Chapter 14

Bella's pov

I only had 15 minutes until Edward would be standing in my doorway.

I had already transformed the dining room into a temporary art station. All my pencils and spare sketchbooks littered the table. I had an easel set up and a fresh sheet of A3 paper was sitting atop it.

Ok so I was a little bit too organized for my own good.

But I figured, the more organized I was the smoother this whole thing would run.

I was hoping he would surprise me. But I wasn't holding my breath.

So all I could do was sit and wait. Wait for the boy that had been appearing in my dreams 3 nights in a row.

I pushed the thought of him running his long fingers through my hair to the back of my mind.

Pam had called just after I got in from school, asking if I wanted dinner. I told her I would be ok and mumbled something about working on the project

"You working alone or will your partner be there?" She asked, I picked up on the amusement in her voice

"I don't even know if he'll turn up" I mumbled

"I'm sure he will. So be nice. If I hear screaming I'm calling the police. So please try not to kill him, okay honey?" she chuckled

"Ha-ha, your real funny Pam" I mused sarcastically

"I know. What can I say? It's a gift. Bye Bella." She was still chuckling a little.

"Bye" I placed the phone back on the hook.

Her words hadn't made me feel any better about the whole seriously messed up situation. He was coming to my house. Edward Cullen.

Oh god

I was still nervous, my palms were sweating and I couldn't remember if I'd put deodorant on

Damn it

I raced up the stairs, two at a time. Which was a really big mistake, because I tripped up the top step and hurt my shins. I quickly recovered myself and once I reached my room I fumbled around for my can of cucumber and green tea deodorant.

Stupid messy room

My fingers found the can after I'd shoved my hand under my bed. I sprayed a few shorts sprays feeling much more confident that Edward wouldn't think I smelt funny. Two seconds later and the doorbell sounded through the house.

I flung the can onto my bed, stopping for a quick glance in the mirror on my way out. My cheeks were rosy from the rushing about and my eyes look brighter thanks to the good night's sleep I had. I actually looked ok.

Why do I even care what he thinks?

Before I could answer myself the doorbell rang again. I rushed out of my room and stumbled down the last of the stairs. I caught my breath for a second then pulled open the door.

"Hi" Edward quietly. He was looking at his feet when he spoke.

"Wow you're actually on time. Points for promptness" I smiled a little.

"You're lucky I even showed at all. Coach nearly killed me at practice" He looked up at me; there was a fresh graze on the side of his cheek. It was only small but it was swelling. His bronze hair was a little damp. I suppose from showering. He was carrying his backpack too. He came prepared.

"I can see that. I suppose you better come in." I stepped aside for him enter the small hallway of my home. He was silent for a few moments, his eyes moving quickly around. He was clearly taking everything in.

"It's a nice place you have here. Cosy" he smiled then and shrugged off his coat. I took it from him and tiptoed to hang it on the hook behind me.

I took another deep breath and walked towards the dining room.

"Thanks, I guess." I smiled a little, sitting down at the table. Edward settled into the chair opposite me. Reaching into his backpack to pull out his sketchbook

The room was silent for a moment

"Do you want anything to drink?" I asked quietly. It was weird having Edward in my house, I was on edge. I had no idea how to act.

"No. I'm good thanks." He smiled, shifting in his seat a little.

Another silent moment passed.

"So, did you think about what we could do for your theme?" I asked. I was eager to get going now.

He mused for a second, picked up his pencil and began drawing. A couple of moments later he pulled up his sketch book. He had a rough drawing of rain clouds threatening a small city.

"Rain. It's miserable. Nobody likes rain, well except for the trees. A storm, with its rain clouds and thunder and lightning, could resemble anger, hatred, and terror."

I raised my eyebrows at him

"Shocking I know. I think we have it pretty easy with our two themes. We got lucky."

He could draw and what he was saying was actually kind of...good.

"I like it. A lot" I said smiling, if we worked like this we would be finished pretty fast and still bag a good grade

"Well it turns out if I actually try. I'm pretty good." He chuckled lightly to himself; he was busy drawing again now

"Yeah, yeah. Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet." I bit back my own quite laughter

We worked on our own themes separately. Coming up with several different ideas then comparing what we had and if one of us got stuck the other would offer a suggestion. My stomach began to make feed me noises just as we began detailing one of the ideas we had.

"That you?" he asked, glancing up at the clock on the mantel piece.

I cringing and felt my cheeks burn a little.

"It's like 9. You haven't eaten yet have you?" he asked putting his pencil down.

I shook my head. He was right. I hadn't. I was way too nervous to eat.

"Well I'll spring for pizza if you agree we can stop for tonight. Deal?" he arched his eyebrow and smiled that cocky grin of his.

I was hesitant, first partners now pizza?

I wanted to shake myself

"Pizza's good. But no anchovies though. Small stinky fishes freak me out." I stuck out my tongue and scrunched up my face, hoping for a disgusted face.

"Attractive. Where's your phone?" he asked getting to his feet.

I pointed to the wall behind him

"Oh." He grabbed the cordless and punched in some numbers.

"Hello...yeah...one large Hawaiian pizza please...yes..." he told them my address and hung up

I was excited to eat.

"Can I get you a drink yet?" I asked getting up and wandering to the kitchen. He followed quickly behind me

"Urr. What'd you have?" he slouched against one of the countertops his hands leaning on the surface. I was concentrating on not noticing how gorgeous he looked just standing there.

I pulled open the fridge and pulled out a root beer, holding it up for approval. Edward nodded and I grabbed another.

"Thanks" he unscrewed the top and took a big gulp.

I opened my own bottle and downed half the bottle my mouth had suddenly gone dry.

"Your dad away for long?" Edward broke the silence.

I quickly swallowed and answered him "couple of weeks, i guess" I shrugged staring down at the bottle in my hand

"And your here by yourself?" he was looking at me now. His eyes practically burned into me.

"Yeah, Pamela, his partner, lives across the road. Besides nothing's going to happen anyway, this is Forks."

"Well you still need to be careful. There are some freaks around." his tone was serious and I was curious to ask why he should suddenly care about my safety.

A second later the phone rang loudly. The caller ID flashed PAM

I chuckled "This is her now" I reached for the phone.

"Hi Pam"

"How's everything over there? I'm not helping you bury his body in the back garden you know"

"Everything's fine, were just taking a break. Pizza's on its way."

"Nice, he better be paying. Seriously, you two are getting on ok?"

"Yes, were getting on fine. I'll call you tomorrow. Bye" I hung up the phone, Edward was looking over at me, his eyebrows raised at me.

"She just wanted to make sure we hadn't killed each other, she said if she heard any screaming she'd call the cops" I chuckles

"There's still time for us to sort that out you know." He cocked his eyebrow then winked.

"I don't think she was on about that kind of screaming" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Oh my god, did I really just say that?

My face flushed again and my eyes found the front of my converse.

He was trying to hide a snigger when I looked up again.

"How's your face? How'd you get that anyhow?" I pointed to the graze on his cheek.

"Oh it's cool. Just stings a bit. It was my own fault really, we were sprinting around the track, we'd been running for like half hour I was one of the ones that didn't have a helmet on, coach had been hounding us the entire time and was pissed and i getting tired, the next thing I know I was falling, and I fell face first into the gravel. Nice right?" he nodded a little while he spoke

"I fall down all the time, sometimes over nothing at all. As I'm sure you've noticed." I bowed my head a little

"I have, how's the wrist?" he asked, finishing the last of his root beer.

"Oh its fine now." I wiggled it around a few times in front of me. "See"

"You know I meant what I said about you being careful." He took a step towards me.

"I know, but I'll be fine, I always am" I smiled up at him, he was much closer to me now and I was having difficulty keeping my breathing steady.

"Just try ok? It makes me nervous" his face was getting closer to mine with every passing second. I didn't move but I was confused by his words.

What did he mean nervous? Why should he be nervous?

Edward studied my face for a long moment, and I held my breath.

He pulled away then, clearing his throat. "Nervous about our project, if you went and got a bump on the head and slipped into a coma I'd have no hope of getting a decent grade"

What the hell was that?

"Wow, thanks for your concern" I said sarcastically as we headed into the living room.

Ten minutes later our pizza had arrived and I was finishing my third slice when Edwards's cell phone began ringing.

"Hello?" he threw down the slice he'd been eating and got to his feet

I nibbled slowly, concentrating on what he was saying; he was now in the hallway

"Jasper! Stop! Yes I'm at Bella's...no...No...Yeah...so what if its past ten...wait it's past ten? Yeah...I know...shut up...oh I will...ok bye" he came bouncing into the room again and slumped down on the floor next to me, picking up his half eaten slice and taking a huge bite. I watched him chew for a bit then he swallowed and wiped his mouth.

"That was Jasper, just checking that I'm still alive, which I am. He's such a drama queen" he stuffed some more pizza into his mouth.

"Oh, I heard he finally grew a pair and asked Alice out" I swallowed

"Yeah, he's been bugging me about the little pixie for weeks. Unsure whether to ask her or not. Sometimes he can be such a pussy" he reached for another slice.

Wow, he sure could eat.

"Alice hasn't shut up about it you know. I wish sometimes that I could put her on mute or something. I love her to bits but she does drive me crazy sometimes" I smiled, thinking of Alice's eccentric personality

"You're pretty tight with Rosalie too right? She seems pretty cool. From what Emmett's said to me anyway." He brought his drink to his mouth, taking a huge gulp of it.

"Yeah, she's pretty amazing. She's beautiful, obviously but she's kind too. And she always seems to know what's going on with everyone. Which is a bit weird actually" I threw down the crust onto my napkin

"I think I'm done." I grinned sheepishly

"3 slices? That's it? Amateur" he huffed, grabbing another slice.

"What? Eating is effort and I don't have a lot of that left." I said straightening my legs in front of me and crossing them at the ankles. I rested my elbow on the sofa and lent my head on it slightly. I really was starting to get super tired.

"I should go then." He discarded the slice of pizza back into the box and started to get to his feet.

I yawned as I pushed myself to my feet. And he began making his way to the dining room. We gathered everything together and he handed it all over to me.

"I'll keep everything safe, just left me know when you want to work on it again." I smiled. He nodded slightly and put his sketchbook back into his back pack, I lead him to the hallway and watched as he pulled on his coat and searched for his keys which he found in the side pocket of his jeans.

"I'll see you at school then?" I asked, the tiredness weighing me down that little bit more with every second I stood there. I yawned again, my eyes watering slightly.

"Yeah. I guess so" he grinned and took a few steps towards me, unsure of what to do I just stood still.

"I think we're gonna be good you know." He smiled down at me, with intense eyes. I took a step closer to him, feeling light headed and clammy. Unsure if he really was in front of me

"Oh yeah?" I breathed quietly, looking into his eyes than at his mouth then back again.

"Yeah." His voice was smooth now, and I was close enough that I could smell his aftershave.

I licked my lips my mouth suddenly dry. My breathing was shallow now, making my head spin a little faster.

"Bella..." he began

"Hmm?" I wasn't sure if my tongue could produce words. I was all wrapped up in green eyes, and strong lips and expensive aftershave.

My heart pounded against my rib cage as I felt him reach out and tuck a stay hair behind my ear. I leaned into his hand a little, a moment later his soft fingers were gone but he was still looking down at me.

"I'll see you tomorrow." His cool breath brushed across my face and I was practically paralyzed by it. After a few unbearable seconds, he took a couple of steps back and turned towards the door.

"Of course" I managed to force the sentence out.

"Bye Bella" he mused, pulled open the door and stepped over the threshold.

I watched him as he got into his Volvo and had to force myself to push the door closed. I listened to the hum of his car until I was absolutely sure he had gone.

I cleared the empty bottles and put the pizza box in the recycling bin in a daze, thinking about how Edward's fingers felt when they touched my skin. They were warm and soft and hadn't stayed in the spot for as long as I'd liked.

My mind was screaming at me to get a hold of myself that there was no way in hell that I could like this Edward. The Edward that was being ridiculously nice to me, but there was something else to it.

I didn't know what was happening to me, but I knew if I didn't shake the feelings I had for Edward- whatever feelings they were- I would be well and truly screwed.

A/N so? How'd you like this one?