For the Love of Emmett

Chapter 2—Step One

Edward shuffled into Biology with his head down, just the same as always. The class after lunch always seemed the worst. Lunch was the one time during school that he felt normal and accepted. He knew that it was due to his brother. Emmett had a way of making everyone around him feel loved and accepted. He drew people to him like bugs to light. They swarmed around him, caught up in his glow.

Edward knew that he was the exact opposite of his brother. Where Emmett drew people in, Edward repelled them. Emmett was the natural athlete; Edward was clumsy enough to warrant being classified as a hazard. Girls drooled all over Emmett, but most hardly even knew Edward was alive.

It was for these reasons that Edward was caught off guard by the smile Bella sent him as he walked in to the classroom. His step faltered in confusion. Why in the world was she smiling at him? She had never smiled at him before. No girl had smiled at him before.

Bella's smile widened as she saw the surprise register in his face. This might be even easier than she had thought.

"Hey, Edward," she purred as he passed her on the way to his desk.

His eyes widened as he attempted to come up with a coherent response.

"H-hey." Fortunately for him, their teacher started class, so he was able to escape to his desk two rows behind her. Why in the world had she said 'hi' to him? Should he have said more than just 'hey' back? Why hadn't he said anything else to her? His next thought stopped him cold. What would Emmett have done?

He knew without thinking too hard exactly what Emmett would have done. Emmett would have smiled back and started a conversation with her. Emmett would have been smooth. He wouldn't have stuttered a response and then run away like him. Edward's shoulders slumped. He would never be like his brother. He knew he could never measure up.

But maybe…maybe he could try to be more like him. His head lifted at the thought, and his shoulders subconsciously straightened. Maybe he could just pretend to act a bit more like his older brother. Maybe he should make himself a WWED? sticker: 'What Would Emmett Do?' He laughed a bit at himself at the thought.

He looked over at the brunette two rows ahead of him, and caught her looking over her shoulder at him. His breath caught as she winked at him. Holy cow! Bella Swan had just winked at him! The rest of the class disappeared as he began planning his next encounter with her, when he would put on his best Emmett impersonation.

Unknown to him, Bella was undergoing similar musings. Somehow, she had to get Edward to ask her out on a date. This was normally not a problem, but she knew how shy he was. Edward was not like the rest of the idiots at the school (Emmett excluded, of course) who kept asking her out as if they thought they had a chance with her. When she had winked at Edward earlier, Mike who sat just behind him had caught her. She saw the way his face had lit up. The idiot had thought she had been winking at him. Yeah right! Then again, she never thought she'd have to stoop to wink at Edward either before a few hours ago.

The bell pulled both of them out of their thoughts at the end of class.

"Showtime."

Bella strolled towards Edward's desk, utilizing the natural sway that the heels she wore gave her hips. Edward was still putting his last books into his bag when she sat at the edge of his desk, leaning on one hand.

"Hey, Edward." His eyes snapped up at her voice, and widened when he saw how close she was.

Come on, Edward. Think! What would Emmett say?!? At the last thought, he felt himself suddenly calm. He felt himself putting on the persona of his older brother. It was no different from acting in drama class.

"Hey Bella," he smiled. "How has your day been?" Inwardly he congratulated himself for keeping it casual and cool, unlike his earlier attempt.

"My day is good now." She sent him a seductive smirk, and Edward felt his face warm as understanding of her meaning slowly dawned on him. Behind him, he heard the scraping of a chair as a dejected Mike left the classroom. He had no idea why Mike was acting that way, but decided he really didn't care and shrugged it off.

"So, any big plans this weekend?" This was one of the questions he had come up with during class. As it was Friday, he was sure she'd have plans to go to some party or something, and maybe he could get her to start talking about that.

"Not really," she shrugged. Tyler was having a party that night, but she knew that Emmett always went out on a date night with Rosalie on Fridays, and there was no point attending a party that he was not going to attend. As for the rest of the weekend, she was now devoting that time to her new scheme.

"Yeah? I would have thought that you'd be going to Tyler's party." Tyler had come by their table at lunch to invite Emmett and Rosalie. Edward was, of course, disregarded.

"Nah, I'm not really into the whole party thing. I'd rather just be with people I know instead of a bunch of drunk morons."

Edward couldn't help the small laugh of surprise and disbelief that escaped him. Bella and her friend Alice were among the most popular girls in school. To think that she didn't like parties was almost inconceivable.

"You don't believe me?" she challenged as they headed o their next classes.

"Let's just say that I find it hard to imagine you not feeling comfortable in a big group."

"I never said I wasn't comfortable, I just said I didn't prefer it," she responded a bit harsher than she intended. This was not going according to plan. He was supposed to be groveling and stuttering, not provoking her into revealing more than she had anticipated. The truth was that she never really liked being in large groups. She went to parties because of Alice and in the hopes of maybe getting close to Emmett, but she had meant what she said about having a preference for small groups. Her ability to work a room was a skill that had painstakingly been mastered over the last several years. Who did this guy think he was, to assume that he knew her so well? He didn't know anything about her. And who was he anyway? He was nothing but a stepping-stone to his brother. The thought of his brother brought her mind back to her reason for talking to him in the first place. Taking a deep calming breath, she refocused and gave him a dazzling smile.

"So, what do you have planned for this weekend?"

Edward felt his heart jump as the force of her smile hit him. For a moment, his mind blanked before he realized that she was waiting for him to answer her question.

"Umm…nothing much. Just homework, I guess." Stupid! He inwardly slapped himself upside his head. Now you've just confirmed that you're a loser with no life!

"Well, Alice and I were thinking of going shopping tomorrow at the mall. Maybe you should swing by." Bella was satisfied that Edward was flustered with her trademark smile. She normally wouldn't have dropped such an obvious hint, but they had almost reached her class, and she really didn't want to have to try and catch him after school.

"Uh, yeah. Maybe." Edward's mind raced as he tried to think about what had prompted her sudden invitation. He was still trying to figure it out when she said 'goodbye' to him at her door. He mumbled a similar parting as he passed her class to head off to his own.

What the heck had just happened?

*****

"Hey, Ed! What's with the face? Did someone ask you what the average air speed velocity of an unladen swallow was or something?" Emmett started cracking up at his own joke as Edward made his way towards the jeep.

"Funny, Em. You're a comic genius," Edward deadpanned back to him.

Something in his face sobered Emmett to the realization that there really was something on his brother's mind.

"What's up? Something happen?" Emmett knew that his brother was often picked on, despite his best efforts to teach him self-defense. He was a bright kid, skipping a grade so that he was the same grade level as his older brother, but he was a social idiot.

"Bella Swan talked to me today."

Emmett's eyebrows drew together as he tried to match a face to the name, then rose with realization. "The cheerleader?" he clarified. He had a vague recollection of a brunette who was always paired with a short dark-haired girl at Rosalie's practices.

"Yeah," Edward confirmed.

"So, what did she say?"

"She kind of invited me to go to the mall with her and her friend tomorrow."

"Really? That's great!" It was about time some girl realized how cool his little brother was. Then he thought back to his words. "Wait, what do you mean 'kind of'?"

"Well, she said she planned on going to the mall with Alice and that I should go."

"Did she say what time?"

"Umm, no."

"Store?"

"No." Edward was starting to feel really stupid. His mind had twisted her words into her asking him on a pseudo-date when in fact she may have just been telling him he needed new clothes. Idiot! As if she'd really be into you.

Just then, he heard a lilting voice call his name from across the parking lot.

"Edward!" Bella called as she drew closer to the Cullen boys. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier. Alice and I were planning on meeting at Abercrombie and Fitch around ten, if you still wanted to join us." With that, she continued towards her car, not waiting for his response, tossing a smile and a wink over her shoulder at both of them.

"Dude!" Emmett's playful punch to his shoulder snapped Edward out of his daze. "She's cute. Way to go, little bro!" Emmett was still chuckling as they both got in their car and headed home.

By the time Rosalie came by a few hours late for her date with Emmett, Edward had processed what had happened and was now thoroughly freaking out.

"What the heck do I say to her, Em? What if I say something stupid? What if I can't think of anything to say? What if…"

"Dude, relax!" Emmett laughed. "It's just shopping."

"It's just shopping with Bella Swan, you mean. That is not 'just shopping.'"

"Bella?" Rosalie entered the conversation, having let herself into the house as usual. "Do you have a date with Bella?"

"Well, kind of." Edward felt his face flush at Rosalie's words, and how much he wished he could answer in the affirmative.

"She invited him to go shopping with her and her little friend, Allie something." Emmett explained.

"Alice." Edward mumbled.

"I think that's sweet, Edward. She's a …nice girl." Rosalie was happy that Edward had a date with a girl, even a 'kind of' date. She had always thought that it was a shame that other girls didn't see him for the amazing guy she knew him to be. There was just something about Bella and her friend Alice, however. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about them that just seemed a bit…off. As if they were pretending to be what everyone thought they were. The only thing Rosalie knew was that they had better not mess with her 'brother' Edward if they knew what was good for them. She was almost as protective of him as Emmett was.

Fortunately, neither of the Cullen boys caught her slight hesitation. Edward was nervous enough, and Rosalie really did not want to puncture his hopes. No, she would keep her mouth closed and her thoughts to herself. Her eyes, however, would be wide open.