Hey peeps!

Thanks, as always, to the terrifically fabulous Angel. Sorry I take up all your spare time babes, you are muchly appreciated!!

Something a little different in store for you here!

Enjoy!

Edward POV

By the time we left the club that night, we were all pretty trashed. Alice and Bella were holding onto each other for dear life, giggling and trying not to fall over each other. If I wasn't more than a little tipsy myself, I would have pulled my phone out and filmed the hilarity. As it was, I was having a little trouble walking myself. Their giggling was leading my already very distracted mind to the sight and feel of Bella dancing against me.

I stumbled as I lost track of the concrete in front of me and corrected myself to the sound of girlish giggles. I turned and glared at Alice who was snorting with laughter, leaving Bella lurching trying to hold her up. I tried to lift an eyebrow but only managed to grimace.

"Nate," Bella gasped clutching her brother. "Make him stop!"

I huffed and continued putting one foot in front of the other, wishing for the hundredth time that we had caught a cab instead of walking. It was only an easy fifteen-minute walk to the house but the girls were going to drive me insane well before then, either that or I was going to fall asleep while walking. My eyes jerked open at the thought and my walking improved dramatically.

A warm arm suddenly wound its way around mine, I knew it was Bella as my arm draped over her shoulder. I hugged her to my side and leaned down to place my lips on top of her head.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, my lady?" I murmured into her hair. The warmth of her slowly spread through my body.

"Mmm?" She snuggled into me, grabbed my other hand in hers and held them close to our bodies in an effort to warm up. "You looked lonely."

"Ah huh, more like you're freezing, right?" I rubbed the arm of the thin sports jacket she was wearing, trying to warm her up with some friction.

And then your mind conjures dirty, dirty images, doesn't it Cullen?

Bella laughed. "Maybe," she said coyly.

We were silent for a while, focusing on our steps and just enjoying being close in such an innocent way. I was so comfortable and content that I momentarily forgot the others were following us, that was until Alice crawled under my other arm and addressed Bella, completely ignoring me in between them.

"Bella, my closest friend and confidant," she whined. Bella sighed and looked skyward, her lips moving in silent prayer.

"Yes, my most annoying of friends?" she replied sweetly. "What do you want?"

"There is something you're hiding from me, isn't there?" She poked Bella's arm ungently.

"No," Bella said, receiving several more pokes. "Not hiding, per se. Though, I did forget to mention one little thing."

"Something about you moving out of my lovely abode?" Alice prodded. I rolled my eyes but looked to Bella, waiting for her response.

"Mmm, yes," she admitted in a small voice, shrinking away from Alice.

"And were you planning on telling me, or was I to come home one day and find you gone?" Alice pouted, and I swear I saw tears spring to her eyes. My own eyes were just about to roll again when she pinched me savagely. I yelped and turned incredulously to my sister. "I saw that, smart arse."

After that, it seemed as if they had forgotten I was even there, the two of them leaning into my body, heads together as they chattered in low voices. I hugged their warm bodies to me and kept us all walking on the footpath. A light sprinkle was falling, as was likely to happen, and the air had a crisp bite to it. The girls were keeping me warm as my breath fogged in front of me. I glanced back to see Nate and Jasper walking behind us with their hands in their pockets, heads down.

I pushed the girls together as we turned the corner onto Alice's street, and I hung back, flattening my body against the brick wall on the corner. I held my breath as I waited, listening to their approaching footsteps. Jasper rounded the corner first and I jumped out in front of him, yelling.

"Argh!" he yelled, throwing his hand up to cover his face.

Nate, who was two steps behind Jazz, jumped forward and pushed me, knocking me off balance. I tripped backwards over something and the next thing I knew, Bella's face was swimming in front of me. I reached out my hands, taking her face and trying to hold it still in my hands, but my vision blurred, flashing black stars fading in and out.

"Edward?" Her voice tolled in my head like a bell. I groaned in answer, trying to hold my own head still. "Are you alright?"

"Ugh, what the hell happened?" I mumbled. Bella's face solidified in front of me, her brown eyes tight with worry. My fingers touched a point on my head that set white lightning flashing through my vision and I groaned.

"Is he going to be okay?" I looked toward the voice and saw Nate peering at me with a sick look on his face. "Hey, sorry dude. You scared the shit out of me."

I chuckled, instantly regretting it and groaned, sitting up. "My fault."

Nate reached out a hand and I grasped it, letting him haul me to my feet. Bella wrapped her arms around me, holding my waist as I swayed. I leaned on her heavily as the world spun and gripped my pounding head with one hand, holding tight to her shoulder with the other.

"Come on, Edward," she said softly, tugging me into a slow walk. "We're almost home."

Nate took up my other side, mumbling another apology. Even though her brother was right there holding me up, all I could think about was the way she said home. I leaned down, pressing my lips to the top of her head subconsciously. Nate said nothing as he watched us closely.

Nate POV

I shoved my hands in my pockets, walking in comfortable silence beside Jasper as the others laughed and chattered a few metres in front of us. I liked Jasper right away. He was so quiet, calm and reserved, which was especially impressive when paired with the rambunctious Alice. Rosalie had stunned me at first sight. How could she not? Those long perfect legs, blonde curls falling over her shoulders, the ends just touching the swell of her magnificent tits and shiny cherry red lips. Then I reached the scowling, ice blue eyes, glaring at me like she was trying to conjure laser beams to fry off my manhood. She was even better under all the cosmetics, but then there was Emmett – and how could I not like him? He was like the older brother I never had because even though Bells was the best sister I could ever hope for, I still wished I had a brother.

These people were good people, even Edward who had been eye fucking my sister every time I turned around. In fact, I wondered if Alice and Bella had set up the dance scene earlier so it would even out the sister ogling but I knew Alice had picked me to include me more. Bella acted different around Edward and I had yet to decide if that was a good thing or not. I couldn't deny the appeal of this family-like group of friends that she had found, but I wondered if maybe she was becoming too wrapped in everyone around her and not spending enough time on herself.

Edward, Bella, and Alice disappeared around a corner and I trusted Jasper to lead the way, we shouldn't be too far now. We turned the same corner to follow them and suddenly a dark shape leaped out from around the corner. Jasper flinched back and the classes from this afternoon came back to me, clear as day. I dodged around Jasper to confront our attacker, pushing him back toward the darkness of the wall. He stumbled under my assault and I heard the crack of a skull hitting brick.

The feeling of accomplishment lasted only a second before I heard a panicked gasp and Bella pushed me aside.

"Edward," she choked, heading straight for the crumpled shadow of our assailant. My stomach plummeted as I realised I had just knocked Edward out cold. Bella's eyes glinted at me in the darkness, looking up at me, pleading. "Help him."

I squatted in front of him and helped her lift his head into her lap. She put her palm flat against his cheek, calling his name softly, begging him to come back to her. If I didn't know before, I knew now; she felt something for him, something that was more than just someone worried about their friend.

Edward groaned, stirring in Bella's lap, and I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding. His eyes fluttered in the darkness before opening, his hands coming up to lay their palms flat on Bella's face.

"Edward?" Bella asked him softly. "Are you alright?"

"Ugh, what the hell happened?" he groaned, putting his hands to his head and wincing. I remembered the crack of his head hitting the wall and grimaced.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked Bella, feeling sick to my stomach. Edward looked at me, startled, and I forced a small smile to my face. "Hey, sorry dude. You scared the shit out of me."

He sat up, grunting. "My fault."

I offered him a hand up, helping Bella steady him when he stumbled. He stood still for a couple of minutes and I was beginning to wonder if I would have to carry him when Bella turned him back the way we were going.

"Come on, Edward," she said softly, tugging Edward forward to take another step. I took up the other side, helping her coax Edward into a slow walk down the street. "We're almost home."

I saw him smile softly and lean down to press a kiss into her hair and I knew that there was something going on there I didn't know about. I decided, as we walked through Alice's front door, I would ask Bella. I would give her tonight to think it over because there was no doubt she knew I was onto them, but tomorrow, I would ask her.

Edward POV

Bella was right. We were only a few houses away from home. I smiled when I thought the word. It took on a meaning of its own in my head, spoken in Bella's soft voice and containing all the warmth and comfort of, well, home. Alice and Jasper, who had been standing quietly off to the side, opened the front door and flicked on the lights as they led us into the lounge room. Alice disappeared into the kitchen, returning seconds later with a pack of frozen corn wrapped in a clean tea towel.

"Here," she said, handing me the package. "Let me have a look first."

She pressed her fingers softly to the back of my head, parting the hair carefully. I hissed when she came in contact with the pulsing lump of pain but she nodded, leaning backward and squatting in front of me.

"That's a nice golf ball you've got there," she said with a slight smile. "You haven't broken the skin but you've got to have a killer headache?"

I nodded slowly as not to set off the throbbing pain and she clucked her tongue, standing and heading to the back bathroom. I pressed the cold pack to the back of my head, grimacing as pain lanced through my skull but I held the pack gently in place. Bella sat next to me, rubbing my knee affectionately.

"Is it bad?" she asked, "the pain?" I grunted, not willing to admit how much my head was killing me.

"I'll survive," I mumbled. Nate sat awkwardly in front of us on the couch. I picked up Bella's hand with my free one and put it on the couch between us, suddenly hyper aware that Nate was staring at us curiously. I met his eyes, knowing we had been spotted and begged him with a glance to leave it for tomorrow. He nodded slightly, granting my request and I smiled grimly.

"Sorry I scared you," I said looking around as Alice re-entered the room with a bottle of Tylenol. "All of you. That was not the reaction I was looking for."

I chuckled, trying to lighten up the atmosphere and ended up flexing my jaw in an attempt to get my temples to stop throbbing. Alice scowled at me, shook out a couple of the pills, and handed them to me with a glass of water. I smiled gratefully, downing them both in one mouthful.

"Well," she announced. "Now that I'm sober and pissed off, I'm going to bed. Jasper?"

He was up and at her side in seconds. They said their goodnights and left us with the television on low. Nate stretched out on the couch and was snoring within minutes, leaving Bella and I to converse in soft voices.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Bella hissed at me angrily. "Trying to get yourself killed?"

I scoffed and was immediately glad of the painkillers when my head only tolled dully. "Jasper wouldn't have killed me. I did not, however, count on your brother picking up defence skills so quickly."

She chuckled softly, looking over at the sleeping form on the opposite couch. "He always was such a quick learner. That was why I couldn't leave home until he finished high school at least. He needed me then. It's funny how our roles are reversed and I need him now. It's nice to have him here no matter how much I want to strangle him sometimes."

The gentle look on her face made me want to kiss her and I wondered if she ever looked at me like that. Resisting the urge to shake my head, I asked her the first question that came to mind.

"What was it like when you were kids? What was your home like?" I suddenly wanted to know everything about her, no matter how trivial. I wanted to know her favourite food, where she played as a child, what her parents were like, what did she want to be when she grew up; all the little questions that shaped her. I wanted to know her.

"Nate was born when I was old enough to help out. I changed nappies, warmed bottles, and pretty much raised Nate." Her eyes clouded like she could see it in front of her now. "Mother was always so involved in one art project or another. She did drawing, sketching, pottery, stained glass windows, mosaic, you name it. She was always locked away in her art room working on something and us kids were never allowed in there. Not since I tried to eat her toxic paints when I was a toddler and got into everything, she always was terrible at putting things away."

"Where is she now?" I asked, completely wrapped in the story of her childhood. This was what shaped the woman she was now and I couldn't help my curiosity to know more since she was obviously in the mood to talk. Her eyes tightened in remembered pain.

"She left Dad when I was ten," she said softly. "She left to go to Grandmas side when she was on her deathbed and just never came back."

"She left you with your father, then?"

"No," she answered firmly, her eyes flashing. "She took us with her. We were in Phoenix for four years when I told her I wanted to go live with Dad. She had a new boyfriend and he gave me the creeps. It might just have been because he wasn't my Dad; she was supposed to be with Dad. I wanted to take Nate with me too but Mother said no, he was too young. He probably would have ended up staying too if he hadn't bawled his eyes out when I left. She called me as soon as I had landed and tried to get me to calm him over the phone, which didn't work. She never looked after him full time without me, there was no way she could deal with it, she said." Bella shook her head.

"So, she put him on the next plane under the care of some attendants or something, and I was there waiting for him when he got through the gates." She smiled then. "Charlie was so excited to have us back he didn't mind waiting for hours in the airport for Nate to get in. When I first saw him being lead out by the attendant, clutching his teddy, eyes all red, and face crusted with snot, I was so happy I bowled him over. He was so happy, he didn't care."

She turned to me then. "How's your head?"

I rolled my shoulders and neck, testing the resulting throb. "It's alright."

"I think maybe we should go to bed, don't you?" She turned to the snoring body on the couch, getting up to nudge Nate awake. "Come on, little brother. Bedtime."

Nate groaned and grumbled, not really opening his eyes. Not even to walk up the stairs. I'm sure he would have stopped and fallen asleep on them if Bella wasn't guiding him by the elbow. I got up and slowly followed, leaning in the doorway as Bella tucked Nate into his bed carefully. I imagined the tender way she pulled the blanket up to his chin and the look on her face was the same as when they were children. Nate snuggled into the blanket mumbling and went back to snoring almost immediately.

Bella turned and flicked out the light, closing the door softly. We stood in the hallway awkwardly for a moment before Bella looked up at me shyly.

How can she still be this bashful around me after all this?

"Edward?" she murmured. "Can I sleep with you?"

"You already have today." I smirked and she punched me gently in the arm.

"I don't want to fuck you again, dickhead," she growled. My dick sprang to life at the mention of itself, head and fucking all in the same sentence. I mentally rolled my eyes at myself. "I just want to make sure you don't die in your sleep, concussions do that."

This time I did roll my eyes, which resulted in another punch in the arm, this one harder. I grumbled about physical assault and was physically forced into my room by an angry huffing brunette. Chuckling, I let her.

Bella POV

I woke up in the morning toasty warm and curled up against a delicious smelling body. Even with my eyes still closed, I knew it was Edward, no one else could smell that good first thing in the morning. I buried myself deeper into his warmth, feeling him shake as he chuckled

"Does my under arm really smell that great?" he asked in his perfect voice. I groaned and opened my eyes, pulling my head out to discover that my face had indeed been buried in his armpit. He chuckled again at my disgusted expression. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

I scowled at him. "I guess you're feeling better?"

"Sort of, my head has a wicked bump on the back. What did I hit?" He brushed his hands through his hair gingerly.

"A brick wall, I think." I smirked. "The wall won, in case you were wondering."

He poked me in the ribs playfully. "I guessed that by the softball on my skull."

"Well, you better get over it quick," I said smugly, rolling out of bed. "We have things to do today."

Edward groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket up over his head. I chuckled softly, heading toward the bathroom to commence my morning routine. I ducked quickly back to my room for a clean change of clothes, choosing my most comfy pair of jeans and an old band shirt. I slipped my feet into a pair of trainers and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Jasper was up already, nursing a coffee and reading the morning paper. He looked up as I entered the room.

"Well, howdy, sunshine." His Texan accent was always stronger first thing in the morning. I grunted, heading straight for the caffeine and poured myself a strong cup. I dumped three heaping spoons of sugar in the black mixture and wrapped my hands around the scalding hot cup.

"Where's Alice?" I asked, perching on a stool at the breakfast bar.

"She's gone out to get waffles, I think," he mumbled. "Nate went with her. He said he had an overwhelming craving for waffles, is he pregnant?"

"Yeah, he's going to be the next octo-mum, he eats enough for it." I smiled into my coffee as Jasper folded the paper up and levelled his gaze at me.

"How's Edward?" he asked seriously. I shrugged.

"He'll have a headache but I think he will be fine. He should be up any second." I rolled my eyes. "It was his own stupid fault, Jasper. You know that, right?"

He nodded, going to the sink, and washing his cup out. He stooped to kiss the top of my head.

"Thanks, darlin'," he said, patting my back. "I'll be back later; I have to go do some things at work. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone, okay?"

I rolled my eyes at him and he chuckled as he headed out the front door. Edward appeared a scant two seconds later, his hair wet and dripping on his bare shoulders, forming rivulets of water down his chest. I tore my eyes away from his torso and gestured to the coffee pot.

"Where is everyone?" he asked, helping himself to a cup. He turned to lean against the kitchen counter facing me.

"Jazz just left for work, Alice and Nate are getting food." I was having a hard time keeping my eyes locked on his face. His pecs were pretty much screaming at me to lick them.

"Why am I not surprised?" he asked, laughing. "So what has the devil got planned today?"

"I'm assuming you're talking about me?" Alice stepped through the front door carrying a plastic bag in one hand and dangling her keys in the other with Nate following closely behind.

"Never," Edward gasped. "Here, let me help you with that." His hand flicked out to grasp the bag, lifting it out of Alice's reach.

"Edward," she growled in warning. "Put the bag down now and nobody has to get hurt."

For such a short person, she can be fairly scary.

Edward relinquished the bag while Alice and Nate started pulling cutlery and plates out of cupboards, and Alice ordered Nate around like a drill sergeant. I have to say, it was done pretty efficiently and soon we were all sitting around the kitchen island eating waffles with various toppings.

"Nate," I mumbled around a mouthful of food. He looked up at me and I swallowed the ball of syrupy goodness so he could understand me. "I think I found a place for us."

I saw Alice and Edward stop eating from the corner of my eye but I kept looking straight at my brother.

"Want to go check it out?" I asked. Nate nodded enthusiastically but didn't stop shovelling food into his mouth. "Today?"

"Sure," he said, spitting food everywhere. I sighed and cut my waffles into tiny pieces. Nate set down his fork with a clatter. "Want to go now?"

I nodded, standing. I looked at Edward awkwardly. "Can you drive us there?" He watched me for a few seconds, chewing thoughtfully. He nodded, looking to Alice who sighed and stood, clearing the table.

"Let's go then," she said when she reappeared.

We grabbed our things, headed to the car, and drove the short distance to Edward's apartment. Nate gave a low whistle at the gate and we parked in the same spot as yesterday.

"How much is this place, Bells?" Nate asked when he joined me along the walk to the lobby.

"You're not going to like it," I murmured in reply. "But let me explain it later. We'll go have lunch, just the two of us, okay?"

He looked at me suspiciously but nodded. We entered the lobby and I nodded to Winston, buzzing us through. We took the lift in silence and I held my breath when the ding signalled we had arrived at the penthouse. Nate's eyes widened as he saw the foyer and double doors leading into the apartment proper. He took a step inside the doors before turning to look at me incredulously.

"I can't wait for lunch," he said, strained. I nodded and he took a deep breath, entering the kitchen and looking around in wonder. "Jesus H. Christ."

I showed him the rest of the suite while Edward and Alice talked softly in the entryway. He took it all in silently, asking once when we were in the study out of earshot, when we would get to talk about this. I suggested we go for a walk around the neighbourhood. I had noticed there was a coffee shop next to the street entrance of the building. Alice and Edward could surely wait in there while we took a quick walk.

Alice gave me a knowing look and agreed. We grabbed a coffee to go and strolled leisurely down the sidewalk, looking at the buildings and shops around us. I knew he was waiting for me to explain and I appreciated that he wasn't bugging me about it. It gave me time to sort out my thoughts a little.

"It's Edward's apartment," I said, looking down at my feet. "He offered it."

Nate stopped walking. "Bella, do you think that's such a great idea?" I shrugged.

"I couldn't say no," I mumbled. I finally looked up into his eyes. They were still wide and shocked, probably even more so since I had spoken.

In a rush of words, I told him everything Edward had told me, minus the bedroom scenario. He sat down heavily on a park bench and I plonked down next to him. Once I started talking, I couldn't stop. I told him everything, and I mean everything. All about James and how stupid I had been, and then Edward and how different it felt. How generous, and kind, and loving he was, all of the things I realised James had never been. How these people made me feel, my friends.

He listened in silence and waited until I had talked myself dry. In the end, he lifted his face to the sky, smiling grimly.

"Ah, Bells," he exclaimed softly. "You don't do things in halves, do you?"

I laughed. "At least my glass is half full," I said, leaning into him.

It was something we had said as children when I would fall over my own feet and he would laugh and patch me up, carefully wiping disinfectant over my grazes. I was the clumsy one, always hurting myself, and I think he took great pride in fixing me up. It was one of the rare moments when our roles were reversed.

"At the moment, most definitely." He stood up, pulling me with him and turned us back in the direction of the building. "Okay, sure. Let's do this."

"Really?" I asked excitedly.

"Really," he said, smiling. I squealed and threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you. Argh, we're going to live in a penthouse!" I literally jumped up and down in my excitement, still holding onto him.

Nate chuckled, prying my arms from around his neck. "Yes, Bells, we're going to live in a penthouse."

I practically skipped all the way back to the coffee shop, throwing myself into Edward's lap when we got there and kissing him with a smack on the cheek. He chuckled, softly gripping my waist.

"Just 'cos I know now, doesn't mean you have to flaunt it, gees," Nate grumbled, taking a seat. I laughed and ruffled his hair, too happy for words.

"I take it all went well?" Edward murmured into my ear. I beamed at him and he grinned, my mood becoming infectious.

"When can we move in?" I asked. Edward smiled broadly at me, enveloping me in a tight embrace. He seemed so much more relaxed now that we were all out in the open. Nate, however, had seemed to shut himself off from me, and so as much as I revelled in Edward's attentions, my gaze kept being drawn back to my brother.

Nate POV

I sat down heavily on a park bench as Bella explained the situation.

I had known about their attraction to each other - honestly, it was kind of hard to miss - that didn't concern me much compared to the fact that I had came here to see my sister and instead been surrounded with these people. Don't get me wrong, they were nice people and under different circumstances I would relax and enjoy their company, but right now, I was worried about my sister. She had drowned out her own sorrow and suffering in other people for too long and I was determined to be there for her when her emotions exploded out of her.

Bella was like a time bomb, ticking away the seconds to emotional melt-down. Even in my lifetime of knowing her, I had only seen her completely break down twice; once when we had both moved to Dad's place and the other was not something either of us enjoyed thinking about. It wasn't pretty and once she lost her cool, all reason failed to reach her.

That's why I was here. I heard it in her voice when she called me, the hysteria threatening to break through, and I just knew I had to be there for her when it did.

As she told me about James, my fists clenched and I had to resist the urge to storm off in search of the wanker who dared to touch my sister. He had taken advantage of her way before the explosion at the club. Bella saw my jaw tighten and hurriedly told me what had happened afterward. I felt a sense of relief that Edward had beaten the shit out of him and made a mental note to thank him.

Bella had purposely left the explanation of the apartment for last. I waited patiently. When she told me it was Edward's and that he would let us rent it for next to nothing I was a bit apprehensive of taking the offer. It would mean I would be indebted to him and I didn't like that idea. Bella looked so excited though, and I had to admit it was a fantastic offer.

So, I agreed and didn't regret it when Bella squealed, jumping on me and acting like a teen-groupie who just won VIP tickets to meet the Jonas Brothers. At least I had done that much right.

We strolled back to the café where we had left Alice and Edward. Bella leapt straight on his lap, talking a million miles an hour. Alice just watched me, knowingly.

I didn't intentionally shut everyone out then. I just got caught up in all the things running through my head and the next thing I knew, Alice was tapping me on the shoulder asking me if I was okay. I blinked a few times to see them all standing and waiting for me. I smiled and nodded, before getting up.

"I have a lot of things to think about," I said, smiling wryly and slinging my arm around Alice's shoulder. "Come on; let's get this show on the road."

"Okay," Alice sounded as defeated as I felt. "But I have plans for us tonight."

There was no arguing with the small one, so we all mumbled our agreement and headed back to the car. I wondered what she had in store for us this time.

A little insight from Nate that I thought you guys might like.

So I keep talking about plot and not much of it is happening. There will be a tad more in the next chapter, then a couple more fillers and explainers, then *bam* plot! You have been warned!

The OS is finally up and posted. It's called An Escapade and it's on my profile. Go look, right now! There will be more in the future!

- Gee