"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." - Winston Churchill.

000

Teaching martial arts to children is an experience. Unlike school, the kids are all excited to be here. Most of her current class consists of squirmy 6, 7, and 8 year olds. Although she does have a pair of 10 year olds. The point being, they love having the opportunity to be active and wild and let off all of their endless energy that only children seem capable of.

Rosalie Hale splits them off into pairs for an activity and begins to monitor them, stepping forward to correct their form and praise them for a good job. Her 'co-instructor' Jason does the same although she catches him looking in her direction fairly often. Strike one.

Looking is fine but she's got a strong feeling that he is going to press his luck again after the end of her last class. She hadn't taken any shifts last week and he hadn't asked the week before that either. Must be a record for him, three weeks. He's more of an assistant but he hasn't gotten the hint about that quite yet. Somehow. He should know by now because she sometimes uses him to spar and show how a move should be done. She fights the urge to scowl, instead redirecting her irritation towards praising a little boy who's had trouble with his forms before. The little boy smiles jubilantly and doubles his efforts with his partner.

She moves on. The bells at the door ring, and she glances up at the clock out of habit before looking towards the source of the noise. One forty-three and a tall teen walks into the dojo. She acknowledges her incoming coworker with a nod. Natalia's early for her next class but maybe she can distract Jason while she makes her escape.

"Hey! Everybody say, hi Nat!" There's a chorus of greetings following Jason's distraction. Natalia gives a small wave and smiles sheepishly at Rosalie, knowing that her stealthy entrance wasn't as lowkey as she wanted it to be because of Jason. She hastens her walk and heads into one of the back rooms to change and get ready for her upcoming shift.

Rosalie manages to redirect the kids' attention by moving onto the next exercises and moves. They stay still as long as they can while paying rapt attention to her clear words of instruction.

There is exactly one moment of silence before they run off to their spots. Rosalie hears her phone vibrate in this moment before the distinct sound of bare feet strike the linoleum floor while the children scurry off to practice.

Odd. Her mind flits to several reasons as to why her phone would vibrate before she discards all of them. Someone would've called if it was an emergency. They all know that Saturday's are her days, and are especially so during her work hours. So not important enough for an emergency but still enough to warrant a text message.

Natalia steps out of the back room dressed in her black gi and lingers by the doorway. She carefully watches Rosalie instruct, admiring how the children do their best to listen and impress her with their progress. She searches for a clipboard in preparation of signing off the students when they leave.

Continuing her lesson on autopilot, Rosalie demonstrates a new kata that the students are supposed to learn. She begins to wonder who texted her. More than likely Alice would've called after she was done. Emmett is a highly possible suspect. However there's no vibration of a following text either from Emmett himself or from Edward telling her to regard or disregard his boyfriend's text. She's about to continue down her list when once again, the bells at the door sing joyously. Distracted, she doesn't check the clock first and immediately locks eyes with a familiar brunette in an intense state. The intensity of the look makes the newcomer pause momentarily. Despite the gaze focused on her, Bella smiles and waves widely, quietly making a beeline to the benches nearest to the door. At least she wasn't being glared at, that is a positive sign.

Rosalie waves back. It's more of an unfurling and furling of her hand in the other girl's general direction but it still counts, right?

It does, judging by the twitch at the corner of Bella's lips. Rose observes for a second longer as the brunette gets in a comfortable position for waiting. Feeling various eyes on her, she uncharacteristically flushes and finishes the current kata slightly early, repeating it twice instead of thrice. Ah, well. The lesson is almost done anyways, might as well finish a minute or two earlier.

"Alright everyone, circle around. Everyone did a fantastic job today, I saw lots of progress. Be sure to practice the next set of moves and the kata that we learned today. I want to see more progress next week. Have a good weekend!"

The students disperse at the dismissal to retrieve their backpacks and duffle bags. Natalia waits dutifully at the door where she begins to chat with some of the parents that were beginning to show up outside. She signs off the kids as they line up before the door. This is exactly the scene that Rosalie is studying, with Bella in her peripheral vision, before someone blocks her view.

Someone named Jason.

"Hey, Rose, great lesson! I really think those little fellas pick up the moves faster with you."

"Right."

Her eyes are trained on his face before they move slightly to the right, locking onto Bella. She's got an odd expression on her face. Conflicted almost. Conflicted over what?

"Anyways," - there it is. What she was waiting for: strike two. He really can't help himself, she thinks with irritation. She notes with some interest that Bella is making her way over, beaming smile replacing her previous expression. "We didn't see you around last week. I was wondering if -"

"Hey Rose!"

Rose's face lightens up visibly. She doesn't even need to exaggerate her delight in front of Jason. Natalia is too busy with the parents to distract Jason so Bella is clearly the best candidate to aid in her escape.

She really does need him to get a hint however.

Curious, Jason turns around to see who could possibly make their reserved resident smile. He watches in three parts bewilderment, one part trepidation as this new girl steps really close to his coworker, daring to go in for a side hug.

Access granted. Bella goes in for a hug, managing to squeeze Rosalie's shoulder before she attempts to put some distance between them. She finds that she cannot. Rosalie's hand is firm against her waist, unyielding. Bella gets the hint and stays still. Her left hand remains suspended in the air before she hastily places it back down on a gi covered shoulder in what she thinks is an awkward manner.

It's not, but the new contact is something to process. She's going to need a minute while her brain buffers.

"Hello Bella. I'll be just a minute and then we can go."

"Sounds good." At least she doesn't stutter.

With that, Rosalie releases her grip on Bella's waist and she's left alone with this random guy. Is this Rosalie's coworker? What was that all about? She knows she's picking up something in the air. She's got so many questions and she is most definitely going to ask them of Rosalie.

"Bella, right? So how do you know Rosalie?" the possible coworker says, friendly smile in place.

"Oh, we've known each other for a while now," Bella carefully replies with a thoughtful air. That smile is a little too friendly. "Are you her coworker? What was your name again?"

"Oh, it's Jason," he sticks his hand out for her to shake, "and that's Natalia coming over. Yeah, we're all coworkers here."

Natalia joins them, deploying a cheerful greeting towards Bella, "Hello!"

"Hello."

They stare at each other in silence. Natalia seems curious as to who Bella is but doesn't ask anything and Bella is grateful. Time seems to drag on. The ticking of the wall clock is suddenly registering in Bella's ears and it seems loud. Was it always that loud? A door slides on it's hinges, squeaking as it opens and closes somewhere nearby. The room seems to refocus somehow and the ticking is much quieter albeit still as annoying this time around.

Bella senses some movement behind her and rotates in place to face it. Rosalie's in the middle of pulling out her long hair from under a leather jacket and hoodie combo. The outfit looks very casual, more casual than Bella's ever seen her in, and she wears it well.

Very well.

Rosalie finally looks up and finds everyone staring at her again. Bella's eyes are more so on her and her coworkers are more trained on Bella but semantics.

"What?"

"Uh, nothing. You look nice." She feels her heartbeat in her throat again, speeding up for the second time in that short time period.

Rosalie raises an eyebrow. "After such a workout? I should think not," she says wryly.

"Was it really a workout?"

Rosalie gives her a look in lieu of answering and turns her attention to her coworkers. "Brian is going to get fired if he keeps this up. Michael was going to give him a talk today but since he's not here..."

Natalia and Jason nod contemplatively. Nat speaks up and looks at Bella pointedly while she does so, "We'll deal with that later. Go have some fun, see you next week!"

"Right, see you next week." Jason looks vaguely excited about something. He often looks like that when he gossips with Natalia and whenever he tries to do so with Rosalie. At least he forgot about asking her out.

Rosalie gently grasps Bella's wrist temporarily and pulls her forward. She waves behind her.

"Ah, it was nice to meet you!" Bella addresses them before the other girl drags her out the door.

Once outside, they walk to the corner of the sidewalk, well away from curious eyes at the dojo. Rosalie finally lets go and faces her companion, studying her features. "Thank you."

"What for?"

Rosalie rolls her eyes and shakes her head slightly, recalling Jason's second strike. "For distracting Jason. He asks me out almost every week and he can't seem to take a hint."

"Oh, no. That's awful. Is he pushy about it?"

"Fortunately, no. I think he's hoping he'll change my mind if he asks often enough. Annoying."

Bella laughs lightly at her exasperated face. She's about to ask Rosalie something but is interrupted before she can.

"Do you, would you like to hang out? I don't have anything after my 2pm class."

"Yeah, that would be great actually. I was about to ask if you had any plans."

They begin to walk along the sidewalk. Rosalie asks, "So what were you doing before you came into the dojo?"

"Oh, right. I was trying to find one of the bookstores here but then I saw you and stopped to say hi."

"Right."

"Speaking of which, I didn't know you worked at a dojo."

"Well, it's not exactly common knowledge," she says but is pleased to elaborate to Bella, "I teach about three classes of different levels from 11am to now. But I've taught four classes today because of Brian."

"Because he didn't come in," Bella guesses accurately, piecing together the earlier snippet between Rosalie and her coworkers.

"Yeah."

"What do you teach? Are you that good? Y'know, to be teaching?"

Rosalie pauses before she thinks of an appropriate answer. "I've been doing martial arts since I was a kid. At the dojo, I teach Shotokan Karate and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu but I tend to cover for other classes if emergencies or scheduling conflicts come up."

"Wow, that's so amazing. Rosalie Hale, you're badass. Should I start calling you sensei?" Bella teases.

"Please, don't."

"Sensei Rose, teach me the forbidden knowledge."

"Stop. Which bookstore are you even looking for?" Rosalie tries to distract her with the subject of books, a mostly successful endeavor. She's certain Bella will bring up the sensei thing some other time, when she least expects it.

"Oh, it's this one." Bella shows her the directions on her phone. They end up backtracking a few streets because they passed it in their distraction. It's one of three bookstores in the Port Angeles area. The second bookstore is relatively close by but Bella thinks she'll visit that one another time. The stand directly in front of the current store, taking it in. The bookstore looks homely, in a way. Worn out like a favorite jacket or blanket. It's got a certain charm to it and she likes it.

Bella steps forward first, opening the door and receiving a bell's distinct tintinnabulation in return. Rosalie follows after her, taking a deep breath as she crosses the door's threshold. Bella mimics the motion and is pleased to smell the unmistakable scent of books. The workers welcome them in and smiles are shared.

This is her happy place. Books, books everywhere. The shelves are taller than she is but she spots various little stools here and there. Forgetting that Rosalie is accompanying her, she moves forward and picks a shelf at random to explore. It happens to be history. Making a face, she takes a sharp right at the nearest bookshelf. Romance. Not right now. Left she goes and ends up between the two shelves of self help and relationships. Figures they would be put together. She eyes the aisle directly behind her and low and behold, it's psychology.

Maybe she should've looked at the floor plan maps that book stores usually have at the front or on the shelves! Wait, that's it. She peeks around the nearest shelf and does indeed find a map. She studies it carefully after surmising her location and trails a finger along the path she needs to take.

Being careful to take the exact path, Bella meanders her way to a new towering shelf. Religion, but right next to it and more importantly, mythology. Well technically it's folklore, legends and mythology but close enough. Tilting her head, she began to read her way from the top shelves that she could see to the book titles positioned on the bottom shelf.

Odd. She can't seem to find anything promising about the Quileutes. There's a thin novel but when she pulls it out, it seems to be more about their history and art. Not what she's looking for.

Frowning, she turns around to try to get a better look at the religion side and exhales sharply.

"Oh!"

"Boo," Rosalie deadpans, though her royal eyes are amused.

"You scared me! Where did you come from?"

"Well, when a man and a woman…-"

"No!" Bella pushes Rosalie's shoulder as she laughs quietly, delighting in the other girl's more playful side. "I'm serious!"

"As am I."

"Fine, fine. Where did you come from, within this exact and specific book store, in this current day and year? What's the time?"

Rosalie interjects before Bella can pull out her phone to check the time, "Okay, now you're going a bit far… To answer your very specific question, I was taking a look around. Not all of us like to zig zag randomly through book stores."

"Hey, now," Bella pouts, "that's the best way to shop for books."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Rosalie asks.

"Sort of, not really. Oh, what did you find?" Bella only just notices the two books that Rosalie is carrying. Rosalie holds up the two books with the spines facing Bella. Rumi and Carl Sandburg. She doesn't have the foggiest clue who these authors are but the covers seem nice and decorative somehow. She takes a guess:

"Poetry?"

"One point for you."

"Only one? There are clearly two books, two points for me."

"Too bad. One. Ready to go?"

"Yeah, lemme just..." Bella whips around behind the shelf she was looking at, searching for a book that caught her eye earlier. She pulls the spine just a crack to make sure it's the right one and then pulls it completely off the shelf when it is. Rosalie catches a glimpse of it before it's tucked under Bella's arm. A bestiary of some sort. Interesting.

"Now I'm ready," Bella says before she zig zags her way to the checkout counter. Rosalie chuckles before just walking towards it. She pays first while the other girl is momentarily distracted by the assortment of knick knacks near the counter. Finally, finally, they leave the lovely bookstore and head down a street. Bella definitely thinks she'll come back again.

"Hey, look!" Rosalie looks up from her phone, text momentarily forgotten. She follows Bella's finger and is greeted by the distinctive brown and blue coloring of a Cinnabon. "I haven't had cinnabon in forever, let's go. Let's go!"

Once again, the taller of the two tranquilly trails after the more excitable one. By the time Rosalie gets to the Cinnabon, Bella has already bought a pack of mini cinnabons and is apparently waiting on drinks. Rosalie wrinkles her nose at the sugary coffee monstrosity that is presented to her. Bella greedily grasps it and takes a long sip. "Sorry, no, this one's mine. I got you an iced coffee since I wasn't sure what you would like."

Rosalie rescues the cinnabons from Bella not because the other girl is carrying her big bag, but solely because she wants a bite. Obviously. The things are damn delicious. They sit until their drinks run dry before they start to retrace their steps.

Bella steals another one of her cinnabons from Rosalie's clutches. She eyes it appraisingly and is about to take a sinful bite when her phone decides to ring. "Ah, damn."

Cinnabon in right hand, there's no way Bella can pull it out of her right pocket. Her left hand is holding all of her purchases but despite this, she attempts a really awkward maneuver to reach her phone. Yes!

"Noooo," she says pitifully as her phone falls to the ground.

Thankfully her companion picks up her still ringing phone and answers it upon Bella's nod. Bella efficiently stuffs the cinnabon in her mouth. She chews furiously.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I'm - ... wait, Rosalie?" Angela asks confusedly from the other end.

"Yes?"

"Oh, uh. What happened to Bella?" Rosalie turns to the girl in question, index finger in her mouth. She reaches for a napkin from under the container and extends it to Bella. "She dropped her phone. She's … actually, let me pass the phone."

Rosalie holds the phone out patiently and Bella retrieves it as soon as she's satisfied that her hands aren't sticky. "Hello?"

Angela improvises her plans. "Hey, Bella, where are you? I finished up at the camera store and my mom called."

"Oh, alright. Rose and I are almost back to where you and I decided to meet up. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay, sounds good. I'm almost there." Angela ends the call but she stares at her phone for a few seconds, wondering when Rosalie bumped into Bella. This could be entertaining. Angela finds a bench to sit down at and waits patiently for the duo to arrive.

And arrive they do. Angela watches as the girls get closer and wonders if she'll get the details from Bella later. They look like they had fun. She stands up. "Hey Bella, hey Rosalie."

Both girls smile in greeting and Rosalie even offers her a cinnabon. She takes it gleefully although she refrains from taking an immediate bite. "Okay, so my mom called and she would really appreciate it if I got home soon."

"Right," Bella says, though she turns to Rosalie to say goodbye with a vaguely pathetic look on her face that only Angela can spot. Oh, this is just too easy.

"Buuut," Angela continues, "the day is young and Bella still needs to buy some boots."

"Oh, shoot, I completely forgot about that."

She reiterates, but with some modification and a more casual tone of voice, "Like I said, I need to get home but Bella doesn't. If we leave now we'll just have to come back again for the boots. Maybe Rosalie can take you home? If she doesn't mind? Just a suggestion... "

It's a question. Everyone is fully aware of the fact that one does not simply ask Rosalie Hale for a favor. Angela is bravely going for it. Rosalie shared her cinnabons with her, that has to mean something right?

Dark blue meets brown in a sort of mutual understanding that Bella is not privy to. Rosalie takes a moment before she tilts her head forward in a small nod. "I can take her home. Boots are important, with the rain and all. Plus the snow soon."

"Great! I'll get going then," Angela says. She walks up to Bella and firmly places her hands on her best friend's shoulders. "Be good for Rosalie, okay?"

"Hey!"

Angela ignores the interruption, "Rosalie, you'll tell me if she's being annoying right?"

Struggling to keep a straight face Rosalie replies, "Absolutely."

"Now I'm off. I'll see you both on Monday!"

They watch until Angela disappears around a corner. "You won't really tell her, will you?"

"Maybe," Rosalie finally smirks. "Anyways, boots. This way."

Off they go in search of some worthy boots to protect Bella's socks. Rosalie leads them to one such store and after great deliberation (Rosalie has a lot of helpful opinions), Bella buys some acceptable boots. Taking longer than expected, they both decide to call it a day and head back to Forks.

The first thing that Bella does when they are inside the blonde's car is ask, "Can I change the radio?"

"Sure."

Seat belts buckled and engine purring, Rosalie drives off with a look toward her radio.

Bella leans forwards and changes the dial every few seconds, once she has recognized the music that is playing on the current channel. She keeps a few channels in mind. She continues her search until the radio cycles back to the lower numbers. She leaves it on some sort of classical channel and comments, "I didn't know we had so many channels here. The radio in my truck is spotty."

Rosalie gazes at her, possibly longer than a human attentively driving should have. "How spotty?"

"Pretty bad. I don't bother turning it on."

"Hmm."

All too quickly, the carmine car makes it back to Charlie's in record time. Seriously, that was barely an hour! How fast was Rosalie driving? Bella hops out of the car and stretches. She pulls out her new possessions but leans against the open door and peers inside to say something.

"Hey, I'm really glad we ran into each other. I had a lot of fun today."

"Me too."

"Um.. I guess I'll see you later." She smiles and awkwardly waves as she walks up to the front door. She's keenly aware of the quietly purring engine as she unlocks the door and gets inside. The last thing she sees before she shuts the door are the red tail lights. She walks into the living room.

"Hey there, kiddo. Have a good day?"

"Yeah, it was fantastic. I even ran into Rosalie."

He finally looks away from his baseball game for more than a second at that. "Well, I'm glad you're making friends. The real question is, did ya buy anything?" He asks a little gruffly and Bella can't help but laugh.

"Yes, I did! Look, I even bought a book. Boots too!"

Satisfied, they watch the television, one in rapt attention, the other in distraction. However, they both race to make cereal before another inning starts. Eventually Spoons finds his way onto her lap and Bella's day is now perfect.

When she's finally laying in bed, thinking about the course of her day, Bella realizes that she never gave Rosalie her address. Rather than being concerned, she reckons it's one of those small town things. Everyone knows where everyone lives. And considering Bella only recently moved back, she probably has some catching up to do.

000

A/N 4/7/2020 - This update should come as a pleasant surprise. Hope everyone is being careful with this ongoing quarantine/covid situation. Stay busy, stay positive. Catch up on fics and tv shows and games if you're stuck at home. Wash your hands!