Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the Green House scene. :)

We all had a bet. Would Edward succumb to confessing every bit of our secrecy or would he continue this emotional brooding act forever and possibly leave again? I was betting on him leaving as was Rosalie, my false twin. Emmett stayed with Alice on this one and knew that Edward would give into a tempted relationship. I stayed by my bet even though I knew and was fully aware of the consequences of betting against Alice.

The house was swarmed with tension since Edward returned from his time in Alaska. Bella had been eyeing our family suspiciously when he left, but her thirst for answers or just to see Edward again was soon quenched when he returned back home.

Sure, I didn't agree with the whole aspect out our family living amongst humans and even one of my simulated siblings risking our family's safety over… over some human girl who seemed to have the most tempting smell I had – and anyone had- ever encountered ever before.

Alice's fingertips trailed up my arm and my eyes snapped up to hers. "Daydreaming again, aren't you?" she asked with a seemingly sincere smile. My wife was the only one optimistic in all of this entanglement. She saw Bella becoming a vampire, becoming her best friend, becoming one of us and although Rosalie and I were completely against the thought, she remained stubborn.

I looked down and scanned her body without thinking. She read my mind… not literally, but answered the question before I answered. "We're leaving in a minute or so. Field trip today," she said with a smirk. "Get dressed."

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I tried to remain calm, but the intoxicating smell of her skin, her blood, her hair—Edward gave me a glare and I apologized silently, but he seemed to share my pain. It was hard for both of us.

I was the last one to covert to this unreal diet of animal blood and I loathed it. The constant dryness in my throat… I needed the taste of human blood, to sink my teeth into human flesh, to feel that same fear, that same power I once felt.

Now Edward grunted quietly and Alice laced her fingers with my own from her spot in the front seat to my hand in the back seat. I remained still and tried to clear my thoughts. Emmett and Rosalie were crammed in with us as well. Rosalie had been frustrated with her engine and didn't fix it so we were uncomfortably stuck crammed in Edward's Volvo.

Edward smirked and I rolled my eyes. Well some of us… Others were quite content with their seat pushed back all the way…

Edward moved his seat up an inch and I sighed with pained relief.

And then were there. The two busses were lined up awaiting the students to board and I waited until the entire car was empty before I got out. Edward was waiting by the door. He looked concerned, he felt concerned… I felt unsettling.

"Are you okay?" he asked sincerely concerned. I took note of that and didn't make eye contact.

"I'll manage," I answered somewhat coldly. He knew I hated being called out on my weakness, but nonetheless, he continued to ask if he was truly concerned. With the circumstances, it was obvious that anything going wrong could completely ruin our cover. So any extra precautions were necessary.

Rosalie and Emmett left into the building and Alice was by my side in a moment, lacing her fingertips with my hand. She grinned. "Let's go," she said with a smile.

Edward and I stalked off behind Alice as she floated her way toward the bus excitedly. How she was still excited by a high school field trip was beyond me… Still, I loved a woman with passion, which is what drew me to her from the start. Whether is be fashion or a passion for living, Alice was always optimistic.

Edward faked a gag. Alice swatted his arm. "Don't blame me," he said, eyeing me with a grimace.

"Get out of my head, Edward," I answered with a teasing smirk.

We boarded the bus and two things happened. Mike Newton opened the window and threw Tyler's backpack out the window, laughing along with a few of his friends. The second? The biggest gust of wind surpassed the heated bus and the scents emanating from all of the students already piled in the bus were agony.

My throat burned, my instinct flared. Alice grabbed my arm tightly and we made our way to the back of the bus, sitting in the last possible seat. Edward sat across from us and as the bus continued to fill up, three people were sharing seats, all avoiding the back and an unwelcoming seat next to Edward.

The window remained open the entire time, and I was fighting the urge to kill every last one of them. They'd think nothing of it. The bus got lost, or crashed. I could make a scene; I could crash the bus and spare a few—

Before I could finish my thoughts, Edward got up when the bus came to a stop at a streetlight and leaned over Mike Newton and his friends, shutting the window silently and returning back to his seat. I sent him a thankful glance and he nodded slightly.

Mike made a few rude comments and jokes under his breath for the rest of the ride.

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When the bus stopped at the greenhouse, Alice smiled widely. Flowers, gardens, everything floral –even floral design patterns and jewelry- they were all her favorite. I knew she was excited, but every greenhouse was the same.

When we got off the bus, I noticed Edward had already got off. He glanced over at us and I glanced toward Bella, looking in our direction. Alice smiled and Edward grunted quietly in warning. She was still convinced that if she went up to Bella and was kind enough to her that an instantaneous friendship would erupt… I wouldn't try to ruin her fantasy.

She took my hand and led me into the greenhouse, twirling around once under my arm like a ballerina before grinning. "Come on, have a little fun?" she leaned into me and looked up with a pout. "Please?"

I smiled in her childish attempt at persuasion. "How you are still enthusiastic over a high school field trip is truly amusing," I answered. I held the door open for her and she danced her way in, earning glances from our classmates that I had learned to ignore a long time ago. Before the door shut I had grabbed a small daisy from the flowerpot outside the door.

Our biology teacher continued introducing our classmates into the "wonderful world of compost". Alice and I stopped with our class when they gathered around the teacher, but I remained on edge from the constant breezes of the fans and the humidity wasn't helping mask their scents either.

"Uh oh, trouble behind us," Alice whispered next to me, I glanced back and saw Edward approaching Bella. I couldn't say I wasn't expecting that. "Aw, for me?" Alice asked with a smirk as she grabbed my hand, which still held the tiny daisy bud, and I had to smile at her enthusiasm.

"You're so sweet," she continued. People around us were glancing in our direction at my feeble attempt at romance. She inched up to kiss my cheek and we continued walking with our class, my wife's arms wrapped around mine as she leaned into me with admiration.

She was proud of me and in a way, I shared that emotion toward myself, but more toward her. I was amazed that even in the most awkward of places, Alice could completely take my mind away from anything I was feeling, planning, or thinking without even trying.

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As we left the greenhouse, I looked up to see Edward speaking to Bella. Alice smiled and went over to them giddily. I stayed back a few paces. Even if my thirst had quieted down, I couldn't risk Bella's scent tempting me again.

"Are you riding with us?" Alice asked with a smile. Edward glared in her direction and glanced over at me.

"No, the bus is full," he answered before turning to the door and pounding on it once before the bus driver opened it. Alice caught one last fleeting glance toward Bella and then took my hand before we made our way back onto the bus.

Bella's confusion was emanating, but her determination was unlike anything I had every felt since… well since Maria. Her determination even in our grievous mishaps in war was so strong and didn't phase, not for once moment. Not as if I'm comparing the innocent Bella Swan to Maria, the darkest vampire with the greatest thirst for power I had ever seen, but the strength in that…

Edward stopped short and I bumped into him slightly. "Control your thoughts… please," he quickly begged and I refrained from a rebuttal.

Edward made sure all the windows were shut, glancing at them all for microseconds before he took the same seat he had sat in earlier that day. Alice now had the flower in her hair and let me have the window seat, sitting with her back toward Edward.

She never held grudges, but she felt as if in some way, Edward was forcing their friendship on hold. However, I took liberty in taking her hand and forcing a sense of nonchalance down her spine and her back immediately hit the back of the seat. She looked relaxed, but her eyes sent me a glare.

"A little too obvious."

I simply smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulders letting her head lean on my shoulder as the bus started up and our classmates piled in. I kissed the top of her head and glanced toward the window.

Bella was staring through toward the back of the bus, where we were. Edward saw this in my mind and cleared his throat for me to look away, which I did.

I think tonight I'd switch my bet…