Chapter 20: Smitten
Edward POV
"You've been acting so weird lately." Jasper informed me. We were in my room, sitting around, doing absolutely nothing. "I'm sorry." I said sarcastically. "Ever since that Bella chick showed up. It's like you're a different Edward." Jasper said, plucking away at my bass. My fist clenched, Bella wasn't a chick. She was just Bella. I know Jasper didn't mean it as a bad thing, that was just how Jasper talked. It just made my blood boil. "What do you want me to do about it? And what the hell does this have to do with Bella?" I asked. "Everything, this has absolutely everything to do with Bella. When ever you are in the same room with you her, you cant keep your eyes off her. Your completely smitten with the girl." He said, exasperated, as if I were an idiot. "Smitten." I scoffed. "Dude, you're way passed smitten." He said. I rolled my eyes. Not saying anything.
"Oh, shit." He said, looking at me. "What?" I asked. "Something happened between you two? Didn't it?" He asked, recognition crossing his face. "What? don't be ridiculous." I told him. "You cant bull shit your way out of this one." He laughed. I sighed, it was either tell him now, or have him annoy me for how ever long I don't tell him. "We may have kissed." I shrugged. Plucking the strings on my guitar. "May have? How do you may have kissed someone?" Jasper asked, his eyebrow raised. "We kissed, and then she bolted." I said. "She bolted." He stated, pondering it. I sighed. "Maybe you should kiss her again." He thought a loud. "Why?" I asked. "Think about it, maybe that moment you two kissed was the wrong moment. So now you have to kiss her again, and see if she runs. If she doesn't, well, I'll let your mind wonder." He said. "Jasper?" Alice called from the door. Jasper smiled wide. I rolled my eyes. "I'll see you later." He said, then walked towards the door. He stood there, but then turned around and looked at me. "She's a nice girl, Edward." Jasper said, then ducked out of my room. He said it like he was warning me. As if I didn't know Bella was a nice girl. Of course she's a nice girl, that she's all wrong for me. No, that's not it, I'm all wrong for her. She deserves someone better, someone not broken. But that's the thing, I couldn't stay away from her. As hard as I tried, I just couldn't not be around her. Bella is like my own personal brand of heroin. Simply put, I needed her.
I saw Bella walk outside, going through the slider door, I argued with myself whether or not to follow her. But then I saw Rose going out there too, I decided it would be best if I stayed inside. Emmett was in the living room playing video games, Jasper and Alice were who knows where, doing who knows what. Bella and Rose were most likely talking outside. Esme was cooking dinner, and Carlisle had not returned home from work. I sighed, and walked into the living room. "Got room for one more?" I asked Emmett, as I grabbed a control. "Prepare to eat dust." He smiled, like a little kid. I chuckled, and we began the race. Half way through our fifth race, Emmett paused the game, and turned to look at me. An unreadable expression in his eyes. He looked into the kitchen, and saw that it was empty. "Look Edward, I don't know what is going on between you and Bella, and I guess I don't want to know. But whatever it is, it's not good, for either of you. Bella doesn't need the shit that comes from your past, she has enough to worry about with whatever the hell happened to her. I know you Edward, and I know a part of you knows this isn't right. That it cant last. You are my brother, and Bella is my sister, whether by blood or on paper. But I refuse to sit back and watch you screw up Bella's life even more. I'm sorry Edward, I am, but at the same time, I know some of your past, and Bella doesn't deserve that." Emmett finally said. I didn't say anything, I just sat there staring at him. For the time I've been here, Emmett has never said that much at once to me. He unpaused the game, and acted like nothing happened. Sixteen races later. It is safe to say I did not eat Emmett's dust, if anything he ate my dust, sixteen times. "You cheated." Emmett grumbled as we walked to the dining room table. Yeah, Emmett is acting like he didn't say all that. "Stop being a sore loser." I said, sitting down. If he acting so can I. "I cant be a sore loser, if you didn't even play fairly." He told me. "Emmett, Edward always beats you." Jasper said, taking a seat. I swear, sometimes I think Carlisle and Esme adopted Jasper and Rose, and never told us about it. Dinner was like every other night. Alice and Emmett described every waking minute of their day. They got very animated. I couldn't help but smile when Alice informed us about the dirty looks teacher's gave her. I swear, teachers gossip as much as the students. Dinner had ended, and everyone migrated to the living room.
I snuck up the stairs, and into my room. I quickly put on my pajama pants, and a sweatshirt, and stepped out onto the patio. The cold air hitting my face. I was on the patio by myself, in complete silence, when the slider door opened, and Bella stepped out. I smiled to myself. "Is this going to be a habit of ours?" I asked her, as soon as she shut the door. "I don't know." Bella said, and I could see her figure shrug. I thought I caught a glimpse of her smiling, but I put that aside and blamed it on my imagination. Emmett's conversation repeated itself over in my head. Again, and again. "Well, to be blunt, I would rather meet out here, than in there, when people are watching with a fine tooth comb." I said, and then the lights came on. She had her blanket, once again, hugged around her fragile body. I was incredibly tempted to just wrap my arms around her, and shield her from the cold. But scaring her away wasn't on the top of my to do list. "I'm going to have to agree with you on that. Alice isn't to keen on personal space." Bella said, her fondness was in her voice. I knew she liked Alice. "I wish I could say she gets better, but she doesn't." I said, smiling to myself. Alice will be Alice. Cant live with her, cant live without her. "The people you want to change the most, never do." She said. "Speaking from experience?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I wasn't expecting her to say something like that. "Possibly. But, doesn't everyone?" Bella questioned back. "Touché." I said.
I stared at her. The conversation I had with Jasper running through my head over and over again. What if he was right? And the moment we kissed was just bad timing, and that's why Bella ran off? I looked at her face, trying to see if I would find the least bit of hesitation. Nothing, and it was very frustrating. I sighed. There was only one way I could ever find out the truth. So, before I lost my nerve, I leant forward. I went slow, slower then I would with any other girl. But Bella wasn't just any other girl. Not Katy, not Jessica, not Lauren, and certainly not Tanya. She was Bella. Finally, our lips touched, and since when we first kissed, everything felt right. After a few seconds, Bella wrapped her arms around my neck, and pulled me closer. I could tell if this was any different, because she did that last time. But, deep inside me somewhere, this was different. Bella was different from all the other girls I have kissed. I wrapped my arms around her waist hesitantly, a part of me was still waiting for her run off. We pulled away, after both of us were gasping for breath. I smiled crookedly down at her, and she looked away blushing.
Playlist-
Time Stands Still- All American Rejects