The Tutor
Chapter 25 – Grand Gestures
Jasper lounged casually on Alice's lightly colored bedspread as she sat at her laptop adding songs to each of their ipods.
"Emmett just said that Twisted Ale is playing at U-Dub tomorrow night. Road trip?" Jasper suggested.
Alice scoffed from where she sat. "I'm not driving nearly four hours for Twisted Ale. They're not even that good. Their new drummer sucks." She spun around to face Jasper. "Besides, Bella has the house to herself for three whole days. We have plans."
"Plans for what?" Jasper sat up in interest.
"Plans that don't include spending all of our parent-free time in a car." Alice said as she flipped through her song choices on the screen.
"Am I invited?" Jasper asked.
"As long as you don't invite Edward," Alice uttered his name in contempt.
"You shouldn't be so hard on Edward."
"Why shouldn't I? The guy's a complete loser and an asshole. He doesn't care about Bella—"
"That's where you're wrong. He most certainly cares about Bella."
Alice rolled her eyes, finally focusing her attention from the computer screen onto Jasper. "Surely he doesn't have you fooled, too?"
"Fooled?"
"Edward doesn't care about anyone but himself."
"Edward cares about Bella."
"How can you say that? Look what he did to her! You don't screw over people you care about."
"Hmm…really?"
Jasper immediately regretted his words as soon as he'd uttered them. He saw Alice's body stiffen before her shoulders slumped in emotional defeat.
"Thanks a lot, Jaz." She whispered.
"No, baby, I'm not…" Jasper was on his feet in seconds. He went to Alice and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not saying you're a bad person."
"That's exactly what you're saying. Comparing me to Edward? Really, Jasper? That's pretty low." Alice was on the verge of tears.
"All I'm saying is that of anyone, I'd expect you to understand that you can still care about someone and make a mistake."
"And you think that's all Edward did? Made a mistake?"
"Yeah. Why is that so hard for you to believe?"
"Because there is no evidence to support what you're saying. There is, however, ample evidence to back up what I'm saying."
"How about because he told me how he feels about her?"
Alice looked back blankly at her computer screen, not really listening to Jasper and anymore of his pro-Edward spiel.
"I'm not like Edward. I'm not." She whispered, more to herself than Jasper.
Jasper shifted so that he was sitting comfortably on the floor in front of Alice. "I know you don't like him, and I'm not asking you to. But, aside from my family, you and Edward are the two most important people in my life. I love you both and I know you both, really well. It's how I knew that you and I could work things out, regardless of people telling me I shouldn't bother. And it's how I know that Bella is different for Edward. He really cares, Alice."
Alice was quiet for a long while and Jasper was sure he had gotten through to her; sure she was considering Edward in a new light.
"I really like Bella. And I don't think Edward is right for her. Even if he doesn't know it, I think she does." Alice finally said.
Jasper sighed in defeat. "Listen…Edward is trying. And I don't expect you to whisper nice things about him in Bella's ear—"
"Good. Because I won't." Alice interjected.
"What I do expect, however," Jasper spoke over her, "is that you won't do anything to ruin his chances either."
Alice shrugged. "Bella is her own person. She can make up her own mind."
"Alice," Jasper's tone was warning.
"Alright. I won't say anything."
********
Alice was still reeling from Jasper's comment about her being similar to Edward when she saw Bella cross the school parking lot on her way to her first class. Not far from Bella, Alice also spotted Rosalie. She was listening to something Jessica was animatedly saying. Apparently the conversation required the theatrics of grand hand gestures and head bobbing.
Alice quickly looked over at Bella to see if she'd noticed Rosalie; or more importantly, noticed that she would be outnumbered if she encountered Rosalie.
If Bella noticed, she gave no indication of such. She simply kept walking, cutting the distance between them inch by inch before she overtook and passed them by.
Alice saw the exact moment that Rosalie spotted Bella. Her eyes narrowed and she pointed and whispered something to Jessica. Together they visually sized the situation up before they began a stealth cat-like traipse towards their target.
"Bella!" Alice jumped out of her car and waved towards her friend. "Hey, come here! I need to show you something!"
Bella turned and looked, confused as to where the voice was coming from, until she spotted Alice. A grin sprung onto her face as she crossed the pavement towards her friend.
"What'd you have to show me?" Bella asked.
Alice stood silently facing Bella, but her eyes were on two figures descending upon the school behind her.
Bella looked over her shoulder to where Alice's gaze was perched. "Alice?" she raised her eyebrows in question. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Alice answered when she realized Bella was wise to her motive. "I just…they looked like they were up to something, so I—"
"Alice, Rosalie isn't going to do anything to me at school."
"I don't know. Rosalie is kind of diabolical."
"Whatever. If she wanted to hit me, she had the opportunity to do it that day at the store and she didn't. I doubt she'll do it now, in front of an audience." Bella shrugged.
Alice looked over at Bella and grinned, encouraged by her strength.
"So, your house tonight, right?" Alice asked.
"Yeah. What do you want to do?" Bella asked.
"I don't know. We'll figure something out." Alice said as she steered Bella towards the campus. Despite Bella's non-existent fear, Alice moved in the opposite direction as Rosalie.
********
It had only been a half hour into his first class and already Jasper was fighting the desire to put his head down on his desk and fall asleep. He was just about to drift off to dreamland when he felt a rather obnoxious pluck against his ear. Startled, he sat up straight before turning to his right in anger and irritation. Edward was sitting next to him beaming like a fool.
"What the hell?" Jasper looked between Edward and the teacher. "What are you doing in here?"
"I'm early." Edward said.
"She's going to kick you out of the class." Jasper pointed at Miss Hill, the instructor.
"Are you kidding? She's as blind as a wombat. She doesn't even know I'm not in this class." Edward shirked it off.
"And why are you in this class?" Jasper questioned.
"Bored." Edward stated like it was the most normal thing in the world for him to appear in a class that he didn't have to be in.
Jasper rolled his eyes. "Is this about Bella?" he summed up.
Edward shook his head, but the expression on his face defied him. "But I did talk to her."
"You did?" Jasper asked, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to be interested. "What'd you say?"
"I said 'hey'." Edward answered as if Jasper should have known.
"And…" Jasper gestured for Edward to continue.
"And that's it."
"Did she say anything back?"
"She said hi…or something like that."
"Okay. Cool."
"Cool nothing. What's next? I'm not doing this shit for my health. I need to know what the next step is."
"Okay, now you need to talk to her. Not a long conversation. Just something to let her know you were thinking about her. Tell her you like her hair or something, girls love that shit." Jasper said.
"Young man?"
Edward looked up to see Miss Hill peering down at him. "Are you in this class now? Because I have no notification from the office of any additions."
"Um…no. I just needed to get some notes from Jasper." Edward fabricated.
"Well that is something you'll need to do on your own time, not mine." Miss Hill reprimanded. With the hand that wasn't holding a sullied dry erase marker, she pointed towards the door, signaling to Edward that it was time to go.
Even though Edward was unclear as to exactly what Jasper meant, he didn't have time to ask questions because not only did Miss Hill send him packing, but Bella was also at her locker just as Edward emerged from Jasper's classroom.
A sense of urgency had overcome Edward over the last few days. The slow progress he was making with Bella, thanks to Jasper's rules, and the aching pain he felt at Bella's absence, propelled Edward to work as quickly as possible. So without really thinking through what he was going to say, Edward found himself before Bella in the middle of the first hour of school, with no other students present. He thought his timing couldn't have been more perfect.
"Bella?" he approached her slowly.
Bella turned and stared at Edward as if she's seen an apparition. "Edward?"
"Yeah…um…hi," he said.
"Hi." She continued to stare at him curiously, every so often casting looks down the deserted halls.
"So, um…listen…I…uh…miss your hair…I mean…your hair is…" Edward grimaced in frustration at the idiotic words that were coming out of his mouth. I should have figured out what I was going to say!
Bella stepped away from Edward, her eyes wide and disbelieving. "I have to go," she mumbled.
"No, wait, Bella," Edward said quickly.
"Don't, Edward. I'm not doing…this." She waved her hand between the two of them as an indicator of her words.
And she was gone, leaving Edward to stand there and mull over his perfect fucking timing.
********
Stupid. That one word summed up exactly how Bella felt when Edward had approached her at her locker.
At first she'd thought she was imagining him. After all, how likely was it that he'd known the exact moment her teacher had allowed her to go to her locker to get discussion notes?
But then he'd started in on her hair, and she had high doubts he meant the hair on her head. Just in case she'd thought his casual hello the other day had been a peace offering, he was making it known that he meant nothing of the sort. He was letting her know that the rumors were true: he was Edward-freaking-Cullen, the heartless cad that evaded love at all costs.
However, in true-Bella fashion, instead of acknowledge anger or bewilderment, she tucked her feelings deep within and endured the rest of the day – careful to avoid all sights and sounds of Edward.
When Mike Newton approached her with a thinly veiled offer to drop another job application by her house (the first one she turned in was mysteriously misplaced), Bella managed to hold him off, with neither an acceptance nor denial.
When Jasper came up to her and Alice later in the afternoon, Bella almost folded over into herself with worry. Where there was a Jasper, there was an Edward and the last thing Bella wanted was humiliation with an audience.
"So, Bella. What are you two gonna do tonight?" Jasper asked her point blank.
Still not used to being addressed directly by Jasper, Bella stared stoically at him for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders and looked to Alice for confirmation. "Uh…just hang out?"
"We're loose about it," Alice nodded, but she was looking at Bella strangely. "You're still up for it, aren't you Bella?"
"Yeah…uh…but I'll catch up with you afterschool. I have to get going," Bella said as she walked away from them. She could hear Jasper asking Alice what the issue was as she left their company.
Too bad I can't even begin to answer that.
When Alice arrived at the Swan home shortly before it would be time for dinner, Bella was sure she'd assault her with questions about her strange behavior, but Alice did no such thing. Instead, she held up a bag of take-out from Shang Hai, Forks' poor excuse for Asian cuisine, before raiding Bella's DVD library.
"Oooh, 80's! I love John Hughes!" Alice said as she pulled out a stack of DVD's. "Oh, the holy trinity, right here, baby: Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller and The Breakfast Club." Alice held up the three titles.
"More like, 'Some Kind of Wonderful', 'The Breakfast Club' and 'Christmas Vacation'." Bella countered.
"Well at least we can agree on one. Breakfast Club it is." Alice popped in the DVD.
And just like that, the tension was gone and the evening was off to a flawless start. In fact, their companionship was so effortless that the conversation that ensued after the movie ended seemed natural and flowing.
"I hate high school," Alice said. "And it's really depressing to see that after over twenty years, it still hasn't gotten any better."
"Tell me about it. I'm still hoping for a high-school pill or some shit, where equivalency is rendered over months instead of years."
"Well I do declare, Bella Swan, did you just swear?" Alice asked with faux offense.
"I swear all the time. Why do people always think I don't?" Bella laughed.
"I don't remember ever hearing you cuss. Edward must have rubbed off on you. I swear that boy's first word was the f-word." Alice noticed that Bella's expression seemed troubled by her words. "Oh, sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to mention…"
"No, it's okay. It's no big deal." Bella attempted a smile but it lacked any convincing luster.
Maybe it was the MSG, or the confidence-bearing nature inspired by the Breakfast Club, or the intuition that told her that Bella really needed to talk; maybe one or all of those things caused Alice to break her hard and fast rule of not talking about Edward.
"Was he your first?" Alice asked instead of assumed. She wanted to give Bella the option of not answering.
Bella nodded, mistaking Alice's question to be about boyfriends and relationship status, as opposed to sexual parameters.
"They don't call your first time painful for nothing." Alice smiled with empathy.
It was then that Bella realized she and Alice weren't speaking about the same thing. "Oh, I thought you meant first boyfriend. Edward was my first boyfriend. Not my first…you know." Bella clarified.
"Oh." Alice sat up straighter in her chair. "So who was your first…you know?" Alice winked. "Jasper was mine."
Bella shook her head. "There is no first. It…hasn't happened yet." She wasn't at all embarrassed by this admission, but she was by Alice's reaction to it.
"You're still a virgin?" Alice was now standing.
"Yep." Bella nodded with confidence.
"You and Edward…you're still a virgin?" Alice paced the small living room and stared at the walls in disbelief as she spoke.
"I did not have sex with Edward, "Bella said, as if stating it differently would be better digested by Alice.
"Wow. I didn't think Edward was capable of a non-physical relationship." Alice stated.
"We did other things. Just not…that." Bella elaborated.
Alice sat down in close proximity to Bella, as if her nearness would encourage more forthrightness on Bella's part. "If you don't mind my asking…what happened? How come you broke up with him?"
Bella sighed audibly and shifted her position on the couch to a more comfortable one. Without looking at Alice, she answered, "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Alice repeated. "Did you have a fight? Was it about the video?"
When Bella looked up, Alice could see that she had tears in her eyes. Bella stared at the ceiling in an effort to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She shook her head 'no' for a long while before speaking.
"It's because I'm stupid." She finally looked at Alice. "I was so … I don't even know what to call it…scared, jealous, angry…I don't even know!" Bella put her face in her hands for a moment before sitting up straight. "That crap with Rosalie…I was so afraid that I'd tell Edward I didn't care and then it would be this thing that festered between us…but then it would be too late to tell him how I felt about it…"
"So you broke up over the video?" Alice was having a hard time following Bella's rambling.
"No," Bella stalled. "We broke up because…I was a jealous hag who couldn't accept the fact that Edward had a past."
"You didn't know?" Alice asked.
Bella shrugged. "Kind of. But it really didn't bother me, except for Rosalie. And when I asked him about it, he said nothing happened between them."
"So he lied." Alice stated flatly.
Bella nodded.
"So are you mad because he hooked up with Rosalie or mad because he hooked up with Rosalie and lied about it?"
"Both." Bella whispered.
Alice began to make a pretense of dry heaving. "I can't believe I'm about to do this," wheezing hack. "I'm actually about to defend…hack, cough, Edward…" Alice placed her forehead in her hands.
"I know what you're going to say," Bella stopped her.
"That it's not fair for you to be upset with Edward about his past?" Alice asked.
Bella nodded sheepishly.
"And while you have the right to rip him a new one about lying to you, he shouldn't really be obligated to give you deets about B.B. girls." Alice went on. "And just in case you're wondering, B.B. stands for before Bella."
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway because Edward has made it clear in no uncertain terms that he hates me." Bella said.
Alice stared down at her recently painted toenails as she chose her words wisely. She doubted Jasper would consider her next sentence as interference.
"Edward hates just about everybody. But I have it on good authority that some people don't think that includes you."
*******
Edward paced in front of the bus stop angrily as he awaited his ride to Pipeline. That son-of-a-bitch Jasper was lucky Edward didn't find him afterschool and beat his skinny ass to a pulp.
"Fuckin' talk to her," Edward mimicked Jasper to an empty bench. "That shit went over real well."
Just thinking about the way Bella had brushed him off made Edward want to put his fist through something. He was contemplating tearing into the bus stop overhang when the bus squealed and shimmied to a stop before him.
If Jasper had given Edward a reason to rage, Brian gave him a reason to rejoice once Edward arrived for his assigned shift.
"Are you kidding me?" Edward asked in disbelief.
"Absolutely not," Brian grinned. "It's payday for everyone else. It might as well be time for your compensation as well."
Edward walked over to his car and laid his hands upon it. "Man, I thought I'd be working here forever before I got to start fixing on my car."
Brian smiled as he handed Edward what looked like a small anvil and a flat hammer.
"What do we do with these?" Edward asked.
"WE, meaning you, are going to put this hammering dolly underneath the dent like this, and then you'll take this body hammer and slowly tap out the dent. See?" Brian gave a short demonstration.
Edward rolled up his sleeves and accepted the tools from Brian. "Good. I was in the mood to hit something today."
"Isn't that what got you into this mess in the first place?" Brian grinned over the hood at Edward.
Embarrassed, Edward set to silently tapping the hood of his car, just like he'd been shown. The methodical nature of the work he was doing acted as a calming agent for Edward, and in no time at all, the urge to smash and destroy was overcome by pride of workmanship.
He'd worked straight through two hours before Brian came up to him and asked him if he'd like to take a break.
"No, I'm good," Edward said.
"Still, take a break." Brian insisted. "For your hands' sake."
Brian handed Edward a root beer before pulling up a stool and sitting down next to him. "You do good work, there, Edward." Brian nodded toward the hood. "You're going to finish this up in no time at all."
"Really?" Edward didn't think he'd come that far, but if Brian thought he had, well then, it must be so.
"Yep," Brian paused for a swig of his drink. "So, what's the first thing you're going to do once you get her good as new?"
"Get my license." Edward laughed.
"Yeah. Can't take out the girl without a license."
"Can't take out the girl without a girl."
"What? A young looker like you doesn't have a girl? What's going on there?"
Edward looked down at the frosty bottle in his hands. "I'm working on it."
"It's the truck, isn't it?" Brian eyed Edward suspiciously.
Edward looked at Brian skeptically. "What truck?"
"The one you offered to donate time towards. Belong to your girl?"
"Oh…yeah."
"Well, with a few more grand gestures like that, I'm sure she'll be back in your arms in no time."
When the topic of conversation had begun to run a path in the direction of Bella, Edward had become immediately uncomfortable. But now Brian's words rung of hope and Edward was momentarily interested.
"What do you mean by grand gestures?" Edward asked.
"Efforts of the heart, my friend." Brian answered.
Edward muttered in disgruntlement. "I tried that. It doesn't work."
"Oh yeah? What have your tried?" Brian's tone was challenging.
"I looked at her…said hello…tried to talk to her…" As he gave the list to Brian, Edward suddenly was overcome with embarrassment. "Man, that fuckin' Jasper…got me acting like a fuckin' bitch…" Edward muttered. He glanced over at Brian and saw his feelings reflected in his eyes.
"You did what?" Brian asked in amusement.
"Nothing." Edward muttered.
"That's right. You did nothing. Because I do those same things you just said to my neighbor Myrtle every morning and I'm pretty sure that she doesn't think I'm interested in her at all."
"Jasper said to start slow. He said if I overwhelmed her she wouldn't know how to take it."
"How old is Jasper?"
"Seventeen."
"Yeah, well he sounds about as wise as his years," Brian laughed. "Look, Edward. You seem like a smart kid. But if you'll let me, I'd like to give you two bits of advice."
It wasn't until Edward looked over at Brian that he realized his boss was waiting for permission to proceed.
"Yeah, sure," Edward shrugged his acceptance.
"First, if you want to be successful in life, you're going to have to tone down that temper of yours, and I do mean immediately. Otherwise it'll be nothing but trouble for you. And in a few months time, those little stunts you pull are going to wind up on your permanent record. And second," Brian grinned as he put his hand on Edward's shoulder knowing that he only really cared about 'the second' bit of information, "girls like grand gestures, Edward. If this girl is really important to you, then you need to let her know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she is what you want."
"And that will definitely work?" Edward asked.
Brian shook his head. "There are no definites in life, Son. But let me ask you something. Do you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how this girl feels about you?"
"No." Edward shook his head.
"Well grand gestures will definitely get you that."
********
The night at Bella's had ended awkwardly. After their swapping of confidences, Alice and Bella had settled into an uncomfortable silence that could only be remedied by calling it a night and going to sleep. Despite that, both Alice and Bella were beyond tired the next morning. Their low energy was a great excuse not to talk much on the drive to school, and when they arrived at their destination, they immediately went separate ways, Bella to the library and Alice to the smoking rock, where she was sure she'd find Jasper.
She was right.
"Okay, I'm going to say this once, and one time only," Alice said as she walked up to him and put her head on his shoulder. "You may have been right about the Edward-Bella situation."
"Did she talk? She wants him, doesn't she?" Jasper asked as he put his arms around Alice. "I can't wait to tell Edward that I was right."
"No. You can't say anything. Because she didn't really say how she felt. I'm speculating. Besides…I get the feeling she's not ready to disclose that to him or anyone else." Alice lifted her head slightly to look at Jasper. "Did you know they didn't have sex?"
However, there wasn't time for Jasper to answer that question before Edward walked up. His stride was quick and calculated, and he looked like he had something to say, until he saw Alice.
Instead of speaking, he glared at Jasper for a moment before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a cigarette. He shoved it in his mouth as if it were a stopper; a restraint against a verbal assault that was aching to be released.
"What's up?" Jasper asked ignorantly.
Edward slid him a sideways glance before returning to stare off into the distance.
When Edward didn't offer any communication, Jasper turned his attention back to Alice. His hand rubbed small circles on her back and she let out a soft contented sigh that resembled a purr.
"Didn't get much sleep last night?" Jasper asked.
"I did. I don't know why I'm so tired." Alice shook her head.
"Oh would you two cut it out," Edward spat. "I don't need to hear about how your sexual escapades kept you up all night."
"For your information," Alice straightened up to look Edward in the eye, "I was at Bella's. I'm staying with her for the rest of the week." Alice slightly winced as she stated the latter. "Although I don't know if my ears can take it. Granted, Bella has awesome taste in music when she's awake, but the shit she chooses to go to sleep to…dear lord, even my dad wouldn't listen to it."
"Yeah, she likes to listen to…" It was almost as if Edward didn't realize he was the one that was speaking. As soon as the revelation occurred, he shut his mouth as if he'd never opened it in the first place. He looked slightly humiliated as he allowed his gaze to linger on Alice for a short while, before he quickly snubbed out his cigarette and stalked off.
Alice wondered what was going through his mind as she watched Edward disappear around the corner. She wasn't going to pretend that she suddenly liked him, because she didn't. And she certainly wasn't any less annoyed that Jasper had insinuated they were alike. But as a person who had once deeply hurt someone she cared about so much, Alice recognized the emotion of loss in Edward's eyes, even if he had only shared it with her for a brief moment.
*******
Grand gestures.
First Jasper's words, and now Brian's had left Edward in a state of quandary. And each time, Edward neglected to ask questions that would paint a clearer picture of what was expected of him where Bella was concerned. However, now, after talking to Brian, Edward was convinced that Jasper had him "majoring in the minors" with Bella. There wasn't time to focus on short-term tidbits that barely registered on Bella's radar screen. No. Like Brian had said, Edward needed to do something grand. Something big that would earn him a place in her memory, and if he was lucky, her heart.
But what, exactly, he had no idea.
Fortunately, a brief run-in and an idle threat from Alice spurred a plan.
It was just after the last bell had rung and Edward made his way to Jasper's car in the student parking lot. Alice was already there waiting but when she saw Edward she looked less than impressed.
"He's not with you?" Alice spoke of her boyfriend.
"Do you see him?" Edward asked sarcastically. When he saw the expression on Alice's face that communicated that she was not in the mood for his verbal sparring, he relented and told her that he had to deliver something to the office.
"Okay, well can you just tell him to call me? I tried his cell and it went straight to voicemail. We were supposed to get something to eat, but I don't think Bella feels like…going out." Alice whispered the last two words as she wondered if she should be telling Edward anything at all about Bella.
It was an unnecessary concern, however, because Edward didn't appear to have heard a word she'd said. He was too busy staring over Alice's shoulder and three cars away, where Bella sat in the front passenger seat of Alice's Porsche.
"Are you ever going to tell her you're sorry?" Alice asked after Edward caught her watching him.
Edward shrugged. "I don't think she wants to hear it."
"Okay, I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say something so fucktastically ridiculous." Alice put her hand in front of Edward's face and he swatted it away in annoyance.
"And just in case you do decide to come down off your high horse and apologize," Alice prattled on, "I suggest doing it in a way that even you can't mess up, because, aside from Jasper, Bella is the nicest person I've ever met and she deserves at least that."
It irritated Edward that Alice was being so condescending. Of course he fucking wanted to apologize to Bella! But he'd tried talking to her and that didn't work, and writing her a letter was out of the question. Even if he did humble himself enough to attempt it, Bella would have long graduated high school by the time he'd completed it.
But before Edward could begin to pity himself due to his limitations, he happened one more glance over at Bella. She was hiding behind a curtain of hair, fiddling with Alice's radio.
Bingo.
"Alice," Edward tuned in long enough to realize he'd cut her off mid-rant. "If you do one thing for me, I promise I'll never ask you for anything else for as long as you live."
"I'm going to hold you to that. What do you want?" Alice asked.
"Can you make sure Bella is listening to that crappy radio station tonight?"