Welcome back! We were all cheering for Bella last chapter when she admitted her feelings to Edward. Let's see what he has to say about them!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Normal People. I just make them play together.

Thanks to my team, as always.

Edward

I like you.

Three simple words that nearly take me out.

I've survived suicides at practice for four years, and it's three words uttered by Bella Swan that knock me on my ass for the rest of the night.

After I had taken her back to her place; and after she had dropped her bomb on me in the front seat of my car, I headed home instead of meeting up with the guys at Eric's. I didn't want to swing by the diner to see my mom; I didn't want to shoot some ball outside of the apartment.

I just wanted to be alone.

To do what, exactly, I wasn't sure, but the undeniable desire to decompress the bombshell of Bella's admission inside the comfort of my own home was impossible to ignore.

It's only an hour after I walked in the door, I am in my room at my desk, staring at my homework like it is something I've never seen before. My concentration is shit tonight, and I don't need to think long to figure out the reason why.

It's because of her.

I like you.

It's possible that what she told me was as simple as what she said. She liked me, which is fine and understandable. Because, after spending time with her these last few weeks, I can admit to liking her as a person, too.

But a lot of people like me. And I've never given it a second thought. It never really affected me either way.

It never mattered to me then, but suddenly, it matters now.

Because I know Bella's words were wrapped around unready truths and uncertainty. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue, or maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but I know she didn't mean it the same way everyone else does. Those words coming from her mouth make me feel…different.

I've been told those words before by too many to count, yet I've always shrugged them off, casually deciding if I wanted to act on those admittances or not; deciding if I felt anything back.

In the past, I had barely given those words a second thought, and tonight I find myself restless, and it makes me drop my hands onto the keys of my laptop in frustration as her words play in a continuous loop in my mind.

Bella's words don't always come out the way she wants them to; I say to myself as I try to convince myself she didn't mean it the way I'm interpreting it. It's entirely possible she was being honest and was just telling me that she likes me or tolerates me because of our common interests.

I ignore the voice in my head that reminds me her eyes say otherwise.

Her eyes give away her secrets, and I know this because I find myself lost within them more and more each fucking day.

I'm answering her in my mind before I'm willing to admit it.

I think I like you, too.

It's a thought that simultaneously sobers me and terrifies me all at once.

-u-

Is it possible to grow up with someone, one year flowing seamlessly into the next, and not be aware of just how extraordinary that person really is? To see her every day and suddenly view her in a whole new light as if I've grown a new pair of eyes?

I think it is possible.

The next morning, after a shitty night of sleep and panic over these new feelings for Bella rolling over me in waves, I make it to school just as the rain increases. Kids shuttle into the building as the skies open from above, sneakers squeaking on floors as we fill the halls before the bell for first-period rings. Turning the dial combination of my locker in my fingertips, I take a quick peek over towards Bella's locker. To my disappointment, she's not there like she usually is, though I wonder if it's for the better.

I'm not sure how to act once I see her again; what to say or do.

And I can't fucking falter in front of anyone; If I do, I'll be called out for acting like a tool faster than how quickly my friends can turn into assholes.

Still reeling from all these feelings churning inside of me practically overnight, I adjust the straps of my book bag over my shoulder and push it off, for now, not wanting to deal with any of this at school. I close my locker and head to class, hoping I can also close the door to all the nonsense going on in my head.

The peace I was hoping for is short-lived. Fifteen minutes after class begins, Bella walks into the classroom late and is completely soaked from the rain. Her uniform is drenched, and her shoes leave a tiny trail of moisture as she makes her way to her desk, ignoring the looks and whispers as she sits.

But I'm the one who can't ignore what I see right now.

To everyone else, she looks annoyed at having been caught in the rain. Her hair, typically pulled into a braid, hangs heavy down her back with random strands loose from its constraints. Her eyes are loosely shut as if she's trying to retain whatever amount of composure she can muster.

Something is bothering her. Something happened.

And instead of spending the rest of my day worrying about me liking her, the only thing I can think about is how I can help her.

-u-

By the time the day is over, the rain has stopped, and surprisingly, the sun makes an appearance in our typical gray town. It's still cold out, but not as much as it normally is this time of year, and I'm looking forward to taking the kids outside today at work. Everyone in this town takes advantage of a rare sighting of the sun, and I'm no different than the rest of them. I can almost feel the ball in my hands as I drive over to the program, picturing a game with some of the boys who have shown an interest in basketball over the last few weeks I've been volunteering.

I'm thinking this is the breath of fresh air a lot of us need.

Especially Bella.

I can tell the minute I walk in that she's still not herself, though she hasn't been the last few days. It's startling for me to realize I've picked up on her tells; how I was able to read her like one of my favorite books. I'm still confused by it all, how fucking unprepared I was to feel what I'm feeling now, but when our eyes meet across the room, I sigh and admit defeat to this feeling of complete powerlessness.

I walk over to where she's setting up the snacks before the kids arrive, reaching for a box to help place them on the long table where the kids eat.

"What happened?" I ask her quietly, not bothering to waste any time addressing the elephant in the room.

She exhales, reaching for the cups to pour the drinks, and shrugs nonchalantly like she expects me to believe her. "I got caught in the rain."

We both know there's more to it than that. Our eyes meet again, and we know we're past the point of hiding things or keeping secrets. She knows I can understand what she's saying by listening to the words she doesn't say.

"You didn't have an umbrella?"

She shakes her head. "I did, but by accident, I left it in the car this morning when Liam left me on the side of the road on the way to school."

I stop preparing the snack and turn to look at her in disbelief, anger rising inside of me as I listen to her. I've only hung out with Liam a few times, as he's older than us, but he's a legend of Forks High for doing and getting away with stupid shit that is nothing to brag about. "What'd he do?"

"We were halfway to school when I said something that pissed him off, and he made me get out of the car. He drove off before I remembered to grab the umbrella from the backseat."

Looking down at the floor, I compose myself before looking over at her again. "Are you okay?"

"I am now." She nods and softly smiles as we forget about drinks and snacks and homework and basketball. "I'll be fine. Really."

I know she will be. I'll make sure of it.

My eyes barely leave her for the whole three hours we spend here at the Boys and Girls Club. I see her when the girls take advantage of her loosened hair, pulling the braid apart, so her hair falls down her back like it was the night in the diner. I'm watching her as she demolishes a game of Uno with a group of kids.

But that's the whole point, isn't it?

I finally see her.

I like her.

-u-

At six o'clock, the last student has been picked up, and Bella is locking the doors of the building as I wait a few steps behind her. The sun is still out, the air is still slightly warm, and I have no desire to go home.

She turns from the door, stuffing the keys into her bag, and takes a few steps towards the edge of the sidewalk where I stand.

Waiting for her.

"Wanna take a drive with me?"

She doesn't hesitate, but her eyes find mine, and I swear I can see the world in them.

"Of course."

We fall into what has become our unwritten routine after each day we work together. We walk to my car in companionable silence, open the doors and settle ourselves in for the ride. Only this time, we're not going straight to her house like we normally do.

Instead, we drive in the opposite direction, further away from Forks and all its limitations—far away from peer pressure and asshole brothers.

Her presence in my car is overwhelming, and I fiddle with the volume on the radio to distract me as she sits in the passenger seat. She's silent as we drive, her fingers tapping a beat against the side of her thigh in rhythm to the music coming from the speakers. She gazes out the window while I gaze at her; I have a tough time concentrating on the road, knowing she's this close to me.

It's the sound of gravel beneath my tires that snaps me back into focus.

The music dwindles as the engine softens, a slight awkwardness in the air as we realize we've never been anywhere together outside of school and work. That one time at the diner had been coincidental, and since school and work aren't optional, it's here I realize how different this moment feels.

I'm not here with her because I have to be.

It's because I want to be.

It's because when our shift at work was over a little while ago, I wasn't ready to say goodbye.

I don't understand these feelings that have come out of nowhere, and it makes my legs shake beneath the steering wheel and my chest clench with nerves. But being around Bella has become what I look forward to the most each day.

It's rare for the sun to shine here in Forks, especially given the time of day, but the rays slice through the tall trees around us, and we look at First Beach through squinted eyes as we leave my car behind in the gravel lot and walk towards the rocky beach. We stop to take our shoes off, the heavy grains of sand cold as they slip between my toes. The wind off the water sings softly around us, the amber hues from the sun casting her in a light I've never seen her in before.

As she sits on a large piece of driftwood washed onto the shore, she shoots me a shy smile that makes me wonder about all the other different ways I have yet to see her.

But fuck, do I see her now.

I've known Isabella Swan since we were kids — but she sits here next to me on the wood and transforms into a stranger, and I'm suddenly desperate for more. Desperate for anything she's willing to give me, considering the walls she's built meticulously around herself over the years. I watch as she closes her eyes and turns her face to the sun, taking in the warmth the same way I'm taking in the auburn streaks that hide between the dark waves of her hair. The same way I'm staring at her lips, wondering when they became soft and full and how I missed their allure for all these years.

She's a sudden mystery I'm eager to solve.

Bella opens her eyes then, and I look down at our feet in the sand before she catches me staring. I clear my throat. "Were you serious yesterday?" I ask, our feet tracing interloping circles with our toes. "When you told me you liked me?"

Bella hesitates for a moment before nodding her head. Eventually, she shrugs the same way she always does, as if it's just a simple fact without the weavings of human emotion around her feelings towards me. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She asks. "I do like you."

I can gather she likes my company; working with her these last few weeks has been surprisingly easy, but the way she had said those three words to me yesterday had kept me up all night, wondering what she had meant.

But now, as we sit in the rare setting sun, her hair blowing across her face, I need to know for sure if she's feeling anything remotely similar to what I feel churning inside of me like a freight train.

These feelings I have when I think of her or when I'm near her hit me exactly like that — like a train suddenly off its track, careening towards the unknown.

It's terrifying, but I can't ignore it. "Like as a friend?"

Turning her face from the sun, she opens her eyes again, and this time, I know the answer just by looking at the vulnerability and honesty swirling in the dark pools of her eyes.

"No."

We stare at each other for a moment before I nod at her answer, turning my gaze back down to our feet and to the haphazard circles we've made with our toes as we talk against the wind and waves of First Beach. It's never crowded here, but it dawns on me that the appearance of the sun may draw some people from school to enjoy the view like we are.

The thought of my friends at school finding out about me, Edward Cullen, liking Isabella Swan sends a flash of panic through my bones. Shaking my head, I exhale loudly, hoping the crashing waves will take my worries out to sea.

It's not like I'm embarrassed by Bella.

It's just that I don't like unnecessary attention brought to myself, and my friends would get the biggest kick out of it if they were to find out I feel something for Bella. With college applications, work, and basketball season nearly suffocating me, the last thing I need is them breathing down my neck about things they know nothing about.

Risking a glance in Bella's direction, I curse under my breath at how she's become my hardest temptation.

"Wouldn't it be weird if people found out about us?" I ask, reaching down to pick up a flat stone before skipping it across the water.

"No one would have to know," Bella says softly, and I hear the words she leaves unspoken; she is aware of the burden it will become for both of us if we were to ever go public with whatever this is between us.

I look over at her, her face emblazoned with the fire of the sunset, and I wonder if she's prepared for how different our lives are about to be because of our decision today.

There may be a million thoughts running through my head, alarm bells ringing in my ears, trying to warn me of the magnitude of the path we're about to walk down, but the only thing clear to me is that Bella and I, without words, have made a decision.

And when I press my mouth to hers a minute later, her lips soft and welcoming against mine, I know nothing will ever be the same again.

You're right, Edward. Things will NEVER be the same again! I teased part of this chapter on The Lemonade Stand's Sneak Peek. So excited it finally happened!

Couple of announcements: Check out the Song to Story Contest to read some amazing entries based off the song of the month! Entries are still being accepted so please head on over! There is a facebook group and a page on ffn!

Also, I've been collabing with the lovely fanficsR4nerds and DaniDarlingxx on a new collab for the holidays. Follow our author page, Nerdy Lil Darlins right here on ffn so you don't miss it! It will be a daily drabble for the month of December. Be on the lookout for The House on Sycamore Lane dropping on December 1st!