Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does.

New chapter! Still no beta! Written during the 13 hour car ride while disco played on the radio. I hope that it's not too horribly bad.

Reviews are greatly appreciated, as is constructive criticism. If there are MAJOR flaws in the personalities I've given the characters that belong to Ms. Meyer that you simply feel would kill you if I don't fix them, let me know in a way that is not rude. K THNX.

Chapter Nine

I could just call and see if he wants to…what?

Bella groaned. For the past hour or so, she'd been trying to come up with something fun she and Edward could do together. It seemed to her that in the two weeks since the party – and since Edward had become a little more friendly – that they'd done almost everything.

Except go on a real date, Bella thought. No, she mentally scolded herself, don't think that way.

She cocked her head to the side, "Maybe if I talk out loud to myself, my ideas will be better." She paused, "The movies are always a decent choice. Yes, I think we'll go and see a movie…" She grabbed the paper from the counter and read halfway through the times for the first movie when she decided talking aloud and seeing yet another movie were both kind of crappy ideas; she dropped the paper and put her head on her arms.

Would it seem obsessive or desperate to call him without plans? Friends hung out aimlessly all the time, why couldn't she and Edward?

Because you don't want to be his friend, you want to be his girlfriend, a voice from the back of her mind gloated; she scowled at it.

Quiet, you can't date someone without going through the friend stage first…those relationships hardly ever work out.

She picked the phone up and inhaled, she'd take her chances at sounding desperate and obsessive. She clicked the phone on and put it to her ear to check for the dial tone; it wasn't there. Instead, she could hear the sound of a piano being played softly.

"Um, hello?"

The music stopped abruptly, "Oh, uh, hi. …Bella?"

"Edward? Wow! That's so weird…I was just about to call you!"

"Really? Did you hear about the fair, too? …Wait, did Alice tell you?"

"Fair?"

"So you haven't heard about it! Good, I'll be the one to tell you. The fair was just set up down at the fairgrounds." He paused. "Wanna go?"

"Sure! I mean…okay. That sounds neat, what time?"

"How about four?"

"Sounds good."

--

"Wow, I had no idea that you had a car too."

Bella was in awe of the roomy leather interior of Edward's silver Volvo. They had been hanging out over the past few weeks but most of that took place either within walking distance, the Dwyer's house, or the Cullen's den; also, if they had gone somewhere that required a vehicle, they usually just rode with one of Edward's siblings.

"I don't drive it often, I don't really need to; unless I'm trying to impress a pretty girl," he flashed her an almost flirty smile, one Bella preferred to call his 'blush-inducing smile' because it never failed to make her blush.

"It's nice," she moved around in her seat. "Comfy."

"Good on gas too."

There was a moment of silence, Bella had found out on the other times she'd ridden with him a car, that he didn't like talking in them, but she still wasn't used to the silence and tried to make conversation whenever possible.

"So, are Alice or Emmett going to the fair?"

Edward shook his head, "Nope, just us today."

"Oh."

Bella's internal response was a much louder and joyous response; she loved being with Edward without his siblings around.

"Well, you're art, you fell into this part, you play the victim perfectly, holding your beating heart, you used to be so smart, you fluttered 'round the yard making your magic…"

In the silence that had followed their small discussion, Bella had realized that Edward was actually listening to music. A small smile played on her lips; she could use it to start a conversation.

"Who are we listening to?"

"Sia, do you like it?"

"I do, a lot, actually…although, I kind of just noticed."

Edward chuckled, "Well, don't worry. We've got a little bit of a ride before us, I'm sure you'll be able to listen to more."

There was only one problem Bella noticed with Sia's music, Edward's silence, and the drive: she was growing sleepy. Two minutes after she'd started listening, she found her eyelids drooping and herself beginning to doze off.

"Shit."

What she hoped was a minute or so after nodding off, Bella was roused by Edward's curse and the deceleration of the car. She quickly sat up straighter, wiped some drool from the corner of her mouth, blushed over the aforementioned drool, and stretched. "What's the matter?"

"Traffic jam," Edward responded.

Sure enough there was a traffic backup ahead of them and it looked bad. So bad, in fact, that the motorists had actually turned off their cars and were standing outside of them.

Edward sighed and turned the Volvo off. As he undid his seatbelt, he looked at Bella, "So, what do you want to do while we wait?"

The very next moment, Bella found herself straddling and kissing him madly, putting her arms in the air as he tugged off her shirt with a grunt, and trying to undo his pants without removing herself from his lap...

Bella jerked away as Edward's door shut. She looked around confused and blurry-eyed before wiping some drool from the corner of her mouth. Oh god…Her cheeks turned bright red as embarrassment swept through her: she'd fallen asleep. She undid her seatbelt and climbed out the door Edward had just opened for her.

As they walked down the rows of cars towards the fairground entrance, Bella looked at Edward embarrassedly, "Did I…did I doze off?"

Edward smiled and needed, "Yeah, but only for…a little bit."

"How long is 'a little bit'?"

"About twenty minutes."

"Oh man, I wasn't, like, snoring or anything was I?"

Edward turned his eyes forward and slightly towards the ground. "No, you were fine…no…snoring," he said as he slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Phew, I was worried for a moment; I have a tendency to talk in my sleep…"

I know…Edward thought, the tiniest hint of a blush staining his cheeks at the memory of both the sounds she had made and the words she had mumbled while dreaming; not to mention the movements.

No, he wouldn't tell her that and embarrass her more; but he would remember it for later.

--

A few hours later, Bella, Edward, and the goldfish Edward had won for Bella – whom they named Robert – stood in line for the Ferris wheel.

"I've always wanted to go on one of these, but…no one else was interested in it…so, I never did…" Bella, in her excitement, was bouncing like Alice and sort of babbling.

"I went in one once, I seem to remember it being fantastic."

As they got closer and closer to the front of the line, Bella got more and more excited, her grin getting bigger and bigger.

However, when they were about to board, Bella was stopped by one of the workers.

"Sorry, girlie, you can't take your fish up there."

"What?" Bella looked at Robert and then back at the man, "Why not?"

"Some people think it's fun to drop them from the top. I'm not saying you would, but…it's a rule." He pointed and, sure enough, there was a sign prohibiting people from taking goldfish bags on the ride.

"Hmm. Would you watch him?"

The man shook his head.

Bella looked around a moment, trying to find a babysitter for Robert.

"I'll watch your fish."

"Really? Cool, I'll be right back!"

Bella handed Robert's bag over to the girl who looked about seven that offered to watch Robert and hopped into the basket next to Edward.

--

"Wow…"

The view from the top was breath-taking, below them they could see all the glowing lights of the fair and the city and above them, stars and the moon. "It's beautiful," Bella all but whispered.

They sat in silence, simply taking in the beauty of it all. The utter peace it sent flowing through Bella's body caused her to lean her head on Edward's shoulder and let her arm rest softly on his leg.

Edward did his best to keep his heart from breaking out of his chest, this was the moment he'd been waiting for. Nervously, he slid his arm next to hers and intertwined their fingers; their palms touched.

Without pulling her hand from his, Bella lifted her head and gazed into Edward's eyes. As if they were underwater, they moved towards each other. Sadly, much like their first almost-kiss, they were interrupted – only this time it was through nothing Bella did.

With a fraction of a centimeter of air between their lips, the lights and dopey music came back on and the wheel started spinning again. Simultaneously, the two pulled back and scooted as far to their side as they could, their cheeks matching shades of red.

--

"That was really nice," Bella said as they walked down the midway.

"I'm sorry you lost Robert, though."

Bella shrugged, "That little girl looked kind enough. She may have been a fish-napper, but she looked like a humane one."

"Well, I hope so for…Bella?" Edward stopped and looked over his shoulder, "What are you doing?" He walked back to where Bella stood, her face tilted towards the sky.

"It's going to rain." She smiled.

Edward looked up and, sure enough, felt cool raindrops hit his skin. It was a light sprinkle for a moment and then it began to increase in intensity. With a smile he looked back to Bella and she looked at him, "Come on; let's find somewhere dry."

As it turned out, that 'somewhere dry' was a striped awning just outside where they'd entered earlier in the evening. They were both thankful for this because they had just been about to head for Edward's Volvo when the rain doubled in ferocity.

"Why don't we wait here until the rain lets up?" Edward had suggested.

"All right."

So, there they stood, watching as the rain fell on the quickly emptying parking lot, the ticket booth was closed, and the gates were locked up. Unfortunately, the rain wasn't giving up, if anything it was getting stronger.

Edward sighed, "I'm starting to think it's not going to let up."

Bella was silent a moment, thinking. "Why don't we just run there? I can see your car from here; it's a straight shot."

Edward looked, with almost all the vehicles gone from the parking lot, it was a straight shot. He grinned crookedly at Bella, withdrew his keys from his pocket, spun them around his finger, unlocked the doors, and replaced them. "All right then, Swan; I'll race you."

"You're on, Cullen," Bella said, an almost devious smile playing on her lips.

"On your mark…"

"Get set…

"Go!"

They both took off running and laughing across the wet pavement, their shoes splashing in deep puddles and soaking their feet and their jeans. Edward made it to the car first and got in two seconds before Bella even touched the handle.

"Ha!" He panted, "So, what do I…" When he turned to gloat, his words became forgotten by the sight of a wet and very appealing Bella with flushed cheeks looking back at him. Because he was a guy and she was a pretty girl, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander downwards to where her wet (almost see through) t-shirt clung to her heaving chest and her…his eyes snapped back to her face and the final word escaped from his throat, "Win?"

Bella blushed and self-consciously (although, to Edward, it looked almost to be a teasing motion), "What do you want to win?" Her blush intensified; she hadn't meant for it to sound so suggestive, she was aiming for 'lightly flirty'.

Edward shifted in his seat, his mouth suddenly dry and his brain groping madly for an appropriate answer.

The, ahem, 'less sophisticated' part of him was screaming all sorts of things out; it had no trouble answering the question.

"Um," He swallowed, "How about I get back to you on that?"

Bella smiled and stretched her back (unknowingly sticking her chest out for a moment and making Edward even more uncomfortable and frustrated) before leaning back into the seat, "Sure." She bit her thumb nail, "Um, listen…do you think I maybe could come over after this? To dry off and maybe borrow some of Alice's clothes? I don't want to go home all wet…"

"You'd have to ask Alice about the clothes, but I don't think she'd have any problem with it," Edward said, tightening and loosening his grip on the steering wheel as he spoke, trying to keep his voice even and feeling very stupid about it, "So, sure." He started the car and they left the parking lot in silence.

They rode without speaking for about ten minutes, listening to the CD Edward was playing now. It was as they were listening to it that Bella remembered something she'd wanted to ask Edward.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I'm not accusing or anything, it's just…Emmett said something that made me curious awhile ago…and…well, I guess what I'm trying to ask is: did you spy on me?"

Edward's fingers, which had been tapping to the music on the steering wheel, froze.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm just being paranoid or something…but…" Bella laughed, "Did I just wreck the entire day?"

Edward laughed, "Oh no! It's fine. Let me assure you, I've nee been spying on you." Recently, he added mentally.

"All right, sorry, I just…yeah…"

"Don't be embarrassed, it's all right."

"Okay." She paused, she didn't want silence to reign again, Edward had such a nice voice and she loved to listen to it, "So, what are we listening to now?"

A conversation about favorite songs and music was sparked and it lasted until they pulled into the Cullen's driveway…right next to two other vehicles. Bella recognized one as Rosalie's convertible but not the other.

"Oh no…" Edward groaned as he undid his seatbelt.

"What? What's the matter?"

"My parents are out of town again and Emmett appears to be taking advantage of that."

"Another party?"

Edward shook his head, "No, just some of his…better…friends; I'm sure they're all drunk by now, though."

Sure enough, they were. As he opened the front door, Edward's only hope was that he could get himself and Bella up to Alice's room before anyone realized they were there. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.

"Hey, Eddie!"

A tall slender guy holding a beer came out of the den, completely blocking their way to the stairs so that they couldn't even make a run for it.

"Hi, Chuck…"

"So, you gonna come toss back some brewskis and play Halo 2 with us?"

"I kind of have company."

Chuck looked Bella up and down, "Nice. What's your name pretty thing?"

"Her name is Bella and we're actually looking for Alice, so if you…"

"Whoa, whoa…" Hold the phone, dude! Bella? As in the pretty girl next door? She's the girl you've been spying on?" He grinned goofily, stuck his hand in the air, and in a poor imitation of Borat said, "Very nice. High five."

"What?"

Edward winced slightly and looked at Bella. Her expression instantly went from being confused to shocked to outraged, "You spied on me." Her tone was flat and disbelieving.

"Listen, it was only…"

"You lied to me? How…how could you? I thought you were my friend!"

"Oh…kay…I'm going to see you two later…" Chuck, seeing that things were about to get dramatic, ducked out of the room through the doorway he'd earlier emerged from.

Edward took a step towards Bella, his hands up, "Bella, listen..."

She glared at him, "What could you say that would make this better? You know how I feel about lying. You know how much I…" she paused, searching for the right word, "Detest liars. So, tell me, what could you possibly say that would make this better?"

"There's nothing. I know there's nothing I can say. I should never have spied on you and I certainly should've never lied to you. Bella, I'm…I'm so sorry, I just…I'd like to explain to you."

Bella shook her head, "I don't have time for this…I have…I need to go home."

With that said, Bella turned on her heel and exited the house, slamming the door behind her. Edward dashed to the den window and watched as Bella went into her house, from the looks of it, she slammed that door as well.

"Hey, dude, I'm really sorry if I got you in trouble. If it makes you feel better, it's because of the booze."

Edward gave Chuck a flat look, "No, Chuck, that doesn't make me feel better in the least."

Edward left the den and rushed up to his room and looked over at Bella's bedroom window. A moment later, her light came on and he could see her stomp into her room.

Bella crossed her room to the window and stuck her middle finger in the air; she wasn't sure if Edward was watching, but she hoped he was. After what she felt was enough time to flip the bird to a house, she put it down and closed her curtains. Once they were down, she could feel tears well in her eyes, the full force of what had happened hitting her. It hit her so hard that she had to flop down on her bed, sobs racking her body.

She had really thought that Edward was a good person, like he could even be her boyfriend at some point. But that was gone; he was a creep…a lying creep, to be precise. She yelled into her pillow, why was it that every boy she showed interest in turned out like this? A perverted liar.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been crying…or if she'd fallen asleep even, but before she knew it, she was being shocked into awareness by her cell phone ringing. She signed, there were only a few people that would be calling her and she wasn't sure she wanted to talk to any of them. But, Bella wasn't one for being rude.

She picked the phone up from where it sat on her nightstand before checking the name on the display: Angela.

A small smile played on her lips as she wiped away her tears and flipped the phone open, "Hey."

"Bella! Hi! How are you?"

"Um, honestly? Not too good…"

She'd only talked to Angela a couple of times since she'd moved but she still considered her to be her best friend and they had internet conversations almost everyday.

"Bella…"

Bella realized that, for the first time, Angela sounded weird, a little un-Angela-like, and there was an odd amount of noise coming from her line, "…Angela? What's the matter…? What's going on?"

"I know that now is probably not the best time and I really would like to cheer you up, but…I sort of made a promise…"

"A promise?" Now Bella was curious.

"I promised that this conversation wouldn't be about me," she inhaled, "Now, Bella, please don't be mad at me…but I have someone on the line who would like to talk to you…"

A strange sort of numbness spread through Bella's limbs at that, "…Who?"

"I'm just going to let him talk, okay?"

"…All right…"

There was a small hesitation from whomever it was Angela had given the phone to before the familiar voice came through the receiver, "Hey, Bells…"

…Another cliff-hanger. Oh no! I've decided that this will have twelve chapters…so, only three more chapters! (Unless I'm bitten by the idea fairy and find some more things I want to put into this…)

Also, if you're curious about Chuck...he watched a lot of bad shows during the nineties...and it may have continued into the present, depending on how you feel about Borat and movies of that nature.

How about you leave me a review, yes yes?