Yes, I'm very sorry it's been forever, but I've swamped with every manner of thing you can imagine! Hey, at least I got it done!

Here you go, the much anticipated, chapter nine!

Thanks again to my beta Leon McFrenchington to be an amazing beta!

Summer Days,

AsItThunders


Just Dance…or Not

The other four and I talked for another ten minutes until Alice finally got fed up with sitting and starting drumming her fingers on the worn, wooden table. I could see her patience was going to last for only one or two more songs. I was nearing the end of my glass, and the others had long forsaken theirs to the middle of the table. Might as well give in while I was on her good side.

I could imagine being on Alice's bad side was not a good thing.

Suddenly a new song started and Rosalie's face split into a euphoric grin. "Yes! I love this song!" I didn't have to strain to hear the electric beat starting off to Just Dance by Lady Gaga. "Come on, Bella. This is such a good dancing song! Alice! Make her come!"

Rosalie whipped her blonde hair around to pout at Alice, but the little pixie had her attention fixated on the door. I strained my neck to see what had caught her attention. I mean, it had to be good because she had her own Southern charm sitting next her in the form of Jasper Whitlock. The only reasonable thing I caught sight of was a Fedora hat before it disappeared into the now jumping crowd.

Alice turned back around and smiled widely at us. "Come on! Let's go dance. Good song!"

"Alice! I've been saying that for the past ten minutes. Wh- oh! Yeah, come on Bella!" I glanced over at Rosalie to see if there was a reason she had stopped midsentence, but all I saw was a frankly devilish smile on her face.

I didn't think that was a good smile either.

Then, I was suddenly ambushed from behind and pushed after Rosalie onto the dance floor. Emmett and Jasper were so dead later. That was, I reasoned, if I ever made it out of this alive. Someone could be screaming bloody murder and you'd never know at this decibel.

At first, I felt a little out of place. Dancing had never been something I really did in high school or college for that matter. In fact, I'd always take the extra measure to avoid them at all costs. But then again, it was usually only big formal dances I hated. When I was with my friends or by myself, I let loose a lot. Why the heck not go ahead now? Like Rosalie said, it wasn't like anyone would remember it in the morning. The odds were a thousand to one I'd ever see any of these people again.

Emmett might make fun of me for the rest of my existence, but I'm sure I'd be able to find something to pin on him soon enough. He seemed the type.

After a few more minutes, I felt a little looser, laughing when Alice grabbed Jasper by the hand and dragged him away from a drooling copper haired girl. There was such a murderous look on her face, you'd have thought the offending girl would have melted or at least scampered away with her tail between her legs already. Emmett tried to break out into this really snazzy dance move before Rosalie came up, grabbed his ear, and started dragging him back to the table, presumably to give him a talking to about appropriate dancing in clubs such as this one.

Another song came on, and Alice and I were pushed farther into the crowd. Someone in front of me got a little too rowdy in a dance move and pushed me back into the person standing behind me.

As I turned around to apologize I was a little confused at first. Usually in a club, people were wearing the least amount of clothes possible, or at least suggestive ones. This guy however, was dressed much like I wished I was at this very second. He was wearing faded and frayed blue jeans that looked as though they were his favorites by the obvious loving wear and tear of them. His t-shirt was a well worn dark red with a faint black swirl running through the fabric that clung to his chest and impressive eight-pack. Over that he had on a thin, black leather jacket and was wearing scuffed Vans. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature between this guy and half of the others I had seen walking around today was the dark Fedora hat perched on his head that covered most of this hair and the dark sunglasses that wrapped around most of his face. He was undoubtedly American.

"I'm so sorry!" I said.

The guy gave me a charming, lopsided grin that set me at ease almost instantly. "No blood, no foul," he said, and he gave a light chuckle, almost as though he was enjoying some sort of inside joke. His voice was soft and deep, an American feel to it.

"I just kinda got pushed back by the crowd."

"Happens to me all the time." Again, I could see a wicked grin curl the corners of his lip as though he knew something I didn't. "Wanna get a drink with me?"

I glanced nervously and bit my lip as I sought out Alice and Rosalie. After a few minutes of standing on tiptoe and scanning the packed room, I found them sitting a corner with Emmett and Jasper, whispering excitedly over another round of drinks. When they met my eye, I gave a half nod back to the guy in the glasses and a questioning face.

Rosalie could barely contain herself as she burst out laughing and collapsed on the floor. I was a little confused. Why was Rosalie laughing because I'd managed to meet a guy that wasn't throwing lame pick-up lines at me every other second? Alice, however, had more composure and gave me a wide smile and a nudge of the head as Emmett bent down to help Rosalie up.

When I turned around to tell him that I'd love to, I noticed that they guy was watching me with a curious expression on his face, or what I could see of his face. "What?" I asked.

"Your friends are quite the party," he said through what appeared to be gritted teeth as he flicked his face back to glance at them once more, and I saw a fleeting smile dance across his mouth.

Turning back around, I saw Rosalie was collapsed into Emmett's side and was still cracking herself up, only now Emmett too was guffawing and glancing over at me. I just managed to catch his booming laughter over the strains of Numa Numa. Jasper was containing a smirk, and Alice had allowed herself to let loose the light peals of laughter I knew were pouring out of her mouth.

They had to pick today to go insane.

"Right, about that drink," and I grabbed his hand and led him after me to the bar where, fortunately, less people were jumping up and down wildly.

You know that feeling, when you're kids and you purposely rub your sock clad feet up and down the carpet and then go and touch something with your newly built up static charged electrons? That fleeting shock that passes through yourself and you feel kind of raw and stripped for a moment?

That was what it felt like when I touched him. The first touch almost made me pull away in shock, but then there was a constant thrumming as though a current was passing through where we were touching.

And I noticed that he felt it too because he looked down at our intertwined fingers as I had pulled him after me into the relatively clear bar area. Quickly, I let go and the current dissipated almost instantly.

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, all the while watching me through the dark lenses of his shades. Well, that had been strange.

I turned to the bartender and asked him for another virgin daiquiri. The guy ordered a Greek beer of some sort before taking a long draft of it and setting it back down on the bar.

He looked down at me curiously. "You not legal?"

I wasn't embarrassed by the question. It had come up frequently since I'd gotten my license because I really didn't drink at all. "I am, almost 22; I just don't like to drink that much, and I've got to be up early tomorrow."

He chuckled appreciatively. "Well," he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially, "I'm not really one for the hard stuff either. I'm fine with a beer though."

The guy. I realized that I didn't even know this guy's name and I was sitting with him at a bar. "What's your name?" I asked.

He looked down at me, but I couldn't make out anything of his expression because of the glasses. He appeared amused though as the corners of his lips pulled up in an amused grin. "Brandon. And you?"

"I'm Bella." Curse that infallible blush of mine.

Brandon chuckled lightly. "Well Bella, it's a pleasure to meet you," and he stuck out his hand. I grasped it and felt that shock shortly followed by a strong current flow from our contact.

I let go quickly. For some reason, the connection I found between myself and him was unnerving right now. Maybe it was just, I don't know, some warning bells going off in my head that were screaming at me for telling some guy I didn't even know my name at a bar, in Greece.

"So, Bella, what are you doing here in Greece?" Brandon asked, another amused smirk crossing his face. For some reason, the smirk was familiar, very distinctly so. I just couldn't bring myself to remember where it was that was making the cobwebs in the back of my mind shift slightly.

I cast around for an excuse that didn't involve me having to divulge that I was shooting a movie. If he really was American like I suspected, then he would have heard something of it, or at least Edward Cullen, and that would lead to questions I really didn't want to answer. "Um, business."

He gave another chuckle. "What kind of business?"

"Um, the film."

"Ah, I was very interested in that when I was younger."

"Yes, well, this is my first time really. I've been mostly doing theater stuff in high school and college."

"Well, I'm sure you are just fine at it."

"What are you doing here then?"

I watched as he turned his face in a couple different directions as though he was casting around for a good answer. "I'm here because my little sister dragged me here," he finally said and let out a loose laugh.

"And you don't like your little sister?"

"No, I mean, she's great, it's just we haven't spoken for awhile, and she doesn't usually ask things of me. She really wanted me to get this part for some reason, and now she has an even better reason for me sticking around now."

"Part for what?"

"My job. It's kinda like a promotion." He had that evil grin again, like he was remembering some kind of inside joke and wasn't planning on telling me anytime soon.

"Ah, I see. And what is the better reason she has now to make you stick around?"

He shifted around again. "I met this girl, and my sister thinks we'd be great together even though she hates my guts. My sister likes to play matchmaker sometimes."

"Well, do you like her? This girl, I mean, not your sister, because I'm sure you like your sister and all." Great, now I was rambling, but I was curious, and Alice would want all the dirty details on the ride back. Rosalie probably would have had him spilling out all his dirty secrets by now.

Brandon smiled down at me again, and it was another of his crooked, gorgeous, amazing grins that made something tug at the back of my memory. "I don't know." Well, that was different. Usually you liked someone or you didn't.

I laughed still though, strangely at ease with this guy. Was that normal? "Time will tell then, won't it?."

"That's what I'm hoping," he grinned again and then looked down at his glass. "Bella," I looked up at the sound of my name. I kind of liked hearing it come from his lips.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to dance with me? I promise I'll be on my best behavior," he smiled, but he still looked rather wary, cautious almost.

"Sure," I said slowly.

Brandon left his beer bottle on the bar, pulled out a couple bills, and refused to take my money when I started fishing around for my wallet. "I got it," he had said.

The music had changed to a slower tempo and many couples were doing a rather respectable slow dance. Oh crap, I'd forgotten, somewhere in my brain, that agreeing to dance with Brandon meant that I'd actually have to dance with Brandon, and I really didn't dance with other people.

I think he must have seen the look on my face because he gave another one of his crooked grins and took my hand soothingly. "What? Nervous, Bella? You were just dancing, like, twenty minutes ago. Just pretend that it's just the two of us. You and me. No one else is watching." He was whispering now as we got on the dance floor.

There weren't nearly as many people now since some of the more aggressive dancers had moved over to the bar to get refreshed and ready for the next battle with the DJ. Brandon reached down and brought my arms around his neck. "Look, Bella, I'm not gonna hurt you, and no one's going to laugh at you. It's just dancing. See?"

He rested his hands lightly on my waist, and we swayed lightly back and forth to the song. "See," he teased, "is that so hard?"

I shook my head, trying to remember where I had seen his crooked grin before. It hadn't been back at Washington U. No one was that good looking there. Hadn't been from high school, definitely hadn't been anyone good looking then. There hadn't been anybody on the flight over. No one in Alice's studio. That meant that it had to be from the stud… I was mid thought when I trailed off.

Holy crap. Holy, holy crap. No way. No freaking way. There was no way.

I refused to believe it.

All the color must have left my face rather quickly, and then flushed even quickly with anger and something that was close to embarrassment. Ah, the joys of being Bella.

Quickly, I jerked my hands from around his neck and took a step or two back. "That is not funny," I said in a dark tone.

He paled. Oh, yeah, he better be scared. "Come on, Bella. What are you talking about?"

My voice rose with every word. "You know freaking well what I'm talking about! I cannot believe you!" My voice cracked on the last word, but I really didn't care right now. If you couldn't tell, I was a little ticked off at the moment.

"Maybe you need to calm down for a minute. I think all the lights are getting to you."

"No, I don't need to calm down! I cannot believe you!"

He was looking worried now. "Why don't we go outside and discuss this calmly and like adults." By now, he was looking down at my clenched fists in worry. He'd better be worried.

"Adults? Yes! Adults! I can tell by the way you're sneaking around pretending to be someone else!" I was furious now. What the freak was wrong with him? Did he just love ticking me off or something, 'cause right now he was doing one heck of a job.

"Come on, Bella. Let's go outside." He took my wrist and led me outside through a side entrance that I hadn't noticed before. Oh well, maybe I'd been too busy trying to not fall over earlier to notice.

"I will not be dragged around like a dog! Ugh! I can't believe you!"

"Will you stop saying that, please?" He was pleading now as we weaved through people, catching many eyes in the process.

Finally, he shut the alleyway door behind us stopped me in the middle of the cobblestone side street. "Take them off." My voice was steely now.

A now familiar and recognizable smirk was plastered to his face. "Wow, Bella, I didn't know you felt that way."

I rolled my eyes at him heavily. "Don't be disgusting. Oh, wait, you can't go against what you're born as. Take of the dang glasses and that stupid hat."

"As you wish," he said taking a mock bow in my direction. I just stood there facing him with both hands on my hips.

He reached up with one hand and swept the hat off his head with a flourish. A shock of untidy bronze hair met my gaze, and I felt myself sink a little. Crap, crap, crap. He ran a hand through it, successfully making it even messier before looking back at me.

"Now, the glasses," I snapped at him.

He smirked again, and I wanted to slug it off his face but refused for the time being.

Slowly, he slid the sunglasses up his nose until they were sitting jauntily on his head. Dang him. A pair of piercing emerald green eyes were staring right back at me, sparking with amusement.

Edward Cullen was so dead.


What do you think? This is my longest chapter yet! Review please! I love just to hear that you loved it, hated it, thought it was stupid. Let me know your favorite part, least favorite part, comments, complaints, and encouragments.

I love to hear from everyone! PMs are amazing as well!

Summer Days,

AIT