I DONT OWN TWILIGHT OR ITS CHARACTERS

HEY GUYS! I PROMISED NOT TO KEEP U WAITING THAT LONG SO HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER! HOPE U LIKE IT AS MUCH AS I LUVED WRITING IT!

THANK YOU ALL FOR UR WONDERFUL REVIEWS, I ENJOY THEM PRETTY MUCH! SOME OF YOU MAKE ME LAUGH SO MUCH, IN A GOOD WAY! SO WITHOUT ANY MORE BORING WORDS, HERE'S "EDWARD'S REACTION" LOL….

CH.10

Things were getting really "normal" at Charlie's. He was starting to do more things around the house now, well, at least he would help me with the dishes and he would make his own bed. I was sleeping with Nessie in my old bed, which meant not such good sleeping hours for me. The bed was too small for both of us, but it was either that or the couch. I hated sleeping on couches. Even if Christmas was approaching, talking with my mom made me realize that I had to enroll Nessie in school. As much as she loved spending time with Esme, she needed to go to school or she would get so behind and would have to repeat the whole year. I was not going to let that happen.

Paul had called to set up our date, which would be the coming Friday. I had been so nervous on the phone. I was not ready for it, but I was giving it a try anyway. I needed to go shopping, I hadn't brought any nice clothes with me and I wasn't just going out in my old jeans. Oh how I missed Alice at this moment. As if reading my mind, she called and when I told her about my date with Paul, she squealed so loud that I had to hang up on her. She called back and then helped me buy some new clothes. It's amazing how having cameras on your phones these days helps.

I was all set for my date now, so it was time to get Nessie enrolled in school. I dressed her up nicely and we walked over to the preschool, which was just two blocks away. I honestly needed to rent or buy a car soon. We got to the principal's office, where a very nice lady was sitting behind a desk.

"Good morning ma'am. I would like to speak to the principal please? I want to enroll my daughter in school." The lady looked up smiling at us. She looked kind of familiar, but I couldn't place her.

"Oh my sweet lord, if it isn't Chief Swan's little girl. It's so nice to see you honey. And you're a mommy now. Hello sweetie." She winked at Nessie.

"Hi." Nessie giggled.

"I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

"Oh sure honey, I used to be a secretary at the police station a while ago. I've heard a lot about you over the years."

"Oh right. You were always at the front desk in the station. I remember now." I smiled at her.

"Let me show you to the principal's office. She'll be back in about 10 minutes; you can wait for her inside." She showed us to a very nice office where we sat to wait for Principal Mercer.

The meeting went well. She thought Nessie was adorable and walked with me afterwards to Nessie's classroom. Class had already started, but she assured me it would be no problem.

"Umm excuse me Mrs. Cheney, it seems you have a new student." Principal Mercer said as she opened the door, letting us into the classroom. Wait, did she just say Mrs. Cheney? No way. But yes, there she was. My high school friend was now a preschool teacher. Angela looked as surprised as I must've looked when she saw me. I then smiled at her.

"Ang! Why didn't you tell me you were a teacher too?" I hugged her smiling.

"You never gave me chance." She laughed. We had totally forgotten we weren't alone there, until Principal Mercer cleared her throat.

"Oh I'm sorry Principal Mercer." Angela blushed and looked down.

"It seems you know each other."

"Yes, we went to high school together. I just never imagined you would be a teacher Ang. Umm…I mean, Mrs. Cheney." I grinned.

"So umm…Nessie, welcome to my class. Everyone say welcome Nessie." Angela was in teacher mode again.

"Welcome Nessie!" all the kids said making Nessie smile. I left her there with Angela, as I walked back to Principal Mercer's office. I knew Nessie was in good hands.

Principal Mercer had said she wished to speak to me a bit more before I left. She was looking through some papers while I just sat there. I had no idea what she wanted. I had given her Nessie's previous school information so that she could ask for her transcripts. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me Principal Mercer, here's the information you requested." The secretary lady handed her some documents.

"Thank you Pat. That was quick." She smiled at her before she closed the door. Then she turned to look at me. "If I'm not wrong, I heard maybe you implied you're a teacher too?"

"Yes, I am. Or I was, anyway. Before I had to come here I used to be a teacher, a preschool teacher as a matter of fact." I was getting nervous. Where was this going?

"Well, I asked Pat to ask for Nessie's transcripts and your résumé."

"What for?" I panicked. I was being stupid, I know. But I felt like a student again being called to the principal's office.

"Relax Miss Swan…"

"Bella, please."

"Bella. It's just that, I'm actually looking for a substitute teacher right now. You know, someone that can help whenever any of our staff can't come to work. And something tells me you could be perfect for that position. What do you say?" she was smiling so widely I was speechless.

"Are you offering me a job?" I couldn't believe it. It was too good to be true.

"I know you're helping out chief Swan at home, so I honestly think this would be perfect for you. It's a part time job, which allows you to still be at home helping your father out."

"You're right. It's perfect. Thank you, thank you." I was so excited I jumped up from the chair and hugged Principal Mercer.

"I take that as a yes." She laughed.

I ran home to tell dad the good news. He was really happy for me. He said it was about time I started doing something for me. I had been taking care of him and Nessie and neglecting my own needs. I was bouncing up and down like Nessie used to do all the time. It was just too good to be true.

I hadn't wanted to accept how much peace it brought me, not having to worry about Edward anymore. Maybe it was a sign of my subconscious telling me that I was better off not having him in my life at all. Well, not not at all, he was still Nessie's father.

And so the day of my famous date arrived. I have to admit I was missing Alice a lot. She was usually the one that would've been dressing me and putting make-up on me and doing my hair. Or at least that's what she used to do when we were back in high school and we were all going out or something. I felt so lonely at the moment. I mean, it's not that I couldn't do all that myself; it was just that I needed her energy and her advice and her approval too. I couldn't just go to Charlie and ask him " hey dad, how do I look?" It just didn't feel right.

Anyway, I dressed in my new jeans and nice new modern long purple sweater; I had a black trendy belt around my hips and a pair of black boots. I looked at my image in the mirror and for a minute I didn't recognize who that was. I looked like a woman, young and full of life. My cheeks were a bit flushed but that was ok. I felt carefree and excited. I hadn't felt like this in more than 7 years. I grabbed my coat and headed for the living room. Charlie was watching a game on TV, while Nessie was drawing with some crayons. They both looked up at me and smiled.

"Mommy you look so beautiful." Nessie ran and hugged me.

"Thank you baby. I feel beautiful too." I smiled back at her.

"You have a very good time today Bella. And don't worry about anything else." Charlie winked at me, making me blush.

"Thanks dad." The doorbell rang.

Paul was looking so hot I was having a hard time trying not to stare at him. We were having dinner at my favorite restaurant, Cactus. Just the name reminded me so much of Arizona that I had fallen in love with the place the first time I had been there. After we ordered our food, I noticed Paul was staring at me and of course, I started blushing like a tomato.

"Oh God." I put my hands over my cheeks to try and hide it, but it was no use.

Paul laughed, "Don't hide it, it's so cute."

"It's been my curse my whole life. I haven't met any other person that has the ability to become as red as a tomato in just a second." I drank a bit of water to see if it would help.

"It's actually a pretty attractive trait. It shows your emotions and makes you so easy to read."

"And that's attractive?" I smirked.

"Sure. Gives me a heads up as to how the night is going." He said huskily. I gulped.

We started talking about Nessie and Charlie and Jacob. I was really enjoying this date thing. Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad after all. Wait a minute; I can't plan in the future, what if he doesn't ask me out again? Stop being so ridiculous Bella. If you can read him the same way he can read you, it all points at a second date. I was surprised to realize I was actually looking forward to it.

We were taking a short walk around some coffee shops, my arm through Paul's, and I was laughing at something he was saying, when the door to one of the shops opened and out came a smiling couple. A very familiar smiling couple. I froze. Paul noticed I had stopped moving and I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't speak. I was only looking at a pair of dazzling green eyes that were looking back at me with shock and surprise.

"Bella?" his eyes travelling all over me.

"Edward, Victoria, I thought you were already back in Chicago. This is a surprise." I found myself saying.

"No honey, we didn't leave at all. I had a few days off before I have to go back to work." Victoria flashed me one of her top model smiles. Fake, just as she was.

"I see. I had no idea. That's nice. I'm sure Carlisle and Esme don't see too much of their son."

"Are you out on a date?" Edward was looking at Paul and then back at me.

"I think that's obvious babe." Victoria smirked and then turned her fake smile at Paul.

"Oh how rude of me. Yes, this is Paul. Paul these are Edward Cullen and Victoria." I made the introductions.

"I'm Edward's fiancée." Victoria shook Paul's hand. I don't know why she needed to emphasize that. Maybe to state her place or something.

"Nice to meet you both." Paul smiled at them. My hold on his arm tightened when I saw Edward's eyes darken all of a sudden. What was his deal? Paul noticed and glanced at me. I gave him a small smile.

"Nice of you to have time to go out Bella." He scoffed.

"I…" he wouldn't let me talk.

"So where's Nessie? You left her alone?"

"Never. She's with Charlie." I raised my chin at him.

"Oh and that's ok? You left our daughter alone at night with a man who's still recovering from a heart attack, while you go out and have a little fun? Is that what a good mother does?" I saw comprehension flash in Paul's eyes as my brain registered what Edward had said.

"My father's very capable of taking care of his granddaughter. So if by your standards that makes me a lousy mother, so be it Edward. I really don't care what you think anymore. It was nice seeing you again Victoria. Good night." I tugged at Paul's arm and we started walking away.

I noticed Edward hadn't said a word back to me. I glanced back at them and he was looking at me with the oddest expression on his face. He seemed angry at first, but then…I just couldn't really place it.

Paul didn't say a word while we walked to his car. I was so lost in my thoughts that I really didn't pay attention to what was happening around me, until I saw Charlie's cruiser in the driveway. Where had the time gone? I sighed and turned to look at Paul.

"I'm so sorry Paul. I ruined the night."

"What are you saying Bella? Nothing was ruined. I had a really good time." He sounded so sincere.

"You did? All that drama at the end, we we're having such a good time."

"Yes, we were having a good time. But it's ok Bella, really. I mean, I get it. His Nessie's father so there's bound to be some awkwardness. What I don't get, is why he's so jealous. He's getting married, isn't he?" What had he just said? Jealous? Edward? No, that was impossible.

"What makes you think Edward was jealous? He was just being a jerk. The same he's been lately. I really don't care what he says anymore."

"Bella, I'm a guy. And as I guy I tell you, that was jealousy. A 100% jealousy. You didn't notice the look he was giving me. It was as if he was shooting darts through his eyes at me. Creepy." Paul touched my shoulder.

"But it doesn't make any sense."

"Well, you would know that better than me. But yeah, giving the fact that he had his fiancée right next to him, it doesn't make any sense."

"Forget about him. Thank you for a wonderful evening. I really enjoyed it." I smiled.

"I really enjoyed it too. Maybe we should make something different the next time. Like go rock climbing or something." He covered my hand with his.

"Next time?" I stuttered, feeling the blush appear on my face.

"Sure, next time. I'll give you a call soon." He squeezed my hand.

"Ok." I managed to say. I couldn't take my eyes away from his.

"Have a good night Bella, sweet dreams." I felt him lean towards me and then he gave me a kiss on my cheek. I opened my eyes to find him smiling. I smiled back as I opened the car's door. I waved as he drove away, thinking that this was the kind of behavior Edward should learn from.

Edward, why the hell was I thinking of Edward? Here you go again Bella Swan. Well, I guess it was the surprise of seeing him still in Forks when I thought he was a few thousand miles away. And, could he really have been jealous of Paul? No Bella, don't even think of going there. You don't need him to mess up your life anymore than it already is.

I sighed and went into the house. Everything was pretty dark and quiet so I did my best not to make any loud noises. I got into bed as fast as I could trying not to disturb Nessie. She suddenly turned and buried her little face on my shoulder. I hugged her to me.

"I love you mommy." She whispered, bringing tears to my eyes. How had I gotten so lucky?

"I love you too baby." I kissed her forehead and soon we were both sound asleep.

Next morning I woke up to loud voices coming from the first floor. I got up and started going down the stairs, not even caring about how I looked. I was really curious.

"Hey Bella, good morning." Carlisle smiled at me.

"Hello Carlisle. This is an early visit."

"Yeah, I came to check up on Charlie."

"I told him I'm as healthy as a horse. Aren't I Bells?" Charlie grinned at me.

"Sure, sure dad." I giggled.

"And well…I tagged along. I hope you don't mind." Edward suddenly came out of the kitchen holding a cup of coffee.

"More like, begged to come along?" Carlisle smirked.

"Well, I wanted to see Nessie. What's wrong with that?" he looked up avoiding our eyes.

"If you say so." Carlisle winked at me. This was all very amusing to him.

"I'm sure she'll be up any minute now." I hadn't moved from my spot near the stairs yet.

"Nice morning look by the way, not at all compared to your sophisticated night look." Edward glanced at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I glared at him.

"Umm…Bells…you might wanna go look at a mirror?" Charlie opened his eyes widely at me, raising his eyebrows, while Carlisle laughed. I ran to the bathroom. And sure, there I was in all my morning glory. My hair was all tangled up and resembling Medusa, and there was makeup smeared around my eyes. Great, just great. Why hadn't I gone to the bathroom before going downstairs? Well, it was too late for that now. I composed myself as much as I could before going back to the living room.

"Much better honey." Charlie laughed.

"Shut up dad." I walked into the kitchen. Edward followed me, of course.

"Bella, can we talk?" he had this sincere look that as much as I had promised myself I didn't care anymore, I couldn't help the little jump my heart did.

"Ok."

"Listen, I…"

"Daddy!" Nessie yelled running into Edward's arms, and ending our conversation in the process. I sighed. Maybe it was better this way. I stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

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