Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its original characters. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story.
A/N: Thank you for coming back for more! I'm having so much fun working on this story... so much so, you can expect to see Chapter 7 within the next 5-7 days. Many many thanks and hugs to my pre-reader, BPlemons. :)


.o0O0o._Roadies_.o0O0o
Chapter 6
Sneaking Up From Behind

...Bella...

My head is throbbing, and I'm hating life but last night was worth each and every nail currently being driven into my head while Emmet carries me across the pavement on his back.

"I still can't believe you finished that bottle of Grey Goose this morning for breakfast. How you're even alive right now, it's a goddamn miracle, Birdie," He laughs from underneath me.

I increase my grasp around his neck and rest my chin over his shoulder, "Trust me, I'm ready to die in my bunk until the bus parks in San Francisco."

"You just better be sober enough to hop on a shiny red trolly with me for breakfast in the morning."

I grin thinking about a hot breakfast and lean down to kiss at his cheek, "Honey, I'm already dreaming about pancakes and bacon."

When we finally get to the bus, he sets me down onto my feet and swats at my ass, "To bed woman. Go sleep it off and don't let anyone bother you in your nest until the sun is up."

I toss him a thumbs up from above my shoulder then slowly make my way onto the bus where most of the guys are already getting themselves situated at their bunks or sitting in the lounge area around the TV.

"Birdie lives! We were all a little worried after that last round of karaoke with the sun coming up behind you this morning," Mike taunts before tossing a roll of toilet paper at my head. I smack it away with my hand, and release a sarcastic laugh from my lips, then push past Tyler to get to my bunk without actually saying a word to any of them.

When I pull the curtain back to set my bag down, I freeze in place.

My brow raises, and I rub at my eyes thinking I must be seeing things.

Is that a...

Jesus.

It is...

There's a small potted plant sitting in the cup holder beside my pillow.

Upon further inspection, I realize it's a tiny potted orchid.

It's dollhouse size, and absolutely adorable.

It's also blue and purple… just like Harriet… the flower I'd told Cullen all about before we'd had our big fight last night.

I lean in to get a better look and reach over to touch one of its silky green leaves.

My lips release a soft sigh, and I fall inside onto my belly, closing my curtain as soon as I hear Liam's laugh traveling down the walkway.

Proceed with caution

Please keep walking.

Do not stop.

Pass go and collect two hundred, Liam Brennan.

Someone evil must be looking out for me because he continues to move forward but then he takes an abrupt step backward, and I'm holding my breath again.

"Liam! Dude! I heard you were here! I told Mike, you wouldn't last six months in Texas once Birdie flew the coup!"

Eric is clearly looking to get his ass beat tonight.

I hear what sounds like a short scuffle between the two of them, but it ends pretty quickly with Liam laughing and Eric swearing he was just busting my ex's balls.

So typical.

"Seriously, it's good to see you, man."

"You too, Eric. Have I missed much?"

I feel dirty lying here like a snake in the grass eavesdropping, but this is my bed, it's where I belong. They're the ones who shouldn't be standing around gossiping like a bunch of pansy assholes.

If Eric weren't such a burn-out he'd realize I'm right here, but he is a burn-out, so I'm pretty much screwed at this point with nowhere to go and very few options.

"We've had some good stops but nothing for the record books. Not like last year. Cali could be fun now that you're here! What took you so long to get off your ass and come back to us!?"

This question… it piques my interest.

Liam clears his throat, and I steal a quick glance from the opening of my curtain just in time to see him running his tattooed hands through his wildly messy hair.

He actually looks stressed.

Stressed and not at all rested.

I hate that I've noticed... but I hate it more that I even care.

We'd only seen each other for a few minutes last night before I'd demanded he got lost and stop ruining my evening by keeping his face in my face.

In my defense, I'd been a couple of drinks in so he should've known better than to enter my drunken honesty zone.

My ex clears his throat, and I once again find myself holding my breath while I wait for his answer.

"I had my reasons. I'm here now though. Hopefully, that'll count for something. How's this new SM? What's the story there? I'm getting weird vibes. Like he seems cool, but there's something about him that bugs me."

"Cullen? He's not so bad. I mean, he's a hell of a lot better than Waylon ever was since he actually shows up and tries. Your girl Birdie has really been helping him figure his shit out. It was touch and go the first couple of shows, but we knew she'd eventually toss him a bone to save us all."

I clench my teeth together after hearing Eric refer to me as Liam's girl, but it's still not enough for me to make myself known.

"So he and Bella… They've gotten pretty close then?"

"Eh, I don't know if I'd call them close. I think she's just decided hating him and making his life miserable isn't worth the extra two to three hours of work he's been able to create for us at the end of the night."

Liam laughs, and I can't help but smile because Eric isn't lying.

"Sounds like Birdie. She's been doing good though, right?"

I should have expected this.

This is Liam being Liam and Eric is too stoned to realize he's only being used out of convenience for information.

Anything to be liked and accepted, amiright Eric?

So sad.

"Yeah, she's been a good little bird. I mean, like, not herself, but she's been flying okay. No arrests. That's gotta be a first? Not even a bar fight yet! Her pop would be proud."

Har har har, so much funny.

They both laugh, and I start to sit up feeling a little more motivated to defend myself.

Thankfully, my Uncle Phil the cop has some pretty good connections that happen to expand across the country.

Yes, it's true, I've taken quite a few rides in the back of a cop car, but I've never spent more than a couple of hours in a cell.

Knock on wood.

Liam, on the other hand… Well, he has a nice little rap sheet that he's proudly accumulated from all but five states across the great U-S of A.

"Truth, bro, are you here to win her back? Because if you are, you better make it known."

For some reason I'm holding my breath again, waiting for him to answer, even though his answer will change absolutely nothing.

"She's made it pretty clear winning her back is not an option, but I'm leaving all possibilities on the table. Whatever happens... happens. A lot can change on the road so I'm not giving up. Not yet anyway."

Eric laughs, and I hear them clasp hands.

Tear's heavy with frustration begin to well up in my eyes, but I can't wipe them away quick enough before they're able to fall from my cheeks.

Damn him to hell.

"Shit, here comes her watchdog." Liam mumbles just loud enough for me to hear, "Hey Emmett! Where's your better half?"

Uh-oh.

Emmett would love nothing more than to see Liam squirm.

This is fact.

He's so going to bust you.

He wouldn't.

Oh, but he would.

"If you're referring to Bella, she's probably right there, less than a foot away, in her bunk, plotting both of your deaths."

Forget their deaths.

I'm going to kill you Emmett McCarty, and I'm going to do it slowly so you'll feel every papercut I slice into your body.

I pull at the top of my blanket to bring it across my body then close my eyes so I'll be able to pretend I'm sleeping just in case any of them actually checks.

Thankfully, they all quiet down after that, and a few seconds later my phone buzzes with a new text message.


...EMMETT…
- I see you've decided to play a little dirty this round.
-Nicely done!
-Liam looked like he was going to murder Eric.


I roll my eyes and start to type out a response but quickly stop myself to stick my phone back under my pillow instead.

I know Liam well, so I know how much he hates it when his hand is shown at the table before he's ready to play his cards.

He's fuming right now, and the thought makes me smile.

"Alright! Settle down! Roll-call before we get this thing moving."

Cullen has arrived.

The sound of his voice quickens the pace of my heart.

This annoys me, but for some reason, it also helps me relax.

I listen with zero interest as he goes through the crew list and everyone calls back one at a time that they're on board. When he gets to my name, I stick my arm out from my curtain and give an exaggerated wave which gracefully turns into my middle finger floating in the air before I pull it back inside.

He pauses for a few long seconds.

I take in a deep breath thinking he's about to give me a hard time for not using my words, but then he moves on and ends his roll-call with Liam.

"Most of you already know this, but Liam is replacing Tony in the sound booth and also helping with lights."

There's a roar of noise as everyone celebrates the second coming of my ex, but I lay there frozen with my arms crossed silently mocking their ass kissing for everything it is.

"Thanks for the warm welcome guys, and thank you, Edward, for welcoming me to the family. It's good to be back at it again."

I snort out loud, kicking my legs over my mattress like a toddler having a tantrum then cover my mouth with both of my hands feeling pissed at myself for reacting at all.

Jesus.

Calm yourself down woman.

He wants you to react.

It's all a part of the game.

Breathe.

When the bus starts to move, I grab at my head hoping it will make my bunk stop spinning, but it does nothing for me, so I'm once again left with very few options.

A couple of minutes later my curtain slides open, and I slowly glance over to find Liam standing there with a Coke Zero in his hand and a smug grin on his face.

"Can I come in?"

"If you must. Watch your head. These bunks aren't as big as the last ones," I grumble but move over anyway. He slides inside, and I quickly snatch the can of coke from him like a crack fiend coming down from their last high, "Thanks."

"I figured you could use it, and you're right, these bunks suck."

"But the AC does work a hell of a lot better, that's a plus," I eventually inform him after taking another long sip before offering him some.

He smiles and accepts the offer then hands the can back over to me, purposely touching my hand in the process.

"Nice flower."

I glance over at my orchid and smirk, "Thanks. I named it Puppy."

"Puppy?" Liam forces a laugh and raises his brow then pulls at the back of his neck with his hand.

He's picked up that Puppy must be some kind of an inside joke.

An inside joke I've chosen to not share with him.

I nod with a sigh and go back to avoiding his stare, "Yup, Puppy. Hopefully, I won't kill it or leave it behind on a curb somewhere, but only time will tell."

Just then Cullen walks by.

We make eye contact for a very brief second, but he doesn't slow down.

I can hear Emmett and some of the other guys starting up a game of cards in the sitting area. I'm tempted to suck it up and join them but I'm already deep in the red from the money I lost back in Vegas so joining in would not be wise.

Besides, my head is still spinning.

Walking anywhere right now and being social for an extended period of time is out of the question.

"I have some extra earplugs if you need them?"

Super.

Liam's caught on to the heightened level of my most current hangover.

He wants to play nurse, but I'm not in the mood for his White Knight act tonight.

"No thanks. I'll put on some beach sounds and be asleep in a few minutes if you'd just go find someone else to bother."

He flinches, but I don't apologize.

He said he would give me space.

This is not space.

He is literally taking up ALL of my space right now by sitting here in my bunk.

"Message received. See you in San Fran, Birdie."

With his last word, he moves his body from my mattress and gently closes the curtain behind him.

I release a rushed breath and close my eyes pressing my fists with purpose into my chest and biting down onto my bottom lip to keep myself from screaming.

When I taste blood in my mouth, I loosen my jaw and take another sip from my soda.

It's time for me to turn it all off, so I'll be able to wake up and start fresh in the morning.

We'll be in California for the next thirteen days, but staging at several different venues. I need to get some rest because tomorrow starts our first hell week of the tour.

That means seven straight nights at four different locations with minimal downtime to breathe in between.

Never fun but always a rush.

The kind of rush that usually ends with someone in the ER on an Adderall overdose.

My hand covers my mouth, and I yawn loudly with a stretch of my legs. It will take eight hours to get to San Francisco. My plan is to not open my eyes again until the bus comes to a complete stop and the engine stops humming.

I pop two Tylenol PM's into my mouth and take another gulp from my Coke Zero then sigh realizing my cup holder is already occupied.

My hand reaches over to pick up the purple and blue orchid, and I decide to make a special spot for it in the corner beside my pillow.

"Welcome to the road, Puppy. May the odds be ever in your favor."

I'm out.


_.o0O0o.O.o0O0o._


Hours later we're less than forty minutes away from sound check and my head is still pounding.

Anything that can go wrong has.

Cullen is drowning, but I just can't bring myself to throw him a life vest.

It's not helping that Emmett keeps giving me looks.

The kind of looks that let me know I'm being a bitch for not picking up the reins and getting things back on track.

Bottom line, our SM needs to learn to swim on his own, but my BFF is going to make me feel guilty, and then he's going to force me to put on my big girl panties because that's the kind of person I am when push comes to shove.

"Bella, please. I know we're all hungover, but this is not how we want to start hell week. If we can't pull this off, Cullen's going to start giving us curfews on work nights, and we both know how well that will go over," Emmett mutters after pulling me to the side.

"I'm not getting paid enough to clean up Cullen's messes. He needs to learn to stand on his own two feet. I'm beyond over repeating myself to him."

Emmett lets out a frustrated growl and tugs at his hair, "You seriously need to stop acting like such a girl."

I glare hard in his direction and cross my arms to keep myself from smacking him, "I'm not acting like a girl, you twat-waffle. I'm doing my job instead of doing everyone else's for once."

"That's the problem! Please do everyone else's job dammit, and I'll buy your breakfast for the rest of the week!"

"Swan! Come over here!"

The green-eyed devil himself has suddenly summoned me from across the stage.

I turn to look Cullen who's now standing about twenty feet away and narrow my stare, "Nah, you need a miracle. Sorry, I'm fresh out, boss!" I shout back then give him a half ass shrug from my arms.

He shakes his head and begins walking toward us with his nostrils flaring.

"Look, you need to put our personal shit aside and stop playing around. You've gotta help me out, or we're all going to be docked for messing up the clock tonight," he pleads once he's standing over me and Emmett's walked away.

My eyes roll, and I let out a frustrated sigh then grab him by the arm to pull his body back across the stage.

"Eric untangle the damn cords and line them with colored tape up to their mic points! Jesus! Mike, you have six amps over here that aren't even stacked and locked in yet! Tyler what are you doing with the guitars?! They should already be positioned but they're all out of order, and you haven't even plugged them into a tuner yet! Wonderful, the drums are four feet too far upstage. What the hell Emmett? Fix the stupid drums would you?!"

Edward is still walking beside me the entire time I circle the stage, but he stays quiet until I've gotten everyone else moving to do all of the jobs that actually matter before the band comes out.

"How many times have I told you, Cullen? Set the stage first then worry about all of the bullshit work we can take care of while the band is warming up. Don't let these guys decide their order of operations after a two-day layover. They wouldn't know how to get dressed in the morning if their mothers hadn't drilled it into their heads at an early age."

"Thanks, Swan. I guess I'm having a hard time thinking straight today."

When I look up into his broken stare, I let out a huff and cross my arms.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Liam looking our way at center stage where he's changing out some bulbs on a lowered rafter.

Now is not the time for me to share a moment with Cullen.

"It's always like this after we've had a few days to do nothing but burn some brain cells. This is your first hell week, if we don't stay two steps ahead punches are going to start to be thrown, and people are going to walk out before we even get over the hump of it," I quietly warn from where I'm rocking in place with my eyes purposely focused on his shoes.

He reaches out to grab at my arm in an attempt to steady me, but I pull it away.

"Please, don't."

"We really need to talk, Bella."

"No," I grumble, "We really don't. You said you could act normal. Normal is us not talking. Thank you for the flower though. It was... nice."

Liam is still watching.

It's literally making me want to jump out of my skin.

I begin pulling at the sleeve of my coveralls and look up into Cullen's pretty green eyes just long enough for them to send my heart racing.

God, I hate him.

"You're welcome," Cullen whispers, "Did you name it?"

"Puppy."

"I'm sorry, you named it what?" He laughs hard, and I feel a slight smile form at the corners of my mouth.

"I named the stupid flower Puppy okay? Now walk the damn stage again and make sure these idiots don't start to slack off."

My boss nods his head still smirking rather proudly for some reason and then leaves me standing there without saying another word.

Emmett is by my side less than five seconds later.

"How'd it go? What he say?"

"Pft! Now who's acting like a girl?" I instantly mock before giving him a hard shove for his gossip girl like inquiry.

He laughs and reaches over to tickle me under my chin knowing full well he'll receive a punch to his gut for it, but he doesn't care.

This is what we do.

"Every time I look over, Liam is watching me. I'm going to end up killing him before we even make it out of California. I swear it, Em."

"No, you won't. You both just need to get used to this new existence of yours. It's like learning to walk again. Head up, eyes straight, one foot in front of the other."

"It's more like learning how to eat, drink, sleep and breathe again, but sure, whatever you say." I snicker with a loud sigh following my words after I turn my back toward my ex.

Emmett forces a smile and pulls me in for a brief hug, "You got this, baby bird. Just, don't let him get to you. That being said… he's walking this way. I have to go help Jasper in the sound booth. Good luck."

"But… no! Wait!"

Dammit.

It's too late.

My best friend is gone, and my ex has now taken his place.

"Nice job holding Cullen's hand."

"He's still learning. I either help him, or we all get docked for missing the clock," I quickly grumble, and cross my arms.

"No, I get it. He's lucky to have you. All the more reason why you should have been the one to be promoted to SM."

I look him in the eyes and feel my fists begin to clench at my sides.

"Yeah well, life is full of disappointments, and we don't always get what we want, do we, Liam?" I turn to walk away after that, feeling proud of myself for getting the last word in but on the inside I'm crumbling.

He can't see that part though.

If he does, he'll count it as a point on his board, and I need to stay ahead in this newest game of ours.


_.o0O0o.O.o0O0o._


We've managed to survive the first five nights of hell week, but I'm officially feeling it and hurting in places I'd forgotten existed.

It's just after one in the morning and all of the trucks are loaded ready to move across town to our next parking lot for tomorrow nights show.

Most of the guys have already taken off with plans to get back to the bus later, but with years of experience between us, Emmett and I have opted to stay onboard tonight to watch a movie instead.

I'm queuing up the DVD player on the big TV in the sitting area when Cullen suddenly appears from behind me.

"You're not going out?"

"Nope. I know better than to party after hours during a week like this," I mumble without turning around to face him.

"Wise beyond your years, Swan. What are you watching?"

"Some indie horror flick Emmett picked out. He won the coin toss. It's very likely there will be lots of boobs."

I drop my arms down to my sides with a huff then spin around to fall onto the couch where I've already set up a pillow and blanket for Em and me to cuddle under.

"Would you care if I joined you? I mean, we'll have a chaperone. No danger there. Right?"

My teeth bite down onto my bottom lip, and I eye him with suspicion.

"There would be no danger without a chaperone," I snicker back just as Emmett comes bouncing onto the bus with his arms full of junk food.

He stops in his tracks when he sees I'm not alone then struggles to keep a straight face but by some miracle, he manages to maintain his composure, and for that I'm thankful.

"Up for a movie full of gore and titties, boss?"

Edward laughs and shrugs his shoulders in response to my bestie then glances back down at me.

"It's fine. Stay," I grumble before scooting over to make some space for the both of them."

Seconds later I have Emmett to my left and Edward to the right with three bags of chips and two packages of cookies in my lap over the blanket I've positioned across my legs.

The movie starts, and I begin to stuff my face with Oreos in hopes of a sugar rush trumping the anxiety that's already washing over me.

Granted, over the last three-ish days, things have gotten a lot better… I'm now able to be within a couple of feet of both my boss and my ex at the same time without feeling like I need to find the nearest roof to jump from its ledge.

It's also helped that Liam's stopped waiting for me in the mornings, and asking me to get lunch with him in the afternoons.

Slowly but surely, we're finding our way without stumbling too hard to send us back to the starting line again.

It feels good, being able to smile more without holding my breath, and that's progress I've been happy to make.

"Are you sure Irina won't be looking for you?"

I can't help it.

I need to see Cullen squirm a little.

"She's got a headache."

Emmett and I share a look, and I stifle a laugh but fail miserably.

Edward gives me a playful shove, and I kick him back then bring my legs up onto the couch to lean into my bestie and snuggle against his chest.

We settle in as the movie gets started, but I quickly realize it's going to be battle to keep my eyes opened now that I'm all cozied up with a full stomach and the lights turned down.

It shouldn't surprise me when Emmett starts to snore before we've even made it twenty minutes in, but for some reason it does and the sound makes me smile.

I bump him with my elbow and whisper into his ear he should go saw his logs in his bunk then get up from his lap to grab a fresh soda from the fridge.

"Alright, I give up. No spoilers or I'll kill you both. See you guys in the morning."

My lips blow him a kiss from my hand, and he shuffles his feet down the hall until he falls into his bunk like a dead tree crashing to the ground in the middle of a forest.

When I sit back down on the couch, my body automatically leans into Edward's, but neither of us moves right away to put any space between our pressed shoulders.

I hate that he has to smell so good.

It's obvious he's no longer paying attention to the movie.

Neither am I.

His eyes haven't looked up toward the screen for the last five minutes, and I can't even remember a single line from the entire film.

"Fine. I'll bite. What's on your mind, boss?" I finally question with a huff and tilt of my head.

"Vegas, Swan. Always Vegas."

"Stop it!" I snicker between my teeth and then tug at my blanket to bring it up to my chest as if it might serve as some type of shield against his stare.

He turns to face me, and I quickly realize he's backing me into a corner now that we're all alone for the first time in days.

"Hey, you asked."

"Yeah well, now I'm telling you to stop."

He smiles with a nod of his head then taps his foot over mine, "How've you been?"

My shoulders shrug, and I pull my knees up into my chest to prevent him from continuing with his attempted game of footsie.

"The usual. Surviving. You?"

"Same," he mutters, this time lightly bumping into me.

Silence swirls around us after that until my phone buzzes from the armrest of the couch.

I pick it up and see a text from my ex asking if there's anything I need since he's stopping at the store before heading back to the bus. I answer with a quick, 'nope,' and then stick my phone back under the blanket to look up at Cullen again.

He's already watching me with a slight smirk on his face.

"Liam's been leaving you alone?"

"Yeah. When it matters. How's he been with you?"

Edward seems surprised.

"He's been fine. Wait, does he know about-"

"No! Of course not! No one knows, except Em and Jasper, and it better stay that way!"

His devilish grin causes me to push him away but he catches my hands, and he doesn't let go.

"Bella, you really didn't give me a chance to explain the other night."

This is the exact conversation we don't need to have.

No matter what he says, it won't change anything.

Even before Liam's return, it had already been decided, Vegas would be a one and done kind of fling for us.

Not to mention, we're back on the road now, and Irina's been hanging around more and more whenever she's not on stage.

He might not want to admit it, but she's clearly starting to think of him as more than a fuck buddy. She'd even shared a picture of them together on her Instagram account with an adorable little caption about him being, 'the bestest SM a girl could ever ask for!'

This, of course, makes him all the more off limits but he doesn't seem to understand that or want to accept it.

"There's honestly nothing to explain. I've forgotten all about it. So should you."

"I guess it hasn't been as easy for me. I wish it could be, but it's just not, Bella," He whispers after moving in closer, still holding onto my hands.

That's where I decide to keep my eyes set.

On our hands.

I refuse to look him in the face since I know better than to trust myself when he's talking like a lunatic.

"Look, can we at least go back to being friends?"

"We were friends?" I tease with a playful raise of my brow, then finally find the courage to look him in the eyes.

He pretends to be injured by my words, and I can't help but laugh and push him away.

"I mean I thought we were? Weren't we?"

I let him sweat for a few more seconds and then fall backward before propping my legs across his lap, "We're fine, Edward. I'm honestly over it. I'll admit, I might have overreacted a little the other night, but I was stressed, so I reacted the only way I knew how. Having Liam around again… I didn't think I was ready for it, but I'm doing okay now."

"Like ripping off a bandaid."

"More like tearing out sutures knotted across my skin, but yeah... que sera sera," I grumble more to myself than to him.

He hears me though and laughs then surprises me when he starts to rub my feet with his hands.

"Is this okay?"

I smirk and nod my head until my eyes close thanks to his relaxing touch, "If anyone walks onto this bus you better throw my legs off of you and pretend I have the damn plague."

"Deal."

When I peak through one eye, I find him still smiling at me, and I feel my stomach tie itself into a knot.

The more he rubs his hands into the soles of my bare feet the further I melt into the couch and the harder it becomes to keep my eyes open.

"You're going to put me to sleep, Cullen."

"No worries, Swan. You can let your guard down. No one is around to see it happen."

I smirk to myself and let out a rushed breath then pull my blanket up higher to nuzzle my head into my pillow.

This feels nice.

Sitting here with him.

Just... breathing.

This is something I could get used to, but I'm not ready for that kind of danger.

Not yet.


...Edward…

Having Bella this close… it's dangerous.

More so for her than it is for me.

I'm ready to go all in again, she just needs to give me the green light and stop being so stubborn.

She won't give in tonight, but that's okay.

If she wants to slow things down, I'll continue to go at her pace.

For now, I'll silently celebrate the fact that she's letting me back in at all.

I continue to squeeze at her feet, and she lets out an impulsive moan then opens her eyes seemingly embarrassed by her reaction.

Admittedly, I've been watching her all week... Waiting for her to give me some kind of sign that it might be safe to tiptoe into her good graces.

Watching her put up with Liam hasn't been easy but so far, we've both survived, and for that I'm grateful.

When the door to the bus opens, and we hear voices coming from the street she springs up from her lounging position as if a bucket of ice had been poured over the top of her head.

Her eyes go wide, and her mouth opens in panicked terror.

"Breathe woman," I snicker under my breath while trying my best to not laugh, "Stop acting like you were just sitting on my face and relax."

She smacks me hard then tosses her blanket to the side just as Liam and Mike come up the steps to spot us sitting on the couch together with nervous smiles on our faces.

"Sorry guys, we didn't mean to interrupt your movie time."

Liam eyes Bella suspiciously, and she lets out a painfully forced laugh.

So not smooth, Swan.

Not smooth at all.

And you were worried about me acting normal?

PFT!

"No worries," I finally speak up for the both of us, "Bella was starting to snore anyways."

"Sounds like something she'd do. Whatcha guys watching?"

Shit.

What are we watching?

I'd yet to focus on a single line in the damn movie, let alone process the actual title.

"Piranha. Emmett picked it out, then he ditched us to go jerk off in his bunk instead."

"What the hell?! I am NOT jerking off, yah TWATS!" Emmett's voice suddenly booms from the hall.

Interesting… Bella's best friend was still very much alert which meant he'd probably been listening in on our conversation for the last ten minutes.

She seems to realize this at the same exact time I do.

We share a look, and she rolls her eyes before kicking my shin with the heel of her foot.

I smile.

Liam sneers.

Bella smirks and lets out a fake yawn then stands up taking her blanket with her.

Christ, she's beautiful.

Life is good again.

So good.

For Liam, not so much, but his problems are not my problems and I'm determined to keep it that way.


A/N: Edward seems to be making some progress while Liam is still staggering at the starting line. Will his good luck continue or will Bella find a new reason to keep him at an arm's length? Next chapter we will start with Edward's POV again, and we'll also find out what it was that caused tension between Liam and Bella's dad.

***I'd love to hear your thoughts and reviews make me smile***

As thanks for making me smile, I've shared an outtaken from Edward's POV.

It's basically an extended scene from the end of this chapter.

(Edward and Liam take a walk together to double check the trucks after Bella goes to her bunk.)

You can find it under; Roadies Outtakes on my profile.