AN: Hey guys. Sorry this update took so long. I had a really rough week between being sick and some personal stuff that I had going on, so it took me a while to get to. I included a little bit of fluff, so hopefully that makes up for it. As always, I hope you guys enjoy.

Mistakes were most definitely made. As Alice and I once again danced the night away, sharing drink after drink and even a couple of shots, my senses escaping me once again. Jasper and Emmett had shown up halfway through the night and joined in our fun, but at some point, everyone had seemingly disappeared.

The song that rumbled through the living room had just ended, and as I opened my eyes, I found myself alone, surrounded by strangers. Not good. I needed to find Alice, or her brother at least. Someone familiar. Everything was out of focus as I stumbled out of the crowded room, suddenly desperate to get a breath of air. The hallway and kitchen were just as crowded, and I felt like I was suffocating. I needed to get out of here, fast.

A cool breeze tickled my legs, making the hair on my arms stand on end, and I looked to my left to see a doorway leading from the kitchen out to the back porch. I was happy to find that it was completely empty. Things were starting to spin and my stomach felt like it was churning. I was almost positive that I was going to throw up. I plopped down on the steps and dropped my head into my hands, taking a deep breath as I tried to stop the world from spinning.

"Are you okay?" I tilted my head slightly and found a pair of concerned blue eyes watching me. I tried to smile, but it was probably more of a grimace.

"Uh-uh." I responded, turning my head back into my hands.

"Uh, okay. Okay, wait right here." His voice was kind, laced with genuine worry as he disappeared. I couldn't be sure how long he was gone, but when he reappeared, he had a bundle of items in his arms. Setting all the stuff down, he started by unfolding a large blanket and draping it around my shoulders. I happily welcomed the warmth.

"It's cold out." He murmured, reaching for something else. He placed a cold bottle of ginger ale in my hands. "Most people think that water is best when you're drunk, but I prefer ginger ale. It'll settle your stomach." He explained.

"Thank you." I opened the bottle and took a small sip.

"What's your name?" He asked after a few moments of silence had passed between us.

"Bella." I replied, glancing over at him. "It's nice to meet you..."

"Mike." He offered up a goofy smile and I found myself giggling. It was probably the alcohol making me giddy, but he seemed cute, and caring.

"It's nice to meet you, Mike. And thanks for this." I said, holding up the ginger ale.

"It's nice to meet you too. So.. who are you here with?" He asked.

"Alice.. Cullen." It took me a moment to get her name out, as I had to stop to burp and pray that I wasn't going to throw up.

"Oh, Emmett and Edward's little sister! Okay." He grinned, obviously familiar with the family. "Well, that's cool. They're good people, for sure. Although, I can't say I've seen you around before. Are you.. I mean, have you known them long?" Mike was trying to make small talk, and I appreciated the attempt to distract me from feeling sick. Beer drunk was different than liquor drunk, I decided. Though I did mix liquor with my beer. But still, the other night had been straight liquor and I had felt giggly and free. Now, having ingested mainly beer, I felt mostly disoriented and sick to my stomach.

"Ah.. not long. Alice and I just became roommates. I'm a freshman here. I'm actually from Washington." I explained.

"Oh, Washington, huh? That's pretty cool. Have you met the president?" I couldn't help but laugh at his question.

"No, no. Like, Washington state." I explained.

"Oh! Whoops." A blush crept across his cheeks and I kind of liked it.

"Don't be embarrassed. It's what a lot of people assume." I tried to reassure him.

"So, what are you st-" Mike was cut off by a familiar voice.

"I thought we agreed that you weren't going to be fucking stupid." Someone grabbed my arm and yanked me up. Edward spun me around so that I was face to face with him, his green eyes blazing.

"Hey, dude! There's no reason to be rough with her like that." Mike had jumped to his feet, ready to defend me. If I hadn't been so shocked, I would've found it endearing that even though Mike was a whole head shorter than Edward, he was willing to fight him.

"I.. I just.. Alice.. and you know.." I was having trouble forming a coherent sentence, which I'm sure wasn't helping my case.

"Let's go." He said, dragging me towards the kitchen.

"Edward, man! That's not cool. She was fine." Mike called out. Edward turned back and shot him a sharp glare.

"Stay out of it, Newton." He snapped, before dragging me back into the house. I managed to shoot Mike an apologetic look before the door shut behind us.

As he guided me through the throngs of people, I began to get angry. But the time we had reached the front porch and stepped onto the lawn, I was furious. I yanked my arm out of his grasp and shoved him slightly, causing him to finally stop and look at me like I'd grown a second head.

"What the fuck?" I snapped, narrowing my eyes. I was definitely still intoxicated, because I was not normally one for confrontation. "I was perfectly fine back there! There was no reason for you to.." I paused to burp, embarrassingly enough. "...for you to yank me around like some kind of rag doll and make me leave like I'm some kind of.." I hiccuped. "Child!"

The expression was a mix of bemusement and annoyance. "Are you done?"

"No." I huffed, crossing my arms. "I'm going back inside, and you're going away." Turning, I went to walk back towards the door, but I began to feel my stomach churn again. Oh no.

Suddenly I was emptying the contents of it into some bushes. I felt my hair being pulled away from my face as I did so.

When I was finally done, my entire body was shaking, and I felt a headache coming on. This sucked. I know I said last time that I wouldn't be drinking ever again, but this time I meant it.

"Still think you don't need to go home?" Edward was waiting patiently for me, his look of annoyance now replaced by a cocky smirk. I merely grunted in response.

"C'mon." He said, a little more gently as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me towards a waiting Uber.


The ride home was filled with silence, and despite my protests when we arrived, he insisted on walking me upstairs to make sure that I made it in safely. Neither of us said a word to each other in the elevator, or the once inside the apartment. I was vaguely annoyed, had a raging headache, and desperately needed to brush my teeth, and so I left him in the hall and went to my room, shutting the door not so quietly behind me.

An hour later I emerged after cleaning my teeth and taking a spur of the moment shower since I had felt disgusting. I had put on fresh pajamas and my hair was still damp. I'd swapped out my contacts for my glasses, and I was in need of asprin and water. But I stopped short when I saw the Edward was sitting at our breakfast bar, typing away on his phone.

I spotted the bottle of asprin and a bottle of water sitting at the edge of the counter, and I took a few cautious steps forward, grabbing it. I shook two pills into the palm of my hand and tossed them into my mouth, swallowing them with a large gulp of cold water.

When I set the bottle back down on the counter, I finally noticed that Edward was watching me.

"I'd say that I'm sorry... but I know you'd just tell me not to be fucking stupid." I said after a few more moment of silence had passed between us. I swear I saw his mouth quirk as if he were going to laugh, but he didn't.

"New York is a dangerous city, Bella." He said. Crossing his arms, he leaned back and eyed me warily. "You come from a small town, I suspect." Well, he hit the nail on the head there. "The settings are much more different here. There won't always be someone to watch out for you and make sure that you're safe. You have to be smart to survive in a place like this."

What he said made sense and I could feel the anger in me deflating. He was right. I'd been rather stupid in my time here, and I needed to be taking better care to make sure I didn't end up in harms way. My dad had had the same discussion with me before I'd left, but I guess it hadn't sunk in like it seemed to be now.

"I understand. I apologize for being a nuisance. It won't happen again." My words were sincere. This time, he really did chuckle.

"You're hardly a nuisance. My sister, she's a nuisance. But you're just a nice girl who needs to learn a little more about life." He said. It was condescending of him, but he didn't seem to care.

"Okay.. Well.. Goodnight, then." I wasn't in the mood to argue with him, and I knew whatever came out of my mouth in response would have sparking something, so instead I turned to head to bed. "You're welcome to stay here tonight, since it's so late." I added. It was the hospital thing to do, though I didn't expect he would.

"Sleep well, Bella." The words were so quiet, I couldn't even be sure I heard them, so I didn't respond as I headed back to my room, ready to fall into a deep sleep.


It was more restless than peaceful. For the first time in months, I had a nightmare about him. For months after the very worst had transpired, I had frequent nightmares involving him, and it took many therapy sessions, but the nightmares eventually became less and less, until I stopped having them all together. So why was I having one now?

I could see the glint of his gun as he went to reach for it, and I cried out, willing anyone to hear me, to help me.

"Bella? Bella, wake up.."

My eyes flashed over when I felt someones hand caress my cheek. My heart was racing and I sat straight up, taking in my surroundings. It took me several moments to realize that was in my bedroom in New York and not some place else. I took a couple of deep breaths before realizing that I wasn't alone. Edward was sitting on the edge of my bed watching me curiously.

"Wha.. What are you doing here." I asked, raking a shaky hand through my hair.

"You told me I could spend the night since it was late..." He gently reminded me. "I was asleep on the couch when I heard you screaming."

It was a good thing that my room was dark, because my embarrassment caused a crimson blush to cover my cheeks.

"I'm sorry that I woke you." I told him, curling my knees into my chest and wrapping my arms around them.

"Do you get nightmares often?" He asked, ignoring my apology.

"I used to." I admitted.

"Hmm.." He stood up, leaving the room without really saying anything. I was a little surprised, but before I could process what had happened, he had returned with a glass in his hand.

"My mom used to bring me warm milk when I'd wake up with nightmares." He explained, handing it to me. "But she'd tell me that it was magical monster protection juice, and if I drank it, then nothing could hurt me while I was sleeping." I could see him smiling fondly at the memory, and I shared in his smile before taking a small sip. I'll admit, it did calm me down a little bit.

"I appreciate this." I told him, moving slightly so that he could sit back down on the bed with me.

"It's no problem." He said. We sat in silence as I finished the milk. My eyes wandered over to the clock. It was three in the morning.

"Did Alice come home?" I asked, remembering how she'd disappeared at the party.

"She's at Jasper's. She called right after you went to bed, to make sure you got home safe. She saw us leave together." He told me.

"Oh. Well, good. I'm glad she's safe." I replied. An awkward silence settled over us, and I really wasn't sure what to do. I could never tell what my interactions with Edward were going to be like. He ran hot and cold. He was either exceptionally sweet, or the biggest asshole I'd ever met, and I couldn't tell if my presence bothered him, or if he was okay with it.

"You don't have to stay here, you know. I'm okay, really." I assured him.

He looked at me with knowing smile that said that he knew I was lying.

"I'll stay until you fall back asleep." He said softly. He reached over and took the now empty glass from me, setting it on my bedside table. "Lay down." He instructed. I did as he said and he pulled the blankets tightly around me, tucking me in. He sat near the bottom of my bed and got his phone out.

"You can turn on the T.V. if you want. It won't bother me." I said. "The remote is right next to you."

"Oh.. uh. Thanks.." He said, reaching for it.

Tonight was full of surprises, the current one being how comforted by his presence I seemed to be. I was fast asleep before he'd even picked something on Netflix to watch.