Gravity...or Something

Angela's POV. Takes place the first day Edward and Alice go back to school since leaving. Following Italy. You could stick this right between the last chapter and Epilogue of New Moon.

Hope you enjoy another human perspective...Lauren was fun, but she's too mean for me.

Please tell me if it sounds like Bella has been turned into a vampire. One of my friends said she got that impression...

Reviews are lovely!! Did I do Angela well?

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Bella, or Edward. If anything, they own me

Oh my god. I can't believe it. Alice and Edward Cullen are back. Back—here, in Forks. Apparently all of the Cullens have returned, moving from L.A.

But that isn't the only interesting thing that's happened this week. Three days ago, Bella Swan disappeared. Mom told me that she heard from Bella's father, Charlie—I think, that Bella ran off with Alice Cullen. At first I was amazed—it had been quite a while since anything dramatic had happened concerning Bella. Her behavior in September shocked everyone at first, but by now it was nothing out of the ordinary.

And now I can see Bella and Edward sitting together in the back of the room. Bella looked amazing. Healthier. Her face was full of color, her cheeks rosy, eyes sparkling. Edward's appearance was nothing less.

I also noticed how physical they were being with each other. Not in a bad way—it was extremely sweet. The way they were around each other was significantly different from last fall before the Cullens left. They were sitting with their stools together, practically fusing into one person. Edward cradled Bella's hand under the table, playing with her fingers, and she clutched onto the edge of his shirt when she wasn't writing.

It was a strange motion…sort of like she was afraid to let him go.

The bell rang for lunch and Mr. Banner gruffly dismissed us. Intrigued, I turned my head towards the back of the room to watch them get up and leave their seats. Edward gathered his books together with one hand, but then released Bella to push his stool under the desk.

The moment he dropped her hand, she immediately clung back onto his fingers, leading his hand down slowly. I watched, astonished. They pushed the chair in with their hands intertwined.

But they never spoke. That was the most strange…it seems like if you're away from someone so long that you would have catching up to do. But it was only peaceful silence, always. It gave them some type of unspeakable connection...

They walked down the aisle slowly, passing me. I composed myself as quickly as I could, embarrassed and ashamed to be staring at them. Bella noticed me and offered the most genuine smile I've seen on her for half a year. "How's it going, Angela?"

"Hello, Angela." Edward greeted me, not taking his eyes off of Bella.

I smiled at the forced gesture, knowing that my presence was making it awkward for them.

At just that moment, Edward, seemingly reluctant, looked away from Bella and met my gaze. He smiled at me warmly, as if trying to prove my last assumption wrong.

"Hi Bella, Edward." I walked forward, not waiting to interrupt whatever sort of silent communication they were sharing.

At Lunch

"Hey guys." As I sat down next to Ben, Lauren immediately fixed her gaze on me.

"Did you see?" She prodded.

"Of course." I didn't really feel comfortable discussing them behind their backs, but Lauren seemed unfazed by my uninterested response.

"Me and Jess are shocked. It's unbelievable, isn't it?" She leaned in towards me. "And have you seen Bella?" Her tone was disbelieving.

I knew what she meant. Bella was postively glowing.

Jess chimed in. "I know, they are totally inseparable. It's crazy. I tried to get in a word with Bella this morning, but Edward was glued to her side." She laughed bitterly.

She was right. Bella and Edward...

It was like gravity, or force, or...something.

I glanced over at Mike, who was pondering his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Lauren followed my gaze. "What's with you, Mike?"

He looked up, startled. "Oh. Um, nothing. Why?" he stuttered.

Lauren giggled. "You look like you just found out your dog died."

Mike returned to staring at his food.

Suddenly, Bella was beside me, standing above her usual seat. Edward and Alice were beside her.

"May we eat lunch with you?" Alice asked sweetly, glancing around the table at each person.

Strangely enough, Bella looked like she was trying not to crack a smile, and Edward leaned down to whisper something in her ear.

Lauren and Jess, the usual dominators of the table, were speechless, so I decided to intercede.

"Sure. Here, move down, Ben." He slid into Tyler who quickly occupied the empty space beside the wall. Alice sat across from Ben, and Bella and Edward slid in beside me.

"So…" Jess began nervously.

I was trying not to watch them, and it would have been very rude considering my position. But out of my perpetual vision I noticed Bella nod her head slightly at Edward. He looked at Alice.

"We'll go get lunch then, Bella."

"Okay," she said in a small voice, releasing his hand slowly, finger by finger.

Edward and Alice got up from the table and Bella watched their backs walk away before and turning towards us.

Jess didn't waste anytime. "What happened, Bella?"

"They came back," she answered quickly.

"Yeah, we can kind of see that," Lauren said. Tyler, Mike, Eric, and Ben kept their eyes glued on Bella's face, not saying anything. Austin and Katie looked up.

That didn't seem to matter to Jess. "I thought you guys broke up," she said bluntly.

"He moved," Bella responded calmly, very composed. "We never broke up."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You didn't stay in contact. That was a little more than obvious, to put it mildly."

Bella ducked her head, her cheeks flushing. The boys shot their eyes back and forth erratically; even Jess seemed to be in awe of Lauren's brusque comment.

I tried to save her. "Bella, did you start Mr. Banner's project yet?"

Bella lifted her head in relief and was just about to answer when Lauren cut in. "Don't go changing the subject, Angela," she said, sneering my name.

"Really, Bella," Lauren continued, her tone turning sarcastic. "Please don't—under any circumstances—feel too shy to put your hands all over him. He doesn't bite, you know."

My mouth dropped open and Jess gasped. The boys turned pink.

We all swiveled our heads for Bella's reaction

Her eyes sparkled, cheeks lifted. She broke out in a huge smile, biting her lip to keep from laughing. And then she started cracking up.

We all watched her in silence—Lauren included, who seemed stunned that her comment hadn't had the desired effect—frozen motionless. She was still giggling as Edward and Alice strode up, Alice grinning, and Edward trying to fight a smile.

Edward placed down two trays in front of them, and Bella managed to stop, but I heard Edward's remark as he whispered in her ear.

"It's not funny, love."

She giggled.

"Yes, Edward, it is."