I nodded. "I'm a big girl, Dad. I can handle anything."

Chapter 10

A/N: Bella and Edward's all black outfits will be on my profile.

I walked back into the kitchen, and when I heard the football game come on, I told Edward with a smile, "You get to stay."

Jasper got up from the table quickly and said, "Well, I'm going to head on to bed. It's getting pretty late."

I looked at the clock. "It's not even seven, yet."

"Whatever. I have some homework I need to finish up, too." Then, he walked up the staircase.

I knew Jasper wasn't as calm about the accident as he put on, so I had a feeling about what he'd be doing in his room - the same thing I did every night. Cry.

"Speaking of homework, this is the last day to finish our project," I said.

Edward got up, mimicked the Superman pose, and replied in a superhero tone, "To the bedroom!"

I laughed, and we both ran upstairs. I sat against the headboard and powered my laptop up. Edward sat next to me and placed an arm around my shoulders. I tensed slightly, and he removed his arm slowly.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be. I'm still just sensitive to everything that reminds me of him, and I will be for awhile. It's not your fault." Tears began welling up in my eyes, and I wiped them away quickly.

"Um…Do you have a poem picked out?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. Do you?" I was happy my voice wasn't shaky.

"I'm still looking for just the right one, ya know?"

I nodded, and we began searching for poems for him. We laughed together at all the cheesy ones we saw, and some brought tears to our eyes. All in all, I had a good time with Edward, despite the whole awkward arm thing earlier. We both had picked our poems, and when I looked at the clock, it read 10:30.

"We better get some shut eye," I finally said.

He nodded. "Yeah. Um…I guess I'll sleep on the couch downstairs."

Oh. I hadn't thought about the sleeping arrangements, but luckily, we had some extra blankets and pillows. "I talked my dad into getting your bed and putting it in here with me tomorrow, so you should be set for however long you stay."

"Thanks. I'd like that."

I walked into the hallway quietly and opened the door to a small closet by the bathroom. I pulled out a dark blue blanket and a pillow for Edward to use. I handed them to him, and he smiled.

"Goodnight, Bella."

"Goodnight, Edward."

He kissed me on the forehead and walked downstairs. I was surprised at the action, but it made me extremely happy. I walked into my room and got ready for bed, slipping on some pajama pants and the shirt Edward left here the day after they were killed. It smelled like him, and for some reason, it made me fall sound asleep that night with no tears.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I heard my door open and footsteps walking to my bed. I woke up, startled, and saw that Edward was in my room, standing on the right side of my bed.

"Holy shit. You fucking scared me," I told him, breathless, both from the fact I stated and because he was shirtless in my room.

It shouldn't have had such an effect on me because he had slept with me in my room before a few nights ago, but I was seeing him in a new light. I was kind of, maybe, possibly beginning to fall for him.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry. It's just that I can't sleep, and I haven't really been able to since I stayed here. I was just wondering if I could…" He motioned to the bed.

I grinned and pulled back the covers. "Be my guest."

"I think we established that I'm not classified as that anymore," he smiled.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, and he slid in next to me.

"My shirt looks good on you by the way," he stated, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around me.

"Goodnight, Edward." I simply avoided the comment, but it made me blush a crimson red.

Just before my heavy eyes closed, I heard him murmur oh, so quietly two words that made my heart skip a beat. "Goodnight, love."

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I woke up the next morning, smiling at the peaceful expression on Edward's face. I then felt the blood rush to my cheeks when I looked at how we were entangled. My left leg was flush against his, my right leg was thrown over his body, and his arms were wrapped securely around my waist. I tried to pull out of his iron like grip, but he wasn't moving.

Instead, he whimpered and said, "Just stay in bed with me."

"Edward, are you awake?" I asked, his words having an affect on my body. I swear, my blood was beginning to boil.

His eyes fluttered open, and I noticed that the blackness was fading away around his right one. "Yes, I'm awake. Why else would I be talking?"

That made me blush even more at his first statement. "Well, we have to go to school. We have that project due today."

He sighed. "Fine. Thank god, it's Friday."

I nodded in agreement, then waited for a moment. "Edward, please let me go."

"I'm sorry." He removed his arms quickly, and his cheeks turned pink.

The light color made him look adorable, like a kid with his hand caught in a cookie jar. I got up and went into my en suite, leaving a sleepy Edward in bed. I got in the shower and let the nice, hot steam clean my pores. It was amazing, and I was dreading having to get out, but the aspect brightened at the thought of spending the day with my old best friend. Fifteen minutes after I got in, I left the shower stall and realized that I forgot my clothes in my room. I wrapped a towel around me and held it there with my right hand. I walked back into my room and gasped. There was Edward, standing there in just a pair of boxers.

"Like what you see?" he smirked, but not the perverted pig one. It was a playful, sexy smirk that sat my heart on fire.

I gained my voice back and replied, "You wish."

He grinned and walked over to me. He placed his lips to my ear and whispered, "Yes, I do." I shivered and took a step back, stunned. He grabbed my waist and pulled me close again, an apologetic look on his face. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just kidding."

"I know. I just wasn't expecting that," I told him honestly.

"Hey, Bells! Am I riding with you, or-" Jasper walked into my room just then. "Well, hello there." He glared at Edward.

"Nothing was happening," I was quick to say.

I saw a flicker of hurt cross Edward's face, but he masked it well, adding, "Yeah. We were just joking around. No big deal."

"Whatever. So, am I riding with you, Bells?" he asked again.

"Actually, I was wondering if she wanted to ride with me," Edward answered, then looked down at me. "So, do you?"

I smiled. "I'd like that." I walked over to my nightstand and grabbed the keys, tossing them to Jasper. "You can drive the truck if you like."

He looked between Edward and me, but finally nodded. "Thanks."

I only offered the option of driving my new Ford because he liked it more than mine ever since Alice died. Carlisle gave us her Porsche and was having Emmett's Jeep sent up here for me to do with as I pleased. Jasper didn't like driving her yellow car or his own black Mercedes because of the memories they had in both. I could understand that.

My brother headed downstairs for breakfast, and I glanced at Edward. "Why do you want me to ride with you?"

"Because I want you to be with me all day." Wow. That sent chills down my spine.

"Oh. But don't you pick up those two guys?" I questioned.

"You mean Tony and Jason? Yeah, but I'll tell them I can't."

"Thanks."

I walked into my closet grinning like I did when I was with Emmett. Shit. I thought his name. I waited for the tears to come, but they never did. I think Edward was helping me through this more than he knew, and it had only been five days.

I dropped my towel and searched for some panties in the big dresser at the back. I found some and slid them on. I took a pair of black skinny jeans off of a hanger and pulled them on, as well, then retrieved my black bra and snapped it around my waist. I began looking for my black shirt and finally remembered that I had washed it yesterday, along with some other tees.

I walked out of the closet and heard a slight intake of breath. "Like what you see, Eddie?"

"Very much so," he smirked again, and I smiled.

"I'll be right back." I ran downstairs and saw Jasper standing up and eating cereal at the bar.

"I think the school dress code says you have to wear a shirt," he laughed.

"Haha. I'm getting a shirt out of the dryer, thank you very much."

He rolled his eyes, and I retrieved the object of my desire. I pulled the shirt over my head and knotted it at the side, then ran back upstairs to put on my socks and black Converse. I sat down on the bench at the end of my bed and pulled them to me.

"Are you feeling gothic or something today?" Edward raised an eyebrow.

"No…Why?"

"You're wearing all black. I was just wondering."

"I just felt like wearing this today." I shrugged and continued to lace up my shoes. He then pulled on a black shirt with some black pants and shoes. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to let people think you're in mourning by yourself," he replied.

I was a little confused by his motions. "Are you trying to be nice?"

"Yes." He looked up at me through his long lashes. "Is that an okay thing for me to do?"

I nodded, then blushed at how sexy he looked. "Yeah, thanks."

"No problem."

We both walked into my bathroom and began messing with our hair. I never knew that double sinks would come in handy. I ran some mousse through my hair, and Edward did the same, using a lot less than me. We both ran a hand through our hair a second time, and I thought it was so weird how we did everything in sync. At the same time once again, we went back into my bedroom and slid on our own pair of black sunglasses. I couldn't contain a giggle anymore, but at least it wasn't that loud. Maybe he didn't hear it. I haven't done something that sounded like that since I was, like, seven, and I didn't want him to make fun of me.

"Did Bella Swan just…giggle?" he asked, and I could see he was trying to choke back a laugh. Shit.

"Shut up, and let's go." I grabbed my back pack and ran downstairs, Edward right behind me.

My truck was already gone, and I found it odd that Jasper left fifteen minutes early. Maybe he wanted to get some work done before class started.

"Want some Frosted Flakes with honey and an extra tablespoon of brown sugar?" I took the box out of the cabinet and retrieved the honey and brown sugar, as well.

"You remember?" He sounded incredulous.

I set the food on the breakfast bar that was separating us and grinned. "How could I possibly forget something so weird?"

He used to eat it all the time when we were kids. I don't see how someone could eat all of that together. It'd be way too sweet for me.

He chuckled and began to make his breakfast. I poured myself a bowl of Cocoa Puffs and stuck a spoonful in my mouth, leaning against the counter where the sink was, while Edward sat on a stool at the bar, staring at me.

"What?" I asked with my mouth full.

"Nothing." He shook his head and went back to drizzling honey over his cereal. "You're just really pretty."

I blushed and just continued to eat with my eyes on my bowl.

When we were both done, I washed our dirty dishes, and we headed out to the car. He opened my door for me, and I slid in with a smile. He got in and began speeding like a maniac towards Forks' High.

"If your going to be adopted by the Chief of Police, you might want to abide by the speed limit," I suggested.

He slowed down and laughed. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Did you tell your friends that you wouldn't be picking them up?" I leaned my head back against the seat.

"No, I forgot," he answered simply.

My head snapped up, and I smacked his chest. "What?"

"They can figure it out themselves. And no hitting the driver while he's in the process of, well, driving."

I giggled again. I had to tell my brain to stop allowing my vocal cords to produce that sound. I could see the amusement plain on Edward's face, and it caused mine to heat up even more.

We finally arrived at school, and he opened my door for me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders as we began to walk. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry. Is this making you uncomfortable? I mean, it's just a friendly gesture…" He began to remove his arm, but my hand reached up of it's own accord and pulled it back.

"If it's just a friendly gesture, then what's the harm?"

We both smiled at each other, but inside, I felt suddenly ashamed of myself. I just wanted to pretend for a moment that I was with Edward, but I shouldn't because my fiancé just died five days ago. My fucking fiancé. Shit, Bella. Get it together. Remember, you can handle anything.