~ 37~

I tried to keep my mind on the lecture, especially since the professor was reviewing for the final, but my thoughts kept returning to Edward. I'd tiptoed out of the room this morning with the hope that more sleep would give him a better chance to fight his hardest battles yet with nicotine. I actually felt a bit guilty that I wasn't having a rougher time with it, but frankly, having Edward close was such a tremendous positive for me that everything else felt almost effortless.

I knew how to study—though I'd never gotten this far behind before—but once I applied myself, I was confident I could make up all my lost ground. With my relationship with Dad on the mend, I'd already jumped over my biggest hurdles. Not so for poor Edward.

He was rusty on the study front and too embarrassed to ask for help. Edward had more common sense smarts than anyone I knew, but he'd never been much for books. I sometimes fantasized about long, romantic nights ahead where we could stretch out together, his head on my stomach and his hands doing naughty things to me while I read to him from my favorite authors.

But first, I had to help him through this rough patch. The moment I saw him standing against the wall outside my lecture hall, I knew he was having a terrible time.

"Ready for lunch?"

"As long as it doesn't taste anything like cheese, I'm good."

I'd been politely ignoring the traces of orange powder around his lips, but now that he'd mentioned it, I leaned in and swiped my tongue across his lips. "Don't worry. We can find you a Cheetos Anonymous meeting after we get through this."

He chuckled and fell into step beside me. "I think you're starting to like the cheese-flavored kisses. You might be enabling me."

"Haha, very funny. Just because I put up with some of your flavors doesn't mean I like them."

"Oh, HO!" Edward's eyebrows shot up with his surprised smile as he pushed open the heavy door for me. The cold air felt good after sitting in the stuffy lecture hall. I turned around to take Edward's hand.

"So where do you want to—"

"Bella? Is that you?"

My stomach flipped over. I hadn't seen Angela since our run-in after Alec, and if she'd been alone, she might've walked right past me without saying hello. It was Ben who'd broken protocol—sweet Ben, who never could hurt a flea.

I tightened my grip on Edward and pulled him into my side. "Hey, Ben, Ange."

Angela's eyes flicked to Edward, and she sprouted a smug smirk. "Another one, Bella? Tall and lean, scruffy beard, green eyes, messy hair, check, check, check! You're getting better at this, I see."

Oh my god, she was not doing this to me. "Angela, this is Edward."

Her face twisted into an ugly grimace. "Aren't they all, Bella?"

Edward didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he certainly recognized the name. "Angela? As in, the friend who Bella stayed with this summer?"

I was waiting for Angela's epiphany and mortification. After all this time, I'd been vindicated. Edward had come for me after all.

"Yes," she answered, "and you are . . .?"

This was insane. "I told you. It's Edward. Edward Cullen." She was still clueless. "My hot mechanic!"

Edward guffawed next to me, and I poked him in the side. "Quiet, you." He closed his smiling mouth, but he couldn't stop the amusement from beaming through his eyes.

It finally sank in. Angela turned to Edward, her jaw dropped open, and she blatantly ogled him from head to toe. "Wow." She was dumbfounded. Hallelujah, as Edward would've said.

Edward kindly offered his hand first to Ben, then to Angela, who took it but still appeared dazed by the whole experience. "What are you doing here? Are you a student now?"

"No," Edward chuffed. "I'm just here for a couple weeks with Bella."

"Wow," she repeated, still staring slack-jawed at him. "So you're the guy who wrecked Bella's life?"

Edward turned to me, his expression one giant question mark.

"Jeez, Angela, did all your manners go down the toilet?"

She fixed her glare on me and had the nerve to become indignant, propping her tiny little fists onto her hips. "What, Bella? I finally get to meet the guy that turned you inside-out, made you start smoking, ruined your relationship with your parents, turned you into some . . . sewer rat and broke up our friendship, and I'm not allowed to say anything to him?"

"Angela! I swear to—"

"Yes. I'm the guy." Edward was calm and his voice was steady, but I saw the telltale clench in his jaw. "Say whatever you need to say."

Ben stepped in and tried to whisper something into her ear, but Angela shrugged him off. "You ruined my friend." There were tears brimming in her eyes, and for a second, I forgot all the bad stuff that had passed between us and just remembered how easy it used to be. My heart opened, and a sudden gust of affection for Angela blew in. I never doubted that she cared about me, that she was sad I'd changed and we'd fallen apart.

Edward grasped my hand again and brushed his thumb reassuringly across my knuckles. "The truth is," he told her in the kindest possible way, "we ruined each other."

I sighed and lay my face along his arm. Angela was completely neutralized by his answer.

"I came back so we could make things right. I can take the blame for a lot of stuff, Angela, but not for your friendship with Bella. That's on the two of you."

Angela looked over at me as the tears spilled down her cheeks. "I've never closed that door," she said gently.

I took a shaky breath through the pile of raw emotions. "Ange, I'm not ready to have this conversation with you right now," I replied. When the hope seeped out of her expression, I quickly added, "Maybe when we come back after break?"

She nodded quickly. "Okay."

The four of us kind of nodded and acknowledged that something had just shifted, and while we were all trying to figure out how to move on, Edward broke up the awkward.

"Bella needs to feed me now, or something very bad will happen."

A/N: Dang, I love me a good reconciliation- or what seems to be the beginning of one? Thoughts?

XXX ~BOH