Asteraceae

SIXTY FOUR

Edward couldn't go see Bella like he had promised, while frustrated he couldn't risk entering the Swan residence and running into Charlie Swan, who was often not checking up on Bella while this drama was going on. He had done it before, done it with no problem, but the man was getting suspicious on why his daughter was ready for bed so early into the night. He probably had concerns about girls her age wanting to stay up all night, but obviously enough Bella wasn't like most girls. She wasn't socially able, wasn't popular, and wasn't exactly on everyone's hangout list. She was nobody once Evangeline came around and that alone set her apart from the other girls that usually would pester the teen for attention, for a few seconds of popularity for chatting up the new girl from Phoenix Arizona. That alone led to awkward conversations about why she wasn't hanging out with either Angela or Jessica. Why she wasn't even hanging around the Cullen's much considering they were usually attached to the hip, why she was retiring to her room at around eight at night with little to nothing to eat. So, with his mind made up one night he decided that after he put this fool in handcuffs he was going to drop by the diner and grab them both some dinner that they could eat together. Some salad for the girl and a hefty steak for the man.

"You seem...different tonight." It took little convincing on Charlie's end since he had returned around ten to see the girl still up and presuming waiting for something. She seemed paler, hair a little greasier, and even thinner than before, but what does he know about women. It could be that time of the month making her like this, but it could also be the lack of sun she was receiving because she wasn't 'that' pale when she first arrived in Forks. "Paler, having trouble in school." He ate, the hunger from missing breakfast and a short unwilling lunch catching up to him. He thought this dinner would be nice, but it was far from the actual feeling of dread.

"No." She could handle a little rumor here and there. The whispers of students as they question her intentions with Edward, befriending his family, and hanging around the little 'Kim Princess.' She could handle all that, but recently Alice hadn't been showing up to school, her little shield from all the madness was gone and the only person she really thought she could blame was Joshua. The man teaching the last bit of his class before sending them off without another word. He didn't speak much like he used too, barely mentioned some random facts, and seemed more fed up than anything.

"I see." Charlie grimaced, "haven't heard much about that boy you hang around so much."

"Edward? He's been busy." All week apparently, she could barely talk to him during lunch since they were more focused on the whole 'destroy the nurse' mission Joshua had dumped onto them...and for that she was useless, she didn't have super speed, hearing, or even smell to help them incriminate this woman, and she wasn't pretty enough to distract like Evangeline and Rosalie had been doing whenever the other was available to do something...she was nothing.

"I see." He downed a beer, Bella really was the drain a man and while he understood she probably wasn't in the mood to chat, he felt like he barely saw the girl despite living in the same house as him. "I recently seen Jacob...the boy has jacked up over the months." Bulked up to the point the man was overly impressed, but worried while he might be using drugs. It was hard to see the young boy go from scrawny to beefed up in so little time.

"Really?" Then that was probably the new 'Shifter' Emmett had begrudgingly mentioned that would need to cross onto their territory for Joshua to tutor at his place from time to time. She hadn't seen the boy since he chastised her that one time. He had already seemed so different from the Jacob that she first had met when she first arrived here..." Where did you see him?"

"The station, recently arrested a man and Jacob was present protecting Evangeline." Her food turned sour in her mouth, "the poor girl was shaken up and glued within his arms until Cullen was kind enough to take her home since Joshua wasn't in the area." He would have to speak to the man about her well being when he gets the chance. Joshua had ended up stopping by the station the next morning to catch up on what had happened, he cared a lot for his cousin.