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Chapter 2: His Date

I stayed with Edward for the rest of the day, until at last, he had to get up and get ready for his date with Amber. He got up at seven and wandered upstairs, a sullen look on his face. He did not look like a teenaged boy about to pick up a beautiful blond to go on a date. He looked more like a five year old who just found out his dog had gotten run over.

I sat downstairs with Alice and the others and watched as Emmett and Jasper Indian wrestled. I didn't know why Jasper even tried to beat Emmett at anything physical anymore--he always loses…

And that's when it happened: Edward came down the stairs, looking more like a Greek god than was really necessary for a first date. He was rolling up the sleeves on a button down green shirt, the one I had bought him two birthdays ago. It brought out the gorgeous olive color of his eyes, and accented his bronze hair, which fell messily and sexily into his eyes as he looked down. "How do I look?" he asked me.

I found myself unable to form a single coherent thought. I swept my eyes once more over his form, the faded jeans, his pristinely kept white sneakers, the shirt, and finally, I dragged my eyes up to meet his. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, allowing it to fall back into his eyes slightly as I stood there like a gaping idiot. "Is it that bad. Should I change?"

Emmett came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Look at that, Ed, you made the girl speechless."

I elbowed him and Edward let out a long exhale of breath. It smelled sweet with toothpaste. It drove me completely crazy. "I have to go," was all I said, before I rushed out the door.

I heard Edward fall in step beside me as he walked to his garage. "I'll be back pretty late, so don't wait for me to come over tonight," he said, and I thought I heard a small amount of regret in his voice.

I nodded as he turned to his garage. I kept walking straight toward my house. I heard the sound of his old Volvo's tires on the gravel, and I clenched my eyes tightly. For some reason, unknown to me, I felt like crying. I must be losing my mind. First I couldn't take my eyes off my best friend, and now I wanted to cry because he was going out with someone else. She was probably really pretty. Someone who could match Edward's looks, if that was possible, and look right hanging off his arm.

I entered the house, quiet and empty. Charlie was still out fishing, not that it made much difference to me anymore. I went upstairs to take a bath--the one activity that made me relax fully. I stood in front of the mirror in my bathroom, looking at myself for a long moment. My hair was limp and flat, never did much of anything, and was usually tied back as a result. My face was heart shaped, my eyes big and an ordinary brown color. My lips were average and a pale pink. My skin was pale, and not in a good "glowing in the moonlight, beautiful milky smooth skin" way. Pale in a "just crawled out of a crypt, vampire" way. As my eyes traveled the rest of my body, my mind scrutinized it harshly. Breasts- average B's. Nothing amazing. Legs- thighs touched each other at the top. Torso- thin, hips stuck out slightly. Comparatively, I was far too ordinary for Edward's majestic beauty.

I ran the water, hot and steamy, as I continued to mess with my hair in front of the mirror. Nothing would make that frail mess look any better. Finally, tired of causing myself to fall in to an even deeper depression than the unexplained one I was already feeling, I slipped into the bathtub. I sighed happily as the water engulfed my body. I instantly felt my tense muscles relax. I stayed in the tub until all of the steam had gone from the mirror and the water was lukewarm. My mind had stayed calm the whole time, only drifting to Edward once.

But, after I was dressed and I no longer had the comfort of the hot water to relax and distract me, my mind caught up with me. It raced with the thoughts of what Edward and Amber could possibly be doing. They went to a movie, probably Fright Fest. She probably got scared easily and cuddled up to him. He probably wrapped an arm around her and smiled as her hair ticked his neck as she leaned her head on him. He was probably kissing her. "NO!" I screamed mentally. The thought of him kissing her was too much.

I was pacing in my room, scenes of Edward and a pretty blond girl kissing and doing unholy things racing through my mind. I couldn't make it stop. The agony of the unknown things he was doing with her was making me physically sick. I tried desperately to read from Wuthering Heights but my eyes only skimmed the words, my mind else where.

Finally, around ten I heard the crunch of his tired pulling up the drive and finally the garage door sliding closed. I ran to my window and opened it. He heard it and craned his neck slightly. "Hey you," I said, hoping he wouldn't catch the shake in my voice. "I thought you said you'd be back late."

He shrugged. "She has to work in the morning, so she had me drop her off early."

"Are you coming over tonight?" I asked, hearing the front door open, and Charlie's boots on the wood floor.

"I don't think so. I think I can make it on my own tonight."

I nodded. He could make it on his own, but could I?

O.O.O.O

It turns out the answer to that question was no. I tossed and turned all night. Before, I was able to sleep on my own most nights. I only needed Edward after a particularly silent day of Charlie ignoring me. But Charlie hadn't even been home yesterday to ignore me. I should have been fine. I knew it was because of last night's Edward rendezvous with Amber.

After dressing quickly I climbed the trellis to his window. He was still asleep when I climbed through. It was odd for him to be asleep this late. He was usually up at the crack of dawn. His arm was shoved under the pillow, his back to me. I walked over to his chair and picked up the Les Paul from the guitar stand. I had always loved this guitar, and how Edward's eyes lit up when he played my favorite songs on it. I began to strum absentmindedly, while I watched him sleep. His shoulders poked out from underneath the blanket. They were bare and I saw that he had more muscles than he led on. His shoulders looked strong, and I knew it was because of Emmett's new exercise regiment, which Edward had taken on as a distraction.

Finally, Edward stirred and his eyes fluttered open. He heard the guitar and turned over to face me. "Hey, you're here early."

"It's ten in the morning. That's late for me."

He frowned slightly and sat up, throwing the blankets off from him. "I'll be back in a second" he said, walking past me in nothing but a thin pair of boxer briefs. I stared as he walked into the bathroom. He obviously saw nothing wrong with his half-nakedness, and why should he? We used to run around the house naked as toddlers for goodness sake. I however, had to swallow hard. He showered quickly, and walked out wiping his hair with his favorite yellow towel.

He looked at his guitar in my hands and shook his head. "You playing it wrong."

"No, I'm not. You taught me this," I said in my defense.

He shook his head once more. "No no no. Watch me," and he took the guitar from my hands.

He played the song perfectly, and of course proved me wrong. I pouted and he rolled his eyes. "If you're going to play 'Stairway' you'll have to make Jimmy Page proud."

I punched his arm and he shrugged, placing his guitar back on the stand. "I'm absolutely famished. Let's go grab a bite."

I followed him downstairs, where Emmett and Alice were sitting at the kitchen table. They grew silent at the sight of Edward and I. We automatically grew suspicious of what they had been talking about. "Hello, Alice," I said, narrowing my eyes in a way that clearly said 'You had better tell me what is going on.'

As Edward stared Emmett down, Emmett turned his focus on the car magazine in front of him. Edward looked at me and we both rolled our eyes at his siblings secretive behavior. "So…Edward," his brother began as Edward searched through the cabinets in search of the Count Chocula cereal.

"What?" he asked, bored already.

"How was your date?" Emmett asked.

Edward's eyes shot to his brother and the blood rushed to his face. "It was good."

"Good? Can I get some details, please?" Emmett probed.

I could have sworn Edward's eyes flitted to mine for a fraction of a second. He concentrated a little more than necessary as he made us some cereal. "Amber's really nice. And funny. We just went to a movie."

"Did you kiss her?" Alice asked.

Edward's face was definitely turning a deep scarlet now and he avoided looking in my direction as he made his way to the table. "I'll take that as a yes," Alice said.

Emmett laughed and clapped his brother on the back, causing him to choke on his cereal momentarily. "Sorry, little bro. So…are you two going out now?"

Edward nodded slowly. "I asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend after she kissed me."

"She kissed you? Man you really lucked out," Emmett said.

Edward continued to nod. I felt nauseous. My heart was pounding in my ears and I no longer wanted the bowl of chocolaty cereal Edward had made me. I put it on the counter and leaned back against it for support. Edward had an official girlfriend. He had had girlfriends before. Before his grandparents had died and before he had broken. Before, it never bothered me. But, a small roar was building up within me, and I couldn't even tell what was causing it.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Alice asked, her voice flooded with concern.

Edward finally looked up at me, and he looked sad and concerned. "You look kinda pale, Bella. Maybe you should go rest," he said.

"I'm-I'm fine," I lied.

He looked at me for a minute longer until I broke the gaze. "What are we going to do today?" I asked.

He became fascinated by his bowl once more. "I'm going to pick Amber up from work at two."

Emmett laughed. "All righty then, you stud."

I couldn't find the energy to say anything more and Alice motioned for me to follow her upstairs. Edward didn't look at me at all as I left. Usually he would joke me and tell Alice to take it easy with me. He knew I hated our one on one time when she decided to treat me as her own life-sized Barbie. We went up to her room and, to my surprise she sat on her bed instead of making a b-line for her closet. She patted the bed next to her and I sat down reluctantly. "What's the matter, Bella?"

"What-what do you mean?" I asked.

"Oh, come off it, Bella. You've been acting weird for the last couple of days."

"I…don't know what you're talking about," I lied.

So, it was obvious to those around me that I was being a freak. I just hoped it wasn't obvious to Edward. I just hoped that Alice wouldn't notice the fact that I had started acting like this since I found out that Edward would be seeing Amber. But of course, nothing could slip past Alice. She smiled an annoyingly knowing smile. "Do you like my brother?"

I couldn't look at her as I said," Sure. He's my best friend."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

I was silent for what must've felt like eternity to Alice. But she was patient with me, a knowing smile stretched across her waiting face. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You like him."

"No. I can't. He's my friend. Practically a brother."

"Then why have you been so spastic about Amber?" she asked skeptically.

She had gotten me there. Why was I so spastic about her? I didn't even know myself. "I just want Edward to be happy. I don't want him hurt anymore than he already has."

Alice nodded and I laid back on her bed. She flitted around in her closet, trying on various things to wear to her date with Jasper. I fell asleep on her bed, for who knows how long, and when I awoke, no one was home. Edward was out with Amber, Alice with Jasper, and Emmett was probably out with Rosalie. And here I was. Alone. In my best friend's house.

I walked down the hall to his bedroom and entered it silently. I looked around at it, everything inviting and familiar. It felt odd to here without him, but I didn't care. I simply laid back on the bed I knew so well. I was exhausted, despite the hour or two I had just spent sleeping.

I awoke to Edward shaking me gently. "I think it's time for you to go home now Bella," he said.

I rubbed my eyes. "I think I'll stay here tonight."

He shook his head sadly. "No, Bella. I think you should go sleep in your own bed."

I sat up, and my heart felt like it was being torn to shreds. He had never turned me down before. Ever. I was always welcome when I needed him. I could feel the hurt etch itself across my face and Edward sighed. "I don't think Amber would appreciate another girl in my bed."

"But you're my best friend. We've been doing this, long before Amber even met you," I said sadly.

"It doesn't matter. It's not fair to her if you and I stay as close as we are. I think maybe we should," he turned away from me, "Spend a little time apart."

I gasped slightly. The tears were definitely threatening to fall now. "Bella, you will always be my best friend and my companion. Always. But I have a girlfriend now, and I need to be fair. I wouldn't like it if some other guy snuck through her window at night. I mean…put yourself in her position," he pleaded with me.

All I did was nod and climb through his window. I couldn't bring myself to picture myself in her position. I knew that he was right. If I was Amber, I would hate to have me climbing through his window, sleeping in his bed. But…he was mine. My friend. My partner in crime. My Edward.

O.O.O.O

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