A/N: The following story starts at the scene in New Moon where Edward drives Bella home after her disastrous birthday party.

This is my first attempt at writing a fanfiction. I do not own Twilight and I have no intent to profit from writing my own spin to Stephenie Meyer's vampire world. A huge thank you goes out to StormDragonfly for helping me find the courage to actually start publishing.

Chapter 1

He drove silently as he continued to glare out the windshield. I couldn't bear to look at him when he was adamantly giving me the silent treatment. So I fumed over the stupid argument that erupted from the mere mention of Mike Newton's name. I couldn't entirely disagree with his reasoning that had I been involved with a human being like Mike, and had I been surrounded by my human friends instead of a family of vampires, a small bandage would've been the last of that paper cut. But Edward was really missing the point. I didn't care that tonight's cut led to several stitches on my arm, because despite what happened, I was happy to spend my birthday with him and his family.

All too soon, we pulled up to the front of my house. We continued to sit in awkward silence, unsure of how to recover from our argument.

"Will you stay tonight?" I asked.

"I should go home."

I winced so slightly that perhaps even Edward didn't notice it. At the very least, he didn't acknowledge it. His soft, quiet words felt like a hard shove and I tried to hide the hurt that his reply inflicted by staring intently at my feet. I didn't ask for a party, but I knew how much it meant to the Cullens to celebrate. Of course I managed to ruin it somehow and sent poor Jasper on a rampage.

"Fine," I replied. He obviously wanted to be away from me and I wasn't going to beg for him to stay. I gathered what was left of my pride and got out of the truck as quickly as my injury allowed.

"Do you need help carrying your presents in?" he asked absently. His tone was beginning to grate on my nerves.

"No, I'll get them later."

He turned to me with a look I couldn't comprehend before he gave me his crooked smile, perhaps to mollify the tension. It was the smile that usually made me melt. To my surprise, I didn't melt. Something alien settled on my usually tender feelings for him and I felt a small frown form on my face. Before I knew it, he reached out and gently touched one corner of my mouth.

"You're upset. Do you really want me to stay?" he asked hesitantly.

His touch felt oddly cold; it wasn't the usual icy caress that I've become accustomed to in our short time together. I backed away, concerned about what was descending upon us tonight that seemed to change things between us.

"No, it's fine. It's probably best that you spend the time with your family after… what happened."

He nodded and disappeared into the dark forest at the end of my yard. Mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted, I bade Charlie a quick good night in the hopes that he wouldn't notice my latest injury. I carefully got ready for bed and before settling under covers, I padded to my window and contemplated if Edward would decide to come later on when Charlie's asleep. It didn't take very long to decide that I genuinely wanted to be alone tonight, so I bolted the window. It wouldn't really keep a vampire out, but at least if he decides to visit me and finds the window locked, he will take that as I sign that I wanted to be left alone.

I woke up the next day to the usual dull grey sky of Forks. My arm felt very sore, but thankfully it wasn't any worse than that. When I checked my bandages, I was surprised to see how neat it remained throughout the night… I must've slept like the dead. As far as I knew, I usually moved quite a bit when I sleep. My sheets either ended up tangled around my legs or discarded on the floor. I suddenly became suspicious and sprang out of bed directly to my bedroom window. It was still locked.

Did you really think he'd come after what happened last night?

I shook my head at the improbability of the idea. Edward never made a habit out of going into my room in the evenings other than through the window. Even if he did come through the window last night, why would it still be locked, unless he was some kind magician who could lock windows from the outside? Realizing I've wasted enough time on stupid speculations, I got ready for school.

Thankfully, I managed to drive the few miles without incident. Edward was already waiting for me as usual. He took my book bag and offered his free hand, which I automatically accepted.

"How's your arm this morning?" he asked just before we arrived at the door of our classroom.

"It's sore…" I began to say until I saw his face darken. "But it's not as bad as I thought it would be."

He sighed, but he didn't look remotely relieved. There was something about him that wasn't quite right. His eyes held the same "something" that I couldn't quite place last night. Judging by his mood, he wasn't going to volunteer any information, so I decided to dive right into the questions burning in my mind.

"How is Jasper doing? How are Alice, Esme and Carlisle and everyone doing? What happened after we left?" I blurted.

"We'll talk later. Class is about to begin," he replied plainly.

He guided me to our seats and without another glance in my direction; he fixed his gaze to the front of class, effectively ending the conversation.

Usually we stole flirty glances at each other or passed notes during class. Today was obviously different. He continued to stare straight towards the board, under the pretense of rapt attention to the lesson. I took the opportunity to study him while he was determined to avoid communicating with me. To anyone who didn't know Edward, he looked like any other normal teenager at school. He was casually leaning back in his seat, with a pen in hand poised to write notes. He took care to shift in his seat or fidget with whatever was on his desk once in a while. It was all a perfectly rehearsed set of actions aimed to look as human as possible in a classroom setting. He may have looked like a boy trying to pay attention to class, but I knew all too well that something weighed heavily on his mind. When the bell finally rang to signal the end of the period, I opened my mouth to begin the questioning again, but he quickly turned away and stood gracefully from his seat and proffered his hand without making eye contact. Much to my disappointment, "later" didn't mean after class, so I took his hand without a word to avoid an argument.

The next period was very much the same as the first. He and I sat at our usual desks at the back of the room and he continued to avoid verbal communication. When class was dismissed, he again put his hand out for me to take. I could feel my earlier disappointment escalate to frustration. We walked in silence to the cafeteria, where we joined Angela and Ben at one of the tables.

"Hi Bella, Edward," Angela greeted. "Is Alice not joining us today?"

I looked expectantly at Edward to say something, since I didn't have an excuse to offer. He looked distracted and after a few awkward seconds of silence he focused his attention back to us.

"She was feeling under the weather today and decided to stay home," he lied smoothly.

"Oh, that's too bad. I hope she feels better soon."

"It's probably just a cold," he smiled uncomfortably, as though he no longer wanted to talk about his sister.

"Do you think I can stop by your house for a short visit?" I played along hoping Edward would say yes. I really wanted to get some answers since he was unwilling to tell me anything while we were at school.

"I don't think it's necessary." He then looked directly at me with a pleading look that asked me to drop it.

"Are you sure? She'll probably feel better if I…"

"No, Bella, she'll be fine."

I could feel the heat of embarrassment rise in my cheeks when I noticed Angela and Ben exchange a look. This was probably the first time they've seen us disagree like this. We spent the rest of the lunch period chatting about the latest movie releases in the theaters and other superficial topics – at least Angela, Ben and I did. Edward remained distant and only answered when spoken to directly. Towards the end of the hour, he excused himself and I didn't see him again until the beginning of class. What could've happened last night that would cause him to be so sullen?

At the end of the day, Edward walked me to my truck and I busied myself with putting my things in the passenger seat. To my surprise, he suddenly leaned in and planted a soft chaste kiss on my cheek. On any other day, I would've wanted a sweeter parting kiss, but after the way he'd been treating me, wanting more was the last thing on my mind. We drove off in our separate vehicles knowing that we would shortly meet in front of my house, as we usually did. As soon as I turned the engine off, he immediately opened my door and assisted me off the truck.

"Okay… talk," was all I could say when we faced each other in my kitchen.

He began to pace the kitchen as though in deep thought over how to respond to my demand. I just waited and watched him, not wanting to prod him further. He knew I wasn't going to back down this time after waiting all day.

"Bella…" he began, but no other words followed. He stopped for a brief moment to look at me then he resumed his pacing. After what seemed like a long time, he finally stilled at the opposite end of the room and looked me directly in the eyes. "Alice and Jasper are no longer in Forks."

"What do you mean they're no longer here?" I asked warily.

"They left shortly after I got back last night. I suggested that Jasper keep his distance until he gets himself under control."

I wasn't sure that I heard him correctly. How could someone ask members of his family to leave just like that? I must have been gaping at him from shock. He watched me intently, waiting for my response.

"Why would you do that?" I said, my voice quivering. "Edward, they're family… how could you ask them to leave?"

"I thought it was best. I always knew something like that could happen. It was just a matter of time."

"Alice was my best friend, the closest I had to a sister and Jasper was my brother. How can you just tell them to leave without giving me any warning?"

"It wasn't like I physically removed them from the house. They recognized the gravity of the situation and willingly agreed to leave." He looked wounded at my insinuation that their departure was purely his doing. He circled my small kitchen a couple of times before he faced me again. "How could you still think of him as a brother after he tried to kill you? After the incident with the nomad a few months ago and now this one with Jasper, I thought you'd finally see us for what we really are!"

"You should know by now that I don't care what you, Alice and everyone are. What happened yesterday was an accident and accidents do happen once in a while. I am fully aware of the consequences of spending time in a house full of vampires."

"You've already cheated death at the hands of my kind twice. How many more times until you come to your senses?"

"This is ridiculous, Edward. I understand that you want to protect me from harm but even you must realize that you cannot prevent my death indefinitely. I can die tomorrow or fifty years from now. I can die in your world or die in mine."

He strode across the kitchen and gently took the hand of my good arm in his. He gazed into my eyes and I saw his beautiful ochre orbs set with sadness.

"You're right. I can't prevent your death. It is inevitable because you are mortal. But knowing that you risk your life everyday just by being associated with us is unbearable."

"What do you mean? You can't expect me to pretend that you and Alice don't exist. That's ridiculous! We have classes together every day…" I wrenched my hand from his as the horrific epiphany dawned on me. "Unless you mean to remove yourself and every member of your family out of my life."

"If that's what I have to do, I will," he replied with such finality.

"You can't do that. I won't allow it!"

"Bella…"

"Let me speak!" I exclaimed. "You claim to care deeply for me, yet you freeze me out and then threaten to take away everyone I love so you can sentence me to a natural human death when the time comes. Where does my choice come into play, or does your love entitle you to deny my choice? If that's what it means to be loved by you, then..." I broke off, not wanting to say the words that were to follow.

Pain flashed in his eyes. "Then what Isabella?"

"Then," I stammered as the tears prickled. "Then perhaps we should not be together." The awful words tumbled out of my mouth to both our astonishment.

"Is that what you really want?" he said after some minutes passed.

"I don't know, Edward. I need some time to think," I started to say, only to quickly realize that he could easily uproot his family now that I stated the possibility of breaking connections with him. I clutched his arm and pleaded. "Please, I just need time. Don't leave and don't take the rest of them away from here. Not yet."

He lightly squeezed my hand and nodded. We didn't realize how much time had passed until we saw the cruiser's headlights beam across the wall.

"I should go. We will talk again soon – when you're ready, of course," he said as he released my hand. Before the front door opened, Edward was already gone and I stood numbly in the dark kitchen alone.