Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"So, how long until Aro calls?" Emmett asked, we were sitting outside a Dairy Queen, Emmett was attacking a huge sundae. Apparently he couldn't go more than a few hours without eating.

"Dunno?" Edward shrugged. "Hopefully never. J had it coming. Aro knows that. I gave him a warning not to fuck me over."

"There's no way T's gonna let that go." Rose said. "She'll have been calling him before we even left the club."

"You left her able to talk?" Edward grinned.

She flipped him off and he laughed. "What did you do to J anyway?" she asked him.

Edward glanced at me. "Let's just say he won't be making phone calls for a while." He muttered.

"Talking, eating, moving, breathing on his own. He won't be doing any of it for a while. " Emmett added nonchalantly.

I stared between the three of them, resisting the urge to giggle. It was comical, after everything that had happened tonight, it seemed anti-climactic to be sitting around discussing it calmly while eating ice-cream.

"Maybe you should call Alec, give him a heads up." Emmett said bringing his bowl to his mouth and slurping the rest of his melted ice-cream.

"It was Alec's order. He knows what it might mean. If Aro wants to take issue he can take it up with him, not me." Edward shrugged. "I hate that motherfucker."

"Me too." Emmett agreed. "He's a slimy fucker. You know Alec made me invite him to the wedding."

"What! Did you tell him no?" Edward's head snapped up.

"You ever told him no?" Emmett arched an eyebrow.

"I'm still here aren't I." Edward smiled ruefully.

I had no idea who Alec or Aro were and I'm almost certain if I asked, Edward wouldn't tell me. I wondered if he'd ever let me in. I knew he wasn't going to instantly tell me all his secrets, but I hoped in time he'd learn to trust me. My phone ringing brought me out of my reverie and I rushed to answer it.

"Bells." My dad sounded a bit panicked.

"Hi."

"Where are you? Jake went by the house and he said you weren't home."

"That's because I'm not, I'm just out with some friends."

"Friends? What friends? Jake says he went by Mike's, he said he hadn't seen you since school. Jake was worried."

I rolled my eyes at my overprotective father and friend. "I'm with Rose."

"Rose who? I've never heard you mention a Rose."

"Er, she's new in town."

"Ok, so what time will you be home? It is a school night."

"Soon."

"Alright, I better call Jake, stop him searching Forks for you. See you in the morning."

"Bye." I put my phone back in my pocket, and turned back to the others. "My dad." I said as explanation.

"Do you need to get home?" Edward asked.

"In a bit, he doesn't finish work til midnight so there's no rush."

"What about your mom?" Rose asked.

"She lives in Phoenix."

"So you live with just your dad, that must be a fucking nightmare." Rose said looking horrified.

"Not really, he's pretty quiet and he works long hours." I shrugged.

"What does he do?" she asked.

"Um…" I trailed off. I didn't really want to tell them, I had a funny feeling it wasn't going to go over too well.

"What?" Emmett asked smiling. "If it makes you feel any better my mom was a stripper. It can't be that bad." He shrugged.

I appreciated the effort, but it didn't make me feel any better.

"He's the Police Chief." I glanced at them warily and just like I expected they had all frozen and were gaping at me.

"Holy fucking shit!" Emmett recovered first.

"Chief Swan?" Rose asked disbelievingly. "Your dad is Chief Swan?"

"Um, yeah."

"You didn't think to mention that before I took you to a strip club Princess." Edward asked, his hand running through his hair.

Emmett burst out laughing and Rose soon joined him. Edward looked at them both like they were crazy.

"E! Dude, you just took Chief Swan's baby girl to a strip club, broke at least five separate laws, and then molested her on the hood of your car! Big C is going to piss his pants laughing when he finds out about this."

"Fuck!" Was all Edward had to offer on the situation. I really hoped this didn't change things between us. I knew Edward was up to no good, but it wasn't like I was planning to run home and tell daddy.

"Em, you wanna go get some more ice-cream?" Rose asked him, subtly leaving me and Edward alone.

"Sure" he shrugged and they both left the table.

"I can't…, I mean…, fuck Princess, why didn't you tell me?" Edward said as soon as they were gone.

"It doesn't change anything."

"It changes everything." He said heatedly. "Shit, the police chief, Princess." He shook his head. "I should have dropped you right the fuck home after school, fucking Emmett." He was getting angrier and I shrank back in my seat. "Fuck! Do you have any idea what you got mixed up in tonight? I can't believe this. So fucking stupid!" He stood up abruptly and grabbed my arm, leading me to his car. I didn't think I was dealing with my Edward anymore and that scared me.

"Edward." I called hoping to reach him. He glared at me, eyes cold and shoved me into the back of his car. He slammed the door and got in the driver's seat. Starting the engine and screeching out onto the road. I let him be for a minute, hoping he'd calm down by himself. My heart rate was going through the roof, while I'd seen this side of him before I'd never had it directed at me.

"Edward I'm sorry, I should have told you, I didn't think it was a big deal, it's not like I'm going to tell him what I did tonight." I told him as he continued to speed through the streets. He didn't answer me, he didn't even acknowledge that I'd spoken. He was muttering under his breath, I caught a few curses and the odd word but most of it I couldn't make out. His mobile was ringing but he was ignoring that too.

"Edward please, you're scaring me."

That stopped him in his tracks. He skidded to a halt at the side of the road and turned to look at me.

"Shit Princess, I'm sorry, I don't mean to frighten you, I just wanted to get you home."

I sat back, relieved that Edward seemed to be calming down. I let my breathing and heart get back to normal while Edward watched me cautiously, his phone continued to ring.

"That's probably Emmett and Rose wondering why you left them in the ice cream shop." I told him.

"Fuck!" He looked genuinely shocked that he had forgotten them and grabbed his phone and answered. "What?"

I could hear the muffled voice of Emmett shouting through the phone.

"Ten minutes." Edward said and hung up. "He's not too happy with me." Edward explained. "Look, I…, tonight was…, and now you and your dad…, I can't…," He screwed his eyes up and grabbed his hair in his fists, frustrated. "I need to speak to Alec …, this situation might need handling."

I stared at him, I hadn't understood most of what was said all night, but now I was scared and confused. "What do you mean, are you going to hurt me?" My head was spinning with images of torture and murder, I may have watched one too many cop films with my dad in the last few months.

"What! No! Jesus Princess, you think I'm gonna hurt you?"

"I don't know!" I kind of wailed, my mind was all over the place and Edward's weird cryptic sentences weren't helping. It had been a crazy night and I didn't know what to think.

He was out of the car and had my door open before I'd even realised he had moved. "I'd never hurt you, no one will, I'll make sure of it." He said pulling me out and wrapping his arms around me.

As crazy as I obviously was right now, I believed him. My high from earlier had worn off, the adrenaline and excitement was gone, and now I was standing on the side of a deserted road with a boy, who I had to admit, frightened me to death at times, and I still couldn't find it in myself to turn away from him. Being in his arms was all that mattered.

Edward was involved in something dodgy, I'd known that from the first time I met him, but I had assumed it was stupid high school stuff, I was only just realising that it was far more serious than that.

"Tell me." I urged him. "Tell me who you are, what this is all about."

"I can't Princess." He sighed

"That bad huh?"

"You need to go home and forget you ever met us." I shook my head against his chest. "It's for the best, you'll be safer."

I knew he was probably right, but I didn't want safe. I had lived 'safe' for over seventeen years and it wasn't much fun. I didn't want to forget tonight, I didn't want to forget Emmett and Rose and I certainly didn't ever want to forget Edward, as if that was even possible.

"I have to go get Em and Rose." He said quietly. I nodded and he led me to the front of his car and settled me in the passenger seat. "Do you hate me yet?" he asked when as he got in the car.

"Never." I whispered.

"You're too good for all this, Princess." He said and we drove back in silence through town to get Emmett and Rose.

"What the fuck E!" Emmett shouted from behind me. As soon as Edward had pulled up in the parking lot, Emmett and Rose had jumped into the back of Edward's car. "You're gonna leave my ass at fucking Dairy Queen, I've had Alec, Jazz and Big C on the phone trying to get hold of you. Aro made contact. Pick up your god damn messages."

"Son of a motherfucking bitch." Edward swore and pulled out his cell phone. He pressed a few buttons and put the phone to his ear. He listened intently then dialled a number.

"Alec..., yes…, give me a couple of hours…,midnight at the docks…, I can't…, I have baggage…," he said looking at me, and I assume referring to me, which isn't the least bit offensive. "No! It's not fucking disposable…,she's untouchable…, we've got Rose as well, so two untouchables…, yeah…,three…, hang on…, " Edward turned to Emmett. "You carrying?" he asked.

"Two." Emmett nodded. "Rosie?"

"One." She answered.

"Em's got two, Rose has one." Edward went back to his call, as usual I was lost. "We're ten minutes away, but…, why me?...,of course…, my dad, really?...,no, ok …,fine." Edward hung up, but he didn't look pleased. His jaw was clenched and his nostrils flared. I could practically feel the tension coming off him.

"So, did you two fuck and make up?" Emmett asked from the backseat lightening the mood somewhat.

"I just wanted to get her home, before all this kicked off." Edward answered.

"Too late for that now. T saw you together, she's got her name, can't be many Bella's wandering around Forks. She might as well be walking around with a target painted on her back." Emmett said casually. I was feeling anything but.

"You think I don't know that." Edward said through gritted teeth.

"You have to bring her in."

"No."

"You'd prefer her dead?"

"What the fuck Em!" Edward shouted.

"Whoa, easy there. Just sayin'. We can keep her safe."

"At what cost, she doesn't need to be involved in all this shit."

"She already is."

"No, she's better than this." Edward said adamantly.

"You should have thought of that before you called her Princess in front of T"

"Fuck you."

"Anyway B's cool, we can keep her around. Hell, it's worth it just for the shits and giggles."

"So we put her life in fucking danger, for shits and giggles." Edward looked mad.

"Ohh, touchy, might have to start calling you Princess." Emmett laughed.

"You'll only do it once." Edward threatened.

"Whatever you say Princess." Emmett grinned.

"I'm not fucking joking." Edward yelled.

"Calm down Pri...," Edward pulled a gun from nowhere, cocked it and pointed it at Emmett's head. It happened too fast for me to have an appropriate response. I just stared open mouthed as Edward's arm held firm.

"Put the fucking gun down E." Rose actually rolled her eyes at him. Apparently Edward pulling a gun on Emmett didn't faze her in the slightest. "Em's right, Bella's already involved. So suck it up and stop being a prissy little bitch." Clearly no one told Rose it's not a good idea to call the man with the gun names.

Edward didn't move, he just stared at Emmett who was still grinning. "Fuck, we don't have time for this. We gotta meet with Aro." He lowered his arm, tucking the gun away. I was stunned, did that mean if he had more time he would have happily shot his cousin. "Rose you're up." Edward got out of the car and he and Rose swapped places.

"Where to?" she asked, adjusting the seat and pulling out of the parking lot.

"Docks, Unit twelve." Edward instructed.

"Is Alec meeting us there?" Emmett asked, their previous argument obviously forgotten.

"No, my dad."

"Cool, Big C can meet Little B" Emmett smiled.

"It's not a fucking meet and greet Em. Do you take anything seriously?" Edward muttered.

"Hardly ever. That's why you're next in line, not me. You take all this shit so seriously you'll give yourself a fucking ulcer one of these days."

Edward took out his phone again and pulled a laptop out of a bag, he powered it up. "Jazz." He put the phone to his ear. "You got the link?" I watched in fascination as he typed furiously on his computer, brows furrowed as he concentrated on whatever it was he was doing. "Twelve on the inside…, any sign of Aro?..., Fucker!..., I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch one of these days…, keep a lock on him…, old man's losing his touch if he thought we'd go in blind…," he chuckled at something Jasper said. "Yep, Rose can track us…, later man." He put his phone away. "It's a set up, Aro's not even there."

Emmett nodded. "Excellent! Gun fight!" He said with enthusiasm. Pulling a weapon out and checking it over.

It seemed like my crazy night wasn't over yet. I think I was in shock, it was the only way to explain how calm I was feeling.

Rose pulled the car up to the side of a warehouse. I checked the time, it was a little after ten, I really needed to get home soon, if I was going to make it before my dad, but I thought perhaps now wasn't the best time to mention it.

"Princess, you stay in the car with Rose. Rose you spot anyone that isn't Em, my dad or me you drive, keep going until you get home. Understand." Edward was all business. I nodded.

"Edward?" Someone opened the back door of the car.

"Dad." Edward got out of the car.

"Big C" Emmett chuckled. "Come meet Bella." He got out of the car and pulled the man around to my side.
"B, this is Big C, E's daddy." He said as he opened my door. I was met by an older blonder version of Edward. You could tell they were related. "Big C, this is Bella. E calls her Princess." He added with a grin.

"Fucking Hell Em, you gossip worse than a fucking woman." Edward moaned.

"It's Carlisle." He rolled his eyes at Emmett. "I apologise for my nephew, we think his mother dropped him on his head when he was a baby. It's a pleasure to meet you Bella." He held out his hand for me to shake.

"You too." I told him.

He stood and turned to Edward and Emmett. "We're going in the south entrance. I have men stationed at every available exit point. Edward it's you he wants so be careful. Your mother will kill me if I bring you home with another gunshot wound." He chuckled lightly, like it was no big deal for his son to get shot at.

Edward came around the car and crouched beside me. "I won't be long." He glanced at his watch. "You have to be home before twelve yeah?" I nodded, finding the whole thing surreal, Edward was worrying about my curfew at a time like this. Madness didn't even begin to cover it. "If we're not out by eleven, just go, make sure you get her home on time." He told Rose who agreed. He leant forward and grabbing the back of my neck pulled me forward and kissed me soundly on the lips. "Back soon, Princess." He winked and stood, slamming my door shut, he walked away with his father and Emmett.

Rose and I sat in silence for a few moments. She reached into the backseat and got the laptop Edward had been using, studying it for a while.

"Quite a day, huh?" she asked.

"You could say that." I agreed, it was a gross understatement. "Is this an everyday occurrence for them?"

"Not everyday." She laughed as her phone rang. "Jazz?...,yeah, I got them." She hung up. "Jazz has trackers on all their mobiles, and surveillance cameras inside the warehouse so we can keep up with what's going on." She explained.

"So, you're all involved in this, the whole family?"

"Uh huh." Rose said absent-mindedly, she was busy concentrating on the screen. It finally dawned on me just what I had gotten caught up in.

"Like the mob?" I felt my breathing speed up, I felt dizzy, no wonder Edward had been so upset that my father was the chief of Police. He wasn't dealing a bit of pot in high school, we were talking organised crime, the mafia, guns, drugs, money laundering, illegal gambling. It suddenly all made sense, that's why everyone had been so fearful of him at the club, he was part of the underworld, something I didn't think even existed in small towns like Forks. I could hear Rose talking to me, but her words weren't registering. I couldn't get my breathing under control.

A sharp slap brought me crashing back to reality. "Sorry, but you were hyperventilating." Rose said apologetically. "Look E should really be the one to tell you all this, but you're here and you're involved whether you like it or not, and you're obviously not stupid."

I nodded, although I was feeling pretty stupid for not realising all this earlier.

"The Cullen's are a respected crime family, probably the most respected on the west coast. Marcus is the boss, that's E and Em's grandfather. He had three sons, Alec, Carlisle and Felix. Felix, that's Emmett's dad was killed years ago. Alec and Carlisle run things these days, Marcus is all but retired. Carlisle doesn't get involved often, being a doctor, this life wasn't particularly for him, but he will if he has to, like tonight for example, especially if E is involved. Carlisle can hold his own, but Alec pretty much runs the show, then you have E and Emmett, the only male Cullen children. Emmett is the oldest, but he doesn't have what it takes to be boss, you've met him, you can see why, he's just the muscle. E, he has the brains, but he can also be cold and cruel and he's just as strong as Emmett, he's also quicker. When Alec steps down, it will be E that takes over. He's perfect for the position, Alec trained him, Carlisle tried to keep him out of the life but it's like it's in his blood. He's a natural. He turns eighteen soon and he'll be initiated into the family. But that's just a formality, he's already made a name for himself."

Great, just great, I finally find a boy that I'm attracted to, that I want more than anything and after one night I find out that not only is he a criminal, he's in the freaking mob, and not just in the mob, he's all set to be boss. I know I wanted to know all his secrets but I'm beginning to think I was better off in the dark. "So what do you do?"

"Not a lot, I help handle the paperwork, make sure all the accounts look legitimate, sometimes I'll act as a decoy or a lure, a getaway driver, but Emmett mostly keeps me out of it. I'm Emmett's girlfriend, it's supposed to make me untouchable, no one can come after me, some old fashioned criminal code that they are all supposed to follow, no one touches the wives or girlfriends. Doesn't always work and some families don't honour it. But that's what E was talking about earlier, he told Alec that you're untouchable."

I knew it was wrong to feel even slightly flattered by that, but I couldn't help myself, it was sweet, in a massively screwed up way.

"Jasper is the tech guy, he can hack anything, he can change your grade card as easily as he can get into the Pentagon files. He deals with all the electronics, surveillance when it's needed, phones, computers, destroying electronic records, anything like that. And Alice.."

"Alice!" I couldn't imagine sweet little Alice I had met in the diner having anything to do with all this.

"Yes Alice. Silent but deadly, she's tiny, so she can get in and out of almost anywhere, she's almost as good as her brother. She's another one who seems made for this life. Despite Carlisle's best efforts both his children seem to embrace this lifestyle."

"Wow!" I mean what else could I say? It was all a bit much to take in.

"Now, I shouldn't have told you any of that. It's not my place, but if Aro is going to kick off because of tonight, he's going to know about you. Tanya will have told him everything, and you have a right to know if you might be in danger. Aro is boss of a rival family, the Volturi's, he is Tanya and James' uncle. If Aro suspects E has feelings for you it's going to make you even more vulnerable. They will come after him any way they can, he's that good and if they take out the next in line the family will crumble, no one else can run the Cullen's after Alec, it has to be Edward. Aro will think nothing of coming after you, if he thinks it will get to him. So you can expect a heavy Cullen presence in your life for the time being. E won't let anything happen to you."

"Wonderful." I muttered.

"It's a lot to take in and I know you haven't known us very long, but it feels like you fit."

She was right, I had thought earlier that I felt a sense of belonging with these people, but that was before I found out who they really were. A few short hours ago I had been desperate to fit into Edward's world but
knowing what that world involved now, did I still want that?

"I don't know if I can be part of this." I told her honestly.

"That's for you to decide, you haven't run away screaming yet and I don't think you will, but Bella, I have to warn you, you discuss anything I just told you with anyone outside of the Cullen's, I will personally hunt you down. This is my family, and I won't have anyone fuck with it, you don't have to become part of it, but you do have to keep our secrets. Don't make me regret letting you in. I like you Bella, I really don't want to have to hurt you."

I shuddered, I had no doubt she meant what she said, not that I would ever tell anyone what she had just told me. Rose went back to watching the computer screen and I rested my head against the headrest of my seat and shut my eyes, trying to process everything she had told me.

I jumped when I heard a gunshot ring out through the night. It was almost immediately followed by several more. "Rose?" I cried. I wasn't worried about myself, I was too busy panicking that something was happening to Edward.

"We're fine, they're fine." She assured me, not taking her eyes off the computer screen. "It'll be over soon."

"How do you know?"

She pushed the computer between us. "E will finish this in three shots." She said confidently. "Watch this." She said almost proudly. She showed me on the screen where Edward was, crouched down behind some boxes, then to three men hidden around the room.

I held my breath as I watched Edward stand. He shot three times in rapid succession and I heard the shots echo outside the car a second before I watched them on screen. Edward put his gun away, smirk on his face as Emmett and Carlisle rushed into the room. "I told you he was good." Rose said.

I merely nodded. Somewhere it registered that I should be horrified that I just sat and watched him kill three people, but all I felt was relief that Edward wasn't hurt.

"And you can't tell me that didn't get you all hot and bothered." She laughed.

As much as I didn't want to, I had to admit Edward had looked damn fine. My dad carried a gun, Jake too, I'd seen them shoot, we'd been to the range together, I'd even had a go myself once. But Edward with a gun, that was different, he was powerful, controlled and focused , he really had been quite impressive. Rose was right it did get me a little hot and bothered, and that was worrying, what kind of girl was I if watching people get shot turned me on.

We waited another five minutes before we spotted Edward, Emmett and Carlisle coming towards the car.

They were laughing about something, looking like they didn't have a care in the world. They looked like they had just been out to a football game or a party, not that they'd just taken part in a gun fight.

"Still not running Bella?" Rose asked, rather smugly in my opinion. It was almost like she knew that I'd already accepted this, and I didn't even know myself if I had or not yet. She jumped out of the car and ran to them, she said something to Edward and then threw herself into Emmett's arms.

Edward opened the driver's side door and poked his head into the car. "Hi." He said simply.

"Hi."

"Em and Rose are going with my dad, I'll take you home, if that's alright with you."

I nodded, and Edward looked relieved. He went to sit and moved the computer off his seat, shutting it and throwing it into the back of the car. He hung his head, concentrating on adjusting his seat and starting the car.

"Were you watching?" He asked quietly.

"Only at the end." Edward didn't say anything, just nodded once and waited for me to continue. He still wasn't looking at me. "I'm glad you're ok." I told him softly.

"Yeah?" He looked up and gave me a small smile.

"Yeah." It was true. I couldn't deny that I would have been devastated if something had happened to him.

Edward drove out of Port Angeles in silence, he was speeding, but it was the only way I was going to get home before my dad so I didn't mind much. The silence wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, but I had so much I wanted to say to him and I didn't know where to start. I decided to go with the truth.

"Rose told me." He glanced over at me confused. "Who you are." I explained.

"I told you I was no good for you." He sighed.

"And I told you I didn't care." It wasn't until I said it that I realised how true that was.

"You don't hate me?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?"

"Because you will Princess. One day, you'll look at me and you'll hate me."

"Never." I vowed. Even knowing what I knew about Edward, having seen him in action tonight, I couldn't ever imagine hating him.

He took my hand in his and we rode that way until his phone rang.

"Dad?" He answered. "Yeah, why?…, what!…, Fuck, why would you do that?" He listened for a while. "You tell Emmett I'm gonna kick his fucking ass…,Rose can shut the fuck up as well…,Fucking Hell!..., It's not funny!.., Fine!" He hung up angrily. "Motherfuckers." He muttered under his breath. "You have any plans after school tomorrow Princess?" He asked glancing sideways at me and I wondered what I was going to get involved in now.

"No, why?"

"Because my mom wants you to come over for dinner."

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Edward parked his car in a deserted parking lot behind some buildings. We all got out of the car and the change in his and Emmett's demeanour was startling. They seemed to harden, their faces becoming serious and they both stood taller, looking more grown up, like they meant business. Gone were the two boys who just argued over whether pineapple should be allowed to be put on pizza. In their place were two men, men that looked dangerous.

I wondered what we were doing here and decided I would need to ask Edward some questions if I saw him again. I couldn't just follow him blindly into situations, especially not if they involved seedy parts of town and strip clubs. The chances were, I would probably follow him anywhere regardless, but I was still my father's daughter, and I knew nothing good could be going on, if four underage kids were about to walk into a strip club.

We went through a dank alley and came out onto a bustling street, there were clubs and bars lining both sides of the road, all of them playing loud music and people were hanging around outside, drinking and smoking. I felt a little intimidated when some of them turned to stare at us but Edward threw his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his chest and strode towards one of the bars. He was so confident and composed, it was hard to believe he wasn't much older than me. Rose and Em walked behind us, neither one of them looked wary, they looked like they came here every day and they belonged. They both had their heads held high and no one bothered us in any way.

We approached a seedy looking building and Edward stopped and turned to me. "Stay close to Rose, do not leave her sight. You have your phone, call me if you need to." He instructed and I nodded, I had no plans to leave Rose, I was already feeling nervous. He put his hands to my cheeks and cupped my face. "I mean it Princess, anything happens or you feel uncomfortable, you call, I'll be back to you in a second." I nodded again, and he kissed me on the nose. I didn't really want Edward to leave me, but I knew he had things to do, again I wondered just exactly what he was up to that would involve him coming to places like this, but now wasn't the time for questions.

Edward walked into the building and a huge bouncer stopped him by standing in his way. "I.D" he said.

My heart stopped. Even if Edward and the others had fake I.D's, I didn't. I was going to ruin the whole plan.

"Dean." Edward laughed.

Dean, laughed along with him, "Good to see you E."

"J in the back?" Edward asked and Dean nodded. They shook hands and he let us through into the club.

The club was dark and musky, I looked around wide-eyed and trying not to openly gape, there were women in various states of undress all over the place, some sitting at tables talking to men, some serving drinks and a few dancing on a stage in the middle of the room.

"Here" Edward thrust some money into my hand. "Go with Rose, have a drink, I won't be long, I promise." He kissed me briefly on the lips and with that Emmett and Edward disappeared into the club.

"Come on, let's get a drink and find Tanya." Rose said.

We walked into the club and Rose seemed to know where she was going, so I followed behind. We got to the bar and she jumped up onto a high stool. I got up onto the one beside her. A barman appeared within seconds. "What can I get you?" He asked smiling at Rose.

"Cosmopolitan." Rose smiled sweetly. "Make it two."

I handed the money Edward had given me to Rose and she handed one of the bills over. The barman went away and came back with two glasses.

Rose turned to me and handed me a glass, clinking hers to mine. I took a drink and coughed, I'd had alcohol before but it was a sip or two of my dad's beer, this was strong and burned the back of my throat.

Rose chuckled. "You'll get used to it." She said taking a graceful sip of her own.

"What are Edward and Emmett doing here?" I asked. Rose had been the most forthcoming today and I wondered if she'd tell me what I wanted to know.

"E will tell you when he's ready."

"I don't know if I'll see him again after tonight." I whispered sadly.

"You will." Rose said confidently.

"You think?" I asked hopefully.

"I know. I've never seen him act like he does when he's around you." She nodded, as a lovely red headed women came to stand at the other side of the bar. She had brilliant blue eyes and clear pale skin.

"Well look what the cat dragged in." she sneered at Rosalie.

"Tanya." Rose answered without looking at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like? I'm having a drink with a friend."

"Is E with you?" I noticed how her eyes lit up when she mentioned Edward and I bristled.

I was feeling very possessive of Edward, even though he wasn't mine to possess, and in all honesty there was no way I could compete with this lovely woman, if this was the type Edward went for then I didn't stand a chance. Although he had kissed me, I knew that it didn't necessarily mean anything, but I was really hoping it did.

"Can you see him?" Rose answered but didn't.

Tanya noticed me beside Rose and looked me up and down disparagingly, she obviously found me lacking as she sniffed and turned back to Rose without speaking to me.

"Where's Emmie-bear tonight? I've missed him." Tanya asked smirking.

Rose's nostrils flared and I could tell she was fighting to keep herself calm. She gulped her drink down and slammed the empty glass back on the bar. "I'll have another please."

Tanya disappeared for a while and returned with two more drinks, I still hadn't finished my first. I silently watched as the two girls were caught in a battle of wills. Rose was barely concealing her rage as she stared at Tanya refusing to break eye contact. She had promised Edward she wouldn't start anything before him and Emmett were back and I knew it was taking a lot of effort for her to keep her word.

I took another sip of my drink and watched the girls dancing, they were lithe and graceful, and the men were eating it up.

"Hey pretty lady." A man came up and stood beside me, the other side to where Rose was sitting. He was handsome, I suppose, dark skinned with long dreads, but his eyes were glazed as he looked me up and down.

"Hi." I squeaked.

"Bye." Rose leaned around me to say, rolling her eyes at him.

"No need to be rude, I just wanted to buy the pretty lady a drink." He leaned nearer to me but spoke to
Rose now. I tried to lean away from him without toppling off the bar stool.

"She's not interested." Rose told him.

"She can speak for herself, no?" He smiled at me, but it wasn't kind, and he reached and took my hand before I could move it. "Laurent." He introduced himself not letting go of my hand. "Would you like a drink?"
I shook my head no and tried to pull my hand out of his, but his grip tightened.

"I'd go careful if I were you." Rose commented with a smile on her face. I wondered what she was finding so amusing, seeing as I still couldn't prise my hand away and I was beginning to get a bit panicked as he bought it towards his lips. Laurent chuckled clearly not threatened by Rose.

"You've got less than a second to let go." A chilling voice said from behind me. I sagged in relief as Laurent's eyes flashed towards Edward and he dropped my hand instantly.

"E, good to see you." He stammered, wide eyed and terrified.

I glanced behind me at Edward and quickly looked away, his eyes were cold and hard, his jaw set tight and his hands were bunched into fists. I hadn't seen that side of Edward before and he was truly frightening, I could understand why Mike and now Laurent were reduced to being stammering idiots in his presence when he looked this way.

"I will kill you." Edward said simply, and I almost laughed because the whole thing was so absurd, I probably would have if Edward hadn't sounded so serious and Laurent hadn't looked like he believed him. "You alright Princess?" Edward whispered in my ear and I shivered as his warm breath hit my neck. Laurent stood stock still, looking too scared to move, his glazed eyes darting between Edward and me.

"I'm fine Edward." I said quietly.

"I'm sorry Edw…" Laurent started, but quick as lightening, Edward grabbed his hair and slammed his head down forcefully onto the bar. I shrieked and jumped off my stool towards Rose, as Laurent stayed face down on the bar for a few seconds and then slumped onto the floor, blood streaming from his nose and looking a bit dazed.

"That's what usually happens when people use his name." Rose said to me, unconcerned by what had just happened. "You see why it's such a big deal that he lets you call him Edward now."

I nodded dumbly, shocked by Edward's violent outburst over something that seemed so small. I was shaking and more confused than ever. People had looked over when they heard the commotion but they had quickly looked away and no one seemed to care that Laurent was slumped on the floor bleeding.

"Princess?" Edward called softly and I looked up at him, he looked ashamed that I had seen that side of him. "I didn't mean to scare you." He came towards me and Rose gave me a little push in his direction.

"You didn't." I said shaking my head, it was only a small lie, but he knew.

"I'm sorry." he whispered as he pulled me to him, I went willingly, this was Edward, it was E I was scared of.

"Fuck E, what did Laurent do to piss you off, I was only gone a minute." I heard Emmett's jovial voice before I saw him. He kissed Rose on the cheek and looked at Edward for an answer.

"He touched Bella." Rose answered when it was clear Edward wasn't going to.

Emmett whistled loudly and shook his head. "Bad move my friend, bad, bad, move." He bent down and picked up Laurent, helping him to his feet.

"I tried to warn him." Rose shrugged. "I'd go while you still can." She told Laurent, and he snapped out of his daze and turned to leave.

"I'll be seeing you." Edward said and it sounded more like a threat than a goodbye. Laurent nodded solemnly and stumbled away.

My mind was going at a hundred miles an hour, all these people knew Edward, most of them seemed scared of him, and I could see why now, but how could that be, he was a seventeen year old boy, it didn't make any sense to me.

"E! You're here" Tanya giggled as she caught sight of him and rushed over. "What can I get you?"

"Nothing, we were just leaving." Edward replied.

"You're not still upset with me are you?" she asked pouting. "I can make it up to you." She licked her lips and smiled, her eyes lighting up.

"I doubt that very much."

"Oh don't be like that E, stay and have a drink. I'll make it worth your while." She winked at him suggestively.

"You ready to go Princess?" Edward asked me and ignoring her completely.

I nodded, Rose was grinning like a fool and Edward winked at her. I wasn't entirely sure what was going on but I think this was all part of Rose's plan to rile Tanya up and I think Edward was playing along.

"Who the fuck is that?" Tanya screeched looking at me and glaring.

"That's Bella." Rose said happily. "She came with E."

Tanya looked at Edward and narrowed her eyes. "You bought one of your whores to my club."

I gasped, no one had ever called me such a horrid name, I know I'd lead a sheltered life but it shocked me that she would say that about me. Edward grabbed my hand and turned to leave.

"You know he's only trying to make me jealous, don't you." She said to me, making me stop in my tracks. "And sweetheart you don't even begin to compare."

Edward let go of me and leaned over the bar until he was just an inch from her face. "Watch your mouth." He said through gritted teeth.

"Or what? You're not going to hit me E, I know the Cullen boy's wouldn't stoop so low." She smirked.

"That's why they brought me." Rose interjected and Tanya's face fell a little.

"Aro will hear about this." Tanya threatened but she didn't sound so confident. "I'll bet J's on it right now." She looked around wildly.

"I'll bet J will be drinking through a straw, and not talking to anyone for quite some time." Emmett laughed and Tanya gasped.

"You fucking bastards. What did you do to him? You'll start a war." She hissed.

Edward shrugged. "You tell Aro to call me." He seemed unconcerned by her threat.

"E" she whined, seeming to change tact, going from angry to little girl in a second. Maybe she was bi-polar. "We were good together, don't ruin what we had for that frigid little bitch. You know we can make it work, it's what Aro wants." She grabbed his hand across the bar.

"I don't give a flying fuck what Aro wants." He shook his hand from hers looking disgusted.

"You think you're special?" she asked me, changing tact again, definitely bi-polar. "I'll bet you haven't fucked him yet. The minute you do you won't see him for dust. See how special you feel then. He'll be back with me before you can blink. The Little Miss Innocent look only works for so long. E needs a real woman." She smiled nastily.

"T, you need to shut the fuck up." Edward seethed. I didn't hear the rest of what he said because Rose pulled me over to her.

"Call him by his name and get out of here." She whispered.

"What?" I asked her.

"Tell him you want to go, but use his name. That will really set her off, the bitch has had it coming for a long time and E won't put his hands on her because she's a lady, but I don't have the same morals as him and she ain't no lady. Don't let her get away with talking to you like that. Show her you're worth more to him than she ever was. E might have fucked her, but he never called her Princess." Rose winked encouragingly at me.

I laughed and nodded. I hadn't planned on getting involved but hearing Tanya say those things to me, had hit a nerve, I was jealous that she got to be with Edward, when I probably never would. Rose was right, I was the one he called Princess, I was the one he let call him Edward. I wanted Tanya to know that I had a part of him that she never would. I wanted to stake a claim on him, even if it was only for show.

Edward was obviously well known and people seemed to look up to him, he was almost revered and tonight he was with me. If I only had one night with him, I was going to make the most of it, being with him and knowing he and Rose and Emmett would look after me gave me a new found confidence to stand up for myself, to do something I never would have before today. Being with Edward gave me a sense of power, and I liked it.

Tanya had come around the bar now and was standing face to face with Edward, she was whispering furiously and he was looking murderous. I tugged on his sleeve and he turned to me, his eyes instantly softening.

"Edward, can we go now?" I asked purposefully shyly, looking up at him and biting on my bottom lip. I was good, and I gave myself a mental high five. I saw Edward's eyes darken as he looked at me, and I was only vaguely aware of Tanya gasping because the look he was giving me was so full of lust it made me light-headed.

He raised his hand and used his thumb to pull my lip from my teeth. "What are you doing to me Princess." He whispered.

"Ed.." Tanya started but she didn't finish because Edward's head whipped round to hers and the look of lust in his eyes was replaced with fury.

"Don't you fucking dare." He warned her.

"You asshole." She screamed. "Fuck you, and fuck your little girlfriend, I'll get you for this Cullen, you mark my words, I'm coming for you." She made to lunge at us but Emmett got in her way and restrained her.

"It was nice meeting you Tanya." I said brazenly and she screamed with rage.

"Watch your back Bella." She spat.

"Rose, I believe this is your show." Edward grinned at her as he took my hand.

"That was fucking spectacular Bella." Rose hugged me and then turned to Tanya. I just heard the sound of a slap landing as Edward pulled me out of the club.

Dean nodded as we passed and I waved, I was feeling high as a kite, whether it was from infuriating Tanya, or from the way Edward had looked at me, or even if it was from Rose's comment, I didn't know. Maybe it was a combination of all three, but I couldn't help but giggle as Edward lead me back through the alley.
I, Bella Swan, had just been to a strip club, seen Edward physically attack a man, got involved with a screaming nutcase, who was, right at this moment, being given what for by Rose, and it was almost too much. It was a heady feeling and I let myself enjoy it.

"What are you laughing at Princess?" Edward asked as we reached his car, he opened the trunk and put a briefcase in. I hadn't even noticed he was carrying one.

"This!" I waved my arms around hysterically. "Tonight! Things like that don't happen to me."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you. I…"

"No!" I shouted, cutting him off. "Don't you dare apologise, I've never had such a rush, my blood is pumping, my heart is racing. I'm alive. I can feel it. I'm finally alive."

Edward looked at me warily, and I realised I was acting like a lunatic. I slumped against the hood of his car. He came over and stood in front of me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he wrapped his around my neck and leaned his chin on the top of my head.

We stayed that way, neither of us saying anything. I wanted so badly to figure him out, I wanted to learn all his secrets and I wanted him to let me in. If I didn't see him again after tonight it was going to hurt.

I finally felt like I had found my place, and it was with him, this funny, beautiful, cryptic, violent, scary boy I had only known for a few short hours. The thought of waking up tomorrow and going back to my old plan and surviving the next year without having Edward in my life was almost more than I could bear.
I had spent the evening in a little bubble. No questions, no answers, no consequences. Just one crazy night where I got to pretend that I could fit into his world, that maybe I could become part of it. But now I'd had a taste of being with Edward Cullen one night wasn't nearly enough time for me.

I knew he was attracted to me on some level, but it felt like more than that to me. The connection I felt towards him was too strong, too powerful, it went deeper than just simple attraction, and I could only hope he felt it too.

"What are you thinking?" Edward released me and tilted my chin so I had to look at him.

"If I asked you what was in the briefcase, would you tell me?" I asked him

"No, probably not."

I nodded, I had assumed as much.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

"I'm just Edward." He shrugged.

"No, you're Edward with me, you're E to everyone else." I told him and he nodded. "Why is that?"

He didn't answer, he just kissed my forehead gently.

"I don't want this to be over." I admitted.

"I'm no good for you." He said, and I knew he understood what I was saying.

"I don't care."

"I'll destroy who you are."

"You'll make me who I'm meant to be." I argued.

"You'll end up hating me."

"Never." I promised.

"I scare you." He mumbled, running his nose down my cheek and inhaling deeply.

"E scares me, Edward doesn't."

"I'm always gonna be E." he said sadly.

"Not always, you're Edward with me." I told him and he nodded.

"Why is that?" I asked him again.

"Because you're my princess." His lips ghosted up my jaw.

"Your Princess?" I asked as I ran my hands up into his hair.

"I want you to be mine." He whispered as his hands went to my hips and his lips brushed against mine.

"I already am."

I barely finished my sentence before he was kissing me. He pushed me against the car, my body moulded to his as our tongues battled for dominance, I held his head to me and kissed him back just as forcefully this time. He picked me up by the hips and sat me on the hood of his car and I automatically wrapped my legs around him. He moaned as he ground his hips into me and I gasped when I felt him hard and ready between my legs.

I knew we were moving too fast, but I couldn't find it in myself to care. I wanted this boy, more than anything I'd ever wanted in my whole life. I didn't care what his secrets were. I didn't care he was no good for me. I wanted Edward and I wanted all of him, the good and the bad. If he'd always be E, then I wanted that too.

I moaned when his lips left mine and he moved down to kiss and suck at my neck, one of his hands wandered under my clothes and he was soon cupping my breast, his fingers finding my nipple and playing with it through my bra. My body was on fire, new sensations and feelings coursing through me as Edward moved back to my lips and kissed me deeply.

"E and Bella sitting in a tree. K I S..."

Edward groaned and pulled away from me, while I straightened my clothes. "Seriously, are you five?" he yelled at Emmett who just laughed. "How did you go?" he asked Rose.

"She may need a new nose, but she bought the last one so maybe she'll get a good deal." Rose smiled like the cat that got the canary.

"You should have seen my woman. So fucking hot." Emmett supplied. "And B, wow, didn't know you had it in you, you didn't even flinch when that crazy bitch came lunging for you."

I smiled, I had been pretty relaxed about the whole thing, but being with these people did that to me.

"So E, I see you finally got your shit together and got your girl." Rose smirked at us.

I looked at Edward, who looked at me.

He kissed me and whispered. "Not my girl. My princess."

Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

"Holy Fuck Em, did you kidnap the Princess?" Edward asked, as he glanced at me in the rear-view mirror, I was scrambling around the back seat trying to locate my seatbelt. I'm sure I looked quite panicked because I couldn't seem to find it and Edward was driving incredibly fast through the quiet streets of Forks.

"Of course not, you stupid fucker, I asked if she was coming and she said yes." Big guy sounded put out that he had been accused of kidnapping.

"You make a habit of jumping in cars when giant strangers ask you to, Princess?" Edward asked eyeing me again and I found myself wishing he'd keep his eyes on the road

"No, this would be the first time." I laughed as I finally located the seatbelt and rushed to get it on.

"Wanna hang with us for a while?" Big dude asked.

"Uh, ok." It did occur to me that getting in a car with two boys I didn't know and agreeing to hang out with them wasn't the wisest decision I'd ever made, but for some reason I wasn't concerned. I knew they would look after me, it was just a feeling I got from the big one and Edward had made sure I got home on Friday night, so I assumed he'd do the same today. My dad was working the late shift so he wouldn't be home until midnight, leaving me free to do as I pleased until then.

"Em, we gotta pick up at T's." Edward glanced at me. It was like he was talking in code and did anyone have an actual name? All this 'E', 'Em', 'T', nonsense, hah, that sounded like EMT, which made me chuckle, causing Em to turn round and stare at me. I waved him off as I wracked my brain for what Em could be short for, I couldn't think of a single name except Emily and huge dude did not look like an Emily.

"Come on E, it'll be fun. We can pick Rose up on the way. T won't start too much shit if she's there."

I was lost, but Edward nodded and seemed to agree to me tagging along, so I sat back in my seat.

"Fucking excellent. Road trip!" Huge dude shouted excitedly, even going so far as to do a fist pump in the air. I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"I've got some shit to do in Port Angeles Princess. It won't take long, we should be back in Forks before ten." Edward told me as he pulled out of Forks. "You ok with that?"

"Uh huh." I answered and Edward upped his speed, I just hoped my dad didn't pull us over, because that would take some explaining.

"Cool, we just gotta stop by my house to pick up Rose. Em, phone her make sure she's ready."

Em, who I was yet to be introduced to properly, got out his cell. "Hey peaches…, you up for a road trip…, aw come on, please…., E's gotta stop by T's…., Uh huh…., I thought it might…, Two minutes, oh and don't be alarmed but E's got someone with him…., no straight up..., Uh, Shit! I don't know, hang on." He put his phone to his chest and turned to me. "Um, what's your name?" he asked sheepishly.

"Bella." I laughed.

"Bella." Em went back to his phone call. "Of course she's a fucking girl, who calls their son Bella?..., anyone else home?.., Ok see you in a few. Love you peaches." He hung up.

"Peaches?" Edward laughed.

"Fuck off." Em grumbled good-naturedly. "So Bella. I guess I should tell you my name huh." He smiled at me.

"That might be nice." I agreed.

"I'm Emmet. Emmett Cullen."

Emmett, what kind of name is that? I'd never heard of it before, but somehow it kind of suited him.

"You're Edward's brother?" I asked shocked, they were nothing alike. Emmett whipped his head around and stared at me open mouthed his eyes flicking back and forth between Edward and me.

"Nah Princess, this dick's my cousin." Edward chuckled, as Emmett continued to gape at me.

"Sorry" I told him, thinking I'd offended him by assuming they were brothers.

"No, no, you…, E?..., she..."

"Shut the fuck up Em." Edward cut off whatever Emmett was trying to say.

"Holy Shit! Rosie's gonna flip." Emmett shouted.

Again I had no idea what they were talking about. I resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably spend the whole evening confused.

After a few minutes Edward pulled into a driveway that was hidden in the trees, he drove through the forest for a while before we entered a clearing. There on a huge lawn, was the biggest house I've ever seen.

"Is this your house." I whispered in awe.

"Yeah, well it's my parent's house." Edward shrugged.

"Wow." I was lost for words. These people must be seriously loaded. Edward pulled up outside the front door, just as it swung open and a tall gorgeous blonde walked down the steps. "Is everyone you know beautiful?" I asked out loud instead of keeping it in my head.

Edward laughed as Emmett jumped out of the car to open the back door for her.

"Hi." She smiled as she sat down next to me.

"Hi." I said meekly, slightly intimidated by this girls beauty.

Edward raced back down his driveway and back onto the road heading towards Port Angeles.

"E, you rude fuck, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Rose said as Emmett laughed.

"Oh, right…, yeah. Rose this is, uh, Bella." She nodded at me. "Princess, this is Rosalie, Em's girlfriend and general pain in the fucking ass." Edward smirked and ducked as Rosalie swatted at him. Again I wished he would pay more attention to the road.

"Princess?" Rose questioned and I shrugged at her, I have no idea why Edward calls me that. He actually didn't even know my real name until Emmett asked.

"That's not the best of it Rosie." Emmett bounced in his seat.

"How old are you Em?" Edward groaned.

"Fuck you, this is huge." Emmett laughed while Edward gave him the finger. "Yo, B." Emmett called to me.
B, really? Did proper names cause some kind of difficulty for this family. "Whose car are we in?" he asked.

"What? His." I said pointing to Edward thoroughly confused, again, until an awful thought struck me. "Or is this not your car, oh God, you didn't steal it did you." I gasped, and then blushed as all three of them burst out laughing.

"Sorry." I told them, I was so embarrassed.

"Anyway." Emmett said when he finished laughing. "Back to my original question. Whose car is this?"

"Don't wind her up Em." Rose said rolling her eyes.

"I'm not. Trust me Rosie, her answer will blow your fucking mind." He said wide eyed and staring at her.

"Ok Em, whatever you say babe." She smiled sweetly at him, then suddenly swatted Edward around the head. "Did you give him drugs again?" she yelled.

"What the fuck Rose. Of course I didn't give him drugs. I had to spend the day with him remember, like I'd subject myself to this giant moron being high all day. Em, dude, control your woman, because I will leave her ass on the side of the fucking road if she hits me again. Princess, can you please put my dick cousin out of his misery and answer his question. Rose will more than likely gape at you for a while, Emmett will get over excited like the fucking five year old he is and then we can all get on with our lives and hopefully the rest of the journey will be relatively drama free. Fuck I need a smoke." He leant over to the glove compartment and pulled out a packet, throwing one in his mouth and pulling a lighter out of his pocket. He cracked his window and lit his smoke, pulling on it deeply before exhaling slowly.

I was stunned. I'd never heard Edward say so much in one go, he was fairly commanding which I found hot as hell. I was slightly perturbed by Rose's comment about giving Emmett drugs again, it implied Edward had given him drugs before, and I really didn't understand Emmett's need for me to tell Rose whose car we were in. She clearly knew it was Edwards.

"Aw man, you've totally ruined it now." Emmett said sulkily.

"I don't get it." Rose said.

"Me either." I admitted. "Is there something funny about us being in Edward's car?" I asked her.

Rosalie gasped and her eyes widened. "See, see. What did I tell you Rosie Posie. Fucking Epic!" Emmett clapped and bounced in the front seat.

Totally confused, which I'm finding is an almost constant state while I'm around Edward, I looked up at him in the mirror, he raised his eyebrow and smirked at me, in an 'I told you so' kind of way, his cigarette was hanging loosely from his mouth and oh dear Lord! He looked like sin. Dirty, delicious, sexy, sin. It was a good job I had my seatbelt on because I might have jumped him if I wasn't restrained.

Rosalie regained her composure fairly quickly, and the rest of the journey was filled with idle chatter. It was, just as Edward had hoped, relatively drama free with only a small altercation between Edward and Emmett over which radio station to put on. This involved some pushing and slapping and a lot of cursing. I stayed out of it and just worried about Edward driving while simultaneously fighting with Emmett and at one stage smoking as well.

Despite worrying I was going to be involved in a road traffic accident, due to Edward's rather cavalier attitude to driving, I was enjoying myself. I don't know what I was expecting and I still didn't really know anything about these people, Edward was still a mystery but the more time I spent with him, the more I wanted to figure him out.

Before long we were in Port Angeles and Edward pulled up in the parking lot of the mall downtown.

"Plan?" Emmett asked, all traces of humour gone.

"Leave the girls here, we'll hit everyone except T." Edward said.

Rosalie jumped out of the car and Emmett followed. Edward turned to me. "You have a cell phone?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, hand it over, I'll program my number into it, call if you need to. I just gotta take care of some business with Em and then I'll pick you up. You can shop with Rose or something."

I groaned and grabbed my cell out of my bag handing it to him.

"You don't like shopping Princess?"

"Not really."

"Huh. I thought most girls loved shopping." He looked genuinely bemused, as he entered his number into my phone.

"I'm not most girls." I shrugged.

He looked up at me, his green eyes piercing my soul. "No, you're not." He said quietly, before shaking his head quickly as if to clear it. "You should start at the phone store, this is fucking ancient." He threw my phone back to me.

"It makes and receives calls, what more could I possibly need from a phone?" I told him.

"Don't ever let Jazz hear you say that." he said somewhat cryptically, and got out, he opened my door for me and I went to join Rose. Emmett and Edward got back in the car and were gone.

I felt tense now I was alone with Rose, the boys had a way of making me feel safe and relaxed. I had agreed to hang out with them, but now I was faced with spending an unknown amount of time alone with Rose and I was nervous. This was shaping up to be the strangest day I'd ever had.
"Come on, let's get some coffee and then we can spend some money." She smiled at me and headed into the mall leaving me no choice but to follow her. We chatted over coffee and I soon relaxed in her company, I don't know what it was about Edward, Emmett and Rose but I felt comfortable around them, despite them being relative strangers to me.

"So when did you meet E?" she asked.

"Friday night, I was in the diner with a friend, do you know Mike Newton?"

"Newt, sure, he's been by the house a couple of times."

"Well Edward and him had to go somewhere so Edward dropped me home, and then he was at my school today with Emmett, they seem to have, er, a problem with Mike, I'm not sure why." I added hoping she might explain what was going on between Mike and Edward, but she didn't.

"I still can't believe you call him Edward."

"Huh?"

"No one calls him that, he's E or Cullen, only his parents and his grandfather call him by his name, most people don't even know it, you must have made some impression on him if he told you."

"I just asked him." I shrugged, I didn't get what the big deal was. "Wait, is that why you and Emmett were so shocked in the car?"

"Yep, to hear you call him that and not have him react badly was a shock, usually he goes postal. I think our little E might have a crush."

"I doubt it." I said blushing, there was no way someone like Edward would ever be interested in someone like me.

"He calls you Princess!" she laughed.

"Yeah, but that's only because he didn't know my name until Emmett asked when he was on the phone to you." I argued.

"Uh huh." She said not believing me for a second. "We'll see."

"How long have you and Emmett been together?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

"About five years. We're getting married in August, and then I really want to be a mom." She said happily.

"You're getting married?" I asked shocked, she didn't look much older than me, and she was ready for marriage and kids. Jesus, I'd never even been kissed.

"Yep." She smiled happily, putting her hand out on the table to show off a gigantic rock on her ring finger.

"Wow, that's some ring." I said as she nodded. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen, Emmett's Twenty. We practically grew up together, Jasper is E's best friend and we all went to high school together. We all graduated last summer, well except Alice. We've all been friends since we were kids."

"That must have been nice." I mused.

"Only child?" Rose guessed and I nodded. "Come on, let's go spend some of the Cullen fortune." She laughed and got up.

I followed her around while she bought some clothes and a new purse. She tried to persuade me to try some things on but I wasn't being swayed. I couldn't afford anything in the shops we went in. She thought nothing of the price and paid for everything with a black credit card.

We were at the checkout of an upmarket boutique when my phone rang.

"Hello." I answered.

"Princess, we're outside, tell Rose to stop spending my fucking money and get her ass out to the car." Edward laughed and hung up. I stared at my phone for a while before informing Rose, more politely, that the boys were waiting for us.

When we got to the car both boys jumped out. Emmett took Rose's shopping bags and Edward opened the door of the car for me, I actually felt like a Princess when they did things like that. It was so old-fashioned and gentlemanly.

"Dinner?" Edward asked.

"Steak." Emmett shouted.

"Sushi" Rose said at the same time.

"Em, you had steak for lunch, and Rose you can fuck right off if you think I'm eating raw fish. What do you want to eat Princess?" Edward asked and all three of them turned to look at me.

"Er, I don't mind. Whatever you guys want is fine."

"Princess, we'll argue for at least an hour and probably come to blows before we make a decision, so if you wanna get back to Forks at a decent hour, I highly suggest you tell me what you want to eat."

"Pizza?" I said as a question, uncomfortable that I was being forced to choose, but figuring everyone liked pizza.

"I really, really, fucking like you." Emmett said to me as Edward pulled onto the road. Less than ten minutes later we were seated at a table in a small Pizza joint.

We all ordered cokes, Rose and I decided to share a plain cheese pizza. Emmett wanted the works and ordered a whole one for himself, so Edward had no choice but to order a whole pizza as well.
The waitress bought our food over, swaying her hips and smiling in Edward's direction, she hovered around the table until Rose sent her a glare that would turn someone to ice and she hurried away.

Dinner was a hoot, Emmett was hilarious, Rose was fun and Edward seemed to relax a bit, joining in with Emmett's jokes. I was happy just to watch them all, they seemed like really good friends. They never made me feel left out while they talked about the time they spent at school and about Alice and Jasper.

Turned out Jasper was Rose's twin brother and Alice was Edward's younger sister.

"How we gonna work it at T's?" Emmett asked when he finished his pizza. The three of them suddenly turning more serious.

Edward glanced at me before answering. "We leave the girls in the car and go in the back."

"No fucking way, the only reason I agreed to this little road trip was because Em said we were going to T's.

"Alright, so me and Rose go in, Em you stay in the car with the Princess."

"I'm not letting Rose go in without me." Emmett mumbled pulling Edward's pizza in front of him.

"Fuck Em, I can't leave her in the car by herself." Edward ran a hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes closed. I was confused, just to make a pleasant change.

"So we bring her." Emmett shrugged. "Ever been to a strip club B?"

"Um, no, I'm seventeen."

"So is E and trust me, he's been to loads. Horny little fucker."

"Don't be hating me, just cos you gave Rose your balls before you hit puberty." Edward laughed.

I didn't know what to make of the strip club revelation, so I said the only thing I could think of. "You're seventeen? Rose said you graduated last summer." Edward didn't look much older than me, but the way he conducted himself had me assuming he was the same age as Emmett.

"Uh yeah, I did." Edward mumbled looking a little embarrassed.

"He's a smart motherfucker." Emmett added, finishing off Edward's pizza.

"Smarter than you, you dumb fuck." Edward pushed Emmett's head and he in turn punched Edward in the arm.

"E graduated early, Emmett was a year late, so both of them ended up in mine and Jazz's class. That's how we all graduated together." Rose explained to me, rolling her eyes at the boys, as they continued to push and shove each other. "So if we're taking Bella with us, how's it gonna play out?" Rosalie interrupted their fighting before it escalated.

"We go in the front, you take Princess to the bar and stay on T, Em and I will find J." Edward said and Rose nodded. "We'll come back for you when we're done, then you can have at her." He smiled.

"I'm gonna fuck her shit up." Rose rubbed her hands together and her eyes twinkled. "In fact, Bella coming in with us could work in my favour, if she sees you together she'll flip."

"No, absolutely not." Edward said firmly.

"Ah, come on E. It'll be perfect and I won't do anything until you and Em are back."

"Hell yeah." Emmett cried out. "It'll be golden."

I was tired of being confused. They all seemed to know what each other was talking about but I had no clue.

"You know I have no idea what any of you are talking about don't you." I said bravely

"Yeah." Edward nodded and left it at that.

"Tanya, known as T, has a bit of an infatuation with our boy here." Rose started nodding towards Edward.

"Ok, so what's that got to do with me?"

"Rose." Edward warned, but she ignored him.

"T's got a nasty temper and I want to rile her up, you can help me." She shrugged.

"Princess, you don't have to do anything, I'll come get you and we'll wait in the car while Rose does her thing. The crazy bitch hates me."

"Why does she hate you?" I asked him.

"We had a little disagreement." Edward said.

"He means he fucked her and now she's pissed." Rose clarified bluntly as Edward groaned and ran his hands over his face.

"Oh, um, ok, did she not like him, er, doing that." I stuttered stupidly, a bit thrown by the casual reference to Edward having sex.

Emmett threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Fucking priceless." He said shaking his head. "I think it's safe to say she liked it Bella." He added still chuckling.

"I don't understand." I really didn't.

"She's pissed because he told her in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't do it again." Rose explained.

"What was it you said E?"

"Shut the fuck up Em." Edward said tersely, looking at me.

"I wouldn't dip my dick back in your overused pussy if the fate of the free world depended on it." Emmett slapped the table. "That was it! You should have seen her face."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Edward glared at him.

"I'm just going to, um, freshen up." I told Rose, standing up and almost running to the rest rooms.

I splashed my face with cold water, and took a moment. I was completely out of my comfort zone, I had no idea how to deal with what I knew about Edward. He smoked, possibly took drugs, cursed like a sailor, apparently liked strip clubs, had sex and clearly wasn't very complimentary afterwards and may have beaten Mike up on Friday night, but he was also funny and kind, had great manners, he was obviously close to his family and friends, he was smart enough that he graduated early, and he treated me like a princess. I couldn't deny that I was crazy attracted to him. But still, it was a lot to process in a few hours.

The intelligent part of my brain, was screaming at me to run like hell and stay as far away from Edward as possible. I knew I should. I could go back home to my quiet police chief dad, and my responsible, law-abiding friend Jake and my annoyingly nice non-boyfriend Mike and pretend that I'd never met Edward Cullen, stick to the plan and just survive for the next twelve months before I head out of Forks.

But at some stage during the last few hours, my subconscious had changed my plans, and now, surviving and going through the motions until college didn't appeal to me at all. Being around Edward had me confused but exhilarated, and although it had been the strangest day of my life, it had also been one of the best. I certainly wasn't ready for it to be over yet, who knew if I'd see him again after tonight.

I headed out of the restroom determined to make the most of this one night. Edward was stood against the wall waiting for me.

"Hi." I said.

"Hi." He gave me a small smile. "Look, about all that…." He waved in the direction of our table and sighed. "I can take you home."

"No!" I said panicked.

"I'll call you a cab, if you don't want to get back in my car." He said looking at his feet and misunderstanding my refusal.

"I thought that we were going to the, um, strip club." I said blushing.

"You still want to come?" he asked looking up quickly.

"Um, yeah, if that's ok."

"Shit Princess, you're just full of fucking surprises." He pushed away from the wall and came closer to me.

"Are you sure?" he asked looking me in the eye as he came to a stop just inches from me.

"I want to come with you." I whispered.

"Ok" he agreed, his eyes searching my face for something, and I don't know what he saw, but he threw one arm around my lower back, pulling me abruptly to him, his lips crashed into mine instantly. I was frozen with shock for a moment before I realised what was happening. I was having my first kiss. With Edward Cullen!

It wasn't soft or tentative, like I had expected my first kiss to be. He took total control, forcefully plunging his tongue into my mouth the second I gasped with surprise and pulling me tighter to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back, letting myself get lost in the feeling of Edward kissing me, as his tongue expertly explored my mouth.

He moaned and brought his other hand up to the back of my head, holding me to him closer and tilting my head so he could kiss me deeper. I ran my hands up into his hair tugging gently and he moaned again.

He pulled away before I was ready and I fell into him. I was breathing heavily and Edward pressed his lips softly to mine just once.

"Um, wow." I murmured, unsure of what the protocol was after sharing a kiss like that. Edward smiled a shy smile and took my hand leading me out of the restaurant. I used my other hand to touch my lips gently, a small smile on my face.

Emmett and Rose were waiting by the car and both of them smiled widely when they caught sight of us.

Edward opened my door for me and kissed me softly on the forehead once I was settled. Rose wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at me as he shut the door and I blushed.

"Let's go see some strippers!" Emmett yelled excitedly, causing Rose to smack him around the head as Edward took off at speed.

I relaxed back into my seat amazed at the turn my day had taken. When I got up this morning I had been resigned to spending the next year counting down the days until I could leave forks and start living. Thinking my day would be another boring Monday spent with Mike and the gang, doing homework and laundry after school, and now here I was, having had my first kiss with a hot boy I knew next to nothing about and off to a strip club with three people I didn't really know, but felt a strange connection with. A sense of belonging I hadn't ever felt before. I was experiencing new things. I was finally living. It was thrilling, if not a little confusing, but I was loving it.

I had a funny feeling meeting Edward Cullen was going to change my life in ways I had yet to imagine.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I moved to Forks about a month before I turned seventeen. Having lived in Arizona for the last few years, to say it was a culture shock was an understatement. It rained a lot, there was nothing to do and everybody knew everybody and all their business. It was not my kind of place at all. The icing on the cake, Charlie, my dad who I barely knew, was the police chief. I vowed to myself that I was getting out of Forks the minute I graduated, and until then I'd keep my head down and do my time.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a punishment that I was here, I made the decision myself to come and live here. My mom married a younger guy, she loves him very much, so much, in fact, that she can't see that he is a major asshole. He never put his hands on me, but he implied more than once that his interest in me went beyond that of a normal step-parent relationship. So I hot-footed it out of Phoenix and came to live with my dad.

The first month after I arrived I hung out around the house, unpacked my stuff, got comfortable, and waited for school to start. My dad and I didn't talk much but we got along, he worked long hours and I was happy to stay out of trouble and keep house. I did the cooking and the cleaning and spent a lot of time wandering the woods behind the house, being at one with nature and all that crap, mainly I was bored out of my mind and missing my old friends.

My dad introduced me to Jacob, he had recently joined the force and was my dad's new protégée. My father adored him, it was borderline creepy. However, I soon grew to love him, in a brotherly kind of way of course. He had an irresistible smile that made you happy just by looking at it. Jake was good fun, he was a few years older than me, but he had a boyish sense of humour and didn't seem to mind simply hanging out with me. He dished the gossip on all the kids that were likely to be in my classes. They all sounded really dull, but I figured I was pretty dull myself so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and make my own mind up about them as and when I met them.

I was the talk of the school for the first two weeks, and it was difficult to ignore the constant staring, but I reminded myself constantly that I just had to make it through the next two years and then I was free, off to college, hopefully somewhere far from Forks and far, far from Phoenix, I'm thinking the East Coast or Alaska. Anywhere the parents won't be able to visit often.

I made a few friends, Angela, a girl I actually genuinely liked and her friends Lauren and Jessica who I wasn't so keen on, but tolerated. Mike Newton, all around American boy, annoyingly sweet and kind, took an instant shine to me and I put up with him because it seemed to make things easier. By Christmas I had carved myself a nice little niche at Forks High and was content to sit back and let the time pass until I made my escape. It was easy, not fulfilling by any means, but I accepted that this would be how it was until graduation.

Dad was happy I was concentrating on my studies and taking my future seriously. Jake thought it was great that I had made friends at school, although he still spent a lot of time at the house. And that was me, good girl Bella Swan, always doing what was expected. I didn't feel like my life had started yet, I had spent the last few years taking care of my flighty mother and now I was pretty much doing the same for my dad. I couldn't wait to get to college and really begin living, to start experiencing things for myself.

As I counted down the months, I felt obliged to spend more time with Mike, I even went to the Valentine's day dance with him and we hung out alone, but that was as far as I was willing to go. Sure, Mike was cute in a generic boy next door kind of way, but he certainly wasn't the boy for me. I think he considered me his girlfriend, although we'd never actually spoken about it, and I hadn't made out with him or anything.
I wasn't looking for a boyfriend, I didn't want one, I couldn't risk getting attached to anyone. Nothing was going to stand in the way of me getting out of Forks. Mike served a purpose, it kept the rest of the boys at school away from me because they assumed I was taken and that suited me down to the ground, plus my dad and Jake thought Mike was a 'nice boy' who they trusted to keep me safe, which meant I was able to do as I pleased most of the time.

I thought I had it all sussed, my life was mapped out, and I was bang on course. Boys, lust, fun, love, excitement, life in general could wait. But nothing is ever that simple, there's always something or someone that throws a spanner in the works and despite all your best laid plans, everything you ever thought you wanted changes in the blink of an eye.

For me it happened the second time I met Edward Cullen.

The first time I met Edward Cullen I was out with Mike. School was almost out for summer and I was surprised by how quick time seemed to have gone. I only had a little over a year before I could leave the dreary town of Forks behind.

We were sitting in a booth at the diner, the only place there was to go in Forks, and where I spent most Friday nights, trying to fend off Mike's attempts to grope me. I still hadn't kissed him, but he didn't seem to mind. I was sipping on a milkshake, Mike was sat next to me, talking about his new car, which wasn't new and looked like a pile of crap to me, but he was pleased with it, so I feigned interest. He'd been somewhat preoccupied the last couple of months but I didn't care enough to ask him why.

He seemed happy, so when I saw him tense up, I looked at him confused, his face had paled and he looked like he might puke. I moved as far away from him as possible because there was no way I was getting puke on my new jeans. Sorry, but they cost me a whole months allowance. Mike was staring at a guy and a girl who had just walked in. They were looking around and as they spotted us they made their way over to our table.

Mike gulped and I was about to question him when they fell into the seat opposite us.

"Newt." The boy nodded at Mike, he didn't look any older than us, but he was fine, like, way out of my league fine, curly blond hair and a handsome face, the girl smiled at me, she was stunning, young looking, she had short dark hair and flawless pale skin, she was tiny. I stared at them both, perplexed by Mike's reaction to them. They seemed perfectly normal, but Mike looked really frightened of them. I'd never seen them around before, so I figured they were from out of town.

"Jasper, Alice..good to see you. This is Bella." Mike stammered out as he gestured to me.

"Hi." The girl, Alice I presume, said.

"Um, hi." I half waved and she smiled brightly, her blue eyes shining.

"You got it?" Jasper asked Mike.

"No, tomorrow, I promise, first thing tomorrow." Mike rushed out, he was shaking and I wondered what his problem was.

"You said that yesterday." Jasper leaned towards him.

"I know man, but something came up, tomorrow though, no problem."

Alice sighed, she picked up her phone and called someone, this whole exchange was weird if you asked me. "E" she said as someone answered. "Nope…., diner." She hung up her phone and glared at Mike, it was comical watching him cower to this girl who was so little. "E's on his way." She stated.

"Um, we were just leaving." Mike swallowed noisily.

"Well now you're not." Jasper shrugged. "So Bella, are you new in town?" He smiled kindly.

"I moved here last summer. So not that new."

"Her dad is Chief Swan." Mike almost shouted at them.

"Is that so." Jasper smirked.

Alice smiled but said nothing.

"So, do you guy's live around here? You don't go to Forks High." I said after the silence around the table became uncomfortable.

Mike nudged me, and gave me a look, but I had no idea what he was trying to convey so I ignored him.

"We live on the outskirts of town. Alice goes to St Martha's in Seattle, she's home for the summer. I graduated last year." He threw his arm around her and she leaned into him so he could kiss her forehead.

"You a junior?" I asked her and she nodded, she was obviously a girl of few words.

"Um Bella, you might want to head out, um, can you walk home? I'll call you tomorrow." Mike said to me glancing at his watch. It wasn't late and I wouldn't run into any trouble on the streets of Forks, but Mike always dropped me home.

"Now, now, Newt. You're not gonna make your girl walk home are you?" Jasper asked. I didn't understand what was going on but I was over it, so I stood up.

"Jasper, Alice, it was nice to meet you." I said as I grabbed my bag and nudged Mike so he would move out of the booth. "See you tomorrow." I told Mike as he stood up to let me out.

"Ok babe, sorry about this." He kissed my cheek as I tried not to cringe away from him.

"Whatever." I waved him away and threw my backpack over my shoulder. I froze in place as I looked up. The diner door opened and in came what I can only describe as a walking God. Holy crap! I thought Jasper was fine, but this guy, Jesus Christ, he looked like he was fresh off one of those oil paintings they make you study in Art History. I've been here nearly a year and had no idea Forks was hiding such gorgeous men.

He caught me staring, open mouthed at him and he smiled a crooked smile that caused my heart to beat faster in my chest. He was pale like Alice, flawless as well. He had vivid green eyes that stood out, even from the distance I was away. His hair was a bronze kind of colour, it was messy, sticking out all over the place, but it worked well for him.

I tried to reign in my blatant ogling, but then I noticed what he was wearing, dark blue jeans and white button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows showing off his muscled forearms, and the top buttons undone to show a bit of his chest. I was a lost cause.

"Bella, go, please." Mike whispered urgently to me, as the bronze haired God started to walk in our direction.

"Newt." He nodded, as he got to our table, his voice a deep baritone that sounded like smooth velvet. "Princess." He addressed me, taking my hand and kissing the back of it.

My legs gave out and I sat back down while Mike continued to stand.

"Look E, let's take this outside shall we."

"Is this motherfucker sure? He's not seriously telling me what to do is he?" The Adonis who was apparently E asked, looking at Jasper who just shrugged.

"No!" Mike cried, "It's just, um, you know." He nodded at me.

'E' turned to stare at me, he looked me over appraisingly and I knew I was blushing. "You fucking the Newt?" he asked bluntly.

"No." I scoffed and he laughed loudly. He was beautiful and laughing made him more so.

"You should go." Mike said under his breath.

I ignored him, I was intrigued by what had Mike so worried and if I'm honest, spending a bit of time watching 'E' wouldn't hurt either. 'E' put his hand on Mikes shoulder and he crumpled into the seat as I scooted over.

"No one needs to go anywhere Newt, we'll hang out, shoot the shit, I'm fucking starving." he said, sitting down next to Jasper and waving the waitress over.

She rushed over and smiled flirtatiously. E asked if anyone wanted anything and Alice ordered a milkshake, Mike declined on both our behalves giving me another odd look.

"So, what's the problem Newt?" E asked him, leaning back in his chair and stretching his long legs out the side of the table. "I gave you plenty of time and you're gonna tell me you don't have my money. I know those fuckheads paid up, so I don't get it?" he said calmly, looking relaxed and comfortable while Mike looked scared stupid.

"It's just a cash flow problem, no biggie, I'll have it tomorrow."

"And I'm gonna take your word for it, when you promised Jazz the same thing yesterday?" he arched his eyebrow, while I looked on in confusion. Alice and Jasper were ignoring what was going on around them and seemed lost in their own little world.

Mike remained silent while 'E' stared at him. There was a weird vibe at the table now. I jumped a little when Jasper spoke. "I'm taking Alice home, if you need me, call." He said before turning to me. "You want a ride?"

"Um, no, I'm good here, thanks." I said, hoping I was. I didn't know what was going on but I planned on finding out.

'E' looked at me again and nodded slowly. He stood to let them out of the booth, patting Jasper on the back and kissing Alice on the cheek before he sat back down and returned to staring at Mike.

The waitress bought over his food and placed it on the table. 'E' winked at her and she giggled, I felt myself getting a little jealous. I looked to Mike who was still as a statue, looking like he wanted to bolt, but he remained in place.

"What's going on Mike?" I asked him in a whisper.

"Nothing for you to worry about." He replied absent-mindedly. "You should probably head home, it's almost ten."

'E' looked amused as he threw his fries in his mouth, he had long dexterous fingers and I wanted to lick the salt off them. I was hot and bothered as I watched him eat, his tongue poking out every now and then to lick his lips had me mesmerised.

"You have a car Princess?" He asked as he finished his mouthful and grabbed Alice's forgotten milkshake. He sucked on the straw and I almost lost the power of speech.

"No, I can walk, it's not far, and it's not like there's anything dangerous lurking in Forks." I told him.

"Newt?" he asked, quirking a rather perfect eyebrow.

"Um yeah, see you tomorrow." He shifted in his seat and looked uncomfortable.

"Motherfucker!" 'E' exclaimed loudly, making me jump and drawing attention to our table before everyone looked away hastily when they saw the expression on his face. "You going to let your woman walk home alone Newt?" he asked incredulously, before turning to me, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Princess, please tell me you're not blowing this dude, because, fuck! You could do so much better."

I couldn't help laughing. Mike glared at me.

"Me and Newt need to take a little ride anyway, I'll take you home. Let's go." 'E' stood up from the table.

"But, you just got food." I stuttered.

He shrugged and reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out his wallet. He threw a twenty down on the table. "Let's go." He repeated more firmly.

Mike stood up like a robot, seemingly resigned to doing whatever it was that was asked of him. We followed 'E' out of the diner and over to a smart looking car. I had no idea what it was but it looked brand new. He opened the passenger side door and helped me in, while I swooned. Mike let himself in the back as 'E' got into the driver's seat.

"Where to?"

I gave him directions and he drove fast with one hand on the wheel, I glanced over my shoulder at Mike, who looked sick as a dog. 'E' pulled up in front of my house and stopped the car. He got out and opened my door. He walked me to my house. Mike never moved from his position in the back seat, he barely even said goodbye. I got out my keys and let myself in, turning once I was in the doorway.

"Thanks for the lift."

"No problem Princess." He smiled.

"What's your name?" I blurted out because I was sick of calling him 'E' in my head.

He hesitated for a good long while and I thought he wasn't going to tell me, but eventually he answered "Edward." Then he turned around and walked back to his car, he didn't ask my name, which was fine by me, he could call me Princess for as long as he wanted.

"Bye Edward." I called.

"Night Princess, sweet dreams." He smiled and winked before getting in his car and speeding out of the street.

I went to bed that night, thinking of 'E' or Edward as I now knew him to be called, he was without a doubt the hottest guy I'd ever laid eyes on, he was obviously involved in something shifty, but then so apparently was Mike. I still didn't know what, but I'm sure it wasn't that big a deal. I fell asleep shortly after my dad got home, and dreamt of green eyes, bronze hair and a velvet voice calling me Princess.

I didn't hear from Mike all weekend which was unusual but didn't overly concern me. I caught up on my homework and the laundry. I spent Sunday with Jake and only just resisted the urge to ask what he knew about anyone called Edward, Alice or Jasper. They were like enigmas to me. Mysterious beings that had turned up out of nowhere, and I wasn't sure that I'd ever see them again.

Monday morning, my dad drove me to school, which was hugely embarrassing, but he insisted, when Mike didn't turn up. Jessica rushed over as soon as I slammed the door to the police cruiser.

"You met Cullen?" she gushed.

"Huh?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Cullen, Mike said he was at the diner Friday. I heard he's hot, is he hot? Mike looks like shit, but that's what you get for messing with Cullen. I don't know why he didn't just pay up. I mean, no one fucks with Cullen, not if they know what's good for them. What the hell was Mike thinking. I didn't even know he knew him. Hardly anyone knows him. Mike never mentioned it, idiot." She rolled her eyes.

I was lost, Jessica had a tendency to talk too fast and expect others to keep up.

"Who's Cullen?" I asked.

"E" she looked at me like I was simple.

"Edward?"

"Is that what it stands for? I don't know, he's just known as 'E'"

"So he's Edward Cullen?" I asked, glad to have a full name so I could see what Jake knew about him.

"Apparently, although no one ever called him Edward before. Did you speak to him?"

"A little, I guess, he just took me home." I shrugged.

"You rode in his car. What was it?" Jess was almost panting.

"Um, silver."

"God, you're useless Bella." She huffed and walked away from me. I turned my nose up at her and mentally gave her the finger. I went to class and only saw Mike when it was lunchtime. Jessica wasn't lying when she said he looked bad. He had a badly swollen face and two black eyes.

"God, Mike are you ok?" I asked when he sat down for lunch.

"I'm fine Bella." He replied tersely.

"What's wrong? Did Edward do this?"

"Edward? Figures." He scowled at me, so I decided to stop talking to him, if he wanted to be an ass that was his lookout.

All the boys were talking at Mike and he actually looked like he was enjoying the attention, so I turned to Angela and had an intelligent conversation about the English homework we had gotten.

After lunch Mike apologised and I shrugged it off. He kissed my cheek sweetly and told me to meet him after school so he could take me home. I agreed, because I needed a ride.

My mind wandered all through afternoon classes. Wondering if it was really Edward who had caused the damage to Mike's face and if so why. I was totally caught up in the mystery that was 'E', otherwise known as Edward Cullen.

I stopped at my locker after school and left the majority of my books there. When I got outside I had to push through a crowd that was huddled in the car park, only to find Mike being held against a wall by the largest person I had ever seen.

"Princess?" I turned to see Edward leaning casually against his car.

"Edward, what are you doing here? What are you doing to Mike?"

"I'm clearly not doing anything to Mike." He held out his arms in a display of innocence.

"You telling me you don't know the big guy over there?" I said disbelievingly.

"I know him." He admitted.

"Hey." Jessica called out, coming over with Lauren following. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, ask him." I pointed to Edward.

"Hi" Jessica said breathlessly.

"You gonna introduce me to your friends, Princess?"

"Jess, Lauren, this is Edw…,um 'E'" I don't know why I didn't introduce him as Edward, that seemed too personal, people knew him as E.

"Ladies." He said, and they both giggled.

"Can you stop the incredible hulk from beating up Mike?" I asked, seeing as no one else seemed all that concerned with Mike's fate. Jessica and Lauren were too busy whispering and batting their eyelashes at Edward.

"I can." He nodded and then did nothing but stare at me with a smile on his face.

"Well go on then." I gestured for him to get on with it.

"You asked if I could, not if I was going to." He smirked, and I huffed and rolled my eyes. "Fine." He conceded grudgingly.

Edward put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. The big guy looked around and Edward simply jerked his head, huge dude instantly dropped Mike to the ground and strolled over to us, the crowd parting to let him through. I was stunned by the control Edward seemed to have.

"Come on E, I was only just getting started." The big guy actually pouted.

"Princess here wants us to let him alone, so let's go." Edward winked at me and got in his car.

Big guy looked me over. He tilted his head and stared at me questioningly. Then he grinned at me and his whole face softened. He had cute dimples that made him look far more friendly than he had appeared minutes earlier.

I glanced around and watched Mike being helped up by Eric and Tyler, he was scowling in my direction, I don't know what his problem with me was today, but it was grating on my nerves.

Jessica and Lauren were looking between me and huge dude like they were watching a tennis match.

"You coming?" he asked, nodding his head at Edward's car and smiling widely at me, his eyes alight with mischief.

I looked at my friends who were gaping, then back to Mike who was glaring, and finally I looked at Edward who had started his car and was revving the engine, seemingly unaware of everyone around him. It wasn't a difficult decision.

"Sure." I said, and before I knew what was happening, big guy picked me up and threw me into the back of Edward's car, he ran around and jumped into the passenger seat and didn't even have the door shut when Edward took off out of the parking lot like his ass was on fire.