Disclaimer: I do not Own Twilight

I followed Ben out of the theater while he sputtered cuss words at the usher who was showing us out.

"Some asshole kid tossed his popcorn at me," he kept whining to the kid as we were shown the door, not that kid gave a fuck since it was clear that he didn't.

"Sorry sir, but you and lady have to go," the kid kept repeating in a bored voice, but Ben refused to move until the security guard decked out in his police officer uniform approached us. It was only then that Ben directed me out of the theater lobby like nothing was wrong. We made it all the way out to where our cars were parked before he began bitching once more.

"Can you believe that?" Ben practically screamed in anger as he rambled on about the injustice of being bounced out the movie after being attacked with popcorn.

"I bet it was that Wannen kid," he muttered angrily as he looked over his shoulder to see if the perpetrator had followed us out, but no one was there. "That kid is such a prick."

"Hey," I interrupted him as he ran his hand through his hair to make sure all the popcorn was gone.

"Really all this... this whole night has been a ton of fun, but I think I'm going to call it a night," I explained with a polite smile as I took step back from him only to watch him stare at me in disbelief.

Ben was a nice guy. He was sweet and handsome. He would make a great rebound boyfriend with his perfect smile and knowing exactly what to say, but I wasn't ready for the rebound. I could barely handle friendship at this point.

"Wait… What?" he asked in a soft voice that gave away his surprise over my calling it a night. "Don't you want to grab a drink or something?"

"No," I insisted while he continued to stare at me like I had sprouted a second head.

"You're a nice guy, Ben, but… But I'm not ready," I stated simply with a shrug of dismissal that only seemed to piss him off.

"If this is about your husband…" he began in an annoyed tone that he tried to hide with a laugh, but I could see through it.

"My husband is not the problem," I spat out at him in short snippy words. "My problem is that you are not listening to me and the last thing I need is another man who can't be bothered to listen to what I want."

I watched Ben's eyes go wide with shock for a moment before he nodded and mumbled a soft good night. I watched as he turned to scurry away from me back towards his card with one last worried look in my direction.

"Damn it," I mumbled as Ben drove off in a hurry to get away from me while images of awkward work days avoiding him mixed with whispers from Ben of how I was crazy filtering through the staff lounge.

I am so fucked.

Now it would be all about damage control starting with the moment. I took a quick look around to see who might have witnessed my brief freak out to tell my father who would only use it against me. Surprisingly, I found the lot empty for a Friday night. The people were probably still inside talking about how Ben and I were tossed out so there was that gossip to look forward to.

"Oh thank god," I muttered to myself as I breathed out a sigh of relief as I leaned against my car. It was there as I silently congratulated myself from having any more witnesses to my crazy that I noticed him. He was half hidden in the shadows like a spirit leaning against the wall with that damn bag of M & M's in hands while silently watching me. It was unnerving in the worst possible way and the more I stared at him, the more pointlessly angry I became.

Who was this guy to constantly judge me with his half smirks and blank stares? He had no idea what I had been through or what I dealt with when it came to Dad. He had no idea at all, yet there he stood with his silent judgment watching me fall to pieces.

"What?" I yelled at him from across the distance, releasing the districted rage I felt over everything falling apart in my life at the one man who remain nearby.

I waited for something, some response while half expecting him to turn tail and run like any normal person would, but I was quickly learning Edward Cullen wasn't normal. He actually was far from it. Instead of making a run for it, Edward only smiled and shook his head at me while chuckling as he leisurely made his way to his car. It was as if I had told him some joke instead of screamed at him like a lunatic. It was maddening in the nicest way possible and the last thing I had expected from him.

AN:

Thanks for reading & for the great response to this story. You guys are wonderful.

XOXO

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