YouTube: Defying Gravity. The one you want is labeled: Wicked - Idina Menzel & Kristin Chenoweth "Defying Gravity" Uploaded by WickedGaGaFan - It's very important you get the right one. Heh.

"Though we may have our disputes
This family tree's got deep roots.
Friendship is deeper than blood
That depends
Depends on trust
Depends on true devotion
Depends on love
Depends on not denying emotion!"

~Happy New Year B, Rent

After a couple of weeks, two thoughts weighed on Edward.

The first revolved around Alec, who usually dropped by or texted every few days. Edward hadn't heard from him since the awkward scene at the theater. Edward wondered if his anxiety over introducing Alec to Bella had insulted his friend, or if the older man was actually more uncomfortable with the whole cross-dressing thing than he let on.

When an electrical problem shut down work on the site, Emmett and his crew were working, Edward decided to use his sudden free time to track Alec down. Among other things, he needed his friend to get his mind off the other nagging thought he couldn't get out of his head .

As Edward approached Alec's neighborhood, his wariness grew. It wasn't that the other man lived in the slums, though the area was definitely not considered a nice part of town. Having lived in the area for years, Edward was very familiar with Alec's neighborhood. His nervousness stemmed from the fact it was highly likely he would run into someone from his old life, and he was fairly certain that not all of them would be as easy going as Alec.

There wasn't much honor between thieves, and a lot of his old friends wouldn't take kindly to someone who'd gone respectable, so to speak, lurking around the neighborhood.

Edward got a few curious glances but made it up to Alec's third story apartment without incident. Just as he was starting to relax, the door opened, he and found himself face to face with a man a good head taller and quite a bit broader than himself.

"Felix," Edward greeted, hoping his face betrayed none of his displeasure.

"Well, well." Felix smirked and leaned on the door jamb. "I never thought I'd see your face here with us lowlifes."

Edward didn't acknowledge that. "Is Alec here?" He tried to look around Felix but the man stood at his full height, quite effectively filling the doorway.

"What are you doing here anyway? Just seeing some of the things in this apartment may violate your parole."

"I'm not on parole," Edward said, getting irritated.

"Felix, for fuck's sake. Just let him in," Alec called from somewhere back in the house. "Jesus Christ. It's just Edward."

The bulking man frowned but stepped aside. "It's your fucking neck. Remember when Eleazar came back here? He was wearing a wire and Marcus got put away for seven years."

Alec snorted. "You're so fucking paranoid. We aren't that important. Marcus and the brothers are big league. You and I? We're not. So as long as Edward hasn't joined the cops, we're golden." Alec finally looked up at Edward, raising an eyebrow. "Are you a cop?"

Edward just rolled his eyes in response.

"Well, what do you want?" Alec asked.

"I want to know why you're being a bitch," Edward said bluntly, folding his arms and looking down at his friend. "Where the hell have you been lately?"

"That's what you wanted, isn't it?" Alec's tone was bitter. "Heaven forbid I taint the blessed visage of Saint Edward."

Edward couldn't help but snicker. "Visage? That's an SAT word, Alec."

"Bitch! I'm not an idiot," Alec said, scowling momentarily. When he smiled and rolled his eyes, Edward knew he was going to get over it. "I got it from 'Chasing Amy.'" He glared when Felix chortled. "Heidi made me watch it. Dude, seriously. Hot lesbians making out and talking about fucking? Totally worth it."

"You're all class," Edward remarked dryly.

"I've got places to be," Felix said after a moment. "Alec - the thing we talked about?"

Alec waved him off quickly. "Yeah, yeah. I'll have what we need. I got it."

Felix nodded. His eyes flicked briefly over to Edward, and he gave a curt nod. "Masen."

Edward tilted his head in acknowledgment but otherwise said nothing. He kept quiet until he heard the large man's steps on the creaking staircase near Alec's window. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, he sat on the opposite end of the table from his friend.

"You're doing a job with Felix," Edward said softly, not asking.

Alec's eyes narrowed as he looked up. "What's it to you? You don't want to know these things, remember?"

Edward held his hands up. "Forget I asked." He looked around. "Where's Heidi?"

"Work," Alec grunted.

"Right, of course."

"Speaking of which, shouldn't you be at work? This is the time when all you respectable types got their nose to the grindstone...or up some asshole's butt. Whatever."

"Not all bosses are assholes." Edward shifted in his chair, wondering why he always felt the need to justify his life to his friend. "Anyway, I have the day off."

That got Alec's attention. "Free time? During the week? Jesus, what are you gonna do with yourself?" He looked around, as if someone were listening, and then leaned across the table. "Ya know, Aro's always on the look out for pretty boy whores. You could make a quick buck in your skirt. It'd be like holding down three jobs at once."

Smirking, Edward kicked Alec under the table. "Shut up."

"What?" Alec asked innocently, but he was snickering. "You could just call it acting." He sobered somewhat. "So what to do, what to do. And what's happening with your girl? Why are you over here with me instead of wherever she is?"

"She's in school." A small smile playing at his lips as it did whenever he thought of Bella.

"That sounds so weird. Like you're dating a high school chick or something," Alec muttered.

Edward tapped the table restlessly, trying to talk himself out of what he was going to say next. It didn't work. He found himself telling Alec about Jacob and admitting that he knew the Wolves held rehearsal earlier in the day.

"You want to know what this fucker looks like," Alec surmised, nodding knowingly. "Well, shit. Let's get on this. I got nothing better to do."

At that, Edward had to grin. He'd debated talking about his irrational need to know more about Jacob with Jasper. He just didn't know that the blond man would understand. He was a laid back kind of guy, and it didn't seem like he would approve of the low-level stalking Edward and Alec were about to engage in.

~0~

They got in easy enough. Like the theater the Cullen's occupied, the Wolves' Playhouse was unlocked during rehearsal. Nearing showtime, everyone was on stage or rushing around, so no one noticed the two men stealthily sliding into seats toward the back of the auditorium.

The problem occurred after Alec figured out what was going on in the "West Side Story" storyline. He wouldn't stop snickering. The idea of tough guys rival gangs dancing and snapping at each other was hilarious to him.

"Would you shut up?" Edward hissed. He hunkered down lower in his seat, not particularly wanting to be caught.

Imitating Edward's position with a chuckle, Alec crossed his arms. "Which one of these tools was your girl's guy?"

"I'm my girl's guy," Edward said irritably.

"You know what I mean."

Edward shrugged. "I don't think he's on stage yet. I'll know him when I see him."

"Oh, really?" Alec wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"He's the main character. Tony," Edward explained.

"Things that mean nothing to me for $500, Alex."

"You're an uncultured swine, you know that?" Edward shook his head. "I'll show you. Just wait."

"That's him?" Alec squeaked when Edward elbowed him, pointing out the the tall man with cropped black hair playing the part of Tony.

"Shhh!"

Lowering his voice considerably, Alec leaned closer to Edward. "First of all... that's a child. And who smiles like that? Really, what the fuck?"

Edward had to bury his head in his hands to cover the sound of his chortling. When he saw one of the guys standing just offstage glance in their direction, Edward tugged on Alec's sleeve, gesturing that it was time to go.

"You got nothing to worry about," Alec continued when they were safely away from the theater and headed back to Edward's car. "You could totally take that dude, no problem. Fuck, you could take him wearing high-heeled shoes. Easy."

"I wasn't worried." He ran a hand through his hair, feeling irritated at his need to put a face to the name. "This was a stupid idea."

"Nah, I get it." Shoving his hands in his pockets as they walked, Alec gave him a knowing look. When they arrived at the car, his expression was uncharacteristically serious."You want to kill him for hurting her and thank him for letting her go." He leaned on the top of the car, looking around furtively. "You want I should break his knee caps? Make sure he never dances again? It'd ruin his career."

"What?" Edward looked around to make sure no one had heard and leaned forward. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Oh for Chrissake." Alec shook his head, getting into the car. Edward climbed into the drivers seat, looking at his friend expectantly. "Like I was really going to break the guy's kneecaps. Come on, man. I haven't changed that much since you dropped out of the game. I'm not a fucking savage. I've never hurt anyone during one of my jobs, let alone just for the hell of it. Not ever."

Edward blew out a long breath. "Sorry."

Alec just shook his head. "I thought you were over this bullshit. I'm a big boy, Edward. If you're too ashamed to be around me all of a sudden, that's something you should be man enough to tell me."

"Fuck. Alec, it's not like that." Edward threw the car into reverse, driving them away from the Wolves' Playhouse. "I don't agree with what you do - with what I did - for a living, but I'd never be ashamed to call you a friend."

"You wouldn't think so with how you've been acting." He looked over at Edward, scoffing as the younger man fumbled for some sort of explanation. "Whatever, man," he said softly. "It had to happen, I guess. You went respectable. It makes sense that you'd go all the way, right? You want the whole picture. You want the white picket fence with the wife, 2.5 kids and two cats in the yard."

Edward made a face. "I'm not a cat person," he tried to joke.

Alec smirked but didn't laugh. "So where does that leave me? You didn't want me to even talk to your girl. You think you're going to let me around your kids down the line? Just get it over with. I promise I'll survive."

"What do you take me for?" Edward asked, more than a little irritated by his friend's dramatics. "You think because I have a girlfriend, I'm suddenly an ungrateful asshole?" He shook his head. "Alec, without you, I'd be dead several times over. I'm not unaware of that, and it's not something I'm going to forget."

Edward let out a long, slow breath, looking at the road intently. "It's not you, okay? It really isn't. I just... I want to be someone Bella can be proud of." He tapped on the steering wheel nervously. "The things I did... they're not going to make anyone proud."

Alec looked at him for a moment before he burst out laughing. "Holy shit. This girl has you by the short and curlies."

Edward glared, not knowing what he'd expected. As he'd explained to Jasper, Alec was just not the kind of person he could talk like this with.

"You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't," Alec said bluntly. "Any bitch who can't accept that isn't worth it."

~0~

At practice that evening, Edward found his thoughts were far too jumbled. They clung to him, not letting him slip out of his world and into Angel's as easily as he usually did.

"Angel, you better get yourself in the now before you step back on this stage," Esme warned when they'd run through the first couple of scenes he was in.

Edward frowned and nodded. Before he could make any sort of excuse, Jasper laced their fingers together, dragging him offstage.

"Okay. Whatever is on your mind, you tell me now," Jasper said softly, leading him to a quiet corner behind the prop table.

With a disgruntled sigh, Edward slumped against the wall, his hands over his eyes while he tried to find the right words. "You know about my past."

"Yeah."

"Well, Bella doesn't."

The words hung in the air for a few moments before Edward chanced to look up at Jasper. The blond man had his lips pursed as he processed those words. "You are serious about her, aren't you? I mean, this isn't just one of the fifty billion little flings that happens around here."

Edward held Jasper's gaze, nodding slowly. It definitely wasn't a fling. If it was, Edward would have been trying everything in his considerable arsenal to get into her pants. It wasn't that he didn't want her. Sometimes he wanted her so badly he literally felt dizzy. He just found it more important to show her he was worthy of her trust.

But there was the rub.

No part of Edward could understand how Jacob could hurt Bella the way he had. It made him furious that anyone could betray Bella's trust. But in not telling her about his past - everything about his past - he was, in essence, doing the same thing. And while it was true that he didn't ever want to go back to the person he'd been, she deserved to know what he was capable of.

Jasper ran a hand through his hair, scratching his head restlessly. "Ah, hell," he muttered under his breath. "Typically speaking, I'm a live and let live kind of guy. I don't get involved with the on again off again couplings around here. Every season brings on a different wave, and people who couldn't stand each other last time can't keep their hands off each other this time." He waved his hand.

"But I get it, man. You? You have a serious issue. None of this bullshit like Jessica breaking it off with Mike because he got the wrong birthstone in that necklace he gave her last year." He rolled his eyes.

"Really?" Edward asked, amused in spite of himself.

"I shit you not." Jasper gave a snort of derision. "I love Jess plenty, but diva is an understatement."

They both calmed, and Jasper spoke again. "I can't speak for anyone else, Edward. I know you work your ass off for Emmett, and you work hard here on the stage." He tilted his head, giving Edward a significant look. "And I know from Esme and Carlisle that you don't have to work at all. Your parents left you quite a bit of money, didn't they?"

Edward's eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Jasper paused again as if considering his words. "I'm not going to pretend to guess at your reasons for living life the way you have, either now or in the past. What I will say is that it's a damn fool who doesn't understand that people change. You? You're not a criminal. I'd stake my own reputation to testify to that if I was asked to."

Edward was taken aback. Everything in Jasper's tone and expression said that he believed what he was saying. Edward's heart began to hammer fast against his chest, an odd sort of happiness sparking at his core.

It sounded a lot like Jasper was proud of him.

"If I were you," Jasper continued, oblivious to the fact Edward was having a moment. "I would tell Bella as soon as possible. If you feel at all for her like I feel about Alice, you gotta build your relationship on trust from the get go."

He clapped Edward on the back. "I'll admit I don't know Bella very well, but she seems like an amazing girl."

"She is," Edward said fervently.

"Then she'll understand. We all have shit in our past we'd rather forget. The people that are worth it are the people who learned from their mistakes. I think you have."

Edward nodded, taking in the blond man's words. It didn't alleviate his worries entirely, but it made the burden easier to bear. He was slowly learning that having people to talk to about these things could make life all the more tolerable.

Though Alec had essentially given him the same advice, it was different with Jasper. Edward didn't really believe that Alec took his feelings for Bella seriously; Alec rarely took his feelings for Heidi seriously. On the other hand, Jasper was completely unashamed about showing his absolute adoration for Alice. He was as desperately in love with the woman as Edward thought he might be with Bella. Even if Jasper couldn't relate to the situation, he could relate to the emotion - the fear that he didn't deserve the woman he loved.

"Collins! You're up. Angel, get ready for your big entrance," Esme called.

Again, Jasper twined their fingers, giving his hand a squeeze, slipping back in character. "Ready, sweetheart."

Edward gave a short laugh, feeling a lot lighter than he had just a few minutes before. He took a deep breath, letting Edward Masen cool his jets while he put on Angel's smile. "After you, lover."

~0~

Bella and Angela's dorm room was a mess of open books and scattered CDs. Both the girls were hard at work, trying to get a jump on term papers and projects. Bella knew she would be busy with the production - the first performance was in a week - and Angela was just that much of a nerd.

It was around 11:30 when someone knocked on the door. Neither were surprised. It was fairly rare for students to have their doors closed, so some of the other residents on their floor took that as an open invitation to pester the two studious girls, trying to get them to join in on whatever shenanigans were on that night.

"You're closer," Bella called over her shoulder.

Angela grumbled but climbed to her feet, ambling over to the door. "Oh! Hey, Edward. What are you doing here?"

Bella's head snapped up. Sure enough, Edward stood in the doorway giving Angela his most disarming grin. His eyes lifted, finding Bella easily. "I came to kidnap your roommate, actually."

Automatically, warmth pooled at the center of Bella's chest, making her want to smile back at him. Part of her was so pleased to see him.

The other part was somewhat mortified. Her hair had to be a wreck given how many times she'd put it up and pulled it back down. Currently it was piled on her head in a haphazard mess that only partially resembled a bun, held together with a pencil. She was wearing pajama pants and a sweatshirt that was way too big for her. "What do you mean kidnap me? Edward, I have a lot of work to do."

She tried to look stern, but as he stepped by Angela, his expression was pleading. "You absolutely cannot say no to me right now," he said softly, his voice more of an entreaty than a command.

"It's almost midnight! Where would we be going at almost midnight?" she demanded.

"I know a few places," Angela said under her breath. Bella glared at her roommate. It was a topic of debate between the two friends that Bella still wouldn't consider sex with Edward.

Edward raised an eyebrow but didn't otherwise comment. "It's a surprise." He extended a hand, waiting expectantly. When Bella didn't move he looked down, only to look up at her from underneath his long, pretty eyelashes. "Bella, please?"

If he kept that up, she wouldn't be able to go because she was on the verge of losing all her bone mass. "Fine," she grumbled. She stood and rather than take his hand, she began pushing him out the door. "Only get out of here a second. I need to change."

"You're lovely," he argued.

"Out!"

The minute she'd managed to shut the door in his face, Bella raced around, trying to look halfway decent. She changed quickly, ignoring Angela's quiet snickers.

"You're in love with that guy, you know."

Bella stopped short for a moment, feeling like all the breath had been knocked out of her. She sighed and continued to pull on a clean shirt. "Yeah... I know," she admitted softly.

Of course she was falling in love with him. She'd been fighting her attraction from the moment they'd met, and what they had went so far beyond physical. It was amazing and exhilarating, but also very frightening. What she had with Edward was so much more than what she'd shared with Jacob. Bella didn't like being out of control of her emotions. What she felt toward Edward sometimes seemed like it would consume her whole.

It was a lot of trust to put in another person. More trust and more of herself than Jacob had ever had.

Bella shook off the fear, as annoyed by it as she was of her overwhelming giddiness when Edward was around. She wasn't going to be afraid of this - whatever it was.

~0~

"The Paramount?" Bella asked as they pulled into a parking spot behind one of Seattle's largest performing centers. "I don't understand. There are no shows on at midnight."

Edward reached for her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her protectively against him. The people milling around seemed harmless, but Bella was glad of his occasionally overprotective nature, especially in the middle of the night.

"Shhh. Just trust me."

He led her around to a side door, knocking on it at a particular rhythm. The door opened, and a young, handsome, olive-skinned man stood there. "Edward Masen?"

"The same," Edward verified.

"I'm Benjamin," the young man introduced, shaking first Edward's hand and then Bella's. "Everything is set up like you asked," he said as he stepped aside to let Edward and Bella in. "I'll be in my office when you're done." He smiled at them, winking at Bella before he disappeared down a hallway.

"Edward, what is going on?" Bella asked.

"You'll see," he said, grinning at her lopsidedly.

It took Bella a moment to realize he was leading her backstage. She stopped short, tugging his hand. "We can't do this, can we?"

"We can. Of course we can. Benjamin set it all up for us. Didn't you hear?" he teased her lightly.

"Who the hell is Benjamin?"

"He runs the business end of things here," Edward explained, tugging Bella's hand to get her moving again. "Don't worry. This is totally kosher. I promise."

"I believe you," she murmured, letting him take her through the winding passageways. The set up at the Paramount was a lot more complicated than the theater she was used to. "But that still doesn't explain what we're doing here."

Edward pursed his lips and said nothing. Finally, they were back stage. He held the heavy velvet curtain aside, gesturing for her to move forward. "Center stage, Miss Swan."

Bella blinked, completely astounded by what he was suggesting. Her heart began to pound erratically in her chest, a combination of nerves and delight bubbling through her system all at once. "Really?"

He nodded, his smile adoring as he waited. Taking a deep breath, Bella walked on stage.

The Paramount was immense. Not including the side balcony seats, it had four tiers and seated around 4,000 people comfortably. It was empty now, of course, and not entirely lit. Still, it was a rush. Bella had never dreamed she would be anywhere but the audience here.

"This is amazing," she breathed, leaning back against Edward as he stepped up behind her.

He chuckled. "That's not all." He reached around her, clipping a mic to her collar.

Bella spun, looking at him with wide eyes. "What are you..." She trailed off, jumping as her voice echoed through the huge, empty space.

Edward stepped back, heading toward the side of the stage. He pressed a button on a control she hadn't even noticed he had. The auditorium filled with familiar music.

It was the beginning notes of DefyingGravity, Bella realized numbly.

"I know it's not the same," Edward called to her. "No audience. No orchestra. No lift." He grinned cheekily. "No green makeup."

"I can't do this," Bella said, not even realizing she'd spoken the words out loud until she heard them bouncing off the walls of the theater.

"This is your chance, Bella. Take it. You'll be phenomenal."

And because it was him, because she trusted him so much, Bella closed her eyes. She let herself feel the music, knowing by heart the mostly spoken conversation between Glinda and Elphaba. Finding her place, she opened her mouth and began to sing.

Slowly, as the song built, Bella's voice got steadily louder. The giddy delight that had bubbled in her since she realized the gift Edward was giving her grew as the song continued. She'd never felt as if she was made of light - pure, burning energy that her frail skin couldn't possibly contain.

When the climax of the song came, Bella felt almost as if she was outside of her body. It didn't matter that there was nothing to lift her high as Elphaba was drawn at that point in the song. Bella felt that she existed in every inch of space inside the the huge auditorium. Her eyes pricked with tears, the emotion threatening to strangle her voice, but she pushed on, bringing the song to a close.

When she'd sung the last note, she gasped, finding herself completely breathless. Her ears were ringing, and though it was only Edward who clapped and whistled for her, she heard the thunderous applause she remembered from when she'd seen the play on Broadway. Her entire body was trembling with adrenaline, and she might have fallen except Edward was suddenly there, his arms around her, holding her close.

Bella giggled maniacally, leaning against his chest. She'd never felt so high in her entire life.

"You were amazing," Edward whispered against her ear, taking the mike from her collar and tossing it away from them.

"Oh, God," Bella said between titters. "That was... and I..." She shook her head, suddenly overcome with ridiculous tears.

Instead of telling him what she felt, Bella reached up, cupping his face with her hands. She lifted herself onto her tiptoes, kissing him voraciously, all the pent up energy that vibrated under her skin coming out in her desperation. She couldn't get close enough. She wished she could meld herself to him, into his body, so he could know her mind completely - know what she was feeling in that moment because she had no words to explain it.

For his part, Edward didn't seem to be complaining. His hands went to the small of her back, pushing her ever closer as their lips moved together.

When Bella felt like she was about to pass out between the adrenaline and the lack of oxygen, she grudgingly loosened her grip on his face. "You know," she said between gasps, "if you were really desperate to get me into bed, you could have told me. This is a little over the top."

He took a step back, his hands still firm on her waist as he looked at her. "Bella, I swear. That's not what I was trying to-"

Bella laughed, smothering the space between them to kiss him again. "Shut up, Edward."

"I promise. I won't even kiss you for a... a week if you'll believe me," he growled against her lips. In spite of his words, Edward's arms wrapped around her, pulling her hard against him again.

"Shut up, Edward," she said again, her voice reedy. "You're definitely getting laid for this." The only thing keeping her from ripping his clothes off right then was the threat that Benjamin was wandering around somewhere. She pulled back, looking him right in the eye, feeling powerful from the gift he'd given her. "Take me home. Your home. Now."

A/N: So like…my friends, spoil the hell out of me.

Passing along my get well wishes to my normal beta, jadedandboring. Plummy stepped in to beta for me this time. Thanks also to jfka06 and barburella.

Oh yeah – sorry for cockblocking ;)