Chapter 5

A/N: I do not own the characters.

Bella POV

Bella came home from her shift at the library still floating from her date with Edward. Before she could go to her room she was stopped in the living room by Alice who was jumping up and down on the couch in excitement.

"What's wrong with you?" Bella asked her best friend, teasingly.

"Nothing, how did your day go?" Alice asked. Bella could tell that Alice wasn't as innocent as she was trying to be - she was digging for information and trying not to let it show.

"It was uneventful, is there any dinner left?" Bella asked Alice. She knew that Alice hated when Bella evaded her questions like she did - which was exactly why she did it.

"Seriously? You didn't do anything or go anywhere interesting today?" Alice asked more pointedly.

"Nope," Bella said while she went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

"You're really going to make me come right out and ask you, aren't you?" Alice asked, dryly.

"Ask about what?" Bella joked.

"You're mean," Alice told her. When Bella just smiled at her and took a drink of her water Alice sighed loudly before asking, "So, how was the second date with Edward?"

"It was good." When Bella didn't say anything more Alice groaned.

"That's all I get, 'It was good'? What about the kiss I heard about?" She demanded.

"How did you hear about the kiss?"

"It was everywhere by the end of the day. Some girl in my designing class was wishing that she was you," Alice joked.

"Great," Bella mumbled to herself. She didn't particularly like being the center of attention but she told herself that it would be worth it if she could be with Edward. She was starting to think that she would do just about anything for that man.

As Bella reached back into the fridge to grab some leftover takeout she noticed that Alice was still standing by the little island.

"What else do you want?" Bella groaned. By the look on Alice's face this couldn't be a good thing.

"Just don't say no right away."

"That's a promising way to start a conversation."

"There's a party at Jasper's fraternity tomorrow night-"

"No, I am not going to another frat party with you. They never end well for me." Bella couldn't help but remember the last party that she went to last year with her ex Jacob.

She didn't drink - she didn't like the taste of alcohol - but that didn't stop Jacob from drinking in excess and trying to get Bella to go upstairs with him. By that point Bella realized that when Jacob drank he was not a stellar bedmate - he would only last a few thrusts and then finish inside her without getting her off. She tried to avoid that but the two of them ended up yelling to each other about something stupid and she ended up back at her apartment alone. All those parties were the same to her, the girls tried to get all the attention by acting like they didn't want any attention and the guys just wanted another girl to take home. It just wasn't her scene.

"Bella, come on. Jasper's even trying to get Edward to go, it'll be fun," Alice told her. Bella couldn't help the rush she felt when Alice said Edward's name but she tamped that down before Alice saw it on her face.

"If I go with Edward I'll just be the focal point of a lot of nasty girls." She didn't particularly care what girls thought of her but she couldn't help feeling like she wasn't enough for Edward and that one day he was going to notice. She pushed that down as well - she didn't want that thought to ruin her mood.

"But it will be a way to show to all the girls in the school that he's your man now." Alice raised her eyebrows at Bella.

"Edward and I haven't even discussed what we are yet. I don't think we're at the point of declaring the other just yet." As much as Bella would love to get up on the rooftop and scream to every co-ed that Edward Cullen was her man, she wasn't sure if Edward was on the same page and she didn't want to risk asking him only to be disappointed.

"Come on, one party and then I'll never ask you to go to another one again," Alice pouted. "This is our senior year and this is the first major party of the school year. Please?" She begged. She even pulled out the puppy dog eyes which she knew Bella couldn't turn down.

"Uh, fine! But only if Edward will come; no Edward, no party," Bella told Alice. She didn't want to let Alice down - and she was right that this was their senior year - but part of her hoped that Edward wouldn't want to go, either. She picked up her phone slowly and pulled up Edward's name in her contacts before hitting the dial button and waiting for him to pick up. It only rang twice before his velvety voice came across the line.

"Bella?" Just hearing his voice had her heart racing and her stomach fill with butterflies.

"Hey, what are you up to?"

"Just talking to Jasper, he's trying to get me to go to his frat's party tomorrow night."

"Are you?" Bella wasn't sure what answer she wanted to hear from him more.

"I don't think so. The most beautiful girl in the entire school won't be there, what would be the point?" He asked her. She could practically hear the smile in his voice and felt the slight blush color her cheeks.

"And who would that be?"

"I think you know," he told her.

"Well, Alice is trying to guilt me to go to the party with her, too." She waited a beat before she continued, "But I told her that I didn't want to go without you." She hoped that she didn't seem too forward but she was happy to hear his chuckle through the phone.

"Well then, I think we're going to a party tomorrow," he told her while still laughing.

"You sure?"'

"It'll give me a good chance to show everyone that you belong to me," he told her. She was speechless for several moments before he seemed to take her silence the wrong way. "That was presumptuous of me, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I was kind of thinking the same thing," Bella whispered the last part to him. She held her breath while she waited for his response.

"Good, then I think it's time the world knows that Bella Swan is my girlfriend," Edward said loudly. She could tell that he was smiling again and - after making arrangements for when Jasper and Edward would pick the two of them up - they hung up.

Tomorrow night was going to be fun. She hoped.

~LCA~

Bella eyed herself in the mirror with skepticism - she was a tad nervous about the party at Jasper's frat house. It was a Friday night so she knew that it was going to be packed - it wasn't that she was worried about the number of people, she was just wary of all the females that would be in attendance.

Throughout her classes Bella was followed around by whispers from girls that she had never talked to a day in her life. She heard Edward's name a lot so she had a feeling she knew what they were talking about. She knew that a lot of the women didn't think that she deserved Edward - and sometimes Bella thought the same - but she wasn't going to let what other people thought deter her from him. She just had to hold her head up high and ignore what everyone was saying - it couldn't be that hard, she thought unconvincingly to herself.

Tonight she had held Alice to the promise of no Bella-Barbie even though she saw the pain in Alice's eyes. She didn't want to be poked and prodded just to go to a dimly lit frat house - it wasn't worth it. So, Bella had decided on dark skinny jeans with a midnight blue top that hung off of one shoulder in a way that she knew would drive Edward crazy. She paired the outfit with small blue heels - she had to be careful when she picked her heel size since she had trouble walking in the higher ones.

She heard a knock on the door and she took a deep breath before grabbing her clutch that was on her desk and heading to the door to answer it. As she passed the living room Alice looked at her for a second in a way that made Bella want to go back and change but she stood her ground knowing that if Alice smelt even a hint of fear that she would pounce on her in a moment.

"I like it," she told her. She gave Bella a big smile before following her to the door to let the guys in.

She admired Edward the moment that the door was open and she was able to get a good look at him in his black button up and dark jeans. She bit her lip as she eyed the little bit of chest hair that she could see peeking out from the couple buttons that were left undone at the top. She felt Alice nudge her in the side, she shook herself out of her stupor and was pleased to see the expression on Edward's face - he almost looked like he wanted to eat her right then.

"Wow….just wow," he told her. He pulled her to him and gave her a light kiss that set her on fire on the inside. All of their surroundings disappeared as the two of them quickly lost themselves in the kiss. The only thing that was able to pull themselves out was the loud throat clearing from behind Bella.

"Save that for later," Alice told them. Bella knew that she wasn't angry from the bright smile that was on her face. Bella could read in her eyes the 'I told you so' that she was trying very hard to keep to herself.

"I don't think I'll be able to keep my hands off of you tonight," Edward whispered in her ear. Bella felt a blush color her cheeks and smiled at him in response.

"You don't look so bad yourself, you really clean up nice," she told him with a grin. When she was with Edwared she felt all of her worries fly away and she couldn't remember why she was at all worried about going to the party - nothing could hurt her when she was with Edward.

It took almost a half hour before they were at the house - there was so much traffic and then finding a place to park was very unpleasant. They had to walk two blocks, Bella was thrilled that she hadn't chosen higher heels - her feet would have already been killing her.

They heard the music before they stepped into the house and Bella was blasted with warm air and the sound of one hundred people talking at once. Jasper led the three of them to the kitchen where there was a bar set up and a keg off to the side. Bella opted for a vodka sour - it was one of the only drinks that she could stand because you could barely taste the alcohol. She always had one drink before she turned to straight water, she never liked the feeling of being drunk.

Once they got their drinks Edward pulled her to the side so they were relatively alone.

"Do you know how many men are looking at you right now?" He asked her. She could see the smile in his eyes so she knew that he wasn't being serious but the question did remind her of her brief relationship with Jacob and how he hated when other men watched her and he would always question her when he thought that she was cheating on him. She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts right away - she didn't want to taint her night with Edward by thoughts of Jacob.

"Probably as many as women who are watching you," she told him. She laughed when he just scrunched his eyebrows before lowering his head so his mouth was right next to her ear.

"Those women will never hold a candle to how beautiful and sexy you truly are," he said. She blushed once again and gave him a kiss before they set their empty cups aside and he pulled her to the makeshift dance floor that was in the living room.

He held her close to him and they moved to the beat never breaking eye contact with each other. She felt a shock go through her and pulled herself closer to him so they were practically one person. Edward didn't seem to mind it and they eventually lost themselves in their movement and the music. They were oblivious to everything around them - Bella only had to pull away when her throat was getting dry and she knew that she was going to need a glass of water and maybe a trip to the bathroom.

"I need something to drink but first I need to make a pit stop," she told him. She had to speak close to his ear so he would be able to hear her over the loud music.

"Bathroom?" He asked her. She nodded her head before pulling away from him with a quiet sigh - she was enjoying herself so much but her human needs were fighting to become more important. "Would you like me to come with you?"

"No, I can find it. I'll meet you in the kitchen, okay?" With a toe curling kiss she left him to make her way to the restroom to relieve herself. There was a slight line - not as long as she had seen at other times - and soon she was able to lock herself in the bathroom and relieved herself. After she washed her hands she went to meet up with Edward but before she could she was stopped at the top of the stairs by none other than Tanya Denali - Edward's ex.

"Well, if it isn't Bella Swan," she sneered. Tanya looked Bella up and down in a way that made Bella feel like she was nothing more than dirt that was on the bottom of Tanya's very expensive heel.

"What do you want, Tanya?" Bella asked pointedly. She looked around herself for someone that would help her but no one was near enough to hear them talking and, more importantly, she couldn't see Edward anywhere.

"So, you and Edward, huh?" She waited a beat but when Bella didn't respond she laughed at her and put her hand on Bella's shoulder in a way that, had anyone else done that, it would have been comforting; but when it was Tanya it felt truly condescending. "Honey, you will never get that boy to settle down. He's going to get bored with you and come crawling back to me, he always does," she told her.

Bella took a deep breath, she had to tell herself not to let Tanya's words into her head. No one but her and Edward knew a thing about their relationship, and Tanya may have had control over Edward in the past but Bella had to trust that Edward was hers completely now, she couldn't let this sorry excuse for a woman get inside her head.

"Tanya, you don't know a thing about what Edward and I have," she said. Tanya just laughed at her but thankfully dropped her hand to her side so that the two of them were no longer touching.

"That's cute, do you actually think that you can change him? Sweetie, men like him are stuck in their ways, he needs someone that will satisfy him," she told him. She reached out as if she was going to touch Bella again but Bella grabbed her wrist before she could make contact with her.

"Touch me again and you lose the arm," Bella told her. She had always hated women like Tanya; women who thought the world owed them something because of how much money their daddy made. It sickened Bella and she didn't want to stand there any longer letting Tanya spew off whatever was on her mind. "Edward and my relationship is different then what you or any female at the school had with him. We respect and care about each other - it's not just a physical relationship like you had; what we have is so much more and I would bet money that you had wanted something like that with him but he turned you down faster than you could say 'pathetic'." The two women glared at each other for a minute in silence before Bella heard someone coming up the stairs behind Tanya and heard her beautiful angel's voice.

"Bella, are you okay?" He came straight to her - completely ignoring Tanya - and Bella felt a small bit of joy at the pain she saw in Tanya's eyes. She knew that it was a little cruel for her to think like that but she couldn't help the way she was feeling after she heard everything Tanya had said.

"I am now; Tanya was just leaving, weren't you, Tanya?" Bella asked her in a falsely polite voice. Tanya didn't say anything, she just glared at Bella one last time before she spun on her heel and went downstairs.

"What was that about?" Edward asked Bella. He took one of her hands in his and placed his other hand on her hip as they looked at each other. The expression that she saw in his eyes gave her such peace - she didn't know how she knew it but Edward wasn't going to hurt her. He was a different person now and would never turn to Tanya again.

"Just Tanya being Tanya." At his questioning look she continued, "She just wanted to tell me that I wouldn't be able to change you and that you would go crawling to her as soon as you were bored with me." When he opened his mouth to argue she reached up to put her index finger against his lips. "And I told her that what you and I had was so much more than what you had ever had with her or anyone...and I may have called her pathetic, too." She cringed at that last part. She wasn't normally a mean person but in the heat of the moment her mouth moved faster than her brain and she had said something that - even though she deserved it - was uncalled for.

"You are amazing," he told her with a smile on his face. He leaned down and she lost herself in their kiss. She forgot everything except Edward - he was slowly becoming very important to her and she felt herself fall a little bit more for him. If she wasn't careful she could see herself being in love with Edward very quickly - which wasn't entirely a bad thing, she told herself.

A/N: So, we finally met Tanya. I really wanted to make Bella be a very confident girl and not someone that would let just anyone get into her head and feed on her insecurities. This girl is going to fight for what she loves and that is fastly becoming Edward. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and, like always; review, review, and review! I love hearing what you have to say about my story, it truly gives me such joy to hear all the positive comments so please keep them coming.

Happy Easter to my American readers!

Sorry for the slight delay for this update, my 6 month old baby had a really bad night last night and, in turn, so did I. Teething is awesome, right? :)