A/N: So first of all, I have to say thank you! I got more reviews from my last chapter than any other chapter, it was awesome. I thank you all so much for reviewing : )

It was really encouraging for me, so thanks!

Second...sadly this is the beginning of the end. This is most likely going to be my THIRD LAST chapter. I've basically got it mapped out, and if it goes according to plan (and I don't ramble incessantly) I should only have two more chapters after this one.

Anyways, this chapter is a bit longer for you all, sorry I made you wait. I just found out I needed to pick my courses for school next year and I was kind of overwhelmed as I had no idea. I think I almost gave myself a heart attack.

But anyways, no need to worry, next chapter's up.

Without further ado....ENJOY.


E.P.O.V

I stuck my fork in the pasta and looked over to Jessica and Bella, hoping to god by some miracle she said no. She was the person I wanted least in the world to be my roommate. Why had Bella thought this was such a genius idea?

"Oh..." Jessica replied, darting her eyes to me quickly and then back to Bella. "You mean you and...?"

"Edward, Alice, and Jasper," Bella replied, taking another bite of pasta. I could see her hand falter slightly as she speared a piece of noodle, and knew she was just as unsure about this as I was. Why the hell was she doing this?

"Um," Jessica said, looking down to her meal. Thank god...she's stuttering. "I...I don't know. I mean I'd have to ask my parents and see if it's alright with them first." Bella nodded at Jessica and stuck a rather large forkful of pasta in her mouth. I continued to eat as well, and the three of us sat in an awkward silence – the worst awkward silence I had ever been present for. Thankfully Alice and Jasper returned a few minutes later, bringing with them laughs and an actual conversation.

Jessica left a little after she was done eating, much to my relief. She had to say no...she just had to. It would be rude as hell of us to rescind our offer, but I just couldn't live with her for an entire year. Awkward was hardly the word to describe the way I felt around her. It was like I wanted to recoil from her, curl up into a protective shell to block her out completely. If I was being honest, and probably the biggest dick in the world, I didn't really care to have her as a friend. We had nothing in common, she was ditzy as hell, and from what I gathered she was a little slutty. I didn't need shit like that following me around.

"So Jess said she'd talk to her parents?" Alice asked Bella as I drifted off into nothingness, thinking about how horrid of in idea this was. I mean really...post a want-ad in the paper, find someone off the street. I'd gladly welcome a stranger who I could potentially have something in common with rather than Jessica.

"Yeah," Bella said with a shrug, resting her back against her chair as she had just finished eating. She leant in then, dropping her voice to a whisper as she continued. "Alice...do you think it's a good idea. I mean...I know I already asked her, but I almost didn't want to."

"I knew you didn't want to," I said to Bella as I shook my head. "It's a shit idea." Everyone at the table was looking at me. "I'm sorry...I can't help it. I really don't want to live with her."

"She's not so bad Edward," Alice said to me, eating her salad. I rolled my eyes and snorted.

"Well I don't really think she's so great," I said to Alice, watching as she shook her head in my apparent stubbornness.

"I'm not saying she's our best bud, but she's not that bad Edward. I think you're blowing it out of proportion," Alice retorted.

I clenched my jaw tight, knowing that I wasn't going to win this argument against Alice. I had my own personal reasons for not liking Jessica; Alice had no awkward silences or random tensions with her like I did.

"Personally," Jasper said after a minute of none of us saying anything. "I think we should find a dude." I looked up and Jazz winked at me, I knew he didn't really like Jess that much either.

"Agreed," I replied with a nod of my head. "Let's just post an ad in the paper, or put one up around school. I'm sure there are tons of people who are bound to be looking for somewhere to live next year. I don't doubt that we'll get a ton of offers."

I watched as Alice rolled her eyes and Bella cleared her throat next to me.

"Edward I already asked her though..." Bella ran her fingers through her hair, knotting a bundle of curls into a fist as she exhaled deeply, her features conflicted.

"Pray she says no," I said to her, putting an arm around her shoulder. "I mean...I'm really not trying to be a jerk, but you understand what I mean...Alice?" I wanted Alice to get this, because out of everyone she was the one who was giving me the hardest time. I knew the toll Jessica took on Bella, and knew that Jazz didn't care either way; he was just trying to help me out. Alice was sort of neutral territory – she was Switzerland.

"Look Edward," Alice said, turning in her seat so she faced me point-blank. "I understand where you, personally, are coming from. I understand that you really don't want to live with her, and you'd prefer some hobo off the streets of New Hampshire. I see what you mean, really I do. While I don't think it's the greatest idea, it's just an idea. You know she could always say no, and plus, you can't just take back the offer now. You may as well just slap her across the face if you did something like that."

"I know Alice..." I said with frustration. "I get that, I know she could always say no. But now that it's out there, what if she does say yes? Then...I don't even know what will happen. She seems like someone who would stir up a lot of shit. I don't want that to ruin this experience for us." Alice's eyes softened on me, turning a few shades lighter than Bella's chocolate brown ones. I just wanted everything about next year to be perfect.

This past year had been hard on Bella – I knew this, she knew this...we all knew this. After so much bad shit happening to her I just wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to be truly happy, and nothing, if I could help it, was going to stand in the way of making her exactly what she deserved to be after having such a year. This whole situation was morphing into something that I knew wouldn't make Bella happy in the end. I knew she would regret it when, or if, Jessica said yes – because I was honestly afraid of what Jessica was capable of.

I mean...what if she tried something with me again?

Not that I'm being cocky, thinking I'm some irresistible, god-given grace. But Jessica had tried it once before, and if she still had some left-over feelings, there's no telling whether or not she would try something again. I knew how girls like her worked – they were relentless. Cue an image of Tanya ripping Bella's hair from her head. I refused letting something like that happen to Bella again.

"I..." Alice said, furrowing her tiny, perfectly sculpted eyebrows at me. I know she wanted it to be a memorable experience too, and I think she was now realizing why I was acting the way I was.

"Alice...after everything that happened this past year, I want something good to look forward to. I want to just...I don't know..." I trailed off, trying to explain it to her.

"You want to make everyone happy and have a relaxing year," Jasper finished for me. I felt Bella's hand squeeze my thigh and I shifted my eyes to Jasper, nodding my head as the knowing Southerner was right. "I get it man." Jazz nodded his head at me and pulled Alice closer to him, whispering something in her ear. Damn, he was good. As he shifted his eyes to Bella, Alice following suit, I knew he was telling her that I was doing this for Bella. Jasper was the most intuitive son of a bitch I had ever met in my life, he knew what was always bothering me, and if he didn't it would never take him long to guess.

"Okay..." I heard Alice finally say. She pulled away from Jasper's ear and shifted to where Bella and I were sitting quietly, only Bella's tight grip on my leg telling me she was still there. She was being entirely too calm for everything to be alright with her. "Okay." Alice pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut before snapping them open, staring right at me. "I get it," she said, her eyes widening, telling me she was aware of the intent behind the words I had spoken to her. "I don't know what to do though."

Alice looked to my right, to see Bella sitting there, completely and utterly quiet. I knew something was on her mind; she was acting like a god damn statue.

"Any thoughts Bells?" Alice asked her, using a soft and gentle voice. I watched Alice as her face contorted into something I didn't understand. There go their silent conversations again. "Okay..." Alice trailed off, looking away from Bella. "We'll talk about it later; start thinking of anything that comes to mind."

I nodded at Alice and placed my hand on top of Bella's, turning to her and watching with a wrenching gut as she stared blankly at the table. She was so beat up over this that it wasn't even funny – I had never seen her more conflicted in her life.

"Bella, love," I said to her, grazing a few fingers across her cheek. She angled her head in my direction, barely enough for me to see her move.

"Hmm," she replied quietly.

"Can you talk to me?" I asked her sweetly, now using my fingers to brush her hair behind her shoulder. I watched as she bit at her lip, shrugging her shoulders and looking down to her lap. I needed to get her alone, make her talk to me. This whole Silent Bob routine was driving me fucking insane. I hated when she didn't talk to me. "Hey guys, I think we're going to head back. We'll be in mine and Jazz's room," I told Alice and Jasper, pulling Bella up with me and leading her out of Commons.

We were back in Berry in a matter of minutes and I was towing her along to my room, still irked by the silence we were being subjected to. When I got to my door I noticed Rosalie's hand writing scrawled across my white-board, telling me we had a floor meeting tonight. I pulled my keys out and opened the door, ushering Bella inside before closing it and locking it.

"Alright," I said to Bella, throwing my keys on the floor. "What the hell is up with you?" She sat down on my bed and put her face in her hands, a quiet sob breaking through her chest. I went over to her and knelt on the ground, feeling bad as my tone had been a little harsh. "Bella I'm sorry."

She sniffled and I took her hands in mine, peeling them off her wet face. "No..." she said with a weak shake of her head. "I'm sorry. God, I'm so stupid. Why did I ask her in the first place? It's all my fault." I watched with agony as tears spilled down her delicate, rosy cheeks, staining the beautiful skin of her face.

"Bella..." I said with that tone she knew. "This isn't your fault. You just wanted to give her a chance." I started to dry her cheeks with my hand, relief flooding my body when she stopped crying. She still wasn't saying much of anything, just staring at my arms and hands as I wiped her tears away.

"What if she says yes?" Bella nearly whispered.

"We're fucked," I said with a grin. The edges of her mouth began to curl up into a grin but she held it back, wanting to be serious now.

"But if she does...I mean, I don't think I can handle her. I thought I could before, when I asked her. But now that I think about it...I really don't think I could." A tear spilled over her eye again and her mouth gaped. She placed a hand over it and her stomach, forcing mine away.

"Bella?" I asked with concern, watching as her eyes darted rapidly from side to side, focussing on nothing in particular.

"Oh my god," she said, removing her hand, another tear spilling down her cheek. "What if...if, she makes another pass at you?" She clutched her stomach harder, biting her lip as she most likely thought about this happening.

"Bella, honey," I said to her, taking both her hands in mine. I moved my head around and tried to get her gaze to land on mine. When it finally did she furrowed her brows, another few tears dripping down her face. "You know I would never...ever..." I couldn't finish my sentence. It was blasphemy for her to think I would ever cheat on her.

"I know," she said, biting her lip again. I felt tears stinging the back of my eyes, and blinked to keep them back. I needed to be strong for her. "It doesn't mean that she wouldn't try." I sighed and nodded, knowing that she was right. "But I trust you."

"Thank you," I said to her, closing my eyes as I kissed the knuckles of her left hand. "I trust you too." Bella freed her right hand from mine and pulled my face up by my chin, bending her head to kiss me on the lips. For the few brief seconds we were kissing, I could taste the salt from Bella's tears in my mouth as they streamed down her face and onto her lips. She pulled away too soon and rested her forehead against mine, her crying subsiding by the looks of it.

"What are we going to do?" She asked, shaking her head a little bit as it was pressed against me. I closed my eyes again and brought my arms around her neck, fisting my hands into her hair and allowing for the soft curls to engulf them in all their strawberry deliciousness.

"Let's just not think about it now. We'll have plenty of time later. How about we relax and watch a movie or something? There's a floor meeting later," I said to her, making sure I was rubbing soothing circles into her hair to calm her down. I heard her moan in agreement as my fingernails touched her scalp and I smirked, kissing her nose and parting her head from mine.

"Can we watch Friends instead of a movie?" She asked cutely, her deep, chocolate brown eyes gleaming now.

"We can watch whatever you want," I said with a smile. My heart thudded against my chest when she smiled that breathtaking smile back at me.

"It's in my room, I'll be right back," she said, kissing me and getting up from the bed. I watched her like an idiot as she left the room, my eyes not leaving the door once she was gone. I shook my head after a minute and got up, lying down on the bed with my arms behind my head as I waited to hear the door open again. It was about five minutes before Bella returned and I was almost about to get worried as the door flew open. She hurried inside and locked it; I could hear her breath as she ran over to me and hopped on the bed.

"Edward!" She said excitedly, a season of Friends and all the file folders for the houses in her hands. "I have an idea."

B.P.O.V

"So I'd like to welcome everyone back from their Christmas break," Rosalie said with a smile, standing underneath the large flat-screen as everyone on our floor looked back at her. Edward and I were standing beside the couch, much like we always did, as Jasper and Alice sat down near us, just listening to Rosalie's speech. "I hope you all had a fabulous time. But right now I wanted to get to anything you feel needs addressing. This floor seems to have a pretty good dynamic, and with the exception of a few problems we all seem to be getting along pretty well."

I watched as everyone murmured in agreement, Edward wrapping his arm around my waist and holding me closer. I smiled as I thought about how just four months ago I had been staring across this room, right into his eyes, completely mesmerized by the stranger I had called the beautiful boy.

"I actually have a problem," a boy piped up from the couch opposite the one Alice and Jasper were sitting on. "The outlets in my room aren't working. I've tried them all, and none of them are working."

"Oh, okay," Rosalie said with a nod. "I'll have to call in an electrician to come look at it, because I have no clue when it comes to stuff like that." She smiled her wickedly beautiful smile at the boy, and I watched as he nearly drooled at her. I had to suppress my fit of laughter.

"Anyone else?" Rosalie asked tentatively, knowing that nobody ever opted to say anything at these meetings. "Alright then," she said after a minute. "You may leave, I'll post notices within the next week or so of when the next one is. And don't forget, my room number is two sixteen, just in case."

After she was done speaking the people in the room began to disperse. The four of us, plus the boy with the electric problem, were the only ones who remained. Rosalie went over to talk to him, while we just chatted to each other.

"What about Emmett? Have you talked to him since we've been back?" Jasper asked Edward.

"Yeah," Edward said with a laugh. "I have talked to him."

"Where's he now? We should all do something, hang out," Alice said, her tiny frame still nestled into Jasper's side.

"He's a bit tied up at the moment," Edward said, clearly trying to suppress his laugh.

"Who says the big lug didn't ask to be tied up?" Rosalie's voice said. We all turned to look at her as her brows arched, smiling a seductive and devious smile. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I never said he didn't ask for it," Edward replied. Rosalie leant in to hug me as I hadn't seen her since we'd been back.

"Hey Bella, it's good to see you, I missed you all like crazy," Rosalie said to me. "I'm sorry we haven't seen each other." She pulled away and smirked down at me. "I've been a little busy."

I heard Alice laugh, her loud, wind-chime laugh. "And by busy, you mean Emmett's been hogging you?" Alice said, still laughing.

"Pretty much," Rose said with a grin. "He doesn't want to share me. I had to tie him to the bed so he would let me leave." Alice and I laughed, so hard I almost cried. I could picture Emmett, tied to the posts of Rosalie's bed, lying there with nothing to do but wait until she was back. I wasn't picturing him naked, but knew that he most likely was. God Bella...don't even go there. I shook my head to force images of Emmett away and watched as Edward crinkled his nose.

"Aw Rose," Edward said, shaking his head. "I really don't need the visual of my brother tied to your bed, spread eagle and shit." He shivered next to me, most likely trying to shake thoughts of Emmett out of his head as well.

"I'm just telling it like it is," Rose said with a shrug. "But I should probably get back. We'll all do something this week okay? One of you call me, or Emmett."

"Will do," I said with a nod of my head. "Now go untie Emmett before he Hulks it out and rips your bed apart." Rosalie laughed loudly and turned to leave.

"Yeah, like he wants to get untied." I watched as her long legs and full hips danced away from us, out the door and back to her room where a ridiculously turned on Emmett awaited her.

"God, I won't sleep for weeks now," Edward said to me, shivering again. "So disturbing." I laughed and snaked my arms around his waist, kissing the side of his body through his shirt. He pulled me closer and placed a kiss on the top of my head.

"So have you thought of anything yet?" Alice asked, standing up and fixing her shirt as Jasper stood with her. I suddenly became extremely giddy as I had thought of something.

"Good god, yes," I said with a grin, listening to Alice's girly squeal. "Let's go back to the room though." Alice nodded in agreement and danced off ahead of Edward and me with Jasper's hand in hers. When we were back in the room I went to my desk and grabbed the red folder, tossing it to an oblivious Alice. She fumbled with it for a few seconds before she dropped it.

"Nice catch," I said with a laugh, letting Edward pull me onto my bed.

"Pfft, nice throw," she retorted, picking it up and sitting down on her bed. "I don't get it, Bella." Alice furrowed her brows and looked down to the house. "We all liked the one in the blue folder. This one isn't as pretty and has four bedrooms and only one bathroom!" Alice sounded disgusted as she was describing the house she was looking at. I just sat with Edward, waiting for the realization to hit her. "I mean...the other house is so much better. Really..."

I watched as her small brows furrowed and she tilted her head, looking quizzically down at the folder.

"Wait..." She looked up from the house and cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, either you are a manipulative bitch, or we're actually planning on living in this house."

"Ouch," I said with a tone of mock hurt. "Alice, it's the only thing I could think of. If she says no, perfect, but if not..."

"You're going to tell her we decided on this dingy four-bedroom house instead?" Alice asked, smirking a little. "Well played Bella." She closed the folder and tossed it aside. "Problem solved." I grinned back at Alice, finally relieved that we wouldn't have to live with her. Just the idea of her being around Edward more than she needed to be was starting to make my blood boil.

"Sorry I even thought it was a good idea," I told everyone, frowning at my temporary insanity that had consumed me earlier.

"Bells don't be silly," Jasper said with a wave of his hand.

"Yeah Bella," Alice added. "I thought it wouldn't be so bad either. But Edward's right...I think she would cause problems." I nodded at Alice and relaxed into Edward's side.

"So what should we do, post an ad around the school?" Edward asked.

"Well we'll see what she says first, and if it's no then we can go ahead, if not, it might seem a little strange for us to be putting up ad's for another roommate once we tell her we're getting the smaller house," I said to him. I wasn't looking at Edward, but Alice and Jasper were contemplating what I just said.

"We don't have to put our names on them. Just a description of the house, and one of our cell numbers," Edward said with a shrug. "She'll never know."

"You've really thought of everything haven't you?" I asked, pulling my face away from his side and looking up to him. He smiled at me, those pearly whites shining through his full, smooth lips.

"I'm that good," he replied with a wink. "I've been thinking about this for a while." I smiled back and nudged his side with my shoulder.

"Okay, good, now that that's out of the way...you know what I think we should do?" Alice asked with a wicked 'Alice smile'. I raised my eyebrows as I looked at her, as if to say 'what do you think we should do?'

"I think we should take on these two in that Euchre re-match," Alice replied, smiling brilliantly. I started laughing, for no other reason except for the fact that our Euchre games were always intense.

"Oh, you're just asking for an ass-whooping," Jasper said, tickling Alice's side. She giggled and hopped off the bed, going over to my desk and retrieving the cards.

"You up for it?" I asked Edward, cocking my eyebrow to see if he was ready to take on Alice and me. He smirked, all sexy and delicious, before he leant in and whispered.

"Game on."

---

By the time the weekend came around, and our first week of second semester was done, Jasper and Edward had finally stopped harassing us about the 'ass-whooping' they had delivered. Along with this, I hadn't seen Jessica again. Since I had asked her to live with us she had been virtually MIA, which is a little strange for her. Most times she was everywhere – she would always be there when we ate or when we were walking back from class. But since Wednesday I hadn't seen her once, not even a glimpse of her. I thought it was odd behaviour for her, and hoped to god she was having trouble figuring out how to 'let us down easy' – so to speak.

As I walked back from my one class I had on Friday's I curled my coat around me, trying to block out the incessant wind as it hurled in from the coast. I rushed into the student center, making my way through the crowd of people to get to the other side so I could get back to Berry. I felt my nose dripping and my cheeks stinging from the cold as I made my way up the steps to go back outside.

"Bella!" I heard someone call. I swivelled where I stood and nearly fell, needing to grip onto the rail at the top of the stairs to support myself. "Oh god, sorry." It was Jessica. I pulled myself back up and straightened out as Jess hurried up the stairs to help me. "You okay?" I nodded at her, a little dazed because I was still so cold.

"I think I'm good," I replied, my voice muffled from my coat. "What's up? Now that you nearly tried to kill me." I grinned at her, pulling my hood down and raking my fingers through my hair.

"Um, I need to talk to you about next year," she said to me, averting my gaze. I looked at her wearily, not really understanding why she was being so sheepish.

"Okay, sounds good," I said to her in an upbeat voice. But on the inside I was screaming, trying to figure out whether or not her answer was yes, or no. "Want to sit?" She nodded and led me down the stairs, to an empty table against the wall. Jessica sat in one chair while I sat on the bench that hugged the wall, sliding sideways to position my body under the table so I was directly in front of her.

"So..." I prompted, trying to say as little as possible so my voice didn't crack in my anxiousness.

"So I talked to my parents," Jessica said in a small voice. "Okay Bella, I really like all of you guys. You're awesome, and after this I hope you don't think it's because I don't like you." I tilted my head in confusion, but just nodded because I had no clue what she was talking about. "So my parents didn't think it was the best idea."

Relief.

That was the only thing I knew right then, when she spoke those words to me.

Relief.

It coursed through my body, and I had to desperately hide my smile as she was frowning at the fact that she wouldn't be our roommate.

"That sucks," I replied, my voice helping me as it was still weak from before.

"Yeah, I mean...they told me I could if I wanted to. But then they went into all this stuff about me needing money, and a job, and how difficult it would be for me to do that. And while I do want to live with you guys, I think it would be too much for me. I don't think I'd be able to pay to live there. Commuting would be a lot less expensive." I gave her a warm smile, telling her I understood.

"Jess, don't worry about it," I said with sincerity. "I get it. It would be expensive and since you live so close to home it makes more sense." She smiled a tiny smile back and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess it does make more sense," she replied. "I just wanted to make sure you know why I can't."

"Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem, and thanks for asking me anyways," she said with a grin, standing up. I stood as well. "I need to get going though. I have class now."

"Okay, well I'll see you later then?" I asked, leaning in to hug her.

"For sure." She pulled out of the hug and waved as she walked away, in the direction that I had come from. I pushed the hair out of my face and finally grinned – all huge and full of relief. I went back over to the stairs and took them two at a time as best my footing would allow me. When I was safely up I put my hood back on as I ran out the doors in the direction of Berry.

I almost tripped an innumerable amount of times on my way back to the building, but as I hadn't fallen, I didn't really care how many times I slipped. I was too happy right now that my sense of rationality was gone, and all I could think about was telling Edward and Alice and Jasper my news. When I reached the building and practically ran up the two flights of stairs, I could barely breathe. I had to stop just before the door to the second story to catch my breath, to make my heart stop beating like it was trying to jump out of my chest.

After I had shaken off my hood and calmed my breathing, I opened the door and focussed on walking down the hallway. I stopped in front of Edward's door and knocked three times, hearing a muffled 'come in' from the other side. I swung the door open, finding nobody in the room once I stepped inside.

"Hello?" I asked quizzically.

"Hey," Alice replied, poking her head off the side of Jasper's bed. She was upside down and her hair was falling towards the ground, her face turning red from all the blood that was accumulating there.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a laugh, shedding my coat and boots as I sat in front of her on the floor. I watched as she tried to shrug her shoulders and then she laughed.

"I don't know, I was bored," she replied airily, lifting her eyebrows to keep the blood from rushing directly to her brain.

"Where are Jasper and Edward?" I asked, looking around to make sure they weren't just hiding as well. Nope, they weren't in here, unless they stuffed themselves in their closets.

"They said they were going to the grocery store, and then they were going to get some copies made for the ad Jasper made up." I watched Alice's face with amusement as it became even redder, and she tried even harder to get the blood to stop flowing to her brain. She was so unsuccessful it was making me laugh. I couldn't even focus on our conversation because I was too busy watching her.

"Okay Al, please sit up," I said with a giggle. "All the blood from your body is currently in your face." She managed to sputter out a laugh, but it came out horribly gargled as she tried to pull herself up. When she was sitting she turned to me, her hair still fluffed out around her head and her face slowly draining of the blood that had been gathered there.

"I'm good," she said with a grin, patting down her hair, dragging her fingers through it to tame it.

"So you said they went where, the grocery store and to make copies of the ad?" I asked, trying to remember what she said. She nodded as her fingers stroked her short, dark hair meticulously, making it Alice worthy once again. "When will they be back?"

"Don't know," she replied, shrugging her shoulders as she removed her fingers from her hair. "Soon if I had to guess, they left a while ago. Why?" She could tell my mood was brighter than usual, and because she's Alice she knew something was up.

"Okay, I have some news!" I said with a clap of my hands. "I didn't even need to be a manipulative bitch, Jess said no." I couldn't help my relieved smile. I was glad that I didn't have to lie to Jessica – I would have felt horrible. Alice smiled back and leant against the wall that Jasper's bed was against.

"Oh god, okay. That's great," Alice said with enthusiasm, putting a hand over her chest. "That makes it so much easier for us." I nodded in agreement, lying down on the floor, letting my hair spread out across the carpet, my chest heaving a sigh of comfort and reassurance as my conscience was cleared.

"Edward will be happy," I mused, bringing my hand up and smoothing the hair out of my face, playing with a few loose curls. I heard Alice whisper a mumbled 'mmhmm' as we both sat there, just enjoying the peacefulness of right now. I wasn't sure how long it was that we sat in the same position, just listening to each other's calm breathing, but after what I assumed was ten minutes the boys were back.

"Damn Jazz," Edward said, his breathing heavy. "What the hell did you buy so much for?" I could hear him saying this from the other side of the door, as it groaned in protest from trying to be pushed open. I got up off the floor and went over to the door, pulling it open to find Edward and Jasper, arms full with bags. Edward rolled his eyes as he walked past me, putting the bags on the floor in the middle of the room. Jasper followed suit with a wink and a grin, putting the bags next to Edward's.

"So we've bought enough food to feed the entire campus," Edward said with sarcasm, unzipping his jacket and discarding it on the floor. Damn...why does he look so good in red? I watched him as his hand raked through his hair, scratching the back of his neck. With his raised hand I could see a tiny sliver of skin between the bottom of his shirt and his low riding jeans, making me bite my lip as I blatantly stared at him. When my eyes finally managed to tear themselves away from his lower torso, they found his face.

Edward: Amused. Bella: Blushing.

He raised his brows at me, crossing his arms over his chest as the smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. I bit my lip harder in response, trying not to laugh at my ridiculous ogling. I was still blushing furiously, of course, feeling the blood rushing underneath my cheeks as my skin most likely turned the colour of his shirt.

Alice and Jasper were quietly conversing on the bed, and Edward cocked his head to the side as he began slowly and torturously walking over to me. He stopped just in front of me, still trying to break me down, to make me laugh. I wasn't going to give in.

"Hi," he said with humour in his voice, dragging a few fingers along my neck as he brushed my hair past my shoulder.

"Hi," I replied, my bottom lip taking a beating as I continually chewed on it.

"So, you...you look like you're interested in a little more than food," he whispered, leaning down a bit so only I could hear. I stifled my giggle and composed my face.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, feigning cluelessness. I pursed my lips when Edward smirked.

"I think you know what I'm talking about," he replied seductively, his voice low and dangerously sexy. I wasn't on the verge of laughing anymore, now I was turned on, wanting to jump on him in the middle of his room. He kissed the side of my neck, eliciting a mumbled moan from my lips. I pushed against his chest in horror when I saw Alice's face contort with laughter out of the corner of my eye. "Your room?" Edward whispered. I nodded quickly against his face and pulled away.

"Oh wait," I said, remembering my news all of a sudden. "I have to tell you guys something." Alice waved her hand at me, telling me to just go.

"I'll tell Jasper," she said with a wink, laughing again afterwards. I felt my face heat up again.

Alice: Amused. Bella: Blushing.

What the hell...it wasn't fair how sensitive to embarrassment my skin was.

"Okay..." I replied quietly as Edward grabbed me by the hand and practically yanked me from the room. He walked us down the hall, and somehow had my key in his hand. He pushed the door open and pulled me through, his lips meeting my skin as soon as the door was closed. My hair was being gripped in his hand as he held it away from my neck, lips and teeth and tongue running over my throat.

Incoherent was the word.

I couldn't remember what I had wanted to say to him, or whether or not what I had to say was even important. When he pressed his warm, wet lips to my collarbone I mewled, gripping onto hips and jeans for support. I deduced that what I needed to say could wait. But I had been excited about what I wanted to tell him.

As if sensing I was thinking it, Edward began a tantalizing ascent with his mouth to my ear, breathing out heavily as to send goose bumps to my most intimate places.

"Was...there something, you needed – to tell me?" He asked huskily in between kisses and nips. My eyes rolled back in my head as he gently sucked on my earlobe, but I pushed my hands against his chest, trying to regain some sense of where the hell I was so I could respond to him. He pulled back slightly, his nose grazing my chin and cheek and forehead as his chest heaved erratically along with mine.

"I...honestly can't remember," I replied, kissing his jaw line. I wanted to remember, to tell him what I had been waiting to tell him, but the perfect line of his jaw was just asking to be kissed.

"Bella," he moaned, his hand still gripping my hair. He pulled my head back a little bit, his crazed, lusting green emeralds darting from my lips to my eyes. "Please remember." I exhaled deeply when he pulled away completely, towing me to the bed. "Because it had to have been important." I sat down with him, my eyes trailing up and down his body, still unable to figure out what I needed to tell him.

"Bella," Edward said, lifting my head with a finger underneath my chin. "Think." I traced back, to before Edward returned.

I was with Alice, just lying there – silence.

Before that I was outside, running – cold.

Before that I was in the student center, talking – Jessica.

"Jessica said no," I told him with a smile, watching as his red, pouty lips curled into a grin. My coherency was gone again as I leant up and kissed his chin.

"Really?" He asked lazily, rubbing his hand in small circles all over my back. I nodded and pressed my lips to his throat, feeling heat on my mouth as I kissed gently. "That's such a relief."

"I know," I mumbled against soft, glorious skin. I peeled my lips back and continually took skin in between my teeth, dragging them across his neck as he began furiously grasping at the fabric of my shirt.

"We should go...out, and celebrate – dinner...or, something," he said, his voice betraying the coherency he was trying to display. I was glad I wasn't the only one who sounded like an utter delinquent right now.

"After," I whispered, getting onto my knees as my hand traveled into his hair. I climbed on his lap and kissed along his cheek as his hands each gripped my hips in a bid to find some sort of release. When I lowered my ass onto his hips, grinding down to find my pleasurable friction, I felt the hardness and yearning that was Edward pressing into me as he closed his eyes and groaned.

"After what?" He throatily replied, removing one hand from my hip, bringing it up to roughly caress one of my breasts. I nearly moaned at the sensation, wishing I didn't have so much clothing on right now. I reached down, my hands flying to the hem of my shirt, hastily tugging it over my head and discarding it. I pushed on Edward's chest and he complied, laying down flat on the bed as he watched me with awe.

"Just...after."

E.P.O.V

I lay motionless on my bed, a constant humming of noise coming from my mouth as all I seemed to be doing lately was trying to figure out how to end Bella's Melody. I began at the beginning again, starting out soft and gentle, escalating in the middle to the part that tugged on my heart. I furrowed my brows as the melody changed after that, and I started to slow again, having found a few more notes to add on to the end of the song. It wasn't complete yet, by any means, but when I had been with Bella the morning we drove back to school the notes just sort of fell into place.

Since I hadn't seen her in a few days I was overjoyed to see her that morning, and I guess because my emotions were running on high I found it easier to fill in that part of the song. I was glad for the small progress I had made, and had only made a little more since being back at school. It wasn't necessarily bothering me, just nagging at a tiny piece of my mind as I wanted it complete, so I could play it for her without a break in the tune.

When I had hummed the song a few more times to myself, quieting each time I hummed it, I heard the door open, followed by Jasper's Southern accent singing loudly, not a care in the world. I opened my eyes and watched him rocking out, singing just like Van Morrison as he belted out Brown Eyed Girl.

"Going down the old mine with a transistor radio. Standing in the sunlight laughing, hiding behind a rainbow's wall. Slipping and a'sliding, all along the waterfall with you; my brown eyed girl."

I laughed as the door shut and Jazz really started to let it out.

"YOU MY brown eyed girl!"

I decided to join in, and we were both singing the least manly part of the song.

"Do you remember when we used to sing, Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da," we both sang together, Jasper grinning when I joined in. "Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da, la te da."

"La te da," Jasper repeated, smirking before he set his bag on the floor. "Great song." I nodded my head in agreement.

"It is," I said, not helping the laugh that was escaping me. "How'd it go?" I hadn't sat up from my position, just angled my head so I could see Jazz. He sat on his bed, raking his fingers through his hair before he shrugged.

"Alright. He's twenty, sounds like a decent guy. He sounds like us, pretty much; listens to the same music and whatnot. He has a girlfriend, but she lives in New York, and goes to school there. I told him we'd keep him in thought as we looked around. I mean we still have months."

"Are you sure it wasn't Emmett?" I asked with a laugh. It sounded exactly like him.

"Nah, he seems like a good guy though. So he said to just give him a call when we knew what we were doing," Jasper replied. He had just finished meeting with someone who called about the house. It was our first call after putting the ads up a week ago. I wasn't expecting some huge response; I was actually surprised that someone had already called.

"What's his name again?"

"Uh, Dean," Jasper said, nodding his head along as he just sat on his bed, staring off into space. "Where have Alice and Bella gone?" Jasper asked, mashing his brows together as he realized neither of our girlfriends was present.

"Haircuts," I replied with a shake of my head. Alice had practically dragged Bella away from me and to the hair salon, insisting they needed some 'girl time'.

"Oh, right. I told Al not to text me, so she never told me if she was doing anything," Jasper said with a yawn. It was just after one and I hadn't gotten anything to eat yet today, so with a grumble of my stomach I got up off the bed.

"Let's go get some food," I said to Jasper, slipping on my shoes.

"You read my mind," Jasper said with a smirk, stuffing his key in his pocket before the both of us hurried down the hallway to the tunnel. On the way to Commons Jasper and I talked of anything, really. About the two weeks of school we've had so far, what music we had been listening to, the movies we were watching. It was all so easy talking to him, so care-free and interesting. Nothing Jasper ever said made me stop and say 'what the fuck?' Unless I was meant to think that, Jasper always made sense.

"...and then she turned around and was like 'did I ask you?'" Jasper laughed as he recalled a mishap in his tutorial earlier in the week. "I didn't know what to do, so I just told her 'no, you didn't ask me, but I'm answering anyways'."

"You actually said that to her?" I asked with a wide-eyed stare and a laugh. Jasper nodded.

"Hell yeah I said that to her. She was being so darn stuck up, thinking she was some god given gift to man kind." He rolled his eyes as he ordered a sandwich. After he was done I did the same, still in awe at how ballsy Jasper was.

"I would never have been able to do that," I said to Jasper once we paid for our food. "She didn't want to castrate you after?" He laughed heartily as we walked to our table.

"She probably did, but I didn't stick around long enough to find out," he said with that signature grin, sitting down at the table. I followed suit and we both began eating, comfortably talking and joking about anything and everything. When we were done we still just sat and talked, and I felt my fingers twitching at the thought of texting or calling Bella. But Alice had told me that Bella wouldn't be answering her phone, and if she did, Alice was going to drive to the lake and throw it in.

I thought it was a little much for her to threaten the life of Bella's phone if I texted her, but I resisted. I could wait until she got back. By the time we decided to leave it was nearing two o'clock, and just before I had decided to stand I heard Jasper emitting a deep, growling cat call.

"Me-ow," Jasper said after, his eyes staring intently past me and to the other side of Commons. I swiftly turned my head, seeing Alice first, rushing to us, her hair a bit shorter than it was before, but very elegantly styled. The spikes weren't in every direction like usual; they looked a lot less sharp, instead looking softer. Her make-up was done as well, making her brown eyes stand out even more, thus making her that much more beautiful.

My quick assessment of Alice finished and my eyes moved behind her, and when they did...I don't even know what happened.

Nothing and everything happened at the same time.

My heart stopped. I choked on the air. I felt heat and tension in my groin. I couldn't move.

It was like I was dying and getting and erection at the same time. It was unnerving, yet satisfying, as Bella walked behind Alice, her gorgeous, curly brown hair resting perfectly on her breasts. It was a lot shorter than before, as it had usually rested underneath her breasts as opposed to on top of them. It was elegant as well as soft curls floated from the top of head down to the tips of her hair, bouncing with every step she took. It wasn't the hair that got me though – it was the eyes, the face.

When Bella stopped in front of me, her delicious red lips smiling, revealing her perfectly straight row of teeth, I could see her eyes clear as day. They were smoky; smoky and sexy and seductive. I couldn't remember how to breathe. I was sure I hadn't in minutes. Her make-up was so flawlessly done that it barely looked like she was wearing any, but as I realized she did have some on, it enhanced her natural beauty ten-fold, making me stare at her like an utter moron.

"H..." I coughed, trying to remember how to use any bodily function. "Hey," I croaked. Bella smiled at me and I couldn't stop staring at her damn lips, what was she using, lip gloss? They were shiny and red, looking more irresistible than usual.

"I haven't even said anything yet and my lips already have all your attention," she said with a grin, walking around my chair to perch herself on my thighs. "Ooh." Her brows arched as she wiggled her ass on my lap, feeling my erection as it rubbed against her. She pressed her pretty, shiny lips against my ear and whispered, making me shiver. "Like what you see?"

"Mmhmm," I mumbled, nodding mechanically as my body seemed to be unable to function in any other way at the moment. Oh come on Edward, you're pathetic. As Bella leant down to kiss my cheek the thoughts in my mind were excused rudely by my hormones, chasing them away, never to return. When she pulled away a bit she laughed at my response to her 'mini make-over', glancing over to Alice and Jasper. They were much in the same position as us, but that calm motherfucker was at least capable of coherent thought, unlike me.

"Alice thought it was necessary to buy you a tie to match my dress for tonight," Bella said with a laugh, snapping me out of my daze, restoring a bit of my coherency.

"Oh," I said, finding her face again, drowning in her sultry, smoky eyes. "Wh – what colour dress did you buy?" I placed my hand on the small of her back, finding movement in my hands once again.

"Navy blue," she said with a smirk.

Ugh, blue. My favourite colour, and worse, my favourite colour on her.

I swallowed audibly, trying to push my hard-on and hormones from my mind; failing miserably as I couldn't stop picturing Bella in a skimpy, navy blue dress.

"Where are we going again? Has Emmett decided?" I asked, squeezing my eyes shut in a bid to get thoughts of her out of my mind. Ha. Why bother trying? She was sitting square on my lap, looking more like a goddess than she ever had, and she wasn't even wearing the dress yet. I opened my eyes then, finding her shiny lips yet again. They looked tasty.

"Not sure. Rose said he hadn't decided, but we'll probably be going out for dinner or something. You called and wished him a happy birthday right?" Bella asked, making me laugh. The stupid fuck called me at eight in the morning, screaming 'I'm twenty-one, BITCH!' at the top of his lungs. I wanted to kill him for waking me up, but instead just grumbled an angry 'happy birthday fucker' to him before hanging up and going back to sleep.

"He actually called me," I said with a laugh, remembering Emmett's ungodly wake-up call. "And yes I did wish him a happy birthday, did you?" Bella smiled and nodded, leaning her head down to mine, lips pressing against lips in an explosion of warmth and strawberry.

Her lip gloss was strawberry.

God damn STRAWBERRY.

Shit, this is what I imagined her hair would taste like.

I ran my tongue along her bottom lip, sucking on it like my life depended on it as she giggled.

"Edw...ard," she mumbled against my lips, pulling her bottom lip away from me. She bit on it, keeping it under protection as I eyed it hungrily.

"Your hair tastes like that," I said, furrowing my brows at myself. "I mean..." Bella started to laugh, and I heard Alice laughing at us too. "It tastes the way your hair smells." Bella smirked and kissed me again, but this time only for a second.

"Okay you two," Alice said, feeling her tiny body next to me as she tugged on Bella's arm. "None of that. Come on Bells, we need to go get ready." I heard Bella sigh in something like defeat, when I asked Alice what the hell she was talking about.

"We still have a few hours before we have to go?" I said to her, holding onto Bella by the waist. I could take the pixie, I didn't care if she was feisty, she weighed as much as my right leg.

"Yes but we have things to do," Alice replied, taking up Bella's hand, pulling her off my lap. I frowned at the loss of contact with her, fiercely glowering at Alice and her 'let's monopolize Bella' plan. I wasn't too fond of it.

"What kind of things?" I asked, crossing my arms at Alice.

"Painting nails, talking boys, bad-talking our boyfriends," Alice said with a wink. I narrowed my eyes at her. "Cool your jets, we're having our much needed Alice-Bella time!"

With that Alice pulled Bella away; Bella blowing me a kiss with her sexy, strawberry lips as she was being yanked from my side. I stood up then, and Jasper joined me. Together we watched in complete awe as our girlfriends retreated, their hands inter-locked. My eyes were glued to Bella's ass, while Jasper's were surely glued to Alice's. As they rounded the corner and out of sight I smirked at how much control the two of them had over us.

Damn those brown eyed girls.


A/N: Please, please, please leave your thoughts and love! You won't have many more chapters to tell me what you think of it!

Clearly my inspiration, or rather the song I listened to frequently while writing this chapter, was Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl. Awesome song – LOVE it. Go listen if you never have. It sounds a lot better listening to it rather than reading it because the Sha la la's get annoying to read over and over.

I don't have anything else to say, but thanks to all my reviewers and readers, you guys are awesome : )

I'm off to see TRANSFORMERS 2 tonight, and I am stoked as it will be sweet. But not until later tonight, so I will be cranky tomorrow morning when I have to get up for work. So make me feel better and review!

Oh and P.S: to any of those readers who also read Forgive Me, Please...I expected it to be up by the weekend, but might be a bit later as I am still freaking out over my classes. Please be patient, it will be up soon! Thanks so much.

Reviews are superior to strawberry flavoured lip gloss.