Hey! Really glad all of you liked the last chapter so much and are still reading this fic even with the hiatus! Hope you enjoy this next chapter, I had a blast writing it. As always, I'd love to hear what you think!

Even with Alice's assurances that everything would be fine, Edward couldn't help the nerves that fluttered around his insides as he pulled another chair up to their table. As usual, he was the first to lunch, something he liked. Getting away from the huge crowds of high school was nice. Now it just gave him more time to worry over how he would interact with Bella.

When he'd seen her that morning, watched her tense when they met eyes, he'd worried she would go back on their 'start over' agreement. Then she smiled at him and he had to worry about what to say as they walked to class, which resulted in him saying nothing. Nothing at all. Edward swore this was some sort of wretched repayment for all the bad he'd done in his undead life. Now, of course, he was worrying again. Could vampires get grey hair?

Shaking his head, Edward took his seat and waited for his family and Bella to arrive. He could hear their thoughts among the din of high schoolers and tracked their slow progress toward the cafeteria. Bella was with Emmett and Rose, the two girls listening to Emmett talk about the bear he had seen on their "camping trip". The small part where he proceeded to wrestle and kill the bear after was omitted but Bella seemed to enjoy his exaggerated tale. Her beautiful laugh brought a smile to Edward's face as the trio entered the room.

They moved through the line, gathering up food none of them seemed thrilled about and walked to the table. Bella sat in the seat next to him instead of Emmett and his horrible brother wiggled his eyebrows.

You two are so cute.

Emmett smirked as Edward failed to kick him beneath the table. Rose glared at both of them.

"Did you have fun on your camping trip?" Bella asked drawing all of Edward's attention. She was still tense, though not to the usual extent around him and her breathing and heartbeat were fairly normal.

"Yes, it was relaxing most of the time," he tried to not show the exact amount of scrutiny he was looking at her with, trying to figure out her reaction to his words. His mind probed the area where her thoughts should be. He shifted his position, the bite on his torso twinging in pain. Still, there was nothing there.

"From everything I heard it sounds like a wild time. I mean, what with the bear and Jasper falling, glad one of you had a nice break." Bella smiled and winked at Emmett who raised his hands like claws. The two broke into giggles, remembering a bear joke Emmett had said a few minutes prior. Edward caught Rose's eye, his sister looking as confused as him.

"Looks like we've been missin out on some fun," Jasper said as he and Alice slid into the two remaining seats.

"Emmett and I were just talking about how fun it would be to wrestle a bear," Bella said catching Jasper by surprise. Alice laughed and nodded along, having foreseen this turn of events this morning.

Hahaha, Alice told me you'd look funny if I got Bella to say that. She was right! Emmett said and Edward tried to retain his composure. It wouldn't do if he kicked Emmett and Alice and broke the table at the same time. At least, not while Bella was there.

For her part, Bella didn't seem to see anything wrong with her declaration, then again she probably thought no one at this table was dumb enough to ever attempt to fight a bear. If only she knew.

But of course, she would never find out.

"How was your yesterday?" He asked.

"Onion root tip cells! Separate and label them into the correct stages of mitosis. Whatever pair does so first will win...the golden onion." Mr. Molina held up a large onion in his hands, the spray paint already peeling off. Edward rolled his eyes and glanced down at the microscope between them. An easy lab meant plenty of time to talk. Maybe he could even show off a little.

"Ladies first?" he asked, nudging the microscope her way. Bella snapped the first slide into place and glanced at it.

"Prophase," she said picking up a pencil to write down the answer.

"Mind if I check?"

"If you want to," she pushed the scope back toward him, one brow raised. Dang, that'd been the wrong thing to say. Most human highschoolers usually didn't know the phases that well though and how was he supposed to impress her if they didn't win?

A glance into the scope proved her correct. Edward could almost feel Emmett and Jasper laughing.

"Like I said," Bella smiled and thankfully didn't seem annoyed with his blunder. He snapped another slide in.

"Anaphase. Have you done this lab before?" Bella didn't ask to take the scope back, looking down and humming when she saw that he was right.

"I was in AP Bio in Phoenix. This was one of the last labs I did there." She explained as she snapped in another slide.

"Why did you move here?" Edward could have hit his head against the wall the moment the words were out of his mouth. For her part, Bella didn't look taken aback by his words.

"My mom has a new boyfriend who plays minor league baseball. She wanted to travel with him but didn't want to leave me alone. So I made sure she didn't have to choose." Bella passed the scope back to him, writing telophase on the paper. Edward didn't bother to check her, mulling over her words instead.

The answer was not at all what he'd been expecting. All the rumors and his family's 'Intrigue Night' had made him all too familiar with the glaringly obvious reason she could have for leaving.

"Huh,"

"Not what you were expecting?" Bella smiled, the filled out paper forgotten on the table between them.

"Ahem, everyone should be working, not chatting," bet Cullen filled it all out for the both of them. Mr. Molina's thoughts and words were an unwelcome intrusion into their conversation. Picking up the pencil, Bella pretended to look at the microscope again, her half-hearted attempts easily seen through by Molina.

"No, no it wasn't. So let me get this right, you left sunny, warm Arizona, for this cold and dreary place, just so your mom could be happier? Do you at least like the rain?"

"Can't say I'm fond of the rain, or the clouds, or the cold. The forests are nice, otherwise, and don't take this the wrong way, but this place sucks." Bella tapped the pencil on the table, a thoughtful look across her face. Not for the first time, Edward wished he could read her mind. It had to be fascinating, most high school girls didn't send themselves to a place they hated just so their mother could be happier.

"Do you like it here?" Bella asked, catching him off guard.

"Yeah, but I like clouds."

"Mr. Cullen, this is a learning exercise. Don't you think you should've let Ms. Swan do some of the work?"

"Bella identified three of the five, sir," no way was he going to let Mr. Molina think he'd done everything for Bella. She was smarter than that.

"Hm," Mr. Molina walked away from their table. Around them, students snickered and Edward could hear their thoughts focus more on the two of them. How annoying.

"Thanks," Bella said under her breath and Edward's pride swelled in his chest. At least he'd done one thing right when interacting with her.

After Mr. Molina's warning, Bella didn't seem as interested in talking, or maybe she didn't like the numerous stares now directed their way. She doodled in her notebook and Edward tried to not seem curious about what she was drawing. Before he knew it, the bell was ringing and the class was over.

Edward led her to the gym and, instead of silence, they chatted idly about the snow.

"You could have done worse in Biology," Alice said leaning against the Volvo. Jasper stood next to her, grinning at the hilarity of the situation.

"But he could have done better," Emmett added, slamming his hand on Edward's shoulder with enough force to break bones in any human.

"You have to pull yourself together if you want to win Bella's heart."

"I don't even know if that is what-"

"Hush the love Masters are speaking."

Edward sighed. In vain he hoped Rose would be done talking to Bella soon so he could leave this horrible conversation. He would've left it already but they'd made a pact to give Rose and Bella privacy and distracting each other was the best way to ensure that.

"Now you need to do something to woo her, make her fall head-over-heels. Talking is out and I question your romantic abilities. I recommend something heroic. It worked wonders for Rose and me."

"She's the one who saved you?"

"Yeah and then I fell head-over-heels, what's your point?" Emmett said but Edward was no longer paying attention. Rose had finished talking and was heading their way. She stepped onto the road and Alice went stiff. Edward watched the two scenes, reality and vision, unfold, a mere second separating the two.

She walked across the road.

Tires squealed.

A black van slammed into Rose.

The real Rose paused at the squealing, one thought going through her mind. Shit.

Something hit Rose from the wrong direction.

Edward's heart froze in terror.

The van crashed into a person, sending them flying to the side to crack against the pavement with cold finality.

Bella.

He was at her side without a second thought. Appearances be damned.

There was so much blood.

Her arm was twisted at too wrong an angle. Blood pooled around her. She was so still.

No.

No. No. No.

A fluttering heartbeat met his ears and Bella shifted. Her eyes snapped open, her body tensed. Her eyes were unseeing, a shining reddish haze over them and he wondered just how bad her concussion was. Her limbs were moving, her arms trying to push her up. Every breath was ragged and forced as if her ribs were broken. They probably were.

"Bella stop," he said grabbing her shoulder to try and prevent her from moving. A shudder went through her, her back arching and teeth grinding.

"Bella, don't move. Can you hear me, Bella?" He couldn't tell if she heard him, her body shaking from the effort of moving.

"Easy there, easy," Jasper said moving to kneel on her other side. He grabbed her arm to keep pressure off it and Edward could feel the soothing vibes he pushed through the connection. Not even Jasper seemed to be affected by the blood, something Edward was grateful for.

"We need to get her to Carlisle," Rose pulled Bella's hair back, kneeling in front of her. The large gash in Bella's forehead kept bleeding. Behind them, Edward could sense Emmett and Alice keeping the horrified onlookers back.

Sirens screamed in the distance.

Bella shuddered, her body spasming as she coughed up blood to add to the growing pool. For a brief second she stilled, then she collapsed, her body refusing to hold her up a moment longer. Edward caught her with easy, pulling her close to his chest with the utmost care of what was likely extensive internal injuries. Rose took off her sweater to help slow the gash's bleeding, while Jasper kept contact with Bella's shoulder trying his best to ease the distress rolling off her in waves.

Minutes passed as the three worked in tandem to stabilize Bella until the paramedics came. For all the blood on the ground, there were surprisingly few external injuries. Even her arm seem a little less crooked then it had when he'd first found her.

Two ambulances roared into the parking lot. Medics leaped out of both, one set disappearing around the van, the others approaching the four of them, stretcher in tow. Having determined spinal injuries to be unlikely, Edward slowly rose Bella delicately held in his arms. Rose stayed by her head, making sure it wasn't jostled the few feet they had to walk. They laid Bella on the stretcher and moved back so the medics could wheel her away. Alice grabbed his arm, pulling him back to the safety of their group as the ambulance drove away.

Several feet away, the second set of medic was slowly pulling Tyler from his van. The front had been crumpled in by the light pole it had struck. He too was laid out on a stretcher, though he looked fine beyond the small cut on his head. He still had consciousness.

Anger bubbled up inside him. The blood on his hands seemed to burn. His wounds throbbed. All to the erratic sound of Bella's heartbeat still ringing through his memories.

This was all Tyler's fault. A growl, low and threatening rumbled in his chest. Why did Tyler get away so easily?

Two equally terror-inducing growls matched his own. Only distance kept the humans from hearing. Edward shifted into a half-crouch.

Tyler shouldn't get away so easily.

Bella was hurt because of him.

"Jazz, Edward, come on let's go," Alice's voice cut through the haze that had settled without Edward's notice. Next to him, Jasper shook his head and Emmett blinked rapidly, Rose having snapped him out of whatever fog had fallen over them.

"We need to go," Alice repeated. Tugging on his shirt sleeve and Jasper's hand. His sisters pulled the three of them to the Volvo, pushing all three of them into the back seat while they took the front. They tore out of the parking lot and away from the threat of exposure. They'd already drawn enough attention to themselves for the day.

We need to go home. Alice thought, veering left instead of right toward the hospital. Edward opened his mouth to argue, upset that he'd ended up trapped between Emmet and Jasper in his car.

If we go there now, it won't end well... Alice pulled up a flickering vision of five vampires rolling up to a hospital full of injured people covered in blood. He didn't need to see more to know it wouldn't end very well. Already venom was pooling in his mouth, the unique scent of Bella quickly fading and being replaced by rather good-smelling human blood. Thankfully, all of them had fed just yesterday so the cool, partially dried blood wasn't enough to set any of them off. Though Edward could tell Jasper had stopped breathing.

Alice pulled up to the house at top speed. The Volvo didn't even stop before Edward was out and dashing through the door past Esme.

He turned on the bathroom sink and stuck his hands under the cold water. His stomach churned at the sight of blood washing away. It wasn't the first time, not by a long shot. Esme usually made them shower after a hunt. It was the first time in many years, though, that the blood was not an animal's. The last time human blood had been on his hands the owner had also gone to the hospital. Though they'd ended up in a very different ward. The fact that it was Bella's blood made him even sicker.

A knock on the door pulled him from his mind.

She's going to be okay Edward. I see her back at school on Monday, Carlisle will release her first thing in the morning. Alice thought, handing him a towel.

"I want to see for myself."

"There are too many people there right now. Let Carlisle deal with them for now, we can visit her later. Besides Rose is angry at you, best not to disappear on her." Alice disappeared, flitting to the dining room before Edward could say anything else. Part of him wanted to disregard everyone and run to the hospital just to make sure, for himself, that Bella was alright. But he knew the dangers of letting Rose's anger stew.

All six of them gathered around the table. Emmett had an arm half looped around Rose's waist, though from the train of her thoughts, he was not exempt from her anger.

"What got into you three back there? All of you looked a half-second away from attacking Tyler and the humans could have easily heard your growling." Jasper opened his mouth but she was not finished. "And don't you dare blame the blood, you could hardly smell it over Bella's scent."

"Babe-"

"I wasn't-"

"I was upset, it's fine. None of them noticed," Edward scoffed, cutting off his brothers. This is what they were going to argue about?

"No, it isn't." Rose ground out. "What came over you to make you act so irrationally? Yeah, I was upset too but I wasn't about to kill a person over it. Bella is fine." Edward opened his mouth but Jasper beat him to it.

"We weren't," he paused at the glare thrown his way, "...bein irrational. Something else made us angry." Jasper trailed off, his thoughts in tangled disarray as he tried to figure out how to explain it to them.

"Something else?" Esme asked, putting one hand on his shoulder.

"I've been around y'all for a while, long enough that I know your emotions. I don't know how to explain it but lookin back, the anger all three of us were feeling was wrong. It wasn't our anger, it was like a-"

"Haze," Emmett finished. Jasper nodded.

"Yeah, like a haze. I didn't even register what was happenin until Alice snapped me out of it." Edward nodded, Jasper's words describing how he'd felt exactly.

"So you're trying to tell us that something else nearly made three vampires attack a human without them realizing what they were doing?"

"Weird as it sounds, yeah."

"I vote witches!" Emmett said but his suggestion was shut down by a quick look. Rose shook her head, arms crossed as she mulled over what had been said.

"I'm not going to pretend I get your whole...emotion thing. But if that's true and you three weren't just being stupid. Then who could do such a thing, and why did they try to get you to kill Tyler."