Bpov

Heidi followed me out of math class, which wasn't our normal routine. She wasn't talking about anything in particular and by the time I got halfway back to the dorm I was getting more and more agitated. I really didn't want to bring her and Edward back together, and it was looking like she intended to follow me to lunch.

In a desperate move I veered toward the library.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"The library, I have some studying to do." Studying that could wait till next week.

"Aren't you having lunch with Edward?" She looked disappointed.

"No." That wasn't technically a lie, it's not like we planned to meet.

"Oh, I was thinking I would ask him what he was doing this weekend. See if he had any plans tonight," she sighed. I'm not sure why I said it. It may have been something in her tone. She wanted to crash our lunch to ask out my Edward. I didn't really have a claim on him, and I wasn't sure that he had meant to ask me to go out with him tonight, but I still didn't like the idea of them together.

"He's busy tonight. He's taking me to a party," I said. The second I saw the look on her face, I wished I could retract my statement. Shove it back to where ever it came from.

"Really…." she said slowly. "What party?" Too late to shut up now.

"A frat party, he knows someone." That was vague enough, right?

"Of course, he's going, everyone who's anyone will be there. I was actually planning on going too. This works out perfect! We can all go together," she exclaimed. No! Did she just steal my not-a-date-date? The look on my face must have translated my feelings pretty clearly.

"Oh, sweetie… you didn't think it was a date, did you? Men like Edward don't take dates to frat parties. What did he say to you exactly?" she looked at me expectantly. Again, I don't know why, but I heard myself repeating Edward's awkward invitation. Maybe Heidi was right. This was clearly not a date.

"Honey, he wasn't asking you out. He probably just felt obligated to invite you. You should make sure he knows you don't think it's a date. You don't want to make him uncomfortable!" she said.

And that's how, in less than twenty minutes, I went from excited about spending an evening with Edward to being horrified that I had once again misunderstood his intentions. Heidi planned on us all meeting in the lobby; she thought Edward would be uncomfortable picking me up in my room, even if he didn't say so. I was going to have to let him know about the change in our plans, but I would have to wait to go over to his room. He had class after lunch.

After ditching Heidi in the library I made my way back to my room. Alice helped me pick out an outfit. I told her I was going to a party with Edward, but I didn't have the heart to admit Heidi was coming too. I don't know why, but I thought it would irritate Alice. I did, however, make it clear to Alice that this wasn't a date!

She tossed yet another strappy tank at me.

"Alice, it's October, I can't wear a tank top!"

"Haven't you ever heard of a liquid jacket? It will only be cold on the way there. Besides, you'll be wearing a lot less next weekend on Halloween." She smiled brightly, and my stomach sank a little. I agreed to join Alice and Rose in whatever their Halloween costume plans were. "Whatever you want" hadn't seemed like a bad idea at the time, but now I wasn't so sure. I was starting to regret it already, and I had only seen glimpses of what Alice had planned.

We had finally settled on a nice pair of jeans and a fitted tee which, in my opinion, dipped too low and stopped too high, but Alice insisted it was perfect. What was the point in having your belly button pierced if no one saw it? I was still reminded of that decision every time I rolled on to my stomach at night. Mental note: ask about Emmett's tattoo. I was holding him indirectly responsible for my impromptu piercing, and it would make me feel better if I knew that he suffered some kind of discomfort as well.

I looked at the clock, I had killed enough time. I needed to go tell Edward about the new plans and make sure he knew I understood this wasn't a date. Sigh.

Epov

On Friday afternoon, I was walking on air. Tonight was my date with Bella. She wasn't in the cafeteria at lunch, but I didn't let that get to me. I got to Emmett and Jasper's room that afternoon excited to share the news.

"Hey man, what are you smiling about?" asked Emmett.

"I've got a date with Bella tonight," I replied happily.

"You asked her out! That's great. Where are you taking her?" asked Jasper.

"Well, my buddy Peter's frat is having a party," I started.

"Oh, please tell me you didn't," Jasper said.

"No, just wait. I ran into her last night, and she asked me what I was doing tonight, and I was like, going to a frat party, you should come." I paused and waited for the applause.

Emmett started laughing. Well, that's not what I was expecting.

"Edward, that is not a date. I doubt she even thinks it is, which is maybe for the best," said Jasper with a concerned look on his face.

"Dude," sputtered Emmett "It's like he's trying to not get laid!"

"I know," agreed Jasper. What did they know? Of course Bella thought it was date. I had been clear it was a date. Hadn't I? Whatever, it didn't matter. It was going to be Bella and me alone… well, as alone as one gets at a frat party. Okay, maybe my plan was a little flawed.

"Whatever, you guys don't know her like I do. She'll think it's great," I snapped.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Eddie," chuckled Emmett.

"Don't call me Eddie," I grumbled.

"Hey." I spun around to the door, even though I didn't have to look to identify the voice. Bella was leaning in the doorway.

"Hey, Bella," I responded nervously. She wasn't backing out was she?

"Listen, you remember my friend Heidi, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied. What did Heidi have to do with tonight? Maybe this had nothing to do with tonight. Maybe she needed help with her math homework. Calm down. She took a deep breath. She looked kind of nervous. What did she have to be nervous about?

"I ran into her before lunch, turns out she going to the party tonight too," Bella said with what sounded like fake enthusiasm. I still didn't understand. While I certainly thought it was unfortunate that she was going to be there, why would Bella be upset? They were friends, right?

"Well, she thought it would make more sense for us all to go together. Would you mind just meeting down in the lobby around 9:30 instead? I mean, I figured you wouldn't mind if she came, it's not like it's a date or anything." She muttered the last part, but I heard it loud and clear. Based on the loud choking noise from behind me, Emmett had too.

"Ummm, yeah. Okay. I'll see you downstairs then," I responded. She looked behind me, concern painting her features.

"Emmett, are you okay?" she asked. I turned my head see Emmett turning an unnatural shade of red. He shook his head furiously. "Okay…" she said uncertainly. "I'll see you later, Edward." She turned and left.

I doubt she was more than a couple doors down when Emmett started roaring.

***

It was almost 9:30 and I was still annoyed about our change in plans, but I wasn't going to let it ruin the night. After Bella left, I begged Emmett and Jasper to bring the girls and come with us. I was sure Peter could still get them on the list. They apparently already had other party plans. I had my suspicions that they both thought the situation was too funny to interfere with, but we made plans to meet up later that night on our floor.

I walked into the lobby and spotted Heidi standing with some guy near the desk. Had she brought a date? Maybe I had totally overreacted. I didn't see Bella yet. I walked toward Heidi. She was wearing a tiny black tank top and a super short red skirt with a pair of spiky black heels. Not that it wasn't sexy, but she knew it was October right? She was going to freeze. I hope her date was prepared to give away his shirt later. She noticed me walking toward her.

"Edward! It's so nice to see you," she sang. I reached her and her companion near the door.

"Hi, Heidi. Have you seen Bella?" I asked. Heidi placed her hand on my arm.

"Nope," she answered. I thought it was odd she hadn't introduced her date, and he didn't look particularly comfortable either. Just then, Bella walked out of the opposite tower's door and headed toward us. She was walking toward us with a small smile. I couldn't help but notice she was looking directly at Heidi's hand on my arm. I pulled away from her quickly. Bella might not think this was a date, but I was hoping to move things in that direction.

She looked amazing. Her dark hair fell free in large waves. She was wearing a deep purple tee that clung to her slim frame and ended just shy of her dark blue jeans. I could see a tiny sliver of skin at her waist. A pair of black boots zipped over her jeans and ended just below her knee. She was wearing twice as many clothes as Heidi and still managed to look just as sexy.

"Hey guys," she offered a shy wave. I opened my mouth to answer, but Heidi stepped in front of me.

"Hey, Bella! This is my friend Sean," she pushed the guy next to her forward. "I think you two will really get along." There was no missing the suggestive edge in her voice. It occurred to me suddenly this guy wasn't Heidi's date, he was meant to be Bella's. Well that was no good. The only upswing was that Bella looked just as surprised by his appearance as I was.

"Hi, Sean. It's nice to meet you," she replied sweetly. There was a quiet pause where Bella stared at the floor, Sean stared at her, Heidi went back to patting my arm, and I glared in this Sean guy's direction. Then I realized they were probably waiting for me to lead the way.

"If you guys are ready…"

"Of course, Edward. Let's go," Heidi replied and looped her arm under mine. This night was not going as I planned at all. Oh well, I would have time at the party to set everybody straight. I led us out the door and onto the sidewalk.

As I suspected, Heidi's outfit didn't provide near enough coverage for an October evening. She spent most of the walk to the frat house clinging to my side and complaining about the cold. The large purse she had slung over her shoulder must have had something heavy in it because it kept swinging into me while she walked almost sideways in an attempt to press as much of her body against me as possible.

I had to admit, Heidi was an attractive girl. I mean, not the kind of girl I would keep around for the long haul, but if I wasn't desperately interested in the girl walking two feet behind us I would probably have been thoroughly enjoying the situation.

I spent most of the walk trying to listen to the conversation behind me. Bella was being polite, but it was easy to see she wasn't overly interested. Sean rambled on about his medical ambitions. Pre-med, figures. The party was just starting to get rolling when we got through the door.

We found a spot on the dance floor. I had been thinking about dancing with Bella since last night… well, if I was being honest, since that first weekend in September. Heidi, not surprisingly, had different plans. We broke into pairs and I didn't end up with the partner I wanted. This was going to be a real problem if it went on all night.

I positioned myself so that I could see past Heidi to Bella and Sean. Bella's back was to me so I couldn't see her face, but I was pleased she seemed to be keeping some space between Sean and herself. She hadn't done that with me. You didn't really offer her the choice. Shut up, that's not the point. I saw him move closer. She backed up half a step. I really didn't like this guy. Plus, it was hard to concentrate on acting natural with Heidi grinding on my leg.

Then he made an unforgivable mistake. He reached behind Bella and grabbed her ass. I think the room actually went red. I saw her jump and wiggle away from him. This ends now.

"Sean and I are going to get drinks," I announced. He looked up at me, surprised. I don't know what he saw in my face, but he didn't argue. I felt a little guilty about leaving the girls all alone on the dance floor, but this guy needed to be taught some basic manners. Who the hell did he think he was? Did he think he had a right to touch Bella without her permission?

I followed him in to the kitchen, I wasn't sure what my plan was, but I was pretty sure it was going end with this guy sporting a black eye. I cornered him once we got into the kitchen. The room was crowded, but I managed to find a spot to back him against a wall. If this slime ball thought he was going to bust in on my date and then feel her up, he had another thing coming. What kind of guy man-handles a girl he just met, did he think that's what Bella wanted? Bella was a lady, and I was going to set this him straight. He looked scared already. Too bad, it wasn't going to be nearly as satisfying to crack his face open if he wasn't going to put up a fight.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

"Uh, I don't…listen…what?" he stammered.

"What the hell do you think you are doing with Bella?" I was seething. He put his hands in the air.

"Listen, man, no disrespect meant. Heidi is in my afternoon class. I barely know the girl, she asked me to come with her tonight. Told me she had a hot friend looking for a hook up," he responded. What!? That couldn't be true. Bella didn't look like she was trying to hook up with this guy. Either he was full of shit, or Heidi was. One problem at a time.

He was still standing against the wall with his hands up. He looked so pathetic that my anger waned a little. I had a bit of a temper and I had gotten into a few fights in high school. Never anything big, but I knew how to throw a punch and how to take one. I just couldn't stand it when assholes thought they could take advantage of woman. The last guy I had knocked out was cheating on Peter's little sister. She was so devastated when she found out, and she didn't want Peter to know, so I took care of it. It didn't look like it would have to come to violence tonight. I was glad; I didn't need the extra drama.

"Listen, Bella's with me." Well, she will be. "So I think it would be best if you suddenly had somewhere else to be. I'll tell the girls you're sorry you had to leave," I stared at him unblinking.

"Yeah, you know, I do remember another party I said I would be at," he said. He shifted, walking sideways and not taking his eyes off me until he cleared the kitchen. I felt better already.

"Hey, Edward!" I turned around and saw Peter standing by the kitchen island with his girlfriend Charlotte. "Shots!" he shouted. At this point, it couldn't hurt.

Peter talked me into a couple rounds of shots before I collected drinks for myself and the girls and headed back. I scanned the floor for them and saw them standing slightly off to the side. Bella's face was twisted and I saw her handing something to Heidi. Heidi tipped up the clear bottle and took a swig. Her face remained smooth while she screwed the cap back on and tossed the vodka bottle in her purse. I worked my way over to them and handed each of them a cup. Bella smiled up at me. Heidi craned her head looking behind me.

"Where's Sean?" she asked.

"Too much pre-partying I guess. He had to leave quickly," I shrugged. Heidi looked a little angry.

"He was fine a minute ago," she mumbled. I looked over. Bella was halfway through her drink and smiling at me.

"I want to dance," she said. I had been gone a while… but I was starting to wonder how much of the bottle in Heidi's purse had been drunk. Whatever. I wanted to have fun with Bella tonight, and the effect of my own shots was starting to settle in.

The three of us moved onto the dance floor again. I alternated dancing with the girls. It wasn't ideal, but at least I got to dance with Bella some of the time. When I wasn't dancing with her, I was watching her, not really so covertly.

Heidi took a break from grinding on my leg and leaned into my ear.

"Edward, you're the best dancer," she slurred slightly. I hadn't decided what to do about the Heidi situation just yet, but for now Bella seemed okay with it being the three of us. Bella was dancing with an empty cup. I pulled away from Heidi, not an easy task. Wrapping an arm around Bella, I grinned and turned back to Heidi.

"Refills," I said, lifting up my cup. We got to the kitchen successfully, got a new round of drinks and stayed for a round or two of celebratory shots. I don't know what we were celebrating, but everyone in the kitchen was excited for it, so what the hell. Bella was so sexy when she cheered with the group and raised her shot glass. I fought the urge to push her against the island and show her just how I felt. Then she winced as the shot went down and shook her head, making the most adorable face, and I remembered that Bella was a nice girl. Nice girls don't like being groped in front of groups by drunk men. Was I drunk? Yep. Definitely drunk.

Bella announced she wanted to go outside, so I led the girls out onto a porch. The porch was pretty crowded with smokers. I didn't normally smoke, and I didn't really like girls who did, but when I was drinking sometimes I indulged. Just say no, kids. We found a spot by the railing and I leaned against it between Heidi and Bella. Heidi was pressed against me again and running her hand up and down my arm. She not-so-subtly slipped her other hand under my shirt and slowly ran it across my lower abs. While I was trying to play it cool, I'm not going to lie, she had part of my body's full attention. I was going to need to stay away from her to avoid screwing things up with Bella.

Bella had been studying the guy next to her with the funniest look on her face for the last minute or so. He turned and grinned at her. I suppressed a growl. He flipped open his pack of cigarettes and offered her one. She looked at the pack with open fascination. Finally she shrugged, grinned at him, and pulled one out. I could no longer fight the urge to stake some claim and wrapped my free arm around Bella. The guy looked up at me, and then from Bella to Heidi, who was still busying her self under my shirt. He gave me a huge grin.

"Smoke?" he asked, holding out the pack. When in Rome.

"Thanks," I nodded at him.

"Me, too," pouted Heidi. She reached over for her own cigarette, which thankfully gave her hands something else to do. The guy handed me a lighter. I went to light Bella's first, but she was still rolling it over in her fingers like it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen. I turned to Heidi instead. I flipped the lighter and she had her cigarette lit with a deep drag in a second.

"Edward, I've never smoked before. This is my first time… you're such a bad influence," she giggled and winked at me. Then she inhaled and exhaled a perfect plume of smoke out her nose. Right, first cigarette. Something told me Heidi wasn't the kind of girl who had too many firsts left. I lit my own and turned to Bella, who was stilling rolling her cigarette around between her fingers. Better light this thing before she breaks it. I struck the lighter and held it out to her. She offered me the filter end. Chuckling, I took her cigarette and lit it with mine. She watched me, openly fascinated. I smiled at her as I handed it back to her.

"Have you ever done this before?" I asked.

"I haven't," chirped Heidi. Right, right. I rolled my eyes, and Bella started giggling. Yeah, she was definitely drunk too.

"It can't be that hard," she replied.

"Well, first of all you're almost out," I lifted her hand to my mouth and took a drag to keep her lit. I was happy to watch her mouth fall open slightly while she watched me. This was going well. I should keep it simple. "Don't swallow any smoke, that's a good place to start." She set out diligently trying to look natural; and for the most part she succeeded. She only had a minor coughing attack.

We had all just thrown our butts in the closest coffee can when Bella decided she needed another drink. She grabbed my hand and started pulling me back toward the kitchen. Even in my hazy state, I was pretty sure neither Bella, nor Heidi, who was struggling to stay upright on her heels, needed another drink, but I thought it best to just follow.

We entered the kitchen and found ourselves in the middle of a large circle of impromptu truth or dare. The circle was mostly frat guys. I recognized some of them, and Peter and Charlotte were there. I saw one of the guys from the night before, Demetri, I think. He took have a step forward and raised his glass.

"I dare the two of you," he gestured between Bella and Heidi, "to kiss." Bella started giggling again as a blush began to creep up her cheeks. I suppose I should be trying to get them out of this.

"I always wondered what it would be like to kiss a girl," said Heidi. She took a strong step toward Bella, who was wearing a slightly startled, if not shell shocked expression. She's not really going to…oh my God, she is. Best night ever. I stood gaping as Heidi locked Bella into a kiss directly in front of me. Just when I thought Heidi was going to pull back, she drew her hands into Bella's hair and deepened the kiss. She let Bella go and turned toward me. I wasn't sure I would ever be able to form complete sentences again. I heard one of the guys behind me issue a whoa.

Too fast for me to really register what was happening, Heidi was attacking my mouth. Attacking is the word I would use. I stumbled a little bit when her body made contact with mine.

"I didn't want you to feel left out," she said in a throaty voice as she pulled away. I was vaguely aware that the conversation in the kitchen had moved on without us. I was more aware of the other small body pressed against me. I turned my head to see Bella staring at Heidi with fierceness in her eyes that unnerved me just a little. Bella looked up at me.

"But now I feel left out," she almost whispered. It wouldn't be gentlemanly to let her feel left out. She wanted to be included. This was definitely an invitation. A drunk invitation. Whatever, that still counts. I heard Heidi huff behind me as I leaned in to kiss Bella. I pressed against her lips and happily found myself in the spot I had been fighting to get into for over a month: one arm wrapped around her waist the other hand pressed softly against her neck.

I started softly, not wanting her to change her mind. For the briefest moment it didn't matter that not a minute earlier we had both been kissing the same woman. Well, let's face it… I hadn't completely forgotten watching Bella do that. This was progress; she had to know how I felt about her. I nipped her bottom lip gently, hoping to take the kiss a step further.

"Bella, I want to do shots!" screeched Heidi. Bella pushed back and looked up at me a little dazed. Her friends really had terrible timing.

"Shots would be good," Bella agreed. Two rounds of shots later, I decided it would be best for us to head back to the dorm. I could have easily carried Bella back if I had too, but I couldn't just abandon Heidi. It was best to start moving while we were all still on our feet.

Two blocks from the frat house I noticed Heidi was holding one shoe and walking barefoot.

"Heidi, where is your other shoe?" I asked. Heidi looked around as if searching the ground.

"I don't know," she said. "Edward, will you give me a piggy back ride? My feet hurt," she pleaded. Bella was happily zigzagging across the sidewalk just in front of us. It would get us home faster. I secured Heidi on my back; she had a death grip around my neck. A block later, Bella suddenly turned.

"You know what? I still want to dance. You know what we need… music. She's a brick hooouusse," she broke into song. I had one arm trying to keep a very drunk Heidi secured to my back, I reached out the other to keep hold of one of Bella's arms. I didn't want her to get far ahead, and this way I would have a chance of catching her if she fell.

"I like big butts and I cannot lie, You other brothers can't deny…." Apparently Bella was going to treat us to a mix of songs on the way back. It was actually really funny to watch her shake her backside to the lyrics.

"It's tearing up my heart when I'm with you, but when we are apart I feel it too…." N'SYNC… really? How much had she had to drink? I mean, what did a girl Bella's size weigh? She looked so tiny. Maybe I shouldn't have let her have that last shot. We were in view of the building when Bella broke into her final song.

"Free fallin'……," she belted. I loosened Heidi's grip and straightened out her outfit. She stood quietly while I adjusted her; that probably wasn't a good sign. I also noticed her solo shoe appeared to be missing. I quieted Bella and somehow got them through the lobby undetected and into the elevator. I was counting on Jasper and Emmett being back to distract Heidi.

We got off the elevator and started down my hall. My heart sank when I saw the guys' door still closed. Heidi marched down the hall, even though she had no idea where she was headed. It was okay, she couldn't get that far. I turned around to find Bella. She was leaning against the wall fighting with one of her boots.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Uh huh. I can't get it off." She pushed her foot gently against my chest. I steadied her calf with one hand and pulled down the zipper with the other.

She stared at me intently as I held her leg. "You're pretty," she said dreamily, smiling softly at me. "And you have really great hair." She giggled, and my heart pounded a little. This was another invitation. I should try to flirt some more.

"Bella, have I mentioned how incredibly sexy these are?" I grinned at her. Her hair was wild around her face. I slipped the boot off and helped her exchange legs. I started unzipping the second boot.

"They're Alice's. She made me wear them, I can't feel my feet," She grinned back at me. I pulled the last boot off but didn't let go of her leg. Heidi was slumped against the wall further down the hall, she may have passed out. I decided to deal with that in a minute.

"She made me wear this too," Bella pushed up her chest cupping a boob in each hand. Oh, you've got to be kidding me. I was really trying to behave, at least a little bit. "Edward, do you know what a push-up bra is?" she asked. She hadn't let go of her chest.

"Uh huh." It was all I could think to say. We must have looked bizarre. I was still holding her leg while she felt herself up.

"I think it's pretty ridiculous, what's wrong with a regular bra? All it does is hold your boobs up. I mean… what is the big deal about boobs anyway? Do you think I have nice boobs?" This wasn't happening. "I see boobs all the time, I don't really get it." She was lifting and raising her chest while she spoke. We were both staring at her chest now. "You know what's a funny word? Boobs. Boobs. Boobs. Boobs." She was repeating it with a funny lilt in her voice. I leaned in closer to her, loosening my grip on her leg and moving it to a more comfortable position near my hip. A man can only take so much, and I was almost at my limit. Another half a breath and I would have her pinned to the wall.

"Hey, Edward?" she spoke suddenly, breaking my trance.

"Yeah?" I replied hoarsely.

"I really want to play Mario Cart." And with that she moved her hands, turned and danced down the hall. I knocked my head against the wall a couple times and went to unlock the door.

***

The room was bright when I woke up. My futon was pulled flat and I was sprawled across it sideways wearing the same clothes I had on the night before. I sat up and saw the start screen to Mario Cart still running. When was I playing Mario Cart? I turned my head and was greeted with a fantastic sight. Bella was curled on her side still clutching a game controller in one hand. She looked so peaceful in her sleep.

I moved quietly as I got up. I didn't want to wake her. There was no way she wasn't going to be feeling last night when she did wake up, so it was better that she slept as long as she could. When I got up I noticed there was a crinkled blanket on the other side of me as well. Heidi. Thankfully there was no sign of her in the room. She must have left already. I wanted to get a little cleaned up, and then maybe Bella would be awake and we could talk. I wanted to make sure she understood I was interested in her, just her. I tossed my shirt on the floor, grabbed my toothbrush, and slipped out the door.

I got to the bathroom door and I noticed that there were two voices shouting at each other inside. That might not have been particularly odd, but they were woman's voices and this was definitely an all guys floor. It took me a second to place the first voice: Heidi. I thought about creeping back to my room. Maybe she wouldn't come back there. I suppose it would be rude to lock the door and pretend not to be there. I suddenly recognized the second voice. Alice? She must have stayed with Jasper last night. Go Jasper. Curiosity kept me pinned to the door. I wanted to know what they were fighting about.

"Bella may be all sweet and naive, but I know your game," shouted Alice. "She may not have much in the way of self confidence, but I know Edward and he would never be interested in a ho bag like you! Don't think you can waltz in here and walk all over Bella because you think she's weak. She's got friends, and from where I stand, you're all alone in a boys' bathroom on a Saturday morning. So maybe you should get the hell out while you still can!"

"Fine, I'm leaving. I'm so done with you people anyway. And as far as Bella is concerned, she may have the whole Bambi routine down, but no one is actually that sweet and innocent, and you're stupid if you fell for it! And I'm not leaving because I couldn't beat her! It's just not worth my time. There are other fish in the sea." I heard someone heading toward the door. I backed up quickly but there was no time to get back to my room. I was going to be stuck in the hallway. Heidi slammed through the door first and headed toward the elevator, barefoot, without looking back. Good riddance. Alice followed after, but then she turned in my direction. I was about to compliment her on a job well done when I caught a good view of the look on her face. Uh oh.

"And you," she was still shouting, "I can't even believe you!"

"Alice, I…," she cut me off.

"Jasper says you've been pining after Bella all school year. So what, she didn't put out fast enough so you bring Heidi home? I trusted you! I let her go with you last night, because I thought you were a nice guy. Does Bella know? Oh my God! Do you even know where Bella is?! Tell me you didn't leave her somewhere." She was at top volume now.

"Alice, I'm right here." Bella's voice came from behind me. "What are you shouting about?" Alice's eyes moved from Bella, standing a few feet from my open door, to me and back again. I honestly would have said something if I hadn't been so terrified.

"Oh, you didn't," she said to me in a dangerously low voice. Bella made her way down the hall to us and holding her boots in one hand.

"Bella, we're leaving." She grabbed Bella's arm and started dragging her down the hall. Bella turned and offered me a small smile. I heard Alice grumbling something about using the buddy system from now on.