Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I am just using the names that she created for her wonderful story.

X-NessieCullen-X, as always, has preread and beta'd this little project of mine. She's fantabulous and keeps me sane :) I played a lot with this one...so all mistakes are my own ;)

Chapter 7

Little White Lies

"Will you marry me?"

"Holy shit," Edward heard Emmett mutter to his left.

"Emmett, that's a bad word..." Lanie whispered from Edward's right.

"Yes!" Alice cried from in front of him.

Well, Emmett had the answer to his question. Apparently, the shindig at the Whitlock residence that morning had been commenced for a specific occasion. Jasper was getting married. Edward felt a little dizzy. He was happy for the guy...but holy shit. He and Emmett had been there since eleven thirty, hanging out with Jasper's family and enjoying a cook out. Em had picked Edward up and on the way they wondered about why Emmett had been asked to come over. Em and Jazz were friends but it seemed more of a family gathering than one that would include friends. Edward's sister was there, which is why he hadn't questioned his invitation. Now, though...just...holy shit summed it up well.

Putting his hand over Lanie's eyes as Jasper and Alice began to kiss and hug each other a little more than was necessary given their particular audience, Emmett looked at him with a 'What the fuck just happened here?' type of expression. Edward still didn't have the ability to speak. When the happy couple finally remembered there were other people in the room with them, they stepped away from each other and the chaos began. Mrs. Whitlock and Jasper's sister-in-law nearly tackled Alice, Jasper's dad and brother punched Jasper on the shoulders and gave him man hugs. Then, they all switched and the girls started to cry as they hugged Jazz. At least the guys didn't treat Alice the way they had Jasper. Although, Edward would have thought it was comical.

When Alice pulled Lanie in for a hug, she looked over at Edward and hugged him as well. "Mind if we use your sister? We have a flower girl and ring bearer but we would love a junior bridesmaid..."

"I don't know," Edward said, pretending to be serious.

"Edward!" Lanie yelled, obviously upset.

"I'm just kidding, Lanie. Of course you can be in the wedding."

"What about you, there, Eddie? Free that night?"

"Um...I'll have to check my calen... Yes!"

Jasper laughed and turned to Emmett. "Okay, you two. You get to duel in the yard to see who can be best man..."

Alice just shook her head, "We'll figure out a way to make that both of your responsibility! As long as you two are there! Dave, you too," Alice smiled, hugging her future brother-in-law again.

"I'm going to go call everyone!" Jasper's mom laughed.

Edward watched the woman skip away and glanced at Alice. Despite how happy she was, Edward knew that Alice hadn't spoken to either of her parents in a long time and the sadness was evident on her face. They didn't approve of her career choice, wanting her to become a dentist like her father. She had chosen fashion and they resented her for it. He felt for her. It sucked not to have someone on your side of things to back you up and be happy for you.

"Well, this calls for an engagement party," Jasper's dad announced, putting an arm around Ally. He must have noticed her mood, too. "Two weeks from now. On Friday. We'll do it here."

"Sounds wonderful," Alice agreed with tears in her eyes. "That means so much..."

"Edward?"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Who do you think will be your partner in the wedding?" Lanie asked as they made their way into their apartment a few hours later.

"How do you know how weddings work?" Edward asked, rather amused and curious.

"I'm a girl. We spend, like, our entire lives planning them..."

"Oh, really?"

"Yup. So, who will it be?"

"I don't know. Probably a friend of Ally's."

"I bet she'll be a model and you'll think she's pretty and fall madly in love with her!"

Edward just smiled and shook his head. "Do I have until midnight before she turns back into the servant girl? Honestly, Lanie, I think I'd prefer the servant girl. There are many pretty girls that don't look like models."

"Like who?"

There was only one girl that Edward could think of. "You're the matchmaker. You tell me."

"Well, Ally's pretty...but she's marrying Jazz. Oh, and there's a girl down the hall from us...but I think she's still in high school so you're probably too old for her. Then, there's only two more girls I can think of. The girl that was with Em, that pretty one with the blonde hair and high heels, but ya know, I think she is a model. The only other girl I know is Miss Swan. She's very pretty. She's a little clumsy, though..."

Edward nearly peed his pants he was laughing so hard by the time she was done. "Yeah, Ally's definitely out of the dating game and even if she wasn't, I don't think Jazz would like me too much if I dated her. High school girls are definitely...a very bad idea. Rosalie is the girl you're thinking of and I don't think Em would like me with her because that's his girlfriend...and she's not a model. Miss Swan is...a very nice girl. If I ever dated someone who was clumsy, that would just mean I'd have to be extra careful with her."

"Well," Lanie shrugged, "maybe you'll meet Belle instead of Cinderella..."

"What?" he asked, surprised by Lanie's use of Bella's first name..

"Yeah, you know, cause you're scary looking when you don't shave. You look like the Beast."

Edward realized what she was talking about and smirked. "The Beast, huh?"

"Yup."

"Well, the Beast is hungry and you have homework to finish before tomorrow. Get working and I'll find us some good Halloween candy."

Edward made sure she was settled at the kitchen table and working on math problems before going into his room. He'd realized he didn't have Bella's number and wanted to tell her that his sister thought Rosalie was a model. Instead, he sent the text to Emmett. They'd had a good back and forth over it until he realized Lanie probably needed to eat some actual dinner before scarfing down a couple Kit-Kat bars.

As he got to cooking, he thought of the night before and how tired he still felt. Bella was a fiesty one and after they had fallen asleep after the first time, he felt bad nudging her awake for the second one. She surprised him by waking him up a few hours later ready for round three. He already craved her and they'd just been together the night before. He wondered if Lanie was serious about thinking Bella would be a good person for him to date. Also, he made a mental note to have Ally talk to Lanie in a few years about why it was a bad idea for a twenty-four year old to date a high schooler. He shuddered to realize Lanie would be in high school in less than three years.

This Monday was going much better than the previous one. Besides the fact that she still lied to Rose this past weekend, she had no other regrets. Her feet hurt her a little from the shoes and her ankle was killing her again. It was probably a stupid idea to wear the damn things with a recovering ankle. She should have realized that's why she couldn't walk right in them as well. Her knee was much better, though. At lunch, Lanie had told her that her brother's friends, Ally and Jazz were getting married and she and her brother would be in the wedding. Bella was happy for all of them but felt a tinge of jealousy when she thought of Edward being paired up with some girl she didn't even know.

Rosalie was also taking this Jacob Black thing way too far. She was happily in love with Emmett McCarty and felt the need to share the love. Bella wanted to slap her. On her prep period in the afternoon, Bella sent Rose a text about Jasper and Alice and was sent a text back saying Rosaelie already knew and that Emmett had told her to invite Bella to the engagement party in a couple weeks. Also, she had a surprise for Bella. This worried her. Greatly.

Edward was late to pick up Lanie and she suspected he may have done it on purpose. When he walked in, she knew he had. His face lit up like a Christmas tree..one that was on fire...and Bella couldn't hold his lateness against him. She was happy to see him, too. "Miss Swan, how are you today?"

She just smiled. "A little sore, Edward. I had a strenuous Saturday."

"I bet. Um, Lanie and I are working on the science fair project and I was wondering if I could get your number or something so I could reach you if we have any questions."

"Of course. Here ya go. That's my cell. Lanie, make sure he doesn't lose that. I'm always here if you need help with something, okay?"

"Thanks, Miss Swan."

After they left and Bella managed to start breathing again, she looked down and saw she had another text from Rose. Shutting off her lights and closing the door, she swung her purse over her arm and read the message. Rose told her not to make any plans tonight because they were going out. Bella frowned and rolled her eyes before calling her friend. "It's a school night," she muttered by way of greeting.

"Don't worry. We'll get you home before your bedtime."

"Where are we going?"

"Don't you worry about that. It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"Oh, don't be a party pooper. We're just going clothes shopping. The stores close at like nine so we'll be back in time for your curfew." Rose knew Bella didn't have a time restriction, she just hated to be surprised by things. This, she supposed, was one she could deal with. If this was the surprise Rosalie had planned for her, she could deal.

Over the next few days, Bella never did hear from Edward but she heard plenty from Rose. After shopping on Monday, they'd gotten together and watched movies on Tuesday. This was kind of normal except that they were all sappy love stories. Three movies in, Bella was pretty sure she'd heard every corny, lovey-dovey quote known to man. On Wednesday, Rose had plans with Emmett so Bella relaxed on her own and walked Luca. When she came home and headed upstairs to bed, she decided to check out Facebook for the first time in weeks. There was a friend request from Jacob. Cringing, she accepted it.

The next morning, things started to get interesting. She'd gotten back on Facebook to see if Edward had a page, which he didn't, and saw that she had a new message. She'd checked them all the night before. When she scrolled over it and saw the name, she bit her lip. It was from Jacob. "Hey, Bella. Rosalie told me I should friend you on here. How have you been? I was kind of hoping you'd call me last week but I'll see you later." It was a weird message and Bella wondered why the 'I'll see you later' felt more like a promise than a goodbye.

School went quickly and she got to help the kids start setting up the gym for the fair. They were excited and the sixth graders were the ones actually putting it together and being judged. The younger students were allowed to show a project but it was just for fun. Her students actually seemed to even be getting their parents involved. Edward had sent her a text that morning to say hello and she texted him back pretending she didn't know who he was. When he sent her a 'Sorry. I must have been given the wrong number.' she felt awful and sent him a text back.

"Sorry, sex three times in one night kind of fries a girl's brain." That was as far as she got because then it was time for the kids to come back from the gym.

There was a text waiting for her after school that said she was mean and here he'd thought she was an angel. Before she could respond, she got a call from her mom asking if she could pick up a couple things from the store on the way home and she got distracted. As soon as the bags were handed to her mom, she headed upstairs and nearly screamed when she found Rose unexpectedly on her bed. "Jesus!"

"Thanks for the compliment...but no. It's just me. I picked this out for you. Put it on. You're going to blow him away..."

Bella's stomach dropped as she looked at the cute dress laying on her bed. "Him who?"

"Jacob! Surprise! I set you two up on an actual date! The little trysts you two had over the past two weekends don't count!"

"Rose," Bella asked cautiously, "what did you say to him about those two nights?"

"Nothing. Calm down. I just told him that you were my friend and when he said he remembered you and he remembered seeing me at the bar, I told him you'd love to double date with Em and I. This way, I can meet him in person and you won't feel so uncomfortable. It'll be like in high school. I know you get nervous but I'll be right there..."

"Rosalie, I don't know about this. Really. I'm not feeling well and..." I'm in love with someone else.

"It'll be fine. See, you're already nervous. Just relax and get changed. Emmett and Jacob are meeting us at the restaurant in an hour. We have to do your hair yet."

"How did you even get a hold of him?"

"Facebook," Rose shrugged.

Bella shut herself in the upstairs bathroom and stared at the dress she had put on. This was so wrong. Emmett was Edward's close friend. It was going to get back to him. Still, she had promised not to tell a soul. There was no way she could tell Rose the truth and not have that get back to Emmett, either. Maybe she could just go out with them tonight and nicely let him down in front of her and Emmett. Edward would believe that she had just gone along with Rose if Emmett mentioned it to him. This was bad.

"Jacob, hi," Bella smiled, feeling like a total fake and then remembering that she was.

"Hi. You look amazing," Jacob said, flashing her his perfect smile. The clothes he had on were designer and Bella knew the man had to have money. When he and Emmett started talking about his BMW, she was sure of it.

Rosalie had her phone out and was laughing as the waitress was helping her pick out a good mixed drink. The guys were talking away about cars. Bella wanted a mixed drink as well...or maybe twelve of them. When the waitress left to put their drink orders and appetizers in, Bella sipped her water and tried to pretend she was enjoying herself. It took her a full minute before she realized Jacob was talking to her. "...a school teacher?"

"Yeah. I teach sixth grade," she answered like a robot.

"I give you props. I couldn't work with kids all day. They definitely aren't my thing."

"Oh. What do you do for a living?" she asked, hoping she at least sounded interested in his life.

"I'm a lawyer."

As Bella felt herself wanting to hit her head off the table, she heard Rosalie let out an excited squeal. "A lawyer? That must be exciting!"

"It's a lot of reading," Jacob replied to Rosalie even though he was still looking at Bella.

"I like to read," Bella blurted out pathetically.

Jacob just smiled at her and laughed at the monstrosity the waitress had put in front of him. Whatever drink Rosalie had ordered for each of them looked like something out of a movie from the future. "Wow, this is...showy," Jacob grinned. Bella realized the man had a constant freaking smile on his face. It was so annoying.

The waitress made a joke about it just as Rosalie snapped a picture of Jacob and Bella with the crazy concoctions in front of them. Bella would have to remember to tip the waitress well, she'd made Bella smile her first genuine smile since school ended earlier that day. Dinner went on and Bella stood up to use the restroom, really just needing a chance to get herself together so she could nicely turn Jacob down without hurting his feelings. When she returned to the table, she noticed he was missing. "Where'd Jacob go?" she asked, seeing the money laying beside his empty plate.

"Oh, he got called into work. He said to tell you he was sorry and he owed you a proper first-date kiss. Not that you haven't already done the kissing thing..." Rosalie teased.

Emmett just shook his head, "So you two hooked up last weekend?"

"And they almost hooked up the weekend before," Rose added. Bella just bit her lip and forced down the rest of her food. Now that the horrible date was over, she was going to just pretend it hadn't happened at all.

"What do you think, Bella?" Rosalie asked her expectantly and Bella knew she had zoned out again.

"About what?"

"Going to Jasper's engagement party. It'll be awesome!"

"Um, yeah. When is it?"

"Next Friday night."

"Sounds great," Bella smiled again, figuring Edward would be there.

"I have to go out of town next week or else we totally could have gotten pedicures!"

"Alice wouldn't mind if you called her," Emmett suggested. "She moved here from somewhere a couple hours away and she doesn't really talk to anyone back home. She'd enjoy having a friend to hang out with."

Bella shrugged, "I'll ask her. It sounds like a good idea."

The next week was pretty uneventful and she hadn't gotten much chance to talk to Edward. It was obvious he wasn't one for texting and it was hard to talk when Lanie was with him. That weekend, he told her he was heading out to celebrate Jasper's engagement with the guys and wouldn't be around much, Alice was keeping Lanie for him. Bella thought about calling Alice to see if she wanted to hang out but didn't want to overstep her bounds with Lanie. Instead, she spent Friday at the high school football game where she met up with some other teachers, went shopping and to a movie with her mom on Saturday, and attended church and worked on lesson plans on Sunday. By the time she was typing out her last one, she couldn't resist any longer and sent Edward a text.

Did you survive last night? xx

There was no response for almost two hours but around nine he finally sent her a response. Yeah. Barely. Alice is taking Lanie dress shopping Thursday. Do you want to meet up somewhere?

Absolutely.

I'll pick you up at the school around four.

I have something we need to talk about anyway.

Bad news?

You won't like it but not really.

See you then.

Bella chewed her lip, wondering if it was really a good idea to wait. Jacob was obviously a sore spot for him. Still, it was better that she said something rather than him finding out from a text message. She wanted to be able to explain that Rose had set it up and she would have let everything out of the bag if she refused. Biting her lip, she headed downstairs to find her mom and see if she wanted to go get ice cream when she realized that Rosalie would be back on Thursday and had asked Bella to hang out that night. It would be earlier in the day because of her seeing Emmett later on. With a sigh, she realized this lying thing was getting more and more complicated.

Thank you so much for your continued support! I will update again in a few days as long as it keeps up! I apologize for not getting to respond back to them but I could spend a lot of time that I just don't have doing so. If you have a question, please let me know and I'll do what I can to get back to you. This week was my first week having my own classroom and starting in the middle of the school year is no easy feat. Please be patient with me! I'm pulling 11 hour days at the school and coming home to do more school work. Fanfiction is my escape and something I do for fun. :) Leave me some love and I'll try to get a new chapter up soon! Love, Letzy xx