Bells, what do you think? Are you out of steam yet? This is one hell of a fucking chap, if I do say so.

Hmm, good question. And sorry, but I have to quote Edward, "Not fucking likely." Work for you?

Are you even allowed to quote shit you wrote? Does it really need quotes at that point?

Prolly... I mean, you KNOW Edward was thinking it at some point during that novel, the rights to which we don't own =]

Right, but in the novel by S Meyer, I don't think she ever uses the word "fucking" so technically that's all you Bell.

Well, yeah, true. But that's only becuase I have a redic potty mouth.... and an aversion to the ominous fade to black...

Which is why we write lemons? Can I once again shamelessly plug your story Those Eyes? Because seriously folks, best story on .

Umm, Kel, we write fucking Lemon trees, and I suppose I have no choice, right? So what do I get to plug? How about... OH! I tots got this shit. Head over to Little Miss Whitlock's page and check out The Muffin Man... Lemon Love Muffins, 'nuff said. And don't forget to vote for it when you're done! It's an entry to kittenmuschief's "That's Mr. Hot Bitch to You" contest. K, I think I'm done. You good, Kel?

Um, what the diff between lemons and lemon trees? Are they like limes? And yeah, I'm done.

Oh shout out to Clancy119 just because. Kay, now I'm done for reals this time. Oh! Reviews encourage us to write chaps this long.

Ohh good call!


BPOV

The stupid fucking alarm clock went off what felt like 10 minutes after I finally passed out. My eyes finally won; however my brain conceded and due to sheer exhaustion I was able to have a dreamless sleep.

Thank god.

I was so annoyed with myself. What, so Edward is nice to me for a day and all of a sudden I want to start kissing him again? No, no and just... no. Fuck, there I was thinking about kissing Edward again. "Ugh!" I shouted in frustration. I sat up and hobbled as quickly as I could to the closet and grabbed clothes for the day. Ugh, my first day back to school; what a way to start it.

After grabbing a pair of jeans and a hoodie, I made my way to the bathroom. Edward's door was cracked open and the smell of his bodywash - minty eucalyptus - filled my nostrils and my head floated back to the other night when I was inundated with the scent. Reflexively, I yawned and opened the bathroom door to get ready.

Fuck. my. life.

There was Edward standing in just a towel.

"Didn't think to knock?" He asked, chuckling.

EPOV

She was just standing in the doorway, arm still extended and her eyes wide open. I could see her mouth moving as it tried to form sentences, but alas nothing came out. I laughed again and ran a hand through my hair.

"Bella, did you need something?"

"I... uh... I, umm. Tooth brush."

I laughed again. This was incredibly entertaining. Maybe I could get her to do it every morning. That'd be fun. I went over to our double sink and picked up both of our tooth brushes and handed her hers. She took it hesitantly and I started brushing my teeth while she tried to decide whether or not it was kosher. Finally, she started brushing. I didn't know why she was so jumpy. After all, it was only me. I rinsed and replaced my brush, then turned to her, "Bella, we'll leave in 15, okay?"

She nodded, her eyes still wide as I went into my room to get dressed. I laughed to myself again when I thought about her reaction just a moment ago.

Today was going to be priceless.

I changed quickly, and went across the hall to knock on Bella's door. I let myself in after she didn't answer for a minute and found her trying to put her shit into her bag.

"Let me help you," I said as I took her crap from her. She snatched it back defiantly, "Edward, what part of NO BUTLER didn't you get?"

I sighed, "Bella, you are a fucking cripple right now. This isn't me being your butler, this is me being a decent human being." She snapped her mouth shut and glared at me as I picked up her things. I took one final sweep around the room, then grabbed her rain jacket and helped her slip into it.

"Ready?" I asked, as I helped her with her shoe then stood in front of her.

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Okay, c'mon spider monkey." I pulled her up and carried her and her shit out to the car and headed for school. The whole ride over there, I was completely preoccupied with what everyone would think about Bella and I. I mean, we'd be unfriendly for so long that friendly seemed nearly impossible at that point. But regardless, we were here, and we'd have to face the masses at some point.

"Hey, what are you going to do about Emmett?"

Oh, yeah. That.

"Um, nothing. I wasn't aware that I had to do anything about him."

She shrugged. "Well, you aren't friends anymore, so..."

"So what?" I said, as I turned into the lot. "It's not like he was my only friend. And, really, it's not that big of a deal. I just need to make a point."

I shut off the car and she unbuckled her seat belt. "Well, be careful. You might end up losing him."

I sighed and went around to help her out of the car. I knew she was right, but at the same time, I knew that I wouldn't let it get that far. Hell, Emmett wouldn't let it get that far. Bella was braced against me when I felt a hard slap to my chest.

"Let her go, you mongrel," Rosalie sneered, "She doesn't need your diseased ass touching her." I scowled at her, and she yanked Bella away a little too quickly, making Bella stumble a bit. I reached out to steady her, and I could see the momentary lapse of fear. "You okay?" I asked her, but she just kept on staring and didn't say a word.

"Let. Her. Go." Rosalie added, then brought Bella over to the minions.

Yeah. Today was definitely going to be priceless.

BPOV

I hated being the center of attention, of any amount of attention for that matter. And Rosalie wasn't making it any easier as she kept bombarding me with "you okay?" and "god! I can't believe Cullen sometimes! You aren't his personal rag doll!"

Her own worried questions and accusations seemed to fuel everyone else and as we walked into the building to start the day, random people had swarmed around us, wanting to know what I knew, how I was, and how it felt to lose both parents in one night. Fan-fucking-tastic, obviously. Ugh, people were nothing but idiots.

First period AP English was no better. Fortunately I had Angela in the class, who asked me nothing aside from the generic "how's it going?" She didn't push beyond that and I loved her more than anything for it. No one else was that respectful. Even her boyfriend couldn't help himself and asked how it was living with Cullen.

"It must suck balls to have to live with someone you hate so much after something like that happens."

I gave him a tight lipped smile and nodded. "Mhm, totally."

The bell finally rang, 45 minutes later and I did my best to rush out of there as fast as my handicapped ass would take me. I was hoping to avoid Rosalie at all costs; I didn't need nor want a repeat of this morning's 3rd degree.

"Bella?"

My head spun around amidst the flurry of students trying to see who had said my name. Once the crowd had died down some, I saw Edward standing beside the row of lockers outside the door.

"Hey Edward. I don't need your help getting to 2nd period, it's like halfway down the hall."

"I wasn't going to offer," he retorted coldly.

"Oh sorry. I just thought..."

"Yeah and I fucking thought we were cool."

"What?" What the fuck was he talking about?

"Cool, you know? As in not fucking seething enemies anymore."

"We... are..." I said my eyes widening and looking at him, completely confused.

"Then why did you let Rosalie just drag you away like that? I told you I got it."

"Um..." I shrugged. I didn't realize it was that big of a fucking deal. "Well one, what difference does it make? I made it from point A to point B without incident or further injury. And two, she didn't drag me. Well maybe she did; she was walking kind of fast... but no matter. She's my friend, why would I have protested?"

He shook his head. "Bella, I told you. I'm here to help you while you're fucking useless. Rosalie doesn't need to, especially when all she does is take you to swarm of teenage piranhas that were just waiting to assault you."

Really, assault me? Even after going through it, that seemed a bit far fetched. "Really Edward, assault me?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "You know what I mean."

"Edward. She's my friend. You explicitly said that you did not want us to jump into a friendship. So whatever, we're not. So just because we are civil to one another doesn't mean that you can tell me who can approach me."

He shook his head. "Whatever Bella, maybe Rosalie can hold you when you break down in tears from now on," he spat, brushing my shoulder as he walked past me.

I clenched my jaw to fight the tears that were threatening to fall and rubbed my shoulder. Fucking Cullen.

EPOV

Whatever, she deserved it. If Ben or Jasper ever said anything like that to Bella, I would've stuck up for her; I would've told them to lay off of her. But what does she do to me? Walks--no limps,rather-- the fuck away. What a fucking coward. She needed to grow a fucking backbone. But then I realized that maybe she didn't say anything because she didn't want to; maybe she didn't want to put it all behind us and move forward. Maybe she was just using me until she was (relatively) better and then it would be "fuck you Cullen" and she'd go back to being a bitch-o-matic.

Honestly, I didn't know how the fuck to feel about that.

I sighed and looked back at her from the door to our bio room, and she looked so fucking pathetic. She had one hand braced against the lockers and she was staring intently at her feet and she dragged herself down the hall. I should've gone back and helped her, but I didn't. If she didn't want my help, she wasn't going to get it.

I let myself in the room and headed over to my table, and I noticed a very unfamiliar but not all together unpleasant scent wafting toward me. I slid into my seat and turned toward the person to tell them to move, but I was immediately hypnotized by a pair of frosty blue eyes.

"Hello," She said, smiling gamely as she flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder, "I'm Tanya."

I smiled back at her and tapped my fingers on the table, "Edward."

Yup.

Still fucking priceless.

BPOV

I looked up from the floor, where I'd been cautiously taking each step; I didn't need to trip on my first day back. My eyes held on Edward, as I noticed a blonde sitting beside him - in my seat. I lifted an eyebrow and gave him a what the fuck look. He just shrugged and nodded his head towards the toe-head blonde sitting next to him. Right catching me when I fall my ass.

I felt a grip on my waist and turned to see Mike smiling over at me. "You can sit with me today; it'll be awesome. Eric kinda smells funky anyway." I scoffed a little and nodded, smiling appreciatively. "Thanks Mike."

"No prob Bella."

We walked over to his table, and I turned my head back to look at Edward who was giving me a death glare. What the fuck ever Cullen, you fucking asshole. I didn't know why I was so ticked at his inability to ask the plastic doll to move, but the confusion didn't diminish my anger any. Ugh, now I'd be paired with an idiot and we'd never get the lab done in time.

I snapped my neck back around when I heard Mike's raised voice.

"I told you to get the fuck up Eric. Bella's gonna sit here today."

"Fuck that, this is assigned seating Mike. Bella has a seat next to Cullen. If you two are that eager to make out go find another table."

Mike just shook his head and shoved Eric off his bar stool. The entire class erupted into laughter as Eric toppled to the ground, shaking his head. "Get over yourself Mike. Bella's not going to hook up with you even if you kicked my ass and Edward's."

I laughed internally at the mental image of Mike trying to kick Edward's ass.

Nevertheless Eric moved to a new table and I took my seat next to Mike. I told him just to let me do the lab so we could finish quicker, and he didn't seem to mind nor take offense. Thank god; at least he wasn't like some people who took everything fucking personally.

The lab was easy, and we (or rather I) sped through it in no time, giving us about 20 minutes to do whatever. I took a chanced look behind me and saw that Edward and the blonde bunny were sitting so close their arms were touching and they were laughing at something. It was surprising that Edward has passed up a solid learning experience for a new piece of ass - he loved learning. Oh who was I kidding? It wasn't surprising, it was just irritating.

"Hey Mike?" I asked turning back towards our table.

"Yea?" He asked, looking up from his cell phone where he'd been texting someone.

"Would you mind walking me to my next class? It took me like 10 minutes to make it halfway down the hall to bio today."

He smiled brightly, flashing almost all of his top row of teeth and nodded. "Of course Bella."

EPOV

So this chick Tanya was talking about moving up here from Hawaii or some shit. I suppose that explains the fake bake.

"So we were all on the beach playing volleyball, and--"

"So you just go out there, and play?"

She looked at me like I was demented, "Uh, yeah."

"You don't have to check in somewhere?"

She laughed a little girly laugh and playfully hit my arm, "No, silly. You just put on your suit and head on down."

She gave me a wicked smile, and I had a feeling that the beach wasn't the only thing she went down on. That's a little disgusting. I didn't think that sand in your shit was appealing. But, hey; who am I to judge? Anyway, she sat close to me the entire time, and I had to admit, it was kind of nice to get a little attention from someone who wasn't 1) Stanley or 2) Queen of the Shrew people. So I let her flirt. NO big deal; I'm a guy, she's a girl it all works out in the end.

"So, Edward, What's there to do in a town like this?" She linked her arm through mine and I cocked my head to the side as I looked at her. She was coming onto me, wasn't she? Huh. I'm not completely repulsed.

"Um, not too much. The usual stuff. You could always go into Port Angeles or Seattle."

She raised an eyebrow at me, and ran her fingers up and down my arm, "I suppose you could take me sometime?"

I shrugged, "Sure."

"Great." She released my arm, and turned back to the worksheet she was supposed to be filling out. After a minute she looked like her brain was about to explode so, she tapped my arm to get my attention again.

"So did you see that girl? The one with the cast? She's pretty vile, huh?"

I narrowed my eyes at her and I felt my chest tighten. It was such an awkward feeling to be having about Bella; it felt like my lungs couldn't expand properly, and the only solution was to choke the life out of Tanya. Or maybe Bella; I couldn't be sure.

"Oh, Bella? Well, she's been having a rough time lately, so she's been moody, yeah."

She laughed, and hit my arm again, "That's not what I meant. Just look at her: plain, ordinary, dull. I'm surprised she hasn't faded right into the paint yet."

That confused me. I'd thought many things about Bella in my lifetime, but trust those words never came to mind. "Hey, listen, I know that you're new here, so I'll cut you some slack, but really, don't talk about Bella like that. She's a good person, and she's been through a lot, okay?"

Tanya raised an eyebrow at me and smiled, "Whatever you say, sugar."

Oh, God really?

The bell rang then and I handed in my sheet, but not before Tanya gave me a peck on the cheek. "See you soon, I hope."

I smirked after her. Who wouldn't love that shit? I turned back to check on Bella, and maybe apologize for earlier. After that shit with Tanya, I realized that this had to be hard for Bella, too. We didn't know where we stood with each other, and she was probably having a tough enough day as it was. But my blood ran cold when I saw Mike Newton attempting to help her off of her stool. Fuck he was a dumb shit. He had one arm in both of his hands and he was lifting it instead of her. I took a deep breath and walked over to her, pushing Mike out of the way as I slipped my arm around her waist.

"I'll take it from here. Thanks anyway, Newton."

"But.. she wanted me to... wait!"

I sighed, and growled as I felt Bella's nails dig into my shoulder, "It's okay Mike. I'm going that way anyway."

I pulled Bella forward, but she was dragging ass and making it difficult. "Cullen, I did NOT want you to help me. I asked Mike."

"Yeah, but you have me; you don't need him."

"You seemed to have your hands full with blondie."

The mention of Tanya reminded me of what the purpose of all this was. "Look, Bella, I'm sorry about before. I was just mad. I thought... I guess I just thought that things had changed more than they actually had."

"You were still ridiculously out of line."

I shrugged and readjusted her against me, "Didn't say I wasn't. I just... hating you and being mad at you is exhausting, and I had fun the last couple of days with you, so... I don't know. I guess I was just hoping that that would be the way we could... act."

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye, and she was staring straight ahead. I really, really wished that I could read her mind. "Let's just start over, okay?" She said hopefully.

"Yeah, sounds good."

"So who's blondie?"

"Tanya. She just moved here from Hawaii. She wanted me to take her around a bit."

I helped her into her classroom and to her desk, "Well, that's good. Now you can carry someone else around."

I laughed, and took her hand, "Bella, you're the only girl I'll ever carry around."

She smiled up at me and blushed, so I laughed and gave her hand a squeeze before I walked out.

So fucking priceless.

BPOV

I hated that I couldn't hide my emotions. I especially hated it when my emotions helped my body to do shit like blush in front of Edward. I saw Emmett stroll into the classroom like he thought he was a fucking king and plop down beside me.

"You still mad at me too?"

I shook my head. "Nah, over it. bygones and all that..." I answered waiving a hand dismissively.

"Good, because seriously, that shit was hilarious," he replied laughing a little to himself.

"Yea... not quite there yet."

His laughter stopped abruptly and he moved his fingers across his lips zipping them up. "Got it."

Miked jogged in a few minutes after the bell rang and Mr. Lawrence gave him a knowing glare as he plopped down in the seat in front of me. He turned around to face me when Mr. Lawrence began writing notes on the board.

"Hey Bella, you forgot these in bio," he said handing me my notebook and pen.

"Oh, thanks Mike."

"Yea, no prob. I can't believe Edward spazzed out like that. It's not like you're his or anything. He's kinda creepy in how protective of you he is all of a sudden."

I laughed a little and shrugged. "He's just doing it to keep his parents off his back."

"Maybe, but his parents aren't here."

I thought about it; he was right, his parents weren't here. So then what the fuck? "Yeah, maybe he thinks I'll rat him out if he goes back to being an asshole." That must be why he made the comment about only carrying me around. He doesn't want me to see through his phoney niceness and tell Esme & Carlisle.

Well that just made me feel peachy keen.

Mike turned around to scribble some notes, and I looked at Emmett who looked like he was about to burst into laughter. The fucking goon was getting a kick out of Mike's and my interaction.

"What?" I whispered.

"You and Newton.... sitting in a tree, F-U-C-K-I-N-G.. first comes love, then comes hate then comes a weddin' just you wait."

I rolled my eyes. "Lamest adaptation ever, Em. Really."

He grinned and shrugged. "It was a prediction, not a whatever-you-called-it."

The bell rang, and I bent over in my seat to grab my backpack.

"Hey Bells?" Mike asked me. Fuck, please don't ask me if you can walk me to class.

"Yea?" I replied, sliding my books into my backpack.

"I uh... was wondering, if you might want to go see a movie Friday?"

"Um..." crap. This was worse than him asking to walk me to class.

"I mean.. uh... you must be totally bored at the Cullen house. It would give you a chance to get away from Cullen for a few minutes and forget about all the craziness going on."

Aw, that was almost kind of sweet. If only I didn't know how much he wanted to get in my pants. I sighed and bit my lip. "Sure, why not."

"Really?" His eyes went wide in shock and I giggled. Ugh, I fucking giggled.

"Yeah. It'll be good to get out of the house and actually do something fun."

"Great, uh.. I'll.. oh it's only Wednesday. Duh! I'll um... pick you up at 7 on Friday?" He said, stumbling over his words and feet as he backed up towards the door.

I nodded and turned to limp out of the classroom. My head spun around as I heard the infamous laugh. Emmett.

"Bells..." he said choking on his laugh as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "You about made him jizz himself just by saying yes to the MOVIES!"

I rolled my eyes and elbowed his side. "Shut up."

"Come on you rockstar. I'll even buy you lunch in celebration."

"What are we celebrating?"

"Get with it Bells! We're celebrating your soon to be deflowering!"

EPOV

I was sitting with Jasper, Alice, Ben and Angela waiting for the rest of the our table to file in. And because I'm a juvenile dumb fuck, Alice and I were having a thumb war.

"Hey, Alice, how come you were being such a bitch before?"

"Huh? Oh Rose does that to me sometimes. I didn't hurt your feelings, did I?" She raised an eyebrow at me and smiled.

I smirked back at her, "No way, cutes, just wondering."

"Cullen, get your own girl, that one's mine." Jasper said, feigning annoyance.

"No worries. I will."

"So you're finally going after Bella?" My head whipped around to Ben, who then got a swift elbow to the ribs from Angela, which made him spit soda all over himself.

"Uh, no. Definitely not Bella."

"Not Bella what?"

Oh, Fuck Swan. Could you have any worse timing? "Nothing important Bella." I heard Alice say, releasing my hand so I could pull the chair next to me out for Bella.

"No, just tell me. I'm curious."

I sighed and tugged at my hair, "Nothing. Just that you're probably out of commission for a while."

She raised an eyebrow and smirked at me, and I could hear Emmett stifling laughter. "Oh really? Says who?"

"Uh, Bella, in case you haven't noticed you're a cripple."

"Well, tell that to Newton," Emmett said/laughed.

"What do you mean, dickfuck?"

"You talking to me, Cullen?"

"I'm looking at you so I must be talking to you."

He sighed and shook his head, but continued, "Newton asked Bella out for Friday. And she said yes."

My eye went wide and I snapped my head around to look at Bella, "Please tell me you didn't"

She furrowed her brow and looked at me, "What's wrong?"

I sighed and tugged at my hair. What wasn't wrong?

"OHMIGODBELLAWE'REGONNAHHAVESOMUCHFUN!!!! WE'LLDRESSYOUUPANDYOU'LLLOOKALLPRETTYAND--"

Jasper slapped his hand over Alice's mouth, cutting off her sentence. "What she means to say, Bella, is that she'd be glad to help you get ready. If you'd like."

Alice's eyes widened as she nodded against his hand. Bella laughed a little. "Yeah, that might be fun. Just be gentle, okay. I am a cripple." she elbowed me playfully, "Right, Cullen?"

I nodded and turned back to my sandwich. That feeling was back again, but this time it was worse. It was like someone just told me that my mother didn't really love me, and I had to move to Alaska. Conversation started around me but I didn't join in because I just couldn't shake this shit. I felt a finger poke my side, and turned toward Bella. "Are you okay?"

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, "Yeah, I'm fine. You aren't in gym right?" She shook her head, "I'll take us home after next period? I don't have anything after english."

"Okay, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll meet you outside of your class."

I didn't give her a chance to respond as I walked away, throwing out my meal on the way to english.

All of a sudden my day wasn't so priceless anymore.

BPOV

Edward really needed to get on some kind of medication for whatever fucking chemical imbalance he had. One minute we were cool, the next he was yelling at me, two seconds after that he was carrying me to class, then he gave me the silent treatment through lunch.

And he said I was the crazy one? Psh, projecting much?

I made it through Math without anything exciting occurring, except that blondie was in my class and kept giving me death glares. So aside from that little annoyance, class went by smoothly and fairly quickly. I started packing up a few minutes before the bell rang; I couldn't wait to go back to the Cullen's and fall asleep for the night. Well, maybe after an Edward-rific dinner. That's right, Edward-fucking-rific. I hadn't been to a lot of good restaurants, but I'm pretty sure that I had the best chef in the entire state of Washington living in the same house as me.

The bell sounded and I jumped up, wobbling a little as I steadied myself. I turned and saw blondie giggling to Jess and once again, staring right at me. Fucking cuntrag. Whatever.

I walked out the door, and saw Edward leaning against the opposite wall. He made his way over to me and grabbed my backpack.

"So now you're carrying me and my backpack?"

"I was carrying it regardless, right? It's just easier this way," he said wrapping an arm high on my waist as we started walking.

"Edward, wait up!" I heard a shrill voice squeak out.

We both turned around and saw blondie speedwalking towards us. Great.

"Hey Tanya, what's up?" He asked as he shifted me in his arms.

"What are you up to after school?" She asked, completely ignoring me.

"Oh, um... nothing?"

"Great! Did you want to take me to Port Angeles like we talked about earlier?" She asked, running a finger down his upper arm.

He coughed and shifted me again in his grasp.

"Actually, today doesn't work for me. It's our first day back, and we've got a lot of homework to catch up on."

The ho's face fell and she pouted, sticking her bottom lip out so far I wanted to yank it and see how far back it would stretch - like an episode of Ren & Stimpy.

"Well, don't keep me waiting too long Eddie. I look forward to sharing something with you after you've shared something of yours."

Wow. I was blushing for her. That was just... wow. If that's the kind of girl Edward went for then I really DID have to worry about contracting some kind of airborne STD.

"Uh, yeah... that sounds, good. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

Her lips turned up into a bewitching grin and she leaned over, kissing his cheek and whispering something in his ear that made his face flush.

"Right, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." He said robotically, spinning us around and walking towards the main doors and out to his car.

The walk to his car was dead quiet. A pin dropping would have hurt your ears from it's echoing sound, it was THAT silent.

He opened the door for me and I slowly sat down in the bucket seat. He closed the door after I had gotten situated and jogged around to his side, throwing our bags in the backseat.

"So, you and blondie huh?" I asked peering over at him as he peeled onto the main road.

"So you and Mike huh?" He countered, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Yep."

"Yep."

"What made you finally say yes?" He said, taking a deep breath and visibly relaxing as he wove throught he familiar windy roads to his house.

I shrugged. I had no fucking clue. "He's always wanted me. Life's too short to get hung up on things like being a total putz. Maybe he's a total putz because he likes me that much. What kind of idiot would I be if I turned him down for essentially liking me too much?"

He smirked. "I think he's a putz as you say, naturally. I don't think it has anything to do with liking you."

So was he insinuating that Mike didn't really like me? Or that he didn't like me a lot? What the fuck. Welcome back Twatward.

"Well, regardless. It'll be nice not being alone anymore."

"So you're dating him to not be alone?"

"Well, what better reason is there?"

"Oh, I don't know Bella - maybe because you like the person?"

"I like Mike."

"Right..."

"I do! Not like I have to defend how I feel about him to you; I'm not yours." Wow, who knew I'd be agreeing to a date with Mike and quoting him in the same day? Or ever, for that matter.

"You're right on all accounts. I was just wondering what made you decide to agree now, after 3 years of him following you around like a puppy."

"He's only ever flirted in the past. The difference? He finally asked me, maybe. And I have to give him points for being couragous; he asked me in front of Em. That takes a pair. Just like blondie today."

That got his attention. He turned to look at me. "What?"

"What? She's new. You had your arm around me and she just assumed we weren't together."

"And she should have?" He scoffed.

Ew. Twatward was definitely back in full force. "It would have been polite."

"For whom, me or you?"

Asshole. Fucking asshole. "Nevermind Edward. I told you I would stop giving you shit about catching something, so I'll refrain. Just remember to double bag it, just in case."

"Right; is this coming from experience little Miss Virtue?"

I rolled my eyes as we pulled into the driveway where Rosalie was standing, arms crossed and scowling. Fuck, what now?

"BELLA!" She screamed, opening the door violently. "What the FUCK?!"

I looked at her exasperatedly. "What did I do now Rose?"

She helped me get out of the car, glaring from me to Edward. "Can you give us a MINUTE you idiot?"

"What? I just got here. Jesus fucking Christ Rosalie, take a valium." He said grabbing our backpacks and walking towards the door.

She focused back towards me. "Emmett better have been fucking KIDDING when he said you had agreed to go on a date with Mike nitwit Newton," she scolded.

I shook my head. "No, he wasn't kidding. I am, Friday in fact."

"WHAT? Has living with Edward made you go fucking crazy Bella?! You HATE Mike!"

"No," I said pointedly. "YOU hate Mike; I'm apathetic."

"Same difference! If you're apathetic you SHOULDN'T date him!"

"Then what Rose? I should just wait for my prince fucking charming to come by? In case you weren't aware Rose, I'm ALONE!" I shouted. " I have NO ONE left. And I'm SORRY if you don't like Mike, or think he's not good enough, but that all I've got right now."

"What the fuck do you mean you're ALONE?! You have all of us!"

I shook my head. "It's not the same Rose, and you know it. You have Emmett, Alice has Jazz, Angela has Ben... fuck even Edward has someone. So where's that leave me at the end of the day? Huh? I'll tell you where - ALONE!" I bit the inside of my cheek, to keep the tears from spilling. I did NOT want to have this conversation today, or preferably ever.

"Bella, that doesn't mean you have to settle for Fucknewton!"

"Then who Rose?" I said, sighing. "I'm not pretty like you, or charismatic like Alice, or sweet like Angela. Boys don't flock to me, and I'm tired of thinking I deserve more, or that I'll get more. I won't ever have the kind of love that you three have. The sooner I accept it the better."

"Hunny..." she replied, her voice softening and she wrapped her arms around me. "Sweetie, you will. You're amazing; you're warm and caring and selfless. Someday someone's going to see all of that and sweep you off your feet and you're going to be as stupidly in love as we all are. Promise."

"Yeah, well I don't want to wait and I need to be distracted right now, so Mike is a good option. And who is to say he and I won't fall in love?"

She smiled and I could tell she was holding back a laugh. However, Edward wasn't as considerate and I turned my eyes from Rose to Edward who was standing in the doorway cracking up.

EPOV

I was about to kill Rosalie, but I couldn't help laughing at them. As usual, Bella had managed to manipulate Rose into agreeing with whatever the fuck they were talking about. It didn't matter if Bella was a cripple or not, her power of persuasion was definitely still intact. I leaned up against the door frame and Rose turned around slowly.

"What part of go the fuck away didn't your miniscule brain understand, you amoeba? Did I use big words?" I narrowed my eyes at her in disgust as I made my way over to the two of them.

"First of all, you retarded piece of cheese, this is my fucking house, so I can be wherever the fuck I want, and secondly chill the fuck out. No one's trying to have shinier hair than you." I went over to Bella, who was still braced on the side of the car and slipped my arm around her again. I don't know why, but I pulled her even tighter into me.

"Edward, she doesn't want your germs!" Rose yelled, attempting to pull Bella from me. Who the fuck did she think she was? I pulled Bella carefully into my side, but kept my eyes trained on Rosalie.

"When the fuck are you gonna grow up, Hale? I don't have any more germs than you do, and honestly, it's getting a bit old. Just chill the fuck out, go bone your boyfriend and leave us the fuck alone."

She snorted and wrapped her tenticle like fingers back around Bella's wrist. "So you're an 'us' now? Figures. You've already fucked everyone else in this town. Is that why your being so nice to her Edward? Cause you're gonna fuck her brains out?"

She thought she had me with that, and I felt her give Bella another tug. But I was quicker. I put my other arm over Bella's shoulder and pulled her back into my chest. I felt her suck in a deep breath, but I didn't take my eyes off of Rosalie.

"Do not make assumptions about Bella and I. You know nothing. Now get the fuck off of my property before I run you over with my car."

She huffed, but got back into her car and sped off, but not before flipping me the bird. Yeah, because I didn't know she hated me before. I closed my eyes and of some inexplicable reason my head dropped down so that my cheek was resting on top of her hair. And she was still in my arms. And we were rocking.

What the fuck is my life?

My mind was absolutely livid with me then; it wanted me to pull away and let her fall to the ground. But something else... something stronger made me keep my grip on her; making it tighter even.

"Are you okay?" I murmured, not bothering to move.

"I.. um... yeah, I guess. But um, why are you, like, leaning on me?"

Oh, fuck. It never occurred to me that she'd be uncomfortable. I straightened up, but didn't release her. "Sorry, I guess I kind of... forgot."

"I, uh, well, it's no big deal. Just forget it."

I made some kind of non-committal noise, but for some reason I couldn't move or pull away. For the first time all fucking day, I felt... alright. And I had no fucking idea why, so I didn't want to mess with whatever equilibrium I had going on.

"Hey, listen," she started, shifting slightly. "Rosalie... she was... umm, well, that's to say that--"

"Bella, don't worry about it. It's over. It's done."

"Yeah, but I--"

"Really, it's fine. No worries, okay?"

She sighed, but didn't make any attempt to move away from me, nor I from her so we stood there. Sure, we probably looked awkward as fuck but honestly I didn't care. Then I had an idea.

"You're not tired or anything, are you?"

"No, why?"

I let her go to open my car door and my arms felt cold, "Get in."

"Where are we going?" She asked as she slid inside.

I grinned at her, "It's a surprise."

She rolled her eyes at me as I got in next to her and pulled out of the drive way. I couldn't help but smile at my own brilliance. Then I heard Bella suck in a labored breath.

"Hey, you okay?" There was fucking panic in my voice. She could not go and fucking die on me right now. That shit's just not cool.

"E-edward..."

"What, Bella?" I was getting really nervous now.

"You aren't taking me to...I mean, you and I aren't about to--"

"To what, Bella? What the hell are you trying to say?"

"...fuck." it was barely a whisper, and I was still fucking confused.

"Fuck what? C'mon, you have to tell me what's wrong. You're really freaking me out right now."

We came to a red light and I turned to look at her. She had her eyes cast down to her lap and her hair fell around her face like a curtain. "Are you... are you trying to sleep with me?"

I let out a huge sigh of relief and slouched back into the seat. Light turned green. "No, Bella, of course not."

I saw her head shoot up out of the corner of my eye, "Then what the fu--hell are we doing."

i laughed at how flustered she was, "Like I said, it's a surprise."

She sighed and I turned into the Humane Society parking lot. "What are we doing here?" She asked, her lips pulled together in a tight pucker.

I stopped the car and went around to get her out before I answered, "We're getting a puppy."

"A puppy?" She shrieked.

"Um, yeah Bella. It's a baby dog."

She hit my chest lightly and I opened the door for us, "I know what it is, Cullen. Esme's gonna kill you."

I knew this, of course. But once I told her it was for Bella, then I knew she'd be okay with it. My mother was many things, and inflexible just wasn't one of them. "It's no big deal, Bella. I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?" She asked, just in front of the door way labeled "DOGS"

I smiled down at her, "I'm sure. Now pick one."

We walked up and down the five aisles before we found our puppy, or 'the baby' as Bella was calling him. He was being chased by his brother, so of course Bella said we had to save him and I have to admit, he was a cute little ball of fluff. They said he was a sheep dog, but I thought he looked more like a cotton ball. I laughed and paid for the pup, and after we went to pick up all of the new dog supplies. We were headed back home when Bella brought up a good point. "You know, the baby doesn't have name."

I shrugged and turned down my street, "So name him."

"I think you should."

"Bella, it's your puppy."

"No, it's our puppy. And I got to pick him so you get to name him."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It's only fair."

"What if I pick something you don't like?"

"I get power of Veto."

I laughed and thought a little. Then it hit me, "Mr. Smith."

"Oh, like my movie."

"Well, I suppose, but that wasn't what I was thinking of."

"No? What then."

"The Awful Truth. Cary Grant, Irene Dunne. Their dog was Mr. Smith."

"I forgot you liked that movie."

I shrugged and pulled into my driveway. No Rosalie, thank fucking God. I got out and went around, then scooped Bella and Mr. Smith into my arms. "Edward?"

"Hmm?" I was trying to focus on shutting the front door without dropping the two of them.

"I thought you said I was the only one you'd carry around."

I looked down at her as I started up the stairs, and she was smirking. "Actually, Bella, I said you were the only girl I'd carry. Mr. Smith is clearly a boy."

"Clearly," she said as she opened her bedroom door for me. I put them both down on the bed and Smith started wobbling about around the mattress.

"Kinda like me, huh?" Bella laughed, smiling up at me. All of a sudden I felt all warm inside, and it freaked me out a shit ton. I focused back on Smith as he sauntered over to Bella's lap and curled up in it. She ran her fingers carefully through his fur, and in no time he was asleep.

"Edward, why did you really get him?"

I sighed and tugged at my hair, "Because this way, no matter what happens you won't be alone."

She looked up at me, and her eyes were hard, "You heard that?"

I nodded, wondering what the hell I had done wrong now.

"Well, thanks. First you laugh at my pathetic-ness and now you're feeding it. Wonderful. Did you think I'd make a better dog lady than a cat one?"

"Whoa, Bella, hang on. First of all, I wasn't laughing at you I was laughing at Rose's dumb ass. She's an idiot and it's incredibly entertaining to watch her in action. And secondly, I would never say that what you were feeling was pathetic, because it's not. I've felt it too, on occasion." I hesitated and tugged at my hair, "And I can only imagine that it's been worse since... well, you know."

She nodded and looked back down at the puppy, who was now snoring slightly. And there it was, yet again. All that fucking unhappiness was back. I went around to the other side of the bed and sat down next to her. She didn't move, so I took the initiative and pulled her into me, so that her head was on my shoulder and my hand was running up and down her arm.

"You have more than just, Smith, though. We're all here for you-- I'm here for you. If you need us, that is." I felt her nod, and I held her for a moment longer. I finally pulled away and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" She called in a small voice.

I turned back to look at her tired eyes, "I'm gonna go bring his stuff in. Then I'll make us dinner. You hungry?"

She nodded and I went out to the car to bring our purchases in the house. Then I heard the car door slam.

"Edward? What is this?"

I groaned and shut my eyes. I was really, really hoping I could get Bella to tell her. "Um, hi Mom. We got a puppy."

Her mouth dropped open and she went pale, "Edward Masen Cullen you tell me you're kidding right this instant."

"I'd be lying if I did."

My mother came right up to me, her pale green eyes meeting my own, "Edward you bring it back right this instant. I will not have muddy paws in my house!"

I sighed and shifted the stuff in my arms, "Mom, it was for Bella. She said she was feeling lonely--alone, actually so I thought it might help."

I watched my mother's impenetrable stare falter ever so slightly, "Bella wanted a puppy?"

"Yeah."

"And she's attached to it?"

"His name is Mr. Smith."

She nodded decisivly and moved past me, "Then I suppose we'll have to keep him. But you two are responsible for him; He'll be your baby." She paused at the front door and let out an amused chuckle, "Imagine that: I'm a grandmother."

I rolled my eyes and followed her into the house. "Whatever, Mom."

BPOV

Stupid school. Stupid Bio homework. Stupid Mike. Stupid Edward.

I had determined in the 20 minutes since Edward had left to make dinner that everything right now was just.... dumb.

The weird pull I had to Edward was the dumbest of them all. And made me look the dumbest. Maybe I could just transfer that stupid pull to Mike. That should be easy, right? Right.

Now if only this worksheet was that simple...

I heard a knock on the door and looked up to find Edward carrying a tray with 2 plates of food. I shut my textbook immediately and tossed it to the ground, taking a deep inhale.

"Mmm... that smells awesome."

He placed the tray on the nightstand and sat beside me leaning over and handing me one of the plates. "Glad you think so. It's just spaghetti marinara though - nothing fancy."

I sat up against the headboard and took the plate, drooling a little as I took another deep breath. "Who cares if it's fancy. It smells fucking fantastic."

He nodded and chuckled. "Well, thanks."

We ate at comfortable silence watching random TV while Mr. Smith laid at the foot of the bed, sleeping peacefully.

When we were done he took my plate and put it back on the night stand and rolled off the bed to grab the tray.

"Thanks again for dinner; and if I didn't say it already thanks for delivering it up here, too."

"No problem. It would have been a bit too much if we had dinner downstairs and got the firing squad over the dog."

My face fell. "Did you tell them?"

He nodded. "And just like I predicted, they said no to him being for me, but yes to it being for you. Though Esme said it was our dog."

"That just means if we ever divorce, Esme will be in my corner for full custody."

He chuckled, "Yea, but that won't happen."

I blushed a little and looked towards Mr. Smith.

"Well.. um. I'm gonna bring these downstairs."

My eyes shot up. "Will you, I mean... are you coming back?"

His face softened and he smiled. "Yeah, once I get my homework done. Cool?"

I nodded, "Yep."

He nodded too and walked out, closing the door behind him.

It was almost 10 before I heard a knock on my door. I was still trying to get through the mass of homework we'd been given since I had been severely distracted by the most adorable puppy in the entire world for over an hour when he thought it'd be fun to nudge my cast with his head... repeatedly.

"Bella?" Edward whispered through the door before slowly opening it. "You awake?"

"Yep!" I shouted to get the point across. He laughed, walking over and ruffled the top of Mr. Smith's head. I had to consciously stop my jaw from dropping. Edward was only in a pair of boxers.

"Uh... um... what's all this?" I said motioning with a finger to his attire.

He laughed a little. "What, you honestly expected that you'd get to sleep with him just you two? What about my lonliness?"

"You're lonely?" I asked skeptically.

"Well... no. But I am jealous that you get to sleep with him and I don't," he quipped grabbing my books off the bed and dropping them onto my desk in the corner of the room.

"Hurry up and get changed though; I'm exhausted. It's been one hell of a day."

"That is has, but that doesn't give you a reason to be bossy. What if I'm not tired?"

"You're not?"

"No, I'm exhausted but that's not the point. You didn't know that before you demanded I get ready for bed."

He sighed. "Fine, fine. Bella, princess Bella, mother of our... dog. Are you tired?"

I held back a giggle and nodded.

"Wonderful, then princess Bella, mother of our dog... would you please get ready for bed so that we can both pass the fuck out?"

"God Edward, you're so sweet sometimes. It's a wonder you don't have a flock of women outside your door," I replied sarcastically stepping into my closet and closing the door so I could change.

"Who says I don't and that I'm just not hiding in here to avoid them?" He shouted so that I could hear him through the door.

"Wouldn't you have had to get through the crowd to get to my room? Therefore they'd still know where you were," I shouted back, throwing on a t-shirt and a pair of pj shorts.

"Touché Bella, touché," he admitted as I hobbled out.

He had already turned down the sheets and Mr. Smith had already picked a side of the bed; unfortunately it wasn't the foot of the bed but rather the left side.

I crawled onto the bed, and flopped down beside him. He lifted his head at the motion, and I patted him. He lifted his head and licked my palm.

"I think he loves you more than me," Edward whispered behind me. My heart sped up at the double meaning and I turned to face him. "What?"

"He hasn't licked me yet; he must love you more," he said teasingly.

"Everyone does," I smirked.

He smiled down at me and my heart sped up at his proximity. Fucking exhaustion was fucking with my head.

He reached over and turned off the lamp on my nightstand. When he rolled over, I wasn't sure how close to lay next to him so I scooted as close to Mr. Smith as I could.

"Where are you going?" He asked in the darkness.

I turned to face him. "Oh, um I was giving you some space. I figure you usually sleep alone so you'd want more room."

"Yeah, but I knew I was sleeping in here - a full size bed, with another person and a puppy. I figured space would be limited."

"Oh... right..." I said trailing off. My eyes were fixated on his and my breath was heavy from inhaling too much Edward.

His body moved closer to mine and I bit my bottom lip.

His eyes were burning into mine and I tilted my chin up as I felt his arm wrap around my body and I pressed my lips against his slightly parted ones.

Holy fuck I was kissing Edward Cullen. And double holy fuck, he was kissing me back.