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! 
" 


I stumbled down the stairs with much effort, and as soon as I reached the bottom, I leaned
heavily against the banister for support.
͟Bella! Go back to bed, you have a terrible fever!͟ Mom scolded me as she saw me from the
kitchen, and hurried out of her chair to help me get back upstairs.
͟But͙ but the trip͙͟ I mumbled, the words barely audible as they exited my mouth. My
head was throbbing and the fever made my every thought fuzzy and unclear, but I knew one
thing for sure; I did p
want to miss this trip.
͞No buts! There won͛t be any trips for you anytime soon, young lady.͟ Renée said in her
most severe voice she could manage and took my hand in support. With her help, she
managed to get me upstairs back to my bed, and after taking my temperature once again,
she sighed.
͞106 degrees͙that͛s not good honey, that͛s not good at all. Even though it͛s Saturday today,
Charlie went to work, and I have to go into town for a few errands and I͛m afraid that they
will keep me busy all day͙͟ Mom͛s face radiated with concern and worry, and I managed to
give her a weak smile in response.
͞Mom, I͛ll be fine. I͛m 12 now remember? You don͛t need to stay home and take care of me;
I͛ll be fine.͟ I told her , trying to sound as healthy as I could, but jus t as I had ended my little
speech I began to cough hysterically, which only made her worry more.
͞12 or not, I don͛t think I should leave you all alone with a cold like this. What if you need
food? Or a wet towel for your forehead? And what if you vomit?͟ I saw how the hysterical
expression in her face began to grow more for each second and she counted up reason after
reason for her to stay. I sighed heavily at her worrisome behavior.
͞I͛ll be fine mom, don͛t worry.͟
She stared at me with her eyebrows burrowed together like they always were when she was
thinking intently about something and then suddenly, her eyes lit up and a knowing smile
spread on her pink lips.
Without another word, she swiftly exited my room, and before I could call out and ask her
what she was doing, I heard how she answered someone.
͞Yes, hello? Oh hello Alice, nice to speak to you too... Is your mother there? I was wondering
if I could have a word with her͙ yes, I͛ll wait͙͟ her monologue made me realize she was
speaking on the phone.
͞Hello Esme! Are you free today? I know this may be too much to ask, but I need to ask you
for a favor. No, this is not about me, this is about Bella͙͟ I heard how she and Esme spoke
for a while, and after a few minutes, mom returned to my room and smiled softly at me.
͞Ok honey, here͛s what we͛ll do. I will go away and do my errands, and in the meanwhile,
Esme will come here every once in a while to take care of you. How about that?͟
I tried to respond with something that could at least be associated with words, but the only
thing that came out of me was a weak groan, and she worriedly patted my forehead.
͞I know honey, but I͛ll be back as a soon as possible. I love you so much.͟ She said and kissed
me on my cheek and then, she disappeared through my bedro om door, calling goodbye over
her shoulder and telling me that there was breakfast ready downstairs if I wanted any. I
grimaced at just the thought of food, and threw the quilt over my head just as I heard her
close the front door shut and lock it behind h er.
I coughed once again, my throat protesting with pain and I reached after another tissue that
mom had placed on my bedside table. I can͛t believe this was happening. Sam, Edward and
the rest of the Cullen͛s had planned a fun trip to the ice rink to go ice skating, celeb rating the
first snow of the year, and of course I went and caught a cold. I had felt a little bit down the
day before but I had ignored it, thinking it was nothing. Now look at me! I was a wreck
covered in snot.
I coughed once more and sniffled uncomfort ably. The last two months after my birthday had
been great. After the Tivoli, I hadn͛t seen any more signs of bruises or cuts on Sam, which
felt reliving. I trusted that Sam spoke the truth when he said he had had an accident when
he got those injuries, bu t I couldn͛t help but to feel troubled and worried about it
afterwards. But it turned out to just be an accident after all, so I let it go with ease.
Another interesting thing that had happened was that Rose and Emmett started to go out.
You know, go out as in Ô
. It was really random, the way we found out. I was spending the
day at the Cullen͛s house together with the Hales and then suddenly, Emmett just rushed
into the room, shouting ͚Rose and I are going on a date now, just so you now!͛ and then he
disappeared through the front door, Rose soon be hind him. All of us were really surprised by
it (except for Alice, who apparently wasn͛t shocked at all) but a fter a few days, all of us just
went with it. They were really cute together, walking around in the s chool corridors, holding
each other͛s hands and giving each other small, unexpected kisses once in a while.
I closed my eyes and felt how my dizzy mind spun in all kinds of different directions. I
thought of the Cullen͛s , of Alaska, of Forks and all of my friends that I had there͙
Suddenly, everything around me started to fade, and a moment to late I understood that I
was falling asleep. My surroundings changed, and suddenly, I was standing alone in
complete darkness. Out of nowhere, colors flashed and exploded around me like fireworks
in the sky, their appearance warming the air around me uncomfortably, and I felt how my
heart began to race in my chest with fear. I began to run, hoping to get away from the
scorching hot explosions, but as I started running , the colors followed me, continuously
blasting like bombs with no sounds. I knew it was a dream, because somehow, I was still
conscious of my body. I couldn͛t open my eyes nor could I move any part of my body but I
could hear my surroundings in the room a s I ran with fear in my mind from the exploding
colors.
͞Shhh, you͛ll wake her up͙͟ A gentle voice spoke softly from somewhere around me , and in
my dream, I stopped and listened. I heard how the floor slightly creaked as someone͛s
footsteps travelled across the room, and I tried to open my eyes to see who was there, but
they wouldn͛t open;I was trapped in my half sleeping dream. It was like I wasn͛t in control of
my body anymore.
͞How is she? She looks awfully pale.͟ A worried male voice asked, and I felt my heart skip a
beat. It was @
. He was here, in my room. Desperately, I tried to open my eyes, to get a
glimpse of him instead of these horrifying colors, but nothing happened. I let out a weak
groan as a mixture of yellow and green exploded beside me, causing a heat wave to rush
over me once again.
͞What͛s wrong? Is she in pain!?͟ Another worried male voice asked, sounding like he was on
the verge of panic, and I instantly recognized it as Sam͛s. Someone touched my forehead
gently, his or her hand feeli ng soothingly cold against my warm forehead, and then the
person sighed.
͞No, let͛s hope she isn͛t. Her fever seems to be worse though, judging of what her mother
had described.͟ Esme soothingly explained, making me realize it was her hand that was
resting on my forehead and then she caressed my cheek softly.
͞Alice, run down to the kitchen and get me a wet towel for her forehead .͟ Esme demanded,
and before anyone could say anything else, a pair of light footsteps travelled through my
room and then dashed down the stairs. The thought of something to cool the heat the
explosions in my dream caused me made me relax a little, but as another heat wave rushed
over me, I once again groaned, trying to call something out. More and more explosions
wavered around me now, and the way they flashed before my eyes again and again made
my head feel extremely dizzy.
͞Make͙make the colors͙stop͙͟ I mumbled, trying to tell them to make the colors go away,
but I couldn͛t make the sentence complete.
͞She͛s delirious.͟ Esme said again, touching my forehead, and after a few short seconds I felt
someone grabbing my hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
͞It͛s okay Bella, we͛re here.͟ Edward said soothingly, his voice much closer now, and even
though I was scared and confused, his voice made me feel somewhat relaxed, just knowing
that he was there.
͞Here you go.͟ Alice suddenly said, sounding like she was right beside me, and before I could
figure out what she was talking about, something cool and wet was placed on my forehead.
Everything in my mind froze, shocked from the sudden cold cloth that had been placed on
my head, but after a few seconds everything slow ed down. The exploding colors in my
dreams all slowly faded like a fire going out, in the end just glowed vaguely around me in the
darkness. I sighed happily, glad that the heat slowly but surely started to fade, and I felt how
someone softly caressed my face.
͞Poor child, coming down with such a bad cold as this͙͟ Esme said softly, but for some odd
reason, it felt like she was further away than before. At first, it puzzled me, and I wondered
how it could be, since I knew it was her hand resting on my cheek . But then I decided it
didn͛t matter. My entire body was now relaxed and soft as overcooked spaghetti, and the
confusion and dizziness slowly faded along with the heat.
A soft ring suddenly began to sound , echoing through the room, and without a warning,
Esme removed her and walked away across the hardwood floor.
͞It͛s Carlisle. I should probably take this͙ Hello?͟ Her voice drifted away, fading more and
more for each second, and after a few seconds, her voice was completely gone. In my
dream, the glowing colors around me started to fade as well, and without a warning, they all
disappeared, leaving me alone in complete darkness and silence͙

 
I did not know how much time had passed when I woke up. The previous dream about the
exploding colors along with the voices that surrounded me still lingered my head, but I knew
for a fact that I had been sleeping, even though it only felt like I just had closed my eyes for a
few minutes. I slowly opened my eyes, taking in my surroundings. The light outside had
changed since this morning, which told me that at least a few hours must͛ve passed since I
convinced mom that I was okay staying home alone. My room was empty, and for a few
seconds, I started to think that the voices were part of my dream as well. A weig ht settled in
my chest, and even though I didn͛t want to admit it, I felt sad about it. I honestly believed
that they all had come to visit me͙
I sighed, but the second the large amount of air had left my mouth, I instantly regretted it,
and then began to cough manically, causing my body to shake. My head jerked towards my
chest as I continually coughed, and the sudden movement caused something that I hadn͛t
noticed to fall down on my eyes. I cleared my throat halfheartedly as my cough -attack had
come to its end, and then removed the object that lay across my eyes. The lukewarm, wet
cloth that had been lying on my forehead was now resting in my hands, and as I stared at it
questionably, wondering how it had gotten there, someone suddenly appeared in my
threshold.
͞Oh, you͛re finally awake now! How are you feeling?͟ Alice asked as she skipped gracefully
to my side and then softly touched my forehead for my temperature. ͞Your temperature is
much better now! I knew the cloth s would help.͟ She said as she stared at me, and I looked
back bewildered.
͞It͙it wasn͛t a dream͙͟ I mumbled. Alice stared at me whilst frowning, and then shrugged,
figuring I was probably still woozy from the fever, and then smiled warmly.
͞Do you want something to eat? Edward is downstairs making some chicken soup for you.͟
͞Edward is also here?͟ I asked, feeling how the weight of sorrow that had placed itself inside
my chest disappeared within seconds, and my heart began to beat faster with excitement. It
wasn͛t a dream; they were all here͙
͞Yeah, It͛s me, Edward and Sam. Rose and Emmett decided to go on another date since the
whole ice-skating plan didn͛t work out. Mom was here to earlier too, but she had to go to
the hospital to give something to Dad th at he had left at home.͟ Her words confirmed that it
hadn͛t been a dream, and like he had heard his voice, Sam appeared in doorway and
carefully peeked in.
͞How is she?͟ He asked carefully, his voice no louder than a whisper, and Alice giggled.
͞She͛s awake and lucid.͟ Alice said with a grin, and Sam looked at me with worried eyes.
͞How are you Bella?͟ He asked as he walked into the room and then sat down on the far end
of my bed.
I cleared my throat before I spoke, but it was still a hoarse croak that came out. ͞I͛m better.
I͛ve still got a fever, but it͛s not as awful now.͟
͞That͛s great͙!͟ He trailed off in relief, his face relaxing in satisfaction. ͞Do you want
anything to eat? Edward is almost done with the soup.͟ Sam asked, and just as I was about
to answer, my stomach growled loudly. Alice and Sam laughed as I blushed furiously, and
Alice nodded.
͞I think we got our answer.͟


͞Wow͙you͛re better than I thought͙͟ I trailed off as I took one last sip of the hot soup that
Edward had prepared for me, and then placed the bowl on the small table that the 3 of them
had prepared by my bedside. He scoffed; looking teasingly offensive and then shook his
head.
͞I͛m going to take that as a compliment.͟ He said in a melodramatic voice, and the rest of us
laughed. Edward had prepared chicken soup for the others and me and since Alice was very
consistent that I should stay in bed, they had prepared me some lunch in bed. I never got
used to the way the Cullen͛s sometimes unnecessarily pampered and spoiled their f riends.
͞You really should, this is amazing! Where did you learn to cook like this?͟
Alice and Edward looked at me with the Cullen͛s infamous ͞are -you-stupid-look͟, and Alice
raised her eyebrow.
͞Our Mom is è
pa housewife mom who has written 3 cookbooks and whose
favorite hobby is to bake. We have 50 different cookbooks in our hou se andmom just bought
 p
@ blender because she thought it would be cute if we had 3, one for each of her
children. Basically what I͛m trying to say is that in the Cullen household, you͛re introduced to
cooking as soon as you͛re capable of holding a spoon on your own.͟ Alice said , her voice
deadly serious as she stared deeply into my eyes with her yellow -brown ones, and the rest
of us laughed.
͞Well, when you put it like that, it makes sense.͟ I said and laughed again, but unfortunately,
the laughter sent me into another death cough attack and my body began to shake as I
coughed violently.
͞You should probably rest some more͙͟ Edward mused as Alice helped me sit up straight in
my bed, and I shook my head.
͞No, it͛s fine.͟ I told him stubbornly, but my voice sounded like it belonged to an eighty year -
old chain-smoker instead of the twelve year-old girl I was.
͞You should rest Bella.͟ Edward repeated, his voic e much sterner than before, and I had I
feeling he wouldn͛t give up until he won this fight.
͞But-͞I tried, but it was hopeless.
͞But nothing! Get some sleep so you can get better.͟ Alice said and threw a pillow in my face
before she disappeared through the door, taking my bowl with her. The rest of us stared
after her a few seconds more than necessary, all a little shocked over her sudden act, but
the astonishment soon faded and Edward rose from his seat beside my bedside.
͞She͛s right. Get some sleep and we͛ll see you when you wake up.͟ He said, his promise
averting the heavy feeling inside my chest to appear, and I locked my gaze with his
desperately.
͞Do you promise?͟ I asked, my voice almost a faint whisper because of the embarrassment it
caused me to say it, but he just smiled a gentle smile and ruffled my hair in the progress.
͞Yeah, I promise.͟ His green eyes watched me gently, almost fondly, and I don͛t know why,
but the way he was staring at me trigged something inside of me, and my cheeks slowly but
surely heated in embarrassment. He smiled his trademark, crooked smile before he and Sam
started to walk out of my room, and as both of them exited I felt how my heart raced inside
my chest. @Ô Ô
 @ 
@



Ôp  p  pÔ
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 @  p @ 



 
͞Sleep well Bella.͟ Sam said whilst smiling gently and then carefully closed the door after
him.
As soon as the door was closed, I crawled down under my covers and hid my face in my
hands. My cheeks were still hot, and as I took slow and deep breaths, my heart started to
calm down. I sighed and laid my head on my pillow and then closed my eyes firmly.




@


As I slept, I dreamed. My dream took many different turns and directions, making me happy
and excited one seconds and puzzled and confused the next. But as time passed, my dream
stopped. I waited for another dream to appear, but nothing came to me. It was more like I
was wavering between awake and asleep. I could͛ve sworn it was a dream judging by the
way my mind felt hazy and unclear, but as time passed I could hear my surroundings in my
bedroom, but just like my color-exploding dream, it couldn͛t open my eyes.
I sighed mentally, not really wanting another fever dream to tire me out more, and just as I
wished to go back to the dream filled, resting sleep, I head voices.
͙͞you don͛t know that.͟ Edward said. At first, I was happy. He was here, near me. But then
my happiness disappeared. His voice was gruff and almost menacing and hearing him speak
like that made me sad and a little bit scared. Why was he talking like this, and whom was he
speaking to?
I got my answer almost as soon as I had questioned it, an d Sam͛s low yet curt voice filled the
silence.
͞Why not? There a possibility, you know.͟
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds, and then Edward retorted coldly.͞It͛s still her
choice. You can͛t force her.͟ I listened, worried yet intrigued with thei r conversation. What
were they talking about, and who was this girl??
͞Of course I know that. But as long as I love her I will keep fighting; I don͛t care that you love
her too.͟ Sam said, his voice ringing with determination, and his words echoed into the
silence as I drifted into a deeper sleep.


It was the sound of our front door that woke me up. I stirred in my bed, not entirely awake,
and then frowned. My room was completely dark, no longer provided with the light from the
sun that seemed to have gone down hours ago, and there was no one there.
͞Edward͙Sam?͟ I called, hoping I would get an answer from them, but it was not them who
answered me. Their names reminded me of the dream I had just had, but I didn͛t remember
much of it. The only thing I could clearly recall was that they boys were fighting. But of what
I don͛t remember͙
͞Bella?͟ Charlie called, his voice sounding surprised that I was awake. I heard how he walked
up the stairs and it didn͛t take long until he entered my room and came to my bedside.
͞How are you Bells? I heard how you were sick all day͙͟ He said, and then he felt my
forehead.
͞Where are Edward and the others?͟ I asked, still remembering the promise he had made
me before I had fallen asleep, and my father raised his eyebrows.
͞Edward, Sam and Alice? They just left; I let them out the front door. Sam and Edward were
both very persistent to stay, but Alice and I convinced them that it was time for them to go
home.͟
Oh. So that͛s why they left͙ I sighed unhappily, and Charlie, who hadn͛t realized what the
situation was about, mistook the sigh for sickness and once again felt my forehead.
͞Well, you͛ve still got a fever͙ How about I make us some porridge for dinner? René Isn͛t
supposed to come home until another hour or so, her car ran out of gas on the way home.͟
Dad explained and without waiting for an answer he left my room, closing the door after him
and then rushed down the stairs to begin to prepare the dinner. I sighed, feeling a little bit
disappointed that Edward and Sam and Alice wasn͛t here when I woke up (even though I
knew that it had been my dad͛s fault) and I sighed as I walked up to my window and opened
it, needing some fresh air to cool down my head. The outside was cold, my breaths
becoming fog as it exited my mouth and on the ground there were still some snow from the
last snowfall.
͞Hey, it͛s Bella! Over here, Bella!͟ Someone called, and as my eyes followed the voice, I saw
my three friends standing below on the road, smiling at me. It was Alice who had called me
and the seconds our eyes met, she smiled happily.
͞Sorry we had to leave, your dad kind of kicked us out.͟ Edward said apologetically, and I
smiled.
͞It͛s okay, I understand. Thank you for taking care of me today, I really appreciate it.͟ ITold
them, and they all smiled back at me.
͞You͛re welcome.͟ They all said together, and the odd coincidence made us alllaugh.
͞Hey look!͟ Sam suddenly said as he held out his hands towards the sky. ͞It͛s snowing!͟
I looked up towards the sky, and as Sam had said, small yet distinctive snowflakes drifted
through the air, slowly soaring downwards towards earth, and I laughed as they landed and
melted on my skin.
͞Too bad you were sick today Bella; today was really a great day to go ice skating. But you͛ll
probably be better next week, so let͛s go then, okay?͟ Alice said, and I nodded happily.
͞I͛d love to.͟
After we had said goodbye, I closed my window and watched them as they walked down the
road, all heading home and I knew it wasn͛t because of my fever that my whole body was
growing warm with happiness.