A/N - Thank you to all that have reviewed so far and please keep them coming. I know it seems pretty light so far but trust me...there will be angst.

I was a tool.

A complete and utter tool.

I knew it and Alice knew it too apparently if the daggers she was shooting at me like I just swiped her last granola bar was any indication.

She didn't understand…had no clue really that I was too stunned to do anything but gawk and stare adnd try to regulate my ever increasing heart beat.

My epiphany came hard and swift like a punch in the gut and it was freaking me the fuck out.

Bella belonged here…with us…with me. Not anywhere else…never anywhere else.

Even Rosalie, who was hard pressed to get along with anybody seemed to accept her.

She just fit.

It was as simple and maybe as complicated as that.

I felt it unequivocally…I knew it to the very depths of me.

It scared the ever living shit out of me.

And I was suddenly angry that this mere slip of a girl could wreak suck havoc on my brain (as well as my other body parts).

The term tongue tied and twisted had never been more apt then right now as I was watching her play with the stem of her apple until she finally brought the succulent fruit to her mouth and took a bite. If Adam felt with Eve what I felt right now, it was no wonder he disobeyed God and they were banished from Paradise.

Surely though that wasn't all she was eating?

I felt myself frown as I looked from her hauntingly beautiful face down to her mostly empty tray. She scowled in return but remained silent.

In fact she barely said anything unless someone was directly speaking to her. Most of the time she spent trying to look at everything but me or she lost in her own thoughts when she thought no one else was paying attention.

But I was

Maybe too much.

Where do you go, Bella?

I was vaguely aware of some discussion of where we would eat later before the movie. Usually, I would've involved myself but I was too busy with thoughts about her…how her false smile was betrayed by the inner sadness reflected in her chocolate eyes…how her fingers twiddled nervously on the sleeves of her shirt…how her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip, causing the flesh to grow plumper and redder.

Blood shot to my groin. I had to get out of here and now.

I jabbed Emmett in the shin with my foot and motioned with my head towards the outer doors.

Please get the hint.

He gave me a smirk as he leaned back lazily in his chair.

You suck, Emmett. Don't do this to me.

A moment later he announced a plan for some after lunch football.

Thank fucking Christ!

My heartfelt gratitude disappeared a moment later when he asked Bella to join us.

As much as I wanted to be near her, I couldn't be near her right now.

Luck prevailed and she turned him down.

Following Emmett and Jasper outside, I felt the cool slap of the wind on my face and it's whistle in my ear telling me how much of a fucking coward I really was.

What are you so afraid of?

She's just a girl.

Yeah… Bella Swan wasn't "a just" anything.

That was the problem.

A "Just a girl" didn't send electrical pulses through me every time she was near or cause spontaneous hard-ons in the most inconvenient of places at the most inconvenient of times (like a crowded high school cafeteria).

A hard tug on my sleeve pulled me backwards. I turned angrily at the perpetrator ready to let a fist fly when I saw it was Alice.

"What the fuck?"

"No. You what the fuck, Edward?"

What?

It registered then she was angry…very, very angry. Her eyes impaled me with shame; a virago ready to cast judgment.

"How could you do that?"

"Do what, Al? I have no idea what you're talking about?"

"Bella was my guest today at lunch and you treated her like she was some sort of….of…pariah."

Pariah? Where did she get these analogies?

"I barely said two words to her!" I shouted back in frustration.

"That's the whole point, you dumb ass!" She was fuming now, her hands waving about her head, her breath escaping in large puffs of air around us. "Not only didn't you speak to her, the way you looked at her…well, I think she thinks you hate her."

Was that what it looked like? Had my intentions to mask how I was really feeling succeeded so well she came to the only conclusion that made sense to her…that I hated her?

Was that such a bad thing?

Judging from Alice's pit bull like growl under her breath; yes it was.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she cancels our plans tonight because of you and I can't say I'd blame her."

I fisted my hands in my hair and began to pace.

Shit, shit, shit.

"Don't be absurd." My teeth gritted together. "She won't cancel."

"Make it right then." She demanded. "Make it right or I'll tell her how you really feel about her…and don't think I don't know. The upstairs bathroom is right next to my room after all." Her eyes narrowed on me.

I could feel my ears grow incredibly hot against the cold chill of the air.

"You wouldn't dare!"

Her eyebrow raised. "Oh wouldn't I?"

She would.

Fuck me.

I felt a tingle up my spine that had nothing to do with Alice's threat. It was the kind of sensation you get when you just know someone is watching you.

Turning towards the school, my vision was immediately filled with the sad doe eyed stare of Bella Swan and Rosalie's knowing smirk right before they turned away.

My hurt lurched and I hung my head in shame. I did that…I put that expression there...and I hated myself for it.

"You don't have to threaten me Alice, I concede." I said, my head bowing in defeat.

"Didn't your Mama tell you not to mess with honey badgers?" Jasper grinned as he tossed me the ball.

I caught it with an oomph to my chest.

Honey badgers, vicious little things. He was talking about Alice, of course.

Thank fuck they didn't hear what she said to me but they didn't have to. They saw the way she chewed me out unfortunately and that provided them enough fodder to rail me with.

"Wonder what got her so riled?" Emmett gave me a shit-eating grin. "Could have it had anything to do with a certain brown eyed swan?"

"Knock it off, Emmett." I threw the ball hard at him.

"Looks like someone's hit a raw nerve." Jasper instigated.

I gave him a hard look hoping Emmett's toss would hit him in the head…or the crotch. I wasn't picky.

Apologizing to Bella Swan didn't go as smoothly as I liked. It was barely an apology really. Who was I kidding? It wasn't anything remotely close. I was incredibly nervous, so much so I could feel my palms get sweaty as I went for a casual demeanor and I said the first thing that came to my mind; which happened to be my concern over her eating habits.

Big mistake apparently.

The scowl she shot me rivaled Rosalie's on a good day…or a bad, depending on one's perspective. It made me feel worse that she knew the reason I was speaking to her now was because Alice told me to. Well, it wasn't the only reason. Just the most expedient and the most easily explained.

The truth was; I wanted to talk to her again. It had been three days.

Three hellish days of breathing her in, of watching her, of watching others watch her, of hearing her burnt honey voice shiver through me. Three days of meaningless civility and nothing more.

To what end?

And it all came down to fear…because some how, some way I knew this was important…that she was important…that she would change my life forever.

Maybe she already had.

With one towel wrapped around my waist and using another one to dry my hair, I padded from the bathroom to my room after another Bella Swan themed shower only to find an outfit laid out on my bed.

What the hell was this?

I picked up the jeans and dark green Polo shirt, examining them like they were alien creatures instead of the clothes that came from my closet.

Alice, I thought. Of course.

And everyone thought I was the control freak.

Not that it wasn't something I would have picked out myself but hell, I was old enough to pick out my own damn clothes.

I was tempted to wear something different but I knew I would just end up staring into my closet, completely clueless. Not that I didn't know how to dress myself or look good in whatever I wore but I had a feeling tonight was going to be important or meaningful at the very least.

Or maybe I just wanted it to be.

You're overthinking it, Cullen, as always. Just put your damn clothes on and stop dripping shower water all over the floor.

What would she be wearing, I wondered, my mind already picturing a tight pair of skinny jeans and a form fitting sweater that accented the curves she tried to hide but I knew were there.

The vision shot straight to my crotch.

Damnit!

Jabba the hut, Jabba the Hut.

Emmett as Jabba the Hut, Emmett as Jabba the Hut.

Works every fucking time.

Now if it would only be that cooperative the rest of the evening.

"You look good if I do say so myself." chimed Alice approvingly as she saw me enter the family room.

Emmett and Jasper were ready and playing a video game to pass the time and Rosalie was talking to my mom.

"Don't take all the credit, kiddo." I said to Alice. "These clothes were already in my closet."

"Maybe so but I am the one who put them together."

"So, where are you heading tonight?" Mom asked to no one in particular as she and Rosalie walked towards the rest of us.

"Port Angeles." Jasper said.

"Vampire flick." Emmett grinned.

I couldn't contain a chuckle.

He was so looking forward to it too, poor sod. I wonder what his reaction will be when he finds out it's a vampire love story.

"We'll have to take two cars." Alice said thoughtfully. "since Bella is coming with us."

"Bella?" Mom questioned. "Bella Swan?"

I gave Esme a confused look. "You know her?"

"It's a small town, Edward." Rosalie spoke instead. "Everyone knows of the police chief's daughter returning home."

The explanation was reasonable enough. Bella Swan's return home and the mystery surrounding it had been gossip since Charlie Swan took a long leave of absence to bring her back.

But something…a flicker of recognition in my mom's face led me to believe there was more to it than that.

"Why don't you take my SUV so you can all sit together?" Mom suggested to which all of us gave her a horrified look.

It was obvious she was kidding. I looked around wondering who would be the one to put their foot in their mouth.

Emmett cleared his throat nervously.

I snorted. Figures.

"Um…no offense, Mom…" Emmett said. "But your SUV has like mom type stuff in it…like visible and sh…uh…stuff. "

"You think it will cramp your manly style?" She teased him.

"Um…well…uh."

Rose smacked him lightly on the back of the head and rolled her eyes skyward. "She was kidding, Emmett."

Poor sucker blushed down to his Nike Zoom Rookie's.

"I knew that." He grumbled.

I insisted on driving my car knowing that Jasper and Alice would ride with me and Rosalie would ride with Emmett. I also knew that Alice would insist that Bella ride with us since she had been the one that invited her.

There was just something so necessary about having Bella in my car.