I am really proud of myself for not jumping the gun with this story. Instinct told me to get these two together in like chapter two, but then the story wouldn't be what it is now. I'm glad I ignored myself, like I always do. :')

DISCLAIMER: These characters are... OOC. *Shocks you all*


"Guess who's got a hot date next Thursday?"

Rose jumped up from the bunk bed, knocking her forehead into Edward's nose with such strength... she broke it.

Which was how he found himself in his best friend's hands, getting his nose manually realigned.

"I'm sorry, Edward, but you startled me! You suddenly said something so shocking and your big nose was right in front of my face. How the hell was I supposed to know?" Rose barked, placing the internal splint.

Edward still moaned in pain.

"Who the fuck shoots up like that?" Edward whined, flinching at the pain. Rose stilled his face so she could finish putting the outer dressing and the splint. The break wasn't so bad, but Edward bitched so much about his beautiful face that Rose had found herself making sure not a millimeter was out of place when it came to his nose. He'd still have some bruising around his eyes in the morning, but there was nothing she could do about that.

"I do." Rose tilted his head to admire her handiwork. "Don't go to the gym for two weeks. You'll get soggy in the meantime, but hopefully, Bella will still want you." She laughed at the intense glare he gave her. "Kidding, kidding. Just a lil bit of belly. Anyway, careful when putting on your helmet." She took off her gloves. "Now, tell me about your hot date."

It was like those were the magic words.

"It's on Thursday," Edward said, thankful that he'd have from now (Saturday) till Thursday to get his swollen face under control. He'd been looking forward to going to the gym with Bella, knowing they had a date together soon, but that would have to wait, given the most recent event. He really didn't think it'd be a good idea to hit the gym with such a tender nose, and he wanted to avoid the humiliation of having Bella see him in such a state. The forehead bump incident had been bad enough.

"And? It's with Bella, right?" Rose checked, suddenly realizing Edward hadn't explicitly said that part. Then again, he had told her he'd sort of hinted at it a few weeks ago to the no-longer-teenager.

Edward rolled his eyes like that was a ridiculous question.

With his track record, it really wasn't.

"Of course. I wouldn't date another girl." Edward said, warming Rose's heart. "I've waited too long to find a woman like Bells to go out with anyone else."

Annoying as her best friend could be, he was also incredibly sweet.

"Where are you taking her?" Rose asked, rearranging the first aid kit (which was made up of highly advanced equipment, which meant it didn't really classify as first aid anymore).

"I was thinking the Japanese Art Museum, then bowling, and ending it with some restaurant of her choice."

"Don't you think you should have the restaurant thought out? What if she can't make up her mind?" Edward gave her a look. "I wanted to try saying that. We both know she's not lacking in opinions," they laughed, thinking of how assertive the girl was.

"I can give her a heads up, though, in case the restaurant needs reservations." Edward acquiesced, checking his face in his iPhone's camera. Truly, he was already starting to bruise around his eyes, and combined with the dressing he did not look particularly sexy. He calculated that by the time of the date the bruise would already be a reddish blue as opposed to a purplish black. Unfortunately, he also figured that Bella would have a blast making fun of him either way.

"Oh, you're fine. She already agreed to date you despite having seen you with that awful bump on your forehead, and you told me you showed her your feared scars. Somehow, I think she'd be the last person to actually mind that nasty nose of yours."

Edward sulked.

"But I wanted to look pretty for our first date."

She let out a booming laugh that sounded an awful lot like Emmett's. He flinched, which hurt his nose, which made him silently cry his heart out.

"You're such a baby," Rose teased, wiping her hands on her scrubs. Technically, she was off the clock and ready to go home, as opposed to Edward who was on call He'd gone to tell one of the nurses to give him a few minutes to get his nose together, but Nurse Carmen had taken one look at his face and had just held up a hand and shown him and Rose to the supply closet. "You'll also have to tell me later how her birthday went."

Right; he knew Rose wanted to have dinner with the girl and her family, but apparently Emmett had told her Bella wanted it to be only them.

Rose confessed to him Emmett had made it sound like Bella didn't want her there, but that she'd figured Emmett was just not choosing the right words.

Thankfully for all of them, she was right.

"Yeah. We went to Ben & Jerry's and an AT&T." Rose gave him a questioning glance. "I gave her my old iPhone."

"You don't have an old iPhone."

"I may or may not have bought a used one. I would've bought a new one, but she'd have known then I lied about it having been mine." Edward said, getting up from the little plastic chair he'd been sitting on. "I'll tell her the truth some day."

No he wouldn't.

"Why'd you want her to have a smartphone so bad?"

He ran a hand through his hair sheepishly.

"Sorta wanted to talk with her a lot." Rose refused to let the 'aww baby boy' feeling show on her face. "Are you mad I never gave you a phone?"

Just a little bit.

"I thought we were best friends forever, you jerk." She huffed, winking to let him know she was joking. "Maybe you should dial it down a little bit though. I think she might feel you're coming on a bit too strong, don't you think?"

It had crossed his mind.

"I..." he frowned, ignoring the pain flashing through him. "No?" He sighed when Rose took on The Warrior stance. "Fine. Maybe. Some times. I do occasionally exert some self control."

No you didn't, Bella would inform him some months into their relationship. I should've run for the hills, but I guess some part of me knew just how badly I needed you.

"So long as you're trying..." Rose sang, looking at her watch. "Now I'm off. I've lost too much time here fixing that mess," she motioned at his face.

He was not amused.

"Bye cruel woman."

She blew him a kiss, opening the door for him, then headed in the opposite direction from him.

"Dr. Cullen," Dr. Patterson passed by him, and Edward returned the greeting.

Dick.

Going to the nurse's station, he hid behind a wall, wanting to play hooky for a few minutes. He texted (surprise!) Bella.

How's the new phone? —E

Good. How's the nose? —B

Edward's smile slipped off his face. He would kill Rosalie Hale.

It's just a scratch. —E

Pics or it didn't happen. —B

Was she... asking for a selfie? He resisted the urge to grin wider. It hurt his delicate nose.

Looking around, not wanting to give himself away, he stealthily took a picture of his pouting face. Just as he pressed send, he took his eyes off the phone long enough to see Nurse Carmen look at him with disapproving eyes.

"Kids these days. Come on Cullen, we should find you a mask if you're gonna treat children with that ugly mug of yours."


"Oh my God that's nasty," Bella laughed, receiving Edward's picture. He was pouting in the picture, and there was an angry older nurse approaching him in the background, half hidden by a wall. She made the photo his profile picture in her phone, and she knew she'd only replace it once she had something much better.

Don't suppose you can hit the gym with that injury. —B

She sent the text, laughing to herself. It was too precious.

"What're you laughing at?" Vicky raised an eyebrow, slurping her orange juice. They were in their usual salad restaurant, celebrating Bella's past birthday by eating healthy. Today Vicky hadn't had work, it being a Saturday, so they'd finally managed to get together at a later time. Both were more sociable at night.

Bella almost threw her phone away, then remembered this one wouldn't survive the fall.

"Also, is that an iPhone?" Vicky gaped, having grown too used to the old rock of a phone her friend possessed.

"Maybe." Bella stuffed some salad into her mouth. "Can't talk." She said, voice muffled by all the lettuce in her mouth.

Giving her a disgusted look, the journalist leaned back.

"Spill." She commanded, then glared when the intentionally dense girl let spill some of the lettuce in her mouth. "The gossip. Not your food, you disgusting child."

Bella finished chewing, then swallowing, and finally answered.

"I'm not a child." She pointed out, motioning to her boobs. "Also, no gossip. Just my life story."

Vicky didn't move a muscle.

Sighing, Bella washed down the salad with some lemon juice and nodded.

"Fine, fine," she sighed, leaning back, too. "Edward asked me out."

But Victoria still didn't move.

"Vicky?"

"I'm waiting for you to tell me the truth."

Bella laughed, rolling her eyes.

"That's the truth! He asked me out yesterday, after giving me his old iPhone. I said yes." She dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. "We're going on a date on Thursday."

Vicky's mouth fell wide open.

"You're not shitting me," she stated, seeing the seriousness on the girl's face. "That piece of gorgeousness asked you out?"

Bella nodded, noting how dangerously close the woman was from screeching.

"Two pieces of gorgeous dating seems only right," Bella joked, cracking her pinkies. Vicky flinched from the noise.

"Wait, hold up. Wasn't he in love with Rose or something? You'd mentioned something like that when you first met him." Vicky pointed out; she saw her phone's screen light up, probably with a text from James. She fought every urge in her body to check what it said and flipped the phone so she couldn't see the screen. It was only right; even now that Bella had a phone, the girl wasn't texting while eating. She'd been using the phone while Vicky had gone to the bathroom, and had put it away when she'd come back.

Bella did a 'beats me too' shrug.

"He says he's over her. What's more ridiculous is I believe him, even if it makes no sense. Apparently, he was into her for fifteen years, but it takes him less than a year to stop liking her and ask me out." Bella stared at her dented salad, wanting to convince her brain she wanted to eat it all.

"What he said is as ridiculous as you believing him," Victoria agreed, stabbing into her own salad. "I didn't know you liked him, though."

Bella frowned.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I certainly don't dislike him, but do I like like him...? I don't know if I'm completely over Jasper, so I don't think it'd be fair to Edward to say I like him with such half-hearted feelings."

Vicky scrunched her nose, bringing another forkful of lettuce to her mouth, thoughtful.

This shit is nasty, Vicky thought.

"Fuck Jasper. You've mourned losing him enough, and it's time to move on with your life. He certainly has." Vicky pointed out; though she'd been in the dark about Bella's development with Edward, she'd been up to date with the Jasper situation. "Cullen seems like a good man. Why not give him a chance?"

Bella scratched her scalp.

"What if I do, and he turns out to be the best thing to ever happen to me, and then at the first sign of trouble he jumps ship? I don't think my heart could handle it."

It seemed wrong to stab the girl's hand with her fork, so Victoria settled for slapping the shit out of Bella's shoulder.

"Ouch! What the hell, Victoria?" Bella bitched, rubbing her sore shoulder.

Vicky glared.

"Don't even try that sob fest shit with me, Isabella. That was my fear with James, and look how happy we are. Imagine how much happier I could've been so much sooner if I'd just put myself out there again. It took me like two years to give another guy a shot, and it was because of your ass of a brother. I mourned two years too many; I should've been out and about trying to find again another love of my life. Instead I was at home watching Gossip Girl by myself." Vicky scowled fiercely, scaring Bella a little bit. Vicky was a strong woman, but she was rarely so passionate. "James and I might end tomorrow, but I'm sure as hell never attempting to calculate a correct time for mourning your previous relationship again. I love James, but I also love being loved again. It's a wonderful feeling I deprived myself of for too long."

Vicky was heaving when she finished her rant.

She drank her orange juice, ignoring Bella's gaping face.

"You love James?"

Vicky blushed furiously.

"That was not the point!" She fumed, trying to divert the attention from herself.

"Then what was?" Bella teased, flinching back when Vicky made a gesture that told her she was dangerously close to getting slapped again. "Fine, fine. You're right though. I've enjoyed being single again, but..." Bella sighed, leaning forward again. "It's actually closer to eight months since I've been in a happy relationship. I miss caring about someone and someone caring about me. I think..." Bella licked her lips nervously, having never admitted this to herself previously. "I think I want to care... about Edward. I think I want him to contribute to my happiness."

And that was as close as Bella would get to her real feelings.


"Rie, get off of your lazy ass and do something!" Mrs. Swan barked at her daughter over breakfast, who'd been lazing around the house all Sunday and Monday.

"Ma, it's my last week of vacations. Let me not do anything for once!" Bella whined. It was Tuesday already, and the butterflies in her stomach were becoming carnivorous real quick. Her date with Edward was two days away, and the nerves were threatening to break her at the seams.

"That's all you've done all vacations. At least shower, Isabella. You haven't done that much since Saturday," Mrs. Swan said, disgusted.

That wasn't even her record.

"Fine, fine," Bella acquiesced, in the meantime considering if she'd actually go through with her promise. She was about to say something else when she got a text from Angela, saying to meet up. "Oh, new plans. Going out with Ange at two."

Renée nodded, eyeing Bella's new phone; she hadn't been all that pleased by the gift, but when Bella had explained the arrangement, she'd been placated. Not thrilled, but not insistent in her displeasure, either.

She was one of the handful of people in her life that didn't know she was going to go on a date with Edward Cullen, the rest being her dad, her brother, Jasper and Alice, and the two last would never find out from her mouth if she could help it. Besides; they weren't really in her life anymore.

She figured if these people knew from the beginning dating the guy would be that much more difficult.

"Good," Renée dropped a kiss on Bella's forehead. "Let me know when you're headed out and when you arrive with her. I'm off to work."

Bella dutifully nodded.

"Have a good day, ma."

Time until one thirty was spent lazing around, then reading some manga and finally showering. When she got out of the shower and stepped in front of her dresser she realized she had a huge problem.

She didn't know what to wear for the date.

Lunging for her phone, Bella fired off a text to Edward.

Where are we going for our date? —B

It's a surprise. —E

I hate surprises. —B

Tough luck. You'll like this one, I hope. Why do you want to know? —E

I don't know what to wear. —B

Dress comfortably. Also, sucks. —E

Sucks? —B

Typo. Socks. —E

Yeah, she wasn't all that thrilled by autocorrect. She hadn't yet figured out how to disable it.

Also, where do you want to eat? I thought you'd want to choose. —E

Bella replied excitedly.

PF Chang's! —B

On his end, Edward chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. He knew letting her choose was the right call.

Alright. McDonald's it is. —E

You don't amuse me, old man. —B

Old man? In my days, younger people were more respectful! —E

Bella burst out laughing at Edward's ridiculousness. She got three successive texts from him then.

Anyway, gotta get back to work.

Behave.

See you Thursday. —E

Smiling, remembering she was dripping water onto the carpet, she sent back one reply.

See you then —B

Twenty minutes later, she was seated in her usual seat at Johnny Rocket's, asking their usual server for the usual meal.

She was reading manga, waiting for Angela, when the proverbial shit hit the fan.

Sort of.

"Bella?"

She looked up. It was Jasper.

Just like a fucking soap opera.

"Jasper." She acknowledged, then went back to her manga volume. This one, though, she'd had to buy herself. Couldn't keep borrowing from her ex.

"Can't we talk?" Jasper pleaded, sitting down in front of her without waiting for an answer.

"Well, you're apparently able to, given that gibberish is coming out of your mouth." Bella snarled back, not tearing her eyes away from the book. However, he covered the manga with his big hairy hands, forcing her to look up at him to glare.

"You look better," Jasper tried, giving her an earnest look. He really wasn't looking for a fight.

"You do too," she bit back, unable to help herself. But he really did. "Almost as if the right woman put you back together."

His shoulders sagged. Maybe he wouldn't be able to talk to her in a civilized manner, like he'd wanted to.

"Bella..."

Taking a deep breath, she closed her manga volume.

Get your inner bitch under control, Swan.

"I'm sorry. I don't want you unhappy, despite everything. Despite how much you hurt me."

The statement hurt a lot more than anything else she'd said, and Jasper knew this time she hadn't meant to make a stab at him.

"I never meant to hurt you like this," Jasper beseeched her, wanting her to understand, to know...

But she already knew.

"And yet you did. You broke up with me for your own good, and then neglected me for your own good, all the while telling me it was for my sake. The worst part was I believed you, like I've always believed in you."

This was where the problem lied.

It wasn't that he'd broken up with her, it wasn't that he was dating someone else. It wasn't that he'd neglected her for the last three months of their relationship, either, to the point where she didn't really consider them together anymore.

It was that she'd found peace in his words, that he broke up with her to not damage her, that he couldn't handle a relationship and caring for his dying father, that he didn't know when he'd be whole again... That he'd regret letting her go. She'd found solace in those statements, but they turned out to be lies. Apparently, he believed in Alice, and it hurt to not be believe in.

He hadn't even stayed her friend, and perhaps that's what hurt most of it all. Not the lies, not the betrayal, not the breakup... But that he had given her up when she needed him close.

Stricken, Jasper realized he couldn't deny her words.

"I didn't mean to. I thought..."

Bella looked up, thanking the server that brought her a chocolate milkshake.

"Did you really?" She asked quietly. "Did you really think you did anything for me?"

He slumped.

"Won't you at least believe me when I tell you I loved you? When I tell you I was so in love with you, breaking up with you is the second most painful thing to ever happen to me?"

The first being his father's death.

She finally met his eyes. She hadn't wanted to, not wanting to give him access to the deepest part of her: her soul.

She saw a man she no longer recognized.

Perhaps he saw an unrecognizable woman, too.

She could only hope.

"The problem was never mistrusting you, Jasper Whitlock. The problem was I always blindly believed you alone held every truth I needed."

She let those words sink in, not following them up.

He cleared his throat.

"I see you finally got a smartphone." He finally said, not wanting the conversation to be over. He missed his best friend —somehow, Maria had really taken third spot in his heart. First was Alice, second was Bella, and third was her.

There was only a handful of people left in this world he cared about, and he really didn't want to reduce that number anymore than he had to.

"I did."

"Why?"

She looked down at her milkshake, slurping it. Her cheeks hollowed with the suction, and Jasper concentrated on the shadow that fell over her cheeks. Then she stopped and sat back, breaking his line of sight.

"How's Alice?" She asked instead, not wanting to explain. Her ex-boyfriend sighed and sat up straighter, feeling like his time with this girl was coming to an end.

"Nervous. Angry. Hurt. She thought you'd understand." He held up a hand, not being done talking. I'm always getting shut up by Jasper and Edward, thought Bella angrily. The only difference is I only care about what one of them has to say enough to acquiesce.

"Why would I have? Should I have?" She snapped, doing her best to bring her volume down. "I don't want to be made out to be the bad guy. It's not fair, Jasper."

It was childish. It was all she had.

Jasper relented.

"You're right."

Appeased, she mumbled out something. Not understanding, Jasper asked her to repeat herself, and biting her lip, she did.

"I'm sorry." She said, surprising Jazz. He, despite it all, hadn't been expecting it. "I might've been too harsh with her. I don't even know the whole story, but I took it out on her. That wasn't right of me, either."

His eyes lit up.

Maybe there's hope.

"I'll explain, Bella. I was—"

But Bella shook her head no.

"I don't want to know. Maybe some day I will, but right now... I just want to pretend none of it ever happened. All of it."

He gave her a bitter smile.

"You want to pretend you never loved me?"

She shook her head.

"I want to pretend you never hurt me," she said softly, wanting him to understand, too. She didn't hate him; she didn't love him anymore, either. She couldn't. "And I don't know how to handle Alice. I thought she was my friend, but she doesn't feel like one anymore. Neither do you, for that matter."

His heart hurt.

"Bella, I..." he didn't know what to say. "Just promise me you'll hear me out some day."

She wanted to stick it to him. She wanted to deny him every request, she wanted to throw her milkshake on his face. She wanted to rip her chest open and show him exactly where he'd bruised her heart, show him how deep were the cuts.

As she thought this, she came to understand something important.

I'm gonna get over him.

Yeah, she was. He didn't deserve her self-mutilation, and he didn't deserve her anger. He deserved her forgiveness someday, because if she didn't give it, it would mean she'd never have let go of him. It would mean she'd spend the rest of her days resenting him, and she didn't want to spend the rest of her life thinking of him. She knew all of this because her heart wasn't shattered, it was bruised. It had paper cuts, not slices. She'd recover.

She didn't tell him this, though Jasper saw Bella's shoulders lift a little higher.

Her spine get a little straighter.

"Yeah," Bella said, watching Angela approaching with an angry look in her face, eyes zeroed in on the back of Jasper's face. "I will."

"Get the fuck out of my seat you asswipe," Angela barked, screeching to a stop next to her best friend's ex.

Sometimes, it's nice having a fearless best friend.

Alright, every time.

"Angela, nice to see you," Jasper said dryly, nonetheless getting up.

"Fuck you," she spat. "Also, my condolences about your dad."

She wasn't a complete bitch.

"Thanks," he said, sliding out of the seat completely. "It really is good to see you though, Ange."

She glared, shoving him out of her way.

"Leave before I sucker-punch you into next week." She sat down, looking up at him with such seriousness he had a moment where he wondered just how strong this little woman could be.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave," Jasper said, fixing his glasses. They were no longer his Harry Potter-like glasses, and instead were of some thinner metal. Probably Alice's influence.

Nostalgia swept through Bella before being washed away.

"Bye, Jasper," Bella didn't attempt to smile, but she didn't frown, either.

"Bye, Izzy," he said with a halfhearted smile.

As he walked away, she shouted something to his back.

"It's Bella to you!"


"Are you ready for our date?" Edward asked in a teasing voice.

He and Bella were talking through a What's App call, a feature Bella learnt of when she suddenly got a call from him one hour before the anticipated date.

"I guess," Bella faked a bored voice. "Any chance we could reschedule?"

"I'm going despite my broken nose. What's your excuse?" Edward countered, making Bella giggle. Fair point.

"I'm not desperate?" She guessed, and she could imagine him dramatically holding a hand to his chest.

"Well, then. We can take a raincheck." He joked, but when Bella asked when would be a good time, he lost his grin. "I was kidding."

"I wasn't." She deadpanned, and was about to laugh it off when she heard a crash on his side. "Edward? Are you ok? What was that?"

He groaned.

"That was me crashing into Ben. Fortunately, he's smaller than me and didn't touch my nose." She heard a fast voice speaking on the other end of the line —probably Ben— and then Edward apologizing for calling the boy small and for crashing into him. "I bumped into him running out to the parking lot. I've really got to start paying more attention to my surroundings."

As a man that drove a bike and saved people for a living, this worried Bella a lot.

"Are you picking me up in your bike...?" Bella questioned, stopping when she didn't know how to continue.

"Car. I figured bikes aren't all that romantic for our first date, huh?"

Bella blushed.

"You're assuming I'll let you take me out for a second one?"

On his end, Edward came to a screeching stop next to his bike, the smile slipping off his face.

Shit. I barely scored the first date, how am I gonna secure the second one?

"Yes?" Edward flinched when his voice went up one note higher than usual. "I mean, you're gonna have a blast with me. You'll definitely want that second date. And third. And fourth. And—"

"I get it, I'll want many," Bella cut him off, laughing. "Alright, see you in an hour, Edgar."

He smiled in relief.

"See you then, Bell."

-.-.-

Jeans are ok, right? Bella surveyed her closet. He said comfortable, after all, and jeans were comfortable. She didn't need to dress particularly nice for the PF Chang's, either, so she wouldn't embarrass herself in the restaurant with shoddy clothing.

You can do this, Isabella.

And she did. Well, she tore apart her closet twice before settling on a lose white t-shirt with a rounded collar tucked into a black skater skirt and purple converse, but she did it. Foreseeing she could get cold, she also grabbed a purple cardigan and slipped on black tights (so she didn't really use socks per se). Then she piled her hair up into a high bun, chose studs that were of exclamation marks (she liked funny earrings) and paired that with an ankh necklace. Sometimes she could have a bit of a wanky dressing style, she supposed. Mascara and lipgloss followed as makeup, and voila.

She looked like a presentable human being.

Edward's gonna be so surprised.

She was done just in time, too, because that's when the doorbell rang. In a stroke of luck, her parents were still at work (it was only three, after all), so she didn't have to worry about the whole 'yeah mom I'm going on a date with that Edward'.

Dancing over to the door, she opened the door with a cheerful smile when something was suddenly almost shoved into her face.

"Whoa!" She flinched back, and getting a better look, she realized she had a Cadbury chocolate in her face.

Looking at it with thrilled eyes, she snatched it away from Edward happily.

"What's this?" She chirped, looking at the chocolate lovingly. He chuckled nervously, thankful she hadn't blasted him for almost hitting her with a candy bar.

"Roses," he replied, and Bella finally tore her gaze away long enough to look at her date questionably. His face looked better than that photo he'd sent her; he still worse dressing on his nose, but the bruising wasn't so prominent anymore. It was becoming a nasty purple-red color, though. "You said once you don't like flowers, so I thought I couldn't go wrong with food."

A man after my own heart.

"That was really sweet of you," Bella smiled. "Although my favorite flower is the ghost orchid. It's practically extinct, so I don't actually expect you to ever give me one," she laughed, looking at his wide eyes. "Besides, I don't like receiving flowers. I never know what to do with them."

He nodded, filing the information for later.

"You look beautiful, by the way. I really like the earrings, too." He smirked, lightly touching her earlobes. She shivered lightly, not that he noticed.

"Thank you," she cleared her throat. "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded.

"You?"

She checked her purse; phone, house keys, wallet, lip gloss. Now chocolate. So, all of the essentials.

She gave him a thumbs up.

Smiling, he waited as Bella locked up the front door, then walked together to his car. Just like she'd expected from the last time she'd gotten in the car with him, Edward opened the passenger door for her, shutting it once she was in and then speed walking to the driver's side.

"So, where are you taking me?" Bella asked, wanting the surprise to be over with.

"You'll know once we get there," he flashed her a smile.

Huffing, Bella disconnected Edward's music from the car, and instead plugged in her phone.

'Kill em with Kindness' from Selena Gomez came on, and Bella gave him a shit-eating grin when he threw her an indignant look.

"You like Selena Gomez?"

She shrugged half heartedly.

"Not much, just like three songs. And I've got a hard limit on the Biebs, though. I like one song from him, though," Bella changed her playlist to the Elvis Presley one. "Better?"

"Much," Edward said enthusiastically, making her snort. "Elvis was the man."

"Freddy Mercury, too. And Michael Jackson. Also," she added when she saw him nod along readily. "Vanilla Ice."

He threw her a horrified look, making her cackle at her own evilness.

"You really enjoy torturing me, don't you?" He whined, and she tried stifling her laughter. "You were kidding, right?"

Still chuckling, she nodded. Yeah, she was.

"What do you listen to in the car?" She challenged, not finding an iPod connected to the car. She assumed he used the music on his phone, which wasn't lying on the console.

"A lot of classical music, but not if it's after a long shift. I could fall asleep then. After a shift... it's gotta be Metallica," Bella showed him a face that looked like she'd swallowed down something sour. Laughing, he admitted he was kidding. "Fine, fine. I listen to Taylor Swift."

Bella waited for him to say he was kidding again.

He didn't.

"Wait, you're serious?" He nodded, not embarrassed by his music choice. "I can't believe it. Big bad Edgar?"

He shrugged in a 'what can you do' way.

She suppressed a smile.

"You'll be glad to know then I've got all of her albums. CD."

He threw her a wink.

"We'll have to listen to them later."

She laughed through her nose, sort of disbelieving this man could really like the artist.

"I thought you'd be one of those people who hate her." Bella admitted, watching as Edgar looked both ways before continuing on a right turn.

"I think she's a brilliant businesswoman. I'm also skeptical about pretty much anything that has to do with famous people, so I don't really take sides with that kind of things. And, really, I'm not looking to her for character development, you know?" Bella looked at him in surprise, and he caught it. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just that I pretty much think the same. Funny." Her lip twitched, and she looked away from him briefly before swinging her eyes back to him. "I saw Jasper on Tuesday."

She thought she saw Edward's knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel so hard.

"And?"

She looked away from his knuckles, turning instead to look at the houses rushing past her.

"I remember Vicky telling me of something she said to my brother when they saw each other again last Halloween. He said to her he was sorry, and she told him bullshit, basically. She told him all she wanted was for him to tell her he was sorry one day, and for him to mean it." Bella rubbed her fingers over her chin, thinking. "I felt the same way when I saw Jasper."

Edward nodded in understanding, but Bella wasn't done.

"I also realized..." Bella hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should tell this to her date, but then figured: fuck it. It's Edward. "That he didn't even deserve all my anger and my hurt. I'm done wasting all that energy on him. I'm ready to start diverting it toward better things."

She saw Edward smile so wide she thought his smile was gonna split.

"Like me?"

She rolled her eyes.

"School, Narcissus," she laughed when his smile turned into a frown; for a moment, she thought of the relationship between her mother and father. Maybe she was destined to also be the sadist in the relationship, and Edward the masochist. Then again, Edward talked back a lot more than her father. "I'm kidding. Yes, like you, Edwina."

It would've been a lot sweeter if she'd dropped the nickname, but Edward knew she meant it.

"I should start calling you something you really don't like, like... Isabelle. I could call you Isabelle."

"But I'm Isabella," Bella retorted, confused.

"And I'm Edward, but that doesn't stop you from calling me things like Edgar and Edwina, right?" Suddenly, his eyes shone brightly.

Shit; he'd gotten an idea.

"Oh! Wasn't Edgar Collins's wife Idabelle Swain?" He asked smugly, looking at his date out of the corner of his eye. "I could call you Ida."

Or not.

"I think Idabelle also had Marie as middle name didn't she? I could cal you—"

"Do not call me Rie, Cullen," Bella squinted at him, trying to convey her displeasure. "That nickname is solely reserved for the three people in this whole wide world who have seen me in diapers."

When they were old and crinkly, Edward would turn to his wife with a twinkle in his eye, and ask:

"I've seen you in diapers now, love. Can I call you Rie?"

And she would laugh and say yes, decades later.

"Fine, fine, Idabelle it is then," Edward sighed dramatically, switching gears. She only noticed now that the car was semi-automatic, and he was currently driving stick. Huh; she'd have to ask him later if that's how he preferred to drive. "Actually, no. Queen Ida. Wanna be my queen?"

She laughed, thinking to how often she'd been accused of being cheesy, and here was a man who was even worse than her.

"Sure. Just letting you know though, I don't plan on making you my king. That ok?" She teased, and they spent the rest of the ride in much the same fashion -teasing, laughing, and being cheesy.

"You brought me to the Japanese Art Museum?" Bella asked excitedly, buzzing in her seat.

Edward smiled, thankful that he'd at least get this right, if nothing else.

"Yeah. I figured you'd like it," Edward said, and Bella acknowledged that he'd figured completely right. She didn't tell him she came here at least once every two months, being a total geek; she liked coming here a lot, and didn't mind at all repeating it.

However, she was betrayed at the museum's ticket window.

"Hey Bella!" Pam, the lady in charge of selling the tickets, greeted. "Back for more?"

Sheepishly, Bella waved.

"Hey Pam. I brought company this time, though." She motioned at Edward, who was currently eyeing her with a pout.

"Oh, who's this handsome young man?" Pam fanned herself jokingly, readying two tickets.

"He's my flavor of the week," she winked, laughing at Edward's indignant 'hey!'. "Edward, this is Pam, my favorite ticket lady."

"Pleased to meet you, Pam," Edward rumbled, and the poor woman flushed deeply from the man's voice.

Edward seemed to have that effect on women, Bella noticed.

"Oh, pleased to meet you too, sweetheart. You two have a wonderful time together," she smiled, receiving a twenty from Edward. "Treat this girl well, you hear me? You must be special for to be here with her, though, huh? You're the first boy she brings in the three years she's been coming here." She handed him the change.

"Pam!" Bella whined, feeling her own face heat up. "You're giving me away."

"Oh, shush, you. Let me live vicariously through you," she laughed, winking at the couple, and then sent them on their way.

"So, I'm the first you bring with you?"

Bella thought about not answering, but figured she could try to be a bit more honest.

"Jasper was never a fan of museums. The one time we went to one for a school trip he bitched the whole time that it was boring. The only thing he likes watching for hours on end is movies," Bella rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

They got in the brief line that was being held up to enter the museum.

"I'm more into antique expositions, myself. I like historical stuff more than art." Edward admitted, not wanting to be deceiving about that. "But I like the occasional art museum."

Bella looked up at him, thinking of how thankful she was that he'd taken her someplace he thought she wanted to go to, instead of someplace he wanted.

"Thanks for bringing me," Bella bumped her shoulder into his arm. "I come a lot because I love it."

He sagged a little bit in relief, the nagging that had been growing in the back of his mind the last two minutes finally decreasing a bit.

"Good. I'm glad."

They stayed in the museum for two hours, and they only left because the place was about to close in ten minutes. Bella had spent the whole time admiring pieces of work and speaking of what she knew about them, and Edward had spent his time listening to her talk with the occasional input of what he thought of a painting. Mostly, he just had funny comments to make, poking fun at one aspect of the painting or of the author; Bella knew he was actually paying detailed attention, though, having commented several leit motifs in the painters' artwork. And despite how much he joked around, he actually shut up to listen whenever she had something to tell him about a certain work.

A few times, Edward had glanced down at Bella's free hand, thinking of how nice it would be to grab it, but then she'd need it to point at something, or to grab a brochure, and he'd miss his chance. Sometimes he swore she was doing it on purpose, and other times she had such a clueless face he knew she hadn't known of his intentions.

Truth was she didn't.

When they were walking to the car, Edward thought of how easy it would be to just swing an arm over her shoulders. She was just the right height, too.

"So, can you hold out an hour more or so until dinner?" Edward asked, opening the car from the distance.

Bella cocked her head to the side.

"I can if I eat some of the chocolate you brought me. Why?"

"There's another place I want to take you to." He explained, giving himself a pat on the back for his foresight of bringing Bella food.

"I'd ask where, but I have a feeling you wouldn't answer," Bella said, thanking him when he opened the passenger's door for her. She could get used to this treatment. While Edward rounded the car, Bella took out the candy bar, having ripped it open by the time he slipped into his seat.

"You feel right," Edward agreed, turning on the car. He turned to Bella, opening his mouth and putting his seatbelt on at the same time.

"Can I help you?" Bella arched an eyebrow.

"You aren't gonna share?" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes, which were in stark contrast with his manly... well, everything. Sighing dramatically, Bella broke off one row of chocolate squares, then bit off two, giving him a chocolatey smile as she offered a lone square.

Not amused, Edward paid her back by almost biting off her fingers.

"Ew!" Bella laughed, wiping her slobbered digits on her tights. "You're nasty."

"And you're bad at sharing food," he countered, putting the gears in reverse. Feeling benevolent, she waited for him to reach the stop sign to offer another chocolate square. "Another? For me?"

She huffed.

"Not if you're gonna be a smartass about it."

Chuckling, he accepted another square of chocolate.

"Thanks,"

"Thank you," Bella said, swallowing down her own pieces of candy. "I had a lot of fun in the museum. It's nice going by myself, but it's much nicer going with someone."

Going with you.

She didn't say that, but somehow, she knew that Edward understood.

"Well," Edward said, not taking his eyes off the road. "I am a pretty great someone."


Poor Edward. He can't catch a break, can he? Well, he could, technically, but I'm having fun making him so awkward. Also, Bella's musical taste is my own, and... I also happen to really like Taylor Swift's music. Please don't think of me poorly; I already lack support for my musical taste in my own home. I couldn't take it if my favorite readers also hated on me because of it. Lol. Also, please don't think I'm a mega fan, because I'm really not a mega fan of anything, which makes me feel bad when people ask me if I know this song or that of a musician. It's also why I don't go to concerts; I went to Aerosmith recently, and was forced to acknowledge I knew only like 30% of the songs. Same has happened to other concerts I've gone to. Fun fact, it's also why I don't buy shirts of bands; I feel like I'd bond with someone over our love for an artist and three years later I'd be forced to admit I only knew like five songs. Inane rant over.

Leah.

P. S. Shoutout to Idabelle Swain! She makes such a cute couple with Edgar Collins. :'D

P. P. S. I swear one of these days I'm gonna start crying over the amount of support I receive from you. Believe me when I say for like nth time that every favorite, follow and review puts a smile on my face. Sometimes it's a smug one (what?), most times it's an 'I am overcome by feelings but I must chill cause I'm in public' one. Anyways, thanks to all the readers that take the time to write out a review, favorite and follow The Road To You. I try to reply to all of you as soon as I can, and I'm sorry if I haven't. To the unlogged users that leave such wonderful reviews: thank you. I'd love to tell you this directly, but well, sorta can't. Thanks for your support, sincerely. All of you help me want to give my best for this story. :)

P. P. P. S. I'm going to try to get as many chapters done as soon as I can. Vacations end for me on Wednesday, and I sincerely doubt I'll keep up the weekly-ish update thing I've got going. I've got chapter 10 done, and chapter 11 is like... one seventh done. I might finish it today or tomorrow. I'd still have chapters 12 through 15 though to make (though I've jotted down what I mean to do, which is amazing progress for me). So, next week when I post chapter 10 I'll let you know if I'm behind or ahead.

I'm sorry. I promise next author's note won't be as long. I get excited. :P If you notice, 80% of what I write here is usually stupid shit, 10% loving you guys and being emotional, 10% explaining my update schedule.