A/N: Before we get to this next chapter, I just have to say one thing: HOLY COW YOU GUYS! You've pushed me over the 200 review mark and that's awesome! Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to review, especially those of you who have been a constant over the last ten chapters!

Now, onto the important crap. This chapter is probably my least favorite but I had to do it because I wanted to show that Rosalie and Alice (but esp. Rosalie) aren't asshole friends and really didn't mean to humiliate Bella. I've also thrown in a hint of Jasper for all you Jasper lovers out there with a pinch of Carlisle to hold you over until he makes his return to Forks! That being said, I really hope the chapter makes sense, as most of it was written in a hospital waiting room (my poppop has been in Critical Care since New Years Day) so I apologize if it's slightly jumbled and ask for forgiveness! As always, reviews help me write faster! I swear!

Chapter Eleven: Turning The Tide

BPOV

The Next Morning…

My head was pounding before I even opened my eyes. With a low groan, I rolled over on the bed and immediately regretted the action, as my stomach rolled. It reminded me of the time last year when I came down the flu, except slightly intensified. I was fairly sure my friends had set me outside at some point during the night and run me down with the Chevy several times, but I would never be able to prove that in a court of law.

I opened my eyes slowly, squinting against the brightness of the room. The light assaulted my eyes and I actually gasped, as it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my head. Another groan escaped my lips as I pulled the pillow from under my head to throw it over my face and block out the light.

I heard a low chuckle from the doorway, but I didn't bother to look. I would recognize it anywhere.

"Good morning, sunshine. And how are we feeling?" Jasper asked.

"Like I was run over by a truck," I grumbled from under the pillow.

"Imagine that," he responded, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. "Come out from under there. I have something that'll make you feel better."

I highly doubted that, but I was desperate for relief, so I pulled the pillow from my face. "What is it?" I asked wearily. He crossed the room, a glass in his outstretched hand. "What is this?"

"Water," he replied simply.

"That's your magic cure? A glass of water?"

"You'd be surprised," he said dryly. "Your head hurts because you're dehydrated. Drink this and let's see if you can keep it down. If you can, we'll see about getting you something to eat."

The mere mention of food sent my stomach rolling again, and in one swift motion, I was out of the bed, sprinting out of the room to the bathroom. I could hear Jasper's low chuckle again from behind me as I knelt down in front of the toilet, gagging.

"Shut up," I moaned, once I was positive that my stomach was empty. I leaned my forehead against the cool bowl, groaning when I felt Jasper's cold hand on the back of my neck as he pulled my hair back out of my face.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing with you."

"I'm not laughing."

"You will be one day when you think back to your first hangover."

"I'm never drinking again," I vowed as I lifted my head, closing my eyes against the pounding.

"That's what they all say, kid. Sorry to say. Do you think you're done yakking or should I leave you here a little longer?"

"I don't think I have any left to throw up," I moaned.

"Good, because I swear to God, if you puke on me, I'm going to drop you," he swore as he lifted me with ease into his arms. He carried back across the hall, into the bedroom before he deposited me onto the bed. "Alright, let's get some water into you. It'll help, I swear."

Sitting up carefully, I gripped the cup and took a tentative sip, terrified of the possible outcome. I was pleased, however, when I didn't feel the overwhelming urge to get sick, so I took another drink.

"Not too much," he warned. "Sip slowly."

"How bad was it last night?" I asked as I reached over to set the cup on the stand.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"That bad?" I asked, cringing. I couldn't remember much after the whole issue with that idiot over my costume.

"Well, why don't you tell me what you remember and then I'll fill in the blanks?"

"I remember coming downstairs with Rosalie and Alice. They took off to find you and Em, leaving me by myself with Edward," I said, grimacing at his name. "He was really mean to me, Jasper. He hurt my feelings."

"So I guess you don't remember telling him off?" Color flooded my cheeks. No, I certainly couldn't remember that! Maybe it was better off that way. "And I've got say, while I wish you hadn't gotten tanked to do it, I was pretty proud of you for standing up to him. But I guess it doesn't really count if you can't remember it," he mused.

"Tell me everything."

"Let's see… I'm guessing you started drinking because he hurt your feelings. Which, by the way, is not an okay reason to get wasted. You're in for a lecture from Emmett on that one," he warned, with a roll of his eyes. "But I guess we can't really blame you for that one. Rosalie was the brains behind that. You'll be pleased to know that her meddling license has been revoked because of that."

"How much trouble is she in?" I asked.

"Loads. Emmett freaked out on her over the whole situation. She's been groveling all morning. It's pretty priceless, actually. When you're feeling up to it, you really need to go take advantage of that. She owes you big time."

"It wasn't Rose's fault though! I could have protested!"

"When have you ever protested anything that her and Alice have put you up to?" He asked. "You're kind of a push-over when it comes to them, Bella. No offense or anything."

"None taken," I responded dryly; because he was right. I was kind of a push-over.

"Anyway, after you got drunk, I think Alice realized it was a bad situation because she tried to get you out of there, but you spotted Edward with Brandi and Lucy. This is when it got pretty hilarious."

Another groan. "How bad?"

"You made a few references to the Wizard of Oz, which I thought was pretty impressive, given your intoxicated state. You two argued for a minute because you want to talk to him and he wanted to wait until you were more sober. It was kind of like a scene out of a bad teen movie."

"I hate him," I grumbled.

"I haven't gotten to the best part of the story yet. Save your judgment for the end."

"I don't need to hear the end, Jasper. He's such a jerk and I don't know why! I've gone out of my way to be nice to him from the very first minute I met him and he's just… I keep hoping if I just… act normal, he'll remember how a regular human being is supposed to behave but he just… he's a huge disappointment."

"Well," Jasper said with a shrug as he pushed himself to his feet, "I definitely think he needs a personality transplant, but he's not all bad, Bella."

"How can you say that, Jasper? Especially after last night!"

"I can say it because of last night. I'm not expecting you to remember, given you were wasted out of your mind, but would you like to take a guess at who sat with you all night? Who stayed awake to make sure you didn't die from alcohol poisoning or a concussion?"

You've got to be kidding me, I thought.

"I'm not kidding," he said, obviously reading my expression. "He didn't leave your side until Emmett threatened bodily harm if he didn't go home and get some sleep. Now, I didn't tell you this so you'd change your mind about him being a—what did you call him?—oh yeah, a disappointment. But I thought you should know that apparently, there's a real live human being in there hidden somewhere. It's just a matter of coaxing him out."

I rubbed a hand over my face as I digested this information. "He really stayed in here all night?"

"Wouldn't even let me in and Emmett sit in here. He told us we should just go to bed, that he'd wake us up if he needed to."

"What am I supposed to do now, Jasper?"

"Well, I'd say you should probably talk to him and then go from there."

"What if he won't talk to me?"

"Bella," he said, slightly exasperated, "he sat up with you all night to make sure you didn't die. He watched you puke and he still had to be forced to leave your side. I think that's a pretty good indication that he wouldn't mind talking to you."

"If he wanted to talk to me so bad, then why did he leave?"

"Have you not been listening to a word I said? Emmett made him. He said whatever you two had to work out would be best dealt with if he wasn't crabby from a lack of sleep."

"So should I call him?"

"First thing's first, I think you need to make sure you're not going to puke anymore. And then, I would recommend a shower and a brush. Have you seen your hair this morning?" He teased. "But seriously. Drink some more water, come downstairs, and then we'll figure this thing out. And when I say 'we', I really mean 'you' because no one else is allowed to meddle in your love life. It's a new rule."

"To go along with the 'no troll policy' of the lunch table?"

"Exactly," he grinned. "But you know if we start really enforcing that, then that means Rose won't be able to sit with us anymore."

I giggled quietly at that one, and was pleased to see that it didn't hurt my head too bad to do so. "Thank you Jasper."

"You're welcome, kiddo. But you know, we really do just want you to be happy. All of us do. We just want you to have what we've been so lucky to find."

"I know," I assured him with a nod. "And I really do appreciate it."

"Good. And Bella?"

"Yeah Jas?"

"Brush your teeth before you come downstairs. Puke breath isn't attractive by any stretch of the imagination."

EPOV

Later That Afternoon…

"I was starting to think you were going to sleep all day," Ruby greeted as I stumbled sleepily down the stairs.

"Sorry," I mumbled in response, still too fucking tired to think up an appropriate retort. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I kind of figured that when you staggered in here this morning looking like death warmed over. Did you get enough sleep?"

"I doubt it." And I meant it. It was hard to even keep my goddamned eyes open, and my body was still sore from sitting in one position all night. But I had more pressing matters I had to deal with and that shit wasn't going to get done if I slept all day.

"Your father called earlier," she commented, her eyes never leaving the newspaper in her hands. "I'm positive it won't do any good to tell you to call him, but it's my grandmotherly duty to tell you anyway. So call your father."

"How long ago did he call?" I asked, not waiting for a response as I headed into the kitchen to grab the cordless phone. "Can I take this out back to call him?" I called.

"You're actually going to call?"

I rolled my eyes but took her lack of a negative response as an OK, so I headed out to the back porch. I had some important shit to discuss with Dr. Douche and it wasn't something I wanted to do with Ruby within ear-shot. I sank down onto the old glider and dialed the familiar number, dropping my head back against the cushion as it rang.

"Hello?" I cringed slightly as the smooth voice picked up after the third ring. Though I really needed to talk to him, I'd kind of been hoping he didn't answer.

"Carlisle?"

"Edward?" He sounded surprised. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, didn't you just call for me?"

"Well, yes," he responded, "but I didn't expect you to call me back. I haven't heard from you since you got out there."

That's what happens when you abandon your kid, I thought bitterly. They kind of start to hate you and don't want anything to do with you. But I didn't say anything, because I wasn't in the mood for a fucking argument. "Listen, you aren't busy or anything are you?"

"Not at the moment. Is everything okay?" He asked again. "You aren't… you aren't in trouble or anything, are you?"

"Christ, Carlisle. No, I'm not in trouble. I need some fucking fatherly advice."

"What's going on?"

"You better not fucking laugh," I warned.

"I'm not going to laugh, Edward. Please just tell me."

"There's… there's this girl… and I… I have no fucking idea what I'm doing."

"You're being safe, aren't you? The last thing you need is to get a girl pregnant at your age."

"Jesus Christ, Carlisle, I'm not fucking her! That's the problem! I know how to fuck girls and I know how to fuck girls over but I have no goddamned clue how to… she's different!"

"Different how?" He prompted.

"She's the nicest goddamned person I've ever met. I don't have to pretend when I'm around her. I can just be me. But all I've fucking done since I've met her is hurt her and I can't… she doesn't deserve this shit."

"How do you feel about her, Edward?"

"I don't know. I just... I didn't even look at her that way at first! Like, I didn't look at her and go 'Oh hey! I have to hit that!' like I do with all the others. I actually kind of thought she was retarded, come to think of it. But the more time I spend with her? I like her. She makes me want to be a better goddamned person! And I know how fucking cheesy that sounds, but I just... What the fuck am I supposed to do about this?"

"Have you talked to her about this?"

"Well, no. But I didn't even realize she gave two shits about me until last night."

"What happened last night?"

"Her friends threw this huge Halloween party and I accidentally insulted her and I swear to Christ I didn't mean to but seriously! Who the fuck decided it was a good idea to put on lingerie and call it a Halloween costume? It's okay for sluts and whores, but she's better than that Carlisle. I got so pissed off that she cheapened herself that way. And then, she got tanked and told me that I was the reason she dressed that way. Because apparently, she's been trying to get my attention and I'm too fucking stupid to notice!"

"You all were drinking?" He asked sternly.

"Don't go all fucking parental. I didn't even have anything to drink. But only because she was there. Do you see what the fuck she's doing to me? When do I ever turn down alcohol? I didn't want her to think even worse things about me all because I decided to get shit faced!"

He got quite for a long time and I almost hung up on him. I didn't call him to listen to him breathe into the goddamned phone. I called to get advice, and he wasn't producing. But just as I was about to end the call, he spoke again.

"I really wish I had the answers for you, Edward. But the problem with relationships is that there is no right way to deal with them. If you like this girl that much though, the first thing you're going to have to do is talk to her; tell her how you feel."

"But what the hell am I supposed to say?"

"Tell her exactly what you've told me. Be honest; tell her that you don't know how to deal with these new feelings and that you're scared shitless, but that you want to figure it out. For her and with her."

And then I laughed. "Do you know how gay that sounds? I might as well chop off my nuts and hand them to her."

"Sometimes, you just have to lay it all out there."

"And what if I 'lay it all out there' and she laughs at me?"

"You know her better than I do; is she the type of person that would laugh at you?"

"Well, no. But what if she does?"

"You can't play the 'What If' game when it comes to relationships, Edward. Because the minute you start questioning everything, it falls apart. It's hard, it's tough, and it's terrifying as hell. It's just like diving off a cliff into the water below. You just jump, and sometimes, you don't land just right and it hurts like hell. But it's always worth it in the end."

"So basically, you're telling me to stop being a little bitch and just do it?"

"For lack of a better phrase, yes."

I sighed softly as I closed my eyes, taking in his advice. "I guess I should probably get ready so I can go make things right with this chick."

"She must be something special if she's got you this worked up."

"She is," I nodded, though he couldn't see me.

"Well do me a favor?"

I thought it was pretty rich that he was asking me for anything, but I humored him. "What?"

"If you think about it, call me and let me know how this all turns out."

"Wow Carlisle, are we actually bonding?" I asked sarcastically. "I think we've both just grown pussies."

He laughed loudly and I could imagine him shaking his head. "It certainly seems that way, doesn't it? Listen, I won't keep you because I'm sure you're anxious to deal with this. But take care of yourself, son."

"I will," I replied. "And uh… thanks for the advice and shit."

After saying goodbye to my father, I headed back into the house to shower and change. I had no idea if Bella would even talk to me after last night, but I had to try. I headed up the stairs, passing Ruby on my way, and I was almost positive I could see a smile on her face.

----

"Thanks for coming to pick me up," I greeted as I climbed into the sporty red car.

"I'm not doing it for you," Rosalie spat. "I'm doing it for Bella."

"Hah," I snorted. "Trying to make up for letting her humiliate herself last night? Well that's noble of you, I guess."

"At least I'm not the one that made her cry."

"No, you're right about that," I agreed as she threw the car into gear. "But you know the difference between me and you? I know I'm an asshole, and I'm okay with that. But I don't walk around with a holier-than-thou attitude, pretending to be someone I'm not. You, on the other hand, encouraged someone you call your 'best friend' to not only embarrass herself, but to drink herself stupid for your own entertainment."

"That's not true! I was trying to help her!"

"Well, you have a really fucked up view of what helping someone is supposed to look like." She scowled into the mirror, but didn't respond. Edward- 1, Rosalie- 0.

"Listen," she said after awhile, though she still didn't look at me, "I know how bad last night looked. Trust me; everyone is mad at me for what happened, except for Bella, but I didn't do anything to purposefully hurt her. Do you have any idea how she feels about you? Probably not, so I'm going to spell it out for you."

"Emmett warned every one of us from the very beginning about you. He said, basically, that you were an ungrateful, self entitled asshole who thought women were put on Earth for the sole purpose of pleasing you. But see, Bella's the kind of person that prefers to form her own opinions on people and she gives them the benefit of the doubt. Because she's a good person."

"I don't know what happened that Saturday that the two of you went to Port Angeles together, but obviously, she sees something the rest of us don't see. I've watched the way she watches you; especially when you were letting Stanley hang all over you. Now, personally, I think you'd be doing us all a favor by staying far away from her, but that's not what she wants. All Alice and I wanted to do was help her get your attention."

"So you dressed her like a slut and got her wasted?"

"Based on the sole fact that you let Jessica Stanley slobber all over you, we assumed that was the kind of chick you went for."

"I wish everyone would stop bringing up fucking Jessica Stanley. That shit's getting old."

"Your problem. That's what you get for messing around with her in the first place. Which reminds me: I don't know exactly what transpired between you and Stanley, but I'd be willing to bet that I have a pretty good idea. And I'm warning you right now. If you ever try to pull a hit and run on Bella; no, if you even think about it, I swear to God you will live to regret it."

"So now you're threatening me?"

"That's not a threat, babycakes. That's a promise. I might have messed up as a friend last night, but there's a reason I dressed up as the lioness, and it's not because I'm cowardly; I'm fiercely protective of those I love, and if you fuck this up, I swear to God you'll feel my wrath."

BPOV

"I don't think I can face him, Alice."

"You have to."

I sighed heavily as I sank down onto Rosalie's bed. I'd been just as surprised as everyone else when she volunteered to go pick Edward up from Miss Ruby's so that he and I could talk without prying adult ears, but as the seconds ticked by, my nerves were starting to get the best of me.

"But I made a fool out of myself last night."

"Honey, we've all been there. And you can't take all the blame for that. Rosalie never should have given you alcohol to start with, and I should have trusted my instincts and taken it away from you. Besides, it's not like you professed your undying love for him or anything like that. Do you know the first time I told Jasper I loved him was when I was drunk?" She laughed at the memory. "We hadn't even been going out that long. Apparently, I was making all kinds of plans about our future. Now that's humiliating. They don't call the stuff 'Liquid Courage' for nothing. You say all kinds of stuff you would never say otherwise."

"What if he's just coming over here to laugh at me?"

"Do you really think we'd subject you to that? Besides, if he even tried, Jasper would pin his arms back so Emmett could break his face, I'd perm his hair, and Rosalie would castrate him."

I laughed quietly at the image but at the sound of the front door opening below, all traces of humor were gone.

"Listen," she said softly, reaching for my hand, "I'm going to have him come up here. It'll give you a little privacy. But if you get uncomfortable or anything, just yell. We'll be right downstairs."

"What if I make a bigger fool of myself?"

"It's never foolish to tell someone how you feel. Remember that," she said as she squeezed my hand reassuringly before she stood. My stomach was in knots as she left the room. I could hear her shoes clicking against the steps before I heard the sound of murmured voices below. I wasn't exactly sure what was being said, but it didn't matter. It wasn't long before I heard heavier footsteps on the stairs.

I closed my eyes, praying that this would go by painlessly when I heard his voice call my name softly. "Bella?"

"Hey Edward," I greeted quietly, forcing a smile to my face as he stepped into the room.

"Hey," he responded. "How… uh, how are you feeling?"

"Much better than I did this morning."

"Good. I was uh… I was worried that you might be pretty hungover, but you look a helluva lot better than most people do after getting so shit faced."

"Um… thanks…?" I assumed that was supposed to be a compliment. Better than being insulted, I guess. "Why don't you um… come in and sit down? Apparently, we've got some stuff to talk about."

"Yeah, apparently," he said, slightly uncomfortable as he stepped further into the room. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he sank down onto the foot of the bed. "Um, I think before we… get things straight, I need to apologize to you. I'm really sorry I was such a dick last night. You really did look beautiful, but I just… I'm not used to seeing you that way, I guess. I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings though, and I feel like such a huge bastard for making you cry."

"I overreacted," I sighed.

"No, you really didn't. Anybody would have reacted that way. I'm just… I'm not used to dealing with… I don't know how to be around you, Bella. But I want to figure it out. I just…"

"I just want you to be yourself, Edward. I like you."

"How can you say that after all the shit I've done to you?"

"You're honest," I responded with a shrug.

"I'm an asshole," he corrected.

"Well, maybe sometimes," I teased. "But you are who you are and you don't apologize for that, nor do you make excuses."

"I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"Then don't pretend like I don't exist."

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to."

I hadn't realized it at first, but over the course of our conversation, we'd inched closer and closer together; we were close enough that I could see every speck of brown in his startling green eyes, count every line between his eyes from where he furrowed his eyebrows so often, and smell a faint trace of toothpaste on his breath when he licked his lips.

"Bella…" No one had ever said my name quite like that before. My insides quivered and my heart started to pound against my chest.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to kiss you now."

It wasn't a question or request, but even if it had been, I wouldn't have been able to tell him no. I leaned forward to meet him halfway, and the minute our lips connected, I felt free.

A/N: As much as I love Fierce!Rosalie/BigBrother!Jasper, I love reviews more. So dazzle me!