AN: Apologies for the previous chapter's issues, thank you for the reviews! I'll take the feedback into account as best I can going forward, though the next couple of chapters are pre-written. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 2

Edward chose not to sleep that night. Well, he didn't sleep most nights, but tonight he couldn't bear the sweet memory of his mother, and the painful feelings they brought. Instead he occupied his mind with Bella, as he lay on his bed quietly. Finally he rose, deciding to go ask his adopted father for advice.

Carlisle and Esme were lounging in the living room, a wine glass of red liquid in each of their hands. They both turned to Edward the moment he walked in, and Esme smiled that motherly smile he knew too well. He didn't meet her eyes or return the smile as he sat.

"What's the matter, Edward?" Carlisle's voice was as velvety as his thoughts, always laced with care and compassion. Edward fisted his hair, head in his hands.

"How did you get your strength?" He finally asked. "To resist."

Carlisle sighed a heavy sigh. It was something Edward had asked many times. He always tried to give the best advice he could, but it hadn't stopped Edward from making mistakes in the past. "Do you need some time away again?" he asked cautiously.

Edward's head snapped up and he jumped to his feet. "No! I know I can do this…" His words trailed off, mostly muttering to himself as he next spoke. "I know I can. I do not need another break." He sank back into the sofa. Carlisle sighed again, and patted Edward on the back.

"Come on, then. Let's just go hunting, and you can tell me about it."

"It sounds like you've met your mate."

Edward spluttered and laughed, pushing the large mountain lion off him. "Oh, yeah? Did you want to eat Esme when you met her?" He snarked, wiping the blood from his chin on his sleeve.

"No," Carlisle sighed, "But her blood did smell… more refined to my tastes than anyone else's."

"So you wanted to eat her." Edward grinned and Carlisle chuckled, shaking his head. Edward sat on a nearby fallen tree, and Carlisle followed suit, wiping his bloody hands on his trousers. Edward was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "What if I can't control myself at school?"

"It's just going take time, Edward. You're already set back, unfortunately, thanks to your little binge last year, but I believe in you, Edward. You won't hurt this girl."

Edward buried his head in his hands "I barely even know her! How can she be my mate? Why won't my brain just shut her out?!"

Carlisle gently took Edward's hands from his face, and placed one of his own on his shoulder. "Get to know her. Learn who she is, what she struggles with, what she loves. The temptation may not leave for a while, but remember what makes her human, what makes her life valuable."

"Wasn't my life valuable?" Edward asked shortly. He didn't know why he said it. He didn't care for human life. He barely cared for his own vampire life, but human life was just a flame in the dark, easily blown out in an instant.

Carlisle shook his head at Edward again, rising to go. "Of course it was, Edward. It still is."

School was agonisingly slow. Doing this for decades just to fit in did not seem worth it to Edward, and he made it known. He pretended to nap through most of his classes, just listening to the gossip and idle chatter throughout. Parties, boyfriends, parents, sex, boys, girls, it was all the same stuff he was used to, just different slang as the years changed. The classes were rarely much different, the same topics and textbooks again and again.

In the final period before lunch, Edward slipped into his seat at the back of his English Literature class. Placing his bag in the forever empty seat beside him, he unzipped it and pulled out the book they were currently studying, trying to block out the thoughts around him.

"Go sit in the back, next to Edward."

Edward's head snapped up, his throat beginning to burn. And there she was, making her way tentatively down the aisle. Chatter died down as Edward silently removed his bag from the seat, his movements eerily smooth, and somewhat robotic. Bella thanked him quietly, sitting down and ducking behind her hair. Edward said nothing, not daring to breathe.

"Okay class!" The teacher began, clapping her hands together. "Since this is Bella's second day, can anyone tell her what we're studying?" Groans sounded around the class, as some students turned around to glare in annoyance. Due to lack of volunteers, the teacher picked a random student. "Mike?"

Mike Newton yelped in mock terror and slid further into his seat, covering his head, as his mates laughed around him. Finally a girl raised her hand. "Angela?"

Angela turned her head towards Bella, pushing her glasses up her nose as she addressed her directly, "We're actually going off the curriculum- we're studying the Virago Modern Classics, a bunch of forgotten literature written by women."

Some boys around the class made puking noises, while some of the girls smacked them in exaggerated annoyance. Shaking her head, the teacher thanked Angela for her contribution, and continued explaining it to Bella, and the rest of the class who appeared to have only been half paying attention that semester. Bella, seemingly intrigued, leaned in, ready to listen. Edward watched her curiously for a moment before he also began to listen to the teacher's words, immediately getting to work when set a task.

"Wow, I've never seen anyone so intrigued by schoolwork." Bella commented quietly. Edward froze for a moment, then sat up, rubbing his neck as if it ached from hunching over his workbook.

"I'm not." He responded shortly. "Interested in school work. This is probably the only class where I bother to listen anymore." He leaned back over his work until she spoke again.

"So you like books, then?"

"I like fictional literature." He corrected pointlessly, a dismissive tone infiltrating his words. Bella said nothing more, and returned to her own work. Edward did the same, feeling a little bad. Minutes passed quietly, and he cringed, Carlisle's words replaying in his mind. "Do you?"

Bella jumped, as if not expecting him to address her again. "Do I what?" she stammered awkwardly.

"Enjoy fiction."

"Um, yeah, I guess."

"What do you like to read?"

Taken aback, Bella blinked for a moment. "We don't have to talk if you don't want to. Don't do it just 'cause you feel bad, I know what it's like to just not want to talk sometimes." She sounded disappointed… no, defeated. She hid behind her hair again, the sun shining through the gaps.

"Are there a lot of times you don't like to talk?" Edward asked curiously. Bella said nothing, spinning her pen with nimble fingers. Edward let it go, asking again, "Do you like to read, Bella?"

Bella dipped her head in a nod, and pulled out the book she'd been reading in the cafeteria the day prior. Beautiful Creatures. It looked like a trashy romance novel.

"It's a fantasy romance novel," Bella confirmed sheepishly. "I love fantasy… magic and monsters… a fun escape from the world…" Bella trailed off, but was startled by Edward's short bark of a laugh.

"Monsters as an escape from the real world? How bad is your real world?" He joked, but Bella said nothing. Edward cleared his throat. "So like, monsters like Frankenstien's? And Dracula?" Bella's face scrunched.

"Not really. More like evil fae, or monsters of pure darkness. Sometimes it's a human that's become a monster, no fantasy elements necessary. Other times, the monster is in their mind, while the narrator remains unreliable." Her eyes sparkled for a moment. "Oh and once I read this incredible book about synaesthesia! It was fascinating- not as fantastical but still interesting. I think about that book a lot." A few heads turned around, and Bella suddenly shrank into her seat, pulling her hoodie sleeves over her knuckles. Edward lowered his voice, noticing her discomfort.

"I have that." Edward nodded. Well, it was mostly true- okay, close to true. A surprised look appeared on Bella's face, intrigued. "Like, when people talk, mostly. I get patterns and colours, they move with the sounds."

Bella turned in her seat, facing Edward directly, as she leaned in. "Wow… what's my voice like?"

"Blue, mostly. But…"

"But what?"

"Yours doesn't move."

"Huh." Bella leaned back again, fidgeting with her sleeves. "That's weird, I'm guessing?"

Another clap interrupted them. "Alright guys, we've got about five minutes left of class. Bring your workbooks to the front and then I'll set your homework!"

As the bell rang, Edward nudged Bella. "Did you want me to sit with you at lunch?" Edward bit his lip, realising immediately how that sounded as Bella visibly cringed. "I just meant, because I saw you yesterday, like, you were alone, which maybe you want-" Fuck, Edward had never struggled like this. One minute he was bitching at her, dismissive and the next he was stumbling over his words like he hadn't had a century of practice.

"Edward." Bella interrupted. "It's fine. Sure."

"I never told you my name." Bella's face flushed red but she didn't say anything, and they silently made their way to the cafeteria.

Queuing up, Edward could see Alice's knowing smile at the other end of the cafeteria, no doubt already having had a vision of this very moment. With intense focus, he made the decision to get her back for that, visualising several outcomes like pushing her into the pool when they got home, or holding her hunt high over her head. A glassy look appeared in Alice's eyes for a few moments, followed by a look of protest as she folded her arms and fell back in her seat. Edward smirked, grabbing a tray for Bella and one for himself.

As Bella reached for some fruit, their fingers brushed past each other, and Bella jerked her hand back, a blood red apple in her grip. She said nothing of his icy touch as they continued down the queue, Bella only grabbing a small serving of cold pasta and a bottle of water as they turned to face the huge room. Unsure, she peered at Edward from behind her hair, who seemed to be awaiting her decision. She made her way over to that same empty table, much to Edward's annoyance.

As they walked past his usual table, Edward's siblings loudly made themselves known.

Got yourself a little pet, Eddie?

Edward silently snarled at Rosalie behind Bella's unknowing back. She knew he hated to be called that as much as she hated to be called Rose.

Be careful, Edward. I'll try and send over some relaxing feelings, and Alice will come get you if anything goes wrong.

Edward rolled his eyes. Jasper was hardly one to talk but relaxation washed over the irritation quickly. Jeez, did they really not trust him?

Bella sat on the far end of the table, back to a wall, her gaze fixed on the room. Edward sat across from her, back to his siblings and the other students, as he noticed she literally managed to trip on her chair. He grinned, ready to call her out but she spoke first.

"I smiled at you yesterday."

"What?"

"Yesterday. When you turned to look at me- or my direction," Bella added quickly. "But you turned back around. I just didn't want you to think I was rude…" She trailed off.

"How would that make you rude? I barely gave you a second."

Bella shrugged and pulled out her book. "Oh, do you mind if I read a moment? I just have a chapter I want to finish."

Edward nodded and Bella immediately turned to her story, absentmindedly eating her apple. Edward watched for a moment, as her teeth bit into the apple flesh, just like he would love to do to her neck…

Edward shook his head quickly and grabbed his own apple, forcing himself to bite it. Sweet apple juice trickled down his gullet as he tried to resist gagging. He crunched on the apple and swallowed the first bite, bile rising to the back of his throat. God, was that really worth the pretence? Edward quickly shoved the apple into a discarded crisp wrapper on the table, moving it onto his tray. Luckily Bella was too engrossed in her novel at the moment to notice.

…Why is he interested in her?...

…She's not even that pretty!...

…She's kinda pretty, Jess…

…Whatever! He's never sat with anyone since that lot have been here!...

Edward tried to shrug off the thoughts of students' chatter, as Bella finally closed her book and looked up at Edward apologetically. Edward waved her off.

"So why'd you move here, Bella?" He already knew, of course. Bella shifted in her seat. "What, don't like smalltalk?"

"No." Bella admitted. "I actually hate it. But it's fine." She took a deep breath. "My mother is basically a child. Very scatterbrained, very little maturity. Well, she wanted to do yet another thing with little consideration for me," Bella spat bitterly, "so I moved here to live with Charlie, my dad."

Edward was surprised at Bella's sudden resentful tone. Something told him it wasn't intentional.

"Sorry for asking."

"It's fine."

"Okay."

They sat silently for a moment, food mostly untouched by both.

"Are you gonna eat anymore?"

"Are you?" Bella gestured to his full tray.

"Not hungry. Kinda need a cigarette."

Bella stood up. "Me too."

"I have a free period next..."

"Me too."