Song For The Chapter - Only Exception by Paramore.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. The rest is all mine though.


Chapter Seven.

Bella.

After I had woken up on the street-to Edward bending over me, he had taken me home and taken care of me. The whole going to my place part was pretty fuzzy, but I do remember thinking that I had kept declining his offer to walk me home all that time because I didn't want him to see where I lived, and he had had to see it anyway. Yeah, that's pretty much just my luck.

He had taken great care of me, though, and told me that I probably had a concussion, and shouldn't sleep. And he had offered to stay the night to make sure I didn't sleep. We had spent the rest of the night eating ice cream and talking. Yeah, I had told him my whole story about how I ended up here. It wasn't really that hard, and he had taken it really well. He hadn't reacted the way I had been worried about-that I was a stupid kid who should go home or something like that. He seemed to really get it.

In the morning he had headed home to change and probably to catch a few hours of sleep since I had kept him up all night. I was feeling surprisingly awake, so I had gone to the park and played for most of the morning, and then sat around enjoying the good weather before going home and making dinner and coming to the bar to play my show.

Edward and I had learned this song a few days ago. I loved playing new stuff at the bar. I always closed with a new song.

When I was younger, I saw my Daddy cry and curse at the wind.

Broke his own heart, and I watched as he tried to reassemble it.

And my mama swore that she would never let herself forget.

And that was the day that I promised I would never sing of love, if it didn't exist.

I walked over to Edward's piano and sat down on the bench beside him, and he looked over at me, and smiled.

But darling you are the only exception.

You are the only exception.

It was hard not to stare at Edward while I sang. I mean, I knew he was older, I knew he wasn't interested in me. But I couldn't help it. Especially not after last night. I was pretty positive that I was falling in love with Edward Cullen.

Maybe I know somewhere deep in my soul that love never lasts.

And we've got to find other ways to make it alone.

Keep a straight face.

I've always lived like this, keeping a comfortable distance.

And up till now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness.

Because it was never worth the risk.

Edward picked his head up to look at me, his green eyes gazing at mine, as his fingers dancing over the keys. I don't know if I had ever sang a song that I felt such real emotion tied to it. It made my heart ache.

Well you are the only exception.

You are the only exception.

We were still gazing at each other. I couldn't look away.

I've got a tight grip on reality.

But I can't let go of what's right in front of me here.

I know you're leaving int he morning when you wake up.

Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream.

You are the only exception.

You are the only exception.

I was shocked when Edward sang the last line with me, so low it was hard to hear it.

I'm on my way to believing.

I sat there, still staring at him as the music ended. Finally I remembered that was the last song, and I gave my usual thanks for listening, I'm Bella Swan, blah blah, and shot down from the stage, unsure of everything that had just happened, but feeling warm and different whatever it was.

I was about to grab my stuff and go home, because I wasn't sure what I was feeling, or what to do, but Mike walked into my path before I could.

"Hey, Bella. Great show."

"Thank you," I told him, glancing over his shoulder, where Edward was taking a drink of water, sitting in one of the seats backstage.

He held out an envelope. "Your paycheck for the week."

"Right. Thank you," I said again, taking it from him.

He ran a hand through his blond hair and smiled. "There's a bonus in there."

"What?" I asked, surprised. "Why?"

Mike laughed. "Really, Bella? Have you looked around this place the last two weeks or so?" He waved a hand in a half-circle. "We've had twice as many people here. And even though I'd love to take credit for it, for having a great bar, it's because of you."

"It is?" I asked.

"Yes, it is. People are telling other people about you, and people are coming to listen. And people keep coming back. My business has picked up a ton. You're the reason, so I'm happy to give you something. I'm lucky to have you."

"Wow. Thank you," I said again, still kind of surprised.

He chuckled. "No, thank you, kid," he said. He walked past me back to the front, stopping to pat my shoulder as he walked by.

I shook my head, unsure what to think about all of this. I walked over to Edward, who handed me a bottle of water.

"He's right, you know." He told me.

I shook my head, and drained half of the bottle.

"So what are you going to do with your bonus?" he asked.

I smiled. "Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm going to go shopping."

"Why can't you believe you're saying that?" Edward asked me, looking confused.

"I hate shopping," I explained, and he raised an eyebrow. "But I didn't bring very much clothes with me from home, and having a job I need nicer stuff, you know?"

He nodded, and looked at me thoughtfully. "You know, my young sister, Alice. She's a little bit older than you. Shopping is her thing and she'd love to go with you, if you want company."

That hadn't been what I had been expecting. I was about to decline, tell him that I was fine by myself, but it was his sister, she would probably be nice. And aside from Edward I had no friends in the city. "Uh, okay. Sounds good."

He smiled. "She'll be thrilled. When'd you want to go?"

"Tomorrow?"

"How about we meet in that little cafe down the street at ten?" He suggested.

"Uh, sure. Sounds good."

He stood up, and I did the same, grabbing my bag.

Before I could say goodbye he leaned over. "I'm walking at you home." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. I almost declined, and then thought about last night and shuddered.

"Absolutely."

I walked to the cafe the next morning, arriving promptly at ten. I walked inside and looked around the cafe, spotting Edward sitting in a table near the front easily. He was sitting beside a tiny girl with long black curls, and stunning gray eyes. Alice.

"Bella!" Edward called to me, when he spotted me, waving me over to the table. I went over to the table, and he pulled out a chair for me to sit down. "Alice, this is Bella Swan, Bella, this is my sister, Alice."

"Nice to meet you, Alice," I said, smiling at the other girl.

She beamed back at me. "It's great to meet you too, Bella! Edward's told me a lot about you."

Edward rolled his eyes.

"Has he?" I asked, grinning. "Good things, I hope."

"Oh, of course," Alice said, dismissively. She turned her full attention to me, then, her gray eyes studying me. "Today should be fun. You've got a great little figure, and you're already a great dresser," she decided.

I glanced down at my red low top converse, black skinny jeans and red tank top. From what Edward had told me about her last night when he walked me home, Alice rarely approved of an outfit, so I should probably be very flattered.

"Thanks?"

Beside me, Edward smirked, reaching for his coffee. He took a drink and then leaned close to my ear. "Remember. You can say no to her. It's hard, but you can do it."

I stifled a laugh, and tried to ignore him.

Alice ignored our exchange. "So I figured we'd head over to the mall, and then we'll meet at Edward at Bella Italia for an early dinner, and the three of us will head over the bar together."

"You're going to the bar?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yep. I haven't seen my big brother play in forever, and I want to hear this new singer he's been talking about. Apparently she's the best he's ever heard, which is very high praise coming from Edward here."

I looked at him and raised my eyebrows. "The best you've ever heard?"

"Definitely," he told me, winking. He stood up. "Well I've got to go. See you guys for lunch." My heart skipped a few beats when he winked.

We chimed in our goodbyes as he left.

"Well, ready to hit the stores?" Alice asked me, taking the last drink of her hot chocolate.

I nodded, and the two of us took a taxi to the mall. She insisted that we didn't walk. Probably cause she was wearing heels.

Shopping with Alice was definitely an experience, and not one I was ready for. She dragged me from store to store, throwing things into my arms for me to try on. When my arms were full she'd drag me into a changing room, instructing me to come out so she could see everything. She gave me a lot of stuff that I would have never picked out for myself, but a lot of it did look really good on me.

I bought a ton more stuff than I had been expecting. By four o'clock when we were supposed to meet Edward, I was loaded down with bags, and so was Alice with things she had bought for herself. I had at least, talked her into letting me go into the CD store and book store, where I spent the remaining money from my bonus.

Aside from being completely exhausted from the day, I had had a great time with Alice. She was by far the bubbliest person I had ever met, and I couldn't say I had ever met someone who took shopping so seriously. She was nice and funny, and we talked about Edward. She shared some of his embarrassing stories with me from when he was little, and we laughed and gossiped about guys we saw in the mall.

We had a lot in common too, we found out through the day. We liked some of the same music, and we loved the same movies and TV shows.

She was a little older than me, at twenty, and she had a very serious boyfriend named Jasper who she hoped was going to propose to her someday soon. I couldn't imagine even having a serious boyfriend, much less one that I wanted to marry.

She was in college, an design major. She wanted to become a fashion designer. She'd be fantastic at it.

Before heading to the restaurant to eat dinner with Edward we stopped at my apartment to drop all my stuff off and so I could change since I was going to the bar right afterwards. Alice made no comment on my apartment or the fact I was living by myself, which I was grateful for.

I changed into a pair of light blue flare, low rise jeans with rips in them that Alice had said was "completely me', with a white tank top with songs lyrics on it. I wore several chain necklaces, and Alice came in to do my make up. She didn't do it that differently than I did my own, still smokey and subtle, but it looked more professional when she did it. She teased my hair, and when I looked in the mirror afterwards she assured me that I looked like a rockstar, and then dragged me off to the dinner with Edward.

He looked surprised to see me, because I did look different, even if it was subtle. The clothes weren't really that different than something I would have picked and worn on my own. He told me I looked great though, and the compliment made my heart soar.

Yeah, I was getting really pathetic.

Dinner was extremely nice. Edward and Alice were obviously close, and it was fun to watch them interact with each other. And it was just really nice to be out with people for a change. I spent too much time with myself.

After dinner the three of us headed to the bar, and I went up on stage to do what I did best. Sing.