A/N: I am going to turn around and assume the position so all of you can kick my ass. I know that this update is about a million years in the making and for that I am sorry. I have a list of excuses as long as my arm but I know that you don't really want to hear them anyway so I will just apologize.
On a happy note, I just found out that this story has been nominated for an Indie TwiFiction Award under the category "AH Story that knocks you off your feet" WIP category. I am totally knocked off my feet. Thank you so much to whoever nominated me. Please send me an IM so I can thank you properly. And to everyone who still reads this story (despite my horrendous updating) THANKS SO MUCH.
To see the total list of nominated stories here is the link to the Indie website www(dot)theindietwificawards(dot)com.
So here we go....
Bella's POV
We lay together in Edward's bed for the next few hours, talking and laughing. And kissing. Just soft tender kisses that made me warm and tingly and that also felt so safe and comforting.
We learned a lot about each other in those few hours. Our likes and dislikes, our favorite books, music, hobbies. We had a lot more in common than I thought. Even down to our favorite ice cream: pistachio. Edward half reclined against his pillows and I lay with my head resting on his chest. I listened happily to the sound of his heartbeat as he tangled and untangled our clasped fingers.
We did not know that Emmett and Jasper had arrived home until we heard a soft giggle at the doorway. I looked up and saw Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett standing there. Alice came bounding over and curled herself up behind me wrapping an arm around my waist below where Edward's already laid. She rested her head on my shoulder and sighed. Rose walked over and lay down behind Alice, wrapping her arm over Alice's and intertwining her fingers with Alice's tiny ones. I felt their love and support as we all lay together.
"Hey!" I heard Emmett's booming voice cry. I looked up to see his and Jasper's mouths agape. "How come Eddie gets to have all the hot girls in his bed?" He said petulantly.
I felt Edward's chest shake as he chuckled and I looked up to see the smirk on his face.
"'Cause I am just awesome like that." He said laughing.
Emmett "harrumphed" and walked over to the side of the bed that Rose lay on. He climbed up on the bed and wrapped his arm around her waist. He had to push a little since he was so big and that side of the bed was pretty crowded.
"Hey! You're squishing me!" I heard Alice's voice muffled against my back. I was being pressed deeper into Edward's side and chest, though I really didn't mind that much. Alice pulled her arm from around me and managed to crawl over both myself and Edward to lie on his other side. She sighed in relief as she lay down next to him. She put one hand beneath her head and the other one pried my fingers loose from Edward's and she pulled my hand over towards her, across Edward's torso to rest on the bed between her and Edward. Jasper, who had been watching the whole exchange from the doorway with a grin on his face, came over and lay down behind Alice, wrapping his arm around her and covering both our mine and Alice's intertwined hands with his large one.
We all lay there in contented silence for a while before Emmett spoke. His voice was somewhat muffled behind Rose.
"So Slugger, how are you feeling?" He asked me.
I laughed softly. "Much better now Emmett, thanks."
"Well you did a pretty good number on James. His lip was all purple and split open when I saw him come out of the office with his father."
"He deserved it." I heard Jasper say, his voice angry. I looked over at him and his expression was hard. He caught my look.
"No man should ever put his hands on a woman. Ever." He said softly but emphatically.
I nodded solemnly and he slowly relaxed into Alice again.
"He won't get the chance." Edward said. "The principal wants us to walk Bella to her classes for a while, until everything dies down he said."
"I'm in." Emmett said. I felt Rose's arm tighten around me and I knew she was lending her support as well.
"Me too!" Alice chirped. I looked behind her and Jasper's face was drawn into a frown. I knew he was worried about Alice's welfare as much as my own.
"Alice, you are so tiny. What do you think you can do against James?" I said laughing.
Alice did not laugh with me like I'd hoped.
"I may be low to the ground Bella but that just gives me better aim when I nail him in the balls." She said threateningly. All three guys on the bed stiffened and groaned in unison when she said it. We three girls laughed.
"You gotta admit she's right." Rose said laughing. "Besides that is one surefire way to incapacitate a guy." She said smugly.
"And if you knew exactly how much it hurt you would never to it to another guy." Edward said, wincing at the thought.
"Well since I don't I am going to use whatever means I have at my disposal to protect myself." Rose said.
"Speaking of protecting ourselves, what time should I be at your house on Saturday for training Bella?" Alice asked.
"We usually start at eleven and train for about an hour." I said.
"I am going to be there too." Jasper said.
"Me too." Emmett said.
I could feel Rose turn her head towards Emmett behind me.
"You? Why on earth would you need to be there?" She asked incredulously.
"To watch Alice and Bella kick their asses of course." He replied.
I felt Rose laugh.
"Hmmm that does sound interesting. I may have to come over to see that myself." I could hear the smile in her voice.
"You don't want to train?" Jasper asked.
"Rose doesn't need to train, Jasper. Just ask her about Jimmy Bell's wrist." I said chuckling. I felt Rose chuckle softly behind me.
"That's right!" Alice piped up. "He had to turn in all his assignments typed up because he could not write with that hand for six weeks."
"What did you do Rosie?" Emmett asked.
"I just made sure that he understood that you should never touch a woman without her permission. A broken wrist made my point pretty clear. He apologized later and we ended up pretty decent friends." I felt her shrug against me.
"I'm glad you didn't have that reaction with me." Emmett said chuckling.
"I would have loved to have seen it though." Edward said.
Everyone laughed before settling into a peaceful silence. No one spoke for a while. I looked over at Alice and Jasper and noticed that they had both fallen asleep. Rose and Emmett were whispering quietly behind me and when I looked up at Edward his eyes were closed and his mouth was parted a little and he had a soft smile on his face. He looked so peaceful while he was sleeping. I rested my head against his chest and let my eyes close, his steady heartbeat lulling me to sleep.
I was awakened by a bright flash of light behind my eyelids. I opened them to see Carlisle and Esme standing in the doorway of Edward's room. Esme held a camera in her hand and both had big smiles on their faces. I smiled back, imagining what we would look like to them; six teenagers crammed together on Edward's bed cuddled up together and sleeping. They shook their heads and left.
I looked up at Edward and he was still sleeping, as were Alice and Jasper. I could hear a soft rumbling snore behind me that could only be Emmett and Rose's chest rose and fell with deep even breaths against my back.
I reached up and ran my fingers down Edward's face. He nuzzled into my hand for a moment before his eyes fluttered open. He looked down at me and smiled.
"Hey." He said softly.
"Hey." I said smiling back at him.
I reached over and gently nudged Alice and Jasper. Jasper was the first one to open his eyes. He looked at me and smiled then gently shook Alice until she woke up. Being Alice she was almost instantly awake.
"Gosh! Did we all fall asleep?" She asked, sitting up right. Jasper sat up too and curled an arm around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.
"Seems that way." I replied. I looked up at Edward. "Your mom and dad just took a picture of all of us in your bed you know."
His chest shook as he laughed. "Sounds like something they would do. I think they are happy that we seem to be settling in so easily here."
"I am too." I said smiling. A loud snore from Emmett interrupted me when I was about to speak again and our laughter woke Rose up. She looked over at us and then craned her head to look behind her at Emmett, rolling her eyes at the sounds of his snores. She nudged him with her elbow and he woke up, looking around disoriented.
"What's up?" He asked sleepily and we all laughed.
"Nothing Em." Edward said. "Come on you guys, Mom and Dad are going to send out a search party for us if we don't get downstairs and help with dinner."
We all got up and trudged downstairs. Esme and Carlisle were in the kitchen and there was a wonderful smell wafting through the air.
"Esme, can I live here?" I asked eagerly. "I won't be any trouble, I promise. If it means that I can eat your cooking every night I'll even sleep in the garage."
Everyone laughed.
"Thank you dear but I think at some point your parents would realize that you are gone." Esme said smiling.
"Nah, I'll just tell them that I am running of to join the circus or something. Then they would never think to look for me here." I winked at her and she burst out laughing.
We all chipped in setting the table or helping to put the finishing touches on dinner before my mom and dad showed up. I was not sure if the girls were going to come or not. My question was answered when I heard the crunch of gravel outside that signaled the arrival of my parents.
Edward and I went out on the porch to greet them. Mom and Charlie got out with awed expressions on their face. The girls were not with them.
"Jessica and Lauren didn't come with you?" I asked Renee.
Renee shook her head sadly. "We asked them but they didn't want to. They made other plans." She looked apologetically at Edward.
"Mr. and Mrs. Swan." Edward greeted my parents with a nod of his head.
"Please Edward, call us Charlie and Renee." Renee said. "I won't tell you again young man." She admonished him with a smile.
Edward grinned back at her. "Yes ma'am Renee." He said.
Edward led us into the house and into the living room where everyone had gathered. He introduced Emmett and Jasper to my parents.
We all sat talking as mine and Edward's parents started to get to know each other. Renee and Esme found that they shared a love of design and I found out that Esme had actually designed the entire house. Charlie looked a little uncomfortable in such grand surroundings until he discovered that he and Carlisle had the same addiction to baseball. Then they were talking like old friends. Soon Esme suggested that we all go into the dining room to eat.
Edward's POV
Dinner was an interesting experience. Everyone one held different conversations and the dining room was filled with noise. Bella's parents got along with Carlisle and Esme very well. Esme, ever the gracious hostess made sure that everyone was involved in the conversation at some point. I could tell that she was working to get to know Alice and Rosalie as well. She seemed to like them and I was glad. I had the feeling that the six of us would be spending a lot of time together and I was glad that my parents approved of our choices.
After dinner the adults went into the living room to talk while we stayed in the kitchen to clean up. With six of us it didn't take that long.
"So do you think that they like us?" Alice asked Jasper. She looked a little worried.
Jasper put his arms around her waist and bent to kiss her forehead.
"Of course they did." He said.
"He's right Alice." I said. "They like both you and Rosalie. I can tell."
Alice relaxed into Jasper's arms. I was surprised. Alice seemed so confident in herself but I guess anyone would be anxious to know if their boyfriends "parents" approved of them.
We all went into the living room and found the adults in deep conversation. I caught Carlisle's eye and nodded my head towards the den, letting him know that's where we would be. He nodded and returned to his conversation.
We all piled into the den and had a brief but animated debate over which movie to watch. We decided on the Bourne Identity and we all got comfortable. Bella lay down beside me on the large sectional sofa. I put a cushion in my lap and she rested her head on it as I played with her hair. Alice lay next to her facing the opposite way with her legs tangled with Bella's and her head in Jasper's lap on a cushion. Emmett sat on the floor with his back to the sofa and Rosalie sitting in between his legs.
I looked around the room as everyone watched the movie. I could not help the feeling of contentment that washed over me as I sat surrounded by all the people that I cared about. Emmett and Jasper-the brothers that I never knew I needed, Rosalie and Alice-the new "sisters" that I never knew I wanted, and Bella.
Bella. The girl I wasn't looking for but that had found and that had filled all those places that I didn't even know were empty in the first place. I couldn't believe how happy I was, how everything in my life had shifted in such a fundamental way. How my focus had changed from myself to all the other people in my life. I gave a small contented sigh as I sat there, running my fingers through Bella's long soft hair.
Bella felt my sigh and turned her head to look up at me. I don't know what my expression told her but she smiled softly at me, eyes sparkling and happy. I pressed my fingers to my lips and then to hers and felt her leave a kiss on my fingertips. I brought them back and pressed them back to my own lips, taking her kiss and she turned back to the movie with a smile on her face.
The credits had just begun to roll when Carlisle stuck his head into the den. Both Alice and Bella were asleep.
"Edward, the Swans are about to leave. Are you going to take Bella home or is she going to ride with them?" He asked.
"I don't know, let me ask Bella." He nodded and left. I shook Bella gently and her eyelids fluttered open. She sat up, yawning against the back of her hand.
"Wow, I must have really been tired. What time is it?" She asked sleepily.
"About nine. Carlisle wanted to know if you are riding with your parents or if I am driving you home." I told her.
She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess I had better ride with them. They will want to know how I am after today."
"How are you? Really?" I asked. I hoped that we could put this behind us and move on.
"Good I think. I mean, alls well that ends well right? I'm not going to be scarred for life or anything. It was just an unpleasant moment but there was some good that came out of it." She said.
"What good is that?" I asked.
"Well our parents got to meet and are getting along great and Alice is going to practice with us so that she can defend herself too. I would say that both of those were good things, right?"
"True. Okay, well let's get you to your parents." I said. I stood up and offered her my hand. She pulled herself up off the couch and we started for the door.
"Wait!" She said, tugging me to a stop.
I turned back, puzzled. "What?"
Bella blushed a beautiful pink. "Well, I just wanted a goodnight kiss, one that is not in front of my parents." She said.
"Ahh. Well I think I can handle that." I said smiling. I bent and brushed my lips against hers, caressing her cheek with my thumb before pulling back.
"All better now?" I teased.
She nodded and giggled, pushing me towards the door.
The Swans were in the foyer, talking with Carlisle and Esme when we joined them.
"Ready to go Bella?" Charlie asked.
"Yep." She turned to my parents. "Thanks for everything, Carlisle and Esme."
Esme reached out and hugged Bella, petting her hair.
"Of course my dear." She said softly. "Come back anytime. We love having you."
Bella was smiling as she stepped towards the door.
"See you in the morning Edward." She said softly.
"See you tomorrow." I echoed.
"Goodnight Edward." Charlie said. "Thanks again for today."
I nodded in acknowledgment. "Good night Charlie, Renee."
They finished their goodbyes and made their way out to their car. I stood on the porch, watching until they drove away. I turned to go inside only to see Carlisle standing behind me.
"Oh! Hey Dad. I thought you went back inside."
"No, I wanted to talk to you in private for a moment." He said.
"Okay, sure. What's up?" I moved to sit on one of the chairs to the left of the front door. Carlisle sat opposite me.
"I was wondering what you think about the James and Bella situation. Do you think that he is going to be a problem later? I know that you had a hard time restraining yourself this time and I wanted to know if you think that there might be a time where you wouldn't."
"Do you mean a time when I won't be able to or if I think that there will be another incident like this where I would not hold myself back?" I asked for clarification.
"Both, I suppose." He said.
"Well as far as him being a threat to Bella again, I would say anything is possible. His parting remark after she hit him and we all showed up to help her was "this is not over Bella". I think that he might be one to hold a grudge and I think that he might try something again. He seems the type. Vindictive." It made my blood run cold to think of James trying something else with Bella. I vowed to be very vigilant when it came to her.
"And as for me?" I paused, blowing out a large breath. "I don't know. I mean I wanted to beat the hell of him today. I don't know if I will be able to stop myself from doing it next time or if I even want to stop myself." Carlisle nodded thoughtfully. "You know that I am not a violent guy to begin with but I am also not going to stand by and let something happen either."
"I would expect nothing less, son. Come on, let's get inside." He stood and walked back into the house. I knew then that I had his blessing to protect Bella, whatever that entailed.
The next day I picked Bella up for school as usual. She seemed normal, greeting me with a kiss and a brief hug before getting in the car. Her calm façade was just that though. I noticed that she was wringing her hands together. I reached over and put my hand over the top of hers.
"Stop that." I admonished softly. "It is not good for your wrist to twist it around like that."
Her cheeks turned pink and she looked a little sheepish before turning her head and staring out the window. I pulled the car over onto the shoulder of the road and put it in park. Bella turned to look at me with a puzzled expression.
I took her hands gently in mine and held them until she met my eyes.
"You know that I will not allow anything to happen to you, right?" I asked softly.
She nodded. "I know. I'm not really worried about me. I just hate that all of you have to make so many adjustments just because of some stupid boy. You should not have to go out of your way for me, following me around like bodyguards or something." She grimaced at the thought.
I took her face in my hands and kissed her softly. "We are doing this because you are important to us. None of us want you to be hurt again. Everyone cares about you a lot. I care about you a lot."
She gasped softly and leaned forward, kissing me. "I care about you a lot too Edward. I don't want you to get hurt defending me from James and his stupid games."
I brushed her hair out of her face and behind her ear before replying.
"The only one you need to worry about is you Bella. I can take care of myself. So please, stop worrying so much. It will seem weird at first having one of us around all the time but it won't be that bad. People won't even realize what we are doing. All they will see is you walking to your classes with your friends. That is how you should think of it too."
She sighed and nodded. "I'll try. It just seems so silly. I doubt James will try anything when he gets back to school anyway."
"I don't think anyone thought he would assault you in the cafeteria either but he did Bella." I shook my head vehemently. "Until we know for certain that he is no longer a threat to you, we will be hanging around, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay. Now you better get us to school before we are late." She smiled softly at me and I could not resist kissing her before putting the car in drive and easing back out onto the road.
Bella's POV
It was so silly sitting there listening to them argue about who would walk me to what class.
We were all in the parking lot, standing around Edward's car before school started. Edward (and his lead foot driving) had gotten us to school with plenty of time to spare. And they all seemed to be using that time to argue.
"Enough!" I said loudly, cutting off the squabble that Alice and Emmett were having about who got to walk me to lunch.
They all looked at me, shocked.
"Alright you guys. It is bad enough that you have to do this in the first place but arguing about it is just not worth it. This is how it will go. Edward and I will walk to my first and second period together. Alice, you will pick me up there and we will go to Art. Jasper, you and I will walk from Art to fourth period and then to lunch." I noticed Emmett opening his mouth to object and I raised my hand to forestall his argument.
"Emmett, you are the biggest so you have the biggest responsibility. You are in charge of the whole cafeteria since there are so many people in there." He grinned and crossed his arms over his massive chest with a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Edward and I will walk to sixth period together and then he will walk me to Gym. All of you can pick me up there if you like." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and we split off.
Edward took my hand and we walked to our lockers. Holding his hand I could forget why I had to be escorted around and just focus on being with him. His hands were always cooler than mine and it felt good to have his long fingers curled around mine.
We got our necessary books and walked to class. I noticed even more people than the day before smiling and nodding at me. They seemed to even be going out of their way to talk to me. I started to wonder if Tanya and my evil steps had as much influence as I originally thought. Apparently all I had to do was cuss a few people out in the cafeteria and punch a guy in the face to earn a little respect. I should have done this a while ago, I thought wryly.
My first two classes passed quickly and Alice was waiting to walk with me to Art. She seemed to think that this was a grand adventure instead of a major inconvenience to everyone. I loved Alice's unbridled enthusiasm and could not contain my laughter when she assumed the "Charlie's Angel's" pose-feet spread, hands clasped together in the shape of a "gun" in front of her and a fierce expression on her face. Our classmates did not know what to make of us as she hooked her arm in mine and practically dragged me laughing hysterically to our class.
I was beginning to think that my lunch hour was cursed. It didn't used to be this way. I could sit and eat my lunch in relative peace, unnoticed as I people watched and talked with Rose and Alice. Now it seemed that the cafeteria had become ground zero for the drama in my life.
Case in point.
It all started out so simply. Jasper and I walked to lunch and through the line together. Emmett met up with us as soon as we walked in, apparently watching for our arrival. Of all of them he was taking his "guard dog" duties the most serious. He watched the entire room as we made our way through the line and to the table. Only then did he seem to sit down and relax a little.
"Emmett, what exactly were you expecting to happen?" I asked laughing. "You'd think you were guarding the President or something."
He had the grace to look sheepish.
"Yeah, sorry about that. But you never know right? Someone could try something if I wasn't looking."
"The only someone you have to worry about is James and he is suspended until Friday." I said.
He just shrugged. "Better to start as I mean to go on right?"
I had no reply to that.
I had just taken a sip of my juice when the curse of the lunchroom struck again.
Tanya suddenly appeared at our table, looking more furious than I have ever seen her, and I had seen her pretty mad. I was actually frightened for a moment.
"You little bitch! You got my brother suspended!" She shrieked. She made to lunge over the table at me and several things happened at once.
Edward leapt up and pulled me out of my chair so quickly I thought I was flying for a moment. In an instant he had me behind him and he took a protective stance in front of me. Rose had leapt up at the same time Tanya lunged and gave her a sharp shove on the shoulders that sent her reeling backwards onto the floor. She landed with an audible thud on the linoleum. Unfortunately for Tanya when Rose pushed her she had struggled vainly to grab onto something to keep herself from falling. The only thing she could get a hold of was a tray of spaghetti, which ended up flying all over her when she hit the ground.
We all stood stunned for a moment at the sight of Tanya sitting on the floor, spaghetti covering her perfect hair and designer clothes. Even she looked stunned for a moment. Then the cafeteria erupted in raucous laughter. Tanya got up and stalked from the room with what dignity she could muster, flinging spaghetti off of herself as she went.
We all watched her walk away before looking at each other and dissolving into laughter. We laughed until we were crying and collapsing in our seats.
"One thing about living here, Bella." Jasper said, wiping his eyes. "It is never boring."
The week passed quickly, everyone still walking with me to my classes. I learned to ignore the reason why they were there and just enjoy walking with my friends and with Edward.
Edward. Sigh. Yes, I totally just sighed in my head. But he was so sweet and thoughtful and just, Edward. He always made a point to kiss me when he picked me up from school and dropped me off. We talked on the phone every night after dinner for at least an hour. Renee was monitoring me to make sure that I still got my homework done. I loved days when my teachers didn't give me any because that was more time to talk with Edward on the phone.
We talked about everything and nothing. Our hopes and dreams, our embarrassing moments and favorite memories. We were getting to know each other so much better and I felt myself falling for him more everyday. He was becoming everything to me but I didn't feel like I was losing myself. He really listened when I talked and didn't just try to brush off what I was saying to steer the conversation back to himself.
Friday morning I was a little nervous. Edward seemed to be feeling some anxiety too. He seemed a little preoccupied when he kissed me hello at my door. I reached out and took his hand in the car and squeezed it tightly in reassurance. He gave me a small smile and squeezed it back.
When we arrived at school everyone was already there waiting for us. They were looking around the parking lot, looking for James' car and sending me concerned glances at the same time.
"Look guys, let's not let today get weird." I said. I was kind of apprehensive about James being back but there was nothing I could do about it. I would just have to be on my guard. "Let's just go to class like normal. If we let him make us nervous then he is the one that is winning the game right?"
The all nodded and we all made our way to our classes. I noticed that Edward walked closer to me than normal and that he was scanning the crowds of people intently.
Ultimately it all ended up being rather anticlimactic. James never showed up for school that day.
After Gym, Edward picked me up and we walked to his car. Everyone was there waiting for us, deep in conversation.
"What's up guys?" Edward asked.
Rose spoke up. "We have decided that since this week has been a royal pain in the ass we need to blow off some steam. So tonight we are going to La Push."