A/N: Three days late. You can thank this site for that.

Thanks go to my beta, who is quick and thorough and says this made her cry. I am very sorry for that. Some of you say you hate me, some of you love me, some say I'm evil. But all of you seem to agree that I've put Edward through enough. Well, I disagree. Let's see what I come up with next.

Also, I'm looking for pre-readers. Two maybe? PM me if you're interested. I always like feedback.

Alright, Edward, tell us how you feel...

Didn't I give it all?
Tried my best,
Gave you everything I had,
Everything and no less,
Didn't I do it right?
Did I let you down?

Still, how can you walk away,
From all my tears?
It's gonna be an empty road,
Without me right here.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Done

It was like I had been punched in the gut.

That was the only way to accurately describe what it felt like to watch my best friend kiss the only girl I had ever loved. While watching them continue to kiss, my mind wandered back to all those times they had fought like brother and sister over stupid things like what movie we watched or who ate the last fudgesicle. I thought of all the times they picked on each other and nagged each other like best friends would or how they would laugh and joke around about actually being attracted to each other. Then, a new question surfaced to my brain… had they been attracted to each other this whole time?

Blake's favorite thing to do was to joke around with me about Bella being hot, but I had always assumed it was to get a rise out of me. But what if he had been serious? What if he had had feelings for Bella that whole time?

What if….

I wanted to puke. I felt physically ill as I could do nothing but watch them kiss and be completely wrapped up in one another. The most natural reaction I could have had was to be utterly pissed off, but for some reason, I wasn't. I was just thoroughly… sick. I was starting to sweat a lot as I continued to force down my dinner by swallowing over and over again.

They finally broke away from each other with Blake's hands still framing her face and her small hands gripping the bottom of his shirt like she had done to me not but five days prior. Slowly, they opened their eyes and smiled at each other. I was definitely going to be sick at any moment. I felt like screaming, but I clamped my lips shut as tight as I could until it was on the verge of being painful.

Bella's head jerked in my direction to see if I was still standing in the same spot. My legs were locked so tightly that I didn't think anything would ever be strong enough to make me move. Her smile widened when she saw me, and she took one of Blake's hands from her face and intertwined their fingers. His gaze never strayed from her face.

She said something to him, still smiling proudly and led him towards my direction. Then, finally, came my instinct to run. Run as far away from all of this as I could. And the overwhelming feeling to be sick came back once again.

Suddenly, they were in front of me. They didn't look the same to me. Not anymore.

Bella was smiling so brightly. "Edward! I wanted you to meet Blake Hale, my boyfriend."

I was definitely going to be sick. I swallowed again.

Blake chuckled, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her close to his chest. "We've met, baby," he laughed. "We're best friends now," he smiled at me and offered his hand. The hand that had just been on Bella's cheek as he kissed her.

I could only stare at them. They truly looked different to me. I was so, so wrong. These were not the same people from my dream. I shut my eyes tightly, willing away any tears that I could feel burning to the surface. I shook my head and took a long breath.

When I opened my eyes again, they were both looking at me questioningly.

"I'm sorry. Will you both excuse me for a moment?" I asked, but I wasn't even around to hear their response. I needed air. I needed clarity. I needed some space. And I desperately needed to be sick.

I rushed out of the ballroom and down the hallway to the men's room. Luckily no one was in there, so I quickly locked the door and ran into the first stall just in time to vomit violently into the toilet. Over and over I heaved until there was nothing left. And even then, I continued to choke and try to spit whatever I could out. Someone was knocking at the door and trying to push it open, but I ignored it as I heaved again and again.

I fell to my knees when it became too hard for me to hold myself up. And I started to cry through the choking while my eyes burned, and I tried blinking the tears away but it was no use. They were stinging my eyes so badly, I couldn't help but cry harder.

The pounding on the door continued, but I still couldn't answer through my tears and choking. Sweat continued to pour from me and mix in with the tears that rolled down my cheeks. I was panting from all of the exertion of vomiting when I finally finished heaving.

I spit a few more times before flushing and lifting myself off the floor. The pounding on the door had finally ceased as I washed my hands and face in the bathroom sink, running some water through my buzzed hair and finally glad for once to have short hair.

I turned off the water and stood up with my hands supporting my weight on the counter in front of me. Slowly, I lifted my head and stared straight ahead at my reflection in front of me. Who was this mess in front of me now? With red, glassy eyes and no hair? Sweaty and sick and disgusting? Who was this person that could think of nothing more than how much I needed a drink?

I desperately needed out of there. I was going to take a page out of Bella's book and run far away.

I threw away the paper towels I had used, unlocked the door and threw it open. I couldn't even take a step until I found a frazzled Alice standing in front of me.

I sighed and stepped past her. "Not now, Alice."

"What are you doing?" she followed after me, almost yelling. "Where are you going? What happened?"

I stopped abruptly and spun around, catching her off guard as she stumbled backwards when I approached her closer. I pointed in her face, yelling as well, "Why didn't you tell me it was Blake?"

Her eyes widened, then she immediately frowned. "What are you talking about?" she yelled right back at me.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BLAKE WAS HER BOYFRIEND!" I screamed, my voice even scaring me.

I saw her glance behind me on either side to make sure no one was around. No one must have been because she yelled right back at me. "What are you talking about? How do you even know Blake?" I let out a long, loud cry while running a hand over my head roughly. My whole body was shaking, and Alice was looking more worried than pissed off all of a sudden. "What does it matter if it's Blake?"

My eyes almost popped right out of my head. I hadn't yet told her everything. "He was my best friend, Alice! MY BEST FRIEND! He lived with us! They were like brother and sister! They were almost as close as him and I were!"

She only stood there stunned and listened as I continued to shout at her.

"How does this… Jesus," I took a long breath to calm myself. "How does this even happen?" I asked her.

"How does what happen?"

"How does that…." I pointed to the door that led to the ballroom. "… in there happen? The two of them… how did they…." I couldn't even talk.

She shut her eyes briefly, shaking her head and letting a few tears escape down her pretty porcelain face. It was hard to see Alice cry. She looked so young… like a little girl who didn't know how to handle someone close to her dying. That's how she seemed… with her bottom lip quivering and her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. But when she was ready, she opened her eyes and told me the story.

"They started dating almost as soon as they met freshmen year. But then, they broke up because there really wasn't anything there. Like you said, they were more like brother and sister. So, she started dating this friend of Emmett's, Jacob, you met him tonight? Anyway, Blake hated him. And after a year of them dating, Bella found out Jacob had been cheating on her for months. She was… very upset. For a long time. And for months she wouldn't come around any of us or go out at all. So after a while, Blake started checking up on her. He helped her through all of it. He was there for her. And about a year later, one day… they just decided to take it to the next level again," she shrugged.

"So how long have they been together?" I asked.

Alice bit her lip and looked down. She whispered something so soft there was absolutely no way I could have heard her.

"What?" I asked, stepping closer to her.

She looked back up at me and sighed. "Two years. They've been together two years."

Two years?

Two years?

I felt like I would be sick again. This wasn't at all what I thought it'd be. I thought I could do this. I thought this would be so much simpler. I thought I could just swoop in and show her how much better I was for her and how much she meant to me, and that would be enough for her to forget about her "boyfriend." But this wasn't just anybody. This was Blake. And this was someone I couldn't do that to.

"So she loves him? And he loves her?" I asked. My tears were gone. Now I was just mad.

Alice shook her head sadly and whispered, "Edward, please…."

"Alice! TELL ME!" I shouted.

"Yes! Of course! But-"

"I thought… I thought I could do this. I thought I could try to win her over if she was dating some douchebag asshole who was nothing but a jerk to her, who she really could never, ever love. I thought I could do this if I knew I was better than this guy…."

My voice softened, and before I knew it, I felt a tear trickle down my cheek.

"But this is Blake!" I yelled. "This isn't some asshole. This is my best friend, Alice!"

"Edward…." she whispered sadly.

"I'm done," I replied, and I started walking away from her once again. "I'm so… so done."

"What do you mean, you're done?" she called, running right after me.

"I mean exactly what I said. I'm done, Alice. I can't do this anymore. This isn't right."

"Are you serious right now?" Alice cried, trying her best to catch up beside me.

I stopped quickly and let her catch up. I looked her right the eye and said, "Fuck this." I started walking again but much slower. "I can't do this."

"So that's it?" Alice yelled from behind me. "You're just gonna walk away?"

"Yep," I replied and kept walking away even though I didn't hear her small, soft footsteps behind me.

"You're just gonna walk away when things start to get tough? You're just gonna quit like that, huh?"

"No… no… NO." I turned around and found Alice several feet behind me, standing still and not making any sort of move to follow me again. "Things have been tough for me. This is just the final straw. I can't do this, Alice," I yelled as I walked closer to her. "I'm not better than him. Not at all! Why would she want me when she has him? She's happy! He's happy! So who am I to take that away from two people that I care so deeply about? What kind of person would that make me if I tore them apart? They're in love with each other, Alice!"

"I know, Edward, but-"

"No! There's nothing else! That's it."

"That's not it! LISTEN TO ME!" she screamed, her fists clenched tightly by her sides. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she attempted to calm herself down. I stopped and decided to at least hear her out even though, deep down, I knew it wouldn't change anything, especially the simple fact that Blake was my friend and now Bella's boyfriend. "Just listen to me, okay?" she asked, her voice much softer.

"Okay," I nodded.

"Bella is my best friend. And I will always want what's best for her. And I consider you to be my family. And I love Blake. He loves her so much, and that's all I could ever ask of him. But… but," she emphasized. "I know… in my heart that you and Bella are meant to be together. Don't ask me how I know because I couldn't tell you. I just do."

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, not a text but a phone call. I didn't even need to look at it.

"So Bella's not a virgin?" I whispered. I wasn't sure why it was such an important question for me to ask. I knew I had been her one and only, and now, it just didn't even seem like a possibility especially when she had been dating Jacob AND Blake.

Alice looked at me sadly but made no attempt to answer me. Her nonresponse was heard loud and clear.

I nodded and took one step back. "Okay, well, I'm going to go home now."

She stepped forward and held out her hand for me. "Please, don't. Come back in with me. We can go do this together. I won't leave your side."

"I'm sorry, Alice," I replied and turned around, leaving Alice's hand still outstretched and waiting.

I was almost out of the double doors when I heard someone else's voice, a familiar soft one, call out my name. For this voice, I stopped, my hands holding the brass door handles just about to push forward. But instead, I glanced over my shoulder to see Bella standing a few feet behind me and Alice standing right behind her, both looking at me, brows furrowed and questioning eyes.

"Are you leaving?" she asked.

I faced her but made no move to get closer to her. "Uh, yeah. I'm not feeling well."

It wasn't a total lie.

"Oh, okay," she frowned. She glanced down at her feet for a moment before she looked back up at me. "Was it something I did?" she asked.

I sighed. "I'll call you later, Bella." I looked past her at Alice. "I'll see you at home, Alice."

And I left.

The next day I had a visitor. Someone I hadn't seen in a long time. Someone very important to me.

My mom.

"I know it's a lot smaller than your old apartment, but I like it so much better!" she smiled as we stood in my kitchen sharing a pot of tea.

"You only like it better because it's closer to you," I laughed, taking a sip.

She laughed too and nodded. "That's exactly right."

She slid her long, slender arms around my waist and rested her head over my heart, squeezing me tightly in a hug. It took me off guard for a moment; I hadn't even realized how long it had been since I had had a real hug. But I recovered and hugged her back, resting my arms on her shoulders.

"I feel like I have my baby back," she sniffed, her voice cracking.

"Ma, come on," I soothed her, rubbing small circles in her back as she shook with soft sobs.

"I just want you to be happy," she cried against my chest.

"I am happy, Ma," I replied.

She shook her head slightly. "No, you're not," she protested, still crying.

"Why are you crying?" I chuckled, still rubbing her back.

"I don't know!" she cried harder, her shoulders shaking after each sob escaped her.

Laughing softly still, I held her for a while until she quit crying and was left only sniffling. She patted my lower back a couple of times before she broke away from me and reached in her purse to gather a few tissues. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose quietly like a lady should then smiled up at me through watery eyes.

"I'm ready whenever you are," she said.

"Okay, let me go grab my phone, then we can go," I replied.

I went into my bedroom and took my phone from the charger. I unlocked the screen to make sure I didn't have any missed calls or messages before putting it in my pocket.

There were two missed calls from just this morning. The first was from Bella. The second was from a number I didn't know.

Ignoring the first call, I called the second number back. A man answered.

"Hello?" the voice was rough and seemed familiar.

"Yes, this is Edward. I think someone tried to call me from this number."

"Yeah, man. What's up? It's Blake. Emmett gave me your number," he answered. My shock must have lasted for longer than I realized, because Blake said, "Hello? Ya there?"

I coughed and sat on the edge of my bed. "Yeah, sorry. What's up, Blake?"

"Not much. I was just seeing what you were doing today? Bella has to work, and I'm bored as hell," he replied.

I let out a small sigh, looking towards the door of my bedroom right as Mom looked in, obviously wanting me to hurry. "Well, actually my mom and I were going to go down to my contractor's office and look at the floor plans of my house a little better, then we were going to buy a few things to put in my office at the university…."

He started talking after I said 'my house'. "Oh! You're building a house? I'd love to see the plans!"

I wanted to groan, but I didn't. I rolled my eyes instead. Not because I didn't want to hang out with Blake, but because I didn't want to hang out with Bella's boyfriend. Contradictory, I realized, but also honest.

"Oh. Okay. If you want, you're more than welcome to come with us."

I hoped the sentence sounded more sincere than how it felt.

"Yeah! Okay! I'll be right down," and he hung up.

He'll be right down? Jesus….

This time I did groan while I rubbed my hand over my face several times.

He had stayed with her last night.

"Who was that?" Mom asked me from inside the doorway.

"Blake Hale. He's coming with us," I replied.

Her caramel eyes lit up with excitement as a wide, beautiful smile encased her lips. "Blake's coming? How wonderful!"

Less than two minutes later, Blake was knocking at my apartment door. Mom all but sprinted to answer it. I heard her squeal then Blake's booming voice say, "Esme Wammy!"

Everyone loves this kid, I thought bitterly to myself as I grabbed my keys and followed them out the door.

The meeting with the contractors was weird. Very weird. My mother and Blake both had a lot of input which actually helped me in remembering exactly how the house was laid out to begin with. I wondered to myself if they had been there with me the first time to come up with the plans. Blake suggested columns leading into the living room, and my mother thought of adding another staircase at the back of the house, something very important that I had forgotten about completely.

Listening to their suggestions and helpful tips made me realize how much I was forgetting. And not just about the house… but everything. It had been too long since I'd hung out with my friends or danced with Bella. I hadn't shared a beer with my dad or beat Blake's ass in NCAA Football. I was even forgetting how Bella smelled and tasted and felt.

It had been a really long time since I'd slept with her.

And I was forgetting her. As much as I fought against it, I was.

We went to lunch afterwards where we sat outside on a covered patio while a rare warm, sunny day in Seattle watched over us.

"I'm so glad you boys are becoming friends. I've always thought the two of you would hit it off," Mom smiled at us before taking a bite of her salad.

"Well, this only our second date, but it looks promising," Blake grinned, shoving a fry into his mouth.

I chuckled and shook my head.

"How's Bella, Blake? Still as sweet and as beautiful as ever?" Mom asked, still smiling brightly.

I wanted to roll my eyes because even though we weren't together, Bella still had Esme eating out of the palm of her hand.

Blake smiled back, setting down his burger to wipe his greasy fingers. "She's just fine. Keeping me on my toes all the time."

Inward eye-roll.

"So she and Rosalie live in the apartment above Alice and Edward?"

He nodded. "Yes, they do… for now. Next month, after Rose and Em get married, I'll be moving my stuff in."

I choked on my club sandwich and ended up spitting a few crumbs onto my plate. Both of their eyes immediately shot in my direction and observed me carefully. I took several gulps of my water and swallowed the rest of my food.

"So you and Bella will be living together?" Mom asked, her smile gone from her face and pretending like I hadn't just coughed up a lung after what he had just announced.

Blake, seemingly unfazed, still smiled and nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Blake's phone rang in the next moment, some rap song saying something about 'get these hoes up off of me', which made him smile wider when viewing the screen.

"Hey, baby," he answered.

My stomach turned, and I pushed my plate further away from me on the table.

Mom laid her hand gently on my knee under the table and patted it softly. In the corner of my eye, I noticed her watching me and looking at me like the sad individual that I was, but I ignored it. I didn't look back at her. I just threw my napkin in my plate and pushed it even further away. I was done… in every sense of the word.

After lunch, I took them both to my office at the university. I was starting work next week so I really needed to make sure everything was straightened out in there.

"So you'll be teaching class every day?" my mom asked me as we stood in the incredibly small office they had given me.

I shook my head. "I have classes in the morning and afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then I have a night class on Wednesdays. I don't teach at all on Mondays and Fridays. But I'm taking two classes on Wednesday afternoons for my degree, then the rest are online."

"Then why does it say Monday-Friday on the door?" Blake asked.

"I still have to keep office hours on Mondays and Fridays."

"So you just have to sit here and wait on somebody to come in?"

"Oh, I'm sure he'll have lots to do," Mom smiled at me. "Like grading papers and reading emails from students…."

"And having 'appointments' with female students," Blake wiggled his eyebrows at me.

"Edward, really, those girls are much too young for you," Mom reasoned.

"They're not that much younger," he protested. "I was in college just a couple of years ago."

"Try five years ago, honey," Mom smiled, patting him on the back.

He looked at her incredulously. "No way. It was only three years ago."

"Yeah, only because it took him two extra years to finish," I laughed.

"Hey, fuck you, over-achiever," he pointed at me.

Mom huffed, rolled her eyes and walked right out of the room, expecting us to follow her. I looked at Blake who shrugged nonchalantly, grinned at me and threw his arm lazily around my shoulders as we followed behind Esme Wammy.

"Lift with your legs, Crazy Carl," Blake ordered as the two of them carried in a heavy, oak-stained desk that had originally been in my L.A. office and was now the only piece of furniture that could fit in my college office.

"I don't have a tight enough grip on it," my dad replied through gritted teeth as they tried to maneuver the desk through the door frame without chipping it.

Blake chuckled under his own strained breath as he pushed, holding onto the bottom while bent at the knees. "That's what she…." he was cut off by his phone ringing in his pocket. That same song of 'get these hoes up off of me' played loudly throughout the hallway. "Shit. Edward, reach in my pocket and get my phone out."

"No way, man."

"Yeah, come on. It's in my right front pocket."

"Fuck you."

It started ringing again.

"COME ON!"

"Okay!"

I set down the two boxes I had been holding in the hallway next to the door where Blake and my dad were still trying to work the desk into the door. I slowly slid my hand into Blake's jean pocket being as careful as I could not to touch his body. It was pretty hard not to since his jeans weren't exactly loose on his muscular frame, but I thrust my hand in there as quickly as I could and grabbed his phone, then slipped my hand out just as quickly.

I glanced at the phone's lit up screen.

"It's Bella," I stated. Actually, the name was 'Baby Bella'. Gag.

"Answer it," he replied, still mostly concentrating on the huge piece of furniture halfway in and halfway out of my office.

"I-I don't want to."

"Just see what she wants," he said breathily as he pushed. I could hear the faint murmuring of Carlisle cursing from inside the room.

I sighed, but it did no good. I could still feel my pulse quicken as I lifted the phone to my ear and answered it.

"Uh, hello?"

"Hey, babe. Are you at your apartment? I think I left my black see-through bra there from yesterday. I can't find it anywhere…." her voice trailed while I heard things slamming in the background.

"Uh, hey. This is Edward. Blake has his hands full so I answered his phone."

Silence.

No more slamming of drawers or rustling of clothes.

Silence.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey. Yeah. I'm sorry. I thought you were-"

"I know," I laughed.

She sounded so nervous. Why was this so weird?

More silence.

"So, yeah. I'll get Blake to call you back."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Not a problem. Bye, Bella."

"Bye, Edward."

I was still chuckling to myself as I ended the call and walked into the room where Carlisle and Blake were both leaning on my desk which was now situated in the very center of the room. Blake looked up at me as I walked in.

"What'd she want?" he asked, holding out his hand for his phone.

I gave it to him and smiled. "She just wanted you."

"Maybe this isn't a good idea."

"This is the best idea so far," I replied as Blake and I walked into the large double doors.

"Alice is going to kill you."

"Trust me," I smiled. "She won't."

"Can I help you?" the older gentlemen behind the desk greeted us with a gruff voice.

"Yes, I called about the chocolate lab puppies," I stated.

"Uh, what is that?" Alice asked as she walked into our apartment that night and pointed to where Blake and I were sitting in the floor, but her finger was targeted to the little ball of dark brown fuzz that bounced around unsteadily on the floor beside us.

"It's a puppy!" Blake exclaimed, rolling a little tennis ball back and forth, watching as the little fur ball scurried to each side.

"What's it doing here?"

"I bought it," I smiled. "I bought her," I corrected.

"Why?"

"Edward needs a woman in his life besides you," Blake replied.

Alice quirked a perfectly penciled eyebrow at me. I chuckled and shook my head. "I just wanted a puppy. I'll take care of her. She'll stay out of your way, I promise."

Alice stepped closer to us slowly. Little brown ears twitched up, then she immediately bounced over to Alice, tennis ball and Blake completely forgotten, and stood on her back legs to scratch up Alice's jean-covered legs. A little pink sliver of tongue hung from her mouth as she whined a little until Alice squatted in front of her.

Alice laughed and reached out to pet her head. The cries stopped instantly.

"Awww," she cooed. "Well, I guess she can stay."

Blake and I looked at each other and smiled.

"What's her name?" Alice asked.

"Brody."

"That's a boy's name."

"I don't care."

Two days later, I did the unthinkable.

I took Alice with me to Macy's.

"We are on a mission. Don't get distracted," I stated as we walked from the parking deck to the sliding doors.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"It's in a clear glass bottle with a pink top."

"I can't believe you don't know the name of it."

"It doesn't have the name on it. I've checked before."

"Why don't I just call her and ask her? I'll tell her I want to buy some for myself?"

"And when she doesn't smell it on you or if she asks to borrow it when she runs out, what will you say?"

Alice frowned. "That's true."

"Okay. Focus."

We walked around the Macy's perfume counters, smelling samples and looking at all the bottles that were laid out in front of us. Searching for the one scent I had missed so much. If I could just smell it once, maybe put some on my wrist for the day, I would be okay.

"Why don't you answer her phone calls, Edward? She says she keeps trying to get in touch with you but you won't answer her," Alice asked me sadly.

I shrugged. "I don't know what to say to her."

"So you can be friends with Blake, but you can't be friends with her?"

"It's easier with Blake. With her, I can't even look at her without feeling like I did the night of that party."

"How would you know? You haven't even seen her since then?"

"Look, Alice. Just leave it alone, okay? I told you. I'm done," I said firmly.

"So, you don't love her anymore?"

"Alice. Leave. It. Alone."

She put her hand up. "Okay, okay." Her eyes lit up suddenly, and she reached out to the counter beside me. "This is it."

She handed me the little glass bottle, holding it out with her thumb and index finger. I took the top off of it delicately and sniffed the top. And suddenly, I was back.

Flashes of fireplaces at Christmas time, our first date and dancing on the pier, tumbling outside the fraternity house drunk, walking her down the aisle at Emmett's wedding, tickling her when she would steal my reading glasses, telling her I loved her when I made love to for the first time and asking her to marry me.

I opened my eyes and looked at Alice.

"I'm buying this."

That weekend, on Friday, we all went out to Mugshots to celebrate the start of my new job. Everyone was finally together for the first time in a long time. Emmett and Jasper finally had a night off at the hospital, and even Rosalie seemed somewhat happy to be there, despite it being all about a celebration for me. Of course, Alice and Blake were there, and with them were a lot of their friends, all of whom I knew from the wedding.

However, none of them had a clue who I was.

Feltman, Shally, Flippo, Derrick, Spencer, Jacob and Seth were all there. Blake took me around to everyone introducing me as 'Emmett and Jasper's brother' and saying that I was 'cool as shit.' Just as I suspected or more along lines of knew that I would, we all just sort of fit together. The way we talked, acted and drank together was just as it had been months ago. It was like I was almost back in the dream, back to where I remembered.

But when Bella showed up, looking radiant in a short, floral summer dress and nude open-toe pumps, and immediately sought out Blake to kiss him and hug him to let him know she had arrived, I knew I wasn't back. I felt stupid for even thinking it.

Blake, Shally, Flip, Emmett, Jasper and I were all sitting at a high-top table when Bella came over to greet Blake. She acknowledged everyone, hugging the ones she hadn't seen in a while and letting Emmett and Jasper kiss her on the cheek with a brief hug. She didn't come to me though. Blake lingered with his hand wrapped around her waist, whispering something in her ear that made her giggle and close her eyes briefly. When they opened again, her eyes were on me, a dead-lock stare like she knew I was watching their exchange with rapt attention. She gave me a half-smile, kind of how you give someone you've only met once or twice where you're not sure if you should fully say hi or not because you don't know if they even remember meeting you.

It hurt, but I smiled back, a full friendly 'hi, I wish this wasn't weird' smile. She said she needed a drink, then she left to find her friends and the nearest alcohol.

But not everything was the same as it had once been between everyone else and I. Like the bridesmaids, some of Bella's friends, were very blatantly flirting with me.

Some of their names, I remembered, but most I didn't. There was especially one girl, Rachel, I think. She was pretty. She had a warm smile, darkish blonde hair and brown eyes. I was introduced to her by Blake, right along with everyone else, and she really hadn't left my side very long except to get a drink or two from the bar.

Most of the girls were dancing, though, like always. And just in regular Mugshot-style, the music was mostly eclectic classics along with some easy rock hits that everyone knew. It was nice to watch the girls sway back and forth and hold hands and belt out every word as drunkly and as loud as possible.

I had missed this. And I hadn't realized how much, until I was there.

"Want a drink?" Blake asked me as he stood from the table. I was still in my non-drinking state, nursing a lukewarm Coke.

"Uh, yeah. Maybe just a beer though. No hard liquor," I replied.

"All right. I'll be right back."

About two hours later, I was four beers in and was feeling pretty good since I hadn't drank in so long. But I decided to stop since I was starting to feel it. I didn't want to push it too much.

"I gotta pee, you comin'?" Shally asked me lazily as he grabbed me by the elbow.

He was quite lit, but I really did have to pee so I let him lead me to the back of the bar where the restrooms were.

On our way out, in the dark hallway, I lost Shally. He was too far ahead of me, and before I could take another minute to search for him, I felt two small hands give me a push into the wall.

"What the fuck," I whispered under my breath.

A head of shiny, brown locks slowly appeared from beneath the shadows. The head rose a little at a time until two deep blue eyes met mine.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" she accused angrily. I knew her. And I could most certainly tell when she was drunk. She was beyond drunk. Drunker than drunk.

"I only saw you for like a second tonight," I replied.

"I don't mean tonight," she all but yelled back at me. "I mean, I've been calling you and texting you all week, and you haven't answered me at all!"

This wasn't exactly the ideal place to have this conversation, but it didn't look like we had much of a choice.

"I've been really busy with getting ready to start my new job and school and everything…."

"But you have plenty of time to hang out with everyone else, just not me."

A reaction, good or bad, was at least somewhat of a good sign from her, right?

"Is this about Blake?" She kept going, leaving me no time to reply. "Because ever since I introduced you two, you've been acting weird. Blake's a good guy, you know. He's nice, and he's really, really good to me-"

I interrupted her there. "I know!"

He was nice. He was a good guy. He was good to her. He was in love with her. That was exactly the problem.

And right then, she knew. She finally got it. The light of understanding flickered in her eyes, and I didn't need to explain anymore to her. She just knew.

"I still wanna be friends," she whispered, no longer angry.

"I know you do. And I want that too. It's just when I look at you…."

And I couldn't even finish the sentence. There wasn't a way to fully describe how I felt just looking at her. She made me hurt. She made me hurt all over, from head to toe, from the inside out. Looking at her, speaking to her, hearing her, smelling her, everything gave me this feeling. A feeling I couldn't adequately describe to anyone else, especially her.

"So you can be friends with Blake, but not me?"

She kept getting closer to me. She was close enough for me to feel the heat from her body. I could smell her breath, even though it was only hitting my neck, despite her three-inch pumps. It smelled of blueberries. I knew what she was drinking. She always loved Blue Motherfuckers.

"If we try to be friends, Bella, please don't ask me to kiss you again, okay?"

A slow, wide smile spread across her face. God, she was beautiful.

"Deal."

She switched her drink into her left hand and held out her right hand in what little space was between us. I shook it, ignoring the pain in my hand and heart, and smiled as true of a smile as I could muster.

"Deal."

Another hour later, I was sitting at a table with Shally, Jasper and Alice. Jasper and Shally were in a deep conversation beside me, but I was completely ignoring them. I couldn't take my eyes off of Bella and Blake dancing.

Hootie and the Blowfish's Only Wanna Be With You was playing, and everyone around them were yelling the lyrics, singing and swaying along without a care in the world. But I couldn't stop watching the only two slow dancing to it with their arms wrapped around each other, staring into each other's eyes and not really noticing the chaos and mess of people spread around them.

Blake was whispering the lyrics to her while she stared up at him with a huge smile on her face. I thought of what was once us swaying and singing to each other, so in love and so out of reality with what was going on. The scar on my heart grew just a little bit more.

"They're so happy," I said out loud. I don't know if I was really speaking to Alice, but she replied anyway.

"They seem so happy," she corrected.

I ignored it. "How could I do that? How could I ever come between two people that I care so much about?"

"You're only human, Edward. You deserve happiness too."

"I am happy. Why does no one believe that? I have a wonderful family and wonderful friends. I have a great job that I'm sure I'll love. And I'm on the right path to getting everything I never even knew I wanted."

"Not everything."

"If it was you, Alice…." I started, never looking over at her, just staring straight ahead at the couple in front of me. "If you were me, and if the person you loved fell asleep beside you each night, and you woke up, and they were there; and then you went to work, and they were there; and you came home, and they were there; and you hung around your family, and they were there. Each and every day. For seven months. And you fell in love so hard, so fast. And then, you wake up one day, and suddenly, they don't know who you are. You're a stranger. You're no one to them. And when you finally get the courage to tell them how you feel and what you went through, they don't even believe you. You try and try and try to explain, but there's no use. They love someone else. And not only do they love someone else, but they love your best friend. What if Jasper fell in love with Bella? The love of your life now loves your best friend. And now there's nothing you can do. How would you feel?"

"I would know they weren't really meant to be together," she replied softly.

"But what would you do? What could you do?"

She laid her hand on my shoulder until I turned my head to look at her. "I'd fight," she said strongly with courage and assurance. "I'd fight till the death." She looked me right in the eye. "And I'd never give up."

Maybe I should leave,
To help you see,
Nothing is better than this,
And this is everything we need,
So is it over?
Is this really it?
You're giving up so easily,
I thought you loved me more than this,

But go on, go on and take it.

Take it all with you,
Don't look back,
At this crumbling fool,
Just take it all,
With my love,
Take it all,
With my love,

I will change if I must,
Slow it down and bring it home,
I will adjust,
Oh, if only,
If only you knew,
Everything I do is for you.

"Take It All" - Adele

A/N: So...believe it or not. This story is winding down. I know it doesn't seem like it, but it is, which means things are about to get better. Really soon. *Cough* Really, really soon. You people can quit calling me evil soon too.

Oh my goodness, the reviews last time were crazy; there were so many, but I think I got the teaser out to everyone. If you have your PMs disabled then you didn't get it. If I missed anyone, let me know, and I'll send you something extra special.

And since my teaser went over so well the first time, I think I'll do it again. So...REVIEWS GET A TEASER!

The response has been amazing. Thank you so much to everyone.