Chapter 36
- Boots and Boys

Authors Note:
The Twilight Series, and any related characters, do not belong to me.

Authors Note 2:
Bella's Costume-
http:/www(dot)bestcostumeplace(dot)com/product(dot)php?id=119308
(Imagine in dark blue instead…)
Bella's Costume 2-
http:/www(dot)acephotos(dot)org/c15047389/kristen-stewart-eva-april-2010-photo(dot)html
(Wow. That's all I have to say. Fucking wow. The shoes are hot, but I needed different ones for my scene.)
Bella's Boots-
http:/www(dot)nightshadecorsets(dot)com/shoes_boots/boots/electra_3028(dot)htm
Alice's Costume-
http:/www(dot)costumecraze(dot)com/WEST05(dot)html

Playlist
http:/listen(dot)grooveshark(dot)com/#/playlist/The+Handcuff+Bracelet/28554942
Let It Rock- Kevin Rudolf
Break Your Heart- Taio Cruz
Boots and Boys- Kesha
Love, Hate, Sex, Pain- Godsmack
Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide- Shinedown
Show Me Everything You've Got- The Rocket Summer

Bella's Point of View

"Did you notice? He didn't glare at Mike once today! And he almost stayed in the lunchroom!"

"Whatever this pot strain is," I agreed, "Edward's getting a serious social kick from it."

One of the reasons he didn't go straight for his car and a cigarette at lunch was because I, apparently, needed food. He had taken our talk in his Volvo incredibly seriously. I was able to buy most of the time, but he always tried to be sure I purchased something other than an energy drink. Today I'd gotten an apple; I really hadn't been very hungry. The latest batch of pot didn't inflame my appetite so I was back to my normal eating habits.

"I don't think the weed's entirely to blame," Alice smiled. "He's happy. You make him happy."

"I feel the same about him. It's not just me, though. Carlisle and Esme, you, especially, all of you make him happy, too."

"Yes, but the pieces didn't fall into place until after you came along."

"Gross exaggeration notwithstanding, I thank you for the compliment."

"No," Alice shook her head. "You don't understand. Edward was different before. He… loved us, but didn't know how to show it. So, instead of reaching out emotionally, he used money and favor gathering, presents. It's a little different for me, he talks to me, at least. With our parents, however, not so much."

I had definitely noticed his attempts at substituting love. Alice was right, he hadn't been aware of it. Regardless of whether or not Edward was happy, I didn't think that was because of me. He would have accepted it eventually. The steps had already been taken. A safe environment, people who loved him- it was a bitch, but the defenses cracked over time.

"He was always courteous and whenever they ask him a question, he'll answer honestly, but Edward never shared additional information. He doesn't talk about his childhood. At all. Yet you know who Masen was, the stories that go along with him."

I was actually surprised that the trips we'd taken into his past, literally, hadn't made him more anti-social. They were damaging and traumatic experiences, the retelling was understandably difficult for him. He had dropped his guard to regain my trust, which still made me uncomfortable and tingly at the same time. A normal guy reaction would be to shut-down and withdraw. Edward became more engaging because he didn't want to push me away. Maybe since we were both no-bullshit, tell it straight types of people, he felt comfortable sharing because I wouldn't judge? That's why I was able to reveal memories no one else was privy to. I trusted him not to pity or placate me.

"Edward told you about that?" I asked.

"No. Sort-of. He knows that I know, but he hasn't said anything to confirm said knowledge. You did," she grinned before her eyes darkened. "Not a pretty story, huh?"

"That's one way of putting it."

She turned the radio on and flipped it over to her Ipod. She liked happy driving songs instead of energy and adrenaline-laced ones. I could listen to anything and be happy when faced with the prospect of a silent road-trip.

"So… I hear that you're thinking of getting an apartment with Edward sometime in the not-so-distant-future?"

I glanced over, but I couldn't read anything from her expression. "... I was going to bring that up, I swear."

"I'm not mad," she shook her head. "You guys have the strangest honor code."

"Everyone needs something to stick by," I shrugged. "Does it bother you? The whole, me possibly getting an apartment with him? Not that it's happening. We talked about it, y'know? There aren't any real plans laid down yet."

"Why would it bother me? I wanted to see your reaction, that's all."

"I've heard Edward say that before," I laughed. "And my response: your verdict is?"

She quirked an eyebrow at the road. "Could have been better."

"Wow." That had been eerie and awesome at the same time.

"It could have been," she insisted. "Details aside, how do you feel about his proposition?"

"I… don't know."

"Try?"

"Alice, the only thing I've got in his room is a bottle of conditioner. It doesn't bode well for living together considering none of my stuff has made it into his… space."

"And your room?"

"What about it? We never spend any real time at my place. Charlie, you know?"

"No, I meant… Okay, none of your stuff is at our house. What about yours?"

"Of Edward's?"

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Um… a bunch of shirts, his hoodie. A few of his books. Oh, I lied before. I forgot about the books I lent him. … yeah, I've got a lot of his stuff. Point proven."

I also had his knife on me, I was wearing his ring. Most of his shirts I wore on a regular basis, I usually slept in one, too. It was damn comfortable, what about it? I felt my defenses snap into place and had to wonder why that was my first instinct. Rosalie was in the same boat, I'd have to call her later and see what she had to say. The conversation wouldn't be nearly as pleasant as this one. She was very blunt, to the point. I knew she'd yell at me a little, it was her way. I'd probably curse a lot and yell right back, there was no danger to our friendship, it'd take more than that for us to actually fight about something.

"Why does that freak you out?"

"I don't know. It just… does." I wasn't done yet, there were other thoughts circling in my head. "It does and it doesn't. I just worry that if something happens, the more stuff I have of his, the harder it will be to give them back."

"Edward wouldn't do that to you," Alice said.

"So I'd have to keep them? Put them in a box somewhere, hide it in my closet…"

"Oh my god," she said exasperatedly. "The two of you are so dour. You guys keep 'breaking up' with one another while staying in a relationship. I don't know how ya'll do it, but it's exhausting to watch."

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"All of your 'what if's' and precautions. Edward went through this, too. I think that's why he's so okay with getting an apartment with you." She craned her neck to read a highway sign we were passing. "I have more to say on that, but you'll have to wait a second."

She turned off onto a main highway. We were on our way to Port Angeles. This was actually pretty exciting. I hadn't been to the city in awhile. All of my shopping happened at the Thriftway or online. Something told me that Alice was going to be nothing like Renee. My usual feelings of dread, turning my mind off so I could say, 'yes, that looks great.' 'You look so thin, Mom.' 'I'm sure he'll love it,' in eighty other ways wasn't going to be a factor.

"Insight would be appreciated," I told her.

"Great," she smiled. "Here goes."

She turned the music down. This was going to be enlightening, and a long speech.

"You keep a dark cloud of 'if we break up' hanging over your heads. A relationship doesn't work that way. If all your attention is on trying to make everything perfect, worrying about how you'll feel if something happens… you're not really committed. It seems that… instead of focusing on what makes you guys happy, you're always looking for reasons to split."

"Just in case-"

"Do you love him?"

"Alice-"

"Bella," she interrupted me gently. "Do you love him?"

"Yes."

"Then what does it matter? Because of your pasts, this isn't a normal boyfriend-girlfriend thing. It's progressed past that point. I don't even know how to categorize what the two of you have. I'd say soul-mates, but I'm pretty sure both you and Edward would freak right out. Not tough enough, soul mates," she laughed.

"I believe in it," I disagreed. "But I don't think people are limited to one."

"You love someone else?"

"Not like I love Edward, no," I replied automatically. "What I feel for you, Jasper, Rosalie… any friendship that started out strong and has only gotten stronger. What are the odds? How did we find one another? Why did we 'click' so fast? Using your terminology, I believe we're all soul-mates in one way or another. Not destined, but lucky that we found one another. In a situation beyond our control, we all managed to come together."

"That's a strange way of looking at things."

"I know. It's not necessarily wrong, though..."

"Of course not," Alice smiled. "I like your theory."

"See? So it doesn't hurt to look for the 'what if's. It keeps everyone safe.'"

I wanted a cigarette. This hadn't gone exactly as I'd thought. Edward and I were fine, I wanted to know about her and Jasper. So much time had passed, we didn't need to spend so much of it talking about my hang-up's and trust issues. Not that I had trust issues when it came to the Cullens.

Alice didn't smoke and I didn't want her car to smell like cigarettes. There was no hint of it now, which meant that Jasper probably refrained from lighting up in Alice's vehicle. I could do the same.

She was thinking. "True… but not entirely."

"But-"

"Let me backtrack a little. Back to the apartment thing, it'll tie in, I swear."

"Shoot."

"We moved around a lot, Edward and I. We had homes, but they were always temporary. Not group homes, they were never anything except another place we'd have to escape. We were placed with families, but I knew that my true home was anywhere Edward happened to be."

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Alice looked confused. "What are you apologizing for?"

"I've been monopolizing a lot of his time. He's home to you and-"

"Psh." she made a face. "This was a long time ago. My point was, we've had so many places, Forks is the end of the line. We're done searching for a home because we've got one with Esme and Carlisle. A relationship worry is taking the step from dating to living together. Edward doesn't have that hang-up because-"

"You guys have moved so many times that anywhere can be home?"

"Exactly. What's another place, you know? Especially since we, he, knows that our parents will be here, that he always has a home here no matter how many other apartments or whatever he inhabits. Just as you have a home with Charlie."

"He did mention that," I remembered. "Edward said something like, we can pick up and go whenever we want, no matter where we are. And it baffles me because… to me, life doesn't work that way."

"Unless you have the money to make it happen."

"Which I don't. Once I find a place, I wont have the funds to break the lease because I want to live somewhere new. It's either an apartment or college, not both. And I fully intend on having to work to support myself because, as I said, it's one or the other. If I get a place, I'll have to work to get myself through school. Nothing's cheap, you know? And if I pick college, I'll have to work and save up before moving out of my Dad's house."

"Bella," Alice chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Edward's not Scrooge. He can make things easier for you, if you'd let him help. You say it's either-or, but he has a lot of money."

"Yes, I'm sure he does."

"And you want no part of it?"

"He fought for that money, literally. Blood was shed, he put it away to save for emergencies and back-up plans. I'm not comfortable waltzing all over his pain. How can I let him put a down payment on an apartment that I don't contribute toward keeping? What do I say, 'Thanks, Edward, for almost dying in order to make sure I can go to school?'"

"That would be a start, yea," she laughed. "It would ease his mind a little. I don't think he understands why you won't let him help. I think there's a part of him that wonders if you're going to break up with him once school ends. Why else would you be so adamant about not moving in with him?"

"I said yes. Why would he think I'd break up with him?"

"You said yes?"

"Um, not definitively… but I did say I'd think about it, and lean more toward the yes side as I considered our options."

"All of this worrying and you said yes?" She pounded on the steering wheel, but smiled while doing it. Not like Edward's anger, she laughed with relief.

"Seems like."

"Oh my… you both are…"

"Forget about us for a minute," I desperately wanted a conversation topic change. "How's Jasper? What have the two of you been up to?"

A change of subject seemed to be in order. I felt a little better about my decision, but I had no intention of changing my mind about the financial aspects. Why couldn't anyone see how wrong it would be? People had abused Edward all his life. Some of them had used him for the money he had. Like when he had put a down payment on an apartment for the woman who went back to her pimp. I wanted him to know that I loved him, and respected him, because he was an amazing person. If that meant that I'd need to fight this out with him, well, that's what I would do.

He still thought that buying things for people was the only way to show love. I wanted him to know that it didn't have to work that way. I'd love him if we were both poor and eating Ramen to stay alive. I didn't need him to give me an easy future; books, college, an apartment, clothes… they were nice, incredibly generous of him, but I had worked for what I wanted all my life. Just because he was rich and could afford to buy me a new truck, an I-pod, whatever else he thought would make my life more comfortable… it didn't mean that I could just let him. I had nothing to give in return. Money meant a lot to Edward, he made that very clear. I didn't ever want there to be a time where he'd realize how much he had done for me, with not very much coming back from me. It was a huge responsibility, taking care of someone. He and I were equal partners, at least we had been so far. I wasn't going to let the scale tip now.

He might know that I loved him, but I wasn't going to be another girl in his stories who took from him without giving anything back. Every other relationship Edward had been in ended that way. Why was it such a huge deal that I not do the same? I'd have to ask him about that later.

Alice smiled just thinking about Jasper. She made a dismissive hand gesture and shook her head. "We're not there yet. Just think this part over, okay? Edward knows you're not staying with him because he's rich. You keep trying to hammer a point home that he knows already. He mentioned that to me, specifically. You wont let him buy you things-"

"He has so." I sounded like a two year old.

"Name one thing."

"Pot."

"Doesn't count," she took her eyes off the road to shoot me a look heavy with meaning. "He was a huge marijuana fan before you came along. And he'll probably be smoking way into the future. That was actually to his benefit, he doesn't have to smoke alone and talk to himself anymore."

"He used to talk to himself?"

"Don't tell him I told you that," she giggled. "He'll be pissed."

"No problem. The secret's safe with me."

"I know you're good that way."

"Thanks…"

"You can't keep answering 'pot,' anyway. You've used that excuse two times with me before."

"Yes, but-"

"And besides, Edward's normal. Tell him he can't do something and he'll be more determined to make it happen. Especially since he loves you. Out of everyone in his life, me included, you've jumped to the top of his list. So, really, since it'll happen eventually, you should let him win now and then."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Alice. You know, it'd be easier if you took my side."

"I did," she grinned. "And now, for you, I'm taking his side."

"That's really strange logic."

"Whatever works."

"… now are you going to talk about you? I've been dying of curiosity. Have pity, will you?"

We were approaching Port Angeles. The miles had flown. Partly because Alice had been speeding, but mainly because we'd been talking the entire time. It was weird for me, I wasn't the most talkative person ever. She made conversing easy, painless. I loved the way she looked whenever Jasper was mentioned. So happy, as though nothing could be wrong or ever go badly. They just… were. No hang-ups or awkward moments like Edward and I had sometimes. It was nice to know that every now and then some people worked. Soul-mates indeed.

"And then some. You were shocked when I told you about my virginity. …I'm not anymore. It happened a few weeks ago."

"I figured that," I cleared my throat. "I mean, you guys have been pretty, uh, close."

"Yeah. Sorry I didn't tell you before now. I was going to ask you for tips or whatever but I didn't want to make you feel… I don't know. And Jasper hinted that if there was anything I wanted to learn, it could be from him. I was going to tell you after, you know, share the news? A day turned into two, then three, a week went by. I tried to bring it up, but I kind of wanted to keep the news to myself… not because I don't trust you, just…"

"No, I absolutely understand. With everyone talking about who they're sleeping with at FHS, I'm glad that you enjoyed it to the point where it stayed a private thing. That's how it should be, right? Nothing's private anymore. You and Jasper aren't just hooking up. You're so much more than that. So it makes sense for you not to talk about it right away."

"Exactly," she beamed. "I knew you'd get it."

"Take all the time you want. Sorry for pushing the matter, I just wanted to be sure that everything's cool."

Alice giggled. "That was then, huh? I've no intention of talking to anyone else about it. You're different, not like my other friends. And you're dating Edward. We're best friends, at least I see you that way."

"Don't say BFF," I laughed.

"Aww. I heart you, Bella," she snickered. "I'd make the sign, I know you love that, but I'm driving. You're lucky."

"Really, thank goodness for that."

"Ok," Alice said in her shopping tone. "Where do you want to start first? The more commercialized stores, you know, French maid costume, the slutty Disney princesses, police woman, cowgirl, so on and so forth."

"Or?"

"There's a store that I know about-, it might be sold out of costumes by now, but they have rarer outfits to choose from. They're not handmade, exactly, and some of them are a little more expensive…"

"Sure, why not? Sounds fun, whichever one you choose."

"Thanks, by the way," she added, "for getting Edward to participate this year."

"That wasn't my doing."

"I don't think he'd volunteer himself without a little help from you."

"I promise, Alice, whatever Edward said he would do… it wasn't because I manipulated him into it. You're talking about the fact that he's going to be out and around during the party?"

"Yep."

"Yeah, that wasn't me."

"Huh," she went quiet for a minute. "Nice change, then."

"Was he really that anti-social? I've noticed that people tend to avoid him in school, but he's not the recluse everyone keeps warning me about."

"You've never seen Angry Edward."

"I've seen him pissed off," I hedged.

"No, you've seen him irritated. There were days he'd walk around in that mood for the entire day. No one would talk to him because Edward made it clear that he'd swing first and talk later. Hence his reputation."

"They just didn't know how to deal with it. Edward's not that scary. He can be, don't get me wrong, but if someone stood up to him…"

"Edward would rip their head off?"

Well, yeah, okay. I wasn't exactly looking forward to confronting Edward if he was ever enraged. He really wasn't the asshole that everyone seemed to think.

"Mike Newton?"

"Is an idiot," I finished her sentence. "But Edward had plenty of opportunities to kick his ass. Mike's still walking around."

"And you think none of this has to do with you?"

"Why would it? I really haven't been back for very long. Any major changes you've seen with Edward came purely from him. How could it not? Maybe it's coincidental and you've just noticed the differences now."

"Doubt it," Alice snorted. "But have it your way, for now."

"It's impossible to win an argument with you, you know that?"

Alice laughed. "The two of you aren't the only ones capable of deflecting questions. ..to add one more evasive technique … we're here."

I glanced through the window automatically. "Uh…"

"They do it on purpose," Alice reassured me. "It's a costume shop all year round. Why go all out for Halloween?"

"I can appreciate that."

My eyebrow wouldn't go down. I had been to some pretty strange places, but going into a warehouse without any windows? The building looked like it had once been an adult movie store. Whomever owned it had improved on the plain stone walls, but nothing could banish the feeling of sleazy sex from the parking lot. The door, even. Heavy, painted black… this had definitely been one of those peep-show places. Inside, however, was a completely different story. I was in awe from the moment my heel landed on a plush oriental rug. Decorations of all kinds hung on racks all over the first room.

"Alice Cullen! Little late for Halloween shopping, no?"

"Hey, Greene," she smiled and waved.

Behind a high counter, which confirmed my porn store theory once and for all, a man in his forties was dressed as the Mad Hatter. He wasn't bad looking, a little old for my taste, but the costume really suited him. His eyes were sharp and direct, a deep shade of gray, the effect was less intense due to his easy-going smile. Possibly close to six feet tall, it was hard to tell because the counter threw my estimation off.

"You throwing one of your parties this year?"

"Of course! We're not using many decorations for this one. Christmas, on the other hand, I'll buy everything you have."

"That's what I like to hear," he chuckled. "You're here for costumes, at least, right?"

"Where else would I go? I brought a friend of mine in this time. Bella, this is Greene, he convinced me to come and look at his place when we first moved in. It's the only place to go for party accessories and things like that. He can get anything you want. Greene, my best friend Bella."

"Nice to meet you," I said politely.

"Same," he nodded at me. Studying me for a moment, "There are better costumes all the way in back. Go straight there, you'll find what you're looking for."

"He's never wrong," Alice told me.

"Doesn't that sound familiar," I smiled at her.

Each room had a different theme. Larger than it looked on the outside, I counted five rooms not including the one behind two swinging, Western saloon doors. Elizabethan, Victorian, Medieval, there were dresses aplenty through the first door we passed. Doublets, packages of tights, the codpieces made me laugh, men's costumes were on the right wall. Hats, canes, crowns, scepters- all of them were on tables in the middle.

The second room housed fantastical creature costumes. Fairy wings, glitter, he even had realistic flower chairs spaced underneath the clothing. So much brighter than the historical room, it was an explosion of color. His buccaneer selection was incredibly impressive. I had to stop and browse through a few of those. Two pirate wench costumes caught my eye. They were so intricate, I had never seen costumes like these before. Not genuine, there was more than one for sale, but they weren't a normal Halloween store selection. I loved this place already.

Onto the fourth, I laughed loudly and had to cover my mouth.

"Yeah," I heard Greene call to us from the front. "People are weird."

Animal costumes. This room held one, two, and three-piece costumes. Cat ears, dog snouts, pig noses that kinda creeped me out, cow masks, he had everything stocked. Horse shoes, attachable, and working, cow udders.

"Gross," I touched the soft rubber and poked one of the udders.

"Ew!" Alice giggled as she pulled on one of them. "It can really hold milk!"

The three-piece horse costume was interesting. It was designed so that two people made the head and back. The middle part had a saddle hooked into it so that someone could ride the three of them around. Fucking weird. More traditional costumes hung on the walls that connected each room. A French maid, there was a good and bad witch, an angel, a demon, Darth Vader, Family Guy masks. A Dominatrix outfit caught my attention, too, but I couldn't show up to a family Halloween party dressed like that.

The saloon doors were in view. We stepped through and my eyes immediately went to the shoes. Thigh-highs, cute Mary-Janes, ankle and boot length… this was my favorite place Ever.

'Oh my god," I gasped. "That's it."

I rushed over to the mannequin and was almost afraid to touch the dress. It might be the wrong size. What if it didn't fit me? It was probably unspeakably expensive… I fucking loved it. Would Edward? Most likely, especially since I'd be so happy wearing it.

I had done the innocent thing before, though. This dress, however, was different. Elegant, stunning, a little naughty. The dark blue color would make my pale skin glow. I wanted it. Costumes had always been my weakness. This one would eclipse all of the rest.

"It's beautiful," Alice agreed. "Buy it before someone else does. One of a kind's like that don't last long. I'm surprised it's still here. Try it on, at least!"

"We can? Where?"

Alice unzipped the dress and had it off the mannequin in no time. I wouldn't have been nearly that proficient.

"Greeeeneee?" She didn't add any urgency to her voice. The guy was pretty muscled, I could see him bounding over the counter in order to rush to our aid.

He appeared a moment later.

"I didn't bust my ass to make this place look good just so I could pass my displays all day," he handed her a set of keys. "If you want something, walk to the front. Marvel at my genius."

"But I do that already," she smiled. "Thanks!"

"I wanted to see your costume anyway," I motioned for him to turn. He did with a flourish of his arm, I laughed at his impersonation of the Hatter. "Very, very nice."

"Thank you, milady," he glanced to the dress Alice was holding. "You all have fun. Just-"

"Put things back where we get them, I know," Alice interjected.

He bowed low to her and tipped his large top hat at me, I saw the mischief in his eyes. Owning a costume store, it was a good life decision for him. His off-the-wall energy would be wasted elsewhere.

Alice handed me the dress and the keys. "Go through the doors, turn left, go down the narrow corridor and pick any of those rooms. That's where you can try things on."

I followed her directions exactly and found the changing rooms. They were clean, orderly, I liked that Greene had installed lights that could be adjusted. Black curtains covered white-washed walls; video-booths, that's what these had been. He had hung one floor length mirror in each stall. I quickly stripped, thankful for the lockable door, and examined the costume.

Shirt first, dress second, waist-cincher third. Got it. Putting it on wasn't difficult now that I understood how it worked. And fuck me if I didn't fit. The dress was made for someone a little taller, but all of the measurements were right otherwise. I actually liked that the skirt was longer than it should have been. It left a whole new selection of shoes for me to pick from. Dim lighting, fluorescent, the dress looked good in all of them. I had double checked to be sure. This was an important event, I wanted to look my best.

The door next to me closed. "It's me," Alice announced herself. "We picked a good time. The last rush just left. It's usually really crowded, you know?"

"Find something fantastic?"

"I think so." There was a loud thud, Alice cursed and laughed.

"You okay?"

"Banged my elbow. Yeah."

I twirled in the mirror not being able to help it. This dress was perfect for things like that. The skirt billowed out without exposing anything I'd be embarrassed about. It was also easy to raise, I really liked that.

The door next to me opened, I vacated my booth and stopped short in the entry.

"Alice!"

"Wow," her eyes widened when she saw me. "It was meant to be."

"Thanks! I love the Western theme. Very cool." She wasn't a cowgirl or a Pocahontas. Alice had chosen a saloon dancer costume. The skirt was ruffled and black, raised high over her thighs with a cool cascade of fabric in the back. With black stockings and some high heels, it would be amazing.

"You like?" She smiled wickedly and adjusted the sleeves so that more of her cleavage was exposed.

"My opinion won't matter once Jasper sees you," I laughed. "Oh my fuck. He's lucky I don't make a play."

"Shut up," Alice giggled. "It looks okay, though? It's not too slutty? I'm going to put a longer black skirt under it… you know, until it doesn't matter."

"It's risqué," I corrected. "Not slutty. It looks more than okay! What shoes are you going to wear? Do you have accessories to go with the other skirt?"

"Accessories are covered," she smiled and brought my attention to her cerulean necklace. "Jasper got it for me. What better way to show it off, right? I can get a matching feather for my hair, I'll borrow one of his dress cowboy hats, black. What do you think?"

"Perfection. Absolute perfection."

"So, because you're complimenting so highly, what'll it take for you to let me borrow a pair of your boots?"

"Constructive criticism," I replied.

Her brow furrowed. "For what?"

"Is this costume too similar to the one I wore at school? The Halloween dance, I mean."

"Hmm…" she walked two small circles around me, one in each direction. "I don't think so. The only similarity is the fact that they both have long skirts. This one's much darker, sexier, the other fit the dance theme. Especially after you came back with Edward from the parking lot, virgin sacrifice; there are before and after pictures."

"I wanted a cigarette," I flushed. "That's all."

"Maybe, but Edward wanted something else. You and he were out the door in point two seconds," her eyes were bright and knowing. "Both of you missed the yearbook nominations."

"No we didn't," I paused. "Speaking of, how would a person take their name out of the running?"

"Yours?"

"Mine and Edward's."

"It's possible, but there wasn't really a vote. We passed around papers and people filled in the answers themselves. We didn't give any options to pick from. Whoever had the most votes, they're the ones everyone will officially pick from."

"So… we can't?"

"You could," Alice hedged, "but you're only listed in one category. Best Couple, and you're running against me and Jasper."

"So take the win, it's all yours," I insisted.

"Most likely," she smiled with no traces of competition. "Lauren has pretty good odds of winning. Jessica would, but few people vote for her when Lauren's in the picture. They're friends, you know? It's down to me, you, and her. If you win and I don't, or vice-versa, then she doesn't."

"Isn't she a friend of yours?"

"I don't appreciate what she said to you about the dance pictures. She took them from my bag when I wasn't looking. Nobody steals from me. So, no, she's not a friend of mine anymore."

With that, Alice and I bonded even more. I felt bad that I had cost her a friend, Alice felt badly that I had been hurt by one of hers. Combined, we had a fierce grudge against Lauren. This side of Alice I had rarely seen. Flashes when we watched movies and bad things happened to her favorite actors and actresses, but never for something like this. Her anger was raw and merciless.

'Nobody steals from me.' Huh. I could relate to the feeling.

"Want me to kick her ass for you?"

"If she wins any of the major categories, maybe. I'm helping, I'll borrow Edward's steel bat."

"Well… alright then," I smiled and side-hugged her like Rosalie used to do with me.

We had the makings of a plan, I'd be ready whenever she was. This was friendship as I knew it. I would have Alice's back no matter what she chose to do. I'd be damned sure that she wouldn't be hurt should it come to fruition. If Alice was upset, there was definite cause and justification for beating the hell out of whomever caused her pain. Edward couldn't exactly help seeing that Lauren was female, I know it would bother him to hit her. He'd do it, of course, without hesitating, but I knew it'd grate at him for awhile. Luckily, I had no problems with hitting anyone, female or not.

"We've decided then?" Her anger faded and she did a few can-can steps to put herself in a better mood.

"Seems like."

"You look fantastic," she smiled at me. "It's nothing like the other one."

"Meant to be, huh?"

"Yup," she nodded. "After we change and buy props, we've got to go lingerie shopping."

"Sweet. I've been meaning to do that."

There was still a few sets to choose from, but Edward had seen most of what I'd collected. A few needed to be discarded, but I'd never begrudge him for it. I loved when he looked at me, blade in hand, gentle and rough at the same time, freeing me from anything in his way. That was incentive enough to do some more shopping.

"Good. Edward told me to make sure he paid for anything you buy there. He didn't want to push his luck with your costume. I think he said something like, 'Bella will want to buy that on her own. She's not going to let me buy something that she'll wear for me.'"

"Wait a minute. Something that she'll wear for me? Really? Arrogant-"

"Bella," Alice laughed at me. "Edward has a costume in mind, too. And he's wearing it specifically to make you happy. He's got an entire plan, don't flip out over bad phrasing."

Okay, so normally I'd have kept quiet. There was something about Alice that made me share my thoughts as they happened. Maybe because she did the same thing, I felt as though I weren't sharing enough.

I wasn't really upset. That was the purpose of Halloween and naughty undergarments, they were worn for someone else. I loved Edward's arrogance, but it was fun sometimes to pretend I was annoyed. He'd get even more cave-man, we'd fuck with one another, and then we would come to a compromise.

"Yeah, I know. Instant reaction, sorry," I apologized. "It doesn't change anything. If I'm wearing it for him, I should purchase it. That's what he said, right? So that means nothing we buy today, aside from food, can be charged to him."

"It's the first step. Let him do this for you and you'll have leverage in the future…"

We went back to our dressing rooms. I was definitely buying this dress, no need to look for anything else. Alice was borrowing boots from me, I had shoes to wear. All that we had to do was pick a few accessories before meeting up with Greene at the register. Easy, it hadn't taken hours; I could learn to appreciate shopping, Alice was really good at it.

"You're manipulative as fuck," I said loud enough for her to hear.

I had agreed to keep my name on ballots for Best Couple. That wasn't exactly a small thing. I didn't like crowds or a lot of attention focused on me. If Lauren won… fuck that. Alice and I were so much better than her, I wanted to see the look on her face as Alice won everything.

She was right about the leverage thing, too. If I allowed Edward to buy my lingerie, which he had planned to do for awhile, I would be under no obligation to let him pay for anything else. I could use that as my bargaining chip for months.

"With the best intentions…"

"Yeah, yeah," I snorted. "Nicely played."

"Thanks, I need to keep up with you and Edward somehow."

"I won't underestimate you, no worries."

"You're funny," she laughed. "There's no need to underestimate or overestimate. We're friends. No war when it comes to friendship."

I stared at myself in the mirror and was surprised by what I saw. No dark lines of fatigue under my eyes, my skin was still pale, but it was healthy looking. I had gained a little weight, yet I had been underweight before… whatever, I'd start yoga and exercising again. Sex with Edward would solve problems, fuck counting calories. For the third time in less than an hour, I caught myself fantasizing about him. I had just left him, it really hadn't been that long. It wasn't as though we didn't spend enough time together.

I bit my lip and blushed within the privacy of my changing room. What was happening to me? Why did I like it? Is this what love was supposed to be like? Glancing in the mirror- yes, I suppose it was. I looked… happy. My eyes were bright, my cheeks were naturally pink, something blush could never do. I looked at myself through my eyelashes and wondered if this was what Edward saw whenever I had a dark and sexual plan for him.

"Need help? You okay?"

"I'm good," I replied. "Be right out."

I gathered the costume and folded the waist-cincher over the top of my arm. The mirror caught my attention one last time. Instead of slouching over, both hands near my pockets or crossed in front of me, I had my head up, my back straight. It was a nice change.

o. o. o.

Now, in another changing room, I ignored what was going on around me. My self-esteem wasn't so low that I needed to wait for a bathroom stall to be free. I could put gym clothes on without flinching and doing the 'crouch over, hastily put my shirt on underneath the shirt I was wearing' move.

My palms were damp. I hated gym class. The hockey nets were already set up. In Phoenix, every other school I had attended, there was always a day where the Coach would explain sports rules. They'd pass out badly printed pages with rules and penalties. Not here, apparently.

I avoided talking to anyone as I sat on the cold gym floor. The clock above the double-doors that led to a hallway and freedom told me I had fifty-seven minutes to get through. Edward was supposed to sit in the front section, but he came out of the locker-room and looked straight at me. Students were seated by last names, in four rows on the right side of the room, we were waiting for warm-ups to begin. Two hockey nets were set up on the left. Two more were waiting to be assembled once we were done with push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks. Those I could handle. To get from the guys locker room, Edward had to walk past the nets. I enjoyed the view more this way. He was wearing a dark blue undershirt, black shorts, black sneakers. His hair was tousled, probably from bringing the shirt over his head, putting a new one on.

Very nice mental image. He took stock of everyone sitting and walking past him, some he lingered on, others he passed over right away. I knew he was judging for potential team-mates, it was a good strategy. Get all of the heavy-set players on our side, we wouldn't have to worry about them gunning for me.

"You look nervous as fuck," he greeted me.

"Hello to you, too."

"Relax, babe," he rubbed my shoulders. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, alright?"

"It's irrational, I know. Don't care, can't help it."

"Hey," he ducked so that I had to look at him, "You've got my back when there's a fight. You can hold your own, that's all I give a shit about. So what if you're afraid of flying… balls."

He chuckled. I laughed, it was so immature, but it made me feel better regardless.

"I'm not afraid of… gym," I raised an eyebrow of him. "There are better things I could be doing with my time, that's all."

Everyone was where they were supposed to be. I felt energy in the room shift, we were going to start soon. Fifty minutes left.

"Cullen!" The coach's voice made dread curl in my stomach. "Front and center. We have assigned seating."

"Bella hurt her ankle," Edward lied smoothly. "I'm helping her."

I kept my eyes on the floor. Nothing betrayed a lie like the second party glancing at the first in confusion. A hurt ankle, I could work with that.

"Let Newton do it, he's sitting in front of Ms. Swan, where he belongs. Take note from him."

Edward's snort wasn't loud enough for anyone but me to hear. His eyes darkened with irritation and determination, but his smile was still non-threatening.

"My medical training is a little more extensive than Mike's. Ankle bones are fragile, I wouldn't want the Chief to visit FHS because of an easily avoidable accident."

I kept my head down so that my hair covered my face from view. Everyone would have seen me smiling, Edward had this situation under control.

"Liabilities," I heard the Coach mutter.

The class waited, Edward looked as though he didn't care either way, I held my breath and tried to look pained. It wasn't that difficult.

"Fine. Help Ms. Swan to the bleachers, she can sit today out."

"Thanks," Edward stood and took hold of my arm to help me rise. I stuck to his story and kept all weight off my left ankle.

"Bella," I turned as the Coach called me. "Next time you're not feeling well, talk to me first. I don't want any injured people on the field. Don't try and be tough. This is gym class, not a championship game. There's no need to change if you're sitting on the sidelines."

"Sure," I had to close my eyes as Edward picked me up. My arms went around his neck automatically, all of those practice sessions where he'd haul me around came in handy for moments like these. "Thank you?"

"Warm-ups!" A whistle blew. "On the floor, I want to see twenty push-ups!"

"You took this a little far, didn't you?"

"No," Edward climbed up four rows of bleachers before setting me down. I saw Jessica and Lauren staring, most everyone was. Yeah, it was damn impressive. It was even more impressive because Edward didn't see anything wrong with what he was doing. He lifted one hundred and twenty-five pounds on an incline all the time. Sure, easy. I rested my cheek near his neck and squeezed with my arms so he'd know that I appreciated this display. After today, anyone who thought about tackling me, wrestling me to the ground, anything like that… Edward couldn't have chosen a better protective front.

"I didn't expect him to let you sit today out. You got lucky, I think hinting Charlie would show up set him off."

"Yeah, mentioning my Dad tends to have that reaction."

"And you don't use it to your advantage?" He sat a row below me and rested my foot on his knee.

"Mention him too often and they might tell him I've been name-dropping. Then he'll think something's wrong, you know how that goes. You don't mention Carlisle or Esme unless you need to..."

"Perceptive as fuck," he swore. "Slide to the end of the bleacher?"

I did what he asked. Edward took my ankle between his hands and massaged it gently.

"Sit-ups!" The whistle made me glare. Were they really necessary? He was certainly loud enough to be heard all over the school. "I want to see forty of them! Hustle, people!"

"Edward…" I cleared my throat. "My ankle is further south."

"It would be remiss of me not to check the entirety of your leg," Edward smirked. "At least that's what I'll tell anyone if they want me to leave you. Blame Carlisle, that's how he'd say it."

"The Coach is going to say something if you don't get your hand out of my shorts."

"I'm checking for muscle knots. Calm yourself, if I wanted to do something inappropriate you'd know it."

His fingers slid higher on my inner thigh, he groaned low in his throat when he felt the silk of my panties. Rubbing up and down my leg, he unconsciously was moving closer to me so that I needed to spread my legs wider in order to make room for him.

"Checking for muscle knots on my right leg now?"

"Just being thorough." Innocent voice, I knew why he wasn't looking me in the eyes. He wouldn't be able to hide his dark satisfaction at being able to fondle me in front of the entire class. His plan had taken a new turn, one that we both appreciated.

"Fucking tease!"

"Helpful," he corrected. "I saved you from hockey, remember?"

"Costume idea. Hockey player or doctor?"

"Nope."

"Related to sports or the medical field at all?"

"No again," he crooked grinned. "You really hate surprises, huh?"

"I don't hate them. My curiosity gets the better of me, I hate waiting for something I can have right now."

"Even if it's worth the wait?"

"Even so."

"You've got less than four hours before you see my costume."

"Yes, but that's not all I want right now," I tensed my thigh muscles and made sure that he felt it. "Can't you tell?"

"Beginning to," he glanced up at me.

His eyes were very blue, serious and yet playful at the same time. This was the side of Edward I loved most. He was a naturally cautious person, most of what he said had been thought out and honed for best vocabulary usage. Moments like this, when I said whatever came to mind, challenged him to best me with a public audience- that's when he reached full creative potential.

"Cullen! Fancy doctor training or not, I want you warmed up and ready to play some hockey!"

"Of course, Coach. Just-"

"No more excuses. You're changed and prepared, give me four laps around the gym!"

"Fuck," Edward sighed. "I'll be right back. Keep your ankle up."

"Bella Swan? If you're in that much pain, I suggest you visit the nurse's office. After Cullen's done his laps, he can help you get there."

"Would you rather wait here or there?" Edward's question was quickly delivered, we didn't have much time for conversation.

"Here, unless you'll be able to stay with me. We can cut out for a smoke break, maybe?"

"Too far," he shook his head. "We wouldn't get away with it."

"Cullen!"

"Then here, definitely."

"Okay. Yeah, I'll be right back. Don't answer him, he's just trying to get me to move."

Without saying anything else, Edward bounded down from the bleachers. His sneakers squeaked on their shiny hardwood flooring. Stretching a little, he started at the corner closest to me.

There were blue and red lines on the floor. I didn't know enough about sports rules to know what they were for, but the blue line formed a square border for the floor. It was a track of sorts, Edward didn't cut any corners as he ran laps.

Again, great view. Not breaking a sweat, Edward raised his eyebrow at me the second time he went around the rectangular room. Much as I enjoyed watching, this was one of the reasons I hated gym. On display for everyone to see, I would have been flushed and mortified inside. Once the Coach realized how bad I was at sports, he'd make me run laps all class period long.

His third pass got me an irritated eye-roll at the situation. The fourth caused a light sheen of perspiration to break out across his forehead. It was because he pushed himself, I had noticed that Edward maintained his speed and regulated his breathing. The class did jumping jacks, and was still doing them as he stopped in front of the bleachers again. He really was very fast.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Eh," he propped one foot up on the bleacher. "It's Gym. Got the adrenaline going, though."

"Sexy."

"Thanks. Lean over here for a second. I'm going to be called any minute now."

I didn't know what he meant. Getting up wouldn't be good what with Edward's hastily concocted plan. Coach didn't seem to be the type of guy who'd be okay with deception. Leaning forward, I met him halfway. My tongue slid across his lip. I tasted my mango lip-gloss and the saltiness of his sweat.

"Thirty push-ups, Edward! This isn't a dance, it's a gym!"

"So worth it," he assured me. "He doesn't want me to play hockey cold. Don't kill him."

Huh? I was glaring, thank goodness Edward was blocking me from view.

Playing hockey cold? I put his statement together slowly. Because Edward had missed the beginning gym routine, I watched wide-eyed as he executed said push-ups without pausing. Jessica nearly came, Lauren pretended not to be watching, Mike rolled his eyes. I smiled. He had no problems with attention. I didn't, either, so long as he was around. Being confident was one thing, feeling so many people's eyes on me for a long time, it made my skin crawl.

With his muscles taut from the warm-up, his eyes bright with physical exertion, he looked amazing. I didn't realize how starved for masculinity I'd been. Thanks to Edward, I was overdosing and so very happy about it. The feeling was… strange, but very good. Pleasure, arousal, pride, happiness all mixed into one giddy sensation that made my stomach warm and cold at the same time. Not freezing as in frozen with fear- I knew the depth to which Edward would go to keep me safe.

Gym class and hockey notwithstanding, it wasn't like the stories of love I'd read as a kid. There was part us both that was cold, hard, and ruthless. I loved him even more for it because it resided in me, knowing that his surpassed me, his limits were further than mine; I felt truly safe. He stood and cracked his knuckles. Our eyes met.

"Hold that thought," Edward said and took off. I had been watching him and preoccupied at the same time. What had he decided to do in the two seconds it would have taken me to say something?

He spoke to the Coach for a few minutes. They both glanced over at me. I bit my lip to keep from fidgeting. My nerves screamed with the force of containing my new insight. I wanted him to know! I needed to tell him! Everything that Alice had said suddenly made sense. Mixed in with her advice, I heard Charlie's voice in my head. Renee's, too, back when we were close friends. Rosalie didn't need to say anything, I felt her exasperation that it had taken me so long to figure out.

Over all of that, even if the voices of conscience disagreed with me, I knew nothing would stop me.

"Here," he handed me a small notebook and a pen.

"What? … how?"

"Told the Coach that you wanted to take notes since you weren't playing, it got you some credit," he shrugged. "I saw the look on your face, it's your 'I need to write something down now' mood, right?"

"… yeah."

"Just make sure you write a few hockey related things in case he checks. Before we change, tear off three pages after what you've written in case-"

"He's really, really curious and tries to shade it in?"

"Of course you'd know," Edward grinned. "Be back soon."

Teams were called, they were given odd and even numbers so that no one had to withstand the humiliation of being last picked. Two or three guys on the school's hockey team groaned as they looked over their players.

The energy wasn't the same. Words weren't going to work this time. I needed to have a real conversation with Edward, the kind he had with me. He'd say what he felt without me interrupting him. That's what I needed to do.

The Coach went over basic rules. I took a few notes. The diagram I drew, which I'd purposefully leave in the notebook, had circles for where people started. A puck in the middle, I made different shaped bullets in each of the circles. Next to them, in a list at the bottom, I wrote where people should stand, the role they played for the team. Scoring went on the next page, what penalties there were.

"Basically, you get the puck from here… … to here. You, guard him. You, guard the goal. You, I know you're not sword-fighting with my hockey sticks!" Coach glared at Mike before concluding. "Don't let them get past, score goals, win the game."

He blew the whistle twice. Edward and Tyler faced off. There had been no question about it, a quick look had been shared between Edward and the real hockey player.

"No roughhousin'! Keep it civil, people, or join me in detention after school." He quickly met the eyes of every student in the room. "Ready? Pooossitttions!"

Edward glanced down at the puck. Meeting Tyler's eyes, he smiled darkly. His body language became more aggressive.

The whistle blew again.

Tyler was shoved to the side. Edward dodged two people, passed it to… what was his name? The only real hockey guy on their team. Whatever. Didn't matter. Edward had it again, Tyler slammed into him but Edward had passed it back. Neither of them fell. They glared at one another, Edward rammed his shoulder imperceptibly into Tyler's. Separating, Edward smiled as his group scored a goal. I grinned at him, he looked over at me. Pretending I had pom-poms, I gave him my best ditzy impression. He laughed aloud and rolled his eyes at me.

They set up again. Real Hockey Guy was front and center this time, Edward was guarding him. Tyler was gunning for him, I could tell. The two of them kept inching closer, knuckles whitening on the hockey sticks, I had never found the sport so interesting. They smashed into one another. Edward pivoted and sent Tyler reeling to the side. He smirked over his shoulder, ran to catch up with the puck being passed to him. Another goal scored.

Sticks were slammed down onto the ground. Edward looked pleased with the way everyone played. I couldn't see Tyler's expression, but judging from his hunched shoulders… he was pretty pissed.

Before the whistle had blown, Tyler lunged at Edward and the puck. I saw Edward's smile of victory, easily hidden by ducking his head. Edward braced himself, he stopped Tyler's momentum and flung him backwards. Tyler's sneaker skid on the gym floor, a gray mark was left on the shiny wood. He fell to one knee, glared, and pointed at Edward.

"Penalty!"

"Fuck penalty," Edward slashed his hand through the air. "You sucker-fucked the puck!"

I laughed and couldn't help it.

"I what? Fuck yo-"

"Penalty, your team," the Coach said to Tyler. "Edward, time out. Five minutes."

Edward smiled at me as he walked over to the bleachers. "Told you I'd be back soon."

"Sucker-fucked?"

"Yeah," he replied seriously. "Like, going to sucker-punch someone only to find that you've fucked it up. Jumping the gun, in other words."

"Nice. I like it."

"Tyler's pathetic and punched me like an asshole. I knew he'd do it again. Couldn't resist taunting him."

"When did this… feud start?"

"Uh… awhile ago, you know?" He was very interested in the hockey game all of a sudden. I stared at his shoulder until he twitched and crossed his arms.

"How long ago?"

"Not too distant past," he evaded again.

"Alice mentioned that you and Tyler had fought in the parking lot. The day we… bonded in the hospital. Did you and he have problems before that point?"

He rubbed his chin. "I wasn't his friend or anything. We didn't talk to one another. He stayed out of my way, I stayed out of his."

"Until…"

"He crossed my comfortable personal space line," Edward snorted. "Then I kicked his ass and made it clear that I could do it again.'

He smiled and uncrossed his arms. Unspoken communication, I knew he wasn't irritated. Amused, he knew I wanted an answer. He was going to tell me, but his careful phrasing gave weight to his words. There was something that embarrassed him about what had happened.

"After that, I high-tailed it to the hospital to make sure Tyler hadn't crushed any of your internal organs. Unsteady fucker."

So, to answer my question; no, there hadn't been any previous grudges held. We watched the game together in silence. He moved up a level to sit next to me. I rested my head on his shoulder and processed what he had said. My feeling from before was still the same. Stronger, maybe, there was no chance it'd fade into 'I'll tell him next time' retreat Was I that emotionally repressed-? Obviously. I had been going about this relationship in entirely the wrong way. Just because Edward was street-smart, that didn't mean we weren't normal people. We had worried about what we should do, what we should do better, what we weren't doing. Neither of us had been paying attention to what worked.

And we, in all of our miscommunication, despite seeing eye-to-eye on everything, had exactly what Alice said. We were looking for reasons to end things so that we could conquer them. I was happy with what I had, Edward felt the same. Why did we need to keep pushing for more?

"Thank you. You know?"

"No problem," he smiled warmly at me. "You let me buy your lingerie."

Alice and her irresistible manipulation.

"About that. I don't want that to become a habit, but… I've accepted that people buy things for one another when they're in a relationship. I can see why you'd want to, especially after Alice and I hung out. So, as long as you don't go to extremes- by a regular person's definition- do what you want to do."

He looked amused, then serious, then neutral. I knew that wasn't a bad sign, either. Moving his arm, he rested his hand on my thigh so that his fingertips rested just underneath the hem of my shorts. "Good shopping trip, huh?"

"Oooh yea," our conversation lightened. "I hope we don't clash too badly. Will you tell me what color you're wearing at least?"

"Black," he said finally.

"Pirate? Ninja? The Headless Horseman?"

"Nope," he narrowed his eyes at me.

Huh. I had stumbled onto something here. Pirate, Ninja, the Headless Horseman. Probably not the third, it was too random. Edward wouldn't cover his head for the night. I had plenty of time to think it over.

"Hmm. How many ways can I irritate Coach without actually pissing him off? Keep track for me?"

"Cullen! Five minutes are up, get back in the game!"

Edward saluted him and walked back across the gym.

Seven. By the time class was over, Edward had managed to exasperate the man seven times. Tyler got two time-out's. I realized Edward's game toward the end of class. The Coach wasn't a normal person, he couldn't be charmed as most could.

By challenging him, without insulting him or being intolerable, Edward was slowly making him a friend. Well, as close to friends as one could be with a man who spoke through his whistle. He played at the Coach's strengths, which were basically used to motivate students into action.

Edward, in a rare show of team playing, worked well with Real Hockey Guy. The two of them rotated the stronger players on their team so that everyone had a chance to score goals. They'd block oncoming opponents, guard the weakest teammate so that he or she had time to get a point. The Coach really liked that. It's part of the reason he stopped yelling 'Cullen!' each time Edward came over to talk with me. This much progress in a single class period, I marveled at Edward's kind manipulation.

It was seeing him succeed so effortlessly that made the thought of him being a bouncer so… not right. He could, literally, kill in the business world. For any job, he'd destroy or befriend anyone who got in his way. Alice said it was because of me, but he had set all of this up himself. Not for me, Edward did it naturally. He wanted an ally in the Coach, now, in an hour, he was close to attaining one. Knowing that I wanted to get on his good side, Edward had helped. So yea, partially for me; he was considerate, I hadn't instilled that in him.

"See?" Edward wiped his forehead with a corner of his shirt. He was breathing heavily, happy in his exertion. My eyes were stuck on the flash of pale skin, the chiseled corner of his hipbone, before his shirt covered the area.

The Coach blew his whistle twice, one longer one made everyone stop.

"Now we've got an established routine, Jeff and I have things under control. Tomorrow, if you play, you won't have to do anything but guard the guy who's guarding the guy who's guarding the goalie."

Jeff. That was Real Hockey Guy's name. Good to keep in mind, I liked to know the names of people I might owe.

"Coach?" I caught his attention as Edward helped me down off the bleachers. "Thanks for the notebook."

"No problem," he pocketed it. "Good to be a team player. I like participation."

He waited until I had passed before blowing his whistle. That was nice of him. "Good class, guys! Go change!"

"Like Angela?" I had remembered seeing her once or twice. She had barely moved the entire game, and she had seemed very happy about that.

"Exactly. Notice how there was an empty spot on the other side? Saved that position for you. I'll keep them away."

"Edward-"

The silence stretched, his eyes darkened. Lust, instant and all-consuming, it happened whenever he looked at me like that.

"I'll change you real quick and meet you in the hall? We should have five minutes if we hurry."

Eight minutes left of class before first bell rang. That gave us five minutes to make out in the hall. Edward glanced down at my lips after he opened the girls locker room door for me.

"Yeah. But Edward-"

"See you in two."

It was Halloween! The day and night of mischief and magic, all manners of fun. I had new insight to questions that hadn't stopped plaguing me. Thanks to Alice, and Edward, and possibly the full moon tonight, I was more clear-headed than I'd ever been. And, for the first time ever, the prospect of gym class wasn't freaking me out.

I wanted to thank him properly. Feeling his body hard against mine, pressing me back into the lockers. The salty sweetness of his lips, metal of his piercings, I wanted to feel his fingers hard on my hips as he moved me against him.

He took off across the gym and pulled his shirt off before he'd gotten through the doors to change. Fuck me. Two minutes, I'd meet him out there. He seemed to feel my impatience, there were things I wanted to tell him. If I could kiss him for more than three seconds, he'd know what I meant to say.

The actual words could wait, I'd learned my lesson.

o. o. o.

The rest of school was uneventful in comparison with Gym class. All Edward and I had time for was making out. After-school had been busy with everyone swarming us, Alice, and Jasper with party comments. He and I pulled over in a would-be secluded spot, but there were too many cars driving past for us to do anything more than put one seat down.

I was hot, bothered, twitchy, and I really hoped that my costume was going to work. Thanks to estate sale shopping, I had a small chain-link purse. It was the only one I owned. I might have given in to shoes and clothes, but pocketbooks… I wasn't there yet. That's what my jackets were for. All of them had a lot of pockets, some I had widened to fit a normal-sized book.

Charlie was working an afternoon shift, but he promised to stop by the party. I told him he'd be free to take as many pictures as he wanted so long as I wasn't aware he was taking them. If I hadn't agreed, he would have left work early to be sure he was home on time. It would bother him, I knew, to leave before the end of shift. What were a few more pictures?

Clink… clink… clink, clink.

What the hell? Something was hitting my window. I drew the curtain back and couldn't do anything more than stare.

Horse. There was a horse standing in my front yard. There was a black, saddled horse standing on the grass in my front yard. Like dreams I'd had as a kid, I raced down the stairs and carefully opened the front door so that I wouldn't spook him away. I walked over slowly, the horses ears flickered towards me. Good sign, he wasn't pawing the ground or snorting while shaking his head. There wasn't a lot of white showing near his eyes, I took that as another sign that he wouldn't lunge at me.

"Hey there," I murmured quietly. "What are you doing here… boy?"

His nose was soft, like velvet. He pushed at my hands until I stroked his cheek harder. I watched his hooves, he could break my foot if he stepped on me hard enough. Couldn't go to a dance with a cast on, I'd have to stop wearing my heels for awhile- yeah, I was cautious.

"Wow."

I made a really girly sound as Edward dropped out of my tree. My heart pounded in my chest, I felt frozen and wide-eyed, yet I continued calmly petting the horse. Go figure.

"Edward?" I knew it was him, but seeing him… a black mask covered most of his face. He wore a long-sleeved black shirt, tight fitting black pants. Black shiny boots rose to his knee, they had fake spurs attached at the back. Sweeping the black Zorro hat from his head, Edward bowed before me.

"Who else?"

"I… don't know. When I looked out the window, all I saw was the horse."

"You didn't hear the pebbles? Oh, tell your Dad I'll re-gravel his driveway. I threw, like, twenty of them. He might be pissed."

"He won't care. ... You threw pebbles at my window?" That was one of those romantic things that I was still female enough to appreciate.

"Yeah... I didn't think you heard them. So I decided to scale the tree again. Except… then you were outside, and the horse moved. Didn't want to tell you, but I almost fell on top of you there for a little while."

I smothered laughter. Wearing the mask, I couldn't tell if Edward was embarrassed, irritated at himself, or disgruntled with the situation altogether. "That would have been one hell of an entrance."

"These boots," he made a face. "Not for climbing."

"Your panther-like prowess," I smiled and batted my eyelashes at him, "didn't hear a thing."

"Are you outrageously complimenting me so that I overlook the fact you're laughing at me? Again?"

"… of course not! You love me, remember? You got me a horse!" I stepped around to the other side of said animal. "And… you know that I'm not laughing at you. Would I do that to you?"

"I don't know," Edward patted the horse's back as he came to my side albeit in a different direction than I had taken. "You're running again."

"I was admiring the horse's tack."

"Mmhmm."

"Besides, you're not armed. I'm not afraid of you," I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I've got a sword," he grinned.

His costume was incredible. It looked authentic, embroidery on the shirt and all. He didn't, however, have a sword buckled to his hip.

"I'll bet you do."

"Really," he crooked smiled at me and stopped the chase. "It's back at the stable, couldn't ride with it bouncing against the saddle."

"Speaking of," I kissed the horse's nose, "… great surprise, Edward."

"Yeah, well, Alice hinted that you liked horseback riding. Solved my Halloween costume dilemma."

"Glad to be of help," I curtsied. A real, court-style, 'if only I had a full skirt' curtsey that made his eyes sparkle.

"You do know how to ride, right?"

"Yes," I barely prevented myself from doing a snoopy dance.

"Good," he cupped his hands. "Mount up, if you want."

I sat in front of him this time. He handed me the reins and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Happy Halloween," Edward kissed my neck.

I turned to smile at him. "Happy Halloween to you, too."

"Let me paraphrase Jasper's absurdly long list of rules. We have to keep Snakebite, yes, that's his name, off main roads. No hard pavement under his hooves. And, in the woods, make sure he doesn't eat anything."

Edward was completely relaxed, he kept his balance without leaning into me. I wouldn't have minded either way.

"Um," I took us through a path in the forest. We were just passing the meadow, Edward hadn't spoken again. "Anything else?"

"Not really."

I laughed. "What happened to the list? You only mentioned two things."

"That's because," he said close to my ear, "you're not pulling on his mouth, your heels are down, you haven't let him pick at grass, we haven't hit a gallop yet, and we're going in the right direction."

"Oh." I would have felt dumb, but Edward's tone wasn't condescending at all.

"Yep. Points for you."

He made me laugh again by using one of my phrases. Edward's fingers were at my waist, he spanned my hips. I could feel his curiosity before he spoke.

"Surprise for you later," I clarified. "Don't peek, okay?"

"I should have known," he laughed, groaned- a combination of both sounds, I loved making him do that.

It might not be as impressive as his surprise had been, but when Edward told me via text that he hadn't ever received a lap-dance before… I had put a Playlist together. The boots I wore didn't exactly go with this dress, but they went perfectly with the outfit I was wearing underneath the costume. My skirts were long enough that, even if we didn't get any alone time, no one would notice that I had on thigh-high boots. Edward had felt the second layer, but I hoped his imagination and experience level wasn't good enough to know what I had on underneath already.

If he had never gotten a lap-dance, chances were he hadn't experienced what I had planned for him later.

Authors End Note:
So, once again, I need to apologize for the long wait on this chapter. I'm in sunny Long Beach, California now. Moved from NJ, hence the long absence.
Well, I can't say 'moved' because I technically live in two places. Have an apartment and a roommate in NJ, and an apartment and a roommate here in CA. My lease wasn't up yet, not until next August, so provided my jobs work out- I can commute every few months. It's insane, it all happened very suddenly, but the opportunity was more than I could resist.
The computer I'm using isn't like my old one, it's slower and doesn't like split-screening. I'll have to add thank-you's to the reviews on FF in the actual review box. Sorry, guys. But yea, I'm in Cali now and loving it! Got here two weeks ago, I'm getting settled in, I've got another three-quarters of a chapter written in my note-book so that should be up soon! I've missed all of you! Hope I didn't lose anyone, =/.