Disclaimer

Twilight and all affiliated characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any of the aforementioned characters except Beth and the plot of this story (that is, should it stray from the original Twilight). This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official storyline. I am not in any way, shape, or form benefiting financially from the publishing of this story on this site and am very grateful for Mrs. Meyer's creation. Besides, if I did own Twilight, I'd be able to travel the world at my leisure!

The window was open.

The window- was open.

And she was sure in her half delirium that Bella closed it last night before leaving her room. She'd been staring at the blasted thing since she woke up, paralyzed with fear. And if she looked at her hands right then, she'd see that her hands were also shaking.

Surely she'd have noticed if her dad or Bella had walked back into her room this morning. She'd been up since the sun rose at 6. And she knew for certain that Charlie was still asleep, having heard him snoring from across the hall for the majority of the early morning. Bella, likewise, hadn't stirred yet, as there were no sounds of clumsy stumbling or the oddly comforting 'clunk' of her sibling falling out of her bed because her feet were tangled in her bedsheets. Nothing.

Not one peep could be heard in the familiar stillness of the morning. And rather than comforting her, this time, the silence was bone-chilling.

There was no way someone could have climbed up the tree and onto the very unsteady branch that was nearest to her window. It wouldn't support the weight of a fully grown human or even a child.

As quietly as she could manage, she threw aside her covers and walked toward the window. Peering out, she confirmed her thoughts: there was no way that someone could climb that thing. Or even outstretch their body over the distance between the tree and the house and successfully clamber over it.

It would make a noise. Lots of noise. She'd know, from experience, that her window was hard enough to open. The wood was old and it groaned every time someone opened or closed it.

Beth shook her head. Bella must have come in at some point. There was no other explanation.

'Clunk'

And there she was, Beth surmised, just waking up. She pulled herself onto her toes and used all of her strength to slam the window shut.

No. There was no way someone could have opened it without making a noise. Maybe she was a deeper sleeper than she realized.

At lunch, the oddities just got worse when Edward Cullen was seen sitting alone. She'd seen him, of course, after Jess made a point to mutter about how it was so unusual for him to sit alone. She made the mistake of glancing over, the weight of his familiar stare on the back of her neck growing too heavy. Their eyes locked, and he made a come hither motion with his hands.

"Does he mean you?" Jessica asked her, disbelief coloring her tone. Beth shook her head, turning away from him. She did not care. She wasn't about to go over to him. If he thought for one second that because he dropped off some homework, they were suddenly best friends, he had another thing coming. She turned to Bella as she walked through the cafeteria doors, and she met her halfway.

"I'm not hungry. I might skip to go to the library," Elizabeth explained, hand tightening on her bag strap. Bella nodded.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She offered.

But Beth refused, looking back at the table where Angela looked to be waiting on her sister, Jessica, having wandered over to the lunch line where the boys were. They were talking with their heads bent, eyes flashing at her and over to where Edward was no doubt still seated.

"I'm good." She did not want to deal with any of it.

Unfortunately, Isabel and Lauren were also at the table with Angela when she arrived.

"Where'd Beth go?" Angela inquired, then watched as Edward Cullen got up and made a move to leave as well.

"The library." She answered, pulling out a P.B & J sandwich that she had made that morning.

"Is that what they call it these days?" giggled Lauren, whipping her hair off of her shoulders and grinning with uncharacteristic glee. "Bella, be honest. Are Beth and Edward screwing? "

Besides her, Isabel laughed out loud, her head thrown back.

"What the hell, Lauren?" Thankfully, Mike interrupted the conversation then, reaching the table with a blushing Jessica and a troubled Eric flanking them on either side of them. Ben was somewhere amongst the crowd, still trying to get through the massive line.

"What?" The blonde drawled, "Everybody is thinking it."

But Bella remained quiet, choosing instead to focus on Angela as she attempted to distract her.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

Poor Beth had made a good effort to dodge Penny Boy that hour but had little choice when Edward himself made an appearance in the quiet room she took refuge in. She hadn't noticed him at first, having taken a seat relatively far away from everyone else (everyone else being two other people), and began to read a boring copy of Nancy Drew. She'd never really been impressed by the character in her old life, and her distaste for the mystery series definitely carried over to her new life.

The words in front of her barely registered in her mind, being rather focused on the boy's weird behavior (well, weirder than usual) and the events of yesterday and this morning. And upon taking a deep breath, she took a glance around and noticed the very same boy she'd tried to get away from, casually strolling over to the chair across from hers, on the other side of the table.

"Can I help you?" She queried, finally turning the page that she'd been looking at for the past five minutes.

"Why did you stay home yesterday?" He asked instead, his hands folding on the desk in front of him.

"Why do you want to know?" Beth shot back, eyes still on the book in her hands. At his silence, she glanced up and saw that he was staring again. "You really have got to stop staring at me like that."

"Okay. I will when you answer my question," he bartered.

"And since when have you answered any of mine?"

"I would, but you keep distracting me," he retorted.

At this, she closed her book, "Well, since you want to know so badly, my period started." She fully expected him to recoil, and bring an abrupt end to the conversation then, like how all teenage boys usually reacted when it came to talk of a woman's cycle. It had been her aim to get rid of him as quickly as possible. But strangely, Edwards' expression hadn't changed. He remained, waiting for her to go on.

She sighed, "Not that it's any of your business, but I have some pretty painful first days and then it eases off as the week continues." Why did he care? "Happy now?"

She began to pack her bag. One glance at the clock showed that lunch was about to end as well, and she still had to go to the bathroom to change before the usual throng of girls rushed in.

"Not in the slightest," His lips thinned, his jaw set. "Have you officially been diagnosed with anything?"

"It's fine, Edward." Beth closed off, standing, and said, "Why are we even having a conversation about this? I barely know you. " He didn't need to know anything. She didn't have to tell him anything either. It wasn't his business.

But he was not to be dissuaded from the topic at hand. "It could be serious."

"Edward," Beth scoffed, "Leave the diagnosis to your dad, please. You know, the actual doctor? "

Little did she know, he already had his medical degree.

Beth walked away without saying anything else, leaving Edward to stew over the abruptly ended conversation. She had always felt slightly bitter about the subject, remembering what that doctor had told her and Renee when she was fifteen. Just two years prior. She tried not to think about it often, but it was still a sore spot.

Rushing now, she just barely made it inside a stall when the bell rang for the end of lunch. Shuffling through her backpack, she paused. Had she remembered to pack an extra pad?

"Shit," she cussed, fingers digging into her back pocket to retrieve her phone. Bella would probably have a spare, right? Not that she'd get the chance to ask her, of course, considering her phone had apparently died. The girl groaned, putting the offending device away. Just what was she supposed to do?

But before she could question her situation further, the bathroom door opened and the clacking of high heels sounded off the tiles.

The tap turned on and off, and then the sound of the paper towel being dispensed rang out. Beth grimaced. What other choice did she have?

"Uh, hey." She called out, and the sounds of the girl drying her hands stopped.

"Elizabeth?" No way. Of course, it would have to be Alice Cullen, of all people. Beth's forehead made contact with the stall door. The dull thud sounded way too loud in the quiet space. Of course, it would have to be the one girl she had to brush off. Guilt swirled in her gut as the regret of her actions swam in her mind. It's all because of stupid Edward Cullen and his stupid mood swings.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Do you have any tampons or pads by any chance? I think I left mine at home. "

And before she could continue, a small pale hand with a beautiful tennis bracelet reached under the stall door, two tampons in hand.

"Thanks."

And Alice hummed and waited until she'd finished on the toilet, doing her makeup as Beth had seen when she walked out of the stall.

"Thanks again, Alice," Beth said, wiping her wet hands on the too-rough hand towels. "And I'm sorry," she blurted, "about the other day." I don't think I should have been that harsh. "

"You're forgiven," the other girl chirped, looking at her through the mirror as she finished lining her eyes. But I get it. Edward can be.. "

"An idiot?" the taller brunette supplied, snorting.

"Exactly," she grinned and capped the small pencil to put it away in her clutch.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

After school, Mike approached her, "Hey. The group is headed out to La Push beach on Saturday. Do you think you and Bella can make it? "

Beth scrunched her nose, "Nah, I don't think I'll go, but I'll be sure to ask Bella."

Mike frowned then, disappointed that he hadn't been able to rope her into their plans, "Okay." Well, if you change your mind and Bella says yes, we're meeting up at my dad's store at around twelve to carpool. "

"Okay," Beth said, waving goodbye to the boy. He was sweet; she'd give him that. But he really needed to get his head out of his ass and ask Jessica out already. The poor girl practically worshipped the ground he walked on. They could be good together.

A loud bump next to her made her jump out of her skin, the bane of her existence smiling in the direction of the Newton boy.

"Jesus Christ," Her hand flew to her chest in an attempt to calm her furiously beating heart. "What the hell?"

"Newton hates me," he said as if that explained his appearance.

"Well gee, I can only wonder why," Beth muttered, reaching to open the truck door.

When she looked back at him, she noticed that his smile looked slightly strained now, before dropping completely. "Beth, we shouldn't be friends." His eyes were darker now, clouded as he peered down at her.

She floundered, spinning to face him. Where the hell did this come from?

He continued, "I want to be your friend, but we really shouldn't."

Beth's head shook, "What the hell does that even mean?" Honestly, the boy was going to give her more whiplash than what she had experienced after the accident with Tyler's van!

"It means that if you were smart, you'd stay away from me." And without another word, he strode off, hands deep in his pockets, his foul mood aerating the space around him. He parted the students that walked by like he was Moses parting the Red Sea, leaving Beth stunned and confused at her spot beside the truck.