A/N:

I know that so many of you want George out the door already and some of you don't even understand why he's still in the story.

Well, for one, he's still Bella's current boyfriend despite her feelings for Edward, and also, there's another reason why he's still around, and you'll see that very soon!

Title: Love is Strange

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Alice's White Rabbit

Pre-reader: LunaEclipse

Genre: Friendship/Romance/Drama

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Bella Swan and Edward Cullen live in the small town of Ligonier in Pennsylvania. They've been best friends since they were six years old, and not much can keep them apart. Bella wants to leave small-town life behind, while Edward is fine with whatever, but that's not the only complication in their relationship. What happens when they fall in love … with each other?

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 22

CONFLICTED FEELINGS

After Edward's party, George calmed down significantly. He was ceaselessly supportive of their friendship and even suggested more than once that Bella should invite both Edward and Alice to the lunches with his sister and Emmett and Jasper. She was somewhat reluctant to do so because spending time with Edward when George was nearby continued to confuse her.

There was no denying she cared about George, but when Edward was around, she always began questioning her feelings and whether she was actually in love with him. It made her feel like an awful human being, and she almost ended their relationship several times over the following weeks.

In the end, Bella didn't have much say in the matter of having Alice and Edward join their lunches. Once Alice called Jasper, it took a very short time for them to start officially dating. After that, it was just natural for her to join them, and she became fast friends with Rosalie and Emmett. George and Alice didn't really click, but they didn't dislike each other either.

Edward's entrance into their friend circle was a little more complicated. Not only because of his history with Bella, but also because whenever the seven of them met up, he was surrounded by couples, and the discomfort he felt changed his demeanor a lot.

Still, he enjoyed getting to know Bella again, and in extension, her friends, which revealed even more about the person she'd become. His feelings for her never really wavered, but they'd been dormant for some time, which allowed him to live his life when they were apart. The more time he spent in her company, the faster they were reignited, although they differed just the tiniest bit from how he felt for her as a teenager. As an adult, he found them running even deeper.

He never stepped out of line, though. No matter how much he wanted to profess his love for her again, he didn't out of respect for her and her relationship with George—whom Edward found was a decent guy once he'd gotten over his jealousy.

Unfortunately, his acting skills were apparently not good enough to fool Emmett and Jasper, and they confronted him about it when they told him to meet them at a bar close to the Chronicle's office.

"Edward, you're a cool guy," Emmett started, but his tone held a warning. "I like you, and I like your sister, but George is my brother-in-law, and Bella is my best friend—or more like my little sister. They're my family."

"Of course," Edward agreed. "I wouldn't expect anything else."

"Good, then I don't have to remind you how protective I am of my family."

Jasper jumped in. "And as grateful as I am that you approve of me enough to date your sister, I can't help but anticipate hurt feelings and chaos once the truth comes out," he said with furrowed brows. "Both of us know your history with Bella, and it doesn't take a genius to see you still harbor feelings for her."

Edward swallowed hard, and then nodded. "I'm not going to deny it. I've been in love with Bella in one way or another since we were teenagers, and there was a time I genuinely believed I'd spend my life with her." His thoughts wandered to the promise ring he'd given her and how his plans had blown up in his face. "But I made the mistake of trying to force my dreams on her once, and I'm not going to do it again."

"So you're not planning on breaking up her relationship with George?" Emmett asked harshly. "Because from an outside point of view, that's what it looks like."

"I don't have a plan," he admitted. "All I wanted was to have Bella back in my life because, as masochistic as it sounds to be friends with the woman you love but can't have, I need her around to feel complete."

"That sounds very unhealthy, man," Emmett pointed out, but Edward shook his head.

"I don't see it that way. Wouldn't you say you feel the same about Rosalie?"

Emmett shrugged. "Yeah, but she's my wife. That's different."

"Is it, though?" Edward asked. "I need to know that Bella is safe and happy to live my life. If she wants to be with George and only keep me as a friend, then so be it. I'm not going to interfere or convince her to choose me."

Unbeknownst to Edward, Jasper and Emmett had coordinated with Alice and Rosalie to talk with Bella at the same time, although that conversation was a lot tenser.

"I will always be thankful to you for getting Jasper into my life, but I need to be very honest with you, Bella," Alice said with a clenched jaw. She was sitting on one of the plushy futons while Rosalie sat next to Bella on the couch in Bella's living room. "You know I never approved of what you and my brother did after you first broke up, and with everything that happened after that, my thoughts of you these past eight years haven't been particularly high. But this isn't about me. I will always take my brother's side, so if you hurt him any more than you already have, believe me, I'll make you regret it."

Bella sat with her knees hugged tightly toward her chest, and she took in Alice's every word because she deserved them. When her relationship with Esme and Carlisle had still been close, she had always waited for them to chew her out for hurting their son, so hearing Alice biting back now was actually a relief. It cemented in her that her mistakes and choices had been bad, and she knew she'd act differently in the future.

"You told me about Edward long before George even set his eyes on you for the first time," Rosalie said, her voice equally tense. "I know he had your heart first, and I know you rejected my brother in the beginning for that reason. I respected you for that. But you're George's girlfriend right now, and you need to act like it. Those longing looks you're giving Edward across the table has to stop. If George catches you, you'll break his heart."

"It's undeniably clear to us that you care deeply for both of them," Alice took over again. "And we understand it's not an easy choice for you to make. But you have to make it, and soon. Stay with George and tell Edward nothing will ever happen between you—"

"—or let my brother go if you want to try again with Edward," Rosalie finished. "Don't string him along if your heart isn't in it."

The fact that all of her friends clearly knew of her conflicting feelings didn't make Bella's situation easier, but she also knew they were right. She needed to make a decision fast unless she wanted to lose both of them.

When she climbed into a cab after work the next day, she automatically gave the driver Edward's address. She needed to talk to him without all the prying eyes and ears, and she hadn't been alone with him since their talk about their past a month earlier.

She needed to know if he was reciprocating her building feelings, or if her heart was playing tricks on her. If she'd hurt him too much in the past for him to ever trust her with his heart again, there wouldn't even be a choice for her to make.

George loved her—he'd said so himself—and if Edward hadn't re-entered her life, she would've happily settled down with him in the future without any qualms. That was where her life had been heading before she found out Edward called off his wedding; before she met him again and realized how much he still meant to her.

Her heart was beating a mile a minute when she knocked on Edward's front door, and when he opened it, she was feeling lightheaded from her nerves.

She swallowed. "Hi," she said weakly.

He could sense the seriousness in the air between them, and he gave her a small smile. "Hi."

"I'm sorry to just show up like this," she apologized, but he shook his head.

"I don't mind. Do you want to come in?"

"Thank you."

He led her to the living room and gestured toward his minibar. "Can I get you something to drink? You look like you need it."

She nodded and sat down, her coat clutched in her arms. "Yeah. A glass of wine would be nice."

He poured a glass each for them and handed her one before taking a seat next to her. "So what's on your mind?"

Bella exhaled sharply, and her entire body slouched with it. "Everything," she murmured and looked down into her glass. "I'm so confused I barely know what's up and what's down. Ever since you came to New York, I feel like I've been on a roller coaster I can't step off of." Unable to sit still, she shot up from the couch and started pacing the space. "Ever since I said goodbye to you eight years ago, I'd convinced myself I could move on. That I could get my dream job, build my life, and settle down as any other normal person. I thought I'd succeeded with that. But then I saw you again, and everything came crashing down, and I don't know anything anymore."

She put her glass down on the table and grabbed her coat.

"I shouldn't even be here. I have a boyfriend."

Before she could even put her arm through the first sleeve, Edward stopped her by taking the coat from her and throwing it on the couch. "But you are here, and there was a reason you came." He grabbed both of her hands in his and held them against his chest. "Please, Bella, tell me. I have my suspicions, but I don't want to assume."

She flattened her palms against his shirt and felt his heart racing. He must have been just as nervous as she was, if not more. "I—" she started, and then sighed before looking away from him. "I don't know."

He nodded despondently, but he didn't allow her to step away from him when she tried. "May I ask you a question? Have you thought anything of me … of us in the last eight years?"

"Yes," she admitted softly.

The happiness Edward felt from hearing her admission made his heart soar, but he forced himself to stay calm. "And what do you feel when you do?"

Tears welled in her eyes. "I don't know, Edward. I haven't allowed myself to feel anything toward you in years. I've tried to detach myself because I've felt I don't deserve you, and I know letting you go was the stupidest thing I've ever done."

Edward wiped the falling tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, and in response to his touch, Bella closed her eyes. "Bella," he whispered. "What are you doing here?"

With her eyes closed, it was easier for her to speak her mind and be upfront. "I need to know what you feel for me," she said, and then waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, she felt Edward's hands leave her face as he took a step back, and she opened her eyes to see him grimacing. She thought she had her answer in that until he opened his mouth.

"If you didn't have a boyfriend, I would kiss you right now. Does that answer it?" He looked intensely into her eyes. "I still love you, Bella. I want to build my life with you, and I want to have a family with you. Getting to know you again over this past month has only made me want that even more."

The lightheaded feeling from before slammed into Bella again, and she had to lean against the back of the couch to prevent herself from falling to the floor.

He took a step closer to her again. "Everything about you draws me in. The way you act around the people you care about, your strong will and ambitions, the way you still light up when you talk about photography and art, and about your dream of having your own studio." He reached up and touched her jaw with his fingertips. "I want to be part of your dreams. I want to help you realize them. I want to be there and support you through all the ups and downs. I want to be the one you come home and cry to when everything sucks." On pure instinct, he started to lean forward even though he'd said just a minute earlier that he wouldn't kiss her as long as she was taken. "I want all of you, Bella. The good and the bad. And I want you to want me just as much."

Bella could feel the almost ghostly touch when his lips were almost on hers, and while she had been unable to move as he declared the depth of his feelings, realizing what they were seconds away from doing unfroze her limbs, and she lightly placed her fingertips in between their mouths before he fully kissed her.

"I can't," she whispered, and he exhaled disappointedly. "I have some stuff I need to figure out before ..." She trailed off, and he nodded as he once again stepped back.

"I know," he said, and then handed her the discarded coat. "Take all the time you need."

With an aching heart, Bella left and walked out into the street to hail a cab, but once in the backseat, she didn't give the driver her address. Instead, she instructed him to take her somewhere else.

She dug out her phone from her pocket and quickly composed a text to George.

"I need to get away for a few days to think. Don't worry about me. I'll call you when I get back."

She also texted Jasper to tell him that she needed to be excused from all jobs for a short time, and once he'd given her the okay, she called Emmett.

"This is E-Dog talking. What can I get you, beautiful?" he answered after a few rings, and Bella smiled, beyond grateful her best friend was the goofy, crazy man that he was.

"I need your uncanny insight," she said and slumped deeper into the leather seat. "Because I have a problem."

~~LiS~~

A couple hours later, there was a knock at the door, and Edward, hoping it was Bella coming back, opened it with a hopeful smile, only for it to fall again when he realized it wasn't her. "George."

"Where is she?" he demanded and stepped right in.

Edward sighed. "She's not here. And, please, c'mon in."

George wandered through the first floor of Edward's house and instantly spotted the two wine glasses in the sink. "Then I guess you always drink from two glasses at the same time, huh?" He walked past Edward and headed toward the stairs. "Bella?" he called out.

"She was here," Edward said honestly. "But she left."

"Well, where did she go?" The dark look in George's eyes was hard to decipher, but it was still clear to Edward that his worry was genuine. He did really care for Bella.

Edward didn't want George in his house as the man reminded him that Bella wasn't his, but he remained polite nonetheless. "She said she had stuff to figure out."

"Oh, my God," George groaned. "I can't believe this. I thought you were a good guy. I hated you at first for the past you had with her, but then at your party, you didn't attempt to steal her from me even once, and I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I encouraged her to continue with your friendship, and this is what I get for that?"

"Nothing happened," Edward insisted.

"Oh, yeah, nothing happened?" George challenged. "Nothing? So you didn't tell my girlfriend you love her? And don't lie to me. My sister told me everything."

Edward ran his hand through his hair, not even trying to understand how the information had reached George in a matter of hours. "Yeah, okay, I'll give you that one."

George shook his head and narrowed his eyes angrily. "Unbelievable! Do you know what you've done? You come back into her life and disrupt everything. She and I had a good thing going, but now you've made her doubt us."

"Well, I'm sorry," Edward said, and he kind of meant it. He was sorry even though he'd never regret telling Bella the truth.

The man before Edward quickly turned from angry to sad as his energy drained. "I mean, what does she have to think about?" he asked quietly. "I love her."

Edward shrugged because he didn't know how serious their relationship was. The only thing he knew was that they'd dated for about three months, but he'd pursued her for years. "She and I have history, you know. We didn't end our relationship because we stopped loving each other but because other things got in the way."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks!" George snapped. "I know all about that, but she loves me now."

"Or maybe she loves bo—"

"No!" George interrupted and pointed an angry finger at him. "Don't say it. Everything was working perfectly until you showed up. You had your chance with her, and it didn't work out. This is my chance, and it's not fair of you to ruin that!" He buried his face in his hands and groaned. "I was going to propose tonight."

Every single thought left Edward's head as he froze in shock. "You were going to propose?" he asked. The notion was preposterous to him because if there was one thing he knew about Bella, it was that she wasn't the sort of person to rush into big life decisions. Their previous romance was a prime example of that.

"Yeah, I even have a ring and everything," George mumbled.

Edward sat down heavily on his couch as he started to contemplate everything. He'd already vowed to himself that he'd happily stay just friends with Bella if she wanted to be with George, and he was going to keep that promise. What he couldn't figure out was why Bella projected her relationship as being in the very early stages and not too serious when George was about to propose.

Could Edward have interpreted everything wrong? After all, Bella could have developed a more impulsive personality over the years, and if she wanted to marry George, he wouldn't be the one to stand in her way.

He turned his head to look at George. "Go get her," he said, his tone disclosing his resign. "And can I give you a piece of advice?"

George gaped slightly and nodded. He hadn't expected to win.

"If you do get her … don't let her go. Trust me."

A/N:

So yeah … what do you think Bella will answer when George springs that question on her, huh?

Just … uh … well, tell me your thoughts :-P

Until next week,

Stay Awesome!