More Than Words
Edward

I hid a groan. A loud, frustrated groan at that. Here I was, making progress with Bella, and here came two girls intent on ruining all my efforts. Talk about bad timing.

I looked up to warily glance at Bella. To my utter relief she didn't seem angry...much, anyway. She just looked vaguely irritated and amused. I scoffed internally. Amused? There was nothing amusing about this situation. Rather, this was a hellhole. One hellhole I'd dug myself.

Bella kicked me under the table. I grabbed my shin with one hand, discreetly wincing. Thank God she was wearing flats, because if she wore killer stilettos like Rosalie did a section of my leg would probably have been gouged out by now. I cast a desperate glance at Bella, who looked at me with the amusement quickly winning over dominance in her face. I scowled. Traitor.

Here I was trying to leave a favourable impression on Bella, and almost succeeding and here came two airheads determined to foil me. It didn't particularly help that I had dated these two once. Well, it wasn't really my fault they thought a date meant eternal devotion, was it?

Jessica slipped in next to me, purring softly. I cringed away from her as Lauren slid in on the other side, leaving Bella trying to restrain her laughter. I flinched back into myself, trying to send a silent communication at Bella.

Get me out of here NOW!

She grinned mockingly at me and eased closer on the cheap vinyl booth, the irritation flickering in her eyes and fading completely. I grimaced. Damn. She was going to have some fun.

"Jessica, Lauren, what are you doing here?" she asked, nudging me softly with her toe. I looked at her and she gave me a pointed look that seemed to say, play along. But then again I wasn't an expert on breaking down facial expressions. Emmett was forever teasing me about it after I misinterpreted his looks during a twisted game of Scrabble.

"Oh, you know, just shopping," Lauren said airily, waving her hand vaguely. "And we got tired, and then we saw-"

"This restaurant and decided to come for food!" Jessica intervened hastily. I raised my eyebrows sceptically at Bella, who smirked at me. Oh, great. They were stalking me, apparently, judging Lauren's almost-slip of tongue.

Lauren cast Jessica a thankful look before turning to me. "So...Edward...what are you doing here at a restaurant, alone?" she asked in a nasal voice. I blinked before looking up. Bella was still there, wasn't she? Had everything been a hallucination? I stared blindly for a moment before catching Bella's eyes.

Well, now she looked pissed off.

I grimaced. "Jessica, Lauren...if you don't mind, I am here with Bella, if you haven't noticed yet."

As both girls turned to sneer at Bella I thought she mumbled something like, 'maybe because your eyes were so full of makeup' under her breath, but I might have been imagining it. She plastered a fake sweet smile on her face and smiled at Lauren. The pretense was so obvious I had to cover up my laugh with a loud cough. Bella sent a death glare my way for that. Feisty, that girl.

"Isabella," Lauren said, using her full name deliberately. "So, how does it feel going on a date with Forks' most eligible bachelor? Thrilling, isn't it?"

Jessica put on a sneer. "Don't forget, Isabella, you aren't the only one entitled to have a slice of Edward," Jessica warned maliciously. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes-not appropriate-but honestly, who they made it sound like I was a piece of meat or something. Or rather, a pie. A delicious, tempting pie baked perfectly to a golden brown perfection with whole strawberries served inside with a nice dose of whipped cream that would linger on Bella's full lips as she swallowed the pie, her mouth closing around it in a 'O'...I shook my head vigorously to get my mind out of the gutter. Thankfully nobody noticed my little digression.

"Oh, Lauren, Jessica, I'm terrified. What are you two going to do if I did go out with Edward, repeatedly?" Bella asked politely. I jumped a little. The little beast in me called Junior started jumping up and down in excitement. Yes! Yes! Yes! I grimaced. You idiot, she was being sarcastic.

Lauren huffed a little. "Whatever, Swan. Just watch your back."

"Aw, thanks for the advice!" Bella said cheerfully. "How nice of you, Lauren."

Jessica let out a puff of frustration and got up and stomped off, rather ungracefully in fact. Lauren leered a bit at me, shooting a seductive smile my way and followed suit, her heels clacking on the floor as she tried her best to make her hips sway. God, if I ever thought that girl could replace what Esme felt for me, I must have been drugged.

Once they were gone I let out a soft sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you, God, for getting rid of them."

"You should be thanking me," Bella said haughtily. "I'm the one who got rid of them. If you were here alone they would probably have given you a lap dance or something equally mortifying."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Are we always going to have this love-hate relationship?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Bella sniffed. I grinned.

"I'm sure you don't," I teased back, watching her smirk while spearing her lobster. I pitied the poor thing. "You know, you don't really have to take it out on your food."

"Would you prefer to have me stab this fork in your hand instead?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Um, no," I replied, wincing.

"Well then, that solves the problem."

I laughed as she changed the topic hastily.

.xXx.

Dinner progressed smoothly, with no awkwardness between us. It made me wonder how the electricity between us had been so awkward before. Sure, the same energy was still there, but it was a comfortable spark, like we'd known each other forever. It certainly seemed that way now, with our small challenge of random quotes.

"There's no I in team," Bella said triumphantly. "There is a 'me', though, if you jumble the word up."

"That's lame. Check this out-Never say things couldn't get any worse, because God takes that as a personal challenge," I shot back. Bella started laughing.

"That's a good one," Bella conceded. I bowed in mock arrogance and she giggled, poking my ribs. I cringed away from her as we arrived at her old truck. I stopped suddenly, Bella colliding into me.

"Ouch!" she complained. "Remind me never to-what's wrong?"

"Your tyres are slashed," I said, staring at them. She stopped rubbing her shoulder and gaped at the tyres.

"Oh my God..." she breathed, going over to the truck and running her hand over the gaping slashes in the rubber. I checked the tyres on the other side. Those were slashed too.

"Who would do this?" I asked, feeling my stomach clench. Imagining someone deliberately trying to harm Bella, to intimidate her...it was hard to imagine, yet the proof was right in front of me.

It had to be a girl. No boy would do this to her.

Bella shrugged, seemingly nonchalantly, but I could see the hurt in her that she was fighting to hold down. "I don't know," she mumbled before grinning weakly. "I guess we'll have to find a way to get back, huh?"

"I could call Alice," I suggested, patting my pockets before groaning loudly. "Oh, no. My phone's at home charging." I looked sheepishly at Bella, who started to laugh at my face. "What?"

"You," she giggled. "You look so guilty."

"I feel guilty," I grumbled. She rolled her eyes at me, and I smirked at her. "We could call a cab," I suggested.

"With what?" she countered. "There isn't a pay phone here for miles, and besides, I don't have any spare change."

I glared at her. "Well, do you have any better ideas, Miss Picky?"

She smiled at me and I softened at her smile. Damn it, she could do anything to me and I would crumble under her. "We could walk," she suggested. "I don't want you spending any unnecessary cash on me. I'll just ask Charlie to call a tow truck."

By the look on her face I could tell she wasn't going to give in anytime soon. I sighed heavily. "Okay, but just so you know, if I have a coronary, I'm blaming you."

Who was I kidding? I couldn't blame Bella Swan for anything if my life depended on it.

Bella smiled. "I'll take my chances."

I smiled back at her before moving off along the road, stopping after a few steps and waiting for Bella to follow me. She laughed softly, and followed me without one glance back at the ruined truck.

Oh, well. Maybe now she would let me buy her a car.

"It's pretty dark now," Bella commented, looking up at the sky. I looked up as well, smiling at the dark sky with tiny glowing stars popping out all over. It was strangely clear today, so much so that the stars looked like tiny sparkling buttons on a sea of velvet.

"Want me to lighten it up for you?" I asked seriously. She started laughing at me.

"No," she answered softly. "I think its fine just now. You can't see the stars in the light."

I laughed softly at that, not because it sounded just so cheesy, but because I honestly didn't believe that. You could see the stars in the light sometimes; you just had to strain your eyes a little. But just to humour Bella, I played along. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Just like a typical boy to answer with a 'yeah'," she teased, poking my side. I caught her hand and let it fall, our hands intertwined. She looked at it briefly before smiling and looking straight ahead. It was a great moment.

But then of course the ghosts of my past had to come and haunt me.

Jeez, I could never catch a break.

No, guys, I'm not dead yet. Real life's been catching up with me. Karma's a bitch. Exam week starts tomorrow. On a brighter side, September holidays begin in two weeks, so I'll have one week to write my brains out. I'm looking forward to that. My other stories will be updated eventually when I get a few minutes to write whatever I can, but for now everything's going to be moving at snail speed. Mostly because I'm operating on adrenaline alone.

ANYWAY. I got 33 reviews for chapter 13! *hyperventilates* I love you guys. I think that's the most I've ever gotten in one chapter. Shall we go for 35 this chapter? I accept anonymous reviews, so PLEASE review! I grin like a idiot everytime I see the reviews.