VI

"He wasn't stalking me..."

March 8, 2005

Leah sighed as her little brother zoomed past her, leaving her the responsibility to close and lock the front door. She rolled her eyes when he tripped over his own feet rushing to turn on the TV. Shaking her head, she leaned down to fix his shoes but paused at the sight of familiar neon-orange sneakers. A scoff escaped her lips even as a smile formed right afterwards.

"Welcome home, kids," her dad called from the kitchen.

She kicked off her shoes, yelling a 'hello' back to him before making her way upstairs. While her bedroom door tended to be locked, she didn't reach for her keys as she came upon it and instead just twisted the knob and entered her room. She took a quick glance at the sleeping figure on her bed before throwing her backpack on the floor and began her after-school routine.

She threw a glare at the figure on her bed when she noticed the fallen covers on the floor. Quickly discarding her shirt in favor of a tank top, Leah snuck another glance. It wasn't until she changed into a pair of sweat pants that she finally turned her full attention to the bed.

She paused, sucking in a quick breath. Teddy was curled up onto her side, headphones on and music playing loudly. One hand was tucked beneath her cheek as the other held her MP3 player, umber ringlets splayed around her head. Swallowing audibly, Leah let out a deep sigh before sitting down on the bed's edge. Her eyes studied Teddy closely, fingers clasping together on her lap.

This was a rare sight nowadays.

Before Bella came, Teddy hitched rides with her friend Sophie to La Push almost every Tuesday and Friday when the other girl came for the tutoring program. Teddy's been reluctant to leave her twin's side, though, so it's been a while since Leah came home to Teddy napping on her bed. Sighing, she rolled onto said bed and faced Teddy, eyes taking in the younger girl beside her. Slowly, she reached out to twirl Teddy's headphone wires between her fingertips. The music was pretty loud, but Leah wasn't too concern.

After the accident, one of Teddy's few ways of coping was music. Loud noises and the sound of rain had drawn the seven-year-old into a hysteria. Music had been one of the only way to calm her down. Leah remembered vividly the way little Teddy's body would shake, silent tears streaming down squeezed eyes and tiny fingers curled so tightly into themselves that Leah was afraid Teddy would lose them.

The memory of the Teddy that returned from the hospital still brought out the most aching of feelings from within Leah. She curled her fingers around the headphone wires, squeezing once and then twice, before letting go. She reached to tuck some of Teddy's hair away from the younger girl's face. Her fingers lingered for a split second against pale cheeks, before slowly pulling away. She curled her arms around her pillow as she turned onto her stomach.

Shaking her head of those memories, Leah closed her eyes. Napping sounded like a better idea, she thought and then let out a heavy sigh when her reaching hand met with empty air. She groaned, muttering a curse at Teddy in her head before blindly searching over the bed for the fallen covers. When she finally found it, she was tempted to just keep it to herself, but one look at Teddy made her sigh.

"Idiot" came out as a mumble before Leah threw the covers over herself and the other girl. She curled around her pillow again, Teddy's breathing playing softly against the silent background before darkness took her.

She awoke to the jostling of someone next to her. With a yawn, she rubbed her eyes and turned her head. Teddy's mouth was open in a yawn also, lifting one earbud from her ear as she smiled at Leah. Leah's breath hitched as Teddy's blue eyes blinked at her, soft and sleepy.

"Hey, you." Teddy's voice, raspy with sleep, danced down Leah's spine.

Her chest grew light at the younger girl's greeting. Teddy laid the earbud she just took off in the space between them, smiling sleepily at her. Leah's hand reached for it, fingers skimming Teddy's before she fitted the music piece into her ear and turned to face Teddy.

"You broke into my room." There was no malice in her voice, just a soft hum as she closed her eyes and listened to Teddy's music.

"Not breaking in if I have a key," came the sleepy reply that ended in a soft yawn.

"Whatever." Leah scoffed even as she kept her eyes closed. "No Bella today?"

"Mhmm," Teddy hummed. "She's out with some friends at La Push tonight."

Leah hmphed in response, hands reaching for the covers that Teddy had kicked off again. Wrapping it around herself, Leah rolled over to turn her back towards Teddy, all the while careful of the earbud in her ear. She hid a smile into the covers when the other girl nudged her, fingers poking into her lower back.

"Leaahh..."

She ignored the whine and instead, wrapped the covers even more tightly around herself. But when the poking continued and began trailing to her sides, she squirmed away.

"No, you're just going to kick it off again," she mumbled with a scoff mixed with a laugh.

Teddy's hands pulled on Leah's covers with a stubborn tug. "I promise I won't!"

"Liar." Leah kept her eyes closed but then opened them as Teddy rolled onto her, the earbud slipping from her ear. She grunted and turned her head, looking up into blue eyes. "Teddy-"

"Why are you so mean to me!?"

"Cause your the idiot that throw my covers to the ground each time you're in my bed," mumbled Leah, rolling her eyes. When Teddy only pouted, she sighed before begrudgingly letting Teddy in under the covers, but immediately regretted it. "Christ, I forgot how cold your feet are!"

Teddy only laughed into Leah's back, arms wrapping around Leah's stomach as lithe fingers clutched into Leah's side. The other girl shook with laughter, cold feet mingling with Leah's warmer ones.

"I can't help it!"

"Well, maybe if you would stop kicking off the covers," Leah drawled out as she yawned. When Teddy kept wiggling, Leah sighed and shifted around, arms wrapping around Teddy as the younger girl finally stopped moving. "Better?"

"Mhmm," came the muffled response even as Teddy sighed, face nuzzling into Leah's shoulder. She yawned again and when the darkness took her this time, it was Teddy's warmth that she last remembered.

However, the next time she awoke was to a loud bang as someone threw open her door.

What. The. Hell.

Was there a 'Please Come In' sign on her door or something? Leah groaned, the free arm that Teddy wasn't trapping, lifted to cover her eyes from the sudden light that lit up her room.

"The hell, Seth?" Leah bit out before sighing.

Only the two idiots that were Teddy and Seth would dare barge into her room. The bed jostled with Seth's weight as he jumped onto her bed.

"TEDDY WAS HERE THE WHOLE TIME AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!?"

Oh god. Leah freed her arm from Teddy's weight, the other girl finally waking with all the noise Seth was making. Leah nudged Teddy towards her little brother's direction.

"He's your problem," Leah muttered as she pulled up the covers (that Teddy had kicked off again) and wrapped it around herself before she turned to face the wall.

"Seth! Hey buddy!" Teddy's voice sounded far more awake then it should be. Leah grunted when two bodies fell on top of hers, Teddy's voice against her ears. "Leah, you gotta get up."

"Yeah, Lee! It's dinner time!"

"Oh my god," Leah sighed in defeat before nudging the two off and sitting up. "You two are horrible, you know that?."

"Takes one to know two," Teddy replied back cheekily as she rolled off the bed, pulling Seth with her. "Come on, Seth, we need to leave before Leah decides to murder us."

"I," Leah began, but the two were already out of the room. Groaning, Leah fell back onto her bed. "You can at least close the door!"

Her only response was laughter.

:::

As soon as Bella's question(s) left her mouth, she knew Edward was going to put up a fight about it and wasn't surprised at his next words.

"That's more than one," Edward pointed out as he continued driving, eyes glancing at the road before focusing back to her.

Bella just intertwined her fingers and watched at him, waiting. He sorta owed her answers (even if he may have been the one to save her). She knew he was trying to avoid her questions. She was thoroughly curious, though.

Could all vampires hear minds? The thought unsettled her.

Edward eventually gave in to her as the silence grew. Bright eyes watched the road even though she was sure he didn't need to actually pay attention.

"No, it's just me. And I can't hear anyone, anywhere. I have to be fairly close. The more familiar someone's... voice is, the farther away I can hear them. But still, no more than a few miles."

He paused, frowning.

"It's a little like being in a huge hall filled with people, everyone talking at once. It's just a hum - a buzzing of voices in the background. Until I focus on one voice, and then what they're thinking is clear. Most of the time I tune it all out - it can be very distracting. And then it's easier to seem normal..."

He paused and Bella waited for him to continue, but when he didn't, she asked, "and me? Why do you think you can't hear me?"

Edward's frown deepened, his jaw flexing. "I can't hear Teddy either."

"Teddy?" Bella's eyes furrowed together. He'd been the one to thank her for not alerting Teddy to her theories about him and his family, which meant he obviously could read her twin's mind. "But I thought you could...?"

Edward leaned back into his seat, eyes watching Bella closely even as he continued driving. "Not when she's around you."

"Me?" Bella blinked.

Edward nodded sharply, studying her closely.

"As I said, it's like being in a hall of people talking all at once. I've met certain humans whose voices are 'farther' compared to others. I can get glimpses and words but it takes a bit of focus on my part to hear them fully. Teddy has always been a hard one to hear, but I've never truly tried before. Until you. But then I realized I couldn't hear her anymore either and I eventually realized why." He paused, eyes furrowing. "You."

Bella swallowed audibly. "So I what? Protect Teddy's mind from you?"

"So it seems," Edward replied softly, his eyes flashing as something came across his face. "It works with distance. I haven't ever measured it, but both of your minds are cut off from me when you are in the same room at school or passing each other in the hall. And when you're home together, of course. The only guess I have is that maybe your mind doesn't work the same way others do. Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only getting FM."

At his grin, Bella pursed her lips. She was bothered by Edward's words more than she should be.

"My mind doesn't work, right? I'm a freak and I make Teddy one too by being near her?" She didn't want to drag Teddy into her oddness. Teddy was supposed to be the normal one.

"I hear voices in my mind and you're worried that you're a freak?" He laughed. "And it's more like when you're around, Teddy switches to AM instead of being in FM. But don't worry, it's just a theory." His face tightened. "Which brings us back to you."

Bella suppressed her groan at the sudden change to a less interesting subject.

"Aren't we past all the evasions now?"

Bella was about to reply to him when she finally caught sight of the speedometer and freaked out. The two battered about speeding and law enforcement, bringing up Charlie. Eventually, the topic went into how she guessed he was a vampire, her mind going back to the bonfire where she may have - sorta - flirted with Teddy's friend Jacob Black to get information.

The rest of the car ride was slow, despite Edward's speed. As if he too wanted more time with her. Bella, for once in her life, finally understood Teddy.

Particularly, Teddy's feelings for Leah.

Bella couldn't remember a time when Teddy wasn't in love with Leah Clearwater. Maybe a time before Leah Clearwater came into their lives but since Teddy moved to live with Charlie, it had always been Leah that or Leah this. Even during Teddy's recovery from the accident, the older girl had been the one Teddy's asked for most whenever she visited or the one subject that was able to calm Teddy down.

Her twin has always orbited around Leah even when, back in the beginning before the accident, Leah obviously didn't want Teddy around. And as everyone got older, Teddy and Leah became closer. Eventually, Bella caught onto Teddy's 'thinking of Leah' look whenever her twin visited her in Phoenix. When Teddy came out to her on their thirteenth birthday, she hadn't been surprised and even less surprised on Teddy's 'may or may not like Leah Clearwater'.

Bella has always been aware of where her twin's heart was. But while she always knew about Teddy's feelings, she never truly understood them. She never understood Teddy's draw to Leah Clearwater. Didn't understand her twin's inability to spend even an hour without bringing up Leah. Didn't understand why Teddy couldn't let go of her feelings for Leah even when it was clear how painful they were, especially when Leah began dating Sam Uley.

But remembering Edward's 'it makes me anxious to be away from you', Bella was beginning to understand. Because she didn't want to be away from him either.

She barely remembered to greet Charlie when she arrived home, Edward's soft 'sleep well' still echoing in her ears. After quickly answering Charlie's obligatory questions about her time at Port Angeles and appeasing Jessica on the phone, Bella went to shower.

After a while, hair wrapped securely in a towel, Bella escaped to her room with only her PJs on. Bella closed the door behind her, pausing at the sight of her twin reading on the bed. Teddy must have returned from La Push while Bella was showering.

Was she in the shower for that long?

Upon realizing she was in the room, her twin looked up and set her book against her chest. Teddy grinned at her.

"Bella Bear! How was Port Angeles? I see that you survived Jessica!"

"Um, you can say that." Bella sat on her bed, toweling her hair dry. "Actually, I sorta, uh, ran into some trouble."

Bella's head snapped up at the sound of a book crashing onto the floor, Teddy flinging herself across the room onto Bella's bed. Teddy's fingers wrapped gently around her arms, the other hand checking her for what Bella assumed to be signs of abuse.

"Are you okay?! Oh god, I should have gone with you! I knew Jessica would try something! She was always jealous of Edward's and Mike's attention on you! I knew it! I can't believe I let you go out with her! I thought that Angela would curb her in, urgh!"

Bella threw her towel aside, grabbing Teddy's wrists and forced her twin to sit beside her.

"Breath Teddy," Bella got out in between laughs. "It wasn't Jessica. I just wondered off alone and met some guys I shouldn't have run into."

"You what?!" Teddy stopped struggling, gaping at Bella. "You wondered off alone?! IN PORT ANGELES!? Screw Jess, what the hops is wrong with you?!"

"Hops?"

Teddy flicked the side of her boob, Bella yelping at the unexpected move and covered her breasts, but Teddy waved away Bella's glare.

"Not important, Bella. Priorities! Why did you- how- what happened?!"

And Bella told her. Everything. Well, everything minus the vampire parts. When she finally finished, after Teddy's exclamation of "Edward? As in Edward Cullen?!" to "he fed you?! And paid?!" and "he drove you home?!" her twin was sitting shell shocked on her bed.

"Uh, Teddy?"

Bella nudged her twin. Teddy shook her head, staring up at the ceiling.

"You went on a date with Edward Cullen-"

"Well, not a date-"

"-with the jerk that ignored you for months and was the reason why you were moping around the house?!"

Bella blinked.

"Uh," Bella began, but Teddy was off the bed, pointing an accusing finger at Bella with a glare.

"He may have saved you twice now, but the guy's a class A jerk! He," Teddy threw her hand in the air, "may be one of the prettiest people in school, but it doesn't excuse his wishy-washy, flippy floppy feelings! I mean, what the hell Bella!? Do you even know - wait, why was he in Port Angeles in the first place? That's such a weird coincidence. That's twice now that - oh my god!" Teddy's eyes grew big as she covered her mouth with both hands and Bella quickly stood up because she knew that look. "Is he stalking you?!"

"What?!" Bella grabbed Teddy's hands. "Teddy, no. Stop it. He didn't stalk-" She stopped. Well, he technically did. But she shook her head. "No. He wasn't stalking me, Teddy-"

"But what if he is!"

"Teddy, no-"

"That explains everything!"

"What? No! Teddy, that explains nothing!"

"Is that why he disappeared for so long? To plan his stalkerish plans? Oh god, Bella-"

"Teddy."

"-we have to tell dad-"

"Teddy."

"-and get everyone at the station to-"

"Theodora!"

Her twin's mouth snapped close, eyes wide at Bella using her full name and rise in volume. Bella let out a frustrated sigh. She hoped that Edward wouldn't hear any of this from Teddy's mind tomorrow. She may just need to stick with her sister for the rest of the week. Month, even.

"Teddy, listen to me." She tugged at her sister's arms. "Edward isn't stalking me. In fact, like you pointed out, he's saved me twice now. And yes," she placed a palm over Teddy's lips when her sister opened her mouth, "he was a jerk, but I had a really good time with him tonight. Actually... a really good time."

At Teddy's widening eyes, Bella quickly used the hand covering Teddy's mouth to flick her forehead.

"Not that kind of good time!"

Bella forced out the words between laughter even as she shook her head at her twin. She forced Teddy to sit on Teddy's bed before moving back to hers. When Teddy only looked at her pleadingly with blue eyes, Bella crossed her arms and sighed.

"You can talk now."

Teddy blew out a huge breath and the first words out of her mouth were, "does this mean I was right and you do like him?! Oh my god! I was right! Ha! And okay, Edward actually isn't that bad once you get over his jerkiness and- wait! He brought you home! Edward Fudging Cullen brought you home?!"

Teddy flew across the room again, throwing herself into Bella's bed and grabbing her hands.

"You have to tell me about Jessica's reaction! She must be sooooo mad! And-"

Bella covered her eyes with her free hand, shoulders shaking with laughter. But Teddy only continued talking, waving her hand around even as the other one held Bella's fingers tightly.

She couldn't believe her sister. One minute she's accusing Edward of being a stalker and preparing to throw him in jail and the next she's exclaiming about how awesome this whole situation was simply because Jessica Stanley was upset. Sighing, Bella removed her hand and laid it on top of Teddy's, sandwiching her twin's fingers in between hers. She tuned out the other Swan twin, eyes staring down at their hands.

Bella wasn't sure of what was going to happen next, she was sure of three things.

First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him - and she didn't know how potent that part might be - that thirsted for her blood. And third... she was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

:::

Edward should have known something was wrong.

First, Alice told him that he wouldn't be able to pickup Bella like he'd planned to since Teddy was not working this morning. Second, as soon as Alice told him this, she began singing the national anthem in her head.

For the whole night.

And the whole morning.

In several different languages.

So when they pulled up in his car to head to school and Teddy Swan was standing at their usual parking spot, he was only a bit surprised.

He turned his attention to the human girl for a brief second before searching for the one he truly wanted. Bella stood by the sidewalk. Next to her was Jessica Stanley, whose mind he quickly tuned out as he focused on Bella. She gave him a sheepish smile through the window, shrugging at him.

When he stepped out of his car, his siblings all scattered as soon as he'd parked. Those traitors.

He sighed. He inwardly cursed Alice, keeping in mind to get her back one of these days. With another sigh, he opened his car door. Might as well face the music. While he wasn't afraid of Teddy Swan, he was aware of how much her opinion mattered to Bella.

"Good morning Teddy," he greeted her when he locked the car door. "How are you?"

"Cut the chit chat, Cullen," the human girl replied without missing a beat, eyes narrowing at him as she crossed her arms. "We both know what I'm here to do."

Due to his sudden inability to read her mind, he actually didn't know what Teddy was here to do. But he could guess.

"The shovel talk?"

Teddy nodded sharply. "Hole and all."

Edward coughed to cover his laugh. Clearing his throat, he furrowed his eyes and tried his best to not smile. Teddy was a good several inches shorter than him and while she was trying her best to look angry, he couldn't help but feel as if he was facing down a lamb.

Studying her features, he realized this was the first time he actually looked at her. He'd never had a reason to before, but the more he studied her, the more he saw that she and Bella truly were twins. While her blood didn't sing to him, Teddy's blood still smelt very sweet.

"I," he began, but was cut off with a hand.

This time, he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him which only made the human girl's narrowed eyes into a glare.

"I may be shorter and weaker than you, Cullen, but I just want you to remember that our dad's the Chief of Police. I know a lot of ways to make things disappear, especially wishy washy boys who hurt my sister."

"I understand," Edward responded after a while, unsure of where to go from a comment like that. When the girl before him only continued to glare, he gave her a soft smile. "Teddy, I really care about Bella."

Teddy scoffed, uncrossing her arms. "Of course you do. She's a catch and you know it."

Edward inwardly winced at the word 'catch' and it's implication. Even now, he could smell Bella from where she stood at the side. Fighting the urge to look over at her, he focused on her twin.

"I'm pretty lucky," he said softly.

"Good to know you know that." Teddy cleared her throat. She glanced quickly at Bella before turning her attention to him. "Look. Don't mess this up. She's never shown any interest in anyone before. I don't know you that well and maybe that'll change. But know that I don't forgive easily."

Edward blinked. He opened his mouth to respond, but Teddy shook her head and held up a hand.

"This is already awkward enough, can we just skip the whole 'I'll never hurt her' thing and just shake hands on the fact that right here and now, we both care about Bella and want only the best for her?"

Ah. Edward's lips twitched before he let himself smile. He nodded slowly. He really wished he could read her mind. He's never paid attention before, but the more he studied her and the more she talked, he realized how much he's been missing out on by pushing Teddy Swan to the side.

"I can shake on that." He reached a hand out and observed the way Teddy's eyes softened, her body relaxing as she took his hand. "Thank you."

"Thank you?" Teddy let go of his hand, frowning.

"For giving me a chance," he answered, smiling still.

"Ah," Teddy nodded and shoved her hands into her jean pockets. She puffed out her cheeks and nodded again after a moment of pause. "Well, I'm leaving now before it gets more weird."

He finally let out a laugh, unable to help himself anymore. The act only made Teddy throw another glare at him before she promptly twisted around and ran across the street.

"He's good," he heard Teddy whisper to Bella before she gave her twin a hug.

Even as he came up to Bella, his eyes trailed after Teddy's disappearing form.

"I, uh, sorry about that," Bella began, eyes closing as she sighed, but Edward just shook his head.

"No. That was," he paused as he searched for a word to describe what just happened and settled on, "fun."

"Fun?"

He only laughed at Bella's shocked expression and promptly began asking her about how she was, directing themselves away from what just happened.

While Edward still wasn't afraid of Teddy, he certainly has changed his view on her. Very few people can surprise him and maybe it was because he couldn't read her mind, but Edward had a feeling that even if he could read Teddy's mind, she would still surprise him.

He might just forgive Alice after all.

Just this once.

A/N - many apologies for the long wait! Hope you enjoyed the update~