 see. If youre worried about any trouble, Id be happy to 

Theres nothing to worry about, Mr. Greene. There wont be any trouble.

I hope thats correct. Well, then. On to class. You, too, Miss Swan.

Edward nodded, and pulled me quickly along toward the English building.

Do you feel well enough to go to class? he whispered when we were past the principal.

Yes, I whispered back, not quite sure if this was a lie.

Whether I felt well or not was hardly the most important consideration. I needed to talk to Edward right away, and English class wasnt the ideal place for the conversation I had in mind.

But with Mr. Greene right behind us, there werent a lot of other options.

We got to class a little late and took our seats quickly. Mr. Berty was reciting a Frost poem. He ignored our entrance, refusing to let us break his rhythm.

I yanked a blank page out of my notebook and started writing, my handwriting more illegible than normal thanks to my agitation.


What happened? Tell meeverything . And screw the protecting me crap, please.


I shoved the note at Edward. He sighed, and then began writing. It took him less time than me, though he wrote an entire paragraph in his own personal calligraphy before he slipped the paper back.


Alice saw that Victoria was coming back. I took you out of town merely as a precaution  there was never a chance that she would have gotten anywhere close to you. Emmett and Jasper very nearly had her, but Victoria seems to have some instinct for evasion. She escaped right down the Quileute boundary line as if she were reading it from a map. It didnt help that Alices abilities were nullified by the Quileutes involvement. To be fair, the Quileutes might have had her, too, if we hadnt gotten in the way. The big gray one thought Emmett was over the line, and he got defensive. Of course Rosalie reacted to that, and everyone left the chase to protect their companions. Carlisle and Jasper got things calmed down before it got out of hand. But by then, Victoria had slipped away. Thats everything.


I frowned at the letters on the page. All of them had been in on it  Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, and Carlisle. Maybe even Esme, though he hadnt mentioned her. And then Paul and the rest of the Quileute pack. It might so easily have turned into a fight, pitting my future family and my old friends against each other. Any one of them could have been hurt. I imagined the wolves would be in the most danger, but picturing tiny Alice next to one of the huge werewolves,fighting . . .

I shuddered.

Carefully, I scrubbed out the entire paragraph with my eraser and then I wrote over the top:


What about Charlie? She could have been after him.


Edward was shaking his head before I finished, obviously going to downplay any danger on Charlies behalf. He held a hand out, but I ignored that and started again.


You cant know that she wasnt thinking that, because you werent here. Florida was a bad idea.


He took the paper from underneath my hand.


I wasnt about to send you off alone. With your luck, not even the black box would survive.


That wasnt what Id meant at all; I hadnt thought of going without him. Id meant that we should have stayed here together. But I was sidetracked by his response, and a little miffed. Like I couldnt fly cross country without bringing the plane down. Very funny.


So lets say my bad luck did crash the plane. What exactly were you going to do about it?

Why is the plane crashing?


He was trying to hide a smile now.


The pilots are passed out drunk.

Easy. Id fly the plane.


Of course. I pursed my lips and tried again.


Both engines have exploded and were falling in a death spiral toward the earth.

Id wait till we were close enough to the ground, get a good grip on you, kick out the wall, and jump. Then Id run you back to the scene of the accident, and wed stumble around like the two luckiest survivors in history.


I stared at him wordlessly.

What? he whispered.

I shook my head in awe. Nothing, I mouthed.

I scrubbed out the disconcerting conversation and wrote one more line.


You will tell me next time.


I knew there would be a next time. The pattern would continue until someone lost.

Edward stared into my eyes for a long moment. I wondered what my face looked like  it felt cold, so the blood hadnt returned to my cheeks. My eyelashes were still wet.

He sighed and then nodded once.


Thanks.


The paper disappeared from under my hand. I looked up, blinking in surprise, just as Mr. Berty came down the aisle.

Is that something youd like to share there, Mr. Cullen?

Edward looked up innocently and held out the sheet of paper on top of his folder. My notes? he asked, sounding confused.

Mr. Berty scanned the notes  no doubt a perfect transcription of his lecture  and then walked away frowning.

It was later, in Calculus  my one class without Edward  that I heard the gossip.

My moneys on the big Indian, someone was saying.

I peeked up to see that Tyler, Mike, Austin, and Ben had their heads bent together, deep in conversation.

Yeah, Mike whispered. Did you see thesize of that Jacob kid? I think he could take Cullen down. Mike sounded pleased by the idea.

I dont think so, Ben disagreed. Theres something about Edward. Hes always so . . . confident. I have a feeling he can take care of himself.

Im with Ben, Tyler agreed. Besides, if that other kid messed Edward up, you know those big brothers of his would get involved.

Have you been down to La Push lately? Mike asked. Lauren and I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago, and believe me, Jacobs friends are all just as big as he is.

Huh, Tyler said. Too bad it didnt turn into anything. Guess well never know how it would have turned out.

It didnt look over to me, Austin said. Maybe well get to see.

Mike grinned. Anyone in the mood for a bet?

Ten on Jacob, Austin said at once.

Ten on Cullen, Tyler chimed in.

Ten on Edward, Ben agreed.

Jacob, Mike said.

Hey, do you guys know what it was about? Austin wondered. That might affect the odds.

I can guess, Mike said, and then he shot a glance at me at the same time that Ben and Tyler did.

From their expressions, none of them had realized I was in easy hearing distance. They all looked away quickly, shuffling the papers on their desks.

I still say Jacob, Mike muttered under his breath.




4. NATURE

IWAS HAVING A BAD WEEK.

I knew that essentially nothing had changed. Okay, so Victoria had not given up, but had I ever dreamed for one moment that she had? Her reappearance had only confirmed what Id already known. No reason for fresh panic.

In theory. Not panicking was easier said than done.

Graduation was only a few weeks away, but I wondered if it wasnt a little foolish to sit around, weak and tasty, waiting for the next disaster. It seemed too dangerous to be human  just begging for trouble. Someone like me shouldntbe human. Someone with my luck ought to be a little less helpless.

But no one would listen to me.

Carlisle had said, There are seven of us, Bella. And with Alice on our side, I dont think Victorias going to catch us off guard. I think its important, for Charlies sake, that we stick with the original plan.

Esme had said, Wed never allow anything to happen to you, sweetheart. You know that. Please dont be anxious. And then shed kissed my forehead.

Emmett had said, Im really glad Edward didnt kill you. Everythings so much more fun with you around.

Rosalie had glared at him.

Alice had rolled her eyes and said, Im offended. Youre not honestlyworried about this, are you?

If its no big deal, then why did Edward drag me to Florida? Id demanded.

Havent you noticed yet, Bella, that Edward is just the teeniest bit prone to overreaction?

Jasper had silently erased all the panic and tension in my body with his curious talent of controlling emotional atmospheres. Id felt reassure