Edward
Edward woke up at eight on Saturday morning to his phone buzzing, alerting him that he had a new message. He felt ill; he'd begun to drink heavily the night before, trying to keep Rosalie and what had happened between them out of his mind. He sat up in bed, his head throbbing, and he reached for his phone. Squinting at the bright screen, he saw that he'd gotten a text from Jessica, asking him to meet her in the band room as soon as he could. Emmett was still fast asleep in his bed as Edward hurried out the door five minutes later, another thing to be jealous of Emmett for, he mused gloomily. It was freezing outside, and he wished he'd thought to wear a sweater.
Jessica was waiting for him, holding two cups of coffee. Edward took the one she held out for him, smiling gratefully. She didn't return his smile, and he frowned.
"What's up, Jess?"
"Edward, you're one of my best friends, and you know I'd do anything for you, right?"
"Of course." He nodded.
"So please don't take it the wrong way," she continued, "when I say that I am so completely pissed off at you."
"What the hell did I do to you?"
"Not me, you jackass. You broke Bella's heart."
"What?!" He laughed. "Stop joking around. Why are you really mad at me?"
"I'm serious, Edward. Jasper and I found her in town last night, sitting on a bench and crying her eyes out because SOMEONE blew her off to hang out with another girl. Oh stop looking so shocked," she snapped at him. "That girl has been infatuated with you since day one and we all know it."
"I…I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't. You don't notice anyone besides Rosalie."
"It's that obvious, huh?"
Jessica nodded, then her face softened.
"Look, Edward, I just really think that you need to forget about Rose. You're wasting all your time wanting a girl who will never want you back, and ignoring the girl who does want you." Jessica patted his hand as she stood up. "I'm not telling you to rush out and date Bella, but don't blow her off. Get to know her. You might just like what you find."
Edward sat there long after Jessica had left, mulling over what she'd said. As much as it hurt him, he knew that she was right about Rosalie. She didn't want him. She'd made that clear last night, deliberately ignoring Edward and being all over Emmett, more so than usual. Bella hadn't talked to him either, but he'd been too upset over Rosalie to even notice her.
And now he felt like a complete fool. He hadn't realized how much it had meant to Bella to hang out with him alone, and he was shocked that she had been sitting on a bench, sobbing, just because he'd blown her off. It felt weird to him, having a girl who cared whether or not he was around. The more he thought about it, the guiltier her felt. He didn't want to hurt Bella, and he hated the fact that she was out there somewhere feeling sad because of him. He knew that he couldn't give her what she wanted, but he could offer her friendship. He would fine her, apologize to her, and they could start over. At lunchtime he bounded up the steps to the cafeteria, a goofy smile on his face. But Bella didn't show up for breakfast, or any other meal that day. No one had seen or heard from her, and she wasn't responding to any of his texts or phone calls. He went to bed feeling unsatisfied and hoping desperately that he'd see her between classes the next day.
Bella
She hated herself. Staring into the mirror, she didn't see a single feature that she liked. She could usually get over those feelings pretty quickly, but this time they were eating her up, knowing that Edward obviously didn't see anything worth liking either. She'd put her phone on silent once she'd gotten back to her dorm on Friday night, and it had died sometime during the weekend. She didn't bother to charge it, not seeing a need to since she didn't want to talk to anyone. She ignored the incessant knocking on her door all weekend, hoping that if she remained quiet in her room, her friends wouldn't know she was in there. She skipped her classes on Monday and Tuesday as well, sending emails to her teachers saying that she had come down with the flu. Thankfully they had all believed her, none of them requiring her to get the nurse's signature as proof. She didn't go to the cafeteria for meals, choosing instead to drink copious amounts of water and live off of the few snack bars her father had insisted she bring with her to school. They were mostly stale by now, but she didn't care much. She didn't particularly like eating, anyway, so lack of food for a few days certainly didn't upset her. She cried a lot for the first few days. She was absolutely heartbroken over Edward, and that made her feel foolish. She didn't understand why he was so different from all those other guys she'd known. She had never cared much about anyone before, but she hadn't been able to get him out of her head ever since that first time she'd seen him, standing out in the courtyard while she looked down from her window.
She remained in her room for days, popping pills and living in a haze that helped her to not feel her broken heart as strongly. She finally emerged from her hiding place on Wednesday, walking nervously into the cafeteria. Almost immediately her friends surrounded her, all of them asking with concern where she had been. She lied, telling them that she had gone home to visit her dad. They seemed to buy it, but she could tell Jasper didn't believe her. He didn't call her out on her lie, though, and she was grateful for that.
They were almost done with breakfast when Edward showed up. His face lit up when he saw Bella, but she still wasn't ready to be around him, and she slipped out of the cafeteria while he was in line getting his food.
Edward
He knew she was avoiding him. It was now Friday, two whole days after he'd spotted her in the cafeteria, and he had yet to have a conversation with her. She came to breakfast and dinner, although she only ate a small amount each time, like an apple for breakfast and maybe only half of what was on her plate at dinner. She always made sure to sit at the opposite end of the table from him, which drove him crazy because he couldn't exactly yell out an apology to her across the table. And she skipped lunches altogether. The only times he saw her were late at night when their group would sneak out, but she seemed to still be avoiding him, talking and laughing with everyone else while carefully keeping her eyes averted from wherever he was.
He ditched his calculus class after lunch and went to find her. He knew that she had a free period then, and he figured it would be the best time to talk to her, without having to worry about anyone else showing up. He searched everywhere trying to find her, even going so far as to sneak into the nurse's room to see if she was laying down in there. When it became apparent that she wasn't there, he gave up searching. Class would soon be over, and then Edward was supposed to be in art, finishing a painting. He decided to blow that off as well. Not being able to find Bella made him feel lousy, and he wanted to be alone, getting high, and forget about her for a while. He'd been feeling guilty all week, and he was sick of it. He checked to make sure he had a blunt in his pocket before heading off to his secret spot in the woods.
He saw her the second he entered the clearing. She was lying in the middle of the field, facing the opposite direction. She hadn't seen him yet. He wasn't sure if he should cough to alert her of his presence, but he ended up just walking towards her. She didn't turn her head to acknowledge his presence as he sat down beside her, but there was a small smile that played across her lips. He took that as a good sign, and took a deep breath before speaking.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"I'm sorry, Bella."
"For what?" she propped herself up on her elbows.
"For not considering your feelings on Friday. For not realizing how much it meant to you. I hate that you've been avoiding me. I've been waiting to talk to you all week."
"Edward, it doesn't matter."
He frowned at her.
"It does matter. I was a jerk and I feel awful for treating you that way."
She turned her head and looked at him.
"Yeah, you were a jerk. But like I said, it doesn't matter anymore."
"It does matter! I want to be your friend. I really do think you're great, Bella. I can't like you the way you like me, but that doesn't mean we can't start over and get to know each other better, does it?"
She was silent at first, and he was afraid that he'd somehow upset her further.
"Okay." Her voice was soft.
"Okay?"
"We can be friends." She turned and gave him a wide smile. He smiled back with relief.
"So, Bella." He reached into his pocket, his fingers locating the blunt he'd hidden in it. He lit it up and inhaled. "As the first act of our new friendship, how about you help me finish this off?"
She smiled mischievously, grabbing it out of his hand.
"I'd be delighted to."