A/N: Okay so I guess I should clarify. The relationship between Edward and Bella is supposed to be a little awkward. Bella isn't too sure how she's supposed to act around Edward and Edward isn't all into the affection thing. Plus, they're just starting their relationship and they aren't sure what's okay with the other yet. Hope that clears up their relationship and I apologize for any confusion.

So anyway, here I was thinking I was giving you guys a quick update and then I realize it's been awhile. I'm sorry! I've been sick so I haven't done much but sleep lately. Actually, I really should be in bed right now since I have to work, but here I am. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I'll try and update again soon!

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Friday came before anyone knew it and unfortunately for Bella, Jessica had talked her into going to the football game. Bella had begged Edward to come but there were some things Edward would just not do. Even for Bella.

"What are you doing tonight?" Emmett asked as he plopped down across from Edward on the chair.

Edward shrugged. "Hang around here."

"Wow. Not hanging with Jasper?"

"No he's being whipped by Alice."

Emmett chuckled. "You know maybe if you had a girl, you would understand."

"I would never let a girl boss me around. I wear the pants."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "This is why you're single."

Edward ignored him. The less he knew the better, and Emmett had a very big mouth. He looked back at the TV where a football game was on.

"Well I'm going out with Rose."

"Surprise, surprise." Edward muttered.

"There's a party after the game tonight at Newton's. I'm sure I'll see you there."

Edward shrugged. "Maybe."

"Whatever man. If you actually cared about someone other than yourself maybe you wouldn't be sitting alone on a Friday night." Emmett said before leaving.

Edward ignored him again as he slammed the front door shut and rolled his eyes. He cared about plenty, thank you, but it was none of Emmett's business who it was. He cared for the Cullens, of course, since they took him in. Esme had always been a second mother to him. He cared about her, though he would never admit it to anyone else. He was pretty sure Esme knew it too. It must be a mother instinct or some shit like that.

A few hours later, Jasper called him about the party.

"Where's Alice?" Edward asked.

"She doesn't want to come."

"And you're still going to go?"

"I'm not whipped, Edward."

"Sure."

"Fuck off, man. You coming or not?"

"Yeah. Swing by and pick me up."

"I got to drop Alice off anyway. See you in a few."

"Later."

Edward threw on a green t-shirt and jeans. He ran a hand threw his tousled locks before going downstairs. He smiled when he saw Alice and Jasper. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Jasper, stay out of trouble. Don't let Edward make you do anything stupid."

Jasper rolled his eyes at Edward who was making whipping sounds behind Alice.

"I won't." Jasper told Alice.

Alice smiled and kissed his cheek. She gave Edward another look before heading upstairs.

"Let's head out." Edward said.

"Newton always throws lame parties, this one better be better than the last."

"I bet it won't be." Edward said.

"So why are we going then?"

Edward shrugged. "Friday night, need something to do. Besides, I love crashing Newton's parties. He's such a dumbass."

"What do you have against him?"

"He thinks he's so cool."

"And he thinks you guys are friends." Jasper said with a chuckle.

"Exactly. I hate the guy and he won't leave me alone."

They arrived at Mike Newton's parents house and parked along the street with the rest of the cars. They headed up to the house where loud music was already being pumped out of the stereos and headed inside.

Edward walked straight to the kitchen and grabbed a beer for him and Jasper. Unfortunately, Mike was also in the kitchen.

"Dudes!" He shouted. "So glad you guys came!"

Edward resisted rolling his eyes. "Hi Mike."

"I'm so wasted!" He whispered loudly before laughing hysterically.

That time Edward didn't resist rolling his eyes. He could barely smell alcohol on his breath which meant he was pretending to be drunk. Pathetic.

"You better go cool off somewhere." Edward told him.

"Good idea. I'll see you around!" Mike said before leaving.

"What a loser." Edward said as he brought the bottle to his lips and took a sip.

Jasper chuckled. "No shit. He ain't drunk."

"I know he's not. He's pretending. How lame is that?"

"Not surprising though."

"Nope. So how come Alice didn't want to come?"

"She doesn't like Newton. No one does though."

Edward chuckled. "I know it. People just come for the fact he always supplies the beer."

"Yep."

"I wonder if he'll ever realize that."

"I doubt it."

"Let's go see what's going on."

Jasper and Edward walked into the living room where some of the football players were playing beer pong. The guys on the couch each had two cheerleaders on their arms and the kids in the corners were making out. Maybe more, Edward didn't look too hard. Edward rolled his eyes. Typical high school party.

"Man this blows." Jasper said.

"No shit. I'm heading out back. I need a cigarette."

"Me too."

They walked outside where some kids were hanging out talking. Edward lit a cigarette and handed Jasper his lighter. He blew out smoke and snickered as two boys pushed a girl into the pool. He recognized her instantly as Jessica Stanley. She sputtered as she came up and ordered Mike to help her out of the pool. He got a towel for her and followed her inside as she bitched about the two boys.

"She deserved it." Jasper said with a laugh.

"No shit." Edward agreed.

He looked around a little more and smiled when someone caught his eye. He flicked his cigarette in the grass and turned to Jasper.

"Be right back." He said before heading out into the yard.

"Where you going?" Jasper called out after him.

"I'll just be right back." He said.

Edward walked past all the drunk kids and towards the back of the yard where a swing set sat alone. Edward sat down on one of the swings next to Bella.

"I didn't know you were here."

"Jessica made me come." Bella sighed.

Edward chuckled. "You should've said no."

"I was hoping maybe you'd come." She blushed.

Edward smiled. "I guess maybe that's why I came too."

Bella smiled at him before looking down again. Edward cleared his throat as he looked up at the stars.

"So what are you doing alone in the dark?" He asked.

"I didn't want to be around all those people. They were trying to get me to drink so I'd make an ass of myself again and I wasn't going to have it."

Edward frowned. "I'm sorry they're like that."

Bella shrugged. "What are you going to do?"

"I'd beat the shit out of all of them if I could."

"That wouldn't solve anything though, Edward." She sighed. "As much as I'd love that, it would get me nowhere."

"I guess. But it would make me feel better."

Bella smiled and rolled her eyes. She sighed again.

"I wish I could leave."

"Why can't you?"

"Jessica drove."

"Oh that sucks. I'd take you, but Jasper would kill me if I left him here."

"Oh Jasper's here?"

"Yep."

"I have a class with Alice. She seems really nice."

Edward snorted. "She's not. Believe me."

"You're just saying that cause you live with her."

"Maybe."

Bella laughed. "Why are you so mean to her and Emmett? They both seem nice to me."

"You don't have to live with them."

"I think you should be nicer to them. You probably have more in common with them than you think."

Edward shrugged. "I doubt it."

"You'd be surprised."

Edward shrugged again. Bella reached over for his hand and Edward smiled at her, taking her little hand in his and setting them on his lap.

"You're cold."

"A little."

"You want my jacket?"

"No I'll be fine."

Edward rolled his eyes before taking his jacket off and swinging it over Bella's shoulders.

"Thanks." She said as she fixed it.

"No problem." He replied as he sat back down on the swing. "I haven't been on a swing set since I was like four." He chuckled.

"I love the swings. They were my favorite thing on a playground. I used to pretend I could fly."

"I think all little kids do that. I used to see how high I could get and jump off. Drove my mom crazy."

Bella smiled. "I bet you were a crazy little kid."

"I was. I got in trouble a lot."

"I'm not surprised."

"Hey now." He said with a smile.

"Well I mean, given the circumstances."

"Yeah, yeah."

Edward kicked at the rocks in front of him as he and Bella sat. Edward chuckled and shook his head.

"What?" Bella asked.

"Those guys. They're acting like dumbasses."

"What else is new?"

"Did you see Stanley being thrown in the pool?"

"Yeah." Bella giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm glad I wasn't near her, I wouldn't of been able to hide my laugh."

"Oh everyone else laughed at her, don't worry."

"Maybe they'll leave me alone now."

Edward frowned. "They still teasing you?"

"A little."

"Fucking immature assholes." He muttered.

Bella shrugged. "It's alright. I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't have to be getting used to it, it's bull and not fair to you."

Bella looked down, toeing at the gravel beneath her feet. "Yeah well. It's not going to change."

Edward shook his head. "I'm sorry those guys are such jackasses."

"Me too." Bella sighed. "Maybe some day they'll grow up."

"Yeah right. People like that don't change."

"Yeah but I can hope."

Edward smiled at her. "You're an optimist. I'm a pessimist."

"There are some good things out there, you know. You don't have to always look for the bad in everything."

"I've seen more bad then good in my time."

Bella frowned. "That's not good."

"It's life." Edward said with a shrug.

They sat in silence for another couple of minutes before Edward sighed.

"I better go. Jasper's probably wondering where I ran off to."

"Okay." Bella said, almost sadly.

They both stood up and Bella handed Edward his jacket back.

"Thanks."

"No problem." He said with a smile. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you later. Stay away from the assholes, alright?"

"I'll try."

Edward smiled at her again before heading back up to the house. Bella sighed as she sat back down on the swing set and looked around at everyone else having fun. She wished she could be like them, carefree and having fun, but she couldn't. Instead she sat in the background watching them all have fun.

Two hours later, or it seemed that long anyway, Jessica finally realized Bella was missing. She went looking for her and found her by the swings.

"There you are. I've been looking for you."

"I've been here." Bella replied. She noticed Jessica was wearing an entirely different set of clothing.

Jessica sighed as she sat down next to her. "This party is lame. Wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah."

"Well, um, can I like give you my keys or something? Mike wants to go out somewhere." Jessica said, biting her lip.

"Yeah that's fine. You can swing by tomorrow morning and pick it up."

"Okay." She said excitedly. She jumped up to hug Bella. "Here are my keys." She practically threw them at her in her excitement. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Bye." Bella replied.

Jessica waved enthusiastically before leaving. Bella sighed and stood up, heading to the front of the house and finding Jessica's car. She climbed in and drove back to her house, resisting driving by Edward's to see if he was home. Once Bella arrived, she put the keys underneath the seat and left Jessica a note where to find them.

Bella was just about to the door when her cell phone buzzed, indicating she had a text message. She flipped open her phone and smiled when she saw it was from Edward.

Hey

Bella texted back, a small smile on her face. Hey.

R u home?

Yep. Just got home. You?

Yea. Come over?

Okay. Be there in five.

Bella tried to calm her nerves as she shut her cell phone and started walking down the driveway. She frowned when she realized her mom might get worried seeing someone else's car in the driveway, but no Bella. She tried racking her brain quickly since Edward was waiting for her, but nothing was coming to her. She let out a frustrated grunt and walked down to Edward's.

When Bella arrived, she had no idea how to get in. She sent Edward a text saying she was there.

Go to the backyard.

Bella walked around back quietly, feeling like an intruder, and looked around, making sure no one had seen someone creeping around the backyard.

"Bella."

Bella gasped and jumped, turning around quickly.

"Sorry." Edward said.

"You scared the crap out of me." Bella hissed in a loud whisper.

"I said I was sorry. Come on."

Edward took her hand and lead her down steps and into a door. Bella was in the basement. She looked around. She was in a huge room with pale yellow walls and two couches. A flat screen TV sat against the wall she was closest too and a computer desk sat in the corner. There was a hallway that lead down to other rooms.

"This is bigger than my bedroom." Bella said.

Edward chuckled and plopped down on one of the black leather couches. "It's not all bad. Come sit." He said, patting the seat next to him.

Bella smiled shyly and moved across the room slowly to sit next to him. She sat her hands in her lap and sat still. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Would you relax? It's not like I'm going to hurt you."

"I know." Bella replied, flushing slightly.

"Well relax then." He threw his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. She relaxed after a few moments and laid her head on his shoulder. Edward settled back against the couch and grabbed the remote.

"So what do you want to watch?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Well I was watching this, do you mind?"

"Not at all."

"Cool." Edward set the remote back down on the table. "When did you leave?"

"Like twenty minutes ago. Jessica wanted to go out with Mike."

Edward rolled his eyes. "I'm not surprised."

Edward smiled when Bella turned slightly and snuggled into Edward's side. He rubbed her back and pulled her closer.

"When did you leave?" Bella asked. Edward grabbed a blanket and threw it over Bella. "Thanks."

"Mmhmm. We left after I talked to you. Jasper had to get something for Alice so he dropped me off. I saw Jessica's car drive by so I figured you were home."

"Yeah she left with Mike so she let me drive her car. Speaking of that, if my mom sees her car in the driveway and notices I'm not there, I'm going to need an alibi."

"Just tell her that Jessica's car was making funny noises so she dropped it off at your house and one of her other friends, who followed you guys, picked you up."

Bella nodded her head on Edward's shoulder. "Good idea. I should've known you would be good at making up alibis."

"Yeah, yeah." Edward chuckled. "Man that party was pretty lame."

"It was." Bella sighed. "I was really bored."

"So was I. I would've stayed and talked to you but Jasper would've come looking for me eventually."

Bella nodded. "I figured."

"It's just better if people don't know about us. They think you're one way and I'm the opposite of that. You understand?"

"Yeah." Bella said softly.

"I would love to tell all these people to fuck off, Bella, believe me. I just don't think they would understand. They have this badass image of me and they would all just think I was trying to take advantage of you or some bullshit like that."

"Even if I told them that wasn't true?"

"Yes. They would think I was telling you to say that. I don't want you to think I'm ashamed of you, I just want to protect you."

"Okay." Bella said quietly. She sighed. "I understand."

"Good."

"I just wish people wouldn't care so much."

"Me too."

They talked for a couple of hours after that about school and their lives. Bella asked about previous girlfriends and all Edward would say was that he dated a bunch of bimbos in his time. Bella would roll her eyes and ask for details, but Edward would never give any up. Edward asked about boyfriends and Bella shyly told him he was her first. Edward just smiled and Bella was relieved she hadn't made fun of her for it.

An hour after that, they went back to watching the movie and Bella had fallen asleep. Edward didn't have the heart to wake her so he just let her sleep. He moved them so they were both laying down on the couch and settled her against him. After a little while Edward grew tired as well and fell asleep. It was the best night's sleep Edward had had in a while.

Reviews are lovely as are you all who read this :)