AN: This is how immature and Twilight-obsessed me and my friends are. A conversation we had:

Sam sits down with a plate of food: Damn it! I should have gotten a fork.

Me: Hehe. Forks is a place.

(Laughter) (Rolling of eyes from non-Twilight readers who know about Twilight because everyone knows about Twilight)

Courtney: Yes. A very cloudy place where it's okay to be sparkly.

For the people who want some Edward/Bella chemistry to begin, this chapter hints at the start of something more. :) Gotta love Edward in a towel!

Disclaimer (And for last chapter, too): Steph owns Twilight. I own this plot. Edward owns me.

Chapter Eight: Food Shopping

BPOV

Monday morning was finally my chance to sleep in. Midway through my waking up routine I reached across and found an empty bed. Hearing no sounds in the apartment, I knew it was late enough that Jacob had left for work. When I got out of bed it was almost one. I threw a piece of bread in the toaster.

I dressed quickly and was brushing my teeth when I heard the phone ringing. Spitting out the toothpaste, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and ran for the phone.

'Hello?' I said breathlessly.

'Bella? It's Jake, I can't talk for long, I've just stepped out of a meeting for a moment. You know how I usually go shopping Monday nights? I'm gonna be home late tonight, after the shops close. Do you reckon you'll be able to go for me? I'm sure Alice will go with you.'

I smiled. 'Sure.'

'Just have a look and see if we need anything. Maybe I'll stop by the Nine's for tea on the way home? I don't want to chance not seeing you awake tomorrow.'

'You could have woken me up,' I told him.

'And miss seeing you so peaceful? I don't think so. Look, I have to get back to work, I'll see you tonight?'

'Sure.' I hung up the phone and grabbed my handbag.

I didn't really mind shopping. It was something distracting, and my life was all about distraction. There wasn't that many things I needed to get – just the necessities and a few extras – but I decided to go around Alice's place anyway and see if she wanted to come with me. My plan had been to go around to her place anyway, so it'd just be the venue and activities that would be different. It was Carlisle's first day at work, and I'm sure Esme and Edward could entertain themselves for an hour while Alice and I were shopping.

Ten minutes later I was standing outside of Alice's apartment, my finger on the buzzer. When no one answered the door after a minute, I tried again, and then I knocked. I was about to pull my phone out of my bag to ring Alice when the door flew open, revealing a wet, glistening Edward wearing nothing but a towel.

My breath caught in my throat as I took in the sight of Edward Cullen standing almost naked before me. He was as built as I'd imagined, but in a way that wasn't intimidating. It was a little… subtler, a lot more so than Emmett. His skin was pale but it suited him, and the view of the white towel resting low on his hips, revealing a perfect "V". His hair was wet, and drops of water fell down onto his chest, where they slid further down along his stomach. I was staring at the faint trail of fine, bronze hair leading down from his navel when he cleared his throat, stretching to lean against the doorframe in a pose that I'm sure was unintentionally seductive. 'Hi, Bella.'

I blushed immediately and closed my eyes, turning my head to the side for good measure. 'Hi, Edward. Um, is Alice home?'

'No she's not. Have you tried calling her?' I could hear the amusement in his voice. God, he better not be laughing at me. I wanted to look to check, but I really didn't think that was a good idea.

'Um, n-no. I'll go call her now. I'll see you around.' I needed to get out of here. I turned and took a step down the hallway, but the sound of his voice stopped me.

'Bella, wait!' Turning my head, I saw his arm reaching out to me, but his hand wavered in the air, like he was hesitant to touch me. I stared at the muscles on his arm. 'Will you come inside? I'll get dressed, and we'll find Alice. How does that sound?'

My eyes slowly moved from his arm to his face. He was staring at me in earnest, like he was trying to get some point across, but I didn't see what it was. My heart and my breathing sped up, and I felt a lump in my throat, but I didn't feel like the usual signs of panic.

Edward took a cautious step toward me. 'Bella, are you okay?' I still didn't speak, just continued to stare at him while my body battled my emotions and my thoughts. 'Bella?' Another step forward. His voice quietened. 'Are you afraid of me?'

I shook my head slowly. He retreated, one hand holding the towel in place and the other running through his hair. 'Will you come inside? I'll get dressed in the bathroom and meet you back in the living room. Does that sound okay?'

Tearing my eyes away to walk into the apartment, I perched on the end of the couch – which was still unfolded in it's bed form – and took out my phone. 'I'll call Alice while you dress,' I told him, not looking at him as he pulled some clean clothes out of a suitcase beside the couch.

'Sure,' he said, and flashed me a tentative smile before disappearing into the bathroom. As soon as he was out of the room I exhaled sharply; I hadn't realised I'd been holding my breath. Suppressing a shiver, I dialled Alice's familiar number and held the phone to my ear.

'Hey Bella!' She answered after the third ring. 'What's up?'

I explained to her what had happened, leaving out Edward's state of undress. 'Oh, Bella!' she cried, and I felt my heart sinking at those words. 'I have the interview for that grant today, I told you about it, remember? I won't be home until three at least.'

'Oh, right.' She had told me about it. Alice was an aspiring fashion designer: she had magnificent designs, but was just lacking the money to go anywhere with it. Someone important had seen her ideas and applied for a grant on her behalf, and I'd completely forgotten about her interview. And after two, we wouldn't have time to get everything and for me to have my alone time. I wouldn't risk passing out at work again; I needed the money. 'I'll go on my own, then. No big deal.'

She sighed into the phone. 'I'm sorry, Bella. I'll make it up to you.'

I smiled, even though I knew she couldn't see me. I remembered hearing somewhere that you can tell whether someone's smiling or not when they talk on the phone. 'It's just shopping. Don't worry about it.'

As I replaced the phone in my handbag Edward came out of the shower, suitably dressed this time. He grinned at me a bit sheepishly. 'Sorry about that,' he said. He took in the sight on me sitting on the edge of his bed and grimaced. 'And that, too.' I stood up so that he could fold the bed back in, not bothering to tidy the sheets properly.

'Alice's at an interview,' I told him.

'Yeah, that's right. She mentioned something yesterday but left this morning before I got up. You didn't need her for anything important, did you?'

'Just needed to go food shopping. I'll be fine on my own, though.'

Edward smiled brightly. 'How about I go with you? I'll help you take the stuff back to your place afterward.'

'That's completely unnecessary,' I told him, stepping toward the door. 'I can manage by myself. Besides, what about Esme?'

He laughed. 'She went to go shopping for furniture. I'd love to come.' A strange look crossed his face abruptly. 'Unless…'

He thought I was afraid of him. The reminder of the fear made it rear its ugly head, but I squashed it back down. I am not you anymore, I told it, and told myself. 'Okay,' I said quickly, then blushed. 'You can come, if you want.'

He grinned at me and rummaged through his things hurriedly to find his wallet and phone. 'All right, I'm set,' he told me. 'Let's go shopping!'

I laughed at his mock enthusiasm and led the way out of the building. We caught a cab to the shopping complex since it was a little too far to walk, and within minutes we were walking through the doors of the overly-air-conditioned supermarket. Edward turned to me, smiling. 'So, have we got a list or are we guessing?'

I smiled at him sheepishly, surprised by how easy it was to be around him. 'Guessing today. Jacob usually shops by himself, but he couldn't today, and since I've just moved in its sort of the least I could do.'

His smile wavered for a moment, and then was replaced by a frown before it reappeared again. This time, however, it seemed a little forced. 'Okay,' he said, grabbing a trolley. 'Where to start?'

I led him around the supermarket, throwing things into the trolley that he pushed for me. The conversation was just as easy as his presence. 'So what do you do for fun in Forks?' he asked me, grimacing a little.

I laughed at the expression on his face. 'Forks isn't that bad, you know.'

He rolled his eyes. 'Uh-huh. But seriously, what do you do?'

Grabbing a tub of margarine from the fridge, I placed it in the trolley. 'Well I mainly just work and spend time with Alice and Rose. There's a couple clubs in Port Angeles, but the Nine's is pretty much all that's here in actual Forks. I used to paint a little, before –' I stopped, horrified. Before I had Amy, I'd been about to say, which was the easiest method of summing up that period in my life. He knew nothing of Amy, could know nothing of Amy, but here I was, about to mention my daughter to this man I barely knew. And I'd been about to say so casually, too… I turned away, trying to regain some form of control over myself.

When I turned around he was waiting patiently a few metres away, frowning at the ground. When he saw me approaching he looked up and smiled hesitantly. 'I think that's everything for this aisle,' I said quietly, hoping that he'd go along with me and pretend nothing had happened.

He nodded slowly and walked with me to the next aisle. 'So are you really gonna play some music for me?' I asked him, eager for him to let go and show me a bit more of himself.

He laughed, and the sound of it made me relax completely again. 'I promised, didn't I? You'll hear me on the piano sometime.'

'Giving me one of your CD's doesn't count,' I warned him, and he muttered, "Damn" like he'd been caught out. 'And you have to sing for me, as well.'

Edward smiled at me crookedly. 'All right, I'll play the piano for you live and I'll sing for you. Before I leave for Chicago.'

We hailed another cab back to my apartment, since there was no way we'd make it with the bags we carried. In the backseat, I couldn't decide whether the silence was awkward or not since it happened so suddenly. 'Edward,' I said softly.

'Yes, Bella?' He turned from the window to smile at me. God, he smiled a lot.

Okay, now this was definitely awkward, but I needed to say this. 'I wanted to apologise for the first few days that you were here. There were some things that happened to me a few years ago that have made me a little… over-cautious.' Edward was completely serious now, staring at me intently but still friendly.

'You know that if you want to, you can talk to me about it?' he told me gently. 'I'll be here for you if you need me, at any time.'

Damn him, how could he make me want to cry so easily? I looked away so he wouldn't see my watery eyes. 'I can't talk about it. Just… know that something happened, and I'm trying to be better.' I turned back to look at him, desperate to get my next point across. 'Jacob's the only new man that I've become close to, in any way. But all of today, I haven't once been afraid of you.'

A warm smile spread across his face. 'Thankyou, Bella. I know I haven't known you long, but it feels amazing to hear that. I want to make you happy, and I think that maybe our friendship could do that, if I'm not being too forward.'

Edward was so sincere that at that moment all I wanted was to lean into him and let him wrap his arms around me. I settled for placing my hand on his forearm. 'I'd like that,' I told him, smiling back gently.

When we reached the apartment Edward carried most of the bags inside, letting me carry two bags. And not big bags, either: by the look of it, they were two of the smallest. I glared at him as I pulled my keys out of my bag. 'I'm not so fragile that I can't carry my own shopping inside,' I told him wryly.

Edward smirked. 'You're tiny. Almost as tiny as Alice, and she's the smallest adult I know. Could you really carry even half of this in by yourself, and manage the door?'

He did have a point. 'All right, fine.' I opened the door and pushed it open so he could go in first, since he was carrying at least eight heavy bags. I followed him in, closing the door behind me, and directed him to place the bags on the kitchen counter. 'Do you want a drink or something to eat?' I asked as I began taking items out of the bags.

'I'd much rather help you put these away,' he said, smiling crookedly down at me as his actions copied mine.

I put my hands over his, forcing him to stop. 'Edward, please. You've already gone out of your way to come shopping with me, you don't have to help me back things away in my own home. Besides, it'll only take a minute.'

His face was suddenly completely serious, and maybe a little cautious. Then he smiled again. 'Maybe. But it'll only be half a minute if I help you.'

Rolling my eyes, I didn't bother to protest further. He was just so… persistent!

In truth, it probably took us longer to put away the shopping together, since I had to stop and tell him where most of the things went, and because I had to think about some things myself. When we were done we stood awkwardly in the kitchen.

'Um, do you want to come back to Alice's?' he asked, running his fingers through his hair. He checked his watch. 'She'll be back by now.'

I looked at the digital clock on the microwave and froze. 3:31. An hour and a half until I had to be at work. I'd been enjoying myself so much that I hadn't been paying attention to the time, and now I wouldn't have time to…

But I didn't want to.

Edward seemed to realise that he'd said something wrong. 'You don't have to if you don't want to,' he told me quietly. 'It was just a suggestion. If you have to… get ready for work…'

He was staring at my arms.

'I'll go,' I said quickly. 'Just let me get my clothes for work, and we can go.'

His eyes slowly crept back up to mine, and we stared at each other. His hand reached out for me again, but once more he stopped himself. 'Bella…' he said quietly. 'You'd tell me if you were afraid, wouldn't you?'

Not letting out gaze break, I nodded my head slowly.

'Why are you so comfortable with me suddenly?' he asked, his voice barely audible. I wasn't sure if the question was actually for me, but I chose to answer anyway.

'Because I like you,' I told him honestly. 'You're easy to be with, and you're genuine.' Finally I tore my eyes away. 'And I know you'll never hurt me. Somehow, I know.'

I grabbed my work clothes and we walked to Alice's in silence. 'Thankyou,' I said sincerely when we were close.

Edward looked down at me and smiled slightly. 'What for?'

I shrugged. 'For helping me with the shopping. And for getting me out of the house this afternoon.'

He said nothing, just nodded slightly.

When we walked into the apartment I felt light. I knew Edward didn't understand how much of a big deal it was that I wasn't at home right now, but I hadn't missed this on a weekday for years. I was addicted to the feeling – the weightlessness was my heroin. But today I didn't need it. Maybe I didn't other days. Today, despite the random moments of stress and strain, I was happy. Purely, utterly happy.

Well, almost. It was close enough for me.

Edward opened the door for us and I followed him inside. 'Hey, Alice,' I began, but the words I'd been about to say died on my lips when I saw the look on her face.

Alice stared at me anxiously from across the room, holding a large envelope in her hands. There was apprehension and fear in her eyes, and immediately I felt sick. What was going on?

Edward had noticed something, and stayed silently by my side, watching carefully. I barely noticed him as I stepped forward. 'Alice? What's wrong?'

'A letter was sent here for you,' she said after a long pause. 'They wouldn't know that you moved out. If you want I'll look at it first.'

I frowned at her, then at the envelope. 'Who is it from, Alice?'

'It's from Rebecca and Peter. It was her birthday last week, wasn't it?'

Her birthday. Amy's birthday.

Oh, God.

AN: Longest chapter yet! Yay for me! Got some pretty cool reviews last time, and it's those that make me want to keep writing (aside from the fact that I love this story) :). Hope Bella and Edward's interaction in this chapter was realistic, I'm pretty much guessing about how someone would react in Bella's situation. If anyone has any comments on how I could improve, then I'd really like to hear them!