Author's Note: It's been a while, and I apologize. I have three more weeks of school left, and then summer is here. Which means I'll be able to update a lot more in three weeks. Don't worry, I'll post a new chapter or two before then! But only if you review. Seriously people, I need reviews. Reviews are my own personal brand of heroin.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything here, except for this silly little story. All of the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Chapter Nine: "Best Friends" Bella's POV
"Hey, preggers," Emmett grinned as he walked into my house, Jasper and Edward on his heels.
I was resting on my couch with my feet up. "Shut up, Emmett," I rolled my eyes, tossing a throw pillow at him. But despite my pregnancy hormones, I wasn't mad at my teddy-bear-like friend. Who could ever be mad at him?
"Seriously, Bells, the bugs are getting big. You're looking pretty damn pregnant. How far along are you?"
"Eighteen weeks. Halfway there. You haven't seen anything yet. I should be about forty-five pounds over my regular weight by the time they pop out. Where the heck did you come up with the name bugs for my babies?"
"He has no idea," Edward filled in for him. "I told him it makes no sense--"
"But you're so sensitive about the bun nickname," Emmett finished.
"Because in case you haven't noticed, Mr. Cullen," I grinned at Emmett, "the word buns often applies to a rather rude part of the body."
"Like this?" Emmett randomly smacked Jasper's ass, causing Jasper to push him down onto the couch next to me.
"You are so crazy, Emmett," I rolled my eyes again. "I wish I could be as carefree as you."
"Can I…touch the bugs?" Emmett asked, his hands hovering over my belly.
"Sure," I replied, shrugging. "Thank you so much for coming over, guys. I just can't reach the smoke detector, and I can't afford to not be alerted to a fire."
Jasper laughed. "It's no problem, Bells. I'll be happy to fix your smoke detector. I don't know why the other two came, though."
"I came because I'm morbidly curious about my nephew and niece," Emmett shrugged, his hands on my belly. "I mean, I'm imagining that they're a boy and a girl. Ugh, I want to feel them kick. Come on, bugs, wake up."
"And I came because I have Butterfinger ice cream," Edward smiled at me, holding up a plastic pail.
I gasped. "Your homemade Butterfinger ice cream?"
"Of course!" Edward replied, laughing. "What other kind would I bring you? I'll put it in your freezer. Do you want a bowl now?"
I grinned guiltily and nodded.
"Me, too!" Emmett called.
I had moved on from cheesecake to ice cream, and Edward was absolutely fabulous about making me different flavors. His first attempts at homemade ice cream were futile, but Esme had gently helped him out until he was an expert.
"Your belly button is sticking out," Emmett laughed. "You're getting pudgy!"
Ah, I could easily get back at him. "That's because my uterus is pushing against my navel," I replied nonchalantly. "My uterus is right under your hands right now. You know, the thing that makes me have periods and eggs and all that."
He crinkled up his nose and dropped his hands. I laughed at his disgusted expression.
I heard Jasper and Edward in the kitchen. "Oh!" I exclaimed, standing up and walking into the kitchen. "Edward, the bowls and spoons are in the--"
He held up a few bowls and spoons. "I know."
"Oh," I said. "Uh…okay. Jasper, do you need a screwdriver or anything?" I winced as I thought of Jacob's toolbox. He loved his little treasure chest of toys; I wasn't sure that I wanted to pull them out.
"Nah, Bella. I brought my own. Don't worry about me. You need to sit down."
"I don't need to sit down," I sighed. "My doctor has been chiding me about not exercising. But who wants to exercise when you have a basketball for a belly?"
"I'll go on walks with you, if you want," Edward volunteered. "I don't really trust you walking around by yourself."
I rolled my eyes. "Shut up. I'm perfectly capable of walking without tripping. Most of the time." I happily took the bowl of ice cream from his hands. "Thank you, Edward."
"No problem," he smiled at me.
The ice cream, as always, tasted delicious. I ate in silence, watching Jasper as he stood on a chair and nimbly worked on my smoke detector. Jacob always did that for me--he was just as fast as Jasper, but Jake didn't need the chair to reach it…
"Oh, hey, did Edward tell you the news?" Jasper asked me, interrupting my thoughts.
"What news? That he's an absolutely fabulous ice cream churner?"
"Well, besides that," Jasper said.
"What is it, Edward?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "It's no big deal. I signed on to work at a law office here in Forks. So I'm here permanently."
"Really?" I exclaimed. "That's great!" I immediately stepped over to hug him.
He hugged me delicately, careful not to squish the babies. "Thanks, Bella. It is good news. It's hard to find a job here, but I guess it's a stroke of luck that Stanley, Newton, and Cheney are hiring. Mr. Cheney is retiring, so it'll be Stanley, Newton, and Cullen pretty soon."
Edward was a licensed attorney who had previously worked in Chicago, but he wanted to move back home to Washington. The Cullens were from Seattle, but Esme and Carlisle moved to Forks when the kids were out of the house because they liked small-town life. It turned out that the kids did, too. Forks was now a Cullen family affair. So I could imagine that Edward was thrilled he could live in Forks. He had been dreading having to move to Seattle, Tacoma, or Port Angeles.
"That's very exciting," I grinned at him. "I was worried that my personal chef would have to move away."
"I'm here as long as you need me," he replied.
And for some reason, I believed him.
Edward and I were becoming best friends. He had been the only Cullen I wasn't familiar with, due to his desire to study law at the University of Illinois in Chicago. He possessed every quality that made his family members great--Carlisle's intelligence and compassion, Esme's ability to love everyone passionately, Alice's enthusiasm and kindness, and Emmett's humor (though it was a very different sense of humor). He even had Rosalie and Jasper's qualities, even though they weren't related. He had a nurturing quality like Rosalie and could always soothe someone like Jasper could.
He came to my house to check on me often, but he was never overbearing or intrusive. Sometimes we had dinner together, sometimes we went on walks down the beach, sometimes we just lounged in my living room and watched movies. Edward made the house seem a little less empty. It made me feel better.
No, he made me feel better.
One day while I was working at the library, Edward surprised me and Esme with lunch.
"Thank you, Edward!" I said gratefully as Esme kissed his cheek.
"No problem," Edward beamed at us. "I thought you could both use a pick-me-up. I also came to see if you have any books by Thomas Harris."
"We do," Esme nodded. "Bella, will you show him where it is?"
"Sure," I said, hiding my lunch under my desk so nobody would steal it. I led Edward to the correct shelf. "You're into Thomas Harris? I adore his writing style."
Edward nodded. "I love his books. You know, I didn't think that you would be a serial-killing-cannibal type of girl."
I shrugged. "Hannibal Lecter is a great character, as are Clarice Starling and Francis Dolarhyde. Dolarhyde gave me nightmares." I cringed as I remembered the way Jacob had kissed away those bad dreams and then gently teased me about getting too caught up in my books. "I guess you could say that my life has been pretty morbid lately..." I sighed quietly.
Edward looked confused about my random pessimism, but he moved to a different topic as his green eyes started to skim the book titles. "Actually, Bella, I wanted to ask you about something."
"Yes?" I asked him, praying it wasn't something stressful. I didn't need any more stress. As if they echoed my thoughts, I suddenly felt the twins move within me. My hand fluttered along my belly, lovingly patting them.
"Umm, so I've been wanting to find a place to stay since I'm an adult and I've been living with my parents," he began. "And I found a really great small, cheap house that's for sale. And it's next door to you."
I raised an eyebrow, puzzled by his nervous tone. "Yes. Old Quil Ateara lives there. He's moving in with his daughter because he isn't doing well physically."
"Yes, I looked at his house today. It's perfect for me, and I was wondering if you would like to have me as a neighbor."
"Oh, Edward!" I exclaimed as loudly as I could in a library. "That would be perfect."
He suddenly smiled excitedly. "Really? You wouldn't like, think it was creepy or get tired of me or something?"
"I could never get tired of you, Edward," I replied. "No, I would like that very much. As long as we can have neighborly cook-outs or something."
He chuckled. "I have to cook, of course."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah..."
"So you really don't mind?" he interrupted me.
"I would love that," I assured him. "I would feel a lot better having you next door, anyway. Sometimes I don't exactly feel safe by myself."
"It's settled then," he said suddenly. "I'm going to make an offer to Mr. Ateara."
"Awesome," I smiled at him, and then I pulled him into a hug. When he pressed against my big belly, the twins went into hyper-mode, kicking me so hard that Edward felt it.
"I don't think they like me," he mused, staring down at my protruding belly.
I snorted. "No, they definitely like you. They only kick people they like. Why do you think Emmett can never wake them up?"
We shared a laugh, and then I went to eat my delicious lunch he cooked for me.
Hmmm....so Edward is going to be Bella's neighbor, which will certainly bring them even closer together. But Jacob has only been dead for a month, so Edward is going to have to be a very good friend to Bella first. I can't wait to write out their relationship.
Review, I beg. Reviews are my personal brand of heroin, and I need a fix 'cause I'm going down...