SM owns everything.

This looks a lot better now that PTB looked at it. Those girls are amazing.


Sometime Around Midnight

They would be here any minute now. I really wasn't ready to go out so soon after fighting with her. It had only been three weeks. Was that really enough time to move on? I didn't think so. I didn't think of our fight as an ending; we just needed time apart to gather ourselves. We would get back together- I was sure of it. We had been together since we were eighteen, too long to throw our relationship away on a misunderstanding.

The pounding on the door breaks me out of my memories of her. I should answer it before the neighbors start banging on the walls. The door opens, and my large apartment all at once seems overcrowded and small. My brother and my best friend are both huge guys, shadowing the petite girls that cling to their sides. The girls are friends with her and I am sure they have kept in touch. I'm tempted to ask how she's doing, but the looks they get in their eyes every time I ask are too much.

The club we go to isn't really a club at all, but more like a piano bar. I think I can handle this; it's not somewhere I have memories of her. I think this is ok and I relax against the bar. I watch my brother and his girl dancing. They look good together-you can tell he loves her by the look on his face. The feeling is mutual, and you can see it in her eyes.

Jasper's at the table, Alice tucked into his side. She is the quiet and reserved calm to his boisterous and outgoing personality. One would have thought that she would have been intimidated by his six-foot four frame. If not that, then the tattoos should have scared her off. She is brave little thing, though, attaching herself to him and not letting go. That was five years ago. Alice is good for him and she introduced me to her.

I smile to myself as pictures of her dance through my mind's eye, her shy smile and beautiful eyes. I will never forget how she made me fell with just a look, a touch. I take another sip of my whiskey and feel the burn down the back of my throat. I can feel someone watching me. It feels like her but I know it's not. It can't be her.

I look up and see Alice staring across the room. I scan through the crowd and smoky haze to see what she sees. It's her-she's here. I can feel Alice looking my way, but I can't draw my eyes away from her. I feel a hand in mine, a small tug. The firm grip of Rose's hand on mine and her immediate presence at my side offers nothing but support. She says we can leave if I want to. I don't know if I want to…don't know if I can.

She is wearing the white dress I bought her. Is it a slap in the face or is it an apology? I I don't know what to think; I don't know what to do. I know she is watching me; I can feel her.

She laughs at something, someone I don't know. She takes a sip of her drink and then looks my way. I freeze as she walks over to us; Rose mumbles something and squeezes my hand again. The next thing I know, I am by myself and she is standing so close I can smell her perfume. I can see her lips moving but I can't hear what she's saying. I'm too lost in memories of us, the way she felt in my arms.

The hollow of her throat is against my lips and my hands skate over her smooth skin. She's lying under me in our bed, and I can feel the pulse of her heart beating against my chest. Her curves fit perfectly with mine, her hills to my valleys. Our legs are softly entwined; her soft touches and gentle caresses are a balm to my slightly rough and calloused hands. She knows where to touch me to drive me insane, knows what words send me over the edge. We're like two perfect circles intertwined. I feel hopeless and homeless without her hand in mine.

I'm lost in the haze of the whiskey-fueled memories.

She's leaving with someone I don't know. He's got his arm around her but she's looking at me as she bolts. I see the look in her eye-she wants me to come for her, fight for her. My blood boils at the sight of his dark complexion against her pale skin, the look of a predator in his too-white smile. She doesn't see him looking at me. She is watching her feet, trying not to trip. I don't know what to do, if anything at all. Is it my place any more or have my rights to her gone? My stomach's in knots.

Alice and Rose are at my side. They ask if I'm OK, but I'm frozen in place as if I've seen a ghost. Rose goes to get my brother. Alice finds Jasper and tells him it's time to go. As we walk under the street lights, the whiskey has done its job. I don't notice them staring at me. I don't care what I look like. I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Is he what she wants? Am I too late? I feel like my world is falling down around me. Everything I thought I knew to be true is now in doubt. Who is he? A boyfriend? A lover…I can't stand to think about it; I just have to see her again.

I call her and hear only her voice on the machine. The message we recorded is gone. In its place is just a simple "leave your message after the beep." She sounds like heaven to my ears; it has been so long since I've heard her voice. I did this; I broke us. I hope it's not too late to fix what I have done.

"Bella, it's me. I'm so sorry for what I've done. I just have to see you again. I'm sorry I broke us in two."

The Airborne Toxic Event

Sometime Around Midnight