A/N: Because all your reviews were so amazing as soon as I got in from work I sat down and wrote this :) And, it's the longest chapter yet, because so many of you said my chapters were too short (which is true, but I find it hard to write long chapters). This one is 6 pages in Word, so hopefully I won't get that complaint this time ;) Anyway, enjoy!

Better This Way

Bella was distracted, serving drinks to an old couple on the opposite side of the room. I needed to talk to Emmett now, before she reached our table.

"Emmett? A word please?"

He sighed and reluctantly got up from the table. I followed him and we made our way back outside.

"I know what you're going to say, and before you say it, hear me out." Said Emmett, holding up his hands.

I frowned and started grinding my teeth in a effort to keep from shouting at my brother. He knew I was listening.

"Rose thinks your biggest problem is you're scared of getting hurt. But like I said earlier, Edward, not all girls are like Tanya," I opened my mouth to interrupt but he held up a finger to stop me. "You're not even giving anybody else a chance. You know Bella thinks she did something wrong this afternoon? Because you practically sprinted into the house?"

My frown became more and more pronounced as I listened to Emmett, having heard it a million times before, but I couldn't help but be surprised at the last bit.

"She thinks she did something wrong?" I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.

"Yeah, she was telling Rosalie earlier. She thinks you hate her or something."

"Well that's silly, I mean she asked why I came here, but she couldn't know…"

"Exactly. But can you see how she might interpret your behavior?" He sighed, "Can you promise to be polite for just one evening? And not treat everyone like they're out to get you?"

I sighed too, and nodded, because there was no point in arguing. I could put up with pretending for one night.

We made our way back inside and joined Liz and Peter at our table.

"You boys alright?" said Peter, giving us a questioning look.

"Yeah, just needed to have a little talk with Eddie." He grinned. Emmett was back to his usual buoyant self, much to my chagrin.

I groaned and picked up the menu to distract myself and noticed Bella coming out of the kitchen. With a notepad.

Oh crap.

She reached our table and with a smile greeted Liz and Peter. She turned to Emmett and grinned, "Rose has got you whipped already!"

"Whatever do you mean, Bella?" Emmett said, pulling Bella down to sit beside him in the booth. He ruffled her hair playfully, while I sat there, unsure whether to be amused or annoyed.

"You're here, in the restaurant where she works because she couldn't get the night off to go out with you!" laughed Bella.

"I heard the food was good! If any waitresses I happened to have asked out are working tonight then it's merely a coincidence…"

"Should I tell Rose that?" She raised one eyebrow.

"Alright, alright you two, how about we order?" Liz laughed, interrupting before Emmett could redeem himself.

Bella smiled and got up from the bench, straightening her work uniform and pulling a pen from her apron pocket.

She took everyone's orders for starters and the main course, laughing at Emmett when he asked if he could substitute the side salad with a 12" pizza.

"Edward?" she turned to me, uncertain.

"I'll have the bruschetta and then the mushroom ravioli." I replied, keeping my tone light.

"Okay guys, it should be about ten minutes." She turned and headed back to the kitchen, putting her pen back in her apron.

"See, that wasn't too hard now, was it?" whispered Emmett.

"All I did was order." I replied. Surely he hadn't thought me incapable of ordering?

"It's a start."

We chatted with Liz and Peter for a while, they asked us how we liked Phoenix so far. Liz looked at Emmett with a small smile when he replied.

"How did you and Rose meet?" she asked, still smiling.

"Oh yeah… about that… I uh… sort of broke your bird bath… I'm really sorry"

To my surprise Peter burst out laughing, while Liz tried to keep a straight face. When the laughter had finally died down Peter explained.

"I'm sorry but we break that thing every week. We just bought that one last Saturday! One of us always seems to walk into the damn pole! I keep asking myself why we didn't put the bird feeder on the grass instead of the tiles."

I laughed along with Liz and Peter then, having done the exact same thing this afternoon.

Emmett looked at my strangely, and I sobered up to answer his unspoken question.

"I did the exact same thing this afternoon, I probably cracked it"

He rolled his eyes just as Rose returned with our starters and drinks we had ordered earlier.

"Okay, coke for Edward, the Sangiovese for Liz and water for Peter," She handed me a glass of coke before pouring a glass of red wine and a glass of water and passing them to their respective owners. "And Emmett, I'm afraid no one knew how to make an Adios Mother- well, you know the name, so I brought you a Hurricane instead." She passed him a cocktail glass filled with red liquid and ice.

"You don't know how to make an Adios mother - !"

Liz coughed, drowning out the end of Emmett's sentence. He had a look of disbelief on his face.

"You'll have to teach me sometime." Rose replied with a smirk.

"It's very easy, it's all in the stirring," He grinned suddenly, " 'Course, I'm exceptionally skilled with my hands – "

I groaned, wishing my brother didn't feel the need to toss innuendo into every sentence. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Liz bite her lip, unsure of whether to laugh or to disapprove.

Soon after, Bella appeared with our starters, placing mine in front of me without saying a word. I ate my food in silence while the others chatted around me, Bella or Rose occasionally coming over to join us when they weren't busy.

Throughout the starter and main course Emmett kept ordering more Hurricanes and knocking them back like water. He had a very high tolerance for alcohol, but I knew if he kept this up he'd end up drunk. Lucky I was driving then…

As we finished up our main course Liz and Peter got up to leave, saying they were tired and had work in the morning. I looked at my watch – 10pm. Was it late enough to leave yet?

Apparently not.

More and more people began leaving the restaurant, until soon it was just Emmett and I, and of course Bella and Rose. They were closing up for the night and so had to stay late.

"Finally, everything's cleaned up. I'm dead on my feet." Whined Rose, sliding into our booth beside Emmett and slipping off her flats. He put his arm around her and began playing with loose strands of her hair. You'd think they'd known each other for months, not hours.

Emmett's eyes looked out of focus and he had a goofy grin on his face. Definitely out of it.

"Rosie, will you go out with me tomorrow night?" Emmett slurred his words slightly.

"Ask me when you're not drunk." smirked Rose.

"'Kay, call you tomorrow mornin' then." The stupid grin didn't leave his face.

She laughed just as Bella joined us, sliding in beside Rose. She too slipped off her shoes and sat with her feet curled under her. She looked extremely tired.

"Rose, we should get going. I have to be home by 11. You know how Charlie gets." said Bella, running a hand through her hair.

"And miss drunk Emmett? We'll just stay a bit longer, and then we'll leave, I promise."

"Rosie Rosie Rosie…" Emmett nuzzled his face into Rosalie's neck. I was embarrassed by his drunken behavior but she didn't seem to mind.

"He's cute, isn't he? Like a giant teddy bear…" said Rosalie, who had a smile on her face.

"You're lucky he's only half-conscious, he'd kill you for that one if his brain was functioning properly." It was the first time I'd spoken in hours.

She ignored this and rested her chin on Emmett's head. Though I hated to admit it, they did look "right" together.

"Rose…" said Bella, glancing at her watch..

"Hey, Edward's been looking at his watch all night, he's obviously keen to go home, why don't you ride with him and I'll drive Emmett home later?"

What?

Bella looked over at me, with what I could only describe as a frightened expression on her face.

"No no it's okay, I'll wait… or I could walk… Yes, I'll walk…"

"Don't be silly, Bells, Edward doesn't mind, do you?" Rosalie turned to me.

I was saved with coming up with an excuse by Bella jumping up from the table.

"No honestly, I'll walk. It's only a few miles. It'll be fine."

Without waiting for a response she hurried away, grabbing a bag from under the reception desk.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat while Rosalie shot daggers at me. "You're an idiot, you know that?" she said scowling.

"Yes, I've been told that." I replied stiffly. This girl had no right to interfere.

Getting up from the table I said goodbye to Emmett, who grunted in response, and left without saying a word to Rosalie.

It was raining when I got outside. Perfect. I hurried to my car, hastening to get the lock open so I could get out of the downpour. It was really coming down hard, and I felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of Bella walking home in this weather.

I reversed out of the parking lot with some difficulty – I was a good driver but it was near impossible to see with the rain – and set off down the street. I had just stopped at a stop sign a few feet down the road when I saw her.

She was huddled under a tree off the side of the road, obviously for shelter, but as I looked at her through the rain I knew she was soaked. She was shivering slightly, and her arms were wrapped around her, trying to keep herself warm. This was crazy.

Before I knew what I was doing, before I had time to think, I was pulling over and opening the passenger door.

"Get in." I said, without looking away from the steering wheel.

I heard someone gasp, before they quickly got into the car and shut the door. I started the car and chanced a glance at Bella while she fastened her seat belt. Her hair was dripping wet and her clothes were sticking to her. She didn't even have a jacket.

"That was a really stupid idea." I said after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. But it was my only option, wasn't it?" she replied, her voice as cold as mine had been.

She had seen right through me.

I ignored her, clenching the steering wheel so tightly it might have snapped.

We drove in silence for a few minutes until I saw the turn for our neighborhood.

I heard Bella sigh and the tense atmosphere seemed to collapse around us.

"I'm sorry." My voice sounded rough, even to my own ears.

"You have nothing to apologise for." She replied, her voice emotionless.

"It's better this way, trust me."

"Better what way, Edward? I don't understand you. I don't understand what I've done."

I let out a shaky breath. "It's better if we're not friends."

It was as if I could feel her stiffen next to me. I felt as is I could hear her breathing stop, feel her composing her features into an emotionless mask so as not to betray her. I was probably imagining it all, and I was not going to look over to see if I was right.

I slowed down and pulled over in front of what I knew was her house – it was right next door to the Masen's of course.

She got out of the car, mumbling a "thank you" before shutting the door behind her.

I groaned and began hitting my head off the dashboard. I didn't understand my reaction. Why should I feel guilty? I simply told a stranger (practically) that we couldn't be friends. There was no reason for me to feel so… conflicted.

I set off driving again, slowing down a few feet away and pulling into the Masen's driveway.

The stairs creaked as I crept up to my room, the door squeaked, my zipper made too much noise, the bed groaned under my weight as I lay down. Everything was too loud.

Emmett didn't come home that night. I was too lost in my thoughts to care.

How was it? Review and tell me? This time I'm offering internet chocolate cake! It's all lovely and melting too, so get it while it's hot :) Seriously though, your reviews mean so much to me, they really make my day, and they're the reason I got this chapter out so quickly.