AN: Just a new one shot born out of my love of geek tv and board games. Hope that those who read it like it. BTW, to everyone who has read anything I have written before, I think I'm starting to get the hang of kissing scenes...you'll see what I mean in a minute. (But I still have a long ways to go.)
Disclaimer: My name is not, nor will ever be Stephanie Meyer. Therefore I do not, nor will I ever have rights to the Twilight series.
Friday saw the Swans, Hales and Cullens gathered in the Swan household for their weekly television night. This Friday marked the end to a particularly torturous finals week and all were eager to wind down amongst friends.
Bella was in her living room pulling out a DVD case from the shelf. She studied it for a moment before selecting and inserting a disc into the player.
Happy with her decision, she stepped away and landed herself in her usual spot on the couch, and waited for the others to join.
One by one, they trickled in from the kitchen, armed with their Friday night staples.
"Our whole universe was in a hot dense state,
Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait..."
"Oh, not again," Emmett groaned as he sat down in his recliner.
"Em, shush," Bella ordered as she reached for the remote on the coffee table. "It's my turn to pick the DVD."
"But Bella," Emmett whined. "You always pick 'The Big Bang Theory!' Isn't there something else you want to watch?"
Just then Rosalie sauntered over and placed herself in Emmett's lap. "Babe quit complaining. It's her night, she can choose whatever she wants."
"Yeah," Alice piped up from her perch on the love seat next to Jasper. "Besides, three episodes of this is about a billion times better than having to sit through one of those stupid Terminator movies you constantly torture us with."
"Hey!" Emmett protested with a pout, "I don't put those in for entertainment, that's so we can study strategy for when that happens in real life. Wait and see, you guys will be thanking me in ten years."
"Oh, brother," Rosalie muttered. "Please don't get started on this again. I just want a nice peaceful Friday night of vegging out in front of the television, without having to argue about humanity's dependence on technology."
"I'm with Rose on this one," Jasper agreed. "After a killer finals week, all I want to do is hang out with you guys and continue our Friday night tradition peacefully while cuddling up with Ali." He pointedly threw his arm around the pixie girl and pulled her into his side as she giggled.
"Alright," Edward finally spoke. "So back to the show. What three are we watching tonight?" He asked as he handed Bella her soda.
"Well," Bella began, settling into her corner of the couch. "We are up to the last three episodes of season one. So I was thinking of closing them out in order."
"Sounds good," Edward nodded as he leaned on the opposite side of the couch. "Let's do this."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
An hour and a half later, the gang was left recovering from their fit of giggles. Well, except one person...
"Will somebody please explain to me what the hell a cat has to do with whether or not Penny and Leonard should go out?" Emmett asked, looking genuinely confused.
"Dude," Jasper exclaimed. "We just went over that theory last week in physics. Weren't you paying a attention?"
"Of course I was," Emmett mumbled quietly.
"Obviously not enough," Bella teased.
"Hey!" Emmett shouted as he moved to throw a pillow at his sister. Thankfully for Bella, Rosalie plucked it from his hand before he hand the chance to make it airborne.
"Thanks Rose," Bella chirped as she moved to rest her back against Edward's shoulder.
"No problem B," Rose answered back, before turning to her boyfriend. "Honey, Bella was just poking fun. It doesn't matter to anyone that you're not a science person."
"It's still not funny," Emmett quietly grumbled.
"I'm sorry Em," Bella said trying to soothe her brother's sour mood. "Would it help to know that there is a tray of your favorite peanut butter blondies sitting in the oven with your name on it?"
"Really?" Emmett exclaimed. "C'mon Rosie, I've got baked goods to inhale." He lifted Rose off of his lap and onto his shoulder with ease before racing to the kitchen.
"Bella's blondies never fail," Jasper chuckle as he rose to help Alice off of the love seat.
Once her feet were planted on the ground, Alice enthusiastically tugged Jasper towards the kitchen. "Hurry up Jazz, I don't want Emmett to eat all the blondies."
"Oh! There's a tray of double chocolate chip brownies in there too." Bella remembered.
Alice squealed with delight. "Baby did you hear that? Chocolate! Let's get a move on."
Bella and Edward's laughter returned in full force as they watched a five-foot-nothing Alice drag a 6-foot-something Jasper out of the room by one of his belt loops.
Once they calmed down, Bella hopped off of the couch to return the DVD to its rightful case.
"You know I have to agree with Emmett," Edward said as he closely watched Bella move around the room.
"What do you mean?" Bella replied, as she tidied up.
"Scientific theory really has no place in a person's love life."
Bella furrowed her brow, "How can you say that? You're the one who's itching to become a doctor. That means you'll be immersed in scientific theory for at least 8 years."
"I know that, but it doesn't mean that I think something like a relationship should be based on a scienific experiment."
"I dunno...," Bella pondered. "I think they're on to something with Schroedinger's Cat. Maybe confirming that there is a mutual physical attraction before the first date is the right way to go?"
Edward froze in disbelief. "I can't believe that you, Bella Swan, reader of the classics and admirer of Shakespeare just said that," he shook his head. "That has to be the most unromantic thing to ever come out of your mouth."
"No, just think about it. If I had at least tried to get a kiss with Newton out of the way before we went out on a date, then I would've already known he was prone to slobber and it would have saved me from having to sit through that awful dinner."
"Are you saying that you should have kissed Newton?" Edward asked in disgust.
"I'm not saying I would have kissed him. Just that if I had tried, then I would have seen his resemblance to St. Bernard much earlier, thus saving me from further torture."
Edward could only continue to disagree. "Believe what you want Bells. All I'm saying is that, given the choice, I would rather sit through my terrifying diner date with Tanya than let my lips go anywhere near hers. Even if it would mean the night would have ended right when it began."
"Whatever," Bella merely shrugged as she reclaimed her seat next to Edward. "Hey, what made you go out with her anyway? You never seemed interested in her before that night."
"You told me to. That and I figured I would get it out of the way and let her down gently at the end of the night. I thought she would stop bugging me after."
"Huh, that's the same reason you gave me for going out with Newton. Too bad the second half of that plan didn't work out for either of us." Bella moved to rest her temple on Edward's shoulder.
"True," Edward agreed. "I've still got Tanya and her cronies watching my every move and you've got Newton and his big bunch of baffoons gawking at you like a piece of meat."
The two of them sat in a bubble of silence before hearing Alice call out.
"Hey Edward, we better head out! Mom and Dad want us home in 15 minutes."
"Alright I'll meet you at the door," Edward reluctantly responded.
"'Kay. Bye Bella, see ya tomorrow night!"
"Sure thing Alice!" Bella replied. "Later Jazz, bye Rose!"
She could hear the twins shout back their goodbyes as their footsteps grew further away.
"Well, I suppose that means I'm off." Edward sighed.
Bella's shoulders dropped slightly. "I suppose. No worries though I'll see you tomorrow night."
"I guess," he mumbled.
Bella began to lift her head up to say goodbye just as Edward turned to drop a kiss on her head. In that moment, through some work of fate, their lips met for the first time.
Bella automatically closed her eyes in response, shocked at the amazing sensation of having her best friend's lips on her own.
Edward on the other hand froze, unwilling to pull his lips from hers, afraid that if he should he would never experience it again. He sat there breathing in Bella's scent as he built up the courage to do what he had wanted to for years.
Just as he decided to take the kiss further, the moment was once again interrupted by his own sister.
"Edward! Where are you? We gotta go!"
As the pair pulled away from each other, Bella fell quiet, not knowing what to say.
"Bella-," Edward whispered.
"Hey you better get a move on Edward, the pixie's getting restless," Emmett said as he waltzed into the room.
"I guess," he responded reluctantly.
Bella's eyes never left her lap as she spoke. "You need to go E. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Right," Edward nodded, sounding slightly relieved. "Tomorrow. We'll talk, tomorrow."
"Yeah," was all Bella said in reply.
"Later Edward! Lock the door on your way out." Emmett called out as he watched him move toward the hallway, completely oblivious to the tension between his friend and his sister.
With the click of the door, this week's Friday night tradition ended, leaving both Bella and Edward thinking about what was to come.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next night found the Swans and the Hales taking residence in the Cullen living room. While Friday nights were spent watching movies at the Swan house, Saturday nights were spent in the Cullen home over a multitude of board games.
Emmett poured himself a soda before launching into his predictable weekly complaint. "Why do we even have a game night? Edward and Bella always end up winning anything we choose to play anyway."
"Stop being such a sore loser babe," Rosalie said as she sat on the floor between the coffee table and the couch. "The point is to have fun, not to win."
"When I win, I have fun," Emmett mumble quietly. Unfortunately for hime, Jasper heard and laughed accordingly.
"Relax Em," Jazz said after finally calming down. "We're playing Cranium tonight. And Esme even went out and bought a booster pack of cards."
"I do like 'Star Performer,' " Emmett answered, seemingly appeased for the time being.
Bella shook her head at her brother and giggled queitly. She had just set a tray of cookies down on the side table before she looked up and noticed that one face was missing among the crowd.
"Hey, where's Edward?" She asked, trying to act unconcerned.
Alice paused her internal debate about what color marker she and Jazz were going to use for the night and looked up. "Upstairs I think. He was acting kinda weird since we got home last night."
"What do you mean?" Emmett interjected as he too his place on the floor next to Rosalie.
"I dunno, it was like one minute he was giddy and the next he was down. He kept bouncing back and forth between the two so much that it gave me a headache."
It was Jasper's turn to speak up, "Well, that just seems like typical Edward. If it's not one extreme it's another."
"Yeah," Emmett agreed. "That is how Edward is."
"Hey, Bella," Rose began with a suspicious lilt to her voice, "Maybe you should go up and check on him."
"W-what? Why me?" Bella stuttered.
"Well, you are his game night partner Bells," Alice, who caught on to Rosalie's tone, explained innocently.
"Umm, yeah okay. I'll just go and get him then." Bella reluctantly agreed.
Bella carefully made her way up the two flights of stairs and to the door that was the passageway to Edwards bedroom. She stood in front of the entrance, trying to work up the courage to knock.
She knew that something changed last night. That because of the accidental kiss they shared, things between them would be different. Unfortunately, she didn't know how different.
Resolving to set things straight, Bella knocked on the door lightly.
A muffled "Come in!" was her greeting.
Slowly she pushed open the door to see a distraught looking Edward sitting on his leather couch.
"Edward? Are you okay?"
As embarrassing as the truth was, Edward didn't want to lie, in fact he found that he couldn't lie to this little brunnette. "I-I don't know."
"Is," Bella began hesitantly as she crossed the room to join him on his couch. "Is this about what happened last night? I mean, what happened before you left?"
Edward stole a quick sideways glance at her before grasping his hair in his hands and nodding. "I don't know what to do or how to act after last night. We kissed Bella. It may have been an accident, but it doesn't mean it didn't happen."
Bella was saddened by the tone of Edward's voice as it gave way to her insecurities. Did he think it was a mistake? Did he not see me in that way?
Despite her mental ramblings, Bella was certain of one thing. She was under no circumstances going to lose Edward. If he only wanted to be in her life as a friend, then so be it. Just Friends Edward was better than no Edward any day of the week.
"Okay," she finally spoke out loud. "We should just figure out what it means. Get it out of the way just so we can move past all this confusion."
"What do you mean?" Edward asked hesitantly.
"I think we should talk it out, so we can avoid any awkwardness." She answered firmly.
"Alright," Edward nodded slowly, "That seems like a good plan."
"So first," Bella started, in her planning voice. "We should list our options."
"What do you mean options?"
"I mean, the different ways we could go about "dealing" with the kiss." Her strong voice wavered as she spoke the last word.
"Which are?" Edward pressed, eager to hear what she had to say.
"Well, there's the 'ignore it and pretend it didn't happen' or the 'yes it happened, but it doesn't mean anything.' Both of which are viable options."
There was a pause before Edward spoke quietly, "You're missing one." He wasn't about to treat his kiss with the girl of his dreams with any sort of disregard.
"Which is?" Bella asked quietly as she gazed at her shoes, her voice filled with hope.
"The 'it happened for a reason and we should obviously take it as a sign from the universe and see where this goes' option."
Bella blushed as red as a tomato. "If we took that option, then what would we have to do first?"
Edward lifted her chin and turned so they were facing each other, just inches apart. "Schroedinger's Cat."
Bella looked startled and utterly confused, "Schroedinger's Cat?"
Edward sharply nodded, "Schroedinger's Cat."
Then he gently took her face in his hands and kissed Bella lightly on the lips.
Edward moved his hands so the gently cradled her face to his, tracing soft circles onto her cheeks with his thumbs.
Bella raised her right hand to his left wrist, grasping it lightly and copying the circular pattern she felt on her skin onto Edward's own. She took her free hand and snaked it slowly around his neck and lightly threaded her fingers into his hair.
There were no words for the giddiness that filled Bella or the happiness that filled Edward at that moment.
Edward felt her smile against his lips and took it as a positive sign. He leaned in to deepen the kiss, just as he had wanted to the night before.
Bella sighed as their lips moved together with more force and it wasn't long before she was out of breath, so she pulled back slightly and parted her lips to take in a lung full of air.
Edward, of course, took this as an opportunity to further the kiss and pulled her face back to his. He hesitantly ran his tongue lightly over Bella's bottom lip, silently asking for permission.
Unfortunately, before it was granted, a high pitched sound was heard from the direction of the hallway.
"Eeeeeeeeep!!" The pint sized pixie appeared in the doorway, flanked by the life sized Barbie.
Bella pulled back quickly, in a mixture of surprise and embarrassment, though she was not able to move far as her face was still cradled in Edward's warm hands.
"Hey Emmett! Jasper!," Rosalie yelled down to her boyfriend and brother downstairs. "Saturdays are officially date nights!"
A loud and enthusiatic set of Yeses and Finallys were heard from the pair of boys downstairs.
"We'll just be downstairs," Alice giggled. "Don't bother coming down, I think our game nights have finally reached their end."
The second the door closed, Edward leaned in with newfound enthusaism, eager to simply take what he had so politely asked for just moments ago.
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