A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Also sorry for the mix-up with last chapter. I went back and forth trying to un-italicize the first portion, but no matter what editing I did/new versions I uploaded, it wouldn't be fixed. So Jesus apparently wants that part italicized… so be it ;o) Anyway, please review if you want a speedy update!
Rosalie's POV
Alice knocked primly on the door, pausing only a few seconds before rapping sharply on it again. I rolled my eyes as she twisted the door knob, scowling when she found it locked. It was the end of what Alice dubbed "nuclear fucking fallout" week. Everyone knew the story by now. Jasper was like a walking zombie at school, and Bella wasn't even at school. James told us Charlie preferred to call her in sick than actually talk to her.
She refused to answer anyone's calls. James came and saw her once a night, bringing her dinner and making her eat a little. He gave us daily updates during lunch while fixing Jasper with unneeded glares. I was all for some proxy-vengeance, but Jazz already looked like someone had tortured his puppy. Alice gave in to James' demands that Bella be left alone for the week, since it was what she wanted. Alice drew the line at leaving Bella alone on the weekend, however, and since it was Friday afternoon she figured that James wouldn't be pissy over it.
Halloween was tomorrow, and all the girls were going to a party at the Bronze. Alice had ambushed Edward and made him promise to take Jasper somewhere else for the night. She thought it could be a perfect healing opportunity for Bella. I was drawn out of my thoughts by Alice as she started fumbling around the yard, turning over rocks.
"What are you doing?" I asked, dubiously watching as she kept turning shit over.
"James told me that Charlie has one of those hide-a-key things." She muttered, squealing when she discovered the fake rock with the key inside. She quickly unlocked the door before barreling up the stairs. I followed, hesitant at the thought of how pissed Bella would be.
"Bella!" Alice chirped from outside her bedroom door, "We're coming in!"
All we heard was a groan and a muffled, "Go away."
Alice adorned her best "bitch please" expression before opening the door. Bella grumbled and dove under the covers as Alice opened the blinds on her windows before turning back to the bed.
"I don't think retail therapy can fix this, Ali." I noted, my eyes narrowing as I watched Bella burrow further under the covers.
Alice raised an eyebrow at me before pulling Bella's duvet off and dragging her feet towards us.
"Let go!" Bella shrieked, clinging to the headboard like it was a life line.
"You... need... to... get.... up…" Alice huffed, tugging as Bella kicked out her feet in protest, "And... come.... to... the... mall-"
"Stop!" Bella shouted, finally twisting to face us. I took an unneeded breath and I flinched at Alice's immediate gasp. Subtlety was not her strong suit.
Bella's face was splotchy and red. Her bottom lip was puffed out as she looked us both down, daring us to say something. I wondered for a moment what to say next. I'd never really had my heart broken. I didn't want to say the wrong thing and offend her, or cause her to freak out more.
"Look." Alice went straight to business, "Halloween is tomorrow. We are going out. We are having fun. We are forgetting boys-"
"That's not such a sacrifice for you." I interjected with a snort, making Bella crack a small smile.
Alice gave me her patented "Must-you-mention-I'm-a-lesbian-at-every-turn?" glare before continuing on with her speech, "…And Bella, you are going. I've given you healing time, but enough is enough. You need a costume or therapy, and since I'm not licensed for shit, it's costume time." She pulled back the covers with a final tug as Bella flopped back onto the bed, sighing.
"I'm going to start the shower." Alice said, smirking triumphantly before leaving us alone. I tentatively laid down next to Bella.
"He's a wreck." I said, staring at the tiny cracks in the ceiling.
"Good." She said bluntly, and I loved her a little more for it. Any other girl might have lied and said that she didn't care. At least she was honest.
"I hate that I feel this way." She finally said, "I hate it. I feel like a walking cliché, which really honestly sucks, because I didn't see this coming. I didn't. I fell in love for the first time, and I chose a complete bastard to love." She sucked in a ragged breath before turning on her side to face me. I rolled over and impetuously grabbed her hand, squeezing it.
"Maybe you could talk to him?" I suggested. She scoffed, and I knew I had my answer. But I still had to try, because Alice wouldn't. "Look, Jazz can be stupid, but everyone knows he loves you. Why else would he be acting this way? I heard from Edward that Jasper blew Maria off, Bella. She left town."
"She's not the point." Bella maintained, letting go of my hand and going to sit in front of her vanity mirror. "I look hot." She deadpanned, running a few fingers through her tangled hair. I waited, restraining the need to shake her and ask her what the point was. She rewarded me after a few moments, "He didn't believe me. He treated me like I was a stupid, jealous little girl. And when it came down to it, I wasn't enough to keep him there."
I had nothing to say; I couldn't defend him. "He made a mistake." I said, because it was all I had. I loved Bella, really I did, but I also had a soft spot for Jasper. Anyone with eyes could see how he looked at her with so much love and adoration. That coupled with the devastating shell he'd been this past week at school was enough to convince me.
Bella's eyes met mine in the mirror briefly, "Yeah, he sure did."
Alice came skipping- literally- back into the room, and I sighed as Bella let herself be dragged towards the steaming water.
Alice's POV
I'd practically wrestled Bella into the shower. I was happy. She let me blow dry her hair and even put some mascara and lip gloss on her before she waved me away. We walked out to Rose's car in silence. Bella sat in the backseat, leaning back against the headrest.
"Cheer up, Bells. It'll be okay. There's this hot little costume shop in Port Angeles. A little skanky, but what else is Halloween for, right?" Rose gave me a pointed look that told me I was babbling. The silence in the car was awkward. What was I supposed to say? Hey, Bella, sorry your heart was broken. I forced myself to stop before turning on the radio.
"… I don't wanna close my eyes! I don't wanna fall asleep 'cause I miss you baby, and I don't wanna miss a thing-"
"Eep!" I squealed, hurriedly pressing another number on the presets.
"… And you really love me underneath it all-"
"Oh my God!" I punched another button.
"… After all, you're my wonderwall-"
"Fuck!" I shouted, fumbling to turn off the radio completely. Blushing slightly, I saw that Rose was chuckling so hard tears were in her eyes. Bella was biting back a smile, giggling to herself. I started to laugh too, feeling the tension dissolve.
"Alice." Bella sounded plaintive, "Can I please skip the Halloween party? We can still go shopping. I just don't feel- I don't think I can-"
"It's okay." I surrendered, and she looked relieved and surprised, "But I'm still buying you a skanky outfit to be worn very soon, missy."
Bella exhaled, closing her eyes again, "Agreed."
Bella's POV
I was finally thinking clearly. It only took a week or so of me being a pitiful hermit. Shopping with Alice and Rose had helped. James' visits had helped even more. What made the decision even easier was the fact that Jasper hadn't come back. No calls, no visits, no grand romantic gestures. I had a sneaking suspicion that James might have threatened him to stay away, but even that wasn't an excuse. Rose told me that Jasper knew he'd made a mistake. He had a shitty way of showing it.
I smacked my cheeks lightly in the bathroom at school. I was alone for the first time since Alice and Rose had ambushed me on Friday. They'd both decided to ditch the party at the Bronze and sleep over at my house. When they finally left, James took their place. I appreciated that they wanted to make me feel surrounded by warm and cozy emotions, but I also needed to just feel it. I needed catharsis… I needed to make myself realize that I'd fallen in love with a person who didn't deserve it.
English had gone by painfully slowly. Everyone was ogling me, and it was then that I knew the story of me and Jasper was widespread and now gossip fodder for the entire school. I walked into Biology with forced confidence knowing that I'd probably see him there. The relief I felt when I saw our lab table empty was almost palpable. I approached the teacher, who was shuffling papers at the table in front.
"I'd like to change lab partners, please." I said, "I can't work with Jas-" Even saying his name made my skin twitch, "Mr. Hale anymore."
The teacher's eyes widened slightly, probably wondering what Jasper had done to make me want to leave. "Of course, Miss Swan. I'll assign you another lab partner." I nodded impatiently, shifting back and forth in my sneakers.
"Mr. Cullen?" The teacher called out, and I froze, "Can you come up here?"
I eyed the heavens, inwardly asking "Why me?"
"Sure." I heard Edward's smooth voice before he appeared beside me, his eyes flickering over me momentarily before looking away.
"You're the only student working alone. A situation has come up- would you be able to partner with Miss Swan for the remainder of the school year?" The teacher smiled. He was fucking beaming at his genius solution. "Assuming it's alright with Miss Swan, of course."
"I… um…" Edward stuttered, looking at me and back to the teacher. I smirked slightly at how uncomfortable this was making him. Now, my decision was this: months partnered with the man who broke my heart and proceeded to stomp on it mercilessly, or months working with the guy who I imagined castrating in many a free moment.
Tough call.
"I'd prefer to work with Edward." I finally said. The teacher smiled and Edward's unfairly chiseled jaw dropped slightly.
"Ah… it's fine with me." He finally muttered before doing an about-face and walking back to his lab table. Our lab table. Wonderful.
I gave a small smile to the teacher in thanks before following Edward, dropping my messenger bag on the floor between us. I sat down and rolled my eyes when I caught him watching me like I was about to start flying around the room. I looked from his eyes to the incomplete worksheet on the table. I could feel my eyes drooping closed slightly. The lack of sleep of the past few days was definitely catching up with me.
"I'm gonna take a quick nap." I said, "Just scream or something and wake me up when you're halfway through. I'll do the rest." It was only fair. He seemed surprised to hear me speak at all before he nodded sharply and started scribbling on the worksheet. I cushioned my head down on my arms and tried to let myself drift off.
I woke to my shoulder being poked. I grumbled irritably before squinting as a dash of color passed through my peripheral vision. Edward and his forest green shirt were hightailing it out of the class, most likely out of fear that I'd bite him for touching me.
To be fair, that fear probably isn't completely unfounded.
I started when I realized that the rest of the students were filing out. It was the end of class. Edward hadn't woken me to do my part of the worksheet. I closed my eyes in frustration, wondering what sort of shit he'd put on the part I was supposed to do. Our first day as partners and he was already trying to sabotage me? Great.
I gathered my bag and smiled at the teacher, charming as always, "Can I see our worksheet? I wanted to make sure Edward used the right scale when he was identifying his portion."
"Ah." The teacher smiled, "Sure, take a look." I took the proffered piece of paper and quickly looked it over. Both of our names, and… complete, 100% correct work. He hadn't even made me do my part. Huh.
It did nothing to ease my massive loathing for the guy, but still… that was unexpected.
I turned the worksheet back in and walked through the halls, aimlessly trying to focus my thoughts. The dull murmur of conversations around me suddenly halted, and I paused and looked up to find the source of the silence. My eyes clashed with Jasper's, and I immediately took a self-preserving step backwards. At least two dozen classmates were all watching us with rapt fascination.
"Hey." He said. He did look… unkempt. His clothes were rumpled and his hair… well, his hair was an absolute mess. He looked tired. Good. I hadn't had a decent night of sleep for the past week. Why should he? I started to walk away, ignoring our audience.
"I just want to talk to you." He pleaded, keeping in step with me.
"I don't." I retorted, walking quicker in hopes that he'd just leave me alone.
"I'm sorry I missed Bio." He said, and I couldn't believe of all the things he could say, that was it. "I'll do all the work next time to make up for it."
I smiled wryly, the opportunity too good to pass up, "Don't worry about it. I have a new partner now."
I wanted to slap the look of hurt off his face. He had no right to look at me like that after the way he'd humiliated me. It wasn't enough that he'd chosen her over me; he had to tell everyone I liked in this town what happened. The only person I'd told was James, and I know he didn't tell anyone. Alice and Rose had come to him, not vice versa. Now everyone except for my friends looked at me like I was the freaky new-girl leper that broke poor Jasper's heart. And my friends looked at me like I was about to have a mental breakdown.
Thanks so much for that, Jasper. Dick.
"Who? Angela?" He asked as I fiddled with my locker. He was standing much too close. I chanced a look up at him and immediately looked away, flustered. He was leaning down, his eyes- a very light blue today- too close to mine. I unceremoniously shoved my books in my locker before slamming it shut with a bang. He jumped slightly and I walked a few steps away from him.
"Actually, Edward's my new partner." I said, no expression on my face. His look of surprise and muted pain did nothing to ease the ache in my chest. I turned and walked away.
A/N: Lyrics to the songs are from (in order): "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith, "Underneath It All" by No Doubt, and "Wonderwall" by Oasis.
Teaser for Chapter 15: Edward and Drunk!Bella
I sidled up to her at the bar, watching warily as she greedily sucked a lime before tossing it over her shoulder. I waited for her to acknowledge me. She turned to me and scowled, her perfect lips drawn into a pout and her eyes squinting. Her hair was in disarray, and she blew a piece of it out of her face.
"What are you doing here?" She said, her voice low. Like she was trying to scare me. Pffft.
"It's a free country." I said smugly, gesturing to the others in the bar. She scoffed.
"Whatever, go away. I hate you, kind of a lot. Now, shoo!" She flicked her wrist at me, like she expected me to fly away. I rolled my eyes.
"Sorry, Swan. You want me to leave, you're gonna have to make me."
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