Hey everyone. Please read this:

Yay! Chapter 8. Again, thanks to anyone who has taken the time to read and review this! And A BIG thanks to those who've asked questions - keep 'em coming!

A BIG THANK YOU TO MY BETA, JEN! (LJ: bell12804 & FF: stargirl888) :

And from now on, all the QUESTIONS from the reviews will be addressed at the BOTTOM of the page, so be sure to check that out as well!

Okay... on to the chapter! Here we go, the continuance of the cliff hanger. I know, I know, I hate cliffhangers too! But I'm going to backtrack at the beginning of this chapter, to make it all flow together.

But they do work when you're trying to keep the emotions going! Enjoy. :D

Oh! And my advice is to READ THIS ONE SLOWLY and really try to FEEL the emotions with the characters ... it's worth it. & Don't read ahead, you cheaters! ;) Just kidding!

Currently rated T but may turn into M as time goes by. [Dont worry, not as long away as you think for the impatient kiddies!]

... And again PLEASE REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I own nothing that is Twilight or Stephenie Meyer related. [Though Robert is welcome at any given time to take over my life. ;)]

For what shall it profit a man,

if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul.

Mark 8:36

[continued from chapter 7] Behind Those Sorrowed Eyes..

.

Chapter 8: ...Lies A More Destined Path

I shook my head, gripping tighter to his wrists. I felt myself edge closer to him, drowning to the rhythms in his chest. "You don't know what you're saying."

"Yes, I do. Bella... I feel very protective of you, somehow. It's as if I'm meant to be here for you, to help you through whatever you need." He pondered for a moment. "And, possibly vice-versa as well. We've both experienced devastating losses, Bella. We both ended up in classes together, and in that hall alone for a reason. We both feel drawn to each other somehow, even if we can't explain it..."

I nodded, my eyes sealing tighter together, tasting more of his scent on my tongue.

Edward continued to suffocate me with his whispers. "...So don't tell me that this is wrong, Bella. We both know better."

My eyes popped open quickly, and as soon as they snapped to his, my mouth dropped open, but no words came out.

Edward's breath hitched in his throat, his heartbeat almost at a pause. It was as if he couldn't get the words out either.

This was very bad.

"Bella..." Edward whispered softly.

"Y-y-yes?" I was full-blown earthquake shaky at this point.

"Can I ask for a favor?" There was something about his voice, so strong and overtaking to me, he didn't even need to ask. At this point, he could have whatever he wanted.

My eyes shut tight again as I held my breath, gripping to his wrists tighter. "Y-y-yes you ... c-c-can..."

"Shhhh," he whispered, calming me down as he stroked my face. "Shhhh, beautiful..."

He waited until I was steady and able to open my eyes, which took a little while.

We breathed in and out together simulaneously, as if we were timed that way.

"Bella..." He penetrated, soaking me with his soft voice. "Would it be alright if I kissed you?"

Those hypnotizing words, which were gradual as a teardrop, bounced around my head on repeat like a ticking time bomb. They were still fresh from his ruby lips, milking my every emotion until I was dry.

I couldn't open my eyes.

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't think.

And I most definetly couldn't move.

I was paralyzed.

I felt Edward's soft thumbs stroke along my cold cheekbones toward the sides of my eyes in a soothing manner, and I knew he'd remain calm until I found the strength to open them. It didn't take me long to figure out that he was respectful toward me... it was almost as if he could feel what I was feeling, somehow.

I listened to the jumps inside his body, the unsteady skipping that pulsed and echoed around us, hoping I could snap myself back to the present tense by it's sweet melodies alone.

Here I was, surrounded in a blue ocean of most beautiful words in the English dictionary, spoken by the most angelic creature known to man, and these words remained reverbirated in my soul.

Would it be alright if I kissed you... kissed you... kissed you...

I allowed my eyes to open slightly, but whenI caught a glimpse of his grean diamonds shutting against his own skin, I sealed mine back tight. I couldn't allow myself to let go of his delicate wrists - I was holding onto them like they were a life preserver - Quite possibly, because they were.

You could hear a pin drop on the thick carpet four stories up with how quiet we were being.

Edward's breathing turned more shallow yet much deeper, and I became overwhelmed with sensations as he pressed his lips underneath mine, dragging them back and forth along the tiny area on my chin. "...You are so beautiful, Bella..." he whispered through his lips, but never removing them from my face. I felt the heat of his body splashing over my skin, and I began to tremor lightly in his hands.

I still couldn't process a single thought.

I couldn't understand how we ended up in a beautiful, yet more complicated of situations.

Going against everything I was taught to think, and choosing only what I felt was right, I let my lips part slowly. My bottom lip quivered, a mixture of pure desire for him and my undeniable thirst for his blood combined. I knew which one was more dominant, but still couldn't ignore the second emotion.

With all the hysteria in this very moment... all the emotions... all the inhales and exhales...I was about to lose my mind.

I felt his lips part as he lifted his face from my chin, but once he placed them directly in front of mine, he puased.

Minutes seemed to pass us by as we continued to steady out our breathing. He'd breathe in and I'd breathe out... Each time it'd cause reactions in our bodies. I felt goosebumps rise along his arms that I grasped, and as they rolled under my cold hands like a river, I shivered when my body reciprocated those emotions. It was insane, the connection we had.

The scent of him became bolder and overbearing as he moved my face closer to him. Slower... Slower... His warm hand held me so delicately, careful not to rush anything.

I kept my eyes closed as I parted my mouth more, allowing his lips access.

At that moment, my entire world stopped spinning and stood silently still.

Edward's warm bottom lip fit perfectly between my lips, and his top lip slid above my upper.

I never tasted anything more sweeter than that single moment in all my years.

It was surreal... As if, somehow, we were made for each other. Made to fit... Made to be...

We didn't move.

I so badly wanted to apply pressure to his and could tell he wanted to as well, but we wanted to make sure we took it slow - for our different reasons, of course.

We were here though. We are so close to our first kiss, and now all we have to do is just ...push.

It suddenly occured to me in this very second that all I wanted was to be with him. Not to have him, not to hurt hi, but just to be in his very presence, to never leave this spot. Everything was a daze.

I held my breath, allowing myself the freedom to make this kiss real, and decided that it was now or n-

"Edward! We're home! We've got PIZZA!"

I heard a slight gasp sink in Edward's throat, and before he even had time to open his eyes, I was clear over on the other end of the long, plush couch, with my hand over my chest and gasping.

Edward's hands were still in front of his body, placed where they were when he was holding me just seconds before in my most vulnerable form, and his eyes were wide - the mirror image of my own.

"A-Are you..." He stumbled for words, taking in my expression. "...Bella?"

I swallowed hard, trying to focus. I listened to the multiple footsteps from his family on the staircase combined with the heavy pounding of his heart, and my hands began to shake rapidly.

Get it together, Bella. You're okay.

"I'm f-fine," I stuttered quickly, forcing a smile on my face. "Fine. Really."

Edward continued to look at me hesitantly as he slowly lowered his hands. I knew he was being overly cautious in this moment, afraid of how I'd react if he moved over to me. His heartbeat wouldn't slow.

"There you are..." Emmett stood leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, smiling at us like we were a million dollars. "Aww... look at you two... how sweet. But look, we've got pizza, so if you two love maker's want any, you better get your asses in the dining room pronto because Jasper just dug in, and you know how ge gets stingy sometimes..."

Edward nodded to him with a forced smile and unsteadily stood up.

I followed him, my legs feeling like jello. What the hell just happened?

Edward walked a few steps in front of me, careful not to keep checking behind his back to make sure I was there. One time was enough, he guessed. He led me into the dining room where the rest of his family was.

The dining room was gorgeous, with a long glass table with black fame and matching accent chairs. The table had shiny tall glasses with red rose petals and bold cherries inside them, trailing along the entire length of it. There was a golden chandelier in middle of the ceiling, the light echoing through the single mirrors placed on each of the surrounding walls.

They were all scavenging for pizza, laughing and joking amongst themselves, when they looked up and saw us standing there like two doe-eyed bambis caught in headlights.

"Ahh, hello!" Carlise said, walking around the table and greeting me with a firm handshake. "I'm Carlise, Edward's father. This is my wife, Esme..."

I shook her hand as well, and noticed it was very soft. "It's a pleasure to meet you two," I said. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you sweetie." Esme gave Edward a welcoming hug. "How was practice, dear?"

Edward smirked, regaining his composure and pulling out a chair for me. "Same old, same old. I've made a lot of friends on the team, thankfully, and have even been able to guide a few of them. However, there is a few guys on the team that have been making it... difficult... to adjust to, but all in good fun, I'm sure."

Jasper smirked, shoving down a full piece in his mouth. "Sure, okay. They're gonna think good fun when they've got a baseball bat slammed against their ball sack."

Alice smacked him on the leg, causing him to wince. "That's it! You're not hanging out with Emmett anymore! I'm drawing the line!"

The group exploded with laughter, and Edward brushed my arm as he placed a large piece of pizza in the plate in front of me.

"Do you want milk, soda, water, juice...?"

I smiled. "Whatever you're having is fine."

It amazed me how I could be suddenly calm here, in a house full of fragile humans. It felt right though, even if I had to pretend.

Edward gave me a glass of lemonade that matched his, and poured Rosalie and Esme one too.

"Thanks Sweetie," Esme chimed. "Now, about your practice, why do you think these boys are giving you such trouble?"

"Because they're intimidated?" Alice suggested.

"Or because they're pissed you're better than all of them?" Emmett included.

"No," Edward frowned, taking a large bite of his pizza. I watched as the grease lined his bottom lip, and licked my lips at the thought of it. "I believe it's their own way of welcoming me to the team... Seeing what I'm made of."

"Are they giving you a hard time as well, Jazz?" Carlise asked.

Jasper shook his head, giving Alice a bite of his pizza. She must have wanted sausage instead of the plain cheese on her own plate. "No they all seem to target Mr. Baseball God over there."

I smiled, glad that someone else recognized Edward's worth.

"You have a beautiful smile Bella," Carlise complimented, running his hands through his hair. "Very warm."

I tilted my head, thinking to myself. I've never been called warm before. I opened my mouth to say thank you but was cut off.

"Yes, she does." Edward turned to me, lifting my face with his comforting expression. The way his eyes were so deep, so sensual... so overtaking.

I smiled back at him softly. "Thank you both."

I looked up and found myself being watched by Alice and Rosalie. "Aren't you hungry, Bella?" Alice asked.

I nodded, swallowing hard. Trying to control my shaky hands, I picked up the greasy slab of disgusting dough and bit off a tiny tip of it, swallowing it hard before I let it soak on my tongue. I am so going to regret this later.

Edward ran his hand along my back, beaming as he swallowed down his second piece. "I'm glad you're here, Bella."

I leaned over my right shoulder and smiled back. "I'm glad you invited me."

"Aww, you two.." Rosalie squeeled. "I'm so happy that I sug-"

"So have you guys done it yet?" Emmett cut her off, but was anable to speak any more because all six of the other people around the table, beside myself, launched napkins and plastic forks at him.

"What?" He chuckled, ignoring the napkin on his head and bending over to open a new box of fresh gross. "They've been here for a few minutes by themselves, I just thought I'd go ahead and get it out of the way..."

"You're being rude, Emmett." Carlisle sneered under his breath. "Please apologize to Bella. Now."

I shook my head, raising my hands in protest. "It's okay. I'm used to comments like that."

"No," Edward complied. "It's not okay. Emmett?"

Emmett and Edward stared at each other in silence for a few moments, causing me to hear nothing but chewing sounds echoing from the rest of them. Finally, he retreated. "Sorry guys."

"Apology accepted," Esme confirmed. "But watch it."

"So what was the deal with you inviting Julia Brownstone to the games with her little groupie clan?" Jasper asked Edward, and my head chimed up in curiosity as well. I had forgotten all about that until he brought it up, but was quite curious myself to what the answer was going to be.

"She said she wanted to see me in action," Edward responded, causing a smirk from Carlisle. "Not like that. She explained to me in 2nd period that her father runs the first editorial in Forks Journal, and he wanted to see if there was a story there."

"I'm sure that's not all she wanted, Edward." Jasper looked at Edward like he was a box of rocks.

"I'm not interested." Edward replied, looking over at me with a smile, which I returned gracefully.

"We can see that," Alice chimed in. "Obviously."

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face if I tried. Even with stinky pizza and irresistable human blood underneath thin amounts of skin surrounding me. I felt home.

Edward pulled into the school parking lot, where my car waited for me. I wasn't ready to get out just yet. I had just spent three hours with him and his family, watching games and fitting in for once, and I never felt more afraid to lose that feeling than now.

We sat sideways in our seats, facing each other with our heads on the back rests and smiles on our faces.

"Can I ask you something?"

Edward nodded at me, melting my insides. "You can ask me anything you'd like, Bella."

"Okay... don't think I'm a stalker or anything, but I've heard a few things and I wanted to know if there was any truth to them..." I bit my lip, unsure if I should continue.

"Go ahead..." He motioned his hand in a turning wheel.

"Okay..." I held my breath. "There's these rumors going around that you've kind of... seduced... a lot of women and then left them. I was just wondering... before I... you know..."

Edward's smile grew wider, and he shook his head slowly. "None at all. Don't listen to that rubbish, Bella."

"But... But how can I be sure you're not lying?"

Edward leaned forward and grabbed my right hand off of my leg, and placed it gently on his warm chest. "Do you feel that?"

I nodded, watching as his hand covered mine, making it feel warm for the first time.

"It's steady, Bella. I've never been more calm with a person before you. If I had been lying, you'd be able to tell the difference."

I felt my thumb move along his tshirt slowly, gasping for air. He felt so secure... and because of that, I felt so safe...

"I believe you," I whispered, sinking into the image of his lips.

"...Good."

He held my hand in his, tilting his head against the rest once more. I found I mirrored his reactions.

"I don't want you to leave," he admited softly. "Everything feels better when you're around."

"I wish I didn't have to." I couldn't believe how honest we were being.

"I find that I am always anxious whenever I think about you, Bella... Whenever you're not around, I feel desperate and confused... Constantly wondering where you are or what you're doing... When you were gone that week after the party, I was a complete wreck. And trust me, I don't do react to this way to anyone."

I smiled, nodding my head in agreement.

"But you..." He continued, blinking slowly. "...You're different, Bella. You are something special. I feel it."

I smiled, shaking my head slowly. "What are we doing, Edward?"

He leaned foward slowly, and whispered lightly on my cheek. "I'm not sure. I've never felt this way before..."

He planted a gentle kiss there, causing me to shiver. "I haven't either."

"Can I..." Edward pondered for a moment on his choice of words. "Bella would it be alright if I picked you up for school in the morning?"

I smiled, thinking to myself for a moment. I knew Charlie would already be gone to the station before then, so I should be safe. "I'd love that, Edward."

Edward caressed my face lightly, before sighing and opening his door. He ran around the car and opened my door for me, led me to my car, then opened that one as well.

"I can't wait, Bella. I'm growing anxious all ready."

Holding my breath, I stood on my tippy toes and kissed his warm cheek. "Me neither," I whispered.

I reluctantly climbed in my car and rolled down my window, allowing him to reach in and run his fingers through my hair one last time.

He bent down inside the window to me, his lips so close to mine that I could taste him, and smiled teasingly as he moved his lips up to my forehead, kissing gently there. He let his lips linger for a moment, his mind incapable of knowing what he was doing to my body.

"Until then..." He spoke with a sincerity, backing away with a smile on his face that wrecked my soul.

A shiver shifted through my body, and I grasped the wheel tightly. "...Until then."

As I drove home, lost in a cloud of thoughts and questions, mixed with the emotions of butterflies and cold chills... I realized about three things I was absolutely positive:

First - Edward was a human

Second - There is still a part of me - and I couldn't be sure how potent that part is at this moment - that thirsted for his blood.

and Third - I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

...Oh, and if I could add a Fouth, it'd be that I needed to hunt. Pronto.

Fucking disgusting pizza.

So there we go, Chapter 8! Keep the reviews and compliments/suggestions/positive feedback coming in! They are always welcome. Please review and stay tuned!

ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS/RESPONSES:

- Firstly, thank you to everyone who's continued to be faithful with their reviews per chapter, their positive feedback, advice, and their constructive critism, etc. It's been amazing and so enjoyable to come home from a long day's work and see the number rise from people who enjoy the story just as much as I do! You're the best!

- Secondly, I'm not from Texas - but I did live in Dallas for awhile - and yes I meant F350 - My husband suggested it. :D

- For the suggestions of Bella having to do w/something over her mother's death... come on, do you really think I'm gonna disclose that information so fast? ;)

- No worries, kiddies. M will come soon. But we've got to have them OFFICIALLY kiss first, don't you agree? Or should we just skip that part? ;)

- IF I MISSED SOMEONE'S QUESTION, I TRULY APOLOGIZE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL ANSWER IT ASAP!

Sincerely, Angela.