A/N: I wanna thank everybody who has read this little story, and an extra thanks to those who reviewed =) The link to the outfits can be found on my profile, as usual. Other than that, there isn't much to say.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.


Counting Down the Days

Chapter 2

Thursday, December 2nd

I was between classes when my phone started ringing. The caller ID said 'Rose', and I answered it happily.

"Rose, hey!"

"Hey girl. Listen do you wanna join me for lunch at Pierce?"

"Off course! My Chaucer class is just to hand in our essays, and then I'm all yours."

"See you in 10?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later." I hung up and continued towards my class.

Rose was Jasper's twin sister but while Jasper had preserved his southern accent when the Hale siblings started college, Rose's only came out when she was drunk or upset. She was as close of a friend like Alice, and I knew she always had my back just like I had hers.

The classroom was empty when I arrived, only my teacher Mrs Jones was standing by her desk, shuffling around her papers. She looked up when she heard me walk towards her and smiled.

"Isabella, you're early."

"I thought I'd try to beat the crowd,"

She chuckled. "Smart thinking."

I took out my essay from my bag and made sure I'd written my name on it before handing it over to her.

"Thank you. Have a nice weekend,"

I smiled back at her. "You too. See you on Tuesday."

As I walked towards Pierce I sent off a text to Rose saying I was on my way. I noticed her as soon as I walked through the doors, and I wasn't the only one. All 5'8, blonde, blue eyed inch of her was envied by girls and admired by guys. But despite her appearance she was hard as nails and mostly preferred classic cars over gossip. She was most definitely an example of the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover'. She stood up as I approached and we hugged tightly.

"How are you?" I asked as I sat down.

"I'm great. How about you? Any progression?" Both Rose and Alice had somehow gotten into their heads that Edward was as into me as I was him, he just didn't know about it yet. I called it bullshit.

I sighed. "Rose…"

"Don't start with me Bella Swan! We both know you're heads over heels over that guy, and I know he feels the same. How can he not? You're awesome."

I blushed at the compliment, but shook my head at her words. "He just sees me like a friend. A good friend, but a friend nonetheless."

"You're almost as blind as he is," Rose said. "You're perfect for each other. Just go for it!"

"I can't! What if I make a move and he's not at all interested? Then I've ruined our friendship, and I'd rather be his friend than nothing at all."

"But what if he is interested?"

I shook my head. "He's not."

"You don't know that. I've seen the way he looks at you, he's most definitely interested."

I sighed again. "Can't we just agree to disagree?"

"No." Damn, I'd almost forgotten how stubborn Rose was. "We're going to Nefertiti tonight, and you're going to charm his pants off."

Nefertiti was a jazz and blues club in downtown Chicago where we went weekly because Edward and a few of his friends played there on Thursdays. It was tradition, and there were very few occasions where we hadn't gone. It was also our weekly chance to dress up, something both Rose and Alice loved. I wasn't as enthusiastic, but I still liked to dress up once in a while.

...

I made sure that my bathrobe was tightly closed before going out from the bathroom. You never knew who you might run into in the corridor. Alice was arms deep in my closet, going through all my clothes at an alarming speed.

"Uh, Alice. What are you doing?"

"I'm picking out your outfit for tonight," she answered without looking up.

"You don't think I can dress myself?" I went over to my dresser and took out some underwear and pulled them on below the towel. I then hung up my towel on my desk chair. After being roommates with Alice for a year and a half I'd gotten over my modesty.

Alice scoffed. "You can dress yourself for everyday wear just fine, but you can't be trusted when it comes to evening activities."

"Thanks for the confidence," I chuckled and walked up to her. "So maestro, what have you decided for me tonight?"

Alice stood up and I saw in her hands a pair of opaque tights and a black and grey ruffle tank dress I'd forgotten I even owned. I groaned. "A dress Alice. Really? It's like 35 degrees out; I'm going to freeze to death."

"Okay, first of all, it's around 40 degrees out, and second of all, you're not going to be outside anyway. The only time spent outside is going to be when you walk to and from the car. You're really going to spend the entire night indoors."

I sighed, knowing she was right. "Okay, hand it over."

Alice smiled triumphally and gave me the clothes. I got dressed quickly and then pulled out my knee high black suede boots. There was no way I was wearing heels tonight. Alice gave me the evil eye but we had an agreement that if she chose my outfit on Jazz nights, I got to wear whatever shoes I wanted and vice versa.

The door opened and Rose stepped in, looking amazing as usual in skinny jeans and a rose coloured top. "Looking good there, Bella," she winked as she gestured for me to sit down on my desk chair. If Alice was my very enthusiastic and sometimes unwelcome personal stylist, Rose was my hair and make up person. Sure, I'd put on some mascara on my own for school but when it came to fancier things than that I was clueless. Rose grabbed my make up bag and started to roam through it, picking up whatever it was she was planning on using on me.

Rose was more often than not more…negotiable than Alice, and she was more aware of my comfort zones and didn't often push them too much. I sat patiently and waited for her to finish with my make up, and when she did she moved straight to pulling my hair from the high ponytail I'd put it in so it wouldn't get wet in the shower. She didn't really do much with it, just curled it softly and then pinned the sides up so I wouldn't get the hair in my face. Or rather, so I wouldn't have my hair to hide behind. She knew me too well.

"There all done." Rose stepped back with a smile. "Edward's not going to know what hit him."

As I went to get my jacket I saw Alice, and couldn't help but to compliment her. She was wearing black floral print tights and a white ruffle blouse tucked into a black mini skirt. On her feet were pink high heeled Mary Jane's.

"You look great, Alice."

"Thank you. Now let's get this party going."

We all bundled up in our scarves and winter jackets and left the room, taking the elevator down to the ground floor. I barely had time to see the lobby and a large jeep parked out front before I was lifted into the air and hugged so tightly I had hard time breathing.

"Hey Emmett," I managed to wheeze out, patting Emmett's big back.

"How are you Belly?" he put me down and I sucked in a much needed breath.

"Better now that I can breathe," I smiled up at him. Emmett was Rose's boyfriend, and the warmest and kindest person I knew. He was very tall, at least 6'4, and with muscles that would make the Hulk jealous. The first time I met him I was terrified, but then I took one look into his grey eyes and dimpled grin and melted. He was basically just a big teddy bear.

"Are y'all ready to go?" Jasper said, and we all went towards Emmett's big jeep. He was the driver, off course, and filled the car with loud rap music the moment the car started. He then started to sing along with the music as we tore out of the parking lot. Many things can be said about Emmett, but that he's a cautious driver is not one of them.

"I'm turning this shit off!" Rose yelled to be heard over the music and reached out to change the station.

"Yo bitch, why you crampin' on my style?" Emmett said, and even from the backseat I could feel the frosty look Rose was giving Emmett. "Sorry Rosie," he said, sounding like a little boy.

I only chuckled; they were really entertaining at times.

The ride to Nefertiti didn't take longer than 10 minutes, and for some reason I started to feel nervous when I saw the familiar exterior of the club. Even from the outside it looked crowded. I'd been here before on a night when Edward wasn't playing, and there weren't nearly as many people here. It seemed like The E-minors were the drawing card of the club.

It took us a while to get in, the line outside was so long, and by the time we were inside I was shaking from the cold. Always the hugger, Emmett wrapped me up in his big bear arms and didn't let go until I was warm again.

"Thanks Em," I smiled at him, and he winked.

"Anytime."

With Emmett leading it wasn't hard to push through the crowd towards the table we always sat at. I sat down in my usual seat facing the stage and crossed my legs.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Jasper asked, not having sat down yet.

"No thank you," I answered, not taking my eyes off the stage. I heard Jasper go up to the bar and get drinks for the others, and then the MC entered the stage.

Applauds were heard as he grabbed the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another Thursday night at Nefertiti, the best Jazz club in New Hampshire. As usual we're going to start the evening off with a very talented group of young men. Ladies and gentlemen, The E-minors!"

Everybody clapped their hands, and I heard Emmett behind me doing catcalls. Edward entered the stage from the left, followed shortly by the other two members, Garrett and Bryan. Edward sat down at the piano and looked out over the audience. His eyes met mine and he winked, causing my face to burn up. He adjusted the microphone and started to speak.

"Hi, we're the E-minors." A new round of applauds broke out and Edward waited until they had died down before he continued speaking. "If you've been here before you probably know who we are, but if there's some newbies in the audience; I'm Edward, and this is Garrett," Garrett did a drum roll, "and Bryan." Bryan bowed to the audience, and smiled. "We'll be playing for you for the next 45 minutes, so sit back and enjoy."

Edward counted in and they started playing, and I could only close my eyes and soak in the music. The smells of smoke and perfume, the atmosphere and the music sent shivers down my spine. All too soon it was time for their break, and I fidgeted in my seat. I saw Edward come out from backstage, but my heart sank when I saw he wasn't alone. A tall blonde woman walked by his side, smiling and talking animatedly with him. I watched as he laughed at something she said, and how she playfully smacked his arm. I felt like crying. I knew that Edward would get a girlfriend sooner or later, but I didn't realize that it would be so soon. Or that I'd have to see it. Or even that I'd feel like this about it. As they came up to our table I tried to plaster a fake smile on my face. The only problem; Edward knew me too well, and he gave me a worried look. He could see right through me.

"Hi guys, this is Kate. Kate, meet my crew."

As he introduced everyone around the table I took the opportunity to check out Kate some more. She was very pretty with timeless features and large round hazel eyes. She was exactly the kind of woman I could see Edward with and that thought depressed me immensely. Still I smiled when Edward introduced me to Kate. There was no need to be rude, despite that I already hated her.

"It's nice to meet you; I've heard nothing but good things about you from Edward." She smiled sweetly and my heart sank. It was hard to hate her when she was obviously so nice. When she turned to talk to Alice, Edward touched my arm gently.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I looked up at him, noticing the concerned look in his green eyes, and nodded. I would lie my out of this; I couldn't let my feelings ruin his happiness. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

He looked like he didn't believe me, but didn't push the matter. I saw Garrett approach our table carrying two beers, and smiled at him. He was always friendly and nice to me. I looked out over the club, doing some people watching, something that I always enjoyed. When I looked back to the table I was pretty shocked to see Kate and Garrett kissing. The confused look must have showed on my face, because Edward leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Kate is Garrett's new girlfriend. They've only been dating for two weeks."

Okay, now I felt stupid for thinking Edward and Kate were together. My mood lifted after that, and I laughed and had fun like usual. Still there was the feeling in the pit of my stomach saying it was only a matter of time before Edward really found a girlfriend. What would I do then?

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PS. Just because I'm such a music nerd: The name of the band, The E-minors, I named them because in an E-minor chord, you play the notes E, G and B. Ergo, Edward, Garrett, and Brian. xD