I met Bella, yay. Edward, you know this means that we get to start hanging out right? Alice beamed.

I glanced at Bella and as she watched Alice dance away.

"Should I say 'have fun,' or is that the wrong sentiment?" she asked, looking back at me.

Her expression showed a painful emotion, like me leaving her for a short moment in time would cause her great pain. She was so nonchalant about talking about my world that I couldn't help but grin.

"No, 'have fun,' works as well as anything." I said.

"Have fun, then" she said, I could tell there was an edge to her voice. Was she going to miss me while I was away? Being separated from her was overwhelmingly painful, was she feeling this way too? She couldn't possibly grasp the concept of the kind of love I felt for her.

"I'll try," I continued to smile at her, "And you try to be safe, please."

"Safe in Forks - what a challenge."

"For you it is a challenge." I hoped that she remembered my last request about her safety; that she stays out of the woods. "Promise." I begged. If she put herself in harm's way or was hurt in any way because I wasn't there to protect her... it would shattered my cold, silent, heart into pieces.

"I promise to try to be safe," she mused, "I'll do the laundry tonight - that ought to be fraught with peril."

If that were all she was going to do this evening, she should be safe. I remembered her incident in gym from the other day and grasped the concept that no matter what Bella was doing, there was always an opportunity for her to injure herself. The thought merely brought on an internal chuckle, though, and I teased, "Don't fall in."

"I'll do my best" she mocked.

I stood then, wishing I didn't have to leave. Bella got up too.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she sighed.

I was suddenly absorbed by my desires again. Maybe if I just lightly gripped her around the waist, I would only have to concentrate on the amount of pressure I used. No mistakes, I scolded myself. I suppressed a sigh.

"It seems like a long time to you, doesn't it?" I asked.

She nodded with a sullen expression. She was continually saying yes to me.

"I'll be there in the morning," I promised.

The infatuation I had over touching her was winning my inner dispute. I longed to hold her in my arms, to be engulfed in her warmth. I was craving her touch, too. My body was burning with the yearning to possess her and before I knew it I had reached over and touched her face, lightly touching her cheekbone. Her scent was lingering between us and I took air in my lungs slowly, as if to make the burning and aching of my throat a more pleasurable experience. It wasn't, it was only a burning pain and I knew if I didn't turn away now I wouldn't stop at her face. I'd grab at her waist and bring my lips to hers. No mistakes, I yelled internally. I turned on my heel and strode swiftly from the room, even though my mind was begging me to turn around and take the girl into my arms and... stop there!

When I arrived at the car Alice was sitting on the hood, "You know, Carlisle could help you turn her," Alice mused. I glared at her.

"I will not take her life Alice!"

"Sure fooled me, I thought I was going to have to drag you out of the lunch room with the visions that were flashing in my mind," Alice said, "Now I'm super thirsty after all the imagines I saw," she faux pouted.

"Like I said, I won't end her life," I eyed her evenly.

"Like I said," she mocked, "you should ask Carlisle. If you aren't biting her because you are afraid you will end her life, then why? To keep her human?" she looked at me in aversion, "but you know... Carlisle won't kill her." Alice continued.

"Alice, Bella will not be turned into a vampire, the first one who tries will suffer the consequences!" I growled.

"Okay, okay. Just a thought, Edward," she looked unhappy.

Alice got into the Volvo and we drove to Bella's.

She'll be fine, you know? Her night looks extremely uneventful. She really needs to get out more... Alice thought.

"I know, being away from her just makes me extremely anxious," I explained.

"I know," she trilled.

We arrived at Bella's shortly.

You'll find the key in her blue jeans downstairs in a blue laundry basket, Alice thought, figured I would save you some time. You would have found it eventually, of course, but this way you get out of there quicker.

"Thanks, Alice," I said, glad our little spat was patched up, or at least put behind us.

"You're Welcome!" Alice said while she jumped in the driver's side of the Volvo and drove off towards our house.

I was lurking inside Bella's house and found her truck key quickly. Her lingering scent was ever present throughout the house. I was breathing in deeper than I ever had before around the seductive scent, only because she wasn't here in the house. I was in no danger of hurting her when she wasn't here, I contemplated. So I took in another gulp of her perfume before I left the house, which I know I would regret later when I was hunting.

I drove her truck back to the school; her aroma was stronger in here than in her house. I tried to distract my mind by musing over all the things I could upgrade on her truck before Bella got out of school. If Rosalie and I were on better terms I would have her do some work under the hood. This truck couldn't possibly be that safe. I grabbed a piece of paper out of my backpack and decided to write a note to Bella. I have a keep sake from her, she deserves to have one from me, too. I thought of what to write while I was driving (more like snail crawling) back to the school. I decided simple was safer. When I parked the truck I left the key in the ignition and wrote "Be Safe" on the white piece of paper. I left it in her seat. I checked to make sure there was no one looking and I speed off through the forest and back home. Alice was waiting on the doorstep for me.

"Are you ready?" She trilled.

"Yes, let's go."

We sprinted through the forest in silence for several miles. I knew it was safe to hunt when the only thoughts I heard were Alice's. She was thinking about what she was going to pick out for Rosalie to wear tomorrow, whether green and pink or black and pink would look better on her new design for a shirt, and which shoe would look better with Esme's pants, open toed or not. Her thoughts wondered every which fashionable way possible, and I was grateful. I didn't want her to bring Bella up. She had so many visions and images in her mind when it came to Bella, and I would never be ready to see some of those visions come to light.