Mediation

My house was just down the road from the Cullens', only about a five-minute drive, which was convenient for my brothers and I when we wanted to run over, which took even less time thanks to our supernatural speed. It was quite funny since it took us maybe a minute on foot compared to when we had to drive. But, then again, it was pretty much a straight shot on foot, and we are technically neighbors, after all. 

By the time I pulled up to the house, mama and Charlie's cars were already parked out front and I could see the pair of them talking through the porch screen. I parked between mama's minivan and Bella's truck before hurrying to join them. 

"Hello, sweetheart." Mama gave me a soft smile as she and Charlie unlocked the first set of front doors; Charlie smiled at me as I shook the rain out of my hair and pushed the bangs out of my face. 

"Hey, how're you guys?" I kissed both my parents' cheeks on my way past them, opening the second set of doors into the foyer. Exchanging my shoes for a comfortable pair of slippers, I moved out of the way so they could come in behind me while I hung up my coat and turned to help them. Mama purred gratefully as I took her jacket before she turned to help Charlie with his. 

"Good." Charlie gruffed as mama nodded her agreement, making me chuckle softly; usually when Charlie said that nothing much would have happened at the police station, or, at least, nothing he wanted to talk about. Mama was in a good mood, which meant one of two things: either there hadn't been any major emergencies or something funny had happened at the hospital she would be sharing with us later. It probably wouldn't be anything gross, especially if she told us at dinner, since she knew we didn't like listening to stories like that while we were eating. 

I cleared my throat as I hung up her jacket, wondering if I should bring up our predicament with Bella when the sound of footsteps on the backstairs behind us caught my attention, my stepsister's soft scent wafting out into the entrance hall, a familiar mix of strawberries and worn pages, like the scent you got from an old book. (Speak of the devil...) I hummed to myself as Charlie called out to Bella over the sound of dishes and pans being moved around in the kitchen. 

"Hey guys, welcome home." She called back as the oven door creaked open and a pan scraped across the countertop. 

"Thank you, Bella." Mama called, grateful, as she and I dropped our keys in the porcelain bowl in the living room, "What's for dinner tonight?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Charlie's head tilt with interest, obviously curious, too, since Bella had announced at breakfast, she would be cooking tonight, though there was a cautious edge in his eyes, too. He'd mentioned how imaginative his first wife was and how she'd tried to include that in her cooking, even though it often made the food inedible. 

"Steak and potatoes." Bella responded as we listened to the sound of things being moved around in the fridge and the clink of bowls from the cabinet. Charlie immediately perked at the news and mama smiled softly, "That sounds wonderful, dear, thank you." 

"No problem..." Even from here, I could hear the embarrassment in Bella's voice at the praise, obviously not used to it. My mother giggled softly, and I shook my head, amused, before noticing my parents heading upstairs to get out of their work clothes. I clear my throat as I follow them up to the landing. 

"Hey, can I talk to the two of you, privately?" I ask softly, drawing their attention; mama cocks her head and looks at Charlie, who blinks in return. Mama then turns back to me and nods. 

"Of course, sweetheart, is something wrong?" She furrows her brow as she indicates for me to follow while she and Charlie continue toward their room. I follow them inside and cross to the bay window, which overlooks the driveway, setting my backpack down next to me as I lean back into the cushions. Charlie walked into the closet to hang up his gun belt and change while mama grabs some fresh clothes from her dresser and steps into their ensuite, leaving the door open a crack so we can talk. 

"I'm fine, mama..." I brace my foot against the seat and wrap my arms around my ankle, chin on my knee, "I just know it's been a hectic couple of days, and we haven't been able to talk about this much...but about Bella, we...we still haven't agreed on how we're going to tell her about us." 

"I thought we'd agreed to tell her when we were all together for dinner?" Charlie came out of the closet in a t-shirt and sweatpants, furrowing his brows. I looked up at him, flicking an ear, "We were thinking about it, but I don't think it was made into a definite plan." 

"Dawn is right." Mama came out of the bathroom, running her claws through her hair to tame it; I was amused to see she was wearing one of Charlie's old shirts over a pair of yoga pants. He'd given it to her when they'd first started dating and she'd incorporated it into her night clothes. Charlie flushed a little when he saw her wearing it, though a loving smile tugged at the corners of his lips, just as it always did. Mama caught the look and flashed him an affectionate smile, despite the serious topic, "We did mention bringing it up at dinner as an idea, but we never made it official." She sighed, "But with her just arriving and getting used to living here, the school and her peers..." Mama glanced at me as my ears folded back at the memory of what had happened between Bella and Edward. Charlie noticed the look, glancing between the two of us before his gaze settled on me. 

"Bella isn't getting picked on at school, is she, Dawn?" His lips pressed into a thin line as he crossed his arms. I shook my head. 

"No, there was a bit of a disagreement between her and one of the Cullens, but that's about it." I tried to smile reassuringly at Charlie when I noticed the way his forehead crinkled, his mind obviously sensing there was something supernatural going on; Charlie loved us, but he never made mama, my brothers, or I tell him anything we didn't feel comfortable sharing. The Cullens' secret was not ours to tell, and we wouldn't speak a word of it unless given permission. He obviously knew there was something different about them, considering they were some of the closest friends my brothers and I had, but he never pressured us to tell him what it was. Even now, I knew he wouldn't push us to tell him anything we didn't want to, though we could clearly see how worried he was about Bella. He trusted we would make sure she stayed safe from anything that threatened her, "I took care of it, don't worry." 

The creases in his forehead remained as he appraised me for a moment and I smiled, knowing he would worry about me just as much as he worried about Bella. He finally sighed and nodded, "All right, just...try to be careful, Dawn." 

I rumbled reassuringly, "I'll be careful, dad, I promise." He nodded, looking somewhat relieved as mama smiled softly at the two of us. Walking over to Charlie, she kissed his cheek and nuzzled him affectionately. 

"Dawn's a strong girl, you know she can handle anything." She gave me a proud smile as Charlie flushed faintly once more and nodded shyly in agreement while I stifled a giggle, amused at how flustered he could still get around my mother, "As for telling Bella...maybe we should give it a bit more time. Let her settle in a little more before we drop the bomb, okay?" 

"Hm, or we could prepare her for it...?" Charlie spoke up, drawing our attention again; he rubbed his neck, obviously uncomfortable being the center of attention, "Think how you introduced me to the supernatural world before we got together....Bella's a reader, like me. Maybe if you show her that book, what was it again?" 

Mama blinked and cocked her head, "You mean...the book my grandfather wrote on supernatural creatures?" Charlie nodded and I hummed; the book my parents were referring to was a handwritten account of my great-grandfather's travels around the world. He'd been about my age when he left home and had turned his journal into a book when he returned, for future generations to enjoy. The book we had in our library was a copy of the original, gifted to mama before I'd been born; it was my favorite out of all our books, with its thick, hard cover, beautiful, hand-written script, and detailed illustrations that accompanied each supernatural creature's description. I kept it in a drawer of one of my bedside tables since I loved to read it so much. When my parents had first started getting to know one another, mama hadn't been sure how to go about telling Charlie about the supernatural world and had, instead, lent him the book, so he could connect the dots himself. It made the transition into our world easier for him, since it gave him the freedom to figure things out and accept them at his own pace. Maybe the same thing could happen with Bella? "Hm...well, it couldn't hurt to try it out." Mama turned to me, and I nodded my agreement. 

"I'll try to bring it up at dinner, see if Bella will be interested." I promised with a smile as there was a knock at the door; Charlie called for whoever was on the other side to come in. Geoffrey opened the door and stuck his head into the room. 

"Bella said dinner's ready." 

"Thank you, sweetie." Mama rumbled softly; Geoffrey nodded, once, and retreated from the door as Charlie ushered mama and I out after him. The four of us headed down the hall to the back staircase and descended into the kitchen, our noses lifting into the pungent aroma that greeted us. My mouth watered at the scent of marinated steak and baked potatoes that filled the kitchen, the low grumble of my stomach comparable to the growl of a hungry wolf, my teeth itching to sink into the juicy meat that beckoned from the dishes on the dining room table. 

"Smells delicious, Bells." I hummed appreciatively as we joined her in the dining room; Henry followed us a moment later, carrying a couple of pitchers of juice. Bella smiled shyly as she helped mama plate the food while Henry and I filled everyone's cups, and we sat down to eat. Each of us said thank you to my stepsister before we dug in, falling into our easy evening routine; Mama told us a funny story about one of her ER patients and each of us kids took turns recounting our day. Bella listened quietly, cocking her head occasionally, obviously interested, but unsure whether to chime in. Charlie cleared his throat from beside her as Henry finished telling us a joke one of his teammates had told him. 

"So, Bella." He took a slow sip of his drink, watching her from the corner of his eye, "How do you like your new school? Have you made any friends?" 

Bella blinked, obviously not expecting to be put on the spot, "Well, I have a couple of classes with this nice girl named Jessica," I sank my teeth slowly into a steak chunk, distracting myself with the juices that flooded my tongue as it kept me from cutting in rudely, "There's this boy, Mike, he's really friendly, too. Dawn introduced me to a couple people she knew, and everyone's been nice." Her expression scrunched a little at the end, and I knew she was probably thinking about her experience with Edward. Charlie, whether intentionally or not, didn't comment on it as he took another bite of his potato. 

"Hm, that must be Mike Newton." He hummed, chewing thoughtfully, "He's a good kid, comes from a decent family. You know, his dad owns that sporting goods store just outside town. They made a decent living off all the backpackers that come through here." 

Bella nodded and looked between mama and Charlie, "Hey, uh...do you guys know the Cullen family?" she asked quietly, hesitantly. Mama paused with her cup halfway to her mouth, blinking. 

"Carlisle's family? Of course, they're good friends of ours'." She sipped her drink while Charlie hummed his agreement, "Dr. Carlise's a good man." 

Bella stabbed at her food absentmindedly, biting her bottom lip, "Well, I noticed his kids at school...they all seem...different. They don't seem to fit in very well." 

Charlie's lips pressed into a thin line at her words, his thick brows furrowing deeply, casting a dark shadow over his eyes that made Bella blink in surprise while he slowly shook his head back and forth, "People in this town." he growled under his breath, waving a hand angrily through the air, "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could get work at any hospital in the world and make ten times more than he ever could here!" His voice was rising passionately, just as it always did whenever it came to the Cullens; even if he wasn't as close to them as mama, the boys, or I, he still thought highly of their family and hated how alienated they were by the rest of the community, "We're lucky his wife wanted to live in a small town. Both of them are wonderful assets to our community and all those kids of theirs' are well behaved and polite, especially when they come over to visit." 

Henry, Geoffrey, and I nodded together, "They always use their manners and clean up after themselves when we're hanging out." I smile as mama hums her agreement. Charlie nodded and heaved a sigh, "I will admit, I had my doubts when they first moved in, what with all those adopted teenagers." 

Mama gave him a gentle look, rumbling quietly, "It's understandable, love, especially with their difficult pasts, but they're all very well adjusted and mature for their ages, so they haven't given you any kind of trouble, right?" 

"Not one lick," Charlie snorted, "Which is more than I could say for the children of the folks who have lived in this town for generations. Not to mention they stick together, like a family should, what with those camping trips they take every other weekend." He sighed and shook his head once more, "But just because they're newcomers, people think they have a right to talk about them..." 

Bella stared at Charlie with wide eyes, taken aback by his passionate, long-winded speech, which was very uncommon for him. I smiled to myself, amused, as I watched her backpedal, scrambling for what to say now. 

"Well...they all seemed nice enough to me." She tried to sound complimentary. "It's just...they keep to themselves an awful lot...I really don't see them talk to anyone except each other and Dawn." She looked at me now and I quirked a brow, "Which is surprising given how attractive they are." 

"You should see Carlisle." Mama giggled, "It's good he's happily married, though there are a lot of other nurses at the hospital who have a hard time concentrating on anything with him around." Charlie chuckled to himself in agreement, remembering witnessing that firsthand when he visited the hospital to see mama or work on a case. 

The six of us lapsed into a brief, comfortable silence to enjoy our food before mama asked Charlie if anything exciting had happened down at the station; he shrugged, saying it'd been a slow day, like I'd suspected, and we went on to talk about things going on around town, events at school or movies that would be playing in theaters soon. I managed to get in a little bit of talk about reading with Bella, asking if she'd gone back to re-read any books from the class list. She told me she'd started reading Wuthering Heights again for the hell of it and asked if I'd read any of the books myself. I shrugged, said I'd gotten into a few, like Pride and Prejudice, and she asked if I still read that old supernatural book I loved. I was almost surprised she remembered, though I did confirm that, yes, I was, which made her smile. 

"Still into that kind of stuff?" She chuckled and I couldn't help but snort at the teasing tilt to her voice. 

"Of course." I smirked as dinner wound down and we started clearing the table, "Hey, maybe one day I'll get you hooked on it, too, huh?" 

Bella smiled and scrunched her nose playfully back as the family split up the after-dinner chores and set to work straightening up the kitchen/dining room, "One day." 

(Soon.) I mentally added with a smile of my own. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

The rest of the week went without incident; the wind and rain died down enough that Bella was able to get a better night's rest and she was getting accustomed to how things were around school. She got used to her schedule, learned to navigate the grounds and knew practically all the other students by name and face. She was always with a large group at lunch now, which I was relieved about. 

We didn't see either hide nor hair of Edward, though the rest of the Cullens and I returned to our normal routine. Alice still tried to probe into the future for his return, though she often gave that up when she couldn't find anything more useful than what she already knew, so she returned to keeping an eye on her husband throughout the day. 

The only other person seemingly aware of Edward's absence was Bella; I noticed it a couple of times on the days I sat with her group at lunch, though I did my best to stay as far from Jessica as I possibly could and watched my stepsister every day as she anxiously awaited the Cullens/Hales arrival, only able to relax and join in on the lunchtime conversation when she saw the couples enter the cafeteria without Edward in tow. This week's topic centered around the trip to La Push Beach Mike was still trying to organize; he'd finally decided to plan the trip for a weekend two weeks from now and invited Bella and I to join. Bella politely accepted the invitation, and I told him I would try to get off work. 

Bella was a lot more relaxed by the time Friday rolled around, though Edward's absence still weighed heavily on her mind, especially as she sat alone at her lab table in the back. She tried to conceal this by pretending to enjoy the abundance of space she now had, spreading her books out across the lab table as she wanted, but I wasn't fooled. It still bothered her, I knew. Not much I could do now, though, not if she wasn't willing to confide in me about it... 

I kept myself busy over the weekend with work, so I wouldn't dwell on it long; I did my sixteen hours at the shelter and kept my promise to Alice, although I ended up spending Saturday night over at her house since she got a little carried away with the make-over. I was, thankfully, saved from spending the entire night as a dress up doll. 

Edward came back. 

He explained how he'd spent the last week going over what had happened while he was with the Denali coven and decided he didn't want to run away anymore. He wanted to face his challenges head on; he was going to face Bella. 

Although somewhat surprised and worried about what this could mean, the rest of the family decided to support Edward in his decision and did everything we could to help him prepare. Sunday evening was spent out in the mountains, hunting as many animals as we could get our claws on; Edward absolutely gorged himself with blood, though we all knew that it would do little good once he smelled her. At least it was better than nothing, right? A precaution, just to be safe. 

On Monday, I drove into school with Bella like usual; we were all worried about Edward, but I knew he wouldn't like any of us hovering around him like overprotective parents. Bella's scent was strong, and her blood called out to him, but I'd witnessed Edward's steely resolve and his incredible feat of control firsthand, so I had confidence he could handle being around her again. If he had that much self-control with her last week, when he was desperately thirsty, then being back after gorging himself like he did should be easy. Should be. 

(You should still be ready, just in case.) I growled quietly at the voice nagging at the back of my mind as Bella and I took our seats in English, nodding absentmindedly to Mike when he took his seat next to Bella. I needed to have faith in Edward, he could handle himself, he could do this. Nodding to myself, I turned my focus to the pop quiz on Wuthering Heights Mr. Mason had handed out. It wasn't that difficult, straightforward. I should thank Bella sometime for getting me into the classic novel so young...hopefully I would be able to return the favor by getting her into my book. A girl could hope, right? 

It was snowing by the time we got out of English, a welcome distraction as we stepped out into the biting wind. I smiled to myself as our classmates shouted excitedly about the swirling puffs, already taking full advantage of the cold slosh to throw slush balls at one another as I raised my hand to catch a few snowflakes in my palm, creating an invisible sheen of ice over my skin so they wouldn't melt so quickly. A few gathered in my hand, resembling cotton balls, which made me chuckle as I lifted my head toward the sky, inhaling the cold, wet air; it filled my lungs, sending energy crackling through my veins. 

"Ew." Bella's voice broke me from my reverie, and I turned to my stepsister, who was watching the snow fall past her face with her nose wrinkled in disgust, eyebrows pulled into a single line in irritation. Ah, right...she didn't like rain, which meant she wouldn't like snow, either. Mike was looking at her in surprise, eyes wide with wonder. 

"You don't like snow?" He frowned when Bella shook her head, pulling her hood tighter around her. 

"No, if it's snowing, it's too cold for rain." She sniffed, as though that should have been obvious, "Besides, I thought when it snowed, it was supposed to come down in flakes, each one unique and everything, these," She indicated the flying little fluff balls, "look like the ends of Q-tips." 

"Snow comes in all different shapes and sizes, Bells," I chuckled while Mike quirked a brow in disbelief, glancing at me, "She hasn't seen snow falling in person before, it's always too hot." I smirked at my stepsister, who wrinkled her nose further at me; I couldn't help but snort again when something cold and wet smacked me, hard, in the back. I stumbled a little at the force but caught myself and whirled around to find the offender. 

A big, lumbering shape was zipping around the corner of the nearest building, familiar laughter trailing behind it, loud enough for me to be able to pick it up. I narrowed my eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. 

"I'll catch you at lunch, Bella." I told her as she hurried off in the direction of her next class while Mike, himself, had been targeted by another snowball sniper. She threw a quick 'See you later', over her shoulder as I rolled my sleeves past my wrists and made my way toward the building where the first had disappeared. 

The school was abuzz with excitement for the rest of the morning, which was common after the first snowfall of the year. Everyone took advantage of it, issuing snowball fights between classes; I got in a few myself, mostly with Emmett and Jasper, the former having been the one to lob the first mush ball at me as a way of initiating me into our three-way battle. Edward was the only one of the three brothers who didn't participate, still too preoccupied with his own troubles to really put much effort into doing anything else. I got dragged into Emmett and Jasper's attempts to coax him into our game by way of bombardment, but we soon gave up when we couldn't get a response out of him and, instead, just kept our fight between the three of us. 

At lunch, I had to scurry back to check in with Bella, although I promised I would catch up with the coven at their table once I had my food. They would reach the cafeteria before I did, anyway, since they were closer, and I knew the other Cullens would want to be sure Edward wouldn't do anything if he saw (i.e. smelled) Bella. I caught up with my stepsister and Jessica just outside the cafeteria and we were joined by Mike a few minutes later, his carefully gelled spikes melting under the weight of the snow that had gotten in his hair. I listened in amusement as he and Jessica talked animatedly about the snowball fight while Bella and I led the way into the lunch line, Bella's head turning automatically to scan the room when she froze, her eyes locking on that one table in the far corner. Jessica bumped into me from behind and huffed impatiently. 

"Hey, what's the hold up? Move, Dawn!" 

"How about you chill, instead, Jessica!" I snapped back, giving her a look over my shoulder before turning my back on her again and putting a hand on Bella's shoulder, "Hey, Bells, you okay?" 

Bella snapped back to reality and lowered her gaze to the floor while her cheeks flushed with color. My ears folded back and I squeezed her shoulder, feeling Mike lean around, pressing Jessica into me again. 

"Hey, what's with Bella?" he frowned; Bella shook her head, pulling away from my hold. 

"It's nothing..." She muttered, hurrying to catch up with the end of the lunch line; I followed her, "I think I'll just get a soda today." 

"You're not hungry?" Jessica furrowed her brows, earning another headshake, "I'm feeling a little sick, actually..." Bella said, keeping her eyes trained on the floor. 

My gaze drifted toward the coven in the corner, knowing seeing Edward had to be a shock...I'm sure seeing him again was the last thing she'd expected, and she was likely dreading their inevitable reunion about now. Hopefully Edward would act a bit politer today and help relieve some of her anxiety. 

We got our food, and I followed Bella, Jessica, and Mike out into the cafeteria, turning to follow them to their table when something small and hard caught me in the side, making me jump and turn. A familiar grin greeted me from that one corner, making me narrow my eyes a bit as I discreetly stuck the tip of my tongue out; Emmett quivered at the gesture, a small enough motion not to be detectable to human eyes. I turned back to my stepsister, leaning down to speak with her. 

"I'll catch up with you after lunch, Bells, I have a score to settle." I whispered, making her look up from her soda bottle with a frown. I turned away without giving her a chance to answer and crossed the cafeteria to the vampires' table. Emmett watched me approach with an amused smirk, and I could see Jasper fighting his own grin; Rosalie crossed her arms, unimpressed, while Alice stared thoughtfully into space and Edward looked like a tightly wound spring ready to pop, even as he tried to keep a natural, good-natured grin on his face to make it seem as though he was enjoying the snow day with his siblings. 

"I'm pretty sure I don't need to make any guesses about who hit me with ice." I quirked a brow playfully at the broadest of the group as I took a seat between Edward and Alice. Emmett let out a low, deep throated laugh. 

"Sorry, Dawn, I was aiming for Alice, but she deflected it." he nodded to her as she blinked and quirked a brow. 

"Only after you threw it at me at full strength." She buffered, earning another bark of laughter as Rosalie rolled her eyes irritably. Alice's expression turned thoughtful once more, though, as she glanced at Edward, whose jaw suddenly clenched. Emmett chuckled once more. 

"You know, you should learn to ease up a bit, Edward." He said, his expression easy, relaxed, "Really, what's the big deal if you do kill a human, it's not like it's the end of the world." 

Edward pursed his lips while I took a sip of soda, "Yeah, you would know." 

Emmett laughed softly, "You really need to learn how to get over things, like me. Eternity's a long time to sulk." 

I hoped my mouth to put in my two cents when Alice moved suddenly, tossing a small handful of ice she had hidden in her petite hand directly into Emmett's face. He blinked, taken aback, before an evil grin slithered over his lips. Uh oh. 

"Oh, you asked for it." He smirked, shifting to lean across the table toward Alice, Rosalie, and I and shaking his head rapidly in her direction; the ice in his hair flew out in a shower of half liquified slush, spraying all three of us. 

"Ew!" Rosalie exclaimed in disgust as she and Alice leaned out of range, Alice letting out a small laugh of amusement as she used her tray as a shield. I didn't bother moving away or shielding myself as I was already mostly wet from the spray while Emmett leaned away, his eyes sparkling and Jasper gave a low chuckle. 

"You look like a half-drowned dog, Dawn." He pressed his lips together to keep from laughing; I couldn't fight the grin I could feel tugging at the corners of my lips as I raised my eyebrows playfully at him and Emmett. 

"Gee, I wonder whose fault that is." I snort, sweeping the drenched bangs out of my face as I got to my feet, leaning toward them now, "You two are gonna pay for that." 

"Oh yeah? And just how are you -?" Emmett started to ask when I braced my hands on the tabletop and began to shake myself vigorously, like a dog did after a bath, swinging my hair around rapidly for the full effect. Cold water sprayed around the table, making Rosalie and Alice shriek as the three boys burst into a round of laughter, each of them raising their arms to shield their faces. They were all still laughing when I sat down, still damp, but drier than I had been, my hair standing up at odd angles around my face from its' rapid drying, which only made them laugh harder, causing my grin to grow at knowing I'd entertained them. 

"Now Dawn looks like a porcupine." Emmett laughed as I reached up to run my claws through my hair to tame it; Alice immediately reached over to help me, her cold fingers gliding easily through the messy black strands to smooth them back into place. It was then I noticed Edward had turned, his attention caught by Bella and her table; my ears turned instinctively to listen, curious, and I could pick up Jessica's voice, whispering now, but still detectable even in the din of the lunchroom. 

"Edward Cullen is staring at you." Edward's eyebrows pinched, lips pressing together tightly, obviously displeased at Jessica's inner monologue, but intent on hearing Bella's response. 

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I dared a glance over my shoulder, letting Alice do what she wanted with my hair. Jessica glanced our way at that second, her eyebrows settling into a line over the bridge of her nose as she surveyed Edward's expression before turning back to Bella. 

"No." There was an innocent taste of surprise and confusion in her voice, just enough to appear worried, "Should he be?" 

There was a brief pause as Bella rested her head against the arm she had laid out on the table, "I don't think he likes me..." I frowned, worried for a second if Bella really was sick. Should I try to convince her to go to the nurse's office to lay down, regain her strength? Maybe she wasn't quite ready to face Edward yet. 

"The Cullens hardly like anyone." Jessica sniffed, glancing toward our table again with a displeased look, obviously searching me out; I was careful to avoid her gaze, so she wouldn't think I was staring, turning toward Edward like I was going to say something, "Well...they hardly notice anyone enough to like them...aside from your sister, anyway." She turned away and I was almost surprised at how well she was able to keep her tone in check, "But he's still staring at you." 

"Stop looking at him." Bella hissed under her breath, embarrassed; I glanced at her again as she raised her head to make sure Jessica obeyed while the other girl snickered but did as asked. 

I turned back to my table, sensing Bella was now attempting to keep her attention on hers' as Mike dominated the conversation with talk of an epic snowball fight happening in the parking lot after school. Unfortunately for him, however, his plans would not come to fruition, since the Cullens and I could pick up the steady patter of rain that had replaced the snow as it drummed against the roof, quiet enough to be drowned out by the chatter in the room. Everyone would be disappointed to know the snow had gone so soon after arriving; I had to fight to keep my bottom lip from jutting out in a pout, wishing it could have stayed a little longer, too. It would have been nice to get out and have a snowball fight of our own over at the Cullen house with Henry and Geoffrey. Ah well, easy come, easy go, I suppose... 

At the end of lunch, the Cullens and I stayed back while the rest of the student body filed out of the cafeteria. I glanced at Edward along with the rest of his family, my ears inclined toward him now to see what he would do. He looked like he was thinking things over, debating whether he was strong enough to go to Biology and sit next to Bella again. I reached out to put a hand over his, squeezing reassuringly and offering an encouraging smile as he turned to me, letting him know I believed in him, that I knew he could do it. 

"I...think it's okay." Alice was the first to break the silence, her voice quiet, hesitant, obviously still worried since she couldn't see past the blind spots in her vision where I interfered. "Your mind seems set, Edward, so I think you could make it through the hour." 

Edward's expression tightened, knowing how quickly a mind could change, just as the rest of us did. 

"You shouldn't push yourself, Edward." Jasper chimed in, his expression a mix of concern and empathy, with a touch of smugness at the knowledge someone else was struggling, just as he did daily. "Why don't you head home for now, take it slow." 

"No, I think Edward can do this." I disagreed as Emmett huffed out his own complaint, obviously not thrilled with the idea either, "He's handled it so far. And if he could get through an hour with Bella last week, I know he can handle it now." 

Emmett nodded his agreement, "And even if he can't, we know Dawn is going to be there to help him like she was before. He might as well just go and get this whole thing over with, like a band-aid." 

"I don't want to move again..." Rosalie groaned, her lips pursed in disapproval at the repercussions that were to come if things went awry, "I don't want to have to leave this place to start all over again somewhere else...not when we're almost out of high school, finally." 

I frowned in understanding, knowing having to repeat the same grades again and again in an endless loop like they did had to get tedious after a while. I couldn't blame Rosalie for not wanting to have to start all that again so soon, not when she and Emmett were almost finished with high school for, what must be, the hundredth time. 

"Well...it's Edward's choice." I turned back to him, watching the conflict flicker across his face as he tried to decide what he should do, considering everything we had just discussed. His expression suddenly shifted, though, and I guessed he'd finally come to a decision. He turned to meet my gaze with a determined look in his eye, giving a single nod, and I smiled gently in understanding; he was going to face her. 

"I think it'll really be okay, Rose." Alice reassured, having seen the look in Edward's eyes, too. "The future is firming up. I'm ninety-three percent sure nothing bad is going to happen." Her brows furrowed inquisitively, though, as she turned to look at Edward fully, evidently curious as to what had brought on this change. Edward frowned in return, as though unsure himself, even as he pushed away from the table. 

"Go to class." He ordered the others, pausing long enough to wait until I had my messenger bag slung safely across my shoulders before he strode toward the exit. I waved to the rest of the Cullens and hurried after him out into the cold, wet air; the rain had completely washed away the snow that had accumulated that morning, sending it streaking down the sides of the sidewalk to create mud puddles in the grass. 

"So, how are we going to do this?" I asked once I caught up, matching his stride toward the science building, "Do you want me to introduce you to Bella or do you want to introduce yourself?" 

Edward was quiet as we approached the door and I wondered if, maybe, he wouldn't answer when he stopped and turned to face me, "I think it would be easier if you introduced us, first. It could make her more...comfortable." 

I adjusted the strap of my bag and nodded, wondering for a moment if that was true as I watched Edward take in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the clear air before he held the door for me. I smiled, grateful, at the gesture and stepped into the classroom, hoping our plan worked. 

Thankfully for Edward and I, class had not started yet, as Mr. Banner was still busy setting up the equipment for today's lab; the two of us hung our coats up before approaching our tables. Bella was already in her seat, head low as she concentrated on what she was doodling on the cover of her notebook while the rest of the class chatted amongst themselves. Edward grabbed his chair, pulling it back roughly to announce his presence, and I winced at the squeal of metal legs against the linoleum; he smiled apologetically, knowing how sensitive my hearing was as I deposited my bag on my own chair and walked up alongside Bella, feigning interest in the meaningless loops she was making with her pencil. 

"Thinking of hypnotizing someone, Bells?" I chuckled as she glanced up, blinking, and shook her head, carefully avoiding looking in Edward's direction. I pat her back gently and gave a reassuring smile, "Hey, I didn't get the chance to introduce the two of you." I took a half step back, gesturing toward Edward. He kept his chair as far from her as he physically could, but had it angled toward her today instead of away and had arranged his face into a friendly, open expression, offering a gentle smile without revealing any of his teeth, "Bella, this is Edward. Edward, this is my stepsister, Bella." 

"Hello." Edward greeted in a quiet, friendly voice, hoping it would make Bella feel more comfortable. She looked past me to him, surprise flitting across her face that he'd spoken to her. I could see the millions of questions whizzing through her mind now as she glanced in my direction, wondering where all this was coming from. I smiled reassuringly, letting her know it was okay and watched her gaze flicker back to Edward, her cheeks flushing suddenly with color. He watched her closely, curiously, searching the depths of her eyes as he waited for her to speak. After a beat, he cleared his throat. 

"It's nice to meet you, Bella." He told her kindly, cocking his head when Bella furrowed her brows, causing a small pucker over the bridge of her nose, "I'm sorry it's taken so long for us to be properly introduced." 

Bella frowned, trying to comprehend what was happening, "How...do you know to call me Bella?" 

Edward blinked, taken aback, and glanced at me with a quirked brow, as though wondering if he'd done something wrong. I raised a brow of my own and shrugged, a silent invitation for him to just go with it while he returned his attention to Bella. 

"It's hard not to know your name when the entire town's been waiting for your arrival." He chuckled softly, amused, when Bella's lips pursed, "Dawn's been particularly excited about having you here, she's told me a lot about you." He indicated toward me unnecessarily and I rubbed my neck sheepishly as Bella glared. 

"Hey, I was excited, okay? I didn't tell him everything." I admitted, knowing she hated being the topic of anyone's conversation, "I thought you might like someone who knows just to call you Bella instead of Isabella, anyway." 

Though she still didn't look pleased that I'd talked about her so openly, there was a touch of relieve in her eyes at the knowledge that there was someone outside our family who knew to call her by her preference; usually whenever he talked about her, Charlie used her full first name instead of her nickname, so that was how a lot of people had come to know her. Mama had even called her Isabella for the first couple of years she'd visited us, until Bella was old enough to be able to voice her preference herself. 

Mr. Banner started calling everyone to attention and I excused myself to my seat, telling them to play nice; we would be doing a lab today with our desk mates to put the slides of onion root tip cells in the boxes on our tables in the correct order of mitosis phases. Without our books. He would be giving us twenty minutes before he came around the room to check our worksheets. 

Seeing as my desk mate was absent today, I moved my bag to her chair and got out my materials for the lesson, turning my head back toward Edward and Bella's table when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Edward was leaning away from Bella again, as far as the desk would allow, head twisted out into the aisle; his body was locked into that familiar, tense posture, hands gripping his knees as though he was steadying himself, an unmistakably plea in his gaze as it met mine. 

He needed more air, of course, if he wanted to be able to keep up a conversation with Bella, at least while they were working on the lab, and he was silently asking me to help him get in as much clean air as we could manage without drawing in too much of her scent. I purposely dropped my notebook onto the lab table, just as I had last week, and he immediately opened his mouth to suck in as much of the air it created as he could. It was almost enough to fill his lungs to full capacity again, though I could tell by the way his pupils dilated and him snapping his mouth shut to clench his jaw that some of Bella's scent had managed to wriggle its way in. He swallowed thickly and tried to relax his jaw, the veins that had pushed out in his neck slowly disappearing once more. 

I was holding my own breath by the time Edward managed to compose himself; straightening, he gave me a small, grateful nod, though in his eyes I could see him asking me to watch him, closely. I exhaled and gave a single nod of acknowledgement before he turned to face my stepsister once more, schooling his expression back into a more relaxed one, his lips twisting into an easy, crooked smile that would make anyone swoon. 

I watched the pair for a moment longer before turning back to my own table, one ear inclined toward them to listen, my senses fine-tuned to detect even the slightest change in mood or atmosphere. On the outside, I presented a normal, relaxed persona, so as not to alert the other occupants of the room to anything out of the ordinary, silently snapping each slide into place under the microscope and scanning them under the 40x objective before writing each phase on the lines Mr. Banner had provided on our worksheets. To my teacher and human classmates, I was just another faceless student going about my academic career as always, but hidden under the calm, collected surface, my muscles were locked in place, body coiled tight in preparation to spring at a second's notice. Edward knew I trusted him, but he knew the risks, too, and it was better I was prepared to do whatever I had to to keep him from hurting anyone else here. 

Edward and Bella finished their lab before I did mine and I settled down in my chair to wait, letting my gaze drift around the room to watch the rest of the class struggle through the assignment with what I hoped was a bored expression. Even distracted as I was, the lab hadn't been all too difficult, although there were a few slides I'd had to check more than once to be sure I'd labeled them correctly before I felt confident in my answers. A few groups were attempting to use their books to complete the worksheet, held open in their laps under the table so Mr. Banner would be none the wiser; Mike and his partner were stuck on a pair of slides they kept comparing back and forth. I sighed and leaned my chin against my knuckles, further emphasizing my boredom as I flipped my notebook to the last page to draw some random designs and listened absentmindedly as Bella and Edward chatted. 

There was still an obvious tension between the two of them, remnants of unease from their first meeting lingering in Bella while Edward try to keep a tether on his self-control; he'd had to take a couple of controlled breaths since the beginning of class and I could sense his discomfort as Bella's scent seared his throat, setting it a flame with thirst. He managed to keep his composure, though, and when I chanced a glance at him through the curtain of my hair, he wasn't looking back at me, but, rather, at Bella, his expression a mixture of frustration and intrigue all in one. She met his eye, getting lost in his gaze for a split second before something in his expression seemed to register in her mind. 

She asked if he'd gotten contacts, surprising Edward, though he automatically responded that he hadn't; Bella frowned, unconvinced, but glanced away, shy once more as she pointed out she'd noticed something different about his eyes. He stiffened suddenly in understanding and then shrugged, as though to brush it off as he turned away from her, his lips pressed into a thin line as he glared at the whiteboard. Of course she would notice the change in his eye color, considering the last time his eyes had been a flat black, obvious against the background of his snowy skin; his eyes were lighter today due to his over excessive binge on animal blood over the weekend. His iris was more a golden hue now, a color sat somewhere between amber and butterscotch. 

I glanced up when I sensed someone joining them and half listened as Mr. Banner talked to Edward and Bella about the lab; he asked Edward if he'd even given Bella a chance with the microscope, addressing her by her given name. Edward corrected him respectfully and told him Bella had named three of the five slides, which made the older man turn to her, somewhat skeptical. I rolled my eyes at his pretentious behavior and returned to what I'd been drawing. Bella had done this lab before in Phoenix since she'd been in more advanced classes, although, from what she'd told me, they'd used whitefish blastula, not onion root. This assignment was a cakewalk for her. Mr. Banner considered this and mentioned how good it was the pair were partners, then, before he left them to it, muttering under his breath about how the rest of the class could learn something as he descended on my table to check my progress, though it was obvious he was looking for someone to correct. He asked me a few questions as he looked over his lab and I noticed his face fall out of the corner of my eye when he found all my questions were correct as well. I barely even had to look up from my notebook to talk to him, though my focus was still on Bella and Edward, so I didn't notice when Mr. Banner slunk away to pester one of the other teams. 

Edward had taken a stab at small talk, mentioning in passing how unfortunate it was that we'd lost the snow, though Bella shrugged it off, telling him she didn't really like the cold or wet. He seemed surprised, since I hadn't let him in on that fact beforehand, and he observed it must be difficult for her to live in a place like Forks when she wasn't fond of its' brand of weather. When he attempted to probe deeper, she brushed it away by simply telling him her situation was complicated, though he was persistent. I glanced at them as Bella went silent, my ears perking at her reluctance to just shut the conversation down. No one at school had ever asked her outright why she'd moved here, and Bella had been more than happy to keep that information to herself, though I could see in her eyes she was weighing her options now, wondering whether she should divulge something so personal to an almost complete stranger. I started berating myself for even considering she'd do something like that when Bella lifted her gaze from her hands and met Edward's eyes again as she blurted out the truth about her mother's remarriage. 

I barely kept myself upright at the admission, my hand gripping the edge of the table to stay upright as my head whipped around in Bella and Edward's directions, eyes widening incredulously. It was like pulling fucking teeth for me to get anything out of Bella, especially when it came to her feelings, and I'd grown up with her. How in the actual FUCK had Edward wrangled something like that out of her so easily?! 

I watched in stunned silence as Edward picked stealthily at Bella's defenses, chipping away at her protective walls as he extracted information out of her piece by piece. I couldn't believe how easily she was telling him about her situation with Renee and Phil, what had led her to her decision to move here, her willingness to sacrifice her own happiness for her mother. She barely knew him and already she was opening up to him like they'd known each other for years...he was seeing the pain and misery she tried so hard to hide, that she tried to shoulder and endure on her own, the emotions she didn't let anyone else witness, not even her own family. I'd known Edward was perceptive, but damn, how did he do that?! 

He mentioned how she must suffer by herself, concealing the pain she felt so no one else saw it and I watched, mystified, and amused, as Bella made a face, evidently not pleased, before she turned away. Edward tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but she ignored him, which made him chuckle softly under his breath. They spoke, just one more time, then fell into a short, thoughtful silence, each wrapped up in their own musings until Bella let out a slow sigh, prompting Edward to strike up another conversation; she mentioned how easy it was for others to read her, which bothered her, but he seemed even more amused as he pointed out he found her difficult to decipher though I knew he was usually excellent at reading people. But then again...he'd pointed out earlier his difficulty understanding my stepsister, even with his gift, when we'd been out hunting, and I wondered, briefly, if that had been the inspiration behind that sparkle I saw in his eyes as he talked to her. 

I snapped out of my thoughts when I noticed the smile Edward directed at Bella, flashing all his straight, white teeth, his eyes hard in warning. He was warning her to be careful, to keep her distance, just like the other humans and I noticed, with a jolt, that the two of them were closer than they had been at the beginning of class; she was leaning toward him, close enough he could probably feel her body heat. I tensed, hunching forward, ready to spring when Mr. Banner called the class to attention. Bella turned away from Edward, her shoulders relaxing in relief, and I knew, on some level, she understood the meaning behind the vampire's smile as he turned from her as well, leaning toward me while he gripped the edge of the table. 

I did my best to pay attention as Mr. Banner illustrated the lab on the overhead projector up front, glancing at Edward throughout the lesson; he remained rigid in his seat, like he was doing his best impersonation of a statue, though there was a different emotion in his eyes today. The anger and resentment he'd held for my stepsister the previous week was gone, replaced with pure, unbridled fascination; for who she was, where she came from, and every insignificant detail about her that went along with it. And yet, behind that fascination, there was also fear, concern for her safety. He knew the dangers of introducing her to the supernatural world, of being around her when her scent was so incredibly appealing to him, when he already struggled so hard to be around her for a single hour at a time. A problem we were constantly reminded of every time Bella unintentionally sent a fresh plume wafting toward him whenever she shook out her hair, catching him off guard when he went to take another breath. 

His body hunched automatically, just as it did that first day, curling into a partial crouch, like a predator preparing to attack its prey, his pupils blowing wide to encompass his iris while his lips pressed into a tight line over his teeth. His eyes reflected his internal struggle against the monster threatening to break free, to destroy anything and everything in its path until it got what it wanted. I mentally reminded Edward to stop breathing and his shoulders froze as he stopped the flow of air through his lungs, his gaze meeting mine once more. I inclined my head toward him, promising I was there, that I wouldn't let him do anything he'd regret. 

It was a relief when the belly finally sounded, allowing Edward the chance to escape into the clean, wet air just outside. I released the breath I hadn't even realized I'd been holding and shoved my belongings into my messenger bag before joining Bella and Mike at the coatrack. Mike didn't look thrilled with Edward's friendliness, though Bella shrugged it off, feigning indifference. 

"He was trying to make up for last week." I chimed in as I slipped on my own raincoat and followed them toward the door, "He hated how he'd left things, Bells, he's really sorry." I gave my stepsister a small, apologetic smile; she blinked, surprised, having not expected that, though she didn't get the chance to respond as a soft voice called my name, drawing my attention. I turned, spotting Alice waiting for me at the corner, her eyebrows arched high on her forehead as a silent way of telling me we needed to talk. I nodded and turned quickly back to Bella. 

"Hey, uh, I'll catch up with you at home, okay? I gotta..." I gestured vaguely, unsure what to say before inclining my head toward Alice; Bella glanced past me, then met my gaze in understanding, her eyebrows setting in an uneasy line over her eyes. 

"I'll see you at home..." Bella muttered, glancing at Alice again before Mike led her toward the gym. I followed Alice around the building, out of earshot of any humans that could be nearby. She did a quick scan to be sure we wouldn't be overheard before turning to me, eyes wide while her expression melted into one of relief. 

"Bella, she's -" Alice's gaze flickered in the direction my stepsister had gone and I understood immediately; she must have been anxious not knowing what was going to happen over the last hour. 

"She's fine." I smiled reassuringly. "There were some...close calls, but Edward got through it. Bella's safe." 

Alice exhaled, a slow, relaxed breath, and nodded, though her eyebrows scrunched, crinkling her forehead, "I couldn't see much, just glimpses...at one point I thought he'd..." She sighed, "He came very close..." Her lips pursed as she met my gaze again; I frowned, noting the concern in her eyes as we both turned to look toward the Spanish building, where Edward had his final class, with Emmett. "I thought he was doing well..." 

"He was..." Alice hummed, putting a small hand on my shoulder and squeezing tightly, "But it was still close..." I glanced at her again as she shook her head, expression somber; I could understand how she felt, her worry for her brother, the suffering he had to endure. I was worried about Bella's safety, yes, I would always worry about that, especially with how fragile she was, but I was equally as worried about Edward, and I hated to see him hurting. If only there was some way to help him, to make things easier...anything besides losing him. I squished the voice inside that said it would have been better if he'd stayed in Denali, feeling a swell of guilt for even letting that thought enter my mind. No, he belonged here, with us, with his family and friends. 

We would find a way to make this work, one way or another.