A/N: Okay, so I've finished a majority of the stuff I was working on. I'm not promising that I'll give consistent updates, but I'll do what I can. I'm still editing a lot of things. :) However, here's what I can offer...Special thanks to my beta, Nichi Nara. I love her to pieces. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I also do not own Ethan Frome, Guitar Hero, or Volvo.

"I am the ground zero ex-friend you ordered
Disguised as a hero to get past your borders
I know when I'm wanted, I'll leave when you ask me to
Mind my own business and speak when I'm spoken to"
- Truce by The Dresden Dolls
Chapter 9 - Truce

At eight o' clock, I call Rose.

"Hello?"

I swear mentally-it's Jasper. "Um, hey, Jasper. Could I talk to Rose?" My voice is mercifully level, and my breathing is even. I betray nothing, though my normal excitement for talking to him is absent.

He seems not to notice, and merely murmurs his assent.

This is almost worse-how terrible, that he either doesn't recognize my tone of voice, or he just doesn't care.

No worries, I remind myself. You'll be rid of him, soon.

"Bella? What's up?" Rose.

I'm sitting on my bed, my clothes strewn around me. "Well...what should I wear?"

"What?"

"I'm not sure if I should go with coordinated confidence, or comfortably calm. What do you think? I want to look put together, but at the same time, I think I might get upset, and I want to be comfortably dressed if that happens, and-"

"Bella. Wear skinny jeans, hi-tops, and a nice shirt. Then you're both comfortable and put together. What color are your hi-tops?"

"Um, red."

"Then wear a red shirt. And wear make-up, and straighten your hair. Remember, I've got your back, so don't freak out."

I blow out a breath. "Thanks, Rose."

"Go get 'em, tiger," Rose growls into the phone.

I laugh anxiously.

"Bella...Really. Calm down. It will be fine."

I sigh. "Thanks. Again."

"Look," Rose sighs, "I gotta go. I'll wait for you at the picnic tables tomorrow. Jasper will probably be with me, so, it will all work out."

"All right. I'll see you," I mumble. "Bye."

Rose says goodbye in return, and we hang up.

I huff and start to pick up my clothes, leaving out Rose's suggestions, to place them on my desk.

And then I'm finished, and left with nothing to do but pace nervously. Anxiety is making my face pull down into a frown.

Astonishing, I think to myself. Just three days ago, I was completely torn apart. Now I'm nervous about breaking up with him. And angry mostly.

The truth is, though, I'm still smarting from his rejection. I've just channeled the hurt into anger and hatred rather than depression and self-doubt.

Oddly, this feels like an accomplishment to me. I, who has never even strongly disliked someone in my entire life, hate Jasper Hale.

Well, he deserves it. And Alice, too.

I feel deeply satisfied, suddenly. I'm a strong person, I remind myself. Jasper just couldn't see that. And tomorrow, I'll break up with him and move on with my life.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Sitting in my truck in front of Forks High School, I find myself gripping the wheel tightly enough to make my already-white knuckles even whiter. In my head, I'm repeating an expletive without pause.

What am I doing? I demand of myself. Breaking up with Jasper? How did I ever think this would be easy?

I can see him sitting at the table with Rose and Emmett, both of whom look decidedly uncomfortable. Jasper probably does, too, but I can't see his face; his back is to me.

Back to expletive repeating.

Hands shaking, I grab my phone and text Rose.

"Help me."

Send.

A moment later, my phone buzzes, and Rosalie's reply appears on the touch screen.

"Get out of the car. Walk over. You can do this. Just think about what he did to you."

Okay, okay, okay, okay. I can do this. I can do this!

I open the door, grab my bag, and jump out. Then my eyes turn back to the table.

I can't do this.

Expletive repeating.

The phone buzzes in my hand again. "Bella! Get over here NOW!"

I suck in a breath and walk purposely toward the table.

"Hi, Bella," Rose calls in a falsely cheerful voice.

I wave wordlessly, my throat thick.

Jasper spins in his seat and smiles at me.

This momentarily stuns me, that he's not anxious that I'll find out his secret. But then I realize he's been doing this for weeks-his acting is down to a tee.

This sudden revelation gives me enough courage, or anger, maybe, to say, "Hi, Jasper. Can we talk?"

The smile slides off of his face, and something odd flickers in his eyes. "Actually, Bella, I need to go to class. Maybe later."

And then he's standing and pushing by me, leaving me momentarily stunned.

I growl, slightly annoyed. Had I really been so pathetic as to roll over and take that?

"Jasper," I snap. "We have twenty minutes until the bells ring. I only need a few minutes."

"Really, Bella, I need to-"

"Shut up!" I snarl, suddenly fed up. "What kind of bull are you trying to feed me?"

Jasper has stopped, turned to face me, and has an utterly shocked look on his face. "What?"

"You heard me! It doesn't take anyone twenty minutes to walk to class. So, you're going to talk to me." I pause, shaking my head. "I realize now that you don't actually care about me, but I'd appreciate it if you actually quit lying to me for a second."

"Bella, I don't know what you're talking about. I care about you...a lot!" Jasper says earnestly.

I just shake my head. "I'm not sure if you ever cared about me. If you did, it only lasted for two weeks, and then you were all gaga over Alice Weber. Or maybe you never did. Was I just a front to hide the fact that she was cheating on Edward with you?"

"What are you talking about?" Jasper demands, but his eyes are wild, and reveal his true feelings. I can practically hear him thinking, Oh, crap. She knows.

"You heard me!" I growl. "You have been lying to me, and you have been screwing around with Alice because you think that I won't find out, and that Edward just trusts Alice too much to suspect anything! Well, whoop-di-doo. Surprise, and screw you, Jasper Hale. I never want to see you again. I hate you!"

"Don't you blame this on me!" Jasper snaps suddenly. "If you hadn't been mooning over Edward, Alice and I never would have happened."

"Excuse me?" I choke out. He noticed? "I don't like Edward; we aren't even friends! How would you even come to that conclusion? And even if I did like Edward, I wouldn't do anything about it, because it's a common courtesy not to cheat on your boyfriend! Obviously one you don't know about! So don't you dare try to say I'm in the wrong!"

"Don't lie to me!" Jasper screamed, leaning forward. "I could tell!"

"But I didn't cheat on you," I yelled right back.

"The truth is, it's your fault for not being good enough!" Jasper says coldly.

I feel a cold rage bubbling up inside me, making me tremble. I swear at him, rear back, and swing my fist forward as hard as I can.

I'll probably never find a greater satisfaction than watching Jasper's head snap back and be followed by his falling body.

Emmett whistles in the background, but I hardly notice.

Instead, I lean over his body, and say the cruelest thing I can think of. "Like father, like son," I hiss.

Jasper flinches, and it's clear that those four words hurt him far more than the punch I just delivered.

I straighten, gather my books and try to push through the crowd. I'm shaking due to a mixture of an adrenaline rush and weakness from my anger.

During the fight, a crowd has gathered, and they're all staring in shock. There's a general murmuring, probably along the lines of "How did tiny Bella just clock Jasper?" Or maybe about the cheating. But probably about the punch. Luckily for me, the crowds are parting, except for one person who stands in my way.

Alice freaking Weber.

"Move," I say coldly when I'm standing in front of her.

She calls me a not so polite word, and shoves me. "How dare you!"

"How dare you!" I yell back, catching myself. "What was wrong with your boyfriend that you had to steal mine? Really, what's wrong with you? Why couldn't you just stick with Edward and leave us alone? Screw you! Don't talk to me, ever, you little whore!"

Alice lets out a small shriek of fury and slaps me.

I roll my eyes, push her aside, and continue.

Of course she's not satisfied with this, and starts to chase after me, yelling and pushing me.

Still jittery, I spin around and push her. I, being much bigger than her, knock her over. "Will you quit it?" I snap. "It's not my fault you chose to cheat, okay? So piss off!"

I hear someone gasp behind me, and turn to see Edward, staring at us with horror in his eyes.

"Alice?" he whispers.

Alice, for her benefit, looks terrified. She swallows. "Edward."

Rosalie catches up to me then, and wraps an arm around my waist. "Come on, Bella," she whispers. "Let's go."

I follow only because she's practically dragging me. My adrenaline rush is still pulsing through me, and the anger, too. I want to pick a fight with Alice, and go back and beat Jasper some more, but Rose just rubs my back and pushes me forward.

On the way to my English class, which-oh, joy of all joys-I share with Jasper, we pass Forks High School's only security guard, who hasn't noticed the fight, as he is too busy flirting with a sophomore English teacher. Typical-this is, after all, Forks. Everyone here has known each other forever, and knows how not to get under skin. Generally, people fight in kindergarten, and then don't do it again.

Oddly, this small town has it figured out. No one wants to fight. We just step back and tolerate.

Phoenix must have changed me. There is no way I would step back and tolerate Jasper cheating on me.

Rose hugs me tightly before leaving me standing outside of my English class. "You can handle this, okay? If you need me, text and ask to go to the bathroom. I'll meet you there."

I nod, and wrap my arms around myself. I let myself believe that I can hold it together. Truthfully, I'm still shaking. I suck in a breath and slide into class.

Mr. Mason types at his computer, completely oblivious to my presence. He doesn't know about the fight. Obviously.

But the students probably do-no one is staring at me yet, because I'm the first one here.

I bite my lip, reach into my bag, and pull out the novel we were recently assigned-Ethan Frome.

Well, I thought to myself. That's ironic. I would end up reading a book about adultery.

Rolling my eyes, I open it to the chapters assigned today and start reading.

The room fills as I continue reading about Ethan and his hypochondriac wife.

Reading this makes me question the relationship I had with the idiot who just slid into the desk next to mine. (Assigned seats, unfortunately.) Had I just been a person Jasper wanted around to prevent loneliness? Did he think I was crazy? When had Alice stepped in? Before or after we'd begun dating? I feel utterly confused, and more than a bit put out.

Still, the fact that Jasper is developing a black eye makes me feel better than I have in the past two weeks.

It is beyond awkward to sit next to him, by the way. I mean, you try punching your ex-boyfriend, and then go sit in English with him glaring holes into the side of your head.

Nowhere near a walk in the park. I haven't turned a page in the past twenty minutes-Jasper's glare is rather distracting. Plus the story is painful to read, but that's beside the point.

When the bell finally rings, ending the agonizing period, I leap to my feet and hurry out of the room.

Jasper is hot on my heels, muttering insults loudly enough that I hear them, but softly enough that no one else does. After a moment, a female voice joins in on the name-calling-Alice.

The words hurt and tear into me, revealing insecurities I didn't realize I had until now. I speed up, but so do my followers.

I want to be confident. I want to turn and confront them, but instead, I keep my head down to hide the hot tears that are welling up in my eyes.

I run into Emmett, who instantly pulls me tight against him.

The speaking behind me stops.

"Is there a problem?" Emmett asks coolly, rubbing my back as I cry quietly. It's somewhat mortifying, but I can't do a thing about it.

When Jasper speaks, he sounds surprised. "You're siding with her?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Emmett snaps. "Bella didn't do anything wrong."

"But we've been friends for so long!" Jasper chokes out.

"Bella is my best friend, Jasper. You are dirt compared to her," Emmett says coldly. "So why don't you and your dirtbag of a cheating girlfriend piss off and leave Bella alone?"

Emmett is pretty intimidating, and the jerks slink off.

"What class do you have, Bella? I'll take you."

"Government," I whisper.

Silently, Emmett releases me and grabs my hand, pulling me along behind him safely. He hugs me when we get there, and kisses my forehead. "You'll be okay, Bella. You did the right thing." He reaches out and grabs someone on the way into the class-Tyler. "Hey, man. Will you sit by Bella? Help her out if someone decides to say something...smart."

"No problem," Tyler says, reaching out and patting my shoulder. "I gotcha covered."

I smile gratefully at him, and he walks inside the class.

Turning back to Emmett, I say, "Thank you. You're the best friend ever."

He grins that silly grin of his and says, "Oh, I know."

And then he pushes me into the classroom, and he's gone.

I sigh, and move to take a seat next to Tyler.

He leans over and mutters, "By the way, Bella...you were totally awesome this morning. No one knew you could throw a punch like that!"

I crack a smile. "You can thank my mom for that."

Tyler smiles back at me, and offers me a fist bump. I take it. "Everyone is on your side, you know," he comments, his dark eyes flashing. "No one likes a cheater."

I duck my head, a true smile lighting on my face. "Thank you."

As usual, government is boring and pointless. Tyler talks to me quietly sometimes, but mostly pretends to pay attention. Mike, who started dating Jessica a while back, doesn't even bother to flirt with me, which I definitely appreciate.

After class, Rose walks beside me, her fingernails digging into my hands as she drags me through the halls. I don't mind; it's better than being alone.

In yearbook, she silently braids my hair again, and the undoes the braid, running her fingers through it. At last, she stands and opens a Pandora page on her computer. Soothing melodies from Strauss play, and I smile gratefully. Rose smiles in return and takes her seat next to me again.

"Do you need to talk about it?"

I'm silent for a moment, and then say, "Why did he blame me?"

Rose sighs. "Because he's an idiot. Whenever my parents get into a fight about Dad and his mistresses, he always pulls the same crap. 'It's your fault!' and what not. Complete bull. Jasper knows this. He just happens to be stupid enough to think that because mom still sticks with dad, you'll stick with him." She pauses and smiles a little. "You were pretty awesome out there."

"Thanks. I feel like a jerk, though...I said something really mean."

Rose waves her hand dismissively. "He deserved it." She glances at me curiously. "What are you referring to, though?"

"Well...I said, 'Like father, like son.' He looked like that wounded him more than when I punched him," I mumble.

Rose stares at me, mouth agape. She lets out a low whistle. "I'm impressed," she says at last. "I didn't know you had the balls to say that kind of thing."

I wince. "I don't. I'm a girl."

Rose grins. "There's the Bella I know and love...I thought I was talking to a hollow shell. Corny jokes...I missed them."

I snort. "Alice's hair looks fantastic, by the way." I shoot her a meaningful look. "When are you gonna do mine?"

Rose's mouth pops open. "How did you know that was me?"

I roll my eyes. "You told me something happened. Plus, Emmett told me..."

"Oh." She laughs. "Yes...I suddenly caught your clumsy that day," she teases.

"Good for you. It clearly came in handy," I say with a small smile.

Edward doesn't come to biology, chemistry, or gym.

I'll be honest; I'm worried about him. This is weird-normally I don't feel anything for him but attraction. But I know how he feels right now-at least, I have some idea of it-and I feel bad for him.

After school, I head home. I don't feel like going to Emmett's now, even with the prospect of checking on Edward, or just playing Guitar Hero. I'd rather just take a nap, or do homework, or something.

But on the way home, I see Edward's Volvo on the side of the road. I frown and pull over behind it. Edward isn't in the car, and there's no indication of where he might be. There's a path leading into the woods, but Edward never struck me as the path-following type.

Should I wait for him?

I sit back against the seat and ponder my predicament. Nope, I decide, and drive away.

Once home, I meticulously do my homework, leaving no aspect of my English thesis underdeveloped and no trig function half-attempted. Still, my homework takes only an hour.

I work meticulously through a new recipe for ravioli. It gives me plenty to do with my hands, and and hour later, I set it on the stove to heat.

Now what? I wonder as I set the timer. I wander into the living room and turn on the TV. Some mindless sitcom is on, so I settle down to watch. When the credits roll, I still have no idea what's going on.

Someone knocks on the door. I stand and shuffle over to it.

I open the door and say, "Hello?"

And to my great shock, Edward Cullen is on the other side.

"Hello, Bella."

"Edward?" I say, naturally surprised.

"Hi." He looks sheepish suddenly, and looks down. "Can I come in?"

What can I say to that? I nod and step back. "Sure."

"I'm sorry for coming over with no notice, and I, ah, know we're not on the best of terms, but...I just..." Edward's eyes meet mine, and I see the anguish there.

I shake my head. "I understand."

He smiles gratefully. "Thank you."

I shut the door behind him, and gesture to the couch. "Have a seat...I just need to go check on dinner."

"Okay," he agrees, and perches at the edge of the couch.

I don't actually need to check dinner; I still have several minutes until the timer will go off. But I do need a second to escape the small room. As much as I empathize with Edward, he's right. We're not on the best of terms. Well, it is what it is...

I reenter the living room. "You can change the channel. I was just trying to distract myself...it didn't work so well."

Edward absent-mindedly picked up the remote and changed the channel to a music station.

I sink down onto the other end of the couch, and watch Edward.

He looks over to me, eyes haggard. He doesn't speak.

I cough. "I saw your car on the side of the road." I'm not sure why I bring this up. It feels vaguely significant, I guess. I pull my knees up against my chest and wrap my arms around them.

He shrugs. "I went hiking."

I frown, and mutter, "Okay."

I can tell from the nonchalant way he says it that it is significant, but he won't be telling me why any time soon.

He glances at me and smiles sadly. He knows I know. But he still won't be explaining.

"Bella," he says after a few moments of silence. "How long have you known?"

I frown and look away. "Since Thursday. I'm sure you remember my breakdown."

He sighs. "I thought as much." He frowned. "I didn't know until this morning."

I glance at him. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I guess I should have told you."

"No, it's fine. You were distracted," he says simply.

"I was," I agree. This is the longest polite conversation we've ever had. Interesting.

Edward coughs. "So...how are you liking Forks?"

I smile softly. "It's been great. It's like coming home." I sigh. "With some exceptions."

Edward winces. "I want to apologize for my behavior since you've moved here. I haven't exactly been fair."

He doesn't explain why, and I'm curious, but I don't press. "No blood, no foul," I say simply.

"I remember their being blood," he points out with a hint of a smile.

I grin, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to; I'm just terminally clumsy." I push my face into my knees to hide a smirk.

He laughs lightly. "No worries. It's all in the past."

There's more silence then, and I look up. "So...are we friends now?"

Edward looks at me. "I think we can try that."

I smile.

He smiles.

And then Dad walks in. "Afternoon, Bells," his voice rumbles. He looks into the living room. "Um...Hello there, Edward. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, Chief Swan. I hope you don't mind me stopping by. I was just picking up some homework from Bella." The lie slips easily from his lips, and I smirk slightly.

Standing, I say, "I'll go get that for you."

"That's fine," Dad says. "How're Carlisle and Esme?"

"They're doing just fine."

I return a few minutes later to find Edward and Dad conversing easily. "Edward," I speak up. "Would you like to stay for dinner? We're having ravioli." The time goes off suddenly, and I walk into the kitchen without waiting for Edward's response.

The ravioli is finished, and I take it off of the stove.

I peer back into the living room. "Well?"

Edward smiles slightly. "Okay. I mean, if that's okay with you, Chief Swan."

"Sounds good with me," Dad says simply. "But you better call your parents."

I'm actually vaguely surprised that Dad didn't protest, especially since he walked in to find Edward and I very alone. Most dads would have been quite upset at the thought of their daughters alone with some boy.

Dad walks into the kitchen and takes three plates from the cupboard. "We need to talk, Bella," he says simply, and then walks away.

I stare after him, mystified. Shaking my head, I pull three knives and three forks out. "Okay," I mutter, and walk into the dining room. Edward enters a few moments later, after I've already said my prayer. He carefully takes the seat across from me.

"Dig in," Dad says with a small smile.

"Thank you," Edward says with a tight smile in return. He scoops some of the ravioli out of the pot and drizzles it with my marinara sauce.

Dad snorts. He knows that Edward will get more sauce in a second. Probably more ravioli, too. I don't mean to brag, but I make a mean marinara sauce.

Sure enough, Edward returns for more sauce a minute later, and Dad and I share a smirk.

"How are things, Edward?" Dad asks. I have the distinct feeling that he knows things are bad. I shoot a look at him curiously.

Edward pauses in his chewing, and says, "Things are...all right. I guess. School, you know," he answers vaguely. Abruptly, he looks toward me and says, "This is very good, Bella."

"Thank you," I say daintily.

Somehow, we've reached a truce. I like it. I duck my head down to hide a smile and finish eating.

Dad and I don't leave the table after Edward leaves. We're silent for a moment, and then Dad stands, and opens his arms toward me.

I'm surprised. Dad's not really touchy-feely; neither am I. But I step into his embrace and sag against him. I need this.

After a few moments, we step back and watch each other warily. Dad watches me like I'll run away, and I watch him to see what he knows.

"I heard that you and Jasper broke up," Dad says at long last.

I sputter. "What? How did you-?"

"Bella. This is Forks. Did you honestly expect that to remain a secret?" Dad says doubtfully.

"Oh," I mutter. "Sorry."

Dad rolls his eyes. "I asked Renee about it. Since she knew, I didn't get too upset..."

I blush. "I just didn't know what to expect, Dad. I mean, you never really asked, and we normally don't have heart-to-hearts."

He shrugs. "Just tell me next time." His face softens. "Bella..."

I sniff and look away. I know he's going to ask about the break up.

"I heard."

I nod. "Turns out he wasn't who I thought he was." I look away and wipe an errant tear away.

Dad hugs me again.

For a while, we don't speak, and then I back up and leave the room. I want to sleep.

"By the way, Bella," Dad says as I leave, "I also heard you gave him a black eye." There's a bit of pride in his voice, and I can't help my smirk.

"Yeah," I says softly. "I did."

Dad chuckles. "Well, then, Bella...I'm proud. Sleep well."

"Thanks, Dad. I love you."

There's a slight pause. "I love you, too, Bells."

I smile softly as I prepare for bed, those words echoing in my head. Somehow, my breakup with Jasper brought me closer to my father than I ever could have imagined. That night, I slept peacefully.

A/N: This chapter is shorter than the others. But it feels pretty complete. Not much to say...if you have questions, ask them in a review!