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I FELT ODDLY BUOYANT AS I WALKED FROM SPANISH toward the cafeteria, and it wasn’t just because I was holding hands with the h that was certainly part of it

Maybe it was the knowledge that ain

Orto do with me specifically Maybe it was the at over the entire ca down, and, for the senior class especially, there was a perceptible thrill in the air

Freedons of it were everywhere Posters crowded together on the cafeteria walls, and the trashcans wore a colorful skirt of spilled-over fliers: res, and announceowns, hats, and tassels; neon- bright sales pitches - the juniors ca for class office; ominous, rose-wreathed advertise weekend, but I had an ironclad proain After all, I’d already had that huhtened ive ive the other students Actually, I felt nervous to the point of nausea whenever I thought of it I tried to not think of it

But it was hard to escape such an oraduation

"Have you sent your announceela asked when Edward and I sat down at our table She had her light brown hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail instead of her usual shtly frantic look about her eyes

Alice and Ben were already there, too, on either side of Angela Ben was intent over a co down his narrow nose Alice was scrutinizingjeans-and-a-t-shirt outfit in a way thatanother hed My indifferent attitude to fashion was a constant thorn in her side If I’d allow it, she’d love to dress me every day - perhaps several times a day - like some oversized three-diela "There’s no point, really Ren��e knohen I’ Who else is there?"

"How about you, Alice?"

Alice shed "My mother has a thousand cousins and she expects et carpal tunnel I can’t put it off any longer and I’ it" "I’ll help you," I volunteered "If you don’t "

Charlie would like that From the corner of my eye, I saard s Charlie’s conditions without involving olves

Angela looked relieved "That’s so nice of you I’ll coo to your house if that’s okay - I’rinned as I announced hting her always-gentle brown eyes "I thought you said you were in for life"

"I’m more surprised than you are I was sure I would at least have finished high school before he set o out to celebrate"

"You have no idea how good that sounds"

"What should we do?" Aliceup at the possibilities Alice’s ideas were usually a little grandiose for me, and I could see it in her eyes now - the tendency to take things too far kicking into action

"Whatever you’re thinking, Alice, I doubt I’ht?" she insisted

"I’m sure I still have boundaries - like the continental US, for exariht?" she persisted

"Nothing Look, let’s give it a couple of days to ht, anyway" "We’ll celebrate this weekend, then" Alice’s enthusias to placate her I kneasn’t going to do anything too outlandish; it would be safer to take it sloith Charlie Give him a chance to appreciate how trustworthy and ela and Alice started talking about options; Ben joined the conversation, setting his comics aside My attention drifted I was surprised to find that the subject ofas it had been just a eles or runtled

It didn’t take long to determine where oodbye to Jacob Black in the forest outside ued by a persistent, uncomfortable intrusion of a specific ular intervals like so e of Jacob’s face crumpled in pain This was the last ain, I knew exactly why I was dissatisfied with o to anywhere I wanted - except La Push; free to do anything I wanted - except see Jacob I frowned at the table There had to be soela’s voice yankedher hand back and forth in front of Alice’s blank, staring face Alice’s expression was sonized - an expression that sent an autoh my body The vacant look in her eyes toldvery different from thethat was every bit as real in its oay So that would happen soon I felt the blood slither frohed, a very natural, relaxed sound Angela and Ben looked toward him, but my eyes were locked on Alice She jumped suddenly, as if someone had kicked her under the table

"Is it naptiain "Sorry, I was daydrea two more hours of school," Ben said

Alice threw herself back into the conversation with more animation than before - just a little bit too much Once I saw her eyes lock with Edward’s, only for a ela before anyone else noticed Edas quiet, playing absentmindedly with a strand of my hair

I waited anxiously for a chance to ask Edhat Alice had seen in her vision, but the afternoon passed without one minute of alone time

It felt odd to me, almost deliberate After lunch, Edward slowed his pace to nment I knew he’d already finished Then there was always soh we usually had a few , Edward struck up a conversation with Mike Newton of all people, falling into step beside hi lot I trailed behind, letting Edward tow

I listened, confused, while Mike answered Edward’s unusually friendly queries It see car troubles

"but I just replaced the battery," Mike was saying His eyes darted ahead and then back to Edarily Mystified, just like I was

"Perhaps it’s the cables?" Edward offered

"Maybe I really don’t know anything about cars," Mike admitted "I need to have so’s"

I opened ain My iant wolf

"I know a few things - I could take a look, if you like," Edward offered "Just let me drop Alice and Bella at hoing open "Erthanks," Mike et to work Maybe some other time"

"Absolutely"

"See ya" Mike cli his head in disbelief

Edward’s Volvo, with Alice already inside, was just two cars away

"What was that about?" I er door forhelpful," Edward answered

And then Alice, waiting in the backseat, was babbling at top speed

"You’re really not that good a mechanic, Edward Maybe you should have Rosalie take a look at it tonight, just so you look good if Mike decides to let you help, you know Not that it wouldn’t be fun to watch his face if Rosalie showed up to help But since Rosalie is supposed to be across the country attending college, I guess that’s not the best idea Too bad Though I suppose, for Mike’s car, you’ll do It’s only within the finer tunings of a good Italian sports car that you’re out of your depth And speaking of Italy and sports cars that I stole there, you still owe me a yellow Porsche I don’t know that I want to wait for Christ her quick voice becoround as I settled intoto avoid my questions Fine He would have to be alone with h It was only a matter of time

Edward seemed to realize that, too He dropped Alice at the h by this point I half expected hiot out, Alice threw a sharp look at his face Edward seemed completely at ease

"See you later," he said And then, ever so slightly, he nodded

Alice turned to disappear into the trees

He was quiet as he turned the car around and headed back to Forks I waited, wondering if he would bring it up himself He didn’t, and thishe didn’t want to tell me, and I tried to think of a reason why he would keep secrets Maybe it would be better to prepare myself before I asked I didn’t want to freak out and have him think I couldn’t handle it, whatever it was

So ere both silent until we got to back to Charlie’s house

"Light hoht," he commented

"Main?"

"Charlie didn’t throw a fit when you pickedto turn sulky fast when he got ho extra-special for dinner

Inside, I headed up the stairs, and Edward followed He lounged on iness

I stowedand turned the computer on There was an unanswered e-ot panicky when I took too long I druers as I waited for ainst the desk, staccato and anxious

And then his fingers were onthem still

"Are we a little i to make a sarcastic reolden eyes were sainst ue

I couldn’t remember the witty response I’d been about to ive me a chance to recover

If I hadEdward There wasn’t anything I’d experienced inof his cool lips,with et ers braided the my face to his My arer - strong enough to keep hihter against his stone chest Even through his sweater, his skin was cold enough to make me shiver - it was a shiver of pleasure, of happiness, but his hands began to loosen in response

I knew I had about three seconds before he would sigh and slideabout hoe’d riskedtheue traced the curve of his lower lip; it was as flawlessly smooth as if it had been polished, and the taste - He pulledmy hold with ease - he probably didn’t even realize that I was using all th

He chuckled once, a low, throaty sound His eyes were bright with the excitehed

"I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not"

"And I should feel sorry that you’re not sorry, but I don’t Maybe I should go sit on the bed" I exhaled a little dizzily "If you think that’s necessary"

He sled hi to clear it, and turned back tonow Well, not as

"Tell Ren��e I said hello"

"Sure thing"

I scanned through Ren��e’s e- s she’d done I was just as entertained and horrified as the first tiet exactly how paralyzed she was by heights until she was already strapped to a parachute and a dive instructor

I felt a little frustrated with Phil, her husband of al that one I would have taken better care of her I knew her so o their oay eventually, I reminded myself You have to let them have their own life

I’d spenther away fro the ones I couldn’t talk her out of I’d always been indulgent withto her I saw her cornucopia of hed privately to myself Scatterbrained Ren��e

I was a very different person frohtful and cautious The responsible one, the grown-up That’s how I saw myself That was the person I knew With the blood still pounding inmy head from Edward’s kiss, I couldn’t help but think ofh school to ame a year later She’d always proift her life had ever given her And yet she’d drilled it into e seriously Mature people went to college and started careers before they got deeply involved in a relationship She kneould never be as thoughtless and goofy and sritted my teeth and tried to concentrate as I answered her letter

Then I hit her parting line and relected to write sooner

You haven’t said anything about Jacob in a long time, she’d written What’s he up to these days? Charlie was pro the answer to her question between two less sensitive paragraphs

Jacob is fine, I guess I don’t see him much; he spends most of his time with a pack of his friends down at La Push these days

S and hit "send"

I didn’t realize that Edas standing silently behind ain until after I’d turned off the computer and shoved away fro overany attention tocrookedly away from the main square in a way that didn’t look healthy for whatever it was After a second, I recognized the car stereo Eiven otten about the birthday presents hiding under a growing pile of dust on the floor of my closet

"What did you do to this?" he asked in a horrorstruck voice

"It didn’t want to come out of the dashboard"

"So you felt the need to torture it?"

"You kno I am with tools No pain was inflicted intentionally"

He shook his head, his face a ed "Oh, well"

"It would hurt their feelings if they saw this," he said "I guess it’s a good thing that you’ve been on house arrest I’ll have to get another one in place before they notice"

"Thanks, but I don’t need a fancy stereo"

"It’s not for your sake that I’et ood out of your birthday presents last year," he said in a disgruntled voice

Suddenly, he was fanning hile of paper

I didn’t answer, for fear hteenth birthday - with all its far- reaching consequences - wasn’t so I cared to re it up He was even more sensitive about it than I was

"Do you realize these are about to expire?" he asked, holding the paper out to me It was another present - the voucher for airplane tickets that Esiven me so that I could visit Ren��e in Florida I took a deep breath and answered in a flat voice "No I’d forgotten all about theht and positive; there was no trace of any deep emotion as he continued

"Well, we still have a little time You’ve been liberatedand we have no plans this weekend, as you refuse to go to the prorinned "Why not celebrate your freedo to Florida?"

"You did say solared at hi to understand where this had co to see Ren��e or not?"

"Charlie will never allow it"

"Charlie can’t keep you fro your mother She still has primary custody"

"Nobody has custody of me I’m an adult"

He flashed a brilliant sht it over for a short ht Charlie would be furious - not that I was going to see Ren��e, but that Edas going with me Charlie wouldn’t speak to ain It was definitely sraduation favor or so my mother now, not weeks fro since I’d seen Ren��e And even longer since I’d seen her under pleasant circumstances The last time I’d been with her in Phoenix, I’d spent the whole time in a hospital bed The last time she’d come here, I’d been more or less catatonic Not exactly the best memories to leave her with

And maybe, if she sa happy I ith Edward, she would tell Charlie to ease up

Edward scrutinized hed "Not this weekend"

"Why not?"

"I don’t want to fight with Charlie Not so soon after he’s forgiven ether "I think this weekend is perfect," he muttered

I shook my head "Another time"

"You aren’t the only one who’s been trapped in this house, you know" He frowned at me

Suspicion returned This kind of behavior was unlike hi o anywhere you want," I pointed out

"The outside world holds no interest for me without you"

I rolled my eyes at the hyperbole

"I’m serious," he said

"Let’s take the outside world slowly, all right? For exaeles"

He groaned "Neverleft to talk about"

He shrugged

"Okay, then, new subject," I said I’d alotten my worries about this afternoon - had that been his intention? "What did Alice see today at lunch?"

My eyes were fixed on his face as I spoke,his reaction

His expression was co of his topaz eyes "She’s been seeing Jasper in a strange place, somewhere in the southwest, she thinks, near his foro back" He sighed "It’s got her worried"

"Oh" That was nothing close to what I’d been expecting But of course itout for Jasper’s future He was her soul h they weren’t as flamboyant about their relationship as Rosalie and Emmett were "Why didn’t you tell me before?"

"I didn’t realize you’d noticed," he said "It’s probably nothing iination was sadly out of control I’d taken a perfectly noroing out of his way to keep things from me I needed therapy

We went downstairs to work on our homework, just in case Charlie showed up early Edward finished in h my calculus until I decided it was ti faces every so often at the raw ingredients - huanoff fro up It wasn’t one of my favorites, but it would please Charlie

Charlie seeot hoo out of his way to be rude to Edward Edward excused hihtly news drifted fro

After forcing down three helpings, Charlie kicked his feet up on the spare chair and folded his hands contentedly across his distended stolad you liked it Hoork?" He’d been eating with too much concentration for me to make conversation before

"Sort of slow Well, dead slow really Mark and I played cards for a good part of the afternoon," he adrin "I won, nineteen hands to seven And then I was on the phone with Billy for a while"

I tried to keep ood His joints are bothering him a little"

"Oh That’s too bad" "Yeah He invited us down to visit this weekend He was thinking of having the Clearwaters and the Uleys over too Sort of a playoff party"

"Huh," was enius response But what could I say? I kneouldn’t be allowed to hit a olf party, even with parental supervision I wondered if Edould have a proble out in La Push Or would he suppose that, since Charlie wastime with Billy, as only huot up and piled the dishes together without looking at Charlie I dumped them into the sink and started the water Edward appeared silently and grabbed a dishtowel

Charlie sighed and gave up for the ined he would revisit the subject ere alone again He heaved himself to his feet and headed for the TV, just like every other night "Charlie," Edward said in a conversational tone

Charlie stopped in the middle of his little kitchen "Yeah?"

"Did Bella ever tell you that ave her airplane tickets on her last birthday, so that she could visit Ren��e?"

I dropped the plate I was scrubbing It glanced off the counter and clattered noisily to the floor It didn’t break, but it spattered the room, and all three of us, with soapy water Charlie didn’t even seem to notice "Bella?" he asked in a stunned voice

I kept my eyes on the plate as I retrieved it "Yeah, they did"

Charlie sed loudly, and then his eyes narrowed as he turned back to Edward "No, she never mentioned it"

"Hht it up?" Charlie asked in a hard voice

Edward shrugged "They’re about to expire I think it ift Not that she’d say anything"

I stared at Edward in disbelief