A/N Thank you for all your comments, they make my brain happy. I'm kind of battering out the chapters right now when I probably should be focusing on my college work, but this is so much more fun...

I HATE writing fluffy romantic stuff, because I'm not a very romantic person, and I think that if I even tried to write something sweet, I'd crash and burn. And then explode. And then hate myself.

So this chapter is a little friendship-ish. I wanted to give Edward and Bella some time alone, and I needed to get Bella's story out of the way, and so I thought this would be a good idea.

I like to use Alice as a llama in a top hat doing the mambo and waving sparklers in the air when things get too serious. I need to stop drinking coffee.

Chapter 7

A strictly platonic night with Edward

For a second, he's so quiet that I actually think he's fallen asleep, but when I raise my head up from his neck I see that he's just watching my fingers as he twirls a piece of my hair around and around.

"Thank you." I whisper, because I can finally talk again.

"For what?" He answers, and his voice is so low and gravelly that it makes me tingle.

"For being my friend. For calming me down. For pulling me away from Tanya. For not throwing the crazy person out of your house when you probably should."

"Bella, you're not crazy." He says and looks up quickly and into my eyes. I rest my chin on his shoulder and marvel at how thick, dark and long his eyelashes are. It's rather unfair how boys tend to have the prettier eyelashes. I'm jealous.

"I wish I could believe you." We're tangled together on his bed, as soon as I'd nearly fallen through his window, he held on to me, eventually scooping me up and laying me down on his bed, then he put on some music and lay down next to me, wrapping his arms around me until I'd stopped shaking.

It's getting ridiculous the amount of times this boy has held me to calm me down. He doesn't seem to mind though; in fact he seems to be discreetly smelling my hair just as I keep indiscreetly burying my nose in his neck.

"Did I tell you that I was adopted?" I have to let out a little laugh at this; he's random but cute, trying to get my mind off of my mental instability.

"Edward, we've just started talking to each other like normal human beings this morning." He smirks.

"Well, I'm adopted. That's why Alice is in the same year as me – we're all adopted, me, Alice and...Emmett."

"I know what Emmett did." I say quietly and his chest stills for a minute. I run my finger down his forearm and wait until he starts to breathe again.

"Yeah?" He says a little restrained.

"I know how it feels to be abandoned. And what he did was insensitive and bastard-y."

"Bastard-y?"

"Damn straight."

"His timing was impeccable too." He says with a sigh, not looking at me.

"What do you mean?" I ask, slightly confused.

"Nothing. I get it, I do - we're not blood related. But we've known each other all of our lives and when he did...that...and then her. God, I thought my head was going to explode." I chuckle bitterly at that, I know how that feels.

We are quiet again for a little while before he shifts and pulls his body out from beneath mine, lying so that we're both facing each other.

"Are you ready to talk about it yet?" I close my eyes.

"Do I have to be?" I feel him push my hair out of my face and around my ear.

"Yes." I smile at his abrupt answer, but I know that he's right.

"My mom – Renee – is with this younger guy, Phil."

"He an asshole?"

"Not so much, he's just really naive, he doesn't get that everything she does is for herself...Anyway, so I've been living and sort of touring with them ever since I was seven, when Renee cheated on my dad and decided this place was too small for her. So she took me with her to Phoenix – where she met up with Phil and the two of them made these big plans to tour the world together. Phil comes from old money, so it's no problem for him and unsurprisingly Renee didn't mind spending someone else's money – the only problem was me. My mom didn't want Charlie to win, so she kept me with her and Phil paid for me to be homeschooled...you can stop me if you get bored." I notice that he's started playing with my fingers and I fidget when I'm fed up.

"I want to hear about you. Keep going."

"So, we went to England, and France, and Scotland, we visited Ireland for a little while. Each time we'd stay for a short time, and I'd maybe make some acquaintances, and because Renee and Phil we're too busy doing what they wanted I went out and partied and hung out. I've never really had proper friends, because just as I was starting to get to trust people, it was time to move on. New place, new people.

I would get really frustrated, and for some reason even the smallest annoyances made me mad as hell. Somehow, during the short periods of time that we were together, Renee realised that I was like my dad; I had really bad anger issues.

But she was going through this sort of 'nature goddess' phase and so she didn't believe in medicines or anything like that. So, she, uh, let me express my anger in a different way and soon enough it was all good. I didn't get that angry anymore."

"What did she do?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You're making me worry, was it something bad?" He looks a little angry himself at the moment, probably jumping to extreme conclusions.

"No! It's nothing. I don't know why I don't want to tell you, I'm just...Honestly, I don't know why I can't quite say it...There's this 'me' that I just don't need anyone to know about...I'm just not ready to let myself go quite yet. You understand, right?" I look up at him with hopeful eyes and I can see that he is still curious, but he softens and licks his lips.

"Yeah, right. I get it, I do." He smiles and I'm relieved. "Please, go on, I need to hear more."

"Why?" I find myself asking, before I can stop.

"I don't know," he looks a little torn, and I remember his face as he told me to be safe, how vulnerable he looked, "there's just something about you that makes me...want to protect you." Like a little sister, I think to myself, he wants to protect me.

It still makes me smile though, and I'm kind of happy inside.

"So I was doing good, we'd just moved from Paris to Glasgow, and for some reason I was really optimistic about the move. I was going to ask Renee if I could maybe try going to school, rather than being tutored. Even though I loved my tutor, I couldn't help but feel like I was missing out on some vital part of childhood.

I was going to ask her that night, but she got to me first. She sat me down and she told me that my issues were getting in the way of her and Phil, and that she needed to concentrate on her relationship rather than being bothered by my episodes. As you know, I get panic attacks. It's like when I think I'm going to get angry, my brain goes into overload and everything suffocates me and then...I just can't calm down. I'm sort of like Alice in that sense; you know how she jumps to extremes? Well, I do it a little more literally; I'm either a petrified mess or a furious tyrant." This he finds particularly funny.

"Bella, you're hardly a tyrant. In fact, if you hadn't actually nearly broken Tanya's arm, I'd think you were quite cute. Like a kitten."

"Piss off." But secretly I'm kind of glad that when I'm angry I'm not a raging psycho, but instead 'cute'. I've never been called cute before.

"You know you don't mean that." He seems awfully sure of himself. "Okay keep going, I already hate your mother." I know he's only trying to be nice, but he barely knows what she's capable of.

"She told me the big speech about how I couldn't stay with her any longer and that I had to leave. I was actually kind of glad, because I hadn't seen my dad in a while and because that meant that I would actually get my wish, and that I could experience a real school. But as much as I wish I could like Charlie, we're just too similar to get along; we both get extremely pissed off very easily and we don't have the patience to humour people for long. So we'll never be a real bonded father and daughter, because we can barely hold a conversation between each other, and he's far more interested in his work than he ever has been of me. My whole life I've fought for attention between a job and a rich man and I have never won." He shuffles a little closer.

"Do you want to tell me about tonight?" I pull my lips in and bite them with my teeth; I shake my head because I can't bear to tell him about the whisky glass. "Why do you like the rain so much?" He asks, and I'm glad that he has a question I can answer.

"I can rely on the rain, it's not always frequent, but every time I lie and let myself get drenched, I don't have to think about anything other than the rain. It calms me down. I guess you could say I've been using it as therapy." He smiles a small, almost sad smile, and I really don't want him to pity me. I go to tell him this but am frozen still as his bedroom door rattles.

"Edward, why is the door locked?" It's Alice, what a surprise.

"Alice, go away, I'm busy."

"Busy with wh- ohhh! Ew. Edward, I know you're a teenage boy, but really? How often is it even physically possible, I mean there has to be some limit surely?" Edward darts off of the bed with a panicked expression and points for me to get down the side of his double bed, and trying not to burst out laughing, I do just that. He unlocks the door and opens it.

"What is your problem?" He says, exasperatedly.

"I didn't mean it like that; it's a natural thing to do. Heck, everybody does it. Nothing wrong with a little self love. I bet even Bella does it." I blush crimson from my hiding spot, noting her teasing tone as she jibes Edward. Why would she mention me? Unless she knows I'm here and she's trying to purposefully mortify me. Oh dear God, if she's been listening at the door I will string her up by her nosy pixie wings.

"Get out." He says flatly.

"Oh, you know I'm only teasing." She snaps her fingers, "Edward, wake up, stop thinking about Bella and wanking. It's not gentlemanly." I put my hands over my face, hoping that somehow I'll just disintegrate into the floorboards. "Speaking of Bella, how come both of your windows are open?" I can sense her moving about in the room, she's obviously looking for me.

"It's a warm night. Why don't you go over there and ask Bella yourself, anything, just get the fuck out of my room."

"Why so touchy tonight, Eddie?" Apparently he's picked her up and is forcing her out because she's screaming all kinds of expletives at him and she kind of gets drowned out as the door slams in her face.

"Fucking Banshee." He hisses and from my spot on the floor I burst out laughing, I try to keep quiet in case she's got her nose pressed up to the door, but I'm laughing so hard that it's difficult to control. Edward picks me up from the floor and kind of throws me on the bed so that I bounce a little and have to grab the blue comforter in my hands so that I don't fall off, but it doesn't stop my laughter. It wouldn't actually been quite sexy - being thrown down on a bed - if it weren't for the fact that I was pissing myself laughing and that I was still kind of humiliated at Alice's interest in, um, wanking.

"I hate you." But he says it with a smirk.

I wipe the tears from my eyes and try to settle down, my laughs coming in sporadic hiccups every now and then. I've noticed that he's sat down on his desk chair rather than his bed, and I'm suddenly worried that I've offended him.

"Hey, are you hungry?" He says finally and I'm glad it's with a tone of genuine concern, not hidden anger.

"Kind of, but I don't want to put you out. Actually, maybe I should go back over." I look out the window. I really don't want to go back; Edward's room is kind of like a sanctuary right now, and I don't have to think about my problems at home. I know as soon as I jump that gap back across its going to hit me like a train. But I have to face it sometime.

"Actually," Edward says, leaning his elbows on his knees, "I was kind of wondering if you'd maybe stay." He doesn't seem nervous asking, and I'm not surprised because he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who isn't used to having girls sleep over.

I look back over at my window and then back at him; his eyebrow is cocked.

"I'd like that actually. If you're sure you don't mind."

"Bella, of course I don't mind. I don't know why, but I feel like I've known you for a lot longer than a few days." His eyes widen a little and I think maybe he didn't mean to say that out loud. "I hope that didn't sound as cheesy as it did in my head."

"You are dairy free my friend." He looks down and then back up at me with a small smile.

"Right...food. Lock the door behind me, I find it keeps out unwanted guests." I do as he says, and five minutes later he's knocking on the door again. I wait until he's says my name before I let him in, because I know how sneaky Alice can be.

"You, my friend, are a God."

"I am pretty awesome."

"And he's modest too." The dorito I throw at his head rebounds off nicely.

"Hey, now." He frowns.

We both sit cross legged on his big bed, a mountain of chips, dip and candy between us – it's probably not the most healthy dinner, but it's exactly what I need. He tells me he told his parents he wasn't hungry and was going to finish his report and go to bed early; apparently his dad is a little childish, because he had jokingly mocked him for being an 'actionless nerd.' I like that Edward could tell me that.

"Do you have something I can wear?" I ask once we've cleaned up our snacks from the bed and piled them onto his desk, he rubs his hands together to get off some dorito goodness.

"Uh, sure." He rummages through his clothes until he picks up a dark grey shirt, smells it and then throws it at me, then pulls a pair of basketball shorts out of his drawers. "These do?"

"Thanks." I say with a nod and hold them to my chest.

"Um, the bathroom door is linked to both mine and Emmett's room, but I've locked his side so he can't get in. There's spare stuff in the mirrored cabinet if you want to borrow anything." I smile at him as I go in, taking his shirt with me.

I don't want to mention Emmett again, because I don't want him to get pissy and moody. I find Edward much more tolerable when he's not glaring at me.

I brush my teeth and wash my face, and then I fold up my clothes and slide on his. They're far too big, the shorts at my knees and the shirt baggy but when I look at myself in the mirror I can't help but smile. I know it's stupid, but I've always seen those girls with their friends swapping clothes, or when a guy gives a girl his jacket. It's not a romantic thing – although it is sweet – I just think it's more of a friendship thing, like you care about one another. And I know that Edward and I have known each other for such a short period of time, but I like him.

Maybe it's just because I haven't allowed myself to make true friends in places I knew I wouldn't be staying in for long, but it feels like I could talk to him about anything, trust him -Which is undeniably ridiculous, because I thought he was an arrogant asshole before today.

I find a brush in the bathroom; which is weird because Emmett doesn't have enough hair to brush, and Edwards is far too unruly to have even seen grooming products. I take it out with me back into his room.

"Hey." I say, noticing he's changed into a black wife beater, cute, red tartan drawstring pyjama pants and - holy mother of all things sexy – black rimmed glasses. He was lounging across his bed reading – I seriously didn't realise I spent that long in there – and looking stupid fucking hot. Oh dear. He looks at me.

"Hi." He gives me a smirk like he can somehow read my mind, and I'm more than glad that he can't...He can't, right?

"Bathroom."

"Right." And now it's awkward.

Thankfully, he jumps up with a small smile and shuts the door behind him. All of a sudden I'm finding it hard not to look at him when he's in the room. Which is weird, because I spent the last few hours lying all over him complaining about my life. God I'm pathetic.

I sit up on the other side of his bed, tucking my legs underneath me so that I'm kneeling, and curiosity gets the better of me, so I flip the cover of his book over to read the title.

The Shining – Nice, boy likes his horror.

I start to brush my hair out. I should stop scrunching the ends with mousse, I know it makes it curly but it just pisses me off when I brush it. When my hair is fully brushed, its smooth and more wavy than curly.

"So I've unlocked Emmett's door, but I'll lock mine just in-" He stops and looks at me.

"What?" I ask self consciously, folding myself up into a ball and holding my basketball short clad knees to my chest.

"Hmm? Nothing. I was just...you look...Never mind." He runs his hand through his hair and then flips out his light quickly, I hear him let out a sigh and then feel his weight as he clambers in to the other side of the bed.

We're silent for a moment, and I'm still curled up on top of his covers.

"Is this weird?"

"Why would it be weird?"

"I don't know. I've never really slept over at other people's houses before. And you're not exactly the general slumber party host."

"Because I'm a guy?" A hot guy.

"Yes."

"Oh."

"And I mean sure, it worked out fine for Joey and Dawson, right?" He snorts.

"Didn't they end up a couple?"

"Yes, a stupid decision if you ask me. It didn't last long. She ended up with Pacey in the end, thank God. Pacey was way hotter than Dawson - not to mention sweeter and funnier. Dawson sucks."

"Bella-"

"It should have been called Pacey's Creek."

"Bella-"

"I would have loved that show."

"Swan, go to sleep." So I tuck myself under his soft duvet and let my head sink into those really fancy pillows that have so much air in them you think you're sleeping on a cloud.

"I'm just saying."

Sorry for Bella's little tirade there, I think she made her opinions on Dawson pretty clear...

Anyhoo, Reviews would be lovely, darlings, I promise to update as soon as possible, I LOVE that you like my story. Let me know when things get boring and I'll throw in a death or two.

Goodnight, and Good luck.

Who's seen that movie?

I should go.