Chapter Playlist- Invincible by Muse

Previously… (BPOV)

For a brief moment, my eyes met the extremely familiar green pair that were watching me, and then his glance flashed away again, so quick that I couldn't be sure that he had even been looking in this direction.

The Hard Way To Learn A Lesson

Chapter 11- Caffeine and Cake

Edward POV

Mason mock-fainted when I went into the form room. "Wow, man, you're actually on time," he said, sounding genuinely shocked.

"Yeah, well…" I trailed off, shrugging.

"How was your weekend with Swan?" Mason asked, unable to keep the smirk off of his face.

I hit him over the back of the head. "And Alice. Don't forget Alice," I said. "She's possibly more irritating than Bella."

"Ooh," Mason mocked. "Bella? Not 'Isabella', not 'Swan', not 'that girl'. No, it's Bella now."

I opened my mouth to retort, but couldn't think of anything to say so I just thumped him again and said, "How was your weekend with the ex?"

His grin disappeared from his face as he scowled. "She ignored me until last night and then started going on about how I was heartless to break up with her by text in the first place and that it was my fault she moved on, as though I had asked her! I couldn't care less about who she's slept with since I dropped her. I much preferred it when she ignored me."

I laughed, thinking how good I had it compared to Mason. Bella was actually a pretty good partner. The only down side to her was that living with her for just a few short weeks was really tarnishing my reputation.

"But you actually side-stepped the question, Eddie-boy," Mason said, smirking as he used the nickname he knew I hated so much. "How was your weekend with Bella?"

"It was… different," I allowed.

He raised his eyebrow, prompting more information.

"Sometimes, Mason, I swear you expect a good bit of gossip… just like a girl," I said.

He still didn't say anything, waiting for me to continue.

I sighed. "I just shoved her on the sofa and we haven't really spoken to each other," I lied, repressing a shudder as I remembered the disgusting drink she had made up, and ignoring the tingly feeling that ran through my body when I thought of my hand steadying her on the assault course that she had dreaded so much…

It took me longer than it should have done to notice Mason staring at me, open-mouthed.

"What?" I asked defensively. What had I said?

"You shoved her on the sofa?" His eyebrows were so high, they were practically touching his hairline.

"Yes…" I said slowly.

Mason continued to stare at me. "You can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Well… because it's rude. She'll get a cricked neck or something! You should have offered her your bed. It's the right thing to do. I know you don't really care if Bella gets a cricked neck, but she'll give feedback and then what are you gonna do when all of the girls realise you're not a gentleman after all?" Mason explained.

Oh. Why hadn't she said something? Mason was wrong. I did care if Bella got hurt. What had I thought just last night? I'd have to beat up anyone that hurt her and I couldn't beat up myself. Maybe I should offer her the bed. I would. Tonight. It was the right thing to do.

For some reason, every time I saw Bella in the corridor, I wanted to go over and say something to her; apologise for the grief I knew everyone was giving her, behind her back, at least. But I couldn't do that. Mason's reaction to me just saying her name correctly proved that.

But the time I most wanted to go see her was at lunch time. Mike Newton was… bothering her and Alice. Why? What did he want with Bella? I watched as he spoke to them nervously and then walked off exultant. I watched as Bella spoke with Alice, a strange expression on her face as Alice went and dumped their trays. Then, suddenly, her eyes lifted and met mine. Embarrassed, I looked away, back down at my table.

My heart thudded wildly against my rib cage after a few seconds of eye contact. I looked back up at their table and found a surge of disappointment flood through me when I saw that they had gone. Oh for God's sake. Why was my life so screwed up?

Bella POV

The end of school came fairly quickly and Alice dragged me quickly to Edward's Volvo, complaining about how little time she had to re-apply her make-up. To my surprise, and Alice's, Edward was already there, fiddling about with the CD player inside his car.

He jumped slightly when Alice threw the door to the backseat open and quickly changed the music. I got in as well and pulled the door shut behind me, before looking up to see him watching me in his rear-view mirror. He looked away hurriedly but I had already seen the raging conflict in his burning eyes.

I glanced at Alice, who was staring out of her window, still ranting about something, and then leant forward and whispered softly into Edward's ear. "Are you okay?"

He looked behind himself and stared at me for a long moment before nodding. "I'm okay. Are you? I heard you got some… grief from…"

"Nothing I haven't had before," I interrupted him, shrugging it off, though I was secretly thrilled that he was concerned. Suddenly it occurred to me that his mood had done a complete 180 from before. He had gone from hating me and calling me names, to worrying about me and listening to… well, I hadn't heard enough to be anywhere near sure, but it sounded like Debussy to me… something Renee had often played around the house when I had lived with her.

Edward and I stared at each other for a while, not moving, but then Alice broke us out of it. "Edward!" she almost-yelled. "Do you think you could actually turn the engine on, or what?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Edward muttered and I ducked my head to hide a smile.

***

"Alice, do you really think that's a good idea?" I asked a few hours later. "You've already had five."

"If I want another coffee, I can have another coffee!" Alice narrowed her eyes at me.

I sighed. Hyper Alice was kinda scary. "Look, why don't you just ask him for his number Alice? Just get talking to him and ask his number or wait for him to ask for yours."

"Are you freaking kidding?!" Alice exclaimed.

I took another sip of my second milkshake and watched as Alice sashayed over to the counter to order her sixth coffee. Why coffee, for goodness sake? What was wrong with milkshake? Although, to be honest, I had only chosen them because they were huge and I could make them last through Alice's crazy-obsessed coffee-ordering.

Alice took ages, talking to Jasper with a stupid, simpering smile on her face. Jasper's expression was almost identical so I didn't understand why she didn't just ask for his number; he would be more than happy to give it to her.

She came back to the table after a while looking slightly dejected. "He still didn't give me his number," she complained, sitting down and knocking back the coffee like an alcoholic drinking booze.

"Yeah, well…" I shrugged. "What did you expect? 'Oh, hi Alice. Guess what? Buy six coffees, get my number free'?"

She scowled at me and then frowned and stood up.

"You're not getting another already?!" I asked, my mouth falling open.

"No!" she cried. "No. I just really need a pee."

I laughed and she scurried away to the bathroom. I had a sneaky feeling that Alice would have asked Jasper where they were if she wasn't so desperate. I was beginning to get bored so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Luckily, there was no queue so I walked straight up to the counter and Jasper.

"Hi, can I help you?" he asked in a slight Southern drawl.

"Yes. I'll have a… latte for my friend, please," I said. I wasn't sure if Alice wanted a latte, but she must have been sick of ordinary coffee by now.

"Sure thing," he said, grabbing a polystyrene cup from underneath the counter. There was a long pause and then he spoke again. "Your friend is… uh… Alice, right? Alice Cullen?"

"Yeah, that's right," I said in an offhand way. "She… uh… she likes you, you know."

"She does?" he stared at me.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; it couldn't have been much more obvious if she had painted it across her forehead. "Yeah."

"Well… I'd quite like to see her again," Jasper told me quietly, snapping the lid on the latte.

"She'd like to see you again too."

"She would?"

"Yeah. She talks about you all the time."

He frowned for a moment, as though contemplating something. "If I wrote my number on the cup, do you think she'd call it?"

"I'm sure she would." After she'd played all of the pointless hard-to-get games…

Jasper's face lit up like a child's on Christmas day and he grabbed a pen from the side, scribbling on the side of the cup hastily, then he passed it to me.

"Thanks," I said and handed over the cash.

"Don't worry about paying. If it's for Alice, this one's on me."

I smiled at him and pocketed the coins. "Okay. I'll make sure that she calls."

I turned away and then I Jasper said my name. "Bella?"

I turned back. "Yeah?"

"If there's ever anything you need in return…" he trailed off and shrugged. "I'll be glad to do it. You're a nice person."

I laughed once and then shook my head. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't really need anything."

"Okay," he said. "I can be pretty good at influencing people though…"

"Nah, I'm good. No one really likes me anyway. I'm… weird. Besides, everyone hates me."

He smiled sympathetically. "Don't listen to them. They don't know anything."

"Thanks," I said and turned away again, gong back to the table.

"Oh, and Bella?" he called.

I looked at him.

"Edward doesn't hate you," he told me with a wink, then he went through the door to the back of the store, leaving me staring after him, open-mouthed.

"Bella?" Alice asked, coming up behind me. "What's wrong?"

I blinked and shut my mouth quickly. "Nothing," I said and then plucked my coat up from the back of the chair. "Come on, let's go."

"What? No! I didn't get Jasper's number yet!" Alice exclaimed.

I handed her the latte and she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What is it?" she wondered.

"It's a latte," I answered. "With Jasper's number on."

Alice gasped and turned the cup round so that she could read the message. She whispered it out loud, "Alice- call me." And then a bunch of numbers.

"What the hell, Bella?" she squealed, but she was grinning like a maniac. She leapt at me and hugged me. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I just smirked. "He's besotted; you're just blind."

Alice stuck her tongue out at me teasingly. "Whatever. Come on then."

***

When we got back to Alice's house, Renee called. After a very long and tiring conversation about tight-rope walking ('no, Mum, that would not be a sensible career'), Alice was practically bouncing up and down on her bed. I knew six coffees was not a good idea.

"Let's do something!" she proclaimed, the minute I had hung up.

"Like what?"

"Um…" Alice looked round her room a second and then snapped her fingers. "Let's make cake!"

"Uh… will we be allowed?"

"Sure, Esme likes cake," Alice replied, waving her hand. Then she grabbed mine and pulled me off of the bed. "Come on!"

She dragged me downstairs and into the kitchen, where she let me go and started to pull out various kitchen utensils and ingredients.

My brow furrowed when I saw what she had got out. "Alice, you don't need broccoli to make cake."

"If it's broccoli cake you do," she argued, pouting.

"Um… no, Alice," I said firmly, putting the broccoli back.

"Well, what can we make?" she wailed. "We don't have flour!"

"How about…?" I looked through the cupboards to find ingredients. "Those cornflake cakes?"

"What?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

"You've never made chocolate cornflake cakes?!"

Alice shook her head.

"We'll make them, then," I decided, pulling out the chocolate, cooking butter and cornflakes. Nice and simple, I thought; that way nothing could go wrong.

How wrong I was. Half an hour later (by which time, the cakes should have been done), Alice was stirring lumpy chocolate and I was still measuring out cornflakes, covered in supposedly inexistent flour.

"I am sorry for tipping flour on your head, Bella," Alice said, not sounding a bit sorry.

"Yeah, well…" I sighed sarcastically. "These things happen." I went over to the sink and cupped my hands to collect some water, then I threw it at her.

"Bella!" Alice shrieked, flapping around with her hair. "You got my hair wet!"

"You got my hair flour-y!" I pointed out, and then I smelt something burning. I ran to Alice's side and tried to stir the chocolate, but couldn't. It was stuck to the bottom of the pan.

"You're supposed to be stirring this!" I told Alice, turning off the heat and crossing my arms. "And that was the last of the chocolate!"

"Maybe we should… give up?" Alice suggested.

"Maybe we should," I agreed.

Then Edward came in. "What's that smell?" he asked, and then he saw us. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Cooking," I replied, smiling.

He stared at me. "You have… flour… in your…" he gestured toward my hair.

"We're not stupid, Edward." Alice rolled her eyes. "She does know it's there."

"Right," Edward said slowly. "You should probably clear this up before Mum gets in and Bella finds out that you've been banned from the kitchen ever since you got that pancake stuck to the ceiling when we were eleven."

I stared at her. "Alice!" I shrieked. "Why didn't you tell me that?!"

"Because then we couldn't have made cake," she said.

"We didn't anyway! We just made a mess!"

Edward snorted. "You can say that again."

"Ce sera sera," Alice muttered.

I sighed and grabbed a cloth which I chucked at Alice. "Clean. Now."

"Yes Mum," she responded sarcastically, but started to wipe the surface anyway.

I took the saucepan to the sink to try and get the chocolate scraped off of the bottom, but then his hand stopped mine.

"I'll do that," he said in my ear. "You need good stamina."

Oh here we go with the innuendos again. "Sure," I said easily, letting him take it.

He smirked and then murmured. "You know, you should get flour in your hair more often. It looks great."

I frowned, trying to work out what his point was, but he just winked at me and started scrubbing the bottom of the saucepan under the hot water.

I wondered briefly if I'd ever understand the way his mind works and then decided that I probably wouldn't. After all, he was Edward Cullen and I was Bella Swan. Two people that were destined to never have their paths cross. Ever.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I did it! A daily update!!! :D

Sorry if the last bit of the chapter seemed really odd but I decided that it was about time that there was some humour in the story… was it funny? Actually, I did once have a dream that I made cake with Edward Cullen and he insisted that we used broccoli to make broccoli cake and red food colouring to make it blood-coloured. Just one of the many demented, insanely weird dreams I have. XD

Also, sorry that the EPOV was really short, but most of the next chapter will be in EPOV I think so… yeah. You can see more of Eddie-boy's lovely *cough* sex-obsessed *cough* mind then :D Although that won't be for a while.

Oh! And because I forgot last time, the line from Eclipse in chapter 9 was 'it was a heartbreaking expression' about Alice. No one got it and I'm not surprised because even I wouldn't have got that XD

And… VOTING AT THE ALL HUMAN AWARS IS NOW OPEN!!! So head over and vote for your fave fics soon. Voting closes on the 25th August and winners will be announced a day or two after that. The link is on my profile.

Okay… so no more updates for a while, but I might be able to do a few daily updates when I get back. Possibly. Or much more frequent updates anyway. And I'll update 'Fighting Fate' then as well. If you haven't already checked it out, please do! And big thanks to the people that have reviewed. I was very surprised to hear that quite a lot of you prefer it to this story, tbh. I don't know whether that's a good thing or not…

Well… PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Thanks.

Steph

Lol- some of you would have the strangest midnight snacks ever.

What's the nicest favour you've ever done for a friend???