Sorry about the delay,the weather is horrible in Scotland at the mo and there was no way in hell I was hauling my ass through the sleet and ice to get to the library to use the computer, haha. Anyway, thank you for the reviews! They were fab. This chapter and the two after it are my absolute faves, I'd love to update them all at once, but no, one at a time... ;) hope you enjoy! xxx

Chapter Nine: The Street Party

Bella

I had only been to Port Angeles a few times, and today it looked just like it always had done whenever I had taken the time to travel up there. The place it turned into at night time was almost a surreal memory to me, and I was struggling to believe it had really looked as cool and as amazing as I remembered.

Edward drove through a few side streets, steering his motorbike effortlessly, and we ended up in an empty looking road, complete with boarded up flats and closed down shops, graffiti, and a grubby looking bar. There were bikes parked in front of it, however, and cars all along the street. Edward pulled up into a free space.

"Where are we?" I asked, as I handed him back his helmet.

"Garrett owns this bar," he answered, undoing the zip on his leather jacket and running a hand through his hair. "He won't serve me drink, but he'll let me hang out."

Despite the dodgy looking exterior, inside the bar was very clean and bright and full of people. There were pool tables, air hockey tables, a jukebox, pinball machines… I smiled to myself. It was almost like a typical biker bar. There were heavily tattooed guys in leather and studs playing cards at one table, laughing raucously.

"Hey, Carmen," Edward greeted, and for the first time I noticed Kate's sister in a black corset and jeans, standing behind the brightly lit bar, mixing a drink.

"Hey, Edward," she grinned. "Hey, Bella. Nice to see ya again. Gar is in the back, go on through."

I followed Edward, who sauntered behind the bar like he owned it and ducked through a beaded doorway. There was a small room, which had another beaded door revealing a spiral staircase beyond it, and was mostly occupied by a large red leather couch, on which Garrett was lounging, smoking a cigarette and watching sports on a tiny television.

"Cullen!" he said, grinning and winking. "Ditching again. And you brought Bella!" he said delightedly, noticing me for the first time. "This must be a first, bringing the same girl up here with you, eh?"

"Oh, hardy haw," Edward said, rolling his eyes, and I felt a stab of annoyance. I didn't like hearing about the tribe of girls that had proceeded me. I didn't want to be registered in the same category as them, those desperate girls all out for a piece of Edward Cullen. I wasn't like them.

Edward threw himself on the couch, and I sat down next to him, crossing my legs.

"Did you hear about the street party tonight?" Garrett asked him, sitting back down himself.

"Yeah, I got a text about it," Edward shrugged.

"You sticking around for it? It should be laugh, and it's only around the corner from here."

"It's up to Bella," Edward said, swinging his head in my direction, a trace of a smirk on his face. "If her Daddy won't miss her…"

I threw my eyes to heaven.

"What do you say?" Garrett asked me hopefully, grinning.

"Sure," I said. "Why not?"

"Great! Oh, Ed, they're holding the next race tomorrow, we got eight guys signed up for it already. You interested?"

"I dunno," Edward said, robbing a cigarette from Garrett, along with his lighter. "I might just quit while I'm ahead."

"Yeah, quit before you come in second again," Garrett smirked.

"Keep talking, Gar," Edward said, "but I'm not the one who crashed three cars in drag races."

Garrett sighed and shook his head, and I laughed at his expression. I loved how comfortable I felt here, even though it was such an alien environment to me.

"So, where's the other half?" Edward asked.

"Kate? She's oiling herself up. She's the stripper here," Garrett explained to me.

"Oh!" I said, my eyes widening. "Right. Great."

There was a short pause, before both Edward and Garrett burst out laughing.

"I'm just joking, Bella," Garrett choked out. "I didn't think you'd believe me, she'll be so insulted over that…"

"Honestly, Bella," Edward chuckled.

I huffed. "Well, I don't know, do I?! How do I know what ye all do…" But I laughed too. "Tell Kate I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Kate suddenly bounced down the spiral staircase and into the room, grinning at us.

"Gar told me you were a stripper and I didn't realise he was joking," I said, smiling apologetically. Kate rolled her eyes and threw Garrett a look.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "You should let Gar tell you the story of when he used to pole dance in a gay bar…" she walked through the beaded door into the bar, smirking.

I eyed Garrett with half a smile on my face. "Was she joking?"

"I wish," he muttered. "It was a few years ago, I had no money… I needed to earn somehow!" he said defensively, scowling at Edward, who had dissolved into laughter for the second time.

"How embarrassing," Edward sniggered. Gar just looked at him, and then turned to me.

"Bella, did you know that Edward here once had three girlfriends on the go?"

That sobered Edward up.

"At the same time?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Yep!" Garrett said, triumphant now the spotlight was off of him. "Two of them ran into each other at one of the street races and started a big catfight in the middle of the street, and Edward just watched with his hands in his pockets, unconcerned as ever! Then he went off to a party to see the other one!" Garrett revealed, chortling.

"Jeez, Edward, they told me you were a womaniser but it didn't quite register until right now," I said dryly.

"I was bored," Edward shrugged. "I like to experiment with people when I'm bored, just to see what happens."

For no apparent reason, that sentence stirred up an uneasy feeling in my gut, so I stored it away in my brain for later analysis.

Kate suddenly stuck her head in through the beads. "James is here," she hissed. "With his friends."

"Ugh, great. I thought I was rid of him for at least another month," Garrett said darkly. "And I thought I told him he was barred?"

"Well, I'm not going to be the one to remind him," Kate said, looking apprehensive.

"OK, eh… just get Benjamin to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't try anything funny. One foot wrong and he's out the door, and I don't care who he thinks he is."

"OK," Kate said, and left. Garrett exhaled loudly, and I noticed that even Edward had tensed.

"Who's James?" I asked, feeling like it was a stupid question.

"He's…" Garrett paused. "He's a nasty piece of work. He believes he can get any woman he wants, regardless of boyfriends or anything, so he likes to create all kinds of trouble. Carries a knife on him at all times, likes to show it off, isn't afraid of using it. He's got an official girlfriend, this redhead chick, Victoria, who doesn't seem to mind that he's a serial womaniser. Just like our Edward here."

"Don't compare me to him," Edward snapped. "I don't threaten girls the way he does."

"I was just joking," Garrett said, holding up his hands in front of him. "Bad joke. Anyway… James. He's got Victoria running his drug deals, and his idiot friend Laurent is like his bodyguard or something, but he's as thick as a plank of wood. Yet you wouldn't catch anyone picking a fight with him though."

I nodded, understanding why James's name had been a cause for tension now.

"Trust me," Garrett said. "He ain't a nice guy. You don't wanna go around giving James reasons not to like you."


The day passed by very quickly. I managed to sneakily borrow Garrett's phone when Edward wasn't paying attention, so that I could leave a message for Charlie saying I had just gone to Rosalie's and wasn't sure when I'd be back. I apologised for the short notice and couldn't help feeling bad, but I couldn't go back now, even if I wanted to. Edward was my lift.

The sky gradually darkened outside, and soon it was time to head over to the street that was hosting the party. We walked through the bar, and three people near the door caught my attention. A perfectly ordinary-looking guy was surrounded by a drawn and probably once very pretty redhead, and another menacing kind of guy. It had to be James and his crew.

James glanced up at me just as I was leaving, and caught my gaze. A chill washed down by spine, and I looked away hurriedly.

I left the bar with Edward, Garrett, Kate and Carmen, and we walked around the corner to the street parallel to the one we had been on, where the party was well underway. There were a lot of people there already, sitting on the pavement, clustered in groups, and a stereo was blasting out chart music, propped on a windowsill.

The five of us grabbed a spot on the pavement and just sat down, relaxing. We were later joined by Carmen's boyfriend, Eleazar, and to my annoyance, Tanya. We stayed there for about an hour, just chatting, and once again I found that I was really enjoying myself. I never thought that I could feel comfortable in a situation like this, or feel like I fit in.

Eventually, the street was packed and noisy enough that people had started dancing, and dark enough that the only lights were coming from phone screens, lighters, the dim and mostly dysfunctional street lights, and the rooms of some apartments around us. Some people were making it their mission to get extra lights from somewhere, so every now and then there would be an extra burst of light, as someone plugged in an outdoor lamp, or similar. But no one seemed really concerned.

I was laughing at Kate, who trying to persuade an uninterested Garrett to dance with her, using all sorts of bribery, when Edward suddenly wrapped an arm around my waist tightly. I looked at him questioningly, but he was staring past me, his jaw clenched.

"Hey," said a smooth voice, and I turned my head. It was James, looking right at me. "I was just wondering if this babe here wanted to come and dance with me." It didn't sound like a question.

"No, she wouldn't," Edward said, before I could even think of coming up with any kind of reply. "She's with me."

James's eyes locked with Edward's for a long moment, and then he smiled.

"My apologies," he said, and walked away. But he threw a glance over his shoulder at me.

"Terrific," Garrett muttered, after a pause. "Just what we were looking for. James on our backs."

"He won't cause too much trouble, surely?" I asked nervously, beginning to chew on my nails.

"James likes to get his own way," Edward said darkly, still staring in his direction. "Things get ugly when he doesn't." He met my eyes then, his arm still holding me firmly against him. "Bella… whatever he might say to you, don't do it. And don't leave my sight, seriously," Edward warned me, and I promised I wouldn't.

Garrett changed the subject, and I joined in the conversation without my earlier enthusiasm. I could feel him watching me.

James didn't bother us again for the rest of the party, which turned out to be as good as Garrett had promised. It looked set to continue on the same way all night, but then Edward spoke up.

"Right, I'm going home. I'm wrecked," he said, "and plus I've got school tomorrow," he added, smirking.

"Ah, yes, 'cause I know how dedicated you are," Garrett laughed.

"Yep, that's me," Edward grinned. "And Bella will need her beauty sleep before school too," he said, nudging me.

"She don't need much of it," Garrett said nicely, and I smiled at him.

"Aw, thanks, Gar!"

"Seriously, Bells, I don't want you to leave," Garrett said dramatically. "You're the sweetest thing Edward has ever introduced me to, and I fear he may let his stupidity take over and let a girl like you go, and I'll never see you again!"

I laughed at his theatrics, a little touched.

Garrett walked with Edward and I back to the bar, where the motorbike was parked, making me laugh by jokingly informing Edward of all the things he had to change about his personality in order to keep me interested. I did want to mention that Edward and I weren't even a thing in the first place, as everyone liked to assume, but since Edward wasn't in a hurry to deny it, neither was I.

I didn't know what we were, really. I wouldn't have said friends… I wished I could get into his head and find out what he thought of me, and see if we were on the same page. He was just… Edward, to me. An enigma.

I didn't see it coming.

One minute, Garrett had stolen the spare helmet so that I couldn't leave, and Edward was chasing after him, laughing.

The next, my whole body tensed as I realised someone was right behind me. Strong arms grabbed me, and I could tell it wasn't a joke. I shrieked, and one hand was clapped over my mouth, while the other held down my arms.

"Hey, there, babe." James's smooth voice was right in my ear. I tried to struggle, but he was too strong. "I'm just letting you know… I'm staying in the Angeles hotel tonight. Room 125. I hope to see you there, because I don't like being disappointed…" he breathed, sending violent shivers down my spine. "And you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your little boyfriend, would you?"

Edward reappeared then, flanked by Garrett.

"Let her go," he growled, and he looked more dangerous than I had ever seen him. His jaw was clenched, his eyes were deadly, and his lips were curled almost into a snarl. The scar above his right eyebrow, the one that Alice had once mentioned casually, seemed more prominent than ever.

James released me easily, and I moved away from him rapidly, stumbling into Garrett, who put his arm around me.

"Don't you touch her again," Edward snarled, looking, despite the stories told about James, not the least bit afraid of him.

"I won't, unless she wants me to," James laughed, winking at me. "And I hope you're not threatening me, Cullen… I really hope you're not." He narrowed his eyes at him, and then me, before turning around and strolling away.

I only realised then that I was shaking.

Edward watched James go until he was certain he could turn his back to him, before examining me, genuine concern on his face, untainted by sarcasm.

"Are you OK, are you hurt?" he asked, frowning.

"No," I mumbled, answering both questions. Garrett helpfully transferred me from his arms into Edward's.

"What did he say to you?" he demanded.

"He told me his hotel room number," I said, clutching onto Edward like my life depended on it.

Edward's face darkened. "Damn it. I can't bring you here again, not for a while, anyway."

"Aw," Garrett protested.

"You know what James is like, Gar, I'm not taking a chance like that with Bella! If he sees her again... " Edward snapped, sounding stressed.

"We can't keep letting James win like this," Garrett said, shaking his head. "His behaviour is only getting worse."

"I know, and we'll figure out how to deal with him," Edward decided, "but right now all I want to do is get Bella the hell away from here." He tightened his grip around me. "Come on."

Garrett handed me back the helmet he had robbed, and I was quickly bundled back onto the bike, my hands locked around Edward's chest.

I buried my face in his shoulder, perhaps holding on a bit tighter than was necessary.