(1) Katnis Swan: Lost

Chapter 26: Bella

Walking into her fifth-period class, English, Katnis took her seat beside Edward who'd already been waiting for her. He was tempted to ask her about what happened in the parking lot but decided not to. He wanted to ask Carlisle about it first. "Why are you here early?" she questioned.

"If I come in after everyone else I'll be the center of everyone's' attention." he says.

"God forbid everyone stares at Cullen and admires how beautiful he is." she says.

Edward playfully glares at her. "If I remember correctly, you don't like being the center of attention either."

Katnis nods, "You're right but you can't blame people for staring, Cullen." she states. "You and your family are hard not to look at."

"You don't stare at us." he points out.

She shrugs, "I don't find you all that distracting." she says.

"At all?"

She shakes her head.

"I wish I could say the same about you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're very distracting. Katnis, you are the most interesting and intriguing person I've ever met." he says, "And I've met a lot of people."

She laughs, "You forgot weird."

He smiles. "Yes, and weird."

"And I am not distracting. Don't blame me because you can't or won't pay attention in class," she says softly.

"That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying?" she asked with curious eyes.

"You distract me without even realizing it. You don't have to do anything but be near me," he says with a serious look. "That's what I mean when I say you're distracting."

Katnis goes to respond but is interrupted by Mike. "Hey, Katnis," he says in a nervous tone.

She looks up to meet his gaze. "Hey, Mike. Did you need something?"

He glances at Edward for a moment then turns back to Katnis. "Can I speak with you alone?"

Katnis turns her head to look at Edward. He nods but doesn't smile and instead glares at Mike with a look of distaste. "I'll be right back." she leans forward to kiss him on the forehead then turns to follow Mike to the other side of the room. "What can I do for you, Mike?'

He looks at her then Edward then her again. "So, you and Cullen huh?"

She shrugs and folds her arms over her chest. "Why do you care?" she didn't mean to come off defensively or annoyed but she did. She didn't like where this conversation was already going right now.

He shakes his head. "I don't like it, Katnis," he says meeting her eyes. "I mean he looks at you like you're something of the menu."

Katnis takes a deep breath and sighed. "Mike, whatever the relationship is between Cullen and me, is none of your business. Not yours, Jessica's, the principles' but me and Cullen's," she states, taking a closer step towards him. "Your opinion about our relationship holds no weight here. So, if you don't like what you see...then don't look."

She turns around and walks back over to Edward who is staring at her in awe. "Thank you."

She takes her seat beside him. "What for?"

"Defending me."

Reaching over she takes his hand and pulls it over into her lap where she traced the lines on her hands before lifting her gaze to meet his. "I will defend you with my life, Cullen. As long as I am still alive I will defend you and your family to anyone who questions your intentions."

Edward smiles down at her. "You are amazing." he lifts his hands to cup her face. "I don't know how or what I did to deserve you but I will spend the rest of your life proving how truly honored I am to have met you."

Katnis smiles. "The same applies to you."

~~~~~*~~~~~

"So, Katnis, are you doing anything important today?" Emmett asked.

She shakes her head. "No, not really."

"Well, would you like to join us in a game of baseball?" he asked as everyone walked towards Edward's Volvo.

She throws a look at Edward. "Vampires playing baseball. Must be interesting," she says with a smile that just makes his heart melt.

"Very. We vampires are very much into sports as you humans." Emmett says with a grin.

"Hmm, that explains it." Bella's voice sounded from behind them.

Katnis turns around to face her sister who's standing with her arms crossed, a raised brow and a small frown on her face. "Explains what?" Katnis questioned. She was silently hoping and praying Bella hadn't heard Emmett.

"Their cold skin, their unusual eye color and how they have so many of the same characteristics though they're not biologically related." Bella glances at the Cullen's over Katnis shoulder before meeting her gaze once again."They're vampires." she says more so as a statement than a question.

"Bella -" Edward stepped forward but she stopped him from saying anything else.

"Please don't insult me by telling me that I'm wrong." she says softly. "I remember the old stories Billy use to tell us about the cold ones and the shapeshifters. You're all the cold ones."

Katnis, her eyes never leaving her sisters face, reaches down and takes Edward's hand. "What are you thinking?" Katnis asked.

Bella looks down at her and Edward's hands then look up at her. "How long have you known about all of this?"

"I found out in Seattle."

Bella's eyes widen. "That was almost two months ago."

Katnis nods."I know."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was not my place nor was it my secret to tell." Katnis states softly. "I was not going to betray them nor was I going to be the one to put you or Charlies life in danger."

"Danger? What do you mean?"

"We aren't supposed to know that vampires exist. Anyone who knows about them is either turned or killed." Katnis wasn't going to sugar coat anything with her sister. She wanted her to know the dangers of knowing about such things. She needed her sister to know that knowing about the Cullens did not only endanger her life but also their life. "You can't say anything about what you know. You are to keep what you know to yourself, Isabella. You can't tell a soul about any of this."

Bella looks at the Cullen's for a moment.