A/N: A new chapter for y'all. Don't know when I'm gonna post again, sorry. I hope you enjoy.

People greeted Bella in the parking lot Monday morning. She didn't know all their names, but she waved back and smiled awkwardly at everyone. It was colder that morning, but happily not raining. In World History, Angela took her accustomed seat by her side. They had a pop quiz on economic effects of exploration. It was straightforward, very easy.

All in all, Bella was feeling a lot more comfortable than she had thought she would feel by eating a goodie before going to school. More comfortable than she had ever expected to feel in Forks. Maybe she'd start to eat it everyday.

When they walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. Bella could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at her cheeks and nose.

"Wow," Angela said. "It's snowing."

Bella looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past her face.

"Ew." Snow. There went my good day.

Angela looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes, you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" she asked incredulously.

"Sure I have." Bella paused. "On TV."

Angela laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked right next to their heads, missing them for a bit. They both turned to see where it came from. She had her suspicions about Jessica, who was walking away, her back toward them, in the wrong direction for her next class.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Bella kept walking as she spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

Angela just nodded, her eyes on Jessica's retreating figure.

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. Bella kept her mouth shut, too lost on her on mind to care what they thought about some stupid snow. Sure, it was drier than rain, until it melted in your socks.

Bella walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. She kept a binder in her hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Jessica thought she was hilarious, but something in Bella's expression kept Jessica from lobbing a snowball at her herself.

Mike caught up to them as they walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as they got in line to buy food. Bella glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. They were all there, looking as flawless as always.

Jessica pulled on her arm. "Hello? Bella? What do you want?"

Bella looked down; her ears were hot. She had no reason to feel self-conscious, she reminded herself. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.

"Nothing," Bella answered. "I'm just thinking what there's to eat today." she caught up to the end of the line.

"You're hungry?" Angela asked, appearing out of nowhere.

Bella just nodded blushing, her cheeks a dark shade of pink. The munchies had finally attacked. That was the downside of getting high in public, you start to eat like a monster. She picked what felt like a bit of everything, place it on her tray and waited for them to get their food then followed them to a table, her eyes on her tray, eager to start eating

She choose a seat that had her back to the their table, too embarrassed of her eating habits while high for them to see. She was about to become a Tyrannosaurus and she didn't need an audience for that.

She tried and started slowly, eating a apple very slowly but then she started to think she must seem like a crazy person, eating that slow, so she started to eat it on a normal pace, or what she thought was a normal pace. 10 minutes later she was finished with everything on her tray. Twice Angela asked, with unnecessary concern, how she was feeling. She told her it was nothing; that she hadn't ate when she woke up, but Bella was wondering if she should play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour with the amount of food she just consumed.

She didn't need to go, in fact, she was still very much hungry, but she didn't have the courage to eat anything else in front of them. They would finally catch up with the fact that she's crazy... for weed, she thought, chuckling to herself at her stupid joke.

Bella decided to allow herself one glance at the Cullen family's table. None of them glaring at me, just like the past week. She exhaled loudly, it was expecting.

They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. Ophelia was taking pictures of them on her cellphone. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else, only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of them.

But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and Bella couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. She examined Rosalie the most carefully. Her skin was less pale, she decided, flushed from the snow fight maybe. The circles under her eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. She pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following Bella's stare.

At that precise moment, Rosalie's eyes flashed over to meet Bella's. The first knowledge since she decided to ignore Bella. But it happened so fast that Bella wasn't even sure it happened at all. Though Bella was sure Rosalie didn't look harsh or unfriendly as she had the last time she'd glared at her. She looked merely bored, unsatisfied in some way.

"Rosalie Hale was staring at you," Jessica giggled in Bella's ear.

"She didn't look angry, did she?" she couldn't help asking.

"No," Jessica said, sounding confused by Bella's question. "Should she be?"

"I don't think she likes me," she confided. The weed doing wonders to make her open up to someone as shallow and gossipy as Jessica of all people.

"The Cullens don't like anybody... well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them."

"Ophelia's not like that. She's in my Bio class, she's really friendly." Bella said defensively, sounding like her father. She laughed at the thought and Jessica looked at her like she was clinically insane, but didn't ask about it.

Bella raised her head enough to see if Rosalie was looking at them again, but she wasn't even in the cafeteria anymore. Every single Cullen vanished in the time she was talking to Jessica.

Mike interrupted them then, he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted Bella and Jessica to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. Bella kept silent. She'd probably have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.

Bella and Angela walked together as usual to their Biology class. When they went to the door, everyone besides Bella groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. She pulled her hood up, secretly pleased. She'd be free to go straight home after Gym.

Once she arrived in the classroom Mr. Molina was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation.

She heard very clearly when the chair next to her moved, but her eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern she was drawing.

"Hey Bella," said the musical voice she'd grown used to.

"Ophelia." Bella greeted her, not taking her eyes from the notebook.

"How was your weekend?"

"Stayed at home most of the time," she admitted "And you?"

"Same. There's nothing much to do in Forks, you're gonna notice that."

"Oh, believe me, I know." Bella chuckled, lifting her head enough to look at Ophelia that had her eyes glued to her phone, like it always was.

She glanced at Bella when she heard her laugh and started to laugh herself.

"Are you high, Bella?" she said a little too loud for Bella's liking.

"What? No—I'm—not. No. Shut upside ." Bella stuttered, blinking repeatedly, her head moving backwards, trying to create some distance between them.

Ophelia rolled her eyes "You can't even keep your eyes open, I'm surprised you're even seeing things."

"What?" Bella's hand went straight to her eyes in a reflexive manner. Ophelia laughed at again, her face a clear 'what-the-fuck-are-you-doing?'.

She opened the camera app in her phone and snapped a picture of Bella's face without announcing. She laughed at it before handing her phone to the girl sitting next to her.

Bella looked at the candid of her face. Her eyes indeed were smaller than the usual, and a little reddish, completely giving away her state. She was surprised that no one noticed before, or they noticed but decided to not comment. The latter made more sense.

"Don't tell anyone, I can explain." Was the first thing that came out of Bella's mouth, a feeling that she was in trouble creeping on her. Charlie would kill her if he knew she went to school that way.

"I won't rattle you, relax," Ophelia said, still laughing a little at the girl's antics "But I'd appreciate if you could share it next time." She finished with a wink.

"Oh," Bella's eyebrows raised in surprise, making her eyes double it's current size "So you're into it, too?"

"From time to time." Ophelia shrugged.

"I can hook you up, if you're sure. It's actually an edible."

"Awesome." Ophelia smiled "We should hang sometime, you know, after school or something."

"Totally." Bella agreed, her mind already running multiples scenarios of their hang out. She suddenly felt too cool for hanging out with a Cullen, one person she knew anyone in school would die to get to know.

She spent the rest of the class daydreaming, about absolutely everything, a side effect from getting high on a edible. She remembered things from when she was a kid, things she didn't remember anymore. She remembered things she wasn't sure if it was real or not. She remembered the dream she had last week and how odd it felt, it was like she could still feel the ring's weight in her finger. She needed to look at it just to make sure it wasn't there. By the end of class she was sure everyone noticed how weird she acted throughout the class.

When the bell rang Ophelia helped Bella gather her things, knowing the girl wasn't in the shape of doing it herself.

"How many did you ate?" she asked after they were out in the hallway.

"Two?" Bella muttered "Maybe three, not sure." she seemed confused "I don't remember." she admitted chuckling, her voice full of guilty.

"Wow, that's way too many, Bella." Ophelia said with no judgment in her voice.

"I didn't want to get stressed."

"Why? What's happening? Has someone been bothering you?" Ophelia sounded truly worried and Bella melted at the thought that the beautiful creature in front of her cared enough to be worried.

"No, it's nothing. Just haven't been able to adjust yet." she lied, not wanting to bring their discussion from last week about Ophelia's sister back.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep." Bella nodded to emphasize "Gotta go to class now."

"Can you go there by yourself? I can accompany you, no problem."

"Nah, I can do it. Besides, your class is in this building. Thank you though. See you after?" she half-asked half-stated.

"Sure."

Bella smiled at her and continued to walk while Ophelia stayed in place, watching Bella go before she disappeared through a door, just then turning around and continuing to her own classroom.

Bella took her sweet time to get to class, sure that if she hurried she'd trip over the snow and she wasn't certain if she'd be able to bring herself to stand up if that happened.

She arrived in class just a few minutes later, the teacher having no problem in allowing her inside. Trying to hurriedly get to her seat Bella stumbled in a bag standing in the middle of the hallways. Unfortunately she wasn't able to catch herself before falling to the ground, making everyone stare at her, even the ice cold blonde. From her place on the floor it felt like it lasted forever before Mike helped her get to her feet. She thanked him before finally taking her place.

"Are you alright, Miss Swan?" Mrs. Lynch asked.

"I am, sorry."

Mrs. Lynch continued class after that. She had assigned them Wuthering Heights, a book Bella was more than familiar with so she didn't feel guilty about spacing out, a way to ignore the glances she was receiving.

The class ended just as it started, Bella stumbling again but this time Mike was faster to catch her. They did they routine of walking together to Gym class. Mike was on her team today. He chivalrously covered Bella's position as well as his own, so her woolgathering was only interrupted when it was her turn to serve; Bella's team ducked warily out of the way every time she was up.

She was glad when she went to the parking lot, eager to get out of school ground as soon as possible. It was only a matter of time before someone else noticed how high she was. So this time Bella didn't waste anytime at searching anyone across the parking lot, she just hopped inside her Chevelle and started the engine.

She opted for not turning the music on, knowing she'd get distracted and she'd probably get herself in a car crash because of it. She did turn the heat on, though, anything to make the unbearable cold just a little bit bearable.

Bella chose to drive first to Sully's that was closer to the school so she'd grab a bite to eat and wait a little while to sober up before going home, knowing the greasy fast-food would do the trick.

After spending half an hour sitting alone in her Chevelle at the parking lot eating her food, Bella felt good enough to drive back home. When she arrived Charlie was still at the Police Station and even though she'd already ate, he hadn't. So she prepared a couple of stakes and placed a baking sheet full of potatoes and vegetables in the oven. She settled the timer right in her phone, with a loud sound and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was so tired she didn't even bothered to change before collapsing in her bed with the shoes on. She placed her phone next to her pillow and made sure it wasn't on silent mode before allowing herself to drift over.

She woke when the timer went off 45 minutes later, went downstairs and turned off the oven before returning to her room and sleeping again. She was long gone when Charlie finally arrived home.

The rest of that week and the following week went just the same, with the exception that Bella didn't ate anymore goodies until the next week on Friday, when she'd let herself have a little fun again.

As the days passed Bella noticed that it was easier to ignore Rosalie when it was clear that the girl would never talk to her. What was the point in keep worrying herself about her when the girl was a senior and would be out of school soon. Bella'd only have to endure her for a few more months before the blonde was gone to some expensive college on the East Coast or whatever.

On Tuesday, Ophelia saved Bella's number to her phonebook, saying she'd text her when she got some free time to hang with Bella like she suggested. Bella was too shy to ask for the girls number back, knowing she'd have it once the girl texted her.

On Wednesday, Bella received a text from Leah saying there was a party going on that weekend in La Push, at some guy's house. Bella texted back saying she was definitely going and asked if Leah could pick her, not wanting to drive back home while high and not wanting to cut on the partying too. Leah replied she'd be at Bella's by 6:30pm.

Bella was excited for the prospect of meeting new people that didn't go at the same school as her. And if they were anything like the Quileutes Bella knew, she was sure she'd like them. More than she liked the people at her school.

On Wednesday, Mike confirmed with her if she'd go to La Push with them on a couple of weeks. She said she'd go as long as she could control the music on the trip over and while they were there. Mike promptly agreed, happy to get to hang with Bella somewhere outside school.

On Friday it was the day that everything changed.

Bella woke up in that day with a strange feeling, but she didn't give it much thought. She dressed herself with a high waist light denim jeans, a colerful striped shirt tucked inside her jeans and her old high top red Converse. Her parka jacket thrown over to cover her from the cold that was outside.

She ate a single brownie before heading downstairs. She then ate a toast and drank grapefruit juice before finally facing the cold air outside. After she closed the door she jogged after her car, not wanting to stay in that cold as much as she absolutely needed.

Once inside the car she plugged her phone on the aux cord and chose Sad, Sad World by Jamie Cullum to start the day. A little moody tune that suited the day perfectly. She turned the heater all the way up before finally starting the engine.

The travel to her school already felt like a routine. Bella would usually take around 10min to 14min to make it there in a good day. Today with the snow on the ground it took her 20min, give it or take. By the time she arrived at school Malt Liquor by Lewis Del Mar was playing, one of her favorite songs. She waited until it was over before leaving for class.

Bella started to feel the goodies working in the middle of her first class. Everything seemed so far away out of the sudden. She smiled when she noticed it, being high making everything way more interesting.

Every single class Bella had that day seemed to drag for an enormous amount of time but once it ended it felt like it had just started. Bella liked losing her sense of time and reality. She spent most classes spacing out, her mind thinking about the party she was attending that weekend. She felt excited for it, the first time it happened since she arrived Forks.

At lunch, people kept trying to get her to talk, but all Bella wanted was to eat her food in peace. She used her earphone as a way to block everything around her, enjoying her food and her music and everyone got the hint and didn't bothered her for the rest of the lunch.

The rest of the day went just the same as the first time, Bella spacing out more often than not, but still conscious of her surroundings. She was way more sober than the last Monday, when she had ate 3 pieces of brownie. Maybe if she kept eating one or even half was enough to make her feel good without getting her on a dangerous state.

After Gym Bella was standing by the back corner of her Chevelle, listening to her music while inhaling fresh air to help her sober up, when she heard an odd sound.

It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud, enough for Bella to hear through her earphones. She looked up, startled.

Bella saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush combined with the THC seemed to make her brain work much faster, and she was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.

Rosalie Hale was standing six cars down from Bella, staring at her in horror. Her face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the navy blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of Bella's old car, and she was standing between them. She didn't even have time to close her eyes.

Just before Bella heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the Chevelle's back, something hit her, hard, but not from the direction she was expecting. Her head cracked against the icy blacktop, and Bella felt something solid and cold pinning her to the ground. She was lying on the pavement behind the tan car she'd parked next to. But Bella didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming. It had curled gratingly around the end of the Chevelle and, still spinning and sliding, was about to collide with her again.

A low oath made Bella aware that someone was with her, and the voice was impossible not to recognize. Two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of her, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from Bella's face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body.

Then her hands moved so fast they blurred. One was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging Bella, swinging her legs around like a rag doll's, till they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hurt her ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt, exactly where, a second ago, Bella's legs had been.

In the blink of an eye Rosalie placed Bella gently on the floor before disappearing, Bella not even noticing to what direction she went.

It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, Bella could hear more than one person shouting her name. A crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at Bella.

"Don't move," someone instructed.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted. There was a flurry of activity around her.

It took six EMTs and two teachers, Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp, to shift the van far enough away from Bella to bring the stretcher in. Bella tried to decline it, saying she was was fine, but some traitor told them she'd hit her head and probably had a concussion. Bella almost died of humiliation when they put on the neck brace. It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded her in the back of the ambulance.

To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived before they could get her safely away.

"Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized his daughter on the stretcher.

"I'm completely fine, Char—Dad," Bella sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."

He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. Bella tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in her head. When they'd lifted her away from the car, she'd seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper, a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Rosalie's shoulders... as if she had braced herself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame.

And then there was her family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury to worry from Ophelia's part but held no hint of concern for their sister's safety. Odd to say the least.

Bella tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what she had just seen, a solution that excluded the assumption that she was insane.

All she could think of was that she was so high that she imagined the whole thing. If that was true, she'd only find it out the next day.

Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. Bella felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading her.

They put her in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on Bella's arm and a thermometer under her tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give her some privacy, she decided she wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. When the nurse walked away, Bella quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.

There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to Bella. She recognized Tyler Crowley from her Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than Bella felt. But he was staring anxiously at her.

"Bella, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine, Tyler. You look awful, are you all right?" As they spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek.

He ignored Bella. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong..." He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.

"Don't worry about it; you missed me."

"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone..."

"Umm... I have no idea. It's like I blacked out and when I was back I was already on the other spot." Bella lied, a feeling that she shouldn't tell people about Rosalie before confronting the girl about it. After all, she wasn't even sure it all happened.

He looked confused. "It's impossible."

"I guess I'm just lucky." Bella'd always been a terrible liar; she didn't sound convincing at all.

They wheeled Bella away then, to X-ray her head. She told them there was nothing wrong, and she was right. Not even a concussion. Bella asked if she could leave, but the nurse said she had to talk to a doctor first. So Bella was trapped in the ER, waiting, harassed by Tyler's constant apologies and promises to make it up to her. No matter how many times she tried to convince him she was fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, Bella closed her eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling.

Then a doctor walked around the corner, and Bella's mouth fell open. He was young, he was blond and he was handsomer than any movie star she'd ever seen. He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. From Charlie's description, this had to be Rosalie's father.

"So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Bella said, for the last time, she hoped.

He walked to the lightboard on the wall over her head, and turned it on.

"Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Chief Swan said you hit it pretty hard."

The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along her skull. He noticed when she winced.

"Tender?" he asked

"Not really." I'd had worse. "I'm fine," she insisted "It would've been a lot worse if Rosalie hadn't knocked me out of the way." she admitted, feeling like she could at least tell him that.

She hoped Tyler didn't heard her and for the lack of mumbling coming from his stretching Bella was sure he didn't.

Dr. Cullen smiled at Bella before quickly looking back at the chart, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. Bella intuition flickered, sensing he knew something.

"It was amazing how she got to me so fast. She was nowhere near me." Bella continued, hoping that he'd give anything away.

He just smiled "Well, your father is in the waiting room, you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."

Bella nodded before throwing her legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly. She staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught her. He looked concerned.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied her.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," Bella insisted.

She made her way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway. Charlie was waiting for her in the waiting room just like Dr. Cullen had said. He hurried to her side once he saw her. She assured him multiple times that she was fine before he'd finally accept it.

"There's nothing wrong with me," Bella assured him sullenly. She was still aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home." she sighed.

"I just have to sign some paperwork. You better call your mother." he said, still a little hesitantly about leaving Bella out of her sight.

"You told her?!" Bella argued appalled "She's probably freaking out right now."

She pulled out her phone and was about to call Renée when she saw three people standing down the hall, talking in a hushed tone.

It was Dr. Cullen, his son that Bella remembered as Edward and Rosalie.

"This isn't just about you, it's about all of us." Bella could make out the voice as belonging to Edward, since it was the only one she had never heard before.

Bella was standing behind a pillar, trying to hide herself while she ears dropped, but Dr. Cullen glanced at her.

"Let's take this to my office. Shall we?" he suggested to his children.

Before they all left Bella stepped forward, making herself visible to all of them.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she intended it for Rosalie but was Edward that came to her. The blonde girl following her father without even sparing a glance at Bella's direction.

"I actually meant Rosalie. If I could talk to Rosalie." Bella explained. She contemplated the idea of ignoring the boy in front of her and just following after the girl, but she wasn't in the condition of chasing anyone.

"She's busy right now. How can I help you, Bella?" he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold. It felt odd hearing him say her name like they were old friends.

"I want to know if she's okay. To know how did she got to me so fast."

"She was standing right next to you, Bella." he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, completely ignoring her first question.

"No, she wasn't." Bella tried to assure him "She was literally across the lot, standing next to you and your brothers."

"No, she was right next to you." The way he looked at her, like she was insane. For a moment Bella actually thought she was going crazy.

"That doesn't even make sense. She hates me, we never even spoke, why'd she be staying next to me?"

Bella was sure of what she saw and she knew who did it. She also knew damn well that the person in question wasn't fond of her in the slightest bit. Rosalie avoided Bella like she was carrying some rare and very contagious plague. There was no way she'd be near her if she was not forced.

"You're confused. You hit your head."

"I know what I saw." she insisted.

"And what was that, exactly?" His tone growing angrier by the second.

"She stopped the van. She pushed it away. With her bare hands." She couldn't help but shout, trying to make her point pass through.

"No one will believe that." Edward snickered at her.

Her eyebrows shot down together, offended by the assumption "I wasn't planning on telling anyone."

"Look, I just want to know the truth, alright?" she continued after a few seconds, a silent plea in her words.

"Can't you just forget what happened and move on?" he said through gritted teeth, a barely audible growl escaping from his lips.

Bella shook her head with conviction. Of course she'd not forget what happened, not even if she wanted. How was that a serious question?

"You're not gonna drop it, are you?"

"Nope." She was definitely not going to drop it.

"Then I hope you enjoy disappointment." he said with a sarcastic smile before walking away, on the opposite side of where his family had disappeared.

Bella didn't have the will to follow after him, the exhaustion finally catching up with her. A small headache starting to creep upon her. She was so angry, it took her a few minutes until she could move again.

Charlie put one arm behind her back, announcing he was done with the paperwork and ready to go home. He led her to the glass doors of the exit. She waved sheepishly at her friends standing in the wait-room, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief, the first time Bella'd ever felt that way, to get into the cruiser.

They drove in silence. Bella was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she barely acknowledge Charlie at all. She was positive that Edward's defensive behavior in the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things she still could hardly believe she'd witnessed.

When they got to the house, Charlie finally spoke.

"Did you call your mother?"

"No, I forgot. I'll call her now." Bella promised.

Bella slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on her way out. She was still mad at Charlie for telling Renée.

Renée was in hysterics, as expected. Bella had to tell her she felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged Bella to come home, forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment, but her pleas were easier to resist than she'd would have thought. Bella was consumed by the mystery the Cullens presented. And now more than a little obsessed by Rosalie herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Bella wasn't as eager to escape Forks as she should be, as any normal, sane person would be.

Bella decided she might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued to watch her anxiously, and it was getting on her nerves. She stopped on her way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom. They did help, and, as the pain eased, Bella drifted to sleep.

That night she had the same weird dream from last week. This time making any less sense than before.

When Bella woke that Saturday everything that happened in the day prior came rushing through her mind in what felt like an excessive amount of knowledge. It was enough to make Bella sure of what happened really happened, that it wasn't some weird trip she had while high on weed. A drug Bella was sure to stay away for a little while, even if it didn't had anything to do with what happened.

That was Tyler's fault. No, the ice's fault. Tyler couldn't help if he hit it and Bella just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. If it wasn't for Rosalie, Bella wasn't sure if she wanted to know what could've happened to her.

When she went downstairs her dad was waiting for her, sitting in the living room with his regular attires, saying he took the day off so her could keep an eye on her. As expected, Charlie argued with Bella about letting her go to the party in La Push later that day, when she has just suffered an accident. Bella had to remind him that she didn't suffered an accident, just a scare.

She wanted to get out of the house and away from anyone that knew what Bella had to endure the day prior, basically anyone with an ear and a predisposition for gossip. She wanted to get her mind out of things, to forget the things hunting her mind, things she wanted an explanation and was only going to get it Monday.

Bella felt momentarily mad for not asking for Ophelia's number earlier that week. That'd come handy right now. But probably was for the good, Bella didn't have it. She would definitely be harassing the girl for answers and that'd mess with any chances of having the girl as an actual friend and maybe even an ally when she went to confront Rosalie.

It took some convincing and promising she woudn't do anything reckless for him to reluctantly agree, with the condition she'd be home before 11pm. She then quickly texted Leah to let her know she'd still be attending the party but chose to not reveal anything about what happened, preferring to talk about it in person.

Bella spent the rest of the day locked up inside her room. Charlie offered to make the lunch and called her when it was ready, she declined it saying she wasn't hungry. Herself actually not feeling too well to ingest any food yet. She stayed in bed tucked under her fluffy blanket watching films all afternoon. She started with Appropriate Behavior then when it was over she decided to watch Lost in Transition, a personal favorite

She was in the middle of her third film, the Virgin Suicides when Leah texted her saying she was on her way. Bella jumped out of bed in a hurry to find her something to wear. She had already showered earlier that day, so she was still clean enough. In the end she opted for a long sleeve turtleneck black shirt with a black jeans to match. She seat on her bed to put on her black oxford shoes.

Her phone rang announcing the receiving of a new text and she hurried to get everything she needed before heading downstairs. She found Charlie standing at the door talking to Leah.

"You make sure she's alright, capisce?" he said in a stern voice "If she's not feeling okay give me a call and I'll go get her."

"I'm going to be fine, dad" Bella interrupted in a hurried tone. What she didn't need was Charlie arriving at a party with underage kids full of alcohol and illicit drugs, with the cruiser to pick her up.

"Okay, okay. But if you need, I'm just a call away." Charlie insisted and Bella nodded.

She said her goodbyes to her father and followed Leah to her car. It was a black Volkswagen GTI. As soon they were inside Leah was already driving them to La Push. Her car system connected to a radio station.

"It's okay if I connect my phone?" Bella said once she saw an aux cord wrapped in the dashboard.

"Sure." Leah agreed and Bella did it. She scrolled past her playlists and went straight to search the song she wanted to hear. A moment later the Less I Know the Better by Tame Impala started to play, neither of them talking for awhile, the song being enough to fill the void left from the lack of conversation.

"So, were you planning on telling me you suffered a car accident or never occurred to you to mention it in the text you sent me this morning?" Leah said after waiting for Bella to say something.

"Huh, I wasn't in a car accident, per say." Bella said shrugging "A car almost hit me, but I got out without any scratches. End of story."

"Your dad said you knocked your head."

"Well, Charlie shouldn't be saying things he doesn't know." Bella said a little more harshly than she intended, but she couldn't help it. Charlie should just keep his mouth shut like he did most of the time.

"Did you?" Leah insisted, not caring about Bella's rising temper.

"Maybe." Was all Bella offered and Leah decided she should let the subject drop.

They drove the rest of the way until Sam's house in complete silence, Tame Impala's album Current's playing in the background. Leah drove carefully because of all the snow in the road so she took twice the time to get to the place. She parked in front of a two-store small log cabin surrounded by trees everywhere. A few other cars were parked there too, but not much since most of the guests where from La Push.

Leah exited the car and Bella did the same. The moment she was out of the car's warmth she cursed herself internally for not bringing a jacket. Hopefully Sam had a heater inside his house.

There was a hip-hop song playing loudly from inside the house, Bella could hear voices talking and someone laughing. The moment she entered the house everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her. Out of the sudden it was first day in school all over again.

Gladly Jacob and Seth bounced to greet her and Leah, breaking the ice of their entrance and everyone went on to continue whatever they were doing.

"Bella! Glad you came." Jacob said grinning. His eyes were already half way shut and Bella had no doubt he was high as fuck.

"Of course I'd come. I need to get to know your friends if I'm going to marry Seth someday." she joked, bringing back what she said when she saw them on the first day "Speaking of him, shouldn't you not be in this party? You're way too young for this." she turned to look at him.

"As long as I'm doing anything illegal I don't see the problem." Seth shrugged with a big smile on his face.

Bella narrowed her eyes once she saw he was holding a cup. She grabbed it from his hand and took a sip. OJ.

"Good boy, young Seth." she said huffing his hair.

They all went to the bar so they'd grab something to drink. Everyone except Seth and Bella. She had promised her father she wouldn't do anything, and drinking and getting drunk was definitely doing something. And in all truthfulness, Bella still wasn't ready to drink, her stomach still shaken from what happened yesterday.

Leah grabbed a cup and poured beer from the keg in the kitchen floor. Jacob made himself a screwdriver and Bella poured water in a cup, not wanting to drink orange juice either.

She took the time to glance around the room. What she found was several groups scattered around the house. There was people talking in the living room couch, people smoking from a bong, people playing Mario Kart on Wii. The majority was male and Bella remembered Leah saying that the parties were mainly full of testosterone, but there where some girls too. None as pretty as Leah, though.

A tall guy with cropped black hair appeared next to them.

"Leah, you're finally here." he said with an excessively wide grin, his arms ready to embrace her, but Leah was fast enough to push it away.

"Bella, that's Sam Uley. Sam, this is Bella Swan." Leah introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Bella." Sam said, turning his attention completely to the new girl. "Help yourself with anything you want, there's some goodies Jake baked for us," he looked around trying to find it "somewhere in here."

"Thanks, but I'm good sticking with water." Bella raised her glass to emphasize it.

"Suit yourself." Sam shrugged while pouring himself more beer. "You're really pretty, you know that, right?"

"She's not interested." Leah stepped in front of Bella, but her voice remained disinterested.

"Jealousy, much?"

"No at all. Just trying to let you know that not everyone wants to fuck you, Uley."

"Debatable." he snickered before walking away.

"So that's Sam." Bella said after watching him.

"That's Sam." Leah agreed.

"I still don't get why we come to his parties." Seth said, confusion written all over his face "He's an asshole."

"We come for the free booze, little brother." Leah smiled, her eyes catching a sight of a girl passing by "And the girls. Excuse me."

They watched as Leah walked in the direction of a raven-haired girl talking to another girl in the living room. Bella's eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"I said her hobby is to hook up with random girls," Seth said after seeing how Bella was still watching his sister "Except that's not a random girl. Her name's Emily, Leah's been crushing on her for a long time, but she never got any further than talking. She's—"

"She's my cousin," Jacob interrupted with a disgusted face "But I mean, it's better than if she'd been after my sisters, I guess."

"And what about you? Not interested in any girl?" Bella asked Jacob after taking her eyes away from Leah "Or boy, I don't wanna assume anything."

"I'm not gay, but there's no girl I'm interested either."

"Young Seth?" she turned to address the younger boy.

"Nope, no girl for me either." Seth said.

"Well, that's a shame. You're both two wonderful guys. Any person would be lucky to date any of you." Bella admitted and Jacob and Seth just smiled at her kind words.

They walked to the living room to see if they could take a turn playing Wii and luckily they didn't find anyone there, not even Leah or the girl she was talking. So Bella and Seth decided to go first, Jacob saying he was way to high to play anything. Seth choose bowling for them to play.

Seth won the first round and Bella asked for a rematch, winning in the second try. To break the tie Seth suggested for them to play Just Dance, which Bella refused, shaking her head strongly, but after some convincing from Seth and some encouraging from Jacob she accepted. Hoping that anyone besides the two wouldn't see it.

They started with Nine in the Afternoon by Panic! at the Disco, Bella's choice.

"This is stupid." Bella said after the first few dance moves, feeling ashamed of herself, but continued to dance even if she missed a few steps.

"Oh, c'mon Bella, this is fun." Seth insisted, his moves so graceful and on point that made Bella jealous.

Seth won in the end, since Bella was still a little bit stiff for having to dance in public. By the time they reached the sixth song, Mambo No. 5, Bella had already gotten somewhat over her shame for doing that in public. She was dancing a lot better too, having won two times over Seth.

On the next song Jacob requested to play against Bella and Seth was a little grateful for stepping out to take some air and grab a cup of water. He went to the kitchen while Jacob chose Jump to play.

"Oh, you're so dead, Jake. I love this song." Bella rejoiced before the song started.

"It's on, Bell." Jacob challenged.

It was a tough call, both doing their best to hit all the right steps, even Jacob managed to miss just a few even in his high state of mind, but in the end Bella won over him.

"I told you." she snickered at him and just as the song ended she head a round of applause coming from behind them.

While they were playing a group of people came to watch them, the song catching their interest. They all sang along but neither Bella or Jacob seemed to notice that, too entranced by the game to pay attention in anything else.

"Your dancing skills sucks, Jacob." snickered a tall guy, maybe a little shorter than Jacob himself, with black eyes and hair. His skin was the same as the most of them.

"Bella, that's Paul Lahote." Jacob introduced and Bella nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"'Sup?" Paul said. "It's cool if I give it a go against Black?" he asked her.

"Yeah, sure, go for it." she said "I'm feeling a little dehydrated already."

Bella dodged the sea of people that had accumulated in the living room to watch Jacob and Paul face each other in the dance-off. As Bella was arriving in the kitchen she heard the start of Barbie Girl starting to play and she fasted her pace to get back there, not wanting to miss that.

While she poured herself a new cup of water she contemplated giving into the party mood and drinking something with alcohol, but decided against, seeing that she was having fun without the need of anything to make it happen.

When she got back to the living room there was a few more people watching the two of them dancing, all of them, including Bella herself, cheered and laughed at what was happening in front of them. From what Bella could see, she was sure Paul was as drunk as Jacob was high, if his eating shit grin and the way he moved his body was anything to go by.

The song ended and Jacob won, making Paul curse and punch him in the arm. He was clearly mad for losing and Bella couldn't help but think he was too petty for taking something like a dance game seriously. But he was probably too drunk, so Bella didn't think too much of it.

The game continued, with Jacob going against a boy that Bella learned as Embry and after that it seemed like everyone wanted to take a try with the game, too. Bella laughed with the fact that a silly game like Just Dance mobilized a party full of teenagers and young adults. She wondered if it was the alcohol and weed in their system or something else.

"Now's my turn. And I'm going against Bella." Leah announced, startling Bella that didn't even noticed her.

Bella bounced until she reached the Quileute girl.

"Are you sure? I'm going to kick your ass." she joked.

"Not if I kick yours first." Leah said with a hint of challenge in her voice.

"It's your funeral, Clearwater." Bella shrugged, faking indifference.

Leah grabbed the control from a girl Bella didn't know the name and chose American Boy before placing herself in front of the TV. Bella did the same, standing next to her.

It started and Bella felt confident about winning. It was her ninth dance that night and so far she had won most of it. She kept her eyes glued to the dancer on tv, following every move and being awarded for every step she got perfectly. But she made the mistake of moving her eyes to glance at the girl next to her. It was a solo part for Leah and for some reason Bella couldn't take her eyes off of her, losing a few commands that in the end costed her victory.

"I told I'd kick your ass first." Leah bragged with a smirk in her face and Bella rolled her eyes "But as the merciful person I am, I'll let you have another chance."

"As much as I'd love to prove to you that I am better than you," she checked her phone. 10:43pm "We need to get going if you're still taking me home. I promised to be back before 11pm."

Leah checked her phone to confirm the hour. "Oh crap. Alright, let's go."

As Leah went to retrieve her jacket from the couch she stumbled a little and Bella had to steady her.

"Are you sure you're good to drive? You drank and I'm sure you probably smoked, too." Bella said watching the girl's state.

"Nah, I'm good." Leah said dismissing Bella's concerns "I'm used to drink and drive, believe me." Bella gave her a skeptical look "I'm good, I promise."

"I still prefer if Seth comes with us, then I don't need to worry about you driving back alone."

Leah smiled at the girl's concern "Okay."

They left the living room still crowded with people watching two girls playing Just Dance to look for Seth and Jacob. They found them sitting at the stairs talking to another guy that Bella remembered as Embry.

"I gotta take Bella's home and she insists that you come with us." Leah said to her brother with a hint of fake annoyance in her voice.

"It's just so she won't drive back home all by herself. It's late and she's drunk." Bella explained.

"Yeah, Bella's gotta a point." Seth agreed "C'mon Jake."

They got up and all of them said goodbye to Embry but didn't bothered to say goodbye to the host or anyone else. When they got to the car Seth insisted in Bella sitting in the passenger seat while he and Jacob settled for the back seats.

Bella decided not to play any song, afraid that it'd distract Leah and soon they were on the road going back to Forks.

"So, did you finish all the brownie, Bella? If you want, we can go home and pick some more." Jacob said after some time of absolutely silence.

"No, there's still a couple left, thanks." Bella replied.

"So why didn't you ate any today?" Jacob inquired.

"Or drink at the party? You're no into alcohol?" Seth asked, complementing Jacob.

"No, I drink, too. I just... wasn't feeling like it." Bella explained, trying to sound convincing but failing miserably.

Leah glanced at the girl next to her before saying "Bella's been in a car accident."

"What?!"

"When?"

"No, I wasn't in a car accident!" Bella argued "Thank you, Leah. Can't you keep your mouth shut for just a second?"

"I was silent a moment ago." Leah said defensively.

Bella rolled her eyes "You know what I mean."

"What happened, Bella?" Seth interjected, his voice full of worries.

"Nothing." she muttered angrily.

"A car almost hit her." Leah told once she realized Bella wasn't going to explain "Charlie said she hit her head, but she keeps saying she got out without any scratches."

"I did got out without any scratches." Bella affirmed.

"Why didn't you wanna tell us?" Jacob asked.

"Because nothing really happened. If something had happened I'd have told you." she assured him "Actually, I wouldn't even be here."

"Woah, that's morbid." Seth grimaced.

"No, no. I just mean that Charlie wouldn't had let me come, that's all." she explained "Can we all change subjects, please? I went to the party exactly to forget what happened."

"Oh, sorry 'bout that, Bell."

"It's okay."

"And you, Lee? You disappeared with Emily at one time, did something finally happened?" Seth asked, trying to do what Bella asked and change the subject.

"A lady don't kiss and tell." Leah said mysteriously and Bella wondered what happened.

"Like you're a lady." Jacob snickered.

"You're always bragging about the girls you hook up, it's like you're some kind of fuckboy." Seth said before Leah could comment on what Jacob said "But the girl version."

"I am absolutely not!" Leah growled, her grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"Yes, you are, Lee." Jacob said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, shut up, Black, or I'll leave you on the side of the road."

"You're really an awful person." Bella blurted before she couldn't contain herself.

"I'll leave you on the side of the road, too." Leah threatened.

"Please do, I'm sure Charlie will have a blast chasing you down." Bella challenged with a smirk.

"He wouldn't."

"Oh, wanna bet?"

Leah sized the girl next to her "Maybe some other time."

After that, Jacob complained about his munchies, saying he was too hungry and he'd die if Leah didn't stop somewhere to eat. She reluctantly denied his wishes, saying that they needed to take Bella home first and maybe after they could go grab something.

Bella said her goodbyes and promised to give them a call for when she went to La Push with her school colleagues. They waited in the car until Bella was inside, before taking off to the nearest drive-thru Leah could find, if just to make Jacob stop whining.

"I'm home." Bella said once she stepped inside "I'm sorry I'm late."

"It's ten past Eleven, Bells, relax. I'm not gonna get mad for you missing your curfew in 10min." Charlie said, appearing from the living room "Had fun?"

"Yes, I did, actually. Leah's friends are really cool and everything." Bella said honestly.

All night she hadn't remembered what happened on Friday, too focused on winning in Just Dance.

"Good. I'm glad you're making friends here." Charlie gave what Bella believed was some sort of smile, his lips barely curling up.

"I'm tired, it's okay if I go to bed?"

"Not at all. Goodnight, Bells."

"'Night, dad." Bella said before going upstairs.

Once she was in her room she kicked her shoes off and changed her clothes for something comfier. She went to the bathroom before finally going back to her bedroom and finally climbing on her bed. She was so tired that it was enough to make her fall asleep as soon her head hit the pillow.

The next day Bella spent most of her day the same way she spent her Saturday. She continued the Virgin Suicides before choosing an excruciatingly great amount of films to watch.

She was good enough to do the cooking so the only times she left her room was to go to the bathroom and the kitchen to make lunch and dinner. Charlie had the day off that day too, so he'd go to Bella's room from time to time to check if she was good or if she needed anything.

Bella felt overwhelmed with all the attention she was getting from Charlie, not expecting him to be like that. But it was good, it reminded her of Renée and how she'd lose it every time Bella'd have just a small cut in her finger.

That night she faced some problems to sleep, the anxiety of the next day taking over. She wasn't ready to deal with everyone fuzzing all over her again nor she was ready to confront Rosalie for what happened. Especially not the Rosalie thing. It'd be the first time she'd speak with the girl and just the thought of it was enough to bring a stomachache. She was sure the girl hated her but still she wanted, no, needed to know why the girl saved her. And more importantly: how.

Bella was certain of what she saw. She'd not let anyone tell her otherwise, not even Rosalie's brother. It could've been the weed, but she only ate one and that wasn't enough to make up things, just to fuzz reality a little. If she closed her eyes she could still feel the hard and cold touch of Rosalie pinning her to the ground.

She kept thinking and reliving everything that happened, only managing to sleep when it was close to 4am.

It was no surprise when Bella woke the next day feeling as tired as she looked, but somehow the tiresome wasn't from the lack of sleep but from all the anticipation for what was to come.

Charlie offered to drive her, afraid she wasn't ready to go back driving, but Bella declined since the "accident" happened while she was out of the car and not inside. Her old Chevelle was with a dent from where the van crashed, but besides that it looked like nothing happened. Nothing close to what could've happened, Bella had to remind herself.

After promising she'd call her father if anything happened Bella hopped onto her car. The first thing she did was obviously plug her phone, assured that listen to something would block her mind from going crazy. Alessia Cara's version of How Far I'll Go from Moana's soundtrack started to play. Bella needed something she could sing along to fully take her mind of things and nothing would do it better than a musical.

Bella kept listening the whole soundtrack of Moana until she arrived at school, You're Welcome repeating 2 times and by the end she had come up with a strange but somewhat believable theory that Rosalie was a demi-god. Not only her but all her family, too, including her father and possibly his wife.

So far she had the facts that they were un-humanly strong, at least Rosalie, their body temperature totally different from a regular human and the key to it all: they were all strikingly beautiful, like some kind of 'I'm descendant of greek gods and goddesses' kind of beautiful. Maybe Forks had it's own Half Blood Camp and that's where the Cullens and the Hales and Ophelia actually went.

The minute Bella got out of her car she noticed all the looks she was receiving and it looked like every single person was looking at her. The instant reaction her body had was to paint a crimson red across her cheeks. She grabbed her bag, put on her earphones and fidget with her hair to hide her face.

The first person that talked with her was Eric since they had the first period together. He asked how she was and offered to be there if she needed. She smiled at his kindness and assured him that she'd definitely tell him if she ever needed anything. Of course it was all a lie, Bella hardly knew Eric to open up to him, but she couldn't tell him that.

On the second period Angela was the one to offer her help to Bella and unlike Eric, Bella felt an honest gratitude for the girl's offer. Angela was maybe the only person Bella actually liked from school besides Ophelia, but her relationship with Angela still felt much more solid than hers with the Sinclair.

By the third period Bella was losing it, Jessica having created an spectacle of what happened. She talked way too loudly for Bella's liking, attracting unwanted attention. Her concerns sounding more like an interrogatory and after her eighth question Bella kindly informed her that she didn't want to talk about it, that she was way more interested in paying attention to Mr. Varner. Jessica took the hint and shut her mouth throughout the class and the next.

All morning Bella was dreading lunch, the moment she'd finally see Rosalie. But that wouldn't be the time she'd confront her, no. Bella would wait until after their class together and then she'd be ready to follow the girl down the hallway and demand an explanation. That was the plan. While she was lying sleepless in her bed, she even imagined what she'd say.

But when she walked into the cafeteria what she found was her five siblings sitting together at the same table, and she was not with them.

Bella went and sat at the same table she had been sitting since she first came to Forks High, all the while waiting nervously for the moment she would arrive. But she never did, and as time passes she grew more and more tense.

While she walked to Biology class with Angela she decided not to ask Ophelia nothing and for her surprise Ophelia didn't mention a single thing, not even asking if Bella was alright or not. Bella thought it was odd and she felt a little sad for Ophelia not caring for what happened, but at least it was better than everyone fuzzing over her.

When it was finally English class, Bella walked with more confidence, sure that she'd finally find the blonde and by the end of it she'd finally get her answers. Bella held her breath at the door, but Rosalie Hale wasn't there, either. She exhaled defeated and went to her seat.

Mike took the opportunity of the vacant seat to go and change places. He smiled at Bella and started to talk with her about random things, all his inquisitions about her well being already answered back at lunch, but Bella simply muted whatever he was talking, to lost in her own mind to pay attention.

She kept thinking that Rosalie was injured from what happened last Friday, and that was the reason why she was absent. Bella told herself that repeatedly. But she couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that she was the reason Rosalie wasn't there. It was ridiculous, and egotistical, to think that Bella could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet she couldn't stop worrying that it was true.

The next day Rosalie still didn't come back to school. Nor did she came for the rest of the week.

Everyday, Bella watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without her. On Tuesday she decided to ask Ophelia what happened to her sister and all she said was that Rosalie wasn't feeling well to attend school, not even bothering to explain what she had. Bella didn't believe it for a second, but she said nothing.

The week that followed Bella's accident was uneasy and tense. To her dismay, she found herself the center of attention for the rest of the time being. Tyler Crowley was impossible, following her around, obsessed with making amends to her somehow. Bella tried to convince him what she wanted more than anything else was for him to forget all about it, especially since nothing had actually happened to her, but he remained insistent. He followed her between classes and sat at their now-crowded lunch table. Mike and Eric were even less friendly toward him than they were to each other, which made Bella worry that she'd gained another unwelcome fan.

But that wasn't enough to make Bella suppress the worry that she was responsible for Rosalie's continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed. She couldn't pay attention to classes, she couldn't keep a conversation because all she could do was think about the girl that was certainly avoiding her.

She also found that no one noticed that she was saved by Rosalie. The question of how she got out without serious damage was one she was tired of listening. Every time she'd say that it was lucky and everyone believed her. She wondered why no one else had seen the Hale girl impossibly saving her life.

And with chagrin, Bella realized the probable cause: no one else was as aware of the Cullens as Bella always was. No one else watched them the way she did. How pitiful.