Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Also, I just realized there's a movie called Rules Don't Apply, and I feel a bit cheated. Doesn't matter that the movie came out years ago.
Time went by all too quickly. Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, and before they knew it, everyone was back from winter break and back in the dorms. The first semester of college had been grueling; getting used to not living at home, to professors and campus life took a toll on everyone. In Emmett's case, he also found himself with the added workload of football, so it was harder than usual for his friends, Bella included, to get a hold of him.
Jasper, who ended up growing super close to Emmett (because of their shared love of video games), started spending an awful lot of time in Em's dorm room and, by proxy, Bella.
Rose had joined all the club and committee activities that she could fit into twenty-four hours, so even though the two girls grew quite close (more than either had expected), their socializing time was mostly at night before going to sleep and occasionally on the weekends. Rose had also gotten quite loose around Bella, to the point that sometimes Bella got surprised by Rose's bluntness —she wasn't mean or anything, but sometimes it startled her how easily Rose let her thoughts be known. Emmett on the other hand hadn't been adapting all that well, and adding to that a relationship would be the last thing anyone wanted.
As for Edward?
Fuck if Bella wasn't absolutely besotted with him.
Everything he did had Bella giggling like a moron; he made a joke? Best ten-liner she'd ever heard. He put his foot in his mouth? She got it out. He answered a call from his girlfriend? She held his book for him so he could get the phone out without dropping his coffee. The stress was killing Bella, literally and figuratively. She'd never smoked more in her life, which sucked because she'd been meaning to quit during the first semester. She'd also taken to jogging every morning (to release her anger), which had all of her muscles hurting incessantly and her lungs screaming at her to stop fucking smoking. The first time Em had caught her going out to run he'd fallen on his ass in shock, not even jokingly. Even when they were kids Bella had never been part of playing tag or any game that involved the minimal amount of moving. Needless to say, Emmett had called Renée immediately and asked if everything was alright at home. When that problem had been cleared ("What? Emmett, I don't understand what you're saying. What? What?"), he'd proceeded to hound Bella into spilling. She'd admitted that she still liked Edward, and that she was in too deep to be able to keep ignoring him. And he understood what she meant —Em had gotten to know the redhead much better, to the point where he'd called Jake up and announced that he finally understood what the deal had been with Ed (he was aware of how much the nickname was hated). Edward put his foot in his mouth at least once a day, almost always at his own expense, and he was loyal to a fault when it came to his friends and his girlfriend. Not to mention, any second Em wasn't with Bella, it was almost certain that Edward was. Sometimes it was just the two of them, other times they were joined by one of Bella's or Edward's new friends. They loved spending time together, and Emmett could see why his best friend was so troubled.
Though he still thought Kate was nowhere near as great as Bella.
Last year, June
"You know what the greatest lie, historically, told by the American government is?"
"That the sitting president—"
"No, you moron," Bella glared at her super political childhood friend from the corner of her eye, not even turning away from the image she had her eyes trained on. Here she was, about to have a heart to heart with someone whose Twitter handle was WokeEmmyBear. What was wrong with her? "Historically. It's that whole lie about separate but equal. I mean, did any of those idiots even go to high school? Doesn't even work at that level, how could they expect that to be true on a racial one?"
Emmett grunted, displeased as always about where Debbie Downer was going with this.
"I don't know Bells, racism can really fuck logic up," Emmett said, pausing his game of Final Fantasy to turn and look at his best friend, who was sprawled on the puff reading one of her Western comics. "Bella, is this about the party?"
Bella scowled.
Of course it was about the party.
In roughly three hours, Emmett would be hosting the graduation party, seeing as two days ago the seniors said goodbye to high school life. Obviously, it was Emmett's duty to host: he was the most popular guy, linebacker of the football team, everyone loved him and he had doting parents with a huge house. Bella, being his childhood best friend, had reaped the benefits of his popularity, being admitted into the in crowd herself. This didn't mean, though, that Bella truly belonged there. She wasn't interested in being in, this was the first bash she went to and she much preferred staying home reading High Moon, a Western webcomic about werewolves, to going to a party on a Saturday night. Especially after Emmett got her the printed version, what with having spilled orange juice on her eleventh issue of Weird Western Tales, right on her lovely Jonah Hex's wonderful face. Anyways, the real Bella was a wet blanket (so said Emmett) that had had the luck of being a charismatic guy's best friend and being blessed with the beautiful face to compliment him (so said her mother). Bella looking 'in' had made a whole world of difference in how everyone was ok with her being at the popular table despite only talking to Emmett and Alice.
Digressing. Despite how Bella was popular all through high school, she'd always been all too aware that the reality of things, had it not been for Emmett, was that she was always meant to be part of the normal group. Meant to be the aloof girl that skipped out on gym class and hid in the library instead of the 'badass that blew off classes' she was seen as. She'd never been meant to get to where she was, in all honesty, and she was fine with that. What she wasn't fine with?
The absurd segregation in her school between the popular crowd and the rest.
This had been blatant all through the last four years; sometimes subtleties like one group of people sitting at the back of the school bus during field trips and making all the ruckus, and other times glaring shit like the cheerleader (Siobhan) that refused to even look at the marching band member besotted with her (Alec). So yeah, sometimes it was the kind of dumb separation and other times... other times, a couple of popular kids thought a graduation party 'for the in crowd only' was necessary. It wasn't unusual for the cool kids to throw a party and not invite the rest of the hierarchical pyramid —that was an age-old tale— but this... This had been cruel. One moment, the whole senior year was getting ready to party hard at Lauren Mallory's house, and the next people like Angela were calling Bella, confused about the change in venue. Apparently, Lauren had out of the blew told everyone but a select group of people that the party would now be held in another person's house —but word got out that people like Emmett McCarty and Jessica Stanley had not gotten such a memo. A few calls later, Bella had found out that the likes of Lauren thought that a graduation party for 'popular people only' was necessary, so disinviting the rest of their class from her house without even letting her invitees know of the plan (or the supposed host of the new party, which did not exist). Nobody had been left unscathed from the stupidity; for instance, Lauren hadn't even discussed said atrocity with her girlfriend, Irina Denali. The issue with that? Kate, Irina's twin sister, hadn't even been invited to the new party. Neither her nor her boyfriend, Edward. Irina, devastated over her sister's mistreatment, had broken up with Lauren on the spot and let the story flood through the net. So now there was a broken-hearted (read: stupid as hell) host, no party and a whole lot of raging graduated seniors.
Emmett, though, had come to the rescue.
The day before, he'd suddenly informed everyone he'd be hosting the new party; they had to bring their own booze and every single person was invited. A threat also leaked out that whoever didn't go would be subject to a prank of Emmett's choice... which meant everyone, even the recluses (Bella) would be attending. Originally, Emmett hadn't offered because he hadn't really felt like it, plus Lauren, the Queen Bee, had practically glowed with the thought of being the host. Now? It seemed like he'd always been the chosen one; he had been the obvious choice, if not for Lauren. And now that he was hosting, Bella was being forced to attend for a number of reasons. Being his neighbor and best friend was one. The threat of ten issues of Preacher being burnt by a vicious bear was the most pertinent one though.
"Of course this is about the party, you dumb sack of balls," Bella muttered, snapping shut the volume of High Moon and throwing it at her best friend. It hit his shoulder and fell to the floor of his bedroom. Usually, they'd be in the tree house, but Renée Dwyer was mowing the lawn which, as expected, made a huge fucking amount of noise. So they had to settle for his dirty as hell room. "Also, Emmett you perv, you left your porn mags out again," Bella made a face, pointing specifically at the magazine hanging precariously from Emmett's nightstand.
Said man just shrugged the comment off.
"Dude, listen, what Lauren did was fucked up but we fixed it already, didn't we? There was no way I would've let that shit fly."
But Bella was relentless.
"When Angela asked me what was going on, I couldn't say anything. It wasn't until Irina caught wind of what was going on that word got out. Isn't it fucked up that stuff like that could happen right under our noses without either of us knowing?"
Emmett nodded in agreement, but also flippantly. She'd been ranting about this the last twenty-four hours at the very least, and he was done with the subject. Was it disgusting? Yes. Was it forgivable? Not yet. Was it time to let go for the night? Definitely. Right now, all they could do was have a good time —everyone could and should think about the underlying issues later. But Bella simply had to own up to her Debbie Downer persona, didn't she?
The two old friends had always been this way —Emmett always all in and Bella always all out. Emmett would try and rope Bella into doing a hundred things and she'd agree to do one (given enough time and motivation), on the condition that she wouldn't do anything asked for the next six months without repercussion. Emmett was an annoying little shit and he knew it —nay, he relished in it.
"Look Bells, again, what happened was cruel and shouldn't have reached the point that it did. I am angry that Lauren managed to disinvite almost three hundred people without anyone else's knowledge, but all we can do now is fix it and have a good time, right? What good will it do anyone for you to still be this outraged? We did what we could," Emmett said, referencing how Bella had almost singlehandedly planned the whole bash. Not even Alice had been able to step in, and that woman loved parties. Going and organizing them. Despite how Bella had never gone to a party again once she'd turned twelve, somehow her planning had been so flawless that Alice hadn't changed a single thing (alright fine, the playlist). Bella had credited the success to learning from TV, comics, overhearing stuff all of high school and finally, winging it. Mostly winging it, but she never would've admitted that, especially not to an individual like Alice Brandon.
"I just feel like this shouldn't have happened at all. We missed it, Em, especially because though everyone officially disavowed Lauren I know that more than a handful of people don't actually disagree with what she did."
Emmett munched down on some Cheetos.
"Look Bell, we can't always be held accountable for other people's actions. We didn't have the stupid idea and we aren't congratulating Lauren or anything." Emmett pointed at Bella with one of the cheese sticks, and in doing so looked incredibly not qualified to make such commentary.
"No, of course we can't," Bella agreed, knowing that she wasn't conveying her point well enough. "But we didn't stop that kind of behavior back when it started. This is hardly the first time in our high school history that the popular crowd disinvites people who aren't in the cheering squad or a sports team, but it is the first time we've done something about it. I just can't believe it took us this long to stop ignoring it, you know? How many people have been hurt because of our laziness and lack of empathy?"
Emmett restarted his Final Fantasy game, unable to handle a Bella that argued like... well, like him. It wasn't like her to call for accountability, and it was freaking him out a bit. So he did what he did best: he ended the conversation.
"Well, the only thing left is to not be the same in college, B. And to change things when we disagree with them. Other than that, right now all that's left is to enjoy the party."
Grumbling, Bella agreed. She got up, picked up her comic book and plopped back down.
"Also, you've had a booger hanging from your nose for the last four hours, Emmy bear. Just giving you a heads up," Bella said, not looking up from the page where she'd left off. Emmet shot up his hand to cover his nose, finding his oldest friend spoke the truth.
"You bitch."
Grinning, Bella flipped her hair —and her middle finger.
-.-
"I can't believe you practically birthed this party and yet here you are, hiding out in Mr. and Mrs. McCarty's bedroom," Angela Webber leaned against the doorframe, watching from her spot as one of the most popular girls in high school hid out while reading a (probably Western) comic. There were three seemingly empty cans of beer by her bedside, which meant she hadn't left all the fun downstairs.
"Ange! You found me!" Bella cheered, motioning for Angela to come in. "Close the door. I don't want anyone realizing there's a hideout spot."
Unamused, Angela did not oblige.
"Where are Emmett's parents?"
Digging her fingers into a bag of popcorn, Bella answered before stuffing her face with a handful of buttery goodness.
"Em's parents usually go out for dinner close by during his parties. It's their version of being cool parents that let their kid have fun, but still being worrywarts to their hearts' content." Bella shrugged, smiling at the thought of her friend's parents. "They're such nice people."
Emmett was such a nice guy that Angela had no choice but to believe her.
"Anyway, I came up to tell you that Ben and I are hanging out downstairs, should you find the desire within you to socialize. I know, it's a long shot, but I just want to feel better about myself, alright?"
Chuckling, Bella forced herself to stand up instead of remaining laying down on her stomach. When Angela saw a bit better her friend's outfit, she had to hold herself back from shaking a fist in the air and asking God for a reprieve. Bella had sent her a picture of her look before the party started: Renée Dwyer's flamboyant palet and Bella's clumsy abilities had left her looking a bit like a sad clown and a lot like an over the top prostitute, which topped off with Bella's grandma-like dress, made for an image too good to not save the photo of. It was a given that a certain middle finger made an appearance in the picture, given that even she herself had known something was wrong. Then Bella had said that Alice would be fixing her up after witnessing the mess that she was, and the result now left Angela's ego a little wounded. A new outfit (long green t-shirt tucked into loose jean shorts coupled with Converse) and light makeup had made Bella into such a blinding version of her beautiful self that Angela questioned who she'd chosen to become friends with. Sometimes, Angela forgot just how much Bella's beauty hurt (her personality being a big help in that direction), but she was usually reminded when they went out together anywhere and men slobbered after her. The worst part? Bella knew and didn't care. To her, beauty was meaningless. She was passionate about being a psychologist; the mind was the only thing that peaked her interest more than comics. Being beautiful to Bella was as inconsequential as having two ears to most people; you usually took it for granted but would miss it if it was gone.
"I'm really glad you know that it was a long shot," Bella chuckled, about to say something when Angela suddenly sneezed like an old man saying Pikachu. Bella replied accordingly. "I choose you!"
This had become Bella's standard response to hearing her friend sneeze. Most people just frowned when they heard her, not making a connection between the sneezing sound and the reply. Thankfully, her friend had grown used to it.
Angela sniffled —not normally, but like there was a lot of snot in there.
"I think I'm coming down with a cold. I couldn't miss this, but I think I'm gonna head out in half an hour." Now that she mentioned it, she really did look like death rolled over her. "Won't you come down and join us? Just until I leave, so Ben can stop worrying about me?"
Groaning at the emotional manipulation, Bella pursed her lips and nodded.
"Damn you," Bella muttered, putting an arm around her friend and tugging her out of the bedroom. "Also, get well."
Angela rolled her eyes, smiling as she and the hottest girl in school went downstairs to a party in full swing.
"Swan, looking good girl!" Bella heard, and following the voice found Nessa, giving her a sultry look. Behind her, an unamused basketball player had his arms crossed over his chest. Was that a pout? Grinning devilishly, Bella hooked her arm with Angela's and all but skipped over to the small group of people hanging out by the keg.
"Nessa! No straying, you hear? I can't handle the consequences of stealing a jock's girl," Bella winked, letting go of Angela to hug Vanessa and Jake. Angela just waved, not being used to talking to the popular crowd —besides Bella. "Nessa, Jake, you two remember my friend Angela, right?"
Jake, ever the charmer, quickly lost the pout and nodded.
"Of course! Reverend Webber's daughter, right?" Angela blushed a furious red but nodded. Honestly, Jacob Black was totally her type. "Tell your dad I enjoy his sermons. He's a funny guy," Jake said, giving a head nod in his girlfriend's direction. "I'm always trying to get this one to go with me but Sunday mornings are untouchable to her."
Nessa huffed.
"I just don't see why you have to go before basketball practice." Vanessa grumbled, the crease between her eyebrows disappearing when Jake chuckled and placed a kiss on her forehead. Bella held back an 'aww', letting out only a small gag in the process.
"I'll be sure to pass on the message," Angela said, thankful for her classmate's attempt at making her feel at ease. She turned to Vanessa. "And I don't blame you for not going. I haven't gone to a Sunday service since I was eleven and rebelled against my father on the grounds of wanting to sleep more on the weekends."
Triumphant, Vanessa preened.
"Thanks, Ange. Ya see, you big lug? Perfectly normal to not go," Vanessa turned her nose up, giggling when Jake just returned to pouting. "Also, Bells, we wanted to say that you did a great job with the party. Em told us you were the mastermind behind this?"
Proud, Bella pretended to bow and wipe away a tear.
"So that ass is actually giving me credit? I thought I'd have to staple all over the party posters that said 'Produced by Bella Swan and hosted by Emmett McCarty'." Bella joked, the snark on her tone fading as a real smile unfolded on her face, stunning everyone around her in the process. "But thanks, Ness. I felt like I needed to make up for the bad memories many people will have about the days leading up to this party."
Angela pursed her lips in dissatisfaction, crossing her arms over her chest as she did. She'd told Bella many times already to let it go; that she in no way was to blame, that nobody thought so. That she shouldn't be held responsible for Lauren Mallory's atrocious personality. Angela remained silent, though; she'd protested this point of view enough times to feel the need to speak up again in vain. Now, all that was left was for Bella to come to this realization herself.
Nessa and Jake, though, just shrugged off the comment —they didn't know Bella well enough to know she was seriously assuming responsibility.
"It's a shame you never organized other parties. Maybe we'll leave the ten year reunion to you?" Nessa winked, about to say something else when a loud shout interrupted her. She frowned, looking behind Bella's shoulder. "What the—"
Everyone turned around to see what was going on.
Lauren was standing in the middle of the living room having what seemed to be a shouting match with Kate Denali. Lauren was being held back by her ex, Irina, while Kate's boyfriend held her back by the waist in an attempt to maintain the peace. Edward didn't seem all that happy about having to hold back his girl, though, if the fierce scowl on his face was of any indication.
Ever the worried host, Bella approached the riot worriedly.
"—the guts to even come here, Lauren, after what you did to everyone!" Kate was screaming at Lauren, who seemed unwilling to back down. She wasn't even struggling for Irina to release her, simply standing tall against her protester. It was one thing that Bella unwillingly admired about Mallory; despite her cruelty, she stood firm in her actions. She stood tall. Cruel and stupid as fuck, sure, but also consistent. Even in sin there could be virtue, and Bella found it fascinating that someone could be so shameless, prideful and yet, wrong.
"Well, I was invited just like you, Kate. I can be here, right, Emmett?" Lauren cast a calculating look towards Bella's best friend, who'd been in the middle of clinking a beer can with Alice. Like a deer caught in the headlights, Emmett just blinked. Huh?
Realizing her best friend was too far gone to answer, Bella wrestled herself into the middle of the argument, which miraculously hadn't caught every party-goer's attention. While she did so, she accidentally gave enough time for Edward Cullen to redirect his anger towards the host's actions.
"Why did you even invite her, Emmett? What she did was fucked up."
Emmett swallowed a mouthful of beer, about to answer, when Bella made it to the middle of the argument. Already, Irina had managed to pull Lauren away a little further, trying to lessen the chances of a fight breaking out.
Bella decided to take it from there, directing her words towards the redheaded hothead.
"Because he's not petty, and if Lauren is shameless enough to come that's on her. Also, I invited her, not Emmett, so whatever complaint you have goes through me." Bella spoke in a clear voice, not softening any blows as she addressed the woman in question as well. Huffing, that was the last of it for Lauren, who let Irina lead her out of the party quietly.
"You did?" Edward turned in surprise, letting go of a furious girlfriend who stomped after Lauren and her sister. More people stopped being interested in the argument, knowing that whatever drama was meant to happen had been dissipated already.
"I did," Bella raised her chin up defiantly. Damn it, she might've liked the guy but she wasn't going to let anybody talk to her Emmy bear that way. "Some other complaint you've got about the party? I'm all ears."
Bella saw the exasperation grow on Edward's face. Edward's handsome face, Bella stupidly let her heart sing.
Now's not the time for that.
"Edward? Babe?"
Crisis: averted.
(Or so she thought)
Bella snapped out of whatever trip she'd been about to take, turning to see as Kate Denali easily recaptured her boyfriend's attention. Then Edward released a butterfly-inducing smile, and Bella wondered for the nth time if she really couldn't just snatch Edward away and have her wicked way with him.
Bella shook herself out of it; still, it was just a crush. She didn't love Edward Cullen. Liking and loving were totally different things. For instance, Bella didn't even know Edward's middle name. This was just proof of how superficial her crush was; she knew nothing about him except that his father was a well-known doctor, his girlfriend had a twin sister and he'd been captain of the track team since sophomore year, a testament to his talent. Oh, and about his part-time jobs. But that was it; nothing more, nothing less.
"Edward Anthony Cullen," Kate huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Stop harassing my sister's friends already when they didn't do anything wrong. Please?"
Bella held back a groan.
"I'm not harassing anyone," Edward frowned, narrowing his eyes when Bella gave him a deadpan look. "I wasn't harassing you, I was simply complaining."
Doing her best to keep up with the attitude, Bella chose to instead focus on Kate with her reply.
"Look Kate, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable by inviting Lauren. Since I'm of the policy that being happy is the best revenge, I figured letting Lauren see all of you unruffled by her actions would be the best thing to do. I never meant to hurt you, Irina or anyone else by inviting her." Bella did her best to give a coherent apology despite her tipsiness. Kate was gracious about it, and just gave Bella a little shrug.
"Again, you're not to blame. Sorry about this one though. He can be a bit over the top," Kate apologized, even elbowing Edward and whispering to him to apologize as well.
"Sorry Bella," Edward mumbled, running a hand through his hair and making it stick out a bit. "I just hate it when Kate gets treated that way."
Bella bit back the words she really wanted to say.
"It's fine, Edward. It's just I really hate it when anyone says bad stuff about Emmett," Bella said, looking at him pointedly. "It's not his fault Lauren's a bitch."
Shocked, Kate and Edward burst out laughing.
"What?" Bella asked defensively.
"I just don't think I've ever heard you curse after all these years of knowing you," Edward laughed, and Kate nodded in agreement.
"Oh," Bella mumbled, flushing bright red. She usually only cursed with Emmett or Angela; not that they'd know, because she stopped talking to either of them when they hit the age where kids learn curse words. "Well, anyway. Enjoy the party."
"Bella?" Edward called, and the brunette stopped walking away. She turned her head just in time to catch a panty-dropping grin. "See you next Saturday."
Present
Thinking back to the graduation party, Emmett realized just what an amazing woman his best friend was. She didn't need to fight people in order to be heard, and she didn't need to make a show out of herself to defend those she loved. He'd been nearby when she'd been confronting Edward —not an easy thing to do, given how much she liked the guy— so he'd been able to tell how everything went down. The fact that he'd knocked out the last guy who'd commented on Bella's ass (which, in all honesty, was a great ass) spoke of the reciprocal feelings of loyalty.
On Bella's end, though, things had shifted slightly.
She was at that point of liking someone where she was just done with it. She still liked him, because he was him and he was too close not to, but by now she was just pissed off with her own stubbornness and all the hidden cues she kept taking from him that she knew meant nothing. It had gotten so ridiculous that, when Garrett asked Bella if she wanted to go out with him, she said yes for the first time in her life.
"Really?" Garrett asked in surprise. With his dirty blond hair tucked behind his ears, and the black beanie he had on coupled with his red cheeks from the cold made his question more appealing. Laughing at his expression, Bella nodded.
"Yeah, why not."
She didn't feel guilty accepting because Garrett was aware she had someone she was hung up on, but that she didn't want to stay that way. He'd been around during enough conversations between her and Em that he'd caught on, though she wasn't sure he knew who it was. Still, Garrett was cute, and he'd been quite nice to hang around with the last few months. Also, she didn't want to wait around for Edward forever.
"Cool! How about tomorrow at six?" Bella nodded, and the wide smile he gave her made her think it'd been the right answer. "Great, then. I'll text you!"
Then Garrett was off to his next class.
There was a pause, and then suddenly Bella felt a hand on her shoulder.
She jumped.
"Who the—" Bella turned furiously, about to chew out whoever had startled her —only to find Edward behind her. Her heartbeat didn't slow. "Christ, Edward. You scared the bejeezus out of me."
Edward gave her a little shrug, grinning sheepishly. It wasn't his fault; Bella scared really easily and after the tenth time apologizing he just didn't see the point in it anymore.
"Hot date with Garrett?" Edward asked.
"Oh..." Bella flickered her eyes in the direction Garrett had left in, blushing. "Uh, yeah. I didn't see why not."
Edward arched an eyebrow, skeptical.
"You entered and left high school saying no to every single guy —and girl— who asked you out."
Bella wrinkled her nose.
"You like Garrett, Edward."
He shrugged.
"I do. I didn't think you did enough to go out with him, though," Edward huffed, feeling a bit cheated. He always vomited his feelings out to Bella (about his parents, Kate, the stress from college) but she was always quite closed off about how she felt with him. And he knew it was just with him, since Emmett was always saying that 'Bella cried with this' and 'Bella gets very angry with that'.
Long story short, he was jealous of Emmett's friendship with Bella.
Digressing.
"Well, I don't. I'm just feeling ready to start dating, is all."
Edward frowned in confusion, scowling harder when he saw her bring out her cigarettes.
"You mean you're only starting to date just now?"
Bella was about to light one cig when she took notice of Edward's flinch.
"Oh shit, sorry Edward, I forgot," Bella put it away, kicking herself. He'd asked her before not to smoke in front of him; he was sensitive to it, and as someone who liked exercise and breathing, he was really against being around people who smoked. "And I've never gone on a date."
Edward waited for her to laugh, but she didn't.
"Wait, you've never been on a date?"
Bella sighed, shaking her head no.
"Never ever. No boyfriend either in nineteen years of living, either, for what it's worth." Bella looked down at her watch. "Wanna grill me while I head to class?"
So he did. He asked her about all the different supposed boyfriends she'd had all through high school, and all the hearts she'd broken every time she'd turned someone down. Bella usually didn't know what he was talking about, to the point where Edward wondered if this girl had ever even paid attention to anything that wasn't a comic book or related to psychology.
"Alright, so riddle me this," Edward said defiantly, hitching his bag higher in his shoulder. "Why not? Surely it's not because you've got impossible standards," Edward complained, still unable to believe Garrett of all people had gotten the ok. The dude had a weed plant he called Petunia, for fuck's sake. Bella rolled her eyes.
"I just wasn't interested, Edward. Not in people, but in dating in general."
Edward had just one more question.
"So it wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you liked someone?" Edward asked, and when Bella shut up he knew he had the truth.
"Who..." Bella rolled her eyes at herself, not wanting to waste her breath. Emmett. "Yeah, but it was only our senior year. I didn't like him all four years."
Edward couldn't believe his ears. The most popular girl in high school had never dated, and she had an unrequited love?
"Who?" He squinted, trying to read Bella's expression but finding her unreadable. "Emmett?"
That was clear disgust.
"No, never have and never will. Look, I liked the guy but that's done, alright? Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to—" and then she ran away.
...
"You're unbelievable," Alice snorted endlessly when Bella told her the story of her date. "You could've just lied and said it wasn't true. Or told him he was the one."
Bella scoffed.
"Quick thinking while panicking isn't exactly my forte, Alice Brandon. Not to mention, I'd bite off my own finger before ever admitting that to a guy devoted to his girlfriend."
Over the winter break, Bella had grown even closer to Alice. Emmett had gone with his family to Belize, so while he was gone Bella invited Alice (who was home from New York) over almost every day. She was seeing every day either Alice, Angela or Edward. Sometimes all three, and those meetings were a hoot. She was torn between batting her eyelashes at Edward and hissing at the girls to leave her alone. Then, to Renée's huge surprise, a beautiful Amazon had stayed overnight at their place two days in a row. Apparently, Bella had convinced Rose to go back to college a couple of days earlier so they could socialize to their heart's content. Bella and Alice had picked her up at the airport, and Jasper would arrive on Sunday to pick up her car and drive it back to the dorms.
"I see now why Emmett has such a hard time letting go of Alice," Rose had admitted to Bella when they were driving up to their dorm. Though Rose hadn't been ready to admit it, every time she met up with the football player she liked him a little more. "She's really nice."
Much to Bella's pain, Emmett still wasn't ready to let go. Alice, at least, had gone on an awful blind date. Emmett wasn't even in that state of mind —he was always either too tired from football practice, up to his neck in homework or snoring the afternoon away. She'd thought he'd been getting better during the first month, but then he'd sort of relapsed. A couple of times she'd spotted him with Alice's contact open, about to hit call. She'd taken his phone away each time.
"Oh, always so righteous," Alice teased Bella, though in reality she did admire this about her friend. "I'm always gonna remember though that you literally ran away from the object of your affections. What are you, five?"
Bella groaned.
"You're a mean one."
"I am when you need me to be. Now, show me what you're gonna wear for your hot date tomorrow."
/./../
Emmett wasn't in a great mood. He'd gotten chewed out by Coach Clapp, he had to read half a book for tomorrow and he'd spent half of his only class today searching for a new video game to buy, something which the professor noticed and kicked him out for.
So when he read Bella's text to come over to her room, it took everything inside of him to be a good friend and just do it. As always, she'd left the door unlocked for him when he'd texted he was near the dorms.
"Bells, what's this about—" Emmett trailed off when he entered and saw his best friend. Bella was in front of the mirror putting on makeup. She was even wearing a nice shirt and a long skirt, neither of which Emmett had been aware she owned. "Uh… Isabella Swan?"
Bella glared at him from the corner of her eye. She hated her full name.
"Close the door, you doofus." Bella said, standing up and running a hand down her skirt. "What do you think?"
"Gorgeous as always," Emmett said genuinely, rolling his eyes at her smirk. She knew damn well how attractive she was. "What's this about?"
"I've got a hot date in fifteen minutes…" Bella said, seeing how the jock's eyes widened in shock. "… with Garrett."
"Garrett?" Emmett let his jaw drop, feeling like he'd been knocked out. Had he heard that correctly? Was his best friend, the woman who'd once declared drugs to be the modern plague, really about to go on a date with a pothead?
"Indeed," Bella said, shrugging. "I got tired of pining after Edward. So, I'm gonna go out for once and just have fun."
There was something terribly wrong here.
"Bella, you don't do fun," Emmett frowned, ducking when Bella threw a brush at him. "It's true! Not to mention, you and Garrett have zero things in common. What would possess you to say yes to him, of all people?"
No idea, really.
"He was the first one who asked after my revelation, not to mention I'm not against going out with him. We're going on a date, Emmett, not getting married."
Emmett couldn't believe his eyes. Or ears. Or nose, because that perfume had never been used before, either.
"What about Edward?"
"What about him?" Bella asked, annoyed. She went back to the mirror to see if she'd smudged her makeup. "I told you, I'm not pining after him anymore. I want to be happy, Em, and right now longing for someone who won't like me back isn't helping."
He knew she was right, but… He didn't want her to be.
"Bells, but…"
But Bella didn't want to hear it.
"Emmett, I'm not going to go out with him as much as I want to," Bella sighed frustratedly, putting down her lipstick. She made eye contact with her best friend on the mirror. "And you're not gonna ask Alice to take you back no matter how many months go by. So move on, my friend."
Emmett wanted to argue back.
"What's that got to—"
"I'm tired of seeing you grow sadder and sadder with every week that goes by, Emmett! You decided to call it quits. Either you're ok with your choice or you're not. Either you ask her to take you back or you don't. But stop moping around when Alice is out there living her life to the best of her abilities. If you—"
"I don't miss her," Emmett mumbled miserably in a small voice. When Bella asked what, he repeated himself. "I don't miss her. And that fucking sucks."
Bella's heart broke for him, the guy who'd always had her back. She wanted to tell him it was normal to not miss the person who'd once meant everything to you, but she couldn't because she didn't know if that was true. Even now she wanted to see Edward, and she didn't even love the guy.
All she could do in that moment was to get up and go hug her best friend in the whole world. Though she didn't even reach his shoulders (not her fault he was 6 ft 5), she did her best to give him a hug that went around him.
"It's ok not to miss her," Bella said. "And whether or not you want to date right now is up to you. All I want is for my best friend to be happy. Wether or not you're ready to be with someone else is up to you."
"Does… does she miss me?" Emmett asked, hugging her back just as tightly. He didn't know which answer would hurt more, and he wanted to shield himself with his best friend.
Bella told him the truth anyway, since it was the first time he'd asked.
"Sometimes. Most days she doesn't, not anymore. But every once in a while she says she gets the urge to call you, especially when it's about something she sees that she knows you'd have enjoyed." Bella shrugged, pulling back enough to look up at him. "She just… misses you as a friend."
And somehow, Emmett felt that the answer applied to him too. It wasn't that he never thought about Alice, or that he didn't love her anymore. But he just didn't have it in him to pine after her the way he had during the first couple of months after the breakup, which somehow made him feel like a shitty person. He did still think about her —when he saw a particularly tiny black-haired girl, when he saw news about some fashion show or heard something about New York.
"I do, too," Emmett finally sighed, giving Bella a squeeze before totally letting go. "I don't think I've got the energy right now to date, but… I want to stop feeling guilty about breaking up with her."
Bella smiled at him, her eyes widening when she caught sight of the clock on the wall.
"Shit! I'm supposed to meet Garrett downstairs like, now," Bella rushed out, grabbing her purse and her phone. "Wish me luck, Em!"
She didn't even stop to hear him say 'fuck no' before she was out.
February arrived much too quickly for everyone's liking.
For Emmett, he started getting uncomfortable with the increasing female attention. Bella said that he'd been putting off some 'unapproachable' vibes the last semester, but that the girls had quickly caught on to the fact that there had been a change —though he wasn't about to start dating just yet. If anything, lately he found his eyes lingering on Bella's roommate a little too often for his liking; Rose wasn't at all like Alice, and somehow he thought that was great. Physically, they were total opposites —Alice was tiny, while Rose was whopping 5 ft 9. Personality-wise, they shared the fundamentals: smart, passionate with a sense of humor. But Rose's head wasn't in the clouds as much, and already he could tell they had a lot more in common when it came to interests. For starters, Rose actually liked football. Wasn't crazy over it, but at least she didn't insist on calling touchdowns 'home-runs'. What's more, Rose got his fascination with cars —she herself was into repairing cars, a detail that came out when Bella regaled him with the anecdote of how Rose's convertible started releasing smoke and, instead of calling a tow-truck, had fixed the thing herself (Bella had walked to the nearest convenience store and bought chips while the blonde worked). Rose was cool, for lack of a better word. And crazy fucking hot.
But he wouldn't do anything, Emmett was sure. For one, Rose was Bella's friend, and he was a firm believer in bros before hoes. Not to mention, he wasn't all that sure he was ready to get into a relationship again —and something told him Rose was the long-haul type of girl. Besides, Bella had asked him quite a few times to lay off of Rose, and he understood where his friend was coming from —he wanted to respect her wishes.
As for Bella and Garrett, things had been quite clear from the start that neither was going to fall crazy in love with the other. After their first date, they'd said it had gone 'alright'. Neither was nuts for the other, but they agreed to go on a second, then third, then fourth date. Both seemed to want to work things out because, truly, nothing was wrong with the other. But on Valentine's, as they were walking to the dorm, they finally decided to address the issue.
"I think we're better off as friends, Garrett," Bella finally declared sheepishly once they were about to go inside. "You're great, but I don't think I feel about you that way… or that you see me like that."
Garrett nodded, completely understanding what she was saying.
"I get what you say, Bella. You're super cool, way cooler than I even knew when I asked you out, but… you're right. I don't think we see each other as boyfriend-girlfriend material," Garrett acknowledged. He pressed his lips together, and looking up from under his lashes gave her a little smile. "Besides, I kinda figured out who you like."
Bella paled.
"Uh…"
"Edward!" Garrett said, making Bella feel like fainting until she saw that he was waving at someone behind her. Feeling even worse, Bella turned…
… and found Edward walking hand in hand with Kate Denali.
Fuck. My. Life.
"Garrett, what's up?" Edward greeted, coming closer and closer until he was standing next to the couple. Bella finished turning and gave Edward and Kate a frozen smile. "Hey Bella."
"Edward, Kate, hi!" Bella did her best to act natural, but by Garrett's attempt to not laugh, she could tell she was doing terribly.
"Hi Bella!" Kate greeted her ex-classmate cheerfully, thankfully oblivious to Bella's discomfort.
"Kate, this is Garrett. He's dating Bella. And Garrett, this is my girlfriend Kate." Edward introduced, as always putting his foot in his mouth. Still a little high from his joint a while ago, Garrett shook his head.
"Nah, not anymore. Pleased to meet you though, Kate," Garrett said, shaking a surprised Kate's hand. Narrowing his eyes, Edward stared at Garrett long and hard. As if accusing him for shit going downhill.
Bella just wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
"Uh, well, Garrett and I are gonna head in. I'll catch up with the two of you later!" Bella gave them her best smile, grabbed her ex-date by the wrist and dragged him off.
"I can't believe you did that," Bella mumbled once they were back in Garrett's room, where he proceeded to laugh his ass off.
"You should've seen your face, Bell. You looked like you were about to faint!" Garrett snorted, and to her displeasure he even started crying from how hard he was laughing.
"Yeah, thanks to you. God, I can't show my face to them again. What were you even thinking?"
Garrett wiped his tears with the back of his hand, still shaking his head to himself in amusement.
"That that Kate chick looks cute and like she's about to break up with Wardo."
Say what again?
"C'mon Bell, she looked done with Edward. I saw her before I saw our dude, and she looked bored out of her mind. She goes to some fancy college, doesn't she? Northwestern? I just really doubt she came all the way here, looking that bored, to wish him a happy Valentine's. She's here to break up with him."
Sometimes, Bella forgot that Garrett was majoring in Neuroscience and was, therefore, more than just a pothead.
"I don't know, Gar, he's always going on and on about how much he loves her. Think he's gonna let her go so easy?"
"Well, I certainly don't think he's gonna beg."
"Let's break up."
Edward put his fork down to look up at his girlfriend. They were having dinner near the campus in order to celebrate Valentine's —today was their second year anniversary, and Kate had told him she could make it down to Phoenix for a couple of days. He'd thought it was strange, what with how adamant she'd been last semester that she couldn't miss a single day of school.
"Can I ask why?" Edward asked, sitting back to look at this woman he didn't quite recognize anymore. She just wasn't as cheerful as she'd always been, and when they'd said hello to Edward's friends and she'd gotten the cheer back briefly he'd been startled to realize its previous absence.
Now, Kate just looked tired.
"Because I'm not doing well with the long-distance thing, and please Edward, I know you don't like it either. I like Northwestern a lot, and I'm happy to see you've grown to really like ASU. You have more friends here than ever, and you're doing so well in your classes. But I have less and less time for you every day, and you call me less every week. We just… don't click anymore."
Edward looked down at his half-eaten plate, wondering what to say.
"Edward?" Kate sighed, putting down her own fork too. "Please say something."
"I just… don't know what to say." Edward shrugged, not looking up to meet Kate's eye. He was confused about what to feel —and about what he wasn't feeling. "I just don't think anything I say will change your mind."
"You won't," Kate confirmed, quietly but firmly. "We've both known something was wrong ever since Christmas, Edward. We're outgrowing each other, and that's ok. It happens."
On Christmas Eve, the two had spent the whole day together… with nothing much to say. It had been awkward, and they'd ended up spending most of their time together watching festive movies to fill in the silence.
"I just…" Edward sighed in frustration, shaking his head at himself. "I can't describe it."
"I can," Kate said, eating a forkful of pasta. "We fell out of love, Edward."
The sentence shocked him, and he looked up to find Kate giving him a grimace.
"We did, Edward. You weren't excited to see me when I told you I was coming up. I wasn't excited to come. We didn't even have sex during the break despite not doing it since September. We just… don't want each other anymore for no particular reason. I don't hate you. I don't suddenly dislike you. I'm just not happy with you anymore, and that is what actually hurts me right now."
It was frightening how much you could love someone one day and then be indifferent to them the next. And that was what had happened to these two —much as Edward didn't want to admit it, what Kate was describing fit him perfectly, too. He was just scared to end his first relationship.
"I don't dislike you either, K." Edward watched as his girlfriend kept eating her pasta calmly, and it was actually a little scary how easy she was handling the situation. Like he'd never meant anything to her. "Did you come here only to break up with me?"
Kate nodded.
"I'm sorry. I truly am. But I just didn't want to pretend everything was fine today, because it's not. My flight home is actually leaving in a few hours."
Edward laughed bitterly.
"So you really did come here just to break up with me." Edward shook his head in amazement, taking off his glasses to comfortably pinch the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on. "I mean, that does hurt a fair amount, you know."
Kate didn't know what to say. Should she have been less honest? But she was just so tired of pretending, and of seeing him pretend. Of hearing him go on and on about Bella Swan and how truly cool she was. Kate didn't hate Bella by any stretch —she doubted anything was going on between the two, for a number of reasons— but she couldn't take another day of her boyfriend raving about another woman. And this was Edward —he also raved about Emmett McCarty and his other college friends— but nobody got as much attention and praise as Bella, the most popular girl in high school. She'd heard Lauren bitch and moan to Irina like thirty hundred times about how pretty Bella was, and how she'd kill to have Bella's body or hair. Even now, with Kate looking her most made up, she couldn't compare to Bella's natural beauty. She knew now, too, that the inside matched the exterior, or so said her boyfriend. And she was done with feeling hurt over not being something out of her reach; she didn't want to be that woman, the one who resented others for having something she didn't. Bella was a nice person, and she didn't deserve Kate's resentment when she wasn't even interested in her boyfriend. And Edward didn't deserve to be resented for being naturally himself; she knew he didn't mean anything by his praises, and she refused to be that jealous woman. She felt annoyed with herself most of the time, to the point where she wasn't liking herself much these days. Enough that she felt she preferred breaking up with her boyfriend than to keep slowly but surely rotting inside. She wanted to feel good about herself, and that was becoming harder and harder.
"I'm sorry, Edward," Kate apologized genuinely, knowing she'd caught him off guard and that he wasn't necessarily the type to deal well with this kind of surprise. Maybe she should've eased into it, but then again, hindsight was 20/20.
"It's fine, Kate," Edward sighed, pushing his plate aside. He wasn't hungry anymore, but he saw Kate was finished. "You want dessert?"
"No thank you," Kate said, wiping the corners of her mouth.
"Ok. Let me take you to the airport then."
He did, and once Kate was gone, Edward went home to a life where he no longer had a girlfriend, and he was somehow ok with that.
"…"
"Hello? Bella?"
"Mmm."
"Are you awake?"
"Mmmmm."
"Wanna have breakfast? I want to talk to you," Edward said, looking out his window. It was eight in the morning, and he knew that Bella didn't have class until ten.
"What t…"
"What?"
Bella cleared her voice.
"What time is it?"
"Eight." Edward said, finding it funny just how raspy her voice was first thing in the morning. He'd probably woken her up, but he couldn't find it in himself to apologize. "Chompie's? What says you?"
Bella groaned.
"You buy breakfast and bring it to me. That's what I say," Bella moaned, startling Edward. That sound hit too close to home, and he had to remind his lower half not to react. "We both know that's quicker."
"Is Rose there?"
Bella cracked an eye open. No roommate.
"No. I think she's got yoga class. So, breakfast?"
"The usual?"
"My hero," Bella yawned, smiling into the phone. "I'll be waiting for you."
Then she hung up, needing a few more minutes to sleep. She stood up briefly to open the lock, and then she headed back under her covers.
Twenty-five minutes later, Edward walked into Bella's room, chuckling to himself when he caught sight of her. She was in one of Emmett's hoodies and curled up on a half-made bed, snoring softly to herself. Finding the sight too good to resist, Edward took off his shoes and climbed up to rest next to her.
"Bella." Edward called to her a few times, but she never reacted. Reaching over, he clipped her nose with his fingers, and she took a few seconds before slowly coming up from dreamland.
"Edward? When'd you get here?" Bella yawned, unfolding from her ball-like position and turning towards him. She didn't even bother opening her eyes. "Food?"
"On your desk," Edward chuckled. It always amused him how little Bella liked mornings.
"Thank you," Bella sighed, cracking an eye open a tiny amount. "What's up? What'd you need to talk about?"
"You and Garrett didn't work out?"
Groaning, Bella sat up and crawled over to her desk. She grabbed the paper bag and then sat her ass on Edward's stretched legs with her back against the wall. She was quite comfortable, despite Edward's complaint that it hurt.
"We didn't see each other as more than friends. You actually caught us the moment we decided that. Impeccable timing, as always, Edward," Bella laughed, biting down on her chocolate donut with gusto. "How about you? How was your anniversary with Kate?"
Edward stared up at the ceiling.
"We broke up," Edward declared. "Well, she broke up with me, I should say."
Bella did her best to not choke on her donut. Damn, Garrett was right. Also, I'm not meant to be so happy you psychopath.
"Oh my God, are you ok? What happened?"
Edward shrugged.
"I'm fine, I think. I kinda saw it coming. And we just… drifted apart. Neither really tried to make things better, either, so I think breaking up was the logical outcome. I'm just a little… sad, I guess, that this thing ended. We were together for two years, you know. And it was over just like that."
Bella refrained from asking him out right then and there.
"Are you ok with the decision, though?"
Edward considered the question.
"I spent the whole night thinking about it, you know, and… I am." He kept focused on a particular spot on the ceiling, not wanting to look directly at his friend. "I even called Jake to let him know, and you know what he told me? 'About time you two called it quits' and then he hung up on me. He never liked Kate all that much, you know. Neither did she like him, but I never really got why. I don't think I'll ever get it, either."
Bella really wanted to bash Kate, but she knew she wouldn't. Edward might have broken things off with her, but that didn't mean he had any ill will towards her. If she started ripping into her, the only one to get out of it with a bad image would be Bella. And she really needed that good look right now.
"Well, sometimes people just clash for no particular reason, you know? Like, at the beginning I really didn't like Alice. I thought she only liked Emmett for his looks, and that she wasn't genuine in wanting to be friends with me. She just wore me down, I guess, until I was ready to accept her as a part of my life. Until that moment I found out what a cool person she is. Maybe Jake and Kate just didn't persevere long enough," Bella offered, still munching on her donut. It was too much sugar and yet, just the right amount.
"Yeah, I get you. But really, I never tried much to get them to like each other more. I always kinda just… gave up on the idea. Didn't want to push them, I think."
Bella considered what he was saying.
"I mean, yeah, but…" Bella stopped herself before she could say something negative about Kate. She sighed. "Anyway. What's the game plan now? Mope? Hit the track? Rebound?"
Edward wondered what Bella had meant to say, but figured he shouldn't press.
He considered her question seriously.
"I don't know. I don't feel heartbroken, but I don't feel happy either. Or like suddenly dating again."
Thank goodness.
"Well, I think it's normal to feel sad that a relationship ended. You were together for a long time, so it's logical you feel like this. Personally, I think you just need to keep yourself busy. Only time will tell how you really feel about this." Bella brought up her cup of fruit salad and handed Edward his. "Come on. Breakfast."
He sat up, placing his back to the wall as well. He felt like changing the subject, so he went back to something he was really curious about.
"So, why'd you end things with Garrett?"
Bella pursed her lips, taking a swig of the coffee Edward had brought. She decided to just be honest.
"We didn't really click. I mean, our dates were fun —as friends. He kissed me on our third date and neither of us felt inclined to do it again, so we didn't. He's just not really my type, and I don't think I'm his."
Which reminded him.
"Whatever happened to that guy you liked? Did you really get over him?"
Bella stuffed her mouth with food, blushing furiously. Fascinated by her reaction, Edward thought that Bella must've really liked this guy if she was still reacting this way. The thought, unexpectedly, annoyed him.
"I didn't. It was much harder than I thought." Bella looked down at her fruit salad, thinking it was a shame that Edward was so dense. Everyone already knew.
"Will you ever tell me who it is?" Edward asked, bumping her shoulder. Laughing softly, Bella shook her head.
"Maybe when I'm over him."
Phew, that's an action-filled chapter! Also, as always, bros before hoes. Funny story: In my country we've got a New Years tradition where we eat twelve grapes at midnight and ask for a wish with each one we eat. One of my wishes was for my flight home to be delayed -the college's webpage would open at 3 o'clock to register my classes for the semester, and my flight was almost at two, which meant the classes would be filled up. And then -it got delayed! Like five hours though, which meant I arrived home at midnight (which sucked). But I managed to do my schedule! Yay! Still a win in my eyes. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it did the first one justice. As always, thank you so much to y'all who take the time to review (and to those who wished me a happy New Years -as you can see, my year is off to a great start). Until next time!
Leah.
P.S. I realize a lot of you liked this Bella. I'm glad; I made her more... real... I guess, especially when compared to the Bella from If You Should Let Ghosts Die. She's not as goofy, either, as the Bella from The Road To You. Basically, it pleases me to think I'm doing a good job with characterization.
P.P.S. I'm going back to school tomorrow, so I wanted to leave you with this chapter before life gets hectic again. If any of you have followed me before, you know I'm not one to leave a story hanging, so if I take a little while to update, bear with me please. I'm doing my best to finish the story before... say... March? We'll see how it goes. :P