Author's Note: Aaaaughhhhhh! 36 reviews for I'd Hate You, But I Can't! Who could believe it? Hoots! Sorry, sorry, I going crazy . . . but who cares? SUPER ULTRALICIOUS MEGA thank yous to Isabela Is Online, stormy315, Emoprincess98, AliceRosalieBellaCullen1234, thatxbaseballxgirl, maybebaby23, Emmettroxmysoxoff and fanfictftw23 for all the amazing reviews that you left! I admit, I'm touched by Emmettroxmysoxoff's review. That was really meaningful stuff that you said. :') And, um, this chapter was written hastily, especially the last part. Sorry! Okay, enough delays! If Twilight was your entire life, hey, the review button is always there!

~Serene.

Disclaimer: If I ruled the world, I'll make Twilight (and Edward!) mine. Too bad I'm not. =(

EPOV

"Mmm . . . smells nice!"

Whirling around, I caught sight of short, wavy blonde hair. I breathed a sigh of relief as I gasped, "Jeez, Jazz! Don't you dare do that to me ever again!"

Jasper gave me a grin and peeked over my shoulder to look at what I was cooking. "Whoa. What the hell? Is that lasagna? Good god! We haven't eaten lasagna in five years!"

"Yeah, right. I saw you ordering the lasagna two days ago at the Lodge. Don't even deny it. I've got eyes behind my back," I laughed and swatted his finger away from tasting the hot, bubbling sauce. The aroma of it wafted throughout the kitchen, and it's mouthwatering smell had my own stomach rumbling. If Jasper was acting like this, as if he was being possessed by the sudden desire to take a lick of the stupid sauce, what more will Emmett?

They'll basically murder me if I don't let them take a taste.

But that will definitely spoil the mood of the meal! So instead of letting the chips fall where it may, I roughly shoved Jasper off my side with my good arm. He pouted at me and I just laughed in return.

"Meanie." he sniffed, and went ahead to seat on the kitchen counter.

"Thanks for the compliment." I muttered sarcastically, but deep down, I knew it was true.

I was mean. And he knew it too. Heck, almost everyone knew it. A person who wasn't mean wouldn't keep a secret from the people they love. Okay, maybe he did let in a few others in his secret, but the ones that he seriously cared for was left in the cold. Now that was a mean person.

I'm sure, if Bella was here, and was able to read my thoughts, she'll scoff at me and start heading into a lecture of me changing my entire personality, becoming kinder and kinder, yada yada yada. But really, even you know that I'm an asshole.

And don't even start on the 'no you're not' thing. Honestly. I've had enough of that from Rose and Bella.

The sauce was threatening to explode, so I returned to stirring it, leaning in to inhale the rich aroma of the juicy red sauce. It smelled great, but I think it needs a little more punch in terms of the flavor.

Hmm . . .

I eyed the pepper, debating how many pinches of it I should put, when Emmett's booming voice suddenly erupted from beside me. "Hey! Gimme that!"

I jolted, stiffening my back, before turning around to smack him on the back of his head. Rose, however, miraculously beat me to it. "Em! Shut up!"

"OW! Dammit, Rose!" Em cried, leaping away from me as if he got electrocuted. He rubbed his head gingerly with teary eyes. I laughed at him, before giving Rose a high five. "Now look who's lame." she teased.

I gave her a brief scowl before returning to the sauce. She was right. I was starting to be lame, like them. They must be rubbing off me.

Bella would definitely be rolling on the floor, laughing her ass out if she ever saw me high fiving my siblings. Or soon to be not-siblings. God, I'm speaking in convoluted sentences again, aren't I?

Either way, I reached over to the pepper and sprinkled about two pinches of it. Then, tentatively, I tasted it.

Oh, heaven! "Hey! That's so unfair! You get to taste it but I don't." Emmett sniffled. I gave him a toothy grin before switching off the fire. Turning to Jasper, I asked, "Jazz, help me out with this, will ya? Just take the other- yeah, like that."

As Jasper and I poured the sauce into a gigantic container, I made sure Rose had Em at bay. His expression was giving him away; he looked ravenous enough eat an entire horde of cows.

Then, after I poured the sauce, I went on to cook breakfast. The time now was 5:45 a.m. By the time breakfast was done, it'll be 6:15, which means if Em, Rose and Jazz showers and get changed into fresh clothes now, we'll be able to make it to Bella's house in about 7:00.

While the eggs I'd cracked settled themselves on the hot pan, I turned to my favorite siblings and barked out sharply, "Guys. Get changed now. We'll just eat on the way so that we'll reach Bella's house early. You do know that she wakes up at 5:30, right? So right now she'll be either in the toilet bathing, or she'll be eating breakfast. So she'll be getting ready to go to school in about 6:45. Now get your asses moving or I'll never be able to see Bella!"

Okay, now everyone, please forget I said the last part. Please?

Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper all gaped at me, doing perfect impersonations of fishes. I stared back at them before saying, "Guys! Move it!"

That's when they started to laugh at me. Like, really, really laugh. Not the ha-ha-ha type, but the HAHAHA! I could practically feel the house shaking with their laughter.

"Oh my gosh, Edward!" Rose said breathlessly. "I can't believe it! Th-that's so stalker-ish!"

"I know, right? Crap, dude, you're totally in too deep!" Em was bending over, leaning his huge hands on his knees, and literally bringing the house down with his loud laughter.

"I totally agree! Who knew the Great Edward Cullen could be such a romantic?" Jazz was shaking with laughter, his eyes, like Rose and Em's, were all scrunched up.

What? What do they mean? I don't get it. I glanced at the time: 5:49. No more time to lose. "Now that you all seem calm enough, GET MOVING!"

They followed me, eventually moving in a sluggish pace, while I glared behind their backs. Then I flipped the omelet and made sure it was brown enough.

By the time I was done with five big omelets, it was 6:10. I cut the omelets into smaller slices so that everyone could eat some of it, while I buttered toast at the same time.

I know, I know. It's all kind of amazing a guy can do all of this in a matter of a few minutes and with only one working arm. Quite shocking, really.

Then I placed some omelets and toast inside a big Tupperware and rushed up to my bedroom, where I got out of my men's tank top and karate pants, and into jeans, a white polo tee and of course, my signature leather jacket. I made sure I smelled okay before running back down the stairs to cover up the container of lasagna sauce.

Stuffing inside the fridge, I realized it was nearly 6:30. Damn it! Where the heck were my bloody siblings?

I flipped open my cell, typing out a message to Bella.

Good morning, Sleeping Beauty! I just wanted to say that maybe I'll be slightly late for picking you up. Rosalie and the others are taking forever in the toilet. If we're not by your house by 7, get your truck and go to school. I don't want to be the reason why you'll be late.

I made sure I sent it to the right person before taking another look at the time. It was 6:33.

As I paced about the kitchen, I glared at the stairs, wanting to scold my siblings for being so late. This was the first time I was actually picking up a girl, and it was Bella, no less, and they had to take their own sweet time in the freaking toilet. How could they? Like, seriously!

Growling in frustration, I rushed up to Jasper's room, which was the closest room to me, and peeked through the see-through door. Jazz's door was made of glass, with a curtain on the other side of it, so whenever he felt like it, he could just pull on the rope and poof! you couldn't see anything except that dirty white curtain of his.

And right now, I could see everything.

I froze.

Everyone was in there. As in, all of them.

Well, technically, Carlisle and Esme weren't, but Alice was, along with Rose and the others, but I had no idea what they were talking about. At that moment, I hated the fact that when Esme designed this house, she placed soundproof walls, doors and windows. At first, it was great, no one could hear anyone else and it was silent most of the time, yet at important times like this, they were so damn useless.

For example, I had no idea why Rosalie was waving her arms around in anger, her blue eyes trained on Alice's small, defensive body. Itching to know more, I stayed fixated on the scene in front of me.

What were my siblings fighting about? That's the million dollar question. Any guesses?

Surely, it can't be about me . . . can it? But how come I have this gut feeling it was?

Then Jasper's light gray eyes strayed to the door, and it turned alarmed as he realized I was standing there. Everyone followed Jasper's gaze, and stood stiffly as the fact that I was standing there, watching, sunk in on their minds.

I knew I should have waited downstairs.

Stepping into the room, I gave a little throat clearance. "Er, hi. Um . . . in case you haven't noticed, it's already 6:45. Bella's waiting for us, and I-" Surprisingly, it was Alice who interrupted me.

"Ha! See what I mean? He's been screwing that new girl and now he's acting all helpless because he needs a ride to that girl's place so he can fu-" Alice screamed, but got cut off.

"Don't you dare complete that sentence! Edward has changed!" Rose shouted back in response.

"Change, my ass! He'll never change! He was born that way!" Alice countered.

Oh shit. Shit! It is me who they're fighting over. Shit! I tried to mediate them by interrupting, "Hey, hey, that's enough now."

That was definitely a big mistake, because the next thing I knew, Alice got into my face and hissed, "Just shut up, will you? Stop acting as if you're turning out to be a good boy! Stop acting as if we're the one at mistake when in truth, you are the one who messed up everyone's life, especially mine! I've lost so many friends over you, Edward! And ninety nine point nine percent of them were just using me! How do you think that would make me feel, huh?

"You only know how to mess things up, you're so damn ungrateful, and you didn't even acknowledge our existence until now, when everyone is angry at you and you want someone on your side! You're such an asshole, you know that? An asshole and a bastard!"

Bastard. Bastard.

The word rang in my ears, blocking out everything else that Alice was screaming at me, and memories of that night came rushing back, this time unstoppable.

The awful cigarette and beer stench.

The edges of a book stabbing into my skin.

The sharp ends of the broken beer bottle, stabbing into my skin, endless streams of blood flowing down my body.

Daddy's face, etched in laughter and joy at my pain.

His non-guilty face afterwards, when I was crawling away.

Everything, every single detail of my past, washed me through as if there was no end. I could see my old bedroom, where Daddy would take out his belt and beat me with it, the buckle making an impression on my skin. I thought of the picture I still kept. My family. My family that now laid in ruins.

I stopped breathing; my lungs ceased to work. I clutched my abdomen, because it seemed as though most of the pain was there. My body was folded in on itself, as if I was blocking out the pains of the abuse physically, when it was happening mentally in my mind.

Time lost itself as I took a step back and fell into the soft, red carpet of Jasper's floor. I curled into a ball, futilely trying to ignore the screaming and shouting that erupted my mind. I suddenly had an headache, I was getting dizzy from the lack of air. I felt something soft touch my head, but I ignored it and flinched back, imagining it was my father's hand.

And all of it killed me. It killed me to remember my past.

But it killed me more to know that I wasn't over it, and never will be, no matter how many people I tell. It was just useless. I felt useless.

Then I was sobbing. Crying. I didn't care about my siblings who were probably watching me. Is it possible not to breathe while crying? Well, I guess I proved that just then.

My body screamed for oxygen, but all I could give it was the painful stabbings that I was remembering.

I was a seven year old suddenly, wishing for Momma to come back to me. It was stupid, I know, but my mother was all I needed. And yet, as I pictured her kind face, the one that I've been born with, the painful memories shattered the image away, bringing to life my father's unforgiving face.

His long face, manly no doubt, with his black eyes glaring hatefully. His black hair slightly ruffled from the work of beating me. The way his stubble made him look even more menacing. And his nose, which was the exact nose I had.

All of it. They ran me over like a truck.

But there was nothing I could do. I was having a breakdown, I knew it, however I'd expected this.

Suddenly, my phone let out a shrill ring.

The ring . . . the ringing . . . And with a sudden urge, I flipped it open, finally taking in a teeny breath, then gasping in air like water. I hadn't realized I needed oxygen that much.

It was message, and it was from Bella.

She'd saved me from my memories. She'd saved me from me.

Edward, her message read, you haven't arrived, so I took the liberty to head off to school first. You know . . . I have this awful feeling about you. There might be something bad happening to you, and I'm worried. Whatever it is, don't think about it too much, okay? If you need someone to talk to, I'm right here. Well, not really, since I'm not exactly beside you, but yeah. You get the idea. I'll meet you in school okay? Til then, take care, 'sweetie.'

-B

And just like that, I was brought back from my horrors.

All because of Bella.

I need to thank her. I clutched the phone closer to my chest, and was aware someone was holding my head and my hands. All around me, I could finally hear whatever they were saying.

"-nap out of it! Edward! Quit it, now!" Emmett was shouting desperately. Suddenly, I could see his worried and freaked out face. I blinked, and then his face turned into Bella's. Her beautiful face, way beyond the universal standards, suddenly became worried. Her eyebrows were scrunched together, her mesmerizing deep brown eyes reaching deep into my soul.

At that moment, I knew that I was in too deep for my Bella.

They were right. I loved Bella.

And I have been loving her all along. That was the reason why I'd chased after her yesterday. I realized then that it was because of her that I'd changed. From the minute I caught her strawberry scent in English, the day I'd sworn myself to be bitter, she'd done the same thing without knowing it, but she was bringing me back to life.

And she did.

She utterly did.

Bella's face faded into Emmett's. Apparently, he was holding my head. "-ward! DAMMIT SNAP OUT OF IT!"

I blinked again. "Oh."

I heard multiple sighs of relief, then Rosalie hugged me fiercely, followed by Emmett. They were both lying on top of me, and I found it difficult to breathe. But I enjoyed it, nonetheless, and hugged them back.

I didn't find it in me to smile hugely at them, though. If you found out you were in love with your best friend, how in the world will you react? Definitely not congratulating the whole world, right?

But I definitely found it in me to say, "Thank you," to Emmett and Rosalie, who I could hear was sobbing their eyes out. They still hugged me though, and I was hugging them back.

Looking over to Jasper, I gave him a hesitant smile. Alice was a few feet away from him, her dark brown eyes confused. She didn't know what to make of it. No, she didn't know at all.

I wonder how long I spent holding two of my most favorite people in the world, no, universe, but it must have been long time. Eventually, Em and Rose pulled away, somewhat reluctantly, as they simultaneously asked, "Are you okay?"

I could only laugh.

Then I answered, "I am magnificent."

Up front, I could hear Alice scoffing. "So much for drama. Why don't you join the acting industry?"

Rose and Em turned to glare at her. Rose opened her mouth to say something, but Jasper, shockingly, beat her to it. "STOP IT ALICE, OKAY? YOU DON'T KNOW A THING SO SHUT UP!"

The loudest gasp came from Alice herself. She was freaking out, and she had reason. I know I say this a lot, but seriously, never, in my entire lifespan so far, have I ever hears Jasper shout. He was always the quiet one, the one at the background. He was the peacemaker, the one who understood what the other was feeling.

He was the calm one, the silent one. Alice was hyperactive, unable to sit still for ten seconds. I could only imagine what she was feeling, to be told to shut up by the one you hold most dear. Now I understood the meaning of love, because I felt as though my world was shattered, my soul floating off into space because the strings that held me were cut off.

Only to be replaced by one million, make that one billion, steel cables. And it was all centered around my most loved one, someone who surpassed my own love for my mother, and that said something.

If I thought I knew love before, I was ultimately wrong.

But now wasn't the time to say think about these things. "Alice, please. Perhaps you don't feel it, but I am remorseful for my actions. You are angry, you hate me, I get it. But keep in mind that I really am changing. If you would just let me-"

"NO!" she shouted and gave me hateful stare. It sent me all cold, but Rose answered for me. "You can insult Edward all you want-"

Huh? I thought she was helping me out?

"-but don't you dare call him the b-word. He doesn't deserve that title ever. Perhaps you. You're the bitch here, Alice. You heard Jasper. Shut up, suck up the fact that no one wants to hear you anymore, and get lost."

"Rosalie," I sighed and squeezed her shoulder, causing her to look at me. "What?"

"Enough."

She sighed but nodded, leaning into my shoulder. I rubbed her back and looked at Emmett meaningfully. He seemed to understand what I was trying to convey.

Em took Rosalie off my arm and murmured some words to her. I turned away from them and stared at Alice's angry but tearful eyes. She was still giving the cold gaze, and it still hurt me, but not so much as before.

I started to say something, but Alice turned to Jasper. "Choose now, Jazz."

Jasper's eyes widened even bigger. It seemed as though he himself couldn't believe he shouted at Alice. "Choose?"

"Yes, choose. Me, or him?" she jabbed a finger in my direction.

Jasper's gaze turned pained. I chose that moment to finally say what I was feeling. "Jasper, don't. You love Alice and she loves you. You should be with the person you love the most, and that's Alice. It'll turn out okay for me, Jazz. I don't mind if you went ahead to be with her. You deserve her. You need her. Not me."

Now that's what I call an award winning speech.

He looked at me, then at Alice.

Finally, he spoke. "Al . . . no. I'm putting my foot down on this one."

"WHAT?" Alice gasped.

"WHAT?" I gasped as well.

"You heard me. I choose Edward. Like I said before, you don't know anything. Now, please. Leave." There was finality and a kind of hardness in his voice. It's as if he wanted all of it to end right now. Like Alice didn't matter to him, but I saw his expression. It was killing him to do it. And if so, why was he doing this?

Oh. My. God.

Now I sound like a sissy for saying that.

Although, WHO CARES?

Alice was silent, a feat deemed impossible, and then she whispered brokenly, "Fine," and she ran out the room, pushing past me, Em and Rose.

My heart broke out for her, and I wished that she'd let me explain myself, so that she knew the reason why I was the way I was. However, as I looked back at Jasper's impassive face, there was really nothing I could do.

If I could turn back time, I would. I'd make everything right, tell myself to open up more, tell the truth, and just prevent all of this from happening. It's my fault, all mine.

Then I thought of Bella, and all suddenly settled itself in my heart. For now at least. I knew what my priority was.

BPOV

I was really starting to get worried.

It's pass 7:30, and Edward and his siblings aren't here yet. I remembered the text I'd sent him. I hope it wasn't obvious through my message that I liked him. He'll be totally freaked out if he knew.

Maybe that's why he didn't reply. Maybe he already found out.

Oh god, oh god, oh god.

The parking lot was starting to empty. There was barely any students loitering around. Well, except for the emos. And the couples, who were making out. The nagging feeling I has ever since this morning heightened, and I bit my lip from screaming out in frustration. This sucks, man. I hated this. Edward, where are you?

But as I tapped my foot impatiently, in accordance with the ticking of the time from my watch, I found a familiar bronze haired boy getting out of a silver Volvo car and making his way towards me.

Me.

I saw his green eyes before I saw his existence. Something was different about him today. There was something in his eyes that I couldn't quite place. His posture was different too. I've never seen him so happy before. He looked like a ball of energy, all ready to explode.

And he was hurtling towards me.

Maybe I'm thinking like this because I'm actually wearing his sweatshirt underneath my hoodie with his old jeans. I just couldn't help it, I mean, the boy smelled great! If you had a nice, no, nice doesn't even cover it. If you had an amazing smelling best friend who happened to be a boy, and he gave you his clothes, you'll want to wear it everyday won't you? See! That's exactly what I'm talking about.

And then Edward started to charge himself at me.

Really charging. You could only see a blur of limbs.

Then he crashed onto me, and I laughed as he wrapped his long arms around my waist, as if it was meant to be there.

I could only inhale his perfect scent and smile wildly while laughing. I never thought I'll be this happy again. Sure, there was the complication with Leah, when we bumped into each other at breakfast, but the incident left my mind as I felt Edward inhaling my hair.

Whoa. Stalker-ish much?

Anyway, I sighed happily and leaned into his embrace. I didn't know what possessed him to give me a hug, but I certainly did not mind. Having Edward to hug you everyday is like having a bar of gold given to you every single freaking day.

Now you know how much I'm in love with him. Go on, make fun of me, I dare you.

"Hey." he breathed.

"Hello." I muttered. I peeked over his shoulder and saw Rose, Em and Jazz smiling at the two of us. I felt my cheeks flush, and looked down. It's one thing to get engrossed in hugging a guy like Edward, but it's another to see other people watching you engrossing.

Great, now I'm becoming incoherent again.

"So why're you late?" I asked him when we pulled away, minutes later.

He didn't answer at first, but eventually said, "Complications. I'll tell you after school. Now, why the heck is your hood not up?"

I gave him a grin. "Why? Do I look so ugly?"

He smiled back. "No. You look perfect."

Da-dump! Whoops. There goes my heart. "Shut up."

"Ha-ha, there's no way I'm ever going to shut up, you should know. Don't worry sweetheart, I think I might make an exception for you." he looked deep into my eyes and my heart went off like a hummingbird when he said 'sweetheart' again.

Aaah! What's wrong with me? Love is a crazy thing, I swear it is!

"Whatever. Let's go back to class, okay?" I rolled my eyes.

With gestured for me to walk on, and I totally forgot to pull up my hood. In fact, I walked through half the school without even thinking about putting my hood up. I didn't know where the confidence came from, but the stares were definitely getting to me.

Edward, on the other hand, glared at the boys who were ogling at me. He kept his hand around my waist. Not that I mind, it's just that it made the girls swoon even more at the sight of him. I felt possessive, I mean, come on! Can't they see? Edward's walking with me, not them! Apparently, stuff like this made the girls feel so romanced.

Ugh.

The day passed with Edward walking with me to my every class. He even went to the Main Office to get his schedule changed, just so it matched mine. Quite frankly, I was flattered. The whole day, my cheeks were flushing from his touch, and he seemed as calm as ever. He joked around with his siblings, who I found out were really nice and kind as well as humorous, especially Emmett.

They weren't all about looks after all. There were actually good looking people who didn't give a damn about what the others thought. I liked that. In fact, I loved that.

Edward forced me to visit his house again. Rose had to drag me to the car, and Em kept making jokes about me being attached to hip with Edward. Jasper kept quiet, but you could tell he was amused. I gave a fit, because I couldn't take my truck with me. And yet I went along.

Me and my feelings, indeed.

It turned out that Emmett was going to drive my truck while I was seated in Rose's BMW. I was able to see it properly, and the first thing I said was, "Holy shit, Rose. That's one hell of a car."

"Oh," she replied, "You should see Edward's Ashton."

My mouth dropped. Not even people in Phoenix had an Ashton Vanquish. I thought that it was even impossible to buy one! "But . . . wasn't it . . . you know, expensive?"

"Trust me, I have my way with people." Edward cut in, his emeralds sparkling in the dim light. It illuminated the whole place with it's radiance. Wow, corny much?

"You mean you have your way with women?" Jazz laughed. My heart skipped a beat, in the wrong way, and I frowned. Edward noticed, and he used his thumb to push the sides of my mouth up. "Jazz," he murmured in warning, frowning as well. "What's wrong, Bella?" he asked.

"N-nothing, Edward."

"Don't lie. I know when you're lying." he muttered.

"Can you please, please, not make a scene? Let's just go to your house first, then you discuss with me your problems. You told me you'll tell me, right? I hold you on to that, you know."

"Alright, fine. But after that, you'll have to tell me about Leah."

Shit. Leah. I forgot about her.

"Er, yeah. Sure, whatever." I blew it off, looking bored. Edward's lips turned down even more and I tried to give him a hearty smile. I wanted to cheer Edward up.

It worked, and he smiled back at me.

There. In his eyes. There's something there. What exactly is that? Maybe it's the light, or I might be seeing things, but I know there's something there. It's crazy to think of it that way, but yeah.

Getting into the car, I knew it was going to be one hell of an afternoon.