AN: Packy, Kristen, and Mel are the absolute best. As usual, I changed stuff after they've worked on it, so any remaining mistakes are all mine.

Musical inspiration:

White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

CHAPTER 8. The Arrangement Then. Part 1.

~o~

THEN

~o~

Forks, Washington. Monday, April 30th, 2007.

Charlie drove the streets of Forks, on his way to Billy Black's Auto Shop, while Bella sat in the passenger seat, biting her fingernails.

"Are you sure he's there? I called the shop, and no one answered. You know they're closed on Mondays."

"Dad, he's there. I know it. And it's not going to be pretty."

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Charlie eyed Bella suspiciously. He could see the cut on her lip that she failed at covering with makeup. He trusted Bella though, so he knew she would tell him when she was ready.

"Can you just hurry, please?" Bella's voice broke, and Charlie pressed on the gas.

"I am a police officer, Bella; we're already going ten miles over the limit."

"Aren't you on duty though? Can't you do the thing?" She waved her fingers over her head, in the direction of the sirens, and Charlie smiled.

He remembered when she was little and would love to ride in the cruiser with the sirens on.

"That's only for emergencies."

"This is an emergency! If Edward found Jacob there, I know they're probably fighting. What if there's nobody there to stop them? This is all my fault!" Bella's eyes started to fill with tears and she covered her face with her hands.

Charlie turned on the sirens at once and sped up.

Once they arrived at Billy's driveway, Bella got out of the car before it was even in park and ran toward the back of the house, to the shed and Billy's Auto Shop.

Charlie got out behind her and started his way back to Billy's shop. Part of him thought Bella was probably overreacting. However, when he heard her scream Edward's name, a sense of urgency washed through him and he sped in the direction of the shed.

He wasn't sure what he expected, but it sure wasn't what he found. His police instincts kicked in as soon as he saw the scene in front of the shop.

He saw Jacob Black first, who was behind two other boys, but facing in Charlie's direction. The expression on Jacob's face was downright criminal, almost smiling smugly, as he and the other two kicked the boy that was hunched on the floor.

His boy.

Edward.

Bella got there before Charlie, and as she lurched herself onto Jacob to get him off Edward, Charlie's hand tightened around his gun.

"Hey!" he yelled, while running to them. His hand reached for his gun. "Get off him, right now!"

When the other two lifted their heads and saw Charlie speeding to them, they fled. But not Jacob. Jacob put his hands up, and as Bella pushed him with both of her hands on his chest, he took a step back.

"He started it!" Jacob yelled at Charlie, gesturing with his head at Edward.

Once he got to him, Charlie held Jacob against the car behind him, pinning him with his forearm on his chest. Thankfully, Jacob wasn't putting up a fight, so Charlie relaxed, turning to Edward who was scrambling to get up from the floor. Bella was already kneeling next to him, tears spilling over her face.

"You stupid, stupid, stupid boy," Bella almost cried, helping Edward up. "Are you okay?"

Edward struggled for a breath while she cleaned the blood from his mouth with the sleeve of her hoodie. His eyes were on Jacob, who squirmed under Charlie.

Charlie turned his attention to Jacob, whose face was bruised, with a cut on his eyebrow and a busted lip. Edward must have done some damage to him before the others showed up.

"Charlie, I suggest you let me go. We're on my private property, and this one not only trespassed but also assaulted me. I could press charges. You know?"

Charlie considered it, and as Jacob didn't seem particularly violent at the moment, he stepped to the side, letting him go. He immediately regretted it though, as the next words that came out of Jacob's mouth were only aimed to hurt Edward with a low blow.

"Aren't you 18 already, Masen?"

Charlie could hear the growl that came out of Edward as he took a step in Jacob's direction. For a moment, Charlie wished he could forget he was a cop and help Edward beat the crap out of Jacob. Especially when he looked at Edward and the way he slightly swayed as he held his side with his arm.

Edward wasn't 18 for another month or so, and maybe Jacob didn't know this, but he must have definitely known Edward didn't use Masen as his last name anymore. He had changed it, when Esme adopted him.

"Or what is it that you're calling yourself now? Cullen, right?" Jake continued with a laugh. "Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. This time it wouldn't be just juvie…"

"You're such an asshole, Jacob." Bella stepped up to him.

Jacob raised a hand up to Bella's face, and it seemed, to Charlie, that he was going to apologize. He didn't get to, though, as in the next second, Edward was in front of him, and they were practically nose to nose.

"Touch her again and you're dead," Edward hissed through his teeth.

"Okay, okay, let's take it down a notch, guys." Charlie stepped between them, one hand on each of their chests, and pushed them apart. Turning his face to Jacob, he pointed at him. "But I'm with Edward on that one."

"Let's just go," Bella said, grabbing Edward's arm and pulling him away from Jacob in the direction of Charlie's cruiser. "He won't be pressing any charges. Not unless he wants me to press charges against him too." Bella glared at Jacob, raising an eyebrow in defiance.

Edward limped quietly next to Bella, while Charlie trailed behind them.

"Are you okay?" She looked up at him as they walked, her hand resting gently on his arm.

"I'm fine," Edward muttered.

She halted her step, turned to him, and slapped his arm. "You are such an idiot, Edward. God!" She marched angrily ahead of him to the cruiser and opened the back door for him. "I was so worried about you! I told you I would take care of it."

"Geez, ouch!" Edward ran a hand over his arms, where she had just slapped him, as he stood next to her by the car, the corners of his mouth twitching up.

"Now you've missed today's final," she continued, her hands on her hips. "You're going to fail Biology. You're probably going to get suspended, if not expelled. All the work you've done this semester—it would all be for nothing!" Bella scolded, while Edward muttered unintelligibly next to her and got in the car.

Charlie observed her carefully, as she closed the door to the cruiser after Edward. Before she went in the car, when she thought no one was looking, she took a deep breath and ran her fingers under her eyes, probably wiping some tears she didn't want Charlie or Edward to see.

Charlie smiled at the sight of his strong-willed daughter and how relentless she was. There was no doubt in his mind that she could have handled Jacob all on her own, but he was grateful she had someone as loyal as Edward in her corner.

~o~

Back in the cruiser, Charlie drove in silence. Bella in the passenger seat, looking out the window. Edward in the back, looking down and still struggling to take a deep breath. Charlie worried through the rearview mirror at the way Edward was holding his side with one arm.

"Hey, son, do we need to drive you to the hospital?"

Edward looked up at Charlie and shook his head, taking a deep breath in an effort to relax, but Charlie knew it was all for show and, based on the wince he saw as he inhaled, Edward was still in pain. "Esme is there now. She could just take a look and make sure everything is okay. Save us a trip later in case you feel worse."

"I'm fine. Esme will be home tonight anyways." Edward carefully lowered his shoulders, sinking into the backseat.

Bella scoffed next to Charlie, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Can someone fill me in what happened then? Did that cocky sonofabitch Jacob Black hurt you, Bella?" Charlie had had about enough of not knowing what had happened, and he needed answers. Pronto.

"No, Dad. It's fine." Bella wiped a tear from her eye, turning to Charlie. Charlie tightened his fingers around the steering wheel. If that boy had hurt Bella, they would have to drive back and have a serious one-on-one with him.

"Was he offensive, or rude to you, or something?" Charlie's mind went over likely scenarios in order of repulsiveness.

"He's a fucking pervert, that's what," Edward grunted from the back.

"Edward-" Bella started, but couldn't finish, before Charlie spoke again.

"What did he do to you, Bella? Tell me now before I turn around and teach that boy a lesson or two about chivalry."

"A lesson about keeping it in his pants is what he needs," Edward muttered under his breath.

"Edward!" Bella turned to glare at him in the backseat.

Charlie slammed on the breaks, and the screech resonated inside the car's cabin.

"Turn around, Charlie. Let's go. I'm ready for round two," Edward said, bouncing on the seat, the hand that was holding his side now clasped over his fist.

"Bella?" Charlie looked at Bella, waiting for an explanation.

"We kissed," Bella began, using a soothing tone that was supposed to calm Charlie down. Edward groaned in disgust behind her. "Then he tried to push his luck and I… stopped him. Then I left. That's all."

Edward shook his head, staring out the window, as Bella crossed her arms around her again and stared at the window as well.

Charlie observed their mirrored poses and shook his head. He couldn't pretend to be oblivious anymore. There was something clearly going on with those two, but he knew they would work it out as they always did.

~o~

Once they arrived at Esme's driveway, Bella got out of the car, and as soon as she opened the door for him, Edward stumbled out. She tried to help him out, but he refused, limping his way to the house.

"You sure you don't need anything?" Charlie asked, but Edward just waved him off.

"I'm going to stay with him until Esme gets home," Bella said to Charlie, who just nodded.

"You don't have to." Edward turned to her at the door.

"I know I don't." She marched past him and into the house.

Edward made his way to the couch while Bella disappeared into the bathroom. After fetching a few things, she returned to the living room where she found Edward on the couch, his head rested back as he stared at the ceiling, his arm still wrapped around his side.

She kneeled beside Edward, opened the first aid kit, and started to clean his face first. The cuts on his eyebrow and lip were not deep. Edward didn't even wince as Bella pressed the cotton with alcohol on them.

She used a damp towel to clean the side of his head, where he had a patch of blood that was now dried in his hair. She inspected the wound in his scalp and cleaned it out with water. He still had some dirt in there, but it also didn't seem deep.

With every cut she cleaned, she calmed down further. He was okay. He was going to be okay. She had been so incredibly worried at the thought of something happening to him.

She used another towel to clean his arms, which only had scratches, but then gave up with a huff.

"Yeah, you're gonna need a long bath."

Edward chuckled next to her. "Don't make me laugh, Swan. I'm wounded." He grabbed his side painfully, turning his face away from her.

"Can I?" She gestured to his shirt and he nodded.

"Oh, Edward." There were no cuts or scratches on his abdomen, but pretty substantial bruises were starting to form on his right side.

"I know. I have to work on my ab routine," he said, pulling his shirt down.

She ignored his joke with a worried look. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the definition of his abs, but he had certainly received some solid blows to his side. "Esme is going to want to X-ray your ribs or something."

He shrugged.

Anger started surging through her again as she looked at him. She had begged him not to get involved as she knew it would end in violence.

"What were you thinking, Edward?" She sighed in frustration, resting her hands over her lap and avoiding making eye contact.

"Well, I clearly wasn't thinking." He dropped his head back on the couch, and the rest came out in a whisper. "I haven't been able to sleep since Saturday, thinking about driving my fist into his fucking face."

"I hope it was worth it," she said, annoyance clear in her tone, as she gathered the supplies and stuffed them back into the first aid kit.

"It would have been if I had had more time with him before the other two showed up. Or if I had brought Emmett with me, as he suggested."

Bella groaned, shaking her head.

"Why are you pissed?" Edward sat back up, his arm circling his side and a wince returning to his face. "I'm the one who got his ass kicked. If anything, I only showed him that I can, what, take a beating?" He scooted forward in an effort to get off the couch. "You guys have made me soft. I would've had him if this'd happened three years ago. Next time, it will be different."

"Please, promise me there won't be a next time." She grabbed his arm, pulling him back on the couch. His eyes were raging, the green in them like a fiery blaze.

"What? Are you worried that I could really fuck him up?" Edward almost spat the words, his eyes boring into Bella's.

"I don't care about him." Bella confessed, holding his gaze, melting under the fire.

"I don't get it then..." He threw his hands up in frustration, before slapping them on his thighs.

"I care about you, you doofus."

Edward's eyes softened as they stared at each other. With a sigh, he moved back on the couch.

"Then why'd you go out with him?" His tone was softer as his eyes studied hers.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She raised an eyebrow at him, her body inching closer instinctively.

"Out of all the guys in that whole damned high school, you said yes to the douchiest one of all." His words were laced with anger, while his voice was low.

"Whatever…" Bella raised a hand at him, turning her face away. "I don't question your choice of dates. Why do you get to question mine?"

"So was this about Lauren then?" He sighed in disappointment, resting his head back on the couch. "Is that why you said yes to Jacob Fucking Black?"

"No…" Bella crossed her arms over her chest, knowing very well she was busted.

"So, it's just a coincidence that it happened to be the same day you found us together."

"Yes…" She fidgeted with her hands, avoiding his eyes.

"Bullshit, Bella." He scoffed, staring at her in disbelief.

"Okay… maybe it did have a little bit to do with seeing you with her." She let out a long breath, still looking down. "It just felt really unfair. We had worked so hard in all your subjects and-"

"Don't give me that excuse again. I know that's not it." He sat back up on the couch, inching closer to her.

"I just wanted to have something to do Saturday night. Instead of my night revolving around you and helping you pass your classes, when it was pretty obvious I cared way more than you do."

"Bella, I can guarantee you that's not the case." His fingers reached for her face, closing around her chin and turning her head so her eyes were on his. "Just say the word. Tell me it bothers you. And I will tell all of them to stay away."

"A-all of them? How many of them are there?!" Her tone was incredulous as she tried to jerk out of his gentle grasp.

He chuckled, looking down, but before he could answer her, they heard keys in the door, signaling Esme was back. Bella sighed and moved back, putting distance between them. It seemed like they'd have to continue their conversation some other day.

~o~

AN: Part 2 coming on Friday, but if you want to get a little more on Edward and Esme, then make sure you follow the Outtakes story for a little surprise on Wednesday. Thanks for reading! Pls leave me some words, I love to hear what you think!