Summary:

After going through a handful of unsuccessful figure skating partners, Bella Swan is on the verge of giving up her skating career. When her coach pairs her up with Edward Cullen, she decides to give her gold medal dreams one last shot.

A/N (Author's Note): ALL HUMAN.

*IMPORTANT*: I will be posting pictures that correspond with some chapters, so if you see text followed by a bold (number), that indicates that there will be a link to the picture on my profile.

I hope the pictures give you a better sense of all the skating positions... so please check em out!

Thanks for all your comments, and sorry for the delay.

Chapter 21: Sign It

Edward:

"Get in the back," Emmett ordered gruffly. He plopped down in the driver's seat while Jasper sat shotgun. I felt as if I were being led to prison or something.

As I slid into the backseat of Emmett's Jeep Wrangler, squeals erupted from inside my apartment. Obviously the girls were keyed up about something.

Emmett sighed wistfully. "Damn, I'd do anything to know what the girl's talk about when we aren't around."

Jasper nodded in agreement with the same lusty look in the eyes.

"My dad knows a guy who specializes in these micro audio recorders. I could probably get my hands on one…" I hinted.

Emmett's eyes widened and a devilish grin spread across his face. "Are you shitting me, man? That'd be great! I mean, girls say they love and all, and it's not that I don't believe Rose, but sometimes—"

"—you want to know what they keep from you," Jasper finished. "I've always wondered what Alice thinks when we play military." There was a dreamy faraway look in his eyes.

"Too much information man," Emmett held up his hands and whistled. "Or as Rose says: Omigod stop, TMI."

I chuckled at his impersonation of Rosalie's voice. It was quite accurate.

"How do you know if they kiss and tell?" I asked curiously.

"They do. What else could they be talking about at all their sleepovers?"

I nodded, pleased with myself. Jasper had an impressed look on his face, and by the excited grin on Emmett's, it was obvious that I'd gotten off on the right foot with them. Hmm, Carlisle could probably get one of those recorders in my hands in less than a week. Sometimes it was nice having the 'Cullen Connection'. Just say the name: 'Carlisle Cullen' and the deal will be sealed.

"So where are we headed?" I asked cautiously.

"My place. I was thinking we could discuss the unfavorable circumstances over a good natured Wii match or two," Emmett said through narrowed eyes—almost as if he were saying: Yup you know what I mean, punk. Obviously whatever good graces I'd had just flew out the window when it came to Bella.

Jasper punched Emmett's shoulder half playfully and grimaced. "What Emmett here means by that, is that we might have to work out some 'Terms and Conditions' with you… Maybe sign a release form or two? I mean, since we're technically 'releasing' Bella to your care…"

"Possibly a few contracts. You know, to make sure that we're clear on the rules," Emmett hinted.

Release forms? Contracts? Who said anything about those?

Emmett opened his mouth to protest, but before any words got out, Jasper elbowed his side. "Remember what Alice and Rosalie said earlier," he hissed.

I pretended I hadn't heard a thing.

"Sounds good," I forced a smile. Really I wasn't looking forward to the background checks and endless inquisitions. I'd just answer the questions that they asked—if they don't ask then there's no point in bringing it up. And as for whatever 'contracts' they had in store for me? I'd sign my name on the line for the conditions that were within reason. Although I highly doubted it would be successful, maybe I could negotiate with those two.

I took another look at both guy's faces that were set and determined—okay, making negotiations would be harder than I thought.

"I just wanted to warn you beforehand," Emmett started cheerful, "That if you lay one finger on Bella, I'll pound you to the ground and make it so that your hospital bills are so high that even your rich daddy won't be able to cover the cost of all the damage I'd do."

At this, I made a face. It wasn't exactly the threat that displeased me; it was more of Emmett's size. He was huge. Even as a guy like me probably had no chance to take him down. Plus, Jasper would most likely be flanking on his side.

I didn't really appreciate his snide comment on Carlisle but decided to let it slide. I don't think his intentions were to insult my foster father, but more of to make a point. Well, point taken:

Me flirty with Bella = Me pummeled by Emmett

Really, it was all the simplest of math.

I chuckled nervously, hoping that he was at least half joking. I mean, Carlisle had a lot of money. He would have to do some serious 'pummeling' to make it so that I can't afford the medical bill. I wonder if someone would die of exhaustion if they kept beating me up until I couldn't afford it. Well, hopefully that question is never answered.

"Ha-ha, Emmett here is just the biggest joker, isn't he?" Jasper laughed through gritted teeth. Obviously Alice had given him a serious lecture on not harassing me too much. Huh, of course I appreciated it, but I don't need some woman to fight my battles. Maybe it's a blessing though—it was quite obvious that Alice had Jasper wrapped around her skinny little fingers, and having her on my side would be quite an advantage.

"Yeah hilarious," I mumbled sarcastically.

An awkward silence lasted the next five minutes or so. It felt more like an hour. I wasn't sure if I liked the awkward silence or the ongoing threats more with Emmett.

"We're here," Emmett finally said, pulling up at a tall apartment complex. The outside of the building was an ordinary grayish-pink color, and it seemed to be on the verge of needing to be repainted.

"It's not quite as nice as your place—obviously," Emmett sneered. "But Rose and I manage."

I wasn't sure how to reply to that. Jasper shot me an apologetic look.

After he parked, Emmett undid his seatbelt and zoomed out of the car in one quick motion, slamming the behind him. The force exerted was so hard that the entire car rattled. At this he gave me a pointed look: You don't want to mess with me.

Jasper undid his own buckle hastily. "He's not normally like this. Only when it comes to Bella," he explained. I looked peered at Emmett through the window who had a scowl on his face; arms crossed, and was tapping his foot impatiently.

"It's alright, I understand," I chuckled.

"He's gonna challenge you to a Wii match, make sure you—"

"Give him a good game but let him win in the end. Hell, I know. Bella already gave me the rundown of the 'do' and 'don't' list," I cut him off.

"And ask him about his—"

"Gym. Bella already told me," I interrupted again.

He nodded, probably surprised that I'd been so proactive.

I got out of Emmett's car, but didn't slam the door hard. There was no need to make him despise me more than he already did.

I followed closely behind Emmett and Jasper as they jogged up the stairs. Emmett's apartment was on the fourth floor, so it was quite a long flight. Secretly, I think they were testing my endurance to see if I had the stamina to protect Bella. Luckily, I jog daily, and didn't even break a sweat trying to keep with them.

When Emmett realized that I wasn't lagging behind like he expected, he gave Jasper an annoyed glance and sped up. If anything, I think they were trying to find something wrong with me.Well, good luck with that, I internally smirked.

When we finally reached Emmett's floor, all three of us were starting to run short of breath. Though due to his silence, I think I passed their test.

Jasper fetched the key from under the potted plant by Emmett's door and unlocked it.

The inside of Emmett's apartment was just what I expected it to be. The interior was crowded, with stacks of papers on every table, and boxes that were piled up lining the walls, but it didn't look messy for some reason. There were flower arrangements at every windowsill—probably Rosalie's doing.

Jasper started fishing through all the stacks of papers on each table, seemingly trying to find one.

"Emmett man, you need to get all this shit organized," Jasper nagged.

"Not you too!" Emmett cried, exasperated. "Rosie's been on my back about it for the past week."

"I can't find the contract we typed up earlier," Jasper sighed, throwing his hands up.

Emmett waved his hand dismissively. "It's somewhere in one of those piles."

I stood, leaning against the door watching them amusedly.

"Found it!" Jasper said, waving a piece of paper above his head. "Now where was that pen…?"

"I got one," Emmett handed me a blue pen with the words: Dr. Smith: Pediatric Services. (632)-333-9800.

"Thanks," I said dryly, taking the pen.

"Here," Jasper handed me the contract and ushered me to a chair. "Emmett and I just wanted to make sure that our intentions are clear, as soon as possible. Please read the contract aloud—take note of the bolded words—and sign below on the dotted line." His tone was all business.

Emmett stared at me expectantly. I looked down at the fancily typed up script.

"I, Edmund Cullen, do solemnly swear (of affirm) that I will faithfully provide for Isabella Swan. I will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend her. I will neversexually harass her in any way. This includes both physically and mentally. If I do, I give Emmett Swan and Jasper Whitlock permission to beat the living daylights out of me," I recited.

Below the formally written text was a line for me to sign my name.

I chuckled when I saw that they didn't even get my name right. They seemed to have copied some of the phrases from the 'Presidential Oath'.

"Hey, we didn't get a lot of time to whip this baby up," Emmett defended his precious paper.

"Uhh, it's just that my name is Edward, not Edmund," I pointed to the mistake on the document.

Emmett slapped his forehead and snatched the pen out of my hands. He scribbled out the 'mund' and wrote in 'ward' before shoving the pen back into my hand.

"Any questions?" Jasper asked pleasantly.

Really, if I were signing with one of Carlisle's business contractors I would have had tons of questions—but this was just some stupid oath that Emmett had based off of the presidential oath.

There were a lot of black and white areas in the contract that I could surely work around. Could I make any sexual advancements with Bella if she wanted it? That wouldn't be a considered a violation, would it? Would mind-fucking be considered 'mentally harassing'? If they wanted to make a point in this contract, they should have been clearer about the 'holes' that were in it.

Nonetheless, I slapped a smile on my face. "No questions. This sounds quite reasonable."

"It better," Emmett muttered.

Without hesitating, I signed the dotted line with flourish—even looping the 'E' on my first name. Emmett was keeping a close eye on my fingers making sure that the ones on my left hand (the non-writing one) weren't crossed.

"I'm glad we have all reached and a mutual understanding," Jasper sighed, relieved. Obviously he had been the one on the other side of Emmett's bitching about me. Poor guy.

"Oh, before I forget, Emmett promised Rose and Alice that he would say something to you… What was that thing that you have to say?" Jasper elbowed Emmett, who was scowling like a little kid without and ice cream cone.

"Thank you for helping Bella when I am unable," Emmett muttered quickly.

I could have said that I didn't hear him, and made him redo his statement of gratitude, but since I'm practically an angel from heaven, I didn't.

"You're welcome," I said simply. "It's really, my pleasure," I added.

Emmett's eyes widened and he frowned at my poor selection of words.

"I mean I wouldn't use her for that kind of pleasure," I took my words back quickly. "I enjoy Bella's intellectual company," I tried, lamely.

He nodded, giving me a final warning look.

"Emmett has a Wii over here, maybe you can knock his ego down a few notches and defeat his boxing winning streak," Jasper laughed nervously, trying the change the subject. His expression that said: 'Please don't beat him. I don't want Emmett to throw a competitive hissy fit' contracted his words.

"We'll see," Emmett grinned, slapping me on the back.

I boxed a few rounds with Emmett, following Bella and Jasper's instruction. For the first few rounds, I made it so that we were tied even. Carlisle had gotten me a Wii before they were even released to the public, so I'd had a lot of experience.

Finally, right before the buzzer was about to go off, I purposely mis-aimed my punch, giving Emmett the chance to knock the last few breaths out of my character who fell to the ground.

"Once again, victory goes to EMMETT!" Emmett rumbled joyously.

He patted me on the shoulder. "You played a good game, Cullen, but you can't beat the master!" he cheered.

Jasper sat on the couch, massaging his temples as if he had a headache. It looked like he had experienced one too many 'Emmett victory episodes'.

"Bella told me that you manage your own gym. Probably helps your Wii skills," I tactfully mentioned.

"Definitely, boxing takes a lot out of your arms, but mine here," he flexed, "can just keep going and going."

I was a little miffed at his boasting, but tried to look impressed.

He nodded. "You know what Edward—" I couldn't help but notice that he wasn't calling me by my last name, and he got the last part right. —"You may not be so bad after all."

Score!

End Chapter

A/N:

A review would be greatly appreciated.

You may have notice that this one was delayed by a few days. I'm uber sorry for that! I was just a little stuck, but no worries, the next plot twist WILL BE coming, and the creative juices are flowing... Please don't expect an update until TUESDAY--and the daily update should resume then. Also, I'm kind of in a rush, trying to get this chapter out, so it might have a few mistakes. PLEASE let me know about those, and I'll fix them right away!

+For those of you that enjoy the 'figure skating scenes' i have LOADS of those coming up, so please be patient!

Thank you to those people who left me a review saying whether they wanted Tanya, Victoria, or some random character to be the next dramarama. If you haven't, please let me know!

REVIEW for any CLARIFICATIONS, SUGGESTIONS, or MISTAKES

Thanks.