I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.

Cheryl, Noles, and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and April, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.

Ch. 3

I passed Esme on my way into the room. She gave me a hug and a gentle smile. She looked tired, as if she hadn't had a good night's sleep like me. Over the years she had gained streaks of gray and a few wrinkles around the eyes.

"You look like you need to be in bed," she commented.

"I wouldn't be able to sleep, I need to be here," I answered her.

Esme looked back at the bed then at me again. "I know the feeling."

I felt guilty that I was taking her time away from him. "I'm sorry, Esme. If you want me to go so you can stay—"

She interrupted me with a small shake of her head. "I think visits from you are what he needs. Even if he'd be too stubborn to admit it. Just make sure you don't drain yourself too much."

"I won't. His doctor mentioned talking to him might help. I've been telling him stories of our childhood," I told her.

"Maybe you should sing to him." She gave me a wistful smile. "I remember the hours you two spent together, him playing the piano and you singing."

"I do too."

Hero

(Bella,12)

I glanced up at the colorful poster and the sign-up sheet beside it. The winner of the middle school talent show would get a gift certificate at the ice cream shop. I enjoyed singing, but I was too nervous to do it in front of a bunch of people. Esme was encouraging me to go for it since she thought I had a good chance of winning.

"What are you waiting for?" Alice, my bff, asked from beside me.

"I don't know. I'm kind of nervous," I told her.

"You should ask Edward to play the piano for you. Then he would be with you, and you wouldn't be up there alone," she suggested.

"You think he would?" I asked.

Edward didn't play the piano much anymore. Now that he was in eighth grade, he was more into sports than comic books and music. He was so busy that we didn't spend much time together anymore.

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Ask him. I bet he would for you."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, I'll go ask him. Come with me?"

"I have art club." She gave me an apologetic look. "Go before you lose your nerve."

"I'm going." I backed away from her and headed toward the gym. Hopefully I could catch him before he reached the field.

Once outside, I glanced at the field and saw it empty still, so I waited by the door. Emmett came out first with two giggling girls from his grade. He slowed when he saw me waiting. He came to a stop, and the girls took two more steps before they turned to see why he wasn't with them anymore.

"Bella, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at Esme's?" he asked.

"Dad said it was okay if I stayed to watch football practice. I wanted to ask Edward a question," I answered him.

"Aww, is she your sister? She's so cute. What grade are you in, second?" A blonde girl came over and patted me on the head.

I scowled, taking a step back. "I'm in sixth."

"But you're so tiny," the dark-haired girl commented.

I hated that I was still so small. Emmett had a couple of growth spurts and was already almost the same height as dad. However, I was still very short; Dr. C, said it was just my normal.

"Kate and Chelsea, this is my sister Bella. I need to talk to her—alone." Emmett grabbed my elbow and started to pull me away.

"Quit it. You know that I don't like people grabbing me." I snapped, yanking my arm from him.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"What could you possibly need to ask Edward?" Emmett furrowed his brows.

"I want to sign up to sing Let it Go at the talent show and was hoping Edward would play the piano for me," I answered.

"Aww, that's so cute," one of the girls said. I still didn't know who was who.

Emmett moved so his back was to them. "Look. You can't ask him; you would embarrass him in front of the whole school. Disney music is baby stuff, no wonder they think you're a little kid," he whispered.

"I am not." I narrowed my eyes.

"Then quit acting like one and choose a better song. And leave Edward out of it. He's my friend, not yours," he stated.

"He's my friend too," I argued.

"He's only nice to you because he's obligated to. Both of us don't like you watching practice, it's weird and embarrassing. Go home," Emmett ordered.

"How? The bus already left." I was trying not to cry.

I hated that, recently, I would cry over the littlest thing. Esme said it was normal for girls my age who were going through puberty to get emotional. And what Emmett said really hurt my feelings. What if he was right?

"Walk," Emmett stated.

"Alone?" I said, thinking I would get in trouble.

"You want to be older, don't you?" Emmett asked.

Before I could answer, Edward came out of the back door and the girls greeted him with big smiles.

"Edward, you like playing Disney music?" The blonde giggled and glanced at her friend.

"No way. Not since I was a little kid and my mom made me." Edward shook his head, his face turning bright red. He looked around awkwardly and saw me.

"Hey, Bella, are you watching practice today?" he asked with a smile.

"No. I was just leaving." I backed away. I wasn't going to ask him now; his statement had confirmed everything Emmett said. And I wanted to get out of here before the girls mentioned my wanting him to play for me.

"How? The buses are gone." Edward frowned.

"I'm going to walk," I said softly.

"Wait. You're not allowed to walk by yourself," Edward said.

"I'm not a little kid, I'll be fine," I snapped at him, and his jaw dropped open slightly. I spun around and headed toward the street.

"Bella!" Edward called after me.

"Let her go." I heard Emmett tell him.

H

I was maybe halfway home when a car pulled alongside of me. I focused on the ground and started to walk faster until I heard a familiar voice.

"Bella, get in," Esme instructed.

I glanced at her to see she wasn't happy. I sighed and climbed in, tossing my bag at my feet before buckling my seatbelt. Esme started to drive as soon as I was settled.

"Edward called me to say you were walking. You know you're not supposed to walk by yourself," she said sternly.

"Emmett told me to," I told her.

"If Emmett told you to jump off the cliffs in La Push, would you do it?" she asked.

"No…but Emmett and Edward were allowed to walk at my age," I reminded her.

"That's different. They're much bigger than you," Esme countered.

"That's not my fault. I'm not a baby." I frowned.

"No one is calling you a baby. And besides, Emmett and Edward were also only allowed to since they were together," she explained.

"Emmett called me a baby. He said Edward and he thought it was embarrassing and weird that I watched them practice," I told her and bit my lip. Tears threatened my eyes again.

"Ahhh, I see." Esme nodded thoughtfully. "Older brothers can be mean sometimes. What did Edward say about it?"

I shrugged. "Edward didn't hear him. He tried to stop me from leaving, but it was after he said…" I trailed off not wanting to rat him out to his mother.

"What did he say?" She insisted I tell her.

"Disney music was for little kids," I told her. "I was hoping he'd play the piano for me."

"He refused you?" Esme parked the car in her driveway and turned to me.

"I didn't ask." Then I explained the situation with the two girls.

"Bella, you can still ask him. Or I will if you want," she suggested.

"No don't; Emmett told me Edward was only my friend because he was obligated to. I don't want his mother making him. It will only make things worse." I shook my head.

Esme blinked her eyes and looked at me in surprise. I realized I had been rude to her and immediately felt bad.

"I'm sorry, I was rude," I apologized.

She gave me a patient smile. "No harm done. I understand why you're upset. But, Bella, I think you need to stop listening to your brother. He doesn't speak for Edward, and I'm pretty sure Edward wouldn't agree with him."

"Yes, ma'am. May I use the computer to look up other songs and maybe download one if I find one?" I asked.

"Yes, you may," she answered me.

H

A few hours later, I tested out notes on the keyboard. I had started to learn to play this past summer, but I was still fairly novice at it. It didn't help that I could barely reach the foot pedals.

"Are you trying to kill our piano?" Edward teased, coming into the room.

"No," I said stiffly, unable to look at him.

He was quiet for a few more minutes as I tried a few more notes.

"Are you mad at me for calling my mom?" he asked, leaning on the piano as he tried to see my face. "I didn't want anything to happen to you. I still remember what happened with your Mom—"

"I'm not mad at you for calling Esme." I interrupted him when he brought up my mother.

"Well, it seems like you're mad at me for something. You won't even look at me. What did I do?" He was growing frustrated.

"Nothing, Edward. You've done nothing wrong; you've always been more than nice to me. But please stop feeling obligated to be my friend," I told him softly.

"I'm not obligated to be your friend. Where did you hear that crap?" Edward argued.

"Emmett told me." I took a deep breath. "He said I embarrass the two of you when I go to the practices and that I'm still a little kid. And the only reason you're nice to me is because you're obligated to."

Edward slapped his hands on the piano lid then straddled the piano bench next to me. "Bella, look at me."

I glanced up, and he looked mad. I started to slide away from him, and his eyes softened.

"Bella, I consider you one of my closest friends. I don't know why Emmett told you what he did, but you have never embarrassed me. I never minded you coming to games and practices. I actually missed not hanging out with you." He gave me a hesitant smile.

"Really?" I felt my mood lifting.

"Really." He gave me a hug. "Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to tear Emmett a new one."

"Don't do that. You'll get in trouble," I told him.

"Fine. But we will be having words. So what are you attempting to do?" He glanced over his shoulder at the music sheet.

"I'm trying to figure out how to play this song. I was hoping to sing it at the talent show," I explained.

"I thought you were going to sing the song from Fro…shoot." He winced when he realized what happened earlier. "Bella—"

"You were right, it's a little kid song. Plus, I like this one better." I bit my lip and decided to take a chance. "Would you play for me while I sing?"

He hesitated, looking at the music for a long moment. "One condition."

"What?" I asked nervously.

"When you win, you need to share the ice cream with me." He grinned.

"You mean if?" I countered.

"No, I mean when." He swung around to face the keys. "That is as long as I don't hold you up. I might be rusty." He made a big production of cracking his knuckles, making me giggle.

He started to play and nodded to me. I took a deep breath.

"Every day is so wonderful
Then suddenly it's hard to breathe
Now and then I get insecure
From all the pain
I'm so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring me down—"

Hero

I wiped a stray tear from my cheek and squeezed his hand. I bent down and gave his cheek a soft kiss. When I pulled back, I opened my mouth to sing for him.

"When I think back on these times
And the dreams we left behind
I'll be glad 'cause I was blessed to get to have you in my life
When I look back on these days
I look and see your face
You were right there for me"

A/N : First song. "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera. Second Song "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill. Small rough patch, but nothing major. Emmett is only an older brother, who gets annoyed by his younger sister at times. Alice makes her first appearance in this chapter. The others will pop at some point.

Thank you for sharing all your thoughts with me.