The Jukebox contest
PenName: twilightnaley19
Song Choice: Fever by Peggy Lee
Rating: T
Word Count: 4,389
Pairing: Bella & Edward
Summary: Nerdy Bella has always had a crush on her best friend Edward; he's always seen her as just a friend. What will Bella do to show him how she feels?
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters, nor do I own the song Fever by Peggy Lee
Never know how much I love you
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
Fever by Peggy Lee
BPOV
My best friend Edward and I had been friends since birth, basically our parents were childhood friends and they only felt that it was right that their kids became friends whether they got along or not. Our mothers had even planned out our wedding from the moment they first found out they were having us.
Edward's mom had him first, and an hour or two later my mom had me. To this day, our moms tell that story about how Esme was taken to the hospital and my mom went along just for support, since they were together anyway. Edward's dad was already at work and he had been informed that his wife was coming in.
Edward and I had the typical best friend relationship. We went through our cootie stages where I thought boys were yucky and he thought girls were annoying. He and I went through a lot together; we always had each other's backs. From a very small age I was always nerdy; you could always find me at the library or at home curled up with a book.
No matter whether I was studying or reading, you would always see me with a book, I never left home without one. In high school and even college I wasn't really into what was the latest fashion, I could never tell you who was dating who. As for my dating life, I only ever had one serious boyfriend, but that didn't last long. That lasted for the first year of college; he dumped me because I wasn't exciting and fun enough for him.
The breakup hit me hard and I had called Edward crying. He immediately came to my dorm room and spent the weekend comforting me and watching action movies with me. I found out that he had left a date to come and console me and that made me feel a little bit horrible but a big part excited. That was actually the second time I realized that I had more than friendly feelings for my best friend. The first time had been in high school when he and his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Bree, had broken up and I had been there to comfort him.
I've never told him how I felt about him, because I was too afraid that he would laugh in my face or that he would let me down gently but things between us would change and this would hang over our heads like something that just wouldn't go away. Plus I was self conscious about the way I looked and, based on some of the girls that he has dated in the past, I didn't think that he would be interested in me.
I hid behind baggy clothes, big glasses, and pigtails; although, I did get rid of the pigtails when I hit college. Now I just keep it up in a ponytail all the time. Edward always told me that I was beautiful to him, and that he loved the person that I was on the inside.
My cousin Alice had offered to help me with a makeover and wardrobe change, but she lived in Forks Washington and I lived in Chicago. Rosalie was a nerd just like me; but before she went off to college, her best friend Angela gave her a makeover and she had been lucky enough to find a great guy named Emmett her first year. They have been together ever since and got engaged their final year of college.
I was really happy for them and I couldn't help but envy Rosalie. I wanted what she had, and I wanted Edward to notice me. I just wished that I could find the courage to tell him how I felt. I would just have to admire from afar, but I knew that would be hard because he and I would be spending a lot of time together planning Rosalie and Emmett's joint bachelor/bachelorette party. They were having a small gathering with their friends in Forks and their joint party was happening here in Chicago for their friends in the area or close to the area.
I was meeting Edward at his apartment so that we could work on final plans for the party. Stopping for some coffee from Starbucks, I made my way over to Edward's apartment and let myself in with the key he had given me. I made myself comfortable on the couch with my coffee and the latest book I was reading as I waited for Edward to get home from work.
"Hey, I thought I heard you come in." I looked up when I heard Edward's voice and my jaw literally dropped open and my mouth went dry— although I could swear I felt a little drool dropping down the side as I stared at him. He was standing next to the couch in nothing but a towel with water dripping from his hair and down his chest.
He chuckled, snapping me out of my daze causing me to blush at being caught. "Sorry, I thought you were still at work, so I just let myself in." I said.
"I got off early, and came home to catch up on a nap and I thought I would be showered and dressed before you came over, but clearly that didn't happen. I'm going to get dressed and I'll be right back."
I literally groaned as he walked away. I honestly didn't want him to put on clothes and I definitely didn't want him to leave the room. I knew my cheeks were going to be red the whole time we would be together discussing final details for the party. He returned a few minutes later and took a seat next to me as I took the notebook out of my bag.
"Okay, so the guest list is officially done, they finalized the last guest the other day. I spoke to Rosalie, and everyone who can attend the dinner has RSVP'D and those who are invited to the after party at the club will get their invites after dinner. Did you get the club to let us have the VIP section for the night?" I asked as I looked up at him, only to find him staring at me. I noticed that he was blushing and I couldn't help but wonder if he was nervous about being caught staring at me or if it was something else.
He cleared his throat and grabbed the pen and notebook from me, looking at it before he spoke.
"Yeah, I talked to the guy that owns the club; he said that the whole VIP level is ours for the night for free. The only thing we have to pay for is drinks."
"Okay, well between you and I, we can take care of the drink bill at the end of the night. What else is there that still needs to be done?" I asked him since he still had my notebook.
"Basically that's it, we've done everything else. The only thing left to do is to pick them up from the airport tomorrow and figure out where they will stay."
"Well, I know you're working at the hospital until midnight tomorrow, so I will pick them up and they'll stay with me," I told him.
"Great, we can meet up day after and get breakfast or you guys can come over here for breakfast," he said as he handed me my notebook and pen back.
"Whatever works for you, is fine with me."
"You know, with your glasses you are really sexy, even hidden behind the baggy clothes," Edward said as he stared at me and I couldn't help but blush.
I stood up and grabbed my coffee cup and headed into the kitchen to throw it away. Edward had followed behind me and trapped me between him and the counter.
"I should go; I'm sure that you have plans or something," I said in a whisper.
"No, I don't have any plans. I thought maybe if you want, we could hang out and watch a movie."
The only thing I could do while he talked was stare at his lips. I didn't realize that he had already finished his sentence. I felt that I had to take a chance so I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. His shock quickly wore off and he began to kiss me back. I don't know how long we had been lost in that kiss, but I knew that I didn't want it to end. Sadly it did because we both broke away from one another when the shrill ring of the phone snapped us out of the little bubble we were in.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that...No, I should have because I've always wanted to...But then again, you're my best friend, and I am so not your type…I should go…yeah, I think that's what I will do." I walked around him and went to grab my stuff and headed out the door. I couldn't believe I had done that; a part of me was happy and another part of me was nervous that when I saw him again things between us would change. I couldn't dwell on that, I would just have to deal with whatever happened. Rosalie and I surely needed to have a chat when she got in tomorrow. Emmett would just have to find something to do for a while.
EPOV
After Bella left, I couldn't get over what had just happened. At first I was shocked, but I couldn't help to get lost in her kisses. I don't know what might have ended up happening if the phone hadn't rung, but I knew that something had officially changed between us. I missed the call and just let the machine get it as I headed off to bed, with thoughts about Bella and what her feelings for me were. I even started to wonder what my feelings really were for her.
When I woke up the next morning, I was still trying to sort out the change in my relationship with Bella. For most of my life, I had only seen her as my best friend, the one person I could really count on who was always there for me. Now I found myself questioning whether there was more to our relationship for both of us. I was already running behind schedule because I got up late this morning and spent my entire time in the shower daydreaming about Bella. She was beautiful inside and out, but she hid her outer beauty through her baggy clothes. She had an amazing personality and she had a love for books and movies which I admired, because it meant our conversations were never dull.
As I pulled up to the hospital, I put the kiss to the back of my mind so that I could focus on work and not daydream about Bella all day. The day went by relatively quickly and I had only thought about her a couple of times, and once or twice I could have sworn I saw her in the hospital but I knew it couldn't have been, because she was spending the day with Rosalie and Emmett.
I had gotten a little break and decided to head down to the little café just a block away. When I walked in, I spotted Bella right away and made my way over to the booth and smiled as she looked up and smiled back at me before sharing a look with Rosalie and then pointing to me.
"Hey, you guys. How was the flight Rosalie?" I asked as she and I hugged. Over Rosalie's shoulder, I noticed Bella was blushing.
"The flight was amazing. I am so happy to be here and so is Emmett. Plus, we are excited to see what you guys have planned for our bachelor/bachelorette party."
"Speaking of Emmett, where is he?"
"Oh, we dropped him off at your place and Jasper went over there to keep him company. I wanted to have girl time with Bella and just catch up; plus I knew that Emmett would probably get bored after a while being the only guy."
"That's cool. I figured he wouldn't last long," I said and chuckled.
"You know how he is, he is such a strong macho guy but a sweetheart and goofball at heart," Rosalie said with a smile on her face.
I envied Emmett, he had an amazing girl in his life and he was about to spend the rest of his life with her being happy and always waking up next to her. Yeah, they had their ups and downs but what relationship didn't? They just fought for each other and solved their problems instead of letting them build up and eventually turn into bigger problems.
"Anyway ladies, I will leave you to your bonding time. I just stopped in to get some lunch and then head back to the hospital."
"You could stay with us for a while, if you want," Rosalie said as she glanced at Bella and then back at me. I wondered what that was about. I figured that maybe they had been talking about me, or maybe Bella had told her about the kiss. A part of me hoped that she had told Rosalie about it, even though I didn't know what that would mean for us.
"No, you girls have fun. I will see you and Emmett tomorrow at my place for breakfast." I said as I hugged Bella and Rosalie and went to get something to eat before giving a final wave to the girls and heading back to the hospital. This was going to be a long weekend, and I wasn't sure what was going to happen.
BPOV
It was officially Saturday and it was time for the dinner party with all of Emmett and Rosalie's friends and family. Friday night had consisted of us all going out with them and their parents just for a quiet little dinner. Their parents were not going to be at the dinner or party tonight, it was just going to be cousins, siblings, school friends, and the bridal party.
I had told Rosalie about the kiss and she squealed and began making plans to hook Edward and me up. She even went on to say that she and Emmett had a bet going that Edward and I would hook up and that she thought it would happen soon, while Emmett thought that it was going to take a long time.
Rosalie was helping me get ready, saying that she had to glam me up and that she had a plan. Normally when she had a plan it made me nervous, especially when she and Alice were working together.
"I don't know if I should be worried or not about what this plan of yours is." I said as Rosalie did my makeup.
"Don't worry, I promise it's nothing harmful. You, my dear, are going to make Edward jealous."
"What? Rosalie, he only sees me as a friend, I don't think he will get jealous."
"Just trust me, I promise what Alice and I have planned will have Edward admitting how he really feels about you."
I was nervous and anxious but I was interested to see what they had planned. Once my hair and makeup were done, I grabbed my dress and slipped it on, zipping up the back before looking myself over in the mirror. The dress was a blue halter top style and it stopped mid thigh, clinging to my body in all the right places, it even tastefully showed a little bit of my cleavage.
"Damn, girl, you look hot! Edward won't even know what hit him." Rosalie and Alice said to me.
"Rosalie, Demetri said that he will be at dinner and the club tonight and he will bring his best A game," Alice said with a wicked gleam in her eye.
"Great, tonight should be fun."
"Wait, who is Demetri?"
"He is Jasper's cousin and he is married to an amazing girl named Charlotte who has placed him on loan to us for the night."
"She isn't upset that her husband is coming here without her and for whatever plans you two have?"
"No, she knows he loves her and she trusts him. Plus, he is only going to be a pretend stranger who happens to spot you and will take an interest in you."
This is wrong, and I'm really worried that this could all backfire on us and I could lose Edward forever. I thought to myself.
"Don't worry about Edward, we will make sure that everything is blamed on us if he finds out and gets upset. We won't let you take the fall, we promise. Now let's head downstairs and show those guys how lucky they are to have us in their lives," Rosalie said. We grabbed our purses and headed downstairs I couldn't help but blush at the intense gaze that Edward had on me. We were both lost in our own little bubble when Emmett's loud voice snapped us out of our trance.
"Come on people, let's get this party started."
Dinner had been going smoothly. Rosalie had discreetly shown me Demetri and he nodded at her in acknowledgement. I had to admit he was gorgeous and I couldn't help but wonder if Rosalie and Alice's plan would work.
"Hello, beautiful. I'm Demetri, are you enjoying yourself tonight?"
I turned around and smiled at him and shook his hand and I knew a blush had graced my cheeks.
"I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you."
"I know this might be strange and you can tell me if you don't want this to continue. I know Rosalie and Alice can be thoughtless when they are ready and they want things to happen."
"No, it's okay I'm just nervous. I just don't want this to backfire on us."
Demetri and I talked about anything and everything and I couldn't help but notice that Edward's eyes were on me the whole time. After dinner was over and the invites for the party had been handed out, we piled into the limo and headed off to the club.
I noticed that Edward had been distant and he was continuously staring at Demetri and me, who had been cuddled up with each another. I even added in a laugh at something Demetri said, even though he was only telling me about Edward's reactions.
We pulled up to the club and got out, bypassing the long line to make our way inside. We were taken upstairs to the VIP lounge and we girls went over to the dance floor and started dancing. I had even gotten in a few dances with Demetri, who placed his hands in the appropriate spots and didn't overstep his boundaries.
I couldn't help but look over at Edward, who was nursing another bottle of beer, and the look on his face was that of pure jealousy. Maybe this plan was going to work after all—or at least I hoped so. Rosalie had been talking to some guy and kept pointing at me, when I felt someone tugging on my arm and I looked up and noticed Edward was standing next to me, not looking happy. Excusing myself from Demetri, I let Edward lead me off to the side and waited for whatever it was he needed to say to me.
EPOV
At dinner Bella had been chatting with some guy I didn't know. I had been talking to Jasper and Emmett when I noticed the guy walk up to Bella and they had started up a conversation. I'm not going to lie, I was jealous. I wanted to be the only one that made her blush as much as she was blushing while talking to him.
"Do you guys know who that is?" I asked Emmett and Jasper.
"No," they both said in unison.
I wasn't too happy with the closeness of Bella and that guy, especially when we were leaving the restaurant and they were cozy with each another in the limo. He had his hands all over my girl, and I didn't like that.
Did I just say my girl? I really need to sort these feelings out.
She was dancing with Rosalie and Alice, and after a few songs she switched dancing partners and started dancing with that guy. I really couldn't handle seeing her with him, and I needed to say something to her. As her attention was elsewhere, I made my way over to her and glared at the dude before tugging on her arm to get her attention. I led her away to a corner where I could talk to her.
"What were you doing with him? You just met the guy and you're all over him." I glared at Bella.
"What are you talking about? I wasn't all over him; we were just talking and, I won't lie, we were doing a little bit of flirting but that was all, Edward. Besides it's nice to get some attention from a nice guy."
"Well, when you're all dressed up like a little slut, it's obvious you would get the attention," I said and instantly regretted the words as they left my mouth.
I felt horrible and tears started slipping down her cheeks as she slapped me and glared at me before stalking off.
"Dude, what just happened?" Emmett asked.
"I just screwed up so bad and I don't know if or how I can fix this."
"You are in trouble now; Rosalie is on her way over here."
"What is your problem? Are you that delusional? Demetri wasn't her idea, Alice and I invited him. He is Jasper's cousin and we thought that if you saw Bella with another guy, it would get your ass in gear and you would tell her how you feel about her. But I guess not, it just made you a jerk," Rosalie said as she punched my shoulder and walked away.
I felt really horrible and I knew I had a lot of groveling to do in order to get Bella's trust in me back. I just had to figure out what I needed to do. The DJ's announcement made my head snap up when he called Bella to the stage, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on.
BPOV
Edward's words had hurt me and I wound up in the bathroom crying my eyes out and trying to get the words out to tell Rosalie and Alice what had happened. To say they were pissed was an understatement.
"I should rip him a new one! Why does he have to be such a jerk?"
"No, it's fine. I know I should be mad at him and I am, but I still love him nonetheless. Oh my gosh, I love him."
"Finally, you officially admitted it, now that makes my next plan that much easier. He's going to be putty in your hands. Alice, fix her makeup and then tell her the second part to the plan while I go and deal with Edward."
"What's going on, Alice?" I asked after she left.
"She signed you up to sing Fever."
"You guys know I hate singing in front of anyone, let alone in front of a club full of people and my best friend, who I guess I love."
"Don't worry about the crowd, the only person to worry about and focus on is Edward. You'll use the stage in VIP and the crowd will see your performance through the TV screens in the club."
Rosalie walked back into the bathroom.
"Let's head out, you guys. Bella, the DJ is going to call you up soon." I nodded and swallowed nervously.
"So that's who you were talking to earlier," I said as she nodded.
When the DJ called me up, I took a deep breath and made my way up to the VIP stage and took the microphone from the waitress. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and waited until I heard the music start to play, not trusting myself to look at Edward or our friends.
The beat started up and I felt myself swaying to the music, and I started the song.
Never know how much I love you You give me fever
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever, in the morning
Fever all through the night
I looked at Edward as I sang and there was just something inside of me that gave me the confidence to let the words speak what I was feeling for him. I needed him to understand what I couldn't seem to tell him outright.Sun lights up the daytime You give me fever
And moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name
And you know I'm gonna treat you right
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever, in the morning
And fever all through the night
I placed a kiss on his cheek and took a seat on his lap, making the moment intimate and just between the two of us even though we weren't the only ones in the room. Everybody's got the fever Romeo loved Juliet
That is something you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing
Fever started long ago
Juliet, she felt the same
When he put his arms around her
He said, Julie, Baby
You're my flame
For effect, I fanned myself and winked at Edward, as I continued matching my movements to the words of the song, and kept singing. Thou giveth fever Cap'in Smith and Pocahontas He gives me fever Now you've listened to my story They give you fever
When we kisseth
Fever with thy flaming youth
Fever, I'm afire
Fever, yeah, I burn, forsooth
Had a very mad affair
When her daddy tried to kill him
She said, Daddy
Oh, don't you dare
With his kisses
Fever when he holds me tight
Fever, I'm his missus
So Daddy, Won't you treat him right
Here's the point that I have made
Chicks were born to give you fever
Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
When you kiss them
Fever if you live and learn
Fever, 'till you sizzle
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
I ended the song and the crowd went wild, and even though I was happy that they liked it, the only opinion that mattered right in that moment was Edward's. I nervously waited to see what he thought about it.
He grabbed my face and stared in my eyes, showing all of the emotions and feelings he had for me, and I smiled as he leaned forward and kissed me.
"I've wanted to do that since the last time we kissed, but I wasn't sure what I was feeling. I know now that I want to be with you as more than a friend," he said as he pulled away and leaned his forehead against mine.
"I want that, too. I've wanted that for so long," I said.
"Will you go out on a date with me?" he asked as I nodded.
We did end up going out on that date, and there were many more dates after that. After a year of dating, we got engaged and got married. Now Rosalie and I both found ourselves married and pregnant, me with Edward and my first child and Rosalie with her and Emmett's second child.
Who knew that the song Fever could land me my best friend, my husband and the father of our child?
Edward surely gives me fever.