Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Turn to Stone

By: nikkipattinson

Chapter 9 – And a Show

"What would you like to do after dinner, Bella? Would you like to go out to a movie? Or maybe dancing? What would you like to do?" Being in her presence is invigorating. I could dance all night and never get tired as long as I was dancing with Bella. Even the most poorly made movie would be Oscar worthy when viewed with Bella. I look up and notice that her face is flushed and she is touching her chest. I hope I didn't say anything to offend her. Oh, God, the dancing. She doesn't dance. Aren't there some religions that don't condone dancing? I've fucked up!

"Actually, Edward, I don't feel much like going out tonight. Would you be opposed to watching a pay-per-view movie?" She just agreed to spend more time with me and she thinks that I would be opposed to staying in. I'd jump off the Empire State Building to spend more time with this woman; just as long as I don't say anything stupid to offend her. Cynt would kill me if I did something stupid tonight.

"No, that would be great! Are you finished? I can help you clean up and then we can see what's playing." She nods her head so I stand and take her plate and mine to the kitchen. I see a dishwasher and am extremely relieved. I've never hand washed a dish in my life. "Um, do you think that, uh, your roommate would want some of what's left?" I ask as Bella enters with the potatoes and green beans.

"Alice ate before you got here. She was kind of the guinea pig. I didn't want you to have to eat bad food." She starts to put away the food and motions for me to go ahead and put the plates in the dishwasher.

"I honestly doubt that you can cook a bad meal. The food tonight was great. Better than any restaurant I could have taken you to, although I do want to take you out to dinner one night. You need a break from food preparation." I hear the plate hit the floor and shatter. I turn to see Bella with her fingertips at her lips. She's pale as a ghost and her eyes are huge. "Bella, honey, are you alright?" I cross the kitchen and reach out to her. I feel the flinch as my hands touch her upper arm. I remove my hands. I have overstepped my bounds. I take a step back. "Bella, what is it?"

She looks down and mumbles, "Nothing, I'm just clumsy is all. And embarrassed." She kneels down to pick up the pieces of the plate. I kneel down with her to help.

"Don't be embarrassed. I'll probably do something much worse tonight than break a dish and you'll never want to see me again." I laugh at my self-deprecation. When I look up Bella is staring at me with the strangest look on her face. "What?"

"You could never do anything that would make me never want to see you again." Our faces are inches apart. I can actually feel her breath on my lips. All I have to do is lean in an inch and I could feel those perfect lips on mine. Such a short distance. Just lean in and kiss this woman, Edward.

"Sorry. Needed a bathroom break. Hey, what happened?" Alice walks to the kitchen door. Bella stands up suddenly. I want to fall back in the floor and throw a tantrum that would put a four-year-old to shame. I stand up instead.

"Just me being me," Bella says with a huff. "I dropped the plate of green beans." She points to the floor and shrugs. "At least I didn't break any of your good dishes, Alice. I'd feel like crap if I had."

"It wouldn't matter if you did. It's just porcelain. Do you need help cleaning it up?" Alice steps into the kitchen.

I step forward and say, "I think we got it, thanks." Just go back to your room, Alice. I'm trying to recreate a moment here. Alice looks at me and raises an eyebrow. Then she smirks like she knows some little secret.

"Okay. Yell if you need me." She turns to go back to her room. Before she goes through her door she looks back at me. We make eye contact and she winks. I wonder what that meant.

"Well," I say to Bella, "let's get this all cleaned up and see what's on the tube tonight, shall we?" We make quick work of the kitchen clean-up. I never get to recreate the moment. I can't believe how close I was to kissing her. I should have just gone for it. I'm such a chicken-shit. All too soon we're on the couch in her living room looking through the pay-per-view choices.

"Do you prefer a comedy or a drama?" she asks as she is scrolling down the list.

"Well, my sense of humor is kind of eclectic," I say. "You probably wouldn't like what I find humorous."

"Try me," she says and looks at me with a very challenging look on her face. Alright, lovely lady, game on.

"I'm a Kevin Smith nut," I confess with a shrug. "I think the man is brilliant. I've seen it all starting with Clerks and ending with Zack and Miri. I've even seen all the movies that he's acted in. The man is a genius." Bella gets up from the couch and walks to the entertainment unit. She opens the bottom cabinet. She begins to take out VHS movies and DVDs. I get up to see what she's doing. The first cover I see is Clerks. If I smile any wider, I'll swallow my face. "Don't tell me that you're a fan too. First Dave and now this. Bella Swan, are you the perfect woman or what?" I reach out and pick up the DVD of Jersey Girl. "You know this is really a good movie despite all of the bad reviews. I think it's some of Kevin's best work."

"Oh, I agree. I loved it." She's smiling as widely as I am. Then she bites her bottom lip. I almost sweep her into my arms right then. "Do you want to watch it?"

"Yes." I reach my hand out to help her up. She hesitates a moment and I almost take my hand back for fear of offending her. Finally she smiles and takes my hand as she stands. I feel the same electric current that I feel every time we touch, but now it's so much more comfortable. I don't want to let go. It feels too right having her hand in mine. She clears her throat and I finally let her go. I have got to quit doing that. She's going to think I'm a freak.

She puts the movie in the player and it starts. I return to the couch. She comes over and sits next to me. I really don't know what to do now. I feel like I'm back in middle school on my first date. Do I hold her hand? Do I put my arm around her shoulders? What am I supposed to do now? I know what I want to do, but I don't think that it would be appropriate quite yet. I'm half watching the movie and half watching her when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. She looks over at me. I mouth 'Sorry' as I take the phone out to see who it is. Damn it, Emmett, leave me alone. I hit ignore and shove the phone back into my pocket.

"Do you need to take that?" she asks.

"No," I say just a little too sharply.

"I can pause the movie. It could be important." She picks up the remote to the DVD player.

"Trust me," I say as I put my hand over her hand on the remote, "it's not important and I don't need to take the call. There is nothing more important to me right now than you and this night." She takes in a sharp breath and I think I may have said too much. "I'm sorry. That was too much. Forget I said anything. I don't need to take the call." The phone starts vibrating again. I grimace and pull it back out. This time I turn it completely off. "I'm sorry. I promise, no more interruptions tonight."

She's smiling at me as she speaks, "You're sweet." She looks down and blushes. "It's nice." She reaches over and touches my arm. I stop breathing as the intensity of this moment sinks in. We're both staring at each other. I lick my lips. God, how I want to kiss this woman. She licks her lips. I start to lean in… and the phone rings. She turns to look at the phone on the wall and I drop my chin to my chest. Why me? What did I do to deserve this, God? Oh, yeah, I remember. Never mind, God, I get it. She turns back to look at me as it rings a second time. "Alice will get it." It rings a third time. She looks at Alice's bedroom door. On the fourth ring she mutters something to herself and gets up to answer the telephone. I take the remote and pause the movie. I can hear her saying the she isn't interested to whoever is on the phone. She hangs it up and comes back to the couch. "Sorry; telemarketer. We get a lot of those." She sits back down but I notice that she's sitting just a little closer to me than before. I start the movie again and lean back on the couch. I look down to her hands that were previously in her lap. She has one hand in her lap and the other is beside her leg on the couch. It's now or never. I slowly place my hand on top of her hand. She smiles and bites her bottom lip. My heart soars to the ceiling. I've never been so happy in my entire life.

~*~*~*~

The movie ended too quickly for my taste. Bella gets up to take the DVD out of the player and I reluctantly release her hand. I instantly feel the loss. I look down at my watch to see that it's after 10:00. I know that I should probably go, but I don't want to leave. I get up and follow Bella. "What else do you have in that cabinet?" I ask, desperate to prolong the evening.

"We have a lot of different stuff. Alice likes romantic comedies and romantic drama; basically anything romantic. I like goofy and sometimes crude comedy." Perfect woman, I think to myself.

"Yeah, you don't get much cruder than Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; and you have the uncut, unedited version. I'm impressed." I pick up the box and flip it over to read the back. "'A raucous comedy that everyone can enjoy! – US Weekly' I don't know about everyone. I don't think I'd want anyone under the age of seventeen to hear Jay's little rant."

"Which one?" she asks, as she turns to take the case from my hand. She pops the case open and puts the DVD into the player.

"I'd rather not repeat it in the presence of a lady."

"Don't you think that I've heard it, since I do own the unedited version?" She walks back to the couch and sits, so I follow.

"So, we're going to watch this one now?" She looks at me and furrows her brow. "I want to," I say quickly. "I just thought that you might want to go to bed." Her eyebrows suddenly shoot up with surprise. Shit that came out wrong. "No, not with me, I mean, not us go to bed. You go to bed. Without me. To sleep. Shit." I drop my head into my hands. "Sorry." She's laughing. And not a little girly giggle either. She's laughing her ass off. "I'm glad I amuse you." I try to scowl at her, but I just end up smiling at her. She's lovely when she laughs.

She gasps and tries to catch her breath before she speaks. "I know what you meant, but that was just hilarious. Do it again!" And she loses control again. I just shake my head and smile at her. She's glorious when she laughs.

I lean back into the couch. "Okay, okay, enough laughing at my stupidity. Start the movie." She finally regains her composure and presses play on the remote. The movie basically starts with the rant I was referring to and I feel my face get hot with embarrassment. I glance over at Bella. She's bobbing her head to the beat. She is absolutely unaffected by the absurdly crude words coming out of Jay's mouth. Like I said, she's the perfect woman. I reach over to take her hand again. She looks at me and smiles. I swear if I stand up right now my feet would not be touching the ground.

All too soon this movie ends and I know that I really need to leave now. It's past midnight. I stand up and help her to her feet, never letting go of her hand. "I really should go now. It's late and you need to go to sleep." NO bed reference this time. Bella walks me to the door. "I had a wonderful time tonight."

"You kind of have to say that," she says.

"Well, do I have to say that I want to see you again?" She shakes her head no as she looks at the floor. I can still see her blush. "May I see you again?" She nods her head. "May I call you tomorrow?" She looks up and smiles. She nods yes again. I look into her eyes. I want so badly to kiss her, but for some reason I can't. The moment is too sweet and I think a kiss may ruin it. So, I bring her hand up and brush her knuckles with my lips. "I'll call you tomorrow." I take two steps back, still holding her hand, before I turn to walk to my car. I look back at the door of her apartment. She's still standing in the doorway. She's breathtaking. I get in the car and start it. She's still standing in the doorway. I wave; she waves. I put the car in reverse and back out of the parking spot.

As I pull out onto the highway, I remember my cell phone. I should probably turn it back on now. Holy shit! I have fifteen voicemails and twenty-five texts! What the fuck! I pull over at the first Chevron station I see. I open my text mailbox. Emmett. Emmett. Emmett. Shit, they're all from Emmett. Just then my phone rings. I nearly throw it across the car. I look at the display – EMMETT! "Fuck, Emmett, what the hell?!"

"It's about time you answered the phone, jackass. Where you been? I've left you, like, a thousand messages. Did you turn your phone off?"

I can hear the music in the background. He's at a club. "I told you that I had plans tonight. What do you want?"

"I want what I wanted when I talked to you earlier. I want you to meet me at the club. There's some ripe pickins' here tonight, my friend. These lovelies should not go to waste. You should come and partake."

"You're on your own tonight. I'm going home." I start the car and pull out of the Chevron.

"I'm a spoken for man, asshole. I was thinking about you. Thought you might need a little stress relief. That is unless you've already had a release of some kind. That's it ain't it. You have a fuck buddy that I don't know about, right?"

I suddenly see red. How dare he refer to Bella in such belligerent terms? How dare he refer to any woman that way? "You're a jerk. I do not have a 'fuck buddy' as you so eloquently put it. I did have a date tonight, with an exceptional woman; a woman that you will never meet unless you change that attitude of yours. I will not let you offend her, do you understand?"

"Whoa, man, what gives? You sound like a man in love? Is that it? Do you love this woman?"

Do I love Bella? "Um, I don't know. I like her a lot, but.... Why am I talking about this with you? Just change the attitude, Emmett. It's getting old. Good-bye."

"Edward," Emmett yells into the phone. "Don't hang-up. I apologize. You're right." I notice that it's suddenly quieter on the other end of the phone. "I'm happy for you, Edward. You deserve to find someone great. I'm truly sorry that I offended you. I didn't mean anything by it. Please don't be mad at me. You're my best friend, man; my wingman. I'll behave, I promise."

I can't believe I just heard what I just heard. I'm shocked. "Um, thanks, Emmett, I appreciate it."

"You sound happy," he says.

"I haven't been this happy in my entire life."

"Good. You deserve it. I think I'll call Rosalie and see if she's home yet and head over there. I'll talk to you Monday." He ends the call. I stare dumbfounded at the phone. I shake my head and close it. How very un-Emmett. Maybe this ADA is just what he needs. Just like Bella is just what I need.

I park in front of my townhouse and go inside. Actually I float inside. I'm still on the cloud that Bella put me on. I float up to my room. I'm actually looking forward to sleeping tonight. I hope to have some excellent dreams of Bella.

~*~*~*~

"Mr. Masen, I assume you know who I am." Oh, God, not tonight. Please not tonight.

"Why are you here?" Please don't haunt me tonight.

"You've ruined me, Mr. Masen. You told lies about me to the jury, to the press. My own family doesn't believe me now. They've disowned me. They've kicked me out. I have no one and no where to go. See what you've done. You know that he did it. You know he's guilty. You know what you have done is wrong. How do you live with yourself?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I fall to my knees. "Please, please, let me go. Please let me be." I cover my face with my hands.

"Don't do that. No one can save you now. You need to pay for what you've done. You're going to hell. Look at me! Why? What did I do to you? Why do you hate me?"

"I didn't hate you. I don't hate you. It wasn't personal. It was my job. And I'm sorry. I hate my job. I won't do it again, just please let me go."

"You job? Your job?! Is that all it was to you? You ruined my life because it was your job?! Look at me, Mr. Masen! I want you to see my face. Take a real good look at it; memorize it." I look up but the face is different. It isn't Angela Webber. IT'S BELLA!! She raises the gun to her lips. I lunge to my feet and throw myself at her.

"NO!!" I'm sitting straight up in the bed. I'm covered in sweat and the covers of the bed are in the floor. I think I may have screamed out this time. That was by far the worst one ever. It was Bella instead of Angela. I still have the image in my mind. I get up and start downstairs to the kitchen. I have got to get this image out of my head. I get to the kitchen and take out the Grey Goose. I don't even bother with the cranberry juice or a glass. I turn the bottle up and take a swig. It burns its way down my throat. I put the cap back on and slide it back in the cabinet. I take a deep breath. I'm afraid to go back to sleep. That was truly disturbing. I walk into the living room and turn on the television.

The ringing phone startles me awake. It takes me a minute to realize that I'm in the living room. I can still hear the phone. I left it on the bar in the kitchen. I drag myself off the couch to get the phone. I glance at the clock on the stove. It's 7:00. I look at the display on the phone. Cynthia. "Hello."

"Well, how did it go last night?"

"Do you realize that it's 7:00 on Sunday morning? Why are you calling me at 7:00 on Sunday morning?" What kind of person gets up at 7:00 on a Sunday morning?

"Not all of us are heathens, Edward. Ted and I are getting ready for church. You should try it sometime. It's good for the soul. Anyway, back to why I called. How did it go last night?" I hear Ted in the background say that he told her it was too early to call. "Shut-up, Ted. I'm waiting, Edward."

I debate on torturing her, but I know that it will just end up making her call me a few choice names. "It was great," I gush. "She's the perfect woman. The meal was unbelievable and she likes Kevin Smith! She has all of his movies!"

"Who?" The woman lives under a rock.

"Who? Did you just ask me who Kevin Smith is? You really do need church because you just blasphemed." How dare she?!

"Bite me. So you have a lot in common. Same atrocious taste in music. Same messed up taste in movies. So, did you kiss the woman or what?"

"Dave is not atrocious. You should really take the time to listen to his body of work. I think you would like Dave if you got to know him."

"You're evading the question." I hear her drum her nails on something hard.

"No I did not kiss her. Came close once, but I kissed her hand and left it at that. It didn't feel like the right time. I did ask if I could see her again. She said yes. I'm going to call her later. Much later." I yawn. "Is the third degree over, because I didn't get home until after midnight and I didn't sleep well last night."

"Did you have the dream again?" Her tone of voice has changed. She's worried about me.

"Um, yeah, kind of. It was a little different, but basically it was the same." I don't think I want to tell her about the change in visage. She might start interpreting it and I really don't want to know what she thinks it might mean.
"Are you alright?"

"Not really, but I think I will be." I sigh. "Thanks, Cynt. I really do appreciate you."

"I know. I'm a wonderful person." I hear Ted say that she has me fooled. "Shut it. I have to go. Sunday School starts at 8:30 and I'm teaching today. Go back to bed and dream good dreams. Call me if you need me."

"Thanks, Cynt. I'll talk to you later. Tell Ted I said he's a lucky man." I close the phone and go back to the couch. I curl up and start flipping channels. Slowly I drift back off to sleep.