ch-2 :(Fictional characters)

I didn't know when I woke up again, but when I did, I was sure I had been dreaming. The Bella Swan in my closet? The breakdown from before must have been more severe than I thought, for me to hallucinate.

My eyes slowly opened themselves, only to find the same brown-haired girl standing over me, worry written all over her face.

I immediately closed my eyes again and groaned. I was still hallucinating. Bella had not gone away.

"Are you alright?" she asked me in that shy voice again, and I got the urge to reassure her that I was okay. Then it suddenly hit me that this girl could be pulling a prank on me and not really be Bella Swan at all.

But then how do you think she materialized into your closet? I asked myself. There are security alarms all over the house, and you haven't left the room since dinner. Sheesh, you were even in your closet a couple of hours ago! I pondered this new information of mine and decided that as long as she wasn't being unfriendly, I was going to allow myself to hallucinate about Bella Swan.

"I'm fine thanks," I said, while opening my eyes and trying to get myself to sit on my elbows. Bella was very eager to help me, and it reminded me of Edward's observation about her; she liked to take care of others and hated to be taken care of herself. I almost didn't notice that she was actually touching me, and I began to wonder if hallucinations could feel real. I had to look that up later when she was gone again. My head was still buzzing a little and my muscles felt weak as I finally stood up.

"I'm sorry to ask again," she said while biting her lip, "but how did you know my name? I don't think I've seen you in any of my classes, or anywhere in Phoenix."

I smiled a bit at the thought of how precise Edward's observations of her had been in "Midnight Sun" - she wasvery perceptive - but then I started to laugh.

"What?" she asked, her brows furrowed.

I was still laughing a bit but put my arms around my stomach to control myself enough to answer her question. "You haven't. But I know a great deal about you."

Her brows were still furrowed, as she was still looking at me thoughtfully. I knew I hadn't answered her original question, but then again, I knew I shouldn't. There was just something inside of me that told me not to tell her about "Twilight". I purposely avoided looking in the direction of my bed, as I was sure she wouldn't hesitate to walk over there and discover everything about her life.

"You never answered my question," she said and for a moment I was annoyed at how stubborn she was. But I could be stubborn too - I could play her game...

"I never said I was going to answer it."

Her eyes narrowed a bit, but then she closed them and sighed. "I don't suppose you could let me out the front door?" she asked as her eyes opened and focused on me again. "I'm sure my mom's worried about me, and frankly I don't want to walk through my dusty attic again anyway."

The smile that had graced my lips for some time now immediately disappeared. "Umm, that's going to be quite a problem you know," I almost whispered, but I knew she heard me because her eyes widened a bit at my news.

"How?" her voice was a bit shaky.

"Well," now it was my time to bite my lip. I looked a bit around in my roomy closet and then decided to just get it over with. I took a deep breath before continuing, "You've kind of landed in Salem, Massachusetts."

"But that's not possible," she contradicted me, "We're in Phoenix, Arizona," she continued, and I was sure she was going to try and argue with me if I hadn't gotten up and gently grabbed her by the shoulders. By now I had already trashed the hallucination-theory - Bella Swan was in my closet and now I had to help her get home.

"What about going back the way you came?" I soothingly asked. I didn't want her to get into shock in my room and wake my parents. I could already imagine what they would think, seeing another girl in my room in the middle of the night. After what was going on with Joe, they were open to anything. That was a mental image I had to wash from my inner eye very soon. "I'm sure you'd be home in no time."

She seemed to realize something since her head snapped

up in a flash and her expression turned all panicked again. "You know what? Maybe I'll just stay here after all. Forks isn't really my thing." Her voice was coming out in a flash and I almost didn't catch everything she said.

My mouth opened in shock. "Are you completely out of your mind?!" I exclaimed as loud as I dared. "You have to get back there, go to Forks and meet Edward Cullen!" By now I had let go of her shoulders.

"Who's Edward Cullen?" she curiously asked, and she was frowning in thought again.

Oops... Major slip Katherine. I'm sure every twilight-fan out there must love you right now... you just got yourself one billion hate points...

"Oh, nobody," I answered as nonchalantly as I could since I had always been a good liar. But I wasn't so sure that this was one of my good ones.

"Really?" Bella asked, crossing her arms and I sensed that she didn't really believe me.

"Yeah," I answered and looked nowhere in particular. My hands found their way into the pockets of my jeans.

It was silent after that, and the minutes ticked by excruciatingly slow. I had no idea what more to say to her, and I noticed that she was still standing with her arms crossed, while that characteristic 'Bella-frown' was showing on her forehead.

At last, she finally sighed.

"Alright, I'll try and go back the way I came," she said and I smiled widely in her direction. "If you promise to go with me, and tell me everything about this Edward person."

My smile crumbled as she told me that. Was she insane? I was going to mash up the story even more than I already had! "I can't do that," I said, yet it only came out as a whisper.

"Of course you can. It's just this way through the-"

"No," I interrupted her. "I mean I literally can't go with you." I sighed and tried to find the right words. "You're like a... pretend person, while I'm a real person."

A tiny smile graced her lips, and I understood why guys would find her pretty. She had a very pretty and natural smile. "You know you stole that line from "Lost in Austen", right?" it looked like she was about to crack with laughter.

However, I didn't find it funny at all. She was a character in a book. I was a real person, whose thoughts Edward Cullen would certainly read, making him leave Forks forever, Bella would never marry him and have Nessie and I would have ruined one of the most popular love stories of all time. Way to go Katherine!

"I know," I told her, "but I'm telling you the truth! Me going with you is not a good idea!"

Bella suddenly got a glimpse in her eyes, "But you said you literally couldn't go with me before." And I knew I had dug my own grave now. So much for not wanting to ruin the story.

"I can't go," I said again and hung my head. "I'll mess everything up," I continued in a barely audible whisper.

"Sure you can!" Bella contradicted me. "Amanda Price pretty much messed up "Pride and Prejudice" but the story was at least just as good and ended well for everyone," she smiled genuinely in my direction.

"You can't know if it'll be the same way for me. You can't see the future," Or hear everybody's thoughts...

"That's true," Bella said, "but I don't see why you're comparing me to a character in a book. I'm as real as you are." She stood there, with her arms crossed, and I knew she was somehow speaking the truth. I had touched her shoulders, and they had been of flesh and blood - like I was.

"Then tell me something I couldn't possibly know about you," I begged her, hoping I would be mistaken and that she wasn't as real as me.

"Well," she began and moved her finger to her chin in thought. "My mom divorced my dad when I was only a couple of months old-"

"I already know that. No personal things please."

"But how did you-"

Please just tell me, Bella," I tiredly told her while holding the brick of my nose between my thumb and forefinger.

She seemed to deliberate for a moment. "Well, there's this ice cream store, just at the end of my street, where I like to go in the summer and read a good book."

It sounded so Bella that I simply had to believe it. Besides, I had no idea if there actually was an ice cream store at the end of her street in Phoenix. Just send me straight to hell if I mess up this story, I thought to myself, while mentally preparing for the upcoming journey.

"Alright," I told her, and her eyes were shining, while her smile was as wide as I had ever seen it yet. "But I'm not going to Forks with you."

Her smile disappeared again. "But you were going to tell me everything about this guy."

"Was not!" I exclaimed. Then I sighed. "I can't and I won't," I told her. "I'm more tightly bound to secrecy than you can ever imagine! I'm literally bound by ink!" I almost smiled at my secret joke. I was bound by a book and that was as good as ink.

She now sighed too. "Can't you at least come to Forks with me?" she begged, and her eyes were like those of a puppy. I could not stand those eyes - they were way too cute. Did she even realize she was making them? "It's not like I'm going to fit in with anyone in a school that small. And besides," she hesitated, "I... like you. You're... you seem different from people our age. I'm beginning to think Forks wouldn't be so bad if you stayed there with me."

I had to admit, I was flattered. When Bella Swan told you she felt you could be her friend, when she didn't connect well with other people, it felt like you were something special. Then again, Bella and I weren't as different as she thought.

I sighed and looked down in defeat. Damn, Bella for being so persuasive. She had just doomed her love life into oblivion. I sadly smiled at my joke. "Alright, alright, I'll go." I looked up at her and was secretly hoping she would do something very unlike Bella - like hug me - so that I could be sure she wasn't real. But she didn't. Instead, she only

smiled brightly and thanked me.

My eyes quickly darted to the small, old clock I kept in the closet and I groaned. It was 2 AM. No wonder my eyelids were starting to feel like they were getting heavier and heavier. I suppressed a yawn.

"Do you think we can go tomorrow? I think I'm about to fall asleep standing upright." I asked and failed to suppress the yawn that escaped me. Adrenaline and the discovery of a fictional character in my home were probably the main sources of my fatigue.

"I don't think my mom would fully appreciate that I stayed away the whole night," she said. Meaning: I'm going to be worried about my harebrained, erratic mother all night, so let's get going right away! I thought. God Katherine, you're overtired! Not good when you're with Bella! Just watch your sarcastic tongue around her, will you? Another part of my brain told me, and I wondered for a moment if I was developing a mental illness, now that I was seeing Bella in the same room as me. But I quickly dismissed the thought, as I was too tired to dig deeper into it.

"Okay," I said, turning around and staggering in the direction of my school bag. If I was going to Forks I might as well pack a few things anyway.

"Why don't you just lie down for a few seconds while I pack some of your things?" Bella surprised me by asking.

"It's 'kay," I slurred. "I can pack." But I surely didn't feel like it. All of the things that had happened in these short moments, had really done a number on me.

"No, no, just let me," Bella soothed and guided me towards the bed. "I'll just pack a few things into your bag and then I'll wake you up, okay?" She helped me onto the madras.

I just yawned and mumbled an incoherent "Thanks," before I could hear her rumble about in my room. I was about to fall asleep, listening to the soothing sound of footsteps, when I suddenly felt something hard underneath my back, as I turned to find a more comfortable position. I rolled over again and eyed the object that had pressed onto my back with interest, as my eyes suddenly widened and my sleepiness immediately disappeared. I was looking directly at "Twilight" - the one book Bella was never to find. Not the only one, I reminded

myself and looked over at Bella in shock. She luckily

hadn't touched any of the books on the shelf behind her

but she was packing some of my clothes, my iPod it seemed, and my cell. I appreciated her for that. She knew what I would treasure most, at the least. A part of me hoped she had grabbed my winter jacket and some boots too.

At least she wouldn't know books were about her, judging from the covers. Thank goodness, I didn't own the ones with the movie covers. That would have spelled disaster.

"Do you mind if I pack a couple of books for myself?" I asked her and she jumped. "Sorry," I apologized.

"It's alright, I thought you were getting some sleep," she said and resumed packing my things.

In the end, I packed more than just a couple of books. I ended up taking the whole Twilight Saga, my underwear (since I was sure Bella did not want to pack those for me), a couple of my flannels, a pair of Converse shoes, and my purse. I made sure that I had enough money on me that I wouldn't starve, but I took my credit card with me for safety reasons. You never knew if you had an alternate bank account in a story you were about to enter, unlikely as it probably was.

That's the weirdest sentence I have ever thought.

"Are you ready to go?" Bella asked as she opened the door to my closet again.

I took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be." I walked towards Bella and prayed a silent prayer to God - if the man even existed - that if he was truly there for me, then he wouldn't let Edward Cullen read my mind when I got to Forks. Just... please don't let me mess up this story.

I reached the door and Bella smiled at me. "Let's go," I whispered and she took my hand leading me to the back end of the closet.

We need to go through the door here," she explained and I frowned, removing my hand from hers.

"There is no door there," I explained. "It only looks like that because of the wallpaper."

Bella just shrugged. "It's where I came through, I'm sure. The attic of my mother's house is on the other side."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly were you doing in the attic of your house?" It sounded very unlike Bella to go exploring inside her own house. She seemed more like a stay-in-her-room-and-read-type person.

She blushed. "I'm not sure... I was just trying to find a way not to go to Forks." I couldn't help but giggle just a bit at her embarrassment. Edward had been right, it was amusing.

She glared at me for a moment, and I desperately wanted to laugh even harder. How did she look even funnier when she was angry? (Edward and I were so going to share a private joke there). Then she sighed and said, "We should hurry up, I don't want to have my mom find my bed empty."

I stiffened beside her as she mentioned her mom. What the heck was I going to say to mine?!

"Are you alright?" Bella had turned around to face me again.

"What am I going to tell my mom?" I blurted. "My dad? They're going to flip if I'm not here in the morning!" I could easily picture the scene; my mom coming into my room and finding my bed empty. She would immediately suspect Jack of being the reason behind my disappearance and clue in my dad, but soon they would begin to believe I had been kidnapped. And then when I came back again they would ground me for the rest of my life - not really something I was looking forward to.

"Well," Bella bit her lip and I waited for her to continue. She didn't though.

"What?" I asked. Couldn't she just tell me and then we could get it over with?

She looked at the ground for a moment, sighed, and then looked at me again. "I'm not sure you're going to like the idea but... you could always fake that you've run away from home."

I stared at her in shock. Damn right, she'd been that I wasn't going to like the plan. "Have you lost your mind?" I exclaimed as loud as I dared in a house full of sleeping people. "That's going to hurt them more than if they thought I had been kidnapped!"wasnt going to like the plan. Have you το your I exclaimed as loud as I dared in a house full of sleeping people. "That's going to hurt them more than if they thought I had been kidnapped!"

"I know," she sighed, and her eyes moved to stare at the floor. "But at least they'd know that you would want to be left alone. And that you would contact them again yourself."

I pinched the brick of my nose and breathed in deeply. The plan itself was good enough; I had to grant her that. It was just... I hated seeing my family in pain.

But perhaps this was just some adventure for the greater good? Shouldn't I take the offer and make some sacrifices along the way? Maybe leaving my family behind was the biggest sacrifice of them all.

"Fine," I sighed and let my arms fall to my sides.

I wrote the letter informing my parents of my "intentions", laid it on my pillow, and went over to Bella once more. For once in my life I didn't care about the tears streaming down my cheeks when I was with another person. I imagined Joe walking in and finding the letter, running into Mom and Dad's bedroom. All of them crying, calling the police trying to locate me.

But they never would be able to.

"Are you ready?" she asked as we once again stood before the door at the end of my closet.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I managed to choke out before I dried my eyes, Bella opened the door and we both went through it, unaware of our future adventures together.