the new drink as he pulled away from me. I smiled up at him gratefully-mostly for giving me an excuse from looking at the vampires and being with them alone. "Thank you, Max."

He waved his hand in the air dismissively. "No probs, girl." He looked at the vampires. "Hello, Tanya, Irina, Kate."

Kate smiled. "Hey, Max. How're you today?" she asked politely.

He shrugged. "Alright, I guess," he said. "I haven't really done much today besides talk to Bella and wait on tables. What about you guys?"

Tanya smiled and I could feel her hand suddenly find my thigh under the table. The action made me jump slightly as she spoke with her thumb moving in circles on the outside of my pant leg, "We're just meeting up with Bella."

Discreetly, I moved my leg as a hint to lay off. I didn't know if the action was accidental or purposeful as a way of seduc-I mean-as an affectionate gesture, but either way the contact sent too many chills up my spine for my comfort.

When Tanya didn't move her hand, I instead pulled my leg away. Her hand slid off as I pulled crossed my legs under the table to keep said incident from repeating.

Tanya frowned, but said nothing as Max nodded. "You sure are popular around here, Bella." He gave me a slight wink.

I rolled my eyes at him, but picked up a biscuit when he noticed the customer on the other side of the café waving him down. He frowned, turned back to me and said, "I got another customer. I'll talk to you in a little."

I nodded, waving the biscuit in the air. "Yep."

I placed the biscuit in my mouth as he walked away, taking a bite. I was about to reach for my coffee when I froze as my taste buds suddenly jerked awake at the delicious concoction in my mouth.

My eyes widened and I looked down at the wonder that was currently residing in my hand. "Holy. Fucking. Shit," I said. I meant for it to be in my head, but it seemed to have gone another way.

Kate sniggered at me. "Is it that good?" she teased, raising her brows at me in a way that I'm pretty sure was supposed to make me blush, but really I was too focused on the delicious taste to care.

"Good?" I asked. "This is what hope tastes like. Good does not even come close to describing it. This right here is a wonderful, magnificent piece of art that should go into the Smithsonian." I took another bite of the biscuit and forced down the moan that built up in my chest.

Irina smiled at me, amused. "I hope that you stay in town for a while, Bella," she said, almost randomly.

I raised my brow at her, actually curious. I swallowed the bite of food and took a drink of coffee. "Why is that?" I asked.

She shrugged, seeming unsure how to explain it herself. "You're good company," she settled for, ",and good company is something that is hard for us to find."

I tried my best to not look like I understood what she meant. The Cullens explained to me once about how it was annoying when humans acted either lustfully around them or just plain stupid. Sometimes it was amusing, but usually it was annoying.

That was part of why they liked Charlie. He was respectful, nice and he supported Carlisle. He didn't act like every other human did when they first ran into each other. Most humans would stutter or become extremely aroused and try to "seduce" them. Some would just be shy because of their instincts or some would be stupid and try to stand up to them and get them angry.

It was ridiculous.

I think that was part of the reason the Cullens liked me-at least they pretended to for a while. I was a shy and awkward girl naturally back then, and it made my behavior around them less annoying. After I got to know them, I became more comfortable and I would jab back at them more than I did before.

I understood how they liked to get away from the annoyance of human hormones every once and a while. It would annoy me to be around that all the time too.

I smiled at her. "Well, I'm glad that I can fill up that spot for you, Irina," I said. I then took another drink of my latte soon followed by a biscuit that practically melted in my mouth as I ate it.

Seriously, this needed a plaque or something, or they just needed a whole other shop for just the biscuits themselves.

Irina smiled back at me. She leaned forward and cleared her throat. "So, what do you do for a living, Bella?" she asked. She cocked her head to the side. "Tanya said that you are not in college and got your GED when you were eighteen, so I'm curious if you have a job or any hobby?"

I swallowed, taking the time I had with the food in my mouth to contemplate. I seemed to be doing that a lot, recently. I shook my head. "No, I don't, actually," I said.

"Why? If you don't mind me asking?" Tanya asked from my side. Her brow was raised curiously as her head cocked to the side slightly, resting her chin on her palm.

I looked down at my cup for a moment, drawing my index finger along the side as the steam continued to rise from it. "The past few years for Charlie and I have been stressful. School was adding to the stress and I got my GED over summer to help."

"Oh, I see," Kate said, nodding her head in understanding. "So, I'm guessing that you haven't taken a job because it will add to the stress?"

I nodded. "That and it wouldn't be a smart move. Right now, our situation is too unpredictable, and things could flip from one thing to the next in a second. We're just trying to get it all under control right now."

"And that's why you moved up here," Tanya concluded, "to help get things back under control or to fix it."

I nodded. "Yes."

She nodded and then set her hand on mine. "Bella, I do not mean to pry, but are you in some kind of financial trouble?" she asked gently. "If so, I know someone who could help with it."

I shook my head, fighting furiously to again ignore the sparks that were shooting up my arm from the contact of our skin. "No, it isn't financial. It's just personal," I said.

She studied me carefully, as if trying to see if I was lying before she nodded. However, even though she dropped the subject, her hand stayed on mine, even holding onto mine a little tighter.

Kate, as if sensing my slight discomfort at the hand holding, spoke up, "So, Bella, what are some things you do if you have spare time a lot?"

I shrugged, though I was grateful for a change in topic. "I play piano, read, watch TV, wander around town and the city. I kind of just hang out, I guess," I said.

"You play the piano?" Tanya asked.

I nodded. "For a few years now. You could call it my way of coping with all the stress we have," I said.

"Are you any good?" Kate asked, giving me a smirk. "Or do you only know songs like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Amazing Grace?"

I smirked. "Well, I'd show you how good I was, Kate, but sadly there is no piano here and if I played for you, you'd be breathless, on the ground wondering what came over you."

She raised a brow as she leaned forward. "Is that a challenge?"

I cocked my head. "Possibly."

"I accept."

"I didn't even say it was a challenge."

"You never said it wasn't."

I hummed, taking a drink of my coffee slowly. Tanya smiled at us, seeming amused as we went back and forth. From the smirk on Kate's face, she thought I was going to give up. However, one thing this vampire didn't know was that I had dealt with Emmett and a whole Pack of shifters over the past two years.

I was very well practiced in arranging these things.

I set the cup down and leaned forward till my elbows rested on the table and folded my hands in the air. "If I prove you wrong what do I win?" I asked.

"Who said you won anything?"

"I did."

She huffed, crossing her arms in front of my chest as she assessed me. After a moment, she smirked. "There's a music store down the street we can go to. You play the piano as good as say you do and you can have the personal satisfaction of proving me wrong and you can make me embarrass myself in public."

I raised a brow, but nodded. "Alright, and if I lose?"

She smirked. "Easy. You get embarrassed and I get to kiss you."

Now that threw me off. That's one of the strangest things I have ever heard come out of a stranger's mouth. And it's double weird for coming out of Kate.

I could feel Tanya's hand physically tighten around mine. Her body straightened slightly next to me as her eyes narrowed when Irina snapped her head to the side. "Kate," she hissed out in warning.

Kate shrugged. "What? Bella feels confident enough in her skills to take the bet. Besides, if she loses it's a win-win. Not only does she get to kiss me in all my glory, but I do get the chance to see if she is as delectable as she looks," she said with a wink.

Tanya's hand once again tightened around mine. "Kate," she said, her voice gruff and heavy, "you should know better than to-"

"It's on."

"What?" Tanya asked, snapping her head to me. Her golden eyes were slightly wide in surprise.

"The bet is on," I repeated. I took my free hand and stuffed another biscuit in, washing it down with a large swig of the coffee. What was rest of the hot liquid warmed my body instantly as it traveled down my throat. I stood up and arched my brow at Kate. "Well?"

She smirked and stood. "Let's do it."

I nodded and scooped my book off the table, stuffing it into my purse when I finally took my hand away from Tanya's. I slung my shoulder strap over my head and looked at the remaining biscuits. I raised a brow, grabbed several napkins from the dispenser and wrapped them in it.

"Seriously?" Irina asked.

I shrugged. "They are simply too good to waste." I placed the wrapped up biscuits into my bag carefully and zipped the hole close. I set my hands on my hips, feeling a surge of complete confidence as I looked at the pale blonde. "Are we going or not?"

Kate snorted as she sauntered for the door. "Don't talk big, Bella. You'll crash and burn, so you better get ready to pucker up," she said.

"You should too, Kate," I said as I walked around the table with Tanya close behind, "because you are about to kiss my ass."

"Oh it is so on."

"You have no idea." I waved bye to Max when he saw us leaving. He waved back excitedly with a grin. "I'll see you later, Max."

"See you!"

We walked out of the door into the air. I instinctively stuffed my hands into my pockets as we walked out. Kate took the lead, sauntering ahead to show off how confident she was she would win. Tanya and Irina walked beside me.

"I can't believe you seriously agreed to indulge Kate," Irina said.

I shrugged. "Like I said, I have a pack of teenage boys at home. I am not unused to pranks, bets, wrestling, language, sex or talk about whose dick is bigger. I've heard it all."

Tanya snorted. "Do they seriously talk about that?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, but the way they act is pretty obvious that they are trying to 'show off' their junk," I said. I rolled my eyes at the end with my air quotes.

Kate sniggered from ahead of me. "So, Bella, if you are so used to boys, penises and sex, are you a virgin?"

"Katrina!" Tanya hissed.

Kate looked over her shoulder to her sister innocently. "What? I was just asking," she said, pulling the "I'm innocent" card.

Tanya scowled. "No you weren't. You were trying to be nosy and find something to embarrass her with," she growled. She then turned to me. "Don't answer her question."

I nodded, actually relieved from the excuse. "Got it."

Kate huffed from in front of me. "You guys are no fun." She stopped walking in front of a small store. When she said "down the street", she really meant down the street.

Kate grabbed a hold of the door handle and pulled the glass door open. The small ring of an automatic alarm for the door binged as she walked through. Tanya caught it and held it open for both Irina and me. I gave her a smile of thanks before I walked the rest of the way in.

Inside, the store was small, but amazing. There were guitars, trumpets, saxophones, keyboards, violins and whatever else lining the walls. In the back was another room where they had drums and a few larger pianos; as in actual grand pianos.

Behind the desk, was an older woman who smiled when she looked up at us from her book. "Hello, girls, how are you today?" she asked.

"Hey, Brigit," Irina greeted, "we're fine, what about yourself?"

She shrugged. "I'm alive still, so that's good." She then turned her attention onto me and cocked her head. "So, you're the new girl Jerry hasn't stopped talking about."

I was actually a little taken aback as I slowly nodded. "Uh, yeah?" The answer came out more as a question, but I really didn't know what to say in reply.

She chuckled. "Well, all I can say is that you did the right thing, girl, making friends with Jerry. You're already growing to be one of his favorite customers," she smiled.

I smiled back. "Jerry's a nice guy."

She nodded, closing her book. "That he is." She got off the stool she had been sitting on and raised her brow at us. "So, what can I help you four with?"

Kate smirked. "Bella here said that she's wicked at piano. I bet she wasn't and we're here to settle it," she said.

Brigit's attention was once again on me. "How long have you been playing?" she questioned.

"About two years," I said. I looked at Kate. "And I never said I was wicked, just that I played a lot."

"Same thing in my book."

Brigit hummed and walked over. She grabbed my hands and felt my palms and fingers. After a moment, I realized she was feeling how experienced my hands were. She looked up. "And you said for two years?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

She hummed again, smiling a little. The look she gave me, it told me all I needed to know that she knew I would give Kate a run for her money. Well, in this case, her embarrassment.

Kate suddenly pushed on my shoulder. "Let's go, Bella," she said. The force of her push wouldn't have usually hurt me, but the less meat on my bones didn't help cushion anything as much, and I grunted a little.

I did my best to make it look like it was from being pushed and not because I couldn't handle her push. I didn't want the Denalis to know about my condition-the only people here who knew besides Charlie were Frank, Max, Dr. Ford, Kristen and Sylvia.

It was something that didn't need to spread.

I walked towards the back room voluntarily, not wanting to get another push from Kate. I soon found myself in the back room and looked around at the piano. My eyes landed on a nice black grand piano and my feet immediately carried me over to it.

I sat down on the bench as Kate smirked, sitting on one of the benches. She crossed her legs and set her elbows on her knees with her chin on her hands. She just screamed confidence and smugness.

Tanya took to being able to watch me play and destroy her sister by standing at the piano as Irina sat on another bench. Brigit must have decided to sit on her stool again and keep reading, because she wasn't in the room with us anymore.

I adjusted the piano bench to make sure it was close enough for my arms to reach the keys as Kate said, "Take your time, Bella, I don't want this to be an unfair bet."

I rolled my eyes. It already is with how little you know of my playing capabilities, Kate, I thought to myself. Tanya smiled in front of me, seeming to think the same thing as me.

I raised my hands and set them on the keyboard. After a second, I began to play At the Ivy Gate. The song was by Brian Crain and it was a beautiful modern piano piece. The keystrokes were beautiful to watch and the sound was amazing.

I closed my eyes as I let myself fall into the oblivion I always did when I was playing. My whole body became a part of the music more and more with each finger movement. My soul began to lift from my body as I let myself find my haven in the music.

Every emotion, every fiber in my body was pouring out of me into the song. My movements were driven by the deepest part of my soul, bringing out the truth that lied deep within me.

I took in a deep breath, willing my body to stay down with the song. I willed my soul to take flight with it, to keep moving with the music to help carry the beautiful tune. The wonderful sound that reached my ears was just barely the tip of the ice berg.

I slowly came to the end of the song, letting myself slowly sink back into my body. My soul became more aware of the things on the ground and not in the air as my arms and fingers still moved with the music, keeping it alive to help me return back to my body.

Then, after a few more seconds, my soul finished the bond into my body on the last note. I took in a deep breath to hold myself, letting it simmer for a second before I opened my eyes and brought myself back to the planet I lived on completely.

I removed my hands from the keyboard and looked up to find Tanya standing much closer than she had been before I started to play. She was leaning forward, watching me intently as her eyes glistened in awe. Her mouth was slightly open, as if she wanted to say something, but didn't know how to or what to say.

It was a peaceful and full moment.

Then, Kate said, "I had no idea you could play like that."

I blinked, coming out of the final piece of my daze and smirked as I turned around to look at Kate with a small chuckle. "That's why you look before you jump, Kate," I said with a grin. I pushed myself away from the piano and stood up. "Now, go outside and sing I Like Big Butts at the top of your lungs."