A/N: Things are moving along now… be patient. It's coming.

Thanks you Twike a well Beta to help me with my grimatical problems,

I don't own the characters – well except the granddad. I just can't seem to give him a name. Hmmm maybe we could have a name contest… you name him you get a chapter early???

Chapter 10

Edward felt like he was flying as they walked from the pizza place to the movie theater. He couldn't remember anything feeling this good since before Sarah died. This morning he felt like he had been drowning when it came to his infatuation with Bella Swan, but then she threw him a life preserver. He knew he had the patience and determination to overcome issues like fear, bad timing, or lack of trust. He had worried it had been something more, like maybe she loved someone else, had vowed to live a life of chastity, or found him repulsive. No, she did not find him repulsive. She said she liked him.

He was glad he hadn't agreed to let her drive more today. Not only had he protected his most prized possession from sure destruction, but her little outburst had also given him more insight into her feelings for him. He had impressed her. All his attempts to make her feel at ease and cared for had made an impact. She even said he dazzled her. Edward knew smiling at her while she was angry could be potentially damaging to his health, but he couldn't help it. He had a feeling things might just work out with Bella.

Dinner had been better entertainment than any event you could buy tickets to. Bella's dramatic storytelling had left them all in stitches. He loved to see her smile, he loved to hear her laugh, and he even loved it when she pretended to be offended. At dinner, he started to feel the security of being part of a couple. He knew it wasn't a date, and he knew they weren't together. Still, he enjoyed the fact that she was there with him, and that he knew her better than Jasper or Alice. He could tell when she was surprised, when she started to feel uncomfortable, and when she was feeling secure and at ease. He had spent the past week studying her facial expressions and mannerisms, and he prided himself in the fact that he was starting to know her. She was more than an acquaintance to him now, yet he also knew he could still spend the rest of his life getting to know her better.

It was late May, but the evenings still sported a chill in the foothills. Jasper had his arm wrapped securely around Alice as they walked to the theater. Edward wanted to copy the gesture, but offered Bella his arm instead. He was relieved when she put her own arm through his and smiled.

"I had so much fun at dinner, Edward. Thank you. I can't remember the last time I had that much fun actually," Bella said and gave his arm a thankful squeeze.

"Thank you, Bella. This has been a great day so far," Edward looked down at her and tried to remember exactly what face he was supposed to make to dazzle her.

They got to the theater, and before Edward could stop her, Bella ran up and bought their tickets.

"Bella, I wanted to buy your ticket," Edward said with a frown, "and I definitely didn't want you to buy mine."

"Yeah, but you bought dinner," she said with a smirk.

Edward couldn't help but feel disappointed that she was making it clear that this was not in fact a date.

"Edward!" A woman called out from nearby. Edward turned to see his assistant Angela standing with a group of girls waving at him.

"Hey guys I'll be right back. Angela's here," Edward told the rest of the group who got in line to get popcorn.

"Hey Ang!" He gave her a quick hug. Angela had been working for him for several years and had been good friends with Sarah.

"Is that her? Is that Bella?" Angela asked pulling Edward down so she could whisper in his ear.

"Yeah that's her. I think we made some progress today. Keep your fingers crossed," he whispered back.

"Oh Edward, I'm so excited!" She grabbed him in a tight hug.

Edward hugged her back and then held her by the shoulders to look at her. "She told me she likes me," he couldn't wipe the goofy grin off his face as he said it.

"Yes! I'm so glad you're getting out there. I really think the timing is right for you," Angela said and hugged him again.

"Me too, Angie. Thanks for all your encouragement. The kids loved the Webkinz by the way." He gave her quick peck on the head in appreciation.

"I told you," she laughed. They said their goodbyes, and Edward went back to find Bella.

He came up behind her and put his arm around her. "Are we all set?" he asked and smiled down at her.

Bella didn't look back at him. She just answered, "Yep," and started walking off grabbing Alice by the arm as they walked.

Why did it suddenly look like Bella was on a date with his sister? Edward wondered what happened to the giddiness of a few minutes ago. Maybe she was upset that he didn't make sure he bought her movie ticket. Maybe she was upset that he put his arm around her. He meant it as a friendly gesture, not a romantic one. Edward kicked himself and vowed to do better.

Alice and Bella sat between Jasper and Edward. As soon as they sat down, Alice and Bella started whispering and giggling to each other. They were in their own private little bubble, and Edward started to feel jealous. Was it stalkerish that he hated the idea of sharing Bella with his sister? He wanted Bella to be whispering and giggling with him. He didn't mind talking about nail polish or tampons as long as he was talking to her.

"Are you two going to do that the entire movie?" Edward asked with a cold tone hoping to break up their little love fest.

Bella gave him a quick glance, rolled her eyes, and turned back to Alice. Alice said something to Bella about Edward having a stick up his butt. Edward strummed his fingers on the armrest nervously. Hopefully once the movie started, they would settle down and he could relax. Not only was Alice monopolizing Bella, but he hated it when people talked in movies. It was one of his pet peeves, and at least Alice knew better.

The previews started, and Edward glanced over at Bella and his sister. They were literally cuddling with each other. This was getting ridiculous. Edward wanted to cuddle with Bella! He considered throwing himself down on the floor and having a tantrum, but he just squeezed the arm rest until his knuckles turned white.

The previews were over, and the opening scenes of the movie started. This didn't deter the two little love birds one bit. "Ooooh, I love that little Even Stevens boy!" Alice chirped.

"Me too!" Bella said excitedly. "My brother always makes fun of me for watching the Disney Channel!"

"SSSSHHHHH!!!" Edward said as loudly as he could, and shot the girls a death look.

"Edward hates talking in movies," Alice whispered to Bella.

Bella muttered something about a stick again, and shot Edward a dirty look back. She crossed her arms over her chest, and slumped down in her chair.

Why did she look mad? Is there something wrong with wanting to watch a movie in peace and quiet? Sarah would never have acted like this. Edward immediately felt wrong for comparing the two. He knew that would be a topic to brood over later.

Edward let himself get into the movie. Indiana Jones was a man's man. He always managed to find adventure, escape death, and get the girl. He forgot about how annoyed he was with Bella and his sister. He was overcome by the strange draw to touch Bella again. He looked over, and she was leaning toward him on the arm rest. If he moved slowly and positioned himself just right, their arms would be touching, and maybe it wouldn't seem too obvious.

He leaned forward in his seat and twisted his back like he was trying to pop it. He stretched, and when he sat back, he leaned ever so lightly against Bella. Edward's heart almost beat out his chest a few minutes later, when she yawned loudly and rested her head on his shoulder.

When the movie ended, Edward looked at Bella, and she had a disgusted look on her face. "What's wrong? Did you not like the movie?" Edward asked her concerned.

"Aliens? Indiana Jones and Aliens? That was the stupidest thing I've ever heard of," Bella said shaking her head.

"I liked it. The movie was a great combination of action, romance, and heroics," Edward contended.

"It was so unrealistic. The other Indiana Jones movies were so much better," Bella argued.

"Yeah, cause holy grails that lead to eternal life and scary men pulling hearts out of people's chests are way more realistic."

"Whatever. Aliens are stupid." Bella ran after Alice and walked arm in arm with her again.

Edward sighed and followed behind them.

When they got to the cars, Bella and Alice embraced in a tight hug. Edward heard them talk about plans for the next day, and Edward had to suppress a growl. Would Bella rather hang out with Alice than him?

They got into the car and were both silent. Bella still looked irritated, and Edward wasn't exactly thrilled with the way this night was turning out.

"Just because I liked the movie, doesn't mean you have to pout, Bella," Edward said with a snotty tone. He would rather argue with her than sit here in awkward silence.

"Just because I didn't like it, doesn't mean you have to act like I'm stupid, Edward," Bella shot back.

"I don't think you're stupid … loud and obnoxious at movies maybe, but not stupid. You and Alice make quite a pair."

"Yeah, well you and that bimbo at the theater seemed to make a nice couple too," Bella snapped.

"What are you talking about?" Edward didn't remember seeing Tanya there.

"That woman you were all over in the lobby."

"You mean Angela, my assistant? I work with her Bella."

"And here I thought you were smart. Office romances are usually a bad idea," Bella tensed and looked out the window.

"I don't think of her like that. She is just a good friend," Edward couldn't believe he even needed to explain himself. If Bella only knew how much time he had spent obsessing over her the past week, she would never believe he thought about anyone other woman in that way.

"Yeah, cause I always kiss my friends," Bella muttered.

Edward was suddenly annoyed. He'd been talking to Angela about Bella for goodness sake. How much more did he have to do to convince Bella about his feelings for her? He'd bent over backwards for her, and she was obviously more impressed with Alice.

"So you're hanging out with Alice tomorrow. That's great. I'm glad you'll go out with Alice, but not me."

"Edward! I've spent everyday this week with you! I'm going out with Alice while you are playing basketball with Jasper and my brother. You're being ridiculous," Bella was starting to raise her voice now.

"No, what is ridiculous is that you are all flirty and telling me you like me one moment, and then cold and distant the next. I'm patient, but I'm not a mind reader, Bella."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You're perfect. I'm sorry if this is all new to me, and I don't know how everything works. I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you."

Bella was clearly angry now, and for a second Edward feared he had royally screwed up. He was mad at Bella and mad at himself, but he wasn't even sure why. Was he mad because she got along with his sister and didn't like aliens? Would he rather that she detested Alice and wanted to live on a spaceship?

He pulled up to her apartment, and turned to apologize. He didn't have a chance though. As soon as he stopped the car, she jumped out, slammed the door, and ran inside. Edward just sat there stunned. What just happened? It had gone from a perfect day to a perfect nightmare. Edward hit the steering wheel and cursed before peeling out from the curb and driving home much too fast.

Edward couldn't make sense of it. Did Bella really think she wasn't good enough for him? He'd gotten upset when he saw her talking to Jacob, but he couldn't believe she would think he had feelings for Angela. Everything had just been blown out of proportion, and he didn't want to leave things like this. Edward slammed on the brakes and did a u-turn. He headed back toward Bella's.

He pulled up to the street and went around to the back entrance. He was pretty sure he knew which one was Bella's window. The light was on. He immediately noticed a tree that might be close enough to her window for him to climb up. He should probably knock on the door, but maybe she would think this was romantic.

Edward started climbing the tree. It didn't take him long to realize this was a really bad idea. He wasn't a kid anymore, and tree climbing wasn't as easy as he remembered it. Edward was only a few feet of the ground, and he was struggling to get up on a higher branch, when he heard it crack. He knew it was going to hurt.

The branch crashed to the ground and Edward along with it. Ouch! He felt a searing pain in his ankle.

"Edward, what are you doing?" Bella yelled leaning out the window.

"I was trying to climb up to the tree to your window." Edward just lay on the ground too humiliated to try and stand up.

"Are you some sort of peeping tom?" Bella asked.

"No, I wanted to apologize, and I thought it might be romantic. Owww!" Edward winced with pain as he tried to stand up.

Bella ran downstairs and into the yard. "Edward are you hurt? What's the matter?" she asked frantically.

"I just twisted my ankle a little bit."

"Here I'll help you up." Bella pulled Edward to his feet and had him put his arm around her, so she could support some of his weight. She helped him up the stairs. "Let's go to my room. I don't want to wake up granddad."

Bella helped Edward hobble to her room and sat him down on her bed. She had already changed into pajama pants and a tank top. Suddenly her hand reached for her heart, and she held it there. Edward was touched that she was so worried about him. She kept her hand there and told Edward she was going to get him some ice.

When Bella came back, she was wearing a t-shirt and carrying some ice. She carefully untied Edward's shoe laces and pulled off his shoe. She put his foot in her lap and ran her fingers gently over his ankle. "Does it hurt much?"she asked.

"No that feels good," he smiled at her.

"It's not really swelling. I think if you ice it, it will be fine," Bella said still holding his foot in her lap. "I have a lot of experience with hurt ankles."

"Bella, I'm sorry. I don't even know what we were fighting about. I just got jealous of you paying so much attention to Alice, and I really don't care if you liked the aliens or not. Please don't be mad at me. I can't bear for you to be mad at me."

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I saw you hugging that girl, and I jumped to conclusions. I was purposely hanging out with Alice and ignoring you. I should have just asked you about it."

"Whew. I'm new to all this arguing stuff. My wife and I never argued," Edward blurted out. He immediately wished he could take the words back. He looked at her face trying to gage her reaction. She definitely looked uncomfortable.

"I kind of like it though. You're cute when you're mad," Edward admitted hoping to side step another disaster.

"What was she like?" Bella asked softly. "I mean if you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind at all," Edward replied. "Her name was Sarah, and she was a lot like me actually. She was kind of a quiet thinker, she loved Aro, and we pretty much had everything in common. I fell in love with her when we were only fifteen. I can't even remember what life was like without her."

"Do you still miss her?" Bella asked.

"I do miss her, but it's different than it was at first. I miss her, but I still feel close to her even though she's not here. I didn't feel that way before. Aghhh, it's hard to explain," Edward searched for a way to make her understand.

"No, I understand. That makes sense to me somehow," Bella continued to hold his ankle and stroked it gently.

"I miss her, but I also don't feel guilty about liking you. I didn't expect to feel this way. Alice has a theory though, that since Sarah and I usually agreed on everything, Sarah would approve of me liking you. She would have liked you too, in a totally non romantic way of course. At least I hope she wouldn't have liked you romantically. That would have been awkward."

Bella chuckled, and then they sat in silence for a few minutes. Edward felt at ease. Maybe this night wasn't a complete disaster after all.

"Edward, I have a surprise for you," Bella set his foot down on the bed and stood up. "It's not finished quite yet, but I can't wait any longer to show it to you."

Bella pulled out a sketch pad and handed it to Edward. He flipped it open, and there was a goofy picture of Aro staring back at him.

"Is that my dog?" Edward asked with wide eyes and a huge smile.

"Yes that's Aro and his friend Newton, the chipmunk. It's a children's book about a dog and a chipmunk that get into all kinds of trouble together. They learn to get along even though they're different," Bella explained nervously.

"Bella, this is incredible!" Edward was amazed as he paged through the book. "The drawings are great and this story is funny. Kids are going to love this!"

"I think its good practice anyway," Bella said. "I got the idea while were in the park the other day."

"What do you mean practice? This thing is great! You're getting this published," Edward said confidently.

"I'm sure it's not good enough to get published."

"Well we're definitely going to try." Edward continued to thumb through the book.

Bella couldn't hide her smile and sighed contentedly. "Edward, this has been such a fun week. When I'm around you I feel so free and normal, and I would never have started working on this if not for you," Bella said sitting down beside him on the bed and putting her hand on his arm.

"It's been a great week for me too, Bella. I don't think I realized how lonely I was, until I had someone to spend time with." He put his hand over hers that was still holding his arm and squeezed.

Bella let out a huge yawn and lay down on the bed next to Edward, who was sitting with his back against the headboard. He reached down and started playing lazily with her hair. A few minutes later she was asleep. Edward sat there for too long watching her sleep and touching her long brown locks. Finally he got up, pulled the quilt off the foot of her bed and covered her up. He bent down and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Goodnight love." He limped out of her bedroom and drove home.

A/N: This time if you don't review, Edward's ankle will be worse than he thought and he will have to get it amputated. You wouldn't want to do that to Edward would you? I mean Bella lives in an upstairs apartment. That might really complicate their relationship.