Disclaimer: I did not create the wonderful beings that belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just write about them.

Chapter 3: Because I Can

Bella POV

I woke up the next morning with a terrible headache. I hadn't slept well at all last night, I had terrible dreams. They all revolved around that vile Edward Cullen and his assumptions. I wasn't going to bother with him anymore. I would still be around him and I would still be civil, but he and I were not going to be on friendly terms.

I went for a shower and let the cool water soak over me. I sighed, content for the moment and just let myself relax. I let my mind go blank and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Afterwards, I wrung out the cloth and dried off. I wrapped the towel around my head like a turban and went back into my room. I picked out a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt and threw them on. I combed my hair and dried it quickly so that it wouldn't be wet when we left. I put an elastic around my wrist for later in case my heart became annoying.

Today Jasper and I were going to take the Roomies out to show them the town. The Roomies was the name that Jasper and I had come up with late last night when we were both wide awake. We had decided to make a name for them; it would be so much easier.

"Morning Jasper," I said to him as I walked into the kitchen. He was seated at the island and eating a bowl of cereal.

"Morning," he muttered absentmindedly. He was reading the paper, looking at the sports section by the look of it.

"Anything good?" I asked, pouring myself a bowl of cereal and sitting down opposite him.

"Not really," Jasper replied, setting down the paper. "So what are we going to show them?"

"We could take them to Science North, and the go-kart track and fun places like that," I suggested.

"Good idea," he said.

After breakfast we cleaned the dishes and left the house. The day was sunny and a little bit on the cool side. That was a good thing, it meant that the weather would warm up later but not so much that we'd be sweating. The summer was starting out to be a hot one, and normally I wouldn't complain; I loved the heat, but I didn't want it today if I was to give Edward "Good-looking" Cullen the cold shoulder.

Jasper rang the doorbell at their house while I waited inside the car. I hadn't told him exactly what happened, only that I was going to be distant with Edward so please don't bring it up. He consented without argument as usual and left me to my own. He returned with the Roomies and they all got in the car. I had insisted on driving seeing as I was deciding where we were going.

"Hey Bella," Emmett greeted me once everyone was settled in and we pulled out of the driveway.

"Hello Emmett," I said cheerily. I liked the rest of the Roomies, they were nice people.

"Where are we going?" Alice asked curiously.

"You'll see," I told her mischievously.

"How come you're deciding where we go?" Edward asked bluntly. I stared out the front window. He seemed mad at me, even though he was the one who had phoned last night.

I replied icily, "Because I can."

"Hmpf," he grunted and settled back down in the seat. Even though I was looking out the windshield I could still feel the pairs of eyes on my back, but I didn't blush. If he wanted to make me seem like the bad guy, well two could play at that game.

First I took them to the go-kart track. It was a cute little track and the cars went fast. We bought tickets and went to choose our cars. I knew that the yellow cars were faster than the red cars and red was faster than blue. The blue cars were the slowest.

"Which cars are the fastest?" Edward asked Jasper.

"Blue," I answered before Jasper could have a chance.

"Thank you," Edward said stiffly.

"You're welcome," I smiled warmly and he seemed taken aback. I laughed internally at my wit.

Alice and I chose the yellow cars, Jasper and Emmett chose red cars, and Rosalie and Edward chose blue cars. We were lined up according to colour, with blue at the front, red in the middle and yellow at the back. That was alright with me, I was notorious for bumping other cars out of the way. I wasn't afraid to get sandwiched between the tires and another car. I tried not to wreck anybody but if I did, it wasn't intentional. I didn't want to hurt anyone, even to win a race.

The teenager working the track waved the flag and the race began. Edward was quickly passed and left behind in the dust. I ended up passing everyone else to pull in for the win. I laughed as Edward came dead last a whole 2 seconds after everyone else.

As we were taking off our helmets he came over to me. "I thought you said that blue was the faster car," he snapped.

"Oh don't have a fit Edward, I was just messing around. Besides it's only a race." I laughed and rejoined the others. He just stared at me and shook his head.

Next I took them to Topper's Pizza for a snack. Topper's had originated in Sudbury and had spread throughout Ontario. I bought a large pizza to share and between the 6 of us we finished the whole thing.

I drove us all over town to different parks and things, showing them the local hangouts. Our final stop was Science North. It was one of the coolest attractions for kids in town, and adults too depending on what new exhibition they had. I thought it was important for the Roomies to experience the amazing time that could be had there.

When I pulled into the parking lot and they saw the weird architectural design of the science center I saw a couple eyes widen in the rear view mirror. I chuckled to myself and got out of the car.

"Ok guys so how about here we can split up? There's no reason we can't just explore for the afternoon," Jasper took charge. "Just be sure to meet back at the car at 4 alright? See you guys later."

And with that, he and Alice walked into the building leaving the 4 of us staring at them. A couple seconds later, Emmett whistled.

"Well then Rose dear, shall we?" He asked gallantly, extending his arm to her. She giggled and took it and they too walked inside leaving me with my new nemesis, Edward. I sighed and leaned against the car, looking at him to make a decision.

"Are we going to go in?" He asked, staring at me.

"Sure," I said and stood up. I led him inside, keeping a far distance between us. He didn't seem too upset to oblige.

I showed him everything there was to see, even the things that tourists didn't know about. Jasper and I broke the rules a lot as kids and we found tons of secret hiding spots. I tried to be fairly friendly; I didn't want him to have a miserable time, but there was still stiffness between us.

We were sitting on the bench in front lobby looking out the huge picture window, when I decided to try to get to the bottom of things.

"So Edward what happened last night?" I asked casually, spinning my lemonade lid in my hands. "I mean we were getting along pretty good and then there was the phone call and now things are like this. I just want to get your opinion on this."

He stared at me incredulously for a minute then said, "Well the way I see it, you called me sounding like a hooker, and I refused you. And now today it's all cold shoulders."

"I called you!" I exclaimed. "You're the one who called me and wanted me to go to your room!"

"Oh so now you're calling me a liar?" Edward retorted. "That's rich."

I jumped up, yelled at him "You're so frustrating Edward!", and stomped out the door. I immediately blushed when I was out in the fresh air, I hated causing scenes. I sighed and went out to the car. I got inside and leaned the seat back. As if he had the nerve to blame me for what happened!

Soon the others came to the car and I drove us all home. I was silent, even as the others were talking. I noticed that Edward was silent as well. I dropped the Roomies off in front of their house and pulled into our driveway. I told Jasper that I was going to head in for the night and he told me he was spending the night at our neighbours' house. I smiled and bade him a good night and he left.

I didn't even turn on any lights as I walked through my empty house to my room. Once I was in there I flopped on my bed and closed my eyes, wishing for sleep.

A couple hours later, the phone beside me rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi."

A/N: So first of all I wanted to thank you guys for leaving reviews! Please keep it going, I just eat them up. So I know there's a lot of questions about the phone calls. They will be explained, and I had to put them in to give Bella and Edward a reason to dislike each other. Next chapter will probably be up sometime this weekend, so please review lots! :)

--x Lauren