The Swan household was finally quiet. At nine o'clock, it was an hour past the kids' bedtime, and they had just fallen asleep. Silently shutting the twins' bedroom door, Bella crept downstairs and entered the tiny, toy-cluttered living room.

"Ugh! Thank God they're finally asleep," Bella moaned as she dropped onto the couch. Edward, who was relaxing on the other end, scooted over and tossed his arm over the back of her seat.

He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "They weren't all bad. Colin only woke up twice, and Alyssa and Conner mostly behaved."

"Yeah! Until you gave the twins waffles that were chock full of sugar. What were you thinking?" Bella thumped her friend on the ear and giggled when he grabbed it in pain. "Anyway…you got any ideas for the theatre project? Because I was thinking we could-"

"BELLA!" He interrupted with a groan. "I do not want to think about school or plays or anything that has to do with work. We have two hours before your aunt and uncle get home. Let's watch a movie!" At Bella's sigh of agreement, Edward got up and maneuvered his way around the Barbie clothes and hot wheels that decorated the brown carpet. He scanned the movie collection, trying to decide on a movie that was romantic, which would set the mood he wanted, but also kind of action-adventure like, so Bella didn't think he was gay.

Grinning, he popped 'Knight and Day' into the DVD player. He grabbed a blanket from off the armchair before plopping back down. Bella greedily stole half the blanket to shield her unprotected legs from the cool air conditioning. Edward was disappointed that he couldn't see her gorgeous legs anymore, loving the way the Nike shorts made her look.

However, he didn't pass up the opportunity to close to her. "Don't hog the blanket, dude. It's freezing!" He gently tried to take it back from her and was rewarded when she scooted closer to him.

"We can share. Don't be a baby," Bella muttered, trying not to blush as he threw his arm around her to make more room. Alice's words from earlier were playing through her mind. 'What 17 year old boy wants to spend his Thursday night babysitting for someone he's not interested in? He totally digs you!' Shaking her head, Bella pushed the thought from her mind. Alice was just seeing sparks where there were none. She always was a romantic, and now that she was with Jasper, she was determined to see everyone else in love and happy as well. There was no way Edward felt anything more than polite friendship towards Bella.

Edward was over the moon when Bella cuddled closer to him. He congratulated himself on grabbing the blanket, because that had been a brilliant idea. He also silently thanked his father for giving him such broad shoulders and the excuse to put his arm around Bella. Tonight was shaping up nicely…if only he could start hinting to Bella how he really felt.

The movie began to play and Edward settled into the itchy couch, more comfortable than he'd been in years. He'd seen the movie before, and was more focused on Bella's breathing than anything else. He wasn't surprised when she finally dropped off to sleep, but was ecstatic when her head fell to his shoulder.

Edward sat still for a moment, unable to believe that this was happening. Finally, he reached over and turned the TV off with the remote before flipping the lamp off as well. Scared to even breathe too hard and wake her up, he eased his shoes off and propped his legs upon the little toy table that Alyssa used to draw on. He barely stifled a yawn and froze when Bella murmured.

She snuggled in deeper to him, tucking her cute bare feet underneath her and throwing an arm around his waist. He smiled gently. Making sure she was asleep, he placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head and then leaned his head back against the couch cushion. Maybe he'd just close his eyes for a second…

(LFD)

Maria and Jonathan Swan quietly entered their home, relieved to hear no children giggling or running feet. Maria giggled. "Looks like Edward and Bella got them to sleep alright."

Jon removed his wife coat with a smile. "Poor Edward. I don't know why that boy keeps volunteering to help Bella."

Maria grinned and whispered, "of course you do. That boy is head over heels and would even let Alyssa use him as a princess dress up doll just to spend five minutes with her." Maria disappeared upstairs to check on the kids.

Jon walked through the foyer, and into the dim living room, digging out his wallet to pay the babysitters, but stopped at the sight. "Honey, you have to come see this!" He whisper-yelled up the stairs. His wife came down and grinned over at the two teenagers that were asleep on their couch.

Edward had his mouth wide open and head hanging off the back edge of the sofa while Bella was using his stomach and lap as a pillow. A blanket was tucked around Bella completely while Edward had goose bumps all down his arm and leg. A puddle of drool was making itself known on Edward's shirt, slipping from Bella's mouth as she murmured in her sleep.

Maria crept forward as Jon leaned over to shake them awake. "Wait! I want to get a picture," she grabbed her phone and snapped some shots. This would defiantly be a story to tell at their wedding.

Chuckling at his wife, Jon gently shook his niece's arm. "Bells, time to get up."

The girl let out a moan and stretched her arms out. However, the limited amount of space made her hit Edward in the face. He came to with a small shout, throwing his arm over Bella to shield her. Blinking his eyes several times, he looked up into the face of Jonathan Swan who was cracking up.

Bella yawned and sat up, trying to wake herself up. This wasn't her bedroom. Suddenly, she remembered watching a movie with Edward and closing her eyes for a second to rest them. I must have fallen asleep, she thought as her eyes slid closed again. Well, I hope I didn't – Her eyes shot open and she turned to peer at her friend's shirt. Oh God, she prayed a hole would swallow her up. There is no way she actually drooled all over Edward Cullen's shirt. Blushing bright red, Bella stood and ran her fingers through her hair.

Edward's only thoughts were of how cute Bella looked when she first woke up. He yawned and slowly stood, barely listening as Maria thanked him for helping and Jon handed him some money. He felt he should be thanking them for giving him an excuse to hang with Bella. Maybe he should send them a card. Thanks for having kids so I could cuddle with your hot niece after we put the little ones to bed. For some reason, he didn't think Hallmark made a card for that.

Gathering his phone and keys, he followed Bella outside and was about to say goodnight when he saw her jump in her ancient truck and spin out of the driveway. Edward stood, shocked that she had left without a goodbye or a thank you. Maybe he did something wrong. Frowning, he got in his Volvo and left for home.

Hopefully a good night's sleep would take away the hurt he had felt watching her speed away from him.

(LFD)

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep.

Bella hated alarm clocks. She was not ready to go humiliate herself anymore but the damn thing wouldn't let her sleep. Violently ripping out the plug, she smiled evilly and turned over to go back to sleep. Missing one day of school wouldn't kill her…

Her dog, Lily, had other ideas. The golden puppy immediately began climbing all over her master, licking and nipping at the hand that tried to push her away. After a few minutes, Bella had to give up. Groaning, she sat up and rubbed her face. It looked like she would be going to school regardless of embarrassment.

An hour later, she was showered and dressed, had eaten breakfast and fed the dog. Climbing into her truck, she rested her forehead against the steering wheel. Her head was pounding and her mouth was dry. Maybe she was getting sick.

The drive to school was normal and she pulled into a pretty close spot next to Rosalie's cherry red convertible. Her group of friends, including him, was relaxing on the picnic table in front of the school. Alice called her over and she reluctantly went to face the music.

Edward hid a smile at Bella's look of defeat. She obviously thought he had told their friends how she had drooled on his shirt last night and they were going to make fun of her. He hadn't told a soul, even though he thought the fact that she drooled when she slept was about the cutest thing he'd ever seen. He had honestly considered never washing the shirt again, but then figured if he ever did get a shot with her, that would be kind of awkward to explain. He had reluctantly tossed it in the washing machine.

"Morning, Bells," Emmett boomed. "We were talking about that theatre play thing and what we planned to do. You got any ideas, Miss Spotlight?"

Bella was stunned for a second. They weren't going to rake her over the coals for her embarrassing display last night? Emmett would never pass up an opportunity to tease, unless…Looking over at Edward, she saw him smirk and shake his head slightly. He hadn't told them. She smiled back. That was…unexpected, but nice. She began to wonder if what Alice said was true…

Going back to a topic she was more comfortable thinking about, Bella said, "It has to be a romance play. Those always get good grades from Ms. Nichols. She tears up at a happy ending, so there's that too. I was thinking we could do a modern day play. 21st century, cell phones, sluts, the whole nine yards."

Rose started to grin. "Yeah, we could have the main guy be caught texting another girl, but he was actually set up. So he tries to explain what really happened but she doesn't believe him."

Alice was shaking her head. "That's so cliché. How about a story about a jock that is hopelessly in love with a girl who has been burned before and doesn't believe in love anymore? And the whole idea of the play is trying to get her to see that she has to trust her heart or she'll never find true love!"

The table went silent, and Edward never wanted to commit murder more than he did right at that moment. Alice was practically spelling out his feelings to Bella and they both knew Bella was a runner. If she thought someone was a threat to her celibacy, she dropped them cold turkey.

Looking over at her, he saw Bella glaring daggers at her little pixie friend as well. She opened her mouth but was interrupted by Rosalie, who exclaimed, "It's perfect!" Jasper and Emmett quickly nodded in agreement. But Rose wasn't finished. "On one condition. Bella and Edward HAVE to be the main couple."

It was official. Their friends must hate them. Edward was going to have to "pretend" to be in love with Bella while actually trying to hide his love from her! This was going to be an interesting semester…