Just as a friendly reminder, I'd like to point out that this story, like all my other stories, is AU. There are meant to be slight changes in character, and there is a gigantic change in the plotline, obviously, otherwise it wouldn't be fanfiction! I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed this. The next chapter is written I just have to go over it. I feel like I'm rambling. It should be up in a few days. Enjoy!

I wrote this entire thing, mostly, when crazy sick. So please excuse any non-awesomeness. I tried.

C H A P T E R T W O

Bella was attending an art school here in the city. She was in her last year, even receiving great recognition for some of the things she did. I was amazed. I had seen some of the things she had done. They were all so beautiful, whether they were pop art, anime, something really dark, or something for a child.

She had talent, that girl, and I knew she was going to go places. She told me she wanted to combine her love of reading and art and make her own graphic novel someday, so I was encouraging her to do so. I was happy to see she was writing an outline, about a struggling band, nonetheless.

Tonight, everyone had gone out with their respective partner. Nick and Norah went to her uncles club then to Norah's place for a while. It was in a town not far from the city. Jack and Jasmine had gone on a short vacation to Vegas, where we all joked they'd elope. Dev and Hunter were gone to Hunters' grandparent's house while they were away in Europe. Caroline and Randy had decided on a spontaneous road trip, just until they got bored of driving, and then they'd come back.

Me? I was left here in the city. Bella was just across the street, taking care of Dev's apartment. None of them had decided to include us in there activities, and as I had no one else to do any with, Bella and I gravitated together, more so than usual, to keep each other company.

We were going to go to this quiet little café on the other side of town. It was one of those places that specialised in crazy awesome coffee, and featured poetry readings and amateur musicians to play some easy going tunes. I was bringing my guitar, just in case I got brave. I ruffled my hair in the mirror next to the door before pulling on my red knit sweater and tan jacket. My guitar I strapped to my back as I went outside.

I practically sprinted down the steps. Despite being so close to her Bella and I rarely got to spend time alone, which was something I craved. Badly. Dev always made sure we were never alone for too long, and he didn't even think it was possible for us to be a couple.

I pressed the button next to Dev's name and waited for her musical voice to travel through the speaker to me.

"Edward?" she asked immediately. I smiled. At least this meant I was definitely the only guy in her life.

"It's me," I sing-songed into the system. She laughed and then I heard the door buzz open. I moved inside quickly, away from the biting cold and then began my way up the intricate and dark staircase.

This building must have been an old office, or something. The architecture in here was too old and almost Victorian to be anything but.

I knocked when I reached the door and I heard her stumble and call out from inside. She slid the door open quickly and smiled when she saw me.

Her hair was tangled and messed from her ponytail, but her eyes danced and she smiled brilliantly when she saw me. She was wearing an apron over her burgundy tank top. It was completely covered with smudges of paint. I would have wondered how she wasn't so cold in those spaghetti straps, but realised that the heat was blasting in here. The apron went down to her knees, covering the dark jeans that she had embroidered different swirls across.

"Come in Edward!" she said happily, motioning an arm towards the loft-like living room. Scrap office building. I'm pretty sure this place was a wicked awesome warehouse. Dev's apartment was gigantic.

I looked to the other side of the living room and saw the sheets laid across the furniture and the floor. In front of the enormous window was a canvas with a man sitting on a bridge painted on it. The detail was amazing, and my breath was nearly taken away.

"That's my latest project. Need to pass it in tomorrow. I'm nearly done though, I'll finish it when we get back." I smiled at her and finished my assessment of her appearance. She had paint smeared on her cheeks and arms, and was wiping her hands in a dirty paint stained rag.

She turned back to me, caught me staring and just smiled. "I'm going to clean up, I'll be right out." I nodded and slumped into one of the wing chairs. I watched Bella in the bathroom. She scrubbed the paint away from her arms and hands, and worked at her cheeks. I noticed that she barely looked in the mirror. I watched her quickly apply the smallest amount of makeup. Then, she pulled her hair from the ponytail, ran it through with her hands, and tied it up again, casually. It was loose and pieces hung from the elastic.

She came back out, flicking off the light and grabbing a grey cardigan that was on the stairwell and pushing her arms inside it. I noticed when she approached me that she still had a smear of grey paint on her cheek. I left Eleanor in the chair and stood up, moving forward and taking her hand in mine.

Her eyes went from happy and excited, to nervous, and she looked up at me expectantly. I smiled down at her and lead her to the bathroom. She flicked on the light for me when I went inside and poured warm water over a face cloth. I cocked my head, to get her to come closer to me.

Bella stood in front of me, a small smile playing on her lips. Then, I but one hand up to cup her chin and her expression blanked. Her eyes danced across my face, and I gently reached up the cloth to wipe the paint away. She smiled, almost sadly, and leaned into my hand, letting me finish. I smiled at her, and let my thumbs caress her cheeks before letting her go.

"Now you're more presentable," I said jokingly. She giggled and turned off the light, leaving me in the dark. I followed her out and she was pulling on her navy pea coat and a small beret, grabbing a red scarf as she opened the door. I grinned and took Eleanor before stepping out in front of her. She locked the door and walked next to me downstairs.

"How was your day without me?" she asked cheerfully.

I groaned. "Pure torture. You were schooling, and Randy and Caroline came to wave their full tank of gas in my face, just to be mean. We don't get to anything while everyone else is relaxing it up."

Bella shrugged and skipped ahead, turning around to walk backwards and face me. "Not really. We get the entire city to ourselves for a week, maybe even more. We can do whatever we want, and then shove it in their silly faces when they come back."

I chuckled with her then as we ran through an empty intersection. The stars were shining out tonight, even through the city lights. I could hear the soft jazz music coming from the corner café as we approached. I looked down at Bella and she was beaming, staring straight ahead at the quaint little place.

We went inside and gave our coats to the owner, Jade, before heading to a table in the back corner. Eleanor staying leaned against a chair next to me and I moved my own closer to Bella. She smiled at me before turning back to the saxophone player on the stage.

Jade, being a good friend of mine, came to take our order herself. "Going to play today, Ed?" she asked me with a smile. Bella looked at me, intrigued. I smiled at her and then turned back to Jade.

"Maybe, I'll think about it," Jade frowned, crossing her arms.

"Pleaaaaseee, Edward? You're basically the best person we've ever had up there." I chuckled again.

"Ask me again later." Jade smiled and nodded before asking what we'd like to drink. I ordered a coffee, any flavour she wanted to surprise me with. Bella ordered a Tiramisu coffee and something for us to eat, it didn't matter what.

I crossed my arms on the table and smiled over at Bella. She giggled and mimicked my position.

"I'm guessing Dev hasn't brought you here yet?" I asked. Bella shook her head.

"I think Dev only goes to the places where he knows he'll find a cute boy. That, and Starbucks." I laughed, you had to agree with her.

"Then I'm glad I got to show you this first. It's my favourite place to come. Jade and I went to high school together, and I made good friends with her and Sebastian, that's her boyfriend. They started up this place when we graduated and they get me to play as often as they can." Bella smiled all the while.

"I'd like to hear you play by yourself," she said softly. I blushed and couldn't help but grin. Jade came at that time, Sebastian in tow. He plopped a plate of strawberry cheesecake in front of us, two forks, and Jade placed large cups next to it.

"I hope you guys enjoy," she said, smiling widely. "Edward, you're really rude, you know? You never introduced us." She smacked the back of my head playfully. Bella laughed again.

"Jade, Sebastian, this is my friend Bella. She moved to the city a little while ago. She's living with Dev, he's her cousin." Jade's lips puckered up.

"Poor you. Dev is a lot to handle." Bella and I both laughed loudly then. Jade had it right.

"Hope you enjoy the city," Sebastian supplied.

"I've been going to university here, it's been a really nice place to stay so far, especially with the friends I've stolen from Dev."

The three of them chatted about the sort of things Bella had seen and done so far, and I watched as a young girl stood up nervously with her poetry. There wasn't any cheesy drums or anything with it. She just spoke.

It was beautiful, really. She was talking about the ocean being a vicious woman, capable of taking any sailor down, and how so many people had fallen victim to her. I realized I had fallen into a daydream, where her entire poem was playing like a movie in my head.

"Edward, you listening?" Sebastian asked, shoving my arm. I jumped, banging my knees on the table. Bella's eyes widened.

"Are you guys listening to that kid?" I asked, motioning to the poet who was finishing up. She barely got any applause. I whistled loudly and cheered. Jade nodded with a smile.

"She amazing," she murmured. "I'm trying to make her a regular. Sort of like I'm trying to do with someone else I know." She glared right at me.

"Let me know when it's five to closing, and I'll get up and play." Jade clapped, standing up like a flash and rushing to help the customers walking in. Sebastian smiled and clapped my shoulder.

"Thanks a lot man," he said quietly. "I know of some people that come here just hoping you'll play." I blushed even worse then. Bella smiled and poked my side.

"Somebody's gonna be famous," she sang. I rolled my eyes and laughed. We dug into the food we had, listening to all the different people playing.

I even took as bold a move as to feed Bella the last piece of the cheesecake, which was freaking amazing, by the way. Sebastian knew where to get his cooks, I'll tell you that.

There were a variety of people playing and speaking that night. Some were too cheesy to believe, others were so talented it hurt. I found myself staring at Bella most of the time. I watched the way her eyelashes moved, and how her tiny frame would sway with music she liked better than others. I noticed even twitch of her lips into a smile.

At one point I felt myself leaning in closer to her; dangerously close. She turned at looked at me abruptly, her eyes growing wide. I was staring at her partially parted lips. Then, I realised exactly what I was doing and jerked upright, nervously playing with the hair around my ears.

Jade came over and took our cups after an hour. "We're closing in five, bud. You better get your silly ass up there, or I'm never letting you come back." I knew she was joking. We were too good of friends for her to kick me out.

But, I picked up Eleanor all the same and smiled at Bella as I walked up the stage. I received a few catcalls when I bent over to take her out of her case, and a couple of people who recognized me cheered. As I kicked the stool out of the way and pulled Eleanor's strap over my neck I started to think about what song I could possibly play.

My eyes kept darting back to Bella in the back, her arms clasped together and she was beaming at me, so happily, so beautifully.

It clicked in my head that this was my chance to be disgustingly romantic, and tell her exactly how crazy I was about her, but in an indirect way. I thought I was being sneaky, but I might just turn myself into an idiot. Anyway, no one else had sang any love songs, so I figured I'd switch it up.

I chose one by my favourite band. They were easy going, and almost strictly acoustic. I also found that my voice worked well with their amazing lyrics.

I stepped up to the microphone, noticing everyone staring at me. I looked down at my navy blue sweater. Nope… nothing spilt on it. I shrugged and smiled before speaking.

"Um… tonight I'm going to sing a cover of one of my favourite songs. And… I want to sing this for the little lady in the back." I waved feebly at Bella and she squirmed in her seat, smiling like mad and waving back. "This is So Much by The Spill Canvas." I smiled and began picking at the guitar strings.

"How does it feel to know you're everything I need? The butterflies in my stomach, they could bring me to my knees…

"How does it feel to know you're everything I want? I've got a hard time saying this
so I'll sing it in a song…" I kept eye contact with Bella, whose mouth was hanging slightly ajar. I stared straight into her beautiful brown eyes. I looked around at the rest of the audience who had started dancing with whoever they had come with.

"Oh, I adore the way you carry yourself… with the grace of a thousand angels overhead. I love the way the galaxy starts to melt when we become one, when we become one…"

Over behind the counter Sebastian had his arms around Jade and she was leaning back onto his shoulder, smiling contentedly at me. They swayed back and forth in time with me, and I couldn't help but grin before I stared back at Bella. She was looking around at everyone and smiling before turning back to me. She almost seemed surprised to find me looking at her, but this I did on purpose, just for these lines.

"How does it feel… how does it feel when we get locked into a stare? Please don't come looking for me when I get lost in the mess of your hair. How do you feel when everything you've known gets thrown aside… never fear, my dear, 'cause we have nothing left to hide.

"Oh, I adore the way you carry yourself… with the grace of a thousand angels overhead. And I love the way the galaxy starts to melt…" I glanced back down to Eleanor when I saw Bella smiling. I looked back up to her grinning; my legs even started bopping with the beat of the music. Everyone's dancing became infectious.

"Hold on to me girl. If you feel your grip getting loose just know that I'm right next to you. Hold on to me girl. If you feel your grip getting loose just know that I won't let you down…"

Bella's smile was shining through the café and I couldn't help but smile along. I must have looked the happiest I'd ever looked in a performance. I was looking at everyone as I continued singing. Sebastian and Jade had started dancing along with the crowd and Bella was giggling, watching everyone. I wanted her to start dancing, but if it wasn't with me, I didn't want to think about it.

"Pack your things we can leave today… pack your things we can leave today. Say our goodbyes and get on the train… say goodbye… just you and I in the sweet unknown and we can just call each other our home…" Bella stood up and kept her eyes fixed on me as she moved into the crowd. Sebastian and Jade found her and got her to bop around with them.

Everyone seemed to sense the end of the song, so they gave their full attention to me and just swayed back and forth, fully enjoying the music. "If I had to choose a way to die, it'd be with you. In a goosebump infested embrace with my overanxious hands cupping your face. In a goosebump infested embrace with my overanxious hands cupping your cherub face…

"How does it feel?" With the last lines and strum of the chords everyone burst into a loud round of applause, cheering, whistling, clapping. It was the greatest rush. I gave them a silly bow, thanked them, and then put Eleanor back into her case, swinging it over my shoulder and stepping off the stage.

A few people stayed and told me what a great job I did, asked me a few questions, pictures, autographs. It was insane. That sort of thing never happened to me. They all left in a trickle, until it was just Sebastian and Jade in front of me, and Bella standing a polite distance away.

Once enough people left and I could actually see her, I pushed my way through my friends and moved towards her. The smile on my face was hurting my cheeks, and she grinned up at me shyly.

"Great job," she said cheerfully, but quietly. "I loved it, that song is beautiful." I couldn't help but move a little closer to her.

"I'm glad you liked it," I said softly. I was losing myself in the pools of her eyes, and I could not stop staring. I heard a throat clear loudly behind me and I turned to find Sebastian's nose right next to mine.

I jumped, startled, and he chuckled, almost evilly. "Unless you kids want to help clean up, I suggest you get yourselves back home. It's late, and we want to go to bed now."

"Have fun cleaning up!" I said before taking Bella's hand and leading her to our coats. We dressed and stepped back outside. It was bitterly cold. I could see our breath clearly, and as I joke I stuck my hand into her coat pocket. Bella laughed, but I was thrilled when she did the same for me.

We talked about what our plans were for tomorrow, mine soundly utterly pathetic since they only involved waiting for her to get out of school. Meanwhile, she'd be making a presentation of her painting, receiving another assignment, and be drawing all day.

We were quiet when we approached the door to her building, and I found myself daring to imagine if someday she'd paint me. I'd would enjoy that so much better than having to listen to her talking about all these boys in her class who offered to model for her. Just thinking about it made me so angry, mainly because I was selfish and wanted Bella all for myself.

We stopped at the entrance to her building, and I glanced at mine across the street. Bella was staring at her door, almost in disgust, and I wished that I could just bring her into my own place for the night. Unfortunately for me, Dev had made the sleeping arrangements very clear before leaving.

"Well," I began quietly, looking anywhere but at her pretty face. "I suppose this is goodnight." Bella's smile sagged and it merely twitched half-heartedly.

"Yeah," she murmured, looking up at me expectantly. I wanted so badly to just sweep her off her feet and bring her upstairs. I'd been thinking about it for days. If Dev wasn't such as ass I'd definitely do it, or at least try. I still had no idea how Bella felt. As far as I knew, she just thought we were good friends.

"Good night, then," I said, turning and heading for the edge of the sidewalk. My hands were shoved deep into my coat pockets, and I waited for a cab to pass before stepping out of the street.

"Why don't you like me?!" I heard Bella call, almost angrily, from the door. I froze. I turned to face her and saw that her hands were clenched fists at her sides. She looked mad, and upset. I took another step towards her.

"Bella? What do you mean… of course I like you!" Bella shook her head angrily, catching her beret as it fell and shaking most of her hair loose.

"No!" she called again as I took a few steps towards her. "Not like that. I mean, why won't you ask me out?" It's hard to explain how much my stomach twisted, or how weak my knees felt. My heart raced as I moved towards her, and she merely stared at the sidewalk, continuing to explain.

"I've liked you since the first time I met you, Edward. I thought it was a simple crush, but I think it's more than that now. I mean… God, I just… want to be with you, and you don't seem to like me that way." After hearing that, I ran the last few steps and bent down quickly to press my lips firmly against hers.

I heard her sigh loudly and wrap her arms around my neck, standing on the tips of her toes. She opened my mouth with her lips and let her tongue flick in. God did I ever savour that. I kissed her back with everything I had in me and when we stopped to catch our breath I couldn't stop my lips from curling into a smile.

Bella was staring up at me, smiling widely. I watched her bite her lip and then take my hand, leading me inside. I stopped her once we were in, pinning her against the wall, just so that I could kiss her.

God, was she ever good at it, too. Her hands knotted themselves in my hair, and then ran down my chest, teasing the bottom of my shirt. I gasped when I felt her against my bare skin and she looked at me, grinning.

"Come on," she said and started running up the stairs. I ran after her, skipping steps and holding onto the railing on each side. We passed one couple who looked at us curiously in our haste to get to her apartment. I pulled Eleanor off my shoulder while Bella was unlocking the door and rested her against the wall while I shrugged out of my jacket. Bella was fumbling with the keys, so I reached my arm around her and started unbuttoning her coat. She giggled and jumped when she first felt me, but let me continue while she opened the door.

Inside, I left the guitar and our jackets on the couch. Bella was kicking off her shoes and pulling off her scarf and hat, so I did the same and then she jumped right into my arms, wrapping her legs around my chest.

This girl was definitely the best girl I'd ever known. I hadn't had a very large romantic past, but I knew, right when Bella's lips met mine again, that I wouldn't want much else for a future. I bent my head to the side to kiss her neck, revelling in the feeling of her shiver against my touch.

"Which one is your room," I murmured quietly. I was getting carried away, I realised, but I didn't want to stop.

"Left side," she whispered between kisses. Dev's apartment was mainly one gigantic room for a living room, dining room and kitchen. There was a small square of a shallow hallway across from the main door that if you looked straight at it, had three doors. The one in front of you was the bathroom, the one to the right was Dev's bedroom, and the one to the left was a set of stairs.

I started to climb the stairs, pausing every now and then to keep my hold on Bella, and because my legs were so weak from her kisses. At the top was her loft bedroom, half the size of the downstairs. It was mostly white, with splashes of colour and a brick wall to the left. I made for the bed as fast as I could, laying her down gently and then climbing on top of her.

"Are you sure about this?" Bella asked me as she slid her hands up my chest to pull off my sweater.

I grinned at her while tugging at her shirt. "I have been sure about this for weeks." Bella smiled again and worked at my jeans and I was in complete heaven then.

Screw Dev and his stupid fucking rules. This chance was exactly what I wanted, and I wasn't giving it up.

Yay. Here's where I explain why I don't think they're going too fast.

One: people can develop crushes on the spot the first moment they meet someone. I know, I've done it.

Two: Edward and Bella have known each other for weeks and weeks. The last chapter was September, this is November.

Three: People can have one night stands every night of their lives, so what's the harm in THIS?

So, that said, I hope you enjoy this, please excuse the foul language. You can't expect people to be clean ALL the time. Next chapter will be up soon!

Review?