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!

So, I'm back from my vacation fabulously refreshed C:

Thanks for being patient. Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter. I had a great time writing it. Since it's been about a week, I just wanted to recap that Bella just got drunk at a club, almost participated in a wet t shirt contest, but luckily Edward saved her from going down that road. ; )

UPDATE: I was going to post this yesterday, but fanfiction login/submission was down so i couldn't.

Chapter 25: Manners Matter

Bella:

It was the day after what I call 'the clubbing incident', and Edward and I were going to head over to his parent's house for lunch. I'd been pestering him to tell me what happened after our dance last night, but his lips were firmly sealed.

I vaguely recall him excusing himself to go the bathroom, but after that, it turned kind of fuzzy. Some guy had approached me, offering to buy me a drink, which I think I accepted… I must have blacked out after that, because I couldn't remember anything else.

Every time I asked Edward what had happened, he just pinched the bridge of his nose and said: "Thinking about it gives me a headache."

Of course, this only fueled my curiously further, but he refused to release anymore details.

Earlier this morning, I woke up with pounding headache and stomach pains that made me swear to never take a sip of tequila again. Considering how bad my hangover was, I'd estimated that I probably had more than five drinks. When I asked Edward how many drinks I'd actually had, he snickered and said: 'only two'. Damn, I could have sworn it was more.

I'd figured that I was a lightweight drinker, but is it really possible to get a hangoveras bad as I had after just two drinks?

Fortunately, Edward was a sweetheart and had an aspirin and water all ready for me when I awoke. It's been a few hours now and the pounding in my head has finally died down.

Yup, you heard right. I'd just called Edward a sweetheart. Who knew?

It's just that I couldn't help but notice that his behavior had improved drastically in the past month. We'd set up a system where he would hang a sign on his door if he had a girl over. Lately I rarely saw it make its appearance. Maybe we could even get rid of it soon… However, I knew better than to get my hopes up on that.

I pondered over this as Edward leapt gracefully down the stairs.

He raked over my outfit and raised his eyebrows amusedly.

"What's so funny?" I demanded, annoyed. My hangover headache was still lingering and the stress of meeting Edward's parents was all building up—making my temper short.

"You look like you're going to church," he snorted.

I appraised my outfit in the mirror. It was very conservative, but I thought it was pretty casual at the same time.

Next I looked at Edward who was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. He could have been going to a ball game and I wouldn't have known. However, it's not like he has to dress up for his own parents. It's different for me.

"It's just lunch at my house, Bella," he reminded me. "Go change into something more comfortable.

I twirled in the mirror once more. The sweater I was wearing was kind of itchy… I guess since Edward said his parents wouldn't mind casual attire it would be okay.

"Why don't I help you pick an outfit my parents would like?" he offered.

I narrowed my eyes. I wasn't sure if he was offering for the chance to rifle through my drawers or because he actually wanted to help. "Alright," I sighed, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. He'd already seen all my clothes when he moved my stuff from the rink to his apartment so I guess it wouldn't be a big deal.

"Sweet!" he pumped his fist in the air. He made a mad dash up the stairs to the direction of my room. I laughed and skipped gallantly behind him. When Edward acted giddy like this, it made me feel like I was getting a snapshot of what he may have been like as a child.

When he got into my room, he immediately sprinted to my bottom drawer. After opening it, a confused look crossed his face.

"I swear the last time I was in here all your lingerie was in here…" he muttered.

I gaped at him incredulously.

"You come in here?" I gasped. "You come in here and rummage through my underwear drawer?" I corrected myself.

He slapped his forehead and gave a sheepish grin. Obviously he hadn't meant for that to slip out.

"Well," I sniffed, still a little disturbed by the fact that I was unaware that he went through my things until now. "For your information, Alice came in and reorganized my closet yesterday. She does it at least four times a year, one for each season."

He nodded slowly, then continued opening and closing each drawer.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked.

He frowned. "Yes. It is."

"Your parents aren't even going to see me in my undies," I reasoned.

"Sure as hell hope not, well—" he paused as he opened the top drawer. "Aha!" he held up one of my bras in victory.

I rolled my eyes at his immaturity.

"Why do most of the sexy ones still have the price tags on them?" he accused.

"Because I haven't worn them. Alice just brought them over yesterday," I lied.

"Liar. These have been here for the past three weeks," he shot back. "I've been meaning to ask you about it but I didn't want to give myself away."

I put my hands on my hips. He'd been rummaging through my stuff for the past three weeks and would have gone on unnoticed if he hadn't accidentally given himself away.

"You're unbelievable," I glowered.

He flashed me a toothy smile. "I know."

"My other bras are more comfortable, so I resort to wearing those," I said sensibly.

He snorted. "Well you're wearing this one today, since I'm in charge of picking out your outfit." Edward held up a bright red, lacy bra with gold trim. My eyes widened as I stared at it. I knew it was one Alice had bought for me against my will because of the French tag that was still hanging loosely off it.

"Oh! And these too." Edward held up the matching panties. He licked his lips.

"No wait, maybe these instead." This time he pulled out a blue and white striped one with a red bow in the middle. It was the bra Alice had insisted on getting when we went to the Victoria's Secret Fourth of July sale.

He continued searching through the pile of bras, pulling out every one he liked. Finally he sat down on my bed and heaved a sigh.

"Shit. I can't decide which one!" he complained, infuriated.

I laughed quietly into my hand. It was just one of those hilarious situations that you would think never happens, but did anyways.

Finally he decided to line them all up, close his eyes, and point at one randomly.

"Take it," he shoved the matching underwear set towards me. "Take it before I change my mind."

I nodded wearily, gesturing for him to pick the actual outfit that his parents would be seeing.

After rummaging through my closet for a few minutes, he came back out with a pair of denim capris and a red shirt with butterfly sleeves. They were all items Alice had bought for me.

"Esme likes red," he told me proudly.

Renee had always been fond of red as well. I tried to keep these little quirks about my mother in the back of my mind to make sure I wouldn't forget what she was like after her death.

It was silent for a moment as I looked solemnly at the shirt.

"Hey, if you don't like the shirt I can go find another one," he finally said when I didn't respond.

"No," I took the shirt from him. "This is fine."

I held the outfit in my arms waiting for him to leave so I could change.

He stood staring at me for what felt like hours before I cleared my throat.

"Err, could you… Umm… Wait outside?" I asked uneasily.

He coughed and his cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink. "Yeah… Right… Outside. Sure." For some reason he was at a loss for words. Awkwardly he shuffled out the door as it clicked behind him.

We pulled up at the Cullen's house—or maybe a better term would be mansion—not wait an even better term would probably be castle. It was just as I had expected it to be. Of course, it was huge, and decorated modernly. There was a well tended garden out front with a small pond by it.

My mouth dropped in awe.

"Wow."

Edward chuckled and got out of the car to open the door for me. We walked up the gleaming white front steps together. It was strange, but I felt as if my shoes weren't worthy of walking on such a clean surface. As I reached for the doorbell, Edward reached for my hand and looked down at me with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Before we go in, I just wanted to warn you," he started casually. "My mother can be a tad over the top, and you'll probably experience more enthusiasm today than you will the rest of your days combined."

"I'm sure she'll be great," I assured. I'm not sure if that reassurance was more for me or him.

I reached over to ring the doorbell again, but before my finger made contact with the diamond shaped button, the door swung open.

"Edward! Isabella! I'm so glad you're here! I saw Edward's car parked in the driveway from the upstairs window and couldn't wait to see you kids!" A woman who I presumed to be Edward's mother clapped her hands together ecstatically. She had a heart shaped face framed with thick caramel hair. Her smile was inviting as she beckoned us in.

"I go by Bella. It's so nice to finally meet you," I shook her hand warmly.

"Bella," she tested it out. "Did you know that means beautiful in Italian?" she laughed freely. Naturally, I blushed. "I have waited ages to meet you! Edward has been hiding you from me!" She nudged her son on the shoulder playfully.

"Yeah, whatever," Edward shrunk back, embarrassed.

"Oh! I love your shirt, Isa—I mean Bella. How did you know that red is my favorite color? It's a lovely shade on you," Mrs. Cullen gushed.

"Thank you. What a coincidence," I replied dryly while Edward nudged me playfully on the shoulder, as if to say 'I told you so'.

"The lasagna is just finishing up in the oven. Edward mentioned that you liked Italian."

My eyebrows shot up. I didn't know Edward knew I liked Italian. Not only that, but I didn't know that Edward talked to his mother about me. I glanced at him questionably and he shrugged.

"Well Edward was right…As always," I smiled. "I do love Italian. Thank you Mrs. Cullen."

"Oh, no, no," she fluttered her hands about. "Call me Esme. Mrs. Cullen is just so... What's the word I'm looking for… Oh yes! Formal."

I nodded my head in agreement.

"Edward's father is in his study and should be down in a moment. You two go ahead and make yourself comfortable in the dining room," she insisted. "The food should be out in about ready in ten minutes or so."

I smiled again in appreciation.

"Thanks mom," Edward said genuinely. Was it just me, or did Esme seem to swell with pride?

Once Esme pranced out of the room, I turned back to Edward.

"She's wonderful," I told him sincerely.

"Thanks. I was lucky to be adopted by her and Carlisle."

I walked over to the fireplace that had picture frames on top of it. Scattered across the surface were frames of the Cullen family. My eyes lingered on the ones of pre-teen Edward, as I looked for the similarities between the boy in the picture and the man next to me. A small smile spread across my face. Even as a thirteen year old, Edward had the looks of a heartbreaker.

"You were cute," I noted softly. I turned around to face him, to find that he was only an inch away from me. My face was right in line with his neck. His sweet, cool breath fanned down onto me.

My breath may have hitched the slightest from our proximity, but I couldn't be sure.

Strangely, I had the urge to stand onto my tippy toes, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss him.

"Were?" he scoffed. "What about now?"

The urge to kiss him was gone faster than it had come. Of course Edward just had to ruin the moment again with his arrogance.

I didn't dare say this aloud, but truthfully he wasn't just 'cute' now. He was 'H-O-T'. Instead of speaking my thoughts though, I chuckled nervously along with him.

"Lemme tell you," an unfamiliar voice came from behind. "The little boy in those photographs was quite the charmer."

"Still is," I added silently to myself.

A tall man with wispy golden hair descended down the stairs with a serene smile on his face.

"I'm Carlisle, Edward's foster father. You must be Isabella," he greeted me warmly.

"Please call me Bella," I told him, just as I had with Esme.

"Bella… Did you know that means beautiful in Italian?" he winked.

That was exactly what his wife had said when I told her my nickname.

I opened my mouth comment on the coincidence, but Edward cut in with his own thoughts.

"Esme already said that line. You better find another one," he said.

"Really?" Carlisle asked, amused. "Now that you've mentioned it, we have been in perfect sync lately."

Edward groaned, but personally I found it kind of romantic.

Even after just meeting them, it was easy to tell how Carlisle and Esme had connected. They seemed to compliment each other flawlessly.

"I'll go check to see if Esme needs any help in the kitchen," Carlisle said. "Perhaps she would be better off without my assistance, but it's the thought that counts."

I nodded, agreeing with him wholeheartedly.

Edward led me into the dining room and pulled my chair out for me. The table was already set fancily with the silverware wrapped up in intricately folded napkins. I'd come to learn that the Cullens didn't do things halfway.

"Thanks."

Esme came out with a big dish of steaming lasagna while Carlisle trailed behind her with a few wine glasses and a bowl of salad.

She giggled with delight when she saw Edward pushing my chair back in for me. Quickly, she and Carlisle exchanged pleased glances.

"Hopefully I got the sauce just right. I haven't made lasagna in so long," Esme said. "Edward has just gushed about what a great—healthy—cook you are."

My heart fluttered a little more. It still surprised me that Edward had even mentioned my name much less gushed about me to his parents.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out that you had been living with Edward for the past month!" Esme chattered animatedly. "And here I was worrying that Edward was living off of TV dinners and take out, when in reality he was being sufficiently fed and spoiled by you!"

"Really, it's only temporary so I guess he didn't want to make a big deal out of it," I cut in.

Esme sighed dejectedly. "Of course." Carlisle patted her sympathetically on the shoulder.

She set down the dish in the middle of the table. "Please, help yourself to a slice," she insisted.

"It smells wonderful," I said conveniently, inhaling the mouthwatering scent.

Edward started reaching for the knife to cut the lasagna with, but Esme slapped his hand before it made contact.

"Ow!"

"Edward!" she glared. "Haven't your father and I taught you any manners? We let our guests help themselves first."

Carlisle apologized to me profusely. "I'm sorry, Bella. You would think that he would learn by now."

Edward sulked in his chair. I had the urge to laugh out loud. He looked like an elementary school boy instead of a grown man.

"Well, who can blame him? When there's a plate of good food in front of you, manners tend to go out the window," I laughed, sneaking in a compliment. Esme beamed from her seat.

"Which is exactly why you should hurry the hell up and get a slice," Edward grumbled.

"Edward!" Esme gasped again.

"Sorry mom," Edward apologized sheepishly.

"I am ashamed in your behavior today," Esme clucked her tongue. "Hopefully this isn't how you act everyday around Bella, is it?" she looked at me.

"No, he's normally the vision of a perfect gentleman," I snickered.

"Nonetheless, I think we need to review our manners. After all, it has been a while" Esme announced.

Edward groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"Please don't make me…" he whined. "Not in front of…"

"I think we need to sing the 'manners song'," Esme instructed.

I cocked one of my eyebrows up. 'Manners song'?

Edward shifted in his seat, embarrassed.

"Edward, we're waiting. C'mon, belt it out loud and proud son!" Carlisle stifled a chuckle.

If anything, Edward sunk down further into his seat. He looked purely mortified, and if it wasn't too devilish to say, I was getting quite a rise out of this.

His singing voice came out barely audible and mortified.

"Manners matter they really do.

Like a mirror they reflect on you.

So use your manners every day.

No matter where you work or play"

By the end of his little performance, I had trouble staying upright in my seat instead of keeling over onto the floor in laughter. I applauded along with Carlisle and Esme at his vocal talents. Edward's cheeks were fire truck red in humiliation.

"Hopefully that will teach you a lesson," Esme said, with a twinkle in her eye.

"Encore, encore!" I chirped.

End Chapter

A/N:

A review would be greatly appreciated.

I'm trying guys. I'm truly trying to find the perfect spot for Bella/Edward to kiss, but there just didn't seem to be a right time in this chapter. I promise that it's coming though! PLEASE stick with me on this! I know what I'm doing and where I want to go with this!

REVIEW for any CLARIFICATIONS, SUGGESTIONS, or MISTAKES

Thanks.