The Tutor

Chapter 7 – Victory

It had been one week of Edward being on "lockdown" on school nights, and Carlisle was being driven insane by his son's behavior. Though he abided by the rules and stayed home on weeknights, Edward made sure that no one was comfortable in his presence. When the telephone rang, he'd pick it up and hang it up without even finding out who was on the line. He blared his stereo until the windows shook. He disconnected the modem and fax machine in Carlisle's office and for three hours Carlisle missed out on very important emails and faxes. Though there wasn't hard evidence of the latter, Carlisle was sure Edward had been behind the "odd happenings" in the home.

"He is out of control," Carlisle admitted in frustration late Tuesday night. "I have a pharmaceutical consultant coming over on Thursday and I don't want to risk my professionalism by having Edward pull one of his crazy stunts."

"You're having a consultant come here?" Esme asked as she snuggled up to her husband in their over-sized bed.

"Yes. Remember, I told you that I'm going to try to handle more meetings from the home office. It's the reason I had the separate entrance put in," Carlisle explained.

"Oh, yes, that's right." Esme nodded against his chest. "Well…Edward wasn't too bad on Monday…"

"What's one night?" Carlisle stated in exasperation. "Esme, what are we going to do about him? He is seriously running me ragged."

"He's a teenager. And don't worry about Thursday. I'll take care of it."

"How?"

"Don't worry about it. Just leave it to me. What time is your meeting?"

"Four o'clock. Trust me, I tried as hard as I could to schedule it to happen while Edward was at school, but it didn't work out."

"Four o'clock. Got it. Trust me. It'll be fine."

As much as he loved his wife, Carlisle did not trust that she would be able to control Edward, and that was unfortunate, because this "client" was offering Carlisle a huge commission to undergo studies on a new medication. If everything worked out, it would be the edge Carlisle needed to start his private practice. All that was standing in his way was the hefty sum the insurance company wanted to secure his malpractice policy. It angered Carlisle that such an important stepping-stone hinged on Edward's behavior. He had considered sending Edward to a friend's house, or on an errand, but he'd decided against it for two reasons. First, Edward was way too irresponsible for an errand, and if he made an exception to his rule of staying in on school nights, Carlisle knew Edward would be unrelenting until he got him to relax his position again. Carlisle knew he had to stand firm, even if it meant he had to sacrifice a little bit. After all, that's what being a parent was all about…right?

********

It was a rare sunny day in Forks and Bella found her spirits to be lifted slightly by the sun. And she wasn't the only one. Angela had found her after history class and had begun speaking to her about something other than schoolwork. That was a good sign that the 'nerd façade' was fading. And then, a tall lanky guy walked up and joined in on the conversation as if he'd been standing there the entire time. At first Bella was nervous. Who was this guy, and what did he want?

This guy turned out to be Ben and he looked like he was slightly-more-than-a-friend to Angela. And he was hilarious. It was the hardest Bella had laughed since she'd moved from Phoenix. It felt nice to laugh.

Suddenly Edward walked by and Bella's laughter ended abruptly. She didn't even know why she'd stopped. He didn't really do anything. He didn't bump into her – he wasn't close enough to touch her. But he wasn't far enough away to go unnoticed. In fact, his proximity to her had been almost calculated; more than a casual passing, but nothing he could ever be held to if accused. Even his facial expression…he'd stared straight ahead, but there was a slight smirk on his face. Bella turned to see if he'd turned around or headed for her locker. He didn't. He just kept walking. Huh. Maybe I'm imagining things.

Ben was no longer funny. Bella cordially excused herself and headed to her next class…her Edward Cullen class.

Funny how she called it that when he didn't even bother to show up.

********

"How's life in Edwardland?" Jessica asked as she snuck up behind Rosalie.

"Ssh!" Rosalie's eyes darted around to make sure no one had heard. "I told you not to say his name out loud."

"Oh please. Like everyone doesn't know you're hot for him," Jessica rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, still. I don't like to flaunt my bid'ness," Rosalie made air quotes for her slang. "Which reminds me, your little "get the guy" plan isn't working."

"That's because you're not sticking to the plan," Jessica responded almost immediately. "I heard you asked him to a party last week. You weren't supposed to do that."

"Technically, I didn't ask him. I had one of his friends ask him."

"Yeah, well you were supposed to be playing hard to get, not throwing yourself at him, which I'm sure you did."

Rosalie didn't confirm or deny Jessica's statement. Instead, she lowered her eyes and her voice.

"I wish I didn't like him."

"Why do you?" Jessica asked. "No offense, but I don't see the draw."

"Don't see the draw? Have you looked at him?" Rosalie asked in disbelief.

"He is cute, I'll give you that. But as soon as he opens his mouth…it's all downhill. He's repulsive."

"He has other redeeming qualities."

"Name one."

"Hands down, absolutely the best kisser in the universe."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot you guys hooked up. What else is he good at?" Jessica pried.

"Everything." Rosalie topped her statement off with an evil laugh.

********

By the time the school day ended, the sun had faded behind a mass of clouds. Edward and Jasper quickly made their way to the student parking lot and Jasper's waiting car.

"How much time do you have before your parents notice you're missing?" Jasper asked Edward.

"Not today, man." Edward shook his head. "I've got … something I have to do."

"Something or someone?" Jasper raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Just drive the car," Edward shook his head and laughed.

Upon arrival at Jasper's house, Jasper ran inside to retrieve a video game for Edward. Edward was about to follow him, but spotted Jasper's brother, Emmett, in the garage.

Emmett was one of the few people in the world that Edward would actually admit to having respect for. Edward overlooked the fact that Emmett was an avid athlete (Edward hated team sports) and admired the way that Emmett never seemed to perceive himself as being better than anyone…even though he basically was better than everyone at everything. Despite the fact that Emmett had the looks, the girl, the car, the status, Edward didn't envy him. Instead he looked up to him and held him in high regard – though, again, he'd never admit that to anyone.

"Hey," Edward managed as he walked into the garage to get a closer look at the decal Emmett was affixing to the hood of his cherry-red Mustang.

"Oh, hey, Edward. What are you up to?" Emmett looked up long enough to greet Edward. "Haven't seen you around in a while."

"Yeah. I'm on house arrest." Edward rolled his eyes.

Emmett have Edward his undivided attention for a moment until he ascertained that Edward was making a joke. "No, seriously. Where ya been?"

"At home. My parents decided on this no going out on school days thing. We'll see how long it lasts."

Emmett laughed. "Yeah, my parents tried that out on me once. Until they realized how much of a pain in the ass I was to have around."

Edward laughed. That was exactly the tactic he had planned to employ.

The mention of parents caused Edward to check his phone for the time. "Jasper better hurry up," he muttered.

"You guys hanging out?" Emmett asked in reference to his brother.

"Are you kidding? The only people Jasper hangs out with these days are Alice, Alice and Alice. The only reason he's here now is because she has that damn cheerleading crap." Edward spat out.

Emmett laughed. "Maybe she'll hook you up with one of the squad."

"No thanks," Edward feigned disgust. "Not my type."

"Oh this oughta be good," Emmett stopped what he was doing. "What's your type?"

Not one to disappoint, Edward answered readily, "Virgins."

Emmett shook his head and laughed. "Should have known you'd come up with something ridiculous like that."

"There's nothin' finer than tight, sweet, brand new pussy."

"Yeah, but you know what happens if you're just in it to get laid."

"What?"

"Virgins are clingy. It takes forever for them to let go of their 'first'. Some never do." Emmett schooled.

Edward shrugged. "Not my problem."

Finally Jasper emerged, waving a video game. "C'mon. Alice's practice is almost over and she hates it when I'm late.

Edward rolled his eyes at Emmett. "Get a load of Jaspertina over here."

"One of these days, that's gonna be you, Edward. Some girl is gonna get you so whipped, you'll be wearing her panties." Emmett laughed.

"Never," Edward assured him.

On the road to the Cullen residence, Edward turned to Jasper with a distraught look on his face. "You wear Alice's panties?"

********

Bella's good mood still hadn't deflated, despite a sudden change to her schedule. Esme Cullen had called Tuesday evening to cancel Wednesday's tutoring session, and had asked Bella to come on Thursday instead. Bella hadn't had a reason to say no, so she readily agreed. Now, on Thursday afternoon, as Bella headed towards Edward's house, she wondered why she needed to come today instead of yesterday. Her mind raced to create boring scenarios that would necessitate a change.

Her thoughts distracted her as she drove, until suddenly she noticed blue and red lights flashing behind her. Her father had driven a police cruiser for most of her life, so she knew what lights without a siren meant. Immediately she pulled over and rolled down her window.

"Yes, officer?" she asked respectfully when the officer approached her car door.

"Do you know how fast you were going?" the officer asked as he looked over the driver's license Bella held out to him.

Fast? He would've had a better chance of convincing her that she was going to slow, but never too fast.

"Are you saying I was speeding?" Bella asked in disbelief.

"Fifty-five in a thirty-five." The officer prattled.

"Fifty-" Bella choked before finishing the number. "Do you know how much effort I'd have to expend to get this truck to go fifty-five miles per hour?

The officer remained silent as he wrote out Bella's ticket. She looked at him in shock as he handed her a summons for a mandatory court appearance. Ugh. Wait until my dad finds out about this one…

By the time Bella made it to the Cullen's home, she was a nervous wreck. Esme eyed her carefully as she led her back to the den, but Bella didn't offer up any explanation for her anxiousness. Instead, she apologized for the five minutes she was late, before taking a seat at the large mahogany table to wait for Edward. By the time he emerged, she had her head down on the table, defeated by her anguish.

"Well this is a first – the tutor falls asleep." Edward said as he took a seat across from Bella.

"I'm not asleep," She popped up quickly. Without looking at him, she started throwing books and papers around. "Here. We need to start on section three."

When there was no response to her words, Bella looked over to see Edward staring at her, as if he could see right through her.

"I got a speeding ticket," Bella blurted out. "I wasn't even speeding!"

It was Edward's first inclination to answer with a disinterested 'so?', but, instead he looked out the open window and snorted, "In that dinosaur?"

"I know," Bella agreed. "What the hell is that?"

Edward hadn't expected her acceptance of the ridicule of her truck.

"Sucks to be you," Edward sniffed as he leaned back on the hind legs of his chair.

"Tell me about it," Bella mumbled. "My dad is going to kill me."

Edward frowned at the fact that Bella thought he was making conversation with her. He wasn't. He obviously was putting out the wrong vibe if she thought he was interested in what she was saying. And she was still talking! Edward was just about to interrupt when she said something of interest:

"I know my dad is going to make me take the Washington State driving test. Just to prove a point. Now I'll have to study that thing in addition to all this crap," she gestured towards the books on the table.

"Driving test?" Edward sat up straight in his chair. "I have to take that, too."

"You do? Why? Don't you have your license?" Bella inquired.

Edward shook his head. "I'm getting it. I didn't have grades for driver's ed last year so I have to do it this year."

"I didn't know you could take Driver's Ed as a junior."

"I'm not taking it through the school."

"Oh."

"I, uh, haven't seen the book they use. Have you?"

"I think you can download it from the Internet."

An awkward silence loomed over them as they each tried to figure out the next thing to say to one another. Bella was amazed at the manner in which Edward was speaking – such a lack of hostility. And Edward was trying to figure out how he could work the driver's education angle to his advantage…without Bella knowing his deficiency, of course.

"I'd much rather study that than this," he pointed to the table.

"I don't make the rules." Bella shrugged.

"But you'd benefit, too, if we did that instead."

"I'm not so sure, " Bella narrowed her eyes at him. "I haven't been able to get you to complete one single worksheet since we've been working at this…almost three weeks now. What's it going to look like if we start working on something completely unrelated? Mr. Leary is keeping track of how well we do, you know."

"Mr. Leary's a queer."

Bella looked at Edward humorlessly. And there he is. I was beginning to think this was a fake Edward sitting in front of me.

"I'll match you, section for section." Edward finally stated.

Bella looked at him in shock. "You're actually bargaining with me, with your own grades? That doesn't make any sense."

"You said yourself that Mr. Leary is keeping track of how we do, which means that you have something to gain from this, too. What is it?"

"A recommendation for my college applications." Bella disclosed.

"Fine, so you get your recommendation and I get to study driver's ed, in addition to wasting my life away with the most boring subject on earth."

Suddenly it all became clear to Bella and she grinned. "You need help with Driver's Ed!"

"Why waste time doing one subject when I can do two?" Edward asked.

"You need help. Admit it. Admit it and I'll do it."

"No."

"Fine. English only, then."

"And no college recommendation."

"I'll just tell them that you were disinterested and uncooperative. Miss Teale and the rest of your grades will back me up."

Edward was silent. "You're a –"

Bella gasped as she anticipated the word Edward was going to use to describe her.

"-stubborn person," he completed.

"So are you," she said when she realized what he'd said.

"Section for section and you get your college recommendation. That's the deal."

"Section for section, I get my college recommendation and you admit that you need my help. That's the deal." Bella countered.

"Nope."

"Fine. And I think our time is up for the day. Are we done here?"

Edward didn't answer her with words. Instead, he simply got up and walked out of the den, leaving Bella alone to pack up her things and let herself out.

********

When Esme returned home from dropping Maddie off at school on Friday morning, she smiled to see her husband snuggled tightly beneath the sheets. Carlisle had gone to the hospital to make rounds after his meeting on the previous day so Esme had hardly gotten to see him. She leaned over and kissed his forehead, successfully waking him up.

"Mmm," he mumbled as he stretched. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine-thirty." Esme answered softly.

"Edward at school?"

"Yes. He left over an hour ago. And boy was he grumpy."

"Why?" Carlisle propped himself up on his elbow.

"Who knows. You know how moody he is these days."

"Don't I ever," Carlisle laid down flat again.

"So, how'd your meeting go yesterday? I've been dying to hear." Esme took a seat on the bed.

"It went great. Babe, I think this is really going to work out for us," Carlisle took his wife's hand in his. "Thanks for keeping Edward at bay."

"I told you I'd take care of it."

"You sure did." Carlisle agreed. "What'd you end up doing, anyway?"

"I had Bella come over yesterday instead of Wednesday."

"Bella."

"Yeah. He tends to behave when she's here."

"Huh. I hadn't noticed."

"Sure you did. Remember, you said he was fine on Monday? It was because Bella came that day. I think she frustrates him…in a good way."

"Whatever works."

********

As Bella took a seat, her seat, in her second period history class, she couldn't help the smile that insisted upon remaining on her face. Despite the dirty looks she got from Rosalie, the 'Please Explain' that was written on her essay or the pop quiz that had just been announced. On any other day, any one of those things would have been enough to render Bella in a foul mood. But not today. Because today she'd have a victory and it was no small one.

Just after her first class, Bella had gone to her locker as usual to get her history book. As soon as she'd administered the correct combination on the lock and opened it up, a small, crumpled piece of paper fell at her feet. When she picked it up and read it, a warm feeling washed over her entire body. For there on that paper, was her victory:

I ned yur hellp