Here's the new chapter, hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Chapter Ten
It had been two weeks since that night in their dorm, and since then things had been progressing slowly but surely. The training sessions increased to twice a week, as per Alice's request, and the pair spent almost all of their free time hiding away in the dorm room, which had become their own small safe haven.
Alice had mentioned her anxieties about being openly gay on campus on more than one occasion. Despite the reassurance from Bella that anyone who tried to be smart about it would soon find themselves with a black eye or worse, she still couldn't shake the partly irrational fear of what it would be like for everyone to know. She couldn't afford to take the chance of being any more of a target than she was already because of her weight.
The temporary solution had been to keep it to themselves; only being affectionate behind closed doors, keeping the pet names to a minimum in public and above all maintaining the 'just friends' act during their training sessions. It worked, for a while, but predictably it began to get frustrating for the older girl who had spent enough of her life hiding from people and worrying about what they thought of her.
"I'm just saying, we could at least tell a few people. I mean, Jasper, Edward and the others. They wouldn't tell a soul if we asked them not to."
"I'm not even sure that they like me to begin with, let alone approve of me as your girlfriend. What if they say I'm not good enough for you?" the shorter girl mumbled while she played with Bella's long thin fingers. Bella was shaking her head before she even finished the sentence.
"They're my friends, and they're the closest thing to family I have within miles of here, but that's as far as it goes. You're my girlfriend and I don't need them to approve, but I also don't like feeling like I'm hiding it from them. I feel honoured to have you as my girlfriend, and I would shout it from the top of this building if I got the chance. I'd look stupid doing it probably, but I figure life is full of those moments anyway, so what's one more?"
Alice sighed, leaning further back against Bella's chest and continuing to play with her fingers, interlocking them with her own and running her fingertips along Bella's knuckles. There was soft music coming from Bella's speakers that were sitting on her desk. The two of them were seated on the soft carpet while leaning against the side of Alice's bed. It was one of the rare quiet afternoons when neither of them had any classes to attend or pressing assignments that needed to be taken care of.
Alice loved spending the time with Bella, but she could only imagine how it must feel for her to have to act like they were nothing more than friends whenever they were not alone. Bella had given her so much already, the least she could do for her was let the guard drop with Bella's closest friends.
"Okay."
"Hmm?"
Alice turned to straddle Bella's hips but kept her eyes on their hands. "We can tell them. Your friends, I mean. It's kind of selfish of me to force you to keep secrets from them."
Bella smiled her gratitude and pulled her into a tight embrace, and Alice felt herself relax against her girlfriend's shoulder. She couldn't help herself as she took deep breaths against the girl's neck; Bella never wore deodorant or perfume as far as Alice knew, but she still managed to smell so damn good all the time.
"Are you sniffing me?"
"No," Alice replied too quickly, pulling out of the hug and looking away as her face flushed.
"Yes you were!" Bella chuckled as Alice now moved off her lap.
"Well I can't help it if you smell so delic-good all the time," Alice quickly corrected, but the other girl caught it.
"Hmm," Bella let out as she crawled over so she was straddling Alice's lap instead, and a mischievous glint entered her eye. "So does that mean you want to eat me?"
The blush spread over onto Alice's ears and neck and she kept her gaze averted. "I uh...well...um..."
"Somewhere in there, a full sentence is just waiting to come out," Bella teased. A small glare was shot her way and she chose to kiss away the pout before it could form. They remained that way until breathing became a bit difficult and they were forced to pull apart, both panting softly.
Bella reached over to absently smooth over Alice's eyebrow then brush through her hair, and the girl shut her eyes with a quiet sigh. She loved how gentle Bella could be without even thinking about it. It was definitely one of the things she liked most about her.
"How about we meet the others at the café on Saturday after training? Will you have any classes then?"
"No, I'll be free for the whole day."
"Perfect," Bella whispered before her lips met Alice's once again. It seemed she was addicted to the feeling of the girl's lips moving against her own; she just couldn't get enough of it.
When they finally pulled away, Alice's hands had tangled themselves into Bella's hair and she smiled sheepishly as she had to release her hold carefully to avoid ripping any of it out. She mumbled a quiet, "Sorry," and Bella just grinned and gave her a quick peck before standing up and pulling the girl up with her.
"I'm getting kinda hungry. Do you want to head to the cafeteria, or would you prefer something else?"
"The cafeteria's fine." Bella quickly grabbed her meal card and slipped on some shoes while Alice did the same.
As the two walked side by side to the cafeteria, their hands continuously bumped against each other's and Bella wanted nothing more than to just grab Alice's hand and hold it in her own. She knew the other girl wasn't yet ready for such a public display since that would be more difficult to defend as just another friendly touch. No one had rushed her when she was sorting through her challenges, and she hardly thought it fair that she should push Alice to go any faster than she was comfortable with. For now, she would just have to work with the cards she was dealt.
There was a knock on the door to their dorm room and Alice walked over to open it, one foot still sockless.
On the other side stood Angela, who she had only seen on a few occasions and still felt slightly intimidated by.
"Oh uh...hey?" the greeting came out as a question.
Angela smiled reassuringly, remembering what Bella had told her the previous day about Alice's insecurities regarding their new relationship. "Hi Alice."
Bella walked out of the bathroom with a toothbrush poking past her lips and some white foam at the corner of her lip. She held up one finger before retreating back into the bathroom. When she came out again, her lips were stretched into a wide, optimistic grin.
"Hey Ange. I didn't think you'd come over so quickly."
"I'm starving and Edward keeps bugging me to ask what's taking us so long."
"Sorry about that, I kinda lost track of time."
"I'm sure," Angela said, making a not so discrete glance between Alice and one of the beds that looked recently occupied. Alice's sheepish look was a dead giveaway.
"Well I'm almost ready; Alice?"
"I just need to get my shoes on."
"Cool, we'll be out in a minute."
Angela laid down on Bella's bed and grabbed the open magazine that was sitting on it and began to flip through. It was a sports one, and that wasn't nearly as interesting as what she usually read, but it would have to do.
Ten minutes later, the three were set on their way to the café. The campus was littered with students walking to class, some walking from the direction the three of them were headed, and others doing regular Saturday things.
When they opened the door to the café, a jingle above them alerted everyone of their arrival.
"Guys! Over here." They turned and saw Jasper's hand waving from where he sat with Edward and Rosalie.
"'Sup guys," Bella said as she pulled out a chair for Alice before taking one herself.
"Well look who finally decided to join the world of the living," Rosalie teased.
"Yeah yeah, whatever."
"Hi Alice, how've you been?"
"Pretty good," she replied, smiling shyly at Edward. "I'm still alive anyway."
"Are you implying that I don't take good care of you?" Bella asked, mock hurt drifting across her face.
Alice blushed, ducking her head to hide her smile.
"Ow! Fuck Rose. What the hell?" Bella hissed, rubbing her shin.
"Where are your manners? Introduce me to your...friend."
"Impatient bitch," Bella muttered low enough so only Alice could hear, and the girl bit her lip, trying not to snicker. "Alice, this is Rosalie, Jasper's sister and a close friend of mine. Rose, this is my girlfriend, Alice." Rosalie's eyes widened at hearing 'girlfriend', but the rest just smirked knowingly.
"Nice to meet you," Alice smiled. She recognised the blonde from some of the pictures in Bella's dorm.
"Pleasure," Rosalie said, her tone reserved as she scrutinised Alice. Bella shot her a look which she ignored.
"So when did you two make it official?" Jasper asked.
"About two weeks ago."
"And you didn't tell us sooner because..." Bella just shrugged, looking over the menu in front of her.
"It's my fault," Alice spoke up. "I'm still a bit nervous about what people would think."
"Trust me Short Stuff, that should be the least of your worries," Edward said with a gentle smile.
"He's right," Jasper agreed. "I don't even know half the people in this school, and I highly doubt you do. The opinions of strangers isn't half as important as your friends'." Alice didn't miss the fact that he had indirectly called her their friend, and not just Bella's girlfriend.
"Well it's about time you two got together either way. Alice, you have no idea how whiny Bella can be-"
"Thank you, Angela," Bella hissed, her eyes narrowing. A small giggle came from next to her and she turned to see Alice grinning smugly. "What are you all smiley about?" Bella said, nudging the other girl who just laughed again.
"Hey guys, ready to order?" the waiter asked as he neared the group.
"The usual," Bella, Angela and Edward said at the same time. Jasper and Rosalie rolled their eyes.
"These three practically live here when they're not in their classes," Jasper explained to Alice who was wondering why she seemed to be the only one who took notice of the three. "They do it every time; I don't even know why they bother looking at the menu."
"Number seventeen," Rosalie ordered before closing her menu and handing it to the waiter.
"Two number nines," Jasper ordered, noticing how lost Alice looked as she rushed to look over the options. Thank you, she mouthed to him, handing over her menu, and he winked in response.
"You're getting awfully fresh with my girlfriend over there Goldilocks," Bella glared playfully.
He shrugged, "What can I say? It's the Hale charm." At that, Rosalie cracked her first smile.
The elevator dinged as it reached the third floor. Alice had a light flush on her face from the cold outside and Bella could barely stop staring long enough to be a part of the conversation.
"So anyway, I'll see you guys later," Angela said as she took out her room key. "And try to keep the noise down please, I know everything is new and exciting and all, but there are other people in this building too."
"Bye Ange," Bella rolled her eyes, pulling Alice by the hand into their own room a few doors down.
Alice chuckled, tossing off her shoes and sitting on the edge of the bed to massage her foot. Bella pulled her desk chair over and sat in front of the bed, pulling Alice's foot onto her lap to take over the massage.
"Told you it wouldn't be so bad."
Alice nodded, trying not to moan at the feeling of Bella's magical fingers kneading her sore feet. "I guess most of the fear was just in my head. Rosalie doesn't seem to like me that much though."
"She'll come around. It's difficult for her to open up to new people."
Alice wanted to ask why, but then decided against it. "So when's your next game? Sorry, I'm not very up to date with the schedule."
"We're playing against the Armadillos next week. I swear Coach tried to kill us during training this morning."
"Aww, do you need a kiss to make it better?" Bella pouted and nodded, her eyebrows tilting up and inward. "C'mere poor baby," she smiled, moving towards the middle of the bed.
Bella let go of Alice's foot before leaning over to press her lips against hers. One hand moved to the bed to support her weight and the other rested on the side of Alice's face. Rather than pulling away when Alice thought she would, Bella deepened the kiss further, nudging her to lay down on the bed as Bella now moved to straddle Alice's waist.
Alice's breathing became short and laboured, and that only made the taller girl desire her even more. Without thinking, her hand moved down Alice's neck to her chest. As the tips of her fingers brushed against the hint of a nipple protruding through Alice's shirt, Alice sucked in a sharp breath, pulling away from the kiss to bite her lip firmly. Bella's lips moved to kiss down the side of Alice's cheek and over to her ear. Alice groaned and moved her hands behind Bella's thighs, pulling her closer against her body.
Just as Alice felt like she was about to explode from the sensations going through her body, Bella began to slow down. She pulled her lips back up to gently kiss Alice and moved her hand away from the girl's breast.
"Now I'm much better," Bella panted with a slightly dazed look on her face. Alice grinned proudly at the effect she seemed to have on her and reached up to peck the corner of Bella's mouth.
"I'd say so," she replied, her hands moving up into Bella's hair as the girl rested her head on Alice's chest.
I hope you haven't grown too impatient with me yet. Feel free to leave comments :)