Three Updates?
Shit, we're awesome
Yeah, I don't know if the 3 updates in one day evens out not updating for like a week Bels.
Dude, that's two more updates than I did for TE this week...
Not sure the peeps take that into consideration.
Oh right, this is our a/n. Ok usual stuff, neither Bels nor I own these characters however much we wish we did (though I know Bels does a better A/U Edward than Ms. Meyer ever could).
Ok, seriously, Kel??? Seriously??
Seriously.
*mega eye roll*
You wanna give a hollar to anyone this week Bels?
Hmm, well, there's the usual suspects... Little Miss Whitlock (cause without her, I'd prolly be brain dead) aliceg (cause she rocks my socks hardcore) and, umm... Did I miss anyone (prolly...)?
Yep, my Aussie sister Zephyr Girl 77
Wow... I'm kind of an idiot
You speak nonsese! How about we let these beezies read the next chap, eh?
Sounds like a plan... oh and reviews? They're like our air... help us breathe =]
So poetic Bells.
well, ya know...
EPOV
I felt the silence around us as I drove back to my house. "What do you mean?" I heard Bella ask. I sighed out of annoyance. Why did I have to explain absolutely everything?
"Bella, it may have been a fucked up and contrived situation, but either way you and I have been in a constant state of disgust for the last seven years. That doesn't vanish overnight. Of course you don't want to kiss me anymore; you hate me. You've spent the last seven years hatingme. And... it's the same for me. You might have been my best friend seven years ago, but you aren't now."
She didn't say anything to me after that; she just kind of sat there, twisting her fingers in her lap. Yeah, I was uncomfortable too; we were doing uncomfortable shit. That's just the way it was. I didn't know what to say after that. It is what it is. I could be pissed as hell at Emmett, and willing to be at least friendly to Swan from now on, but to just go back to that...
How could we?
It just wouldn't work, and I think that she knew that deep down. Maybe we just weren't fucking compatible.
I pulled into my driveway and got Bella out. She sighed as I lifted her into my arms, but she didn't hold on to me as tightly as she used to.
"Are you okay?" I asked, walking slowly up the stairs.
"Fine." She said.
Suit your fucking self, Shrew Queen.
I got up to her room, and she pushed open the door for us and I deposited her on the bed. "Don't move, okay?"
She groaned and rolled her eyes, so I turned and walked out as she yelled, "Cullen! What the hell are you doing? You left the light on! You know I can't get out of this bed! Cullen! Seriously! Please come back!"
I laughed to myself and rolled my eyes. Somethings change; you can go through puberty, and get older and shit, but Swan would always be Swan. Always worried, always paranoid. Let's review the facts: Have I ever left Swan anywhere? Well, except for the library that one time, but I bought her shit. That doesn't count. She was still talking when I walked back into the room. Babbling about whatever the fuck she thought I was doing now.
"...And, I mean, it's just not nice! You know my shit's fucked up--"
"Bella, do us both a favor and shut the hell up for a second."
She did, and then stared at me. "Where did you go?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest.
I threw the deck of cards on her bed and she quirked an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and sat down across from her. "Edward, I don't think I remember how to play."
"Yeah, you do. It's only gin." I pushed the deck toward her. She always dealt first. She pulled the cards carefully out of the sleeve and started to shuffle. "So is this how you're getting back on my good side?"
I laughed, "No. I don't need to be on your good side. We just need to get along again, and I figured this was the easiest way to do it."
"You could've just apologized."
"No. One, I have nothing to apologize for, and two, it'll be awkward if we don't bond a little."
"So we're playing cards?" She asked, as she started to pass them out.
"We're playing cards."
I picked up my cards, and watched her for a second as she got set up. She was still exactly the same. She had already pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, and was flicking the top onf the cards with her fingers.
Some things really don't change.
Suddenly her eyes lifted to meet mine and she gave a sly smile, "Your move, Cullen."
BPOV
We barely talked as we played, only shouting out "GIN!" as we took turns winning. I tried not to look at him too much, except for at his hands and his knee. The entire situation was surreal. I wasn't used to Edward being genuinely friendly, and I wasn't used to not feeling like I had to always play defense when we were around each other. So rather than open my mouth and possibly say something unfriendly out of habit, I kept it shut. It was just easier that way.
Occasionally I would glance up at him, a few times I caught him looking at me, but mostly he seemed incredibly fixated on his cards. Edward barely talked aside from a scoff as I shouted that I won, or at the hand he had been given. Neither one of us asked if we wanted to keep playing, we just kept dealing, alternating every other game. Around our five millionth game, I started yawning.
"Getting tired?" He asked.
I shook my head. "Not really."
His eyes looked to my right, where the alarm clock sat. "We've been playing for 3 hours."
"No shit?" I turned my head to check the clock. Holy crap, he was right.
"Yeah, I think maybe we should call it a night. So I won all but what 2 hands right?" He asked with a smirked.
"If you mean 'i' as in 'Bella', then yes."
He coughed out a laugh and smiled widely. My stomach did that butterflies fucking thing again and I stared down at it.
"You hungry?"
My eyes shot up to his face. "What?"
"You're looking at your stomach, so I figured that meant you were hungry."
"Oh, no... well, maybe now that I think about it. Yea, I definitely am hungry." Yes, the butterflies were definitely hunger flutters.
He sat up and held up a finger. "Give me one sec, I'll whip something up real quick."
"What? No, I can go down there and make a sandwich."
He shook his head. "Bella, did you eat today?"
I looked down at the floor; he knew the fucking answer. No.
"Exactly, so since this will be your only meal of the day, it should be good right?"
"Sandwiches are good."
"Yea, but I mean great. Are sandwiches great?"
"Sometimes, when you're really craving one."
"And are you really craving one?" He asked raising a single brow.
"No... I suppose not."
"Then give me 10 minutes. I'll be right back."
EPOV
She really didn't have any faith in my culinary abilities. Honey, I put the Cul in Culinary. Duh.
I went downstairs and surveyed the contents. Not a whole hell of a lot. I sighed and pulled out the peppers and tomatoes, then went into the pantry to grab the bag of tortellini, and a can of chick peas. Pasta Salad's good; filling, but still tasty.
Fuck.
Tasty.
Fuck.
I'm over it.
I grabbed a pot and put it to boil before heading upstairs to get the injured one. She didn't need to sit there by herself. I went up the stairs and I felt this really fucked up surge of... something start to run through me. It was like I was fucking made of electricity or some shit, and the closer I got to Bella the stronger it got. Fuck, she must have infected me with her alien germs. Shit, now I'd have to go get tested. I went into her room, and as usual, she hadn't fucking moved.
"So, we're going to eat invisible food?"
I rolled my eyes and looped her arm over my neck, "No smartass. it's just gonna take longer than ten minutes so I thought maybe you'd keep me company."
She rolled her eyes and smirked at me. "Suuurrrrrrre you did."
"Whatever, Bella."
I brought her into the kitchen and put her on one of the stools, then grabbed a knife to start chopping the peppers and tomatoes. "You don't like onions, right?"
She smiled at me. It wasn't the usual sarcastic smirk, though. It was an actual, genuine smile. I wondered if she knew she was doing it. "Yeah. Onions are my nemesis."
"Funny; I thought that was me."
"Cullen, please. You were never my nemesis. My foe, yes." She nodded at her joke,as I handed her a bottle of water from the fridge, then continued chopping. "You're gonna cut yourself."
"No, Bella. I'm not. I know what I'm doing."
"Tut tut. Famous last words Cullen." I scraped the bits of pepper and tomato into piles on the cutting board, then smirked at her. Ha, Swan. Wrong so frequently, yet still high and mighty. But hey, if it helps her sleep, right?
I dumped the bag of tortellini into the pot of water, then grabbed the Wishbone packet to make the dressing. I was mixing the stuff up in the container when I looked up at her. Don't ask me why I did it; it was like some other force made me do it. So I did. And fuck, she just looked ridiculous amounts of unhappy as she traced small circles on the counter top.
"Hey, Bella. You okay?"
She didn't look up, but kept on moving her fingers across the smooth surface. "Yeah, I was just thinking about... stuff. It's been a long day, you know?"
I nodded and flipped the knob for the burner. "Do you want me to take you back upstairs? This'll keep for tomorrow."
She laughed, and looked up at me her eyes wet with tears. I kinda tore me up. "No, I can't walk out on two of your meals, can I?"
I looked at her a second longer, before turning back to strain the pasta. I felt weird about feeling bad for Bella. I know we'd figured shit out, but I still couldn't get over the fact that she was the very same Isabella Swan who I had detested for the last seven years of my life. My mind was screaming at me to cut it the fuck out, while something else was telling me to open myself up to her. I was so fucking confused. I ran cold water over the pasta before putting it in a bowl and throwing in the rest of the shit.
"Cullen, you okay?"
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine."
"Seriously, you look like you're about to blow a gasket."
"Bella, I said I was fine."
I looked up at her, and she was staring down at her lap again and I instantly felt like shit. I seriously couldn't do this with Swan. it was fucking hopeless. I scooped out the pasta into two bowls and grabbed utensils before I sat down next to her. She just looked at the dish in front of her. I sighed and tugged at my hair.
"Look, Bella, I'm sorry I'm being rude all the time, but the thing is I don't know if we can do this. It's like we're jumping right from... whatever the fuck we were to best friends again. And Bella, I just don't see how that's gonna work."
She kept her focus on her hands before she finally looked up at me, her emotions sealed off behind those crazy brown eyes. "Uh, I... umm... well, yeah. I guess, if that's what you want."
I could see her eyes searching mine for something, and I really hoped that she could tell I was being honest. Because I was. "Yeah. I think it's best."
"So that means that you don't have to carry me all over the place, okay?" She said as she put a forkful of pasta in her mouth. I watched her as she chewed, slowly at first then finally giving into the divinely imparted skill that is my cooking. "Oh, God Edward. If I had known you were this good, I would've eaten those pancakes."
I laughed and ate a bit, "Well, now you know. Oh, and by the way, I'll carry you when ever and where ever I want."
Oh, no.
Where the fuck did that come from? SHIT.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" She was getting mad; I could tell from the tone she was using. "I'm not a doll, Edward."
I looked over at her, and she was staring back at me intently, "it's just the easiest way. Not to mention the safest?"
She quirked an eyebrow and I could see her smile slowly starting to come back. "And why's that?"
I shrugged and focused on my food, "Cause I know I won't let you fall."
We were quiet after that, and I was glad that she ate everything I put in front of her. She was getting fucking emaciated. She finished and watched me wash the dishes and put everything away. Then, like I promised, I looped her arm back over my neck and carried her up to her bedroom.
Cause that's what we neanderthals do best.
BPOV
Which way?" Edward asked as he stood in the hall between our bedroom doors.
"What?"
"Well, I mean you said you were having trouble sleeping the other night, so did you want to take my bed again? I don't mind the couch."
He couldn't keep doing this. The uber-nice Edward thing was getting too hard to handle since it was coming at me nonstop. "Oh, um... no. My room is good."
"Okay," he replied opening the door with one hand, not letting me go. He didn't let me fall, just like he said. I sighed internally. Fuck he really needed to stop being nice, it was starting to get irritating since I was still mad at him, even though I had no logical reason why. He sat me down on the bed, quickly propping up a couple pillows as I scooted up towards the top of the bed.
"You all set?"
"Mhm, thanks. For everything I mean - dinner, the carrying me around like a sac of potatos, all of it. Dinner was especially good."
"Yeah, no problem. I like cooking. Plus carrying you around is helping me build muscle, so the next time I punch Emmett he may actually have a reaction to it besides laughter."
We both chuckled, and I thought about earlier that evening at Emmett's. Had it really only been hours ago?
He ran a hand through his hair, pulling on it a little. "I'm gonna head to bed, unless you need anything else?"
"Edward, I do need something."
"Yeah?"
"I need you to stop treating me like you're my butler. I appreciate everything, but seriously... it's a little weird."
He grinned that fucking smirk that made girls' panties wet and nodded. "Fair enough, I'll try. But like I said downstairs, I'm not going to stop carrying you around."
Sighing I nodded, "agreed. Oh and you're still my personal chef. That dinner was a-mazing."
He smiled. "Glad you liked it."
I smiled back and for a brief moment we stared at each other; it felt like there was an electric current not letting me look away. I bit my lower lip and his smile fell a little as he shook his head. "Anyway, night Bella. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Mhm, good night Edward."
He turned and walked out of my room, closing the door behind him.
I stared up at the ceiling for what seemed like hours. I was exhausted and my brain was in the middle of a vicious battle with my eyes. Every time I closed them however, I pictured Edward. Normally that wouldn't bug me too much because it was usually me beating the shit out of him, or watching someone else do it. But not this time; tonight, when I closed my eyes I pictured Edward and I kissing. In the short lived dream I'd had before my eyes snapped open, his lips were pressed against mine and that warmth that I felt when our skin touched spread from my lips down to my stomach. My eyes had opened abruptly when I felt his tongue slip between my lips. My body felt like it was on fire and my heart was beating so fast I was panting.
This couldn't be good.
