The Way We Was

Chapter 3: Mind Power

I own lots of shoes, but not Twilight. Sorry for the disappointment.

BPOV

What did he mean by "That changes things"? Oh no. Edward didn't actually like me. I had offended him. But when I said dazzling I meant it as a compliment, not as an insult or anything. Or maybe I was over-thinking things.

He couldn't read my mind. I couldn't just think my questions and expect him to magically answer them. Silly Bella! "What does that change?"

He had a mischievious grin plastered on his face. Almost like he was up to something. "I figured that if I can dazzle you so well, that it would be easier to get you to go to dinner with me on Thursday." He flashed me his crooked grin that I found so attractive.

Cheater, I thought. I should have been a little angry that I was being taken advantage of, but this was Edward Mason. He composed a lullaby for me and played it for me on his piano. He was convinced, as ludicrous as it sounded, that I was beautiful. And he was simply estatic that he could dazzle me. I would be crazy to even think about declining his offer.

"Well, when you put it that way, I'd love to go to dinner with you on Thursday." As much as I tried to surpress it, a light blush creeped up to my cheeks, making Edward grin even wider. He obviously enjoyed my slight embarrassment.

"It's about time to get you home." His face looked a little sullen. Did he really enjoy spending time with me that much? I'd only known him for a day but apparently he'd been watching me for a couple weeks without my knowledge. I couldn't say that I didn't enjoy spending time with him, or that I didn't enjoy the strange connection we seemed to have, but it was just so strange to get attached so quickly. "I'll walk you home, if that's alright with you."

Alright? Of course it was alright with me. What girl wouldn't want to be walked home by Edward? "That's very kind of you, but I have the feeling that you have ulterior motives." Yes, Edward was a true gentleman, but I knew that there had to be more to this whole scenario that I wasn't catching on to.

"You would be correct in that assumption. To take you out to dinner on Thursday, I would like to pick you up at your home. And I still want to walk you home," he added with his crooked grin. He was dazzling me again. He was such a cheater, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Well, don't let me stop you." Edward took my hand, in a gentlemanly fashion, and we walked hand in hand to my house. It wasn't an incredibly long walk. It was amazing exactly how close the two of us lived without every really noticing. I was just on the other side of the river from him. A river I had visited at least twice a week for more than ten years. Maybe I had met him or seen him before but just couldn't quite recall the memory. . . . The most likely scenario was that I was too out of it to notice him, or anyone for that matter. Yes, that must be it.

We walked in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable though. It was strangely reassuring. With the current flowing between us there wasn't a need for speaking. There was that phrase. . .that actions speak louder than words. I think that it applied perfectly to Edward and me. I was completely content to just walk in silence, hand in hand, than fill the air with noise. Yes, very peaceful.

But that was odd, out of place. I never felt peaceful. Not with the way my mother and father were. My mother especially made things. . .difficult for lack of a better word. All she cared about was her place on the social ladder, forcing my father and me to do whatever it took to help her get to the place on the ladder she wanted to be at. We weren't quite sure how far up that was, but we learned to not ask her questions.

With my mother's behaviour I could only predict that she wouldn't do anything less than love Edward. It was obvious to me, without even needing to ask questions, that his family was higher up than Renee. But I wanted to put that conversation off for another time. Renee could get very involved when she saw an opportunity like this.

As Edward and I neared my small brick house, I started to take the lead until we were at my door. It appeared that my mother was out, probably at an early dinner party, and my father was still at work. I took as full advantage of this as I could.

"Would you like to come in?" I asked Edward. It only seemed fair. I was allowed into his home, so he should be allowed into mine.

"I would love to." Of course his smile completely blew me away when he said that. He almost seemed excited to be able to enter my house. But I couldn't figure out why. I would just go along with it.

I led him through the door and made sure to close it behind me. My house wasn't large, but it didn't need to be. It was just my parents and myself. My mother was rarely home during the day and neither was my father. I went about my business in and out of the house, sometimes being forced to go to one of Renee's parties. That would be my sole reason for trying to get out of the house as often as possible. Any upper-class individuals all viewed me as being unorthodox. To them parties were the reason to live, to go to work, to breathe. Not for the life of me could I understand why Renee wanted to live that life.

"It's a little cozy, but for the most part it's empty," I quickly explained.

Edward took a speculative look around before saying, "It's almost as beautiful as you." Oh, how he dazzled me. I was about to come up with a retort, but he flashed me one of his smiles. With him still holding my hand I just couldn't make my brain function. I was speechless and couldn't move.

"Breathe Bella," he reminded me. Why did I always need reminding around him? It was ludicrous! But that was the story of my life. Isabella Swan, the ludicrous daughter of Renee and Charles. It was like I was wearing a sign when I walked around town, announcing who I was. But I didn't feel that way with Edward. No, he was definitely different.

Was that what I was looking for? Someone different? Someone just as different as me?

AN: Thank you for the reviews, yet again! I appreciate them a lot. I'm sorry this took a few days to get up. I was just so busy reading and everything. And I gotta pack soon. I'm going back home on Saturday (AFTER getting Breaking Dawn of course). Happy reviewing and reading!