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Magnolia stepped out of Bella's Chevy truck onto the school parking lot, where two buses awaited the arrival of students for the biology class field trip.

Bella stared absentmindedly at the dent in her truck, oblivious to the world around her. Magnolia watched sadly, knowing what Bella was thinking about. How did Edward get there so fast? Why was he clearly lying to her?

They had both noticed three of the Cullens approaching the buses—Edward, Alice and Jasper. They reciprocated by looking toward the two brunettes, as well.

The girl's thoughts though were interrupted by Mike Newton's loud voice. "Look at you, huh! You're alive!" He chuckled, mimicking Frankenstein's Monster.

Bella nodded awkwardly. "Yeah..uh false alarm I guess." She looked down at her brown boots, eyeing them with too much curiosity. Magnolia could tell she didn't feel like talking to Mike, but she also knew it was hopeless to try and make him stop.

"Um...Maggie?" He turned to the other brunette. "Could you maybe...give us a minute?" He smiled sheepishly at her.

Bella quickly looked up at Magnolia, her eyes pleading for her not to go. Magnolia took a deep breath, nodding her head slowly, lips pursed. "Sure, Mike. I'll see you on the bus, Bells." She quickly mouthed a sorry and moved away from the two.

She noticed Jasper looking at her, with a small smirk on his face. Glancing around, Magnolia took the opportunity to talk to him, as well as Alice, her mom clearly wasn't around to stop her. "Hey, you two." She smiled widely at the vampires.

"Hello, ma'am." Jasper politely nodded, taking her hand into his, pulling her to his side. He smiled down at her, placing a small kiss to the top of her head. Magnolia smiled up at him. She hadn't expected him to start 'trying' their relationship so quickly.

"Hey! Save some of her for me!" Alice's high pitched voice interjected. Magnolia felt herself being pulled away from Jasper's grasp, and into the small arms of Alice Cullen. "I've missed you so much!" She squeezed, all of the air in Magnolia's lungs fleeting.

"Alice..." She managed to breathe.

The girl let go immediately, looking down at the ground embarrassed. Magnolia was sure if Alice could blush, she would be doing so right now. "Sorry...I couldn't help it."

Magnolia smiled, nudging Alice lightly. "It's okay, I've missed you too." 

"Be careful not to kill the girl, Alice," Edwards's voice interjected. Magnolia looked over at him, a glare appearing on her face out of habit. "Don't look so happy to see me, Siren." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Magnolia rolled her eyes, shaking her head to hide her laugh, even though she knew he heard it. "Wow, you're actually talking to me. Maybe Bella coming to Forks has changed you after all." She retorted.

Edward scoffed, but Magnolia could see an amusement smile appear on his face. "I'll see you at the greenhouse." He stated, his regular frown returning to his face as his eyes meet Bellas once more, then walking off towards the buses.

"We're not on the same bus, sadly." Alice piped up from behind. This time, she hugged Magnolia much softer.

She moved aside, Jasper taking this chance to hug Magnolia as well. He was much more careful than Alice was. "I'll see you soon." He took a deep breath in, trying his hardest to catch a sent, hoping if he tried hard enough he'd get one. Still nothing.

Magnolia smiled, her red face clearly visible to the vampires. Jasper could feel her happiness from a mile away—it was stronger than he's ever felt from her before; it radiated from every part of her. "Bye." Giving a small wave, she hastily walked to her bus, sitting down next to Bella at the back.

"Are you and Jasper, like a thing now?" The voice of Jessica interrupted what small conversation the two other girls had going on. She perched herself onto the back of her seat, eyeing Magnolia, with a brow raised in suspicion.

Magnolia's breath hitched. "Oh...um," She looked out the window, then back to Jessica. She felt herself become hot. If she told Jess what was really going on, then most likely it would circulate to her mom, and that couldn't happen—it could even cause them to move. "N-No? We're friends, just friends." Is what she settled with. Once again, Magnolia cringed at her sad attempt at lying, though it wasn't entirely a lie — they weren't a thing...yet.

Jessica could tell Magnolia was hiding something but decided not to press just yet. "Okaay. Whatever you say, Maggie." She turned back around, whispering to Angela.

The drive was a little under an hour to the greenhouse, but Magnolia was glad to get off the cramped bus, and away from Jessica's obvious glances and judging looks. Bella and she were the last to get off, joining at the back of the group. "Alright, gather 'round, students," Mr. Molina clapped his hands together. "Onward! An adventure in science awaits!"

Magnolia snorted, shaking her head. "He is way too excited about this."

Bella laughed as well, keeping her eyes on the ground. "Ya think?" They both laughed once more, walking along with the group, keeping a slight distance between them.

They walked together in the greenhouse. Magnolia wasn't really paying attention to anything Mr. Molina was saying, mostly just looking at the plants around them, breathing in the fresh oxygen they gave off with a content sigh.

Jasper was walking with Alice just a few feet in front, Alice's hand on Jasper's arm—keeping him from breaking his vegetarian diet. Edward was also close, and Magnolia could tell he was trailing behind his siblings, most likely to keep an eye on Bella.

Bella was eyeing him, the same question on her mind—the same one she talked about the whole way here to Magnolia. How was he so fast? "Um, Bells?" Bella's eyes snapped away from Edward, but even as she addressed Magnolia, she was still distracted by him. "Would you like me to...leave you alone, for a bit?"

Bella cocked her head to the side, slightly confused until she saw Magnolia's eyes drifting towards Edward in a suggestive manner. "Oh...s-sure. I'll see you. Thanks."

Magnolia smiled. "No problem." Scooting ahead of Edward—who rolled his eyes at her as she passed, reading her thoughts as to why she left Bella. "Tell her the truth."

"Alice!" She called out to the small girl.

Alice stopped, along with Jasper—the two of them turning around. Jasper felt the pain and dryness in his throat lessen at the sight of Magnolia, her presence alone distracting him from his close proximity to 20+ human students. "Jasper," She nodded as she approached them. "Are you both enjoying the trip?"

Alice smiled widely, speaking in her normal perky tone of voice. "Oh yes, it's very interesting! How are you finding our...adventure in science." Using air quotes, she mocked Mr. Molina with an amused smirk.

Magnolia chuckled. "It's nice to get out of school, that's for sure. It's been...uncomfortable for me lately." A frown crossed her face as her mind drifted back to Elton. His face, the anger and sadness in it whenever he looked at her.

Jasper felt the sudden shift in her mood, an identical frown dawning on his face. In a split-second decision, he pushed a wave of calming emotions towards her. "Would you like to walk with us?" Alice asked hopefully.

Magnolia took a deep breath, tension leaving her shoulders as suddenly she felt much calmer, the images of Elton fleeting from her mind. She remembered Jasper telling her he'd never use his power on her if she didn't want to, and even if she didn't tell him explicitly, she wanted him to — she was thankful he had made that choice at the moment.

"Sure, Alice. Bella is a bit preoccupied anyway." She laughed dryly as she looked back at her friend talking with Edward, a clear look of distaste in her eyes.

"Great!" Alice squealed, taking the girl's arm in hers, and walking forward once more.

"Why didn't you let the van crush me? And save yourself all of this regret." Bella's stubborn and angry voice echoed across the lot of the greenhouse. Magnolias brows knitted in concern. Pulling herself from Alice's grip, she turned the corner around one of the buses, to see Bella, angrily looking up at Edward.

"You think I regret saving you?" His voice sounded hurt at the fact Bella doubted his true intentions, not that lying to her helped that fact.

"I can see that you do...I just, don't know why."

Magnolia kept her distance, listening with concern. Jasper had come up behind her, placing his hand on her arm, causing her to turn to him. He smiled softly at her but didn't say a word, letting her listen to the scene unfolding in front of them.

"You don't know anything," Edward growled, his eyes turning darker.

Alice took this as her sign to step in. "Hi, are you going to be riding with us?" Jasper stepped closer to Alice, while Magnolia walked over to Bella, taking hold of her arm softly. Bella looked from Alice to Magnolia, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"No," Edward glared at Magnolia, then returned his hard gaze towards Bella. "Our bus is full." He turned, knocking on the bus door, quickly stepping in once it opened.

Bella turned, pulling her arm ruffly from Magnolias grasp, silently sulking back to the girl's bus. Magnolia frowned and turned to Alice and Jasper. "I'll see you two Friday."

Jasper raised a brow. "You're not coming in tomorrow?"

Magnolia nodded stiffly. "Uh yeah. Mom wants me to train at the res, with Sam Uley. Not sure what he could teach me." She mumbled at the end, chuckling.

Alice and Jasper shared a concerned look, obviously worried about their friend hanging out with the wolves. "I know Ariana won't change her mind, letting you do this. So all I can hope is that you're safe, and I'll see you Friday." Alice spoke sadly, her normally happy tone gone.

Magnolia sighed, hugging the girl softly. "Thanks, Alice, I appreciate it."

Alice nodded and made her way onto her bus. Jasper stayed still, his eyes trained on the ground. "Jazz?" Magnolia stepped forward. "I'll be okay, I promise. I've known the wolves my whole life. They won't hurt me."

Jasper looked up, keeping intense eye contact with her. "Even if they tried, I know they'd stand no chance against you." His gaze softened, as he spoke with a small smile.

Magnolia rolled her eyes, trying to stop her growing smile. "Oh? Suddenly you're not so scared of my magic?" She chuckled, wiggling her fingers in front of her face.

Jasper chuckled, shaking his head, a piece of his perfect honey hair falling in-between his eyes. "I'll see you Friday, okay?" He smiled, flashing his flawless white teeth.

Magnolia nodded quickly. "Yeah...Friday. I'll see you then."