Just a warning, Edward is just a tad bit more inappropriate than Bella, so I just wanted to let you guys know! This is rated T, but I figured it couldn't hurt to mention it.

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Chapter Two

Edward

Edward tilted his head back, downing the last bit of scotch and setting his glass onto the mahogany table beside him. Alice had, once again, outdone herself planning and organizing everything from the music to the decorations. The beginning of the school year was the perfect time for a party since their parents always took a week-long trip to a destination of his mother's choice.

The upbeat music resonated throughout the lower level of the house, but was nothing except a distant hum in the isolation of his father's office; Edward enjoyed the solitude during parties like this, especially since the good liquor was kept there. Interruptions were minimal besides the occasional couple stumbling through the doors in hopes of finding a private space to hook up.

Edward heard the door shut behind him, but didn't bother turning around. The sound of heels on hardwood echoed throughout the room, getting closer and closer to him. Turning around, he was greeted by a drunk Jessica Stanley. Ever since the Cullens moved to Forks four years ago she had been persistent in her pursuit of Edward. He would've been much more annoyed with her disturbance had it not been for all the scotch in his system.

"There you are." She slurred, a smile creeping on her lipstick smeared face. "What are you doing alone up here, don't you want to come down and party with me?"

"It looks like you were doing just fine without me," Edward replied, taking in her overall appearance and trying to contain his laughter. Her lipstick had somehow smeared to the side of her face, mascara was running down her eyes, and her hair was a rat's nest at this point.

"Hmm, better yet…" she whispered, closing the distance between them and running her hands up his torso, "why don't we party up here?" She looked up at him with an expression he assumed was supposed to come off as seductive.

"We've gone through this before," Edward placed his hands on her shoulders, holding her in place as he created some space between the both of them. He's had his fair share of women throughout his high school career, but was nowhere near interested in getting involved with Jessica Stanley.

"Just let me show you," she whispered, holding his waist as she lowered herself to her knees in front of him, "what you're missing."

"Edward! There you are," Alice burst into the room, startling Jessica so much she lost her balance and fell on her ass.

"Oh shit," Alice burst into giggles, covering her mouth with her hand, "I didn't know I was interrupting anything." She looked down at Jessica who was clearly not happy.

"You didn't interrupt anything," he stated, "I was just telling Jessica to go enjoy the rest of the party."

Jessica grunted, clumsily getting back onto her feet and straightening her dress before shoving her way through the door. Alice and Edward exchanged amused glances, knowing well enough that even this wouldn't stop the poor girl from trying to get with get with him in the future. She just needed a night to heal her ego.

With the scene Jessica made, Edward hadn't noticed the girl standing beside Alice. Taking her in, he wondered how he missed her in the first place. She was just a couple of inches taller than Alice with a slim figure that made it hard for his mind not to wander and full, pouty lips turned up in an uncomfortable smile. He wondered if the expression on her face was because of what she had seen Jessica doing or if it was because he was staring too long.

"Oh right!" Alice clasped her hands together, gleaming. "I want you to meet my new friend, Bella. She just moved here from Arizona" Alice wagged her eyebrows expectantly at Edward in an obnoxious, Alice-like fashion.

The contrast between their emotions was almost humorous; While Alice looked like she could burst with excitement, Bella appeared to be mortified by the entire situation. His sister's intentions were almost always pure, but he knew she could easily come off a bit strong towards anyone she showed interest in.

He introduced himself, taking Bella's hand in his; Her skin was soft and he couldn't help but wonder what the rest of her body felt like. Edward cleared his throat, trying to conceal the effect that she had on him. He couldn't remember the last time his physical desire for someone seemed to be stronger on his end than on theirs. It was known around school that he wasn't the kind of guy to commit to anything beyond sex, but it never seemed to change the effect that he had on women.

"You look like you need a drink," Edward grinned, trying summon any charm he had at that moment, not knowing whether he was looking like a drunk idiot instead.

"I'd like that," Bella looked from Alice to Edward, her smile starting to look a little more genuine.

His sister took Bella by the arm, leading her to a leather sofa at the far end of the room while Edward poured scotch into three glasses. The sound of shouting teenagers and shattering glass drowned out the music downstairs, causing Alice's mood to immediately shift to annoyance as she stood up and stormed out of the room.

"I bet it's the fucking Newton kid again," Edward heard her mumbling as she slammed the door on the way out, leaving him and Bella alone.

"Alice takes the destruction of her party décor as a personal insult." Edward laughed, handing Bella her glass and watching in shock as she downed it in one gulp.

"Sorry," she started, "it's been a long day."

She leaned towards the coffee table in front of the couch, reaching for Alice's glass of scotch and began to sip on it.

Edward's eyes trailed along the base of her neck down to her exposed collar bone, imagining how good it would feel to run his lips across. Not wanting to make an even bigger ass of himself, he avoided drinking anymore of his scotch. It had caused him enough trouble for tonight.

"It's only the first day of classes and this place is already leading you down the path of alcoholism?" He laughed trying to lighten the mood.

"I have been here a week and already I'm questioning my sanity," she sighed, eyeballing Edward's glass, "are you going to drink that?"

Edward bit his lip, trying to hold back his grin as he took a seat in the upholstered chair across from Bella.

"Have it, there's plenty."

"I didn't see you anywhere at school today," Bella furrowed her brows, "I think I would've definitely noticed someone like you."

Bella covered her mouth, looking towards Edward as if questioning whether he heard her or not and burst into giggles.

"It's the scotch talking, I swear."

"Happens to the best of us," he smirked in her direction, "at least we aren't Mike Newton. Poor guy had to endure Alice's wrath."

Bella burst into another fit of laughter, "Shit I forgot about Alice, I should probably go find her."

Edward watched with amusement as she grasped the arm of the sofa for support, attempting to stand up without stumbling. He got up from his chair and walked over to the sofa, no longer feeling anything but a light buzz and held his hand out, offering Bella some help. He held her hand, pulling Bella up to her feet. Once again, he noticed the smoothness of her skin.

"Thanks," she said, looking shyly up at him.

The atmosphere in the room had gone from light and carefree to silent, and the dimness of the office along with their close proximity seemed to electrify the space around them. He took another step towards her, closing the distance between them as he brushed a lock of hair away from her face, trailing his fingers down her neck and along her shoulder. He felt goosebumps rise on her arms as their skin touched. Their eyes met as he cupped both sides of her face between his hands and he leaned forward, no longer able to resist.

"I'm sorry," she stammered, taking a step away from him and rushing towards the door.

"Bella! Wait I'm sorry," He called out for her before she closed the door, leaving him in the dim office alone.

"What the fuck was I thinking?" He thought to himself as he fell backwards onto the couch. He rubbed the sides of his temples in frustration, wondering how many times in one night he could make himself look like an ass hole. This was the first time he met Bella and already he was scaring her off, coming on too strong and probably looking like a creep in the process. He never had to worry about rejection or whether he was moving too fast up until now. The way Jessica had acted towards him earlier that evening had been just a slightly amplified version of how other girls acted towards him.

He closed his eyes, trying not to replay the disaster that he just created. He could fix this tomorrow when the both of them have no alcohol in their system, which gave Edward a bit more reassurance that he didn't completely mess up his shot with Bella.

"What the fuck did you do?" Alice burst through the door, looking surprisingly intimidating for her size. He would never admit that, of course.

"What do you mean?" Edward opted to act clueless, wondering if Bella had told her what happened.

She glared at Edward suspiciously, "You tell me! I was downstairs, trying to enjoy this great party I organized, when I saw Bella rushing out the front door. She didn't even look back."

"Minor miscommunication. Nothing that I can't fix tomorrow."

"Right, well almost everyone is gone besides a couple kids passed out in the living room," Alice looked up smugly, "besides your little screw up, I'd say tonight was a success."

Edward rolled his eyes, walking out of the office and heading down the hall towards his bedroom. He didn't worry about the mess he knew was downstairs since the maid service stopped by every morning while everyone was at school or work. He'd be sure to leave them a good tip like he usually did when they had to clean up after a party.

Laying in bed, he replayed the events of the night and wondered where he went wrong. While it did no good stressing over what was already done, he didn't understand what he did to scare Bella off. Their feelings seemed mutual up until he leaned in to kiss her.

He turned over on his side and looked out the window, trying to make out the outlines of the evergreen tress that surrounded his house. Edward assured himself that tomorrow he could apologize to Bella and hopefully start on new terms, but until then, he attempted to sleep off the rest of his buzz so he could start the day next day with a clean slate.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know it was posted later than expected, but I've already started working on chapter 3 to make up for it!

-Sydnie