well... happy friday everyone! hope you all had a good week and have a great weekend ahead. :)

another big thank you to everyone who's been reading and taking the time to comment/review/pm - you guys are freakin awesome. and thanks for sticking with the story

amandacullen84 and silverstaged = awesome. tcg thanks for being there with all you fantastic advice and assistance.

without further a due, here's the chapter - sorry it took so long to get out. i had it done earlier, but was acting up and i had a crazy week!

BPOV

"Slow down Bella, it's just us," Alice yelled at me as I continued running down the stairs.

There was no time to stop and no time to explain, I just wanted to leave. There were too many tears, which I wouldn't be able to stop for long. I needed to be as far away from that stupid hotel and everyone in it, as quickly as possible. I wanted to get home before I really broke down.

"Bella, don't make me kick your ass! You know I'm stronger than you," Rosalie called out, from close behind.

Damn, she was fast. I had at least a five minute head start on her and she had almost caught up to me.

But I just kept running down those stairs. This was the reason I worked out with my trainer… not to stay in shape, but to make a speedy get away from my friends, lovely.

"Hold it right there," Rose said, placing a hand on my shoulder and trying to get me to hold on.

But I was going too fast and my momentum not stopping. Her abrupt stop caused both of us to fly into the wall but, luckily, not down a flight of stairs – that would have just been the topper to a fantastic night. Though, I think the crash did mess up my wrist and twisted my ankle, because I immediately felt a dull throbbing pain coming from both areas. I allowed myself to rest for a minute to see how badly I was injured.

Alice had finally caught up, a little winded, but she was now standing with us too. "So," she said, taking a big breath, "wa-what happened? Are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm fucking okay?" I asked them, trying to hold back the tears as much as I could and thrusting my aching wrist at them.

They both moved to give me a hug and try to comfort me, but I just moved away. I didn't want their sympathy and I didn't want to rehash what just happened. I really just didn't want to talk. More so, I couldn't talk about what happened – it was too soon and I was completely crushed and broken. I had been totally blindsided by this. The one person I had trusted enough to let in, the one person who I loved – or thought I loved – was a disappointment. But really, what else should I have expected?

"Why don't you let us just drive you home; you're not really in a state to drive anywhere, hun," Rose suggested, calmly.

I knew they were trying to just be nice and be there for me, but I couldn't take it. I was just too close to my breaking point and I didn't want them to see me like this – that he had affected me this much. I just needed to have distance and maybe figure out what happened… or just cry myself to sleep, which seemed a little more likely - there was nothing to figure out. This was the same, just like any other relationship I've been in or heard about: guys just couldn't be trusted – end of story.

I put a little pressure on the ankle to make sure that I could actually walk on it, which I could; it seemed okay, though the pain was still there. Funny, that's probably what people will think about me: she looks alright, but the pain would still be there – it would always be there.

"I just need some time alone. I'll be fine. You guys go up and enjoy the rest of your night," I told them, continuing down the stair well, while trying not to hobble, and leaving them behind.

Neither made a move to follow me and gave me the space that I requested. They knew that I needed time and knew I'd, eventually, tell them what had happened when I felt ready. Who knew when that would be, though. This was excruciating; it literally felt like my heart had fractured into a million little pieces and there was nothing that I could do to mend it back together.

I finally reached the bottom floor. I searched for a mirror to check how badly I looked – I didn't want to look like a train wreck and make a scene in the middle of the hotel. That's all I needed: to look like a mess and let some damn photographer catch me that way. Yes, this would be much more manageable if this stayed a private matter and out of the public eye. Aside from some streaking of my mascara and some slightly puffy eyes, I didn't look all that bad. Funny how you can look totally composed on the outside and be a complete mess on the inside – I had never really understood how people could be that way before now. I took a deep breath and tried to regain any composure that I could. I needed to keep my guard up now, more so than I ever had before.

I looked myself over in the mirror. The person who starred back at me was somebody I had never seen before, someone who was completely a mess over some guy of all things. This was worse than either of my grandparents' death, and I had been a wreck over that. I just couldn't stop crying; I physically couldn't, but maybe that's what happens when you have your heart broken?

I called the front desk and asked for my car to be taken to the back entrance; it was way less crowded and far fewer people actually went through the back. They agreed and said it would be there within a couple minutes, so I began to make my way through the hotel taking every deserted corridor and obscure pathway I knew about or could find.

I was halfway to the back when I literally, stumbled upon it because my ankle seemed like it was about to give out: the courtyard from the gala. I didn't want to see it or go closer but for some reason I seemed drawn to it. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the ledge of the fountain watching the water cascade from the top and flow to the bottom where I dragged a finger through the water. The last time I had been here, everything was just so perfect, and now... well now it had all gone to shit. How could this have happened? We were just so happy and everything was going so well - I had even gotten a way to get out of my date with Jacob. I should have known; things just don't work out this neatly.

Now, the tears, which I had done so well in suppressing, came back in full force and were not stopping. I couldn't see anything in front of me because my tears were streaming down my face. I was crying so hard that I started shaking and slipped off the ledge, falling to the floor. The memory of this perfect moment between the two of us combined with the betrayal of tonight was just too much. It was hard to breathe because I was crying so much. I gasped for air, but every inhale I took stung my throat and caused more pain than any relief I could have had from breathing. The emotional breaking point that I was hoping would stay away and avoid, at least until I got home, was rearing its ugly head.

I completely shut down and just let the tears and pain wash over me.


"Bells? Open the door," a voice called out from the hallway.

I groggily stirred from my bed. I had been sleeping a lot since Saturday night. In fact, I hadn't actually left my room since them.

'"Come on, open up," the voice called out again.

I got up and looked in the mirror. I still looked as dreadful as I felt. I had been avoiding mirrors at all cost since I got home, figuring if I couldn't see what I looked like, I didn't look that bad - clearly I was delusional. My eyes were still bloodshot; they were so puffy that I could barely open them – they were merely slits. And my hair... well there were no words that did it justice. My hair was just gross, due to the lack of showering, hair products, and general oiliness of my hair. I'm pretty sure that I was starting to smell too…lovely. I was a hot mess. No scratch that, I was just a mess. And now I was hearing voices too because Mike wasn't, actually, here… so I was a mess and crazy. What a combination.

"I didn't just fly 1000 miles and 20 hours, back to Forks to look at your door. Open up before I get the key from Inga," Mike called out, pounding on the door again.

He actually had flown all the way up to see me? What the hell? Who had even told him about this? Mom and dad were away on business, they left early Sunday morning, so it's not like they could have even told him, because they hadn't even seen me. It must have been Alice, calling in the big guns.

I trudged over to my door, unlocked it, and then went back to bed.

"And hello to you too," Mike said, as he came in.

I got back in bed and pulled the covers over my head. I still wasn't in the mood to deal with any of this or say anything to anyone. I closed my eyes and let the darkness envelop me.

I felt the covers lift a little bit, as he slid into bed with me. "So are we just going to hang out in here all day long, cause that's cool and everything, but your lack of personal hygiene is making it a little ripe in here and I can only hold my breath for so long," he kidded.

I felt the edges of my mouth curl up, slightly. Was I smiling? That was a change.

I didn't respond to his question though. I know he was just trying to lighten the mood and make me feel a little better, but it wasn't going to work. Well, not entirely.

All of a sudden he just attacked me under the covers, engulfing me in a bear hug and rolling around. "Come on, is this how you're going to treat your big brother who just flew out here to see you, Bellsy Poo," he said.

Bellsy Poo? I hadn't heard that in forever; he hardly ever called me that anymore. The rolling motion and the hugging made it a little hard to stay silent and a laugh finally escaped my lips.

"Was that a laugh?" he asked, feigning shock, as he started to tickle me.

Oh god, as much as I really didn't want to laugh or say anything, I couldn't help it. Mike knew all the places I was most ticklish and he was the only person who could actually tickle me.

"I'm not going to stop until you agree to get out of bed," he told me as he continued tickling.

So it was either enduring tickling until I couldn't take it anymore or just go along with what he said.

"Fine," I said laughing, "I'll get up, but just because you use unfair tactics to get your way," I told him.

He stopped immediately and smiled in delight. "Fantastic. But don't pretend that you don't use unfair tactics either," he told me.

I just glared at him as I got out of bed. "Okay, let's go downstairs then," I told him.

He looked at me disgusted. "Are you seriously not showering? I was teasing you before, but there was truth to it, and I really don't want to be spraying you with perfume all day long due to your pungent aroma: you're a little rank, sis. Besides, I don't even know if perfume will cover your new homeless chic smell. Get your ass in that shower and get fresh and clean," he instructed me, pointing at the bathroom.

I made my way back to bed, there was no mention of a shower before – that would take just too much effort right now. "All you said was get up. I got up, but I'm not showering," I told him.

He yanked the covers off of me. "So you enjoy unsavory hygiene then? Either take a shower, or I'll put you in the shower. Don't think that I won't get Alice over here to make you shower - because I love you, but I draw the line at bathing my eighteen year old sister," he said.

I thought about it for a moment. I really didn't want Alice, or anyone else coming over here, so off I trudged to the bathroom. "Again, you play dirty," I told him.

"As long as you no longer smell like something died in here, I'll use whatever means necessary to accomplish that," he said.

As I got in the shower and let the warm water wash over me, I thought about how many days I had stayed in the room. If mom and dad were gone, it had to be after Sunday, but how many days after Sunday was it?

"Mikey, what day is it?" I asked.

"It's Tuesday…afternoon," he replied.

So it had been two days since anyone has heard from me. On day three they send in a search party - that seems about right. Since I had turned off all forms of communication: no phone, email, Facebook… nothing, all there was left to do was call in Mike since the parentals weren't here. That meant that I had, also, missed the last two days of school, so mom and dad had to have been notified, that's no good.

"So what do you want to eat? I was thinking brunch at Maple Grove," he informed me.

"Are you serious? You want to leave the house? It's called baby steps: I'm showering for you - that is the extent of my progress for the day. I don't want to leave. I'm perfectly content here, and I'm not even hungry," I told him.

"Well, since there is no food here because no one's gone grocery shopping that only leaves us going out," he explained. "And Bells, when was the last time you ate?" he asked seriously.

I deflected the last part of that question, because I hadn't eaten anything since Saturday afternoon. "Well, I can order groceries online or we can order in. You know from that place you love with the really good scones," I suggested, as I turned off the water and grabbed a towel.

After my shower, I had felt a little better and I definitely smelled and looked a whole lot better.

"That's more like it," Mike told me, throwing me some clothes. "Thought you could use a pick-me-up," he told me.

I knew what these were, they were bribes to try and butter me up to get me to tell him what had happened. I took the clothes, because even in my condition, I wasn't about to turn down a gift, but this wasn't going to guarantee him any information or anything.

I changed into what he had just given me: some comfy yoga-y type pants, a long sleeved thermal, and this incredibly soft wrap jacket, all by Juicy. Well, at least he was buttering my up with the right type of comfort clothes and not some crazy going out number.

"Here, put this on too," he said handing me a pageboy type hat and my sunglasses, "it'll help keep the sun out of your eyes."

I knew what that meant: it would help cover my eyes which still looked like I had been crying for the past three days, which I had. "Thanks," I told him, putting them on.

He linked my arm around his, heading for the door. "Alright, let's go," he said, escorting me out of the room.

"Come on, let's just order food in. We don't have to go out - everywhere can just deliver to us," I tried again.

"Not everywhere delivers, Bells. Besides, some fresh air will be good for you," he stated.

We walked through the house and down the stairs. The house was bright, almost too bright for me. I had been cooped up in my room for the past three days with the blinds drawn, so I was used to the darkness. Now, any sort of light, even dim lamp light hurt my eyes; I was grateful that I was already wearing my sunglasses. When we got outside, it was even worse. That was just way too bright. Being in the real world just hurt too much - in more ways than one.

We got into dad's car and just started driving. I looked at him, confused. "Your car is too conspicuous. People know your car and would expect you to be at school, so taking dad's car gives us a little more anonymity," he explained.

As we drove we just listened to music. I knew he was giving me my space and trying not to push, but this was just awkward: we never went a minute without saying something to each other, let alone drive in silence. I needed to break it; I didn't want to talk, but at least he could.

"How's James?" I asked quietly.

"He's good. He's actually here; he's staying at Alice's while I'm back at the house," he said.

I was surprised he was even here. Now, I felt bad that I was separating them. It was like I was a disease, heart-brokenitis, that needed to be quarantined. There was no reason for Mike to stay with me and be away from James - I would be alright if they both were there, it's not like they'd catch anything. They could both stay at the house, even though I really didn't want to see a happy couple around me. "You can stay at Alice's too, you know. You don't have to stay at home and babysit me. I'll be fine," I told him, figuring it would probably be better for everyone if he just stayed over there too.

"Bells, I'm not about to leave you. You're the reason that I came up here – I wanted to hang out with you. It's really no big deal, I see him all the time, but you, I only get to see every so often. The only reason he came up was to keep me company on the flight," he explained.

Even though his explanation made me feel a little better, I still felt really guilty that I was separating them. I was the basket case they couldn't even leave alone because they were worried about what she was going to do… great.

"Well, he's more than welcome to stay at the house," I said, silently praying he wouldn't actually take me up on that offer.

He smiled at me. "Thanks Bella, but I don't want him here. This is just you and me time – his ass can stay at Alice's and they can go shopping all the live long day. In fact, he'd probably prefer that," he commented.

We were at a coffee shop on the outskirt of town and pulled around back to self park, keeping it low profile instead of valeting it. We walked in the back entrance and went up to the counter to order. I still wasn't hungry, but Mike insisted that I put something in my stomach so I ordered a blueberry muffin and some tea.

"Why don't we take a walk through the park," Mike suggested, when we started getting some onlookers from around the café.

I nodded my head and headed out the door. There was a park probably two minutes away so we just walked, and continued doing so when we got there. I sipped from my tea, but didn't even touch my muffin, which made Mike frown. But I truly wasn't hungry - he'd just have to suck it up. What more did he want? I was out of the house, showered, and drinking fluids - I thought that was a huge accomplishment.

"I can guess why you're here," I told him, finally sitting down on a nearby bench.

"What? A brother can't come home and visit his sister?" he asked, innocently.

I raised my eyebrows. "No, a brother can – I just know that this particular brother doesn't usually, and would never make his boyfriend stay elsewhere unless there was a reason for it. So who called you," I asked.

I knew who he was going to say, but I just wanted him to admit it. I mean, James is even staying at her house.

"Edward called," he told me.

I flinched just hearing his name. I was a little shocked; that was not the name I was expecting. This was the first time that I had thought about his name, let alone heard it, out loud since Saturday. It was like someone had knocked the wind out of me. I waited for the tears to come, but nothing did; maybe I was all cried out. All I felt now was emptiness, that there was nothing else left. That kind of scared me more than anything.

"He… he did?" I stuttered.

He nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, he's really worried about you. After he found you passed out in the courtyard on Saturday he didn't know what to think. So he actually asked me to come up and check on you," he explained.

Wait, what?! I had passed out in the courtyard at the hotel? I don't remember that - but I don't really remember how I had gotten home either. I thought I eventually got up and made my way to the car, driving myself home - that I was just in too much a state of shock to have remembered. I needed more information on what went down that night.

"What do you mean 'he found me passed out'? What did he say to you - verbatim" I asked.

He looked surprised that I had no idea what he was talking about. "He said he found you and that he was worried," Mike replied.

I frowned. "That does not sound like verbatim," I told him.

"Sorry, didn't know I was supposed to actually say everything verbatim," he answered me, sarcastically. "He said that something happened between the two of you and that you ran off. The girls tried to talk to you, but you didn't want to talk to them or to take you home. He was upset that the girls had left you when you were so upset so he went looking for you. He found you in some courtyard passed out, and you didn't look..." he said, not finishing that thought. "He called Emmett and Alice to come down to help him bring you home while Alice followed in her car so that they could be taken back to the hotel. He stayed with you for a while, but he said you were passed out, and eventually left with Alice and Emmett. He said he's never been more worried about you and that I needed to come up to check on you because you hadn't spoken to anyone, that your phone was shut off, and that no one could come in the house to see if you were all right. And that is pretty much what he told me over the phone - verbatim. But he really sounded upset and worried about you Bells - really distraught," Mike concluded.

My phone was shut off? I knew I wasn't answering it, but maybe the battery had died as well. In fact, I wasn't exactly sure of where my phone was at the moment; I had kinda thrown it somewhere when I came in the house on Saturday night - or I thought it was Saturday night.

"He's worried about me," I scoffed, "That's really none of his concern. He made that abundantly clear."

"Okay, I know something happened between the two of you, but he didn't give me any details. In fact, he seemed like he didn't really know or understand what happened. Have you talked to him about it? Maybe this is just a misunderstanding?" he asked.

I withdrew a little bit. "Are you taking his side?" I asked, hurt.

He shook his head. "No, of course not, but I also don't know what happened. All I know is that you were the happiest I'd ever seen you when you were with him – that you could really be yourself. So I'm hoping that it's just miscommunication, because I wouldn't want you two to throw away something so great because of something trivial," he suggested.

I glared at him through my sunglasses, which I'm sure he could tell. "I don't think sleeping with somebody else is a misunderstanding or trivial," I spat out.

I had finally said it; the thing I had been dreading to say, or even think about, since I had found out. The thing I really couldn't come to grips with, either, until I said it out loud – I was hoping that it was all just a bad dream or something. Again, I tensed up and waited for the waterworks, but nothing came out: it was just the emptiness again.

He looked a little shocked, but I could see that he was trying to work things out in his head. Mike was extremely emotional and let his heart lead him with everything he did, but when it came to other people and their problems, he was a lot more rational and logical – he needed all the facts; he needed definitive proof. He reached out a hand to comfort me, but I pulled away. He waited to see if I relaxed a little before he said anything else. When I did, he finally continued. "So what exactly happened?" he asked softly.

I didn't know if I could discuss this. It was still too fresh and the wound was still gaping open – it would be like jumping in the ocean while you were having open heart surgery, and that didn't sound like a great idea to me. But what did Professor Leonard always say? We needed to talk things out and discuss our emotions; that's how we got to the truth and to a better place, allegedly. And if I was going to talk to anyone about this, it should be Mike.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself to tell him what happened that night. "So I had already told you about the auction and everything; that I was supposed to go with Edward on the date but someone out bid me and all that?" I asked.

He nodded his head. I was glad I didn't have to go that far back, because I really didn't even want to think about the auction night, yet again.

"Okay. So he was going on the auction date with Victoria," I growled her name. "That's the girl. We were all meeting up after all their dates to have a little party in… his room. I had a big surprise for him that night, which I couldn't wait to tell him. Dad's people had, somehow, gotten me out of the date with Jacob and I was waiting until when I saw him that night to let him know. I was just so excited to tell him. I guess I rushed to get there and must have gotten there a couple minutes early - clearly, that was a couple minutes too soon," I continued, pausing.

I needed a breath – here comes the salt water on the wound. This was going to be the hard part and Mike sensed that was the case too, because he, reassuringly, patted my knee before pulling away.

"So I get to his room and knock on the door. The first time there is no response, which I figure is just him in the bathroom or something. So I knock again, and this time there is laughing and giggling coming from the other side of the door, but it's not anyone's voice that I recognize. And then the person speaks, joking about missing them and finally getting the ice for the champagne as she opens the door. And low and behold, it's Victoria with messed up hair, smeared makeup, holding a bottle of Dom, wearing nothing but one of Ed… his," I winced, saying his name was just too hard, "shirts. She seemed all surprised to see me, and even apologized that I saw her in that condition – that she thought the party was a little later and that they had some more time to tidy up before then. I looked around the room: the bed was a mess, completely disheveled, clothes were strewn about, they had taken dinner upstairs - dessert for two - and there were empty glasses around the room, when he had promised that he wasn't going to drink that night. He was nowhere to be found, but his new leather jacket was rumpled on the ground – and he never throws his clothes around unless more pressing matters are at hand. Victoria said he was just getting ice for the champagne and that he would be back in just a second, to just wait for him while she put something else on," I continued.

At this point, I could feel myself shaking a little bit and my jaw was clenched. I needed to take a breath and just relax for a minute or I was really going to flip out. There were still no tears; there was just a bottomless pit sadness and pain.

"I made up some excuse about leaving and going and finding Alice, which she accepted; she probably just wanted me out of the room to continue with their sexcapade. I left and started heading for the elevator when he came around the corner, holding that fucking ice bucket. His hair was a mess. His shirt seemed more wrinkled than one of his t-shirts usually were: he looked like something was up. He called out my name, but I kept walking. He finally caught up to me and tried to cover up what I had just caught him in. I asked him just a simple thing, if he had kept his promise about not drinking. It wouldn't have been a big deal if he had drank; he just needed to tell me the truth, I could at least respect him after all of this, but he lied. And then that was it. I told him to never speak to me again. I knew what happened and I didn't want to be around him. I couldn't take it anymore – I just left. I needed to leave so I high tailed it down the stairs, sprained my ankle as the girls chased me down, and then broke down in the courtyard of the hotel…" I trailed off, I just couldn't talk about that. That just hurt too much.

"I went home, or thought I went home, and hadn't left my room since. You are now here and that's where we are now. A great weekend huh?" I concluded.

He just looked at me stunned; I don't think he had prepared himself for that. "Well, that's a lot of information to process in five minutes," he stated.

"Yea, try taking that all in while it was actually happening to you," I replied.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder; this time I didn't move away but moved closer to him and rested my head on him. "Bells, I know this is hard, but you'll get through this. He's really not worth it. If all this did happen," he said pausing.

I moved my head and looked over at him. "If this happened? I know what I saw Mike, and I'm not going to…" I began, starting to feel worked up again.

"Shh, calm down," he said, rubbing my shoulder and trying to placate me. "Since, this happened, its better that you found out now before you got further invested and more feelings got involved. Just imagine if you loved him..." he stated.

I stiffened a little at this, trying to make it seem like a cool gust just passed me.

He noticed this immediately. "Bella, is there more to this than you're letting on? Do you love him?" he asked.

I just looked down; I couldn't answer that question truthfully. That was what I was trying to make myself forget. What I was trying to avoid thinking about since this all went down. I needed to not love him. I told myself that I didn't love him, but I don't think emotions work like that, that it's just that easy.

He squeezed my shoulder. "Well, I guess that answers the question," he said, breezing past that question. "I know that makes it even worse, but you will get through this. I know that sounds like a bunch of crap, but you will and will be stronger for it. Hiding out, like you did something wrong is not the answer, either. You shouldn't be the one avoiding your friends and not going to school over this. I know you're hurt, but there is no reason he should make you feel bad. I mean look at you, you're freaking Isabella Swan! Do you know how many guys would do anything just so that you would talk to them? And I'm talking gorgeous guys: celebrities, models, you name it, they've asked me and mom about you" he said, trying to cheer me up.

I thought about it for a moment, I was hurt and broken, but was there a reason for me to hide out? He was right, I shouldn't be the one who's scared to come out of her house, because I wasn't the one who did anything wrong.

"I mean be upset Bells, that's only natural, you're hurting, but be who you are. You aren't a meek individual who hides from her problems and is scared of other people; you are the person who other people are scared of and don't want to mess with. You're fucking bad ass, which runs in the family. So you need to get off your ass and show them who they're messing with; that one stupid guy isn't going to ruin you - that you can rise above it. Hell, you did that with Jake – and he was waaay…," he commented, ending his motivational speech.

I shot him a look that warned him to not complete that thought. Right now, the two of them weren't even in the same ballpark in my eyes. At least I knew what I got with Jacob, he was up front about how shady he was.

I had done that with Jacob, but he was different; I had never cared about Jake the way I cared about him. But maybe it was the same in principle: that I just needed to not give a shit about him and be who I was, even if I didn't feel that way at first. Maybe then the actual feelings would dissipate. The problem was, I didn't even know if I could be myself right now. I mean, the former me would never hide out in her room and cry over a guy, but the former me had never been in love before either. So if that was the case, who was I now?

"What if I can't be that person now? That person who I used to be," I asked Mike, meekly.

He smirked. "Well, then you do what every other person has done before you: you fake it, until you make it. And you fake it more than you've ever faked before – just take it up a notch. Hopefully, in time, it won't be an act anymore, but you'll actually feel like yourself. It'll take time, but eventually, you'll be back to being you," he told me, rubbing my arm.

I let out a deep exhale. "I hope you're right, because, as of right now, I feel nothing like myself," I told him.

"I know, but you will in time. Besides, you have a secret weapon that most people don't have," he explained.

I looked at him confused. "You've got me and James – between the two of us, we're going to make you more fantastic than you have ever been," he stated.

I still looked at him confused. "I know you guys are great, but I think I'm a little beyond your repair. I don't think the two of you are going to be able to fix my emotion breakdown in the time you are here," I said.

"You and I know that, but everyone else doesn't. You just have to appear that you are over him and this whole situation. Bella, bring out your inner mom and act your ass off," he replied.

I scoffed at this. "Both of us know I didn't inherit those genes – I'm an awful actress," I said.

"Yes, you are," he agreed. "You totally got all of dad's genes when it came to that stuff, but you can do something exceptionally well - which you got from dad as well. You can be an extraordinary bitch – so just play that up and you will be golden."

I thought about that; would it actually work? He might be right, that pretending to be over it might actually speed the process along.

I still must have looked hesitant because Mike jumped in with another comment. "And I'll be by your side through the whole thing. I'm not leaving until Friday," he told me.

As much as I still didn't want to do anything, I knew I needed to get out of this funk. The hurt and the emptiness wasn't going to go away anytime soon, but maybe I could push it down a little bit so that I felt a little bit more like myself.

"And Bells," he said a little more seriously. "I know I said this before, but I'll reiterate. I know this is hard now, but you will get over it. When you're through being upset and hurting… people will be there, waiting for you to be ready because you are the real deal. Don't give up on love because of this; this is just one the painful things about growing up – you'll come out stronger for it," he said.

I listened to what he said, taking it in. Again, I know he was trying to cheer me up, but this was a little too intense for what I was feeling right now. I breezed past it; I could always go back to what he said later.

"Okay, let's do it - let's let out my inner biatch," I told him, changing the topic and getting up from the park bench.

Now he looked confused. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Well, I am standing aren't I?" I answered him.

He shrugged. "Starting with the bitchy comments already I see... That was easier than expected, I thought you would need more convincing," he explained.

"Me too," I replied.

Maybe I was more ready to be back to normal than I thought, because I thought I would need more convincing too. But maybe, I just didn't want to put up a fight, because there was no more fight in me. That seemed like more of a plausible explanation.

"So let's just get home and look over wardrobe choices. A key component to this is making sure you look smokin hot, because who's going to take you seriously if you show up to school looking the way you did this morning? Besides, we're going to make Edward rue the day he ever looked at another girl, with your utter hotness," he told me.

"Okay, whatever you want to do," I answered him.

He did not seem too happy with that response; I think he wanted me a little more energetic on the matter. That wasn't going to happen though. I might be going along with this Bella Divafication, but we both knew this was just an act and I needed to save up all my acting for when I was at school.

what did ya think? let me know. ;) i'd love to hear from you guys.

the next chapter will be in edward's pov. it might take a little longer than expected, just because i'm starting to work on another story as well and i have yet to figure out the balance between the two. so be on the look out for the other story (tbd when it will actually come out, but i will say that it involves some figure skating action! )

there are a couple theme songs to this chapter, to get me in the right mind set - the links are posted on my profile. the next chapter, will, as well, have a couple theme songs - these were a little tougher to write than my normal chapter's and i needed to get in the proper mindset, so look for those tomorrow!