Chapter 3:

It was hard to ignore Emmett. In a house full of vampires who didn't sleep, the rest of the family was at least attempting to give Edward a semblance of privacy. Not Emmett though, who was currently blasting all of the love ballads he could find through the speakers in his and Rose's room.

After Carlisle and Edward returned from their hunt they were greeted by Esme who had a suspicious sparkle in her eyes. She didn't say anything to Edward about it, but he could hear in her mind that she had been briefed by Alice and Emmett who seemed exceptionally delighted at Edward's expense. Jasper had been quiet and Rosalie was well….Rosalie. She had always been a bit shallow and bitter about being a vampire and so she didn't hide her disdain at the thought of Edward and a human together.

Edward was trying to drown out the thoughts and whispers that he could hear through the walls. In his third attempt at focusing on the book in front of him Edward finally gave up. He could think of multiple things at once and it didn't help that Bella kept constantly creeping up on him.

Bella Swan, such a fragile human could bring Edward to the brink of his sanity. She reminded him of a fawn with barely a sunrise under her belt. All long limbs and big doe eyes surrounded with dark lashes. When they finally met face to face it was a scant few inches that separated them. Edward remembered calling her ordinary when seeing her through the eyes of his classmates. Oh how his perspective changed when her image was stuck on a loop in his mind.

Where someone might call her eyes brown, he knew that there were flecks of gold, caramel, and bits of green within them. If Edward had the inclination he could trace the pale freckles on her face like constellations. Her lips were pink and slightly more full on the bottom as if she bit it recently. Bella's hair in the rain had been so dark, but Edward knew that the shade of brown was closer to mahogany. He had never dabbled in painting, but knew that he could perfectly recreate that shade from Esme's stock of paints.

Was it the smell of her blood that now made her so distracting? Was it the peculiar way her mind was closed off to him? Or it might possibly be the strange new voice Edward heard today. Bella was truly a mystery to him. Edward had never once taken another glance at a human before, let alone spent the long hours of the night thinking of one. He tried imagining that she was just a puzzle he intended to solve, he really could lie to everyone but himself in this aspect.

If he was just curious about her, why was he thinking about how soft her skin looked?

The smell of her blood echoed in his mind. The call had been so powerful it brought forth his baser instincts. How warm and delicious she had smelled. Freesia. Lavender. Honey. Chamomile. He could remember the heat that emanated from her skin and how the blood had flowed to her cheeks. How tempted he was to expose their secrets for a taste of her.

Edward growled to himself and flung open the window to his room.

Esme had really done a wonder when designing this home. The floor to ceiling windows opened out to allow them to leave the house from any of the rooms. Edward particularly loved this characteristic at this moment when he was trying to avoid his siblings as much as possible.

Edward lept from the second story window and landed in a crouch. There were still a few hours before they had to get ready for school and running was one of Edward's favorite pastimes. It was mindless and he forcefully pushed all thoughts from his head. Edward didn't focus on where he was going, just paying attention to how close he could get to the trees before he had to dodge out of the way. When the first rays of the sun started to creep over the horizon and lighten the clouds Edward turned back to home.

When Edward arrived back into his room there was an outfit laying across his couch. Obviously Alice had been through his things and determined that he was useless at dressing himself properly today. There was also a note written in her decisive script.

Shower first please!

Edward merely rolled his eyes before he complied, not completely sure if Alice was teasing or just trying to be helpful.

"Alice, could you stop that please?" Edward murmured. Alice shot him an apologetic glance.

Sorry! I'm just trying to see when Bella is getting to the cafeteria. I want to see her reaction to you. Alice scowled a bit as she tried to concentrate, but her usually picture perfect visions were looking hazy. Like she was trying to see through the static on an old tv. Every time I try to focus just on her it looks like this. But when I try to see her with you…..

Suddenly the vision was crystal clear. Edward stood behind Bella in the lunch line. Emmett was trailing closely behind them and when Edward leaned forward Emmett gripped his other arm in what could have been a painful hold if they were human. Bella turned to him and then abruptly walked off without saying anything. Then the vision faded abruptly into static.

Not sure the reason behind Emmett being there. Edward could tell Alice was arching her brow up at him curiously.

"Hey, Emmett, I need a favor." Edward turned to his brother who was dutifully following them through the halls to the lunch room. Rose huffed loud enough for the other students to hear and kept walking with Alice.

Emmett grinned at his brother. Already this little human was so much fun. In less than 24 hours Emmett had teased Edward more than he had in the last decade. Edward had always been a bit uptight in Emmett's opinion and this was exactly what Edward needed to loosen up.

"I don't know if I will react the same way as I did in class yesterday. I'll need you to pull me away if I can't control myself." Edward murmured this to his brother under his breath, mindful of the students around them. Emmett nodded and smiled to himself thinking again about how fun all of this was.

Stupid. Idiot. Is this really necessary brother? Rosalie's thoughts were practically dripping with venom. She was completely opposed to this little experiment. The threat of exposure from one measly human could be solved easily through killing Bella. Although Alice had snarled such profanity at her that the idea had never been touched on again, Rosalie still considered it the best option.

Edward silenced the growl that threatened to escape him. Rosalie had been very detailed in her thoughts about how they could go about setting up an accident for Bella, but didn't voice them for Carlisie's benefit. Yet Edward could clearly read the calculations in her thoughts.

If you won't allow me to take care of this you should just leave. I'm sure Tanya would welcome you with open arms.

That was another option Edward had. To take a leave of absence and visit their "cousins" to the north. The other vegetarian vampire coven in Alaska had bonded closely with the Cullen's over the years and Tanya had made it clear on more than one occasion that Edward was appreciated in more than one way. Edward had always kept her at a friendly arms length, but her affections to him had not gone unnoticed by their families.

Edward had contemplated putting distance between himself and the alluring human girl, but couldn't bring himself to make the decision to leave. Even Alice hadn't seen him leaving Forks anytime soon. In fact it almost seemed that Edward's future here had solidified.

"We're going to go through the line." Edward stated as they walked through the doors to the cafeteria. His eyes were drawn instantly to the lunchline where Alice saw Bella in her vision. Bella was standing there toying with a bottle of lemonade as she looked over the items.

Edward took a long breath of clean air before walking over to her. His steps were meticulously measured to a slow walk, but the pace grated on his nerves. If his heart could beat, he was sure that it would practically be pounding in his chest with the anticipation of being near Bella again. With Emmett following close behind, Edward placed himself in line behind Bella. He waited a moment for Emmett to place a hand on his arm, the grip loose enough to not draw attention.

Edward stilled completely before drawing in a short breath through his nose.

Bella's blood still smelled sweet and warm. The scent was heavy in the air around her, but it didn't cause the same impulsive hunger as it did yesterday. He could separate the different scents of her more clearly than before. The smells of her strawberry soap and detergent, the fabrics of her clothes, the specific scents of her blood. Edward still felt the same draw to her, but the animosity and the absolute craving from before was gone.

He took another breath and relaxed his stance and Emmett loosened his grip almost instantaneously. Edward let a smirk show on his face as he leaned forward to Bella. He reached up and plucked an apple from the fruit basket in front of her. When her posture stiffened he heard her heartbeat increase.

Bella turned toward him, but he didn't meet her gaze. She immediately turned on her heel and rushed off to pay for her items. Edward inhaled her sweet scent as he walked over to pay for his fruit.

He and Emmett walked back over to their table and Edward felt a tinge of pride at being able to control his hunger. Maybe yesterday was simply a fluke and the voice wasn't Bella. Maybe he had imagined it? Or what if it was his own conscience trying to keep him from being a murderer? Yet each one of these alternate explanations didn't sit well with Edward. He knew he hadn't heard wrong and that the new voice he heard was Bella. Even if he couldn't hear her day to day thoughts, it sounded exactly like her.

Was that it? You're not going to talk to her? Alice was practically shouting at him. I mean I know I didn't see it, but you could have changed your mind at the last minute! She started looking through the potential futures for the next hour trying to focus on Edward and Bella, but the same static haze was clouding everything. Ugh! This is so frustrating!

Edward looked up to catch eyes with Jasper who had a slight smile on his face. Jasper was holding Alice's hand and rubbing it soothingly with his thumb. He was sensing the emotions from the human table across the way trying to isolate Bella's emotions either to settle his own curiosity or to help Edward, but all he could sense was annoyance and confusion.

Turning his own attention to the other table Edward had to force his face not to betray his own emotions. They were talking about Comic-con of all things and the nerdy student Eric Yorkie seemed smitten at the idea of attending with Bella. The other boys were falling all over themselves to announce how fun it would be, what they would want to see, and asking Bella what her favorite things were. The girls didn't appear all that interested, but more hostile to the fact that the boys were paying more attention to Bella.

Bella appeared to regret being the center of attention with her face drawn into an almost painful smile. She definitely looked more uncomfortable than she had before. Bella chewed her sandwich slowly almost as an excuse not to respond and looked relieved when the bell rang for the next period.

Edward ignored his siblings and walked out into the hall. He kept his pace ahead of Bella so that he would reach the classroom first so that he could see her expression. Edward listened closely to Bella and that Mike boy as they walked to class in the hopes that he would hear more from Bella.

"So Bella, are you busy on saturday?" Mike asked, but sounded hopeful.

"Uhm, no, I don't think so. I need to run some errands over the weekend though." Bella responded plainly.

"Well a bunch of us are going to First Beach and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."

Edward clenched his jaw. Did he actually think that Bella would be interested in him? Was Bella interested in Mike? Did it even matter if she were? Edward couldn't help but feel dismayed at the thought that Bella would be into Mike romantically even though he had no right to feel that way.

"Go with you? Like get a ride from you?" Bella inquired

"Uh…" No, like a date. Say it's a date. "Yeah." Stupid. Mike was too busy beating himself up about not telling her it was a date to see the apparent relief on Bella's face.

"I'll have to check with my Dad since we haven't spent too much time together."

Edward placed his items on the table and sat down expectantly. He could still hear them out in the hall, but had an unobstructed view of the doorway. He watched Bella enter, but she kept her eyes downcast as she walked to their table. Her hair blocked her face from him, but Edward could hear the change in her pulse as she settled in.

Mr. Banner had started his lecture, but Edward had studied all of this material before and had no need to pay attention. Instead he focused everything on the girl next to him. He leaned in close to her and breathed in her unique scent of freesia and strawberries.

"Excuse me." He whispered softly. Edward noticed that Bella inhaled sharply and her heartbeat skipped for a moment. He waited patiently for her to respond but she didn't. He was painfully aware that she had heard him and had chosen to pretend otherwise.

The other girls of the school literally had daydreams of Edward doing this exact occurrence and yet Bella ignored him. He didn't quite expect her to fawn all over him as she didn't seem the type, but he expected something. Bella was certainly different from the other high school girls he had interacted with in the past.

Edward rolled his pencil on the desk slowly. The tic tic tic tic of every roll seemed to have an effect on Bella since she timed her exhales whenever he paused the motion. His mouth twitched up in the corner before he could compose his features. Edward lifted his fingers at the last second and his pencil rolled out of his grasp to land perfectly centered on the paper in front of Bella. He leaned forward and plucked the utensil from in front of her, but hesitated for a moment. Edward was close enough to feel the warmth radiating from the girl next to him.

"I just wanted to apologize to you for yesterday." As he spoke he could see the hairs near Bella's ear shift. She tightened her grip on her pencil, but didn't give him another affirmation of hearing him.

Edward leaned back into his seat to accept the worksheet Mr. Banner was passing out. Edward kept himself close enough to Bella that his arm could brush against hers when he wrote the correct answers on the sheet. With one eye on Bella he saw that she was practically frozen in place with her pencil hesitating over the first question.

Putting his face closer to Bella than before Edward whispered the correct answer to her. He could literally feel the blush rising to her cheeks as her scent deepened. For a brief moment Edward basked in her pleasant smell and the knowledge that he affected her.

Stop talking to me.

Once again the clarity of her inner voice struck him. Edward was now utterly convinced that it was Bella. He could hear her thoughts if only a select few of them. Edward opened his mouth to tell her something else, but was hit with an uncomfortable feeling. His vocal chords seemed frozen and no words were coming from him.

Edward cleared his throat, but it didn't appear to help. Bella turned to him quickly and he shot her a puzzled look. He reached his hand up to rub his neck even knowing that it would do nothing for him. Bella's eyes widened and her cheeks rose in color again.

You can talk to me.

The numbing feeling in Edward's throat subsided and he cleared it again to check. Things started clicking into place in his mind. Bella could do things, could control things if she thought them. It was more than influencing things in a direction she wanted, she was in complete control. When Edward's bloodlust would have overtaken him she stopped it. How powerful she must be to cease his attack and keep it in check 24 hours later and literally blocking his ability to even speak was astounding.

Bella resumed ignoring Edward's existence. It was only the exaggerated deep breaths she took that let Edward know that she had been just as affected by what happened as he did. He watched her through sidelong glances, but she never acknowledged him again.

When the bell rang it was Edward's turn to watch Bella rush out the door.

Bro what's the hold up? Emmett called out from the car.

Edddwaaard! Alice's sweet voice wasn't far behind him. I can't see Bella if that's who you're waiting for.

Edward didn't respond, choosing to lounge against his car and gaze out to the crowd of students leaving school. His eyes were drawn to an individual rushing in the wrong direction. It was Bella. Edward couldn't see her face, but would recognize that shade of brown hair anywhere.

Bella brushed past someone exiting the office and went inside. Confused, Edward focused on the building and the people inside. The office was quite a distance from his car, but he could still hear them talking. He targeted the secretary's thoughts to see Bella's expressions.

"Ms. Cope?" Bella's voice was clear and steady in that soft spoken manner she had.

"Yes? Is there something I can help you with Bella?" She really does look like her father.

"I was wondering if you could help me with my schedule?" Bella looked hopeful as she fumbled with her backpack to pull out a crumpled paper. "I realized today that I've already been over the material in biology. I was hoping to transfer to a different science."

With an internal sigh Ms. Cope took the paper and looked up Bella's profile on her computer. She glanced quickly through the options for junior science and came up with a problem. Oh dear, I'd have to change out four of her classes to get her into anything else that has seats left.

"Unfortunately there's nothing I can switch you into for that period. I'd have to rearrange your whole day to fit you into someplace else."

Bella opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to change her mind mid- thought. She instead gave Ms. Cope a smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"Thank you anyway Ms. Cope. I don't want to cause any trouble."

Ms. Cope watched Bella leave the office. Such a sweet girl.

Edward switched from looking through Ms. Cope's eyes to see Bella leave the office from a different angle. He saw the smile she put on for Ms. Cope's benefit drop instantly and her posture deflated. Edward didn't make a move to step away from his car or to look elsewhere when Bella's attention shifted to him. He held her brown eyes with his own and watched a flash of something cross her face.

She bit her lip and turned abruptly in the direction her truck was parked. Edward watched her get into her truck and drive out of the parking lot as fast as her grandfather of a vehicle could go.

"Edward and Bella sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G" Emmett sang from the car.

"Can we move along with this broody stalker thing you've got going on Edward?" Rose didn't sound particularly happy, but these days it didn't take much to set her off.

Edward climbed into the car and avoided looking at any of his siblings. Emmett was gleefully singing the rest of the rhyme under his breath and Rose was glaring at him from the backseat. Alice was busy replaying Bella's expressions from the entire day to calculate just how interested Bella was in Edward. Jasper was the only quiet one, emanating a calm that Edward eagerly took hold of.

Edward didn't have to pay attention to the road to drive them home. He let his mind wander to Bella. She was now actively trying to avoid him. It wasn't enough that she ignored him in class, even while he was trying to apologize. At the very least it was rude and Edward didn't get the feeling that Bella was anything other than polite or considerate. He could hear the change in her heartbeat when he was near, but couldn't tell if it was from fear or something else. Jasper's empathic gift would have come in handy during class.

When the car pulled into the garage Edward hesitated from exiting. He let his siblings wander up into the house while he thought. Esme was humming to herself from her office, drawing out new plans for a potential house back east. Carlisle was out, apparently picking up a shift at the hospital while they were short staffed. Emmett and Rose had gone to their room and Edward pointedly avoided their minds. Alice was chatting with Jasper about everything she had seen today.

Sometimes Edward felt troubled that he could read minds. The ability had both good and bad qualities, but the worst would be that he was unable to turn it off. It was inconvenient to hear his family's innermost thoughts, to be unable to give them privacy in the moment. Edward knew that his family didn't hold it against him in any way, he could literally hear it, but it didn't change the fact that he could hear all of their secrets. Alice and Jasper had similar dilemmas with their gifts. Where Alice could see what everyone was going to do before they did it and how no one could hide what they were feeling from Jasper. Though they didn't feel the same conflict Edward did, they were sympathetic to him.

Initially Edward held no interest in Bella. She was merely another warm body in the vicinity. It was not just the allure of her blood or the silence of her mind that now drew him to Bella. There was her gift and the way she ignored him. She didn't act or speak like anyone Edward had ever met. In such a short time Bella Swan managed to flip Edward's world on its axis.

I am not a broody stalker… I won't speak to her again unless she speaks to me first.

It was then that Edward made his decision. As much as he disliked it, he would let Bella make the first move. If she didn't and simply continued to ignore Edward as if he didn't exist then that would be the end of it. Surely Edward would be able to give Bella the space she desired and could keep his selfish curiosities in check.

I can leave her alone. I will let her be.