Epov
I walked away from the table feeling oddly uncomfortable. I had been excited to see Bella. I thought we made some good progress over the weekend, and I was hoping lunch would hold more of the same. I got down to the cafeteria a little earlier than usual in the hopes I could get some extra alone time in, but when I arrived at our usual spot, Bella wasn't alone.
Her friend Heidi started with the heavy flirting the minute I sat down. I wasn't really sure what to do, so I tried to keep my answers to her questions vague. I didn't want her to think I was interested, but I also didn't want to be rude to Bella's friend.
Had I come on too strong on Saturday? Did Bella not want to be alone with me? She didn't seem very happy during lunch.
As much as I hated to admit it, I officially needed advice. Unfortunately, that would have to wait; I had a class to get to.
***
"Okay, so you like her. I don't get the problem. Ask her out." Emmett looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"You don't understand. Jasper, you get it, right?" I was hoping someone understood how sensitive the situation was.
"To be honest, I'm with Emmett on this one. You need to ask her out before you're irrevocably in the friend zone," Jasper said. Huh?
"How do I know if I'm in the friend zone?" Now I was worried.
"You're probably still okay, I mean it's only been like a month," Jasper said.
"Has she ever taken her shirt off in front of you, you know, not in the good way? That's a big sign," Emmett said thoughtfully.
"Emmett girls don't actually do that." Do they? "And no she hasn't, the piercing thing doesn't count, right? I mean she didn't really take her shirt off, and we weren't alone." I looked over at Emmett.
"No, that doesn't count. And girls do in fact take their shirts off; maybe someday if you're really lucky you might be in the room for it," Emmett laughed. I chucked the closest magazine at him.
"Emmett, I've been in the room when a girl took her shirt off. You're not helping." Maybe asking Emmett for advice was a bad idea.
"Really? Now we're getting somewhere. Tell us more." He looked at me attentively. I rolled my eyes.
"Can we get back to my immediate problem? How do I figure out if Bella is interested?" I asked.
"Well, with Alice, after we had bumped into each other a couple times, it was obvious we had a connection," Jasper said thoughtfully. "Sounds like you feel that way about Bella. Here's what I did: the first couple times Alice and I met up it was in the laundry room."
"Very romantic," snickered Emmett.
"Keep going Jasper," I said, speaking over Emmett.
"Okay, so I went down there on a Tuesday night around ten, it's always empty then."
"How do you know that?" asked Emmett.
"That's not important. I set up the table we usually sit at with candles and a picnic table cloth, got some of her favorite stuff out of the vending machine, called and asked her if she could meet me there. She was touched that we had our first date, you know, in 'our place.'" Jasper looked at me expectantly.
"Okay Jasper. One, Bella isn't a girly girl like Alice. I don't think the frilly romantic stuff would do that much for her. Two, we don't have a 'place.' Unless you count the cafeteria, which is not romantic. Besides, I don't have access to it when it's empty…" I took a breath.
"Three," Emmett interrupted, "Do you have a penis?" Jasper narrowed his eyes and I stifled a laugh. I mean, Jasper's idea was a little over the top.
"Okay, Edward, let me tell you how a man asks a woman out. I marched right up to Rose's room knocked on her door and said, 'Rosie baby, you're mine,'" Emmett grinned.
"And then she slapped you," Jasper said.
"Well, yeah, at first."
"You went over there three times. When you came back the third time your face was red for like five hours."
"But the fourth time, when I asked her out nicely, she totally kissed me." Emmett smiled, obviously pleased with himself.
"I can't tell you how incredibly unhelpful this has been," I sighed. "I'm just going to ask her out like a regular person." Now all I needed was a plan.
Bpov
Heidi followed me up to my room after lunch, grilling me about Edward the entire time. I sat in my desk chair and she sprawled out on our couch.
"Bella, college is the time to find a good man. And you've got to start early before the herd starts thinning," she looked at me seriously. "Now I get the sense that you're a bit of a loner, so I want to help you out." I cringed internally. I had been so sure this year was going to erase my past and here was tall, busty, and beautiful woman looking right through me.
"I mean, have you considered what you're looking for in a husband?" she asked. A what?
"Heidi, I'm eighteen. I'm not looking for a husband." She huffed at me.
"Of course you are! Why else would you date? Oh, you're going to need a lot help; it's a good thing I'm here. You should never date a man in college that isn't husband material. You can hook up with other guys, but that's a topic for a different day.
"There are some key points to look for in a guy. He should be smart, like Edward. Math and science are always good. Smart men have good careers. It helps if they come from money, then you know if their career doesn't pan you're still taken care of. I could tell from Edward's clothes that his family is well off. I mean, did you see his shoes?"
I never noticed his shoes before. We talked about our parents before, but he never mentioned being loaded. Although, when does that come up in casual conversation?
"And it goes without saying they should be good looking. I mean, you have to think about your kids. Edward and I will have beautiful children." She got a faraway look in her eye, clearly picturing her fairy tale life as Mrs. Edward Cullen.
This day was in a death spiral. It had started with such promise, and now Heidi was having imaginary babies with my crush.
"Don't look so worried, Bella. You could be girl-next-door cute if we put you together right. You should probably be able to get a pretty cute guy too. Some guys are really into that look." Not Edward. I felt like she may as well have said it. Some guys. I was a charity case.
"Okay, so here are some important tips. You should always be what people want you to be. If he's interested in math, then so are you. Your date is always funny. Laugh at his jokes. Always tell him it's your first time. Apply that rule wherever it seems to make sense. Men love being the first. You should only be hanging out in places where the right kind of men are. Study in the law library or the medical library."
"Oh God, I almost forgot! If they seem kind of sweet, like Edward, even better. They'll marry you because they love you, less chance you'll have to sign a pre-nup."
She was serious. She had really thought all of this through. I was hoping Edward and I could maybe get a burger some night. I had briefly imagined him kissing me goodnight. I certainly hadn't named our children or assessed the trust fund. Is that what he wanted? I sat in silence through her entire talk. I had no idea what to say. She glanced at her watch.
"I have to go. I'll see you in class," she said as she swept up her bag and walked to the door. "And Bella, as a friend, I noticed at lunch today you could really eat better. That junk food will all end up on your hips." And then she was gone, along with my dream of a burger with Edward. Apparently my hips couldn't handle a burger. I laid my head down on my desk and stared at my alarm clock. How was it only two?
A nap would make this day better. A nap made all things better. I curled up on the sofa and willed away the memory of my disastrous afternoon.
Edward holds Heidi in his arms.
"You're right, Heidi darling. We will have beautiful children. I'm so glad I found someone as beautiful and perfect as you." He leans down to kiss her.
I woke with start. Oh perfect, just perfect. I couldn't even nap.
"Good morning, Bella," came a voice from behind me.
"Ahhhhhh!" I landed on the floor with a thump, twisting around to find the source of the voice. Eric was sitting in my desk chair.
"Eric, what are you doing in my room?" I sputtered.
"Well I knocked, but you didn't answer, so I let myself in," he said.
"I was asleep…"
"I know. I was waiting. Did you know you talk in your sleep?" he asked. Oh crap. I was aware I talked in my sleep, and I was more than a little creeped out that Eric had been sitting watching me.
"What do you need Eric?" Maybe that was too abrupt, but I still felt groggy and I just realized I was still on the floor.
"Oh nothing, I was just, you know, over here. I thought I would come visit you," he answered.
***
It was eight. I hadn't spoken to Eric for almost an hour, yet there he sat on our couch. Around six I excused myself to go down to the cafeteria to get dinner in the hopes he would take the hint. He hadn't. He followed me down and then back up again. It might have been bearable if he had spoken. He didn't though, he just sat there quietly. I tried to keep the conversation going for the first hour or so, but he answered every question with one or two words answers. Conversation got painful, fast. I was out of ideas, nothing made him leave. Frankly, I would have told him I was going to bed really early if I would have thought that would have worked. Every time I heard a voice in the hall I prayed they would stop in our room, but so far, no such luck.
Finally, Alice flitted through the door.
"Hey Bella!" she stopped and looked at Eric and then back to me. I gave her my best pleading expression. "Hi Eric."
"Oh, hi Alice," he looked at his lap. "Well, I guess I should be going…." he stammered.
"Bye," I said without looking up. I heard him leave the room and let out a huge sigh.
"What was that about?" asked Alice.
"I honestly have no idea. I'm just hoping there isn't a repeat in my future."
The rest of the week followed in equally disastrous fashion. On Tuesday in our art class the teacher used my drawing as an example of what-not-to-do in front of the entire class. While Alice was sympathetic, her drawing was the how-to-do-this-correctly example, so I wasn't really comforted.
Lunch on Wednesday with Edward was horribly awkward. He kept opening his mouth and closing it again. I couldn't figure out what he was trying to spit out, until finally he managed, "How's your friend Heidi?"
By Thursday, I was officially ready to crawl into my bed and never come out. My day was finally over and I sighed in relief as I walked toward the door of my dorm room. Alas, relief was not to be mine. My foot snagged on the door jamb and before I could get my hands in front of me I found myself flat on my face on our floor. The tears that had been threatening all week spilled over, I couldn't help it. Before I knew it, I was sobbing hysterically into the thin, rough carpeting.
"Oh my God, Bella! Are you okay? Is your nose broken? Are you bleeding?" Alice rushed to my side. I rolled toward her.
"No I'm not okay. I'm fat and ugly and awkward. And Heidi is going to marry Edward and make pretty babies with nice shoes," I started sobbing again. Alice sat in silence for a minute.
"Bella, honey, you're none of those things. Did something happen with you and Edward?" she asked. I found myself retelling Heidi's pep talk on Monday and explaining my mortification at thinking Edward might have been interested in me.
"Sweetie, you're not the one off base here. We are going to have a nice long talk when I get back from my date, but for now I think we should fill in Rose," she sighed. I wasn't sure I wanted anyone else to know, but maybe Rose could help. I sat up and wiped my eyes.
"You finish getting ready, Alice. I'll go get her." I stood up and headed next door, taking care to take an exaggerated step over the door jamb. I poked my head in the open door.
"Rose?"
"She's not here. She's on her date with Emmett," replied Jessica.
"Oh." It was all I could think to say.
"What's wrong, were you crying?" she asked. I noticed Lauren sitting on their couch she glanced up and looked me over.
"I guess you could say it's been a bad week. Alice is going on a date tonight to so I was just looking for Rose," I responded.
"You know what you need?" Jessica asked. "A party! Come with us, we know some guys throwing a party up on the eighth floor. It'll be fun, come on Bella. Thirsty Thursday!" I glanced in Lauren's direction.
"Yeah, you should totally come," she deadpanned. Okay, so Lauren didn't want me to go. A party with Jessica and Lauren would still be better than sitting in my room alone.
"Okay Jessica, just let me get changed and cleaned up," I said. Jessica clapped her hands happily.
"Oh this is going to be so much fun!" she squealed. I walked back in my room and found Alice ready to go with a purse slung over her shoulder.
"Rose is out with Emmett. Jessica invited me to a party with her and Lauren. I'm going to go, maybe it'll take my mind off things." I frowned; my week had been such a train wreck I didn't even know what I needed to be distracted from at this point.
"A party would be good… do you want me to go with you? I can reschedule with Jasper."
"No, don't be silly. I'm a big girl. I can handle it," I said smiling. I really didn't want her cancelling her date over my little breakdown, even though I was nervous about going out with just Jessica and Lauren.
"Maybe you could ask Angela?" she suggested.
"That's a good idea, Alice! She's probably over at Ben's. I'll swing through on our way up," I smiled, genuinely this time. I felt better already.
"On your way up? Where is this party?" she asked.
"I don't know, Jess said some guys on the eighth floor are having it," I shrugged.
"Oh," Alice looked concerned. "Ummm, I think I know which guys they're talking about."
"What's wrong?" It seemed like an odd reaction from her. Alice was always enthusiastic about a good party.
"The thing is… those guys are kinda of into the conquest. I've heard they keep lists."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I furrowed my eyebrows. Alice let out a big sigh.
"They compete to see who can get the most girls to do different, um, 'things.'"
"Oh. Oh. That's gross," I said.
"Yeah, but hey, it could still be fun. Just make sure you take Angela. And remember they can look, but they can't touch. I think they're harmless enough, just kind of douche bags," Alice shrugged. "Let me help you get ready."
"You'll be late," I protested.
"No, Jasper wasn't expecting me for another thirty minutes anyway," she laughed.
In the end, I was glad I let Alice help me. Forty five minutes later I was in an elevator with Jessica and Lauren and you would never have guessed what a sobbing mess I was earlier. Even though Alice didn't approve of the company at this party, she had insisted that I look my best. She thought that I should show them the kind of woman they wouldn't be getting. I shook my head at her. Maybe I wasn't fat and ugly, maybe, but I wasn't a prize catch. I doubt my cleavage was going to set them straight. I wasn't sure how Alice managed to get my cleavage to exist in the first place.
The door opened on the guys' fourth floor.
"I'll see you guys in a couple minutes," I said, leaving Jessica and Lauren on the elevator. Jessica had given me the room number. I started down the hall toward Ben's room. It suddenly occurred to me that I might run into Edward, or worse, Eric. I hadn't thought this through. No problem, you can do this. Just stick to the mission.
I got to Ben's door, but it was closed. I knocked, still hoping for a response. Nothing. I guess I was going it alone. I looked down the hall. Emmett and Jasper's door was closed, but I knew where they were. Edward's door was closed. No light, sounded quiet. I wonder where he is. None of my business. I turned and started back toward the elevator.
I almost made it there when someone came barreling around the corner and almost knocked me over. He caught me, thankfully. I noticed I had made contact with a bare chest. I looked up to see who it was that still had a grip on me. Oh, great. I thought I remembered his name being Mike. He was half naked the last time I saw him too. Now I was standing in the hallway being held onto by a strange guy wearing nothing but athletic shorts. This week rocks.
"Excuse me," I tried to push around him. He didn't let go, he dragged behind me half a foot.
"Hey, don't I know you? You're cute," he slurred. Good, he had already started his night.
"No, we don't know each other," I responded. I was still making progress toward the elevator, even with him attached to my arm.
"Well then we should get to know each other. How about you come to my room?" he asked. This guy didn't lack confidence, I had to give him that. I stood, mashing the up button on the elevator, willing it to come faster.
"I don't think so." The elevator door opened. Mike showed no signs of letting go, and I was desperate for escape. "Sorry, I have to go now. My really big, muscled, probably steroid raging boyfriend is expecting me." He let go of my arm. There we go. I slid into the corner of the elevator a pushed the close door button until I was safely alone.
I got to the room number that Jessica had given me; I could hear the music thumping through the door. I reached up to knock and the door swung open. A dark haired guy with olive skin was standing inside the door. He reached out his had to me.
"Laurent," he said taking my hand.
"Hi, I'm Bella. Jessica and Lauren's friend," I smiled. He led me in the room by the hand and swung the door shut behind me.
"Nice to meet you Bella," he said. The room was full of people. It was a larger room then I had seen before. A quick look around I noticed there were three beds in the room. Maybe that explained the size of the room. I didn't know there were triples available.
Laurent looped his arm around my waist and led me further into the room.
"Your friends are over here," he said. On the way across the room he nodded his head at a number of guys and whispered names in my ear.
"That's one of my roommates Felix, his friend Demetri. The little guy is Alec." I followed his gaze. He wasn't kidding. Alec looked even shorter than my towering 5'4". He had a baby face. I wondered if he was a Doogie Howser type, some sort of child prodigy. I guess he probably wouldn't be living in the dorms then.
We made it across the room to Jessica and Lauren. Lauren was flirting shamelessly with some nondescript blonde and Jessica was standing next to her looking bored.
"And my other roommate James," Laurent finished. James looked over from Lauren and met my eyes briefly before openly checking me out head to toe. See Alice, no reformed souls here! "It was nice to meet you, Bella." With that Laurent wove his way back to the door.
"Where's Angela?" Jessica asked.
"She wasn't in Ben's room," I shrugged. Jessica and I wormed our way into a card game going on with a group on one of the beds. To be honest, I did understand the rules at all, but I drank when someone told me to. I had a little bit of a buzz going, but nothing too big. I did have to go to class in the morning, and even though everyone had seemed harmless enough, I took Alice's warning seriously. Jessica held up her drink.
"I'm out," she announced. I looked down.
"Me too, Jess. I'll grab us refills." I grabbed our cups and made my way over to the makeshift bar. Jessica was actually an okay time when she wasn't with Lauren. I wondered why she didn't hang out with us more often. There was a line in front of me so I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes for a second.
"Having fun?" I opened my eyes. Laurent's roommate James stood in front of me, one arm on either side of me, effectively pinning me to my spot on the wall. Shit. I gave him a tight smile.
"Yeah, great party. Just getting refills for my friend and I." I held up our cups lamely. He took half a step closer to me, bringing our bodies just a little closer than normal conversation distance.
"I'm glad you're here. I can't believe we haven't been introduced already. I make it my business to know all of the beautiful woman in this dorm." He smiled and slid just a little bit closer. He had to be kidding. Who did these lines work on? Just then I caught sight of Lauren glaring at us from across the room. Oh right, that's who.
"It looks like my friend is missing your company," I offered. He didn't turn his head; instead he leaned over and whispered in my ear.
"Just so you know, I'm the nicest guy in the room right now." What? Who was he kidding? He was the only guy in the room who had me pinned to a wall. I'm pretty sure that disqualified him from the nicest guy in the room title by default.
"A pretty girl like you deserves a nice guy to pay some one-on-one attention to her." He smiled at me again.
"That's a sweet offer, but my other friend is expecting her drink. So, if you'll excuse me." I pushed slightly in the direction of the bar hoping he would get the idea. He didn't. This was not my night.
"Your friend doesn't mind waiting. Come on, don't you like nice guys?" he leaned down into my ear again. "Because I can be very nice." Gross. I was going to need a plan. Think quickly. Quicker!
"I'm seeing someone," I blurted out. That was lame, but it should do the trick.
"He's not here," James stated. You've got to be kidding me! Just then I saw the door open. Edward came through with some tall blonde guy. I was so happy to seem him, I swear he was glowing. So things had been a little awkward between us. So he was interested in my friend and not me. He had said if I need anything, right? Let's hope that offer still stood.
"Edward!" I called across the room. His head turned toward me. He looked angry. Well, that was no good, but at least he was coming this way. It wasn't that big of a room, so it only took a handful of strides for him to get to me. Too late now, plan 'further piss off Edward' was a go. "He's here now," I said.
James turned and caught sight of Edward, he slowly pulled on arm back. It looked like he was scared he might lose it. I took my opportunity and pulled myself into Edward's side.
"My mistake," muttered James.
"Don't make it again," Edward said coldly. James retreated back to Lauren. I let out a breath and turned my head toward Edward.
"Sorry about that, he wasn't taking no for an answer," I said. Then I realized I was still clutching him. Cue the blush. I took half a step back and looked up. Dang, he still looked mad.
"What are you doing hanging out with these kind guys alone? You should be more careful," he huffed. Now I was getting annoyed. I was already creeped out; I didn't need the lecture.
"I'm not alone, I'm here with Jessica and Lauren. I'm sorry to inconvenience you. If I knew you were going to get all pissy with me, I would have dealt with him on my own." I turned away from him and he caught my arm. I looked back and his face had softened again. He smiled his crooked smile at me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get all pissy with you," he looked like he was trying not to laugh, that didn't improve my mood. "Bella, this is my friend from high school, Peter," he gestured at the tall blonde.
"Nice to meet you, Bella."
"Same here, Peter." We stood awkwardly for a minute. Peter cut in finally.
"Listen I need to hang out for a little bit, but you guys can cut out if you want," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow anyway Edward."
"You know I think we might leave, I'll see you tomorrow," he fist bumped Peter who walked over to a conversation with Demetri and Felix. Edward looked at me, suddenly worried.
"I mean, unless you don't want to leave. We could stay," he said.
"No, if you don't mind Edward I'm ready to go." I waved at Jessica as we made our way to the door. I noticed someone else had gotten her a drink. Whoops, forgot about that. I wasn't too concerned with saying my goodbyes to Lauren.
Edward insisted on walking me back to my room, which was sweet. At least it didn't seem like he was still mad at me. We stood outside my door while I fumbled for my keys, Alice wasn't back yet.
"So, what are you and your friend doing tomorrow?" I asked. That seemed a safe topic.
"Umm, his frat is having a party actually. I said I would go." He paused and gave me a conflicted look. "You wouldn't want to come? I mean if you don't have plans tomorrow you could go…you know come with me," he stuttered. I stared at him for a second. Was he inviting me because he wanted me to come? Or did he feel obligated because I asked about his plans? Did he think I had been fishing for an invite? He swallowed and started again.
"Why don't I come by around nine thirty?" he asked.
"Okay." It was the only thing I could think to say. He smiled at me.
"Great! I'll see you then!" With that he spun around and was gone. Did I have a date with Edward Cullen? I had no idea.
