A/N: Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! Hope you like this one. Also, I wanted to let you know that the story i mentioned has been posted. So if your interested, then please check it out and let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: If i owned Twilight, would i really be writing this?
Chapter 8
Edward's POV
"Edward, what's taking you so long?" She shouted, pushing herself in front of Bella, demanding my attention.
At first I was too surprised to say anything. I couldn't remember what I was doing or why Alice was here. Then suddenly, I remembered Bella standing behind her and my heart attempted to leap through my chest. Alice didn't seem to notice.
"Edward—" She began, but I cut her off.
"Alice, just wait a sec," I pleaded, peering over her shoulder in an attempt to gain Bella's attention. To my disappointment, Bella was gone; probably running down the deserted hallways in an attempt to escape me.
"Alice!" I groaned with a mixture of depression and anger. If only she would have waited a few more seconds to arrive. Then maybe…maybe Bella would have said something. Or maybe she still would have run away. Maybe she still would have rejected me. That was a possibility, but now I would never know.
"What?" Alice asked, surprised, "What did I do?"
"I was talking!" I shouted, a little too loudly. It wasn't my fault. I didn't always handle anger too well.
Alice raised her eyebrows and gave me a disbelieving look. She glanced around the deserted classroom and peered down the empty hallway.
"Really?" She smiled slightly, but tried to hide it.
"Yes, until you scared her away when you burst through here. You almost knocked her over."
I regretted speaking the moment I saw Alice's expression. Her smile grew wider and her eyes had a mischievous glint in them.
"She? You were talking to a girl?"
"Uh…yeah, well. Sort of, but it's not what you think," I stuttered, attempting to avoid the awkward situation. I knew how Alice could get when it came to relationships.
"Awww," she squealed, "My Edward has finally found a girl he likes!" She was almost bouncing with excitement.
I shook my head in protest. "No, really, I haven't."
If Alice knew I liked Bella, Bella would become the center of her focus and I knew that she was too shy to handle Alice.
"It's okay, Eddie," she patted me on the back. "I'm glad. Mom and I were beginning to think you were gay."
I started to protest again when her words registered in my mind.
"What?!" I gasped.
"Edward, you're a senior! I've seen you go out with maybe two girls your entire life. And those relationships didn't last very long at all. Tell me what that looks like?"
I tried to speak but I was in shock. Did they really think that?
"I can't believe this," I said, mortified. "It's not my fault none of these girls held my interest. They were all the same."
"But she's different?" Alice pried, her eyes still gleaming with the fresh knowledge.
I sighed, she wasn't going to give up. "Yes, Bella's different."
"Bella? Bella Swan? The new girl!"
Oh, shit. I didn't mean to say her name. Bella was going to kill me.
"Yeah. How do you know about her?"
She shrugged. "Mom invited her and Chief Swan over to the house for dinner tomorrow as a welcome to Forks kind of thing."
I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Bella and me and Emmett together with my whole family. This couldn't be good.
"Oh," I whispered weakly. I really couldn't say anything else.
Alice eyed me suspiciously, "Are you okay?"
"What? Oh…yeah. I'm just not feeling well," I lied.
"Well, get over it. We have to buy dad a gift remember?"
"Uh…Alice. I don't feel like going. Can't you go without me?"
She jumped up and down, seeming excited at the thought.
"Yes! Of course," she said with a cunning smile. "Your bad taste and lack of judgment would only slow me down." She hugged me, still smiling, and then paused.
"Don't think you're going to get out of telling me about Bella, Edward," She warned. "I want to hear all the details about my new best friend."
"Alice—"
"Nope. I don't want to hear it. We'll talk later."
She turned around to leave when i suddenly remembered the reason for Alice's visit.
"Wait. How are you going to get there? Didn't you need to borrow my car?"
She considered this for a moment. "
"Well. You have more space, so I figured I could fit more stuff in it. But I'll just catch a ride back home with someone back home and take my car."
I rolled my eyes at her plan. "Isn't that a lot of work Alice?"
She grinned. "Yeah, but it's worth it. I get to go shopping alone! And find the perfect gift! Oh…And remember, we are going to talk later." She winked and raced away, probably afraid I'd want to go shopping with her after all.
I sighed and walked out to the parking lot. By the time I got there, she was already gone. As I walked to my car I suddenly realized my anger was returning. I started thinking about Bella's rejection and my stupid behavior and I lost it.
"You idiot!" I scolded myself, slamming my head against the side of my car door. "Why'd you have to go and be so obsessive? Staring at her like that! You ruined everything!"
I kicked the nearest tire in front of me, then gripped my foot in pain. I wasn't handling the rejection very well. If that's what it was. If she had even rejected me. Well, what else could you call it? I asked her out and she ran away! Could there be a rejection any worse?
Yeah, I mentally answered myself, She could be with Emmett.
I smiled at the thought. Yeah right. If that's one thing I was sure of, I had a better chance than Emmett. And Emmett had a chance once. That gave me a lot of hope.
"It's okay," I assured myself, "Everything will be fine. She could change her mind." I sighed, realizing that I was right. She could change her mind.
With those calming words clouding my judgment I slid into my seat and pulled out of the school. Luckily I had convinced Alice to leave without me. Despite the fact that our mother insisted that I go shopping with her for our father's birthday gift, Alice was always more then willing to lie if it meant she could do the shopping alone.
I started the car and pulled around the corner sharply, eager to get home and scream at Emmett. I was going to kill him. Or at least torture him until he decided to leave Bella alone. Hey, I thought it was a pretty good plan.
"Come on Bella," Emmett called. His voice interrupted my internal rambling.
I turned my head quickly, scanning the streets for my brother. What the hell was he doing to annoy Bella now? Hadn't she left? I looked back behind me, noticing for the first time that Bella's truck was still there.
I finally found her walking down the sidewalk. I watched, horrorstruck, as she got into Emmett's car with him.
"No," I whispered. "No, no no no no!"
I couldn't move as I watched them drive away together. The only hope I had about Bella was that I had a better chance than Emmett. And now, seeing her ride off with him, that hope was shattered into a million pieces.
