"Villains!' I shrieked. 'Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! Tear up the planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!"
~ Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart
o-o-o-o-o-o
"So I think if we solve for x, we get that the wavelength is 440 nanometers, which means the light is blue," Edward concluded as he scribbled his calculations in his notebook.
"Are you sure it's not 540 and green?" Peter asked, squinting at his own notebook.
"Yeah, see here, you have to sub in Planck's constant," Edward said, showing him the calculation again.
Peter considered for a moment, plugged a few more numbers into his calculator, then nodded and crossed out and rewrote his solution.
"Ok, can we call it a night now? I still have that Algorithms lab to finish," Marcus piped in, already packing up his papers.
The rest of the group nodded and murmured their consent, starting to shuffle papers and collect calculators, books, and pencils. Edward tensed when he felt a hand settle on his shoulder and squeeze gently. Only one person in his group had such a blatant disregard for boundaries.
"Want to stop at h-Bar and get some coffee and dessert to celebrate being done with this section?" Leah purred close to his ear. "Or we can head back to my dorm and celebrate another way."
Edward sighed heavily and shrugged out from under her touch. "Leah, seriously. How many times do I have to ask you to stop? I have a girlfriend, and I'm not interested in coffee, or dessert, or anything else with you."
"She wouldn't have to know," Leah insisted, reaching towards him again. "Besides, I see her with another guy all the time, and they always look super cozy. She's obviously not as serious about you as you are about her. You deserve better than a cheater like her."
"Knock it off!" he shouted. The chatter of the group around them died suddenly with Edward's outburst, but he was so focused on Leah that he didn't notice. He leaned towards her, and the menacing look on his face made her flinch backwards. "You know nothing about Bella or my relationship with her, so don't try your games here. That guy you've seen her with? Big guy, maybe 6'2, 6'3, lots of muscles, curly hair and dimples?"
He paused waiting for her confirmation, and Leah nodded meekly, her eyes wide at the sudden change in his demeanor. "Yeah, I figured as much. That's Emmett, one of her best friends. Upstanding guy, we get along great. Nice try, though. Did you really think I'd just take your word for it and cheat on my girlfriend because you said you saw her with another guy? Even if I didn't have Bella, I wouldn't have any interest in someone as underhanded and conniving as you."
Having reached the end of his tirade, it suddenly dawned on him that he was still standing in the study room at the library, surrounded by his physics group. He glanced around, and they were all gaping at him with varying degrees of surprise and amusement. "Sorry about that guys. See you next week?" he declared as nonchalantly as possible, before grabbing his bag and hustling away, leaving an embarrassed Leah to deal with the witnesses of her berating.
Edward pulled out his phone to call Bella, feeling like she needed to know what had transpired during his study session, but just as he was about to dial her number, he heard his name called. He turned toward the sound, and his face broke into a wide grin when he realized it was Bella who had called out to him.
His eyes scanned over her as she approached him, taking in her tiny purple shorts and thin white shirt appreciatively. But when she was close enough to make out the distraught expression on her face, it was like a bucket of cold water on his simmering lust.
"What's wrong?" he cried, closing the distance between them in several long strides, cupping her face with one hand as he skimmed the other over her back and shoulder as if searching for injuries. "Are you ok? What happened?"
Bella sighed deeply and braced herself. "We need to talk," she answered.
Edward's heart sank. Nothing good ever came from that kind of declaration. He dropped his hands from her body and tucked them into his pockets, bracing himself for her next words. You're having such a good night, his inner voice taunted. First you go off on Leah in front of your physics group, now you're going to get dumped in front of the library. Karma's a bitch.
"So..." Bella started, then blew out a breath. "Ok, this is really embarrassing."
"Just say it," Edward implored, hoping she wouldn't drag out his agony. He closed his eyes as she opened her mouth to continue, as if not seeing her would soften the blow.
"A couple months ago, Angela asked me to help her with a project for one of her classes. She needed to do a photo study of the human body. So, I posed for some pictures for her," Bella explained softly. Edward's eyes popped open in surprise.
"You're not breaking up with me?" he blurted, unable to stop the hopeful words from spilling out of his mouth.
Bella's eyes widened in shock. "No!" she exclaimed. "No, I'm not breaking up with you! Why would you think that?"
"I don't know, just...the look on your face. It was the same look when I told you I had to move. And I'm still having a hard time believing all this is real, so I thought maybe it was time to go back to reality."
"Oh, Edward, no. I'm actually a little afraid you're going to break up with me when you hear what I have to say..." she admitted, dropping her eyes to the ground.
Edward pulled her against him, giddy with relief. "I promise, that's never going to happen. So, what had you been saying? I wasn't paying the best attention." He grinned sheepishly. "Something about Angela and pictures?"
Bella took another deep breath. "Yeah. So, the thing about these pictures. I'm...kindaonlywearingunderwearinthem," she rushed out, burying her face in his chest after the admission had passed her lips.
"That's what you were worried so about?" he asked gently, cupping her shoulders and holding her away from him. She wouldn't meet his eyes, but she nodded, her face burning in embarrassment. "Ok, then I need to tell you something."
At his declaration, Bella slowly slid her gaze to his, her eyes burning with fear, embarrassment, and a hint of hope. Edward gave her a sheepish smile before admitting, "I already knew that."
Bella blinked at him, trying to process his admission. "Knew what?"
"About the pictures," he clarified.
"You...already knew about the pictures?" she asked incredulously, pulling away from him slightly.
"Yeah," he agreed, settling a hand at the nape of his neck in a self-conscious gesture. "Angela had given Ben a copy of the calendar she made for his opinion on the overall product, and I found it. I recognized your infinity necklace."
Bella spun out of Edward's embrace and took a few frantic steps backwards. "Ben has seen them?" she screeched. Edward winced at her hysterical tone.
"Uh - Angela didn't tell you that?" he surmised, realizing he'd just accidentally thrown his friends under the bus.
"No! She did not tell me that!" Bella huffed. "She promised no one but the professor would see them! But no, that doesn't mean no one, that means her professor, and her boyfriend, and his roommate, and random people on the fucking street!"
"Come on," Edward soothed, closing the distance between them and pulling her tense frame against him, rubbing gentle circles on her neck. "She really only showed Ben. I was never supposed to see them, but I was digging through his backpack to get another book and found it."
"Yeah, well, if she hadn't given them to Ben, you'd never have seen them," Bella insisted, two spots of color high in her cheeks.
"If she hadn't given them to Ben, I might not have found you again," Edward argued. Bella's confused gaze met his and he explained, "I told Ben I knew you from high school, but we'd lost touch. He let me know you were going to the Theta Xi party with Angela, which is why I went. I needed to see you again."
She'd started to relax under his ministrations, but at his words, Bella stiffened again. "You only wanted to see me after you saw those half-naked pictures of me?" she asked, hurt lacing her tone.
"No!" Edward denied immediately. "I've wanted to see you every day since I had to move away. The pictures just made me aware you were closer than I could have hoped."
Bella's posture relaxed again at his sincere declaration. "Did you really think the only reason I would want to see you again was a couple pictures of you in lingerie?" Edward asked, his own hurt evident in his voice.
Bella shrugged apologetically. "I didn't know what to think. It's been a shitty night, so that would be par for the course," she murmured darkly.
"You are what's important. Not your body, although you've always been beautiful to me. But your mind, and your sense of humor, and your kindness. All of it together - you - are why I wanted to see you again."
Bella leaned up and brushed her lips against his after his passionate declaration, an apology and forgiveness in one. Edward nodded that he understood, and pressed his lips against hers again.
When they broke apart, he gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner that I'd already seen the pictures. At first I didn't want to bring them up because I thought you'd freak out, and then as time went on, I honestly forgot about them. Besides, I had the real thing in front of me." He grinned impishly, and Bella flushed. "So, since it was pretty instrumental in getting us together, do you think you can forgive Angela for letting Ben and me see the pictures?" he asked softly.
At the reminder that she hadn't told Edward everything, Bella grimaced. "Well, I would have, until she lost the damn USB drive with all the pictures on it," she muttered resentfully.
Edward's eyebrows shot into his hairline in surprise. "She lost a USB with the pictures on it?" he repeated incredulously.
"Yeah. She bumped into someone and they both dropped a bunch of stuff, but she was late to class so she wasn't paying attention to what she was grabbing. She grabbed the wrong USB drive, which means whoever she bumped into has the pictures now," Bella explained.
"Oh, R2," he murmured, tightening his arms around her reassuringly. "It'll be ok. I mean, your face wasn't really in any of the pictures, from what I remember."
"That's what Angela said, but you still recognized me apparently," Bella argued.
Edward smiled as he teased, "Well, yeah, but I think I know you better than most people, don't I?"
Bella couldn't quite contain her answering grin. "I suppose," she allowed.
"Then, it doesn't make sense to worry about it. Hopefully, nothing will come of it. And if anything does happen, we'll deal with it together, ok?"
Bella nodded and burrowed gratefully against Edward's chest. He held her tightly, feeling the rest of her tension slowly seep out of her frame. He dropped a gentle kiss to the top of her head, then smirked. "So," he drawled. "Now that you know I know about the pictures, you think Angela would give me copies of them?"
Bella reared back, gaping at him, and he wiggled his eyebrows lasciviously. She shoved him playfully, rolling her eyes. "No?" he asked. "Well, then, did you keep the outfits? Maybe you can model them for me."
"Ugh, you're such a guy," Bella complained, though she was smiling, so Edward knew she wasn't upset.
"Guilty as charged, baby. So whaddya say? I was kinda partial to the outfit for April," he offered, recalling the small, tight Batman tee-shirt and tiny, silky panties from the photographs.
Bella pulled him down for a searing kiss before moving her lips to his earlobe. "Maybe if you're a really good boy," she murmured, letting her lips graze the shell of his ear as she spoke. Edward shivered as her words shot straight to his groin.
"You're a dangerous creature, Bella Swan," he growled. She just smiled innocently at him. "Want to watch a movie or something?" he offered, hoping he'd get to spend more time with her and they could unwind from the night together. He tugged on her hand to start them walking back towards their rooms.
Bella shook her head. "I need a shower," she explained, gesturing at her outfit. "Angela told me about the USB thing and I went running to clear my head. It almost worked, until I passed Cedar and thought about you seeing the pictures without me telling you they existed. So I came straight here because I knew I wouldn't be able to wait to tell you about them. I didn't realize I was several months too late," she finished, playful censure lacing her tone.
"I know, I know," Edward sighed playfully. "To make it up to you, I'll let you go shower. But, make sure you ask Angela to make me a copy of those pictures!"
"Ass," Bella chastised with a grin. "You'll let me shower?" Edward nodded with an unrepentant grin. "How very magnanimous of you. I think you owe me a lot more than letting me shower to make up for omitting that little detail. See you tomorrow?"
"Can't wait," he agreed, pulling her close for a quick kiss. "I'm not kidding about those pictures, though."
Bella just rolled her eyes playfully. "Good night, 3PO."
o-o-o-o-o-o
A/N: So, he admitted he'd seen the pictures, and no freak out. Well...not a big freak out. Communication is such a wonderful thing.
And how about that Leah? Think that's the last we'll see of her?