A/N: One again, a HUGE "THANK YOU" to canibeyourmemory for the bestest reviews and having great taste in music (!)
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to luvscullenboys for (1) being so freaking awesome, (2) being born three days apart from me and (3) laughing at my mortifying true stories. You are a saint for putting up with my "undiagnosed ADD"!!!

Disclaimer:

The characters of Twilight are owned by the glorious Stephenie Meyer.

The sorority involved, Sigma Gamma Beta, is a figment of my imagination (oh, and so is the frat mentioned too).

APOV

Edward and I decided to move our conversation to the coffee shop on campus. I begged Jasper to stay and clean up for me after initiation, because Edward was visibly on edge and I didn't think that our conversation could wait any longer. Not to mention the fact that I wanted to sneak out of the room without Bella noticing me.

We walked out of the room, hopefully silently and stealthily, so Edward could divulge to me his secret.

BPOV

I don't know if Alice thinks that I am a dumb shit or what, but I totally saw her leave the room with Edward. How quickly a four-year friendship can shatter. And she has no one to blame but herself...her lying, sneaky self.

I decided that I was going to get drunk tonight at the initiation party- fuck everyone else. In fact, I hope that I drink so much that I get sick, go home, and puke all over some of Alice's prized possessions. Maybe I will "accidentally" take all of her beauty products and pour them down the drain. That will teach her for doing this to me.

I know that I am overreacting right now, and I wanted to stop being such a bitch about it. I know that I would never do anything like that to Alice because she was truthfully my best friend, but it hurt so badly to see her walk out with him tonight. Even after what she knows he did to me. The almost four years of "crush-angst" were building up right now, threatening to turn me into a screaming banshee. But I won't sink that low, I won't. I will find another way to channel my angers and frustrations that don't involve screaming, slapping, or the spilling of beauty products down the drain.

I walked up to Jessica Stanley before she left initiation and invited myself to go to the bars with her before she stopped at the initiation party. I know that it was being ballsy of me and completely out of character to ask to go to the bars with Jessica being that we weren't friends, but I was so hurt at the time that I didn't want to see anyone that I was normally close to in fear that someone might actually catch on to my terrible mood and question my motives. Questioning my motives, this would in turn open the floodgates for a mental breakdown that even I don't want to see.

I needed to blend in tonight or else I would scream.

APOV

We sat down in a quiet corner booth at the back of the coffee shop, and Edward got up to grab us some coffee.

Sitting down with our drinks, Edward cleared his throat. Briefly pinching the bridge of his nose, he started to talk.

"Alice, did you know that I was adopted?"

Shaking my head, I answered, "No. I had no idea that Carlisle and Esme were not your biological parents."

Edward took a long drink from his coffee and continued. "Yeah, my real parents died a very long time ago. I actually don't remember anything about my biological parents, to be honest with you. I do, however, remember EVERYTHING about my first set of foster parents, the 'parents' who raised me during my formational years, if you will."

I looked at Edward, who appeared to be deep in thought as he was frowning.

"Nevertheless, let's just say that my foster parents created a terrible environment for a child to be raised in. I...don't want to get into the specifics, but my childhood memories have rather...scarred me. It was because of those memories that I ran away this week," Edward said, taking another sip of his coffee.

I stared at him, wide-eyed. I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to say to him after a revelation like that. I have known enough people in my lifetime so far to know that a crappy childhood can form unnecessary boundaries for the person in question, scarring them emotionally and potentially fucking with future relationships-be them romantic, friendly or parental.

"Edward, what have you been doing this last week?"

Looking down at his hands, which were clasped together on the table, he frowned again. "I went up and spent the week with Esme and Carlisle. I know that it seems like I was running away; and that's because that is exactly what I was doing. I was just so...scared...about how strongly I felt about Bella and I didn't know how to handle myself precisely. Emotionally, I am pretty fucked up sometimes, and I didn't want to bring that upon Bella."

"So you LEFT? Do you have any idea what THAT did to Bella? I can tell you...did you see what she was wearing tonight?" I said, feeling my voice getting a tad bit shrill. Maybe I should cool it down a bit; it wasn't Edward's fault that he was a social idiot.

"Alice, I don't know what else to tell you. I know that it was wrong..."

"Edward, stop. You need to tell all of this to Bella, honestly. I am trying not to be a harpy right now, especially since you and Bella aren't even officially dating right now. I just feel so protective of her, especially since you have broken her heart once already..."

Edward stared at me with his mouth slightly agape.

"Wha...already? What exactly do you mean by that?"

Now it was my turn to be dumbfounded. "Really? You don't remember the voicemail that she left you almost a year ago? How could you not remember that?"

Edward's brow furrowed. "Alice, I don't remember Bella ever calling me, let alone leaving me a voice mail. Mind telling me what this so-called phantom voicemail said?"

"Uh...I don't think that it is my place to say something," I said, turning my head away from him and taking another sip from my coffee. "I mean, I don't think that Bella would appreciate me telling you if you have no idea what I am talking about..."

"Alice, please tell me. I honestly have no idea what in the world you are talking about. You need to tell me so I can know exactly what I am dealing with right now. How did I break Bella's heart before?"

Oh shit, I really did it to myself this time. There was no way to walk away from this situation now...stupid, big mouth...

"Bella left you a voice mail right before she started dating Jake to basically...confess...her love to you. She requested that if you felt the same way, to meet her at a coffee shop down the street from our house. When you didn't show up, she took that as a 'not interested' signal and started dating Jake shortly thereafter."

Edward looked like he was sick to his stomach. He put his face in his hands and rested his elbows on the table in front of us.

"Really Edward? How did you not know this before? And if you weren't 'ignoring her' because you weren't interested, why did you disappear with no contact with any of us for almost a year?"

"Fuck. Just...fuck," Edward said through his hands.

A pair of old ladies that were seated to our left shook their heads at Edward's use of the "f-bomb" and muttered something about "improper English." Under normal circumstances, I would have laughed at the situation of a friend getting scolded by an old lady, but this moment was no laughing matter, given how stressed out Edward seemed. Edward spoke up, breaking me from my reverie.

"I disappeared because even then I was crazy for Bella. I found out that she was dating Jacob and that I wanted her to be able to have a 'normal relationship' with him without any kind of interference from me. I am essentially an incredibly jealous man and I knew it would be hard for me to see Bella with someone else. Which when I reconnected with you guys, it was hard to see her with him. However, I had decided that after almost a year, I missed Bella like crazy. I couldn't stay away from her any longer; I missed her too much…"

"But...but...you seemed so surprised to hear about a 'Jake' when you came back..."

"Hm. Yes, I can be a good liar when I need to be," Edward said flippantly. "I didn't need Bella to know how entirely infatuated with her I truly was. I was at the point where I was seriously thinking about crawling through her window to watch her sleep because I couldn't get enough of her, that being 'just her friend,' if even that, wasn't enough for me. THAT kind of behavior is scary, trust me."

"Edward, you don't make any sense to me right now. It seems so MORONIC now that I know that you have always liked Bella and never acted on it. What the hell is your problem? Seriously?"

"Honestly?" Edward said, taking an exasperated breath. "I think that I was afraid that I was bad for her. I was raised by monsters...therefore it seemed only fitting that I was a monster also, right?" Edward said, taking the last sip of his coffee and getting up to throw his paper cup in the garbage.

"Edward, you can't run from your past. You have to tell Bella all of this...it is highly unfair to her for you to hide from your feelings when she clearly returns them. In the future, you need to trust Bella with your feelings. Please take my word for it, she is a good girl and there is nothing that you can do to scare her away, be it childhood problems, a low GPA, or hell...even being a vampire. Seriously, you need to stop jerking her around like this. If you are so afraid to be with Bella, then take it slow. But stop treading water and be a man, damnit!" I said, punching Edward in the arm again.

"I guess all I have to say to that is...thanks Alice."

"You are very welcome Edward. Just don't fuck this up. Seriously. I have a feeling about you two..."

With that, I hooked my arm around Edward's and escorted him out of the coffee shop. I couldn't help but sneak a look at his face, which was beaming from ear to ear. I don't blame him; if I were a man with a chance of being with Bella, I would be the happiest man alive. Now what he doesn't know-which is that he is meant to be with Bella-would surely make him die of happiness. Maybe I should just keep that little fact to myself...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After leaving the coffee shop, Edward got a call from Kat. They decided that we would all meet at our apartment before heading to the "initiation after party."

I expected Bella to be at the apartment by the time that we got there, but she was nowhere to be found. Rose, Jasper and Emmett confessed that they hadn't talked to Bella all night long as she had seemed really pissed off after initiation and left in a huff.

Shit. That most likely meant that she saw me leaving with Edward. Which is probably why her attitude was so sour. Is most likely still sour. Tonight might be a little harder than I had originally anticipated.

By 10:30, our whole gang was assembled, minus Bella. Kat was there, playing the perfect "big sister" role and feeding Edward alcohol slowly (albeit willingly). Emmett was being the largest dork in the world and chasing everyone around with the paddle that Kate gave Jasper. Brittany was there, laughing with Rose in the corner and poking fun at Emmett. Brittany is my new favorite pledge; anyone who can not only make fun of Emmett but make fun of him when he has a paddle was alright in my book.

Jasper and Kate seemed to be getting along swimmingly, and I was very thankful for Kate's mild mannered ways.

"Alice, are we going to get going soon? I think that Edward is getting antsy...and I think that it may have to do with him wanting to talk to Bella. I can't be sure though, because I don't just 'know' these kinds of things like you do," Kat said, using air quotes and jutting her hip out. That girl is just too funny.

"Yes, Kat. We will get going as soon as possible, I promise. Just go and try to calm your little bro down before he broods himself into oblivion, ok?"

I smiled at my friend as she turned to take care of her emotional little brother.

A short while later, we as a group decided that it was time to head over to the Omega Theta Beta house for the initiation party. As soon as we arrived, we were bombarded by screaming sorors in the front room of the OTB house. I don't know whom the girls were more excited to see: the president of their sorority or the three hot guys who just pledged their organization. Definitely the three hot guys that just pledged their organization. When will these girls understand that these MEN are taken? Arg, woman and their hormones…

My eyes roamed the place, hoping to find Bella so we can get this whole situation behind us. No such luck for me.

My eyes landed on Brittany, who had just acquainted herself with Eric Yorkie, an active Omega Theta Beta brother. The two of them started getting pretty cozy pretty quickly, and the two of them looked good together. I smiled to myself as I walked further into the house to find my friend.

"Alice, have you seen Edward? I lost him as soon as we walked in…I was kind of being greeted by Seth…" Kat said, her eyes darting around the room.

"Kat, don't worry about it. I will find him; I am looking for the same person that he is looking for, and I am sure that I will bump into him."

"Okay Alice, thanks. I have my phone on me if you need me!" With that, she turned on her heel and was swept into a big hug by her boyfriend Seth.

I ventured deeper into the house, going from room to room looking for Bella until I reached the stairwell into the basement. Walking down the stairs, I almost ran into a very drunk and very obnoxious Mike Newton.

"Watch where the f you are going Newton! Geeze," I muttered, shaking my head. I reached the bottom of the stairs, turned the corner, and felt as if I had been run over a steamroller as I took in the scene being played out before me. In front of me stood Edward, who was staring intently on a couple who were making out pretty heavily against the west wall. I noticed that it was a frat boy named James who was making out with…my best friend Bella.

BPOV

The trip to the bars had been a successful one. Not only did the alcohol that I had consumed make me forget about Edward but also it made me forget about my "backstabbing best friend."

I can't quite remember how many vodka crans I had consumed before we left for the party, but I do remember that I had taken a few shots. Did I say a few shots? I meant anywhere from 3-10…I may have blacked out a little bit after the third one.

I didn't pay for a single drink; apparently, my outfit had created some attention for myself from the men around the bar. Luckily for me, one of the new pledges who was actually of age, a wonderful girl named Angela, was there to fend off any unwanted men from my side (note to self: thank my pledge for taking care of me when I was in need).

I didn't really remember leaving the bar…the car ride from the bar to the house was not present in my memory in the least. Before I knew it, I was being handed a red plastic cup full of WOP (a delicious fruity mix with Everclear as the main alcohol used) and "cheers-ing" someone on a "wonderful pledge year."

What the fuck was I doing? Am I still wearing my jacket? Where am I? Seriously, how much did I have to drink?

I turned myself around in a circle and noticed that all of the girls that I had arrived with had scattered about the party already. My "savior" from the bar, Angela, was still close by and was talking to one of my favorite frat boys, Ben Cheney. Because, even with my severe case of beer goggles, I could tell that the two of them looked adorable together, I decided to leave the two of them to talk and ventured on my own to find some other people to socialize with.

I eventually stumbled down the stairs and miraculously reached the bottom of the stairs without hurting myself. I was greeted at the bottom of the stairs by a very attractive OTB brother named James. He was tall with brown hair and dark eyes…I couldn't really see what color his eyes were in the dark basement. Maybe they were blue; I couldn't remember nor could I focus on the color long enough to tell. Noting the look in his eyes, I could tell that he wanted to flirt with me…and I was far too gone at that point to argue or reason otherwise.

Talking to James, I felt my eyes start to droop as I started to sway back and forth. Clearly, I had too much to drink…and I think that I was starting to pass out WHILE STANDING UP. James offered to help me hold myself up, and helped walk me to the wall. I felt him pushing against me and before I knew it, I tasted something warm that was flavored like a mix of cigarettes and beer. Before my mind could fully register what was going on, I felt James grab a hold of my butt and press his growing erection onto my leg as continued to kiss me passionately, thrusting his tongue into my mouth. His mouth then moved from mine and started kissing my neck, heading south on my chest before he slowly reached the beginning of my halter-top. I pushed him away from my breasts, which caused him to hesitate before moving his mouth the move back to mine.

I unwillingly kissed him back, not fully registering what I was doing. After what felt like minutes of drunken kissing, I heard someone-a female-gasp from over James' shoulder and opened my eyes just long enough to see that it was Alice who had uttered the sound. I gathered up just enough courage to push James off me, and then…

…Everything went black as I braced myself for an impact with the cold cement floor of the basement.

A/N: Did anyone see that coming? Hmmm...

I hope that people aren't offended by how I made Bella into a drunk in this chapter…I was using alcohol as an outlet for Bella's frustrations. No, Bella is not an alcoholic by any means, so don't worry!

If you guys have any questions or comments or have something that you want me to incorporate into this story, let me know!

Is this story keeping your attention or should I start over again with a new idea? Let me know.

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Guess what?!? THANK YOU for reading! You are the best!!!!