A/n: Hey again. Sorry for the delay but this chapter is slightly longer.
It'd be lovely if I could receive some nice reviews from anybody who reads this? I seem to be reviewed by Suzie, and that's, like, it. Not that I don't love you m'dear :)
Either way, thanks for reading anyway, and come back later for more! ;)

So far, I was going with 'horrifically badly'.

Josh asked me to wait under a sheltered porch whilst he parked his car. I got out, holding my bag above my head in an attempt to keep myself dry. It didn't really work. The rain dropped in large beads into my hair. I'd decided to just curl it slightly more than its normal style; it suited the dress well. Once under the cover of the roof, I took a small comb from my clutch and ran it through my curls. They bounced back, holding happily. Disaster averted. I unzipped my long black coat to smooth down the front of my dress, it seemed okay. Once I was sure my outfit was still decent, I searched the parking lot for Josh's retreating figure.

I really was unsure of how he wanted me to feel towards him. More importantly, I was lost at how I wanted to feel about him. I knew he liked me; of course, he'd made that completely obvious, but I'd, so far, made no attempt to reciprocate his advances. I'd never been much of a flirt and, I knew that any flirting I did par take in was unintentional. I appreciated his tameness so far. I knew of his previous ventures with the girls of our school well enough to know he was definitely slowing down for me. I also admired his persistence. So far, we'd had a few 'moments' in which I'd shown no romantic emotions towards him, yet he still kept trying. Maybe things could work out, after all? As for how I felt - God only knows. I knew that finding someone else would be a better idea than sitting at home and dwelling on the past, but was I really ready to let another man into my life after the disaster that had been my first boyfriend? Josh is different, my mind told me; I knew it was right in certain respects, but how could I be sure I wouldn't get hurt again? The answer: I couldn't. Sure, Josh wasn't of mythical species. Josh was a human boy. That was what set him apart from Edward. Josh was normal and stable. He ate, drank, slept… he was just like me. But even so, being human did not mean he would never hurt me; frankly, it meant the exact opposite. We all made mistakes. I wasn't sure if I wanted to put myself out there all over again if I'd only end up being crushed like before. Hell, I still wasn't even over the first blow, how could I survive another?

But like Angela had said, maybe being with Josh could help me in healing from the first upset. You can't use him like that, I scolded myself. I didn't want to take advantage of his affections, but my feelings might change if I gave them half a chance to catch up. Might. Could I honestly lead him on in the hope that my emotions towards him would alter? I'd been brought up with more respect for the feelings of others and it would be unfair of me to do so. I knew he wished for me to like him in return, but how would he feel if he knew that I was living in hope of my emotions? Would he rather I'd not raised his hopes in pursuing a relationship with me? Would he have been glad I'd given him a chance? I suspected what would be his decision, and that lead me to think what I was doing was wrong…

I agreed to come tonight purely to kill two birds with one stone. Charlie was happy I was getting out more and enjoying my time rather than wallowing in it, and Josh was happy that I'd consented coming to a social event as his date. As much as it was bad in the long run, I did want to make as many people as possible happy, and my moping around didn't help anyone. Maybe this was the right time to pull myself up off the floor and climb out of this hole I'd dug myself. Damn, if I didn't start now, it'd only be more difficult later. With this urge plain in my mind, I knew that tonight was a good idea. To satisfy my family and friends, I needed to find a constructive outlet on which to release my anger, and come out fighting. I could do it.

My new mental strategy clear, I hunted the parking lot again. I stood on my tip-toes from under the porch, not wanting to get wet. Josh's head became apparent among the sea of cars and I noticed him running towards me. He looked left and right before crossing the road and finding me.

He looked up, his hair absolutely soaked; the rain must be getting heavier. He shrugged off his coat and shook it out, making sure he didn't drench me. "You alright, Bella?" He asked, noticing my eyes watching his movements.

Josh looked… well, hot coming in from the down pour. This new outlook must have been working, I felt better about Josh already. I strode towards him and his eyes followed me. It took me a second to realise he was still waiting for me to answer. I nodded, stopping by his side. "Did you park okay?" I spoke more out of politeness than longing to know about his vehicle troubles.

"Yeah. The lot's packed; I hope the halls big enough." He voiced his concern to me, at which I smiled. If he could speak openly to me, even about such trivial things, why couldn't I trust him in return?

I wanted this to work. Josh was by no means unattractive. There were many girls in the school I knew of who would gladly soak up his affection, but he wanted mine, something, up until a few moments ago, had scared me. Here, beside me, was a genuine guy, a friend who honestly liked me, and I'd wanted to throw that away. My mind flashed briefly on Jake's face. He wanted me to feel differently towards him too, but that was a totally separate situation. Me and Jake… we just couldn't be like that. We were far too familiar to ever work. Our friendship would fall apart and I couldn't stand for that. Josh, however, was dissimilar. We could definitely function together. He'd already proven his willingness to wait for me with his slow and calm advances; maybe he could be happy with my affection blooming at a sluggish pace? Also, I knew Josh well enough to know that, if the event arose and it didn't work, if we couldn't form any relationship bonds, we would both be content with returning to the friendship we'd had before. I was most certainly willing to give this a shot.

I reached up to his hair and ruffled it with my fingers. They were soon sodden, but his hair showed life and was no longer flat from the rain. He laughed. "Hey! What are you doing?"

I was still smiling when I replied, placing my arm through his. "Sorting out your hair, the rain ruined it." I clarified. "Are you ready to go inside?"

Giving me a sideways glance, he patted my hand. "Yeah, let's get this show on the road." He gave me a sly wink and walked forward.

I followed him as he trailed a couple in front of us. The corridors seemed empty, as any school feels after the day has ended. The hallways felt longer than usual and I was happy to arrive at the hall doors.

"You sure you're okay? Feeling alright in those shoes?" Josh turned to ask me, a huge grin on his lips.

I opened my mouth to show shock; I'd only tripped twice so far and I was quite proud of myself. "I think I'm doing really well! It could have been worse."

He gave me a sly look from under his eye lashes and I giggled. "Honestly, I'm fine." I tried to make my voice sound earnest, but I'm sure I failed.

Nodding, he reached his hand up to cup mine once more. My hand was still at his lower arm and I felt his fingers twine with mine. I blushed from the intense look in his now serious eyes, and had to look down. My legs were shaky and I fell gradually into his side.

I shook my head. "Sorry…" I trailed off, but he didn't seem to hear. As I tried to haul myself back to standing, he snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me back. I was stable again. Trying to make a light joke of the whole experience, I laughed. "Thanks."

"I told you those shoes were a bad idea." He smiled, watching me with questioning eyes. Once he was sure I was comfortable and steady on my feet, he adjusted his arm so he was gripping my side. His support was much appreciated. "You ready to go inside?"

I nodded, "I'm about as ready as I'll ever be." My words sounded nervous, and I felt his fingers dig into my skin in empathy.

"I'll look after you." He smiled, walking forward and pushing open the doors.

I wasn't surprised by the state of hall; I was more scared of my reaction. The walls were covered in long, pink streamers over banners welcoming students to dance. Tables lined a central dance floor, each flooded in a large, tissue paper table cloth. The tabletops were made brighter with candles and glitter. Disco lights were flashing quickly across the dance floor and there were loads of people up, strutting their stuff. Towards our end of the hall, there was a buffet table with numerous drinks and snacks available. Josh wandered straight to the food. I thought he would. I groaned, actually out loud, when the room's full effect sunk in. He turned to me as he dragged me for sustenance.

"What's wrong?" He asked, using his free hand to reach for some cocktail sausages.

I looked around, throwing up my arms in infuriation. "This room is a death trap! Before I leave here tonight, I will have injured myself. You just wait…" I said ominously.

He laughed at my tone. "I told you, I'll look after you. Stick with me and you'll be fine."

I scolded myself internally. I couldn't believe I'd let myself in for this! I don't even like social events! Why the hell had I come tonight? And to add to my self-annoyance, I'd come in ne of the most insensible pairs of shoes I owned. This night could only get worse – no doubt I'd end up tripping and throwing soda over Josh's suit. I could see it now…

"Hey, Bella!" I searched the crowds for the voice that had shouted me. With the constant change in visibility, it took me a few seconds to spot Jessica on the dance floor, waving madly towards me. Her arm protectively draped across Mike's shoulders, she made a gesture for me to join her. I quickly looked to Josh for salvation.

His fingers delving even further into the food platter, he didn't seem to be able to hear me at first. I raised my voice above the music. "Josh?" I asked for the second time, squeezing his hand at my waist. "Hello?" He turned, his mouth stuffed, quite comically, with pizza. Smiling, I spoke closer to his ear. "Jessica's asking me to dance with her; can we sit down and look deep in conversation so that I've got an excuse to ignore her?" I wanted to laugh out loud at the tone in my voice; I sounded like a moaning child.

Swallowing, he nodded and smiled. "Sure. You want me to look all moody so she thinks I'm stopping you?"

I nodded. "That'd be great, thanks." I beamed up at him and watched as his face shifted. Suddenly, he looked absolutely livid.

"Come on, we'll sit over there." He pointed to a table far enough from the DJ that we could have a regular conversation, but sufficiently close that we didn't look anti-social. "You want a drink?" His featured looked uncharacteristically unhappy. It was funny.

I nodded, trying to make a show of giving up my 'argument' with him. I twisted away from him as he made his way to the punch bowl. Finding quick eye contact with Jess, I shrugged in an attempt to let her know I'd tried. She looked miffed at first, I guess I'd created yet another reason for her to dislike Josh; she wasn't his number one fan anyway.

A took the glass from Josh and followed as he took my hand and made his way to the table. He smiled back at me as he walked.

His face looked so infantile as he grinned his easy smile into my eyes. I felt slightly dazed as the joy emanated from him and rubbed off on me. I blushed involuntarily and gaped at him. I watched as he laughed until I heard my name.

"Bella?" I turned to the sound, my face twisted into a childlike giggle. My eyes partially closed, I felt the cup slip between my fingers and, with the force from my quick spin, I hurled the glass from my hand and into the air.

The split second later, when my eyes were opened, I looked up to find Jessica stood before me, her slimming turquoise dress drenched from my drink.