Chapter 12

It didn't take much effort for Edward to recall standing in front of this very mirror just a few short weeks ago. At the time his limited self-esteem had been working hard to undermine any amount of courage he'd still possessed. He'd been aggravated by circumstances that he felt were out of his control and he could see very little on the horizon that might help ease his displeasure back then. But things were different now.

Edward had recognized a significant change in the way he carried himself as of late. He stood a little straighter and held his head a bit higher these days. His ego was still cautious enough that he couldn't project the type of confidence his heart might desire, but he was astoundingly better off than he'd been during those first awkward days as one of the new kids in town.

Bella had everything to do with that change and he knew it. Whereas before he'd chosen to close himself off from the world and sulk about his predicament, feeling sorry for himself and whatever role he believed he'd played in creating the vast number of negative critics his family had been made to deal with back home, he now no longer wanted to hide.
Bella saw him as a person of worth. His feelings and opinions mattered. He made her smile and laugh and she openly accepted his affection. She made him feel invincible when she'd look his way with so much appreciation.

"I don't' like it."

"You're not wearing it. You don't have to like it." Edward mumbled as he alternated looking in the mirror and down at the tie he was struggling with.

It didn't take much effort for Edward to recall the way his brother had interrupted his thoughts while looking in this mirror a few weeks ago either.

"Not the freaking tie. This guy! I don't like the idea of Alice getting too friendly with…what's his name again?" Emmett huffed.

Edward gave up for the moment. He was far too frustrated over the amount of stress this whole situation was causing to put up with Emmett's over protective babble on top of everything else right now. He wanted to daydream about his girlfriend in peace.

"Jasper, his name is Jasper," he sighed letting his hands comb through his hair.
He was reminded that it was significantly shorter than it had been the day before, thanks to his sister and her handiwork with a pair of scissors this afternoon. It made him glance back at the mirror and notice that it was now standing on end and in more disarray than usual.

Another sigh followed.

Edward was putting forth every effort to make this initial meeting with Bella's parents a success. His appearance was one small aspect that he actually had some control over, so he was determined to look the part of a respectable, clean cut teenager tonight.
Bella had gone out of her way to speak to her mother after all. She'd been very apologetic and humble. She'd promised her mom that she'd never intended any disrespect. She'd just been upset and embarrassed by the idea of their classmates gossiping to such a degree that hearsay about something as trivial as a kiss shared between two students who liked one another would reach those outside of school—her own mother specifically.

The mature approach and Bella's willingness to talk about it had apparently done the trick. Part of her initial punishment had been a rather heated demand that her parents be allowed to meet this boy anyway. Now that Bella was open to the idea and had suggested that dinner together could be a good opportunity for everyone to meet and get to know one another, Renee seemed a bit more willing to tone down her displeasure. She was more curious than resentful for the moment.

"What the hell kind of name is Jasper anyway?"

"What the hell kind of name is Emmett?" Edward countered with a little chuckle.

He didn't want to argue right now. He'd had his own reservations about Alice getting involved with a guy over the past few years as well, so he totally understood. But this was Jasper. He was a good guy whether he wanted to admit it or not. He was Bella's cousin and she loved him like a brother. Plus there was also the bonus of knowing that he'd be away a school for weeks on end.
They might be able to find a way to correspond in the future, but most of that would be a long distance situation for the time being.

After telling Emmett so he turned back to the mirror and gave the tie another try.

"My goodness," her voice interrupted his progress this time. "I was worried about surviving this night without embarrassing myself in front of my parents already."

Edward turned toward the open doorway with a smile already in place. His brother's unfiltered greeting only magnified its presence thanks to his sudden laughter.

"Hey…umm…holy…wow," Emmett managed to mumble, his words trailing off quietly as he watched Bella smile at his amused brother who never hesitated to walk in her direction. He didn't seem to think twice about bending down to kiss her cheek in greeting or pay the unnecessary words any attention outside of the little laugh they had triggered.

Emmett had to agree that "gorgeous" was probably a more eloquent word to describe Bella's appearance—her hair carefully styled, wearing makeup for a change and a dress that Emmett could only guess would take at least three of his paychecks to buy.

He suddenly had a new found respect for his little brother. He'd laughed and joked and playfully made it seem as if he didn't think Edward had it in him, but he was indeed impressed. Emmett Cullen rarely found himself at a loss in the presence of the opposite sex, but Bella had left him speechless for a moment; and his brother's ability to stand there in front of her and not fall at her feet had him ready to stand up and applaud.

"I'm gonna go check on Alice; see if she needs a hand," Bella was saying as she and Edward stood there casually swinging their joined hands back and forth chatting quietly. Before retreating she reached up and smoothed down a bit of Edward's hair where it was still standing on end. Edward allowed her to pull him down and Emmett, though trying to mind his own business at this point, was shocked to see how eagerly they both leaned in for a kiss that was far less innocent than that little peck on the cheek from before.

Despite the insane dialogue that had immediately invaded his mind, he was silent as he watched Edward wait until she'd made it down the hallway and had presumably entered their sister's room. When his brother turned back with a grin on his face and resumed the struggle to knot his tie, Emmett got up from his position lying across his bed.

"I knew you weren't going to…share, but I never dreamed there was really that much to actually share." He chuckled giving a surprised but appropriately proud Edward a friendly punch on his shoulder that threatened to knock him into the dresser.

"Not my fault you've been working so much and not home in the evenings." Edward shrugged, much to Emmett's delight. He never really wanted to alienate his brother with his brash comments or playful nature, but he knew that it was hard for him to accept his way of communicating sometimes. The fact that he was still standing there smiling and hadn't berated him for being too forward or inappropriate meant the world to him.

"Lucky you," Emmett smirked before turning to leave.

Edward did feel lucky. And luck was something he'd had on his side for a while now. His situation with Bella went without saying at this point, but the fact that her mother now seemed eager to meet him was huge.
Jasper was also another blessing as of late. His presence the past few days to help support Bella and convince her family that she should be allowed to pick and choose who she might associate with from school was beyond helpful. Though his charm and charisma seemed to have an obvious effect on his sister that Edward was still mildly opposed to he was grateful that it also seemed to have a similar and far more beneficial effect on his girlfriend's mother.

With a plan in place for everyone to join her family for dinner, as Jasper had suggested, the next few days had gone far more smoothly that Edward could have anticipated. Bella was full of smiles and excitement when she'd greeted he and Alice in the parking lot the following morning.

Apparently after Jasper had snuck the duo out of the house and dropped them off that afternoon he'd returned a short time later as if to check on Bella and see how she was doing. He'd played it off well and no one had any prior knowledge of Bella's guests from earlier in the day. Jasper had been so worried and concerned that Renee had actually apologized for not allowing Bella to come see him at the ranch and had offered that she should have thought to have her call and explain the situation once it was decided that Bella would be restricted from going anywhere for the remaining weekend. Jasper expressed his own surprise after supposedly learning for the first time that Bella had been apparently seeing someone without her parents' knowledge and playfully scolded his cousin for not saying anything sooner. His excitement was genuine and Bella wanted to laugh at how undermined her mother had looked, realizing that Bella's happiness should be just as important to her as it was to Jasper.

As Bella regaled them with the story over lunch the following day Alice had been appropriately proud of her soon to be date for this dinner that was to happen the following night. There was talk of clothes and food and times, but Edward let his mind and his eyes wander the cafeteria while Alice and Bella spoke of such things. He knew that Alice would have a way to find him what he should wear and that Bella was going to pick them up in time for dinner. He was instead focused on all of the activity around them.

After hearing that Bella's mother had been made aware of their relationship from someone who was already privy to it he had to wonder who it was that had felt a need to talk about them. Bella had been convinced that it was Jessica initially, but Edward was never certain. Jessica was a lot of things and definitely annoying but it didn't make sense that she'd have enough access or influence over the mayor's wife to pass along such information and in such a way as to unnerve Bella's mother to such a degree.

After the stress of the weekend he'd been anticipating some type of indication once they'd arrived at school that the secret was out; however all seemed normal. There were still a few sideways glances and a comment or two that he'd overhear when he and Bella were together, but nothing out of the ordinary. And Jessica was still all smiles when she'd seen him in third period.

"Did you have a nice weekend?"

Edward shrugged while telling her that he'd worked most of it and spent some time relaxing otherwise. She didn't seem disappointed or satisfied in any way, so Edward had to assume that she wasn't really sure that he'd give here any type of information to begin with. He also realized that she didn't look smug either. If he'd learned one thing about Jessica so far was that she didn't control her emotions very well in unexpected situations. Had she been looking for some type of conformation that plans had fallen through or that Bella had been in trouble with her parents and therefore they were forbidden from going anywhere she'd kept that to herself with great success.

So who could it have been? None of the other students seemed invested to such a degree.

"Are you nervous?" Bella asked once they were alone and seated beside one another in Biology.

"Understatement of the century, but I'll survive," he grinned.

What about Mike? Bella had said that his parents knew hers.

"I'm still basically on restriction until after our dinner. I guess Mom is waiting to see how that goes before she releases me back into society officially."

Edward smiled a bit at her sarcasm.

"Jasper is planning to give you and Alice a ride to the store tomorrow, since your mom will need your car." Edward watched her hesitate slightly and he recognized that she was about to say something that she wasn't sure he'd be comfortable hearing.

"That is…unless you have something else to do and maybe just want to let Jasper take Alice instead."

His smile brightened and his shoulders shook with humor.

"Seriously?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear and grinned a little at the ease with which he'd taken her suggestion.

"It's not me you have to be careful with. Emmett will break him in half the second he decides to even think about being stupid."

"Jasper's not stupid." She shook her head and grabbed the front of Edward's t-shirt.

It was a simple thank you, a short kiss on his lips, but it surprised Edward and made his chest swell nonetheless.

"And I can handle Emmett," she also informed him turning to the front to pay attention as if nothing had happened.

"I love you." He said quietly nudging her knee with his own under their table.

So here he was now wearing his thrift store pants and tie, his borrowed shoes and one of his father's shirts. His hair seemed to be behaving for the moment, so long as he didn't run his hands through it in another moment of frustration, and he was ready as he was ever going to be to go and have dinner with the first family of Phoenix.

Emmett was the only one home so they avoided too much commotion on the way out, Alice joking that their mother would likely treat this as if they were all headed off to prom together otherwise. And she was right. The fact that the three of them looked like they were headed to a semi-formal was not lost on him and it made Edward stop and take a breath. Alice looked like a million bucks and Bella looked like a billion; and though most of what Edward was wearing was second hand it was still nicer than anything he'd owned in years. Bella had explained on many occasions how dinner was such an event in her parents' home—a part of her existence that she found truly annoying in fact, but Edward was very aware in the moment how much they were all pretending tonight.

Alice was excited to be on the way. She had already met Bella's mother, though the meeting was brief, but Jasper was already there visiting with his aunt and uncle. She'd been smitten with him from the moment she'd seen him standing there on the front steps of her family's home, but after finally spending an afternoon together, Alice was more convinced than ever that Jasper was absolutely perfect. While she and Edward had taken time to change and get ready for dinner after he'd dropped her off with the purchases she'd found for them to wear tonight, she couldn't seem to keep her mind from wandering back to every smile they'd shared and everything he'd thought to say. She was mildly disappointed that he wouldn't be back by to pick her up this evening, but she understood that this wasn't really about her or Jasper tonight at all.

Bella had wanted to be the one to drive them over to her place for her own reasons, but she also knew that Edward would appreciate having her there with him leading up to such a big step in their relationship. It would have been as easy as a simple request and her cousin would have jumped at the chance to come and pick up her friends, but she needed to be there for him.

Edward was not so far removed from his prior insecurities that he could pretend that this night wouldn't put every difference he'd ever noticed between he and Bella on display, but he knew that he'd somehow push through the discomfort. He had Alice and Jasper to lean on, and Bella by his side to remind him that they were worth it and then some.

"Ready?" was all she'd said after Alice jumped into the backseat and Bella lingered on the passenger side holding Edward's hand for a moment more.

"You know, the youngest daughter on Downton Abbey fell in love with the chauffer." He decided to tell her by way of an answer, "They ran away together. Didn't come back and have dinner with the family until they'd already eloped and she was pregnant."

As usual she appreciated his silliness and chuckled a bit while asking, "How'd that go?"

"Dinner was awkward but okay," he hesitated, pulling their joined hands up so that he might kiss the back of hers, "unfortunately she later died giving birth, so…"

He let the corner of his mouth twitch into a grin seeing her horrified expression, "not exactly an option for us."