Wind whipped through Eleanor's hair when she stepped out of Jess's car before looking around at her surroundings. Her, Jess, Angela, and Bella had made plans to go to Port Angeles to look for prom dresses. Though Eleanor wasn't going to prom, she wanted to spend the day with her friends. El had no interest in going to prom, preferring to spend time by herself instead.

Bella wasn't going either. Supposedly she was going to Jacksonville to visit her mom and stepdad but Eleanor believed it was because Edward hadn't asked her. Bella had only tagged along to go to a book store.

Eleanor watched as Jessica twirled around in a hot pink dress. "That looks good on you, Jess!" Eleanor smiled at her twin. Usually the girl wasn't a fan of hot pink but when she saw her sister in her dress, she encouraged her to buy it.

"Yeah! It makes my boobs look great." Jess grinned at her sister, who rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. Angela, who was wearing a pretty purple dress, laughed at Jess.

The sound of fists on the window had the girls looking over to a group of boys. El scowled at the boys who were peering in, whistling and winking at Jess and Angela. "That's disgusting."

Jess scoffed before turning to Bella. "What do you think Bella?"

"I think they're all nice." She offered a small smile with a shrug, not really looking towards the girls.

"You're not really into this, are you?" Angela asked.

"I just really wanted to go to this bookstore." She mumbled, looking back down at her hands.

"I'll go with you." Eleanor offered, not wanting her friend walking around the city by herself. She turned to her sister and Angela. "We can meet you guys at the restaurant, if that's okay?"

Port Angeles could be a sketchy place at times and, since it was getting dark, she wasn't going to let Bella walk around alone. Besides, if something did happen, Eleanor liked to think she could protect them both. The time she had spent at the Cullens' was helping her become more comfortable with her abilities... a little bit at least.

After agreeing to meet Angela and Jessica at the restaurant, Bella and Eleanor left the dress shop and began to walk in the direction of the book store. Eleanor glanced at her friend, who walked with her head down and her hands tucked in her pockets. "What book are you getting?"

Bella looked up before shrugging. "Jake was telling me about the Quileute legends and I wanted to read more about them."

"Ah." Eleanor bit her lip to avoid smiling. She had read some Quileute legends before and now that she knew what the Cullens' were, she wondered if every mythical creature existed. She also wondered if Bella was beginning to question the Cullen family.

Once they reached the book store, Bella gave El the name of the book so she could help look. Eleanor left Bella in a different section before beginning to search the aisles. She frowned, sighing in frustration when she reached the last aisle without sighting the book.

"Bella I couldn't find-" she stopped her sentence short when she saw Bella standing at the counter. "Never mind."

Bella chuckled while collecting her change from the cashier. Eleanor followed Bella out of the store, growing nervous when they began to walk. "Are you sure we should be walking down alley ways in the dark?"

"This is the only way to get back." Bella mumbled, not looking comfortable either.

Eleanor kept looking around, watching for anything suspicious and tensed when she saw a group of men turn down the same alley that they were in. Bella and El shared a look before they both turned around and began walking back to the store.

"Boys, look what I found!"

Eleanor's breath caught in her throat and she whipped her head around. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw how close the group was to them. "Oh God, Bella."

She reached down to grip Bella's hand, who squeezed it tightly in return. Bella kept her eyes forward as she spoke. "Calm down, El. Turn down that way."

They turned a corner, still walking fast but not running just yet. Eleanor let out a curse when she heard the boys laughing behind them. "We should've called Jess to pick us up."

Eleanor's heart jumped once more and she could feel her hand beginning to sweat in Bella's. She knew they would catch up to them but nudged Bella further when she saw an opening at the end of the alley.

A sound of surprise escaped the girl's mouth when she felt a hand wrap around her wrist. "We got some pretty ones here, boys!"

"Let go of me." El spat and she was pleased when her voice came out strong. She was absolutely terrified - she knew there was a possibility that she would have to use her abilities against these men and Bella would see it happen. She was also terrified of what these men would do if she didn't do something soon.

The man holding her laughed and El cringed when his lips brushed her ear. "What're you going to do if I don't?"

Without a second thought, Eleanor whipped her hand out and waved her fingers. She turned her head, watching as the man's eyes turned red before he stumbled back, grabbing his head. She stared at him in horror as she watched images flit through her own mind.

The man looked up at her, fear flickering in his eyes. "What the hell did you do to me?"

Before Eleanor could answer, a car pulled into the alleyway, flashing its lights at the group. Eleanor sighed in relief when Edward stormed out of the car. As Edward walked towards them, Eleanor reached for Bella, who was standing next to two boys.

Eleanor gripped Bella's hand once more and pulled her to Edward's car, shooting him a quick smile when she walked by. Eleanor let Bella take the front seat as she slid in the back. She leaned her chin on the passenger seat. "Did you tell him we were here?"

Bella shook her head and the two of them watched as Edward made his way back to them. As soon as he got in the car, Edward put it in drive and sped towards the boys, stopping just before he hit them, before reversing the car and spinning out of there.

Bella stared at Edward, questions pouring out of her mouth. "How did you know where we were? Were you following us?"

Eleanor already knew the answer and rolled her eyes at Edward. She wished Bella knew about vampires, as it would make things between the two of them much better.

Edward ignored her questions. "I should go back there and rip those guys' heads off."

"That's probably not a good idea." El said and grinned when Edward shot her a glare through the rearview mirror.

"You don't know the vile, repulsive things they were thinking!" Edward spat, his grip tightening around the wheel.

"And you do?" Bella challenged.

Edward hesitated for a moment. "It's not hard to guess."

Eleanor leaned her head on the window and closed her eyes. Images of the stranger's worst fears popped into her head again and she shuddered. When she opened her eyes again, Edward was staring at her through the mirror again, though this time he looked apologetic.

Edward eventually stopped in front of a small restaurant. Eleanor shut the car door just as Jessica and Angela walked out of the restaurant.

"Guys! What happened to you?" Jess looked between the two of them. "We thought you ditched us!"

"I'm sorry to keep them away from you this evening." Edward moved between Bella and Eleanor, smiling at the two in front of them. Eleanor watched in amusement as a shy smile spread across her twin's face. "We got to talking and lost track of time."

"Oh, it's totally okay." Angela leaned into Jess as the two of them giggled.

"I should probably make sure they get something to eat, if you don't mind." Edward looked towards Bella and Eleanor. Jess was raising her eyebrows at her twin and Eleanor knew that she'd hear about it when she got home.

"That's really nice of you." Jess smiled at Edward. "I'll see you at home, El."

Jess and Angela walked away giggling and El bit her lip to keep from laughing at the two of them. She turned to follow Bella and Edward into the restaurant and patiently waited to be seated.

An awkward silence settled around them, even once their food was placed on the table. Edward sat across from Bella, eyeing her food with a scowl on his face.

Bella eyed him as she swirled her spoon around her soup. "Are you really not going to eat?"

"Not hungry." He lied, looking around the restaurant.

Eleanor glanced between the two of them before settling her gaze on the vampire. She swallowed the piece of food in her mouth before asking him. "How did you know where we were?"

Edward threw a look at Eleanor, who only placed an innocent expression on her face. He ignored the girl before turning to face Bella. His face was scrunched up, almost like it pained him to say what he wanted to. "I feel... very protective of you, Bella."

"So you followed us?" Bella raised an eyebrow and took a bite of her soup.

"I-I was trying to keep my distance from you, unless you needed my help." He scowled, looking just as angry as he had when he found them earlier. "But then I heard what those low-lives were thinking."

Eleanor caught Edward's eyes, the two of them knowing that he had slipped. She held her breath as she waited for Bella to respond.

"Wait..." Bella looked between El and Edward, her brow turned down. "You heard what they were thinking? So what you can read minds?"

Edward and Eleanor shared another look before he looked back at Bella. He leaned in closer to the both of them before he spoke. "I can read every mind in here, apart from yours."

Edward looked around the restaurant, nodding to a few different people. "There's um, money, sex, money, sex, cat." He shook his head, frustration showing on him now. "But with you, there's nothing. Very frustrating."

Bella looked concerned. "Well, is there something wrong with me?"

Eleanor let out a laugh, not being able to help herself. The two of them looked at her. "Bella he just told you he could read minds and you think you're the weird one?"

Bella only blushed while Eleanor and Edward smiled at each other.