AN: Sorry about the delay. As I said the last chapter was difficult to write and I needed a bit of a break after writing it, add that to a 5 day migraine and it took me a while to get back to the story. I just want all of you to know that I am going to continue writing as long as there are people that enjoy the story but I would love it if more of you would review knowing what you honestly think of my story really does motivate me to write more and it helps me to know how to help the story progress, so at the risk of sounding like Edward, I'll ask "Tell me what you are thinking." :) I apologize for my grammer and spelling i have a bad habit of writing late at night and sometimes miss things when i proof read I am trying to catch as much as I can though.

HAPPY READING

Chapter 10: Ladies day/night out

I awoke to the sounds of Girls Just Want to Have fun sounding loudly from my phone. I groaned rolling over answering the phone. "Hi." I said knowing I sounded like hell.

"Girl you had better get your ass out of bed, we'll be there in a half an hour." Lynn stated.

I threw my arm over my eyes trying to block out the sunlight that was coming through the window. "Ugh, what time is it?"

"It's ten thirty so get your ass up woman!" Dani commanded "We only have today and part of tomorrow to hang out and you need to be functional for all of it."

"Sure, sure, I'm getting up. See you soon." I didn't even wait for them to reply, ending the call quickly and wishing I could just go back to sleep. I couldn't wait to see my girls but Edward and I talked until almost seven in the morning and barely three hours of sleep was not fun. I threw my phone back down and buried my face in the pillow.

Last night had been a combination of emotions. I cried when I told Edward about the pain I had been dealing with. I loved the comfort he gave just by listening to me tell my story. With everything that we talked about last night I felt our friendship grow.

He told me about doubts he had in himself. Not long after his family moved to Washington he had gone through a rebellious stage, as he put it. His dad was still working long hours and Edward felt that nothing was going to change even after all the promises that there would be more family time. Edward began dating a girl named Chelsea. She was a "Bad girl" and that is what apparently attracted him. Drinking, partying, staying out all night these were the things that they would do together. She convinced him that his parents would never understand him and who he was. As their relationship continued he distanced himself from his parents.

When I asked him what changed he told me it was a family friend that pointed out to him that Chelsea didn't know the real him so she couldn't know what his life with his family was really like. Tanya is the daughter of Eleazar and Carmen Denali. Eleazar has been a close friend to Carlisle since medical school, and the fact that his family lived in Seattle helped in the decision to move. Edward had been so focused on his anger towards his father and it was Tanya that confronted him and told him that he was being a "selfish brat". He told me that she made him see that the time Carlisle was putting in initially was only to get his practice established and that once things settled down the family time together would be easier to come by.

Edward ended his relationship with Chelsea, telling me that while I probably wouldn't like it, the only thing that he truly got out of their relationship was a love of motorcycles. I of course had mixed feelings about this. I had already told Edward that Jacob had taught me how to ride and I enjoyed it but also feared it ever since Jacob's accident.

He went on to tell me that after he apologized to his parents for his behavior, he spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to balance his life between the relationship he wanted with his family and the independence he needed. Tanya was there for him through all of this. Apparently they began dating and she was the one to convince him to start college. She is the friend that he drives to Chandler to visit with. I couldn't help the twinge of jealously I felt when he talked about Tanya. It sounded as if they were very close and while he insisted that their relationship never went further than a few dates something about his tone told me that she had been wanting or expecting something more serious.

When I asked him about why they were never more serious, he simply said that she just wasn't the type of girl he could spend his life with. He told me that even though she is very beautiful and cares for her loved ones and that she understands him because she knew how hard it was growing up with a father who worked so much she was also very spoiled and expected things to just be handed to her. He said that she was too self centered to be someone that could ever honestly have a serious relationship.

This conversation made me wonder what he did look for in a girl but I pushed those thoughts aside. I enjoyed having Edward's friendship and right now that was all I could ask for.

I had been laying in bed remembering my conversation with Edward for the last ten minutes and I knew I need to get my ass in gear or Dani and Lynn would drag me out for the day in my PJs. Reluctantly I got up and put on my robe grabbed my shower caddy and made my was to the bathroom.

While in the shower I decided it was not fair that I had to be awake and that Edward should feel my pain as well. I picked up my cell and opened sent a text to him telling him if my ass had to be awake so did he. I threw my phone back down and walked to my closet. I pulled out a pair of distressed jeans, there were small holes in one knee and the pockets were frayed I loved these jeans they were so worn out and comfortable. I also pulled on a vintage Rolling Stones tee shirt and a pair of Chucks. I had just finished getting dressed when my phone alerted me to a new text.

Unfortunately I am awake remember I'm driving to Chandler today :( - E

Actually I had forgotten all about him visiting Tanya today.

O yea that sux. Y did she ask u to come visit again? - B

Why I cared was beyond me. Maybe it was pure concern about the fact he would be driving on such little sleep and wondering if he could cancel or maybe it was that slight twinge of jealousy and need for him to say he didn't want to really go.

She says she needs help hooking up a new flatscreen or sumthing. It sux and I'm sure someone else could help but whatever. - E

I rolled my eyes, his statement aided my theory that she was after more from Edward and he was too nice to say or do anything about it. I know he felt that he owed her for helping him fix things with his family but sometimes you just have to be blunt and set things straight. Before I could respond to his text he had sent another.

R your friends here yet? I'm going to the café for breakfast if u want to come. – E

They should be here soon. Maybe we'll meet u there. – B

I closed my phone and put in my purse. I pulled my wallet out of my messenger bag making sure my ID credit cards and cash were all there before walking downstairs to wait for the girls to get here. It was a nice day still a bit cool so I made sure to throw on my letter jacket before going outside. I knew the girls would want to take their overnight bags to my room but that would have to wait. I was afraid if I stayed in my room waiting for them I would fall asleep waiting for them. We would go straight to the café to get breakfast, I was in desperate need of coffee, and if I was being completely honest I wanted to see Edward.

I was sitting in the same spot as last night when I heard Dani and Lynn yelling my name. Instantly a smile spread across my face as I hopped of the steps and ran to my girls. We squealed and hugged laughing like a bunch of kids.

"Well at least you don't look like the hell I expected after what you sounded like on the phone earlier." Dani said with her usual blunt attitude.

"Gee thanks Dani. I love you too."

Lynn swung her arm over my shoulder "So what, did you go out and party last night? Didn't even wait for us?"

"Actually I did not go out last night. I just didn't get a lot of sleep." I looked at the two of them before continuing. "Which means I need a very large cup of coffee, like now."

I hooked my arms with both of theirs and dragged them off toward the café. We walked in and I swiped my ID card for three meals. We each grabbed bowls of fresh fruit, I also went for eggs and sausage. Dani and Lynn decided on pancakes and bacon. I made my final stop at the beverage bar grabbing a large coffee. The girls and I walked around looking for an empty table, this was the time of day the café was always packed on weekends because most people had just woken up. "Hey isn't that Emmett sitting over there?" Lynn asked pointing to a table in the corner.

I looked to where she was pointing and sure enough Emmett, Jasper, Garrett, and Edward were all sitting there with plates full of food. "Yeah and now I think I know where we are sitting." I motioned for the girls to follow me. Dani and Lynn had met the guys last semester when they came to visit me, and they fit in with everyone really well. I walked up behind Emmett and before anyone could say so much as hi I reached over his shoulder and grabbed a piece of bacon off his plate.

Emmett whipped his head around preparing to yell at whoever had the audacity to steal his food. "Hey…. Oh man Bells if it was anyone but you."

I laughed. "Or what Em , you going to bite my had off?" I kissed Emmett on the cheek and walked around the table to the empty chair next to Jasper with Dani and Lynn pulling up chairs at the end of the table. "Guys you remember my girls?" There was a round of hellos before I introduced them to Edward. "Dani, Lynn, you haven't met Edward yet." I stated waving a hand in his direction. "Edward these are my best friends."

"It's nice to meet you ladies, B's told me a lot about you both." Edward addressed them but I noticed the look on their faces. He called me B, no one outside of our group from home really called me B it was Jake's nickname for me.

Lynn was the first to recover. "Uh… Um… it's nice to meet you as well." She glanced at me before asking. "So Bella said you've been helping her with biology, is that your major?"

Edward caught my eye and sent me a small smile before answering. "No but I have a meeting with my advisor next week and I've been thinking of possibly declaring in sports medicine." This caught me by surprise. With everything that we had talked about Edward had not once mentioned that he had considered declaring a major already.

"Edward, you never said anything about that." I looked at him curiously. He shrugged only saying that it was just an idea right now and he just wanted to talk to his advisor about it.

Conversation continued through breakfast. Dani and Lynn talked a lot with Jasper and Emmett catching up with anything new since the last time they were here visiting. Emmett had fun picking on Dani the two of them enjoyed seeing who could come up with the most sarcastic or embarrassing comment. Lynn is studying architecture and has a course in architectural history or something like that therefore her and Jasper were deep in conversation, with Garrett joining in occasionally. Garrett has been lucky enough to travel most of the world on family vacations.

Edward nudged my foot under the table. "So even though you didn't get much sleep did you at least sleep well, little girl" I smiled at the use of the nickname Edward started using last night. Before we said goodbye he pulled me into a hug saying "Smile my little girl, it will get easier I promise."

"I was sleeping well until two people called me commanding that I get out of bed." I said with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

Edward laughed and apologized for keeping me up late. I waved off his apology. I enjoyed our conversation and it isn't as if I've never run off of three hours of sleep before. "Honestly Edward it's fine I'll make it through the day, although it will be spent shopping." I rolled my eyes. I was not looking forward to looking for a dress for the formal.

"Not how you would like to spend your day I assume?" He asked

"Not really but I'll survive."

"Well if it makes you feel any better I'm not thrilled with my plans for the day either." Judging from the look on his face he truly was not looking forward to his plans. "Speaking of which I should get going." Edward stood up to leave but was stopped by Garrett before he was able to leave.

"Edward don't forget there is a party at the house tonight."

"No problem I should be back by seven anyway so I'll be there." He answered Garrett before looking at me and the girls. "Are you ladies planning on coming out tonight?"

I don't know why I hesitated. It is not as if Dani and Lynn would want to pass up a chance to party at the pi kapp house. "Yeah we'll most likely be there" I answered and Edward simply nodded before saying goodbye to everyone

Garrett, Jasper and Emmett finished their breakfast shortly after saying goodbye and that they would see us tonight. I went to get a refill on my coffee, one because I desperately needed caffeine and two because now that the guys were gone I was afraid that the girls would ask questions. There was no doubt in my mind they heard Edward's apology for keeping me up late and I was sure they would want to know what that was all about. It wasn't as if there was anything to hide but I was too tired to play twenty questions and relationship therapy right now.

I had only gone out with a few guys since James and most of them were last semester. Dani and Lynn were some of the few people that knew the full extent of how bad my relationship with James was. My sisters knew I was in an abusive relationship but that was all, I left the details out. I am not sure what it is but I just can't seem to do the dating or relationship thing. I would like to believe I wasn't really affected by James but I know that isn't true. I doubt myself and why anyone would actually want to be with me and sometimes I find myself expecting an argument even when a situation doesn't warrant one. Couple that with the fact that I had lost so much in such a short time I really am afraid to allow anyone to get too close to my heart, the more people I'm close to the more chance to lose someone else.

Dani and Lynn hate seeing me keep myself from a chance to have someone in my life so they are constantly trying to convince me to meet someone. I should have known that I would not be able to avoid their questions. As soon as I walked back to the table to see if the girls were ready to go back to my dorm Lynn started. "So what's the deal with Mr. green eyes?"

I barely contained my groan of annoyance "Nothing he is pledging and we've gotten to be friends. He is a nice guy." I looked at both of them trying to convey the fact that I really wanted to drop the subject and that there is nothing to tell.

"Yeah well he's cute and you seem to be pretty close for just meeting each other a few weeks ago." Dani stated. It wasn't a question and there was no need to answer so I ignored her. I quickly changed the subject to what kind of dress I was thinking of buying.

I called Alice after we got back to my room asking if she was still planning on joining us for our trip to the mall. It really was a stupid question shopping trip and Alice are always a given. Our trip was not as terrible as I thought it would be. After trying on about ten different dresses that the girls picked out for me I finally found one that I really liked. Most of the dresses I had been trying on were long but this one was short coming a few inches above the knee. It was a midnight blue with decorative strap that crossed from my left shoulder between my between my breast wrapping under my right breast. I fell in love the moment I tried it on. It wasn't as formal as some of the girls would be wearing but I loved the way I felt in this dress.

When I came out of the dressing room Alice was bouncing on her toes with a beaming smile. There was no need to ask her opinion. Dani and Lynn loved it as well. We found a cute pair of strappy heals and Alice insisted she had the perfect bracelet and earrings to wear with the dress.

After we finished shopping I informed the girls that if I was expected to go to the party tonight I would need to get some rest. I really wanted to spend more time with Dani and Lynn but I was fading fast and the caffeine just wasn't doing the trick anymore.

"Girls you know I love you but I really need a nap if we are going out tonight, you don't mind do you?"

"No, but if you're going to crash on us I think you should tell us why exactly you are so tired." Lynn answered.

I should have known they would ask again. "I was up late last night." I stated simply but could tell from the looks on all three of their faces that it was not a good enough answer. "I ran into Edward outside the dorm last night and we sat outside talking." I shrugged.

Alice was watching me with a smile on her face. "How long were you talking if you are so tired?"

"Um… Well I really don't know how long we sat out there because I'm not sure what time it was when we started, but the sun came up before we realized we should probably say goodbye."

Dani was the first to comment "So let me get this straight. You talked all night, like watched the sunrise?" I had to laugh at how it sounded but I nodded in response to her question. There was not much more to say about it, most of our conversation was personal, and while they already know about what I told him I didn't feel right telling them what we talked about.

I could tell they wanted to know more but I wasn't going to offer any more information and they knew it. When we got back to campus Alice and the girls decided to go visit with some of the sisters. This gave me a chance to catch up on some sleep. I only needed a few hours. The girls came back around six thirty so we could get changed and spend some time together before the party.

We arrived at the fraternity house around ten o'clock and the party was already in full swing. Fraternity parties at Meyer were always fun. The fraternity would usually charge a two dollar cover and the university is small enough that the different frats would plan parties so that there were not more than two houses partying a night. Everyone knew it was a popular way to socialize and keeping the number of different parties to a minimum allowed other organizations to enjoy not having to host the festivities, not to mention that the small cover would cover most of the beverage cost. All of this balanced out in the end.

Walking in we were immediately greeted by Jasper. "Glad you could make it ladies, you know where the bar is and I hope that you all will join me on the dance floor later."

"You know it Jazz. We'll see you down there." I hugged him before grabbing the girls hands and pulling them downstairs.

"I'm going to go grab us a some beers and jello shots why don't you go see when the beer pong table is open I'm in the mood for a game tonight." Dani said before walking over to the bar.

Lynn and I looked at each other and shrugged before making our way over to the table. Em was standing there with a couple of the brothers. They were laughing at what I am sure was a completely perverted comment knowing Emmett. "Hey big brother"

Em turned around smiling and showing off his adorable dimples that made him so much less intimidating than what his stature portrayed. "Hi there little sis…" He turned to Lynn "hey Lynn did you ladies have fun spending some money today?"

Lynn laughed "Oh you know it Em. We practically had to drag Bells out of the mall. You know how she is."

Emmett snickered at Lynn's comment knowing that I did not entirely love spending unnecessary time shopping. Before he could respond Dani joined us carrying three beers and a few jello shots "Ok girlies drink up, and do we have next game or what?"

I looked over to Emmett to see what the deal was with who was up next and he said the table was open. Lynn and Dani insisted on being a team. Emmett had offered to be my partner but was interrupted "I don't think so McCarty, she and I have a title to defend" I turned to see Edward standing behind us with a crooked grin. "So what do you say little girl, are we playing to win tonight?"

I leaned forward and placed my hand on his chest "One thing you should know Edward is that I always play to win." I don't know where that action came from. Sure I became a bit flirtatious after a few drinks but I had barely had a few sips of my beer.

Edward didn't seem to mind, he simply grabbed my hand and pulled me to an end of the table. "Well then I guess we will just have to show your girls how it's done."

After three games of beer pong I and a number of jello shots later the girls and I decided it was time to dance. We made our way to the back and I found a group of sisters that included Alice, Rose, and Kate. Alice immediately pulled us into their group. It wasn't long before Emmett joined our group dancing with Rose. He told me that he was interested in her and I wish he would just ask her out already but believe it or not he was just too shy. They have a great friendship and would most likely make a wonderful couple but I should be the last person trying to push anyone into a relationship.

After a few songs I made my way back to the bar to get another drink. Alice, Lynn and Dani were dancing with Jasper, Garrett, and Mark. "Hey Eric can you get me another drink?"

"No problem Bells" Eric one of the older brother filled up my cup and also handed someone behind me one.

"So how's my little girl hanging in there after her sleep deprivation?" I smiled as Edward leaned against the bar next to me.

I smiled and blushed. I actually blushed, I had thought I had grown out of the embarrassing blushing stage, but when Edward insisted on calling me little girl I couldn't help the heat that rose to my cheeks. I didn't answer his question at first instead I asked a question of my own. "Why do you call me little girl?"

Edward chuckled "If you haven't noticed you a lot smaller than me." I sent him a mock glare making him laugh even harder. "Okay it's just well… last night when we were talking you seemed so small and delicate." He stopped seeing the look on my face. "I don't mean that in a negative way it's just that for as strong and confident as you are you still let me hold you and comfort you last night and…"He stopped and ran his hands through his hair. "Oh hell I don't know how to explain it but there is a part of me that wants to take care of you."

I couldn't help but smile at how sincere he was being but he was also quite adorable when he got flustered. I wasn't sure if I liked being considered small and delicate but I understood what he meant. Last night when he pulled me into his arms for a hug to comfort me I did feel like a little girl needing someone to care for her.

Edward picked up his drink and took my hand "Dance with me." It wasn't a question and he didn't give me a chance to refuse before he pulled me back to where the other were still enjoying the music and dancing the night away. The night continued and before I knew it the girls and I were back at the dorm, all of us ready to fall into bed.

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