.

.

Bella stared, flabbergasted, at the person in front of her. It seemed to took too long, because his expression became more intense, more frightening, "Bella. Get in." This time, she didn't dare disobey, pulling herself from the ground and into the car. Slamming the car door shut behind me, Bella didn't even have a chance to open her mouth and speak, much less glance at him, before he was pulling off all of a sudden. Bella quickly yanked on her seatbelt, giving it a few tugs to get it to unlock and strapping it over her midsection.

It was dark inside the car. So when she did look at him, she couldn't see much besides the faint glow of his pale skin. She had no idea where he intended to go, all she knew that she was grateful to be out of the cold and away from the guys that were tailing her. She supposed thank you's were in order, but then again, being in the car with Edward was just another problem. She'd almost forgotten - if just for a second - who and what he was. She didn't even think before the next words were spilling out of her mouth, "Pull over."

Edward didn't reply. Bella couldn't see his face enough to see if she'd gotten a reaction.

"Edward," His hands gripped the steering wheel more tightly, speeding up - he was pushing eighty at that point, "I said stop the car!"

"Do you have any idea what they were going to do to you? What they were thinking?" His voice was calmer, but still consumed by the rage Bella had seen just a few minutes prior. She'd almost forgotten what his voice sounded like - so musical and deep and honeyed, like his family's. His darkened eyes snapped over to hers, "Do you?"

"Yes! I do!" Bella snapped back, making a frustrated movement with her hands, "I was handling it fine, thank you very much!" Lies, but she definitely wasn't going to let him make her feel like an idiot ( seventeen year old Bella who fumbled with her words was twiddling her thumbs away in her head currently ), "So pull over!"

"No."

"Edward!" Her voice was more forceful this time, "Stop this car. Right now!"

And he did. Finally, he jerked to a stop on the side of the highway. There were a series of loud, angry honks behind them, but neither Edward or Bella paid them any mind. Bella leaned back in her seat, realizing she was slightly out of breath when the adrenaline died down. And her head hurt. Cold, scared, and confused - a great combination. And with Bella's luck, she might've ended up dead without Edward's help. Stiffly, she peeked over to look at him. He'd become an immobile statue, his eyes closed and his thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose.

"...Thanks." A pause, "I guess."

Edward didn't reply for a long time. And Bella knew he heard her - the vampire hearing and all. Finally, he said, "You're welcome." And then he inhaled, blowing it out a few seconds later with a deep sigh. He still looked angry, but had calmed down considerably in the last few moments, "I apologize. Sometimes...I have a hard time controlling my temper. But it wouldn't be very helpful to hunt down those..." He seemed to struggle for a few seconds, shaking his head at some thought that went through his head, and then continued, "At least, that's what I'm trying to convince myself."

"Oh." Bella mumbled, head resting back against her seat. Now that the relief was gone, anxiety was beginning to trickle its way into her stomach. She was with Edward. Edward Cullen. The last person she'd seen before she slipped into her coma years ago. One of the last voices she'd heard before she woken up. He looked exactly the same - the penny colored mess of gorgeous hair, the luminous pale skin, the darkened honey eyes staring at the road in front of them. It was much too dark to really see anything, Bella couldn't really spot any signs to tell where they were exactly. He'd been driving so fast, she wouldn't be surprised if they were close to leaving town. "...I want to go home."

Edward started the engine without hesitation, entering the little traffic smoothly and heading back towards wherever. Bella stayed quiet, staring at the dark road in front of them through the windshield. She could feel the tense waves radiating off of him, but she wasn't particularly in the mood to engage. This time, Edward was the one who spoke up, "Can I ask you a question?"

Bella breathed out through her nose, lifting a hand and rubbing it against her temple to ease the oncoming headache, "Sure."

"What were you doing out there? Somewhere like that? Were you lost?"

Bella licked her lips. She didn't really want to talk about Mike with Edward. Besides the obvious embarrassment on her part, she also didn't feel comfortable enough with the man beside him to give him any details, "...Nothing. I wasn't doing anything."

Edward didn't seem satisfied with her answer, but he didn't push it. Instead, he reached over and turned up the heat more, resting his hand upon his thigh when he was finished. He drove so smoothly, Bella had a hard time believing that they were going so fast. It didn't take long to get back into town, maybe they were closer than Bella originally thought. Next thing she knew, Edward smoothly parallel parked the car and she was staring up at the sign La Bella Italia. Bella blinked, nearly giving herself whiplash when she heard Edward's car door open.

"What're you doing?"

"Taking you to dinner," he replied effortlessly. The golden tone of his eyes were still hard though. His voice was so silken and irresistible, that Bella found herself exiting the car too, closing the door behind her with a little more force than necessary.

"I'm not hungry," she insisted. It was probably a lie. She hadn't ate since that morning, and Mike had been the one to offer dinner after the game. From all the drama earlier, Bella could only think about sleep at the moment. Food was the farthest thing away from anything she wanted. Still, Edward stared at her, raising a bemused brow at her tone.

"Humor me."

.

.

The restaurant wasn't crowded, thankfully. The two of them found a table with ease thanks to their waitress, and when Edward asked for a more secluded one, she moved them to a booth towards the back with no argument. Bella nearly rolled her eyes at how easy she was "dazzled". It reminded her of her seventeen year old self all over again - fumbling around, staring for far too long, she could go on for a couple hours at least. Once the food was set down in front of her, she began to pick at it, flipping over a ravioli to pluck up a mushroom onto her fork.

She could feel Edward eyeing her from across the table, laser eyes burning into the skin of her forehead. Bella looked up, almost annoyed, "What."

He seemed perplexed, leaning back into his seat, "How are you feeling?"

"...I'm fine." It came out as more of a question than a statement.

"You don't feel dizzy, sick, cold...?"

"Should I?"

He chuckled at Bella's puzzled tone, using one of his hands to muffle the sound. Even so, the smile that spread across his face did weird things to her. Mostly made her a little irritated that he was so beautiful in the first place. He wasn't like Mike - who was humanly beautiful with his freckles and slightly crooked nose and perfect ( probably had gotten braces ) teeth. Not like Paul - who was exotically beautiful, with his deep russet skin, silky black hair, and intense features. He was otherworldly beautiful, he couldn't be from this world. He looked more like an alien from a far away galaxy rather than a human, "I'm waiting for you to go into shock, really."

Bella blinked, eyelashes fluttering, "I...don't think that'll happen. After these last few weeks, a lot more than a bunch of perverted men is going to make me go into shock, Edward."

"Right," His expression suddenly darkened, the gold of his eyes becoming hard once more.

"Don't worry. I'm very good at adapting and repressing."

"Mhm..." He didn't look amused, merely distracted. His eyes were distant, glancing at the far wall before looking towards Bella again, "I've heard you recently became friends with Alice."

"Friends is a strong word," Bella replied, finally dipping the mushroom into her mouth. She'd been waving the fork around distractedly for the last two minutes during conversation, "More of...close acquaintances. Besides, she ditched me at the baseball game."

Edward gave a tight smile, "That was probably because of me."

"You?"

"Yes," he nodded once, "I believe Alice has explained everything to you. Carlisle included."

So he knew that she knew. Well, Bella didn't expect much else. She swallowed, reaching over and grabbing a hold of her soda. She took a tentative sip, and then more. She was surprised at how thirsty she was, she hadn't even realized. When she was finished, Edward nudged his drink towards her as well. Bella took it, drinking more carefully and slowly, "Yes." She finally answered in between sips.

"You take everything very smoothly, don't you?" His tone sounded hard this time, but amused as well.

Bella shrugged her shoulders, placing down the glass beside her bowl, "You're still waiting for me to go into shock?"

"You should - a normal person would've already. You don't look shaken at all. Sitting across from me, knowing what I am, what I can do. And earlier, with those men..." He shook his head, a lock of perfect russet hair fell over his forehead and he pushed it away, seemingly frustrated with her, "...This is much harder than I originally planned."

"You know, usually you're not so cranky when your eyes are light." Bella reached over the table, picking up a warm breadstick and dipping it into her pasta.

Edward glanced up, stunned, "What?"

"I remember, in high school, you were always crabbier when your eyes were black. Is it some type of vampire thing?" She paused, watching as his expression became more guarded, "I have a lot of theories, you know. Since Alice was so vague in most of her explanations."

"Theories?"

"Mhmm..." She chewed on the corner of the breadstick - it was actually really good. "But never mind that, what were you saying earlier? About Alice?"

"I want to hear these theories."

"They're not important."

He sighed this time, rubbing a long white hand over his defined jaw. He seemed to be mulling it over - probably a proper answer to tell the little human, "...Alice knew I was in town before anyone else. She was trying to stop me."

"Stop you...?" Bella's head tilted.

"From finding you." She still didn't understand, and so she continued to stare at him, curious. He spoke again, "From finding you. And killing you." When her back went ramrod, heart jumping at the admission, Edward smiled a wry smile, "Ah, that's the reaction I was waiting for."

Bella busied herself with her hands, poking her fork into a ravioli and bringing it to her mouth. She didn't eat it yet though, "I don't understand."

He raised a perfect brow towards her, "Which part?"

"All of it." She swallowed, finally bringing the food to her lips and chewing. Once she was done, she said, "I'll eat. And you talk, how about that?"Edward was watching her carefully, as if waiting for her to back out of whatever they were doing. And then he began speaking. He told her about where he'd gone - how he'd been in school for a little while before he left, about how Carlisle and the family was worried, about the traveling he'd done while Bella was in the hospital. The "training" he'd put himself through to be able to one day see her again. Bella watched him, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth, she was completely captivated, "And a Singer is...?"

"Someone who's blood you are drawn to. It's actually rather rare."

"And I'm your Singer?"

"Yes," he nodded slowly, waiting for her reaction, "It's why I tried to stay away from you for so long. It's why..." Again, he shook his head, "Alice can see many different possibilities, the future is never set in stone. In one, she saw me coming into town, finding you, and murdering you. She wanted to be certain that I wouldn't. I didn't think I had any intentions to do so...but I wouldn't exactly put it past me either. I was going to distance myself from you when I came here, but then...Alice said you were in trouble."

"That's how you found me so quickly..."

"You're also not that hard to track," he shrugged his broad shoulders, folding his hands onto the table.

Bella nodded vaguely, but she couldn't get much out. Finally, she placed down her fork, glancing towards the front of the restaurant, where the doors were, "I want to go home." She whispered for the second time that night.

"I'll get the check."

.

.

That night, Bella dreamed. She would rather call it a dream than a nightmare. Alice was there - she starred in most of Bella's dreams as of late - but her eyes were different. Her eyes were gold. She was staring directly at Bella, the delicate skin between her eyebrows creased and worried. Bella remembered her saying "don't go, Bella! Please, don't go!" Her voice was so heartbreaking and frantic that Bella yearned to stay with her, with everything in her being. But her body was being turned somewhere else, her legs moving on their own record. And when she turned and looked, she saw the silver wolf standing just three feet away from her, dark pools of brown staring straight at her.

Bella awoke, covered in sweat, hair sticking to her shoulders and neck. Sighing, she shoved a hand through her hair to push it out of her face. Beside her, her phone was vibrating. She took one glance at it, rolled her eyes, and then stood from bed. Last night had been - well, something. Instead of allowing Edward to take her home, Bella opted for a cab. Edward didn't want to let her go without keeping an eye on her ( he seemed like a worrywart, really ), but he relented once he saw Bella's mind was made up. Probably shouldn't have told her the whole "I want to eat you" thing. When she'd gotten home, it'd been late and Erica was already in bed. Bella decided to follow her lead, it didn't take long to fall asleep, but with the recurring weird dreams and the amount of times Mike called her, Bella was struggling to even keep her eyes closed.

When she was finished with showering, she scrubbed at her teeth, frustrated and drained. She didn't spot Erica until she was finished with making lunch, Erica swiped one of her grilled cheese, in her work uniform and hair piled high on her head, "Hey, how was last night?" Bella gave her a look, "That bad?"

Bella suddenly didn't feel hungry again, just from thinking about last night. Instead, she nudged her plate towards Erica, indicating she could have at it, "Yes. That bad." A pause, "How was the morning shift?"

Erica didn't disappoint, biting into the sandwich with gusto. With her mouth full, she replied, "Shitty. Beatrice is a bitch in the morning, you know that?"

"Everyone knows that. You're the only one that hasn't come in during morning shifts."

"I need my beauty sleep." Then she smiled mischievously, "Speaking of beauties, lover boy is outside for you."

Bella jerked, glancing towards the door almost wildly, "Are you serious?" The brunette hissed, making her way over to the window to check if she could see anything. It was late afternoon, the sun out and it looked like a nice day for a jog, actually. Bella scowled, spotting Mike's fancy car easily. "Oh, great."

Erica raised a brow, she looked interested, even as she kept stuffing her face with bread and cheese, "Was the date that bad?"

"Yes!" Bella glared at the stupid car before finally looking towards her roommate, "It was worse than bad. It was terrible. He kissed me and—"

"Wait! He kissed you?!"

"That's not important! His wife showed up!"

"He has a wife?!" Erica's mouth was hanging open at that point, sandwich forgotten.

"A pregnant wife!"

"Oh. My. God."

"Right?" Bella looked towards her friend, at a loss. When she finished telling the story - the baseball game, Alice leaving, the kiss, and Jessica showing up with a big, obviously pregnant belly, Erica looked beyond shocked. And then pissed.

"Are you serious? What the hell—What kind of piece of shit—" She stopped before she could finish, sitting down the plate and making her way towards the door.

Bella gripped her arm before she could go far, "What're you doing? He's out there!"

"I know! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"

"No way, Erica! Don't," Erica looked at her, murder in her eyes, "Don't, I'm serious." Bella hesitated, gnawing on her bottom lip, then decided, "I'll do it, okay?" Better to do it herself, rather than Erica. Erica might actually hurt the guy, or worse, his car. Bella didn't want to explain any of this to her dad either. After putting on her shoes and jacket, Bella took the elevator downstairs to the front. As soon as she stepped outside, she spotted Mike standing off. He looked up at the sound of the door, and Bella immediately noticed how tired he looked - he looked like he got even less sleep than her.

"Bella!" He stepped up towards her, and Bella crossed her arms over her chest, looking down at him from the highest step. He stopped immediately at her look, "...Look," Mike held up his hands in a placating way, as if to defuse the situation, "Let me explain, Bella. Please."

Bella glanced away from his face - it looked way too vulnerable. Wasn't she the one that was supposed to feel upset? Not him, "I don't really want to hear any type of explanation, Mike."

"And I can understand that!" He said quickly, "But - But I need to tell you. Jessica and I aren't together anymore."

Bella scoffed, "Jessica said something completely different last night."

"That's because...legally, we're still married. Only legally. I'm not staying with her anymore. I promise. I'm staying in a loft I'm renting and she's staying in the main house. I promise you, Bella. I haven't been with her at all." His eyes were passionate, serious. The blue a touch darker, "Bella—please...please, listen to me." He moved farther up the steps, still keeping a couple between them, "Please. The baby isn't even mine. It's not mine. That's why we're separated in the first place. She cheated on me. She lied to me. I left her." He reached out to touch her hand.

She moved back before he could touch her.

"That weekend...that weekend you asked me to come to the baseball game with you. When I was moving. Was it really your boss on the phone?" The two of them stared at each other for a long time, Mike refused to break eye contact with her, but his expression was defeated. He already knew she knew the answer to that. She just wanted to be sure, "I think you should go, Mike." His eyes looked wide and wet, staring up at her beseechingly. Bella didn't waver - couldn't waver.

"Bella—"

"Please," she whispered, voice far too soft, he probably couldn't hear her very well, "Please leave, Mike."

He stared at her for a little longer. Then finally turned away, getting into his car and driving off. Bella waited until the car was out of sight before she allowed herself to pretty much collapse on the steps, sitting down heavily and burying her face in her hands.

.

.

"You seem distracted."

"Probably because I am," Bella mumbled, not even bothering to cast a glance at their newest employee, Ava. She was a preppy redhead that talked a mile a minute and always had pretty juicy gossip to tell. Beatrice had loved her immediately. Bella - not so much. Not only did she have to train the girl, but also manage her section of tables, along with Rita's, who had called out because her four-year-old daughter had a bad stomach flu. Ava didn't know how to be quiet, and it was quickly wearing on Bella's nerves, having to listen to her chatter along with trying to ignore everything that happened to her over the last few days wasn't easy. "Listen," Bella said, breaking Ava out of her ramblings, "Could you go restock up the ketchup? Like how I taught you."

Ava, eager as always, smiled and nodded her head fast. Bella watched her skip off, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her back. She didn't want to be rude. Valerie seemed to notice - she was packing up for the night, looping her arms through her jacket and making her way over to Bella, nudging her in the ribs with her elbow, "You okay?"

Bella glanced at her. Then away. She needed to finish loading up the dish washer, "Uh - yeah, I'm fine, Valerie. Thanks." When Valerie gave her a disbelieving look, Bella shrugged it off, attempting to come off as casual, "I just...it's just a lot on my plate right now."

Valerie nodded, still eyeing her, "If you need to talk about it, I'm here, y'know. Erica ain't the only one that can give good advice. Scratch that, she doesn't even give good advice. Her advice either ends you up in trouble or an awkward situation," Well, that wasn't particularly a lie, but Bella just gave another vague shrug, "Seriously, B. You take on way too much to not talk about it." Affectionately, she touched Bella's forearm, "I'm here, 'kay?"

Bella, slightly touched, nodded this time, "Thanks." And this time, she meant it. She was actually lucky that no news had spread around yet, with how small Forks was, she was just waiting for some gossipers to get their hands on Bella's love life - or lack thereof. Especially someone like Ava. When Valerie was gone, Bella finished up the dishes by herself and dried her hands once she was done. It was closing time, Bella and Ava were the only ones left - Beatrice had left early, and Valerie always stayed behind to help with checking stock.

"You can go, Ava," Bella said once they were done wiping down the tables and sweeping, "Thanks."

Ava blinked, and then excitement quickly flashed across her face, "Really?!"

It didn't take long before she was gone too. And Bella was left to cleaning off the stools and counters, taking the money from the tip jar and adding most of it to the register - locking it right after. While she was counting down her tips, she heard the bell over the door open, and without looking up, she called out, "We're closed." There was no other noise, not of the bell moving again either, "Hey, didn't you hear what I said? I said we're—"

"Closed, yeah. I got it," came the gruff reply. When Bella looked up, she was surprised to see Paul there. He was actually dressed today - hair brushed, a fitted black t-shirt on with a slight v-neck, and dark jeans. Bella stared for a little longer than necessary at his arms, which were crossed over his chest tightly. Once they locked eyes, she quickly looked down, returning her attention to her money ( or at least, trying to ).

"What're you doing here?" She finally murmured, peeking up at him through her lashes.

Paul shrugged, moving closer to the counter slowly, "Wanted to see you." Like it was the simplest thing in the world, like the need to see her was just a natural want. Maybe it was for him. And maybe it was for her too.

The heat of his stare was burning into her. Bella could never get used to how aware her body was of him. She felt warmer when he was near, safer. The constant numbed pull in her chest wasn't so bad anymore, like the cord was waiting for Paul to get closer, giving it some type of slack. Whether she liked it or not, when she was around him, it was easier to function, but much harder to think. Her skin crawled, to touch, to feel his. She could practically feel the warm waves radiating off of him, he was like a personal heater, really.

"Is it always like this?" She found herself asking, more to herself rather than him, though.

Paul, with his superb hearing, picked it up though, "Always like what?"

"Always...warm. When you're close, it's different. I don't know how to explain it..." She trailed off once she noticed the intense look he was giving her, the dark coloring of his eyes somehow made them even more exotic, she was staring again - she knew that. Her cheeks felt hot, along with the tips of her ears, "Sorry. Does that sound weird?"

Slowly, a crooked smile made its way across his face, starting out small before it stretched its way across his cheeks, his white teeth striking against his dark skin, "You're fucking gorgeous when you do that?"

The blush was darkening, spreading down her neck now, "Do what?"

"That." He dragged his eyes down her face, stopping at her lips, and then jaw, and then watching her blush travel farther down. He leaned across the counter slowly, as if waiting for her to back away from him or ask him to move away - like the other times. But his warmth was so much comforting than anything she'd ever known. It was so much different than Mike's, or Edwards, or any other guy she could possibly compare him to. He was something she couldn't help but gravitate towards, and the same went for him, they both knew that, in the end. When he was close enough to her, slightly bent down so their faces were at the same level of height, he whispered, "You're so fucking beautiful, Isabella."

The blush felt red hot by then, pretty much her entire body felt flushed. She'd expected a different reaction, especially when she'd felt so close to Mike a few days ago. But like she'd thought, Mike was nowhere close to Paul. Paul was on an entirely different level than any of them. She was sure it was the Imprint that caused these types of feelings, it was irrevocable and impossible to fight, even on her end. And the obvious attraction wasn't helping - it made things more frustrating actually. Paul continued, he didn't allow her to keep a clear head for too long, "Y'know, I'm getting a little sick of this back and forth. When're you gonna lemme take you somewhere?"

Bella rose an eyebrow, "Like to your house?"

He smiled again, slow and burning, "I like the way you think. But nah. I wanna date."

"A date?" Lately, she hasn't been that great with those.

He easily snuffed out her hesitation, "If you think I'm gonna take no for an answer," he lifted her chin between his too-warm fingers, forcing her to look at him, "You got another thing comin', sweetheart. Date. You and me. This weekend."

Bella met his stare head-on, he liked that about her, "Who said I was going to say no?"

.

.

Okay! So I'm done with messing around with these two, I want to get the ball rolling more with the werewolves and Paul/Bella. No more other suitors for awhile, I want to develop their relationship more and write some chemistry, also some kisses and maybe throw in a few - AHEM - lemon scenes. For now, we're going to start on a date, see how it goes from there. Sorry this took so long to get out, I need to be in the mood to write. And when I start writing, I can't stop either. It's either I finish all of it in a few hours or none.

Please leave me something nice. What you guys thought of this chapter and any type of feedback. I haven't checked this chapter, so typos galore!