A/N Alright, Back to Bella's Point of View. No worries, there will be more Edward POV to come! I think the next chapter will be EPOV, but I'm going to try to avoid the time overlap which was necessary in the last chapter. But I'm getting ahead of myself here… I just freaking finished this chapter!
Anyway, huge HUGE thank you to everybody who reviewed so far. Remember direct your questions to the Review Button or send me a P/M.
And for the record, No they're not going to meet up in L.A.! Ok maybe they will, but I could hardly wait that long!
Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by S.M. These characters are owned by S.M. Forks, Washington is owned by the United States of America. And this lap top is owned by me, I worked all summer to buy it!
Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 4-BPOV
Finally, once we were speeding out of the garage in Alice's little yellow Porsche, she broke the silence. "So Bella, would you care to explain yourself?"
Was she joking? Care to explain that I'm a crazed fangirl/wanna-be groupie to the most amazing man in existence? "Nah I'm good," I said quickly, praying that she would let the subject drop.
She snorted—and somehow managed to make it seem somewhat ladylike. "Bella," she coaxed.
Oh who was I kidding, there was no way Alice was going to let my fainting in a public area and interacting with none other than the Edward Cullen drop. I decided to play dumb. "Really Alice, I have no idea what you are referring to."
"Alright, have it your way," she glared at me from behind the steering wheel then pumped the clutch and switched to 6th gear. We were literally zooming through a tunnel beneath the city, racing taxi cabs around the traffic. She knew this kind of driving frightened me.
After a few minutes I couldn't take it anymore. My stomach felt weak and my head was pounding. "Alright, alright!" I yelled, and finally she slowed, a satisfied smirk evident on her face. "What do you want to know?" I asked.
She deliberated for a minute. "Did you or did you not faint at the site of Edward Cullen after rescuing his lost daughter from a scary stairwell at the Montgomery Building."
I weighed my options. I could try to lie, but I was horrible at lying. Even if Alice hadn't known me for years she would probably see right through me. I decided to go for sympathy. She would be less likely to ridicule me if she pitied me. "Alice, I completely embarrassed myself," I sighed, "I thought I was dreaming or something, and when he hugged me I kind of—," I couldn't say it. It was too horrible.
She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to finish. I needed her eyes back on the road; I really did not want to turn into a Porsche sandwich. "I moaned," I whispered.
"You what?" her eyes still hadn't returned to the front and that frightened me further.
"I freaking moaned!" I screamed. How could I be so embarrassing? Why did these sorts of things have to happen to me?
Then Alice had the audacity to actually laugh at my situation. "You moaned?" she got out between breathless giggles. "Like in ecstasy?" she continued. There were tears forming at the sides of her eyes.
"I'm glad you find my situation so humorous," I sulked beside her, crossing my arms.
After another half a minute of her mocking my situation she finally settled down and looked at me curiously. "Did he hear it?"
I shrugged, he hadn't mentioned anything. But the way he looked at me when he let go—that blatant curiosity. What had he been thinking?
"Oh come on Bella, it's not that bad," she tried to comfort me. I mashed my lips together, how could she say it wasn't that bad? I had only dreamed about him for almost half my life and then finally when I met him I completely humiliated myself!
"Bella, honestly," she scolded me like I was a disobeying child. "When are you going to see yourself properly? You are an attractive, dare I say hot young and successful writer. What you didn't seem to notice during your whole fainting routine was how he couldn't take his eyes off of you!"
I ignored the flutter of hope I felt in my chest. "He was probably only looking at me like that because he was worried that his daughter had been apprehended by a crazy person! Need I remind you that I fainted?"
"Well you do have a point about the whole being crazy thing," she teased.
I scowled at her as I reached for the door handle. Somehow we had arrived back at my apartment building and I hadn't even noticed. She drove like a friggin maniac.
We agreed to meet up for lunch the following day and I got out and said goodbye. The sun was beginning to set and I was feeling hungry. Luckily I still had some leftover beef stroganoff in my refrigerator. Usually cooking helped me to relax, but now all I wanted was to get upstairs and fall into a warm bubble bath—after eating of course—then read some romantic novel where the protagonist didn't have a tendency to embarrass herself. I would save talking to Aro for tomorrow morning.
The next day I met up with Alice and Rosalie at our favorite lunch café called Spoons and Knives. I would never understand people's desire to name places after silverware, but I supposed this at least made more sense than Forks, Washington.
After we got a seat outside on the patio, I told them about my upcoming weekend trip to Las Angeles, California for a major book signing which Aro and Caius had set up for me. Really all the work was done for me from scheduling a flight to booking a room at a hotel. The only thing I had to do was show up and check-in.
Rosalie and Alice were quick to congratulate me on my performance on the Leah Clearwater Show. They sounded just like Aro did earlier.
"Really Bella," said Rose, "I bet tons of people are running out to purchase your book today after the way you presented it yesterday."
Alice quickly agreed, "Yeah and with Edward Cullen on the show, you probably reached a much larger audience then we had even hoped."
Rose was fast to pick up on the potential subject change which Alice had dangled so carelessly before her, "So speaking of a certain Edward…" she trailed off suggestively and Alice giggled.
"Nobody was speaking of Edward," I nearly growled which only made them laugh harder. I couldn't understand why my furious faces and actions always made people laugh. It was very annoying though. I began picking at the edges of the red checkered table cloth, attempting to keep from lashing out.
"Alice tells me you rescued his daughter," Rose sniggered, "I'm telling you, that right there is the way to a man's heart. And you my dearest have totally got an in with him!"
"Last week you said food was the way to a man's heart." I stated, not that Rose needed any other means to a man's heart besides her good looks, but why was she always changing things around on me?
"Right you are," she acceded, "And that, my sweet, innocent Bella," Alice chuckled at that, "Is why he will adore you. Not only do you cook, but you rescued his daughter!"
"And what makes you two think I'm even interested in Edward?" Alright, so I may have caressed his name a little bit when I said it, but there was no way that they noticed that.
Alice and Rose stared at me incredulously. "Bella, are you kidding me?" demanded Alice, "Just listen to yourself. You practically swooned when you said his damn name!"
"Bella you fainted when you first saw him!" Rose added sternly.
"I did not faint when I first saw him!" I defended myself, "I fainted because I moaned when he hugged me and then I realized that I wasn't dreaming!" And that last bit can go right on the list of thing I never meant to acknowledge out loud in front of Alice and Rosalie.
They both started laughing hysterically at me. "Oh 'cause that's sooo much better," giggled Rose.
I stood up, determined to walk out of that restaurant with as much dignity as I had left and to no longer be the object of their ridicule. Alice jumped up immediately and pulled me back down and they both stopped laughing in an instant. "Oh come on Bella, we're just teasing you. We hardly ever get to make fun of your love life," Alice pouted.
"Yeah because you're usually making fun of my fashion sense," I mumbled.
"Or lack thereof," Rose added just as quietly, causing Alice to elbow her.
"Bella, we know you like Edward because you've been obsessing over the band Wayward Strung for as long as I've known you. You have a picture of him saved in your photo album on your computer and I saw that autographed CD cover under your bed."
"How did you—," I cut off. Maybe I didn't really want to know how Alice had access to my computer photo album and the autographed CD cover which my mom had sent to me after she went to one of their concerts—without me, I might add.
"That's beside the point," Alice continued, "The point is you like him and from what Leah and I saw, he likes you too. And I for one would like to know what you're going to do about it."
"Wait, you talked to Leah?" I was growing more and more mortified by the second.
"Of course I talked to Leah," Alice dismissed me, "And she said after we left, he looked all confused and just stared after you—get this—longingly!"
Rosalie looked excited by this news. I simply narrowed my eyes. "You two—no make that three—need to please try being a little realistic here. I fainted! I moaned! I completely humiliated myself! If he was staring at me, he was probably only worried that I had some sort of mental problem!"
"Speaking of being unrealistic," I heard Rose mumble. Alice didn't elbow her this time unfortunately.
When the waiter brought our food, Alice and Rose mercifully allowed for a subject change and we began discussing an upcoming fashion show Alice and Rose were putting on in Europe.
They talked models and clothing, music selection and possible locations—all things which I didn't usually care to discuss, but I jumped into that conversation with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, thereby ensuring the topic of discussion did not return to my non-relationship with Edward Cullen.
The rest of the week passed in a blur and before I knew it, it was Friday morning. Luckily my flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 4:30 p.m. so I had some time to finish my chores around the house before I called a cab for the airport.
Alice had come by last night to help me pack. She insisted that I pack outfit after outfit of dressy clothes so I could look fabulous at all times, even on the airplane! I tried to tell her that it was really unnecessary and that there wouldn't be anybody I knew in L.A. besides Aro and possibly Caius and therefore nobody to impress. Unfortunately she had this way of winning arguments without my knowledge. She turned the argument on me to make me think that I needed lots of nice clothing to show off her line to all my new book patrons. She used that one on me all the time—that I was helping her by wearing her generously donated clothes (donated to the very lost cause of me attempting to be fashionable). Somehow it still worked on me.
With one last ominous declaration that I never knew who I would run into when I least expected it, I decided that she sounded so much like a freaking fortune cookie that I nicknamed her cookie for the remainder of the evening. I gave up and sat back while she packed my bags for me. She even went so far as to write up instructions for how to wear my clothes together properly.
Finally I hugged her goodbye and she left my apartment around midnight last night. Now I was compulsively cleaning my apartment one last time before showering and changing into outfit number 1 of Alice's 6 outfit plan.
I arrived at the Chicago O'Hare airport around 3:15, conscious that I might be pressing my luck at making it to the plane on time with all of the weekend travelers. I ended up running through the airport once I made it through security and nearly falling twice after slipping in my black suede high heeled boots. My outfit today was once again, compliments of Seer. It was a soft red wrap-around dress with short sleeves, perfect for the warm California air—though I was forced to wear a stylish black overcoat which nearly touched the top of my boots overtop of it while I was in Chicago.
I was relieved Alice had at least let me wear something comfortable on the airplane, and I was further relieved when I got to the airport and found out that it would be a nonstop flight to LAX. I really hated layovers, so this information was thrilling to me.
I was one of the last passengers on the plane and the flight attendants gave me disapproving looks for my tardiness as I made my way to the first class section. The airplane was huge, but surprisingly empty—the first class section especially. The blue leather seats were marginally comfortable and spacious, separated so that there were pairs of two seats together on the left side of the plane and three seats in a row on the right.
I sat in the very last row of first class on the left side of the plane so that there was one empty seat beside me. My seat was by the window. I was delighted that the other seat in my row was empty so nobody would be bothering me during the four hour flight and I would be able to relax and read my book.
Unfortunately, just before the flight attendants called for the doors to be sealed, one lone passenger made his way onto the flight and sat down right in the seat beside me. As he stared me up and down appreciatively I tried to hide my groan. He was a burly man who seemed to be in his late forties with greasy black hair, a briefcase, and far too much confidence for my taste.
"Well hello there, miss?" he left the sentence open ended as if expecting me to fill in my name.
"Good afternoon," I said shortly as I glanced up from my book for the briefest of moments.
He was unaffected by my indifference. "So what're you reading?" he asked as he attempted to squeeze himself more comfortably into his seat beside me. I was less than pleased when he rudely leaned over the armrest which separated us.
I flashed him the cover. "Katherine." I said in case he couldn't read the title for himself.
"That name doesn't tell you very much about the book," he mused as if hoping I would give him a synopsis.
If he were any less annoying I might have gone into great detail about how it was such an amazing account of historical fiction pertaining to the romantic pairing of two of the ancestors of much of the royal family of England. As it was I simply shrugged and did my best to ignore him.
He remained silent miraculously for the next fifteen minutes until we reached our cruising altitude.
"Do you ever wonder what keeps an airplane flying during turbulence?" he asked, breaking the silence between us which I had grown to appreciate.
"Not particularly," I said firmly, hoping he would take a clue. He didn't.
"Well, it scares the Hell out of me. Sometimes I have to hold onto somebody whenever there's turbulence. It makes me feel safe, how about you?" Ew.
The plane jerked slightly before I could answer and he reached for my hand. Oh heck no. I was up holding my jacket, book, and purse before he could try anything else. I walked past him and out into the aisle looking for an open seat that didn't have another open one immediately adjacent, nervous that he might try to follow me. I would go to the regular class seating if there was nothing available here. Just when I was about to head to the back of the plane, an empty seat caught my attention. Well more, the two people on either side of the seat caught my attention. The window seat was occupied by a small girl with curly strawberry blonde hair and wide jade green eyes. The aisle seat housed the bronze haired man who I knew had sparkling green eyes to match though I couldn't see them behind his closed lids.
"Miss Bella?" called Renesmee excitedly when she saw me.
I smiled instantly but placed my finger to my lips in an attempt to keep her from waking up her beautiful sleeping father.
She giggled. "It's ok he sleeps really heavily," she told me. "What are you doing on the airplane?" asked Renesmee, pure excitement coloring her features.
"I'm going to Las Angeles, same as you I suppose," I said with a laugh. What were the odds?
"Oh well can you come sit by me?" she asked. "Daddy fell asleep and now I don't have anybody to talk to. I'm bored."
I hesitated for a minute. I was looking for a seat, and she had asked me to join them, but what would Edward think when he woke up? Would he think I was stocking him or something?
As I debated in my head, I watched Renesmee's lip pout out just slightly and begin to quiver. "Please," she said softly. How did she make her eyes twinkle like that? It looked like she was about to cry or something!
"Oh alright," I conceded as I slid past her father, careful not to touch him, so that I was sitting between two of my favorite people in the world. Well this was quite an upgrade from the greasy pervert in my last seat.
"Do you want to sit by your daddy?" I asked after a moment.
"No I want to look out the window!"
I carefully folded up my jacket and stuffed it underneath the seat ahead of me. Then I placed the book I was reading in the seat pocket. "What's that?" asked Renesmee pointing to my book.
I smiled and didn't think twice about giving her the whole schpeel about romantic couplings from the Middle Ages and one of the greatest love stories in history. She was absolutely enthralled and I was gratified by her amusement. She was especially interested in my mention of knights and princesses. I hammed up the involvement of princesses a little bit for her benefit though. I finished my retelling of Katherine's story—which I had already read several times anyway—and we sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. She was right about Edward; he didn't wake up through any of my explanation.
"Bella did you write that story?" Renesmee asked after a few minutes had passed.
I looked at her curiously. "No, why do you ask?"
"Well Daddy says you're a writer," she explained. I felt my face turn up into a smile. So he had been talking to Renesmee about me? That was definitely a good sign.
"Oh, what else does Daddy say?" I wondered.
She grinned at me mischievously. "Why do you want to know?"
That was a very astute question, why did I want to know exactly? He couldn't possibly be interested in me, so I was really just torturing myself with delusions by even considering that he could. "You know, you're a very smart little girl Renesmee," I mused.
"Thanks, my Daddy says that all the time." I wondered if she could possibly be taunting me with further information about what her father says, coaxing me into admitting my feelings for him. She was crafty, but I couldn't be certain exactly how crafty.
At that moment Edward groaned a little and rolled around in his seat so that his head was resting on my shoulder. I stiffened but he continued sleeping; his warm breath on my neck was giving me goose bumps.
Renesmee started giggling. "He makes weird noises in his sleep," she laughed and I felt myself smiling in response, despite my predicament. What would he think if he woke up? Would he think I was some kind of psycho? What if I passed out again? Would he call the police? Have me arrested? I could just see the headlines now: Chicago Author Arrested for Harassing Edward Cullen and His Daughter. I realized at that moment that out of all the times I had read about Edward in tabloids and newspapers, never once had I heard mention of his daughter. I was sure of it because I knew I would have remembered a name like Renesmee. Was he keeping her a secret from the press? How was he even able to do that? Maybe that was why the band broke up?
A million half-crazed thoughts swirled through my mind as this beautiful man lay resting against me. I was so caught up in worrying that I didn't notice Renesmee grab her Princess pillow and lay it on my lap. Before I knew it she had her head resting on the pillow in my lap and she was fast asleep as well. I rubbed her back soothingly, hoping the bumpy airplane ride wasn't disrupting her sleep too much. It was a strange feeling. These two people were practically strangers, but I felt so connected to them. More connected than I had felt to anybody. I sincerely hoped I wasn't simply crazy.
Edward's messy bronze hair tickled my chin while he breathed deeply so I used my hand that wasn't rubbing Renesmee's back to carefully reach up and brush some of it away from my chin. When I touched it though, I couldn't stop as easily as I had thought. It was so soft and smooth. My fingers twined through his hair without my permission and I felt like a thousand of my teenage fantasies were coming true. I was rubbing my fingers through Edward Cullen's hair! Granted, he was asleep and had no idea I was even anywhere near him, but it was still magical.
And then it happened. The moment I had dreamed about for half my life. While my fingers were tangled through his hair caressing his head while he slept, a single word escaped his mouth. A word that made my heart miss a beat and my breath catch in my throat. Because in that dreamlike stupor he was enjoying, with his eyes firmly closed and his hair tangled around my fingers, he whispered, "Bella."
And I felt a tightening in my chest which felt a heck of a lot like what somebody might call "love".
A/N "Two chapters in one day?" you ask. Sorry, this is not the norm. It's only happening because I'm busy procrastinating. Please leave me a review! Again constructive criticism and suggestions are greatly appreciated!