~RTS~

Bella and I dropped the dogs off with Rose who said she'll be happy to watch them for the weekend, while Bella and I attend the jerk's wedding.

We walk in to our joint room at the hotel where we are staying. "Oh, um, there is only one bed? I'm sure we said two singles?" Bella says as we look at the king size bed.

"Yeah, there was a mix up," I say lowly to her. She looks at me in mild panic. "It's fine, Bella, I think we can share just fine."

She nods at me, but still looks unsure.

"Bella, we're both adults and we are good friends, we will be just fine. Now, do you want to go for a shower first?"

"Yeah, that would be good, thanks." I give her a little wink and she grabs her toiletry bag and towel before heading in. I hang up her two dresses along with my suits, getting us settled.

When she walks out wrapped in her big fluffy towel, I give her shoulder a squeeze before heading in for my own shower, taking my suit with me.

I let out a breath when the water hits me; I know I need to be here for Bella. At the same time there is no way I am going to stand by and let people be assholes to her. In the short time we have become friends, I have found her to be loyal, loving, and really kind-hearted. Where she doesn't really put herself down a lot, she never stands up when others put her down.

She seems to keep her inner thoughts to herself instead of just saying them to the person. She's so worried about disappointing people, that the only person she is disappointing is herself. I am hoping with time, and having a good friend, she will learn that it's okay to be angry at them and say no, or say that they are upsetting her with their words. A true friend will understand, support you, and be there for you, like you are for them.

Once I am dressed, I knock on the door to check that Bella is decent and it's okay for me to come in.

I walk in and my eyes go right to Bella, who looks so fucking beautiful in the elegant little black dress we found for her to wear.

"You look amazing! You're really going to outshine the bride tonight," I say with a chuckle as Bella rolls her eyes.

"You're looking very James Bond-dapper yourself, Mr. Cullen. I think this is the first time I've seen you in a suit."

I nod at her with a grin, knowing I hate wearing suits, but for her this weekend, I will with a smile. "Yeah, I suppose it would be. I only wear them if I have to. Are you ready?" I ask offering her my arm. She bobs her head as she links her hand with my arm.

It doesn't take us long to arrive at the restaurant. We're not one of the first to arrive, but we're not the last one either.

"Bella, oh my God, you look great," calls a young man.

"Hi Seth," Bella says as she hugs the young man with dark hair. "Seth, this is my good friend Edward. Edward, this is Leah's brother, Seth."

I shake his hand as he frowns at Bella. "Couldn't just say my friend Seth, did you really have to tell him that Leah and I are related?"

"What are you two arguing about now?" Bella asks with a sigh.

"Nothing new, she's just crazy like always," Seth says.

"Bella?" a snotty sounding female calls out.

I watch as Bella struggles to keep the smile on her face. "Hi, Leah, sorry we're a bit late."

Leah waves her hand in front of her. "You're here now that's the main point, who's this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Leah, this is my friend Edward. Edward, this is the bride-to-be, Leah."

I look to Leah, seeing she's not looking at me, but scanning Bella up and down.

"What are you wearing? Come with me, I have a better dress for you."

"Thank you, Leah, but I like this one," Bella says nicely.

Too fucking nicely for the way this bitch is talking to her, if you ask me.

"Good God, Bella, you're never going to find a man dressed like this."

"I am happy on my own," Bella says, and I can hear the hurt behind her words.

"Do you really want to die a virgin, I mean really?"

"Leah, as you can see, I'm a man, and I can tell you that Bella, is very beautiful in what she wearing. Hell, I really don't know if I'll be able to keep my hands to myself."

Leah just looks at me. "I thought you were her 'friend?'" she says using her fingers to air quote the word friend. She then turns back to Bella. "Tell me that you are not lowering yourself to being just a fuck buddy? I mean, I know that you're fat and gross, but you could lose weight and find someone decent."

I narrow my eyes at Leah. "No, she is not any of that and we've just started dating. I like to woo the woman I want first, not just fuck and duck. As for Bella and her looks, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I would and will go the extra mile for her. Now, if it's okay with you, I'd like to dance with my girlfriend."

I don't wait for Leah to reply and lead Bella to the dance floor.

"Thank you," she says softly to me.

"Anytime, baby. Oh, and can I just say you are far better looking than what she is, not just on the inside, but on the outside. too. Has she always been that thin?" I ask taking another look at Leah.

"No, it looks like she's lost more weight."

I let out a breath. "Why isn't her family concerned; don't they know she clearly has an issue? If she were my sister I would drag her ass to a doctor—that cannot be healthy."

"She's just naturally thin—"

I shake my head at Bella cutting her off. "No, honey, she's not eating; there are clear signs all over her body telling you this. Look at the tone of her skin, and the thinness of her limp hair."

"I'm really not sure; I know she's always been a picky eater."

I pull Bella a little closer to me. After a few moments of silence she opens up to me, about what Leah said about us.

"She's going to tell everyone one you're my fuck buddy."

The sadness in her voice hits me hard, and I kiss her head.

I take a deep breath calming myself before speaking. "And we'll just correct them and tell them, I'm your boyfriend," I say grinning broadly at her.

Bella looks at me as if I've lost it.

"We've been friends for a couple of months now; you should know that I protect my friends. Besides, this will be good for me to have a beautiful girl as my girlfriend, even if it's only for a few days. Let me do this," I say softly to her.

"May I cut in?" a harsh voice says at my side.

"No, you may not," I say without turning his way.

"Bella?"

"Jacob, I'm dancing with Edward right now; he is my boyfriend after all. We can talk later."

I grin at her, not just over the fact she agreed to my plan, but for the fact her head didn't turn toward Jacob while she spoke.

"You can bet on that," Jacob snarls and I can hear him moving away as Bella ducks her head.

I slowly lift her chin, until her eyes meet mine. "You are better than them. We can leave any time you say the word. Sometimes, we need to cut people out of our lives, because they become cancers to us."

Bella swallows visibly and I know she gets my point.

"You're not alone any more, Bella, I'll be your friend, always—well for the next two days I'm your man."

Bella chuckles and leans her head on my chest and I wrap my arms around her as I pull her closer.

When the song ends, she pulls back and I place my hands on her face kissing her lips softly. When my lips touch hers, I get this lightning bolt that shoots straight through me. I open my eyes and just stare at her, wanting to know if she felt it, too. As I look at her, my breath catches at just how beautiful I think she is.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can you make your way to your seats? Dinner will be served," the DJ announces.

I lead Bella to our seats and help her to sit, before I take my chair beside her. The dinner and the rest of the night seem to go by fairly. I'm glad I get to meet some of Bella's old friends, and none of them came across as harsh as Leah did. When we take our leave for the night, we smile and joke as we head back to the hotel. I know that I'm not the only one glad to be back in our room.

I change in the bathroom again letting Bella use the bedroom. When I believe enough time has passed, I walk in to see Bella getting the bed ready. I look her over seeing she's in a night shirt and what I think are called boy shorts. I swallow as I feel myself harden over how sexy I find her. There's really something about the way her body curves in all the right places. It makes me want it to be curved around my body. Then there's her ass—Emmett is right—she has a really nice luscious ass. God, I so want to fuck her—shit no, I can't think like that. I close my eyes and mentally count to ten trying to cleanse my thoughts, before walking to the bed.

I lie down on the bed and face Bella pushing her hair out of the way. "Will you show me around town, before we leave on Sunday?"

"Really, you want to see the town? There are only three or four places worth seeing," Bella says with a chuckle. "Two of the best places are the police station and the other is the school, then you're out of historic buildings."

I smile at her. "Yeah, those and I want to see where you grew up."

Bella nods at me slightly. "Okay, that sounds great. Maybe, I could stop by and put some flowers on my parents' graves. I really haven't been a good daughter—it's been almost six months since I was last there."

I take hold of one of her hands placing a kiss on it. "It's hard, Bella, and you're still so young. If you want, I'll come with you, but I'll understand if you need to go alone."

"It would be good if you came with me, I think. I mean, I kind of want to show you off to my dad. I need to let him know that there's another good cop out there that's been looking out for his baby girl."

"I will always look after you; goodnight, sweetheart," I say kissing her hand again.

A/N: So what did you think of Jake and Leah when meeting them outside of her journal?