Chapter Ten: Valentine's Day

Disclaimer: I never will own Twilight or 'I Hate Valentine's Day'. I just make my own fun with the characters and plot.

-oo-

BPOV

The rising morning sun had woken me up this morning. Of course the sun would shine on Valentine's Day. It makes for a perfect day, for those with a special someone.

I sighed loudly as I threw off my blankets and sat up in my lonely double bed. Today would not be my day. This would be the first Valentine's Day where I would not be cheerful. Could I even put on an act for customers? Who would buy flowers from a depressed and seemingly bored flower shop owner? It might as well be a bad omen, signalling to all that if you buy from me you're bound to spend Valentine's Day alone.

But really, who spends the hallmark romantic holiday alone if they can help me?

Oh, that's right. Me, of course.

I slowly showered and dressed for the day. Black tights, dark grey dress, black jacket and black heels. Couldn't you tell how excited I was for the day?

Just like every other day of the year, I began my walk down to Roses for Romance.

As soon as I'd walked less than two hundred metres, I came up to Phil. He had a massive smile on his face as he held out a bagel to him. I couldn't even muster up a smile.

"Happy Valentine's Dayyyyyyy," he sang cheerfully as he placed the bagel in a brown paper bag. I just grabbed it from him and kept walking forward, not even bothering to smile at him.

"Phil, it's a good day because you're dating my mum. A vision, that if I let it burn through my retinas, it will burn a hole through my skull and my brain would leak. This is why you're happy on this day!" I yelled the last part as I kept walking.

I'm such a bitch.

"I have seen this day for what it is, a hollow sham. I will sell many roses to so many fools on this day who have not seen the light as I have. Valentine's Day blows!"

I stomped my feet harder against the concrete as I passed Get on Tapas. I stomped the rest of the way to my shop loudly. I didn't bother to muster up a smile for anyone. Thank God no one was waiting outside as I shoved the key into the front door and bumped around the shop as I hauled out the little blackboard that had 'it's Valentine's Day!" written on it in pink, cursive writing.

Two women walked past me as I placed the sign down on the concrete.

'Don't get your hopes up today, some man will just crush them!"

They didn't even both to look back at me. Suddenly Eric came out of nowhere.

"No!" I screamed as I saw a crowd of needy men behind him, desperately needing to buy flowers.

I stumbled into my shop, hoping to get in quick enough so that I could lock the front door. Eric got there before I had the chance. The phone rang at that moment and Eric and I looked at each other.

"Mine!" I yelled as I grabbed at the phone on its cradle.

Eric sighed and just looked at me.

I pressed the answer button. "Roses for fooling yourself that romance exists," I spoke into it.

Eric began to push on my right side as Tyler grabbed the phone out of my left hand and tried to rectify the situation on the phone.

"You should probably work in the back today," Eric told me as he pulled me into the storeroom.

I huffed as I slammed my handbag down on a table out the back, unlocked the back door for Billy and began to arrange flowers.

Not a moment later, Billy opened up the door. He took one look at me and immediately tried to close the door again.

"Billy," I said.

"Oh hey, Bella. What's up?" he asked innocently.

He closed the door behind him as I bombarded him with my insecurities. "Billy… I don't know anything about anything anymore. What do I do?"

Billy sighed. "How do I know? I'm from the world of 'not tonight, the kid puked on me'".

"Yeah but," I paused. "Sometimes it's nice, right?"

Billy looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Well…this morning the kids were running around like crazy. My wife is standing in the kitchen making pancakes. Her hair's all messed up and her breath could've knocked someone off their feet. When she wasn't looking, I reached down and took the pancake syrup and I spelt 'Happy V-Day' out on her plate."

I smiled as Billy paused and collected his thoughts.

"She cried, you know."

A million thoughts swept through my mind.

"Do I have it all wrong?" I asked Billy quietly, afraid of hearing the answer. "Is that what love is?"

He stuttered. "Oh, it's not… it's not butterflies-in-my-tummy love, you know… But, you know, even on the bad days, you get there…you see her and the kids, and I'm… yeah… I think, "Yeah, it's good to be home'. Anyway, that's what love is to me."

There was a pregnant pause. Is that what love is to everyone? Love is different for each individual, right? How does one define love? How is love described in a dictionary? How can it have just one basic sentence? Can love even be defined?

I nodded my head slowly. "Yeah," I whispered. I walked quietly towards the back door. "Tell the boys I need to go," I told Billy without looking at him. I grabbed my bag quickly and went out the back door.

There was one person that I needed to see immediately.

-FD-

I sat down on the bottom of the stairs. I had no idea when he would be home. It was Valentine's Day. Who knows what he would be up to? I haven't seen or spoken to him in a while. I kept glancing around, hoping he'd arrive. Suddenly I saw him from the corner of my left eye. He walked towards the staircase holding grocery bags. As soon as he spotted me he began to slow down, weary of what I would have to say no doubt.

"Hi, dad," I said softly as he neared.

"Bella… jeez… it's so good to see you."

There was awkward silence.

Dad spoke again. "How are you?"

I sighed and looked down at the ground before facing him. "Dad, you never should have cheated on Mum."

He took a loud breath, "Well, I… I don't see how my relationship with your mother concerns you."

I was shocked. "Well, guess what, it does. It messed us all up. It really hurt mum, and how was I ever supposed to trust a man after that? It changed me. It's taken me years to figure this out. I thought all I ever did was fall in love. But, really, I made sure I never did. So yeah, it does concern me. And you were wrong to do it."

Dad said nothing as I poured my heart out to him. A look of pain marred his face.

I continued, "But I love you. Goodbye."

With that I got up and began to walk in the opposite direction. I didn't look back. I was too afraid of what I would see. I needed more time to heal before I saw my father again.

-FD-

EPOV

Valentine's Day at my restaurant was full of couples looking so in love with each other. It was utterly romantic and sickening to look at. Was that how Bella and I had looked at each other?

Valentine's Day had to be the worst holiday of the year. The old man who had sold me the antique stools had come in tonight to see how Get on Tapas was holding up.

"Boy, I can't wait to get home to my old Lady."

I put my hands on the bar and hung my head down. "Did you get her a Valentine's card that says 'Hey, old lady, glad you're alive?'"

Well, that was insensitive.

Aro looked at me. "I meant my dog. She's old and her name is Lady."

I looked up at him and met his gaze.

"Sorry."

He shrugged and took a gulp of his beer. "I like old things. Lady was 11 when I got her from the pound. Those antique stools, I found them when I was in Kentucky on the road. They're almost 200 years old."

"Don't you find it kind of creepy, like you can still see the old dead guy still sitting on them?"

Aro looked at me and then the stools. "I do now," he said with annoyance. With that Aro grabbed his beer and left the bar.

"Good talk," I mumbled as he walked away from me.

I busied myself with pouring a few couples dirty cocktails. Jacob came around to the bar.

"You're out of toilet paper," he told me as he finished tucking in his shirt. "Any girls show up looking for me? I hooked us up with some paralegals. You get Emily, I get Leah. No, wait a minute…" Jacob rambled off as he looked over to his left.

I faced him. "Why do I stand here with my hands in my metaphorical pockets, chained to my comfortable spot of fear?"

Jacob actually looked at me in confusion. "Are you rehearsing for a play?"

I sighed. "No, man, I'm talking about Bella."

He turned away and began fixing his jacket sleeves. "Oh, come on."

"I miss her. I want to see her again."

"By summer, I wanna lose five pounds."

Will Jacob ever listen!

"I blew it, man. I'm a complete moron."

Jacob reached over and grabbed an olive on a toothpick. "We're guys. It's an accepted fact of our sex that we do stupid stuff."

I nodded my head, not really paying him attention. We both shifted awkwardly for a few moments.

"What did you say?" I asked Jacob. I needed him to clarify.

Jacob raised his hands. "I need to shed the LBs. I'm getting chunky."

"No, no, no. About guys doing stupid stuff."

"I don't know. I don't listen."

And he finally admits it!

I stood up straighter.

"Men do stupid things," I said with confidence.

Jacob perked up. "Yes. Yeah, think about it. I mean, that's how great things happen. Take the Wright brothers. What is smart about jumping off a cliff strapped to wooden wings? Wood is heavy."

My confidence grew again. "That's it. I gotta do something stupid." I walked out in front of the bar and made my way to the front of the restaurant.

"Thank you!" I yelled out to Jacob. I heard him reply with 'You're welcome'. I suddenly turned around.

"What's open?" I stressed and began to walk in the opposite direction.

"What's happening?" Jacob questioned as he followed me.

I strode out the front door and began making my way down the street. I passed a homeless man and saw what he had in his trolley.

"May I borrow that?" I pointed to a red dress with long sleeves.

"That'll be two dollars."

I continued to dig through his belongings.

"And free tapas for a week," the homeless man continued.

"Make it a month," I replied and beckoned Jacob over.

I had a plan.

-FD-

BPOV

After I had left my father at the bottom of his building I had walked home and began to process my thoughts.

And that was how I spent my entire Valentine's Day.

I was brought out of my thoughts as I heard a knock at the front door. Who could that be? Honestly, it could be any one of my friends right now, coming over to comfort me.

I got up out of my chair and made my way to the front door.

To my surprise it was a delivery guy holding out a rather large pink wrapped heart with a pink post-it note stuck onto the top. He smiled at me as I took the heart and then he left.

Confused, I close the door slowly as I tried to read the note.

"I'm sorry, let's talk – Dad."

I smiled as I brought the letter up to my heart.

My father had actually apologised and was trying to make an effort. I smiled again just as the phone rang.

I put down the note and reached behind me to pick up the phone. It was Alice.

I laughed.

"I'm alive, okay," I answered.

"Yeah, but are you watching 'Jerry Macguire' again?" came her reply.

"No, I am not."

"Wait, is that jazz outside your window?" Alice asked me. Now that she mentioned it, I had begun to hear jazz music from outside.

I pulled the phone away from my ear to hear it. I pulled it back quickly.

"Uh, it is. Yuck, jazz!" I laughed into the phone.

I held the phone up to my ear as I walked towards the window and began lifting it with my other hand.

I looked down to see a group of people had gathered. And there was Alice and Jasper, hand in hand as they looked up at my window.

"What are you doing?" I yelled down to her as I also yelled into the phone.

Then I heard my name being yelled out.

"Bella!"

I knew that voice.

I looked over to the right to see Edward standing up.

"Here's stuff that scares you," he yelled up at me. He was holding one of his antique stools in his left hand and an ugly red dress with one sleeve entirely cut off. Ew one shouldered dresses!

He then dropped the items.

"Here's something that scares me," he continued.

He shrugged himself and then began to sing.

"If I can't love you til the day I die. Then, baby, oh baby, what good am I? If I can't reach out and know that you'll be there. Then this old world ain't spinnin' anywhere cause there's no livin' without your lovin'. Without the thrill of your magic touch. There's no livin' without your lovin'. Baby…"

I had to interrupt him. "You're an idiot," I called out to him.

"No, you are. But I love you."

I was stunned, and stood there for two seconds opening and shutting my mouth like a goldfish. "Well, that makes you a bigger idiot."

He just stood there and looked up at me.

I continued, "Then I love you too. Now go away."

Edward waved to everyone. "Okay, everybody, on three. One! Two Three!"

As Edward counted down, all those that had come suddenly arranged themselves into the shape of a heart.

Edward stood at the bottom of the heart, making the pointed bit. "Bella, would you be my Valentine?" he shouted up at me as he pulled out a single pink rose.

Edward had conquered his fear and had sung karaoke for me… extremely off key but he still did it. My heart swelled with happiness.

I loved him.

I loved Edward.

I truly did.

I closed my eyes and reopened them. They flashed to everyone that had gathered.

Alice, Jasper, Mum, Phil, Eric, Tyler, Emmett, Rosalie, Sam, Jacob, Billy, Henry and a few regulars at the flower shop and those I had noticed at Edward's restaurant.

All were eagerly looking up at me, waiting for my answer.

My eyes fell onto Edward.

His eyes had not wavered from me the entire time. I smiled widely and fled from the window. I ran as quickly as I could down the three flights of stairs and pounded through the building's front door.

I ran into Edward's arms and immediately kissed him roughly as I wove a hand around the back of his neck and took the rose with my right hand. Edward kissed me back, as equally greedy as I was.

Finally we pulled apart and I looked up at him, forgetting about the audience.

"You're still an idiot," I laughed.

"So are you. Enough of your dumb system. Are you my girlfriend?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm your girlfriend. You're my boyfriend." I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face.

Edward gazed down at me, his eyes bore into mine. "Some of these relationships work, you know?"

"Okay, we need to try. But we should set some rules because I don't know what we're…"

Edward laughed. "Stop talking"

"Make me."

Edward looked determined as he bent his head down to capture my lips with his.

So… this is my first sixth date.

Hopefully many more with Edward are to come.

-oo-

A/N: So... this is the end of Five Dates, finally! Review your favourite line or part for the last time. You can follow me on Twitter at xxtwilight7xx. For readers of LITR, I'll be rereading and revisiting that story to see if my writer's block has gone away. Thank you to those who have stuck with me for the last year and a half basically. It means alot. Some may be pleased to know that I have inspiration for another story but I have absolutely no means whatsoever of posting any of it until I have at least the first 15 to 20 chapters pre-written so that I'll be able to post regularly.

Anita.